My BEA 2015

This year I attended first Book Expo of America. And IT. WAS. AWESOME. I began my day meeting my editor, of Leap Books, Judith Graves, in the cafeteria. Informal and splendid, I've learned that I must have one of the coolest editors out there.  She’s multi-talented, wise and plays guitar! Both of us, musicians and writers, we connected like a 3/4-time signature, storytellers through and through. Even Thoreau was a musician. The essay, On Duty and Civil Disobedience, figures prominently in The Unmoving Sky, my YA suspense with Leap Books. (Spring 2016)

Three "generations" of Leap Books. Judith Graves, founder, Laurie Edwards, and Shine author, K.L. Hallam.

Back to BEA. I was nervous, not knowing what to expect.  The unknown is what often causes us anxiety. But once I got there, everything opened up and I found my place. I meet with, Gail Nall, talented MG & YA author and Kidliterati contributor. She showed me the ropes: how to stand in line, and WAIT. Yeah, that’s pretty much the rhythm of BEA, a lot of waiting, standing and searching for a place to charge your phone. I used the handy-dandy BEA app, which worked fine enough for me. I noticed many print outs in the hands of other attendees, (the pros). But I got by.

Me with YA & MG author, Gail Nall.

I stopped in at a couple of the Blogger/Social Media talks, one of which was supposed to show authors and publishers how to utilize social media for their book sales, but that talk turned into a sales job for Bookgrabbr. And one, meek voice in the crowd stepped up to call them out on it. They immediately apologized and threw us a bone. I enjoyed listening to best-selling authors, Juliana Baggott, Elin Hilderbrand, Kimberla Lawson Roby, talk about their writing process. I always love hearing how authors use their time and writing techniques. I spent Thursday at BEA, and in the morning the exhaustion and excitement hit me like a hangover. And while BEA was in town, along with several writers from my amazing and supportive group, Kidliterati, we gathered that Friday night. It was the icing on the cake!  But we sure did miss the others.  

Benjamin Brooks, Brian Sargent, Chris Brandon Whitaker, Ella Schwartz, Melanie Conklin, Gail Nall, and (me) K. L. Hallam #mgbetareaders. Only 8 representing our 24 members of Kidliterati.

Until Next year BEA! 

Review: Sky Jumpers by Peggy Eddleman

Sky Jumpers by Peggy Eddleman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I first heard about Sky Jumpers by Peggy Eddleman from the online writers conference WriteOnCon. Peggy was one of the middle grade panelists. I was so blown away by her clear, haven’t-quite-heard-it-like-that-before, insight into kid lit—I just had to read her book. Besides everyone was saying how wonderful it was. And it was!

Sky Jumpers is a middle grade adventure set in a world recovering form the green bombs of World War III. The bombs destroyed almost everything and the only thing that matters in this new town of White Rock is inventing, so the world can regain some of what they’d lost. This new world is somewhat familiar, but very different.

The deadly compressed air of the Bomb’s Breath is a remnant of the War in this post apocalyptic world, and it changed everything. “When the green bombs hit, they left behind side effects. Besides new plants, metals having different properties, weather patterns changing, and the existence of the Bomb’s Breath, the green bombs destroyed any ability to create a stable magnet.” The bombs also left behind a deadly sickness.

I connected to the main character, twelve-year-old, Hope. She longs to invent, but can never get her due credit, and maybe inventing isn’t her greatest strength, the way taking chances is. And taking risks, like jumping off cliffs into the Bomb’s Breath, may be what saves her town from something even more horrible than what the Bomb’s Breath has left behind.

The second time I sat to read this—without interruptions, I couldn’t put it down. My adrenaline raced throughout, and I was eager to find out what would happen when the bandits invaded demanding antibiotics the town of White Rock invented. I felt for many of the characters in this book: Hope’s friends, her family, and community. How they all worked together in the aftermath of the War, and with the new terror taking over their village.

Hope comes up with an idea no one else had thought of, using one of her most potent abilities: leadership. The action heats up and we hope for the best till the end. I was left very satisfied after reading this story. I even shed a few tears. This is a great read for kids who love adventure and danger in their fiction. Hope is a character I rooted for and loved and would follow into another adventure.


View all my reviews

Kidliterati Blog is Coming!

They are coming, and they are taking over... well, they're taking over to help you find kidlit books for MG and YA readers. Interviews, Book Reviews and more from the perspective of 24 kidlit writers!!  And it's gonna be AMAZING!

I'm so excited to be a part of it!  That little MG beta reader group that was started oh, almost two years ago, has grown. Oh, have we grown.

Several are recently agented, a couple have sold to publishers, and it's just cRaZzY exciting times all of us, growing and learning together--A truly inspiring and encouraging group. I'm lucky to have met them, and in awe of their skills and talent.

You’ll have the opportunity to get excited by kidlit, too. Our blog launches Wednesday, July 10^th… 

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Yep, it’s a club. And you’re all invited!  Follow along; there are lots of Goodies on the horizon. Give aways: Books and critiques and stuff for the kids, for the readers and for our community.

Hashtag on twitter #july10

See you in the feeds.