Friday Feedback, Drafty First Drafts and Painting a Chair

Me, proudly sporting my Geneseo pride on
behalf of my son. 

Somehow, it's already time for another Friday Feedback. 

Hope you all had a happy fourth! Now, to slow summer down.

You heard me, Summer! I really, really need you to slow down.  

Yeah, yeah, I know. Time waits for no one, whatever.

At any rate, I finally returned from my sundry travels, the last bit to attend college orientation with our son. I was really impressed with the quality of things at the school and am excited for my son's future, which is not to say, come August, I won't be endlessly (endlessly!) weepy.

Meanwhile, I have another wonderful guest host today (the summer is chock-full of them, wait till you see!): my Class of 2K11 now "The Graduates" cohort, the lovely Alissa Grosso. . .

I asked Alissa for a photo. She sent this one and said, 
"this is a picture of me being goofy. If you'd prefer a more serious mugshot, I can comply."
Hmm. Sort of tempted to see the mugshot. Come on, Alissa, fess up!**

Alissa is the author of Popular, Ferocity Summer and . . .

releasing THIS MONDAY, her third amazing book, Shallow Pond.

"Everyone in Shallow Pond 

knows the Bunting Sisters. 

Nobody knows their Secrets.

From Amazon:

Annie is the oldest. The sickly one who gave up on her own life so she could raise her sisters after their parents died. Gracie is the wild child. She wants a man so bad, she’ll do anything it takes to get one. Barbara, the youngest, hates being constantly mistaken for her sisters. She wants nothing more than to finish senior year and get out of Shallow Pond—before she succumbs to her unwanted attraction to the new boy in town, Zach Faraday.

When Annie’s enigmatic illness takes a turn for the worse, Barbara begins to search for the truth of her family’s past. But Shallow Pond offers only lies and deceit. The one thing Barbara can trust is her halting connection to Zach—an unsettling bond that may be the answer to a mystery that doesn’t want to be solved."

*Gae tosses confetti and waves sparklers to congratulate Alissa on her THIRD book.*

Doesn't that sound SO good?! Alissa writes terrific stories with dark, troubled characters and plot twists galore. Like all my guest authors, she'll be spending lots of time here today and tomorrow, so please check out her books, and add them to your TBR lists, your classrooms, and/or libraries!

Before Alissa gets going, if this is your first time here, or you don't know the Friday Feedback Rules, please go read them HERE now. And, do please remember that your excerpts should be no longer than five (count em, 5!) paragraphs if short, three (3!) if long, and please don't post them after Sunday morning.

So, without further ado, here's Alissa:

I'm excited to be a guest on Friday Feedback this week, because I just finished the first draft of my current work in progress. From experience, I can say that means I am nowhere near done, but still this small milestone is a cause for celebration in my writer world. As I get set to knuckle down and turn this mess of words into something that more or less resembles a novel, I'm going to share some ideas on revision, and how I go about things.

First of all, I should explain what I mean by first draft. To me, a first draft is a mostly complete version of the novel that is very rough in some parts. It's at about 60,000ish words right now, and from experience I can say that number could change by 5,000 in either direction depending on the course of those revisions.

Once I type the last word of my first draft, I email a copy of it to my secondary email address for backup purposes. (note from Gae: I am constantly emailing copies of my manuscripts to my husband's and my own email address, at the end of most every day. He knows to just delete the last one and save the most recent one). Then I walk away from the manuscript. I move onto something else, maybe sketch out some ideas for another book or take a short writing break. 

In my case, I decided to paint a chair.   

Revision = a blue chair.

Why? Because I had an ugly one and I saw this project online. Of course, I decided to do this during the most humid week ever and so the paint won't dry, and I'm stuck with a half painted, wet chair. I should have sketched out some ideas for a new book.

After maybe a week or so, I'll go back through and try to fix up the gaping holes (I think she means in the draft manuscript and not the chair!) and the really glaring grammar problems, which abound. 

I know the difference between there, their and they're, but when I'm typing at a million miles an hour to complete a passage I'm not worried about these differences. I'll even do really goofy things like type won instead of one. There are reasons I don't like to share my first drafts with others. 

There are other things like things that just say Mr. X because in Chapter 25, I couldn't remember the name of the gym teacher I introduced in Chapter 1. (omg, I do this too! I feel so much better. Sometimes, I'll use an actual name not sure if it's the right name and then I'll think, Ooh, I like that name so much better!) 

