Announcing the LIVE THROUGH THIS Seattle Launch Party

~October 13, 2012~

Please SAVE THIS DATE because that's when I'm having my book release party for my second novel, Live Through This. Hooray!

(If you're out of the area and know you won't be attending, I have information for you about ordering personalized and signed copies at the bottom of this post!*)

Here are the details:

When: Saturday, October 13, 2012 from 2:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. 

What's happening: Author reading, presentation, and Q&A! Several songs mentioned in the book will be performed live by members of Alabaster and Peace Mercutio! Reception and book signing to follow!

Where: Elliott Bay Book Company 1521 Tenth Avenue, Seattle, Washington 98122 (206) 624-6600 / orders@elliottbaybook.com

RSVP email: mindirochelle at gmail dot com or at the Facebook launch party event page This is not required, but will definitely be appreciated so that I can tell the bookstore how much seating will be needed, as well as give them an idea of how many books to have on hand to sell that day. They will be offering both the hardcover ($16.99) and paperback ($9.99) versions. If you know what you'd like in advance (and especially if you'd like multiple copies), please do let me know or go ahead and contact the bookstore soon to pre-order directly from them.

Parking suggestion: The street parking near the bookstore only allows for two hours of pre-paid parking. A better choice is the Harvard Garage, located two blocks away at 1609 Harvard Avenue, Seattle, Washington 98122. It costs $5 for the entire day.  (Also, the bookstore does have a small garage beneath, which reimburses $4 for people who spend $20 or more at the store, but it can be pricey to park there for very long.)

*If you can't attend the event, you still have the option of getting personalized and signed copies of Live Through This shipped to you! Simply place your book order online through Elliott Bay Book Company's site anytime between now and October 11, 2012, and include a comment notation that you are requesting an autographed book from this event. Alternately, you may make this purchase and request by phone: 1-800-962-5311.

The Big Reveal!

For the next several months, a group of writers (which includes me) at all levels, from un-agented to published will be featured over at the Literary Engineer blog for The Big Reveal. Each Wednesday, we'll be asked a question about writing and each of our various responses to that question will be shown together in one post. This week, we're talking about how we find titles for our manuscripts. I hope you'll check it out! :-)

My Surreal and Exciting day: The Photo Shoot for the LIVE THROUGH THIS book trailer

Earlier this year, I wrote a concept for a book trailer for Live Through This that I was really excited to make.  But a day or two later, I decided to give up on the idea. I didn't have the money, the skills, or the models to make this project happen. My husband, Dwayne, didn't give up though. This summer, he talked to a girl who recommended the perfect Coley (my main character). Gradually, everything came together.  With the help of a couple of our friends, as well complete strangers who volunteered, we were able to put together a cast of twelve that includes Coley, her family, a few of her friends, members of her dance team, and Reece, her love interest.

This past Sunday, we all met up at Richmond beach for a six-hour photo shoot! Dwayne was the director, Shaina (Dwayne's band mate) did the photography, and my sister, Lindsey, helped me with getting the food and props together. For the shoot itself, I mostly watched from a distance, but I did give feedback for a couple of scenes.

The above is me, standing between "Reece" and "Coley" along with members of our local high school's flag and cheer teams, who were in scenes depicting part of my fictional dance team.

It was a really fun day for me and everyone involved seemed to have a great time too. They each got to find out just a little bit about the characters they were portraying. It was also so interesting to figure out who knew who in real life and from where.  I actually only had known the "mother" and "older brother" before that day, so it was really cool to get to meet everyone else!

There were a couple of surreal moments for me, mainly involving Anika (Coley) and Kyle (who, by the way, was named for Kyle Reese from Terminator  and was our Reece for the photos!). These two truly could not have been more perfectly cast. The characters in Live Through This have resided in my head (and in my manuscript) for close to three years. So, to see people who looked so much like them standing right in front of me? In real life? Being all three-dimensional? Well, it was a little overwhelming at times, but also one of the coolest things ever.

Here is a dorky moment that Shaina captured and sent to me (which makes Dwayne laugh hysterically every time he looks at it):

I'm not posing in the background there. I'm also definitely not supposed to be in the shot. Dwayne and Shaina had had me come down to make sure that my Coley and Reece scenes turned out exactly how I wanted because they knew it was super-important to me. It's hard to tell when the picture isn't zoomed, but I'm just frozen in that spot, smiling while trying not to cry from watching all the cuteness zomg! unfold.

Many thanks to Anika (especially Anika who was in every photo!), Bailey, Cali, Carter, Kelland, Kyle, Linda, Madeline, Marty, Sarah, Shaylee, and Taylor for volunteering your time and for being so darn photogenic. :-) And thank you also, to the parents, spouses, and siblings who came along. You are all so awesome!

Shaina is starting the editing now and I'll be able to share the finished video later next month. Let me tell you--I can hardly wait!

An anticipated book for autumn!

Joli Huynh of Actin' Up With Books put together a list for The Children's Book Review of the five young adult novels that she is most looking forward to this coming fall. Live Through This is one of the five! In fact, Joli said, "Live Through This is by far my most highly anticipated read of 2012."

I'm so honored and happy to hear that! The rest of her list includes some really fabulous-sounding books, some of which I hadn't yet heard of, so definitely check it out and see if you might find something you'd like to read.

And the winner of the Live Through This ARC is . . .

The winner of the Live Through This ARC and other adorable prizes is . . .

@AngelinaCHansen

Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!

In case anyone wondered (because I always wonder about this stuff), her second entry, which she received for Tweeting the contest, was the one that was chosen as the winning entry by the random number generator. 

And for everyone who isn't Angelina, and therefore didn't win my giveaway, the book will be coming out on October 2, 2012, which is in 49 days! It's available now for preorder all over the place. I really hope you'll check it out!

 Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, IndieBound, iTunes, The Book Depository, or Amazon

Thank you  so much to everyone who entered the contest, tweeted about it, and blogged about it. It was really fun for me to see all the entries coming in and see that some of you are excited about my next book. :-)