FRIDAYS REVEAL ON FRIDAY!

It's true, it just occurred to me that it's Friday, and I'm about to reveal the cover of FRIDAYS WITH THE WIZARDS! So exciting!

I love this cover, I think it might very well be my favorite. No . . . it is. It's my favorite. It's another beautiful painting by David Hohn. He's done all my Castle Glower covers, and he's the artist behind my amazing new covers on the DRAGON SLIPPERS trilogy. (True story: when he sent me the sketch for the cover of DRAGON SLIPPERS, I started to cry. It's my Shardas, and my Creel, and his beautiful windows!) David is fantastic, and he really tries to capture both the heart of the book, as well as highlighting the little details. On the cover of TUESDAYS, you will note that Celie is carrying her atlas and colored pencils, but did you also notice that the Castle is sort of leaning in above her? That's because, as David said, "It's giving her a hug." Couldn't you just die? Did you notice that on the cover of WEDNESDAYS, Rufus' paws are too big for him and his tail is longer than his body? He's clearly a young, gangly, growing griffin! So fantastic!

Well, this one does not disappoint.

It's based on an early design that David and I both loved for TUESDAYS, which seemed mysterious and exciting, but didn't really scream: First book in a new series! There's also some little details that I'll discuss after . . .

I . . .

reveal . . .

the . . .

awesome . . .

cover . . . !

Are . . .

you . . .

ready . . . ?

Are . . .

you . . .

sure . . . ?

Of . . .

course . . .

you . . .

are . . . !

Shall we now discuss how much we love it? Because we all love it a lot, right?

I mean, for heaven's sake, look at that griffin! That's Lord Griffin, by the way, and he is NOT HAPPY. Look at that expression! He's about to rip somebody apart like a worn out chew toy.

Look at Celie! We decided that since she's now about to turn thirteen, she needed a more grown up gown, and I just adore it!

And behind Lord Griffin we see Bran, in full wizardly regalia. And what's in Bran's hand? Well, I won't tell you, but it's really key to the story. Webmaster Mikey pointed it out to me first, and when I realized what it was, I started jumping up and down. YES! IT'S ON THE COVER!

So, I won't drop any more hints, because I know that they're maddening, but I will say that it comes out February 9th, 2016!

Ah, SUMMER!

Summer!

Long days by the pool, glorious sunshine, the satisfaction of mowing the lawn on a Saturday morning!

Oh, who am I kidding?

I don't know how to work a lawnmower, and when you're a redhead, summer is the time when everything is trying to kill you. The heat. The sun. The bugs. The pollen. It's just one massive red sunburn/rash.

Last weekend we went to Idaho and I was on my parents' ski boat for four hours, covered in sunblock. I got massive burns on my legs and all around my hairline. YAY.
I like to stay indoors, where it's cool, and read. And as all of you know, I also like to set reading goals. The other day on Twitter I saw some authors asking, mystified, why people ask grownups about summer reading, because grownups don't get a summer break. But I would like to contend that we do, in a way. I'll be sitting by the pool because of the children, which means I'll be able to read while they have lessons. There's less running back and forth to school and school activities. Also, I have a babysitter come in the summer so that I can write, and when I have good solid blocks of writing, I like to take reading breaks.

So! Summer reading for adults is totally a thing!

Let's talk goals!

Last year it looks like I read 54 books between June 1st and Labor Day, I see nothing wrong with saying, Let's do that again! Maybe even, dare I dream, 55 books?! Also, though I know it's an impossible dream, I'd like to get my Goodreads To-Read shelf under 300. It's at 328 right now. The trouble is, for every 1 book I read off that shelf, I add 3. Why? Why? Why are there so many books to read?! WHY.

I also want this to be the Summer of the Rereads. I've already reread WHERE'D YOU GO, BERNADETTE? (because I now own my own copy) as well as reading THE LAST GURU to the kids. (Love me some Daniel Pinkwater! And so do the kids!) I also now have my shiny box set of IF I STAY and WHERE SHE WENT, and I'm dying for my own copy of THE NIGHT CIRCUS. Not to mention rereading JONATHAN STRANGE & MR NORRELL, now that there's a BBC series! So let's say I read at least 30 books off the ol' Goodreads To-Read, and reread at least three favorites? Sounds good, right?

And of course, since we're like, halfway into June already (how did THAT happen?), I've already got a few books under my belt!

So far, since June 1st, I've read:

VERY GOOD LIVES by J.K. Rowling
SHADOWPLAY by Tad Williams
REFLECTIONS by Diana Wynne Jones
ROYAL WEDDING by Meg Cabot
WHERE'D YOU GO, BERNADETTE? by Maria Semple
THE LAST GURU by Daniel Pinkwater
ALL BETTER NOW by Emily Wing Smith - This is a memoir by my dear friend Emily, who has suffered all her life from depression, as well as having a brain tumor and a traumatic brain injury when she was just eleven years old. The book won't be out for several months at least, but is WONDERFUL and I cannot recommend it enough!

I'm currently reading the kids FAT MEN FROM SPACE and FINNIKIN OF THE ROCK for myself. So we're off to a great start!

Also, some exciting news: SILVER IN THE BLOOD comes out on July 7th! So many events planned for the summer! A launch at The King's English on the 7th! An event at The Provo Library on July 29th! And ILA on the 18th! Plus a blog tour and giveaways! Keep checking the events page for dates and times!

Happy Summer Reading!