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Right now, I feel like I've consumed ALL of these:


Because...

My amazing editor, Kate Angelella, who is a total , has decided that she's willing to put up with my overly caffeinated phone calls, Twittering in her presence and my obsession with R Pattz and has asked me to write books 9-12 in the Canterwood Crest series!!

Dance party! :)

This means Sasha and friends get to ride on for four more books!

To everyone who made it happen (again!!) I'm so, so grateful and am thrilled to have all of you on Team Canterwood! Aladdin MIX = awesome.

I'm in total shock right now and can't even find the words to express how happy I am to be able to continue the stories of Sasha and her friends. I *never* thought I'd have twelve books. Never. And it would not have happened without the amazing, continued support of people who've backed me all the way.

I looked back through my blog and my last book deal was in December. So many things have changed since then, but my intense love for my books hasn't. If anything, it has grown because of the wonderful fans who love the books and show it!

And this time last year? I was squeeing on the phone with EK when she sent me the cover for TAKE THE REINS, my first book.

Insane.

*breathes*

The books will continue on the bi-monthly pub schedule, so stay tuned for dates, covers and all of that fun stuff coming soon.

Again, I want to thank Kate for working side-by-side with me on this crazy schedule, for loving the books as much as I do and for listening to all of my insecurities and being the first one to know that I can do this. I'm beyond grateful to you for everything.

Apparently, I live in a cave. I completely missed this. Thanks so much to Elizabeth Bird of School Library Journal's Fuse #8 for picking Canterwood Crest as the first runner up for the "bests" of the fall 2009 Simon & Schuster preview. I'm honored, Elizabeth. Thank you! :)

On Sunday, the New York Times is reviewing The Rock and the River. This is super sparkly news because my editor, Kate Angelella, edited this book. The Rock and the River was the first book Kate ever acquired and that speaks to her talent as an editor. Kate is not only the hardest working editor, but she also has an intense passion for her projects. The Rock and the River will be the first of many books on Kate's list that will achieve this level of recognition.

Congratulations, Kate!!

Great news! :)

Take the Reins is an April 2009 pick for ALAN. Yay! Thanks so much to Julie M. Prince for reviewing the book.

Fellow S&S author Lisa Schroeder's Far From You is also a pick for this month. Yay, Lisa!

Isn't that gorgeous? Salina aka I'maCowgirl at Girls Horse Club drew Charm. It's Charm's first piece of fan art and I'm in love with it. Look at the detail on the bridle and the relaxed expression on Charm's face.

Hugs to Salina for creating such beautiful art. Salina, you're super talented and I hope you keep drawing. Thank you so much for this--it means a lot! <3

Book Chic shows off Chasing Blue, the note I wrote to him in sparkly blue AND talks about our summer plans to stalk our author friend Maggie Stiefvater. Maggie has likely already hired security to thwart our plans.

Check out the first two a half minutes of the video to catch that. Thanks, BC! :) YOU ROCK!

OMG.

There's a Canterwood Crest Academy fan site. *dies*

Someone actually set up pages about admissions, dorm rooms, stables and classes. So. Cool.

Thank you, HorseGirlMishi! :)

I finally found the March/April issue of YOUNG RIDER at my local Books-a-Million. See that “true story” bit at the bottom left corner? That’s the article about Canterwood Crest. If you see the issue, check it out. There’s a Canterwood giveaway inside, tons of pics and a fun Q&A. A few girls have already emailed me about the issue--thanks for saying hi! :)

Big thanks to Lesley and Allison for running the article!

Yesterday, I met Jennifer from Tallahassee Magazine. We had a great chat at Starbucks and talked about Canterwood, mean girls and more. Thanks for interviewing me, Jennifer!

I've got a phone interview with the Lake City Reporter on Thursday. That means I don't have to get dressed in my fancy interview clothes. Or, maybe I still will...I kind of like the idea of getting out of my usual writer clothes even for a phone thing. :)

I just finished the outline for Canterwood Crest #5 and feel that relief of, "Oh, good. I didn't forget how to outline or come up with ideas." :) I *always* have that fear when I open a blank Word doc to start an outline. I'm convinced of the following:

1) I'll have zero ideas.

or

2) My ideas will be super awful.

and

3) Agent A and Editor K will be like, "Um. What is this?"

But I made it through the outline. Whew.

