Busy Weekend: BookCon and Books of Wonder!

Very excited for this weekend!!!  I will be at both BookCon and Books of Wonder in NYC.

On Sunday 6/4 at 1pm, I'll be at one of my all-time favorite bookstores, Books of Wonder, talking about and signing my new MG fantasy novel, JOURNEY ACROSS THE HIDDEN ISLANDS, as part of the "Fantastic Middle Grade Reads" panel with Lisa Fiedler, Sarah Beth Durst (me!), Carol Goodman, and Sarah Jean Horwitz.

And on Saturday 6/3 and Sunday 6/4, I'll be at BookCon, talking about and signing the first two books in my epic fantasy series for adults, THE QUEEN OF BLOOD and THE RELUCTANT QUEEN.  My BookCon schedule:

- Sat June 3, 11:30am-12:00pm: Signing of The Reluctant Queen in HarperCollins booth
- Sat June 3, 1:30-2:30pm Panel: "Megan Whalen Turner Super-Fan Panel" with Tomi Adeyemi, Holly Black, Joelle Charbonneau, Sarah Beth Durst, and Megan Whalen Turner, moderated by Martha Mihalick
- Sat June 3, 3:30-5:00pm Signing in VIP Lounge
- Sun June 4, 3:00-5:00pm Panel: "Cult Classic Throwdown: Science Fiction and Fantasy in Film, Lit, and Pop Culture" with Sasha Alsberg, Jordanna Max Brodsky, S.A. Chakraborty, Zoraida Cordova, Lindsay Cummings, Sarah Beth Durst, Michael Johnston, Swapna Krishna, and Jenn Northington, moderated by Petra Mayer

Hope to see you this weekend!

Event Announcement: Books of Wonder, this Saturday!

Now that pub day is over and Conjured is out in the world, it's time for me to continue the book launch celebration with my first Conjured book event.  This Saturday afternoon, I'll be at Books of Wonder in NYC for a YA panel and signing along with five other amazing authors: Kristi Cook, Kit Grindstaff, Jonathan Maberry, Phoebe North, and Nancy Ohlin!!!  We'll all introduce our new YA novels, answer questions from the audience, and then sign our books.  Here are the details:

Saturday, September 7th from 1-3pm
Books of Wonder
Reading/Signing with Kristi Cook, Sarah Beth Durst (me!), Kit Grindstaff, Jonathan Maberry, Phoebe North, and Nancy Ohlin
18 West 18th Street, New York, NY
 
Books of Wonder is one of my favorite bookstores in the whole world and they always do wonderful events.  I can't wait!  Hope to see you there!

BEA 2013

Just got back from BookExpo America (BEA), an annual publishing industry convention. Five days filled with tons of wonderful people who love books!  It was fantastic!

My BEA started on Tuesday when I arrived at a pre-BEA party at Books of Wonder (one of my favorite bookstores in the world), and it ended on Saturday after I was on a BEA panel about SF/fantasy with Laura Anne Gilman, Leanna Renee Hieber, and Jeri Smith-Ready that was more fun than riding a sparkly unicorn across a meadow of cheering leprechauns.  And you know those leprechauns can cheer.

You can watch the entire panel here.  I start talking at just shy of 4 minutes in.



Other highlights included the Children's Art Auction on Wednesday, my signing on Friday (So much fun! Thank you, everyone!), and the elegant and awesome Harlequin party on a rooftop bar with a gorgeous view of the Chrysler Building.  Wish I'd taken photos.  Just picture Manhattan at its prettiest.

All in all, it was a great week, and I'm already looking forward to next year!

NYC Teen Author Festival 2013

The NYC Teen Author Festival is this week!!!  It includes 90+ YA authors, a variety of panels and readings, and a massive book signing at the end.  I'm very, very excited!

Here's where you'll find me during the festival:

Friday March 22: New York Public Library (the one with the lions)
NYC Teen Author Festival Symposium
42nd Street NYPL, Berger Forum, 2nd floor

4:10-4:40: That's So Nineteenth Century: A Conversation About Playing with 19th Century Archetypes in the 21st Century

Sharon Cameron
Leanna Renee Hieber
Stephanie Strohm
Suzanne Weyn
Moderator: Sarah Beth Durst

4:40-5:30: Alternate World vs. Imaginary World: Of these authors, some have written stories involving alternate or parallel versions of our world, some have made up imaginary worlds for their characters, and still others have written books that do each. We'll discuss the decision to either connect the world of a book to our world, or to take it out of the historical context of our world. How do each strategies help in telling story and developing character? Is one easier than the other? Is the stepping off point always reality, or can it sometimes be another fictional world?

