Dear Teen Me. And Thirty-Something Me

Yesterday being the release day of Don't Stop Now reminded me of how up and down being an author can be (all in one day!).  All of the love from my friends and family on the internet was astounding, and I have to thank all of the bloggers again who are supporting me by writing thoughtful reviews and giving fun interviews.  I stopped by my local Borders (there is still one in my town, and there isn't an indie store within twenty miles.  Fear not!  My book release party is this Saturday at an indie), and of course they don't carry the book (they did have my first two in paperback, which is at least something).  So I emailed my agent to ask if Barnes and Noble picked it up (inspired by the great post on Kristen Hubbard's blog about her own similar experience with book release woes), and they did not.  I know from the past that this doesn't mean the end for the book.  There are other avenues of purchase, including all of the indies (I  hope!), online, and, of course, libraries.  I just want it to get in the hands of the teens for whom I wrote it!  (Not that I'm ungrateful for all of the adults reading it, but you have to know what I mean.  I am a YA writer.)  And the book just came out.  There could be another great review or a review published somewhere where it really gets some notice or a film option or any number of things from all of the appearances I'm doing within the next year.  But that's the sort of anticlimax of a book's release day; the book is out there, but now comes the waiting.  I'm not complaining, just pointing out the non-glamor of being a non-famous author.

Want to read a letter to myself from my high school years?  Head on over to Dear Teen Me.  What a great website.  You can spend hours there.  Please do.  I don't mean on my letter.  It shouldn't take more than a few minutes to read.

And don't forget about the contests to win your very own copy of Don't Stop Now!  Actually, the first piece of it, the picture in the book store, really is like a scavenger hunt now.  I wonder if anyone will enter that one.  And there's still the Twitter part.  If I can figure out how to work that.  Fear not!  There will be a winner!  Or two!