To celebrate, I'm giving away three personally signed copies. This is an international giveaway, so if you live somewhere in the world that I can reach you via mail, you may enter!
Check out the nifty Rafflecopter widget below for the two ways you can enter - either by commenting on this post on my blog, and/or by tweeting.
You've got a week - from January 29 to February 5, to enter. Winners will be selected randomly, and all that kind of jazz.
Because my second book, OTHERMOON will be out tomorrow. I think my head's going to explode - and emit a shower of champagne. Or gumballs. Or, ya know, brains and blood. Depending.
To celebrate, tomorrow I will be posting a giveaway of the book. Multiple copies will be launched into the readersphere to beguile or bewilder you.
And here's a poster for the Authors After Dark YA Day, which I'll be attending in Savannah, Georgia in August. Should be a blast! Fellow author and my critique partner Elisa Nader (her book will be out this summer and you must read it!) had kindly volunteered to be my date at this event. More huzzahs!
Okay, back to work. Currently researching tabloids for super secret project and found this juicy front page - most apropos. And I don't mean the fascinating sounding article about Howard Stern's face appearing with Satan in volcano smoke...
My shameless countdown to the launch of OTHERMOON continues! As I type this, the counter says one day, eight hours and *mumblety mumblety* minutes till it's out! That's midnight Pacific time, of course.
On the day the book comes out, I will post about a fabulous giveaway! So stay tuned.
Meanwhile, I'm thinking about the number one. Roar it out loud - ONE!
Is it indeed the loneliest number?
As Three Dog Night says, two can also be pretty damned lonely, depending on how the two of you are getting along at the moment.
(Also - how awesome is Three Dog Night? My favorite song when I was a kid was their "Joy to the World," which continues to be amazing:
I thought of it as the bullfrog song, naturally.)
One is the last whole number before you get to zero, after all. It's sort of standing out there by itself, a bullwark against nothingness.
But in a countdown, it can be a pretty aweseome number, because next comes the thing you're anticipating. Here's Apollo 11's countdown and take off, which lead to men landing on the moon, which is about as cool a thing as has ever happened EVER:
The rocket itself is like a big number one. Or a finger pointing at the sky, as if to say "That's where I'm headed, guys. Stand back!"
It's also a very simple number, mathmatically, which makes me happy as a non-mathy sort of person. Anything you multiply it by stays the same, and it's super easy to add and subtract, thank you very much. It's evolution as a numeral isn't particularly complex:
For fans of a certain boy band, one is something they think of as primarily part of that band's name.
(For those of you over the age of 17 or without kids, that's One Direction.)
One indicates a certain wholeness, a lack of division, a unity. Are we one?
As I write, it's two days, eleven hours and *mumble mumble* minutes and seconds till OTHERMOON's launch date!
Winston Churchill knows what I'm talking about.
Oh yes, I'm shameless, using historical figures to countdown the days till my book is out. Check it out.
Okay, so that's a peace sign. And Churchill is flashing the V for Victory sign. But you need two fingers to make those signs, right?
On a serious note - I love and admire John Lennon. (Churchill's cool and all, but does not inspire the same feeling of lurve, luff, love. you get the idea.)
Because all you need is love.
But I digress. Here's how the number 2 came to look the way it does:
It's an important number for many reasons - not just because it's two days till OTHERMOON. Sometimes it's really better to have two of something.
When you find just one of these, it's really annoying.
You need two people to make more people. Heck, you need two of any kind of mammal to make more. Without two you don't get the concept of dualism (good vs. evil), or the Hegelian dialectic (you can't have any kind of dialogue at all without at least two!) It's the atomic number of helium, the first even number, and DNA is made from a double helix.
In China, they say "good things come in twos." Plus, there's this:
So happy Two Days Before Othermoon Day! Think I can get it made into an official holiday?
Three fates rule our lives, there are three witches in Macbeth, Three Musketeers, Three Blind Mice, and Dante's Divine Comedy is in three parts of 33 cantos each.
And although "the third time's the charm," the "third man" to do something bad, is the one who'll get caught.
And, of course, bad luck comes in threes.
Maybe I'm glad tomorrow we'll be down to two days?
Holy moly, the second book in the OTHERKIN series - OTHERMOON - will be out next fricking Tuesday! That's four days and mumble mumble minutes!
To keep me from going insane until then, here are some of the reviews it's been getting. And hell yes I put it large font! Wouldn't you?