Sarah Beth Durst
Jeff Hirsch
Emmy Laybourne
Lauren Miller
E. C. Myers
Diana Peterfreund
Mary Thompson
Moderator: Chris Shoemaker

Sunday March 24: Books of Wonder
Our No-Foolin' Mega-Signing
18 West 18th Street, New York

1-1:45:
Jessica Brody (Unremembered, Macmillan)
Marisa Calin (Between You and Me, Bloomsbury)
Jen Calonita (The Grass is Always Greener, LB)
Sharon Cameron (The Dark Unwinding, Scholastic)
Caela Carter (Me, Him, Them, and It, Bloomsbury)
Crissa Chappell (Narc, Flux)
Susane Colasanti (Keep Holding On, Penguin)
Zoraida Cordova (The Vicious Deep, Sourcebooks)
Gina Damico (Scorch, HMH)
Jocelyn Davies (A Fractured Light, HC)
Sarah Beth Durst (Vessel, S&S) ---------------- me!!!
Gayle Forman (Just One Day, Penguin)
Elizabeth Scott (Miracle, S&S)

1:45-2:30
T. M. Goeglein (Cold Fury, Penguin)
Hilary Weisman Graham (Reunited, S&S)
Alissa Grosso (Ferocity Summer, Flux)
Aaron Hartzler (Rapture Practice, LB)
Deborah Heiligman (Intentions, RH)
Leanna Renee Hieber (The Twisted Tragedy of Miss Natalie Stewart, Sourcebooks)
Jeff Hirsch (Magisterium, Scholastic)
J. J. Howard (That Time I Joined the Circus, Scholastic)
Alaya Johnson (The Summer Prince, Scholastic)
Beth Kephart (Small Damages, Penguin)
Kody Keplinger (A Midsummer's Nightmare, LB)

2:30-3:15
A.S. King (Ask the Passengers, LB)
Emmy Laybourne (Monument 14, Macmillan)
David Levithan (Every Day, RH)
Barry Lyga (Yesterday Again, Scholastic)
Brian Meehl (Suck it Up and Die, RH)
Alexandra Monir (Timekeeper, RH)
Michael Northrop (Rotten, Scholastic)
Diana Peterfreund (For Darkness Shows the Stars, HC)
Lindsay Ribar (The Art of Wishing, Penguin)
Rainbow Rowell (Eleanor & Park, St. Martin's)
Kimberly Sabatini (Touching the Surface, S&S)
Tiffany Schmidt (Send Me a Sign, Bloomsbury)

3:15-4:00
Victoria Schwab (The Archived, Hyperion)
Jeri Smith-Ready (Shine, S&S)
Amy Spalding (The Reece Malcolm List, Entangled)
Stephanie Strohm (Pilgrims Don't Wear Pink, HMH)
Nova Ren Suma (17 & Gone, Penguin)
Greg Takoudes (When We Wuz Famous, Macmillan)
Mary Thompson (Wuftoom, HMH)
Jess Verdi (My Life After Now, Sourcebooks)
K.M. Walton (Empty, S&S)
Suzanne Weyn (Dr. Frankenstein's Daughters, Scholastic)
Kathryn Williams (Pizza, Love, and Other Stuff That Made Me Famous, Macmillan)


For the full schedule of events, visit the NYC Teen Author Festival Facebook page.

Hope to see you there!

Books of Wonder on Saturday

I love bookstores.

I know, I know, it's a shocking confession.  But it's true.  I love them like Lucy loves her wardrobe, like Ariel loves her grotto, and like Charlie loves his chocolate factory.  And one of my favorite bookstores is Books of Wonder in New York City.

Walking into Books of Wonder feels a bit like entering Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, minus the scary boat trip with Gene Wilder.  The shelves are stuffed with books that I want to read, the walls are decorated with gorgeous picture book art, and the people who work there are consistently awesome.  Every time I do a book event there, I have a magnificent time... which is why I am so very excited for this Saturday.

This Saturday (9/22/12) from noon to 2pm, I will be reading/signing at Books of Wonder as part of their Out of This World Teen Fiction panel.  Full lineup is:

SARAH BETH DURST - Vessel
KARSTEN KNIGHT - Embers & Echoes
MALINDA LO - Adaptation
JESSICA SHIRVINGTON - Entice

If you're in NYC, I hope you'll stop by and say hello!

2012 NYC Teen Author Festival

If you're in or near NYC...

This week is the NYC Teen Author Festival!

It runs from March 26th to April 1st, includes tons of panels and readings, and culminates in a massive multi-author book signing at Books of Wonder. You can see the full schedule here.

I'll be participating in two of the events:

Wednesday, March 28th
42nd St NYPL*, Bergen Forum, 6-8pm
Things Fall Apart: World Building and World Destroying in YA

Chris Shoemaker (moderator)
Anna Carey
Sarah Beth Durst
Anne Heltzel
Jeff Hirsch
Andy Marino
Lauren McLaughlin
Lissa Price
Jon Skovron

* Yes, the one with the lions! I love those lions.

