Win THE FINE ART OF PRETENDING and INFINITE REPEAT!

Hi guys! Happy holiday weekend to those of you for whom that applies. Happy regular weekend to everybody else.

So last month I was lucky enough to meet Rachel Harris as part of the Mighty Mississippi Book Blast!

Team MMBB-Texas with blogger Sara S!

I love Rachel and her books a lot. See:

My first blurb (as my pen name): for A TALE OF TWO CENTURIES :)

I've already gotten to read her upcoming release THE FINE ART OF PRETENDING, and I loved that too! See:

What's it about? Well, it has a few similarities my own book, THE ART OF LAINEY (no wonder I loved it! Ha, just kidding...mostly :D), but they are definitely two totally different stories. Here's more about TFAOP:

According to the guys at Fairfield Academy, there are two types of girls: the kind you hook up with, and the kind you’re friends with. Seventeen-year-old Alyssa Reed is the second type. And she hates it. With just one year left to change her rank, she devises a plan to become the first type by homecoming, and she sets her sights on the perfect date—Justin Carter, Fairfield Academy’s biggest hottie and most notorious player.

With 57 days until the dance, Aly launches Operation Sex Appeal and sheds her tomboy image. The only thing left is for Justin actually to notice her. Enter best friend Brandon Taylor, the school’s second biggest hottie, and now Aly’s pretend boyfriend. With his help, elevating from “funny friend” to “tempting vixen” is only a matter of time.

But when everything goes according to plan, the inevitable “break up” leaves their friendship in shambles, and Aly and Brandon with feelings they can’t explain. And the fake couple discovers pretending can sometimes cost you the one thing you never expected to want.

Because Rachel is awesome, she has given me a signed ARC of THE FINE ART OF PRETENDING to give away to one lucky winner!

And because I love giveaways, I'm going to throw in some extra prizes, including a copy of my latest release, the e-novella INFINITE REPEAT. This is a prequel to THE ART OF LAINEY from book-boyfriend and punk rock baker Micah Foster's POV, and can be read before or after the full novel. I'm also going to throw in a mystery ARC that I won off twitter not too long ago, and a swag pack full of bookmarks, buttons and other fun stuff from the #MMBB authors. Two runners up will also win #MMBB swag packs.

  

Actual swag received to include some of the pictured items plus more!

This contest is going to involve a lot of mailing costs so I've got to go US only on it. Sorry international peeps. You know I love you :) I love you so much that I'll be doing an international secondary contest for YASH in October where you can win an ARC of my forthcoming twisty murder mystery, LIARS, INC. Did you like GONE GIRL, I HUNT KILLERS, OR DANGEROUS BOYS? If so, you'll probably like LIARS too :)

Who's ready to win? BOOSH! The Rafflecopter is your friend :)



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Mighty Mississippi Book Blast Recap!

I'm still kind of winding down from the #MMBB tour, having gone directly from a 12-hour driving day, to a full day of airplane travel, to getting back to work on an overdue freelance project the day after I made it back to Portland. #MyGlamorousWritingLife :)

However, non-MMBBers keep asking me how the tour went, so in the interest of not having to repeat myself (AKA general laziness), I give you:

10 THINGS I LEARNED ON THE MMBB TOUR

1. Some people are natural performers and others are not. 

Even though I knew what basic questions I was going to be asked about my book--heck, I even made up some of them--I realized after the first event in Wayzata that I had basically described my book in a rambling and roundabout way that made it sound so unappealing that even *I* wouldn't buy it. Next to me, Philip Siegel was so funny that I probably would have bought his book even if he said it was about how to mix wallpaper paste. I do believe I'm a funny person, but I'm third-draft funny. I'm funny on paper. I'm funny in my comfort zone, surrounded by cats people I know. I am not a natural performer, but that's okay. It just means I should think a little about how I want to present my book before I do it in front of an audience.

Dawn Klehr, Philip, me, and Lindsay on Day One of the #MMBB

2. It's best if I be myself (but with less swearing ;-D)

I don't mean my rambling and roundabout self. I mean if I start out nervous and then try to be funny because everyone else seems to be rip-roaring comedy club hilarious, uh, that doesn't end well. Better to be unfunny but add something else to the mix--thoughtfulness? honesty? encouragement?--than to go for the laughs but come up short. Also, it's also best to dress as myself. Is it a coincidence the two events I felt most uncomfortable at were Iowa and Dallas, the two places where I wore a dress? (Sorry, Mom. I'm just not a dress girl.) If you're doing events for the first time, resist feeling pressured to get fancy. Go in the clothes you feel best represent you...unless those clothes are pajamas...unless your pajamas are really stylish...You see where I'm going with this. People who buy your book because of how you are dressed are probably not readers that you need.

