#28: a letter from me (Gwenda Bond) to you: hello spring + deadlines
Hi darlings,
Sorry for the gap in writing. I keep starting tiny letters and then wandering away to do other things; it's been a fun, busy spring. I also lost um, a month or so of optimum productivity to a round in the ring with, of all things, Afrin over-the-counter nasal spray or as I like to call it Nose Poison. I'd still be suffering if I hadn't had an appointment with a new doc because of insurance changes and a tendency to religiously document every single thing I've been taking -- "Um, how long on the Afrin?" she asked, and I explained a month or so on and off. "Well, that explains why you think you've been having bad allergies!" and she told me all about the rebound effect it causes and how people get SERIOUSLY addicted to this stuff and can't go without it (you're only supposed to use it for three days, who knew?). "You mean my nose is a drug addict?" I asked, incredulous. She was highly entertained.
The good news is, my nose appears to be recuperating now that I've gone cold turkey and my brain works again. Huzzah!
Especially because we're on deadline for the second middle grade. And are taking a couple of extra weeks to finish it because of aforementioned slug-brain month. Kids: Don't do Afrin. Serious.
What else? Wellll, I started a secret YA that I'm just going to write the whole thing of because I want to. I expect finished copies of our middle grade The Lost Legacy (the illustrations are so perfect!) and of Lois Lane will show up this week. And I/we have some events coming up; I just added everything I could remember to my website: I'll be in Charleston with the delovely Margaret Stohl celebrating her newest, Royce Rolls, and there may be Triple Threats there but come out anyway! Blue Bicycle Books, Sat April 8 at 5 p.m. And if you're in Lexington, Christopher and I have a couple of different events here in late April/early May, plus we'll be doing some book fairs at schools around town. And I'll be at SOKY in mid-April and other places later. We want to start setting up more school visits and things for the fall and next year, so I'm on the hunt for a good booking agent (if you know one or are one, let me know) who specializes in that. Or if you'd like us to come, get in touch. (Mostly I want the booking agent for lower admin burden purposes.)
Anyway! I can't believe it's April. Can you believe it's April?
Right?
But things are going well. I've been on a run of good reading: Jennifer Latham's Dreamland Burning, a reread of all the Squirrel Girl collections by Ryan North and Erica Henderson, Courtney Stevens' summer book Dress Codes for Small Towns (which will make your heart grow at least two times bigger, it's so good), and currently The Nix and Norse Mythology. Plus some books on fourth dynasty Egypt for the middle grade.
News -- I know there's more, but for now, I'll just say if you missed it, the first two chapters of Triple Threat were excerpted at Entertainment Weekly, so check them out. Preorder Supernormal Sleuthing Service: The Lost Legacy and Lois Lane: Triple Threat from your favorite seller of books and I'll love you forever. Speaking of advance things, The Lost Legacy got a great review from Booklist: "Spouses Bond and Rowe make their middle-grade debut in this series starter. The light mystery will charm readers with its secret magical society, unusual characters, caring father-son relationship, and enchanted hotel setting. Monstrous fun!" Yay.
Oh, and here's the Strange Alchemy cover! It'll be out in August, and I'll probably be doing some more store events around that. More to come.
In the meantime, have a nice spring and here's a couple of goofy dogs who are doing the same.
Love,
Me