Beth Revis's Blog, page 10
June 15, 2014
The Hate is Boring, and the Same, and Let's Stop Listening to It
A little while ago, someone published an article basically saying that YA was for kids and adults who read YA were idiots. You don't need to read the article; I don't need to link it. You've seen at least a half dozen more like them if you've been in the YA world at all.
They're all the same. They have different trappings, and whatever most popular book is on the market is the one that's discussed, but, the articles are all the same.
Ultimately, this is what every single one of those articles is saying:
I don't like the popular thing, therefore the people who do like the popular thing are wrong.
This particular article was anti-YA, and if you look in the history of the rise of YA, you'll see these articles have happened since the the first popular YA books, and with every single subsequent one.
When Harry Potter got popular: Here's an article by a guy who's kind of shocked that any adult likes Harry Potter. According to him, "These are good books of their kind [meaning, for children]. But why would grown-up men and women become obsessed by jokey latency fantasies?"When Twilight got popular: Honestly, do I even need to link anything? You guys know the drill.When The Hunger Games got popular: In this article published by the NY Times from a frequent writer for Time magazine and titled "Adults Should Read Adult Books," the author said, "The only thing more embarrassing than catching a guy on the plane looking at pornography on his computer is seeing a guy on the plane reading “The Hunger Games.”When The Mortal Instruments got popular: This article--which had a follow-up predicting the movie's demise before it even aired--states "people [adults] are simply too embarrassed to admit they read this sort of thing." Which is patently false, obviously.When Divergent got popular: In this article, the author is meta enough to realize what he's ultimately saying in his critique of YA: "I suppose I’m admitting that those people who call young-adult readers “childish” are onto something."And that brings us to now, and this steaming pile of crap that I wasn't going to link to, but I guess I might as well, for completeness sake: "Adults should feel embarrassed about reading literature written for children." Do you see the pattern?
Every time a YA book hits big, some pretentious ass-hat takes it upon himself (or herself) to say that people who like YA are weird and wrong.
They dress it up in different language, but the fact of the matter remains: all it takes is one big hit for the haters to come out. And every single argument incorporates the same basic logic:
Ironic, isn't it, that the very people slamming adults for liking "books written for kids" have the most basic, childish logic behind their arguments.
Now, I've just given examples based on the YA genre, but this is true of every genre that hits popularity. The critics all have the same arguments, and they're weak:
Romance isn't literature, and when a romance writer gets really popular, he doesn't classify himself as a romance writer any more, but as something more literary.Fantasy isn't literature, and when a fantasy book gets as popular as Game of Thrones, you have people saying that it doesn't count as fantasy any more, but literature.Sci fi isn't literature--in fact, this article says that all genre isn't literature, and makes the point that 1984 is (apparently) so good that it's literature, not sci fi.They all sum up to the same thing: some people believe that genre fiction isn't literary and therefore isn't worth...well, anything. As this NY Times article sums it up, "For the longest time, there was little ambiguity between literary fiction and genre fiction: one was good for you, one simply tasted good. "
And now, I suppose, that ambiguity is fading. Because more and more people are telling these ass-hats that they're full of it. More and more people are pointing out that telling someone that the thing they like isn't as good as the thing this other person likes is a really dick thing to say.
In the end, the genre-hate is just another form of prejudice. Most of these critics are not fans of genre, and many even confess to not having read the book they're hating on.
There's another sort of hate and prejudice being applied here, too. Is it really a coincidence that the romance that's considered too literary to be romance is written by a white dude? That the fantasy that people have begun calling literature instead of fantasy is...written by a white dude? That the most recent article hating on YA does call out the most recently popular YA author--a white dude--and then quickly gives him the biggest insult the author of the article could think of, by comparing him to the popular work of a female author.
All those links I gave you above to the female YA authors who were criticized for being popular? Nearly every single one mentions the female author's appearance (including age or physical attractiveness) or makes a point to say that the romance is predominant in part because of the gender of the author. It should be noted that, with this freshest round of YA-hate directed at a male YA author, his appearance has not been mentioned in a negative way, and the romance is heralded rather than being decried.
Consider for a moment the most maligned genre in the business: romance. These books, more than any other genre, tend to be dismissed. And these books, more than any other genre, tend to be written by women.
There will always be cockalorums who think their opinion is more important, who think that because they don't like a thing no one should, who want to make you feel bad about liking something.
Call bullshit on them. All these articles are is nothing more than someone looking down their nose at you. Don't put up with that. Think for yourself. Know what you like, and don't let someone else's prejudices get in the way of that.
At this point, those sorts of articles are just clickbait. And the people who write those sorts of articles are just turd sandwiches.
They're all the same. They have different trappings, and whatever most popular book is on the market is the one that's discussed, but, the articles are all the same.
Ultimately, this is what every single one of those articles is saying:
I don't like the popular thing, therefore the people who do like the popular thing are wrong.
This particular article was anti-YA, and if you look in the history of the rise of YA, you'll see these articles have happened since the the first popular YA books, and with every single subsequent one.When Harry Potter got popular: Here's an article by a guy who's kind of shocked that any adult likes Harry Potter. According to him, "These are good books of their kind [meaning, for children]. But why would grown-up men and women become obsessed by jokey latency fantasies?"When Twilight got popular: Honestly, do I even need to link anything? You guys know the drill.When The Hunger Games got popular: In this article published by the NY Times from a frequent writer for Time magazine and titled "Adults Should Read Adult Books," the author said, "The only thing more embarrassing than catching a guy on the plane looking at pornography on his computer is seeing a guy on the plane reading “The Hunger Games.”When The Mortal Instruments got popular: This article--which had a follow-up predicting the movie's demise before it even aired--states "people [adults] are simply too embarrassed to admit they read this sort of thing." Which is patently false, obviously.When Divergent got popular: In this article, the author is meta enough to realize what he's ultimately saying in his critique of YA: "I suppose I’m admitting that those people who call young-adult readers “childish” are onto something."And that brings us to now, and this steaming pile of crap that I wasn't going to link to, but I guess I might as well, for completeness sake: "Adults should feel embarrassed about reading literature written for children." Do you see the pattern?
Every time a YA book hits big, some pretentious ass-hat takes it upon himself (or herself) to say that people who like YA are weird and wrong.
They dress it up in different language, but the fact of the matter remains: all it takes is one big hit for the haters to come out. And every single argument incorporates the same basic logic:
I don't like the popular thing THEREFORE the popular thing is wrong THEREFORE anyone who likes the popular thing is wrong.
Ironic, isn't it, that the very people slamming adults for liking "books written for kids" have the most basic, childish logic behind their arguments.
