*** PLEASE NOTE I AM CLOSED TO QUERIES UNTIL JAN 1st, 2022. QUERIES RECEIVED BEFORE THIS DATE WILL BE DELETED UNREAD. I LOOK FORWARD TO READING YOUR WORK IN THE NEW YEAR! ***
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I Read From DIMENSION WHY
Friends! My new middle-grade novel is here! If you like time travel, space adventures, and wildly cosmic baked beans, check it out.
DIMENSION WHY: How to Save the Universe Without Really Trying A 31st-century boy and a 21st-century girl team up to save the universe, evade an evil race of bog mutants, and make a quick pit stop to visit the moon…
Buy now at:
Indiebound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/97800…
Barnes & Noble: https://bit.ly/338bxVS
Amazon: https://amzn.to/36eqyY7
“Cusick creates a well-balanced narrative. While levity lightens the load—and the story is legitimately funny—the focus remains on a perfectly paced adventure. A promising series debut.” (Kirkus Reviews)
“Budding sci-fi fans and humor aficionados are bound to team up for this hysterical intergalactic adventure.” (Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books)
Announcing the New Novel by S.K. Ali
#LoveAZ
Congrats to S.K. Ali on her Two Book Deal!
S.K. Ali’s SAINTS AND MISFITS has touched so many readers and received so much praise, including becoming a William C. Morrow finalist. Today we get to announce there’s lots more to come from @sajidahwrites!
Check out the announcement from Publishers Weekly:
Congrats S.K.!
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You can check out SAINTS AND MISFITS on Goodreads, and pre-order on Amazon, B&N, and Indiebound.
GIRLS ON THE VERGE explores the state of reproductive rights for teens in 2018 America
So you may remember I posted about this deal last year. Today I’m so jazzed to share the cover of Sharon Biggs Waller’s stunning contemporary YA debut GIRLS ON THE VERGE.
When 17-year-old Camille discovers she can’t obtain an abortion anywhere near her small hometown, she sets off for a Planned Parenthood clinic in the next state. Accompanied by Annabelle, the one-time star of her high school who has wound up stocking shelves, Camille embarks on a road trip of self-discovery in this coming-of-age story pitched as Going Bovine meets Thelma and Louise.
GOV is coming April 2019 from Holt, so stay tuned for more info about this moving and important story. In the meantime, you can check out Sharon’s historical YA, THE FORBIDDEN ORCHID (Viking Children’s Books) on Amazon, and Barnes & Noble, or check it out on Goodreads.
You can also find Sharon at her website, instagram, and on Facebook.
THIEVES OF WEIRDWOOD: From mobile game to middle-grade series
You might not know this, but I play a lot of video games.
I grew up on point-and-click adventures like Curse of Monkey Island and MYST, and when I first played the award-winning game WEIRDWOOD MANOR
, I knew there was a great middle-grade story to be told in its twisty, magical universe.
Paul Pattison and the team at Wasabi Entertainment were looking to bring their imagination and story-telling ability to the world of books, and I was fortunate enough to partner with them in bringing THIEVES OF WEIRDWOOD to life. Now, with the help of the always brilliant Christian McKay Heidicker (THROW YOUR ARM ACROSS YOUR EYES AND SCREAM, S&S), THIEVES OF WEIRDWOOD is coming to the printed page! Check out the announcement from Publisher’s Weekly:
Seriously, these books are going to be so fun, and weird, and puzzly— think a Dickensian WESTING GAME with a bit of THE HAZLEWOOD thrown in.
More WEIRDWOOD news to come!
Cover reveal! ASSASSIN’S GUIDE TO LOVE AND TREASON by Virginia Boecker
So let me tell you a little story about Virginia.
Years ago, when I was but a young agent pup, I read a submission from Virginia that eventually became THE WITCH HUNTER. I loved that book so much. Since then I’ve been a huge fan of hers, and in 2016 I was lucky enough to become her agent.
