A.C. Gaughen's Blog, page 13

ARCs!

For those of you not familiar with publishing lingo, no, me and a guy named Noah are not hooking up and counting off animals two by two (God, I'm so Catholic...).  Besides, that's ARK (God, I'm such an English nerd...).  ARC is Advanced Reader Copies.  And MINE ARE HERE!!  (God, I'm---YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

AND HERE IT IS:

No, wait, that's Henry laying on the stairs as he is wont to do (despite it looking massively uncomfortable) and Lucy staring at him and whining because her little princess paws can't make it around him. 

AND HERE IT IS:

Disclaimer: I am ever so marginally cuter in real life.  In this picture I JUST woke up with the express purpose of tearing open the package.  Well mostly.  It was thrown at me while I slept and I hugged it for about fifteen minutes, then woke up and tore open the package.  And the picture's taken from my cell phone.  And usually I wear contacts. 

Hey good lookin'.  What would you say to coming home with me? 

...is it nerdy to use pick up lines on a book? 

Whatever, I'm excited.  And I do enjoy picking this book up!! 

I totally had this manic giggle fit for like twenty minutes as I saw MY words inside those covers, MY dedication (my mom burst out sobbing when she saw I dedicated it to her) MY acknowledgments...this is a real book, guys! 

WAIT--does this mean I'M REALLY GETTING PUBLISHED?!! FOR SERIOUS!??!

"Told you she'd get published."

"WE'RE GETTING TREATS!"

QR Coolness

I thought I had it all figured out.  I thought I was soooo cool.  I did not know about QR CODES! 

Well I kind of did.  As a Blackberry user for a while, I think the "scan barcode" feature was either where QR codes started or what made them popular, so I was aware of them for that.  And I've seen them popping up everywhere, but was never quite sure what to do with them.  Scan them?  With what?  Do I need an iPhone for that? 

Nope. 

AND they are like the coolest thing ever because I can put them on business cards, stickers, anything and it becomes this really cool interactive tool that potentially leads you to find out much more about me.  Or my book, as the case may be. 

For example, you will soon see this cropping up on probably all of my promotional products for SCARLET:

Go ahead.  Try scanning it!  See what happens! 

If you want to make your own codes, I used QRSTUFF.  AWESOME! 

Robin Hood Festival!

I think this is super cool, and I'm hoping to go there next year...we'll see! 

Oregon's Robin Hood Festival

Which actually also brought me to the Seattle Knights--um, how cool?  *I* want to be in a traveling knight troupe!  Or maybe just be a wench or something...

Love that Robin Hood is alive and well for other people out there, too! 

GIRL HEROES: ALANNA

continuing on in the GIRL HEROES series, next up is Alanna, aka The Lioness, aka The Lady Knight, aka lady awesome. 

This character--and, by proxy, the legendary Tamora Pierce--totally inspired my writing.  I first picked up Alanna when I was probably 9 or so, and it just sung for me.  It was the first time I saw a character that I could both relate to and aspire to, and I legitimately felt this really awful disconnect with the real world for years after that.  It was the whole early-teen "I don't fit in anywhere" malaise, but I was so convinced I wasn't meant for this time period.  I was meant to be fighting like a knight with Alanna. 

ANYWAY. 

As such a figure in my life, Alanna has earned her stripes in the pantheon of girl heroes.  Why? 

Alanna, with the help of her twin brother, dresses up like a boy to join an elite school for knights.  All she wants--all she EVER wanted--is to be a knight. And she's not letting anything get in the way of that.  She's stubborn and she won't ever give up, and she's willing to sacrifice everything, be totally alone in her secret, to achieve that.  She never ran away; she runs toward something. 
She's actually kind of sexual.  Over the course of four books, I think she dates four or five guys.  And they're totally different and they speak to the different sides of her personality, and as she figures out herself, she figures out who she wants to be with--and it's so not the person you'd expect. 
Um, did I mention that she rocks the weaponry?  And instead of just being "naturally gifted" or having these skills come to her easily, she works insanely hard to learn and master them.  How awesome is that? 
She's a magic user, but she's never been sure about her magic, and again, she has to work for it.  Her brother loves magic senselessly (and often foolishly) but she sees the danger in it. 

