squeetus

Fall 2010, new from Shannon Hale...

Many have asked me what I'm currently working on now and when they can expect a new Shannon Hale work to come forth. I'm happy to announce that what I'm working on now will come to fruition as soon as this September!

This project has been a tough one for me. While books are often mentally and emotionally demanding, this particular project has been physically so. Sleepiness is common, general aches and such, as well as extreme nausea and vomiting. In the MFA program, they didn't warn me about the vomiting. You'd think I'd abandon this project and find a new one that allowed me to keep down my dinner, but that's never been my style. Once I start a project, I see it through the end. Especially this one. Oh most especially this one.

I should mention that this is in fact a collaboration between me and my husband Dean; but to be fair, although he has had some hand in this project, I am shouldering the brunt of the work. I can't really blame him. This particular project is one that requires more of my expertise and abilities. But secretly I believe that if given the opportunity to do more of the work, Dean would say, "No, no, really, you're so much better at it. I'll just sit here and be your support system." I should also mention that the other Hale, one Nathan, had no part in this collaboration. We love his work and his partnership, but this was a project Dean and I really needed to do alone.

About nine weeks into the project, as part of the research Dean and I consulted an expert on this topic and learned, much to our surprise, that the reason this particular project has been so much more physically taxing than the previous ones was because it is not one, but in fact, two. Well, slap me silly, I didn't see that one coming. Perhaps it's like my Daisy Danger dilemma--one long book with a slightly truncated story or a trilogy with a little more depth? Except with this project, it's not up to me to decide. "Congratulations!" people say. "Two! Well done!" But I can't take credit. Sometimes you control the projects, and sometimes they control you. I am not the master of this one--I am merely the host. And thank goodness it's not a trilogy.

I will keep you updated on the progress of the project. I can't name an exact release date yet, and am not yet even certain of the projects' genres let alone titles. And given the focus I'm putting on these projects, my other work and travel will likely slow down significantly. But some projects are just that important--masterpieces, life's work.  And all artists must bow to the whim of the Muse.

Contest winners abound in wit, skill, and good looks

The 2009 Cybils present a great list of reading material. I love the Cybils for how they balance high literary quality with entertainment and reader appeal. I hope to see this award continue for years to come and grow in prominence.

I'm a judge for the SLJ Battle of the Kids' books, and I've read my books, made my decision, and written my reasons. But I can't tell for a few weeks! (Ooh, now I have two secrets waiting to be revealed) Check out the brackets of contenders and judges, and vote for your favorite, giving it a chance to come back from the dead in the last round. Good fun.

And in all the life mania, I forgot to acknowledge the winner of the Rapunzel's Revenge book trailer contest! Yay Alysa! It was tough competition all around, but I think the humor and style pushed hers through. Well done. Please send me your mailing address at squeetus (at) g mail (dot) com. I'm slow, but I will get you your box o' books!

Pies and prizes

Dean and I are coming your way this weekend, Southern California! See my events page for details. I've had many requests to extend the tour to other areas of California and other states. I wish I could! That's not in my power. It's up to my publisher where I go, and I have to limit the tours overall due to the smallish children who inhabit my house.

Please keep voting on the rapunzel's revenge book trailer contestants through Feb 25. I am so glad I don't have to select the winner myself...however, I am in the hot seat for the actor and the housewife book club contest.

This was really, really hard. So many lovely, touching, funny, and just stand out entries. The photos were great. Many groups incorporated pies into their meeting. One group served all kinds of homemade pies--shepherd's pie, pizza pie, etc., as well as a dozen different desert pies. Another made pies then in the tradition of Becky Jack, delivered them to neighbors who just might need the comfort of a homemade pie. Sweet!

One group of ladies dressed as stereotypical housewives, with hairs in curlers, cream-on-face, bathrobes, etc., and above them hung a whale made of cardboard and construction paper (a book reference -- awesome!). Another had a potluck, and the menu was typical Mormon food.
Spaghetti
Funeral Poatoes
Green Jello with carrots and without
Sprite with Sherbet
Iceberg Salad (from a bag, served with Ranch)
Fruit Pie
Fruit Crisp
Lion House Rolls
Hawaiian Bread

This had me laughing. I love it! And seriously, funeral potatoes are SO good. They're called that because after a funeral, in Mormondom, the women in the neighborhood typically make a big lunch for the extended family of the deceased, and someone always tends to bring a cheesy, saucy potato casserole. But hey folks, don't wait for a death in the family to try this at home! And I happen to be a fan of Jello, but I can't eat it with the carrot shavings. Makes me gag.

