About Me

Raised in a town so small it lacked a stop light, there was little for Anna Shinoda to do except climb trees, go on hikes and read books. Reading books led to writing books, and by the fourth grade, Anna had her first book bound through the Young Authors program. In middle school and high school, she concentrated her writing skills on reporting the news to her schoolmates as the editor for her high school paper. Upon graduation, she was awarded several scholarships on the merit of her writing and pursued a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communication Studies at Long Beach State. Anna worked in music Public Relations for several years after college and eventually discovered a love of writing for children.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas – Next Book Club

Thank you to everyone who joined us today to talk about How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff!  We’ll be meeting again on Friday, June 28th at 2pm PST to discuss The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne.

Someone asked me if anyone can join.  Absolutely.

I’ve really enjoyed the chats so far.  Today’s seemed an especially good one.  I think part of what made it so interesting was the wide variety of opinions, especially about Meg Rosoff’s writing style in How I Live Now.  We had ratings from 2 to 5 stars.  If you missed Book Club this week and would like to check out what we talked about, awesome adiek84 was able to do a chat transcript that you can read here.

We will continue to use the ustream chat room, which seems to be working well:  http://www.ustream.tv/channel/anna-shinoda-s-book-club

Feedback?  Questions?  Comments?  Please leave in the comment section below.

Book Club 2pm PST http://www.ustream.tv/channel/anna-shinoda-s-book-club

We’ll be discussing How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff today, May 24th at 2pm PST in my Ustream Chat: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/anna-shinoda-s-book-club .

Fainting From Excitement: Learning Not To Drown Bound Galleys

I’m not one to use the word SQUEEEEEE! lightly.  Or ever, for that matter.  But good mother of all that is holy, I am holding in my hand a bound galley of Learning Not To Drown.  

Unfortunately, the book won’t be out until April 1, 2014, the on-sale date that is “subject to change without notice.”

Next Book Club – May 24, 2:00pm PST

We’ll be discussing How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff on Friday, May 24th at 2pm PST in my Ustream Chat: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/anna-shinoda-s-book-club . If you are in a different time zone and need a little help figuring out when 2pm PST is for you, check out this magical site.

I know it’s a bit time before our next meeting, but I wanted to give everyone who wants to participate the chance to get the book and read it.  That, and  I have a very busy May, so I need time to re-read the book myself!

Hope to chat with you there!

The Surprising Truth About Jury Duty

Jury duty.  It’s not that bad.  Yep.  I just said it.  Jury duty is not that bad.

I’ve been getting jury duty summons since I’ve turned eighteen.  Before I even open the envelope, I get heart palpitations and start thinking of all the reasons they should excuse me.  For days leading up to the call in date, I nervously glance at the envelope, hoping that I won’t actually need to report.

When I got the summons this time it was no different, but instead of freaking out about it, I reminded myself that new experiences are like little pieces of gold to add to my writer’s treasure chest of stuff to pull from when creating a story.

Then the Friday before I had to report in, my next round of work on Learning Not to Drown arrived.  This time, it was my first pass galleys which was super exciting for two reasons: 1. I got to see what the page layouts will actually look like on the inside of the book and 2. this was possibly my FINAL CHANCE to make any changes!

So naturally when I was selected to be juror number 7 on a civil trial that was projected to last 3-4 weeks, my first response (silently in my head, of course, as I was taking the oath) was “you’re f&@*ing kidding me.”

Everyone else’s first response when I told them was, “Didn’t you try to get out of it?”

Adventures in the Great Barrier Reef

I went to the Great Barrier Reef about a month ago and took some pictures of the Whitsunday Islands and some fishies.  Here they are…

The rule of thumb as a writer goes something like this: looking for work or waiting to hear back from your editor? Schedule a vacation. The work will inevitably come the day before you leave. So of course I received my Learning Not to Drown manuscript copy edited as I was packing for my trip, and of course my deadline for returning the edits was in the middle of my vacation. With an extension granted by my editor, I was able to work while on vacation and overnight them as soon as I got home. Not the way I envisioned my time on the lovely Whitsunday Islands, but it didn’t suck to have this as my office for the week.

Blue Pearl Bay II, Hayman Island.  We dove here and also did some snorkeling in the shallower reefs.

The beach of Blue Pearl Bay was covered in coral, stones and shells washed smooth by the tide.

Underwater photos taken with our Go Pro Hero 2.

The water visibility was pretty murky due to recent storms, but the coral and fish were still incredible.

I was obsessed with these vibrant clams that would close up as soon as anything got close to them.

Helicopter view on our way to White Haven.

White Haven Beach. Brightest white squeaky sand that feels like clay when it’s wet and dry snow (minus the cold) when it’s dry.

White Haven: Nobody there but us and this bird.

Impromptu beach clean-up. We brought a cooler full of food for a picnic and returned with a cooler full of plastic that had washed onto shore.

Beautiful cockatoos reside on Hayman Island.  Beautiful.  And loud.  And brazen.  They’d literally land on our table and steal food right off our plates.  When I took this picture, a gang of six had surrounded us.  Luckily, we were napping, not eating.

White Spider Lilies like little fireworks everywhere in the gardens. Thanks to my followers on Instagram and Twitter for helping me identify these!

How I Live Now – Next Book Club

It’s midnight here in California, so I’ve closed the poll for voting for the next book club selection.  How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff barely beat The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne.  So for our next book club we’ll read How I Live Now, and the book club after that we will read The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.

Thanks for voting and happy reading!

Next Book Club Selection – You vote!

I had a great time chatting with you in book club today.  Thank you to those who were able to make it and participate!

We will be voting for our next book selection!  The books that were suggested by book club members are listed here with links to summaries.  Whatever book has the most votes by Friday will be our next selection.

How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

The List by Siobhan Vivian

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini

Tomorrow, When the War Began  by John Marsden

Looking for Alaska by John Green

Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta

Book Club Moved to http://www.ustream.tv/channel/anna-shinoda-s-book-club

Book Club Moved to http://www.ustream.tv/channel/anna-shinoda-s-book-club

Book Club Today at 2PM PST http://tinychat.com/annashinoda

I’ve decided to give TinyChat a second chance.  Book Club today at 2pm PST, discussing Out of My Mind by Sharon M Draper.  Here’s the link:  http://tinychat.com/annashinoda

I do have a back up plan.  If TinyChat starts being evil, we’ll move to Ustream.  I’ve set up a chat room http://www.ustream.tv/channel/anna-shinoda-s-book-club  . My username there is A_Shinoda