News
January 3, 2012 6:47 PM
I <3 Mail
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I have to admit, there are many difficult things about making your living as an author (sporadic pay, less-than-stellar reviews, long, solitary hours, etc.). But thankfully, all of these are mostly offset by all the incredible bonuses this career has to offer (creating work you love and are proud of, not-so-bad reviews, long, solitary hours, etc.).
But probably one of my absolute favourite things about being an author is getting mail from readers. Knowing that one of my books has moved a young person to the point where they’ve made the effort to get in touch is definitely made of awesome.
Last week, I got a big package of fan mail from a book club near Ottawa called ‘Tween the Lines’. This group of kids had read LURE as their fall book pick and they’d sent me some great letters, questions and artwork. My own children and I sat together on the couch, opened the package and poured through all of it. At ages 9 and 6, my little ones are book-lovers too and watching their faces light up as we looked over the fan mail was incredible — seeing how proud they were of their mom and watching the spark of inspiration flickering in their eyes. Yeah, it sure makes all the difficult parts of this job worthwhile.
No — thank you, dear readers! Please keep those wonderful letters coming!
November 28, 2011 10:08 AM
A Shiny New Cover for My Shiny New Book!
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Here’s a sneak peek at the new cover for my upcoming YA novel, Under the Moon!
Pretty awesome, isn’t it? Makes you want to run out to the book store and buy a copy, doesn’t it? Well hold your horses…it’s not available until March, 2012. But because I love you, here’s the back cover blurb to keep your curiosity satisfied until then…
Lily MacArthur is a not-even-halfway-normal, forever-a-disappointment-to-her-mother, oxymoronically-named, and permanently introverted nocturnal freak of nature. On top of all that, she’s probably the only fifteen-year-old in history to make friends with the moon. Although Lily’s never been much of a sleeper, ever since her Aunt Su’s sudden death, she seems to have lost her sleep completely. Convinced that death-by-exhaustion is around the corner if she can’t figure out a way to find her sleep again, she sneaks out of her house, searching the moonlit nights for a way to cope with the long, dark hours of solitude. At the local drive-thru, Lily meets newcomer Ben Matthews working the graveyard shift. With the clock ticking away on the remaining days of her life, Lily has no way of knowing that this strange boy with the mysterious past holds the key to finding her sleep and saving her life.
But only if she can figure out a way to save his first.
January 11, 2011 8:52 PM
2011 Upcoming Appearances
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So nice to be busy! It’s shaping up to be an eventful new year - if you’re in the Toronto or Ottawa area any of these days, come on out and say hi!
January 14, 2011 - I’ll be speaking at the CLA special one-day workshop on Libraries and Teens and discussing my latest novel, LURE.
Time: 11:30am
Place: The Capital Hill Hotel and Suites 88 Albert Street, Ottawa, ON
February 4, 2011 - I’ll be signing lots of books for lots of librarians at the 2011 OLA Superconference in Toronto.
Time: 11:00 - 11:30am
Place: Metro Toronto Convention Centre
and then directly over to the annual CANSCAIP Mass Book Launch
Time: 12:00 - 2:00
Place: Expo Theatre, Hall C
February 11, 2011 - I’ll be signing copies of LURE at Reading For the Love of It - Canada’s largest annual reading conference.
Time: 10:30am
Place: The Sheraton Centre in downtown Toronto.
March 23, 2011 - I’ll be speaking at the ‘I Haven’t Read the Book’ Club Workshop series for teenage girls (Organized by Mable’s Fables and Small Print Toronto
Time: 6:30 pm
Place: Mable’s Fables 662 Mount Pleasant Road, Toronto, ON
Hope to see you there!
October 19, 2010 9:41 AM
Notes From WordFest
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Monday, Oct. 18, 2010
Phew - what a whirlwind this week has been! It’s Monday morning and I’m just catching my breath after three days of presentations for Wordfest in Calgary and Banff (note - this thin Rocky Mountain altitude doesn’t help the breathing thing).
It all started last Tuesday evening when I flew from Toronto to Calgary - chasing the sunset for much of the flight.
By the time I landed in Calgary we’d lost the race, it was too dark to see anything. And as it turned out, I was way too busy to really see much of the city aside from our lovely hotel, The Fairmont Palliser:
And some street art on a sunny walk along scenic Stephen Ave. on Thursday afternoon.
It all went by in a bit of a blur, but here’s a quick numeric summary of it all:
So over 3 days in Calgary and Banff, I presented LURE 5 times. - 4 of those times with superstar of kidlit, Kenneth Oppel. That’s about 1000 eager kids, 500 autographs signed, 300 bookmarks given away, 100 questions answered, 70 hands shaken, 50 photos posed for, 3 meals skipped for lack of time, 2 signing pens completely drained of ink, and 1 thrilled and overwhelmed author (that would be me).
