I had the pleasure of meeting J.A. (Jon) Yang last month when we were part of a young adult author panel at the Kidlit Salon. I bummed a ride from him out to the ‘burbs, which gave us a chance to chat.

Jon’s a fascinating guy. He was born in Taiwan and came to the U.S. when he was six. He and his twin sister grew up watching the same movies and reading the same books and magazines. Jon’s keen insight into the minds of teenage girls led him to write Exclusively Chloe, a YA book about the adopted Chinese daughter of famous parents. The idea came to Jon after years of reading gossip rags (I myself am a recovering tabloid addict, so no judgments here). Inspired by families like the Jolie-Pitts, Jon wondered what happens to adopted children who are raised in the spotlight. Exclusively Chloe examines a possible outcome.

And it’s a super fun book, too. As I was reading, I kept going, “Uh, why didn’t I think of this?”

Although Jon enjoyed writing a girly book, he’s looking forward to writing from a guy’s perspective, too. I can’t wait for his next novel!

P.S. YA lit is not Jon’s only passion. He is also the author of The Rough Guide to Blogging. Check out his own awesome blog.

Reasons I get up

1. New bottle of shampoo waiting in the shower
2. Three kinds of yogurt in the fridge
3. Small child jumping on my head
4. Can’t stand my breath a minute more
5. Recent laundry doing ensures fullest range of cute outfits
6. That’ll show ‘em
7. Don’t want to face the wrath of self, others if I stay in bed
8. Bladder threatens to explode
9. Damn clock
10. Must fuel caffeine addiction
11. I’m actually sort of a morning person.

When I was in sixth grade, the meanest boy in my class tried to snap my bra. I wasn’t wearing one. He was mortified.

Ha. Ha. Ha. Served the little stain right.

I just ordered my copy, and you should, too. Before it’s too late! Check out author Danielle Cohen Joseph’s blog to find out about her cool book and how you can help save it. You could win a gift certificate to iTunes or the bookstore of your choice.

Jackson Pearce, author of As You Wish and a fellow 2009 Debutante, is running a contest on her blog for a great cause. Help fight breast cancer and enter for a chance to win a signed copy of her awesome new book!

I had to include a photo of Jackson because I think she’s so cute. I regularly stop by her site to watch the awesome videos she makes, and you should, too.

Welcome to the first Writer Wednesday at SarahQuigley.com! Each week, I’ll be featuring an author I admire.

I thought I’d kick things off with L.K. Madigan, whose debut novel, Flash Burnout, comes out next month.

I haven’t read it yet, but the title alone makes me want to. It’s about a teenage photographer, so to celebrate its release, Madigan is running a photo contest on her site. There are three $50 prizes to be had. Very cool!

I drove over to Oakland on Saturday for a book signing with an exciting debut author, Michelle Zink. I’m psyched to read her novel, The Prophecy of the Sisters, which is the first book in a gothic trilogy about two sisters who are fated to be enemies. I just know Michelle is going to be The Next Big Thing in YA literature.

Zee cover is pretty, no?

Michelle and I talked quite a bit of shop, and I confessed to her that I’ve begun feeling shy about what I post here on my blog. I guess I’m scared of offending someone with my point of view or making myself vulnerable by opening up too much. Which is funny because I got a book deal by doing just that. For those of you who don’t know, an editor at Penguin saw my old blog back in 2005 and contacted me to see if I wanted to write a book for teens. And I’ll tell you, I was laying it all out there on that blog. I was keepin’ it totally real.

I guess I’ve felt stifled in recent months because my blog audience has grown. I have stage fright, if you will. I’m afraid that if I write what I really feel, people won’t like it. They won’t like me.

This has been a problem my whole life. I’m insecure. I know I shouldn’t be; I’ve done lots of cool things that I’m proud of and have friends and family who love me. Still, I’ve never been able to shake this nagging feeling that nobody really wants me at the lunch table. So I water myself down in hopes that I’m protecting myself from the wagging fingers and rolling eyes I fear so much.

The problem is that by doing this, my writing suffers. It’s cardboard-dry, nothing like the stuff I was churning out when I turned the head of that editor four years ago.

It’s time to return to full-strength me. I’m scared, but Michelle Zink is right: I need to be myself again. Get ready, y’all. Sarah Quigley is about to make her triumphant return.

Last week, I had the pleasure of meeting with a group of third-sixth graders at the public library in my hometown of Litchfield, Minnesota. The kids were members of the After School Book Club, and they meet monthly with children’s librarian Jan Pease. Normally, they’re assigned to read a book for discussion, but this month, I was their guest speaker.

Since TMI is aimed at readers ages 12 and up, the group was not assigned to read the book. Instead, I talked to them about how books get published. There were several aspiring authors in the group, and they were quite interested in how a manuscript goes from an author’s laptop to bookstore shelves.

I emphasized the need to be both persistent and patient, and I hope I didn’t scare them off! They were very sweet and asked lots of great questions. By the end of my hour with them, these kids almost certainly knew more about publishing than I did when I began writing TMI.