Another Award & Big Things on the Way!

Okay, November is totally gone and December is upon us.  It's been a month since my last post so I want to get you all caught up on what's happening in my little corner of the world.

First of all, last week I was notified Wish I Could Have Said Goodbye earned two awards in the Royal Dragonfly Book Award Contest (scroll down the page to see results).  The book took second place in the Newbie Fiction category and third place (honorable mention) in the Young Adult category.  Not only am I completely thrilled and excited, but like the Moonbeam, it gives me recognition and honor within the writing community and among educators and librarians.  Wish I Could Have Said Goodbye is also being pitched to (and accepted by some) Chicago area high schools as mandatory or summer reading and I have been booked to do some speaking engagements within high schools and other organizations as well.

Second, I've made the decision to do a series with my next book (All the World's a Stage). I'm so excited to work on multiple books with these characters. They are hysterically quirky, and have so much to offer.  I think they will bring a breath of fresh air into the young adult market with their stories and their passion for the arts.  To put it into an extremely simple concept, think of Fame meets Glee: Four teens in performance based high school try to navigate real life issues such as a love triangle, friendships, parents, extended family, family economic crisis...you get the idea.  All this while feeling the pressures of needing to always be on the top of their game.  The working title for the series is called My Shakespearean Life.  Obviously (or not), the series title will be decided before All the World is released (Spring, 2013).

Third (and totally exciting) news.  All the World's a Stage has already been edited by my editor (in New York) who I am so over the top thrilled to work with, I can't even tell you.  So for the next two months, I'll be in my "writer's lair" completely immersed in edits/revisions to get this puppy spit shined and ready for the world to see.  Spring is my target release date, and there will be more to come on all that fun stuff later.

Stay happy, stay sane and thanks so much for your support.
'Till next time,
Cheers!