Taking a Breath

So the hurricane of THINGS THAT MUST BE DONE RIGHT THIS SECOND has settled down somewhat... at least the hurricane of book-related things. Now, I'm facing end-of-school things like the 100 I-Search papers that came in last week that I need to grade. And child-related things like getting my kids baptised and, like, feeding them.

But last week I had a moment of clarity. This year has been just insane, with launching Slide and revising Impostor and having a baby and creating a new dual credit course for my seniors. And I realized that, with all of that going on, I've really picked up some unhealthy habits. It's so much easier to pick up fast food on the way home rather than cook something. I haven't had the time to work out at all.

Yeah, those are all excuses. I've been stressed, and I haven't been dealing with the stress in the right way. So this last week I bought an elliptical machine. It was my favorite thing to work out on in college, and I figure I don't have an excuse if it's right here in my house.

For the past five mornings, I've awakened at 5 a.m. to get in a half hour of exercise. It's awesome because it's dark and quiet and I can think about the story I'm working on. Then, in the evening, I do another half hour before taking my daughter on a walk to the park.

I'd forgotten how good exercise can make you feel. The endorphin rush, the feeling of being in control. The satisfaction of doing something positive for yourself.

Hey, I know I'm not going to get healthy overnight, but I'm on my way.

Living the Dream

I don't know if I've ever told this story before, but there was this one time I was dropping off a utilities check at city hall. Making small talk, the woman behind the desk asked what I did for a living. I said I was a high school English teacher. She said she'd always wanted to teach and then made the comment, "So you're living the dream, huh?"

I'd never really thought about it that way, but I guess I was. When I was growing up, I always thought I'd become an English teacher. I mean, I was good at English and I liked kids. It seemed the natural progression. But there was another component to my dream. I always thought teaching would be perfect for me because I'd have the summers to write. Well, the first five years, I didn't write at all. I could say I was busy earning my MA by taking summer classes, but that's only partly true. I wasted a lot of time playing WoW, too. (Not that there's anything wrong with WoW. But it wasn't getting me any closer to achieving my dream.)

It wasn't until I learned about NaNoWriMo that I actually took the first step toward my dream of being an author. Say what you will about NaNo, but it gave me the kick in the butt to get that first book written. Even though it was terrible, it was a start. Several NaNos later, I wrote the rough draft of what would become Slide, my debut novel.

If you told me two years ago that my book would be published by HarperCollins, I would have laughed in your face. If you told me I'd be making a mental note to get that contract for Turkish rights in the mail, I would have rolled my eyes. If you told me I'd go on tour with Dan Wells and Kimberly Derting, I would have called you crazy.

All of those things are fantastic, but they can't beat that moment on March 27th. The moment I approached Barnes & Noble, a store I'd entered thousands of times before, about to see my own book on the shelf. I'm not ashamed to admit I cried as I walked through the parking lot with my sister and my children. I clamped my hand over my mouth as we neared the YA section. And when I saw SLIDE sitting on the shelf, face out, with my name across the front, the tears spilled down.

I never thought my dream would come true.

But it did.

Through hard work, a good idea, the support of my agent and editor, and not a small amount of good luck, my dream came true.

I try to remember that when I start to get stressed out by Amazon numbers or Goodreads or whatever measuring stick I'm obsessing over at the time.

