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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!
Hello, all!
I hope you had a wonderful summer! I'm guessing it was far more restful than mine! Nevertheless, I did manage to get some reading done. I think I challenged myself to read sixty books. I don't know where I pulled that number from . . . wishful thinking, I suppose! The reality is . . . Fifty-four! Not bad, right? I've read 97 of the 160 books I've challenged myself to read this year, but according to Goodreads, I'm still ten books behind schedule. Le sigh.
Before I give you the list, let me tell you that I am awaiting final details of my October book tour for THURSDAYS WITH THE CROWN! I will post those events soon! I do know that I will launch the book one day early, on October 6th! It goes on sale officially on October 7th, but that is Baby Girl's birthday, and I am not THAT terrible of a mother... The launch party will be at The King's English in Salt Lake City on Monday, October 6th at 7 pm! I can also confirm that I will be at the Provo Library on November 13th at 7 pm, for the Utah Valley launch, so there's two options already for you, Utah!
I can also confirm that there will be special Barnes & Noble editions of THURSDAYS, which have maps of the Castle on the endpapers and a bonus short story at the end!
And in YA book news, my long-awaited Romania book, entitled SILVER IN THE BLOOD, will be out July 7th, 2015! Advanced copies are coming, and you know I'll do giveaways and show you cover art and all good things as soon as I can!
Now, the summer reading books!
From Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day I read:
1. Peyton Place, Grace Metalious*
2. Midwinterblood, Marcus Sedgwick
3. The Chapel Wars, Lindsey Leavitt
4. Farthing, Jo Walton*
5. Words of Radiance, Brandon Sanderson
6. Treaties, Trenches, Mud, and Blood, Nathan Hale
7. Dreams of Gods and Monsters, Laini Taylor
8. A nd Then There Were None, Agatha Christie
9. Searching for Sky, Jillian Cantor
19. The Rosie Project, Graeme Simsion*
20. My Real Children, Jo Walton*
21. Open Road Summer, Emery Lord
22. Gidget, Frederick Kohner
23. Silver in the Blood
24. In Darkness, Nick Lake
25. Fool Me Twice, Mandy Hubbard
26. Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 1: Cosmic Avengers
27. Jim Henson's The Labyrinth, A.C.H. Smith
28. Shadow on the Mountain, Margi Preus
29. Tuesdays at the Castle (read this aloud to my kids)
30. Silver in the Blood
31. No Graves As Yet, Anne Perry
32. Bad Monkey, Carl Hiaasen*
33. Silver in the Blood
34. Landline, Rainbow Rowell
35. The Silkworm, Robert Galbraith*
36. Rogues, edited by George R. R. Martin & Gardner Dozois*
37. The Glass Sentence, S. E. Grove
38. Wish You Were Italian, Kristin Rae
39. The Night Gardener, Jonathan Auxier
40. Charlotte's Rose, A. E. Cannon
41. One More Thing, B. J. Novak*
42. Silver in the Blood
43. Life on Mars, Jennifer Brown
44. The Chocolate War, Robert Cormier
45. Little Women and Me, Lauren Baratz-Logsted
46. Skink- No Surrender, Carl Hiaasen
47. Iron Hearted Violet, Kelly Barnhill
48. Wednesdays in the Tower (aloud to the kids)
49. I'll Give You the Sun, Jandy Nelson
50. Kingdom Keepers: Disney After Dark, Ridley Pearson
51. The School for Good and Evil, Soman Chainani
52. Chasing Power, Sarah Beth Durst
53. Blood of Tyrants, Naomi Novik
54. Double Whammy, Carl Hiaasen*
* - Solidly for adults, sensitive readers be warned.
Yes, that's right, I had to read my own book, Silver in the Blood, three times this summer, start to finish, as part of the editing process. No, that never got old, I love that book! On the other hand, some of these books were not my favorite. But let's not dwell on that! Let's talk about the ones that were my favorite(s)!
For grownups: The Silkworm (if you are not reading J. K. Rowling's alter ego, Robert Galbraith, you are missing out), Landline (older teens might like this as well. Some swears.), and My Real Children (in which Jo Walton again wows me with her excellence). The Rosie Project was darling and hilarious!
