Five for Friday

Did you know next week is Valentine's Day? Already?!

And with that out of the way, the Friday five:

1. Huge congrats and awesome sparkly things to my friend and amazing author Crystal Allen, who was chosen as the Thurber House Writer in Residence for this coming summer! This is a huge honor and Crystal is wonderful writing coach and teacher, as well as the author of lovely MG/tween-ish titles HOW LAMAR's BAD PRANK WON HIM A BUBBA-SIZED TROPHY and THE LAURA LINE, both from our mutual publisher, Balzer and Bray/Harper Collins. Read more about it HERE

2. Author lunches. With cake. And industry talk. Went to one yesterday and I'm feeling recharged and focused. And not just because of the cake. Writing is such a solitary activity. It's easy to be neurotic some days. Most days. Well, maybe that's just me, but I don't think so. Anyway, it's always a true gift to hang out with other people who are battling the same battles.

3. Okay, so maybe possibly Scandal has jumped the shark for me with this new #saveOlivia plot. Because seriously? The most powerful man in the world is afraid of the VP and all his crazy machinations? Not working for me. Not even as over the top satire, which I don't think Shonda Rimes means it to be. If you do, Shonda, then, okay. Cool. Your dialogue is still stunning. But the plot is the kind of thing that I fear my editors would toss back at me and say, really? I was, however, relieved that Olivia was able to get a clean outfit and have her hair blown out. Although honestly, I like Olivia's hair when it's gone rogue. Just clean it up and it's just fine. But I know that's not Olivia. Which is a whole interesting discussion of its own, perhaps for another day.

4. So excited for two other author friends! The very kind and very talented Michael Northrop has a new series out, TOMB QUEST, from Scholastic. And book one, Book of Dead, just debuted on the NYTimes Bestseller's List! Hooray!!! You can grab a copy at your favorite bookstore. Or one of my favorites, Blue Willow: http://www.bluewillowbookshop.com/node/76350

And the delightful Cory Oakes from Austin has a new middle grade out from Sourcebooks, DINOSAUR BOY! http://www.bluewillowbookshop.com/node/77457

5. Getting excited for two upcoming book festivals: Montgomery County Book Festival, north of Houston in The Woodlands will be 2/21. I get to hang out with a bunch of my favorite authors and bloggers and readers and librarians. And the two keynotes are both authors I admire so greatly: Ellen Hopkins and Andrew Smith. So hooray for that! Then on 2/28, it's off to Corpus Christi for the first ever Teen Book Fest by the Bay!

And now that I just spilled my coffee, I'd say it's time to go.
Happy Friday.

THE SUMMER AFTER YOU & ME Cover Reveal!!

So thrilled to help my friend, awesome author, and fellow blogger at YA OUTSIDE THE LINES, Jennifer Doktorski, reveal the cover of THE SUMMER AFTER YOU & ME, which releases in Spring 2015, from the lovely folks at Sourcebooks Fire !

On the day before Superstorm Sandy crashes into the New Jersey shore, local girl Lucy Giordano spends an intense morning with the summer boy next door, Connor Malloy. Lucy believes it’s the start of something special between her and the boy she’s been watching for years from behind sunglasses. But when Connor returns home and doesn’t call like he promised, Lucy realizes she made a big mistake—one she vows to keep a big secret. A smart girl like Lucy knew better than to cross a line that big with a player like that. She accepts that her love life is just one more thing that took a big hit from the devastating hurricane and moves on.

Now it’s the first summer after the storm, and the boy Lucy spent all winter trying to forget returns to Seaside Park with a new girlfriend, Bryn. Lucy tells herself it doesn’t matter, she’s with Andrew Clark now, her best friend who recently became more. Forget love and destiny, Lucy is more determined than ever to think with her mind, not her heart, and spend the summer hanging with her Seaside friends, working at Breakwater Burrito, and focusing on her goal of becoming a marine zoologist. But Lucy’s grand plans unravel before the first tan lines appear. When Lucy discovers her twin brother, Liam, and their parents have secrets of their own, and her rock-solid boyfriend is not-so-solid after all, she struggles to rebuild a life with the people she cares the most about in the place she loves.  

