I’m so stoked — Phoenix Island is the currently #1 Kindle “hot new release” in YA sci fi action. Thanks, everyone who’s picked up a copy, written a review, and / or spread the word!
I had an absolute blast at ALA Midwinter in Philly.
If I wasn’t working under deadline — read “If I wasn’t in full-blown Jack Torrance mode right now — I would go into great detail, but I just wanted to say how much fun I had, seeing friends and meeting people, and how much I appreciate the support of my publisher, Simon & Schuster / Gallery Books, ALA, the SFWA, and especially my awesome publicist, Stephanie DeLuca.
I enjoyed my time on the Pop Top Stage, where I met some really cool people, my signing at the SFWA booth, where everyone was so nice to me, and E.C. Myers even passed out cookies, and just drifting around, seeing stuff (like a 3-D printer, thanks to Stephen Silver), bumping into friends, and meeting new people.
Great seeing so many people, including K.A. Walton, Sister Kim, Ilene Wong, Jaclyn Dolamore, Jon and Elizabeth McGoran, Marie Lamba, Elektra Hammond, Fran Wilde, Michael Capobianco, Kate Baker, Wendy Loggia, Tim Hepp, Venessa Carson, and Bryony Weiss.
My absolute highlight, however, was reuniting with one of my best friends from high school, Sherry Loyack, whom I hadn’t seen in 22 years. Crazy. We went to Reading Terminal Market and ate Singapore noodles and fell right into conversation, catching up without even the slightest awkwardness, despite the two-decade pause. I guess that’s the thing about great friends. The bonds are real and don’t demand maintenance. Also, it helped that she was wearing Converse sneakers… her trademark footwear from our days in Towanda High.
All in all, a great time!
Check it out: SimonTEEN is running a big PHOENIX ISLAND giveaway over on their Facebook page. Up for grabs: 1 of 2 hardcover copies, the first episode of INTELLIGENCE, and the audiobook read by Kirby Heyborne.
Thanks, SimonTEEN, for the awesome giveaway!
Please enter here.
I’m looking forward to attending my first ALA convention this weekend. If you happen to be drifting around the con on Saturday, please swing by and see me. I’ll be on the Pop Top Stage from 11 – noon, and I’ll be signing at the SFWA table from 12:15 – 1:00.
Hope to see you there!
Thanks to excellent former student Emily Bond, not only for picking up a copy of PHOENIX ISLAND, but also for busting out these archaic bookmarks. I’d forgotten all about the “Books are magic!” one, which is ironic, as it was a favorite.
Thanks to 16.6 million viewers tuning in Tuesday night, INTELLIGENCE is the #1 watched new show!
I can’t begin to tell how surreal and wonderful this is. The show is very different now from my book, PHOENIX ISLAND, but I’m overjoyed that it inspired INTELLIGENCE, and it’s awesome to have had a hand in the show’s evolution (I’m a consultant). In the end, it’s all very exciting, and I’m pumped to have two versions of my story out in the world!
After all this time, PHOENIX ISLAND is finally out in the world!
The book launched Tuesday, January 7th, the same day that INTELLIGENCE, the CBS series it inspired, premiered. What a day!
I have a lot to blog about — the early local launch and NYC launch (both perfect and filled with wonderful people and experiences), the experience of seeing my book for the first time, watching the show with two rooms full of people, a launch-day trip to the emergency room, the death of my phone, my wildest audiobook dreams come true, and all kinds of events and interviews and so on so forth… BUT what I really need to do is get back to writing the sequel, as the deadline looms!
For now, thank you so much, everyone, for your friendship and support and enthusiasm. I knew I was blessed with awesome friends and family, but this experience has made me realize that I’m beyond blessed. You are all so awesome!
In case you’re interested, here is a slideshow of pics (courtesy of Dr. Gary Della Zanna) from the West Chester launch party, which was one of the best moments of my entire life: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/c9z26o906kyqs1u/GvZnOxvy66#lh:null-Johns%20Books%20Signing%20Computer%20.wmv
A huge thanks to Lee Lindauer, the ITW, and everyone at THE BIG THRILL for taking the time to interview me about Phoenix Island.
This was a fun interview, and we covered a lot of ground, including inspiration, the choice to write for teens, and the excellent MFA program at Seton Hill University.
Hope you’ll check it out here!
Wow… I have to tell you, when I sat down to write a story about a tough kid getting sent to a bad place, I never imagined that it would end up triggering something that would end up on the cover of TV GUIDE. Insanity, my friends, absolute insanity…