Upcoming Appearances Fourth of July weekend signing of SHADOWED SUMMER, with Fran Cannon Slayton, author of WHEN THE WHISTLE BLOWS. Stop by, grab some goodies, and say hi! Kids Ink Books July 2, 2009, at 2:00pm 5619 N Illinois St, Indianapolis, IN

5 Minutes with Sarah Ockler

Sister Deb and eagle-eyed, Sarah Ockler has one of the most consistently exciting blogs online- and now her debut novel, TWENTY BOY SUMMER, is available in bookstores everywhere. It's been a crazy month for her, so I'm thrilled she could spare five minutes for us!

Shadowed Summer in The Horn Book Guide!

Shadowed Summer has been included in the Fall 2009 Horn Book Guide, I'm so excited. They say, "A Southern gothic sensibility adds a chill to this sweltering Louisiana mystery." Bwee, shivery!

Manuscript & Query Critique for Auction

We're raising money to buy BOOKS for the students at Oklahoma City's Tulakes Elementary school. How are we doing that? By holding an awesome auction while celebrating Cynthea Liu's debut of PARIS PAN TAKES THE DARE. Come bid on a 5 page manuscript or screenplay critique or a query letter critique from me- and help Tulakes students get the books they deserve!

The Weekly Reader with Rachael Hanel

I did my first radio interview as a published author, with the lovely Rachael Hanel from The Weekly Reader! You can listen in June 4th, 2009 (today!) on KMSU at 11.30 eastern/10.30 central - on their website! And! I'm so excited, because I'm sharing the hour with sister deb Cynthea Liu!!

5 Minutes with Sarah Rees Brennan

I'm so excited to spend 5 minutes with the very awesome Sarah Rees Brennan. Her book. THE DEMON'S LEXICON is one of my favorites so far this year- it's exciting, witty and clever- a lot like the author herself! She's been a teacher, a starving student and now an incredibly-buzzed about debut author. So what makes Sarah Rees Brennan tick? Let's find out!

Kind Words for Shadowed Summer!

I'm extraordinarily honored to announce that Annette Curtis Klause, author of The Silver Kiss and Blood & Chocolate, has offered this endorsement of Shadowed Summer:

"A subtle and enthralling tale of innocent obsession that almost made me miss my Metro stop!"

As a longtime fan of Ms. Curtis Klause's work, I'm totally breathless right now!

Chicago Tribune Printer's Row Lit Festival

I will be participating in a panel discussion about YA fiction at the Printer's Row Lit Festival! The panel includes Jacquelyn Mitchard, James Kennedy, and Sally Nemeth, moderated by Amy Alessio.

You can check it out at the University Center/River Room on Sunday, June 7th, 2009 at University Center, 525 S. State Street, Chicago, IL. Check out their website for more information about the festival!

Shadowed Summer an ALAN Pick for May!

How exciting- Shadowed Summer is one of ALAN's Picks for May! There are a lot of other fantastic books on the list, including sister Deb Cindy Pon's Silver Phoenix, so I'm in honored company! Check it out!

SECOND PRINTING FOR SHADOWED SUMMER!

I just got word that Shadowed Summer is going into its SECOND PRINTING! Many thanks to everyone for their enthusiasm and support; it means so much to me and my little southern gothic ghost story!!

GLBT Month at Book Chic!

I'm so pleased to be a part of GLBT Month with Book Chic! There have been lots of great guest blogs already, and more to come. I'd like to share mine today, The Last Time We Ask Why. Thanks for having me, Book Chic, and thanks for a great project!

Spotlight On At Shalonda's Blog

I'm honored to be in the spotlight on Shalonda's Blog today. Find out how a Ouija board can be like a frisbee, what my dinner every night in hell would be, and whom I admire most, living or dead (aside from Shalonda, of course!) It's such a pleasure to be included! Thanks Shalonda!!

My Pub Story!

I'm excited to be this week's Pub Story at Reviewer X's place. You want to know how I got to this point? Quitting. No seriously. Read the Pub Story and find out more!

5 Minutes with Sarah Cross

I've been looking forward to sharing this one for a while now- spend 5 minutes with one of my most favorite people in the world, author, assassin and ninja, Sarah Cross. Her book, Dull Boy, is one of my favorite YA picks for 2009, and on May 14th, you'll get to read it for yourself and find out why. Until then, find out why Pallas' cats are awesome, what superpowers Jane Austen has, and what makes every story better. Yay, Sarah Cross!

Last Call for 2009 Season of Fresh Writers!

Last call for entries into this year's Fresh Writers program- the deadline is May 1, 2009 at midnight, CST! Screenwriters between 14 and 24, who'd like to be produced this summer by the all teen film crews of Fresh Films are urged to finish up their superhero or comedy scripts, and get them submitted right away. We will NOT be reading after the deadline, but I'd love the chance to work with you this summer! Hurry, before this year's program closes!

DEADLINE CLOSING FOR FILM CREW POSITIONS

Be one of the teen filmmakers who will cast, shoot, direct and edit a real short film this summer- and earn a chance to win fab prizes, and an all-day film festival and workshop just for you at AFI Fest! If you're between 14 and 19, choose one of the shoot cities, and get that application in- you have until May 18th, 2009! When somebody asks what you did this summer, tell them you made a movie!

Kind Words for Shadowed Summer!

