Joy Preble's Blog, page 23

Have you read Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell? Well, you must. Run now. Get a copy. Download a copy. I promise you will love it.

If you ever wondered how great and distinct and phenomenal voice is achieved through 3rd person, read Eleanor and Park.

If you want to feel that first and passionate love between two people who never would have suspected that they'd fall for each other or even like each other, read Eleanor and Park.

If you want a story about a girl whose life is rocky and tough, who is basically raising herself, who didn't even know such FEELINGS existed for her, then read Eleanor and Park.

If you want a story about a boy who feels like an outsider for his own reasons and is kind to a weird girl for reasons he can't understand and then realizes that this is the person he is meant to love, then read Eleanor and Park.

It will delight you. It will make you laugh. It will make you cry. It will make you happy that you read it. It is a gem of a book.

If that's not enough for you, here's what Amazon has to say:


“Eleanor & Park reminded me not just what it’s like to be young and in love with a girl, but also what it’s like to be young and in love with a book.”—John Green, The New York Times Book ReviewBono met his wife in high school, Park says.
So did Jerry Lee Lewis, Eleanor answers.
I’m not kidding, he says.
You should be, she says, we’re 16.
What about Romeo and Juliet?
Shallow, confused, then dead.
I love you, Park says.
Wherefore art thou, Eleanor answers.
I’m not kidding, he says.
You should be.Set over the course of one school year in 1986, this is the story of two star-crossed misfits—smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you’ll remember your own first love—and just how hard it pulled you under.
When you read,  let me know what you think!
And if you're in the Houston area, come on out to Blue Willow Bookshop on 4/10 and watch me fan girl over Rainbow Rowell, when she appears with my pal CC Hunter and also Alyson Noel. Click HERE for more deets.

Thanks to Marianne Nowicki of NoWicki Productions for another fabulous book trailer! I think it gets the concept of THE SWEET DEAD LIFE just right. Let's all watch it once a day until May 14th when the book arrives!

Thanks to delightful Stacy Wells and Girls in the Stacks -- amazing Texas bloggers-- for hosting today's reveal of THE SWEET DEAD LIFE book trailer!!

Marianne Nowicki has done another wonderful job capturing the essence of the novel!

I'll put it up on this blog tomorrow, but until then here's your exclusive sneek peek! Just click HERE

One of the scariest/exciting/vomit-inducing moments in publishing a new book is when the pre-pub reviews roll out. And Kirkus--well, they're known for being tough. The toughest, some say. Even nice sentences followed by 'but.' That kind of thing.

And in general, you just never know. You write this book. You love this book. You think it's awesome. Your editor edits. He thinks it's awesome. And then you send in out in the world to strangers who haven't invested hours discussing the main character's emotional arc and discussing how yes, there are a lot of angel books out there but this one is different! And it's set in Texas! And on like that.

So let me say that last Friday while I was still in NYC the day after fabulous Soho Teen Night at Books of Wonder as part of David Levithan's Teen Author Festival week, I was over the moon to get an email from Soho Press publicist Meredith with the following review of THE SWEET DEAD LIFE. To paint the full picture for you, I was standing in the subway at 50th street, waiting for the 1 train and casually glanced at my phone and then casually glanced at the email and then I got so nervous and thrilled and overwhelmed that I actually couldn't read it until I got to my room. Seriously -- this is how I roll. Such good news that I couldn't look at it. Also the signal died. But whatever.

The word Hallelujah is my favorite!! And the short version: They loved it!!!

Here is what Kirkus says about THE SWEET DEAD LIFE:

For 13-year-old Jenna Samuels, things have been going really badly: She’s pretty sure she’s dying, her father has mysteriously abandoned the family, her mother is nearly catatonic with depression, and then her brother dies and becomes an “A-word.”


Her life—and health—rapidly disintegrating, Jenna is convinced that she is dying. Through her journal entries, she recounts what she knows for sure as she tries to piece together a month’s worth of her life turning upside down. Jenna and her anything-but-cherubic brother Casey work together with the help of another angel, Amber, to determine what exactly has happened to the Samuels family and why. Soon they discover a sinister plot and realize they must save their family before it’s too late. Jenna’s sarcastic and sassy tone will easily resonate with readers, and her keen observations are derisive and laugh-out-loud funny. While the refreshing lack of romance is a welcome change from the usual angel fare, some conventions of the trope remain (will we ever get away from paranormal beings who sparkle?). Certain plot aspects, however, seem not entirely fleshed out: Amber’s character has a shadowy past that’s never addressed; it’s never really clear how humans can see and interact with angels and never guess that they’re otherworldly; and then the book abruptly ends—perhaps a sequel waits in the wings?
Hallelujah! A paranormal tale of angels that’s not a romance, making it a novel that breaks the mold. (Paranormal fiction. 13 & up)

