THE ONE WITHOUT THE ANIMATED BAT: WHY YOU NEED TO READ THE DREAMING ANASTASIA SERIES

I like to think of my first book -- and eventually first series, DREAMING ANASTASIA (Sourcebooks)--as the 'little book that could.'

In many ways, back in September, 2009, it was ahead of the curve: Like so many series and books that came after it and very much like Marissa Meyer's CINDER and SCARLET and the rest of the forthcoming LUNAR CHRONICLE series, it reimagines a set of fairy tales, in this case the Russian stories of Baba Yaga the witch, Vasilisa the Brave, the doomed rusalka and the immortal guy of soul jar trope fame, Koschei the Deathless. It does so within the context of a modern day girl named Anne whose life and journey in many-- but not all-- ways parallels Anastasia Romanov's and the hapless hero Ethan who begins the series with a temporary case of immortality.

Or as recent reviewer Jason Gallaher, writing at YABooksCentral about the series, says: IT'S THE ONE WITHOUT THE ANIMATED BAT!

I'm good with that. It is the one without the bat. And it is -- like CINDER, which I recently read and adored,  in case you're wondering what's sparking this discussion--an ambitious and often complex series in its attempts to meld three different sets of fairy tales characters that were previously unconnected, with a historical family that met great tragedy. There is the central mystery of Anastasia, but there are also interconnected mysteries of Anne's family and the rusalka's family and Ethan's family and Viktor's family and the witch Baba Yaga's backstory and Anne's own hero's journey. Plus a romance with Ethan! Which is a lot. And (yup, like CINDER, where Cinder and Kai both narrate), there are alternating points of view, in this case in 1st person. So the stories unwind and twist and turn.

And oh yeah, did I ever mention that the whole series was largely influenced by my story telling hero, Joss Whedon? That Buffy and Angel and the reverse fairy tale concept -- because yeah, Anne is the strong one in this series and Ethan falls for the bad guy's tricks way too often even though he is a blue-eyed handsome hottie with bangs falling over his eyes-- all that was a HUGE influence on my first series. That Whedonesque mixture of humor and angst -- that's what I wanted to bring you. And it was a labor of love.

Lately my focus has been on THE SWEET DEAD LIFE, just out now on May 14th from Soho Press.

But your first book baby is always your first.

And while many, many thousands of readers have read DREAMING ANASTASIA (for which I humbly THANK YOU)m  I'd like to try an experiment, but I need you, gentle reader!

I would love to get a new group of readers to discover DREAMING ANASTASIA, HAUNTED, and ANASTASIA FOREVER (all from Sourcebooks)

I would love you to spread the word. How will I know? My Amazon numbers will tell me, among other clues.

And just to help you along, my other wonderful publisher SOURCEBOOKS and the lovely folks at Amazon are offering the e-book of DREAMING ANASTASIA as a Kid's Kindle Deal for only $1.99 from today 6/13 - 6/23! Plus, HAUNTED and ANASTASIA FOREVER kindle e-books are only $2.99. Yes, you can read the ENTIRE 3 book series for under ten bucks! Just CLICK HERE !

So spread the word. Try something new. If the Amazon numbers roll enough that I know you're buying-- and hopefully reading-- I will do a series of AMAZING GIVEAWAYS!! You really want this to happen. Trust me!

Russian Fairy Tales. The Romanov Tragedy. A love story. A kick-ass girl hero and a hapless boy hero who's been around long enough to know better, but he never does. A bad guy with many secrets. The wholesale destruction of many iconic Chicago landmarks. Plus kissing! And Chicago style pizza. And even some ballet. And more kissing.

But NO ANIMATED BAT.

You gotta read the DREAMING ANASTASIA series. Seriously.
JUST CLICK HERE

Under 10 bucks for the WHOLE THING.

Go back up there to the link. JUST DO IT.
HERE

ANASTASIA FOREVER TEXAS TOUR

So yeah -- I'm pretty darn excited that there is going to be an ANASTASIA FOREVER TEXAS TOUR starting on 10/16! Sourcebooks, my publisher for the DREAMING ANASTASIA series, has planned an entire week of Texas stops, starting in Dallas and ending in San Antonio -- schools and store events and basically hitting the road throughout the Lone Star state where I live.

So I am going to pull on my boots and hop in my truck-- because what else would you drive to tour Texas but your trusty pick up truck?-- and head out to meet readers and fans and talk books and writing at a variety of schools both public and private.

Plus giveaways and treats because that's what it's all about, you know? Some cool HAUNTED and ANASTASIA FOREVER t shirts and some arcs -- both of my books as well as other books by amazing authors! And treat, because WHO DOESN'T LOVE MINI PACKS OF SWEDISH FISH?

