LDStorymakers Conference

This weekend I will be at LDStorymakers Conference in Layton, UT. I'm on a couple of panels (one with  my agent Josh Adams and agency sister Kathryn Purdie), and I'm teaching a class on Teen Heroines! (I'm teaching it twice.) There is also a signing on Saturday afternoon where I *may* be doing a giveaway of some sort...Trust me, you're going to want to find out what it is!! (And anyone who comes to one of my Teen Heroine classes will automatically get an extra entry!)

For more details on the conference, go here:

LDSTORYMAKERS CONFERENCE 2014

There are so many awesome authors, agents, and editors coming to this conference! (Including my own amazing agent!!) Will I see you there?

(And remember to come find me at the signing so you can enter my SEKRIT giveaway...!!!)

DEFY Launch Party Recap

I can't believe it's been a week since DEFY officially released! Between that and SonB's 5th birthday, it's been a whirlwind!

That was an amazing day--everything I dreamed it would be and more.

I woke up to the dulcet sounds of my daughter's fire alarm beeping at 4 am because the battery had died or something. My husband fixed it, and went back to sleep. My brain had switched on and there was no hope for me. So I got up and went to the gym at 5:20 and began responding to all of the amazing tweets and messages that had already begun to show up. Seriously, you guys MADE my day with all of your excitement for me and my book.

As I said, it was also my son's birthday, so I went home from the gym and prepared for his "surprise party." He informed us the night before that he wanted a surprise party, but I reminded him we'd already planned his party for that Saturday. So he compromised by letting us know it would be okay if we just surprised him in the morning. He told us, "When you hear me stomp my feet, that's your cue to hide in the kitchen and when I come downstairs you can all jump out and yell surprise!" So we complied with his wish. The only problem was that when we heard him get up, we all hid, but....he didn't stomp. Apparently he wanted to draw out the suspense. Eventually we heard the sound of velcro as he strapped on his shoes. Finally, there was stomping. We all ducked back down behind the island again (except for my 2 1/2 year-old daughter who kept hiding in the pantry). Well, to make a long story short, twenty minutes and a few charley-horses later, he finally came down so we could jump out and yell SURPRISE!

We did go to lunch for him, to help him feel like it was a special day for his birthday and not just Mommy's book...but my family surprised me and gave me a card and two very beautiful, special necklaces. My sister came up with the idea and my dad had them made--to match my book cover. Basically, I started crying in the middle of Sweet Tomatoes.

I rushed home to get ready for my big night, and to meet my friend, CP, and agency sister Katie Purdie because we had a very special person to pick up from the airport....

 My amazing agent, Josh Adams, flew out for the launch party!! I'm still blown away that he did that. We had a lovely, delicious dinner and then it was time to get set up for the big launch party!

 There he is--my incredible hubby, hard at work getting everything set up!

 Josh was so kind--he didn't forget my little guy's birthday. He brought him some books--which he LOVES by the way! (Yes, he insisted on wearing the crown he got at preschool all day so that everyone knew it was his birthday.)

I couldn't believe the emotions I felt as my family, friends, neighbors, authors, and even some people I didn't know personally, came to support me and to get copies of DEFY signed.

And then it was time. Whitney, from The King's English, introduced DEFY and turned the mike over to me. I started off great--for about fifteen seconds. I couldn't even get through "I can't believe I'm standing here--that this is really happening" without doing this:

(That's my I'm trying-and-failing not to cry face.) It really was just so overwhelming. I've been coming to events at TKE for years and years, but always as a supporter, dreaming of the day that it would hopefully be my turn. I just couldn't believe I'd finally made it.

 I was able to regain control of my emotions and continue, thankfully. I even read a snippet of my "premature baby" story from my Little Mermaid notebook (to prove that my bio is true!). We had a few minor snafus...such as the internet going out at the end of my Power Point presentation when I was supposed to show a little clip from FRIENDS. Cue: STALLING.

 As part of that, I had my cute little five-year-old come up so we could sing Happy Birthday to him. I wasn't sure if he'd come up or not, but he jumped right up and stood by me. That's huge for him! Of course, he sat there messing with his lip the whole time, but he stood there and I think it made him really happy. (Notice the hubs frantically working on the computer next to us...) We finally did get it to work and I was able to finish.

 I gave Josh a little gift to try and show him my appreciation for all that he has done for me... (still can't believe he came!)

