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!

O, Give Thanks!

Hello, everybody, and welcome to November! Yep, that's right! It's November already! And we're approaching the end of November, too. And you know what that means . . . Christmas shopping!

No! (Okay, more on that later!)

What it actually means is that Thanksgiving is nigh upon us, and now is the time in which to reflect on all that we have to be thankful for. So I thought I'd be share some of that with you all. I bet you can guess, by looking at the picture at the top of this post, one of the things I'm thankful for.

If you guessed THURSDAYS WITH THE CROWN, you're correct! THURSDAYS is my tenth book. TENTH. BOOK. I'm so thankful for my career as an author. I'm so thankful that there are publishers out there who want to work with me, who want to bring my books to readers, I just don't even know how to express my gratitude enough!

Other things to be thankful for include my family. Webmaster Mikey, Boy, Baby Girl, and Baby Roo are all amazing, and I could not love them more. I'm also thankful for my extended family, who are always so fun and funny and supportive and awesome.

Take my mom, for instance. Last year I was diagnosed with Fatty Liver Disease, along with several other stomach and digestive problems. I was having constant, terrible stomach aches. They were so severe that they would make me break out in a sweat, and often even vomit, just because of the intense pain. My doctor wanted me to be on a very strict food program for several months. I would have to cut out dozens of foods, and carefully eat combinations of other foods to make sure I was getting enough nutrition while still letting my liver, stomach, and intestines (which were apparently full of tiny holes) heal. How, exactly, is a mom of three with a full time job supposed to do that? Well, my mom moved in with us for two weeks. She cooked me my special food and my kids and husband other, regular food. For the first two days of this food program I couldn't have any dairy, but also no wheat, sugar . . . basically no carbs of any kind. I couldn't (and still shouldn't) have citrus fruits, tomatoes, apples, onions, or anything with acid in them. I thought I was going to pass out. I just laid on the couch while my mom brought me plain hamburger patties and raspberries every two hours. After my mom left, she called daily to check on me and give me suggestions, while I got the hang of trying to do it myself. She'd also left me with a freezer full of precooked food I could just heat up. Amazing. I feel better now than I've felt in years. I'm so thankful for my mom, and I'm also thankful that I no longer feel like I'm dying every time I eat!

I'm thankful for good books to read! Books like NIGHTMARES! by Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller, I'LL GIVE YOU THE SUN by Jandy Nelson, and ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE by Anthony Doerr.

I'm thankful for my new office in our basement, which has built in bookcases and pink and green walls!

I'm thankful for pumpkin pie, pumpkin cookies, and anything else you can put pumpkin in! Pumpkin is one of the few vegetables I can still eat! I think if my doctor had told me no pumpkin, I'd be dead now. Pumpkin and chocolate. Yes, so thankful for chocolate!

And I am thankful, as I always am, for Christmas. Christmas is coming. You all know how much I love Christmas, and everything to do with Christmas! The music! The food! The message of Christmas! Santa Claus! Christmas trees! Snow! Christmas books! Christmas movies! And it's right around the corner!

So let's talk about Christmas shopping!

For one thing, if you're in the Salt Lake/Provo/Orem area, you're in luck. You can come and see me and get books signed for presents! I'll be at the Orem Barnes & Noble this very Saturday as part of their Discovery Weekend, at 6 pm, along with several other authors. Barnes & Noble is offering special editions of THURSDAYS which have maps of the Castle in them and a special bonus story!

On November 29th, I'll be at the City Creek Deseret Bookstore in downtown Salt Lake City from 12-2 signing, and from 4-7 pm that afternoon I'll be a Bookseller for a Day at The King's English in Sugarhouse! And December 20th I'll be at the Barnes & Noble Fort Union from 3:30 to 5:30, signing those last minute Christmas gifts! Remember, too, that you can call in orders to The King's English, and I will sign and personalize them before they are shipped to you.

Books make wonderful presents, signed books make even better presents! Whenever my brothers ask me what I want for my birthday or Christmas, I always say, Books! And they go, Really? That's all? To which I reply:

How long have you known me? It's ALL about the books!

So give thanks for books!

SUPER SECRET ROMANIA PROJECT

Remember AGES and AGES ago when I went to Romania? Remember when we had that fun contest where you guessed where Shardas was? And he was in Bucharest and Sigisoara (can't spell that) and Sinaia? That was awesome, right? Then remember how I didn't talk about it for a looong time?

Well, guess what? I'm going to start talking about it again!

