courtney summers » fyi

wanna read this is not a test?

courtney — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 23:45:14 +0000

THIS IS NOT A TEST is available on Netgalley! Right here! This means if you’re a professional reader (which Netgalley defines as book reviewers, journalists, librarians, professors, booksellers and bloggers), you can request it and maybe you’ll get approved to read it six months before its official publication date in exchange for a review! So you should request it! I would love it if you did. It’s the first book I have ever had on Netgalley and I want it to feel invited to the prom.

Like I never was.

Sob. :(

(Of course, I left high school before prom but whatevs. Did I tug at your heartstrings enough to get you to request my book? Mission Accomplished!)

I was not expecting to see my zombie book online so fast. I hope the galley’s availability means I will be able to share other things with you in the near future (like an excerpt or some of the exciting blurbs it has gotten–one of which you can see on the Netgalley catalogue page from the wonderful Daisy Whitney–she called it “sexy and desolate!”), but in the mean time I thought I’d share a few things about and relating to the novel because why not.

LET’S DO THIS.

01) I saw my first zombie movie when I was twelvish, I think! Or elevenish! Or thirteenish! I don’t even remember. One of those ages, at least. It was George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead and it was one of the scariest things I’d ever seen. It still is. It is an utterly relenteless glimpse at a group of people trying to stay alive while an endless wave of zombie attacks the farmhouse they’ve barricaded themselves in. I spent the entirety of that movie with my gut twisting itself into knots, foolishly believing these characters were just suffering for a happy ending. Ha ha ha! After I saw it, I was so depressed, I swore off zombie movies and bleak endings forever.

02) Needless to say, I am a VERY different person now.

03) I have a zombie plan but I will not share it with anyone outside of my immediate family. It’s pretty great, though. Whenever I imagine surviving the zombie apocalypse, I am surrounded by my family and we are having THE TIME OF OUR LIVES. One day, I started thinking–what if I wasn’t surrounded by people I loved? And what happens if the people I love get turned into zombies? WHAT IF THERE IS NO ONE? WHAT IF I HAVE TO NAVIGATE A POST-APOCALYPTIC ZOMBIE WASTELAND ON MY OWN? And then I realized I probably wouldn’t want to live unless I could redefine the point of my own survival. But what if you can’t? What if you really cannot do that? (I am not sure I could!)

04) Then I thought about how a lot of the zombie movies I watch and enjoy follow the character that is willing to do everything to make it to the end. Whether or not they are better for it remains to be seen, but survival is hardwired into them and usually they make good choices and are nice people. That is noble, I suppose. And then I thought about it some more… I bet you can see where this is going!

05) THIS IS NOT A TEST is about a girl who wants to die during the zombie apocalypse but gets tangled up in other people’s survival plans!

06) If anything, it is about emotional survival.

07) It is also about six teenagers trapped in a high school during the zombie apocalypse! CAN YOU JUST IMAGINE THE HIJINX.

08) Unlike Regina or Parker, who would probably chainsaw every zombie they saw to pieces, Sloane Price, the main character of THIS IS NOT A TEST, would rather be eaten by them! And that is what you need to know about her. You will never meet a person more determined to give up and exploring the way someone like that engages with the world and how they respect–or don’t respect–other people’s want to live was so interesting! It was also challenging. I am not sure if you will like this girl, to be honest! But if you have read my other books, likeable characters are not my favourite to write about ANYWAY.

09) It’s very much a character driven novel! I have been so happy to get such an enthused response to my zombie direction, but I know there are some people out there who are not as keen on it because they prefer my contemporary realism and they’ll wait for the next story. I totally get that and respect it. But for my contemporary realism readers who are undecided, I think it’s worth noting this is a novel about people with some zombies!

10) But also there are zombies!

11) I do not know if I will ever return to zombies in fiction but if I don’t, I am glad this is the zombie novel I wrote.

If it sounds like your kind of thing, please request it! If you think someone you know would be interested in it, please tell them about it! I am always grateful to people who spread the word about my work. Thank you!

THEY’RE COMING TO GET YOU, BARBARA.

This is Not a Test… the cover!

courtney — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 16:07:01 +0000

First, I’m so thrilled about the positive response THIS IS NOT A TEST has gotten since I announced it. Thank you, everyone! That was so nice. It was nervewracking revealing that it is a zombie book considering I am such a loud mouth about zombies. Anyways, in the announcement I said I was going to blog about why zombies and how much they mean to me because I will exploit any opportunity to talk about zombies and now I have a reason just outside of the usual passion that motivates me to do so but this is not that entry!