Then there are the really lazy things that say, "INSERT SOMETHING FUNNY HERE." I'm not making this up, I actually do this to myself. (yep, yep, again, me too! Or, say, "google a cool fact about butterflies and insert here" or, just today,"insert what they eat in Hong Kong.") It's okay, though, it's a first draft. That's allowed.

Alissa's binders of printed manuscripts,
plus "glue from some other
ill-advised
project."

At this point, my manuscript is still just words on a computer screen, but that's about to change. The next step is to print everything out. I love 3-hole punch paper. I love my laser printer. I take my manuscript and put it into a binder.

Now, suddenly, it's a book!

(ooh, nice trick. I have about three unpublished manuscripts. Maybe if I just put them in binders, I could pretend...)

I grab a colored pen. Red's my favorite, but any color will do, and now I read through my book, this time with the aim of polishing things. Passages that are too clunky or don't make sense are refined or crossed out completely. Words are replaced, paragraphs are rewritten and new paragraphs are added. This sort of revision is intensive work, and is best tackled in small chunks. I usually give myself a couple of weeks to get through this stage of the revision.

Once I'm done, I sit back down at the computer and transfer all these on paper to changes to the computer document. I know what you're thinking. You're thinking I could save a tree and the money I spend on toner not to mention the time that all this takes and just do all of this right on the computer screen, but the reading the book on paper is part of the process for me. I see things and catch things that I miss on the screen. I know some writers who swear by the practice of reading their manuscripts out loud. I urge you to try out different methods to find what works for you. (I do both the hard copy thing and, constantly, the reading aloud thing, but with the hard copy thing, what happens for me is that I make it about a third of the way through, begin to feel overwhelmed, start inputting my revisions onto the computer copy, and three weeks later find myself working straight on the screen without ever having finished revising the hard copy. Hey, it still works most the time!)

Once these changes have all been made, I usually do a quick on-screen read through to make sure things are in good shape. Then it's time for the scary part. I get to send this precious book of mine off to my agent, who will likely see some major issue that I missed completely and then it will be time for another set of revisions to fix this issue so that the book will be in good enough shape to be read by an editor.

You would think with all this revising and rewriting, that by now the thing would be flawless, but it's not. Editors will have more changes they want to see, sometimes before they're willing to accept the book for publication, and others that will come a bit later in the process. Then there are copy edits, and then proof pages before a book is actually ready for publication. So, that's why though I'm excited about finishing this first draft, I know it's a long way from being done.

Anyway, appropriately enough, I'm going to share a passage from this current work in progress with you. It's the very beginning of the book, so I'd love to hear your thoughts on whether it draws you in and makes you want to read more. 

(or, you know, as Gae says *ahem* 1. does it hook you? 2. What works for you? 3. what doesn't?)

This is from a YA contemporary with a female protagonist. If you'd like, I'd also love your thoughts on the tense. This particular passage is in present tense which is how I started out writing the book, but somewhere along the way I shifted to past tense and I'm still trying to decide which works better. (Ah, yay, a common issue for us writers):

1: October 30

     I can spot a carefully disguised write-my-term-paper plea from a mile away. The words, "Tutor Needed for Sophomore English" look like dollar signs to me. Nobody needs a tutor for English class. Some are even less subtle. "Need help with The Grapes of Wrath. Will pay." I mine the guidance office job board on a regular basis. It's a bulletin board filled with potential ways for enterprising students to make some extra money. Most of the jobs are astoundingly craptacular. Mr. Wertz, who teaches basic algebra has been trying unsuccessfully to get some poor schmo to remodel his kitchen for the grand total of $50 since at least last March, and if bagging groceries is your thing, you'd be in luck since there's two different grocery stores on the board seeking entry level workers, nights and weekends a must. I only bother with the term papers. It's easy money. I spot one that reads, "Tutor wanted. Must be familiar with aspects of the U.S. involvement in World War I." Bingo. I pull it off the board, and shove it in my pocket.

     Ryan Sutter, who would easily be voted least likely to succeed if the yearbook committee had that as a category steps out of one of the counselor's offices and gives me an idiotic sneer as he walks past. I've never written a paper for Ryan Sutter, but that's only because he's too stupid to realize he could pay someone to write the paper for him, instead of turning in a barely rewritten Wikipedia article that if his teacher is in a generous mood will earn him a D minus.

     "Nice mask," Ryan tells me. It's the day before Halloween, and half the school has decided to celebrate this fact by showing up in costume. I'm not wearing a costume. Neither, as it happens, is Ryan.

