Here's Me Using the Word Blog in a Sentence

Hey! Lucky Made the Top Ten.

2012-01-27T22:04:00.003-05:00

EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS made the 2012 top ten best fiction for young adults list. That's awesome.
Check out this great list as well as the entire BFYA list.

Thank you to the hardworking committee who made this happen.

Don't Stir the Rabbit.

2012-01-27T15:20:00.003-05:00

I got this letter last week from a college student somewhere in America. It was a great letter. It was about writing and books and life and people. And it said:

What do you do with people who think that they're better than you?

Wow.
Welcome to my life.
Welcome to everyone's life, I think.

I just did my page proof reading of ASK THE PASSENGERS (Oct 2012) and I found this line in there that says something like this: "Everone is always looking for a way to be better than everyone else. In second grade, you're better than the first graders and in eighth grade, you're better than the seventh graders. It never ends."

I totally paraphrased my own book because I'm too lazy to go looking for the actual quote right now.
But you get the gist.

What do you do with people who think that they're better than you?

I have underlined the key word in that question.
This is all a matter of perception.
Isn't everything?

Being a writer is a funny thing.
For 15 years I wrote books without getting published, which is the average Joe's idea of 'success' in writing and so I met a lot of people who thought I was nuts, delusional, and wasting my time. I was freako Amy. People would talk to me about their real jobs and how much they made per year and I would have nothing to offer to the conversation but a few unpublished manuscripts, hours of volunteer literacy work and a farm full of next year's food.

The funny part: once I did get published, and once I sold another book, which proved I might continue to publish, suddenly I had to deal with a complete reversal of what others thought of me. This is the phenomenon I call The Perception Trap.

We are all at the mercy of other people's perceptions. Now that I'm published, for example, some people may think that I am no longer freako Amy who was what I was a few years ago. Now, depending who you talk to, I am 100 other Amys who don't really exist.

But really I'm still just me.
And all those other Amys live inside other people's heads.

People who think that they're better than you will never go away. They usually have time on their hands to think about this stuff. Try to make sure you don't. Get busy doing cool stuff that they don't have time to do because they're so busy sewing imaginary you and me dolls with their brains. (And most likely talking about those dolls with anyone who will listen.)
Get busy living.

Due to the Perception Trap, I've met some people who think that I believe I poop Hagen Das ice cream because I write books for a living.
This couldn't be further from the truth. (So far, I've written books for no reason more than I've written them for a living. The ratio for us math geeks is: 9:5)
I've always been kinda goofy and humble and I plan on staying that way. Egotism bums me out. Egotism is not saying "I rock!" to myself from time to time. That's self-esteem or positivity. It's not at all related to "You suck!" or "I rock more than that other person rocks!"

Look.
No one is better than anyone else.
The trick is to make sure your brain isn't competing with perceptions vs. realities.
The trick is to stop competing all together.

They are plenty of people who think they're better than me. I get the added bonus of reading material to that fact--from hate mail to personally insulting blog posts masquerading as reviews of my books (none of these do I really read except the hate mail because someone has to.) There are fellow writers who wouldn't even say hi to me if we were waiting at the same taxi stand and we were the only two there.

Before I was a writer, there were people like this. When I was a photographer, there were fellow photographers like this. When I was a college student there were fellow college students like this. When I was in high school, there were fellow high school students like this. It never really ends because humans are weird.

Let them do what they want.

You just worry about you. Get done what you want to get done. Ignore who you need to ignore.

My personal feeling is: big heads are inconvenient. I feel sad for those people who have them. I don't feel better than them, though. I keep being freako Amy and the people who matter know me for who I am and not some messed up idea of me they made up in their head so they could dislike me.

Why would you try to reason with someone like that?

Dude. That's like trying to reason with Glenn Close while you're stirring your own pet rabbit in a pot.

This Is Why.

2012-01-22T11:03:00.005-05:00

Did you know I'm into volunteering for my community?
If you didn't, then you know now.
If you did, then you know I'm slightly vague about it most of the time.
I didn't move to this town to become the vice president of this or the secretary of that. Sometimes, there are so few people to help communities run that some people have to say yes or else community services would die.
People aren't lining up to help out.
Believe me.

That's why I talk about community volunteer work online on twitter and stuff. I like to remind people that their communities don't run themselves.
All it takes is a little time.
Or maybe that base understanding.
Or a minute to really look at a thing and realize that there is no good time to do it...except NOW.

Segue into part two...

So, okay. Sometimes people say weird stuff. And some time last year, I forget where, someone was writing about EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS and how the The Vagina Monologues is mentioned in it and said something (I am totally paraphrasing) like "The Vagina Monologues just evokes the image of a 50 year old white woman."

Not everyone knows about the V-Day cause, I guess. They may not know that Eve Ensler has raised over 50 million dollars in aid for girls and women suffering torture around the world through her V-Day organization. (Read about her work in the Congo here.)

But this isn't Eve all by herself.
A lot of people are V-warriors. There are tens of thousands of us.
All races, ages, genders and classes.

I usually save all V-Day talk for a little later in the year when there are shows in thousands of locations worldwide including the one in my town.

So why am I writing about it today?

A freshman in high school named James Damore.
(Clue: Not a 50 year old white woman.)

I woke up on Tuesday to a call from my mother. My mother always calls early in the morning when I'm in the local paper. Tuesday, there was a great review of EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS in the weekly teen section, called Voices. I picked up a copy of the paper on my way back from the preschool drop off and when I opened it, I saw that name in the byline.

James Damore.

I met James on the set of I Am an Emotional Creature. Considering the aforementioned gap in popular knowledge when it comes to Eve Ensler's life's work for women, I will link you here to this book: I Am an Emotional Creature: The Secret Life of Girls Around the World which was released in 2010 and was a brilliant segue into the next generation of warriors who can fight the good fight to end violence against women. Our local V-Day put on the show last year as a companion show to The Vagina Monologues. I watched it every time.
I Am an Emotional Creature pretty much blew me away.

The script was amazing.
The actors were all fantastic.
The teachers involved were incredible.
But the thing that made my heart do that twisty thing during every show was this: All the actors were teenage girls.
And the crew were teenagers too.

And so... I met James Damore, V-man and crew, whose sister was in the show and who is quite an actor himself.

To see his name on the byline of a review of EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS, for me, was one of those moments that an author doesn't get very often. I had no idea he had read the book or had written a review. This has nothing, really to do with a great review for which I am more than grateful. This goes deeper than that. I knew that James knew.

He knows the deal.
He knows what V-Day is.
He has given his time to help women and girls.
Already.
And the dude is only a freshman in high school.

This is why.

It's why I ask you to go see the show.
Or at least look into the cause [before you badmouth it.]

It's why I ask you to serve in your community. I don't care how. If you use your community's resources then you should consider giving back. Most communities run on the sweat of very few volunteers. Becoming one of them gives a sense of pride and links you to where you live and the people there.

It's easy for me to be a V-warrior...long before I'm 50. I've been an active feminist since birth. I plan to go out swinging.
It was easy for James to be a V-warrior. He saw he was needed, he loves theater, and he said yes.

The more people out there who value another's hard work to do good in the world rather than judge them, the better our chances will be to succeed. The simplest answer is to act.

This is why.

Be a James. Don't let anyone tell you that volunteering is a pain. Or too much work for nothing. Or that it might take up too much of your time. I've done it in my teens, my 20s, my 30s and my 40s. With kids, without kids, with jobs, without jobs. I just did it.

The time is now to help keep your towns alive. You don't have to do anything you don't want to do. Find something you love and ask them how you can help.

This is why.

Introducing REALITY BOY.

2012-01-11T10:24:00.001-05:00

Very excited about this sale and this book. It's almost done and I will be making it more and more perfect through the next few weeks. Behold! The tin foil hat book:

Printz Honor author A.S. King's REALITY BOY, in which an infamous reality TV child star, now a damaged teenage boy, meets a girl who forces him out of his angry shell before they run away and send their dysfunctional families a list of demands that must be met in order for them to come back, to Andrea Spooner at Little, Brown Children's, for publication in Fall 2013, by Michael Bourret at Dystel & Goderich Literary Management (World English).

Celebrate with me.
And be reminded that a list of demands is never a bad idea.

Stuff That Makes My Day.

2012-01-05T12:28:00.002-05:00

Umm..

Stuff like this. Everybody Sees the Ants by A. S. King

And dudes. This.

And this, too...from Women Against War.

Also, I am rereading Andrew Smith's The Marbury Lens and I want to say that I read this book at some point in 2011 and it should have been on my last blog. I never reread books (except for Vonnegut and a few classics and favorites). Oh snap. It turns out this one fits into classics and favorites for me. If you haven't read it yet, do. The sequel is coming later this year and is called PASSENGER.

2011 Highlights & Random Pictures

2012-01-02T22:31:00.001-05:00

2011 was an amazing year so I figured doing an end of year random picture post would be a good idea so I can remember 2011 and everything wonderful that's happened and celebrate, because I forget to celebrate sometimes. (Author note: I wrote this blog intro a week ago. I have since celebrated. I have proof at the end of the post.)

I have a good friend in this business--the awesome Lauren Baratz-Logsted--who told me from the beginning: Enjoy every minute. So, I do that. I enjoy every single minute. I try to concentrate on the positive things and I always--ALWAYS--have my eye on the next book and my future dreams and am working to make it a reality. I think that's the most important thing a writer can do...keep writing and keep dreaming.

2011 was crazy at times, and I mean crazy-good. And sometimes crazy-good gets in the way of writing all the time. It had me feeling a little behind for a while this year, but I eventually caught up, so I don't feel like I'm chasing anything impossible...at the moment, anyway.

So let's take a minute to recap a wonderful year.

January

Dudes. In January 2011, PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ received news of her Printz Honor and her Edgar Award nomination. WHAT A MONTH! Seriously. Surreal and crazy and all sorts of good. There were Vulcan tears shed--you can ask the Printz committee.

Then it snowed a bunch of times.

AWESOME READ IN JANUARY: I'LL BE THERE by Holly Goldberg Sloan. What a great book! If you haven't read it, you really should.

February

I was able to share two awesome pieces of news...first, the cover for EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS. Then, news of the sale of my 2012 release, ASK THE PASSENGERS. Random picture: I went to NYC for Sara J. Henry's launch of LEARNING TO SWIM...it was awesome (the book and the launch party.) LEARNING TO SWIM is my Awesome February read.

March

I wrote like a crazy person. There are no pictures of me as a writing crazy person. Also, the audio of PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ arrived around this time. (And I've forgotten pretty much which books I read when at this point...so forgive the lack of Awesome Book listings until fall.)

Random picture from March. We have signs like this in my town.

April

April started with the annual Vagina Monologues show and my annual post about being part of the solution. Feel free to find a show in your area this year and occupy one of these seats and make a difference in the movement to end violence against women and girls.

And of course, April is pool painting time. There it is. With my feet. That's lane three there to my left. Odd fact: Those shoes never fit me. They were always too small and they made my toes hurt. I have finally tossed them and replaced them in my size. I know you're all relieved. I know my toes are.

I took the whole family to Washington D.C. and paid a visit to the wall and found the missing soldier I take with me everywhere on my POW/MIA bracelet.

April ended with The Edgar Awards in NYC, where Mr. King and I got all gussied up and had a smashing time. See? Here's us having a smashing time. Going to the Edgars was an AMAZING experience. It made me want to hang out with mystery writers more often. They're loads of fun. And the MWA is a great organization that blew me away with just how much they do for writers.

May

My [kinda messy looking] office was featured at one of my favorite Tumblrs, Write Place, Write Time.

May is the time for the Rochester Teen Book Festival. Here is the AWESOME Terry Trueman posing as the poster child for the Creative Minds Club.

Then there are these two pictures from our local fair where I and the family hung out and promoted our awesome community pool. I think these are my favorite two pictures of the year.

June

And then there was June. Crazy busy June. By June, I was in the thick of editorial letters for ASK THE PASSENGERS and was trying my best to fight back against the book-who-tried-to-kill-me. (That's its other name. But we've forgiven it now.) I got to go to Bryan High School in Omaha, Nebraska for the first time in 2011...not knowing I'd be back two more times in the same year. What a school! What a librarian! What teachers! What a principal. <---Best principal EVER. And I got to go to my annual writing retreat with the best writing pals ever.

But the highlight of June, without a doubt, was my first ever American Library Association Annual Conference in New Orleans. Holy shit, guys. What a trip that was. I got to hang out with awesome librarians. I got to hang out with awesome authors. I got to go to my first Caldecott/Newberry dinner and I got to participate in the Printz reception and make that speech...which made me cry, but I didn't care because it said what I wanted to say. Look. I can't really come up with the words to explain how lucky I feel on a daily basis since receiving that phone call in early January 2011. This picture, taken in the elevator ceiling the day after the Printz reception, might show just how lucky I feel.

July

Back to Bryan High School with the fantastic Heather Brewer and Jackie Morse Kessler.

Photo cred: the awesome Rory!

I usually take July, August and September off to write a new book, so this was my last big trip before being at home for a while and chilling in my lane...

August

I spent August writing and swimming my little buns off. And the first starred review for EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS arrived from Booklist.

AWESOME READ IN AUGUST: GUY LANGMAN: Crime Scene Procrastinator by Josh Berk. Hilarious book coming in 2012. Loved it.

September

Two more starred reviews for EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS arrived in September...on the exact same Monday. And then, on the same Friday, another starred review came in from SLJ. How's that for amazing? Dudes. 2011 was amazing. Then I took off to Atlantic City for the annual NAIBA conference which I love because I adore independent booksellers who might occasionally make signs like this for my signing table:

DEAR BULLY, the anthology which I was a very small part of, was released in September. It's a great book and huge kudos to Megan Kelley Hall and Carrie Jones for putting it together.

I took my mom to Chester County Book Co. to meet Ellen Hopkins! Woot! I love Ellen. I might propose to Ellen one day in another life. Even if we both come back as dung beetles, I'd do it.

Also, at the end of September was Banned Books Week and I got to read aloud from one of my favorite banned books. (This was taped in New Orleans in June, though, which explains my 98% humidity hair.)

AWESOME READ IN SEPTEMBER: BOY 21 by Matthew Quick. Out in March 2012. Do not miss it.

October

October 3rd was EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS launch date and things got so crazy-good and crazy-busy, I'll just point you to the post where you can get an idea of what the next few months held. Wow, right? I was all over the place and loved every minute of it. There was a great podcast interview on Read, Write, Think. There were a lot of signings and school visits and I met so many awesome students, teachers and librarians and just...you know...people. I saw this view a lot:

I was named an honorary roller derby girl for the Shotgun Shirleys out in Phoenix and that just made my year in the I am a badass department. Thanks to The BookBabe for that awesome honor.

So much happened in October, I'm not going to go overboard. But I can't thank the whole world enough for welcoming Lucky Linderman and ANTS the way they did. Thank you!

AWESOME READ IN OCTOBER: DEAD TO YOU by Lisa McMann. Coming in Feb 2012. The perfect read. Seriously don't miss it.

November

November started off with a freak snowstorm that knocked my power out for almost a week. It was kinda hardcore, but we all lived. In the meantime, EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS made the American Booksellers Association's ABC Best Books for Teens catalog.

I did a lot of writing on a new book (the tin foil hat book) that I'd worked on during those summer months, when I wasn't taming ASK THE PASSENGERS. I also admitted here on the blog that I am a badass quilter.

Then I went to my favorite conference, which is the ALAN Workshop. I'm a member of ALAN and have been for years and I can't urge you enough to join if you are at all interested in the teaching, reading or writing of young adult literature. Before ALAN is NCTE and I managed to drop into the booth to visit my starry book mere seconds before the booth's destruction.

Then, as if October and November weren't amazing enough, news came in about another starred review for EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS and then...ANOTHER ONE. Which brought the total to six starred critical reviews for that book. Which is just insane and amazing and it was one of those dreams that if I'd ever said it aloud, someone would have told me to never even dream of it because it was impossible. Anyway, add two more shiny guys to that picture above.

December

That's Dom Perignon, truffles and tacos. Yes. Tacos.

(Author's note: I wrote the December entry two weeks ago.)

I just wrote 25,000 words in a week. I have secret news I can't share right now, but it's good news. (No, it's not a movie deal, but one day, maybe...one day.) My family is all well and we're all happy and it's the day before Christmas. There's a bottle of Dom Perignon on my desk (Sent by the best BFF ever) that has not been opened yet because all that stuff you just read hasn't really sunk in yet and I am making it sink in this week. I am going to celebrate. Feel free to celebrate with me. (Okay, that's now past tense...so I hope you celebrated with me.)

AWESOME READS IN DECEMBER: FEED by MT Anderson. Holy shit. If you haven't read this yet (it's 10 years old) stop everything you're doing and read it now. And CATCH AND RELEASE by Blythe Woolston coming in March 2012. An incredible book. Read it.

FINALLY! This blog post is over!

Thank you for reading, writing to me, telling people about my books, being librarians and teachers--the most important jobs in the world. Thank you for your support and your celebrations with me throughout this amazing year.

To 2012! May it bring many more words, great books to read and lots of corn.

We have a winner.

2011-12-12T21:57:00.000-05:00

Wow. You guys make it really hard to judge a contest. I loved so many of these entries. I mean, from a Santa who yells, "Stay protected!" to an extra sock in every drawer to giving dances away to anyone who couldn't get a homecoming date to two mentions of a Delorean (one that delivers 70's and 80's toys), to "the creed of course is greed," to Millie who spreads joy with cheese in Boston to a watch that stops time to the UPS jumpsuit-clad Santa who flips the bird... a huge flying Dumpster, to the awesome ghost Santa who visits her sister, this was just a great bunch of 100 word stories.

Stephanie, your recruitment for teenage Santas was awesome! And Monica, your UN classified CLAUS division was great as was littlefluffycat's wicked good cat story and Sarah's story about Santa's daughter. And Rogue91101 your Evil Santa/John was completely out of the box. Loved it. And I loved your poem, Hugo.

WINNER:
Janet, your entry about "Just Read It" headquarters was the winner for me. Of COURSE I'd want to hang out with the Santa/s who give away books! Especially when you'd recommend The Book Thief to a person who needs to reconnect to his own humanity. Dude, that's such a perfect recommendation. And you've made it so easy to get gifts to everyone everywhere. Perfect solution.

(** Community hat on. . . ** I urge those buying e-reading devices to consider multi-platform devices which can read many different types of files and can also support your community bookshops through Indiebound ebooks.** Community hat off. **Who am I kidding? The hat never comes off.**)

THANK YOU ALL for your entries. Janet, I've sent you an email for mailing details, etc. and thank you again to all entrants. This is a time I wish I had ten more prizes to give away. I may stop in once more before the New Year, but if I don't, I hope you all have a great holiday no matter what you celebrate and none of you meet with Evil Santa. (<---soon everything will be his.)

Super Holiday Mega Giveaway Contest

2011-12-01T23:05:00.002-05:00

I'm iffy at holiday time. It's because consumerism wigs me out. But I always dug Santa Claus because the dude is nice. Like, really nice. He's not really about buying stuff...he gives stuff away. Nicest dude ever, right?

So the thought of Santa made me feel like giving stuff away. Sure, Santa doesn't require any writing or thinking or anything. (But he does require one to be nice and not naughty, so that's some work, I guess.) But I'm not Santa. Or, well, I guess I am in the eyes of two little people who still think I'm Santa, but none of you think I'm Santa, so we're good.

