On Monday, I had my first classroom visit.

I think this is different from normal school visits because instead of speaking to a bunch of students at once, I hung out in one classroom and spoke to each class, and also had a lunchtime chat with some of the students who’d read INCARNATE.

From what I can tell, I think it went well. I loved talking with the students. Since they’re working on their own books in class right now (think picture-book-length stories), I started off with the story about ditching a whole draft of Incarnate 3 — all 75,000 words. Once they were properly traumatized, I further traumatized them by showing them my pile of rejection letters. And those, of course, were just the rejections from before e-queries became the preferred method. I didn’t print out those. I like trees too much.

While my examples of revision and rejection are pretty extreme — and traumatizing to today’s youth — I think it helped at least some of the students deal with those things in their own lives, since some are trying out for next year’s sports teams and things.

Most of the classes, the students just stared at me while I spoke. (Suddenly I have so much empathy for my teachers in school.) But one of the classes was pretty talky. They actually said “Hi Jodi” when I said “Hi guys!” After the talk, I bribed each class with stickers. Ask a question, get a sticker. All I had were INCARNATE stickers, so I thought the boys wouldn’t be into it, but surprisingly the boys were most into it. They didn’t mind wearing a butterflyface girl sticker on their forehead. In fact, they were really proud of it.

The bribes kept them talking and asking questions, but a lot of them were really interested in things like how much input I had on my cover, how long it takes me to write a draft, how many drafts I go through from start to finish, and whether I knew how many copies of the book have sold so far. I also got a few questions about how a movie would happen, if I have kids or pets, how/when I knew I wanted to be a writer, and if I am a millionaire now. (I wish.)

They asked a lot of really excellent questions and seemed genuinely interested in how the publishing business works. I was really impressed with them. (Though I know part of their question enthusiasm was because they didn’t want to do work. Hah.)

During lunchtime, some of the students who’d read INCARNATE came back to the classroom where we ate and talked a little about the book, but mostly about silly things. One girl kept asking if Ana would die at the end of the series. I had my knitted Ana and Sam (and dragon) dolls, so I pretended to strangle Ana. This apparently made people nervous. But everyone snuggled the dragon and at the end of lunch, I took out one of my copies of INCARNATE — which was met with a bunch of gasps — and got them to sign it for me. Then I signed the back of Incarnate postcards for them. Hehe.

I had a great time with the classes, but here are some things I’ll do differently next time:

1. Bring bookmarks as well as stickers, since the stickers are a little on the spendy side and I can’t afford their enthusiastic questioning. Or find cheaper stickers. Or do something different as a bribe. (But not candy. They don’t need the sugar and so many kids are allergic to things I’m afraid to feed them.)
2. Leave the heavy things at home. I’d brought page passes and a printed and marked-up Asunder manuscript to show them a little about the revision process, but this ended up being unwieldy and unnecessary. They weren’t that into it. The pile of rejection letters was much more effective. (And not as heavy.)

But overall, I think it went really well. I had the benefit of having read about others’ school visits before, so I was mostly prepared and ready to have a good time. Hurrah!

Originally published at Jodi Meadows. You can comment here or there.

I’m still just spinning away on the Little Princess fiber.

I’ve actually done more work on the camel/silk, but I’ve been lazy about taking pictures. Here’s where I am now. I have just a little more to spin and then . . . I don’t know. I’ll put it aside and figure out what to do with all my pretty little samples.

Originally published at Jodi Meadows. You can comment here or there.

That’s all for today.

Originally published at Jodi Meadows. You can comment here or there.

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!!!

I don’t have much to share this week, just a photo of the faux cashmere. Oooh, soft.

Originally published at Jodi Meadows. You can comment here or there.

If you’ve ever asked me for a pair of mitts, or how to win a pair of fingerless mitts, don’t forget about my giveaway on this blog post. For your convenience, I’ve added the directions and form to end of this post. It’s super easy to enter: take a picture of your cold, mitt-less hands holding your copy of INCARNATE, post the picture somewhere on the internet, and put the link in the form. (If you don’t put your entry in the form, I won’t be able to count it.)