 And then it was time to head over to the bookstore for the actual signing! Apparently they sold out of my books that night. That is just...wow. Thank you everyone for coming. From the bottom of my heart (or my full-sized aortic pump for those of you who were there), I can never thank you enough.

 My mom and two of my cute sisters! Some of my biggest supporters!!!

 Two more sisters on my right and a cute family friend on my left!

My sweet mother-in-law who has been so excited for me!!

 Katie, Josh, and me--team Adams Lit!!

 This guy is the reason why I get to hold this book in my hands. SO incredibly grateful for my agent--for believing in me and for getting DEFY into the hands of Lisa Sandell, my editor. I am so unbelievably lucky to work with her. All the years of heartache and struggle were worth it to get to work with both of them.

 My amazing parents. They have always believed in me and encouraged me to go for my dreams. I love you both!

And last, but certainly not least, my husband. He has never stopped believing, never stopped encouraging me, never stopped dreaming with me! He is my biggest supporter, my best friend, and my soul-mate. I'm so grateful for him and that we finally get to celebrate this moment together!

After the signing we got some dessert at The Dodo (YUM) and then called it a night. It was a dream come true.

And now it's back to real life! The day after a launch party is kind of like the day after Christmas....x10, lol! So thank you for all of your continued tweets, messages, texts, and emails--every single one means SO much to me and makes me so incredibly happy!!

Now to celebrate the release of DEFY, I'm offering a very special giveaway! Up for grabs:

 An ARC of THE SHADOW PRINCE by Bree Despain!!! Guys, this book is SO good. And the cover got changed, so this is basically a limited edition. I kind of want to keep it, but instead, I'm going to be nice and share it with one lucky person!

But that's not all! I'm also giving away a signed copy of BLINDSIDED by Natalie Whipple!! (the sequel to the fabulous TRANSPARENT)!! Such an AWESOME duology--trust me, you want this book!

To enter for you chance to win, follow the directions below and may the Rafflecopter odds be ever in your favor!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

DEFY

I've been sitting here for an hour, trying to articulate what I'm feeling at this moment, and I'm truly struggling.

How do I put into words what it feels like to see my book on a shelf after a lifetime of dreaming? How can I explain what it's like to get tweets, emails, Facebook messages, and more, from those of you who have already read DEFY and love it--after decades of writing and hoping and wishing, and eight years of struggling to get published, to finally reach this point, to make this dream a reality? How do I articulate the emotions that filled me when I walked into a bookstore for the first time and saw DEFY sitting on a shelf? Words are my craft, they are everything to me. But they are failing me right now.

There is no way I can truly put into words my excitement, my relief, my nervousness, and above all, my overwhelming joy as DEFY officially enters the world today. I have literally always wanted to be an author, to be published. I will never be able to fully express my gratitude to those who have made this day possible.

So many friends and family have supported me through all the years of struggling, rejection, perseverance, and ultimately success. I tried to name most of them in my acknowledgments, so I won't repeat that here. But to the key people who brought DEFY into the world, thank you. Truly, thank you.

To Josh, for believing and making it happen.

To Lisa, for loving this story as much as I do and for giving it wings.

To my children for being so patient and loving. I hope that someday you will be proud of what your mommy has accomplished, even if it meant she had to work sometimes, when you wished she could play. I may have given you life, but you three are my life. I love you more than I could ever say, and no book I have ever written or will ever write, is more important than the three beautiful, amazing spirits that I have the privilege of claiming as my own for these short years of childhood.

And above all, to my husband. Not only for always believing, no matter how impossible my dream seemed, but for loving me. I am infinitely more flawed than any character I have ever written, and I am so grateful to you for your unwavering devotion and support, despite that. And also, for claiming that you don't care when the house is a mess because I'm in the throes of a new draft or deep in the revision cave with a deadline looming. You are my everything.

I love this book. I love these characters, with all of their flaws and strengths. I love their journeys, and what they taught me as I wrote DEFY.

This story means so much to me. It is a part of me, and as I give it to the world, it takes with it a piece of my heart and soul.

But it is no longer mine. I may have written the words, but the story now belongs to you, my readers.

My only hope is that you will find a piece of yourself within these pages, and maybe, just maybe, a piece of your heart, too.

Traditional picture

It's tradition to take a picture of an author signing their agency agreement, right? (Even if it's the second time?) So here I am, all grins, signing away!

