Bits and Pieces

1. I did a signing last month at the Ivy Bookshop in Baltimore and signed a few copies of Glittering Shadows, so if you are looking for signed copies and you're in the area, that is the place to go!

2. There is a blog/Twitter event going on this week celebrating "Quiet YA", defined in this case not as books that read quiet, but as books that people aren't talking about all over the place. When I first got into YA, I pretty much knew everything that was published, thanks to following some blogs and publishing sites. Now it's impossible. Sometimes it is obvious why a book becomes huge. Often, it's a really exceptional book. There are a lot of bestsellers on my shelf, that are there for a reason--they are just DAMN GOOD. But, just as often, it's actually kind of a lousy book that just happens to appeal to a large number of people and have a big marketing budget. There are a ton of YA novels published every year, but every year we mostly hear about a tiny handful of them.

The event kicks off with a giveaway at Bloggers Heart Books. A copy of "Between the Sea and Sky" with sketches of Esmerine and Alan is included. Why am I giving away "Between the Sea and Sky"? Because, despite that Magic Under Glass got better reviews and there are many many more copies of it out there, and Dark Metropolis is more recent, I get the MOST fan mail for Between the Sea and Sky. People who love that book really, really love it, and they email me begging for a sequel or telling me they've read it five times. And it makes me super happy because writing that book was sheer joy and delight for me.

I also have a post with some of my recommendations over at Watercolor Moods. Thanks for hosting me, Kaye!!

3. Since Glittering Shadows is out, you might be wondering...what's next? I just turned a new book into my agent. This book is set in the world I've been living in (in my head...wait, do I need to clarify that? should I be concerned that I needed to clarify that?) for 20 years straight. I've described the book as "if the Godfather was a shoujo manga" and one of my friends described it as "Fringe meets Final Fantasy".   My fingers are crossed for it. I have so many interesting things to tell you all about this story when the time comes. You can, at least, trust that I am trying to get new books in your hands in the future, books that have all of my heart!

4. I've been catching up on some reading for the first time in a while. Like...YEARS. I went to the library the other day, and today I finished "The Winner's Curse" and it did live up to all I've heard about it. I like my books a little cozier, ideally, but the writing was great and the tension was excellent. I need to go back to the library and get the sequel! But I also treated myself to an order of new books I'm excited for. I hope to find some new 5* reads!