Kate Spofford, author

Category: Random

  • The Sarah Dessen formula(s)

    I love Sarah Dessen.  She has a lovely variation of the girl-meets-boy, classic teen romance storyline that always keeps me coming back for more.  I haven’t read her newest book, The Moon and More, yet… but I’m sure it will fit this formula! Sarah Dessen Summer Romance Formula Summer Vacation… That Summer, Keeping the Moon, This…

  • WTF Book-to-Movie transitions

    In honor of the upcoming “World War Z” movie adaptation of the book by Max Brooks, I decided to put together this list of other books that taken the most basic premise of the source material and create something totally unrecognizable. “Blood and Chocolate” (based on the book by Annette Curtis Klause) Here we have…

  • in other news…

    In self-publishing news… My very first novel, Bethany Caleb, is now available!  So is The Art Kids!  It’s ridiculously easy to publish a book on Kindle.  Too easy.  Have I made a mistake?  Are there typos?  Probably…  It’s a scary thing to send your creations out there.  While in the privacy of my own home…

  • book to real-life connection *spoilers*

    A while back I read this book by Lisa McMann, Dead to You. (You might not want to continue reading if you want to read this book and not have the end spoiled for you!) The story follows a boy named Ethan returning to a family from whom he was kidnapped years ago, and his…

  • The Dystopian Formula

    I’ve been reading a lot of dystopian novels lately, and I think I have figured out the recipe! Check it out below, with examples from 7 different YA dystopian novels/series. Start with an “ideal” society, usually formed after a rebellion that no one really remembers: The Giver, Matched: everything is clean, happy, ordered, and mostly…

  • and now for something not writing-related

    By which I mean my thoughts on the new season of American Horror Story! The setting – I love it.  Asylums in the 1960’s are the setting for many of my favorite novels about crazy people (see this post for a list).  Plus it’s clear that they are basing this particular asylum on Danvers State…

  • Television as inspiration

    Most of the time, TV is a huge distraction for my writing.  But other times, television can inspire action. I usually end up sitting at my sewing machine when I watch “Project Runway.”  It’s something about those designers sewing an entire outfit in a matter of hours that makes me feel guilty about that dress…

  • i actually wrote a little today!!

    Wow, really?  That’s right, folks.  I wrote, like, two pages more on Dreamwalkers! But what I’d really like to talk about today is how freaking excited I am for the new season of American Horror Story. While I am disappointed that many of the major characters from Season One are not returning, nor will the…

  • crafty goodness

    I’ve been getting quite a bit of crafting done during my non-writing time…  First up was this pleated bag.  I found the pattern here.  I got canvas fabric in this cool pattern, and voila: Cute, right?  The bag did come out a little bit on the small side, at least compared to the pictures on…

  • recent movie roundup

    In theaters now: The Cabin in the Woods– This was a movie made for horror movie buffs.  It had scares, gore, humor, and lots of in-jokes… I loved it!  It’s hard to say much about the plot without giving it all away, but it is much more than your average “group of 5 college students…