 I did not know author Bridget Zinn personally, although we have many author and bookseller friends in common. Publishing is in many ways a small world and Bridget Zinn had written a kick ass debut YA titled Poison and it was supposed to release in summer of 2012 in the middle of the pack with the rest of her Apocalypsies debut ‘class.’ Here is what I knew: That Bridget was a fine and wonderful writer with great promise ahead of her. That she grew up in Wisconsin. That she married the love of her life and most recently lived in Portland, where I visited on tour this past January and had the privilege of meeting and hanging out with many of her author friends and the fine booksellers at Powell’s and Green Bean Books and A Children’s Place, the last of which hosted the Poison release event just the other day.

And that tragically, Bridget was diagnosed with colon cancer not long after her marriage and that she died, at age 33, before the publication of that debut novel.
Publisher’s Weekly talks about this in fine articulate prose here .
As for me, I know what it is to receive the best news of your life along with the worst news of your life all at once. In February 2010, just as my debut novel DREAMING ANASTASIA was starting to do great things and I had been asked to write a sequel, I was diagnosed with what turned out to be an advanced stage of thyroid cancer. This post is not about my story, so I’ll keep the tale short: I cried. I was scared. As the doctors at cancer hospitals are fond of saying, cancer doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t care who or what you are. I had surgery and radioactive iodine treatment and many months of retesting over the past 3 years. The cancer has not come back. The word cure has been used, which let me say that the folks at MD Anderson do not use lightly. But I will say that once you get the best and the worst of life all in one week, it changes everything forever.
I hate beyond the telling that Bridget is not here to celebrate what I am certain is a dream come true, that the many, many books that surely lived inside her will never be here for us to read. And I love with a fiery passion that her friends and fellow authors and the publishing community have made sure that POISON was birthed into the world where, because it is a fine and wonderful and clever story, it will keep Bridget on bookshelves for a very long time. That is the great thing about books: They are forever—reborn each time a new reader opens to that first page.
If you don’t know about POISON, here’s what Amazon has to say:
Sixteen-year-old Kyra, a highly-skilled potions master, is the only one who knows her kingdom is on the verge of destruction—which means she’s the only one who can save it. Faced with no other choice, Kyra decides to do what she does best: poison the kingdom’s future ruler, who also happens to be her former best friend.
But, for the first time ever, her poisoned dart…misses.
Now a fugitive instead of a hero, Kyra is caught in a game of hide-and-seek with the king’s army and her potioner ex-boyfriend, Hal. At least she’s not alone. She’s armed with her vital potions, a too-cute pig, and Fred, the charming adventurer she can’t stop thinking about. Kyra is determined to get herself a second chance (at murder), but will she be able to find and defeat the princess before Hal and the army find her?
Kyra is not your typical murderer, and she’s certainly no damsel-in-distress—she's the lovable and quick-witted hero of this romantic novel that has all the right ingredients to make teen girls swoon.
As I type this, the book is selling well. Very well. Let’s keep it that way.
Cheers to you, Bridget Zinn.  And cheers to the YA publishing community who made sure that POISON released yesterday.

It's here! Yes, the final cover for THE SWEET DEAD LIFE (May 14th, 2013, Soho Press), with a brand-spanking new lovely blurb!


Yes, I know! It's fabulous! The lovely team at Soho Press are a bunch of geniuses!
Soon you will also know the title of the sequel and get to view the TSDL book trailer!
Also, the SWEET DEAD Blog Tour is coming.

And if you want to pre-order on Amazon or from B&N or your favorite Indie, you will find this other blurb that also has me over the moon:


"The Sweet Dead Life is mischief and mayhem, zippy one-liners, mystery and a tiny bit of tragedy. A-word: Awesome."             --E. Lockhart, author of The Boyfriend List and The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks
And so it begins!Mark your calendars if you are in Houston or Austin or New York for the following events:
Thursday, 3/21, 6-8 PM: Soho Teen Night at Books of Wonder in NYCpart of Teen Book Week
Soho Teen Authors Read!
Jacquelyn Mitchard-- What We Saw at NightMargaux Froley-- Escape TheoryJoy Preble-- The Sweet Dead LifeElizabeth Kiem-- Dancer, Daughter, Traitor, Spy
Saturday, May 18th, 3 PM -- Book People, Austin, TexasAustin launch of THE SWEET DEAD LIFEDiscussing, Reading, Signing, Texas angel and cowgirl swag, snacks!
Saturday, June 8th, 2PM -- Blue Willow Bookshop, Houston TexasHouston launch of THE SWEET DEAD LIFEDiscussing, Reading, Signing, Texas angel and cowgirl swag, snacks!

