Jay Asher's Blog, page 17
September 12, 2013
Fall 2013 Children's Books
Browsing through the Fall 2013 Children’s Books issue of Publishers Weekly, and based solely on the brief descriptions provided, these are the soon-to-be released (or recently released) middle-grade and teen novels that most grabbed my attention:
Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer by Katie Alender. During a school trip to Paris, Colette realizes that the ghost of the historic queen is killing descendants of those responsible for her beheading.
Searching for Sarah Rector: The Richest Black Girl in America by Tonya Bolden tells the rags-to-riches tale of an African-American girl in the early 20th century whose government-bequeathed land held millions of dollars’ worth of oil.
Followers by Anna Davies. Someone has hacked Briana’s Twitter account and is live-tweeting murders on campus.
The Living by Matt de la Peña. Shy’s summer cruise-ship job turns into a fight for survival when a massive earthquake hits Southern California.
Dare Me by Eric Devine. Ben and his friends try to make a name for themselves by taking on a series of dangerous dares they film and post online.
If You Could Be Mine by Sara Farizan is a debut novel about forbidden love between two young women in Iran.
Fake ID by Lamar Giles. In this debut thriller, a teen in the witness protection program tries to maintain his cover while investigating his friend’s mysterious murder.
Jack Strong Takes a Stand by Tommy Greenwald, illus. by Mendes Melissa. Fed up with being overscheduled, Jack stages a sit-in on the family couch.
Hideous Love: The Story of the Girl Who Wrote Frankensteinby Stephanie Hemphill recounts the story of Gothic novelist Mary Shelley, who as a teen girl fled her restrictive home for her boyfriend, poet Percy Shelley.
Reality Boy by A.S. King. Gerald, part of a TV reality show when he was five, struggles to break free of his anger as a teenager.
Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan. Based on true events, this story stars two 17-year-olds about to take part in a 32-hour kissing marathon to set a new Guinness World Record.
The Nine Lives of Alexander Baddenfield by John Bemelmans Marciano, illus. by Sophie Blackall. Wicked Alexander finds a way to transplant the nine lives from his cat into himself.
3:59 by Gretchen McNeil is a sci-fi horror story about two girls who are doppelgangers and see their worlds overlap every 12 hours.
Being Sloane Jacobs by Lauren Morrill. Two very different girls with the same name meet by chance and trade places for the summer.
Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Page. Oz has turned into a savage dystopia under Dorothy’s rule—and \now a new girl from Kansas must take her down.
Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick. Leonard says goodbye to those closest to him on the day he hides a gun in his backpack and plans to kill his former best friend and himself.
Tag Along by Tom Ryan. Four teens forge friendships on prom night as they help one another through disappointment, near-arrest, parental interference, and panic attacks.
Who I’m Not by Ted Staunton. A kid in trouble with the law assumes the identity of a boy who vanished three years earlier.
Fallout by Todd Strasser. In 1962, neighbors take refuge in the only bomb shelter around—the one that Scott’s dad was ridiculed for building.
My Totally Awkward Supernatural Crush by Laura Toffler-Corrie. In this spoof of the paranormal genre, a dorky girl meets her true love, an angel, at an Outback Steakhouse.
The Rule of Three by Eric Walters. What happens when the entire world goes dark?
The Fantastic Family Whipple by Matthew Ward. Eleven-year-old Arthur is the only one of 13 kids in the family who hasn’t broken a world record.
Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer by Katie Alender. During a school trip to Paris, Colette realizes that the ghost of the historic queen is killing descendants of those responsible for her beheading.
Searching for Sarah Rector: The Richest Black Girl in America by Tonya Bolden tells the rags-to-riches tale of an African-American girl in the early 20th century whose government-bequeathed land held millions of dollars’ worth of oil.
Followers by Anna Davies. Someone has hacked Briana’s Twitter account and is live-tweeting murders on campus.
The Living by Matt de la Peña. Shy’s summer cruise-ship job turns into a fight for survival when a massive earthquake hits Southern California.
Dare Me by Eric Devine. Ben and his friends try to make a name for themselves by taking on a series of dangerous dares they film and post online.
If You Could Be Mine by Sara Farizan is a debut novel about forbidden love between two young women in Iran.