Anyway.
The rules are simple.

RULES:
1. Write me a 100 word (or less) story about alternative to Santa Claus...but who does the basic stuff that the traditional Santa does. (Gives stuff away and is nice.)

Inside the narrative (not in list form, please) answer these questions: How does this person/thing get around the world in just one night? What sorts of gifts does he/she/it bring? Any particular costume? Does he/she/it have a catch phrase? What is his/her name?

2. Remember a story has a beginning, middle and end. This alternative Santa is only a character. Your setting can be anywhere, any time, and your character can be anything.

3. The most imaginative story that makes me want to hang out with the new alternative Santa wins.

4. I've had to turn on comment moderation due to spam on this contest, so if your comment doesn't show up immediately, don't worry! I'm just weeding out the spam!

PRIZE: Signed copies of all of my books. (I can sign them to anyone you want me to.) That's THE DUST OF 100 DOGS, PLEASE IGNORE VERZ DIETZ and EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS.

DEADLINE: December 10th, 2011 11:59pm

BONUS: Open to entrants in any country. With that deadline, I may not be able to get it to you on time for the big day if you're overseas, but I'll try my best.

Six.

2011-11-30T19:41:00.001-05:00

Make that six starred reviews for EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS. Six. As in one more than five and one less than seven.

Six.

This morning, I heard that the wonderful journal The Horn Book had raved and given ANTS another star. I was in an airport trying to eat a dry tasteless muffin when this news came in and needless to say, I scrapped the muffin. I am so grateful and so honored and most of all, SO HAPPY that people are getting Lucky Linderman's message.

Here's a quote:

"King’s themes of torture, physical and emotional imprisonment, and bullying connect in satisfying ways in this improbably witty and heartwarming story." --The Horn Book (Starred)

Now...seriously. Stay tuned for the mega giveaway. I will post it tonight or tomorrow.

Two Things

2011-11-29T13:42:00.000-05:00

Okay, three things, really.

First: stay tuned for the Mega Holiday Giveaway Contest. I will post it in the next day or two.

Second: EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS got its FIFTH starred review in the December issue of The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books. It's a great review and for some reason, this line jumped out at me:

"Compelling food for thought about the things we can control and the things we can’t."--BCCB (starred)

This has been an incredibly awesome year for Lucky Linderman and EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS and I can't thank readers enough for the support. Thank you!

Third: If you're in Westborough, Mass. then tonight is when the fun begins. The Westborough town-wide reading program, featuring PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ will kick off with a dessert social and book giveaway tonight at 6:30pm. More info here!

I'm off to Omaha! Will post the contest when I'm safe inside my hotel room.

Chicago ALAN Workshop in Pictures

2011-11-27T11:44:00.000-05:00

So, you know I love the ALAN Workshop, right? I've been a member of ALAN (Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of the NCTE) since I knew about it thanks to the awesome Jim Blasingame. I try to go to the ALAN Workshop every year and this year was especially cool because I got to do a breakout session with Heather Brewer and Jackie Morse Kessler about teens who experience bullying, eating disorders and self harm and teens who need help navigating safe relationships. I love Jackie and Heather--we are all dedicated to talking about tough things with teens because a lot of times, adults in their lives don't know how or don't think it's appropriate.

When one in ten kids today are self harming, isn't it okay to talk about it?
When one in three girls is assaulted before they're out of college (16-23 being the high risk age group) isn't it okay to talk about it?
When ONE MILLION kids PER WEEK are bullied, isn't it okay to talk about it?

I'm not going to get into the dark/not dark/honest/who needs honesty question. I'm a writer. It's an art thing. I don't set out to send some dark, heavy message. (And I quite think I send a hopeful, positive message, and so do Heather and Jackie, but anyway.) I just write the stories that come to me. The kids I write about (and for) are smart and they happen to know that, you know, death, abuse and, say, bulimia exist...even if some adults have a beef with them knowing it.

The question that I get a lot that I do want to talk about is this one: Did you write a bullying book because bullying is a hot topic these days?

Here's my answer:

No.
When I wrote ANTS, bullying was not a "hot topic." In fact, I was asked by one editor to take the bullying out of the book.
Books take quite a while to go from my computer to the shelf. What's a hot topic today is not going to be a hot topic in three years.
Sad to think that only three years ago, bullying was not a "hot topic."
I sure bet it was for those million kids a week.
It sure was for me twenty years ago.
And long after this "hot topic" goes away and is replaced with another, those million a week will be suffering in silence, just like they/we always did.

This is why Heather, Jackie and I (and many other YA authors) go to schools and talk about this stuff. We have our own stories and we like to talk honestly with teenagers who appreciate honesty. This time, at ALAN, we got to talk with a room full of educators who also like to talk honestly, and that was a particularly awesome hour of my life. Sometimes, as YA writers, we get so boxed and labeled and banned and shushed by adults that we forget that there are many others on the front lines with us.
To them: THANK YOU.
Long after the news shows move on to another "hot topic" and the masses follow them, we will still be on the front line with other honest people who are fighting a good fight. Kindness ninjas unite!

ANYWAY! Some pictures.

First, my brief visit to the floor of the NCTE conference where everyone was packing up. I got there just in time to hug Sara Zarr and get my picture taken with the starry book.

Love the starry book.

Sara Zarr, dude, our lunch conversation was pretty much life-changing. Thank you.

The ALAN Workshop starts with a great cocktail reception where everyone gets to mix and talk and it's always a blast. I got to chill with a bunch of cool ALAN folks (you all know who you are) and some groovy authors like Jennifer Donnelly, Matt de la Pena, Coe Booth, David Levithan, Laurie Halse Anderson, Lauren Myracle and of course, Heather Brewer and Jackie Morse Kessler. I got to meet some new authors, too...like my complete author fangirl moment with MT Anderson and Andrew Smith.

Dudes! Me with Andrew Smith of Marbury Lens fame.

After the cocktail party, I was treated to an AMAZING Little, Brown dinner alongside Sara Zarr and Matthew Quick and 30 librarians and teachers and teacher trainers. There are no words to describe how much I loved that dinner. But here's a picture of me afterward that proves that I do wear a skirt from time to time. (If only vaguely, considering you can only see my knee.)

Photo credit: Viklets and ginger ale

So, then everything became a whirlwind. Monday I had an AWESOME visit at Niles West High School where I found these two awesome signs:

Why do I find this awesome? Because I've never seen one before. Spot the easterner.

I left this image huge if you want to read it. It's about bullying. And it quotes MLK.
And yes, its on the back of a bathroom stall.
Which means I take pictures while peeing. So?

And then there was the awesome Anderson's Bookshop event with nine other amazing authors.

[Imagine cool picture. Or go read this awesome blog to find one.]

The rest is a blur, guys. Tuesday we had our breakout panel and it was really great to share our resources and our concern and talk about ways to combat the bad that touches millions of kids every single week. I then had to run out the door to catch my car to the airport...which got stuck in two hours of traffic but only by luck was my plane late, which means I MADE MY FLIGHT. It was a miracle. An O'Hare Airport Miracle.

Thanksgiving was nice. I really missed my family.
Then on Friday, my daughters and I pieced the triangles into squares and then we pieced the squares into blocks on our tinfoil hat book quilt.

I'm digging it.

ONE MORE TRIP...to my favorite high school in Omaha (That's you Bryan HS) and then I am home for three and a half months. Woot. Writing. Writing. And more writing.

Stay tuned for a super holiday mega giveaway contest in the next week. Fun contest. Books to win. You want to enter. Trust me.

Newsflash!

2011-11-15T09:16:00.000-05:00

Matthew Quick did an awesome interview with me and is giving away two copies of EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS. If you click on this link you will be magically transported to his blog. You only have to comment to enter.

Next public A.S. King sighting will be at Anderson's Bookshop, Naperville, IL on Monday the 21st of Nov. at 7pm. I'll be on a really cool YA panel with Heather Brewer, David Levithan, Jackie Morse Kessler, Coe Booth. CJ Hill and Jeff Hirsch.

A.S. King: Badass Quilting Lady + Bonus Material

2011-11-07T13:23:00.003-05:00

This was one of my first quilts.

I never told you this before, but in my former life, I was a [badass] quilter. I used to make a quilt for every book I was writing. It was what I'd do when my brain wasn't working on task or just to get my head clear and my hands moving. (I'm one of those people who has to be doing something all the time. I bet you know that already.) Anyway, I saw quilting as a way to get away from my desk and listen to great music and do something with my hands. I'd just mong out and sew straight lines and iron the little pieces and then sew them up again to make big pieces and then sew more little pieces onto the bigger pieces to make a bigger piece and then quilt the whole thing together for a few weeks and then, pow. . . I'd have a [badass] quilt.

In a lot of ways, it's just like writing a [badass] book.
Here are some of my old quilts.

My very first. While I wrote my first two novels.

Probably my favorite quilt of all time. It's on my bed right now.

I made these quilts (and about 5 more) while I wrote the seven books that you will never read. By the time I was writing The Dust of 100 Dogs during 2000-2002, I wasn't quilting to keep my hands busy. I was hanging out with my first baby and building this house.

Electrics, paint, ladders and baby.

This was my quilt for D100D.

And I wrote the 2nd half of D100D at that table.

So the book I'm working on now, lovingly called the tinfoil hat book, needed a quilt. I needed some head space while I got it down. And due to touring and working my little buns off, I've been spending less time with those babies of mine...who are no longer babies. So, I decided that the awesomest solution to this situation was: we should make a [badass] quilt together. And they liked that idea. So, I had the fat quarters already. (Click on this is you don't know what a fat quarter is.) I had the girls pick out their favorite colors and a design that they liked.

We took a break from Wii bowling to pick colors. I suck at Wii bowling.

And yesterday was cutting day.

My back hurts from this.

Next weekend is all about buying a hamster for Mini-Me's birthday. Then, I'll be in Chicago for ALAN, so I'm guessing we'll piece those triangles over Thanksgiving break. I'll keep you informed. There will be [badass] show and tell.

But know that quilting is awesome. In case you are shocked that a woman who might fit the word boner into a few sentences in a novel also makes quilts, let it be known that we only quilt to either punk rock or hard funk. Today is was hard funk.

OTHER NEWS:

First, a CONTEST to win a signed copy of EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS over at My Brain on Books. You have until the 9th. All you have to do is comment. Go to it.

Next, an AWESOMECHUTNEY review in today's Fredericksburg Free Star-Lancer that happens to include a quote from my favorite author, Kurt Vonnegut. That made my badass quilting day, let me tell you.

"Lucky's path to relative normalcy and a return to smiling is not an easy one, but then few are. King captures the journey without the need for a moral soapbox. In fact, her message in all of her novels is reminiscent of one written by the late Kurt Vonnegut: "Many people need desperately to receive this message: 'I feel and think much as you do, care about many things you care about, although most people do not care about them. You are not alone.'""

COME SEE ME at Children's Book World (Who says about ANTS: Our staff is calling this the MUST READ book of the season.) this Wednesday, November 9th. We'll have pizza and you get a prize pack with your copy of ANTS.

And DO NOT FORGET the Lititz Kid Lit Festival on Saturday November 12th. Dudes, there will be Stormtroopers. And look at that list of awesome authors. I'll be doing a few things, including a panel about being a dork with Josh Berk who is not really a dork, even though he might play one on TV.

And, under THIS JUST IN, here's a really boss review by Jen over at Reading Rants.

"This darkly humorous book may be one of the best I’ve ever read about how it feels to be relentlessly, aggressively bullied and how adults don’t do nearly enough to protect teens who are being targeted. Lucky’s story is raw, ragged, honest and true and quite possibly happening to you or someone you know."

Now...off to find my tinfoil hat and write more. Cutting 160 [badass] triangles has a way of making my brain work. Ideas? I got em.

In the meantime, bonus material. I call this one "I totally had to cheat to get out of this maze."

We Interrupt This Fine Week For. . .

2011-11-01T09:05:00.000-04:00

. . . A freak snow storm which knocked power out all over the place.

I planned on posting a blog about being a badass quilter this weekend, but then the storm came and we've been doing the whole generator living since. The price we pay for living here, and I'm happy to pay it.

The view...from pretty much every window.

Some quick links and news while I have a router...

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 3rd I will be at Clinton Book Shop in Clinton, NJ. I'll be talking to fellow writers in the audience about writing first drafts in a month (a la NaNoWriMo, which I've never done, but I write books in a month a lot) and and I'll answer any question tossed at me. PRIZE PACKS for anyone who purchases a book at the shop on the night. See you there.

Here's a chance to WIN a signed copy of ANTS from a very cool bookseller.

Cool News: EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS made the American Booksellers Association's ABC Best Books for Teens catalog. Thank you to the ABA and ABC and Indiebound for that!

Now. . . more when I have power. Which might not be until Friday.
By which time I hope to have a shower.

I want you to know about Awesomechutney

2011-10-26T10:34:00.000-04:00

So I tried to get it published at Urban Dictionary. And for the second time in a year, it was rejected.

My fight will continue! We will not rest until Awesomechutney is recognized for its extra-chunky awesome.

Part Two: Ohio & NYC in Pictures. (And Some Words.)

2011-10-24T22:26:00.000-04:00

I'm completely about to start a week's hardcore work on the tinfoil hat book so I wanted to blog now before the awesome begins. Before I do...TWO groovy events this week:

TOMORROW---> TUESDAY, October 25th at Alvernia University at 1pm. Details on website!

FRIDAY October 28th at the Keystone State Reading Association's conference in Lancaster, PA. I'll be chilling all day at the Aaron's Books stand signing copies of EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS and dancing randomly alongside Josh Berk, awesome author of The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin and the upcoming Guy Langman: Crime Scene Procrastinator.

OHIO & NYC ROCKED.

It started here at Philly airport on a blue, gorgeous day.

Then the actual Ohio business started here, very early:


Where I talked to Meghan on the Morning News for about 3 minutes about Lucky Linderman.

This was the Noon News studio at WDTN

[Imagine a picture here of the cool students of Beavercreek High School who totally rocked and asked awesome questions like: Who was your role model? The answer, eventually: Aside from my parents and other family members, etc. my role model was Hawkeye Pierce from M*A*S*H.]

After Beavercreek HS, I went directly to Books and Co...


Dayton's Awesome Books & Co. What a great store!

But before I read at Books an Co. something AWESOMECHUTNEY happened. I got to see my best friend from growing up for the first time in 20 years. Since my wedding, actually. How awesome was that? Answer: pretty awesome. We spent almost every day together until I was 14 and she moved away. So, we spent 3 hours catching up before my event and I will treasure it until I get to do it again! Make it soon, Cincinnati!

Me and Tara, BFFs since birth, pretty much.

View from my awesome hotel room in Cleveland.

So, the next day was so busy, I didn't get any pictures. But trust me--it was great. The elements of this awesome Tuesday were:

CJ Bott. This is the link to her website. I'm giving it to you because it's an amazing resource, as are her books. CJ is an amazing woman and I need to spend more than a day with her next time. She cares so much about students and about our society's silence about bullying that she's inspired me to do as much as I can to get to schools during the next year to talk about this and spread her passion for the subject of bullying education. If you want me to come to your high school and talk about this, contact lbvisits@aol.com
Normandy High School (shout outs to the students, and also the librarians and teachers who made this happen. Was SO STOKED to come to Normandy! Great to meet you all and thank you for having us!) (True story: I even saved my visitor sticker and stuck it on my favorite filing cabinet to remember you by.)
Independence High School (shout outs to the same people as last time--students, librarians and teachers and to those who came up to us afterward and chatted. That's my favorite part, you know? Meeting awesome people.)
And then the totally killer The Learned Owl Bookshop.Where I not only met Rollie, one of the two missing Printz committee members from last year's ALA (I am so incredibly grateful for that Printz Honor and I was so glad to say so in person.) But I also got to meet awesome bloggers Lizzie, Brynne and Sarah...and librarian/supporter, Laura. Had a great time and thanks to Kate and Co. at The Learned Owl.

I had Wednesday off except for a mid afternoon flight...so when I got back to my hotel with the waterfall on Tuesday night, I did simple math for the final element to the perfect day.

SIMPLE MATH:

Simple math says: 1 jacuzzi + 1 copy of Lisa McMann's DEAD TO YOU + one Viklets ginger ale = A really relaxing night after a few hectic days.
Also: YOU WILL LOVE DEAD TO YOU. IT IS THE PERFECT READ.
Trust me. (You have to wait though. Doesn't come out until February.)

Then, a delayed flight to New York. Found huge paper airplanes in Cleveland airport while wandering...these are for Charlie and Vera:


This picture probably doesn't do them justice, really.

I had the kind of flight where you think you're going to die. And I've flown a lot. It was white knuckles all the way to NYC, man. I nearly kissed the ground when I got off the plane except that it was pouring...which was made evident by the soaked suitcase I opened in my hotel to find all my clothing wet. Rock on.

I also found mystery powder on the radiator. I'm thinking it's Ajax. But the dork in me had to take a picture. And the even bigger dork in me is going to share it.

This is a writing prompt picture if I ever saw one. Go write about what you think this is and how it got there.

[Insert a picture of me reading at the gorgeous and awesome Brooklyn Library and me FINALLY getting to meet the Book Muncher AND the bonus meeting of Kody Keplinger.]

[Insert another picture of me having an amazing dinner with Victoria Stapleton and her merry band of awesome NYC librarians and teachers. I had such a great night that I'm still kinda pinching myself.]

[Insert picture of me pinching myself.]

Pic thanks to @doseofsnark/awesome Chris at HFPL.

The last stop on my trip was the Hamilton Fish Park Library where I got to talk to a class of fifth graders. My work isn't for fifth graders, but this group of fifth graders makes me want to write for fifth graders. As I say in a COOL INTERVIEW with awesome indie bookseller Joanne Fritz that will go live on Friday October 28th:

The first question I got this week from a room full of 5^th graders at the New York Public Library was, “Are you rich?"

I shook my head no and said, “I am not even close to rich.”

To which they answered, “How old are you?”

And I said “How old do you think I am?”

And they all called out numbers that started with twenty to make me feel better about not being rich. Anyway, it played well for me 30 minutes later when I asked them, “So, since you know I’m not rich, then why do you think I do this?”

All of them got the answer on the first try. “You must like it.”

Have I mentioned how much I love fifth graders?

And so, the tour is over until my next local-ish stops which I will tell you later this week in a blog about quilting and being badass at the same time.

RANDOM GROOVY REVIEW STUFF IN CASE YOU STILL AREN'T CONVINCED THAT YOU REALLY SHOULD READ EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS:

The Compulsive Reader wrote a smashing review HERE. I love this quote: "Everybody should read this book."

Stacked had an amazing review that Mr. King made me read twice (because he has to make me read the good stuff sometimes.) Thank you! Favorite line: "It’s literary fiction with popular appeal." Rock on!

IF YOU GOT THIS FAR YOU GET A BONUS VIDEO:

The ALA Banned Books Week Video! I didn't see it until today.

A HUGE Thank You & Finally. . . Some Pictures

2011-10-14T00:40:00.000-04:00

Dear Bloggers from my blog tour,

Thank you so much for being part of our launch week fun and for taking the time to have me around to your blogs. Your support means the world to me and the busier I get, the less I tell you this. But I know you understand and you want me to use my time to write more books, so consider this thank you a huge thank you for all you do for all of us authors. You rock to the maximum and I am sending you all a herd of cyber goats. Cyber goats look like this.