Would you believe this entry is actually a cover reveal?

(Maybe the title of this entry gave that away but pretend to be shocked!)

BUT before you look I have to give a nod to the folks at St. Martin’s Press who worked so hard to put this together. Particularly my editor, Sara and the cover designer, Lisa. I saw SEVEN covers before this one. Seven! That is the most covers any of my books have ever gotten. There was a point in July where I got like five of those covers in ONE week which was so exciting actually. I love covers. I want all the covers! But anyways, add to the fact that I got to give A LOT of input on this–and I mean A LOT–well. It has been A Process…

But I think it was totally worth it.

I hope you do too.

Isn’t it great?! Do you like it? It’s blue! My covers are makin’ up a rainbow here. We’ve had green, red, yellow and now blue. WHAT COULD BE NEXT? ALSO LOOK AT THAT GIRL! Is she Sloane or is she a zombie? The cruel way I treat most of my characters means it could go EITHER way!

Here’s the plot, one more time:

It’s the end of the world. Six students have taken cover in Cortege High but shelter is little comfort when the dead outside won’t stop pounding on the doors. One bite is all it takes to kill a person and bring them back as a monstrous version of their former self. To Sloane Price, that doesn’t sound so bad. Six months ago, her world collapsed and since then, she’s failed to find a reason to keep going. Now seems like the perfect time to give up.

As Sloane eagerly waits for the barricades to fall, she’s forced to witness the apocalypse through the eyes of five people who actually want to live. But as the days crawl by, everyone’s motivations to survive begin to change in startling ways and soon the group’s fate is determined less and less by what’s happening outside and more and more by the unpredictable and violent bids for life–and death–inside.

When everything is gone, what do you hold on to?

If the cover moves you to Tweet or Facebook or add it to your GoodReads To-Read list or spread the word in any capacity, I would be so thrilled and grateful because it makes a difference! And this is also a great opportunity for me to thank everyone who has expressed excitement about this book to me and to other people. THANK YOU. That means so much. I hope the book itself makes the anticipation worth your while.

If anything I think you are guaranteed a novel with a pretty cover. :)

Zombies zombies zombies!

f(O_o)f f(O_o)f f(O_o)f <- zombies!

Courtney, what is This is Not a Test about?

courtney — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 19:14:53 +0000

It has been a long time since I blogged! It’s probably a bad thing I begin every blog entry with variations of this sentence. I once read that it’s terrible form to call attention to the fact you’re a bad blogger, which means I CAN’T DO ANYTHING RIGHT! But I thought I’d type something up because I’ve been making a slew of Book 4 related announcements all over Twitter and Facebook and we know nothing I say is official until I shove it in a blog entry like ten weeks later. So here we go! As of today, my fourth book is officially done. There are not enough exclamation marks to express how I feel about that so I am not going to use any. Here is the title, which I revealed ages ago:

You might be wondering why I decided to make that an image. I was thinking since I announced it everywhere else first I should go the extra mile here. I also thought I should make up for my blog neglect and tell you some more things about This is Not a Test IN THIS SPACE that I have not announced anywhere else. Blog exclusive! What things? Well, the answers to these questions: When is This is Not a Test coming out? and What is This is Not a Test about?

In answer to the first question: June 2012 is when This is Not a Test is estimated to come out. I am not sure exactly when. But I don’t want you to miss it! So cancel everything for that month and pencil in THIS IS NOT A TEST PROBABLY COMES OUT. If you want to. I want you to, of course, but I want lots of things.

In answer to the second question–what is This is Not a Test about? Well. I have been wanting to tell you that for ages! I think this is the longest I have gone without giving you an idea of what I’ve been working on but there is a very good reason for that. This book has been hard and it has been many things. At one point, it wasn’t even going to be the next book! But now it is! So I can tell you WHAT it is! Are you ready? ARE YOU? Okay. Here goes. This is Not a Test is about…

Oh, whoops. SORRY. That’s not it. That’s how I feel inside every day. Ahem.

Let’s try this official sounding summary instead:

It’s the end of the world. Six students have taken cover in Cortege High but shelter is little comfort when the dead outside won’t stop pounding on the doors. One bite is all it takes to kill a person and bring them back as a monstrous version of their former self. To Sloane Price, that doesn’t sound so bad. Six months ago, her world collapsed and since then, she’s failed to find a reason to keep going. Now seems like the perfect time to give up.

