I'm incredibly honored to announce that The Steep and Thorny Way was named a Kirkus Best Teen Book of 2016. Thank you so much to Kirkus for this much-appreciated recognition for the novel!

The Steep and Thorny Way was also honored in the Chicago Public Library's Best Teen Fiction of 2016, Barnes & Noble Teen Bloggers' Favorite Books of 2016, and Capitol Choices 2016 nominees. I couldn't be prouder.

Now that I've wrapped up all of my 2016 celebrations for the release of both The Steep and Thorny Way and Yesternight, I'll let you in on some behind-the-scenes news for my next two novels.

Odd & True, Coming Fall 2017

In case you haven't yet heard, I have a brand-new young adult novel in the works, Odd & True, and it's scheduled for publication in Fall 2017. I just wrapped up the line edits stage with my Amulet Books editor, Maggie Lehrman, and the novel is now in copyediting. I've seen an early sketch for the cover design, but I probably won't be able to reveal the cover or share the official synopsis until sometime in the first three to four months of 2017.

However, because I know that's a long time to wait, I'll share two of my favorite lines from the first chapter right now . . .  


Odd & True is an extremely personal novel for me, and yet it's also my most fantastical tale. I love it dearly and can't wait to share more about it in the new year.

The 2019 Novel

Yes, I also have a 2019 novel in the works! It's the second novel of my two-book YA deal for Odd & True, but it won't be a sequel. My editor recently approved my plans for another standalone historical novel, and I'm currently immersed in the research stage. I won't yet reveal the subject matter, but I will say it involves a real-life figure from the past. Once you hear who that person is, I think you'll agree it sounds like someone I'd write about.

I do have a yearning to write an Odd & True sequel, but I'm waiting for the ideas to further develop, plus I want to see how the first book does next year. I'll spread the word when options for preordering Odd & True become available.

You can add the novel to your Goodreads shelf here:



Happy holidays!

Warmest wishes,
Cat

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I have two more 2016 appearances left, and then, aside from one library visit in January, I'm taking a long break from events to concentrate on writing deadlines and family until the release of Odd & True in Fall 2017. Here's where you can find me in November 2016:

Workshop: Writing Scary - 1:00-3:30 pm. Registration required.
Reading and signing for YESTERNIGHT - 7:00 pm.   

I'm so grateful that I had the chance to appear at so many conferences, festivals, and other events in 2016. Thank you to my Abrams publicist, Caitlin Miller, and to all of the event coordinators who invited me to speak and helped to arrange for my travels!

If you're interested in booking me in 2017, please note that I'm taking my break from January through mid-June 2017. Not only will I be wrapping up my Odd & True edits and working on a new YA that's due next year, but my daughter is graduating from high school in 2017. I want to savor her last semester home before she takes off for college. I will be available for some summer events, and then I'll be back to diving into appearances in Fall 2017.

In other news, my latest release for adults, Yesternight, is currently being featured in the "Target Picks" section of Target stores!

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My second novel for adults, Yesternight, releases today, and I'll be celebrating with a reading and signing this evening at Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing in Beaverton, Oregon.  The event starts at 7:00 pm. Cupcakes, of course, will be included.

I'm so excited that this book is finally heading out into the world. My team at HarperCollins, including my editor, Lucia Macro, has done such a wonderful job with the novel, and their enthusiasm for it makes me incredibly happy.

Here's more info, reviews, and ordering options for Yesternight:

Adult Fiction

Available today, October 4, 2016!
William Morrow/HarperCollins
Paperback, ISBN 9780062440860

In 1925, Alice Lind steps off a train in the rain-soaked coastal hamlet of Gordon Bay, Oregon. There, she expects to do nothing more difficult than administer IQ tests to a group of rural schoolchildren. A trained psychologist, Alice believes mysteries of the mind can be unlocked scientifically, but now her views are about to be challenged by one curious child.

Seven-year-old Janie O’Daire is a mathematical genius, which is surprising. But what is disturbing are the stories she tells: that her name was once Violet, she grew up in Kansas decades earlier, and she drowned at age nineteen. Alice delves into these stories, at first believing they’re no more than the product of the girl’s vast imagination. But, slowly, Alice comes to the realization that Janie might indeed be telling a strange truth.

