Saturday, November 30, 2013

Updates

Both my mother-in-law and sister-in-law informed me this week when we were together for Thanksgiving, that I've been neglecting my blog. I know this is true that's why I got really defensive and started throwing dishes and telling them to stay out of my business. Okay, I didn't do that. I hung my head in shame and said, I know, I'm a horrible person. So, here I am, giving my blog some attention. :)

Some updates since my last post:

ON THE FENCE, my summer of 2014 contemporary, now has a cover! You can see it above in the header. I'm going to do an ARC giveaway for that very soon.....once I get ARCs.

I've updated my appearances page so if you want to see where I'll be in the next few months, check it out. I'd love to see everyone.

The paperback of Pivot Point comes out December 31, 2013. And it was chosen for the "extras" program at HarperTeen, which means there will be some fun extra things in the back: An interview, a playlist, and a short deleted scene.

Hmm, I think that's all for now. Feel free to leave me any questions in the comments section that I can answer in a post. That would help my sad blog. :)



Friday, September 20, 2013

Come see me in San Francisco

Have I mentioned I'm going to be at LitQuake in San Francisco for the TeenQuake event on October 12th?? It should be so fun. Prizes, mingling, games, and almost 2 dozen authors. Check out the site for details:

http://www.litquake.org/calendar-of-events/teenquake-author-salon

Monday, September 16, 2013

Split Second giveaway!!!



Goodreads Book Giveaway


Split Second by Kasie West

Split Second

by Kasie West


Giveaway ends October 16, 2013.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Happy Relic Day!!

Have you all heard about this book???


I love this book. It is so unique and full of vivid imagery and swoony boys and cool plots. Here, this summary tells it better than I can:

"After a raging fire consumes her town and kills her parents, Maggie Davis is on her own to protect her younger sister and survive best she can in the Colorado town of Burning Mesa. In Maggie’s world, the bones of long-extinct magical creatures such as dragons and sirens are mined and traded for their residual magical elements, and harnessing these relics’ powers allows the user to wield fire, turn invisible, or heal even the worst of injuries.

Working in a local saloon, Maggie befriends the spirited showgirl Adelaide and falls for the roguish cowboy Landon. But when she proves to have a particular skill at harnessing the relics’ powers, Maggie is whisked away to the glamorous hacienda of Álvar Castilla, the wealthy young relic baron who runs Burning Mesa. Though his intentions aren’t always clear, Álvar trains Maggie in the world of relic magic. But when the mysterious fires reappear in their neighboring towns, Maggie must discover who is channeling relic magic for evil before it’s too late.

Relic is a thrilling adventure set in a wholly unique world, and a spell-binding story of love, trust, and the power of good."

Yes! That! So head on over to Renee's blog and congratulate her on the release of her book! 

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Airport Take 2

Soooooo, as many of my twitter followers know, I spent about 15 hours in the airport yesterday. Toward the end of my airport delirium, I started a 'guess what time I'm going to get home' twitter contest for a chance to win an ARC of Split Second. Many of you evil people were guessing 7am. I thought you were evil at the time, at least, because at this point I would've loved to be home by 7am. The airport debacle of 2013 ended in a cancelled and rescheduled flight and my friend Kari Olson rescuing me and letting me sleep in her guest bed for the night. This ending meant none of the twitter guesses were correct. So I thought I'd give you another chance. Except this time I'm not going to tell you any flight information. It will be some time today.

The rules:
*Guess here or on twitter what time I will be arriving into my garage at my home.
*Use hashtag #winSplitSecondARC
*One guess per person
*If multiple people guess the correct time, the first person who guessed it will win.
*Contest ends when I arrive home and tweet a pic of the time on my clock. (And really, I'll be the main winner. Because I will be home.)

Ready, GO.

UPDATE: I am home. Thank goodness. The winning time was 4:15, which is what @Gryphongirl2007 guessed on twitter. Congrats!! And I'm so happy to be home. 

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

More Contemporary!!!

