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(One was released in the US, and one is releasing this month in India.)

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HarperCollins India is releasing my First Daughter books next month, beginning with the first, and editor Pradipta Sarkar sent me the new cover. Here's the India version, followed by the American original. What do you guys think?

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It's an election year.

A couple of brown girls are heading to the White House.

I promoted as hard as I could (even hiring a publicist for the first time).

Reviewers said the books were "fast and funny" and sure to "grab teen readers," described Sameera as "savvy and appealing," and even compared them to the The Princess Diaries series.

My blog buddies did their best to get the buzz going, and readers still send me the nicest fan mail.

So here's my question for my Fire Escape visitors (okay, it's a bit of a whine): WHY AREN'T MY FIRST DAUGHTER BOOKS SELLING MORE COPIES?

1. They're okay, but honestly? Not your best books.
   
   
2. The covers sent out a "multicultural" vibe, not a "chick lit" vibe, which (I hate to say it) might have hurt sales.
   
   
3. You shouldn't have made Sparrow's Dad a Republican. What were you thinking?
   
   
4. The timing of release was wrong -- June 2007 was way too early for book one.
   
   
5. They should have been released in paperback from the start, the hardcovers were too expensive.
   
   
6. That's the way the baby bounces these days, sweetie. Suck it up and move on.

With the inauguration coming up, I'm wondering if I can gather my energies to give the books one last promotional push, or if it's just not worth it. Unfortunately, if the paperback of EXTREME AMERICAN MAKEOVER doesn't sell well, the paperback of WHITE HOUSE RULES will never see the light of day.

Please be harsh and straight if you answer via comments, because I'd like to understand the mysteries of this industry. My skin is thick from years of being in this profession, and I don't even care if you've never heard of the books. Just vote. If you prefer an anonymous quiz, here you go, please pick the answer you think fits best, and guess if you've never read them.

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Remember when I sent copies of my books to the McCain and Obama girls as payback for tracking them on sparrowblog?

Well, I haven't heard back yet from Meghan or Bridget, and the padded envelope containing Rickshaw Girl was returned to sender by Obama's campaign headquarters, unopened.

I'd already inscribed the book to Sasha and Malia, so I decided to send it again, this time directly to their school library. Here's the handwritten note I just got from their librarian:

Thank you so much for the gift of your wonderful book in honor of Malia and Sasha. We do already own a copy, but kids love it, and an additional copy, especially as a gift from you, will be treasured. It is a beautiful story, and a glimpse into a world so different from ours. I will also write a note to the Obamas to let them know the book is here. Thanks again for your thoughtful gift.

Now that's classy. The hand that chooses the books and checks them out to kids rules the world.

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Thanks to the fact that there's bound to be a brown girl in the White House no matter who wins, the First Daughter books are getting a bit of buzz. Which is good, because the fate of a paperback WHITE HOUSE RULES depends on how well the PB of EXTREME AMERICAN MAKEOVER sells.

Slate writer Nina Shen Rastogi discovered the books, and over at Sepia Mutiny, blogger Taz took the time to read my Cynsations interview and report that I didn't know about Bridget McCain before I wrote the books. Really, I didn't. I'm just a run-of-the-mill powerful prophet.

And last but not least, my main character's sparrowblog got 8500 unique visitors last Friday (you fellow site-stat-checking geeks might know what that means).

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Blog visitor statistics for Sparrowblog, where the protagonist of my FIRST DAUGHTER novels is keeping track of the real First Kid and First Veep Kid wannabes in Campaign '08, reveal the rising interest in the candidates' families thanks to the Conventions:


But here's the bottom line on the Fire Escape: DO THEY BUY THE BOOKS?

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Today I'm celebrating the release of affordable paperback copies of FIRST DAUGHTER: EXTREME AMERICAN MAKEOVER from Puffin books. I hope they sell well, because the fate of sequel FIRST DAUGHTER: WHITE HOUSE RULES in paperback form depends on it.

In honor of the book's release, I sent Malia and Sasha Obama a signed copy of RICKSHAW GIRL just for the heck of it (they're a bit young for the FIRST DAUGHTER books, which I sent to Bridget McCain months ago).