As Sloane eagerly waits for the barricades to fall, she’s forced to witness the apocalypse through the eyes of five people who actually want to live. But as the days crawl by, everyone’s motivations to survive begin to change in startling ways and soon the group’s fate is determined less and less by what’s happening outside and more and more by the unpredictable and violent bids for life–and death–inside.

When everything is gone, what do you hold on to?

But just in case that’s a bit too subtle, here is a snippet from the manuscript for clarification:

“Zombies,” Harrison says.
“Shut up,” Trace tells him.

YEAH.

SO WHAT MORE CAN I SAY. Except some people guessed it every now and then, what I was writing! And I had to say, “ZOMBIES HA HA WHO ME WAT.” And then I did some school visits earlier this year and my most asked question was, “Why won’t you write a zombie book?” And I had to be like, “ZOMBIES HA HA WHO ME WAT MAYBE SOME OTHER TIME.” Sorry for lying to your faces, people! This book was such a process that it was safer that way for all of us. And also admitting it before officially admitting it would’ve harshed on my reveal, you know? You guys would’ve had the stress of having to act surprised for my benefit on your shoulders.

So I was just thinking of YOU.

And fear not: if you liked Cracked Up to Be, Some Girls Are and Fall for Anything but zombies make you furrow your brows because they are not what falls into the category of ‘realistic YA,’ I think there is still something in here for you. ANYWAYS, soon I will write about zombies and how I love them in case you didn’t know and how alive they make me feel in my heart and the process of writing of this zombie book but for now I am just going to decompress and play some Left 4 Dead 2. Because short of surviving the zombie apocalypse, I can’t think of a better way to celebrate finishing my zombie book than playing a video game devoted to zombie carnage.

Seriously, you guys, I am really super excited and so happy to share this news with you. Writing this book was very demanding but it was worth it. I am so proud of it! And I hope you like it when it comes out! (In June!) (Probably!) Also you should add it on Goodreads! If you’re so inclined! And if you want up-to-date info on This is Not a Test, you should follow me on Twitter and Facebook since apparently news goes on the blog last, except this news, which was first. But don’t think that’s gonna be the standard!

I’m such a bad, bad blogger.

On the Radio

courtney — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 21:11:37 +0000

Oh man, guys. I know. I’m on a bit of an everything hiatus while I tackle revisions on Book 4, which are an intense, all-consuming thing right now. I’m behind on blogs, I won’t be able to catch up on emails for some time (but I will get back to you as soon as the book is handed in), I’m pretty much not on Twitter and uhm I have been posting on Facebook to get through the Twitter withdrawal but I AM ONLY HUMAN OKAY.

Anyways.

Exciting news! I was on CBC Radio’s Definitely Not the Opera today (February 26th)! I talked about dropping out of high school and teenagers and writing and I was interviewed by Sook-Yin Lee. If you want to hear the show, you can go to this page and download it. Or you can just right click and save this link. My segment starts at 32:50 and goes until 40:39!

It’s all very lucky this happened because just this week I was thinking about how I hadn’t blogged anything for a while and then I was thinking about how things were so boring there was barely anything TO blog about so maybe that made it okay and then I decided it’s still been too long and I should blog ANYWAY and long story short, I was like thisclose to talking about how obsessed I have been with the Resident Evil movies lately, to the point where I sometimes stop whatever I’m working on and daydream about how many dangerous things I wish I was capable of doing while wearing a red dress with combat boots.

But now I don’t have to! Now I can blog about talking on the radio! Thanks, CBC!

So this was basically a neat and unexpected turn of events. My first radio interview! With the CBC, no less. Trivia: ever since Cracked Up to Be to be came out my parents–die hard CBC listeners/viewers–have been trying to pressure me into figuring out a way to let the CBC know I exist because how awesome would that be? I could not deny it would be awesome but it also felt like ~The Impossible Dream~ so I just smiled and nodded whenever they started talking about it and went back to work.

Besides, I couldn’t really figure out the logistics for such things, either. Like, do I run up to the studio doors and set my books in front of them and run away and hope for the best? I am sure there are more professional ways to introduce yourself to the CBC but as an extremely introverted hermit writer that was the only one that truly sat well with me.

Needless to say, it was a teensy bit shocking when a very nice producer by the name of Joff emailed and asked if I’d be interested in sharing my story about dropping out for their show about Kids in Charge. First thing I thought after saying yes and ascertaining that my parents had not done the whole book-drop-and-flee thing while my back was turned?

WHAT WILL I WEAR?

I know, I know. Radio. Yes. Still, just because you can’t see me on the radio doesn’t mean I couldn’t see MYSELF.

