Good Things Are Happening . . .

• Dungeon
• 2 Comments
• June 8th

June 7, 2010

So I know I’ve missed a couple of Monday morning blog posts. I’m really trying to get into the groove of blogging, but it’s been surprisingly difficult. But some good things have happened lately, so here goes.

Good Thing #1: My books found a home on what a friend dubbed “the awesome author” shelf at Walmart. The retailer chose to shelve the paperback of Hourglass Door and the hardback of Golden Spiral on the featured bestseller display in approximately 3,000 stores across the country. It’s been an exciting few weeks as friends and family have written to tell me that they saw my book or picked up a copy at a Walmart in Georgia or Iowa or Texas. They’ve sent me pictures where my book is between the new Vampire Academy novel and Oprah’s biography. Me. My little book is rubbing shoulders with the big-time books. I still can’t quite believe it. The promotional period runs until June 14th, so if you haven’t picked up your copy, there is still time to grab one from Walmart and tell them thanks for believing in my books.

Good Thing #2: Hourglass Door was honored with the YA Book of the Year award from Foreword Magazine. Wa-hoo! This came as a complete surprise to me. The finalists had been announced weeks ago, and in all honestly, I had forgotten I was even in the running. On Monday, May 24, I had a fleeting thought, “Hey, whatever happened to that Book of the Year award? Oh, well, I guess I didn’t win because otherwise I probably would have heard about it by now.” But then just two days later, on Wednesday, I received an e-mail from my publisher who was back in New York for BEA. The e-mail simply said: “Lisa! You won GOLD! Call me!” I was in shock. I immediately called and learned the exciting news: I was officially an award-winner, taking home the gold medal as the YA Book of the Year. Shadow Mountain had only won the honor three times before in various other categories, and never for YA until Hourglass took home the prize.
I don’t know that the repercussions have sunk in all the way yet. I do know that I can’t stop smiling whenever I see that shiny gold sticker on the front of my book.
And then, because of my win, KSL-TV called to interview me for their nightly news broadcast. Last Thursday, I met reporter Carole Mikita at the Flagship Deseret Book store in downtown Salt Lake City and held a mini-book signing and was interviewed for the news. A couple of my superfans (and friends) came down to support me and to be interviewed: Amy Cyr, Lizzy Hughes, and Rachel Bird. (Thanks again, guys! You were awesome!) The story ran twice that night on KSL news; if you missed it, you can catch it here.

Good Thing #3: I was able to attend the Teen Writer’s Conference on June 6 at Weber State University as a presenter and a panelist. I love going to writer’s conferences and visiting with other book-obsessed people, but there is something special about a conference just for teen writers. It was so much fun to visit with old friends and get to know new friends. I presented a class on how to write dialogue, and the kids were wild and energetic as we built plots and characters around just a few lines of dialogue. I know it got my creative juices flowing about my own plots and characters.
I also got to visit a bit with fellow authors Julie Wright, Dan Wells, Nancy Allen, Janette Rallison, and Josi Kilpack—to name only a few who were there. Seriously, if you are between the ages of 13 and 19 and you like to write, this is one conference you don’t want to miss!

Good Thing #4: I just found out today that both Hourglass Door (paperback) AND Golden Spiral (hardback) are going back for second printings! Yay!