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Apparently teens are reading American YA lit in Quezon City, Philippines, and First Daughter: White House Rules was recently reviewed at a hospitable blog called "Into The Wardrobe," where I was also asked to give an interview. Maraming Salamat, Tarie!

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A couple of reviewers have applied the phrase "fairy tale" to my First Daughter books. Homeschool teacher and former librarian Sherry Early laments that the real world can't be like Sameera's, nonetheless giving First Daughter: White House Rules a lovely review and ending with a question one hopes many story consumers will ask:

It’s well-written teenage romance and adventure with a subtle, understated message of anti-racism, acceptance and respect for other cultures. What’s not to like?

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Yes, that's my little Rickshaw Girl, the French edition, aka De père en fille, releasing this month from Flammarion.

Meanwhile, at the Irish Society For The Study of Children's Literature Conference last month, here was a session presented by Shehrazade Emmambokus:

How children’s literature of the South Asian diaspora responds to the media’s vilification of South Asian minority groups following the 11 September attacks.

Immediately following the World Trade Center and the Pentagon attacks on 11 September 2001, the international news media was gripped by the events that took place. However, not only did the news media respond to these events, but other forms of cultural media did too: the music industry, the film industry, the books and literature industry which also includes children’s literature.

Examples of children’s books which engage with these events include, amongst others, Jeanette Winter’s September Roses (2004), Randa Abdel-Fattah’s Does My Head Look Big In This? (2007), and Brian Mandabach’s Or Not (2007). But more specifically from the South Asian literary sub-genre of children’s literature: Anjali Banerjee’s Looking for Bapu (2006), Marina Budhos’s Ask Me No Questions (2006) and Mitali Perkins’ First Daughter: Extreme American Makeover (2007).

Engaging with media theory and the representations of South Asian minorities since the events of 11 September, this paper will focus predominantly on Perkins’ First Daughter and Budhos’ Ask Me No Questions. Through the characters, this paper will look at whether or not they internalise the stereotypical images and messages purported in the news media, and will ask, firstly, if there is an internalisation of the media stereotypes, why is this possible? And secondly, if there is a resistance towards these media stereotypes, what do these literatures say about young developing ethnic identities and subsequently the individual’s right to negotiate their own ethnic identities?

By focussing on these questions, this paper will argue that although these texts present their readers with characters who are confronted by the media and its use of stereotype during its coverage of the 11 September attacks, these characters’ ethnic identities are not compromised, in fact, they are able to remain culturally neutral. Subsequently, through the characters’ experiences, these books are able to offer South Asian diasporic children and teenagers a form of bibliotherapy as these books demonstrate how the characters deal with the negative media pressures.

Now that's nice, especially with Boston already greening up for St. Patty's Day.

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I am freaking myself out. Not to mention the librarians at Cincinnati Public Library.

In 2006, when I wrote First Daughter: Extreme American Makeover, nobody was running for president and the election seemed far in the future.

Thanks to my between cultures fixation, I decided it would be fun to put a Muslim-background person in the White House, so I created a main character who was adopted from Pakistan.

Given my techno-geekiness and love of blogging, I made my first daughter wannabe a popular blogger who has an impact on the campaign.

Dutton told me to pick a party, so I thought, what the heck, I'll make her Dad a Republican and wrote her mom as a tall blonde.

Flash forward two years.

John McCain, married to tall blonde Cindy McCain, clinches the Republican race.

His daughter Bridget was adopted from a Muslim country (I had NO idea when I wrote the books, I promise!)

His daughter Meghan is blogging the campaign to much acclaim.

Did I cause these events to happen in that mystical, powerful place called fiction? Maybe, my loves, so beware. If I get in a bad mood I might write a novel about an evil blogger who writes html code with the power to poison people who read her posts. MWAHAHA!!!!!

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Help! I'm having one of those existential "who am I?" moments. Here's the scoop. 

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Susan Chaityn Lebovitz of the Boston Globe recently wrote a story about me and my buddy Karen Day (author of Tall Tales and No Cream Puffs, both from Wendy Lamb Books). And today, the paper's Jan Gardner included the First Daughter books and sparrowblog in her weekly Shelf Life column. The hometown rag's been good to me.