     "Right back at you," I say.

     "Huh?" he asks. Apparently, I was supposed to be so insulted that I ran off and cried in the girls' room or something. Ryan wasn't prepared for this eventuality. He doesn't know me that well. I shake my head at him and roll my eyes then head to Mrs. Banks' office.

----

xox Gae (& Alissa!)

** Okay fine, I left out the part where she stated, "I've never been arrested, but you know what I mean."

Day Seven, Second Anniversary Highlights: THE PULL OF GRAVITY

What a journey this writing/publishing thing is.
Often, I'm upside down.
Often, I'm humbled.
Always, I'm grateful. 

Celebrating the second anniversary of my book here on my blog. Yep. That's what I've been doing.

Have I mentioned that The Pull of Gravity is my baby?

My first (and still, as of this post, only) published book.

If you've ever tried to get published, then you know how huge that is. 

And, soon enough my baby will going from being that -- the first -- to being the older sibling. The one who's expected to toddle off more and more on it's own while I tend to the new baby. Not that I'll love it any less. Like with real kids, I vow to love all my books equally (while secretly hoping to love each new book best. Because, otherwise, what is there to strive for?! Thank goodness it's different with real babies. . . maybe we've had enough of this analogy?!)

Anyway, I am excited about the new baby! I am really proud of The Summer of Letting Go. I've never written a manuscript that took so many rewrites and revisions to finally get it right. And I think I have. Gotten it right. (By the way, by commenting on any of these anniversary posts, you will be automatically entered to win a signed ARC of The Summer of Letting Go so long as you are in the US or Canada. Sorry, shipping is prohibitive otherwise).

But it's still weird to think of a new baby nosing its way in, needing my attention (hmm, guess I lied about being done with the analogy). So, I'm enjoying a little time really reveling in the highlights of its first two years in print.

When I set out to write it, I really wanted to write a classic story, so I hope that, with the little pushes I've given it, it will grow legs and be out there in the reading psyche for a long, long time. Standing on its own two feet.

Anyway, highlights! HIGHLIGHTS!

from l - r: Amy Fellner Dominy, m, Bettina Restrepo,
Geoff Herbach & Christina  Mandelski
just a few of us in The Graduates

It goes without saying that being a member of THE CLASS OF 2K11, now THE GRADUATES has been more than a highlight of my fledgling publishing career. More like a lifeline. We still communicate on a weekly, if not daily, basis, sharing a closeness that comes from being in some sort of trenches together.

Also, here's a huge highlight. Opening up Newsday to find this unexpected Summer Reading spread with your book next to John Grisham's.

Ah, I remember how I thought this would sell a thousand copies. . .

Never get tired of some twitter love.  p.s. got to meet this student
during a Skype visit! 

or, a student's critique. 

More highlights tomorrow. Thanks for stopping by and chiming in.

xox gae

Swimming, Winning, Whining, and New Beginnings.

Considering this is me (photo left, with my sister),
terrified by a 5 degree angle,
I'd say I'm doing pretty winning at life these days. ;)

In an oh-too-predictible microcosm of that old macrocosm of Time, 2011 flew by in a blink of an eye.

Damn you, Time. I wish the days would slow down.

I did my best to seize them, to make the most of the hours, some days more successfully than others.

In this, my 47th year, it seems essential to seize every moment, or at least to try, as they blur past me, out the windows.

Here are some of the highlights, the good, and the whiny:

That's me in the middle, finding my religion. . . and, yes, we swam on Christmas Eve day,
me sans Santa hat, but I did don my monkey hat after.

Swimming. My family fills me, my writing sustains me, but my swimming? My swimming saves me.

As I get older, the water keeps me young, keeps me pushing to achieve new goals. Frustratingly, I did not accomplish last year's resolution to complete a five-mile swim this summer (mostly due to logistics), but I am signed up for one this coming summer. Luckily, I did push myself in new ways, including by swimming faster, harder, in more challenging conditions, and through December. Good enough. I'll take it.

I am endlessly blessed to have found The West Neck Pod (here's the official blog of the Pod, if you are interested).

And here I am swimming today, on 12/24/11 with the other amazing nutjobs of the West Neck Polar Pod ;))

Winning. I've had some winning experiences this year, both family and book-related. My kids don't love it when I blog about them, so suffice it to say, both my boys are wonderful kids who are having some awesome and hard-fought-for successes, and I'm proud of them. This is my younger son, having one such moment (yes, that is his name they are chanting ;)).