Sunday, April 1st
Books of Wonder, 18 West 18th Street, 1-4pm
Our No-Foolin' Mega-Signing at Books of Wonder

Sixty-five authors will be signing in shifts throughout the afternoon. My shift is from 1-1:45pm and includes the following fabulous authors:

Jennifer Lynn Barnes (Every Other Day, Egmont)
Matt Blackstone (A Scary Scene in a Scary Movie, FSG)
Caroline Bock (LIE, St. Martin’s)
Jen Calonita (Belles, Little Brown)
Anna Carey (Eve, Harper)
Susane Colasanti (So Much Closer, Penguin)
Andrea Cremer (Bloodrose, Penguin)
Gina Damico (Croak, HMH)
Emily Danforth (The Miseducation of Cameron Post, Harper)
Jocelyn Davies (A Beautiful Dark, Harper)
Sarah Beth Durst (Drink, Slay, Love, S&S)
Elizabeth Eulberg (Take a Bow, Scholastic)
Gayle Forman (Where She Went, Penguin)
Natasha Friend (For Keeps, Penguin)
Kim Harrington (Perception, Scholastic)
Barry Lyga (I Hunt Killers, Little Brown)
Daisy Whitney (The Rivals, Little Brown)

All of this is organized by the incredible David Levithan.

I'm really, really excited for these events. If you're in the area, I hope you'll come!

My Novel in Pictures

Imagine that this is a sixteen-year-old vampire girl. Absolutely gorgeous. Absolutely evil.


One night, she's feeling peckish. So she goes to the local ice cream store. Snacks on the ice cream boy.


She finishes and then notices that across the parking lot, between the dumpsters, there's a unicorn...


She mocks the unicorn for its sparkling shininess. When she's bored with that, she turns to go home. And the unicorn stabs her through the heart.


That's where Drink, Slay, Love begins.

This reenactment is courtesy of the Avenging Unicorn play set, a gift from my fantastically awesome agent, Andrea Somberg. It comes with four different horns and three figures to impale, including a mime.


It's entirely possible that this is the best thing anyone has ever given me. I'm thinking of bringing it to my upcoming events.

Speaking of which... here is my schedule for the next two weeks:

On Thursday, Oct 20th, I'll be participating in the Earthsea Group Read at the Center for Fiction in NYC. A slew of writers, actors, and others will be taking turns reading A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin as part of the Big Read honoring Le Guin. It will be streamed live online.

On Saturday, Oct 22nd, at noon, I will be reading and signing at Books of Wonder, a fabulous children's bookstore in NYC, with six other fabulous authors: Alison Goodman, Jeff Hirsch, Jon Skovron, Scott Westerfeld, Maryrose Wood, and Gabrielle Zevin.

On the following Friday through Sunday, Oct 28th through Oct 30th, I will be at the World Fantasy Convention in San Diego, CA. Schedule TBA.

The unicorn and I hope to see you soon!

NYC Teen Author Festival Signing at Books of Wonder

If you're in New York City tomorrow afternoon (3/20/11), you might want to think about stopping by Books of Wonder. There is a MASSIVE book signing event at that lovely bookstore as part of the NYC Teen Author Festival. I'll be there from 3:15 to 4:00 pm. Below is the full list of authors with their latest books. We are appearing in reverse alphabetical order because we're just that cool.....

NYC Teen Author Festival Book Signing:

1:00 - 1:45pm

Lizabeth Zindel - A Girl, A Ghost, and the Hollywood Hills
Maryrose Wood - The Hidden Gallery
Suzanne Weyn - Empty
Danette Vigilante - The Trouble with Half a Moon
Maggie Stiefvater - Linger
Natalie Standiford - Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters
Mark Shulman - Scrawl
Alyssa Sheinmel - The Beautiful Between
Kieran Scott - She's So Dead to Us
Leila Sales - Mostly Good Girls
Patrick Ryan - Gemini Bites

1:45 - 2:30pm

Marie Rutkoski - The Celestial Globe
Lena Roy - Edges
Michael Northrop - Trapped
Sarah Mlynowski - Gimme a Call
Neesha Meminger - Jazz in Love
Terra Elan McVoy - After the Kiss
Lisa McMann - Cryer's Cross
Kimberly Marcus - Exposed
Melina Marchetta - The Piper’s Son
Torrey Maldonado - Secret Saturdays
Barry Lyga - Archvillain

2:30 - 3:15pm

E. Lockhart - Real Live Boyfriends
Sarah Darer Littman - Life After
David Levithan - Dash and Lily's Book of Dares
Melissa Kantor - The Darlings Are Forever
Carla Jablonski - Resistance
Gwendolyn Heasley - Where I Belong
Kim Harrington - Clarity
Christopher Grant - Teenie
Margie Gelbwasser - Inconvenient
Elizabeth Eulberg - Prom & Prejudice
Helen Ellis - The Turning

3:15 - 4:00pm

Daniel Ehrenhaft - Friend is Not a Verb
Sarah Beth Durst - Enchanted Ivy
Matt De La Pena - I Will Save You
Brent Crawford - Carter Finally Gets It
Eireann Corrigan - Accomplice
Susane Colasanti - Something Like Fate
Alexandra Bullen - Wishful Thinking
Marina Budhos - Tell Us We're Home
Kate Brian - Book of Spells
Philana Marie Boles - Glitz
Judy Blundell - Strings Attached
Cathleen Bell - Little Blog on the Prairie

Back-to-the-Future Box and Books of Wonder

Two lovely things happened this week: my Back-to-the-Future box arrived and I had my first book event for Enchanted Ivy!

