Times like #RT16 are a perfect reminder that even though writing can be a very solitary activity, we’re never actually alone. I am so grateful for every one of these ladies! ?
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Solo, but never alone
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Category Archives: Publication
News and New Books!
This has been an incredibly busy summer for bookish things, but only now am I able to talk about everything that’s happened! To put it simply, I have signed on as an author with both Entangled Teen and Riptide Publishing‘s YA imprint, Triton Books!
First up will be my assassin girls in 2016! I’ll get a chance to introduce you to Kindra and there may also be guns and car chases and explosions. Maybe. Probably. 😀
Then, between March 2017 and March 2018, my fantasy trilogy will release! Desert islands, storm-filled skies, magic, conspiracies, secrets, and lots of fighting. All that and a lot more will be there!
I can’t tell you too much more about the books yet except that I absolutely adore both of these series and am so happy that they’ve found loving homes with fantastic editors! They’ll help me whip these books into shape and then I will get the chance to share them with you! And that really is awesome.
Additionally, now that I have all of these things to keep track of, I’ve added a Book List page to the site. This will be a quick, chronological reference list for all of my publications, both traditional and self-published, and I’ll keep it updated as release dates change or new titles get added to the list.
Aaaaand…that’s it for now! Seems like more than enough to be gettin’ on with, though, don’t you think?
Deadly Sweet Lies: A slight delay
Earlier this week on Twitter, I mentioned that I would soon have to announce some good news and bad news. This is the bad news portion.
Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond my control, Deadly Sweet Lies, book two in the Dream War Saga, will not be releasing next week. The release date has been pushed back to December 1, 2015.
On the plus side of this good news, I’m getting a pretty new cover for the book! One that I will hopefully be able to share with you before the end of the month!
I know that there has been a long wait in between the release of Sing Sweet Nightingale and Deadly Sweet Lies. I genuinely apologize and hope that you all continue to bear with me. Sometimes the publishing machine moves slowly and sometimes it takes a while for all the kinks and quirks to be worked out behind the scenes. We’re trying very hard to make this book the best it can be. Thank you so much for waiting with me.
Much love to you all! <3
Finally finished! So many colors and notes omg. One last step to…
Finally finished! So many colors and notes omg. One last step to go! Hopefully I can get through it quickly. Wish me luck!
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My uber busy release weekend!
Even though it’s kind of expected, I didn’t do an official launch party for the release of my debut novel Sing Sweet Nightingale. Instead, I had a whole release weekend of events! It was busy and crazy and so many levels of amazing I don’t even know how to describe it.
Plans for this weekend o’ awesome began last year when my editress Danielle Ellison warned me to block out the weekend of March 8th. “You’re going to be in Virginia,” she said. Since I had no reason to protest, I didn’t! I started making plans to join my editress, her bookstore One More Page, and the Arlington Central Library at Washington Lee High School in Arlington, Virginia for the inaugural NoVaTEEN Book Festival.
Turns out that it was going to be more than just the festival! On Friday, I joined Diana Peterfreund at Yorktown High School in Arlington, Virgina to talk to two different groups. Since this was my first ever school visit, I was really nervous, but it went so well! The kids were respectful and interested and they asked good questions. Lelia from One More Page Bookstore in Arlington coordinated the event for us and she was so sweet! All in all, it was a great morning.
Saturday was the main event, NoVaTEEN Book Festival at Washington Lee High School! It started with a keynote speech by the incredible Phyllis Reynolds Naylor at 10 and ended with a group signing at 4. In between were larger panels in the school’s auditorium and smaller sessions in several of the nearby classrooms. I joined Jon Skovron and Lea Nolan for a “breakout session” at 11 where we spent a lot of time discussing the different constructs of hell and then I got to sit back and listen to other people talk for a couple of hours before my own main-stage panel! At 3, I joined fellow debut author Elle Cosimano and veteran Victoria Schwab along with moderators Elisa Nader and Aimee Agresti for a discussion on Bad Boys and why they’re so amazingly attractive. I got to talk about my early love for the rogue George Cooper from Tamora Pierce’s Alanna series and what makes the difference between a bad boy and a villain. Somehow, I didn’t make a fool of myself, so I call the whole day a win!
Sunday, I headed to Alexandria, Virginia for a solo signing and talk at the cutest bookstore: Hooray for Books! During the event, we revealed the title for The Dream War Saga, book 2: Deadly Sweet Lies. The staff was fantastic and I hope I get to go back there soon!
