This morning, as the caffeine was just beginning to take effect, Anne and I appeared as guests on This Creative Life, a podcast hosted by young adult novelist Sara Zarr. … [Read more...]
Look! Wes Anderson Winners, Over the Rhine, James Bond, “Anna Karenina,” “Lincoln,” Twitter, Wim Wenders, Aimee Mann, Scott Derrickson, Sara Zarr, and “The Kid With a Bike”
November 21, 2012 By 1 Comment
Look! These links caught my attention today, for one reason or another. Check back later. I may add more look-worthy links as the day goes on. … [Read more...]
The Hunger Games: Did You Ask For Seconds, or Send It Back to the Kitchen?
August 17, 2012 By 3 Comments
Chances are you've seen The Hunger Games by now. So, let's talk about the movie (not the book): A great work of cinema? A standard Hollywood franchise launch? Great performances? Cheap special effects? What's your take on Gary Ross's movie? Or maybe you came away and thought, "Why all the fuss about this story? Why not bring ___________ to the big screen instead?" What novels have you read lately that would make great movies? … [Read more...]
How to please the young readers in your life: How to Save a Life
October 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment
How to Save a Life, the new novel by my favorite YA novelist, Sara Zarr, is now in stores. I highly recommend it as a gift for any young adult you know who is willing to sit down, open a book, and pay attention. (I understand that we're talking about an endangered species.) I've been following Sara's work since before her first novel was published, as we met in a fiction workshop in Santa Fe. It's been a joy to see her work embraced and celebrated. And I'm thrilled to have contributed a very … [Read more...]
Fingertips: Anonymous; Robert Downey Jr. and Mel Gibson; The Fantastic Mr. Star Fox; Woody Allen and Ethan Coen; Tom Waits; U2; Sara Zarr
October 17, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Are you excited about Anonymous, the movie that's going to shock the world by revealing the shocking truth? No, me either. Check this out, from a New York Times take-down of the film: The most troubling thing about Anonymous is not that it turns Shakespeare into an illiterate money-grubber. It’s not even that England’s virgin Queen Elizabeth is turned into a wantonly promiscuous woman who is revealed to be both the lover and mother of de Vere. Rather, it’s that in making the case for de … [Read more...]
Is Today’s Young Adult Literature “Too Dark”?
June 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment
If you were to ask me that question, I would refer you to my favorite Young Adult novelist: Sara Zarr. And she would say something like this... … [Read more...]
Post-”Raven’s Ladder” Browser: Catching up. Dawn Treader! Catching up on summer movies. Joe Henry. More.
August 20, 2009 By 8 Comments
Having turned in Raven's Ladder, I'm excited, exhausted, and eager to enjoy what little bit of summer remains. I've spent these beautiful months laboring over a hot laptop to finish the third book in The Auralia Thread, and I hope to read some great books and see some great films (not to mention eat great meals and spend time with great people) to re-fuel. So, here's an assortment of news, links, and highlights from my re-entry into "the real world." 1. Lo... the Dawn Treader... … [Read more...]
Sara Zarr’s in the new issue of Image.
April 2, 2009 By 2 Comments
Sara Zarr and I are very, very different people, writing very different kinds of books. Nevertheless, we became friends a few years ago at Image journal's summertime arts conference, The Glen Workshop, which takes place in Santa Fe, New Mexico. We met in the fiction workshop taught by the magnificent novelist and short story writer Erin McGraw. We've been back every year since then, become fast friends, watched our dream of becoming published novelists come true, and now... we've had articles … [Read more...]
“Sweethearts” – Sara Zarr’s New Noven Wins Raves (Of Course)
February 3, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Just as Sara Zarr's first novel starts out on a journey to the silver screen, here comes here second novel: Sweethearts. And it's not just for kids. Here are two reviews. Congratulations, Sara! You're unstoppable! … [Read more...]
Congratulations (again) to Sara Zarr!
January 31, 2008 By Leave a Comment
¬† I remember sitting in the writer's workshop where a witty young woman named Sara passed around a chapter of her project. And we were all impressed. And then, she had a few words of critique for the chapter that I contributed to the discussion... from a project called Cyndere's Midnight. So much has happened since then. … [Read more...]
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