Now, I've just given examples based on the YA genre, but this is true of every genre that hits popularity. The critics all have the same arguments, and they're weak:Romance isn't literature, and when a romance writer gets really popular, he doesn't classify himself as a romance writer any more, but as something more literary.Fantasy isn't literature, and when a fantasy book gets as popular as Game of Thrones, you have people saying that it doesn't count as fantasy any more, but literature.Sci fi isn't literature--in fact, this article says that all genre isn't literature, and makes the point that 1984 is (apparently) so good that it's literature, not sci fi.They all sum up to the same thing: some people believe that genre fiction isn't literary and therefore isn't worth...well, anything. As this NY Times article sums it up, "For the longest time, there was little ambiguity between literary fiction and genre fiction: one was good for you, one simply tasted good. "
And now, I suppose, that ambiguity is fading. Because more and more people are telling these ass-hats that they're full of it. More and more people are pointing out that telling someone that the thing they like isn't as good as the thing this other person likes is a really dick thing to say.
In the end, the genre-hate is just another form of prejudice. Most of these critics are not fans of genre, and many even confess to not having read the book they're hating on.
There's another sort of hate and prejudice being applied here, too. Is it really a coincidence that the romance that's considered too literary to be romance is written by a white dude? That the fantasy that people have begun calling literature instead of fantasy is...written by a white dude? That the most recent article hating on YA does call out the most recently popular YA author--a white dude--and then quickly gives him the biggest insult the author of the article could think of, by comparing him to the popular work of a female author.
All those links I gave you above to the female YA authors who were criticized for being popular? Nearly every single one mentions the female author's appearance (including age or physical attractiveness) or makes a point to say that the romance is predominant in part because of the gender of the author. It should be noted that, with this freshest round of YA-hate directed at a male YA author, his appearance has not been mentioned in a negative way, and the romance is heralded rather than being decried.
Consider for a moment the most maligned genre in the business: romance. These books, more than any other genre, tend to be dismissed. And these books, more than any other genre, tend to be written by women.
There will always be cockalorums who think their opinion is more important, who think that because they don't like a thing no one should, who want to make you feel bad about liking something.
Call bullshit on them. All these articles are is nothing more than someone looking down their nose at you. Don't put up with that. Think for yourself. Know what you like, and don't let someone else's prejudices get in the way of that.
At this point, those sorts of articles are just clickbait. And the people who write those sorts of articles are just turd sandwiches.
June 14, 2014
Representation Matters, Part 2
I thought I had said what I needed to say about representation in fiction in my first post on the subject last year.
But I realized today that there's something else that needs to be said. Or, rather, that I need to say. Because when I was writing about representation before, I was writing about it from the point of view of the minority. We want to see ourselves within the text in some way, we want to know that we are not alone, even in a fictional world.
But as a white, straight person, there's another way that representation matters, and it has nothing to do with what I already am, and everything to do with what I could become.
First, an example. Schindler's List is a masterpiece of a movie, but one of the most striking images in the whole film has nothing to do with the big stars. It's the scene with the little girl in the red coat.
In this scene, Schindler, a well-off non-Jewish German, sees the liquidation of a Jewish ghetto by the Nazis. The movie is almost entirely in black and white, but this scene features a little girl in a red coat, hiding during the horrific chaos around her.
When I was a teacher, I often showed my students this movie in conjunction with Elie Wiesel's Night. And this was the scene we always talked about.
"Why is that one little girl in red?" a student would always say.
And the answer is surprisingly simple. In the scene, you see so much terror and cruelty. But our brain has an enormously difficult time processing something as huge as mass murder. We can understand it on a theoretical level, but we don't truly get it. We cannot comprehend what the loss is, we cannot process the magnitude of it all.
But we can sympathize with one little girl.
Representation matters because it puts a face to the world. It reminds us of the humanity of the "other," and it reminds us of our own humanity as well.
Growing up, I lived in a bubble of a community. All of my friends--in fact, everyone I personally knew, friend or not--were white, like me. They were all Christian. They were all (as far as I knew at the time) straight. Anything that was different was--not reviled so much as mocked. Stereotypes were extraordinarily common--not just for "the other," but for myself as well. People were defined by the boxes they existed in, and if they didn't fit into the box, they were "other," and strange and...
...and not quite human. Not in the eyes of my community.
If you had asked me, as a young teenager growing up in this limited community, if a black person or a gay person or someone "other" than me was human, I would, of course, had said yes. I knew on a conscious level that people were people, obviously.
But at the same time, I didn't understand. I didn't know anyone personally who was a different color, a different religion, or a different gender/sexuality type from me. And because I didn't know anyone different, I didn't really think of them as people. They were the faceless masses, the ones I knew were real but couldn't comprehend. It was far from me, removed, and easy for me to not care.
But it was in literature where I started to change.
I cannot remember the first time I became aware that the world was not a mirror of my self, but I think it may have started with the brilliant poet, the late Maya Angelou. While I knew the facts of the civil rights movement and racism, I understood--at least a little--the emotion behind it through reading her works.
Their Eyes Were Watching God was another key book for me, and The Color Purple, and Haroun and the Sea of Stories, and the works of Langston Hughes, and Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and so many more. Books I never would have picked up on my own, books my teachers assigned or cajoled me into reading.
Books that changed the way I looked at people.
Books that helped me to see the humanity in people I did not know and was not like.
Books that reminded me how easy it was to forget my own humanity.
When I entered college, I had become a little more aware of how limited my upbringing was, how little I truly understood. Socrates said that, "I only know that I know nothing," and he meant that if you want to be truly wise, you have to first understand that impossibility of understanding everything. As a slightly older teenager moving to a large city two-hundred miles from my home and everything--and everyone--I had known, I was only really smart enough to know that I didn't really know a lot. I had gained enough perspective to realize the flaws in my prejudices, and to attempt to change myself, but I was still floundering.
Travel helped. Living in a city with more diversity helped. Getting to know people as people helped. Defining people not by how they were different from me, but how they were similar to me as well as different, helped.
But, as before, one of the biggest agents of change for me was in fiction.
In fiction, you can get to know characters on a different level as you know people. You see them as they are, you're privy to their thoughts, to their feelings. You understand more, and you can't fall back on your assumptions, because the truth of the matter is there before you in black and white.
It is often within the pages of a book, or the images on a screen, or the characters in a play--it is often, in short, through art that we see our own humanity, and how it has failed us. That we see the humanity of others, and how it has only been the fault in our own eyes and hearts that prevented us from seeing it before.
Understanding characters helps us to understand people. Discovering the individuals--like the little girl in the red coat--helps us to see the humanity beyond the people like us.
Representation matters not just because we have an inherit need to know we are not alone, that others look and feel and think like us--but because we also have an inherit need, too often denied, to know that we are not alone, that others look and feel and think not like us.
I'm still changing. I'm still identifying my flaws--still discovering them. I only really know that I know nothing....and that representation matters.
But I realized today that there's something else that needs to be said. Or, rather, that I need to say. Because when I was writing about representation before, I was writing about it from the point of view of the minority. We want to see ourselves within the text in some way, we want to know that we are not alone, even in a fictional world.
