The Isolating Writer

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Nova Ren Suma

When I have a ton of work to do—like, for example, right now with freelance copyediting deadlines, teaching responsibilities for my writing class (which I think is going really well! I love my students), and novel revisions and a nice, solid book deadline I have noted in beautiful panic red in my calendar, among other things, because there are always other things—I do tend to regress and do this thing that helps me focus and get calm and breathe: I isolate.

Here I am writing in bed in my writing sweater, which I love wearing during isolation. Photo by Laura Amador, taken at the Djerassi Resident Artists Program.

It’s comforting to be in a cocoon of my own making, where my mind can find some quiet, and where my panic can slither away and leave me alone so I can get shit done. It’s comforting to avoid all social interactions and let my roots grow out because who cares what I look like. It’s comforting to sit on the floor of my dark apartment eating a tub of blueberries and thinking about the climax of my novel until the “aha!” moment comes. But this kind of behavior doesn’t help me keep friends. Truly, I don’t know if anyone understands when I do this. Sometimes it’s all I can do, you know?

The good thing about isolating in the face of deadlines is I feel like my mind gets sharper, which is a necessary thing for solving plot issues in a novel, and also for getting through freelance jobs. I’m just a usual introvert who needs some Alone Time, as we call it in my house, to recharge. And sometimes this Alone Time spreads out over weeks.

I hope no one takes it personally.

How do I explain this to people so they understand? Fellow introverts, let me know what helps you and how you keep your friends and families intact during and after times you need that comforting, and necessary, bout of isolation to keep your head on straight.

p.s. Change of subject. Do you want to win a signed paperback of Imaginary Girls? The paperback comes out next month and you’ll have chances to win a signed one here on this blog, but in the meantime here’s the first giveaway as a part of Laura Pauling’s Spies, Murder and Mystery Marathon (oh, how I wanted to add a serial comma!). I wrote about mysterious girls from books who catch my imagination… Comment and tell me the “mysterious girl” characters you love, and you could win a beautiful paperback of my book.

Enter the giveaway right here.

The new cover look is gorgeous. This picture doesn’t even show how glossy and delicious this paperback is in person. Wanna see?

(Pre-order links can be found on my website!)

Now back to isolating…

Walking for My Sister

Posted on March 29, 2012 by Nova Ren Suma

Surely by now you’ve heard me talk about my baby sister. If you’ve read Imaginary Girls, you may have noticed her name on the dedication page, and maybe you read this interview I did with her on release day. Maybe you were in the audience during one of my readings weeks before the book came out, when she sat on a chair before the stage, and in the darkness surrounding the spotlight it felt like I read only to her.

I adore my little sister, Laurel Rose. If you know me, you are well aware of that, because I can talk about her a lot.

What I haven’t talked about here before is that while I was revising the very last of the editorial rounds of Imaginary Girls—when the story was what it was, and Ruby and Chloe already chose to do what they did… I learned that my own baby sister, the one I would do anything for, was diagnosed with MS. I don’t want to talk about how devastated and helpless I felt, wishing I could take the disease away from her and take it on myself. I want to tell you that my little sister, Rose, is strong and brave and someone I admire to the ends of the earth, even when this disease is hard on her. She is truly amazing, and she will fight this—as will the many of us who love her want to fight by her side.

This May 5, for the first time, I am taking part in Walk MS in Philadelphia—my sister’s city. I am on her team, and all of us are going to do the walk to help fund-raise for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, to help those living with MS today—and to find a cure. This cause is very personal to me, as you can imagine, and that’s why I’m posting about it on my writing blog.

I posted the link to my Walk MS page on Twitter and Facebook last night, where you can donate to support me, and donate to support my sister and her team—and already, within one night, I met my fund-raising goal, thanks to two very, very generous donors! (Thank you so much, Lauren and Christine!!) But Walk MS is over a month away and now I’d love to exceed my goal: for my sister, and for others living with MS. You can donate any amount, nothing is too small, and be a part of my walk beside my sister on May 5. Or you can donate to sponsor my sister’s walk—or her whole team. Up to you!

If you decide to, you can donate here:

Donate to help sponsor my walk
Donate—or join!—my sister’s team: Rose’s Team (my sister is team captain!)

Here is more information about my sister’s local chapter of Walk MS and the organization your donation would support.

COVER REVEAL: New Look for IMAGINARY GIRLS in Paperback!

