It’s that time of year, folks. The temperature has dropped to a cool 79 degrees. Teachers are posting Amazon wish lists. Flip-flops are swapped for clean tennies that won’t stay clean for long. It’s back-to-school time! Which means, for me, that one-of-a-kind, stomach-flip-flop feeling of walking through those double doors on the first day. I…… Continue reading Five Back-to-School Books to Shake Things Up
Category: Books
Five Beach Reads for the Rest of Your Summer
In honor of The Year of Second Chances going on sale on Kindles everywhere, I’ve compiled a list of my five favorite “beach reads.” Are they traditional beach reads, in that they are light, breezy, and oh-so-sexy and fun? Sometimes! Do they all take place on beaches? Most of time, yes! And are they challenging,…… Continue reading Five Beach Reads for the Rest of Your Summer
How’s the Book Going: The End and The Beginning
I sent the book to copyediting a few weeks ago, and I’m already primed to write the next one. I’ve reflected here on the value of order and discipline in one’s life in order to enable wildness and freedom in one’s art, and I’m craving wildness. I want to keep pushing myself artistically, a phrase…… Continue reading How’s the Book Going: The End and The Beginning
How’s the Book Going: p. 477
On deadline while I was supposed to be on vacation, 2018. Every submission experience I’ve ever had was defined by the two or three (or five) nights before the deadline. I would spend days camped at a coffee shop, drinking drip light roast out of the largest container they had, taking cigarette breaks every hour…… Continue reading How’s the Book Going: p. 477
How’s the Book Going: p. 261
Now seems like a good time to reflect on the emotions of writing emotions. Once upon a time, back in 2015, I wrote a book about a girl who was dying. This was my third novel for young adults, and it was also the third novel where impending death was one of the primary concerns.…… Continue reading How’s the Book Going: p. 261
How’s the Book Going: p. 247
What did I say I would write about today? That’s right, the emotions of writing emotions. I may not write about that. I’m feeling pretty good at the moment—I’ve just eaten leftover spaghetti—and I don’t feel like cracking that particular patch of ice. Maybe in a bit. The book is a romance. Romantic love drives…… Continue reading How’s the Book Going: p. 247
How’s the Book Going: p. 239
Finally, 239 pages in, I would like to answer your queries about the new book. So, here it is: The new book is about a woman who learns how to open herself up to the world after a great personal tragedy. This is the first book under my name for adults. If I finish on…… Continue reading How’s the Book Going: p. 239
The Topeka School
Some friends and I got together virtually to write our “real time” reactions as we read Ben Lerner’s The Topeka School. As native Topekans and graduates of Lerner’s high school, we thought it would be fun to explore our reading experiences of a book set in our childhood home, lauded by The New York Times Book…… Continue reading The Topeka School
Lara Avery 