Winners

Hard covers are here!

Congrats to:

Beth Charles

Jaden Keith

Diane Wolfe

Jenny Fry

I'll be sending you books! 

Very exciting news - a big box filled with hard cover copies of Survivor Diaries Overboard! arrived at my house. Such fun to open and smell and feel. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has done an amazing job with all the covers of this series, I'm just thrilled. 

They also created a very cool game on their Survivor Diaries page of the Middle Grade Mania website. Got check it out!

                 

WILL YOU SURVIVE?? 

I'll hopefully be announcing tour plans soon. For now: 

JULY 15, 2017 I'll be signing at Chapters Indigo in Sudbury, Ontario. 

Stay tuned for more. 

ARC giveaways - OVERBOARD and FALCON WILD

It has been a while since I posted anything here.

Though, you may have noticed the change of scenery to the header - if you have time, head over to my brand new website to see new and fun information. Hope you like it!


The reason for my long silence - my life was somewhat upended in February when I returned from a workshop at the Writing Barn in Austin Texas. I was bitten by an unknown insect (along with several other workshop attendees) and became gravely ill. To be honest, I've been struggling in silence with this for almost three months. It's scary news to post about, mostly because I'm a joyful person - and I like to talk about happy things here.

So far, my test results have come back positive for Lyme Disease and Bartonella. But I'm on treatment right now, and I'm hopeful to make a recovery soon.


Now, ON TO HAPPIER THINGS....

 


I've just realized it's less than two months away from the start of release season for me!

SURVIVOR DIARIES - OVERBOARD! comes out July 4

I have a shiny ARC to send to a lucky winner randomly selected from comments. I'm also giving one away on my Facebook page.

Also up for grabs is as an ARC of 

FALCON WILD releasing September 19. 

I'm thrilled to tell you this title is a JUNIOR LIBRARY GUILD SELECTION for fall 2017! 

Let me know in comments which ARC you'd like, and how to get hold of you if your name is drawn!

Survivor Diaries are coming this summer...

It feels like I've been sharing a lot of new covers here lately. I still can't believe how lucky I got last year selling so many books. But there are no guarantees that I'll keep selling books - so I'm going to enjoy it while I can. And hope hard that these little books do well.

I'm so thrilled with each and every one of these covers of my upcoming series,

SURVIVOR DIARIES, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Cover art by Owen Richardson

I'm thinking I need to make framed prints for my office. Has anyone ever done this? I've been blessed by the cover gods.

These books are illustrated inside too by Jani Orban. Can't wait to share them with you.

On Sale July 4, 2017

On Sale January, 2018

On Sale July, 2018

On Sale January, 2019

New Cover Alert - SLED DOG SCHOOL

I'm pleased to finally be sharing the cover for my new dogsledding novel coming out October 3, 2017. The story is about 11-year-old Matt starting his own dogsledding business for school. It somehow combines math and dogsledding - not sure how that happened since I really disliked math as a kid.

The publisher took great care to try and get this cover right - they went through three different versions that were eventually turned down by their sales team, and bookstore reps. Certainly the most involved process I've seen yet. This last version, they decided to hire the cover artist, Jennifer Taylor.


Hope you like the final product.

In stores October 3, 2017, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

New book deal

Lots of book goodness happening around here. 

Photo credit here

First, here's the latest book deal I can share from Publishers Weekly:

Julie Bliven at Charlesbridge has bought Birds of Prey by Terry Lynn Johnson. It's a middle-grade survival story about 12-year-old Karma's quest to rescue her dad after a car accident leaves him trapped in the desert. Karma has only the help of her trained falcon and a troubled runaway boy, who may or may not be a friend. Publication is slated for 2018; Caryn Wiseman of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency did the deal for world rights. 

I'm so thrilled to finally get to share this story with you. I've had a fascination with raptors for years - seriously, look at that face, doesn't everyone?

You can check here for updates and more on my research for this project. The photo is a hint for exactly what kind of falcon is in the story. Can you guess?

Next, the paperback edition of ICE DOGS is out! I had a giveaway for my mailing list subscribers. Congrats to the following who won signed copies:

Cara Falcetti

Margaret Black

Kathleen Byrd

If you purchase a copy and want it signed, send me a self addressed envelope and I'll mail you a custom bookplate with little sled dogs on it!

I have one more thrilling bit of news that will have to wait till next month to share. I hope that you may come back to join the celebration. Thank you, everyone for sticking with this blog! 

winner

The winner of my latest book giveaway ...


is ...

Theresa Milstein!!

Thanks everyone for all your comments about how awesome dogsledding books are! What fun to read!

and, because I love pictures, here's a random photo from our trip in Georgian Bay last year. Paradise.

