Griffins Galore!

I dunno, that just felt like a good title.

You see, it's not so much griffins galore, it's mostly one griffin.  One AWESOME griffin, one Rufus by name!

Since last I blogged, you see, some things have happened.  WEDNESDAYS IN THE TOWER came out . . . and debuted at #10 on the New York Times Bestseller List!  I was on a cruise at the time, and didn't get the news for a couple of days, and when I did, my arms went numb!  It was quite weird.  I was sitting in our cabin with my feet up, getting my email, and I saw that email and just . . . went numb.  I sat there laugh-crying at my husband while he read the email, because I was too stunned to talk!  It is still so surreal to me.  Every so often it hits me that from now on, my books will all say, "New York Times Bestselling Author" across them, and I freak out a little all over again.

So, yes, I was on a cruise.  I was also on a book tour, so the month of May was a little crazy.  I lost track of how many flights I was on, now many times I got up at 4 am to get to the airport, and how many times I gave a school presentation.  But it was fun, all of it!  The schools were great, the bookstores were great, the cruise was great.  All great all around!  I highly recommend both cruises and book tours as vacation options in the future, if any of you are wondering.  (Although in all honesty, swimming with dolphins in Cozumel was slightly better than giving three school assemblies in one day.  Slightly.)

I also found out in May that TUESDAYS AT THE CASTLE is one of the Summer Reading books for Barnes & Noble, and I could not be more delighted.  Kids who do their Summer Reading program and read 8 books this summer can pick a copy of of TUESDAYS as their free book!  Yay!

Now that WEDNESDAYS is out there in the world, allow me to take this opportunity to apologize for the ending.  It's not a bad ending . . . it's just a bit of a cliffhanger.  But don't worry, I'm working hard on THURSDAYS IN THE SOMETHING SOMETHING, and soon all questions will be answered!  (By soon, of course, I mean next spring.  Sorry.)

And now on to Other People's Books.

You know what time of year it is?  It's SUMMER READING TIME!

I am not even going to try and challenge myself to a certain number this year.  I mean, on Goodreads I've challenged myself to read 160 books this year, and I'm falling a wee bit behind, but no specific number for the summer.  I do have a large stack of books on the bedside table, as per usual.  I probably have close to 50 other books in my house that I haven't read yet, but this is my method for this summer.

1. Find fun book.
2. Read fun book.

Basically, I've decided to choose my books this summer by whatever pops into my head as being the Most Fun This Second.  Let's face it, we all have books we know we SHOULD read, like OUR MUTUAL FRIEND or EAST OF EDEN, but I'm putting those aside this summer.  I took a look at my Goodreads to-read shelf last night, then I went onto my library website, and put the five books that jumped out at me on hold.  I might reread a few things, I might very well decide to read OUR MUTUAL FRIEND, but I'm going to take it one book at a time.  Right now I'm reading FRAGMENTS by Dan Wells (which is awesome).  And I read some very fun things on my cruise and book tour (like TIMELESS, TOURIST SEASON, and CRUCIBLE OF GOLD), and so I think I will include those on my summer reading list.  So let's say that Summer Reading this year starts on May 1st, shall we?  And goes until September 3rd!

Which means that thus far I have read:

CATE OF THE LOST COLONY by Lisa Klein
NEED by Carrie Jones
TIMELESS by Gail Carriger
TOURIST SEASON by Carl Hiaasen
THE HERO AND THE CROWN by Robin McKinley (a reread, obviously)
LET'S EXPLORE DIABETES WITH OWLS by David Sedaris
CRUCIBLE OF GOLD by Naomi Novik
THE BLUE SWORD by Robin McKinley (reread)
THE HERO'S GUIDE TO SAVING YOUR KINGDOM by Christopher Healy
DEAD EVER AFTER by Charlaine Harris
ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL by James Herriot
THE SPINDLERS by Lauren Oliver

I have also read CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG and ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND aloud to the kids.

Go forth and read!  And if you feel like picking up some copies of WEDNESDAYS IN THE TOWER for your friends and family, I'm not gonna object.

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!