You know what you're not supposed to judge a book by?

Yeah, well, a writer over at the Huffington Post did exactly that! I wrote my response to her in the comment thread at the bottom of the article. It goes like this:

ME: Why are there people with pitchforks and torches in front of the house?
LYNN: You wrote two books with "needlessly heteronormative" titles.
ME (facepalming): Why am I such a fool?

Hi Caroline,
As the author of the books in question, I read your piece with interest.
It’s worth noting that the majority of authors (myself included) do not design book covers. Nor do we have final say over their appearance. These decisions are made inside the publisher’s marketing department. (For both GIRL and BOY STUFF, a woman had the final say.)
However, it’s true that the questions posed on these covers do not perfectly capture the tone, contents, and messages of their respective books.
I should mention that I am a longtime middle-school teacher who loves working with kids. And what I want for ALL of my students and readers is for them to be empowered, educated, and entertained.Regarding GIRL STUFF, I asked 55 of my former female students (most of whom were in high school and college at the time) to help contribute to, edit and proofread every chapter in the book. The vast majority of my ideas for GIRL STUFF came from interviews and correspondence with that brain trust—as well as from my five sisters.
You begin your piece with “You're not supposed to judge a book by its cover…” Yet of course, that’s exactly what you have done here, Caroline. Without real knowledge of my books, you’ve found some “neat little boxes” for them of your own.
If you get a chance, check out a copy of these books from the library. You’ll find that BOTH have chapters on practical jokes—as well as gross stuff, humor, activities, sports, and other topics that have nothing to do with gender.
All the best!
Bart King