Last year I went to Savannah on a writing retreat with the Gothic Girls and it was awesome. This year I'm headed to New Orleans with several of the same authors and I'm anticipating that it will again be awesome. I'm totally planning on badgering everyone there to let me read their books (Tessa Gratton's Blood Magic and Brenna Yovanoff's The Replacement (I've already read Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce - loved it!) and Maggie Stiefvater's Forever (I already know she ain't gonna let me pry that out of her fingers, sigh!)).
To kick the week of right, I'll be joining Maggie and Jackson at Octavia Books on Saturday, April 17th from 4-6. I hear Maggie will be putting on a show that may involve rolling around the bookstore. We can only hope! I'll be signing and answering questions (and watching Maggie roll through the aisles).
For the rest of the week, I shall be basking in the joy of being around other creative types. There's something just so joyous in being surrounded by other authors and talking about craft, goals, ideas, careers, stories. Just thinking about it has me excited beyond belief! Also, hopefully, there will be writing.
I'm actually working on two different books right now. One of them I can't seem to get out of my head and I've oddly been hand-writing it. I've wanted to handwrite a book for ages and even spent an entire afternoon driving around town looking for *just* the right journal with *just* the right type of paper.
What happens? I find two perfect journals, buy six different pens and then end up writing in an old spiral notebook with a pen I found tucked in the couch cushions. And naturally, being the superstitious fool that I am, when I needed to find another spiral to write it, I went to three different stores all over town looking for the EXACT same kind (in different colors). And for some reason I'm writing it back to front (not the story, but physically I started writing in the back of the notebook). I do not understand myself sometimes.
Anyway, because of said superstition I don't want to say too much about the book. It's like a secret and though I stink at keeping secrets, this one I like to have rattling around in my brain. When I talk publicly about this book I always call it "the wrong book." Because it is the wrong book. And yet, I shall continue to poke at it because I'm enjoying it and if I learned anything from writing The Forest of Hands and Teeth it's to not worry about the right book or the wrong book and just focus on telling a story you're passionate about.
Luckily, I'm also super excited about the other book I'm working on which I'm hoping will soon become "the right book." The problem with not being an outliner is that I tend to spend days and weeks moaning and wailing as I wait for the seed of an idea to develop enough to make sense. At least by now I've come to realize that this is my process and so I haven't agonized quite as much. I've just taken my spiral notebooks outside and tooled around on the wrong idea, waiting for the right one to solidify.
Today I wrote a synopsis of the first quarter of my new idea and so I'm waiting to see what JP says before going forward. It's caused me to bounce around quite a bit in excitement... thank goodness I have a mega-chat tonight to take my mind off the waiting!
Speaking of the megachat: here are the details: http://yalitchat.wordpress.com/88/. I'm off to poke at my synopsis some more... I'm one of those people who gets mongo excited about new things and I'm just hoping my excitement doesn't wear off and that the shiny will still seem shiny :)
One of the questions I've been asked a bunch lately is what's next. I'll update my website soon, but here's the scoop: there's a third book in the series and it should be coming out in Spring 2011. It's already written and the title is The Dark and Hollow Places. I've seen a cover comp and in total love -- can't wait until I'm able to share it!
Antho title:Kiss Me Deadly: 13 Tales of Paranormal Love Antho editor: Trisha Telep Release date: July 27, 2010 Short story title: Hare Moon Short story description: my story is about Sister Tabitha from The Forest of Hands and Teeth when she was Mary's age. It answers a few more questions about the village, the Sisterhood and Tabitha's motivation. As it turns out, she was quite the passionate teen :)
Antho title:The Living Dead 2 Antho editor: John Joseph Adams Release date: September 2010 Short story title: Flotsam & Jetsam Short story description: right around the time of the Return, when no one really knows what's going on, a group of seniors go on their senior cruise and infection breaks out on the ship. Two boys escape in a life raft -- one of them's infected.
Antho title:Zombies vs. Unicorns Antho editors: Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier Release date: September 21, 2010 Short story title: Bougainvillea Short story description: set about ten years after the Return on the island of Curacao, a girl discovers what it takes to survive as pirates threaten.
This Thursday, the fantabulous Mundie Moms are hosting a chat with me at 9pm EST. Their blog is here for details!
I promise updates and photos soon... just have to download pictures from my camera :) It's been nice being home from tour, trying to catch up on things, watching the yard EXPLODE with new growth which is threatening to take control of the house. I'd planned on having most of April to myself to write and get organized but it looks like those plans might change...
In writing news, I've been working on a book that I've been super excited about for months. The only problem is that it isn't want I'd planned on writing next. So... there's that. Jake had an appointment with the vet this morning and, as predicted, got a bit antsy about the whole needle thing so they've had to sedate him. I'm not going to lie, it's a little unsettling being home without him, wondering how he's doing. Poor beast.
Everyone was like "oh, he'll be so sweet when he's home and all woozy!" and to me that sounds like just about every other day. He'll just climb up on the couch and pass out and that will be that -- typical afternoon for Jake. Perhaps I'll pick up a book and snuggle up with him :)
I love this book. That's all there is to it. And it's out today so you should all go out and read it.
I've been a romance reader much of my life (from teens on). During the year before I went to law school I discovered Julia Quinn and devoured her entire backlist, falling in love with Regency. But once I started writing YA, I spent most of my time reading YA and hadn't picked up a romance novel, much less a Regency, in several years.
That changed when I picked up The Season by Sarah MacLean. I met Sarah as a fellow Deb in the 2009 Debutantes and The Season was everything I loved about romance novels. I stayed up late reading, I swooned and grinned and giggled and re-read passages just to experience the thrill over and over again.
As much as I love The Season, Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake tops it. I was lucky enough to read it on my computer and I was so in love it that when my mom told me it was time to go shopping, I lugged my computer along so I could read in the car. I could not put this book down.
