Hello friends,

I will be doing a reading from Beautiful at Orinda Books on Tuesday, October 20th at 7:00 pm. I will be sharing the reading with three wonderful authors:

Dorothy Hearst, reading from her novel Promise of the Wolves, about the ancient relationship between wolves and humans

Mary Mackey, reading from her historical novel, The Widow’s War

Jessican Barksdale Inclan reading from her paranormal romance, The Beautiful Being

As you can see, it’s a mixed bag. We will be discussing genre, and books that crossover between genres. We’d love for you to join us.

Here are the details:

Orinda Books
Tuesday, October 20
7:00 pm
276 Village Square
Orinda, CA
925-254-7606

[Read more…] about Reading at Orinda Books Tuesday 10/20. 7:00 pm

I’d love to embarrass myself by sharing journal entries with you from when I was a teenager, but they unfortunately don’t exist. I tried many times to keep a journal because it seemed like the appropriate thing for a self-described “writer” to do, but I could never get the hang of it. I’d usually last a couple of days, then give up in frustration. It seemed to me that there were very strict rules of non-fiction which were impossible to follow. I failed at keeping a journal because, quite frankly, I thought I was not allowed to lie.

I always felt compelled to stretch the truth a little, to make the characters (myself mostly) a little more interesting, to move events and details around to construct a more compelling narrative. Telling the truth was so…well, boring. Every cell in my body was dying to make stuff up, but I conjured all my strength to rein that impulse in. Instead of a cathartic release of my deepest thoughts and feelings, I remember each journal entry more like a painful exercise in restraint.

[Read more…] about Some musings on high school

Hi all,

In honor of the last day of Banned Books Week, I’m re-posting this blog by fellow writer Ellen Hopkins. Maybe by this time next year, Beautiful will be on the list of books that gets folks’ panties in a bunch because of its “controversial” content. I would be honored. I would be proud to be grouped with YA authors like Ellen who dare to explore difficult subject matter in an honest and thoughtful way. No one benefits when we pretend painful stories don’t exist. And no teen I’ve ever known responds to “I told you so” as a valid reason to not do something. I don’t know about you, but I need to trust someone before I can take their opinions seriously, and I certainly cannot trust someone I know is withholding information and not telling the truth.

Would you trust someone who refuses to talk openly with you?

Would you follow the rules of someone who won’t let you read a book because they think you can’t handle the content?

I didn’t think so.

Amy

[Read more…] about I nominate Ellen Hopkins Queen of Banned Books Week 2009