Back-to-the-Future Box

Remember that scene at the end of Back to the Future where Marty's dad receives a box of books -- books he's written -- in the mail? Okay, maybe you don't. But I always saw it as the highlight of the entire movie. I wanted that box.

In a recent interview, I was asked what has surprised me the most about being a published author, and one thing is that publication isn't a single moment. It's not all about that "yes" on the phone or the pub date. There isn't a day when the elephants parade through your living room, hot-air blimps throw confetti over your house, and Ewoks play timpani on Stormtrooper helmets for you. Instead, it's smaller moments, which I think I like better because the smaller moments can sneak up and surprise you, like receiving the Back-to-the-Future box.

Not sure why this surprised me, because one thing I've learned time and time again is that life is all about the smaller moments.

Anyway, my Back-to-the-Future box (a.k.a. my author copies of Enchanted Ivy and the paperback edition of Ice) arrived this week. My husband and I opened the box together and stacked all the books in giant towers. Then we sat on the floor and admired them for a long time.

We also noticed that the floor badly needs vacuuming. Ah, the glamorous life.....

Books of Wonder

The other cool moment of the week was the "Fantasy for Teens" book event at Books of Wonder in NYC last Thursday. I spoke and read with two awesome authors: Cinda Williams Chima and Yvonne Woon.

I also accidentally said I hear voices, but we'll gloss right over that.

Here's a photo of Cinda and me with the lovely display of books:


I LOVE doing events at Books of Wonder. For one thing, it's a fabulous bookstore. For another, they really do events right. Very organized, very enthusiastic, and all-around wonderful. Thank you to Peter and the Books of Wonder staff, and thank you to everyone who came out to the event! You're all awesome!

Coming soon: Stop three of the Enchanted Ivy campus tour...

3 days until Enchanted Ivy!

Upcoming Enchanted Ivy Events

You know, I actually did a little dance when I flipped my calendar to October. And that's not just because I fully intend to wear fairy wings for Halloween, though that's admittedly part of it. (I have no idea how I went through my entire childhood without owning a pair of wings. Really a massive oversight. Must be corrected. As soon as I can figure out where to purchase said wings... Suggestions?)

The real reason for my dance will be obvious to anyone who has been reading this blog for a while:

October is the release month for Enchanted Ivy!!! Just 9 days left until pub date!!!

I have some book events coming up that I'm really excited about. Details are below, as well as on the Appearances page of my website. If you're in the area, I hope you'll come!

First event is this Thursday at one of my all-time favorite bookstores: Books of Wonder in NYC. I'll be appearing with Cinda Williams Chima (author of The Exiled Queen) and Yvonne Woon (author of Dead Beautiful). Here's the lovely poster:


Upcoming Appearances:

Books of Wonder
Thursday, October 7th from 6-8pm
Fantasy for Teens Reading/Signing with Cinda Williams Chima, Yvonne Woon, and Sarah Beth Durst
18 West 18th Street, New York, NY

Bay Shore-Brightwaters Public Library
Tuesday, October 26th at 7:30pm &
Tuesday, November 9th at 7:30pm
2-Part Author Visit & Writing Workshop
One South County Road, Brightwaters, NY

World Fantasy Convention 2010
October 28th-31st (Thursday to Sunday)
Hyatt Regency Columbus, 350 North High Street, Columbus, OH

New York Public Library
Wednesday, November 3rd from 6-7:30pm
Teen Author Reading Night with Rachel Cohn, David Levithan, Sarah Beth Durst, Barry Lyga, Lena Roy, Kieran Scott, and Scott Westerfeld
Jefferson Market Branch, 425 6th Ave (at 10th St), New York, NY

Book Revue
Sunday, November 7th at 2pm
Reading/Signing/Book Launch Party (with cake!!!)
313 New York Avenue, Huntington NY

2010 NYC Teen Author Festival

The 2010 NYC Teen Author Festival is this week!

Organized by the always-awesome David Levithan, the festival runs from March 15-21, features 70+ YA authors, and includes readings, panels, and signings all over New York City. You can see the full schedule here.

