Reading Writing Rachel

The Fault In Our Stars, Or Why I Finally Read a Book About Cancer (And Am So Glad I Did.)

2012-01-25T18:19:00.011-06:00

Bon nuit, Mes Anges! Ooh, mixing it UP! That's because for once, I am actually blogging at night. And there are few things that can make me open my computer for Things That Are Not Twitter And/Or Celebrity Gossip Related.

Britney's conservatorship is up any day now, y'all. SHE COULD BE SHAVING HER HEAD AS WE SPEAK!

But today I finished reading John Green's THE FAULT IN OUR STARS, and I wanted to talk about it, and hey, what is my blog if not a place to talk about anything that strikes my fancy? First off, let me say this: I do not read books about cancer. It's something of a rule of mine. No matter how brilliant said books may be, or how moving, I want nothing to do with them.

I SAID "brilliant" and "moving." SIT DOWN, SPARKS.

As I've talked about on the blog before, cancer killed my dad when I was 17. (Specifically, skin cancer so, for the love of Pete, kids, WEAR YOUR SUNBLOCK.) This, I think, makes cancer the Count Rugen to my Inigo Montoya.

Does this even really NEED the caption?

And as much as I'd love to slash cancer in the face and then stab it a whole bunch, it's a disease, not a person, so I can't. And when you live with cancer, have had it go off like a nuclear blast in the middle of your family, have had it steal someone you loved so very, very much, you have- I think understandably- Feelings RE: Cancer that are both strong and weird.

And I think my aversion to Books About Cancer is all tied up in those strong, weird feelings. Part of that is because when my dad died, lovely, well-meaning people gave me journals, knowing that I loved to write. And time and time again, they said, "One day, you'll write about this."

Sadly, none of the journals looked like this. Because that would've cheered me right on up, lemme tell you.

Even then, I flinched pretty hard at that. I knew what they meant, and I knew it was said with all the love in the world, but the idea of taking the experience of my dad's illness and death- something so devastating, but still weirdly joyous, something so complicated with every emotion under the sun- and then... I don't know, turning it into something for public consumption...it just wasn't something I could ever- or will ever- do.

And, I mean, my dad got sick the summer before I started high school. He died the summer before my senior year of high school. The dates were 3 years and 2 weeks apart, which is why July remains something of a cursed month for my family. If I wrote that in a book, I'm sure an editor would be all, "UM, HEAVY-HANDED WITH THE SYMBOLISM MUCH, HAWKINS?"

But that's the thing. It wasn't a book, it was my life. And unlike a book, there's no easy answer, no magical moment when I looked up and saw a rainbow and thought, "Oh yes, my dad died, and that is sad, but life goes on, and so shall I." It was, and remains, a strange, twisty thing too complicated to sort out. Would I have still become a writer if my dad were still around? is that what pushed me into this ten years down the line? I know it made me a different person, but how?

I think, too, there's that weirdly possessive attitude we get when terrible things happen to us. Like, "How dare you write a book about cancer/a car accident/a national tragedy/a random bear attack/a Surprise!Mudslide if you didn't actually EXPERIENCE those things?"

Death By Surprise!Mudslide: An Actual Thing That Happens In This Movie.

And so when I see a book about cancer that seems particularly exploitative, or manipulative or whatever, I get even more, "Grrrr, CANCER BOOKS SMASH!" about the whole thing. Anyway, that's where I'm coming from as far as Books About Cancer are concerned. A lot of the time, they strike me as kind of cynical, the way certain movies can seem "Oscar Bait-y."

But even when I heard the premise of THE FAULT IN OUR STARS, I still wanted to read it, canceriness aside, because I loved John Green's stuff, and I thought, "If ANYONE can make me read a book about f***ing CANCER and NOT make me want to throw/maim things, it is John Green."

So this week, I bought it. I read it in a day. And I'm so, so glad I did.

I think part of the reason I could do this particular book was because there was some distance for me. This wasn't about a kid dealing with a sick parent, but rather, two sick kids dealing with the truly sh*t hand fate had dealt them. And while I could go on and on about how much Augustus and Hazel touched me as characters (because they did. Seriously, I loved those kids so hard), the biggest thing that struck me was how much John Green got it. What it's really like to live with terminal illness every day.

Sure, it's an unwanted house guest, and you wish it would hurry up and GTFO every single day, but that doesn't mean there aren't beautiful things hidden away in its suitcase. It doesn't mean you don't still laugh and find joy in stuff.

That was the thing The Mama and I used to talk about with Daddy: it was like everyone thought we were living these sad, tragic lives in a House of Death or something, and yes, there were days when it was very hard to be us. But there were still jokes and memories that I wouldn't trade anything for.

(Which actually brings me to another Cancer PSA/Aside: We had a lot of people who were more wonderful than I can ever express when Daddy was sick. And we also had people who stopped coming by because it was, "too sad." Mes Anges, if someone you love is living with someone dying of cancer...how can I put this delicately? Sack the eff up. I know it might make you sad. But let me guarantee you it is making THOSE PEOPLE DEALING WITH ACTUAL CANCER IN THEIR ACTUAL HOUSE a metric buttload sadder sometimes, and they might need you. Also, it'll be good for you. See below.)

The amazing thing is, there were still way more joyful days than sad ones. And I don't mean in the schmaltzy, Sparksian ways. We didn't, like, go on magical boat rides where we put wishes into bottles or whatever it is they do in those type of Cancer Books.

"What did you wish for, my love?"
"I...I...*sniff* I wished for more time."
"Seriously? Because I wished for a pony. But, um, a CANCER KILLING PONY."
"..."

Just the regular kind of happy days. Days like when my dad, who was in a wheelchair and had very slurred speech due to an aneurysm, had to show a photo ID for something. When the clerk said, eyebrows raised, "You have a driver's license?" Daddy looked him square in the face and drawled, "Yup. Scary, isn't it?"

Days when we made fun of The Waltons, which my dad watched obsessively. Days when we were just a regular family with a sadly not that irregular thing happening to us.

All this rambling is just to say that TFiOS captured that, and still managed to get across how grossly unfair cancer is. When Steve Jobs died, I said on Twitter that when cancer has taken someone you loved, you feel like everyone it takes was someone you loved. And look, I'm sure cancer has killed some real a-holes in its day, but doesn't it ALWAYS seem like it takes the best and brightest, the most loving and amazing of us?

And to take an experience that, for me, is something I'm still sorting out and processing 15 years later, and have me, the girl who will break out in hives at the THOUGHT of Cancer Books, tap the pages a think, "Yes. This is it. This is exactly what it's like"...well, that's something.

Of course, it also helps that the book is hilarious, and I probably laughed more than I cried, and at one point actually laughed WHILE crying, which was gross, but 100% worth it.

Which is why you should all read it.

Meanwhile, I'm sure that John Green is SO PSYCHED about my endorsement.

"Why, yes, I know that my book is popular. It just spent 2 weeks at #1 on the NYT list, but...who? Who said people should read it? Rachel Hawkins? I...do not know who that is. Oh wait, is that the girl who writes Bulgarian pornography?"

Yes. Yes it is, John Green.

Until next time! XOXO!

In Which Our Heroine Finds Herself In a Compromising Position In The Cellar. Again.

2012-01-20T09:45:00.006-06:00

Bonjour, Mes Anges!

So a few months back, the lovely YA Sisterhood had a HEROINE TOURNEY wherein people got to pick their favorite heroines from several YA books, and lo, an excellent time was had by all. What was especially lovely was how classy people kept things. I was a wee bit afraid it would turn into, "THIS GIRL IS BETTER THAN THAT GIRL BECAUSE THAT GIRL SUCKS AND HERE ARE ALL THE REASONS THAT IS SO!"

And that would've made me sad, as I am a Big Fan of Girls and all the ways in which they are awesome, and the last thing we need is more Girl-On-Girl Hate.

T-SWIZZLE, I LOVE YOU, BUT PLEASE STOP TALKING SMACK ABOUT FELLOW LADIES IN YOUR SONGS! ALSO, PERHAPS YOU SHOULD GET BETTER TASTE IN DUDES, BECAUSE DAMN. I AM CONCERNED ABOUT YOUR CHOICES.

BUT. Everyone in the Heroine Tourney was THE BESTEST, and all the entries were about CELEBRATING the various fictional girls in the tourney as opposed to bashing them as the "competition."

In all, it was a lovely experience, and I'm so glad Mah Gurl Sophie got as far as she did!

Sophie was first up against LUNA LOVEGOOD who is only my FAVORITE LADY IN ALL OF HARRY POTTER, so I thought, "Well, that's it. I shall not get past the first round."

Which I was okay with since these two? My OTP. I don't care what the books say, they TOTALLY got married, and then they opened LOVEGOOD AND LONGBOTTOM, MAGICAL DETECTIVES, and BE HONEST, YOU WOULD READ THE HELL OUTTA THAT, WOULDN'T YOU?

So to keep it from being a total slaughter, I made PROMISES. Promises that I knew J.K. Rowling COULD NOT HERSELF MAKE.

J.K. Rowling is not even the littlest bit bothered by this.

Namely, I promised to write not one, but TWO extra scenes if Sophie won her round: One scene would be Sophie/Archer, and the other would be Sophie/Cal. I am Equal Opportunity in my shamelessness.

So today, I'm VERY pleased to bring you the FIRST of those promised scenes. This is Sophie/Archer, but Cal Fangirls, do not fret! He gets his turn next week.

Because I didn't want to give away any spoilers, this is a scene that takes place during HEX HALL. I figured those two had so much time in the cellar, there must be SOME extra story in there. And lo, there was. :)

Please to enjoy! And if you want to share, please link to this post as opposed to copy/pasting. Thanks!!

"In Which Our Heroine Finds Herself In a Compromising Position in the Cellar. Again."

“Well, this is...awkward.”

I glared at Archer as I once again tried to yank my hand free from his. “ 'Hey, Mercer! Let's try on these enchanted rings! I'm sure putting pieces of magical jewelery on is nothing less than a totally stellar idea! After all,-'” I broke off to blow a hunk of hair out of my eyes, “it's never ended badly for anyone before!”

Now it was Archer's turn to scowl. “Okay, I would like the record to show that that was a truly terrible impression of me. And secondly-,'” he made an attempt at wiggling his fingers, but they stayed laced in mine- “you didn't have to put one on. There was no peer pressure happening here.”

Sighing, I braced my foot on one of the lower shelves and tried once again to untangle my fingers from Archer's. Our hands stayed fixed together, but Archer stumbled forward, practically falling on top of me. Flustered, I pushed him back with my other hand even as he grinned.

“You know, Mercer-”

“Shut up.”

“You don't know what I was going to say.”

“Something snarky that's also vaguely suggestive?”

Archer mulled that over for a bit. “Actually...yeah. Nice one.”

I rolled my eyes. “Awesome. Does your brain have other uses besides crafting the perfect comeback? Anything in there about these rings or how me might break the spell?”

Rubbing his chin with his free hand, Archer said, “Nothing in my brain, but maybe something on the papers?”

Ah, yes. The papers.

We were supposed to be doing inventory in the cellar, so both of us had clipboards listing all the magical junk down here. Mine was on the shelf nearest the cellar steps, while Archer's was wedged between two glass jars on a shelf a few feet away. I was pretty sure I'd seen something about rings on my clipboard, so I moved toward the steps.

Unfortunately, Archer chose the same moment to go for his clipboard in the totally opposite direction.

Our magically joined hands pulled us up short, and once again, we stumbled into each other.

As my cheek collided with Archer's surprisingly solid chest, I got a whiff of laundry detergent. It was the same soap I used to wash my uniforms- Mrs. Casnoff was big on us not using magic for menial stuff, so we all had to do laundry like regular people- but somehow, on him, it smelled....different. Better.

“Whoa,” Archer said, catching my shoulder to steady me. For a moment, his hand lingered there and our eyes met. Archer's were so brown they could look black, and right now, his gaze seemed especially dark.

Clearing my throat, I stepped back as far as our hands would let me and nodded toward my clipboard. “I think I saw something about rings on my list.”

He was still watching me. “Hmm?”

I knew my cheeks were red, and his hand felt very hot in mine as I lifted it, waving our clasped hands together. “Rings? The ones we need to get off right now?” I looked away, like I was studying the silver bands really intently as I added, “Not sure how your girlfriend would feel about us being joined together for all eternity.”

I felt a little jolt go through Archer's arm. “Elodie,” he said, like he'd just remembered she existed.

“That's her name,” I agreed. I held out my free hand. “About this tall? Red hair, gorgeous? Evil in human form?”

Archer shot me a wry look and batted down my hand. “Okay, okay. So we'll go for your list.”

Together, we walked over to the shelf and Archer held the clipboard while I flipped through pages, scanning the inventory. “Rings, rings, rings...Fangs, no. Necklaces, close but not quite...ooh, apparently there are some bracelets in here that will make you the owner's prisoner for life, so the next time you go on a jewelery trying-on kick, let's try to avoid those...aha! Wedding rings, Matthew and Isabella Foster, witch and warlock, early 17th century.”

I looked up at Archer. We were wearing wedding rings. The thought filled me with a weird mix of conflicting emotions. Embarrassment, for sure. Somehow, the fact that these rings were wedding bands made this whole thing more awkward. But I also felt kind of...giddy.

They are rings, you moron, I told myself. Cold little pieces of metal that belonged to other people and have absolutely nothing to do with you and Archer. Please to get a grip.

“What kind of freaks would wear wedding rings that permanently joined their hands?” I asked, trying one last time to free my left hand from his. “I mean, I get that marriage is a binding thing, but this is just stupid.”

But Archer had his eyes closed, frowning in concentration. “No, I read something about those two. They're famous for...something.”

“Maybe for being co-dependent freaks?”

Archer didn't open his eyes, but his lips quirked. “That's probably part of it, but...right!” He snapped his fingers. “They were the ones who first introduced the whole betrothal thing.”

All witches and warlocks were betrothed sometime in their teenage years. The person your family picked for you was usually based on things like complimentary powers, but you didn't necessarily have to go through with a betrothal. Or at least that's what I was hoping, seeing as how Archer was pretty sure I was betrothed to someone, and I wasn't all that sold on the idea of marrying a stranger.

“So these rings...,” I said, raising my eyebrows.

“Weren't their wedding rings. They were used to help the Fosters make matches.”

I glanced down at our hands, still tangled up together, fingers laced. I had no idea what to say except, “Oh.”

I thought I felt Archer's grip tighten a little. “Apparently, the rings think we would be a good match.”

The words hung there in the air, joining us as surely as the little bands of silver. Finally, Archer made a sound somewhere between a snort and a laugh. “Which just goes to prove that these things have clearly broken.”

I laughed, too, both out of nervousness and relief. “Right. Apparently sitting on a shelf for three hundred years screwed up their magical matching mojo.”

Archer's fingers twitched in mine as he smiled at me. “God, can you imagine? Me and you, all...,” He waved his free hand, “coupled up?”

“Totally ridiculous,” I muttered, shaking my head.

“Insane,” he added, dropping his gaze to the rings. To our hands.

“The worst idea in all of Bad Idea Town.”

Archer's shoulders lifted a little, but he didn't laugh. Neither did I.

Just when I thought the silence might actually break me, Archer kind of shook himself and said, “Anyway, now that we know what they are, they should probably be pretty easy to get off.”

He raised our hands, pulling them close to his mouth. For a second, I thought he was going to kiss my hand, and I went a little dizzy. But instead, he spoke directly to the rings, his breath warm on my knuckles. “Um...hey, little guys? While we appreciate your efforts at matchmaking, this fair lady and I have no desire to be paired up. I am grateful you picked a girl who matches me in sarcasm,so nice job on that front. And I know she appreciates you finding her an incredibly hot stud such as my- ow!”

Rubbing the spot on his chest where I'd shoved him, Archer scowled at me and continued, “Anyway, Rings, thanks but no thanks. So if you could un-stick us now, that would be great.”

There was a barely audible hiss and the silver heated up. Archer's sucked in a breath through his teeth and I winced as the rings glowed hot. And then, just like that, our hands dropped free.

Archer shook his wrist while I cradled my hand to my chest, flexing my fingers.

“Well,” he said at last, flashing me a grin. “Yet another adventure to add to our long list of Weird Things That Have Happened To Us In The Cellar.”

There was a loud click from above us as The Vandy unlocked the door, signaling the end of Cellar Duty for tonight. I grabbed my clipboard with my left hand, hoping that might erase the feeling of Archer's palm still pressed against mine.

“That was the last one,” I told him as we headed up the stairs. “After that and the thing with the gloves, and that time you killed a pixie-,”

“It was already dead!” he insisted, but I ignored him.

“I am done having adventures in the cellar. The rest of the semester is going to be adventure-free.”

We were at the top of the stairs now, pausing in the doorway. Archer turned to me. He was still grinning, but there was something different in it now. Something that made my knees feel a little watery.

“Now that would be a disappointment,” he murmured.

And with that, he was gone.

TWO MONTHS!

2012-01-13T07:50:00.015-06:00

Bonjour, Mes Anges!

As you can probably tell from the title, we are TWO MONTHS EXACTLY from SPELL BOUND coming out in stores! I am so excited! Are YOU excited? I hope so!

And if you've been with me from the beginning, then you know January is when things tend to start firing up RE: Sophie and Co. Soon I'll have tour dates to announce, and there may be another few fun surprise here and there. And I'LL be around here a lot more often, especially now that I have turned in BOTH BOOKS THAT WERE HANGING OVER MY HEAD.

This was how that felt.

As we get closer to Release Day, I'll be talking more about the book (and hey! If you get the DEMONGLASS paperback on February 7th, you can read the first chapter! Woo hoo!)

Today, though, while we ARE getting closer, we're still a ways out, so I am going be a TEASE. Instead of talking about the book, I'm going to give you some pictures. All of these pics are saved in my "Spell Bound Inspiration Folder," and each and every one plays SOME part in the plot. Happy speculating! ;)

Simply Having A Wonderful Christmas Time

2011-12-08T17:03:00.008-06:00

Bonjour, mes Anges! And happy holidays! I am in Deadline Zone, which is why this blog has been kind of quiet here lately. however, I had a little free time tonight, and since I probably won't be back until my big Rachel Recaps 2011 Blog (spoiler: It'll go something like, "2011! HOW COULD YOU BE SO RAD AND SO AWFUL ALL AT THE SAME TIME? GTFO!), I thought I'd best blog NOW. And besides, I've been wanting to talk about Holiday Music foooorevvver.

First off, let me say that I am a recent convert to The Awesome of the Holidays. I mean, loved it when I was a kid, OBVS, but as I got older, I was never really one for traditional Xmas stuff. Part of that was because, after my dad passed away, the holidays felt weird for me and The Mama. So my aunt and uncle, who are awesome, decided to help us combat The Weird by taking us to Paris that first year after Daddy was gone. And then THAT became something of a tradition, so we spent several Christmases in a row overseas. I KNOW, I HAD TO SPEND CHRISTMAS IN PARIS AND SALZBURG AND LONDON PLEASE WEEP FOR ME.

Hardships, I suffered them.

But the traveling, while super-duper fun, meant that I kind of got out of the Regular Holiday Stuff. We never put up a tree because we wouldn't be there to enjoy it, and there wasn't a lot of Present Exchanging because, duh, going to Europe, GIFT ENOUGH.

And then I married The Husband, who comes from a family that is ALL ABOUT SOME CHRISTMAS. Seriously, come the day after Thanksgiving,he magically transforms into Buddy the Elf.

LOL J/K! He's always Yukon Cornelius.

We're spending our 10th Christmas as married people this year, and while it's taken me awhile, I am now FULLY ABOARD THE HOLIDAY TRAIN. And one of my favorite things about the holidays is the music.

I make a MOST excellent Holiday Playlist every year, and while it's grown to like 35 songs, I thought I'd share my 10 Favorite Holiday Songs with y'all! SO! In no particular order...

1) "Last Christmas"- Wham!

Fun Fact About Marriage: You know how when you're dating, you just want the other person to think you're awesome and you cook fancy dinners every night and you get up in the morning with make-up on and you never, ever go to the bathroom? Right, when you get married, that changes. Something flips once that ring is one your hand, and suddenly, you find yourself going OUT OF YOUR WAY to do things that slightly annoy your spouse. EXAMPLE: The Husband hates this song SO HARD. And so what did I do a few years ago? Made a mix that was NOTHING BUT COVERS OF IT. He didn't catch on until the 3rd one, and I will never forget his exasperated cry of, "RACHEL!" as he decorated the tree. Good times.

I think we can all agree this is the greatest music video of all time.

2) "Ave Maria"- The Carpenters

I guess technically this isn't a Christmas song, but I don't care. It makes it onto the playlist EVERY YEAR. Partially because, despite the whole Not Being Catholic Thing (The Mama was Baptist, my Daddy was Jewish, I decided to be Episcopalian...), any version of this song will make me Feel Feelings. But this one especially gets me because Karen Carpenter's voice is SO gorgeous and sad and resonant. Siiiiigh.

3) "River"- Joni Mitchell

As you will soon see, I have a MAJOR thing for melancholy holiday songs, and I don't think ANYTHING is more melancholy than, "I wish I had a river I could skate away on." As I recently said on Twitter, if you can listen to this song and not feel like weeping, you've never been homesick in the winter.

4) "Song For A Winter's Night"- Sarah MacLachlan

The last year before me and The Husband got married, I spent Christmas in Vermont with The Mama and the rest of my fam.

I'd wanted The Husband (then The Fiance) to come with us, but he couldn't, and because this was BEFORE we'd reached the I Will Spend An Hour Burning A CD Just To Irritate You Stage, I missed him soooooo muuuuuuch. This song always makes me think of that time, watching the snow fall and wishing he were there.

5) "All I Want For Christmas Is You"- Mariah Carey

Finally, a happy one! We won't even TALK about that horrible new version she has with The Biebs. Give me Original!Flavor Mariah every time! This song is so happy, and bouncy, and sweet, AND it always makes me think of my Favorite Christmas Movie EVER, "Love, Actually."

6) "Patrick Swayze Christmas"- MST3K

I... I really, think this one is self-explanatory.

7)"Fairytale of New York"- The Pogues

Easily my favorite Christmas song to crank up in the car. Now, admittedly, it is not, um, particularly SFW or PC (although, one of the insults the girl singer uses does not mean the same thing it means here.) Still, this song manages to be sad and funny and joyous and bitter all at the same time. And really, that's what the holidays are all about. ;-)

8)"Hard Candy Christmas"- Dolly Parton

This song isn't really that much about Christmas, but IT'S DOLLY PARTON SO I DON'T CARE. Speaking of, if you haven't seen Dolly's "Smoky Mountain Christmas" featuring a mountain man, a witch, and like a billion orphans, I FEEL VERY SORRY FOR YOU.

9) "O Come, O Come Emmanuel"- Enya

In addition to liking Christmas Songs That Make You Feel Sad, I also like Christmas Songs That Are From the Middle Ages (Or At Least Sound That Way.) Stuff like Greensleeves, The Angel Gabriel, and this. I especially like Enya's take on this song because it sounds like it should be used in a video game commercial. Seriously, listen to that and tell me you DON'T see a soldier trudging through the snow and picking up, like, a kid's doll or something.

10) "Winter Song"- Ingrid Michaelson and Sara Bareilles

Not TECHNICALLY a Christmas song, but still. So sweet, so pretty, and the video makes me happy every single time I watch it.

And there you have it! Ten of my favorites! However you spend the holidays, I hope they're filled with food and love and happy times and, yes, ALL THE VERSIONS OF LAST CHRISTMAS. ;-)

The newest addition to my Torture The Husband Playlist.

XOXO!

For Those Of You About To NaNoWriMo, I SALUTE YOU!

2011-11-01T17:28:00.001-05:00

Oh, Mes Anges, today is an EXCITING day! For it is the day that some of you may start NANOWRIO, aka That Time In November When A Whole Bunch Of People Attempt to Write a 50K Word Novel in a Month, and Lo, It Is Awesome.

I LOVE NaNoWriMo. Like, Pink Puffy Heart Love. Love ALMOST as much as I love Jon Snow.

Oh, that Jon Snow. Always saying the sweetest things...

Now saying that, I should add that, much like Jon Snow, NaNoWriMo remains undone by moi. (Bah-dum-BUMP!)

Mostly because my deadlines for the past few years have been November 1, so I've always spent the month of Thanksgiving (and my birthday and my anniversary...)frantically FINISHING a book, not starting one.

But I love it nonetheless! There's something about the spirit of NaNoWriMo I find really appealing. People are SO EXCITED! About WRITING! And for one whole month, so many more people are learning that secret that all of us who take pen to paper or fingers to keyboards know: That writing, even when it's hard, even when it sucks, even when it HURTS LIKE SOMEONE IS PULLING YOUR SOUL TEETH is the Greatest Thing In The World.

I mean, how many people get to live in TWO WORLDS ALL THE TIME? And not wear straight jackets and only be allowed to eat with spoons?

This dude cannot be trusted with forks, OBVS.

I also love that people do NaNoWriMo for all kind of different reasons. Some of you really want to become authors, and are using this month as the time to finally, finally, FINALLY write that book you've always dreamed about. And that, my lovelies, it BAD ASS. GO FORTH!

And then some of you are already published authors, using this month as a kind of "Writing Vacation," giving yourselves permission to write that book you NEVER thought you'd write. Maybe because it's not in the genre you usually work in, maybe because the idea seems too big, too crazy, whatever. This, incidentally, is what happened to my friend Chantel. She talks about it here, and guess what? That book she wrote for NaNo 2 years ago? You can buy it HERE. (And you should, because it's SO GOOD, and I want everyone to read it so that we can fight over Team Galen vs. Team Nikolas, and talk about how we love/hate Zoi. GET ON THAT.)

This? Using NaNoWriMo as a time to go crazy and write The Impossible Book? ALSO SUPER RAD. DO IT TO IT!

Maybe some of you attempting NaNo have absolutely no interest in being published. You just want to do something fun during November, something that will give you a good excuse to hide from obnoxious relatives on Thanksgiving.

"Eff OFF, Nana, I'm writing my NOVEL!"

You wanna play around with words, with ideas, with stories, and do so at a time when thousands of other people are doing the same thing. Guess what, you guys? THAT IS AMAZEBALLS! GO GO GO!

And then, of course, there are those of you who are like, "NaNo is dumb, and in no way fits the way I write. 50K words in a month would kill me dead, and all my words would be crap." And to that I say...wait for it... AWESOME! No, really! Because knowing what does and doesn't work for you as a writer is an important part of the process. And NaNo is supposed to be FUN. If it won't work for you, DON'T DO IT! And don't let anyone make you feel bad about that! Just don't poop on everyone else's fun, either, okay? Because when you're all excited about doing something, nothing makes you feel worse than having someone go, "Oh, that? It is Made of Stupid and you are Doomed to Fail."

So now that we have established that Whatever You Choose To Do During NaNoWriMo (Even If It Is Not To Do NaNoWriMo) is Super Mega Ultra Valid, let's get on to some of the finer points.

1) RACHEL! I have heard that you cannot write a good novel in one month? So, forsooth, whateth be the point?

Okay, first of all, stop yelling at me. Secondly, when a writer uses the collective "you" to talk about any part of writing or publishing, what they should really write is "I." So when someone says, "You cannot write a good book in a month," they mean, "I cannot write a good book in one month." Which is fair enough! It all depends on what kind of writer you are, what kind of book you're writing, etc. I tend to draft relatively fast because my books are more plotty and dialogue-y, and that goes more quickly. But I totally believe a good book CAN be written in a month.

2) RACHEL! This is excellent! I cannot wait to start querying agents with my 50K word draft on December 1!

I said stop yelling! And as The Husband would say, "SLOW DOWN, BUCKWHEAT ZYDECO." (I don't know why he says this, BTW. He just does. He often refers to Small Son as "Buckwheat," too, but Small Son, in his Small Son way, has misunderstood this to be "Butt Wink," and he now calls people this and gets in trouble because that is both a nonsensical AND horribly graphic insult. I digress.)

First off, most novels are longer than 50K. 50K is really closer to novella size. Yes, there are some YA books that length, and lots of MG books come in around 50K, but still. It is SHORT. For example, HEX HALL is around 63K, DEMONGLASS is like 66K, and SPELL BOUND came in near 70K. The standard length for adult novels is close to 100K.

Also, THINK about how many people dash their books out on December 1! Do you want to be part of that wave, inundating agents with books that the agents KNOW ARE NANOWRIMO BOOKS? Or do you want to spend Christmas editing your 50K words under the tree, knowing that in January or February, you'll have a much shinier, tighter, LONGER book to send out into the world?

"YES, Nana, I am STILL WORKING ON MY NOVEL! Jeez! And bring me some cocoa!"

