From the Eye of the Storm #31

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. I spent Christmas with my parents in Arizona. Christmas in the desert is a strange sort of thing, but I've done it enough of it over the years that I've sort of gotten used to it. While I was there, I went to the Musical Instrument Museum, which is an amazing multimedia experience I highly recommend for anyone with a deep love for music and how it has evolved all over the world. I particularly liked the attention to detail they give to each country. It's a huge museum, and they didn't just lump things into broad categories like "Here's African music! Here's Asian music!" etc. They broke it down country by country, showing examples of the instruments that came from there, as well as some video footage of people playing those instruments. And for large countries like China and Russia, they even separated it out into regions. It was was so much I couldn't even fully digest it all in one day. We did Europe last, and by then my brain was spilling over and I retained almost none of it. So I guess I'll have to go back the next time I'm in Phoenix!
There was also a temporary exhibit with some amazing inlaid art guitars. Here's a picture of one that really caught my eye.

From The Eye of the Storm #30

I am in an obscenely good mood. So chipper, even my children are growing weary of it. Why, you ask? Partly it’s because I love Christmas so much. I really do. All of it, from the warm sentimentality, to the commercial trappings, to the endless Christmas music. Even the cold weather that goes along with it. By the end of December, I will be sick to death of it, but for now, I love it all.

The other reason I’m in such a good mood is because I’ve started a new project. There is a special kind of thrill in starting something new, and it is a feeling I have not had in a good long while. Now, you know I love the Empire of Storms, but I have been working on this massive, three book story for the past three years. So it feels great to play around with something new.

From the Eye of the Storm #29

Hello, all. I don't have any news this week, but something has been on my mind, and since I don't have a proper blog right now, I thought this would be an appropriate place to share.

I was catching up on All Songs Considered, one of my favorite radio shows about music. The host of the show, Bob Boilen, sometimes brings musicians in as guest dj's to pick some of their favorite songs. On one particular program, which took place right before the election, he invited former Pink Floyd singer, bassist, and songwriter, Roger Waters. One of Waters's picks was an old Sam Cooke song, "A Change Is Gonna Come". It's a beautiful song about hope and perseverance, and it was released in 1964 during the Civil Rights Movement. It was a statement of belief that things would get better. To be honest, listening to that song made me sad. It felt like we have come so far, only to go right back where we started from. I couldn't help wondering if we've accomplished anything at all.

From the Eye of the Storm #28

Hello friends. It's a quiet, rainy day here in the greater Washington DC area. Dark and muted and a bit warmer than one might expect for a sunless day at the end of November. It's a good day to be at home with a cup of tea and a book. So that works out for me. Sorry for all you honest people with proper jobs.

I'm sure I don't need to say that it's been a tumultuous couple of weeks. For those of you outside the US asking what in all hells happened, we're just as baffled as you. Baffled and more than a little frightened. I was tempted to use lesser words like "anxious" or "uneasy", but--speaking only for myself here--allowing a former reality TV celebrity to become the most powerful person in the country is even scarier than giving it to a movie star known for acting with a chimpanzee. People are already starting to compare our president-elect with Andrew Jackson, and with very good reason. That guy was a jerk.

But I don't want to turn this newsletter into an anxiety-inducing screed about how we must be vigilant of the dangers to come, etc, etc. You already know that. Instead I'd like to offer hope and assurance. All storms pass eventually. We will weather this storm, just like generations before us weathered theirs. Will it be difficult? Absolutely. Will there be damage and loss? Most likely. Might it change the very shape of our lives? Possibly. But we will get through it together.

From the Eye of the Storm #27

I keep thinking fall has finally come, only to be surprised by another couple of warm, sunny days. Not that I dislike warm sunny days, mind you. But I love the brisk chill of fall best.

