3 in 2014!

Still not used to the fact that it's 2014.  Every time I write the date, I have to double-check my calendar to confirm that yes, it really is 2014, even though that sounds so futuristic and where's my hover-bike?

I also keep double-checking my calendar because my husband bought me this adorable cat calendar with fluffy, innocent kittens posed next to poems with titles such as "I Can Pee On That," and it amuses me more than I should admit.  We've had several dramatic readings of that poem already.

Anyway, I'm actually very excited that it's 2014 because I have 3 books coming out this year!!!  *flails arms like a muppet*

First up on May 27, 2014, is THE LOST, which is now available for pre-order and has a shiny new (blue!) cover that I love:

It's the first book in a new trilogy from Harlequin/Mira, and it's about a woman who is trapped in a town full of only lost things and lost people.  It's my first book for adults, and I'm really excited about it. 

The second book in the trilogy, THE MISSING, will be coming out in December 2014, followed by the third book, THE FOUND, in April 2015.  I'm working on the third draft of THE FOUND right now.

My next YA book will be coming out from Bloomsbury/Walker in fall 2014.  It's currently called MIND OVER MAGIC, but it most likely will have a new title soon.  (And a cover!  Yay!  Books feel so much more real once they have a cover.)  I'm really excited about it too.  Just finished reviewing the copyedits so it's nearly done.

So my 2014 looks like it will be filled with lots of words, which makes me very happy.  Hope your 2014 is filled with lots of things that you love!  Happy New Year!

MIND OVER MAGIC Revisions

*emerges from writing cave, blinks, looks around*

Oh, hi!

It seems to be mid-November.  Hello, mid-November.  You're cold.  And dark.  And a little bit snowy.  I don't think I approve.  October here was lovely, full of surprisingly warm days and colorful leaves that clung to the branches just a bit longer than usual.  Also, a lot of nuts.  Our lawn was peppered with acorns, and the street had so many beech nuts that it sounded like popcorn when you drove down it.  The squirrels should be happy.  Always good to keep the squirrels happy.  You never know when they might decide to band together and attack.  Tricksy squirrels.

Anyway, the reason that I'm emerging from my writing cave to say hi is that I just finished revisions on my next YA novel.  (Yay!!!)  I really loved working on this book, and I'm really, really excited about it!  It's called MIND OVER MAGIC, and it's Kayla's story.....

Lies, secrets, and magic -- three things that define Kayla's life.

Sixteen-year-old Kayla plans to spend her summer hanging out on the beach in Santa Barbara and stealing whatever she wants, whenever she wants it.  Born with the ability to move things with her mind -- things like credit cards, diamond rings, and buttons on cash registers -- she has become a master shoplifter.  She steals to build up a safety net, enough money for her and her mom to be able to flee if her dad finds them again.  Well, that, and the thrill of using her secret talents.

But her summer plans change when she's caught stealing by a boy named Daniel -- a boy who needs her help and is willing to blackmail her to get it.  Daniel has a talent of his own.  He can teleport, appearing anywhere in the world in an instant, but he lies as easily as he travels.  Together, they embark on a quest to find and steal an ancient incantation, written on three indestructible stones and hidden millennia ago, all to rescue Daniel's kidnapped mother.  But Kayla has no idea that this rescue mission will lead back to her own family -- and to betrayals that she may not be able to forgive... or survive.

MIND OVER MAGIC will be out from Bloomsbury/Walker in fall 2014.

And now I'm going to dive back into my cave to continue work on THE FOUND (book three of THE LOST, my upcoming adult trilogy).  Also, to escape the army of squirrels.