Erica O'Rourke

Dissonance Blog Tour: Day 8, plus more events!

The next excerpt is live! Check it out at Paranormal Book Club! And if you want to start at the beginning of the excerpt tour, head over to Oh, The Books!

I'm also gearing up for a bunch of events! First, of course, is the launch party at The Book Stall in Winnetka, this coming Tuesday, July 22. I can't wait to see you guys there!

 

 

New and upcoming events:

Friday, July 25, 6:30pm

I'll be participating in a group signing at the Crystal Lake Barnes and Noble with some amazing authors: Joelle Charbonneau, Liz Czukas, and Stacey Kade.We'll be talking about all things pop-culture related, which can only end hilariously.

Sunday, September 7

I'm thrilled to be signing with my dear friends Sarah J. Maas and Susan Dennard at Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville, IL. More details, including a time and a link to the event are coming soon.

October 25-26

I'll be on a panel at the Chicago Writer's Conference with the hilarious middle-grade author Allan Woodrow, giving practical advice for breaking into the childrens'/ young adult market. I'll also be around for the rest of the conference, just chatting, so come say hello!

 

I am blushing just thinking about it.

Popping in quickly to let you know that I will be participating in Story Studio's "Scandal, Seduction, and Romance" reading on February 5th with several other Chicago-area authors. Not only will you get to see how red I turn while reading the kissy bits of my books OUT LOUD, but you'll get to hear about some of the classes StoryStudio offers -- and check out their North Shore Studio, which you can rent as space for a writer's retreat. (So pretty!)

I'll be reading from the Torn trilogy, but if you ask nicely, I might tell you a bit more about Dissonance, too.

Also, there will be chocolate. Just sayin'.

Here are the details -- but please note that the event is intended for ages 18 and up.

What: StoryStudio's Scandal, Seduction and Romance Reading

When: February 5th, 7pm

Where: StoryStudio North, 723 Elm Street, Suite 26, Winnekta, IL

Why: Because the kissy bits are always the best parts.

Updated to add: It's FREE!

Click here for more information.

See you there!

I like shiny things and sharing.

First, an announcement: I'll be at the Aurora Public Library's Catch A Bunch Of Authors Book Fair this Saturday afternoon, speaking on a panel with the incredibly talented, incredibly nice Veronica Roth. I'll also be signing books and handing out swag. Because I love swag. Click here for a PDF of the details, or to submit a question to the panel.

Second, I'd mentioned elsewhere that if everything went according to plan, I was going to have new office shelving by the end of the weekend. Naturally, all did not go according to plan. I'm sure you're all shocked.

I'm still hoping to have shelves up this afternoon, which means my rambly, state-of-Erica post will have to wait for another time. In the meantime, I shall distract you with something shiny:

A bracelet! A shiny, shiny, custom-made Torn Trilogy bracelet! (Also in the background: new kitchen table!) It says, as those of you who have signed copies of TORN might recognize, "Make your own fate." It's an adjustable cuff, so you can make it fit as snug or as loose as you'd like.

Want one? I'm collecting shots of BOUND in the wild -- your locker, your bookshelf, your vacation, the front seat of your car, with the pet of your choice...go nuts. Shots of it on your e-reader are fine, too.

Send me the picture at erica at ericaorourke dot com, or @-message me on Twitter, or make it show up on my Facebook page (I don't know much about FB, so I don't know how one does this). I'll close entries next Friday, September 14th, at 5pm CST, and pick a random winner. HOWEVER: I have more than one bracelet. I might give out some to truly amazing entries.

(I'll be using the pictures in another post, FYI, so don't send a picture you wouldn't want seen on the internet.)

And now, I'm off to install shelving. Cross your fingers that I don't lose mine.

Exciting News: Moffat Edition

Sometimes in publishing, you have to keep your mouth shut.

 

Sometimes, people will ask what's new and exciting. They want to know about your new projects. If you've got any news. Then you have to dissemble. Play it cool. Nothing to see here, move along.

(source)

Even though on the inside, you're like this:

 

(source)

And then the news comes out, and you have to act surprised:

 

(source)

All of which is to say, I have some news.

Alexandra Cooper of Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers has bought two books by Erica O'Rourke in a preempt: Dissonance, and a sequel, about a girl who walks between worlds, falling for different versions of the same boy in each place. Dissonance has a projected pub date of fall 2013; O'Rourke is the author of the Torn series, which recently concluded with Bound. Joanna Volpe of New Leaf Literary & Media was the agent.

 

 

I'll come back and explain more later, but for now, know this: I'm terrified and thrilled all at the same time, because this book -- which I love like you cannot believe -- is scary and complicated and full of jiggery-pokery, and I am hoping like hell I've got the chops to pull it off. I'm incredibly fortunate, though, because my editor -- and the entire team at S&S -- are brilliant and amazing. They're helping me shape this book into what it wants to be. So, if you had to sum up my state of mind these days, especially now that I'm able to tell you, it would look a lot like this.