Now...for Launch week in PICTURES.

The east coast launch party at Exeter Community Library was AWESOME. I have to thank the ECL a trillion times for the amazing launch party. (Laura & Sandy--you know I'm looking at you.) And I need to thank The Friends of the ECL and I need to thank Aaron's Books who came up to the ECL to sell books and ROCK HARD LIKE INDIES DO.

Todd & Sam of Aaron's Books and the awesome Nic Dufort

Cakes! Rocking and seriously yummy cakes.

Ditto above. Seriously yummy. Maximum respect to Cake maker Kristen.

That's me and my completely awesome HS English teacher Rosemary.


It was a long line and I thank everyone who stood in it! YOU ROCK.

So then I nearly missed my flight to Arizona. Almost. I was two hours later than I'd expected and I met really really nice people in the Philly airport who let me through security and got me to Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe. Before I got there, I made prize packs in my hotel room.

Ah, the glamor. Can you stand it?

Changing Hands was awesome as always. Thank you to all the awesome people who came out to see me and to Robyn and Brandi who set up the great event. Hope to see you again next year.

This is me and Amy Nichols at Changing Hands. Amy ROCKS.

Palomino Library TOTALLY ROCKED THE PLANET. Not just saying that, either.

On Friday, I had a few great school visits at Chaparral HS and then a killer event at Palomino Library in Scottsdale where I had such fun and was treated so wonderfully by everyone (I'm looking at YOU Jess & Co.) that I didn't want to leave. See that A.S. King collection they have up there? Woot!

Saturday, I hit the usual Barnes & Noble at Chandler where I met my blood sister Melissa and the completely cool CRM Sibley. No pics this time except for this smokin' endcap. They spoil me at Chandler B&N. I am so lucky.

I did secret things on Sunday. I will only reveal that it involved kicking Lisa McMann's butt in ping pong. (Or her letting me because she is a sweet host.) Other than that, it's top secret. Not even I know what I did on Sunday.

MONDAY: Awesome day with 80 awesome librarians at Chandler Library Staff Development Day. They made awesome bookworm cupcakes. Check it out.

Before I flew out on that red-eye, I did something I never even though I'd do. I had a girls day which was all about my first ever pedicure. I know. Totally not what you expected from the lady with the chainsaw.

Blue for my new roller derby team. Yes. I plan on embracing that forevah.

This is me with a baby I now love who belongs to two awesome people. Could have hugged him all day.


The entire girls day crew. They made me feel so welcome in AZ that I want to move there.

So! Now I have you caught up.
Tonight was a crazy bad driving night, so those of you who came out to Chester Co. Books & Music rocked for doing so. I had a great night and Joanne you are so awesome, I can't wait to come back already...and I just left.

Next up: OHIO! Check my tour page...Dayton's Books & Co. on Monday and Cleavland's Learned Owl on Tuesday. I'll be stopping at many schools--many with the hugely amazing CJ Bott--so I hope to see you then.

For now, I get to go to a wedding and dance with Mr. King this weekend, chill with my kids and, uh...pack.

Oh yeah. And pants. I have to shop for pants.

Last Stop on the ANTS Blog Tour: Presenting Lenore's love of Embarrassing Pictures of A.S. King

2011-10-13T13:37:00.000-04:00

Today's final stop on the EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS Blog Tour is Lenore at Presenting Lenore where she interviews me about EVERYBODY SES THE ANTS and as always, asks for an embarrassing picture. Since I last hung out over at Lenore's blog, she sold her debut in an astounding deal and her YA novel LEVEL TWO will be published by Simon & Schuster BFYR in Fall 2012.

CLICK HERE TO TAKE SOME R&R AT THIS LOCATION.

UPDATE:
A new stop open to the public has been added to my tour schedule:

Thursday, October 20, 4PM

Central Library,10 Grand Army Plaza, Trustees Room

Brooklyn, NY 11238

TONIGHT!!

Chester County Books and Music Company at 7pm.

Reading, signing and Random Giveaways!

I planned on catching you up with some pictures from Arizona, but I still can't do it today. Yesterday I finished the final edit on ASK THE PASSENGERS and today I'm prepping for my trip to Ohio and NYC next week. I hope to get to it on Friday or Saturday...which is the same time I need to buy pants.

Yes. I still need to buy pants.
Wish me luck. This could get ugly.

OMG. I am so tired.

2011-10-11T17:37:00.004-04:00

So that whole red-eye thing...it made my eyes red.
I am home. I am alive! I slept all day. I will work all night.
Have I told you lately how much I love my job? I love my job. I love that I get to write books that my brain makes up. I love that I get to go and hang with teenagers and teachers and awesome librarians.
I have to give a very loud shout out to the Chandler, AZ librarians who were kind enough to have me as their speaker on Columbus Day and who were then kind enough to tell me how much I rocked after I told them my deepest secrets. You guys totally made my day. And you, Tim Loge, rock the universe for hooking me up with your fellow Chandler librarians.

The other thing about the red-eye. Made me crazy emotional. Or maybe it was the star treatment I got from the Arizona crew and our pedicure fun yesterday...and having to leave them behind. Or maybe it's the really nostalgic Police album that Mr. King is playing in the kitchen right now as he makes my favorite meal as a coming-home present. But when I read this review of EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS, I cried.

The ladies at Forever YA are awesometastic anyway and I'd have thought that if they didn't dig my book...but dude, that's some review. Dude, THAT IS SOME REVIEW.

Every once in a while, I meet a book, and it changes my life. It might be in little ways, or it might be a mind-bomb that completely blows my whole perspective wide open. Either way, it changes me forever. This book did that. It reminded me not only of who I am, but who I want to be.

Look, as authors we have to be all professional and pretend like we don't love the creations we make. We have to deal with those ugly comments people will make because they didn't like or get our books...or even personal attacks based on their own weird ideas of what our books should have been...if they had written them instead of us. But seriously, part of writing books is heart. Our hearts go in there. And when someone writes a review that gets the book (like many I've posted here this week) and then has their own personal connection with it because they care deeply about similar issues as I do? I'm sorry, but the Vulcan act stops and I cry.
Because it means I did my job well.
Then I checked my email and...
When two high school V-warriors write to me to tell me that I'm a hero because I wrote a book about teenage feminism? That's tears, folks. (Especially when somewhere else in the world, misguided people might think that feminism is only for middle-aged women from the 70s and not them.)

RANDOM MEMO: Feminism is for all of us. All it means is that we value our girls and we teach our girls to value themselves. And it means we help other girls who can't do this for themselves. Anyone who tells you different needs to Google, okay?

Lori from Pure Imagination wrote a great review today also...more tears. (Seriously...I have to avoid red-eye flights. My rep is going to fall with all these tears.)

King has a style that is completely different than any other YA author out there. It's strange and quirky. It's poignant and heartbreaking.

I will be back later tonight or this week with more Arizona thoughts and some pictures. For now, I have to eat APPLE SAUSAGE, YO. But I just had to link you and admit that the Vulcan cried.

ANTS Tour Stop #8: YA Bibliophile Interview

2011-10-10T02:28:00.000-04:00

Today's stop on the EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS Blog Tour is with YA Bibliophile, where I talk about a few of my favorite YA reads.

CLICK HERE TO NINJA TOWARD THIS AWESOME INTERVIEW.

Some GREAT reviews from over the weekend:

In Sunday's Buffalo News.
The author of Michael Printz Honor book “Please Ignore Vera Dietz” offers another powerful and original coming-of-age novel of the teen experience, examining issues of war, family dysfunction, bullying and survival with humor, wisdom and heart.

At Not on the Shelf.

Once again, King doesn't disappoint with yet another beautifully written novel that is painfully honest and achingly real. You don't watch Lucky grow up. You grow with him with the ants leading the way.

Tonight I red-eye it out of Phoenix and head home for a few days before heading toward Ohio from the 17th-19th! Dayton & Cleavland, are you ready for next week?

Books & Co.
350 East Stroop Rd., Dayton, OH, 45429
October 17, 2011
7pm

Learned Owl
204 N. Main St, Hudson, OH 44236
Tuesday, October 18
7pm

Once I'm back in PA, I will recap my awesome Arizona trip (Damn. I didn't take nearly enough pictures) and clue you in to my New York appearances which are solidifying as we speak. Then, our last stop on the blog tour is later this week at Presenting Lenore. See you back on the east coast!

ANTS Tour Stop #7: Being Compulsive with Compulsive Reader

2011-10-09T01:17:00.000-04:00

Today's stop on the EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS Blog Tour is where I'm compulsive with the Compulsive Reader.

CLICK HERE TO STORM THIS STRONGHOLD.

It's Sunday! I'm chilling in a secret location with someone who has impeccable hair before Monday's final event for the Chandler library's training day.

Also! Here's a great review from Mundie Moms. Rock on Mundie Moms! Thank you for the kind words. So glad you dug it!

ANTS Tour Stop #6: Mundie Moms Interview

2011-10-08T11:43:00.000-04:00

Today's stop on the EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS Blog Tour is at the awesome Mundie Moms! They asked me some really awesome questions.

CLICK HERE TO AMBUSH THIS LINK.

Also: bonus of my trip west this year...the BookBabe AKA Faith and her completely awesome roller derby team The Shotgun Shirleys of the Desert Dolls Roller Derby made me an honorary member. They even gave me a derby name. ASKing 4 Trouble. This made my heart soar like a hawk. Between the swimming pool, the library, small kids and that whole 12-14 hours of writing work every day I haven't been able to find time to get skates and actually join the local derby. This way I get to be badass and have less bruises. Thank you Shotgun Shirleys! Next time I'm in the desert I'm coming to a bout and will wear blue and scream the loudest!

Don't forget TODAY I'm at the Chandler Fashion Mall's Barnes and Noble at 12 (Still can't wait to see Missy & Sibley!) and then the Scottsdale Barnes and Noble at 3:30. Check my tour page for details and addresses.

Completely AWESOMETASTIC podcast!

2011-10-07T13:10:00.001-04:00

Check out this AWESOME podcast about EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS with the generous Jennifer Buehler of ReadWriteThink.org Thank you Jennifer, for having me to Text Messages!

ANTS Tour Stop #5: Chilling with Booking Mama

2011-10-07T10:49:00.001-04:00

Today's stop on the EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS Blog Tour is Julie at Booking Mama, who makes me blush and asks some great questions about how I write books.

CLICK HERE TO PARACHUTE INTO THIS LOCATION.

She wrote a really great review yesterday and you can CLICK HERE TO READ IT.

Julie, YOU ROCK. You're such a positive person and a positive blogger and I really love that about you. Some blogs go down that rabbit hole of snark and it's just not as classy. I am so glad you loved ANTS and I can't thank you enough for the great review and interview!

Speaking of ROCKING, last night was the Changing Hands event that ROCKED LIKE CRAZY! Brandi and Robyn were wonderful hosts and I am so grateful that Changing Hands has me back every year because not only are they wonderful people at a wonderful indie bookstore, but they are my good luck charm. Thank you Changing Hands for being my good luck charm! See you again soon. Picture to come, readers. At the moment, I am pictureless.

Today's in-person tour stops are in the Scottsdale area. See you later Chaparral High School! And don't forget me, Palomino Library: 3:30-5:30pm. We'll have some fun!

Don't forget tomorrow's (Saturday's) stops at the Chandler Fashion Mall's Barnes and Noble at 12 (Can't wait to see Missy & Sibley!) and then the Scottsdale Barnes and Noble at 3:30.

ANTS Tour Stop #4: Completely Random with The Book Muncher

2011-10-06T11:40:00.000-04:00

Today's stop on the EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS Blog Tour is The Book Muncher where I go totally random with The Book Muncher.

CLICK HERE TO MEANDER AIMLESSLY TOWARD THIS RANDOM POST.

Other News: TONIGHT IS THE NIGHT. Can I tell you how much I love Changing Hands bookstore in Tempe, Arizona? The people there have always gone out of their way for me, and my Phoenix fans are just the sweetest, most supportive group of people I've ever met. So my Changing Hands events are a little like bowling a 300--a buzz like no other. Can't wait to see you all there tonight! As you read this, I am beaming to your destination armed with prize packs, a GPS and frizzy hair. I hear I might be bringing the rain again. Sorry about that.

Random: I AM ON AN AIRPLANE POSTING THIS! Woot! So I'd add more, but my battery is low and I'll have a minute in my hotel before the Changing Hands event, I hope...

Until then!

ANTS Tour Stop #3: An Interview with Lucky Linderman

2011-10-05T11:32:00.002-04:00

Today's stop on the EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS Blog Tour is the GreenBeanTeenQueen blog where Lucky answers a few questions. There's also an amazing review of the book there--Thank you Sarah! I'm so glad you enjoyed the book!

CLICK HERE TO DEPLOY TO THIS BLOG TOUR DESTINATION.

Reminder: If you're in the Phoenix/Tempe area consider coming to the launch party at Changing Hands and getting a free prize pack with your purchase of a copy of EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS.

Also: Let me tell you about Rule #4.

Rule #4 was born from a completely unrelated joke between myself and a friend. But what it turned into was a great message that relates to a lot of things...including EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS.

READ ABOUT IT HERE.

ALSO:
Last night's launch party ROCKED SO MUCH.
Thanks to everyone who came out to see me, to Aaron's books, who are AMAZING AND AWESOMECHUTNEY and to the Exeter Community Library and the Friends of the Exeter Community Library who allowed me to use their space and who set the entire party up, got me two of the loveliest cakes EVER (And yummy too) and who support me so so much.

I will have pictures and a proper blog when I'm not packing for Arizona...for now go read those blogs!

ANTS Tour Stop #2: 10 Questions

2011-10-04T09:45:00.000-04:00

Today's stop on the EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS Blog Tour is with Lori at Pure Imagination where I answer ten fabulous questions, including my favorite album.

CLICK HERE TO BEAM TO THIS DESTINATION.

Can you tell I've been watching a lot of Star Trek?
Thank you Lori, for having me to the blog, and for the kind words about ANTS. I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Other cool links: Here's a great review by The Gallivanting Girl Scout. I tried to find a favorite part of this review, but it was hard to pick just one.

My trusty internet filter (AKA Mr. King) told me that today, he found EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS on the nomination list for Capitol Choices, the notable book list for Washington D.C. Thank you Capitol Choices committee!

Things I'm nervous about: TONIGHT is the east coast launch party for EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS. Why I'm nervous, I don't know. There will be so many varied home town people in one room--all coming together to support me. So maybe I'm nervous because the mere thought of that makes me want to cry! (Vulcan tears--they burn.)

I'm having my launch party at the library that would have been my library had it been there when I was growing up. Did you follow that? See--when I was a kid, we'd have to drive all the way into town to go to a library. It was a 15+ minute drive and it was, frankly, a pain. (Would be more of a pain now, I think, considering this recent NYT article.) But now, there's a library less than a mile from where I grew up. I could have walked there from my house. That library, the Exeter Community Library, is there (like most libraries) because a bunch of people got together and made it happen. No one paid them. They just did it because they wanted to better their community.

If you use a library, or have ever benefited from one, now is the time to think about giving back somehow. These amazing places don't run themselves. A while ago, I overheard a really disturbing conversation at a restaurant. The man was complaining about how lately, people were asking him for more help--his library, his local community organizations, his PTO, etc. He turned it into a political thing and said this was a result of the president, ultimately. But here's the thing. All of those things in your community that serve you and your family? They've been there all along...and have been run by volunteers all along and supported by willing community members all along. This idea that volunteering is a new government coup to make you help out in your own community is crazy. These organizations have always asked for donations. But these days, maybe we're all too strapped for cash and time that we notice it more. I don't know. All I know is: if you've ever benefited from your local library, then I hope you consider supporting your local library volunteers so others can get the same benefits you did. An hour, a dollar--it all goes a long way.

Okay! SEE YOU TONIGHT! I'll be the one who still has no idea what she should wear!

The ANTS Blog Tour Begins. (Happy Birthday Lucky Linderman!)

2011-10-03T08:20:00.002-04:00

A huge happy birthday to Lucky Linderman and EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS! (Keep reading to win a FREE COPY!)

You have no idea how hard this book fought to get into your hands. It started as a seed in July 2008 with a file called The Pool Book. Thinking back, this would have been during the second draft of PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ. Then, I spent all of 2008 writing VERA DIETZ and after I sold her early in 2009, I started on ANTS. Like VERA, I wrote most of the first draft in one insane month. Then I spent the rest of 2009 revising both ANTS and VERA for two different purposes. VERA to get to publication, ANTS to find an agent.
ANTS did its job and found me an agent by October, 2009, but then it turned out it had to find us a new publishing house, too. Which turned out really well, I think. The people at Little, Brown are completely fantastic and have loved the book from the very beginning. Now, three and a quarter years since the book sprouted, we are looking at a really awesome tree.
All of you who helped this happen (and there are so many) thank you very much.

The ANTS Blog Tour begins today with and interview with the awesome Sarah at Y.A. Love. You can also enter to WIN a free copy, so get thee to her blog and enter!

CLICK HERE TO MAGICALLY BEAM TO THE INTERVIEW.

If you're planning to attend the east coast launch party at the Exeter Library on Tuesday Oct. 4th at 7pm, please call 610-406-9431 or email: sxtchild@berks.lib.pa.us to register.

You can also come to BookBalloon.com and ask me your own questions later today and tomorrow!
Click on this groovy balloon!

THANK YOU for all of your support and for BEING AWESOME. See you tomorrow for the next leg of the tour!

The EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS Blog Tour Starts October 3rd!

2011-09-28T19:56:00.003-04:00

Arg, me toast.

Readers, you don't really need to know this, but I'm starting with it because it's important. There is nothing--NOTHING--like having an awesome publicist. My awesome publicist, Jessica, is doing so much for me that I have to publicly give her pie. . . or in this case, pirate toast because I haven't left my office in four days and it's all I have.THANK YOU JESSICA!

This week, among other amazing things, Jessica totally set up a great blog tour for launch week of EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS and I'm excited about every single stop. We'll have interviews, giveaways, guest posts and other fun stuff. Here's a list of stops!

Monday, October 3: Y.A. Love
Tuesday, October 4: Pure Imagination
Wednesday, October 5: Green Bean Teen Queen
Thursday, October 6: The Book Muncher
Friday, October 7: Booking Mama
Saturday, October 8: Mundie Moms
Sunday, October 9: Compulsive Reader
Monday, October 10: YA Bibliophile
Thursday, October 13: Presenting Lenore

I'll also be at BookBalloon.com for an ongoing Q&A on October 3rd and 4th, so if you have any specific questions you want to ask, join up and ask them!

RANDOM DANCING
EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS just got this amazing review in Raising Arizona Kids magazine this week. You should check it out. And I'm thrilled to be on my way to Arizona in one short week. This is my good luck trip because Arizona people have always been so good to me.

AND SPEAKING OF ARIZONA...PAY ATTENTION!
If you're coming to the launch at Changing Hands in Tempe...OR even if you aren't coming to the launch at Changing Hands in Tempe, IF YOU buy your copy of EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS through Changing Hands, you'll get a free prize pack with some cool ANTS goodies inside.

AND SPEAKING OF TOUR DATES...
Just in case you aren't a newsletter subscriber and you didn't see the list of tour stops, here they are. Come out and see me!

EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS
East Coast Launch Party
October 4th, 7pm
Exeter Community Library (with Aaron's Books)
4569 Prestwick Dr, Reading, PA 19606
Please call 610-406-9431 or email sxtchild@berks.lib.pa.us to register.

EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS
Southwest Launch Party
October 6th, 7pm
Changing Hands Bookstore
6428 S McClintock Drive, Tempe, AZ, 85283

Palomino Library, Scottsdale, AZ
12575 E Vía Linda, Scottsdale, AZ 85259
A.S. King talks writing, books, publishing and anything else you ask!
October 7, 2011
3:30-5:30+

Signing at Barnes & Noble Chandler, AZ
Chandler Fashion Mall
Chandler, AZ 85226
October 8, 2011
12pm-2pm

Signing at Barnes & Noble Scottsdale, AZ
10500 N 90th St, Scottsdale, AZ 85258
October 8, 2011
3:30-5pm

Chester County Book Company
975 Paoli Pike, West Chester, PA, 19380
October 13, 2011
7pm

Books & Co.
350 East Stroop Rd., Dayton, OH, 45429
October 17, 2011
7pm

Learned Owl
204 N. Main St, Hudson, OH 44236
Tuesday, October 18
7pm

Alvernia University Literary Festival
October 25th 1-2:30pm

Keystone State Reading Association Annual Conference
Lancaster, PA
October 28th TBD
Catch Amy at the Author's Tea and signing all day at the Aaron's Books booth!

Clinton Book Shop
33 Main Street, Clinton, NJ 08809
November 3, 2011
7-8:30

Children's Book World
17 Haverford Station Rd, Haverford, PA 19041
Nov. 9, 2011
6:30-8:00pm

Lititz Kid Lit Festival
Aaron's Books
43 South Broad Street, Lititz, PA 17543
November 12, 2011
All Day Fun!

Anderson's Bookshop Naperville, IL
YA Author Panel and Signing
124 W. Jefferson Ave, Naperville IL 60540
November 21 at 7PM

The ALAN Workshop 2011
November 21, 22 2011
Chicago, IL

More soon!
Finished ASK THE PASSENGERS today! Woot!

And now it's Friday. Somebody freaking pinch me.

2011-09-23T14:48:00.005-04:00

Okay woah. This was a heck of a good week. You'll never guess what just happened.
EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS got another starred review. If you're counting, that's three in one week and four in all.
I know, right?
You're all, "WTH?"
And I'm all, "I know, right?"
You're all, "Get out!"
And I'm all, "I know, right?"

But it's true. School Library Journal has this to say:

Lucky Linderman has been tortured by Nader McMillan since they were seven, when Nader inexplicably peed on him in a restaurant bathroom. Now it’s the summer before sophomore year, and ever since Lucky unintentionally got the bully in trouble with his social-studies survey about suicide, Nader’s harassment has escalated. What’s more, everyone thinks Lucky is serious about killing himself, and in addition to this and the bullying, his parents’ marriage is falling apart. The only way Lucky can escape his life is through a touch of mysterious magic, in which he dreams of communicating with his grandfather, who has been MIA since the Vietnam War. In his dreams, Lucky is strong and fearless, ready to stop at nothing to rescue him. When Nader smashes him into the concrete at the community pool, crushing his face and pride, Lucky’s mom flies them to Arizona to stay with her brother and his wife for a few weeks. During his time away Lucky learns that he is okay with being a “momma’s boy,” that he can’t keep escaping his life in the jungle of his dreams. King’s heartfelt tale easily blends realism and fantasy. Through a man he never met, Lucky learns he can stand up for himself and stop Nader from terrorizing him and other students. Some mild language and discussion of male and female anatomy are included, but they are within the realm of the story and necessary for these teens to sound real. A haunting but at times funny tale about what it means to want to take one’s life, but rising above it so that living becomes the better option.

I still haven't started the final work on ASK THE PASSENGERS, so if you see me back here, scold me roughly and slap my wrist. It has to be done before ANTS comes out. That gives me a week. Yikes.

Um, Wow. Best Monday Ever? (Yes, I know it's now Thursday.)

2011-09-22T14:14:00.000-04:00

Addendum to Monday's post three days late...make that TWO STARS for the Monday of Awesome. Two stars in one day. Which is just so completely awesome that I had to go and disappear for three days.

This one from VOYA:

Lucky Linderman’s life is anything but fortunate. His controversial social studies survey landed him in the principal’s office, with a bonus visit to the guidance counselor. His dad is a conflict-avoiding “turtle,” a workaholic chef who is a POW/MIA activist. His mom, a self-proclaimed “squid,” spends her days swimming laps. Lucky is plagued by Nader McMillan, a bully who has tormented him since the age of seven and shows no signs of letting up. After a particularly brutal session of physical abuse, Lucky’s mom surprises him with a trip to Arizona to visit her brother and his wife. Meanwhile, Lucky has a secret nightlife—he repeatedly attempts to rescue his POW grandfather in Vietnam via surreal jungle dreams. Then there are the ants, a kind of anthropomorphic Greek chorus of insects that have begun to illustrate his thoughts. King remarkably channels fifteen-year-old Lucky, creating one of the most believable teen male characters in young adult fiction. Readers will empathize with his problems and root for him as he searches for the best way to finally take control of his own life. Ginny, the feminist neighbor and “hair model,” proves a good foil. Adult characters fare well here too, as King reveals their strengths and flaws, making them three dimensional in a way that many authors fail to do. Lucky comes to understand that he is not alone in suffering. This unique coming-of-age story will hold tremendous appeal for reluctant male readers.

So, I'm back from Atlantic City where the awesome NAIBA booksellers were as nice as they always are and no one made fun of my too-big pants. Still no shoes, but who cares? I do need some before I head for Arizona on the 6th of October, though. Also, will someone out there eat two enchiladas for me? Or, really six. I need to catch up.

More soon. I just got the full ASK THE PASSENGERS manuscript back, so it might be a while...

Monday Totally Rocks.

2011-09-19T14:18:00.000-04:00

On one hand, I could be sad about how there are no shoes in the world for me. And how I've shrunk out of all my pants. Of course that would be silly. I'm happy that I shrunk out of all my pants and I don't care about shoes. Here's what I care about on this totally rocking Monday:

1. EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS got a starred review in Publishers Weekly today. I got the email from my editor while trying to find shoes. (This was before I realized that there are no shoes in the world for me right now. It's okay. I'm patient.) Here it is:

Reality is a flexible thing in this offbeat and thought-provoking coming-of-age story from Printz Honor–winner King (Please Ignore Vera Dietz). Lucky Linderman, 15, has been the target of bullying by a classmate, Nader, and after a particularly brutal attack by him, Lucky leaves Pennsylvania for Arizona with his mother, who is fed up with her marriage. Staying with his uncle and pill-popping aunt is anything but a peaceful vacation, but when Lucky meets 17-year-old Ginny, a reluctant model, her strong will and courage make Lucky realize that it’s time to stand up for himself. The gravity of the issues King addresses—bullying, marital difficulties, the lack of closure regarding Lucky’s grandfather, an MIA soldier who has been gone for decades—are thrown into high relief by surreal elements interwoven throughout, most notably Lucky’s dreams, which bleed into reality in intriguing ways as he attempts to rescue his grandfather and others, and a Greek chorus of ants Lucky sees, which adds welcome doses of humor and pathos. It’s a smart, funny, and passionate novel that embodies the idea that “It Gets Better”—when you take action.

2. I got to read an AWESOME ARC of an AWESOME BOOK. Get ready to buy BOY 21 by Matthew Quick in March 2012. I loved it.

3. I discovered EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS is a bestseller at my awesome independent bookstore, Aaron's Books in Lititz, PA.

4. I just had a lovely two weeks with my mother-in-law, who came from Ireland expressly to beat me in Scrabble, but I didn't let her. (Kidding. We never played Scrabble before. And I got lucky twice on a triple word score, so without that, she would have totally won.) She goes home today, which makes us all a little sad, but considering she came in on the day our basement flooded, we kinda have some stuff to do now because there are carpets on my front porch that stink.

5. I am heading to one of my favorite places tomorrow: NAIBA. You ask: WTF is NAIBA? It's the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association's annual conference. It's in Atlantic City. If you're going, too, then come find me. I'll most likely be wearing an Indiebound t-shirt because that's how I roll.

6. IT'S ONLY TWO WEEKS UNTIL ANTS IS OFFICIALLY OUT!

7. I am getting STOKED for the double launch party fun! Are you coming to the east coast launch at Exeter Community Library? If so, do NOT forget to register! Please call 610-406-9431 or email sxtchild@berks.lib.pa.us to register. Are you coming to the southwest launch party at Changing Hands bookstore in Tempe, AZ? If so, I can't wait to see you!

8. Hmm. Why else does Monday totally rock?

9. I'm almost done with ASK THE PASSENGERS.

10. Ah yes! It's International Talk Like a Pirate Day. This brings us back to the awesome Emer Morrisey and makes us want to scream, "AAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!" Remember: There's only one eye in pirate. (Yes, you can get that on a t-shirt.)

Hope you had a great Monday too. If so, tell me why in the comment area. Don't forget, only two more days to win the last ARC of EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS at Goodreads:

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Everybody Sees the Ants

by A.S. King

Giveaway ends September 21, 2011.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

The EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS Book Trailer is Here!

2011-09-15T15:55:00.001-04:00

I have to say, my animator, Torrey Meeks, is a genius. I have no idea how he does this stuff. But I'm sure glad he does. And a huge round of applause for debut voice actor Angel Valencia. The perfect voice of Lucky Linderman.

The PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ Discussion Guide

2011-09-11T14:14:00.000-04:00

A HUGE thank you for everyone who contributed to the VERA discussion guide.
I've posted it on my Educator Resource area of my homepage.

A.S. King Has a Posse

2011-09-10T18:25:00.004-04:00

You totally rock. Yes you.

Technically, just for taking a minute to play, you are all in my posse. When we arrive on the scene to rescue someone, I will stand up on my horse, aim my sword for an eye and say: "I am SQUID! And this is my posse. Mind your eye!"

Thank you all for playing. Our judges had a hard time picking a winner, but after a few smackdowns, we all decided that Stephanie W. was our winner with this entry:

My personal posse nickname would totally be The Dewey Decimator (I mean, I'm a librarian so I need an awesome library nickname!). Pretty sure I'd let you call me Dewey Dee for short.

My motto...I keep going back and forth between DFTBA (Don't Forget To Be Awesome = nerdfighter for life) and Bazinga! I totally think we would scream D-F-T-B-AAAAAAAA while going into battle against evildoers and not-so-awesome people.

I'm a pretty blunt person so I'm not to keen on lying, instead I'm more of a brazen truth kinda gal BUT I would probably lie to you if there was a giant T-Rex behind you running at full speed and there was just no chance that you would make it and you asked me "Is something wrong?". I'd probably lie and be like, 'Nah..it's all good'. Because as your sidekick, I'd rather you not see teeth and T-Rex throat as your last living vision but rather my face. Just saying. (=

I have to say, Dewey Dee, As much as I love DFTBA, your suggestion of BAZINGA! totally cracked me up, I think evildoers wouldn't take us seriously and I think that's the perfect way to disarm them right before we strike. BAZINGA! BAZINGA! I think it's going to be my new awesome word.

What I loved most about this entry was the last answer. If hanging around with you means I get to see a T-Rex, even if it kills me, I'm all for it. And I would totally be okay with you not lying to me in the situation you wrote about, by the way. If I'm about to get eaten, just distract me.

Thank you again to all entrants! You are all part of the A.S. King posse and can yell whatever you like when attacking evildoers of all types. (Loved Mittsu's "Look behind you!" too.) If you lost, don't despair! Go here and sign up for the final ARC giveaway on Goodreads. Giveaway starts tomorrow.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Everybody Sees the Ants

by A.S. King

Giveaway ends September 21, 2011.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Next week, I'll be posting information for the two EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS launch parties. Since you're here, I'll remind you early because you're special.

EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS
East Coast Launch Party
October 4th, 7pm
Exeter Community Library (with Aaron's Books)
4569 Prestwick Dr, Reading, PA 19606

To register call: 610-406-9431

EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS
Southwest National Launch Party
October 6th, 7pm
Changing Hands Bookstore
6428 S McClintock Drive, Tempe, AZ, 85283

Now go have fun.
Consider yourself on shore leave. (Does a posse take shore leave? Hell, my posse does.)
I'll see you in a few days.

Help Wanted. Posse Forming. Contest Within.

2011-09-06T10:38:00.002-04:00

FIRST!
Before I get into contest stuff, I have to remind you that TODAY IS THE DAY.
Dear Bully (70 Authors Tell Their Stories) is out today. Go buy a copy and a portion of your money will go to the charity Stomp Out Bullying. This book is great for libraries, classrooms, teachers, administrators and parents too. Bullying: not just for kids, you know.
My small contribution to the book is an essay entitled "The Boy Who Won't Leave Me Alone" which was really hard to write because I hadn't told anyone about the boy except for my best friend at the time and my husband and sister since. Being singled out and harassed isn't fun. It's happened to me quite a bit in my life because I just don't seem to fit inside people's neat little boxes. I'm too weird. I'm too confident. I'm too talkative. I'm too serious. I'm too logical. I'm too good with power tools. I'm not a good enough shopper. I'm too popular. I'm not popular enough. I'm too tall. I'm too short. I'm too skinny. I'm not skinny enough. I'm too funny. I'm not funny at all. I hang out with the wrong people. I hang out with the right people. Blah blah blah. Blah blah blah. Blah blah blah. Anything to start a rumor. Anything to gain whatever it is rumor-makers gain. Friends? Attention? Something to do on a boring day?

Want to hear a great rumor story? I think I should tell you one to celebrate the release of this awesome book.

When I was in high school, there was this girl who pretended to like me but she didn't like me and I knew it. And one day she walked up to me and told me that she had a secret and she was really freaked out and I couldn't tell anyone about it. (NOTE: I knew this was a set up the minute she approached me. She never talked to me. Why would she tell me a secret?) She then told me she was pregnant. (She was not pregnant.) She swore me to secrecy. Of course. Then, she left the rest to her sidekick.
Her sidekick wasn't very smart that day. I'm not sure if she was like that all the time and I wouldn't want to judge. But that day, she wasn't very smart. Make a mental note, readers. If you want to be a mean girl and do shifty stuff, at least make sure your sidekick is smart on the day you want to do said shifty stuff.
So about 5 tiny minutes later, the sidekick walked up to me. (Probably the second time this person ever talked to me. Clue #2 to that something shifty was going on.) Sidekick put on dramatic voice and said, "OMG! Did you hear [not-pregnant-girl] is pregnant?!" I stared at her and said, "Are you sure you were supposed to tell me that?"
She looked confused and walked away. Then, moments later, an irate [not-pregnant-girl] was in my face saying I told the sidekick the big secret. She told all of her friends that I passed a rumor around about her and they all gave me the evil eyes. I think she may have even challenged me to a real live fight. We were 18 years old. I was too engrossed in Plato's cave to get into a fist fight--which is good because I think she would have kicked my ass. Plato, on the other hand, I could probably take.

Here ends my walk down memory lane. Not sure if there's a moral to the story, but I guess if I was to come up with one, I'd say it's: Make sure you're hanging out with the right people.
Don't forget if you want to read about the boy who wouldn't leave me alone and 70 other essays by amazing authors, and help support a great cause in the process, then buy Dear Bully (70 Authors Tell Their Stories).

NOW...back to our regularly scheduled blog...

If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you might have noticed that lately, I'm taking a step back in time to when I was 11 and discovered Adam Ant. Or more accurately fell madly in love with Adam Ant. Or maybe more accurately, fell madly in love with a picture of Adam Ant. I only got to see him live on YouTube lately. Back then, all I had to fall in love with was the picture on the front of my record sleeve.
It was this picture:

SWOON.

He looks wild, eh?
I think my love for this picture was an indication that I might choose a future life partner based on how utterly exciting he was, which, if you know Mr. King, is exactly what I did. (Not to mention massively good-looking.) (I brag. You would too.) When I look wider at my posse, I realize I chose some mighty exciting people to hang out with. And like my story above illustrated, it's pretty important who you hang out with, and it says something about you, too.

Anyway, I've been listening to that album, and the title track gave me a great idea for a contest:

Add this track with my love for Yul Brenner and the [original] movie The Magnificent Seven, and you have a contest. Are you ready to win an Advance Reader Copy of EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS?
Sing it with me: WE ARE THE FAMILY!

The A.S. King Posse Contest

I am forming a posse. First, I need a right-hand man/sidekick/Spock/cohort. To choose my right-hand man/sidekick/Spock/cohort, I need to ask applicants three questions.

What would your personal posse nickname be? (What would I call you?)
What's your motto? (This is what you yell before we have to attack evildoers and scoundrels.) (Except for Han Solo. He's an acceptable scoundrel.)
Would you ever lie to me? If yes, then about what?

How to enter: Type your entry in the comment area of this here blog. Make sure to give me an email address in order to contact you if you win.
How to win: Make us laugh (funny cohorts are the best cohorts), snot through our noses or spit our coffee by writing something that we can tell you had a lot of fun writing.
Prize: A SIGNED advanced reader copy of EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS.
Deadline: Friday, September 9th at 23:59 EST.

If we get 50 entries, there will be TWO CHANCES to win. (And our posse will be a bit bigger, which is good.) So retweet, post on facebook and spread the word.

Good luck!

Can You Help Me and Vera?

2011-09-03T11:49:00.002-04:00

A HUGE thank you for the great response to this plea for help! The discussion guide is made and almost ready to go. I have turned off comments for this post.

Teachers, librarians, readers, bloggers, tap dancers and anyone else who has read PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ, I need your help.
I am making a discussion guide for PIVD because many teachers and librarians are using it in their classrooms and are looking for a guide. Though I can think of many questions myself, I'm not a teacher and I'm not sure my questions or discussion topics would be as relevant as yours because I wrote the book.

This would be a collaborative effort and I'd do my best to include all contributors somewhere on the final brochure. ~~If you can contribute a question or discussion point, please leave one in the comment area with your contact info!~~ Thank you! This would be a great help to the hundreds of people who search Google for "Vera Dietz discussion guide" every month.

I thank you in advance!

Amy

Hey winner! Let me tell you about my Squid...

2011-08-31T20:42:00.000-04:00

A huge thank you to all who entered. My next contest will be coming along any day now so keep your eyes open for that. It's going to be awesome.
But before we play again, we have to pick a WINNER from the last contest.

Fact: I have a thing for the Giant Humboldt Squid. So much so that I capitalize all three words. Giant Humboldt Squid. I saw a documentary about them years ago and have been in love with them ever since. I've written stories about them, read books about them, and I even dream about them. The winner of last week's contest doesn't know this. Which makes it even funnier that her entry involved a girl getting engaged to a Giant Humboldt Squid.

Joanne Levy, step right up! You just won an ARC of EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS.
Thanks again to everyone who entered. Come back again this weekend for another contest. This time, we will have some 2+2=4 fun.

Random news in numbered list form:

You all rock.
Here's a great review of EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS from YAlove blog! A quick taste: Everybody Sees the Ants is one of the BEST books I’ve read. I was completely engrossed in this novel and couldn’t put it down. Wow! I love when that happens.
Some VERA nomination news: Please Ignore Vera Dietz has been nominated for the 2012/2013 Gateway Readers Award! The award is chosen by students and is sponsored by the Missouri Association of School Librarians.

