A Stable of Books

Coming on July 26, Aladdin is releasing a "Stable of Canterwood Crest Books" (isn't that name supercute?!) of Take the Reins, Chasing Blue, Behind the Bit and Triple Fault as a set of e-books at a great price. Here's a link to pre-order it via Kindle. I'm sure the link will be available soon for the Nook if it isn't already.

I can't wait for this to come out! I never dreamed I'd have a set of books. Ever.

Thank you so much to Team Canterwood for supporting me, Editor K and the series. It's because of YOU that this is happening. Since it's a virtual release, I'm sure I'll come up with something fun to celebrate with you all . . . :)

xo

New Aladdin (Simon & Schuster) policy change *important for Team Canterwood*

Hi, Team Canterwood,

I hope you’re all having a good summer so far! I thought I owed you all an explanation about some changes to come. This will give you a heads up about what to expect from me and all things Canterwood.

Some of you may be familiar with the vlogs I’ve done from the Canterwood covers photo shoot…the vlogs where I chat with the models, interview the stylists and give TC all-access behind the scenes. I’ve been receiving a few e-mails and comments asking when you would get to “meet” Lauren Towers and the new cast of characters. You guys are so sweet and I love that you’re all interested in LT!

Unfortunately, I will not, and nor will Kate, be allowed to attend the latest shoot next month. My imprint, Aladdin, has issued an across the board policy that extends to all authors. None of us, even if we have previously attended cover shoots, are able to be present for future shoots. I was just told that this new rule went into effect recently, so I will not be able to introduce you to Lauren and her friends/frenemies. Of course, this was saddening news for a number of reasons, but mostly because I'm prohibited from bringing you content I was so looking forward to sharing.

But! Here’s what I will be doing:

Releasing new covers to you as I’m given them so we all can get excited together

Posting new head shots from the upcoming covers photo shoot when they are ready

Creating trailers for the upcoming books

Keeping up with Lauren on her new blog: http://laurentowers.blogspot.com

Checking out LT’s Offical Tweets (FYI: No other characters have official Twitter accounts that are monitored by me) @Lauren_Towers

Vlogging on my own

Continuing to blog to keep TC in the know about the latest happenings

As I mentioned, I’m sorry about this new rule because you are the ones who lose in the end. But I am looking forward to writing the books you love and offering you as much as I’m able.

xx

Lauren started a blog!

I'm so excited that Lauren Towers started her own blog! She'll be blogging throughout the summer as fall draws near and her journey at Canterwood begins. Check it out here!

What're you doing this weekend?

I'm BURSTING with AWESOME news to share with you guys!!! It's probably going to be a little while before I can reveal it but, man, it's sooo hard not to tell! *lowers voice to a whisper . . . I wish I could and have my editor not know . . .* :)

This weekend, I'm set to writing like a crazy person at Kate's late great uncle's apartment. Initiation is gonna be GOOD. It's so, so addictive for me and I want to write all the time. I think I'll have to make some cuts or it'll be looong.

Tonight, we have dinner with a dear from of Allen's (Kate's great uncle).

Right now, we're on in the living room watching The Voice and I'm writing.

What's everyone up to? Spill!

Three face of writing . . .

I REALLY wrote that?

Idea! Write it down!

5 minutes later . . . that wasn't a great idea.

And now back to writing and making those faces.

Please vote YES for New York Marrige Equality

I rarely, if ever, use this blog, (I try to keep politics to Jess Ashley) unless there is an issue that I feel overwhelmingly passionate about. Whatever your views on New York Marriage Equality this is a place for us to express our opinions WITHOUT being attacked. Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion. I certainly have mine but I listen, which I think is respectful, and try to understand where the other person is coming from.

A current issue that affect me, Kate and many, many of our New York friends is Marriage Equality in New York. If you're not familiar with this--senators will soon be voting to make gay marriage legal. This would give loving couples the same rights and benefits as everyone else. I know someone, an author friend, who has been with his partner for several years but has not been able to marry him.