Lots of people have asked how to get mitts. I’ve had several giveaways now, and . . . I’m out of mitts. This is my last mitt contest for the time being, because I really want to knit things that are not fingerless mittens.

So, last mitt giveaway — and the only giveaway with mitts that I not only knit, but spun the yarn for as well. The giveaway ends Monday at 5pm Eastern.

Other questions you may be asking:

Is this open internationally? Yes.
Is this open to anyone? Yes. Whether you’re a book blogger, reader, author — whatever. If you have a copy of INCARNATE to take a picture with , you can enter.
You’re really not doing any more mitt contests? Yes. I knit almost thirty (30) pair of mitts last year. I’ve done giveaways with them, taken them to my launch party and on tour with me, and sent a couple to my publisher for them to use for their promotion things. Thirty pairs of mitts is a lot. It takes time to knit them. And money to buy the yarn. While knitting is something I enjoy doing . . . I really want to knit other things and spend my yarn money on yarn not for mitts. So yes, this is really it, at least for a long time.

How to win:

1. Take a picture of your cold, mitt-less hands holding your copy of INCARNATE. It can be a hardcover or ebook copy. Just make sure I can see your hands + Ana’s face. If you want to take INCARNATE somewhere special for the picture, that’s fine too. I love seeing how creative you can be!
2. Post your picture somewhere online — Facebook, Twitter, Tumbler, your blog — and link back to THIS blog post of mine, that way other people can see the ASUNDER cover and participate in the contest.
3. Come back here and leave your link in the form. You might notice there are four places to enter links. That means if you want to put your picture + link in four places, you may.
4. You have one week. I’ll close the form for new entries at 5pm Eastern on Monday, May 14.

If you don’t know how to get a link to your Twitter or FB post, it’s easy peasy. On Twitter, just click the “details” button. On Facebook, click the timestamp. Use that link. And if the form isn’t working for you, you might have to come to my website to fill it out. I don’t think it works on other feeds.

Originally published at Jodi Meadows. You can comment here or there.

To celebrate the release of the ASUNDER cover, I took some pictures of Knitted Ana hanging out with a bunch of roses. Doesn’t she look happy?

I didn’t have any that were blue or purple, but fortunately Knitted Ana isn’t particular. She just likes roses.

And what’s a Knitted Ana picture without a Knitted Sam one, too? Oh look! Knitted Sam is giving Knitted Ana a rose! I wonder if he likes her.

Aren’t they sweet? *smooshes them*

Originally published at Jodi Meadows. You can comment here or there.

Big post today! I’ve got a title, cover, and flap copy to share, as well as some answers to questions I can already hear you thinking, and then a contest. So stay with me until the end . . . unless you just hate contests. But I don’t think you do.

Warning! The flap copy contains spoilers for INCARNATE. That’s probably obvious, since this is a second book, but . . . Okay. I will stop stalling.

HERE IS THE COVER.

DARKSOULS
Ana has always been the only one. Asunder. Apart. But after Templedark, when many residents of Heart were lost forever, some hold Ana responsible for the darksouls–and the newsouls who may be born in their place.

SHADOWS
Many are afraid of Ana’s presence, a constant reminder of unstoppable changes and the unknown. When sylph begin behaving differently toward her and people turn violent, Ana must learn to stand up not only for herself but for those who cannot stand up for themselves.

LOVE
Ana was told that nosouls can’t love. But newsouls? More than anything, she wants to live and love as an equal among the citizens of Heart, but even when Sam professes his deepest feelings, it seems impossible to overcome a lifetime of rejection.

In this second book in the Incarnate trilogy, Ana discovers the truth about reincarnation and will have to find a way to embrace love and make her young life meaningful. Once again, Jodi Meadows explores the extraordinary beauty and shadowed depths of the soul in a story equal parts epic romance and captivating fantasy.