But as a white, straight person, there's another way that representation matters, and it has nothing to do with what I already am, and everything to do with what I could become.
First, an example. Schindler's List is a masterpiece of a movie, but one of the most striking images in the whole film has nothing to do with the big stars. It's the scene with the little girl in the red coat.
In this scene, Schindler, a well-off non-Jewish German, sees the liquidation of a Jewish ghetto by the Nazis. The movie is almost entirely in black and white, but this scene features a little girl in a red coat, hiding during the horrific chaos around her.
When I was a teacher, I often showed my students this movie in conjunction with Elie Wiesel's Night. And this was the scene we always talked about.
"Why is that one little girl in red?" a student would always say.
And the answer is surprisingly simple. In the scene, you see so much terror and cruelty. But our brain has an enormously difficult time processing something as huge as mass murder. We can understand it on a theoretical level, but we don't truly get it. We cannot comprehend what the loss is, we cannot process the magnitude of it all.
But we can sympathize with one little girl.
Representation matters because it puts a face to the world. It reminds us of the humanity of the "other," and it reminds us of our own humanity as well.
Growing up, I lived in a bubble of a community. All of my friends--in fact, everyone I personally knew, friend or not--were white, like me. They were all Christian. They were all (as far as I knew at the time) straight. Anything that was different was--not reviled so much as mocked. Stereotypes were extraordinarily common--not just for "the other," but for myself as well. People were defined by the boxes they existed in, and if they didn't fit into the box, they were "other," and strange and...
...and not quite human. Not in the eyes of my community.
If you had asked me, as a young teenager growing up in this limited community, if a black person or a gay person or someone "other" than me was human, I would, of course, had said yes. I knew on a conscious level that people were people, obviously.
But at the same time, I didn't understand. I didn't know anyone personally who was a different color, a different religion, or a different gender/sexuality type from me. And because I didn't know anyone different, I didn't really think of them as people. They were the faceless masses, the ones I knew were real but couldn't comprehend. It was far from me, removed, and easy for me to not care.
But it was in literature where I started to change.
I cannot remember the first time I became aware that the world was not a mirror of my self, but I think it may have started with the brilliant poet, the late Maya Angelou. While I knew the facts of the civil rights movement and racism, I understood--at least a little--the emotion behind it through reading her works.
Their Eyes Were Watching God was another key book for me, and The Color Purple, and Haroun and the Sea of Stories, and the works of Langston Hughes, and Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and so many more. Books I never would have picked up on my own, books my teachers assigned or cajoled me into reading.Books that changed the way I looked at people.
Books that helped me to see the humanity in people I did not know and was not like.
Books that reminded me how easy it was to forget my own humanity.
When I entered college, I had become a little more aware of how limited my upbringing was, how little I truly understood. Socrates said that, "I only know that I know nothing," and he meant that if you want to be truly wise, you have to first understand that impossibility of understanding everything. As a slightly older teenager moving to a large city two-hundred miles from my home and everything--and everyone--I had known, I was only really smart enough to know that I didn't really know a lot. I had gained enough perspective to realize the flaws in my prejudices, and to attempt to change myself, but I was still floundering.
Travel helped. Living in a city with more diversity helped. Getting to know people as people helped. Defining people not by how they were different from me, but how they were similar to me as well as different, helped.
But, as before, one of the biggest agents of change for me was in fiction.In fiction, you can get to know characters on a different level as you know people. You see them as they are, you're privy to their thoughts, to their feelings. You understand more, and you can't fall back on your assumptions, because the truth of the matter is there before you in black and white.
It is often within the pages of a book, or the images on a screen, or the characters in a play--it is often, in short, through art that we see our own humanity, and how it has failed us. That we see the humanity of others, and how it has only been the fault in our own eyes and hearts that prevented us from seeing it before.
Understanding characters helps us to understand people. Discovering the individuals--like the little girl in the red coat--helps us to see the humanity beyond the people like us.
Representation matters not just because we have an inherit need to know we are not alone, that others look and feel and think like us--but because we also have an inherit need, too often denied, to know that we are not alone, that others look and feel and think not like us.
I'm still changing. I'm still identifying my flaws--still discovering them. I only really know that I know nothing....and that representation matters.
June 9, 2014
Support Literacy and Writing Through These Amazing Programs
There are some amazing things happening online right now, and if you support literacy, you should absolutely check them out.
For those of you who don't know, Kickstarter is a place where people can pitch a project they want to do, and people can pledge money to support the project. If they get enough money to make their goal happen, then they keep the money pledged. If they don't--they don't. It's an all or nothing deal, and there are some amazing Kickstarters going on right now that I want to make sure you all know about!
First up is the North Texas Teen Book Festival. This program is run by people I've worked with in the past (Irving Public Library is one of the best library systems I've had the honor of working with), and they're trying to start a book festival in their area. These are amazing kids who dearly love reading, and I want them to succeed so much.
If you're in the Texas area, they have some amazing perks for people who contribute and can attend the festival--and even if you're not in the area, a $5 donation will help this program get one step closer to giving a large group of wonderful teens a fantastic experience. They're at about 20% of their goal now and they have a month to raise the rest of the funds, but remember: this is all or nothing. If they don't reach their goal at the end of the month, they get nothing and the Teen Book Festival may die.
I'm sure by now that most of you have heard about one of the most famous and successful Kickstarters in support of literacy--the Reading Rainbow Kickstarter. While they already have their initial goal (of a million dollars!), Reading Rainbow is shooting for a higher goal now to bring their program--and a love of reading--to even more children.
I remember Reading Rainbow fondly from when I was a child. The thing that always stood out to me was the children's book reviews of books. It wasn't an adult talking down to me to tell me to read a book; it was a kid my age excited about a book, and that made me excited, too. Reading Rainbow really is one of those programs that I truly believe helps children love to read, and if you agree, consider supporting the program and helping them help a new generation of kids.
It's not all about money, though. There's a new program launched on Tumblr called We Need Diverse Books, and they've just launched a summer reading program that compares diverse titles to popular books to encourage more people to try something new. You can read more about the program here, but definitely consider following their tumblr as well as you don't miss out on a single new title!
And finally, one for fun--it's not about literacy, but it IS about writing, and I can't help myself. If you follow my Twitter, you'll know that for the last few days I've been tweeting about an amazing keyboard. It is basically my dream keyboard--it looks and feels and sounds like an old typewriter, but it works with computers. Here, see for yourself:
The only problem? This keyboard doesn't exist yet. It's a part of a Kickstarter campaign to manufacture the keyboards, and it's only at 20% of its goal. So tell your writer friends! The board is pricey, but it looks like it'll be amazing, and I really hope they get made! You can read more about the project here. And to watch it in action--including some of that sweet, sweet clacky-keys reminiscent of typewriters, click here.
