Chapter 3: 96 pounds of 100% hope

Welcome to the third installment of Meet Annabelle Adams. If you have not yet read chapters 1 and 2, you can find them by clicking on the list to the right.  — Annabelle woke to the sound of foghorns. She sprang to her feet in a single motion, did a few...

Chapter 2: Rhymes With Barf

As the door closed itself behind her, Annabelle heard the sound of several outraged cats bouncing off the window. A seatbelt wrapped itself across her chest and clicked into place. Moments later, she was gliding smoothly and far too quickly down the streets of town....

Path Less Traveled

I wrote my first book when I was 12. It was terrible, but I was 12. I spent the next six years writing horrible poetry. When I was 18, someone politely suggested I might try a different genre. So I wrote stories. Weirdo stories that made people laugh and left them...

Judging Our Book By Its Cover

One of the most exciting and vexing and challenging and time-consuming parts of making a book is coming up with the cover, because no matter how many times we’re cautioned not to judge a book by it, the cover is that first impression we can never shake. And...

Kid-Submitted Book Review: Madeleine Cox

The Real McCoys won’t be published for another week or so, but some lucky kids got an early peek by winning a giveaway sponsored by Macmillan and Goodreads. One such kid is Madeleine Cox, who read the book and felt compelled to weigh in. Without further ado, we...