YAY!!! Amazing and gorgeous, right? So, before you ask questions, I thought I’d answer them for you.

1. What does “asunder” mean?

From Dictionary.com

Adjective:
1. into separate parts; in or into pieces: Lightning split the old oak tree asunder.
2. apart or widely separated: as wide asunder as the polar regions.

2. That’s not a very comforting definition. Should I be worried?

Always.

3. Is that the same model from the INCARNATE cover?

Yes! When the photo shoot for the INCARNATE cover happened, they took enough photos for all three books. The same model will be on the cover of Incarnate 3 (aka Ana Notitle), as well.

4. Rose petals! Are rose petals important in ASUNDER, like the butterfly was in INCARNATE?

Yes!

5. She’s wearing a mask! Will there be another masquerade?

No. No masquerade in ASUNDER. (I told you in INCARNATE that they’re rare.) The rose mask is more metaphorical. You might have noticed that Ana has a tendency to compare herself to things. She hasn’t given that up.

6. So, the rose petals have a purple-blue tint to them. Does that mean–

Yes. That means a certain someone shows up.

(Confused? (Re)Read the first chapter of INCARNATE.)

7. Are the roses purple or blue?

*shrug* What do you think?

8. What else can you tell us about the cover?

The mood, the model’s expression, the rose petals breaking off her mask — those are all important. One of the things that most impresses me about the KT Books art department is how well they capture the essence of my books. While the INCARNATE cover was light and innocent, the ASUNDER cover reflects the slightly darker tone of the second book, and Ana’s growing fierceness.

9. Did you know they were going to use roses for the ASUNDER cover?

Yep. Before the photo shoot, I told my editor the symbols for each book, so the photographer and art department were able to work together to take photos that would complement those symbols. Like the butterfly, the roses have been the plan from the beginning.

10. So you knew all the symbols in advance. That means you know what’s going to be on IN3′s cover! Will you tell us?

Hahahahahahahaha. It’s cute that you think I would tell you. I like you so much. But no. I’m not going to tell you. Feel free to guess, though!

11. When is the release date?

I don’t know. Probably Jan/Feb 2013, but I don’t have a firm date yet.

Now . . . a contest.

This is going to be easy. And what will you win? A pair of handspun, handknit mitts. Not only did I knit these mitts, but I spun the yarn, too. So these mitts are extra special to me, and you should know that very few people have handspun objects from me.

How to win:

1. Take a picture of your cold, mitt-less hands holding your copy of INCARNATE. It can be a hardcover or ebook copy. Just make sure I can see your hands + Ana’s face. If you want to take INCARNATE somewhere special for the picture, that’s fine too. I love seeing how creative you can be!
2. Post your picture somewhere online — Facebook, Twitter, Tumbler, your blog — and link back to THIS blog post of mine, that way other people can see the ASUNDER cover and participate in the contest.
3. Come back here and leave your link in the form. You might notice there are four places to enter links. That means if you want to put your picture + link in four places, you may.
4. You have one week. I’ll close the form for new entries at 5pm Eastern on Monday, May 14.

If you don’t know how to get a link to your Twitter or FB post, it’s easy peasy. Just click the “details” button. On Facebook, click the timestamp. Use that link. And if the form isn’t working for you, you might have to come to my website to fill it out. I don’t think it works on other feeds.

Any questions? LET’S HEAR THEM! And if you love the ASUNDER cover (and you should), leave a comment so I can share your love with the designer!

Originally published at Jodi Meadows. You can comment here or there.

