Robin Benway's Blog

Hello friends!

It's officially December 1st, which means that as of 12:01am this morning, I've been listening to the Charlie Brown Christmas album nonstop and Hudson's holiday collar is out of storage. It also means that November is over and I'm back home from my travels, doing laundry and mourning the fact that there's no more pumpkin cheesecake left over from Thanksgiving. (Which I MADE FROM SCRATCH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.) 

Signing with Rita, Ibi, and Elana at Books of Wonder! (Erika was busy being awesome at Mashable, so she couldn't make it.)

So. As you may or may not have heard, November was kind of A Month for me. I won the 2017 National Book Award for Young People's Literature, which is a sentence that I never, ever in my life thought that I would have the privilege of saying. I still can't quite believe it and I think maybe I'll fully process the news at some point in 2019? Maybe? We'll see. In any case, I'm so grateful and about a thousand other words that haven't been invented yet to describe how honored I feel.

It was an incredible experience, to say the least, but for me, one of the biggest joys was getting to meet and spend the week with the other finalists. Ibi Zoboi, Elana Arnold, Rita Williams-Garcia, and Erika Sánchez are four of the best and you should obviously read all of the books immediately. It kind of felt like we were at author summer camp, which is a thing that I just invented but immediately want to attend on an annual basis. In any case, these ladies are wonderful, talented, and gracious and I feel so lucky to have seen my book standing alongside theirs.

Me and the mama!

Publishers Weekly put together a very nice article about the night, including some quotes from my speech, so I won't rehash it here. Also I can't rehash it here, because my brain went into meltdown mode and I couldn't talk or even think for the rest of the night. I'm sure I said words to people, of course, but I have no idea what those words were! I hope they were nice! Apologies if I insulted anyone's mother. 

Speaking of mothers! I brought my mom as my plus one because a) she loves me whether or not I win any awards, which is handy, and b) she's great at parties. When I went into shock, she's the one who put a glass of champagne in my hand and got me out on the dance floor for the afterparty. (Side note: the DJ at the party was FANTASTIC. When I left, they were playing Missy Elliott's "Pass That Dutch," which is of course one of Hudson's and my favorite songs. So thank you for that, DJ.)

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On the right: my glorious editor, Kristen Pettit. On the left: an author who looks like she's acting out the phrase "deer in headlights" in a heated game of Charades.

Also, I can tell you that if you ever win the National Book Award, you cannot take it through airport security at JFK! I learned this the hard way! "It'll be fine," I said to myself. "I'll just carry it through and then stow it under the seat in front of me." Look, I didn't play any sports in school, so I've never even won a participation trophy before. I had no idea what I was doing. And this award is heavy. But the NBA trophy sent off all sorts of bells and whistles at security (the head TSA guy, a very nice man named Dennis, shook his head at me and said, "What were you thinking?") and I had to go back out to the check-in gate to figure out a solution. Thank you again to Trish at American Airlines for finding a box for me and saving the day!

And finally, thank you to all of you for all of your kind comments that evening. It was one of the most wild nights of my life, but seeing all of your support and love for Far From the Tree, and for me, made it such a magical experience. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

He looks mildly interested to see me after nine days apart. Just mildly.

And now, this guy and I are off to find a Christmas tree. In 75 degree weather. Whatever, I'm sure it'll be fine.

With lots of love and gratitude for you this holiday season,

RB xoxo

 

Hello friends!

We're less than a week out from the October 3 publication of FAR FROM THE TREE, which means that I'm currently running around, looking like this:

(I use that gif way too often, I know, but Beaker just GETS ME.)

Anyway, there have been a lot of FFTT updates, so rather than tweeting, instagramming, and facebooking about them incessantly,  I thought I would put them into one handy list here! Also, I am here for any and all reasons to make a list! Bullet points! Check marks! True story: I once made a list of all the lists I had to make. It was Peak Me.