Until next contest: Have you seen my new website? Check it out here!

My [Fictional] Summer Vacation Contest

2011-08-23T23:06:00.005-04:00

That's the cave, right there.

Been locked in my cave working. They only let me out occasionally to eat and swim.
Also, they let me out to support PA libraries.

Don't forget that this Saturday, August 27th, PAYA will be happening in West Chester, PA. I will be signing from 12-1pm, and the list of awesome authors is amazing! UPDATE! PAYA will now be earlier (11-2) and I will not be able to make it! Still--a lot of great authors coming together to support PA libraries! If you can make it, do!

Now, for the fun!
WIN AN ARC OF EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS!

Over the next month, you will get a weekly chance to win an advance read of EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS because I'm going to run my usual pain-in-the-ass writing contests here on the blog. Why are they a pain in the ass? Because you have to work a little to win. I know. I suck. I've been told this before. But it's fun. I promise!

That's an ANTS ARC, right there.

Challenge: All you have to do is write a 100 word (or less) piece about your FICTIONAL summer vacation.

YOU MUST INCLUDE *ONE* OF THE FOLLOWING WORDS IN YOUR ESSAY:

Squid

Ohio

Calcium

Howitzer

(There are no bonus points for squeezing all of these words in, so don't hurt yourself.)

A very poor, late-night, 82-word example: (Please don't think yours should look like this. You don't have to have spaceships or actual squid and you don't have to feature rock n' roll superstars.)

The squid (that's me) spent a lot of time swimming in the warm Indian Ocean in early summer before the Martian spaceship landed in her back yard and beamed her ass up to Mars where she got to hang out with Elvis and learned the truth about Adam Ant by actually reading his Wikipedia page. Then she glowed red for believing such rubbish for so many years about Adam Ant. Turns out all the stuff she believed about Elvis was accurate.

How to enter: Type your entry in the comment area. Make sure to give me an email address in order to contact you if you win!
How to win: Make us laugh, snot through our noses or spit our coffee by writing something that we can tell you had a lot of fun writing.
Prize: A SIGNED advanced reader copy of EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS.
Deadline: MONDAY, August 29th at 11:59PM EST EXTENDED due to hurricane Irene!

Happy inventing!

Now, Random Thank Yous & News

A huge thank you to Rene' (and Judy) at Third Place Books in Seattle for this amazing review of EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS. I now must come to see you. I've been planning a Portland trip, so maybe I can just, you know, figure out a way to get up there.

Another huge thanks to Junior Library Guild's Susan Marston who wrote this awesome article for School Library Journal and included ANTS as one of her favorites.

EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS has landed on the YALSA nomination lists for both Best Fiction for Young Adults AND Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers. Thrilled to see this! Go Lucky Linderman.

Back to the cave.
See you to announce a winner next Monday!

Booklist Digs Lucky Linderman

2011-08-01T11:45:00.002-04:00

We're having a great week at Casa King, reorganizing our house so it's not always full of toys and random bits of kid stuff. (Actually, all this means is that we carved out a 12 x 12 area that is ours where I can actually leave a book out and no one will touch it. Presently on the book table: REVOLVER by Marcus Sedgwick (finally!) and Josh Berk's new book, which is hilarious.)
Most important: IT'S CORN WEEK.
Anyone who knows me knows this makes me very happy. By end of the week, we'll have the freezer full of corn for the winter. The bonus side effect is I get to eat a lot of corn.

Before I go back into my cave to work on the next book, I wanted to share two things with you.
First, this great starred review for EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS from Booklist that came to us in the last weeks:

Fifteen-year-old Lucky Linderman doesn’t feel lucky. After creating an ill-conceived school survey on suicide, he is besieged by well-meaning but ineffective adults who want to “make sure he’s okay.” But though he is honest about how “not okay” Nader McMillan's bullying is, no one intervenes, not even his parents, who are too caught up with their own inadequacies. Better to pretend everything’s fine, even when Nader’s bullying escalates, and Lucky begins seeing the ants, a tiny Greek chorus that says what he cannot. The only place Lucky has agency is in his dreams, where he runs rescue missions to save his POW-MIA grandfather from Vietnam. But are they only dreams, or will bringing his grandfather out of the jungle save Lucky, too? Blending magic and realism, this is a subtly written, profoundly honest novel about a kid falling through the cracks and pulling himself back up. Lucky narrates with bewildered anger and bitter humor, his worrisome moments of emotional detachment going unnoticed by the adults around him. Though heartbreaking, the story is ultimately uplifting, as Lucky accepts responsibility for himself, his family, and the other victims he knows are out there, seeing the ants and waiting for someone to speak up.--Krista Hutley

Isn't that awesome? We thought so too.

Also, I wanted to share the paperback cover for PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ with you. The paperback will be out in April 2012.

Okay. Off to reorganize one last room and then swim and then buy lots of ice for corn day. Then swim more. Then write a chapter of the secret project. Then probably more swimming. And then more corn. I love American summers. . . even if they do make my hair frizzy.

Random News & Pictures

2011-07-17T21:48:00.001-04:00

Hello Awesome People!
(This is not just how I start speeches or now, blog posts. Apparently, this is also how my kid starts her letters home from camp. Color me proud.)
It's been a CRAZY BUSY spring and summer. I have bits and pieces of news and a few random pictures to share now that I am officially off the road until the launch of EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS in October. (October 3rd, 2011, to be exact. Feel free to pre-order through your favorite place to buy books. Links available on the dedicated EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS website.)

First, a few lingering pictures from ALA in New Orleans:

The awesome Tiff and me at the Printz Reception!

Dear Stephanie, There should be a word that rhymes with Stephanie that means AWESOME.
Photo: Rocco Staino

Proof that I met Blythe Woolston! Photo: Publishers Weekly

RANDOM NEWS:

Please Ignore Vera Dietz has made the
Pennsylvania School Librarians Association's YA top 40 (or so) list!
Thank you PSLA committee!

Now More pictures. This time of our annual writer's retreat:

What? You didn't think we worked at writer's retreats?
Oh we do. We do.

That's Jackie Kessler, Brian Howe, Ty Drago, me and Heather Brewer.
Can't wait until next year!

More Advance Praise for EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS

“A tough, realistic novel about kids helping themselves to grow up because the grownups have refused to. Lucky Linderman is not a hero, and that's the point; he's got a right to be here, as who he is and what he is, and he learns to claim that right, and it changes everything. It's the simplest kind of story there is, and those are often the best.”
—John Barnes, author of Printz Honor Book Tales of the Madman Underground

"Everybody Sees the Ants by A.S. King is both imaginative and utterly real. It's depiction of the woes of the slightly off-beat teen is spot-on. Anyone who has ever been lonely, picked on, called to the school guidance counselor because someone else was a jerk, or told to brush it off or ignore it will totally relate to this book. A must-read!”
— Alex Flinn, author of Beastly

MORE RANDOM PICTURES!
This time, of my two awesome trips to Bryan High School in Omaha, Nebraska. First time around, it was for a great author panel with Matt de la Pena, Ellen Hopkins, Coe Booth and Lisa McMann. Bryan High School had a lot of books for us to sign. I took these pictures to prove it.

That's Ellen Hopkins up there with a book pile that would have made me pass out.

And who's that peeking up from behind her pile?

(Yes, you can tell it's Lisa McMann from her awesome hair, can't you?)

For the second time to Bryan High, Heather Brewer, Jackie Morse Kessler and I did our SPEAK OUT program about bullying, self esteem and navigating safe relationships for an amazing crowd. This picture is of us with the AWESOME youth librarians Gordon and Rory.

If you got this far, then you get to hear some...

AMAZING NEWS!

EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS is a

Junior Library Guild Selection for January 2012.

The ants are donning their party hats and planning a party.

[IMAGINE ANTS IN PARTY HATS.]

Now, off to write books before the next flight in October.

If I'm slow to answer email, forgive me--I am in the zone.

It Really Does Get Better

2011-07-07T17:57:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to share this here. Immensely proud to be part of this project.

It really does get better.

Trust me!

New Orleans, ALA & Let Me Tell You About My Mother

2011-06-30T14:20:00.004-04:00

How do I begin to blog my first ALA?
How do I begin to explain what it’s like spending time with people who love books as much as I do? And—weirder still—who love my books, and who aren’t afraid to tell me about it?
Well, I’ll start here: Librarians rock.

In these days of shrinking budgets in the library and education arenas, I’ve had many opportunities to think about why these budget makers seem to be so shortsighted. My theories have gone from the idea that they have simply forgotten how they got to where they are (education) to the idea that they have begun to underestimate what librarians do (maybe they think they are simply alphabetizers and book putter-awayers.) Or, of course, the theory closest to what’s probably true. . . they are spending the money on other things that aren’t nearly as important when it comes to the future of our country, our communities and our people and just don't have enough left over. [translation: their priorities have shifted for one reason or another, which makes those first two theories a lot easier to use as excuses.]

And so, allow me to selfishly say that I am glad I get to spend time with librarians. I’m glad because I know what librarians do, and I understand and respect how important they are to a society and to every individual in every community they serve. Because I am an author, I understand how they turn children on to reading and information early and keep them engaged with hand-picked selections for a lifetime. Because I am a library trustee, I understand how they do this on very small budgets on very small salaries.

Yes—I know it’s hard to believe, but librarians are not paid gobs of money.

Which means that they must love service to their communities more than, well. . . more than those people we elect who get paid a lot more who then cut library budgets. And the more I think about it, the more I realize that life these days is very like a science fiction novel, and SHIP BREAKER isn’t too far away.

Which is exactly what Paolo Bacigalupi’s speech was about when he accepted the Michael L. Printz Award on Monday night. As he spoke, I fell in love with his brain—even more than I already was—because like him, I grew up on science fiction and like him, I am seeing all those scary motifs in sci-fi come to life and it’s scaring the hell out of me because the pigs are walking on two legs, wearing pants, sleeping in beds and have changed the rules on the wall right in front of us.
Shoot. Where was I?
ALA. Librarians.
It’s hard for me to think about libraries these days without drifting into Orwell.
Sorry about that.

ALA Annual 2011 in New Orleans reminded me that even though the budget makers are doing their hacking, librarians still exist, and they still care about our families and our minds and our society and our communities.

So I'll end here: Librarians rock.

My schedule was so crazy I didn’t even get to Bourbon Street once. I know! I suck! I also didn't get many pictures, so a huge thank you to those who sent some to me, and I hope to be back later in the week and show you some others from the official press set.

Highlights:

All the awesome librarians. (I know—a given, but still.)
Walter calling me vixen on Saturday night (by accident, but who cares? Walter rocks.)
Beignets, the stifling heat, the scenery in the few parts of New Orleans I saw.

Beignets = why can't we have these everywhere?

Meeting my first editor, Andrew Karre, in person for the first time ever.
Meeting Blythe Woolston, author of THE FREAK OBSERVER who gave me maybe the coolest t-shirt I have ever owned.
Spending time with fellow authors and meeting a lot of new ones.
Signing ARCs of EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS for a huge line of people who were so kind to wait so long! Welcome to the world Lucky Linderman! We're going to have an interesting autumn!

The Little, Brown booth!

Seeing my old friend Heather Baker, who is a youth librarian in CT now, but who I went to summer camp and high school with when I was a kid. This was a huge highlight, actually. Heather has been so supportive and I'm not sure she knows how much that means.
All the awesome librarians.
Signing copies of PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ in the Random House booth.

Printz Day. All of it.
Breakfast with Andrew Karre.
Printz Day—the lunch where I got to meet the Printz committee and thank them in person for such a great honor and tell them what it means to me.
Printz Day—the lunch where I got to meet Lucy and Janne and gush. I haven’t finished STOLEN yet, but I have read NOTHING, and I highly recommend it.
Printz Day—the reception where I got to talk to REVOLVER's Marcus a bit and everyone gave wonderful speeches.

Photo Credit: Heather Baker

All the awesome librarians.
Printz Day—the reception where I spoke to a really wonderful crowd which held all four of my editors, hundreds of awesome librarians, many friends (especially Heather!) and many authors, editors, and publishing professionals whom I admire greatly.
Meeting Paolo and telling him how awesome he is.
Printz Day—where so many people came to me after the reception and said wonderful things about PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ and my speech. Thank you!
Printz Day—after the reception where I had a relaxing drink with awesome librarians and authors.
All the awesome librarians.

Me giving librarian love to Angie! (Photo credit to Angie)

Printz Day—when I got back to my hotel and couldn’t sleep because I was so completely stoked about it being Printz Day. So I packed at 2:30AM and enjoyed the last of the Printz buzz.
Meeting Snow-the-awesome-librarian in the airport on my way home and letting her guide me though my conference-brained departure for Philly airport (this included letting me know that I needed a real live boarding pass, waiting while the security people found a bottle of water which I stupidly forgot to take out of my bag as if I don’t fly several times a month these days, and then helping me pick out gifts for my kids.) (Snow, Dude—the flamingo ROCKED.)
Meeting Sophie from the Printz committee on my plane! And then librarian Erika at baggage claim.
Buying a Burger King kids meal from the drive thru from the back of a limo. (It was the NICEST bacon cheeseburger I ever ate AND there was a Transformer inside. Winning.)
Hugging my kids when I got home and showing off my Printz Honor.

I think this post is now too long. So I will leave you with this link to the School Library Journal article which has a link to their slideshow of the night. . . and a video of my Printz speech. HUGE thanks to Torrey Meeks, video genius, who made this video so much better than it was and to Alex from Random House for taking it! I will be back with more pictures once they trickle in. I have other tidbits of news, but will save them for the next post. Now. . . let me tell you about my mother:

If you had trouble with the slightly echoey audio on that video, you can always try this video from further back in the audience, which sounds clearer!

Dude, It's nearly July. Lots of News Here.

2011-06-24T10:45:00.005-04:00

I am on my way to New Orleans. And I have to be honest, I'm experiencing a bit of late-acting gobsmackedness. Like, I am about to go to the American Library Association Annual Conference and to the Caldecott Newberry Banquet and to the Printz Banquet the next night where I will make a speech and. . . and. . .

You know, it's still not really real. And so, I've written my speech and I have purchased my very odd dresses (plural, ahem) and I've extensively researched the pool availability times at my hotel so I can do some laps and feel normal. But no matter how many laps I do, THIS IS NOT NORMAL.
DUDES.
I am about to go to ALA to accept a Michael L. Printz Honor. This is about as amazing as it gets.
Like woah.
ANYWAY!

If you want to see me at ALA, I have two signing slots on Sunday, June 26th.

I'll be at the Little Brown Booth (#1129) from Noon-1pm signing ARCs of EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS.
I'll be at the Random House booth (#1215) from 3:30-4:30 signing PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ.

Again: DUDES. This is INSANE. I am a basement-dwelling writer with a rubber snake and a fuzzy stuffed sperm as office pets. Surely this is a dream. I will be back with pictures.

Some EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS stuff

First, the website is live.

There's an excerpt there, so if you got here with promise of an ANTS excerpt, click up there!

Second, here are a few blurbs from authors you may know. This isn't all of them. I still have to thank these wonderful people for taking the time to read the book and for saying such nice things. I've been so swamped, I haven't been able to arrange the herd of goats I owe each of them. (Mental note: send herd of goats to each of these authors. Or at least an email, Amy. These deadlines are starting to make you look rude and that's just not right. It's one thing to ignore your children, but not thanking blurbers is just wrong. You have one week to do this until you have to come back here and publicly apologize.)

"Everybody Sees The Ants is dark, funny, brilliant. A.S. King is a dynamic author, and a force to be reckoned with!"
—Ellen Hopkins, NYT best selling author of Crank, Glass and Tricks

"From the first line, A.S. King's unique voice is loud and so clear. Her compelling characters find themselves in incredible and yet oh-so-believable situations and it's one wild ride. I loved EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS."
—Holly Goldberg Sloan, author of I'll Be There

"A.S. King has become one of our bravest, smartest, and finest storytellers."
-Printz Honor recipient Terry Trueman, author of Stuck in Neutral

"Packed full of quirky characters, every last one of whom jumps off the
page with authenticity, this is a book I will read-and love-over and over again."
-Jennifer Brown, author of Hate List and Bitter End

"A psychological thriller full of magic and realism and hard won truth.
Funny and serious all at once in a way that only a great, enduring book can be."
-Francisco X. Stork, author of Marcelo in the Real World

"A terrific read.... Whip smart and emotionally touching."
-Gail Giles, author of What Happened to Cass McBride?

"Awesome. Hilarious. Brutal."
-Sean Beaudoin, author of You Killed Wesley Payne

"Do yourself a huge favor and read this book!"
-James Patterson, bestselling author of the Maximum Ride and Witch & Wizard series

PLEASE NOTE--anyone in the Reading, PA area!!

I will be talking to the Pagoda Writers Group at THE ACTUAL PAGODA on July 2nd from 1pm-3pm.

And hey Omaha, Nebraska. . .

I'M COMING BACK!
With Heather Brewer and Jackie Morse Kessler!

July 13, 2011 6:30-8:30pm

Free Books. Free Food.

And Check out this AMAZING video review, please.

Because it rocks.

#winning

2011-06-07T21:36:00.001-04:00

Everybody Does See my Pants

So, I have a winner in the Everybody Sees my Pants contest. But before then, a newsflash or two mixed with periodic outbursts of dance.

PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ will have a Turkish version, which is way cool.
She's also a nominee for the TAYSHAS High School Reading List, which we're totally stoked about.

(Random dancing.)

In loud voice, kinda rabble-rousing: IF YOU LIVE NEAR OMAHA, NEBRASKA YOU HAVE TO COME AND SEE THIS ON WEDNESDAY! (That's TOMORROW): June 8, Bryan HS, Omaha, NE 7-9pm with Lisa McMann, Coe Booth, Ellen Hopkins, Matt De La Pena and me. Free books, free food, open to the public and more random dancing.

* * *

OKAY! On to the fun stuff. To the entrants of this contest: ROCK ON. I nearly peed myself a few times with some of these entries. I loved all of these and thank you all for entering. Here's our list of top eight (but really top ten...wait for it...)

Everybody Pees Their Pants & Sequel: Everybody Pees Their Pants: Part Poo ~Michelle
Everyone Sneezes Aunts & Sequels: Nobody coughs uncles, Some hiccup Cousins ~Geeky nerd
Everyone Hears the Mosquitoes: First Blood. ~EJ (You know I love my Rambo references.)
Please Ignore Vera's Tweets ~GinaRosati
The Lust of 100 Hogs & Sequel: Please Ignore Vera’s Pork Diet ~Gem
Everybody Sees Your Implants, a sequel to The Bust of 100 Dogs. ~Skye (In The Good Books)
Everybody's Worn Those Pants ~kourtneyheintz
Everyone Can See Down Your Pants ~Courtney Krieger

And the winner is MARY CASHMAN, who gave us these three gems, any of which could be the winner:

Everybody! Seize the Ants! Sequel: What Do We Do With All These Ants?
The Stud of 100 Dogs, and its prequel: 99 Problems and a Bitch IS One of Them.
The prequel to Everybody Sees the Ants: Nobody Admits Spilling the Kool Aid

Mary, I've emailed you! I'm on the road until next week, but I'll get that in the mail for you ASAP!