January books

FRACTURE by Megan Miranda (ARC) – review
ICE by Sarah Beth Durst
UNEARTHLY by Cynthia Hand
A BEAUTHIFUL DARK by Jocelyn Davies
SHINE by Jeri Smith-Ready (ARC)
SHATTERED SOULS by Mary Lindsay
HEMLOCK by Kathleen Peacock (ARC) – review
CINDER by Marissa Meyer
LOLA AND THE BOY NEXT DOOR by Stephanie Perkins

Februrary books:

THE PRINCESS CURSE by Merrie Haskell
BLINK by Corinne Duyvis (draft)
GEMMA UP-OVER by Joy Hensley (draft)
TATTERED SKY by Laurel Amberdine (draft)
FOREVER by Maggie Steifvater
GLITCH by Heather Anastasiu (ARC)
INSURGENT by Veronica Roth (ARC)
DREAMING AWAKE by Gwen Hayes
LEVEL 2 by Lenore Appelhans (draft)

March books:

STARCROSSED by Elizabeth C. Bunce
CATCHING JORDAN by Miranda Kenneally
HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE by Diana Wynne Jones
ASHES, ASHES by Jo Treggiari
DARK MIRROR by M. J. Putney
FINNINKIN OF THE ROCK by Melina Marchetta

April books:

SPELL BOUND by Rachel Hawkins
HAUNTING VIOLET by Alyxandra Harvey
COLD KISS by Amy Garvy
DEFIANCE by C.J. Redwine (ARC) – review  in August
SHADOWCRY by Jenna Burtenshaw
WHAT’S LEFT OF ME by Kat Zhang (ARC) – review in September

April was another month of just a few books for me since I was drafting IN3 most of the time. I have a pretty nice list of books I want to read in the next couple of weeks, though, so there’s a chance I will make a small dent in my TBR!

I should add that I read ARCs of SHINE by Jeri Smith-Ready and INSURGENT by Veronica Roth earlier this year, and now they’re both out on shelves. While I didn’t have time to write reviews for them, they’re both amazing books and you should go out and buy them immediately. Here’s a little about both:

SHINE is the third and final book in the SHADE trilogy, set in a world where everyone born after a certain date can see ghosts. I just adore the worldbuilding in this series. And the characters! The writing! Guys, if you want an amazing paranormal that can make you swoon and think and laugh all on the same page, this is it.

INSURGENT is the second in the DIVERGENT trilogy, set in dystopian Chicago where teens must decide what faction they will belong to for the rest of their lives. The thing I love most about this series is how much choices matter and how there are always consequences.

Have you guys read any of the books on my list? Looking forward to any that aren’t out yet or sitting in your TBR pile?

Originally published at Jodi Meadows. You can comment here or there.

This week was a very dramatic yarn week for me. I finished spinning and plying the silk caps I’ve been working on, but . . . *sigh*

So, the first bit of the silk cap I spun, I apparently didn’t put enough twist in it to keep it together. Or . . . something. I don’t know. I didn’t do something right, so when I got to that part for plying, the single kept breaking. Eventually I just gave up and put the singles aside for the next day. I tried two-plying them, but lost the end of one when the yarn broke (yet again) and once more gave up. I had this other chain-plied yarn. It would be fine. I’d learned a lesson about silk caps + Jodi + enough twist + spinning them thick enough.

I washed and dried my chain-plied yarn. I had 270 yards. Not bad! And then I tried to wind it into a ball so I could knit it.

If you guessed that the yarn broke — you’re sort of wrong this time. No, the yarn tangled, and wouldn’t untangle. Even chain-plied (three times the thickness of the singles), it’s still very thin. The yarn was tangled in the skein from washing, even though I tried to be gentle with it. And then it tangled itself even more.

While I was trying to untangle the yarn . . . yes, it broke. It took me three hours to wind the yarn into a ball. I was on the phone with Myra for part of it. And then my mom for the other part. You can ask them. I complained bitterly about the yarn. I even told my mom that I think I hate this yarn.

Yeah. I said those words. I think I hate this silk yarn.

Eventually, I did get it wound into a ball. It’s in pieces in the ball. And there are some more pieces I couldn’t get untangled, so I just left them.