Here's the schedule of stores events:

Tuesday, October 16th
Barnes and Noble
861 North E Mall Boulevard
Hurst, TX 76053
7 PM

Thursday, October 18th
Barnes and Noble
2701 Parker Road Bldg A Suite 700
Round Rock TX 78681
7 PM

Saturday, October 20th

Twig Bookshop (nearby at Farmer's Market)

200 E. Grayson Street #124

San Antonio, TX 78215

10 AM-12 PM

I WANT TO SEE YOU!! Come on by and get some candy. Win something! Get a postcard or bookmark. Ask me about Baba Yaga and the Romanovs and the Anne and Ethan romance!  Let me tell you about what's coming next. And other good stuff like that. 

Then tell me about you. Because let's not forget -- this whole tour thing--- it's really about you, the readers. The ones who wanted to read more when there was only 1 book in the series. The ones who read and tell your friends. Or maybe you're new and you don't know me from Stephenie Meyer. (okay, you probably do know that, but you get the point) Maybe you're coming for the Swedish Fish. It happens. But you're going to read about Anne and Ethan and this series that's part paranormal romance, part historical fiction, part Russian folklore and all about power: those who have it; those who want it; those who lose it and what happens to an ordinary girl who becomes very, very powerful and finds out she has a destiny that maybe she doesn't want. Girl meets boy meets witch meets trapped, doomed princess. Stir. Simmer. Boil and burn. I think there's something for everybody in the DA series.

THANK YOU to Sourcebooks for believing in me these past few years. 

Rev the engines.

The TEXAS TOUR is coming.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANASTASIA FOREVER

Book 3 enters the world today.

I'd contemplated writing about my crazy publishing journey again -- the 4 editors and three publicists, and two agents and endless orphaning. The struggle that has sometimes felt harder than it needed to be. But if you read this blog or follow my career and books, mostly, this is old news. You know that despite it all, ANASTASIA FOREVER is on shelves today from Sourcebooks Fire and in digital form, and people are buying and downloading and reviewing and finding out what happens in the end to Anne and Ethan and Tess and Ben and the witch Baba Yaga and all the rest.

If you're new to the series, let me quickly catch you up. This way, you can dive into book 3 and then go back to the others, which I totally know you want to do:

DREAMING ANASTASIA series synopsis: The DREAMING ANASTASIA series is the saga of Anne Michaelson, a sixteen year old Chicago girl who discovers that she is connected through both line of descent and destiny to a complex mystery of love, betrayal and revenge. Her own family in turmoil from the recent death of her brother David to cancer, Anne finds herself dreaming repeatedly of a girl trapped in a room, who in turn is dreaming of her family’s murder. When Anne collides at school with handsome, mysterious Ethan, everything sets in motion. Dark powers of elemental control rise in Anne. Ethan tells her that she’s been dreaming of Anastasia Romanov, kept captive all these years by the Russian witch Baba Yaga.  Anne is somehow the one who can free her. And Ethan – well, he’s a member of a secret Brotherhood and he’s been immortal since Anastasia’s capture. Free one. Free the other. But Anne discovers that there’s a lot more at stake. Russian fairy tale figures come to life: rusalki and witches and Koschei the Deathless. People who will stop at nothing to keep their power and eternal lives. And a blood line connection to everyone and everything. As Anne works first to free Anastasia and then solve the mystery that has held part of her family captive for decades, she finds herself falling for Ethan, who may or may not be someone she can trust. The series travels backward and forward in time and place, in the real world and in Baba Yaga’s forest as Anne and Ethan race to uncover long hidden secrets and darkest of magicks before it’s too late.  In this thrilling tale of secrets within secrets and truths within lies, the reader quickly realizes that history never tells you everything.

I am truly excited for people to read. There's a happily ever after, but it's hard won. And I think for this story, that's just the way it needs to be.

Beyond that this morning, I am filled with buckets of gratitude. So many, many people are solidly in my world now that I did not know or dream of just a scant few years ago. It has truly taken a village -- and not just because of my editor revolving door! This I think is the greatest and fullest miracle -- that my world has cracked open wide in the best of ways.

I'm just back from SCBWI LA and many of them were there: editors and agents and so many, many author friends both new and old. The artist community here in Texas -- in Houston and Austin in particular: critique partners and my fellow alums of the Class of 2k9, who have for the most part remained my dearest of friends. Booksellers of all stripes and sizes and here I will mention a specific: the generous and gracious Valerie Koehler and Cathy Berner at Blue Willow Books who have helped launch my career in ways both big and small.

