Happy September!!

I can't believe September 1st is here!! Fall is just around the corner, and that means snuggling up with a cup of tea or apple cider and a great book, right?

In 11 days, the paperback of SPRINKLES AND SECRETS will be available, with a special SNEAK PEEK of FROSTING AND FRIENDSHIP in the back.

And in 31 days, on October 2nd, a fantastic middle grade novel I've read, called KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES by Shannon Messenger will be available.

And in exactly four months, my next YA novel, FALLING FOR YOU will be available. But, four months is still a ways away, so I'll do a giveaway for that later.

 For now, to say happy September, I'm giving away an ARC of KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES as well as a signed paperback of SPRINKLES AND SECRETS. Log in to the widget below and it will help walk you through the things you can do to earn entries for this giveaway. Both books are great fun for people ages 8 to 88. Sorry, open to US residents only.

Thanks for entering and good luck!!


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Goodreads Giveaway - SPRINKLES AND SECRETS

The paperback comes out on September 11th! If you are on goodreads, you can enter to win a signed copy. Good luck!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Sprinkles and Secrets

by Lisa Schroeder

Giveaway ends September 12, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Filling the well

After working hard revising a manuscript in July, I'm taking this month off, mostly, from writing. I still have business stuff every couple of days I have to attend to, and I'm doing some research for a middle grade idea I have. But not a lot of writing happening these last days of summer, and it's been really nice.

I think it's so important for authors to take time to fill the well. To get out and do things and become inspired in whatever ways work for them. I do spend a lot of my free time reading and watching movies, because as I told my husband the other day, even when I'm taking a break, I love stories. Well-crafted stories inspire me. Always have, always will.

But I also love to get out and see the beauty that's in the world. Last weekend, my family did a fairly easy 3.5 mile hike that's about an hour from our house, in the beautiful Columbia Gorge. I'd heard about the hike from Eagle Crest to Punchbowl Falls, but we'd never made the trip, and I decided it was time. Wow, so glad we did! We'll definitely be back, and maybe go even further next time. Here are some pictures, for your viewing pleasure.

Hope you are having a great summer!

Motivational Monday - Step off that bank

We went to Maui in June and I've been going through our photos and even managed to organize some and get a photo book ordered.

When I talk with my family about our time there, one experience stands out in each of our minds. It was a hike through a bamboo forest and across a river to get to a waterfall.

It wasn't an easy hike, and when we had to cross a river, I wasn't sure I wanted to do it. It was like a real-life choose-your-own-adventure. Do I want to get wet? Do I want to try and walk across the slippery rocks? Do I want to go at all?

I didn't want to regret staying back while my family went ahead without me. So even though I was scared, I went. I made my way across the rocks and when there were no more rocks, I got in and got wet.

Here's our reward for our efforts:

I have often felt the same as I ventured in to a new writing project. Standing there, on the bank, wondering if I can make it across, doubt filling me up and my ego wanting me to continue to stand there, because standing still is most certainly better than failing. Or so it thinks.

Yes, it is scary, to take that first step, and then another, and to continue across, wondering what challenges lie ahead for you.

And of course, there will be challenges. But I also have come to learn that it's these experiences that also push us toward something extraordinary.

Staying on that bank would have been easy. But I would have missed out on so much. And so it is with our writing.

So today I say - step out. Go for it. Who knows what amazing waterfall awaits you!!

Book Signing in Los Angeles - August 4th

Are you in the L.A. area?

If so, I hope you'll spread the word and come see Lindsey Leavitt and me when we are there, doing a signing together!

Here's the two of us at Wordstock in Portland

When: Saturday, August 4th, 2:00

Where: Barnes and Noble, 3rd Street Promenade, Santa Monica, CA

What: We'll be signing our MG/tween books - IT'S RAINING CUPCAKES and SPRINKLES AND SECRETS for me and THE PRINCESS FOR HIRE series for Lindsey.

However, if you are interested in buying one of our YA novels, call ahead (at least a week) and order the book so it's there for you to buy and for us to sign. (310-260-9110) And of course if you already own books, you can bring them along for us to sign.

We hope to see you - and please spread the word!

Hey, batter batter

On the fourth of July, I played cornhole and got talked into subbing on a co-ed softball team. It was only the next day that I tried to remember the last time I played softball and realized it was probably about... 25 years ago (fastpitch, in high school).

