And More!

Locus Magazine, the trade magazine for SF/fantasy publishing, has a special issue out this month about young adult fiction. As you can see on the cover, it features essays by Neil Gaiman, Holly Black, Justine Larbalestier, Scott Westerfeld, Graham Joyce, and more! A closer look reveals the secret identity of "and more!" to be uber-editors Sharyn November and Ruth Katcher, National Book Award finalist Kathleen Duey, and MEEEEEEEEE!!! Hee hee! How cool is that?!

I am beyond excited that they published my essay along with essays from all these giants of YA SF/fantasy, though keeping myself from singing a certain classic Sesame Street song has been a struggle. One of these things is not like the others...

Nevertheless... SNOOPY DANCE OF JOY!!!

Ooh, and I just noticed, there's also a nice review of Out of the Wild in the very same issue of Locus. Too cool!

I wish I could give you a link to my essay, but it's not available online, only in print. My title is "Why YA?" to which my answer is pretty much, because it's awesome!

The Wild Returns!

Book Birthday

Out of the Wild is now out in the wild!!! YAY!!!!

Today is the publication date for Out of the Wild. And I am so, so, so excited. We're talking more excited than a kindergartener in a vat of chocolate ice cream. More excited than a kangaroo on a pogo stick. More excited than a monkey who escaped the zoo in a banana truck. I really love this book. I had a lot of fun writing it and am so thrilled that it's now out there in the big, wide world.


Out of the Wild is the sequel to Into the Wild. The two books are fantasy adventures about fairy-tale characters who escaped the fairy tale and what happens when the fairy tale (the Wild) wants its characters back. In Out of the Wild, Julie (Rapunzel's daughter) reunites with her long-lost father (the Prince) for a magical road trip across America. There's a flying bath mat, a kidnapped princess, a fire-breathing dragon, and several thousand magic beanstalks. And of course, the Wild is back. And it's still hungry...


You can read more about it on my website, including a sneak peek at the first chapter, and if you're interested, the book can be purchased at your local bookstore, and online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Powell's, Booksense, or any other online book retailer.

Book Launch Celebration

If you're in the Worcester, MA area this Saturday, please join me in celebrating the release of Out of the Wild! I'll be talking, reading, and signing at the Worcester Barnes & Noble at 2pm. Also, we will be serving cake decorated with the cover art from Out of the Wild! Very yummy cake! Here are the details:

June 21st (Saturday) at 2pm
Barnes & Noble Worcester
Book Launch Event! With cake!!!
Lincoln Plaza, 541 D Lincoln Street, Worcester, MA

Hope to see you there!

Julie in the News

Just this week, Julie and I made the news in central Massachusetts. Check out this lovely article in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette!

I am totally doing the Snoopy Dance of Joy.

Back-to-the-Future Box

And I just wanted to share with you one other Snoopy Dance of Joy moment: my Back-to-the-Future box arrived this week!

A bit of explanation... At the end of the movie "Back to the Future", Marty returns to 1985 and learns that his father has realized his life-long dream of becoming a writer. He watches his dad receive a box full of author copies of his published novel. I always loved that scene, and I dreamed of my own Back-to-the-Future box.

Last year, when my author copies of Into the Wild arrived, that dream came true. This week, it came true again when I received my author copies of Out of the Wild and the paperback of Into the Wild. Here's a photo of my beautiful Back-to-the-Future boxes:


YAY!!!

Happy Book-Birthday, Out of the Wild! And thank you all for letting me share with you my joy and excitement on this occasion.

Boston Globe Article (and more!)

It's been press, press, and more press this past week in Sarah-land...

Boston Globe

Look Ma, I'm in the Boston Globe!!! An article about me and Into the Wild appeared on the front page of the Globe West section of last Thursday's Boston Globe (Globe West edition). Wowza! And it includes a picture of me in front of the Agway Rooster, a landmark in my hometown which gets transformed into the witch's house in my book. So cool! I've been doing cartwheels about this for the past few days. (Well, not really, since I've never been able to do cartwheels and I'm pretty sure I'd hurt myself if I tried... But you know what I mean.) Click here to check out the online version of the article. And since the online version (sadly) does not include the rooster picture, here it is:

Rooster and Me

SCI FI Wire

Amazingly, Friday brought even more press. John Joseph Adams wrote an article about me and my book which appeared on SCI FI Channel's SCI FI Wire news service. SCI FI Wire is an awesome source of info about all things science fiction and fantasy. I've been reading it for years, so this was a huge rush for me. Check out the article here.

Northborough-Southborough Villager

To top it all off, I just found out that yet another article about Into the Wild graces the front page of the current issue of the Northborough-Southborough Villager. This is the local paper in the town where I grew up and where Into the Wild is set. And there's an online version. Click here to check it out.

After years and years of total obscurity, of never talking about my writing to anyone, this media coverage feels very surreal to me. First the article in the Worcester Telegram and Gazette which came out a few weeks ago (and which I blogged about here) and now these three. It's simply too much for my brain to process. I just hope that this helps people find their way to my book and that the book brings them some joy when they find it.

Newspaper Article, NYPL Reading, and Recent Reviews

Lots of news to report today. Articles, readings, reviews, oh my!