3) RACHEL! I have done NaNoWriMo before, but when I get to around 20-30K, the book suddenly gets REALLY HARD. This means I should quit because my idea is bad, right?

Mes Anges, let me tell you something. That 20-30K stretch? It is hard FOR EVERYONE. Seriously. I'm working on my 5th book right now (FIFTH! HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?!), and I'm there, and it is only the knowledge that I have pulled four other books out of this stage that keeps me going. Otherwise, I would listen to that voice in my head that tells me, "HOLY SHIZZ, YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN HOW TO WRITE A BOOK." I hear that voice every. time, Mes Anges. You'll hear it every time, too. Soldier on!

4) RACHEL! What if I don't get to 50K words, and lo, am marked as a FAILURE?

Did you try? Did you get words onto paper, and spend several consecutive days working on one idea? Then you know what? You've already done what SO MANY PEOPLE have not. Do you know how many people talk about writing a book, but never actually WRITE? So many! But you made an attempt! you put butt in chair, and hands on keyboard or pen or iPad or whatever, and WORDS ON PAPER. You win, my friend!

So, for those of you doing NaNoWriMo this year, I hope you kick ass! I hope you write books so good that I stay up at night worrying about them. I hope you have fun. I hope you get a peek into why this is the best job in the world. I hope you don't let anyone tell you you can't do it. I hope you dance. No, wait, that's that lame country song, isn't it? Yeah, I don't hope you dance.

Shut yer face, Womack! I will dance when and if I see fit, damn it!

And without getting sappy or earnest (two things I am allergic to), know that I believe you can do it, that I love you for trying. Or for not trying! I AM VERY FREE WITH MY LOVE!

But not in the, shall we say, Amber Way.

NOW GO WRITE ME SOME BOOKS! XOXO!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T11:19:00.005-05:00

Huzzah! It's Candy and Costume Day! I'm sure the kids at Hecate Hall are putting the finishing touches on their outfits for the annual All Hallows Eve Ball.

I hear Sophie's peacock dress actually started a trend in ballgowns at Hex Hall!

Next year, once y'all have read SPELL BOUND, I MIGHT have a short All Hallows Eve Ball story to put up. ;-)

But that's for NEXT year. This year, here's a spooky story I wrote LAST Halloween. It's a little different from my usual stuff (no kissing! No jokes!), but it's set in the Hex Hall universe, and now that you've read DEMONGLASS, maybe you can see how it's kind of connected to Sophie and Co.! Please to enjoy! And HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

ALSO please to enjoy the MOST TERRIFYING PART of my favorite Halloween cartoon, Garfield's Halloween Adventure. PIRATE GHOSTS GAH!!

Now He Is Six

2011-10-27T08:17:00.013-05:00

Today is Small Son's birthday! It is so hard to believe that six- SIX!!- years ago today, that he came into our lives and changed us forever. Last night, I was telling him my favorite memory of that day. Right after he was born, after he'd been cleaned up, and wrapped up, they handed him to me. He was crying and red and pissed off, as newborn babies usually are. As I held him, I looked at him, and said, "There you are, [Small Son!]" And he immediately turned to the sound of my voice, like he was thinking, "Hey! I KNOW that person!" His tiny eyes looked into mine, and man, that was it. I knew that I'd never love anyone as fiercely, as all-consumingly as I did this little dude.

But one of the coolest things about watching him grow is how that love has changed over the years. He's still my baby (or my Beh-Beh, as I call him), but now, I don't just love him because he's mine. I love him for the loving, funny, frustrating, weird, totally unique person he is.

I still see traces of me and The Husband in him, but there are new parts emerging now, quirks of his personality that are all his. He's had an adventurous spirit ever since he was very little. When he was three, we drove from Alabama to Maine. At one stop, we had to get up at 4:30 AM to get on the road. The Husband and I were blurry eyed and half asleep as we got in the car, but Small Son hopped up into his car seat, grinned, and yelled, "LET'S DO THIS!"

He is fearless about so many scary things (the ocean, airplanes, heights), but still timid when faced with crowds, or people he doesn't know. When he's mad at you, he tells you that he is, "not in your heart right now!" He is hilariously funny, both intentionally and unintentionally. For example, I was bemoaning the lack of a parking space last week, and from the backseat, complete with a world weary sigh, comes, "Welcome to my life." He will do anything for a laugh, including a routine as "Robot Justin Beaver (his term for Justin Bieber)that literally made me cry, it was so funny.

When he's excited, he hugs SO HARD that he grits his teeth and shakes. It's like he's having a Love Seizure, and it cracks me up every time. He feels things very deeply, which makes me wish I could put bubble wrap around his heart.

He loves music, and stories, and the water, and every night, he asks us what our favorite part of the day is. And even though we always tell him it was some event, or some activity, the truth is, he's my favorite part of the day. Every day.

Happy Birthday, Small Son!

In Which I Make A Tortured Metaphor (And Show Off My Horrible Knitting)

2011-10-13T09:49:00.011-05:00

Bonjour, Mes Anges! Long time, no blog, but I have been EVER so busy! There's that whole "Writing a bunch of books" thing, then I also did a trip to NYC (which was SO FUN, and hopefully more on that in another blog). I also had the Auburn Writer's Conference last week, and that was SUPER AMAZEBALLS. The AWC always makes me feel so proud of my hometown and all the glorious creative people I'm lucky enough to call friends.

This is the trailer for this year's conference. Watch it, and I DARE you not to Feel Feelings at the end. Also, yes, I am in it. And yes, that is my real bedroom/office. My bedroffice.

Anyway, all of this means not much time for blogging! But then, if you've been hanging around here for awhile, you already know how that goes. ;-)

The other day, someone on Twitter mentioned knitting, and how she wished she could do it, and I was like, "Hey! I knit! REALLY, REALLY HORRIBLY, but I do" And for some reason, that got me thinking about creating and writing, and how we should approach such Scary Things. So please, enjoy this tortured metaphor I'm about to make!

Some background: I am freaking terrible at anything remotely resembling crafts. I mean, it's EMBARRASSING how little artistic talent I have, especially since The Mama is CRAZY talented at craftiness and actually used to TEACH ART.

Just looking at this makes me break out in hives. Hives that, oddly enough, resemble that paper flower thingie Martha is holding while she judges me.

So when my friend Chantel was like, "Hey! Have you ever knitted?" I was all, "UM, NO, I CANNOT EVEN SEW BUTTONS BACK ON THINGS." (Which is true. Whenever I lose a button, I have to get The Husband to deal with it. Yes, ladies, my man fixes cars, chases reindeer, digs for rocks, and SEWS. And no, you still can't have him.)

HANDS OF MY YUKON CORNELIUS!

But Chantel was not daunted by the panic in my eyes! Chantel was BRAVE, and said, "Come! Let us go to Michael's, buy supplies, and I shall teach you to knit!" Chantel, it turned out, had learned to knit several years before when she was doing her Fulbright in New Zealand. Which, I mean, can we take a minute an appreciate how that is like The Most Bad-Ass Learning To Knit Story EVER? Most people are like, "Oh, my grandma taught me," but Chantel gets to say, "Oh, I was in Middle Earth because I'm terrifyingly smart, and there's lots of wool there so...knitting."

It is also possible she battled Orcs there. I do not know.

I picked out some yarn I liked, and I got some reasonably priced needles, and Chantel taught me to knit, despite the fact that I did, like, EVERYTHING wrong at first. Y'all should have heard how nice she tried to be saying things like, "Oh, I...yeah, I don't even know how you did that. How are you ADDING more stitches?"

Seriously, you guys.

How bad am I at craftiness? So bad that when I texted The Mama to tell her Chantel was learnin' me some knitting, The Mama text back, "Does she KNOW you?" And when The Mama, who basically follows me around all day playing THIS SONG:

is like, "LOL U SUCK AT TEH KNITTING!!1" you know I really, really suck.

But here's the thing. I really ENJOYED knitting. Even as I was adding stitches, and then dropping stitches, and creating Inexplicable Holes, I was having a good time. And I wasn't trying to make a coat, or a hat, or even a scarf. I was just playing around with the yarn until I felt more comfortable with it.

I went back to Michael's. I had plastic needles, but I wasn't crazy about those, so I bought some metal ones and some pricier bamboo needles (which ended up being my preferred needle, BTW.) I got several different skeins of yarn, picking all of them just because I thought they were pretty. I knitted watching TV, and I knitted while I thought Plotty Thoughts- BOOK Plotty Thoughts, not World Domination Plotty Thoughts-, and I knitted just for the fun of knitting. And I STILL sucked at it, but I started to suck a little bit less. Here are a few examples:

Now, as you can see, I am still not what ANYONE would call "good." But that's to be expected. I've only been knitting for a few months, and before Chantel got that knitty gleam in her eye, I'd never so much as held a pair of knitting needles before. The main thing is, I'm learning, and I'm practicing, and I'm ENJOYING it.

And now, for the Tortured Metaphor portion of the blog, it strikes me that this is what Beginning Writers need to do. So often, when we want to write, we sit down and go, "I wanna write a BOOK! A big one! Maybe even a SERIES of books with, like, SEVEN SEQUELS and ELEVENTY BILLION characters!"

But if you've never written anything before, that's a SERIOUSLY tall order! It would be like me buying all that yarn and a pattern book and going, "IMMA KNIT A COAT AND MATCHING SCARF AND BOOTIES FOR SMALL SON! So we can MATCH, CREEPY-STYLES!"

YAY THERAPY!

And would I have ended up with matching coats and hats and scarves and booties? No. I would have ended up with a pattern book shoved in a corner, and several balls of yarn, and maybe like one half of one sleeve or something. And I would've felt frustrated, and vaguely pissed off, and very, "BAH KNITTING I HATE YOU YOU ARE TOO HARD."

Instead, I didn't put any expectations on myself. I bought yarn just because it was pretty. I tried lots of different needles until I found the ones that felt best for me. I didn't sit down with any other goal besides, "Knit." Not knit a SCARF, not knit something to GIVE SOMEONE, just...knit.

And I hope that all of you starting out in writing will give yourself the same freedom. Just WRITE. Don't worry about making it a BOOK, or getting an AGENT. At least not right away. Play with ideas or characters or themes that are "pretty" to you (this is why I'm very Pro Fanfic. I feel like Fanfic can be a great way of writing with training wheels, as it were.)

Write in a notebook, on a laptop, a regular computer,an iPad, whatever until you discover what feels best. Try out different writing software. For example, I know now that I can only write books from beginning to end, and I have to write them in Word on a laptop. I have friends who ADORE Scrivener, but it makes me wanna punch baby kitties.

Yup, even you, Adorable Sad Kitten. That is how much I loathe Scrivener.

Have fun. Play. Don't worry if you drop plots, or add plots, or have Inexplicable Holes in your story. Just keep trying new stuff. And if writing is ONLY ever play for you, that's fine, too. I mean, let's me honest, I will never have my own knitting show on the DIY network.

And even if I did, it wouldn't matter, because the GREATEST NAME EVER for a knitting show has already been taken.

But until you try, until you get in there and give yourself permission to be BAD at something while you're learning, you'll never really know. So go! WRITE!

And don't expect a scarf from me for Christmas. ;-)

XOXO!

Behind The Curtain

2011-08-05T12:48:00.013-05:00

Happy Friday, all! First things first, before I forget, if you are in the Nashville area, I will BE THERE THIS MONDAY NIGHT! Yes! August 8, from 6:30 until 8:30, me and some of my Author Buddies will be at the Brentwood Barnes and Noble. Come see us! Details here!

Okay, so I had ALL THIS STUFF I wanted to talk about today as we near the end of the summer. This summer has been a weird one for me, although far, far better than last summer, AKA That Time The Husband Had To Live In Norway For 2 Months and a Reindeer Nearly Killed Him And Oh Yeah, He Also Grew This Beard:

And did he purposely save this beard until he could get a new driver's license photo, thus preserving it for all time or at least the next four years? Yes. Yes, he did.

Hmmm... Looking at that picture, I now realize that The Husband bore a striking resemblance to Yukon Cornelius from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.

Anyway, last summer was sad because The Husband was far, far away and I like having him around and stuff. THIS summer was weird because I was coming off an INTENSELY weird spring, wherein several AMAZING things happened. DEMONGLASS came out! And you guys got to READ IT! And then I got to travel 'round the country with my New BFF, Sarwat! And then DEMONGLASS spent 2 weeks on the NYT list, and made me feel a combination of :D and 0_o for nearly a month!

But, as is the way with life sometimes, all this amazingness had to be balanced by some sucktasticness. In this case, the sucktasticness was every drop of my Writing Mojo going, "PEACE OUT, HAWKINS!"

"Where the f*** are you going, Writing Mojo? I NEED TO WRITE BOOKS, YOU KNOW."

I've said before that I don't believe in writer's block, and I hold to that. In this case, I wasn't BLOCKED so much as every word I typed felt like someone was pulling teeth in my soul. My soul-teeth as it were.

This is what happens when you do a Google Image search for "soul teeth."

There are lots of reasons for that, and it the first two drafts of this post, I went into them at length. But then I was all, "Eh, this feels slightly self-indulgent, and also I am Southern, and therefore anything that feels like Revealing My Bizness makes me break out in hives." So I'll give you the condensed version and say that I suspect my Writing Mojo deserted me for the following reasons.

1)The past few years have been full of Change, and while 99.9% of that change was RAD, it was still Change, and Change=Stress, and Stress Is The Word Killer. Or something like that.

"It's actually 'Fear Is the Mind Killer.' We are so kicking you out of the Bene Gesserit now, Rachel."

2)I am still new at this and it's taken me this long to figure out how to balance the author/writer parts of myself, as I've discussed before. Also, the way I wrote books before I was a Published Author Type Person was not a particularly sustainable process, and that eventually bit me in the gluteus maximus.

This was basically my schedule for HEX HALL:

Monday: Write 4K words
Tuesday: Futz with those words
Wednesday: Pretend to be working by making a playlist/reading a baby name book/researching various kinds of supernatural beasties/translating random words into Latin (Fun Fact: That's actually how I came up with the term "Prodigium.")
Thursday: Write 5K words
Friday-Tuesday: Sit on the couch and rest because brain is leaking out of ears.
Wednesday: Write 6K words.
Thursday: Scrap those 6K words, write 6K MORE BETTER words.

And so on.

Now just repeat that schedule for three months, add an extra month where I abandoned the book altogether, then throw in the last day where I wrote 10K words in under 24 hours, and you have what writing HEX HALL looked like. Do you see where that might not be the BEST way to write a book when you ALSO have to edit a 2nd book, and promote a third, and also try to maintain some degree of sanity?

3)I carried a lot of fears/beliefs over from my Pre-Published days without taking into account that now writing was FER SERIOUS MY JOB AND STUFF. Namely that you can NEVER EVER EVER work on something else except your current WIP because then you will ABANDON your WIP, and NEVER FINISH and then you will NEVER BE A WRITER OMG. But the thing is, once writing is your actual career, I think those little side projects and fancies are actually a really necessary thing. I love writing. It is the best job in the world. But you know what? It's still a job. And that means some days it isn't fun. I think that if I'd sat down at my computer and said, "Okay, you can have 30 minutes/500 words/whatever you deem appropriate to write WHATEVER you want," I probably could have gone into the writing I had to do that day a lot happier. When you don't let yourself be free sometimes, your WIP becomes less that fun world you get to create and more like that lame friend your mom MAKES you hang out with because she and the Lame Friend's mom are in Sunday School together, even though you'd MUCH RATHER go play with your AWESOME NEW FRIENDS who have COOL HAIR and smoke CLOVE CIGARETTES and are just generally MORE WINNING AT LIFE.

The Fun WIP. Also, Responsible Adult Note: Do not smoke clove cigarettes. They're kind of gross and they will make you smell like you just celebrated Christmas in Hell.

4)SPELL BOUND was really hard to write. Like, harder than I ever thought it would be. It was the first book I wrote as a Published Author Type Person (DEMONGLASS was turned in before HEX HALL ever came out), and it was the end of the series, and I wanted to be SURE I was leaving all of you with a fabulous ending, and because I STILL hadn't developed an especially sustainable writing process, I struggled with it a lot. In the end, everything worked out and I actually think this book may be the best of the series. But at the time, fighting with it so hard really, really rattled my confidence. And it meant that when I turned around to work on my NEXT book, I was nearly having panic attacks just opening the Word document.

RWAR I'M YOUR NEXT BOOK AND IMMA EAT YOU, RACHEL!

Anyway, all of this is to say that while I've been a FT writer for nearly 4 years, I've only been a Published Author Type Person since March 2010, and it's taken me this long to finally start figuring some stuff out. That's what this summer was about for me: getting my feet back under me as a writer. Learning to have fun again and to shut out the voices in my head that were screaming, "YOU ARE A LOSERY LOSER! PEOPLE WOULD KILL TO HAVE THIS JOB SO WHY IS IT MAKING YOU SO FULL OF THE SADS? OH, RIGHT BECAUSE YOU ARE A LOSERY LOSER."

I also had to accept that the days of 5K words/day were probably gone forever. Heck, the days of 2K words/day are gone. From now on, it's 500-1000 words a day, five days a week. It's slower, and it's a weirder way for me to work because I think my natural inclination will always be towards the Furious Flurries of Words, but that was clearly not working. Honestly, it took me nearly 2 years and four books to realize that my writing process had to change, but there you go.

And I'm also ridiculously grateful to work with such amazing people who, when I said, "Okay, this train is moving a WEE BIT FAST, can we perhaps slow down a touch?" all said, "Alrighty then!" Okay, they didn't actually say "Alrighty, then!" because that is a lame thing to say, and all the people on Team Hex/Team Belle are, as previously implied, Amazeballs. And I'm super-glad that if I had to have a mini-burnout, it came now when there was a little wiggle room, and that SPELL BOUND was already turned in! It DOES mean that REBEL BELLE probably won't come out until 2013 now, but at least there's not a 2 year gap between books in a series.

Or a FIVE YEAR GAP. Don't think I've forgotten, George R.R. Martin.

So there you have it! I kind of feel like I just showed y'all my Writing Panties (I will not even ATTEMPT a Google Image search for that one), but I wanted to let y'all know what's been going on with me and, if any of you are Published Author Type Persons or Aspiring Author Type Persons, to let you see a little peek behind the curtain. I think we talk so much about the struggle TO get published that we don't always realize there are struggles ONCE we're published. Or if we DO talk about things that are rough post-publication, it tends to be about the Author Side Struggles (bad covers, bad sales, bad reviews, no new sales, etc.), and less about the Writer Side Struggles.

But this story does have a happy ending! Yes, it took tears, and hair pulling, and the most emo journal entries this side of 7th grade, and more cookies than I'm comfortable talking about, but over the course of this summer, I've found my way back to having fun with writing, so much so that the other day, The Husband noticed I was staring into space and asked, "What are you smiling about?" And I realized I was sitting there, day dreaming about the book I was working on, grinning like an idiot. So if anyone else is out there in the Dark No Man's Land of No Words, they'll come back. And lo, life can be all flowers and sausages once again.

Yup.

Until next time! XOXO!

In Memoriam

2011-07-28T11:02:00.003-05:00

Hey, Mes Anges. So today is kind of a sad day for me since it marks the 14th anniversary of my Dad passing away. It's nearly impossible to believe it's been 14 whole years. I was 14 when he was first diagnosed with melanoma, and 17 when he lost that fight. (And I always feel like I should add that when he was diagnosed, he was given around 6 weeks to live. He made it 3 years. I will always be so, so thankful for those 3 years.)

Anyway, I wrote a blog post about Daddy a few years ago, and I think it still says all I'd like to say. You can read it here.

And if you're lucky enough to still have both your parents, give them an extra hug today. :)

Me and Daddy, circa 1983. I stand by that choice of floatie.

SPELL BOUND has a cover!!

2011-07-20T10:30:00.004-05:00

And lo, it is BEAUTIFUL!! Seriously, feast your eyes upon THIS:

Once again, the amazing people at Hyperion have hit it out of the PARK, if you ask me. I cannot WAIT to see this one next to the other two, even though the thought of that makes me kind of sad because once I have the final copy, it will mean the trilogy is *sniff* OVER. Yes, there are more adventures to come in the HEX HALL universe, but Sophie's story wraps up in SPELL BOUND. That meant that this book was probably the toughest book I've ever had to write. I wanted to give my beh-behs a fitting send-off, and while y'all can decided whether or not I've done that in March, for now I CAN say that the art department at Hyperion has DEFINITELY delivered on a gorgeous going away present. :)

As for the actual stuff happening on the cover...hmmmm....is that a SWORD Sophie is holding? Whoever could THAT belong to? And there in the bottom is that...is she...why, YES, I DO believe she's wearing a rather rumpled looking Hecate Hall uniform. What is THAT all about? Here are a FEW clues in the description from Amazon:

Hailed as “impossible to put down,” the Hex Hall series has both critics and teens cheering. With a winning combination of romance, action, magic and humor, this third volume will leave readers enchanted.

Just as Sophie Mercer has come to accept her extraordinary magical powers as a demon, the Prodigium Council strips them away. Now Sophie is defenseless, alone, and at the mercy of her sworn enemies—the Brannicks, a family of warrior women who hunt down the Prodigium. Or at least that’s what Sophie thinks, until she makes a surprising discovery. The Brannicks know an epic war is coming, and they believe Sophie is the only one powerful enough to stop the world from ending. But without her magic, Sophie isn’t as confident.

Sophie’s bound for one hell of a ride—can she get her powers back before it’s too late?

LET THE SPECULATING BEGIN. ;-)

Also, let's give one last final farewell to the cat who, as you can see, is taking a little break this go round. I like to think he's all, "Guuuurl, I am TIRED! And in this book you go to [redacted], and you meet [redacted], and you find out that [redacted] is [redacted], and [redacted] DIES. Aw, hell no! Sitting this one OUT!"

So cat or no, I hope y'all love this one as much as I do! Now come on March!!

XOXO!

HEAR YE, HEAR YE!

2011-06-24T10:05:00.005-05:00

This is a quick post today, Mes Anges, because I have to go to the doctor this morning. Apparently, all the pool time I've been logging with Small Son has resulted in an ear infection for yours truly. Blah.

BUT LESS BLAH! Announcement-y things!

First, HEX HALL 3: TRIPLE HEXXX, THIS TIME IT'S HEXUAL has an actual title! And it is....

SPELL BOUND.

I hope you love! I love. And I can say I love because, as has been WELL EVIDENCED, I suck at coming up with titles, so I didn't come up with that one. :) Also, I've seen the cover, and it is GORGEOUS!! Will probably be sharing around August!

SECONDLY: If you've ever wanted to come hear me ramble in person, you will have your chance tomorrow, Saturday, June 25 at 1:30PM. I'll be at the Homewood Public Library in Birmingham, AL with Rosemary Clement Moore, Jennifer Echols, Chandra Sparks Taylor, and R.A. Nelson. We'll be talking book-y things, and YA things, and I will try not to say amazeballs. NO PROMISES. ;-)

THIRDLY: If you are sad because you don't live close to Birmingham, AL and you wanted to see me, FEAR NOT. I have MUCH travel planned this year. I'll be at the Decatur Book Festival, which I'm SO EXCITED ABOUT I MIGHT DIE. And then, just a few weeks later, I'll be at the Brooklyn Book Festival!

Joyce Carol Oates will also be there. I'm going to attempt to make her my Beffie. I'm sure that will go super-well.

And then there MAY be something out west in November, and there will be more places in the Spring once SPELL BOUND comes out, so...yeah, many chances to hang with me!

FOURTHLY: I...actually don't have a fourthly. OH! Except that I am DEVASTATED because Game of Thrones is off the air for a YEAR. A YEAR MES ANGES. I love that show so hard. Probably because I loved the BOOKS so hard, and the show is a downright perfect adaptation of them, IMO. Sure, some things are left out or condensed, but the overall tone is spot-on, and I'm going to miss it TERRIBLY until it returns in 2012.

The show ALSO reminded me that Jon Snow is one of my Literary Boyfriends. Shut up, his shirtlessness has NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. It's because he's sensitive, yet badass, and he's loyal and quite muscular and looks like he would hold me tenderly-okay, perhaps the shirtlessness has a WEE BIT to do with it.

Hope to see some of you soon!
XOXO!

WTF? Friday, Part IV

2011-06-17T14:23:00.012-05:00

I think the REAL WTF? Friday is that I have blogged THREE TIMES THIS WEEK ZOMG. I feel all proud and accomplished!

Okay, so this installment of WTF? Friday comes to you from The Husband. Now, first off, a bit about The Husband. Actually, about the spouses of writers in general. they are the true unsung heroes of the publishing industry. Whenever people ask me for writing advice, I usually tell them, "Marry Well," and then they're like, "LOL BECAUSE WRITERS ARE POOR!"

But that's not actually what I mean. (Although hey, it WOULD NOT HURT. Rich people need love, too, yo.)

What I mean is to marry someone who gets you. Gets that being a writer is not just your job, but actually part of your chemical make up. Understands that sometimes you will forget to pay the water bill because you used up too much hard drive space in your brain. Knows and doesn't mind- too much- that you will probably cry and have a mini-breakdown (heck, sometimes a MEGA-breakdown) at least once during every book you write. Someone who when you pout about a bad review immediately goes, "That person can SUCK IT," and not, "Well, he DOES have a point about Chapter 3."

(Side Note: I just text The Husband and asked him what it was like being married to a writer. His response: "It's like being a human white board, but one who also has to go buy beer on his way home." SO NOW YOU KNOW.)

All of this is to say that The Husband is basically the perfect Writer Spouse (and NO, NONE OF YOU CAN HAVE HIM.) But even HE is sometimes dismayed in the extreme by some of my more...um...eccentric behavior.

The term, "Cracked Out Monkey" has been bandied about.

So here's the setting: It's a Friday night. Small Son is in bed, The Husband and I are watching TV, all is quiet and peaceful in Chez Hawkins. The Husband, as his his wont, gets up to make himself a PB&J sandwich. Now, as soon as The Husband goes into the kitchen, something flips inside my admittedly strange brain.

"Hey!" I think. "I didn't tell the Husband about that sweet ceramic knife I got at Publix the other day!"

For yes, Mes Anges, I had fallen victim to one of those As Seen On TV end caps and purchased a $20 ceramic knife.

Specifically, one of these. It's pretty amazeballs.

And it was indeed as awesome as TV had made it appear to be! So of course The Husband must see it RIGHT NOW! And OFF I leaped!

Let us take a minute to envision The Husband again. There he was, in his nice quiet house, contentedly fixing himself a sandwich. Much like this:

For the purpose of this story, the role of The Husband is being played by a 6 year old boy.

I imagine his thoughts were happy, peaceful ones as he stood there, lovingly slathering his bread with that weird expensive jam he likes ever since he got back from Norway and declared that all American jelly is horrible. Little did he know of the chaos and bloodshed about to rain down on him.

Bounding into the kitchen, shouting things like, "As Seen On TV!" and "I cut like a bajillion squashes!" and "$20 is actually kind of reasonable when you think about it!" I whipped my knife out of the drawer with one hand, while the other grabbed a lime. Exulting, "CHECK THIS OUT!", I put the lime on the cutting board and brought my new knife down on it with a flourish.

According to The Husband, I looked something like this.

And.... promptly cut off the very tippiest tip of my thumb.

The Husband, who mere moments ago had been like this:

Was now more like this:

And while I'm pretty sure I was, as usual, all classy and pretty and stuff like THIS:

The Husband insists that to him, it was more like THIS:

All of insanity had happened in maybe 10 seconds. As as I stood there, blood and lime juice dripping on the floor, The Husband simply cried, "WTF???" (Only, you know, he said the words.)

Later, after I'd bandaged my wound (which, I must confess DIDN'T EVEN HURT A LITTLE BIT BECAUSE MY KNIFE IS SO AWESOME), The Husband turned to me and said, "You should tell that story on your blog so that people will know what it's like being married to you sometimes."

And so I have. ;-)

XOXO!

Happy Book Birthday, HOURGLASS!!

2011-06-14T08:34:00.007-05:00

Oh, what a fabulous day this is, Mes Anges! For today, you can go out and buy one of my FAVORITE books I read this year, Myra McEntire's HOURGLASS!

Now, first off, I have to say, yes, yes, Myra is one of my Beffies. And trust me, if you met her, she'd be one of your Beffies, too because she's HILARIOUS and so much fun. Something tells me they are STILL telling tales of the girl's weekend....er....WRITER'S RETREAT Myra, Victoria Schwab, and I spent in Huntsville, AL back in December.

BUT. I am very serious about never, ever pimping books that I did not love, even if I love the author. Mostly because that makes me feel gross.

