Noo Yawk Comic Con!!!

For all you lucky devils out there in Manhattan standing in line to get into this year's NYCC, I have a treat for you!  My wonderful publisher, G. P. Putnam and Sons will be at the Penguin Books booth handing out advanced reader copies of ORLEANS for your reading pleasure!  Just head over to booth #921 and say "Hey Mister, throw me something!"  And when they stare at you blankly, just ask for the book.  Not everyone has been to Mardi Gras.

Have fun my fellow comic book geeks.  EXCELSIOR!

Because I am a nerd

And because it's the 46th anniversary of Star Trek!  Check out the Google doodle in honor of the auspicious occasion.  It's more than a drawing-- it's an adventure!  Move your mouse around the screen and click on the highlights.  If you stay on the bridge, you're not being adventurous.

Thank you, Google!  And thank you, Mr. Rodenberry.  Trek Rules!

My brain is on fire!

I usually do not post links to items for purchase.  If anything, I'll show you dreamy locations, usually full of books.  This is because I am not necessarily endorsing anything.

And yet...

I saw this map on etsy.com, and it set my brain on fire!

Courtesy of BlueWillowFox

It's a map of Never Never Land!  With directions!

Burned into a sheet of leather, it folds up to become a journal cover.  The impossibly clever artist behind BlueFoxWillow has just exploded my mind. 

As a little girl, I was obsessed with Peter Pan.  I owned a beautiful, midnight blue leather bound copy of the book and carried it around with me.  I was Tinkerbell for three Halloweens in a row (unheard of these days-- the minute Halloween passes, I'm onto the next costume idea)!  I named my dog, and a pony after characters from the books!  Obsessed!

And now, this map.  Thank you, BlueFoxWillow, for making the sort of magic I only dreamed of come to life.

I'm off to dig up my copy of Peter Pan.

At long last...

First came the storms.

Then came the Fever.

And the Wall.

After a string of devastating hurricanes and a severe outbreak of Delta Fever, the Gulf Coast has been quarantined. Years later, residents of the Outer States are under the assumption that life in the Delta is all but extinct . . . but in reality, a new, primitive society has been born.

Fen de la Guerre is living with the O-Positive blood tribe in the Delta when they are ambushed. Left with her tribe leader’s newborn, Fen is determined to get the baby to a better life over the wall before her blood becomes tainted. 

Fen meets Daniel, a scientist from the Outer States who has snuck into the Delta illegally. Brought together by chance, kept together by danger, Fen and Daniel navigate the wasteland of Orleans. In the end, they are each other’s last hope for survival.


In stores March 7, 2013.  Are you ready?  I am!   Three years in the making.  I hope you will think it was worth the wait!

Rest in Peace: Ray Bradbury

Couresy of Yahoo/AP 

Sad news this morning.  Wonderful, pioneering science fiction writer Ray Bradbury passed away yesterday at the age of 91.  Not too shabby, really.  Ninety-one years!  It's almost like being a time traveler, seeing the world change over the course of a century.

We've entered that time when the greats from my youth are passing.  Maurice Sendak, and now Mr. Bradbury.  It makes me want to take up the torch and write something astonishing in fiery letters fifty stories high.  High enough that they can be read from Mars, or Venus.

Everyone, go out and read yourself a copy of "All Summer in a Day."  That's Bradbury.  It stays with you.

Thank you, Mr. Bradbury, for the insight, entertainment, and education.  You will be missed.

Litfest Pasadena This Saturday!!!

Art by Peter Nye

Remember that new book festival I told you about back in March?  It was postponed due to rain.  But it's not raining any more!  Join me this Saturday, May 12, 2012 at Litfest Pasadena in Central Park on Raymond. 

I will be moderating a panel at 10:30 am entitled: YOUTH KNOWS NO BOUNDS: Breaking the Cliques and Clichés of Young Adult Literature with Cecil Castellucci, Ron Koertge, Blake Nelson, Lisa Yee, and Jessica Brody. 

We will signing books after the panel.  I hope to see you all there!

Goodnight, Mr. Sendak, Goodnight



From IN THE NIGHT KITCHEN by Maurice Sendak

Maurice Sendak passed away today.  He was 83 years old. 

How many of us grew up reading Sendak's work?  Were you haunted by the chefs in the night kitchen?  Did you dream of rolling your terrible yellow eyes?  Did you long for a suit made of batter?

I did.

Thank you, Mr. Sendak, for breathing life into our imaginations, and giving us twisted, magnificent, jungle-like dreams.

Thank you, and good night.