I'm a big proponent of the notion that you should do the very thing that scares you most, which is exactly what I'm doing, and honestly...

 

I can't wait.

 

 

Bacon Jam and Summer Plans

Today is my sister's birthday, and to celebrate (Happy birthday, sister-mine!) we are heading up to Madison, WI for the weekend. It's one of my favorite places in the whole world. I'll try to post some pictures over on my twitter feed so you can see our regular haunts.

Today is also cold and rainy -- it was 95 last weekend and now it's 55, and my natural reaction to this sort of temperature drop is to make something consoling and indulgent. I like cold, rainy, gray days, because nobody tries to make me feel guilty about staying inside where there are books and the internet and coffee and my bed, instead of going out into nature, where there are weeds and bugs. To celebrate the fact that I don't have to do battle with the weeds, I am making Bacon Jam.

Yes, bacon jam. This recipe really appeals to me, because the only thing better than sweet/salty food is sweet/salty/spicy food, but I have a long to-do list today and kids who don't appreciate spiciness the way I do, so I'm going with this version, which has the benefit of cooking unattended while I Accomplish All The Things. I'll keep you posted.

But the REAL point of this post is to give you a quick-and-dirty update about where I'll be this summer. (Other than Madison, which is not an official trip but an "eat lots of delicious things" trip.) The list isn't inclusive -- we've got a few more events in the works, but for now, this is where you can find me:

Printers Row Lit Fest
Chicago, IL
2:45 pm Sunday, June 10 (subject to change -- check schedule)
Panel Discussion: Writing Young Adult Isn't Writing Down

Lake Villa Library
2-4 pm, Sunday, June 17
Workshop: What's the Point of POV? (registration required; designed for teens)

Grayslake Library
Writer's Bloc: Camp NaNoWriMo Kickoff
August 30 (Registration required; grades 2-6)

Midwest Writers Workshop
Muncie, IN
July 26-28
I'm teaching multiple classes on YA, and the entire faculty is outstanding -- especially this brilliant agent.

The other thing we have going this summer, of course, is the launch of BOUND! I'll have giveaways starting this weekend, and other fun things planned, so stay tuned. And now I'm off to check on my bacon jam.

 

TANGLED Launch Party!

TANGLED is coming out in a bit less than two weeks. January 31st, to be exact. And I am so excited for people to read it, maybe even more than I was for TORN. I have some thoughts about series and second books and the lessons learned in the writing of them, and I'll share some of those thoughts next week. For now, suffice it to say that I love the book and can't wait to share it with you all.

Which is why I'm so happy to be doing a launch party and signing at my local Barnes and Noble on February 4th. This is the bookstore my kids went to on TORN's pub date, since I was in New York. And while they were there, they saw one of my best friends and her kids buying the book. My family has logged many, many hours at this store, and the thought of signing there thrills me to no end.

If you're a student, you should definitely stop by, because every copy you buy enters you into a drawing for a free classroom visit (assuming you're within a reasonable drive, otherwise we'll Skype) AND a set of YA books, including Divergent, The Duff, Deception, Tempest, and several others.

Also, there will probably be chocolate of some kind or another. And swag. You know how I love swag.

The details:

Erica O'Rourke's TANGLED Launch and Signing
Barnes and Noble at Westfield Hawthorne Mall
720 Hawthorne Center, Vernon Hills, IL 60061
Saturday, February 4th
2-4 pm

Can't wait to see you there! Warning: I might leap from the table and hug you just for showing up. It's been known to happen.

 

Because Friday is always better than Tuesday. Especially this week.

In true Tuesday style (did you know Tuesday is my least favorite day of the week? Tuesday is the new Monday, in my opinion.) today's post in not a catch-up of all the fun things I've been doing.

What's that, you say? You don't believe I've been off having fun? You're mostly right -- I've been chained to my desk finishing up the revisions of BOUND -- but I did manage to escape and go see a taping of NPR's Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, where I met Carl Kasell, and Paula Poundstone dressed like a pilgrim.

(That's not me with Paula, alas. I was too busy fawning over Peter Sagal, so I made the boyo get a picture.)

The purpose of this post is to invite you, if you are an English teacher or librarian, to come and see me at the NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) Convention this Friday. I'll be hosting a party with free food! And free beverages! And swag, including copies of TORN and a chance to win ARCs of TANGLED. (Swag, by definition, is free. Free is good.)

Here's the details:

TORN/TANGLED Party

7-9 pm

Shileghlegh Room  Kitty O'Shea's, Hilton Chicago (720 S Michigan Ave.)

If you're an English teacher or librarian that isn't attending NCTE? Shoot me an email (erica at ericaorourke dot com) and I will send you the swag bag AND enter you in the drawing to win an ARC of TANGLED.

Now, I am off to slay Tuesday. That fifth cup of coffee isn't going to drink itself, you know.