Frank Morelli's Blog

A few months ago, I released a photo of a pair of Chuck Taylors one of my students had personalized for me with hand-painted graphics of my young adult book cover images on the side panels. They were roundly applauded, and I even got a few messages from fellow young adult authors interested in obtaining a pair of their own, complete with images of their book covers on the sides.

One of those authors was the talented Diana Rodriguez Wallach who, in addition to being a creative writing pro...

I want to thank the folks at Shepherd.com for providing so many authors with the opportunity to share their three favorite reads of the previous year. My list features titles from Diana Rodriguez Wallach, Amber Smith, and Ginger Park. All three of them fall into different genres and even have different age ranges as target audiences, but they are all books that can be enjoyed by just about anyone. Have a look for yourself:

Frank Morelli’s 3 Favorite Reads of 2023

When I found out one of my favorite young adult writers lives in my home state of North Carolina, I was pretty excited. Then she read my book. And she liked it…which coincidentally happened around the time that my head exploded for the tenth time since this whole process began with my debut YA novel, NO SAD SONGS.

If you’ve never read any of Amber Smith‘s work, you are truly missing out on some of the most powerful writing for young adults in the past decade. Her debut novel, The Way I Used to B...

READ “A COLOSSAL MISTAKE” @ The Saturday Evening Post

The Saturday Evening Post is impenetrable. It was one of the first publications I ever read. I would page through Norman Rockwell prints as a three and four-year-old boy and try to be one of the guys in my grandfather’s South Philly barber shop. He’d always have the latest issue front and center, and I’d pretend I knew how to read Edgar Allan Poe and F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ray Bradbury as I stained the now-priceless covers with sticky, green...

When I started writing No Sad Songs, I had no idea there was a budding new genre on the verge of bursting onto the scene. I was aware of the genuine sense of doom and depression being presented in books published during what I’d call the dystopian age, but I had no real consciousness of my desire to write a novel that placed hope and positivity at a premium and used it to wash away the darkness of our modern lives.

In fact, when I formulated the original idea for No Sad Songs and created my prot...

It has been almost five years since my debut young adult novel, NO SAD SONGS, first hit shelves. It has been a wild and satisfying writing journey since then, which reminds me of one of the wildest, most out-of-the-blue moments I’ve enjoyed since my first books came into the world.

First, I have to give another massive shout out to my good friend, Birdie Thompson, who happens to be one of the most talented photographers in the Los Angeles area. Check out her portfolio of amazing shots @ Bird’s E...

My dad is a famous musical artist.

In his mind.

His group has thousands of screaming fans that follow them from venue to venue.

In theory.

I’ve been to a few shows, but it always feels like I’m a curator at the dinosaur exhibit. So many dusty, old bones lying around. So many hip replacements squeaking and popping to Frankie Valli’s greatest hits. It gives me a creepy feeling. Like one of those ancient Doo Wop chicks is about to sling a pair of panties on the stage at any moment. Probably a pair ...

Dear Fellow Americans,

We hold many defining characteristics in common. You and I, the “chosen” few. The free and the brave. By simple virtue of being born under the same flag, there are some undeniable facts we can’t escape–and to escape them would, quite frankly, be a travesty of the highest order.

As Americans, we are eternally proud of our stars and stripes, of the visionaries who punched a tyrannical king square in the teeth and, in the process, gave birth to the world’s greatest experiment...

Like you, I’ve read the myriad of stereotypical stories about writers sitting at street side cafes with the sun slowly setting on the horizon and a piping hot cup of French press on the table, and just writing away until their little hearts are content. I’ve read about writers who jam out to carefully-curated set lists while writing, and about those lucky souls who can douse the inevitable frustrations of a writing session with a few quick belts of Scotch or a glass of wine.

While I’m sure all o...

TODAY ONLY!! You can scoop up both books in the series for FREE! Yes, that’s right. FREE. Follow this link to the series page and snag your Kindle copies for literally nothing. I hope you’ll consider diving into a new middle grade series, and that you’ll leave your honest review on Amazon for others to find. To get a better feel for the series, I encourage you to check out the official trailer for Book One. Hurry, because Friday is the final day for the free offer. Happy reading!