THE SUMMER AFTER YOU AND ME on Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23299562-the-summer-after-you-and-me

Where to find Jen Doktorski:

www.jendoktorski.com

Twitter: @jdoktorski

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jendoktorski

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.

GUEST POST and GIVEAWAY: Patty Blount, author of SEND

Today I'm welcoming fellow Sourcebooks author Patty Blount to the blog!

 I met Patty briefly at the delicious and fab Sourcebooks 25th Anniversary party at BEA in New York in June. (Yeah, I love typing stuff like that. You must always remember that I used to teach in a public high school where we did not, even on school anniversaries, have parties on a rooftop overlooking the Hudson with food stations, booze, cake pops and Kristie Yamaguchi signing her books. We had announcements that said 'Teachers! There are leftover kolaches from the PTA meeting in the lounge.' So every day I utter thankful prayers because even if I NEVER SOLD ANOTHER BOOK (not that I am tempting the fates with that!), I would still feel like I won the jackpot every damn day.)

But back to Patty -- SEND is her debut novel and it's a moving and wonderful contemporary YA that you should absolutely read. In fact she is GIVING AWAY A COPY to one lucky blog reader at the end of this post, so keep reading!

Here's Patty's bio:
Patty Blount writes instruction guides by day and novels by night. On a dare by her oldest son, she wrote her first novel in an ice rink. Though never published, Penalty Killer was the subject of so many seventh grade book reports, the English teacher requested a copy and later returned it, covered in red ink. Patty is always looking for great story ideas. Her debut novel, Send, was conceived after her boss suggested she learn about social networks. Patty lives on Long Island with her family, a fish, and lots of books.

And here is a description of SEND:  (which you can purchase here)

It's been five years since I clicked Send.
Four years since I got out of juvie.
Three months since I changed my name.
Two minutes since I met Julie.
A second to change my life.

All Dan wants for his senior year is to be invisible. This is his last chance at a semi–normal life. Nobody here knows who he is. Or what he's done. But on his first day at school, instead of turning away like everyone else, Dan breaks up a fight. Because Dan knows what it's like to be terrorized by a bully—he used to be one.

Now the whole school thinks he's some kind of hero—except Julie. She looks at him like she knows he has a secret. Like she knows his name isn't really Daniel...

Yeah, I know. You read that and you totally have to get a copy, right?

I asked Patty what inspired her to write such a powerful story and discovered that Patty is not one to hold back, even on the tough stuff. Here's what she had to say:

A few years back, I was working on a series of medical romances. Book 1 was done and I was about twenty thousand words into book 2 when my day job boss directed us to incorporate social networks like Twitter and YouTube into our work. I had no idea what Twitter even was back then, so I did a ton of research and what I found scared me. People don’t always use these networks for good. Some use them for bullying – posting embarrassing pictures or nasty comments that go viral, enticing complete strangers to join in. This scared me because just a few years earlier, I nearly lost my son to suicide. He’d spent the entire school term ridiculed by classmates because he started puberty early. I had no idea he was suffering; I just blamed his sullen behavior on the hormones. It wasn’t until one night in April, seven months later, when he blurted out he no longer wanted to live.

He was in sixth grade.

The rest of the year passed in a blur. We got him help, we spoke to all his teachers and slowly, he started to heal. 

He’s in college now, but there are scars.

So there I was in 2009, doing all this social networking research and all I could think was “Thank God we didn’t have to deal with this, too.” I’m sure I’d be telling you a very different story if my son’s bullying ordeal had left the classroom and gone viral. You’re probably thinking, “Ah. So this is where the idea for SEND came from.”

Not exactly. Dan, the main character in SEND, wasn’t ‘born’ until my son was in seventh grade. Just when I started to think everything was back to normal, I came home one day to find a very angry family at my door, accusing my son of bullying theirs. I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t imagine how the same child in so much pain barely a year earlier could cause that pain in someone else. My son, to his credit, was devastated with guilt and that’s when a little voice in my mind started talking to me. “I did that.” Watching my son cope with his own guilt got me wondering – how would a kid who did something really terrible forgive himself? And the voice said, “I’ll let you know when I figure it out.”

