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…
Maya Smock, an aspiring author, grew up in an orphanage and foster homes. Used and abused, she entered adulthood early taking a job at a Las Vegas bookstore by day and writing her novel, “The Master Race,” at night. When Maya’s book was finished she met a literary agent at a Las Vegas convention….
Andrea, a high school student, and her middle school brother, Bobby, were pried from comfy Florida living and tearfully moved to Stevensville, Idaho, a small town country community. Mom Shelly Taylor was a successful associate at a Tampa advertising agency, so she didn’t like the move either. Dad Steve Taylor had a job offer in…
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,…
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…
Jeanne Bannon is the author of The Beautiful Monster Series. She says, “I’ve always loved to read about vampires, especially the Vampire Lestat books by Anne Rice. Another of my favorites is Salem’s Lot by Stephen King. My aim for Beautiful Monster was to remain true to the folklore and genre. I didn’t want to…
Sam Vives, a Barcelona teen, is just a normal boy dealing with usual problems–homework, friends, and school bullies like Rafa who has targeted Sam since he was 7. When Sam and Rafa are paired during fencing class Sam wins easily, but gets smacked illegally by Rafa’s heavy sword. Later that day, limping home, Sam’s thoughts turn…
With kids about to exit schools by the droves, it’s a good idea to keep them reading during the summer months. If children take a vacation from reading over the long hot summer their reading skills could fizzle. Studies have shown that students can lose up to three months of reading progress over the…
Jimmy Hankins and Mickey O’Hara, boys in their early teens, are abducted from the streets with many other children in their city, by a band of evil men planning on selling the children as sex slaves through the seedy channels of human trafficking. Then, like magic, Theresa Bordils and Melchior, Fairy King of Avalon, rescues…
The Boy Who Spoke to Stars, by Reuben Miles is a YA urban fantasy and book 1 of the Astral Strings Series. Here’s what it’s about: Nothing has been right in Kasper’s life for quite some time. Then the eclipse comes, and his father is stolen away. When the police arrive, instead of trying to…