I know what kind of books I read in high school ...

Hmmm ...
First, here's the article.
Second - see the title of my post. Let's all be honest (just for a sec) about what we secretly and/or openly read when we were teenagers. Take a moment. Think back. Remember what it was like, reading those pages with one ear tuned to who might approach and one hand clenched to hide the book quickly.

Now - what do we think about this? Is there a place for explicit YA fiction?
I know it would get read. (As long as a mass mob of angry parents didn't burn the fiction and the author to the ground.)  The line about fanfic esp. rang true for me. But does it have value?

I think so. How do we teach teens to have healthy, imaginative, fun and creative sex lives? Or how to go about that once they have reached whatever appropriate gate we have set (age, marriage, life circumstance, etc.) We all learned about sex somewhere, right?

What do you all think? Should YA fic remain PG? Should we let teens find their own "adult" books? Is there a new (fireproof) market for this out there??

Out of Print Now Available!

Looking for something to read? Check these authors out! Formerly out of print books, now available through Amazon, brought to you by the amazing agent, Meredith Barnes!!  The descriptions are from her blog, the comments in parentheses are my opinions. And for all you writers out there, check out her blog, La Vie en Prose!

Deborah Camp - A mix of contemporary and Old West Historical romances. (I'm a sucker for the Old West.)

Lorena Dureau - Historical Romance: American Colonial South and West. (These are hot - and I'm not just talking about the weather in the South!)

Dan Streib - Thrillers with a "James-Bond-meets-Anderson-Cooper" main character. (I'm not a *huge* fan of thrillers, but I know several guys who love Dan Streib.)

Barbara Keesling - her too-hot-to-blog nonfiction - here, here and here. (And I have already ordered the book on the first link. Husband - you're welcome.)

Happy Reading!!

Can you hit a perfect pitch Contest!

This is my entry for the fabulous Brenda Drake's Can you hit a perfect pitch? Contest!

Title: Hard Nox
Genre: YA Paranormal
Word Count: 85,000

Pitch: Nox Sumner doesn't fear Death, she's pissed as hell at him and has no intention of doing him any favors.  Until she realizes the fate of her small town rests on her ability to kill.

     Red and blue lights flashed in the rearview mirror, setting Nox Sumner's teeth on edge. She turned to her best friend, Billy, in the driver's seat. "What did you do now?"

     "Hell if I know. I wasn't speeding; my lights work. Can't I just go home and drown my math test blues in biscuits and gravy. Is that too much to ask?"

     "You don't have any bodies in the trunk or anything, do you? Because I still have time to hop out the window and make a break for it." She grabbed the window crank with tight fingers.

     "Very funny." Billy sighed, coasting to the curb.

     "Guess who it is." The side-view mirror revealed Sergeant Carris bumbling around inside the cruiser, doing whatever cops do while people wait, hearts pounding to find out what they had done wrong. Flashing lights and sirens made her heart pound for a different reason.