And I would now like you to imagine me as beautifully and impeccably dressed while I relate the rest of this story.

So it was all organized and on Friday morning I was on my way to CFRC in Kingston, so I could sit in their studio and talk to Sook-Yin Lee, who would be in Toronto and Joff, who would be in Winnipeg. RADIO MAGIC. It was the most nervewracking drive ever. I’ve been a fan of Sook-Yin Lee since I was little and she was on MuchMusic and it was hard to wrap my head around the idea of like. Talking to her. And it was hard to wrap my head around the idea of talking out loud for radio purposes and having those things that I said be heard by lots of people. I mean, I write so I don’t have to talk, you guys. Writing is the only way I sound vaguely articulate. Everything that comes out of my mouth in real life sounds like “HA HA HA VELOCIRAPTORS SPARKLES ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE BOOK 4 DEADLINES WHEE [ANGRY YELLING]!”

My mom and sister came with me. Moral support. What could possibly go wrong with them nearby? Their excitement levels kept my panic levels equalized.

But in some ways they also made them worse.

Example:

Mom: Can I bring the camera?
Me: No.
Mom: Come on!
Me: I don’t want my picture taken!
Mom: Let me bring the camera.
Me: …
Mom: Pleeaaaaaaseeee?
Me: Fine. But DON’T use the flash, okay?
Mom: I would never! Give me some credit, here.

So I got to CRFC early and hung out in the lounge with my family, anxiously staring at clocks. Counting down the seconds. And then it was just about time! I was taken into the recording area (my sister and mom sat in the room outside of it and we could see each other through a big window) by the nice guy working there, sat on a stool and then a microphone was put directly in front of my face and my nervousness increased EXPONENTIALLY. For a second there, I was legitimately concerned I would fall off my stool. Or be sick to my stomach. On the mic. That wouldn’t have been very cool so I turned to the window so I could maybe get a thumbs-up or a wave of encouragement from my mom and my sister that would make me feel better when

Yes, I turned around just in time to get a faceful of CAMERA FLASH from my mom. Internet, it was amazing how she went from promising me she would use no flash to using EVERY SINGLE FLASH that little Nikon CoolPix had. It seriously wasn’t just one flash, people. It was ALL of them. It was like FLASH! FLASHFLASH! FLASH! FLAAAAAAASSSSSH! It was so bright it illuminated the room she was in. And the room I was in. And the room every single person within a 20 km radius was in. It was also so powerfully strong of a flash, the earth’s temperature went up ten degrees. Yes, that’s right. Global warming is my mother’s fault. Annddd since I was looking directly at it, IT BLINDED ME! There were spots in front of my eyes. I COULDN’T SEE! I guess she put the camera away after that but I didn’t know because I couldn’t see ANYTHING.

And then of course it was time to go on.

And I couldn’t see anything.

So that is the story of how my mother temporarily blinded me.

I mean, of how I was interviewed for DNTO.

It was fun! Sook-Yin Lee is amazing and so was Joff. I have to admit, it will be a while before I’ll be able to listen to the segment myself (nerveees) but my parents were really pleased with it and that is good enough for me. I hope you are too because that would also be awesome.

~

In other news, it has been a great month for some great people that I know. First, my crit partner, Emily Hainsworth, recently announced the sale of her young adult novel, Through To You to Balzer+Bray/HarperCollins in a two book deal. It’s due out Fall 2012. I’ve had the total pleasure of following it from its very beginnings and trust me when I tell you guys–you do NOT WANT TO MISS THIS BOOK. Add it to your GoodReads now!

Next, my friend Linda Grimes, recently announced HER two book deal with Tor! That makes us Macmillan cousins, I think! Linda’s blog is amazing, so just imagine how fantastic her books are gonna be! I am so excited for her and cannot wait to read both of ‘em!

And finally, remember Mindi Scott and her incredible debut Freefall? I had the pleasure of interviewing her recently! Well, she announced the sale of her sophomore novel, Live Through This, and it’s hitting shelves Fall 2012. As a total fan of hers, my anticipation hat is ON.

Yay Emily, Linda and Mindi! That’s my kind of good news!

Anndddd on that note–it is now back to the revision cave. Thanks for your patience while I’m dropped off the face of the planet. More from me when I get out… if I ever get out.