I'll be participating in two of the events:

FRIDAY, MARCH 19TH
NYC Teen Author Festival Symposium
New York Public Library (South Court, 42nd Street -- the one with the lions)
2:10 - 3:00 "Using Genre to Tell the True Story of Adolescence" with:
Judy Blundell
Sarah Beth Durst
Lauren McLaughlin
Diana Peterfreund
Sara Shepard
Maggie Stiefvater
Robin Wasserman

SUNDAY, MARCH 21ST
NYC Teen Author Festival Signing
Books of Wonder (18 West 18th Street)
2:00 - 5:45 Massive Book Signing
We will be signing in shifts. I'll be signing at 2:45 - 3:30 with:
Tom Dolby
Heather Duffy-Stone
Sarah Beth Durst
Elizabeth Eulberg
Gayle Forman
Aimee Friedman
Jenny Han
Alice Hoffman
Carla Jablonksi
Melissa Kantor
Kristen Kemp
Michelle Knudsen
Peter Lerangis
David Levithan

I'm very, very excited about this. The signing on Sunday is at one of my all-time favorite bookstores and will include more authors than you can shake a stick at. (Not that you should be shaking sticks at authors. That would be an odd thing to do.) And the panel discussion on Friday is at the main building of the New York Public Library.

When I found this out, I said to my husband, "It's at the one with the lions! Yay! I'm so excited! Lions!"

My husband said, "That's great!" He paused. "Wait. You're expecting the lions to talk, aren't you?"

"Of course not!" I said.

"Good," he said.

"I'm expecting them to sing."

Author Video, Books of Wonder, and Publishers Weekly

My Author Video is up on the Simon & Schuster website!!!



(If the video doesn't appear here, you can view it -- as well as an interview with me -- on my Simon & Schuster author page.)

Note that I'm wearing a polar bear necklace and polar bear earrings. One of the little-known side effects of writing a book about a polar bear is that your husband starts buying you all sorts of polar bear-themed presents. Next book will be set in a diamond mine. (FYI, I'm kidding. I'm totally expecting a pet tiger with my next book...)

I also wore my polar bear jewelry (and polar bear socks) to my book event yesterday at Books of Wonder. I love book events at Books of Wonder! This one was with John Connolly, Marissa Doyle, John Hulme, Daniel Kirk, Diana Peterfreund, Dan Poblocki, and Michael Wexler. My ever-awesome husband took photos:

Bookshelf of Wonder!!!

We prepare to dazzle the audience with wit and wisdom...

Signing books!

Afterwards I went out with Diana Peterfreund (fabulous author of Rampant) and Sarah Cross (fabulous author of Dull Boy) for hot chocolate that had an ice-cube-sized chunk of homemade marshmallow floating in it. Ended up eating the marshmallow with a fork. Yum.

Me, Diana, and Sarah

In addition to having a wonderful day yesterday, today I received some lovely news: Publishers Weekly (big important trade magazine) liked ICE!!! Here's what they said:

"Durst skillfully integrates a contemporary girl into an updated version of the tale East of the Sun and West of the Moon, balancing the magical with the modern... [Cassie's] quest for self-worth, independence, maturity and love, is twisty, absorbing and satisfying."

The full review is posted here. Yay!

Thanks, Events, and the Most Awesome Photos Ever

Thank you, everyone, for all the emails, messages, comments, and calls! Cassie, Bear, and I had a wonderful launch week!

On Tuesday, I participated in Teen Author Reading Night at the New York Public Library. I read from the beginning of ICE, shared a few embarrassing anecdotes, and showed off my replica polar bear claw (because every reading should have a show-and-tell portion).

I think I may bring the claw to all my book events. My next event is this Sunday. And it's an awesome one! At Books of Wonder!!! BoW is a wonderful bookstore in NYC, and they always do a fantastic job with events. I'll be appearing with a great line-up of fellow YA authors. I can't wait! Here's the info if you'd like to see me and my claw:

Books of Wonder
Sunday, October 18th from 1-3pm
Fantastic Fiction Reading/Signing with Troy Cle, John Connolly, Marissa Doyle, Sarah Beth Durst (that's me!), John Hulme, Daniel Kirk, Diana Peterfreund, Dan Poblocki, and Michael Wexler
18 West 18th Street, New York, NY


If you can't come see me in person and are wasting away in despair from Lack of Sarah (a seldom-discussed-but-very-real malady), you can "listen" to me babble online. Here are a few brand-new interviews with yours truly:

Fantastic Book Review
Enchanted Inkpot
Jeri Smith-Ready's Blogtoberfest
A Fort Made of Books
Wordswimmer

Lastly, I have to share with you some of the MOST AWESOME PHOTOS I HAVE EVER SEEN. Please excuse the all-caps. These photos are totally all-caps-worthy.

They were taken by Enna Isilee of Squeaky Books, and I hope she doesn't mind if I re-post them here:




How cool are these?!?

Um, no pun intended.

Five Sarahs

Five Sarahs gathered at Books of Wonder in NYC yesterday to plot world domination. A-hem, I mean, talk about and sign books. Right. Perfectly innocent gathering. Nothing to see here. Move along, please.

But if you really do want to see... here are some photos from the Sarah Signing:

5 Sarahs: Sarah Beth Durst (me!), Sarah Cross, Sarah Rees Brennan, Sarah MacLean, and Sarah Ockler

And here is a photo of all our books:

Ooh, pretty!