Worcester Telegram & Gazette Article

On the ego-feeding front, there's an article about me and INTO THE WILD in today's issue of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, the leading newspaper in the Massachusetts city near where I grew up and where INTO THE WILD is set. It's the cover story for the Entertainment section! And there's a lead-in blurb on the front page of the newspaper!!! I'm so excited about this.

Click here to check out the article.

Teen Author Reading Night

Tomorrow, I will be reading from INTO THE WILD as part of this month's Teen Author Reading Night. If you're interested, here are the details:

WEDNESDAY JULY 11, 2007 from 6-7:30pm
New York Public Library, Tompkins Square Branch
331 East 10th Street (near Avenue B), New York, NY

The line-up of authors is:

- Lauren Barnholdt (Two Way Street)
- Hobson Brown, Taylor Materne, and Caroline Says (The Upper Class)
- Sarah Beth Durst (Into the Wild)
- P.E. Ryan (Saints of Augustine)
- Robyn Schneider (The Social Climber's Guide to High School)
- Kieran Scott (A Non-Blonde Cheerleader in Love)

Hope to see you there!

Recent Reviews

A whole bunch of people have recently written reviews for INTO THE WILD. Here are some excerpts:

"The story of how Julie rescues her mother, and learns a little something extra about herself and her family, is beautifully told. The adventures are fast-paced and enthralling. The support characters are supportive (Julie's best friend, who valiantly blows her trumpet for hours to help Julie, and her "brother," Puss-in-Boots, are among the most memorable of these) and multi-dimensional. I highly recommend this book. My thoughts upon finishing it were, "Wow! I can't wait to read about Julie's next batch of adventures." I hope there will be a next batch of Julie adventures, because I like the characters, and I like Sarah's writing style." -- Faith Stencel, ChaucerianGirl (Read full review)

"I really enjoyed this book... It's modern, it's hip, and it's nostalgic. Who hasn't wanted to be the princess in a fairy tale? Who hasn't wanted their own Prince Charming? Sarah Beth Durst shows us the other side of the fairy tale coin. I look forward to any more works from her!" -- The Reading Zone (Read full review)

"Ever have a strange occurence where you've judged a book by its cover, and it turned out to be a wonderful book? That was what Into the Wild was like for me. I love the cover! I love how creative it is--and I especially like the walking cat. You don't see too many walking cats on book covers now, do you? And the book proved to be as interesting and thought provoking as its cover." -- Over My Head (Read full review)

"The author blends a variety of genres, and fairy tales in a intricate and engaging read... The novel, though entrenched in fantasy, offers up some very real messages and themes, and is so enjoyable, you'll hope the "ever after" never comes." -- Bri Meets Books (Read full review)

"INTO THE WILD is an entertaining read and an intriguing puzzle to crack." -- Alexis Burling, KidsReads (Read full review)

Better Homes & Gardens

I am not exactly an exemplary homemaker or gardener. Our house has dust bunnies that have been here so long that they've developed personalities. (See that snarl under the TV? That's Rupert. And the tumbleweed under the china cabinet is Gertrude.) Areas of my dining room actually crunch when you walk through them in shoes. I know better than to walk through my house barefoot. As for my "garden"... If you want to see the Wild, all you have to do is look out our back window. About fifteen feet back, the lawn (and by "lawn," I mean the variety of weeds that we keep mowed to approximately lawn height) ends in a hill that is covered in brambles and grape leaves and ivy and shrubs. We were living here for three months before we discovered that there was actually a set of stairs with white railings leading up our hill. You couldn't see it until fall when the leaves began to die.

In other words, I am not exactly "Better Homes & Gardens" material.

My mother can attest to this. She had the most amazing gardens when I was growing up. She had a hillside of flowers and flowering bushes, a strawberry patch, a pumpkin patch, rows of daffodils by the front stone wall, a border of herbs, a side border of peonies and tulips, plus a vegetable garden twice the size of my first apartment. I was zero help with all this gorgeousness. Worms freaked me out, and I hated to have dirty hands. So I think my mom is going to really laugh when she hears this:

I'm in the June 2007 issue of Better Homes & Gardens magazine!

Yep, seriously, I am! My mother-in-law discovered me on page 186 in the "Living: Summer Fun" section. Under "Get a Beach Book," it says:

"Keep the kids entertained with two modern fantasies: Troll Bridge, by Jane Yolen and Adam Stemple, and Into the Wild, by Sarah Beth Durst."

OMG, That's Me!

How cool is that?!?

For one thing, I'm listed right alongside Jane Yolen, Goddess of Children's Literature. For another... no one who has ever seen my backyard is going to believe this! To give you some context on the article, here's a picture of the whole page. Click to see it full size.

Popsicles, Inner Tubes, and Into the Wild

Random, huh? For summer fun, BH&G recommends popsicles, inner tubes, and INTO THE WILD! Hey, why not try all three together? Popsicle in one hand, my book in the other, floating in the pool on an inner tube... Sounds good to me! If I get a spare minute this summer, that's totally how I'm going to spend it.

As soon as I mentioned Better Homes & Gardens, my husband started humming this song from Little Shop of Horrors that talks about BH&G: "Somewhere That's Green." It's the one where Audrey is dreaming about her perfect life in the suburbs, right out of BH&G magazine. It's somewhat beyond description. But thanks to the power of the internets, there's no need for me to describe it, you can watch it yourself: [If the YouTube video doesn't appear below, you can watch it by clicking here.]



Mwah ha ha, now you've all got that song stuck in your head just like I do!