Author Archives: ayvalentine
The Good, the Bad, and the Deadly
Note: This week I’m exploring the role of death in books for young readers. I’m cross-posting here and at Reads 4 Tweens—so yes, if you follow both sites, this will look familiar. Warning: some mild spoilers—if a book has been … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Editing, Parenthood
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The Role of Death in Tween Lit
Note: This week I’m exploring the role of death in books for young readers. I’m cross-posting here and at Reads 4 Tweens—so yes, if you follow both sites, this will look familiar. Death is an unavoidable part of life. Obviously. … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Parenthood
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Let Your Sins Be Strong
A guest post from my husband and favorite GM, Clark Valentine. You can follow him on Twitter @clarkvalentine. When you intersect a good GM with a well crafted PC, you sometimes get situations where the obligations and responsibilities of the … Continue reading
Posted in Games, Guest posts
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Death Be Not Gratuitous
There’s an issue that’s been building up for me, and I think I’m going to do it as a theme week on Read 4 Tweens—gratuitous death in kids books. (“Tune in for Gratuitous Death Week!” That has a ring to … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Editing, Parenthood
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Respect Your Readers
OK, this is a bit of a rant. I’ve tried to figure out how to say this without potentially insulting some writers (although not by name) and I don’t really know how to avoid it, but this is something I … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
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Following Your Passions
About a week and a half ago, Reads 4 Tweens went public. I’m going to take some time here to reflect on it—this is more personal than I usually get, but perhaps some of this will be helpful if you … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Parenthood
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Reads 4 Tweens Is Up!
It’s still a work in progress, but Reads 4 Tweens is ready for visitors! Please check it out at www.reads4tweens.com and follow us on Twitter @reads4tweens. This is a site designed for parents, librarians, teachers, and other people who care … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Parenthood, Uncategorized
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Not a Perfect World
In a perfect world, editing means working closely and personally with a writer to ensure the writer creates the best work possible. Alas, we do not live in a perfect world. Because I typically work on RPG books comprised of … Continue reading
Dirty Little Secrets
It’s such a typical trope in children’s books—the young protagonist, afraid of the repercussions, keeps a secret from the people most likely to help. I get it—it isolates the protagonist and keeps the focus of the story on the child, … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Parenthood, Uncategorized
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Happy Valentine’s Day
In our house, every day is Valentine’s Day—or whatever other joke you want to make. On a practical level, for our family Valentine’s Day is mostly a kid holiday, full of crafts and candy. So to celebrate our namesake day, … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Kids and Gaming, Parenthood, Uncategorized
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