I had a fantastic time. We all read for a couple minutes and then we answered questions from the fabulous audience. For example,

Question: "What weapons are in your books?"
Me, pointing at Out of the Wild: "A sword and a dragon."
Another Sarah: "A dragon is a weapon?"
Me: "It is if you use it properly."

Someone also asked what were our plans for the coming zombie apocalypse? I liked Sarah Cross's answer -- she said that if the zombies attacked, she'd probably just get eaten. Granted, as a plan, that's not ideal, but that's probably what would happen to me.

In my response to the question, I told everyone about the dream I had the night before Into the Wild's pub date: I dreamed that zombies were shambling down our street toward our house. To defend my family, I dug a moat. And then I thought that zombies could just crawl through the moat and attack. So I filled the moat with brambles. But then I thought the zombies could push through the brambles. So I filled the moat with water. And then I fetched the alligators. (Apparently, we keep them in the bathtub.) After dumping five or six alligators into the moat, I boarded up the house and hunkered down with my family to wait. The zombies were tearing at the boarded up windows when I woke up as a published author.

This is me, looking all professional yet talking about zombies.
(Thanks to Cathie for the photo.)

But the best part of the event -- indeed, the best part of any event -- was the chocolate. Sarah MacLean had these little puppies made:

Don't these make you want to be a Sarah?
(Thanks to Sharon for the photo.)

Aren't these so cool?

After Books of Wonder, I spent the afternoon with two of the Sarahs, Sarah Rees Brennan and Sarah Cross, as well as Cassie Clare, who is as awesome as a Sarah. We were later joined by Maureen Johnson, Josh Lewis, Ellen Kushner, and Delia Sherman... and thus were the Sarahs outnumbered.

Had a super-yummy dinner at a Greek restaurant that had lots of pots on the ceiling. And then I booked it out of there to catch the train home. Literally had to run through Penn Station to make it. But I did.

And the excitement wasn't over yet: on the drive from the train station to my house, at around midnight, I was pulled over by a cop. He claimed I had a headlight out. I suspect he could tell that I'd been plotting world domination with Sarahs.

Sarah Signing

Five Sarahs. One bookstore. I'll be there. Will you?

Books of Wonder. Sunday August 2nd. 1-3pm.

Bears and Sarahs

Random polar bear fact: Polar bears radiate so little heat that snow doesn't melt on them. (Be sure to tuck that little piece of knowledge away carefully. You never know when it might come in handy.)

Also, I just found out that the US postcard stamp this year has a polar bear on it. I think this is the most awesome stamp ever.

It makes me want to send postcards. Except I'm not going on vacation any time soon so I'd have to say stuff like, "Washed dishes today! Wish you were here!"

In other awesome polar bear news: The Central Park Zoo in NYC is hosting an event called Ice Chefs next Saturday. Two zookeepers are having a Top-Chef-style cook-off to see who can create the best taste-treat for polar bears. The bears are the judges! (Thanks to Cathie for the link.)

I'm also very excited for next Sunday when I get to be part of an awesome reading/signing/spectacle at Books of Wonder, a fabulous bookstore in NYC. They're hosting a "Sarah Signing" -- a panel of YA authors all of whom are named Sarah!! Sarahs will include Sarah Cross, Sarah Beth Durst (that's me!!!), Sarah MacLean, Sarah Ockler, and Sarah Rees Brennan. Here are the details:

Sunday, August 2nd from 1-3pm
Books of Wonder - Sarah Signing
18 West 18th Street, New York, NY

I've always rather liked the name Sarah. For one, it means "princess," and I harbor a secret belief that I am the prophesied princess of the unicorns. (Shh, don't tell anyone. You'll endanger us all.)

For another, the name is pretty much schoolyard-mockery-proof. Once, in fifth grade, a boy called me "Farah Fawcett" because Farah rhymes with Sarah, and I remember thinking, "Isn't she supposed to be gorgeous? Good one there." And then in middle school, a kid would sing that Sara song by Starship whenever I walked into the room. I'm sure I was supposed to feel embarrassed, but being a glass-half-full kind of girl, I thought it was rather nice to be serenaded.

I wonder... if I burst into song next weekend, will my fellow Sarahs think I'm insane? Or will they join in? Hmmm.....

Books of Wonder and YASD Trip Reports

Books of Wonder

I love thinking about what my ten-year-old self would think of this photograph:


That's me (the one with the curly hair) next to Gail Carson Levine (Newbery Honor author of Ella Enchanted). We're both signing lots and lots of copies of our newest books at Books of Wonder in NYC.

I think ten-year-old Sarah would have done twenty cartwheels across the store.

Or possibly peed herself in excitement.

I loved Saturday.

Okay, I could have done without the rain on Saturday night. Really, "rain" isn't the right word. It was like the giant from Jack and the Beanstalk had up-ended an enormous bucket over all of New York. It flooded out both east-west highways on Long Island. We had to meander through residential streets in Queens to find our way home. But at least we didn't have to float our way home. And at least there was no rain earlier in the day.

