Blog Tour: 10 Things I Can See From Here

A Poignant YA Novel that Addresses Anxiety with Humor and Grace

10 Things I Can See from Here

by Carrie Mac

★ “With Maeve, Mac delivers a character who’s heartwarmingly real and sympathetic, and her story provides a much-needed mirror for anxious queer girls everywhere.”—Kirkus, Starred review

“This is a good companion book for other anxiety-riddled stories, such as The Shattering by Karen Healey and Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella.”—Booklist

“Mac is good at showing how a dread-filled mind works. . . . [An] affecting story.”—Publishers Weekly

 Self-deprecating, nuanced, and real, 10 THINGS I CAN SEE FROM HERE (Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers | On sale February 28, 2017 | Ages 14 and up | $17.99) by award-winning author Carrie Mac explores the complexities of mental illness with wit, honesty, and sincerity. At once profound and delightfully humorous, this  coming-of-age novel deftly explores anxiety and falling in love for the first time. 

Think positive. Don’t worry, be happy. Keep calm and carry on. Maeve has heard it all before. She’s been struggling with severe anxiety for a long time, and as much as she wishes it were something she could just talk herself out of, it’s not. When Maeve is sent to Vancouver to live with her dad, her very pregnant stepmom, and her twin six-year-old half brothers, she struggles to rise to the challenge. 

Vancouver brings a wide array of new worries, but Maeve finds brief respite—as well as even more worries—in Salix, a local girl who doesn’t seem to worry about anything. Though the summer includes  catastrophes than even Maeve could never have foreseen, she is able to reach inside herself to find the courage to be there for the ones she loves.

With an exciting love story and a raw, emotional core, 10 THINGS I CAN SEE FROM HERE 

is a poignant and uplifting novel perfect for fans of Rainbow Rowell and Sophie Kinsella.

CARRIE MAC is an award-winning Canadian novelist making her US debut. She lives in East Vancouver, where this story takes place. Check out her website at Carriemac.com and follow her on Twitter at @CarrieMacWrites. 

10 THINGS I CAN SEE FROM HERE

by Carrie Mac

An Alfred A Knopf Books for Young Readers hardcover

Hardcover: 978-0-399-55625-8 | On sale February 28, 2017 | $17.99 | $23.99 Can. | 320 pages | Ages 14 and up

Ebook: 978-0-399-55627-2 | $10.99

***

Top 10 Books That Inspire Me by Carrie Mac

I have been staring at this question for weeks. 

Weeks. 

Whenever I get asked what my favorite book is, or even my top five- or ten favorite books are, or my favorite book in a particular genre, or my favorite book this week, I feel like I’m being asked to choose which kittens to save from a house on fire. And I can’t save them all. 

So I will choose ten, and I will fail. I’ll choose ten, and behind every title, let’s say that there is a souped-up bookmobile following it around, with all the books I didn’t choose. I love these ten books, but I love a million more. 

I’m not even kidding. 

A million more. 

From The Notebooks of Melanin Sun – Jacqueline Woodson

Bastard Out of Carolina – Dorothy Allison

This one Summer – Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki

The Golden Compass – Philip Pullman

Lives of Girls & Women – Alice Munro

Walk Two Moons – Sharon Creech

Persepolis – Marjane Satrapi

Hiroshima No Pika – Maruki Toshi

Harriet the Spy – Louise Fitzhugh

A Thousand Splendid Suns – Khaled Hosseini

I was going to write a note about each one, stating why I chose it for the list. But when I look at the titles, I realize that they inspire me for all the same reasons. They are evocative of place, time, atmosphere, and most importantly of all, character. The characters from these books are still with me today, as fully realized people who truly lived the story, which is a testament to what each of these writers and artists created—books that became part of who I am, as a writer and a reader and a person on the planet. 

I have one set of bookshelves in the tiny home I share with my family. I don’t keep many books, which many people find odd for a writer. I read books. I write books. I love books. But I don’t keep many of them, and so it’s very hard to decide what stays and what goes. But those books on the list always stay. Always.

So, this is my armful of sooty kittens for today. Each one of them is absolutely precious. Please check out the bookmobile on your way home and take a book or two. 

And a kitten. 

Blog Tour: The Secret Horses of Briar Hill, Interview with Megan Shepherd

 Fans young and old of The Secret Garden will devour critically acclaimed author Megan Shepherd’s poignant new novel, THE SECRET HORSES OF BRIAR HILL (Delacorte Press | On sale October 11, 2016 | Ages 10 and up). Brimming with magical realism, this is a superbly written tale of hope even in the darkest of times.

