S.A. Bodeen's Blog, page 9

2010-11 Master Lists Sequoyah Reading Award in Oklahoma

Once again, The Compound is in some amazing company... I was blown away when reading so many of these books, I can't really grasp the fact mine is on there along with them.

Students in Grades Six-Eight

“The Boy Who Dared” by Susan Campbell Bartoletti“Peeled” by Joan Bauer“The Compound” by S.A. Bodeen“The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins“The Graveyard Book” by Neil Gaiman“The Patron Saint of Butterflies” by Cecilia Galante“Eleven” by Patricia Reilly Giff“The Other Side of the Island” by Allegra...

A find for sandwich fans...

I'm a lifetime member of Weight Watchers, but I'm also a fan of sandwiches and burgers and pretty much anything on bread. And I don't eat as many as I'd like because it is hard to find a bun or bread that isn't an addition of  3-6 + Points . I was so happy to see these and find that they are delicious.



Best of all: Arnold ( Orowheat at my grocery store) Sandwich Thins are only 1 WW POINT!!  I"ve tried them with burgers, tuna salad, turkey, etc.  I like both the multi-grain and whole wheat. Wha...

The Gardener is here!

Saturday I got my first hardcover copy of The Gardener. Wow. I can't believe my second novel is done. ( Holding the hardcover is the moment I actually realize Whew, this thing is done. )

Want one? I'm  donating a hardcover for the Nashville auction: http://dothewritethingfornashville.blogspot.com

I'm also donating a picture book critique. Speaking of picture books, the Korean version of A Small Brown Dog with a Wet Pink Nose came in the mail today:



The cover is thick and smooshy, almost like it...

This one kept me up...

At PLA, I had picked up an ARC of The Passage by Justin Cronin, but hadn't got around to reading it until this week. My husband was out of town, which means I get to stay up at night, reading in bed.  This book has lots of push behind it, one of those things we authors dream about, with the tour and all that. There's even a blurb from Stephen King on the back, which is definitely on my  List of Author Things I Dream About  ( LATIDA)

Here's the premise of The Passage:

A killer virus escapes a la...

If Stephen Hawking Says So....

I was an odd child. Many nights I couldn't sleep because I was afraid of UFO's and aliens coming to get me. Perhaps it was an overactive imagination. Whatever the reason, my fear of aliens was an obsession.
But now I'm grown up. Reasonable. Rational.  I also know there are  people in this world who know more than I do. One person knows more than anyone. At least I believe he is probably the smartest human alive. Stephen Hawking. And check out what he says about aliens:


LONDON (AP) - British...

Teens and books

At PLA last month I picked up some ARCs and my plan is to post about each that I read. Not review, mind you. I don't feel qualified to review, only comment on what I liked as a reader.
Birthmarked by Caragh O'Brien is the latest:

 

This was actually a paper jacket over the original cover. This one is definitely an improvement over the original, I think it's very cool. Here's the inside jacket blurb:

In the future, in a world baked dry by the harsh sun, there are those who live inside the wall...

When does your WIP stop being a Straw Dog?

I learned a new word yesterday. From my federal- employee- husband, of all places. He runs a National Wildlife Refuge for a living, so I just did not expect him to drop a term in my lap that is so applicable to writing. But he's in the middle of a huge project that requires the melding of a lot of other federally employed minds. He said, "I love the term straw dog." I said, "Huh?"
And he explained: "You know, when something is just a draft, still open to changes. It's called a straw dog."
And m...

Florida Teens Read 2010-11

I just got word of the new Florida Teen Reads list for 2010-11, and here are the finalists. Yet another list I am so honored to be on...

 

After by Amy Efaw

Brutal by Michael B. Harmon

Candor by Pam Bachorz

The Compound by S. A. Bodeen

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

King of Screwups by K.L. Going

Last Thing I Remember by Andrew Klavan

No Choirboy by Susan Kuklin

North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley

Purple Heart by Patricia McCormick

Reality Check by Peter Abrahams

Secret...

A Potato at the White House....er....sort of

Over at One Potato... Ten  we are posting about technology. My fellow Potato David LaRochelle recently discovered a video on YouTube of Reese Witherspoon at the White House Easter Egg Roll, reading his picture book The Best Pet of All. I've only heard it read aloud once, by David himself, and it is such a hoot. Terrific book. So head on over to check it out:

http://onepotatoten.blogspot.com

Happy Monday news:)

Terrific reviews in the Sacramento and San Francisco newspapers today:




http://www.sanfranciscobookreview.com/childrens/a-small-brown-dog-with-a-wet-pink-nose/