Well, it’s begun. The first of the nominees for the 2016 PNBA Book Awards has arrived in my mailbox. Which means I am now in my last few weeks of being able to read books for any other reason. Which gets me all in a panic because I don’t know what to read first and …
I suspect that there’s almost no such thing as a book that isn’t personal to the author. I say that because I’d just been about to open this piece with something along the lines of this throwaway line: “The Honest Truth, my debut novel, is very personal to me.” Of course it is. I wrote …
The Wollstonecraft Detective Agency #1 “Imagine the future Ada Lovelace, the first computer programmer, as an 11-year-old Sherlock Holmes, with the future Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein, as her 14-year-old Watson (and the young Charles Dickens as a helpful sidekick). The new Wollstonecraft Detective Agency series plays merrily loose with historical details, but with a …
It occurred to me recently that the survival of independent bookstores in the US has a lot in common with the Stars Wars saga. Think of it like this: a ragtag band of quirky, talented and determined individuals is battling a massive, powerful opponent that wants to dominate and control the universe of book commerce. The …
Book #1 in The Mapmakers Trilogy. It is 1891 and the continents of the world have been flung far and wide by the Great Disruption. Not only that, but each continent has also landed itself in another time period! When Sophia’s renowned cartologist uncle Shadrack is kidnapped by strange men with grappling hooks and scars on …
Every summer, Queen Anne Book Company creates a large in-store display featuring the summer reading books for the middle school just blocks from the store. We love discussing the selections with the school’s fantastic librarian. We delight in helping the rising sixth, seventh, and eighth graders pick their books from the extensive list. It’s particularly …
Not long ago, I became frustrated with my inability to find fiction whose main character has a chronic illness or chronic condition. It seems there’s no lack of fiction about characters with terminal illnesses, but very little where the character has a chronic illness. Being afflicted with a chronic illness myself (chronic migraine) and being …
This Memorial Day weekend, I’ve seen memorials and/or parades honoring veterans in Seattle, Chicago, and New York. (Yes, it’s been a busy weekend.) I’ve been remembering those who gave their lives in service to our country, and those who served alongside those who did. Last year, I posted about authors who have written about military service. …
“I’ve read all he’s written and was over the moon to get my hands on his newest book. The Lost Kingdom is full of adventure and amazing inventions. A young boy sets out on a mission in search of a mythical colony to align with against the French in 1750’s America. Aboard a flying ship full of …
“When we meet Willow, the 12-year-old main character and our narrator for much of this lovely middle-grade novel, we know she has experienced a horrible loss. But as her life unfolds, the reader feels Willow’s strength and resilience. Despite and because of her sometimes-alienating intellect and her tragic situation, others become involved in Willow’s life. …
