It’s possible that I gave this a five star rating because it has one of the best covers I’ve ever seen. But, I think it’s more than that. Do you ever feel like you belong to a book instead of it belonging to you? That’s how I felt when I read this book. And thoughContinue reading “Book Review: An Off Year”
Author Archives: jody sparks
If My Life Were A Book Cover (3)
I love orange. Sometimes it’s my favorite color. Something about it signals the bright part of change. And for me, change is once again in the air. My literary agent and I have decided to part ways. Perhaps I was a naive young writer to believe that we would be together forever. And the businessContinue reading “If My Life Were A Book Cover (3)”
Writing Young Adult Books: Q and A (1)
On occasion, I receive emails with questions about writing young adult books. It makes me feel a little bit like an expert in my field, which is sort of flattering. And while I don’t have so much as an inkling about the world of publishing, I do know a little bit about the craft ofContinue reading “Writing Young Adult Books: Q and A (1)”
This Is Intern Year
This is who I live with right now. When Josh isn’t sleeping we have conversations about our day to day life including STDs and butt abscesses and people who have swallowed razor blades or brake fluid. And good news, we finally met some of our neighbors! Their kiddo broke her arm and ended up inContinue reading “This Is Intern Year”
The Cardturner
I’m trying to make my blog more of a home base of operations, so I’m going to start including my “book reviews” here. I say that loosely because the way I talk about books is kind of lame. I know I should be reviewing them for literary merit, and I’ll try to do that more,Continue reading “The Cardturner”
Self-Deprecating Sunday FLASHBACK
Which treats of YA authors sharing the great and awkward of their teenage years. Today is Mindi Scott’s Birthday! Happy Birthday, Mindi. Almost as exciting is that it’s her debut young adult novel birthday – or will be on Wednesday! She stopped by my blog a couple months ago to delight us with her teenageContinue reading “Self-Deprecating Sunday FLASHBACK”
What, This Old Thing?
How much attention do you pay to what your characters wear? I tend to pay it a lot of attention, but I wonder if that’s because writing for teens tends to focus on identity. When a teen character steps out of the bounds of normal for what’s in fashion, it sets up some tension inContinue reading “What, This Old Thing?”
This Archaic Practice of Banning Books
People, we live in the Internet age and there’s a world of information (much of it, shitty, or useless) to start banning there, yet when I Google “Do people try to ban websites,” I get a high percentage of posts regarding how to block people from your own websites. I suppose there are just tooContinue reading “This Archaic Practice of Banning Books”
Friday Mornings
To be honest, five weeks ago I was near-terrified of taking the job I now have. The people I met there were smart, kind, funny, and relaxed, so it was clearly an insecurity thing on my part. Somehow I’d been offered a seat at the cool kids lunch table, and I couldn’t imagine really belonging.Continue reading “Friday Mornings”
What’s Your Favorite Letter?
This is barely worthy of a blog post. I’m just saying that up front. I’m not even sure how I ended up thinking about this last night. It was one of those falling asleep things where you know what you’re thinking is going to be the best blog post ever, but then in the morningContinue reading “What’s Your Favorite Letter?”
Jody Sparks Mugele 