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School Library Journal's February issue is chock full of reviews, including a nice one about my First Daughter: White House Rules:

... Sameera's world is one of diverse political persuasions, faiths, and ethnicities, where kindness and understanding allow all people to get along. In a genuine online blog, as well as a MySpace profile, Perkins has created a life for Sameera that extends beyond the book. Readers who enjoy Meg Cabot's "Princess Diaries" (HarperCollins) and others of the same ilk will enjoy reading about Sameera.

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If you can't make it to my book launch party this Sunday 2/3 at 2 p.m. at Wellesley Booksmith but want signed copies of both First Daughter novels, why not order them to be shipped to you after the event? You may do it online at their site, or by phone (781 431 1160). I'll be happy to personalize them. 

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Not only did Alison and Lee at Wellesley Booksmith bend over backwards to host my 2/3 Super Tuesday Book Launch Party without much notice (thanks to me realizing that an event before Super Tuesday might be good timing), but Lee scrambled to try and get the event listed in the Wellesley Townsman as well as in the Boston Globe.

Today the Globe contacted me about the possibility of mentioning the First Daughter books on their lit page -- all thanks to a local independent bookstore with a great reputation. I'll keep you posted, don't worry. :)

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January 24, 2008
FIRST DAUGHTER: WHITE HOUSE RULES
by Mitali Perkins, ages 11-up, Fiction, Dutton Books
Sequel to First Daughter: Extreme American Makeover

In what Booklist calls two “smart and funny” novels, sixteen-year-old Sameera, also known as Sparrow, hits the campaign trail with her father and moves into the White House. Publishers Weekly describes her as an “intelligent, witty and prepossessed heroine,” and says readers will “enjoy this peek at the behind-the-scenes finessing that goes on in modern politics.”

Readers can go to sparrowblog where Sparrow gives news updates on the lives of real candidates’ sons and daughters on the campaign trail—Meghan McCain, Cate Edwards, Sarah Huckabee, Malia and Sasha Obama, Chelsea Clinton, the five Romney sons, and the first twins—along with links to sites where kids can find out more about politics and getting involved. 

BOSTON SUPER BOOK LAUNCH PARTY!

If you’re in the Boston area, Wellesley Booksmith invites you to a book launch party at 2 p.m. on Sunday, February 3rd. Yes, it’s Super Bowl Sunday (Go Pats!) but you’ll be home in plenty of time to watch the game -- and be geared up for Tsunami Tuesday, when Massachusetts voters head to the primaries along with voters in 23 other states.

At the party, you’ll get the skinny on the REAL candidates’ kids, play fun trivia games, win prizes, and find out more about election ’08. Come discover how a fictional First Daughter wannabe handles the fun, glitz, and challenges of life in the political limelight. Visit Wellesley Booksmith for more information and RSVP to mitaliperk - at - yahoo - dot - com or in the comments.

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As my book launches tomorrow (First Daughter: White House Rules), I've been doing my best to get ready from the comfort of my cozy study. For any writers out there, I want to share ten ways to spruce up your online presence in anticipation of a book release:

1. Create a web page for your book to grab potential readers.

2. Syndicate your blog(s) at Feedburner (bloggers should do this, too).

3. Invest in an ad via Google Adwords (see mine below) and on Facebook -- make sure you pick keywords carefully.

4. Use AddThis to put social networking buttons at the bottom of every post (bloggers, too).

5. Generate a Facebook Page for the novel.

6. Create a widget at Springwidgets to display your blog on your MySpace page, the sidebar of other blogs (note my sparrowblog content to the right) and/or on your website.

7. Import your blog(s) into Amazon.com so that the content shows up for all your titles.

8. Create a widget featuring your book(s) at Adaptive Blue for your sidebars -- see mine as an example to the right.

9. Set up Google Blog Alerts with keywords related to your novel and write a two-sentence blurb that you can cut, paste, and personalize on a blog post dealing with those keywords, like I did over at the Los Angeles Times and at MSNBC.