Sarah MacLean reminded me why I loved reading romance novels. Her heroine Callie is someone that I just instantly wanted to succeed -- not just in love but in life. And her story isn't just about love, but about finding out who she is and what she wants. And the hero, Ralston.... yummy with his own issues to overcome.
When reading this book, I felt every emotion on the page. I was enthralled and in love and did I mention I swooned? I love this book so much I've been dying for it to come out so I can spread the word. Thanks to Sarah MacLean I've fallen in love with romance and Regencies again. Thanks Sarah... now I'm dying for the next one!!!
In honor of this fantastic book, I'm giving away two autographed copies of Nine Rules. To win, leave a comment below for an entry. For extra entires, blog, tweet or facebook a link to this entry (another extra point for every time you use a copy of the cover when you blog, tweet or facebook). Remember to tell me in the comments if you linked and if you used the cover image! Contest ends Sunday at midnight!
Congrats on the release of such an amazing book, Sarah MacLean!
Wow, so I really thought I'd have more free time to blog while on tour but apparently not! Today is my last day and I'm beyond excited to be topping off the tour with a visit to Not Your Mother's Book Club. This is one of those things that I've watched so many authors do and I've always wanted to do it myself -- I'm gobsmacked that I actually get to now! Squee!
I have only a smidge of time before I have to run out the door to some stock signings. The tour so far has been fantastic and after that little "there's too much wind so no one can leave NYC" incident, the weather has been gorgeous. I know it feels lame to blog about the weather of all things, but it's made me want to move to each and every city I've visited so far.
Tomorrow I fly home and try to organize my life which I don't think is going to be easy. I have the blog to update with all sorts of amazing pictures and stories, I have taxes to complete, emails to return, interviews to complete, two short stories to copy-edit and a fiance to spend time with (not to mention two very ornery cats and dog). Of course, JP is preparing for a big trial so who knows when I'll actually see him, even if I am in the same city again :)
And now thinking about going home makes me very very sad that this is all coming to an end and a sad blogger isn't a fun blogger so I think I'll sign off now. Thanks to everyone who's come out to say hello and I can't wait until tonight!!! YAY!!!!
Hey y'all! I'm writing from Detroit mere hours before getting ready for a Zombie Prom tonight. Yes, that's right -- ZOMBIE PROM!!!! I can't tell you just how thrilled I am about this event and I promise to take pictures. Yesterday I had a fantastic time up in Lansing at Schuler Books. Krys and Whitney put on an amazing event (complete with pizza) and the crowd was just so great. Earlier in the day I had a fun time at Haslett High School where the students grilled me on surviving the zombie apocalypse. Perhaps it makes me a very strange person, but I always love debating various survival techniques.
Let me tell you, Lansing goes all out for St. Patty's Day. Michelle (media escort) and I drove through Michigan State and there were green-clad students EVERYWHERE -- dangling from roofs, sprawled on lawns, furniture on sidewalks and lots and lots of green beer. It was a gorgeous day so I totally understood the urge to be outside -- the entire place had such a festive feel to it.
Backing up a bit... Last week I was in NYC and apparently, it got quite windy. So windy, in fact, that all modes of transportation were rendered inoperable. I was supposed to fly out to Chicago on Saturday night and all was going according to plan when someone careened into the airport restaurant (I'd just ordered dinner) to say basically all flights were cancelled. Yup, it was true.
Amazing publicists Kelly and Jessica totally kicked in and went above and beyond trying to reroute me (there was an event scheduled for early afternoon in Chicago I really REALLY wanted to make it to). Of course, NYC had been canceling flights to Chicago all day so the earliest I could get there was Monday afternoon (just in time to fly to Detroit). So we decided I'd hop a train to Philly and catch a flight there. I book it to Penn Station incidentally ending up with tickets on two different trains. And then I wait. With everyone else.
note the Eat, Prey Love sticker
I love this picture of us all staring up at the boards cause the girl in front of me is crossing her fingers so hard, clearly hoping the DC train boards. When the board listed a track for us to board there was a quick cheer by the crowd and then crazy stampeding to the tracks (I'm surprised no one was crushed). I made it to my seat and settled in. And waited. And waited. For five hours.
Turns out, power was down on the tracks. We were lucky to be in the station -- there were trains stuck out on the tracks with no power (which means no bathrooms - ick!). After a while I realized how surreal it is to be an author who writes about post-apocalypse worlds to suddenly be in a situation where there was no escape. Sure we were allowed to leave or go up to Penn Station, but there were definitely moments when I thought "there could be zombies up on the street and I'd have no idea."
There were plenty of people trying to find cars or flights or any other way out of the city who couldn't (rumor was the NJ turnpike was shut down). Makes you realize how fragile our infrastructure is and next time a readers asks "would everything really fall apart that fast?" I can say "well, wind make it impossible to escape NYC!"
Also, I'd forgotten that when you throw strangers into a situation where things go wrong, they often become friends. I ended up selling a copy of FHT to an Australian on the train :)
Me and adam talking zombies
Finally, we gave up and I stayed at a hotel and took a flight out the next morning. When I landed in Chicago I went straight to my event with Adam Selzer, author of I Kissed a Zombie and I Liked It. Totally awesome book which I loved.
After that was dinner with a few very awesome and funny folks (and yummy food). Yeah, I totally dug out my phone and shared pictures of my dog and cats. I'm that kind of person, apparently.
On that note... it's time for me to prepare for the zombie prom. You know you totally want to go!! I promise to recap more soon! Thanks to everyone who has come out to see me -- I've had so much fun meeting fans and chatting! Y'all rock!
