May you be surrounded by those who love you and both give and receive the gifts that truly matter this year. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday, no matter how it is you celebrate. Each of you are like a gift to me!
Today I'm post-poning the creature feature to take part in a very important blogfest honoring banned books. It was brought to my attention by the fantastic I Am A Reader Not A Writer blog . Nearly every one of the great Ellen Hopkins's novels has been banned somewhere. She writes about things that challenge kids today, sex, drugs, prostitution, terrible things for sure, but things kids are dealing with whether we like it or not. Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak, about a girl who is raped, is banned in many places. Others may surprise you such as The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares, Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling, The House of Night novels by P.C. Cast, The Golden Compass novels by Philip Pullman, and the Vampire Academy novels by Richelle Mead. There are so many more that it saddens me to go on. I've recently learned that my own novel, The Secret of Spruce Knoll, will not be carried in my most local bookstore because of an intense scene in it. I unde...
The contest is now closed. Thank you to everyone who entered, the winners will be announced Wednesday September 7th! Good luck everyone! My young adult urban fantasy, The Secret Of Spruce Knoll, is releasing this month! To celebrate its birthday I'm doing a blog tour and contest followed by a live chat on YA Bound August 30th with a separate giveaway. The blog tour and contest begins next Monday and ends August 31st. Here's what you can win: 1st place: *$50 gift certificate to B&N (or the Book Depository if you're over seas). *Autographed copy of The Secret Of Spruce Knoll *Special swag bag 2nd place: *Swag bag filled with: *Autographed copy of The Secret Of Spruce Knoll * Spoiled by Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan * Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan * Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick * A Need So Beautiful by Suzanne Young 3rd place: *Aut...
This weekend I'm off to San Francisco for the writer's conference. Yep, another one. I know, I know, I just got back from the last one! One of my resolutions for this year is to continue to improve my craft and to network by attending workshops, retreats, and conferences. It's more than that though. I'm dedicating 2011 to finding the right agent and/or editor and I'm a firm believer in the power of meeting people in person. As you might have noticed by the link close to the bottom of my sidebar I've finally joined the SCBWI (Society Of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators) and thanks to a Twitter friend in April I'll be attending the SCBWI conference in Washington . I'll tell you all about that one in April. What made me choose the San Francisco Writer's Conference this month was not only its excellent reputation but the fact that several friends of mine recommended it. It's a big conference with a lot of big name authors, agents, an...
Merry Christmas, Heather, and a wishing you a very happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteThe happiest of Christmases and may your New Year bring you only joy!
ReplyDeleteHeather, I hope you have a wonderful holiday too! And a great New Year!
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