Like this, but in my soul-region.

So Beffies or no, when I say I love Myra's HOURGLASS, it's because HOLY SHIZZ I LOVED THIS BOOK. Now, I can never do something as amazing as what Myra did for ME when DEMONGLASS came out (....and now I just lost like half an hour to rewatching all those Doctor Who videos. Siiiiigh.)

But what I CAN do is tell you all about HOURGLASS and why you will lurve it like burning.

1) The heroine, Emerson Cole, like Mah Gurl Sophie, has been through a LOT in her 16 years. But whereas Sophie's main issue is doing magic that gets, um, out of hand ("Eyes of my heart" anyone?), Emerson sees things that aren't there. Or are they? Em is tough without being bitchy, vulnerably without being weak, and snarky without being mean. In short, she is totally, heartbreakingly real and I ADORED her.

2)As she learns more about her gifts, she meets not one but TWO hot boys (although only one has a shot at her heart, which is a refreshing change!) I actually don't want to say too much about Michael because you all need to meet him for yourselves. I will say that he is SMOKING HOT, but also thoughtful and kind. I enjoy these qualities in all boys, fictional or not. :)

3)Emerson gets involved with a super cool secret society for other people with "gifts." IT'S LIKE X-MEN, PEOPLE. That is a way STRAIGHT to my heart!

4)Michael and Emerson have to stop a murder...that's already happened. Oh yeah. TIME TRAVEL, BABY. You should already know how I feel about time travel (See above, RE: Doctor Who.)

5)And last but not least, the book has a FABULOUS Southern setting. Now, here's the deal. I'm from the South, so needless to say, I feel some attachment to the region. And sometimes when I read books set here, they feel less like the South as I know it and more like an attraction at Disneyworld. ("Iiiiiiittttt's...DIXIELAND! Everyone lives in an antebellum mansion and eats cornbread and speaks in sassy epigrams! YAAAAY!") But Myra is also from the South, and as a result, the town of Ivy Springs feels so familiar and authentic that I could practically feel the humidity. LOVE.

That's HOURGLASS. Come on. You wanna read that, don't you? You want it in your face RIGHT NOW.

So run out today and buy it, because trust: the only thing bigger than Myra's enormous heart is her imagination. And you wanna get all up in that. :)

XOXO!

Kathryn Tucker Windham

2011-06-13T10:37:00.003-05:00

Sad news in Alabama, Mes Anges. Kathryn Tucker Windham passed away yesterday. Now, some of you may not know who she is, but if you like the HEX HALL books, then you owe her a bunch. I can honestly say I don't think I would've become a writer without her.

The first time I ever heard of Mrs. Windham was in my elementary school library. It was Halloween, and I was in the 1st or 2nd grade. Our librarian, being awesome, held up a book called Thirteen Alabama Ghosts And Jeffrey.(Jeffrey was the ghost who allegedly lived in Mrs. Windham's house in Selma.)

I can remember being like, "HOLY CRAP THERE ARE GHOSTS IN ALABAMA? I LIVE IN ALABAMA OMGWTFBBQ!" Our librarian read us a story from the book- a TRUE story- about a place in Newton, Alabama, which was only like TWENTY MINUTES AWAY FROM WHERE I LIVED. It involved a Confederate soldier (most ghost stories in the South do), and when he was hanged for desertion, he was too tall and his feet touched the ground. This was, as you can probably imagine, somewhat problematic when trying to hang someone.

So the Bad Dudes Who Were Hanging Him dug a little hole under his feet so that he would slowly strangle to death.

Yeah, my librarian was kind of bad-ass.

Although not as bad ass as THIS librarian who has a Dewey Decimal code tattooed on her body. That is one hardcore librarian.

And, legend has it that even to this day, that hole is still there, and if you ever put anything in it, it will MYSTERIOUSLY VANISH OVERNIGHT. *cue spooky music*

So while most of my classmates were all 0_0, I was more :D because scary stories set in my home state? That was, as far as Wee Rachel was concerned, AMAZEBALLS.

Okay, I didn't really think it was amazeballs because I didn't know that word yet. But it was 7 year old me's version of amazeballs, so probably "Unicornglitter" or something.

And then! Even more amazeb- er, unicornglitter, I got to go to this cool thing called a Young Author's Conference (shut up, it was totally cool), and Kathryn Tucker Windham was there! And I got to buy my VERY OWN COPY of Thirteen Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey! AND I GOT HER TO SIGN IT! And not only did SHE sign it, but Jeffrey did, too! Okay, so maybe it was just her using funny handwriting to scrawl his name, but WHATEVER. To a 7 year old, that was MAGIC.

I still have that copy of Thirteen Alabama Ghosts, although it is pretty worn out these days. I can't even tell you how many times I read it. How I practically memorized the stories. How I annoyed my parents on car trips by reading the stories to them and then wanting to DISCUSS the stories. How I wanted to visit every place she talked about in that book.

It wasn't until many years later that I realized just how formative both meeting Mrs. Windham and reading her books was for me. She was the first author I ever met, and even though I probably couldn't have thought this at the time, I'm sure that meeting her helped make authordom seem like an attainable goal. There she was, just a lady from Alabama, just like me, writing books.

And not only that, her books were about Alabama, and though her, I learned that every place has stories and myths and legends. Any place can be magic if you know where to look.

So I wanted to take a minute and pay tribute to that. I never got to meet Mrs. Windham again, and I wish that I could have told her all of this. But since I can't I encourage you to go out and find her books (she did a number of them, all on ghost stories/folklore set in the South.) And don't just read her books. Find the stories in your own places. The legends and the myths. I think she'd like that.

Until next time! XOXO!

WTF Friday, Part III

2011-05-27T18:55:00.006-05:00

A month or so ago, I was hanging out with my friend Ashley, and she casually asked me, "Soooo...you wanna go see the creepiest house in Opelika?" (Opelika being the small town next to Auburn.) And since I love creepy things, I was all, "SURE!" And then she took me HERE:

To quote Velma, JINKIES!!!

Now, already, you're probably thinking, "Wow. That is one scary house! I cannot IMAGINE what would make it ANY CREEPIER!" Well, Mes Anges, what if I told you it wasn't JUST a creepy abandoned house, but in fact a creepy, abandoned FUNERAL HOME. Because it is. There are coffins still inside. See?

SERIOUSLY Y'ALL I CAN'T JOKE BECAUSE I DO NOT EVEN...

Oh, and a hearse in the garage. That's right. When whoever owned this house fled into the night as I assume they did, they did so leaving a VERY EXPENSIVE CAR behind.

Say it with me, Mes Anges: W. T. F????

Just in case you doubt the terror that is this place- THIS PLACE THAT IS LIKE 15 MINUTES FROM MY HOUSE- here's a video of me, Ashley, and Chantel creeping around this creepy house like a bunch of creepers. Creepily.

Happy weekend, and sweet nightmares! XOXO!

I LIIIIIIIVE!

2011-05-23T12:53:00.009-05:00

OMG, I haven't blogged in nearly 2 months?? That is ESCANDALO, and I apologize, Mes Anges! (Did you see how I used two different languages there? That's because I'm super-cultured and sophisticated and stuff.)

What do you mean this picture Small Son took of me while I was playing video games begs to differ?

There are several reasons for my slackassedness, however. One is the carpal tunnel, which makes typing for extended periods hurt like the fires of hell are licking my general wrist-region, Futuro or no.

Never forget.

And since I have a WHOLE BUNCH O'BOOKS TO WRITE, I have no time for pain, and as such, must be sparing with my typing. Hence lack of bloggage.

Other things blog-blocking me this month included Small Son getting very sick with The Strep. How sick? This is the pic I took of him on the way to the doctor:

Is that not the most pitiful face you have ever seen? I only look this wretched the day after a deadline. Or when Starbucks is out of frappucinos.

Luckily, Small Son is, well, Small and therefore ridiculously resilient. 3 hours after this picture was taken (and once he'd been pumped full of antibiotics), he was asking to go to the pool. Oh, to be five!

And then, once Small Son was healed, we went to MAINE! If you've been hanging around this blog for long, then you know we go to Maine every May, and every year, I return happy and more centered and slightly fatter due to all the lobster. It's funny how quickly all of us here at Chez Hawkins became attached to Maine, especially since the first time we went, it felt very....well, foreign to us. The Husband and I are born-and-bred Southerners, and we love our hot weather, and our giant oaks, and the aggressive greenness of May in the South. In Maine, spring has barely sprung in May, so it's very strange to go from our flip flops and shorts to wellies and jeans. But now, I honestly think my year would feel off without that trip.

If he'd only been holding a lobster, this pic would basically sum up Maine.

Chilling on the front porch, eating Oreos for breakfast. As you do.

In roughly 13 years, this picture will probably be blown up and displayed at Small Son's high school graduation party, and I will cry and cry. Trufax.

So that was my May! Oh, I also went to the Rochester Teen Book Festival, but that experience was so amazing that it requires it's own blog post...

Until next time! Which will hopefully not be in effing July! :)

XOXO!

Random Blog of Randomosity

2011-04-04T09:20:00.007-05:00

Ugggggggh. So I got all psyched this morning to finally, FINALLY do my big "HAWKADDA TOUR 2011" post, only to discover that my phone ate the majority of my tour pics. LE SIGH. So until I see if The Husband has the pics (since I was constantly texting him shizz from tour, like, "HEY LOOK THIS HOTEL BRINGS A GOLDFISH TO YOUR ROOM IF YOU GET LONELY!" Seriously. There are hotels that do that. It's MAGIC), I'll just do some OTHER kind of blog. Perhaps one consisting of Random List of Stuff That Is Going On? Yes, let's do that.

1) I've been up to my eyeballs in Writerly Work here lately. Putting the finishing touches on HEX HALL 3: PROMISE TO ANNOUNCE THE TITLE SOON, which is both fun and sad. It's hard to believe that I'm more or less done writing about Sophie and Co. *sniff* Oh! And in further Exciting Hexy News, DEMONGLASS spent not one but TWO weeks on the NYT list, and for that, I thank you muchly!!

2)Speaking of TRIPLE HEXXX, I've gotten a lot of questions about is it done, and if it IS done, why is not in your various faces, like, YESTERDAY WTF HAWKINS?? To which I say, YES, the book IS DONE. And by done, I mean I have written the first draft and done the first round of edits on it. We're still polishing it, and then it has to go to copy edits, and pass pages, and what have you. Publishing it a slow bizness. Also, release dates are set YEARS in advance, so even if I had managed to turn the book in, like, SIX MONTHS ahead of deadline (which- Ha. Haha. HAHAHAHAHAHA!), it STILL wouldn't come out any earlier than March 2012. And I feel your pain, Mes Anges, I do! I've been waiting FIVE YEARS for the new George R.R. Martin book to come out, and his last book ended on an EVEN BIGGER CLIFFHANGER than DEMONGLASS did.

He may LOOK kinda like Santa, but George R.R. Martin makes me cry in my soul. Y U NO GIVE ME FIFTH BOOK, GEORGE? (Sorry. The "Y U No" meme is my New Favorite Thing.)

3)In addition to working on HH3, I've been working on REBEL BELLE, the start of a new trilogy coming out in Summer 2012. (That's right! Mere months after the HEX HALL series wraps up, you'll have a whole new series filled with kissing and sword fights and wackiness!)

4) Oh, and have I mentioned that this summer, I'll be writing a spin-off to the HEX HALL series? Because THAT IS HAPPENING! And I am VERY EXCITED! So even though Sophie's story wraps up in Book 3, she might make a few cameos in the new book. We shall see! As for who the spin-off will be about, it's a character we don't meet until Book 3. I think you'll like her a lot, though. Sophie certainly does!

5) This Saturday, I'll be in Houston, Texas for the Teen Book Con! I'm VERY excited about this as A) Houston was AMAZING to me and Sarwat on tour, and B) Houston is filled with extremely delicious Tex Mex food, and as I could eat Mexican foo EVERY DAY OF MY LIFE- which, if I ate Mexican food every day, would probably be something of a short life- Texas makes me especially happy. I'm also happy because I'll get to see Lindsey, who as you all know, if one of my Writer BFFs. Also exciting? The sweet panel I'm doing with Saundra Mitchell, Andrea Cremer, Joy Preble, and Stacey Kade. We'll be talking about the geopolitical ramifications of YA lierature throughout the 20th century. HAHA! Psyche your mind! We're actually talking about Scary Supernatural Creatures (and we'll probably mention Hot Boys in there, too.)

6) Yes, I said "psyche your mind." When I was in middle school, we never just said, "PSYCHE!" when we were kidding. It was always, "PSYCHE YOUR MIND!" which I enjoy since it sounds more aggressive than your run-of-the-mill, "Psyche!" It's like, not only have I lied to you, I have effed with YOUR MIND.

7)The BFF went to this super-rural high school, and according to her, out there, they said "Neck bone!" instead of "psyche." Which just made no sense to me AT ALL. It DOES make me laugh and laugh to think about though. Neck bone. WTF? Probably had something to do with... I don't know, farming or something.

"Hey, Ma, did you plant the tobacco?" "No, Pa! I planted mango trees instead!" "WHAT?" "HAHA NECK BONE!" "Oh, Ma! You got me good!"

8)With all of this writing+signing books for three weeks+stupidly attempting to write on tiny planes, which resulted in bizarre arm/hand/wrist contortions (and the fact that I STILL only write on a laptop instead of something sensible with an ergonomic keyboard), I seem to have developed carpal tunnel syndrome in my right hand. This is vaguely sucktastic and more than a little painful. So to battle the painful sucktasticness, I went out and bought a wrist brace. This is it:

Yeah. FUTURO. So I've started saying it's NOT a Wrist Brace For Carpal Tunnel (Because I Am Old And Lame), but is instead a GLOVE OF POWER that CONTROLS THE FUTURE. Support me in this delusion, Mes Anges.

9) TV is going to be very good to me in April. In addition to HBO's Game of Thrones (see above RE: my love/hate for George R.R. Martin), Doctor Who comes back on the 23rd! I <3 that show so hard, even though it is at times campy and silly. Heck, maybe that's WHY I love it. One of these days, I'll do a whole post on how I fell in love with Doctor Who, and how it taught me a lot about what resonates for me as a writer. But my wrist is hurting again, so today is not that day.

Look at these fierce Mother Truckers, travelin' through space and time, saving the universe and being awesome.

10) Speaking of Fierce Time Travel Sexiness, a few months ago, I was lucky enough to read an ARC of Myra McEntire's HOURGLASS. Y'all. Y'ALL. I looooooved it! How much? Well, when you buy the book, you can read my gushy blurb all over the back of it. It's soooo swoony and romantic, but it's also science-y and action-y, and I ADORED IT. So go pre-order it. You will thank me. Oh, but Kaleb is MINE AND I WILL FIGHT YOU IN THE STREET FOR HIM. And you don't want that. I'm a kicker.

XOXO!

WTF Friday, Part II

2011-03-11T17:39:00.005-06:00

Okay, so this is NOT the WTF Friday I promised awhile back, but once you see what I have for you today... well, you'll understand why it MUST be shared.

So Sarwat and I are wrapping up our tour this weekend, and it goes without saying that we've had MANY memorable moments. I'll be breaking them all down next week, but I have to say, this picture I'm about to show you? It may go down as my Favorite Thing On Tour Ever (Except For Hanging With Sarwat, and Oh Yeah, That Whole New York Times Thing.)

Picture it: There's me and Sarwat (and our delightful media escort, Brian.) We're at a lovely high school in California to do a talk about writing/our books/whatevs. We walk in, looking for the office, and immediately notice at least half a dozen of these fliers on the walls:

Now, this flier is hilarious for several reasons, none of which I probably have to point out to you. There's the use of the verb "freaking." There's the stick figure in back with his arms up like, "YES! I am freaking at a school dance! I am freaking with ABANDON!"

Then there's the other stick figure who is either like, "WOO HOO, I TOO AM FREAKING AT A SCHOOL DANCE," or is, as my friend Chantel suggested, more like, "OMG I JUST DROPPED MY QUARTER IN THE LUNCH LINE WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME?!"

But my favorite thing about it is that, having been a teacher, I KNOW the amount of thought and planning that went into this flier. Trust. Nothing gets done at a big public high school without like a bajillion meetings and at least 9,000 people weighing in with their various opinions. Also, if you'll read it, you'll see that there's actually a very complex system set in place should you freak at the school dance. There are WRISTBANDS. And WARNINGS. Like, if you're freaking ONCE, they're all, "Hey. You are freaking, and that is not appropriate," and then you can be like, "My bad. The music of Jodeci overwhelmed me. I shall cease freaking and in shame, hand over my wristband so that all might know me for the freaker that I am."

Apparently, my version of events happens in 1993, which is the last time anyone listened to Jodeci.

I love this. I love everything about it. And I thought y'all might, too. :)

Until bext time, Mes Anges!

DEMONGLASS+NYT Best Seller List= Rachel Could Faint With Joy

2011-03-10T00:15:00.002-06:00

So if you follow me on Twitter, you may have seen that today I got the news that DEMONGLASS debuted at #5 on the New York Times Bestseller list (specifically, the children's list.)

Soon, Mes Anges, I will have the whole story for you. It involves a Magic Starbucks in Menlo Park, California,the amazingness of Agent Holly, several lovely friends, and me crying and laughing all at the same time. I promise to tell it soon!

But for now, all I can say is THANK YOU!! If amazing readers didn't buy my books, there would be no Exciting Lists, and no Crying In Public, and no Being So Full Of Happy You Think You Might Explode. So as excited and thrilled and humbled and overwhelmed as I am by all this, I wouldn't have any of it without you, and I sincerely thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Wow. That went very Oscar speech, didn't it?

Anyway, promise to post a full tour report soon! I'm having SO MUCH FUN on the road with Sarwat, and I will have MANY stories to tell when I'm not so knackered (that's a fun English word I've picked up from Sarwat. I gave him "y'all," so it's a fair trade!)

Also, we stole a baby. Okay, not really. But we DID hold it for a long time.

Thank you again, and I hope you're all enjoying DEMONGLASS!!

XOXO!!

R

ONE DAY MOOOOOOORE!

2011-02-28T18:24:00.002-06:00

That's right, Mes Anges! Tomorrow, DEMONGLASS finally hits shelves, and I could not be MORE EXCITED! I actually finished writing it in September 2009, so I've had to wait quite awhile to get to share it with people. But soon there will be no more waiting!! And you'll all learn that it turns out all the events of HEX HALL were a dream! Um... spoiler? ;-)

I also leave for my TOUR OF WONDER tomorrow morning. Sarwat and I will be kicking things off at Anderson's in Chicago tomorrow evening at 7, so if you're in the area, please come say hello!

Also, I'm very excited to announce that my lovely publishers have set up a new website for the Hex Hall series. There, you can find all my tour dates AND read the first chapter of DEMONGLASS if you just can't wait until tomorrow. :)

I'm hoping to blog from the road, but internet is sometimes spotty (or expensive. Seriously, Atlanta airport? $10 for a few hours of wifi?) However, I WILL have my trusty Blackberry, so expect lots of updates on Twitter (I'm @LadyHawkins over there.)

Hope to meet some of you over the next two weeks! And I also hope you all enjoy DEMONGLASS!

XOXO!

Yeah. I did.

L.K. Madigan

2011-02-24T10:52:00.003-06:00

As some of you may have seen on Twitter or other places last night, YA author L.K. Madigan passed away from pancreatic cancer yesterday. Although I didn't know Lisa personally, she was very close to several friends of mine, and we had chatted on Twitter. When HEX HALL came out, she sent me a very sweet email saying how much she enjoyed it. That email meant so much to me, both because I'd been such a fan of her debut novel, FLASH BURNOUT, and because it was just the nicest, warmest message at a time when I really needed it. And from what I saw last night, so many other people had similar memories of Lisa. In a business that can be filled with insecurity and pettiness, Lisa was a bright spot. She was encouraging and supportive to new writers, and free with her time and guidance. That is such a rarity.

Yes, she was a gifted writer (again, I can't recommend FLASH BURNOUT or THE MERMAID'S MIRROR enough. They're beautiful books), but she was also a profoundly lovely human being. And to me, that counts for even more. So today I'm sad for my friends who are hurting. I'm sad for Lisa's family. I'm sad for all readers that there won't be any more of Lisa's gorgeous words in the world. But, as Lindsey Leavitt said, I'm so grateful for the longevity of words. That Lisa will still be here every time anyone opens one of her books. And while I'll always hate that I never met her in person, I'll always be grateful for the little bit I did get to know her. And I'll always be thankful for words like the following, which she gave on the "Advice For Writers" page on her website:

The main thing is to WRITE. Some days it might be 2000 words. Some days you might tinker with two sentences until you get them just right. Both days belong in the writing life. Some days you may watch a “Doctor Who” marathon or become immersed a book that is so good you can’t stop reading. Some days you may be in love or in mourning. Those days belong in the writing life, too. Live them without guilt.

What We Talk About When We Talk About Love (Songs)

2011-02-14T15:06:00.008-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day, Mes Anges!! Hope it's been a wonderful day full of chocolate and love and, if you are of age, wine. ;-) I have had the same Valentine for nearly 11 years now (WHAT?! HOW has it been that long?!), and since his b'day is veerrrrry close to The Big V Day, we usually don't do much on this particular day. Still, I've come to embrace this holiday. Yes, it was created by Hallmark to sell cards, and YES, it CAN be an opportunity to make the single amongst us feel crappy, but whatevs. It's a day that celebrates pink and love and candy, and I can always get behind those three things.

In honor of the day, I wanted to talk a little about rooooomaaaaaance. Specifically, rooooooomaaaaaaaantic songs. If you've read HEX HALL and/or DEMONGLASS (which is out TWO WEEKS FROM TOMORROW OMG!), then you know I am a fan of the rooooooomaaaaaance. In fact, I can guarantee you RIGHT NOW that EVERY SINGLE RACHEL HAWKINS BOOK EVER will have a love story and AT LEAST one kissing scene (I would actually write books totally full of nothing BUT kissing scenes, but apparently people like books to have, like, "plots" or whatever.)

The romance-y stuff is always my favorite part to write, so one of the first things I think about when I'm sitting down to start a new book is, "Who is the main couple?" Matchmaking fictional people is way more fun than setting up REAL people, mostly because there are no awkward post-date, "WTF were you thinking?!" phone calls afterwards.

"Seriously, Rachel? He was twice my age and half my height! And I don't think both of us liking 'Fringe' is a solid basis for a relationship. You are so fired as my friend right now."

I've found in making my fictional matches that they don't REALLY come together until I've discovered the perfect song for them. When it comes to finding the right love theme for People Who Love In Your Head (typo, but it stays), it's not just about lyrics or melody or whether or not one character could believably play it while holding a boombox over his head.

Thanks, iPods, for killing Grand Romantic Gestures FOREVER.

It's a weird, magical combo of those things. I tend to know them when I hear them. So without further ado, here are the love themes for all 3 HEX HALL books, REBEL BELLE, AND a couple of Seeeeeekriiiiiit Projects! (Warning: Like a thousand YouTube videos coming right up!)

1) HEX HALL:"Luv," Travis

I've mentioned this song about a million times, specifically that it's the song that Archer and Sophie dance to in the ball scene in HEX HALL. I'm not sure if I've ever said WHY it's their song, though. The first time I heard it, the lyric, "When the mistake we made was in never having planned to fall in love, luv," really stood out to me as just being quintessentially Sophie/Archer (Sopher? Archie? They need a portmanteau!) Also, I like the sort of bittersweet wryness in the singer's voice, especially on that line, "Singing a song, singing along, it makes it easier for me to see you go." It just FELT like those two.

2) DEMONGLASS: "Drumming Song," Florence+The Machine

Oh, how I looooove this song! I love its intensity, I love how it just builds and builds....And it was especially perfect for DEMONGLASS since, to me, this is a song about doing your damnedest to resist someone you want like BURNING. And Lord knows, that's what Sophie's trying to do in DEMONGLASS!

3) HEX HALL 3 WHICH HAS A TITLE I JUST CAN'T SAY IT YET: "Last Night On Earth," American Idiot Cast

Actually presenting this one without much comment as HH3 is still over a year away, and I don't want to spoil anything. I WILL say that this song is not necessarily for just ONE relationship, but actually worked for several. And now I'll be quiet, or I'll end up spoiling the big twist at the end where they all turn in to unicorns. Wait...DAMN IT! ;-)

4) REBEL BELLE: "Parachute," Cheryl Cole

There are so many reasons this song is perfect for Harper Price, my debutante-turned-superhero, and her nerdy/cute love interest/nemesis, David Stark. There's something in the beat that makes me think of people doing Fancy Dancing (of course, that could just be the video), and I love the line about, "It's you and me up against the world, it's you and me," since Harper and David ARE facing some pretty intense enemies. And since the book is all about Harper having to protect David from all MANNER of people out to kill him, I think the parachute imagery is pretty fitting!

5) SEEEKRIT PROJECT 1: "Heartbreak Beat," The Psychedelic Furs

This is such a weird pick since, technically, SEEEEKRIT PROJECT 1 is the closest thing to a high fantasy novel I'll ever write. So do I pick some Loreena McKennit? Maybe some Enya? Nope. An 80s New Wave track. I just...my brain is weird, y'all. Anyway, this song hooked me with the lyrics, "And it feels like love, but it don't mean a lot/ And it feels like love, and it's all that we've got." Those lines just summed up the relationship between my hero and heroine for me, seeing as how both of them would probably rather jump off a cliff than admit that are totally in luuuuuurve. (BTW, this is the thing I talked about writing back during the summer.)

6) SEEEEEKRIT PROJECT 2: "Can't Take My Eyes Off You," Lady Antebellum

This book takes place is Small Town Tennessee, so when I was first sketching out the basic plot, I put out a call on Twitter for good country music recommendations. Someone sent me this song, and I immediately fell in love with it. That line that says, "And I'm falling fast, but the truth is I'm not scared at all?" GAH. Perfection for this particular couple. There's also a sweetness to it that really suited the romance in this book (seeing as how this might be the FIRST couple I've ever written that aren't of the, "GOD, I HATE YOUR FACE BUT YOU SHOULD MAYBE MAKE OUT WITH ME RIGHT NOW KTHXBYE" variety.)

So there you have it! The love themes for SIX freaking books! What are some of YOUR favorite love songs, mes anges?

XOXO!

Tour Stops!

2011-02-10T09:01:00.005-06:00

Okay, I had this long blog post planned for today about the MAGIC that was my trip to Utah.

I mean, these were in Utah. If that's not magic, I don't know what is. Also, if you are Of A Certain Age, you just started singing the love theme from "Ice Castles," didn't you?

But that will have to wait! For today, please to enjoy the DEMONGLASS tour stops!

I'll be traveling a little further afield this year, and I'll be gone for a full week longer. And I'll ALSO be traveling with a Tour Buddy, Sarwat Chadda! If you haven't read Sarwat's DEVIL'S KISS or DARK GODDESS, I suggest you do so IMMEDIATELY as they are filled with ass-kicking ladies, fascinating mythology, and truly epic amounts of violence and awesomeness.

This is Billi. She's a modern day Templar/Monster Killer. And truth be told, if you put her and Archer alone in a room together, I'd put my money on Billi. Stop looking at me like that, Archer.

So if you'd like to see me and Sarwat,and possibly get sweet DEMONGLASS/DARK GODDESS tote bags, AND hear our cute accents (Sarwat is British, I'm Southern. Together, we're UNSTOPPABLE. And super-polite), then here are the places you can go!

Tuesday, March 1
7 pm, Anderson's Bookshop Naperville
123 West Jefferson
Naperville, IL 60540

Wednesday, March 2
6 pm, Davis-Kidd Booksellers
387 Perkins Rd Extended
Memphis TN 38117

Thursday, March 3
4 pm, Square Books Jr
111 Courthouse Square
Oxford, MS 38655

Friday, March 4
7 pm, Blue Willow Bookshop
14532 Memorial Drive
Houston, TX 77079

Saturday, March 5
3 pm, Murder By the Book
2342 Bissonnet St
Houston TX 77005

Sunday, March 6
2 pm, Changing Hands
6428 S McClintock Dr
Tempe, AZ 85283

Monday, March 7
7 pm, Barnes & Noble #2039
Desert Ridge Marketplace
21001 N. Tatum Blvd. Suite 42
Phoenix, AZ 85050

Tuesday, March 8
4 pm, Copperfield's Books
140 Kentucky St.
Petaluma, California 94952

Wednesday, March 9
7 pm, Kepler's Books and Magazines
1010 El Camino Real
Menlo Park, CA 94025

Thursday, March 10
7 pm, Hicklebee’s
1378 Lincoln Avenue
San Jose, CA 95125

Friday, March 11
6:30 pm, Third Place Books
17171 Bothell Way NE
Lake Forest Park, WA 98155

Sunday, March 13
7:00 pm, arrive home, collapse face first into bed, try to remember what time zone I am in.

