One of the ways I discover new books is the “Weekly Bestsellers under $4.99” section on my iPad. The vast majority of books I read are print, but I still love to browse that section and find titles I might not take a chance on otherwise. Recent sale books I’ve loved? INTO THE FOREST, HAMLET’S BLACKBERRY, BIG LITTLE LIES, and THE ISLE OF YOUTH.
So it’s exciting to think about other readers being introduced to Audrey and Alice through this discount. Here are links to the e-books at B&N and Amazon, if you know a reader who wants to take a chance on a new MG!
Last weekend I made the trip to Columbus, Ohio (a lovely city!) for the AASL National Conference. My husband and I drove from NYC, and even though we aren’t really car people anymore, it was fun to wind through the Pennsylvania mountains and catch some late fall color. You can see the pretty red leaves behind this shot of a Summer of Lost and Found sampler:
Which was this gorgeous tree:
On Friday morning, Gayle Rosengren and I did our presentation, “Making It Real,” for a great group of school librarians. We shared historical-fiction programming ideas that appeal to many different types of learners, and if you’d like to hear about them, send me an email! I’m happy to share our slides and handouts, including a list of recommended MG historical fiction. Here’s an example of the LIBRARY planning template that Gayle created:
After our presentation, Gayle and I headed over to the Authorpalooza signing booth. I wish I’d thought to have someone take our picture, but sadly I was too focused on chatting with the awesome school librarians. 🙂 I do have some pictures of When Audrey Met Alice at AASL, though!
After the conference wrapped up for the day on Friday, I had just enough time to pop over to North Market for celebratory Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream–which was the perfect finish to a great day. And, of course, I had to pick up one of these for the road home!
I came home to a great surprise on Monday night: a package from Alyson Heller, my editor at Aladdin/S&S. I started ripping it open before I even got up the stairs. Inside, I found:
ARCs! And a jacket proof–the first peek I’ve gotten at all the true colors and lovely effects (like shiny spot gloss).
I adore the book design–thanks to Laura Lyn DiSiena at Aladdin for making the book look beautiful, and to Robyn Ng for the gorgeous art.
It’s really cool how the foliage and water continue onto the spine.
Inside, the book is just as lovely–and there’s even a map!
Maps in books are one of my favorite things, and I’m thrilled that Summer of Lost and Found includes one of Roanoke.
Writing takes so much work, dreaming, and hope–and sometimes uncertainty. It’s kind of amazing when something that started as an idea and was slowly (or very slowly, in my case) nurtured into document finally shows up in your mailbox. It’s a special moment to hold the story, in book form, in your hands.
Fall has been flying by. I’ve been busy with revising a new project (which feels like it might finally be coming together), working on a short story, and copy edits. Apologies to my production editor, but I did end up making quite a few tweaks to the end of Summer:
But now the copy edits are complete, and Summer is actually available for preorder and digital review copies are up on Edelweiss! You can request a DRC here.
During copyediting/revising breaks, I’ve been cooking. My husband and I challenged ourselves to eat an unprocessed, plant-based diet for 22 days. It was hard, but we did it–and came away with some new favorite recipes, like this green lentil soup garnished with avocado and tomato. So nice on a chilly fall night–and I found you can get a lot of writing work done in the kitchen, while it simmers.
This week, I’m heading off to Columbus, OH for AASL 2015. Gayle Rosengren and I have worked hard on our presentation, and we’re looking forward to sharing our ideas about MG historical fiction! If you’re at AASL, please stop by and say hi. I have some shiny new postcards for Summer to hand out, too!