Have I mentioned I have another contemporary coming out next summer?! Well I do. And I've been given permission to reveal the title and summary. I'm so excited about this book. I love it so much and I can't wait to share it with you. I also can't wait to show you its cover (not today though) that I was able to have a hand in helping with. It was so fun. Stay tuned for posts about that in the next several months. But for now, the title:

ON THE FENCE

I love that title. It really fits the book. Michelle, my lovely agent, titled this one. Have I ever told you that I haven't titled a single one of my books? Yeah, I'm bad at titles. Good thing the people around me are so good at them. :)

And now for the summary:


For sixteen-year-old Charlotte Reynolds, aka Charlie, being raised by a single dad and three older brothers has its perks. She can out-run, out-score, and outwit every boy she knows--including her long-time neighbor, and honorary fourth brother, Braden.

But when it comes to being a girl, Charlie doesn't know the first thing about anything. So when she starts working at a chi-chi boutique to pay off a speeding ticket, she finds herself in a strange new world of makeup, lacy skirts, and bedazzlers. Even stranger, she's spending time with a boy who has never seen her tear it up in a pick-up game.

To cope with the stress of faking her way through this new reality, Charlie seeks late night refuge in her backyard, talking out her problems with Braden by the fence that separates them. But their Fence Chats can't solve Charlie's biggest problem: she's falling for Braden. Hard. She knows what it means to go for the win, but if spilling her secret means losing him for good, the stakes just got too high.

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Texas Tour!!


The S.W.E.A.T. Tour!
(SoCal Writers' Excellent Adventure in Texas!)
Get ready, Texas--Shannon Messenger, Debra Driza, Amy Tintera, and I are heading your way! In August. It's going to be really hot. (Which explains the name. Sweat. Because we will be very....okay, you get it.) But we promise there will be air conditioning. And loads of fun. Come hang out with us!
Thursday, 8/8
7:00 pm
The Book Spot
1205 Round Rock Ave #119
Round Rock, TX 78681


Friday, 8/9
7:00 pm
Irving Public Library
801 W. Irving Blvd.
Irving, TX 75060
(books will be available to buy from Half Price Books)


Saturday, 8/10
3:00 pm
Blue Willow Bookshop
14532 Memorial Drive
Houston, TX 77079
(more details, plus how to pre-order books can be found HERE)


Monday, 8/12
7:00 pm
Book People
603 N. Lamar
Austin, TX 78703

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Happy book birthday to The Distance Between Us!!

Today is the day that my second book baby comes into the world and I couldn't be more excited! This book was a lot of things to me back when I wrote it. It was a break from the stress of querying. It was a genre I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to write but adored. It was fun and challenging and happy. And so whenever I look at it, I always get those feelings again. And I hope it will bring similar feelings to those who read it. 

I seriously don't believe it's July 2nd already. But that's what the calendar says. So Happy Book Birthday to:




As a side note, I'm at girls' camp with my daughters up in the mountains far away from internet today. So, please forgive my lack of personal responses to all the well wishes. I love you people and thank you thank you for all the support you've given me this past year. Hopefully I can catch up with comments as soon as I'm home.

Purchase The Distance Between Us here:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Indie Bound
The Book Depository

Monday, July 1, 2013

Pivot Point for $1.99!!!???

The e-book edition of Pivot Point is on sale for $1.99 for the next 2 weeks! If you haven't read it yet, now is your chance! So, if your love for me wasn't large enough to pay 10 plus dollars to read my book, you can now prove you love me at least $1.99 worth. :)

Find it at Amazon.

Thursday, June 20, 2013

SPLIT SECOND COVER!!!!!


WAIT!!!!!!

I know you want to scroll down and see the cover. I know. I do it all the time. I never read before I look. But I just want to prepare you a little first. Addie is not on the cover. What does this mean?! you might ask. Does it mean she is not the POV character, that her story doesn't continue, that we won't get to read about Trevor and Duke?? No, that is not what it means. But it does mean that there is another POV character as well for this book: Laila. And that is who gets to star on the second cover, which I absolutely love. Okay, if you haven't already, go look! 



