How do you begin a blog post when you've been away for oh, say, 6 or 7 weeks?
Maybe a simple, "Hi. It's great to be back."
Truth is I've had a great summer, but now that the kids are getting older, summer isn't quite as laid back and relaxing as it used to be. It's still my favorite season but instead of blogging, I decided to use my time reading, writing, working on my critiquing skills and join the rest of the world by catching up on 3 seasons of Downton Abbey (which is pure LOVE). My WIP is continuing to take shape and I'm excited about the direction it's going in -- a great motivation for the busy autumn months ahead.
Today I'd like to focus on one of my favorite authors -- Laurie Halse Anderson. Those who've read this blog and know me, know how much I respect and admire her. Not only does she absolutely nail the teen voice, heck all her characters voices, she touches many lives, many of them teens, through her novels. I've had the honor of meeting her once and she's the real deal: gracious, humble, generous.
So why am I gushing? Three reasons. I could think of more but I'll stick to three for now. (and now I'm reciting Monty Python in my brain, heehee)
Reason to gush about Laurie #1
I reread Wintergirls a couple of weeks ago. It's one of those books that as I read I found myself thinking, "Every word counts." Perfection.
Reason to gush about Laurie #2
Her long awaited (by me) YA novel, The Impossible Knife of Memory, will be available January 7, 2014 (squee!!). It's going to be tough waiting 4 whole months, however you can read the first 6 chapters here. WARNING: These chapters completely sucked me into the story and left me craving more. Read at your own risk ;)
Reason to gush about Laurie #3
WFMAD is back!
Write Fifteen Minutes A Day is a month long series of prompts, usually in August, for us, for writers. You can read about it here.
If you follow her blog, you might know that she's had a busy year. So when August rolled around and there were no WFMAD posts I figured it was too much for her this year. I was wrong. The posts will be every day in September this year. One of the things I love about Laurie is that even though she's hugely successful, she offers a month of writing prompts, encouraging words, and gentle prodding to those of us who dream of writing a novel and maybe even dream of being published.
Can I say that when I saw her last image on Day 1, a quote by one of my favorite wizards, I wanted to hug her?
How's your summer been? Have you been writing?
