Lisa Ann Sandell

NYC Teen Author Festival Madness!

I know…it’s been a while. A few months is all, right? Well, I’m sorry. I’ve been busy though. Busy trying to start a new book. Busy with work and apartment renovations and…well, mostly work.

But I’m still here, and I’m very excited because next week is the New York City Teen Author Festival!

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You can view the complete and fabulous schedule on Facebook to see where all of your favorite authors will be: http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=56488781586&ref;=ts

I’ll be making a few appearances. First, on Friday 3/19, I’ll be signing at the Scholastic Store (557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012) around 1 o’clock. And on Friday afternoon, I’ll be at the NYCTAF Symposium, which is being held at the South Court of the main branch of the New York Public Library (42nd Street and Fifth Avenue) at 3:30. I’ll be on a panel with some amazing authors, including one of my heroes Alice Hoffman, talking about grief, loss, and the YA novel.

Then on Sunday, 3/21, I’ll be signing at Books of Wonder (18 W. 18th Street) at 4:15pm. This is a mega-signing; there will be a ton of YA authors signing between 2 and 6pm. So, please come to any or all of these events, say hi, and bring lots of friends! I can’t wait to see you!

Residing here

Hi guys,
It’s finally Friday, and I am so excited to have ahead of me a weekend with weather that is supposed to be sunny and warm and glorious. I was going to ride my bike to work today, but was super bummed out to find that both of my tires are flat. Boo! I have to take it to the shop tomorrow. Strangely, though, my back tire was flat a few months ago and I’d gotten it fixed and the whole thing tuned up. There must be some evil air-sucking spirit hanging around my bike.

Meanwhile, I’ve had a bit of excitement this week with some fun publicity stuff:

First, you should check out the readergirlz website–I mean, you should check it out anyway, because it’s awesome, and the readergirlz divas are awesome, and they’ve created an awesome YA community. But as I mentioned in my last post, they were kind enough to invite me to be their author-in-residence for the summer, and I just posted my first vlog. it’s not just my first vlog for the readergirlz. I mean, it’s my first vlog ever. You can see it here: http://www.readergirlz.com/residence.html and I will take you on a short tour of my neighborhood parks and gardens!

And then, my mom just called me to say that she happened upon a magazine that we Delawareans favor called Delaware Today and saw that I was one of their featured summer reading authors. Very cool! The link to that article is here: http://www.delawaretoday.com/Delaware-Today/June-2010/Write-in-Time/index.php?cparticle=5&siarticle;=4#artanc

I hope y’all have a great weekend!

Gray day

It is gray and soggy and cold outside today. And it was hard to wake up, but I did it and was greeted by a very happy surprise: Teensreadtoo.com posted an interview I did with their Book Club a while ago. I think it’s pretty fun. You can check it out at http://trtbookclub.blogspot.com/2010/04/visit-with-lisa-ann-sandell.html.

Also, I’m getting excited because tomorrow I have a gallery opening for a sculpture I’ve been working on since January. I will be posting pictures later on. Meanwhile, tonight, I’ll take pictures of the new piece I’m working on–a girl basketball player. Full figures are HARD!! I’ll let y’all in on the process.

I’m going to be the Writer-in-Residence starting in May for the lovely readergirlz. Those women rock–they are just the best. Incredibly talented, absolutely the nicest people, and so supportive of the YA writing community. I was blown away when they invited me, and so I’m super psyched to start guest blogging–and I may even try shedding my technophobia and experiment with vlogging!!–for them next month. Meanwhile, you can check out the awesome Elizabeth Scott, their current Writer-in-residence: http://readergirlz.com/residence.html

Hope everybody is doing well and enjoying better spring weather than we are in NYC!

NYC Teen Author Festival Madness!

But I’m still here, and I’m very excited because next week is the New York City Teen Author Festival!

$\"\"$
You can view the complete and fabulous schedule on Facebook to see where all of your favorite authors will be: http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=56488781586&ref;=ts

Residing here

Meanwhile, I’ve had a bit of excitement this week with some fun publicity stuff:

I hope y’all have a great weekend!

Gray day

Hope everybody is doing well and enjoying better spring weather than we are in NYC!

NYC Teen Author Festival Madness!

But I’m still here, and I’m very excited because next week is the New York City Teen Author Festival!

$\"\"$
You can view the complete and fabulous schedule on Facebook to see where all of your favorite authors will be: http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=56488781586&ref;=ts

It’s been a whirlwind of a week, and yet, somehow, I kept thinking that every day was Friday. Including today! Maybe it’s because I am looking forward to the long weekend. Or maybe it’s because BEA (Book Expo America) is going on this week, and I always look forward to that. Well, I stopped by the Javitz convention center yesterday and took a stroll through the booths. I have to admit, I was a bit let down. It felt small, and many publishers had downsized their booths. Many skipped it all together this year. There were hardly any galleys to take, hardly, even, any books on display. It’ll be interesting to see what happens next year, I guess.

