Things are SPIFFY up in here!

Well hello there. *snaps suspenders* Check out the blog's new look, thanks to JJ at Uncreated Conscience!

You'll also notice some new stuff up there below my NEWLY FANCY name. I'm going to post it again here because it's so fancy:

(How much do I love my book jacket fonts? SO MUCH SO MUCH).

Anyway. One of the new shiny things up there is a FAQ page! Which you should read! Because a lot of stuff you've asked me about is answered there. But there's a lot of other niftiness around here too, so I encourage you to explore to your heart's content while I continue to deal with the ten billion place cards for that wedding thing and pack before my 8AM flight to LaGuardia, my home away from home.

I miss you!

(Also...TWENTY SIX DAYS ZOMG)

Want a signed, finished, REAL copy of MARA DYER? Look no further.

SO! It's like...32 days until this whole book-on-shelves thing happens. And between now and then, I have:

1) An 8 hour road trip to Miami!
2) A flight to NYC!
3) A wedding to attend!!!!!!! (MOST EXCITED ABOUT THIS ONE MOST MOST EXCITED)
4) The massive trailer project which has generated 937 emails since August 1st!
5) The sure-to-be-epic MARA MADNESS blog tour, hosted by Cindy from Books Complete Me!
6) The Southern Independent Booksellers Association event in Charleston, SC!
7) The YA Lit Conference hosted by Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville, IL!

And...my mind is more than blown. I'm so so SO excited about all of the events coming up this fall and can't wait to meet many of you at them!

But I've been getting some mail from people who don't live near any of the places I'll be signing that looks like this:

Dear Michelle,


I don't live near any of the places that you will be signing :( 


But I really would like a personalized hardcover of THE UNBECOMING OF MARA DYER. Is there anywhere I can order one?

Well, now I can say yes. Yes there is.

If you pre-order MARA DYER from the ever-awesome Books & Books in Miami, I will sign it! Or personalize it to you! Whatever you like! Just indicate what you'd like me to say in the comments of of your pre-order and IT SHALL BE DONE!

Meanwhile, stay tuned to this channel because there's some internet awesomeness coming your way very, very soon.

The updated cover for THE UNBECOMING OF MARA DYER

is here. 

(It wouldn't right click and save. Sorry!)

AND THAT'S NOT ALL! Here's what else shall be appearing on the MARA DYER jacket:

"The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer strikes a rare balance of darkly funny, deliciously creepy and genuinely thoughtful. One minute I was laughing out loud, and the next, I was so scared I wanted to turn on all the lights and hide under the covers. Michelle Hodkin's talent and range are obvious, from her chilling descriptions to romantic scenes that almost crackled on the page. I've never read anything quite like it."--Veronica Roth, New York Times bestselling author of Divergent

"A clever, captivating thriller, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer is perfect for those (like me) who like their heroes dark, their heroines dangerous, and their romances seriously twisted."
--Kirsten Miller, New York Times bestselling author of The Eternal Ones

 "WOW. Michelle Hodkin's debut will keep you guessing until the last page--and long after."
--Beth Revis, New York Times bestselling author of Across the Unviverse

 "As spooky and twisty as it is lyrical and beautiful, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer grabbed me and wouldn't let go. Read this one with the lights on." --Rachel Hawkins, New York Times bestselling author of Demonglass


And the full quote from Cassandra Clare is: "Haunting and dreamlike, the intrigue and romance of Mara Dyer will inescapably draw you in." --Cassandra Clare, author of the New York Times bestselling Moral Instruments series

This is my face right now:

Because I want to tell you what this all means.

It means that the authors of books I absolutely, utterly adore read MARA DYER. It means that they liked it. It means that they liked it enough to associate their professional reputations with it. Because essentially, that's what blurbs are: they're public statements saying: "If you liked my book, I think you'll like this book, too."

So could I be more grateful to have such a brilliant, talented, generous group of writers be willing to put their names on my book jacket?

