Sunday, June 21, 2015

Summer Reading Giveaway!!

I've teamed up with 6 other YA authors who have new books releasing this summer for an awesome Summer Reading Giveaway.

Check it out!


Yep, one LUCKY winner will win 7 Advanced Review Copies as follows:

Book #1 - VENGEANCE ROAD by Erin Bowman (HMH BFYR 9/1/15)
Book #2 - MECHANICA by Betsy Cornwell (Clarion Books, 8/25/15)
Book #3 - LOCK & MORI by Heather Petty (S&S BFYR 9/15/15)
Book #4 - HELLO, GOODBYE AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN by Jennifer E. Smith (Poppy, 9/1/15)
Book #5 - YOU AND ME AND HIM by Kris Dinnison (HMH BFYR 7/7/15)
Book #6 - DUMPLIN' by Julie Murphy (Balzer + Bray 9/15/15)
Book #7 - ALL WE HAVE IS NOW by Lisa Schroeder (Scholastic 7/28/15)

Some of the books will be signed by the authors!

Ready to enter? Of course you are! Rafflecopter is below (sorry, to keep costs down, contest is open to US only)





a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Bookmark and Bookplate giveaway!

ALL WE HAVE IS NOW comes out in just a little over a month. I can't believe it!



It was featured in the Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE recently - that's exciting!

Anyway, I've ordered a bunch of bookmarks and I would love to send you a couple - one for you to keep and one for you to pass on to a friend.



I also have some plain bookplates that I can personalize and sign if you have pre-ordered ALL WE HAVE IS NOW or plan to buy it when the book comes out. The bookplate goes on the title page, and is a way for me to sign your book without me actually being there to sign it. I mean, I wish I could travel around and individually sign every book that is sold. Go out for cupcakes with you. Chat about the best books we've read recently. Wouldn't that be fun? Since that's not really possible, this is the next best thing.

If you want some goodies mailed to you, please send a Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope with a note that tells me what you'd like me to send to you. (Bookmarks, a sticker and/or a bookplate - please note this novel is appropriate for ages 12 and up). I can only send ONE bookplate for this specific book. If you're not planning on buying this book, please do not request a bookplate. Here's where you send me your envelope and note:

Lisa Schroeder
17675 SW Farmington Rd., PMB #420
Aloha, OR 97007

I'm sorry, I will not be able to send anything if there is not an envelope with a stamp inside - it just gets too expensive for me to send stuff on my own dime. Hopefully you understand. And please, address the envelope for me with YOUR address.

Thanks for all of your support and wanting to read the new book - it means more than I can say!!

Sunday, June 14, 2015

Almost to the end

It's a quiet Sunday morning. I just came back from walking the dog, which I love doing in the mornings during summer, when it's light and bright but not too hot yet. So lovely.

Today I hope to finish a book. I have a chapter or two to go, I'm not quite sure yet, but I hope to finish soon! It's a first draft, so I need to read back through it and do some revisions before I send it on to my editor, but YAY! Another book! I can't share details quite yet, but I don't think it will be too long before I can.

I'm probably procrastinating for a moment here because the emotional climax of the story is about to happen. It's the point the story has been moving toward, the part the character(s) have been working for, and on the one hand, it's fun to write, because finally, FINALLY you've made it to this point. But on the other hand, it is also where you have to dig deep and find the crucial emotional truth and convey it in the best way possible for the story. It is not easy!

But it's time. And I know it will be so good to have this book finished so I can play with other stories, get in more reading-in-the-sun time, and just...breathe a little easier.

So, here I go...

Have a great week!



Thursday, June 4, 2015

June is here!

Wow. June!

Oregon berries have arrived, which to me has always felt like Nature's reward for making it through the long, cold winter and the usual gray, rainy spring. This year, we had a mild winter and a pretty nice spring, but I still felt myself let out a big, happy sigh when I bit into the first sweet berry. Summer is my favorite. And it's basically here.

Next week, my youngest son graduates from high school. It doesn't take much to cause the water works to start these days, let me tell you. I try to not let him see it. After all, he's thrilled to be done. He's worked hard, and there is much to celebrate, and much to look forward to. But for me, it's the end of an era. And it's hard to say good-bye to something I've loved so very much. Okay, well, I haven't loved all of the homework and projects and testing stress and all of that, but being his mom for the past 18 years? Yeah. I've really, really loved that. And I know that won't change - I'll always be his mom. But it feels like things are changing. Shifting. As they should, I suppose. But it doesn't mean it's easy.

Tomorrow, he and his dad will be jumping out of an airplane to celebrate the fact that he's 18 now, and on to college next year.

I'll be curled up in my comfy chair, telling myself it will be okay, that they'll come home for dinner, and the four of us will sit down and eat together, and the other son and I can hear all about it.

June is here. Unlike most years, I have mixed feelings about that. But like every June, I'll eat the sweet berries and try to savor every moment of summer. Every moment with the boy who will be off to college next year.

Wow.