I put aside my romance series and wrote the first draft of SEND. But I got it wrong. In this first draft, Dan was in his mid-twenties and working as a motivational speaker. An agent I queried suggested making it true YA, so I revised it, putting Dan back in high school. When I finished this version, a friend of mine who’s a school librarian asked if some of her students could critique it. I eagerly accepted and holy chocolate kisses, did they help me! These kids tore the book apart, highlighting what worked and what didn’t and even nailing me on the words no guy would ever use. In fact, they echoed what my own kids told me – more cursing! Teen boys curse. A lot.

Know what they hated the most? The happy ending I wrote.

So, I revised the book again, incorporating all of the teens’ feedback. All that research I did about Twitter served me well when I was ready to query this new manuscript. I made a lot of Twitter friends who helped me craft a solid query letter and invited me to join my local RWA chapter. I attended an agent and editor lunch the following year where I met a Sourcebooks editor who loved my pitch but still hated the ending. After ANOTHER revision, she loved the concept and offered me a two-book deal!

I am still tingling.

It’s important to note here that the friendships I forged on Twitter deepened and strengthened in the last year or so. I remember one night where my discouragement had reached a peak and I almost deleted the entire manuscript. A friend stopped me. Likewise, after my editor sent me her revision notes, panic almost crippled me again, but an author I greatly admire offered me the benefit of his own experiences. I’m quite certain that without these people in my corner, there’d never have been a book.

In preparing for the book’s launch, even more amazing things happened. An agent I met at another author’s reading invited me to participate on a young adult author panel with Nova Ren Suma and Dan Krokos. That was my very first writerly event ever! And my book trailer! Have you seen it? That was produced by an author who completely awes me. Oh, and then another agent ran a contest on her blog to help promote my book.

Yep, more tingling.

But the best moment of all these moments? The day a friend tweeted me that she saw SEND on her bookstore shelves, a week early. I went home, grabbed my husband and we headed out on a reconnaissance mission. The moment when I first spotted my book on a shelf with other books truly made it real for me – there are no words to describe it.

I wept.

Scared the death out of four girls browsing the section.

How do you think SEND will affect teen readers? 

Wow, Patty! All I can say is Wow! And how lucky we are, too, that you have brought this story into the world and that Sourcebooks knew it needed to be on shelves. (Patty's editor is the brilliant Aubrey Poole, btw, who is made of much awesome and works with my very own brilliant editor Leah Hultenschmidt in the New York office)

I also asked Patty a few lighter, but equally crucial questions: 

Twizzlers or Kit Kats? Chocolate always goes first in my world, so Kit Kats. But I love Twizzlers. 

Buffy or Edward? Edward! I am Team Edward through and through. 

(*Note: I have chosen not to tell Patty that Buffy would totally kick Edward's ass.)

Zombies or Unicorns? I kinda like the zombie thing. Have you read BRAINS? Hilarious.

Gallery Girls or Honey Boo Boo or other trash reality TV? I don’t know what on earth a Honey Boo Boo is so can’t answer this, but I admit I have indulged in a few seasons of The Bachelor. But my latest indulgence? Staring at Gilles Marini on Dancing With the Stars. Here’s a little-known fact: The main character in that romance series I was writing back in 2007 - two years before I had ever heard of Gilles? TOTALLY HIM! Well, except my guy is British not French and has long hair.

(*Note: The Roecker sisters and I will now make it our goal to corrupt Patty's TV habits. Because we love it when others wallow with us. And btw, did anyone see that Chantal on GGirls is capable of crying? Who knew?)

Want to hang out more with Patty? Here's where you can find her:

@pattyblount on Twitter

Patty Blount on Facebook or SEND (THE NOVEL) Facebook Fan Page

www.pattyblount (website)

And now for the giveaway!

WANT TO WIN A SIGNED COPY OF SEND?

COMMENT ON THIS POST, AND SAY HI TO PATTY. (you can also follow her on Twitter if you like but that is not required, just appreciated. Please include the email where you can be reached.

All comments will be placed in the Contest Hat. (which since I am in a hurry this morning we will pretend is Rafflecopter which I was going to use but don't have time to set up right now) Contest is open through Sunday 9/23. Winner will be announced next week.