When Emmaline arrives at the tuberculosis hospital during World War II, she discovers a secret: there are winged horses living in the mirrors. One day, she enters the abandoned garden to find that a real winged horse from the mirrors has entered her world and needs her help. 

Emmaline begins to receive letters from the Horse Lord, asking her to protect the white winged horse named Foxfire from a dark and sinister force—a Black Horse who hunts by moonlight but is blinded by bright colors. As Emmaline searches for colorful objects, her friend Anna becomes increasingly ill, and Emmaline begins to remember for the first time what happened to her family. 

Through war and illness, darkness and danger, Megan Shepherd brings strength, light, and hope to this incredibly well-crafted emotional tale.

MEGAN SHEPHERD grew up in her family’s independent bookstore in the Blue Ridge Mountains. She is the author of several acclaimed young adult books. Shepherd lives and writes on a 125-year-old farm outside Asheville, North Carolina, with her husband. You can visit her at meganshepherd.com and follow her on Twitter at @megan_shepherd.

 

GC: First things first. Megan Shepherd, when you were young, did you have an affinity for all things equine? 

MS: I was a typical horse girl. I didn’t have a horse or take many riding lessons, but I was obsessed with them. Like my main character, Emmaline, I loved to draw them. They seemed strong, intelligent, and somehow honorable (can a horse be honorable? I think it can), which I think is why many girls are drawn to them. Little girls often feel like the most powerless, overlooked creatures in the world—except when they’re on the back of a horse. Then they’re invincible. 

GC: Unlike the main character of The Secret Horses of Briar Hill, who is growing up in a hospital, you grew up in a library. Has your childhood affected how you write for a younger audience?

MS: Memories of my childhood are filled with books. My parents ran an independent bookstore in the Blue Ridge Mountains for forty years, and as a girl I would hide behind shelves and get lost in magical literary worlds. My childhood was a very happy one, unlike that of many of the young characters in The Secret Horses of Briar Hill, who are dealing with illness and war. Maybe having had a secure young life gave me the confidence to turn around and take a hard look at childhood from a different angle.

GC: How did you find the experience of changing genres after writing two YA series—the Madman’s Daughter trilogy and the Cage trilogy?

MS: The thing about young adult books is, they’re long! And the thing about trilogies is, they’re VERY long! So after years spent working on each of my YA projects, I was itching to write a shorter, tighter, more concise story. Also, my young adult books tap into my own teenage years, which were filled with angst and big dreams and curiosity about the world, while my middle-grade books tap into my younger years, which were more innocent and sweeter and felt magical. I love exploring these different sides of my own history.

GC: Why do you believe it is important to tell children stories?

MS: Stories were how I learned about the world. Growing up in a small town, I was able to visit ancient Egypt and modern-day Nigeria and Boston on the eve of the Revolutionary War through books. They let me understand characters who weren’t like me. They let me see how rich—and also scary and beautiful—the world beyond my hometown could be. I believe that for children, books fall somewhere between daydreams and how-to guides for life. Their importance in growing into a capable, sympathetic, thoughtful adult cannot be overstated.

GC: What’s next for you as a writer?


MS: The final book in the Cage series, The Gauntlet, comes out in May 2017. After that, I plan to continue writing both YA and MG fiction, as well as continuing to teach classes and speak at writing festivals across the country. Meeting readers face to face is one of my favorite parts of the job.

 

Blog Tour: The Star-Touched Queen

A 2016 Most Anticipated Debut by Parade, Buzzfeed, 

Goodreads, Paste Magazine, We Need Diverse Books & more! 

THE STAR-TOUCHED QUEEN

A Novel 

By Rouhani Chokshi

“A setting drawn from ancient India, romance with feminist sensibilities, and a unique magic system…a stunning debut filled with lush writing, smart characters, and a mysterious plot that provides as many twists as it does swoons.” 

—School Library Journal, STARRED Review

“Chokshi's rich, descriptive writing weaves a lush web...a swoony romance, betrayal, and a journey to power and self-affirmation, with a slightly wicked, slightly funny animal sidekick in the best tradition… work together to create a spell that many readers will willingly succumb to. Richly imagined, deeply mythic, filled with lovely language with violet overtones: this is an author to watch.” 

—Kirkus Reviews 

“This gorgeous debut promises big things to come from Chokshi, who at barely 25 has decades ahead to dazzle us.” 