“Berry’s
second Otherkin novel is suspenseful and action packed. Dez is a
strong, smart protagonist whom readers will root for, as she tries to
stay true to herself. There are layers of deeper meaning here, hidden
amidst an entertaining shapeshifter YA. ” – RT Book Reviews, 4.5 stars
The full review from RT will be out in their March issue.
“Plenty to enjoy in the action-packed sequel… Fans of the series and new
readers alike will find themselves anxiously turning pages… On the
surface, this appears to be a novel meant to satisfy ravenous
paranormal-fantasy fans looking for an exciting read with a hearty order
of romance on the side. While it certainly fills the bill, there’s
depth here that shouldn’t be overlooked. Dez wrestles with real-life
issues about identity and belonging, about trust and loyalty, and about
friendship and love that will resonate with teen readers across genres.”
– Kirkus Reviews
School Library Journal got around to reviewing OTHERKIN, and I'm so glad they did! Their full review will be out in their 2/2013 issue.
“Readers will be swept away by the romance and paranormal elements of this debut tale..” – School Library Journal
Thanks for putting up with me blabbing about my good reviews. I'm girding my loins, battening down the hatches, and peeling eggs (don't ask) in preparation!
My father's friends are pretty amazing. He has chosen them wisely over the years. In July of last year, one of them, Josh Reppun, asked me to help him and a few others nominate my father to be a Living Treasure by the Hongwanji Buddhist Mission, which designates certain denizens of Hawaii to be thus every year.
So I edited a document lauding my amazing father's many wonderful qualities and achievements. He's an educator, a filmmaker, a writer, an advocate for sustainability, a deep thinker, a problem solver, a great friend, father, brother, uncle.... I could go on and on.
But the Hongwanji Buddhist Mission did not select Dad to be a Living Treasure, despite the fact that he is eminently qualified. (Not that I'm biased!)
A photo of Dad from awhile back:
Who cares? Everyone in Hawaii knows and loves Dad. During his years as a teacher at Punahou, at UH, as a board member of many charities, as an op-ed writer, as a legislative witness, as a pot-stirrer and trouble-maker for lazy thinkers, Dad has met and talked to just about everyone in the state. A bunch of his students from Punahou started a fellowship in his name to teach teachers about issues of sustainability. He's that kind of guy.
So Dad's friends made their testimonial about him into a book and threw him a surprise "Living Treasure" party. About 100 folks showed up. Including Neil Abercrombie, the governor of Hawaii, who declared January 10, 2013 to be Paul "Doc" Berry Day. Here's the proclamation:
And here's video of part of the governor's speech:
Dad was given many leis, as is the custom in Hawaii. Here he is with Liz Foster, who was my creative writing teacher in high school, and a good friend to us both.
And here he is in a moment of genuine laughter and delight.
Here's video of one of his friends listing his many roles in life:
And here is part of Dad's typically humble and funny speech.
I wish I could have been there. I was in spirit, of course. And I'll be back there soon to see him and my mother - who although she may not have as wide a circle, rivals my father in the depth of her integrity and her contributions to society.
The crazy thing is, I haven't even had a chance to listen to it yet myself. But the sample from Kathleen McInearny sounds awesome, and as weirdly big-headed as it might sound, I can't wait to hear the whole thing. Something about listening to it makes me feel more like a "reader" than the writer, if that makes any sense.
Book 2, OTHERMOON, is also contracted to come out as an audiobook. I'll let you know when.
I'm hopeful book 3 will also eventually be available in this format. My favorite way to listen to audiobooks is in the car during a long drive, or in little bits every morning on my way to and from work. I've been known to linger in my garage to get to the end of a chapter, although at least with my own books, I don't have to hang on to find out what happens!
I can't reprint the whole thing for you (legal reasons), but I can give you the "pull quote" here. If you're a member of the Kirkus site, you can read the full review here.
“Plenty to enjoy in the action-packed sequel… Fans of the series and
new readers alike will find themselves anxiously turning pages… On the
surface, this appears to be a novel meant to satisfy ravenous
paranormal-fantasy fans looking for an exciting read with a hearty order
of romance on the side. While it certainly fills the bill, there’s
depth here that shouldn’t be overlooked. Dez wrestles with real-life
issues about identity and belonging, about trust and loyalty, and about
friendship and love that will resonate with teen readers across genres.”
– Kirkus Reviews
