Uncategorized Archive

Odds and Ends

One last update for 2013: – Very sad to hear of Ned Vizzini’s passing. Feel bad for everyone: Ned, his wife, his new baby, his parents and friends, and his fans. I only met the guy a few times, but he was funny as hell and I could tell right away he was crazy

NPR Weekend Edition Interview with Scott Simon + NCTE + Two More Starred Reviews + Gratitude

When I heard I was going to be interviewed on NPR’s Weekend Edition I immediately started sweating. And unconsciously gritting my teeth. National radio? Me? What if I sounded like an idiot or stumbled over my words or accidentally referred to Scott Simon as “Bob” Simon? What if I dropped a series of accidental

The Living is Now in Bookstores! + NPR Post + The Power of John Green

The Living came out yesterday!! I wasn’t able to announce it on the actual on-sale day because I was speaking at a middle school in Ohio, and a high school in Ohio, and the Youngstown chapter of IRA. This is the first time I’ve ever done a speaking engagement on the day a book

Seattle Public Library + Stevie Wonder and Paul + School Library Journal

I’m in Seattle this whole week, visiting a couple schools per day. The visit is sponsored by Seattle Public Library. Here’s a shot of their architecturally famous (infamous?) downtown branch (talk amongst yourselves): Sometimes I get to hang with the big bad high schoolers, like these guys from Chief Sealth High: Other times I’m

The Living Chapter Sample — Pre-Publication Facebook Contest

On November 12th, The Living hits bookstores. This is very exciting to me. I’ve never spent so much time working on a novel, and I’m very proud of the way it turned out. The protagonist, Shy Espinoza, is my guy. If you’d like to get a sneak peek of Shy and The Living, Random

National Book Festival, Texas Book Festival, Podcast with Sara Zarr, Cat Offer . . .

I’m super excited to be participating in my first-ever National Book Festival in Washington DC this weekend. I’ll be speaking on Saturday, September 21 from 1:20pm – 1:50pm, followed by a signing. Can’t wait to check out presentations by Paolo Bacigalupi, Matthew Quick, Margaret Atwood, Don DeLilo, Lisa McMann and Juan Felipe Herrera. More information

First Two Reviews in for The Living — Including a Star from Kirkus!

When the reviews start rolling in, a book begins to feel like a real thing to me. It’s moving out into the world. Folks I don’t even know are turning the pages — it’s nerve wracking and exciting and alive. Here are the first two reviews for The Living (thanks for the kind words

Barcelona and Paris and the Beautiful Beaches

I’m back in the Brooklyn Writers Space today, eating a four-day old Parisian almond croissant. It tastes goddamn amazing. I bet it’d be even better in a week. Did you know Paris baked goods age like wine? It’s true! Okay, maybe that’s nostalgia talking. The point is, I just got back from a seven

Highs and Lows of Spring 2013

The summer is almost over, and I’m about to take a full on writing vacation. I’m not typing a damn word of fiction for an entire week. Seriously. . . . Okay I might take a couple notes about my upcoming revision of The Hunted (which is the sequel to The Living). Oh, and

SCBWI Summer Conference in Los Angeles

Fifteen hundred writers and illustrators gather in LA every year to talk kids books and publishing and process. That’s a lot of people. I attended SCBWI LA on the slick a few years ago — when I helped my editor (for about fifteen minutes) present on voice — but this year I was invited