For those of you who don't know, Kickstarter is a place where people can pitch a project they want to do, and people can pledge money to support the project. If they get enough money to make their goal happen, then they keep the money pledged. If they don't--they don't. It's an all or nothing deal, and there are some amazing Kickstarters going on right now that I want to make sure you all know about!
First up is the North Texas Teen Book Festival. This program is run by people I've worked with in the past (Irving Public Library is one of the best library systems I've had the honor of working with), and they're trying to start a book festival in their area. These are amazing kids who dearly love reading, and I want them to succeed so much.
If you're in the Texas area, they have some amazing perks for people who contribute and can attend the festival--and even if you're not in the area, a $5 donation will help this program get one step closer to giving a large group of wonderful teens a fantastic experience. They're at about 20% of their goal now and they have a month to raise the rest of the funds, but remember: this is all or nothing. If they don't reach their goal at the end of the month, they get nothing and the Teen Book Festival may die.
I'm sure by now that most of you have heard about one of the most famous and successful Kickstarters in support of literacy--the Reading Rainbow Kickstarter. While they already have their initial goal (of a million dollars!), Reading Rainbow is shooting for a higher goal now to bring their program--and a love of reading--to even more children.
I remember Reading Rainbow fondly from when I was a child. The thing that always stood out to me was the children's book reviews of books. It wasn't an adult talking down to me to tell me to read a book; it was a kid my age excited about a book, and that made me excited, too. Reading Rainbow really is one of those programs that I truly believe helps children love to read, and if you agree, consider supporting the program and helping them help a new generation of kids.
It's not all about money, though. There's a new program launched on Tumblr called We Need Diverse Books, and they've just launched a summer reading program that compares diverse titles to popular books to encourage more people to try something new. You can read more about the program here, but definitely consider following their tumblr as well as you don't miss out on a single new title!
And finally, one for fun--it's not about literacy, but it IS about writing, and I can't help myself. If you follow my Twitter, you'll know that for the last few days I've been tweeting about an amazing keyboard. It is basically my dream keyboard--it looks and feels and sounds like an old typewriter, but it works with computers. Here, see for yourself:
The only problem? This keyboard doesn't exist yet. It's a part of a Kickstarter campaign to manufacture the keyboards, and it's only at 20% of its goal. So tell your writer friends! The board is pricey, but it looks like it'll be amazing, and I really hope they get made! You can read more about the project here. And to watch it in action--including some of that sweet, sweet clacky-keys reminiscent of typewriters, click here.
May 28, 2014
Tell Me What You Want (What You Really, Really Want)
Ugh, I apologize in advance for putting that song in your head, but I guess everyone's day isn't complete without a Spice Girls earworm.
If you're on Twitter and follow publishing people at all, you'll notice that just about everyone and their mother is going to BEA--Book Expo America, the largest publishing trade show in America and one of the biggest book events in the world.
And I am super jealous of everyone who's going.
See, I've always wanted to go to BEA. Even before I was published, I wanted to go as a fangirl, but couldn't afford it. Now that I am published, I've wanted to go as an author, but the timing of my books' releases haven't been good for it.
Segue!
I have a book that is very close to my heart, and that I want to make it out into the world. I've been writing and revising it between my other contracted books (I started working on it before I finished Shades of Earth), so it's been slower that normal, but I really love this book.
I recently saw a dress on ModCloth that was perfect for this book. This one. Everything about it--words, pens, birds--was perfect for this book of my heart. The one that I'm currently revising--again--and hope, hope, hope that it sells.
Which means it's not sold yet.
And I've been doing this long enough to know that it might not sell at all.
But...I could see myself holding a launch party for that book wearing that dress. When I shut my eyes, I imagined how it would be to sign a book in that dress, and have the reader notice the tiny details in the cloth and realize that the dress really was that perfect.
But...I hadn't sold the book yet. I shouldn't buy that expensive of a dress for an imaginary launch party for a book that had not sold yet. It was sort of ridiculous.
I bought it anyway.
I decided that I needed that dress. I needed to believe that I would have this launch party, that it would happen for me, for the book. I needed to believe that one day I would wear that dress and a reader would notice the details and connect them to this book. That a reader would read the book.
That's why I bought it. For the chance of this dream coming true.
It's hanging in my closet now. I'm not going to wear yet. But I will. One day. Hopefully soon. I will iron the wrinkles out, and I will whisper to the cloth, "I told you so."
Seeing everyone tweeting about BEA right now of course makes me a little jealous. That's a dream I would like to fulfill, one that probably won't happen any time soon. But rather than stew in my own envious green juices, I decide what I'd do is make a list of things that I hope will one day happen. I don't want to seem ungrateful! My biggest dream--to have a book published--has already come true, and with it, so many other dreams that I hardly believed possible--listing, reviews in Kirkus and PW, seeing the book on a shelf, being asked to sign, getting fan mail and fan art. That stuff is amazing and I wouldn't trade it for the world. If nothing else happens, those memories will forever be a part of my happiest place.
But I also think it's important to think about what else you want--to strive for something more, to never quite reach the star in the distance. So here's my list of pie-in-the-sky dreams, the things I desperately wish would happen:
My Wish List
Attend BEA as an author: I've just talked about this one, but it's one I definitely want. BEA has been this glimmering dream of mine, and I really want to walk into the Javits Center as an author and do a signing or a panel. Other events that I really want to go to as an author: Comic Con in San Diego and the Texas Library Association Conference (TLA).
Do a signing in the Philippines: I hear from readers in the Philippines about every other day, and they seem like voraciously avid readers, and I would love to come and meet them! I've never been to that side of the world before, but it seems so awesome. Other countries that I really want to visit for book signings: Germany, Spain, Brazil, and basically everywhere. I love to travel.
Get a movie (or TV series) made of one of my books: While I'm dreaming big, right? I'd love to see a movie of one of my books. The most asked question I get as an author is, "Why don't you make a movie?" Of course, it's more complicated than that, and even if I sell movie rights, there's a huge chance it won't happen. But still...it's definitely a dream of mine. (And, of course, part of the dream is they make a good movie...)
Merch: This likely would never happen unless a movie is made, but I've always sort of wanted to see some kind of merchandise based on something in my books. A Lego kit of Godspeed? A FunPop vinyl doll?
...and now I realize that, with the possible exception of the second wish, George RR Martin is living my dreams. I really should just grow out my beard and swap lives with him...
And the biggest one of all: A lifetime career in writing and a legacy of books. This is one that I will never see personally. But...I want to always be writing. This is my dream job, and even now, it's still a dream. And...I'd like it if, long after I'm gone, I have an oeuvre out there in the world, and that far in the future, some kid will pick up a copy of one of my books and enter my world again. This is the closest thing you can get to immortality on Earth.
Some of these dreams I can control. If I save my money, I can attend BEA or do an international signing on my own. Some authors have even run successful Kickstarters or other campaigns to turn their books into film or launch merch lines. And I will certainly not quit writing as long as I am able. I'll do all I can to give Fate a chance to make these dreams come true.
