NEWEST FAMILY PHOTO! with a baker's dozen. Including the @LEGO_Group typewriter, right on the piano where such things belong. Books include: biography; YA contemporary standalone; YA (adult crossover) fantasy duology, companion series, fantasy trilogy, Historical fantasy The Sapphire Legend Part I & II, Silhouettes, End of Ever After, Lies of Golden Straw, Beautiful to Me, Human Again, Heart of a Hunter, Rabbi JJ Hecht, Shadow & Crown, Light & Kingdom, Spark & Heir, Lost Shores of Thonis ELTenenbaum.com

Men are from Mars...Women are from Krypton.

Thought Question! Where do values come from? eltenenbaum.substack.com/p/t…

DNF a YA Fantasy (aka Romantasy) with an obnoxious female protagonist, an orphan plucked from the streets for a comfortable life in the palace because she’s a rare possessor of magic. She spends more time demanding to be noticed and some cliches about “having her voice heard” instead of serving others out of gratitude for what she was born with, building relationships that model the respect she desires, and treating the royal family with gratitude and respect for what they’ve given her. Worse, for some reason beyond human logic, the crown prince is just mad about her. Then again, it is fantasy.

New essay about trees and roots and growth and comebacks! eltenenbaum.substack.com/p/i…

If male characters were portrayed the same way “fierce feminist girl boss” protagonists often are, readers would be correctly repelled by their stubborn, ill-calculated, ill-mannered, endangering recklessness.

Dear Librarians and Booksellers, Please bear in mind the life a book will live after leaving your location when tagging items. Please use stickers that are easy to remove and don’t damage covers when they are. Sincerely, Readers.

We need to publish more accurate American/Western historical fiction, especially from before the 1850s. People of the West don’t, and can’t, know how blessed we are without knowing where we come from, and the process, progression, and cost that got us here.

YA books used to center around firsts; first crush, first love, first kiss. Now, YA books center around others kinds of firsts, or seconds and thirds and fourths. At this point, aside from age of characters, what distinguishes YA from Adult Romance?

We’re told men are base. We’re told men are animals. We’re told men see women with only one thought in mind. Then we read recent books by female authors. Have we reached pinnacle equality? Did we win?

Publishing has taken a wrong turn when Young Adult novels are (accurately) described as “steamy,” “spicy,” and “sexy,” instead of (more appropriate) “sweet,” “smart,” “sentimental.”

New Thought Question connecting The Troxler Effect to daily life: eltenenbaum.substack.com/p/t…

Fairly certain we can agree there’s no lack of strong female protagonists in YA, or really any genre. In other news, stories have become much more rage filled and vengeful.

Picked up some YA from over a decade ago, and noticed certain distinct changes. A few for now: 1. Writing overall has gotten better. 2. Books have gotten longer. 3. Many, many covers featured girls in gowns (thematically, or otherwise), but now many, many covers feature girls in cloaks holding weapons or only weapons or weapons and flowers or flowers and blood and decay. Sooooo, we’ve given up “princesses” for “assassins and warriors”? Are we happier for it?

Dear Romantasy, I picked you up to read a fantastical story, but got a manual instead. So I put you back down. Please leave erotica to its genre, and just tell a good story as only you can. Sincerely, Reader Jaded & Frustrated

Greatest children’s fiction of all time, hands down: 1. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster (writing) 2. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster (content) 3. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster (for the laughs) 4. The Power of Un by Nancy Etchemendy (story) 5. The Power of Un by Nancy Etchemendy (for the impact)

We should be publishing more/wider range of (western) historical fiction. Even if many lovely women who worked in book stores contributed greatly to WWII, and even if many intrepid ladies and gentlemen were great detectives in the 1800s, centuries aren’t being covered (anymore/at all). We need to know where we came from to know where to go.