USA TODAY Bestselling author B.J. Daniels began writing novels after a career as a newspaper journalist. The author of more than fifty titles for Harlequin Books, she has won numerous awards, including a career achievement award for romantic suspense. B.J. has been a long-time contributor to the Harlequin Intrigue line. Readers can find more of her Intrigue novels throughout 2012, including a sequel to CRIME SCENE AT CARDWELL RANCH. Fans can also look forward to her first big romantic suspense novel for HQN Books, coming out in August 2012. B.J. lives in Montana with her husband and their two springer spaniels. When she isn’t plotting her next book, she snowboards, camps, boats and plays tennis. She is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, Thriller Writers, Kiss of Death and Romance Writers of America. Here she talks about some of the unforgettable gifts she has received throughout her lifetime.
Dyan Sheldon is an American novelist, who has written for adults, children and young adults. Originally from Brooklyn, she resides in London and has written a number of young adult novels as well as many picture books in a variety of genres. Her young adult science-fiction novel Perfect was published under the name "D. M. Quintano", as it was a departure from her usual style. Dyan Sheldon's novel Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, a #1 New York Times bestseller, was made into a movie of the same name by Disney in 2004, starring Lindsay Lohan. Here she talks about how she comes up with ideas for her novels.
Kagan McLeod has been redefining cool for a while now with Infinite Kung Fu, a hip, fun, totally addictive series that was originally brought to life as a self-published comic and is now available as a graphic novel from Top Shelf. Mixing genres and styles effortlessly, McLeod creates a blend that transpires most kung-fu tropes to be startlingly original. And did we mention how fun it is? Check it out, but first check out this interview with Kagan.
Caroline Leavitt is the award-winning author of eight novels. Her essays and stories have appeared in "New York Magazine," "Psychology Today," "More," "Parenting," "Redbook," and several anthologies. She lives in Hoboken, New Jersey, with her husband and son. Here she talks about the first book she ever owned, and the bookshelf that went with it.
With my travels to the Miami Book Fair, as well as the Thanksgiving holiday, I was completely remiss in sharing the news that the 2012 Texax Maverick Graphic Novels Reading List was announced. (This was announced almost two weeks ago, so my apologies for being so late with the news.) As librarian Tuan Nguyen, part of the Maverick Graphic Novel Committee, explains: "The Texas Maverick Graphic Novels Reading List (TMGNRL) is a recommended reading list developed by public and school librarians from the Young Adult Round Table (YART).
Alan Bradley was born in Toronto and grew up in Cobourg, Ontario. With an education in electronic engineering, Alan worked at numerous radio and television stations in Ontario, and at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute (now Ryerson University) in Toronto, before becoming Director of Television Engineering in the media centre at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, SK, where he remained for 25 years before taking early retirement to write in 1994. Alan Bradley’s latest novel, I AM HALF-SICK OF SHADOWS, the 4th in the Flavia de Luce series, was recently published by Delacorte Books. Here he talks about the up-side of childhood illness: enough leisure time for reading.
In case you missed out on the School of Comics at the Miami Book Fair, don't worry: One of its participants, Chris Wilson, has blogged about his experience here. Check it out if you'd like a quick recounting of some of what went on there. Enjoy!
