Remember that scene in The NeverEnding Story when giant turtle Morla first appears, and in an attic far, far away, a little boy simply reading about Morla lets loose a mighty scream? That’s a testament to the power of a truly engrossing story, one that can make you shred your vocal cords with nothing more […]

Cancer is no joke. Or so not one but two agents told me a few years ago, when I shared with them a book idea I’d been working on, a new young adult novel about a teenage girl whose mother is fighting breast cancer and who must decide if and when to take the genetic […]

I’ve been having the same argument with a friend of mine for years now. He dislikes reading books or watching movies or TV shows that have magic in them. Fantasy, sci-fi, magical realism—you name it, he avoids it. He doesn’t get what the big deal is about Star Wars or The Lord of the Rings. […]