—Cosmopolitan.com on “8 Life-Changing Novels by Twentysomething Women” 

“Chokshi’s first novel is filled to the brim with gorgeous, scintillating writing that easily draws readers into its new take on traditional tales. A unique fantasy that is epic myth and beautiful fairy tale combined.” 

—Booklist 

“A heady blend of mythology and metaphor, THE STAR-TOUCHED QUEEN is sure to appeal to fans of Laini Taylor and Leigh Bardugo. Maya is a great character, full of promise and patience, even as the odds are stacked against her.” 

—Romantic Times Book Reviews 

THE STAR-TOUCHED QUEEN (St. Martin’s Griffin; April 26, 2016) is a lush and vivid standalone debut young adult fantasy that seamlessly weaves the Greek myth of Hades and Persephone with Indian folklore. Featuring a smart, independent anti-princess who must take her place as queen and a forbidden romance that defies the odds, debut 

author Roshani Chokshi pairs beautiful writing with a thrilling pace and compulsive plot, using her own Filipino and Indian heritage to create a culturally diverse and vividly imagined world. 

Fate and fortune. Power and passion. What does it take to be the queen of a kingdom when you're only seventeen?

Maya is cursed. With a horoscope that promises a marriage of Death and Destruction, she has earned only the scorn and fear of her father's kingdom. Content to follow more scholarly pursuits, her whole world is torn apart when her father, the Raja, arranges a wedding of political convenience to quell outside rebellions. Soon Maya becomes the queen of Akaran and wife of Amar. Neither roles are what she expected: As Akaran's queen, she finds her voice and power. As Amar's wife, she finds something else entirely: Compassion. Protection. Desire... 

But Akaran has its own secrets -- thousands of locked doors, gardens of glass, and a tree that bears memories instead of fruit. Soon, Maya suspects her life is in danger. Yet who, besides her husband, can she trust? With the fate of the human and Otherworldly realms hanging in the balance, Maya must unravel an ancient mystery that spans reincarnated lives to save those she loves the most. . .including herself.

From an incredibly fresh voice, Roshani Chokski’s THE STAR-TOUCHED QUEEN is a beautifully written standalone novel that will enchant young adult and fantasy readers until the last page. 

About the Author

 

ROSHANI CHOKSHI comes from a small town in Georgia where she collected a Southern accent, but does not use it unless under duress. She grew up in a blue house with a perpetually napping bear-dog. At Emory University, she dabbled with journalism, attended some classes in pajamas, forgot to buy winter boots and majored in 14th century British literature. She spent a year after graduation working and traveling and writing. After that, she started law school at the University of Georgia where she's learning a new kind of storytelling. More information on the author can be found at www.roshanichokshi.com. 

RED blog tour: Fancast by Liesl Shurtliff + GIVEAWAY!

Oh, reader, what big teeth you have! 

The better to devour RED: THE TRUE STORY OF RED RIDING HOOD.

Can’t get enough of the new fairy-tale-retelling trend? Don’t miss Liesl Shurtliff’s new dark, humorous stand-alone middle grade novel RED: THE TRUE STORY OF RED RIDING HOOD (on sale April 12, 2016)!

Liesl Shurtliff spins a spellbinding tale, shining the spotlight on one of the most beloved characters from her award-winning debut, Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin. This isn’t the Little Red Riding Hood from the canonical children’s tale. Shurtliff’s Red is strong, independent, brazen, and not afraid of anything . . . except magic. But when Red’s granny falls ill, it seems that only magic can save her, and fearless Red is forced to confront her weakness. Readers will gobble up this bewitching fantasy as they join Red on her journey of discovery through the sinister dangers of the enchanted dark forest. 

Liesl Shurtliff’s first book, Rump, won over kids and critics alike, earning an IRA Award, a Texas Bluebonnet nomination, a Whitney nomination, and a starred review from Kirkus, proclaiming it “as good as gold.”

In RED, Liesl Shurtliff is at her best. New York Times bestselling author of Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library Chris Grabenstein raves that “Liesl Shurtliff has truly out-magicked herself. Red is the most wonder-filled fairy tale of them all.” RED will capture the hearts of readers who like it Grimm, as well as followers of ABC’s TV show Once Upon a Time.

***

Fancast by the author!

Red: 

Chiara Aurelia 

She’s got the look, the smirk, and the attitude. She was the perfect snob in Pretty Little Liars and she’d make the perfect Little Red. 