------


------


-------















ISN'T IT GORGEOUS????

So, do you want to hear what it's about now?

Summary:

Life can change in a split second.

Addie hardly recognizes her life since her parents divorced. Her boyfriend used her. Her best friend betrayed her. She can’t believe this is the future she chose. On top of that, her ability is acting up. She’s always been able to Search the future when presented with a choice. Now she can manipulate and slow down time, too . . . but not without a price.

When Addie’s dad invites her to spend her winter break with him, she jumps at the chance to escape into the Norm world of Dallas, Texas. There she meets the handsome and achingly familiar Trevor. He’s a virtual stranger to her, so why does her heart do a funny flip every time she sees him? But after witnessing secrets that were supposed to stay hidden, Trevor quickly seems more suspicious of Addie than interested in her. And she has an inexplicable desire to change that.

Meanwhile, her best friend, Laila, has a secret of her own: she can restore Addie’s memories . . . once she learns how. But there are powerful people who don’t want to see this happen. Desperate, Laila tries to manipulate Connor, a brooding bad boy from school—but he seems to be the only boy in the Compound immune to her charms. And the only one who can help her.

As Addie and Laila frantically attempt to retrieve the lost memories, Addie must piece together a world she thought she knew before she loses the love she nearly forgot . . . and a future that could change everything.






a Rafflecopter giveaway




Good luck on winning an ARC! It's an international giveaway so everyone can enter! And thank you for all the wonderful feedback I've gotten for Pivot Point. I love you guys. Let me know what you think of the cover. :)

The four other blogs helping me reveal my cover today (thanks, ladies!!):

Wholly Books

Fic Fare

The Irish Banana Review

Some Like It Paranormal




Monday, June 10, 2013

Winners!!!

Since both my contests ended around the same time, I thought I'd announce the winners in the same post.

Thanks to all who participated in the contests. And I really appreciated all your nice words about why you wanted to win an ARC of The Distance Between Us. They all made me smile. So, here are the winners:

The winner of INSOMNIA by JR Johansson is: KiKiD!!!

And the winner of an ARC of THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US is: Gillian B.!!

Congrats! Hope you enjoy these books. :)

Friday, May 31, 2013

Play a game, win INSOMNIA!!! (Plus awesome pre-order contest)

First let me start by saying I love love love this book. So if you've ever even thought of ordering it, now's the time. Because if you pre-order now, you have a chance to win a Nook worth $250. So spend $7-9 bucks and get a book you're going to love, plus the chance to win a supremely awesome prize?! Um...yes! So immediately following this paragraph, you'll see two things, one, links to where you can pre-order the book and two, the entry form for the contest. This contest is so amazing, I couldn't pass it up myself. So I have pre-ordered a book as well! (I want that Nook!!) But since I already own the book, I'll be giving the one I just ordered away to one of you. All you have to do for a chance to win the book I just pre-ordered is enter you answers (to the game below) in the comments section! Good luck!

Pre-order here
The Book Depository
IndieBound
Books A Million
Barnes & Noble
Amazon

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now, on to the game!!
After four years of sleeplessness, high school junior Parker Chipp can't take much more. Every night, instead of sleeping, he enters the dreams of the last person he's made eye contact with. If he doesn't sleep soon, Parker will die.



So here's the goal. You are now Parker and you need to save yourself! I've given you the eyes of ten authors that you might make eye contact with at the end of the day to help you dream sweetly (or not so sweetly depending on the author). You must tell me who these eyes belong to (Hint, most of them have participated in Jenn's giveaway blog tour and you might be able to find their names here: Jenn's blog. But two won't be on that blog.) and which eyes might lead to a fitful dreams full of plots for their next tense/scary novels and which might lead to peaceful dreams. Ready? Go! Leave your answers in the comments section for a chance to win! The pre-order/Nook contest ends today, but this contest will continue until Thursday, June 6th. I'll announce the winner next Friday. (The winner will be chosen from the person who got all 10 authors correct. If more than one person meets this criteria, I will randomly draw from those who posted the correct answers.)