Posted on November 8, 2011 by Nova Ren Suma

Can you tell I have news? Can you see I have something to share with you and I’m so itching to do it, I scheduled this post for first thing in the morning??

Is it possible that it’s time to reveal a BRAND-NEW COVER??

It is!

I didn’t expect to be able to reveal this cover yet… It may not be final… there could be a few more tweaks… But the internet moves way too fast for me, and now that I’ve noticed a couple bloggers posting it, I COULD NOT WAIT ANY LONGER TO SHOW YOU! (Props to my saint of an agent who had to deal with me asking every day, Can I show it now? Can I show it now? Which is the author’s version of “Are we there yet?”)

And YES! I can show it now! So here goes:

I’m excited to say that Imaginary Girls will be available in paperback in June 2012, published by Speak, an imprint of Penguin.

And Speak isn’t just releasing Imaginary Girls in a new format… they’ve given the book a whole new look! Can you imagine how surreal it is to get used to your book having one face—and then discover she will have TWO heads now? Two looks to show the world?

Utterly surreal. And very exciting.

I mean, I’d gotten very used to that turquoise. I’ll have to change my signature nail polish color for book events now. It’s going a little… darker.

OK, OK, I know you want me to shut up already and show you.

Here’s the new cover for the paperback edition of Imaginary Girls, coming to bookstores in June:

People, that blue is my FAVORITE COLOR! (I don’t think Speak had any idea… but now they know!)

Look at those hypnotic green eyes! The moody dark blue of the reservoir at night! Check out the rowboat! (Anyone who’s read the first chapter will know what’s going on there… Haven’t read it? You can read the first four chapters online for free.)

So I need to just say that, as a writer, I find it intensely fascinating how my stories can be interpreted visually any number of ways. I think both covers showcase different aspects of Imaginary Girls—and yet somehow they both fit. Isn’t that amazing? That my book can be seen from a new angle and still be my book?

**Tell me, what do you think of the paperback cover? Leave a comment and let me know!**

And if you absolutely can’t wait to get your hands on this, you can pre-order the paperback edition of Imaginary Girls here:

Pre-order from your local indie via IndieBound
Pre-order from Amazon

In Which I Share Distractions, Announce Audio Book News and a Los Angeles Book Event, and Stress Over the Pajamas I Need for California

Posted on July 29, 2011 by Nova Ren Suma

Lately I’ve been feeling like everyone writes faster than I do. (By “everyone” I mean other authors with all their books coming out. Not that man on the couch in my café who sits for hours reading the newspaper. Or the other man who’s fast asleep on one of the best café tables in the place, the one near the outlets.)

It is my goal to quiet my mind and focus and write so much this year that I can look back and be really proud of my output. Note that it is already almost August.

In the meantime, here are some distractions I meant to tell you about before:

Distraction #1: I’m exposing myself in INTERN’s International Sh*tty First Draft Week.

I talked about writing the first draft of Imaginary Girls and shared a scene from the draft of the novel that existed before I cut 200 pages. (And I did this while I was supposed to be writing my new novel.) Other authors have shared too. Maybe they, too, should really be writing their new novels. I can’t speak for them.

Distraction #2: I’m recommending books on VLC Productions.

I recommended some books I’ve read recently and talked about what I love and look for in novels. I also revealed two books I wish I’d written (my desire to be a more commercial writer may slip out here). Oh and I did this while I was supposed to be writing my new novel. (Which is just as creepy and weird as my last novel, so you know.)

Distraction #3: I’m giving away books to YOU.

You may have noticed that I’m talking to other authors more and more, interviewing them about writing and other random epiphanies I may have while reading their books. Today is the last day to win a signed copy of a voicey Sylvia Plath–inspired, chicken-pox-infested (in a good way!) YA novel called And Then Things Fall Apart. Enter here. And next week I’m giving away an ARC of one of the books I recommended in Distraction #2. Yes, yes, yes, I’m doing all this while I’m supposed to be writing my new novel.

Distraction #4: I’m joining a new writing community. Figment this time.

Did I show you that Imaginary Girls was the recommended book of the week last week on Figment.com? Did I? It was! Well, soon after that they asked if I’d join as a Figment author and of course I said YES. So here I am, and say hi if you’re there. There’s something else I’m doing with Figment, so I’ll keep you posted, even though I should be writing my new novel.

Distraction #5: I’m getting to chat with teen book clubs!