No. No I couldn't.

And if you haven't read the books that Rachel, Veronica, Beth, Kirsten and Cassie wrote? WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!

WINNERS of 2 of the LAST ARCS! And some ARC info.

FINALLY, is what you're all thinking. I know, I know. I shan't make you wait any further.

Christi the Teen Librarian

and

LovingRob (Carina)....

Send me your addresses at mdhodkin at gmail dot com and I will get your ARCs to you this week before I head out on travels again. YAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you didn't win, you still have a chance to win one of FIVE ARCs on Goodreads. And there may be one final ARC contest, for one final ARC, before the finished copies are printed and out.

Speaking of finished copies, I've got some stuff to say about them, so pull up a chair and come listen, dear friends!

I made a comment at one point about how the ARCs of THE UNBECOMING OF MARA DYER are different from the finished copies, because they were printed from a draft I sent that didn't include some changes I'd always intended to include early on (but missed during the pass for the ARCs), and that sparked a whole bunch of internet discussions among people (not me!) about how the ending would be different in the finished version and how Mara and Noah are actually both mermaids and how the book is really set on another planet and and and and and so I wanted to give you the real, actual scoop:

ARCs stand for "Advance Uncorrected Proofs." They are not final versions of books. Sometimes, the differences are minor and typo-y. Sometimes, the differences are more substantial- the TWILIGHT ARCs were different from the final version of the book, as were the FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH, THE MAGICIAN KING by Lev Grossman, and a whole host of other examples. This is a really awesome explanation of what ARCs are and how they're helpful for industry folks.

In the case of MARA DYER, there are changes that you may or may not catch if you read the ARC and then the final version. I say "may or may not catch" because, as the author, things that seem REALLY obvious to me (knowing how the whole series ends--knowing the last sentence, even!) may not seem so obvious or even clear to anyone else. Because no one else lives in my head. Which is good. Because it's a weird place.

One thing I tried very hard NOT to do in MARA DYER was to treat readers as if they aren't smart enough to figure things out when they're presented with all of the pieces of the puzzle. Are all of those pieces in MARA DYER? No. MARA is the beginning of something. Some questions are presented, and some of them are answered- but not all. Not even close. I was careful, though, to make sure that the bread crumbs leading to every reveal that's going to happen over the course of the series is laid out in this first book.

To that end, in one part, there's about half a page of text that is missing from the ARC that is included in the final version, and there are some sentence changes, and there are some word changes--one of which is very subtle, but actually may change your reading of the series (if you catch it) and then read the next book.

And nope, I can't tell you what it is :(

Why is the ARC different? Well, I had about ten thousand drafts of the book (my first ever book, which I had no idea would ever be published), and with that many drafts floating around, I lost track of which ones had all of the absolute, final, complete content that I intended the finished book to have. It happens! Nobody's perfect, least of all me.

So if you haven't gotten your hands on an ARC of MARA DYER yet, don't be sad! A preorder will get you the absolute, final, FINAL version, the one that will have everything you need to know for that very dark, very sexy sequel I'm writing. Assuming you want to read that. And if you get the hardcover? It will come with a soft, muted, exquisite jacket that is, quite literally, a work of art. Nothing I can say or show you online will do it justice. Also? If you preorder, it will arrive the VERY SAME DAY it launches. Which, as of right now, is THIRTY NINE DAYS AWAY.

But if you have read the ARC, rest assured that the story is not dramatically different. Noah is not a merman. Mara does not have a tail. The book takes place on Earth. If you enjoyed the ARC, I didn't mess with any of the parts you enjoyed. Nothing was deleted-just added, or very, very subtly changed.

So hopefully that clears up some stuff. Hopefully, if you didn't win, you're not too bummed. And if you are, there's that Goodreads giveaway, and one final ARC contest, and then THE BOOK WILL BE HERE BEFORE YOU KNOW IT!

