I’m excited to hit the road and visit a bunch of schools and bookstores–with some fabulous author friends–to share The Disaster Days. Here’s what’s scheduled for public events so far:
For more information and updates, check out my Events page!
One day in July 2015, I pulled out my Tupperware and started eating a wilted salad at my day-job desk while browsing for a lunchtime read. An article in The New Yorker was getting all kinds of online buzz—it was about earthquakes; in Seattle? Interesting. I clicked to read.I’m excited to share two more trade reviews for The Disaster Days:
“Fans of survival thrillers in the vein of Gary Paulsen’s Hatchet will enjoy this tense, honest tale of bravery. . . . [A]n excellent (and refreshingly not didactic) teaching tool on natural-disaster preparedness.” —Eleanor Roth, Booklist
Last February, I recorded an episode of the Dream Gardens podcast in which I talked about how much I loved Hatchet as a young reader–and how much I enjoyed rereading it as an adult. So I’m really thrilled that Booklist compared Hannah’s story to a classic that is a personal favorite. 🙂
“The relentless progression of a variety of disaster scenarios will keep readers turning pages even as they learn, along with Hannah, vital information about earthquake safety and survival. Equally suspenseful and informative, this novel will spark important discussions about disaster preparedness.” —Jenna MacKay, School Library Connection
Just four weeks till The Disaster Days hits shelves and stores!
The Disaster Days is a Junior Library Guild selection for fall 2019!
I’m thrilled that it will be on even more library shelves thanks to JLG’s fantastic subscription services and recommendations lists.
The first trade review for The Disaster Days is in, and Kirkus loved it!
You can read the full review here, and if your curiosity is piqued, you can preorder a copy now from the following retailers:
A few weeks ago*, the awesome website YAYOMG! helped me share the cover for The Disaster Days–and an exclusive sneak peek into the book.
Be sure to check out all of YAYOMG!’s great book coverage–tons of interviews, posts, cover reveals, roundups, and more!
I also got a special delivery from my editor at Sourcebooks: ARCs!
I’m so excited for this story to head out into the reading world.
*Er, why am I sharing this just now? I have a book due on May 1, and I’ve been in my writing cave. 🙂
Time flies when you’re having fun . . . or you’re revising. I was doing both this fall. In November I turned in the final manuscript for my next MG novel, which will be out in October 2019. The new title (and cover, and a bunch of other info) I’ll share in the new year!
In terms of fun, I had great trips to Wisconsin (where the fall color is always divine), California (where the Disneyland is always magical), and Sleepy Hollow (where the Halloween is pumpkininny). In terms of bookish fun, on October 28 I visited the lovely New Canaan Library for a middle-grade author extravaganza. We had a lively panel followed by a signing, and it was delightful.
The extravagant authors (and friends)
Our books on display at Elm Street Books 🙂
The lovely library
The next Saturday was one of my favorite days of the year: nErDcampLI! I was too busy learning, sharing, connecting, laughing to take many pictures, but here are two:
Our panel on school visits went great–lots of ideas to incorporate for next year!
Book love in cookie form
Now I’m ready to hibernate with a new project I’m writing. Hope your fall was fantastic!
So you might have seen some news in Publishers Weekly:
This is why I’ve been neglecting my blog so far in 2018–I wrote another MG novel! In Case of Emergency will be in bookstores in Fall 2019. This book is a little different than the three I’ve published–it’s not a historical story. But it is a bit of an adventure, and one packed full of research (this infamous article in particular was inspiration), a fascinating setting, and kids with lots of moxie. Growing up, my favorite types of books to read were historical fiction and survival stories, like Hatchet and My Side of the Mountain. Plus The Baby-Sitters Club–which sometimes turned into survival stories (remember the super specials?). In fact, I initially pitched this idea to my agent as “Hatchet meets The Baby-Sitters Club“! I had a lot of fun writing this book, and I can’t wait to share it with you.
I’m excited to work with the fantastic team at Sourcebooks again, too! Many thanks to Annie Berger for giving this book a home, to Suzie Townsend for being such a great advocate for my writing, to Cassandra Baim for all her help and encouragement–and especially to readers, who keep us all going.