Well, it's official: we're revving up toward May and the release of THE SWEET DEAD LIFE. Because somehow at the end of this week it is March already, which means just 2 months out and I am so excited!

If you are a blogger and you are interested in hosting THE SWEET DEAD LIFE on its Sweet Dead Tour, click HERE and fill out the really cute form. :)

And in other news, did a fun event (including neon fedoras, black sunglasses and spy glasses) at Murder by the Book Saturday for WHO DONE IT, the murder mystery anthology edited by the fabulously brilliant Jon Scieszka that is the February title for the new Soho Teen imprint of Soho Press. Like Blue Willow Bookshop, Murder by the Book is one of Houston's treasured indie bookstores. The staff, including John, who arranged Saturday's event, loves books and readers and works tirelessly to bring the two together-- with the focus on murder, thrillers, crimes, mystery. Which makes them a perfect match for Soho Press, which curates an ever growing list of authors who write in those genres, including yours truly. Here are a couple quick pictures:
Writer, librarian, blogger @hipmamajenn shows off the WHO DONE IT swag
Nothing says WHO DONE IT like a neon pink fedora
Me. The Anastasia series. And a WHO DONE IT shelf
plus, do you spy Janet Fox's SIRENS, serendipitously on the bottom shelf?

First, let me say Happy Valentine's Day.
And second, let me say that yes, I appreciate the irony of posting about how I am okay with being an introvert on this particular holiday.

That said, on with the post!

Made pizza last night -- yes homemade pizza where I knead the crust and use yeast and generally have the best of times making something delicious -- which, no offense to Texas, I had to learn to do because there is no pizza here like Chicago pizza and I had to take matters into my own hands. Literally.

But to the point, it was for a while just me and the dog and husband wasn't home yet and so I pumped up the volume on one of the TED podcasts I have on the old iPod for occasions such as these. And it was a woman named Susan Cain talking about the Power of Introverts.

Which definitely defines me. I am not shy, really. If you know me, I am often funny and sarcastic and even droll on occasion. I like to talk. But I also like to listen and observe. And I am absolutely fine with being alone and even eating in restaurants alone if I need to or sometimes even want to and going to the movies alone because dragging the husband to say a movie with subtitles or even Warm Bodies since he is not a zombie fan, is an exercise in 'how long can I ignore the eye rolling.' Which in case you're wondering, is pretty long if he has bought me popcorn. Yeah, I'm that easy.

It is part of why I am quite happy now that I work at home. Because although sometimes it gets lonely, mostly it does not. And mostly I can talk to colleagues in what I consider the perfect environment: on email or Twitter or texts-- where we can be succinct and witty and don't have to eat lunch together if we don't want to.

Susan Cain says that now that I've admitted this, I'm probably doing my best work. Which I think is true.

And while I am totally fine with teaching large groups -- and did it for years and continue to do so now as guest author, and while I love and adore my friends and family and other writers and editors and feel energized by their presence and greatly inspired by their ideas and humor and general existence, and could not imagine myself without them, it is best that after we've hung out that I go home to work on the inspiration from those ideas in the quiet of my own office.

Cain also observes that public school systems, with their current blind obedience to the trend of insisting that collaborative learning (i.e.- groups) is the BEST way to learn, are actually doing both introverts and extroverts a huge disservice. Because creativity and idea development quite often takes long periods of solitude and learning to work alone is a good thing. So is collaboration. But it's okay that we need both.

I'm ever so curious to see what you all think about this. So let me know. And if you have a second, here's the lecture -- in video form. Enjoy!

 Today it’s my distinct pleasure to host Cynthia Leitich Smith, who is one of my favorite authors and who also lives here in Texas (Austin!) and is not only a kickass writer but a friend and mentor and all around stellar and generous human being.

