Young Adult Wendy Mills' Blog

19 Bookstores in 2 Days

4/17/2015

It was supposed to be 20 bookstores in 2 days, but after arriving at the Sawgrass Mills mall at eight o'clock at night and not being able to find the Books-a-Million after a hour and a half, we called uncle. It made me feel slightly better that it's the seventh largest mall in the US. Slightly. I think I've mentioned that I'm kind of obsessive.

It was a whirlwind trip. And I mean whirlwind, as the AC quit working halfway through the first day, and I arrived at each store sweaty, sunburnt, and looking as if I had just stepped out of a wind tunnel. The car wouldn't start in an eighth floor parking garage after visiting literally the coolest bookstore I've ever been to. Seriously, Books and Books in Coral Gables is absolutely awesome. The store wraps around an open-air porch and you can eat outside or inside. With the books. Need I say more?

The car started, and except for one random moment of terror when a scary-looking dude started screaming obscenities at my mom through the open window of our car (no AC, remember??), the rest of the book tour smoothly.

I know, I know, another picture of my book on the shelves. But it still gives me chills to see it, even though it was in almost every bookstore I visited. This sighting was at a B&N at Pembroke Pines.

This was view as we drove over the causeway toward Miami Beach toward another Books & Books. Gorgeous water!

Becky at Barnes & Noble in Plantation made my day. Not only did she tell me she had just sold my book to another customer, but she wanted me to sign one to her. Thanks Becky!

Koi at open air mall in Bal Harbour, home of yes, yet another Books & Books.

This Book-a-Million in Vero Beach was my second to the last stop of the trip, and is home of Lynn, the nicest store manager of the trip. Not only did she have me sign a book to her, she is a sincere, nice lady.

The independent stores were just breathtaking. If I lived on the east coast of Florida I would be permanently camped out at any of the Books & Books, The Bookstore in the Grove in Miami or the Book Center of Vero Beach, which had a fabulous children's section.

All in all, a successful trip, and I am diving back into my edits for the next book, due out Spring 2016.

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What Does the BRCA Mutation Mean for Angelina Jolie Pitt’s Children?

4/7/2015

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I’m in tears after reading Angelina Jolie Pitt’s op-ed in the New York Times , entitled “Angelina Jolie Pitt: Diary of a Surgery.” Two years after writing about her decision to have a preventive double mastectomy after discovering that she carries the BRCA mutation, Ms. Pitt has come forward with the news that she has undergone another preventive surgery, this one to remove her ovaries and fallopian tubes, in a further effort to lower the risk of cancer that claimed the lives of her mother, aunt, and grandmother.

There are thousands of women like Angelina Pitt with the BRCA mutation, and they face these hard, hard choices every day. As a woman, I cannot even imagine how difficult a decision it must be to make. Ms. Pitt talks about her hope to be alive for her children as they grow older, and it is for the children of women like Angelina Pitt that I first decided to write Positively Beautiful. As I read Ms. Pitt's article, I couldn’t help but wonder what she will tell her children as they grow older. At what point does a parent tell her children they may carry the BRCA gene? How do you have that conversation? How will they take it? How do you explain to girls just blossoming into womanhood that the best way to keep them safe is to remove their breasts and ovaries?

Ms. Pitt’s three biological children will have a 50% chance of carrying the mutated gene. For her daughters, this could mean a vastly increased risk of breast cancer and ovarian cancer, as well as some other types of cancer. The BRCA gene doesn’t just affect girls, however, and if her biological son carries the mutated gene, he will also face an increased risk of breast and prostate cancer, as well as a few other specific types of cancer. My heart breaks for her children, and for the children like them, who have inherited not only a mutation, but a lifetime of hard decisions. “Knowledge is power,” Ms. Pitt says in her article, and I believe that this is true, but with knowledge does not always come peace of mind.

When I first began researching Positively Beautiful, I was surprised to find that the medical community was very uncomfortable with the subject matter of the book. A teenage girl who finds out she might have the BRCA gene? I was told that she should not be even thinking about the breast cancer gene until she was at least eighteen, preferably twenty-one or twenty-five. How, I asked these well-meaning people, can you tell someone not to think about something? I’m sure this advice works for some, perhaps most, and they are able to go about their normal lives until it is time to tackle the issue of their possible BRCA mutation at an appropriate age. But what about those girls who can’t stop thinking about it?

