Thanks so much for coming!

one of the many great schools I visited!

So it's been a whirlwind week, with more active weather coming! I was in California visiting schools and stores--Mrs. Dalloway's in Berekely,  Lindentree Books in Los Altos, the Bookshop Santa Cruz and the Children's Book World in LA--of course, all to promote my new book, When the Sea Turned to Silver (just in case you didn't know).  It was super fun! The only reason why I don't have more photos of any of the events is because I was too busy!

But people came out to the bookstore events and it was a thrill! Authors are always scared to death of presenting to empty chairs, I'm very, very grateful that most of mine were filled:

And on the third day of my travels, I was informed that When the Sea Turned to Silver is a National Book Award Finalist! EEKS! The winner will be announced at the ceremony in November--cross (double-cross) your fingers for me!!

the great folks at the Bookshop Santa Cruz helped me celebrate with cupcakes!

But I had to rush from the balmy CA weather to Boston (arriving after midnight!) so that I could prepare for my big launch party at Porter Square Books!

Since we don't live in the area anymore, we had to camp and prep at a local airbnb. There was a lot of prep:

even Rain Dragon helped stuff goodie bags!

 because this was to be my party deluxe.  The silver goodie bag decorated with a red tissue butterfly (which take longer to make than I thought, tissue flowers are way faster)  had a poster, an embroidered bookmark, and a "moon cookie" (courtesy of my mother-in-law, again). And if you preorder, you also received that exclusive booklet:

I admit I am  listing these things so they might make you  come to the next one!

And after stuffing about a hundred of those...it was show time! People came and I talked. And then some friends and I performed the Readers Theater to rapturous applause:

We told "The Story of the Red Stone" 

check out the cool costumes that I had made!

and then I signed books:

at the event

and after the event!

And when the day was done,  I got together with some of my awesome local friends...who surprised me with a cake:

did I mention my friends were awesome?

Lucky for me, that  cake was high in sugar because now I'm going to keep going! Come see me at Water Street Books (Exeter, NH) on Wed and at Northshire Bookstore (Saratoga Springs, NY) on Friday! AND after that, Providence RI, Austin TX and more...

Fun with When the Sea Turned to Silver: Connect the Worlds

Congratulations, you finished the book! Oops, did I jump the gun? Oh well, when you DO finish the book, I have this great activity for you...

In When the Sea Turned to Silver, Pinmei and Yishan travel to the Sea Kingdom and discover that the moon they are used to seeing in the sky is also at the bottom of the Heavenly Lake. The Sea King tells them, "Our worlds connect here. The bottom of our lake is your sky."

How can the sea and sky share a moon? Play with this activity and make the worlds of When the Sea Turned to Silver connect.  Download the activity HERE!

When the Sea Turned to Silver
Pinmei's grandmother always has the most exciting tales to tell but the peace is shattered one night when soldiers of the Emperor arrive and kidnap the storyteller. Everyone knows that the Emperor wants something called the Luminous Stone That Lights the Night. Alongside her friend Yishan, Pinmei must face obstacles usually found only in legends to find the Luminous Stone and save her grandmother--before it's too late. 
A fast-paced adventure that is extraordinarily written and beautifully illustrated, When the Sea Turned to Silver is a masterpiece companion novel to Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. Four starred reviews and a National Book Award nominee. NOW AVAILABLE!

My book is out! Find the Red Butterfly!

Today's the day!!! When the Sea Turned to Silver is NOW out in stores!!!! The book is officially available!

I hope to see you at my book party! Thanks so much to all who pre-ordered!  But for those of you who didn't & don't live nearby, you can go find it in your local indie bookstore and...

LOOK FOR THE RED BUTTERFLY:

Why? Well, my publisher did this really cool thing and offered independent bookstores the opportunity to sell autographed copies. Which, meant last month I flew to the publisher's warehouse:

and signed a lot of books:

Really, it was a lot of books:

which have been sent to select independent bookstores for purchase! Yes, you can still get an autographed book (if your store participated).

AND, I did something special for the last nine (lucky number nine!) books I autographed. In the last nine books, I included a drawing of a red butterfly:

If YOU buy the book with a red butterfly in it, take a photo of with it and send it to me! 

You can post it on my Facebook page or tweet it at me or just send it via e-mail (gracelin.manager @ gmail.com) and I'll send you something great!  A booklet (though I think I might be out of those), a poster, maybe an original piece of art...we shall see! So, go to your local indie bookstore and look for the book & the butterfly! 

I'm so curious to see if anyone actually finds one!

You're Invited!

Come to the When the Sea Turned to Silver Book Party!