(Full warning: This is an amazing distraction.) Yesterday—before heading out to a Books of Wonder event instead of writing my new novel—I got the chance to do a chat with a teen book club at a library, which was such a blast. We did the chat over Chatzy, and I loved the questions the teens asked me. And—here’s the amazing part—you will not believe what they did with balloons in honor of Imaginary Girls in their book club meeting. Check out this post—with photos!

Distraction #6: I’m going to SCBWI in Los Angeles and I don’t have pajamas yet.

I should be spending next week writing my new novel. What am I doing instead? I’m headed to the big international summer SCBWI conference in LA… even though I haven’t finished the novel yet. Yeah, smart move. BUT I think the conference will be inspiring, and I may be able to slip in some writing in the hotel room while away, who knows. The pajamas are needed for the gala party Saturday night, and I really have to get on that. So will I see you at the conference? I’ll be at the PAL authors book sale Friday evening with ten (10) copies of Imaginary Girls. Please come get them so I don’t have to cram them into my suitcase during the flight home.

Speaking of California…

While out there, I’m doing a Bridge to Books event with three other YA authors—Cindy Pon, Holly Goldberg Sloan, and Suzanne Young. If you’re in the Los Angeles area, come see us at Once Upon a Time Bookstore in Montrose, CA on Sunday, August 7 at 1:30 pm! We’ll be reading and signing our books and here’s more info about the event.

This is my only appearance on the West Coast—and my first-ever appearance out of New York state!

I’m very excited about it even if I really should be writing my new novel!

And now, do you like audio books? I have news…

Here’s an exciting announcement about Imaginary Girls: There will be an audio book of Imaginary Girls out this January 2012 with Recorded Books! Last night I listened to an audio sample for a possible Chloe—can you imagine how weird that is???

On that exciting note, I’ll end this distracting post, seeing as I just wrote this instead of writing my new novel. Next I’ll eat a banana instead of writing my new novel, maybe tweet about the audio book news instead of writing my new novel, and then, THEN…

Then I’ll turn off the internet for a bit and write my new novel. (Trying to finish it ASAP.)

Friday Five (randomly I have 5 things to say on a Friday)

Posted on July 8, 2011 by Nova Ren Suma

1. The NYC Teen Author Reading Night was awesome.

This Wednesday was my first time being involved in the NYC Teen Author Reading series at the New York Public Library as an actual author. I wore blue. I read a piece from Imaginary Girls, adapted from the middle of chapter one. We were told by the event organizer David Levithan to only read four minutes or less. Like for real. And how could we not listen to David Levithan?! I’d timed mine to be just under four minutes, which meant I had to get quick through some transitions to reach the parts about Olive that I wanted to read, so sometimes my reading page looked like this:

I went well though. I felt good about it.

I was up on the little stage among some great talent. The other authors were all incredible: (this is in reading order) Gae Polisner, Alissa Grosso, Sarah Darer Littman, Tara Altebrando, Melissa Walker, (I was here), Matt Blackstone, Blake Nelson, Christopher Grant. In turns, they made me laugh, made me scared, made me laugh some more, made me dying to keep turning the page. Everyone was fantastic!

In the Q&A, a girl named Piper told me she started reading Imaginary Girls while in a bookstore, loves it, told everyone in the room they should read it, and then asked me a question about the dynamic between my sister characters Ruby and Chloe, as she is a sister herself. (Thanks to Piper’s mom for reaching out to me after—and telling me her name; I’ll be sending a pretty Imaginary Girls card and a signed bookplate! She made my night!)

These readings are great. You get a taste of so many books—and I can’t wait for the next event in September. Thank you to David Levithan for inviting me to take part.

And I also want it known: I made sure to pay my library fines BEFORE I did the reading. I love you, NYPL.

2. Speaking of readings… I’ll be reading at a Hudson Valley Barnes & Noble on Monday.

I know not all of you reading my blog are in the Hudson Valley. But perhaps a few of you are. And if you are, please come to my reading at the Kingston Barnes & Noble on Monday, July 11, at 6:30 pm.

I’ll be reading a longer section of Imaginary Girls, plus signing books, plus answering any questions you have.

I may not wear blue, but I will be there.

Kingston is very close to the town where I went to high school, the very town I distorted, reimagined, and immortalized to serve Ruby’s purposes in Imaginary Girls. The reservoir is not too far a drive away.

(Psst. If you can’t make this event on July 11, I’ll be doing one more event in the Hudson Valley this summer: I’ll be at Oblong Books in Rhinebeck on Sunday, August 14 with my author friend Micol Ostow who will be there with me reading and signing her book family, a book I LOVE.)