Us in Iowa with bookstore owner, Sue. I look uncomfortable, don't I?

3. Acting silly never stops being fun.

Lindsay Cummings and I played Blair Witch with her phone cam in the bed & breakfast where we stayed in Dubuque, sneaking up to the deserted third floor in the dark. Either the stairs in that place were the creakiest stairs ever or Lindsay and I are really bad ninjas. Anyway, the third floor was deliciously creepy by the light of my cell phone. In one of the rooms we found...FACELESS DOLLS. 

More silliness, in group form. Team Anderson's poses for pix after the event.

4. Doing events gets easier with time and experience.

I'll never look forward to bookstore events because I'm just not an extrovert, but it did get easier throughout the week. Or maybe I was so deliriously tired by the time I got to Houston that I just didn't have the energy to be stressed anymore. Also, I really liked the events that were more about giving writing advice to aspiring authors and less about singing the praises of my books. I love my stories, but it's way less awkward to be my own book cheerleader when I can hide behind the interwebs.

Team Houston, with blogger Sara. Yep, I look pretty tired.

5. Hanging out with other writers is informative and inspirational.

I'll be the first to admit I'm prone to writer jealousy, so you might think that hanging out in groups of authors, many of whom are more successful than me, would be a recipe for disaster. But that's not what happened at all. Part of the reason I even thought I could plan this tour was because I'd heard Victoria Schwab planned tours on her own. I admire so much how she has made a name for herself by being prolific and tenacious. Hearing her and all of the other authors talk about their successes just filled me with this sense of "Hey, I can get to where they are someday, too!" Everyone was so incredibly kind and gracious to each other. Victoria Schwab, Courtney Stevens, and Heather Brewer in particular all shared such wise and thoughtful words that I felt uplifted just being around them.

Memphis was a laid-back event where we spent a lot of time talking about writing craft.

6. Everyone is nervous about the future.

Just like I found inspiration and energy from hearing about other authors' successes, I found comfort in realizing that everyone shares the same fears about their publishing futures. The only way to stay in the industry is to sell more books, and that's never a guarantee until your books have their own theme parks. Hearing authors talk about diversification, hybridization, working with multiple publishers, trying out new genres, etc. made me realize that there are a lot of options when it comes to building a career as an author. 

Dinnertime with Phil, Lindsay, Lydia Kang, and Whitney Miller.
People wearing pink in the back, please :-D

7. Making connections with indie bookstores has a lasting effect.

Setting up a tour like the #MMBB wasn't just about trying to sell a few more copies of our books to a few cities. Unless you are mega-famous, a tour would never pay for itself in that way. For me, it was all about the connections: meeting readers, meeting other authors, and meeting booksellers. When you set up an event with an indie, often times they let you sign stock. Then, after you're gone, your books will continue to sell well because they're signed. And then, maybe the booksellers will remember you and continue to hand sell your books. Maybe they'll be more likely to order your next book. No guarantees, of course, but I sold more than twice as many books in Chicago and St. Louis the week of the tour than I signed on event nights, so I have to partially credit that to the connections made with the bookstores. Indies forever!

Look at all those LAINEYs! Signed copies available throughout the Midwest!

8. St. Louis will always be part of me.

When you spend 35 years in a city, it gets inside of you. As much as I just cannot handle the St. Louis weather anymore, being back in town made me super-nostalgic. I miss my St. Louis author pals like Cole Gibsen, Heather Brewer, and Sarah Bromley. I miss my writer-blogger friends Christina and Jamie. I'm so glad I made the decision to set THE ART OF LAINEY in St. Louis, to highlight the Cardinals and the Arch, Forest Park and Wash U. Sure, some of the places are made up, but many are based on real places where I spent a lot of time--Mississippi Nights? Pi Pizza? Kayaks Cafe? Look hard and you'll find them :) And I'm so glad I got to do this big event with the amazing people at Left Bank Books. They brought me to St. Louis Comic Con, something that will forever be one of my greatest writer experiences. If I ever get famous, I'm signing all the books for Left Bank, no matter where I live at the time. I LOVE YOU GUYS!

Me with Christina from Ensconced in Lit

Me with Jamie from This Isn't Rocket Science

9. Power comes from doing the things that scare you.

A blogger in Houston (hi Nikki!) asked what dystopian world we could survive in and I said I'd be Dauntless in Divergent-land. [Sidebar: Everyone else said they couldn't survive in ANY dystopia and that they'd be killed/eaten first in an apocalypse scenario. This saddened me. Step it up, guys! When the zombie apocalypse comes I want GOOD people for my team :D] I always tell people I'd be Dauntless because even though everything scares me (seriously, everything), I do it anyway. I was scared to plan the tour, scared to go to the events, basically terrified to drive most of the way. I was scared to move to Portland, again terrified to drive there, scared to apply for a new nursing job, scared to quit said nursing job when I sold more books. Going further back, I was scared to live in Korea, scared to pet tigers, scared to ever show my writing to industry professionals. But I did all these things, and now none of them own me. To be honest, I wish I had done most of them sooner. Bravery isn't about not being scared. Bravery is about being scared but doing it anyway! 