Somehow or another, FAR FROM THE TREE has been long listed for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature. It's been two weeks since I got the news and it still feels like a dream, to be quite honest. To be part of this list, with these authors and books, is an honor that I never thought I would experience, and I'm so grateful and happy for it. If you'd like to hear a little about all ten of the YPL nominees, WAMC Northeast Public Radio has a great segment on the titles by judge and bookstore owner Suzanna Hermans. 
 A lot of people have asked me how I heard the news, so I'll tell you: I was on Twitter early that morning, since I knew I had a lot to do and wouldn't have time to tweet later in the day. Right around 7:30am, Lisa Lucas, the executive director of the National Book Foundation, tweeted that the NBA long list had been announced, so I clicked on the link to see if any friends had been nominated. I saw Elana Arnold's name first and was thrilled for her! Then I saw my name, my brain became a white noise machine, and I made a noise that sounded like an asthmatic hyena choking on a peach pit. I happened to be staying at my mom's house that morning, and she later told me, "I knew it was a big deal because you kept setting your coffee down and leaving it behind." I believe this is the most accurate statement that anyone has ever made about me.
 I'm also doing some events around the country to promote FFTT! I love doing events, meeting readers, and sampling local breakfast options, of course, but I'm especially excited that I'll get to visit a few new (to me) states. North Carolina and New York City, I cannot WAIT to see you. There are also a few more dates that I can't mention quite yet, so stay tuned. 
 If you're curious to learn more about FFTT, great news! Epic Reads has posted the first three chapters online!  Grace, Maya, and Joaquin, the three siblings at the heart of the book, each take turns narrating the story, so here's a chance to get to know more about them. Also, doesn't Epic Reads make the prettiest graphics? 



























If you, like me, enjoy getting things for free, then you should go visit Heather and Jessica at Go Fug Yourself because they're giving away a copy of FFTT! And while you're there, you can also look at the glorious pictures of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle being in luuuuuvvvvvv. Why do those pics make me so happy? I don't even know these two people, and yet! (Question: Do you think he sent her a bouquet of newly-sharpened pencils on the first day of fall? I just have a feeling that he did.)
 Finally, to come full circle, FFTT will be in stores in less than a week, including Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and my beloved indies. But in addition, it'll also be available in Meijer, Fred Meyer, Kroger, and Walmart stores nationwide! You could buy my book while you're grocery shopping! 
 And finally, thank you to everyone for your good thoughts, tweets, texts, comments, and all-around wonderfulness about FAR FROM THE TREE. Writing this book, as some of you know, really took it out of me, and I feel so grateful to have so much support from so many people, both in the publishing world and beyond. I hope I see you while I'm on tour!

RB xo

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hellooooo friends!

We're getting closer and closer to the October 3rd release date of FAR FROM THE TREE, which seems both too close and too far away? I need more time! But I want everyone to be able to read it! Such is the life of an author two months before their book comes out. 

But while I'm alternately fretting and celebrating, YOU have a chance to win an advance copy! Even my own mother doesn't have an advance copy! (Sorry, Mom. Love you.) 

First,  Epic Reads is offering up an amazing giveaway over at their site, and they even made this gorgeous graphic! (I still love the FFTT cover so much. SO MUCH! If I didn't have a pain tolerance of -12, I would definitely get it tattooed.)

And then Goodreads is offering up a chance to win one of FIVE copies! You have five chances to win! I'm not a gambler, but I like those odds.

(I'm very sorry, friends who live outside of the United States, but it looks like these contests are only open to U.S. residents. Again, so sorry! I don't make the rules! If I did, everyone would get a book and there'd be free ice cream for all.)

I'm also putting together ideas for a pre-order campaign in the next several weeks, which I'm very excited to announce to you! I hope you'll like it as much as I do. In the meantime, good luck to all of you who enter! Let Hudson and me know if you win!

RB xo

 

 

Hello friends! It’s me, your friendly neighborhood author! You may not have heard much from me over the past several years here at Ye Olde Blog, but that’s because I’ve been doing very important things like eating string cheese and teaching Hudson how to do the Mannequin Challenge.

In between all of these exciting and action-packed activities, though, I’ve also been writing a book called FAR FROM THE TREE. Well, “writing” seems to stretch the truth a bit. There was definitely writing, but there were also some real hand-wringing moments of despair where I thought I’d never figure out this book, its plot, or its characters. This is my sixth book, so you’d think it’d be easy to write it. WRONG. WRONG WRONG WRONG. It was the hardest book I’ve ever written, hands down, but I’m so proud of it and I can’t wait to share it with you.