Earlier in the day, at noon, I had a reading/signing at Books of Wonder with Gail Carson Levine, Scott Mebus, Claudia Gray, and Diana S. Zimmerman. And it was AWESOME.


Books of Wonder is a fantastic bookstore in Manhattan that specializes in children's books. I want to read every single book in that store. And they excel at events. They do every detail right. This was my second time doing an event there, and it's been a fabulous experience both times.

Part of the fabulousness was seeing so many copies of Out of the Wild and Into the Wild. I'd only ever seen a single copy of Out of the Wild before Saturday, so seeing the two books filling a whole shelf... It took all my self-restraint not to hug the bookshelf.


Speaking of self-restraint... for those of you wondering, I didn't steal an event poster off the wall. I actually stole three. Okay, maybe it wasn't technically "stealing." They had a whole stack of flyers at the front counter with a sign that said "please help yourself." So, while I was totally ready to whip out my Mission Impossible moves, they were, alas, not necessary...


Suffolk Librarians

Rewinding a couple days, I want to tell you about last Thursday. On Thursday, I was the guest speaker at a meeting of the Young Adult Services Division (YASD) of the Suffolk County Library Association. I spoke to about two dozen very cool librarians from around Suffolk County (the eastern portion of Long Island).

I was supposed to arrive at 11:00, but I sneaked in a little early to listen to the first part of their meeting. They were discussing summer reading programs. It totally made me want to be either a librarian or a kid at one of their libraries. One library was decorating their room with live butterfly gardens hanging from the ceiling. How cool is that?

Then I did my presentation -- with PowerPoint slides and everything! I think it went well, and everyone was really nice to me, so I had a great time.


4 days until the Wild returns...

Books of Wonder!!

I love this poster.

I really, really love this poster.

I may have to steal a copy of this poster.

Seriously, larceny is in my future. Cue the Mission Impossible music. I'm goin' in. Who's with me?

As the above poster says, this Saturday at noon, I will be appearing at Books of Wonder with Gail Carson Levine, Scott Mebus, Claudia Gray, and Diana S. Zimmerman. To say that I am excited about this would be an understatement. HUGE understatement. Like unicorns-are-rare kind of understatement.

For one thing, it's at Books of Wonder, which is a fantastic children's bookstore in Manhattan. I want to read every single book in this store. Also, it shares space with a cupcake store. And rumor has it that it also has a secret underground lair filled with first edition signed copies of Harry Potter guarded by ninja-trained cats and a shark-infested moat. The sharks, of course, have laser beams on their heads.

For another, I will be reading from and signing copies of Out of the Wild. This will be the very first time that I get to sign copies of Out of the Wild. (The actual official publication date is June 19th.) I may end up petting them and cooing at them as I sign. They're so BLUE! Pretty, pretty blue!

Lastly, look at that author list! Scott Mebus, Claudia Gray, Diana S. Zimmerman, and GAIL CARSON LEVINE! AHHHH!!! I know that I'm going to totally make an idiot of myself in front of Gail Carson Levine. I love her books. Ella Enchanted. The Two Princesses of Bamarre. The Princess Tales. I am bouncing in my chair as I type this.

If you're going to be in NYC this weekend and would like to see me totally lose my cool next to Gail Carson Levine and/or join me in sneaking past the laser-beam-wearing sharks to claim my beloved poster, here are the event details:

June 14th (Saturday) from 12-2pm
Books of Wonder - Reading/Signing
18 West 18th Street, New York, NY

Hope to see you there!

Ooh, and I almost forgot. Today I had a wonderful bit of coolness: Ms. Editor sent me my very first beautiful blue hardcover smells-like-a-new-book finished copy of Out of the Wild. The package arrived midday, but (showing remarkable self-restraint, if I do say so myself) I waited until my husband came home from work before opening it. He's been with me every step of the way, so I wanted to share the moment with him.

I then proceeded to hug the book for the next hour. :)

8 days until the Wild returns...

Books of Wonder and ALA Trip Report (part 1 of 3)

Saturday

6am - Wake from dream in which I am on a Huck Finn-like raft in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and I have a stack of copies of Into the Wild that I'm supposed to sign or else the sharks with laser beams strapped to them will shoot me but I don't have a pen so I'm trying to distill the seawater so that I can sign with salt...

6:05am - Pack more pens.


11am - Arrive one hour early for reading/signing at Books of Wonder (Manhattan's best children's bookstore). Admire my book on the front bookshelf. Check to make sure I still have my pens.


11:30am - Eat cupcake with author Staton Rabin, who is very nice plus has a cool hat. Wonder when cupcake-only stores became popular. Why not eclair stores? Or carrot-cake stores?

11:55am - Notice that I will be signing books in the same room as signed first editions of Wizard of Oz, Harry Potter, and the Fellowship of the Ring. Hyperventilate a little. Then notice that the wonderful Books of Wonder staff has provided the authors with extra pens. Feel better.

