Beth Kephart's Blog, page 287

Illyria: writing up to teens

Had it not been for Colleen Mondor's high praise, I might never have known about Elizabeth Hand's Illyria, an alternate reality that seems supremely tragic.  Because oh my goodness, is this a book, is this writing at its no-holds-barred, no-compromises best. When I say, as I have been known to say, that the best of young adult writing honors the intelligence of teen readers, expects vocabulary and delivers it, leaves all explication in the inherently capable reader's hands, and entrusts the r...

In which I am asked questions by the brilliant Caroline Leavitt

A few days ago, Caroline Leavitt, the extraordinary, award-winning novelist, hilarious Facebook chronicler, and truly generous soul asked me questions inspired by her reading of Dangerous Neighbors.  I had to clear the grateful tears from my eyes before I answered.  Please visit Caroline's site (where many authors are featured; you should be visiting anyway) for the conversation in which I answered, among other things, stunning questions like this one:



The novel meditates on what it means...

Savvy Verse & Wit reviews Undercover

In the midst of launching new books or struggling to write them, we are reminded, by gracious souls, of stories that did once make their way into the world; we are reminded that that is possible.  Serena Agusto-Cox affords me that gift this morning, with her kind review of Undercover, my first novel for young adults, and the most autobiographical of them all.



Thank you, Serena.

Beth, the naif

So there I was, working through my emails, when one floated in from a trusted friend who wants to help me celebrate the release of Dangerous Neighbors, which is slated for an August 24th release.  Perhaps we should delay the celebration until the 26th or so, she suggested, due to the other (she was being uber nice and threw in that kind word, other) big YA release coming out on the 24th.  



Do you want to know how dumb I am?  Do you?



I did not know to which book she was referring.



That's ho...

Silence. Exile. Cunning.

Even if you take a drive—45 minutes, two hours from home—you may find yourself feeling refreshed again, a wise writerly friend wrote yesterday.  Most of all, don't be afraid of silence.  Silence, exile, and cunning is what Joyce advised.



(I love my friends.)

Literary Friendship (on The Huffington Post)

It was Katrina Kenison (The Gift of an Ordinary Day, Mitten Strings for God) who introduced me to Jennie Nash (The Threadbare Heart, The Only True Genius in the Family, The Last Beach Bungalow, The Victoria's Secret Catalog Never Stops Coming, Raising a Reader).  Katrina was sure that Jennie and I were like-minded souls, and Katrina (who knows many things, who can be trusted) was right.  Jennie and I became instant friends and we have remained close, though she is a west coaster and I am an...

Humpty Dumpty and the temper of verbs

When I was two years old, my mother sewed me a Humpty Dumpty doll (red-striped pants, black slippers, a pleasing egg face) and sat him upon my birthday cake, among the candles.  My mother's Humpty Dumpty remains with me today, atop a cabinet of curiosities, a little watermarked and a little saggy, loved by time. (The Humpty pictured here was photographed a few months ago at the Please Touch Museum.)



Lately I've been thinking about Humpty, particularly the Humpty we meet in Lewis Carroll's Th...

Dangerous Neighbors: The YA Books Central Review and a Very Special Contest

This is to say thank you to Ed Goldberg, for this glorious, five-star YA Books Central review of Dangerous Neighbors, and thank you, too, to Steph Su, dear and wise, for hosting this Dangerous Neighbors giveaway.



Goodness flows.  I am grateful.

Dangerous Neighbors: The first blog review

"Don't you just love being compared to classic authors?  Kate Chopin, anyone?"





That was the email from a certain Nicole, and, confused, I clicked on the link.  And there it was, the first blog review of Dangerous Neighbors, by clumzbella of the rich and enriching site, Novel Novice.  Novel Novice is a blog created by middle school literature teacher Tiffany Truitt and friends to "help foster a passion and life-long love of reading among today's youth." 



I have always loved Kate Chopin's T...

Alive

These begonias, a gift from my brother and sister-in-law, would not be denied their color, their life.  They hang just outside my office window, while beyond them, feet away, the hummingbirds go about their business, red-throated and lithe.