Monday, May 27, 2013

Win An ARC of The Distance Between Us

With about a month until this book comes out in the world this will be my last contest to win an ARC of The Distance Between Us. It's open internationally so everyone enter! Good luck!! :)  And just in case you haven't heard about the book before, here's a little summary:


Money can't buy a good first impression.
Seventeen-year-old Caymen Meyers learned early that the rich are not to be trusted. And after years of studying them from behind the cash register of her mom's porcelain-doll shop, she has seen nothing to prove otherwise. Enter Xander Spence—he's tall, handsome, and oozing rich. Despite his charming ways and the fact that he seems to be one of the first people who actually gets her, she's smart enough to know his interest won't last. Because if there's one thing she's learned from her mother's warnings, it's that the rich have a short attention span. But just when Xander's loyalty and attentiveness are about to convince Caymen that being rich isn't a character flaw, she finds out that money is a much bigger part of their relationship than she'd ever realized. With so many obstacles standing in their way, can she close the distance between them?





a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Happy Book Birthday!!!

Today Transparent by Natalie Whipple is out in the world!!! I'm so excited. I adore this book.


Blurb from goodreads:

"Plenty of teenagers feel invisible. Fiona McClean actually is.

An invisible girl is a priceless weapon. Fiona’s own father has been forcing her to do his dirty work for years—everything from spying on people to stealing cars to breaking into bank vaults. After sixteen years, Fiona’s had enough. She and her mother flee to a small town, and for the first time in her life, Fiona feels like a normal life is within reach. But Fiona’s father isn’t giving up that easily.Of course, he should know better than anyone: never underestimate an invisible girl."

Invisible girl, mob boss father, cool super powers??? Yes. This book is made of awesome!








Monday, May 20, 2013

German Cover!!!

I'm so excited to be able to show you the German cover for Pivot Point today! I love it so much. It's so interesting to see what covers other countries choose. The title even got a makeover for this cover. Pivot Point in Germany will be known as: Forget Me Not. And of course, the cover matches that title perfectly. When I heard this title I was like, oh wow! That's so clever. It fits the book perfectly. And then the crumpled note displaying the title. Ah. They really captured the essence of the book. What do you think?


Monday, May 13, 2013

Win an ARC

Do you want to win an ARC of The Distance Between Us??? Enter for a chance on goodreads. And stay tuned for another chance to win on my blog!


Goodreads Book Giveaway


The Distance Between Us by Kasie West

The Distance Between Us

by Kasie West


Giveaway ends June 04, 2013.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Arizona!

Hey Arizona, I'm heading your way in 2 weeks! :) I'm tagging along with my husband on a work trip and thought it would be fun to hang out with some book peeps while I'm there. This isn't an official signing, but I'll be hanging out here:

Changing Hands Bookstore
6428 S McClintock Dr, Tempe, AZ 85283  

On Tuesday, May 7th from 1-3pm. Come hang out with me and chat. 
There should be a few books available, but if you want a guaranteed copy, or can't be there but would like a signed copy of Pivot Point, please order one ahead of time by going here: 


http://www.changinghands.com/book/9780062117373. In the comments field mention you want a signed copy, and if you want it personalized, the first name of the person.

Or you can call the store and order over the phone: 480-730-0205.

Even if you already have a copy, come! Maybe I'll even bring cupcakes or something.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

YAppiest Day on Earth

So this last weekend I got to spend the day at Disneyland with some pretty awesome writers, readers, and bloggers at an event called The YAppiest Day on Earth (you know, a play on The Happiest Place on Earth....get it?). It was so much fun that we're already talking about doing it again next year and making it even more epic. Stay tuned for that. But for now, pictures!!


Here's the whole author crew. Should I attempt to name them all? Okay, here I go. From left to right, back row first: Jennifer Bosworth, Chris Howard, Me, Lish McBride, Sean Beaudoin, Kevin Emerson, Elise Allen, Robin Mellom, Gretchn McNeil, Martha Brockenbrough, Rachel Cohn, Carrie Lawler Arcos, Gabrielle Zevin, Cecil Castellucci, Shannon Messenger, Cat Patrick, and Jessica Brody. Phew, that's a lot of writers. And they were all so much fun to hang out with.

