A personal confession here. I am a practitioner of positive visualization. Not that I do it a lot, but I have come to believe there is value in visualizing what we are hoping for. When facing discouragement or trials, I tell myself to create a mental picture of a good outcome. Often, I do this before falling asleep.

For YEARS my visualization of getting published has involved just one mental image: opening a box that arrived in the mail and seeing it full of my books. Somehow, that seemed much more the proof of it actually happening than me sitting at a book signing or reading a great review. Just a cardboard box filled to the top with hardcover copies in super-cool book jackets.

Which is why, when I walked in the door and saw this big box sitting on the table, and looked inside to find 25 books, I just sort of flipped. And giggled. And got slightly teary. It was one stellar moment.

Caroline Abbey, my editor at Bloomsbury, did a sweet and lovely thing: she sent me a hot-off-the-press copy of THE BOOK. I opened the beautiful cover. Inside was the copyright page. With my name.

I read the first chapter, and even though I’ve been over it a gazillion times in the manuscript form, this was different. It was real. Same words, and same scene, but between the lines it said: Lifelong dream, finally achieved.

Thanks, Caroline. And Bloomsbury. (P.S. I LOVE what lies beneath the paper cover: the shimmery green embossed title on the black book. Too, too awesome.)

We’ve posted a book giveaway at Goodreads where you can try to win a signed ARC of THE VANISHING GAME! If you’re not on Goodreads, today is a great day to start. Stay tuned for future contests and giveaways!

-Rachel

With only five weeks until release day for THE VANISHING GAME, the ARCs have been sent and it’s time for the reviews to start coming in. This causes me some anxiety to know that others outside my safe circle of friends, agent and editors are actually going to read my story. And review it.

I love my book and have faith in it, but… it’s a different book. It has twists. Not everyone likes the kind of twists I put in. It’s got complications. Maybe too many. So it was a relief to get the first blog reviews and see they’ve written some really positive stuff. A big thank-you to Ky from Can’t Find a Bookmark, Asheley from Into the Hall of Books, and Kindlemom from My Guilty Obsession for their reviews and also their skillful avoidance of spoilers. Here are a few quotes from their excellent reviews:

“I have to say, when I first started reading this, I was severely creeped out.  Fifty pages in and I couldn’t stay up too late reading this at night.  The author definitely plunges you right into the story….

“This was definitely a refreshing read.  Haven’t read something that got me this spooked in a while.  The clues were fantastic and clever and just really added to the mystery of the story.” -Ky from Can’t Find a Bookmark

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“The Vanishing Game was one of those books that I had to sit on for a few days and ponder. In fact, I still think I’m pondering it. It is really well-written and smart. Fans of the mystery and suspense genre will undoubtedly eat it up…

“The twist at the end is astounding and left me wanting to talk to someone about the book like, right now. I recommend The Vanishing Game to readers looking for something truly fun to read. It was creepy and dark and psychological, and that is always fun.” -Asheley from Into the Hall of Books

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“I wasn’t really sure what was going on throughout this book. I will admit that the author had me stumped….

“Truly, this read was brilliant. The author is brilliant.

“I think anyone that enjoys a good creepy mystery read will absolutely adore this book.” -Kindlemom from My Guilty Obsession

Additionally, Library Media Connection had a short synopsis of the plot and a positive statement: “This book has twists and turns galore. Part corporate espionage thriller, part paranormal horror story, there are also elements of mystery and romance.”

I hope that this is only the beginning. And that as others continue to review my writing, I can face every comment (good and bad) with a mixture of courage and grace. After all, it’s just one more part of the publishing process, and isn’t that the achievement I’ve been dreaming of for a long time?

Wahoo! My editor emailed a digital copy of the full jacket for THE VANISHING GAME and it’s terrific! I totally LOVE what they did with the back, reversing the image from the front cover and adding a Jason December quote. Plus the inside story blurb has a ghostly code hidden in the words themselves that gives additional information about the plot. Super cool!

(Okay, I know I’m using a lot of exclamation points, but I just can’t help it…)

Thanks, Kate, for your big welcome! I’m excited to be a small part of your world and to help spread the word about your fabulous YA novel, The Vanishing Game. For those who are interested, I’m a huge fan of YA literature, which you can see if you browse my Goodreads page. I’m always looking for great new YA titles to read.

One of the latest things we’ve been doing to promote Kate and her new book is to create more of an online presence, thus Kate is now on Facebook! She’s also on Goodreads, so make sure you “like” Kate’s Facebook fan page or follow her on Goodreads to stay updated with the latest news.

-Rachel