Oh, wait, that last event is just for me. ;-)

THEN I will be doing a couple of Alabama events just me, myself, and I that next week!

Tuesday, March 15
7 pm, Books-a-Million #341
3849 Ross Clark Circle
Dothan, AL 36303

Friday, March 18
1 pm - 3 pm
Page & Palette
32 S. Section St
Fairhope, AL 36532

Sunday, March 20
2 pm, Barnes & Noble # 2287
Suite 100
300 The Bridge Street NW
Huntsville, AL 35806

WHEW! Now, if none of these places are near you, first off, I'm very sorry! I don't pick where I go! And if you WOULD like to have me tour your area for Book 3, talk to your local bookstore and tell them to talk to Disney-Hyperion.

I am VERY excited for this tour, and I really, really hope to see some of you there! :)

Shameless Self-Promotion, Part the 1,000th!

2011-02-01T15:06:00.003-06:00

Emerging from my writing cave to let y'all know that HEX HALL is out in paperback TODAY! So if you missed your chance to get Hexy when it was all hardback at $17, here's your chance to cozy up to the wee, more papery, $9 version! If you follow that little linky-do on the side over there ---------------------> You can order a copy online! OR you can go check out your local bookstore! I'm hearing SOME of them have FANCY DISPLAYS like this:

And hey, not only does February 1 mark HEX HALL's Paperback B'day, but it's also ONE MONTH until DEMONGLASS hits shelves! EEEK!

*retreats back to cave*

Because I Don't Have Enough To Do...

2011-01-25T10:41:00.002-06:00

I started a Tumblr account. So far, I kind of like it. It appeals to the ADD part of me ("Ooh! Now Imma put up a picture! Now a video! Now I'm gonna say some weird things! YAAAY!")

If you enjoy that kind of thing, you can find me here!

An example of one of the photos I've posted so far. Yes, that's the ACTUAL COVER for HEX HALL in Bulgaria. Yes, that's a spider on her stomach. Yes, she appears to be panty-less. Oh, and yeah, that's an ACTUAL GARTER SNAKE ACTING AS A GARTER. Bulgaria is a magical, sexy place, y'all.

Bookstores, and Belles, and Breasts, OH MY!

2011-01-24T11:26:00.005-06:00

Bonjour, Mes Anges!

Okay, first of all, I realize that I did NOT deliver on my WTF Friday promise. In my defense, I completely forgot that I would be traveling on Friday, and that my chances of blogging would therefore be very, very low. And sadly, I will be traveling THIS Friday as well (to a seeeeecret locations with seeeeeeecret people, and...okay, I'm going to Utah to hang out with Lindsey Leavitt.)

Artist's rendering of me and LL in Utah.

So I don't want to make any promises for THIS Friday either! I will try, though!

This past Friday, I was in our nation's capital for the American Booksellers Association's Winter Institute. It was quite the whirlwind trip (I was literally there for less than 24 hours!), but I had a BLAST! Not only did I get to meet amazing authors like Beth Revis (ACROSS THE UNIVERSE), Veronica Roth (DIVERGENT), and Melissa Kantor (THE DARLINGS ARE FOREVER), but I also got to talk with tons of independent booksellers from all over the country! Heck, all over the WORLD, since I met one lady from Norway (I may have scared her with The Story of How Her Country Attempted To Murder The Husband Via a Reindeer).

People, if there is an independent bookstore in your town, USE IT. The people who run these stores are so passionate and knowledgeable and fabulous! I literally left ABA with DOZENS of stores I wanted to visit! And it made me even MORE excited about the great indies I'll be seeing on tour!

I also got to eat something called Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding, but it was a deeply personal and spiritual moment, and I'd prefer not to share.

Speaking of tour, my Soon-To-Be Tour Buddy, Sarwat Chadda, did a very fun interview with me over at his blog. In it, we discuss the HEX HALL books, British Stuff, and whether or not Boobs Are Magic (spoiler: Yes. Yes, they are.)

You may wanna go read it. And yes, if you come see us on tour, we promise to be that level of funny/inappropriate! YAY! (And dates to come soon, swear!)

When I haven't been talking about breasts on the internet, I've been hard at work on REBEL BELLE, the first book in a BRAND NEW TRILOGY coming out Summer 2012. One of my favorite parts of writing is researching since I am a Total Nerd. I mean, former English Major. What do you mean, same diff?

Anyway, research for this book has included stuff about Charlemagne, oracles, and debutante balls, so make of that what you will. ;-)

It's also included looking at this picture of James Dean a lot. THE THINGS I DO FOR YOU, MES ANGES!

Have a fabulous week, lovelies!

Housekeeping! Again! Some More!

2011-01-18T11:03:00.004-06:00

So you've probably noticed that the blog is looking a little different! I know it's not as swirly and girly and pretty as the old one, but it IS a lot easier for me to manage. Sadly, sometimes practical >>> Swirly Prettiness. This hurts me in my soul, bu there you have it. One of my resolutions for this year is to try to streamline some of my online stuff, and this jazzy new blog is the first step! So feel free to explore, and click links, or search for stuff or whatever!

Also, in the interest of streamlining, let's have a little list action, shall we? I'll limit it to 5 things, 4 of which are Writing Business Related, and one that is Totes Random (As Is My Wont).

1) So last night was a VERY happy night for me, not only because after MUCH CAR DRAMA, I had finally arrived safely back in Auburn (seriously. I'm not even getting into it because Car Drama is, like, my least favorite thing in the world. Even writing about it now is giving me the dry heaves. Blech), but ALSO because THESE CAME LAST NIGHT:

Yup. That is a BOX FULL OF DEMONGLASSES! And they are GORGEOUS! In fact, I hate to pick favorites, but I think this one MIGHT even be prettier than HEX HALL. Or that could just be my rampant pyromania speaking. In any case, they're lovely, and I can't wait for each and every one of you to have one for yourselves! :)

2)Speaking of DEMONGLASS, did y'all know we are only, like 6 weeks away from it hitting stores? That is MIND-BLOWING to me! This time last year, I was curled into a little ball of neuroses, waiting for HEX HALL to come out. This year, I've been so busy writing/editing/Doing Various Other Business-y Things that I haven't even had TIME to go CRAZY-PANTS yet! Maybe I'll have a DELAYED CRAZY PANTS MOMENT in the middle of tour. That would be fun.

3)And now speaking of TOUR, YES, I will be flying around this fine country if ours yet again the first 2 weeks of March. This time, I'll have a traveling buddy in the delightful Sarwat Chadda. His book, DEVIL'S KISS, is about a modern-day Templar who fights demons. It's full of swords and Awesome, so I'm REALLY excited to be doing this tour with him! Team Demon FTW! I'll be posting date/stops soon!

4)And in my last little bit of Self-Promo, HEX HALL comes out in paperback January 25! Or maybe February 1! Amazon has said both. In any case, it is SOON. In addition to being inexpensive and wee and adorable, the HEX HALL paperbacks also have not one, but TWO chapters from DEMONGLASS in them. Huzzah!

5)Even though the whole car trouble thing sucked and blew like whoa, I DID get to see The Mama this weekend, so that was win. And while I was there, I snapped a picture of her backyard. Now, seriously, seeing this, can there be ANY DOUBT that The Mama truly is Magic?

Also, bear in mind, this was taken in JANUARY. I am never leaving the South...

Okay, that's it for now! BUT...try to stop back by on Friday, because oh, Mes Anges. Remember that WTF Friday post I did a few years back? Well, I have a new WTF Friday for you. And it is a DOOZY.

See you then!

Farewell, 2010!

2010-12-31T14:12:00.004-06:00

Oh, Mes Anges. What a year this has been! There have been so many AMAZING THINGS! (HEX HALL coming out! Meeting Excellent Author Types! Hanging with Agent Holly! Selling MORE books). There have also been LESS than amazing things (Dealing with That Attack of Crazy! The Husband being gone all summer! Struggling like WHOA with HEX HALL 3!)

2010 was a big year for me. It was the year I looked forward to since April 2008, when I first learned HEX HALL would be debuting in 2010. It was the year I practically wished 2009 away for. And I have to say, it lived up to the hype! In the nearly 10 months (!!! How is that possible?!) since HEX HALL hit shelves, I've met so many lovely readers, gotten numerous adorable emails, and even one SUPER-sweet letter (Awesomely Named Madison Disco! You MADE MY DAY! And will be getting my reply once you're back at school!) I've visited fabulous bookstores, and gone to a few book festivals that basically left me weeping on the ground with how happy I was to be an author.

But it's also been a learning year, and any time you Learn Things About Yourself, it can be a little traumatic. Writing was tough for me this year, and I think there were a lot of reasons for that, none of which are interesting enough to get into here. Basically, I'm still working on the balance between writer/author/Mom-Wife-Friend-Daughter, and I think I'm leaving 2010 with a much better understanding of how to do that.

I could literally take up PAGES talking about all of the things I'm grateful for this year. I mean, just talking about the amazing writers I'm lucky enough to call friends (Chantel Acevedo, Lindsey Leavitt, Irene Latham, Myra McEntire, Victoria Schwab, Kay Cassidy, Becca Fitzpatrick, Ashley Parsons, CJ Redwine...the list goes on, and I'm SURE I've left someone off) could take up a vast chunk of the interwebz. Or how lucky I am to work with the Indomitable Agent Holly, who has steered me through many rocky shores this year. Or the not one, not two, but THREE insanely talented editors I've been privileged to work with in 2010.

And of course, every one of you, who read this blog, or have bought HEX HALL, or BOTH... y'all are a HUGE part of the reason 2010 rocked my face off and I thank you from the bottom of my heart!

So farewell, 2010! You've been amazing and frustrating and scary and glorious, and I've loved every second of you! Now let me put my collard greens and black-eyed peas- with HAM HOCKS, no less!- on the stove, and welcome in 2011!

This is a ham hock. Don't think about Babe. Or Piglet. Or Wilbur. Or...you know, we may actually go hock-free this year....

See you all next year, when there MAY be a few fun changes to this blog (shiny things like REGULAR FEATURES are on the agenda!)

HAPPY NEW YEAR, and may 2011 be a truly HEXCELLENT year for you all! :)

Quick Reminder!

2010-11-21T18:03:00.004-06:00

Bonjour, Mes Anges! I hope you're well! I'm...well, I'm busting my a$$ to wrap up HEX HALL 3: TRIPLE HEXXX, so that's why I've been so off the grid. BUT it will be OFF MY DESK within the next week, and when I come back...oh, the treats I have for you, Lurvely Blog Readers!

But for now, I wanted to drop by and remind you that the giveaway to win one of FIVE ARCS OF DEMONGLASS ends at 12AM November 23!! So if you haven't registered, please go do so! (And I'm SO SORRY about the "only available in the US" thing!!)

And before I go, have some thing I enjoy!

My Beloved Casp- er, Ben Barnes turns on some Christmas lights in London, and looks verra verra nice while doing so. Please note me resisting any jokes involving "turning things on."

Oh, look at that. More British stuff. I am OBSESSED with The X-Factor, and think it kicks American Idol's butt in every way. This is my favorite performance from this year. It's all DRAMATIC and GOTH-Y, so of course, I lurve it.

This book comes out December 2, and I'll probably talk about it More then. But y'all. Y'ALL. It is The Perfect Book. It's romantic without being sentimental. It's swoony without being fluffy. It's escapist, and yet achingly real. EVERYONE GO PRE-ORDER IT RIGHT NOW.

Hopefully, all those things will keep you occupied until I come back! XOXO!!

I Made Something With My Brain

2010-10-28T09:12:00.007-05:00

TWO BLOG POSTS IN TWO DAYS! What is this MADNESS??

As with most insane things I do, I blame Myra McEntire and Victoria Schwab. See, they started this very cool short story blog called These Dark Things, and when they asked me if I'd like to contribute a story about witches, how could I resist?

Of course, it turns out that I am TOTALLY INCAPABLE of writing anything short, and this bad boy turned out to be nearly 2,000 words. Which is RIDICULOUS. Anyway, because Myra and Victoria are my friends, they were nice enough to overlook my literary elephanititis and post it anyway.

A little bit of background: I am OBSESSED with old-timey crime. Lizzie Borden, Jack the Ripper, H.H. Holmes? BRING IT. One of my favorite old-timey crimes (and I realize how weird that sounds) is the story of the Bender family. Basically, they were a super-creepy family from Germany who just showed up in Kansas and started killing people. By the time the town realized what was happening, the Benders were long gone. AND THEY WERE NEVER SEEN AGAIN!

Now, obviously, for someone who writes scary stories, this tale just jingles all kinds of bells. Add to that the fact that Kate Bender was allegedly some kind of medium, and all the spooky symbols people found drawn on the floors of the Bender house after the family disappeared, and...well, I think you can see why I just HAD to write a witchy story about the Benders!

Oooh.....sexy, witchy history...

Just FYI: This story can be seen as taking place in the HEX HALL universe, i.e., it plays by the same "rules" and demonglass- the substance, not the book!- makes an appearance.

So here it is. Hope you enjoy, despite the fact that it has NO KISSING. Also? NO FUNNY. I swear, if there weren't gory deaths in there, I'd think someone else had written it. ;-)

Small Son's B'day=PREZZIES FOR ALL!

2010-10-27T12:35:00.010-05:00

Okay, well not ALL, but still.

Yes, today is Small Son, AKA Baby Boo, AKA Ma Precious Beh-Beh's 5th birthday! It is very, very hard to believe Small Son is now half a decade old. Like a lot of things in my life, Small Son was something of a OMGWTFBBQSURPRISE!, and he has far away been the best OMGWTFBBQSURPRISE ever. I mean, look at him.

Four days old, and we were both pretty tired.

This is his, "Um, excuse me, I was totally busy with important sand construction, sheesh," face.

Small Son is pretty much always in this particular mindset.

Small Son+Music=Love

Typical Saturday...

Over. It.

Small Son proving he definitely gets something from me...

Last year, I celebrated the 4 week stretch between Small Son's b'day (October 27) and MY b'day (November 23) with a HEX HALL ARC giveaway. And since I have a bunch of DEMONGLASS ARCs sitting here, I figured why not do the same THIS year? Only THIS year, I'll make it MORE EPIC, and in honor of Small Son turned five, I will be giving away...YOU GUESSED IT!

FIVE ARCS OF DEMONGLASS!!

How to you win one? So easy. You simply go to Goodreads! Right HERE! UPDATE: Now it's working! :) And then you click enter to win.

That's it! (Also, so sorry readers in Europe! Blame Gooodreads, not me! Maybe at some point, I can do a special, fancy ~~~international~~~contest!)

Contest closes November 23, so there's plenty of time to enter! And FIVE copies up for grabs!

Happy birthday, Small Son, and GOOD LUCK!

DEMONGLASS cover!

2010-10-21T10:34:00.003-05:00

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! I just got the go ahead from Fabulous Editor C to show off the cover for DEMONGLASS! Now, I WAS going to wait until Halloween for THE BIG REVEAL, but you know what? I can't. It is just TOO PRETTY AND MUST BE SHARED!

So here it is, in all its fiery glory!

First off, HOW FIERCE IS MY GIRL SOPHIE'S JACKET? I want it so very badly. Also, I was VERY psyched about all the fire on the bottom half of the cover. Not because I'm a pyro- well, not just because of that- but because fire plays a pretty big part in DEMONGLASS. Also, it makes a nice contrast to the water on HEX HALL's cover. I also love that it's Veddy British, what with the brolly, and the cobblestones, and all, since a good 90% of the book takes place Across the Pond. And I love that the Sophie on HEX HALL has this expression that was all, "Um... como se huh?" and THIS Sophie is more like, "BRING IT."

So basically, I am in love with this cover, and I want to spin around on a hilltop with it, and write sonnets about how shiny its hair is. And I hope all of you love it, too! :)

I HAVE NOT DIED!

2010-10-14T17:46:00.005-05:00

Promise! I have just been EYEBALL DEEP in HEX HALL 3: THE MOST HEXXXIEST*, and if you know anything about the Hex Hall books, you know that I could mean that LITERALLY. ;-)

But soon I shall return, as I have MUCH TO TELL! Like:

1) How I Went To The Decatur book Festival, and Basically Openly Wept With How Happy I Was, And Also Ate Tapas With Authors Who Are Far, Far More Awesome Than Me.

2) How I Finally Met Myra McEntire and Victoria Schwab, and, Lo, Was Surprised We Did Not Leave Decatur With One of Those 3-way BFF Necklaces.

3) How The Auburn Writers Conference Was Filled With Joy and Delight

4)How Agent Holly Came Down For Said Conference, And It Was The First Time We'd Met, and She Was Lovely and Amazing and All I Hoped She Would Be (and More). And How, Whilst Walking Around Downtown Auburn With Agent Holly Her First Night In Town, We Walked Past a Parking Lot Where a Band Was Seriously, I Am Not Even Kidding You, Playing "Sweet Home Alabama," and I Was All, "I Cannot Believe This Is Happening, Welcome To My State."

5) How I Will Show You the Cover for DEMONGLASS (Which Doth Come Out March 1, 2011!), and You, Like Me, Will Be Like, "That Are Amazeballs."

So that's all to come soon!

Until then, I AM SO SORRY for the lack of blogging. Even my Beloved Ben Barnes judges me.

"Rachel, your lack of blogging...saddens me."

Soon, Mes Anges! XOXO!

* That's still not the real title. Just in case you were wondering.

DEMONGLASS Faux-Barbie Theatre

2010-09-10T17:39:00.003-05:00

If you would like to A) Win an Arc of DEMONGLASS, B) See some of the plot of DEMONGLASS acted out with Faux-Barbies, and C) Watch me fend off a Demon-Chihuahua, then I suggest you go to Chantel Acevedo's blog RIGHT THE HECK NOW.

Hurry, hurry! The contest closes on Friday!

AND check out the awesome that will be the Auburn Writers Conference! I'm gonna be doing a workshop called, "Are You There Ghouls, It's Me, Buffy: The Supernatural Coming of Age Story." I will probably babble about metaphors and monsters, but you know. In the FUN way!

My lurvely friend Irene Latham is also doing a FAB workshop, and the amazing AGENT HOLLY will be doing a workshop...it's gonna be AMAZEBALLS! Please come join us! I'm bringing cupcakes! :)

Oh, and once you've done THAT, check out more of Chantel's Faux Barbie Theatre Featuring DEMONGLASS. Archer features heavily in this one, thanks to a convo Chantel and I had about Archer's musical tastes. It all started when Chantel sent me a text saying that "Careless Whisper" by Wham! was SO an Archer song. And you know what? She's right!! I mean, LISTEN TO IT.

Okay, so according to the video,this song is actually about George Michael feathering his hair, and having this extremely wholesome girlfriend who enjoys yachting and puffy sleeves. Then he meets an Evil Temptress (you can tell she's eeeeviiiilll because she's wearing leather in Florida.) George Michael and the Evil Temptress have Nautical Sexxxy-Times featuring The Red Satin Sheets of Naughty and The Mighty Mini-Blinds of Infidelity. Wholesome Girlfriend catches them, and she and her puffy sleeves bounce. She goes on to sadly wear a terry cloth robe, while George Michael is so devastated that he gives up women forever, turns to drugs, and then gets sentenced to 8 weeks in prison for crashing his car while high.

Anyway, this talk of "Careless Whisper" led to me positing the theory that at some point in HEX HALL, Archer was angsting over Sophie, and he totally sang REO Speedwagon's "Can't Fight This Feeling" into a hairbrush while alone in his room.

Just like this.

Chantel took this idea and ran with it in the most brilliant way, so please head on over there to enjoy that!

(Oh, and since I'm the author, Archer's Shirtless Hairbursh Singing of Cheesey 80s Hits is now TRUFAX CANON. Win.)

The Decatur Book Festival! (And BLUE HAIR!)

2010-09-03T12:06:00.004-05:00

Okay, so have you ever wanted to come see me in person, and actually COUNT how many times I say "awesome" or "like?" (Or possibly "amazeballs?" That's my new word. I'm trying not to overuse it, though.)

Would you like to hear my ramblings on Real Drama in the Supernatural World?

Are you dying to see what my NEWLY HEX HALL-BLUE STRIPED HAIR LOOKS LIKE?

Spoiler: It looks like this. Also, note Small Son hammin' it up for all he's worth in the background. My child, ladies and gentlemen. Oh, and also, we were at a stoplight, so please don't call CPS on me, kthxbye.

Well, then you're in luck! I'll be appearing TOMORROW at The Decatur Book Festival in Decatur, GA! I went to the DBF last year as a reader/fangirl, and it was AMAZEBALLS (see?), so I'm especially excited to be a participating author this year! Nancy Werlin (author of the gorgeous IMPOSSIBLE) and I will be speaking at 4 at the Old Courthouse, and then I'll be signing some books/handing out some t-shirts. Publicist Jenn offered to get me one of those t-shirt launcher gun thingies, but I told her I can't be trusted with one of those. ;-)

Hope to see some of you there!!

THANK YOU!!

2010-08-26T19:33:00.002-05:00

Thanks SO MUCH to everyone who entered the DEMONGLASS giveaway! I was totally blown away by all of your generosity, as was C.J. You are all AMAZING and MADE OF FLOWERS AND SAUSAGES! Besos!

And BIG CONGRATS to Maria, who, thanks to Random Number Generator, won the ARC of DEMONGLASS, and will soon know the identity of The Lip Toucher! ;-)

But since SO many of you entered, and I am SO THANKFUL for that, I'll give y'all a couple of treats!

First off, THREE random snippets from DEMONGLASS:

"Maybe the rumor is true. Maybe you didn't kill him because you're in love with him."

Jenna shook her head. "Sophie, when are you going to start remembering that we have magical powers? We're not driving, we're... well, I don't know how we're getting there, exactly, but it'll be, you know." She waved her hands in the air. "Maaaaaaagic."

"Actually, we came here because we heard it was free corn dog night. Imagine our disappointment."

Also, here's a VERY old blog post from when I was working on DEMONGLASS, and which reveals several of the locations used in the book! It's a little confusing, since HEX HALL used to be called DEMONGLASS, but then we went with HEX HALL, but then we decided to used DEMONGLASS for HEX HALL 2, and...yeah. But hopefully y'all follow me!

I ended up using almost all of these pictures as locales in the book, even though I DID change the season from winter to summer. So go, look, read the captions, and use your imagination. ;-)

And again, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

Bring A Little Girl Home! Be Awesome! Win an ARC of DEMONGLASS!

2010-08-23T07:17:00.005-05:00

Oh man, don't ALL THREE of those things sound like something you'd like to do?! Well, good news: YOU TOTALLY CAN!

Here's the deal: My friend and agent-mate, C.J. Redwine, is one pretty amazing chick. In addition to writing her own (amazing-sounding) novels, she's super-supportive within the writing community. She hosts these kick-ass query workshops, and she does hilarious interviews with authors, like this one I did with a were-llama, AKA The Best Interview of My Life.

Naturally, when C.J. aked me if I could participate in Skip a Starbucks Day, and help her and her family finalize their adoption of a little girl from China, I was like, "Um, abso-freakin-lutely!"

For the past 5 years, C.J. and her husband have been trying to adopt a little girl, whom they've named Johanna Faith, from China. Due to some crazy red-tape issues, bringing Johanna home is now going to cost about $8000 more than they thought it would. C.J. tells the story in full on her blog, so I suggest you check that out!

Because she is awesome and creative and smart, C.J. came up with a great way to raise the funds: Skip a Starbucks Day! Basically, a drink from Starbucks costs about $5. What if, intead of getting a Grande Mocha Frappucino, extra shot, no whip (Oh, yes. I am one of THOSE Starbucks People), we donated $5 to help the Redwines bring Johanna home?

And what if, by donating that $5, you could also WIN SOME STUFF? Does Starbucks give you awesome prize packs? I THINK NOT.

So here's the dealio: Go to C.J.'s blog. Fill out the entry form, and donate at least $5. Then you'll be registered for HER awesome prizes!

THEN come back here, and tell me you did that in the comments section. You will then be registered with MOI to win...

AN ARC OF DEMONGLASS.

That's right; your very own copy of the second HEX HALL book a full FIVE MONTHS before other people get their hands on it! And I'll sign it and everything!

In case you need extra incentive, a line from DEMONGLASS to tempt you:

"He ran his thumb over my lower lip, sending a flurry of sparks through me. 'Good-bye, Sophie.'"

OMG! SEE? I gave you a SEXY-TIMES SCENE. And who is touching Sophie's lips?? Is it Archer? Is it Cal? Is it some Random Hobo From Off The Street? YOU WON'T KNOW UNTIL YOU READ THE BOOK!

So, to sum up:

1)Go to C.J.'s blog.
2)Read it, feel moved, and fill out her entry form.
3)Donate at LEAST $5. You can give more, obvs!
4)Come back to THIS blog.
5)Tell me in the comments that you donated.
6)Do this by THURSDAY morning.
7)Hopefully be the one to win DEMONGLASS.
8)Read it, find out who touches Sophie's lip.
9)Be awesome and confident in your knowledge of the Lip Toucher.

A caveat: C.J. WILL be checking the name of MY winner against her master-donor list. (Hee hee. Master-donor. Am still 12.)

That means you can't be all, "Hey, Rachel! I totally donated at least $5, and now I wanna win some DEMONGLASS love! Except I didn't at all, and am actually a Lying Liar Who Lies!"

So please don't do that. Not that I think any of you would, as that is a total d-bag move, and absoutely NONE of my readers are d-bags! They are all made a Glitter and Awesome!

And in case you need any more incentive...

That could be YOUR THUMB!

MORE Books That You Will Like (This Time Featuring The New Fictional Love of My Life)

2010-07-14T10:17:00.017-05:00

First off, let me apologize for the length of this blog post. It's ridiculous. BUT. I figure if one only tends to blog every few weeks, one ought to at least be pretty thorough when one DOES blog. Also, one should stop saying "one" now.

Moving on!

As I mentioned in my last post, I have a major thing for All Things Victorian. Well, you know, except for the whole wearing corsets thing. And also the covering of table legs because said legs might make men think ESCANDALO thoughts about ladies' legs.

Sexxxay! Am I right, fellas?

And the giving of heroin to babies. No, seriously. That happened.

But other than all that BS, the Victorian period is boss as far as this gal is concerned. Also boss? Books about Kick-Ass Ladies Kicking Ass in Victorian times. Which leads us to today's book (well, books, really):

Philip Pullman's Sally Lockhart Mysteries!

I'm a big fan of Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, but I have to say, the Sally Lockhart books rock my face off even more, mostly because they push more Rachel Buttons (Victorians! Awesome Ladies Carrying Guns! Sexy-Times!)

One of the fun things about these books is the way they basically defy categorizing. You can usually find them shelved with YA, but I've also seen them in the children's section. This is hilarious to me, because...well, see above RE: Guns and Sexy-Times. In the first book, Sally is 16, so yeah, that definitely makes it YA, but by the 2nd book, she's already 22, and shacking up with her boyfriend, and fighting crime, and having illegitimate babies and what have you.

And now let's move on the Oversimplification Theatre, shall we? (Although, I should warn you. My overwhelming love for the character of Jim Taylor may have slightly, um, colored my views on these books. Read on and see for yourself.)

BOOK 1: THE RUBY IN THE SMOKE

SALLY: I'm Sally Lockhart. I'm 16, I was born in India, my dad just died in a mysterious shipwreck, and I am awesome at math and shooting stuff. Basically, Victorian England is in NO WAY ready for my jelly. I got this weird note, so I'm gonna go by my dad's shipping office, and see if anyone there knows what it means.

FAT DUDE AT SHIPPING OFFICE: Whatcha got there, little lady?

SALLY: Just this note. Here let me read it to you: "Beware the seven veils." Huh. Wonder what that-

FAT DUDE AT SHIPPING OFFICE: *dies*

SALLY: Holy crap. I think I just killed someone with my Awesome.

JIM TAYLOR, OFFICE BOY, AKA THE FICTIONAL LOVE OF MY LIFE: Ha! You totes killed that dude! Let me read the note. I won't die, as I have plenty of Awesome of my own.

RACHEL: HI, JIM! ILU JIM! YOU ARE MY PERSONAL BRAND OF HEROIN, JIM!

JIM: Um...chill, lady. I'm only 13 in this book. You don't fall in love with me until halfway through Book 2, when I'm nearly 20.

RACHEL: Oh. Right. Carry on then.

