This upcoming weekend, March 30-31, I’ll be at WonderCon in Anaheim. Most of the time I’ll be in total fan-mode: going to panels, spending too much money in the dealers room, and trying to catch glimpses of my favorite authors and TV stars. Here’s the author stuff: SIGNING Sunday, March 31st, 1:30-2:00pm Mysterious Galaxy, Booth #1201 PANEL: “Capacity for the...
The second book in my Above World series officially makes its way into the world today, but before I get to that, I want to talk about Bridget Zinn and her YA debut Poison, also releasing today. Bridget died from cancer in May 2011 at the age of 33, before getting to see her debut book published. I never had the opportunity to meet her, but I think I would have liked her. Her bio says: Bridget...
Above World releases in the UK on April 4th from Walker, and here’s the cover! Personally, I find it fascinating to see which elements of the US cover they chose to emphasize or de-emphasize. For example, the distinction between the underwater realm and the “above world” is very evident with a strong horizon line. May this little book find its way into the hands of many UK...
I’m still processing everything that happened in 2012: the debut of Above World, the audiobook, the signings and book clubs and events, the reviews and fan art, turning in the third book of the trilogy… plus all the difficult stuff that, frankly, sometimes seems to overwhelm the good. But instead of going into that now, I’d like to look forward to the new year. I’m always...
First, the reason I’m grinning ear-to-ear today: Above World has been reviewed on The Book Smugglers, where Thea calls it a “notable read of 2012”! I also had the pleasure of writing a guest post for The Book Smugglers as part of their annual Smugglivus celebration. I chose to talk about girl adventurers and some of my favorite middle grade adventure reads from 2012… and...
Here it is, the front and back covers for Mirage, the second book in my Above World adventure series from Candlewick! Isn’t it gorgeous? Artist Alexander Jansson and Kathryn Cunningham at Candlewick have really outdone themselves. [Click for a larger images.] And the official flap copy: The desert is no place for ocean-dwelling Kampii like Aluna and Hoku, especially now that Aluna has...
I’m still riding high after turning in Book 3 to my editor a few weeks ago. This feeling will probably last until the revision letter hits in October or November. In the meantime, other fun things have been happening. This week I saw the cover the UK edition of Above World. The book will be available in the UK in paperback next spring, around the same time that the US paperback is released...
This weekend I’m headed to my very first ALA (American Library Association) annual summer conference. ALA Anaheim will be packed with publishers, librarians, book bloggers, readers, authors, and books Books BOOKS! I’ll be wandering around until 4pm on Saturday, and on Sunday I’ll be signing Above World. Click the graphic to see my face on the official flyer! (Or not.) Jenn Reese...
Last week’s adventure up in Berkeley was tremendous fun. I finally met Anne Nesbet, author of The Cabinet of Earths, and got to spend more time with Jenny Lundquist, author of Seeing Cinderella. I have now read both of their books and loved them without reservation. This Words of Wonder Tour is a great gig. This week, Los Angeles is the place to be. We’ve got two events scheduled:...
I’ll be roadtripping up to Berkeley this weekend for two fun events. (And I get to spend time with Tim and Heather — score!) Friday, April 20, 7pm – Mrs. Dalloway’s First, a Words of Wonder Tour stop with authors Anne Nesbet and Jenny Lundquist at Mrs. Dalloway’s. I believe there may even be prizes. More information. Saturday, April 21, 10am-2pm – UC Berkeley...
I was fortunate enough to team up with five other debut middle-grade authors on the West Coast, and we’ve put together the “Words of Wonder” book tour. For a complete list of our events, check Words of Wonder on Facebook. These might be my last events for a while, as I have to dig in and write book 3 (Yay!). Here’s where I’ll be: April 6, 5-8:00 pm, Curious Cup...
I am thrilled to announce that Candlewick has bought book 3 of my new Above World series! I originally pitched the concept as a trilogy, but my initial book deal was for two books. From Publishers Marketplace: Children’s: Middle grade Jenn Reese’s ABOVE WORLD #3, the third title in the science fiction adventure series that began with ABOVE WORLD, to Sarah Ketchersid at Candlewick, for...
