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....this weekend! And we are excited. Even if you're not formally registered, if you live in the Sacramento area (and beyond) and want to attend the informal Author Mingle, you can! It's free and open to the public, with books for sale by Avid... Read the rest of this post

Attention, residents of Blogosphere-opolis: This is no ordinary review. This is a very special blog tour review, organized by First Second, who kindly supplied me with review copies of the new superhero graphic novels created by Paul Pope: Battling... Read the rest of this post

The prequel you didn't know you needed to Bruchac's epic KILLER OF ENEMIES:This novella prequel to Joseph Bruchac’s Killer of Enemies is set in the Black Hills of South Dakota, where readers are introduced to seventeen-year-old Rose Eagle of the... Read the rest of this post

Have you been on the fence about whether or not you're interested in KidlitCon? Have plans changed for you, but you thought you'd run out of time? You're in luck: we've been able to extend registration for one more week. The Citizen Hotel has... Read the rest of this post

I just wanted to make sure you all know that Cybils Awards judging panels will be announced this week--Wednesday, to be exact! It's always an exciting time because I know, once the panels get announced, it's time for me to start thinking about books... Read the rest of this post

First of all, huge thanks to Gina Gagliano at First Second/Macmillan, who set us up with Caragh O'Brien on this blog tour--Tanita and I are both fascinated by the topic and love a good post-apocalyptic vision of the earth. (Um, in fiction only,... Read the rest of this post

Charlotte's been dropping programming peeks down on the Bookshelf lately, so I felt I had to throw down with another mini-poster, now that I know that Stephanie Kuehn is going to be at the Con on Friday! Knowing how socially limited I am, I'm just... Read the rest of this post

That's right--it's time for our weekly plug for this year's KidLitCon! (Are you going? Are you going? Are you going??? We are!!) This time, though, I thought I'd entice you by re-posting my recap of last year's conference in Austin, which was, as... Read the rest of this post

From Booklist, who knows good literature, a star for WILD THINGS: ACTS OF MISCHIEF IN CHILDREN'S LITERATURE. Congratulations, you guys! May this be the first of many accolades. Haven't got your copy yet? For a most EXCELLENT review from Kelly, pop... Read the rest of this post

Click to embiggen! Author photos courtesy of their personal blogs. This work is copyrighted material. All opinions are those of the writer, unless otherwise indicated. All book reviews are UNSOLICITED, and no money has exchanged hands, unless... Read the rest of this post

Have you registered yet? No? Then go! I just did, and I couldn't be more excited about how plans are shaping up--we have a fantastic team of organizers who are setting up the program of events, including a couple of meet-and-greet opportunities for... Read the rest of this post

We've interviewed versatile author Sarah Beth Durst before--the last time was when we talked to her about her fantasy novel Conjured. We are thrilled to have her back for another interview, because her latest book, The Lost, is a bit of a departure... Read the rest of this post

Via the Kidlitosphere Central website, here's the latest on the Call for Session Proposals for this fall's KidLitCon (which Tanita and I are proudly helping to organize, along with Jen Robinson and a valiant and hardworking crew of other conference... Read the rest of this post

"We should all know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color." - Maya Angelou Hey, Guys... it's been a busy, crazy week... There have been... Read the rest of this post

*Original post by Jen Robinson on KidLitosphere Central:The 8th annual Kidlitosphere Conference, aka KidLitCon, will be held October 10th and 11th at the Tsakopoulos Library Galleria in Sacramento, CA!KidLitCon is a gathering of people who blog... Read the rest of this post

I think my last post mentioned that I would be participating in the 2-week Women's History Month series of guest author posts over at STACKED, called About the Girls--well, that kicked off today in stellar fashion with a post on one of those... Read the rest of this post

Fridays always get away from me -- and the Friday after I quickly rewrote the ending to a novel and turned it in and happy danced as it got sent off to my editor -- fingers crossed -- seems to have gotten away from me more than most. It's late,... Read the rest of this post

Yes, it's March, my birthday month, but far more importantly, Women's History Month. A bit later in the month, I'll be posting over at Stacked and talking about some of my favorite strong YA girl characters, but for now, I'll just suggest you go... Read the rest of this post

For a minute there, I wasn’t sure.

I didn’t know.

I was not exactly confident that we would make it out alive.

The hordes kept shuffling toward us out of the darkness, closer and closer they crept . . .

Art by Iacopo Bruno, from Good Night Zombie (Scary Tales #3), by James Preller.

Well, okay.

Let’s backtrack a minute.

I was in Austin, Texas, on a Saturday night, scheduled for a reading in the Texas State Cemetery with R.L. Stine. A creepy literature crawl in a graveyard. What mad genius, I wondered, devises such things?

