THE WALLED CITY's release day!

The day has finally come: THE WALLED CITY is out in the world!!!!

The emotional journey to this book has been, well, pretty much a roller coaster. I started writing it in October 2011. It was the book that pushed me into new depths as a writer. It is the book of my heart. (If you want to know why, go to Nova Ren Suma's blog. I explain all.)

My parents surprised me with this amazing print of THE WALLED CITY's original cover.

I then went to Barnes and Noble to get my first proper glimpse of THE WALLED CITY in the wild.

There were a lot of glimpses!! It was all over the store!!

I signed a lot of stock.

It even has ITS OWN STAND. (Am I dreaming? What is this? WHAT IS THIS???)

*hyperventilates*

If you want to get it online, Barnes and Noble has great deals on it.  My local indie, Blue Bicycle Books, is also selling signed copies.

To those of you who have been reading this blog since THE WALLED CITY was a wee "Cutthroat Novel," thanks for sharing the journey with me.

Doodled ARC giveaway!

The Walled City was blessed with an unusually ornate title page. A gorgeous dragon entwined into flowers and leaves. The past few weeks I've been doodling in one of my few remaining ARCs and decided to color in the dragon with some Stabilo pens. The result was not too shabby! 

I've decided to give this pretty, pretty dragon away! All you have to do to enter the contest is write a sign saying why you want to read The Walled City (an example is below), take a picture of it (with or without your pretty face) and post it on Instagram or Twitter. Be sure to use the hashtag #TheWalledCity so I can keep track of your entry! (If you post the picture on Twitter AND Instagram that counts as two entries in your favor). This contest IS open internationally, and will run until midnight EST on Sunday the 19th. 

Go forth and enter!!

THE WALLED CITY author copies

Guys, guys, guys!!!

I got my author copies of THE WALLED CITY today!!! And they're so shiny! I woke up my husband so that he could get me opening them on video.

Just over a month left to go! Don't forget you can pre-order for half off at B&N right now. And if you wanted a signed copy then go on over to Blue Bicycle Books and they'll hook you up!

THE WALLED CITY pre-order specials!

Hey! I'll let you in on a secret!

Barnes and Noble is currently offering THE WALLED CITY for 50% off! That's right! If you pre-order through them right now then you get the book for $9, which is a pretty sweet deal if you ask me!

Also, if you have extra $$ to spare and want to pre-order a signed and stamped copy of THE WALLED CITY and get an package of specially blended tea, then go to Blue Bicycle Books's online shop and order through them!

#TheWalledCity 3 month giveaway!

My friends, we have reached the three month mark, which means the book of my heart is almost out in the world!! I love THE WALLED CITY so, SO much and I cannot wait to share it with you guys.

Because I can’t wait so badly, I’ve put together a special prize pack in honor of this marked date! It has lots of special goodies in it.

So what do you get?

A special red dragon paper cutout, a tiny porcelain “lucky cat”, the rice candy that Jin and Mei Yee always craved as kids, specially blended THE WALLED CITY tea (it’s lemongrass green tea) and a signed and stamped ARC with the coveted and increasingly rare first cover. Also, I’m slipping in a pamphlet from the Kowloon Walled City Park, which talks a lot about the real place the novel was based on.

See? Lots of goodies!

So, how do you get those goodies? Well, first of all, you must have a US address that I can ship them too. (Sorry, internationals…)

The contest will run from August 4^th to August 11^th  (11:59 PM EST). There are multiple ways to enter. Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram.

You can Tweet the following up to once a day (one tweet = one entry).

Run fast. Trust no one. Always carry your knife. Preview @ryangraudin's #TheWalledCity at thewalledcitybook.com and RT to win a prize pack!

If you reTumbl this post you’re automatically entered to win. (Again, one post per day. We don’t want to get all spammy!)

If you regram this post on Instagram you’re entered to win. (One post. One day.)

I’ll pick a random entry when the contest ends!!

Hooray three months!

ALA recap

Day 1: Got to Las Vegas in the afternoon. My skin immediately started crying out for water. My hair immediately had no frizz. (What is this sorcery?) Got settled in Caesar's Palace. Ordered a room-service sandwich that cost a small travesty. Got ready for the LBYR dance party!!!