10. Make a book trailer (see mine below) using Animoto, Jumpcut, Quicktime Pro, or Apple iMovie and upload it to YouTube, Google Video, Facebook, and MySpace TV.

I know everybody might not be as geekily inclined as myself but some of these things are so easy even a purely right-brained person can do them.  And they're all free, except the ads, which can cost a lot or a little, depending on your budget. Oh, and you have to pay for Quicktime Pro or iMovie but Animoto and Jumpcut are free.

First Daughter (Dutton)

Book Teaser / First Daughter White House Rules

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Here's a teaser for First Daughter: White House Rules, my novel from Dutton releasing January 24, 2008. Do you like it better than the first one?

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Once again, I play around with Quicktime, iMovie, Creative Commons, and public domain music downloads from CNET to come up with a free homemade book trailer for First Daughter: White House Rules (Dutton, January 2008). Hey, necessity's the mother of invention, and I didn't see a line of pros begging to make a trailer for me, so I threw the word "tacky" out of mind and ventured forth.

Here's the first take, with my own voice doing the audio. Our high school's drama star (who's my bud) has agreed to record the final narration. I'd love some feedback from my Fire Escape visitors as I move to a more polished version. Here it is on YouTube, if you prefer watching it over there.

Photo Credits (Courtesy of Creative Commons):

DSC00622 by JohnEdwards2008
Ben and Matt Romney at the Caucus by talkradionews
Governor Huckabee's New Hampshire Tour by VictoryNH
Chelsea Clinton in the Audience by Why Tuesday?
Black and White House by Scott Ableman
The White House by Scott Ableman
Beth10 by cwalker71
Big Bubba by ReelLady
New Laptop by Arbron
Burqa a Meta by FotoRita
Flickr Friends by Meer
Bollywood Couple by Photos4Dreams

Music Credits (Courtesy of CNET):

Star-Spangled Banner by GTX
Dance Vibrations by Elpis

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During one of those weeks where I crave some encouragement, Franklin Park teen librarians feature First Daughter: Extreme American Makeover as their pick of the week:

Sameera Righton (a.k.a. Sparrow) is used to staying on the sidelines. Sure she blogs for her friends about various issues and enjoys hanging with her crew buddies while ordering them about in her position as coxswain. But that invisibility is about to end: Sparrow's dad is running for presidents, and his campaign staff has decided it's time Sparrow is by his side. Sparrow is sure she's ready - she knows politics, and she wants to be made over into a glamorous First Daughter. But when she reaches campaign headquarters, Sparrow soon discovers the kind of makeover her dad's campaign staff plans to provide might not be quite what she had in mind. In short, the staff wants to downplay the fact that Sameera was born in Pakistan and turn her into "Sammy" - an everyday teenager without an intelligent thought in her head. Sparrow knows she wants her dad to win, but will it be at the cost of the "real" Sparrow?

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Remember how I was whining about no sign of a pre-pub review from Kirkus for First Daughter: White House Rules (Dutton, January 2007)? Well, I moaned too soon. My editor, Margaret Woollatt, sent the review yesterday. First, the good stuff:

Perkins, Mitali, FIRST DAUGHTER: White House Rules (Kirkus 12/15/07)

Fresh off the presidential campaign trail, Sparrow and her country cousin Miranda make themselves at home in the White House, enjoying movies in the private theatre and trying out the bowling alley in this second installment of the First Daughter series. Although continuing many of the same plot lines introduced in the lead text, like dealing with the pressures of the press, Sparrow's Pakistani heritage and her budding romance with Bobby, first-time readers are quickly brought up to speed and introduced to new twists. 

Sparrow's blog also continues to play a central role, especially as she begins to realize that as the first daughter her posts have a major worldwide impact. Throughout, Sparrow's actions and thoughtful blog posts paint her as a likable character and great role model.

Woo-hoo, right? Well, brace yourselves for the killler last two sentences, which I deliberately deliver in a tiny, tiny font: But since there is no real crisis and the story almost seems as though it's a guide to living as a teenager in the White House, it has the potential to bore readers who will find Sparrow and her tame adventures flat and predictable. Only for fans who want to know what happens next. (Fiction. 10-13)

Ouch. Margaret, as is her wont, tries to ease the sting: 

Your audience will love the details of life in the White House, as well as the realism of the plot - dealing with a new school, navigating a first relationship - precisely because they will be able to relate to Sparrow's adventure, and because, as the reviewer notes, Sparrow is thoughtful, likable, and a great role model.