They say you're only as happy as your most unhappy child, and I can tell you that this is true.

As for winning book news, some of the many highlights were:

the Dolphin Bookshop reading in October 

the high schools that have picked up The Pull of Gravity into their curriculum (!), my Skype visits with Mr. Hankins' class and especially the boys of Room 407, and with the 9th graders of Clio High School thanks to Mrs. Sarah Andersen,

and, the winning-most things of all: the confirmation that I will be going to PAPERBACK (!!! Winter 2013) and

my shiny, wonderful, and oh-so-geekily meaningful 2011 Nerdies Award in Young Adult fiction bestowed by the amazing teachers and educators who run the Nerdy Book Club. (Thanks again to all who voted in the final phase!)

Whining. I am out on SUBMISSION. Need I say more? (If I do, you can read this blog post, or this one to learn more). Also, my old lady, bum hip still hurts despite months of Physical Therapy, and then there was the night I passed out and broke my nose on the bathroom floor. Also, my freaking house is a mess and I have zero desire to clean it. There. That should do it. That wasn't too bad, was it?

New Beginnings.

So, there you have it. And, now, here it is, a New Year.

I have a fresh slate and a chance to do better. To be a better friend, to be a more patient parent, to let go of old wounds and find a way to embrace the unknown without so much angst and distraction. And to spend less time wasting time, and more time writing and doing.

This is what I've learned: the more I do, the less I long for all the things I didn't do. Simple, right?

I have books to write, friends to spend time with, a family that I love, and that deserves to have me not just there for them, but fully present.

I am grateful for all the good that has come to me in 2011, and I hope you know how much your readership, and friendship, mean to me.

Especially to those who inspire me, who swim with me, and to my classmates in the Class of 2K11 who got me through this first author year, a very heartfelt thank you.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

- gae

Open Water (Birthday) Blues

It's my birthday. *stares at it*

At this age, I'm not sure what to do with birthdays anymore. I want to believe they're just an artificial marker and that I'm no older today than I was yesterday.

Then my hip or knee or back (or dear friends ;)) will remind me that I am. Older than I was before.

Age is such a weird thing. I often feel old, sometimes I feel so young, and sometimes I feel totally ageless. In the water, I always feel ageless.

What I do know is time passes too fast. . .

Way, way, way too fast.

At any rate, it's my birthday. Like it or not. So, I'm trying to give it the respect it deserves. So far, I took my kids to a midnight show of Captain America. We ate

Holden and me in 3D :)

candy and donned 3D glasses. It ended at 2:20 am. I was exhausted. But, we were a family doing a family thing which is really as good as it gets.    

In a few hours, I have a mediation (my "paid" work) then after that, I'm meeting up with some friends from my "Pod" and going for an open water swim. Those of you who know me, know how I feel about this: my family, the love of my friends, and the open water are all I need. They save me on a daily basis. And, the blue water, for me, is nothing short of bliss.

At any rate, if you want to give me a birthday present, I'd really love and appreciate it if you'd order a copy of my book, The Pull of Gravity, or take it out from your local library, or recommend it to a friend. If you've read it and liked it, please post a review on Amazon because it actually boosts sales and, in this book economy, we could all use a bit of that.

It's been a crazy year with many ups and a few downs, but all in all, 46 has been good to me. And, it wouldn't be the same without you.
xo,

Gae

Sugar Lips & Zombies

what? Dot sprinkles aren't sexy?

Yes, I dunked my lips in colored sprinkles.

It's for a good cause.

We're celebrating the release of Carrie Harris' BAD TASTE IN BOYS! Not only is Carrie's book out today, but she's hosting an auction for a great cause. Please click on that link to check it out and bid. (Yes, there's a copy of TPoG in there :)).

Anyway, in honor of her book birthday, some of us have zombied ourselves, and some of us opted for sugar lips. And we're all gathering over here, at Cari's Book Blogs to show our love.

So, go there and click on the zombify link or slather on some lip gloss and sprinkles and add your pucker to the list. Then go over to Carrie's auction and bid on some stuff. And don't forget to check out her book.

xo Gae

Class of 2K11 in New York City: Tattoos, Tater Tots and the Stuff that Legends are Made of.



Because nothing says "let's get frisked" like a Crown Victoria

The shoes and the henna
make the girl...