Meanwhile, the lovely Cynthia Leitich Smith was kind enough to feature an interview with me on her Cynsational blog. You can check it out here: http://cynthialeitichsmith.blogspot.com/2010/05/author-feature-lisa-ann-sandell.html
I was so excited to meet Cynthia earlier this year, when I went down to Houston for an SCBWI conference. She is a tremendous writer and a wonderful person, through and through. Thanks, Cynthia!

Hope y’all have a great weekend!

Truckin’

About Me

I was born in Wilmington, Delaware. I don’t remember much about it from that time, because soon thereafter, my father, a physical chemist, was transferred by his company to a plant in West Virginia, and we spent four years living on the Maryland – West Virginia border, where my younger sister, Sharon, was born. All I can recall about life there is the huge fields behind our house, the majestic Appalachian mountains, the rows of corn my mom and dad planted in our backyard, the rabbits that hid under our porch, and riding on the front of the tractor with my dad, as he cut the grass in our backyard.

When I was four years old we moved back to Wilmington, and we stayed put there. Life in Wilmington was pretty ordinary, I guess. We lived in a neighborhood where the kids rode bikes to the creek and played together till dusk. I went to school, year after year, with more or less the same kids.

All my life I was terribly shy, and talking to boys was pretty much out of the question. I mostly occupied my own world, anyway. My sister will tell you that I was forever buried in books; when we were little, she’d beg me to play with her, to please put down my book and pay attention to her. But I loved books. Some of my favorites: From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg; A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle; the Nancy Drew mysteries; Stephen King’s scary thrillers, like Misery and Pet Sematary; anything by Judy Blume, especially Blubber, Deenie, and Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret; To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee; The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers; and I could just keep on going.

I also began scribbling my own short stories in a spiral bound notebook I kept. At first they were about a black and white cat named Alley Cat, who was modeled on my cat Sonny, and his junkyard friends. As I got older, I began to write about a girl who was afraid of missing out on life. By high school, a few of my teachers, to whom I will be forever grateful, helped me to find refuge and hope in my writing. Books and writing were a haven for me.

After graduating from high school, I moved to Philadelphia to go to college at the University of Pennsylvania. College was a really cool and exciting time for me. First, it was the first time I was truly on my own, and second, I loved my classes. I studied medieval and Renaissance English literature, focusing on the legends of King Arthur — and it was through those classes and papers that I found the first inspirations for my book Song of the Sparrow.

During the summer between my sophomore and junior years of college, I spent three months living in Israel. It was an amazing experience being there, not knowing anyone else, working with my hands. Israel is a beautiful country, in spite of the political mess. I fell in love with it, and it was this summer that provided the basis for my first novel, The Weight of the Sky. When I returned to Philadelphia the following September, I was homesick for Israel. I missed it terribly, and so I began writing poems about it. One of the poems grew and grew, until it turned into the prologue for a novel. That prologue is no longer a part of The Weight of the Sky, but pieces of the original poetry can still be found in the book.

After I graduated from college, with a degree in English literature, I moved back to Israel. I got an internship at an English news magazine called The Jerusalem Report, and I lived in an apartment in the neighborhood of Rehavia in Jerusalem. Most of my friends there were journalists, and I loved my Jerusalem life, sitting in quiet cafes, traveling to different parts of the country to visit friends, shopping and haggling in Jerusalem’s old Arab market. I loved the colorful patchwork of life there, but I realized I couldn’t stay in Israel forever.

So, when my internship ended in 2000, I moved back to the United States. I found a job as a children’s books editor at a publishing house in New York City and have stayed here ever since. Traveling, riding my bike along the Hudson River, hanging out with my friends, sculpting, reading books, sitting at home and watching movies are a few of my favorite things.

About Me

Latest Post

How to Claim Saving on Auto Coverage

Everyone will want to save a penny in every transaction of paying for services and goods. From your premium subscription of car insurance cover, you need to make a saving too. But how will you achieve this? It’s simple! Below is a guide that will help you get discounts now and then.

Invest in Defensive Driving

Insurance companies will reward you with discounts once they discover you have this training. Inexperience in driving attracts more charges on the auto coverage so be skilled to reduce the costs. Joining for this training is so simple. You need to sign up for a class, attend the classes to completion and get the certification to prove you are a master in this. Attaining the training may attract up to 10% savings on your insurance cover cost.

Abide by the Traffic Laws

Insurance costs will not overlook the efforts of careful drivers. As careful drivers will rarely cause accidents, their cover cost will be reduced. This is meant to encourage reckless drivers to be observant. Having to adhere to the common laws of speed, seat belts, and observing road signs will save some coins for you.

