crawling out of the hole...

Christine (of Boulder Bookstore) and me and Victoria Hanley (author of Violet Wings) at our reading last week. A big thanks to those of you who came out to see us!

Hey everyone!

I just turned the revision of The Ruby Notebook into my editor! Whew! I spent the last two weeks trying to get it finished by the deadline (and I managed, with my mom's help, to get it in only a few hours late!) So... if you wrote me an email in the past two weeks and haven't heard back yet, that's why. (Sorry.) I'm trying to catch up with everything now.

I just found out that Delacorte will be giving a new cover look to the Notebooks series. So far I've seen the new covers for the first two books (Indigo and Ruby). Still waiting on Jade. I really like the new covers-- they're photographic and feature girls on the front, but from a back view, which is nice-- that way you can imagine their faces how you like. I don't think I'm supposed to show you the covers yet, but as soon as I can, I will!

Let's see... so now, after I recover from late nights working on the revision (and a nasty little cold), I'm going to refocus on The Queen of Water-- the memoir I wrote with my Ecuadorian friend Maria Virginia Farinango, which comes out in Spring 2011. We still have to revise it, which I'm actually looking forward to-- it's been over a year since I've delved into it!

Also on my plate is starting The Jade Notebook, which is set in a beach town in Oaxaca, Mexico. My husband and I will be taking a much needed Mexico beach vacation in a few weeks (my parents will be staying with Lil Dude here in Ft Collins. Thanks, Mom and Dad!) I'm hoping the trip will put me in the mood for jumping into Jade...

A few nice bits of news:

School Library Journal gave The Indigo Notebook this lovely review!

"Gr 6-9–This is a family and friendship story turned adventure tale with a touch of romance and an even slighter hint of fantasy. Zeeta, 15, wishes most of all that her mother would settle down so that they could have a regular life, rather than moving her from country to country, quoting the Sufi poet Rumi at every opportunity, and getting involved with eccentric, irresponsible men. As they arrive at their latest destination, a small town in the mountains of Ecuador , Zeeta meets Wendell, an American boy in search of his birth parents. When she agrees to help him in his quest, she becomes involved in a mysterious and ultimately dangerous adventure. As the suspense heats up and becomes more intense, Zeeta’s mother is engaged in her own adventure: a relationship with a man who wants her to settle down and become responsible. The change in Layla forces Zeeta to question what she values about her mother, and whether she really wants that suburban lifestyle after all.

Well plotted, with a cast of likable and interesting secondary characters and a powerfully atmospheric setting that includes a cave of crystals and a waterfall supposed to have magical powers, this novel succeeds at creating a believable and touchingly gentle romance between Zeeta and Wendell. The fantastic element, Wendell’s inherited gift of seeing into the future, is deftly handled. An entertaining and suspenseful read."

Yay! I'm glad she mentioned the plotting. Writing this Notebook series has required me to focus more on plotting than in my other books. In the Notebooks, there are mysteries (actually Ruby has TWO mysteries)... which means I have to think carefully about what info is revealed when, and all kinds of other details of mystery writing.

On a different note, Red Glass was selected as one of the Top Five Most Impressive Multi-cultural Young Adult Novels of 2009 by Marjolein Balm on the American Book Center blog. What an honor! Marjolein also posted a great review of What the Moon Saw on her young adult book blog. She calls the book "magical and inspiring." Thank you, Marjolein!

Another blog review from Read Arizona says The Indigo Notebook "would make a fabulous read over the holidays." :-)

If you know anyone in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area, please tell them to come to my book signing on Monday, December 7 at 6:30 at Pooh's Corner. (I'll be visiting family there for a few days. Lil Dude and I will ride the Polar Express-- needless to say, he's over the moon!)

I'll be announcing the winners of the Ultimate YA contest and my own contest soon-- the deadline for entries just passed. I'll try to post the winning entry soon (and send out the signed copies of Indigo soon!)

Hope you all had a scrumptious Thanksgiving!

xoxo
Laura

Colorado bookstore event pics

Hey, everyone,

Hope you had a good weekend! Ours was snowy, with winter storm warnings in effect most of the weekend... and of course, this is the weekend I had three bookstore visits scheduled. ;) The audiences were small but enthusiastic and fun.

Here I am at the Tattered Cover in Denver with Lisa (picture above). (I'm holding a pretty silver TC bookmark that they gave me!) I'm bummed that I forgot to take more pics. Some of the readers/writers who came were Denise Vega-- the great YA author of Fact of Life #31 and her latest, Access Denied-- and some girls who were fans of Red Glass (especially of Angel!). It was fun to meet Irena in person-- we've corresponded a bit over email. And it was great to see Bessana again, whose mother--daughter book club I visited earlier this year.

