STATUS: Having a happy week with some good client news.
What’s playing on the iPod right now? JOKING by Indigo Girls
I love sharing news like this. It can be difficult to land a much coveted Publishers Weekly review. They get every galley for soon-to-be-released books and they only choose 30 or so fiction/nonfiction titles a week to review. And the review window is small so once closed, no PW review.
Well, I have 2 authors reviewed in 2 almost back-to-back issues and yes, I’m thrilled.
First off, Cheryl Sawyer’s THE WINTER PRINCE. It’s her first appearance in PW and this appeared in the Feb. 5, 2007 issue.
Here’s an excerpt:
Hardcore history buffs will appreciate the fly-on-the-turret view of the dramas besieging the British royal court in 1642, when, though the country is rocked by a civil war, there is still time for illicit romance. Sawyer (The Code of Love ;The Chase ) imagines the private moments of historical figures, focusing on 20-year-old beauty Mary Villiers, the adoptive daughter of King Charles I, and Prince Rupert, the king’s beloved and loyal warrior nephew. Though married to James Stuart, duke of Richmond, Mary cannot resist the charms of Rupert le diable once the charismatic, swashbuckling playboy sets his sights on her. Their romance, however, couldn’t come at a worse time: the king is intent on shaking up Parliament, and the outcome could be dire for Rupert and Mary. Fans of the stolen-glance-and-lingering-touch variety of romance will savor the slow-cooking affair.
This week, for the Feb. 26, 2007 issue that’s not out yet, it’s Jennifer O’Connell’s turn for EVERYTHING I NEEDED TO KNOW ABOUT BEING A GIRL I LEARNED FROM JUDY BLUME
Not only that, but PW is featuring the fabulous cover and they only choose one cover per section per issue. Score!
Kristen, Is Jennifer O’Connel’s book also a play? A few years ago when I was at the Funny Women’s Fest in Chicago, a woman performed a one woman show that was similarly titled. It was hilarious, especially to those of us in our thirties who grew up on JB. Same author or a coincidence?
That stage show was called “What Every Girl Should Know.” It was cute.
Interesting stuff about Publishers Weekly; thanks for sharing. And what great cover art! All of you must be bursting.
Amy
Ever the salmon swimming upstream, I beg to differ. The O’Connel book cover would not tempt out my Visa. In fact, the cover prints JUDY BLUME in a larger, more attention grabbing font than the actual author. In the 5-7 seconds it takes me to choose a book for purchase, I’d pass on this one, since I outgrew J. Blume a long time ago.
The cover follows the new “rules” set out in the Times two weeks ago. Clean background, no face showing, impactful graphic, foil title. Congrats to everyone with a story – I’m eager to read them all. I learned a few things about being a BOY from Ms. Blume too (remember the kid who wore a raincoat to school every day and had “nocturnal emissions?”
I think we all learned a lot from Judy Blume!
Can’t wait for this anthology to come out.
huzzah. hip hip hooray, and all that. congratulations. i agree with phantom logoff, though… blume is quite very in the past, and i would not think of buying it. what’s publisher’s weekly, anyway? where can i get a copy?
If you’re going to comment on an author’s work, at least have the common sense to spell his/her name right. It’s O’Connell not O’Connel, and it’s right there on the cover you’re writing about.
M
I still cannot wait for this book!
After reading the comments, I had to come back and say that most women, and this is no offense to Jennifer (I even had the pleasure of meeting her when she lived in Chicago)… but any thirty-something woman who knew Blume’s books will pick this one up because they see her name on the cover. She brings back nostalgia to many women.
The first book I ever really read and fell in love with was Blubber. I was in fifth grade. The word DAMN was written in the book. I was scared that my mom would find out I read a book with a swear word in it so I told her.
I also got ‘caught’ reading Forever, and that book sparked a whole birds-and-bees conversation with my mom and dad that would have never happened had I not read and been caught reading Forever.
So, for every woman who fell in love with Blume as a tween or teen, this is a book they will for sure pick up!
Having Blume’s name larger on the cover is a marketing ploy that will sell more books. Jennifer is a fabulous writer, and I’m sure the book will shine, but I betcha any woman who read Blume back then, and sees the book on the shelf, will pick it up!
Looking forward to the Blume book. Congrats on the reviews! You’re doing something right!