"Tala is the best editor ever," emails Carrie Jones, a member of YA literature's "Class of 2K7" who made her debut this spring with Tips on Having a Gay (ex)Boyfriend. [The sequel, Love (And Other Uses for Duct Tape), comes out in May '08.] "Why? Because whenever she thinks something I'm writing stinks she jumps up on my lap, hugs me and tells me it's time to take a break. She doesn't talk about narrative arc. She doesn't whine about bad dialogue. She just yanks me around outside until it's time for me to write something decent again. Plus, um, she's cute."

The picture comes from Tala's Christmas tree adventure earlier this month.