Book #5 in the Sparkle Spa series was released into the world this past Tuesday, February 17 (happy book birthday, Bad News Nails!). In honor of that release, I visited the Vermont College of Fine Arts launchpad blog and talked a bit about why I write the Sparkle Spa books the way I do–and how I think girls can be strong, smart and sparkly all at once. The post is right here, if you’d like to check it out.
The regional advisor for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) in Belgium interviewed me on Cynthia Leitich Smith’s Cynsations blog. We talked about writing, editing, books, theater and diversity. If you want to read it, you can check it out here.
Hey everyone! In celebration of Valentine’s Day and Love on the Lifts, I’m running a contest on my Twitter feed. If you retweet this tweet before 2/14/15, you’ll be entered to win one of five autographed copies of Love on the Lifts and a surprise gift that has to do with one of the thirteen endings. (I’m having fun coming up with the surprise gifts…) So, if you’d like a Valentine’s (or Galentine’s!) Day present, go on over to Twitter and retweet me!
I learned a new word today: Galentine’s Day. And I learned it thanks to The Reading Date’s lovely review of Love on the Lifts! If you’d like to read the whole thing, it’s right here. If you’d just like to read an excerpt, these are my favorite lines, mashed together: “This book is fun and cute, and I love that there is a variety of options to choose from…. Since there are thirteen endings, each story is short and sweet so you’ll want to follow different paths to see all the options…Love on the Lifts would make a great Valentine’s or Galentine’s Day gift!” Thank you for this sweet review!
I just found out that I’m going to be one of the 130(!) authors involved in the fantastic NYC Teen Author Festival this year. I’ll be on a panel on Friday, March 20, 2015 at the 42nd Street NYPL from 2:50-3:25, and I’ll be part of a mega-signing on Sunday, March 22, 2015 at Books of Wonder from 3:00-3:30. But there are so many more fantastic events happening during the festival. If you want to check them all out, the schedule is here. I hope to see some of you there!
LOVE ON THE LIFTS just got a love review from Beach Bound Books, which you can read if you click right here. My favorite part is at the end, when the reviewer, Stacie, says: “The book is well written and I was drawn into the story like I was actually experiencing each love story first hand. This is a great tale for teens! Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Love on the Lifts is a must read.”
Thank you so much!
For everyone in the NYC-area, I’m going to be part of the Teen Author Reading Night series at the New York Public Library. All of the info is here, but if you want it in a nutshell, here you go:
Time: 6 pm
Place: Downstairs room at the Jefferson Market branch
Other readers: Cathleen Bell, Jen Calonita, Heather Demetrios, Michelle Knudsen, Suzanne Myers, Catherine Stine and Maryrose Wood
Oh! And I’ll be reading from LOVE ON THE LIFTS!
In honor of the publication of LOVE ON THE LIFTS, I wrote a blog post on the Vermont College of Fine Arts’ Launch Pad blog about the seven things I learned about dating from writing a teen romance novel with thirteen different endings. If you want to read it, you can click right here.
Happy 2015 everyone! I came home from a holiday vacation to find the first real LOVE ON THE LIFTS book in my apartment (it’s coming out on January, 22). So in honor, of that, I wish you all a year filled with many kinds of love.
I can’t believe I missed one of my book’s book birthdays, but I did. On December 30, 2014 The Sparkle Spa Shimmering Collection was released! You can read more about it here, but the short of it is that it’s a boxed set of the first four Sparkle Spa books (All That Glitters, Purple Nails & Puppy Tails, Makeover Magic, and True Colors), and it also includes some sparkly nail stickers. (Now I’m thinking that perhaps the Sparkle Spa girls should get some nail stickers in their salon!)
Happy reading!
Here’s a photo from the panel at Books of Wonder this past weekend. I signed tons of copies of the Sparkle Spa books while I was there, so if you’re looking for autographed books for the holidays, they’ve got ’em! (They also have books signed by lots of other authors…)
So excited to head back to the fantastic Books of Wonder to sign copies of Sparkle Spa #4: TRUE COLORS on December 6! I’ll be there from 1-3 pm, chatting on a panel with four other writers:
Charise Mericle Harper (author of JUST GRACE GETS CRAFTY) Yona Zeldis McDonough (author of LITTLE AUTHOR IN THE BIG WOODS) Abby Hanlon (author of DORY FANTASMAGORY) Veera Hiranandani (author of FARM FRESH FUN) Here’s the info, if you’d like to stop by. (PS. For all grown-ups out there, signed books make GREAT holiday presents!)