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You know how when J.K. Rowling or Stephanie Meyer or Suzanne Collins releases a new book there are VERY STRICT RULES about what day it is allowed to be sold to the public? And how bookstores hold parties the night before the on-sale date and start selling the book at the stroke of midnight?

Yeah, that won’t be happening with FORGE.

The “technical” release date is Tuesday, October 19th. I suspect you might be able to find it in your bookstore a day or so … or more… before that. I leave to start the book tour a week from tomorrow. First stop is the Texas Book Festival in Austin! Will you be there?

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One of the stops I am most looking forward to on this fall’s book tour takes place in New York City on Saturday, October 30th.

It’s much, much, MUCH more than one silly author excited about her new book.

It is an extravaganza for teachers, librarians, educators and other people who care deeply about books for kids and teens. It’s a bookaganza. A day-long festival with authors, illustrators, editors, children’s literature experts, librarians and reviewers. (And lunch!)

It’s BookFest @Bank Street!!!!

A short list of guests:

Leonard Marcus, author of Margaret Wise Brown: Awakened by the Moon

Wendell Minor, illustrator of Nibble, Nibble

Diane Muldrow, Editorial Director, Golden Books

Stephen Savage, illustrator of The Fathers are Coming Home

Mac Barnett, author, Oh No!: Or How My Science Project Destroyed the World

Jon Scieszka, author, editor, Guys Read: Funny Business

David Yoo, author, Stop Me If You’re Heard This Once Before

And me! I’ll be talking about FORGE!

Check out the entire, earth-shaking schedule!!

This is how the official website describes it: “BookFest @ Bank Street is an event devoted to the celebration, discovery, and discussion of books for children and teens. This event, designed for adults, features luminaries from the children’s literature community. Authors, illustrators, editors, reviewers, and scholars will take part in panel discussions and breakout sessions.”

Personally, I think the word “bookaganza” should have been used in there.

But here’s the thing. You must pre-register. And the registration deadline is this Friday, September 17th.

Do it now, OK? And spread the word!

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The short version: Five weeks. Texas. AZ. MO. non-NYC New York.   New England. Mid-Atlantic (incl NYC). Texas, Round 2. West Coast. Mid-West and down the mighty Mississippi. Miami so I can drink Cuban coffee, which I will really need by the end of November. Final event at the bookstore closest to my house.

In some areas I will only be speaking in schools. Why? “Logistical requirements” was the answer I received from the Powers of the Booktour. (You thought authors had any control over these things? Ha!)

In the unlikely event that I am not coming to your region (hello Alaska and Hawaii and North Dakota), you can still get a signed copy of my book through the good graces of my local independent bookstore, river’s end bookstore in Oswego, NY. When you call them to order the book, be sure to give the name of the person for whom you want me to sign it.

Ready?

Details:

Friday, October 15, 2010 - Reading Rockstars Webb Middle School, Austin, Texas  **Not a Public Event

Saturday, October 16 and Sunday, October 17, 2010 – Texas Book Festival, Austin, Texas

Monday, October 18, 2010 – School visits sponsored by Barnes & Noble, Dallas, Texas

Tuesday, October 19, 2010 – School visits sponsored by Changing Hands Bookstore, Tempe, Arizona

Wednesday, October 20, 2010 – School visits sponsored by Reading Reptile Bookstore; 5pm-7pm public event at store, Kansas City, Missouri

Thursday, October 21 and 22, 2010 – NY State Council of English Teachers Conference ** Not a Public Event

Saturday, October 23, 2010 – Read-A-Thon Teen Book Festival Fundraiser @ Barnes & Noble – Pittsford – Rochester, New York (Public event 3PM)

Monday, October 25, 2010 – School visits sponsored by Red Fox Bookstore, Glens Falls, New York. Public event details to come.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010 – School visit; Public event – Adult Panel discussion and book signing at The Bookstore Plus, Lake Placid, New York

Wednesday, October 27, 2010 – School visits; 4PM public event at The Flying Pig Bookstore, Shelburne, Vermont 4pm

Thursday, October 28, 2010 – School visits sponsored by Porter Square Books, Cambridge, Massachusetts; public event at Brookline Public Library, sponsored by Children’s Bookshop, Brookline, Massachusetts

Friday, October 29, 2010 – School visits; 3:30 or

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I’ve known about this for weeks and have just about exploded because I couldn’t say anything.