I first became familiar with Cyn’s work through TANTALIZE, which began the series that eventually spun off into this week’s release, FERAL NIGHTS, set in the same fictional universe. She hooked me in with her world building and her humor and her characters: A girl named Quincie Morris whose name was an homage to Bram Stoker’s Dracula! A vampire-themed restaurant in Austin! An author who loved Buffy the Vampire Slayer as much as I did! And on like that!
I have been her fan ever since. And so I’m thrilled to be part of launch week for FERAL NIGHTS, which Amazon describes like this:
When sexy, free-spirited werecat Yoshi tracks his sister, Ruby, to Austin, he discovers that she is not only MIA, but also the key suspect in a murder investigation. Meanwhile, werepossum Clyde and human Aimee have set out to do a little detective work of their own, sworn to avenge the brutal killing of werearmadillo pal Travis. When all three seekers are snared in an underground kidnapping ring, they end up on a remote island inhabited by an unusual (even by shifter standards) species and its cult of worshippers. Their hosts harbor a grim secret: staging high-profile safaris for wealthy patrons with evil pedigrees, which means that at least one newcomer to the island is about to be hunted. As both wereprey and werepredator fight to stay alive, it’s up to mild-mannered Clyde — a perennial sidekick — to summon the hero within. Can he surprise even himself?
Love. Love. Love.
Recently, I chatted with Cyn about FERAL NIGHTS and what else was coming down the line for her. Here is what she had to say.
Joy:   So…  werecats and werepossums and werearmadillos! Tell us about this! I admit I am personally most fascinated by the werearmadillos because I love looking at those giant prehistoric ‘regular’ armadillos at the Houston Science Museum.
Cyn: The werearmadillos are a fan favorite! The Feral series is a spin-off of the Tantalize series, which likewise featured a myriad of shape-shifters. I started with wolves and took a hard look at the tradition of werewolf stories. Then I moved on to study shifter studies from around the world. I noticed that it was often the predator that most competed with humans for food and territory that had been cast in the role of monster (the wolf in Europe, the cat in Asia) and, in some cases, hunted to near/complete extinction as a result. That didn’t fly with me. As a recovering lawyer, I’m predator friendly.
I decided my shifters would be naturally born. Not magical. Not demonic. Just children of a different branch on the evolutionary family tree.
With that in mind, as long as there are wolves, why wouldn’t there be other shifter forms?  So I began populating my world with a myriad of creatures-the werecats and Possums and Armadillos and Deer and Vultures and more.
The Feral series was born from reader questions. They wanted to know more about the cats. They thought that the shifters hadn’t received their fair share of screen time. They suggested. I brainstormed. Consider it launched!
Joy: Tell us about Yoshi and Clyde. I love their names, by the way.
Cyn: Yoshi is sleek, sexy, and fresh off the farm. He’s a Kansas-raised werecat en route to Austin to find his missing big sister. Yoshi is a definite ladies’ man, drives a classic Mercury Cougar, and is looking for something a bit more real and substantial from life—his real family, a real connection to a girl, and real friends.
Clyde is a lovable geek. He’s an Opossum, a loyal friend and quick to crack a joke. He can be incredibly brave when the moment calls for it—but nobody plays dead better in a pinch.
Can I talk about Aimee? Feral Nights isn’t just about the boys. Aimee is a self-described geek girl, Goth-girl, and New Age hippie girl. She defies clear categorization and is the first human protagonist I’ve written in a while.
Joy: The down and dirty: Give us a one or two sentence pitch/log line for Feral Nights.
Cyn: Everybody’s looking for Ruby Kitahara. Her kid brother Yoshi wants to save her, the Armadillo king wants her hide for the murder of his grandson, and the dead Dillo prince’s friends are seeking the truth of what happened the night he died.
Joy: You live in Austin, so it makes sense that you would set stories there, but beyond your everyday familiarity – why Austin? Why does it fit so well with the Tantalize series and now this companion series?
Cyn: Austin is the kind of place where it’s not unusual to see a couple of werebears at Jo’s Coffee or a couple of wereantelope running the Capital 10K.
We just roll that way.
Joy: Speaking of Austin, for the uninitiated, tell us some of your ‘must do/must see/must eat list for your city. Does it include the brisket tacos at Torchys? Cause that would be on my list…
Cyn: Huge question – I can only highlight. For dining, I’m fond of Moonshine Patio Bar & Grill, Uchi, Hoover’s Cooking, and Vespaio.
Beyond that, I recommend taking a long walk along the hike-and-bike trail surrounding Lady Bird Lake, watching the Mexican free tail bats exit from beneath the Congress Avenue Bridge, listening to live music at The Driskill and watching the sun set at The Oasis.
Joy: I’ve asked you some version of this before, but as your career continues to flourish: How do you balance writing/blogging/teaching/travel/life with your delightful spouse Greg who is also a brilliant writer?
Cyn: I’m less good at it than I used to be. I’m working out a lot these days—six days a week of hard cardio, three days a week of weights, and I’m playing more, too, trying to take out more time for my close friends. But I’ve got a schedule, and I’m steady.
On non-travel/tour/speaker days, I’m on the computer by 8 a.m. to blog and handle marketing, event, and reader correspondence. I ramp up the speed and incline on the treadmill at 10 a.m. for at least an hour and then lift during “What Not to Wear” on TLC.  After that comes lunch, and fiction writing until Greg gets home to make me dinner at about 5 p.m. Saturdays I take for either events or play.
Sundays are slipperier. I love to do brunch, but then I’m flexible until early evening when I want to either go out or veg out.
I’ve had to cut back on teaching, though I still lead workshops around the country and take on the occasional private student.
Joy: What’s next for Cynthia Leitich Smith?
Cyn: Eternal: Zachary's Story, illustrated by Ming Doyle, also will be out this winter from Candlewick Press. It's a graphic novel adaptation (with new scenes) of my bestselling prose novel, Eternal.
Feral Nights is the first book in a trilogy. The second story just went to my editor, and there’s one more to go after that. I’ll be traveling this spring to author/book events in San Antonio, Chicago, Madison, Fort Worth, Washington, D.C., and Montpelier, Vermont.
Joy: Now it’s time for the Lightning Round:
a.    Chocolate or vanilla?
Vanilla ice cream, hot chocolate syrup, plus chopped pecans
b.    M and M’s or twizzlers?
M&Ms dark chocolate with peanuts
c.    Books for the desert island?
Titles by present company and family aside…I’ll highlight:
The Agency trilogy by Y.S. Lee
Blood & Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause
Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers
The Witch from Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
d.    Wine or whisky?
White wine--nothing too sweet or too buttery
e.    Guilty TV pleasure?
“What Not to Wear” – but no guilt – I unabashedly love it.
f.    What’s on your playlist right now?
“What Doesn’t Kill You”
Everything by Eartha Kitt
“Xanadu”
g.    Last meal?
Leftover French chicken in a pot, hummus, and Beanitos