I'm extraordinarily honored to announce that New York Times bestselling author Tamora Pierce has offered this endorsement of Shadowed Summer:

"Tight, tense, and real- it gripped me long after I finished it! This is the best ghost story I've read in ages!"

As a longtime fan of Ms. Pierce's work, I'm simply over the moon right now!

Huge Digital Excerpt of Shadowed Summer!

Oh, this excites me so much! Random House has created a widget to let you read BIG excerpts of their novels online! That means now, you can read a tiny sample of Chapter One right here or you can read all of Chapter One and part of Chapter Two, in full-sized digital clarity, for free! I'm so stoked! Check it out!!

Aspiring Screenwriter? You Could Be Produced This Summer!

Dreaming of being a screenwriter? Make that dream a reality this summer with Fresh Films Emerging Screenwriters! Submit a 10 page screenplay- a comedy, or a superhero flick- and if your screenplay is selected, you'll work with a professional screenwriter (that would be me!) to revise and ready your script. And when it's ready, we'll hand it off to the talented teen film crews in the Fresh Film program- who will produce your movie, and premiere it in an online film festival!

The writer whose film wins the festival will also win a premiere at AFI Fest in Los Angeles. While there, you'll have a chance to work with film pros like Sean Astin, Laura Prepon, John Lithgow and more. There's no cost to participate, and NO experience necessary. If you're between 14 and 24, and you want to write a movie this summer, Fresh Films Emerging Screenwriters is the program for you! More details and application are available at http://www.fresh-films.com/writers.htm!

Lies & Stuff

To the many doodads and thingums on my websites, I added a mailing list this week! Be the first to find out the news, sports and weather... er, any news about me, my books or my films, and maybe even get exclusive freebie stuff in the future. Like ARCs. And bookmarks. And pictures of monkeys. Yay, mailing list!

Shadowed Summer Nominated at YA Reads!

Shadowed Summer is in the running for Best Book, Best Debut and Best Author of February 2009 at YAReads!

And while I suspect I will get smashed by the super fantastico authors who are nominated along with me (Hi Erin! Hi Cynthia!), you can win a copy of Shadowed Summer just for voting.

You can also win copies of Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side (which I want so hardcore, it's not even funny,) The Fetch, Wherever Nina Lies, Fade and The September Sisters! Check it out!

5 Minutes with Aprilynne Pike

Doula, mom, breadmaking superstar and now a superbuzzed author with the debut of her series, Wings, I managed to pin Aprilynne Pike down for five minutes, to quiz her on her secret to knowing everybody in the whole world and how she technically sold a book without ever being rejected! It's all in this month's 5 Minutes With! Come check it out!

Shadowed Summer Signing!

Please join me on Saturday, March 28th, for a signing of Shadowed Summer at Bookmamas! I'll be there from 1:30pm to 3:30pm- with books, treats, and a chance for you to win an Extremely Haunted Gift Bag!

Shadowed Summer in School Library Journal!

I'm so pleased to be reviewed in April's issue of School Library Journal. They say, "Mitchell packs a lot into this novel; on the periphery of the story are hints... that give complexity to the secondary characters living in this small town. Suggest this one to readers who like a supernatural twist to their coming-of-age stories." Suspicious of the ellipsis? Read the whole review here, but be warned- it's spoilery!

See You at Flycon!

I am pleased to announce my participation in Flycon2009! Flycon is an online convention with activities during the peak hours of every time zone. It begins midnight, Friday 13th in March 2009, in Australia and roll with the sun. I will be part of the following events:

Crossing over from fan fiction to pro writing
Friday, March 13, 3 p.m. EST
Other panelists: Karen Miller, positive pat, R.J. Anderson


Author chat: Debut 2009 SF/Fantasy novelists session
Saturday, March 14th, 9 a.m. EST
Other panelists: Lisa Mantchev, R.J. Anderson, Deva Fagan, Megan Crewe

Please drop by- I think it's going to be a conaliciously good time!

Interview with Want My YA

I'm so excited; I'm the inaugural interview on Want My YA's new Monday feature! In this interview, I talk about hearing voices, my collection of collections, and I ask readers the most important bedrock character of our time. Find out and weigh in!

Shadowed Summer in Hellnotes

My very first review from a horror-oriented magazine, Hellnotes' Sheila Merrit had nothing but good things to say about Shadowed Summer. My favorite quote? "This spectral story is insightful and eloquent; the ache of youth is remarkably rendered," she says, and I'm so honored!

Interview with Cynthia Leitich Smith

I'm not sure how this happened, but somehow, I've been interviewed by bestselling all-around YA rockstar, Cynthia Leitich Smith. (Her latest, Eternal, debuted the same day as Shadowed Summer, and it is nom- check out the hot trailer!)

Most of the time, I'm a little punchy when I do interviews, but this one's a little more serious. Find out the whole reason Shadowed Summer came to be, and which current debut author I think has the jump on me- right here on Cynsations.

5 Minutes with Carrie Ryan

A former litigator and a rising star, Carrie Ryan's The Forest of Hands and Teeth is earning starred reviews from Publisher's Weekly and rave reviews from yours truly. It's one of my favorite books of 2009 already. I've been lucky enough to be imprint buddies with Carrie, so it wasn't too hard to get her to take five minutes with me. Which is good because I really feel we need to know which wine goes with the apocalypse. You too? Find out now!