It’s a book about family and love and parents and siblings, and how those things change over time, interacting with each other and becoming more than the sum of their parts. I think the jacket copy explains it better than I can:

FAR FROM THE TREE
Coming October 3, 2017 from Harper Teen

“Being the middle child has its ups and downs.

But for Grace, an only child who was adopted at birth, discovering that she is a middle child is a different ride altogether. After putting her own baby up for adoption, she goes looking for her biological family, including—

Maya, her loudmouthed younger bio sister, who has a lot to say about their newfound family ties. Having grown up the snarky brunette in a house full of chipper redheads, she’s quick to search for traces of herself among these not-quite-strangers. And when her adopted family’s long-buried problems begin to explode to the surface, Maya can’t help but wonder where exactly it is that she belongs.

And Joaquin, their stoic older bio brother, who has no interest in bonding over their shared biological mother. After seventeen years in the foster care system, he’s learned that there are no heroes, and secrets and fears are best kept close to the vest, where they can’t hurt anyone but him.

Robin Benway’s beautiful interweaving story of three very different teenagers connected by blood explores the meaning of family in all its forms—how to find it, how to keep it, and how to love it.”

Also? I’m kind of hopelessly in love with its cover.

This gorgeous jacket was designed by Philip Pascuzzo over at Pepco Studio, and I’d just like to say that I am FURIOUSLY HAPPY about it! I think it’s a perfect representation of Joaquin, Maya, and Grace and their stories. I can’t wait for you to meet them.

In the meantime, you’re welcome to add FAR FROM THE TREE to Goodreads or pre-order at your local indie bookstore or other such establishments.

INDIEBOUND

BARNES & NOBLE

AMAZON

I’m looking forward to sharing more news and updates with you, but in the meantime, I hope your winter is thawing into spring and you’re doing well. Hudson sends his love. So do I.

RB XO

Hello hello everyone!

So we're getting to That Point. The Point when "ALSO KNOWN AS" will be out. Exciting times, my friends! It will be in stores on February 26, which means that we're only a mere (produces calculator) (counts on fingers) (furrows brow) 29 DAYS AWAY! It's been two and a half years since I've had a book come out, so I'm trying to get my Publication Day sea legs back. It's not a bad feeling. I was about to say that it feels pretty awesome, but I use that word too much, so let's say just say that it feels sublime. And nervewracking. But mostly sublime.

But I'm not the only one who's excited around here! My dog, Hudson, is so hyped up with pre-publication excitement that he can barely even slee--!

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Oh. Okay, scratch that. Hudson's excitement appears to be mostly on the inside. Man's best friend, ladies and gentlemen.

As you may have seen, I'll be going on tour with Megan Miranda and Yelena Black, so I hope I get to see you there! There's also a book giveaway over on Goodreads, where you have a chance to win 1 of 5 copies of AKA, so that's cool, too! You don't even have to do anything to win, just enter your name. Easy peasy.

And of course, there's the "ALSO KNOWN AS" soundtrack! As we get closer to February 26th, I'll publish a song a day on my Tumblr and talk a little about each song and why I chose it, but for now, it's up at Spotify and 8tracks, as well as right here! I've posted the track list and a little (spoiler-free!) location guide for each song. 

Happy listening!

1. La Roux, "In For the Kill (Skream's Let's Get Ravey Mix")
Reykjavík, Iceland

2. The Kills, "What New York Used to Be"
The quad, Harper School, Jane Street, NYC

3. Charles Trenet, "Que Reste-T'il de Nos Amour"
Gramercy Park, NYC

4. Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi, "Two Against One" (featuring Jack White)
Prince & Thompson Streets, NYC

5. Kasabian, "Club Foot"
60 Warren Street, NYC

6. The Sounds, "Goodnight Freddy"
80th Street between Park & Madison, NYC

7. Django Reinhardt, "Please Be Kind"
Paley Park, NYC

8. Rosie Thomas, "Snow Day"
Wollman Rink, Central Park, NYC

9. Hurts, "Unspoken"
60 Warren Street, NYC

10. The Foxes, "Youth"
Starbucks, 93 Greenwich Avenue, NYC

11. The Prodigy, "Voodoo People"
Lexington Avenue, NYC

12. Pictureplane, "Goth Star"
Chess & Checkers House, Central Park, NYC 

Hello lovelies!

