Lisa's Little Corner of the Internet

Some nice reviews of Falling For You

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 17:29:42 GMT

Waiting for professional reviews to come in is a bit nerve-wracking, to say the least.

Today I thought I'd share some of the nice things reviewers have said about my latest YA novel, Falling For You.

VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates, a publication for librarians) says, "Schroeder has done a wonderful job creating teenage characters from a variety of backgrounds and using those backgrounds to influence their actions. This novel is ripe for use in a classroom or book club; discussion points include: healthy relationships, poetry as expression, relationship boundaries, and more. Readers looking for a realistic teen read saturated in emotion will love Falling For You."

Ripe for use in a classroom? That makes me as happy as this cute little guy!

School Library Journal says, "Rae is a well-drawn, strong-willed heroine, and her blossoming relationship with a homeschooled neighbor adds a sweetness and depth to the story."

Awesome! Sweetness, like a cupcake, right?

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books says, "As things get worse and worse for her, she [Rae] seeks ways to help herself and others that are faithful to her character; she's no Pollyanna, but she is determined that the messes that surround her on all sides won't define her, and she manages to convince herself and others that being honest about one's pain can bring compassion. It's a heartening message for readers in difficult situations, and the poems scattered throughout the text enhance the cathartic note of hope in hard times."

I love that she mentioned the hope that I believe is prevalent throughout in what is sometimes a pretty sad story. Hope like the rainbow represents, yes?

Thanks for letting me share. While it's a bit disappointing I didn't get reviewed by a couple of the big ones, at least I did get a few nice ones. I think I can breathe easy now.

Cover, cover, cover!!!

Fri, 16 Nov 2012 16:06:25 GMT

Coming September 24, 2013!!!

What do you think?

I LOVE it! I love the purple and red and how the fun streamers make it feel like a celebration. And check out the charm bracelet that once again gives little hints about what's in the story.

So excited to share this with the readers who have gobbled up IT'S RAINING CUPCAKES and SPRINKLES AND SECRETS. A huge thank you to Aladdin who said, yes, let's do a third book!

In January, I'll share more about what the book is about. But for now, we can gaze at the delicious little cakes and drool, haha.

One of my books coming to Brazil

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 22:28:46 GMT

Look, look! Isn't it pretty?

This is THE DAY BEFORE, brazilian style. When I plug the title into google translator, it comes up as HAPPENED YESTERDAY.

If you speak portuguese, you can read all about it here. I believe it says it will be released October 11th, so not long at all!

I'm so excited - I've had people from Brazil e-mailing me over the years, asking when my books might be published there. These things aren't up to the author, so I'm thrilled it's finally happening!

Wordless Wednesday

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 03:29:39 GMT

Filling the well

Thu, 16 Aug 2012 20:52:04 GMT

After working hard revising a manuscript in July, I'm taking this month off, mostly, from writing. I still have business stuff every couple of days I have to attend to, and I'm doing some research for a middle grade idea I have. But not a lot of writing happening these last days of summer, and it's been really nice.

I think it's so important for authors to take time to fill the well. To get out and do things and become inspired in whatever ways work for them. I do spend a lot of my free time reading and watching movies, because as I told my husband the other day, even when I'm taking a break, I love stories. Well-crafted stories inspire me. Always have, always will.

But I also love to get out and see the beauty that's in the world. Last weekend, my family did a fairly easy 3.5 mile hike that's about an hour from our house, in the beautiful Columbia Gorge. I'd heard about the hike from Eagle Crest to Punchbowl Falls, but we'd never made the trip, and I decided it was time. Wow, so glad we did! We'll definitely be back, and maybe go even further next time. Here are some pictures, for your viewing pleasure.

Hope you are having a great summer!

Happy Book Birthday Anne Marie

Tue, 07 Aug 2012 14:06:01 GMT

Hey, batter batter

Mon, 16 Jul 2012 20:44:54 GMT

On the fourth of July, I played cornhole and got talked into subbing on a co-ed softball team. It was only the next day that I tried to remember the last time I played softball and realized it was probably about... 25 years ago (fastpitch, in high school).

So, the boys (my husband included) and I went to the school down the street to play catch and hit some balls around. I did all right. I was still nervous, but not as nervous as I was at first.

And then yesterday, game day, came around and all day, nervous was my middle name.

They ended up having enough women after all, so I only had to play in the field (right field, thank goodness) a couple of times. I fielded one ball, and while it could have been better, it wasn't too bad.