Today I’m super excited to share (in case you haven’t seen it already), the cover of her third YA, the sexy espionage adventure set in Shakespeare’s Globe theater, AN ASSASSIN’S GUIDE TO LOVE AND TREASON. Check it out:
When Lady Katherine’s father is killed for being an illegally practicing Catholic, she discovers treason wasn’t the only secret he’s been hiding: he was also involved in a murder plot against the reigning Queen Elizabeth I. With nothing left to lose, Katherine disguises herself as a boy and travels to London to fulfill her father’s mission, and to take it one step further–kill the queen herself.
Katherine’s opportunity comes in the form of William Shakespeare’s newest play, which is to be performed in front of Her Majesty. But what she doesn’t know is that the play is not just a play–it’s a plot to root out insurrectionists and destroy the rebellion once and for all.
The mastermind behind this ruse is Toby Ellis, a young spy for the queen with secrets of his own. When Toby and Katherine are cast opposite each other as the play’s leads, they find themselves inexplicably drawn to one another. But the closer they grow, the more precarious their positions become. And soon they learn that star-crossed love, mistaken identity, and betrayal are far more dangerous off the stage than on.
ASSASSIN’S GUIDE TO LOVE AND TREASON is coming in October from Little, Brown, and I highly recommend you check it out on Goodreads, and preorder today!
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You can find Virginia online at http://www.virginiaboecker.com/, and twitter.com/virgboecker. Check out WITCH HUNTER and KING SLAYER on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Goodreads.
Welcome Laura Sebastian!
Guys I’ve got some wonderful news– I am now representing the brilliant Laura Sebastian!
You may already know about Laura’s ASH PRINCESS. The series follows a girl who learns to survive at court after her country is invaded– but when magically-gifted rebels infiltrate, she bands with them to seduce and murder the prince to save her people (!!!) This is one of my favorite reads this year, and I can’t wait for you all to experience it when Delacorte releases book 1 next spring!
Laura is incredibly gifted, not to mention a delightful human being, and I’m so psyched to be working with her.
You can find Laura on twitter at @sebastian_lk and follow ASH PRINCESS on Goodreads.
Welcome Laura!
DUMPLIN’ Film Finds Its Star!
Literally got chills from this news. Julie Murphy’s DUMPLIN’ has founds its lead, Willowdean, in the fabulous Danielle Macdonald!
Check out the full article in the Hollywood Reporter.
More DUMPLIN’ Film News:
DUMPLIN’ a buzz project for Cannes Film Festival
JENNIFER ANISTON to Star in Teen Comedy DUMPLIN’
And check out Julie’s latest book, the absolutely stunning RAMONA BLUE.
Go Julie go!
Congrats to SAINTS & MISFITS – 3 Starred Reviews!
Saints and Misfits is an unforgettable debut novel that feels like a modern day My So-Called Life…starring a Muslim teen.
There are three kinds of people in my world:
1. Saints, those special people moving the world forward. Sometimes you glaze over them. Or, at least, I do. They’re in your face so much, you can’t see them, like how you can’t see your nose.
2. Misfits, people who don’t belong. Like me—the way I don’t fit into Dad’s brand-new family or in the leftover one composed of Mom and my older brother, Mama’s-Boy-Muhammad.
Also, there’s Jeremy and me. Misfits. Because although, alliteratively speaking, Janna and Jeremy sound good together, we don’t go together. Same planet, different worlds.
But sometimes worlds collide and beautiful things happen, right?
3. Monsters. Well, monsters wearing saint masks, like in Flannery O’Connor’s stories.
Like the monster at my mosque.
People think he’s holy, untouchable, but nobody has seen under the mask.
Except me.
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Check out SAINTS AND MISFITS on Goodreads, and pre-order on Amazon, B&N, and Indiebound.
Follow S.K. Ali, @sajidahwrites,
John M. Cusick 