Genetic testing is here to stay, and with it the fallout for our children. Genetic testing does not occur in a vacuum; it does not just affect the person being tested, but has far-reaching ramifications for their relatives as well. With courageous women like Angelina Pitt openly talking about the BRCA mutation and her decision to undergo prophylactic surgery, more and more people are becoming aware of the role genes play in our health. As genetic testing becomes more common, it is inevitable that there will be serious implications for family members, including children, who will learn about their genetic propensities whether or not they wish to.

I have no doubt that Anglina Pitt’s children will have strong, compassionate parents to support them in their hard decisions as they grow older and learn what the BRCA mutation means to them. I only hope that the children of other parents with genetic mutations have the same support.

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Snakes, Dogs, and Lotsa, Lotsa Bookstores

3/29/2015

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It's been a breathtakingly busy book promotion week, but the icing on the cake came today with a good Booklist review for Positively Beautiful. Yay! I can't share the whole thing because, strangely enough, the review gave away ALL the important plot twists (um...???), but this gist of it goes like this:

"In this poignant contemporary drama, a teen is forced to confront not only the loss of a parent to cancer but the fact that she may also carry the BRCA gene, a mutation that would make her more prone to cancer herself… [t]he emotional core of the novel is convincingly powerful. Even through their inevitable tears, teens will likely appreciate the well-researched depiction of losing a loved one to cancer."

In other news, I signed at the incomparable Macintosh Books on Sanibel Island on Friday, where I met some great people and ate way too many cookies. It's hard to see, but there's a black snake in the bushes below. This friendly snake and its buddy kept me company while I signed outside on the porch. It's a great location! The bottom picture I took on my way off the island. Ahhh, the water!

Also this week, I visited TWENTY-FOUR bookstores in two days. I traveled to Tampa and Orlando with my mom and aunt (and my aunt's itsby-bitsy dog) where we (in no particular order) came close to wrecking three times, traveled over a bridge big enough for a cruise ship to sail under, snuck an itsy-bitsy dog into a hotel when every other hotel in the city was booked, met some awesome booksellers, and found Positively Beautiful on the shelves of most of the bookstores. My biggest regret is that I lost my notes on the names of the people pictured below. I'm blaming it on the itsy-bitsy little dog (just because), though my aunt vehemently disagrees. I've listed the names from memory, so if I get anybody (or everybody!) wrong, please leave a note in the comments or shoot me an email.

View from the top of the Sky Bridge. Note: I did not take the picture! My mom did. :) I've been on a cruise ship that steamed directly under this ridiculously high bridge.

Jake and Eugene at Bradenton Books-a-Million. My first stop of the trip and they were great guys!

Rachel at Books-a-Million

Lindsey at Barnes and Noble.

Tiffany at Books-a-Million.

I also visited some awesome independent stores, including Haslam's in Tampa, where Raymond was very welcoming. I arrived at Inkwood Books in Tampa at ten minutes to closing time, and Stefani, i.e. the "Book Mama", kept me in stitches for a wonderful thirty minute chat. I also visited Books at Park Place in St. Petersburg and Writer's Block Bookstore in Winter Park.

All in all, it was a great week!

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Positively Beautiful Audiobook Giveaway

3/20/2015

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I'm so excited that Positively beautiful is available as a audiobook! I'm offering a coupon for a free audiobook. Please fill out info below!

Erin Bailey's life changes forever the day her mom is diagnosed with breast cancer. It's always just been Erin and Mom, so living without her is not an option. Life takes another turn when the cancer is linked to a rare genetic mutation, and Erin must grapple with the decision of whether or not to have her own DNA tested. Her only outlets are flying lessons, where looking to the horizon calms her deepest fears, and her new friend Ashley, a girl she met in an online support group. But when a flash decision has Erin flying away to find her new friend, she embarks on a journey from the depths of despair to new love and a better understanding of the true meaning of beauty.

This thought-provoking story brings listeners to the emotional brink and back again, as they experience Erin's fear, her frustration, and ultimately... her freedom.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Positively Beautiful: Second Week

3/13/2015

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I made the drive to beautiful Marco Island and visited both locations of Sunshine Booksellers. Not only did they have Positively Beautiful, but they were very friendly! I don't know how I've never been to these bookstores, but I highly suggest you pay them a visit if you're ever in SW Florida.

The view from the SS Jolley Bridge was worth the drive to Marco Island alone!

Working on candy jars for bookstores, and getting postcards ready to send out to bookstores and libraries. Realized I put text where the stamp goes on post card. Ugh!

Another sighting of Positively Beautiful at Naples B&N. Yay!

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My First Week as a Young Adult Published Author

3/6/2015

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On March 3rd, my young adult book, Positively Beautiful, was released into the wild. Finally, finally, the big day arrived! This is what I've done this past week to celebrate.

