Among the best writers of the crime genre, period

I've always admired Nancy for being something of a genre-bender: she can write, and write well, and it doesn't matter what one calls it, or even necessarily what one's tastes are. Good writing is good writing.

Of course there's been a lot of praise heaped on her lately for her two recent romantic fantasies, first Impossible and now Extraordinary (the latter due out in September), but among all that, it's nice to hear a shout-out for Nancy in her erstwhile niche, crime/suspense.

Sarah Weinman, one of the most influential reviewers of crime fiction, offers her take on John Grisham's Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer, for Barnes & Noble, and in that review she says of Nancy:

I should mention my favorite young adult mystery writer, Nancy Werlin. Her books offer strong plotting, multi-faceted characters and a keen eye for social issues that speak directly to her readers. At her best, as with the National Book Award nominee The Rules of Survival and Edgar-Award winner The Killer's Cousin, she's among the best writers of the crime genre, period.

See? It's not just me. If you're relatively new to Nancy's stuff, and don't mind shifting gears, you should start in on her back list...

NJW @ ALA (in DC)

It's that time of the year, and the American Library Association is once again holding its summer convention, this time in Washington, DC.

Nancy's first formal gig will be the Penguin librarian dinner at 7 p.m. this evening (6/26), where invited librarians will meet with Nancy and other Penguin authors.

Next she'll be up bright and early to appear at the YALSA coffee klatsch in 209C at the Convention Center for a "speed dating" event at 8 a.m on Sunday, to talk to ticket holders (you can get 'em at the door).

And she has pen poised: Sunday afternoon Nancy will be signing at the Penguin booth (#2500) from 1 to 2 p.m. -- look for advance reader's copies of Extraordinary! -- and from there she will hustle in a dignified manner over to the BWI booth (#3231) for another signing from 2 to 3 p.m.

Should be greatish. Hope to see you there...

Sneak peek at Extraordinary

The ARCs are out for Extraordinary, and the bloggers are already hard at work, reading and reviewing. If you can't wait until the September release to get a few tidbits, have a look at this take from The Naughty Book Kitties.

Carolinians goin' to Massachusetts in their minds

Summer has come to North Carolina, and the Charlotte Observer offers up a little article on summertime reading, with a couple of recommendations from local librarians on what its student readers might want to be reading between school years. Impossible is one of two books that they suggest for kids in Grades 11 and 12. It's going to be a good summer...

Silver lining to digitization

There might be an unexpected benefit to the digitization of books. (Be sure to mouse over the panels.)

Extraordinary in audio

It's a done deal: Extraordinary will be available in audio through the publishing efforts of Brilliance Audio. Keep an eye peeled for it, and improve your commute or your workout when the time comes. Or simply enjoy the expression of your unrepentant preference for the spoken word...

Back in business!

It's been a while since I've posted anything here. Part of that was planned: Nancy and I were just now getting around to a belated honeymoon in Paris, a year and a half after the fact. But part was unplanned -- some *@##~!!*@ (I can never decide which symbols to use to adequately convey my meaning) hacked into the email account that I use to log in to this blog. They were merrily spamming my contacts with it, and Google wisely shut down my account. Really aggravating. But I'm happy to report that we're back in business, and will be communicating again soon about Nancy's writing adventures.