Very Cool Agency Site Redo!

My agent is Tracey Adams and her husband Josh, also an agent extraordinaire, recently revamped their agency website.

Adams Literary Agency was the first agency to launch a website 5 years ago and the new and improved is fantastic!

Go here to see the new site: Adams Literary. Check out the "New Books" Page! I love the all the book jackets you can scroll through so easily!

You can FIND ME HERE! More updates will be on there soon, too, as Scholastic lets us share cover art and blurbs and synopses for THE HEALING SPELL (July 1, 2010). I can't wait!

I am very BLESSED and LUCKY to be with them. Tracey and Josh are so knowledgeable about the children's book industry and so much fun, too. Just last week, Tracey and I were emailing about a new blurb I got from the DEMI-GOD of Children's Literature of the past three decades (YES, HE READ THE HEALING SPELL AND IS BLURBING IT!!!) and she just picked up the phone to chat and squeal together in person. She said, "I've decided that phone calls are too infrequent these days, and it's important to connect voice-to-voice! " I so agree. Gave me a happy glow all day long.



In other news, check out this new book by fellow New Mexico Author Lauren Bjorkman, and part of the Class of 2009. Her debut novel is having it's birthday!!!! Congratulations, Lauren!!!!

See/Hear the Young Adult Book Buzz Webcast in Archive!

SPONSORED BY SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL

Harlequin Teen/Kimani TRU,
Little, Brown,
Orca Book Publishers, and
Scholastic Press/Push Imprint

With the support of Baker & Taylor

Live Webcast Date:
Thursday, September 24, 2009 - 2:00 PM ET - 60 minutes

This webcast will be archived in approximately
72 hours, and will be available for viewing from
the School Library Journal webcast archives,
found at:
http://www.slj.com/webcasts

Or, just click on Technology, then Webcast from
the top menu bar at www.slj.com


This was GREAT! A chat with 5 top editors from each of these publishers talking about their new and upcoming Fall/Winter/Spring Books. And there are book covers to drool over and author info and reviews. It was fun to hear about the books from the editors who acquired them or worked on them.

I'm going to re-listen this weekend because I missed the last editor talking about Scholastic's teen books - which is my very own publisher! For shame - but my agent called right in the middle of it!!! I couldn't *not* answer the phone!

I mean, my AGENT called. And I got to tell HER some FABULOUS news!

Is This just Feeding all my Excuses *not* to Write?

"I have a basic indolence about me which is essential to writing . . . It's thinking time, it's hanging-out time, it's day-dreaming time. You know, it's lie-around-the-bed time, it's sitting-like-a-dope-in-your-chair-time. And that seems to me essential to any work."
Grace Paley

"Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under the trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time."
Sir John Lubbock

"It takes a heap of loafing to write a book."
Gertrude Stein

Enjoy your beautiful autumn! I still have some of my summer flowers . . . they'll soon be disappearing though.

Good Reads!

I AM OFFICIALLY ON GOOD READS NOW! With a profile page and everything.

Please friend me. And Pretty Please add my upcoming July 2010 novel, THE HEALING SPELL to your reading list on GoodReads! Thank you, thank you!

I just finished this ABSOLUTELY DELIGHTFUL AND BRILLIANT NOVEL!!!

Happy Book Birthday!!!

To my wonderful friend, Barbara O'Connor!!!

If you haven't discovered Barb's books yet, you are missing a real treat.

Currently, her books are on, like, 17 State Reading Lists. She's won the Parent Choice Award 5 times!!!

Her writing and characters are AMAZING. And she's originally from South Carolina so she's adorable.

This novel has already received TWO STARRED REVIEWS from Kirkus and School Library Journal!!!

Happy Day, Barbara!!!

Now I'm in search of cake or brownies to celebrate . . . but I'll watch her book trailer while I'm eating! Which she made all by herself!

Popeye and Elvis Book Trailer

See? Amazing.

Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!!!

ONE OF THE BIGGEST AUTHORS IN CHILDREN'S LITERATURE CALLED MY EDITOR AND ASKED TO READ THE HEALING SPELL! I have all fingers, toes and eyeballs crossed that he will like the book and want to blurb it. He's one of my all time favorite authors! I heard someone recently call him a Demi-God in the children's lit world. ;-D

Of course, my editor immediately had a copy printed up and bound for him and delivered - the same day. Then I got a personal letter from him over the weekend.

When I heard the news I started crying and dancing around in my pajamas with incredulity and delight and shock and excitement.

The blurb will look fabulous next to the blurb I ALSO received from the wonderful and generous and brilliant other VERY FAMOUS AUTHOR - a.k.a. THE DEMI-GODDESS of children's literature. I love her.

Wow. Wow. Wow. What a journey this novel has had. Seven years in the making . . . and that's just *this* book, not counting all the others I've written and never sold. Never give up. Never.

Feelin' like a kid!

Fridays!

1. I WROTE NEW WORDS YESTERDAY!!! This is a major accomplishment for me because I have a very, very, very difficult time getting STARTED. Overcoming the intertia of the blank page and the characters I'm groping to get to know. It's been two months actually since I wrote Chapter One of this new WIP. Yes, a looooong time. And it's under contract, no less which makes me very nervous. I'm back to chewing on my fingernails. The summer was crazy busy for me with travel and revisions/copyedits/production for THE HEALING SPELL and a new baby and people in and out of my house and extra people living in my house - so whew. Fingers crossed I can write *more* new words today and get a flow going.