Alice knows the investigation may endanger her already shaky professional reputation, and as a woman in a field dominated by men she has no room for mistakes. But she is unprepared for the ways it will illuminate terrifying mysteries within her own past, and in the process, irrevocably change her life.

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I'm back from a short break, during which I spent much-needed time with family after a year of back-to-back deadlines and months of traveling for events. Here's my latest news:

MY UPCOMING BOOKS:

Yesternight, my next novel for adults, debuts October 4 from HarperCollins. Readers can now preorder signed copies from Powell's Books.

Advance praise for Yesternight:





In August I turned in my fourth young adult novel, Odd & True, and in the coming weeks I'll be hard at work on revisions for the book based on notes from my editor at Abrams, Maggie Lehrman.

Odd & True is scheduled for publication in Fall 2017, and I can't wait to share more about it in the spring!


MY FALL 2016 APPEARANCES:

Here's where I'll be speaking and signing in the coming months . . .

3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd., Beaverton, OR
Launch party for YESTERNIGHT.


Reading and signing for THE UNINVITED. Registration required.

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Bathing beauties. Library of Congress.

Hello, dear readers. I hope you're doing well.

Here's my news for Summer 2016.

My newest YA novel, Odd & True, is due to my editor in August, and I'm hurriedly working to finish it so it can remain on schedule for its Fall 2017 release. In order to meet my deadline, I won't be posting any more updates on this site for a while.

Furthermore, I plan to take a social media break from July 11 to August 8. If you send me any messages during those weeks, I'll be hiding away in a writing cave and won't be able to respond. That's truly the only possible way I'll survive. 

In the coming weeks I'm also heading to both Florida and New York for literary events, most of them kindly arranged by my YA publisher, Abrams. Here are the finalized details about where and when I'll be appearing:





Many of my Fall 2016 signings are already listed on my Events page, including the launch party for Yesternight, my next novel for adults, which HarperCollins will release October 4, 2016.

There are a few other fall festival/conference appearances in the works, but I can't yet announce them. Please check back around September for the updated info.

I'm extremely grateful to be so busy as an author, but, unfortunately, the deadlines and traveling have forced me to decline my assistance to numerous people who have asked me to blurb their books or to help them out in some other way. I genuinely wish I could help everyone, but I'm also raising two kids in the middle of working on my books, and any spare moment that's left (which isn't much) must absolutely go to them.

Thank you for patience. Thank you for your enthusiasm for my work!

Warmest wishes,
Cat 

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Here's a quick look at my latest news.

KBOO Interview:

KBOO 90.7 FM in Portland, OR, interviewed me in April as part of their "Between the Covers" program, and the podcast is now available online. Listen here.

Typeset Yesternight Pages:

I just received the typeset pages for Yesternight, my next novel for adults! William Morrow will be releasing the book on October 4, 2016. Yesternight is a psychological thriller about a school psychologist who, in 1925, investigates a seven-year-old girl who claims to have lived a past life as a woman who drowned in 1890.

Here's a little sneak peak of the interior pages:

May-August Events:

I've updated my Events page to include more details about upcoming appearances. Here's where I'll be from the end of May through August.

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Me at Powell's Books, Beaverton, OR.

I've decided to share a few updates about my books and appearances before I disappear back into my mountain of deadlines. If I'm not working to meet a deadline, I'm either traveling for an event or making sure my kids are heading off to school in clean clothing and with packed lunches, so I apologize for any delays in responses to messages. I do greatly appreciate all letters and emails from readers.

Please also note that I'm closed to book blurbs through 2016.

Here's where I'll be appearing from May through August 2016:

Saturday, May 7, 2016
Oregon Writing Festival
Portland State University, Portland, OR
Keynote speaker; writing workshop.

Tuesday, May 24, 2016
Manchester Township High School
Manchester Township, NJ
School visit.

Saturday, June 4, 2016, 11:00 am-2:00 pm
Klindt's Booksellers Spring Author Festival
315 E. 2nd Street, The Dalles, OR
Author fair with 12 Oregon YA and middle-grade authors.

Saturday, June 25-Sunday, June 26, 2016
ALA 2016 Annual Conference and Exhibition
Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, FL
Appearance date and time TBA.

Tuesday July 5-Saturday, June 9, 2016
Thrillerfest
Grand Hyatt, New York City, NY
More info forthcoming.

