Catherine Ryan Hyde's Blog, page 33

Author Friday: Anne R. Allen

[image error]Suffice it to say that Anne and I go way back.

No, I take it back. That’s hardly saying enough.

Anne and I live about 40 minutes apart on the Central Coast of California. I recently figured out that we’ve been fast friends for at least 14 years. Because that’s how long I’ve had my only tattoo, a sword from the Ryder Tarot deck wrapped around my right wrist. I got it when I was…well, let’s not get into too many age specifics. Let’s just say I remember when I got it. And it was 14 years ago. And Anne was hugely supportive and encouraging. And not everybody was. 

It was a treat (for me—perhaps less so for Anne) to be her friend during the times she

Show Your Face as Part of "The Pay It Forward Movement"

I may have mentioned it briefly on this blog before, but my next reader slideshow is all Pay It Forward. It's a way of showing the world the faces behind the (growing by leaps and bounds!) Pay It Forward Movement. This year is looking to be a "tipping point" for Pay It Forward, so the time to do this is now. The Movement is about people, so let's get a look at them. See how varied and wonderful they really are.

I made the video I'm embedding below as a "call for submissions." I wanted you to hear the Pay It Forward song I'll be using (by permission, of course). It's by Mark David Miller

Author Friday: Brian Farrey

Brian Farrey is one of my “Tweeps” (translation: Twitter pals). He’s also one of the four people who participated in (and, irritatingly, won) The Bet. Yet, bizarrely, these are not his main claims to fame. Some actually find it more important that he is the debut author of the terrific YA novel WITH OR WITHOUT YOU (which…I just have to say…please let me know if that book doesn’t pull in most of the major LGBT awards in its category so I can go hurt someone for being on the take) or that he is an editor at Flux books. Or that he has a middle grade novel tentatively titled THE VENGEKEEP PROPHECIES due out this year. People and their priorities, huh Brian?

Second Hand Heart and When I Found You are here!

Think of this blog post, please, as an open letter to my adult readers here in the US.

I'll start with the short version: I'm back.

Now to go into a little more detail.

You have been amazingly patient. The last expressly adult (this does not mean pornographic--I hope you know that) title I released here in the U.S. was Chasing Windmills in the Spring of 2008. Three and a half years ago. Furthermore, Love in the Present Tense and Chasing Windmills followed another long dry spell in which I didn't put out a new book from 2002 to 2006. And then when I did, it was Young Adult.

Lots of my readers emailed during this time to ask when the next book would be out. I could feel the disappointment when I told them the next one was YA. Remember this was 2002-2006, when far fewer adults had discovered that reading the YA genre could be a satisfying experience.

Many of you came with me and tried the YA titles. I guess others just waited. I hope none of you gave up on me. Especially after I published three adult follow-ups to Present Tense and Windmills--but only in the UK. Okay, at this point I can see how it would be a little frustrating.

But over the summer, my first UK-only title, Second Hand Heart, came out in a US edition.

http://www.catherineryanhyde.com/seco...

And today I'm pleased to announce that When I Found You is also available in the US. I was extremely gratified by the reader reaction to the book. It's one of a very few that has stood at five stars in reader reviews (the UK edition) even after quite a bit of time. I just can't wait to share it with my wonderfully patient US readers.

http://www.catherineryanhyde.com/when...

I hope you'll check out their pages and read a little more about them.

I also want to mention that the ebook downloads of these new US editions are very reasonably priced. If you check out the Second Hand Heart and When I Found You book pages (links above), as with all my book pages, I have buying links on the right-hand sidebar. It's formatted for any and all e-readers, and if you go to Smashwords, you can even buy formats that you can read right on your computer. So an arm and a leg is not required (and neither is a Kindle or a Nook). But I don't want to be unclear here. I mention the ebooks because they're so inexpensive to buy. But both these new editions are also available in paperback for people (like me) who still want paper books. There's a buying button on the book pages under the phrase, "US paperback readers, find this book at" Click that and you're good to go.

I'm also pleased to tell you that my newest UK release, Don't Let Me Go, which just came out on September 29th, will follow as a US edition in just a matter of a few months. So we're streamlining the system, so US readers don't have to wait long.

In other words, I'm back, US adult readers. And I hope we can pick up where we left off.

Thanks for your loyalty and your patience.

-Catherine

Jumpstart the World on sale today!

I'm very excited today. Today is the "on sale date" of my newest Young adult novel, Jumpstart the World, the story of a teen girl who falls in love with a transgender man. This one is very close to my heart, and very important to me.

On the 18th, an amazing blog tour for this book begins. For more information, including a list of all the participating blogs, please check out my blog post "Book Birthday and Blog Tour" on my author website.

Thanks!

Reader photos

I still need about 15 more photos to finish My Fabulous Readers #1. So if you were thinking of sending one...


http://www.catherineryanhyde.com/my-f...

A Offer for Book Groups

Part of a book group? Thinking of reading one of my books? You might be interested in my latest blog. (keyword: free--what's not to like?)

http://www.catherineryanhyde.com/blog...

A new video featuring you.

Please check out my latest blog for details. I think this will be fun.

http://www.catherineryanhyde.com/blog...

In Search of Viral-ity

Familiar with Internet references to something "going viral"? Here's hoping it's healthier than it sounds.

All I seem to have figured out for sure about viral-ness is that it happens to other people. People with truly bizarre YouTube videos. Celebrity stuff. But today I decided to play a game to see how viral I can get a a video go. I figure it's like changing the world. You set out to change it a lot, but maybe miss the mark and change it a little. But that's still good, right? Small change is better than no change at all.

The video is the Love in the Present Tense video excerpt. It's a book trailer that was made for me by a nice guy named David Alonzo of Wide Angle Studios. He knew I couldn't afford a professional book trailer, so he just made one for me anyway. Something like Paying It Forward, except...to me! So I want to try it with this one, because it's less self-serving. I want more people to see not only what he can do professionally, but what he's like as a person. It's not just anybody who gives you a thing like this as a gift.

It isn't brand new. He finished it late last year, I put it out on YouTube...and a few hundred people have viewed it. I'm not sure why it hit me today that I can do better.

So...will you play this game with me? I can't do it without you. If you're on Facebook, will you post a link to the video on Facebook? If you Twitter, will you tweet it, and ask others to retweet it? Or send a link to some of your friends who like books? Or, if you have a book blog, will you link from your blog?

And I'm not asking you to do all the work, either. If you do something "big"...for example, if you have a website or book blog, and you're willing to embed the video for a reasonable time (3 months? 6 months?) I'll send you a signed hardcover of the book as a thank-you. If you don't have a web site or a blog, other "big" great ideas to spread the word are also open to reward.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/user/cryanhyde

New site is live!

Hope you'll check it out at:

www.catherineryanhyde.com