My Dad tells me that I need to be blogging more. I agree. However, this won't be a long post because I still have a few miles left to go before I can sleep. Right now I'm writing from Detroit having just come back from a signing at the Borders in Novi and polished off a dinner of blue cheese and bread that I stole from the little "snack room" down the hall (which has free diet cokes... this could spell trouble for me over the next two days!).
warm welcome at Jefferson JHS
So I promise to blog in the next day or two about everything so far which includes getting stuck on a train (and selling my book to an Australian in the process cause hey, there's always a bright side) and having some really and truly fabulous visits. One thing I've learned on my trip is that media escorts totally rock -- they are just fascinating people with endless stories! Also it's been really REALLY amazing to talk to fans and hear their thoughts and questions about my books -- nothing is really cooler than that.
Tomorrow I'll be at Schuler's Books and Music for a pizza party at 6 (yum!!) and on Thursday I'm going to a Zombie Prom (!!!!!) hosted by the Barnes and Noble in Rochester Hills (prom starts around 5 and my talk around 7 I *think*). So can't wait for both of these events - squee!!!
Also, just a note to say that for some reason I'm not able to send mail from my work account (the one listed on my website) away from home so if you're wondering about the radio silence... that's why. Sorry!!
And yes, Dad, I'm still alive :) If you want to know what's going on in between blog posts you can follow my tweets here. I tend to update them more often (easier to tweet on the fly).
Hey y'all! Wanted to let you know about a new event just added to the schedule in Chicago. I'll be at the Harold Washington Library Center (400 South State Street) from 2-3 on Sunday (tommorrow), talking, signing books and hanging out! Hope to see you there!
Hey y'all! I'm writing from my hotel room in NYC! My publicists are really spoiling me because this is my view (last night I sat on the window seat and talked to JP with the lights of the city -- it was really quite awesome!) It was my first time ever taking the train and while I'm very used to how planes work, the train was something new. Of course I ended up sitting backward but even that was okay because there was lots of space, great people watching, and a table for me to work (oh, also? the woman announcing the trains totally did the "AAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLL aboard!" which was awesome!)
Yes, we got 2 double orders
Once in NYC I trekked down to the Random House offices which always fill me with a special kind of glee. I wish I had a picture of my publicists Kelly and Jessica greeting me, but they had a sign with "New York Times Bestselling Author"on it in big red letters which was just hilarious and awesome. I got to hang out, sign some books, catch up, thank people in person and just absorb the wonderful feeling of being surrounded by books and people who love books. Then we all headed to dinner complete with table-side made guacamole and pomegranate margaritas -- totally awesome!
Brilliant Editor Krista
Sneaky publicist Kelly snuck away when we ordered dessert to tell them about my hitting the NYT list and that it was also my editor Krista's birthday. So when the chocolate cupcake and churros came, one plate said Congratulations and the other said Happy Birthday! So fun! This is why I love working with all these women - they never miss a detail :)
Friday was lunch with my agent Jim who is always so much fun to hang out with. We grabbed sushi and caught up on everything which is just so nice to be able to do in person. Then I signed stock at the Union Square Barnes and Noble (where I spent so much time hanging out the summer JP worked in NYC and we lived nearby).
lunch on Thurs - pretty!
Friday afternoon was back to the Random House office to meet more people and sign more books (I still get a total thrill out of signing books!). Then we headed off to Manhassett for the signing. This was one of those crowds that was so fun to talk to because they were really into it. One boy even said that he'd never been a reader before and his mom gave him The Forest of Hands and Teeth and it turned him into a reader -- that he loves books because of The Forest of Hands and Teeth. Seriously, I almost broke into tears right then and there and gave both him and his mom a hug. Totally TOTALLY amazing.
Tomorrow I'm SUPER excited about the event at Word in Brooklyn. Apparently it's listed as one of the six events to make Your Perfect Weekend in Time Out New York magazine - eep! They're serving zombie doughnuts at the event -- I can't wait to see what those are :)
zombies + paula abdul = perfect weekend.
I also think we've added an event with the Chicago Public Library on Sunday -- when I get more info I'll be sure to post it! You can also follow The Dead-Tossed Waves facebook page for the most current info.
Thanks to everyone who has come out (esp in the cold rain today!) and said hello in person and to everyone who's emailed or tweeted!!
Hey y'all!! I'm writing to you from overcast Baltimore (it's totally fine that it's overcast because yesterday was amazingly gorgeous!). Even though the tour didn't start until yesterday, I flew up early on Sunday so that I could hang out with my pal and critique partner, Diana Peterfreund (she blogs about the visit here, including picture of me looking like I'm about to eat her dog's brains). Yesterday, as per my amazingly organized and detailed itinerary (thanks Kelly and Jess!!) she drove me up to Baltimore where we strolled down to the docks near the hotel and partook of Maryland crab soup with a wonderful view.
Yum!
Then it was back to the hotel to prepare for the signing and what should have been a calm ordered afternoon turned into a circus. First, the room was 90+ degrees which meant we had engineers coming in and out (couldn't switch rooms for some reason). That was fine, I got to hear some pretty funny stories about things gone wrong in the hotel :) Then someone came and dropped off wine and cheese -- always appreciated and happy-making :) And then the phone rang about seven times -- the front desk with a package, the engineer checking in, etc. Thank goodness Diana was here to field everything as I ran around trying not to get nervous!
Emma Joanne and I
Trusty rent-a-pal and escort Craig picked us up and drove us out to The Childrens Booksstore for the launch of The Dead-Tossed Waves!! They had signs up, books displayed and were just wonderful. It's a great little bookstore that has that feeling when you walk in that makes you want to just stay and sit and read. I prob read a little too fast (I'm still not used to reading my own work out loud) and had just a total blast talking to everyone. I even got to run into a family who'd been at my The Forest of Hands and Teeth launch in Greenville and a few other people I'd chatted with online.
All in all it was a fantastic event -- I really adore when everything's relaxed enough that we can all sit around and chat and have fun!
Eat. Prey. Love.
