I’m so honored to reveal the cover and synopsis for my third young adult novel, WHEN WE WERE THEM. This book is coming November 2, 2021 from Atheneum Simon and Schuster. Thank you to art director, Karyn Lee and illustrator, Dion MBD for envisioning and illustrating the cover of my dreams. Here, Willa, Luz, and Britton are shown in dreamscape (who is really the upside down now?) on my childhood beach, South Mission Beach in San Diego, CA. The whole jacket will be revealed just before the book comes out and it features an icon of my childhood: The Giant …
THE LIBRARY OF LOST THINGS PAPERBACK
The paperback version of The Library of Lost Things publishes in August of 2020! My publisher created a new illustrated cover showing my main characters for real and I love it! Check out the new version (can you spot the acorn?) and meet the real Darcy Wells and Asher Fleet! Special thanks to Inkyard Press art director Gigi Lau, and illustrator Kelsey Smith for this wonderful creation! Would you like to own a copy of the paperback? Preorder now wherever you love to buy your books (I always recommend indie!) The paperback option is now ready to click and …
Cover Reveal: A CUBAN GIRL’S GUIDE TO TEA AND TOMORROW
The cover for A CUBAN GIRL’S GUIDE TO TEA AND TOMORROW is finally here! This book is coming October 6, 2020 from Atheneum Simon and Schuster. My entire team at Bookends Literary and S&S are so thrilled with this beautiful and colorful design. Visit this post to read a lengthy synopsis, see the original announcement, view aesthetics, and read about my real Cuban family history, which I lovingly tucked into this beloved YA manuscript. Yesterday, Las Musas, my organization for Latina authors revealed my cover in this blog post. All about the cover: Art Director: Kayrn Lee Illustrator: …
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My Author Life, October Edition: Publication Day!
October 8, 2019, came and went without a hitch, and my publication day was beyond fabulous. I’m so thrilled that The Library of Lost Things is finally out in the world! Thank you to everyone at InkYard Press/HarperCollins and BookEnds Literary who’ve worked so hard to make this day possible. Yesterday, I woke up to one of the greatest surprises ever! Without my knowledge, nearly the entire Latinx YA book blogging community, and my own Latinx writers’ organization, Las Musas, got together and decided to surprise me by dressing up (and sometimes becoming) blue to celebrate Darcy, Marisol, and Asher. …
Preorder and Library Campaign: The Library of Lost Things
Update, preorder pins are gone. Welcome to the preorder and library request campaign for THE LIBRARY OF LOST THINGS. Read on for ordering instructions and links, free gifts for library requests, and easy instructions for claiming your gifts. The campaign runs August 15-October 4, 2019. Click on the book cover to purchase! Preorder GIFTS: Preorder THE LIBRARY LOST THINGS digital or hardcover edition, save proof of purchase, and receive these gifts: UPDATE, preorder pins are gone. Thank you to all who claimed them! I would still love to send you bookmarks and bookplates through the library request and preorder period. Darcy’s …
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Coming Fall 2020: A CUBAN GIRL’S GUIDE TO TEA AND TOMORROW
I’m thrilled to announce that my sophomore novel (with the longest title I’ll ever write) A CUBAN GIRL’S GUIDE TO TEA AND TOMORROW will be published fall of 2020. For this book, and one coming in 2021, I am moving over to Atheneum Simon and Schuster, and working with editor, Alex Borbolla. Alex is Cuban-American like me and I was truly touched by her love and vision for my story. Here’s the announcement under it’s original title. Synopsis Teenage master of Cuban cuisine, Lila Reyes, is eager to inherit her family’s Miami bakery along with her sister, Pilar. But between spring …
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My Author Life: July Edition
What a week! After a whirlwind tour of New York for BookExpo America and BookCon 2019, I am trying to work on final details before THE LIBRARY OF LOST THINGS goes off to print. A couple of weeks ago, THE LIBRARY OF LOST THINGS got a slight color and tone makeover and I absolutely love those blues and greens! Stay tuned for pre-order prize information, and save you receipts for gifts! Here are some fabulous highlights from New York. Thank you Inkyard Press for hosting me, and to all the lovely people I met. I’ll never forget it! …
Exclusive Cover Reveal Post: THE LIBRARY OF LOST THINGS
After months of concepts and tweaks, my ya debut, THE LIBRARY OF LOST THINGS has a cover! I am so excited and proud of this work, and the cover is better than anything I could have dreamed of. Special thanks to designer, Elita Sidiropoulou and art director, Erin Craig for their creativity and vision. My book is debuting 10/08-/19 from Harper Collins/Inkyard Press. Vicky, of the Vicky Who Reads book blog, was kind enough to host my cover reveal as well as an interview about my story. Thanks, Vicky! Exclusive Cover Reveal & Interview: The Library of Lost Things by …
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My Author Life, March Edition
In the wide and changing world of my author life, surviving debut year means finding time to celebrate all of the fun things while still trying to maintain a steady writing and promotion schedule. This week I managed to squeeze in some fun! My lovely friend and fellow #novel19s debut author, Nikki Barthelmess, was spending the week showcasing her young adult contemporary, The Quiet You Carry. I got to celebrate with her at Skylight Books in Los Angeles. (If you’re near the Los Feliz neighborhood in LA, don’t miss this fun and quirky indie bookstore.) Back home I may …
What’s in my Author Survival Kit?
Writing books takes more than a computer and a plot outline. A lot more. Today I’m sharing some of the items I must have around me to write my books and make it through a long day of drafting or revising. Do you write? Are you often stuck at home with big, long-term projects? Maybe some of my author survival must-haves are on your list too . . . Hot Drinks This is number one in my survival kit for a reason: I can’t make words into books without coffee. Never. Not gonna happen. I try to stick to …
Writing Tip: My query letter that worked
With Pitch Wars coming up soon, a lot of mentors are sharing their successful query letters. As an alternate in the 2017 Pitch Wars class who then went on to sign with an agent and sell her book, I’d like to share the letter that hooked my agent, the fabulous Natascha Morris from BookEnds Literary. There are so many fabulous articles and blog posts about how to write a winning query. I used those for mine, as well as help from my PitchWars mentor, author Beth Ellyn Summer. Together we worked together to craft a letter that best showed off …
Thrilled to join the Team at BookEnds Literary
This year, I received one of the best Christmas and early birthday gifts ever––an offer of agent representation from literary agent Natascha Morris with Bookends Literary. Signing with an agent is a monumental step forward toward my dream of publishing my young adult novels. Already, I have felt so welcomed by the rest of Natascha’s team and am gearing up for a strong bout of hard work to get my young adult novel, Paperback Midnight, ready for editor submission. What’s Paperback Midnight about? Teaser: Seventeen-year-old literary genius, Darcy Wells, has all the book boyfriends she needs, but when it …