So many invented great games and ideas to get everyone talking. I was touched by the discussion accounts and feel so grateful to have such open-hearted readers who were willing to go on this book journey with me, even when it wasn't quite what they expected, or in some cases, approved of.

And now the winner...because it was impossible for me to judge the actual book group meetings, I judged on presentation alone. And the entry from kategory.org was very clever. As Becky did in the book, each lady wrote up her own information, if it had appeared in the fictional celebrity magazine Exclusive! The pictures are darling and funny, and I laughed and felt like I knew you. Email me privately and I'll get your mailing address and send you those hard-earned book prizes!

Thanks, everyone who entered! You are all darling. Now I really want some pie...

On second thought, please do have a cow

Congrats to all the winners on this shiny, sparkly Newbery morning, but most especially to my book sister, my torso twin, my beloved Libba.

Newbery

“When You Reach Me,” written by Rebecca Stead.

Newbery Honor Books

“Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice” by Phillip Hoose

“The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate” by Jacqueline Kelly

“Where the Mountain Meets the Moon” by Grace Lin

“The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg” by Rodman Philbrick

Caldeoctt

“The Lion & the Mouse,” illustrated and written by Jerry Pinkney

Caldecott Honor Books

“All the World,” illustrated by Marla Frazee, written by Liz Garton Scanlon

“Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors,” illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski, written by Joyce Sidman

Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults

“Going Bovine,” written by Libba Bray

Printz Honor Books

“Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith” by Deborah Heiligman

“The Monstrumologist” by Rick Yancey

“Punkzilla” by Adam Rapp

"Tales of the Madman Underground: An Historical Romance, 1973” by John Barnes

For a full list of awards, see ala.org.

And thanks, all, for your insightful and oft times passionate thoughts on twitter! I did secure @haleshannon as someone suggested (shannonhale being taken by an apparent doppelganger), but haven't employed it yet, as I am still pondering.

Two! (count 'em--two) Contests!

I feel so noticed! The fabulous John Green (author of Looking for Alaska, etc.) blogged about my August 21 post, and then did anyone catch that Roger Sutton commented on the last post? He's the editor of Horn Book magazine. As professional reviewers both, I was fascinated with their point-of-view. And I think Roger's right--what qualifies as a "spoiler" can be different for everyone. And you need to be able to talk about the book's plot to some degree in a review. I have had professional reviews (as well as casual reviews) that revealed the ending of the book, such as including naming the murderer in a murder mystery, unmasking characters in disguise, and declaring late-book deaths. There may not be easy rules with regards to spoilers, but in my opinion, if an event takes place in the second half of the book or is a mystery the story revolves around, it's best not to reveal it.

Okay, so here's the subject-promised contest number 1:

the actor and the housewife in a bookclub near you! Read the actor and the housewife with your bookclub and then report the experience. I'll select the account that interests me the most (I know! Vague criteria!) and the winner will get a big ol' box of books, filled with my titles (signed) as well as others. Remember how exciting it was to go to school the day book orders came in? And getting that new stack of books? That's how it'll be. But even cooler. No real guidelines for this. You can write me an account, send me a link where you've posted photos, or make a video, or do any combination of the three. However you want. Shorter seems better, i.e. a 3000 word commentary or a 15 minute video can get boring. Email me the account (or link to it, if you post a video or a blog with photos), with the subject line "Actor and the Housewife contest" to squeetus (at) gmail (dot) com. Please no attachments. Contest runs through January 2010.

And on to contest number 2:

 Rapunzel takes her revenge! Create a book trailer for rapunzel's revenge, post it on youtube, and send me the link. Please put "Rapunzel Revenge contest" in the subject line and send to: squeetus (at) gmail (dot) com. No rules, but again, shorter is better (I recommend under 2 minutes), and of course, keep it clean. Contest runs through January 2010, the month the sequel, calamity jack, will be released! I announced this contest earlier, so let me clarify something: Marcus Aurelius made this fabulous trailer, but it is not entered into the contest, so don't worry that you're competing against his awesomness. The winner for this contest will be selected by popular vote. In January, I'll post links to all the entries. Again, the winner gets an amazing array of books, including many of my titles, all signed.

Have fun with these! I can't wait to see the entries.

Also, one more link--this is a blog kept by an illustrator father and his four kids. For their third anniversary, professional illustrators chose a drawing made by one of the kids and redid it in their own style. I love how the profressional illustrations celebrate rather than "correct." Really lovely. What great kiddos!

