Paperback Release Day for THE QUEEN OF BLOOD!

Today is the mass market paperback release day for THE QUEEN OF BLOOD (Book One of The Queens of Renthia)!!! You can now experience bloodthirsty nature spirits in an all-new bendy and extra-portable format!

I squealed when I saw them. Really loudly. Loud enough to startle the cat. You see, when I was a kid, I was only allowed to buy mass market paperbacks, so that's the format that all my childhood favorites are in (like The Blue Sword, The Pawn of Prophecy, Dragonsong, Arrows of the Queen, The Sword of Shannara, The Summer Tree...). So it feels extra special to have my book look just like those.

https://www.amazon.com/Queen-Blood-Book-Queens-Renthia/dp/006247409X

 

TLA 2017

Very excited to be heading to San Antonio for the Texas Library Association (TLA) Annual Conference!!! I'll be there on Friday 4/21/17. Here's my schedule:

10:00-11:00am Signing in the HarperCollins booth for The Queen of Blood
1:30-2:30pm Panel: "YA Authors Writing for Adults" with Zach Anner, Sarah Beth Durst, and David Williams
2:30pm Signing (immediately following panel) for The Queen of Blood
3:15-4:00pm Signing in Author Signing Area for Journey Across the Hidden Islands

Hope to see you there!

JOURNEY ACROSS THE HIDDEN ISLANDS comes out today!!!

I am over-the-moon excited to announce that today is the pub day for my newest book, JOURNEY ACROSS THE HIDDEN ISLANDS!!!

This book began on a random afternoon a couple years ago.  I remember I was in the kitchen, probably looking for some cheese (I love cheese), and I said to my husband, "I want to write a book with a winged lion."

He said, "Great!  Um, anything else?"

"Winged lion," I said.

"Don't you need, I don't know, a plot?  Characters?"

"Winged lion."

"Um, okay.  Have fun."

And that's how this book was born.  Everything else -- the islands protected by a magical barrier, the monsters that hunt in the sea and sky, the sister princesses, the journey to the dragon -- grew from that one solitary idea.  Sometimes that's how it happens: one stray thought sparks a whole adventure.

JOURNEY ACROSS THE HIDDEN ISLANDS is a fantasy adventure for kids, published by Clarion Books / Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.  It's about two sisters, one winged lion, and a LOT of monsters.

The traditional Emperor's Journey is meant to be uneventful.  But as the princesses Seika and Ji-Lin -- twin sisters -- travel to pay respects to their kingdom's dragon guardian, unexpected monsters appear and tremors shake the earth.  The Hidden Islands face unprecedented threats, and the old rituals are failing.  With only their strength, ingenuity, and flying lion to rely on, can the sisters find a new way to keep their people safe?

For more about JOURNEY ACROSS THE HIDDEN ISLANDS, including the first two chapters, please visit my website.  And welcome to the Hundred Islands of Himitsu!!!