And, finally, big congrats to agent sis Lauren Barnholdt! She posted a bunch of great news yesterday, including a new YA sale. Yay, L!

Thank you, thank you to Jen (wldhrsjen3 on LJ) for her sweet review of Take the Reins. You rock, Jen! Thank you! :)

I was especially nervous to have Miss Jen read my book because she's a horse fanatic too. But she did ask me to name her new horse, if she gets another, so I think I passed.

Off to:

Meet an extern for my interview
(We're meeting at Starbucks and I'm going to get hyped on caffeine.) :)
Sign stock at Barnes & Noble
and Books-a-Million
and Borders

Check it out! :)

I've been waiting a while to share this! I've teamed up with Lip Smacker and they've featured TTR as a PDF download, which is super cool. I'm pretty much obsessed with Lip Smacker products and so (surprise, surprise) is Sasha. I'm super excited!

Plus, girls can leave comments about the book. Fun! :)

Thank you to everyone (LR, VW, KA, BB) who made this happen! Yay!

Also, If you're in Tallahassee and you're looking for a copy of Take the Reins, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million and Borders are currently sold out. They're on reorder, though, so definitely check back. I'll be visiting the stores to sign the stock when they come in. :) Thanks so much to everyone who picked up a copy in Tally! You all rock.

I'm sooo excited to announce that I'm the January Author of the Month (AOM) at Harmony Book Reviews! Yaaay! Thank you, Harmony, for choosing me. I'm honored and super-excited!

Want to read Harmony's announcement? Check it out here!

P.S. She said, and I quote, "the book is fab." OMG! :)

Oooh, cool!

My agency put up a list of January/February 2009 releases! So. Cool. :)

See it here!

They list TAKE THE REINS and fellow Aladdin MIXer Julia DeVillers and her sis, Jennifer Roy, have their book, TRADING FACES, on the list, too.

It's starting to feel official now!

By the way, FAR FROM YOU author Lisa Schroeder did a wonderful post on her LiveJournal called "supporting authors when your heart is bigger than your wallet." It's a must read!

~*~TRIPLE FAULT progress~*~

*happy sigh*

The second Canterwood Crest photo shoot #2 is a wrap! We had the best time and got soooo lucky with the weather! It threatened to rain at any second, but we made it through the entire day with only a few sprinkles here and there.

It was fantastic to see everyone and it was super-fun to see my "characters" again. The overall experience was just...surreal. This time, however, I DID make it through the day without being in total shock at what was going on around me, LOL.

A big, sparkly thank you to everyone involved. It was another unforgettable experience and I'm so grateful. We should totally do that every day. :)

I can't wait to reveal the covers over the coming months. Wait till you all see them!

Oooh, and if that wasn't enough, I now hold in my hands a CHASING BLUE ARC. I'll take a pic of it when I get home. The wrap around cover is beautiful.

Okay, I've been teasing for long enough! Harmony called me out and reminded me that it IS Sunday--the day I promised to post details. Well...here you go!

I’m in a hotel room in NJ. So far from FL, I know!

Tomorrow…I get to hang out with Editor K and the Photo Shoot People! (Yes, they deserve caps ‘cause they’re awesome.) We’ll be meeting at the super-secret location south of NYC to shoot the new Canterwood Crest covers. I can’t wait to see everyone since it has been since late April. I almost can’t believe we’re doing this again. I feel so lucky! (Posts about photo shoot #1 are here.)

Last time, the day was a total blur because I was in such shock that it was actually happening. Models. Horses. People. All for Canterwood. It was the most surreal experience to meet actual girls who got to portray my characters. It’ll be fun to see them again! Plus, in April, it was the first time I met EK and AA and that alone was enough to make a girl nervous.

I’m sooo excited!!!

I typed the entire way up and will do so on the trip home because I’m a girl on a deadline. The TRIPLE FAULT outline is in desperate need of, um, words. Yeah. *considers erasing that sentence so EK and AA don’t get nervous*

But YAY! It might actually be unseasonably warm tomorrow, which would rock. Fingers crossed.

Happy Sunday!

The blog might (or, you know, might not) get a little quiet over the next couple of days while I attempt to avoid the Internet and work on the TRIPLE FAULT outline. Plus, I reaaalllly need to do more work and less Internet because of...well...something awesome that I'll share quite soon! *excited dance*

:)

Thanks to everyone who commented on the TAKE THE REINS video. Glad you all like it!