Don't Read the Comments: Publishing January 2020!

Hey friends!

My novel Reclaim the Sun has a new title. DON’T READ THE COMMENTS.

And hey, it’s officially up for pre-order across book retailers, complete with jacket copy. Curious about the book? Well, here you go:

Divya Sharma is a queen. Or she is when she’s playing Reclaim the Sun, the year’s hottest online game. Divya—better known as popular streaming gamer D1V—regularly leads her #AngstArmada on quests through the game’s vast and gorgeous virtual universe. But for Divya, this is more than just a game. Out in the real world, she’s trading her rising-star status for sponsorships to help her struggling single mom pay the rent.

Gaming is basically Aaron Jericho’s entire life. Much to his mother’s frustration, Aaron has zero interest in becoming a doctor like her, and spends his free time writing games for a local developer. At least he can escape into Reclaim the Sun—and with a trillion worlds to explore, disappearing should be easy. But to his surprise, he somehow ends up on the same remote planet as celebrity gamer D1V.

At home, Divya and Aaron grapple with their problems alone, but in the game, they have each other to face infinite new worlds…and the growing legion of trolls populating them. Soon the virtual harassment seeps into reality when a group called the Vox Populi begin launching real-world doxxing campaigns, threatening Aaron’s dreams and Divya’s actual life. The online trolls think they can drive her out of the game, but everything and everyone Divya cares about is on the line…

And she isn’t going down without a fight. 

DON’T READ THE COMMENTS will published with Inkyard Press on January 28th, 2020.

You can pre-order it on:

• Amazon

• Barnes & Noble (soon!)

• Books a Million

• IndieBound

… and wherever books are sold. Stay tuned for fun pre-order goodies, and for where you can buy a signed, personalized copy. And be sure to add it on Goodreads!

I’m hoping to put together some kind of Street Team surrounding the book, so if you want to stay in touch in order to get ARCs, swag (postcards, bookmarks, posters), and other goodies, feel free to fill out this Google Form.

Special shout out to Claribel Ortega for this awesome .GIF and video! Check out Gif Girl!

Book Deals: Adam Sass' Surrender Your Sons Acquired by Flux!

There’s a good story in Adam Sass’ journey to publishing.

I remember reading this novel… two years ago? It wasn’t quite right (I hate saying that, it’s a typical agent phrase, but whatever) for me at the time, but Adam circled back with a revision a year later and well…

Here we are.

The lesson there? Don’t. Give. Up. And never be afraid to followup and nudge agents, my writer friends.

There’s more to the story of Surrender Your Sons, the bumps in the road and the challenges Adam had to overcome, but that’s his story to tell. For now, let’s dish this part.

I’m so thrilled to say that Adam’s debut will be published by Flux in the Fall of 2020. Here’s the blip from Publisher’s Marketplace:

Adam Sass’s debut SURRENDER YOUR SONS, in which a gay teen is kidnapped and taken to a conversion camp on a forgotten island, where he’ll have to team up with the other LGBTQ+ teens to uncover the camp’s dark secrets and expose them to the world, pitched as a queer Lost, to Mari Kesselring at Flux by Eric Smith at P.S. Literary (World).

There’s so much to love about Adam’s harrowing, darkly funny book. His voice is one that’s altogether unique, with an ability to weave in humor and horror in a way you see in shows like Riverdale, with the twists and turns you expect from a show like Lost, with the literary prowess of YA authors like Adam Silvera and Alex London.

It’s the debut of a stunning voice, and the start to an astonishing career, and I feel so lucky that I get to play a part in this. Adam Sass has arrived. Get ready.

Congrats Adam. You deserve this.

Book Deals: Tom Ryan's I Hope You're Listening Acquired by Albert Whitman

One of the strange things about this business, is when a book gets acquired that you’ve known about for such a long time.

When Tom Ryan and I first started working together on KEEP THIS TO YOURSELF (coming your way next month!), he told me about a few of his other project ideas. And this was one of them. The story of a teen girl, a kidnapped best friend, and a podcast to help in a way she couldn’t.

I loved every single page.

Reading like a YA True Detective mashed together with Sadie by Courtney Summers, it’s a thrilling, twisty novel packed with so much heart. It’s a story about the enduring power of friendship, the importance of family, and how love can move you to do great things.

I can’t wait for readers to fall in love with I HOPE YOU’RE LISTENING, which will be published by Albert Whitman next year.

Here’s the blip from Publisher’s Marketplace:

Author of KEEP THIS TO YOURSELF Tom Ryan's I HOPE YOU'RE LISTENING, in which, ten years after witnessing her best friend's kidnapping, a teen copes by anonymously launching a podcast to help solve missing persons cases, but when a new abduction is revealed to have links to the original case, she has to decide how much she's willing to reveal to discover the truth, to Wendy McClure at Albert Whitman, for publication in 2020, by Eric Smith at P.S. Literary Agency (World English).

Congrats Tom. This book is something special.

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