Archive for November, 2010
November 29th, 2010
Holy smokes, it’s almost December! 
Things have been hopping here at Casa Cassidy. I’ve been getting a lot of tweets and emails this month about CINDY ON A MISSION timing and wanted to give you all a quick update.
It’s been a whirlwind couple of months (including the exciting sale of THE CINDERELLA SOCIETY to Editora Record in Brazil at auction!) and there are some BIG changes coming for me in 2011 and beyond… most of which I can’t announce publicly yet. Gah!
One thing I can tell you is that CINDY ON A MISSION will not be coming out in Spring 2011 as originally printed in the back of THE CINDERELLA SOCIETY. (So don’t worry, you haven’t missed ARCs on it. LOL) I’ll have more details to share about Jess and the Cindys in early 2011 and promise to keep you posted on their further adventures!
In the meantime, there are lots of exciting new things in the works too (including two new books I’m over le moon about!). But I’m saving that scoop for a big announcement in 2011. Just know that I’m SUPER excited about Sekret Project D (a dark YA with a kick-butt heroine) and Sekret Project CR (a fast-paced middle grades cipher mystery) and I’m having an absolute blast. I can’t wait for 2011 and beyond!
Have I mentioned I love my job?
November 9th, 2010
It’s here! I’ve been getting emails all year asking when THE CINDERELLA SOCIETY’s e-book would be available for Kindle, Nook, iPad, Sony Reader, etc. I’m delighted to announce that it’s finally here for all you e-reader fans!
As a new Nook buyer, this is extra fun. I’ve already downloaded the sample chapter just so I can see it on my Nook. For your convenience, here are the links to the e-book version on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
In other news, I’m also happy to announce the winners of THE MOCKINGBIRDS by Daisy Whitney. This was a special giveaway I wanted to host because a) Daisy is fantabulous and wonderful, and b) because Cindys always stand up for what they believe in (and that’s an important part of THE MOCKINGBIRDS). And the winners are:
Aimee Bartis and Kristi Helvig
Congratulations Aimee and Kristi! Please contact me here with your mailing address to receive your prize.
November 8th, 2010
It’s that time of year again… the holidays are approaching, and I’m busy re-evaluating how I want to finish out the year and kick off 2011. One of the things I’ve been pondering is my Five. I’m a huge proponent of Living Your Five™… choosing the five areas you most want to make a difference in and then committing to doing a little bit every day to live your Five.
I haven’t revisited my Five since the end of last year, and I’m ready to do that again. What I’ve realized is that my interests and priorities have changed a lot over the year. A LOT. It’s been one of those years where so many unexpected career and personal things have occurred that it’s left me wondering how to meld them into a harmonious and balanced life moving forward. Revamping my Five seems like the logical place to start, no?
So here are my new Five for late 2010 and beyond:
1. Embrace gratitude and pay it forward
One of the things I’ve started doing is tweeting some of the things I’m grateful for. There’s so much chatter on Twitter that I always enjoy the meaningful tweets about what’s really important to the people I follow. My contribution to that is to use the #dailygratitude hashtag and tweet about some of the big (and small!) things that make me smile.
I’m also a huge believer in paying it forward. The national Great Scavenger Hunt Contest™ is a primary piece of my Pay It Forward platform. By offering librarians across the country a fun, free, year-round reading program that not only keeps kids and teens coming back to the library for more but also encourages a lifelong love of reading for pleasure, I’m helping both librarians and young readers build stronger connections with books.
But I’ve also begun to branch out. I volunteer at a local school library that has seen cutbacks (as so many libraries have). And I’ve started looking for ways to give back in my community as a whole. I’m excited to see what 2011 holds in store for me on this part of my Five.
2. Live a self-sufficient life
I’m a suburban girl, born and raised. My mom is a great cook and can sew and craft with the best of them. But somehow this never rubbed off on me. I haven’t worked a sewing machine since junior high, I’m a terrible cook, and I don’t know the first thing about gardening (other than planting a flat of flowers from Lowe’s). The older I get, the more I realize that I’m doing myself and my family a disservice by being so clueless.
So I’m setting out to change that. I want to be able to rely on myself to provide for my family and not be at the mercy of what’s on the shelf at the local store. I’m not talking about living off the grid, mind you; I’m just talking about being more self-sufficient. Not only is this better for our family, but it’s better for our community and for our planet. I believe we all need to have basic skills so that, in the event of a Katrina or the grid failure that knocked out power to several states a while back, we can make sure our own basic needs are met so we are better prepared to help others when things get rough.
3. Put family and friends first
I have a plaque on my desk with the engraving “To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world.” I look at it every day as a reminder that what’s truly important is making a difference to those closest to me. Too often over the last year I’ve put book signings or The Great Scavenger Hunt Contest™ or any number of other projects ahead of my family. And yet with my family I have a unique opportunity to make a deep and meaningful impact. It’s like HGTV says: “Change the world, start at home.”
If we give our best to the people we love and help nurture them as they embrace their full potential, we extend our own ability to make a difference in the world. And as Jess learns in THE CINDERELLA SOCIETY, the people you love deserve your best.