That's it--those are my current biggest dreams for my profession. What are yours?
If you're on Twitter and follow publishing people at all, you'll notice that just about everyone and their mother is going to BEA--Book Expo America, the largest publishing trade show in America and one of the biggest book events in the world.
And I am super jealous of everyone who's going.
See, I've always wanted to go to BEA. Even before I was published, I wanted to go as a fangirl, but couldn't afford it. Now that I am published, I've wanted to go as an author, but the timing of my books' releases haven't been good for it.
Segue!
I have a book that is very close to my heart, and that I want to make it out into the world. I've been writing and revising it between my other contracted books (I started working on it before I finished Shades of Earth), so it's been slower that normal, but I really love this book.I recently saw a dress on ModCloth that was perfect for this book. This one. Everything about it--words, pens, birds--was perfect for this book of my heart. The one that I'm currently revising--again--and hope, hope, hope that it sells.
Which means it's not sold yet.
And I've been doing this long enough to know that it might not sell at all.
But...I could see myself holding a launch party for that book wearing that dress. When I shut my eyes, I imagined how it would be to sign a book in that dress, and have the reader notice the tiny details in the cloth and realize that the dress really was that perfect.
But...I hadn't sold the book yet. I shouldn't buy that expensive of a dress for an imaginary launch party for a book that had not sold yet. It was sort of ridiculous.
I bought it anyway.
I decided that I needed that dress. I needed to believe that I would have this launch party, that it would happen for me, for the book. I needed to believe that one day I would wear that dress and a reader would notice the details and connect them to this book. That a reader would read the book.
That's why I bought it. For the chance of this dream coming true.
It's hanging in my closet now. I'm not going to wear yet. But I will. One day. Hopefully soon. I will iron the wrinkles out, and I will whisper to the cloth, "I told you so."
Seeing everyone tweeting about BEA right now of course makes me a little jealous. That's a dream I would like to fulfill, one that probably won't happen any time soon. But rather than stew in my own envious green juices, I decide what I'd do is make a list of things that I hope will one day happen. I don't want to seem ungrateful! My biggest dream--to have a book published--has already come true, and with it, so many other dreams that I hardly believed possible--listing, reviews in Kirkus and PW, seeing the book on a shelf, being asked to sign, getting fan mail and fan art. That stuff is amazing and I wouldn't trade it for the world. If nothing else happens, those memories will forever be a part of my happiest place.
But I also think it's important to think about what else you want--to strive for something more, to never quite reach the star in the distance. So here's my list of pie-in-the-sky dreams, the things I desperately wish would happen:
My Wish List
Attend BEA as an author: I've just talked about this one, but it's one I definitely want. BEA has been this glimmering dream of mine, and I really want to walk into the Javits Center as an author and do a signing or a panel. Other events that I really want to go to as an author: Comic Con in San Diego and the Texas Library Association Conference (TLA).
Do a signing in the Philippines: I hear from readers in the Philippines about every other day, and they seem like voraciously avid readers, and I would love to come and meet them! I've never been to that side of the world before, but it seems so awesome. Other countries that I really want to visit for book signings: Germany, Spain, Brazil, and basically everywhere. I love to travel.
Get a movie (or TV series) made of one of my books: While I'm dreaming big, right? I'd love to see a movie of one of my books. The most asked question I get as an author is, "Why don't you make a movie?" Of course, it's more complicated than that, and even if I sell movie rights, there's a huge chance it won't happen. But still...it's definitely a dream of mine. (And, of course, part of the dream is they make a good movie...)
Merch: This likely would never happen unless a movie is made, but I've always sort of wanted to see some kind of merchandise based on something in my books. A Lego kit of Godspeed? A FunPop vinyl doll?
...and now I realize that, with the possible exception of the second wish, George RR Martin is living my dreams. I really should just grow out my beard and swap lives with him...
And the biggest one of all: A lifetime career in writing and a legacy of books. This is one that I will never see personally. But...I want to always be writing. This is my dream job, and even now, it's still a dream. And...I'd like it if, long after I'm gone, I have an oeuvre out there in the world, and that far in the future, some kid will pick up a copy of one of my books and enter my world again. This is the closest thing you can get to immortality on Earth.
Some of these dreams I can control. If I save my money, I can attend BEA or do an international signing on my own. Some authors have even run successful Kickstarters or other campaigns to turn their books into film or launch merch lines. And I will certainly not quit writing as long as I am able. I'll do all I can to give Fate a chance to make these dreams come true.
That's it--those are my current biggest dreams for my profession. What are yours?
May 26, 2014
Find all the secret symbols hidden in these portraits of Amy & Elder!
As I mentioned in my previous post, I wanted to find an artist who could make a Mucha-style portrait of my characters. First, I just really love that style--but second, I think it lends itself to discovering characters in a particularly wonderful way. See, every little detail in a Mucha portrait is symbolic, and when we're talking about characters, a Mucha-style portrait of one will show hidden meanings.
I'm so happy that Christine Tyler was able to capture Amy and Elder so perfectly! And within each image, there is so much hidden meaning. Take a look for yourself, and see if you can see all the symbols within each image. Answers below!
Ladies first...what symbols can you see in Amy's portrait?
Click for an even larger image!
And now for Elder--do you see all the symbols?
Click image to embiggen!Ready? Think you see all the secret symbols hidden in the image? I know that even I didn't catch all the amazing details Christine included in the portraits. Check below!
...
....
.....
.......
AMY:The flowers in her hair are amaryllises. In my very first draft of of Across the Universe, Amy's name was short for Amaryllis, and she was frozen with a flower bulb. But that was a touch too complicated for the story, so I cut it.The fish in the corners symbolize Harley's nickname for Amy, Little Fish.The pond in the background of the story is the pond hiding the portal to escape the ship.Amy's background is green to represent phydus, likewise the edges of the circle have little splashes to represent the water laced with phydus.In the icons of the circle around them are snowflakes, to represent how cold and lonely Amy was in cryogenic freezing.Amy's holding a cross, to show her faith.ELDER:Elder is wearing the Eldest Robe, which in the book is described as having a field on the bottom fading to stars at the top. Christine went a step further and made the stars constellationally correct-- at Elder's right arm is the constellation Orion, and at his left arm is the constellation Scorpius, which chases Orion across the sky and, according to mythology, is Orion's greatest foe. This was such an amazing detail that Christine added on her own, and is just perfect! In the corner of Elder's image are rabbits, to symbolize the rabbit farms on the ship, which are featured not just in the books but are a key part of the novella, "As They Slip Away."In the edges of the large circle, the image is breaking and shattering. Here's Christine's reasoning, directly from her: "Elder's is breaking/shattering because to me, his biggest moment of change was when the explosion happened on the [Eldest level,] and he had to choose to close the doors off for the great good. He also 'breaks off' from the line of Eldest."And don't forget that in the background of both images are stars, which is the only level of symbolism I consciously added to the story. Stars, much like in Dante's Inferno, equal hope.And on a personal note, I love that Christine took so much care to show Elder's ethnicity, and that he's not white, with features influenced by South Asian and Native American physiology.
