Happy SECRET UNDERGROUND Day!

I am over the moon to celebrate a book birthday today.

THE SECRET UNDERGROUND by my dear friend and critique partner, Natalie Bahm, is officially released today.

YAY!

*pops champagne*

*throws confetti*

*dances like a rock star*

Natalie is one of the sweetest people I've ever met, and generous too. So generous that she's donating all proceeds from her book sales to charity.

So, PLEASE, check out her new middle grade novel and order your copy today! 
Get it on Amazon by clicking here

Read more about the story behind this book in a post with Natalie and her agent, Sara Megibow, from The Nelson Agency.  

HUGE CONGRATS to Natalie! I'm so proud of you!

GIVEAWAY ALERT!!! 
Leave a comment below (with your email) and celebrate with us!
I'm going to pick a couple lucky winners to receive THE SECRET UNDERGROUND gifted to them from me through Amazon.

Best Secret Ever

I'm about to share the best secret ever.
This secret is dirty, fun, exciting, and it helps a very precious cause. Also, it involves one of my good friends and critique partners, Natalie Bahm.
If I tell you this secret you have to promise to tell EVERYONE you know.

Ready?

*whispers*
THE SECRET UNDERGROUND.

I am so excited to help spread the word about Natalie's awesome book that is releasing September 28, 2012. Here's a bit about it:

Twelve-year-old Ally is the only witness to a bank robbery in her small town. Unable to block out the memory of the robbers, a notorious gang known as the Gauze Men, Ally joins her little brother and a bunch of neighborhood boys digging a hole in her backyard.

Only the hole isn't just a hole - it's a massive set of tunnels snaking beneath the neighborhood and heading for an abandoned steel mill. Ally is old enough to know the danger, but she reasons spending time with sixth-grade heartthrob Paul is more fun than sitting at home with her worries. And dangerous it is - none of the kids' parents realize the tunnels exist, but the Gauze Men might.

Cool, huh? I've read it. It's beyond cool.
I know you want to add it to your MUST READ shelf on Goodreads, so here's the link.

Here's one of the best parts about Natalie's release--she is donating all proceeds to a precious little boy named Jayden. I could go on and on about how sweet this is, and how I wish I could win Powerball so I could send Jayden's family a million bucks or two, and that Nat is the most giving person ever for using her talent to help Jayden and his family, but Nat has created a beautiful trailer that tells the story much better than I ever could. Please take a couple minutes to watch.


I still tear up every time I watch it.
Want to help Baby Jayden and get a really fabulous book for your collection? Please pre-order Natalie's book on Amazon or Apple.

Bloggers and reviewers, want to read it early? Go to Netgalley and request an ARC.

An amazing book by an amazing person that will help an amazing cause. What more could you ask for?

Summer Shenanigans

This summer has been very busy for me, and it's about to get busier.

I'm leaving for the RWA conference this Wednesday, and I'm proud to say I'll be signing at the epic "Readers for Life" Literacy Autographing event at the Anaheim Convention Center. It's free and open to the public, so if you live in the area come stop by and get some great books signed by some great authors. There's like 400 authors signing! Can you say nervous? (I'm beyond nervous.)

As soon as I get back from RWA, I'll be moving into a new home. Yay! (Don't even get me started on all the "stuff" that goes along with moving.)

I also have not one, but TWO sequels to write. And a short story. All while keeping up with emails and tweets and Facebook messages. Oh, and all those other tedious tasks that go along with living a semi-normal life.

So, my blog will be very quiet for the next month or two. I'm sure most of you understand and wrestle with the same stress, pressure, and responsibilities, so I won't ramble anymore. I need to get back to writing. These books don't write themselves.

Have a wonderful summer!

COVERS BY ALEXANDRA

My good friend, Alexandra, just launched her new cover design website. Go check it out and look at all the cool/pretty/awesome covers she created. She has pre-made covers available or she can do a custom design for you.If you need a book cover, she's your girl. Her prices are more than reasonable and she's easy to work with. I know because she was the cover artist for Grasping at Eternity. Here's a fun post about she created my cover.

She will also be doing the covers for the rest of The Kindrily series, and I can't wait to share them because they look amazing in my mind, and Alexandra knows how to make my vision a reality.

She has already been contracted to do a cover for a well-known publisher, so I know it's a sign of many more to come. I suggest hiring her before she becomes huge and famous.

If you have a second, please "like" her Facebook page.
And be sure to check out her website!

TO SUM IT UP

Author Shannon Hale stirred up a lot of controversy with her two recent posts about traditional vs. self-publishing. If you want to know how I feel about the issue you can read my previous post: I Have a Dream.

I'm not going to add to the uproar about Shannon's posts. Instead, I'd like to reply with some visual displays of my own beliefs about how I wish authors, readers, agents, editors, publicists, bloggers, and any other book related folk could interact with each other and coexist.

***lots of cool, artistic, positive message pics used to be in this post but due to the recent lawsuits for using photos on blogs I took them down.***

That is all.

IT'S ALL SUBJECTIVE

As humans,

As writers, why do we let negativity affect us so much?

Why can one negative remark stick with us, upset us, deflate us, ruin our mood or even our whole day?

Why is that we can receive dozens of compliments and not obsess over any of them, but when a stranger says something negative we let it fester?

I don’t have the answer.

But as an author who has my beloved stories “out there” for strangers to love or hate, I have developed a cardinal rule, a mantra, a declaration that every writer/artist/human should keep in mind at all times: You can’t please everyone.

You can’t. I promise you; YOU CAN’T.

Stop trying. Stop worrying about the people who don’t like what you’re doing, saying, or writing. Readers have different tastes and expectations. Over six billion people exist on this planet. That’s A LOT of opinions. Don’t focus on the people who don’t like you, your book, or whatever. They are entitled to their opinion--even if it’s negative.

Focus on the positive. Focus on what makes you happy and keep doing it. Authors, embrace each and every tweet, email, review, or comment from readers who say they loved your book. Let those comments be the ones you replay in your mind as you go to sleep each night. Focus on the positive. Brush off the negative.

Art is subjective. Life is subjective. Opinions are subjective. Books are most certainly subjective. Go read reviews of the most popular book you can think of, I assure you, there will be people who didn’t like it. It’s normal. It’s expected. It’s a given. Because it’s all subjective.

Every writer has been through this struggle--or will at some point in their career. We all take the negative comments to heart--even though we shouldn’t. Maybe it’s because we put so much heart, soul, and passion into our writing. When someone says our heart, soul, and passion is crap; it hurts like hell.

I know. I get it. I’ve been there. I still occasionally read a negative review and reach for a cocktail to help me cope, but then I remember my number one rule. I repeat my mantra.

I can’t please everyone.

Then I reread fan mail and positive reviews, and focus on the proof that many people out there DO love my work. Those readers make this crazy roller coaster ride of writing the best and most rewarding thing I’ve ever done. Haters and all.