Updates on My 2016, 2017, & 2019 Novels

I'm incredibly honored to announce that The Steep and Thorny Way was named a Kirkus Best Teen Book of 2016. Thank you so much to Kirkus for this much-appreciated recognition for the novel!

The Steep and Thorny Way was also honored in the Chicago Public Library's Best Teen Fiction of 2016, Barnes & Noble Teen Bloggers' Favorite Books of 2016, and Capitol Choices 2016 nominees. I couldn't be prouder.

Now that I've wrapped up all of my 2016 celebrations for the release of both The Steep and Thorny Way and Yesternight, I'll let you in on some behind-the-scenes news for my next two novels.

Odd & True, Coming Fall 2017

In case you haven't yet heard, I have a brand-new young adult novel in the works, Odd & True, and it's scheduled for publication in Fall 2017. I just wrapped up the line edits stage with my Amulet Books editor, Maggie Lehrman, and the novel is now in copyediting. I've seen an early sketch for the cover design, but I probably won't be able to reveal the cover or share the official synopsis until sometime in the first three to four months of 2017.

However, because I know that's a long time to wait, I'll share two of my favorite lines from the first chapter right now . . .  

Odd & True is an extremely personal novel for me, and yet it's also my most fantastical tale. I love it dearly and can't wait to share more about it in the new year.

The 2019 Novel

Yes, I also have a 2019 novel in the works! It's the second novel of my two-book YA deal for Odd & True, but it won't be a sequel. My editor recently approved my plans for another standalone historical novel, and I'm currently immersed in the research stage. I won't yet reveal the subject matter, but I will say it involves a real-life figure from the past. Once you hear who that person is, I think you'll agree it sounds like someone I'd write about.

I do have a yearning to write an Odd & True sequel, but I'm waiting for the ideas to further develop, plus I want to see how the first book does next year. I'll spread the word when options for preordering Odd & True become available.

You can add the novel to your Goodreads shelf here:



Happy holidays!

Warmest wishes,
Cat

My Final Two 2016 Appearances

I have two more 2016 appearances left, and then, aside from one library visit in January, I'm taking a long break from events to concentrate on writing deadlines and family until the release of Odd & True in Fall 2017. Here's where you can find me in November 2016:

Saturday, November 5, 2016

Wordstock

Portland, OR

Pop-up reading of THE STEEP AND THORNY WAY - 3:00-3:15 pm, Portland Art Museum.
Panel - Family Drama: Past/Present/Future YA - 4:30-5:30 pm, Oregon Historical Society.

Saturday, November 19, 2016

Manzanita Writers' Series

Hoffman Center for the Arts, Manzanita, OR

Workshop: Writing Scary - 1:00-3:30 pm. Registration required, $30.
Reading and signing for YESTERNIGHT - 7:00 pm. Admission, $7. 

I'm so grateful that I had the chance to appear at so many conferences, festivals, and other events in 2016. Thank you to my Abrams publicist, Caitlin Miller, and to all of the event coordinators who invited me to speak and helped to arrange for my travels!

If you're interested in booking me in 2017, please note that I'm taking my break from January through mid-June 2017. Not only will I be wrapping up my Odd & True edits and working on a new YA that's due next year, but my daughter is graduating from high school in 2017. I want to savor her last semester home before she takes off for college. I will be available for some summer events, and then I'll be back to diving into appearances in Fall 2017.

In other news, my latest release for adults, Yesternight, is currently being featured in the "Target Picks" section of Target stores!

YESTERNIGHT Release Day!

My second novel for adults, Yesternight, releases today, and I'll be celebrating with a reading and signing this evening at Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing in Beaverton, Oregon.  The event starts at 7:00 pm. Cupcakes, of course, will be included.

I'm so excited that this book is finally heading out into the world. My team at HarperCollins, including my editor, Lucia Macro, has done such a wonderful job with the novel, and their enthusiasm for it makes me incredibly happy.

