Suzanne Young Signing at Powell's

Boyfriends everywhere, shape up! Girlfriends unite! Tomorrow night, February 16th at the Cedar Hills Powell's, YA author Suzanne Young will tell us a thing or two about a cheer-leading squad turned spy society in her stirred, whipped and whisked strawberry smoothie of a debut The Naughty List (Book 1 of  the series).

Tessa Crimson and the SOS (Society of Smitten Kittens) are typical high school cheer-leaders by day, but moonlight as detectives bringing cheating boyfriends to justice by night. What will happen when Tessa's seemingly perfect beau Aidan ends up on The Naughty List? I don't know, but I'm ready to find out. Sounds tasty to me!

Shana Corey: Her Life in Books

What self-respecting bookworm wouldn't want to be Shana Corey? As an editor at Random House Children's, she works with award winning authors on graphic novels, middle grade fiction and YA. She's also an author in her own right, working steadily on her laptop when her children are asleep. Shana has written many picture books and early readers that have kept my children's noses in books. She also specializes in incisive biographies of women long-forgotten, by focusing on small moments where they have turned the tide of history.

Shana's latest picture book biography Mermaid Queen: The Spectacular True Story of Annette Kellerman, Who Swam Her Way to Fame, Fortune and Swimsuit History! (Scholastic, 2009) with pictures by  Edwin Fotheringham was a huge hit at my children's elementary school during their Mock Caldecott round-up. Shana kindly took the time to talk about Mermaid Queen, some of her other books, the research involved, and in-house writing. She also explains why her current list of books she has edited are such treasures. (Hint: if you're a Babymouse fan, read on!)

YA- Palooza at the Beaverton Library

I've been busy lately. Busy running. Busy cooking and eating; my favorite winter sports. Busy trying to break my obsessive social networking habits. And, thankfully, busy writing.

But I just heard about an event that's got me wanting to drop everything and pick up some YA fiction. Oregonians have got access to some delectable home-grown authors, five of whom will talk about their work, their writing processes and publishing.Who? You may ask, and I'll tell you:

• Lisa Schroeder (I Heart You, You Haunt Me, Chasing Brooklyn, and Far From You)
• L.K. Madigan (2010 William C. Morris Award Winner! Flash Burnout)
• Christine Fletcher (Ten Cents A Dance, Tallulah Falls)
• April Henry (Torched, Shock Point, and Face of Betrayal)
• Laini Taylor (National Book Award Finalist! Blackbringer, Silksinger, and Lips Touch Three Times)

Where? The Beaverton Library
When? Wednesday, January 27th, from 7-8:30 PM.

Now I'm busy making room for it in my schedule. I'll be there!