It's Release Day - Hip, hip Hooray! (Warning: More Rhyming Ahead)

Last night when I couldn’t sleep, I tried counting sheep, St.Matt’s snores, and the minutes until the local bookstores opened and I could go see Send Me a Sign in the wild.

When all that failed, I got up and wrote you a little poem:

 It’s the eve of release day, I pace at the sink.
This author’s not sleeping, not even a wink.

The Schmidtlets are dreaming, all snug in their cribs.
And St.Matt is snoring, despite my pokes to his ribs.

I could be sleeping, or blogging, or cleaning, or writing,
Instead, I am pacing, fretting, lip-biting

I’m full of impatience, excitment, panic, and glee
Tomorrow readers meet Gyver, Hil, Ryan, and Mi.

My book! In stores! It’s a dream that’s come true,
Look for the cover with dandelions. It’s pretty! It’s blue!

In swirly-whirly letters it says: SEND ME A SIGN.
And the pages, the story, I wrote them, they’re mine.

Tomorrow I share them, and they become yours,
Which is why I’m up pacing, wearing grooves in my floors.

Fine, I’ll go get in bed, it’s near the end of the night,
Not to sleep, but to read — I love my book light!

... is it obvious yet that I was never a poet?

I could not be more excited to share SEND ME A SIGN with readers today!

xo,

Tiffany

Something to Celelebrate

Here! Have some cake!

It's my birthday-- Hooray!

But, really... I have one of these every year.

Want to know what's MUCH bigger news?

 The SEND ME A SIGN Trailer Reveal 

After all, I've had 32 birthdays, but this is my first book trailer.

Click above to head over to MundieMoms.blogspot.com and watch the trailer -- don't forget to come back and tell me what you think...

...or else I'll make you wear The Schmidtlets' birthday crowns.

Now that you've seen the trailer, you're practically salivating to read the book, right?

Well, have you heard how YOUR pre-order means I'LL donate $2 to cancer charities?

Simply:
1) Pre-order SEND ME A SIGN from the bookselling venue of your choice
2) Email proof of your pre-order to SendMeASignBook@gmail.com
3) Do a happy dance & get yourself some cake.

Handy-Dandy Pre-Order Links

IndieBound * Doylestown Bookshop * Amazon * Barnes & Noble

Pre-orders through Doylestown Bookshop will be signed and include bookmarks/surprise swag.
If pre-ordering through Doylestown Bookshop, please indicate whether you would like your book shipped or will be attending the release party on October 5th .

If you have any questions, please email me at SendMeASignBook@gmail.com

Pre-Orders For Morgan

Below is a blog post I’d written last August while working on edits on Send Me A Sign and dreaming of a time fourteen months from then when my book would be in bookstores.

It’s something I believed in strongly then—and that was before cancer went and made it personal, stealing someone very special from me this year. One of my former students, Morgan, passed away from cancer in January.

Morgan was a fighter. I’d like to follow her example and fight back too—and you can help. Read the details below or by clicking HERE.

As many of you know, my debut novel, SEND ME A SIGN, comes out in a month.

I'd like to make it obsolete – and you can help.

Now, before the publicity and sales departments at Walker-Bloomsbury have a collective heart attack, let me explain: Send Me A Sign is about a teenager with leukemia. It's about a lot of other things, too: love, luck, music, friends, alliteration… but leukemia plays a large role. And did you know that leukemia is the most common form of cancer for young people?

If this were to change, if we could find a cure to this awful disease, then my this part of my book would be… obsolete.

Imagine if in five, ten, fifteen years, everyone who picks up the novel could say, "Wow, cancer. Remember that? I'm so glad we cured it."

And here's how you can help.

You were planning on buying my book anyway, right? Well, for every person who pre-orders my book between now and its release date, October 2nd, I will donate one dollar in Morgan's memory to be split between two cancer charities: The Dear Jack Foundation and Sunshine Kids.