I know, I've been squawking about this for a long time-- but this book has been six years in the making! You have to forgive me for wanting to celebrate in a grand style! Please come and celebrate with me!

Saturday, October 8th at 3pm
Porter Square Books
25 White St, Cambridge MA
617-491-2220

It will be all the fun of the last book launch (and the one before that) plus some!  Gift bags shall include all kinds of awesome, including a poster, delicious treats, and a chance to win some original art!

Hopefully, you know that I am doing a big pre-order promotion--if you pre-order the book from Porter Square (which you can do no matter where you live), I'm including an exclusive "deleted" story booklet, one that I've especially illustrated and had printed.

Well, if you come to the book party, you can win one of those original illustrations, perhaps even this one:

original art from "The Stonecutter," signed, matted and framed--yours?

How? Just come to the party and if your goodie bag has a special stone in it (the significance of which will be explained)...you WIN!

Goodie bags are limited (I'm making a lot, but can't promise anything) but those who come on time (can't save bags for stragglers, really sorry!) with books pre-ordered get first dibs, so pre-order (helpful if you say pick up at launch party when you order) and COME! I hope to see you!

Not local? I'm hitting the road on a book tour so see if I'll be near you!

On my desk monday

Eeks! I received a final copy of the novel!!! It's a real book now:

the finished book with tear-worthy note from my editor/childhood friend Alvina, whom readers may know as Melody from Year of the Dog!

Yes, not just an advanced reading copy but a REAL book! With the color illustrations inside:

the color type decorations:

and the two color chapter headers:

Is it vain to say that I am so proud?  I feel like this book has been a such marathon of work and emotion, to see the finish line is just so...satisfying. I can't help feel like it's something to celebrate!

Please come celebrate with me! I have a pre-order campaign going on now--you get an exclusive "cut" story when you pre-order from my launch store (and your book will be autographed, too), as well as the actual Book Launch party itself (Sat, Oct 8th at Porter Square Books! Save the date!). I'll be announcing all my special plans (gift bags! grand prizes!) for the party later this week...stay tuned!

My advanced copies are now out in the world...

So last week I sent out my newsletter with the ARC giveaway! I had five advanced reading copies reserved for this contest:

an advanced reading copy is a "rough draft" of a book that the publisher puts together-- it has typos, incomplete art, etc but is supposed to give reviewers and booksellers an idea if they want to recommend it or order it

I was pleased that 456 people entered before the deadline! Yay! So glad so many of you want to read the new book! But how to pick the winners? So many of you wrote lovely notes along with your entries (thank you! Some brought tears to my eyes!) and it was really, really difficult not to choose based on reading the e-mails. But I had said five ARC's were going to be given away completely randomly, so I felt like I had to follow through. Which is why I used:

Yes, the random number generator! So if you're e-mail came in the 9th, 78th, 101st, 321st or 431st I sent you an ARC! Congratulations!

Goodbye, ARC'S! I sent them to all the schools I've visited this past year as well as the random winners!

So sorry to all those that don't receive one! But, chin up! The book launch is right around the corner and if you pre-order the book, I promise the goodies I add will make it worth the wait!

If you do receive an ARC,  I hope so much that you enjoy the story (I won't say book, as the real book isn't out until October)! Whenever I think about people reading it, my heart pounds like one of those taiko drums.  So, if you do like the story, please let the world (and me) know! 

Save the Date for the When the Sea Turned to Silver Book Launch!

October 8, 2016 at 3pm

Porter Square Books, Cambridge MA

Remember the Where the Mountain Meets the Moon Book Launch? Or the one for Starry River of the Sky? Well, I'm doing it again! And since When the Sea Turned to Silver is a companion book, it seemed only fitting to do it again at Porter Square Books!  Yes, awesome gift bags! Grand prizes! And, of course, the company of yours truly.  Please Come!

If you pre-order your book from Porter Square Books, not only can it be personally autographed, you will received some super-special goodies with it (that can be shipped if you don't live nearby). I'll be announcing what the goodies will be and more specifics in August (they will be really good, promise) but you can order now if you want! 

Want to meet me but don't live near Porter Square Books?  I'll be going on a book tour, in October.  You can see some of the places I will be HERE,  but the final schedule (we're still nailing specifics down for other dates and cities) will be in my next newsletter, so stay tuned...

There's Always Time to Read!

So, last month I came home from a school visit to find Rain Dragon running around like this:

"Look what I got, Mama"!

Apparently, I had received a package in the mail but it was around the time of Rain Dragon's birthday and she had been receiving a constant stream of gifts in the mail, and she assumed every box was for her.  So she ripped it open, including the letter enclosed.

isn't it cute? there IS always time to read!