Now, don't get used to this regular blogging thing. After Nebraska things are going to get REALLY QUIET until ALA in New Orleans at the end of June. I have this book that I have to write. And then in July & August, the beginning of another. So you may see me flash my Get Out of Blog Free card.

But you can always picture me here:

And know I am creating more characters with every stroke.

And while I'm gone you can always go over to StoryCasting.com and cast Please Ignore Vera Dietz. You can also cast The Dust of 100 Dogs AND Everybody Sees the Ants.

About that "article" (opinion piece)

2011-06-05T11:02:00.008-04:00

I heard a great quote a few weeks back that went something like this: Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.

So when I read that "article" (opinion piece) in the Wall Street Journal (no I'm not linking it) about how YA books are disgusting, horrible things that are ruining our youth, I refused to respond with arguments. Instead, I did what I usually do when faced with a person I don't know who is acting a way that perplexes me. I wondered what made the author tick. I tried to find motive and figure out what sort of person would make wide judgments about what my children should read--about what I should feel and do as a parent. I treated her like a character in one of my books and I did what all my editors have asked me to do. I dug deeper into the character and I dug deeper into the story and found holes. But I didn't argue. Because for me, arguing with this person is no different than arguing with those lunatics who protest our annual Vagina Monologues which raises money for rape victims. So far, their picket signs have not made rape victims go away, and I have bigger work to do than to point that out to them.

Then this morning, I found Liz B.'s response over at her SLJ blog and I was so happy she found the same plot and character holes I did. So I made a comment there--of which I want to quote a portion here as my only response to that "article" (opinion piece.)

What I found most disturbing was the recommended reading list–which was made of books which are plenty dark whose authors would likely disagree with the article. The bizarre need to genderize it was the perfect irony. If our society would stop being so obsessed about sexuality, gender and sex roles maybe we’d have some time to talk about and work on the real problems which cause real darkness in 1 out of 3 people’s lives. And maybe the WSJ would print articles about the startling teen rape, sexual abuse and domestic violence statistics that our country boasts.
Or, we could just ignore it and you know, go back to talking about bedbugs and the weather.

Go add to the discussion at #yasaves on Twitter. Make sure to hug your well-informed librarians and booksellers as soon as you can. I will also hug my open-minded parents today. Until then, I'm going to go work on my next dangerous piece of fiction. Because I have letters around here that prove that telling the truth in YA books saves lives. And I am damn proud to be a part of that.

Adding this late: Here's a response from my good friend Jackie Morse Kessler, whose book was mentioned in the article (opinion piece) that I think is just awesome.

Emer, Saffron & a free copy of D100D

2011-06-02T10:11:00.001-04:00

I totally forgot to steer you to Candace's blog yesterday. She's posted a great interview with Emer, Saffron and me which includes the NEXT SCENE of The Dust of 100 Dogs after the final page. She's also hosting a giveaway of a copy of the book. Go check it out!

Everybody Sees the Pants Contest

2011-05-31T22:48:00.002-04:00

Everybody makes mistakes.
Now I want you to make one on purpose.
For a very early ARC of EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS.

Before I get into contest stuff, I want to point you toward a few reviews and links for the week.
First, Maya wrote to me about two great reviews a VERA DIETZ one here and a D100D one here. Thank you Maya! I am so glad you're enjoying my books! Looks like you might enjoy ANTS too! Stay tuned.
Second, have any of you discovered Text Messages podcasts from ReadWriteThink? This week's podcast includes a few sweet words about EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS in an amazing piece about bullying books and a great chat with CJ Bott, one of the nation's experts on bullying and its effects.

Last, a few new dates for you calendar that haven't gone on my official calendar yet:
June 8th: Author Panel at Bryan High School, Omaha, NE 7-9pm Join Ellen Hopkins, Matt de la Pena, Coe Booth, Lisa McMann and me for two hours of awesome.
October 6th: The second to TWO national launches for EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS--Changing Hands bookstore, Tempe Arizona. Time TBA.

NOW FOR CONTEST DEETS:

In the past, innocent typos have revealed that I wrote books called The Dust of 1000 (or 10,000) Dogs, (Just found Dust of 100 Days) Please Excuse Vera Dietz and just today ( <3 U Mandee) Everybody Sees the Aunts. Part of me is reminded of those great clean up voice-overs they used to do on movies--like The Exorcist's "Your mother sews socks that smell."

Challenge: Take one of my book titles and make it hilariously all wrong. This can work in many ways. Subtlety is just as hilarious as going over the top, depending on how you do it.

How to Enter: Leave your entry in the comment area with you email address or a way to find you if you win! You can enter a maximum of 10 times.

Prize: A signed ARC (advance reader copy) of EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS.

Bonus points for: Related sequel titles to your all-wrong titles.

Deadline: June 6th, 2011 23:59 EST

I'm traveling a lot that week, so forgive me if the winner announcement isn't instant!
Tell your friends. This is going to be fun!
I'll be back in a week or two with some cool blurbs for EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS.

Why Rochester TBF Rocks.

2011-05-16T23:29:00.005-04:00

If I made a list to explain why the Rochester Teen Book Festival rocks, it would be too long. But trust me--this festival is the shizz. Like, the collision of the planets Awesome and Fantastic. Planet Awetastic. It seems my custom to give you a picture essay of the day. But know that nothing can compare to being there in person, so find out when it is next year and mark the date. If you are a YA fan, you have to get to this.

First, on Friday, Heather Brewer, Jackie Morse Kessler and I went to talk to the very cool students of Mercy High School. Our panel for the weekend focused bullying, self esteem and how to navigate abusive relationships or friendships. Mercy was having a week of creativity and throughout the school were examples of the amazing artistic talents of the school's students. One such display was one of idiom hats which were as amazingly made as they were clever. Here's me wearing the awesome Michelle's "Holy Cow."

The actual festival was on Saturday and it started with a ride to Nazareth College in a 1960 Buick flat top with my panel mates as well as Eric Luper.

No. I'm not making that up. Proof:

And Eric, who rode shotgun.

There was a vintage bus for us, also, which was completely incredible.
And a vintage Corvette and a Studebaker, which you have to imagine in your head.

As always, the crowd was amazing--the panoramic picture never does it justice. Can you find yourself? (Click first to enlarge!)

The rest of the day was a whirlwind of Heather, Jackie and me doing our thing and then a huge booksigning to follow. Then dinner, then drinks in the lobby until a very respectable hour. Next thing you know, it's Sunday and time to say goodbye. Here's Heather and Terry before their ride to the airport and my drive home.

No doubt, it was amazing to meet a lot of cool authors and teachers and librarians and parents.
But this weekend was all about the 4000 BEYOND fantastic teenagers in attendance, A huge ROCK ON to every one of them. (ROCK ON EVERY ONE OF YOU.)

Oh. And Josh Berk and I couldn't meet up without taking a weird picture of the two of us:

I call this one: Feeling Diagonal.
Next weird Berk/King picture will come November 2011 when we appear together at the Lititz Kid-Lit fest.

Next up: The Backspace conference on the 27th of May, a amazing panel in Omaha, NE on June 8th, and then ALA at the end of June. Until then, I will bask in this post-Rochester TBF you-are-a-star glow and send a HUGE thank you to all the TBF organizers, donors, teens and fund raisers. YOU ALL ROCK.

Fastest Blog Ever Written

2011-05-13T12:38:00.000-04:00

I have five minutes to write this blog. The pagoda is timing me.

First: If you are ANYWHERE NEAR ROCHESTER, NY this weekend, you should come to Rochester Teen Book Festival. Just check out that massive list of amazing authors. It's a lot of fun and there's a huge autographing session at the end where you can buy books and get them signed by said amazing authors.

Next: I don't point out many reviews these days, but I'd like to point out this one. Maggie really loved PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ and sent me this link via Twitter and I was really thrilled she liked it.

Ever wonder where I work? Then check out one of my favorite bookseller's awesome tumblr blog, Write Place, Write Time to see my office, in all its messy glory. And really, it's not as messy as it looks. It's really organized. Seriously. Why are you laughing?

See you soon. Some stuff to tell you, and AN ARC OF EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS to give away in a cool contest.
First, Rochester and all those awesome fans!

Well That Was Awesome.

2011-04-30T21:26:00.007-04:00

Did you see that? April just flew by.

A lot of AMAAAAZING school visits (Yes, I'm talking to you, Perkiomen & Purnell, and you too, Conrad Weiser senior AP English) and college and bookstore events. If you're ever in the Washington D.C./Alexandria area, you have to check out Hooray For Books! which is an amazing children's bookstore in Alexandria, VA. Loved my visit there on the 15th of April (Here's a totally awesome recap of that visit by the talented Aaron Pound complete with picture) and was hand sold the most amazing picture book: The Circus Ship by Chris Van Dusen. The next day, I spoke to the fine people who attended the Bethesda Literary Festival.

I have a lot of pictures from the D.C. trip, but here's one of the innards of a Metro station.

Then, this week was the day we were all waiting for. The Edgar Allen Poe Award banquet in NYC. We were especially excited because we hadn't had a night away from home together without children in 8.5 years, so we didn't waste a minute of it.

Great hotel. Great event. Great people. Great banquet and speakers and no, VERA DIETZ didn't win, but you know what? It really wasn't about winning. Being nominated was an honor I'll always cherish. And who knows? Maybe one day I'll write another book that lands me on the cusp of the mystery genre. For now, I can only thank everyone at MWA and Random House who made that night in NYC possible for us!

Yes, yes. You want pictures. Have at them:
This one thanks to Margery Flax/Matt Peyton Photography:

At the Nominee Banquet

And these thanks to Sara J. Henry:

After the ceremony, on route to bar.


At the bar. Where else?

And NO. None of those pictures show my amazing Darth Vader boots. So here's one more. If you squint and use your imagination, you can see them. I mean, if you're really all that interested in my boots. While you're looking, though, let me tell you who these other fine people are. This is the YA group of nominees.
From left to right: Mary Jane Beaufrand, moi, Jordan Orlando, Charlie Price (the winner!) and Barnabas Miller. (Missing from this picture is fellow nominee Robert Paul Weston.)

BONUS LATE ADD OF BOOT PICTURE. (yes I love boots. So?)

Photo: Matt Peyton Photography

May is about to be just as hectic as April was. Secret project is being postponed over and over due to all these events, but that's okay, because my brain is writing the next YA in my head as time goes on. And you will love it. Until then, though, this spring/summer will be all about editing ASK THE PASSENGERS and gearing up for TWO big national launches for EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS. Yes TWO.

So stay tuned.

If you want to catch me in May, I'll be at the Fleetwood Public Library on the 4th talking libraries and books. Then to one of my FAVORITE EVENTS OF ALL TIME EVER IN THE UNIVERSE The Rochester Teen Book Festival. That's on the 14th of May this year. Free. Lots of amazing authors. Check out the list and GET THERE for a great day of authors, books and fun. Then, as always, I'll be at the annual Backspace Conference in NYC on the 27th of May.

Until then, I'll leave you with this, which I found at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington D.C.

One day seven years ago I found myself saying to myself. . . I can’t live where I want to . . . I can’t go where I want to go–I can’t do what I want to . . . I can’t even say what I want to….I decided I was a very stupid fool not to at least paint as I wanted to.-Georgia O’Keeffe--1923

A HUGE Bow of Gratitude

2011-04-09T11:09:00.001-04:00

First to everyone who came out to see I AM AN EMOTIONAL CREATURE or THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES last weekend. Thanks to those of you who bought books from my books n' kisses table, I was able to donate $450 to V-Day. V-Day saves girls' lives. So, we just helped them. Rock on. And a huge ROCK IT to the cast and crew. Especially to the V-girls (and boys) who rocked so much, they made me cry. Twice.

Next, to Sonia Manzano--who you may know as Maria from Sesame Street--for talking up PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ in the New York Post.

Also to Albright College and Kutztown University for inviting me to talk to their amazing students in the last two weeks. (And congrats to the ABA grads I talked to last night at KU. I am so glad you all appreciate when I get riled up about libraries. Because I get riled up about libraries a lot.)

COMING UP:

April 15th I will be at Hooray for Books in Alexandria, VA from 6:30-7:30PM. PLEASE come by and see me.

April 16th I will be speaking at The Bethesda Literary Festival at 2PM at the Bethesda Library.

And BONUS trip to a YALit class at Millersville University on April 19th! Woot! Can't wait. (Or for my other school visits this month, for that matter. Get ready for fun, Perkiomen School and Purnell!)

And I am especially looking forward to my favorite thing of all: SUMMER. Totally. Can't. Wait. Today is pool paint day. Soon, I will be here:

More soon!
I PROMISE pictures from the Edgar Award ceremony.

On Being Part of the Solution

2011-03-31T10:07:00.003-04:00

Today, I would usually repost an annual HELPING GIRLS SURVIVE post in honor of this weekend, which is V-Day weekend in my world. But rather than repost that annual post, I'm sending you to a brand new one.

I don't get political very often (like never) but once a year, I speak up about this because it's really important and someone has to. Frankly, I'm not even sure this is political. I don't think anyone can argue against the idea that girls and women shouldn't have to live in fear, can they? (And if they can, have we really gone that far into the realm of insanity that we're arguing over something so serious? Don't we all have daughters?)

I'm presently involved in my local production of The Vagina Monologues. I know it's a funny name, and it's a very funny play, too, with really serious parts. The Vagina Monol ogues is a play that benefits women and girls locally and globally, who are dealing with nightmares you don't even want to think about, through an awesome organization called VDay, started by author Eve Ensler. And this year, teens are playing an even bigger part thanks to V-Girls and Eve Ensler's 2010 book, I am an Emotional Creature: The Secret Life of Girls Around the World.

VDay is an organized response to violence against women. It's global, yes, but it also benefits the 200,000+ women and girls PER YEAR here in the US who are sexually assaulted, by raising awareness and money to help girls survive. So, even with the funny name (and some VERY HILARIOUS parts) it's for a serious cause. I know this stuff is hard to think about, but if we don't start to actively denounce and deconstruct this SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE EPIDEMIC, our daughters will continue to become statistics that nobody thinks or talks about.

THIS YEAR I WROTE A NEW PIECE ABOUT MY INVOLVEMENT IN V-DAY. IT'S CALLED A.S. KING IS SORRY IF SHE MAKES YOU UNCOMFORTABLE BUT SHE WANTS YOU TO READ THIS ANYWAY. I WROTE THAT IN ALL CAPS SO YOU'LL GO HAVE A READ.

This weekend of April 1st, 2nd & 3rd I'll be selling and signing copies of The Dust of 100 Dogs and Please Ignore Vera Dietz in the lobby before our production of The Vagina Monologues and I Am an Emotional Creature. 100% of profits from those book sales will go to VDay. In 2009 & 2010, I raised over $500 through these book sales. It's not huge, but it's something, and every little bit helps. If you live in the Berks County, PA area, you can find tickets HERE. Shows are: Friday April 1st at 8pm (Monologues) Saturday, April 2nd at 2pm (Emotional Creatures) 8pm (Monologues) and Sunday, April 3rd at 2pm (Monologues) and 7pm (Emotional Creatures) at Genesius Theater at 10th and Walnut Streets, Reading. (Break a leg to the entire cast and crew! You guys are utterly FANTASTIC!)

Stop the Violence & Stop the Silence!

V-Day is EVERYWHERE. Find your local production of The Vagina Monologues or I Am an Emotional Creature and support a great cause!

Have a laugh.
Share the Joy.
Help a girl survive.
Support your local V-DAY.

Yes, I know it's March

2011-03-10T15:52:00.000-05:00

Working birthday. That's a muffin.

I know it's March because today is my birthday.
And I remember saying I'd see you all in March, like, a few blogs ago.
But then the deadline got a little shorter than I thought it was and the book got a little longer than I thought it was, and so I think I really meant "See you in April!"
But since I'm here, let me drop some good news and random linkage on you.

In no particular order, here are some great lists PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ has landed on:

YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults 2011 List
Cooperative Children's Book Center's CCBC Choices 2011
Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award nominee 2011/2012
Capitol Choices: Noteworthy Books for Children and Teens 2011
Michigan Thumbs Up Award nominee 2011

You wanted PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ on audio, and now you can get it. Download on Audible here or wait a few more weeks for the CD set!

A full cast, a wonderful recording, and only eight hours and thirteen minutes long!
(Isn't that the coolest bit of random trivia?)

Huge kudos to the people at Listening Library who tackled the project in record time.

I GOT THE PERFECT DRESS FOR THE EDGAR AWARD BANQUET.
I know. I am the last person you'd expect to say that, right? But look at it this way. I don't wear dresses. Being kindly invited to a black tie event is enough to make me want to scurry back to my hermit life talking only to poultry and the occasional postman.
I could show you a picture of it, but I'm not going to. Instead, I will only say it looks like it was made by Tim Burton and that the sleeves are long enough for me, which in itself is a miracle.

Other random stuff:
New public events. . .
I'll be at Albright College on March 31st.
The Greater Reading V-Day Vagina Monologues will be April 1,2 & 3 and this year we're doing I Am an Emotional Creature also.
I'll be at the Fleetwood library on May 4th.
<--VERA HAS BEEN SPOTTED IN GERMANY.

DON'T FORGET WORD BROOKLYN on March 15th. I'll be there at 7 talking about writing books, publishing them and staying weird.

You've been reading all this time to find out what exciting things I'm doing on my birthday, haven't you?
2000 words and a library board meeting later tonight.
Anyone who thinks that isn't fun hasn't been to a library board meeting.

See you in April!

POSSUMS ARE AWESOME.

2011-03-03T09:10:00.000-05:00

ASK: Today, I pop my head out of my writing cave for a great cause. My good friend Jen K. Blom is launching her Middle Grade book, POSSUM SUMMER, and is having an awesome World Blog Tour where I answer some questions and she answers some questions, so read on to find out secrets about both of us. For the record, I would like to say I have a lot of possums where I live and I do think they are awesome. Except sometimes their eyes freak me out. And their tails. And their little teeth. I mean, not like I ever got close up and looked right at their teeth. . .

JKB: Dude, go back to your cave. You're on a tight deadline. I can take it from here.

ASK: You mean I can't procrastinate here for a minute by writing a fake dialogue between us? Something witty?

JKB: If you really want. But that would be counterproductive. I mean, this isn't really about you.

ASK: But isn't everything about me?

JKB: *smacks Amy* Go to your cave. Write your book.

ASK: *Rubs head and slinks back to windowless cave*

Welcome to the POSSUMS ARE AWESOME blog tour for the middle-grade book, POSSUM SUMMER, coming out THIS MONTH HOLY COW!
(Have you preordered yet?)

The fabulous, prize-winning and super all round girl A.S. King, she of the pirates and ghosts, allowed me to hijack her blog for today. (She is so awesome) And she's got a secure new fan in my P!

First off, a little about the book:

a lonely kid.

an orphaned baby possum.

a dad that says no way.

how do you keep that kind of secret?

and what happens when you’re found out?

Here we go!

ASK: When you write, do you wear shoes?

JKB: Nope!

Wait. You want more? *g* I never liked shoes. If I didn't have to, I wouldn't wear them anywhere, but it gets gross in town. So I wear them. Outside. But inside, I am a shoeless barbarian.

ASK: What was your favorite toy as a kid?

JKB: I had a cookie monster I loved more than my sister, brother, mother and father most of the time. Don't judge.

