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It's past time I posted about Vegas Valley, where I had an amazing time meeting so many authors and readers! I got in Thursday night, just in time for a reception in honor of opening speaker B.J. Novak. I took no good pictures, but the official festival page has some great ones. I did take some good writing advice. Novak says, "Write for the kid sitting next to you," meaning, write what's going to be fun for the kid who sits next to you in class to read. Friday, I teamed up with Maurene Goo, author of Since You Asked ... for a visit to the Nevada dessert and Indian Springs School. We were apparently very close to AREA 51! Probably we've been replaced by aliens! 
We were given amazing armchairs to sit in for our presentation . . . Maurene and I were both really enamored of the school mascot, the Thunderbirds! 
Friday night, we had a YA author hangout at the pool at the Golden Nugget, where there is a literal shark tank. Luckily YA authors are way nicer than sharks, and I got to meet many of my fellow 2014 debuting authors face to face for the first time. 
On Saturday, the Festival proper took place with author panels and signings all day. I was on the "More Than a Love Story" panel with Kelly Fiore, Carrie Mesrobian, Lisa Schroeder, Angie Stanton, and Sarah Tregay. 
Then we had a signing in the bright, bright sun. 
This pic was taken by Stacee, aka @book_junkee, who wrote a great roundup of the festival. The day ended with a great talk from Aimee Bender and an actual rainbow at the historic 5th Street School. 
I did not gamble, but I did walk all over Vegas taking in the craziness of Fremont Street and the Strip, and checking out the interiors of the Bellagio, Caesar's Palace, The Paris, The Venetian ... basically all the Europey ones.
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 On the Friday after Don't Touch released, my wildly supportive Chicago friends gathered at The Book Cellar! My friend Sky, who works there, gave the kindest introduction, we screened the trailer for the first time, and I gave a reading and answered questions. My buddy Lucas (pictured below with duck face) happened to be visiting from LA, and some surprise VCFA friends made it in from the burbs! We stayed until closing at 10pm! I'm so grateful for all the positive energy and love of that night! You may be thinking, hey, Rachel, wasn't your hair red in Birmingham only three days ago?
Right you are. I'd had it red for a show, but my friends Jen & Kassi (who also happens to be a hair stylist) surprised me with a new do at the salon and, yes, more champagne.
My family and friends made this a really special night. Two of my high school French teachers, an English teacher, and the school librarian came out, some of whom I hadn't seen in a decade or more!
One of my former teachers gave her students extra credit for attending, and several of my high school friends had kids in tow. Afterwards, my family and three of my besties from high school and their families went out for dinner and a champagne toast! So much love all around! Next up, the Chicago launch . . . Some of my friends have begun to receive their pre-orders in the mail, which is wild! I'll be having two launch events this week, in Birmingham and Chicago!  If you want a signed copy but can't make it to one of these events, you can order a personalized copy from The Book Cellar. Just make a note specifying how you would like it signed when you order. I have a bunch of fun links to share: I shared a "Recipe for Don't Touch" with HCC Frenzy--that's Harper Collins Canada--featuring Miss Piggy and her lavender evening gloves! I'm psyched to have made EpicReads's list of The 20 Most Anticipated YA Books Publishing in September. This list is based on Goodreads adds, so it keeps fluctuating, but various points, Don't Touch has been was way anticipated. I’m giving up The Debut Dish with That Artsy Reader Girl, along with Erica Cameron, Austin Aslan, and Paul Williams. I also visited the Big Blue Marble Bookstore blog for an interview with the brilliant Cordelia Jensen, author of the forthcoming YA verse novel, SKYSCRAPER. Cordelia asked some thoughtful questions that surprised me, so I really enjoyed this one. Sue from YA Hollywood made a fanmix for Don't Touch that I absolutely love! You can see the tracklist at her Tumblr. And while I’m doing sharesies, I love this review from Ellis of Finding Bliss in Books. PLUS, she loved the book so much that she’s running a giveaway of a hardback copy. Here's what Ellis had to say: 
If reading awesome reviews is your thing, here are a few more, from Hiver & Cafe (isn’t that name the coolest?), I Swim for Oceans, Island Geek Girl, Reading on the Farm, Ms. Martin Teaches Media, and Awkwordly Emma.
Stay tuned during launch week for the Don't Touch book trailer and a Fantastic Flying Book Club Tour! Exciting news! I have two newly scheduled book launch events.
Whether or not you're able to make it to one of these events, these are also great places to pre-order Don't Touch and support a couple of excellent independent bookstores!
Aside from the picture of me reading from Don't Touch at the bottom of the post, this was originally posted on Quirk & Quill. Last weekend, I had the pleasure of attending--and reading at--Sarah Aronson's book launch for Believe. I haven't read my copy yet, but Believe promises to be an intriguing exploration of the unwanted celebrity our culture thrusts on the survivors of public tragedy. It's been named an ALAN Pick, and if the book is anything like the book LAUNCH, it's going to be amazing.
Planning a book launch is a daunting task, but Sarah designed this event in a unique way that made it successful on multiple levels. First, the event took place at Curt's Cafe, a mission-based non-profit that trains at-risk youth in food-service and life skills. All the food for the book launch was donated, so attendees were encouraged to donate and to buy raffle tickets to support Curt's Cafe. Allowing the event to double as a fundraiser may have encouraged more people to come. And Sarah says, "The spirit of the event IS the spirit of Curt's! I hoped we could pack the house (we did!) and help them continue to make a difference in our community." Everybody wins. Second, Sarah invited a number of local authors to participate in a group reading including Penny Blubaugh, Carol Brendler,Ilene Cooper, Brenda A. Ferber, Ken Krimstein, Jenny Meyerhoff, Ellen Reagan, Laura Ruby, Natalie Wainwright, myself, and of course, Sarah!
Sarah wanted "to honor the process of writing," to share that with her friends, and to "honor the VC and MFA experience." Many of the readers attended VCFA; Laura Ruby teaches in a similar program at Hamline. The event definitely took me back to the readings at Vermont College of Fine Arts, where students and faculty often read from works in progress. It was so exciting to hear snippets of books that are in various stages of the submission and publication process. And for Sarah, the callback to VCFA had extra meaning since the first version of Believe was her graduate reading. This group reading also cultivated a great sense of community. I've long admired some of these authors but never before met them in person. Now, I've not only met them, I've heard what they're working on. And it was great to see VCFA alums like Carolyn Crimi and Linda Washington in the audience.
As Sarah says, "For me, writing is all community. Over the years, the readings I've participated in have made me feel like a writer, have helped me make amazing friends. What better way to celebrate?"  If you aren't familiar with Write Club, it's Ian Belknap's version of "literature as blood sport," originating in Chicago but now in seven cities. In my first outing, the contest of BURN vs. SOOTHE, I represented BURN and emerged victorious. Which means I won a little bit of money for Barrel of Monkeys and got a tiny plastic trophy to treasure for evermore.
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Rachel's Blog
News, events, fun stuff, serious stuff, and online doings. I kept a personal blog for years at The Storybook Girl, and I'll slowly be migrating some of those posts to this blog. Archives
April 2016
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