I have a policy of avoiding yarn stress. Yarn is the thing that is supposed to unstress me. If yarn stresses me, then I’m doing something wrong. I put that project away for a while and come back to it when I’m clear-headed. Alas. I was going to make something beautiful and shiny and weirdly textured out this ball of yarn. Now I’m not sure what I’m going to do with it. Hide it from myself, maybe. Write future-me a warning note about it. It will say something like Watch out, this yarn will make you miserable and possibly give you an eye twitch.

*grump*

But in yay-er yarn news, my sister who’s currently living in Germany found some pretty and soft alpaca yarn for my birthday. Ta da!

The label says Alpaca Castello, Rume Garne. The balls are 20g (though I’m not sure about one of them — it feels lighter) and it’s 100% baby alpaca. I can’t find the yarn in the Ravelry database, but clearly it exists! And it comes in pretty blues.

Originally published at Jodi Meadows. You can comment here or there.

Mackenzie and Amy were best friends. Until Amy was brutally murdered.

Since then, Mac’s life has been turned upside down. She is being haunted by Amy in her dreams, and an extremist group called the Trackers has come to Mac’s hometown of Hemlock to hunt down Amy’s killer: A white werewolf.

Lupine syndrome—also known as the werewolf virus—is on the rise across the country. Many of the infected try to hide their symptoms, but bloodlust is not easy to control.

Wanting desperately to put an end to her nightmares, Mac decides to investigate Amy’s murder herself. She discovers secrets lurking in the shadows of Hemlock, secrets about Amy’s boyfriend, Jason, her good pal Kyle, and especially her late best friend. Mac is thrown into a maelstrom of violence and betrayal that puts her life at risk.

Kathleen Peacock’s thrilling novel is the first in the Hemlock trilogy, a spellbinding urban fantasy series filled with provocative questions about prejudice, trust, lies, and love.

When I heard ARCs existed of this book, I immediately begged for a copy.

I’m going to confess something: I don’t read a lot of werewolf books. It’s not that I don’t like them, but I typically don’t find myself choosing them off the bookshelf. That said, I knew HEMLOCK was a book that had werewolves . . .

But when I read it, I didn’t think, “This is a werewolf book.” Because it’s not about werewolves. It’s a book about prejudice, friendship, loyalty, and mystery. It happens to have werewolves as part of the worldbuilding.

It’s also a book that, according to the Publisher’s Marketplace announcement, has a love triangle, but I didn’t get the typical love triangle feel from it. Mac didn’t spend her time pining over which boy to date; she spent her time trying to solve a murder mystery, helping her friends, and avoiding bloody death. And the love interests were also friends first, and potential kissing partners second.

The friends were all real, present, and fleshed out. I felt like I knew them. And while I wasn’t as attached to one of the characters because he kept behaving like a jerk, I never questioned Mac’s loyalty to him because she had strong memories of how things used to be, and their interactions made it clear that they used to be close — and might some day be close again. He was a real, flawed person in pain. He was redeemable.

I also really enjoyed the worldbuilding in this book. Kathleen took a world where werewolves have been outed as a real threat, and began drawing it through the logical stages of confusion and fear and prejudice. There are people for and against werewolves, people who just want to be left alone, and people willing to judge werewolves individually rather than judge the entire population by one horror story. There are pro- and anti- posters and t-shirst, slurs, and terrifying “rehabilitation camps.” The world of HEMLOCK feels real and scary.

But my favorite thing about HEMLOCK is Mac, the main character. She’s strong. Not necessarily in the physical sense, but strong of heart. She cares deeply about her friends and her family. She doesn’t trust easily, but for those who’ve earned it, she’s unflinchingly loyal. And when she gets a hint that her best friend wasn’t just killed by a werewolf, but murdered and someone may be trying to cover that up — well, Mac takes it upon herself to seek out the truth, no matter how impossible it seems, and how much danger she must go through.

I’d recommend HEMLOCK to readers wanting an intriguing mystery and a deep look at a scary world.

HEMLOCK debuts May 8. Order from IndieBound.

Originally published at Jodi Meadows. You can comment here or there.