Waiting in line for Indiana Jones. Gretchen cuddled with me (and I totally liked it). Favorite pic ever, complete with the Lando T-shirt/Chris Howard photo bomb in the back and Jen's awesome hat. (Thanks to Stacee for this pic)

Another awesome pic provided by Stacee (in the black shirt). This was the group I spent most of the day with. In the middle there is Lani Woodland and her daughter. On the far right, Bailey, an awesome blogger friend. 


After a fun day at Disneyland, we went across the way to a signing/party at the Anabella Hotel.

Gretchen, Kevin, and me (Harper Pals). 

Here's another pic of me and Bailey (from ibbookblogging.net)

Kevin, Me, Shannon (who was so generous to put me up for the weekend), and Chris.

I met so many other amazing people as well that I didn't get pictures with. Including a family from my home town, which was really cool. 

This was such a fun event and I can't wait to do it all again next year. Except you should all come next year too because that would make it even more fun! 






Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Play List!!

So, I love music. I'm not one of those who can listen to music while I write, I get too caught up in the lyrics. But music inspires me. When I hear songs they paint pictures in my mind. These are some songs that either remind me of Pivot Point or songs I listened to around the time I was writing Pivot Point. So below, when I say 'while writing Pivot Point' I just mean that the songs would get me in the mood to write. Then I would turn them off and write.







  1. Little Wonders by Rob Thomas: When I heard this song for the first time, I immediately thought of Pivot Point. It talks about how life is made up of small moments and how fate can be defined and changed in an instant. It made me think of Addie (the main character) and how she needs to move past memories and let things go. I adore this song.
  2. The One That Got Away by Katy Perry: Every song obviously can’t be a perfect match for a novel. But the general feel of this song made me think of the fact that in the end Addie has to let go of one of her lives and with it, one person she cares about.
  3. Timing is Everything by Gerrett Hedlund: First of all, have you ever seen the movie that this song is from—Country Strong? The movie is amazing and inspires me as a writer. And this song talks about how many things in life are based on timing. Plus, Gerrett Hedlund is hot. Just sayin’.
  4. Waiting for The End by Linkin Park: I love Linkin Park in general. Their songs make me want to write. But this song reminded me of Pivot Point. Just some of the lines—holding onto something invisible; waiting for the end to come; it’s out of my control—drew me right into memories of the story.
  5. Over My Head by The Fray: This is another band that I adore. This song was on the playlist I played on repeat while writing Pivot Point.
  6. Kiss me Slowly by Parachute: This is another song I listened to a lot while writing. This song conjures up so many feelings and images in my mind. I love it.
  7. Stay by Mayday Parade: I feel like a broken record, but again, this song makes me think of Pivot Point. The opening line “I need some time just deliver the things that I need for now” takes me right to a certain place in the story. I love this song.
  8. Trouble by Never Shout Never: My fourteen year old daughter, who plays guitar and has wide taste in music (from the popular to the obscure), introduced me to this band. This song was one she played a lot in the car while Pivot Point was circling in my brain. So when I hear this song, I automatically think of PP.
  9. Already Gone by Kelly Clarkson: “It doesn’t matter where we take this road, someone’s gotta go.” That is basically the bottom line of Pivot Point.
  10. Give Into me by Leighton Meester (ft. Garrett Hedlund): This is another song from Country Strong. And this song reminds me of one of the boys in Pivot Point.
  11. Why Don’t you Love Me by Hot Chelle Rae: And this song reminds me of the other boy.
  12. Half-Life by Duncan Shiek: This is another song can describe some of the elements of Pivot Point. Addie is definitely living a sort of half-life throughout the novel.
  13. Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol: Yes. Love this song.
  14. She’s So Mean by Matchbox Twenty: This song reminds me of Laila, Addie’s best friend in Pivot Point. It’s not that Laila is mean…well, she can be. She’s super loyal to her friends but sometimes treats boys as expendable.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Procrastination is fun.

