Thursday thoughts with Lisa - using memories in your writing

Have you ever hear that saying, write what you know? What does it mean? Should we ONLY write what we know? I talk about all of that in this video and share one of my books that has a big part of "me" in it.

Thursday thoughts with Lisa - where do ideas come from

Today I talk about ideas since that's what I'm working on right now - trying to come up with the best idea in the whole wide world for a new book! Ah, no pressure or anything, right?

Thursday Thoughts with Lisa - writing an acrostic poem

So, I'm back with another video and a plan to do one every Thursday! I'll give writing tips, do some writing exercises for you, talk about books, maybe do some reading, whatever I feel like that day. I want them to be short and sweet and something you know to look for every Thursday. Feel free to let others know - they'll be posted here as well as on youtube. If you'd like to leave a comment or ask a question, you can do so here.

Here's the first Thursday Thoughts with Lisa video. Enjoy!!

Bookshop - a new way to shop and support indie bookstores

I'm taking a break from my read aloud of KEYS TO THE CITY to tell you about a new place to buy your books online. For a lot of people, Amazon has provided a much needed service to get books to people who don't have bookstores near by. But they hold so much power, and that's not a good thing.

So some good news! You can now shop at www.bookshop.org and support independent bookstores along with authors in the process!!

I've created pages for my books that are still in print. I'll be updating my web site in the next week with links as well. But for  now, check out the pages below with links to buy all in one place.

Here's the page to shop for my YA novels.

And here's the page for novels for kids (generally 8-12).

In the coming weeks, I'll make other lists - like my favorite verse novels.

This is so cool and SO exciting. I know it's a hard time for a lot of people right now, but anything we can do to support bookstores and authors is appreciated by everyone who works in the publishing and bookstore business.

Stay well and happy reading!

Verse Novel Recs for International Women's Day

Hello!

Happy International Women's Day!

This past month, I received the following message:

I am humbled and overjoyed by this news. It's no small thing that over ten years after it was published, I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME is continuing to be discovered and loved in schools across America. I'm deeply thankful to librarians for continuing to put my verse novels in front of students.

In light of that, I wanted to visit (or revisit) some of my favorite verse novels by female authors because today is International Women's Day - what a great day to lift these amazing authors up. In order to save time, I'm not posting photos of the covers but instead providing links to indiebound.org via the title so you can read more about the book and check out the cover. In case you have kids, I'm providing the recommended age, but please know adults can and do also enjoy these books.

Title: AUDACITY

Author: Melanie Crowder

Recommended Age: 12 and up

Short Description: The inspiring story of Clara Lemlich, whose fight for equal rights led to the largest strike by women in American history

Title: MAY B.

Author: Caroline Starr Rose

Recommended Age: 8-12

Short Description: This historical novel, told in verse, brings to life the rigors faced by homesteaders on the Kansas prairie in the late 1870s. May Betts unexpectedly finds herself stranded, alone, in a sod house some distance from her family. As winter approaches, she must find food and fuel to stay alive and figure out how to get home before the cruel weather or roving wolves are the death of her. 

Title: BROWN GIRL DREAMING

Author: Jacqueline Woodson

Recommended Age: 10 and up

Short Description: Raised in South Carolina and New York, Woodson always felt halfway home in each place. In vivid poems, she shares what it was like to grow up as an African American in the 1960s and 1970s, living with the remnants of Jim Crow and her growing awareness of the Civil Rights movement.

Title: OTHER WORDS FOR HOME

Author: Jasmine Warga

Recommended Age: 8-12

Short Description: A gorgeously written, hopeful middle grade novel in verse about a young girl who must leave Syria to move to the United States.

Title: HOUSE ARREST

Author: K.A. Holt

Recommended Age: 12 and up

Short Description: Timothy is a good kid who did a bad thing. Now he's under house arrest for a whole year. 

Title: BLOOD WATER PAINT

Author: Joy McCullough

Recommended Age: 12 and up

Short Description: Her mother died when she was twelve, and suddenly Artemisia Gentileschi had a stark choice: a life as a nun in a convent or a life grinding pigment for her father's paint. She chose paint.