Fake ID by Lamar Giles. In this debut thriller, a teen in the witness protection program tries to maintain his cover while investigating his friend’s mysterious murder.
Jack Strong Takes a Stand by Tommy Greenwald, illus. by Mendes Melissa. Fed up with being overscheduled, Jack stages a sit-in on the family couch.
Hideous Love: The Story of the Girl Who Wrote Frankensteinby Stephanie Hemphill recounts the story of Gothic novelist Mary Shelley, who as a teen girl fled her restrictive home for her boyfriend, poet Percy Shelley.
Reality Boy by A.S. King. Gerald, part of a TV reality show when he was five, struggles to break free of his anger as a teenager.
Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan. Based on true events, this story stars two 17-year-olds about to take part in a 32-hour kissing marathon to set a new Guinness World Record.
The Nine Lives of Alexander Baddenfield by John Bemelmans Marciano, illus. by Sophie Blackall. Wicked Alexander finds a way to transplant the nine lives from his cat into himself.
3:59 by Gretchen McNeil is a sci-fi horror story about two girls who are doppelgangers and see their worlds overlap every 12 hours.
Being Sloane Jacobs by Lauren Morrill. Two very different girls with the same name meet by chance and trade places for the summer.
Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Page. Oz has turned into a savage dystopia under Dorothy’s rule—and \now a new girl from Kansas must take her down.
Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick. Leonard says goodbye to those closest to him on the day he hides a gun in his backpack and plans to kill his former best friend and himself.
Tag Along by Tom Ryan. Four teens forge friendships on prom night as they help one another through disappointment, near-arrest, parental interference, and panic attacks.
Who I’m Not by Ted Staunton. A kid in trouble with the law assumes the identity of a boy who vanished three years earlier.
Fallout by Todd Strasser. In 1962, neighbors take refuge in the only bomb shelter around—the one that Scott’s dad was ridiculed for building.
My Totally Awkward Supernatural Crush by Laura Toffler-Corrie. In this spoof of the paranormal genre, a dorky girl meets her true love, an angel, at an Outback Steakhouse.
The Rule of Three by Eric Walters. What happens when the entire world goes dark?
The Fantastic Family Whipple by Matthew Ward. Eleven-year-old Arthur is the only one of 13 kids in the family who hasn’t broken a world record.
September 6, 2013
GETT1NG INK3D
I've seen tattoos inspired by Thirteen Reasons Why before, whether it's a series of symbols to remind the wearer of certain ideas in the book, or a passage written on the back of a leg. Below are two different designs based around the first line of a poem in the book. I've seen the second design used on various art projects, but this is the first time I've seen it inked on skin. I wonder if this person knows where the line originated. If not, I at least hope he/she would like the book!
August 30, 2013
Books Tour
This week, I had visitors from Germany! The woman who works at my German publisher, maintaining my Facebook pages over there, stopped by. She and her boyfriend are on a cross-country tour, and it brought them through my town. I took them to a few tourist spots, but we also stopped at places that inspired settings in
Thirteen Reasons Why
and
The Future of Us
. Vipsana took photos at each stop to post online for my German readers.
Here we are in the garden at Linnaea's Café, the inspiration for Monet's Café in 13RW.
Inside the café, she took photos of the "scribble books" used by customers, though we had to delete some pics when we realized the pages had swear words galore! (They were English swear words, but I think Hollywood has made them understandable around the world.)
We then visited the movie theater and library that made their way into Thirteen Reasons Why, and the donut shop and city park from The Future of Us. When we pulled up to the park, Vipsana got excited because she said it was exactly as she'd pictured. The fictional world came to life!
My next book may feature a scene at Bubblegum Alley, so we had to stop there. The alley runs between two stores and is covered on both sides by...what else?
One of these bubblegum blobs was donated by Vipsana. But I promise, when I was in Germany last year, I threw all of my gum in the trash where it belongs!
I had a wonderful time meeting another person from my German publishing house. Any of you other foreign publishers who want to send representatives my way, I'd love to meet them. Or if anyone from my U.S. publisher ever makes it to the west coast, stop on by!
Here we are in the garden at Linnaea's Café, the inspiration for Monet's Café in 13RW.