So, the boys (my husband included) and I went to the school down the street to play catch and hit some balls around. I did all right. I was still nervous, but not as nervous as I was at first.

And then yesterday, game day, came around and all day, nervous was my middle name.

They ended up having enough women after all, so I only had to play in the field (right field, thank goodness) a couple of times. I fielded one ball, and while it could have been better, it wasn't too bad.

But the hitting. Oy. They played the wheel, which means everyone hit, whether you were playing in the field or not. I'm sure they are regretting this decision now. The first time, I hit a pop fly somewhere in the infield. I don't know exactly, because I did what you're supposed to do. I didn't watch the ball, I ran as hard as I could to first base. Everyone was impressed with how fast I ran, which is good. No one was impressed with that hit.

The second time, it was the last inning. Our team was behind. We had two outs. And it was my turn to bat. I told myself I would not swing. Chances were good I would walk, because it was the end of the game and he was probably getting tired, plus I'm short, which means my strike zone is small.

Well, when it got to be two balls and two strikes, I had to swing. I didn't want to strike out, and I was really afraid that's what would happen. The result?

Another pop fly in the infield. ARGH. First thing I thought of when I woke up? That stupid pop fly that ended the game.

I've been trying to figure out how to spin the game so I'm not looking at myself so negatively. And really, what I need to focus on, is that I went out there and played even though I was terrified. Yes, I played badly. But I played. And next time (if there is a next time - co-ed softball is WAY more intense than I thought it would be), hopefully I will play a little better and a little better after that.

I also think it was fun to be part of a team, all working toward something. It was fun to get out and do something really different, something I don't do every day. I've been working hard on revisions, spending hours every day at the computer, and for a good two hours, I did not think about writing ONCE!! When I'm walking, when I'm jogging, when I'm doing dishes or laundry, I almost always think about writing, even if I'm trying to take a break from the writing.

So, maybe I was a lousy softball player. I played! I survived!! Sometimes, when we stretch out of our comfort zone, that might be all we can say when it's over. But it's actually no small thing!

Answering the question: why not in verse?

As some of you have probably figured out, FALLING FOR YOU (coming from Simon Pulse January 2013) is my first published YA novel not written in verse.

Some readers haven't wanted to know - why? Why isn't this one written in a similar style to my other young adult novels?

Before I answer that question, a little backstory.

I've written four novels in verse:
I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME
FAR FROM YOU
CHASING BROOKLYN
THE DAY BEFORE
(these are all stand-alone novels, by the way)

 If you've read one or two of my books and were hoping for more, I hope you'll check out the other ones already published. If you can't find them on the bookstore shelves, you can always ask them to order for you.

 With each of those books, the verse helped to create an atmosphere that I couldn't get with regular prose.

When I wrote my first YA novel, I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME, I feel like the verse chose me rather than me choosing the verse. That's the way the story wanted to be told. I tried to fight it, honestly, because I was so scared of doing something different. But it was useless - the story poured out of me in verse and I finally decided to go with it and see what happened. And now, I'm so glad I did!

FALLING FOR YOU has a lot going on, and is told in kind of an unconventional way. That is, most of the story is told in flashbacks, alternating with brief segments of present day every once in a while. I think it can be really tricky, and maybe even off-putting to a reader, to do more than one unconventional thing in a novel. Even doing one unconventional thing is risky! Now that I've done this for a while, I am all about taking risks and trying new things. That's how we grow and improve as authors, I think. And if the risk works and works well, the payoff can be huge. But we also have to keep our readers in mind and understand that if we go too far with the risk-taking, they may not want to follow along.

Because I am playing with the timeline a bit, and doing something different there, I'm afraid trying to also write the story in verse would have just been too much. That is, too much for me as a writer, but even more importantly, too much for you as a reader.

I still worked hard to make the story accessible and appealing to reluctant readers. The chapters are fairly short and my editor had the brilliant idea to incorporate some poetry into the story as well.  So, my readers who have read every single book and are dying for more verse will get a little bit in this book as well.

The thing is, not every idea is going to work in verse. I happen to have had four ideas in a row that worked in verse. This time, the story of a girl who works in a flower shop and has something terrible happen to her wanted, needed I would probably argue, to be told in a different way. As an author, it's my job to put my needs/wants aside and do what is best for the story.

I hope when you read the book, you find it a suspenseful, surprising, and emotional read - like I've tried to do with all of my YA novels.

That's my ultimate goal, and what I want to give you, every time, regardless of how the story is told.