Hi. I will have lots of big news coming up but before that, I’m getting out in the world! I’ll be attending the Ontario Library Association’s SUPER CONFERENCE on Thursday, January 30.
I’ll be signing copies of DOUBLE TROUBLE at the Orca Book Publishers booth at 12:30 with fellow Orca pod members Bev Katz Rosenbaum and Lorna Schultz Nicholson.
Please stop by if you’re in the building!
I hope you can make it out to one of the DOUBLE TROUBLE launch parties this fall with Bev Katz Rosenbaum (WHO IS TANKSY?) and Angela Misri (PICKLES vs. THE ZOMBIES).
Burlington launch at A Different Drummer Bookstore – September 7, 2019 – 2pm
Toronto launch at Indigo Yonge & Eglinton – September 8, 2019 – 2pm
I’m also doing a reading/signing with Lisa Dalrymple at MyTy’s Books, Gifts and Toys, Clinton, Ontario – September 28, 2019 – 2pm
Yes, it’s been forever since you’ve heard from me but I’ve been busy behind-the-scenes and haven’t had much of interest to share, but now I do!
I have a new book coming out this year and I just got the cover and am so very excited. Check it out:
I. Love. It.
What do you think? It has all the great elements a cover should have – fun image, author name, and the name of the awesome publisher. Trifecta of awesomeness! Oh right, and the fun title. Okay, so that’s four things. A square of awesomeness?
About the book:
Victoria Adelman is lonely. Her best friend has moved away, leaving her to spend the summer alone. One day, on her way home from a bat mitzvah, she meets Jasmine, her next-door neighbors’ granddaughter. Tori hopes her friendless status is about to change.
Later, in her garden, she meets Jasmine again, but Jasmine doesn’t recognize the filthy, smelly girl as the one she met earlier. In a moment of insecurity, Tori tells Jasmine that the girl she met before was her twin sister, Vicky. Tori is sure she can fake being that girl in the dress—it’s only for two weeks.
But then Jasmine announces she’s staying with her grandparents for the school year. Tori needs to figure out what to do: come clean and lose her new friend, or live her life as a fake.
DOUBLE TROUBLE, coming from Orca Book Publishers, will land at the end of this summer but the great news is that it’s already available for pre-order. You can get it by ordering from:
Orca, Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Chapters/Indigo (coming soon!)
Stay tuned for book launch info – I’m planning a couple of events for September (in Toronto and Burlington) and would love to see you!
Happy New Year!
I’ve been a very neglectful blogger, I know, but I find myself so busy with many things at once and end up only posting when I have big news. Well, guess what?
BIG NEWS (you saw that coming, right?)
I have two middle grade books coming out this year from Simon and Schuster, and they are multi-storyline, choose your own path type stories. But they are slightly different from the Choose Your Own Adventure books that you might be used to. These are kind of romancy, and the typical CYOA format doesn’t really allow for a lot of character development and story building (reading more like a walk-through video game), so in these books, there are fewer, but more meaningful choices.
The super-cool covers were illustrated by Cassandra Calin:
There are many ways this story can go. YOU decide what happens next. And if you don’t like how it ends? Just start again! The Yes No Maybe So series is an interactive reading experience about friendships, family, and all the feelings.
Every day before and after school, Tara Singh helps her parents at their Indian sweet shop, but the only business Tara is interested in is show business. When a local theater announces a casting call for The Wizard of Oz, Tara is determined to wear the ruby slippers.
As she prepares for the audition, Tara is distracted by some unexpected drama: There is Rohan, the delivery boy her parents hired. Hiro, her forever crush, who wants to rehearse with her. And Desmond, a shy theater nerd who has started lighting up her heart. Can Tara win the part and get the guy?
You have the power to choose what happens…and the chance to choose differently next time!
There are many ways this story can go. YOU decide what happens next. And if you don’t like how it ends? Just start again! The Yes No Maybe So series is an interactive reading experience about friendships, family, and all the feelings.
Yael Lewis is dreading her bat mitzvah. Her loving but clueless mother insists on throwing an epic birthday extravaganza, even though Yael hates the spotlight.
Despite herself, Yael is excited when her crush Cam accepts the invitation. But then she meets Gabriel, the emcee’s son, whose chill attitude makes her rethink the party plans. Thank goodness her old friend Eli will be there to keep her steady, even though he’s returned from camping a little bit different. Will Yael’s party be the best…or a bust?
You have the power to choose what happens…and the chance to choose differently next time!
Both books are available for pre-order at your retailer of choice and you can also add them to your To Be Read list at Goodreads.
Thanks for your support and stay tuned – I may just have some more news coming soon (I did say I was busy…).
Even if you’ve already bought (and hopefully loved) CRUSHING IT, if you’re in the Hamilton, Ontario area, why don’t you come out to help me celebrate the book? I’ll be reading from the book and answering questions AND will be signing while you mingle and consume snacks.
There will be giveaways, too! Bring the book you’ve already purchased for me to sign or there will be copies there to buy.
Please join the official Facebook event so I know you’re coming.
