The Twelve Crazy Days Before Christmas (2016 edition)

The following story, to be told over the 12 days leading up to Christmas, is from a picture book manuscript I wrote years ago. I finally decided to post it here for all of you, and a friend agreed to do an illustration for each day. Every day, the latest installment will be added to the bottom of this post.

Just click the pics to enlarge!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

The Latin American Edition!

WHAT LIGHT...Go Yonder

A little over a month ago, my new book came out. I was so thankful my publisher organized a tour for me because my favorite part of being an author is meeting readers. In this post, I want to share with you a research trip I took while writing the book, but first I'll share some pics from the tour that were a result of finally...finally!...finishing WHAT LIGHT.

The first stop on my tour began as perfectly as I'd hoped. I had a great school visit, and then gave a talk at a local bookstore where I saw my book's floor display for the first time. So beautiful!

After spending a full day speaking and meeting people, signing books, and taking selfies, there can be a lonely adjustment period. So even if it's late, I often grab a dinner and read before going up to my room. This time, I noticed John Cho sitting at a nearby table, but I didn't want to interrupt his dinner. And then Kal Penn joined him, and I...well...come on! So I told them I just started a book tour and would love to get a photo if it wasn't an inconvenience. But those two were so cool, and said they were huge readers, they invited me to join them for dinner. How cool is that!?

(It's very cool.)

Throughout the tour, the school visits were incredible. I'm so grateful that I continue to get asked to speak about the serious issues in THIRTEEN REASONS WHY, and I love discussing how much fun I had writing THE FUTURE OF US, but it's been so nice to also talk about the uplifitng aspects of my new book. And schools used its setting to create some very festive art for my visits!

Schools also used the concepts of forgiveness and reaching out to others for projects, like writing encouraging thoughts...

...and words of kindness on thematic art hung throughout the library.

Bookstores got into the theme, as well. Many offered hot cocoa (with the WHAT LIGHT hot cocoa packets my publisher provided), to be stirred with candycanes like Sierra does in the book.

All of that was wonderful and made me feel great. But it was still all about the students!

So about that research trip...

The idea for WHAT LIGHT came from a newspaper article about a family that lives seventeen hours to the north of me, but for one month a year, they turn this local lot...

...into this Christmas tree paradise!

The idea of having two homes during the year, one on a small lot selling trees while living in a trailer, and the other living in a house on hundreds of acres of farmland, intrigued me. So I headed seventeen hours to the north!

I visited the Hopper Bros. farm and received a tour by the owner, Dennis (who makes a cameo in my book as the owner of the other tree lot in town). Before I went on my research trip, I read a few books on growing and selling Christmas trees so I could ask specific questions instead of merely getting a feel for the basics.

Something that makes me feel like a professional author is when I don't write interesting details I've learned that won't add to the feel or progress of the story. But I learned so much! And while I didn't use the majority of what I learned, the mere confidence I gained to write about people who live this life most definitely made it into the book.

I visited two other Christmas tree farms while in the Pacific Northwest, and sometimes things that I saw inspired scenes.

I also visited a Christmas tree farm tradeshow going on that weekend. My namebadge didn't list a farm or company. It said: author. And you don't walk around a tradeshow telling people you're writing about their business unless you do it. So I did!

It just took me more years than I expected.

Buckeye to Lone Star

When I landed in Cleveland, Ohio last week, I zoomed straight to the house used as Ralphie's in A Christmas Story. I took a tour of the place previously, as seen here, but this time I just wanted to get a couple shots with it as a background for my soon-to-be released Christmas story.

In earlier trips to the area, I never got to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but this time I was determined to change that. So I did! And I got to see one of Slash's hats...

and Bruce's outfit from his Born in the U.S.A. album cover...

and the scribbled lyrics to Jimi's originally titled "Purple Haze Jesus Saves".

But in beweent the Christmas house and the hall of rock, I visited Holy Name High School in Parma Heights.

They were a lovely bunch of nicely dressed students.

And they had some of the best questions. There were questions about character motivation, my own take-away from my books, and even a request to try to get Selena Gomez as some dude's prom date.

Then I had snacks and further conversation with 13 students. (The number 13 was just a coincidence...they said.)

After Ohio, I took a brief breather in California, then it was back on a plane to Texas. There, I visited several very nice art museums in Fort Worth, featuring artists I've studied a lot recently, like Thomas Cole.

That evening, I met up with the organizers and fellow authors to kick-off the Mansfield Book Festival Mellow Mushroom. Here I am with Daniel Jose Older and Christina Diaz Gonzales with our cupcakes (provided by Creations Baking Company).

The first presentation I went to was for Kid Chef Eliana. She is an incredible presenter...

and a delicious cook! I had her book Cool Kids Cook: Fresh and Fit signed for Isaiah.

One of the most entertaining while educational presentations I've seen was Nathan Hale's discussion of his "Hazardous Tales" series. Is there any better combination than hilarious and historical? I mean, if Nathan and Eliana did a program together, that would unbeatable!

I gave a keynote presentation, which is always fun (though slightly intimidating when other authors are present), where I got to get rid of more packets of my What Light hot chocolate in exchange for questions.

That was followed by a panel about social media with Julie Murphy and Kelsey Macke. So this pic, I guess, is Murphy, Mac and Me!

