Amy Reed's Blog, page 4
June 14, 2012
Photos from June 12th Release Party for CRAZY
Look at my sexy friends!
Psychadelic bookstore!
Sepia bookstore!
Sit up straight!
Thanks so much to the lovely Diesel bookstore for hosting!
Thanks to Brian for your fancy photography (and lots of other things).
Thanks to everyone who came and showed your support. I love you.
xoxo
Amy
June 12, 2012
A personal message about CRAZY (and a book giveaway!)
Dear Reader,
Today is CRAZY’s publication birthday, but it was really born over two years ago when I started scribbling notes about a sort of love story told in emails. I had vague notions of unreliable narrators and emotional disintegration. In the back of my mind, I think I also wanted it to be a kind of apology. An explanation. So Izzy was born–a troubled girl who did not know how to be loved. And then there was Connor–the boy who loved her.
Most mental illnesses, including bipolar disorder, start displaying their first symptoms in one’s teen years–around Izzy’s age. I was fourteen when I started taking Prozac for my depression. I came of age in the first wave of medicated kids, when every day there would be a new headline about kids on Prozac, kids on Ritalin. When I was in college, OCD seemed to be the big thing. I have watched this trend grow over the years, more and more kids diagnosed with mood disorders, more kids on medication that alters their fragile brain chemistry. Whether or not these diagnoses and prescriptions are always warranted, one thing is very certain–a lot of kids are in a lot of pain.
I can honestly say that medication saved my life as a teen. At age fourteen, I was planning my suicide. I got very close to following through. But as strained as my relationship with my parents was at the time (as strained as all teens’ relationships are with their parents), I somehow gathered up the courage to tell my mom what was going on. Some glimmer of hope remained, some knowledge that I was loved, some curiosity about what would happen tomorrow. I asked for help and I got it, and that help saved my life.
It is my greatest wish that anyone out there who is feeling this kind of hopelessness and fear finds the brave place inside them and ask for help before the light of hope burns out. If this book can inspire just one reader to do that, my time on this planet will have been worth something.
I recently did an interview with Kari at A Good Addiction blog (you can read the full interview here). She asked me a great question: “Who do you think needed the other the most, Izzy or Connor?” My answer was this: It’s hard to say; they both needed each other so much. Izzy, in the end, may have needed Connor to literally save her. But she also just needed him to see her, and to care enough to do the hard thing and confront her. But Connor needed Izzy to push his buttons the way she did. Ultimately, he learned how to be brave, how to do the difficult thing instead of being passive. He risked losing everything in order to do the right thing. There’s nothing braver than that.
I believe we are all partners in the lives of those we love. We owe it to them to be honest, even when it’s hard.
To celebrate the release of CRAZY, I want to give away THREE COPIES to people who are brave–to enter, comment below with an example of when you’ve been brave and did the right thing even when it was hard. I will pick three people at random (U.S. and Canada only, please). The winners will be announced June 18th. I can’t wait to be inspired by your answers!
Finally, I want to dedicate this book to all the Izzys and Connors of the world, to everyone who has ever felt crazy or in love. I dedicate it to my husband Brian, who has loved me through everything.
Love,
Amy
June 10, 2012
Photos from the 31st Annual Northern California Book Awards
Congratulations to my pal Kim Culbertson on winning the award for Children’s Literature–Young Adult! It was an honor to be nominated with her and Daniel Handler.
Here’s the lovely description of CLEAN in the program. (Thank you, Sari Friedman!)
Here’s us on the stage (with the wrong title on the screen).
Here’s me with my mysterious purple folder.
Here’s what was in the mysterious purple folder.
Thank you to Northern California Book Reviewers for nominating CLEAN for the award in Children’s Literature–Young Adult, and thanks for putting on such a great event. It was an honor to be among such great company.
xoxo,
Amy
May 20, 2012
CRAZY Release, blog tour, events, and other exciting news
CRAZY comes out SO SOON! The June 12 release date is less than a month away, and I can’t wait for you to meet Connor and Isabel. I love these characters so much, and I hope you will too.
EVENTS
If you live in the SF Bay Area, don’t forget about my Release Day Event at Diesel Books in Oakland (Tuesday, June 12 at 7:00 pm; 5433 College Avenue). I’ll read a little from CRAZY, do a little Q&A, then sign some books and hang out with you wonderful people.
Did I mention that CLEAN is now available in paperback? So cheap! So lightweight! Speaking of CLEAN, it was just nominated for the 2012 Northern California Book Award in Children’s Literature-YA, along with Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket) and Instructions for a Broken Heart by Kim Culbertson. The awards ceremony is on Sunday, June 10 and is free and open the public: 1:00-4:00 pm, Koret Auditorium, SF Public Library.
Another fun event is on Wednesday, June 20 where I’ll be reading at The Business Comedy Show, which has been called “the best alternative comedy show in San Francisco” by the SF Weekly. Not sure I qualify as an alternative comedian, but my pal Bucky Sinister had enough faith to invite me so I’m trusting his judgment. Show starts at 8:00 pm @ The Dark Room Theater: 2263 Mission Street, San Francisco. It’s only $5!