3. What else? Check this out: I’m the Featured Author for July on the Penguin School & Library Appearances page.

If you’re an event coordinator for a school, library, or conference and find yourself reading my blog, please go check out the Author Appearances page on the Penguin Young Readers Group School & Library site. I’m the featured author for July!

I’d love to do some school and library visits and attend conferences this year, so fingers crossed.

4. But in the meantime, I have a book deadline and MUST FINISH THIS NOVEL. So what have I resorted to, you ask?

All this stuff in public, which I am getting more and more used to, but still… It’s not so easy to balance the public stuff—including online, like writing this post, like trying to respond to all my @ replies on Twitter—and the writing stuff, the part where I’m creative and cocoon into myself and create people and worlds of my own and forget everything and everyone exists until I reach the end. It’s tough, so I’ve had to be drastic to make it through this schizophrenic time.

I’ll admit to you that I had a harder time than I expected in the weeks leading up to Imaginary Girls coming out, and the weeks following the pub date. Nerves maybe. Anticipation and being unsure of what to expect? All the usual feelings of being exposed? Anyway, I had a tough time of it and my novel-in-progress suffered.

But I’m back.

I’m doing this new thing where I try—try with all my might—to stay entirely offline during the day while I’m writing the book. No Twitter. No Facebook. No blogs, no news, no gossip sites, no writing advice, no dictionary to look up random words I can’t remember how to spell, no Wikipedia to look up mountain names, no Google Maps, no email, NO EMAIL!, no nothing. No internet of any kind. (Note, VIPs reading this post: If there’s an email from an important someone I can see on my phone and I’ll read it. Otherwise, to everyone else, I’m sorry but I’ll read and reply later.)

I’ve found that with the internet off entirely—it has to be entirely—my mind clears and becomes less foggy. I can see more than a few feet ahead of me. I can see the hand before my eyes.

I also don’t get that twinge of anxiety or insecurity upon seeing something online I shouldn’t be looking at when I’m writing. I’m not comparing myself to you and you and you. I’m not mucking up my head when I should be getting words down on the page.

Why am I telling you this? You probably don’t even notice I’m gone from the internet when I’m gone. (Sometimes I schedule blog posts to go up and announce themselves behind my back, like this one.)

I’m telling you this because…

5. My novel finally feels like it could be a REAL NOVEL.

It’s clicked. Finally. I may just finish this thing sooner than you think.

And for that, on this Friday, I’m happy to say I’m myself again. The writer me, not the author me. The reason I’m in this in the first place.

What a relief. I thought I’d lost her.

Reading My Book in My Neighborhood Library

Posted on July 6, 2011 by Nova Ren Suma

I have a favorite branch of the New York Public Library in Manhattan: the Jefferson Market branch on Sixth Avenue in the Village. I love the winding stone stairway, the high ceilings, the cool and airy rooms, and of course the selection of books. They have a great fiction section and a wonderful YA room. The place also has some fascinating history.

I’ve been visiting this particular branch of the library for years—and in fact I’ve blogged about it before.

This branch of the library has felt like home to me for a long time. On days when I feel gloomy or frustrated or stressed I’d find myself walking up Sixth Avenue and making an excuse to go up to the fiction section and just look, just to see what new books were in. (It’s rare I come home without at least one.) Just being inside the library could calm a foul mood within minutes. Sometimes, some days I used to get off the subway on the north end after my day job and go drifting through the stacks and tell myself—silently, it’s a library after all—that I’d be a writer one day and one day a book I wrote would be here. How silly it sounds to tell you that I did that, except here I am typing this and… it’s come true.

I admit I’ve fingered the place in the stacks where I might be one day… and gave a glorious yelp in the children’s room upon finding Dani Noir. I can’t wait for the day I see Imaginary Girls (I hope I hope I hope) in the YA room upstairs.

But tonight Imaginary Girls will be there for sure. And I’ll be with it.

I’m one of the readers at Teen Author Reading Night at the Jefferson Market branch of the library TONIGHT, Wednesday July 6. Here’s the lineup:

JULY 6—TEEN AUTHOR READING NIGHT

6–7:30 pm, Jefferson Market Branch of NYPL, corner of 6^th Ave and 10^th St

Tara Altebrando, Dreamland Social Club

Matt Blackstone, A Scary Scene in a Scary Movie

Christopher Grant, Teenie

Alissa Grosso, Popular

Sarah Darer Littman, Want to Go Private?

