"The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May & June"
So, my friends, have you ever wondered what would happen if an author didn't blog for six months and then decided to do one big blog post? It would probably look a little something like this:
Hi there, peeps! I'm sorry for the radio silence...but I have to let you in on a little secret. I'm not a very good blogger. (I just accidentally typed "bogger." I'm probably not a very good bogger, either, but who knows?) I try, really I do, but some days I just don't have anything to say. And some days, well, I have a LOT to say, but it's nothing that I want to get picked up on Google's search engine, if you know what I mean.
But today? I have Things to Say! Let's get to it!
First off, you patient friends of mine, my new book will be out next week. We should all pause here for a moment so that I can breathe into a paper bag and regain my composure. There, that's better. Having a new book come out is nervewracking! It's also fun and exciting and cool and waaay better than that crappy part-time job I had in college. But still, NERVEWRACKING.
Just in case you're not up to speed, my book is called "The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May & June" and it comes out on August 3rd. You can pre-order it at Amazon, B&N, Powells, or find a great indie bookstore near you and buy it there. Personally, I like the indies, but hey, it's a free country. You do what you want.
It's about three sisters who, after their parents divorce, discover that they have superpowers. That's the basic idea, but trust me, other things happen, too. And by "other things," I mean "boys and love and heartbreak and parents and weird people who work at Best Buy." Maybe I should have just said that in the first place. (Now you know why I have an editor.)
I absolutely loved writing it, even though it gave me four gray hairs, and I'm so happy that soon you can read it, too! I talked a little bit about writing in three different POVs at the First Novels Club, so be sure to hop over and check that out.
If you want to learn more about the book and the three sisters, then you must do these next things. Seriously. You must.
1. Check out April, May & June on Twitter. That's right, they're on Twitter. But really, who ISN'T these days? I mean, besides Jack White and my mom. Anyway, the girls are on their summer vacation right now, and I don't think it's a spoiler to say that this summer, things begin to get very interesting for them. Very, very interesting.
2. Head over to The Songs That Saved Your Life, my daily music blog, and listen to the AMJ soundtrack. I'll be putting up one song every day and including some sneak peeks of what the sisters have to say. So far we've had everything from Stars to M83 to the Black Keys, so go check it out when you can.
Also, I'm doing a signing in Los Angeles on August 8 at 3pm at Diesel Books! It'll be so much fun and I can't wait to see you there. I tend to get a bit dramatic when I read in the voices of all three sisters, so if you can overlook my Shakespearean theatricality, I'd appreciate it. I'm also attending the Decatur Book Festival, but I'll have more information about that in a bit. Stay tuned.
Any questions? Comments? Concerns? Feel free to ask away. You know I love getting your emails and reading what you have to say. I do everything I can to write back in a timely fashion, but sometimes it takes a while. Be patient with me!
Other than all that, I'm just enjoying my summer. I've decided that Summer 2010 will be the Summer of Doing Things, and so far, I've definitely been Doing Things. I started taking french lessons after visiting France in June (more on that in a minute) and they've been so much fun. However, my pronunciation is so awful that the building security guard corrects me, and I keep saying "Gracias" instead of "Merci", but hey! It's part of the learning curve, mais oui?
Also, in August, my mom and I are taking surfing lessons from a friend. Make no mistake, you read that correctly. My mom and I. Are Taking. Surfing Lessons. Those of you who don't know us personally are probably like, "Wow, that's so great! How fun! You and your mom will have a blast!" Those of you who do know us personally, though, are probably thinking, "What." I'll keep you posted.
Speaking of my mom, the best part of my summer so far has been traveling to France & Spain with my mom and brother. I'm superlucky that I have an awesome family that's up for some adventure, so we trekked across the countries for two weeks. It was so beautiful and we met amazing people and now I'm going to do that annoying thing where I make you look at my travel photos. (Click on them to zoom in.)
The backs of totally unsuspecting Parisians in...you guessed it, Paris.
Berries at the weekly market, St.-Rémy-de-Provence
"April, May & June" at L'eau Vive in Provence!
I like to call this my "OH MY GOD I'M IN PROVENCE!" face
A street in Bilbao, Spain. (Why do I always take pictures of the backs of strangers? I don't know.)
Fresh juice at La Boqueria in Barcelona
Parc Guell, Barcelona
Okay, I'll rein it in on the photos now, but stay tuned to Facebook because I'm sure I'll upload the whole lot there.
I hope you're all having a wonderful, safe, and beautiful summer!
RB xoxo
