Michelle Zink's Blog, page 79

Life is Beautiful

Which is something I know and almost never forget.

Almost.

But every now and then I just get this… feeling. This… stronger-than-usual reminder.

I am blessed. I have four wonderful, healthy children. I have a home that love (even though it's 150 years old and used to house dairy cows) in beautiful and serene place that allows me the quiet I need to be at peace in my mind and spirit. I have the privilege of waking up every day and working at a thing that feels, most of the time, like the greatest

D'oh!

I realized today that it's been a whole week since I've posted anything! See, I have this thing with blogging where I'm pretty sure no one's interested in the day-to-day details of my life.

Which makes it difficult to post in times like these, because really, not a whole lot is going on.

Okay, that's not 100% true. Stuff is GOING ON, but I'm not always sure it's very interesting to anyone. Keeping that in mind, I don't want you guys to think I fell of the face of the Earth, so I'm going to give

Foreign News!

So I DO have that vlog from my launch party that I promised, but honestly, I've been so busy and exhausted that it's still trapped inside my camcorder! I promise to post it soon, even though all you'll probably hear is loud music punctuated by random snippets of conversation and the occasional wisecrack from the teenagers who were present.

But I HAD to stop in and share some really awesome news with you guys! As you know, Little Brown had sold rights to Prophecy in Italy, Russia, France, the U

One Last Thank You!

I think it's interesting that my Week of Thank Yous ended up being Two Weeks even, don't you?

Maybe this is a sign that I should calculate how long I think things will take, double it, and be about right…

I wanted to send a huge shout out to the zillions of people at Little Brown Books for Young Readers who have supported Prophecy and worked to make sure that everything was JUST SO, but some of them are rather shy and thus received private thank yous.

For now I'll just say that Little Brown Boo

Thanks to My Favorite Authors!

Since I have a vlog for this part, I'll keep this part short, and just say thank you.

I didn't have a lot of time left on my camcorder battery (#writerfail) so I wasn't able to personally mention everyone who's inspired me over the years, but thank you to Janet Fitch, Carlos Ruis Zafon, Ernest Hemingway, Madeline L'Engle, Tamora Pearce, Holly Black, Neil Gaiman, Cassandra Clare, Libba Bray, Melissa Marr, Scott Westerfeld, John Green, and Judy Blume.

Thank you for writing the words that made me th

Book Bloggers Rule!

Well, I guess it's no secret by now that I

What might come as a surprise, though, is that my friendship with most of them formed during routine conversations about books, reading, life.

I never really sought out close friendships in the blogging community, it just sort of… happened. One minute we were talking about MY book then we were talking about ALL books and the next thing I knew we were talking about family, work, friends, men, kids… all of it!

I guess it makes sense, though

Family & I Never Watch My Vlogs

That's right. I don't watch my vlogs.

Which is a disclaimer of sorts, because it means I have no idea if there are errors, blips, moments of utter lameness, etc., etc.

But this one speaks from the heart about my family, how much they mean to me, how much they've done for me, and how I'd be completely and totally lost without them. So… yeah.

Welcome to my world!

Tomorrow I have A LOT of bloggers to thank! A LOT! And with that thank you, a TON of links to Prophecy contests, reviews, and interviews.

Agents, Editors, and my First Thank You!

Well, not my FIRST.

I am a serial thanker, after all.

But it's the first in my Week Of Thank Yous. I was going to post it yesterday, but the time just kind of got away from me. I figure we can play a little fast and loose with the whole "week" thing. 'Cause that's how I roll.

Anyway, this is a very important thank you, because behind every great book is usually a talented agent and editor. This has never been more true than in my case.

My agent Steven Malk of Writers House has been my truest advoc

Countdown Completed

Last night around my midnight, the kids and I pulled up my old website and watched the Prophecy widget count backwards from four minutes… to three… to two…

Finally, it flipped over to 00.00.00 right before flashing the words, "Countdown Completed."

Wow. It's August 1st, the official release day for Prophecy of the Sisters. When I first uploaded my countdown widget, it was at 196 days.

Back then, I thought August 1st would never come! But after a few of months where it seemed like NOTHING was happen

Round-Up!!

In case you haven't noticed, this is what I call my posts when my ADD is too out-of-control for me to focus on one thing.

But, hey! It's better than nothing, right?!

Highlights from the last week include;

A signing at Book of Wonder in NYC with eight amazingly awesome YA authors! I had SO much fun and got to meet and sign with Heather Duffy-Stone, Mandy Hubbard, Sarah Cross, Sarah MacLean, Julie Linker, Mari Mansuci, Lauren Barnholdt, and Erin Dionne. We had a great time, and it was a bonus to meet