Operation Teen Book Drop: April 18!

From the readergirlz blog:

We're so excited to be rocking Operation Teen Book Drop '13! You guys know The Drop is one of our favorite days of the year -- what better way to get on board with Support Teen Literature day? This year, in addition to rocking out and dropping our favorite YA titles in public spaces for lucky readers to discover, we're also directing supporters of teen fiction everywhere to consider a book donation to 826NYC to help grow their library. On April 18th (that's next Thursday!), readergirlz will be teaming with Figment, I Heart Daily, Soho Teen, and 826NYC to celebrate YA lit.

Want to #rockthedrop with us? Of course you do!

Here's how: 

•Follow @readergirlz on twitter and tweet #rockthedrop

•Print out the bookplate (designed by the super-talented Lindsay Frantz) and drop books in your area on Support Teen Literature Day:

•Donate books to 826NYC: 

826NYC

attn: Joan Kim

c/o: readergirlz Rock the Drop
372 Fifth Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11215

We can't wait! Now, off to gather a box for 826NYC, and to think of the perfect drop spots for our books....
 

Don't forget to post pics at our facebook of any books you drop or find! Hope to see you online on Support Teen Literature Day!

Library Love

One of my favorite librarians announced that RETURN TO ME is a featured April pick at my local library. Let me tell you how much I love my local library: these librarians promised me that they would find any fact I ever needed for my novels. Even when I moved to China and was thousands of miles from them, they vowed to even scan pages from research materials, whatever I needed.

LOVE my library. LOVE the King County Library System!

Blogger Extraordinaire: JeanBookNerd!

If you want to know how to interview in an engaging way, look no further than Jean Vallesteros, a devoted book review who maintains a fantastic blog, JeanBookNerd. (How would I describe Jackson in RETURN TO ME? My answer: He drives at one speed: sexy.)

Suffice it to say, I was thrilled when Jean asked for an interview. PLUS, she's giving away a few copies of RETURN TO ME. Visit her now to win your copy!

Happy Pi Day!

So honored to be part of YA Reading List's celebration of Pi Day along with John Green and Danica McKellar. There she is, Patty Ho, the protagonist of my debut novel, NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH (and a few white lies).

So strange to think that I wrote that book over 6 years ago: buildering (rock climbing on buildings) at Stanford, learning about the fine art of tea drinking (caffeinated, anyone?), and immersing myself in feng shui...

To read the full post and immerse yourself in books about math, check it out here.

Blast from the Past: Hannah Teter + Girl Overboard!

For the launch of GIRL OVERBOARD--featuring a snowboarder--Burton Snowboards and my publisher put Olympic gold medalist Hannah Teter and myself on a tour. I was tickled to see The Ultimate YA Reading Group include a photograph from one of our pit stops in Vermont before we climbed on Santa's sleigh to participate in a small town parade.

You can check out the full article here.

The Science of Storytelling

A number of corporate storytellers have asked me for further information about the science of storytelling. Here's a great article that encapsulates some of the research:

 

For the full article, click here.  Or go to: http://www.dailygood.org/view.php?sid=394

Creative Process: Vision Boarding

So curious about other people's creative process: how do you take your ideas and see them to fruition? One of my favorite exercises is to create a vision board of my new work. Essentially, I map out the character, journey, goals, and mood in a collage. And use that piece of handmade art as my north star from discovery draft to final manuscript.

On NOVL, my publisher's Tumblr that celebrates YA novels, I divulge the messy, chaotic creative process at work. 

To read the full post, click right here.