Saturday, August 13, 2016
Willamette Writers Conference
Sheraton Portland Oregon Hotel, Portland, OR
Panel - How to Break Into (and Survive!) the World of Young Adult Fiction (3:30 pm-5:00 pm). 

Here's the current status of my novels-in-progress:

Yesternight, my next adult novel, will release from HarperCollins on October 4, 2016. I'm about to go into copyedits for the book, and I've heard review copies should be available around June.

Odd & True, my next YA novel, is scheduled to release from Abrams in Fall 2017. I'm still writing the book, which is due to my editor in August of this year.

I also have an as-of-yet-untitled YA novel due to my editor in Summer 2017.

Meanwhile, The Steep and Thorny Way continues to be the book I'm actively promoting at events. Here are the latest reviews for the novel:

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I've been invited to speak at several different events between now and the end of 2016, which means I'll be traveling around the country quite a bit. Here's where you can find me in April:

Saturday, April 2, 2016,
Literary Orange
Irvine Marriott
18000 Von Karman Ave., Irvine, CA
Panel - Young Adult: Trending Teen Literature (1:50-2:30 pm).

Sunday, April 3, 2016, 1:00 pm
Barnes & Noble - Redlands
Citrus Plaza Shopping Center, Redlands, CA
Reading and signing for THE STEEP AND THORNY WAY.

Thursday, April 7, 2016, 6:30 pm
Salem Public Library, Loucks Auditorium
585 Liberty St SE, Salem, OR
Author talk for teens and signing.

Saturday, April 9, 2016
Los Angeles Times Festival of Books
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
Panel - Perspectives on the Past: Writing Young Adult History (1:30-2:30 pm).

Saturday, April 16, 2016, 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Deschutes Public Library Teen Lit Fest
Bend High School, Bend, OR
Panels - Beyond Google: The Heart of Story Research (11:00 am-11:50 am); Slasher Girls and Monster Boys (1:00 pm-1:50 pm).

In addition to preparing for and embarking upon my speaking engagements, I'm busily wrapping up the final editing stages of my next adult novel, Yesternight, and hurrying to finish the first draft of my next YA novel, Odd & True. If you contact me via email or social media between now and the end of 2016, please definitely expect delays in my responses. Thank you for your patience!

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I'm so thrilled to announce that The Steep and Thorny Way is now available from Amulet Books in both hardcover and ebook formats.

I started writing this Hamlet-inspired 1920s tale of racism, murder, survival, and friendship in 2013. Work on The Uninvited forced me to put the book aside for almost a full year, but then I came back to the manuscript feeling more passionate than ever about finishing it. Thanks to my editor, Maggie Lehrman, and my agent, Barbara Poelle, for believing in my vision and allowing me to share this book with the world.

For a list of my upcoming speaking appearances, please visit my Events page.

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Even if you can't make it to one of my readings and signings for The Steep and Thorny Way, you can watch me talk about the novel at the #BadassHistory Online Historical Fiction Launch Party, TODAY, March 6, 2016, at 8 pm EST. Meg Medina (Burn Baby Burn), Sharon Biggs Waller (The Forbidden Orchid), Jessica Spotswood (A Tyranny of Petticoats), and I are all releasing YA historical fiction books this week, so we decided to celebrate with readers at a Google Hangout.

Watch us here or at the  #BaddassHistory Google Page.

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I'm in the middle of preparing for next week's launch of The Steep and Thorny Way (details about launch activities listed here), but I just also learned that the gorgeous, atmospheric, vibrant cover for my second novel for adults showed up on Goodreads. My editor at HarperCollins gave me the go-ahead to reveal it over here, so, without further ado, I present to you Yesternight . . .

From the author of The Uninvited comes a haunting historical novel with a compelling mystery at its core. A young child psychologist steps off a train, her destination a foggy seaside town. There, she begins a journey causing her to question everything she believes about life, death, memories, and reincarnation.

In 1925, Alice Lind steps off a train in the rain-soaked coastal hamlet of Gordon Bay, Oregon. There, she expects to do nothing more difficult than administer IQ tests to a group of rural schoolchildren. A trained psychologist, Alice believes mysteries of the mind can be unlocked scientifically, but now her views are about to be challenged by one curious child.