Title: HOME OF THE BRAVE

Author: Katherine Applegate

Recommended Age: 10-14

Short Description: Kek comes from Africa where he lived with his mother, father, and brother. But only he and his mother have survived. Now she's missing, and Kek has been sent to a new home.

I could go on and on, but my time is up. Need to get back to working on my books! I'll do more of this in the future. My verse novels (ages 12 and up) are all listed on THIS PAGE. 

Happy reading!!

Lisa

DON'T JUDGE ME cover!

This book started with a story in the news.

A story about girls standing up to tackle the misogyny and toxic masculinity at their school.

From the article, "They felt violated, objectified by classmates they considered their friends. They felt uncomfortable getting up to go to the bathroom, worried that the boys might be scanning them..."

I wanted to explore what that would feel like, to realize you're being watched and judged based on how you look. And then, how do you find the courage to stand up to that behavior? And so, a book was born. I decided to set it in middle school so it's appropriate for kids in 3rd-8th grade.

~*~

Inspired by a true story of girl empowerment, DON'T JUDGE ME explores trust, self-worth, and speaking up -- especially when you're told to keep quiet.

Hazel doesn't like to make waves. Middle school is hard enough without causing more trouble, right? She's happy just eating lunch in the library with her BFF, writing secret haikus, and taking care of an adorable rescue tortoise.

But then Hazel discovers a list that rates the girls at her middle school based on their looks -- started by her best friend's older brother. She knows she has to do something, and she can't do it alone. The wave she'll be making might turn into a tsunami, but if Hazel can find the courage to speak up, she might just change everything.

Coming November 10, 2020 from Scholastic.

Links to preorder:
Annie Bloom Books
Amazon
More to come

The importance of school visits

I came across this article about how school visits have "a lasting impact" on students and thought I'd mention it here. From the article:

"In June 2019, The National Literacy Trust in the UK reported that pupils had authors visit their schools:

• Were twice as likely to read above their expected level for their age
• Were more likely to enjoy reading and writing
• Were more likely to be highly confident in their reading"

Take those points in for a moment and really think about what they mean. ONE author visit can make a world of difference for kids.

A wonderful class I Skyped with

I know sometimes the thought of hosting an author for a day can be intimidating to someone who has never hosted an author before. But please remember, we want the day to be successful too and will work with you and help you. I have a tip sheet I send whenever I book a visit along with a short list of items I need to help make the visit go smoothly. Honestly, the number one thing is not difficult, it just takes a commitment from the teachers, and that is getting the kids familiar with the author's work before the day of the visit by book talking and reading aloud. Kids do much better if they feel like the know the author versus going to a presentation by a stranger, and the way they feel they know the author is through getting to know the work.

I also help you figure out if it's feasible to partner with a bookstore or not for selling books and am happy to provide order forms for you. And if you can't or don't want to do it, it's okay! Students do love getting signed books but I think most authors understand that you are busy and you may not have the bandwidth to make it happen. Some schools have great volunteers to help make it happen, but that isn't the case everywhere so don't feel bad if it's not feasible. 

Funding is often the big thing that holds schools back from hosting an author but there are lots of solutions. I've done a couple of visits that were funded by grants that teachers applied for. A school can also seek out sponsorship with a business who would fund the author for some advertising in return. Sometimes the PTO is more than happy to do a special fundraiser for the visit. There are also bookstores that offer schools a 20% discount on books so the school can sell them at full-price and use that money to pay for the visit. That's just a few ideas, there are plenty more.

There is an informational page on this website about my school visit presentations and pricing, but please feel free to reach out if you have questions and I'm happy to answer anything you'd like to know. And if a Skype visit would be more your thing, I'm always willing to do those as well. A short Q&A Skype is free if the students have read one of my books, or you can pay for a longer one with a writing presentation and time for questions at the end.

If you're a parent, student, teacher, or librarian and would like one of my author visit brochures to present to pass around and/or share with the administration, you can drop me a note with a mailing address at lisaschroederbooks@gmail.com.

I love getting kids excited about reading and writing. That's my number one goal at my school visits. When I talk about using juicy words or how revision is more than fixing spelling and talk about what REAL revision means, teachers tell me later that they love that I'm reinforcing what they've been telling their students for months. 

Yes, school visits take some extra work. But work that is very much worth it in the end.