Happy book birthday to CANDOR in the UK! It is now officially released and available for purchase in the UK. If only I could jet on over to wave hello to it on the bookshelves.

I am so very happy to announce that CANDOR is a 2010-2011 nominee for the Black-Eyed Susan Award, presented by the Maryland Association of School Librarians. I will be attending the Author Luncheon at MASL's annual conference in October, and hope to meet some of you there!

Thank you, Florida Association for Media in Education! CANDOR is on the list of 2010-2011 Florida Teens Read Titles. 

Here's the description, from FAME's website, of what this list is:

"Florida Teens Read is a list of 15 titles that have been chosen by a committee of thirteen media specialists specifically to engage high school students (grades 9 through 12) and reflect their interests as well as represent a variety of genres, formats, reading levels, viewpoints, and ethnic and cultural perspectives."

Next April, any Florida teen who's read at least 3 of the books on the list will get to vote for their favorites. 

I especially love that FAME has chosen CANDOR because it is, of course, set in Florida. (Perhaps even in a real town, hmmm?) It's also very cool to see that THE COMPOUND, by S. A. Bodeen, is on the list. CANDOR and THE COMPOUND would be a great pair to read and discuss--talk about two dads who have dragged their families into a crazy dystopian mess!

I am so pleased to announce that CANDOR will be named one of the Boston Authors Club's "2010 Highly Recommended Books for Young Readers" during their May 6 award ceremony in Boston. I have a particular soft spot for Boston, since I picked up a couple of college degrees there and lived in Boston for a good while after school, too. And they do also boast the world's best baseball team!

Thanks, Beantown!

Come to think of it, maybe our new Red Sox gnome (name: Home Plate) has something to do with this... now if he can only get the Sox to the series...

I've just updated my page at Skype An Author Network with all the details about the virtual video visits I'm available to do with library groups, book clubs, classes and writing groups. I offer both short free visits as well as longer, more structure visits for a fee.

I've done a few Skype visits now with classes and libraries and they are a BLAST. There's nothing like actually seeing the people who are reading your book. I think my favorite question so far has been "What kind of food do they eat in your book?" Dude, you are a reader after my own heart. What's more important than FOOD?

Check out the loads of other authors on the Skype An Author Network who offer Skype visits too, including bestselling authors and recent ALA award winners.