I have so much to do! That's why I decided to make a new blog header. Yes, I'm procrastinating. But isn't it pretty?? I'm so proud of myself when I figure out things like this because I'm not very good at technology. That's why I rely on people who are smarter than me and harness the power of Google. Seriously, how did I get through high school and college without Google?? Let me tell you, there were a lot of encyclopedias involved. Back to work for me! (I think my twitter background might need some work)

Friday, March 8, 2013

Book Club!

So.....I am not a member of a book club. Don't get me wrong, I fully support them and think they are awesome. But I think I might get a little heated if someone told me that they didn't like a book I loved. And, since I want people in my town to still like me, I think it's probably for the best if I don't go spewing my book opinions in all the local book clubs. But anyway, this is a super long build up to say that I went to my mom's book club tonight because they chose Pivot Point as their pick for the month!! Suddenly I'm thinking book clubs sound like the best thing ever. It was so fun. I think I might be wrong about avoiding them. I think maybe I should spew my opinions loudly and without filters....oh wait, no I probably shouldn't go that far. But being at book club tonight reminded me that I love hanging out with other people who love books. These ladies were fun and smart and so great to talk to. So thank you, My Mom's Book Club (I don't think that's the official name of the club. Y'all need a cool name for your club. Like The Super Rads or something) for having me tonight. And thank you for obeying the one rule of not saying anything negative about my book until after I left. :)

I thought I'd share a few questions they asked me tonight with you:

*Did you know the end of Pivot Point when you started writing it?
My answer: Yes, I knew how it ended when I started writing. I knew which choice she'd have to make and why. But I wasn't quite sure how it was going to get to that point. So a lot of things I learned as I wrote.

*Did you think of the title of your book?
My answer: Sigh. No. I am apparently horrible at titles and have not titled a single book of mine. My husband thought of Pivot Point. And my agent and editor have titled my others. This is a sad truth.

*What's in store for book 2?
My answer: Book 2 focuses on some of the other abilities in the Compound. It's still Addie's story but with another POV character and some new dilemmas to figure out. The most obvious being (spoiler alert if you haven't read PP) Addie's Erased memory.

*What kind of time constraints does your publisher put on you as far as turning in drafts?
My answer: My editor is a slave driver. No, not really. I generally have six-nine months to turn in a first draft and a couple months with each new revision.

Anyway, that's just a small sampling of the questions that were asked tonight. I think sometimes being in the industry, you forget how foreign a lot of things are. But I really enjoyed explaining the details of the industry. It was a fun night!

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

You want *more* pictures??

Okay, so maybe you don't want more pictures, but you're getting them anyway because I don't believe I forgot to show you these from my launch party in Utah:



My awesome friend Sara Raasch (who recently sold an awesome book, by the way) made these lovely cupcakes for me. Yes, that is my MC from Pivot Point, Addie, on the cupcakes. Even cooler? She is facing one way on the chocolate/jr. mint cupcakes (that's right, my friend made me jr. mint cupcakes) and another way on the vanilla cupcakes. That was Sara's genius idea. Have I mentioned she's awesome?


Also, what party of mine wouldn't be complete without a bowl full of Junior Mints? Yum! Which reminds me of a story. I saved a box of Jr. Mints for the plane ride home. When I got on the plane, so excited to eat this treat I had resisted eating all week, I opened the box, and they were MELTED!! All of them stuck to the side of the box! It was tragic and heartbreaking. Ask Natalie Whipple, I was very upset about this occurrence (Gah! I don't know how to spell the word 'occurrence'. It took me four tries.) 

Monday, February 25, 2013

Picture Overload!!!

I'm finally home and getting back into my routine. The last week and half has been awesome! I've met so many fun people. Some of whom I've known online for a long time. So now is the time where I show you lots of pictures. All these pictures were actually taken by other people. I brought my camera but didn't take a single shot. I know, I'm weird.