**NOTE** You do not have to live in New York to help!

My take on this issue is an overwhelming note to senators to "Please vote yes for New York Marriage Equality!" Everyone deserves the right to marry and have benefits and it's 2011--shouldn't discrimination be gone? This bill does not hurt anyone. Even if you don't agree with gay marriage do some deep thinking and consider if saying "yes" hurts you or affects you in anyway. As human beings, we don't have the right to judge one another. That's up to G-d, so why not vote "yes" and let Him decide in the end, if you don't believe in the bill.

A huge THANK YOU to my friend Amber Benson for RTweeting my NY4M Tweet. Amber played "Tara" on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

As you've see in the video about from the Human Rights Campaign this bill has gained support from many celebrities. My idol, Lady Gaga, has been encouraging her Little Monsters to get involved. She's Tweeted about the issue on Twitter asking for help to allow this bill to pass. WE, as a young generation, can make a difference. Here's a recent Tweet from her:

Lady Gaga
I feel the denial of gay marriage sends a prejudice message. Our youth deserve a fair+hopeful future with government that values us equally.
18 Junvia Twitter for BlackBerry®

I have been calling my senator, Tweeting and checking in with the Human Rights Campaign. If you'd like to educate yourself about this issue, definitely check out their Website.

If this bill is passed, it will mean everything to so many people. Plus, it will pump $184 million a year into NY's economy.

If you want to get involved, here's what YOU can do:

Tweet: "Vote yes!" to Senator Ball at ball4NY

Visit the Human Rights Campaign site to find other ways to help

Tweet this already written message or write your own:

Please call your senator, or Tweet "Yes" to @ball4NY as #NY4M vote grows near! @HRC

If you get involved, and post what you did and show me in the comments, when I leave Kate's great-uncle's (which may be in a couple of weeks), I will draw someone's name at random for a 20 minute Skype chat with me! Or, if you don't have Skype, we can chat over the phone.

Thank you for all of your support, Team Canterwood. Much love!

Win a signed book and help animals! :)

Side note: This is my 1,000th blog post! Don't know if that's good or bad . . .


Anyway, I wanted to very quickly let you all know that I posted a signed copy of UNFRIENDLY COMPETITION on eBay. I got the idea from Maureen Johnson because proceeds of the sale will go to my fave charity--the ASPCA. So, from time to time, I'll be using that eBay account to put up a signed book or possibly something else Canterwood related. Bidding on the item equals a win for animals.


I volunteered at my local Humane Society for years and there's an especially soft spot in me for cats. :)


So, if you're interested, check out the link and start a bidding war! :)


xoxo


Jess

Life

I'm blogging from the most beautiful view that I've ever seen in Manhattan. Slept in Manhattan for the first time on Friday night. Am in a building where there are doormen, elevator men and security that won't allow you up unless you show your key or they call the person's apartment. There's central air. And gorgeous plants. There's a terrace that's begging to have a writer sit and compose a novel.

But the apartment and all its beauty has the most important piece of it missing--Allen R. Kate's great-uncle passed away last week. We got the call early Friday morning. Kate, battling her own illness, flew into superwoman mode and did the first thing her great-uncle would have wanted: began thinking about how to care for her grieving grandmother--Allen's sister.

Kate and Gram (I also call her Gram because she's adopted me in the family) have a special bond that cannot be described. They know when something's wrong with the other even though they live six hours apart. Gram helped Kate through some of the most difficult periods of her life and has been there to share some of the biggest joys.

Kate is still in the same amount of pain, has no diagnosis--just an educated guess and is on trial medication. But it isn't working. We're retuning to the Mayo Clinic in September for more tests. I know I haven't updated you all on her condition, but I was waiting to see how her body would react to the new medication. It was devastating to come home from Mayo and still not know what is wrong. We're looking forward to going back and having even more tests run. Again, I thank you all for the support. We still talk about it and it hasn't been forgotten.

I'm talking about Kate's illness in relation to her great-uncle's passing because it shows what kind of person that Kate is. She has been by her Gram's side, holding her at night, preparing to be with her at the appointments to wrap up her great-uncle's affairs all while not saying a word about her pain and trying to keep it from being visible on her face.