*ominous music*

Also:

Are you a book blogger? Want Fall for Anything?

courtney — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 21:32:13 +0000

EDIT, NOVEMBER 27th: I woke up to a surprising (to me!) amount of emails expressing regret that I’d posted the call to US book bloggers during what is pretty much a holiday week, so I am extending the invitation to submit your info until December 2nd. I also got numerous emails throughout the week from people who weren’t sure if they met the monthly hit criteria or were close to it, so I’ve adjusted that as well–submit your info if you have at least 500 unique monthly visitors OR have been blogging for at least 6 months. Please remember books are sent at my publisher’s discretion and not guaranteed.

I know–I’ve been a bad blogger. But at least the last post I left you with had a picture of an adorable chipmunk on it? I don’t anticipate my bad blogging changing until the first draft of Book 4 is done, and hopefully that will happen before Fall for Anything launches. IT IS A MANIC RACE AGAINST TIME, is what I’m saying, so wish me well. Speaking of bloggers, if you are a US-based book blogger, you might want to stick around because this blog entry has information that is relevant to your interests.

It’s been a good month for Fall for Anything and it is not even out yet! (Thank goodness, see above paragraph.) I’m thrilled to share that it’s received a starred review from both Kirkus and Booklist and 4.5 stars on from RT Book Reviews! Kirkus called it, “an unusual, bold effort that deserves attention,” and Booklist called it “hauntingly written and compulsively readable,” and RT Book Reviews called it “a fearless and wonderfully executed young adult novel.” Yay!

Also: there are 8 days left on GoodReads’ Fall for Anything giveaway and if you haven’t entered, you should! Free books! Right here! Yay!

OK! And now onto the purpose of this blog post. Are you a US-based book blogger with at least 500 unique monthly visitors or a book blogger who has been blogging at least 6 months interested in receiving a review copy of Fall for Anything? AKA this book right here?

Then please hit up my contact form on my contact page (click here) and let me know! Include your name, your blog URL and snail mail address (we need to know where to send the book!) by Thursday, December 2. I will be passing on a list of interested book bloggers along to the fine folks at SMP and we will see what we can do about getting a copy of the book into your hands.

PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING BEFORE YOU PROVIDE ME YER INFO:

1) I won’t be emailing back to let you know I got your info–it’s not personal, there just aren’t enough hours in the day. But THANK YOU for wanting to read it. I really appreciate it!

2) My publisher will send out copies at their discretion, so this means expressing interest and providing info does not guarantee you a copy.

3) Please do not ask me to bend the rules for you. “I’m not a book blogger, but…” or “I just started my blog five minutes ago, but…” or “I live overseas, but…” — it’s out of my hands. I will delete those emails without passing them along, so you might as well use the time you’d spend sending me the email I’ll end up deleting enjoying the sunshine! Unless it is really grey and overcast where you are like it is here. Then I would make some popcorn and curl up next to the fire, if you have one.

And that is all!

I am now going to resume my manic Book 4 writing. Happy November!

brb internet

courtney — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 20:15:37 +0000

I stole this meme from Anna Jarzab who encouraged her readers to steal it from her (by the way, have you read All Unquiet Things yet? Because it is amazing.) and so now I am encouraging YOU to steal it from ME. Please don’t tell any figures of authority that I’m encouraging you to steal. But please do this meme because it’s fun!

5 Books I’ve Read Recently
1. Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta
2. Battle Royale by Koushun Takami
3. Glimpse by Carol Lynch Williams
4. Flyaway by Lucy Christopher
5. Tell Me What You See by Zoran Drvenkar

5 Books I’m Planning to Read (in the near future)
1. Freefall by Mindi Scott
2. Losing Faith by Denise Jaden
3. The Freak Observer by Blythe Woolston
4. Rosebush by Michele Jaffe
5. The Bad Seed by William March

5 of My Favorite Books
1. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
2. Battle Royale by Koushun Takami
3. In the Miso Soup by Ryu Murakami
4. One Lonely Degree by C.K. Kelly Martin
5. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

5 of My Least Favorite Books
1 – 5. The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

5 of My Favorite Book-to-Film Adaptations
1. Battle Royale
2. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
3. The Last Unicorn
4. Forrest Gump
5. Psycho

YES, I know, I know, I know. Someone out there is really offended that I don’t like the story about a boy who takes everything he can from a tree before he sits on her face but hey, I like Love You Forever and you should see what people say about THAT. Fiction is so subjective isn’t it!

Anyways, Internet, now that’s out of the way I just thought you should know I am disappearing for a coupla weeks. I need some uninterrupted stretches of Courtney time (maybe I will get some WRITING done!) and I gots to take them while I can because the next few months are going to be crazy.