Scoring High in School

Are you bright in class? Well, this is pretty nice for you. Insurance companies will reward bright students who score an average “B” in classwork. It is a common thought that bright students will be more responsible on the road causing less to no accidents. Insurance firms have considered this and are using it to reward discounts to its client. Why then miss this! Hit your classwork well, and you will enjoy reduced charges on your insurance coverage.

Park in Secure Places

You want your car to stay safe from thieves. Efforts to keep it off bad people will see the insurance company reward you. Ensure that you take every step to safeguard the safety of your car. Go for alarm systems, locked doors and steering wheel lock to ensure that burglars’ efforts are curtailed. You will get reduced charged on your auto cover as the insurance company is aware of the reduced chances of you filling an auto-theft insurance claim.

Why miss on discounts on your auto cover while you can. It is very simple to benefit from this feature of the insurance firms. Be observant of what the firms require and you will save much. This guide will help you note what you need to do.

Condo Rentals are More Economical at the Grand Cayman

The Grand Cayman is one of the great tourist destinations in the Caribbean as it possesses one of the great stretches of white sand beaches you can find. The Grand Cayman is actually the largest of three islands of the Cayman Islands. The three islands of the Cayman Islands that are located somewhere within the western Caribbean seas are part of British Overseas Territory. Despite this, the fact that this territory has remained unpopulated until the 17^th century has led to the development of some great flora and fauna wherein some are endemic species of the island themselves.

Of the three islands, the Grand Cayman is the biggest and most popular as this is not only where the territory’s capital, George Town, is located, but that this is also where the widely popular Seven Mile Beach area is located. The Seven Mile Beach is probably one of the reasons you will visit the Grand Cayman in the first place. The place is not only filled with posh and lavishly exclusive hotels and resorts, but that it is considered as a mecca for those who want to do some shopping.

Even though the Grand Cayman may just be considered as an island whose main attraction and commodity is tourism, the truth is that there is actually much more to that. The Grand Cayman is a destination for offshore banking and has 43 of the 50 largest banks in the world. In short, the financial presence found on the island is actually much more than what you would normally expect from just an island territory. Nevertheless, the highly valuable tourist destination within the island has helped in elevating its overall financial presence.

The number of fast food restaurants, hotels, resorts, and nightclubs are aplenty. There are even some clubs and resorts that offer native Caymanian cuisine which is a delight to have for those who know how to appreciate acquired taste in foreign dishes.

When it comes to having the most visitors, it is actually the Seven Mile Beach that takes the cake. If you are interested in going for some rest and relaxation while having a really great time in your life, the Grand Cayman may just be the vacation destination for you. If you are on a tight budget or you simply cannot digest the high price rates hotels and resorts take for accommodation, you can choose to simply rent condos on seven mile beach. The good thing about renting a condo instead of staying at a hotel is that condo rental deals are very economical and budget friendly. The best part is that since condos have very near proximity to many top tourist destinations with the area, you will not have any issues finding the tourist site that your schedule allows you to.

Clearing Away The Snow in Calgary Well Before Spring

Snow is a fact of life in many parts of the world during certain seasons. Many people try to get rid of the snow on their property themselves. However, this is often a physically demanding task for many people at the best of times. At the worst of times, people can’t manage to get it done themselves at all, and yet it still needs to be finished. Getting snow removal can be the perfect solution for many individuals.

People usually aren’t going to need professional snow removal services throughout an entire winter. However, there are usually going to be a few heavy blizzards and a few heavy snowstorms in any given winter. Many of the winters in recent years have been particularly heavy in many areas. It’s difficult enough to shovel the snow, and impossible for the people who have physical or emotional disabilities of some kind. In the wake of a tremendous snowstorm, getting assistance in the form of snow removal can really make people feel as if there is light at the end of the tunnel at last.

Some forecasts say that winters are going to get more severe in the next few years or so. The severity of the winters is going to have different consequences in different areas. It is possible that the increased severity of the winters is going to translate into colder temperatures that will literally create conditions that are too cold for snow. It is also possible that the more severe winters are going to produce more and more snow, which seems to be more likely. Whether the winter time gets colder or snowier, people are still going to find that it is less pleasant for them to attempt to do their own snow removal, and getting professional snow removal really can make all the difference for many people.

Removing the snow individually can be difficult or even dangerous. Many people suffer accidents during the wintertime for this reason. No one should feel the need to be completely self-sufficient at all times. Many individuals will be able to benefit from the services of professionals who have been performing a particular task for years, and the individuals who are in charge of snow removal fall into that category. As the winters get more severe in the next few years, people are going to need additional help. They shouldn’t be afraid to seek out that assistance.