Then it was back to the hotel where Diana and I set off in search of more food. As it turns out, there's a gorgeous Barnes & Noble in an old building near the harbor-area and so we stopped by to sign stock. That's where I got my first glimpse of the book dump in real life and there was much squee-ing from me :)
Today I'm supposed to be catching up on blog tour posts but don't tell my publicist that I might sneak out this afternoon to go explore that really cool ship and make a visit to the National Aquarium right down the block. I LOVE aquariums and don't want to miss this one :)
Thanks everyone for all the love yesterday -- I can't tell you how amazing it was to open my email or twitter feed and see the mentions of The Dead-Tossed Waves!! It really felt like one huge party that lasted all day :) I also woke up to find out that my local paper, The Charlotte Observer, had an article about me on the front page! And then I saw that MTV reviewed DTW and had wonderful things to say!
I'm sure I'm forgetting all sorts of stuff I planned to blog about today :) I've been trying hard to keep posting to my twitter feed though! Thanks again y'all for sharing all this with me!!!
Living in the South-East growing up, both JP and I went to Williamsburg at some point or another for history class and I'd pretty much not given it much thought beyond that. But then for our first Valentine's day while in law school JP surprised me with a trip up there and it sort-of became our new tradition. It's amazing how easy it is to slip away from the real world when you're there -- to take the time to stroll around outside and take pictures of cows and talk about what life would have been like then or share stories or convict a fictional woman of being a witch (for the record, JP and I voted not guilty and had an absurdly in depth conversation afterward about the evidentiary burdens of such things -- you can take the girl out of the law but not the law out of the girl apparently).
We've stayed somewhere different each year and this time we stayed at a tavern right on the main street. Tiny room but nothing beats stepping outside and seeing a gang of fife and drum players going by. It just feels like stepping into another world, especially when it's the dead of winter and there's hardly anyone else around so the place feels like it belongs only to the ghosts and us.
We did a bunch of walking around, drove the Yorktown and Jamestown loops enjoying a sunny sky and spent the obligatory afternoon at the Williamsburg Winery (where JP proposed to me two years ago). We ate lots and LOTS of yummy food :)
We also played this game called Once Upon a Time which was awesome! Basically, there are two decks of cards: one with endings and one with people, places, descriptions, etc. You deal an ending to each player and then a mish-mash of the other cards and the object of the game is to tell a story using your cards to get to that ending (and you can interrupt other players at certain times). Winner is the first to play all cards.
We set a fire in the tavern common room and turned down the lights and opened a bottle of wine and jiggered the rules a bit -- basically we had one common ending ("And for all I know they may be dancing still") and we chose cards from our hands and passed them to the other player and they had to use that card to continue the story. It ended up being really amazing -- probably took a couple of hours to tell this story that we got totally wrapped up in. One of the best nights ever!
Sometimes it's nice to step into another world to get away from it all :)
I have news!! I'm so crazy happy and excited and overwhelmed and just flat out giddy to announce that the paperback of The Forest of Hands and Teeth just debuted at #8 on the New York Times Best Seller List!!!! HOLY COW!! Even more awesome and cool is that Cynthia Leitich Smith also debuted on the list at #5 for her book Eternal! How wonderful that we get to share this experience together!!
Here's how it all went down... I was racing around Greenville with my mom all day Wednesday picking up some last minute things for the The Dead-Tossed Waves tour (like a suitcase, socks, shoes) and I finally got in the car to drive home around 4:00pm. Since I'd been out of town for a long weekend with JP, I called my friend Diana to chat and catch up during the drive. About five minutes into the call I saw a 212 number flash on my screen and said something like "Oh, that's New York calling - I should get this" (I still always get such a thrill when I see the 212 number - lol). I figured it might be my publicist calling to chat about release details or whatnot.
Nope, it was my editor Krista. So here's the thing -- I know that a call from your editor around 5ish on Wednesday afternoon/evening often means one thing: the NYT list released and they're hopefully calling with happy news. I've had some great friends go through this but it never ONCE crossed my mind this could be the reason for Krista's call. NOT ONCE!
This was the gist of the call:
Krista: I have some good news!
Me: Ooh exciting! What? (thinking that perhaps she got a review or numbers or something fun).
Krista: Guess who's a New York Times Bestselling Author?
Me: Who? (thinking it odd that she'd call to tell me about another author of hers hitting the list).
Krista: You are!
Me: What?!?! NO!
Krista: Yes!
Me: No! What? You're kidding. That can't be right. Trust me, that isn't right.
Krista: (laughing) It's true! You're number 8!
Me: No way! What? No. I don't believe you. Krista: Yes! Me: NO! What?! NO!!! Seriously? OMG!
This went on for a while until I basically started screaming and almost sobbing and having a hard time catching my breath while going 80 mph down the interstate. Stunned doesn't even begin to capture the feeling. Neither does euphoric or elated. It was just one of those pure states of emotion where I felt like my body might explode in a burst of happy light.
And then I got to call my friends and family and let them know and hear them scream like I had! Honestly, being able to share the news with so many people who've supported me and loved me through it all was just about one of the best feelings ever (and included serenades from the back of a taxi :) I can't thank my friends, family, agent and editor and publicist and everyone else at Random House Children's Books enough for all their support and encouragement and just awesomeness! And thanks to y'all and all readers and booksellers and buyers and teachers and librarians -- I'm honored and grateful and so amazingly thankful!
So that's my news! My pinch-me-can-this-really-be-true news! I made it home and JP took me out to dinner to celebrate with champagne and I've been floating ever since! Incredible amazing feeling!
And that's just part of the awesome week it's been!! On Monday RHCB released the book trailer for The Dead-Tossed Waves and I think it's stunning! The kiss -- oh that kiss -- is just sooooo perfect and hot!
I feel so lucky to now have to fantastic trailers for my books! Thanks RHCB!!!
Also cool: Random House has set up a fan page for The Dead-Tossed Waves on facebook - you can find it here.
I still feel like I'm running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to get things in order before I leave for the tour on Sunday (squee!!!). I have to do fun things like get taxes in order, iron clothes and pack! But I'm just so excited and smiling and crazy happy! More squeees!!!
