deep sigh

All of the above. All at once.

#truth

I’ve been doing school visits as part of my tour for PRINCESS ACADEMY: The Forgotten Sisters. All have been terrific—great kids, great librarians. But something happened at one I want to talk about. I’m not going to name the school or location because I don’t think it’s a problem with just one...

My second grade son absolutely adores the Ever After High books. I can't imagine how heartbroken he would be not to get to see Shannon speak. However, I've begun to see the doubt and shames creep in already. He's been the victim of bullying several times. Why? Because he likes "girl" things. Books about fairytales and having long hair. Based on his early appreciation for the opposite sex, I have no doubt that he's heterosexual. Not that it would matter to us, but I say this to illustrate the fact that we, as a culture, are shaming young boys across the board away from "girly" things. We're still introducing boys to the idea that anything associated with the feminine is inferior, even boys who are as interested in science as they are fairytales. And to what end, to stamp out all non-sexual interest in the feminine?

I'm a hardcore feminist who spouts off about gender inequality and empowered female sexuality, but as a parent I feel l'm constantly at a loss. I am constantly struggling with how much to protect and how much to encourage. I fear for what will happen to my son's spirit when he's bullied in the same moment that I want to celebrate how differently he sees the world. How am I, as a parent, supposed to guide him? How do I champion his interests and help him rise above the bullying? I think about this balancing act constantly. It's overwhelming.

So I can't describe how angry it makes me when schools take up the mantle of boy-shaming. Schools shouldn't be just a safe place. They should be a place that champion gender equality. They should be a place that challenge kids to think outside narrow viewpoints. This school should have been encouraging kids to see an author speak. Instead not only did they belittle their invited guests and their own female students, they showed their students that this is the acceptable norm. 

How am I, as an author, supposed to combat that?

How am I, as a parent, supposed to balance that?

Hey y’all!

So Tuesday the teaser trailer for THE DUFF released, and I’ve gotten so many of your wonderful tweets and emails—thank you for those! I’ve also gotten a few questions, though, and I wanted to take a second to address them.

First off, a disclaimer: I haven’t seen the movie yet and I’m...

On the STAR STICKER method.

A lot of people have seen me talking about my calendar system lately, and as I gear up to turn the page and start a new month, I thought I’d share this here, for anyone who needs a new system and/or a kick in the pants.

Basically, I get a calendar and a variety of colored stars, and make a key each month based on what I need to accomplish.

Usually it’s:

1) 500 words written

2) 100 pages read

3) exercise

4) school

And then I basically just keep track. It sounds simple, but I find the daily accountability and visibility of measurement INCREDIBLE helpful. You can see that in September I wrote almost 30k, read about 4,000 pages, worked out 19 days, and went to school. Whatever your goals may be, the system keeps you from losing track of days/weeks.

Anyway, if you want to give it a try, join in! Tomorrow’s a new month!

I'm game for this. 

Love is powerful

Noor Shirazie (via thesoutherly)

still love this cover.

A day that will live in infamy.

You should read this Rolling Stones piece on Queer kids getting kicked out by their religious parents. And remember it.  (via fuckyeahdiomedes)

Gennifer Albin, Crewel (via words-going-across-the-universe)

Rules: In a text post, list ten books that have stayed with you in some way. Don’t take but a few minutes, and don’t think too hard — they don’t have to be the “right” or “great” works, just the ones that have touched you. Tag 10 friends, including me, so I’ll see your list. Make sure you let...

Cormac Patton

Ohhhhh....I love this idea.

Just made my dreamcast list for Crewel by Gennifer Albin. Check it by clicking here!

Duele…

How We Feel When: People tell us they don’t read YA because the stories are too simple.

Couldn’t agree more!

Also this is the best show ever.