Goldie: 

Kyla Deaver

Curls and all! This girl would be adorable as Goldie.

Granny: 

Maggie Smith

She does everything spot on perfect and I can’t get enough of her. I laugh every time she opens her mouth in Downton Abbey.

Huntsman: 

Donald Sutherland 

Aside from having great hair, he’s a wonderfully versatile actor, something that would be very important for this role.

   

Borlen: 

Peter Dinklage

I loved him in Elf and think he’d make a perfect Borlen. He’s a grumpy dwarf, but in a likable sort of way.  

*Spoiler Alert*

Beast: 

The beast in Red is female and I think Zoe Saldana would be perfect. 

I loved her in Guardians of the Galaxy. She has the perfect mix of badass with just a dash of vulnerability that makes her real and not overdone.

GIVEAWAY!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

My Agent Story: It Doesn't Save You

It doesn't save you.

This is the thought that has haunted me since I announced signing with my agent, Mary C. Moore. The fear that I have nothing more uplifting to say on the matter of achieving representation has kept me from writing this post.

During the years of waiting, I had heard stories of authors who received word of book deals while in the aisles of supermarkets. Authors who, after giving a quick jump for joy, returned to scanning the shelves for their toddler's favorite cereal or the breakfast bars their spouses put on the list. 

But I never thought it would happen to me. 

I always felt that--in the movie of my life--signing with an agent would be my make-over moment. I thought it would happen in a bubble, a shiny, happy, perfect iridescent bubble. But it happened in real life and I won't patronize you by saying that makes it so much sweeter.

I, like any other desperate writer querying their third novel (For the official record: the first was awesome and garnered a ton of praise-- all from agents who ultimately passed the full, giving reasons variant on "I don't know how to sell this;" the second should never have made it out of my desktop alive, I see that now) jumped at any chance to show agents my work unsolicited, and so I entered #PitMad on March 11, 2015 almost exactly three years to the day of my first query. 

My agent, Mary, favorited the tweet, along with four other kind souls okay three if you're discounting me and requested the first 50 pages.

On March 18th she requested the full. 

A still life of querying author.

I didn't hear from her again for exactly three months, but on June 18th I got the best birthday present of my life! An e-mail from Mary requesting to speak to me via a phone call. 

While I had received more full requests and uplifting rejection letters than any other author on the face of the planet (seriously, I am claiming this without fact checking, because while other authors have told stories of pulling out their rejection letters on masochistic days, I would read over mine when I needed a pick-me-up) I had never had an agent request to take a phone call with me. 

I was scrambling. This is a great place to insert that things in my life were not, and are not, going swimmingly, as a discerning reader might have guessed by the opening line of this post. My schedule wasn't wide-open for good news, as sad as that may sound. 

And by then I knew the book had plot problems. I was already addressing those with two other agents who had requested I edit the book and send in another draft when I was ready. (I would just like to say both of these agents--and their assistants--were wonderful and my choosing Mary had nothing to do with them and everything to do with Mary.)

We set the date for the 29th of June at 6 PM my time. 

I assumed that the phone call would consist of Mary feeling me out to assess whether or not I had the makings of a sociopath (hmmm...still debatable) and ultimately asking me to restructure the book based off her edits. Instead she did, what I still believe, after years of *almost-but-not-quite* offers had conditioned me to believe, was the impossible. She said:

"I would like to offer you representation."

And I began to cry-laugh. 

Not immediately, because this offer came smack-dab in the middle of our conversation; I attempted to formulate some of the questions I had not come prepared to ask, assuming that this was just one more step towards securing an agent, but not, in fact, the moment it would occur. 

It took another phone call on July 20th to convince me she was my Chosen One. She sold me when she said it was my writing that had grabbed her: 

"I felt like I was reading my favorite author."

For years I had been told the EXACT. SAME. THING. by brilliant and wonderful agents attempting to keep me afloat in an industry saturated with queries. They wanted me to know my writing was worth pursuing, that I absolutely had *something*, it just wasn't something they were excited to sell at the moment. 

Mary stopped short of every clause. She merely said I absolutely had something. 

Fortunes received mere days before my first call from Mary.

Five days later, on July 25th, 2015, over six months from the first pitch, I took a third phone call with her, this one very brief, where I said the words, 

"I am formally accepting your offer of representation."