ASK: What experiences in your own life helped you write POSSUM SUMMER?

JKB: Well, my pet possum helped me, by giving me the shape of things to come. (Did you get the BSG reference?) (No?) (Oh.) And I lived on a farm, so I know the sorts of hijinks that can ensue when a rather determined girl decides to try and hide a wild animal she's decided to have as her pet.

Princess: It's the PIRATE LADY! Hi, PIRATE LADY!

JKB: P, look. You be nice here.

P: When am I not nice? I am the nicest kid you will ever see! Really! What's you like to eat, Miss King? Probably something cool, because you're the PIRATE LADY.

ASK: My favorite meal is corn pie. Toss in apple dumplings for dessert and you've got my dream meal.

P: What's corn pie? Do pirates eat it? That sounds good! You wouldn't believe the things people eat around the internet. Raw fish was the worst of it. Corn pie sounds do-able. What do you like to do as an activity, then?

ASK: I love to write. But that's too easy...so I love to do sudoku and work out. But not at the same time.

P: What. In. The. World. Is. Sudoku. *looks it up* Word games! You know, that sounds neat! My teacher says I have a problem with silent consonants. Maybe that would help! What's really intresting about you, Miss King?

ASK: My most distinguishing feature is kind of obvious. I am ten feet tall and made out of metal. So I kind of stick out in a crowd.

P: W-O-W. Really? You're a syborg? *JKB points out it is C-yborg, not S-yborg* No? Are you a centurion from Battlestar Galactica? No? *sigh* Don't matter. You are one funny lady. I drawed you as the best animal I know:

P: You are the only person that could be a hoot owl convincingly, as Jen says. There is nobody better qualified to be one. Have you ever heard a hoot owl? They have the nicest hoot in the bottoms. Why, one night I --

**scuffle**

JKB: Thanks, man, for having me by! I appreciate it!

Jen K. Blom writes a

bout animals, the land, and kids, not necessarily in that order. Her debut, POSSUM SUMMER, is available March 2011.

Just the thing to give to a kid to start their summer of reading off right! (Available from your local indie, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, or Book Depository!)

Seen the book trailer yet?

Want more POSSUMS ARE AWESOME blog tour tidbits? Go here and knock yourself out!

Introducing ASK THE PASSENGERS

2011-02-17T09:22:00.000-05:00

There's a new deal around here and we're awfully excited about it.

Please Ignore Vera Dietz author and Printz Honor recipient A.S. King's ASK THE PASSENGERS, about a girl who copes with small town gossip and her family's lack of affection by sending her love to passengers in the airplanes flying overhead, to Andrea Spooner at Little, Brown Children's, for publication in Fall 2012, by Michael Bourret at Dystel & Goderich Literary Management (World English).

Celebrate with us!

That was HARD.

2011-02-11T21:38:00.001-05:00

More chainsawing fun.

First: Thank you all for entering and for spreading the word.
Next: Do you know how hard it is for us to judge these contests when you all submit such awesome work?

Seriously.

This contest was tough. All my judges quit. It was down to us because you're all so good that not even my cosmic hamster will help us out anymore. We narrowed it to ten finalists this morning. Then three. Now two.

The winners are:

Melissa with:

Talk to a chainsaw
What might he say, truth or lies?
Nothing but sharpness.

and Dreanda, with:

Before you know it,
Your chainsaw has sliced right through,
Oh how glorious!

Congratulations! I've sent emails to you both for mailing addresses.

Before I go, I have to send out a KUDOS to Carly at Carly Reads for her awesome entry. Carly, this made me laugh so much! You are completely awesome and I can't wait to see you in May!

Love the tiara

But I hope you also wore

Hearing protection.

(I am, after all, a future audiologist in training.)

And applause to our finalists: Dawn, Jenny (The Mimosa Stimulus), author, neonbooker (refrigerator made me lol), KayleeAyanaHofstetter, Michelle and Hanna.

More soon here on the blog. Stay tuned for an exciting announcement. Until then, I'm in the cave, writing books.

German friends! Get out next week and see if you can find the German VERA in stores! It's called Please don't hate me: Nichts ist wichtig, wenn man tot ist. Send me pictures!!

Cover Time!

2011-02-08T16:30:00.001-05:00

Here it is. . . the cover for Everybody Sees the Ants! A brief reminder of what it's about: A.S. King's EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS, about a teenage boy who, as he struggles to cope with a relentless bully, mysteriously communicates with his long-lost POW grandfather still missing in action in Vietnam.

Chainsaw contest winners before the weekend! Thank you for all your awesome entries. (over 120 of them!)

Chainsaw Haiku Contest

2011-02-01T12:16:00.002-05:00

Yes, I am wearing a tiara.

There's a storm coming my way and it's a doozy. Anyone who knows me has heard me say, "I'll take snow over ice any day." And I would. Because I live in the woods, down a really long driveway and when there's an ice storm, trees fall, power goes off and it's creepy as all get out. Last time we had no power for 8 days.

So, considering it's been a while since I had my chainsaw out, it was sure nice to start her up this morning. And I couldn't help but think about how much I love that chainsaw. So I wrote this haiku.

Sawdust is so nice
when it's made by my chainsaw
better than ice cream

Can you write a chainsaw haiku?
Syllable format is 5-7-5. You can enter more than once. Don't forget your email address.

DEADLINE: Tuesday, February 8th, 2011 11:59pm EST
PRIZE: A signed, personalized, Printz-stickered copy of Please Ignore Vera Dietz
BONUS: If we get more than 60 entries we will pick TWO winners, so spread the word.

Happy writing and good luck!

Racing

2011-01-31T12:06:00.001-05:00

Bling is sinking in.

I've been racing around these days trying to get myself into the office for the full February of writing. Just hit the 40k mark on the new book moments ago, so that's cool. (Even though I kinda want to stab my eyes out because middles are always eye-stabbing.)

Here are some things: First, a letter to myself at 18. A difficult letter to write but it was cool to close my eyes and imagine what I would really say to her--that young thing.

Second: Did I tell you guys that PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ is coming to audio? It is. Digital in March. CDs in April.

Third: I want you to see this review of VERA because the ladies at FYA are awesome.

Last: A great interview from a week or so ago at Bermudaonion's weblog.

I've been running random contests on Twitter. If you don't follow me, you should!
A.S. King on Twitter.

Also, it will soon be time to unveil the cover art for EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS. I'll post it first on my Facebook fan page. So if you want to see it first, join up! I never send messages to my fans so fear not the FB spam!

And last: My next event will be at the AMAZING WORD bookstore in Brooklyn on March 15th. In the meantime, my 2011 schedule is getting hectic with all these cool award events to attend. If you want me to come to your school or to speak at your event, let Carla know at events@as-king.com and she will hook you up with brochures and all sorts of other cool stuff.

See you all in March. Or earlier if something comes up.

Winner Time!

2011-01-20T18:27:00.002-05:00

First, every entry here was awesome. You guys make it very difficult to judge contests. Which is why I employ my judges and they often argue late into the night.These days it's tamer, though, since I gave up sugar and none of them are high on Mike and Ikes or Skittles. Can't do all that much damage while popping sugar free root beer barrels and diet ginger ale, you know?

That said, they did argue a long time between the entry about the Remington typewriter and the first kiss once they narrowed it down. In the end, the winner was:

The girl selected the old Remington because he possessed the stately interrobang. The typewriter pinged his return with glee; it had been twenty years since he last wrote, forty since he wrote anything worthwhile. The girl set the Remington on the table; his ribbon tingled with anticipation and then trepidation as the girl produced pliers and began to pull his keys out, letter by letter.

Cece: great three sentence story. You made me care about that poor typewriter and when the pliers came out, I was mortified for him. (I have two typewriter key necklaces, so this made me cringe especially hard.) And thank you so much for teaching me a new word! Anyone reading this who doesn't know what an interrobang is, that's the symbol there at the top left of the blog. A question mark and exclamation point all in one.

Weird interrobang fact thanks to Wikipedia: "The State Library of New South Wales, Australia, uses an interrobang as its logo." In fact, the whole history of the interrobang is kinda interesting. Go check it out.

Thank you all for your entries and you time and support. We will have another contest soon. A huge shout out to leigh_madrid for your entry. Sad/funny first kiss story! You poor dear! (Gavin was a fool.) Also, to answer your fiance's question, eyetalic, I play a four string run-of-the-mill electric bass. My husband plays the drums, so on Friday mornings when our youngest is in preschool, we rock out. I could play "Electric Funeral" all day long on the bass, or, sit me at the kit and I'd play LZ's "The Ocean" on drums until you dragged me away. I'm not all that great, but I feel like a rock star when I can actually manage Bonham's timing.

Random News:
Please Ignore Vera Dietz landed on YALSA's Best Fiction for Young Adults list last week. Go have a look at the list and see if you can find something you never heard of before. I have been urged by a trillion people to pick up The Marbury Lens by Andrew Smith, so I'm writing to my local indie and asking them to order it for me tonight. It sounds AMAZING.

The Edgar Nomination, Nostalgia and Me

2011-01-19T22:02:00.001-05:00

Today has been a great day. It started with a phone call from Sara J. Henry (author of forthcoming (Feb 22) Learning to Swim--read this book, please. It's awesome.) who was out of breath. "Amy! You were nominated for an Edgar Award!" she said. "Do you know what this means?" I didn't know what to say. I think I said, "Wow. I had no idea!" or something like that. Sara was the first to point out that Please Ignore Vera Dietz is technically a mystery book, and many have echoed that thought, but I never thought I'd end up an Edgar nominee. Once I hung up with Sara, I sat at my desk a while and got very very verklempt again (see last several blogs) and I had a huge bout of nostalgia and rummaged through my photo albums to find the one picture that can help me tell this story. It's kinda disjointed, but I'm going to try to stitch it together for you.

Part One
I've loved mystery books since I can remember. We had an impressive Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew collection at my house. I have a great picture of myself the year I was hooked on Meg mysteries--around my tenth birthday. Then I discovered a very well-used book in our family bookcase--an Edgar Allen Poe short story collection. I adored it. The same bookcase held Stephen King's short story collection, Night Shift which I read when I wasn't reading the Poe collection. I think I read those two books a zillion times between 5th and 9th grade.

Part Two
I've mentioned in interviews that I knew I wanted to be a writer for the first time when I was 14. But I think I, like a lot of writers, had more than one ah-ha moment about this before I finally decided to do it. After 8th grade, the next time I knew I wanted to write was right before I left college (the first attempt.) Then, in art school in Philadelphia (second attempt) when I was working on my final portfolio, I was taking pictures and writing essays to go along with them. I didn't show anyone the essays. But it was a way to handle being a photography major when I really didn't want to be a photographer. I wanted to be a writer. I just didn't know how I was going to make that happen yet.

Part Three
I got married soon after college and ended up in Philadelphia again. My husband and I had started making "the plan." "The Plan" was simple. Save enough money to somehow move back to Ireland (he's from there) where we would start a new life and eventually buy a derelict farm and maybe live off the land and do what we wanted. (Let me repeat that part because it's important. Where we could do what we wanted.) No big job stress. No having to live without health insurance and be worried all the time. No more 8am-7pm days working for people who paid us peanuts, treated us like cattle and didn't appreciate our awesomeness. We lived in the Art Museum area of Philadelphia, just off Spring Garden Street, but we both worked more than 15 blocks east of there, so sometimes, when we' d walk home together, we'd go past this place.

Edgar Allen Poe Historic Site 7th & Spring Garden Street, Phila, PA

That's the Edgar Allen Poe House. Or National Historic Site. Or whatever you want to call it. (I think I'll call it Major Inspiration.) There I was, 22 years old, trying to wrap my head around actually being able to move somewhere where I could do what I wanted and walking by that Poe house, with all those amazing short stories still alive in my head since I was 11. It made me face what I'd known for quite some time. I really wanted to be a writer. I still didn't know how, but I knew I would. One day.

Part Four
I shared this "I want to be a writer" idea with Mr. King and he and I would talk about our future--gardening, chickens, goats. Me making quilts and writing books and him making awesome furniture and the two of us free from The Man. That's the nostalgia that hit me today. Those moments in life when you allow yourself to dream and plan things that might not come to pass, but you dream and plan them anyway. When you can look back and see those moments clearly knowing full well that you achieved every one of those dreams, that's some strong freaking nostalgia.

Mr. King & the typewriter

For my 23rd birthday, he bought me a surprise present. We don't do presents, so this was a pretty big surprise. It was a secondhand typewriter. I was very happy. I opened it and sat it on my drawing table/desk and I typed a few things and then, over the next week, every night when I came home from work, I'd look at it from the couch where I'd be splayed out, exhausted. It would laugh at me. Mock me. Bully me. Until finally, I told Mr. King that we had to return it. We were supposed to be saving money to escape, I said. How would we ever reach our dream if we spent our money on things now? I asked. I felt horrible. I didn't want to return his thoughtful gift. But I also didn't want $80 of our money going to a thing I couldn't use yet because I was too tired from long days in a darkroom.

I'm not sure why, but I took a picture of the day we went to the store to return the typewriter, and every time I used to see it, I'd get upset that I'd been stupid. I probably hurt his feelings by making him return it and I was probably just protecting myself. Because I wasn't ready to start writing yet, and I'd feel embarrassed if that typewriter was going to sit there in the living room watching me not use it. And every time I walked past the Poe House after that day, I'd get this horrible, messed up feeling like I was running away or denying something or lying or that I was just wrong. I was just plain wrong. I've never told anyone this part of the journey because this feeling of sheer fail was enormous. This is going to sound stupid, but I kinda felt like I was letting Edgar Allen Poe down.

Part Five

The garden at the farm circa 1999.

The next two years of my life were hard. But we executed The Plan. First, we downsized and moved into a one-room, roach infested kip in Center City (where I no longer had to walk past the Poe House and feel like a giant loser) and saved our money. Then, we moved to Dublin, where, after the long hard Irish winter of 1994, I borrowed my sister-in-law's Swedish typewriter and sat down at a table in my bedroom and wrote my first novel. Then, we continued with the plan. Bought the farm. Lived off the land. We did what we wanted.

And now, January 2011, I am here. Last week one of my books became a Printz Honor book. Today, the same book has been nominated for an Edgar Award. Something tells me that Poe would forgive me for waiting a little while longer to start. Now I can see that sometimes, it's not the right time to do a thing. And sometimes, it is.

A huge thank you for all the congratulations you've sent in the last weeks. Every kind word has meant the world to me. And a HUGE thank you to the Mystery Writers of America for this amazing nomination. I am stoked beyond belief.

Let's Try That Again

2011-01-15T10:04:00.000-05:00

Okay--since last night's contest went so quickly, I'm back with something a little more traditional. (And I do hope you all forgive me for admitting that Taylor Swift makes me cry. I'm still ten feet tall and made of metal and I still play Sabbath riffs on my my bass guitar and am a 100% Hendrix fiend. Totally. Just Taylor is from this town. And it's nice to point to her and say to my kids, "Look at her! She's from here like you are!" And that song just makes me bawl like some sort of romantic wedding or something. It's a very strange phenomenon for this Vulcan. Don't judge.)

Story = Beginning + Middle + End Contest Challenge:

Can you write a story in three sentences?
I want to care about your character/s, go through something with him/her/them and feel like there is a reasonable conclusion. Are you up to it?

**Bonus points for using an obscure, rare or big word [correctly].**
**Negative Bonus points if above word feels shoehorned. You do not need a big word to win this.**
**Out of the box thinking, humor and wit are always welcome.**

Please leave your three-sentence story in the comment area - don't forget to leave your email address!
DEADLINE: Wednesday Jan. 19, 2011, 11PM EST
PRIZE: A signed, personalized copy of Please Ignore Vera Dietz.

Good Luck and Thanks For Playing!

Contest of Sap -- ALREADY CLOSED.

2011-01-14T21:57:00.007-05:00

I'll tell you this for nothing: It's be a wonderful emotional week. In this article in my local paper, The Reading Eagle, I was quoted as saying both, "It has been so exciting. It's just slowly sinking in. It made me instantly cry pretty amazing," and "When I got the news (of the Printz Honor), I just freaked out and started to cry."

Look. I've admitted that I'm a sap before, but I'm not usually someone who cries or cries "instantly." In fact, I haven't cried since Monday morning when I heard all you fabulous people cheering for Vera in San Diego. Not a tear. . . even though this week has been beyond fabulous.

Until tonight. When I heard a song that, EVERY SINGLE TIME I HEAR IT, makes me cry. Like sob. Like a huge, gargantuan sap.

UPDATE: Contest won in under 30 minutes by Sara. You rock.

~~Guess which song it is and win a copy of Please Ignore Vera Dietz,~~
~~Three hints:~~

~~You might be shocked that I even know this song.~~
~~Classic literature is referenced.~~
~~It's a 21st century song. (As opposed to 99.9% of music that I listen to.)~~

~~Contest ends when someone guesses correctly. First right answer wins!~~
~~Leave your guesses in the comments with your email address in spambot-proof format (you (at) here (dot) com.)~~
~~If my hints suck and none of you guess, Ill add more hints in a day or two. (Mr. King made me add this, but I have more faith in you, readers.)~~
~~Good Luck!~~

And thanks again for your genuine kindness this week!
Oh! And if you want a great laugh, you need to follow the tumblr of Will Work for Prom Dress author Aimee Ferris. Here's a feature in today's GalleyCat. Can you guess who that is? (And speaking of sappy, check out the caption.)

Pictures That Make Me Smile

2011-01-11T20:32:00.001-05:00

Still pretty speechless here. I mean, other than saying thank you to everyone for their wonderful reactions to this news. It's been a really humbling experience to say the least. I can't tell you how much your kind words have meant to me! No really. I can't. I'm still speechless, remember? So I'm posting pictures that people sent me in the last few days that made me smile.

These two pictures from ALA are thanks to Alyson Beecher:


Vera with her jewelry on.

Vera with more jewelry on.

This next one is thanks to Katherine Fergason who thought to take a screenshot while books took over twitter for 15 minutes yesterday! (Go books!) I think my excitement over "Vera Dietz" trending on Twitter proves without a shadow of a doubt that I am an enormous dork. Can't say I'm surprised. I do lock myself in a room and write books for a living. What could be dorkier? (Answer: Computer camp in 1980. I did that too. Trust me, I know what dorks look like.)

Books Trend on Twitter! Go Vera Dietz!

We took a long family walk to the mailbox after I got my phone call from the Printz committee on Sunday afternoon. I call this "Sunset on a Very Freakin' Good Day"

Don't worry. I didn't chop my hair off again. It's tucked into my coat. It's cold, man.

And finally, the goodies. Flowers from some very kind people in the publishing world and a pizza cookie from a close friend. If you all lived closer I would share the cookie. Promise.

That is a chocolate chip cookie pizza.

I'll be back soon with real things to say. For now, I need to go finish this synopsis for book #4. The thing I was supposed to be working on instead of creating this blog. Oops.

.

PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ wins a Michael L. Printz Honor

2011-01-10T12:58:00.002-05:00

What does a person say when her dream has been realized?
I have no idea.
I'm not big into crying, but I admit I've cried quite a bit in the last 22 hours since I heard.
Random A.S. King Fact: I always tear up a bit during the Candice Bergen "Put Another Log on the Fire" skit on the Muppet Show and that's what I was watching when I got the call.

