YABooksPodcast's podcast

Website: http://sweetdreamsnovel.com

http://horroraddicts.net

I write YA only under Emmy Z. Madrigal, so I am assuming that will be what we talk about, but if you want to mention my Emerian Rich name, that is fine. It is no secret to my readers.

*Emmy Z. Madrigal began the Sweet Dreams Series in high school. Her love of music and the Jazz masters of the Big Band Era have always inspired her life and her writing. Her lead character, Victoria, is a high school student who strives to be a Jazz vocalist. Mixing the hopes and fears of high school seniors with dreams of the future, Emmy has been praised for her realistic portrayal of modern female characters and their will to survive in a world of adversity, prejudice, and economic hardship. Sweet Dreams is a love story, full of adventure, danger, and first experiences. It shows that love can conquer all and that sometimes, love comes when you least expect it. *Emerian Rich writing as Emmy Z. Madrigal.

Books in the Sweet Dreams Musical Romance Series1. Sweet Dreams (podcast 2008 / print 2010)2. Star Struck (podcast 2009 / print 2014)3. True Love? (podcast 2010 / print 2014)4. Undecided (podcast 2014)5. One More Try (coming to podcast soon)Extra ~ Rob Malloy's Unauthorized Journal (coming soon to eBook)

Anime Girl - Spin off series in same universe1. Anime Girl (eBook Novella 2013)2. Anime Girl 2 (eBook Novella 2014)

In this second bonus episode on the YA Books Podcast I talk with an author I previously interviewed about his YA books, Robert Rayner.He has a new book out that will be part of a three book series about the lives of people on a North American Atlantic Island off the coast of Canada.Coming from New Foundland, Robert has some interesting perspectives regarding life on the islands and their future.His book is "Defiant Island" and has been published by Speaking Volumes.

To Swallow the Earth - An Adventure 108 years in the making! (Suspense) A man and a woman, each searching for missing family members, clash amid a Nevada silver rush scheme that leaves both unsure who to trust—and scrambling to stay alive. What if you came home after a journey and your family was gone? What if someone else was living in your house, running things—and trying to kill you? Could a beautiful woman be behind it? Wade Forester must stay in the shadows because, it seems, everyone has reason to shoot him. His father has disappeared, and his sister won’t speak to anyone. Beautiful Patricia Laughlin is searching for her family as well. Few people gain her confidence, though powerful landowner Bridger Calhoun just might be the man to do it. After a clash throws them to opposite sides, Wade must decide if risking his life to help Patricia is worth the trouble, and Patricia must learn which killer to trust with her life.

“To Swallow the Earth earns the Literary Classics Seal of Approval.

MIDVALE, Utah, Feb. 21, 2016 – Award-winning author Karl Beckstrand is from San Jose, California — and is only in his forties. His grandfather grew up ranching, hunting and fishing around the Sierra Nevada Mountains a hundred years ago and used that setting for a western thriller set in the Nevada silver rush. It’s now a young adult suspense novel: “To Swallow the Earth” – and a finalist for the Laramie Award. “My grandfather grew up exploring the Sierra Nevadas on horseback, so he knew the country well,” Beckstrand said. “My challenge was to develop his characters while preserving the plot’s action, suspense and earthy vernacular.”

One reviewer said he’d buy the film rights if he had production money. He liked the true-to-life people in unpredictable circumstances.

Amazon Author pageKarl Beckstrand is the award-winning author of fifteen juvenile books and more than 40 ebook titles (reviews by Kirkus, The Horn Book blog, School Library Journal, ForeWord Reviews). Raised in San Jose, California, he received a B.A. in journalism from BYU, an M.A. in international relations from APU, and a certificate from Film A. Academy. Two publishers produced his early multicultural children's books; since 2004 he has run Premio Publishing & Gozo Books. An engaging speaker, consultant, and workshop facilitator, Beckstrand has experience in high tech, public policy, film, radio, and TV broadcasting--including scripts, speeches, and Web content. He teaches media at a state college and contrasts traditional publishing with digital book publishing. His YA fiction, ebook mysteries, nonfiction/biographies, Spanish & bilingual books for kids (with pronunciation guide), short stories, wordless books, and picture book app feature diverse characters of color and usually end with a twist. He has lived abroad, been a Spanish/English interpreter, and enjoys volleyball and kayaking (usually not at the same time). Beckstrand has presented for SUECON (education conference), Taiwan's Global Leadership for Youth, California's Capital Book Festival, Utah Educational Library Media Association, Salt Lake City Book Festival, PCI Webinars, Utah Humanities Council, Murray City Writer's Workshop, Utah Housing Coalition, Midvale City Reading Program, Utah Office of Education, professional groups, and schools. His racially diverse work has appeared in: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Border's Books, Costco, Deseret Book, The Children's Miracle Network, The Congressional Record of the U.S. House of Representatives, Papercrafts Magazine, LDS Film Festival, various broadcasts, and PremioBooks.com. Find: "Karl Beckstrand" on FB, Twitter, KarlBeckstrand.com