I had a surgery scheduled for the 6th of August, and wouldn't you know, that's the day my contract came in the mail? There's a picture of me somewhere, I haven't yet steeled my vanity to view it, holding the blank forms while still swaddled in bandages and blood-catching contraptions.

In its place I offer this:

Editing with Mary has been the bright spot of my every day for the past several work-weeks. I personally love editing, which I know sounds ridiculous, but I have always likened this part of the process to the quote attributed to Michelangelo:

"I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set [her] free." 

As someone whose life has often resembled a chunk of unpolished rock, rather than a refined statuary, I connect to the sentiment, and to the process of editing, that takes you from one to the other.

This time in my life is much like editing, with additional bumps in the road that really have nothing at all to do with the poetic process, and everything to do with the unrefined realities of life.

I enjoy editing because it is a product of hope. Mary believes in my book and has offered me hope that it might make someone else believe as well. She has offered me the chance to take steps towards becoming a career author, which is a marathon and not a sprint. At times, she and I tear down sentences to build them back up again and that too is very hopeful, it is the hope that however sturdy the syntax might have been, it can be better, I can be better, we can do more. That I have it in me to be great.

Getting an agent does not save you. 

An agent is not your fairy-godmother, just as a potential editor is not necessarily Prince Charming. They are, rather, beacons of hope, little lights on the path towards a tomorrow forged by my choices and strengths. 

Getting an agent will not--does not--save you, but as an author it reaffirms the hope that you are right to save yourself. 

"The life you save may be your own." -- Flannery O'Connor

I would now like to take this moment to thank some people:

Jodi Meadows, who read over several drafts of several queries, offered amazing, tireless insight, and made sure none of them ended up in the slush pile. 

When I told her my first novel, a New Adult contemporary, was 111,000 words long she responded, "You know you can kill someone with a manuscript of that size? That's blunt force trauma." I blame her for my love of editing. 

Francisco X. Stork, who read my original first novel and was the first person to tell me I had a gift for words. And for coffee and sandwiches in Dallas. 

Kelsey Sutton, who leapt for joy alongside me.

Cindy Thomas, who encouraged me and hacked Publisher's Marketplace for me. 

Kimberly Cameron, whose agency now represents me.

And special thanks to Mary, for seeing the angel and for choosing my pitch out of over 50K others. 

To those of you, you Mod Podge People, who have been a part of the last five years of my life I would also like to extend my warmest thanks. 

Here's to the next five and all the hope to come!

Cover Reveal: SPARK by Holly Schindler

“In my hometown, the restoration of a former movie theater on the town square provided the genesis for my new YA novel, SPARK. Who among us hasn’t dreamed of seeing their name in blazing neon across a gigantic marquee? Let me invite you to dim the lights and draw back the velvet curtains—let your imagination run wild as you enter my fictional Avery Theater, where literally anything goes…” 

—Holly Schindler

When the right hearts come to the Avery Theater—at the right time—the magic will return. The Avery will come back from the dead.

Or so Quin’s great-grandmother predicted many years ago on Verona, Missouri’s most tragic night, when Nick and Emma, two star-crossed teenage lovers, died on the stage. It was the night that the Avery’s marquee lights went out forever. 

It sounds like urban legend, but one that high school senior Quin is now starting to believe, especially when her best friend, Cass, and their classmate Dylan step onto the stage and sparks fly. It seems that magic can still unfold at the old Avery Theater and a happier ending can still be had—one that will align the stars and revive not only the decrepit theater, but also the decaying town. However, it hinges on one thing—that Quin gets the story right this time around.

Holly Schindler brings the magic of the theater to life in this tale of family ties, fate, love, and one girl’s quest to rewrite history.

~

Holly Schindler is the author of three previous YA novels: PLAYING HURT as well as the critically acclaimed FERAL (starred PW review) and A BLUE SO DARK (starred Booklist review, ForeWord Book of the Year silver medal, IPPY gold medal). A writer of books for all ages, Schindler’s MG, THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY, has made the master list for children’s book awards in Illinois, South Carolina, and Alabama. She is also a hybrid author, having independently released comedic women’s fiction (FIFTH AVENUE FIDOS) and the forthcoming PLAY IT AGAIN, her adult follow-up to her YA PLAYING HURT. She can be reached through her author site and hosts special sneak peeks and giveaways for subscribers of her newsletter.

~

Spark “Premieres” May 17, 2016, but you can buy your “tickets” now. Links to pre-order: 

Amazon

B&N

IndieBound

Add to your TBR list: 

Goodreads