When Laurie Ann Thompson and I do school visit presentations based on our TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE book series, one of the things we like to start with is reading our author bios, as printed in the first book in the series, Two Truths and a Lie: It’s Alive! Each of us included three […]
Category Archives: Author Posts
June
11
Book Clutchers by Megan Frazer Blakemore
posted by CBethM
At the beginning of the school year, in preparation for an upcoming book club, I had the book York: The Shadow Cipher by Laura Ruby on display at the circulation desk. One of my fifth graders passed by and gave the book a gentle pat. Another child gave a Mercy Watson book a squeeze before […]
June
03
What to Do When You Don’t Know What to Do – Why I Wrote How Do You Care for a Very Sick Bear? by Vanessa Bayer
posted by CBethM
There are so many things I learned from being a teenager with leukemia: hospital food is often weirdly unhealthy, daytime TV has a very specific demographic (I admit I still watch General Hospital), medicine is an inexact science. But perhaps most surprising was that people in general, of all ages, donʼt know what to do […]
May
28
“HEY, YOU GOT YOUR FICTION IN MY NON-FICTION!” OR TWO GREAT TASTES THAT TASTE GREAT TOGETHER: THE TRUTH OR LIE SERIES by Erica S. Perl
posted by CBethM
I’ve always been a fiction writer. You might even call me a fiction snob. But whenever I do author visits, I meet some kids who prefer non-fiction. Kids who dismiss fiction as “made up.” I usually go to great lengths to show them that fiction can be every bit as fun/interesting/cool. To write fiction, […]
May
24
Be Yourself, with Silliness and Self-love by Aidan Cassie
posted by CBethM
I love myself, just as I am. Well, okay, maybe not everything about myself… I mean, I wish I weren’t such a talented procrastinator (yup, just got sidetracked “researching” TED talks on procrastination), I’m not too fond being diabetic (I’m slightly “bionic,” but not in the cool, Six Million Dollar Man kinda way), […]
May
21
A TASTE FOR CHOCOLATE: REVIVING GRANDPA CACAO by Elizabeth Zunon
posted by CBethM
I always took chocolate for granted. As a child growing up in the Ivory Coast, we always had a chocolate bar or two nestled in the cold of the refrigerator door away from the tropical heat. We made cupcakes and chocolate mousse just for fun: “gateaux au chocolat” on special occasions and “pains au chocolat” […]
May
20
JERKS ON A PLANE – WHY BOYS NEED TO READ MORE by Donna Gephart
posted by CBethM
It happened on a plane. On a plane! I tend to board at the end when I have an assigned seat. Less time on the crowded plane feels right to me, and I rarely need overhead storage. A bearded man next to me had the same idea. “Why spend more time on a crowded plane,” […]
May
15
After the Russians Came – Turning my Father’s Story into Fiction by Monika Schröder
posted by CBethM
My first novel, THE DOG IN THE WOOD, comes out in paperback on May 14th. I feel fortunate that the story continues to be available for young readers and I am grateful to the Nerdy Book Club for giving me the opportunity to tell a bit about its backstory. The novel, set in a small […]
May
14
The Clockwork Ghost or Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story by Laura Ruby
posted by CBethM
Sometime last fall, a friend asked me if I wanted to go to Greece* in April. “Of course I want to go to Greece,” I said. “Who doesn’t want to go to Greece?” Except that I didn’t have time to go to Greece. I mean, I barely had time to go to the bathroom. […]
May
12
Impossible Heroes by Jess Keating
posted by CBethM
It started in Kiev. I watched with my heart in my throat as two undercover American agents interrogated a Russian man who believes he’s murdered a member of the IMF. They do their job, the adventure begins and then that infamous match is struck. A fuse is lit, racing across the screen, as that ubiquitous […]