BLOG TOUR
Monday, June 4: Character Interview with Isabel at Good Choice Reading blog
Tuesday, June 5: Crazy review at Blkosiner’s Book Blog
Wednesday, June 6: Top Tens List guest post at Shut Up! I’m Reading blog
Thursday, June 7: Crazy review at Tangled Up In Words blog
Friday, June 8: Connor This or That guest post at My Reading Room blog
Monday, June 11: “Turning Points” guest post on Nova Ren Suma’s writing blog, Distraction no. 99 (author of Imaginary Girls)
Monday, June 11: Interview at A Good Addiction blog
Tuesday, June 12: Character Tweets guest post at Paperback Treasures blog
Wednesday, June 13: Crazy review at Good Choice Reading blog
Thursday, June 14: This or That guest post at Ivy Reads blog
Friday, June 15: Word Associations guest post at Tangled Up In Words blog
Monday, June 18: Interview at Blkosiner’s Book Blog
Tuesday, June 19: Crazy review at My Reading Room blog
Wednesday, June 20: Top Tens List guest post at Rex Robot Reviews blog
Thursday, June 21: Crazy review at Shut Up! I’m Reading blog
Friday, June 22: Character This or That guest post at Zoe’s Book Reviews blog
Whew! June is going to be an exhausting but awesome month. There’s all this CRAZY stuff, plus I’m in the middle of edits for BOOK #4 and training for a half-marathon. Please bring ice cream.
Love,
Amy
April 21, 2012
Look what I just got in the mail!
A big box of CLEAN paperbacks! Hot of the presses!
The paperback officially comes out May 8 in fine stores everywhere, but you can pre-order it now. Only $7.99 on the Simon & Schuster site. What a deal!
There are a lot of books in that box, and I’d love to do something good with them. I donated a bunch of my hardcover copies to the Association of Recovery Schools, and I recently donated a huge chunk of my YA library to the Sacramento Youth Detention Facility. I really want to find some more juvenile halls or adolescent rehab facilities to send copies of CLEAN. If you know of any places like this that have libraries, please send me the info!
Love,
Amy
April 3, 2012
Save the Date! CRAZY Publication Party–Reading and Q&A With Amy Reed
with Amy Reed
Tuesday, June 12th at 7:00 pm
Diesel, A Bookstore in Oakland
5433 College Avenue at Kales
510-653-9965 // www.dieselbookstore.com
March 12, 2012
CRAZY Excerpt Posted! And a GIVEAWAY!
Today is March 12, which means that my new book CRAZY comes out in exactly THREE MONTHS!
To celebrate, I am posting a SNEAK PEEK of the first 24 pages. Click HERE to read it now!
You can also pre-order CRAZY HERE!
I am also giving away a SIGNED ARC OF CRAZY to one lucky winner! All you have to do is comment on this post, and I will pick one person at random. In your comment, answer the following question:
When in your life have you felt the most CRAZY?
Winner will be announced April 1. I'm looking forward to reading your answers!
xoxo,
Amy
February 28, 2012
CRAZY Excerpt & Release News (among other things)
Guess what! CRAZY comes out in just over three months! JUNE 12 is the official release date.You can pre-order it on Amazon HERE, or at many other fine bookselling establishments.
Guess what else! I'm going to post an EXCERPT of CRAZY here exactly three months before the release date, on MARCH 12. Sorry to keep you waiting, but I'm a strong believer in delayed gratification. (Either that, or I am following my publicist's advice.)
Also! The paperback of CLEAN comes out MAY 8. Pre-order it HERE
Also also! If we're friends on Facebook or you follow me on Twitter, you probably already know this, but I just signed a contract for TWO MORE BOOKS WITH SIMON PULSE! I can't tell you how much I love working with them, especially my brilliant editor Anica Mrose Rissi. I am so, so, so excited to write more books for you.
That's all for now!
Love,
Amy
January 10, 2012
Author Amy Reed speaking at Mill Valley Public Library February 2nd
I am honored to have been asked by Katie MacBride, Young Adult librarian extraordinaire, to speak at her monthly First Thursday event at the Mill Valley Public Library in February. I haven't decided exactly what I'll do yet, but it could be a combination of any of these: read a little from Beautiful and/or Clean, talk about my own experiences as a teen, talk about my road to publication and life as a writer, talk about how I got the ideas for Beautiful and/or Clean, talk about my next book Crazy, answer questions, talk about my dog, stand on my head. Maybe I'll do none of these things. Maybe I'll do all of them. You'll have to be there to find out!
Here's the info:
First Thursday: Amy Reed, author of Clean
February 2nd, 2011
Mill Valley Public Library
375 Throckmorton Ave.
Mill Valley, California 94941
Creekside Room – 7:00pm – 9:00pm
Cost: Free
The critically acclaimed author of Beautiful and Clean will talk about her long, eventful road to becoming a writer, answer questions and maybe, just maybe drop a few hints about her next book.
For more info about this event, contact the Young Adult Librarian at kmacbride@cityofmillvalley.org
*For High School Students Only
December 19, 2011
Note about CRAZY eGalleys and other news
Hello!
I know, it's been a very long time since I updated my site. Sorry about that! I've been too busy writing Book #4, which is still untitled at this point. Titles are hard. How am I supposed to find a word or two to describe an entire world?
Thanks to everyone who has read CLEAN and BEAUTIFUL so far. If you haven't already, what are you waiting for?! If you're waiting for the paperback of CLEAN, I have good news for you: the official release date is MAY 8, and you can pre-order now from lots of different booksellers HERE.
I can't wait to share my next book CRAZY with you! I absolutely adore this book, and I had so much fun writing it. I fell head-over-heels in love with the characters, and I hope you will too. The hardcover comes out JUNE 12. You can pre-order it HERE!
Special Note about CRAZY eGalleys:
Many bloggers, librarians, reviewers and other industry types have already gotten a sneak peak of CRAZY through Simon & Schuster's Galley Grab program. I've heard from a couple of you about possible problems with the file. Don't worry! Pages 310-316 and 325-330 are supposed to be blank. It's part of the design, which makes sense in the book but doesn't quite translate to the eGalleys. (If you are a bookseller, librarian, teacher, journalist, blogger, producer or other publishing professional and you'd like to request a review copy, you can use THIS LINK)
To everyone: My heartfelt thanks for your continued support. May your holidays be full of love and your New Year full of hope.
Amy
