Geoff Rodkey's Blog, page 4
February 19, 2015
Hey, look, a book trailer!
So my New Year’s resolution to post more content that’s not just regurgitated, totally blatant book marketing doesn’t seem to be going all that well.
But who cares? Here’s a book trailer!
January 31, 2015
Oh, hey, look, a starred review in Publishers Weekly
You no longer have to take my word for it that The Tapper Twins Go To War (With Each Other) is good – this very enthusiastic review in Publishers Weekly confirms it! 
If you’re too lazy to click the link, here’s the money quote:
The clear winners are readers of this uproarious series opener, which is packed with both laugh-out-loud moments and heart.
(BTW, just in case you’re worried the critical acclaim might go to my head, here’s another link to that vicious Roger Ebert review of Daddy Day Care.)
And while we’re on the subject of reviews…here’s a sampling of feedback from ACTUAL PARENTS of kids who’ve read advance copies of The Tapper Twins Go To War:
Nice, right? And they’re all 100% real! No, really. All the Little Brown publicity department did was dress them up in a nice font.
Want to read the opening chapters or pre-order the book? Head over to TapperTwins.com.
January 12, 2015
Read a sneak preview of The Tapper Twins!
The very spiffy TapperTwins.com web site just launched, and if you click over to it, you can read the first few chapters of the book!
I could probably embed the preview and save you a click if I weren’t totally incompetent.
Here, let me try:
The Tapper Twins Go to War (With Each Other) by Geoff Rodkey
Did that work? Ohmygosh, I think that actually worked.
Wow! WordPress really IS idiot-proof.
(Even if it didn’t work, your sneak preview of The Tapper Twins Go To War (With Each Other) is just a click away. Enjoy!)
January 9, 2015
Hi, 2015. Hi!
Hello! I’d start this post by apologizing to longtime readers of this blog for the fact that 2014 brought only two new posts, both of them blatant acts of book marketing.
But let’s be honest: this blog has no longtime readers.
Judging by my traffic stats, only two kinds of people wind up here: kids who googled “geoff rodkey author” because they’re trying to pad out a book report, and the unfortunate tourists who googled “best ride at Universal Studios” and clicked on this post in the vain hope of actually learning something useful before their trip.
(Sometimes, the tourists get angry. I know this because they leave comments. Like this guy. If you are one of these people, hello! And I’m sorry. Have fun in Orlando. Just make sure you hit the Harry Potter stuff early. It gets crowded fast.)
Anyway, it makes sense that if I only post twice a year, and then only for totally self-serving book marketing purposes, I won’t get a lot of repeat business.
But this year, I’m going to post a lot more!
That’s because The Tapper Twins Go To War (With Each Other) is coming out April 7th…followed by The Tapper Twins Tear Up New York in early fall…and at least two more Tapper Twins books in 2016.
The good news is that most of these posts will NOT seem like totally self-serving acts of book marketing. I am going to do my best to just write things that are fun to read for their own sake.
Like, say, the Letters To My Kid At Summer Camp series.
Or The Slightly Strange Saga of My Son’s Soccer Ball.
Or even The Absolutely Best Ride At Universal Studios Orlando (hello again, tourists! Try not to let your kids pester you into buying a $36.95 wizarding wand that they will play with exactly twice before forgetting they own it. Although to be fair, they’re quality wands. We still have a Narcissa Malfoy somewhere in a desk drawer, and I think there might be a Cedric Diggory stuck between the sofa cushions in the living room.)
The bad news–and I’m telling you this up front because I respect you–is that even the posts that don’t SEEM like self-serving acts of book marketing actually ARE.
It’s just that their M.O. won’t so much be “HEY, YOU, BUY THIS BOOK!” Which I’ve realized is kind of tacky. (And, judging by the sales to date of The Chronicles of Egg trilogy, was also totally ineffective.)
Instead, it’ll be more of an “ohmygosh, it’s so much fun to read this post! Maybe this person’s books are also fun to read! Perhaps I should buy one” kind of a thing.
And you really should. Because The Tapper Twins Go To War (With Each Other) is a whoooole lot of fun. And its sequels will be, too!
And they have pictures! Tons of them. Like this one, which appears in The Tapper Twins Tear Up New York and was shot in Times Square last fall: 
I’d explain what’s going on there, but crotch-kicking jokes are pretty much self-explanatory even out of context.
The last time I counted, The Tapper Twins Tear Up New York had about 100 photos in it. So there’s a lot more where this one came from (although at the moment, it’s the only one that involves a kick in the crotch).
Since the Tapper twins characters are mostly 12 years old and all live in NYC, I plan to write a whole bunch of posts in 2015 about either A) 12-year-olds or B) New York City.
So if you have any particular questions about either of those topics–or, really, anything at all you’d like me to address in future posts–feel free to leave a comment below. It doesn’t have to be about 12-year-olds or New York City, either. I’m happy to discuss anything.
(For example, if you came here looking for information about my screenwriting career, and are wondering why Roger Ebert’s review of Daddy Day Care was so vicious and mean-spirited, I can discuss that, too. I have theories.)
