Links for everyone! Links for writers!

OMG LOKI I KNOW RIGHT.

As always, there are so many things I want to tell you about! But I'm still post-travel running around in circles. In the meantime, please enjoy some linkage.

[UPDATE: Mary sent me this link that explains the above picture. Adorable!]

FOR EVERYONE:

• "Icelandic politician moves 30-ton boulder onto his property so he can hang out with elves." The elf thing is one of the many, many reasons why Iceland is my favorite country.

• This assassin bug wears its victims' corpses as armor. Yeah. I'm totally stealing that for a future fantasy villain.

• YA author Stephanie Kuehnert wrote this moving piece for Rookie (my favorite!) about surviving bullying.

• "How to be a fan of problematic things" provides some much-needed advice.

• If you like cute comics about The Avengers, you should definitely be following Noelle's Tumblr.

FOR WRITERS:

• "Publishing is not all six-book mega-deals and twenty-year olds winning national book awards." The INTERN's healthy reminder is a must-read for struggling novelists.

• Never respond to a bad review. Unless you are MCA.

• Agent and bookseller Jennifer Laughran put together a comprehensive guide to bookstore events for published authors. As a former bookseller and current author, I found myself nodding enthusiastically in agreement throughout this entire post.

• Jennifer also wrote this helpful post about what information authors should include on their website to help booksellers.

• The discussion about race in YA literature is, thankfully, fervent and loud. Author Sarah Ockler wrote a good one here.

• "Ten Things I've Learned from Anne Lamott." Lamott is the author of Bird by Bird, the ultimate modern creative-writing classic. This is an excellent refresher.

• The Guardian wrote an important piece about why authors need to respect their followers.

• S. Jae-Jones, editorial assistant at St. Martin's Press, has a great article (featuring gifs of David Tennant) that explains what's happening inside a publishing house during the dreaded acquisitions process. The basic idea? LOTS. Lots is happening. 

(Published authors, have you thanked your editor lately?)

(THANK YOU, JULIE!)

Advice From One of My Role Models

"And remember that a no is free. Ask for what you like, and get used to being turned down. Rejection is hard, but to get acceptance you have to put up with a lot of rejection. If you really like something, don’t ever think, Can I do this? If you think Can I? you won’t. You have to say, "I’m gonna do this, and nobody’s gonna stop me!" But you have to believe that, you can’t just say it. It might take really a long time, because people never say you’re good at first. Or if they do, you’re a flash in the pan and it’s over."

— John Waters, Rookie interview

YA OR BUST! We're coming for you, Seattle!

Nina, Gayle, and moi at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books

Tonight — Thursday, April 26th — is the last night of our YA OR BUST! tour. We've been having a blast, and if you live in the Seattle area, I hope you'll join us:

Roosevelt High School: 7-10 p.m.

1410 NE 66th St.

Seattle, WA 98115

(hosted by University Bookstore)

Gayle Forman!

Nina LaCour!

Stephanie Perkins!

A few quick, unrelated notes:

• I am not attending BEA (nor any of the BEA-related festivities) this year. I was listed on their website by mistake. I'm sorry. I'm bummed about this, too.

• "The 21 Absolute Worst Things in the World" Jarrod and I used to find number fourteen in our apartment in Atlanta. I'm far from squeamish, but . . . yiiiiiiiick!

• I MIGHT have purchased a creepy Edward Cullen wedding doll.* And MAYBE I was encouraged by Kiersten White. And it's POSSIBLE we will take pictures with it next week when she visits me in Asheville.

Speaking of . . .

I have one additional superspecial event next week. I'm on a panel with local YA authors Beth Revis and Megan Miranda, PLUS Kiersten White — Her first appearance in the South! — at Malaprop's in Asheville, NC at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 1st.

And thank you to everyone who has come out to support Penguin's YA OR BUST! tour. We love you. Seriously, we do. You have been hilarious, kind, and generous audiences. We are so lucky to have readers like you. Rock on.

* No offense to book Edward Cullen, who I find quite dreamy.

