Well, I think that subject line should just about cover it.
Yes, this is one of those mix-of-everything blog posts, mostly because I’m back to teaching, and so half my brain is at any given moment occupied by thinking about which kid is going to love which book and making stacks next to my lunch bag. But I do have some newsy, linky things…
This brings me great joy… There will soon be a Scrivener 2.0 release with nifty updates. Scrivener is right up there with chocolate on my list of things a writer needs.
Alexis O’Neill is sharing a great post on Skype author visits at her School Visit Experts site. It includes a link to "An Author in Every Classroom," my latest SLJ Skype feature that includes quotes from a bunch of LJ friends like
Banned Books Week begins September 25, and Emily Kristin Anderson is running a great series of guest posts from educators on her blog. I’m there today, talking about how I try to be proactive in heading off book challenges by educating parents of my middle school students.
Emily was nice enough to write a little note about my books at the bottom of the blog post and mentioned that the paperback of THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z. comes out tomorrow. My reaction, I’m a little embarrassed to say, was "Really??? Tomorrow?! Wowza!" I don’t know why, but in my mind, the release date was later in September.
But look! If IndieBound says it, it must be so. I plan to run through some falling leaves in the morning to celebrate. Anyone care to join me?
THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z. is also in the September Arrow flyer for Scholastic Book Clubs (It’s listed as a back-to-school special on the back cover for $3!) And if you’re a Kindle or Nook sort of person, you can download Gianna Z. on your e-readers starting tomorrow, too. That is a whole lot of Gianna.
But just in case it’s not enough… A while ago, I taped an interview for Mountain Lake PBS Author Spotlight, and it’s airing this week. Here’s a link to producer Paul Larson’s blog post on the feature. In the interview, I talk about the stories behind the story of Gianna Z. and my December figure skating book, SUGAR AND ICE, as well as how my teaching-authoring roles have come to complement one another.If you get Mountain Lake PBS, you’ll be able to see it on Mountain Lake Journal Extra Thursday night at 8:30 – then again Friday at 6am and 12:30, Saturday at 7:30, and Sunday at 10:30.
One last thing…I’m reading ELI THE GOOD by Silas House right now & really enjoying it. I’m fascinated by the point of view – since the main character is a young boy (10, if I’m remembering right) but it’s clear that he’s looking back as an adult telling the story with that older, wiser perspective. It’s something I’ve seen more often in adult novels than in YA or MG, but it works, at least for me. Beautiful writing, and a fascinating story so far – I’ll post more thoughts when I’m done.