The Day We Got the Kirkus Review

Friday, September 7, 2012, started out as a strange day for me. My commuter bus jacknifed and had to be evacuated, and then my replacement bus (filled with two buses worth of passengers) had to pull over for several minutes to be serviced. Even with all of this nonsense, I was only twenty minutes late for work. What an adventure!

An hour after I arrived and settled in for a day of data entry, I got a call from my editor, Liesa. I didn't take the time to wonder what was up. We rarely speak on the phone, but we do email and text often. I assumed she had a quick question for me, so I took the call and hurried to the break room with my phone to my ear. 

Liesa said, "We got your Kirkus review. And it's a starred review!"

I said, "Really? Oh my gosh! I'm so excited! That is so great!" 

And then we made excited "Yay!"s and such at each other. She read me parts of the review and we chatted about how wonderful it was that the reviewer totally got what we were trying to do with this book. Liesa let me know she was forwarding the review to me and congratulated me repeatedly before we got off the phone.

I called my husband and my mom to let them know about the star. I tried to explain what it meant, but I honestly didn't entirely know. (I do have a slightly better idea now, having learned that Kirkus touts themselves as "The World's Toughest Book Critics" and that the Kirkus star is "awarded to books of remarkable merit.") 

After the phone calls, the emails started coming. And the texts and the tweets. People who work for my publisher. People at my agent's office. Other writers and readers and friends. It was so exciting and overwhelming that I had to go into the bathroom to cry a couple of times.

The best part for me was thinking about the reactions that everyone told me about. Like Liesa and Alyson at Simon & Schuster hugging and jumping up and down right before Liesa called me. And Jim and Lauren at Dystel & Goderich reading the review on Jim's phone, and trying and failing at a high-five. And everyone at Pulse getting an email that announced the review.

All of these people in New York--some of whom I've met and many of whom I haven't--were all excited and happy for me. But it wasn't just for me. I wrote the book, but I am not the only person who made it what it is, who has a stake in it, who wants good things for it. 

We did this. We made this book together. And someone likes it! How cool is that?

★ "What makes this more than another 'problem' novel is the author's steadfast refusal to deal in stereotypes and easy answers. [ . . . ] Required reading for anyone who's ever wondered 'why didn't they just tell someone?'" ~ Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

You can read the full Kirkus review here.

Announcing the LIVE THROUGH THIS book 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.

My Surreal & 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!

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. :-)
         

I'm having a giveaway! I hope you'll enter!

My second novel, Live Through This, comes out in two months! In anticipation, I'm giving away my very last extra Advance Reviewer copy of the book, along with other adorable prizes. (Spoiler: You can click right here to enter.)

Look at the cuteness! And can you spot what's meta in this photo? ;-)

The giraffe is relevant to the story. (You'll see!) And the wrapped present? Well, that's relevant too. But since it reveals a surprise from the book, it's for the winner's eyes only. I will LOVE it if you'll enter to win and tell others about the giveaway too! Here's what one reader asked me to add to this announcement:

"This is my favorite book of 2012. It just barely edges out John Green's latest, which is my second favorite." ~Dwayne Scott, devoted husband of Mindi Scott

Oh, and here's an opinion, from someone who isn't completely biased:

Live Through This is by turns harrowing, sad, funny, and romantic. I couldn't put it down." ~Stephanie Perkins, author of ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS

_____________________________________________

Giveaway details

• To enter, please fill in this form.
• Ages 13 and up.
• Open to U.S. and Canada mailing addresses only.
• Last day to enter is Friday, August 10, 2012 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time.

Optional Extra Entries

• (+1) Tweet about this giveaway for one additional entry:  "Win an ARC of LIVE THROUGH THIS by @mindi_scott + 1 plush giraffe + 1 Mystery Gift. RT to enter! http://mindiscott.com/?p=1657 " (You may also tweet once per day until August 10 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time for one additional entry per day.)  
• (+5) Earn five additional entries by posting about this giveaway on your blog.