2. Happy Birthday to my darling son, Jared!!!! I vividly remember the day he was born, an incredible, powerful day. He was a special baby in so many ways that I can't even go into here, and he's been a very special son. He's turning into a wise and wonderful man.

3. This day makes me weepy for many reasons now. A day of remembrance for our country, for the people who died, the people who sacrificed their lives to help them, the bravery and heroism and selflessness. I love the United States of America. Freedom, hard work, love and faith is the only way to keep our country great.

4. I'm LOVING a new writing book: THE FIRE IN FICTION, by Donald Maass. He is one of the great writing teachers of my lifetime. The Introduction is worth the price of the book alone. I just wish it was longer. Are YOU a Status Seeker or a Storyteller???


5. I am feeling very blessed this week because of my family and my friends and a wonderful agent and editor. AND the wonderful people of the writing community. My heart is overflowing. You INSPIRE me beyond words.

I'm done! I'm done? Surreal . . .

I spent the Labor Day Weekend finishing the proofreading for my First Pass Pages for THE HEALING SPELL (Scholastic, July 1, 2010) and oh my, there is lots of little picky things to find and ponder and mull over and figure out how to fix without messing up other little picky things, ie, like word choices, and phrasing, or the heart-pounding "Oh, No! I found a mistake in my research!" Quick, quick - dig up my research notes. Go online! Find the answer!

I sent them back to my editor yesterday morning, fully planning on getting back to drafting THE TRAITEUR'S DAUGHTER which has been patiently waiting since July for my attention, poor thing.

Last night I got an email back with another list of questions or concerns - nothing major, but more *stuff*. My darling editor worked very late! I got up early, finished them before 8:00 this morning, and my editor loves me for being so prompt. ;-D

Gorgeous editor: You’re done with The Healing Spell! When 2nd pass pages come in, if there are any questions for you, I’ll forward them along, but I won’t need you to look at pages again for this book. So you are free!

Me: No way! I'm done??? It doesn't seem possible. Why did my stomach clench up? Why do I feel a slight sense of panic? I mean, surely there is more I can do . . . my heart is pounding.

Gorgeous Editor: Yup. I know...it's scary, but it's great. The book is beautiful--GORGEOUS--and now it's time to focus on your next one. I totally get that you feel panicky, but just breathe and know that you made a fabulous, wonderful, perfect book and now it's time to let it go.

Let it go? Just like that? For real?

The next time I see it, the manuscript will be A REAL BOOK BETWEEN COVERS.

Gulp.




If anybody needs me, this is where I'll be: Surreal Sunset

My First Pass Pages are Here!

There's a whole bunch of us all on the same publishing *track*. [info]angie_frazier just got her First Pages as well as [info]seaheidi . We're all publishing Summer of 2010. Who else is out there? Let me know and I'll add ya to my list.

My pages came Wednesday and Ive been plugging away proofreading and hoping I don't miss a missed period or letter or apostrophe or something! Sort of nerve-wracking, but fun too! I really like the font and lead space in between the lines for easy reading.

I adore the quirky font for the title pages! It's gorgeous!

And my editor also showed me the back cover comp Scholastic is working on - it's way cool! A significant item(s) from the story is done in a photo illustration on the back as well as my super cool blurb and my super cool one-liner - all done in the same font. But I can't show that yet . . .

"Kimberley" got misspelled, but it'll be fixed for the galleys. I get ARC's too!

I LOVE Scholastic's logo - what a dream . . .

Had to share this clever little joke!

An old man and woman were married for many years, even though they hated each other. When they had a confrontation, screaming and yelling could be heard deep into the night.

The old man would shout, “When I die, I will dig my way up and out of the grave and come back and haunt you for the rest of your life!"

Neighbors feared him. They believed he practiced black magic, because of the many strange occurrences that took place in their neighborhood.

The old man liked the fact that he was feared. To everyone's relief, he died of a heart attack when he was 98.

His wife had a closed casket at the wake. After the burial, she went straight to the local bar and began to party, as if there was no tomorrow.

Her neighbors, concerned for her safety, asked, “Aren't you afraid that he may indeed be able to dig his way up and out of the grave and come back to haunt you for the rest of your life?”

The wife put down her drink and said, "Let him dig. I had him buried upside down."

Teaser Tuesday

I HAVE COVER ART FOR
THE HEALING SPELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's GORGEOUS! I'm thrilled and LOVE it - AND I CAN'T SHARE. Publisher's orders. They said NO showing off fabulous, wonderful, beautiful cover until we deem that it's time to flood the world and start officially buzzing!

How's that for a teaser? I will tell you that they took one of my suggestions to add a particular something to the cover - and they all agree it really makes it *pop*. Happiness!

Sorry, my friends! But I promise it will be worth the wait. I guess I can see Scholastic's point - after all, the pub date is still 10 months away. EXACTLY 10 months from today - yippeee!

But I CAN share the artist who did the cover art. His name is Marc Tauss. Check out his other book jacket covers. (First link on the left on the Home Page). Then open up the thumbnails, they're even prettier full blown. And I am in awesome writerly company! He's done jacket art for K.L. Going, Joan Bauer, Laurie Halse Anderson, Ann Rinaldi, Tracy Mack, Bruce Colville, Ann Turner, etc.

Here's the one-liner teaser we're thinking of putting on the back cover - and it PERFECTLY fits my status today.

"I've never had a bigger secret in my whole life . . . "