How has your new year been so far? Is 2013 treating you well? Well, it SHOULD because you are delightful and deserve nothing but good things. 

2013 has been splendid for me so far. I handed in the first draft of the sequel to "ALSO KNOWN AS" (why I always have to capitalize that, I don't know) so I've been spending my days catching up on reading (currently devouring "The Incorrigible Children" series), movies ("Beasts of the Southern Wild" has my heart) and snuggling with my puppy. He doesn't want to snuggle, but no matter! We snuggle anyway!

I'm trying to rest up because February and March are going to be insane for me. Can you even stockpile rest? Is that a thing? Either way, I'm going on tour with two other awesome authors, Megan Miranda and Yelena Black, and hopefull we'll get to see you!

February 26, 7 pm
ANDERSON'S BOOKSHOP
123 West Jefferson Avenue
Naperville, IL 60540

February 27, 7 pm
THE BOOK CELLAR
4736-38 North Lincoln Avenue 
Chicago, IL 60625

February 28, 7 pm
BARNES & NOBLE
Mansell Crossings Shopping Center
7660 North Point Parkway Suite 200
Alpharetta, GA 30022

March 2, 7 pm
BOOKS & BOOKS
265 Aragon Avenue
Coral Gables, FL 33134

March 3, 4 pm
OBLONG BOOKS & MUSIC
6422 Montgomery Street (Rt. 9)
Rhinebeck, NY  12572

March 8, 7pm
VROMAN'S BOOKSTORE
695 E. Colorado Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91101 

I'm so excited to travel and meet as many of you as possible! Stay safe & healthy until then!

Hello hello hello!
It's me, your friendly neighborhood author! Remember me? All the fun times we've had together? Of course you do.

I'm writing this from a hotel room in New York, fourteen stories high in the sky and inadvertently staring into some nice couple's living room across the street. (PLEASE shut your blinds, people, this is getting awkward.) This city is so lovely at this time of year...except for the part where I got trampled by a mob scene at the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. But hey, it's all part of the holiday experience! On, Dasher!

But enough about me. Let's talk book stuff.

As some of you know, I have a new book coming out. A NEW BOOK! I LOVE NEW BOOKS! It's called ALSO KNOWN AS and it will be released on February 26, 2013. If you feel so inclined, you can pre-order it at your local indie, Powell's, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, or wherever fine books are sold. It's about a family of spies, love, intrigue, best friends, New York City, safecracking, and no, before you ask, I still cannot crack a safe. Research FAIL.

But what you don't know is that ALSO KNOWN AS now has a shiny new cover!

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Isn't it gorgeous? I love the green. Thank you to Bloomsbury Walker for giving me such a lovely cover! 

I have even more news for you, though! In fact, there's so much news that I have to resort to bullet points to organize my thoughts. Apparently this blog is becoming a formal affair.

Not only is ALSO KNOWN AS being published in February, but it will also have a sequel! I've never written a sequel before, but let me tell you, it's great! You can revisit all your characters, see how they're doing, send them on more adventures. I highly recommend it. I'm not sure when it will be published, so stay tuned. In fact, I'm not even sure how it ends yet. I should probably get to work on that.


Both ALSO KNOWN AS and its sequel will be released as audiobooks. You heard me: audiobooks! (GET IT? Because it's audio and I said "You heard me"...? Never mind.) But what's even cooler is that they'll be narrated by me! I was at the Brilliance Audio recording studio last week in freezing Michigan and it was probalby one of the most fun publishing experiences I've had yet. Here's a picture of my little enclave. Please note the blanket on the shelf.

            
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I'll be touring for ALSO KNOWN AS in the spring! I'll be traveling with Yelena Black and Megan Miranda. Get excited! I'll put up the specific dates, cities, and bookstores once everything is confirmed. I hope I get to see your cute face there!


ALSO KNOWN AS and its sequel will be published in France, the UK, and the Netherlands! I don't have exact release dates yet, but I'm thrilled about this news. More countries to come, hopefully, and I'll keep you posted on that. Yay, Europe! You've always been so nice to me.


Get ready for a shiny new website! That's right, my time on this site is coming to an end and I should have a brand-new one in a few weeks. Don't worry, it'll still have all my contact information, favorite things, and the sporadic blogging you've come to know and love. I've seen a few screenshots of it and it looks lovely! 