First I got to go to dinner with the wonderful LBYR staff and several other authors. Including Laini Taylor. My inner fangirl was, well, fangirling. I love, love, love her Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy. (The writing! The characters! The plot! All genius! I recommend it to everyone). I think my rabid fangirl did a good job of keeping herself hidden.

Maybe.

The dance party itself was so much fun! I got to meet and greet and chat up librarians. Plus hand out with some really, truly amazing authors. Holly Black showed up later in the party and I got to meet Jim DiBartolo (the insanely talented illustrator of In the Shadows, who also happens to be Laini's husband).

The party place itself was a tad dark, so it was hard to get any truly good dancing shots. But trust me. We danced. And it was marvelous. By the end of the night I was ready to collapse in bed and never get up again. But I did get up. For...

Day 2: It was an early morning (for me), as I was the first one signing in the LBYR Booth. There were 260 pretty, pretty ARCs stacked by my publicists Jenn and Faye and my husband. 

The pile was signed and gone in about 30 minutes! I was kind of stunned at the end. The time felt like nothing! I've found that I really enjoy signing books for people. Meeting enthusiastic readers face to face is such an encouraging experience. So different from sitting alone in front of a computer screen in your dog-hair covered yoga pants...

Anyway. After the signing the husband and I explored the floor and hung out in the LBYR booth some more. I got to pose with my uber fabulous editor Alvina Ling (Y'all seriously, she's so talented. I'm so bleeping lucky to have her!)

Husband decided to become a Viking for the day:

He makes a pretty good Viking. IMHO.

Outside of a few other events, we had some time to explore Vegas. I'd never been before, and it was definitely an experience! The Bellagio fountains, Chihuly glass ceilings, slot machines... The place was so busy and neon and abundant.

Day 3: Once my ALA duties were over, we said goodbye to glitzy Vegas and the fantastic LBYR crew and went out into the wilderness. Just as I'd never been to Vegas, I'd also never experienced the Grand Canyon. So the husband and I drove out for a few days and hiked a nine mile trail into the canyon and back.

We stopped at Hoover Dam along the way.

The canyon was... majestic. And HOT. The temp sweltered up to 111 F while we were there. (Which is quite the opposite from the -30 F we experienced in China a few months ago.)

Flora and fauna were both in abundance. There were several fearless squirrels along the path who had no qualms trying to dig into our backpack for trail mix. We also came across this beauty:

He was massive. And almost as fearless as the squirrels. 

Our drive back from the Grand Canyon was eventful. We had to get back to Vegas for our flights home. We took a wrong turn and didn't realize it until we were in the wrong state. (WELCOME TO CALIFORNIA. Oops.) An hour in the wrong direction. Husband started driving a bit (okay, much) faster than the speed limit. Which was, of course, when state trooper saw us and pulled us over. He was very, very nice and understanding when we told him we were late for our flights and let us off with a warning (THANKS, CALIFORNIA!). We followed the speed limit when our gas light came on in the middle of nowhere. Fortunately there was a gas station five minutes up the road, and we managed to refill and get to Vegas. They were boarding zone 3 when we reached the plane.

Phew.

At least the drive was pretty.

All in all a fabulous ALA!

Appearance in Dallas!

I've been on the road a good deal these past few months for THE WALLED CITY, but next week I'll be doing a tour stop for ALL THAT GLOWS! I have family who lives in Dallas, so I go there at least once a year.

The wonderful Lindsay Cummings, author of THE MURDER COMPLEX got wind that I would be in town and invited me to be a part of the Mighty Mississippi Book Blast YA tour stop (geez, say that ten times fast!) there. If you live in or near the area come and say hi! I'll be answering questions, signing ALL THAT GLOWS, giving away tea, giving away a signed ARC of THE WALLED CITY. I would love to meet you!

Date: July 19th

Place: Half Price Books 

5803 E. Northwest Hwy.

Dallas, Texas 75231

214-379-8000

Time: 7pm

ALA schedule!

I have a signing for THE WALLED CITY on the horizon!! If you're going to be at ALA next week, then you can swing by the Little Brown booth on Saturday morning and say hi! It will be my first time in Vegas so I'll probably be a bit dazzled by all the neon lights and money.

