My letter “B” pick for this year’s A to Z reading challenge was BOOK OF A THOUSAND DAYS by Shannon Hale. This lovely, lyrical tale weaves the story of Dashti,… Read more A to Z Book Review: Book of a Thousand Days →
The great A to Z book challenge of 2023 is underway, and I began with a solid gut-punch. ALL THE BRIGHT PLACES by Jennifer Niven is the story of Violet… Read more A To Z Book Review: All The Bright Places →
I know I’m way behind on these – apologies, but I’ve been hammering my way through a draft, prepping for (and attending) a big book event, and just generally overloaded.… Read more A to Z Book Review: HUNTED by Meagan Spooner →
I am very pleased to announce that I’ve been invited to join the SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) Mid-Atlantic Division at their table during the upcoming American… Read more Meet Me At The ALA Conference! →
BLUE has been named a 2022 Independent Press Award Distinguished Favorite in Teen Fiction. Check out all the honorees here. Many thanks to the judges and to IPA for this honor – and for giving me the terrific first-world problem (and total humblebrag) of running out of room on my book cover. I am blessed.
My pick for the letter C in my A to Z Book Read was Copper Sun by Sharon Draper. Copper Sun gives us a story from two points of view: first, we meet Amari, a West African girl of fifteen, living an idyllic life with her tribe. She’s being happily courted by the man she will be married to in a year’s time, she hates chores like any teenager, loves her mother’s cooking, and dotes on her younger brother, a child of ten. All of this changes in every terrible… Read more A To Z Book Review: Copper Sun by Sharon Draper →
I am over-the-moon thrilled to announce that Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI) has named BLUE as their 2021 SPARK Award Winner in YA! This is an enormous honor, and I am beyond thrilled that they chose my my multi-layered, sad, happy, complicated, sappy, hard-to-explain book. BLUE was a real labor of love, and I couldn’t be more proud.
Now that the whirlwind of 2021 is behind us, it’s time to regroup and set the stage for next year. My writing plan is severely ambitious. That’s a nice way of saying I’m out of my freaking mind and I may well be updating this blog from a tiny, padded room this time next year. Here’s the rough outline: Publish one YA novel – this one a holiday romance! Look for an announcement in early fall. Finish drafting and query one new manuscript (an extension of my NaNoWriMo project, a… Read more What’s On Tap For 2022? →
LE DeLano Author 