BUT NOW I CAN!

The first official review of FORGE is in, and it is decorated with a very shiny star, courtesy of Kirkus.

“At the end of Chains (2008), Isabel rescues her friend Curzon from Bridewell Prison and rows away from Manhattan in their escape from slavery. Now, in the second of the planned trilogy, Isabel goes her own way, and 15-year-old Curzon takes over as narrator. Passing as free, he joins the Continental Army at Valley Forge during the winter of 1777-78, where, against the most desperate of circumstances, he forges a friendship with fellow soldiers. When he is enslaved again and meets up with Isabel, he and she must once again take liberty into their own hands and find a way to escape. Weaving a huge amount of historical detail seamlessly into the story, Anderson creates a vivid setting, believable characters both good and despicable and a clear portrayal of the moral ambiguity of the Revolutionary age. Not only can this sequel stand alone, for many readers it will be one of the best novels they have ever read. A good match with Russell Freedman’s Washington at Valley Forge (2008). (appendix, glossary, acknowledgments) (Historical fiction. 10 & up)”

(bold-faced emphasis added by me. ‘Cause, ya know, I’m just the teeniest excited about this.)

 

FORGE should be showing up in bookstores in about five weeks.

::screams in terror and delight::

 

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Two quick reviews for you: Reading Rants weighs in on FORGE and WINTERGIRLS reviewed in Colorado.

How did your writing go yesterday? Mine floooowed. Like creekwater after a thunderstorm. Sugar pouring from a blue china bowl. Like round hips swaying under a loose skirt to a hot salsa trumpet.

Seriously. It was that good. It was hard to come back to the real world and do things like eat. Run. Brush teeth.

As the sun started to set, the Muse returned. Much to the dismay of my chickens, she arrived in the shape…

….of a large, hungry-looking

HAWK!

 

 

 

 

 

 

She watched the very well-protected henhouse for a while

 

 

 

then took to the air

 

 

 

 

 

and flowed

 

 

 

 

back into the Forest.

 

 

It was breathtaking. Especially for the chickens, who, I am happy to report, escaped disaster. For the moment.

Ready… “O for a Muse of fire, that would ascend
The brightest heaven of invention,” Henry V, William Shakespeare

Set… make sure any rodents or poultry you care about is under roof. Then turn off the damn phone.

Today’s prompt: Make a list of ten animals that could be your Muse. Circle the one that evokes the strongest reaction in you; positive or negative.

Write a scene in which you or a character has an interaction with this animal. At some point in the scene, the animal does something to change your emotional reaction to it. Either you first find it cute, and then disgusting. Or at first frightening, and then enchanting.

After the emotional switch, you get to ask the animal three questions. What will you ask? And what are the answers?

Scribble… Scribble… Scribble!!!

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I spent the weekend in a haze of gunpowder and sunscreen, visiting the largest American Revolution reenactment in New England at Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, Massachusetts.

 

I visited this reenactment a couple of years ago when I was scouting out scenes for FORGE. In some ways, writing historical fiction might be easier than writing contemporary fiction. OK, not easier, exactly. Definitely more time consuming. And more maddening.

But you can make no assumptions when writing historical fiction; no assumptions about, say, how people pulled on their socks, or when they ate their breakfast, or how they greeted old friends.

In an early draft I’ll sketch a scene like “Curzon is seen by Trumbull. Tries to run. Is caught. Confrontation. Officer intervenes. Enlistment scene.” At first I picture this in a modern context. Once I have the actions and motivations of my characters, I do the primary source research that will enable me to write the scene in a manner that is as historically accurate as possible.

Visiting reenactments helps, but is not the key to all my problems. Because I can’t assume that the reenactors are getting it right. (If you allow other people to do your research, I can guarantee you’ll get burned.) But watching the reenactors has helped spark my imagination and set me on the path to some great scenes.

Ready…

Here is a poem for you, written by Emily Dickinson. Read it out loud a couple of times.

"Luck is not chance --
It's Toil --
Fortune's expensive smile
Is earned --
The Father of the Mine
Is that old-fashioned Coin
We spurned --"

Set… turn off the phone, step away from the internet, and the tell the world you’ll be back in fifteen minutes. Or an hour.

Today’s prompt: Think of a scene or a story that you want to write, but that requires a lot of research. Jot down the central idea in a sentance or two. (If you can’t think of anything off the top of your head, consult the list you made yesterday.)

