Last week, the ever lovely Jen over on Pop! Goes The Reader, graciously hosted my cover reveal for SUMMER OF SLOANE, along with a fun interview and a giveaway too.
YA Buccaneers: Spring Writing Bootcamp Check-In
WHERE THE WATER FALLS OFFICIAL NEW TITLE!
When I first started working on my YA Contemporary novel, WHERE THE WATER FALLS, I knew immediately when I'd gotten to a certain scene, what my title would be.
YA Buccaneers: Spring Writing Bootcamp Check-In
Since the beginning of April, we've been busy over at the YA Buccaneers, hosting our 2nd annual Spring Writing Bootcamp!
Which has been perfect timing, because I've been crazy busy with revisions for my editor, since February -- and with my looming deadline of 4/17, I knew I'd need a little motivation to make that final push to finish.
And finish I did!
I'm beyond ecstatic to get through this first round of heavy edits. A lot was discussed up front on how to make WTWF the best it could be and I love the direction we settled on. In the end, I cut a lot of the muck and am really happy with where my MS is at now. Granted, there's still a lot of work ahead, but that first initial sweep is done, done, and DONE!
Next steps: I expect to have round 2 of editorial notes somewhere around next Friday, 5/1 and then it'll be back to the revision cave.
I also found out my expected publishing date (if everything stays on track) will be:
May 3, 2016!!!
May is such a good month for me, from my birthday, to when I sold my book last year -- so I couldn't be happier with a 5/3/16 pub date!
I've also heard that cover options should be ready to see sometime soon...and I can't wait!!! Whenever that happens, I'll announce the cover reveal information as soon as I can.
Until then, I'm busy reading an ARC of fellow Mouse-House author, Marci Lyn Curtis, THE ONE THING!
Guys, this book is so much fun and Marci's snark is AWESOME! I can't wait for this to come out on September 8th!
What else am I busy with? Well, some of you may know I'm expecting...and Baby Boy is due the first week of August! My husband and I are BEYOND excited and I can't wait to meet the Lil' Putter!
I've been working on the nursery and now that I'm sans edits for a couple of weeks, I'll be able to get a lot of it done! Our theme is Monkeys / Jungle and I'll be busy this week getting the walls done.
So with that, week 3 of our Spring Writing Bootcamp is complete and I successfully scratched off a big goal!
Spring Writing Bootcamp Goals:
- Finish first round of edits for Disney-Hyperion -- Due date: Friday, April 17th.
- Finish second round of edits for DH -- Due date: TBD.
- Read ARC of THE ONE THING by Marci Lyn Curtis
- Read / critique new MS for fellow CP (still waiting for the updated version to start)
- Work on new WIP (Read / revise current chapters): NOTG
- Plot new WIP: WITNESS
- Non-writerly stuff: Work on nursery!
If you're joining us this year for Bootcamp, I hope you've been making great progress in your writing goals -- and I'd love to hear all about them!
Cover Reveal: The One Thing by Marci Lyn Curtis
It's here, it's here!!!
I'm SO happy to share the amazing cover reveal for my dear friend and fellow Mouse House author, Marci Lyn Curtis, and her upcoming YA Contemporary novel, THE ONE THING!!!
I was thrilled to see early cover designs Marci received late last year -- just to have a little glimpse into what goes on behind the scenes...share in the excitment of actually knowing your book is coming to life. It was all, well, a little surreal and I was so happy for Marci that the cover is perfect!
But enough about what I think...what do YOU think?
Perfect right???
GOODREADS SYNOPSIS:
THE ONE THING
Disney-Hyperion
Coming September 8th, 2015
A soaring tale of life and love, of sacrifice and renewal, and learning to see people as they really are.
Maggie Sanders might be blind, but she won't invite anyone to her pity party. Ever since losing her sight six months ago, Maggie's rebellious streak has taken on a life of its own, culminating with an elaborate school prank. Maggie called it genius. The judge called it illegal.
Now Maggie has a probation officer. But she isn't interested in rehabilitation, not when she's still mourning the loss of her professional soccer dreams, and furious at her so-called friends, who lost interest in her as soon as she could no longer lead the team to victory.
When Maggie first meets Ben, she thinks she can add crazy to her list of problems. But the precocious ten-year-old isn't a hallucination. Maggie can actually see him. She immediately befriends the kid, desperate for any chance to see again.
It turns out Ben's older brother is Mason Milton, the ridiculously hot lead singer of Maggie's new favorite band. Music is the first thing that has made Maggie feel alive since losing her sight. But when she learns the real reason she can see Ben, Maggie must find the courage to face a once-unimaginable future...before she loses everything she has grown to love.
Pretty fantastic, huh? So what are you waiting for -- add THE ONE THING to your Goodreads TBR shelves now!
A LITTLE ABOUT MARCI:
Marci Curtis grew up in Northern California, where she went to college and met an amazing guy in a military uniform. Two college-aged kids and one dachshund later, she lives in Maryland, where she laughs too loudly and eats peanut butter off spoons. Her YA contemporary debut, The One Thing, comes out September 8th, 2015 via Disney-Hyperion. Learn more about her at Marcilyncurtis.com.
Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18369372-the-one-thing
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/Marci_Curtis
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/marcilyncurtis
GIVEAWAY:
Marci is giving away an awesome pair of custom earrings themed perfectly around THE ONE THING -- enter the Rafflecopter form below (or directly on
).
I'm so thrilled for Marci and her gorgeous cover -- and I definitely can't wait to get my hands on THE ONE THING!!!
2014 Rewind: My Top 10 YA Reads
Because a picture is worth a thousand words...my top 10 YA reads for 2014:
10. #SCANDAL by Sarah Ockler
9. HORDE by Ann Aguirre
8. FAR FROM YOU by Tess Sharpe
7. THE BITTER KINGDOM by Rae Carson
6. DREAMS OF GODS & MONSTERS by Laini Taylor
5. ISLAND OF THE BLUE DOLPHINS by Scott O'Dell
4. HEIR OF FIRE by Sarah J. Maas
3. RUIN AND RISING by Leigh Bardugo
And my TWO #1 picks:
1. WE WERE LIARS by E. Lockhart
1. I'LL GIVE YOU THE SUN by Jandy Nelson
Yes, I cheated and picked two #1 books this year...but they were both so good -- here's what I shared about them both over at the YA Buccaneers:
Jandy Nelson could write one of those uncomfortable brochures you find in your OB/GYN's office and I'd still read it. Seriously. I love Jandy for so many reasons and I'LL GIVE YOU THE SUN is one of them. Here's what I wrote about Jandy and her books in our Thanksgiving Giving Thanks post:
I'm thankful for YA author, Jandy Nelson. I loved her latest release, I'LL GIVE YOU THE SUN, but THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE -- that one is at the top of my all-time favorites and reminds me every single day what great writing is all about. When I went out on sub earlier this year, I was honored to use SKY as one of my comp titles -- and in September when I got to meet Jandy, I let her know. Her response: she squealed, jumped up and hugged me, then gave me a huge kiss on my cheek. It resulted in the best personalization ever.
Captain E. Hook, aka Erin L. Schneider: "My favorite read for 2014 was WE WERE LIARS by E. Lockhart. Full of characters with deep flaws, twists and turns throughout, and an ending that was not at all what I was expecting, this read has it all!"
Make sure to stop by the YA Buccaneers and check out the rest of the crew's top favorite YA reads for 2014. Plus, we've got copies of I'LL GIVE YOU THE SUN and our very own Caroline Richmond's THE ONLY THING TO FEAR up for grabs for our December Reading Muting Challenge!