Inside the café, she took photos of the "scribble books" used by customers, though we had to delete some pics when we realized the pages had swear words galore! (They were English swear words, but I think Hollywood has made them understandable around the world.)
We then visited the movie theater and library that made their way into Thirteen Reasons Why, and the donut shop and city park from The Future of Us. When we pulled up to the park, Vipsana got excited because she said it was exactly as she'd pictured. The fictional world came to life!
My next book may feature a scene at Bubblegum Alley, so we had to stop there. The alley runs between two stores and is covered on both sides by...what else?
One of these bubblegum blobs was donated by Vipsana. But I promise, when I was in Germany last year, I threw all of my gum in the trash where it belongs!
I had a wonderful time meeting another person from my German publishing house. Any of you other foreign publishers who want to send representatives my way, I'd love to meet them. Or if anyone from my U.S. publisher ever makes it to the west coast, stop on by!
August 10, 2013
SCBWI 2013
The Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators has been a huge part of my career and kept me inspired the many years before I finally sold a book. I've attended their L.A. conference every year since 2000, and this year was an exceptionally great one. I met writers I've wanted to meet for a long time, caught up with friends I see far too seldom, and made contacts that could help projects I'm currently working on. Here's Lin Oliver welcoming the 1,200+ attendees in the ballroom.
Carolyn Mackler and I haven't seen each other in person since The Future of Us book tour in January 2011. So it was great to hang out (and brainstorm!) in person again. We also had a lot of fun running a workshop on co-authoring a novel. You can read about that talk here.
At an SCBWI conference, authors and illustrators are everywhere! If you read other blogs from people who attended this conference, you'll notice a lot of pictures are taken near the bar. That's (mostly) because the bar is the center of the lobby. It's not (entirely) because that's where creative people hang out. Here I am, standing before the bar, with Ellen Hopkins and Veronica Rossi.
I love that SCBWI hosts an evening for published attendees who aren't part of the faculty where they can display, sell, and autograph their books. That's where I picked up three books to take home (signed!) to Isaiah. I bought The Gingerbread Man Loose On the Fire Truck, by Laura Murray...
Open This Little Book, by Jesse Klausmeier (I already had a copy at home, but it's a fave of Izzy's so I had no problem buying another copy)...
and Robots, Robots Everywhere! by Sue Fleiss.
If you've been following my blog for a while, you know that I dress up every year for the conference's Saturday evening theme party. And I usually go all out! As a normally shy person, this is my excuse to break free. ("It wasn't me, it was the costume!") This year, the theme was The Black and White Ball. After coming up with an idea for a costume, I contacted several friends to see if they'd dress up with me. Most said, "Hell no!" Others came up with excuses that sounded to my ears like "I'm too chicken!" But Jessica Freeburg, the Assistant Regional Advisor in Minnesota (and ghost hunter!) bought the costume even as everyone else was saying no.
The day before the theme party, we anonymously emerged in costume and walked through the bookstore. We didn't speak. Communication was done through hand signals, head and shoulder gestures, and dancing. (This post is the first time we're outing ourselves as Checkers!)
Here we are trying our hardest to silently answer Paul O. Zelinsky's questions about the schedule.
Lin Oliver invited us to the stage to encourage people to attend the Black and White Ball, which we attempted to do without speaking.
We also did a "performance art" piece during lunch one day, trying to feed ourselves while mouthless. I saw several people taking pics, and now that you know who we are, I'd love to see them!
Later in the ballroom, Carolyn Mackler gave her keynote presentation. Her husband and sons flew out from NYC with her, and I sat with them as she rocked the ballroom. Literally! As part of her speech, she played a love song recorded in the 90s by a Canadian rock band whose singer fell in love with her. And it was a good song!
That night was the Black and White Ball. And what children's book conference with that theme would be complete without Penguins?
Here I am with Max (a.k.a. Jim Averbeck), who wore a nametag declaring the final two words from Where the Wild Things Are: "Still Hot!!!"
Why am I not in costume? Because throughout the conference people asked me what I was going to wear, and since I wanted Checkers to be anonymous, I told them I'd be there at the beginning but then had to leave for a meeting. It was a lot of fun to hear people say they were disappointed I wasn't dressing up, and then the next day tell me I should've seen these two freaks who dressed in checkered bodysuits. "You couldn't even see their faces!"
