I know! I said I would post before Christmas! And that didn’t happen!
Apologies in
advance for Excessive Exclamation Mark Usage, but I’m very excited. I’ve had
this secret for weeks, you see, and I haven’t been able to tell. But now the ink is nearly dry on the
paperwork, and my agent Catherine Drayton has given me permission to spill the
beans.
So I’m
extremely happy to let you all know that Every Breath will be published in Canada
and North America by Tundra, an imprint of Random House Canada, in Fall 2014.
Woot!
I can’t tell
you how happy this makes me. Rachel and Mycroft are going travelling! I’m
thrilled for them, and very proud. They’ll have a new family, and a new bunch
of readers to love them. Yes, it makes me all teary just thinking about it! (my
babies! *sniff*)
People from Canada
have been in touch with me, and it’s all very exciting. Tundra is also the home
of one of the sweetest books of all time, in my opinion – Anne of Green Gables, by LM Montgomery.
So it feels
like kismet!
Anne, meet Rachel and James.
Rachel and James, meet Anne. (James, put that cigarette out and
stop slouching.)
So that is my
biggest and most delicious news of late. I’m sorry I didn’t get to put up a
final 2013 post – after the interview with Barry Lyga, things got very busy. We
went camping over Christmas (camping – we love camping. But some people take camping
very seriously. There was a guy near our campsite who raked outside his tent. I
kid you not. IT’S A NATIONAL PARK, FRIEND. If you’re bringing the rake, you may
as well bring the leaf blower) and we had a lovely time with new friends (hi,
Liz and Paul!)
Then two days
after we arrived back home, Melbourne sweated through its most severe heatwave
in a couple of hundred years – five days over 41 degrees Celsius (that’s **
Fahrenheit, for those of you from other climes). After a few scares with grassfires
nearby – as in, down the road from our house – we decided that the bravest
course was pragmatic cowardice and escaped to Melbourne with our dog, cockatiel
and budgies.
We just
returned on Saturday night, and that was when I heard from Catherine that I
could tell you all the awesome news about the Canadian/US deal. Now we’re
settling back into our last weeks of summer holidays - cleaning the house,
washing mounds of laundry, watering all the dead plants… Alas, the garden was
decimated in the heat, but our chooks were well-provided for and are still
clucking around with their new babies, completely oblivious.
But here’s an
abbreviated round-up of all the stuff I wanted to post before Christmas – a post-Christmas
post, if you will. For instance, I wanted to tell you about my fave books of
2013. Here they are!
The Curseworker series – Holly Black
The third and
final book, Black Heart, was only
released here last year, so I reread everything. Magic and the mob, with a distinct Grifters feel. Taut, sensual, hypnotic, not to mention smart
and political.
The Madness Underneath (Shades of
London #2) – Maureen Johnson
A
supernatural mystery series of the highest calibre. Johnson never does the expected thing, and
her writing of dialogue and character interaction is so succinct and tight it
does my head in. The ending of this book
nearly killed me.
Clockwork Princess – Cassandra Clare
Pretty much a
case study in how to end a series, second only to Harry Potter. I totally blubbered my way through the
finale.
The Fault in Our Stars – John Green
The Perks of Being A Wallflower –
Stephen Chbosky
I put off
reading both these books, intimidated by the subject matter and the reputation
of the authors – I should never have waited.
The Rosie Project – Graeme Simsion
Outright
entertaining and sweet-hearted. No
schmaltz, just fantastic characters and gorgeous writing. And Graeme is a lovely guy!
Dark Horse – Honey Brown
A new
discovery for me – she has four books out, this is her newest. Adult
psychological thrillers and crime, this woman is the queen, for my money. Edgy,
sensual, suspenseful – and Australian. Big tick.
Life in Outer Space – Melissa Keil
Geek love. 80’s
movies. Boy-nerds and girl-nerds and swoon. World of Warcraft. What, you need more? (Just quietly, I liked this more
than Fangirl, by Rainbow Rowell)
Hate List - Jennifer Brown
An older
release, and it knocked my socks off.
Uncompromising, shocking, poignant. The ending left me in tears.
The Keepers – Lian Tanner
Middle-grade
fantasy adventure AWESOME. Beautiful writing and nuanced characters – my younger
boys and I fell in love with these books.
I also wanted
to tell you which books I’m most looking forward to reading in 2014 – here they
are!
(I'm super keen for this)
The Naturals – Jennifer Lyn Barnes
Game – Barry Lyga
The Last Shot – Michael Adams
The Murder Complex – Lindsay Cummings
Dr Sleep – Stephen King
Dead Silent – Sharon Jones
Anything new by Peter Temple
Through The Cracks - Honey Brown
The One - Kiera Cass
Cinnamon Girl - Melissa Keil
Winger - Andrew Smith
Lair of Dreams - Libba Bray
Razorhurst - Justine Larbalestier
The Coldest Girl in Cold Town - Holly Black
‘And here’s
what I read over my summer holidays, just for the heck of it!:
Fangirl – Rainbow Rowell
Looking for Alaska – John Green
Paper Towns – John Green
The Left Hand of God – Paul Hoffman
The Good Daughter – Honey Brown
After the Darkness – Honey Brown
Fall for Anything – Courtney Summers
You Don’t Even Know – Sue Lawson
The Waking Dark – Robin Wasserman
White Dog – Peter Temple
Secret - Brigid Kemmerer
That’s it, I’m
all book-listed out. Finally, before I go, a quick Every Word update:
Every Word is being copyedited and polished up,
and will be going to the printers in March. It will be released in June. I’ll
let you know more details as they come to light, but that’s all I can give you
right now, except I’m seriously buzzed about showing you this book. I like it a
lot. I think you will too.
Fingers
crossed.
Xx Ellie