If you had all of the time and the money that you needed, how would you research this story? Be as detailed and specific as you can.

Bonus prompt: When your fifteen minutes is up, hop on the internet and see if you can find affordable and time-reasonable alternatives to your research ideas. For example, you may not be able to spend a week hiking in the Abruzzo region of Italy, but you can track down people who lived there, seek out Italian documentaries, contact photographers who have been there. I find that if I write a rough draft of a scene, then write the specific questions I need answered (What was the procedure for enlisting Cont

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Twenty-four hours to go until my annual Write Fifteen Minutes a Day (WFMAD) Challenge!!

I feel like a boxer’s trainer, rubbing her shoulders, fanning her with a towel, about to push her to the center of the ring and say “Go get ‘em, champ.”

Are any of you taking the plunge a day early? Can’t wait?

I do have one suggestion. It might not sound related to writing, but it is. Go for a long walk today. If you walk with a friend, use the time to talk about your hopes for your writing in the upcoming month. If you walk alone, focus your thoughts on the same thing.

Moving your body is a critical part of the writing process. I’ll talk more about that in the next month.

The other news around here all centers on the upcoming publication of FORGE. (Which happens in 80 days, for those of you counting down at home.) I’ll be getting my booktour details very soon. Should we work out a secret handshake or something for those of you participating in WFMAD who come out to my signings this fall?

Abby the Librarian was able to score an advanced reading copy of FORGE and has written a terrific review about it.

Do YOU want an advanced reading copy of FORGE? Denise Jaden is holding a contest to do exactly that over on her blog. You have until Tuesday to enter. (And seriously – this contest is the sweetest thing ever and I swear I had nothing to do with it, which makes it even sweeter.)

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I know many of you have been wondering about the contents of FORGE. Sadly, you'll have to wait 101 days until the 10/19 publication date to really sink your teeth into it.

But Richie Partington of Richie's Pick's has posted the first review of it, for those who want an early taste.


"07 July 2010 FORGE by Laurie Halse Anderson, Atheneum, October 2010, 304p., ISBN: 978-1-4169-6144-5

 

"How many years can some people exist

before they're allowed to be free?"

-- Bob Dylan

  

"'Stop there! the boy yelled.

"The redcoat glanced behind him, caught his foot on a half-buried root, and fell hard.  His musket flew from his hand, but he quickly crawled to it. "'You are my prisoner, sir,' the boy declared in a shaky voice.  'Lay down your musket.

'"The redcoat had no intention of becoming a prisoner.  He pulled out a gunpowder cartridge, ripped it open with his teeth, and poured powder into his firing pan.  His hands were shaking so violently that most of the powder fell to the ground."

 

The question that had come to me shortly after my beginning to read FORGE, and which continued to bug me was: How exactly does Laurie Halse Anderson write historical fiction so that it can be so easily read; so well enjoyed; and in such a manner that readers can connect so readily with characters who lived so long ago?

"Stop!'  The boy brought his musket up to fire.  'I swear I'll shoot.'  He wiped his right hand on his breeches, then cocked the firelock and slipped his finger in the trigger guard. 

"The redcoat fumbled in his shot bag for a lead musketball.

"The boy squeezed the trigger.  His flint hit the empty firing pan with a dull click.  The musket didn't fire.  He'd forgotten to prime his pan.

"The redcoat pulled out his ramrod.  

"The boy grabbed the cork out of his powder horn.

"My palms were sweating, my eyes going back and forth trying to figger who would win the race to load and shoot." 

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Do not lean to close to the screen whilst reading this; I have a Summer Death Cold and don't want to infect you. I ran this post through the anti-virus thingie, but you know viruses; always mutating.

Wash your hands when you are finished reading. And increase your Vitamin C intake.

And now to my ALA recap. (I did shoot some video footage, but my brain is too fuzzy to piece it together now. Watch this space next week.)

My hotel was delightfully near the White House, so I ran past it nearly every morning. Did not see the First Dog or the First Garden, sadly.

Simon & Schuster held a wonderful dinner in honor of FORGE (comes out October 19 - mark your calendars!)

Another shot from the dinner. We ate at a suitably 18th-century room in the Hotel Tabard Inn. It was very exciting to be able to talk about FORGE finally!