Her great-uncle was a war vet with a Purple Heart. He was a private, strong, intimidating, smart man who attended Harvard and traveled the world. He was a huge presence in Kate's life--a man she wanted to impress with grades, work, writing, etc. Kate lived at his apartment during the first few weeks of her time at Simon & Schuster until Ross found their first apartment in Brooklyn. Yesterday, Kate found her edit test and resume that ultimately led to her becoming an editor and now a full time freelance editor, author and co-owner of Violet & Ruby.

Allen will never see Kate's first book on the shelves, but he passed knowing his great-niece had achieved her dream.

I am in awe of Kate's strength during this time when she is also grieving and dealing with her own medical problems. She got her strength from her grandmother.

We will probably be staying on the Upper East Side for a week or two. There's much to be done, but we're all working together.

So, if you haven't said "I love you" to someone today or haven't called a friend that you've been meaning to call, do it now. Don't wait. Life can change in an instant.

Pretty Little Liars premier and Switched at Birth

Before I forget, I wanted to let you know that there are signed copies of the Canterwood books at the Park Slope, Brooklyn, Barnes & Noble. A nice guy named Rob helped me sticker all of the books. Even more exciting, there were copies on the "Local Favorites" shelf. Yay!

This is a quick post because I'm breaking from writing, BUT has anyone been watching Pretty Little Liars or Switched at Birth? SaB is my new addiction! I looove the show! There's so much drama and I think it's such smart writing to show how the hospital mix up affected both families and their daughters. I'm happy that's it's now a "Oh! We found our real kids, let's switch and we'll all be happy!" type of show. Plus, it's fun to see Luke Danes (from Gilmore Girls) daughter as one of the main girls, Bay.

The Pretty Little Liars premiere, I'm superbummed to say, felt like any other episode to me. It wasn't a cling to the edge of your seat show. It needed to be to kick off the summer return. That said, I'm SURE future episodes will return to the PLL the fans love and I'm without a doubt going to keep watching.

What's on your DVR, TiVo or something you've been watching this summer?

Back to writing!

xoxo

Up at 6:15 to write

Gotta get a lot of pages down today. But I'm working on INITIATION and it's fun! Just a note, the blog *may* be a little quiet over the next month because Deadline Calls.

Got a VIP dinner tonight that I'm looking forward to. That means, you know, I have to actually get out of writer PJs. :)

Signed Canterwood books at Rochester, MN Barnes & Noble

Recently, I spent 3 weeks in the lovely Rochester, Minnesota. I went for sad reasons though, as my best friend was visiting the Mayo Clinic. (Post about that to come. But we are home and cannot thank you enough for your support.)

There was a Barnes & Noble about 5 minutes from our hotel, so I went the day before we left and signed stock on the shelves. There *were* 34 books, but a very sweet girl named Camdyn took a copy of CHOSEN and several of you have emailed to say you've already put copies on hold.

I signed them in pretty pink! :) Everyone there was so nice and it was the COOLEST B&N I've ever visited. Next time, I'll sign stock at the Apache Mall's B&N.

If you're close to Rochester and want any signed books here's the store's information:

Barnes & Noble
Chateau Theater
15 First Street SW
Rochester, MN 55902
507-288-3848

And here are some pics I took! :)

Yeah, I took a pic of myself signing. :p

The inside is like a CASTLE!

The escalator to the castle.

The pretty green before the store.

The entrance to the adult fiction.

34 books that need my signature.

I signed them at this cute table under a dragon!

Before I took them off the shelf . . .

All signed with a sparkly Gelly Roll pen.

Thank you to the staff at B&N for being so kind. I will definitely be back! Hopefully, under better circumstances. :)

If you get a signed copy, let me know.

xoxo

New Canterwood Twitter background by Madie

Look at this AMAZING Twitter or desktop wall paper made by the fab Madie! I have lots more artwork (including a gorge Lauren and Whisper piece of art) that I'll be sharing soon. Right now, I'm back and forth between the hospital and taking a break from the computer to be with Kate.

She is uplifted by all of your thoughts and prayers--I cannot thank you enough. Really from the bottom of my heart--thank you.

You all are my heroes.