Seven-year-old Janie O’Daire is a mathematical genius, which is surprising. But what is disturbing are the stories she tells: that her name was once Violet, she grew up in Kansas decades earlier, and she drowned at age nineteen. Alice delves into these stories, at first believing they’re no more than the product of the girl’s vast imagination. But, slowly, Alice comes to the realization that Janie might indeed be telling a strange truth.

Alice knows the investigation may endanger her already shaky professional reputation, and as a woman in a field dominated by men she has no room for mistakes. But she is unprepared for the ways it will illuminate terrifying mysteries within her own past, and in the process, irrevocably change her life.

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One more week to go before The Steep and Thorny Way officially enters the world on March 8, 2016. Here are some of the ways I'm celebrating the book's publication . . . and the ways readers across the world can join me.

1. The Steep and Thorny Way Blog Tour

Hosted by Rockstar Book Tours, this daily presentation of guest posts and reviews is already underway, and it involves a chance to win one of five finished copies of the book (U.S. only).

Here are the stops:

3/4/2016- Stories & Sweeties- Excerpt

3/11/2016- MEREADALOT- Review

2. #BadassHistory Party

Even if you can't make it to one of my in-person events, you can see me talk about The Steep and Thorny Way at the #BadassHistory Online Historical Fiction Launch Party, Sunday, March 6, 2016, 8 pm EST. Meg Medina (Burn Baby Burn), Sharon Biggs Waller (The Forbidden Orchid), Jessica Spotswood (A Tyranny of Petticoats), and I are all releasing YA historical fiction books next week, so we decided to celebrate with readers at a Google Hangout. You'll be able to watch us chatting live and submit your own questions.

To RSVP and receive reminders about the event, head to the #BaddassHistory Google Page. To submit questions in advance (and, if you're in the U.S., to enter a chance to win all four books), head to Twitter and use the #BaddassHistory hashtag.


3. The Steep and Thorny Way Launch Party at Powell's Books 

Thursday, March 10, 2016, 7:00 pm
Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing
3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd., Beaverton, OR

The evening will include a reading, signing, giveaways, and desserts! If you're unable to make it to the launch party but would still like to order a signed copy of The Steep and Thorny Way, click here.

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You can now preorder signed copies of The Steep and Thorny Way online at Powell's Books. I'll be signing the books on Thursday, March 10, at 7 pm, at the Cedar Hills Crossing location of Powell's in Beaverton, Oregon. All pre-ordered copies will be shipped after that evening.


We're now just a little over three weeks away from publication, which means I'm busy making behind-the-scenes preparations (in addition to revising another book and writing the first draft of a completely new novel!).

I'll soon be posting more info about the blog tour, giveaways, and a fabulous online launch party celebrating four historical novels that are all releasing on March 8. I have a feeling that I'll also be revealing the cover of my next adult novel, Yesternight, in the middle of the festivities, so please keep an eye out for all of my news, both here and on my social media sites.

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I'm excited to share with you an exclusive sneak peek of the first chapter of The Steep and Thorny Way. To read the excerpt, head to Two Chicks on Books.

The Steep and Thorny Way will be available March 8, 2016.

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I received more phenomenal news about The Steep and Thorny Way today: the book is a Junior Library Guild selection.

If you're unfamiliar with the Junior Library Guild, here's some information about this incredible honor from their website, juniorlibraryguild.com:

“The JLG editorial team reviews more than 3,000 new titles each year, in manuscript or prepublication stage. We’ve developed a keen sense for finding the best of the best. Over 95 percent of our selections go on to receive awards and/or favorable reviews.”

Thank you, Junior Library Guild! You made my day! 

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I'm ecstatic to share the third starred review for The Steep and Thorny Way, this one from School Library Journal, published in their January 2016 issue.

Gr 8 Up–There’s something rotten in 1920s Oregon in this Hamlet-inspired tale of a biracial girl seeking the truth about her African American father’s death. When the drunk driver who killed her father is released, Hanalee starts to look more closely at her small town and the folks who live there. She uncovers prejudice, injustice, and serious crimes from some very unexpected sources. This is not humdrum historical fiction as usual. Hanalee is a fantastic lead, armed with a two-barreled pistol and led by the lost soul of her father. Her gumption is inspiring—nothing she is faced with is too scary to make her back down, but her stubbornness doesn’t prevent her from evolving her point of view. Setting Hanalee in the backdrop of Prohibition-era Oregon, punched up with bootleggers, a hidden gay relationship, the public and private face of the Ku Klux Klan, and a dash of the supernatural makes for a delightfully unpredictable page-turner. VERDICT Unique and riveting historical fiction that feels anything but dated.