There's one more secret to these images, and it's this: these aren't the only things Christine made for me (and you)! I'm still working with my agent and publisher on this, but hopefully you'll see some brand new characters...soon!
Would you like your very own art cards featuring Christine's art? Well don't go away--I'll be doing a giveaway of more art cards very soon :)
And again, make sure to check out Christine's work here:
Website Twitter Tumblr Youtube (booktube) Youtube (family and travel)Blog
I'm so happy that Christine Tyler was able to capture Amy and Elder so perfectly! And within each image, there is so much hidden meaning. Take a look for yourself, and see if you can see all the symbols within each image. Answers below!
Ladies first...what symbols can you see in Amy's portrait?
Click for an even larger image!And now for Elder--do you see all the symbols?
Click image to embiggen!Ready? Think you see all the secret symbols hidden in the image? I know that even I didn't catch all the amazing details Christine included in the portraits. Check below!...
....
.....
.......
AMY:The flowers in her hair are amaryllises. In my very first draft of of Across the Universe, Amy's name was short for Amaryllis, and she was frozen with a flower bulb. But that was a touch too complicated for the story, so I cut it.The fish in the corners symbolize Harley's nickname for Amy, Little Fish.The pond in the background of the story is the pond hiding the portal to escape the ship.Amy's background is green to represent phydus, likewise the edges of the circle have little splashes to represent the water laced with phydus.In the icons of the circle around them are snowflakes, to represent how cold and lonely Amy was in cryogenic freezing.Amy's holding a cross, to show her faith.ELDER:Elder is wearing the Eldest Robe, which in the book is described as having a field on the bottom fading to stars at the top. Christine went a step further and made the stars constellationally correct-- at Elder's right arm is the constellation Orion, and at his left arm is the constellation Scorpius, which chases Orion across the sky and, according to mythology, is Orion's greatest foe. This was such an amazing detail that Christine added on her own, and is just perfect! In the corner of Elder's image are rabbits, to symbolize the rabbit farms on the ship, which are featured not just in the books but are a key part of the novella, "As They Slip Away."In the edges of the large circle, the image is breaking and shattering. Here's Christine's reasoning, directly from her: "Elder's is breaking/shattering because to me, his biggest moment of change was when the explosion happened on the [Eldest level,] and he had to choose to close the doors off for the great good. He also 'breaks off' from the line of Eldest."And don't forget that in the background of both images are stars, which is the only level of symbolism I consciously added to the story. Stars, much like in Dante's Inferno, equal hope.And on a personal note, I love that Christine took so much care to show Elder's ethnicity, and that he's not white, with features influenced by South Asian and Native American physiology.
There's one more secret to these images, and it's this: these aren't the only things Christine made for me (and you)! I'm still working with my agent and publisher on this, but hopefully you'll see some brand new characters...soon!
Would you like your very own art cards featuring Christine's art? Well don't go away--I'll be doing a giveaway of more art cards very soon :)
And again, make sure to check out Christine's work here:
Website Twitter Tumblr Youtube (booktube) Youtube (family and travel)Blog
May 14, 2014
Amy & Elder, Mucha Style
I adore the artwork on Alphonse Mucha. This art nouveau painter is probably best known for his highly stylized portraits that feature strong lines, symbolic icons, and beautiful colors.
Amy and Elder's story takes place in the far future--which may make my desire to see them in a Mucha style a bit odd. But I love the juxtaposition of old and new, and the plethora of details that can be contained in one image.
To create portraits of Amy and Elder, I reached out online to the very talented Christine Tyler. She worked tirelessly to see the vision through to completion, and the results are, simply, breathtakingly beautiful. I am in utter awe of the art Christine made come to life, and cannot say enough how happy I am that these images exist in the world.
My favorite thing about Mucha's art is the attention to detail, and I knew that Christine wouldn't disappoint in that regard. Every little thing in these images has a deeply symbolic meaning. I'll be doing a post later about her art, and detailing all the brilliant symbols she included.
But first: as many of you know, I'm currently at the RT Booklovers Convention in New Orleans (click for my full schedule). To celebrate winning the RT 2014 YA Futuristic Book of the Year award for Shades of Earth, I've made art cards of Christine's portrait of Amy and Elder. I have a couple hundred with me--and to get one, all you have to do is find me at one of my panels or at my signing or at the Teen Day Party, and I will give you one!
And to whet your appetite so you can see just how awesome these are, here's what the art cards look like:
I'll be posting more about the art later, as well as sharing the lovely full versions of the prints, but for now, come snag me at RT to get your very own copy of Christine's lovely art! You can find out more about Christine online here:
Website: http://www.christinetyler.comTwitter: https://twitter.com/mrsctylerTumblr: http://christinetyler.tumblr.comYoutube (booktube): https://www.youtube.com/CTylerBooksYoutube (family and travel): https://www.youtube.com/ctylervisionBlog: http://www.christinetyler.net
Check back here after RT for fuller versions of Amy and Elder. And while I can't reveal everything I've been working on with Christine, I'll simply say that this is only half of the art she's done for me, and we still have two more very special prints to reveal in the (hopefully near) future!
Amy and Elder's story takes place in the far future--which may make my desire to see them in a Mucha style a bit odd. But I love the juxtaposition of old and new, and the plethora of details that can be contained in one image.
To create portraits of Amy and Elder, I reached out online to the very talented Christine Tyler. She worked tirelessly to see the vision through to completion, and the results are, simply, breathtakingly beautiful. I am in utter awe of the art Christine made come to life, and cannot say enough how happy I am that these images exist in the world.
My favorite thing about Mucha's art is the attention to detail, and I knew that Christine wouldn't disappoint in that regard. Every little thing in these images has a deeply symbolic meaning. I'll be doing a post later about her art, and detailing all the brilliant symbols she included.
But first: as many of you know, I'm currently at the RT Booklovers Convention in New Orleans (click for my full schedule). To celebrate winning the RT 2014 YA Futuristic Book of the Year award for Shades of Earth, I've made art cards of Christine's portrait of Amy and Elder. I have a couple hundred with me--and to get one, all you have to do is find me at one of my panels or at my signing or at the Teen Day Party, and I will give you one!
And to whet your appetite so you can see just how awesome these are, here's what the art cards look like:
I'll be posting more about the art later, as well as sharing the lovely full versions of the prints, but for now, come snag me at RT to get your very own copy of Christine's lovely art! You can find out more about Christine online here:
Website: http://www.christinetyler.comTwitter: https://twitter.com/mrsctylerTumblr: http://christinetyler.tumblr.comYoutube (booktube): https://www.youtube.com/CTylerBooksYoutube (family and travel): https://www.youtube.com/ctylervisionBlog: http://www.christinetyler.net
Check back here after RT for fuller versions of Amy and Elder. And while I can't reveal everything I've been working on with Christine, I'll simply say that this is only half of the art she's done for me, and we still have two more very special prints to reveal in the (hopefully near) future!
