Erica O'Rourke

Cover Love, Our Winner, and Another Contest

Today is a good day, people. I know it's Monday, but all three of my children are in school. It's rainy and gray, which means nobody is making me feel bad about not doing spring yardwork. Most importantly, I can show you the cover of DISSONANCE!

Now, if you participated in the YA Scavenger Hunt last weekend, you've already seen it. And I was BLOWN AWAY by your kind words and incredible response. (See the bottom of this post for the winner.) But when the hunt was over, the cover came down. The good news is, I have got your back. Behold:

 

This cover, guys. I fell in love with it the minute I opened the email. And then, when an envelope from the good people at Simon and Schuster arrived with actual cover flats -- printed copies, just like you'd wrap around a hardcover -- I gasped. Because in real life, this cover shimmers. I don't know how they do it. Fairy dust, maybe, or intricate laser something-or-other. But it shimmers, and the colors glow, and everything about it, every single aspect, perfectly captures the story.

I don't think I'm spoiling anything if I tell you that music and sound make up a huge part of Del's world, as does her ability to walk between alternate realities. And Lizzy Bromley, my genius cover designer, has done an incredible job of getting that musicality and movement across in a single image, whereas I needed a whole bunch of words. I love, love, LOVE it, and I hope you do, too.

There are a few descriptions of the book floating around right now, but I'm still revising, so take them with a large grain of salt. For now, here's what I can share about the story itself:

For Delancey Sullivan, alternate universes aren’t just a theory: they’re a way of life. Every time someone makes a choice – to eat breakfast or skip it, to sneak out or stay in bed – parallel realities are created, and echo versions of ourselves take the roads not traveled in the Key World. As a Walker, Del navigates between the Echoes, keeping the dimensions in harmony. But when her own choices go horribly wrong, she must decide between her heart and her duty – and live with the consequences.

 (Also, there are cute boys. And kissing. I don't think that's too spoilery.)

If you want more hints about the story, check out my tumblr -- there are plenty of pictures I've reblogged and tagged "Dissonance." They're not spoilers, but they've reminded me of the book in some way, so you can start to get a feel for Del's world (or worlds, really). And if you want to add the book to your Goodreads pile, I am told this is a good link for such things.

Now, on to the giveaway portion of this post. First, the winner of the YASH giveway is...

TESSA VAN DIEST!

So: if you are Tessa, I'll be emailing you to get your address for the prize pack. If you're NOT Tessa, you still have a chance to win a copy of TORN and a cover flat of Dissonance: all you need to do is ask a question (preferably about Dissonance, but I'm not super-picky) either here or in my Tumblr Ask Box. I'll answer the tumblr questions pretty quickly; the ones here will be answered...eventually. (The contest runs until 3:00pm central time on Friday, April 12.)

 

 

Officially Official Thing; or, Why Icebergs Are Awesome

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.