Here (below) I am at Anthology Bookstore in Loveland with another Laura and Bridget. They had their monthly night on the town that night, and the town looked lovely with the holiday lights twinkling.


And here we are again with Greth on the right in a purple butterfly shirt. Notice how everyone but me is wearing some shade of indigo?


If you're wondering what weird contraption I'm wearing, it's a sweater-cape-- one piece-- I love it but it's not exactly practical since it becomes unwound easily and drags... nevertheless, it's cozy and good for wintry nights.

There's a new interview with me posted on the Ultimate YA group website. Also, remember that they're holding a contest to win a free, signed copy of The Indigo Notebook.

And remember, I'm holding a contest as well -- see the random- fun-and-travel section of my website for details. The deadlines for these contests are quickly approaching!

A little heads up-- I won't be online much for the next two weeks, since I'll be holing up and finishing The Ruby Notebook revision... so, my apologies in advance for any delays answering emails and lack of blog posts. Thanks! Wish me luck!

xoxo
Laura

BLT review and guest post

Hey everyone!

Hope you're having a good day. My morning has been groggy-- Toddler woke up at 5:50. Ugh. I don't like waking up in pitch darkness.

Morgan of the blog BLT (Books and Literature for Teens-- a teen-run blog) featured a great review of The Indigo Notebook yesterday, and will be posting a guest blog post of mine today. It's sort of a mini travelogue (with pics!) of my Ecuador trips. Enjoy!

I had fun at a writing workshop for kids and teens last night at the Berthoud Library... always inspiring to be around creative spirits. There were more guys than girls in this group, and they made me wonder if I should include more explosions and swords in my books. ;)

Hmm. I realize I'm too groggy to write more... I haven't even had my tea yet this morning.

I'll do that now. Have a lovely day!

Laura

Real quick, before my TV interview...

Hi everyone,

Okay, I have eight minutes before I have to get ready for a TV interview this afternoon. It's with our local TV station-- a show called Bookends that features interviews with local authors. I'll see if I can post it on Youtube, and if so, I'll give you a link (well, if I don't do anything super-embarrassing during the interview, that is...)

I finished the revision of The Ruby Notebook today, which felt good. I still have a LOT of polishing to do before it's in shape for my editor to see it.

Real quick, a few news items: Ultimate YA is doing a fun giveaway -- a signed, personalized copy of Indigo. All you have to do is comment about your dream destination and you'll be in the pool for the contest. Go here, then click on the giveaway link. Also, if you want to read some *fun facts* about me that Ultimate YA is featuring, go here.

Finally, mark your calendars for the evening of Nov 3o. There'll be a readergirlz homecoming-- you can chat with a bunch of authors (me included!) Here's the info the readergirlz divas sent me about it:

Participating authors: Coe Booth, Dia Calhoun, Janet Lee Carey, Cecil Castelucci, Justina Chen, Rachel Cohn, Holly Cupala, Liz Gallagher, Nikki Grimes, Lorie Ann Grover, Ellen Hopkins, Sarah Miller, Mary Pearson, Mitali Perkins, Dana Reinhardt, Laura Resau, Melissa Walker, Ellen Emerson White, Rita Williams-Garcia, and Sara Zarr. (Wow!)

The chat (6:00 Pacific Time/9:00 Eastern Time) will be held at the readergirlz blog . At the top of the hour a chat window will go live. All you have to do is start typing comments in the box. No codes, no passwords needed—it’s easy! The chat goes VERY VERY fast. Consider it one big party, an informal bash, with lots of people all talking at once.

And here's the fancy logo...


Hope you join us! (And wish me luck on this TV interview... I'm going to try not to let my hands fly around too much, or jiggle my foot too much, or let that pesky lock of hair fall over my eyes too much... AND try not to say anything stupid-- quite a task ahead.)

xoxo
Laura

Johnny Cash and new reviews

Hey everyone,

So, this week was a really good one for my Ruby Notebook revising. It's funny how sometimes listening to certain music over and over and over again as you write can put you in a creative groove. This week I have Johnny Cash to thank.

I listened to the album (I think it's a "Best of" album) all week long. At times I felt embarrassed (even though I had no witnesses) and I tried to switch to something more fitting... like French music, since the book is set in France... but my creative unconscious would have none of that. It wanted Johnny Cash, even though Johnny Cash tunes would be the absolute last thing you'd think of for a soundtrack to this book.

