Rebecca's Recommended Reads

Hi Everyone!

Looking for a good book? I've launched a book review blog for YA, MG, chapter books and picture books. I'll be posting short and snappy reviews of both recently published books and old favorites every week, so drop by often.

http://rebeccasrecommendedreads.blogspot.com

I'd also like YOUR recommendations for titles I can add to my ever-growing list of reviews. See you there!

Some good news for Laura

Just got news that my bug book has been picked as a Junior Library Guild sort-of book of the month for July and it's not even out yet. My editor says I should be very excited. The Junior Library Guild has been around since the 1920s and chooses what they consider the best books of the year and then sells them to school libraries and municipal libraries all over the USA. Some other authors I know say that my publisher will then need to increase the number of books printed to accommodate the increased number of sales, which is way cool. In accordance with my editor's instructions, I am excited.

Stacy Whitman

Stacy Whitman is holding a writer's workshop March 21 at the Provo Library. I think the time is 1-4p, but I can't remember exactly. It's $40/person, but if you sign up in a group of 5 or more, it's only $30 per person. I'm attending -- is anyone else interested?

Life, The Universe, and Everything Symposium at BYU

This is a bit of a late notice, but anyone who can 'drop everything' and attend, there is the Life, The Universe and Everything Symposium going on today through Saturday at BYU.
This is a free event, and they have some fabulous presenters this year, including Brandon Sanderson, Tracy and Laura Hickman, Brandon Mull and Dave Wolverton.

More info can be found here: http://ltue.byu.edu/2009Home.html
including the schedule: http://ltue.byu.edu/2009schedule.html

Blogger on Petronella

I hope you aren't tired of me--I googled my book and found that a blogger (Chasing Ray), who is a book reviewer for Booklist and others, checked out the Houghton Mifflin catalog and chose my book as one of the books she is looking forward to. She says,

The Entomological Tales of Augustus T. Percival: Petronella Saves Nearly Everyone by Dene Low, illus by Jen Corace. Okay, the tagline "a mysterious and lively romp through Edwardian England in 1903" caught my eye as well as the charmingly retro cover but this description - this description is one of the best I've seen ever: "You would think Petronella’s sixteenth birthday would be cause for celebration. After all, fashionable friends are arriving at her country estate near London, teas are being served, and her coming out party promises to be a resplendent affair. Everything is falling nicely into place, until, suddenly—it isn’t. For Petronella discovers that her guardian, Uncle Augustus T. Percival, has developed a most unVictorian compulsion: He must eat bugs. Worse still, because he is her guardian, Uncle Augustus is to attend her soiree and his current state will most definitely be an embarrassment.
During the festivities, when Petronella would much rather be sharing pleasantries with handsome Lord James Sinclair (swoon), important guests are disappearing, kidnapping notes are appearing, many of the clues are insects, and Uncle Augustus is surreptitiously devouring evidence. It’s more than one sixteen-year-old girl should have to deal with. But, truth be told, there is far more yet to come . . ."

That is not a description that can be resisted, no way, no how.


So you can see why I'm excited.

My book is now in the Houghton Mifflin catalog

It gave me the shivers to open the mail and find the newest Houghton Mifflin catalog for spring and see my book with a full page ad right smack in the middle. I can hardly wait for the June release. Remember, it is coming out under the nom de plume of Dene Low. The title, as we all went over, is Petronella Saves Nearly Everyone and the series name is The Entomological Tales of Augustus T. Percival.

As for my other writing, I haven't worked on the sequel in the last few months because I'm trying to finish an academic book. I just spent a week on the indexing and have another week to go on it. Ugh. Can't wait to get back to the creative writing.

And the Editor Says . . .

She asked for a re-write! That's what I'd hoped for. And she gave me suggestions! That's incredibly helpful. Number one, now I know what she's looking for, and number two, I completely agreed with everything she said! That's a good sign.

So, back to work!