Thanks all of y'all for sharing this with me!!! And thanks for buying my book!! I can't wait to meet so many of y'all in person during the tour!
(Just a note that Friday is the last day to pre-order signed copies of FHT and DTW in order to have them shipped on release day! You can keep ordering after that but if you want them personalized they won't ship out until the end of March when I get back into town to sign them (likewise with any SASEs I get after I leave for tour on Sunday).)
So it appears then I'm math challenged (which is odd cause I really loved math in high school). Last week I said the release of The Dead-Tossed Waves was a month away when really... it was only a few weeks. I have like five different timers on my computer counting down various things and I think I glanced at the wrong one - oops! To make sure that doesn't happen again, I've created a count-down widget for The Dead-Tossed Waves:
Yay pretty! Please feel free to post that anywhere you want! I've also created an extras page on my website with icons, banners, bookmarks, etc. I have to say, I really REALLY dig the tag line that Random House came up with for this book - I get a kick out of it every time I look at it! And a HUGE thanks to Saundra Mitchell who put all the extras together -- she rocks!
Okay, looking at that timer makes me feel a little ill. Really? Really it's only two weeks until this book comes out?!? Gak! I feel like there's so much to do before then! I have to find clothes to wear on tour, I have to clean the house for a newspaper reporter coming tomorrow, I have to write a proposal and dig out of my email deluge and read and write and get my hair done and ..... deep breaths..... I should know we're getting close since I just got my boxes of author copies in the mail yesterday! YAY!!
This time last year I was preparing for Team Castle. It still kind of boggles my mind that I got to spend my release week in Ireland with a bevy of amazing authors. Did I ever mention how there were peacocks who lived there in the castle courtyard? One peacock and two peahens and they'd fly up and sleep against a window in the alcove on the way to the bathroom on the second story so that you'd just go walking by and they'd shriek and so you'd shriek and they'd flap all over the place. One day I swear they almost marched straight into the kitchen to see what was for dinner.
Yes, this is a blog of random dis-jointed thoughts and now you can see how my brain's been working recently :) On that note... I'm putting together my presentation for school and library visits -- anyone have thoughts of what topics work really well? I've given talks on how I came up with the world of FHT and the role of zombies in popular culture but have found that middle-schoolers often look at me blankly (appears few 8th graders have seen Night of the Living Dead!). My path to publication always feels boring to me... what would be a good exciting topic to speak on (this is for the school visits -- likely they haven't read the books). I really appreciate hearing your thoughts!!
I leave you with my most recent purchase that gives me tremendous glee: monkey slippers. Seriously, can I wear these on the tour!?
Hey Y'all! Only 33 days until The Dead-Tossed Waves releases - yipes! Yesterday Publishers Marketplace reviewed it saying that "readers are sure to be hooked" and talking about the book's "gripping storytelling style and engaging prose." WAHOO!! Booklist also said that "Ryan knows how to write an action scene," and called the final pages "especially thrilling." Publishers Weekly also mentioned The Forest of Hands and Teeth & The Dead-Tossed Waves in an article about the rise in popularity of post-apocalyptic and dystopic fiction. Diana Peterfreund has a great post on that subject that I hope to respond to soon (go read it here!).
So, in honor of my book coming out in only 33 days I thought I'd link to a slightly longer excerpt than I posted before. Here it is! If you want to read the whole first chapter, it's printed in the back of The Forest of Hands and Teeth paperback that went on sale last week (it's hopefully available most places, including Walmart).
Last week I also posted information on how to pre-order a signed copy of The Dead-Tossed Waves -- here's a link to that information again.
In other news, I turned in my short story for an anthology on Sunday night (literally at midnight on the dot so I squeaked by just under the deadline). I'm really excited about the three short stories I have coming out in 2010 and I'm not sure when I can start giving more details. I'm sure some of y'all have already seen hints of one of them here (*cough*vote team zombie*cough*). Seriously, who in the world is showing all this unicorn love?!
Am off to play with my new secret project - so much fun to have a new secret project again!!
I was incredibly honored (I keep wanting to use the word stoked) and excited to find out that The Forest of Hands and Teeth made it onto the Horror Writers Association's preliminary ballot for their annual Bram Stoker Awards for first novel (you can find the entire preliminary ballot here). I was even more thrilled to realize that mine is the only young adult novel to make the ballot for first novel!
Right now, the active members of HWA are voting on which books will make it from the preliminary ballot to the final ballot (voting ends Feb 15th and any active members of HWA would would like a .pdf of my book, email me - carrieATcarrieryan.com).
One of the things that really makes me so happy about this is that I read almost exclusively horror when I was a teen. It was Christopher Pike and RL Stine who kept me up until 3am on the weekends (and who taught me to speed read because I refused to go to bed until I knew how their books ended). These are the books I couldn't put down and made me fall in love with reading. I look at the list of other books and authors on the preliminary ballot and I'm overwhelmed that I get to be mentioned in the same breath as they are. Thanks HWA!!
Hey y'all! I've had a few people ask about how to get an autographed copy of The Dead-Tossed Waves when it comes out March 9, 2010 (yay so soon!). Here are three ways!
2. Pre-order a copy through my local indie, Park Road Books before March 5th! We've set it up so that before I head out on tour I'm going to drop by and sign any pre-orders so they can ship them out to you on release day. Just give them a call at 704-525-9239 to place an order. Make sure to tell them who you want the book made out to (and how to spell the name) and if you want a specific message included. You can also get signed/personalized copies of the hardcover or paperback of The Forest of Hands and Teeth if you want a matching set :)
3. Bookplates! Just send a SASE (normal size envelope, normal postage) to: Carrie Ryan, 1235-E East Boulevard, PMB 191, Charlotte NC 28203. Let me know if you want just a signature or if you want it personalized and if you want any specific message. I'll toss in some bookmarks and whatever else I have on hand and send it back!