Here's what you need to do:
1) Pre-order my book (links below)
2) Send me proof (photo of receipt, forward email confirmation of order, etc) to SendMeASignBook@gmail.com
3) Pat yourself on the back

Thank you for helping make my book obsolete. Thank you for helping me honor Morgan's memory.

And thanks for reading it, too!

Handy-dandy pre-order links:

IndieBound * Doylestown Bookshop * Amazon * Barnes & Noble

Pre-orders through Doylestown Bookshop will be signed and include bookmarks/surprise swag.
If pre-ordering through Doylestown Bookshop, please indicate whether you would like your book shipped or will be attending the release party on October 5th .

If you have any questions, please email me at SendMeASignBook@gmail.com

ARC Giveaway Winners

Thank you to everyone who entered my ARC giveaway!

The two winners (picked by Random.org) are:  

 

Maria C. and Meagan R.

Congrats, chickadees! I'll get those books in the mail right away!

For the rest of you -- you've still got until 9/1 to enter the giveaway that Walker-Bloomsbury is hosting on GoodReads -- and they have FIVE copies. Go enter and GOOD LUCK!

Also --make sure to stop by again SOON! There are some BIG things planned in the upcoming weeks (um, starting TOMORROW!)

Contest, Author Copies, AND, a New Website

So... that happened. That's pretty much my real-time reaction to getting my author copies. (After I danced around the box and put The Schmidtlets down for an impromptu nap). In case you were wondering, YES, I DID give myself a papercut on the chin while snuggling the book.

And then I quickly put the book back in the box. Where it still sits, along with all my other untouched author copies, in the front hall of my house. It didn't even occur to me to OPEN the book until St.Matt was paging through one when he got home from work.

Guys... they're so pretty! I LOVE them! And I can't wait until you can see them too.

It's only FIVE WEEKS AND FIVE DAYS until SEND ME A SIGN hits bookstore shelves... and since FIVE is my main character, Mia's, favorite number, that means it's time for a giveaway. I'm giving away TWO Send Me A Sign ARCS. (Yes, I DO know it's odd to give away ARCS when I just got my author copies, but I had this giveaway planned out and the author copies were a Very Awesome Surprise).  

To enter, fill out the form below. I'll pick winners on August 31st.

ALSO -- I have a NEW website! (This was how I'd planned to open this blog post before the Very Awesome Surprise). Go! Click around! Explore! This post will still be waiting when you come back. MANY, many hours of stress, tears, and tweaking went into this redesign. I hope you like it! I owe a HUGE hug-accompanying THANK YOU to Courtney Summers who talked me down from my My-Brain-Can't-Handle-WordPress ledge many, many times. (Including a particularly tearful e-mail "I just don't know WHY it's not working! I've spent the past 90 minutes trying EVERYTHING" -- her response, "Tiffany, clear your cache - it's working fine." I dutifully Googled "cache" and she was right.) So, really, this whole post can be summed up as:

Welcome to the new site! I'm so glad you're here! Let me offer you prizes & please admire my pretty author copies!

 The form has been removed because the contest is closed -- thanks for entering!

Giveaway! -- Vicariously Experience YA Fest

I spent Saturday in fabulous company – with 34 other authors, a squad of helpful “Volunteens”*, bucketfuls of wonderful readers, and the amazing staff at the Palmer Branch of the Easton Public Library.  

 It was YAFest and it was spectacular!

  

The Apocalypsies at YA Fest: Anne Greenwood Brown, Eve Marie Mont, K.M. Walton, Elisa Ludwig, Me, & Brigid Kemmerer

I cannot thank the lovely Cyn Balog and Jennifer Murgia enough for all their work arranging this event. I was lucky  to be seated with Alecia Whitaker—and the two of us spent much of the day just admiring how well organized this event was and saying how happy we were to be a part of it.

See? This is my happy look!

I loved meeting readers and other authors – and since there’s still 8 weeks and 1 day until Send Me a Sign releases, I handed out Teaser Samplers with the first two chapters. I can’t tell you how much it meant to me when teens came back up to tell me they’d read it already and they wished October 2nd would hurry up and arrive **

Aren't they pretty? The book is even PRETTIER!