Hope to see you!
See what I did there? I made a corny pun with my book title! Well, you know what? It’s my blog, so it’s my prerogative to make corny puns!
Back to the business at hand – it’s they day we’ve all been waiting for – CRUSHING IT release day!
***Throws confetti***
To celebrate, I’m chatting with my excellent friend, Debbie Ohi, over on her site today and I’m also talking about writing funny at the Nerdy Book Club.
If you haven’t pre-ordered your copy, you can get yours from Bryan Prince Bookseller, or at one of these fine retailers:
If you’re local, I’d love to see you at the LAUNCH PARTY on January 28 at the Westdale Libary (2pm).
Don’t forget to please review CRUSHING IT (unless you hated it) at review sites like Goodreads and at retailers. That is the kindest, and cheapest way you can help authors get the word out about their books.
!!!!!! How cool, right? Here’s me doing my happy dance. You know, if I wore skirts. Which is almost…no, not almost, it’s never.
Thank you, Lisa!
Don’t forget, you can read the first three chapters of CRUSHING IT here.
It’s exactly two months until CRUSHING IT comes out, so it’s time for me to share a bit of it with you.
Want to read the first three chapters? Yeah, you do.
Then, once you’re in love with the story and can’t wait to read the rest (or at the very least are a family member and feel obligated), come back and pre-order a copy.
Or you can order from other retailers below:
STAY TUNED for info about the CRUSHING IT launch happening in 2017.
Hi. I hope you’re doing great! I’m heading out for a ROAD TRIP OF AWESOME this week. What makes a road trip awesome, you ask? Well, let me share some cool stuff I’ll be doing:
THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED – Congrats to Melissa Roske!
But before I go, I have to pack for the trip. Of course I only have so much room, but I have like a zillion Sharpies! How to choose? YOU are going to help me. Pick from the colors below and tell me why I should take that color of Sharpie to sign books with. Just leave a comment below and you’re entered to win a copy of YOUR CHOICE of SIGNED/PERSONALIZED book by one of any of the authors listed above (or you could get some extra brownie points and pick a signed personalized copy of my book, but if you don’t I understand. I mean, look at those other authors!).
Sound like the easiest thing ever? Yeah, pretty much. And if you tweet, Facebook or otherwise tell your friends about it, I’ll give you an extra entry, just make sure you let me know in your comment what you’ve done. Because I’m not rich, this will have to be a North America only contest (sorry friends from Norway and other lovely places abroad!). AND you only have until this Wednesday, March 6 at 23:59 EST to enter so I can pick a winner and organize the prize.
Here’s what you’re choosing from?
Left to right: bronze, Kermit green, black, teal, sky blue, purple, red, orange, indigo, pink, forest green. Don’t forget to tell me WHY you picked that color.
Okay, ready? GO!
*Jennifer also has an event at Changing Hands on Wednesday, which I will unfortunately not be able to attend, but if you’re in the area, go and say hi for me. Tell her I’ll see her Thursday.
Welcome to KidLit Cares, an online talent auction to benefit the Red Cross relief effort to help communities recover from Superstorm Sandy. KidLit Cares was started by the very awesome Kate Messner, but I’m taking over Round 2. Agents, editors, authors, illustrators and other generous people have donated various services to be auctioned off to the highest bidder, with donations being made directly to the Red Cross disaster relief fund. You can read more about KidLit Cares here.
Now, on to the auction!
Kate Messner started these auctions, but I have the honor of closing them, so for this, the final auction, I wanted to do something a little special. Okay, a lot special. 
So I got a copy of her Eye of the Storm and got as many authors as I could to sign it.
I kind of want to keep this myself, but I will do the right thing and give it up as originally intended. And then I thought, what’s better than 1 mega signed book. Yep, 2 mega signed books. So I’m throwing in a copy of Small Medium at Large, too and it’s also signed.
Awesome people who signed these books (besides Kate & myself):
R.J. Palacio, David Levithan, Lisa McMann, Eileen Cook, Libba Bray, Marla Frazee, Shannon Hale, Terry Trueman, Maggie Stiefvater, Megan Miranda, Matt de la Pena and others (books will come with a full listing of signatures).
Opening Bid: $30
This auction closes at 10pm Eastern Standard Time on November 28. Any bids placed after that time will be void.
If you’d like to bid on this auction, check the current high bid and place a higher bid by leaving your name and bid amount in the comments, along with some way to contact you (email, FB or Twitter…I’m not fussy.) Winners will be notified when the auction ends and should be prepared to make an online donation to the Red Cross Disaster Relief fund in the amount of the high bid at that time. After you’ve made your donation, you’ll forward your receipt to me, and I’ll put you in touch with the person who donated the service you won so that the two of you can work out the details about how and when. All services will be provided at the convenience of both the person making the donation and the auction winner, but this should happen within three months of the auction’s end unless something else is agreed upon by both parties.
Good luck and thanks for your help!
Tip: if you’re bidding, you may want to subscribe to the follow-up comments, so you can get notice of future bids. Subscribe via RSS on the right. —>