  The highlight of the trip was signing the Advance Reading copies of FORGE (tho' I was bummed that they did not contain the backmatter - you'll find that in the finished book.) I also stole a few minutes to walk around the floor. Here is Tony DiTerlizzi about to ravish the BoundTo Stay Book 90th birthday cake. The cake was made by Charm City Cakes, of course!



Tony's newest masterpiece, The Search for Wondla, comes out on September 21. Click through the link to see art from the book. I CAN'T WAIT FOR THIS ONE!!

I did a fair amount of stalking on the exhibit floor. Here are Kacy Cook, Catherine Balkin, and Arnold Adoff.

Judith Viorst and Lane Smith.

Mo Willems!

John Green and David Levithan. (I heard raves about their book, WILL GRAYSON,WILL GRAYSON, from teen readers.)

I also caught up with one of my favorite book c

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I'm taking the rest of the long weekend off from the Internet. Happy Memorial Day and see you Tuesday!

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I am just about finished with FORGE (well, this draft, at least). A small part of my lifestyle already mimics the late 18th century: heating my cottage (and our house) with wood instead of electricity or fossil fuel. I grow a lot of food in the garden. I have been known to scratch out pages of notes with a quill and ink. (However I am not crazy enough to give up my computer for writing.)

Last fall I cooked a squash over an open fire for a scene in my book that is based on one of the experiences of Private Joseph Plumb Martin. Performing the task as he did was really important for getting the scene right. I've tried to do that with a number of scenes in the book.

(Remind me, please, to write a book about an upper glass girl who lives in Paris in 1910. No risk of frostbite researching that one!)

Most of FORGE takes place in Valley Forge; my story does not shy away from the physical challenges of that encampment. That winter (1777-1778) was not the coldest winter of the war, not at all. But the department of the Commissary was in total disarray, the supply lines were nonexistent, and the Congress - which had been formed to fight a war which everyone thought would take a few months at best - was unprepared to coordinate the purchase and delivery of food, clothing, blankets, soap, and medical supplies for 11,000 soldiers.

Which is why Valley Forge was hell. The soldiers went through several periods of having little or nothing to eat. Many of them were wearing rags. Some lacked shirts. Others lacked jackets. Some had to wear blankets because their pants had fallen apart. Many had no shoes or boots.

Which brings me to this morning's experiment. It was 13 degrees outside. We had a fresh couple of inches of snow two days ago. It was time for me to step back into time.




 I am wearing garb that is as close to Rev War-era as my closet would allow: a linen shirt that I wear to Renaissance Faires, my husband's Renn Faire britches, hand-knit wool stockings, a scarf, knit cap, knit gloves and a thin wool blanket. No boots. The fact that my clothing was not torn, muddied, or crawling with various insect life, makes this barely authentic, but I didn't want anyone calling the authorities because a half-dressed crazy woman was walking in the snow.

It sure felt authentic to my feet. I walked up to the cottage to get my hatchet. I planned on then walking to the mailbox (a little more than a tenth of a mile), get the mail, head back to the house and split some wood (with an axe, not the hatchet) because I needed the wood anyway.

Ha. I am a weenie. I have cowardly feet.

After fetching the hatchet, I managed a couple hundred paces and then my feet quit in protest. At first they went numb, which wasn't so bad, but then they were in wicked pain. I knew if I kept going they would go numb again, which made the prospect tempting, but I figured my health insurance company would deny my claim for frostbite treatment on account of stupidity. We bagged the mailbox walk and the wood chopping and settled for a few paces in the snow for the benefit of the camera.

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I am neck deep in 18th century lists of military stores; things like powder horns, bayonet belts, grapeshot, and bear skins. It is heavenly!

I spent the weekend on the road. On Saturday I went to the Fort Plain Museum in Fort Plain, NY for a small (but wonderful) Revolutionary War encampment/reenactment.

Sunday was a long, fantastic day at the RevWar encampment/reenactment at Old Sturbridge Village. Nearly one thousand reenactors were there: soldiers, artisans, women, and lots of their children. All of these people are passionate about understanding the Revolutionary War and have made it their hobby. They go to these encampments to live as people did in the period. They dress, cook, work crafts, relax, have military drills and mock battles all as close to the original thing as possible.


This is a Patriot militia unit.


The British had fancy-pants uniforms and they still lost.


There were plenty of women with General Washington's army. They were not ladies of the night. They were hired to cook, clean, sew, and help the sick soldiers. Many of them were married to soldiers. Some had their children with them.

