You might have heard...

That something new is brewing in the Nightshade world. I'm happy to confirm that it's true.

Two new projects are afoot.

YA fans can expect three new novels that follow the events of BLOODROSE, the first book, SNAKEROOT, will be in stores December 10 of this year!

For fans of adult romance and erotica, I'm stepping into the dark waters of the Forbidden Nightshade series. These new novels tell steamy tales of forbidden romance and dark magic (note to younger fans: these are R-rated books, be aware of contented intended for mature readers.)

The first Forbidden Nightshade novel, CAPTIVE, will be in stores October 22. I'm running a contest now to spread the word about this new series - because it is intended for a different audience than my YA books I'm writing CAPTIVE and its companions under the name A.D. Robertson. If you'd like to keep up to date on news about the erotic romance series you can find the latest news on Twitter @adrwrites and on the A.D. Robertson Facebook page.

Both books are already available for pre-order (hint ;) )

I can't wait to share these new adventures on the page with you!

Some News

I have very exciting news to share!

The American Booksellers Association just published their Autumn Indie Next List. What's an Indie Next List you say?

It's this: "The list features the top 10 titles for the autumn publishing season and an additional 48 selections, spanning all age groups. The Kids' Indie Next List is compiled based on nominations from independent booksellers nationwide."

And Nightshade is #3 on the list!!!!!Happy! Happy! Happy!

And thank you, thank you, thank you to the wonderful booksellers for your enthusiasm for Nightshade!! I cannot wait until it's on the shelves of your stores.

Speaking of independent bookstores, I can also officially announce that the Nightshade publication party will take place at the Red Balloon Bookshop in St. Paul, Minnesota on Friday, October 29 at 7 p.m. and since that's Halloween weekend, the party will have a costume contest! I'm so excited :) If you're around the Twin Cities or feel like making a trip to Minnesota, please stop by!

Winners!!

Once again, Happy New Year! I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm beyond thrilled to be in the third day of 2010. And what great slogans you dreamed up to get us off on the right foot!

And I did reach 110 followers (WOOT!); however, #110 didn't sign up until January 2, so rather than giving 2 books each away, I'm compromising and adding a 4th winner to the contest. Happy for me, because I loved all the entries and picking winners was a challenge!

It was tough, but I've selected the four winners for the 2010 slogan contest:

Dani - "2010: The Year We Go Broke (from buying too many books)"

TeamMagnusBane - "2010, when the girls are obsessed with sparkly men, men try to be like Edward Cullen, and when the Nerds out shine them all."

SuzyHaze - 2010 "The Year The People Rediscovered The Book" In an odd turn of events humans and otherworldly things began flocking to bookstores and libraries, large and small, in order to sniff the glue binding and escape reality, only to find out that BOOKS ARE WONDERFUL and they escaped into the words (instead of the glue) by the billions

Krista Ashe - "2010,The book biz's best that's ever been The year authors are really gonna win Making all those readers heads spin With Tales of Zombies, Vamps, Angels, and furry kin First love, first lust, and MC's showing some skin. Ah, 2010, authors pick up those pens!"

Winners send an email to adrcremer (at) gmail (dot) com with your mailing address and your choice of 1 book from the top 9 o'nine list and I'll post it to you stat!

Thanks again for participating in my inaugural blog contest many more contests to come in 2010!!

CONTEST!: Top Nine O'Nine

It's three days until 2010 - a year that I am awaiting like no other - and I thought I'd send 2009 out with a bang, contest style.

This is my first (and last, of 2009) CONTEST (many more to come in 2010!) - expect all contests to be quirky - because I love quirks - and here is Andrea's Quirky Contest #1. *Trumpets blare*

The time honored tradition of countdowns easily turns into overkill this time of year, but lists are addictive and it's oh so much fun to review the things you loved about the past year (hopefully glossing over those bits you loathed).

The other great thing about the New Year is predicting what's ahead. Isn't playing fortune-teller always fun?

For this contest I'll be mashing these two ideas together.

Top Nine O'Nine (aka Andrea's first blog contest)

The contest: Create a 2010 slogan and post it in the comments section below. Slogans can be silly or serious.

Or, a combination: 2010: The Year Polar Bears Strike Back
The best will be clever, cunning, cataclysmic - you get the idea. I encourage wackiness and snarf-worthiness. Enter as many times as you like, though you can only win once. Bonus points for linking to this contest on your blog!

The prize:

Here come the Top Nine. It's been a great, great year for books (but watch out for 2010 - I think it will only get better!). I'll be awarding prizes for Winner, 1st Runner Up, and 2nd Runner Up. Each winner receives 3 books, a trio from my top 9 books of 2009.* The list is below in alphabetical order by author.

Cassandra Clare, City of Glass (Book 3, Mortal Instruments)
Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire (Book 2, Hunger Games)
Becca Fitzpatrick, Hush, Hush
Laurie Halse Anderson, Wintergirls
Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, Beautiful Creatures
Cynthia Leitich Smith, Eternal
Sarah Rees Brennan, The Demon's Lexicon
Carrie Ryan, The Forest of Hands and Teeth
Maggie Stiefvater, Ballad**

1st, 2nd, and 3rd place may pick one book from this list they're itching to read, and I'll send it to get 2010 off to a fantastic reading start! Go, slogans, go. Deadline: What else? Entries accepted until 11:59 p.m. (CST) December 31.