And bloggers. I thank my blogger community a lot. Because their devotion to books and literacy and authors is fierce. And my life is enriched by their passions and support.

Do you get it, dear reader? We're all in this together: the storytellers and the readers and illustrators and those who sell and promote and design our books. The first time I met Laurie Halse Anderson and told her I had my first book coming out, she autographed my copy of Catalyst with "Welcome to the tribe."

One of the ongoing conceits of the DREAMING ANASTASIA series is the Russian matryoshka doll -- those nesting dolls that fit one in the other, the same figure over and over, only smaller. In metaphor, it is stories within stories, the oldest type of storytelling that there is: the frame story. This has become my metaphor, too. My own story within the stories of all these wonderful people who are now in my life, all tucked inside each other, linked, repeated. Wonderful.

If you're in the Houston area, come on over to Blue Willow Bookshop on Memorial at Dairy Ashford this Saturday, 8/11 at 2PM. Check here for more info.  Join me in celebrating ANASTASIA FOREVER. Eat a cupcake.

Cheers, my lovelies!!

What's Up Wednesday

Counting down to the ANASTASIA FOREVER release on 8/7 and the release event at Blue Willow Bookshop on 8/11 at  2PM in Houston. I'll be doing some giveaways to celebrate, starting tomorrow!!so stay tuned for the ANASTASIA FOREVER gift pack, which yeah, is as fun as it sounds.

Speaking of fun, did you know that there is a Paris, TX? Did you know that if you go there to research for a book you're writing, that you will see this?

Yup - there is an Eiffel Tower in Paris Texas. And it has a cowboy hat on the top. (full disclosure, I'd have taken more pictures but it was about 110 degrees outside.

To get to Paris TX from Houston, you also stop in Buffalo, where you can buy really amazing fried pies, with breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert varieties at the Original Fried Pie Shop. Which of course we did.

Just finished reading Nikki Loftin's The Sinister Sweetness of Splendid Academy, a fabulous middle grade which I'll tell you more about very soon. It arrives on 8/25 and I am so excited that Nikki will be stopping by the blog for an interview.

And thank you, thank you!! to both the publicity team at Sourcebooks as well as the wonderful bloggers who are currently participating in the DREAMING ANASTASIA series Deleted Scenes Blog Tour. I posted the Anne/Ethan love story essay in my last blog post.  Today I'm going to give you a deleted scene from HAUNTED, which is book 2. Ultimately I felt this scene wasn't quite working the way I needed it to, but what I'd been going for was this romantic tension between and Anne and Ethan, who's just returned from a number of months in Europe to find that Anne has a boyfriend, Ben. I wanted them to be trying but failing to talk this out-- because of course they really love each other but time and circumstance has worked against them- and what I ended up with was this scene where Anne kept eating. It has always amused me, this little deleted scene. Enjoy! And let me know what you think!

Thursday, 4:30 PM, Ethan

            “Are you going to finish that?” I point to the remains of the enormous pile of onion rings that Anne has consumed along with the cheese and sausage pizza we just split at the little hole in the wall pizza place so close to the El that you can feel the trains rumbling by overhead as you eat. We’re in Evanston where I’ve rented an apartment. But taking Anne there felt like a mistake. A restaurant seemed safer. Pizza seemed safer.

I just had no idea that she ate like this.

            “Well, yeah. You need to try some, Ethan.” She plucks one off the plate, shoves it into my hand, then passes me the bowl of ranch dressing. “And dip them in this. It’s killer.”

            I try it. It’s not half bad.

            We both chew some more, both pretending that this isn’t awkward and that we don’t both remember being chased by Baba Yaga and Viktor and Dimitri to these very El tracks not that long ago. Or that it was on one of those trains that Anne figured out how to work the magic lacquer box that let us access Baba Yaga’s forest and open the door to her hut so we could save Anastasia. It doesn’t take much for me to remember how Anne looked when Viktor almost killed her that day.

Or how I felt realizing what a fool I’d been to trust him.

            It’s easier to eat pizza and onion rings and talk about what I’m going to study now that I’m back. Of course we both know that’s not really why I’m back. But neither of us has worked up to the truth.

            “See. I knew you’d like it.” She dips another ring in the bowl of ranch, opens her mouth, pops it in, then closes and chews.

            “Remember when you made me tea? You still do that? The whole loose tea, tea pot thing?” she asks me around her mouth of onion ring.

            “Yes.”

            “Well that’s good to know.”

            “We need to talk, Anne.”