JIM: Okay, so as I was saying, even though I'm only 13 and all Cockney and po and stuff, I will help you solve the mystery of your dad's death. I have a hunch it will involve cursed rubies, opium, smuggling, a scary old lady who wears her dead husband's false teeth, a Maharajah, and Seeekrit Baaaabies.

SALLY: Score!

RACHEL: OMGWTFBBQ THIS IS SO AMAZING.

FREDERICK GARLAND, PHOTOGRAPHER: Hello, Miss Lockhart. I would also like to help you solve this mystery. Also, your hair is very pretty, and I would really like to kiss you in your face, and you can live here with me and my sister, and WHY WON'T YOU LET ME LOVE YOU?

SALLY: No time, dude! Mysteries to solve, finances to work out, and guns to fire!

FREDERICK: *sobs*

JIM: *works out the entire mystery in like 2 seconds because he is so very fabulous*

RACHEL: *dreamy sigh*

BOOK 2: THE SHADOW IN THE NORTH

SALLY: *still awesome* I'm 22 and run my own finance business now! YAY!

JIM: I'm 19 or so, and I'm still smart and kind of snarky! I'm also still super-Cockney, and call people, "gal" and "guv'nr!" These days, I'm both a detective AND a writer! Basically, I am now the Swooniest Swoony Thing Ever To Cause Swooniness!

RACHEL *swoons*

FREDERICK: I'm kind of bad-ass in my own right in this book. Probably because I'm working as a detective with Jim, and some of his amazingness has rubbed off. Hey, Sally, wanna get married?

SALLY: Nope!

FREDERICK: DAMMIT!

SALLY: But we can do Sexy-Times!

FREDERICK: Well...okay, then.

*Sexy-Times Commence*

RACHEL: Um...did I honestly find this book shelved with the Magic Tree House series?

PLOT: *involves mediums, and seances, and ginormous machine guns, and Evil Swedish People, and Surprise!Deaths, and various other things that rule*

SALLY: *does something amazing*

JIM: *wins at life*

RACHEL: OMG BOOK 3 IN MY FACE RIGHT NOW!

BOOK 3: THE TIGER IN THE WELL

SALLY: *still awesome, still likes guns, has a baby thanks to Sexy-Times in Book 2*

SARAH-JANE: I'm the baby's nanny. I'm totes in love with Jim.

RACHEL: Preach it, sister.

SARAH-JANE: I'm also super-sad because Jim is off being awesome in South America as Europe could not contain all his amazingness.

RACHEL: Wait, what? Jim's not in this book? *lies down in a forest like Bella, covers self with leaves*

SALLY: But...but...this book involves my baby getting kidnapped! And anarchists! And sexy journalists wooing me!

RACHEL: *stares out window as camera circles and months go by*

PLOT: *gets very dire*

JIM: *shows up in the last 50 pages of the book*

RACHEL: OH THANK GOD!

JIM: Back from South America! What's that? Oh, everything's gone to total crap since I've been gone? Lemme fix that. *saves the day, is more awesome than you*

RACHEL: YOU DAZZLE ME, JIM!

BOOK 4: THE TIN PRINCESS

ADELAIDE: 'Sup? I'm Adelaide, and I was in THE RUBY IN THE SMOKE as a sad little Victorian orphan-waif. Sally and Jim saved me from this really heinous old lady, but then I disappeared, and they swore to spend the rest of their lives trying to find me. I was kind of a big deal, but for some reason, Rachel forgot to mention me in her recap of that book. *glares*

RACHEL: Right, sorry about that. Look, a LOT happened in that book. And hey, you end up a princess in this one! Not only that, you also turn out to be Jim's One True Luv, and y'all have Illicit Sexy-Times on a Train, so DO NOT EVEN start complaining.

ADELAIDE: Trufax.

SALLY: Even those this book has my name on it, I'm hardly in it. Oh, well! I have to go to America with my new husband to handle more finances, and shoot more guns, and bring my brand of bad-assery to the Colonies. Later!

RACHEL: Aw, sad! I <3 Sally! But...hold up. Is this book all about Jim having illicit sexy-times with a married princess?! DON'T LET THE DOOR HIT YOU ON THE WAY OUT, SALLY!

JIM: I'm gonna help out the Prince of Razkavia because even royal dudes have heard tales of my Awesome. And- ZOMG! Adelaide! Who I've been looking for since we were little kids! You are...not a little kid anymore. How YOU doin'? *smolders, thinks sexxxy thoughts*

ADELAIDE: I'm married to the Prince of Razkavia now.

JIM: Well, damn.

ADELAIDE: He married me because I was his favorite...um... "special lady friend of the night" back at the brothel where I used to work.

RACHEL: SERIOUSLY. THIS BOOK WAS SHELVED RIGHT NEXT TO THE TRAIN TABLE AND PLASTIC BOOKS BABIES CAN CHEW ON. I DON'T EVEN...

PRINCE RUDOLPH OF RAZKAVIA: Jim, I'd like to hire you to come to Razkavia with me and Adelaide, and keep us safe from political assassinations. Something tells me your general Winning at Life will be very useful. Also, I'm kind of stupid, so I'm totally not picking up on all the Sexy-Eyes you and my wife keep throwing at each other.

JIM: *looks at Adelaide, smolders, but is honorable and stuff*

ADELAIDE: You could maybe not be that honorable. I am seriously okay with that. Just throwing it out there.

JIM: No, I musn't! Instead, I'll run around Razkavia, which is basically like an even MORE twee Bavaria, and work hard to save your husband's life, even though I love you like burning and want to make out with you hardcore.

RACHEL: Before you, Jim, my life was like a moonless night. Very dark, but there were stars, points of light and reason. And then you shot across my sky like a meteor,-

JIM: Stop quoting TWILIGHT at me.

PLOT: *Multiple!Assassinations,conspiracies, Some German Stuff I'll Admit I Didn't Quite Get Because I was Too Focused on the Train!Sexy-Times*

So there you have it. The Sally Lockhart books and my Beloved Jim Taylor. If the promise of cursed jewels, opium, Evil Swedish people, anarchists, illegitimate/seeeeekrit babies, Fictional Twee Countries, and Sexy Times On A Train doesn't make you want to read these books...well, then you and I just don't understand one another.

And now I have to go doodle, "Mrs. Rachel Hawkins-Taylor" onto my Trapper Keeper.

Books That You Will Like (Part 1)

2010-07-06T14:47:00.008-05:00

Dearest Blog Readers: Y'all may not be as nerdy as me, and therefore not spend nearly as much time watching public television as I do, but a few years ago, The Husband and were watching PBS, and we came across a show called "Sandwiches That You Will Like." This is obviously the most brilliant title for anything ever. It's right up there with "Snakes on a Plane" in terms of just putting everything the show/movie will be about right there in the title.

In homage, I decided to give today's blog a similar title. I've been talking a lot about writing here on Reading Writing Rachel, so it occurred to me that maybe I should talk about READING for once. Summertime is my favorite time for reading, hearkening back to when I was Wee Nerdy Rachel, and spent all the hot months holed up in my room/my Grammy's basement/anywhere that was dark and had air conditioning, reading my wee nerdy eyes out. So for the rest of this week, I'll be talking about the books I've enjoyed thus far this summer!

HIS AT NIGHT, Sherry Thomas

I Pink Puffy Heart Sherry Thomas's books. For once thing, she writes romance novels set in the Victorian era, and I am OBSESSED with the Victorian era. Her books also tend to feature complicated people dealing with complex relationships, and that will always make me happy. As I've stated before, I am not a big fan of the whole, "I Saw You Across The Room, and Lo, Your Hair Did Shine, and My Loins Did Tingle, and It Is ON LIKE WHOA" style of romance. I prefer "I Like You and Would Also Maybe Like to Do The Sexy-Times With You, But We Have Some Issues to Work Out, No, Seriously, I Do Not Care How Shiny Your Hair Is."

Anyway, Sherry Thomas is very good at these kinds of romances, and HIS AT NIGHT is pretty freakin' sweet. It's SO sweet that I would act out scenes from it with Barbie dolls, but that might cause Mattel to sue the yoga pants off of me. Instead, I'll give you Major Oversimplification Theatre (With Occasional LOLCat Speak.)

LORD VERE: What up? I am spy/aristocrat faking being extremely stupid so as to better be a spy/aristocrat! It's all very Scarlet Pimpernel, and therefore fabulous!

ELISSANDE: I have a majorly awesome name and live with my evil uncle and my frail, laudanum addicted aunt. Life basically sucks out loud for me. To combat this, I read lots of travel guides and smile even though I want to die inside.

RACHEL: I think I may love you two...

THE PLOT: *shenanigans* *rats* *British country house escapades*

LORD VERE: Oh my! Thanks to the plot, I have ended up staying in Elissande's home while her uncle is away! I would very much like to kiss her on her pretty face, but I am investigating her evil uncle, and thus must keep up my ruse of stupidity. *does stupid stuff, says stupid things*

ELISSANDE: Damn. That guy is hot, but so, so stupid. Too bad, because I am thinking that marrying a rich dude might be the perfect way to get me and my sad aunt outta here. 'Sup Lord Vere's innocent, but also rich brother?

LORD VERE: *smolders*

NOTE FROM ELISSANDE: "Dear Lord Vere's Innocent But Also Rich Brother: Please to be meeting me in the parlor at midnight where I can show you some...um...art, or something else that is totaly not my naked body, thus making you have to marry me, what with the compromising position and all. Looooove, Elissande."

LORD VERE: *finds note* Trollop! I shall go confront her, and keep her from ensnaring my brother!

ELISSANDE: Mother Trucker. Was so hoping that brother whose IQ is actually higher than his shoe size would show up. But if I don't get married, my evil uncle will just keep torturing my sad aunt, and we'll be trapped here forever. Let's do this. UNEXPECTED NAKEDNESS IS UNEXPECTED!

LORD VERE: ZOMGWTFBBQ! *flails, runs, knocks over furniture, pulls naked Elissande on top of him*

LONDON SOCIETY: Shame, shame, we know your name! To the chapel!

LORD VERE:... Balls.

ELISSANDE: YAY! But also...boooo! Am married to idiot, and also have residual guilt for trapping said idiot into marriage.

LORD VERE: Gah! Keeping up my "I Am A Total Moron" ruse AND spying on bad guys AND not doing the sexy-times with my new, scheming bride is quite taxing!

THE PLOT: *gets all sexy* *and then gets twisty* *and then gets sexy and twisty and poignant*

RACHEL: I LOVE THIS BOOK SO HARD.

Seriously, if you like well-crafted historical romance, and shenanigans, and Sexy-Times, I cannot recommend HIS AT NIGHT ENOUGH. So good!

Tomorrow, I will be talking about yet another book set in the Victorian era, and will also introduce my new fictional husband...

Don't look at me like that, Caspian. We never said we were exclusive!

In Which Rachel Tells of Her Office Woes, and Flirts With TL;DR

2010-06-29T12:56:00.019-05:00

If any of you follow me on Twitter, then you know I had a VERY TRAUMATIC EVENT happen this weekend: Small Son murdered my laptop.

Okay, so he didn't mean to, which technically makes it 2nd degree murder, or maybe even manslaughter, but STILL. My precious laptop, only a year old, was dead deadity dead dead. If you are easily upset by graphic photos, look away now.

THE HUMANITY!

Luckily, almost all of my work was backed up on a jump drive, and what WASN'T backed up digitally is written in a notebook, so the loss was minimal. But as a writer, that laptop was like my wubby. I wrote DEMONGLASS on it. I wrote a LOT of REBEL BELLE on it. That laptop was good to me, and seeing it die made me full of The Sad.

But it also got me thinking about what a superstitious crew we writer-types are. I'm not one of those "must have THIS pen, and THIS chair, and THIS caffeinated beverage or NO WRITING EVER!" people, but I do tend to get weird when the writing is going....not well.

When writing is amazing, and words are flowing, and lo, the flowers and sausages do sing, I can write anywhere. HEX HALL was written on a metal folding table in my bedroom (and in the back booth of the Athens, Alabama Starbucks. And on the couch. And crouched in a toddler-sized chair at the preschool where I worked for awhile.)

REBEL BELLE was mostly written at a coffee shop in Opelika, AL that favors VERY LOUD Christian rock (YAY FOR EARBUDS).

DEMONGLASS was written at a back table in the children's section of the public library.

In other words, I don't need a "special space" in which to write a book.

I know this.

And yet... oh, blog readers. AND. YET.

When writing is not going so hot, I become CONVINCED that if I just had the right desk/chair/computer/recliner/office/Feng Shui Master ALL WOULD BE WELL! Books would POUR FORTH from my fingers! I would write so much that I would require my VERY OWN SECTION in the bookstore!(This is what we in the biz like to call "delusional thinking.")

Now, we live in a small-ish, 3 bedroom house. That's one bedroom for me and The Husband, one for Small Son, and the 3rd that serves as both our guest room and The Husband's office. Why does The Husband get his own office and I don't? Well...let's just say I've taken over the rest of the house (Seriously. Our bedroom is purple. I in no way begrudge the man his space.)

I claimed what should probably be the dining room as my "office," but I hardly ever write in there. For one thing, it's a very open area. For another, there are GIANT WINDOWS in there that mean it is my MORAL DUTY to use them to get all "Rear Window" on my neighbors.

"Why are you taking out the trash TWICE this week, People Across the Street? Is it because you have...A DEAD BODY IN THERE?"

When I started prepping HEX HALL 3: TRIPLE HEXXX, I decided that I WOULD write in my office, and suppress the need to narc on my neighbors (although, if you're reading this, Neighbors: I AM ONTO YOU.) But this meant that my office-which had by this point become Hex Hall Central, complete with author copies, and t-shirts, and magazines all over the place- needed a re-haul.

I moved my little desk into my bedroom, and made plans to buy a Ginormous Desk of Awesome from Office Max. I also decided I needed a Ginormous Computer of Awesome rather than my usual Wee Laptop of Fantastico (TM Josh Berk.)

And then, for a whole month, my office just...sat there. I didn't buy a desk. I didn't buy a computer. I didn't make any attempt at de-junkifying it.

And I didn't write.

"I caaaaaan't," I would say. "I'm waiting to get my desssssk. And new compuuuuuuter."

Then The Husband, Small Son, and I went to Maine. I brought my laptop, but had no real plans of writing while there. I also tossed a notebook and pen into my purse, just in case I felt like jotting down any ideas. One afternoon, Small Son was napping, and The Husband was using my laptop, so I decided to take a walk down to the beach. I took my purse just in case I wanted to stop at any of the shops along the way, totally forgetting that I had pen and paper in there. Once I got to the ocean, I found a less-than-comfortable spot on a big rock, and settled in the watch the waves.

And while I was sitting there, a scene came to me of a boy and a girl, saying good-bye on a rock by the sea. I didn't know who they were, only that they'd just been on a pretty awesome journey together, and now they had to part. What was worse, they were just figuring out that they might be kind of, just a little bit, starting to fall in love with each other. And neither had any idea how to say that.

Suddenly, I was digging in my purse for that notebook, and within 30 minutes, I had over a thousand words. It was the most new material I'd written in months.

And I'd done it with no fancy desk, no brand new, sexy computer. Nothing but a plan ol' Mead notebook and a Bic pen.

The problem had never been that my office was wrong; the problem was in all the HEX HALL release stuff, I'd gotten caught up in AUTHORDOM, and needed time to relax and find my way back to WRITERDOM.

When I got back from Maine, I moved my tiny desk back from the bedroom into my office. I cleaned up all the junk, but other than that, my office looks just the same as it did. Some days I write there. And some days, you can find me at Starbucks, drinking iced Americanos like my life depends on it. Other days, I'm that weird chick muttering to herself at a table in the library.

The point is: the space where I'm sitting doesn't really matter. The space that my head is in means the world. If you're waiting to write that book until you can get your own office/your own computer/your own Magic Cave of Writing, Complete With Vending Machine That Dispenses Ice Cream and Coffee and Genius- DON'T. Books can be written anywhere and everywhere, so long as the spirit is willing.

And now, if you've actually made it to the end of this ENTIRELY TOO LONG POST, I give you pictures of my office where books are (occasionally) written.

My Grammy's couch, where I do most of my writing. This couch is actually FAMOUS as it makes an appearance on page 42 of HEX HALL. No lie.

Portrait of James Dean painted by my super talented sister-in-law. Sometimes, when I'm stuck, I ask Jimmy what I should write next. And he says, "How the hell should I know? I died like 25 years before you were born, Crazy Lady." Fair point, JD.

Tiny Desk of Tiny. Still, big enough for brand new laptop, Lady Sophia Harper, Her Hexiness! (Yes. I named my new computer. DO NOT JUDGE ME.)

My chief distraction...

Bookshelf O'Research And Tiaras

RH+LL=BFF!!

The overview...

God knows I try...

Every writer should have this tattooed on his/her body. Or at least on a magnet in his/her office.

"With a REBEL BELLE, She Cried, 'Books, Books, Books...'"

2010-06-18T09:13:00.003-05:00

Remember that KILLER good news I mentioned in my last blog post? Well, said good news posted in Publisher's Marketplace last night! BEHOLD:

Author of HEX HALL Rachel Hawkins's REBEL BELLE, about a high school Miss Popularity whose world changes when a funny thing happens on the way to the (Homecoming) coronation: she's recruited into the Paladins, a supernatural sect of bodyguards sworn to protect those who will play an important role in the future, and charged with saving her archnemesis even if it means sacrificing her place as queen bee, to Ari Lewin at Disney-Hyperion, in a three-book deal, in a major deal, by Holly Root at Waxman Literary Agency (NA).

HUZZAH! Needless to say, I am SO EXCITED to keep working with all the fabulous people at Disney-Hyperion, and I'm so, so thankful to the Always Rock Staralicious Agent Holly for making all this happen!

And I'm ESPECIALLY excited that REBEL BELLE will actually be out in the world! In case you can't tell from the description up there, this book Brings the Wacky. I mean, if you liked HEX HALL, you'll like REBEL BELLE since it brings similar things to the yard, as it were (The Funny! Gory Deaths! "I Hate That I Like You, But Dammit, We Need To Make Out RIGHT NOW"-esque Romance!), but there's definitely a little more silliness in REBEL BELLE. I mean, someone gets murdered with a shoe within the first 30 pages. Come on.

Specifically, this shoe, the image of which is saved as "Murder Shoe" on my computer.

There are also car chases, and possessed teachers, a Debutante Ball with a pretty high body count, and a nerdy-yet-surprisingly-hot love interest. All in all, I had a RIDICULOUS amount of fun writing it, and I hope that all of you will have just as much fun reading it, whenever it actually comes out! (And no, I have no idea when that will be. Could be between DEMONGLASS and HEX HALL 3, could be after the HEX HALL series is finished. Either way, it won't interfere with those books' release dates, so no worries on that front!)

Again, HUGE PINK PUFFY HEARTED THANKS to every at Hyperion, and Agent Holly, and everyone who bought HEX HALL, thus meaning my publisher wanted to buy more of my insane-o books. You all rock!

Psst! Your Crazy Is Showing!

2010-06-10T12:32:00.009-05:00

Hello, my lovelies! I know, I know, over a MONTH with no blogging! ESCANDALO! But May was kind of a crazy month at Chez Hawkins, what with our trip to Maine (now an annual thing, apparently, and just as fab as last year), The Husband finishing school (THANK YOU BABY JESUS), preparing for The Husband to be out of the country for 2 whole months (Boo! Hiss! Sob!), and attempting to detoxify ourselves from an attack of The Crazy.

It was this last thing that really threw me for a loop, and so I decided I'd like to talk a little bit about that. That's kind of weird for me, since I usually try to keep the blog all, "BOOKS! XANADU! FLOWERS AND SAUSAGES!", but bear with me!

To start off, let me assure you this Crazy Attack had NOTHING to do with the book, or publishing, or anything like that. I'm not sure if that makes it better or worse, but I didn't want y'all wondering if I suddenly had a stalker, or a someone emailing me claiming to BE Sophie, or someone saying that he had a book coming out called REX WRALL, and what alien technology did I use to get inside his head and steal his precious, precious thoughts?

Nope. None of that.

Basically, what happened is that The Husband and I found ourselves on the outskirts of someone else's drama, and then certain players inside said drama decided that there were not NEARLY enough people experiencing The Crazy. So they extended us a polite invitation to engage in The Crazy.

(And by polite invitation, I mean completely nutty emails. FUN.)

And The Husband and I did what normal,sane people do, and did not reply to said emails because...well, Crazy.

And since we would not play in Crazy Land, these people decided to see if they could get OTHER people in our lives to play, and the whole thing became pretty distressing.

Now. We are lucky enough to be surrounded by people who are as allergic to The Crazy as we are, so there was no real damage, and for that, I am so, so grateful. But as you can imagine, this entire experience was kind of stressful, and Not Good. As a writer, God knows I have my own share of The Crazy, and I work very, very hard to keep that stuff on lockdown.

Okay, so sometimes, I'm not that successful at the whole "lockdown" thing....

When someone else just waves their Crazy in the breeze like that, I'm always this weird combination of horrified and embarrassed. Like, "OH MY! SIR! I do not know if you are aware of this, but your Crazy is QUITE EXPOSED right now! And there are ladies present! *swoons, clutches pearls*"

"My stars! That Crazy is practically nekkid!"

The Crazy seems to have died down now (and I'm not particularly worried about the people involved reading this blog. I've never met them, and I'm not sure they even know who I am/what I do. Which, yes, means they pulled all this on someone they don't even know personally. THAT'S HOW AGGRESSIVE THE CRAZY WAS), so I'm slowly starting to feel a little more balanced and a little peppier.

I have never, ever thought of myself as one of those Sensitive Artiste types, but sometimes when yucky things happen, I feel the need to climb into my little hidey-hole for awhile, and hang out with The Fam, and read good books, and watch Unsolved Mysteries, and laugh with my friends until I feel like myself again.

And while I was there, I learned a couple of important things.

1) If you let it, other people's Crazy will overwhelm you like Artax in the Swamp of Sadness, and that is No Bueno. You can't control how other people act, but you can control how you react.

Just in case you didn't know what I was talking about. Or in case you wanted to sob in the fetal position for a million years. Whichever.

2) Try to remember not to put your Crazy on others. Deal with your stuff. Own it. Don't ascribe motives that don't exist, when you assume, you make an ass out of "u" and "me," etc. Putting your Crazy on other people can only make YOU unhappier in the long run.

Thus endeth the More You Know portion of this blog. ;-)

SO. The last few Crazy Cooties have been dusted off, I got some KILLER good news this week that I cannot WAIT to share, and life can once again be flowers and sausages! (Yep. Again.)

BRING ON THE XANADU!

Do The "Write" Thing (And, Hey, WIN SOME STUFF!)

2010-05-06T10:11:00.005-05:00

As many of you know, a large part of Tennessee has been devastated by floods. The Grand Old Opry is filled with water. So is the Opryland Hotel, where I saw one of my BFFs get married several years ago. People have lost homes and loved ones, and the entire thing is Sad-Making in the extreme.

But what is NOT Sad-Making is how so many people have come together to do something about this catastrophe!

Amazing Nashville writers and human beings, Victoria Schwab, Myra McEntire, and Amanda Morgan have put together an auction to raise money for the victims of the Tennessee flooding, and y'all. Y'ALL. There is SO MUCH AWESOME STUFF up for bids! Agents, authors, and all sorts of publishing types have donated all kinds of things, from signed books, to critiques, to Sweet Book Swag.

Day 1 of bidding started this morning, and I really encourage all of you to go over there and bid if you can! Signed copies of HEX HALL and Hexy t-shirts are up today! WOO HOO!

Top 5 Cool Things That Have Been Goin' Down Here Lately (Oh, and You Know, Book 2's Title!)

2010-04-22T15:21:00.007-05:00

Helllllooooo, Blogger Friends! So I realize I've been gone awhile. If you're a regular around this blog, you know that's the way it goes sometimes. So I thought I'd make a handy-dandy Top 5 List of Things That Have Been Goin' Down Here Lately!

1) I got to do a joint signing with Lindsey Leavitt a few weeks ago. It was MAGICAL. We had a great turn out, the amazing Crystal and Leah brought us cupcakes, AND we scored posters with our faces on them. NICE. And to top it all off, LL and I were just wandering around Barnes and Noble later when we spotted A GIRL PICKING UP LINDSEY'S BOOK AND GOING TO THE REGISTER WITH IT. Yes! An actual "in the wild" book-buying! We may have clutched each other and squealed. It was amazing.

2) I went to the Alabama Book Festival. Gorgeous spring day+old, Southern buildings+azaleas and magnolias everywhere+heart swelling with pride to be part of Alabama's literary heritage= Ecstatic Rachel.

3) My Beloved Editor Jen left Disney-Hyperion for a Sweet Sweetness Job at Putnam. This was actually NOT a cool thing, and something that made me rend garments, and sob, and leave Jen long voicemails begging her not to leave me (okay, so that last bit I only did in my head.) As y'all know, I Pink Puffy Heart Love Editor Jen. She's the one who gave HEX HALL a home, and she's been an absolute dream to work with. So of course, I was equal parts devastated to see her go, and thrilled for her AMAZING new opportunity! THEN the cool thing happened, which is that my new editor turned out to be the awesome Ari Lewin! I knew I loved Ari when one of her joke title suggestions for HEX HALL 2 was ABRACADABRA, complete with the tagline, "It will reach out... AND GRAB YA!" And so Team Hex continues to fill me with joy at its sheer amazingness!

4)I broke into my own house today. The Husband had locked the bottom lock on the front door, and I don't have a key for that one, so it went something like this:

ME: *mutters expletives*

DOOR: *is implacable*

ME: *remembers bedroom windows are open*

BEDROOM WINDOWS: *are high off the ground, covered by screens, and right above nasty thorn bushes*

ME: Eff you, window screen!

WINDOW SCREEN: *dies*

BEDROOM WINDOWS: *remain high off ground*

ME: *stealth*

THORN BUSHES UNDER WINDOWS: STABBOES!

ME: CURSES!

MY RIGHT FOOT: *gets in window*

REST OF MY BODY: *follows as slowly and awkwardly as possible*

BEDROOM WINDOWS: *violated*

ME: *triumphant*

NEIGHBORS: WTF??

ME: *texts story to The Husband complete with much implied side-eye at his locking of door*

THE HUSBAND: I put the key under a flower pot. You are a moron.

ME: *finds said key. Shakes fist at sky*

WINDOW SCREEN: *softly* Aveeeenge meeeee.....

5) And of course, the coolest thing (and the thing you probably all scrolled down to read, meaning you missed out on some MAGIC-SAUCE) is that HEX HALL 2 OFFICIALLY has a title! No, it's not I WANNA HEX YOU UP. Nor is it LET'S TALK ABOUT HEX. Or HEXUAL HEALING. Or HEX AND THE CITY....

I am pleased to announce that Book 2 of the HEX HALL series will be called...

DEMONGLASS

Now you're probably saying, "Um...Rachel, wasn't that HEX HALL's original title?" And yes! YES IT WAS! We jettisoned it back then because it was too dark to launch the series, and we wanted something that let readers know that there were laughs and good times amidst all the death and bloodletting. But we felt like we could get a little dark with Book 2's title because...well, if you've read HEX HALL, you know what you're getting into now! Laughs! Death! Puns! Angst! Snark! Forbidden Love! etc. I hope y'all are just as thrilled with this title as I am! :)

FAQ!

2010-04-04T17:04:00.003-05:00

Is it just me, or does FAQ sound kind of...well...rude when you say it out loud? Probably just me. My mind lives in The Gutter Zone. ;-)

Okay, so I'm FINALLY tackling some FAQ I've been getting via email/at signings/from my friends, etc. Eventually, I'll get this up on the website, but for now, here are some answers to any and all burning questions!

1) WHEN IS HEX HALL 2: HEXLECTRIC BOOGALOO COMING OUT?/HOW MANY BOOKS ARE IN THE HEX HALL SERIES?

Right now, HEX HALL 2: HEX AND THE CITY (can you tell we STILL don't have a title?) is scheduled to be released on March 1, 2011. This is not 100% set in stone, but I doubt it will come out any earlier than this. Yes, I realize that's a long time from now, but I PROMISE (well, hope) the wait is worth it! HEX HALL 3: TRIPLE HEXXX (still not real title. I asked. They said no.)will be out in 2012. So far, Disney-Hyperion has bought 3 Hex Hall books. Will there be more? Perhaps! I really plan on wrapping up Sophie's story in Book 3, but I'd love a chance to play in that universe again. We'll see!

2) WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR IDEAS?

