My book, WAKE, comes out March 4, and I'm giving away an advance copy

Hey DU friends!

A few of you know that my first book, WAKE, comes out March 4 (its sequel, FADE, will be out in spring of 2009). They are published by Simon & Schuster. WAKE is paranormal fiction for ages 14 and up, about a 17-year-old girl who gets sucked into other people's dreams.

I have an extra advance reader copy, so I'm having a contest on my blog to give one away (along with some other bling like posters and dog tags).

Since so many adults love YA fiction, and since we have a good number of teens on DU, I thought I'd let you all know about the contest and encourage you to enter if you want.

<b>You can find the info and enter the contest here: http://lisamcmann.blogspot.com/ </b>

Also, I noticed that Amazon.com just knocked another 5% off the pre-order price, if anybody wants to take advantage of that. Pre-order page on Amazon

Sincere thanks for your time in reading this.

(An afterthought...I hope this isn't considered spam. Somebody in the fiction forum suggested I let the lounge know about my upcoming books. If this is spam, my sincere apologies to the mods and please delete. I've been a faithful DU member for a couple of years now, and I want to remain one!)

I hope it's a hit!

:applause:

I hope it becomes popular. :)

among those who have managed to get this far in the process. It can be a heartbreaking, painstaking business. Thanks for the encouragement!

I wrote the novel last year, had it polished and sparkling and ready by August 2006 or so. So that's when I started looking for a literary agent. I was very lucky to capture the attention of a terrific NYC agent, who signed me almost immediately. (It doesn't usually work like that -- some authors try for years. I was very lucky.)

My agent began soliciting the manuscript to publishers in October 2006 after I revised a few things at his suggestion. At the beginning of January, we had two publishers competing for it. Yippee! It was hard to choose between them, but ultimately I went with S&S because they had a history of putting out some terrific, award-winning, edgy teen fiction. And they wanted a 2-book deal. (another Yippee!)

So from the time we sold the manuscript until the time the book actually sits on the bookshelves will be about 14 months.

As I said before, this is unusually fast. I am so grateful for my luck. Many of my author friends who have simply stunning work are still trying to get an agent, or struggling to find publishers who will take a chance on them. The odds are very small.

If I sell well with WAKE, chances are great that I'll get another contract. And the book I'm writing now is something I'm so excited about -- it's a fantasy for middle schoolers that has an ominous political control system going on in the society in which the children live...reminiscent of Atwood's "The Handmaid Tale" or Orwell's "1984," and a mirror of today's America, only geared toward ages 11 and up. I very much want to see that book in print someday. And soon! I imagine it will be somewhat controversial...my agent read it and said, "My, that's a political book." I said "Yeah...is that bad?" His reply, "No. It's about time!"

:)

Your name is very similar to mine!

A striking resemblance in names. It caught my eye.

...and I sent you an e-mail. My students will love it!

:thumbsup:

I really appreciate it. :)

Kicking for the morning crowd.

I can't wait,My daughter so going to LOVE this book!! I don't have the money to order now, but her B-day is in May, Of course then I'll have to get me a copy too!!!!
It looks really good!!!
Congratulations!!!

And thanks! I'm soooo excited about it! I appreciate your enthusiasm very much.

Lisa

I look forward to reading it.

:yourock:

reading my book. ;-)

Thank you,

Lisa

Sounds friendly to me.

Congratulations.


Good for you.

Thanks Gilligan!

:toast:

Thank you!

that's cute.

Well, have fun doing pub for your book!

Thanks, graywarrior. I really want to make people proud with my writing. And while WAKE is not political, I've incorporated elements of social injustice. My main character, Janie, will be a great Dem someday, I believe. :)

:thumbsup:

I'll make sure to check it out next time I actually get enough time to read! (Highschool sucks sometimes. I haven't read a real book since august. . .)

It comes out March 4 -- right before spring break!

I hope you get a chance to read some books for fun soon. I find reading for pleasure to be really helpful in handling the stress of the rest of life, and high school is chock full of stress.

Be well, TFA.