My Cover Is Blown (up)!

image courtesy Dlsney-Hyperion Books

I am discovering that publishing a book, especially a series of books, happens in a way similar to the way John Green’s  narrator in The Fault in Our Stars describes falling in love: “the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once.”

It feels to me as if my first book Griffin Speaker appeared on bookshelves about five minutes ago. In reality, it’s been three months since its May 5 launch date.

That was the culmination of a process that took over two years, from finalizing the contract, to going through rounds of edits, and at last holding the real deal in my hands (at a bookstore!). Since then, promoting the book through author events, social media, and arranging school appearances has become something of a second job.

So when I returned from a trip to SoCal earlier this week and found the courage to approach my email inbox, I was wowed and a bit gobsmacked. Because big news!

Therein was the final-final cover image of Griffin Rider, the second book in the series (see above; gives me the happy shivers!). Already (comparatively)! And! The announcement of its release date: May 4, 2027!

An auspicious day:

And, and! Griffin Rider is available for preorder now. In today’s publishing world preorders are an important driver of a new book’s trajectory. When an author I follow has a book coming out, I get a happy rush from preordering their book, knowing it will arrive on my doorstep the very day it hits the market. I like knowing I’m helping usher that book baby into the world.

Click here for that preorder link, which will take you to the distributor’s page and let you choose from your favorite book retailer. This will make you an Officially Admirable Literary Citizen and will earn you my abiding gratitude.

No pressure.

Having just returned from that mini-tour to promote Griffin Speaker and to visit friends in SoCal, this news was a warm welcome home.

It also felt a bit like sipping from a fire hose, because suddenly there’s a lot to do to prepare for this next release. Deadlines with fast turnarounds! Reviewing the text! Reviewing the illustration sketches (so cool)! Planning launch events!

And I’d barely unpacked.

Good problems to have.

The trip to L.A. and Orange County was its own whirlwind — great fun and a swell way to wind up a busy summer. It was also a lot of driving. A lot. I lived in the L.A. environs for decades, but it’s been years since I’ve had to wend my way through its white-knuckle freeways. Happily, I survived and returned my rented Jeep without a scratch on either it or me.

I spent the first two nights with dear friends in Newport Beach, and from there headed to Manhattan Beach for an event at Pages Books. I was welcomed by the lovely Octavia Bray, the manager of the children’s literature department, who was my lively and engaging conversation partner.

Answering readers’ questions on the patio outside Pages: Octavia on the left, me on the right.

It turns out that the drive there from Newport Beach took nearly an hour, the last fifteen minutes of which were truly hair-raising. But there was a parking space reserved just for me (no small perk in Manhattan Beach on a sunny Sunday in August), and I had a blast talking to readers of all ages.

That night, my friends took me to the Orange County Fair, where I did some high-quality goofing off.

In the Hollywood exhibit hall, paying silly homage to Hitchcock’s “The Birds”

The next day I bid adieu to my N.B. pals and headed to Huntington Beach for a book signing at Barnes & Noble. B&N has been marvelously supportive of Griffin Speaker from the get-go, and a visit to their stores is always a treat.

Signing copies at B&N Hungtington Beach

Even better, a surprise visit from my beloved sister-in-law Nancy (all the way from Carlsbad CA)!

Then it was off to see dear friends in Glendale — a trek across the Southland in which my GPS thought it would be amusing to suggest a succession of alternate routes, just in case there were any remaining freeways I’d missed along the way. I even got to enjoy a stretch of the Pasadena Freeway, the first ever in the nation, designed for top speeds of 45 MPH (utterly ignored by today’s drivers) and featuring 90 degree entrance and exit ramps. With stop signs about 20 feet before you have to merge.

Like a trust exercise, but with cars hurtling at you at 75 MPH.

I made it to my friends’ house still intact, and they took me to a sumptuous dinner in Pasadena.

The presentation at Dos Besos restaurant is fire, literally.

I spent a relaxed night with my Glendale hosts, then headed out the next morning for another reunion with a friend of many years who was in Pasadena for the week. After our brunch, I made a stop at wonderful Vroman’s Bookstore to sign their Griffin Speaker copies and meet the delightful booksellers in their capacious children’s section.

At Vroman's Books in Pasadena, special pen in hand (as you can see, myy hair did not respond well to the Southland heat)

Then it was off to Burbank Airport to return the car (and thank it for its many, many blind-spot alerts), and back home to Boise.

Where it will be a long time before I kvetch about the traffic.

And now, most recent deadlines met, I am packing for a road trip. My husband and I are seeing out this hot and smoky summer by running away to the Oregon coast for a week. Yes, a lot of Oregon is on fire, but not the part we’re going to (we hope).

That part of the country contains some of the most gorgeous scenery in the world. I’m looking forward to high temps in the low 60’s, hikes in the coastal woods, and crackling fires safely corralled in fireplaces.

It will be great to take a deep, brine-scented breath. Then, Lord willing, it’ll be back home, refreshed and ready to take on whatever’s next.

And to get my next griffin-powered adventure up and away.