Category: announcement

Finally!! 1 Big Announcement Revealed!

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Hi, all!

I’ve been promising an announcement for some time and TODAY’S THE DAY! I absolutely can’t hold it in any longer. 🙂 I wanted to do it via vlog, but I have a cold and sound like Snuffleupagus! LOL. So I’ll do my very best to convey my CRAZY excitement via blog!

I’ve been holding onto this news for months and oh, my, it has been SO hard not to spill!! Only a handful of close friends know and I’m thrilled to finally be able to tell everyone else.

So . . . back in December, I signed a new book contract!!

Actually, a 4-book series contract with my ever-so-amazing publisher, Simon & Schuster.

The series, currently untitled, is a chapter book series for kids ages 6-9 (roughly) and it is my first EVER time writing fantasy!

What kind of fantasy? How about one centered around unicorns? 🙂 It felt like such a natural step to take after Canterwood and it has been So. Much. Fun. I’ve written the first book and had a blast doing so. The series will be edited by the awesome Alyson Heller at Aladdin. I’m thankful to Fiona Simpson for her interest and notes early on. Also, huge thanks to Kate Angelella for helping talk this project through and flesh out concepts.

Alyson is just as excited as I am about all things magic, unicorn-related, and did I mention, princess-y?

The main character is a princess and writing as a princess made me want to move to a castle, LOL.

 The entire world is superfun and magical! I can’t wait to share it with you!

Of course, not everything in the books are sparkly and happy. Evil creatures, including some baaad unicorns roam the lands.

Ultimately, the series is about a girl and her unicorn–her best friend. They’re about to embark on some amazing adventures together.

The first two books in the series have a tentative publication date of summer 2014.

Yaaaaaay, unicorns!!! 😀 I’m so, SO glad I finally got to share and hope you’re as excited as I am.

For those of you who might remember me stating that I have multiple announcements–that’s still true! I can’t say anything about the other surprise yet, but I will the second I’m able! It’s thrilling in a completely new way. 🙂

I’ve been collecting unicorn stuff since I made the book deal and I’ll be sure to snap pix and post them on Facebook and Twitter of what I’ve got. If YOU have anything unicorn related, I want to see it!

Happy weekend, all!

xoxo

Important! Not to be missed announcement!

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Wow. This is perhaps the most difficult blog post I’ve had to write in a while.

Team Canterwood, I learned news today that is official as of a few moments ago. It’s news that you, my readers who have stuck by my side since Take the Reins debuted in January 2009, deserve to hear first.


The Canterwood Crest series will end with the super special Home for Christmas. My publisher, the sales team, and many other people weighed in on this decision and thought carefully about it for a while. They love the series and it was a very hard decision, but they came to the conclusion that it was time to close the final chapter of Canterwood.

I JUST got off the phone call and learned the answer myself, so I’m in a state of shock/saddness/excitement about future projects. I’m feeling a million emotions!

But more than anything, I’m thinking about YOU. Each of you. I promise to give the last books all that I have and to make books that you will read and, hopefully, feel satisfied when you finish the final installment in this journey we’ve been on together.

I think back to Sasha. Jacob. Eric. Charm. The Trio. They hold such a huge piece of my heart. I will always be grateful to Alyssa Henkin who contacted me about Take the Reins and sold it and future books to Simon & Schuster.

I’m now thinking of Lauren, Drew, Taylor, Brielle, Ana, Riley, Clare, Cole and the New Class. Editor K and I will come up with the best possible send off for these characters. (Who knows–you might even see the old gang pop up.) 🙂

My deepest thanks to everyone at Simon & Schuster who went on this ride with me especially Bethany, Mara, Fiona, Alyson, Jess H, Nicole, Vanessa, Stephanie, Craig, Dawn, Lucille, Russell, Karin, Katherine, and Courtney.

Endless gratitude to Kate Angelella for wanting four books and ending up with waaay more! The series continued because of your vision and dedication. I would have been writing this letter long ago had it not been for you. <333

Okay. So, that’s officially announced and we have books to embrace before it ends! I’m ready for COMEBACK to hit shelves within a week. Then we have PERFECT which is going to be awesome. And finally, we will say goodbye to the world of Canterwood in HOME FOR CHRISTMAS.

I love you all and thank you for supporting the series as much as you have.

xx

*Big* announcement!

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I can FINALLY make the announcement I’ve been wanting to share!

….

The Canterwood Crest series was optioned for a TV series or TV movie!!!

For real!

In February, I got an email from a producer at Breakthrough Entertainment who said she’d like to discuss the books. I passed her info to Agent A and they immediately started talking. While I waited, I tried not to get too excited because I knew how slim the chances were to have this email lead to a yes.

But it did! Cross your fingers that you’ll one day see Canterwood on-screen! I’m so grateful to have this option and thank you sooo much to everyone involved.

Yaaay! 🙂

Quick announcement

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Just a note that I’ve got Class of 2k8 author Kristin Tubb on my blog tomorrow. She’s super-funny and I had a great time interviewing her. 🙂

BEHIND THE BIT status update:

Word count: 28,456

Date started: 10/10

Number of times I used “grinned:”11

Number of times I used “smiled:” 34. Uh oh…must fix.

National Novel Writing Month: Day 10 & Announcement

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Finally! Saturday and a few uninterrupted hours to type! I went to a craft fair this morning with my mom and it just made me feel bad that I’m not a crafty person. Seriously, we saw some stuff I couldn’t even begin to make.

How’s everyone’s typing coming? I managed to get in 1900 words yesterday and I’m hoping for the same or more today. I love seeing my little pie graph fill in the more I type and chart on the NaNo progress report. 🙂

I’m also making a small announcement today. Starting next year, I’m going to be doing video podcasts (when the situation arises) with quick segments of what it’s like to be a debut author. From calls with agents, to stacks of paper drafts I’ve amassed, to visiting the local bookstores (chains and indies), to getting ARCs, deciding on giveaways, going to book fairs, etc. I want to take you all with me on this insane, exciting journey! I’m going to tape the most important moments and start a new section of the blog on the sidebar. So, in January of 2008, look for DIARY OF A DEBUT AUTHOR videos.