It was a lovely clock from...Scholastic? Unfortunately, while the envelope was still intact, the letter was thrown somewhere in Rain Dragon's dance of joy. So, I was a little confused. My book publisher is Little, Brown. Why was Scholastic sending me nice presents? Had they mixed me up with someone? Had there been a corporation merge?

Luckily, soon afterwards, I met these lovely ladies at Book Expo America:

Carolyn Scully, Kristin Standley and me!

who both work at Scholastic. Since they were so friendly, I asked about the clock and was thrilled to hear that it was actually 1) really for me and 2) it was a congratulations/welcome to neighborhood gift because When the Sea Turned to Silver will be included in this fall's Scholastic Book Fairs as well as the club! Isn't that neat? So exciting! 

In the meantime, the clock has taken residence in Rain Dragon's room. She still insists it was a gift for her. 

she wouldn't let me hang it in the studio 

Thanks, Scholastic!

revealing the cover!

I was going to try to ask a famous blogger to do a "cover reveal" of my book like all the cool authors do-- but I was so late (as I mentioned earlier) with the art that I never got my act together! So, instead, my publisher leaked it yesterday with a photo of the advanced reading copies! Yes, there are advanced reading copies! They are so fresh off the press that I don't even have any yet, but  sign up for my mailing list to get notice for any giveaways I am doing when I do finally get them! In the meantime...want a better look at the cover? Here it is....presenting When the Sea Turned to Silver:

Do you like it? The animal on the cover is my take of a Chinese mythical animal called a longma or a "dragonhorse."

You might remember the sketch from last October:

The design of it, especially the ocean waves were inspired by the Chinese embroidery found on imperial "Dragon Robes:"

You can see more examples of dragon robe embroidery here and here!

And, of course, there is more than just the front cover. The art wraps around the whole book. I had to paint the image extra wide because we weren't sure how thick the book was going to be--needed to make sure we had plenty of art to make the flaps:

but here's a closer look at the art of the  front and back art:

And the front and back cover:

I'm SOOOOOO excited!! I hope you are, too!

What I'm working on today!

(see full image)

Story title art for the new novel...getting close to the finish line!

on my desk monday

I'm sketching the cover for When the Sea Turned to Silver:

I've started doing my sketches in pieces, all on tracing paper so I can move things around. I guess it would be faster if I could draw on the computer...but I am too old-fashioned!

on my desk monday

I've been trying to return to rituals in my work. Since I've had Rain Dragon, I've let a lot of things become rather slap-dash which is okay in some things (I've accepted it when it comes to, say, the state of the living room floor) but I think, for me, the act of writing and illustrating needs ritual--if only to cement in my mind that this is something of importance, that I must be considerate of.

One of the rituals I want to do with my writing, which I began with Starry River of the Sky is to print out the version-of-last-approval (basically the absolutely last time I can make changes), take a morning and read the entire thing out loud. Anyplace that I stumble or feels awkward, I mark and reconsider and, usually, change. 

And it's almost time for me to do this for When the Sea Turned to Silver.  To prepare, I decided to adapt my illustration tradition of making paper folders to this. I decided to make a custom decorate three-ring binder to hold my manuscript:

the decorative paper, the glue and a cardboard 3-ring binder (bought pre-made)

I'm kind of envisioning the colors of the cover of the book to be like the paper I chose for the binder:

beautiful japanese paper with a wave motif! All glued and clipped together to dry smoothly! 

Now it's all ready to go:

I hope some of the beauty of the paper infuses into my writing! Wish me luck!!!

on my desk monday

On my floor are the revisions to my novel:

I actually have many more than this, these are just the major revisions, the ones I felt I needed to  I print-- More more minor or earlier versions (about 20+) I didn't bother to print out

I learned the hard way that I do the best revising when I read from real paper. When I revise only on the computer I miss a lot! Somehow, reading on paper with pencil in hand is much more effective. So when I asked my good friend Libby to be my beta reader for my novel, I completely understood when she asked if I would send it to printed out, on paper.

However, my novel is close to three hundred pages and my three hole punch could only punch ten pages at a time.  So trying to put it together neatly and securely was a challenge which I pretty much failed:

When I lamented my lack of craft to Libby, she commiserated--saying she had the same problem as well! Some of our other author friends put together and bound their drafts so beautifully? How did they do it? They must just have more patience.

But then in the middle of night, Libby sent me an e-mail:

I felt really dumb that I hadn't thought of this!

Pre-punched, 3 holed paper!!! 

Which changed my life.

Now, I could do the rest of my revisions this way: 

behold the power of the 3-ring binder and pre-punched paper!

I think it's made a difference! Of course I am biased, but I really like this new novel!