Whenever I visit schools to talk about my books, I answer the very popular question, “how do you get your ideas?” Even though it’s a common question for writers, each writer has an answer personal to them. I tell students that I write about things I’m both interested in and confused by. Then I explain. […]
July
01
Finding Hidden Portals and Other Worlds by Eleanor Crewes
posted by CBethM
When I was little I wished more than anything to be a witch. I dressed in black, wore silver jewellery from the market, learned the magical symbols that appeared in the comic books my Dad left around the house, and begged my parents for a black cat who I named Lulu and loved for eighteen […]
June
23
COVER REVEAL: The Great Peach Pit Experiment 2: The Peach Pit by Erin Soderberg Downing
posted by CBethM
I am so excited that Colby is willing to do the big reveal of this amazing cover, for the second book in THE GREAT PEACH EXPERIMENT series (The Great Peach Experiment 2: The Peach Pit), since so many pieces of the first book in this series were inspired by my family’s road trips to and […]
June
15
When Life Hands You Ideas by Nandini Bajpai
posted by CBethM
The path to publication from idea to ink is different for every book. Sometimes life hands you an idea and sometimes the idea comes from something in your own life. The first was true of my U.S. debut A Match Made in Mehendi since I don’t actually come from a family of matchmakers and the […]
June
11
All About What About Will by Ellen Hopkins
posted by CBethM
Twelve-year-old Trace and seventeen-year-old Will used to be best friend brothers. It was Will who taught Trace to ride a bike, skate, and snowboard. But Will doesn’t do those things anymore. Trace understands it’s because of the brain injury his brother suffered playing football. He’s scared of getting hurt again. But there’s something else going […]
June
10
The Birth of a Jewish Storyteller by Amy Hest
posted by CBethM
It all starts, I suppose, with Aunt Harriet. A nice Jewish girl from the Bronx. (My mother, a reliable source, and a quite good storyteller in her own right, is the one who told me that my Aunt Harriet had always been, absolutely, a nice Jewish girl from the Bronx.) Okay then, the year is […]
June
09
HOW TO USE TAROT CREATIVELY by Caroline O’Donoghue
posted by CBethM
There’s no wrong way to read tarot. It’s been around since the 15th century, and mostly as a card game, so it’s silly and ultimately not very rewarding to think of the cards and their meanings as fixed entities. They change, over the course of hundreds of years, but also over the course of the […]
June
07
MONSTER OF THE WEEK by Brita Sandstrom
posted by CBethM
My favorite TV show when I was in the third grade was Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Listen. It was the 90s—I was a very well-looked-after child, but in terms of the media I took in, I was a latchkey kid. And in my parents’ defense, Buffy never scared me. I watched Buffy fight monsters every […]
June
05
Top Ten Short Story Anthologies for Teens by Kasey Short
posted by CBethM
Short Story anthologies have so much to offer middle and high school age children. Teens are often still deciding what types of books they enjoy, looking for authors whose work engages them, and may not have significant time to invest in reading outside of school assignments. These approachable books provide an opportunity for teens to […]
June
03
WHAT IF YOU’RE NOT READY TO FLY? by Dev Petty
posted by CBethM
I wrote Moth & Butterfly Ta-Da! long before our lives were upended by a global pandemic and long before my daughter went to middle school and found herself on the wrong side of a friendship triangle. I also wrote it before my own life had some twists and turns. Now, as we edge to the […]