Mullet with headlights

I just peeked at Libba Bray's blog and saw a video link she posted that is so fabulous and is giving me wonderful flashbacks to our tour together. If you have 5 minutes to waste...and especially if you are a child of the 80s...it's worth checking out. (rated PG) Hysterical. I love you, Libba Bray! With a passionate love that will only end in ruin. And perhaps brownies.

To answer a couple of questions from the last blog post: This Saturday at the King's English (or really, at any book signing), will I sign books that people bring in?

The answer, for me, is always yes. I will sign any books you bring. But if you bring books from home to a signing at a book store, it's good manners to buy at least one book from the store. They're hosting the event, putting money into it, and their only take from it is book sales. It doesn't have to be one of my books, but I do ask that if you bring outside books, you support the book store by making a purchase. No one's going to check up on you, but I highly encourage it. Books don't have a high profit margin. A book store has to sell a lot of books to stay in business, and we NEED them to stay in business.

Another question: does this event have a theme? YES! Aprons and pies. You heard right. Wear an apron in solidarity to housewives everywhere and come eat pie. I'll give a book to the awesome person who dons the most fabulous apron. The King's English in Salt Lake City, Utah, 5 pm on June 13.

And now for news that's so exciting to me but probably won't really matter to anyone else (except my mom...hi Mom!)...the actor and the housewife is an Indie Next Pick for July! Indie Bound (formerly BookSense) is basically the United Federation of Independent Booksellers in the US (and Canada? I'm not sure about that...) Each month the booksellers select stand out titles to recommend to customers. This is a huge hug for the book and I'm so thrilled.

Boyfriend #7, enshrined in cotton

Wowee! Yee-ha! Cowabunga! rapunzel's revenge is an Eisner nominee in the teen/tween category! The Eisners are the Oscars of comic books/graphic novels. Dean especially is super-pumped, having been raised by wolves and comics, cutting his teeth on Eisner-winning tales. We'll be going to comic-con in San Diego this summer, where the winners will be announced. Here's the full list in our category:

Best Publication for Teens/Tweens
Coraline, by Neil Gaiman, adapted by P. Craig Russell (HarperCollins Children’s Books)
Crogan’s Vengeance, by Chris Schweizer (Oni)
The Good Neighbors, Book 1: Kin, by Holly Black and Ted Naifeh (Scholastic Graphix)
Rapunzel’s Revenge, by Shannon and Dean Hale and Nathan Hale (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)
Skim, by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki (Groundwood Books)

Also, I'll be at BookExpo America (BEA) in May. I was asked to host the ABC Dinner (Not a Dinner). The other speakers will be Mike Lupica and Katherine Paterson. (Would it be too much if I bowed to her? Because that would feel natural. Wow.) I'm so honored to be asked. I feel like the authors who get asked to do those things are the big name, A-list, top tier type, and I so don't feel like I belong. I've talked with other authors about this, how we're just waiting for it all to come crumbling down, for someone to say, "Wait, she's a fraud! Who let her in?"

One more pic from the Book Babe Event. Check out these awesome ladies in their austenland-themed shirts. Aren't they darling? Love it!

I cut my hair yesterday. I'ts to my jawline now. It was driving me crazy last weekend, so chop-chop. Part of the fun of being a girl.

One last thing--I donated a signed, hardcover, first edition, first printing of princess academy for the online auction. It's up now.

Lucky number 20 and 367

Sorry to draw out the suspense! I've been busy all day. I took a commentor's advice and used an online random number generator to select the winners.

20 - Danielle, who said "Eeeep!"
367 - Megan G., who said, "I was so excited to hear there would be another book in this series!"

Hooray for Danielle and Megan! Please email me at squeetus (at) gmail (dot) com. I'll need your mailing address and who you want the book signed to. Also if you're under 18, I'll need an email from your parent giving me your address. Let it be known that Shannon Hale does not solicit private information from minors! So let it be done.

Thanks for all your enthusiasm for this book. These giveaways are fun for me, but also kind of stressful because I feel so bad for everyone who expressed hope and passion about winning. I'm sorry about that. I wish I had 450 ARCs to give to everyone. The night after I posted the FB ARC giveaway, I had a long and vivid dream about how early readers of the book hated it and blogged about how horrible the book was (in great detail). I read these blogs and I called my publisher, begging them please not to publish it after all. I'm not a professional dream analyst, but I think there might be some buried anxiety there...

