Publishing a Page of My Diary

A few years ago, I let a magazine (Cosmogirl, RIP) publish one of my diary entries. My journal was kind of a downer most of the time--I think when I was happy, I wasn't writing in it. I was too busy having fun. Anyway, here's the entry:

I was talking about a near-friend-breakup, one that (luckily!) didn't happen (you can read more about what this entry means, if you're interested, right here). But later I did suffer a friend breakup, and that inspired my new book, Unbreak My Heart, which just came out last week! 

Here's a description: Sophomore year broke Clementine Williams’ heart. She fell for her best friend’s boyfriend and long story short: he’s excused, but Clem is vilified and she heads into summer with zero social life. Enter her parents’ plan to spend the summer on their sailboat. Normally the idea of being stuck on a tiny boat with her parents and little sister would make Clem break out in hives, but floating away sounds pretty good right now. Then she meets James at one of their first stops along the river. He and his dad are sailing for the summer and he’s just the distraction Clem needs. Can he break down Clem’s walls and heal her broken heart? Told in alternating chapters that chronicle the year that broke Clem’s heart and the summer that healed it, Unbreak My Heart is a wonderful dual love story that fans of Sarah Dessen, Deb Caletti, and Susane Colasanti will flock to.

I have to admit that a walk down memory lane definitely inspired pieces of this story... save those diaries, even if they're embarrassing like mine!

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Spring Reading

Snorkeling in Hawaii with my son April 2012

I admit it: I'm on a bit of a John Green kick right now. I might even have an author crush on the poor guy. The last two books I've read are Looking for Alaska, which a dear friend gave me for my birthday, and Fault in Our Stars. Loved them both and now I'm eager to read more of his novels.

I recently had the good fortune of vacationing in Hawaii and The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks is the paperback I kept in my beach bag. I still need to finish it, and I aim to do so soon because the next books on my TBR list is Fated by TFC's Alyson Noel--who, as luck would have it, I get to see when she comes to Salt Lake City, Utah next week as part of her book tour.

If you could bring any (living) author to your neck of the woods for a book tour stop, who would you choose? 

Hanging out with Alyson Noel (right) at Javier's Cantina in Southern California March 2012  

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BEST YA (SO FAR!) OF 2012

Well, the best of the books I've read so far at least. Here goes:

EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS, by A.S. King. Lucky Linderman has dreams that take him away - literally - from his bullied existence to Vietnam where he meets up with his MIA grandfather.

WHY WE BROKE UP, Daniel Handler. An artistic narrator explains why she broke up with her popular boyfriend. Illustrated by Maira Kalman.

PAPER COVERS ROCK, Jenny Hubbard. A death by drowning, possibly accidental, and the paranoia that ensues at a boys' boarding school.

FAULT IN OUR STARS, John Green. Brilliant teens cope with terminal cancer brilliantly.

FIRST DAY ON EARTH, Cecil Castellucci, A loner who may or may not have once been abducted by aliens longs to return to space.

A MONSTER CALLS, Patrick Ness. Reality is worse than nightmares as a boy struggles to face up to the fact of his mother's impending death. Inspired by an idea from the late Siobhan Dowd; illustrated by Jim Kay.

And that's it! Now it's your turn:

WHAT HAVE YOU READ - SO FAR! - THAT YOU'D PUT ON A BEST-YA-OF-2012 LIST?
While I've got you on the line, I'd just like to mention that one of my own YA novels, THE TWIN'S DAUGHTER, is currently a Kindle bestseller, ranked #71 overall; #9 in YA overall; and #1 in YA mystery. I hope you'll consider giving it a look.

Be well. Don't forget to write.

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