Congrats to bermudaonion (Kathy), winner of a copy of Caroline Starr Rose’s May B!
From the 2012 Debs…
Deb Joanne is pleased to announce that despite a very chaotic week, including a Valentine’s dinner with her parents that went sideways and ran very late, she’s finally done with her page proofs. Oy. (Dear My Wonderful Editor – please tell me I’m done.) See right for photo of real proofs, complete with discarded sticky notes and chocolate wrappers.
Deb Erika is so, so, SO excited to report that she got to meet Deb Eleanor this week at her Park Road Books tour stop in Charlotte, NC!!! Eleanor read from her novel THE WEIRD SISTERS and was as lovely and warm and charming and funny as I knew she would be! (And did I mention she’s also incredibly generous?? She gave a copy of my novel and one of fellow Charlotte author Marybeth Whalen to audience members as prizes!) If you have a chance to catch her on one of her remaining dates, run, don’t walk, and get thee there! You’ll be so glad you did!
Deb Molly is getting ready for the upcoming AWP conference, where she’s moderating a panel called “Queer Voices in Young Adult Literature,” with authors James Klise (LOVE, DRUGGED), Alexandra Diaz (OF ALL THE STUPID THINGS), and Meagan Brothers (DEBBIE HARRY SINGS IN FRENCH).
Past Deb News
Deb Elise will be appearing at the first annual Passion and Prose conference in Long Beach, CA on Feb 25th. It’ll be a great opportunity for readers to hang out and chat with over 40 authors, including guest speaker (and Past Deb Ball Guest) Meg Cabot! Elise is looking forward to it, and she’d love to meet up with Deb Ball readers there!”
Deb Jenny ‘s wonderful WHERE THE HEART IS is FREE this weekend–Download it now and start reading. What a great way to spend the holiday!
Friends of the Debs
Deb Friend Allison Winn Scotch announced that Penguin is giving away an advance reading copy of her upcoming release THE SONG REMAINS THE SAME! Details here!
Deb Dish – Love comes out of nowhere sometimes: What was a book you didn’t think you’d love and fell headfirst for?
Deb Joanne – When I recently bought a copy of WITH A NAME LIKE LOVE by Tess Hilmo (past Deb guest), I honestly wasn’t sure I’d like it. The blurb about it makes it seem like there is a religious bent to it and LAMB aside, I’m not normally drawn to books containing much religion. But Tess’s book (which I would not call a religious book, now that I’ve read it) did something to me. I don’t know how to describe it other than to say it cleansed my soul in a very non-religious way. It was SO beautiful and beautifully written and the characters in it were so amazingly drawn and just good, that I really felt like it made my life a little bit better for reading it. It feels weird to say that, because I’m more of a pragmatic person than an overly spiritual one, but I can’t say enough about how much I adored this book. When I finished it, I hugged it–that should tell you how much I loved it because I’m definitely not a hugger.
Deb Erika is going to say LIFE OF PI, which ended up being one of my favorite books EVER. It came recommended highly (and you might recall how I usually respond to such encouragement) so it was startling to be so blown away by it.
Deb Molly Laurie King’s Mary Russell series. I’m not much of a mystery reader, but I am a sucker for a great re-telling, so I can’t resist the re-imagining of Sherlock Holmes through the eyes of his much younger apprentice, Mary. Plus, the books are very intelligent and beautifully written. They’re my standby favorites for when I’m sick or gloomy and need a good pickup!
Deb Linda — Here’s where I admit I didn’t instantly succumb to the hooplah surrounding The Hunger Games. I avoided it for the longest time. The reason? I am not generally a big fan of dystopian novels. I figure if I have a pressing need to get depressed, I’ll just watch the news. But some (okay, tons) of my writing buddies wore me down eventually. One of them actually sent The Hunger Games to my Kindle — she was that desperate. How could I not read it after that? And you know what? I loved it. L-O-V-E-D it. Sure, there were parts I had to read with my eyes closed (not easy, let me tell you), but it was so worth it. Getting me to read — and enjoy! — a dystopian? That’s sheer brilliance.
Deb Rachel — Just last week, The Art of Fielding. I think I was nervous because of all the hype, and while it had been on my TBR list, I never thought I would actually get to it. It was there just for show, really. But then my book club picked it, and I thought–this is too long for a book club pick! 515 pages! And then I read it in a weekend. And couldn’t stop thinking about it even when I wasn’t reading it. And it was amazing. Get yourself a copy, stat.
Erika – we’re so jealous! I bet it was an amazing time!
I read a lot of sci-fi as a kid, so dystopians have always been on my radar (hello, THE CHRYSALIDS) and I loved The Hunger Games in a big way. At least book 1. Book 2 and 3 were okay, but the first one in the series knocked my socks off. Tension, tension, tension. Yow.
Oh congrats indeed on those page proofs–sorry again about missing out on the discount V-day candy. Although, I think they’ve done something to Sweethearts so maybe it’s not such a loss. I’m looking forward to week-old Peeps, personally 😉
I’m so excited about winning May B! Thanks so much!
I had the pleasure of meeting Eleanor Brown in upstate South Carolina yesterday and she was very charming!
Lucky you, Kathy! You and I are nearly neighbors, how about that? Isn’t Eleanor wonderful? To hear her read from the book was such a joy. And congrats on winning May B–I found it a rare and powerful read.
Congrats, Kathy – you’ll love it!
Joanne, congrats on finishing those page proofs! Whew!
Erika, I know you had a blast meeting Eleanor–I hope I get the chance someday, too. 🙂
I’m still plotting this grand Deb meet-up someday in the future–I haven’t given up! 😉
Thank you, Linda. And yes on the Deb Meet-up. Count me in, but we need to get ALL Debs. How awesome would that be?
Erika, the pleasure was all mine – thanks for coming!
Joanne – I am curious about how a dinner goes sideways?
Linda, I reacted the same way to The Hunger Games. Not so much to the next two books in the series, but the first one I put off and put off, and then loved!
And here’s where I admit I haven’t read the next two yet. Once my friends admitted the first one was the best of the lot, I kind of hated to risk the disappointment.
Honestly, I wouldn’t bother – you know what it’s about and there are so many other books waiting for you, presuming your TBR is as big as mine! Wait for the movies. I can’t wait for the first one!
Well not literally sideways. 😉 But I picked a place known for being fast and it was terribly, painfully slow and my dinner dates were very late picking me up. It was a night not meant for me getting stuff done…
May B came today! Thanks so much!
We’re so glad, Kathy! It’s such a special book!