The Steep and Thorny Way is coming March 8 from Amulet Books/Abrams. You'll be able to read an excerpt from the first chapter at YA Books Central next Friday, January 15.

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Booklist just published a beautiful starred review of The Steep and Thorny Way in their January 1, 2016, issue, and I couldn't be happier. Here's a snippet:

★  “Hanalee’s investigation of her father’s murder and her growing friendship with Joe are engrossing enough, but Winters amplifies the story by weaving Oregon’s troubling true history—state-sanctioned discrimination, eugenics, forced sterilization—throughout the tale, adding weighty, unsettling context to the slow-burning mystery. A powerful, gripping, and exceptionally well-executed glimpse into a little-known corner of U.S. history.” —Sarah Hunter, Booklist

The full review is posted at booklistonline.com. Thanks so much to Booklist for bestowing this honor upon the novel.

If you'd like to read a sneak peek of the first chapter of The Steep and Thorny Way, head to YA Books Central on Friday, January 15, 2016.

Amulet Books will publish the book on March 8, 2016.

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This past year was another extremely good one for me in terms of my books. I was fortunate to sell another adult novel to HarperCollins and two more YA novels to Amulet Books. I celebrated the release of The Uninvited and Slasher Girls & Monster Boys and worked like mad on my upcoming YA novel, The Steep and Thorny Way.

As a result of all that hard work and luck in 2015, here's what you can expect from me in 2016.

The 2016 Releases

The Steep and Thorny Way
Coming March 8, 2016
Amulet Books / Abrams
Hardcover, ISBN 9781419719158

This is my Hamlet-inspired 1920s novel about a biracial girl named Hanalee Denney, who's struggling to solve the mysteries of her father's death. I'm extremely proud of the book, which has already received three starred reviews.   

★ “A fast-paced read with multiple twists, the novel delivers a history lesson wrapped inside a murder mystery and ghost story . . . A riveting story of survival, determination, love, and friendship.” —Kirkus, starred review

(I'll post the rest of the reviews after they appear in their respective publications.)

MORE INFO / PRE-ORDER


The Events

I have numerous events in the works for 2016, including several book festivals across the Untied States. I'll probably be able to start announcing more events in January and February 2016. For now, here are the appearances I can discuss.

Saturday, January 23, 2016, 9:30 am to Noon
The Great Critique
The Dining Room, TaborSpace
5441 SE Belmont St, Portland, OR
I'll be one of several authors critiquing manuscripts. Registration required. Presented by the Oregon chapter of SCBWI. 

Thursday, March 10, 2016, 7:00 pm
Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing
3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd., Beaverton, OR
Launch party for THE STEEP AND THORNY WAY.

Saturday, April 2, 2016, 9:00 am-4:30 pm
Literary Orange
Irvine Marriott
18000 Von Karman Ave., Irvine, CA
Details to follow.

Sunday, April 3, 2016, 1:00 pm
Barnes & Noble - Redlands
Citrus Plaza Shopping Center, Redlands, CA
Reading and signing for THE STEEP AND THORNY WAY.

Saturday, May 7, 2016
Oregon Writing Festival
Portland State University, Portland, OR
Details to follow.

Keep an eye on my Events page for updates.

The Novels-in-Progress

Odd & True
Coming Spring 2017
Amulet Books / Abrams

A dark Edwardian adventure involving two sisters, deadly beasts, and the war between reality and imagination.
 
(Official synopsis to come.)




I'll also start writing a yet-to-be-decided, yet-to-be-titled YA novel in the second half of 2016.

I will be extremely busy in the coming year, but I'm so utterly grateful that I get to make a living doing what I've loved to do ever since I was a child.

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I just learned that Kirkus gave The Steep and Thorny Way a prestigious starred review! Here's what they had to say about the novel:

★  “A fast-paced read with multiple twists, the novel delivers a history lesson wrapped inside a murder mystery and ghost story. Winters deftly captures the many injustices faced by marginalized people in the years following World War I as well as a glimmer of hope for the better America to come. A riveting story of survival, determination, love, and friendship.”

