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 “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 With Author and Wordsmith Jane Harrington!
Author, writer, professor, and overall wordsmith Jane Harrington doesn’t get writer’s block, and when you hear why, it makes sense. “I guess I view writing as a broader thing, so I’m never gonna call it writer’s block,” she tells So Booking Cool. “Because I’m not just gonna sit in front of my computer and not produce something. I’m going to do something else to kind of ease the logs … 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
Author Piece: Bosom Friends & Pen Pals in FOR BLACK GIRLS LIKE ME by Mariama J. Lockington
FOR BLACK GIRLS LIKE ME, MARIAMA J. LOCKINGTON. Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR), $9.99 (336p) ISBN-13: 978-0374308049
Publication date: July 30, 2019
Before I’d ever read the books by L.M. Montgomery, I fell in love with the 1985 Anne of Green Gables film adaptation starring Megan Follows. From the opening scene, where Anne is wandering through the woods reciting poetry dramatically from a worn book, to her first love-sick … Read the rest
Interview (Part 1) With “A Good Kind of Trouble” Author Lisa Moore Ramée!
While the novel A Good Kind of Trouble has pretty much been dubbed the junior high school version of The Hate U Give, also a Balzer + Bray title, it is a book that had been more than 20 years in the making. It is based on the author, Lisa Moore Ramée’s experiences in elementary and middle school as well as her daughter’s, who is now in college. … Read the rest
Interview With Words Without Borders Campus’ Editor & Curriculum Designer, Nadia Kalman!
If you’ve ever taught a class, prepared a workshop or seminar, chances are you can relate to Nadia Kalman’s thoughts on curriculum. “A curriculum is only as good as the day that you present a lesson to a particular group of students,” the education consultant told So Booking Cool. “So, as a teacher, even if you are given a curriculum to execute, you have to modify it for … Read the rest
Interview With Literary Agent, Mollie Glick!
The love for writing and business is what Mollie Glick cherishes about being an agent. “You know if you’re gonna be an agent if you love the stories, you love the words, and then you also love the entrepreneurial business-building side,” the Creative Artists Agency (CAA) agent told So Booking Cool. Glick, who has adored books since childhood, started out as a literary scout fresh out of college. While the job … Read the rest
Interview With Deborah Gregory, Author of The Cheetah Girls!
As a child, Deborah Gregory‘s life circumstances required her to utilize her reading and writing skills for the benefit of her illiterate foster mother. It is the reason she says she became a writer and author. “If she had told me ‘make me laugh,’ I’d be a comedian. There’s no question about it. She controlled my every thought and movement,” she told So Booking Cool. This is just one … 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