Friday, October 31, 2014

My TV Appearance on Oregon Art Beat

Me at the Oregon Historical Society. Photo by Krysta Maksim.
Last night a local TV series called Oregon Art Beat featured me on their latest episode, and they did a fabulous job with the segment. They hired a teen actress to read excerpts from The Cure for Dreaming, and they filmed me at various sites in Portland, Oregon, that play a part in the novel. If you look carefully, you can even catch sneak peeks of my 2016 YA novel, The Steep and Thorny Way, on the screen of my laptop.

Unfortunately, the video player they use isn't working when I try to embed it on my website, so you'll need to head over to the segment on the Oregon Art Beat website.

The writers who appear with me at the coffeehouse are Teri Brown, Miriam Forster, and Kelly Garrett. Teri is the one talking about bloodletting. :)

The segment was filmed on location at the Oregon Historical Society, Portland's White House, downtown Portland, and various other locations, including my own house. Huge thanks to producer Katrina Sarson at OPB for choosing to feature me!


(From left) Me, Teri Brown, Kelly Garrett, videographer Todd Sonflieth, and Miriam Forster.
Producer Katrina Sarson at Portland's White House.

Sunday, October 26, 2014

News about an Oct. 30 Signing, Plus Launch Party Photos

If you missed my launch party at Powell's Books this past Saturday and you live in the Portland area, I will be making one more local appearance this week. Catch me at Jacobsen's Books in Hillsboro, OR, this Thursday, October 30, at 6:30 pm. The store is located at 211 E. Main St. in downtown Hillsboro.

I had an absolutely wonderful time at my launch party. Thank you to everyone who attended! I encouraged people to dress in costumes, and those who didn't had the option of wearing masquerade ball masks. Here are some photos from the event.

Me and my books.
My husband, Adam, dressed as Willy Wonka.

Me with costumed guests, including novelist April Henry (far left).
Guests in masks.
Me at the podium.
Thanks so much to Powell's Books for hosting me! If you live near the Cedar Hills location, you can head over to the store to pick up a signed copy of The Cure for Dreaming.

Friday, October 17, 2014

My Oct. 25 Launch Party at Powell's Books . . . and How You Can Order a Signed Copy

The Cure for Dreaming debuted Tuesday, October 14, but I'm holding off on any major celebrations due to my son's upcoming 10th birthday (getting upstaged by Mom's new book is no way for a child to usher in the era of double digits).

On Saturday, October 25, however, I will be celebrating the novel in grand style at Powell's Books in Beaverton, Oregon. If you live in the Portland region, here are the full details for the event:

LAUNCH PARTY FOR THE CURE FOR DREAMING!!!!
Saturday, October 25, 2014
4:00 pm

Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing 
3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd.
Beaverton, Oregon
Come dressed in a Halloween costume—or dressed as your true hidden self—to enter to win giveaways.

If you can't make it to the event but would still like to buy a signed copy, Powell's has a nice and easy ordering option:


Other links for the event:



I'm looking forward to seeing everyone who can make it!

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

THE CURE FOR DREAMING International Spotted-in-the-Wild Giveaway!

Samples of the poster.
It's the official release day!!!! Now that The Cure for Dreaming is showing up in bookstores and libraries around the globe, I'm offering a Spotted-in-the-Wild giveaway, open internationally! The full prize package is listed below, but one of the giveaway items will be a signed, limited-edition poster featuring the cover of The Cure for Dreaming.

The giveaway will run until December 8, 2014, so don't worry if The Cure for Dreaming hasn't yet reached your area. If you live outside the regions in which the novel will be sold, Book Depository offers free shipping to several countries around the world.

Here are the rules:

1. You must be 13 years or older to enter.

2. Take a picture of yourself with a finished hardcover copy of The Cure for Dreaming. The book can be located at a bookstore, your house, a librarywhereverbut it must be a finished hardcover, not an ebook or paperback proof. If your bookstore does not have a copy in stock, please request them to order it (you'll then have my sincerest gratitude!).

3. Post the photo somewhere online (Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter—anywhere that can involve a link to the photo).

4. Fill out the following form to let me know where you posted the photo. You must submit your entry through this form in order to be eligible for the giveaway.

THE GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO ENTERED.

5. If you post the photo on more than one day, or on more than one site, the posting will indeed count as an extra entry, but please fill out the form each time you share the photo.

6. The giveaway is international. These posters are not easy to ship, so this will likely be a one-time-only opportunity. :)

The giveaway will close at midnight PST on Monday, December 8, 2014. Three winners will then be randomly drawn from all of the entries.

