Fort Collins Author Friends!

Hello dear readers!

Books make such fantastic presents.  Some of my all-time favorite presents during my childhood and teen years were books. The love I developed for these books (The Secret Garden, The Little Princess, books by Mary Stewart, Roald Dahl, Scott O'Dell, and many, many more...) was an essential part of my journey as a writer. Thank you to all my wonderful relatives who supported me early on in my writing journey by giving me books!

I'm lucky enough to live in a community with loads of talented (not to mention extremely *nice*) authors who write for young people.  We decided to support each other this holiday season by encouraging people to buy each other's books as gifts. So.... I encourage you to shop local authors if you're in Fort Collins, and if you're somewhere else, shop local authors in your community!  (Remember that you can always buy books to donate to your local school library or a Toys for Tots drive.)

Okay, here goes:

By acclaimed novelist, Todd Mitchell

A teenage boy takes advantage of being the new student at school and reinvents himself.  Things get out of control in a sharp, funny, poignant, and compulsively readable novel that gives a coming-of-age theme a surprising twist. Selected by the Texas Library Association for the 2011 Teen Reading List.

You've heard me rave about this book before on my blog!  I LOVE it! One of my all-time favorite teen books.

By WWII author, Teresa Funke

The Home-Front Heroes Series are books inspired by the stories of real people during WWII. Ideal for history buffs and teachers, too!

My favorite way of learning about history is through stories... and Teresa does a fantastic job of this with her novels!

By praised teen author, Amy Kathleen Ryan

Zen is the "good" sister with a black belt in karate and a newfound penchant for kicking heads. Xander is a wild scientific genius with a self-destructive streak. They have three things in common: they're brown-eyed blondes, they've noticed the boy next door has turned into a hottie, and they miss their deceased mom. Xander spirals into a vortex of late-night parties, scary men, and drugs. She's about to ruin her chance at college. Should Zen keep trying to protect Xander, or finally let her go? 

Amy Ryan creates such distinctive voices and characters and storylines-- she's a captivating storyteller!  (And I've had the privilege of reading a sneak preview of her speculative fiction series that will come out in a year or so-- spectacular!) 

By national best-selling author, Natasha Wing

For dinosaur lovers: a tongue-in-cheek guide to caring for a pet dinosaur with wild illustrations and fun lift-the-flaps. 

My three-year old loves this book! It's SO much fun to read together!

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The above is just a sampling of the great books coming out of Fort Collins... Other fantastic local authors to check out include: 

• Victoria Hanley (Violet Wings-- wonderful middle grade fantasy), 
• Lauren Myracle (Violet in Bloom-- fabulous middle grade realistic fiction), 
• Karla Oceanak (Artsy-Fartsy books-- middle-grade graphic novel series along the lines of Diary of a Wimpy Kid (but better!), 
• Nathan Kumar Scott (multi-cultural picture books)

... I'm sure I'm missing some authors (sorry!), but I have to stop here so I can bring Lil Dude to preschool now... ;)

Happy Book-Giving!

xo,

Laura

* In Fort Collins,  you can find most of these books at: Old Firehouse Books, Bookends, Clothes Pony and Dandelion Toys, Reader's Cove, and Barnes & Noble on So. College. Nature's Own also carries How to Raise a Dinosaur.  Or, if you're not in the area, you can go to indiebound.org to order the books from an indie store near you.