Hmmm... I did just make a connection as I wrote this... several of the main characters have the initials J.C.-- and those initials are actually a part of the plot. Verrrrry interesting...

Anyway, on to other things... some reviews that made me smile. Marjolein of Marjolein's YA Book Blog wrote a lovely review of Red Glass, which she calls "a book you want to read over again many times!" Thanks, Marjolein!

I also came across a Flamingnet review of The Indigo Notebook that I loved-- and best of all, it was written by a teen! Those reviews are especially meaningful to me. (Flamingnet.com features teen reviews.) Here's an excerpt:

"Full of stunning details, whimsical characters, and tropical air, The Indigo Notebook was exciting to read and has become a favorite that I will enjoy reading again... Zeeta’s quest for Handsome Magazine Dad and Wendell’s shocking discovery about his parents is enough give you the night owl bug and keep you reading nonstop. I really enjoyed reading something that was set somewhere besides high school and be able to travel through a book.

The Indigo Notebook is a great book for teens not only because of its lovable characters or its excitingly exotic backdrop, but for the sense of life it gives to its message of being content and pursing your dreams. Overall, I loved the colorful and refreshing story of understanding your heart that The Indigo Notebook had to offer. I hope you get a chance to read it soon!"

Thank you, Flamingnet reviewer!

I'm in my favorite cafe now, and the sunset out the window is spectacular-- pink and orange clouds... and the traffic lights have that surreal glow that they get near dusk. Toddler enjoys discussing dusk. "Mommy! Mommy! Almost dusk! Pretty clouds! Pink! Look, Mommy! Moon!" He also enjoys observing dawn, which he calls "yawn." "Mommy! Mommy! Almost yawn!" (We are always up well before dawn, especially after the time change last week.)

Okay, thanks for reading!!

xoxo
Laura

Booklist Review of Indigo

Hello everyone,

I'm at my favorite cafe eating Mexican chocolate cake-- it has a touch of cinnamon and cayenne in it-- very tasty. I worked hard at home all day long on my revisions for Ruby, then lay down for a catnap on the sofa, smack in the middle of the sunshine coming through the window. I felt like a cat-- or how I imagine cats must feel, just soaking up sunshine and not really thinking about anything, just enjoying the warmth and the way the sunlight looks reddish-orange behind my eyelids.

Another review of The Indigo Notebook came in-- another nice one, this time from ALA Booklist:

"After 15 countries in 15 years, roaming the world with her free-spirited mother, Zeeta regrets that it’s “too late now for a normal home, normal family, normal childhood.” At their new home in Ecuador , she agrees to help Wendell, an American boy who has come in search of his birth parents. Just when a near-death experience sends her mother reeling toward “normal,” Zeeta veers off in the opposite direction: she looks to her unconventional upbringing for wisdom and support as she and Wendell uncover old secrets and find themselves in mortal danger. Observant, aware, and occasionally wry, Zeeta’s first-person narration will attract readers and hold them. Not all will find the magical elements woven into the story satisfying, but some will find them enchanting. The romance starts almost imperceptibly and builds gradually, believably throughout the novel. Resau, the author of What the Moon Saw (2006) and Red Glass (2007), offers another absorbing novel with a Latin American setting." -- Carolyn Phelan

Hopefully you, dear reader, will be one of the people who finds the magic *enchanting.* In fact, I'll give you an imaginary piece of Mexican chocolate cake if you do. I've learned about the beauty of pretending through Toddler. Fairly often, like every ten minutes, he has wishes I can't grant. "Mommy! Mommy! I want look train!" "Mommy! Mommy! I want go airplane whoosh sky!" And my response is, "Let's close our eyes and PRETEND we see a train." "Let's close our eyes and PRETEND we're on an airplane." He squinches up his eyes and pretends, and this makes him happy. His "pretending" face cracks me up-- his face all wrinkled up in concentration.

Speaking of Toddler, time for me to pick him up from daycare!

A quick reminder-- there are all kinds of interesting things happening at Random Buzzers this week in celebration of The Indigo Notebook. (Just scroll down to get to the Indigo section.) You can design Ecuador postcards and other stuff, and get points for it, and then trade in your points... and they're often doing book giveaways there... seems like they do a new book every week or so.

And remember, if you're into contests and creative writing, you should enter my own contest-- see the fun and travel section of my website for details. The prize is a signed, personalized copy of Indigo, and the deadline is in December.