March 2nd: I participated in Read Across America at Pine Island Elementary. Man, those fourth graders had some great questions! Thank you Mrs. Renz for inviting me, and fourth grade teachers Ms. Benjamin and Ms. McCormick for hosting me. And thank you, kids, for stumping me MORE THAN ONCE. I had a wonderful time! Later, I checked out the first stop of my blog tour at Jenuine Cupcakes. I gnawed my fingernails reading Goodreads advance reviews. I cheer at the great reviews, but think too much about the not-so-good ones, because, well, that's who I am.

March 3rd.The big day was here! First thing, I checked to make sure the book was really for sale. (Yes, a little part of me is thinking: What if it was just some monumental prank and they're going to jump out with cameras and yell "Did you REALLY think we were going to publish your book? Ha, ha, ha!" I cried when I posted that Positively Beautiful was now live and wished my baby book a happy birthday. My husband now thinks I'm crazy. I jumped over to YA Bibliophile to check out my guest post and then I worked on my candy jars to give out to bookstores. Then it was time to go find Positively Beautiful in the wild.

Sheri at Books-a-Million #387 was enlisted in the great book hunt. The book was here, but where was it?? Sheri and I hunted high and low while my friends bought up the store. Finally, finally we captured the little sucker. Thank you Sheri, for being such a good sport. I wanted to hug her and told her so. :)

A picture of Positively Beautiful in its natural habitat at Books-a-Million #386. Joe and staff were sweethearts. My friends and I were goofy, but of course, we always are.

We also visited Banes and Noble at Market Square where Lynn was enthusiastic about the book and assured me that they were on their way. Yay!

March 4th: Bookmarks arrive! A little late, but better late than never. Checked out my next blog tour stop on Book Revels where I answered the hard questions. Last, but not least, I got word that the audiobook of Positively Beautiful is now available. I began listening to it and...cried. Yes, it's been an emotional week. And yes, it's that good! The narrator,Tara Sands, does a phenomenal job with Erin's voice.

March 5th: I check out my blog stop at Hardcover Lover, where my main character is interviewed. I love Hardcover Lover! Erin does great reviews. (And I don't just say that because she did a great review of Positively Beautiful. Really. Truly.)

Then it was off to Sanibel, where I signed at the 78th Annual Shell Festival (I do have a picture, and no, I'm not sharing it. It's another wonderfully photogenic moment for Wendy) where I met some great authors, including Cinda Williams Chima, who stopped by to say hello. (Eeep!)

Then I braved the Sanibel traffic and stopped by Macintosh Books where, well, what do we have here? This is what I saw when I walked in. What a beautiful sight! Thank you, Rebecca, and I look forward to signing at your store on March 27th.

March 6th. Well, I don't have a picture for today. I could have shown you the loads of laundry that have piled up on my couch over the past week, or the dishes in my sink. I could have shown you a picture of me at my computer writing this post or checking out the most awesome movie poster EVER that Jenna at Bookiemoji made for Positively Beautiful. But I think we're good.

All in all, it was a great first week of promotion. And next week? I get to do it all again.

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One Week to Go! How I Got on This Train

2/24/2015

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It’s exactly one week away from the release day of Positively Beautiful. Woo-hoo! It’s been two years since I sold Positively Beautiful, and it’s hard to believe that it’s all about to happen. I’ve been thinking a lot about how I started this journey, about how I jumped on this train that is barreling toward a station that is now exactly ONE WEEK AWAY.

My youngest kid was getting ready to start kindergarten, and while I cherish and appreciate the years I spent at home with my kids when they were little, there was this widening hole in my heart where sticky, little boy hugs and afternoons at the park used to reside. My baby was going to school and what on earth was I going to do with the rest of my life?

Cue: lifelong dream.

I always knew I wanted to be a writer. In fact, I was a writer, because regardless of whether you are published, or not, you are a writer if you WRITE. So now what? I’d been thinking a lot about an article I’d read about a woman with the BRCA gene mutation, and her teenage daughters who would soon learn that they had a good chance (50% to be exact) of having a gene mutation that would give them up to an 80% lifetime risk of breast cancer. At the time I was thinking about writing an adult book, because up until then, that was all I had ever written. But, in the long, still nights when my thoughts wound dreamily around story ideas, all I could think about were the teenage daughters. And, truly, I’d been thinking more and more about my teenage years as I’d gotten older, so maybe…maybe I could…Maybe. I didn’t know if I could do it. I really didn’t.