The reenactors could not have been more generous with the time. I asked a bazillion pesky questions about the tiny stuff - how does one fire a flintlock musket in the air (answer: one usually doesn't), the finer points of cooking in a dutch oven, and the art of rolling paper gunpowder cartridges.

Back to work on my story now. Remind to tell you about the guy who let me taste gunpowder... Read the rest of this post

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My head hurts. I overstuffed it with facts and dead bodies and ghosts yesterday.



BH and I drove out to a couple of Revolutionary War sites and met with a man who has been studied the events that happened there his entire life. I took a million photos and asked half a million questions.

I've already done the background research for this novel and I have a pretty good sense of how the events in the character's life unfold in conjunction with the historical events he's caught up in. Now I'm doing the "boots on the ground" research: visiting sites and bugging the experts for the small details; the real-life stuff that many academic historians don't put in their books, but that make scenes come to life for readers.

As always, going on location helped me see my story with new focus. We stood on the site of a ferocious battle. Cattails and grape vines are growing out of the dirt that was soaked with blood 231 years ago. Despite the heat, I shivered and had to fight back the tears.

The sense of time evaporates in places like that. It feels like the battle happened yesterday, or it's about to happen in the next hour, or in the next five minutes. The enemy is ready to explode out of the woods without warning, tearing across the cattails and marsh grass. Musket balls will rain across the field, dropping horse and ox, biting into the trunks of the beech and ash trees that line the road. We and They will fight hand-to hand with bayonet blades and hunting knives and axes. Our muskets are used as clubs because there isn't enough time to load and shoot. Fathers and sons and husbands and brothers will die in this forgotten bit of woods. The survivors will weep and dig shallow graves for the dead before hurrying away, knowing that the enemy is hiding in the shadows.

Then the cattails will start to grow again.

Right now it feels so close to me, I can feel the weight of this coat on my shoulders.

I'll spend today putting my notes from the trip into the proper scenes. But if you're looking for a WFMAD prompt, here it comes.


Today's goal: Write for 15 minutes.

Today's mindset: daring.

Today's prompt: I'm calling this one Fork in the Road. List three significant choices you've made in your life, then list the alternative to that choice. Choose one of the paths you didn't take, and write abut what might have happened if you had chosen that instead.

OR! List some of the life choices your character makes and change one of them. Write out how it affects the rest of the story; what are the unfolding series of consequences from that decision?


Scribblescribble...

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Looking for reviews of children's books? Look no further than the Children's Book Review wiki. It was created by the indefatigable Kelly Herold of Big A little a, who may be one of the most busy and productive people I've ever met. The wiki contains a wonderful and rich variety of blog reviews from all over the kidlitosphere.

I just put up all the reviews I've ever posted on Wizards Wireless on the wiki. There aren't that many... because I tend to make lists and general comments about books instead of writing formal reviews. But, I was surprised to see that I've written 15 reviews so far... I thought it was far fewer than that.

One of the most rewarding parts of reviewing for me has been connecting with authors. If the book has been published relatively recently and I can find an e-mail address, I will frequently send authors links to my blog reviews. And, every one of them has written back, which I find amazing. I have to admit, I felt like a rock star when I got return e-mails from Susan Patron and Mordecai Gerstein only a few weeks after I started blogging.

I'm in awe of bloggers who write reviews regularly (and sometimes even every day!), such as Betsy at A Fuse #8 Production, Jen at Jen Robinson's Book Page, Tasha at Kids Lit, Jules and Eisha at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast, Abby at Abby (the) Librarian, Laura at Library & Literary Miscellany... and, ummm... everybody but me.

I've rounded up all the reviews I've written thus far (see the list below). Looking at the list, I notice that I seem to favor titles that contain exclamation points!

Books for Babies and Toddlers

• Freight Train by Donald Crews
• Fuzzy Fuzzy Fuzzy! by Sandra Boynton
• Orange Pear Apple Bear, by Emily Gravett
• Tickle the Duck! by Ethan Long
• The Toolbox by Anne and Harlow Rockwell

Picture Books

• The 20th Century Children's Book Treasury edited by Janet Schulman
• The Baby Beebee Bird by Diane Redfield Massie, illustrated by Steven Kellogg
• Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems
• How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World by Marjorie Priceman
• Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems
• The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordecai Gerstein
• Shhhhh! Everybody's Sleeping by Julie Markes, illustrated by David Parkins
• When Dinosaurs Came with Everything by Elise Broach, illustrated by David Small
  

Juvenile Fiction

• The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron
• Rules by Cynthia Lord

Want to contribute your reviews to the Children's Book Review wiki? Take a look at this post on Big A Little a to see how to do it.