But the hitting. Oy. They played the wheel, which means everyone hit, whether you were playing in the field or not. I'm sure they are regretting this decision now. The first time, I hit a pop fly somewhere in the infield. I don't know exactly, because I did what you're supposed to do. I didn't watch the ball, I ran as hard as I could to first base. Everyone was impressed with how fast I ran, which is good. No one was impressed with that hit.

The second time, it was the last inning. Our team was behind. We had two outs. And it was my turn to bat. I told myself I would not swing. Chances were good I would walk, because it was the end of the game and he was probably getting tired, plus I'm short, which means my strike zone is small.

Well, when it got to be two balls and two strikes, I had to swing. I didn't want to strike out, and I was really afraid that's what would happen. The result?

Another pop fly in the infield. ARGH. First thing I thought of when I woke up? That stupid pop fly that ended the game.

I've been trying to figure out how to spin the game so I'm not looking at myself so negatively. And really, what I need to focus on, is that I went out there and played even though I was terrified. Yes, I played badly. But I played. And next time (if there is a next time - co-ed softball is WAY more intense than I thought it would be), hopefully I will play a little better and a little better after that.

I also think it was fun to be part of a team, all working toward something. It was fun to get out and do something really different, something I don't do every day. I've been working hard on revisions, spending hours every day at the computer, and for a good two hours, I did not think about writing ONCE!! When I'm walking, when I'm jogging, when I'm doing dishes or laundry, I almost always think about writing, even if I'm trying to take a break from the writing.

So, maybe I was a lousy softball player. I played! I survived!! Sometimes, when we stretch out of our comfort zone, that might be all we can say when it's over. But it's actually no small thing!

Answering the question: Why not in verse?

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 23:20:48 GMT

As some of you have probably figured out, FALLING FOR YOU (coming from Simon Pulse January 2013) is my first published YA novel not written in verse.

Some readers haven't wanted to know - why? Why isn't this one written in a similar style to my other young adult novels?

Before I answer that question, a little backstory.

I've written four novels in verse:

I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME
FAR FROM YOU
CHASING BROOKLYN
THE DAY BEFORE
(these are all stand-alone novels, by the way)

If you've read one or two of my books and were hoping for more, I hope you'll check out the other ones already published. If you can't find them on the bookstore shelves, you can always ask them to order for you.

With each of those books, the verse helped to create an atmosphere that I couldn't get with regular prose.

When I wrote my first YA novel, I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME, I feel like the verse chose me rather than me choosing the verse. That's the way the story wanted to be told. I tried to fight it, honestly, because I was so scared of doing something different. But it was useless - the story poured out of me in verse and I finally decided to go with it and see what happened. And now, I'm so glad I did!

FALLING FOR YOU has a lot going on, and is told in kind of an unconventional way. That is, most of the story is told in flashbacks, alternating with brief segments of present day every once in a while. I think it can be really tricky, and maybe even off-putting to a reader, to do more than one unconventional thing in a novel. Even doing one unconventional thing is risky! Now that I've done this for a while, I am all about taking risks and trying new things. That's how we grow and improve as authors, I think. And if the risk works and works well, the payoff can be huge. But we also have to keep our readers in mind and understand that if we go too far with the risk-taking, they may not want to follow along.

Because I am playing with the timeline a bit, and doing something different there, I'm afraid trying to also write the story in verse would have just been too much. That is, too much for me as a writer, but even more importantly, too much for you as a reader.

I still worked hard to make the story accessible and appealing to reluctant readers. The chapters are fairly short and my editor had the brilliant idea to incorporate some poetry into the story as well. So, my readers who have read every single book and are dying for more verse will get a little bit in this book as well.

The thing is, not every idea is going to work in verse. I happen to have had four ideas in a row that worked in verse. This time, the story of a girl who works in a flower shop and has something terrible happen to her wanted, needed I would probably argue, to be told in a different way. As an author, it's my job to put my needs/wants aside and do what is best for the story.

I hope when you read the book, you find it a suspenseful, surprising, and emotional read - like I've tried to do with all of my YA novels.

That's my ultimate goal, and what I want to give readers, every time, regardless of how the story is told.

ALA Recap - Better late than never

Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:42:09 GMT

I know. ALA was a long time ago. By now, in a world where everything is posted on-line as it happens, if you wait a week to post about it, most people have forgotten about it. But I did this crazy thing after ALA. I took a vacation! A real, honest-to-goodness vacation. I did have my computer, but blogging during vacation time did not seem right. After all, when you are in Maui, you should be on beaches like this, not on the computer!

This is part of Black Sand Beach - the morning we were there we had the
place to ourselves. It was awesome!