But time was passing, and I needed to do something, so I took a deep breath and took a header of that cliff. The story began taking shape in my head. Sixteen-year-old girl. Flying. An island. A best friend who was all heart. A pen pal who was also facing the same struggle. A mother with breast cancer. Ah, yes, here we go.

The writing of the book took a little longer than a month. It was only 50,000 words, because at the time, I knew very little about modern young adult books. That was being remedied quickly as I dove into young adult books with voracious energy. These books were good. These book were real. How did I ever think that they were somehow second best to adult books? I was adoring the genre and feeling better about my decision.

But still, I struggled. Because while I could remember with frightening detail what it felt like to be a teenager, things have changed. A LOT. Kids are more mature in some ways than I remember being. Or maybe kids come across as mature, while in their hearts they are embarrassed, and unsure, and just plain scared? That’s how I still feel, on a regular basis. Technology, hobbies, the lingo, the world, had changed so much. Maybe this wasn’t my cup of tea after all. Maybe I should go back to writing about adults and their well-ordered, reasonable emotions. Why did I ever think I could write a book for teens?

My new agent, Sarah Davies (who is just plain awesome. Every day.) talked me down from my tree. Just write a good story, Wendy. And I realized that the basic emotions remain the same. Teens might be in a different world, but deep down, the uncertainty, the feeling that they are in a game where everybody knows the rules but forgot to mention, that will never change.

So I wrote Positively Beautiful from the gut. Perhaps that will change as I get more seasoned and become more accustomed to writing in my genre, but, honestly? I hope it doesn’t.

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POSITIVELY BEAUTIFUL Blog Tour

2/17/2015

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So, it’s official! This week I am working on posts for my blog tour for Positively Beautiful. Thankfully, it was set up by my wonderful publicist Courtney, who has made a daunting process very easy. (Just answer the questions, Wendy!) For those of you who do not know what a blog tour is (because, you know, that was me, not too long ago), in the two weeks following the release of Positively Beautiful on March 3rd, I will be visiting some awesome blogs and talking about some fun things. I hope you will join me!

Without further ado, here’s the SCHEDULE.

March 2nd à Jenuine Cupcakes: Excerpt of Positively Beautiful

           So, this was an easy one, because, um, I already wrote it like two years ago. Score!

March 3rd à YA Bibliophile: Guest Post: A Day in the Life of a Student Pilot

           This one was surprisingly fun to write. No, it’s not super-technical, and I got to share my love of something that is not writing-related.

March 4th à Book Revels: Questions and Answer

            Ellie sent some great questions, and I get to share my thoughts on writing advice and books that I have loved recently.

March 5th à The Hardcover Lover: Character Interview

            I loved, loved, loved this one! I didn’t realize I’d been missing Erin and her world until I got to go back and play in her mind a little bit.

March 6th à Bookiemoji: Movie Poster & Character Cast

           Okay, this one is just FUN. So Jenna is going to make a movie poster of Positively Beautiful and cast it with real-live movie stars. Sign me up!

March 9th à Dana Square: Questions and Answers

           I enjoy answering questions about my writing and Dana sent some good ones! I talk about my inspiration for Positively Beautiful and why at my decrepit age I choose to write young adult fiction.

March 10th à Lovin Los Libros: Guest Post: Tour of Real-Life Island in Book

          This one involves a boat trip. Need I say more? There is a real-life island that resembles the island in the book to a remarkable degree. ‘Cause, well, I’ve been there and love it.

March 11th à The Book Belles: Questions and Answers

          Montana sent some great questions! I talk about why I chose to become a writer and the writing process that culminated in Positively Beautiful.

March 12th à Adventures in Reading: Playlist

          Alexia is going to come up with a playlist for Positively Beautiful, and I CAN NOT WAIT.

March 13th à Who Ru Blog: Guest Post: Books That Make Us Cry--Why Do We Love Them?

         It’s not that I LIKE making people cry, no, my momma raised me better than that. But sometimes we all just need a good cry. But why?

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An Oldster Looks at Social Media

2/10/2015

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Lately, I’ve been feeling like an old lady. One of those who sits in her rocking chair and gazes up at the planes in the sky with befuddled skepticism at the new-fangled flying contraptions. You put wings in a brick and throw it hard enough, it’ll fly, I reckon. We’ll see, won’t we?

Let me explain. I’m only forty-one, so while Depends seems like a pretty nifty invention when I sneeze, or laugh too hard, for the most part I don’t feel particularly old. But when it comes to promoting a book, I’ve been feeling pretty ancient. My last book came out ten years ago (second baby arrived, and wow, there were a LOT of things that seemed way more important than publishing for a while), and I have to say, I was pretty good at the promotion merry-go-around. I had a smaller publisher, and we were expected to do most of the promotion, which meant a ton of cold calls, setting up my own signings and printing out bookmarks and posters to advertise, and the endless round of stock signings that seemed like a very bizarre episode of Groundhog Day. Fifty-fourth bookstore, same as the first!