Hey! We made the digital sign in Dallas! It doesn't get more powerful than that, right?

10. In the end, it's about the love of books.

Networking and selling copies is great, but in the end a tour should be about celebrating the joy of books with other readers. From Minnesota to Houston, the #MMBB was blessed with good-sized, attentive crowds who were enthusiastic and engaged. I am so grateful to each and every one of you who came out, and to those of you who couldn't make it but still mail-ordered books or spread the word about the events. I say this on basically every Acknowledgments page, but it all comes back to you guys. Without readers, there would be no authors. Thank you for making it possible for us to live our dreams <333

Amazing book cheerleader, blogger, and librarian: Mary from Mary Had a Little Book Blog.
(I swear we're not related. She's just that cool.)

St. Louis had the biggest crowd, but Naperville probably had the most teen attendees.
Thanks for coming to see us! We love you guys!

The Mighty Mississippi Book Blast!

Guys, GUYS! I have spent the last few months organizing an awesome tour type of thing with fellow YA Valentine Philip Siegel. We wanted to do a week's worth of events. We wanted to gather as many awesome YA writer-friends as possible. Oh, and since I grew up in St. Louis and Philip currently lives in Chicago, we wanted to bring bookish awesomeness to the middle of the country.

Today, exactly two months from our first event date, Philip and I are proud to release all the information about the Mighty Mississippi Book Blast! Running from July 14th through July 20th, the #MMBB will be bringing YA authors from all over the U.S. to cities from Wayzata, Minnesota to Houston, Texas.

Check out all the details on the fantastic tumblr page made by Phil!

WIN-WIN-WIN: Get Signed Books and Help an Indie Bookstore Help Kids

So my heart broke a little bit when I found out my beloved St. Louis indie, Left Bank Books was closing its downtown St. Louis store. Teen Specialist, Sarah, assured me this was a business decision involving an issue with the lease and that the company is still going strong. There are talks of expanding the flagship (45 years selling books!) Central West End store or possibly opening up a second location elsewhere in the city.

This is the Central West End store in my old neighborhood, still going strong!

The people from Left Banks Books have always been fantastic to me. They had me sign tons of stock, invited me to do events with them, ran a pre-order contest for my first book (writing as Fiona Paul), and got me on a panel at STL ComicCon, even though Venom is the least ComicCon-ish book ever. Did you know it was always my dream to go to a ComicCon? I'm happy my first CC experience was with Left Bank in St. Louis. It made me less nervous to know I was among friends. All of my events with LBB were more fun than scary, because I knew they had my back. No one there ever made me feel like I wasn't important because I wasn't a mega bestseller.

And they make their customers feel important too. I know this personally, but if you don't, you can see it reflected in their reviews on yelp, among other places.

I don't live in St. Louis anymore, but when I needed a location for a St. Louis event for the forthcoming Mighty Mississippi Book Blast tour that I set up with my friend Philip Siegel (more on that in May), Left Bank Books was only too happy to accommodate us.

And when I needed a store who was willing to offer signed, personalized copies of my books, once again Left Banks Books said they'd be happy to help me out.

So, as a way to pay back some of this kindness, I am going to donate a dollar (up to a max of $5000) to the Left Bank Books foundation for every signed copy of my books ordered before July 4th, 2014. The LBB foundation works to increase literacy in St. Louis. In their own words: The Foundation’s primary program is River City Readers, a project to bring books and authors to St. Louis Public School students. We intend to expand these efforts and expand the definition of literacy itself.

It'r true that ordering from Left Bank means paying an additional dollar for a paperback or a few dollars more for a hardcover compared to the cheapest internet deal. But you'll get a signed (and personalized, if you like!) copy of one of my books and a bookmark for The Art of Lainey, featuring the iconic St. Louis Arch. You'll also be supporting an indie bookstore, the lovely bookish people who work there, and the 2012 BEA Bookstore Cat of the Year.

Spike sez: Dear human. Support me, or else.

I have personally snuggled Spike (well, he's not much of a snuggler, but he put up with me stalking him and picking him up on repeated occasions) and can vouch for his awesomeness. He's so awesome he gets to do his own staff picks.

And since your purchase means a dollar toward the foundation, you can think of that "extra dollar" you're spending as also helping get books into the hands of kids who need them. That's what I call a WIN-WIN-WIN situation. Unfortunately, this incentive has to be limited to US buyers because international mailing would be prohibitively expensive and complicated for the store. But if you are an international reader and you donate any amount of money to the Left Bank Books Foundation via their website, I will send you a signed bookplate and bookmark.

