WORDQUAKE GIVEAWAY

I'm running a giveaway of one signed copy of WORDQUAKE, my illustrated short read for reluctant readers! Use the form below OR comment to enter.

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MILES LEFT YET: ON SENIOR LIT, HAPPY ENDINGS, AND BEGINNING AGAIN FROM EXPERIENCE

I got on a bit of a video kick this weekend--and I'm delighted to share my thoughts about both senior lit and my latest full-length novel, MILES LEFT YET:

CLASSROOM VISITS + WRITING CHALLENGE FOR STUDENTS

I've been having a ton of fun incorporating video content into classrooms lately. I had an incredible Skype with Ms. Angel's class in Willard:

I also put together this short video for Ms. Brown's class in Halfway. It concludes as I turn the tables and ask students a question of my own; feel free to play it for your young readers and take part in my writing challenge!

SNEAK PEEK OF FERAL - RELEASING NEXT WEEK!

We're growing ever closer to the release of my next YA, FERAL.  In fact, the book releases a week from tomorrow!  To celebrate, here's the final sneak peek of the first chapter:


Be sure to pre-order your copy to make sure your copy arrives as soon as possible following the release.

FERAL - SNEAK PEEK!

I'm delighted to share a new sneak peek of my forthcoming FERAL:


Pre-order FERAL from your favorite outlet.

FERAL SNEAK PEEK #2

Following the starred PW review, I've filmed another sneak peek video.  In this clip, we pick up with Serena as her killer pulls her from the high school basement's window:




Click here to pre-order FERAL through your favorite outlet.

THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY - WHAT I FOUND

I'm having a blast on the online tour for THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY!  Some fabulous, really intelligent, thoughtful blog reviews have also gone live.  Check out the Tour Page for links to all the live stops and the reviews.

Some of the most fun I've had is putting together vlogs...Last week, Susan at TheArtofNotGettingPublished observed that Auggie and Gus make art from found objects, and asks what I "found" while writing my books.  Here's my answer:



Be sure to check back in on the Tour Page next week, for links to the latest stops!

THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY TRAILER!

Here 'tis: the trailer for my debut MG, THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY! 

Enjoy...and by all means, feel free to link to or embed the trailer in your own blogs...

PLAYING HURT & A BLUE SO DARK - NEW VIDS

I'm gearing up to add a bunch of new videos to both my main author site and my site for young readers for THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY...what better way to warm up to the process than with some new video content for my previously-released work?

PLAYING HURT - BEING A PLOTTER AND LISTENING TO MY CHARACTERS:

A BLUE SO DARK - THE CREATIVE PROCESS

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

YA SAVES VLOG INTERVIEW

A new vlog interview's just gone live for this month's YA Saves!  Hosted by both Patricia's Particularity and The Busy Bibliophile, the series has featured authors and books that tackle the tough topic of mental health / mental illness.  My own interview recently went live; be sure to head on over to The Busy Bibliophile to enter to win a signed copy of A BLUE SO DARK!

WRITING TIP - ON LUCK

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, a vlog writing tip on how to snag a little luck:

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY + INSPIRATION

My hometown of Springfield was recently named one of Amazon's most romantic cities! In honor of both this distinction and the upcoming holiday, a vlog post:



Instead of giving out chocolate hearts to my followers, I'm offering another treat: I'm rerunning a guest post, which recently appeared on Adventures in YA & Children's Publishing. The post, which details my long road to publication (and how, in the course of two hours in one day, I suddenly had both an agent and book deal), got quite a bit of attention online. I'm running it here in the hopes that it will continue to offer sweet bursts of inspiration, to those still chasing their first publication:


When I got my master’s in ’01, my mom invited me to stay home and devote full-time effort to getting a writing career off the ground (my lifelong dream). I figured it’d take a year or so to write a novel, then it’d sell (I was lucky enough to have placed poetry, short fiction, and literary critique in journals when I was in college, and was under the grand delusion that selling a manuscript would be a breeze for me), and in oh, two years or so, I’d have money in the bank, and I’d be off and running.

Okay, seriously. You can stop laughing now.

The truth is that I spent the next seven and a half years writing and submitting manuscript after manuscript…after manuscript. In that time, my friends from college finished up PhDs, started teaching, doing research, became professionals. I often felt like all I had was a deep gash in the drywall where I’d spent months upon months banging my head against it. And rejection slips. Hundreds upon hundreds upon hundreds of them—more than a thousand in all.

Enter the holiday season of ’08. That’s when my YA, A BLUE SO DARK, was under submission at Flux. I spoke to Brian (Farrey, acquisitions editor at Flux) for the first time just before Thanksgiving, and though I tried to play it cool, I spent Christmas on pins and needles, tied up in knots, hoping that finally the acceptance I’d been working toward for so long would appear.