I had a website, yes. I believe there was even something called Myspace back then (flashback Tuesday, anyone?), but if Facebook was around, I was not aware of it, and there was definitely nothing like blogging (like we know it today), or Twitter, or Tumblr, or Instagram, or… well, you get the picture. Sending out emails was second choice not first. I recall putting together hundreds of advertising packets for bookstores and libraries, and actually going to post office, and MAILING them, and a good old-fashioned phone call was always the follow-up.

When I signed with my splendiferous agent Sarah Davies more than two years ago, she asked me if I had a Facebook page or a Twitter account. Facebook I had heard of, and had been avoiding for a myriad of reasons (imagine Wendy being pulled into the technology age kicking and screaming) and Twitter?? What the hell was that? It sounded vaguely dirty, because sometimes when I look in the mirror, I still see a twelve-year-old. But I obligingly signed up for Facebook and Twitter and she was right (of course), because when I talked to my editor for the first time, we had a ten minute discussion about social media that I either faked very well, or actually DID know what I was talking about because she very nicely decided to offer me a contract. Still not sure she hung up the phone laughing her patootie off!

Flash forward to now, and I have a book coming out in three weeks, and I have a blog tour planned (Yes, I had to Google it because I HAD NO CLUE and yes, I’m extremely excited because what a great targeted way to meet readers who actually have interest in what you have to say!), my very own blog, a Goodreads profile (which also fell under the province of very-good-things-that-had-yet-to-be-invented-ten-years-ago), and plans to do a Skype book club tour in April. Again, to reiterate, NONE of the things I just mentioned were part of my promotion efforts ten years ago.

Yes, there are still the old standbys. I will still be doing signings and library and school appearances, I will still do stock signings, I will still attend conferences. I will still look into the eyes of a potential reader and talk very earnestly about why they should read my book. But as I prepare to launch myself into the wide-open skies of the social media world for the first time, I still can’t help but feel like that old lady in the rocking chair.

You put wings in a brick and throw it hard enough, it’ll fly, I reckon. We’ll see, won’t we?

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Hard Work, Anticipation and (Hopefully) Champagne

2/3/2015

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Today is exactly one month away from the release date of Positively Beautiful. It’s been two years this week since my most-awesomest-in-the-world agent Sarah Davies closed the deal with Caroline Abbey at Bloomsbury Books for Positively Beautiful, and I can’t believe that all the work and anticipation is almost over.

Uhhh… Let me re-phrase that. The anticipation is almost over (March 3rd, GET HERE), but the hard work is nowhere close to being done. The promotion machine that has been chugging along is shifting into high gear, and I’m only hoping I can hold on.

**picture Wendy, hanging onto a railing as feet and hair blow, a look of pure panic on her face**

It’s always struck me what a dichotomy an author’s life is. One the one hand, we are introverts, because how else can we hole up in an office all by ourselves for months on end, with only the voices of our characters to keep us company? (Okay, when I say it like that, it sounds like authors as a group are one step away from the loony bin…) But on the other hand, when it comes time to promote, we are expected to put on grown-up clothes and get out there and meet and greet with the best of them. It’s sometimes hard to switch gears, but while I still would be writing if I was stuck in a Chinese prison with no hope of parole or publication, in the end I write because I want to share the stories running rampant through my head. I realize that not everybody is going to like my books. I mean, I don’t like every book I read, so why should I expect people to universally love my books?

** picture Wendy, little blond girl sitting alone on the playground with a thought bubble above her head: “Why don’t you LIKE me?”**

But when you make a connection with a reader, and they tell you that your book made them laugh, or cry, or think—well, that’s the stuff that makes you want to drink champagne and howl at the moon. (Again, not helping the author image AT ALL). Writing a book and watching it come to publication is in some ways like having a baby. You strive, you worry, you do your very best, but in the end, all you can do is sit back and watch your baby fly—or crash and burn.

When I got back from vacation, my editor Mary Kate Castellani (yes, a new editor. Long story short, I was orphaned, I was adopted, and the awesome Mary Kate has taken me to raise) had sent me the final copy of Positively Beautiful. When I held it in my hands, it was very quiet in my head.

I only have one month to go until it’s time to show it to the world.

It is thrilling, it is scary, and it is freaking awesome.

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