Last year, I didn't know there had been an afterparty on the lower floor of the hotel. But this year, I knew about it! And I was going! I knew I'd be too hot as Checkers, so I planned on going as myself. Until I noticed a friend had taken out her hair extensions as part of her costume. I'm not sure if she wants me revealing that she sometimes wears extensions, so I won't name names. And for no reason other than I was tired and dehydrated (you can't even drink water while dressed as Checkers), I decided to put on the extensions and go as Billy Ray Cyrus / Kid Rock / Tim McGraw / Axl Rose, depending on who you ask.
The next day, I grabbed coffee with Laurie Halse Anderson and
At the autograph party, I finally got to meet some authors I'd been on the lookout for throughout the conference, such as Ransom Riggs...
and Tahereh Mafi.
For my signing, I was lucky enough to sit beside...Carolyn Mackler! (Which was a good thing since we were signing copies of the same book.) We even got a chance, for the first time, to sign the Japanese edition of The Future of Us that an attendee brought with her!
After the conference, there's always a faculty party at Lin Oliver's house. The food was delicious, and I was able to find time to chat with people I kept missing at the conference. Here I am with Kirby Larson and Naomi Kinsman.
And then, finally, I got to meet the author/illustrator I'd been too nervous to meet earlier. I kept seeing him, and then chickening out from introducing myself. Bruce Degen wrote and illustrated Jamberry, one of my favorite books to read with Isaiah. That book will always have such special memories for me, which made me nervous to meet The Creator. Thankfully, as is often the case, he turned out to be such a warm and funny guy. (And he wanted me to tell you he's holding a glass containing nothing but jamberry juice.)
The evening ended with a jam session in the living room. Mike Jung, Arthur Levine, and Barney Saltzberg led a singalong of Beatles tunes (and many other songs, but the Beatles songs were the only ones whose lyrics I didn't have to fake knowing).
Next year, maybe I'll open up my costume idea to all of you.
C'mon, don't be chicken!
Carolyn Mackler and I haven't seen each other in person since The Future of Us book tour in January 2011. So it was great to hang out (and brainstorm!) in person again. We also had a lot of fun running a workshop on co-authoring a novel. You can read about that talk here.
At an SCBWI conference, authors and illustrators are everywhere! If you read other blogs from people who attended this conference, you'll notice a lot of pictures are taken near the bar. That's (mostly) because the bar is the center of the lobby. It's not (entirely) because that's where creative people hang out. Here I am, standing before the bar, with Ellen Hopkins and Veronica Rossi.
I love that SCBWI hosts an evening for published attendees who aren't part of the faculty where they can display, sell, and autograph their books. That's where I picked up three books to take home (signed!) to Isaiah. I bought The Gingerbread Man Loose On the Fire Truck, by Laura Murray...
Open This Little Book, by Jesse Klausmeier (I already had a copy at home, but it's a fave of Izzy's so I had no problem buying another copy)...
and Robots, Robots Everywhere! by Sue Fleiss.
If you've been following my blog for a while, you know that I dress up every year for the conference's Saturday evening theme party. And I usually go all out! As a normally shy person, this is my excuse to break free. ("It wasn't me, it was the costume!") This year, the theme was The Black and White Ball. After coming up with an idea for a costume, I contacted several friends to see if they'd dress up with me. Most said, "Hell no!" Others came up with excuses that sounded to my ears like "I'm too chicken!" But Jessica Freeburg, the Assistant Regional Advisor in Minnesota (and ghost hunter!) bought the costume even as everyone else was saying no.
The day before the theme party, we anonymously emerged in costume and walked through the bookstore. We didn't speak. Communication was done through hand signals, head and shoulder gestures, and dancing. (This post is the first time we're outing ourselves as Checkers!)
Here we are trying our hardest to silently answer Paul O. Zelinsky's questions about the schedule.
Lin Oliver invited us to the stage to encourage people to attend the Black and White Ball, which we attempted to do without speaking.
We also did a "performance art" piece during lunch one day, trying to feed ourselves while mouthless. I saw several people taking pics, and now that you know who we are, I'd love to see them!
