How Time Flies

I can hardly believe it’s been over a month since I had the absolute thrill of taking part in Teen Bookfest by the Bay in Corpus Christi, TX, February 18, 2017. What an event! It was such an honor to appear along with awesome YA authors, like Jennifer Mathieu, D.K. Burrows, Brendan Kiely, Miracle Austin, […]

September Feature!

I’m thrilled to be Featured Follower for the month of September on author C. Lee McKenzie’s blog, TheWriteGame! Lee, whom I met through Uncommon YA, is a widely-published author of young adult and middle grade novels. She’s also a wonderfully gracious supporter of fellow authors. Visit her site this month to learn more about me […]

Look Who’s Talking

First appeared on UncommonYA on August 20, 2014 Plot’s self-explanatory; setting and even symbolism can be straightforward too. An element that typically stumps my literature students—and many authors—is point of view. I stress to my students that P-O-V involves who’s telling the story. We go over different types, notably first-person, and the variations of third-person, […]

Dream Big Visit

I had the pleasure of guesting on fellow Uncommon YA author, Melissa Wray’s blog on Tuesday, August 12, 2014. Here’s the interview. And thanks for having me, Melissa! AUTHOR INTERVIEW QUESTIONS Tell us a little about your writing journey. Though I always loved reading and suspected I’d write one day, I didn’t get serious until […]

An Uncommon Feature

Thank God for UNCOMMON YA! If not for my blog assignments there, I might never post an update here. I was featured on the site on Wednesday, July 31, 2014. If you missed me there, here’s the interview. Today I (Beth Fehlbaum, UncommonYA moderator) am interviewing Steven Parlato, author of the highly acclaimed THE NAMESAKE, […]

Where it’s at

First appeared on Uncommon YA, May 26, 2014. In the waning days of the Old South, a feisty beauty battles for her plantation. A family is blizzard-bound in a malevolent hotel, high in the Rockies. An eleven-year-old discovers his true destiny far beyond the cupboard under the stairs. At first glance, these three books—Margaret Mitchell’s […]

Lions, Tigers, and Bears?

NOPE! More like bullies, giraffes and cats. Oh my! Post first appeared on Uncommon YA, Friday, 4/11/14. A neighborhood stray dies in the street near our house. A giraffe graces the blacktop of our local mall. John R * * * * * * * repeatedly punches my arm in Mr. Whealon’s 11th grade history […]

Well, I’m hopping! Yes, indeed!

How lucky am I? Lucky enough to have known author Kim Stokely since college. I was studying graphic design; Kim was a theater major, and we bonded as members of a guerilla production of the musical, Godspell. Who’d have predicted we’d still be pals—and published authors—all these years later? Well, the friend part was a […]

Oh, to have known…

First appeared 2/20/14 on Uncommon YA Sensitive is not a dirty word. Artistic is not an insult. Creative should be considered a compliment. And just because someone doesn’t spend his every waking hour “working,” that doesn’t mean he’s lazy. So yeah, clearly, I’m still chipping away at the old adolescent angst all these years later, […]

Some Thoughts on My Year in Print

Post first appeared on Uncommon YA, 1/15/14. Hollywood has not come calling. I have not been mobbed on the street by eager readers. I have yet to churn out—in the words of Publishers Weekly—my next “solidly woven … well-executed plot.” Hopefully, this doesn’t mean I’m no longer a “name to watch” (Thanks, PW!); just that […]

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