So, back to ALA! I only did one day, but what a day it was...

Sunday morning, I was up bright and early to get ready for the YALSA coffee klatch. I love this event! Every four minutes, authors go to a different table and talk with a different group of librarians. It's like speed-dating, but with librarians. Cool, right? I did it for the first time at ALA in 2009, in Chicago. I loved hanging out in the green room before hand, where all the authors gathered. I got to meet Sarah Dessen and E. Lockhart that year. And Richard Peck! The green room is a fun place to be, trust me!

I was very disappointed I didn't get to do the green room this year. See, I didn't get to do it because I was late. I was late because I got lost. It sort of traumatized me, honestly. I found myself in a not-so-nice part of Anaheim, because I'd gone in the wrong direction, and when I went into a convenience store and called for a cab, I was told it'd be a 30 minute wait. Knowing that probably meant it'd actually be an hour wait, there was no way I could go that route. There was nothing else to do but hoof it back the way I'd come and then on to the hotel from there.

Hoof it I did. I ran through the streets of Anaheim. Literally. In tears, and in my pink dress. And flip flops I'd put on at the last second, thank goodness, stuffing my wedges in my bag to put on when I arrived. I wouldn't have been able to run if I'd worn my wedges. My prayers were answered when I came upon one of the ALA shuttles running around town. I got on and the driver took us to the convention center. Though the event wasn't at the convention center, but he was so nice and let me off so I could directly get on the bus taking people to the Hyatt. There were only 8-12 librarians on that shuttle, but they were ALL going to the coffee klatch, like me, and they were ALL late, like me! They were the nicest librarians EVER and told me it would be fine. And it was. I got there at 9:10, just as the authors were walking in to be seated.

BIG. SIGH. OF. RELIEF.

I don't know why I'm blogging about this, I told everyone I saw about my traumatic morning, and I'm sure I will not forget it as long as I live.

Okay, on to much more important things than my terrible sense of direction!

Angela Frederick, a librarian from Nashville, TN, snapped this picture of me when I was at her table and shared it on twitter. I happened to notice a couple of Morris award stickers on badges and couldn't help but mention my friend, L.K. Madigan, who won the Morris award a couple of years ago. Turns out Angela was on that particular committee, and got to spend some time with Lisa. So, for a minute, we talked about sweet Lisa. That was just one table of many - the 50 minutes went by in a blink of an eye!

Not sure what I'm saying, but I'm pretty sure I'm thinking
I'm so happy to not be lost anymore.

After the coffee klatch, I met up with the fabulous Jessi Kirby, whose YA novels I LOVE, like whoa! And now I can say I love Jessi as much as her books - so sweet! We walked the exhibit hall for a bit until my dear friend Lindsey Leavitt, arrived. Here we are at Lindsey's signing later that day, at the Disney booth (Lindsey was signing her third PRINCESS FOR HIRE book, A FAREWELL TO CHARMS, which I just finished reading. SO GOOD!).

Does it get more fabulous than this? I think not.
Wait. Unless we could find that adorable Corey Whaley...

Yes, here we are with the Printz award winner, Corey Whaley, who wrote the amazing WHEN THINGS COME BACK. Fortunately we didn't get stuck in those doors when they all slammed shut because of a fire alarm. It was like a scene out of a horror movie, I'm telling you. Quite fortunate someone didn't get hurt.

I was sad I didn't get to hear Corey's Printz speech, which was Monday night, but I believe it will be on-line at some point. He was excited about his speech, not nervous at all. I want to be Corey when I grow up.

I signed books at the S&S booth and people waited in line and bought books in order to get an ARC of my upcoming YA novel, FALLING FOR YOU. THANK YOU to everyone who came to see me!!

Here is a picture of me and Lena (her blog is here) - a sweet blogger from Texas who said she'd waited 3 years to meet me. Yay, we met! And she's awesome.

Wow, Lena, I seem to be squeezing your arm extremely hard.
Hope I didn't leave bruises! I was just so happy to see you!

And next is a picture of me and Kelsey (her blog is here), another awesome YA blogger.

There were many others, but these were the pictures I saw on twitter, and I know Kelsey and Lena well enough to ask if I could borrow their pictures for my post. I'm so appreciative of everyone who came by to buy books, get ARCs and say hi. Again, thank you!!!!!

She loves cupcakes like me. We look like cupcake lovers, don't we?

I ran into MG authors Sheela Chari and Mike Jung at one point, but alas, I have no pictures of them. I had met Mike before, and I'm super excited about his upcoming MG novel, GEEKS, GIRLS AND SECRET IDENTITIES. It was great to meet Sheela after all these years! VANISHED is the name of her wonderful MG mystery.

