Rainbow Rowell's Blog, page 9

Why aren’t we talking about narwhals?

I waited until my husband and I were alone to ask him. (In the car. On the way home from Target.)

“I need to ask you something,” I said, “and I need you to not make me feel stupid about it.”

“Okay . . .” he said.

“Okay . . .”

“Okay?”

I cleared my throat. “You know, um, narwhals?”

“Yeah.”

“They’re not . . . real, are they?

As I said it, I realized that this was exactly how our oldest son framed his first question about Santa Claus. (“You know, um, Santa Claus? He’s not real, is he?”)

My husband turned...

MERRY OCTOBER!

So, in the middle ofAttachments, Beth goes on a little rant about how much she loves October . . .

“October, at last!Callooh! Callay!”

This is probably the most self-indulgent thing I’ve ever managed to get into a book. (Though Beth and Jennifer gave me plenty of opportunities to get on my soapbox . . . Bridesmaid dresses! Superman! Rum and Diet Coke!)

Beth’s love of October is 100 percent my love of October — I totally used her to get all flaky and rhapsodic about fall, even though it did nothi...

What is up with my next two books?

I have two books coming out next year!

That exclamation point is for me; I still can’t believe that this is happening. I will have three books. Actual printed things with covers. Enough for a shelf.

DETAILS:

The first book is called Eleanor & Park, and it comes out in the U.S. in March. (It’s already out in the UK, New Zealand and Australia.)

The second is called Fangirl, and it comes out next fall.

MORE DETAILS:

Eleanor & Park will be released by St. Martin’s Press on March 5, 2013. It is lovely:

Y...

“Eleanor & Park” & me & the cover design process.

I. BEHOLD:

This is the U.S. cover for Eleanor & Park, my second book, which comes out March 5, 2013. It was designed/art-directed byOlga Grlic at St. Martin’s Press and illustrated by Harriet Russell.

Isn’t it just just?

II. SOME BACKSTORY:

Have we met in real life? No?

Well, if it had happened some time in the last six months, it would have gone like this:

You:“Hi, Rainbow, how are you?”

Me: “. . .”

You: “AHEM.”

Me: “What? Oh. Sorry. Don’t mind me. I’m just obsessing about the book cover for Eleanor...

U.S. cover and release date for “Eleanor & Park.”

So, here’s something I’m pretty excited about:

Not only doesEleanor & Park have an awesome new cover, it also has a U.S. release date!

March 5, 2013.

You can pre-order it from Amazon. Or from Barnes & Noble. Or you could harass your local bookseller or librarian. (IT IS NEVER TOO EARLY TO START HARASSING A LIBRARIAN.)

Eleanor & Park is already out in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. So, if you really, really want it, you don’t have to wait ’til March. Here’s the UK edition:

I’ve had good luck or...

I sold a book! There was cake!

I made Kai order me this cake.

Well … Sort of.

“I sold my book,” I said. “We need to celebrate.”

“Okay.”

“No, I’m serious. We need to celebrate so it’ll seem real. So ten years from now, I’ll be able to remember that THIS was the day I sold Fangirl.”

“Okay. Do you want a cake?”

“No. I mean — yes, of course, I want a cake. When don’t I want a cake? But that’s not what I mean.”

“I’ll get a cake.”

He did get a cake. This one. Which is a replica of my college graduation cake — which would have made a gre...

How ‘The Borrowers’ made me boy crazy.

This is what I remembered about The Borrowers when I started reading it to my sons last year:

Arrietty. Pod. Homily. Cigar-box beds. Bottle-cap pots and pans. The illustrations. The grate. The idea that real Borrowers might be skritching and scratching inside the walls of our farmhouse . . .

And The Boy.

Arrietty, our heroine, meets The Boy at the beginning of the series, and that’s what causes all of the Borrowers’ problems. (Problems that go on for five books.)

When I was in the first grade, Ar...

How 'The Borrowers' made me boy crazy.

This is what I remembered about The Borrowers when I started reading it to my sons last year:

Arrietty. Pod. Homily. Cigar-box beds. Bottle-cap pots and pans. The illustrations. The grate. The idea that real Borrowers might be skritching and scratching inside the walls of our farmhouse . . .

And The Boy.

Arrietty, our heroine, meets The Boy at the beginning of the series, and that's what causes all of the Borrowers' problems. (Problems that go on for five books.)

When I was in the first grade...

Things that make me say, “GAH.”

There are some authors whose styles coincide with my tastes so completelythat I feel like they’re writing just for me.

I feel like these writers must have access to some list — Things that Really Get to Rainbow. Or –How to Push Every Button in Rainbow’s Brain.

One of these writers, for me, is Joy DeLyria. I met Joy online, and she is a genius writer andalso probably a genius. (She has this book coming out, Down in the Hole, which imagines The Wireas a Victorian serial novel — and then provides...

Things that make me say, "GAH."

There are some authors whose styles coincide with my tastes so completely that I feel like they're writing just for me.

I feel like these writers must have access to some list —  Things that Really Get to Rainbow. Or – How to Push Every Button in Rainbow's Brain.

One of these writers, for me, is Joy DeLyria. I met Joy online, and she is a genius writer and also probably a genius. (She has this book coming out, Down in the Hole, which imagines The Wire as a Victorian serial novel —  and then...