Fall 2016 Children's Books

Scrolling through the Publishers Weekly Fall 2016 Children’s Books issue, these are the soon-to-be released and recently released middle-grade and teen novels that most grabbed my attention:

Insert Coin to Continue by John David Anderson. Bryan Biggins wakes up to find that his life has become a video game.

It’s All Fun and Games by Dave Barrett. Six friends cross into a dangerous fantasy world while taking part in a game of live-action roleplaying.

Lost in Ghostville by John Bladek. When someone kidnaps all the ghosts in town, including his grandmother, Trey races to save her spirit.

Saving Hamlet by Molly Booth. In this time-travel tale, Emma is on the crew of both her school production of Hamlet and the Globe Theater’s original play.

Polaris by Beth Bowland. Aaron unwittingly initiates “The Game,” in which his hometown is the playing board and its residents are the players.

The Forgetting by Sharon Cameron. Nadia sets out to solve the mystery behind the memory purge her town imposes every 12 years.

The Adventures of a Wimpy Superhero by Tim Collins. A teen’s diary chronicles his attempts to be a superhero.

How to Keep a Boy from Kissing You by Tara Eglington. Aurora doesn’t want her first kiss to be with a guy she can’t stand, her co-star in a play.

The Call by Peadar Ó Guilín. In this tale blending horror, fantasy, and folklore, every teen must spend a day being hunted.

League of Archers by Eva Howard. A girl on the run after being accused of killing Robin Hood leads her League of Archers in a search to find the real killer.

Dreidels on the Brain by Joel Ben Izzy. In this novel of growing up Jewish, Joel tries to survive Hanukkah 1971 in the suburbs of Los Angeles.

The Row by J.R. Johansson. Riley wants to uncover the truth about her father, a convicted serial killer, before his execution.

The Romantics by Leah Konen. The story of a boy’s tangled love life is narrated by Love herself.

More Than Magic by Kathryn Lasky. The daughter of TV animators and a character in one of their cartoons team up to save the day in both of their worlds.

The Secret of a Heart Note by Stacey Lee. A teen uses her extrasensitive sense of smell to mix perfumes that help others fall in love.

The Missing by J.R. Lenk. In 1890 London, a teen who witnesses the goings-on of ghosts helps keep the peace between the living and dead.

The Library Book: Curse of the Boggin by D.J. MacHale launches a series set a place where no one knows how stories end, and stories you can’t finish might finish you.

The Best Man by Richard Peck. Archer’s beloved uncle marries another man—Archer’s favorite teacher.

Into White by Randi Pink. When a black teen’s prayers to be white are answered, her journey of self-discovery takes unexpected twists.

Threads by Ami Polonsky. An American girl finds a note with a desperate plea for help from a girl stuck in a Beijing factory.

And Then the Sky Exploded by David A. Poulsen. When a boy learns his great-grandfather helped build the A-bombs dropped on Japan, he wants to make amends.

Monsterville: A Lissa Black Production by Sarah Schauerte Reida. In this series debut, a girl makes monster movies starring a creature from the local woods.

One Was Lost by Natalie Richards. On their senior camping trip, teens wake up to find some kids missing and four dolls dressed like them acting out a murder.

The Telling by Alexandra Sirowy. Multiple murders occur that are eerily similar to the dark stories Lana’s late stepbrother used to tell.

Sticker Girl by Janet Tashjian, illus. by Inga Wilmink, launches a series about a girl whose sticker collection comes to life.

Life in a Fishbowl by Len Vlahos. A teen sabotages the reality TV show that is making a mockery of her family’s life.

Sometimes We Tell the Truth by Kim Zarins. Teens tell stories on a class trip bus ride in this retelling of The Canterbury Tales.

The German Edition!

WHAT LIGHT: Cover Design

I want everyone to read my next book. But I'll be plenty happy if the only people who read it are those who want a story exactly like the one I wrote. (Although, I do think the world would be a better place if everyone read it, which I feel morally obligated to say.)

The most important job of a cover is to grab the attention of someone looking for a story like the one behind that cover. A good title helps, too, which is why I'm glad we settled on What Light over my other ideas.

Until I publish something illustrated (just checked, and I can't say anything...yet), one of the most exciting parts of having a book in production is seeing the cover. With What Light, my publisher offered five potential designs. I went back and forth between two. When I showed all five to some people I trusted (friends, authors, librarians...), none of them agreed with me. What they kept landing on, whether they knew the premise or not (I wanted both perspectives) was this:

I liked that one, but didn't love it. When they told me what they liked about it, I understood, but imagined myself giving a presentation at a school or library, excitedly showing the covers of Thirteen Reasons Why and The Future of Us, and then casually putting up What Light.

So, how could I tweak that cover to become one I loved? Thankfully, it was winter, and as I was strolling downtown, I came across this poster in a store window:

I snapped a photo of it and emailed it to my publisher and editor. Based on their lukewarm reaction, I didn't do a good job describing how I thought the cover could be enhanced by adding light "flares" or "bursts" or "shimmers" (or whatever I called them). But I was determined to show them.

To repeat myself, it was winter. That meant I didn't have to climb into the attic to fetch a string of Christmas lights. I could simply remove them from our tree! Then I loaded the original design onto my laptop, plugged in the lights, and snapped a photo that included reflected light flares/bursts/shimmers.

I emailed them the following:

Now they understood! And they sent back this:

Thank you, Theresa Evangelista, for working on this beautiful cover! It looks and feels exactly like the story I wrote.