Young Adult – Page 2

Accidental Magic – Sneaking Off – Part 1

The gravel crunched under Laura’s feet as she crossed the road to the old logging trail. Faint shadows of mist clung to the low spots. The trees were spread out, so there was plenty of light, and the area had been logged out in the past, so there were no enormous trees. Her passage startled a Broken Window bird, who crashed and clinked at her as it sought a higher branch. The grass was long and thick, and Laura’s canvas sneakers were quickly soaked.

Before swapping charms yesterday, Laura and Kaveh found a spot in the woods, where they could practice without being seen. He’d said they should practice magic in preparation for school, but it was such a secret she suspected they weren’t supposed to be doing it by themselves. Instead of deterring her, it made their trade more exciting.

Something Familiar Now Out in Trade Paperback

You can now pick up Something Familiar in a variety of formats from a variety of sources:
Lulu ePub and trade paperback
iBookstore
Barnes & Noble Nook and trade paperback
Amazon Kindle and trade paperback
Rakuten Kobo (ePub)

If you read and enjoy Something Familiar, it would be amazing if you could put up a review (at whatever site you prefer), as it will help me reach a wider audience.

Cover of the novella Something Familiar.

Available in all Major Digital Markets

Something Familiar has finally hit Amazon. You can now pick it up in the following formats:
Lulu ePub
iBookstore
Nook
Kindle
Rakuten Kobo (ePub)

I should have the print proof any day now, and once I can confirm it looks good, it will be available in paperback as well.

If you read and enjoy Something Familiar, it would be amazing if you could put up a review (at whatever site you prefer), as it will help me reach a wider audience.

Digital Book Cascade

The cascade of eBook availability continues. Something Familiar is now available in the following formats:
ePub
iBookstore
Nook

As soon as the print proof is approved, it will be available in paperback as well.

If you read it and enjoy it, I would love it if you could put up a review (at whatever site you prefer), as it will help me reach a wider audience.

Something Familiar – Now Available as an eBook

My novella Something Familiar is now now available as an eBook through Lulu.

It will be available in paperback and from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple iBookstore, and Kobo in the next few weeks.

If you want a sample to see if you’ll like it, the first chapter is currently up at Curious Fictions.

Speed Writing #8 – Good Deeds

“Excuse me.” The young voice startled me, and I looked up from where I was hunched into the trunk of my car, rummaging for the jack. She looked Japanese and about fourteen. Her black and silver clothes made me think of the night sky. She stood in the center of the sidewalk, a hopeful expression on her face.

“Do you have a map I could borrow?” she asked.

“Uhh…” It took me a moment to pull my brain from the track it was on, to one that could answer her question. Poor kid was lost. I realized she wasn’t alone, though. Another girl, similarly dressed, stood in the grass several feet back. She was holding what looked like a couple of brooms behind her back. “I don’t have like a paper map or anything,” I said, wondering what happened to the one I used to keep in the glove box. “But I could pull one up on my phone, if that would help.”

She looked puzzled. “You can do that?” she asked.

Books for the Younger Crowd Part 3

This is part three of my my top recommendations for folks reading in the classical young adult range. Most of these are speculative fiction (with a few classics thrown in for good measure). These books have a level of on screen violence and physical relationships that you’d see on the television or in a PG film. Not all of these are marketed as young adult. I only list the first book in a series, because it’s a good idea to make sure you like book one before picking up all of them.

Author’s name is at the top.
Book title (only the first in a series will be listed)
– Notes or description preceded by a hyphen
Another book, maybe
– Another description

Tamora Pierce
Alanna
– Sword and sorcery. First book of the Song of the Lioness quartet, and really the best place to start all your world of Tortall reading (there are three 4-book quartets, a 2-book set, and a trilogy that take place in this world). The magic is interesting, the characters feel real, and there is well done ethnic and religious diversity. Lots of coming of age and finding your path in these books.
Wild Magic
– Sword and sorcery. Takes place in the same world as Alanna, but you don’t have to have read those to enjoy these. The main character is the child of a god and a human and has magic allowing her to speak with animals.
Sandry’s Book
– High fantasy-ish. The first book in the Circle of Magic quartet and the larger connected Magic Circle collection. This set follows four kids who have unusual magic. They are all very different characters, coming from various walks of life. Again, diversity is well handled here. The character Tris starts of prickly and unlikable. Over the course of the series we learn to like her, but she stays prickly, which I think is excellent (she doesn’t have to change who she is). Great self discovery books.
Young Warriors: Stories of Strength
– Collection of short stories edited by Tamora Pierce featuring strong female characters.

Books for the Younger Crowd Part 2

This is part two of my top recommendations for folks reading in the classical young adult range. Most of these are speculative fiction (with a few classics thrown in for good measure). These books have a level of on screen violence and physical relationships that you’d see on the television or in a PG film. Not all of these are marketed as young adult. I only list the first book in a series, because it’s a good idea to make sure you like book one before picking up all of them.

Author’s name is at the top.
Book title (only the first in a series will be listed)
– Notes or description preceded by a hyphen
Another book, maybe
– Another description

Nina Kiriki Hoffman
A Fistful of Sky
– A girl from a magic family doesn’t get her magic until very late, and then it’s the power of curses.
A Stir of Bones
– Some teens make friends with a lonely ghost.

Books for the Younger Crowd Part 1

This is a list of my top recommendations for folks reading in the classical young adult range. Most of these are speculative fiction (with a few classics thrown in for good measure). These books have a level of on-screen violence and physical relationships that you’d see on the television or in a PG film. Not all of these are marketed as young adult. I only list the first book in a series, because it’s a good idea to make sure you like book one before picking up all of them.

Author’s name is at the top.
Book title (only the first in a series will be listed)
– Notes or description preceded by a hyphen
Another book, maybe
– Another description

Douglas Adams
A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
– Science fiction, humor. This is the first in a series. I read this when I was 12.
Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency
– Science fiction, humor. This is the first in a series unrelated to the more famous Hitchhiker’s Guide and frankly an underappreciated gem.

Teeth in Soft Places

Bee was a vampire teddy bear. While his plush siblings clamored to frolic with children in the sun, he preferred the shadows and shady areas. It wasn’t that he was in danger of bursting into flames or abruptly deteriorating, because that’s one of those vampire myths that just isn’t true. He was simply of a darker nature and preferred a habitat to match. He often found himself grossly misjudged by his appearance. Baby blue fur and a pelt-matching satin necktie did not fit the stereotype of a vampire. Sharp functional fangs didn’t fit the expectations of a teddy bear.

No other vampires were produced at the facility where he was made, and it seemed his state was accidental. Still, quality control had passed him through, possibly because a despondent man was responsible for ensuring that each plush animal, of the type produced that day, was as free of flaws as the next. The man never had his own teddy bear, and had since been conditioned to believe he didn’t need one. Despite his on-site training, he was not an expert on appropriate features for stuffed animals.