It was a frisky week (fine, forgive me, I groaned for you, but it went with the photo over there <-----) as the Class of 2K11 hit the streets (bookstores, libraries, and, yes, funky hotspots) of NYC armed with our books, our nerves and our senses of humor (and, okay, some of us, ahem, with a constant change of shoes).  

I started my whirlwind 2 1/2 days in NYC with a late-night pitstop for drink(s) with the infamous (and fantastic) David Macinnis Gill, author of Soul Enchilada and Black Hole Sun who I tweet with on a regular basis but had not yet had the pleasure of meeting in person. In a short visit, we wandered aimlessly up and down escalators (both of us) with my luggage (David, insisting) and got ourselves booted out of a ritzy nightclub for not being well-dressed (if you guessed David, you're wrong -- that one was me, I did offer to do a quick change in the bathroom, but David preferred to continue to wander aimlessly until we lucked into a spot that would have us).

A brief night's sleep, and I was off to meet my fellow Classmates for our first group appearance in the city at the Seward Park Library. There I "moderated" the panel where we did brief readings from our books and were peppered with brilliant questions from our audience: a class of scarily-smart seventh graders from the Spence School in NYC. 


Geoff Herbach and Carole Estby Dagg arriving
at the beautiful park where the library is...

Herbach with the tools of the trade
in hand: coffee, cell phone, backpack with book.

Amy Dominy, Angie Smibert and Kiki Hamilton
(more fabulous shoes. See? I was not alone).

A crazy-decadent lunch was had (can you say coconut fried chicken sandwich with chipotle mayo? omg, yes I did!) and we were off to our next event at the Grand Central branch of the NYPL. Talk about a teen friendly place! There we did a sort of roundtable (sans table) chat with the teen librarian, Anna, and a few rapt listeners (sorry, no photos!) and we were off to event number three at the esteemed Books of Wonder, NYC, where we were joined by some more Class of 2K11'ers and greeted by a fabulous display of our books: 



Amy Fellner Dominy (OyMG)
in front of the great BOW display



Sheila O'Connor (Sparrow Road)
BOW display

Hmmm, aren't they sweet bookends?

(yes, yes, I know two "right" bookends. Sue me).




Some terrific and hard-working YA bloggers who showed up at our BOW event!
we were thrilled and grateful. <3

Out to dinner with my sister and home for some sleep before Day 2 kicked in.

Day Two: First to Le Poisson Rouge on Bleecker Street, where the totally hilarious Sam Osterhout and deliriously delightful Robin Reed of Radio Happy Hour entertained us with "dramatic performances" of excerpts from our books, sometimes joined on stage by the talented Geoff Herbach (Stupid Fast), a/k/a Nacho Dip, playing both male and female roles. If my assistant editor's cell phone suffices as a video recording device in a loud, dark, red room, you might be lucky enough to see The Pull of Gravity performance later this week! ;)

All this, mind you, while we feasted on pizzitas, taquitos, edamame and tater tots served with three different dipping sauces (someone else has those photos, maybe they will follow?!).

Class of 2K11 with Sam Osterhout and Robin Reed of
Radio Happy Hour.
Photo credit, Rick Kopstein

Me, hamming it up
 after a tater tot-Lucky Charms fueled rush
Photo credit: Rick Kopstein

Each mini performance was followed by a rapid-fire style interview of the authors that mostly (refreshingly) had nothing to do with our books. I was "lucky" to get a Lucky Charms question -- a subject on which I am a self-proclaimed expert.

*Much to my better judgment, if it exists, video may follow on this topic as well* 


Finally, we were off to Larchmont, NY via Metro North railroad where the best part was almost, but not, meeting the wonderful Francine and Rose of The Voracious Reader Bookstore who stuffed us with pizza and had multiple displays of the Class of 2K11 books gracing her magnificent bookstore (I can't find my photos, but maybe other Class members will share...). Our henna artist was there, and, so, in a moment of lull, I presented my back and neck and I believe I am now covered in ocean waves. Photos were taken of that too, so hopefully those will surface.

Suffice it to say, it was a parade of an appearance, and we were all exhausted by the time it was over.

So exhausted that one of us (names shall not be mentioned...ahem...) forgot her cell phone at the desk of The Voracious Reader, a fact not realized until 3 blocks and several flights of stairs later, as we arrived on the Metro North platform back to the city with only a few moments to spare.

Which is when the real magic of the week happened, and we learned that Geoff Herbach is not only a mess, but he really is as STUPID FAST as his main character!

I'd show you photos, but he was too fast to snap them, so you'll have to believe in the legend.