Anywhere and everywhere. I've talked about this a lot with my other Author Friends, and we've all come to the same conclusion: We've always made up stories, and have no idea what other people do with their free time. :) Very rarely does an idea come to me completely formed; usually, I hear/read/think something that kind of sticks in my brain. Then, weeks, sometimes months later, I hear/read/think something else, and it gels with that original idea in such a way that the very beginnings of a book are formed. HEX HALL came from a life-long love of Creepy House Movies+ a deep love for Anne Rice's THE WITCHING HOUR+ a tiny does of "Pan's Labyrinth." My current WIP sprung from being an "X-Files" fan+ watching "The Last Starfighter" with The Husband. See? Anywhere. Everywhere.

3) HOW DID YOU GET PUBLISHED?

I've told that story in 2 parts, here and here. If you don't feel like reading that, I'll just say that it was in the traditional way (wrote book; queried agent; got agent; agent sold book), and that I knew ABSOLUTELY NO ONE in publishing beforehand.

4) WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR ASPIRING WRITERS?

Read a lot. Write a lot. Dare to Suck. Don't become obsessed with Being Published. Tell stories you want to tell.

5) ARCHEROMGWTFBBQ??

Okay, so HERE THERE BE SPOILERS!

Seriously, spoilers are coming. LOOK AWAY IF YOU HAVE NOT READ HEX HALL!!

HERE IT COMES!

I get a lot of email about Archer, and IS he really a bad guy. And to that I say...well, wait until Book 2. ;-) Archer is very much in Book 2, and yes, Dude Has Some 'Splainin' To Do. I WILL say that part of why I <3 Archer and like writing him with Sophie is that in a lot of ways, they're on a very similar path; both of them have been lied to, both of them have roles they're expected to fill, and both of them are struggling with Doing The Right Thing/Finding Themselves. All of this is a very round about way of saying...no, Archer is NOT a bad guy. But heck, to me, Alice isn't a villain. Elodie isn't a villain. Everyone is doing what they think is right. So...yeah. Morally ambiguous FTW!!

Okay, SPOILERS OVER NOW!

6) WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON NOW?

Well, HEX HALL 2: LET'S TALK ABOUT HEX has been turned in to my editor, and is nearing the exciting Printed in Galleys stage. HEX HALL 3: TRIPLE HEXXX is on the agenda for this summer. In between, my beloved REBEL BELLE is floating out there in Publishing World, and I'm working on my Crazy YA Sci-Fi Romance of Wackiness. Also have a YA Fantasy Novel That Is Not Really Fantasy in the works, as well as a "spin-off' of the Hex Hall books. What can I say? I like working.

7) WILL THERE BE A HEX HALL MOVIE/TV SHOW?

I'm not in charge of that! I do have a film agent, the amazing Jon Cassir, and there have been "rumblings" in that general direction. I obviously have my fingers crossed, but the percentage of books that become movies is SO tiny that it's not like I have my heart set on it! It would be cool, though!

Okay, so that's it so far! Please let me know if there's anything else you'd like to know! Be hexcellent! :)

Cheerio, Hex Hall!

2010-04-01T21:28:00.004-05:00

HEX HALL came out in the UK today!! I'm so excited! I mean, LOOK AT THESE GIRLS:

They are totally ready for Transatlantic Awesomeness. ;-)

I had a cup of Earl Grey and a scone this morning to celebrate, and I hope you Fab Brits enjoy my Hexy Ladies!

OH! And before I forget, if you ever wanted to see me interviewed by a were-llama (AND WHO DOES NOT?!), check out this interview I did with my amazing agent-mate, C.J. Redwine! You can also win some Hexy Goodness!!

Come See Me!

2010-03-29T18:15:00.006-05:00

Hi, blogger peeps!

Quick "Where Can I See Rachel and Get Her to Sign Stuff?" announcement!

IF you live in my Great State of Alabama, you can find me NEXT MONDAY, April 5 at 4PM at the Bridegestreet Barnes and Noble in Huntsville! I am SO EXCITED for this signing for 2 reasons. 1) It's my first signing in my home state, and 2)I am signing with the FABULOUS Lindsey Leavitt! LL was one of the first Author Friends I ever made, back when we were total n00bs who'd just signed book deals. I love her, and her book PRINCESS FOR HIRE, which was one of my Top Reads of 2009, and not just because we're friends. It's cute and fun and quirky, and has a GREAT message for young ladies without being preachy...can't say enough good things about it! So it's super-awesome to be signing with her! I MAY even wear a tiara. And possibly a Bump-It.

This cover DEMANDS A TIARA!

So please come out to see us if you can!

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to prepare for the Season 2 premiere of 10 Things I Hate About You, AKA My Favorite New Show. So funny, so smart, and I am SO INVESTED in all the characters' relationships.

By which I mean I STILL REALLY NEED A WHOLE EPISODE THAT IS NOTHING BUT THESE TWO MAKING OUT.

It comes on Mondays at 7PM central on ABC Family. Seriously. Check it out.

Do any of you have shows you're currently loving? I'm always open to discovering new things to obsess over! ;-)

I Have Returned!

2010-03-25T16:19:00.003-05:00

Hey, everyone!

So I know I totally disappeared from the blog over the past few weeks, but after getting home from tour (which was FABULOUS!!), I really wanted to spend some time with My Guys. I mean, look at them.

Small Son: A Self-Portrait

The Husband, right before he does something manly, like killing bears with his chest hair.

I also spent a lot of time reading, and going out with friends, and basking in the fact that my book is out! OUT! And in the world! And people are reading it, and sending me the MOST WONDERFUL emails that fill me with BOUNTEOUS JOY!

I've also been writing, which has been really lovely. One of these days, I want to do a post on Writer Vs. Author, and how sometimes being an Author means you can't be a Writer, and how every once and awhile, you have to take your Author hat off, and embrace The Writer...wait, what's that you say? My Agent-Mate Maureen Lipinski (who I met in Chicago, and had a crazy-fun time with) already wrote that post? Huh. Apparently she did. So go read that, because it says all I'd want to say!

And now I'm slooooowlyyyy easing back into blogging. I've been threatening to do an FAQ post at some point, and I'm going to TRY and do that tomorrow. Expect answers to such Frequent Questions as When Will Book 2 Be Out? And OMGWTFBBQARCHER?! And How to You Conquer Writer's Block?

If you have any others to add, please leave them in the comments!

Of course, I MIGHT just answer your question tonight at 8PM (Central) when I chat with the TRES HEXY Mundie Moms! Please stop by if you can!

Tour Goodness!

2010-03-06T09:24:00.003-06:00

Whew! What a whirlwind week it's been! Atlanta, Jackson, Atlanta again, Memphis, Wichita, and today Chicago. Is it any wonder the other day I LITERALLY forgot where I'd flown in from when getting my luggage? But I'm having a GREAT time on tour! I've met so many cool people, and seen SO many awesome bookstores. Wednesday night I was at David Kidd in Memphis, which was so, so fun! I did my first video interview with Justine Magazine (and I'll post a link when that goes up), which was great, if kind of scary! I was so afraid I'd do that thing where your eyes naturally gravitate toward the camera. Luckily, the interviwer, Katherine, was a total pro, and put me at ease!

I also got to visit with Hutchison School, a most "hexcellent" school for girls. Those young ladies were sharp, too! So many great questions!

Then last night, I was at Watermark Books in Wichita. FABULOUS store, great crowd, such a fun Q&A, AND I got to sign their "Wall o' Authors" which made me feel all fancy. ;-)

I'll probably do a full tour wrap-up when I get back, but here's a pic from Memphis!

You are not human if you don't pose with a table of your books/big poster.

Now onto Chicago!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HEX HALL!!

2010-03-03T06:02:00.004-06:00

YAY! Now my Book Beh-Beh is OFFICIALLY out there in the world! And I've been hearing from LOTS of people who've bought it, so THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! Hope you enjoy it!

So right now, it's 6AM, and I'm lucky enough to have found working wi-fi at the Jackson, MS airport. Woo-hoo!

Yesterday was a CRAZY day! Not only did my Book Beh-Beh come out into the world, but I left on tour! And of course, the day I left just HAD to be one of those rare Southern snow days. Because we as a region FREAK. THE. HECK. OUT when there's snow, there were delayed planes, and canceled flights all over the place in Atlanta. However, there were plenty of things to keep me entertained, like:

*** The security people at the Montgomery airport who got in an argument about my level of attractiveness rated against someone named Christina. It went like this:

Security Guard 1: "She looks like Christina, but prettier."

Security Guard 2: CHRISTINA WAS A VERY PRETTY LADY!

Security Guard 1: I KNOW THAT! I'M JUST SAYING THIS ONE IS PRETTIER!

Security Guard 2: *looks at me for a long time* "Yeah, she is. I miss Christina."

*** Seeing The Mama's IDENTICAL TWIN at the gate in the Atlanta airport. People. It was SO FREAKY. They looked so similar that I literally stopped in my tracks, thinking my mom had somehow gotten to Atlanta to hang out with me. Same hair color/cut, same glasses, same type of outfit, SAME BODY LANGUAGE. It was eerie. I tried to take her picture a few times with my cell phone, but they all came out blurry. Sad day.

***Picking up an amazing new (to me) book at the airport called A RELIABLE WIFE by Robert Goolrick. It is Gothic, and creepy, and somehow literary and "pulpy" all at once. I lurve it.

Anyway, while airport shenanigans were fun, I was VERY ready to get to Mississippi! Thank God for Team Hex! My FABULOUS publicist, Jenn, took such good care of me amid all the weather angst, and I finally made it to Jackson just minutes before my signing at Lemuria Books!

However, the wait was TOTALLY worth it! Lemuria Books is AMAZING. Seriously, if you love books (and who doesn't?) you owe it to yourself to check it out!It's one of those places where you feel like you could spend hours, and not come anywhere close to seeing all they had to offer. Their children's section was especially swoon-worthy, and children's manager Emily is THE BOMB! I had so much fun talking books with her!

A giant poster of my book, filling me with joy.

Amazing Emily, also filling me with joy, wearing a Hexy t-shirt!

Me with the giant poster of my book. Swear I didn't match on purpose!

Tonight, I'll be in Decatur, GA (outside of Atlanta), at Little Shop of Stories at 7PM. Hope to see some of you there!!

Meeting My Book

2010-03-01T19:02:00.003-06:00

So yesterday, Small Son and I went to Books-A-Million so that he could play at the train table. I'm not gonna lie, I was definitely hoping to see HEX HALL out in the wild, too, but I didn't really expect to. After all, I'd been stalking BAM all week to no avail!

But still, once we got there, I thought I'd mosy over to the teen section and take a peek.

And there it was.

Actually, there were SIX of them. My Book Beh-Beh. The concrete proof of the chance The Husband and I took on ourselves.

Now, I've seen lots of of my book over the past month or so. I have a box of them in my office for pete's sake!

But that was nothing compared to seeing them out there where other people can buy them. It is one of the few things I don't have words for.

As much as I would have loved to stand there all day staring and drooling, Small Son was extremely unimpressed (and impatient to get to the train table.)

But he DID snap this pic of me standing in front of HEX HALL. Sure, you can't see the book, or...um, most of my face, but what you CAN see? Yeah, that sums it up!

It's here! It's there! It's everywhere! And now you can all read it, too!

So please do! AND if you're in Mississippi tomorrow night, come on out to Lemuria Books in Jackson at 5PM, and say hi!

Be hexcellent to each other!

Read The 1st THREE Chapters of HEX HALL This Weekend!

2010-02-26T12:53:00.003-06:00

Thanks to the FABULOUS people at J-14 Magazine, you can get a "Hexy Peek" at HEX HALL this weekend! So read the 1st three chapters and then, you know, buy the book on Tuesday to find out what happens next! And check out their homepage for MORE Hexy goodness!!

Also, I promise that all this pimping will stop after next week. Then it's back to talk of Xanadu and Random Things Rachel Thinks Are Funny! ;-)

Hex On Tour!!

2010-02-25T19:02:00.009-06:00

First of all, THANK YOU SO MUCH for Bringing Hexy Back all over Facebook/Twitter/your blogs! It is SO COOL to see the cover everywhere! Y'all are rockin' it!

Can you believe we're only FIVE DAYS AWAY from release?? I cannot believe it. Perhaps you can tell from ALL THE CAPITALIZATION. I literally keep forgetting to eat this week, and if you know me and how much I enjoy tasty foodstuffs, that is saying something!

The Husband was saying today that we're less than a week away from something we've been dreaming about for over two years now, and in a way, he's right. I mean, it was just over two years ago that I started HEX HALL, hoping it would be my life raft out of the Black Hole of Suck, but I've been living with this dream for a LOT longer. I can't really remember a time when I didn't dream of having a book on the shelves. And now that that's about to happen...

Oh, wait!

It already HAS happened in some places! The fabulous Jennifer Lynn Barnes was kind enough to send me a picture of my book getting all Hexy out in the wild today, AND Amy shared some pics in the comments of HEX HALL at the Borders in Maple Grove, MN!

GAH!!

GAH AGAIN! SOME MORE!

I'll be headed out on March 2 for my Book Tour of Awesome, and I'm hoping I might see some of YOU getting Hexy! (No. I cannot stop. Please don't make me.)

So if you're anywhere near the following spots, please come out and say hi!

TUESDAY, MARCH 2
Lemuria Books
Jackson, MS
5:00PM

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3
Little Shop of Stories
Decatur, GA
7:00PM

THURSDAY, MARCH 4
Davis Kidd Booksellers
Memphis, TN
6:00PM

FRIDAY, MARCH 5
Watermark Books and Cafe
Wichita, KS
7:00PM

MONDAY, MARCH 8
Barnes and Noble (stock signing)
Stokie, IL
4:00PM

TUESDAY, MARCH 9
Square Books
Oxford, MS
4:00PM
Hope to see some of y'all there!!

ONE WEEK! (And, Oh Yeah, I'm Givin' Stuff Away!)

2010-02-23T16:45:00.007-06:00

ETA: Yes, this contest IS international! I have a very good friend who lives in Australia, so foreign shipping does not scare me! :)

One week! One week until HEX HALL comes out! *runs, flails, knocks things over* When I got up this morning, I was determined to make up a song about my book release to the tune of The Barenaked Ladies' "One Week." So far, I've come up with, "It is one week 'til my book comes out..."

Yeah. That's it.

Probably because I have the attention span of a gnat these days, which has been kind of crappy since I'm currently editing Book 2! There's a good chance that when it gets back to Editor Jen, she'll be all, "Um...why does Chapter 23 now end in mid-sentence?"

It's actually really hard to sum up my feelings right now. They're equal parts excited ("My book! My lovely book OUT where people can READ IT!") and terrified ("I'm going on TOUR! What if I somehow screw that up? Like I get on the wrong plane? Or I forget to pack something essential, like clothes?")

But overall, despite the nerves and the mushy brain, the main emotion I have going on right now is HAPPY! Because after nearly 2 years of talking about it, y'all can finally read HEX HALL!

And to celebrate my happy, I feel like it's time for another giveaway! (Ooh! Speaking of giveaways! Catie S from BookBound! I still need your deets so I can send you the Happy HEX HALL!)

I'll be getting my Hexy t-shirts in this week, and I am DYING to give them away, because holy hell weasel, are they cute!

BEHOLD:

People. You know you want one of these. And you know what? I don't JUST want to give away t-shirts. I wanna give away an autographed book, too. AND since there are SO MANY AWESOME BOOKS coming out right now, I think I'll throw in a $25 gift card to Barnes and Noble.

So that's a t-shirt, a book, and money to buy MORE BOOKS.

How do you win all this bounteous glory? SO EASY!

You can do one of the following:

1) If you have a blog, please post a picture of HEX HALL. If you wanna get all crazy, you can talk about it, or me, or Why Prince Caspian Should Marry Me Already. Whatever! But there's no extra points for talking about it. Just posting the cover is enough! (Although there will be MEGA MAJOR BONUS POINTS if you somehow do find a way to make Prince Caspian propose to me.) Once you've done this, leave a link to your blog in the comments section of this post!

2) If you don't have a blog, or just don't feel like posting a pic of HEX HALL on it, post a pic on Twitter with the #hexhall hashtag! Also, please make sure you put @ladyhawkins somewhere in your Tweet so that I'll see it!

3) If you do not have a blog or a Twitter, but DO have a Facebook, change your profile pic to the HEX HALL cover, and again, leave a link to it in the comments section!

NOW. A VERY IMPORTANT CAVEAT. Please, for my sanity, just pick ONE of these options. That way, everyone gets entered once, and I'm not keeping track of a bajillion things. (Did y'all see that part earlier about how crazy my brain is these days? Yeah.)

The contest is open until 12:00 AM (Central Time) March 2, AKA Release Day Of Amazingness!

Now go! Spread Hexy love all over the interwebz!

Wait, that sounds dirty...

POOF! I VANISHED!

2010-02-18T08:33:00.002-06:00

Sorry for the Blog Silence, y'all! Edits for HEX HALL 2: MAD HEX came last week PLUS I have a bajillion blog interviews to do, plus tour stuff, and...yikes. Luckily, Book 2 will be OFF MY DESK by tomorrow, and all those blog interviews will be turned in my Monday, so I'll be back to blogging (and interviewing characters!) soon.

Also, let me note that we have LESS THAN 2 WEEKS TO GO before the book hits the shelves! 12 days, and then the world gets Hexy!

Until next week, mes anges! Let me leave you with a gift: This is a Slow Loris getting tickled. It is, as you will see, amazing.

Read the 1st Chapter of HEX HALL!

2010-02-07T11:10:00.003-06:00

Thanks to my lovely UK publishers, Simon&Schuster UK Kids, you can download the prologue and 1st chapter of HEX HALL! Head on over there, and read! It's good stuff, promise. ;-)

Friday in The Fort

2010-02-05T11:00:00.002-06:00

Some fun stuff for this Friday afternoon!

First off, every Friday, my fabulous agent-mate, Myra McEntire hosts an interview series with young adult authors about the imaginary fort we have created at Myra's house (it's a long story. Also, YA writers are Odd Ducks, which I happen to love!)

Today was my day in The Fort, so head over there to read about whether I'd take a Truth or a Dare, how I like my marshmallows roasted, and who I think would be the Ideal (Hot) Mascot for The Fort!

Bonus: You can win a signed copy of HEX HALL and a Hexy t-shirt! So go!

Also, I did a super fun interview with Rachel Simon a month or so ago, and she posted it this week! Rachel is a sweetheart and so, so enthusiastic about YA, so definitely check that out!

Have a great weekend, Gentle Readers!

Meet Elodie!

2010-02-02T17:18:00.004-06:00

WOO-HOOOOO! One month! ONE MORE MONTH, and then My Sweet Book Beh-Beh is out on the shelves! I really can't believe it. I've been living with this story and these characters for so long, and now everyone is about to meet them! Yay! (Also: EEK!)

So I totally slacked on last week's interview, but I am BACK! With a vengeance! And I'm so, so excited for y'all to meet Elodie Parris.

Oh, where to begin with Miss Elodie? Well, first of all, there's her name. I never really watched "The Hills," but I occasionally read the recaps on Television Without Pity, and I discovered there was a person on the show called Elodie. Somewhere around that same time, "Alias" had a character named Elodie, so the name was just floating around in my brain. I thought it was different, and pretty, and it conjured up a certain image that I liked. So when it came time to introduce my Mean Girl character, her name was immediately Elodie. Her last name, Parris, came later, and I got it after reading up on the Salem Witch Trials. Granted, maybe 0.02% of people who read HEX HALL will make that connection, but I still like having it in there! ;-)

Unlike Jenna and Archer, Elodie was always in HEX HALL, and in a lot of ways, she's a lot like Sophie (Both Sophie and Elodie would be HORRIFIED to hear me say that, but it's the truth!)

Personality wise, not so much, but in the way they both came through on the page pretty immediately, and VERY strongly. Elodie was Elodie from Day One. She was snarky, and mean, and uber-powerful, and- I thought- awfully shallow. In fact, at one point in the book, Sophie calls Archer out for dating someone so, well, horrible, and Archer insists that Sophie's wrong, that Elodie has hidden depths. As I was writing that scene, Sophie and I both scoffed, "Whatever, Pretty Boy. Blinded by hormones much?"

But by the time the book was over, I realized that Archer was right all along (please don't tell him I said that; his ego is bad enough as is.)

There was a lot more to Elodie than met the eye. And even though she's my Mean Girl, and Sophie's nemesis, and yeah, she does some really terrible things, I love her all the same.

Sadly, to say more than that would give stuff away! ;-)

So let's meet her!

(Side Note of Hilarity/Potential Obscenity: It was really hard to find a picture for Elodie, mostly because I A) don't have her on a cover, and B)haven't ever really seen a model/actress who looked like her. So I was Google Image searching red-headed models, and I found THE PERFECT face! It WAS Elodie! And yeah, it looked like maybe she was wearing a strapless dress, but whatever! I clicked on it.

And she had boobs.

I mean, obviously, she had boobs, she's a girl, but I mean, she had NAKED BOOBS. And while I realize I shouldn't be shocked at naked girls on the internet, my first thought was still, "Gah! Elodie! Put some clothes on!" followed shortly by "*gigglesnort* "Boobs." Because I am 12. In any event, I couldn't use the picture, even if I cropped the boobs out because I became extremely paranoid about accidentally exposing Nakedity on my blog.)

Name: Elodie Alexandra Parris

Hair Color: Red

Eye Color: Green

Age: 16

Favorite Color: Pink, but a classy, delicate pink. Not that tacky shade The Leech puts in her hair. (Ed. note: Believe "The Leech" refers to Miss Jenna Talbot).

Species: Okay, that is VILE. Dark Witch.

Relationship Status: VERY serious with Archer Cross. (Ed. note: The remainder of this space was then filled with variations on "Mrs. Archer Cross, Elodie P. Cross, Mrs. Parris-Cross", etc.)

What Do You Look For In a Friend?: Magical powers that are equal to mine, or at least not embarrassing; fashion sense; Loyalty.

What Do You Look For In a Guy?: He should ALSO be super powerful, magically-speaking; a good dresser; taller than me, but not TOO tall; excellent hair; hot enough to make other girls jealous, but NOT so hot that he looks better than me; a good dancer; a GREAT kisser; a- (Ed. note: Miss Parris's answers exceeded space allotted.)

Who Is Your Hero?: Elizabeth Bathory. For one, she was a CRAZY powerful Dark Witch, and also, girl knew sometimes suffering was required for beauty. (Preferably other people's suffering!)

What 3 Things Would You Take to a Deserted Island?: Please. Have you looked around Graymalkin Island? It might as well be deserted! No. Comment. (Ed. note: Graymalkin Island is where Hecate Hall is currently located.)

Lastly, Do You Have a Motto?: "The blackest chapter in the history of Witchcraft lies not in the malevolence of Witches but in the deliberate, gloating cruelty of their prosecutors." - Theda Kenyon

Um...okay, then. Thanks for that, El!

And here's one of Elodie's stellar moments!

“Dark witches do the bigger things,” Chaston offered. “And our powers are a hell of a lot stronger. We can
make barrier spells, and if we’re really good, control the weather. We’re also necromancers if—”
“Whoa!” I held up my hand. “Necromancers? Like, power over dead things?”
All three girls nodded eagerly, like I’d just suggested going to the mall instead of raising zombies.
“Ew!” I exclaimed without thinking.
Mistake. Simultaneously, their smiles disappeared, and a distinct chill came over the room.
“Ew?” Elodie sneered. “God, how old are you? Power over the dead is the most coveted power there is, and you’re grossed out by it? I swear,” she said, turning back to the other two, “are you serious about wanting her for the coven?”

OMG, The Happy Was Brought SO HARD!

2010-02-02T08:31:00.003-06:00

Y'all. Y'ALL!! I cannot believe how hard y'all brought the happy. Seriously, every single comment on here brought a big smile to my face, and some even brought tears to my eyes. What was so cool was that in reading all of the comments, I thought, "Yes, ALL OF THESE THINGS bring The Happy to me, too! GLEE! Families! Books! Music!" Truly it was a beautiful thing, and I really appreciate all of you participating.

In fact, I appreciate it SO MUCH that I'm going to take a page from Kay Cassidy's book and pay it forward. We had 102 comments on this blog, plus 3 more on my Facebook, making a grand total of 105 (which blows my mind. I thought I MIGHT get 30). So for each of those comments, I'm going to donate a dollar to the Red Cross for relief efforts in Haiti. Which means Y'ALL and your EXTREMELY AWESOME HAPPYS raised $105 for charity! And truly, that brings The Happy hardest of all!

And now...for the part you've all been waiting for...the winner of a signed (and Happy!) copy of HEX HALL, chosen thanks to this handy-dandy random number generator site is....

CATIE S (BOOK BOUND)!!

Catie, email your deets to rachel AT rachel-hawkins DOT com, and I'll get that Happy HEX HALL right out to you!

In other exciting news, I'll actually be blogging TWICE today, since I owe y'all an Elodie interview. And since Elodie decided to be so fashionably late to the party, she MAY have to share her interview space with another character. We shall see! ;-)

BRINGING THE HAPPY!

2010-01-29T15:43:00.004-06:00

Oh, Gentle Readers.

What a week it's been! There have been AWESOME things, like getting a whole bunch of HEX HALLs in the mail! And then there have been SUBSTANTIALLY LESS AWESOME THINGS like car trouble, and some crap happening to a friend that made me feel The Sads, and roughly 90 bajillion things piling up at once!

So today, on this gray and gloomy Friday, I decided that this world needs more flowers and sausages. It is time to bring the happy and bring it HARD.

Here's the deal: Starting RIGHT NOW and lasting until 5PM Monday, February 1, leave a comment on this here blog that has SOMETHING to do with Bringing The Happy. It can be a anecdote about the happiest day of your life, or something silly that makes you happy, or how you Bring The Happy when you are feeling The Sads...whatever!

And from these comments, I shall randomly pick ONE winner (it has to be random, because I can't judge The Happy, obvs), and this winner will get one of my brand new shiny HEX HALLs, all signed and stuff.

In fact, you could win THIS HEX HALL! Look how happy it is! IT SAYS HAPPY ON THE COVER! (Kind of).

So go for it! Fill my comments with stories of The Happy, and lo, we shall all rejoice in them!

Holy HEX HALL, Batman!!

2010-01-27T14:45:00.005-06:00

I know I still owe y'all Elodie's interview, but for now, please behold what I found on my doorstep today. I though 2 copies were exciting. Turns out 30 copies are THIRTY MORE TIMES EXCITING!!

Speaking of Feeling Feelings...

2010-01-25T10:19:00.006-06:00

Today, my doorbell rang, and I heard the tell-tale *thump* of a package being dropped off. On Friday, Editor Jen emailed me to let me know that a couple of copies of HEX HALL were on their way to me and Agent Holly. When Agent Holly got hers later that afternoon (what with being in NYC and all), she called me and raved about how gorgeous it was in person, and sent me a picture of it sitting on her shelf.

So when my copies showed up this morning, I thought I was prepared.

I was not.

Despite making my living by, you know, using words, I have no words to describe the feeling as I opened that box. There were shaky knees, and trembling hands, and Tummy Butterflies, of course, but it was more than that. I won't get into the Sturm and Drang that surrounded me writing HEX HALL (although you can read about it here and here if you're so inclined!), but I will say that for me, this is a lot more than a book. It came out of a time when everything felt hopeless screwed up and Full of Bad, and in a lot of ways, that story was my life preserver. It represents not only me trying to achieve a dream, but also my family's faith in me, that I could write a book, that I would get an agent, that this story should be in print.

And now here it is. The real thing. And I feel excited, and humbled, and nervous, and so, so grateful.

Now enough of the sap! On to the pictures!

HEX HALL on my "research" shelf. Notice all the vampire/weird stuff/unsolved mysteries books!

Love, love, LOVE the font on the spine!

Gorgeous back, with AMAZING blurb from Becca Fitzpatrick AND an excerpt!

"Love, look at the two of us...strangers in many ways...we've got a lifetime to share..." Yes, I just quoted The Carpenters in my blog. Deal.

Books That Make You Feel Feelings

2010-01-24T17:49:00.002-06:00

Last night on Twitter, several of us got into a discussion about Shannon Hale's BOOK OF A THOUSAND DAYS, and how Extremely Brilliant it is, and I mentioned that it's one of the few books I've read as an adult that made me cry. (We also posited various theories about how Shannon Hale might be made of glitter and rainbows, but that is neither here nor there.)

Specifically, the part that gets me in BOOK OF A THOUSAND DAYS is when the heroine, Dashti, looks at the hero, "My Lord," and wishes she had said to him, "You're better than seven years of food. You're better than windows. You're even better than the sky." As I read that- and granted, context is important there!-, I felt the Throat Lump, and the Stinging Eyes, and there were so very many Feelings In My Heart Region.

