Author of award-winning, adventurous realistic and historical fiction

New Leaf

THE LAST GRAND ADVENTURE begins!

Mar 20, 2018 | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Last Grand Adventure is on shelves today–hip hip hooray!

I have fond memories of the trips I took as a kid and teen, so it surprised me when, a few years ago, I unearthed my childhood travel journal and found it full of worries. From ghosts in New Orleans to grizzlies in Denali National Park, to spiders in New Mexico and seaweed on Coronado Beach. Yes, I was even afraid of seaweed.

Like me, Bea (the protagonist of The Last Grand Adventure) is more of a natural worrier than a natural adventurer. As she heads off on a planes-trains-and-automobiles journey with her strong-willed and eccentric grandmother, Pidge, Bea is constantly faced with the dilemma of whether or not to yield to her fears. Of course, there’s a pretty tantalizing reason for them to keep going, all the way to Atchison, Kansas: the promise of finding Pidge’s long-lost sister, Amelia Earhart.

Travel opened my eyes to the world beyond my quiet neighborhood, showing me about people and places different than those I had known. As Bea’s journey takes her far across the country, she also experiences that feeling of discovery. The best souvenir, though, is the unexpected bravery she finds inside herself.

At its heart, this story is about the power of both an open mind and an open road. I hope readers will enjoy riding along on Bea and Pidge’s adventure.

Thanks to everyone who helped get this book into the world, especially: my agent, Suzie Townsend, and her assistants, Sara Stricker and Cassandra Baim; and my editors, Alyson Heller and Tricia Lin, publicist, Samantha Benson, and the whole team at Aladdin.

If you’d like a signed copy of Adventure and you can’t make one of my events, you can order one from Books of Wonder–or send me an email, and I’ll pop a personalized bookplate for you in the mail.

Bon voyage!

 

 

In Case of Emergency

Mar 15, 2018 | , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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.

Audrey and Alice optioned for film!

Apr 8, 2016 | , , , , , ,

I got to share some exciting news yesterday–that When Audrey Met Alice has been optioned for film!

I’m still learning the way the film industry works, but basically an option agreement is a contract that allows film producers to obtain the rights to a book. It’s the first step–of many, many steps–needed to make a book into a movie.

I’m thrilled about this, and thankful to the team at New Leaf Literary–especially Pouya Shabazian, Suzie Townsend, and Chris McEwen–helping make it happen. You can read the full announcement in The Hollywood Reporter.

24 Hours at ALA Midwinter

Jan 14, 2016 | , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Last weekend, I hopped on Amtrak and headed up to Boston for the ALA Midwinter conference. (The ride is actually pretty scenic, as the train hugs the coastline through Connecticut and Rhode Island, so you can see the ocean, ferries and fishing boats, and charming towns like Mystic along the way.)  It was a quick trip–I got in on Friday afternoon and twenty-four hours later I was already chugging back to New York. But what a great twenty-fours hours they were!

On Friday I got to meet up with some fellow New Leaf Literary authors and our agents, Suzie Townsend and Pete Knapp. Here’s Team New Leaf:

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We spent our evening enjoying wine and chocolate at a shmancy party with some fantastic librarians. And I mean enjoying it–the spread involved a make-your-own chocolate crepe bar! But the best part, of course, was getting to talk about books with our librarian friends. I love hearing about what they’re reading, what library life is like, and which books their readers adore.

The next morning, I got breakfast with the Aladdin/Simon Pulse team before heading to the exhibit floor. I’d say being on the floor is like being a kid in the candy store, but as a child my excitement level would’ve been at the same height for a candy store or a bookstore. It was so fun running around seeing all the shiny new titles on display and running into other book people. I gathered enough ARCs that I have a huge bruise on my left shoulder from the tote bag–but it’ll heal, and it’s worth it. (Once I finish them, I have a school librarian in mind to share them with.)

To top it all off, I had just enough time before my train to run into Faneuil Hall and grab a slice of Boston Cream Pie for the road. When in Boston, right? 🙂

News: SUMMER found a new home!

Feb 17, 2015 | , , , , , , , ,

So you might have seen this in Publishers Marketplace (click to make big!):

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That’s right! The Summer of Lost and Found has a new home. And it will still be in bookstores in the first half of 2016 (right now, it looks like a May publication date). I am so excited to be working with editor extraordinaire Alyson Heller and the team at Aladdin/Simon & Schuster. Aladdin is one of the imprints that made a huge impact on me as a young reader–I have fond memories of looking for the colophon on the spines of some favorite books.

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(Yes, even as a kid I was into learning about different publishing imprints. It would’ve been tween me’s dream come true to publish an Aladdin book!)

More information to come, but for now I’ll just say how grateful and excited I am that Summer will be on shelves next year.

 *And by “I,”of course I mean my fantastic agent, Suzie Townsend. I’m incredibly thankful to her (and everyone at New Leaf Literary) for their support and enthusiasm, and skill at finding perfect homes for their clients’ books.

New Book News!

Jun 12, 2014 | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

So you might have seen this in Publishers Weekly this afternoon (click to make big!):

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That’s right! I* sold my second book! The Summer of Lost and Found will be in bookstores in 2016. It’s full of everything I loved to read about as a middle-grader: history, mystery, beach towns, and ghost stories.

I’m so excited to be working with the uber talented Jordan Hamessley and everyone at Egmont to tell this story.  The way it feels when Jordan shares her editorial vision for your book can only be expressed with a Liz Lemon GIF:

 

Liz Lemon, 30 Rock, self high five gif

 

I’ll leave you with a picture of the beach at Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, on Roanoke Island. I was there doing research while this deal was coming together, and while a trip to see such a beautiful and historic place would always be special, this serendipitous timing made it even more so.

 

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*And by “I,” I do mean my fantastic agent, Suzie Townsend. I’m incredibly thankful to her for being such a great advocate for my writing, and to everyone at New Leaf Literary for their amazing support.

ETA: The announcement also ran in the June 13th Publishers Marketplace deal report (you can click to make big). Hooray!

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