. . . there will also be a drawing at each stop on the tour and ONE lucky attendee will win this custom designed charm made just for The Remnant Chronicles world! It's about five inches long, and let me tell you, it's gorgeous. I'm hanging mine from a belt loop, or maybe a necklace--or maybe both!

While on tour, I'll be explaining the symbolism behind the elements in this "remembrance chain," specifically how it plays out in The Heart of Betrayal.


So . . . *drumroll* to help spread the word and kick off the tour, I am giving away one of these beautiful charms here, along with a signed paperback of The Kiss of Deception! All you have to do to enter for a chance to win is:
1. Leave a comment on this post.
2. Follow me on Twitter and share the tweet in the Rafflecopter entry form below.

One winner, and yes, open to international!

TOUR STOPS . . .
Celebrating  June 2nd publication of The Kiss of Deception paperback!

Sunday, June 7 -  4pm
Books of Wonder, New York NY (with YA author Marie Rutkoski!)
Tuesday, June 9 -  7pm
Anderson’s Bookshop, Naperville, IL
Wednesday, June 10 -  6pm
Watermark Books, Wichita KS (with YA author Bethany Hagen!)
Thursday, June 11 -  7pm
Tattered Cover Aspen Grove, Littleton CO
Friday, June 12 -  7pm
Kepler’s, Menlo Park, CA (with Book Blogger Nancy Sanchez!)

More stops to celebrate July 7th publication The Heart of Betrayal!

Tuesday, July 7 -  7pm
Books Inc, Burlingame, CA
Wednesday, July 8 - 7pm
Barnes and Noble, Mira Mesa CA
Thursday and Friday, July 9-10
San Diego Comic Con - more details to come!
July 11 and 12
SoCal appearances To Be Announced!
Wednesday, July 15 -  7pm
Blue Willow, Houston TX
Thursday, July 16, times to be announced
Irving Public Library Summer Event, Panel and Teen Party, Irving TX
Friday, July 17 -  7pm
BookPeople, Austin TX (with Book Blogger Mundie Moms!)

I REALLLLLY hope I get to meet you at one of these events!

XO

The Decatur Book Festival is coming this weekend!

I'll be there speaking on a panel along with the very awesome Leigh Bardugo, Jessica Brody, and Emmy Laybourne! Woo-ha! I'm excited!  And so many other teen authors will be there too! It's going to be a blast!

And of course I will see YOU there too!  Right?!  I hope so!

Our panel is on Sunday on the Teen Stage at 3:00.  Lots of fun, books, swag, (and maybe, ahem, we'll spill a secret or two)  See you then!

Now that Book One of YetToBeNamedTrilogy (though I have a strong preference!) is off for copyedits, I have spent the last few weeks:
1. Resting
2. Nesting
3. And just this past week, actually digging in and writing.

But first things first.  The Resting.  I went on a week long road trip through central California with my hubby.  Get away from it all! But when you carry this whole book world you've created in your head you kind of don't want to forget it--the world just keeps whispering ideas to you.  And sometimes your book makes you braver. 

Yep.  On mile 700 down this one lane country road that seemed to go no where but my husband kept insisting had to lead somewhere and I watched our gas tank get lower and our cell phones die, I thought of my character and the far scarier unknown I put her through and tried to see this endless, nameless road as almost sweet in comparison. Ahem. Good wife that I am. It WAS lovely once I resigned myself to the possibility of running out of gas and spending the night in the middle of nowhere.  And hey, we at least had food--nearly a whole bag of goldfish and six bottles of wine we had picked up at a winery.  We wouldn't starve.  Quite. If the local beasts didn't get us first.

Ah, but at last we did reach civilization. I love chickens.  Something about their attitude. 
"Hey!  Yeah, you!  What do you think you're doing here?" 
"You think she's got any food, Gladys?"
"Nah, just a worthless lookie-loo."

(Admit it.  You can see little thought bubbles over their heads too.)

Later, we came upon another very lovely sight:

The very awesome indie store, The Book Loft in Solvang, CA.  They have a wonderful YA section and I bought one of my faves I had already read as an ebook but wanted the hardcopy too.