            “We are talking, Ethan.”

            I frown at her.

            “I’m being difficult, right? That’s what you’re thinking. Anne’s being difficult.”

            “Possibly.”

            “That’s what Tess keeps telling me, too. Well, maybe she doesn’t use that specific word. But that’s what she means.”

            “Anne.”

            “Ethan.”

            I signal the waitress for a check. This is going nowhere. I need to find out what’s really been going on with her. I need to tell her what I’ve seen. What I suspect. Everything I’ve kept from her in hopes that maybe I could keep it from coming. I am, it seems, no less foolish than ever.

            “You know they make great cannoli here,” Anne says as she stabs her fork into the last onion ring and dunks it in the bowl of dressing.

            I fish some bills from my pocket and hand them to the waitress who’s returned with the check.  “You’re all set,” I tell her. I stand, pull Anne from her chair while she’s still chewing and guide her from the restaurant. Another train barrels by overhead.

            “Let’s go out by the lake,” I say. “We’ll walk. I’ll talk. You’ll listen. And we’re going to figure this out, okay. Really. We are.”

            “Ben loves me, Ethan. Did you know that?”

            Her face is suddenly serious. Somewhere all this onion ring eating has been about this.

            “Does he?”

            “Yeah, he does.”

            She pauses, clearly on the verge of saying something more. It occurs to me, certainly not for the first time, how very young she still is.

            “I’m sorry that he’s been dragged into this, Anne.”

            “He has, hasn’t he?” She swallows. I catch a glimpse of the Anne I really know – as much as I can say I know her. The one who’s smart and funny and brave. The one I kissed a number of times before I left for Europe and who is now seeing a boy named Ben she says loves her.

            “Sucks to be him, huh?” she adds.

            Actually, I think, it doesn’t.

           

ANASTASIA FOREVER TEAM: Opportunity of a Lifetime!

The ANASTASIA FOREVER STREET TEAM wants you!

If you would like to be part of TEAM ANASTASIA FOREVER, email me at joypreble at gmail dot com, putting ANASTASIA STREET TEAM in the subject title and let me know. This would mean you would be part of my street team, spreading the word about book 3. You will get all sorts of extra goodies (bookmarks and t shirts and other stuff) and early info about everything that happens as we lead up to August. This is a limited opportunity, so let me know soon.

And in other news, TLA is coming! I will be signing advanced reading copies like those in the picture from 2-3 on Thursday 4/19 at the Sourcebooks Booth #1902 at TLA in Houston. And giving away candy. Ooooh. Candy. Chocolate candy.

Anastasia Forever arcs (a limited amount) will also be available during TT4L from 11-11:30 also at TLA on Thursday 4/19.

And I am thrilled that I finally also get to meet Sourcebooks Fire author Geoff Herbach, who wrote the witty STUPID FAST, who will also be in TLA attendance. Yay!

Happy Friday! Happy Passover! Happy Easter! Happy Spring!

The Writing Life

The writing life gets to you sometimes. Cause really - although it may seem a romantic way to earn a living (or a piece of a living) it's really you, sitting at the laptop for hours on end making up stuff that sometimes works and sometimes gets sent back to you by your agent/editor/beta reader/critique partner/random person in line at Target with the basic commentary that it sucks and so do you and maybe you better get that application filled out for Walmart greeter. (not that that is a bad thing)

You learn to be heartened by the tiniest bit of good news. (My editor answered my email!) And you dash about the house thinking ah, they love me. It will be okay. And then, even though you swear you're above it, you stumble on a mediocre review or someone else gets a Newbery (even though you don't write middle grade and thus will never get the Newbery) and you think crap! What am I doing? I'm a poser, a fake. What was I thinking? And then you get a really good piece of news, but it has to remain secret for awhile and so you walk around thinking crap, I'd like to tell this really good piece of news so no one thinks I'm a loser who will never win the Newbery. Often these things all happen in the same day and sometimes in the same hour so that while you're writing and trying not to suck at it you're riding the writer life roller coaster and you forgot to take your Dramamine.

Or in the words of my Sourcebooks housemate, the witty and droll Geoff Herbach, "And then, for no apparent reason, things got better! And then worse! And then better!" Which pretty much covers it, wouldn't you say?

So the short of it is, it's best to let it all go and enjoy the ride. When you do, you realize that mostly, it's good stuff. Really. Or as we say in our house since I have spent a lot of years on public education where you learn to laugh at pretty much anything, "It's a good day when no one spits on you." (Cause in public education this can sometimes happen)

But to end on an upbeat, here's some good stuff:

• The above picture of PJ (Tricia) Hoover, me, and blogger/librarian Jen Bigheart at Greg Leitich Smith's release party for Chronal Engine this past weekend. Celebrating a new book is always the best!