YA OR BUST! Afternoon in Petaluma

Chartreuse Ladies: Jess Rothenberg, Nina LaCour, Moi

Coffee Shop Terrarium Lion

Our Beautiful Welcome at Casa Grande High School

Gayle working on Just One Day — out next spring!

Goooorgeous, right?

Jess and Her Fiancée

VISIT US ON THE REST OF OUR YA OR BUST! TOUR:

Thursday, April 19: Petaluma, CA

Copperfield's Books, 7:00-10:00 p.m.

Friday, April 20: Santa Barbara, CA

Chaucer's Bookstore, 7:00-10:00 p.m.

Saturday, April 21: Los Angeles, CA

Los Angeles Times Festival of Books

University of Southern California

Signing: Mrs. Nelson’s Bookstore Booth #747 @ 12:00 p.m.

Monday, April 23: Los Angeles, CA

Children's Book World, 7:00-10:00 p.m.

Tuesday, April 24: Huntington Beach, CA

Barnes & Noble at Bella Terra, 7:00-10:00 p.m.

Wednesday, April 25: San Diego, CA

Mysterious Galaxy, 7:00-10:00 p.m.

Thursday, April 26: Seattle, WA

Roosevelt High School
1410 NE 66th St.
(hosted by University Bookstore)
7:00-10:00 p.m.

Available via Feedburner

Happy Passover/Easter/Spring! Love, Unsettling Window Display

I've finally hooked this bad boy up to Feedburner.

("Bad boy." That will never happen again. I'm sorry.)

If you'd like to follow this blog via reader and/or email, the new links are in the right sidebar. And if you'd like to see Easter bunnies FAR creepier than the one in my neighborhood (of course you do), you should visit this post on Laini's blog.

Also, I think I've made my comments here threaded. At last.

Also also, I'm excited to bring you this happy update: Bully got a PG-13. 

HURRAH!!!

Where To Find Me, Pt. 2: Spring Events

Cherry tree with floating petals. My backyard, this afternoon.

As promised, here's the list of my spring travels. If there's an event near you, I hope you'll come and say hello!

NYCTAF: New York City Teen Author Festival

Full schedule here. My events as follows:

Thursday, March 29: NYC Big Read — Manhattan

High School of Art and Design, in association with the NYPL's Grand Central branch

1075 2nd Ave (56th and 57th), 10:00 a.m.

Jen Calonita, Anna Carey, Matthew Cody, Melissa de la Cruz, Stephanie Perkins, Erin Saldin

Friday, March 30:

(1) Symposium

42nd St. NYPL, 2:10-3:00 p.m.

Being Friends With Boys 

Panelists: Elizabeth Eulberg, Jenny Han, Terra Elan McVoy, Stephanie Perkins

Moderator: Sarah Mlynowski

(2) Barnes & Noble Reader's Theater/Signing

Union Square B&N, 33 E 17th St., 7:00-8:30 p.m.

Andrea Cremer, Emily Danforth, Lucas Klauss, Stephanie Perkins, Siobhan Vivian, and John Corey Whaley will read/perform scenes from their novels in teams.

Moderator: David Levithan

Sunday, April 1: No-Foolin' Mega-Signing

Books of Wonder (1:00-4:00 p.m.)

I'm currently scheduled in the 2:30-3:15 slot, but I'm hoping to move to the 1:00-1:45 slot. I'll keep you posted!

RT Booklovers Convention: Chicago, IL

You must be registered with this conference to attend. 

Full schedule here, YA track here. My events as follows:

Thursday, April 12

Voices Inside Me: Shifting Between Narrators

1:30-2:30 p.m.

Panelists: Kelly Armstrong, Melissa de la Cruz, Nancy Holder, Melissa Marr, Stephanie Perkins

Moderator: Sarah Rees Brennan

Friday, April 13

Heartthrobs & Heartbreaks: Writing Romance for Teens

1:30-2:30 p.m.

