About

Me

• Name: Kelly
• Where I Live: Austin, Texas, where the weather is gorgeous 2 weeks out of the year and hot as hell from May to October. I should move one of these days, but that would require effort, and did I mention it’s hot?
• Who I Live With: My husband Erik, 2-year-old daughter Abby, 3 dogs, and 2 cats. In 1100 square feet. It’s cozy.
• What I Do with My Time: Read lots, write sometimes, play with my baby girl who tells me she’s “not a baby,” watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer DVDs, make spreadsheets, eat an entire bag of Uncle Eddie’s cookies in one sitting, think about how I should exercise but it’s too hot.
• What I Read: Mostly YA, a little of everything else. Check out my reading stats for the specifics.

This Blog

I’m a wannabe YA writer. So I read YA books and try to learn from them. If I have constructive criticism for a book, it is not out of malice. I have the utmost respect for the effort that goes into writing a book. But I want to learn how to be a better writer. And the primary way I’ve been able to grow as a writer so far is by reading YA books, articulating what I like and don’t like, and learning from that.

If you’re a YAnnabe, this is the blog for you. I review lots of YA books from a YAnnabe’s point of view. Did the dialogue seem natural or wooden? Did the main character grab for my heart and never let go til the last page? Did the abverbs in every sentence annoy the stuffing out of me? My goal is to grow as a writer but also to share what I’m learning with other YAnnabes.

Aside from YA book reviews, I post writing book reviews, writing tips, writing exercises—anything I think might help me and my fellow YAnnabes reach that ultimate goal.

One day, we will walk down a street thick with teenagers, and they will stop in their tracks. Their jaws will drop to their iPhones. They will ask us to autograph their copy of our book, which they just so happen to be carrying with them because they cannot bear to be apart from it, not even for one second of the day. And we will smile and bask in the ray of sunshine that has magically, inexplicably, suddenly enveloped us. We will.