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.

It's raining Nancy

Hey, guess what? Nancy is up in the cloud, and three of her books -- Extraordinary, Impossible, and The Rules of Survival -- have precipitated out in the form of ebooks. Now you can carry all three titles with you wherever you go. Get your copies from Amazon, BN.com, or your favorite indie bookstore -- wherever ebooks are sold.

It occurred to me today that it's only a matter of time before the general public catches on to the fact that ebooks are greener than hard copies, and the former become positively fashionable. (Wake me if this has already happened.) For now the paper purists still seem to hold the upper hand. The good news is that now you can decide, and you can enjoy Nancy's stuff in whichever form you prefer.

Nancy in Nebraska

Nancy will be in Omaha, Nebraska this Monday, December 5, for a couple of events at two branches of the Omaha Public Library. First she'll be giving a talk and signing books at the Swanson Branch at 9101 West Dodge Road, at 4 p.m., and if you can't make that one, she'll do it all over again at the Millard Branch at 13214 Westwood Lane, at 7 p.m.

High-Test Momentum

Nancy is officially on a roll with her latest book. Once again, her retreat with the High-Test Girls was very timely. This time they were in a new retreat house, in Plymouth, MA. Perhaps it was the assembled throng -- all nine made it this time! -- or perhaps it was the physical space, but for whatever reason, the discussions of their work were even more fruitful than usual. Nancy made lots of progress and came away reinvigorated and once again in love with her new work.


It was a fun retreat on personal levels as well. Franny Billingsley arrived fresh off the news of her nomination for the National Book Award (watch this space for more on that soon), and Dian Curtis Regan arrived fresh off the news of her engagement! There were other tidbits of interest as well, and it all added up to a lively, fun, productive week.