Later in the ballroom, Carolyn Mackler gave her keynote presentation. Her husband and sons flew out from NYC with her, and I sat with them as she rocked the ballroom. Literally! As part of her speech, she played a love song recorded in the 90s by a Canadian rock band whose singer fell in love with her. And it was a good song!
That night was the Black and White Ball. And what children's book conference with that theme would be complete without Penguins?
Here I am with Max (a.k.a. Jim Averbeck), who wore a nametag declaring the final two words from Where the Wild Things Are: "Still Hot!!!"
Why am I not in costume? Because throughout the conference people asked me what I was going to wear, and since I wanted Checkers to be anonymous, I told them I'd be there at the beginning but then had to leave for a meeting. It was a lot of fun to hear people say they were disappointed I wasn't dressing up, and then the next day tell me I should've seen these two freaks who dressed in checkered bodysuits. "You couldn't even see their faces!"
Last year, I didn't know there had been an afterparty on the lower floor of the hotel. But this year, I knew about it! And I was going! I knew I'd be too hot as Checkers, so I planned on going as myself. Until I noticed a friend had taken out her hair extensions as part of her costume. I'm not sure if she wants me revealing that she sometimes wears extensions, so I won't name names. And for no reason other than I was tired and dehydrated (you can't even drink water while dressed as Checkers), I decided to put on the extensions and go as Billy Ray Cyrus / Kid Rock / Tim McGraw / Axl Rose, depending on who you ask.
The next day, I grabbed coffee with Laurie Halse Anderson and
At the autograph party, I finally got to meet some authors I'd been on the lookout for throughout the conference, such as Ransom Riggs...
and Tahereh Mafi.
For my signing, I was lucky enough to sit beside...Carolyn Mackler! (Which was a good thing since we were signing copies of the same book.) We even got a chance, for the first time, to sign the Japanese edition of The Future of Us that an attendee brought with her!
After the conference, there's always a faculty party at Lin Oliver's house. The food was delicious, and I was able to find time to chat with people I kept missing at the conference. Here I am with Kirby Larson and Naomi Kinsman.
And then, finally, I got to meet the author/illustrator I'd been too nervous to meet earlier. I kept seeing him, and then chickening out from introducing myself. Bruce Degen wrote and illustrated Jamberry, one of my favorite books to read with Isaiah. That book will always have such special memories for me, which made me nervous to meet The Creator. Thankfully, as is often the case, he turned out to be such a warm and funny guy. (And he wanted me to tell you he's holding a glass containing nothing but jamberry juice.)
The evening ended with a jam session in the living room. Mike Jung, Arthur Levine, and Barney Saltzberg led a singalong of Beatles tunes (and many other songs, but the Beatles songs were the only ones whose lyrics I didn't have to fake knowing).
Next year, maybe I'll open up my costume idea to all of you.
C'mon, don't be chicken!
July 31, 2013
Tavia & Hannah: Literary Twins
Browsing through the bookstore the other day, I came across Aprilynne Pike's latest novel. One look at the cover of Earthbound and I thought, "Hey! I know that girl!"
While brainstorming book covers, designers have so many factors to weigh. It should grab your attention, set the right tone, and hopefully raise some questions. If they're going to put a character on the cover, it also needs to express an aspect of who that character is. While scrolling through photos looking for ideas, sometimes they stumble upon a stock image or expression that strikes the perfect note. And while the main female in Earthbound is very different than Hannah in Thirteen Reasons Why, there are relationship notes that tie them together.
From the flapcopy of Earthbound:
Another cool coincidence: In the U.S., Thirteen Reasons Why and Earthbound are both published by Razorbill.
To see another one of Hannah's literary twins, check out this blog post about a Jodi Picoult novel.
While brainstorming book covers, designers have so many factors to weigh. It should grab your attention, set the right tone, and hopefully raise some questions. If they're going to put a character on the cover, it also needs to express an aspect of who that character is. While scrolling through photos looking for ideas, sometimes they stumble upon a stock image or expression that strikes the perfect note. And while the main female in Earthbound is very different than Hannah in Thirteen Reasons Why, there are relationship notes that tie them together.