And they had The Jenna Fox Chronicles, so I signed those too. They didn't even ask for my ID : )

On our little getaway I also got some reading done.  That is part of
My Nesting:

Whenever I start a new book, there is research and "stuff" to get in order before I actually dig in.

My reading included both fiction and nonfiction on ***** (can't tell you subject yet--don't want to spoil it) to see how it might play out in my character's world--or the new one she is heading into.

But another book I can tell you about--not too spoilery.  A History of Weapons by John Bryan.  Yeah, this is the "gore" part.  It is amazing the weapons we have created over the centuries to hurt our fellow humans.  This one on the right is particularly gruesome.  It's called a Mancatcher.  If you don't want to kill the person you're trying to subdue, you just push this around their neck.  If they struggle against you, it ain't very pretty.  Can you imagine? No, you don't want to go there.

Okay, on to less gruesome nesting.  There is the necessary "cleaning."  Yes, take a look now at this clear desk because it won't look this way again for a LONG while.  Though I hate clutter in my life, when I am in the throes of a book it somehow seems a necessity.  Papers on papers and files all over my desk and multiple computers, books, and coffee cups, and somehow, I know where everything is.   But when I start a new book I like everything to at least start with a clean slate.

Part of my nesting is drawing maps, floorplans, cities, lanes, roads, etc. so I have a firm grasp on my character's world.  Of course as the story progresses, these maps are revised to accommodate new twists and turns.  I need a new road?  City? Country?  Voila, it is there! I also look for pictures of characters and setting and pin them to a bulletin board behind my desk.  I love Pinterest for this! Lots of great stuff there.

And finally there is the Digging In. 
Butt in Chair.  Just Write.  Routine.  Get the words down.
That's what I am doing now.  Slow going at first, but writing begets writing and I know I will pick up speed.

Oh, and my nice clean desk is already a mess. But that's okay. Bring it on.

PS  The first and last pictures in this post are ones I took in France a few years ago that are among my writing inspirations for the setting.

Indiana, here I come!  Zionsville, Indiana to be exact!

On November 7th I'll be visiting teens and college students at the Hussey-Mayfield Memorial Public Library.  And get this:  If you hurry and preregister, you get a free copy of The Adoration of Jenna Fox.  But you must preregister. Space and books are limited.  Here's the registration form and instructions.  I'm excited.  I've been to the states on either side of it, but I've never been to Indiana before!  If you know a teen or college student in the Zionsville area, please pass along the information.  I would love to meet them! Patricia VanArsdale, the Librarian Goddess who has arranged the visit, says teachers and media specialists are also welcome. I will also be giving away an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of Fox Forever!

In other authory visit news, I will be in Las Vegas November 17-20 for the ALAN conference!  I love this conference because it's all about young adult literature and it's loaded with people who love YA books!  My schedule is as follows:
Sunday Nov 18th - 9-10 am signing at the Macmillan Children's Booth #511
Monday - free day to take in the sessions and ???
Tuesday  Nov 20th - 2:40-3:40 Science Fiction Breakout Session - More info to come on topic and fellow panelists!

Oh! I'll also be making a virtual author visit via Skype on November 3rd for the Sam Houston State University's Children's Book Festival!  It will be in the morning, 8:30ish, but I will confirm the time soon. I'll be chatting and sharing with teachers, librarians, and library science students--virtually! So if you'll be at the festival, stop in and say hello!

What a summer.  Just back from a week long road trip up the California coast--part research, part fun, well, ALL fun really.  I never cease to be amazed at what a diverse state California is.  I took a zillion pictures as part of my research, but also many random fun pictures too.  Here is one that was unexpectedly weird.  It's an underpass tunnel on a trail.  I'm at one end and my hubby took it from the other: 

Bizarre huh?  Looks like I am being sucked into some sort of time travel zone.  In a way, I was.  This tunnel led to this:

A hidden cove in Big Sur.  I didn't know beaches like this existed in California.  I wouldn't mind being shipwrecked here.

Anyway, it was a great week that provided a lot of writing inspiration and material, and now with Labor Day past,  I'm ready to hunker back down into my writing routines.  Hope you are refreshed and ready to dig back into your work too.