I think that's everything. What else should you know? Here, have some random, caffeine-induced thoughts:

I've been traveling for over a week and I really miss my dog, Hudson. I tweet about him all the time, but here's a picture of him snuggling with me the morning I left. PUPPY.

            
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I've sort of rediscovered my love of Top 40 pop music and I'm also swooning over the new Ellie Goulding album. Seriously, the soundtrack for AKA 2 will just be Ellie Goulding. It's like she can read my fictional mind. 


I am terrible at returning phone calls but can pretty much send a novel-length text to someone. This is so shameful.


I wish they'd invent a punctuation mark that was between a period and an exclamation mark. I really overuse exclamation marks, but sometimes a period makes it sound like I could care less about what I'm saying. Let's get to work on that.

Okay, enough with the bullet points. How are YOU? Are you well? Are you studying for finals or just wasting hours on Tumblr? I hope everything is splendid in your life, and if it's not, I hope it soon will be. 

Happy Holidays! Watch out for reindeer!

xo

Here I am, blogging once again! There must be something in the water over here in Silver Lake because usually I like to give it a good six months between entries. Or maybe I'm just procrastinating on writing my next book. Or maybe it's the fact that my dog Hudson is currently asleep on my feet and I can't move.

Anyway, hellooooooo.

So my summer has been very interesting so far. My mom and I are gearing up to take surfing lessons soon, so of course I'm watching TV and reading and doing absolutely nothing to build my upper body strength and lung capacity. This should be a hoot. I'm also writing writing writing and deleting deleting deleting. I used to make fun of an old writing teacher who used to say "Writing is rewriting" and now karma has obviously come back to bite me. My bad.

Oh yeah! I also went to Comic-Con!

I have some friends who work in various aspects of the superhero/graphic novel/cool stuff worlds (hi guys!), so I usually go down to San Diego to visit them and say hello, and then I bail and drive home before all the shenanigans begin. This year, though, I stayed and even ventured onto the convention floor. 

In a word: WHOA.

The first thing you should know about Comic-Con is that people are really friendly. The second thing you should know is that most of them are dressed in costumes. The only costume I own is my Halloween "Beer Wench" costume that I got at Target four years ago, and if you think that I was gonna wear that at Comic-Con, you have another think coming. (Just a piece of advice: if you're going to a Halloween party, don't dress as a beer wench.)

After arriving, I hopped on the escalator along with dozens of other people, including one guy who was dressed as a chef covered in blood. I had absolutely no idea who he was supposed to be, but again, I don't know a lot about the comic world. But I was at Comic-Con! Everyone's so friendly! One man had already told me that I look "surprisingly normal"! When in Rome, right? I turned around to ask.

Me: Um, hi! What's your costume supposed to be?
Chef Covered in Blood: (holds up bleeding hand)

So it turns out that he really was a hotel restaurant chef who cut himself and was on his way to the emergency room! And lo, my trip to Comic-Con had begun.

If you've never been on the convention floor at Comic-Con, you can totally recreate the experience at home! First, stand in your living room. Next, pile approximately 83904920 people into the room with you. Make sure you have at least one person whose costume involves strategically-placed horns and another two who don't believe in deodorant. Third, give everyone the exact same cell phone ring so that all of those 83904920 people dive for their phones whenever one rings. Then, right when people start moving in an orderly fashion, have another person stop walking abruptly to take a picture of something (preferably Strategically-Placed Horn Dude), causing everyone else to run into one another.

Oh yeah, and make sure that Iron Man walks through the room a few times. 

I might be exaggerating just a tad. The floor can definitely be claustrophobic, but trust me, it's a hell of a lot of fun. It's a bunch of fans all in one room, and everyone's excited to be there! How often does that happen?

I managed to extricate myself from the crowd long enough to find Stephanie Perkins and her cool husband Jarrod Perkins. You may know Stephanie from such books as "Anna & the French Kiss" and the upcoming "Lola & the Boy Next Door". Hudson's super excited about "Lola", in case you didn't know.

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The look on his face clearly says, "Give me my treat or I'll pee all over the floor."

Anyway, I managed to find Stephanie and Jarrod in the crowd and we decamped back to the hotel bar. But not before having our picture taken with The Royal Waffle, of course!