Here's more info, reviews, and ordering options for Yesternight:

Adult Fiction

Available today, October 4, 2016!
William Morrow/HarperCollins
Paperback, ISBN 9780062440860

In 1925, Alice Lind steps off a train in the rain-soaked coastal hamlet of Gordon Bay, Oregon. There, she expects to do nothing more difficult than administer IQ tests to a group of rural schoolchildren. A trained psychologist, Alice believes mysteries of the mind can be unlocked scientifically, but now her views are about to be challenged by one curious child.

Seven-year-old Janie O’Daire is a mathematical genius, which is surprising. But what is disturbing are the stories she tells: that her name was once Violet, she grew up in Kansas decades earlier, and she drowned at age nineteen. Alice delves into these stories, at first believing they’re no more than the product of the girl’s vast imagination. But, slowly, Alice comes to the realization that Janie might indeed be telling a strange truth.

Alice knows the investigation may endanger her already shaky professional reputation, and as a woman in a field dominated by men she has no room for mistakes. But she is unprepared for the ways it will illuminate terrifying mysteries within her own past, and in the process, irrevocably change her life.

Praise for YESTERNIGHT:

“Winters follows The Uninvited (2015) with another gripping historical novel, this one an exploration of the effects of suppressed trauma and desire . . . Winters unveils the unspoken complexities of humankind in this well-written tale that is suspenseful in all the right places, and will keep readers guessing at every page.”

—Booklist

“Atmospheric and spooky with real gothic flair, the latest from Winters (The Uninvited) introduces a realistically flawed heroine stifled by the conventions of her time.”

—Library Journal

“Readers be warned; this is not a simple mystery with a paranormal twist. Winters, a YA author, moves into adult fiction with ease, crafting a chilling tale that takes a few unusual, disturbing turns that suck readers into her web of suspense. Here is a story of possible reincarnation and madness that grips readers from the opening dreary, cold moment to the bitter end and leaves one feeling unsettled, yet satisfied . . .”

—RT Book Reviews (4-star review)

“Cat Winters's tale of doubt, belief, and mystery drew me in from the first page. As the heroine journeys through 1920s America, unraveling layers of secrets and deceptions, including her own, this book weaves a chilling spell. Full of twists and dark surprises, Yesternight is a haunting, unforgettable read.”

—Simone St. James, award-winning author of
The Haunting of Maddy Clare and Lost Among the Living

ORDER: 

Amazon • Barnes & Noble • Powell's
IndieBound • Amazon UK • Book Depository  

BAM • Indigo

Also available in ebook and audiobook editions.

Fall Appearances and the Latest News on My Upcoming Books

I'm back from a short break, during which I spent much-needed time with family after a year of back-to-back deadlines and months of traveling for events. Here's my latest news:

MY UPCOMING BOOKS:

Yesternight, my next novel for adults, debuts October 4 from HarperCollins. Readers can now preorder signed copies from Powell's Books.

Advance praise for Yesternight:

“Winters follows The Uninvited (2015) with another gripping historical novel, this one an exploration of the effects of suppressed trauma and desire . . . Winters unveils the unspoken complexities of humankind in this well-written tale that is suspenseful in all the right places, and will keep readers guessing at every page.”

—Booklist

“Cat Winters's tale of doubt, belief, and mystery drew me in from the first page. As the heroine journeys through 1920s America, unraveling layers of secrets and deceptions, including her own, this book weaves a chilling spell. Full of twists and dark surprises, Yesternight is a haunting, unforgettable read.”

—Simone St. James, award-winning author of
The Haunting of Maddy Clare and Lost Among the Living

PREORDER: 

Amazon • Barnes & Noble • Powell's
IndieBound • Amazon UK • Book Depository  

BAM • Indigo

In August I turned in my fourth young adult novel, Odd & True, and in the coming weeks I'll be hard at work on revisions for the book based on notes from my editor at Abrams, Maggie Lehrman.

Odd & True is scheduled for publication in Fall 2017, and I can't wait to share more about it in the spring!

MY FALL 2016 APPEARANCES:

Here's where I'll be speaking and signing in the coming months . . .

Saturday, October 1, 2016

Ohio River Festival of Books

Pullman Plaza Hotel, Huntington, WV

I'll be speaking from 2:15-3:30 pm.

