Writing Workshop in Charlotte

Hey Y'all!  Just wanted to let you know about a writing workshop I'll be giving at the Myers Park branch of the Mecklenburg County Library (Charlotte, NC) on Tuesday, December 13, 2011 at 6:00 PM.  Here's a link for more info!

I hope to see you there!!

Teen Read Week in Florida! [updated with B&N event]

I love Teen Read Week and I also love the sun which is PERFECT because I'll be spending the latter half of Teen Read Week in Florida this year! WAHOO! You can find all the details on the flyer below or by checking out the events page of my website.  I hope I'll see y'all there!!!

UPDATED TO ADD! I'll also be doing an event at the Melbourne, FL B&N on Friday at 6PM! It's the perfect time of year to be talking about zombies so I hope to see you there!  More details here.

A few odds and ends on events and stories

I've been writing a lot recently and when I write I tend to go blog quiet because I don't really know what to talk about.  I've never been comfortable sharing details of what I'm working on and all my other blog ideas get turned into tweets or forgotten.  But I can say that I've just finished up another short story (not set in the Forest of Hands and Teeth world) and I'm excited about it and the other stories I'll have coming out in the next while!  In fact, I should probably write a whole post about my upcoming short stories... I'll start working on that!

MEANWHILE, I have odds and ends to share!

First up, EVENTS!  I'm leaving first thing in the morning (Tuesday) for Detroit to meet up with Melissa Marr and Jennifer Lynn Barnes and then we're driving to Lansing, MI to meet Simone Elkeles, Rachel Caine and Melissa de la Cruz for the Smart Chicks Kick it Tour! WAHOO!!  Here are the details.

I was so lucky to be able visit Schuler Books and Music for The Dead-Tossed Waves tour and it's an absolutely fantastic store full of really wonderful and passionate booksellers.  I'm so thrilled to be returning!!

I'll also be traveling to Florida the weekend of October 21-22 to celebrate Teen Read Week with a bunch of visits scheduled.  Preliminary details are here and I'll update my appearances page as soon as I know more!  I can't wait!!!

Another event that will be chock full of YA/MG authors is YALLfest in Charleston, SC the weekend of November 11-12.  Check out all they have going on here.

Then in December I'll be giving a teen writing workshop right in my backyard in Charlotte, NC.  I'm really really excited about this and will post more info when I have it.  The Myers Park Branch of the Mecklenburg County Library system will be hosting and the event will be open to area teens.  Yay!

Next, I've had a few recent RELEASES!

ENTHRALLED: Paranormal Diversions, a collection of stories edited by Kelley Armstrong and Melissa Marr just came out last week!  You can read more about it and order it from your local indie here.

My short story is SCENIC ROUTE and is set soon after the zombie apocalypse that leads to The Forest of Hands and Teeth.  It's about two sisters who hide out on top of a mountain where they think they're safe and plan for the day they can take the ultimate road trip.

I'm really happy that this anthology has been getting some fantastic reviews!  Of Scenic Route, VOYA says, "the suspense and violence of which will please fans of The Forest of Hands and Teeth" and Kirkus says, "allows for the sometimes-neglected horror implied in paranormal stories to be spotlighted, as in Carrie Ryan's zombie thriller, 'Scenic Route.'"

About the collection as a whole SLJ writes, "These consistently well-written stories offer something for every taste, whether it’s dark, edgy, and violent or funny and sweet."

So congrats to Kelley and Melissa for putting together such a strong anthology and thanks for letting me be involved!

Another recent release I have a piece in is DEAR BULLY.  You can learn more about it and order it from your local indie here.  This is a collection of tons of YA/MG authors talking about bullying and their experiences.  My contribution, Dear Caroline from Canada, is a letter I wrote to a girl I became friends with on a cross-country bus tour of the US.

Caroline really changed my life that summer though I'm sure she has no idea.  She taught me to not listen to gossip, to stand up for people and to be compassionate even if it risks your own reputation.  Now if only I could find her to send her that letter...

So I guess I now need to go put some laundry in, run errands and pack before heading out to Detroit in the morning!  If you're in the Lansing, MI area come out to the Smart Chicks tour tomorrow evening!  I promise it will be loads of fun!!!

Foretold Announcement!

