No Sunday’s cake today: the husband’s out of town, and so any cake would sit here begging me to stick it with a fork. Rather than succumb to temptation, I figure . . . next week.
The White Ladies we had for Friday’s cocktail, though, were quite welcome and, after the ups and downs of this week, felt long overdue.
A refreshing and simple concoction, actually: Boodle’s Gin, Citronge, and lemon juice. Why Boodle’s? Coupla different reasons, not the least of which it’s got a distinctive floral aroma to it, but mainly because it is the only London Dry Gin not to include citrus in its flavorings. I figured that since the White Lady calls for a hefty slug of lemon juice and the Citronge adds yet another citrus note, I wanted to ease up on all that and let those flavors come through on their own. This was a clean, wonderfully smooth drink, and I could easily have had two.
Which, in some ways, I thought, yeah, honey, go for it. It’s been that kind of week.
If you haven’t heard, I’ll make it short and sweet: my lovely publisher, Egmont USA, is closing its doors on Jan. 30.
Believe me, no one is more shocked than I. Yes, the publisher’s been up for sale since October, 2014, but I think most of us thought . . . piece of cake. I mean, people do realize that Egmont’s generated a ton of award-winners, right? That Egmont’s Len Vahlos is up for a Morris Award next week? No? Then what about the fact that Egmont boasts such heavy-hitters as Michael Grant, Bree Despain, Catherine Jinks, and Walter Dean Myers (a lovely man who I was fortunate to meet before he passed last year)?
You see why we figured . . . piece of cake. Egmont’ll be snapped up in a heartbeat.
Alas, no.
So what does this mean? Well, for one . . . my publisher’s gone; my terrific editor is kaput; the Egmont USA team, that’s been so supportive of every one of my books, will be no more.
That all sucks.
But Egmont’s shuttering it doors does not mean that you can’t find Egmont books. Not only will the spring catalog–including THE DICKENS MIRROR (the sequel to WHITE SPACE)–appear, but every single one of my Egmont books will still be available. All the usual suspects will carry them. You’ll be able to buy them just as you always have, and for the foreseeable future.
So never fear. I’m not going anywhere, and neither are my books. When you’re done with my Egmont offerings, you can always bop over to Carolrhoda Lab and find my titles there, too.
Yes, there are some ramifications. For my fellow authors whose books were scheduled after June . . . those books won’t happen. So, comparatively speaking, I’m pretty lucky.
But that doesn’t mean everything’s roses. Yes, review copies of DM have gone out. Bookstores have placed orders, and so have libraries. Now more than ever, though, you guys–my readers–become even more important. Don’t get me wrong: you always were/have been/are. I LOVE hearing from folks. I LOVE knowing that you LOVE a book. I answer every email. (I really do. I know how much courage it takes to hit <send>.)
But if you want to help me and other Egmont authors . . . now is the time to make some noise.
Lots and lots of noise.
I’m serious.
Tell people how much you love what we do. Encourage your friends to try us out. Put your love out and up there for people to see. Word of mouth–you guys–has always been what propels a book. Any writer knows this. You can hype a book until you’re blue, but if it’s all smoke and mirrors and people don’t really LIKE it . . . that book will disappear.
Well, I’m not planning on going anywhere, and I’d love your help to make sure of that.
Oh . . . and the sublime. Well, there were two things, really. First–and this is some irony for you–on the very same day I got the word about Egmont, the Horror Writers Association put WHITE SPACE on its long list for Superior Achievement in a YA Novel.
Which totally blew me away.
I know I don’t stand a chance. The odds of me making it to the short list are astronomical. Still . . . this is quite an honor. Gosh, I want me one of those little haunted houses. (Notice, too, that there are TWO Egmont authors on the list. As I said . . . some irony there.)
And then the second bit of sublime news: VOYA just gave WHITE SPACE a perfect 10. Out of some many thousands of YA novels published last year–and the over 1,000 books VOYA reviewed–my book made it to their top 38 titles.
Yeah, you read that right; I’ll say it again: 38.
Getting a VOYA Perfect 10 means that they think you’re the best of the best–and I’m not gonna argue with that.
So many thanks to VOYA and HWA. Many tears about Egmont USA and the splendid team I won’t be working with anymore.
But one thing I have learned over the years: the publishing world is small.
We are all certain to meet again.