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I think it says volumes about my & Stephanie's personalities that in a convention filled with hundreds of superheroes, we made sure to get our picture taken with The Royal Waffle.

The best part was when the waffle's sidekick (who I WISH was dressed as a pat of butter!) asked if we wanted to hold the fork in the photo. Lady, we're already posing WITH A WAFFLE. A WAFFLE WHO HAS LEGS AND IS WEARING A ZORRO MASK. Why do you think we'd draw the line at a fork? (Also, why the Zorro mask? You're a giant waffle. You're sort of recognizable.)

Anyway, we finally made it back to the hotel bar.

And then this happened:

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I honestly don't remember if I shoved Steph and Jarrod out of the way when I saw this, so if I did, I apologize.

Comic-Con in a nutshell: the Mad Hatter and Alice in Wonderland sitting at the hotel bar. I think I had three separate aneurysms when I saw this. Do you even know how much self-control it took for me not to rush over and ask if they were having half a cup of tea?!? NO YOU DO NOT OMG. But seriously, it was like my childhood dream coming to life.

Also, I'm totally dressing up as Alice next year.

After I calmed down, Stephanie & Jarrod & I started talking. And what do you know, it turns out that it was their tenth anniversary that day! Champagne all around! Then Laini Taylor and her husband Jim showed up, along with their daughter Clementine Pie, who is as adorable as you would imagine a child named Clementine Pie to be. 

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Me & Stephanie. Why yes, I am investing in loose powder, thank you for asking! Also, either Laini or her husband Jim took this photo. Or maybe it was Jarrod. Photo credit to everyone!

Here's the thing about hanging out and talking with other writers: it is so nice. Sometimes, when you're sitting alone at your desk and deleting deleting deleting, it can be stressful. And also really scary. Sometimes, you need to talk to someone else and tell them how *#@! hard it was to write your second book and how you thought that maybe you did it all wrong, and how you cried when that one person said your book was "meh" and how you cried when another person said that it made them want to write books, too. Writers need their version of the office water cooler, too, and if it happens at a hotel bar during Comic-Con while the Mad Hatter and Alice are drinking at the bar, well, that's just the way it goes.

At the end of the trip, Comic-Con turned out to be a huge, refreshing, kick in the pants. I've worked in the publishing industry for ten years and for ten years, the sky has been falling. Only now, the chunks seem to be getting bigger. Borders is gone, e-books are on the rise, piracy is up (OMG STOP STEALING BOOKS WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU IT'S CALLED A LIBRARY USE IT), and I'm not gonna lie, sometimes it's hard to sit down and put words on the page when all I can think about is whether I'll have a job in five years.

It took me two weeks to wonder whether or not to write this blog post, mostly because I didn't want to sound like I'm complaining. The fact that I get to write books for a living still blows my mind. It's the best job I've ever had, hands down. But sometimes? It's really scary. The pay is sporadic. There's no health insurance or retirement benefits. I'm still learning how to sort the business from the writing, and it doesn't help when I'm working on a chapter and my dog is sitting there like, "Hurry! Write faster! I need more Greenies!"

But Comic-Con helped ease my worries because at the end of the day, there will always be fans.

I don't mean MY fans (hiiiiii, fans, ilu) but fans in general. People who wear horns and masks and dress up like their heroes because it's fun. People who fill 6000+ seats in Hall H simply because they want to see the actors and creators who bring their favorite stories to life. It reminded me that my job is to tell those stories, to write them like I always have.

My favorite thing that happened at Comic-Con (aside from The Royal Waffle, of course) was Andrew Garfield's speech at "The Amazing Spider-Man" panel.

This is the part that stuck with me:

I think that we all wish we had the courage to stick up for ourselves more, to stick up for a loved one more, or even a stranger you see being mistreated, and Peter Parker has inspired me to feel stronger. He made me, Andrew, braver. He reassured me that by doing the right thing, it's worth it. It's worth the struggle, it's worth the pain, it's worth even the tears, the bruises, and the blood.

He's right.

So thanks to my friends who let me crash in their hotel rooms, thanks to Laini & Stephanie for reminding me how much fun it is to talk with other writers, and thanks to all the fans (even you, Strategically-Placed Horn Dude) who let their geek flags fly. I can't wait to do it again next year.

