As many of us know, the world has been mourning the loss of the late great Kobe Bryant. Award-winning novelist, writer, and former world-ranked squash player Ivy Claire Pochoda who collaborated with Bryant on their number one New York Times bestselling series Epoca shares her perspective on his passing while working on Book 2, The River of Sand (Granity Studios, December 15, 2020). “It’s been really hard, I mean, … Read the rest
Interview With “Frazzled” Series Author & Illustrator Booki Vivat!
The advice Booki Vivat, author and illustrator of the New York Times bestselling series, Frazzled, has for other authors and illustrators is to not discredit their creative work. “… Doodling, I totally dismissed it as not being creative,” she tells So Booking Cool. “I grew up writing fanfiction, and I thought, ‘Oh, that’s not writing, that’s not really writing.’ But it is. And all of these things people … Read the rest
Interview With “Something to Say” Author Lisa Moore Ramée!
Voice is a common thread in So Booking Cool’s conversation with bestselling, critically acclaimed children’s book author, Lisa Moore Ramée. There’s the beloved ‘Shay’, Ramée’s debut protagonist from A Good Kind of Trouble (which has garnered renewed interest and now an Indie bestseller in paperback), whose voice has been praised and prompted whether it is important for Ramée to create resonant voices within her characters; there’s Ramée sharing the time … Read the rest
Interview With “Stand Up, Yumi Chung!” Author Jessica Kim!
The adage: ‘if you love something let it go and if it comes back to you, it’s yours’ fits Stand Up, Yumi Chung! (March 17, 2020, Kokila) novelist, Jessica Kim. Before becoming a debut critically acclaimed published author, Kim had quit writing at one point. When she was a youth, in addition to comedy, she enjoyed writing, but didn’t foresee it as a profession, at least not as a … Read the rest
Interview (Part 2) With “For Black Girls Like Me” Author Mariama J. Lockington!
“Writing and storytelling is such a powerful tool for building confidence in young people,” novelist Mariama J. Lockington tells So Booking Cool in part two of our conversation. This statement arrives when we ask the “For Black Girls Like Me” author about the story behind her passion for leading youth. Lockington, who noted in part one that her work with middle schoolers contributed to the dialogue for … Read the rest
Interview (Part 2) With “A Good Kind of Trouble” Author Lisa Moore Ramée!
When we have a passion, it is easy to become consumed by it. But it is important to make sure that we don’t ignore the other experiences that life has to offer. For example, if you are a writer, don’t literally spend all of your time writing. “Some advice I would give to other writers is find something else that you do,” Lisa Moore Ramée tells So Booking Cool… Read the rest
Interview With Shannon Hitchcock On Her New Novel One True Way!
Award-winning author Shannon Hitchcock recently returned to So Booking Cool to discuss her new novel, One True Way. Based in 1977, the story centers on two middle-school female students, Allie and Sam, who experience the pressures of falling for each other from their southern community, the political climate, and their families. Hitchcock says the novel is inspired by a real-life friendship she had, in which their mutual friends describe… Read the rest
Interview With Executive Editor and Writing Life Coach Kendra Levin!
We had the pleasure of talking with Kendra Levin, the executive editor at Viking Children’s Books, an imprint of the Penguin Young Readers Group, about her multifaceted career and views on the industry. In addition to editing all ages in the children’s market, which means everything from picture books to young adult novels, Levin is also an author, teacher, and life coach to writers around the world. “Everybody has to … Read the rest
Interview With Author Shannon Hitchcock!
Today we had the pleasure of candidly conversing with Shannon Hitchcock, author of The Ballad of Jessie Pearl (2013) and the Golden Sower Award nominee Ruby Lee and Me (2016.) A historical fiction novelist, Hitchcock discusses her writing process, her start as a children’s literary magazine writer, working with seasoned publishing professional Andrea Davis Pinkney (Vice President, Executive Editor, Scholastic) and about their next book, One True Way… Read the rest