Thanks, Santa!
Mercy is one of Barnes & Noble’s Best Young Adult Books of 2011!
Who knew Santa could fit that into his sleigh!
Amy Benfer, the B&N reviewer, says of the ten books on this list:
Read More“They are simply good books. They are books for people of all ages who appreciate what makes a story work on the page: fresh storytelling, a distinctive voice, and compelling use of language.”
Odd Things
New England does seem to have more than its share of quirky legends, and Mercy Brown is only one of them. Witches in Salem, haunted lighthouses; there’s even a cursed town (supposedly) in Connecticut, about which more anon. Is it our long, chilly winters? Is it a need to come up with more and more tourist attractions as fish stocks decline and manufacturing moves overseas? Who knows? Actually, the guy who knows seems to be J.W. Ocker. His book, the New England Grimpendium, is the last word on the weird, the wacky, and the spooky in the Northeast. And his blog, O.T.I.S (“Odd Things I’ve Seen”) take us even farthest afield: Rome, Chicago, New York–you name it.
I appreciated finding Mercy Brown on O.T.I.S., and was taken back to my own rainy, chilly trip to the Chestnut Hill Cemetery, where you can still see the graves of Mercy and her family (including poor Edwin), plus the crypt where her body was held. It’s a quiet little cemetery, not anywhere near as spooky as I made it in the book (creative license–I needed some atmosphere, plus a crypt or two for my heroine to hide behind during the chase scene). Apart from the occasional tourist wandering by, you’d never know that America’s last vampire is buried there. Unless somebody like J.W. tells you.
Read MoreTest Your Vampire IQ
Think you know your Angel from your Edward? Find out just how sharp your stake is here.
If you can identify the sources for all of these famous fictional vampires, I’ll send you a free Mercy tattoo. (Actually I’ll send you one if you just ask. To be honest.)
Read MoreHanging Out
One of the nice things about book signings is that not only do you get to meet and chat with readers; you also get to hang out a bit with your fellow writers. Swap stories, discuss how blocked you are, compare signing pens, all that fun stuff. Here is Pierce, who signed books (with his mom, Jessica Kinney, author of the enchanting Pig Scramble by Islandport Press) next to me at the MWPA book signing on Black Friday, where I was promoting Mercy. Pierce has been working on a screenplay which will likely be produced sometime next fall.
Sarah L. Thomson
A children’s book author publishing award-winning nonfiction, poetry, picture books and novels including…
“Readers will treasure the blossoming friendship between opposites in this whimsically illustrated tale. Short chapters and plenty of action make for an accessible and appealing reading experience. . . . Touching and inspiring.”
—Kirkus Reviews