For teens: If you love fantasy, please treat yo'self to Brandon Sanderson's epic Stormlight Archive series. Words of Radiance is book two, book one was The Way of Kings. They are magnificent. Also, why are you not reading Naomi Novik's Temeraire books? Blood of Tyrants is the second-to-last, the first was called His Majesty's Dragon. They are must reads for fans of historical fiction and/or dragons. Both these series are for adults, but there is no reason a teen couldn't read them. Also, just for teens: I'll Give You the Sun should win all the awards this year. Midwinterblood was last year's Printz winner, and it deserved the medal! Chasing Power by my girl Sarah Beth Durst comes out soon (I got an advance copy), and if you like X-Men, you are going to love this!
Middle grade readers: The Night Gardener is wonderful and creepy and I want it to get awards. And Charlotte's Rose was absolutely wonderful. It's the story of a young girl (based on real events) emigrating from Wales to Utah with the early Mormon pioneers. She agrees to carry a newborn baby whose mother has died, and walks across the plains with the baby strapped to her back. Funny, harrowing, and heart-warming!
So, what did you guys read that I need to know about? Tell me in the comments!
TUESDAYS AT THE CASTLE was launched into the world this last month! Huzzah! And it's doing very well, if rumors can be believed. . . Thanks to all of you who were able to come to my signings! For those of you who weren't able to come, you can now order any of my books, signed and personalized, from The King's English Bookshop in Salt Lake City. They will ship them right to your door, signed, stamped, and bookmarked! For more information on that, go here: http://www.kingsenglish.com/localauthors/290663 The other big news around here is that I am having baby number three in January. And it's a boy! Which is why you may have noticed fewer blogs, more ranting on Twitter, and why I have no signings scheduled after December . . . This month is National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo. I keep getting asked if I'm participating, and the answer is: Well, EVERY month is NaNoWriMo around here! There's plenty of encouraging blog and information out there if you do a search, so I really have no wisdom to impart to any of you who are participating, other than to say Good Luck! And don't forget to revise AFTER November and BEFORE you send the novel out to an agent or editor. And for those of you who weren't able to attend my signings, I now answer the two most Frequently Asked Questions: 1. What will your next book be? It's PRINCESS OF THE SILVER WOODS, the third and final book about the Twelve Dancing Princesses of Westfalin. It will be out next fall. 2. Will there be a sequel to TUESDAYS? Yep! I'm working on it right now. It will be out some time in 2013, and has no title yet. So how's that for news? And some good news for those of you in Idaho: Next week I will be in Rexburg and Idaho Falls. I'll be speaking and signing at the Madison County Library in Rexburg from 7-9 pm on November 17th, and signing at the Idaho Falls Barnes & Noble on November 18th in the evening (we're still settling on a time, either 4-6 or 5-7.)
Hello!
Have you seen it? Did you notice?
There's a brand new look over here at Jessicadaygeorge.com! And it's all in honor of my brand new book, TUESDAYS AT THE CASTLE!
TUESDAYS AT THE CASTLE will be out officially on October 25th, but there will actually be two events prior to that where the book will be available. One will be my official launch party at The King's English in Salt Lake City. That will be on October 15th from 2-4 pm, and there will be cake and readings and a giveaway and all good things! The other will be the Fall Authorpalooza at the Orem, Utah, Barnes & Noble on October 22nd from 1-4 pm.
There are other events planned after the launch date, so please see the events page for more details!
Now I'm sure that this raises other questions, so let me answer a few right here:
TUESDAYS AT THE CASTLE is the first book in a new series, and is a middle grade book about a young princess who lives in a magical castle. There will be at least three books about Princess Celie and her castle, and there is more information about this specific book on the book's page.
My next book will come out next fall (roughly) and is the third and FINAL book about the Twelve Dancing Princesses. It is entitled PRINCESS OF THE SILVER WOOD. It is Princess Petunia's story, and is based on Little Red Riding Hood.
That is all the news that's currently fit to print!
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