See, I came home from Romania in spring of 2010 and I really did write a book, using my travels as research. But then . . . I sort of sat on that book for a while . . . and that 'while' became four years. Because Super Secret Romania Project was so different from anything else I'd done, my editor and I kept pushing it aside. First because I wanted to finish my Twelve Dancing Princesses story arc, and get rid of the King Under Stone once and for all. Then there was a Castle, and that Castle needed some griffins. And then one day I was talking to my new editor about some story ideas and what to write next, and I said, "Or we could dust off SILVER IN THE BLOOD, ha ha!" and she said, "What's that?" And I found out that I had been sitting on that manuscript for so long that my trip to Romania had fallen into myth at my publisher, and people didn't even know if I'd managed to write a book about it or not.

But I did!  A book that I, personally, love so much that I'm about to wax biblical:

For thus the manuscript was duly brought out of hiding, and dusted off, and inspected from all angles, and lo, it was as good as I remembered. And my editor and I did work upon it, and we did love ye story.  But behold, it was very different from all previous books. And my editor said, "We should do something totally different with this cover."  And I did say, "Oooh, yeah."

And a choir of angels sang....

And thus we see this cover of this Advanced Reader Copy. Which I will soon be giving away, once I can think more clearly thereon. And the book may be procured July 7th, 2015, and is for Young Adults, and those who are Young Adults At Heart.

And furthermore: Check out the EVENTS page here on ye websyte, for there are book tour dates for THURSDAYS WITH YE CROWNE.

WEDNESDAYS on a Sunday

News, news, news!  (Also, more news!)

I haven't blogged much lately, so there is lots to cover!  Strap yourselves in!

First of all, WEDNESDAYS IN THE TOWER will be out on May 7th!  Mark your calendars, kids!  And how much do you love this cover?  Because, personally, I love it a LOT!  I will be going on a book tour to celebrate the release, which is super exciting!  There are no firm dates/locations yet, but places being bandied about include: Chicago, Florida, Philadelphia, Houston, and Washington DC.  That's in addition to places around Utah, of course.  As soon as we get fixed dates and details, I will post them.  Please remember that if you are in a place where I will NOT be signing, you can always order a signed and personalized copy of any of my books through The King's English in Salt Lake City.  They are wonderful, and they will be happy to help you!

Second: Lots of people have been telling me how much they loved PRINCESS OF THE SILVER WOODS, and I thank them for their very kind words!  It's a great book, if I do say so myself!  So please remember to show it some love!  But then they want to know when the next princess book is coming out . . . and, um . . . there isn't one.  They all live happily ever after!  The end.  (Sorry!  But a twelve book series just isn't my style.)

Third: TUESDAYS IN THE CASTLE is nominated for a Beehive Book Award.  HOORAY!  So all you Utah peeps, head over to the library and vote for Celie and Castle Glower!

Fourth: This fall SUN AND MOON, ICE AND SNOW will be released with a brand new cover!  I have seen this cover, and behold, it is beautiful!  It's by the same artist who did the Princess covers, and I screamed and jumped up and down when I saw it.  As soon as it gets finalized with titles and pretty shiny things, I will be sure to post it.  It will only be available as a paperback, both beautiful AND affordable!

Fifth: In February of 2014, the DRAGON SLIPPERS trilogy will be released with new covers as well!  The new covers are by David Hohn, the fantastic talent behind the Castle Glower covers.  I've seen some of the sketches, and I actually burst into tears.  Tears.  Burst.  Into.  No shame.  The new DRAGON SLIPPERS cover, even as a pencil sketch, is . . . is . . . Okay, I love Peter Ferguson's original painting for the DS hardcover.  I bought it, it's hanging in my house, I love it.  He also does the Sisters Grimm books, and he's wonderful.  But seeing the sketch for the new cover reminded me of what it was like to be writing that book, eight years ago, and I wept.  I can't wait to show you these covers, guys.  Shardas lives!

Sixth: I am planning not one, but several giveaways in the next few months, so be warned.  The best, easiest way for me to do a giveaway is through Facebook.  Make sure that you have liked my author page, please!  I usually ask for likes or comments as entries into the contests.  If you don't have a FB account, get someone you love to check my page for you!

Seventh: If you want to see my crazypants to-read shelf (currently clocking in at 321 books) and my reading challenge over on Goodreads, make sure and friend me over there!  I love Goodreads, because I'm one of those nuts who loves lists anyway.  I am trying to read 160 books this year, and I've currently read 26!  I'm about to finish the awesomely twisty thriller MIND GAMES by Kiersten White, and next up will be TIMELESS by Gail Carriger!  Love me some good books!