Now that's the kind of cheerleading not in most editors' job descriptions, but absolutely required to soothe an author's delicate ego.

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To prove that I'm indeed a political junkie, I'm sharing Sparrow's post for today, which sketches out a YouTube video that I'd dearly love to see.

(Meghan McCain saunters into an empty screen wearing a red t-shirt that pictures her Dad's face, jeans, and boots with stiletto heels. In the background, the Mission Impossible theme song is playing.)

Meghan: I could tell you to get out there and vote for my Dad in '08.

(Cate Edwards comes in and circles Meghan, ending up back to back with her, both of their hands on their hips. Lots of attitude. Cate's wearing a blue t-shirt that pictures her Dad's face, jeans, and high heels.)

Cate: Or I could tell you to get out there and vote for my Dad in '08.

(Both girls pivot slowly to face each other, eyes narrowed. After a minute, they shrug and fist-punch, and turn back to the camera. The background music changes to Alicia Keys, No One, instrumental only.)

Meghan: But we won't.

Cate: Nah. Not here. Not now.

(From off-screen someone tosses them purple hoodies. The girls catch them, put them on, and zip themselves up. Now both of them are wearing identical purple sweatshirts bearing the Rock the Vote logo.)

Meghan: So we'll just stop with ... (Turns to Cate and smiles)

Cate: (Smiles back) Get out there and vote.

Meghan: It's a free country, people.

Cate: Rock the Vote in '08.

Meghan: I'm Meghan McCain, and I approve this message.

Cate: I'm Cate Edwards, and I approve this message.

(They exit chatting side by side, like BFFs.)

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Now and then my main character, Sameera Righton, publishes something on sparrowblog that I want to share with my Fire Escape readers, like this post (reprinted here with Sparrow's permission, of course):

I'm still not sure which candidate's for me, so I took this great quiz comparing my views with theirs over at Select Smart, and was SHOCKED, totally SHOCKED by the matchup (no, I'm not telling -- this blog stays nonpartisan until November '08, sorry). Fill in the bubbles over at the select smart site, skip the ads, and get your own results.

One issue the Select Smart people leave off is what the candidates think about world poverty and disease, so if you care about those biggies, head over to One Vote '08, pick three candidates and compare their views via video clip.

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Ready for a writer's whine? First Daughter: White House Rules, the follow-up novel to First Daughter: Extreme American Makeover (June 2007), releases next month.

At least I think it does.

To date, there have been no reviews of the second book anywhere, not in Kirkus, PW, SLJ, or any other pre-publication sources. Wait -- my friend Pooja Makhijani asked for a review copy to feature the book in our beloved Kahani magazine, but other than that, zilch. Okay, I haven't been out there yelling and picketing about the book like I did for the first one. But still.

I can see now how fortunate I've been with reviews, and taken them hideously for granted, so now I'm holding out a writer's empty rice bowl. If anybody wants a galley for review purposes, please let me know in the comments and I'll see what I can do.

Here's the blurb from Dutton:

This First Daughter makes her own rules.

Last year, Sameera started a blog and helped her father win an election. Now she’s unpacking boxes and exploring her new house. The White House.

Between re-decorating Camp David and learning to waltz at State Dinners, being a First Daughter has lots of perks. But life in the White House may not turn out to be a fairy tale. The guy Sameera fell for on the campaign trail mysteriously stopped calling after her dad became Commander-in-Chief. And while her blog is popular, Sameera is struggling to find something real to write about. Her critics scoff that a pampered First Daughter knows nothing about real life. Cooped up in the Big House, under the watchful eyes of her tutor, the Secret Service, and a pack of paparazzi, Sameera thinks her critics might be right.

It’s time, she decides, to break out of the First Daughter bubble. Sameera just needs an escape plan – and a disguise – to shake things up. As it turns out, to make a fairy tale come true, a girl’s got to be willing to break a few rules . . .

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