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Lucy Maud Montgomery is one of my favorite authors. If the name sounds familiar, it's probably because you know her most famous book: Anne of Green Gables.

Oddly enough, that isn't the book I like best. Oh sure, it's the first one I discovered and I think it's great, but she wrote other books that I fell in love with even more.

Although most people only know the first book in the series, L.M. Montgomery actually wrote eight novels about Anne. Here are my favorite Anne books:

• Anne of the Island. Anne goes to college and rejects suitors right and left. I think this book may be the one I like the best in the whole series. It has a lovely timeless quality to it.

• Anne's House of Dreams. This book chronicles the first few years of Anne's marriage. There's heartbreak and love in it and it's wonderful to see Anne grow up and her relationships develop. I have to say, though, that I recently re-read this book, and found it contained far more sexist attitudes towards women than I remembered.
  

• Rilla of Ingleside. This book contains the story of Anne's daughter growing up during World War One. I learned a lot from this book when I first read it, and the images of war it presents have always stayed with me.

I also love the series of books about Emily of New Moon. My favorite book in that series is:

• Emily's Quest. This is the third book in the Emily series and is quite haunting in parts. It moves me every time I read it. Also, this is the series that I've always considered to be the most autobiographical of L.M. Montgomery, so I think the occasional sadness and despair in it affect me more.
  

And, I can't forget the two books about Pat of Silver Bush.

• Mistress Pat, the second book in the series, is the one I like the best. There's something intriguing about Pat's devotion to her house. Also, aspects of Pat's story are similar to Emily's, which I've always found interesting. I think it contains my least favorite male name, though. The hero's name is Jingle. That's never really worked for me.
  

Another book I like (but it isn't part of a series) is:

• A Tangled Web. This book brings all of L.M. Montgomery's major stories together in one book. It's like reading short versions of all her other books.
  

I've read every book that L.M. Montgomery wrote. What's my favorite book of all? Hands down, it's:

• The Blue Castle. It's not very well known at all, and it's the only book she wrote that is not set on Prince Edward Island. It's about a woman, Valancy Stirling, who is told she only has a year to live. She completely reinvents herself in a wonderful way. I think this is the most romantic of all of L.M. Montgomery's books.

Why am I mentioning this author now? 2008 is the one hundredth anniversary of the publication of Anne of Green Gables, which was originally published in 1908. There are lots of celebrations going on in honor of this famous red-haired orphan.

Interested in more about L.M. Montgomery? The best and most comprehensive book I've ever found on the subject (and I found it when I was visiting the site of the author's childhood home on Prince Edward Island) is called The Lucy Maud Montgomery Album. This five hundred page book is an absolute masterpiece, complete with rich essays and photographs from both family members and scholars that chronicle and honor the life of this wonderful author. It's being re-released in March 2008.

There's also a new Anne of Green Gables book about to be published called Before Green Gables. It's a prequel to the first book, and is written by Budge Wilson. See this post by Cheryl Rainfeld for more details.

Do you have a favorite book by L.M. Montgomery? Let me know in the comments, or vote in the new poll on the sidebar.

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Is it too early to start the Newbery speculation for next year?

I just finished an advance reader's copy of an absolutely exquisite book: Trouble by Gary D. Schmidt. It's a beautiful, touching, and poignant work of fiction. I was sorry it had to end, but since it did... I don't think the author couldn't have picked a better place to stop his narrative. The cover is beautiful too. I saw a picture of it in a 2008 Spring catalog from the publisher, Clarion, but I don't think the cover art is available online yet.

It's a bit mean of me to write about it now... since the book won't be published until April. I'm not doing a formal review of it yet, because I don't want to spoil the plot for you in any way. It's one of those books that has thrilling interwoven twists and turns... and you should discover them through the text and not through a review.

Keep an eye out for this book. Reserve it at your library. Buy it at a bookstore in April. Dig out the advance copy (if you have one) from your stack of books to be read.

Once you've read it, tell me what you think... and if you love it as much as I do.

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