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!)
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*
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!
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).
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!
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!
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.
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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.
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