Things are brewing...

Some of you have noticed that it's been awfully quiet on this blog lately.  *Too* quiet...

Nancy and I have been talking about the blog and her web presence generally, and changes are afoot regarding how you'll be able to keep abreast of Nancy's doings.  There is more to come on this subject, but in the meantime, here's something she's been working on just lately:  a Tumblr page with cartoons about whatever's on her mind.

The end!

Nancy just mailed off novel number nine this morning!  Writing this book was a long, tough slog for her, and it took a bit longer than usual.  But she knew she had a good one going, and the Olympics have demonstrated for us the importance of sticking the landing.  I anticipate big scores from the judges.

Nancy among the best ever

NPR is accepting votes for the best-ever teen novels.  Among the 235 nominees for this exalted honor are not one but two of Nancy's novels:  Impossible and The Rules of Survival.  If you think that either or both of them belong among the top 10, go ahead and cast your vote.

Pretty heady stuff.  Remember last post how I said that I always enjoy formal praise for Nancy's work?  This time is one of those times.

The watchword is "Werlin"

Nancy's name frequently shows up here and there on the web, usually in formal or informal reviews of her stuff.  But there have been a couple of other references lately:

• this one in which Nancy's blurb inspires reader/reviewer/blogger Leila Roy to stay with a book until she gets to the payoff...
• ...and this one in which a Kirkus Review of Robin Wasserman's The Book of Blood and Shadow uses Nancy's work as a standard of comparison:  "think Nancy Werlin channeling Dan Brown".

Sincere forms of flattery.  I always enjoy direct praise for Nancy's work, but sometimes indirect praise is just as fun. 

Time for the LA Times

Nancy has been appointed as a judge on the Young Adult Literature Panel for the 2012 and 2013 Los Angeles Times Book Prizes.  She was a nominee a few years ago -- our flight to LA marked the first time we traveled together -- and it was a blast, so she's looking forward to being involved once again.

Besides, she loves the judging.  For the 2012 prize, awarded for titles published this year, she'll be working alongside librarians Angelina Benedetti of Seattle and Rollie Welch from Cleveland.  More precisely, she'll be working alongside me, here on the couch, as she devours one book after the other.

Impossible is Lincoln nominee

Impossible has been nominated for the 2013 Abraham Lincoln Award, sponsored by the Illinois School Library Media Association (ISLMA). It's awarded annually to the author of the book voted as most outstanding by high school students in Illinois, and is designed to familiarize students with the young adult genre and to encourage them to read for personal satisfaction.

Among the list of nominees are just four titles singled about by the Student Reader Panel, and Impossible is one of those favored four.

RPG, anyone?

We ran across this one recently, combining Impossible with Harry Potter.  Fan-fiction role-playing games are the sincerest form of flattery...

What do we hear for our favorite YA writer?

You can earn a personal appearance from Nancy to speak to your group, and she'll also bring you six signed copies of one of her books. All you have to do is make the winning bid on an internet auction in support of the Zamir Chorale here in Boston.

If you're not in the Boston area, you can still bid, and Nancy will meet with your group via phone or Skype.

What do we hear?

Nancy on the Novel at NESCBWI

The New England Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators will be holding its spring conference at the Sheraton Springfield Monarch Place in Springfield, Massachusetts this weekend from Friday, April 20, through Sunday, April 22.

On Sunday Nancy will be joining fellow authors Sarah Aronson and Carolyn Coman in offering The Novel Academy, designed to help New England writers work on e.g. characters and story.

The Novel Academy is full up, but it's not too late to join the conference...

Adaptations

The continued survival of our species suggests that adaptation is a good thing. But Nancy and others are here to tell you that's not always the case, in this Salon article on the good, the bad, and the potential of book-to-movie adaptations.