Erica O'Rourke

The Upside of Spectacular Failure: Guest-blogging at Honestly YA

 I'm traveling again today, visiting the wonderful women of Honestly YA to talk about my greatest regrets and the fact that my taste in music hasn't changed much since the mid-90s. We're also giving away a copy of TORN and TANGLED, so swing by and check it out! I'll be back here for WIP Friday.

Click here for the interview.

Also, if this looks wonky, let me know -- I am trying out Blogsy + Typepad for the first time, and decided to throw caution to the wind and skip the instructional video. What could possibly go wrong?

I Less Than Three This!

As many of you know, I am not a fan of the emoticons, even though everyone I know uses them. They are just not my thing. Also, I can't figure out how to make them. Is it a colon and a dash and a parentheses? Just a colon and a parentheses? Should I just color on the screen with a marker and hope that works?

Many people have patiently explained to me that you can make a heart if you do the "less than" sign and a 3. Except it's actually more fun to say "I less-than-three this."

And what I less than three this morning (other than the life-giving deliciousness that is my coffee) is the fact that TORN is the Nook Deal Of The Day! Which means you can buy it for LESS THAN THREE DOLLARS.

(See what I did there?)

And if you have a Kindle, fear not: Amazon is matching the price!

Of course, there are also two giveaways running currently: The Casting Contest, and my interview over at Publishing Crawl. But the Deal of The Day, I assume, is only good for today, so you might as well get it while it's available. I would less than three it if you did.

 

 

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.

 

 

 

 

Recovery and an Event and a Question

If you follow my twitter feed, you know that last Monday, I sent the first draft of BOUND to my editor. And promptly developed some sort of post-book aphasia that prevented me from carrying on conversations longer than five minutes. It's not a new phenomenon for me, this need for a week-long decompression upon finishing a book, but I've never needed it quite so badly. Maybe it was because it was the conclusion of the trilogy. Maybe it was because the draft was longer than usual. Maybe it's because the week before it was due, Big Marshmallow was home and barfy and needy, instead of at school, so the only time I could work was late at night. Regardless, I took a little time off.

I had grand plans. A list, several pages long, of what I hoped to accomplish. But frankly, I was so tired, I couldn't do it. Instead, I watched some TV. Sadly, I remember nothing of what I watched, with the exception of Doctor Who and Prime Suspect, and also some Inspector Lewis. I went to the post office. (Hate the post office.) I went to the library. (Love the library.) I tidied my office, though you can't really tell. I went to parent teacher conferences. (BLARGH.) I procured my favorite, hard-to-find-in-the-north beer and drank two. (This is a lot for me.) I bought myself a sweatshirt. (Pictures to come.) I attended sports events and family gatherings, picked apples, walked through a corn maze, and moved furniture. It was not relaxing, in the way that a week-long nap would have been relaxing, but it was good.

Now, however, it's back to work. Even though BOUND is with my editor right now, there are still things I need to work on. I have been threatening to write an epically long blog post about why I am so enraged about the TV show BONES, and I want to put that up before the premiere airs. I've also got some events coming up that require some preparation and planning.  The most pressing of these is next week, when I'll be speaking to the local chapter of SCBWI about my journey as a writer.

I'm always a little leery about discussing My Journey As A Writer, because I worry that people will interpret it as the only way to get published, or the best way to get published, when in fact, it is simply the way I got published, and your mileage will vary. So I'm asking you guys for help: what do you like an author to talk about at these sorts of things? What's the most useful/helpful/interesting thing they can include? What do you HATE at author events?

If you're interested in stopping by, here are the details, by the way

Lake County Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI)
7pm, October 19th
Barnes and Noble, Westfield Shopping Mall, Vernon Hills, IL

I will be signing books after the chat; the meeting itself is free and open to all.

 

Torn Teaser: Missed Calls

Recently, I was asked to write some prequels scenes for Torn -- and because you can never get enough Luc, I decided to explore what his life was like before he met Mo.

The scene was originally posted at KTeen's Facebook page, and they've got all sorts of extra content, as well as playlists and giveaways, so check it out.

(What's that, you say? You'd rather see more of Colin? I'll have his scene next week.)

 

MISSED CALLS

Beignets and café au lait aren’t my usual trick for charmin’ a girl. But Verity Grey’s not just any girl, and today, she needs cheering up a good sight more than she needs charm.