As you might imagine, presenting with Kenneth Oppel was a huge treat. I knew he was a big deal, but I guess I hadn’t realized quite how big until this trip. When we walked through crowds together, kids would clap and scream and call out his name. Honestly, it was almost like I was touring with a rock star. But he’s a nice guy who’s somehow managed not to let his crazy success go to his head. So yeah, I felt lucky to be riding along on those famous coattails.
I was pretty certain that none of the kids packing our presentations were coming to see Deborah Kerbel.
Excuse me…Deborah who?
But after hearing me speak about LURE, the kids were clearly taken with the real-life ghost story theme of the book. After our first presentation, Ken Oppel turned to me and said: “Did you just sell more books than me?” Yeah, baby…I did (just that once, mind you). And by the end of the third presentation, I’d sold completely out of LURE! A mad scramble for more copies ensued (too bad I hadn’t packed any of my own).
On Thursday night, after a full day of presentations, a small group of kidlit authors packed our bags and moved on to Banff. We drove into the Rockies at dusk and the view of the mountains was spectacular.
Since arriving at the Banff Centre, I’ve met so many great book-ish people. The graphic novel duo of J. Torres and J. Bone, award-winning author Sharon McKay, renowned editor Barbara Berson, PB powerhouse Ruth Ohi, Aussie MG mystery writer Richard Newsome, French author Susie Morgenstern, agent extraordinaire John Pierce, and literary phenom Jane Urquhart to name a few.
No more presentations now…just time to hang with the other artists, soak up the view, and of course, catch that elusive breath. Sorry…did I mention the view?
Today, the sun is shining in Banff and the Rocky Mountains are covered with a light dusting of snow. A perfect day to open up a fresh document and start something new…
October 4, 2010 9:53 AM
LURE - Book Trailer #3
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Just in time to get you all freaked out for Halloween, here’s the 3rd and final spooky book trailer for LURE, which is officially out now and should be on the shelf at your favourite bookstore. And just in case someone else has grabbed the last copy, you’ll be able to find it online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Chapters/Indigo :-)
BOO!!
September 24, 2010 8:12 AM
LURE Book Trailer #2
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The second book trailer for LURE is ready to go.. Watch below…if you dare ;-)
And don’t forget to look for the third and final book trailer to land next week!
September 17, 2010 9:38 AM
LURE!!
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A big box full of crisp new books arrived on my doorstep yesterday - aaah the sweet smell of fresh ink! And so, with the cutting open of cardboard, another book is born! And it’s already blazing a trail out into the world - copies are in stock at Amazon Canada and should be arriving on your favourite bookstore shelf soon.
Review: And on the heels of Lure’s birth comes it’s first awesome review from CM Magazine who has pronounced it to be: “Highly Recommended…exciting to the very end.” Click on the CM link to read the full review.
Contest: And as if that’s not enough to get you excited, we’re having a Lure CONTEST too! Teen writers who are interested in crafting their own ghost story can enter to win a story critique from yours truly, a ghostly prize pack of books from Dundurn Press (retail value: $150.00), AND will have their story printed in an upcoming issue of What If? Magazine! How cool is that? For more details and info on how to enter, check out the Lure Ghostly Short Story Contest website.
Launch: If you live in the Toronto area and want to come join me at the Lure Launch party, here’s your invitation. We’re launching Lure on the evening of Sat. Oct. 30th (the night before Halloween, of course) at the Thornhill Village Library - the old haunted house where the book is set. There will be cake and a ghost tour and a chance to get your copy of LURE signed as well as to win a prize pack of spooooky books. Best of all, it’s all FREE! Interested? Call (905) 513-7977 ext. 5522 to register - spots are limited so reserve yours soon!
Really hope to see YA there!!!
WordFest: For those of you in Western Canada, I’ll be dropping by your neck of the woods chatting about Lure next month when I visit Calgary and Banff for WordFest. If you’re in the area, please come out and say hi!
Book Trailer: As I mentioned, Lure is out just in time for the Halloween season - perfect for those of you who enjoy a spooky read. Or, as my publicist would say, “a book that goes bump in the night”. How spooky are we talking? Check out this video, the first of three creepy trailers for Lure. Watch for the second trailer, coming next week!
BOOOO!!
February 4, 2010 9:54 AM
Upcoming Appearances
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February’s shaping up to be a pretty busy month for me - if you’re in the Toronto area, come on out and say hi!
