Kid Lit Groupie, Part II

Had an AMAZING vacation at Rocky Mountain National Park last week and got to meet one of my all-time favorite people and kid lit writers, Lindsay Eland, whose super fun and adorable Scones and Sensibility belongs on every young romantic's shelf. And by "fun and adorable," I mean it is every bit as sweet as Lindsay herself, whom you can see in this photo is the equivalent of a 110-pound bag of all-natural sugar, and by "young," I mean any age at all.

Yes, I'm a Kid Lit Groupie

Went to a work conference in Columbus, Ohio, last month and it turned out there was a writing conference in the same hotel! Romantic Times had some great workshops, including a panel on young adult fiction. Bought myself a one-day pass, and ... look who I found:


Left to right: Carrie Ryan, Melissa Marr, me and Jennifer Lynn Barnes. These three ladies are all uber-successful YA authors and uber-nice Blue Boarders!

(In related news, expect a rash of romance novels set in funeral homes a couple of years from now!)

Then, last weekend, I went to the first annual Gaithersburg (Md.) Book Festival, where I had the great pleasure of watching two of my favorite author friends present:

That's Sara Lewis Holmes holding her copy of Tom Angleberger's THE STRANGE CASE OF ORIGAMI YODA and Tom Angleberger holding his copy of Sara's OPERATION YES. And if you look closely, you'll see I'm holding one of Sara's little green military men and a rather expertly made (if I do say so myself) origami Yoda.

Good times!

Origami Yoda: Blog About It I Must

So, um. It's been a while. Like, almost four months. And not because I've been slackin' ... in fact, I've been busy. Writing! Yay!

But I had to pop back in to talk up the uber-awesome masterpiece of kid lit that is THE STRANGE CASE OF ORIGAMI YODA, by my favorite terminally 12-year-old author, Tom Angleberger (aka Sam Riddleburger).

Here's me buying the book the day it came out. Two copies - one for me and one for my niece. The book hadn't been placed on the shelves yet, so I had to ask the nice B&N rep to fetch my copies from the back room ...

... and by the time she came back, another pair of customers was already lined up, waiting for their copy as well!

Pretty cool, huh? Even cooler: When I went back to B&N a few days later, I checked to make sure it was out on the shelf. When the rep (a different one this time) saw me looking at YODA, she came over and said, "That's the hot one right now." Oh, yeah!!

So, what's so hot about it? Well, there's the format: part graphic novel, part diary, told from a bunch of points of view ... each more fun than the last. Then, there's the humor: pure Angleberger (which, for those of you unfamiliar with Tom, is very, very humorous). Then, there's the tension: We find out right away that the stakes are high in this book, and we're dying to know how it'll all play out. Then, there's ... oh, yeah ... YODA!

Anyone who likes Yoda, and I'm pretty sure that includes anyone who has a pulse, needs to get their butt over to the nearest library or bookstore and check this book out! Now! Go! What are you waiting for?

Cuz I know you're not holding your breath and waiting for my next post....

P.S. Want to know how to make your own Origami Yoda? Check out Tom's Web site.