And just when I thought the day couldn’t possibly get any better – I won THIS in the raffle.

It was so heavy, I needed help lifting it even AFTER I'd given away stacks.

It was almost TOO MUCH AWESOME – so I immediately began foisting books off on the other authors.  I came home with a few dozen less than were in that bin, but as soon as I walked in the door, St.Matt said, “MORE BOOKS? But we’re already DROWNING in them!”

And he’s right.

So… since all of you couldn’t be at YA Fest, let me bring some YA Fest to you –

I’ve created two prize packs with the books I brought home -- enter to win them using the Rafflecoptor below.

Prize Pack A includes:

• A chapter sampler of SEND ME A SIGN
• A TEMPTATION OF ANGELS by Michelle Zink
• PURE by Jennifer L. Armentrout
• DIETY by Jennifer L. Armentrout
• LEGACY by Molly Cochran
• A BREATH OF EYRE by Eve Marie Mont
• INSIDE by Maria Snyder
• MISFIT by Jon Skovron
• WHERE I BELONG by Gwendolyn Heasley
• TORN by Christine Hughes
• SOLVING ZOE by Barbara Dee
• INCONVENIENT by Margie Gelbwasser
• SIRENZ by Charlotte Bennardo & Natalie Zaman
• SIRENZ: BACK IN FASHION by Charlotte Bennardo & Natalie Zaman
• CRACKED tote bag
• An assortment of bookmarks and other bookish swag 

Prize Pack B includes:

• A chapter sampler of SEND ME A SIGN
• LIES BENEATH by Anne Greenwood Brown
• ANGEL STAR by Jennifer Murgia
• BLOODSPELL by Amalie Howard
• A LONG WAY FROM YOU by Gwendolyn Heasley
• TRAFFIC JAM by Melissa Groeling
• SPIRITED: 13 HAUNTING TALES edited by Kat O'Shea
• JUST ANOTHER DAY IN MY INSANELY REAL LIFE by Barbara Dee
• FALL FROM GRACE by Charles Benoit
• THE DARK DAYS OF HAMBURGER HALPIN by Josh Berk
• INCONVENIENT by Margie Gelbwasser
• ELEMENTAL REALITY by Cesya Marae Cuono
• COMMERCIAL BREAKS: FAMOUS FOR THIRTY SECONDS by P.G. Kain
• LIES BENEATH T-shirt
• An assortment of bookmarks and other bookish swag

Since these packages are going to be HEAVY and postage gets pricey, I’m going to restrict this contest to U.S.  entries.

Good luck!

*This is my new favorite word

**YOU AND ME BOTH, CHICKADEES. 

*** As usual, the talented Tiff Emerick was in charge of photos <3>

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Schmidtlets have informed me I can't give away the Tupperware bin & tinsel -- or, as they like to call it -- their Disco Bobsled.

Photo taken BEFORE the family room exploded into a tinsel wonderland...

Two on Tuesday -- Chances to Meet Me

Filed under: THINGS THAT MAKE ME FEEL OFFICIAL

I have TWO author-type events on this coming Tuesday. My FIRST two author-type events.

I'm not nervous (she says with a laugh that fools no one).
I'm wicked excited (this is actually true).

I give good hugs (feel free to request/demand/prepare yourself to receive one).

If you're going to be at BEA, I hope the Apocalypsie Mix & Mingle has made your schedule! Do you see all the amazing covers below? The amazing authors whose stories live behind them will ALL be there for your mix & mingling pleasure.

And then, after you've mixed & mingled (and grabbed something to eat) I hope you plan to zip over to the Jefferson Market Library for the Teen Author Carnival. Check out these panels.

Let's all take a moment to pretend I won't be too busy grinning like a fool to contribute to the conversation... actually, that's not true. I'm too chatterboxy to stay quiet.

At both locations I'll have plenty of Send Me A Sign swag and hugs to go around.

