New Releases by K L Going

From the award winning author of Fat Kid Rules the World and The Liberation of Gabriel King comes a lyrical, middle grade gem that asks all the hard questions and hits all the right notes--perfect for fans of Cynthia Rylant and Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine Tia lives with her mom in a high-risk neighborhood in New Orleans and loves singing gospel in the Rainbow Choir with Keisha, her boisterous and assertive best friend. Tia's dream is to change the world with her voice; and by all accounts, she might be talented enough. But when a shooting happens in her neighborhood and she learns the truth about the crime that sent her father to prison years ago, Tia finds she can't sing anymore. The loss prompts her to start asking the people in her community hard questions--questions everyone has always been too afraid to ask. Full of humanity, Pieces of Why is a timely story that addresses grief, healing, and forgiveness, told through the eyes of a gifted girl who hears rhythm and song everywhere in her life.

Get schooled in the art of writing fiction for teens Writing & Selling the YA Novel offers a complete lesson plan for writing and publishing fiction for teens. Structured like a day of high school, award-winning young adult novelist K.L. Going takes her students through every stage of YA writing. Learn how the YA genre has developed in History class. Toss around ideas during Gym. Create authentic teen characters in "English class". Craft convincing plots during Lunch. Add it all up in Math as you learn about agents and contracts. Along the way you'll find plenty of "homework" exercises to help you hone your skills - as well as input from actual teen readers. At the end of your school day, you'll have all the knowledge a young adult author needs to write a book that speaks to teen readers - and get it published.