From the flapcopy of Earthbound:
Tavia immediately searches for answers, desperate to determine why she feels so drawn to a boy she hardly knows.Here's how Ms. Pike’s U.S. publisher chose to depict Tavia, and my Hungarian publisher depicted Hannah:
Another cool coincidence: In the U.S., Thirteen Reasons Why and Earthbound are both published by Razorbill.
To see another one of Hannah's literary twins, check out this blog post about a Jodi Picoult novel.
July 23, 2013
RWA - Part 1
According to Wikipedia (as of right now), a romance novel focuses on the relationship and romantic love between two people and has an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending. A dystopian novel, on the other hand, is set in an utterly horrible or degraded society. Both genres, of course, include stories that stretch or poke holes in those definitions, and many novels use elements from both. If both genres include well written and emotionally complex stories, as they do, why is one often viewed as higher literature than the other? Essentially, it's just cynical versus sentimental. When speaking at schools and libraries, I've been asked many times what my guilty pleasure reading material is. My answer has been the same for years. "Christmas romances!" (Actually, I never say it with an exclamation point, but with a sheepish grin while looking away.) The novel I'm working on now focuses on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and I hope to give it an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending. So I recently decided to spend a few days in Atlanta at the 2013 Romance Writers of America conference. I decided to feel guilty about this pleasure no more! The hotel hosting the event was huge and architecturally beautiful. Here's the view looking up from the lobby.
I believe there were over 2,000 attendees at this conference. To give you a sense of how many of them were men, here's inside one of our restrooms.
When I first got there, a massive signing with approximately 450 authors was in progress. On the plane ride over, I finished a story written by Fern Michaels in an anthology. My first autograph of the conference!
The first keynote speech was Cathy Maxwell. She told a heartbreaking story about her ex-son-in-law, which perfectly described the intense need many of us have to express ourselves through art.
At one of the workshops I attended, Nora Roberts described her exhilaration at having received an email from Stephen King. At the mere mention of Mr. King's name, the lights in the room immediately dimmed. (Fuh-reaky!)
After getting a book and an anthology signed by Ms. Roberts, I also had the anthology signed by two other contributing authors, Ruth Ryan Langan and Mary Blayney. It was an amazing moment for me when Ms. Blayney, after noticing my nametag, told me she loved Thirteen Reasons Why.
At another signing, I met another author who'd read my books. (Maybe this shouldn't always be so shocking, but it is!) This September, Kimberly Kincaid has a story coming out in a Christmas anthology. And guess who'll be buying a copy.
There were also a lot of YA authors at this conference, both published and pre-published. Unfortunately, I was having so much fun talking to them, I kept forgetting to take pics. For example, at my first dinner in Atlanta, I met up with Romily Bernard, whose upcoming debut (Find Me) I'd started reading the night before. I sat beside Cecily White (Prophecy Girl), whose book club will be reading Thirteen Reasons Why next month.
I sat with Marni Bates (Invisible, etc...) during one of the lunches. She also has a book out called Decked with Holly. Guess who'll be buying a copy.
I went to dinner at a restaurant called Pacific Rim (no relation to the movie) with Shaunta Grimes (Viral Nation), Ally Carter (Heist Society, etc...), Carrie Ryan (The Forest of Hands and Teeth, etc...), Tracy Clark (Scintillate), and Jason Roer (filmmaker, future author, and my conference roommate!). I don't know how I haven't run into Ally or Carrie before, so this dinner felt long overdue! And it was great to share the evening with Shaunta, whose book is only two weeks old. As for Tracy and Jason, we go way back. Or...up!
I met Huntley Fitzpatrick (My Life Next Door) after being introduced by her friend and keynote speaker...
Kristan Higgins. Her presentation was probably my favorite keynote I've heard over all of the conferences I've attended. It went from hilarious to touching to heartbreaking and inspiring. When I speak, I often share emails (anonymously, of course!) from my readers to show that people read books differently based largely on their own experiences. In her speech, Ms. Higgins used words from her readers to show how powerful and important this genre can be.
On the final evening of the conference, they had the Golden Heart and RITA Awards ceremony. The Golden Hearts are given to pre-published manuscripts, and it was great to have to-be-published authors taken as seriously as published authors at a writing conference. The RITAs are awarded for published books, and it was wonderful to see the editors recognized along with the authors.