And then, Monday, my mom, my uncle, and I spent the afternoon at the International Spy Museum while I played #iSpy with Marni Bates on Twitter. It was a blast!
So now, pictorial proof:
Arriving in DC!
It snowed a few days before we landed. This was all that was left when we arrived.
But my Uncle’s backyard looked a lok more wintery!
These are the FIRST finalized copies of SSN I ever saw! And they were at my Uncle’s house waiting for me!
Hanging out with my mom and my uncle in Maryland
Mom practicing piano at my Uncle’s house
When your mom comes with you on a school visit, you get pictures like this. Here I am arriving at Yorktown High! 😉
Another picture in front of Yorktown
The super-cool Diana Peterfreund joined me at Yorktown
Lelia from One More Page coordinated our visit for us and she was so sweet!
Talking to a class at Yorktown
More from Yorktown!
I’m thinking this was misplaced because I don’t see an exit O.O
In front of Washington Lee for NoVaTEEN!
Everyone thought this was fabulous!
I got to meet my Agent-Sister Elisa Nader! She’s wonderful <3
They got me gluten free pizza! Because they were so sweet
I got to hug these two during NoVaTEEN! Sarah Guillory and Danielle Ellison are two of my SHP loves <3
My book for sale at NoVaTEEN
Waiting for a panel to start during NoVaTEEN
At the end of the day was the Bad Boys panel
I got to share the stage with Elisa Nader, Elle Cosimano, Victoria Schwab, and Aimee Agresti
Signing after NoVaTEEN
I was so lucky my mom didn’t mind hanging out all day!
All of the authors who participated in NoVaTEEN. A GREAT group!
The authors and the organizers! Thank you for all your work!
Such a nice display set up at Hooray For Books!
I got my own little corner of the store at Hooray For Books
We revealed the title for book 2 at Hooray For Books: Deadly Sweet Lies
I was even in the window of the store!
The staff at Hooray For Books gave me a present! They were so sweet <3
Out to lunch before the Spy Museum!
We visited the Spy Museum on Monday at the recommendation of Marni Bates
The elevator makes you look EVIL!
Part of the Spy Museum. I bought a copy of this in the gift shop.
I also bought these in the gift shop. 😀
But that’s not all!
I flew home Tuesday morning, grabbed lunch, rushed to work, made my students write essays because I didn’t have anything else prepared for them, rushed home, jumped online, and did an hour-long live chat with the girls from Reading With Me! We gave away prizes and I answered a lot of questions. But don’t worry! Even if you missed the live event, you can still watch the whole video on YouTube! Or by clicking play on the video below:
Phew! Now I’m home and a little sad because all of those awesome things are over! But now I get to start working on my thriller work in progress again and then jump into edits on DEADLY, so I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to keep busy! 😉
I just want to say one last thank you to everyone who made this weekend so special. There’s far too many people to list individually, so just know that if I saw or spoke to you this weekend, you’re part of the list. Thank you so much! <3
My sequel officially has a title!
As promised, here is the title I revealed at Hooray for Books in Virginia this afternoon:
Eek!! Look at the pretty! And it’s BLUE! Anyone who knows me will know how absolutely thrilled I am by that fact. 😀
I can’t share anything but the title right now, but know that the full cover is coming soon! May 30th during Book Expo America, to be exact. Stay tuned for more details as I get permission to share them!
The Sing Sweet Nightingale blog tour starts tomorrow!
The fabulous Jamie and Rachel at Rockstar Book Tours have organized a phenomenal two-week tour for the release of Sing Sweet Nightingale! Monday through Friday for the next two weeks, you’ll find two posts a day–one review and one interview or guest post. And, guys, some of these guest posts are pretty fun!
Below is the full schedule of events so you can follow the fun! Please help me celebrate the birth of my first book baby by visiting these phenomenal blogs and entering the giveaway for an annotated copy of Sing Sweet Nightingale!
