Drumroll, please…

At last I can share this piece of good news with you… THE WOMAN ALL SPIES FEAR has been optioned by a Hollywood producer! It was one wild day when I got that call, believe me.

Most books that get optioned never make it all the way to the silver screen, but it’s exciting news all the same. I’m thrilled that Southpaw admires Elizebeth Smith Friedman as much as I do, and that they care so much about getting her story right.

63 seconds to make you smile

Leaping lizards! Or maybe I should say… cavorting crocodiles! THE CROCODILE CAPER, Ra the Mighty’s third mystery, comes out in two weeks, and today I get to share the book trailer with you.

It’s sixty-three seconds of pure fun, starring Egypt’s only cat and beetle detective duo! (And a few crocodiles.)

The genius behind the animation is my husband, working with the brilliant book illustrations by Sarah Horne. Didn’t they do amazing work?!

The book comes out on November 10, but you can pre-order it now from any bookstore (including your local indie) or ask your library to order it. I’d be thrilled if you did!

Insect heroes

I’m over at the fabulous Middle Grade Book Village website today, with a short and quirky post about insect heroes.

A funny topic, you say? Yes, but also deadly serious. The survival of the world rests on insects, and yet they’re often seen as a nuisance – or worse. So I think it’s time our kids saw them getting some starring roles in their books.

Cats and dogs get a lot of love in middle-grade fiction. I say it’s time to cheer for insect heroes, too!  And Khepri would agree.

 

 

 

Harvests

When we were given a grape vine a few years ago, I wasn’t expecting much. Our cool and cloudy summers seemed a far cry from what grapes need. But what a great crop we’ve had this year! This is the last of our bumper harvest — sweet and tart by turns, and tasting of sunshine.

Another harvest came in last week, too — my copies of THE GREAT TOMB ROBBERY!

The new book doesn’t come out until October 8th, but there’s a sneak preview on my website, where you can now read the first 2 chapters for free online!

If you like what you see, I’d be delighted if you pre-ordered the book, or asked your local library to get it.

I’m sorry I can’t share the grapes with you, too. When I’m eating them, it feels like summer is still here. Outside, however, I can see the first leaves turning, and the last apples are almost ready to pick. Fall is on its way.  Soon I’ll be wrapping up in capes to keep warm as I write.

For now, though, I’m just enjoying the turn of the season.

Ra in paperback!

Hurrah! RA THE MIGHTY has its paperback debut today!

Hardcovers are wonderful, but when I was a kid, I always bought paperbacks, because that’s what I could afford. I’d save up for months to buy one. So it makes me really happy to know that a Ra paperback will now be available for kids who are saving for a new book, just the way I did.

I’m also feeling enormously grateful to everyone who’s supported Ra in every form, from its first draft right on through to the hardback and now the paperback. Thanks for sending me your sweet notes and comments and drawings and photos! You’ve made my day a thousand times over.

To celebrate, I’m sharing the trailer once more, with my thanks to all of you! It’s pure fun and silliness, and I hope it makes you laugh.

 

YA Scavenger Hunt

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YASH

ETA:  The Fall 2015 YA Scavenger Hunt is over! So the special content is gone, but you can check out the winners here: http://www.yash.rocks/

Congratulations to Ileana A. who won the extra CHANTRESS giveaway!

Waiting for the storm

A package from New York City is headed my way! And I know what’s in it: an editorial letter for Chantress Alchemy, along with the marked-up manuscript.

These days lots of editors work only with electronic files, but my editor still works on paper. I appreciate that — somehow it’s easier for me to see the big picture that way — but it means the documents can’t get zapped to me in an instant over the net. Instead the package has to cross the Atlantic. And until it gets here, I won’t know how much work Chantress Alchemy needs.

It’s kind of like waiting for a blizzard to hit. A bit exciting, a bit frightening. Snow can be magical — but what if the power goes down? What if you’re digging out for days? You think about these things while you stock up on food, and bring in extra wood for the stove, and make sure the shovels and the sand are handy…

(Can you tell I grew up in snow country?)

Like that blizzard-watcher, I’m careening around the house today, trying to get everything in order before the storm hits. There are letters to answer, tax docs to finish, chocolate (in massive amounts) to be bought.

In the midst of all the bustle, I stop every now and again, thinking about that package and wondering what will be asked of me. And I try to find that part of myself that is brave and resolute. The part that whispers, “You can do this.”

Motivation in a cup: Valrhona hot chocolate at Oxford’s Grand Cafe

CHANTRESS cover

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chantress

I'm so happy to finally be able to share the beautiful cover of Chantress! The lovely Hafsah of Icey Books is hosting the official cover reveal at her blog. You can see the cover in its full glory there — where it's pretty much life-sized — and you can also enter to win an international giveaway of a Chantress ARC (Advance Reader Copy).

I'm also putting a smaller version of the cover below.  Sigh.  Isn't it beautiful?!

I'm hugely grateful to everyone at Simon and Schuster and McElderry Books who helped bring this cover to life, and particularly to the art director behind it, Michael McCartney.

Thankful Thursday – Summer 2012 edition

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family, garden, writing

This has been the busiest summer I can remember, a whirligig of days and hours that’s had me racing to keep up. But now the whirligig is spinning to a close, and I see that despite all the commotion, it’s been a beautiful season.

Here are some writing things I’m thankful for:

The page proofs for Chantress are done! (I always lose my mind over page proofs, and it’s good to have it back.)

The cover is beautiful and I’ll get to reveal it soon!

But as I sit here tonight, watching the summer night draw in, it’s the non-writing things from this summer that have the closest hold on my heart:

A joyful family wedding with music that still sings in my head

Seeing my whole family for the first time in over 2 1/2 years

Sweetpea learning to swim

Quiet nights stargazing in the backyard, marveling at the Milky Way

The hedgehog who snuffles through our garden on occasional evening wanderings

Dear friends who came thousands of miles to see us

The roses that have bloomed all summer long

What stands out about your summer? I’d love to hear.

Wordless Wednesday: Alice Day in Oxford 2012

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alice day, outings, Oxford

The Dodo at the Story Museum

Alice bemused by the Caucus Race

Our own Alice