How to use this Page

 I've been swamped, as usual--two books to get to copyediting soon! So instead of hanging on my every word (because of course, you all do... :P) pop over to Cheryl Klein, where she's discussing the author-editor relationship. I really like the analogy she comes up with.

Also, keep an eye out this month for book 3 of Hallowmere, Between Golden Jaws. Tiffany Trent just traveled down to see a library in New Orleans who won a visit from her for their Teen Read Week activities. (See here for coverage--it's the second part of the piece, so scroll below the ad.)

Last month's release, Magic in the Mirrorstone, has been getting some great reviews. If you haven't checked it out yet, you don't want to miss it.

Add a Comment

I sure hope that this video is an entrant in the Have a Happy Hallow-wii contest. I found it via tltrent so I can't tell you whether it is or not, but I hope these teens know about it! Deadline is this week, so if you're working on an entry, make sure and send an entry on in! (Individual entry form here, if you're not doing it as a group with your librarian.)

Add a Comment

Sadly, not the singer variety. But it's just as exciting! Hallowmere author Tiffany Trent is hosting a contest on her LJ to celebrate the book birthday of By Venom's Sweet Sting. You could win signed copies of In the Serpent's Coils and By Venom's Sweet Sting, plus all sorts of goodies! All you have to do is go over to her blog and comment by Dec. 25. Go now!

Add a Comment

What I'm working on right now: I'm proofreading the galleys of Between Golden Jaws, Hallowmere book 3. 

What I'm watching right now: Well, not right at this moment, but at home, in my off hours, I mean--I've been watching Seasons 1 and 2 of the new Dr. Who. And totally falling in love with the Doctor. Both of them.

The result: I have started casting the Hallowmere movie in my mind. Not that there will be one, who knows? But if it were a movie, I'd cast David Tennant as Father Joe. Wouldn't he be AWESOME? Imagine those glasses being wire framed spectacles from 1865 or so... Read the rest of this post

Add a Comment

If you're not familiar with Readergirlz yet, go check them out. They're a literacy project started by four YA authors who talk about YA books and feature YA authors on their site. This month they've been featuring Holly Black.

Come October, the month of Teen Read Week, the Divas will be hosting a different author every day, including Tiffany Trent (tltrent  ). They've got a poster and bookmarks for you to download and share, and the lineup is a good one. 

 

Isn't that a great poster?

Here's all the info from Little Willow (slayground  ). The list includes authors like:

Week One
1. Meg Cabot
2. Tiffany Trent
3. Brent Hartinger
4. Lorie Ann Grover
5. K.L. Going
6. Nikki Grimes

Week Two
7. Ellen Hopkins
8. Justina Chen Headley
9. Chris Crutcher
10. Ann Brashares
11. Sarah Mlynowski
12. Cecil Castellucci
13. Kirby Larson

Week Three
14. Tanya Lee Stone
15. John Green
16. Sara Zarr
17. Deb Caletti
18. Rachel Cohn
19. Kirsten Miller
20. Mitali Perkins

Week Four
21. Sonya Sones
22. Lisa Yee
23. Carolyn Mackler
24. E. Lockhart
25. Janet Lee Carey
26. Gaby Triana
27. Lauren Myracle

Week Five
28. Holly Black
29. Cynthia Leitich Smith
30. Dia Calhoun
31. Stephenie Meyer

She also includes a plug for the latest issue of Readergirlz, which I'll pass along:

Have you read the latest issue of readergirlz? The August edition spotlights IRONSIDE by Holly Black. Read the exclusive interview, take part in the book discussions, pick up other highly recommended books, and more! Read the issue.

Readergirlz is a literacy project founded by four female authors - Justina Chen Headley, Lorie Ann Grover, Dia Calhoun and Janet Lee Carey - in an effort to encourage teenagers to read and discuss quality books featuring gusty girls, and to get active in their communities. For more information, please visit http://www.readergirlz.com

Go check it out!

Add a Comment

In the Serpent's Coils by Tiffany Trent (tltrent)  is currently featured as one of the fall 2007 Booksense Picks. (You'll have to scroll down to the section "For Teen Readers.") The listing reads:

IN THE SERPENT'S COILS, by Tiffany Trent (Mirrorstone, $8.95 paper, 9780786942299 / 0786942290) "Who do you trust? That's what 15-year-old Corinne asked when she started having the dreams, and thought her world was ending. The Fey gave her everything she wished for. But when she is sent to boarding school, she is confused by her surroundings and the people she interacts with. Did they follow her there? Why are the teachers so harsh on the students? A gripping, magical book -- you'll be dying to read the next book in the series (but not if the Fey have their way)." --Cassandra Helms, Constellation Books, Reisterstown, MD

Awesome! Thanks to Cassandra of Constellation books for liking Serpent's Coils!