Hope to see you there!

YAmazing winner!

If the contest had been a spelling list, I'd now be required to use all your words in sentences or a story. That would be a horrendous homework assignment and a VERY LONG spelling list. And, there is less than zero percent chance that I would have gotten the spelling of hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia or pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis or floccinaucinihilipilification correct. But I guess when there's 100+ words on the list (and awesomesauce is on there three times), it wouldn't have hurt my score too badly to skip some of your zanier choices ;)

Thank you all for stopping by, entering the race, and sharing your favorite words with me. You are ALL YAmazing.


But there can only be one winner of the YAmazing Race SEND ME A SIGN bonus contest and that person is...

*mentally insert drumroll here*

-- I guess "rediculous" is not only adorably adorable, it's also lucky! Congrats, Desiree!
 
Also!!! Did you see my BIG NEWS from last week? Did you know BRIGHT BEFORE SUNRISE is already up on GoodReads? It think it would very much like to visit your To-Read shelf...

YAmazing Race

Hello! Thanks for making it to the Send Me a Sign pit-stop on the YAmazing Race with MGnificent prizes! Since I'm not the first stop on the Exploding Flamingos, you probably know the drill by now -- This is a blog hop featuring a zillionty debut authors. We're giving away prize packs stuffed with ARCs, gift certificates, and all sorts of swag.

If you've stumbled on this post and are feeling a little lost -- skedaddle over to the Apocalypsie website where you'll find some helpful directions and links to the beginning.

Send Me a Sign by Tiffany Schmidt 

Mia Moore has spent her entire life looking for signs. A sign that she should get serious with her soccer-captain boyfriend. A sign that she’ll get the grades to make it into an Ivy-league school. A sign that the summer before senior year will be the best one ever.

But when Mia is diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia, the only sign she wants to see is that she will survive cancer. That she will get through a summer of intensive chemo and be able to go back to being the girl she’s always been—top student, part of the A-list crowd, and dating Ryan, the hottest guy at school.

And until she’s better—meaning no throwing up, no hospital stays, and definitely no wig—Mia doesn’t want anyone to know she has cancer. She doesn’t want her friends’ pity. And she certainly doesn’t want to start feeling something more than friendship for the one person who does know what she’s going through, her best friend Gyver. But the sicker Mia gets, the more she realizes that not even the clearest signs offer perfect answers, and in order to find out what happens in her life, she will have to find the courage to live it.


Done?
I know your brain is packed full from all the YAmazing/MGnificent Exploding Flamingo bookstops you visited before mine -- but I hope you paid attention, because you'll need to know a factoid from the synopsis above to answer the quiz and enter to win the prize packs.

Wait!
Want more chances to win stuff? Since you're here and everything, I might as well offer you an incentive to stay... or at least come back and visit.

Complete the Rafflecopter form below to enter to win a pre-order of Send Me a Sign.

Pre-Order Contest Winner

You may have noticed that I didn’t give my Best Book Ever on the contest page, but since I made you share yours, it would only be fair if I agonized over my own.

Since this is my blog, I’m not limiting myself to one. (I notice many of you didn’t limit yourselves to one either—I approve of this mini-rebellion!)

You may also notice that almost every single book that appears on my list was mentioned in the comments. That’s because my blog readers have excellent taste.

This isn’t a ranking—narrowing it down to ten was hard enough without ranking them. And if you asked me the same question tomorrow, I’d probably come up with a different list, but
AS OF THIS VERY MINUTE, my Best Books Ever are:

1) All of Austen. (My favorite changes daily. Usually it’s Emma. Or Pride & Prejudice)
2) The Truth About Forever – Sarah Dessen
3) Hunger Games —Suzanne Collins
4) Little Women — Louisa May Alcott
5) Anna & The French Kiss — Stephanie Perkins
6) The Archived — Victoria Schwab *
7) Drums, Girls, Dangerous Pie —Jordan Sonnenblick
8) Matilda — Roald Dahl
9) Anne of Green Gables — Lucy Maud Montgomery
10) Dairy Queen — Catherine Gilbert Murdock

*Yes, I’m a big, teasing, meanie. You all can’t read this until 1/13. But it is FABULOUS.