4. Seek out inspiring stories and share them with others
This is one of my favorite pastimes. I love reading about ordinary people doing extraordinary things. People who don’t have a lot of money to throw around, people who lead incredibly busy lives, people who are facing incredible adversity… and yet they find time–scratch that, MAKE time–to give back to others and make a difference in the world around them. Those stories absolutely make my day. I want to do more to seek out those stories and share them with others. We can all use more inspiration in our day, can’t we?
5. Live a greener life
This has been a biggie of mine for a while. I love finding ways to reduce, reuse and recycle. I love learning about alternative energy sources. (We just looked at a solar backup generator yesterday that was pretty darn cool – if only we lived in a sunnier locale). This also ties into the self-sufficiency part of my Five too. In fact, focusing more and more on living a greener life this year is, in large part, what led me to become an advocate for self-sufficient living. It’s a wonderful feeling of accomplishment and serenity to know that you’re helping your family, your community, and your planet at the same time.
November 2nd, 2010
Happy release day to Daisy Whitney and her debut, THE MOCKINGBIRDS! If you haven’t met Daisy yet, high-tail it over to her web site (or visit her on Twitter @daisywhitney) and get to know this incredibly sweet dynamo.
Daisy is not only a fellow Tenner, but also a fellow girlfriend on the Girlfriends Cyber Circuit. To celebrate her release (and thank her for being such a huge supporter of me and authors everywhere!), I’m delighted to be sponsoring a THE MOCKINGBIRDS giveaway to not one, but two lucky commenters. It’s a double whammy! Stay tuned at the end of the interview for all the details.
GCC presents… Daisy Whitney!
It’s GCC time to kick off November! This week, I’m ecstatic to bring you the amazing and wonderful (and so so smart)…
Daisy Whitney
Welcome, Daisy!
The Girlfriend
Name:
Daisy Whitney
Short Bio:
Daisy Whitney is a new media producer, reporter, and internationally-known Web show creator, and The Mockingbirds is her debut novel. A graduate of Brown University, Daisy believes in shoes, chocolate chip cookies, and karma. She lives in San Francisco, California with her fabulous husband, fantastic kids, and adorable dog, and you can follow her writing blog and new media adventures at DaisyWhitney.com.
The Book
The Mockingbirds
November 2, 2010
Little, Brown
**On shelves TODAY!**
Some schools have honor codes.
Others have handbooks.
Themis Academy has the Mockingbirds.
Themis Academy is a quiet boarding school with an exceptional student body that the administration trusts to always behave the honorable way–the Themis Way. So when Alex is date raped during her junior year, she has two options: stay silent and hope someone helps her, or enlist the Mockingbirds–a secret society of students dedicated to righting the wrongs of their fellow peers.
In this honest, page-turning account of a teen girl’s struggle to stand up for herself, debut author Daisy Whitney reminds readers that if you love something or someone–especially yourself–you fight for it.
Up Close and Personal
1. PURSUING YOUR DREAMS: Everyone has the ability to be extraordinary, they just have to embrace what makes them unique and special and pursue their dreams with passion and confidence! Was being a published author a dream of yours? If so, how does it feel to have achieved your dream?
I pinch myself every day. Life is a wondrous extraordinary thing and I truly believe if you keep working hard dreams have a funny way of coming true.
2. CHANGING YOUR WORLD: Changing the world doesn’t have to mean finding a cure for cancer or creating lasting world peace (though it definitely can!). It just means finding a way that you can make the world a little better off for having lived here, whether it’s making a difference to one person or a million, to the earth, to animals… whatever is important to you. What is one way you would personally like to make the world a better place?
I try to live an eco-friendly life by recyling, re-using, and buying sustainably grown food. I also made a decision to return to vegetarianism earlier this year for many reasons including a love of animals and a desire to make as low an impact on the earth as possible.
3. GRATITUDE: Gratitude is a huge part of the You 2.0 life. Taking a moment to count our blessings is the best way to remember what’s truly important (especially when life is hectic and crazy!). What are you grateful for?
Health! My children! My husband! My dog! Everything! Most of all I am so grateful that my family is healthy and happy!
Author Fun!
4. SECRET SQUEE MOMENT: What is the coolest thing that’s happened to you since becoming a published author?
I went on a pre-pub tour this summer and it was totally surreal to meet all these booksellers and librarians who were excited about my book!
5. ALL-TIME MOST MEMORABLE BOOK: What book had the greatest impact on you growing up?
I’d have to say The Little House on the Prairie books because whenever I look back on reading as a child I was always curled up with those books. They showed me how books can take you away to another world.
6. THE REAL DEAL: If you could go back in time and give your teen/tween self one piece of advice, what would it be?
Being the only one who missed the Madonna concert is not the end of the world!
Thanks to Daisy for a terrific interview!
The Giveaway!
In celebration of Daisy and her debut, I’m happy to be sponsoring a giveaway of THE MOCKINGBIRDS to two lucky commenters! Comment below and tell us why you think it’s important to stand up for what’s right. A bonus entry to every commenter who also shares a story about a time when they personally stood up for something they believed in! Comment below by Monday, November 8, 2010. (Giveaway open to US only.)
