It's That Time of Year...

I have new author photos! I'm trying to decide if I should choose a smiley one (that matches my personality!) or go for a more serious/suspense-writer look. Help me decide!

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Happy Thanksgiving

Hi guys,

I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. - Charles Dickens 

I love this time of year. LOVE it. When I was in high school, I started the tradition of naming aloud things I'm thankful for every day in November. Over the past few weeks, my heart has been warmed as I've read friends' notes of gratitude on Facebook. It's hard for me to feel disappointed or discouraged when I'm actively thinking about my blessings. And one of my biggest blessings is being able to share my stories with you. I started watching NASHVILLE this week (which I am quickly becoming obsessed with!) and one of the characters, a songwriter named Scarlett, says, "Who am I to write songs?" I feel that way often about my own writing. Who am I to tell stories? But I can promise you, even as I wrestle with my own insecurities and inadequacies, I always feel grateful for the opportunity I've been given to write and publish my books. 

When I was a little girl, one of my favorite things about Thanksgiving was setting our table for the big feast. My sisters and I spent hours polishing the silver and ironing the tablecloth. We arranged the centerpiece and set the china just so. I can tell you that I still get excited to set the table as an adult. I spent the morning polishing silver and debating color schemes. And I've decided on sunflowers for my centerpiece - I am a sucker for tradition. Maybe I will post a picture when I pull it all together. 

I think my favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner is the mashed potatoes with gravy. Or the cranberry relish. I love turkey too, but since I have yet to perfect the art of carving the turkey, and I always end up frustrated by the end of it, I would say my feelings toward turkey are more love/hate. Last year I plunged the carving knife into the turkey and cried out, "I give up!" I'll try not to be so melodramatic this year. 

Speaking of food, there is a scene in CRESCENDO that was inspired by one of my childhood Thanksgiving dinners. I was a junior in high school, and my family had invited several families to share Thanksgiving dinner with us. My mom put me in charge of making the rolls. My mom was not a fan of white flour when I was a kid, so I had to use whole wheat flour. If you've ever baked with whole wheat flour, you know that it bakes "heavy" and doesn't rise as well as white flour. I'm also quite certain that the yeast she gave me was expired. The rolls came out of the oven feeling not unlike paperweights! They were flat, heavy, and hard. That in itself would not have been so bad (I've never cared one way or the other about my cooking skills) except that the boy I liked (really liked!) was invited over for dinner. I distinctly remember watching him pick up one of the rolls and toss it in his palm, a look of memorization coming over his face as he marveled that such a little dinner roll could weigh so much. My mom, who knew about my crush, bustled over and said, "Becca made the rolls! Aren't they wonderful?" In some bizarre way, I felt like she was trying to sell him my homemaking skills. In CRESCENDO, Nora feels similarly when Blythe tries to convince Scott of Nora's cooking skills :)

Happy Thanksgiving! 

xo

Becca

Home!

Hi everyone!

I'm home from the FINALE tour! Thank you for coming to see me. I had SUCH a fun time meeting you. My assistant, Jenn, is in the process of making a slideshow of tour pictures using the images you guys have sent her, but in the meantime, here are a few pictures I took on the road.

Backstage at Changing Hands (Phoenix, AZ) with Kresley Cole, Elizabeth Miles, Tonya Hurley, and Heather Brewer

Our incredible audience at Blue Willow Books in Houston, TX

With Patch and Courtney at the NYMBC event in San Fransisco, CA

My first traditional English pub lunch (parsnip soup and pigeon breast!) in Lancashire, England 

Speaking at my London signing 

With the Simon & Schuster UK team

My lovely audience in Warsaw, Poland 

Backstage, just before my Warsaw event. This is when I always start to feel nervous! 

Standing outside the Lamartine bookshop (Paris, France) window display of the HUSH, HUSH series

The Lover's Bridge (Passerelle des Arts) in Paris, France. 

Such a romantic walk. Spent an hour or so reading many of the tokens of love, but even then, hardly made my way through a fraction of them. Wondered about the stories behind the lovers, how they'd met, if they were still together, where they came from. Maybe someday I'll use the Passerelle des Arts in a book!

Since Paris was my last stop on the FINALE tour, I decided to buy Patch and Nora a "cadenas d’amour." I left them looking over the Seine River, in the City of Lovers.  Fitting, don't you think?

xoxo
Becca

Goodreads Choice Awards Semifinals

Thank you so much to everyone who helped move the HUSH, HUSH Graphic Novel and FINALE on to the semi final round of the 2012 Goodreads Choice Awards!!

Voting for this round runs through November 17th.  Please take a minute to vote for HUSH, HUSH Graphic Novel in "Graphic Novel & Comic" category and FINALE in "Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction" category.

Thank you for supporting the HUSH, HUSH Saga.  Please spread the word and ask your friends to vote too!

FINALE Tour Info--Europe

Hey guys!

I'm home from my US leg of the FINALE tour. SO. MUCH. FUN. I was so amazed by how many of you came out to my events, asked great questions, and I even received a few special gifts from some of you--thank you, thank you. Touring is hard work, but meeting so many of you makes it worth it. That's what I remind myself when I'm feeling jet-lagged and sleep deprived, ha! I had a great time in Utah, Arizona, Oregon, Texas, and California. I hope you had fun too! I'll be posting pictures of the tour soon, but it probably won't be for a couple weeks. Tomorrow I fly to Europe, where I'll be touring England, Poland, and France for two weeks. I'm still trying to figure out how to fit fourteen outfits into a carry-on suitcase. Why, yes, I am the queen of traveling light!

To see my UK FINALE tour schedule, please go HERE. I'll be doing public signings in Leeds, Sheffield, and London. Some of these events are ticketed; please contact the bookstores for more information.

As soon as I have more information about my signings in Warsaw and Paris, I'll be sure to post those dates and locations on the HUSH, HUSH Facebook fan page and on Twitter.

See you soon,

Becca