Kirkus stars are “awarded to books of exceptional merit,” according to their website, Kirkus.com. Kirkus is also known for being extremely tough on books, so I'm thrilled beyond words that they bestowed this honor upon The Steep and Thorny Way. This review gives me great hope for the novel, which Amulet Books will release March 8, 2016 (three months from today!).

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I'm so happy to announce that I sold two more YA novels to my editor Maggie Lehrman at Amulet Books! My incredible agent, Barbara Poelle of the Irene Goodman Literary Agency, brokered the deal, and she just alerted me to the fact that news of the sale has already appeared in Publishers Marketplace. Here's the official announcement:

The first novel of this two-book deal is tentatively titled Odd & True, and it's currently slated to be published in Spring 2017. An official synopsis won't be available until approximately late 2016, and I still need to write most of the book, but I'll go ahead and share the synopsis that I created for the proposal.


A dark Edwardian adventure involving corseted heroines, deadly beasts, and the war between reality and imagination.

Once upon a time there lived two sisters, Odette and Trudchen, known to all as Od and Tru. Younger sister Tru, a girl with a severely injured leg and a talent for reading tea leaves, has grown up believing she was born in a castle to a monster-slaying mother and a bohemian father, the latter of whom disappeared from their lives because of a magician’s curse. Older sister Od has fed such stories to Tru to protect her from the family’s secrets, which include scandal, heartbreak, violence, and murder.

In 1909, Od reappears in Tru’s life after a two-year absence, claiming to have been sharpening the monster-hunting skills she inherited from their mother. Their aunt, however, insists that Od had been sent away to a home for unwed mothers. With a suitcase packed full of weapons and a book cataloging America’s deadliest supernatural creatures, Od encourages Tru to journey across the country with her to conquer the notorious Leeds Devil, a nightmare of a beast that’s wreaking havoc in the Mid-Atlantic states. Od agrees to follow her sister on the adventure, mainly to keep an eye on Od’s precarious hold on reality and to unearth the truth behind their family’s fantastical stories.

What Tru finds along the way is the peculiar possibility that she and her sister—two inconsequential young ladies in high-buttoned blouses and lace petticoats—might, indeed, possess the power to save the world.

Carrie (left) and me (right) in 1977.

I came up with the idea for Odd & True after visiting my own younger sister, Carrie, in San Diego in September 2014. While down there, I told her about various book ideas that had been kicking around in my head. We also drove past the freeway exit for an old "castle" in the hills of northern San Diego County, a fairy tale-like structure that had inspired my imagination as a child. After I came back home to Oregon, all of the those various ideas and experiences melded together and turned into a book plot.

Currently, I think of Odd & True as an Edwardian Big Fish meets Don Quixote meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer. After tackling some heavy-duty issues in my March 2016 YA novel, The Steep and Thorny Way, and delving into dark psychological horror for my Fall 2016 adult novel, Yesternight, I'm excited to dip a little bit more into the realms of fantasy and legends.

I have until July to finish writing Odd & True, and then I'll need to figure out what the second book of the contract will be.

The year 2016 looks to be another extremely busy one for me, with two new book releases, several yet-to-be-announced appearances around the U.S., and two more novels to write, but I'm extremely grateful that I get to continue to be a working author!

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Reviewers, booksellers, librarians, and anyone else who typically receives advance copies of books: My March 2016 YA novel, The Steep and Thorny Way, is now available to request on NetGalley. Request it here.

Here's what you'll find in the novel . . .

A reimagining of Shakespeare's Hamlet

A 1920s setting that includes moonshine, outlaws, and the KKK's takeover of Oregon

A biracial teenage protagonist

A murder

An unexpected friendship

A boy who's dealing with the challenges of being gay in 1923 America

Prejudice

The occult

Love

Hate

A dark and lovely forest

A ghost

Last night I read through the novel for the final time before the book heads off to print, and I actually cried. I love this book so much, but it's time for me to let it go and send these characters off into the world.

Amulet Books will release The Steep and Thorny Way March 8, 2016.

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Just four more months until my next novel, The Steep and Thorny Way, arrives in bookstores and online! The interior pages are almost ready, the beautiful dust jacket design has shown up in my email, and advance praise is starting to come in.