But you didn’t come here for reading recommendations (though, it’s not a bad consolation prize if you didn’t win) – without further delay, the winner of the SEND ME A SIGN pre-order and bracelet is:

ANOTHER giveaway!

How many times have I described a book as The Best Book Ever?**

A lot.

Even more frequently since I've joined Short & Sweet Reviews' weekly blog feature of the same name.


I've loved participating in this every Thursday. And I've loved getting to know the wonderful bloggers at Short &Sweet Reviews as well as the others who share their book picks.

A related benefit is getting fabulous book recommendations every week.

Anyway -- this is a long winded way to say: Their blog is turning ONE this week and I'm helping them celebrate.

I'll be giving away a pre-order of my debut YA novel SEND ME A SIGN* as well as a Send Me A Sign bracelet. ***

Send Me A Sign - Cover Contest Winners

Thank you to everyone who made revealing SEND ME A SIGN’s cover so much fun—having a book cover is something I’ve dreamed about for forever, and this is finally starting to feel pinch-me real. I’ve spent the past week dancing around singing versions of they like it, they like it, they really, really like it.

*blows kisses & dandelion seeds*

I’m still waiting on some of my swag to arrive— it’ll be worth the wait, but it means I won’t be mailing out the swag packs for a couple of weeks. I’ll be emailing later today to request mailing addresses, so make sure to check your inboxes.

Sidenote: I’ve decided EVERYONE who enters gets a swag pack, because you are ALL simply amazing.

But while you’re waiting, check out this video of me reading a snippet from chapter two of Send Me A Sign. Hopefully it makes you EVEN MORE impatient for October 2^nd.  *cue evil giggle*

Oh, the bracelets! You probably want to know who won those!

Send Me A Sign - Cover Reveal!

When I was a wee little implette, I was the child who made you stop and admire her shoes, or cluck over her band-aid, or examine the worm crawling across the driveway.

Look! was one of my first words, and I used it frequently.

I’ve been using it a lot today too – because…

LOOK! LOOK! LOOK! It’s the cover for SEND ME A SIGN.

Do you love it? I do! It captures the wistful whimsy so well. And with all of Mia’s superstitions, I can make lists and lists of the wishes she’d make if that dandelion were in her hands.

Today my only wish is that you like the cover as much as I do! And that you enter my contest, of course.

I’m giving away

200 signed Send Me A Sign Bookmarks
50 *surprise* “lucky” swag packs
3 – Send Me A Sign bracelets.

Aren’t they gorgeous?! -- The talented Mindy Kuen made them for me -- click here to order your own.

To enter, please fill out the form below. You can earn extra entries by tweeting about the cover, liking my Facebook page, or adding the book to your GoodReads account.

This contest is open to North America only (sorry!) but feel free to cover-gush no matter where you live.

A Date! A Date!

No, not with St.Matt – though we'll be going out tonight to celebrate.

This is a date YEARS in the making. Years and so many pages and hours and words.

It's my RELEASE DATE.

READY? (and, by ready, I mean: do you have your calendar out and pen uncapped? Or, more likely, do you have your calendar app open and your thumbs poised to type?).

Sounds like a pretty good date, doesn't it?


*Things that make it even better? I get to share a release date with one of best friends in the world – Emily Hainsworth.

** Info on release parties and such will be forthcoming, but, seriously we've got some time. Even uber-planners like me don't have all the details hammered out 37 weeks early.

***If you don't want to miss any updates, make sure you *Like* my Facebook page 

****Shamrock border from: http://imagesbyheatherm.wordpress.com/tag/shamrock/

Feeling Apocalyptic

I was lucky enough to spend the moment 2011 gave way to 2012 at a wedding surrounded by friends and in formal wear. I'd almost, almost made it to 12 o'clock in my heels.