And please come back! There will be new stuff here all year long. And it’ll be much less blatant than the old stuff.
Incidentally, if you’re looking for a great blog full of stuff that’s fun to read, check out Laura Belgray’s Talking Shrimp blog. Laura’s hilarious, she posts regularly, and she’s not nearly as blatantly self-promotional as I am. (Warning: Laura’s a marketing copywriter, not a middle grade author, so some of her posts may not be appropriate for 8-to-12-year-old kids. Hey, kids: quit reading this and get back to your book reports.)
(You know what’s another great blog? Wait But Why. Just don’t go there if you’re trying to get work done today. You could lose a week of your life on that site.)
Okay, now I’m rambling. Bye! Come back soon.
August 28, 2014
Coming Soon…
And by “soon,” I mean April 7, 2015.
Okay, it’s not exactly soon.
But it’s coming eventually. And hopefully, it’ll be worth the wait.
(Preorders available at Powell’s, Barnes&Noble, and any other retailer that’s not currently engaged in a bloody, debilitating knife fight with my publisher.)
April 4, 2014
The End (and the Beginning) of The Chronicles of Egg
So, Blue Sea Burning is finally in stores (if you haven’t gotten your copy, you can rectify that now via Amazon, B&N, or your favorite indie bookseller)
…and in honor of the occasion, I have a guest post up today at John Scalzi’s Whatever blog describing how the Chronicles of Egg series came about.
If you’re a fan of the Egg books, or just Egg-curious, it’s worth a look — and if you’re unfamiliar with John Scalzi’s books, you should DEFINITELY check them out. I don’t read much sci-fi, and neither does my 13-year-old — but both of us love Scalzi’s books, which have a fantastic sense of humor that’s missing from a lot of sci-fi. My favorite is Redshirts; I really dug Fuzzy Nation, too; and if you’re into more traditional sci-fi, Old Man’s War and its sequels are also great.
But you should finish the Chronicles of Egg first. Or, if you’re just clicking over here from Scalzi’s blog, you might want to START the Chronicles of Egg, which begins with Deadweather and Sunrise (newly available in this redesigned and very spiffy cover):
Actually, wait…on second thought, if you’re just clicking over here from Scalzi’s blog, start with The Slightly Strange Saga of My Son’s Soccer Ball, because it is short and fun and free.
If you like that, try Letters To My Kid At Summer Camp and its sequels.
And if you like those, THEN you might want to take a flyer on the Egg books.
March 26, 2014
Blue Sea Burning Is (Almost) Here!
Want to find out how The Chronicles of Egg series ends? Want to have Blue Sea Burning delivered to your doorstep when it comes out next Thursday? NOW WOULD BE AN EXCELLENT TIME TO PREORDER:
You won’t regret it.
And if you do, I’ll refund your money!
(No, I won’t. But you’ll love the book! I promise.)
March 6, 2014
New Lands: Now Available in Paperback!
Wondering why hundreds of people were lined up outside your local bookstore* this morning?
They were waiting to buy the paperback edition of New Lands!
The excitement’s understandable. I mean, not only is the new cover art gorgeous, but if they don’t finish the book by the end of the month, they’ll miss out on the worldwide cultural buzz accompanying the release of Blue Sea Burning on April 3rd!
Which I’m sure you’ve already circled on your calendar. In fact, you’re probably already putting together your mutilated pirate costume to wear to the midnight release party.**
And while the line to buy New Lands in person might still be hours long by the time you get down to the bookstore,*** you can avoid the crowds and have it delivered to your door! Just click any of these links:
New Lands paperback at Barnes&Noble
New Lands paperback at Indiebound
You’re going to love it! How could you not? These are the most exciting, funny, thrilling, and emotionally engaging books written in English for a middle-grade audience since Roald Dahl kicked the bucket.****
DISCLAIMERS
*Lines outside bookstores may vary in length, composition, and purpose.
**Midnight release parties not available in all areas.
***The absence of a line at your bookstore should not be taken as evidence of a lack of global hysteria surrounding the Chronicles of Egg series. Many booksellers employ sophisticated crowd-management techniques in situations such as this.
****Claims made as to the merits of any work of fiction are inherently subjective, and as such must be considered valid regardless of their extravagance.
February 25, 2014
So Much Fun, You Won’t Believe It’s Spam!
In honor of the new Deadweather and Sunrise cover now finding its way into stores, below is a piece of writing that’s more fun than a naked appeal for financial support has any right to be.
It’s an email I sent, to pretty much everyone I know, a week before Deadweather came out in May 2012. As spam goes, it was wildly successful: in the 24 hours after I hit “send,” the book skyrocketed from #137,288 on Amazon all way up to #224.
The fact that it’s never been close to that number again makes me wonder if I shouldn’t be spending less time writing books and more time writing spam.
From: Geoff Rodkey
Subject: please buy my book
Date: May 23, 2012 4:12:01 PM EDT
Dear Friend/Relative/Person Whose Email Address I Have:
I’ll be blunt: I wrote a book, called Deadweather and Sunrise, and I’m hoping you’ll buy it.