Saturday, October 15, 2016

Colorado Teen Book Con
Littleton High School, Littleton, CO
Panel - Scary, Creepy, & Weird . . . Oh My!

Tuesday, October 4, 2016, 7:00 PM
Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing

3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd., Beaverton, OR
Launch party for YESTERNIGHT.

Saturday, November 5, 2016

Wordstock

Oregon Historical Society, Portland, OR

Panel info TBA.

Saturday, November 19, 2016

Manzanita Writers' Series

Hoffman Center for the Arts, Manzanita, OR

Workshop: Writing Scary - 1:00-3:30 pm. Registration required.
Reading and signing for THE UNINVITED - 7:00 pm.  

My Summer Schedule: Appearances, Book Updates, and a Social Media Break

Bathing beauties. Library of Congress.

Hello, dear readers. I hope you're doing well.

Here's my news for Summer 2016.

My newest YA novel, Odd & True, is due to my editor in August, and I'm hurriedly working to finish it so it can remain on schedule for its Fall 2017 release. In order to meet my deadline, I won't be posting any more updates on this site for a while.

Furthermore, I plan to take a social media break from July 11 to August 8. If you send me any messages during those weeks, I'll be hiding away in a writing cave and won't be able to respond. That's truly the only possible way I'll survive. 

In the coming weeks I'm also heading to both Florida and New York for literary events, most of them kindly arranged by my YA publisher, Abrams. Here are the finalized details about where and when I'll be appearing:

Sunday, June 26, 2016

ALA 2016 Annual Conference and Exhibition

Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, FL

9:00 am-10:00 am: YALSA's Coffee Klatch (ticketed event).
11:00 am-Noon: Book signing in ABRAMS Booth #1226.

Wednesday, July 6, 2016, 7:00 pm

McNally Jackson Books
52 Prince St., New York, NY
I'll be in conversation with my YA editor, author Maggie Lehrman. Q&A and signing to follow.

Saturday, July 9, 2016

ThrillerFest

Grand Hyatt, New York City, NY

Panel - Medieval, Renaissance, or WWII? Historical Thrillers (1:00 pm-1:50 pm).

Saturday, August 13, 2016

Willamette Writers Conference

Sheraton Portland Airport Hotel, Portland, OR

Panel - How to Break Into (and Survive!) the World of Young Adult Fiction (3:30 pm-5:00 pm).

Many of my Fall 2016 signings are already listed on my Events page, including the launch party for Yesternight, my next novel for adults, which HarperCollins will release October 4, 2016.

There are a few other fall festival/conference appearances in the works, but I can't yet announce them. Please check back around September for the updated info.

I'm extremely grateful to be so busy as an author, but, unfortunately, the deadlines and traveling have forced me to decline my assistance to numerous people who have asked me to blurb their books or to help them out in some other way. I genuinely wish I could help everyone, but I'm also raising two kids in the middle of working on my books, and any spare moment that's left (which isn't much) must absolutely go to them.

Thank you for patience. Thank you for your enthusiasm for my work!

Warmest wishes,
Cat 

A Radio Interview, Typeset YESTERNIGHT Pages, and Upcoming Events

Here's a quick look at my latest news.

KBOO Interview:

KBOO 90.7 FM in Portland, OR, interviewed me in April as part of their "Between the Covers" program, and the podcast is now available online. Listen here.

Typeset Yesternight Pages:

I just received the typeset pages for Yesternight, my next novel for adults! William Morrow will be releasing the book on October 4, 2016. Yesternight is a psychological thriller about a school psychologist who, in 1925, investigates a seven-year-old girl who claims to have lived a past life as a woman who drowned in 1890.

Here's a little sneak peak of the interior pages:

PREORDER: 

Amazon • Barnes & Noble
IndieBound • Amazon UK • Book Depository  

BAM • Indigo

May-August Events:

I've updated my Events page to include more details about upcoming appearances. Here's where I'll be from the end of May through August.

Sunday, May 22, 2016, 3:00 pm

Arcadia Books (via Skype)

102 East Jefferson Street, Spring Green, WI

Skype visit with the Spring Green Community Book Club, discussing THE STEEP AND THORNY WAY.