So the day after my launch here in my hometown, I traveled to Utah where I signed in this really cool bookstore called The King's English. If you ever visit Salt Lake you should check out this bookstore because it's such a cute store with its different levels and stairs and seemingly hidden rooms. It's a bookstore that seems like it belongs in the pages of a book.
Photo courtesy of Jenny Weech (Thanks for taking pics, Jenny! And thanks for coming all that way to see me! You're awesome!)


This is me and my good friend, Michelle Davidson Argyle. I bought two of her books when I was in Utah and I can't wait to read them (The Breakaway and Pieces). And thanks for taking pics as well, Michelle!



Next I went down to Provo for a conference called LTUE. It was my fourth year going and I adore this conference. It has such a great mix of readers and authors and illustrators. And it just so happens that four of the thirteeners were with me (All our books coming out this year). They are some of my best friends, which always makes a conference that much more fun. From left to right Renee Collins (Relic), Jenn Johansson (Insomnia), Me, Natalie Whipple (Transparent).

And here are even more awesome people that were at the conference. Yes, I'm the floating head in the back. (Also, that floating head next to me is my best friend, Candi. And, as I'm searching pics, it's the only one I can find of us at the conference, Candi! Why did we not take more pictures together? Probably the same reason I brought a camera and never used it.....yes, laziness.)



Natalie Whipple almost won the award for taking the most awkward shots of me for these awesome pics:



But then I went to San Diego to sign with Kiersten White for her launch of Mind Games and the lovely Ava took this shot and totally won the prize:




I don't know if it was the angle or what, but that picture could be used by the next circus that comes through town. "Come see the giant woman, folks!"

This angle is a much better. Although Kiersten wins the prize for best mid-sentence expression. 

Also, I got to meet the lovely Cindy Pon. She is so nice and adorable. I've known her online for quite some time so it was great to finally meet her in person.

It was such an awesome week. I love authors. I love readers and librarians. Thanks to everyone who helped make my launch week amazing. 




Tuesday, February 19, 2013

YAppiest Day on Earth!!


Have you guys heard about the Disneyland author event?? I can't wait!! It's going to be so fun. You should totally come and hang out with us. Look at all the authors that are going to be there. I may be fangirling a little over here. :)

Here's the official announcement:



What’s better than books? Nothing! But rollercoasters come close. On Saturday, March 30, 2013, sixteen of your favorite young adult authors will put on their mouse ears for THE YAPPIEST DAY ON EARTH, the first (that we know of) YA Day at Disneyland. Bloggers, booksellers, librarians, and fans are invited to come spend the day riding with authors and chatting about current and upcoming releases. The event will culminate with a group signing at the Anabella Hotel, across the street from California Adventure.

To participate, meet the authors inside the gates of Disneyland at 8:00 AM on March 30th 
Or, join us at the book signing at 5:30 PM at the Anabella Hotel, 1030 W. Katella Ave. Those too far away to participate may order books to be autographed through Mysterious Galaxy’s website at http://mystgalaxy.com/.

The YAPPIEST roster include: Elise Allen, Carrie Arcos, Sean Beaudoin, Jennifer Bosworth, Martha Brockenbrough, Cecil Castellucci, Rachel Cohn, Kevin Emerson, Chris Howard, Lish McBride, Gretchen McNeil, Robin Mellom, Shannon Messenger, Cat Patrick, Kasie West, and Gabrielle Zevin.
The day will be tweeted live by participating authors and fans, using the hashtag #YAPPIEST.

Event Breakdown:
What: THE YAPPIEST DAY ON EARTH 

When: Saturday, March 30, 2013 
8:00 AM All YAPPIEST participants should meet inside the gates of Disneyland. Look for the authors in YAPPIEST T-shirts! 
4:45 PM All YAPPIEST author/reader groups should meet in front of the entrance to the Tomorrowland Monorail Station to ride/walk to the signing location 
5:30 – 7:30 PM Group Book Signing Anabella Hotel
1030 W. Katella Ave
Anaheim, CA, 92802
Phone: 714-905-1050 
Visit https://www.facebook.com/events/290371664423066/?ref=2 for more information.