I have news! Super exciting news that I've been sitting on for ages but that I can finally finally share!  I sold a book!  An anthology, actually, and I'm so in love with the authors involved that I can hardly contain myself!  The title is FORETOLD and it's a collection of stories about prophecies and predictions that will be coming out in the Fall of 2012.

Here's the official announcement from Publishers Marketplace:

NYT bestselling author Carrie Ryan, ed.'s FORETOLD, an anthology about prophecies and predictions featuring stories by Laini Taylor, Jen Lancaster, Meg Cabot, Richelle Mead, and Michael Grant among many others, to Krista Marino at Delacorte, for publication in Fall 2012, by Jim McCarthy at Dystel & Goderich Literary Management.  

Here's my response: SQUEEEEEEE!!!!

Here's the list of authors as it stands now (this isn't the final list -- once it's final I'll make sure to post the updates)!

Meg Cabot
Richelle Mead
Jen Lancaster
Michael Grant
Laini Taylor
Heather Brewer
Lisa McMann
Kami Garcia
Margaret Stohl
Matt de la Peña
Malinda Lo
Diana Peterfreund
Saundra Mitchell

This entire experience has just been a total dream and I still pinch myself when I get emails from these authors because I'm such a huge fan of their work!  It's been truly awe-inspiring to have had the chance to work with such wonderful and creative and just flat out amazing writers.  I can't wait to share their stories with you because they rock!

I promise that when I have more info to share (covers, details, etc etc) I'll post them here!  YAY!!!

The Impact of One Person

There are two things that led me to start this post.  First was a video by John Green about the impact author Ilene Cooper had in his life by mentoring him through the writing of Looking for Alaska.  Second was the news that my former high school director, Bill Dingledine, was in a cycling accident that sent him to the ICU.  The good news is that it looks like he'll be okay - thank goodness he was wearing a helmet! 

In his video John says that the only reason Looking for Alaska exists, the only reason he has a job writing books, etc., is because of Ilene and it made me realize that all along the paths of our lives there are people who have such influence on who we are and where we're going that without them... we wouldn't be where we are.  

Bill Dingledine is one of those people for me.  

I like to think that when you begin a story it's like you're standing at the base of a tree and you look out at all the myriad of branching possibilities before you with no clear path where the story will lead you.  But when you get to the end of the story -- way out onto the very tips of one of those highest branches -- you can look backward and see the inevitability of the path to where you've come.  There is a direct line from the base of the tree, through all the splits and choices, to where you are now.

Life is like this too.  And when I look back over the many forks that have led to where I am today I realize that Bill Dingledine was there guiding my way and helping me forward.  He was a teacher and an administrator who encouraged all students and made every one of us feel unique and important.  I remember sitting in his office when he called Williams College to find out if I'd been admitted early decision (which means he's the one who got to give me the good news).  

When I found myself home from college one summer without a job, Bill hired me to teach SAT prep classes for him (he'd moved on from his job at my former high school to running The Princeton Review in my hometown).  It was through this job that I learned confidence in myself and in standing in front of large groups of teens which has proven hugely useful for when I'm on tour.

He encouraged my interest in cycling and let me tag along for races, helping out where I could.  When I graduated from college he again offered me a job which led to me teaching the LSAT which led to me scoring high enough on that test to get into Duke Law (which led to me meeting my husband, falling in love with zombies and writing The Forest of Hands and Teeth).  And throughout all of that Bill probably wrote a dozen letters of recommendation on my behalf: for various schools, for jobs, for fellowship applications.

In essence, Bill was always a cheerleader and he never once told me "No, you can't do that," or "No, I don't have time for you."  And there's so much more that I learned from Bill as well.  He's someone who volunteers at the local Soup Kitchen every week and someone who shows a tremendous amount of compassion.  And as you can imagine, being the head of a high school with a last name like Dingledine probably wasn't the easiest thing in the world but he was always willing to laugh at himself -- volunteering to be the fall man in school skits if it was for a good cause.  He showed up to soccer games and field hockey games and school plays not just to cheer on his own kids, but to cheer on all of us.  