Here I am with Sarah MacLean and her RITA award. Maybe in a couple years she'll take her photo with me, and I'll be clutching one of those. (Don't laugh! It's not like a guy's never won a...wait...have they?)
Of course, no awards show is complete without dancing! Here I am with fellow arms-flailing YA authors (back row, l-to-r) Bria Quinlan, Holly Bodger, Amy DeLuca, Darcy Woods, Marni Bates, Cecily White, (front row, l-to-r) Jennifer McGowan, Kim MacCarron, and Shea Berkley.
Thanks for a great first time, RWA! I labeled this post Part 1 because I'm sure I'll be back.
I believe there were over 2,000 attendees at this conference. To give you a sense of how many of them were men, here's inside one of our restrooms.
When I first got there, a massive signing with approximately 450 authors was in progress. On the plane ride over, I finished a story written by Fern Michaels in an anthology. My first autograph of the conference!
The first keynote speech was Cathy Maxwell. She told a heartbreaking story about her ex-son-in-law, which perfectly described the intense need many of us have to express ourselves through art.
At one of the workshops I attended, Nora Roberts described her exhilaration at having received an email from Stephen King. At the mere mention of Mr. King's name, the lights in the room immediately dimmed. (Fuh-reaky!)
After getting a book and an anthology signed by Ms. Roberts, I also had the anthology signed by two other contributing authors, Ruth Ryan Langan and Mary Blayney. It was an amazing moment for me when Ms. Blayney, after noticing my nametag, told me she loved Thirteen Reasons Why.
At another signing, I met another author who'd read my books. (Maybe this shouldn't always be so shocking, but it is!) This September, Kimberly Kincaid has a story coming out in a Christmas anthology. And guess who'll be buying a copy.
There were also a lot of YA authors at this conference, both published and pre-published. Unfortunately, I was having so much fun talking to them, I kept forgetting to take pics. For example, at my first dinner in Atlanta, I met up with Romily Bernard, whose upcoming debut (Find Me) I'd started reading the night before. I sat beside Cecily White (Prophecy Girl), whose book club will be reading Thirteen Reasons Why next month.
I sat with Marni Bates (Invisible, etc...) during one of the lunches. She also has a book out called Decked with Holly. Guess who'll be buying a copy.
I went to dinner at a restaurant called Pacific Rim (no relation to the movie) with Shaunta Grimes (Viral Nation), Ally Carter (Heist Society, etc...), Carrie Ryan (The Forest of Hands and Teeth, etc...), Tracy Clark (Scintillate), and Jason Roer (filmmaker, future author, and my conference roommate!). I don't know how I haven't run into Ally or Carrie before, so this dinner felt long overdue! And it was great to share the evening with Shaunta, whose book is only two weeks old. As for Tracy and Jason, we go way back. Or...up!
I met Huntley Fitzpatrick (My Life Next Door) after being introduced by her friend and keynote speaker...
Kristan Higgins. Her presentation was probably my favorite keynote I've heard over all of the conferences I've attended. It went from hilarious to touching to heartbreaking and inspiring. When I speak, I often share emails (anonymously, of course!) from my readers to show that people read books differently based largely on their own experiences. In her speech, Ms. Higgins used words from her readers to show how powerful and important this genre can be.
On the final evening of the conference, they had the Golden Heart and RITA Awards ceremony. The Golden Hearts are given to pre-published manuscripts, and it was great to have to-be-published authors taken as seriously as published authors at a writing conference. The RITAs are awarded for published books, and it was wonderful to see the editors recognized along with the authors.
Here I am with Sarah MacLean and her RITA award. Maybe in a couple years she'll take her photo with me, and I'll be clutching one of those. (Don't laugh! It's not like a guy's never won a...wait...have they?)
Of course, no awards show is complete without dancing! Here I am with fellow arms-flailing YA authors (back row, l-to-r) Bria Quinlan, Holly Bodger, Amy DeLuca, Darcy Woods, Marni Bates, Cecily White, (front row, l-to-r) Jennifer McGowan, Kim MacCarron, and Shea Berkley.