Later that day, I met up with a bunch of people for cocktails and got to chat with one of my favorite librarians, Sara Bean Thompson (her blog is here).

CHASING BROOKLYN is a Missouri Gateway award nominee
thanks, in part, to Sara's support! But I liked her even before that. :)

After that, I had dinner with the always sweet and awesome Shannon Messenger, whose books KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES (MG) and LET THE SKY FALL (YA) are not out yet but are already creating LOTS of buzz. Pretty sure it won't be long and I will have to make an appointment with Shannon's publicist in order to spend time with her. I predict big things for her. Big. Things! Neither of us took a picture, dang it. I'm pretty sure it was because I was starving after running a marathon earlier that morning trying to get to the coffee klatch I was late for.

I only picked up a few ARCs, but I got the one I wanted the most. I teared up as I held it in my hands. Yes, this is the book by Bridget Zinn, a Portland YA-writer friend who lost her battle with cancer last year. I can't wait to read it.

I'll just end this post by saying - thank you YA librarians, for all you do! I'm honored to have spent a day at your conference and to have met so many of you!!

ALA, here I come!

Thu, 21 Jun 2012 01:37:14 GMT

It is no secret that I LOVE librarians and everything they do to promote literature and put books in the hands of readers.

And I have to admit, anytime I get to attend the big librarian conference known as ALA, I am SO HAPPY!

This year, I'll be at ALA in Anaheim on Sunday only. I'm doing the YA coffee klatch in the morning, going from table to table talking to a bunch of librarians in the course of an hour. The first year I did this, I was in the green room before hand with some of my YA heroes like Sarah Dessen, E. Lockhart, Libba Bray, and many others and it was so weird to be there alongside them. I introduced myself to Sarah and said, I'm the one who comments on your blog all the time and loves Friday Night Lights as much as you do. Yeah, when all else fails, talk about a TV show, that's my philosophy.

Even more exciting than the coffee klatch, however, is that I'll be signing Advanced Review Copies (ARCs) of FALLING FOR YOU at 1:00 in the Simon and Schuster booth.

FALLING FOR YOU doesn't come out until January, 2013, so this is a chance for librarians and bloggers to read the book early. Eep! Exciting and kind of anxiety-producing!!

I know at the IRA conference, S&S was doing this thing where you had to buy a previous title for $5.00 and then you'd get the ARC for free. I don't know what they have planned, if they'll do that with THE DAY BEFORE and FALLING FOR YOU, because these things aren't up to me, but I do know that usually there are very few ARCs of my books to be had, so I'm super excited they are offering these up at this conference.

So if you will be at ALA, I hope you'll come and see me! Even if you don't want an ARC, stop by and say hi. I'll have shiny new bookmarks you can have, if you want one or two or ten.

Sunday, June 24th, 1:00, S&S booth - Hope to see you then!

Summertime Memories

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 21:12:15 GMT

My grandparents lived on a farm out in the country. For a couple of years, starting when I was about 13, while my mom went back to school, we lived on the farm in my great grandparents' old house.

The summers I spent there are some of the strongest memories I have to this day. I don't think I knew how much I loved being on the farm. I loved wandering around. I'd visit the old playhouse that my mother had played in when she was younger. I'd swing on the tire swing. On hot days, the cool barn was the place to go. Upstairs in the barn was a built-in trampoline my grandpa had built for his three daughters. Here's the old barn, built around 1929, as it looks today:

Some afternoons, my grandma and I would go bike riding on back country roads, collecting pop cans and bottles from the ditch as we went along.

While strawberries were in season, I would ride the bus to the fields and pick berries. I soon learned that picking berries all day made for one very long day. At least for a 13-year old. I talked my grandma into picking me up at lunch time some days. Those were the best afternoons, because we'd go back to her house, have lunch, and watch soap operas for a couple of hours. (Thanks to me and my obsession with Luke and Laura, my grandma got hooked on General Hospital and continued to watch it for many, many years to come, usually before her afternoon nap).

I made $75.00 picking berries that summer. My grandpa had promised to match whatever I earned, so I finally had enough money to buy myself the dog I'd always wanted - a purebred cocker spaniel. I named him Lucky.

I miss my grandma and grandpa. I miss wandering around that old farm. I miss my sweet dog, Lucky.

But I still have summertime, along with the lazy days and fun times and sweet fruit it brings. Thank God, I still have summertime.