As a bit of salve for those hopeful who didn't win, here are some sneak peeks, in the form of lines I cut from forest born. [Edit: each paragraph is from a different part. They don't read as one continuous story. I think I confused some people!]

How young and sweet Enna and Isi had seemed, their faces simplified by the head wraps. Men especially had taken interest in their attention and questions. For other girls, Rin might have feared the greedy look in those men’s eyes, but last night she’d found herself fearing for the men.

"Don’t you all look at me like that,” said Isi, “or I’ll have to poke someone in the eyeball."

Rin curled up on the floor, her back hard against a straw pallet, and let herself cry the fear and anger and frustration out of her body. She cried as if all that poison inside her could well up and leave as tears. Then in that withered, numb state of all-cried-out, she sat up and decided.

“Rin?” Isi peeked into the antechamber. She was in her dressing gown, carrying a shielded candle. The light washed her pale face, yellow hair and white clothes in the same shade of gold. She looked like an image stamped on a coin, and her beauty at that moment made Rin hold her breath.

In the past, that would have been inviting, a chance to be still a moment, to listen and hum with the life of growing things, to feel her own thoughts go clear and bright like sunlight through poured water.

Great Galley Giveaway, round 2: Rin's Revenge

Guess what? There are still tickets available to the Book Babe Event in Mesa, Arizona on April 4. When the platinum level seats sold out the first hour, it appears many people thought the whole event was sold out. But fear not! There are tickets still available. This is going to be three hours of music, comedy, and art, including an author panel with eleven really cool authors (including very cool yours truly). We have a ton of amazing prizes to raffle (books, art, memorabilia), and Stephenie Meyer is going to auction some jaw-dropping stuff at the event only. All the proceeds go to help our friend and all around book babe, Faith Hochhalter, in her fight with cancer. Everybody who attends the event will walk away with, at the very least, a signed book from someone on the author panel. Some of you will walk away with much more.

There will also be an online auction separate from the event, which will open any day. I've added an item that I will be auctioning: an ARC of forest born. Yes, I now have more than one copy in my hot little hands and I intend to use them well. So in celebration I'm going to give away TWO copies to my blog readers. You heard right! What do you have to do to enter? Just post a comment on this blog post. In four days, again I'll have Dean randomly give me two numbers, and those commenters will win the book, which of course I'll sign to you. No age limit for participants, but if you're a minor, I will need to get your mailing address from your parent/guardian.

To give you something to talk about, I'll reveal for the first time the cover for forest born. (In the US anyway, I haven't seen the UK cover yet.) There will be no Alison Jay cover. I am very sorry about that. I know that many of you collect the books in hardcover and this one won't match. Fingers crossed that you still like this cover for what it is. Ta-da!

Cybil-icious

Hooray! Thanks to the children's and YA bloggers of the Cybils who awarded rapunzel's revenge with a big cyber kiss. The judges said, “What made this book stand out to the judges was that it takes a well-known story and does something recognizable, but unique, creating an adventure which readers of both sexes can enjoy. Those readers will get swept up in the rawness of the emotions presented. The art is bright and leaps from the pages, but the images don’t overshadow the story or mask weaknesses in the plot. The story and images carried the weight equally, were well-paced, engaging, and generally solid.”
Nominated by Elizabeth.

Saludos to this mysterious Elizabeth out there somewhere! Thank you, dear.

Here's the complete list of winners:

Easy Readers

I Love My New Toy, by Mo Willems (Should there just be a Mo Willems Award?)

Fantasy & Science Fiction

Middle Grade

The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman (confirming the Newbery committee's excellent choice!)

Young Adult

The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins (Huzzah!)

Fiction Picture Books

How to Heal a Broken Wing, by Bob Graham (must read...)

Graphic Novels

Elementary/Middle Grade

Rapunzel's Revenge, by Shannon Hale and Dean Hale, illustrated by Nathan Hale (no relation)

Young Adult

Emiko Superstar, by Mariko Tamaki, illustrated by Steve Rolston (Oh DC, why did you cancel the MINX line? Why?)

Middle-Grade Fiction

The London Eye Mystery, by Siobhan Dowd (must read...)

Non-Fiction MG/YA

The Year We Disappeared: A Father-Daughter Memoir, by Cylin Busby and John Busby (Cylin also edited the First Kiss, Then Tell anthology that Dean and I contributed to)

Non-Fiction Picture Books

Nic Bishop Frogs, written and illustrated by Nic Bishop (must read...)

