• An Author's Life,  Daily Life

    Why YA Books Matter

    My high school years were less than stellar. I was awkward and unpopular, dreaming up ways to become someone other than whom I was. I spent most of the years between my 14th and 19th birthdays depressed, misunderstood, or yearning for something more than what I had. I wanted to be as awesome as I thought everyone around me seemed to be. As I think back, I remember how complicated being a teenager was. For many, high school was a hundred years ago. They seem to have forgotten how it feels to have their best friend betray them by dating their ex. They no longer remember that instant connection with…

  • Agent Search,  An Author's Life,  Daily Life,  My Children,  My Muse

    A Letter to an 18-Year-Old Me

    Dear BJ, The age of 18 is going to be a rough time for you. Life for any teenager can be hard, but only I can understand how out-of-place you feel in a world that sees you as someone that you’re not. People laugh at your pain and the constant cloud over your head. Unable to express how you truly feel to anyone, you are trapped inside your own mind while the real you is desperately trying to figure out how to exist in this crazy world. I promise you…one day you will find that place. But until you do, you will fail many times in life. Against your better…

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