Whatever else happens... or doesn't happen... my dream has come true.

~~~

I'm giving away three signed copies of SLIDE on Goodreads! There are only FOUR MORE DAYS to enter! (U.S. only, please.) CLICK HERE TO ENTER!

ALSO ALSO the second YAmazing Race with MGnificent Prizes will be starting next Wednesday, and I've donated a signed copy of SLIDE. It's going to be way fun. Stay posted for details!

Dark Days Tour Day Three: B&N in Burlington

Dan is too cool to sit down with us.

Friday was the last day of my tour with Kimberly Derting and Dan Wells.

And it was perfect. 

Ginny Bride picked us up from the airport. She was waiting at the bottom of an escalator with all three of our books. It was like out of a movie or something.

The weather in Boston was sunny and gorgeous. Ginny took the time to show us around a bit before dropping us off at the hotel. Guys, Boston is so beautiful. Kim texted her husband and informed him they were moving here. I texted my husband and suggested it for our five year anniversary trip. Dan turned to his hat and murmured something about never leaving. And something else about Cheers.

After dropping off our luggage, we wandered around for a bit. I took a picture of the place where the Boston Massacre happened. Kim and Dan ate big ol' lobsters. Then we hurried back to the hotel to get ready for the event. (And no, I did NOT get locked out of my hotel room three times.)

Ginny drove us to the Barnes & Noble in Burlington, where we met Dee, the event coordinator. She was sooooo energetic and hospitable. I think her plan was to amp up our energy, as well, because we were all dragging by the end of the tour. She snuck a few shots of espresso into my smoothie and told us all about her store, which is the #4 B&N in the U.S. in terms of sales.

Then we met Cindy from Books Complete Me, who interviewed us before the event and tweeted using the #pitchdarkdays hashtag all night. She was so organized and professional. Awesome job, Cindy!

The crowd kept us on our toes, asking us about the best and worst parts of the writing process, how to break into publishing, and our most embarrassing teenage stories. Kim's story made my jaw drop. I won't share it here... you'll have to get her to tell it. 

We had the best time. The bittersweet moment was on the elevator afterward, when the three of us had to say goodbye. Going on tour is a funny thing--we got thrown together, made fast friends, and I hope we'll stay in touch. Kim and Dan are amazing people and writers. 

I said it repeatedly last night, and I'll say it again. I had a blast. Thank you so much for organizing this, Harper!

Dark Days Tour Day Two: Anderson's in Chicago

Me with my cousin, aunt, and uncle/godfather

WHAT UP?! 

Yesterday was Day 2 of my 3 city Dark Days tour. Our plane didn't leave until the afternoon, so I had the morning to relax (drink coffee, blog, catch up on email, THINK about my synopsis) at the hotel. Then Kathy, our media escort, picked us up in her Jaguar and we tried to stuff all of Kim's bags in the trunk. Kim is hilarious with all of her baggage. Dan tried to leave his Indiana Jones hat in Dayton, but Kathy brought it back to him. He just wouldn't be Dan without his hat. And donut. ;)

I read some more of THE NIGHT SHE DISAPPEARED by April Henry on the plane. It's one of those books that uses different POVs and official documents and stuff to tell the story. VERY engaging. I was annoyed when I had to turn off my iPad because we were landing.

Mary Jo picked us up from the airport and drove us to the hotel, and then I had a couple of hours to sign bookmarks for the event. Kim and I took a cab to Naperville to meet up with some friends before the signing. Susan, an awesome girl I've known since the first grade, came to meet us at Kuma's, a restaurant a few blocks down from Anderson's, and we had a great time catching up. 

Around 6:30, we headed to the event and met up with Dan, who claimed he also hung out with a friend all afternoon, but I highly suspect he was talking about his hat. We signed some stock and chatted with the crowd. My aunt, uncle, and cousin showed up, and I was grateful my uncle didn't call me by my childhood nickname, Jelly Belly. :D

Met some amazing people, but I have the Worst Memory in the History of the World and can't list all their names here. If I talked to you last night, though, leave a comment below! I know Lindsay from Live to Read will be posting an interview/pictures soon, and I'll link to that as soon as it's up. 

After the signing, Dan went out with a friend (maybe his hat), and Kim and I rode back to the hotel with Mary Jo. I got a voice message from my two-year-old daughter that made me cry: "I love you, Mommy. Pwease come home." So, yeah. I'm having a blast, but definitely missing my husband and the kids. 

Tonight Kim, Dan (and his hat), and I will be at the Burlington B&N near Boston! I'd love to meet you if you live in the area, so please come on out! I'll give you signed bookmarks! And Kim has amazing lilac nail polish and bracelets that she's giving away! 

<3

Dark Days Tour Day 1: Books & Co. in Dayton

The demon eyes... we've got 'em!