Sometimes I think it's the way of teachers and administrators that they put so much effort into their students and then we go out into the world and we tackle life and so often we never realize the impact of those individuals on our lives.  The English teacher to encouraged us to keep writing (Mrs. Carter), the Biology teacher who instilled in us a love for the macabre (Mr. Titmus) or the first grade teacher who so enthusiastically loved all her students that we couldn't help but take risks, knowing she was there to support us and catch us if necessary (Mrs. Cochran).

Too often we grow up and forget to thank those people who helped us get where we are today.  It shouldn't take hearing that they've been in an accident to do so and while I've thanked Bill in the past, I'm not sure he knows just how much he's impacted my life.  I wouldn't be who I am and where I am if it wasn't for his boundless love and support and for that I am eternally grateful.  Thank you, Bill for being such a loving mentor, ardent cheerleader, and for being so giving with your time and energy!  I know I'm not the only one whose life you changed.

A Night in Paris

When the waiter at the restaurant overlooking Notre Dame suggested my husband and I stay for un cafe or another glass of wine, perhaps we should have listened.  I'd been sitting with my back to the river and he had a perfect view of the oncoming storm.  Hand in hand, JP and I strolled across the bridge while to our left the clouds gathered.

"Those clouds look ominous, maybe we should go back?" one of us suggested but the other waved the idea away.  We'd already been caught in the rain once today and scurried under one of the bridges crossing the Seine where we stumbled on an impromptu street magician show.  It turned into a entertaining foray -- damp Parisians and tourists huddled around a man with fewer teeth than buttons on his morning coat as he spent time queuing up C+C Music Factory on his iPod.

"We'll just dash back under a bridge if the storm breaks," we decided as we moved farther and farther away from the shelter of the restaurant awning.  Besides, the hour-by-hour weather forecast we'd checked that afternoon indicated the night should be clear.

The first drops hit as we crossed the bridge from Ile de la Cite to the right bank of the Seine.  We ran for the steps down to the waterfront only to find them barricaded with a guard to dissuade entry.  Our next best option was a row of trees dotting the road.

"It can't storm as hard as before," one of us said as my husband put his back to the tree, tucking me in his arms while the spread of branches above kept the first stirrings of rain from reaching us.

When the wind began and the water came at us sideways, we knew we were in trouble.  We were still against the Seine and the other side of the street was nothing but a parade of blank facades -- not an awning or overhang to be seen.

There was a moment we both wondered if this would ruin our night.  It had already been such a fantastic day -- we'd arrived in Paris just before noon and had time to stroll around this brand new city before settling into a hotel that was even better than we'd imagined.  We'd spent the afternoon wandering -- every street a wonder of beauty and history that was overwhelming in scope.

I stood on my toes and kissed my husband, in the rain, under a tree during a storm in Paris.  We both laughed.  What does a little bit of rain matter when you're in love in a city that's designed for such a thing?

We assumed we were as drenched as we were going to get before we stepped out of the ineffective shelter of the tree.  We were wrong.  But somehow, that didn't matter.  As we strolled along the streets, cars splashing by, we wondered when the last time was we'd played in the rain.  Suddenly it felt so adult-ish to fear a bit of falling water -- we felt free and giddy as we passed by bus shelters packed full of half-dry people huddled against the wind swept drops.

Eventually the rain ended and the night cleared as we made our way back to the hotel holding hands.  A few people tucked neatly under umbrellas laughed at us when they scurried past but we weren't the ones to feel sorry for.  We were loving this night!

We stopped at a light and glanced across the street where a large stone arch stretched between construction sites and, on a whim, we decided to cross and check it out, not sure where it led.  As we walked through the stone entrance we found a group of Parisians, huddled away from the last dregs of rain and passing around bottles of red wine in white plastic cups.  Their laughter echoed, following us as we stumbled into a massive courtyard.

The rain washed everyone from the streets, those few who remained were still tucked under anything that could afford a bit of shelter.  But we were already soaked so what did a few wayward drops mean to us?

That's how we found ourselves, utterly alone, in the Cour Carree of the Louvre.  It was breathtaking, even more so for being totally unexpected.  We'd known we were close to the Louvre but during the day it had been so packed with tourists it was impossible to know that such a courtyard even existed.  It was by total accident we'd ended up here now.

Lights reflected off the fountain and puddles as we walked around, gazing through windows at ceilings covered with frescos.  With damp fingers we held hands, strolling through the night wondering what life was like hundreds of years ago when the ornately decorated walls protected kings and queens.