And now, to eat some chocolate!  Farewell!

Are You Ready?

I'm so not ready.

I'm getting there.

The good news is, last night, very late, I finally finished WEDNESDAYS IN THE TOWER!  Huzzah!  It's been a long, crazy journey with that one, but now it's in the hands of my editor, and we can all slump across our keyboards and breathe a sigh of relief!

And then pop right back up because there is much to do, kids!

First off: Christmas!  Christmas is coming!  Hooray for Christmas!  The best time of the year!  In about ten minutes, we'll be firing up the ol' Blu-ray player to watch Elf!  My son is already reading THE LEGEND OF HOLLY CLAUS, to himself this year.  *sniff they grow up so fast!*

And so, quick and dirty, here is what I will be reading/viewing/listening to in the month to come!

Books:

THE LEGEND OF HOLLY CLAUS by Brittney Ryan
MIRACLE AND OTHER CHRISTMAS STORIES by Connie Willis
THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER by Barbara Robinson
SAMMY KEYES AND THE RUNAWAY ELF by Wendelin Van Draanen
LET IT SNOW: THREE HOLIDAY ROMANCES by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle
MISS DAVENPORT'S CHRISTMAS by Marion Chesney
A HIGHLAND CHRISTMAS by M. C. Beaton
(Fun fact: Marion Chesney and M. C. Beaton are the same person!)
A CHRISTMAS CAROL by Charles Dickens and illustrated by P. J. Lynch
A CHRISTMAS STORY AND OTHER COLLECTED WORKS  by Jean Shepherd

Picture books, which I am too lazy to find the authors and illustrators of:

THE CHRISTMAS MAGIC
THE WILD CHRISTMAS REINDEER/HOME FOR CHRISTMAS by Jan Brett
SANTA CALLS by William Joyce (So, okay, I know some of the people)
AUNTIE CLAUS
THE TWELVE BOTS OF CHRISTMAS  by Nathan Hale
LLAMA LLAMA HOLIDAY DRAMA by Anna Dewdney
OLIVIA HELPS WITH CHRISTMAS by Ian Falconer
RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER
THE POLAR EXPRESS
A CHILD'S CHRISTMAS IN WALES by Dylan Thomas
THE TOMTEN by Astrid Lindgren
RED RANGER CAME CALLING
A WISH FOR WINGS THAT WORK by Berkeley Breathed

Movies:
Elf
Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer
Santa Claus is Comin' to Town
The Muppet Christmas Carol
The Nightmare Before Christmas
A Christmas Story
It's Christmas, Charlie Brown! (Or whatever that one is called.  You know what I mean!)
Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, Mystery Science Theater 3000 Edition
Christmas Eve on Sesame Street

Music and Audio Excitement:

Wintersong by Sarah McLachlan
A Christmas Cornucopia by Annie Lennox
Gabriel's Message by Sting
The Coventry Carol by Alison Moyet
Barenaked for the Holidays by the Barenaked Ladies
A Very She & Him Christmas by She & Him
Sleigh Ride by The Ronettes
O Holy Night by Celtic Woman
Polly Anderson's Christmas by Stuart McLean
Six to Eight Black Men by David Sedaris

But along with decking the halls and caroling the bells, this year we have one more thing to get ready for:

PRINCESS OF THE SILVER WOODS!

It will launch on December 11th, and I will be at The King's English Bookshop that very day, to read and sign and give away a prize!  There will be cookies and hijinks!

This will start off a week of signings around Salt Lake City and Provo/Orem!  Also, if you call the nice people at The King's English, they can take orders for signed books and ship them too you for a small fee!  Please see my events page for the exact details.

I will also be on a panel and doing a signing on December 8th, along with Ally Condie, Robison Wells,  Brandon Mull, Lisa Mangum and Dean Hughes!  That starts at 11 am, and should be really fun.  You can get most of your Christmas shopping done right there, boom!

Keep checking my website, too, for a fancy new SILVER WOODS look!

Mortification Monday

Many people assume that once you become a famous author, it is nothing but adulation and crowds of fans, hanging on your every word. Heaven knows that's what I thought! But as the big day of my very first booksigning dawned, I had heard a few things . . . and begun to worry about a few things . . . and I resigned myself to the fact that I would be talking to a small, intimate crowd of family and very close friends. I was quite, QUITE delighted to find that a fairly good sized crowd had turned out for that first signing, and not all of them were my relatives! It gave me a wonderful, glowing feeling. A feeling that I was popular, and loved, and that my rosy childhood dreams were true and I would spend the rest of my careeer speaking to nothing but packed crowds of devotees.

