Hello and welcome to my brand-new redesigned website. I’ve added some new features including a monthly note to keep you updated on all my books, reviews, new releases, and more. In response to the many questions I receive about how I get ideas for stories, I’ve added a new page called Inspirations that I hope you’ll enjoy, and I’ve included some links to keep you connected to some of my favorite YA authors and writers sites.

Enjoy the site and come back often.

All the best,
D. Anne

One of the things I love best about writing for teens and tweens is the chance to talk to my readers. If you have a question about my books, about writing and publishing in general, or if you just want to tell me what’s on your mind, this is the place. I’ll answer each message as soon as I can, but please remember that I travel quite a lot, and sometimes it may take a while for me to catch up. But I will write you back and you can read it here.

Or, click here if you’d rather send a private message that will not be posted.

Here are a few links to some of my all-time favorite sites for teens and tweens.

Authors

• Libba Bray
• Rachel Cohn
• Sara Dessen
• Kimberly Willis Holt
• Sonya Sones

Writing Sites

Awesome opportunities for teen writers to publish original work and/or read the work of other young writers.

• Merlyn’s Pen
• New Moon
• Stone Soup
• Teen Ink

Here’s my page at my publisher, Simon & Schuster:

D. Anne Love at Simon & Schuster

The question I get most often from young writers is “How do you get ideas for stories?”

One writer I know claims that he gets his ideas from a secret Idea Bank in Waxahatchie, Texas, but the truth is, most writers think up our own. Most of my books have come about because I am curious about something. I keep a notebook by my chair and when I read something I want to know more about, I write it down and head for the library. THE PUPPETEER’S APPRENTICE came about because of a book I read on the history of the puppet theater.

On the Big Island of Hawaii. Traveling is another good way to get ideas for stories.

A second way I get ideas for stories is by observing what’s going on around me: That old lady on the park bench over there: who is she and why is she sitting there? Why is that man standing outside the bank looking so worried? (I hope he’s not about to rob the place! But what if he did? That might be pretty exciting to write about.) One day I saw two young girls arguing in a mall, and then all of a sudden, they started hugging each other and crying. I figured they were best friends, and I started making up a story about them. Their story became my third novel, MY LONE STAR SUMMER, which won a prize for young adult fiction.

Fun things you can do to get ideas for your writing:

Take a notebook to a park, the zoo, an airport, a mall, the grocery store. Watch what goes on around you and write it down. Notice what people are wearing, what they are talking about, what kinds of things are in their shopping carts. Give them names and imagine what happens when they get home.

Go to the library. Check out three books on subjects that are new to you. Hang gliding, maybe. Or a biography of someone whose name you have never before heard. Read about the ancient Romans, mako sharks, life in medieval England, or black holes in space. See what you learn and what questions come up as you read. Finding the answers just might turn into a story.

Tape record an interview with an older person. Ask them what they remember about music, dress, games, traditions, or events from their early days. Or interview someone who has an unusual occupation. What are the best and worst parts of the job? What’s the most exciting, the funniest, the most embarrassing or the most dangerous thing that’s ever happened to them at work?

Choose a place you’d like to visit. It can be as far away as Mars, or as close as your next door neighbor’s house. Gather travel brochures, travel guides, photographs, drawings, and newspaper articles. Make a list of questions you’d like to answer while you’re on the trip. Any of those questions can lead you to an idea for a great story.

Happy Writing!!

Since publication of my first novel for young readers more than ten years ago, it has been my pleasure to serve as visiting author at schools, libraries and writers’ conferences nationwide. As a former classroom teacher, school principal and university professor, I am at ease with audiences of all ages whether I’m giving a general program about my work as a writer, or engaged in a more formal presentation of specific writing skills tailored for each audience.

For schools and libraries I offer programs for students in grades 3-8 with a maximum of four presentations per day. For general presentations about my work, I can speak to groups of 100 students at a time; for hands-on workshops using my POWER writing system, class size is limited to 40 students per session in grades 3-5 and 50 students per session in grades 6-8. The smaller group size allows me to give more individual attention to students and more feedback at the end of the writing exercises.

For writers’ workshops and conferences, I offer program formats on various aspects of writing the novel including Building Believable Characters, Developing Plot Structure, and Writing Historical Fiction.

The fee for a full day’s program is $1200 plus travel expenses.

If you’d like more information about the content of my programs, please get in touch. I look forward to sharing with you the magic of books!

MORE RAVES

“Thank you for a most fabulous visit. Today I am hearing all the great reviews. Our lives are better for having met D. Anne Love. I was met at the door this morning by a first grader who wrote her first book last night.” — Boca Raton, FL

“I can’t tell you how much I appreciated your wisdom and shared experience at our conference. I have heard nothing but positive feedback.” — Omaha, NE

“I knew you’d be a powerful presenter, but you surpassed all my expectations.” — Indianapolis, IN

“Thank you for speaking at our annual conference. your use of humor, and your broad knowledge of the children’s literature field contributed to an excellent presentation.” — Des Moines, IA

“No wonder your books sold out so fast! your presentations are funny, fascinating, and open a window on the past for children.” — Hays, KS

“It was our pleasure to hear your speech at the awards luncheon. Our best wishes for your continued success.” — Chicago, IL

“Thank you for the many ways you enriched the lives of staff, parents, and children who make up our school community.” — Newton, IA

“Your visit to our Young Authors’ Conference was worth the wait. Thank you for a wonderful two days.” — Jacksonville, IL

Somehow, I still had time to skin my knees. This picture was taken on the first day of fifth grade, when I was eleven years old. My mother told me to kneel so my skirt would hide the huge scabs on my knees.

I was born in western Tennessee, the eldest of four children. My father was a lover of books who taught me to read even before I started school. My mother was (and still is!) the world’s best mom and a lover of music who sang in the kitchen as she taught me to cook.

I enjoyed playing games and riding bikes but my favorite activity was reading. Among my favorite authors were Lois Lenski, Louisa May Alcott and Harper Lee. I was in love with words and stories, with the feel of paper as I turned the pages, with the smell of ink.

In high school, and later, in college, I discovered newspaper writing and worked for the paper to help pay for my education. I became a teacher, and later, a school principal, and then a college professor, but I never forgot my dream of someday writing books. In 1989, I began writing full time, and in 1995 Holiday House published BESS’S LOG CABIN QUILT, my first novel for young readers.

Here’s Major, waiting for a game of fetch.

Since then I have published a number of other books. Writing is still my full time job, though I spend a lot of time visiting schools, talking to students and teachers about my favorite subjects: books and reading!

In addition to Texas, I’ve lived in Tennessee, Illinois, Iowa, and California. Currently I live in central Ohio with my husband Ron, and Major our rambunctious golden retriever. But Austin, Texas is, and always will be the place I call home.