Dinosaur Valley State Park

T.rex with excellent taste in reading

Author Jessica Lee Anderson and her husband road-tripped up to Glen Rose and Dinosaur Valley State Park last weekend, and sent me some pictures :-). I've blogged about dinosaur tracks before, and these tracks in particular, but I haven't yet been there to see them myself.

Theropod tracks

I understand that it's a particularly good time to see the tracks, since the drought means that many of the tracks which would normally be underwater aren't.

The largest of the theropod tracks are thought to be those of Acrocanthosaurus, a fin-backed carnivore related to Allosaurus. 

Incidentally, Jessica will be signing her new book CALLI at The Book Spot in Round Rock this Saturday from 12 to 2 PM.  P.J. Hoover will also be there, signing SOLSTICE, now available in paperback.

Writers and Dinosaurs: Jo Whittemore, Jessica Lee Anderson & P.J. Hoover

Jo, Jessica, and PJ pose predatorially

Texas Sweethearts Jo Whittemore, Jessica Lee Anderson, and P.J. Hoover recently sent me this hilarious photo.

Jo Whittemore was born in Kentucky on Halloween and moved to Texas while in sixth grade.  She writes fantasy and contemporary humor for middle graders and is an Aggie.  She is the author of THE SILVERSKIN LEGACY trilogy (Llewellyn); and FRONT PAGE FACE OFF and ODD GIRL IN (Aladdin MIX).  Her next novel, D IN DRAMA, is forthcoming from Aladdin MIX in August 2012.

Jessica Lee Anderson was born in Phoenix, Arizona, and grew up in a lot of places (her father was in the air force), including Hawaii and Texas.  She writes contemporary young adult fiction. Her novels include TRUDY (winner of the Milkweed Award) and BORDER CROSSING (Milkweed).  Her latest novel is CALLI (Milkweed 2011).

P.J. Hoover grew up in Virginia, holds electrical engineering and history degrees from Virginia Tech, and can solve a Rubik's Cube in under two minutes.  She writes fantasy for middle grade and teen readers.   She is the author of THE FORGOTTEN WORLDS trilogy (CBAY Books) and SOLSTICE (CreateSpace 2011).  P.J. was previously featured on WRITERS AND DINOSAURS here. 

BORDER CROSSING

BORDER CROSSING, by Jessica Lee Anderson (Milkweed 2009)(ages 14+). Sixteen year old Manz, half-Mexican, half-Anglo, is just trying to make it in his small Texas town. With an alcoholic mother and a long-dead father (a possible suicide), it isn't easy. But things start looking up after he and his friend Jed get a job at a local ranch, and he meets the intriguing and sexy Vanessa.

If only they weren't all out to get him...

BORDER CROSSING is a fascinating and disturbing novel of Manz's descent into hallucinatory paranoia and suspicion, a result of his emerging schizophrenia. Using a first-person narration, Anderson skillfully unwraps the contours and tragedy of Manz's life and mental illness. Highly recommended.