And if that STILL doesn't help, then, here are some baby animals. Enjoy :D

MARA DYER Launch

So, on September 27th, there's this book coming out. This book I wrote. And it takes place in south Florida, where I was born, raised, and grew up. And where many of my friends and family still live.

And so it is SUPER, SUPER exciting to be able to say, all official-like, that the first event for MARA DYER, MY first event for the book's release, is going to be held at Books & Books in Coral Gables.

There will be shenanigans. Prizes. Food. Maybe even some secret stuff. You never know.

So if you're in, near, or around Miami on 9/27? You should come. I'd love to meet you.

And so would my grandpa.

Help me thank you!

It is a ginormous pet peeve of mine when people say how busy they are. Because we are all busy. We all have kids and pets and families and work and shenanigans we like to get up to on a fairly regular basis. Which is why being busy isn't really a good excuse for various and sundry lapses in etiquette or appropriate behavior.

So when someone emails me and says "I know how busy you are, but" I just want to hug them and say, "You know, I'm not actually that busy! I spend most of my time in my pajamas deciding when my fictional characters are going to kiss or die. What can I do for you?"

But lately? Lately that is not so much true.


Lately I've had Maggie's medical crises (plural) which have had me shuttling to the vet multiple times per week, and also that sequel thing I'm obsessed (and obsessively in love) with. Then I was holed up in a hunting lodge for a few days with 30 genius writers, many dead animals, six vegetarians, one vegan, and lots of bacon. This week, I had wonderful events with Beth Revis, Myra McEntire, and Victoria Schwab in Morganton and Forest City, NC, which I drove to from my new "base" on the side of a mountain, which is very pretty. The driving was a 2-3 hour round trip affair, each day, but I got back and now I'm on the mountain again but because of LOTS of exciting stuff happening in the MARA DYER universe, I haven't gotten to explore the mountain or see anything, really, except the inside of my room. And Sunday morning I am leaving said room at about 3AM to drive to TN to catch a red-eye flight to another state for a friend's wedding. I will spend the night in said state and return to NC just in time for the Jewish fast of Tisha B'Av, which means I won't be eating or drinking from about 6pm on Monday until 9pm-ish on Tuesday. And either Tuesday or Wednesday, I'll be road tripping it back home, where I will stay and work on that sequel I mentioned, until I head to NYC for some more MARA DYER shenanigans two days later.

Just typing that all out makes me want to

So I find myself not answering your emails and tweets and interview requests and stuff according to my usual timeline, and that makes me want to flagellate myself. MARA DYER is only 8 weeks away. EIGHT WEEKS. And you have been adding and preordering and reviewing the HECK out of it and saying SUCH NICE THINGS about it all over the internet and DOING such nice things FOR it all over the internet that I really want to do something for you BACK. But I've already given away two of my last ARCs (winners shall be announced imminently!) Is there anything else I can do for you? Anything else you WANT me to do that I a) have never done before b) don't do enough? Certain types of contests you like? Certain types of prizes?

If so, lets hear it. I want to make you as happy as you make me (though I'm rather certain that is going to be impossible, given the extraordinary level of HAPPY you make me), and even though the crazy doesn't seem like it's going to let up for a bit, still, I'd like to know.

And now, I am off to go chew on a bag full of hard candy my grandmother unwisely left out on the table. In the meantime, here is a picture of a baby bunny in a teacup. Because that is where baby bunnies belong.

Maggie update!

Why the happy face?

You might remember that Maggie had to have surgery last Monday to remove an aggressively growing lump on her foot. With Maggie's advanced age, the size, the shape, and the color, the vets were pretty sure that she had a mast cell tumor, because the benign tumor it could have been "is most commonly observed in young dogs and tumor incidence drops precipitously after three years of age." And Maggie is anywhere from ten to twelve, but not younger.

Apparently Maggie didn't get the memo. It was, in fact, a histiocytoma and my Fighting Potato shall fight on!

Thank you ALL for thinking about us. I couldn't be happier.