Panelists: Melissa de la Cruz, Kami Garcia, Alyxandra Harvey, Michelle Jaffe, Stephanie Perkins, Aprilynne Pike

Moderator: Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Saturday, April 14: Teen Day

(1) Author Speed-Reading

3:34-4:45 p.m.

Short excerpts read by: Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Jennifer Estep, Cynthia Hand, Alyxandra Harvey, Jill Hathaway, Stacey Kade, Saundra Mitchell, Jana Oliver, Stephanie Perkins, Amy Plum, Veronica Roth

(2) Tending the Inferno: Series, Stand-Alones, and Genres in YA Novels

5:00-6:00 p.m.

Panelists: Franny Billingsley, Rachel Caine, Ally Carter, Stephanie Perkins, Carrie Ryan

Moderator: Melissa Marr

(3) Teen Party

6:15-7:30 p.m.

Mix and mingle with YA authors who signed at the Book Fair. All the authors that are taking part in Teen Day will be at this evening party.

YA or BUST! tour with Penguin/Dutton authors Gayle Forman, Nina LaCour, & Stephanie Perkins

Further event information here.

Tuesday, April 17: Oakland, CA

A Great Good Place for Books, 7:00-10:00 p.m.

Wednesday, April 18: Menlo Park, CA

Kepler's Books and Magazines, 7:00-10:00 p.m.

Thursday, April 19: Petaluma, CA

Copperfield's Books, 7:00-10:00 p.m.

Friday, April 20: Santa Barbara, CA

Chaucer's Bookstore, 7:00-10:00 p.m.

Saturday, April 21: Los Angeles, CA

Los Angeles Times Festival of Books

Signing at the Penguin booth, 4:30-7:30 (time is tentative)

Monday, April 23: Los Angeles, CA

Children's Book World, 7:00-10:00 p.m.

Tuesday, April 24: Huntington Beach, CA

Barnes & Noble at Bella Terra, 7:00-10:00 p.m.

Wednesday, April 25: San Diego, CA

Mysterious Galaxy, 7:00-10:00 p.m.

Thursday, April 26: Seattle, WA

University Bookstore, 7:00-10:00 p.m.

Hometown YA Q&A

Tuesday, May 1st: Asheville, NC

Q&A with YA authors Megan Miranda, Stephanie Perkins, Beth Revis, and Kiersten White. (Yay for Kiersten! It's her first time in North Carolina!)

Malaprop's Bookstore and Cafe, 7:00 p.m.

Maricopa and Phoenix Public Library Teen Author Bash

Saturday, May 26: Phoenix, AZ

Burton Barr Library — more info to come

Authors: Ellen Hopkins, A.S. King, Barry Lyga, Lisa McMann, Matt de la Peña, Stephanie Perkins

PHEW! That's plenty for this spring, yes? ;-)

Where To Find Me

Moi and Beth Revis (photo by Erin Brethauer)

I've been feeling scatterbrained for the last few months, thus explaining my recent absence from these parts. But no worries. I still love blogging, and I'm still here!

While I continue to cross off items (loooong overdue) from my to-do list, here are two places where you can find me elsewhere right now:

(1) Local authors/friends Beth Revis, Megan Shepherd, and I were interviewed for the Asheville Citizen-Times about The Hunger Games. It's a positive article about YA literature and the YA community, which is . . . refreshing.

(2) One of my role models, the wise and talented Sara Zarr, interviewed me for her This Creative Life podcast. It was only her second episode, and I'm honored to have been asked. Sara and I discuss some of the uglier aspects of writing professionally — burnout, failure, envy — but in a way which, in the end, I believe is also quite positive.

I met Sara last November in Chicago, and I remember actually grabbing her arm as she was about to get into a taxi and blubbering and stuttering about how much her work means to me. Ah hem. This is NOT how I would recommend introducing yourself to ANYONE, but, thankfully, she must have recognized something in my eyes, and we went out for coffee. Ha!

(Thank you for taking a chance on me, Sara.)

I'll be back here on the blog later this week with a TON of new tour dates. Happy Wednesday, everyone!