My poor daughters are so sick of me saying, "Girls, there are still a lot of men out there who think like that. You need to remember this when you get older and start dating boys, okay?" Seriously. I say that every single time we watch that episode. The eye rolling on their part is getting more and more animated. That said, they both cheer when Candice shoots the door open and bares her awesome t-shirt. I will never be able to explain to them what the world was like in 1976, when that was filmed, but every time they ask, "Why does she shoot the door?"

Anyway, I had just said that line to my daughters when the phone rang and I picked it up and someone introduced herself as part of the Michael L. Printz committee. Which, if you consider the content of Please Ignore Vera Dietz, is ironic timing.

I'm not sure how to explain it to you, but I always considered VERA a book that can show readers what a good man looks like. I don't know how to back up that assertion but for a long time I was going to dedicate it to my daughters because I wrote it for them--so they could see what happens in real life and see how abusive people are made from shame and silence. I know Ken Dietz doesn't look like a good man to some readers, but in comparison to so many in the book, he is an amazing man. He can change. And that's a very hard thing for human beings to do. I think that's as far as I can go to explain why the Candice Bergen skit and Please Ignore Vera Dietz fit together in my head. They both illuminate the "norm" and both feature women who break out of it in their own ways. And I want my daughters to know that it's easy to fall in love with the wrong man. It happens all the time! What's difficult is breaking out of the relationship because when you discover you've landed under the control of another, shame and embarrassment can prevent you from getting out.

Vera knew right from wrong. So does the character in the Candice Bergen skit.

Consider this blog the sort of babbling one does upon getting news like this. I just don't know what to say, really.

So I'll end here: A huge thank you to everyone who has ever supported me and to my good friends who understand that I am, like Vera Dietz, the kind of person who points to the elephant in the room and says, "Hey! look at that big honkin' elephant!"

And a HUGE congratulations to all winners today--and a special shout out to Blythe Woolston, author of The Freak Observer who won the Morris Award! Woot!

The Book Trailer

2010-12-30T12:07:00.001-05:00

I'm sure many of you remember the really cool trailer for The Dust of 100 Dogs. It was a gift from a friend who worked his ass off out of kindness and a want to make something cool.
As much as I loved that first one, I have to say this one he made for Please Ignore Vera Dietz is pretty kickass.

I AM A CHICKEN.

2010-12-17T09:07:00.002-05:00

No seriously. I am. Check it out.

And stay tuned for a contest. I just cleaned out my office and found so many weird goodies. I think you should have them, don't you?

Hi. How Are You? I'm fine.

2010-12-13T21:14:00.001-05:00

Do you remember starting letters like that? I do.
Hi. How are you? I'm fine.
Then I'd totally blank out on what to say next. Which is how I feel about writing a blog right now. I'm just here to generally update you that I am alive and well.

Last weekend, I lived through being interviewed by zombies for a cool TV show called Zombie Etiquette.
I wore a sweater that make me look pudgy, but I think I'll live. I eventually changed into a t-shirt because those lights are hot! And here's me talking Indiebound to the undead.

"But dude, even the undead can shop indie."

I also have some very cool Darth Vader boots on, but you can't see those so you'll have to take my word for it. If you're wondering how I outsmarted the zombies, I did it with yo-yos. Pagoda yo-yos.

ZOMG Zombies.

The show was so much fun, I will be back. Maybe as a zombie. Maybe as an innocent victim. (p.s. Dear Route 1 in NJ, I dislike you roughly.)

The next day, I headed up to New Hope, PA where I signed books at one of my favorite indie bookstores, Farley's Bookshop. I've been taking a series of pictures from behind the signing table/behind the podium, and I really love this one from Farley's.

Signing at Farley's Dec 4th, 2010

Many thanks to all the cool people who dropped by to see me! Tim and Carley and Jamie and Carrie and also to Nicole, my new fan who took a chance on buying VERA DIETZ that day and who has since written to say she loved it! Woot! Thank you all at Farley's for a great event, as always, and for putting up that awesome sign outside! You guys ROCK.

Then yesterday, I went to another favorite indie bookstore of mine, Chester County Book and Music Company. This is a dangerous place because it is too wonderful for words. And ENORMOUS. Also, their art section is so good I actually have to cover my eyes when I walk past it. (Ask Josh Berk. I do cover my eyes.) (Here's Josh Berk. Doesn't he look like someone you could trust?)

The Awesome Josh Berk. Or J-Wo, as I like to call him.

Josh Berk (The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin--READ THIS BOOK!) and I were there to do our Dorks Rock! Writing for Young Adults workshop and we were met with all sorts of awesome bookseller love.

Sweet table

Snazzy photograph of our reflections

This brings me to: Dear booksellers,
Bookseller love is the nicest thing ever and authors really appreciate it. One sign is cool. Two is awesome. A table display is fantastic. Window space? Uh. Wow. So, Joanne & Co at CCBMC, THANK YOU for everything you did for me and Josh. That was wonderful. And those who came out on that yucky rainy day, thank you so much!

Bullet-pointed list of stuff that proves I'm alive:

I am hard at work finishing the copy edits for EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS.
I might have seen some close-to-final cover art on that and let's just say I have now won the cover lottery three times.
I also have German cover art for VERA to show you once I get the nod from Germany. (Release there is Feb 2011.)
I have started the next two YA books and you're going to dig them.
I have a super secret project too, which we will never speak of again. This sentence will self-destruct in ten seconds.
VERA got a KILLER AWESOME review in the Cleveland Plain Dealer this weekend which was pure awesome. Here's a link.
The weekend before, VERA could also be found in The Buffalo News. Linkage here.
And a huge, ginormous thank you to all bloggers, librarians, teachers and readers who are spreading the word. It's been an amazing ride and it's so sweet to see Vera doing so well! (Especially without the in-store support of chains.)
Oh! And I saw one of the new printings this weekend! Different back cover with three of those starred reviews, thank you very much...

My last in-person event for 2010 is this Saturday 12/18 at Doylestown Bookshop from 4-6pm, so if you live nearby and have anyone in your life over the age of 14 who likes to read, come in and I'll sign a book for them and it will be the best present ever!

Hey. That was pretty good for a blog that started Hi. How are you? I'm fine.

Boys! Boys! Boys!

2010-12-02T15:16:00.008-05:00

I KNOW I'm supposed to be working and taking my blog break (I might just pull that get out of BLOG free card and use it another time.) But I just got the most amazing letter. It's the kind of letter that makes me write books. It said:

Finished Vera Dietz and loved it but here's the really exciting thing. I handed it to my 14 year old son and he can't put it down. Says it's one of the best books he's ever read.
Do you know how hard it is to find books that boys will read? As a mom, a book lover, and an owner of boys, just wanted to say thank you.

You've heard me talk about this subject before...how books are often genderized like Happy Meals at McDonalds. (For the record, I always answer, "I don't know. Surprise me." when they ask. Bleh.) Yes, I know some books are "better" for girls than they might be for boys and I know some are "better" for boys than for girls. And YES, I took shop class all three years of Jr. High. And YES, I can wire your house. So, WHAT-EVER with these boxes! What matters is there books that grab a reader's attention and those same books mightn't grab another reader's attention. Why not just look for the good books that will grab readers rather than putting genders on them, right?

So--in case anyone out there thinks that my books are "for girls" because I own a uterus, please, open your mind. In case you think books with a protagonist who has a uterus can't be recommended to boys, PLEASE rethink this. 96.7% of my favorite books are written by men or have male protags. *shrug* I can't help this. It's just the truth. And my books can bake a pie OR wire your house. Just like me.

Thank you, letter writer for passing PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ to your son. Please ask him to spread the word to his friends. And thank you for letting me know he is loving it!

A Pirate's Dare Redux -- You Thought I Had Balls?

2010-12-01T08:24:00.005-05:00

So, I got this letter back in October.

It started out mentioning my Pirate's Dare blog from a few months ago--you know, the one where I called digital pirates cowards and dared them to grow a pair and steal things old style, off shelves rather than act like five-year-old chickenshits? Remember that one? Yeah. So, some of the replies I got in relation to that blog were hater mail. (Nice contribution, guys! The world thanks you. Great job.)

But the letter I'm talking about today wasn't hater mail. To my relief, it was pure awesome. In fact, it was so awesome I have to share parts of it with you because this piracy battle seems pointless to a lot of us who lose our children's lunch money through it, so it can really bum us out. But this letter gave me hope, and I want to spread the hope.

Earlier this month you wrote a couple of posts about e-pirating. . . I'm writing [to you] about this line:

"I wrote this weekend's blog because of the millions and millions of people out there who are stealing right this very minute and either don't know it or don't care. I didn't write it because I think it will make them stop."

Particularly the last sentence. Your posts, they did make me stop. I feel like you should know that because maybe someone else who read it also stopped. And maybe if you authors and bloggers who are shedding light on this subject know that, even in small part, you are making a difference the battle won't seem so futile.

So there I was, after the hater mail, hateful tweets, and "copying isn't theft" propaganda tossed at me via the comment trail thinking: Amy why the hell did you write that post? YES, you don't have any money and it SUCKS to get robbed all the time and have people not give a shit about it, but you're a freaking hippy and you hate arguing and dude, you are too old for the drama and the bullshit. Go back to contests that involve pizza. Cute vlogs. Juggling. I was praying the hits on that blog would just go away. Seriously. I am not a lover of conflict. I have too much to do to have my brain all messed up with petty arguments about why stealing is okay. I grew out of that a long time ago.

So I vowed to never write about piracy or theft or stealing again. Oh sure, I'll write about rape and domestic violence. I do that all the time. No haters write me mail with intellectually stimulating reasons why these things are acceptable and really not illegal at all. Nope. Not one. But go off about stealing my kids' college educations? A lot of people want to argue with me about that because they have talked themselves into why it's okay. Which is exactly how all those other criminals talk themselves into doing what they do, too.

More from the letter:

When I read your post I thought really hard about what you said. Would I have the balls to walk into a bookstore and snag a book off the shelf? Would I rationalize that because I was only taking one book now and that I'd buy more books later it was acceptable? Would I be able to tell myself that there are people walking into stores everyday swiping things off the shelves and that I was just a speck of paint in the big picture? No, of course not. Because I know better. My mother raised me better. So why, then, would I ever think it was acceptable to do the same thing with the same material simply because it is online? What gives me that right? Nothing. Nothing gives me that right. I wouldn't steal from a store. I shouldn't steal online. Stealing is stealing no matter how you do it.

I have never downloaded any of your books illegally - If I had, I think I'd be feeling really guilty right now over the possibility of depriving your daughter of an opportunity to walk out of her college experience without the weight of giant student loan debts. But I have downloaded books by [other authors]. Obviously, I am an adult now so my mother isn't marching me to my inbox and making me apologize to these authors for violating their copyrights and stealing their work. But, yes, there is a little bit of her in this apology, a little bit of that day when she taught me that stealing has consequences in this apology. To all of these authors whose hard work I have cheapened by my ignorance, I humbly apologize.

I have deleted all of the illegal files from my computer and plan to, when I can, buy those books to make up for taking them illegally.

Well, Letter Writer. Damn you. You had balls to write me this letter and tell me that people who highlight this issue can help, and now I have to ante up and have balls to keep writing and talking about it.
So.
Last week, I was at a school career fair and I looked deep into the eyes of every kid in the room and explained quite clearly to them and their teachers that stealing books or videos or music off the internet is no different than shoving it down their pants in Target. I asked them to raise their hands if they wanted to go to college. They raised their hands higher when I asked if they hoped their parents could afford to help them pay for it. And when I explained to them that stealing books off the internet meant that their favorite authors' kids maybe couldn't get that sort of help from their parents because people stole their books all the time? That a last year's illegal downloads alone stole the equivalent of the first semester of my kid's college tuition? Their eyes got SO BIG! But what surprised me most was that SO MANY teachers didn't know about this. They were very happy to learn about it so they can spread the word to parents and students. Fellow authors, I urge you to mention this at your school visits. A lot of people do not know this is going on!

I will also tell you about my last bit of correspondence with the "safehouse" where I found NINE more copies of my book (ooh. Make that 11. I just found two more) last month. When I went through the now-usual process to remove all the files, they wrote back to say:

Hello,

Thank you for letting us know. We have deactivated the links to the illegal files mentioned in your e-mails.

If you know any other illegal use of our service, please let us know. We will do
our best to remove the files as soon as possible.

Thank you!

In the interest of full disclosure, I replied with this:

"If you know any other illegal use of our service, please let us know. We will do our best to remove the files as soon as possible."

If I know of any other illegal use of your service?

Are you kidding?
Your site is used for illegal use 99% of the time! Nearly all the files up there are of copyrighted material!
But seriously. Thanks for taking care of mine again.
I'm sure you'll hear from me again next week...and the week after and the week after. Infinity.

Amy

I then found the page of one of the pirates who'd had my book and scrolled down her page. She had every popular YA book--all up-to-date. HUNDREDS of them. Since they asked me to report "any other illegal use of their service" I wrote back to the kind customer service rep and provided the member's screen name and link and said that I'd read the site's rules and this member had 100% illegal copyrighted material on her page and that by the site's rules, she should be booted immediately. The reply?

Please provide a link to each illegal file that you own the copyright to.

I won't lie. It feels pointless and futile. If I showed you my sales numbers vs. my illegal download numbers from last statement time, you'd throw up a a little, I bet. I've had to stop caring because even people in my own business [who are no longer feeding their children soup for dinner] are coming up with great reasons for why piracy is GREAT for authors. I can't argue with them. Seriously. I'm not arguing at all. I don't have the time or energy to argue. I just wanted to stop and share this hope with fellow authors, bloggers and people who care about copyright laws and how they protect artists and their future careers.

To the people who talk about piracy, we are reaching people. Or maybe just one person every once in a while. But that's a start.

And Letter Writer? Thank you for writing to me. It was nice to see a mature, logical person understand my point. What you did by writing that letter to me was a true act of kindness and I really appreciate it. And quitting the habit of illegal downloading ? Is awesome. Thank you. I know how hard it is for me some days to drive by gas stations full of cigarettes, but I do it. Just because they're there doesn't mean I have to smoke them. And a special thank you to Ms. Jupiter, considering Letter Writer mentioned both blogs, that means you helped too, and I sincerely thank you for that. You are AWESOME.

Here's a great vlog author Jackson Pearce made about three weeks after my Pirate's Dare post went up. Enjoy it.

The ALAN Workshop 2010

2010-11-24T22:05:00.003-05:00

I love ALAN. (Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of the National Council of Teachers of English) I've been a member for about four years, I think. I will try to never miss an annual workshop because The ALAN Workshop is my home planet. And it's nice to visit for three days every year and feel at home.


Building #3 and behind it, the conference center.

This year it was in Orlando--in Disney--or at Disney or on Disney or however one would say it was at a resort that was so big, it took me over 15 minutes to actually walk to my room. I'm not complaining, just wowed. The resort, one of many, was far bigger than the town where I live, so it was a little overwhelming at first. But I was very close to the small quiet pool, which, of course, made me very happy, and guaranteed I got my 20 laps in every day.

The conference was great--the speakers were amazing and the opportunity to do the Lisa McMann/Robin Brande/A.S. King teen-mortification show one last time on Tuesday morning was great fun. And it's always good to run into author friends, too, of course. (Or make new ones!) Most especially the teachers, educators, librarians and youth advocates make the entire show for me. Bumping into people I spoke to last year, and having the chance to meet new people is always the best part. ALAN in pictures to follow.

The 132-foot "jaguar-inspired" water slide.


Self portrait in elevator. Three is the magic number.


The Random House booth at NCTE on Sunday. Vera has 3 or 4 little stars sticking out of her. Cute.

Lisa McMann, 2010 ALAN Pres & awesome guy Jim Blasingame, Me & Robin Brande.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I am really thankful for all the people who have truly supported PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ. My Independent Book Store peeps, my RH sales reps, my fans, book bloggers, fellow authors who have spread the word and librarians and teachers who have written to tell me just how much the book means to them and who have told OTHER librarians and teachers...and anyone else I missed in my post-Orlando fuzz, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Look on the Book Tour widget on the right for upcoming tour dates ------>

Now--don't hate me. There is one more picture. It's an important one. You'll still see me on Facebook and Twitter but you won't see me here for a month or so. I've got to finish the next book, ASK THE PASSENGERS. So, unless there is HUGE NEWS I am playing the card:

Have a great holiday season whatever you celebrate. May the force be with you.

Here's Me Using the Word Blog in a Sentence

Hey! Lucky Made the Top Ten.

Don't Stir the Rabbit.

This Is Why.

Introducing REALITY BOY.

Stuff That Makes My Day.

2011 Highlights & Random Pictures

We have a winner.

Super Holiday Mega Giveaway Contest

Six.

Two Things

Chicago ALAN Workshop in Pictures

Newsflash!

A.S. King: Badass Quilting Lady + Bonus Material

We Interrupt This Fine Week For. . .

I want you to know about Awesomechutney

Part Two: Ohio & NYC in Pictures. (And Some Words.)

A HUGE Thank You & Finally. . . Some Pictures

Last Stop on the ANTS Blog Tour: Presenting Lenore's love of Embarrassing Pictures of A.S. King

OMG. I am so tired.

ANTS Tour Stop #8: YA Bibliophile Interview

ANTS Tour Stop #7: Being Compulsive with Compulsive Reader

ANTS Tour Stop #6: Mundie Moms Interview

Completely AWESOMETASTIC podcast!

ANTS Tour Stop #5: Chilling with Booking Mama

ANTS Tour Stop #4: Completely Random with The Book Muncher

ANTS Tour Stop #3: An Interview with Lucky Linderman

ANTS Tour Stop #2: 10 Questions

The ANTS Blog Tour Begins. (Happy Birthday Lucky Linderman!)

The EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS Blog Tour Starts October 3rd!

And now it's Friday. Somebody freaking pinch me.

Um, Wow. Best Monday Ever? (Yes, I know it's now Thursday.)

Monday Totally Rocks.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Everybody Sees the Ants

by A.S. King

The EVERYBODY SEES THE ANTS Book Trailer is Here!

The PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ Discussion Guide

A.S. King Has a Posse

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Everybody Sees the Ants

by A.S. King

Help Wanted. Posse Forming. Contest Within.

Can You Help Me and Vera?

Hey winner! Let me tell you about my Squid...

My [Fictional] Summer Vacation Contest

Booklist Digs Lucky Linderman

Random News & Pictures

It Really Does Get Better

New Orleans, ALA & Let Me Tell You About My Mother

Dude, It's nearly July. Lots of News Here.

#winning

About that "article" (opinion piece)

Emer, Saffron & a free copy of D100D

Everybody Sees the Pants Contest

Why Rochester TBF Rocks.

Fastest Blog Ever Written

Well *That* Was Awesome.

A HUGE Bow of Gratitude

On Being Part of the Solution

Have a laugh.

Share the Joy.

Help a girl survive.

Support your local V-DAY.

Yes, I know it's March

POSSUMS ARE AWESOME.

Introducing ASK THE PASSENGERS

That was HARD.

Cover Time!

Chainsaw Haiku Contest

Racing

Winner Time!

The Edgar Nomination, Nostalgia and Me

Let's Try That Again

Contest of Sap -- ALREADY CLOSED.

Pictures That Make Me Smile

PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ wins a Michael L. Printz Honor

The Book Trailer

I AM A CHICKEN.

Hi. How Are You? I'm fine.

Well That Was Awesome.