But it's not really the weather I want to tell you about. No, I want to tell you the title for the third Empire of Storms book:

From the Eye of the Storm #26

Hello. It's been a while. Summer has turned to Fall, the kitten has noticeably grown, and the boys have settled into their new middle school routine. Fall is my favorite season, at least until it's time to rake the mountain of leaves that will soon bury the small bit of ground in front and behind my house. I suppose it's the price to pay for so many gorgeous, mature trees. Ah well. The boys are older now and genuinely useful in helping out, so it isn't as bad as it used to be.

Book News

Well, the big exciting news, at least for me, is that I have an editor again! Hurray! Her name is Brit Hvide, which is pronounced "Breet Vide", because it's Norwegian. We haven't met in person yet, but we've spoken on the phone and I'm very much looking forward to working with her.

From the Eye of the Storm #25

I don't really have any news to impart at the moment, but I turned 40 today, so I hope you'll forgive me if I use this platform to get a little sentimental. If sentiment isn't something you go in for (and trust me, I completely understand), you may just want to hit Archive on this one.

I'm not doing anything particularly spectacular for my fortieth birthday. While I'm certainly not adverse to receiving presents, I don't generally dwell too much on age or birthdays. So I didn't think one way or the other about it until people started asking me if I was doing something special for my fortieth. It's a landmark year, after all. I remember when my parents turned forty. There were lots of gag gifts like black balloons and gravestone cards. Generally, the sentiment was that the best years of your life were over and now it was time to face the slow but inevitable decline into dreaded "old age".

To be honest, that summary of forty doesn't resonate with me at all. If anything, I feel like I've only just begun. I still have (most of) my hair. I'm in probably the best physical shape of my life. It's true that I hoped I'd be more stable in my career by this point. But my anxiety is offset by the hard-earned self-confidence I gained in my thirties, which tells me that even if everything goes to hell, I'll find a way to get through it. And that's not foolish bluster. It's based on experience. Things have gone to hell for me at several points in my life already, and I got through it each time. And really, I was only just finally able to write full time less than two years ago! Now, I'll be the first to admit, I could be deluding myself terribly. But my gut feeling is that my life is still on the upswing. And until I see evidence to the contrary, I'm going to run with that.

From the Eye of the Storm #24

I've turned in first pass pages for Bane and Shadow, which means it's officially out of my hands. I've done those last little nips and tucks, mostly cutting or changing a single word. I've caught a few typos. And that's it. In a very real sense, the book is no longer mine. In some ways it's a relief. I will futz with something endlessly, and it's usually up to an agent or editor to take it from me at a certain point. And that's probably for the best. I always think of a line from that John Guare play Six Degrees of Seperation. Flan, the art dealer, says:

From the Eye of the Storm #23

Hello from the greater DC area, also known as the DMV (which, sadly, conjures up Department of Motor Vehicle flashbacks for many, including me). We've been given a few days of respite from the crushing heat and humidity. The windows are all open and I haven't broken into a sweat all morning. I think if summer was like this all the time, I'd like it a lot more.

Last week, my older son, Logan, turned thirteen, which is kind of hard to wrap my mind around, really. Only when I close my eyes and just listen to his changing voice do I really believe it. Anyway, he loves the beach so we took an impromptu trip up to Robert Moses in Long Island, NY. We stayed at my aunt and uncle's house in Northport one night and my friends Andrea and Ian's house in Brooklyn the second. A lot of driving, but totally worth it to enjoy those last days of summer...

Because now school has official started! My younger son, Zane, has begun middle school, so we've completely left the world of elementary school (primary school for UK folks!) behind. It feels like the end of an era, with all the accompanying bittersweet feelings you have when you realize that your kids really are growing up right before your eyes at what seems like an ever-increasing speed. If they weren't so much damn fun, I'd probably be getting misty-eyed.

From the Eye of the Storm #22

Hello from the swamps of the DMV area, where the humidity is so thick, we swim through the air! Sounds like fun, doesn't it?

Thankfully, I wasn't here the entire time. The boys and I took a trip to Arizona. Which...well, at first it was even hotter. Dry heat or no, 119 degrees is still hot enough to literally bake cookies in your car (someone did!). Thankfully, my parents quickly whisked the boys up to Flagstaff, which has much milder temperatures due to the elevation.

