INK Sisters Write

Dear Kim, You know how much I love writing (and receiving) my weekly INK SISTERS letter. This week, however, we must stop the presses. Hold our quills in the air and roll out the welcome mat. This week, Dear Kim, we share our blog with two new writers from the 2016 Debut Author Bash. Follow the Debut Author Bash on Twitter at #16DABash The 2016 Debut Author Bash is a month-long party celebrating new authors. Today we welcome author, Brooks Benjamin to the blog. Brooks  teaches reading and writing by day and is a brilliant author by night. (Maybe not so much "by night", but "by weird hours that fit around a crazy teacher schedule" just doesn't have the same ring.) His first novel,  MY SEVENTH-GRADE LIFE IN TIGHTS  (Delacorte/Random House) hit the shelves this spring. I learned about the book during the winter of 2013/2014 when Brooks and I participated in #PitchWars. His humorous and heartwarming middle grade novel was a favorite. With ...

Dear Alison,  We love, REALLY love, sharing writer love everyday. It's what we do. It's who we are, and today, I want to tell you all about a writing pal of mine Stacy Barnett Mozer, the author of  The Sweet Spot. When thirteen-year-old  Sam Barrette’s baseball coach tells her that her attitude’s holding her back, she wants to hit him in the head with a line drive. Why shouldn’t she have an attitude? As the only girl playing in the 13U league, she’s had to listen to boys and people in the stands screaming things like “Go play softball,” all season, just because she’s a girl. Her coach barely lets her play, even though she’s one of the best hitters on the team. KIM: Baseball and now softball rule our house, and a book about a girl playing baseball really excites me (I was a baseball player myself and have the bruises to prove that sometimes boys don't approve of girls on the field)!  Hi Stacy! Thanks for stopping by INK Sisters...

Dear Kim, I am happy to hear that you are feeling better (Baby too.) You and I find common ground in our young adult, even adult, book recommendations. I typically leave Donna to send us recommendations about terrific Middle Grade novels. But, boy oh boy, do I have one for you today. WONDER by R.J. Palacio Poster of precepts by one of my lit circle kids. I need to keep up with the best in Middle Grade fiction in order to engage my small literature group of amazing readers that I meet with at our local elementary school. This school year we've already read Kathy Erskine's Mockingbird and R.J. Palacio's Wonder . Currently we are enjoying Kwame Alexander's The Crossover . When we finish Alexander's novel-in-verse, our next pick is PAX . Oh, PAX . I could write a love song about this book. Hey, that's not a bad idea. The kids might enjoy writing a song about the love between Peter and Pax. Peter and Pax were best friends. Peter, age twelve, ne...