I met Bob in his 15th-floor hotel room — yes, he lets me call him “Bob,” a name that no one under the age of seven actually bears anymore, they’re all named “Brendan” and “Colby” and “Luke.” We sat and chatted for half an hour or so, the old days at Scholastic, our experiences with school visits, this and that and whatnot. Time passed amiably. At seven, we were driven to the cemetery where we were to meet, we had been led to believe, a representative from the Texas Book Festival.

She never showed up. Oh well. The crowd sure did.

Austin is not just good beer and great music. It’s also a town that loves books.

Forty-five minutes ahead of schedule, hundreds of R.L. Stine fans had already gathered amidst a sea of tombstones. It was an incredible vision. Many sat under the high flood lights, but others sat on the edges, and waited patiently in the graveyard’s deeper, darker, gloomier pastures.

My task was to serve as the opening act, like a lone slice of cucumber on a plate. Bob was the hearty main course and the reason they came, so ravenous. By 8:00, it was time to get the show started. I spoke, elicited a laugh or two, told them that the scariest thing I ever encountered was kids who didn’t like books (because they grew up and voted, and sometimes even got elected to Congress). I read the “Bloody Mary” section from Home Sweet Horror, the creepiest part of the first book in my SCARY TALES series. I had the sense to keep it brief, with no intention of messing with Texas. Next I had the pleasure, the honor, to introduce the beloved author, R.L. Stine.

Beloved? Revered? Idolized? Worshiped? Words fail me. What I witnessed was that deep connection between reader and book. I saw what it was all about. The power of the word.

The crowd, I mean to say, went a little bananas.

They love him, you see. On a deep and profound level, the books of R.L. Stine had impacted these people — and they were there to see the man, to shake his hand, to thank him, to tell him what those stories meant to their lives.

The first books they ever really, really loved.

Goosebumps. Fear Street. The most trusted name in book-learnin’: R.L. Stine.

After the reading, it was time for us to sign. They don’t really do lines in Texas, unless, I guess, it’s for dancing. Somebody should have brought a fiddle. Fortunately a couple of good-natured cops came by restore order (at the end, after thank you’s, they even asked us both to sign a few books for ‘em, which we gratefully did).

Of course, R.L. was the star attraction. I mostly sat nearby, making sure Bob had water, a Sharpie, a small flashlight to see, and, sure, I even signed a few books of my own, basking in that borrowed light. I took a few lousy snapshots, which you see here.

The entire night was a revelation and a confirmation. The power of story. The impact of books. And how lucky I was to do this job, to be in this place, to share in these moments.

Near 10:00, the last of the line had finally wound down. Time to go.

We headed to the car through the big iron gate, which swung shut behind us with a clang.

Bob smiled. “It was a good night,” he said.

“Yes,” I agreed. “It was.”

And I thanked R.L. Stine — Bob, my friend — for the gift of letting me share a small part of it. And to see again what it can mean to write a book, and for that book to be read, and for it to be loved by someone, by anyone, somewhere, anywhere.

It’s a beautiful thing. Even in a graveyard. Even at night. Especially with R.L. Stine.

Come to the Bell Middle School in Chappaqua, NY and celebrate reading with some of the area’s most fabulous authors (and I’m crashing the party!).

-

This particular festival has risen from the ashes of the great, departed Sunnyside Book Festival in Tarrytown, which I dearly loved.

Here’s to new beginnings. If you are around, please stop by and say hello.

As always, great weather is personally guaranteed.

Welcome, all of you who have wandered this direction from various tweets and posts, and to our regular Wonderland crew. We're here with author Shana Mlawski, author of THE HAMMER OF WITCHES, and today, Shana's gonna give us some author-chat on...... Read the rest of this post

Are you ready to Rock the Drop? Today marks Readergirlz' annual Operation Teen Book Drop, and you can celebrate by stealth-dropping your fave YA books for readers to discover, or by donating books to 826NYC (more details on the Readergirlz site).... Read the rest of this post

It all started two years ago, when the Cybils opened the SFF category to self-published books. Many of them arrived in eboook form. As a first-round judge, I spent a lot of time whining about them, which showed a distinct lack of professionalism,... Read the rest of this post

Manic is the only word to describe my day so far. Overslept; then had to start the day first thing with a work-related phone interview, before I even had coffee (at least I was the one who was asking the questions); then nearly forgot I had... Read the rest of this post

I don't often do cover reveals, but I have chatted covers with Intisar Khanani before, and I know how tough getting a good cover can be for a self-published author - thus, we resume our conversation. Some of you will remember my response when I read... Read the rest of this post