Thank you to Jamie and Rachel at Rockstar, all of the sweet bloggers who volunteered their time and their websites, and to all the readers who jump on board! This should be a fun ride! 😀
Tour Schedule
Week One:
3/3/2014- Bookish Things & more – Review
3/3/2014- Bibliophilia, Please – Interview
3/4/2014- Lola’s Reviews – Review
3/4/2014- A Backwards Story – Guest Post
3/5/2014- YaReads – Review
3/5/2014- Addicted Readers – Interview
3/6/2014- Once Upon A Twilight – Review
3/6/2014- The Unofficial Addiction Book Fan Club – Guest Post
3/7/2014- Seeing Night Reviews – Review
3/7/2014- The Irish Banana Review – Guest Post
Week Two:
3/10/2014- Chasm of Books – Review
3/10/2014- Lost in Ever After – Interview
3/11/2014- The Demon Librarian – Review
3/11/2014- Paulette’s Papers – Guest Post
3/12/2014- Poisoned Rationality – Review
3/12/2014- The Best Books Ever – Interview
3/13/2014- Spiced Latte Reads – Review
3/13/2014- Dark Novella – Guest Post
3/14/2014- A Dream Within A Dream – Review
3/14/2014- Parajunkee’s View – Interview
Sing Sweet Nightingale is a real book!
So, on Wednesday night of this week, I came home and found a package sitting on my front step. Within the package was this:
SING SWEET NIGHTINGALE IS A REAL THING!
I knew that–I mean, of course I knew it would be real at some point–but this week was the first time ever I got to hold a printed, bound, and finished copy in my hands. Seeing the book like this and being able to flip through the pages makes it slightly more real that other people, people I don’t know and might never meet, will soon be able to do the same thing. I’m in awe and a little scared of that truth. And so, of course, because that truth does terrify me more than a little, it got hammered home in the awesomest way this morning when another 2014 debut author Rebecca Petruck tweeted this fabulous picture from the American Booksellers Association’s winter conference:
THAT IS SO MANY COPIES! I tried to count and I lost my place too many times and eventually gave up but WOW! Apparently Rebecca found them in galley hall (which sounds like a place I could spend hours). I’m not even sure I know how to process seeing that many copies of my book all at once. For the second time this week, I believe I might have succumbed to a state of shock. O.O
Soon, Sing Sweet Nightingale will be available on NetGalley and in paperback form through my publisher Spencer Hill Press. And then, not too long after that, it will be available EVERYWHERE.
And hopefully people will feel the need to tweet me pictures of sightings when that happens. 😉
Sing Sweet Nightingale is now up for preorder!!
I come home from work today and it’s a typical Monday. When I check Facebook, however, things suddenly get a little more interesting. My day went from blegh to OMG REALLY?! in about three seconds all because of this post:
I had no clue! It’s true, though! My book is now up for preorder (paperback only so far; ebook links to come!!). It’s not only up, it’s up all over the internet! Have a favorite store? You can probably preorder it there. For the sake of convenience, though, LINKS!
Buy it from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Books A Million |
Now I’m going to go try to forget I know it’s possible for people to buy my book. Really. The less I think about it, the saner I’ll be in March when it actually releases! 😉
*runs off flinging glitter*
Sing Sweet Nightingale is moving right along!
I’ve heard more than a few times that you better love writing to make it a career. Having started to make it my career, all I can say to that is YES. SO TRUE.
Even voracious, lifelong readers don’t always know what goes in to producing a single novel. Just on the editorial side. It’s intense. It’s brutally intense. So much so that you will probably end up on the verge of printing your entire book just so you can rip it up, throw the pieces into a trash can, and then burn it all. Or maybe that’s just me…
Sing Sweet Nightingale is now completely through line edits and sitting in the copyeditor’s inbox, waiting for them to go through and tell me how bad I am at commas (which I already know). After one or two copyediting passes (I’m honestly not sure), then page proof, and then, I think, galleys? That is the point in time when I’ll actually be able to hold a book that I wrote in my hands. Something with a cover and a pretty layout and my name on multiple pages and OMG. I think I might start freaking out soon. And it’s not even here yet!
While I’m waiting on revisions on another project and copyedits from Spencer Hill, I’ve been jumping between reading and working on two different contemporary projects. Mostly, though, I’ve been trying to give my brain a little bit of a break before the insanity begins again with book 2 of The Dream War Saga.
So that’s it! That’s what’s happening in my life. Preparing for more edits and also for my upcoming trip west for the Vegas Valley Book Festival! I’m especially excited about that trip because I get to see my bestie Lani and my friend Vivi Barnes, whose book Olivia Twisted is out soon! If you’re going to be in the area, I hope you’ll swing by the festival on Saturday. I will have bookmarks to sign and maybe a copy or two of Doorways to Extra Time to give away.
And now, back to my regularly scheduled programming. Otherwise known as the day job… >.<