It's just been over a week, and I already adore my agent. (Can I say that about my agent if he's a guy? Well, I do. And don't worry, SHH totally approves.) (For any new followers SHH = Super Hot Hubby.)

Josh is basically a ninja. Actually, he literally is a ninja--he has a second-degree black belt. But he's totally a ninja agent, too. I'm so excited to see what we are able to accomplish together!

I have so many things to be grateful for this month, and having signed with Josh is definitely one of the things at the top of my list, along with my beautiful family, and a roof over my head with electricity, running water, and heat.

What are you grateful for right now?

News! (And it's mine this time)

Wow. I'm not going to lie, there were times over the last nine months when I really thought I'd never get to write this post. Those of you who have followed my blog for a while probably noticed that in February, I quietly took the name of my agent off of my bio. I never made a public announcement that I had decided to part ways with her, but I'm sure most of you have figured it out by now. It was a gut-wrenching decision, and one it took me a looong time to make, for many reasons. The biggest being that she was so nice, and had worked hard on my behalf, and still believed in my books. But sometimes, things just don't work out the way you hope, and over time, you realize that even though you're both nice, professional people, you aren't the best match to be working together. But it was so hard to actually do it--especially because it had been so hard to get an agent the first time. I had really amazing family and friends (some who had been where I was and things worked out great for them the second time around) that encouraged me, and believed in me.

So I did it. I wrote her and waited my thirty days and then I was officially un-agented again. I was freaking out.

And then I started querying. I got requests. I started to feel hopeful. Until the rejections came in. Ouch, those really hurt. Especially when I'm questioning myself the whole time: why did I do this? Why am I querying agents again when I could be on sub with editors?? And the rejections were all the same: your writing is excellent, this story is great, but the timing is wrong.

In the meantime, we had a terrible tragedy in our family. Again, for all who've followed me for a while, you'll remember what happened at the end of February (right when my thirty days were almost up): we lost Josh to cancer.

I was in a dark place. I was full of grief. The stark reality of death for someone so young was hard to bear. But out of that grief came two books: I started them within a week of each other, but ended up putting aside the fantasy (which is what I usually write to some degree), and focused on the light sci-fi (something I'd never attempted before), because I thought the timing might be better. I finished that book, revised it, and when it became clear the book I was querying was just not going to make it because the timing wasn't right, I switched and began to query the light sci-fi one, FINDING JANE.

I got requests. LOTS of requests. I got such amazing feedback, but after four months, still no offers. During that time, I was trying to write the fantasy, but man... that book just didn't want to come out. As the months wore on, I was as low as could be. (You may recall a post or two about that, and me trying to overcome it.) I have hit rock bottom quite a few times on this LOOOOONG journey of mine. And every time I think I can't get lower. But then I do. But everytime, not matter how bad it is, I somehow drag myself up and keep going. This last time was the closest I've been to actually quitting. To walking away--forever. But I didn't. As I wrote about in September, I kept going, and I finished my fantasy, DAUGHTER OF WAR.

I sent it out to beta's. I waited. I read my feedback. I made myself think about it, mull it over, and then attack my revision with everything I had. I knew this book was special. I knew it was the best thing I'd ever written, and I needed to do it justice.

When there wasn't anything else to do to make it better on my own, I knew it was time to start querying. That was Monday of last week. On Tuesday night, I queried an amazing agent who requested the full in ten minutes. I was cautiously excited.

And then. The NEXT DAY--only about fifteen hours later--I got an email from this agent. I pulled over to read it (I was on the way to drop my son off at preschool). And I started screaming, laughing and crying all at once. We spoke that night and I was just blown away by her enthusiasm and love for my book.

But there were also other agents who had it, and who ended up interested in my book. I'll be honest, I've dreamt of being the girl with multiple offers from agents (it didn't happen the first time). It was so exciting and wonderful--but it was also SO hard. I really loved more than one agent, and I was so torn. But I knew after speaking to one particular agent that he was the right choice. Everything just clicked when I spoke to him and in our subsequent emails.

So it is with great excitement and happiness that I get to announce that I am now represented by the amazing JOSH ADAMS of Adams Literary!!!

This is has been such a long journey, and ended up in such a whirlwind this last week, my head is still spinning. But I am so excited for this new direction in my career and for all that lies ahead. I can't wait to share DAUGHTER OF WAR with you all--hopefully sooner than later!