When I finally track her down, it’s on my own balcony, of all places. She’s looking out over the Quarter, facing north, like if she stares long enough, she’ll see Chicago. I lift up the green and white bag.

“Brought you a treat,” I say. “Still hot.”

She cuts her eyes toward me. Indigo blue, not particularly friendly, and that’s a shame, considerin’ the amount of time we’re going to be spending together.

“Everything in this stupid city is hot. How do you people stand it?”

Vee’s loved New Orleans since the day she arrived – the food, the music, the stories – but that’s when she thought it was a visit. The notion of permanent residency seems to have taken the shine off.

“We manage,” I say, drawing the heat out of the cup until tiny crystals frost the outside. Small magic, but the spell doesn’t exist that could make her smile now.

I set the cup on the table, next to her sparkly turquoise cell. It buzzes like hornet, and when she doesn’t answer, I pick it up.

“Lotta missed calls. Texts, too.” Looks like I’m not the only one she won’t talk to.

 “How am I supposed to tell her, Luc? She’ll never forgive me.”

“Sure she will,” I say, but we both know it’s a lie. I’ve heard so many stories about Vee’s best friend, it’s like I already know the girl. She won’t take kindly to the idea of Verity leaving her behind.

But we can’t afford distractions, and Maura Fitzgerald is plenty distracting, even from nine hundred miles away.

 “People have kept secrets from Mo all her life,” she says. “Everyone, except for me. There’s nothing she hates more.”

“I’m sorry,” I say. “It’s hard, letting go.”

“How would you know?” she says. “You don’t have to give up anything. You’ve been preparing for this your whole life. I’ve had only a few months.”

Not my whole life. I swallow the words and take her hand. She’s not wearing the ring I gave her, but there’s no rush. We’ll get there. As my father likes to point out, there are worse fates than a girl like Verity.

“Wait till you get home to tell her,” I say. “You’ll have one last year together. That’s something, anyway.”

“It’s not enough. You don’t understand, Luc. She needs me.”

“You’ve got an entire world that needs you. Mo’s your friend. She’d do anything for you. This time…” I shrug. “She has to let you go.”

She leans her head against my shoulder, fresh tears sliding down her cheeks. “It’s not fair.”

“Never said it was. It’s fate, Vee. No changing it.”

*             *             *

Turns out I was wrong.

Interview! Giveaway! Deadline!

I am deep into the drafting of Bound -- I have my daily goal written on the calendar by my desk, where it is staring at me balefully -- and so can only pop in for a moment to tell you that the kind and hilarious Tina Ferraro interviewed me at YA Fresh today. You can read a bit about what my writing schedule is like, what's next for Mo, and my go-to advice for writers.

If you comment, you'll be entered into a drawing for a signed copy of TORN, plus what we are referring to as the SEEKRIT SWAG pack. Why is it a seekrit? Because there's a code included that unlocks hidden content on my website. More about the hidden page next week, but trust me: you want that code.

And now...it is back to the deadline cave for me.

Beginning's End

Some things are impossible to run from.

Fate.

Truth.

Love.

It's time for Mo to stop running.

Click here for more of the story. 

Everyday Masquerade

In Verity's New Orleans, nothing is what it appears to be. 

Not even Verity.

To uncover the truth, Mo will need to see what they've both missed. 

Click here for more of the story.

Real Live Author

363 days ago, I got a phone call. I thought it was a telemarketer, and I was perhaps a little on the surly side upon answering.

It was not a telemarketer. It was Alicia Condon, at Kensington Publishing, offering to buy my manuscript. I stopped pretty quickly with the surliness, in case you were wondering.

In relatively short order, I had an agent and a book deal and deadlines and now, two days shy of a year later, my book is in bookstores, I am officially published, and in a few hours, I will have my first signing. Like a real live author.

Guys, I am a REAL LIVE AUTHOR.

I don't even know what to say about that, except that what I have said on previous occasions still holds true. I am the luckiest girl in the world, and I am so, so grateful to you all for being a part of this crazy, exhilarating, magical year. Luckiest girl in the world, and it is mostly because of you.

Thank you.

Go Oft Astray

Unanswered calls. Broken promises. A dangerous new path. 

Verity's secrets are taking over her life.

She may never get the old one back -- and Mo's will never be the same.

Click here for more of the story.