Note: because I'll be touring most of March, any orders placed with Park Road Books or SASE's sent to my PMB after March 5th won't get turned around and sent back out until at least March 29th! So if you want an autographed copy of The Dead-Tossed Waves on release day and can't come see me on tour, make sure to pre-order with Park Road Books before March 5th!
Hey y'all! I've had a few people ask about how to get autographed/personalized copies of my books -- here are two ways!
1. Place an order through Park Road Books. They're a fantastic indie in Charlotte right down the road from my house and they call me up when they get an order and I come sign - super easy! They'll even gift wrap! Just call them at 704-525-9239 and tell them you'd like a signed copy of whichever book of mine ( The Forest of Hands and Teeth, The Dead-Tossed Waves, The Dark and Hollow Places, Foretold, Infinity Ring: Divide & Conquer, or any of the anthologies I'm in: Zombies vs Unicorns, The Living Dead 2, Kiss Me Deadly, Enthralled, Brave New Love, After). Make sure to tell them who you want the book made out to (and how to spell the name) and if you want a specific message included.
2. Bookplates. I have bookplates that will fit into any of my books. Just send a SASE (normal size envelope, normal postage) to: Carrie Ryan, 1235-E East Boulevard, PMB 191, Charlotte, NC 28203. Let me know if you want just a signature or if you want it personalized and if you want any specific message. I'll toss in some bookmarks and whatever else I have on hand and send it back!
[[note that as of July 2012 I've hard to reorder bookplates and am behind on getting these sent out -- sorry!]]
I'm so SO excited about today! It's the day that The Forest of Hands and Teeth comes out in paperback! With the pretty cover (which is very pet-worthy if you ask me - seriously, when you see it in the stores pick it up and pet the cover (and if you do that and happen to snap a photo, send it to me and I'll post it and mail you bookmarks & stickers :))
And yes, I totally plan to make the rounds today to check out (and possibly pet but definitely sign) copies in my area. I will also post pictures (prob on twitter).
I wanted to say thanks to everyone who has cheered me on over the past year. I've been incredibly humbled by the overwhelming support from bloggers, readers, family, friends and even strangers. Thank you for buying my book or checking it out from the library or passing a copy on to a friend. Thanks for reading and taking the time to post your thoughts. Just thank you for everything!!
Oddly, I was out of the country last year when the hardcover came out and this morning JP had to leave the country for work. I'll be on tour when The Dead-Tossed Waves releases... I wonder if we'll ever get to be in the same place to celebrate!
I honestly can't believe that the paperback release of The Forest of Hands and Teeth is a week away. A WEEK! Yesterday my UPS man stopped by with two boxes of them! This is on top of Friday when he dropped off a case of the FHT re-jacketed hardcover and the day earlier in the week when he dropped off a case of FHT with the old cover! I'm swimming in them (and am natch planning a contest)!
In second book news, reviews of The Dead-Tossed Waves have started coming in. This is that point in the process where I tend to open official emails with only one eye open, a little scared of what will be inside. Thankfully so far everything's been great! Here are a few things people have been saying:
"Proving once again why she is one of the most gifted voices in modern YA, Carrie Ryan threads life, love, and subtle beauty throughout a monstrous, post-apocalyptic world."
- Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl, bestselling authors of Beautiful Creatures
"The Dead-Tossed Waves was even more engrossing than The Forest of Hands and Teeth. Beautiful, romantic, horrifying and heart-breaking."
-Jennifer Lynn Barnes, author of Raised by Wolves, Tattoo, Golden, Fate and more!
"The second book in Ryan's zombie series moves the story ahead in some surprising ways as it introduces compelling characters. Readers will be up late with this one, turning pages and biting their nails."
-Romantic Times
"Fast-paced... [The Dead-Tossed Waves] will be gobbled up by fans of the first volume like brains."
-Kirkus Reviews (yes, they came back from the dead to give me that review)
YAY! Now I'm off to finish working on the third book in the series!
Writer's write. Writers may also blog, tweet, critique, whine (I'm a fan of that), outline, vlog, etc., but they all write. Or should write (and that's a topic for another blog as well).
And since I promised to write another blog dealing with the "should write" part, I thought I'd go ahead and talk about that today. Up until a year ago, I was working full time while I was also writing. I've mentioned before that this often takes some sacrifices: I used to watch TV every night and now I don't, I used to cook dinner (or JP did) and now we don't that often. I used to have free time and gave up most of that as well.
I also spent a whole lot of time feeling guilty for NOT writing. My logic was this: if writer's write and I want to be a writer but I'm not writing, that must mean I don't want to be a writer after all. Writing became a lot like exercise: I know I like it once I start doing it, I know I feel amazing afterward, but it's often really hard to motivate when LIFE gets in the way.
One of the anecdotes I tell when asked about finding time to write is that I wrote a chunk of The Forest of Hands and Teeth when I was also prepping for a trial and working crazy hours. There were nights I'd come home and set the water to boil and write during the eight minutes that it took to make mac'n'cheese. What I don't mention are the weeks when I wrote nothing because of work, because of life, because I didn't know what happened next or just because I plain old wasn't writing.
Free time became so valuable to me then (because I had so little of it to myself) that I hated spending my precious little bit stressed out about something I felt I *should* have been doing, like writing (or cleaning, or cooking, or weeding, or reading, or talking with my family). And I finally realized something: if I'm not going to write, I'm going to own that decision.
I decided I was done with guilt.
I decided something else: not writing doesn't mean you can't or don't want to be a writer, it just means that maybe something else is taking precedence right now. Life isn't easy and it's certainly not easy to balance and juggle all the various parts of it. Sometimes you have to put all your energy into your day job or your family or whatever else and sometimes you need to come home after a long day and veg on the couch and let your brain recover.
There's a difference between passively deciding not to write (i.e. just not deciding to make time for it, not analyzing your priorities, just not getting around to it) and actively deciding not to write (realizing that now may not be the best time to fit an additional "should" in your life.) And if you make an active decision not to write, then own that decision. Enjoy the time you save and don't feel guilty for it.