Thanks, Cyn, for such a great interview!
Cyn is a champion for authors, literacy and all things writing and you can find all this and more at her  award-winning site CYNSATIONS

And if you want to WIN SOME OF CYN'S BOOKS, check this out:

Enter to win Cynthia's latest books, Feral Nights (Book 1 in the Feral series), Eternal: Zachary's Story (a graphic novel illustrated by Ming Doyle), and a paperback copy of Diabolical, from Cynsations. CLICK HERE 

And beware of those werecats and were armadillos and vampires next time you're in Austin!

Who killed Herman Mildew?
That's what the cops want to know.That's what we all want to know.Especially 80 authors.
Who have all written alibis explaining how and why it couldn't have been us.


Edited by Jon Scieszka, WHO DONE IT is:

A star-studded anthology with a devilish hook, whose proceeds benefit 826nyc: the fabulous literacy non-profit founded by Dave Eggers.
 
Can you imagine the most cantankerous book editor alive? Part Voldemort, part Cruella de Vil (if she were a dude), and worse in appearance and odor than a gluttonous farm pig? A man who makes no secret of his love of cheese or his disdain of unworthy authors? That man is Herman Mildew.
 
The anthology opens with an invitation to a party, care of this insufferable monster, where more than 80 of the most talented, bestselling and recognizable names in YA and children’s fiction learn that they are suspects in his murder. All must provide alibis in brief first-person entries. The problem is that all of them are liars, all of them are fabulists, and all have something to hide...

Uh, yeah! I LOVE being part of this book. I LOVE that the profits go to 826nyc. I LOVE that Amazon has chosen WHO DONE IT as one of the best young adult books of February!!

No one but the fabulous Soho Press -- specifically, our publisher Bronwen Hruska, and my editor, Dan Ehrenhaft, and the brilliant Jon Scieszka could have had the creative audacity to make the 2nd book of the inaugural Soho Teen list a book like this!

So HAPPY BIRTHDAY to WHO DONE IT! Feel free to tweet about it using #whodoneit826
Go buy a copy or ten. They make a great gift for a great cause! In fact, here's a LINK


And if you are in the Houston area, I'll be reading and signing WHO DONE IT at Murder by the Book on Saturday 2/23 at 4:30. Feel free to come in a disguise. Wouldn't want anyone accusing of murder now, would you? Rumor has it that I may read as other people. And that there is really cool swag to be had... Did anyone say dark sunglasses and fedoras??  You can find out more HERE