**New twist: Since I'm loving the entries so much - here's an added incentive. If I reach 110 (because ya' know, it' s the '10 that matters!) blog followers by the end of this contest, each winner will receive 2 books from the list!
*Disclaimer: Ack!! Picking just 9 books was so hard! So many more I long to add - plus, so many just released books I have yet to read...remorse, remorse!!
** I loved Ballad and Shiver, but it didn't seem fair to have both books on the list and I loved Ballad an eency bit more, so it's the book for this list.

For Whom the Books are Written?

I was intrigued by this New York Times article, and I got to thinking about who loves or hates certain books and why and what age has to do with it, if anything.

Earlier this year there were several interesting posts like this one and this one, that debated the merits of "great literature." More recently Nathan Bransford reminded us why it is silly to ask if any number of these "great" pieces of writing would be publishable today.

Such discussions are usually limited to the realm of adult literature, but this morning's piece in the Times brought the debate to children's books.

Are there books out there pitched as "children's lit" that you think are actually for adults? As a writer of children's literature I'm biased toward believing nearly all such young lit is universal and offers something to readers of all ages, but are there books that are written in such a way that they might captivate adults but leave children befuddled at best and bored to tears (or in Edward Gorey's world, to death) at worst?

The Good of a Book

Like every other person on the planet I recently viewed the latest installment of Harry Potter films (in IMAX, woot!)
J.K. Rowling's series has doubtless had an incredible impact on the literary and pop culture worlds, but last night I learned of another, and I think rather astonishing, effect.

I give you the Harry Potter Alliance.

This organization uses the ideas and values of the Harry Potter series, and specifically the courage of Dumbledore's Army, to encourage youth toward social activism. From their website:

"Did you ever wish that Harry Potter was real? Well it kind of is. After all, both our worlds face "dark and difficult times":

• Genocide, Poverty, AIDS, and Global Warming are ignored by our media and governments the way Voldemort's return is ignored by the Ministry and Daily Prophet.
• People are still discriminated against based on sexuality, race, class, religion, gender, ethnicity, and religion just as the Wizarding World continues to discriminate against Centaurs, Giants, House Elves, Half-Bloods, Muggle borns, Squibs, and Muggles
• Our governments continue to respond to terror by torturing prisoners (often without trial) just as Sirius Black was tortured by dementors with no trial
• A Muggle Mindset pervades over our culture-a mindset that values being "perfectly normal, thank you very much" over being interesting, original, loving, and creative

So Harry's world is not very different than ours. And just as in his world, Dumbledore will remain here as long as there are those that are loyal to him. As long as there are those that are aware that the weapon we have is love and that more than ever, it's time to use that weapon.

And so the HP Alliance is dedicated to bringing together Harry Potter fans from everywhere to spread love and fight the Dark Arts in the real world and we need your help!

Help us replace the Dark Arts with love. Help us build the real Dumbledore's Army. Help us create an Alliance in the name of Harry Potter."

How awesome is that!

I'd guess all readers of this blog would agree that books can do a world of good - but I usually think of it in terms of creating more readers and educating young minds. The Harry Potter Alliance takes the value of imagination and literary energy to an entirely new, and wonderful, level.

Plus, they have Wizard Rock Bands:

Top Ten Things To Do Whilst Your Manuscript is On Submission

10. Leave the country (I recommend London, it was very nice). Charming accents, great theatre, and fabulous people watching are all wonderful distractions.

9. Scour favorite writers' blogs, web sites, and tweets to figure out what they did while their manuscripts were on submission
8. Read (for distraction, inspiration, and to remind yourself of what you love about books and why you wrote yours in the first place). So far I've read/am reading:











7. Watch movies and play video games. Maybe my favorite forms of escapism (reading is never a complete escape for me as I always am looking for craft while I read)

6. Have long conversations with your pets about how much publishing is a waiting game. My dogs are great listeners, though obviously tired of my thoughts on publishing...
5. Think about cleaning/doing dishes/folding laundry.

4. Actually clean, do dishes, fold laundry.

3. Check email obsessively for updates on submissions; look at phone, will it to ring and be agent calling with the best news of all time - 'are you sitting down?' news.

2. Put phone in drawer so you will no longer stare at it.

1. Write next book (of course!)

Can't Help Myself...

Apologies to any Twilight haters out there, but...



I can't wait! Plus, it's nice to know that if someday my books could make the leap to movies at least they can do nice things with instant shape-shifting. I was also very happy to see that Summit sought out First Nations' actors to play the role of the Quileutes in New Moon. The deployment of "Indian" characters without the acknowledgment or realization that Native American peoples are very much a part of our contemporary world happens all too often in book, film, and real life. If you're interested in this topic two great works are Celluloid Indians and "Indian Wars: The Movie" in Indians in Unexpected Places.

Happy weekend!

My Book is Like a...

I often claim autumn as my season of choice, but I have to admit there's something special about spring.