Hey Y'all! It's Tuesday and I'm back to share more about the upcoming release of The Dead-Tossed Waves. Yesterday I was THRILLED to get an actual real got-to-hold-it-in-my-hands copy of the book. SQUEE!! Here's a picture of my cat no looking nearly as thrilled as I was:
And yes! That's a picture of both the hardcover of DTW *and* the rejacketed hardcover of The Forest of Hands and Teeth. So if you ever wanted a copy of FHT with the old jacket, now's the time to snag it from the store if you find it. From what I've been told, all the copies left in the warehouse are now bearing this new cover! Yay!
I also got word last week that I'll officially be touring for DTW in March (!!!) and here's where I think I'll be going so far (this could, of course, change as we get closer): Baltimore + DC, NYC (and area), Chicago, Detroit + Lansing, Seattle, San Francisco. I'm also trying to set something up in Atlanta and of course my hometowns Charlotte & Greenville :)
Sometimes coming up with a first line for a blog (after taking way too long of a hiatus) is just as hard as coming up with a first line for a book! So I'm just going to jump right in :) A few times this year, someone's asked me what advice I have for writers. I actually love this question because I love to see how OTHER people answer it. I'm constantly wanting to change my answer and offer caveats because there are no rules in writing and to ever talk in absolutes in the writing world can often get you in trouble (there is always an exception to every rule but that's for another blog).
But there is one absolute rule that I have: if you want to be a writer, you have to write. Not every day, not every month but at the end of the day/week/month/year/decade, you should have more words on the paper than you did at the start.
Writer's write. Writers may also blog, tweet, critique, whine (I'm a fan of that), outline, vlog, etc., but they all write. Or should write (and that's a topic for another blog as well).
As some of you who've been around my blog for a while might remember, back in 2006 I started on what I called the Ten Year Plan. It was a pretty basic plan: I would write and seek publication for 10 years without quitting. If I didn't make it in ten years, then I could re-evaluate. Really, it was my way of dedicating myself to the task of seeking publication and giving myself enough time to really truly see if I could do it. Also, I was hoping that if I said I had to do it for 10 years that I wouldn't wuss out when I got rejected or thought it was too hard.
At the end of that first year, I counted up the words I'd written that year: 171,701 (you can see the post here - the project without a name that I mentioned is The Forest of Hands and Teeth).
I could probably go back and tally how many words I've written in the years since then (and might once I'm out from under this deadline) but after re-reading that post I became curious about how many words I'd written in 2009. Here's my tally (and they're rough cause I failed to keep a proper log this year and can only look at the documents I have):
The Dead-Tossed Waves: (first draft written in 2008 but about 50,000 words added in edits in 2009)
Untitled Book Three in Untitled Series: 85,000
Short Story 1: 10,500
Short Story 2: 5,100
Other Short Story starts: 3,500
Cut Files: 190,000
Other Projects: 4,000
TOTAL WORDS IN 2009: 348,100
And yes, looking at the sheer size of my cut files (which I always name "errata and lost words") makes me a little sick to my stomach (okay, a lot sick to my stomach). Also, I find it REALLY interesting that my output of words is about double what it was in 2006 - I'm not sure I ever would thought that to be the case.
So what do I have to show for those words? The Dead-Tossed Waves will be out March 9, 2010 and those two short stories should be out in the fall of 2010. The Untitled Book Three in Untitled Series will be out in Spring 2011.
I never wrote down my goals for 2009 so I'm not sure what I was expecting to accomplish, but I'm pretty darn happy with what I ended up with! Speaking of goals, I guess I should start thinking of those for 2010... hmmm....
Yes, this is what I do when I'm avoiding other things :) It makes me feel productive while also tapping into my laziness. Anyway, I thought I'd post this here -- I had no idea there were that few days until the paperback of The Forest of Hands and Teeth releases - ack! I happen to have a copy of the paperback in my hands right now and it's so gorgeous that I've found myself staring at it quite often (another form of procrastination). I'll post pics this week!
Also... I've heard some people say that these kind of sprout thingies (look at that fine tech lingo there) slows down pages and gets annoying. If that's the case, just let me know and I'll take this down soas not to slow down my blog loading.
What if the The Forest of Hands and Teeth weren't woods full of zombies? What if, instead, The Forest of Hands and Teeth were an accessory shop? How creepy would that be?
Over the next weeks, I'll try to post more information about The Dead-Tossed Waves in the run up to its release on March 9, 2010. Today, I'm posting a snippet of the opening:
The story goes that even after the Return they tried to keep the roller coasters going. They said it reminded them of the before time. When they didn't have to worry about people rising from the dead, when they didn't have to build fences and walls and barriers to protect themselves from the masses of Mudo constantly seeking human flesh. When the living weren't forever hunted.
I'm pretty terrible about remembering birthdays (except my own) and am always feeling terrible when I forget to call or email someone to wish them the best. My grandmother used to say that if anyone forgets your birthday it's your own fault and after pondering that for a while, I agreed with her. Since then, I make it a point to announce my birthday loud and clear :) I know some people are more demure than that but they all must have a better memory than I do!
New years and birthdays tend to be the times when people reflect on where they are and where they're going and since these days come pretty close to each other for me, it means I spend the first part of the year thinking about such things. I dashed off a few resolutions this year (including blogging more - whee look at me go!) but I still need to sit down and really pay attention to what I want to accomplish this year. Perhaps resolutions isn't the right word but goals.
I have a lot I want to do this year (which I shall blog about soon). And I have a lot I'm proud of from last year (which I will also blog about soon). In fact, there's a lot I want to blog about -- some people have asked me to write about my schedule, to talk more about The Dead-Tossed Waves, and I want to do a series on how I found an agent since that's a question I get asked about a lot at events. If there's anything y'all would like me to talk about in the coming weeks, just let me know in the comments!