Meanwhile, I rented a car and headed to San Diego for Comic Con! It's just as fun and crazy and stressful and overwhelming as everyone says. In fact, trapped in throngs of cosplayers and fans, I nearly missed my panel! Fortunately, I won through in the nick of time. And it was a great panel, with thoughtful questions from our moderator, Cindy Pon, interesting discussions (sometimes heated, sometimes polite) between authors, and a huge audience turn out. . I haven't watched it, so hopefully I don't come off as a complete ass. Or airhead. Either is possible.

From the Eye of the Storm #21

Summer continues to drench us in its seething humidity here in the greater DC area (and presumably many other regions as well). The boys are back from their trip to Seattle and we're taking it fairly easy this week, because next week we're flying to Arizona. Partly because of all the traveling, and partly for other reasons, their mom and I agreed that there wasn't much point in putting them into camp this summer, especially since neither of them were very interested in going. Personally, I can't wrap my head around the idea that someone might ever get tired of Circus Camp, but maybe that's just me?

Anyway, despite the traveling and other events happening this summer, there are several days at a stretch where we really don't have much planned. I was a little worried about that, and even felt a bit guilty, until I read an article written by a child psychologist who urged parents to not plan out the entire summer, but instead to allow unstructured time. Time for them to get bored and have to figure things out on their own.

So we're trying this out, and it's been interesting to see how they do (or in some cases don't) adapt. I bought the boys desks this summer and I've been very pleased to see Zane spending a lot of time at his desk drawing. They've also been reading a lot, which I'm very glad to see as well, of course.

From the Eye of the Storm #19

Here we are at last. The official launch day for Hope and Red. Well, in the US, anyway. AU and UK readers will have to wait two more days.

I've always found launch days a bit anticlimactic, since not a lot actually happens. It's mostly just that the book is no longer yours, but the world's. If they want it. There's some relief in that, but also anxiety, like the first day you send your kid off to school, albeit with significantly less crying. Your book is out there in the big bad world to be lauded, or reviled, or, worst of all, ignored. And at this point, there isn't really a whole lot you can do about it. Perhaps some guest blogs and interviews, perhaps a reading and some panels. You do whatever you can for as long as you can to help your book into the world. But these are only minor contributions, and ultimately, you must accept that the book will succeed or fail on its own terms.

From the Eye of the Storm #18

School's out for summer at last, which means some family trips, a lot of time at the pool, and probably less writing time, at least on the weeks that I have the boys. As much as I detest the humid, swampy heat of DC, I always seem to enjoy summer, probably because of the more open schedule. During the school year, it always seems like we're dashing from place to place, trying to fit in homework and school activities and orchestra rehearsals and occasional book events. But during the summer, if we have one thing scheduled that day, it's something to look forward to, and we always manage to find plenty of others stuff to fill the rest of the time.

I'm only talking about the weeks that I have the boys, of course. My solo bachelor weeks are pretty much business as usual. After all, I just promised my editor that I'd have a first draft of Empire of Storms Book 3 to her by November. The only difference on solo weeks in the summer is that I tend to write downstairs at the dinner table, close to the AC unit and the giant jug of green tea chilling in the fridge.

From the Eye of the Storm #17

I'm writing this from the cafeteria of my son's middle school. Both my sons are in the "Summer Instrumental Music Experience", which is a public school program that's supposed to be a way for kids to keep playing music during the summer, except it actually starts a week before the end of school. I assume that's so those poor music teachers can still have a proper summer break. It's a large program, comprised of two full bands and orchestras, grades 4-6, and at the end of the two weeks, they have a big concert. We've done it every year since Logan was in 4th grade.

Right now, Zane's band is rehearsing only twenty yards away from me. The quavering, sometimes disjointed notes are pulling at my focus, but this will be a short newsletter anyway, so I'll try to muddle through.