Things you might need to know:

I won’t be blogging (what’s new, right?) during this time. I’ll be reading blogs but I’ll probably be quiet on the comment front. There will be minimal, if any, tweeting (I’ll check in for @ replies) and facebooking but if something earth-shatteringly awesome or terrible happens that demands telling RIGHT AT THAT MOMENT, you’ll hear about it in either of those places first. Emails will be low priority for me in general, though I don’t expect to let my inbox get out of control. If you have a time sensitive query, please make note of it in your email to me and I won’t leave you hanging.

I think that’s about it. I can’t believe how much preparation being semi-absent for like 14 days requires but there you go.

IF any of you want to keep me relevant on the Internet while I’m “away,” I would appreciate that! Here are some suggestions: blog about how much you miss me/love me/hate me, turn my name into a hashtag on Twitter and Facebook flattering things about me. Easy!

JUST JOKING.

Actually I was thinking we should all go on our own individual vacations, Internet. You look like you need one too. And if you don’t go on vacation every now and then, bad things happen. I mean, we all know what happen to that overachiever Jessie Spano who didn’t go on a vacation and took up with those crazy caffeine pills instead…

The Contemps & A Sneak Peek at Some Book

courtney — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 05:09:01 +0000

INTERNET, I have an exciting announcement to make! Remember this post, that I made four days ago?

I will give you a moment to be shocked at the fact that there has only been four days between this post and the last one.

[moment]

But anyway, remember that and how I alluded to something called… THE CONTEMPS?

WELL. The Contemps went live yesterday!!!!

I am so excited to tell you about The Contemps, not only as a member OF The Contemps, but as someone who loves loves loves contemporary realistic YA fiction. (By the way, I would’ve told you about it when it went live yesterday, but would you believe this blog entry has taken me 24 hours to write? That’s because this announcement is THAT EPIC.)

The Contemps is a stellar group of 21 YA authors (including Brent Crawford, Lisa Schroeder, Elizabeth Scott, Kirsten Hubbard, Kody Keplinger, Hannah Harrington, Jo Knowles, Mindi Scott, Melissa Walker, Daisy Whitney and Michael Northrop to name just a few) with contemporary novels releasing over the course of the year. We are COMPLETELY dedicated to spreading the word about and spotlighting realistic YA fiction. And not only spotlighting those stories, but sharing our own. So you definitely want to keep your eye on us. But where to look? WELL, just so you know:

We are BLOGGING.
We are TWEETING.
We are FACEBOOKING.

And that’s just for starters!

And did I mention The Contemps Challenge? If you accept The Contemps Challenge and promise to read at least 18 of the 21 upcoming Contemps books, you will have a chance to WIN ALL 21 OF OUR BOOKS. Pretty sweet, huh? Go here for deets.

So CHECK IT, people. Just check it. I don’t even know how you got this far down in my blog entry because you should’ve clicked away to The Contemps website by now.

But if you stuck around, well.

First pass pages for Fall for Anything came in the mail! I took some pictures to tease you with. Look at this sexy title page!

And oh my God is that the first page AND first line of Fall For Anything?! If it’s not, then it’s a page doing a good impression of it!

It’s a book!

Now get thee to The Contemps’ website!

local attractions

courtney — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 00:02:56 +0000

Still not much going on, people! I don’t know if I should be thankful to be this bored, honestly. Probably thankful.

Next week, I’ll be getting first pass pages in the mail to proofread. I have been waiting for this moment because it’s the last step I have to do before Fall for Anything is published, which is AWESOME. It’s kind of like saying goodbye, but not really. Except yesterday I was looking through the word doc and I am pretty sure I discovered a typo that no one caught, which means it will show up in the ARCs. This is why I tell people to hold onto the ARCs. I pretend those typos make them VALUABLE, instead of just something that happens with ARCS. Valuable, I say! Like diamonds! Also have I mentioned I should be sharing my cover soonish? I can’t wait.

Just FYI, I’ve updated my contact page. If you have a request, make sure you check it out. I’m crunched for time lately and I’ve had to reluctantly weed out what I am and am not available for. I wish I could do everything, but if I did I would never write another book and that would be just no good unless you hate my books and then I assume you would think that’s great.

Anyway, the reason for this blog entry is that I took out my camera again today and I wanted to show you all a local attraction:

THAT, my friends, is The Shoe Tree. Everyone around here knows of it. Or wait. Anyone who is anyone knows about The Shoe Tree regardless of where they live. Let’s try this again. YOU GUYS, THAT IS THE INFAMOUS SHOE TREE I AM ASSUMING YOU’VE HEARD ABOUT BECAUSE WHO HASN’T? And if you live under a rock and have never heard about it, it’s a tree with a bunch of shoes nailed to it. Do you have quirky attractions where you live? I bet they are not as awesome as a tree with a bunch of shoes nailed to it.

