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!

Summer Readin' Roundup!

YEEEEEHAW!

I know what you pardners are all wonderin': Did Jessica get rid of that triple stack of books on her bedside table?

Yeah.  Of course I didn't.  We all knew the answer to THAT.  No sooner had I blogged about getting that stack whipped into shape than like SEVEN books I'd had on hold at the library forever came in for me.  I'd gotten down to two smaller stacks, and then my publisher released six fantastic books I'd been waiting for.  Let's face it: I will never NOT have multiple stacks of books on my bedside table.

Le sigh.

Yet as I type that, I'm smiling.  Oh, and wearing a nightshirt my sister gave me that says, "I cannot sleep unless I am surrounded by books."  The other day my son pointed to my nightshirt and said, "That just EXPLAINS you, you know, Mommy?"

"Indeed, my son.  I do know."

So what did get read this summer?

(The asterisk means I own it.)

EARWIG AND THE WITCH - Diana Wynne Jones *
PANDEMONIUM - Lauren Oliver
CRYER'S CROSS - Lisa McMann
STEVE JOBS - Walter Isaacson *
CINDER - Marissa Meyer
DEADLOCKED - Charlaine Harris
THE KNEEBONE BOY - Ellen Potter
FINN FAMILY MOOMINTROLL - Tove Jansson *
CONFESSIONS OF A SCARY MOMMY - Jill Smokler
ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER - Seth Grahame-Smith *
LET'S PRETEND THIS NEVER HAPPENED - Jenny Lawson
I AM FORBIDDEN - Anouk Markovits
UNEXPECTED MAGIC - Diana Wynne Jones *
LADY FRIDAY - Garth Nix *
GANYMEDE - Cherie Priest *
READY PLAYER ONE - Ernest Cline
HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE - Diana Wynne Jones *
THE WISE MAN'S FEAR - Patrick Rothfuss  *
DAYDREAMS OF A SOLITARY HAMSTER - Astrid Desbordes
RAMPANT - Diana Peterfreund
THE BOOK OF BLOOD AND SHADOW - Robin Wasserman
THE SISTERS BROTHERS - Patrick DeWitt
SIZE 12 AND READY TO ROCK - Meg Cabot
REDSHIRTS - John Scalzi
BRINGING UP BEBE - Pamela Druckerman
FOR DARKNESS SHOWS THE STARS - Diana Peterfreund
TEAM HUMAN - Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan
MOOMINPAPPA'S MEMOIRS - Tove Jansson *
ARCHIE MEETS KISS (No.  Seriously.)
SMILE - Raina Telgemeier
GHOST STORY - Jim Butcher *
ROT & RUIN - Jonathan Maberry *
A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES - Deborah Harkness
BABYMOUSE: DRAGONSLAYER - Jenni and Matt Holm

Currently reading: GIRL OF NIGHTMARES - Kendare Blake

So.  That's . . . 34 and 1/2 books!  I also read PRINCESS OF THE SILVER WOOD twice, once to do copy edits, and once to proofread.  Which totally counts!

And now I'm embarking on my fall reading, which will include a little project.  What's that, you say?  Well, for one thing, I'm toying with the idea of rereading some things.  I read HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE aloud to the kids, and it really made me want to revisit some old favorites.  I've thought of reading one old book for every two new ones I read in the next few months.  I may do that.  But also, every time I walk through my bedroom, I see my Harry Potter books.  They are lovingly displayed atop my dresser, with Harry Potter bookends holding them in place.  I get the urge to pick them up and look at the pretty, pretty covers, and maybe read a page or two.  So I decided to start a little project.  I will read one chapter of Harry Potter every day (starting today!) and see how long it takes me to get through the entire series!  I was going to add up the number of chapters and try to tell you exactly how long it will take . . . but I'm not good at math so I didn't.  If somebody wants to do that for me, they totally can.

And that's what I'll be doing this fall!  Along with reading:

GIRL OF NIGHTMARES
PRINCESS ACADEMY: PALACE OF STONE
SCARLET
BLEEDING HEARTS
THRONE OF GLASS
OUT FOR BLOOD
CATE OF THE LOST COLONY
THE CLOCKWORK THREE
ANATHEM
THE WAY OF KINGS
THE HYPNOTIST

And many, many more!

What are you reading as we cozy our way into fall?