Fan Club

Last weekend I had a wonderful morning coffee with my good friend Dan and his family. Now, Dan and I have known each other since kindergarten. Somehow we stayed friends despite both of us moving away from our original elementary neighborhoods. Somehow we stayed friends through those crazy junior high years. And somehow we ended up in the same close-knit group of high school buddies.

I blame marching band.

Dan is currently administering an American school overseas, so I am rarely afforded the chance to sit down face to face and talk to him. When I realized he was in town and he messaged me to find a time to get together, I was over the moon. The time and place were set. The coffee was hot and yummy. We hugged and smiled and...

I have to apologize profusely.

I am so, so, so sorry, Dan, that I spent 95% of our precious and fleeting time talking to... your kids. Your wonderfully smart, interesting, well-read children.

Doesn't Cam look just like Chase Cooper?

The title of this post is "Fan Club," not because Dan's kids are fans of my book series (although they both read volume 1 in short order and gave it thumbs up). It turns out I am a huge fan of kids/teens and talking to kids/teens about books.  I guess I'm in the right professions -- teaching and writing -- for the right reasons.

Literature for younger readers is fast becoming one of my top passions. I've read 17 of the 18 most popular young adult books (see npr's list) and almost half of the books that made the top 100. Meanwhile, I've become the dreaded adult book club member who confesses to having not finished the assigned book and mostly shows up for the snacks, wine, and good company.