So I had an absolute blast on my first day of the Dark Days tour! The morning was a bit hectic as I rushed to get my kids to daycare before heading to the airport, but once I was on the plane, it was smooth sailing... er, flying.

Made a quick stop in Detroit, where I grabbed a late lunch and looked for Dan Wells, who was going to be on the next flight with me. I spied someone in a cowboy hat who was carrying around an oddly decorative donut (of the butt persuasion, not the edible kind... really, did I just say 'butt persuasion'????). I was too chicken to say anything, though. He sat next to me on the flight and was brave enough to ask if I was Jill Hathaway. We chatted for a bit and then settled down to read. (I'm reading and loving THE NIGHT SHE DISAPPEARED by April Henry!) Seems like we hardly got up in the air before we were going back down again.

The drive into Dayton was exciting. Our driver had been escorting Carrie Fisher around the previous day and let us look at his signed copy of WISHFUL DRINKING (which I definitely need to pick up now). We checked into the hotel and had a few hours to laze around and watch How I Met Your Mother work on IMPORTANT WRITERLY STUFF before heading out to the signing.

Books & Co. was seriously the gorgeous-est bookstore I've ever been in! It's huge and open with these big windows and a cute little cafe. We got to chat with some bloggers before getting down to business. (If you were there, send me a link to your recap and I'll post it here!) Jenny from Supernatural Snark was there to tweet and take pictures, but it was funny because she had a Kindle or something and couldn't figure out how to tweet from it.

We had a great little Q&A. I'll admit, I was a bit nervous and tended to answer quickly and hand the mic off to Dan or Kim. (Hahaha, I forgot to mention the reason for Dan's donut. He broke his tailbone (ouch!!!) and had to stand the whole time, so it was like he was In Charge. Which I'm fine with. Double parentheses! High five!!) Then we signed books and took pictures and had a grand ol' time.

Had a great dinner across the street at a place called Brio. Talked about the weird things we have to google for our job--for example, what decaying corpses smell like. Ick! On the cab ride back to the hotel, we compared the breakfast places in our various hometowns (IHOP vs. Denny's vs. Village Inn vs. Waffle House).  Haha, such highbrow discussion!

Can't wait to go to Anderson's in Chicago tonight! Hope you can make it out if you live in the area!

#RT12 Recap

So I just got back from the 2012 RT Booklovers Convention in Chicago, and can I just say I had the best time of my life? Seriously. BEST. TIME. EVER.

On Friday after school, I jumped in the car with my husband, two kids and mother-in-law for a five hour drive. It kind of seemed like the longest drive of my whole life, but that's just because I was SO EXCITED to get there and see everyone.

I had plans to meet up with Kimberly Derting, Sophie Jordan, and Debra Driza that night, but by the time we hit Chicago it was about 10:30. I texted everyone and said I was dead tired and would just see them the next day. But when we checked in and I saw people roaming around in their roaring twenties attire, I got a second wind. Ended up chatting with friends until late late late.

Somehow, I dragged myself out of bed at 7:30 the next morning, despite the fact that I tossed and turned during the few hours I was in bed. The HUMONGOUS group signing didn't start until 11 a.m. but Sophie advised me to show up at 9 to pick up my badge. When I went down to the lobby, there was already a line forming. People brought boxes and bags of books to get signed and were chatting pleasantly while waiting.

I picked up my badge (with a flower to signify I was a published author, whooooo!) and then met up with my family to grab some breakfast from the hotel restaurant. I'm so thankful I managed to eat some eggs because it would be manymany hours before I'd get to eat again. We ran into Zoraida Cordova, who was sporting a cuter than cute mermaid t-shirt, and Cole Gibsen, who's just about the most adorable person I've ever met. Apocalypsies for the win!

The HUMONGOUS group signing was insane. I was sitting between Leanna Renee Hieber (who was rocking an amazing coffin necklace) and Alyxandra Harvey, who kept laughing at me because I had to pee about an hour into the three hour event and kept angsting about whether I should leave my table or not. Seriously, she will remember me as the author who had to pee.

I met tons of awesome bloggers and readers. I'm sorry I can't remember everyone's names. I should have taken some pictures, but it totally slipped my mind. Luckily, Nori over at Nori's closet took this picture of me:

After the signing, I had a bit of time to go back to my room to grab a water and handful of chips before I went to the speed reading session. Sarah Rees Brennan moderated and was hilarious, saying "beep beep beep" whenever an author went over her allotted three minutes. Cynthia Hand, Saundra Mitchell, Veronica Roth, Brodi Ashton, Bree Despain, Stephanie Perkins, and a ton of other authors read aloud from their latest books. I'm totally scared of public speaking, but there was this woman in the audience who looked SO MUCH like Megan Miranda, and she kept nodding reassuringly, so I just focused on her. I think I did okay because several teens came up to me later and said that my book sounded cool. Either that, or they were just being nice. Probably that.

