Erica O'Rourke: December 2010

SO.

Well.

It has been kind of a crazy few months around here. There was the whole Golden Heart Thing. And then there was the whole Moving Thing. There was the Eight Squillion Boxes Thing (actually, that’s still going on.) There was the Rather Spectacularly Repulsive Plumbing Thing which we need never discuss again. (I wanted to spare you the details.) Now, imagine all of those things like an iceberg, the tips of the crazy poking out above the surface, some of them delightful, some of them Spectacularly Repulsive. Five months or so of drifting iceberg, with pieces occasionally calving off, replaced by new bits of crazy. Kind of like this:

You see The Thing? Down at the bottom? It’s been there, underneath the crazy, taking up the bulk of my attention, but not being talked about. Until now. And unlike the kind of icebergs that take out ill-fated ships or presage catastrophic climate change, MY iceberg is actually very nice. It’s better than nice. It’s effing fantastic.

My iceberg is a BOOK. Three of them, sold to Kensington Publishing, to launch their new YA imprint, K Teen.

I had to stop for a moment there, because I get a little woozly every time I hear it. You’d think I would be over such silliness by now, but…nope.

Here’s the official announcement at Publisher’s Marketplace:

Children's: Young Adult
TORN-Golden Heart winner Erica O'Rourke's debut paranormal trilogy, in which a girl must choose between two guys and two equally dangerous worlds: mob-connected Chicago and a magical underground society in New Orleans, in a three-book deal, in a pre-empt, to Alicia Condon at Kensington's K Teen, for publication in July 2011, by Joanna Volpe at Nancy Coffey Literary & Media Representation(NA).

Here’s a little bit more about it (you have to go to page 3).

Publisher's Weekly: Today's YA Scene

Here's some blush-inducing things some very kind authors have said about TORN:

"Who doesn't love a character torn between two dangerous worlds and two risky guys? The only thing safe about this book is how good it is." ~ Lee Nichols, author of DECEPTION ~ Haunting Emma”

“Dark, exciting and totally addictive! Just . . . wow!” ~Kristi Cook, author of Haven

“Dark, magical, and delicious! TORN will keep you turning pages ‘til the very end.” ~ New York Times bestselling author C. L. Wilson (Crown of Crystal Flame)

To clarify:

Yes, this is the same manuscript that won the 2010 Golden Heart, just with a new title – TORN. It will be out in July of 2011, which is THIS COMING JULY. Woozly again.

Yes, the other two books are sequels. Book two, which I finished the first draft of this week, is called TANGLED. TANGLED is what I’ve been working on for the last five months, ever since we sold the book in July. And I have WORKED, people. There were days when I would text my friend Lisa:
Me: “I used up all the words. No more words.”
Lisa: “It's okay. There will be more words tomorrow.”
She was right.

Yes, this is the reason I’ve been so quiet -- the revisions for TORN and the drafting of TANGLED have eaten up what little spare time I had, but also because the series actually sold last July – before the Golden Heart win, before we moved, before I got terribly far on the Roadside Marker book -- and I was asked to hold off on blogging about it until Kensington formally announced both TORN and their new line, K Teen. Now that they have, I can tell you how thrilled I am to be working with them! My editor, Alicia Condon, has been so supportive and enthusiastic, I have considered posting a picture of her next to my desk for those days when I am feeling particularly grim about my ability to construct prose of ANY quality. I may still do that, come to think of it.

Yes, my agent is amazing and utterly brilliant. Joanna Volpe, of Nancy Coffey Literary & Media Representation. She is funny and incredibly, incredibly smart, and she has the very best hair you’ve ever seen. She is patient when I pepper her with a zillion newbie questions and her ideas aren't just good, they're Evil Genius Good. She has sent me great books and delicious coffee and encouragement when I most needed it. I can’t imagine having done this without her (or the rest of the NCLMR team, to tell the truth).

Yes, I am pretty much the luckiest girl alive.

I am so happy to finally, formally share my news with all of you. I've always thought the underwater part of the iceberg was the prettiest part, and it's good to share the view.