I also took these photos. WOULD YOU BELIEVE THEY ARE TOTALLY UNTOUCHED? No, you would not.

I seem to take a lot of cow and bird pictures but it’s rural Ontario, so there you have it. Cows are great. I love birds. We have two of them! A budgie and a cockatiel. My budgie was biting the heck out of my index finger as recently as yesterday because he is so persnickety. Trivia: in the original draft of Fall for Anything there were a lot of dead birds. There are no longer any dead birds in the manuscript. RIP Dead Birds. Further trivia: the other day at my cleaning job, I saw a dead bird and it made me sad. :(

COURTNEY SUMMERS’S BLOG: COME FOR THE VOLCANOES AND STAY FOR THE RANDOM PARAGRAPHS ABOUT BIRDS.

Seriously the most uneventful summer ever. But seriously, I’m not complaining!

In other news, you should click this widget:

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And that is all I will say about that.

For now.

…

release dates & delicious food

courtney — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 08:19:47 +0000

This always happens: every time I say more news will be forthcoming, I write it under the assumption that news won’t be forthcoming until like many weeks later, and then the NEXT DAY it forthcomes. Book news is determined to make a fool out of me or force me to blog more often, I don’t know. If you follow me on twitter or have added my facebook page, you already know this, but nothing is official until it hits my blog, I guess! Yes, this is where news stories go to be confirmed and then die. Wait, that’s not right. Anyway!:

Fall For Anything appears to have a release date and that day is December 21st, 2010. In unrelated news: I hear a lot of gift-giving occurs around this time of year. It’s also available for pre-order on a few Canadian bookselling sites (how I discovered the date!), but I’ll put a multitude of pre-order links up on the book’s page after it has spread everywhere like the zombie plague I am totally prepared for. I like to update things in one go because I’m a busy person with lots of Mario Kart to play, okay (speaking of which: I unlocked! Rosalina!).

Because Fall For Anything is availble for pre-orders in a few spots, that means it’s on GoodReads! If you want to read it, I’d lurve if you added it to your To-Read list. Word of mouth is an author’s best friend.

And that is all the Fall For Anything news that is fit to print! I am anxiously awaiting permission to show you guys the cover and nervously anticipating copyedits, which is like the math of this whole publishing process to me, which means it is scary and I can’t do it in front of people.

Yeah, I know.

NOW LET’S TALK ABOUT DELICIOUS FOOD.

One thing that I love to do is cook, so I am going to talk about cooking now. CAN YOU HANDLE MY TRUTH. Anyway, I’ve noticed lots of publishing folks place a lot of stock in baked goods and sweets but no one talks about SAVORY EASY MEALS. I have decided to be the person that does.

In case you don’t know, food is awesome. I am always on the quest for ‘The Perfect X.’ Did you know that my 2010 will be defined by the fact that I found the perfect red sauce for pasta which made me reconsider everything I ever thought about food (this is a true story, please get out your Kleenex). I had been searching for the perfect red pasta sauce for YEARS (THAT IS NOT AN EXAGGERATION) and then Smitten Kitchen introduced me to Marcella Hazan’s tomato sauce with butter and onions. It has THREE ingredients. THREE. This is the sauce they serve to the angels in heaven, I assume. Or this sauce is made of angels, I don’t know. I heard a choir of them SING when I tasted it, anyway. And like that, after years–YEARS!–I had found my perfect red sauce.

BUT IT WAS A REVELATION TO ME. It was in that beautiful moment I realized I was overthinking food. I felt the best recipes had to be complicated and crazy and involve many ingredients, but now I am trying to do more with less.

Yesterday I made the most awesome vegetarian sub. But it might not qualifiy as a ‘do more with less’ recipe. In any case, it was so good I am going to write it into a novel. What you do is, you chop up some green peppers, onion, portobello mushrooms, mince some garlic. Sprinkle them with dried oregano and salt and pepper. Sautee them in some olive oil until they are nice and soft. Take yer sub bun! Thinly spread herb cream cheese on one or both slices of the bread depending on how much or little regard you have for the fact that cream cheese is not all that good for you in extreme quantities. If you are like me, you prefer enough herb cream cheese to kill several men. Take your nice and soft vegetables and spoon them onto your sub. Put some sub sauce on the veggies. Put some provolone cheese on top of that! Chop some tomatoes and put them on the cheese and then you know, put the top bun on and EAT IT.