Bring it on! (Anyone have any MUST DO things in Las Vegas? Let me know!)

Saturday June 28th
9-10 AM
LBYR Booth #422

it never gets old...

Coming home to find a box on your porch and opening said box to find your ARCs!!!! I got galleys of ALL THAT BURNS yesterday.

This book was hard to write. I mean--every book is hard to write--but this one had the extra challenge of being my first sequel. I stressed and sweated and cried over this book, and so it's really wonderful to finally see it in true novel form! It's crazy to think I started with nothing almost 2 years ago and now I have a book!!!

The cover is still a secret, so I had to take pictures that wouldn't compromise the reveal that will take place on June 26th.

ALL THAT BURNS - coming to a bookstore near you February 10th, 2015!!

The arrival of a third book of course necessitates a new "all the books I've written" photo! Look at ALL THAT BURNS sandwiched between its two loving literary siblings!!

And to think, this time last year I hadn't even gotten ARCs of ALL THAT GLOWS yet! It's crazy that I now have three book sized things I can call mine. My lovelies. *hugs them all*

Okay, off to work on more future lovelies!

BEA + NYC

It's time for my BEA wrap-up post! It was a whirlwind 50 hours of New York, books, cocktail parties and the Javits Center!

My BEA started early. 4:15 AM on Thursday morning early. I woke up to catch the early flight from Charleston to NYC, and I was so pumped up on adrenaline and excitement that I hardly even needed coffee (and that's really saying something).

NYC - Here I come!!

I got into New York and went straight to the Javits, where I met my amazingly wonderful fabulous editor Alvina Ling in person for the first time ever!!! I've been a fan of her list for a long time, and she was one of my dream editors before I managed to snag her. (I still can't believe I did!!)

Me with my fabulous editor Alvina Ling!

Alvina got to give a talk about THE WALLED CITY in front of a room full of people at the YA Editors' Buzz Panel. TWC was one of five books selected, which was quite a big honor!! You can listen to all the nice things she has to say here:

The day was full of people! Secret meetings, cocktail parties, a blogger party. People, people, people! I met authors I'd admired for a long time (Lemony Snicket!). I met bloggers who inspired me with their enthusiasm for TWC! I talked until I couldn't anymore due to sheer exhaustion. (I went to bed at 12:00 that night. Long, long day on only 5 hours of sleep!!!)

After a well rested night I woke up to the best breakfast EVAH:

I ate cookies for breakfast. Because I'm an adult.

After ingesting my morning sugar high I made my way over to the Javits and the author's stage, where I had to give a talk about THE WALLED CITY. I didn't think I was nervous, but apparently I was. I was a little more stuttery and high-strung in my talk than I would have liked, but people told me it went well, so I'll choose to believe them!

The other authors were all wonderful and poised, and their books all sound incredibly unique~

I gave a speech at the YA Author's Buzz Panel. 

 After buzzing a bit, it was time to sign! To my very big relief, people actually showed up in my line! And they were excited. It was so amazing to meet readers who lit up at the mention of my book. AND it was really, really cool to see the diversity of people in my line!

Signing ARCs.

My signing line.

After signing I had time to run around and explore the wonderful mess that is Javits. I snagged a whole bunch of lovely ARCs that I'd been coveting (SINNER! THE DARKEST PART OF THE FOREST! THE MAP TO EVERYWHERE!) and peeked around other publisher's booths!

Holly Black, me, editor Alvina

I also found some pretty cool ads for TWC:

The snazzy ad in the PW Daily.

That night I got invited to an early screening of The Fault in our Stars in Times Square. The theatre was very grand and austere. They handed out tissues to everyone at the screening. These were much needed. I think I ugly cried through about half of the movie. It was very raw and cathartic and so, so good. At the end John Green and the director and the president of Fox, as well as a few others involved in the movie (including the actor who portrays Isaac) got up and talked about the process of guiding the story from book to movie. It was incredibly fascinating to hear all of the thought and heart behind it.

Prescreening of The Fault in our Stars.

They handed out much needed tissues!

John Green and the director discuss TFioS movie making process.

The only slightly touristy thing I did was walk through Times Square at the end of the night! It was hectic and neon and a good taste of tourist New York.

