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Koolura Series character Leila Marvi speaks out

ByMichael Thal July 27, 2016

Leila Marvi is deaf. She’s also the main character in Koolura and the Mayans, and a secondary character in Koolura and the Mystery at Camp Saddleback. She has a few things to say about herself, BFF Koolura Akopyan, and the two novels she appears in. Can you tell us a little about yourself? My name is Leila Marvi….

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How Americans read books in 2016

ByMichael Thal July 11, 2016

As the author of five YA novels, I’m curious how many people out there actually read. According to a 2015 Pew Research Center survey, 72% of American adults read a book last year. That’s a huge decline from a similar study implemented in 1978 when 9 out of 10 American adults claimed to have read…

Snow White Was No Angel

ByMichael Thal July 5, 2016

According to Anita Valle in the second book of the Dark Fairy Tale Queen Series, Sneaky Snow White, Snow White was no angel. Though we’d like to think of her as an innocent young woman fleeing for a life threatened by an evil queen, Valle goes beyond the veil of legend and reveals a darker…

Para-human Fantasy

ByMichael Thal June 5, 2016

A cryptid is a parahuman with a few animal-like traits. Shay, a high school senior is oblivious to the fact that she is one. Yes, she can see and communicate with ghosts and she has jet-black hair as deep and rich as a black cat. But, does that make her one? Hugh, a college freshman,…

12 YA Beach Reads to Tan by This Summer

ByMichael Thal June 1, 2016

Summer 2016 is right around the corner. What better way to enjoy a day at the beach than to bring a good book to soak up the sun? Here are 12 YA books on the SCBWI “Summer Reading List” by California writers. With each book you’ll find its category, author, brief description, and link to…

The Throne Princess

ByMichael Thal May 11, 2016May 11, 2016

Red Fever wiped out Maelyn’s entire village. Just a toddler, she left her dead family in search of bread. Luckily, a kind stranger found the little girl crying on the side of the road. He and his wife adopted her and loved her like any good parent would toward their eldest daughter. Eight other girls…

YA Historical Fiction

ByMichael Thal April 26, 2016

Jake Tharsher is just 13 years old when his mother is killed in 1883 by a mysterious beast with red hair and plate-sized tracks. His father, an Army Scout, refuses to hunt the animal down. So when dad is called away again to fight renegade Apaches, Jake decides to risk it all and hunt the…

Humorous Cat/Dog YA Novel

ByMichael Thal March 1, 2016

Are you aware of “The Animal Code?” I didn’t think so. It’s a set of ethics all animals live by and includes never speaking to humans. Yes, we’ve all read about acts of courage animals have demonstrated over the years that reveal their inner fortitude, but never have any of them come forth to acknowledge…

Lost and Found

ByMichael Thal February 17, 2016February 17, 2016

Lost and Found by Jeanne Bannon is one of 14 novellas in a newly released Kindle edition of Valentine Pets & Kisses. Fourteen award winning and best selling authors come together with novellas wrapped in a Valentine’s theme of romance and the cutest pets this side of your heart. I’ll be up front. I didn’t…

Koolura and the Mayans

ByMichael Thal February 6, 2016February 6, 2016

In celebration of Koren Thal’s 28th birthday, Solstice Publishing will release for publication Koolura and the Mayans on March 19, 2016. This novel is author Michael Thal’s third installment to the Koolura Series and his fifth published YA novel. In The Legend of Koolura, Koolura Akopyan received extraordinary psychic powers at birth from an alien…