Every Day On Earth

Fact: Literary agents procrastinate 2,400 minutes out of every day... Okay, that's not a real fact.

What is true is that Every Day on Earth: Fun Facts That Happen Every 24 Hours by Steve and Matthew Murrie was published on August 1st and I'm incredibly delayed in wishing them a Happy, Happy Birthday!

This is a trivia book that is perfect for parents who are looking for ways for their kids to have fun learning, as they head back to school this month. The book gives readers a look at what happens every day. (Did you know that 46 million turkeys are eaten in America every Thanksgivings? Or that lightening strikes the earth 8,640,000 times every day?)

And adults will love it too. I know, when I first read it, I ran around the office going "Every Day on Earth..." Fact: My coworkers threw 2 million balls of paper at my head that day...

OMG, it's GLITTERY!

I just received my copy of ONCE EVERY NEVER by Lesley Livingston in the mail and it is.... GLITTERY! Literally, the cover image on Amazon...
... does NOT do the book justice. The actual book has sparkly, shiny glitter bursts all over it.

Glitter is particularly appropriate for this book. When I submitted ONCE EVERY NEVER to editors, this was (really) the last line of the authors bio: "Captivated at a young age by stories of past civilizations and legendary heroes, Lesley is an unrepentant egghead – a character-trait that somehow doesn't interfere with a love of shoes and shiny things."

Well, I'm captivated! By the packaging of this book, by the story (which is funny! Think: Veronica Mars-style snappy dialog... and sexy! Think: a love SQUARE), and by Lesley's incredible writing talent!

And, the good news is that while this book was sold as a stand-alone novel, Penguin recently bought two more books in the series. I can't imagine how Penguin will top this cover.... but I'm looking forward to finding out!

The Buzz

Future Imperfect by K. Ryer Breese publishes today from Thomas Dunne/St. Martin's Press!

This is one of those books that can easily be pitched in one sentence: A boy who can see the future (but only when he knocks himself out) falls in love with a girl who can see the past (but only when she's sexually intimate with someone) and together they must stop a future murder from happening.

This novel is wild, exhilarating, twisted, thoughtful, funny, violent, dark, romantic, gross, addictive, gritty, unique... I could keep going, but it would be so much more fun if you read it yourself and let me know what you think of it in one word.

Disclaimer: this book is definitely not for the weak-stomached!

The Summer of May

Cecilia Galante's The Summer of May publishes today!!

Cecilia is one of my favorite kind of authors, someone who can write any genre, because her writing is all about characters--whether they're elementary school kids, pre-teens, teens, or adults-- she can get inside all of their heads so well that you feel like you know them personally.

The Summer of May is her third middle grade novel, but she also has two teen novels, an upcoming early reader series, and she's currently working on an adult novel. She's a Jane of all trades!

To top it all off she has a great blog on writing: http://www.ceciliagalante.com/

One of my favorite things is how she signs off on her blog posts. Cecilia, I'm taking a page for your blog today:

Onwards, Always!

The Girl Who Was on Fire

The Girl Who Was On Fire: Your Favorite Authors on Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games Trilogy went on sale yesterday, April 5th! I'm really excited about this anthology because I just love thought-provoking YA fiction and this anthology looks deeper into the incredibly rich world that Suzanne Collins created.

Also, one of my favorite clients, Adrienne Kress (Alex and the Ironic Gentleman, Timothy and the Dragon's Gate) is a contributor for the anthology. Her essay "The Inevitable Decline of Decandence" addresses society's obsession with decadence and how it inevitably leads our downfall. Let's just say, it's quite timely for the current situation we find ourselves in.

If you're a fan of The Hunger Games you're going to love The Girl Who Was on Fire.

And, if you haven't read The Hunger Games, what the heck are you waiting for?! Go out and read the series and then pick up this anthology. I guarantee it will deepen your understanding of the series.

Review Day!

Two great reviews came in for a couple of my upcoming April books!

Kirkus said this about FUTURE IMPERFECT by K. Ryer Breese:

A slick, fast-paced thriller with a comic-book aesthetic. D-student Ade Patience begins to see the future when he gets a head injury. Chasing “the Buzz”—his name for the high the visions give him—Ade insults tough guys, stages car accidents and jumps off buildings, leaving his companions (usually female) to clean him up, tend to his wounds and take him safely home. The story opens on a day Ade has foreseen and anticipated: The day She, the future love of his life, appears in the school cafeteria and sings to him. She is Vauxhall: bold, perfect and, as per the visions, destined for Ade. But fast-talking liar Jimi Ministry wants Vauxhall for himself. To his great distress, Ade keeps seeing visions of himself killing Jimi, and his visions always come true. The pace is cinematic, with short chapters, short sentences, snappy banter and Ade's cool, careening narration.

And Publishers Weekly said this about THE SUMMER OF MAY by Cecilia Galante:

Galante's (Willowood) bittersweet story of a troubled 13-year-old stars spunky Maeve (May) O'Toole, who holds a lot of grudges. May's most recent target is her English teacher, "Movado the Avocado," who she blames for having to repeat English in summer school. Spending her mornings prepping and painting the classroom wall she defaced during the school year and doing writing assignments for her teacher, May has a lot of time to think. She broods about all the things that make her mad and about all the people who have abandoned her: her old group of friends; her father, who now works double shifts and is hardly ever home; and her grandmother, who spends her days in bed. But mostly May thinks about the mother she will never see again. The summer takes some unexpected turns as May discovers previously unseen sides of Miss Movado and learns that they have something profound in common. Brimming with emotion and insight into adolescent rage, Galante's prose investigates the impact of loss and the importance of making amends.

Things Left Unsaid

A Watershed Year by Susan Schoenberger pubs today!!

This publication is especially exciting for me because Susan and I worked closely together to revise the manuscript and get it sold to the right publisher (Guideposts). Susan's writing is incredibly solid and moving, so the base was always there, but we worked on the POV (third-person or first-person?), the structure of the plot, and the title (the book was originally titled Intercession). Susan is a newspaper report and I think her work in newspapers has really honed her editorial skills. She's an ace reviser. Each draft of the book just got stronger and stronger-- and I loved this book the first chapter, so that's no easy feat! I'm so proud of her and thrilled that her hard work has payed off.

The thing that stands out for me with this book is the idea of how the things we don't say can change our lives.

In The Watershed Year, Lucy has been in love with Harlan for years, but she's never told him how she feels. The timing just hasn't been right. So she's devastated when Harlan is diagnosed with cancer. And throughout the year leading up to his death that perfect moment never presents itself. Months after his death she returns to her desk to find an email from Harlan, one of many that he's programmed for her to receive monthly, revealing all of the things he couldn't say to her. In one of his emails, Haraln says something that strikes a chord with Lucy: he's certain that she should be a mother and it puts Lucy on a path to stop living inside her head and to start living out her dreams.

I've read this book multiple times and every time it makes me cry. Sounds odd to say, but I hope it makes you cry, too!

Okay, I've left nothing unsaid in this blog post. Except: go out, buy the book, and tell your friends! :)