Another giveaway

Truth by Julia Karr ARC
Lost Voices by Sarah Porter
(from my publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Isn't that a stunning cover?)
My Big Nose and other natural disasters by Sydney Salter
My Very Un Fairy Tale Life by Anna Staniszweski

One commenter wins all four books. Randomly selected.

Simply leave a comment telling me why dogsledding novels are awesome.
And I would love it if you added ICE DOGS to your goodreads list.

Ends March 25.

May B winner

Little late getting this post out due to the skate skiing conditions across the lake. SPECTACULAR! What a day.

and so,

Winner of the ARC of Caroline Starr Rose's May B is ...


Susan Fields

YAAAAYYY   *Kermit arms waving

Random photo from here so there's something to look at in this post.

Thank you to everyone who entered.

Giveaway May B

Lots of buzz lately over Caroline Starr Rose's brilliant novel in verse MAY B. 

My five star review on goodreads.

I'd like to help celebrate by offering an ARC giveaway. Randomly selected. Just leave a comment here before Feb. 4 and you will be entered to win.

Please include your email if it isn't linked to blogger!

Winner announced Feb. 5


Speaking of survival stories - has anyone seen the new release, The Grey, with Liam Neesen?  Besides being full of annoying Hollywood-ized untruths about wolves, it's a great adventure. Leave a comment, I'd love to chat about it.

May B a good day

HUGE congrats to my debut author buddy Caroline. At long last, her book comes out today!!

MAY B by Caroline Starr Rose

I watch the wagon
until I see nothing on the open plain.
For the first time ever,
I am alone.

Starred Review from Kirkus
Starred Review from Publisher's Weekly
Junior Library Guild Selection
Amazon Best Book of the Month for kids Selection



Also out today, another debut author buddy,

The Gathering Storm by Robin Bridges

What a good day for books!

Interview

I'm over on fellow author Mindy McGinnis blog today Writer, Writer, Pants on Fire where I intelligently discuss writing goob.

Mindy and I both have books coming out in fall 2013. It's nice to have someone to wait with.

To add Mindy's book to your Goodreads list check it out, NOT A DROP TO DRINK.

Best of 2011

Favourite picture of the year. Sled Dog Central

Top Five reads

1. The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson
2. The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan
3. Prized by Caragh M. O'Brien
4. Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
5. Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

Dogsled Dreams book tour 2011. Dog race mascot came over to admire my books!

Top Five Things from this blog

1. This dogsledding video
2. My sled dogs
3. Best part of being an author - fan mail
4. Georgian Bay adventure
5 Announcing my book deal for Ice Dogs





Top Two Things from other people's blogs

1. Sandra Mitchell's post Eventually You'll Care Less
2. Tahereh Mafi on Being a Writer


What were some of your favourites this year?

Story Siren 2011

What a year of reading! I completed my Goodreads reading challenge with 81 books! And 36 were debut's which also completes my Story Siren debut challenge.

I'm so thankful for being part of the amazing group The Elevensies. When I needed to share good news, or bad, they were there to talk me down. We supported and learned from each other, and I've made friends that will hopefully remain for my writing career.

A bonus of doing the debut challenge was it introduced me to books in genre's that I wouldn't normally read.

I've learned:

• Dead people? - very very cool to read about! Especially if they are dressed in, you know... blood.
• Ramadan? Yiddish? - I'm embarrassed to confess, I didn't really know much. But so glad to learn.
• God Stones? - yeah, I'm a new and frothing fan of fantasy! Woo!
• 1941 in the Soviet Union? - reading Ruta's masterpiece rocked me to the core. It changed me.

Here's my 2011 debut list

1. The Trouble With Half a Moon by Danette Vigilante (MG)
2. Warped by Maurissa Guibord (YA)
3. Vesper by Jeff Sampson (YA)
4. XVI by Julia Karr (YA)
5. Unearthly by Cynthia Hand (YA)
6. Head Games by Keri Mikulski (YA)
7. Perilous by Tamara Hart Heiner (YA)
8. Across the Universe by Beth Revis (YA)
9. Rival by Sara Bennett Wealer (YA)
10. So Shelly by Ty Roth (YA)
11. Haven by Kristi Cook (YA)
12. The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney (YA)
13. Clarity by Kim Harrington (YA)
14. How Lamar's Bad Prank Won Him a Bubba-Sized Trophy by Chrystal Allen (MG)
15. Illegal by Bettina Restrepo (YA)
16. Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys (YA)
17. The Lipstick Laws by Amy Holder (YA)
18. The Rotten Adventures of Zachary Ruthless by Allan Woodrow (MG)
19. OyMG by Amy Fellner Dominy (YA)
20. Moonglass by Jessi Kirby (YA)
21. Memento Nora by Angie Smibert (YA)
22. Divergent by Veronica Roth (YA)
23. Possession by Elana Johnson (YA)
24. Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton (YA)
25. Bestest. Ramadan. Ever. by Medeia Sherif (YA)
26. Dead Rules by Randy Russell (YA)
27. Wither by Lauren DeStafano (YA)
28. Vanished by Sheela Chari (MG)
29. End of the Line by Angela Cerrito (YA)
30. Popular by Alissa Grosso (YA)
31. The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab (YA)
32. Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake (YA)
33. With a Name Like Love by Tess Hilmo (MG)
34. My Very Unfairy Tale Life by Anna Staniszewski (MG)
35. Don't Expect Magic by Kathy McCullough (YA)
36. The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson (YA)