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Manchester Township High School

Manchester Township, NJ

School visit.

Saturday, June 4, 2016, 11:00 am-2:00 pm

Klindt's Booksellers Spring Author Festival

315 E. 2nd Street, The Dalles, OR

Author fair with 12 Oregon YA and middle-grade authors.

Saturday, June 25-Sunday, June 26, 2016

ALA 2016 Annual Conference and Exhibition

Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, FL

YALSA's YA Author Coffee Klatch (9:00 am-10:00 am); additional appearances TBA.

Wednesday, July 6, 2016, 7:00 pm

McNally Jackson Books
52 Prince St., New York, NY
My Abrams editor, Maggie Lehrman, will be joining me to discuss THE STEEP AND THORNY WAY.

Saturday, July 9, 2016

ThrillerFest

Grand Hyatt, New York City, NY

Panel - Medieval, Renaissance, or WWII? Historical Thrillers (1:00 pm-1:50 pm).

Saturday, August 13, 2016

Willamette Writers Conference

Sheraton Portland Oregon Hotel, Portland, OR

Panel - How to Break Into (and Survive!) the World of Young Adult Fiction (3:30 pm-5:00 pm).

Cover reveal: YESTERNIGHT

I'm in the middle of preparing for next week's launch of The Steep and Thorny Way (details about launch activities listed here), but I just also learned that the gorgeous, atmospheric, vibrant cover for my second novel for adults showed up on Goodreads. My editor at HarperCollins gave me the go-ahead to reveal it over here, so, without further ado, I present to you Yesternight . . .

Yesternight, by Cat Winters

October 4, 2016

William Morrow/HarperCollins

A paperback original

ISBN 9780062440860

From the author of The Uninvited comes a haunting historical novel with a compelling mystery at its core. A young child psychologist steps off a train, her destination a foggy seaside town. There, she begins a journey causing her to question everything she believes about life, death, memories, and reincarnation.

In 1925, Alice Lind steps off a train in the rain-soaked coastal hamlet of Gordon Bay, Oregon. There, she expects to do nothing more difficult than administer IQ tests to a group of rural schoolchildren. A trained psychologist, Alice believes mysteries of the mind can be unlocked scientifically, but now her views are about to be challenged by one curious child.

Seven-year-old Janie O’Daire is a mathematical genius, which is surprising. But what is disturbing are the stories she tells: that her name was once Violet, she grew up in Kansas decades earlier, and she drowned at age nineteen. Alice delves into these stories, at first believing they’re no more than the product of the girl’s vast imagination. But, slowly, Alice comes to the realization that Janie might indeed be telling a strange truth.

Alice knows the investigation may endanger her already shaky professional reputation, and as a woman in a field dominated by men she has no room for mistakes. But she is unprepared for the ways it will illuminate terrifying mysteries within her own past, and in the process, irrevocably change her life.

PREORDER: 

Amazon • Barnes & Noble
IndieBound • Amazon UK • Book Depository  

BAM • Indigo

Also coming in ebook and audiobook editions.

Introducing YESTERNIGHT

I'm thrilled to pieces to announce that I sold a second adult novel, Yesternight, to the William Morrow imprint of Harper Collins! This will make the fifth novel I've sold since 2011, which blows me away. I struggled for nearly twenty years just to get published in the first place.

Here's the official announcement from Publishers Marketplace:

Author of IN THE SHADOW OF BLACKBIRDS and THE CURE FOR DREAMING Cat Winters's YESTERNIGHT, in 1925, a trailblazing female psychologist unlocks the mystery behind a child's claims of reincarnation while also confronting questions in her own childhood, again to Lucia Macro at William Morrow, by Barbara Poelle at the Irene Goodman Agency (World).

The book is currently slated to be published Summer 2016.

Thanks so much to Lucia Macro for acquiring Yesternight, and to Barbara Poelle, my amazing and tireless agent, for making the sale possible.

I sold the book based on a proposal, so I'll be spending the next six months writing it, while also preparing for the release of two other novels and a short story. In short, I will be quite busy. Happy, but busy. :)