Writer to Writer Rocks!

I love independent book stores, and one of my most favorites is the Flintridge Book Store.  Catherine Linka, the children/young adult book buyer (a writer herself), hosts Writer to Writer as an ongoing store event. She has invited writers (picture book to young adult) and illustrators and agents, too, to speak at monthly meetings. I try never to miss this – it’s always enlightening, and fun. Paula Yoo, Alexis O’Neill, Marla Frazee and Dawn Knobbe are just some of the talented speakers.

Michael

I don’t write boys’ books, but last month I was glad to hear a couple of experts on boys’ thinking, likes and dislikes. Michael Reisman (the middle grade Simon Bloom series) and Ben Esch (YA Sophomore Undercover) were both instructive and very funny!

Ben

Ben, for instance, has an amazing memory for his own childhood experiences, including actual conversations he had and memorable moments in school. For more information, D.M. Cunningham (who takes better notes than I do) has a great entry on his blog.