Assuming, of course, that I survive surfing lessons.

Oh, summertime and the living is easy. Unless you have mosquitos. Or heatwaves. Or 99% humidity. Other than that, it's swell.

My summer has definitely been in the "swell" category so far. For starters, this is the first one spent with glorious air conditioning since I was a teenager. PEOPLE. Air conditioning is amazing. It's a magic box of cold air! Hudson hasn't quite figured out how it works, so sometimes I have to hold him up in front of the vent and his little ears blow around. So cute! He prefers napping under the bed, though. He's half Shih Tzu, half Luddite, apparently.

Also, I had my first book contest and people entered it! I have to admit, I was a leeeetle bit nervous about having a contest. It's like throwing a party: what if no one shows up? Not only did people show up, though, they were excellent party guests! And now I've taken this metaphor too far, so I'll stop.

Thank you to everyone who entered! Your answers to the question "If you had a superpower, what would it be?" were hilarious! I was going to post the 5 winners here, but then I got nervous about putting people's names on this blog (safety first!), so the winners have been notified by email instead. 

Even though the winners were chosen at random, here are some of my favorite answers: 

"I think I would like my superpower to be to have super sonic hearing. I can never hear anything, so I think I would want to be able to hear everyone and thing clearly.  But, that sadly means I will not get a cool getup or anything.  Maybe I could have some cool ear jewerly to bring attention to my super powered ears."

"I don't want to fly, because it'd be cold in the sky and bugs would fly up my nose. However, I want telekinesis due to the fact that I am extremely lazy and lose everything so it'd be cool to think "Lost cell phone, come here now." Or, it'd just be cool to be a wizard. "Accio cell phone!" So I don't want A superpower. I want ALL magical powers that come with being a wizard. Or just telekinesis. I need to be able to grab things without getting up to get them. Yay, laziness."

"My superpower would be for people to look through the distorted imagery of 'beauty' created by all sorts of media, and see that they are as beautiful as everyone else. Wow that sounded REALLY cheesy. (Bonus points, Hudson?)"

A lot of you pointed out that you thought Hudson was very cute. A) you are right, but B) no sucking up to the judges! Luckily, he can't read. (And believe me, Hudson knows he's cute. You should see him strut around our neighborhood. It's ridiculous.)

Again, congratulations to the winners and thank you again for all your awesome entries!

Other than running book contests and managing my dog's ego, this summer has been pretty mellow. I went to Seattle for a friend's wedding, which was awesome. Katy and I met on the first day of first grade and have been friends ever since, so it was great to see her and her awesome husband. I got to hang out with the infamous Adri, too, along with her infamous-er husband. They even treated me to gluten-free pie on my birthday! My eyes spun like whirligigs, I was so excited!

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ILU PIE.

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Adri's husband looking cool. While wearing my sunglasses.

Thanks to High Five Pie in Seattle (and Adri & Vince!) for making my birthday dreams come true. Oh, happy sigh.

After riding out the sugar rush and being manhandled by airport security, I flew home just in time for a week's vacation with my family in Laguna Beach. No one does mellow vacation like my family, which sounds great until you realize that despite the presence of iPhones, laptops, iPads, and actual cameras, no one has taken any photos of our vacation.

Luckily, our family friend is a photographer and came over to hang out with us for a few days and compete in our Semi-Annual Wine Tasting Competition. (Rules: one varietal, under $20, trash-talking allowed.) He got some amazing pictures, too!

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Fireworks for my birthday! Okay, not really.

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Huddle cuddles! Doesn't he just look thrilled.

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Mom and Brother and me! (My mom's response to this photo: "Sure, you can post it on your blog, but can you airbrush me so I look like Meryl Streep? Thanks.") My mom is way cuter than Meryl Streep.

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UNDERBITE! (Interesting side note: Hudson's vet recently floated the idea of getting braces for him. Braces. For. My. Dog. Riiiiiight.)

If you have a chance, check out our friend's photography blog at David Marano Photography. Thanks for making sure our family has photos, Dave!

Also, I have to brag: for our 4th of July, I made what my brother called "possibly the best playlist ever." If you know anything about my brother & I, it's that we have very different musical tastes, so this was a BIG COMPLIMENT. I screencapped it so you can enjoy it...and also so I have proof that it actually happened. 