Poetry

Honeybee, by Naomi Shihab Nye (must read list getting longer...)

Young Adult Fiction

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, by E Lockhart (how have I not read this yet?)

On behalf of winner Mo Willems, Elephant and Piggie responded:

Jack and Rapunzel had something to say as well (click to view larger):

I've said it before, but the Cybils are my favorite awards (and it's not just because in three years two of my books have won...it's not...really, I'm serious...it's almost not...). They combine literary quality with reader appeal, and come up with an unbeatable reading/shopping list. Really, all the finalists in each category are so fantastic, I don't know how the judges manage to come up with this list. But I'm thrilled to be on it. And seeing The Hunger Games there in the same category book of a thousand days won last year makes me feel tripley honored.

The weiners

Wow. So I said "galley giveaway" and you said, "Bring it!" Consider it brung. I'm going to try and get more ARCs to do more giveaways next month. And now the big reveal. The completely random winners whose numbers were selected by Dean are...

4 -- Katie of bluestocking.org
316 -- Jean who wrote about a Readers Choice book

If Katie and Jean would kindly email me at squeetus (@) gmail (dot) com with your mailing address I'll send you an ARC! Please let me know who you'd like me to sign it to and if you're under 18. Do write back after you've read it and let me know what you thought. And if you feel so inclined to burn the book, I'd appreciate it if you'd let me know in advance so we can attend and roast marshmellows.

In the past 4 days, I've heard from two people who have read this book. So exciting! After my week of worry, the response was so delightful I wanted to share.

The first, Cathy from Blue Willow Bookshop in Houston, Texas, wrote: "I got the ARC yesterday at work and, after dinner, got the kids into bed, cleaned the kitchen (sort of), and picked up the ARC, intending to read only a few pages before going to sleep.  "Ha!"  Couldn't put it down and read the entire book in one sitting -- the heck with tomorrow... I kept bursting out laughing, startling my husband, and then began weeping (he kindly passed the kleenex) and then began reading furiously, knowing it was getting late, but having to finish the book. Well, now it's tomorrow and I'm sitting in front of the computer, bleary eyed but happy, thinking about Becky and Felix and Mike and the hairless cat.  Smiling to myself over some of my favorite lines ("We don't eat gravel, Sam.  We are not chickens.") and knowing that this sleep-deprived day was totally worth it."

Wow, thank you, Cathy! That gravel line, I said that to my 18-month-old daughter one day when we were outside, then I rushed inside and wrote it down and later put it in the book. It was so fun to write a contemporary book about another mother so I could share some of my personal experiences with her.

The second response is kind of cheating because it's from my sister Jessica, who has read all my books multiple times. She might be my biggest fan, bless her heart. She told my mom, "Oh my gosh. This is Shannon's best book. I was hooked from the very beginning. Just the emotions...it was so moving, and I was laughing, and then crying, then laughing. I can't stop thinking about it. I love this book."

Wow, thank you, Jessica! Don't let me forget I have that DVD I borrowed from you. Let's rent Ghost Town on Thursday, okay? Also, I don't smell. I don't. So stop accusing me of that. Really, I wear deodorant. And shower and everything. And I took an informal poll and other people don't think I smell. Unless they were being nice.

All kinds of nice news

rapunzel's revenge is an ALA Notable Children's Book (and the only graphic novel on that prestigious list, as far as I could tell--what an honor!) and a YALSA Great Graphic Novel for Teens. Yippee! Love those librarians. Wow. I'm just beaming. It's fantastic when as a writer you leave the comfort zone and take a risk and pour lots of love and hope into a book, and then to see it honored by The Wise...wow. I'd like to thank my publisher and my husband, Dean...okay, shutting up.

rapunzel's revenge is also a teenreads.com and kidsread.com best book of the year! Vote for your five favorite books of the year and help select the Children's Choice Book Awards. Love those awards that let the readers speak up.

river secrets is a 2009 YALSA Popular Paperback for Young Adults. Nice! I've learned that Bloomsbury will be releasing a boxed set of the first three books of Bayern in paperback when forest born comes out in hardcover. My first boxed set...if only my mother could see me now. (She can't because she's at her house right now and doesn't have super-sight.) book of a thousand days will also be out in paperback this September and sporting a new cover, which I haven't seen yet. And I just got a hot-off-the-press ARC (advance reading copy) for the actor and the housewife, so those will start popping up here and there. So, two hardcover releases, one paperback release, and one boxed set... 2009 is shaping up to be a crazy year for me. Bring it on, I say. Bring it!