But when the countdown hit one and people cheered and toasted and kissed, the moment felt extra, extra exciting. And not just because of St.Matt's midnight kiss.

It's 2012.

Twenty-twelve!*

SEND ME A SIGN comes out in October 2012. So, this means it's FINALLY my publication year.  How could that not add an extra sizzle to the ball-drop countdown?

Yesterday, when The Schmidtlets woke us up after not nearly enough sleep—5 a.m., really? Couldn't they tell we only got to bed at 2?—I had another  moment of IT'S MY YEAR.

In which The Wild Imp says: Who needs sleep? And check out my cute Apocalypsie shirt? Auntie Em gave it to me.

I know that realistically, 1/1/2012 is only ONE day nearer to October than 12/31/2011, but it feels so much closer. And I've always valued feelings more than facts.**

So, Happy Twenty-Twelve!

And while you're waiting for October, do what I plan to do — keep yourself distracted by reading fabulous books by all the other Apocalypsies.

In which The Pip Squeak says: Go read Apocalypsie books RIGHT NOW!

What a fabulous year it's going to be!

In which The Schmidtlets demonstrate how 2012 has shoved 2011 out of the way and The Wild Imp goes splat.

*This is what we've agreed to call it, right? Not Two Thousand and Twelve?
**Much to the dismay of my sainted engineer.

Musically Minded

For someone who couldn't carry a tune in a bucket with a lid, and can't clap to a beat for more than two consecutive claps, I've spent a lot of my life focusing on music lately.

First, the Schmidtlets and I joined a baby music class. They love it. The Wild Imp crawls all over the place, singing each new song with a  new mom. (Thank you, other moms, for allowing him in your laps and hearts).  The Pip Squeak, on the other hand, starts every class by clutching my shirt in both his chubby little fits.  A few songs in, he'll pat my arm or leg along with the beat. A few more songs and he's clapping.  By the end of last class he even crawled half the distance between me and our lovely teacher… but then he looked over his shoulder, panicked, and scrambled back into my lap.

Second, my lyric permissions for SEND ME A SIGN seem to be (finally) falling into place. I sent my signed contract for one song back this morning and am just waiting on the final copyright wording for the other. What songs are they? I'm not telling yet. Maybe soon, but not yet – I don't want to jinx anything!

Third, SEND ME A SIGN copyedits are coming any day now. And I know of no better way to get back into Mia's head than to listen to the SEND ME A SIGN playlists.

Here's a playlist peek for YOU:

 

— it's from wayyy back in my college years, anyone recognize it? I love the lyrics. Be VERY glad you're not here with me right now, because then you'd have to hear me sing along. (Sorry, Schmidtlets!)

Here, you can be anything. And I think that scares you...

SLOWED to a crawl? How inaccurate.

I'm trying to decide if I should dust the cobwebs off my blog or allow them to stay as festive Halloween decorations.

Probably dust them… I don't do scary.

Last time I wrote that the twins were starting to crawl. At that point it was *wobble, wobble, move a few inches, beam at me.*

Now it's ZOOOOOM, CLIMB, STAND, FALL, WAIL – in the same amount of time.

Plus, The Wild Imp is stubbornly convinced that he can stand unassisted.  He SO can't. He also believes it's a brilliant idea to hang from the top of the babygate and then fling himself backward.

I spend much of my day diving across the room trying to prevent traumatic head injuries. As a result I wear the bruises instead of him. Many, many bruises.

But, there's bedtime and naptime and my writing stays alive in these snatches of time. SEND ME A SIGN's revisions were approved and it's been moved on to copyedits (HOORAY!) and I just finished revisions on my second book as well. (Lots of Revision Skittles were consumed in the past two months. LOTS).

And my work in progress is a thing of love. I adore it. Everything about it. Even its writing playlist, which I have to stop myself from listening to when I'm not working on it.

The song I play most often is this one:

And while I won't tell you what it's about just yet, a HUGE hint is that this band's name would be a fabulous title for the book.