Author Review – Susan Vreeland

Last summer, I reviewed Susan Vreeland’s novel “Girl in Hyacinth Blue,” and found it fascinating. Wanting to know more about the woman behind the book, I decided to focus this author review on her. Susan taught high school English for thirty years and in fact, wrote a handbook for students called “What Engish Teachers Want.” She began her writing career with magazine articles and newspaper stories in 1980, working her way into novels from there with her first fiction piece, “What Love Sees,” published in 1988 and later made into a television movie. Frequently mistaken to be the author of … Continue reading

The Books of Carolyn Keene

When I was a pre-teen, I read every Nancy Drew and Dana Girls book I could get my hands on. Sure, they were a little campy, but what girl didn’t want to imagine themselves as a pretty super-sleuth, going forth and saving the world? You could do that with a heroine like Nancy Drew. As an aspiring author, I was also fascinated by Carolyn Keene. What type of woman must she be to be able to turn out so many intriguing stories? Then I found out – she’s not just one woman. She’s a whole team of them (and men, … Continue reading

Great Books for Ten-Year-Old Girls

My co-author for this blog is my ten-year-old daughter, Caryn. She’s been reading a lot this year and we’d like to share with you some of the books that she has enjoyed the most. 1. “The Pixie Tricks” series by Tracey West. Violet Briggs is given the job of tricking pixies who have escaped from the Otherworld and come into ours. Her helper in this quest is Sprite, a green pixie who has been given the title of Royal Pixie Tricker by Queen Mab. (Click here for a complete review) Caryn says: “Pixie Tricks are very fun books. It’s well … Continue reading