Short stories series featuring Eloise Montgomery and more!

I just completed a series of short stories set in The Hollows and focusing on one of my favorite characters psychic Eloise Montgomery. I am so excited about these three short stories that will release this fall.  I have been really wanting to spend more time with Eloise, and delving deeper into what has formed her, and these shorts were a perfect way to do that. More to come on this very soon!

I also turned in a draft of AMELIA STRANGE AND THE DRAGON EGG (Release date is not set), my very first young adult fantasy novel! I can’t wait to share this new adventure with you. It has been such a joy to share it with my daughter Ocean. She has been involved with the story since I first started thinking about it. And Jeff is now reading it to her at bedtime. It’s really magical to talk with her about the characters and themes, and hear her questions and see her excitement with all the various elements of the book. I haven’t really been able to share anything like this with her before.  It’s a wonderful new chapter on our journey together.

The cover for CRAZY LOVE YOU (February 2015) is absolutely stunning! Which is so mean because we’re not quite ready to share it yet! Trust me. It’s killer. Stay tuned! Anyway, I am just finishing up first pass pages, which is the final place I can make any real changes. I’ll be sharing more about it as we draw closer to pub time.

What I’m watching:

You know you’re just a little bit in love with Siri. Come on, admit it.

This weekend, Jeffrey and I watched HER. It was sweet, sexy, smart — so beautifully written and acted. Scarlett Johansson‘s voice as operating system Samantha was hypnotic. It was definitely one of the best movie experiences I’ve had in a while. It’s such a joy to be surprised by a film, to find myself utterly transported. It also touched on a number of themes that I’m working on right now — and some that I’ve been exploring for a long time. What is love? What makes us who we are? How do our relationships change us, or show us new and different parts of the self? What does love promise and is that promise ever really fulfilled? Favorite line: The past is just a story we tell ourselves. (Samantha, the operating system with whom Theodore played by Joaquin Phoenix falls in love.) And I loved the Alien Child, such a mean, foul-mouthed little cutie.

What I’m reading:

This book is blowing my, er, mind.

The Future of the Mind: The Scientific Quest to Understand, Enhance, and Empower the Mind by Dr. Michio Kaku (my editor would lose her “mind” if she read this. I just used the same word four times without even completing two sentences). Wow, what can I say about this book? It’s a compelling, thought-provoking read about advancements in and the future of science and physics. New technologies are doing the impossible right now — recording memories, communicating telepathically, videotaping our dreams. Strangely, it also touches on some of the themes I mention above. And of course in the reading what looms largest is the question of consciousness — what is it? Are we just our brains? Does brain science disprove the existence of something beyond our biology?

I haven’t been super active on the social networks lately. But … guess who I just followed on Twitter???

George RR Martin, that’s who! I am having a total geek attack. Of course, there’s only one tweet and it’s about how he doesn’t hang out on Twitter. I don’t care. I worship him. If I ever meet you, George RR Martin, I am going to lay my head on your shoulder and ask you to tell me a story. So, watch out. (You should follow him. But don’t take up too much of his time! He needs to WRITE!)

Just a final note!

I came across this very interesting article on Alafair Burke’s page about how to support authors you love. The business is crazy and changing all the time. But one thing that hasn’t changed is that it’s all about the readers. Authors write for you. Publishers publish for you. These are just a few ways you can wield your awesome power.