Blake Nelson, Recovery Road

Gae Polisner, The Pull of Gravity

Nova Ren Suma, Imaginary Girls

Melissa Walker, Small Town Sinners

Maybe I’ll see you there?

All My Secrets Revealed in One Place

Posted on July 4, 2011 by Nova Ren Suma

My tour has ended. I’m home at last.

Oh, wait… I never left. But my Imaginary Girls blog tour came to an end, and I revealed all the secrets I’m willing to set free in public. There are more, but I’m keeping them close for now. (Maybe for forever.)

If you missed any of my secrets, here they are in one place:

Secret #1: Imaginary Girls wasn’t supposed to be the title. I changed it at the last second when querying agents… and decided to keep it. [link]

Secret #2: I attempted—and failed—to write Imaginary Girls as a NaNoWriMo novel. [link]

Secret #3: I don’t always know my characters’ full names. And sometimes I steal names from questionable places. [link]

Secret #4: The town Ruby and Chloe live in is a real town… except when it’s completely made-up. [link]

Secret #5: I did swim in the reservoir that inspired the one in the novel, but not since I was a teenager. [link]

Secret #6: It wasn’t Ruby who lost the ring a boy gave her in the reservoir. It was me. [link]

Secret #7: The path to Olive is one I’ve walked before. And the rowboat is one I’ve been in. [link]

Secret #8: Music shaped Imaginary Girls more than you know. [link]

Secret #9: I didn’t read YA novels as a teen, even though I write them now. [link]

Secret #10: I’ve written parts of this novel before. In fact, you could say I’ve been writing pieces of this novel for over ten years. [link]

And… as I’m putting together this post, I see that some of the giveaways are *still open*—which means if you’ve only happened upon this blog today, you still have a chance to win a signed hardcover of Imaginary Girls.

Giveaways still open to win signed books:

Pop Culture Junkie—open until July 5, 6:59pm Central Time (use this entry form to enter)
Mundie Moms—open until July 5 (use the form embedded in this post to enter)
The Compulsive Reader—open until July 6 (comment on this post to enter)
The Book Scout—open until July 8 (use this entry form to enter)
The Naughty Book Kitties—open until July 8 (use this entry form to enter)
Book Chic—open until July 8 (comment on this post to enter)
The Story Siren—open until July 15 (use the form embedded in this post to enter)

I hope you’ll enter the giveaways that are still going on!

And thank you again to the bloggers who hosted me and to Anna at Penguin for arranging this tour for Imaginary Girls.

One last thing. If you’re in New York City, I’ll be reading from Imaginary Girls at the Jefferson Market Library in Manhattan on Wednesday, July 6, for July NYC Teen Author Reading Night, along with other great authors. Say hi if you come! Make signals from the audience if I need to speak up or stop making a silly face. It’s free and starts at 6pm.

The Final Stop on the IMAGINARY GIRLS Blog Tour: Secret #10 Revealed

Posted on July 1, 2011 by Nova Ren Suma

It’s the end of my blog tour for Imaginary Girls! …Which means there is one last secret about Imaginary Girls I’m willing to reveal in public—if you want other, deeper, darker secrets you may just have to find me in person and ask me then.

For Secret #10 about Imaginary Girls, visit The Story Siren. And there you’ll find your TENTH and last chance to win a signed copy of the book!

If you missed my first 9 secrets and the first 9 chances to win signed books, go see what secrets I revealed about the title, about NaNoWriMo, about my characters’ names, about the town where the story takes place, about the reservoir, about the ring Ruby loses, about the path to Olive, about the music that shaped the story more than you know, and about the novels I read as a teenager.

Wonder what new secret I’m spilling about Imaginary Girls? Visit The Story Siren and win a signed copy of Imaginary Girls while you’re at it.

___

Here’s the official blog tour schedule—I’m so excited to visit these awesome book blogs!

June 20: The Compulsive Reader SECRET #1 REVEALED! Giveaway open to win a signed book!

June 21: Pop Culture Junkie SECRET #2 REVEALED! Giveaway open to win a signed book!

June 22: Green Bean Teen Queen SECRET #3 REVEALED! Giveaway open to win a signed book!

June 23: Frenetic Reader SECRET #4 REVEALED! Giveaway open to win a signed book!

June 24: The Book Scout SECRET #5 REVEALED! Giveaway open to win a signed book!

June 27: Sarah’s Random Musings SECRET #6 REVEALED! Giveaway open to win a signed book!

