INK Sisters Write

Dear Alison, You talked me into it. I planned to wait to reveal the new, gorgeous cover for AND THEN HE designed by Najla Qamber Design s for a momentous occasion, though I don't know what momentous occasion I was waiting for. The moon landing? Missed that one by fifty years plus or minus. Mardi Gras? Missed that one by four months though some people are probably still celebrating--unfortunately, they're probably not sober enough to read books or comment intelligently on book covers--although there is a lot of drinking and questionable decision making in AND THEN HE. Fourth of July made sense, but my cover though VERY SEXY can't compete with a beer in a red Solo cup and fireworks... But it is a Monday and it is raining and Fourth of July is seven, I repeat, seven LONG days away, so without further ado, fanfare, or mostly coherent ramblings... Together the front AND back drip with just the right amount of creep and sexiness.... So.... what do you think? One lu...

Dear Kim, I know that you are unable to join me at ALA this year, but I wonder if any of our readers will be in Orlando this weekend for the American Library Association’s annual conference?  I’ll be the girl wandering the aisles of the exhibit hall, wide-eyed and mouth in awe of the new books on display. ( That probably describes well over half of the attendees! ) I guess new friends should find me at the YALSA booth on Sunday from 11:30-1:30 instead. I'll be more helpful and less moonstruck there. And I'll have pens! ALA always throws a nice party. They work hard to bring authors and educators together. To celebrate books and learners. To encourage us to think about what needs to happen in our libraries to support our children and teens . Publishing professionals and seasoned librarians will preview new books and tell us about books that are missing from the shelves of the libraries. I look forward to learning from writers like Amy Lukavics at The Hor...

Dear Alison, Your letter on Tuesday  Love and Hope and Children's Books  spoke to me in just the way I needed it to. I found love and hope in your letter, and beauty too. Beauty surrounds us, and if we let it, beauty will pull us into a tight embrace. So Alison, I want to share with you some beauty I discovered during a recent visit to the Museum of Modern Art  or MoMA. The human body in all its forms... Pablo Picasso's Head of a Sleeping Woman The swirling dripping beauty of a night... Vincent van Gogh's Starry Night The beauty of a memory including all the jagged painful edges because those wounds led us to the path we travel today... I forgot to take a picture of the artist name plate and I couldn't find it in my searches. If you know it, please leave a comment. (It reminds me of a book in one of my favorite book and movie series.) Beauty in all it's complexity even in times of violence and upheaval... Umberto Bo...

Dear Kim, Last week I was asked to comment on a recent book banning that occurred in an elementary school. Part of my reflection included: "... Yes, at 14, my life was different. No longer was I anxious about settling a drunk mother to sleep or watching her slowly (then suddenly) kill herself. Instead I was worried about taking a t-shirt without asking my new stepsister, aware that little belonged to me in this new house with this new family. The problems weren't equal, but they were still teen worries, anxieties, things that consumed my mind and spread like cancer, eating all other thoughts.  At school, where people tried to make me memorize the Latin names for chemical elements, or saw me smiling and joining every after school club; people couldn't know how hard I was fighting. Fighting to keep the worries away. Fighting to understand who I was, who I wanted to be, and even if I wanted the gift of life. That fight is not unique. All kids are fighting. They n...

Dear Alison, Last night, I stayed up late. I was three quarters of the way through Burn Baby Burn by Meg Medina, and I wasn’t about to put it down. Sleep could wait. Sleep was for the weak. Nora wasn’t weak. Nora wouldn’t sleep. She would push through blurry eyed and gritted teeth until the end. Around 2 am, I set Burn Baby Burn on the nightstand and turned off the light with full intentions of waiting until the morning to write my review, but Nora kept me awake. She refused to let me sleep until I poured my emotions onto the page (Or dictated into my phone.) Imagine Burn Baby Burn on nightstand in the pitch dark.  Nora's strength blew me away. I’ve always thought strong female protagonists are females who fight, who voice their opinions loudly, who don’t take one iota of crap from anyone. Women like Stiller, Nora’s protest loving neighbor. But Nora’s different. She doesn't fight. She doesn't confront. She possesses a quiet strength that help...

Dear Kim, As I mentioned on Saturday in our 7th grade-picture-tastic post about Brooks Benjamin , my letters to you will return next week. This week is all about featuring debut authors during the 2016 Debut Authors Bash . Today we welcome Kenneth Logan to the blog and his debut,  True Letters From a Fictional Life . He received our letter (below) and wrote back answering our questions about his book.  Read on. Love, Alison MY LETTER TO KENNETH Dear Kenneth, HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY! We are thrilled to share  True Letters From a Fictional Life on our blog on this momentous day! What better than a letter to you, the super cool creator of the book, to celebrate? Not only is True Letters From a Fictional Life a brave coming out story, it is also the story of an awesome family and true friends. It is a book about knowing who you are at the core and being confident (and supported) enough to live your true...