It's really rare that I cry in books anymore. When I was a kid, it was a lot easier to get me. WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS and BRIDGE TO TEREBITHIA both owned me when I first read them, but I also cried in romance novels and, if memory serves, in one of the Ramona Quimby books.

But as I grew up, books stopped making me cry. (TV, music, movies- all of those still had their power.)

So when a book does makes me Feel Crying Feelings, I'm always slightly surprised. Like, "Oh! I am crying! How did that happen?"

Other than BOOK OF A THOUSAND DAYS, there have only been a few Books That Made Me Feel Crying Feelings in recent memories. MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA totally got me at the end, when the door opens and it's the Chairman, and hen totally forgives her for banging that other dude, and he loves her, too, and he was actually behind all her good fortune, and... Sorry, I need Kleenex.

Another one that KILLED ME DEAD IN MY SOUL was Libba Bray's THE SWEET FAR THING. Seriously, I cried SO HARD when that one ended that The Husband, upon finding me sobbing on the bed in our room thought that SOMEONE WE KNEW HAD DIED. And when I tried to explain why I was really crying, he laughed at me. (Side note- A lot of people don't agree with the ending of that book, but even though, as previously mentioned, it KMD (IMS), it is so the way that book had to end. It was the only way, and I love Libba Bray all the more for knowing that and going with it. As a writer, I know how hard that had to have been.)

So I ask you, Gentle Readers, what books have you read that made YOU Feel Feelings?

When a Review Nearly Makes Me Cry...

2010-01-21T08:38:00.002-06:00

but in the GOOD way! As excited as I was about my PW review, I think few things top having kids- you know, my intended audience- like HEX HALL. So when this review by 6th grader Jonah Goldenbird in Battleboro, Vermont popped up in my Google Alerts today...well, the joy, it was epic. Here's the link to the whole review, but what really got me was this line: "I read this book and then reread my favorite parts and they still had their "magic" in them."

I STILL pull out my favorite books from when I was a kid just to re-read "the best" parts. And you know what, they still have their magic, too. And the thought that maybe one day, these kids who read HEX HALL will do the same thing when they're grown-ups...gah. Sums up everything I love about writing for kids.

So thank you, Jonah Goldenbird! You have made my day! (Also, you have a totally awesome name. Just so you know).

Meet Archer!

2010-01-19T08:31:00.003-06:00

Ooh, boy. This is an exciting one! I think just about every email I've gotten from people who've read HEX HALL mentions Archer. He's just the kind of guy that makes a big impression. ;-)

So let's talk about he came about, shall we? Like Jenna, Archer didn't exist in the 1st half of the 1st draft (which makes me think, "MAN, did that 1st draft SUCK LIKE WHOA!") I love it in stories when you don't automatically know who's going to end up with whom, and where the audience roots for characters to get together before the characters even realize they should maybe hook up. That's way more fun to me than the, "I saw you across the room, and LO, your hair did SHINE, and my loins did TINGLE, and IT IS ON, BABY."

I had this idea writing the first book that Sophie would develop a crush on the typical popular, hot guy at Hecate Hall, but that her real OMGTRULUV 4-EVA wouldn't be introduced until either very late in the book, or maybe not until the 2nd book, and then readers would be all, "I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE, HAWKINS."

But there was a problem with this idea.

Because I knew this guy, Justin the werewolf, was not The One for Sophie, I put no real effort into him. He was just kind of...boring. And what's worse, Sophie thought he was boring. Whenever I wrote scenes with the two of them together, there was no spark, and things I meant to come off "witty banter" were more like "borderline hostile."

So I killed Justin the werewolf in the Great Character Massacre of 2008 that also saw the death of Lexie the faerie (well, actually, he didn't totally die. I just made him younger, smaller, and relegated him to a background player. I think he's happier there.)

I went back to the drawing board on Decoy Love Interest Dude, and decided that decoy or not, I would just throw everything I found particularly swoony about (fictional) guys onto this guy. He would be smart. He would be snarky. He would have killer hair.

The only thing missing was his name. Luckily, I found a completely amazing baby name book, and in it was a whole section on last names used as first names. It gave all the usual suspects- Harrison, Jackson, etc.- but at the very bottom of the list was the name Archer. And I just knew that was his name.

Once the name was in place, Archer Cross just came blazing to life. Like Jenna, he just "clicked" into the story better than Lexie and Justin ever had.

And- THANK GOD!- Sophie liked him, too. In fact, she liked him so much that there was no way he could be a decoy love interest anymore. (No one puts Archer in a corner.)

But best of all, Archer came carrying VAST BOATLOADS of back story that ended up playing a huge part in future books, but we will not speak of that now. ;-)

So let's meet him!

Name: Archer Cross

Hair color: Dark brown

Eye color: Dark brown

Age: 17

Favorite color: Chartreuse. You thought I'd say black, didn't you? Gotta keep you on your toes.

Species: Wow, Mercer wasn't kidding about that. Warlock.

Relationship Status: Have a girlfriend, Elodie, but things are kind of weird on that front right now.

What Do You Look For In A Friend?: Someone to hold me when I cry, braid my hair, and watch The Notebook with me. Come on, you didn't actually think I'd answer that.

What Do You Look For In a Girl?: Same thing I look for in a friend. Hey, you laugh, but in some cultures, hair braiding is considered foreplay. Okay, okay. A sense of humor is always a cool thing. So is caring about things that aren't shoes. I also seem to have a weird thing for freckles and crazy hair these days.

Who Is Your Hero?: You, Random Survey Writer Person. The originality you've shown in writing these questions is nothing short of heroic.

What 3 Things Would You Take to a Deserted Island?: A boat, a radio, and some gasoline. Duh.

Lastly, Do You Have a Motto?: Not really a motto, but a quote I always dug from The Scarlet Letter: "No man for any considerable period can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true."

Thanks, Archer! That was...well, very you. And now a snippet!

“May I add, Archer,” the woman continued, turning to the dark-haired boy, “that while this young lady is new to Hecate, you know better than to attack another student.”

He snorted. “So I should have let him eat her?”

“Magic is not the solution for everything,” she replied.

“Archer?” I asked, raising my eyebrows. Hey, you might be able to take away my magical powers, but the power of sarcasm was still at my disposal. “Is your last name Newport or Vanderbilt? Maybe followed by some numbers? Ooh!” I said, widening my eyes, “or maybe even Esquire!”

I’d hoped to hurt his feelings or, at the very least, make him angry, but he just kept smiling at me. “Actually, it’s Archer Cross, and I’m the first one. Now what about you?” He squinted. “Let’s see . . . brown hair, freckles, whole girl-next-door vibe going on . . . Allie? Lacie? Definitely something cutesy ending in ie.”

You know those times when your mouth moves but no sound actually comes out? Yeah, that’s pretty much what happened. And then, of course, my mom took that opportunity to end her conversation with Justin’s parents and call out, “Sophie! Wait up.”

“I knew it.” Archer laughed. “See you, Sophie,” he called over his shoulder as he disappeared into the house.

Next week's interview will be with Elodie, Hex Hall's resident bad girl!

Shameless Self-Promotion, Part The...Oh, Probably, Like, 9000th Or So

2010-01-18T09:18:00.002-06:00

So this morning I woke up, and after I was done reading all the Golden Globes coverage (which mostly amounted to, "And it was RAINING. On CELEBRITIES. Their hair was SLIGHTLY MUSSED, and their designer dresses were VAGUELY DAMP! Quelle horreur!"), I moseyed on over to Publisher's Weekly to read this weeks children's books reviews.

And guess what was there.

Yes! A review of HEX HALL! And a POSITIVE review at that! One that called my book, "proficient!" and "entertaining!" Okay, so those exclamation points may be mine, but those other words are theirs, promise. And they said my characters were well-drawn, and that the book was funny, and...you know what, you could just go read it yourselves.

Also, the book was reviewed RIGHT BESIDE Josh Berk's THE DARK DAYS OF HAMBURGER HALPIN! This was exciting since Berk is my NEMESIS/friend, so it was very cool to see our books there together, all basking in sweet PW Love. (You can read the 1st 2 chapters of Josh's book on Amazon. You should go do that, because it is AWESOME, and funny, and great. Seriously, this time next year, that book is going to be covered in shiny awards stickers.)

Anyway, this was all very exciting since it's the first "professional" review I've gotten! It was equally exciting that it came today of all days, since it was on MLK Day 2007 that I sat down in my (blessedly empty and quiet) house and wrote the 1st ten pages of HEX HALL. I love when the Universe is all wacky like that...

Meet Jenna!

2010-01-12T08:21:00.004-06:00

ETA: Thanks to Jess who reminded me I'd left off a Jenna snippet! Have rectified situation!

7 weeks until HEX HALL hits shelves! SEVEN! YAY!

It occurred to me last night that since I'm doing this whole "interview my characters" thing, I ought to use this as a chance to talk about how those characters came into being/The Writing Prooooocessssss. I didn't do that last week with Sophie, but then there's really not a lot to say about her character development. She sprang into life pretty much fully-formed. Her best friend, Jenna, was another story. In the original 1st half of the 1st draft (I've mentioned writing the book was a little...um...complicated, right?), Sophie's roommate at Hecate Hall was a faerie princess named Lexie (side note: I had SUCH a problem in HEX HALL with the "ie" names. Sophie, Lexie, Elodie, Katie...it was bizarre. Cut half of them in the end.) Lexie was slightly ditzy, and spoiled, and even though I had her and Sophie become best friends, they never really were. It was a classic case of "we only hang out because the plot says we should, and nothing about our relationship comes off as realistic!"

That wasn't the only big flaw Lexie had. She also made the plot clunky. See, I had to have everyone in the school shun Sophie's roommate due to her involvement in another student's death the previous year. In the 1st draft, everyone at Hecate blamed Lexie for her vampire boyfriend attacking a girl because Lexie allegedly gave her boyfriend the, like, magical password or some crap to get up to the girl's floor so that he could snack on her roommate,and...yeah, you see why this didn't work. It was needlessly complicated, and I realized that- duh!- the easiest thing to do was to make LEXIE the vampire. And not only that, she would be the only vampire at Hecate. That way, everyone hating on her made a lot more sense, and freed me up from the "But if it was her boyfriend that killed the girl, why is everyone so mad at her?" issue.

But a funny thing happened in the transition from faerie to vamp. For one thing, the character was SO not a Lexie any more, so she got a new name- Jenna. For another, she got a lot darker and angstier, which of course meant that I LOVED HER SO MUCH. In the end, the only thing Jenna had in common with Lexie was a near-pathological obsession with the color pink.

However, the best thing about Jenna is that, unlike Lexie, she and Sophie became real friends, so much so that I think their friendship is the cornerstone of the whole series.

So, now that you know the story behind Jenna's "birth," let's meet her, shall we?

Name: Jennifer Leigh Talbot (Jenna, please!)

Hair Color: Blonde/pink

Eye Color: Brown. Well, sometimes red, but brown most of the time!

Age: Technically 15. How long have I been 15? *dramatic pause* A long time. (Sorry. Vampire humor!)

Favorite Color: Have you seen my room? Pink, pink, pink!!!

Species: I'm with Soph. That is SUCH a gross word! Anyway. Vampire.

Relationship Status: No way am I answering that. I mean, this is going on the internet, isn't it? Sophie said she heard it went on the internet.

What Do You Look For In a Friend?: Open minded-ness, bad ass maaaaagicaaal powers (trust me, they've come in handy), and a healthy appreciation for sarcasm.

What Do You Look For In a Guy: Um...awkward. Not exactly into people of the Male Persuasion. But in a girl, I look for the same things I'd want in a friend. Oh, and fangs. :)

Who Is Your Hero?: Don't tell her I said this, but Sophie has been pretty heroic here lately. Girl has dealt with some MAJOR stuff. Other than that Cheesey McLame answer, I'll go with Anne Rice.

What 3 Things Would You Take to a Deserted Island?: A COMPUTER!! With wi-fi, and iTunes, and all that shiny, sexy technology. MISS IT SO MUCH! Also, my bloodstone, so as to not become Barbecued Jenna (vampes+sun=not a great mix.) And my stuffed lion, Bram.

Lastly, Do You Have a Motto?: We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.- Oscar Wilde

Sophie's first conversation with Jenna:

“So you’re . . . uh, you’re a vampire. How exactly did that happen?”

Her eyes didn’t meet mine, but her tone was casual. “Same way it happens to everyone else: met a vamp, got bitten. Not really that interesting.”

I couldn’t blame her for not wanting to share the whole story with someone she’d only known for fifteen minutes.

“So your mom is normal, huh?” she asked.

Hmm. Not exactly something I wanted to get into on the first day, but hey, this was what Fitting In was all about, right? Sharing makeup, clothes, and dark secrets with your roommate.

I cleared my throat. “Yeah, my dad is a warlock, but they’re not together or anything anymore.”

“Oh,” Jenna said knowingly. “Say no more. A lot of
the kids here come from divorced families. Even magic doesn’t ensure a happy marriage, apparently.”

“Are your parents divorced?”

She finally found the nail polish she’d been searching for. “No, they’re still disgustingly happy. Or, I mean . . . I guess they are. I haven’t seen them since I, uh, changed, or whatever.”

“Oh wow,” I replied. “That sucks.”

“No pun intended?” she asked.

“Right.”

Thanks so much, Jenna! Next up will be Hecate Hall's resident hottie, Archer Cross. Trust me, you don't want to miss that one!

In Which Reading Writing Rachel Turns 2!

2010-01-10T19:38:00.006-06:00

And oh how times have changed since January 10, 2008!

It's so bizarre to think that two years ago today, I started this blog as a way to A) hold myself accountable IN INTERNETLANDIA, where All Things Truly Matter, Natch, and B) chronicle my attempts at writing my first book. In case you don't want to scroll back through 127 entries, here it is, my very first blog post!:

Welcome!

Hi, there! Welcome to Reading Writing Rachel! I created this blog for the same reason anyone creates a blog- to talk obsessively about ME ME ME!

Okay, that's not 100% true. Although I am an only child, so, you know, it's at least 10% true.

The real reason for this blog is to chronicle my attempts to finally Write The Damn Book. I think it's safe to say I've been a writer since I was about four. That's when I started creating my best Barbie storylines, including one in which Ken kidnapped Barbie's kids, and then slipped a hallucinogenic drug into the water supply of her neighborhood so that everyone believed the kids had been abducted by aliens. No, seriously.

Ever since then, I've loved making up stories, although my plots are a little...tamer now. Since I was about 16 or so, I've probably attempted to write about 50 books. The most I've ever written before now was about 75 pages of a romance novel in college. The least I've ever written was, literally, one sentence.

But now I'm about 150 pages into my first YA novel. It's a sort of Southern Fried Paranormal, or, as I like to say, it's like Flannery O'Connor and Anne Rice had a baby (you know- with science) and then gave that baby to Meg Cabot to raise. That baby would be my book. It's kind of crazy and all over the place right now, but it's finally beginning to resemble an Actual Book.

So this blog is my attempt to document the incredibly frustrating and rewarding process of Writing The Damn Book. It's also where I will probably rant about how hard that is and how doing other things, such as watching epic amounts of Food Network, seem much more fun than writing. I'll also probably have the occasional fun poll. And, side bonus, you'll get my not very enlightening thoughts on life! Score!

So here we are, 2 years later, and The Damn Book is VERY MUCH an Actual Book. An Actual Book that is Actually Coming Out in Actual Bookstores (in 12 Actual Countries) in less than 2 months.

Now normally I try to avoid mushiness or sentimentality or any of that, but I WILL say that 2 years ago, everything was very, very scary. Despite the very cheerful tone of that post, I felt adrift and anxious. I was completely in love with my Baby Hex Hall, but I had no idea if other people might love it, too, or if being a writer was something I could genuinely do for a living. I was pretty sure that The Husband and I were both totally insane and Headed For Maximum Disaster.

But we weren't.

We were headed for Maximum Awesome.

Now I'm not saying that life is all flowers and sausages just because I got a book deal, or that Maximum Disaster will never loom again.

But I did have something to say to anyone out there who may be feeling adrift and anxious, or scared that your life is not going the way you want it to, or thinking that the dream you have is too big, or too crazy, and that is that someday somebody's gonna make you wanna turn around and say goodbye. Until then, baby, are you going to let 'em hold you down and make you cry? Dontcha know things can change? Things can go your way, if you hooooooold ooooon....Oh, wait a second. That is not a deeply felt message from my soul-region. That's a Wilson Phillips song. Funny how often the two are the same...

Wilson Phillips, caught in a moment of composing music to best express Rachel's thoughts through the magic of song. Also caught wearing truly bitchin' hats/vests/boots.

In any case, thank you for coming to RWR any time over the past 2 years! I know I am The World's Worst about replying to comments- heck, I can be The World's Worst about answering my phone. Or responding to people calling my name-, but I AM trying to get better, and every comment is so appreciated!

Have a great Monday, and I'll see y'all Tuesday when we meet Jenna Talbot from Hex Hall! (Who was, 2 years ago, NOT a vampire named Jenna, but a faerie named Lexie! Let's not tell her this, 'kay?)

Meet Sophie!

2010-01-05T08:50:00.007-06:00

Well, folks, as of today, we are officially 8 weeks away from the release of HEX HALL! I'm so excited that I cannot even handle it! In celebration of this, I thought it might be kind of fun to have a weekly feature "interviewing" some of the characters from the book. And where better to start than with the leading lady herself? (Ed. note: It's notoriously hard to get pictures of Prodigium, especially those living at Hecate Hall. Where possible, I've been able to use artist renderings, but in some cases, I'll have to use pictures of actors/models that come closest to matching the physical descriptions of the subjects.)

Now, let's meet Sophie!

Name: Sophia Alice Mercer (but I go by Sophie. Living in the South means that people tend to pronounce Sophia as "Soo-fee-yuh." No thanks.)

Hair color: Brown

Eye color: Blue

Age: 16

Favorite color: Anything but pink. Trust me, if you saw my dorm room, you'd understand.

Species: Okay, first of all, seriously? Species? That's the best word you could come up with? Ugh. I'm guessing you mean what kind of Prodigium I am. Witch.

Relationship Status: Ugh times two. "It's complicated" doesn't even begin to cover it, so for now let's just say "Single." Or maybe "Planning to Become a Nun."

What Do You Look For In a Friend?: Loyalty, a sense of humor, and unquenchable bloodlust. What can I say, having a vampire for a BFF has changed my priorities a little.

What Do You Look For In a Guy?: Snarkiness, intelligence, not having a girlfriend who may be in league with Satan, dark eyes, a killer smile- um, wait, can we scratch those last three things? Seriously, DON'T PRINT THAT. (Ed. note- Sorry, Soph!)

Who Is Your Hero?: My mom, without a doubt. And maybe Mrs. Casnoff, the headmistress here at Hecate Hall. Her hairdo alone demands hero worship.

What 3 Things Would You Take to A Deserted Island?: My boxed set of Anne of Green Gables books, an iPod (oh, technology, how I miss thee! No cells phones, mp3 players, computers, or Anything Else That Is Awesome here at Hex Hall. Blah.), and a broom for easy travel around the island. Yes, sometimes I ride a broom. Deal.

Lastly, do you have a motto?: Um...Life's a Witch, and then You Fly? Get it? It's like when people say...yeah, don't print that either, okay? I swear to God, my lameness can probably be seen from space. Stupid survey.

Thanks, Sophie! Those were some, uh, interesting answers! In addition to the interviews, I'll be posting little snippets of HEX HALL that best show off the "interviewees." That's obviously kind of tough for Sophie, what with the whole book being told from her POV and all, but here's a scene that I think captures her general "Sophie-ness!"

I stepped out of the car and into the hot thick heat of August in Georgia.
“Awesome,” I murmured, sliding my sunglasses on top of my head. Thanks to the humidity, my hair felt like it had tripled in size. I could feel it trying to devour my sunglasses like some sort of carnivorous jungle plant. “I always wondered what it would be like to live in somebody’s mouth.”

In front of me loomed Hecate Hall, which, according to the brochure clutched in my sweaty hand, was “the premier reformatory institution for Prodigium adolescents.”

Prodigium.

Just a fancy Latin word for monsters. And that’s what everyone at Hecate was.

That’s what I was.

Up next Tuesday: Sophie's roommate and BFF, Jenna Talbot!

Farewell 2009, Hello 2010!

2009-12-31T14:54:00.002-06:00

I honestly can't believe today is the last day of 2009. This time last year, I thought 2009 would draaaaaag by, what with it being the "in between year." 2008 was awesome, obviously, what with dreams coming true and all that, and 2010 is the year HEX HALL finally hits shelves, so going into 2009, I was already impatient for it to be over. "Eh," I thought. "Who needs this extra dumb year where nothing will happen??"

Um...I did. I needed this year SO BAD, y'all. When I look back at 2009, I think it was the year I really became an author. I was always a writer, but this was the year that I learned how to edit a book. I always knew how to self-edit, and I'd done some editing work with Agent Holly before HEX HALL went on submission, but that's a whole different ballgame from getting your ENTIRE MANUSCRIPT with notes, and suggestions, and comments.

It was also the year I wrote a book that was already under contract, which was a very different experience from writing a book just for me!

It was the year I had to deal with the EXTREME SCARINESS that is tax season for the self-employed. And...yeah, let's just not talk about that!

This was also the year I discovered the wonder that is having writer friends. Chantel Acevedo, Josh Berk, Kay Cassidy, Becca Fitzpatrick, Irene Latham, and Lindsey Leavitt have all filled my life- and my inbox!- which so much hilarity and support and wisdom, and I am so thankful for every single one of them! (Yes, even Berk, much as it pains me to admit it!)

2009 was the year I finally started figuring out what it meant to be a full-time writer, and how to best balance family and career. I think I only succeeded in maintaining that balance 50% of the time, so I know that's something I need to work on in 2010.

And I'm so, so grateful that I got to work on these things and start figuring all of this out BEFORE my first book came out! Thanks to this year, I'm going into 2010 with a better sense about me, the books I want to write, and the publishing industry as a whole. I wouldn't trade that for anything! I just think that's an important thing to remember, especially since the publishing business can feel soooo slooooow. As much as we might want to wish the time away, sometimes we NEED that time.

And that's probably as deep as I'm ever going to get on this blog. ;-)

I wish everyone a safe and happy New Year! Will be back on January 2 to count down the last TWO MONTHS until the world gets a little Hexier!

In Which I Tell A Small Small Son Story

2009-12-16T18:39:00.005-06:00

Ah, two "In Which I" posts in a row! Little Trivia Fact: HEX HALL once had chapters that were titled like that. You know, "In Which Our Heroine Befriends a Vampire, Cries Like a Dork, And Makes Lifelong Enemies." Then I realized that while this was TERRIBLY AMUSING (to me), it in no way matched the tone of the book. So I cut them, but GUESS WHAT? Totally bringing them back on the blog.

Anyway.

I hardly ever tell random stories about Small Son anymore, but tonight, I couldn't resist. And so, a Small Small Son Tale.

Earlier this evening, I was helping Small Son out in the bathroom (don't ask), and in leaning down to pick him up, I inadvertently poked his eye (with my knuckle, so it wasn't that bad, I promise.) He winced and whined a little, but I gave him kisses and told him I was sorry, and he seemed to accept that.

Until ten minutes later when he informed me that he wanted to tell me a story.

Here it is: "Once upon a time, I went into a cave because I needed to potty. Then a mean monkey witch came into the cave. And then she poked me in the eye."

Ladies and gentlemen, I believe Small Son has just mastered the art of allegory. *Sniff* I'm so proud!

In Which My Email Fails Epically, And I Haz a Sad

2009-12-14T10:04:00.003-06:00

EDITED TO ADD: Remember back in November when I did a school visit, and it made me so tired I thought I might die, but it was super fun so I didn't care? Well, they put a pic/write-up of that visit on the school's website! Check it out here (click on the "Rachel Hawkins- Author" sidebar link, obvs.) Please note that A) I look as tired as I felt, B) I am apparently Entirely Too Famous to remove my sunglasses from my head, and C) I am holding up a story I wrote for 8th grade Earth Science about HUMAN SACRIFICE IN A PEAT BOG. I was so hardcore at 14, y'all. (Also, the piece says I graduated in '96. It was actually '98, but that's my own fault for never getting back to them with a bio!)

Okay, so for the past few months, I've been getting some requests for blog interviews, and I was, as you can imagine, all, "SCORE! I LOVE blog interviews!" But a lot of these requests were coming in during the time I was writing HEX HALL 2: HEX KITTENS (OMG, now I REALLY want to call it that! *makes note to talk to Editor Jen STAT*)

As you'll recall, the writing of that book Ate My Soul, so I was really bad about replying to emails, or I would reply but say things like, "I will so do an interview with you, just wait for me to stop crying and rending my garments, m'kay?" Still, I saved all those requests, thinking I'd get back to them later.

Which I would if Microsoft Outlook hadn't decided to become The Devil and eat my special, "Let me get back to this" email folder!

SO. I decided to create a new email JUST for blog interview/book related stuff. From now on, if you would like to request an interview or talk about the book at all, please email me at hexhall@gmail.com (and if you sent me an interview request/questions and never heard back from me, please resend to this new address!)

You can still use rachel@rachel-hawkins.com if you just want to talk to me about...I don't know, Xanadu. Prince Caspian. Why I insist on wearing my hair this way. Whatevs!

I should add that I'm doing a "blog tour" for my publisher around my release date, so a few weeks in March may be booked up already, but I'll know more soon! Also, the sooner I can start scheduling this stuff the better, since I'm due to get edits on That Book That Ate My Soul at the beginning of the New Year, and I expect a lot of January will be taken up with that! Plus there will be all the dieting/hair fixing/teeth gnashing I'll be doing pre-book release in February, and that looks to be pretty time consuming as well.

Also, one more thing! I've gotten lots of ARC requests recently, and I'm sad to say that I have no more ARCs. I actually haven't had any in months. However, you're more than welcome to ask my publisher for one, AND- yay!- we don't have that much longer to wait before the book is actually out, anyway! Just a little over TWO MONTHS, which...whoa. Two months.

I, um, need to go eat a cookie now.

Happy Unofficially Official Agent Day!!

2009-12-11T08:39:00.004-06:00

Or it might be "Happy Officially Unofficial Agent Day!" Hmmm...

In any case, the amazing Kody Keplinger (who not only shares my love of Gossip Girl and all things Forbidden Romance, but also has a FABULOUS book coming out in the fall called THE DUFF that has ALREADY BEEN OPTIONED FOR A MOVIE. Oh yeah, and Kody is 18. And a freshman in college. She is lucky I love her, or I would be forced to hate her.) came up with this idea that today would be a day of celebrating the Awesomesauce Of Agents. Y'all know how I feel about Awesomesauce, so of course, I HAD to jump in! Besides, sometimes when you read writing/publishing blogs, you come across a lot of negativity about agents, and that brings the sads. Whenever I see people say something like, "Well, all an agent does is sell my book and take a cut of my money," it hurts me in my soul-region. Because a good agent- nay, a FABULOUS agent- does so much more than that!

I have sung Agent Holly's praises many, many times on this blog, so by now, you should already know that she is Everything Amazing and Good. Still, I'd like to give you some specifics!

1) She Is Hilarious

I guarantee you every single one of Holly's clients who talks about her today will mention this. Now, Bringing the Funny is certainly not a pre-requisite for an agent, but it is something I personally look for in people I work with. (Except my accountant. She need not Bring the Funny ever. I understand.) During the first conversation I had with Holly, she cracked a joke about "Deliverance," and I immediately was like, "Yes, this is the gal for me!" Part of the reason Bringing the Funny is so important to me is that publishing can be very scary and very serious sometimes. Having someone who makes you laugh in the face of all that scariness is invaluable. Also, she found the "Face-Punch" scene in "New Moon" every bit as funny as I did, and being able to make "Face-Punch" jokes makes the world a brighter place, truly.

2) She Makes Me Feel Like Her Only Client

Hey, have you ever been around a bunch of writers? Then I think you'll agree we're all incredibly secure, self-sufficient, emotionally balanced people without even a hint of neuroses.

You know, except not.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that writers are crazy-pants, so there are times I email or call Holly really just to meet my crazy-pants quota. I'm convinced something I wrote sucks, or I have the World's Most Random Question About Publishing, or I want to work on a novel that can best be summed up as BLADERUNNER meets MY GIRL...

Now, Holly has a lot of clients. Can you imagine what her day would be like if we all went crazy-pants AT ONCE? (Come to think of it, I'm sure we have.) But when I have these moments of nuttiness, Holly always- always- promptly emails or calls me back, usually that same day. She never makes me feel crazy-pants, and she never makes me feel like I'm bugging her, even though I know she's super-busy. That takes special skills, people!