Now if you'll excuse me, JP snuck out of the house this morning so he could bring me bagels in bed (little did he know I'd be up and at work earlier than usual!).
Stop by and say hello! And if you don't live anywhere near Greenville and would still like to purchase a signed/personalized copy of my book, you can find out how to order it here!
I'm so proud and pleased to live in a world where young girls are never sexually abused. Where women in high school or middle school aren't raped. Where teen boys never contemplate suicide (or, heaven forfend, actually attempt and accomplish it). I'm blessed to live in a world where there's no bullying, no cyberbullying, no eating disorders or emotional abuse. Where girls don't stick fingers down their throats and slide knives or blades over their skin intentionally. Where teachers don't sleep with students, where fathers don't sleep with daughters, where no one under consenting age has sex, thinks about sex, comes close to having sex, gets pregnant, gets a disease, has an abortion or has a child when they're still in their tweens. How lovely that all girls and boys are virgins throughout middle and high school. That nary a drop of alcohol or a whiff of drugs passes their lips, their noses, their veins.
Surely each child at every school is well loved, well nourished, well cared for. Well clothed and well mannered with bright futures ahead that don't involve peer pressure and binge drinking and drugs and gangs.
Clearly none of those terrible things ever happens in the lives of REAL teens. So why would we ever need books about such horrid and odious happenings? Why would we allow such texts to enter the hallowed halls of our children's schools? Or, worse, to actually be offered on a list of recommended reading? Or even more awful to contemplate, used in a classroom? Forget that such books may have won awards or received starred reviews or been included list after list. Forget that teens have written to authors in tears, in gratitude, in awe that some of those books have changed their lives. That some of those books have saved them.
We don't need those books anymore! Therefore, we don't need them in our classes, in our schools or in our libraries. Hasn't anyone ever wondered what would happen if we let our perfect, pure, untouched and untarnished teen minds read such smut? They might contemplate drugs or sex or suicide. Clearly, all it would take is one page - one paragraph - of Laurie Halse Anderson's book Wintergirls to change even the healthiest girl anorexic! No girl today would ever have such thoughts otherwise!
Won't someone please think of the children? What are we teaching them with these books?
Unless... unless we've somehow failed. Unless we missed something. Unless there are teens out there that are in trouble. That have faced obstacles that their parents don't know about. Unless there are teens out there with secrets -- secret pains and secret fears -- that they can't take to their mother or father or sister or priest or teacher. Maybe they're ashamed. Maybe they're afraid.
Maybe they need to be shown that they're not alone. That you can survive abuse. That you can overcome bullying and peer pressure. That your friends could be facing these issues. That you can find help. Or even, what happens when you don't.
Maybe we need to have more faith in teens that reading a book won't brainwash them. That maybe instead it will expand their horizons. And maybe as the adults of the world that's our job - to show them the world and be there to answer questions and support them.
I get it. I understand that its easier to keep teens in the dark. It's easier to believe that teens aren't dealing with these difficult issues. What parents want to introduce their precious child to all the bad things in this world? What father wants to explain what rape is?
But I need to make this clear, and this comes from my experience and from my friends experiences and from the teens I've talked to: this stuff happens. And it happens to teens and tweens far younger than any of us would ever want to contemplate. They deal with these issues whether we want them to or not. This is life and life can really suck and it can be messy and dangerous and sad. And hiding from it doesn't make it go away.
So whenever someone screams "Won't someone please think of the children" and then they propose banning books or removing them from the classroom or the library, I want to ask them what they think it accomplishes. Because not talking about the difficult issues in this world doesn't make them not exist. Not letting teens read about them doesn't mean teens are somehow not going to face them.
We're not protecting anyone by keeping them ignorant. And banning books or pretending this stuff doesn't happen is the height of ignorance.
Thank you to the authors who write about these difficult topics and to those who fight to keep them in schools.
In case y'all are interested in a personalized and autographed copy of The Forest of Hands and Teeth, I've partnered with my awesome local indie to make it happen. Park Road Books will be happy to take your order, giftwrap it (I've seen the paper - very pretty!), and ship it to you for the holidays (or any other time!). I live about two miles from the store and love any excuse to stop by (in addition to so many books they have a cute dog!!) so they just call me up and I head over to sign - easy peasy.
Here are the details: just call Park Road Books at 704-525-9239 and tell them you'd like a signed copy of The Forest of Hands and Teeth. Make sure to tell them who you want the book made out to (and how to spell the name) and if you want a specific message included. Super easy!
I feel like I should have a sound file of crickets chirping for when this page loads since I haven't been around in a while. I promise to get back to regular blogging... I just have this issue of my deadline to contend with first. What's funny is that I have a ton of blogs in my head - it's what I tend to think about when I fall asleep at night. If only I could direct wire my brain to my laptop...
I had a fantastic time in NYC an amazing series of school visits with my local library system, a very happy (though damp) Halloween and I just need to upload pics so I can share them. I promise... soon!
I'm super excited about this week because it's the AASL Pit Stop in my hometown (at the Charlotte Convention Center) and I'll be signing at table 10 from 12:45-2:15 and then will be signings at the Follett Library Resources Booth from 3:30-4:30. But this also means that a TON of friends are coming to town and I'm just stoked to see them all!
It's also the beginning of NaNo - yay! I'm not officially entering because I already have a WIP but I'll still be churning out words with the rest of you. I have a special fondness for NaNo since that's when I started writing The Forest of Hands and Teeth back in 2006.
Speaking of NaNo and writing... I have much of that to do today so I must get back to it. Happy writing all!
I used to be a lawyer who measured my time by 6 minute increments. For a few years, I was able to devote one or two of those increments to this blog a few times a week. In October 2007 sold my debut novel, THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH, to Delacorte Press (it came out March 10, 2009 and hit the New York Times bestselling list in 2010). In October 2008 I quit my lawyer job and now I'm a full-time writer.
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