The prize:

Three winners will receive one signed, limited-edition poster featuring the cover of The Cure for Dreaming. The posters are a beautiful, glossy quality, and the cover art jumps out in a vivid shade of green (see the photo above). Winners will also receive The Cure for Dreaming bookmarks and a signed bookplate. As I said above, the giveaway is open internationally. 
 
Bookmarks and signed bookplate.

Buy The Cure for Dreaming today:



Monday, October 13, 2014

The Blog Tour Continues . . . and an Interview of Me on the First Draft Podcast Series

The Cure for Dreaming arrives tomorrow! To celebrate, I'm continuing my blog tour stops throughout this entire week (giveaway included; full schedule below), plus the kind and generous Sarah Enni interviewed me for her First Draft podcast series. Find out all about my creepy story inspirations, my long journey to publication, and what the Smurfs had to do with my writing career here.

Thanks so much to Sarah for driving out to my house in Oregon for that wonderful in-depth chat, and thanks to Rock Star Book Tours, for hosting the blog tour. Here's the full tour schedule:

Week One

10/6/2014- Word Spelunking- Interview
10/7/2014- Two Chicks on BooksGuest Post
10/8/2014- Me, My Shelf and IReview
10/9/2014- Falling For YA- Interview
10/10/2014- Crossroad ReviewsReview

Week Two

10/13/2014- Xpresso Reads- Interview
10/14/2014- Candace's Book BlogReview
10/15/2014- I Heart YA FictionReview
10/15/2014 - Not part of the blog tour, but Corsets, Cutlasses, &Candlesticks will be running an extensive interview of me this day.
10/16/2014- Rainy Day RamblingsReview and Guest Post
10/17/2014- Bad Bird Reads- Guest Post

PRE-ORDER The Cure for Dreaming





Music: "Mostly Ghostly," composed and performed by Kristen Lawrence.

Monday, October 6, 2014

THE CURE FOR DREAMING Blog Tour & the Paperback Release of IN THE SHADOW OF BLACKBIRDS

Two big things are happening this week in the world of my books. First of all, today marks the first day of The Cure for Dreaming Blog Tour!

The tour is being hosted by Rock Star Book Tours, and it will include ten days of guest posts, interviews, and reviews, as well as a tour-wide giveaway. Here's the full schedule:

Week One

10/6/2014- Word Spelunking- Interview
10/7/2014- Two Chicks on BooksGuest Post
10/8/2014- Me, My Shelf and IReview
10/9/2014- Falling For YA- Interview
10/10/2014- Crossroad ReviewsReview

Week Two

10/13/2014- Xpresso Reads- Interview
10/14/2014- Candace's Book BlogReview
10/15/2014- I Heart YA FictionReview
10/16/2014- Rainy Day RamblingsReview and Guest Post
10/17/2014- Bad Bird Reads- Guest Post

In other news, the paperback edition of In the Shadow of Blackbirds debuts this Tuesday, October 7! I've received my copies, and they're absolutely beautiful. A special bonus: The book includes a sneak peek of The Cure for Dreaming at the back. Some photos of the paperback:



Order the paperback online: 

Amazon  
Barnes & Noble  
Powell's Books  
IndieBound 
Book Depository
Abrams  
Amazon UK
Indigo

Coming next week: The Cure for Dreaming (October 14)!

Saturday, October 4, 2014

A Lovely Award for BLACKBIRDS and a Nomination for THE CURE FOR DREAMING

Today I had the honor of accepting the Oregon Spirit Book Award in the category of Young Adult Fiction. Huge thanks to the Oregon Council of Teachers of English for naming In the Shadow of Blackbirds the winner! They gave me a beautiful plaque and Oregon Spirit Book Award seals to place upon the book. If you work in a bookstore and would like some seals for your copies of the novel, please contact me.


Recently, I learned that The Cure for Dreaming received an honor of its own: it's been nominated for the 2015 Amelia Bloomer Project, Recommended Feminist Literature for Birth through 18, presented by the Feminist Task Force of the Social Responsibilities Round Table of the American Library Association. I'm extremely proud of both of my books and the recognition they're receiving.

The Cure for Dreaming debuts in less that two weeks now. Be sure to check back this upcoming Monday, October 6, 2014, for blog tour info. The entire tour schedule is now posted at RockStar Book Tours.

PRE-ORDER





Music: "Mostly Ghostly," composed and performed by Kristen Lawrence.