Add a Comment

Due to my crazy weekend, a lot of things have happened that I haven't had the chance to post about. So, here you go, all in one post.

n       First of all, if you don't know about Readergirlz, go check them out--they've got thousands of teen girls excited about reading. As Tiffany Trent posted on her LJ (tltrent</lj>), for Teen Read Week this year Readergirlz is hosting 31 Flavorite Authors for Teens, and Tiffany will be one of them on Oct. 2. They'll talk to a different author every day. But don't wait until October--they're featuring Holly Black this month.

n       I already told you about hallowmere.com, but you should go there again. And share it with your friends. And their friends.

n       Speaking of which, if you’re on MySpace, you should be Corrine’s friend! And Hallowmere’s, too. (I’m there too, though I don’t go over there as often as here.)

n       I will be traveling down to L.A. in early September to talk to some YA librarians. I’m very excited about it.

n       I am spending the week catching up on my way-too-far-behind towering pile of submissions. If you’ve been patiently waiting to hear from me, fear not, the wait may be over soon. Though the wheels of justice—er, publication—do grind slowly, so if it’s not a rejection letter, it might take a little longer for deliberation. I’d post a picture, but I think the real thing is guilt-inducing enough. If you want another editorial perspective on how that goes (and/or, if you miss Miss Snark), I’ve recently discovered Editorial Anonymous, the blog of an editorial assistant who deals with this stuff in a most Miss Snark-ish manner.

Add a Comment

I told you there'd be more fun stuff coming. Check out the newly expanded Hallowmere.com site and you'll find several goodies, including this book trailer:



Also, go explore Falston! And meet the characters in their blogs!

Feel free to pass this on to friends, the teens in your life... :)

Add a Comment

While at ALA, Tiffany Trent

tltrent) and I were interviewed for the inauguration of a podcast series over at The Official Time-waster's Guide, a game/book/movie review site that really loves things of a fantastic nature. That interview is now up. If you like what you hear, you can go discuss it on their forums. The folks at TWG also interviewed Candice Ransom on another day, which will go up as the second of the series, I believe--though there may be another episode between then that will have other content. I'll keep you updated.

Today was the busiest day of the conference for us at Mirrorstone, though the initial crush of weekend attendees has slowed a bit (we've been told that this conference's attendance broke the record set in Chicago two years ago through the roof, as the highest attendance ever at an ALA convention). 

Highlights of my day (pictures to come later):

Seeing the line crook around the corner for Tiffany Trent's ARC signing in the Random House booth (they're our distributor, and I must say they're all fabulous people). 

Seeing Cecil Castellucci reading at the Live @ Your Library stage and recruiting several librarian attendees to be the Janes in her new graphic novel P.L.A.I.N. Janes. Very inventive way to make a visual medium translate as much visually as auditorily (is that a word?).

Seeing Tiffany Trent read at the Live @ Your Library stage, the first time I've heard Hallowmere read aloud. And more librarians excited for Hallowmere.

Seeing and/or meeting several LJ/blog friends who I only see at these kinds of conventions including Alvina, Sarah, Holly, Cecil, dlgarfinkle, and many many others which now that it's after midnight after several days on my feet, I'm remembering you but not. I will make amends at a time when I am thinking clearer and have time to go through my pictures.

Speaking of, pictures later. I was going to try to post them, but exhaustion has finally hit and I just need to go to bed if I'm going to make it to what should be my highlight of tomorrow: my tour of the Capitol! (First time to D.C., big history buff. Hey, I'm the kind of girl who will travel to Scotland to do family history. This is a really exciting thing for me.)

 

Add a Comment

And I have no good reason but to say, wow, I've been busy.  I'm actually whittling away at both my submissions pile and my deadlines. Emphasis on deadlines--including some very nice upcoming books like the Practical Guide to Monsters, the finales for three trilogies in the Dragonlance: The New Adventures series (see sidebar for links to the first books in those trilogies), and a new novel related to the Practical Guide to Dragons. And somewhere in there is Hallowmere--By Venom's Sweet Sting, the sequel to Tiffany Trent's In the Serpent's Coils, which is between stages right now, and then there's all those manuscripts and samples coming in! Patience is a virtue much to be treasured during May and June in the publishing world.

