Tag Archives: middle grade
The Book Holding
I see my book in hardcover for the first time!
Spirit’s Key ARCs!
This is my excited face. Gimme the cheese! Give it to meeeeeee!
Spirit’s Key ARCs arrived all shiny and magic-like on my doorstep. It’s one of those momentous events that as an aspiring author you dream about. I’ve dreamed about it for the last seven years.
If you don’t know what I’m talking about, an ARC is an advanced reader copy.
The calm and collected photo. No big deal. This happens everyday.
It’s the edition that will go out to reviewers and bloggers. If you happen to be a reviewer or blogger and you’d like to receive a copy, you can email me your information, and I’ll pass it along to my publisher.
What? You say this is *our* book? The one dedicated to me? Why didn’t you say so? Howl-lelujah!!
Anyway, I got the box after coming home from yoga all sweaty and gross. So my dog Leia jumped at the chance to express our happiness.
My first reading
Photo credit: Jess Capelle
In February I attended a writing workshop put on by Nova Ren Suma at Djerassi. You can read more about the workshop by clicking on Nova’s name in the previous sentence. There were 11 other novelist in attendance. While I was there, I worked on my first pass pages.
At night, Nova let us sign up to do readings. I thought it would be good practice for me, since I haven’t read to an audience since I stopped teaching. So I read the first few pages of SPIRIT’S KEY!
Nova Ren Suma, Marie Cruz, Kim Liggett and me!
As you can see I dressed up for the event. 😉 Monster t-shirt, unicorn slippers, no makeup–we wore our writers’ uniforms. If nothing else, I was comfortable. I think it went well. Everyone was nice and said it did. Anyway, practice makes perfect, so it was great to have the opportunity at an early stage before the book comes out. September gets closer everyday!
Showing off the map
First Pass Pages
I got my first pass pages for Spirit’s Key! This is the first time I’m seeing how the book will be laid out. I love the opening pages, the map and the pretty chapter headers illustrated by the fantastic Eliza Wheeler. It feels so real now. It seems FSG is really going to publish my book!