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4 

So that's been my summer so far. Contest winners, walking Hudson, reading, and working on "AKA"! Speaking of, gotta get back to that first draft. Oh, the joys of first drafts.

I hope you are all well & happy and wearing a high SPF!

Gooooood morning, world! And what a glorious morning it is.

All of you non-morning people totally want to punch me in the face right now, don't you. Well, TOO BAD, because I have Things to Tell You! Grab your coffee and settle in.

The big news--the BIG BIG NEWS--is that I'm now officially a Walker author! I've known for a few days, but the deal was officially announced in Publisher's Marketplace yesterday, so I can now roll around on the floor in glee!

"Author of AUDREY, WAIT! and THE EXTRAORDINARY SECRETS OF APRIL, MAY & JUNE, Robin Benway's ALSO KNOWN AS and EMMY & OLIVER, to Stacy Cantor Abrams at Walker, at auction, in a two-book deal, by Lisa Grubka at Foundry Literary + Media(NA)."

I met Stacy when I was in New York several weeks ago and we hit it off right away. She had wonderful ideas about both books, she was kind enough to send me some of her titles, and she has a seriously super-cute puppy named Eva. Hudson was most excited to hear about Eva. He loves the lay-deeez, as the doggie daycare employees keep telling me. ("I would say 80% of our male dogs here are gay...but not your dog!") If you're so inclined, you can even follow Stacy on Twitter. Incline away! @stacyabramsedit

I'm sure you're wondering what the new books are about. Me too! Haha, kidding. (Author humor! It never gets old!) I'll do my best to explain them in one or two rambling, run-on sentences. 

ALSO KNOWN AS is the story of Maggie, a gifted teenage safecracker, who works alongside her parents as a spy for the mysterious entity known as the Collective. When she's assigned to infiltrate a private Manhattan high school, she's forced to make friends, investigate the mysterious Jesse, and solve the case, all without blowing her cover.

EMMY & OLIVER is the story of two childhood friends who grew up next door to one another until they were six years old, when Oliver was kidnapped by his dad during a custody dispute. Ten years later, Oliver comes home and he & Emmy are forced to deal not only with their losses, but also with their new romantic beginnings. 

Ooooh, intriguing, right? RIGHT? Yes, that's what I thought you said.

Now, as you can imagine, this deserves some celebrating. Usually, my celebrations involve putting a Stevie Wonder song on the stereo and dancing around like a flailing loon, which is what I did yesterday. I even tried to get Hudson to join in!

You know what? I'm sure he's celebrating on the inside. (Leave it to me to find the one dog who doesn't like Stevie Wonder.)

As fun as that was, I think a little more celebration is called for, which is where you get involved. As if this month hasn't already been great, the paperback of "THE EXTRAORDINARY SECRETS OF APRIL, MAY & JUNE" is now in stores! (Some of you have reported seeing it on the front tables of bookstores, which makes me think that my mother is stealthily working her way across the country, making sure my book is prominently displayed. Thanks, Mom! You're the best!)

So in honor of my good news, and just because I like to do fun things, I'm giving away 5 copies of "AMJ"! WHEEEE! A contest! Don't worry, this isn't some weird, competitive, "Double Dare" thing where you have to eat bizarre foods and run around on an obstacle course with your family. All you have to do is sent an email to amjcontest@gmail.com by July 1st and tell me what you would want your favorite superpower to be. You can write an essay or just a simple "I WANT TO FLY, WHAT'S IT TO YOU, LADY?" Hudson will pick 5 winners and personally address & mail each prize. (Addressing envelopes is his superpower.)

(I should also point out that the winning entries will be chosen randomly, not based on how awesome your imagined superabilities are.)

To recap!

1. NEW BOOKS YAY!
2. Hudson has his sights set on Eva and refuses to boogie to Stevie Wonder.
3. I'm giving away 5 copies of "The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May & June"!
4. To enter, send an email to amjcontest@gmail.com explaining what you would want your favorite superpower to be.
5. The contest closes on July 1, which is conveniently my & Hudson's birthday! 

Feel to repost, retweet, discuss with your friends while you're at the mall enjoying the air conditioning, whatever works for you. I look forward to seeing your entries!

I hope you are all having healthy and happy lives and getting ready to enjoy your summer!