Oklahoma and other stuff from the middle

That would make a great title, eh? Don't steal it; I call dibs.

Back from Oklahoma and Encyclomedia. Loved the event. Librarians rock! You guys asked great questions during our panel and you were ever so gracious to come to the signing area at the Best of Books booth and say hi later. Plus Oklahoma City! Why haven't I been there before? Please ask me to come back.

Thanks to Stacy Nyikos for arranging our panel even when she couldn't be part of it herself. And to my co-panelists: Janet Fox, Fran Cannon Slayton, Bonnie Doerr, Denise Jaden - you are all made of much awesome.

Extra bonus round: Got to hang later with my ABLA "sistahs" - the fabulous Cynthia Liu and Tammi Sauer - who made me laugh until my stomach hurt. And did you know that our room at the Colcord Hotel had its own doorbell?

A few pics:

Cynthia Liu showing everyone how to Skype at the Hot Spot on the Encyclomedia convention floor.
From left to right: Janet Fox, Bonnie Doerr, Denise Jaden, Fran Cannon Slayton, Cynthia Liu, me, Tammi Sauer. (and beverages)

About ready to present: Fran, Joy, Bonnie, Denise, Janet

Later we brainstormed more panel ideas. Janet and I got ourselves psyched up for our next appearance together - in Orlando at NCTE in November on our "The Other Happily Ever After" panel (more on that soon) And then I flew home. Thanks Southwest. Happiest airline ever.

In other news: HAUNTED arcs are filtering into the world. I'm planning some tours and signings. If you'd like me to come to you or your school, give me a holler. I'll pass it on to the fine folks at Sourcebooks.

Haunted: wacky evil mermaids, a love triangle, more blue-eyed Ethan, more brave bff Tess, more Baba Yaga... and definitely some kissing!

til next time...

Random Thoughts on lots of stuff, including Haunted

Classes start tomorrow. Back to my education roots this year and teaching senior English - which I'd started to miss. So it's back to Beowulf and Canterbury Tales and Macbeth and a little Dante thrown in for good measure. We'll start w/Orwell's 1984 and eventually wander our way to the Romantics, the Victorians... a little Frankenstein, a little Dracula... And cause I've got "connections" now (in quotes lest anyone mistake me for a person with power - which when you tell civilians you've got an agent and a publicist they sometimes do, which often makes me giggle) - maybe we'll get some author Skype time in with the Sourcebooks author Bekka Black, whose cell novel iDracula is coming out at Halloween. We will see...

Copy edits are just about done. Okay - that's a longer story. But that's what the cabernet is for, right?

Brainstorming for my upcoming Dreaming Anastasia 1 year anniversary post. Yes! 9/1 will be one year since my debut novel debuted! The phrase, "May you live in interesting times" has been rattling through my head. But more on that soon. One hint: something new and thrilling is brewing with that first novel. Let's just say that when readers comment, Sourcebooks listens... (I promised I wouldn't tell. So I'm not.)

Getting a lot of questions about HAUNTED, which is awesome. I'll be part of the Crossroads Blog Tour that Judith Graves has organized for October, writing part of a ghost story with other authors for Angela and Tynga at Darkfaerietales.com and telling a real life scary story for Jessica's Haunted Halloween event at Confessions of a Bookaholic - both events also in October.

Fall is filling up in many ways: if you're an Oklahoma librarian, you'll see me at Encyclomedia on the New Voices panel; if you're an English teacher, I'm part of a Retelling the Female Hero Journey panel at NCTE in Disney World in November. And of course on February 1st, HAUNTED will arrive in stores!

We're still working on the back copy, so this is not exact, but here's a preview:
Anne Michaelson’s world turned upside down last year when handsome, blue-eyed and temporarily immortal Russian Ethan Kozninsky showed up. Now six months later, Anne still has powers she doesn’t fully understand. She’s still dreaming about Baba Yaga’s forest. And she’s definitely still got feelings for Ethan, even though she’s got a new boyfriend—the very normal and very sweet lifeguard Ben Logan.

But things are about to get even more complicated. There’s a wicked Russian folklore mermaid stalking Anne. With her heart torn between Ben and Ethan, Anne’s search for the rusalka’s identity reveals deep and startling secrets -- including the true source of Anne’s powers.
As the romance heats up, so does the danger. Will Anne’s powers be enough to help the rusalka get what she wants? Or will the longings of her own heart get in the way?

And so it goes.

I think I've got a birthday in there somewhere. Glad for that. :)

Finally got rid of my beloved pink Razr phone today; I am now a Blackberry girl; hope it's not beyond my learning curve. Oh little Razr phone - how forgiving you were each time I dropped you. How slow and primitive you were each time I texted.

Til next time...