The only catch: Because I don't live in St. Louis anymore, I won't be available to sign your books until early July when I return to visit my friends and fam. So, if you support Left Bank Books and literacy in St. Louis by buying from this link between now and July 4th, you will not receive your purchases until July. But hey, your TBR pile is probably huge. You don't mind waiting, if it's for a good cause, do you? :-) Be sure to note in the special instructions if you want your book personalized to you or someone else. They make great gifts *wink* :-D

Thank you for reading. Thank you for thinking about supporting indie bookstores, their staff, and their awesome bookstore cats.

Happy Birthday Nikki: Thoughts on Serendipity

When I was in elementary school, I was obsessed with a series of books by Stephen Cosgrove. One of them was called Serendipity.

Isn't she the cutest? I don't honestly remember the storyline, but I remember this was my introduction to the word serendipity. Even as a seven-year-old, I loved the idea of stumbling across something awesome purely by chance.

This happened to me in June of 2012, at a book event called Teen Author Carnival that took place in NYC. I got invited as Fiona Paul because I was going to be at Book Expo America with the 2012 debut group, the Apocalypsies. I remember being overwhelmed by BEA, being exhausted as I hurried from the conference to the library with a group of other authors. I remember feeling outclassed and outperformed by many of the other writers doing panels with me. They were all so polished, so professional. Me, I was sweaty and shy and scared.

After the panels were over, the authors hung out to sign books. My first book wasn't out yet so I was signing ARCs and bookmarks. One of my editors came up to me and gave me an ARC of Venom that someone had won as part of a box of books but forgotten at the library. "I figured you might want this," she said. My first thought was: Yikes. One more thing to fit in my already overstuffed luggage. But I put it away and kept talking to readers. I was sitting next to Lauren Morrill, another 2012 debut (she's awesome, buy her books!), when a tiny sprite of a girl bounced up to me. "Do you know if they'll be giving away more ARCs of Venom at BEA tomorrow?" she asked.

"I'm not sure." (Authors are usually the last to know anything). I paused. "How old are you?"

"Thirteen," the girl replied.

"Hmm. Venom is technically age 14 and up." I looked at Lauren Morrill. She looked at me. This girl looked younger than thirteen. But she was so cute and enthusiastic and it wasn't like the people at BEA were carding book readers to make sure they were old enough to get the free ARCs. I made one of those split-second decisions. "Here." I pulled out the copy of Venom my editor had just given me. "I just happen to have an ARC with me. You can have it, but if any of the material makes you uncomfortable, just skip over it, okay?"


The girl nodded happily. I signed the ARC for her and she bounded off. That girl was blogger Nikki Wang from the blog Fiction Freak. I didn't think too much about the interaction, aside from praying that I wouldn't get an angry email from Nikki's mom if she found the ARC and deemed it too adult for her daughter.

After I got home from the conference, Nikki emailed me about doing a feature on her blog. I said yes. We got to talking. We got to talking some more. Slowly, via the magic of the interwebz, Nikki and I became friends.

Since then, Nikki has been a such huge motivational and promotional force in my writing career that I wanted to write this happy birthday blog post just to thank her. THANK YOU, NIKKI! Many other bloggers have inspired and promoted and motivated me too, and I am grateful to all of them. But Nikki truly has gone above and beyond, in so many ways. Here's just a smattering of things she is to me:

1. One-girl focus group if I have a question about teenspeak or whether teens do or don't like something.

2. Reviewer extraordinaire. The PenguinTeen catalog even blurbed her:

3a. Epic supporter. She sponsored a readalong with blogger Annabelle from Sparkles and Lightning:

3b. She also made my first fan art for both the Eternal Rose series and The Art of Lainey:

3c. She also personally encouraged her friends to read my books.

3d. She also had me on her blog multiple times to promote my writing.

3e. She's also heading up THE ART OF LAINEY blog tour via the company she started with her friends, Merp Squad.

3f. She's also done a lot of other little things to promote me, like being first to sign up for my street team and tweeting and FB likings and sharing my bookmarks, etc.

4. Graphic designer. She made the banner and button I'll be using as part of a multi-author tour this July. More info on that coming soon.

5. Last, but never least, friend :) Maybe it's weird for a "grownup" to have teens as friends, but I like to think of it as one of the best things about the internet. Cyberspace breaks down barriers that might keep people apart in real life.

I am so glad I made that random serendipitous decision to give my extra copy of Venom to Nikki almost 2 years ago. Whether you're Team Fate or a big believer in free will, I encourage you to remain open to the idea of serendipity. Life hands you amazing things sometimes when you're not even looking for them. You never know--the next person you meet might become your Nikki Wang :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NIKKI! <333