May 12, 2014
Out Now! Dead Man's Hand: A Weird West Anthology
Note: I'm not really here! I'm still offline, enjoying much-needed time with family. I'm scheduling this from the past. Which means I'm sort of like a time traveller...
I'm thrilled to be a part of Dead Man's Hand: An Anthology of the Weird West , edited by John Joseph Adams. I recently got my copy in the mail and saw so many old favorites in the table of contents...Charles de Lint, Kelley Armstrong, Seanan McGuire. And the anthology has some new authors whose works I simply cannot wait to get into!
My short story is called "The Man with No Heart," and I'm really happy with the way it turned out. Here's some fun facts!
The main character is named Ray Malcolm, a nod to Mal Reynolds from FireflyThe story visits the Grand Canyon, as well as Flagstaff, Arizona and Native American cliff-dwelling ruinsIt is heavily influenced by Hopi legendsThere's a steampunk element without truly being a steampunk story--let's just saw somethings are mechanical that shouldn't be mechanicalSpiders!Guns!A saloon girl and bad guy and a white hat!The story was fact-checked by my father, the world's leading expert in all things Wild WestI hope you check this anthology out! If you like Westerns, if you like science fiction, if you like Firefly and heros and twisty stories and battles and the Old West...
Check this title out!
I'm thrilled to be a part of Dead Man's Hand: An Anthology of the Weird West , edited by John Joseph Adams. I recently got my copy in the mail and saw so many old favorites in the table of contents...Charles de Lint, Kelley Armstrong, Seanan McGuire. And the anthology has some new authors whose works I simply cannot wait to get into!
My short story is called "The Man with No Heart," and I'm really happy with the way it turned out. Here's some fun facts!
The main character is named Ray Malcolm, a nod to Mal Reynolds from FireflyThe story visits the Grand Canyon, as well as Flagstaff, Arizona and Native American cliff-dwelling ruinsIt is heavily influenced by Hopi legendsThere's a steampunk element without truly being a steampunk story--let's just saw somethings are mechanical that shouldn't be mechanicalSpiders!Guns!A saloon girl and bad guy and a white hat!The story was fact-checked by my father, the world's leading expert in all things Wild WestI hope you check this anthology out! If you like Westerns, if you like science fiction, if you like Firefly and heros and twisty stories and battles and the Old West...
Check this title out!
April 25, 2014
Travel is the Greatest Inspiration
Relatedly, I'll be away on travel from now until mid-May. If you don't hear from me on email, Twitter, FB, Instagram, Tumblr, etc., know that I am soaking up as much inspiration from the world as I can in preparation for future books! Replying to you all will be even slower than normal as I go on a few trips over the next few weeks. Go! Explore!
Meanwhile:
Enter my contest to win FIVE SIGNED BOOKS here! Start reading my FREE Writing Advice book here! Sign up for my newsletter, which has a ton of insider information, links about science fiction, upcoming events, and more here! Follow me on Instagram, where I'll be posting travel pics! And coming soon... A new anthology with a new short story from me Some amazing art based on Across the Universe...
April 23, 2014
Your Favorite Reads: Share & Win!
I love books.
I don't think I'm in the minority here at all. You are my people. Books are awesome!
As an author, I'm sometimes given books to read for a blurb--a sort of recommendation for others to read. I can't blurb every book I get, even if I like it; I have to limit my blurbs to only a certain number per season, etc. So, of course, I have love a book in order to blurb it. It has to be the kind of book that I have absolutely no reservations thrusting into the hands of readers, the sort of book I can't stop raving about, the sort of book I wish I'd read when I was younger, that I want to re-read as soon as I finish.
When I find those kinds of books, I sort of flip out in my excitement.
And I tend to buy extra copies of them, so I have them on hand to give out to other people. Recently I was cleaning out my shelves, and realized that I had four extra copies of four awesome books I've blurb recently, and I thought--let's share the love! Not just of these amazing books, but of all books!
So--I'm going to tell you about these books and why I loved them, and I want you to pass it on: tell the world about your favorite books and why you loved them. Tweet it or post it on Facebook or writing a review or anything else--and you'll be entered to win signed copies of all these books, plus a signed copy of my book as well :)
Gilded by Christina Farley
My review:An amazing contemporary fantasy that explores the vast legends of Korea, this richly detailed novel kept me turning the pages well into the night. Jae Hwa starts off as a strong character and ends as a noble one, using both her brains and her brawn to win the day--she's exactly the kind of girl YA literature needs.
Fever by Lauren DeStefano
My review: Rhine's struggles and pain are real, and her story is both heartbreaking and hopeful.
I couldn't read this book fast enough.
Salvage by Alexa Duncan
My review:
Alexandra Duncan's debut illustrates a richly detailed world that vividly shows a possible future of Earth where society has both regressed and progressed, where the struggles of humanity have become more dire, but where love still remains. Everything--from the world to the characters--felt viscerally real.
Origin by Jessica Khoury
My review:
I loved Origin's action, romance, and mystery--
and I couldn't stop thinking about the questions it raised.
These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
My review:
Absolutely brilliant. This is the sci fi I've been waiting for!
Action, romance, twists and turns--this book has it all!
In addition to all these wonderful books, signed, one winner will also get
a signed poster for These Broken Stars,
a bunch of swag from other authors,
and a copy of Shades of Earth (signed of course)!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Contest Details:
Open to US addresses only--sorry, this is a heavy prize pack!Open to readers aged 18+ or who have permission from their legal guardian to enterPrize won't be shipped until the end of May--I'm on the road!
I don't think I'm in the minority here at all. You are my people. Books are awesome!
As an author, I'm sometimes given books to read for a blurb--a sort of recommendation for others to read. I can't blurb every book I get, even if I like it; I have to limit my blurbs to only a certain number per season, etc. So, of course, I have love a book in order to blurb it. It has to be the kind of book that I have absolutely no reservations thrusting into the hands of readers, the sort of book I can't stop raving about, the sort of book I wish I'd read when I was younger, that I want to re-read as soon as I finish.
When I find those kinds of books, I sort of flip out in my excitement.
And I tend to buy extra copies of them, so I have them on hand to give out to other people. Recently I was cleaning out my shelves, and realized that I had four extra copies of four awesome books I've blurb recently, and I thought--let's share the love! Not just of these amazing books, but of all books!
So--I'm going to tell you about these books and why I loved them, and I want you to pass it on: tell the world about your favorite books and why you loved them. Tweet it or post it on Facebook or writing a review or anything else--and you'll be entered to win signed copies of all these books, plus a signed copy of my book as well :)
Gilded by Christina Farley
My review:An amazing contemporary fantasy that explores the vast legends of Korea, this richly detailed novel kept me turning the pages well into the night. Jae Hwa starts off as a strong character and ends as a noble one, using both her brains and her brawn to win the day--she's exactly the kind of girl YA literature needs.
