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YA Fiction: 11 Cyberpunk Novels You Need to Read

Peta — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:33:18 +0000

Never heard of cyberpunk? It’s a subgenre of science fiction, a blending of “high tech” and “low life”. Although it’s not hot right now, cyberpunk and dystopias have a lot in common (think The Hunger Games, or Kaimira: Sky Village). But where dystopias are more general (what if the government took control? what if a [...]

Penguin & the iPad: Taking Books to the Next Level, or Leaving Them in the Dust?

Peta — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:44:54 +0000

Earlier this week, Penguin CEO John Makinson debuted a concept video demonstrating some of the ways the house is planning on tapping the potential of Apple’s new iPad. With interfaces less like a book and more like an iPhone app, it’s clear the company is taking this new platform seriously. John Makinson, from PaidContentUK: We will [...]

Getting Inside the Book Review: How They Work & Why We Read Them

Peta — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 22:04:32 +0000

Once upon a time, only professional reviewers wrote book reviews. The greater the number of publishing credits and letters after your name, the greater your chances of being taken seriously. Of course, it doesn’t take a degree to work out if you like a book (though in the case of Edward Bloor’s Storytime, you [...]

The Girl With Glass Feet Review up at SFWP

Peta — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 21:07:38 +0000

My review of Ali Shaw’s The Girl With Glass Feet is up over at the Santa Fe Writers Project. Thoughtful, dreamlike, meandering–these were my expectations of Ali Shaw’s debut novel, The Girl with Glass Feet. For the first chapter or so, the novel held up. Lines like “It was a darkening afternoon whose final shafts of [...]

Books For Boys (And Adventurous Girls) part two: 34 – 67

Peta — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 17:00:56 +0000

Finding good books for boys can be challenging–without a little help, that is. Compiled with the help of the folks on NESCBWI Yahoo list, here are a few great books to get your boys, girls, and perhaps even yourself, reading. Want to suggest a great boys’ book? Email me, or leave a note in the comments! Download [...]

Zahra’s Paradise: Helping Teens Relate to Everyday Iranians?

Peta — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 22:33:24 +0000

Regularly updated webcomics with over-arcing storylines have been popular for years. Jorge Cham’s Ph.D was such a hit with the geek set (my grad student husband included) that he’s successfully self-published four collections. Penny Arcade, brain child of “Gabe” and “Tycho” has become review central for all things video game, and hosts an annual conference [...]

Guest Post: How to Create a Simple Writer’s Blog over at GLA

Peta — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 08:00:48 +0000

Writing is hard work. First, you have to write the story. Then you have to revise it, workshop it, revise it some more, write a query letter, do query research, then mail your baby out. While many writers think the work ends the moment they sign a contract, pros know otherwise. Being a successful author is an awful lot of work, not the least of which is promotion. A blog is an easy way to get started—all you need is a computer and an Internet connection

Dystopias: YA Fad, or Here to Stay?

Peta — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 21:31:34 +0000

Though dystopic fiction may seem like a new thing, the idea has been around for a long time. According the Oxford English Dictionary, the word was first used (created of his own free will) by philosopher John Stuart Mill in 1868. Mill used the word in a speech to the British House of Commons, denouncing the Irish Land Act. Since then, dystopias have become a staple in fiction, cycling through literary, science fiction, and fantasy. The current YA dystopic trend may signal the end of of dystopias as a wandering subgenre--perhaps even bringing them into the mainstream.

Books For Boys (And Adventurous Girls) part one: 1 – 33

Peta — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 20:06:48 +0000

Baby Food 101: Baingan Bharta

Peta — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 17:29:50 +0000

For me, vegetarianism is easy. Not only do I like vegetables, I like meat-free food. Even before my journey into vegetable love, I regularly skipped meat, eating out and at home. Vegetable love doesn’t come as easily to my husband, but he sticks to his principles all the same. Yet Joe and I had the [...]

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