June 28: Mundie Moms SECRET #7 REVEALED! Giveaway open to win a signed book!

June 29: Naughty Book Kitties SECRET #8 REVEALED! Giveaway open to win a signed book!

June 30: Book Chic SECRET #9 REVEALED! Giveaway open to win a signed book!

July 1: The Story Siren SECRET #10 REVEALED! Giveaway open to win a signed book!

I just want to thank all the bloggers who hosted me on this blog tour for the past two weeks. You are all wonderful. Thank you! And very special thanks to the super-amazing Anna at Penguin for organizing this tour, selecting these great bloggers, and inspiring me to reveal all these secrets to the world!

Dear Australia: Your Very Own Edition of IMAGINARY GIRLS Is Out Today!

Posted on June 30, 2011 by Nova Ren Suma

I’m here looking at a world clock and, you know what? In some parts of Australia it’s already Friday, July 1. Well… mostly everyone’s asleep now, but still… This means that the ANZ edition of Imaginary Girls is officially on sale TODAY! (When you wake up.) Yay!

This is my first and only foreign sale—ever, in my life—and I’ll tell you about the moment I first got the news. I was having tea with a talented playwright I’d met at an artists colony at a café in Midtown Manhattan and my phone started ringing. I saw that the Caller ID said it was my literary agency in New York. But I didn’t answer. I said to my friend, “I have no idea why they’d be calling me. My agent isn’t at the New York office anymore… he’s in LA, so it can’t be him.” (Michael, I always answer your calls!) She asked if I was sure I shouldn’t take the call. I’m like, no, no, it’s fine. Assured it wasn’t my agent, that likely it was a wrong number, I let one of the most important calls of my life go to voice mail and then continued my inspiring talk with this playwright (who I admire very much, but that’s another story).

After some time, the playwright and I parted ways and I headed to the closest subway, which was across the street at the Port Authority Bus Terminal. While I was walking through a piss-scented, trash-filled disgusting back entrance into the bus station, I remembered the voice mail and played the message. It was the foreign rights director at my agency! Telling me she had news and I should call her back! There were two random men in this passage acting crazy, staring at me, and lurching against the walls, but I made the phone call back from that spot anyway because at least it was quiet and I could hear what the foreign rights director had to tell me.

She gave me the news: An indie publisher in Australia wants to publish Imaginary Girls! The editor loves the book! They’re Pier 9, an imprint of Murdoch Books! They want to publish as soon as July! They’re so excited!

I was so thrilled! I remember standing there, holding my nose, looking at the dirty walls and men staring back at me and thinking, I AM GOING TO REMEMBER THIS MOMENT FOREVER!

After I ended the call with Lauren—the wonderful foreign rights director at my agency—I realized I’d been pacing the corridor with a freakish smile on my face, leaping around and making odd squealing sounds, and maybe I was scaring the strange men who’d been scaring me.

This moment might sound sketchy and yucky, but I can’t even tell you how happy I was. How I soared into the main terminal of the Port Authority, seeking the subway, gliding through rush-hour crowds, thinking, My book is going to be published in Australia!

Australia!

It’s one of the happiest things that happened to me all year, and yes I will forever have fond memories of the back entrance to the Port Authority bus terminal because of it.

Fast forward to today. Today (in Australia) is July 1 and Imaginary Girls is on sale!

My Australian publisher, Pier 9, tweeted this photo! I can't wait to hold one in my hands!

I’m so thrilled that Pier 9 / Murdoch Books is publishing the ANZ edition. Thank you, Pier 9! If you live in Australia or New Zealand, please please look for the book in stores and tweet me photos if you can! Or post them on my Facebook author page!

I haven’t gotten my author copies yet, but as soon as I do, I’ll give some away on the blog to my readers, even if you live in the US!

IMAGINARY GIRLS Blog Tour: Secret #9 Revealed

Posted on June 30, 2011 by Nova Ren Suma

The Blog Tour is nearing its end and today, for Day #9, you’ll find me on Book Chic revealing a secret about what I read when I was a teenager. You also have your NINTH chance to win a signed copy of the book!

If you missed my first 8 secrets and the first 8 chances to win signed books, go see what secrets I revealed about the title, about NaNoWriMo, about my characters’ names, about the town where the story takes place, about the reservoir, about the ring Ruby loses, about the path to Olive, and about the music that shaped the story more than you know.

Wonder what new secret I’m spilling about Imaginary Girls? Visit Book Chic and win a signed copy of Imaginary Girls while you’re at it.