Cynthia Leitich Smith's Blog, page 132

Cynsational News & Giveaways

Compiled by Cynthia Leitich Smith
for Cynsations

Congratulations to debut YA Author Catherine Linka on the release of A Girl Called Fearless (St. Martin's Griffin, 2014)! From the promotional copy:

Avie Reveare has the normal life of a privileged teen growing up in L.A., at least as normal as any girl’s life is these days. After a synthetic hormone in beef killed fifty million American women ten years ago, only young girls, old women, men, and boys are left to pick up the pieces. The death thre...

Guest Post & Giveaway: Kami Kinard on Middle Graders Make Great Characters

By Kami Kinard
for Cynthia Leitich Smith's Cynsations

My world is peopled with middle graders – my daughter, her friends, and the students I see when I volunteer or do school visits. Additionally, most of the fictional characters I’ve come to know and love are middle graders.

I met a lot of them in the books I read, and others have sprung into my head and then onto the pages of the books I write.

Middle graders are awesome! So I love creating middle grade characters.

When writing for middle grade...

Guest Post & Giveaway: Elizabeth O. Dulemba on What To Do When The Story Finds You

By Elizabeth O. Dulemba
for Cynthia Leitich Smith's Cynsations

I’ve heard authors say they didn’t feel like they wrote their story—more like they were a conduit to some greater force writing through them.

It sounded like a bunch of hooey until it happened to me.

They say you write what you read. Well, I grew up reading fantasy. I called it my brain candy.

So why was I suddenly writing this historical fiction middle grade, A Bird on Water Street (Little Pickle Press, 2014)?

It began during a meeting...

New Voice: Megan Jean Sovern on The Meaning of Maggie

By Cynthia Leitich Smith
for Cynsations

Megan Jean Sovern is the first-time author of The Meaning of Maggie (Chronicle, 2014). From the promotional copy:

Eleven-year-old Maggie Mayfield can’t stop thinking about Oreos and this is just one of her many conundrums. 

She also has two older sisters with bods that don’t stop and she has to wait to campaign for president for almost an entire quarter century.

Then in one summer, her conundrums triple when her father takes a fall at work. What happen...

Guest Post & Giveaway: Jill Santopolo on Following Your Heart or How Life Is Like A Find-Your-Own-Ending Novel

By Jill Santopolo
for Cynthia Leitich Smith's Cynsations

For the past year plus, I’ve been crafting two different teen romance novels with thirteen different endings for each one.

I say crafting and not just writing because a huge part of the creation of these books involved coming up with the structure of the story—where the book would fork so that the reader could make a decision guiding the plot this way or that, which choices would lead readers to a final ending, and which choices would allo...

Happy Star Wars Day

Austin Comic Con 2011Compiled by Cynthia Leitich Smith for Cynsations

May the Fourth Be With You: It's Star Wars Day by Bill Chappell from NPR. Peek: "Darth Vader walks the Earth today. And by that, we mean he's walking all over the place — fans of the sci-fi franchise are celebrating Star Wars Day, or May 4 for the less geek-inclined."

Celebrate Star Wars Day with Some Jedi Jams by Brian Truitt from USA Today. Peek: "So in honor of the fan holiday, here is the Jek Porkins Memorial Star Wars Da...

Cynsational News & Giveaways

Watch the Dorothy Must Die book trailer!Compiled by Cynthia Leitich Smith
for Cynsations

What's Old Is New: Recent YA Books with Allusions to Classic Lit by Emily Moore from School Library Journal. Peek: "Dorothy gets her comeuppance. Young book addicts share their love for Harper Lee’s classic. And Robert Louis Stevensons’s thrilling novel is reimagined as a gothic romance."

Writing So Children Can Temporarily Escape Harsh Realities by Alidis Vicente from Latin@s in Kidlit. Peek: "I’m sure to...

Audio Actors Interview & Giveaway: Todd Haberkorn, Amy McFadden, Cristina Panfilio & Nick Podehl of the Feral Series

By Cynthia Leitich Smith
for Cynsations

Thank you for narrating the audio editions of the Feral series (Brilliance)(print and e-editions from Candlewick/Walker)! 

Could you tell us a bit about your background? How did you come to doing voice work for audio books?

Todd Haberkorn: I'm glad I made the cut and was able to work on this series!

Well, I started on stage at the age of 10 and worked professionally in that medium as well as in school for years. I transitioned into films and voice over...

New Voice: Rebecca Behrens on When Audrey Met Alice

By Cynthia Leitich Smith
for Cynsations

Rebecca Behrens is the first-time author of When Audrey Met Alice (Sourcebooks, 2014). From the promotional copy:

When frustrated First Daughter Audrey Rhodes discovers Alice Roosevelt’s secret diary hidden beneath the White House floorboards, she’s inspired to ask herself, “What would Alice do?” Audrey’s Alice-like antics are a lot of fun—but will they bring her happiness, or a host of new problems?

It is ridiculously difficult to get a pizza delivered to...

The Perks & Perils of Author Panels

With Jonathan Mayberry, Adam Gidwitz, Marie Lu, Jennifer Ziegler & Fred PerryBy Cynthia Leitich Smith
for Cynsations

At conference and festival panels around the globe, children’s-YA authors share our thoughts about the writing process, the writer’s life, the creative journey, book marketing and connecting with our readers.

It’s a wonderful opportunity to gain insight into favorite voices, discover new ones, find inspiration and educate ourselves about craft and the business of publishing.

F...