Appear it did, just a few days after the new year. And literally two hours—I swear it’s true—two hours after I accepted the offer from Flux, the phone rang. On the other end of the line was an agent who was raving about a middle grade book I’d sent earlier that fall. With an offer of representation.

I accepted (Deborah Warren later sold my debut MG, THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY, to Dial, and is still my agent). After that initial phone call, though, in the winter of ’09, I just stood in my kitchen, dazed, wondering how it could have happened. Seven and a half years I’d been seeking a book deal, seeking representation. And in the course of two hours in one day, I had both.

The thing is, though, I can’t attribute that incredible day to luck or holiday magic. That day is the result of hard work. Period. That day happened because I really did read every single one of those thousand-plus rejection letters (more than eighty of them were rejections for A BLUE SO DARK). Painful as it sometimes was, I didn’t just toss those rejections in the trash, insist I was right, and continue to submit the same book over and over. I digested the critique and I dove back in, revising before submitting again.

For the most part, though, I really think that’s what luck is really made of: the ability to recognize your own shortcomings, the willingness to listen to advice, and the sweat of some insanely hard work.

PLAYING HURT - NEARLY ONE YEAR OLD!

It's beyond hard to believe, but it's true: this March, PLAYING HURT will be a year old! Get ready to celebrate with me by snagging yourself a copy, if you haven't already done so.

If you've been a bit reluctant to read PLAYING HURT, perhaps because you're not usually a romance reader, this vlog is for you! (Or, if you've got a reading pal who's been reluctant for the same reason, pass them the link to this post!) Thanks to some lyrical writing and heavy subplots, PLAYING HURT is, as I explain here, more than just a simple summer love story:




For those of you with e-copies: get your books signed through Kindlegraph!

And be sure to check out my latest interview with the incredible Catherine Ryan Hyde for a chance to win a PLAYING HURT swag pack!

VLOG OUTTAKE (ON WIFE-BEATERS...)

Filming vlogs is a blast...but I'm not sure if my usually-serious finished products (interviews, writing tips, etc.) have ever revealed how much fun I really do have filming them.

...I'm pretty sure, though, that this silly outtake from a vlog I filmed this week does a good job of showing what a joy they can be...

A BLUE SO DARK TRAILER

I've decided, with my first MG in the works, to get in on the book trailer scene...and in order to prepare for doing the trailer for THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY, I've decided to get my feet wet by doing trailers for both of my published YAs: A BLUE SO DARK and PLAYING HURT.

I really love the finished product for A BLUE SO DARK...I also loved getting a chance to celebrate my debut novel. If you love the trailer as much as I do, head over to my author page on Facebook, and become a fan! And spread the word, because as soon as I hit 200 fans, I'll be doing some giveaways of quickly-dwindling author swag!

Also, if you're a blogger who would like to be on my mailing list (in order to get news and promotional opportunities sent straight to your inbox), fill out the form here!

Without further ado...A BLUE SO DARK:

HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST Qs

I know I've mentioned this previously (the idea of sending me your topics for September blog posts for my YA group blog, YA Outside the Lines). But I also just filmed a short vid about using your topics for our posts, and I had to share...

We're getting some really great suggestions in, but I'd love to have more! Slapstick funny or deadpan serious...it's up to you! Go ahead and leave any ideas in the comments to this post.

Thanks in advance for your fabulous suggestions!

REDEFINING "TORTURE"

As a writer, I spend more than my fair share of time thinking about the shades and meanings of words. This summer, it seems my old home state of MO is providing a brand-new definition of "torture," as this video explains:

THE REACHOUT INTERVIEW

Okay, so sometimes, technical difficulties aren't such a bad thing after all. When the audio refused to cooperate for my USTREAM chat with ReachOut Reads, I suggested gathering up the questions from ReachOut, along with additional questions from readers via Twitter, then filming the answers in a not-so-live video. I'm really pleased with the results, and hope you are too:

AUTHOR VISIT AT THE LIBRARY CENTER

I had an incredible time at The Library Center here in Springfield on Saturday...I got a chance to interact with a group of teens who were avid readers and writers; some of them had even begun the submission process themselves! Enjoy the snippets from the visit, which I've put into a video:





And be sure to check out these fab stops on the PLAYING HURT Tour: Reviews at Palm Books Journal, Anna Reads, Gone with the Words, and Between the Pages; interviews at Makeshift Bookmark, Supernatural Snark, Michelle and Leslie's Book Picks, I Am A Reader, Not A Writer, and Readers Unite (Readers Unite is also hosting a giveaway of PLAYING HURT...and maybe even a giveaway of A BLUE SO DARK...so head on over and show some follower love)!