In this episode I talk with first time author, Caitlin Lynagh from the UK.We talk about studying biology and physics in England, her book, "Anomaly: The Soul Prophecies", The science of Anomaly, and more...

http://caitlinlynagh.com/https://www.facebook.com/caitlinlynaghauthorhttps://thebookigloo.wordpress.com/@CaitlinLynagh on Twitter

In this episode I talk with Janette Rallison about Arizona, raising teenage girls and using their experiences in her stories. About writing books for boys under the pseudonym CJ Hill. We talk about publishing with small publishers, back in the day of paper submissions and the advantages which come with having the internet.Janette talks about her inspiration from "The Phantom Tollbooth", other authors, and from the artist, Minerva Teichert.

(From Janette's web page)

Janette Rallison is old. Don’t ask how old, because it isn’t polite. Let’s just say she’s older than she’d like to be and leave it at that.

Janette lives in Chandler, Arizona with her husband, five children and enough cats to classify her as “an eccentric cat lady.” She did not do this on purpose. (The cats, that is; she had the children on purpose.) Every single one of the felines showed up on its own and refuses to leave. Not even the family’s fearless little Westie dog can drive them off.

Since Janette has five children and deadlines to write books, she doesn’t have much time left over for hobbies. But since this is the internet and you can’t actually check up to see if anything on this site is true, let’s just say she enjoys dancing, scuba diving, horse back riding and long talks with Orlando Bloom. (Well, I never said he answers back.)

Book Report Questions

So you’ve decided to do a book report on me or one of my books. Congratulations! You are obviously a person with impeccable literary taste.I’ll try to address some of the common questions I get from book reporters (generally the night before the assignment is due).

When were you born?A long, long time ago. 1966 to be exact.

Where did you grow up?A wonderful small town called Pullman, Washington, which is why most of my books are set in small towns. I love them. (Bonus trivia point to impress your teacher: All’s Fair in Love, War, and High School; Revenge of The Cheerleaders; and Blue Eyes and Other Teenage Hazards are all set in Pullman.)

How do you chose the locations for your books?I set Playing the Field in Gilbert, Arizona, because that’s where I lived at the time. It’s easy to write about places you know well. But since I couldn’t set every story in Gilbert, I branched out to other warm climates. Most of my stories take place in Arizona, New Mexico, California, Nevada, and Texas.

I try to stay in warm climates because quite frankly I’ve lived in Arizona for so long I’ve forgotten what the cold is like. When I first wrote about Washington I almost had a scene where people mowed the lawn in December. Oops.

Where do you get your ideas from?I have a teenage daughter, which is sort of like living in your own reality show, but with fewer commercials. I borrow from her life a lot. In fact while I was writing It’s A Mall World After All I once lifted dialogue for a scene right off the text message log in my daughter’s cell phone.

Has any of the stuff you’ve written about ever happened to you?Unfortunately yes, but generally only the parts where characters are making fools of themselves. I did that a lot as a teenager. I don’t think there’s such a thing as an easy or graceful adolescence. It’s all about embarrassing yourself.

Will any of your books ever be turned into movies?Authors have very little say over that sort of thing. (Ditto for the book covers.) But if I hear anything, I’ll let you know.

Is it true that when you were thirteen you had a massive crush on Apollo from the original series of Battlestar Galactica?Oh, yes.

P.S. If your teacher asks you to identify symbolism in my books you have my permission to tell him/her that I didn’t put any in.If your teacher asks about theme, tell her/him that the book is about forgiviness. Unintentionally, most of my books are. I didn’t even realize this until the last book. My husband asked me what the book was about (I think he asks these questions so he doesn’t have to actually read my books.) I told him, “On a basic level it’s about realizing when you’re wrong, and about forgiveness.”He said, “Wasn’t that what your last book was about too?”“Um, yeah.”

Jasmine Kaur Dhuga was a third place award winner for the Canadian Federation of University Women Windsor Poetry Contest in 2011. Soon after, she became an editor for her school newspaper. Dhuga often uses her writing to voice her opinion on certain social issues. She resides in Ontario and is currently studying neuroscience.

