Writer for Young Adults
How do you get an audience to root for someone who's on the wrong side of history? When you're writing a book or screenplay, it can be a tricky business. You have to make the character seem sympathetic, while still staying true to the history. You can't shrink from portraying the brutal realities of his or… Continue reading When You’re on the Wrong Side of History (Part 1)
Gold is in the air this fall, and not just in the turning leaves. Two new YA westerns, Erin Bowman's Vengeance Road and Rae Carson's Walk on Earth a Stranger, send strong young women on the trail for gold in the 19th century. Vengeance Road is a straight-up western, chockfull of strong characters and fast-paced action. When… Continue reading Golden Girls
Just as I was starting school at the end of August, Libba Bray's long-awaited Lair of Dreams hit shelves. It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of pretty much anything she writes, and The Diviners, a sprawling historical thriller set in the 1920s, set my expectations high for her new series. Luckily, Lair of Dreams delivers, delving into fascinating… Continue reading Lair of Dreams and the American Dream (Spoilers)
A few weeks ago Sarah A. Chrisman published an article on Vox provocatively titled, "I love the Victorian era. So I decided to live in it." In it, Chrisman describes how she and her husband have recreated the Victorian era as much as possible, from wearing period-appropriate clothing in their 19th-century Washington State house to washing… Continue reading The Past is a Foreign Country. And You Can Never Go Back.
Last post I shared some photos from our summer trip to the UK. Today, I'd love to show you some of my favorites from the second half of our trip, where we stopped in Ireland and the Isle of Man. Our first stop in Ireland was the Antrim coast and the Giant's Causeway in Northern… Continue reading Postcards from Ireland and the Isle of Man
Things were pretty quiet in this space during July, mainly because we took an epic trip with my family to Scotland, Ireland, and the Isle of Man to celebrate my parents' anniversary. After our honeymoon last summer in England (during which we kept saying, "We might as well live it up because who knows when we'll… Continue reading Postcards from Scotland
Writing about some of my favorite YA historicals got me thinking about my other favorite genre: historical fantasy. There's something so freeing and fun about a great fantasy romp through, say, an alternate London, where girls wield formidable magical powers and the dead come back to life. I've touched on a few YA historical fantasies in my… Continue reading (Some of) My Favorite Books: YA Historical Fantasy
I love Newport. It's one of my favorite things about living in Rhode Island: drive 45 minutes and you're in the middle of a gorgeous port city, filled with historic houses and fun restaurants and bracing sea air. When my sister visits in the spring or summer, we often try to fit in a trip to… Continue reading Afternoon Adventure: Newport, RI
A little over a week ago I spent a lovely afternoon drinking milkshakes and browsing my local indie bookstore with a good friend. (AKA one of the best ways to pass the time.) While we were aggressively perusing the YA section, she asked me about my favorite historical fiction titles. And while I had a few… Continue reading (Some of) My Favorite Books: YA Historical
My husband Josh and I are both middle school teachers, and this means that we spend a lot of time talking about teaching. (Sometimes this drives my sister crazy.) We teach different subjects (him: English; me: history) at different schools with wildly different populations, so most of the time this leads to productive, interesting conversations that… Continue reading What Workshop Taught Me about Writing
Abby Murphy 