One of the picture books I’ve been eagerly anticipating is finally here: Caldecott’s Medal winner (WOLF IN THE SNOW) Matthew Cordell’s KING ALICE, about a little girl and her family stuck indoors on a snowy day. When Alice’s dad suggests she create her own book to combat snow day boredom, all sorts of imaginative shenanigans ensue!
So imagine my delight when I was able to interview Matthew Cordell about his books, his family, winning the Caldecott and more! Here’s what Matthew had to say:
It’s my great pleasure today to get to chat with debut author Rachel Toalson, one of our wonderful Texas authors of books for young adults. She’ll be in store on Sunday, 9/23, discussing and signing her novel THE COLORS OF RAIN, which is set here in Houston, in the tumultuous 1970s.
I have been a fan of Courtney Summers’ work for awhile now. She is a fearless, hard-hitting YA writer, not afraid of putting on the page the issues that teenage girls face: sexual violence and poverty being just two. Her newest YA novel, Sadie, is simply brilliant -- the story of a girl seeking revenge for the brutal murder of her younger sister alternating with the transcript of a podcast about that same girl’s POV.
I first heard Luisa Muradyan read her poetry on a cold and rainy night in the fall of 2016. It was a Glass Mountain event, one of the first readings I ever attended, so I didn’t even really know what was going on in the writing community yet, but I heard her read and thought she was simply amazing.
Kate Gavino is a writer and illustrator from Houston. She is the creator of the website, Last Night’s Reading, which was compiled into a published collection by Penguin Books in 2015. She was recently named one of Brooklyn Magazine’s 30 Under 30. Now, she is working in Paris. Kate and I got together to discuss her forthcoming graphic novel, SANPAKU, which comes out on August 21st.
It’s always a pleasure when Houston YA author Caroline Leech drops by. She’s amazingly talented. She’s got this delightful Scottish accent. Her Scotland-set historical novels are engaging, fun, romantic and lush with details that make you feel like you’re wandering the Highlands. Also she says things like “Putting tablet in your coffee is like putting gravy on haggis” and who doesn’t adore someone who can come up with a sentence like that?
The Incendiaries travels between Phoebe, a piano prodigy who grieves and blames herself for her mother’s death; Will, a young man studying to become a priest until he loses his faith and drops out of the seminary; and John Leal, a mysterious and enigmatic man with ties to North Korea; all of whom meet at Edwards University. Deeply troubled and searching for a purpose beyond themselves, the three become swept up in a chain of dangerous acts, fanning the flames towards destruction and an irreparable tragedy. I cannot recommend it enough for a suspenseful and alluring read!
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