This week, My Jasper June is finding its way into the hands of young readers for the first time. This makes me unbelievably happy for a lot of reasons. But among those reasons is a terrible truth—the fact that My Jasper June was a total and complete failure. An absolute disaster. Not THIS book, the book with the beautiful green […]
Tag Archives: Laurel Snyder
February
10
Writing for the Middle by Laurel Snyder
posted by CBethM
When I was in the sixth grade, there was this girl—we’ll call her Liv—who “developed” earlier than I did. Liv was the sort of girl grownups refer to as “fast.” She wore skimpy clothes. She was loud and sometimes rude. She was also my friend. One night, during a sleepover at Liv’s house, we were […]
May
24
What I Was Thinking About by Laurel Snyder
posted by CBethM
The thing about unlikeable characters is… nobody likes them. The thing about sad endings is… they make people sad. The thing about unsolved mysteries is… they drive some people crazy. Almost exactly three years ago, I finished writing the first draft of Orphan Island, a project I’d been keeping secret up to that point. […]
October
16
Cover Reveal of Orphan Island by Laurel Snyder
posted by CBethM
I’ve been writing books since I was eight years old, and for most of my life, I wrote just for myself. I wrote because I had stories in my head, and I wanted to see how they’d end. I wrote because I loved to play with words. I scribbled my books, and bound them in […]
August
19
Co-writing with Myself by Laurel Snyder
posted by CBethM
When I was a kid, my parents had amazingly vast bookshelves, and when I got bored on rainy days, I’d sometimes pull a book off the shelf. Often, I had absolutely no interest in what I found. I distinctly remember NOT reading Anthony Powell’s A Dance to the Music of Time. But now and […]
March
23
Looking at Childhood in an Unfiltered Light: Aaron Starmer and Laurel Snyder Interview Each Other About Loneliness, Magic, and The Outsiders
posted by CBethM
I think I first met Laurel Snyder on Twitter about three years ago. We both had books on the publishing horizon (mine: The Only Ones, hers: Bigger Than a Breadbox) and we seemed to share a passion for creating stories that explored some of knottier emotions of childhood. In the time since, we’ve chatted online […]
Revising Historical Friction by Laurel Snyder
posted by CBethM
Often, when I visit schools, I explain to kids that one of the very best things about writing is that it gives me the power to rewrite history, a chance to tell my own story the way I wish it could have happened. I say, “You know how you always think of a perfect comeback […]
The 3:00 in the Morning Part
posted by CBethM
It’s 3:00 in the morning, and I’m awake, anxious. I woke up in a panic, and now I can’t go back to sleep. I’m thinking about how I need to write a post for my friends at the Nerdy Book Club, and although I was excited about the prospect a month ago, I’m struggling now. […]
Nerdy Book Club 