Can't wait to get started on 2012!

Did you do this challenge? Which books rocked your world?

ICE DOGS announcement

photo credit www.sleddogcentral.com

Today I finally get to spill the beans and tell you my exciting news.

I've been waiting impatiently to be able to share, but now that the day is here, I'm actually a bit lost for words.

Here's someone else's words.
Deals from Publisher's Marketplace:

Children's: Young Adult
Terry Lynn Johnson's ICE DOGS, in which a 15-year old dogsled racer and sled dog owner loses her way on a routine daytime outing with her dogs; with food gone and temperatures dropping, her survival and that of her dogs and the mysterious boy she meets in the woods, is up to her, to Ann Rider at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's, for publication in Winter 2013, by Caryn Wiseman at Andrea Brown Literary Agency (world). caryn@andreabrownlit.com


My novel will be a real hardcover book in two years!!!

I cannot even begin to tell you how good this feels. My dream of being published with a big publisher has come true!! And I owe much to my amazing agent Caryn Wiseman of Andrea Brown Lit Agency.

also,

A GIGANTIC and GRATEFUL shout out to my long-suffering crit partner PAUL GRECI

who read the manuscript about 608 times without complaint.
He is beyond awesome. He is also a spectacular, uber talented writer.


Really, a writer's most important tool is her critique partners. I also have to thank

Sue Kay Quinn
Kendare Blake
Medeia Sharif
Cynthia Chapman Willis

also my good friend, and not even a writer Jackie White  who keeps me grounded with her honesty.

I also owe a debt to the good friends I have made this year at the ELEVENSIES

See the village of support I have? I am one lucky writer! And now, thanks to my support team, I am soon to be a Houghton Mifflin Harcourt author.

2012 Debut reading challenge

Have you signed up for this challenge? The Story Siren has the deets.

I am still doing the 2011 reading challenge. See my list here. I'm up to 33!

This is the place I'll be listing books read for 2012 challenge. There's a bucket load of fantastic books coming out next year that I can't wait for!

I'm listing the books I definitely plan to read. Then I'll go from there.


1. May B by Caroline Starr Rose
2. The Gathering Storm by Robin Bridges
3. Chained by Lynne Kelly
4. Shadows Cast by Stars by Katherine Knutsson
5. Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
6. Incarnate by Jodi Meadows
7. Time Between Us by Tamara Ireland Stone
8. Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown

Hatchet cake

I couldn't resist sharing these photos with you.

My friend Christine Selinger and her son have done something that I think deserves some kind of award. Her son's favourite book is Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, and for his school project, Chris decided they should use cake. Yes, this is totally edible, and indeed, was eaten that very day by the class.

Four handmade cakes, two different kinds of homemade icing, jello, three different kinds of brown sugar for the sand, all adds up to one enormously creative ode to a great book.

If you've read the book, you'll recognize items in the model. Turtle eggs. The sinking plane. Berries. The skunk. Moose, wolf, bear. The cave. Is this seriously cool or what? What do you think? Mom of the Year Award material?

close up



Front view

back view

the cake artists

Any other books made into a cake out there?

Giving thanks and announcing winners

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

I have much to be thankful for:

my man
my job
my dogs
my home
my health
my family
my ability to smell when the milk is about to turn. It's a gift really.

and the most recent huge thing I'm thankful for, I can't talk about yet. Please stay tuned.



Now, on to the winners of my recent Elevensie Celebration Giveaway:

Winner of the YA package is Lucy D'Andrea

Winner of the MG package is Irene Latham

Winner of the MIXED BAG package is Angel Cruz

So, what do you have to be thankful for today?

End of Summer Elevensies Giveaway

It's that time again, where I celebrate my good fortune of getting published by giving away books! 

