Starry…Blog Post

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Oh, hello, friends. I have a new blog post up at EMU’s Debuts today called “No Fault in These Stars.” I know, it’s the cleverest title you’ve ever read, totally not derivative of any bestselling YA books or famous Shakespeare quotes or anything. Here’s a visual hint as to what it’s about:

Oh, wow, three whole stars!

Oh, wow, three whole stars!

OK, that wasn’t actually a very good picture to share, because it doesn’t have a lot of stars in it. February wasn’t exactly my most productive month when it came to drafting. April was much better–click over to the post to check out that pic and more. :)

In other news, the wonderful Krista van Dolzer of Mother.Write.Repeat. has sold her debut middle-grade novel to my very own editor, Shauna Rossano at Putnam! I’m so thrilled for everyone involved, but especially for you readers, who will get to experience the awesomeness that is THE REGENERATED MAN in 2015.

I can’t think of too much more news to share…well, except that Animal Planet is apparently coming to my house this weekend to interview me about parasites, but that’s probably a story for another day.

Happy May!

Cover ideas, book 2 obsessions, and more

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I’ve got a new post up today at EMU’s Debuts called “Obsessing about book 2.” Because, ya know, worrying about the book that’s actually getting published just isn’t enough. :)

Speaking of that book, many people have been asking for updates recently, so here’s what I’ve got.

1) The book is still scheduled to come out in Summer of 2014. I don’t have an official release date yet.

2) My editor and I are still trying to come up with the perfect title. I’ll keep ya posted!

3) I recently finished a second round of edits on the book, and am feeling good about how they turned out. I imagine that there will be some more tweaking before the text is set, but for now, I’m pretty happy with where things stand.

4) My publisher is starting to think about cover designs, which is very exciting, and my editor asked me to share a few of my favorite MG covers. I have no idea whether they’ll end up influencing the ultimate design, but they are pretty so I thought I’d share a few here, too!

I love the nighttime cityscape and the silhouetted boy. And the title!

I love the nighttime cityscape and the silhouetted boy. And the title!

I love the new Harry Potter cover--Hogsmeade by night!

Oooh, the new Harry Potter cover–Diagon Alley by night!

YUM.

YUM.

So, it seems that I am a fan of nighttime scenes and the color blue. Which probably means that Gladys will end up having a bright pink cover, but you know what? That would be fine. Pink is actually a really important color in the book, and also, MY BOOK IS GETTING PUBLISHED NEXT YEAR, so what do I have to complain about? :)

Back on the radar!

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Fair Coin

One of my favorites of 2012!

I have a new blog post up at EMU’s Debuts today: EMU’s Best Under-the-Radar Kids’ Books of 2012!

If you’re looking for a couple of book recommendations–or have some of your own to share–we’d love to have you stop by.

Remarkable

Another of my favorites of 2012!

As you may have noticed, this blog has been under the radar a bit lately, too. I have approximately 400 excellent excuses for that, but rather than bore you with them, I’ll just say that once my current round of edits on Gladys Gatsby get done (probably in March), I do have big plans for some exciting new features here. In the meantime, you can always catch me on Facebook or Twitter…and here are a few posts I’ve done elsewhere over the last couple of months:

Bring on 2013! @ Writer, Writer, Pants on Fire

Bouncer Interview with Tara Dairman @ Cupid’s Literary Connection (where I was “Bouncer Myrtle” in the still-ongoing Blind Speed Dating event)

It’s Launch Week for BLAZE! @ EMU’s Debuts (Seriously, check out BLAZE by Laurie Boyle Crompton, a terrific new YA book!)

I hope that the new year has been treating you well so far. :)

Two new blog posts

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I know, it seems like I’m blogging everywhere but here these days!

I have a new post up today at EMU’s Debuts called “Based on True Events”–it’s about the surprising way that reality sometimes sneaks into fiction. If you’re a fellow writer, I’d love to hear about a scene or aspect of your book that readers wouldn’t guess was drawn from real life!

The post also contains cute (and totally relevant) pictures of my former bunnies. :)

And Andy and I also have another post up on our travel blog called “Shark, Whale, Lamb-dog, and Other Foods of Iceland,” which clearly requires no further explanation.

Hanging out with some Icelandic rotten shark

Happy reading!