The Great Divide

First appeared on Uncommon YA on October 17, 2014 Think of the last book that grabbed you, kept you up all night, vowing to quit after just one more chapter. Remember finishing that chapter and, despite your best efforts, being unable to close the cover? That’s the feeling I strive to create in readers, that […]

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 […]

Meet My Main Characters: The Namesake

MAJOR PLAYERS A poet, artist, and college professor, I wrote The Namesake, one of Merit Press’s debut titles. In one course I teach, Studies in Young Adult Fiction, we discuss key YA elements, including the struggle for autonomy and the search for self, just two factors needed in a living, breathing YA protagonist. Another crucial […]

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