Fever by Lauren DeStefano
My review: Rhine's struggles and pain are real, and her story is both heartbreaking and hopeful.
I couldn't read this book fast enough.
Salvage by Alexa Duncan
My review:
Alexandra Duncan's debut illustrates a richly detailed world that vividly shows a possible future of Earth where society has both regressed and progressed, where the struggles of humanity have become more dire, but where love still remains. Everything--from the world to the characters--felt viscerally real.
Origin by Jessica Khoury
My review:
I loved Origin's action, romance, and mystery--
and I couldn't stop thinking about the questions it raised.
These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
My review:
Absolutely brilliant. This is the sci fi I've been waiting for!
Action, romance, twists and turns--this book has it all!
In addition to all these wonderful books, signed, one winner will also get
a signed poster for These Broken Stars,
a bunch of swag from other authors,
and a copy of Shades of Earth (signed of course)!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Contest Details:
Open to US addresses only--sorry, this is a heavy prize pack!Open to readers aged 18+ or who have permission from their legal guardian to enterPrize won't be shipped until the end of May--I'm on the road!
April 22, 2014
After the End Blog Tour with Amy Plum
I absolutely adore Amy Plum. She's one of the nicest, most considerate people I know, and I wished she lived next door to me so we could chat over tea every day. Scratch that, I wish I lived next door to her because she lives in France!
To celebrate her upcoming book, After the End, Amy's doing a bit of truth or dare. And of course chose to make her go on a dare. Anyone who lives in France has access to some...fun...things to do...
Welcome to the AFTER THE END blog tour!
Amy's Truth or Dare
This is one of Amy's special author-hosted Truth or Dare stops. (The truth-or-dare theme is particularly relevant to AFTER THE END, since Juneau's oracle has said she has to tell the truth or she won't find her clan.)
I opted for "dare," giving Amy the mission to kiss an author's grave in Paris's Pere Lachaise cemetery! And here she is, thwarted in her efforts to kiss Oscar Wilde's grave by a big glass case put around it SPECIFICALLY to thwart grave-kissers.
Mission accomplished!
And now, on to the juicy info about AFTER THE END + prizes!
About the Book
By: Amy Plum, Published by: Harper Teen, hitting shelves on May 6, 2014
Pre-Order from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound
Find out more about the book
World War III has left the world ravaged by nuclear radiation. A lucky few escaped to the Alaskan wilderness.They′e survived for the last thirty years by living off the land, being one with nature, and hiding from whoever else might still be out there.At least, this is what Juneau has been told her entire life.When Juneau returns from a hunting trip to discover that everyone in her clan has vanished, she sets off to find them. Leaving the boundaries of their land for the very first time, she learns something horrifying: There never was a war. Cities were never destroyed. The world is intact.Everything was a lie.
Now Juneau is adrift in a modern-day world she never knew existed. But while she′s trying to find a way to rescue her friends and family, someone else is looking for her. Someone who knows the extraordinary truth about the secrets of her past.
About Amy Plum
Amy Plum is the author of DIE FOR ME, a YA series set in Paris. The first three books—DIE FOR ME, UNTIL I DIE, and IF I SHOULD DIE—are international bestsellers, and have been translated into eleven different languages. The fourth book is an eNovella, entitled DIE FOR HER. The first book of Amy’s new series, AFTER THE END, releases in May 2014.Amy grew up in Birmingham, Alabama before venturing further afield to Chicago, Paris, London and New York. An art historian by training, she can be found on most days either daydreaming or writing (or both) in a Parisian café.Visit her on: Blog | Twitter | Facebook | GoodReads
The Giveaway
Each stop on the tour will be hosting a giveaway! We're giving away:
- 13 SIGNED After The End books
- 6 iPhone After the End shells.
*This is open Internationally*
To enter, please be sure to fill out the form featured on each stop along the tour.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
The first 300 people who pre-order AFTER THE END and show proof of their pre-order will receive one of these limited edition After The End water bottles. *see below*
Please be sure to send your mailing address and receipt to katieloumercier@gmail.com. 
To celebrate her upcoming book, After the End, Amy's doing a bit of truth or dare. And of course chose to make her go on a dare. Anyone who lives in France has access to some...fun...things to do...
Welcome to the AFTER THE END blog tour!
Amy's Truth or Dare
This is one of Amy's special author-hosted Truth or Dare stops. (The truth-or-dare theme is particularly relevant to AFTER THE END, since Juneau's oracle has said she has to tell the truth or she won't find her clan.)
I opted for "dare," giving Amy the mission to kiss an author's grave in Paris's Pere Lachaise cemetery! And here she is, thwarted in her efforts to kiss Oscar Wilde's grave by a big glass case put around it SPECIFICALLY to thwart grave-kissers.
Mission accomplished!And now, on to the juicy info about AFTER THE END + prizes!
About the Book
By: Amy Plum, Published by: Harper Teen, hitting shelves on May 6, 2014
Pre-Order from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound
Find out more about the book
World War III has left the world ravaged by nuclear radiation. A lucky few escaped to the Alaskan wilderness.They′e survived for the last thirty years by living off the land, being one with nature, and hiding from whoever else might still be out there.At least, this is what Juneau has been told her entire life.When Juneau returns from a hunting trip to discover that everyone in her clan has vanished, she sets off to find them. Leaving the boundaries of their land for the very first time, she learns something horrifying: There never was a war. Cities were never destroyed. The world is intact.Everything was a lie.
Now Juneau is adrift in a modern-day world she never knew existed. But while she′s trying to find a way to rescue her friends and family, someone else is looking for her. Someone who knows the extraordinary truth about the secrets of her past.
About Amy Plum
Amy Plum is the author of DIE FOR ME, a YA series set in Paris. The first three books—DIE FOR ME, UNTIL I DIE, and IF I SHOULD DIE—are international bestsellers, and have been translated into eleven different languages. The fourth book is an eNovella, entitled DIE FOR HER. The first book of Amy’s new series, AFTER THE END, releases in May 2014.Amy grew up in Birmingham, Alabama before venturing further afield to Chicago, Paris, London and New York. An art historian by training, she can be found on most days either daydreaming or writing (or both) in a Parisian café.Visit her on: Blog | Twitter | Facebook | GoodReadsThe Giveaway
Each stop on the tour will be hosting a giveaway! We're giving away:
- 13 SIGNED After The End books
- 6 iPhone After the End shells.
*This is open Internationally*
To enter, please be sure to fill out the form featured on each stop along the tour.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
The first 300 people who pre-order AFTER THE END and show proof of their pre-order will receive one of these limited edition After The End water bottles. *see below*
Please be sure to send your mailing address and receipt to katieloumercier@gmail.com.
