Hooray for the Wings of Fire Graphic Novel!
Hello all my favorite readers!
I cannot believe I have neglected this blog for so very long — I’m sorry! Apparently fall is not my most productive blogging time. ? But the good news is: Book Eleven is done and really coming to you this year! The cover is so so pretty and it even has a title now…I’ll see if my editor will let me reveal it soon!
But before we get to that, there’s the incredibly beautiful graphic novel of Book One, which is out in the world RIGHT NOW!
I can’t wait for you all to get your talons on this so you can see Mike Holmes‘s amazing art! My favorite thing is the sweet confused faces he drew for Clay, and his ability to imagine the huge sweeping scenery around the dragons. It’s so so cool!
The novel was adapted into graphic novel script form by Barry Deutsch, which I am very very grateful for — he did an incredible job. (I mean, you might have noticed that I like to write, um, you know, LOTS OF WORDS, so it was kind of a daunting task!) And the colorist, Maarta Laiho, is absolutely glorious, especially with the Glory scenes! And Peril, and the arena, and everything!
So I hope you’ll get a chance to read it — and if you have any questions about it (or anything else I’m allowed to answer!), Mike and I are doing a Q&A on the Scholastic message boards THIS FRIDAY, January 5th, at 4pm EST! Come hang out with us! Ask all the things! Tell Mike how wonderful he is! Yay! 😀 😀 😀
And ALSO on Friday, you’ll be able to listen to me rambling on the New York Times Book Review podcast (eeeeeeek!), which was one of the most exciting things I’ve ever gotten to do (in the New York Times building! meeting Pamela Paul!). I have no idea what I’ll sound like, but hopefully there will be a few coherent sentences in there (under the giddiness) — and at least one small secret about the lost continent that hasn’t been revealed yet anywhere else!
OK, I have much much more I want to tell you about, including some of my favorite books from last year, but I’m going to restrict myself to just one and hope that forces me to come back soon and tell you more!
The Real McCoys by Matthew Swanson and Robbi Behr is SO DELIGHTFUL, you guys! It’s smart and so funny and the nonstop illustrations add even more gleeful adorableness to it. It felt to me like a younger Clarice Bean or an older Dory Fantasmagory, with girl detective Moxie McCoy and her brainy little brother Milton solving mysteries at their school with charming, spunky flair.
Matthew and Robbi and I all went to college together, so I can also tell you that they are this lovely and funny in real life, too! I’m sure I’ve said this before, but I wish there were a word for the relief you feel when a book written by someone you like turns out to be as fantastic as you were hoping it would be — you know, like freundenartfreude or something. (Also applies, for instance, to Kristin Cashore‘s new novel Jane, Unlimited, which is ALSO WONDERFUL, yes, I see what I’m doing, sneaking in another recommendation, la la la…)
Matthew’s last name is also conveniently located right next to mine, so The Real McCoys is bookshelf buddies with Wings of Fire, and therefore very easy to remember/find! ? If you like funny mysteries with great heroines, this is the one to read to start off 2018 on a happy note.
Happy New Year, everyone! I hope your 2018 is a year of love and light and empathy and hope, and that there are lots and lots of wonderful books in it!
Things Making Me Happy Right Now: The most marvelous box of D’Vine Cookies that has just arrived from my friend Leah and her awesome kids — they’re big and perfect and come in many amazing flavors! If you ever need to order cookies online (as gifts or party favors or, you know, because you just NEED COOKIES, check them out; I highly recommend them!
What We’re Reading:
Me: A Properly Unhaunted Place, by William Alexander; Where the Past Begins, by Amy Tan; The Keep of Ages, by Caragh O’Brien; A Slip of the Keyboard, by Terry Pratchett; and I’m rereading the Runaways series by Brian K. Vaughan so I can read the new ones by Rainbow Rowell soon (eeep yay!)
With both bears: the Bad Guys books by Aaron Blabey and Starry River of the Sky, by Grace Lin