I'm overjoyed to share with you the following quotes about the novel:

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Wordstock, Portland's major literary festival, is relaunching this year at the beautiful Portland Art Museum on Saturday, November 7, and I'm happy to say I'll be one of the featured authors. In fact, I'll be making a few different appearances throughout the festival.

Here's more info about the event and where you'll be able to find me.

Saturday, November 7, 2015
Wordstock: Portland's Book Festival
Portland Art Museum
1219 SW Park Avenue, Portland, OR
(Tickets, $15; free for anyone 17 and younger and anyone with a valid high school student ID.)

My Wordstock Events:

12:00-12:50 pm
Toil and Trouble: Monsters, Witches, and Ghosts, Oh My!
Oregon Community Foundation Stage at the Miller Gallery

A discussion with a little something scary for everyone: haunted houses, murderous neighbors, and all-too-possible realism (no vampires here). Authors Virginia Boecker (The Witch Hunter), Paige McKenzie (The Haunting of Sunshine Girl), and three authors from the new anthology Slasher Girls and Monster Boys—Kendare Blake, McCormick Templeman, and April Genevieve Tucholke—talk about things that go bump in the night… and day. Moderated by Cat Winters (Slasher Girls and Monster Boys)

1:00-1:50 pm
An Hour of Oregon Art Beat
OPB Stage at the Fields Ballroom

An hour with OPB’s Oregon Art Beat, featuring a coming-of-age tale set on Mount Hood, Martin Marten, with author Brian Doyle; best-selling author of the Wildwood series and Decemberists frontman Colin Meloy talks about the difference between writing for songs and writing for books; Lauren Redniss will discuss her fascinating new work of visual literature, Thunder & Lightning; and award-winning author Cat Winters on her haunting new novel, The Uninvited. Hosted by Katrina Sarson.

Pop-Up Reading of The Uninvited: Time and location TBA.

I'll be signing books from 2:15-3:00 pm at the Kridel Grand Ballroom, Portland Art Museum, Mark Building, Third Floor.

If you live in the area or will be traveling to Portland for the event, I hope to see you there.

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Libraries have been a major factor in the success of my debut novel, In the Shadow of Blackbirds. Even before the book's release in April 2013, librarians were spreading the word about it. They named the book a 2013 Morris Award finalist, and over 1,000 library systems around the globe have purchased the novel for their collections.

I'm thrilled to announce that In the Shadow of Blackbirds is now experiencing another major library moment: It was selected as one of two books that are being featured in the October 2015 Big Library Read.

According to BigLibraryRead.com, here's what the event entails:

“During the two-week program, the Big Library Read titles are available to borrow through participating libraries and schools. It’s free and there’s never a waiting list during the program. All you need is a library card or student ID to get started reading in this international eBook club.”

The program runs from October 7-21, 2015.

If you're arriving at this site because you found me through Big Library Read, welcome! Feel free to stay for a while to learn more about me and all of my books. In the Shadow of Blackbirds bonus features (playlists, a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the cover, an In the Shadow of Blackbirds map of San Diego) are available at BlackbirdsNovel.com. Discussion questions for the book are available through Big Library Read.

The program will also feature a Twitter chat with me on Tuesday, October 13, from 2:00-3:00 pm Eastern Time. Please join me by using the hashtag #BigLibraryRead.

If you happen to live in or near San Diego, come chat with me in person about the book at my appearance at Mysterious Galaxy on Saturday, October 10, at 2:00 pm.

The other selected title is Robin McKinley's The Door in the Hedge.

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On Saturday, October 10, at 2:00 pm, I'll be speaking with Laura Anne Gilman at Mysterious Galaxy in San Diego, and I can't wait! I'll be reading from and signing The Uninvited.

I've been writing fiction since early childhood, but I first started seriously writing for publication when my husband and I were newlyweds living in an apartment . . . just fifteen minutes away from Mysterious Galaxy.

Now that I'm an Oregonian, I've waited far too long to promote one of my novels down in a San Diego bookstore. I'm ecstatic that I finally get to celebrate The Uninvited with friends and family in the region.

If you live in the area, I hope you can come see me this Saturday.

Mysterious Galaxy is located at 5943 Balboa Avenue, Suite #100, San Diego, CA.

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