Yeah. No.

For one thing, after my launch party and a well-choreographed panel-and-signing at a large conference, I didn't DO any more signings for months. No one seemed interested. So when I found myself in a bookstore I used to work at a few months after DRAGON SLIPPERS debuted, I couldn't help but check for it on the shelf, and then show it to some of my former co-workers. They all expressed their excitement, and so I eagerly asked one of the managers if I could do a reading a signing at the store.

"You know," I said, "sort of a Former Employee Makes Good! type of thing!"

"Oh, honey," she said kindly. "Other than your parents, who would come?"

A few months later booksignings picked up again, and I was invited to do an event at a local bookstore for Teacher Appreciation Week. I prepared a few remarks, some fun anecdotes about favorite teachers and how they inspired me, and also brought a couple of books to give away, since the manager who contacted me had said that they would be doing drawings every half hour while I was there. Good. Nice. Fun.

I arrived at a quarter to seven, fifteen whole minutes early, and totally impressed with myself. (Usually I am the world's least punctual person.) No one knew what I was talking about. No one could find the manager who had contacted me. I stood by the information desk, smiling in an increasingly forced manner, until she was finally located, and told her that I was ready to go for it whenever she was.

"Well," she said, not looking me in the eyes, "I didn't know what to do when you weren't here, so I just announced at twenty to seven that any teachers in the store could come to the info desk and get a prize. If you want to stay and sign or something, we can put a little table at the front of the store."

"Um, don't you want me to speak or anything? I thought I was going to be speaking at seven." It was barely seven at that point, and the manager acted like the night was already over, and my extreme tardiness had ruined everything.

"Oh, I don't think there's really enough people here," she said. "Let's just set up a table for you."

So I became one of those awkward authors, sitting at a little table at the front of a bookstore, smiling bravely at everyone who came through the door and hoping that they would take pity on me and buy my book. One of the booksellers (not the manager) came over and offered me a bottle of water. He told me in a quiet voice that he had set up chairs and a microphone in the back of the store, and had everything ready to go at 6:30. Several people had asked what it was for, and seemed interested in waiting around to hear me talk, but ten minutes later he had been told that no one was coming and to take it all back down. He gave me a sympathetic look, asked if I needed anything else, and sidled away like he wasn't supposed to talk to me.

At 7:30 the manager came over, told me I was great, and then said she had to go.

"What?!"

"Yeah, I get off at 7:30. But you can stay as long as you want," she told me cheerfully.

"Um, I guess I'll stay until 9. Aren't booksignings usually two hours?"

"Whatever," she said, and shrugged.

She started to walk away and I asked her if she wanted me to sign some books and put an "autographed copy" sticker on them.

"Oh, no! If you sign them we can't return them tomorrow."

"You're returning my books? To the publisher?"

"Yep."

"Aren't you going to keep a few to sell?"

"Well, maybe two, but we don't need them signed." And then she left.

The good news is, I did sell a few books that night. There were indeed teachers wandering the store, and they came over to talk and even to get some books signed. A few friends stopped by, and a couple of my cousins. I was still so new to booksignings, though, that I jumped whenever someone came over to the table, and felt humiliated that the manager hadn't thought that anyone would want to hear me talk. I have a feeling that she was new to this managing gig, that or she was even more insecure than I was.

I thought after this moment that nothing could be worse.

Well. This is hands down the worst bookstore signing I've ever had, let's just say that. We shan't talk about the major convention where I did a reading to an amazing audience of four people, and then sat for two hours without signing a single book in a room crammed with fans interested in every other author but me. Nor shall we mention the school visit where, after my presentation, the reading specialist who had scheduled me came up with an angry look and told me that my presentation was wildly inappropriate because all I talked about was killing people. (I had joked that Creel wasn't an orphan, but my editor had killed her parents. The kids thought it was hilarious.) It turned out that she had never read any of my books, but someone had told her that my presentation was wonderful, although now that she'd seen it she "had no idea WHAT they were thinking," and didn't think she would be recommending my books to her students, because they were probably filled with murders and inappropriate jokes.

Yes, let us not speak of these things!

But for more of Mortification Monday, please check out Shannon Hale's and Mette Ivie Harrison's blog. There are some great, humiliating stories out there!