The Alphabet Garden Bookstore hosted a wonderful book party for Come Fall this last Saturday.

We had crafts, lemonade, and cookies baked by bookstore owner Karlene Rearick! I read, answered a few questions and signed a whole lot of books. We gave out prizes to the participants of The Alphabet Garden’s summer reading program. I met fans and friends, and altogether had a great time.

Thank you Alphabet Garden, and all those who made the day so much fun.

Just a reminder that I will be having a book party for Come Fall this Saturday August 28 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Alphabet Garden Bookstore in Cheshire, Connecticut. It’s in conjunction with the bookstore’s summer reading program.

I’ll blather for a minute, read a chapter from the book, and sign copies. There’ll be crafts and snacks, too. It’s free and open to all.

Hope to see you there!

Charlotte’s Library, a blog that focuses on fantasy and science fiction books for kids and teenagers, gave Come Fall a really nice review. “[A]n excellent book full of vivid characterization,” it said.

My favorite quote:

In essence, this is a middle grade story of friendship, one of negotiating the complexities of growing up and being true to one’s self. And it’s a fine example of that genre. The magical underpinnings are unobtrusive, linked to the events of the “real” world, but not so much as to make the kids’ story, in itself, a fantasy. In fact, the story of Salm[a]n, Lu, and Blos could stand alone without the fairies.

But Titania, Oberon, and Puck add a dimension to it that gives it a special zest, a magical intrigue that makes a fairly predictable story into something more.

You can read the full review here. Thank you Charlotte’s Library!

Meanwhile, blogger Debbie Winkler gave No Castles Here a wonderful review in her July 29th posting. Thank you Debbie!

John Scalzi kindly allowed me to blather on (at length) about how I came about the ideas that led me to writing Come Fall. You can find my essay here, as part of his ongoing The Big Idea columns.

I also posted a much shorter piece for Write Up Our Alley about book birthdays — what they are and aren’t.

Today is the official release date of Come Fall. Happy birthday! You can now order it at your favorite bookstore or online outlet.

I’ll be throwing a book party on Saturday August 28, at The Alphabet Garden Bookstore in Cheshire, Connecticut to celebrate its release. Come join us!

On July 12, Publishers Weekly gave Come Fall a starred review!

“[T]he power of true friendship prevails in this magical yet realistic tale that, quite rightly, makes middle school feel like a trip through a dark and scary forest populated by not-so-friendly creatures.”

A delicious brrr! You can read the full review here. Thank you Publishers Weekly.

The Horn Book Magazine had some very nice things to say about Come Fall in its July/August issue.

Noting that the book is a take on A Midsummer’s Night Dream, the reviewer, Susan Dove Lempke, thought that “the interweaving of magical and realistic elements works surprisingly smoothly,” and “[d]espite its Shakespearean roots, this is a very accessible story.” She found the characters “distinctly and sympathetically drawn, and some of the most heart-wrenching and beautifully written passages are in the form of . . . language arts assignments.” She concluded, “[t]he book is an excellent introduction to Shakespeare’s play, and initiates will enjoy picking up little references such as Blos’s name (a riff on Peaseblossom), but this is, on its own, a compelling story about friendship and trust.”

Thank you Horn Book!

After a thoughtful introduction by Doe Boyle, laying the groundwork for the questions of the day, Dana Meachen Rau told us how she looks for the WOW! moment in facts to find things to write about in her hundreds of nonfiction titles. She advised us to discover what intrigues us and children, to ask questions about what our readers know and what we want the readers to know, and to find the truth in the story of our facts. Page McBrier walked us through her process of building stories from facts she researched in far flung places of the world, using her discoveries to tell truth in tales.

Stacy DeKeyser described how a fabulous summer vacation in the Dolomites gave her the groundwork that turned into a fantasy novel. While Jennifer Thermes showed us how the seeds of her work as an illustrator of maps brought her to new and interesting illustrating opportunities in picture books and middle grade novels. Finally Tony Abbott talked about writing novels in a way that makes them sound like fact, while writing compelling nonfiction using the tools of a novelist. (Listening to him read the first page and a half of Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood has forever changed my understanding of the power of settings in a book.)

The mantra for the day was to look for the WOW! factor in whatever you are writing about—what facts make you sit up and take notice. Then share them in the most compelling and truthful way possible, using the tools at your disposal.

Thank you Doe for organizing this wonderful annual event!

At Write Up Our Alley I blog about winning awards and coming in second place. It isn’t the talk I gave at the Tassies on May 19th, but it does capture the essence of what I said. You can read the post here.

And yes, I do mention Jerry Spinelli.