Thanks for a great first time, RWA! I labeled this post Part 1 because I'm sure I'll be back.
July 15, 2013
June 17, 2013
The World Stage - Germany
This past week saw the German stage premier of Thirteen Reasons Why. The title over there is Tote Mädchen lügen nicht, and it's being performed at the Junges Theater Bonn. Here is the cover of their program.
It's been amazing to see how well this story connects with readers around the world, but the German translation has been especially well received. It's been a bestseller, won a national award, and is taught in many of their schools. Considering that I had no idea it would sell anywhere outside of the U.S. (and I wasn't even certain it would sell within the U.S.), all of these things come as beautiful surprises.
And now a stage performance???
Below are photos taken from the program. If you've read the book, you may be able to tell which scenes a few of them depict. (Click the pics to enlarge.)
I won't be able to attend any of the shows, but I know many of my blog readers live in Germany. So please check out a performance if you get the chance. I just signed a contract to extend the run into November.
And to the cast and crew, "Danke sehr!"
It's been amazing to see how well this story connects with readers around the world, but the German translation has been especially well received. It's been a bestseller, won a national award, and is taught in many of their schools. Considering that I had no idea it would sell anywhere outside of the U.S. (and I wasn't even certain it would sell within the U.S.), all of these things come as beautiful surprises.
And now a stage performance???
Below are photos taken from the program. If you've read the book, you may be able to tell which scenes a few of them depict. (Click the pics to enlarge.)
I won't be able to attend any of the shows, but I know many of my blog readers live in Germany. So please check out a performance if you get the chance. I just signed a contract to extend the run into November.
And to the cast and crew, "Danke sehr!"
June 13, 2013
New Philly
I don't know if the citizens of New Philadelphia, Ohio ever refer to their city New Philly, but they should! I didn't want to ask, though, in case the question annoys them. (If you ask people who live in San Francisco if they ever call their city Frisco, they usually answer something like this: "No we do not!!!!!!!" If you get the chance, you should ask them for yourself. It's fun!)
My trip to New Phil(ly)adelphia was my most exhausting speaking gig to fly to. I left my home airport on Monday at 6pm, had a long layover in L.A., then flew to Chicago where I had another long layover, and arrived in Ohio around 10:30am on Tuesday. I scrambled to my hotel for a quick snooze, and when the alarm went off, I jumped into Author Mode. (Author Mode is a biological setting you get upon publication.)
And the travel was entirely worth it!
Before speaking, I had dinner with several librarians, a library intern, teachers, and members of ADAMHS (Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services). In the photo below, Darlene Dotto is to my right. She was the person who organized the visit. Not pictured is Michelle McMorrow Ramsell, the library director. She took this photo, which I borrowed (swiped?) from her Facebook page.
At the library, before I spoke, two members from ADAMHS informed the audience about what their organization provides as well as the warning signs of suicide. It was a wonderful way to start the event, and it was an honor to have them there. (They even stayed to hear me speak!) If I was at all groggy as I stepped up to the podium, the audience had me fully charged within a couple of sentences. They were so engaged and engaging!
Thank you for a great visit, New PhilADELPHIA!
My trip to New Phil(ly)adelphia was my most exhausting speaking gig to fly to. I left my home airport on Monday at 6pm, had a long layover in L.A., then flew to Chicago where I had another long layover, and arrived in Ohio around 10:30am on Tuesday. I scrambled to my hotel for a quick snooze, and when the alarm went off, I jumped into Author Mode. (Author Mode is a biological setting you get upon publication.)
And the travel was entirely worth it!
Before speaking, I had dinner with several librarians, a library intern, teachers, and members of ADAMHS (Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services). In the photo below, Darlene Dotto is to my right. She was the person who organized the visit. Not pictured is Michelle McMorrow Ramsell, the library director. She took this photo, which I borrowed (swiped?) from her Facebook page.
At the library, before I spoke, two members from ADAMHS informed the audience about what their organization provides as well as the warning signs of suicide. It was a wonderful way to start the event, and it was an honor to have them there. (They even stayed to hear me speak!) If I was at all groggy as I stepped up to the podium, the audience had me fully charged within a couple of sentences. They were so engaged and engaging!
Thank you for a great visit, New PhilADELPHIA!
