R.L. LaFevers's Blog, page 30

And The Winner Is . . .

Actually, we have two. Picked by a random number generator--namely my son. As he was eating his breakfast, trying to get out the door to school, I told him to pick a number between one and fifteen. He rolled his eyes, then said, "Eight." Then I said, quick, pick a second number, because I have TWO ARCs to giveaway. Then he said, "Two." And got up to eat his breakfast in the privacy of his room.

So there you have it, commenters Eight and Two (Dave Johnson and Erica Wiggins) email me with your snai

Notes From the Conference-Anica Rissi of Simon PULSE

Anica Rissi is an editor with Simon & Schuster's YA imprint, PULSE. She talked about YA, and again, her talk was worth the price of admission for me because she gave me all sorts of permission. Yes, I know that I'm a grown woman, and I really shouldn't need anyone's permission--but there you have it.

In her talk, Anica emphasized that dark books are the perfect place for teens to experience some really dark things. It's a safe place to learn and to become aware.

She really helped convince me that

Notes From The Conference - Holly Black

I still have tons of SCBWI conference notes I want to share with you guys. One of the speakers I was most looking forward to seeing was Holly Black. I adore her books, both her younger Spiderwick books and her older, YA books such as Tithe, Valiant, and Ironside.

She did not disappoint. She gave a great talk, one that really resonated with me. Again, she did a great job of showing us how her childhood shaped the writer she is, with stories of living in a dilapidated, crumbling Victorian, with a

The Reviews! And an ARC Giveaway!

Waiting for the first reviews to come in always reminds me of waiting for your kid to come home from the first day of school, anxious to hear how he's fared out in a big, bad world you have no control over.

Books are a lot like that. Luckily, I've been so danged busy, I haven't really even thought about the impending reviews for Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist. Until my editor emailed them to me. The first one is from Kirkus, always a nail-biter!

When his parents are declared lost at sea in 1928, t

Book III: Theodosia and the Eyes of Horus

So clearly, judging from the comments in Friday's post I have been remiss about keeping you in the loop about upcoming Theodosia books. (Note to self: must stop talking about writing so much!)

Yes, there IS a third Theodosia book, and it's called THEODOSIA AND THE EYES OF HORUS. It will be out in April of 2010. That's only seven short months away! ::ahem::

Here's the cover copy, for those of you dying to know what happens next.

Being able to detect black magic isn't all tea and crumpets—and when yo

Best. Writing. Day. Ever.

Seriously. I have been tearing my hear out on this YA project, working on it off and on for years. First it was going to be an adult book, then my brilliant agent said I should try it as a YA. Back and forth I went for months—years—trying to settle on which it would be. Well, about six months ago I finally decided on YA, and I've been plugging away ever since. I've been making steady progress, but something was missing from a number of scenes in the middle. They had to be there, and stuff happen

Cool News!

So I guess the news is out on Publisher's Marketplace. For those of you who don't subscribe, here are the deets!

R.L. LaFevers's THEODOSIA AND THE LAST PHAROAH, the fourth book starring the 11-year-old with an impressive knowledge of ancient Egyptian artifacts and a gift for nulling curses, in which Theo returns to Egypt, gets caught up in the machinations of competing secret societies, and edges closer to answering the questions surrounding her own birth, again to Kate O'Sullivan at Houghton Mif

Notes From the Conference-Sherman Alexie

So the very first speaker at the SCBWI National Conference was Sherman Alexie, author of The Absolutely True Story of a Part Time Indian. And can I just say, WOW! This guy was an excellent speaker. He had absolutely pitch perfect timing and total comfort up there in front of a thousand people.

He also told the amazing story of his triumph over a whole host of childhood traumas and ill treatment, at the hands of both individuals and The System. Heartbreaking stuff, and an ultimately uplifting illu

Re-Entry

Wow, that giant pop you heard Monday was my head exploding. I feel absolutely stuffed to the gills with great information, inspiration, new ideas, and socializing. I managed a fairly convincing imitation of an extrovert, and am now paying the price; my batteries are at the Fully Drained level and my re-entry process into my normal life is going s-l-o-w-l-y.

I do promise to report back in more detail once my brain begins functioning again. In the meantime, Mary Hershey's done a great recap of our

Where I Write

My editor was asking me the other day about where I wrote, so I told her I would blog about it.

My writing spot is a rocking chair in a little corner in the living room. There is great mojo in this space, the exact spot where I read hundreds, perhaps thousands of stories to my kids. Not to mention held them, hugged them, rocked them to sleep.

Now I would fit more comfortably in my sons' laps than they in mine, but I can still feel the echoes of all the living that has gone on in that spot. All th