Noon-ish - All four authors (JT Petty, Ellen Potter, Staton Rabin, and me) talk and/or read, then answer questions. We use a handheld microphone. I am tempted to sing Copa Cabana. I manage to resist, but it's a close call.


12:45pm - Sign books! I have a line!!! And there are even actual kids in it! (Special thanks to Julie Kaplan, the awesome teacher who told many students in Corona about me and to the students who came; special thanks to Leslie Margolis who is so sweet that she bought a copy of Into the Wild even though she's already read it; and special thanks to Penelope who heard me read the same scene twice before but came anyway because she's awesome.)


2pm - Sign the special Books of Wonder notebook. (This is a tradition - every author who has an event at Books of Wonder signs one of these notebooks. Prior notebooks hold signatures from Lloyd Alexander, JK Rowling, Tamora Pierce, etc.) I wish I could draw a picture, but the only thing I know how to draw is a somewhat deranged cartoon bunny. That doesn't seem so appropriate so I stick with just my name.

2:15pm - Arrive at Penn Station, ready to hop on the 3pm train to Washington DC for the ALA (American Library Association) Annual Conference. I'd paid the extra bucks to be on the Acela Express, due to arrive at 5:50pm, so that I can make the Penguin Young Readers Cocktail Party, which starts at 6pm. (Saturday night of ALA, many publishers throw cocktail parties. This will be my very first publisher cocktail party -- at least the first one where I have an actual official invitation and am not crashing -- and I'm determined not to miss it.)

2:20pm - Train is delayed 20 min.

2:55pm - Train is delayed 30 min.

3:05pm - Get on the Regional (slow) train instead.

6:30pm - Arrive in DC and go straight to cocktail party at the Fairmont Hotel.

6:45pm - Someone asks me, "Where's your yellow rose? All the Penguin authors have yellow roses." Feel sad and rose-less.

6:46pm - Steal a spare rose off a grand piano. Feel better.

6:50pm - John Green comes over and congratulates me on the recent release of my book. Gives me his yellow rose as a congratulations present. Now I have two roses. Feel twice as cool.

7-ish - Talk to many librarians, writers, and Penguin folk. No actual penguins are present. Pity. But I did see Judy Blume (from a distance).

8pm - Adjourn to outside patio with several awesome Penguin people (Leila Sales, Rachel Henry, Kathryn Hurley, Alan Walker, Dominique, and Kiwani, who I'm sure spells his name totally differently than I just did, many apologies) and two awesome authors (Simone Elkeles and Shannon Greenland).

10pm - Check into my hotel.

10:30pm - Go to next party in yet another hotel. Walk in to find virtually every YA author I've ever met (plus some I met for the first time, including Marcus Zusak, Debby Garfinkle, Sara Zarr, and Sarah Aronson). Also got to meet Mirrorstone editor Stacy Whitman, who is just as sweet as I thought she'd be.

12:30am - Return to my hotel. Put the yellow roses by my bed so that I'll have rose-scented dreams, rather than shark-filled ones. Sleep.

(Tune in tomorrow for more of Sarah's adventures at ALA...)

Book Launch Recap

Yesterday was AWESOME.

On behalf of Julie, Zel, Boots, and all the characters of INTO THE WILD, I'd like to thank everyone who sent emails, comments, flowers, etc. You guys made the day really, really special.

Two other things that made the day special:

My Back-to-the-Future Box

Remember when George McFly gets his box of books at the end of "Back to the Future"? Okay, I know it's a totally obscure reference. After Marty returns to 1985, he learns that his father is now a writer, and he sees his dad receive a box full of author copies of his first published novel.

I loved that scene.

I wanted that box.

Yesterday afternoon, my Back-to-the-Future box arrived!! 30 glorious, shiny, purply copies of INTO THE WILD!!!

Back-to-the-Future Box

It was a lovely, lovely book-birthday present. Just looking at the box now makes me feel all dizzy and light-headed.

Book Launch Party/Reading/Signing at Book Revue

Let's start with the most important part: the cake. It was vanilla with buttercream frosting and raspberry (yum!) filling. Here's a photo:

We ate Julie!

As far as the event itself... AWESOME. The events coordinator, Julianne, was wonderful, and Book Revue is a fabulous bookstore -- it's the largest independent bookstore on Long Island. Turnout was terrific. Lots of friends and family and family-friends (and MySpace friends!) showed up. And my agent came. And some kids too! And they were really excited about the book, and asked great questions, which was awesome. The store even had to set up more chairs, and there were still people leaning up against the bookshelves in the back! I talked for a little bit and then read two scenes from the book. (I love reading!) Afterwards, I signed lots and lots of books with a lovely purple pen.

Yay Purple Pen!

Tomorrow

Tomorrow (or Today, depending on when you read this -- Saturday, 6/23), I'll be at Books of Wonder in Manhattan. (Click here for info.) And immediately afterward, I'll hop a train to Washington DC for the ALA (American Library Association) Conference! Busy, busy... but so much fun...