One of my favorite films has always been Legend, and in an early scene the princess, Lily, romps through a spring forest where the air is alive with pollen and seeds.



My apologies to allergy sufferers, but when I was strolling the neighborhood today the atmosphere danced with parachuting dandelion fluff and tree seedlings, and the world was magic.

I love walking my dogs this time of year. I pass through a veil of heady scent created by the amalgam of lilac, honeysuckle, and apple blossom. When spring holds its brief court, one can move through the world utterly drenched in sensation.

The experience got me to thinking about metaphors and similes. Eric had a great post on this topic recently, but I wanted to bring home the point from a different angle.

Writers often use metaphors and similes to describe their work. Have you heard the following?

"My book is my baby."

"My novel is a cross to bear."

"Writing is like therapy."

To name just a few...

I fall into the use of such metaphors and similes to describe my own writing, but in the midst of spring a new idea popped into my brain.

My book is like a garden.

I don't have a yard, just a small deck on which I use terracotta pots to grow herbs and flowers. This year I'm experimenting with tomatoes and peppers as well, we'll see how that goes.

My favorite flower is the morning glory. Perhaps this choice seems mundane, but morning glories (though persistent once established) are fussy flowers. They cannot be transplanted; thus, in order to grow the lovelies you have to start them from seeds.

Now I realize all plants at some point started from seeds. Yet at the same time I can't stop feeling that some sort of miracle has occurred when I put scored seeds into a small pot of soil and a few days later tiny green shoots have pushed their way up toward the sun. I now have several pots of tender morning glories growing. I sit and stare at the miniscule plants, their tender leaves stretching out into the luscious heart shapes that characterize morning glories, and marvel at the tenacity that seeds contain.

In contemplating the lives of annuals, I decided my book is a like a garden. It needs tending and the warmth of the sun. If neglected, weeds will take over and prevent its full blooming. It fares well with watering and fertilization and its beauty is best appreciated when shared with others.

Above all, its very existence remains something of a miracle.

Children's Book Week

Happy Children's Book Week!

My favorite children's book store, The Red Balloon, is celebrating by hosting Rick Riordan tonight (I can't wait!).

As I'd imagine is the case with most writers, books utterly sculpted my childhood. In honor of Children's Book Week I've concocted a brew of the top ten (yee gads, the choice is painful!) texts that left an indelible mark on my soul. In light of the honorary week of kid lit, this list is exclusively children's books, though I read a lot of "adult" books as a child. I've also only listed books that I read as a child, so anything published after 1996 (I'm calling 18 years old adulthood) won't appear.

Chris Van Allsburg's oeuvre. From Jumanji to The Stranger, this genius author/illustrator's dreamscrapes made me believe in infinite worlds (im)possible.

Maurice Sendak. Be daring. Be bold. Be wild.

Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising series. Cooper's weaving of contemporary England and Wales with Arthurian legend still inspires my writing.

Lloyd Alexander. Yes, children's fantasy can be dark. And scary. And wonderful.

Louis Sachar. Sideways Stories from Wayside School. Zany, sharp humor never fails.

Walter Farley and Marguerite Henry. Because I will always, always be the girl who loves horses.

Natalie Babbit, Tuck Everlasting. Revealed the fragility of life and the pain of immortality.

C.S. Lewis. The Chronicles of Narnia. Deftly woven, intricate worlds and fantastic, profoundly moving tales. Narnia is the kind of place you long for.

L.M. Montgomery. Anne of Green Gables. Every smart, independent young woman's role model. Bonus if you've got red hair. And wouldn't we all love Gilbert Blythe (sigh)?

J.R.R. Tolkein. The Hobbit. Now I realize I'm walking a fine line here. I wouldn't list Lord of the Rings, as I think of that series as "adult," but The Hobbit always struck me as a children's book. My family owned the hardcover text illustrated by Michael Hague. Orcs, elves, dwarves, dragons. Can't get much better than that.

That's ten? Oh horror! So many books left unnamed, but I'll stick to my limit. What children's books shaped you, or are still on your shelf, yellowed and dog-eared like mine, after so many readings?

Quote of the day from my Bikram Yoga instructor: "This is Simon Says in hell."

My Big Fat Geek Movie Weekend

One of the nice things about having a Ph.D. and a job is that I no longer feel compelled to construct an exterior persona that depicts my own self as anything other than the exuberant nerd that I am. (I wish I could have claimed this level of self-awareness and rejection of normative consumption earlier in life, but alas, I was insecure.)

In my younger days I kept my passions close to the chest, reticent except for my vehement defense of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which I could no sooner supress than a geyser eruption. But now I frolic through fields of comic books, graphic novels, their web sites, television, and film adaptations. In fits of ecstasy I plot my pilgrimages to children's book conferences, Comic-Con, and Worldcon. And sometimes the convergence of events makes for a particularly exciting circumstance.

Case in point: This weekend features the release of two movies I am dying to see. Coraline is the film adaptation of Neil Gaiman's fantastically scary children's book, and Fan Boys is a road-trip homage to Star Wars fiends like myself.

If you're looking for me this weekend, I will be worshiping the silver screen with much abandon.