When we made our way into the Cour Napoleon, known for its steel and glass pyramid, a few more people were tempting the post-storm night, most of them setting up cameras to capture the emptiness.  We strolled among them, marveling how just hours ago this space had belonged to thousands who crowded through it and now it belonged to so few.

It felt like the night was ours, that Paris belonged to us.  The weather was clearing, the Eiffel Tower glowing bright across the Seine.  We tried to take a picture but the night was still too dark around us and besides, the memory burned deeper than any photo could capture.

ALA 2011

WOW!  I feel so crazy lucky to have had the chance to attend three library-focused conventions this year: ALA Midwinter in San Diego, TLA in Austin in April and ALA Annual in New Orleans.  At each one I had the chance to meet so many amazing new people and run into old friends.  Also, since I’m terrible at saying good-bye, it’s been kinda nice being able to say, “I’ll see you in a few months at the next convention!”

And of course, as usual, I totally neglected to take many pictures (why do I always fail at this!?).

ALA began for me on Thursday, flying into NOLA and meeting Jackson Pearce at the airport (we were renting a car together).  Jackson rightly pointed out that somehow we’ve ended up seeing each other every two months for several years… it just seems to work out that way (which makes me quite happy since Jackson is so much fun!). 

We drove into the Garden District where friends had rented a house so in a sense the whole trip was part writing retreat and part ALA.  The house was really awesome -- one of those big rambly types with bathrooms hidden in odd nooks.  Plus it had a pool table/ping pong table that got lots and lots of use J

Friday I headed down to Beau Monde to meet Laini Taylor, her husband and editor for beignets.  So tasty and fully of powdery suger goodness?  We ambled around the French Quarter for a while as I tried not to fangirl all over Laini because I’m such a massively huge fan of her writing.  Then it was off to lunch with another friend, an afternoon hanging out in a hotel lobby (which turned out pretty great because  got to meet some very cool people) and a stealth invite to a party that night (including dancing which I haven’t done in ages and let me just say, there are some NYC pub folk who can seriously dance J)

Saturday was another full day at the convention, stalking down ARCs, meeting people, fangirling over authors…. Typical stuff J  I felt like every time I turned around there was someone new to meet.  And because everyone there shares the same love of books it sometimes feels easier to just introduce yourself to a stranger (I pounced on a few people from my home states of NC and SC).

That night I joined Tessa Gratton and we headed off to the Random House Children's Books party during which there was much revelry and fun (with bonus MardiGras beads!).  From there a group of us including James Kennedy and Daniel Kraus headed off to a long dinner at the W Hotel with Jackson Pearce, Natalie Parker, Tessa, Brenna Yovanoff, Cassandra Clare and Javier Ruescas which included much merrymaking.  (Again, how do I fail at taking photos of these things?).  And yes, I ate fried alligator.  And bananas foster (which came with waffles... is that normal?)

Sunday was yet another day hitting the floor to see the likes of Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle.  We ran into Jennifer Lynn Barnes which was awesome because I love her and it somehow TOTALLY escaped my attention she'd be there.  So we grabbed her and Jo Whittemore for lunch -- such a treat!

And yes, if you're starting to get the impression that these events are my definition of utopia, I think you're right: good food, good people, good books... seriously, what could be better?

Monday was a day off at the house (we did manage to track down some shrimp poboys) with much revelry.  This is a group of writers who have been doing retreats for several years now and it's always really wonderful to touch base because we always make sure to talk goals and dreams and where we are in our careers/life and where want to be.  

Tuesday I had the great fortune of running into AS King, Eric Wight and Snow Wildsmith in the NOLA airport and even greater fortune of being able to sit with Snow for the flight home!  

I got to stay at home for one whole day and now I'm at the beach to celebrate the 4th with my in-laws and then it's up to another beach to spend with my family.  Of course there will be much writing because deadlines loom... but at least I'll be writing with a fantastic view :)

In fact, my mother-in-law just announced it's time to go crabbing so I'm taking my rancid turkey neck and heading off to the creek!

Thanks to everyone in NOLA and at ALA for making the entire even so utterly fantastic! I can't wait for next year :)