Last week is a blur. On Monday, people started posting that Above World had already been shipped to them and was starting to appear in bookstores. The photos amazed me. I woke up Tuesday to find dozens and dozens of Twitter messages, emails, and Facebook comments all congratulating me on the book’s release. I was instantly overwhelmed in the best way possible. Throughout the day, the...
Somehow I completely missed announcing the audiobook deal for Above World. Well, since my author copies arrived today, I think it’s time! That’s me and the audiobooks (from Brilliance Audio), which are expertly performed by Kate Rudd. Kate has done more books than I can mention, including Fault in Our Stars, How to Say Goodbye in Robot, and Tithe, just to name a few. I was incredibly...
After years and years of working and waiting, Above World is finally out in there in the wild. I’m going to steal a page from my buddy Sarah Prineas and take this opportunity to post the book’s dedication and acknowledgements. Today is also Valentine’s Day, which is fitting since my heart is overflowing with love and gratitude. Thank you, my friends, for helping me make this...
Sarah Prineas (of Winterling fame) is doing one of her fabulous giveaways for an ARC (Advance Reader Copy) of Above World! Even if you don’t want an ARC for yourself, you can give the ARC to teachers, librarians, kids, or classrooms! Every time you spread the word, it helps. Head on over to Sarah’s blog and comment with a page number. That’s it, just a page number and...
I opened the door to go get the mail and a small package from Candlewick fell on my foot. I assured Chris that it couldn’t possibly be hardcovers of Above World. Not yet. Not when it was still over a month and a half until my pub date. But I was wrong. METALLIC BLUE FOIL! (This must always be written and spoken in ALL CAPS.) The spine is glorious. It has METALLIC BLUE FOIL, too! Blurbs from...
Things have been happening! Wonderful things! ARCs Advance Reading Copies are a major milestone. I wasn’t sure what to do with my ARCs since I had six and about ten people/places requested them. (Not to mention a whole list of other places I wanted to send them.) First, I panicked. Second, I asked a particularly wise woman to just tell me what to do, and she did. (Thank you, Ello!)...
I will be at many fine events during WFC, just not as a participant. It’s been a crazy year, and I’m looking forward to sitting back, hanging out with friends, and enjoying a much-needed vacation. Wednesday Mysterious Galaxy Meet-and-Greet Thursday Lunch with my brother Diversity in YA event at Poway Library Aussie Party Friday Clarion Party Daryl Gregory’s Unpossible Party...
Well, here it is, the cover of Above World. The art is by the amazing Alexander Jansson, and the jacket design is by the uber-talented Kate Cunningham of Candlewick. Many thanks to my editor Sarah Ketchersid for giving me a cover that far exceeded my expectations. I love, love, love it.
Above World
Candlewick Press
ISBN: 9780763654177
Coming February 14th, 2012!
I’ve been busy with work lately so I haven’t had a chance to talk about all the exciting things happening on the book front: 1. I got to see the final cover for Above World. The cover is gorgeous and I love it. LOVE IT. I look at it constantly. I printed it out and have a copy on the fridge and one in my moleskine for travel ogling. I can’t share it until Candlewick unveils...
I’m a member of SF Novelists, a group of new and established science fiction and fantasy novelists. We’ve just put together our first novel sampler, and it’s available for FREE. Please share the file with anyone you want. Although many people helped put this project together, I had the honor of designing the cover in my guise as Head Tiger of Tiger Bright Studios. Hope you like...
It’s hard to believe, but all 26 stories that Tim Pratt, Heather Shaw, Greg van Eekhout, and I wrote are now live on Daily Science Fiction’s site. Twenty-six weeks has never gone so quickly! If you missed a story or want to gulp down all 26 at once, here you go: The Alphabet Quartet on DSF If you’d like to hear our stories instead of read them, then you won’t have long to...
The Alphabet Quartet — written by me, Tim Pratt, Heather Shaw, and Greg van Eekhout — continues! You can now read six stories at Daily Science Fiction: Read the New Stories: D is for De Gustibus E is for Excrement F is for Forever Read the Previous Stories: A is for Arthur B is for Banyan Tree C is for Crate Comment on the stories here, or at Daily Science Fiction’s Facebook...