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Turkish Delight
Summer is here. And once again I’m reminded that I find the idea of summer to be much more appealing than the real thing. I like playing in the water, I like barbecuing, and because I work in education, summer still has that childhood association with “No school!” But ultimately the heat just kills me. …
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My BEA Report, or, How I Met Hercules
Last week, I had a whirlwind few days in New York City at BookExpo America. I hadn’t ever been to BEA before, and it was a really great experience. I took an afternoon flight out of Salt Lake City on Tuesday, and got into NYC close to midnight. My publicist, Lauren, had arranged for a…
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BEA – Before
As I mentioned in my last post, I’ll be going to BEA this year. Next week, actually. I’ll be doing some speaking, and also some signing at the Scholastic booth. I fly in on Tuesday, and on Wednesday my editor, Lisa Sandell, will be talking about my forthcoming novel, Icefall, on the Middle Grade Editors…
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Events, both upcoming and past
The next few weeks and months will be somewhat busy with writing-related events, and for those interested, here is what I’ll be doing: First, I’ll be participating in the Provo Children’s Book Festival tomorrow, Saturday May 7th, signing books and spending time with readers in my “Author’s Corner.” It’s a great event, with lots of…
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A Chained Heart
Last week, we had a freak storm sweep into our area. One minute, things were pretty calm. A little overcast, maybe, but not bad weather. The next minute, 70 mph winds start raging and pelting us with hail. The assault lasts for about 5 minutes, and then it just stops. Things go back to pretty…
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Teen Author Boot Camp
I believe I mentioned this once before, but I’ll mention it again. This upcoming Saturday (April 23rd) I’ll be teaching at the Teen Author Boot Camp. If you’re a teen, and you’re interested in writing, this conference is a wonderful opportunity. The faculty line-up and the list of the classes they’ll be teaching is really…
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First Review of Icefall
Things have been pretty hectic lately. And by lately, I mean the past eight months or so when the school year began. Writing books while working full-time as a school psychologist can be pretty daunting, exhausting, and stressful. I try my best, but it can be difficult to wear so many hats. One thing I’ve…
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The Clockwork Three in German, and also a contest
I recently posted the Complex Chinese cover for The Clockwork Three. It’s been a lot of fun seeing how the foreign publishers handle the cover – different approaches work for different audiences. I recently came across the German cover, which is entirely different from the U.S. cover. Here it is: The elements of the book…
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Icefall
My second novel won’t be released until later this year on October 1st, but I’m really excited to share a little glimpse of it with you now. So here is the synopsis for my next middle-grade novel, Icefall. Trapped in a hidden fortress tucked between towering mountains and a frozen sea, Solveig, along with her…
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The Clockwork Three in Complex Chinese, and some other things
The Clockwork Three has sold in several foreign languages, thanks to the hard work and enthusiasm of Scholastic’s Foreign Rights team. One of those languages is Complex Chinese, and I thought the cover looked so cool I wanted to share. Pretty neat, eh? I’m glad they stayed with the original artwork. According to Google Translate,…
The blog of author Matthew J. Kirby