Alanna's amazing because even at a very young age, she's complex and realistic.  Even when she's alone she's tough and loveable.  Nothing comes easy for her and it's her tenacity that makes you want to be like her. 

This is a girl that more young women need as a hero. 

News and Pretty Pictures

OMG, so much going on lately! 

So a lot of my fellow 2012 debut authors have GORGEOUS covers coming out, so I wanted to pimp some of the latest ones:

How cool is that?  You can find out more about the book/cover/Cat over here.

Gorgeous #2 ( I love all these blue covers!):

And here is more about her book on Presenting Lenore, a blog that graciously hosted her cover reveal.

This cover actually gives me chills, and I want to hang it in my room like a 14 year old girl and write Robert Frost poetry all over it:

Which is good, because MEGAN MIRANDA is a fellow Walker Baby, like me and Scarlet!!  ::WALKERLOVE::

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[image error] And in other news, the so-hilarious Hilary Graham has a new website (there are parables about buttcracks), I can't get this cover to load on my page for some reason, but it's GORGEOUS and I'm dying a little bit of jealousy because my all time ultimate fan girl dream author blurbed it (TAMORA PIERCE!!!!! SWOON!!!). 

 

sigh.  off to take a chill pill.  and by chill pill i mean working overnights. 

The Harry Potter Inheritance

First, some quick updates: SCARLET is available on Amazon!  Isn't that crazy?  I think it's pretty nuts. 

Well, tonight I'm pretty bummed that I'm working instead of reveling in a midnight showing of the Harry Potter movie, but I've had some pretty serious Harry Potter geek time earlier this week. 

On my two days off, I flew down to Orlando to check out the Lit Day that was part of Leaky Con 2011.  This was a pretty awesome event in it's inaugural year; headed up by Maureen Johnson (of awesomeness fame) authors Stephanie Perkins (Anna and the French Kiss), Libba Bray, John Green, David Levithan, Ally Carter, Scott Westerfeld and a whole bunch of others (including rock star agents and editors) comprised the faculty.  Can you call it faculty for a convention?  Sure, why not. 

The hands down coolest thing about this was the excitement.  Yes, I'm aware that Harry Potter is in fact a book that has spawned die hard fans and scream-worthy moments, but let's face it--on a daily basis, I don't really see people screaming about literature.  Maybe its because I don't get to interact with a young audience all that often, but the cynic in me is eager to attribute it to the fact that while I'm geeky and excited about books, I don't think I'd faint at the sight of an author. 

Partially, you know, because they tend to look different from their pictures and I don't want to faint over a random in the street. 

Waiting in line for a registration badge (a circle of hell I won't get into here), John Green walked past.  I heard the screams from far away and looked for like Daniel Radcliffe or something, but there he was.  A young adult author getting fully screamed over.  And teens were literally shaking as he walked by.  He got tackle-hugged. 

And in the actual event, these authors--and virtually any mention of any other young adult author--were met with wild cheers.  Kids tried to run up to the authors during their presentations.  They were mobbed before and afterward. During a presentation called "YA Saved My Sanity" (or something to that effect), one girl with bright pink hair stood up and just thanked John Green and David Levithan in particular for writing LGBT characters into their literature, saying that other books had gay characters, but their books had gay characters she could *be*.  She kind of fumbled after that, and worried that no one knew what she meant, but the cool thing was that I'm pretty sure EVERYONE knew what she meant. 

This was a crowd unlike any other.  These weren't just kids who liked books, these were outrageous geeks that LOVED books (note: geek is not derogatory; I was sitting there too!).  These were kids and adults that felt the tangible, specific ways that literature made a huge difference in their lives.  From accepting them when no one else did to letting them work through issues, problems and heartache, literature meant something. 

It seemed to me at first that this lit day was something separate from the experience of Leaky Con (which, hey, I'm a geek, but I can't quite handle a con).  An afterthought, a side note, a bonus on the edges of the Harry Potter insanity. 

Nope.  That crowd LOVED books, and in a lot of ways, Harry Potter was the series that gave the world permission to get a little crazy over books again.  It paved the way for Twilight Madness, for Hunger Games obsession, for teams and fanfic and a thousand outlets for fans to show their love. 

For reading.

And I have to say, what a cool literary world to be inheriting.  What a cool time to be published.  What an honor it is to join this world with the hope that I will belong to these fans as much as one day, hopefully, they'll belong to me. 

and now let me just see that Harry Potter movie, ok!??! 