I'm sharing the FABULOUSNESS that is the 2011 debut author group THE ELEVENSIES.  (seriously, go check out all the amazing books. I can't believe I know these writers)


This time I'm going completely nuts giving away books in BULK. There are three packages up for grabs - some are bonus books. All you have to do is tell me which collection of books you'd like. I know, I know, the choice is TOO HARD! But life is full of choices, as all the protags in these stories demonstrate. You will just have to pick.


rules:

• fill out the form (make sure you fill out your email, dudes! You are hard to track down.)
• no need to follow (but I'd love if you did)
• ends October 10, 2011 (which is Thanksgiving, Canada style)

On to the books:

THE ECLECTIC ELEVENSIES YOUNG ADULT COLLECTION:

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand
OyMG by Amy Fellner Dominy
The End of the Line by Angela Cerrito
The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab
Popular by Alissa Grosso
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher (signed copy!)

(yes, Jay Asher is not an Elevensie, but it's a pretty awesome book)



THE MARVELOUS MIDDLE GRADE COLLECTION:

*Vanished by Sheela Chari 
*With a Name Like Love by Tess Hilmo
When the Whistle Blows by Fran Cannon Slayton (signed copy!)
Plain Kate by Erin Bow
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

*Elevensie
BONUS: included in this package you get stickers and bookmarks of the upcoming middle grade novel

 MAY B by Caroline Starr Rose

Caroline is a peach of a lady (wait, not peach. She deserves more than a cliche. I don't even like biting into one of those - too much fuzz. It should be something really yummy like watermelon. Yeah, Caroline is a seedless watermelon) I can't wait for January 2012 when this novel in verse to comes out!




THE MIXED BAG OF MERMAIDS, MONSTERS, AND OTHER WONDERFULLY WEIRD THINGS COLLECTION:

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan
Seven Tears into the Sea by Teri Farley (signed copy!)
Unwind by Neil Shusterman
Ingo by Helen Dunmore
Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings by Helene Boudreau



Please fill out the form here

edit: hey, I forgot to ask for your blog addy. If you have one, stick it on there so I can visit. Or comment on the post!

Great recent reads

As you can see by the photos I've been posting, I've had a busy summer. But now that I'm home, I'm back to reading every spare moment. Here's a quick review of some great books:

DEAD RULES by Randy Russell

LOVE this book!Complex characters where no one is as they first seem. And loved the crazy humour - real left-field things that had me laughing out loud. Kept me surprised, entertained and frustrated throughout. 

Possession by Elana Johnson

Very creative! A whole new world for the reader to enjoy. Action junkies take note. And features a hard-core female mc.







Divergent by Veronica Roth
 
 

 
A wild, wild ride! Brilliant. Every page had tension. AMAZING READ!








BLOOD MAGIC by Tessa Gratton
 

Loved the romance bits of this story. Such great characters! Mystery, romance, magic and suspense all wrapped together. Creepy and addictive. I read this a while ago, but it has stuck in my head. A good sign!







Bestest. Ramadan. Ever. by Medeia Sherif

Great characters here. Especially Grandpa! I love to read books where I learn something new, and I must confess to not really knowing what Ramadan was. Funny and touching and brought me back to highschool and all the drama and problems of those tender years. Medeia is a contemporary Judy Blume!








Merle's Door: lessons from a free-thinking dog by Ted Kerasote (non-fiction)

Okay, as far as dog books go - this is a MUST READ! I feel changed.

Black Star Bright Dawn. by Scott O'Dell

Scott O'Dell. Need I say more? Great stuff here, of course. I bow down.

Watch for my next ELEVENSIES giveaway this fall where some of these books and more will be up for grabs.
What great books have you read recently?

Giveaway Winners

It's time to announce the winners of the epic ELEVENSIES DEBUT BOOK GIVEAWAY!! This has been my most popular contest with over 100 entries!!!

And WOW! Hello to all my new followers! Thank you for helping me break 300!  How awesome of you to join us. Hope you don't mind blackflies because we are in the thick of them here at the moment. But relief is found out in the kayaks, so expect more expedition photos soon.

On to the winners.

Winner of OyMG by Amy Fellner Dominy is

Amanda of Read a book a day

Winner of Clarity by Kim Harrington is


Krystal of Stellar Book Blog

Winner of Moonglass by Jessi Kirby is


Brittany Gale

Winner of Memento Nora by Angie Smibert is


Christie H.

Winner of The Lipstick Laws by Amy Holder is


Joli of Actin Up With Books

Winner of The Rotten Adventures of Zachary Ruthless by Allan Woodrow is


Tiffany Fallick








Congrats to all the winners. If you didn't win, stick around because we'll do this again with another batch of ELEVENSIE DEBUT's next season.