Later on, we all headed to the ballroom for the Teen Day party. Everyone got a backpack full of books, and people circulated, getting author signatures. There was also this fun scavenger hunt thing where people had to hunt down authors and ask them questions. My question was whether I listen to music when I write. Answer: yes, I do. A girl asked what I listen to, and I said music from the nineties, like the Smashing Pumpkins, and that seemed acceptable to her.

Finally, the day was over, and some of us went to the sushi place for dinner, though I don't think anyone actually ordered sushi. I sat with Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, Bree Despain, and Mary Lindsey. We talked horror movies and all agreed that the Buffy episode "Hush" is brilliantly terrifying.

And then, my friends, I crashed.

It was an amazing weekend. Practically perfect in every way.

Above: my view at the HUMONGOUS book signing

RT Convention & 2012 Reading Challenge

Thing #1: I'll be appearing at Teen Day (Saturday) at the RT Booklovers Convention in Chicago this weekend. I'm supposed to, uh... speed read... which I'm not sure what that means. Or what I'll read. So if you're there, don't be surprised if there is much flailage. And failage. Either one. Both, probably. But I'll give you a signed bookmark, so you'll have to forgive me! :)

If you won't be around for the convention, don't forget the Dark Days tour next week! Here's where I (and Kimberly Derting and Dan Wells) will be:

Wednesday, April 18 - Books & Co. in Dayton, OH 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, April 19 - Anderson's Bookshops in Naperville, IL 7:00 p.m.
Friday, April 20 - Barnes & Noble in Burlington, MA 7:00 p.m.

Thing #2: So I'm totally falling behind on my reading challenge, which is to read a book a week in 2012. I'm four books behind. I suppose I can catch up this summer, but it makes me feel so PANICKED to see the little note on Goodreads reminding me that I'm so behind.

Anyway, here's an update of the books I've read so far in 2012:

1. 11/22/63 by Stephen King

2. Unbearable Lightness by Portia De Rossi

3. Envy by Gregg Olsen

4. Ashfall by Mike Mullin

5. Firelight by Sophie Jordan

6. Ten by Gretchen McNeil (will be doing a giveaway for this one soonish)

7. The Last Echo by Kimberly Derting (tour mate!!)

8. Fever by Lauren DeStefano

9. Dead to You by Lisa McMann

10. Partials by Dan Wells (tour mate!!)

Nano Contest Winner

I'm pleased to announce the winner of a new iPod Nano and $25 iTunes card is:

G. Donald Cribbs 


Here is the picture he took of his copy of SLIDE. On a slide. Love it!!

Also, I sent out a ton of Secret Sliders prizes on Saturday morning. If you emailed me with your address after that, you'll be waiting a little longer because I probably won't get to the post office until later this week. Your stuff is coming, though! Thanks so much for all your help! Sliders rule!

How to Order a Signed Copy of SLIDE

I wish I could sign ALL THE COPIES of Slide like John Green did with THE FAULT IN OUR STARS, but that's not going to happen.

However, if you would like a personalized copy of SLIDE (signed in pretty purple ink), you can call Court Avenue Books at 515-462-1090 and ask for Mary to order a copy. Just tell her what you'd like me to write in the book!

Personalized books make great gifts, so if you know someone who might like a twisty turny murder mystery (with a splash of romance) please keep SLIDE in mind! :)

Edited to add: Those of you who feel more comfortable doing a transaction via email, you can email Mary at far2564@netzero.com and specify your address and what you'd like the book to say. She'll get back to you with a price, depending on shipping costs (obviously, international will be more expensive).

Best. Day. Ever.

So yesterday was my first ever book signing. 

I'm not going to lie. I was terrified.

Terrified that no one was going to show up. Terrified that I'd totally blank while giving my speech. Terrified there would be something stuck in my teeth and no one would tell me.

But... it was actually sort of amazing.

Tons of friends and family and local writers and old pals from high school and students and coworkers and even some random people showed up. We all munched on cake pops and watched the kids as they ran around with the balloons. My speech wasn't TERRIBLE (okay, if it was, please don't tell me). I signed for two hours straight, and we sold all the books. My grandpa only bought seventeen of them. :)

I think the coolest part was when this teenage girl came up with her mother, and they told me that she was a writer and asked for advice. 

No, maybe the coolest part was chatting with my former students about how college was going.

No, perhaps the coolest part was getting so many compliments on the SLIDE bracelet Lisa Harwood made for me.

Okay, there were lots of cool parts.

I want to thank everyone who came out to support SLIDE. Just seeing you all made the day that much more special. I will cherish the memory forever.