My one touristy photo at Times Square!

That was about it for my trip to NY! Quick and packed and wonderful!

BEA appearances

Hello, friends!

I know, it's been a while. I can't pretend it hasn't.

I'm going to BEA!!!!

I'm so, so, SO excited to get the chance to fly up to New York next week and talk to people about my fall book THE WALLED CITY. Those of you who've been following my blog for a long time know that this book is really special to me (I've referred to it several times as the book of my heart) and I was over the moon when I heard it got selected as one of five YA books on the BEA Buzz panel.

So if you're going to BEA, and you're interested in finding me and/or THE WALLED CITY, here are a few events.

BEA YA Editor’s Buzz Panel
Thursday, May 29th - 10:00-10:50 am
Javits / Room 1E10/1E11

Here my wonderful editor Alvina Ling will talk about THE WALLED CITY and what drew her to acquire it, etc.

On Friday morning it's my turn to talk! I'll be at the BEA YA Author Stage Event. On the Javits Uptown Stage Booth #1379 from 10:00-10:30am. Shortly after I'll be signing ARCs of THE WALLED CITY at signing table 18 in the BEA Author autographing center (11:30-12:30).

I'm incredibly excited, not to mention nervous!

Will I be seeing any of you there??

buzz book

Exciting news! THE WALLED CITY has been selected as a BEA YA BUZZ book! For those of you who don't know, BEA stands for Book Expo of America and to be selected for the buzz panel is a huge honor!

The entire list of selected books is here.

So if you're going to be at BEA this May let me know!

Also, here's the official cover. Isn't it beautiful? I think so. But then again, I'm slightly biased.

THE WALLED CITY has a cover!

And you can see it in all of its glory here.

You guys I FINALLY get to show you the cover of THE WALLED CITY. And it's the most gorgeous thing ever! It was designed by Mark Swan at http://kid-ethic.com/ under the creative guidance of the Little Brown team. I'm so in love!!

But, I'll let you go to the post and see for yourself! Also there's an ARC up for grabs!

my launch party! (+some china pictures)

ALL THAT GLOWS has been out in the world for a week now, and what a good week it's been! There were blog tours and a Twitter party and, of course, a real live and in-person launch party! This past Saturday was the night I've spent the past 30 months looking forward to (okay--let's be honest, I've really been looking forward to this my entire life).

Blue Bicycle Books on 420 King Street was gracious enough to host the launch. They allowed me to take over their counter space with hot tea, cookies and glowsticks:

The tea was custom blended for ATG. It's rooibos with vanilla and strawberry! Delicious!

The cookies were made by my mom! Just as delicious!

They allowed me to take over their back room with a photobooth and faery wing props:

Husband and I

My brother loves me very much.

So do my parents.

Husband. Bestie. Brother.

While my friends were playing around in the photo booth (excellent blackmail material, bwahaha!) I was signing books!

And people were signing my "guest"book:

It was such a fun, thriving evening. I'm fortunate to have a really huge community of friends both old and new. I've spend 26 out of my 27 years living in Charleston, so people from all walks of life came out. Friends I've known since before I could walk. High school teachers and class mates. College professors and roommates. Family and friends who feel like it. Even strangers!

And in the evening I caught sight of the wonderful window display!

I signed a lot of stock at Blue Bicycle Books, so if you want a signed copy of ALL THAT GLOWS you can stop in or order one via their website.

 -

In the meantime, I spent an entire month in China, filming promotional material for THE WALLED CITY and visiting some dear friends who live by Hong Kong. Husband and I were fortunate to travel around the country a good deal, which helped me deal with some of the jitters of the impending release week!

Harbin. Where they make a city entirely of ice. And it's -30F.

The Great Wall has been on my bucket list for a while. Struck it off beautifully!

Rice terraces of Pingan.

PANDAS!

BAMBOO!

The five colored pond at Jiuzhaigou.

Hong Kong in the evening is one of the most gorgeous sights there is.

And this is me freaking out over a model version of the Kowloon Walled City.

I'll be posting more about THE WALLED CITY as the release date draws closer (it's November 4th - 9 months away!), but visiting the site of the park where it once stood was just amazing. Just amazing.

I am so, so thankful.