Hope and Red News

From the Eye of the Storm #13

Spring continues to hold on with uncharacteristic tenacity in the Mid-Atlantic region. I feel bad for some of my friends who find the wet, chilly weather depressing. But personally, I'm happy to put off the swampy miasma of DC summers for as long as possible.

I did something new and a little frightening yesterday. I said "no" to a potential project. Turning down even possible income is a little scary for someone new to working for themselves. And it wasn't even that I disliked the project. I just didn't love it as much as the other projects I'm already working on, and it's getting to the point where in order to take on a new project, I would have to put another one on hold. So after discussing it with my agent, I decided I'd let this one go by. It wasn't a liberating or thrilling feeling. In fact, it was a little sad to accept that I do ALL THE THINGS. And it was a bit nerve-wracking to let go of some potential income.

From the Eye of the Storm #11

I’m back from my travels and tempted to ramble at length about the things I’ve seen and the thoughts I’ve had during my first trip outside the States in about seventeen years. But I’ve come back to a mountain of work, both of the awesome writing variety and the dreary logistical variety. So I’ll just summarize and say:

From the Eye of the Storm #10

Spring is rapidly giving way to Summer, even though it was snowing less than 10 days ago. I’ve just put my mom on a plane back to Arizona after a very nice visit. I was thinking, now it’s time to get back to work and do some writing. Except I realized that a week from today I will be in Iceland, and I still have a ton of details to sort out regarding my trip.

Two nights in beautiful Reykjavik, then the rest of the week in London, where I will meet with my lovely UK publishing team for the first time. I am not by nature much of a planner, but I’m trying to get better at it, including thinking ahead about what it is I want most to see while I’m over there, rather than my usual impromptu wanderings. Of course, I’m also not even kidding myself about having time to write up my newsletter, but the following week, I promise I will included enough pictures to make you envious of my trip (tastefully, of course).

Book news!

From the Eye of the Storm #07

Winter and Spring are duking it out here in the Mid Atlantic region. We were in t-shirts a few days ago, and yesterday we had snow flurries. Somehow, the flowers that sprang up last week aren’t dead yet. It certainly isn’t due to my care, because I have always been indifferent to gardening and yard work. As a home owner in a community that cares about such things, there is a base level of effort I need to exert (raking leaves, weeding, etc), but the only time I go beyond that is when my mother comes to visit.

NYC Teen Author Fest

I couldn’t participate in the full week-long festival this year, but Tuesday I took a quick trip up to NYC to read from and speak on a panel at WORD Bookstore in Jersey City with David Levithan, Becky Albertalli, Sarvenaz Tash, Heidi Heilig, Lance Rubin, and Allen Zadoff.

From the Eye of the Storm #06

I’m getting ready for a short trip up to New York City tomorrow. Packing clothes, setting extra food and water for the cat, and making sure my aging laptop (which these days serves primarily as a homework tool and Minecraft portal for the boys) is loaded with all my current writing projects.

I decided to take the train up. The bus would be cheaper, sure, but after dealing with that particular bus line for about seven years, the additional comfort (and perhaps a lingering romance of the rails) is worth the money. I could drive instead, but then I wouldn’t get any writing done during the eight hours total of travel time. Also, I’m going to be making this same trip at the end of the month with the boys, and for that one, I will definitely need to drive.

The reason I’m going this time is to participate in the , a week of panels and events held throughout the city centered around Young Adult literature. I think this will be my fourth time participating. It’s organized by my friend, David Levithan, and the sheer scope of it, stretching across seven days and five boroughs (plus New Jersey), leaves me in awe.

Hi all! Thanks so much for the positive feedback, both here and elsewhere, regarding the cover, the map, and the newsletter in general. Regretfully, I can’t respond to everything, but I read it all, and it means a great deal to me.

Apparently the images didn’t come through for some of you, so this time I’ll try a different way to host them. Let me know if problems continue.

It’s morning as I write this, and I’ve just sent the boys off to school. I probably won’t post this newsletter until the evening, though, so I have a chance to polish it up a bit before I send it out.

Hope and Red updates