And then love yourself and the world.

photo by Liz West

I think summer is my favourite time to cook because the vegetables are so grand and plentiful. I am not a vegetarian, but I spend a ridiculous time trying to make meals of vegetables. Speaking of vegetables, this is the best thing that will happen to you and tomatoes in the summer time: chop up some tomatoes. Sprinkle them with dried parsley (or fresh), extra virgin olive oil, as much lime juice as your heart desires, salt and pepper to taste and then DIE OF GREATNESS. Like seriously. It tastes so good I am not entirely sure I should even be talking about it to anyone. When limes and tomatoes happen in the same bowl something incredible happens that is so beyond any words I could write here. Just a second, I have to stop this blog entry for a second to go cry at the beauty of it.

…

Ok.

So basically this year I have been trying to be as uncomplicated as possible in my endeavors in the kitchen. But I want every uncomplicated meal I make to taste like angels. I picked up The Flavor Bible and am totally hoping this will help me do that, but we shall see. Now that I have found the perfect red sauce, I am on a quest for the perfect vinaigrette and salad dressing and vegetable sandwich. Though the sub comes very close, IT IS NOT SIMPLE ENOUGH. And also I want to make an entire raw food meal one of these days BUT WHO KNOWS. I have many great aspirations in the kitchen when I am not writing novels and now you know.

Anyway, I think the whole point of this entry is that if I can impart any knowledge to you today, dear blog readers, it is not future book release dates, it is that LIME AND TOMATOES WERE MEANT TO BE TOGETHER.

That is all.

some things to know

courtney — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 21:59:26 +0000

Last week totally got away from me! AND ALL THE REST ARE ABOUT TO. The winner of the Teri Hall giveaway was Jess and she was notified last week. Congrats, Jess! I hope you enjoy The Line as much as I did! And thanks to the rest of you for entering–I hope you’ll check the book out. It’s so worth it.

AND please stay tuned because later this week, I’ll be posting an interview with the amazing Anna Jarzab, which will include a giveaway for her debut, All Unquiet Things, which I absolutely loved.

I have some news:

1) Some Girls Are is a nominee for YALSA’s Best Fiction for Young Adults (!!!)

2) The title of book 3 has been made official. It will be called FALL FOR ANYTHING. No release date yet, but I will be spamming everything up just as soon as I have one, no doubt.

Here is more news: I am on a major deadline for FFA and I have lots of work to do, so I must away for a couple months (well, “away” in the sense that I am going to try to strike that balance between working like mad and also staying visible enough that people still remember my name COURTNEY WINTERS remember it also I told that joke like three weeks ago on Twitter, rock). Imagine me under a book and the only way to get out from under that book is to WRITE LIKE I HAVE NEVER WRIT BEFORE! I apologize for the absence that has seem to defined so much of the first half of my 2010–I truly feel bad for my lack of participation in my usual internet haunts–but it must be so.

That said, I need you to know these things:

IF YOU HAVE EMAILED ME OR ARE GOING TO… it could be a while before you hear a response (yeah I know someone out there is going, “AND THIS IS DIFFERENT FROM HOW YOU NORMALLY ARE WITH EMAILS IN WHAT WAY?”). But I like to think I was consistently inconsistent. So now I will be more inconsistent THAN THAT. So that is not very delightful. I have decided for the sake of uhm, continued writing progress, when I respond to email will be determined by the progress I’ve made writing! Which yeah, is pretty… vague. (If the email is urgent you will hear from me within a timely fashion.) I try to reply to @ replies on Twitter as much as possible so if you need to contact me about something and feel comfortable doing so in a public capacity that’s an option.

I CAN’T DO any interviews or supply books for giveaways at the moment, beyond what I have already committed to. I’m sorry. I’ve tried to maintain a balance these last few months and it always ends up with someone who has been kind enough to give me their time and blogging space waiting to hear back from me for far longer than they should have to. That’s not fair and I don’t want to string anyone along.

I WILL be on Twitter and Facebook, so you might want to follow me on there or add this page here. Remind me to be on these two things in moderation because they are just SO MUCH FUN!

I WILL update the book pages on my website weekly, so if you want to keep up with who has reviewed it or, if you’re a book blogger who has posted a review and want to see if I’ve posted it, you can check that out (thank you for reading and blogging!).

So stay tuned for my interview with Anna Jarzab later this week! THERE WILL BE A GIVEAWAY! How can you go wrong?

And that’s it.

OH WAIT! One more thing!

Oh yeah.