That's it for now. Hopefully some more fun stuff to follow. <3

Love to all,

- gae

Class of 2K11 Storms NYC for BEA Week! Be There!

Hey, all,

My BEA-week events start tomorrow!

I join members of the Class of 2K11 tomorrow, Wednesday May 25,  for two NY Public Library-connected events in the morning and afternoon, and an evening event (with cupcakes and henna artist) at the landmark Books of Wonder -- all free! 

Then on Thursday, a special blogger appreciation day at Le Poisson Rouge, NYC, where there will be food and drink and a comedic reading from our books, and and on-the-spot Q&A. We're not sure what to expect, but it should be fun!

That will be followed with a group event at Voracious Reader in Larchmont, NY.

Details abound here: https://www.facebook.com/gaepolisnerauthor#!/event.php?eid=200237000019309

Hope you will join me!

Real vs. Virtual and my First "Group" Event

from front to back, Geoff Herbach, Christina Mandelski, Amy Dominy
and me in the white shirt, signing books.

This weekend I had the treat of finally meeting in person friends who, before now, I've only communicated with online: fellow Class of 2K11'ers Amy Fellner Dominy (OyMG), Christina Mandelski (The Sweetest Thing), Bettina Restrepo (Illegal), and Geoff Herbach (Stupid Fast). Of course, I had met Alissa Grosso (Popular) recently at an author event in NYC.

The crew has converged on New York City for Book Expo America Week in NYC and we have several events planned together around the city this coming week (see the right sidebar of my blog for places and times or click on the link above to go to our facebook event page). But first, Amy, Christina, and Bettina flew in to Long Island for a slumber party with me, and to attend a local event at the Huntington Library on Sunday, which Geoff and Alissa then joined us for.

We ate pizza and drank wine (and Amy D. and I may have eaten a full vat of three-flavor popcorn ourselves) and then woke up the next morning and drank coffee and had a slumber-gab in my basement on blow up mattresses. We even took a walk around my hilly neighborhood trying to work off the pizza and the full vat of popcorn (only to follow that up with bagels by the pool).

And here's the thing we kept marveling at: as I greeted each new face, previously seen to me only in photos on facebook or small square images on Twitter, it felt like I had known them all my life. There was no awkwardness. There was no sense that we didn't have a long, in-person history together.

We all kept commenting excitedly about how we felt like giddy school girls together, old friends reunited after a few years apart. Yes, even Herbach felt somewhat schoolgirly with us, but only in the most complimentary way. ;)

Of course, I had experienced this before when I met my dear ABNA friends in real life, so I knew it to be possible.

Still, it keeps on amazing me how truly connected we can become in our virtual lives, in a way that transcends the screen and cements relationships in "real" life.

Coolio, people. Coolio.

Oh me, oh my. . .

APPEARANCES (Open to all):

Saturday, May 14 @ Book Revue, Huntington Book Release Party! 5-7 pm

Sunday, May 22 @ The Huntington Public Library with members of the Class of 2K11 3-5 pm

Wednesday May 25 @ Books of Wonder, NYC with Class of 2K11 6-8 pm

Thursday, May 26, Voracious Reader, Larchmont with Class of 2K11 6-7:30 pm

Thursday, June 16, Harborfields Library, Greenlawn, NY t/b/a

Long Island Bookstores Carrying TPoG

Book Revue, Huntington
Barnes & Noble, East Northport
Barnes & Noble, Walt Whitman Mall, Huntington
Best Bargain Books, Pt. Jefferson
Blue Door Books
Chapter One Books, Oceanside
Dolphin Bookshop, Pt. Washington

The Word is Out!

I am not only at the six-month mark for the launch of my debut novel, The Pull of Gravity, FSG, May, 10, 2011, but today the Class of 2K11 has launched!

You can find us here: http://www.classof2k11.com/
(or, um, up there where I just linked us, whatever...) and if you think I'm excited, the answer is YES!!!

I am beside myself excited.

Not just because I think we have a roster of 19 amazing-sounding books (paranormal romance, literary, sci-fi, contemporary, dystopian, etc.), but because the 19 members of our class are some of the nicest, funniest, kindest, most supportive people I have ever, well, not yet* met.

To launch the site, we're doing a give-away of the entire Class of 2K10's books -- most of them signed. Sign up for our newsletter for a chance to win.

So, the word is out! Please help spread it. And, to my hubby, yes, the bird is the word. ;)

xo gae

*I've met Megan. She rocks! :D