IN THE SHADOW OF BLACKBIRDS Up for YALSA's Teens' Top Ten — Voting Open

I've been so busy working to meet deadlines and prepping for the release of The Cure for Dreaming that I've forgotten to spread the word about some exciting news: In the Shadow of Blackbirds is one of the twenty-five nominees for YALSA's 2014 Teens' Top Ten! Teens picked the nominees, and they'll get to choose the final list of ten.

Voting is open at http://www.dogobooks.com/book_clubs/teens-top-reads through October 18, 2014. Teens can vote for up to three books.

Thanks to the individuals who nominated In the Shadow of Blackbirds, and thanks to everyone heading over there to vote! It's a fantastic list filled with some of my good friends' novels, and I'm extremely honored to see In the Shadow of Blackbirds included.

Bram Stoker Award and Georgia Peach Book Award Nominations

Over the past few days, more wonderful news arrived for In the Shadow of Blackbirds. Just this morning I learned the Horror Writers Association named the novel a 2013 Bram Stoker Award Nominee for Superior Achievement in Young Adult Fiction. The full list of nominees is posted at stokers2014.org, and here's the list for the young adult category:

Patrick Freivald – Special Dead (JournalStone)
Kami Garcia – Unbreakable (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
Geoffrey Girard – Project Cain (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)
Joe McKinney – Dog Days (JournalStone)
Cat Winters – In the Shadow of Blackbirds (Harry N. Abrams)

Congratulations to all my fellow nominees! My little book is sitting there among some amazing company! The winner will be announced May 10, 2014, at the Bram Stoker Awards® Banquet, to be held during the World Horror Convention right here in Portland, Oregon. I'm going to try my best to make it to the banquet, which will also be live-streamed.

I also learned the novel is a 2014-15 Georgia Peach Book Award Nominee. A committee of Georgia school and public librarians selected twenty books for the list, and over the next year teens will get to choose books from those twenty titles to read and rate, ultimately selecting one winner and two honor books. For more information about the Georgia Peach Awards, please visit georgiapeachaward.org.

Thank you so much to the Horror Writers Association and the Georgia Peach Book Award Committee for honoring In the Shadow of Blackbirds with these nominations!

The Latest News: YALSA Nomination and My San Diego Appearances

I was originally going to just make this post about my San Diego events, but I want to quickly add that I recently learned In the Shadow of Blackbirds received a nomination for the Young Adult Library Services Association's 2014 Best Fiction for Young Adults! I'm so honored to see my book listed with the works of amazing authors such as the über talented Ruta Sepetys!!!

And now for the news about my trip.

Tomorrow I'm recreating Mary Shelley Black's journey from Portland, OR, to San Diego, CA. If you've read In the Shadow of Blackbirds, you'll know that the novel begins with my protagonist boarding a train bound for San Diego in the middle of the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic. I'm taking a much comfier route: a short flight involving snacks and some reading time.

On Thursday and Friday, May 2 and 3, I'm speaking at San Diego High School and Grossmont High School, with presentations coordinated by The Yellow Book Road and Mysterious Galaxy. I'll let you know if signed copies of the book will be showing up in those stores afterward—there's a strong possibility they will. (Note: The San Diego History Center owns a wonderful photo of San Diego High School students wearing Spanish flu masks in 1918.)

On Saturday, May 4, I'll be at the Gaslight Gathering: Steampunk  & Victoriana Convention at the Town & Country Resort Hotel, 500 Hotel Circle North, San Diego.

My Gaslight Gathering schedule of appearances:

4:00-5:00 pm:
Victorian Gothic Literature Panel
Brittany Room

5:00-6:00 pm:
In the Shadow of Blackbirds Signing Session
Grand Bazaar Vendor Hall, Autograph Table

Yes, I'm dressing up for the steampunk convention! I have a lovely black WWI-style dress and will likely be wearing some Mary Shelley Black-style clockwork jewelry. In the Shadow of Blackbirds isn't a steampunk novel, but my main character loves clocks and technology and the works of Jules Verne, and she even owns a pair of lucky aviatrix goggles.

I'll post photos from the trip after I'm back next week! Hopefully, I can also snap some shots of my favorite San Diego haunted sites.