MORE News!

First of all, thank you so much to all the people who helped make releasing Scarlet's cover (what--you haven't SEEN it yet?  Check it out over on Scarlet's facebook page! and maybe "like" it while you're there...) such an incredibly special and exciting day for me.  I'm so thrilled with this gorgeous girl's face and I can't wait to start getting it out there for the world to see. 

 

Which apparently won't be as far off as I thought.  Because it's official: SCARLET HAS A RELEASE DATE! 

Yes that IS as crazy exciting as you think it is. 

Yes I AM kind of freaking out about it. 

Especially because this doesn't just mean that there's a release date...it means it's available for PREORDER. 

There are a few other words that also begin with "P", right up there with PREORDER. 

Like PANIC.

PHENOMENAL.

PUKING.

Also PERSNICKETY.  But that doesn't seem to fit the theme of "reactions I'm having to the fact that people can buy my book". 

So far only Barnes and Noble has the listing for it, but all the info is automatically populating on GOODREADS, so check back; there might be more retailers listed soon. 

 

Who knows? Certainly not me--the author tends to be the last to know! 

 

Which brings me to my next trick....

When's the release date?

 

VALENTINES DAY, 2012!

 

Come on, people--do you HEART Scarlet? 

The Moment I've Been Waiting For!

Check out the video below to see the premiere of SCARLET's gorgeous face! 

I really couldn't be happier with the way the cover turned out.  The team at Bloomsbury/Walker did an absolutely incredible job; she looks tough and hot and I love that knife!  Do you love her as much as I do? 

Nightstands and Girls Lighting Fires

So, first off, I'm over at the Nightstand for my first post on that blog–I'll be there pretty regularly posting twice a month for the foreseeable future, so, you know, check it!

Second, these are the top searches that bring people to my site recently:

the final word yeah i guess that makes sense.

gaughen happiness are there other gaughens out there looking for happiness?  Let's unite like the human race after a zombie apocalypse!

walker books for young readers twitter I'm actually not sure if they're on twitter but they are on Facebook.

girls lighting fires ha!  awesome.

Geekin' Out

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Sacre Bleur! Meg Cabot!

I'm sorry, is that Meg Cabot?

Why yes.  Yes it is.  Is that me in all my super geeky pride?

Yes, you would be correct sir/madam.  I even got my carried-with-me-from-Britain copy of QUEEN OF BABBLE signed–probably my favorite book of hers, except maybe the Heather Wells series.  Or Abandon, her new book (which, bummerly, I had in ebook format).

This was taken at the This is Teen event in Wellesley, hosted by Wellesley Booksmith, to which I say, YAY INDEPENDENTS!  Way to host awesome events!

So meeting Meg Cabot is definitely a check on the top five most read authors column.  I was even babbling and shaking a little as I met her, and she was totally chill about it.  AWESOME.

But the awesome didn't end there.  No!  How I didn't end up in the hospital with a bloodstream full of awesome I will never know, because i also met LIBBA BRAY.

Printz winning, queen of awesome LIBBA. BRAY.

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The grin has gotten bigger.

And look how PRETTY!

Though I've read most of Libba's work, I've weirdly not read much about her personal life, and This Is Teen was playing a video where she talks about this car crash she was in, and it was absolutely devastating.  But at the same time, it made me think she's probably such and amazing writer because she's had some really hard times.

And that kind of insight into an author–not the book, not the work, but the author themselves–is exactly what these events are for, in my opinion.  Book sales, sure, but really its believing in the person behind the pages more than anything else.

And actually, the runaway surprise of the night was Maggie Stiefvater.  I've heard of shiver, linger, and forever–who hasn't?–but paranormal wariness has kept me from reading them.  if she writes anything like she talks, they must be incredible.  she was so funny and so engaging and just so personable that i wanted to be new best friends with her.  also, i found out that her books are printed in inks that match the covers, which is just. too. cool.

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Le Auteurs Extraordinaire, Gina Rosati and ME!

Finally, me and Gina Rosati, author of the forthcoming 2012 debut AURACLE, cornered the three authors for a group shot: me. meg, maggie, libba, and gina, L-R.

The crazy part?  This time next year, all of us will have a book on a shelf.

xx