• The book I'm writing and trying to finish this week. I love it. I really do. It's funny and very romantic. And it has kissing.


• Although I can't show it to you yet, Soho Press has created the best cover ever for THE SWEET DEAD LIFE which is coming out in May 2013. This is wondrous, people! Wait until you see it.


• Sourcebooks is having me sign advanced reading copies of ANASTASIA FOREVER at TLA in April! I am so stinkin' excited about this that you have no idea!! Thursday 4/19 from 2-3. If you want to find out what happens before everyone else, come to the show!


• My agent Jen Rofe is going to be here on Friday for Houston SCBWI! And I am very excited about her welcome gifts. All of which have a cowgirl theme. Cause, um, Texas!

So what's up and down with all of you, dear readers?

YA Spring Scavenger Hunt Coming!!

Hello Everybody,

It's time to announce the final lineup of the Spring Scavenger Hunt! This year it will be bigger and badder than ever before with 60 count 'em 60 YA authors! (including my Sourcebooks Fire house sistas: Janet Gurtler, Lisa and Laura Roecker and Jess Shirvington) With fabulous prizes around every corner you DO NOT want to miss this!

Below is your sneak preview of the authors and the books they will be featuring on the hunt. Keep scrolling! These covers are all amazing and imagine what wonderful stories await inside each book!

JUS ACCARDO





AMBER ARGYLE





LISA T. BERGREN





LISA BURSTEIN







SOFIE COUCH





KIMBERLY DERTING





LAURA A.H. ELLIOTT





CHRISTINE FONSECA





ABBI GLINES





CYNTHIA HAND





KAREN AMANDA HOOPER





S.R. JOHANNES





GINA LINKO





GRETCHEN MCNEIL





MIKE MULLIN





ERICA O’ROURKE





JOY PREBLE





JESSICA SHIRVINGTON





TIFFANY TRUITT





DEBBIE VIGUIE





ANN AGUIRRE





JENNIFER L. ARMENTROUT





LEAH BOBET





TERA LYNN CHILDS





WILLOW CROSS





DJ DESMYTER





LEIGH FALLON





TARA FULLER





JANET GURTLER





CINDY HOGAN





COLLEEN HOUCK





ELANA JOHNSON





JAMIE MANNING





CLAIRE MERLE





S.L. NAEOLE





GREGG OLSEN





LISA & LAURA ROECKER





JERI SMITH-READY





CAT KALEN





LANI WOODLAND





JOSEPHINE ANGELINI





BRODI ASHTON





CK BRYANT





ANGELA CORBETT





GINA DAMICO





BREE DESPAIN





BETH FANTASKEY





MARLEY GIBSON





RAE HACHTON





NANCY HOLDER





TARA HUDSON





SUZANNE LAZEAR





MYRA MCENTIRE





ALEXANDRA MONIR





LISA NOWAK





AMY PLUM





INARA SCOTT





TISH THAWER





MAGAN VERNON





RASHELLE WORKMAN

Worth the long scroll, right?

Personally, I'd like to get all of them!

Leave a comment on this blog telling me which book or books you're most excited about... besides ANASTASIA FOREVER, of course!

Brilliant and gifted author Beth Revis has created a website just for our Scavenger Hunts! Click on the YA Scavenger Hunt image below to be redirected there. Because we have so many authors this time we are breaking into three groups. We have BLUE TEAM, RED TEAM, and YELLOW TEAM!

Each group is made up of 20 authors and I am on TEAM BLUE!!

This means that my bonus material (AND IT'S AWESOME BONUS MATERIAL FROM ANASTASIA FOREVER THAT YOU WILL ONLY SEE HERE!) will be found on the blue team. If you get lost on the hunt simply return to the hunt website and pick up where you left off. While you check out the website, don't forget to vote on the polls, follow the site, and check out all the prizes. You can even tweet from there too!

I will be offering some very special prizes: not only a limited availability ARC of ANASTASIA FOREVER, but also a HAUNTED t-shirt and other yet to be announced very amazingly cool goodies. Trust me. You will love it!

THE YA SCAVENGER HUNT BEGINS THURSDAY MARCH 29TH AT NOON PACIFIC TIME AND ENDS SUNDAY APRIL 1ST AT NOON PACIFIC TIME! THAT GIVES YOU ONLY 72 HOURS TO COMPLETE THE HUNT!

GOOD LUCK TO ALL!