February 10, 2010 - I’ll be speaking at the Toronto meeting of CANSCAIP (the Canadian Society of Children’s Authors, Illustrators, and Performers) about my latest novel, Girl on the Other Side and how I broke into the publishing business.
Time: 7:30pm
Place: The Northern District Library—Second Floor 40 Orchard View Blvd. (Just north of Yonge & Eglinton.)
February 11, 2010 - I’ll be signing copies of Girl on the Other Side at the Reading For the Love of It - Canada’s largest annual reading conference.
Time: 11:00am
Place: The Sheraton Centre in downtown Toronto. Booth #308
February 26, 2010 - I’ll be signing lots of books for lots of librarians at the 2010 OLA Superconference in Toronto.
Time: 11:00 - 11:30am
Place: Metro Toronto Convention Centre Booth #414
Hope to see you there!
January 14, 2010 3:00 PM
You're Invited to a Triple YA Book Launch!
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This coming Saturday at Indigo Books, Yorkdale Mall, Toronto, I’ll be launching my latest YA, Girl on the Other Side, along with fellow awesome YA authors Marina Cohen and Mahtab Narsimhan. If you’re in the Toronto area, we’d love to see you at our launch! Please click on the attachment for all the details. YA event flyer1.pdf
October 26, 2009 12:21 PM
Contest Announcement!!
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It’s officially ON!!
The details for my awesome contest to celebrate the release of my newest YA novel, Girl on the Other Side, are finally available!!
Go here for all the details and good luck with your entries!
Can’t wait to give away the big prize!!!
August 16, 2009 1:26 PM
It's a Girl's Prerogative to Change her...Shoes
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So, how many of you make last minute wardrobe changes before heading out the door for an important event? Yeah…me too.
Well, did you know that book designers do the same thing? There’s a cute new pair of shoes gracing the cover of my upcoming YA novel, Girl on the Other Side. I think this new pair is a fabulous choice! Do you guys agree?
August 13, 2009 10:42 AM
Hey, what are YA doing next Thursday night?
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LIve in the Toronto area? Love YA? Then come on out to the sparkly new McNally Robinson bookstore at The Shops at Don Mills to hear YA authors Eric Walters, Deborah Kerbel and Shaun Smith talk about their novels and the writing life.
While there, you can pick up signed copies of their books, ask the authors a question or two, and check out Toronto’s coolest new indie bookstore. (Voted Toronto’s best bookstore by Toronto Life magazine!)
July 8, 2009 10:36 PM
Calling all Teen Writers
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If you’re lucky enough to live in Vaughan (you know…the city above Toronto) then mark your calendars for next October 27 when I’ll be giving a writing workshop for 12 - 18 year old to help prepare for NaNoWriMo.
Interested? Awesome!
More deets here.
July 2, 2009 8:57 PM
Book Trailer for 'Girl on the Other Side'
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Check out the book trailer I put together for my upcoming YA, ‘Girl on the Other Side’.
April 24, 2009 2:11 PM
Announcing...
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…the fabulous news that my next YA novel, Girl on the Other Side, will be published this coming fall by Dundurn Press! And here’s the awesome cover (isn’t it gorgeous??)
To read a synopsis of Girl on the Other Side, just go here
April 10, 2009 8:49 PM
The Blog Tour Continues...
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April is shaping up to be a busy month on the tour! I’m hopping around the blogosphere like crazy! Be sure to check out the following sites for interviews, Mackenzie reviews, and giveaways:
April 7 - Interview @ The Compulsive Reader
April 7 - Review @ Katie’s Bookshelf
April 12 - Review @ Carol’s Bookluver’s Review
April 14 - Guest Blog @ Reader Rabbit
April 16 - Interview and Bookmark Giveaway @ Katie’s Bookshelf
April 16 - Interview and Book Giveaway @ Carol’s Bookluver’s Review
April 20 - Chatting @ YA Fresh
April 23 -26 - Review, Interview, Contest @ The Book Muncher
Phew! I’m exhausted just looking at that schedule. Now I need a nap!
Hope you’ll all visit me on my tour and say hi!
March 11, 2009 10:09 AM
Blog Tour!!
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I’ll be popping up in lots of places around the blogosphere this Spring, doing interviews, guest posts, and giving away some signed copies of Mackenzie, Lost and Found as well as some FAB bookmarks! So come by for a visit at any of all of these awesome YA blogs:
March 12 - Guest Blog and Book Giveaway at The Story Siren
March 14 - Interview and Book Giveaway at Sarah’s Random Musings (and be sure to check out Sarah’s review of Mackenzie on Friday, March 13th).
Watch for more blog tour dates to be announced soon with:
and more…
Now it’s off to pack my virtual suitcase!