I’ve come up with a lot of reasons why you should do this, but if you’re pressed for time and have $7.99 (plus tax and shipping) just lying around, feel free to simply click one of these links, buy the book, and ignore the rest of this email:
Still on the fence? I don’t blame you. If someone whose writing credits included Daddy Day Care told me they’d written a book and wanted me to pay money for it, I’d be skeptical. Or amused. Or maybe even horrified.
But here’s the thing: did I ever send you an email saying, “please go see Daddy Day Care?” I did not. If you’ve watched any of the movies on which my name appears, it wasn’t because I asked you to. And if we’ve seen each other in person since then, I’ve probably already apologized for the loss of your time and/or money and/or respect.
This book is different. I am very proud of it, and I sincerely believe that if you read it–even if you’re not the target audience–you’ll enjoy it.
That last sentence may have led you to wonder what the target audience is. And I’m going to be completely honest with you: it’s ten-year-olds.
Bear with a me a minute. Deadweather and Sunrise is, admittedly, a kid’s book. But not in the pejorative sense. It’s not the kind of kid’s book that you read aloud to your kid before bed, and your kid’s totally into it, and laughing out loud, and having a fine time, and you just want to shoot yourself in the head. It’s better than that.
It’s kind of like The Princess Bride. Is The Princess Bride appropriate for ten-year-olds? Absolutely. Do adults love it, too? They do unless they have hearts of stone.
(If you didn’t like The Princess Bride, please buy my book anyway, and then give it as a gift to someone whose heart is not made of stone.)
Still not convinced? Want to know more about what you’re getting into? Click on the link for an advance review from a prominent children’s literature blogger named Monica Edinger.
Nice, right? See how she makes a point of mentioning that she thought she was going to hate it, only to find herself “immediately and completely hooked?” And how about the part where she favorably compares the prose to Dickens? My publisher swears nobody paid her to say that.
There’s more. Rick Riordan, who wrote The Lightning Thief (you might not have heard of him, but your kids have), read an early copy as well, and says very nice things about it here.
If you’re sick of clicking, here’s the choicest passage in Rick’s review:
“The best way I can describe it is Lemony Snicket meets Pirates of the Caribbean, with a sprinkling of Tom Sawyer for good measure. That’s not really an accurate description, because this debut novel isn’t exactly like anything else I’ve read, but it gives you an idea of what awaits.”
Still not convinced? I give up. Willing to take a flyer? Here are those links again:
Also, not to be crass, but if you are planning to buy it, please do so ASAP. It comes out May 29th, and apparently, the book market is small enough that if everyone I cc’d on this email either pre-orders a copy or buys it in the first week, it’ll claw its way onto the bestseller lists.
If that happens, I might actually be able to make a career out of writing books like this, and I will be enormously and sincerely grateful to all of you for your support.
If not, I might be forced to write more movies like Daddy Day Care. And let’s be honest: nobody wants that.
Thanks for your time! (And your $7.99. Plus tax and shipping.)
Fondly,
Geoff
P.S. — If you want to forward this email to people you know who might like the book (or, God forbid, post a link to the official book site, www.chroniclesofegg.com, on your Facebook page along with a glowing recommendation) I would be ALL THE MORE GRATEFUL.
December 6, 2013
ATTENTION HOLIDAY SHOPPERS…
Considering a copy of Deadweather and Sunrise or New Lands as a holiday gift?
You should! Seriously. These books are AMAZING, and I’m not just saying that because I get royalties.
And if you are…why not make that gift EXTRA-SUPER-SPECIAL by having it signed and personalized to your friend/loved one/person-you-got-stuck-with-in-the-Secret-Santa-drawing?
Because for a limited time only, I will autograph and personalize as many books as you want FOR FREE!
Well, not exactly. That would be kind of a hassle (although if you’re dead set on it, and/or live within a five-block radius of my apartment, email me and maybe we can work something out).
But what I WILL do for free is send you a personalized, autographed Chronicles of Egg book plate that you can affix to the inside of your copy!
It’ll be almost exactly like my having signed the book itself, and it’ll look something like this:
Nice, right? Do you like the “Get hooked” catch phrase? And the little drawing of a hook? There’s no extra charge for those.
Also, for those of you unclear on the concept of “book plate,” it’s basically a fancy sticker. You can peel off the back and stick it pretty much anywhere you want. Most people choose the interior title page, but it’ll stick to anything, so if you’d rather put it on a notebook, refrigerator, the back of an unsuspecting victim, etc…have at it. I’m not going to judge you.
And again: THIS IS FREE, and I’ll send as many book plates as you have books to stick them in. Just send a mailing address and the first name of the recipient to geoff@geoffrodkey.com and I’ll hook you up.
Do it by 4pm on December 18th, and I guarantee delivery in time for Christmas!
Any later than that, and I will guarantee delivery by Martin Luther King Day. (For which the Chronicles of Egg books would also make a fine, if somewhat inexplicable, gift.)