The next big event right now is ALA, which I'm very excited for on many levels. Most importantly, I'll finally get to meet Tiffany (tltrent). We've worked together for two years now, and we haven't met yet! I'm so jealous that all my coworkers met her a couple weeks ago at BEA before I got to. I take comfort only in knowing that they missed me terribly.

Second most importantly, I've never been to Our Nation's Capital before. Or the Capitol, for that matter. I'm excited to see what little I can squeeze in while the whirlwind of the conference is going on.

Second again most importantly (because it's just as important if not more so, and I'm just as excited, but for different reasons) is that I'll get to connect with librarians and teachers and all sorts of people connected with children's books again. I love going to shows like this. It's energizing (and exhausting).

So if you're going to ALA, look for the Mirrorstone/Wizards booth (note from Tiffany's pictures from BEA that the booth will again be that cool--it's a great landmark for meeting friends, I hear). Come meet Tiffany and get an ARC of In the Serpent's Coils. Meet Candice Ransom and investigate history with the Time Spies. Come explore the world of dragons and monsters with our Practical Guide signings--and ARCs of Red Dragon Codex, the cover of which is so beautiful that I must share it, but it's not completely final yet, so you'll be the first to get a sneak peek if you're at ALA! And as always, there will be other free stuff too. 

I'll post the booth number next week when I know it!

Add a Comment

The beautiful, beautiful Hallowmere website has been born. And, just like little newborns, it will grow. But for now, this is what you get to see.

Isn't it beautiful? I love what they've done with it. All of you who have been chomping at the bit to read it, check out the fact that somewhere on that site, you'll be able to find a PDF of the sample chapter. It's like an Easter egg hunt. Go find it!

Add a Comment

I must say that taking a day off to move when you have so much to do at work can be really quite guilt-inducing, yet at the same time, how freeing! I'm taking a break from packing clothes and cat stuff to eat lunch entirely too late in the day, and of course checked my work email at the same time. Glad I did, because there were some sketches to look at, some questions to answer, and some good news to hear. 

For those of you in the Chicago area, you'll want to mark your calendars for April 19, because Hallowmere author Tiffany Trent (tltrent) will be in town for Support Teen Literature Day. It's an event that's part of National Library Week, and I'm excited that teens at a local school will get the chance to meet Tiffany and get a taste of Hallowmere. I don't know all the details, except that it will be at a school in Chicago, so I'm not sure if it's a public event or a school visit. Tiffany will post more details on her own site as we know more, so keep an eye out over there.

If you're not in the Chicago area (and even if you are!), you can participate in Support Teen Literature Day by taking to heart some of the suggestions at the ALA web page, like writing letters to the editor of your local paper, getting adults to talk about books that they loved as teens, and encouraging your own teens to be active at the library. Those suggestions are mainly aimed at teen librarians, so if you're not a teen librarian, you might go make a connection with your teen librarian and check out all the interesting things he or she is doing to reach out to teens in your library.

I'm back to work on the packing. Moving the kitties up tonight to the new place, so let's hope for good traffic so they don't cry in the car for too long. I've gotten out of the habit of taking them on drives with me, so it could be a little more stressful than they're used to. But we'll be installed in the new place soon, and they'll be so happy to have an entire house to run laps in!

Add a Comment

Shannon Hale, author of Princess Academy, Goose Girl, and many others, says of In the Serpent's Coils, "A luscious read." Thanks, Shannon! We're so glad she enjoyed it, and we hope you do too. Another month until ALA Midwinter--be sure to keep an eye out for Mirrorstone in the Wizards of the Coast booth, and pick up your advance copy of In the Serpent's Coils. (It'll be available in bookstores Sept. 2007.)

And if you haven't read any of Shannon's books, you're in for a treat. Go pick them up! My favorite is Goose Girl, which is a retelling of the Grimm fairy tale by the same name. Princess Academy runs a close second. She's a got such a lyrical style, and always has strong girl characters--sassy, as she'd say. (I still haven't had a chance to pick up the latest of her books, the third book in the same world as Goose Girl, but I'm hoping I'll be able to get it this Christmas.) If you're a fan of fairy tale retellings and great fantasy, Shannon's books are for you.

I'm off tomorrow to Illinois for an early Christmas vacation, so you may not hear from me for a while. (Then again, with all that time on my hands, I may blog more often, who knows?) If not, hope everyone has a merry Christmas or happy holiday of your choice--I know many who have already been celebrating Hannukah, and if you lean more in the Solstice direction or whatever, I wish you joy in your celebrations.

Add a Comment