"Monique Brooks has a pretty easy life. All she has to deal with is an alcoholic father, a dependent brother, and an abusive drug dealer. On top of all that, at the age of seventeen, she stumbles upon a completely different world, a world that she just so happens to be the protector of. To add more flowers to the garden, she finds out that her adoptive father wants to kill her for the power that she holds. Now, not only does she have to figure out a way to save herself, she must work hard to save the thousands of lives she has in her hands.

But that should all be a piece of cake, right?"

F.C. Shaw grew up with stories. First she had them told to her, and read to her. Then she read them for herself and discovered the magic therein. She is on a mission to help others discover the magic unlocked by reading a book, so has set forth to write her own stories. When she is not dreaming up and writing new stories, she tours the country sharing her books with kids. With a Master's Degree and Teaching Credential, she has taught everything from Kindergarten to college. She lives with her husband and two sons in California.

We talk about listening to stories told by grandmothers, book tours and assemblies at elementary schools, and what interests middle grade readers.

In this episode I talk with Sharon Ahern about the many books she published to gether with her late husband, Jerry and now with a former shared friend, Rob Anderson. She talks about publishing books in the 80's and 90's and how things have changed. We talk about bringing a series back and the new spin she has taken with all the children of the original protagonists.

Camp Zero is a spin off ofthe Survivalist series which was written from 1981 to 1993 by my husband,Jerry Ahern and myself and then I restarted the series in 2012 with author BobAnderson.

The Survivalist series always represented the idea that you should remember to"always plan ahead." Camp Zero is the story of the next generation ofRourkes/Rubensteins who have grown up in a much safer world where survivalskills are not nearly as important to them. The adults send them to a specialsurvival camp where they and other kids are taught how to think and act ontheir own and to learn how to survive in all sorts of difficulties. Of course,the world changes and these young teens are thrust into situations requiringskills that they never took seriously.

Camp Zero will be primarily an action/adventure series but will also allowyoung readers to learn basic survival skills along with the book'sprotagonists. They also learn that not all friends are what they seem.I'd like to talk about the beginnings of the Survivalist series and itsprogression over the years up to the new YA series that will be coming outthis Spring.

In this episode I talk with Lorraine Carey and we talk about Grand Cayman and the Cayman Islands, island fever compared to the rat race, being a reading specialist for children of all ages, rock star readers in kindergarten, Arizona and the Superstition Mountains, Rome, Pompey and Vestal Virgins, Pachentro Italy, gypsy legends and curses. She likes to read the classics, Tolkien, Brent Legg "The Last Librarian", Teema Maria Lacobia, "The Queen of Vampires", YA author Amanda Hawking,

Find her at http://www.lorrainecarey.com

Lorraine Carey is a veteran children's reading specialist, teacher and an International Award-Winning Author. She has taught in many states in the US and currently is providing reading services for students at a private school on Grand Cayman, where she lives with her husband. Five years ago she was a city gal, living in Orange County, California, where life was very different from the one she lives in now. Trading in her fashionable heels for flip-flops was quite a change, but led to a lifestyle that allowed for a writing career to begin.

Her love for paranormal stories and urban legends began at a young age, when staying up all night to watch spooky movies or reading a scary book started a lifelong passion.

Published novels include: Losing Ground, a short memoir, followed by Mysteries of the Red Coyote Inn, Out of the Ashes, Jonathan's Locket and The Last Vestal Virgin. All of these novels are paranormal with a mix of historical fiction, woven with urban legends. Her most recent novel, Beloved Sacrifice, is a Supernatural Thriller for Young Adults to Adults.

As a bonus, Mysteries of the Red Coyote Inn and Jonathan's Locket have free downloadable comprehension worksheets on her website for educators, or parents.

Her latest novel, A Rock Star Reader by Kindergarten, is an educational guide for parents of young children to help their child achieve many of the pre-reading concepts necessary to be a successful reader by the time they reach kindergarten.

When not writing you can find Lorraine reading, beach- hopping, snorkeling, or boating around the island with her husband on their boat, the Angelica.

In this episode I talk with author Cameron Dayton about living in the Bay Area of California, video game development and story writing for video games, working with fascinating authors, and his book, "Etherwalker".

Best selling author, screenwriter, and developer for Blizzard Entertainment, EA Games, and Chair Entertainment -- Cameron Dayton has charted flights through the worlds of Warcraft, Diablo, Starcraft, Undertow, Advent Rising, Minions Paradise and beyond.

https://twitter.com/CameronDayton

And my Amazon book page is here:

http://amzn.to/1Q8VGqC

https://www.facebook.com/SiliconCovenant/