3) She Knows Her Stuff Like Whoa

During that first phone call with Holly, we were talking about HEX HALL (then called TOO NEAR THE GLASS if you'll recall! Oh, how long ago that seems!), and I asked around how many editors she thought she might submit to. She immediately replied, "Thirteen." While reading the book- which, I should add, she did in less than 48 hours- she had also made a list of all the editors she wanted to send it to. I was so impressed with that. It showed me that A) she was really passionate about my book, and B) she knew the market BIG TIME. Over the past nearly two years I've been with her, Holly has proven that initial impression right over and over again. I once called her out of the blue to talk major career stuff (See Above RE: Crazy-Pants), and it did not give her one second's pause. She knew the details of multiple foreign contracts without having to look it up, she knew when the best time to pitch a new project would be, she knew that I maybe needed to settle down and eat a cookie...okay, that last bit may have been implied.

4) She <3s Her Books

Holly has a real love for every project she takes on, and that enthusiasm shows. She goes to signings for her authors, and Twitters about a beautiful cover, or an awesome review. She's every bit as happy as the author- heck, maybe even more!- when she makes a perfect match between book and publisher. All of this may sound like a given in an agent, but trust me, it's not! Having someone who loves your book and believes in you as a writer= priceless. Holly has been 100% on TEAM HEX since the beginning, and on days when I'm convinced I suck, and the book sucks, and the whole writing part of my brain sucks, Holly is there to talk me off the author-ledge.

There are a million more reasons why Agent Holly is Made of Win, but I think this gives you the best overview of why I'm so, so grateful to have her as my agent, and why she'd have to scrape me off like a barnacle if she ever wanted to get rid of me!

If you want to read about MORE Agents of Awesome, stop by Lisa and Laura Roecker's blog and bask in the agent-love happening over there!

RH+UK=<3

2009-12-07T09:28:00.006-06:00

First off, thank you SO MUCH for all the nice comments/blog mentions/emails about HEX HALL's cover! I'm so glad to see so many other people digging it as much as I do, and I really, really appreciate it! And now that it's finally out there in the world, I get to show y'all ANOTHER cover that also fills me with joy! Huzzah!

Little trivia fact about yours truly: I am a total Anglophile.

I regularly watch BBC America. I occasionally add extra "u"s to words (Flavour! Glamour!), and I almost always spell theater as "theatre." My concentration in college was British Lit, and consequently, about 85% of the books on my shelves are set in England or written by British authors. My laptop wallpaper is a picture of Big Ben. And, oh yeah, I set pretty much all of HEX HALL 2: HEXY TIMES (still not the real name) in England. London is without a doubt my favorite city on Earth (Although I will admit that when I visited, A) it was Christmas time, and therefore all "Love, Actually"-ed, and B)we were lucky enough to stay in a very nice section of London that probably in no way reflected the city as a whole.)

I'm sure that it's the books I read as a kid that started this obsession with All Things British. The Secret Garden, anything by Roald Dahl, the Narnia books... all HUGE parts of my childhood, and all so veddy, veddy British. And of course, nearly all of those Scandalous Romance Novels I read growing up were set in England, too, and then there were the Bronte sisters, and Austen, and Thomas Hardy, and...oh, forget it!

So you can imagine how psyched I was when the Hex Hall books sold in the UK last year! (I was also psyched because, as I have mentioned, my agent in the UK is named Caspian, and this makes me giggle every time I get emails from him.)

The UK version of HEX HALL has actually had a cover out there in Internetlandia for awhile, but I wanted to wait until the US one before I posted it here just to prevent any confusion. So here it is, in all its British-y Glory!

Isn't it fab?! It's very different from the US one- well, except for the schoolgirl uniform!-, but I love how it captures a whole other aspect of the book. HEX HALL is very much about Girls Who Are Awesome, and these ladies have that going on in SPADES! Also, I love that they gave "Jenna"- the blonde one- a pink streak in her bangs. That's a little character detail in the book, and it thrilled me to no end to see it on the cover!

If you're itching for even more UK Goodness, check out this post at The Book Smugglers by Simon & Schuster UK Publicity Diva, Kat McKenna. She talks about 6 books coming out in 2010 from S&SUK, including HEX HALL, and I have to say, every single one looks AMAZING! Also, you can enter to win stuff over there, and you know how I love Winning Stuff.

And when you're done over there, you can now become a fan of the Hex Hall books on Facebook! There's, um, not much there right now, but once January gets here, there will be all kinds of goodness happening, like giveaways, and t-shirts. So please go check that out!

MY COVER!!

2009-12-01T10:36:00.003-06:00

It's here! It's here! At last, I can share!! Please to enjoy its wonderfulness:

I love it. I love it so hard, I cannot even tell you. I love that it's spooky, but cute. I love that the model is soooo Sophie. I love that the bottom half with the water will be all holographic-y and awesome. I love that green dress. I love the font. Seriously, me and this cover? We will someday be wed. Thank you SO SO much to everyone at Hyperion who put this fabulousness together, especially the designer, Jennifer Jackman. She came up with the PERFECT cover, and I could not be happier!

Birthdiversary!

2009-11-24T10:36:00.002-06:00

Well, it's official, Blog Readers: I am THIRTY! Yes, yesterday marked my 3rd decade on earth AND my 7th wedding anniversary to The Husband. All in all, it was a ridiculously fabulous day. Heck, it was a fabulous SERIES of days! On Friday, my friend Chantel and I went to the movies to see The Movie We Shall Not Name (but y'all totally know what it was!) There was much merriment, and giggle-snorting, and feeling uncomfortable for staring at a 17 year old boy's torso. SO YAY! (Also, could someone please, please, PLEASE make The Twilight Saga into a musical?? I've been ranting on Twitter and Facebook about how that whole Volutri/Edward Attempts Death By Sparkle/Bella and Alice Race To Save Him sequence DEMANDS to be a "One Day More"/"Tonight"-esque musical number. Universe, make this happen.)

So that was the weekend. Then yesterday, on my actual Birthdiversary, I went to Zumba, where my classmates sang to me, AND I got my very own Sweet Zumba Mixed CD, AND I got to Zumba my newly 30 year old butt on stage, so that was obviously Made of Win. Came home to cake and flowers from The Husband, plus a Most Excellent iPod Touch! Then I bought books, got a pedicure, and had a visit with the Fabulous Felicia, complete with Magical Birthday Cupcakes. As you can clearly see, it's basically been the best few days, um, EVER. I always really make an effort to stop and be grateful for days like those so that when Made of Suck days come along, I can appreciate the balance!

In addition to all the Birthdiversary Awesome, I got some VERY exciting news from my new Publicist Jenn! (Yes, I have an Editor Jen and a Publicist Jenn. And a character named Jenna in HEX HALL. There is an abundance of "Jens" in my life, and I LOVE it!)

Come March, HEX HALL and I will be going ON BOOK TOUR!! Dates/places are still be finalized, but I know I'll mostly be around the South (AL, GA, TN, maybe MS), with a couple of stops around the Midwest, too. Needless to say, I am equal parts thrilled and nervous as all get out! So watch this space for more info!

OH! And the HEX HALL giveaway on Goodreads ended with 1230 people entered to win!! Y'all!! That is AMAZING TO ME! Congrats to the winners, Ellen Schmitz and Hollie Marsh! Will have those out to you ASAP!

SO MUCH SLACKING!!

2009-11-20T17:27:00.002-06:00

I know, y'all. I know. I have failed so, so hard at NaNoBloMo. Siiiigh... In my defense, there was some family stuff, then a sick kid, then books to write, so I promise I haven't been kicking back eating bon-bons, and not blogging! (Okay, I ate some bon-bons. If those Dove dark chocolate heart thingies can be called bon-bons.)

BUT next week, there will be all kinds of exciting content! Like news of...BOOK TOUR! And (maybe, hopefully, fingers crossed!) MY COVER!!

Until then, you just have a few more days to register to win an ARC of HEX HALL at Goodreads! We're already up to nearly 1100 (!!!) people, which is just...yeah, the mind, it is boggling.

See you on Monday, AKA My Birthiversary!

My Motto

2009-11-08T21:21:00.002-06:00

HA! You suckers thought I wasn't going to blog tonight, didn't you? Well, HA! I say. HAAA! Because here I am, all blogging and stuff at 9:30 at night. Okay, so when I was doing the School Visits of Awesome last week, I had one of those things happen where a kid asked a question SO GREAT that I totally blanked on answering it. And I told her I'd think about it, and blog the answer once I'd come up with something. So this is me, fulfilling that vow!

The question was: Is there a motto you live by?

Right away, you see that this is a freakin' cool question. And I DO have mottoes, lots of 'em! The problem is... well, most of them are from my dad, and he was, um, a SAILOR, so they're not exactly suitable for sharing with 7-12th graders. (They are however, Brilliant And Amazing, like, "Just sit back until you know who all the a-holes are," and "Don't mean sh*t to a tree." I seriously use at least one of those every week.)

As is always the way with these things, an answer occurred to me just a few hours later. There's a magnet I have on my fridge that I read every single day. As far as mottoes go, it's a long one. Still, I think it's the best "this is what I try to live by" statement I could find. Girl Who Asked Great, Yet Stumping Question, this one is for you!

“To laugh often and much; To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”
~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

In Which I Have Nothing Awesome of My Own, Yet Give You Awesome People

2009-11-07T17:10:00.004-06:00

I know, I know, I did not blog yesterday. Sadness. But maybe I'll try to do something AMAZING soon, and blog, like, twice in one day or something. But for now, I'm still SO worn out from my school visit extravaganza. So in lieu of actual content (Look, principal at Black Hole of Suck! That is how you actually use that phrase!), I'm sending you to Awesome Things That You Should Read.

First off, please, please, please go read Chantel Acevedo's blog post about the horrific arrest and beating of several Cuban bloggers, notably Yoani Sanchez. These brave men and women literally risk their lives- and the lives of their friends and families- to tell the truth about life in Cuba under Castro, and the more we can spread the word about what happened there, the better.

Secondly, go check out Agent Holly's fabulous post on how she is not, in fact, Emperor Palpatine. (You can imagine how disappointed I was to learn that!) Seriously, though, it is a GREAT post for any aspiring writers who are quivering in their boots at the thought of agents and queries. Also, yes, you should all SEETHE WITH JEALOUSY that some one so kick-ass is my agent.

And thirdly, if you are a GROWN-UP TYPE PERSON, go read Patrick Rothfuss's post on why, despite Living the Dream as a full time writer, he still sometimes hates his job. I just bought Patrick's THE NAME OF THE WIND, an huuuuge epic fantasy novel. Only a few chapters in, but so far it is brilliant, and refreshingly free of "twee" fantasy stuff, like dumb names or extremely two-dimensional characters. Anyway, his post is HILARIOUS, and so, so true. (But again. Naughty language ahoy!)

Now I'm gonna go back to bed until I recover from talking to people for 2 days straight...

The Tired, It Burns

2009-11-05T20:04:00.002-06:00

I realize this is very close to whiffing on my NaNoBloMo, but y'all. Y'ALL. I am sooooo tired! I talked to a bunch of extremely awesome students today, and while the experience rocked my face off, it reminded me that talking all day is. ex. haust. ing. So I'm gonna go pop another lozenge and hit the hay. Expect a full report soon! And if any of you reading this are the kids I saw today, THANK YOU!! You were so fun, and had such great questions, and the tired is so, so worth it!

You Got Qs? I Got As.

2009-11-04T12:02:00.002-06:00

Look, when I started this whole NaNoBloMo thing, I promised content every day. I did not necessarily promise substantive content every day. ;-) Right now, I'm packing for a trip to The Hometown, trying to pick up the house, and dealing with a Haircut Tragedy, so I have to keep it kind of brief.

Tomorrow, I'll be at my alma mater, Houston Academy, talking to a bunch of English students about all kinds of fun things. I've set aside some time for a Q&A section with the kids, which could possibly lead to many blank faces, but hey. I used to be a teacher. I'm used to that.

So until I return tomorrow with Tales Of Adventure From My Old High School, I was wondering if you, my blog readers had any questions. They can be about anything. HEX HALL, writing, the pub biz, Xanadu... I'm open! Leave any Qs, serious or completely ridiculous, in the comments section, and I'll tackle them this weekend! Heck, I'll even let you be anonymous. Go for it!

Until tomorrow!

Top Ten Career Goals

2009-11-03T17:26:00.002-06:00

OMG! I nearly fell down on the NaNoBloMo on the SECOND DAY! How lame is that?? This is what happens when one spends half the day writing her happy little brains out, and the rest of the afternoon watching weird French movies with random singing (God bless Netflix Insta-Player!)

I've been thinking about goals a lot here lately, namely what kind of goals I have for my career. Now, most writers have totally boring goals like hitting the NYT Bestseller list, or going on Oprah. (Side note-that-is-actually-rant: People ask me A LOT about Oprah, and I...yeah, I don't get it. I write books about teenage witches, and vampires, and shapeshifters, and a reform school on an island. I personally think all those things are FREAKIN' AWESOME, but Oprah material, they are not. So no, I am never, ever, ever going to go on Oprah with my books, and that is fine by me. Added Additional Rant: I hate when people dismiss Oprah's Book Club. She's picked some great stuff, and pretty much all of it has been challenging, interesting literature. Go read THE POISONWOOD BIBLE, or FALL ON YOUR KNEES, or PARADISE, and tell me she only picks "fluff books," m'kay?)

ANYWAY. Those are great goals to have, no doubt, but I like to think outside the box. And so I present to you my Top Ten Career Goals:

1) Overwrought YouTube Video Tributes to HEX HALL, as has been previously mentioned.

2) Being the celebrity judge at my hometown's Miss National Peanut Festival Pageant, not-so-affectionately referred to as "Miss Nut." (Also, the fact that I just called it "Miss Nut" means that I will never be asked to be a celebrity judge. DAMMIT!)

3)Ditch The Husband for Celebrity Boyfriend; Be Scandalous/Fabulous (Look, I know this one is not that nice, but if I have a chance to be Mrs. Prince Caspian...er, Mrs. Ben Barnes, then I WILL TAKE IT, PEOPLE. And so would you. Don't lie.)

4) Two Words: Hawkins. Manor.

5)Become BFF with Dolly Parton and/or Paula Deen. (Ideally, it would be both of them, and we'd do one of Paula's shows together, and then I would die of happiness.)

6)HEX HALL: THE BROADWAY MUSICAL

7)Slumber Parties with J.K. Rowling and Stephenie Meyer

8)Scandalous Biography of Me by Kitty Kelly. Wait, is Kitty Kelly still alive? I think she is. Should maybe Google...Okay, YES, Kitty Kelly still alive. GOAL SET.

9)Have Vast Quantity of Internet Taken Up with Slash Fanfiction of HEX HALL Characters, Even Though Only One Character is Actually Gay.

10) Own Brand of Boxed Wine.

So that sums it up! Surely, I can make these things happen, preferably by next Thursday. Will let you know! ;-)

NaNoWriMo, Take 2

2009-11-02T06:17:00.000-06:00

Hey, you guys remember last year when I tried to finish REBEL BELLE during NaNoWriMo, and I failed epically at it? Well, I'm at it again! NaNoWriMo, that is. Not finishing REBEL BELLE. I'm still working on that, but this November, I'm tackling a whole new Super Seeeekriiiit Project. After finishing HEX HALL 2, I was a little adrift at what to do next. I'm around 40K into RB, but I was really looking for something new to sink my teeth into. I'd thought about starting work on my New Adult Paranormal Book, but, again, after HH2, I wasn't exactly chomping at the bit to hang out with ghosts and witches again.

So I did what I always do when I'm in a writing funk, and talked to an Awesome Author Friend, Chantel Acevedo. Chantel was in the same boat; wanted to do NaNo, didn't want to work on something in her normal vein. Over chips and salsa, we got to chatting about the Super Seeeeekriiiiit Projects currently bouncing around in our brains, and we each decided that the other's SSP was freakin' awesome. And lo, a pact was made: We would use NaNoWriMo to stretch our writerly muscles, and hammer out 50K words on books that actually seemed like FUN to write.

So what IS my Super Seeeekriiiit Project? Well... I can't say. It is, after all, seeeeekriiiit. But I will say that it is straight fantasy- no paranormal elements involved!- and that I've been doing a lot of research into 17th century England as research. See? Seeeekriiiit. So far, I'm 600 words in, and while it IS tough- no snarky teenagers! Coming up with names that are "fantastical" without being, um, stupid!- it's been fun. As in, giddy, butterflies-in-tummy fun. It may never see the light of day, much less get published, but that's okay. It is my Brain Sorbet between HEX HALL books, and I lurve it.

Now, not only will I be tackling NaNoWriMo, but I also plan on- wait for it- BLOGGING EVERY DAY IN NOVEMBER! I know, I am crazy. But I think it might be helpful to blog about the wacky NaNoWriMo process, and besides, I'll have exciting things to talk about like MY COVER! Seriously, it is coming ANY DAY NOW!

So please join me on this possibly insanity-inducing journey. Anyone else out there taking the NanNoWriMo plunge? If so, buddy me! I'm under the ever-so-creative name, Rachel Hawkins. Until tomorrow, dear friends!

HEX HALL Giveaway!

2009-10-27T06:39:00.004-05:00

Okay, I've been Twitter Teasing about this for a couple of days, but now I can finally announce The Awesome Thing I've been promising!

No, sadly it's not my cover...YET. But Hyperion had the photo shoot for that last Thursday, so I'm hoping there will be cover-y goodness to show very soon! Editor Jen sent me emails from the shoot that basically had me shaking my laptop and screaming, "WHY AM I NOT IN NYC???" But then, I do that a lot anyway.

So today is Small Son's birthday (Four! Whole years old!), and my own birthday is less than a month away now (Thirty! Whole years old!), so I wanted to do something fun to celebrate those 2 things.

And what is more fun than giving away an ARC of HEX HALL??

NOTHING, I TELL YOU!

So here it is: Go to HEX HALL's Goodreads page right *Cartman voice* nyah. Click that handy little button that says ENTER TO WIN! You'll be entered to win my LAST REMAINING ARC of HEX HALL! The contest lasts from today until by b'day, November 23, so there's plenty of time to enter. Goodreads will electronically pick the winner, and then I will happily ship HEX HALL to you (anywhere in the US, Canada, or the UK)! And I MIGHT just throw some other surprises in the package, too! ;-) (Also, hee hee! Package. Am 12.)

So go over there and win you some HEX HALL!

HUSH, HUSH= Awesome, Awesome

2009-10-15T13:11:00.005-05:00

One of the biggest benefits of being a writer is having Writer Friends. Writing is such a weird job, and publishing is such a complicated business that it's a HUGE relief to hang out with people who are involved in it, too. Plus we're all kind of bizarre people who play with characters that live in our brains, so there's that!

One of my Writer Friends is Becca Fitzpatrick. I met Becca through The Tenners, and I have to say, she is just one of the sweetest people ever. Her book has (deservedly) gotten tons of buzz, and she's had lots of cool things happen, like being the FIRST EVER YA book chosen for the Barnes and Noble First Look Book Club! AND she was blurbed by Sandra Freakin' Brown. AND- this bit is the coolest to me- her UK publishers had someone dress up as her main character and read chapters from the book to a huge crowd in Trafalgar Square! CAN YOU IMAGINE?? I watched the streaming video of it, and wanted to squee and clap my hands, it was so exciting (I only refrained because I was at the library, and they tend to frown on the clapping and the squeeing.)

Now here is the thing, Gentle Readers. Sometimes, when debut novelists get this kind of hype, they become...what is the word I'm searching for here? Ah, yes. A-holes.

(Side note: Whenever I see this type of writer, I always think, "There is no way that person has kids." Because kids keep you grounded like nothing else on Earth. For example, I dropped Small Son off at school the other day only to have his teacher inform me that MY PANTS WERE ON INSIDE OUT. So, you know, even if I became a NYT Bestseller, and they made a long-running TV show out of my book, and I ditched The Husband and married Prince Caspian, thus becoming Queen of Narnia, I could never think I was THAT cool. Because I once left the house with inside-out pants. That's what you call a "learning moment.")

Anyway, my point is that Becca is the complete OPPOSITE of that kind of person. She is so amazing, and nice, and down-to-earth despite all the crazy buzz swirling around her kick-ass book. Speaking of which...

As soon as I heard about HUSH, HUSH, I knew I NEEDED IT IN MY FACE RIGHT NOW OMG! Fallen angels! Forbidden love! Creepy setting! Sadly, I thought I was going to have to wait until January to read it, but then the entire publishing industry went, "Hey, you know what? This HUSH, HUSH book is awesome, awesome, and sexy, sexy, so we want to put it out earlier (earlier)!" It hit the shelves this Tuesday, making it the First Official Tenner Book to be released! (Becca is a Tenner b/c her original release date was 2010, and once a Tenner, always a Tenner).

Another reason I wanted to read it: LOOK AT THAT GUY AND HIS HALF-NAKED SELF! I mean, um, look at the shading! And what an interesting, uh, color palette! And feathers!

Before I start telling you all the reasons you need to put HUSH, HUSH in your faces right now OMG, let me do a little disclaimer. Yes, Becca is my friend. Yes, as I have mentioned above, I like her a lot. HOWEVER, do not think this makes me biased! As Lindsey Leavitt said in her blog post about reading HEX HALL, knowing and liking a writer personally makes you that much more nervous to read his/her book. And besides, I don't pimp books I don't personally enjoy. What would be the point?

Okay, so first of all, here's the book's description from Amazon:

For Nora Grey, romance was not part of the plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how much her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch came along.

With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Nora is drawn to him against her better judgment.

But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure who to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is, and to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is way more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.

For Nora is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen - and, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost her life.

So now that you know what it's about, here are Five Reasons that HUSH, HUSH Rocks, Rocks.

1)It Is Scary Like Whoa.

Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of sweet, hawt romancin' in HUSH, HUSH, but at its heart, it is one heck of a scary book. The tension, the atmosphere, the villain...*shudder* Perfect for Halloween!

2) Smart, Prickly Heroine

Nora is no damsel in distress, but she's not a butt-kicking Buffy wannabe, either. She's lost her father recently, which has given her an interesting combination of strength and vulnerability that I found very believable. She's also smart, but still capable of making bad decisions, which, again, very real. And I loved that she was a little "prickly" because she has to be tough to stand up to Patch. Which leads me to...

3) Patch

Mmmmm... Patch Cipriano. When it comes to Bad Boys, Patch is the real thing. He's snarky, he's cocky, and he's legitimately dangerous. He does bad things for good reasons- or at least reasons that are good to him- and his chemistry with Nora is SMOKIN'.

4) Not Your Every Day Teenage Romance

Patch and Nora's attraction is one of the coolest elements of the book, because Becca presents a different kind of love story. This is no, "We clapped eyes on each other, and knew it was OMG TRU LUV 4-EVA!" romance. This is the, "I don't trust you, and I'm not sure I even like you, but it might be really, really fun to make out with you a lot before I inevitably have to kill you." Needless to say, I LOVED THAT SO MUCH. It is, after all, very close to "I Hate That I Love You, etc., BUT YOUR HAIR IS SO SHINY, GAH!", and we all know how I feel about that.

5)Super Cool Mythology

HUSH, HUSH deals with fallen angels, and let's face it, that is bad-ass. It's an unusual mythology, and one that hasn't been beaten to death yet. Because I was so unfamiliar with the Nephilim, and Cheshvan, and The Book of Enoch, all the cool twists and turns were really surprising.

Whew! So there's my list of all the reasons HUSH, HUSH needs to be in your faces right now! And if that didn't convince you, let me draw your attention to that cover one more time:

You can nearly see naughty things, people. And also, there is this one scene in a motel room in a storm, and they're alone, and the power goes out, and- look, just read it, okay?

Congrats, Becca!!!

Extra! Extra! Somebody's Getting Married!

2009-10-08T14:21:00.002-05:00

Not me, of course. As far as I know, bigamy is still illegal in Alabama (insert "unless you're related" joke here. Ba-dum-BUMP!) No, the bride in question is my sweet friend, Felicia. Some of you may remember Felicia as The Woman Who Bakes Magical Cupcakes (That Help Rachel Write Books). Not only does Felicia have mad cupcake making skillz, she's also one of my dearest friends, and pretty much the nicest person I know. You know people who can only bring sunshine and love and laughter into your life? That's Felicia. We met seven years ago, when both of us had first moved to Huntsville, me from Auburn, Felicia from California. I was working at a preschool, and Felicia was hired at the same place, maybe a month or so after I started. I didn't know anything about her except that she was from CA, and, like me, didn't really know anyone in Huntsville. On a whim, I invited her over for dinner after work one night, and within ten minutes, I knew I'd made a lifelong friend. For one thing, Felicia is HILARIOUS. We had the same silly sense of humor, as well as a shared love for wine, 80s movies, and books, and we just clicked immediately.

Felicia has one of the biggest hearts ever, and she's finally found the right guy to share it with. Her soon to be husband, Rick, is a wonderful guy, and I couldn't be happier for them. Only thing is. . . Rick is Australian (insert "dingo-baby and/or shrimp on Barbie joke HERE. Ba-dum-BUMP X2!) And since Rick is Australian, Felicia will be moving to Australia, which fills me with The Sad even as it fills me with The Thrilled because she's so, so happy. Still, it will be hard knowing one of my BFFs is a whole hemisphere away.

But this weekend, I'm gonna put on some pearls and some killer shoes and celebrate what is probably my last go-round as a bridesmaid. Or is it bridesmatron now that I'm married? Ew. Matron. (Oh, I should add that I told The Mama that I thought this was the last time I'd be a bridesmaid, and she was like, "Well, you are getting kind of old for it." I was equal parts horrified and amused.)

Anyway, in honor of this momentous occasion, I give you the Greatest Wedding Song Ever Created By Humans and Puppets (Sadly broke into two parts because YouTube sucks.)

I love you, Felicia!

In Which My Entire Week- Nay, MONTH!- Is Made

2009-10-02T14:47:00.002-05:00

First off: FIVE MONTHS until HEX HALL hits shelves! Five months!! That seems very, very soon, which is equal parts terrifying and exciting. (Oh, also thanks to Lindsey Leavitt for correcting my math on that. I was talking to her yesterday and was all, "SIX MONTHS!" and she was like, "Yeah, Rachel, try FIVE." Math=not my strongest suit.)

Okay, so I'm not gonna lie: Things are pretty awesome here around Chez Hawkins. For starters, I *drum roll please* FINALLY turned in HEX HALL 2: THE JOY OF HEX (yeah. I went there.) to the fabulous Agent Holly! Which was EVER SO MOMENTOUS, both because I've written my first sequel (See: Turns Out Writing Sequels Is Hard) AND because I have now written TWO BOOKS. Which means I'm capable of writing more than ONE book. And this is good knowledge to have about one's self, especially when one has a contract for THREE books. ;-)

I also discovered that, as much as HEX HALL 2: HEX AND THE SINGLE MOM ate my soul, it was, in the end, a very fun book to write. It's a good deal longer than HEX HALL, and it gets a little darker and twistier, and that was soooo fun to play with. And- BONUS AWESOME- I've already heard back from Agent Holly, and she loves it! I still have some editing to do based on her suggestions before we ship it off to Editor Jen, but it's all fun, "add more of this" stuff, and no "take all this out and rewrite this part before we're laughed out of the industry" stuff.

So as you can imagine, I've been pretty happy these past few days. AND THEN something ELSE completely wondiferous happened!

I found this fabulous article in Publishers Weekly about the Midwest Booksellers Association's annual meeting. In case you don't want to click on the link, here's where it gets especially cool for yours truly:

Rachel Sipress, PW’s junior correspondent (full disclosure, PW’s midwest correspondent’s 11-year-old daughter) saved her highest praises for Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins (Hyperion), a March 2010 novel about a young witch that hasn’t even made it onto booksellers’s radar screens yet. “It’s great,” she pronounced, declaring it her favorite of all the galleys she picked up at the show.

Um, Rachel Sipress? YOU ARE NOW SO MY FAVORITE PERSON! Seriously, this made me clap and want to dance around my living room with joy. Not only because it was something nice about my book in PW- which is always a good thing-but because a real, live 11 year old dug HEX HALL! That's why I write YA, in the hopes that something I wrote will bring joy to kids. And it DID! So yay!

Also, thanks so much to Matilda and Mary for throwing in some sweet comments at the end of the article. You ladies? ALSO AWESOME!

But wait, there's more! I heard from Editor Jen today that the photo shoot for my cover will be happening next week! Huzzah! I'm really, really hoping that I can reveal the cover on Halloween as that feels very appropriate. So fingers crossed! And hmmm...once the cover is out, perhaps there should be some kind of giveaway to celebrate....*rubs chin thoughtfully*