Vacation's all I've ever wanted (Thanks to The Go-Go's)

Wed, 30 May 2012 17:07:25 GMT

Last night I was reading this post by my friend, Rachel Hawkins, and her plan to June Sploon. And then I was reading this post by my friend, Kate Messner, about her plans to help librarians and teachers write this summer. And I was like, oh, that would be fun to get in on that June Sploon action. And yeah, I should totally ask Kate what I can do to help her, because that's an awesome idea.

And then I was like - cool your jets, Lisa. Yo, this is supposed to be the summer of some much-needed R&R!

There is a part of me that wants to jump in to every cool thing offered if it could potentially mean a) an opportunity to spend time with people around the blogosphere who I think are cool, b) more exposure for me and my books or c) something that motivates me to get more books written.

But the thing is, I have been at this writing thing a long time now, and I no longer want to do it 24/7. There was a time when I lived and breathed writing and promoting and everything in between, and I don't want to do that anymore. First of all, I don't think it's healthy for me and second of all, this is now my job, and how many times have we heard, you won't be on your death bed, looking back at your life, wishing you worked more? I'm really trying to treat it more like a job.

Because I've been at this a long time now, I know I can write a book in 2-3 months with my tried and true 1,000 words a day. And I also know that summer is my most favorite time of the year. Rachel and I have actually talked about this, and summer is NOT fun where she lives, (down south y'all) so it's logical, I suppose, that summer rolls around and she's ready to stay inside with the glorious A/C and write. Okay, so deadlines help with that decision too, of course.

Summer is when I want to PLAY, as much as possible. Although I will have to work some too. Most likely, I'll have two editorial letters this summer, on two different middle grade novels. I don't really need to write anything new on top of that, when there are hikes to go on and berries to pick and pools to swim in and beaches to comb.

For about nine months of the year, give or take three days, Oregon is dreary and gray. Perfect writing weather, really. And during those eight to nine months, I'm usually working in the early mornings on weekends too, because I don't want to lose any momentum I have in either drafting or revising. So I'm working a LOT during those months. It's taken a long time for me to get to this place where I tell myself it's okay to take a break (as much as possible) during the summer.

I'd love to hear your thoughts about writing and breaks. How do you decide when it's time to take a break? Do you schedule them, or take them as they come? Do you have a favorite time of the year when you want to be playing more than working, like me? Do you think I'm crazy, wanting to try and step away from the writing world this summer?

It's Raining Cupcakes birthday party!

Wed, 23 May 2012 21:17:44 GMT

A month or so ago, a friend from high school e-mailed me to let me know her niece wanted her birthday party to be around the theme of "It's Raining Cupcakes." Apparently the birthday girl (who turned 8) loved the book and thought it would be a fun party to have.

Check out all of these adorable pictures, which I was told I could share on my blog. So impressed with all of the details that went into the decorations and everything!

Each girl took home a paperback copy of the book with a personalized and signed bookplate. Isn't a book the best goody bag gift ever? I love it.

So fun, right? There you go - your next birthday party all planned, right down to the cupcake shaped pinata!!

I love saying "SURPRISE!"

Mon, 21 May 2012 14:54:08 GMT

A month or so ago, a woman named Thereasa got in touch with me to ask for the reading/discussion guide for IT'S RAINING CUPCAKES. She and her daughter, Emily, are in a mother/daughter book club and her daughter had chosen CUPCAKES for when they would be hosting the club. She told me Emily had been reading the book every night and hadn't been that excited about a book in a while. I offered to send some signed postcards, as I often do (I usually offer to send bookmarks, but I'm out and waiting for the third book cover before printing some more) so Thereasa sent me her address. Turned out she only lived about 20 minutes away from me.

At some point, Thereasa asked me if I might be willing to Skype with the group for a few minutes, and since I was free that evening, I said sure.

The day arrived, and it was a beautiful day. My husband and I took a walk with the dog in Laurelhurst Park, a lovely park in NE Portland, and had a really nice afternoon. When we got home, I was thinking more and more about the scheduled Skype visit and how the club was meeting just twenty minutes away from me. I told my husband, "I think I'm going to go and surprise them." He asked me some questions, to make sure I had really thought it through, and after answering them, I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to go!

When I got there, I walked up to the house and rang the bell. A woman answered and I asked, "Are you Thereasa?" She smiled and said, "No." She stared at me and then a hint of recognition passed over her face. "Are you the author?" I whispered, "Yes. I'm here to surprise everyone. I hope Thereasa likes surprises!"

A girl came around the corner as we walked into the house and I asked, "Are you Emily?" She gave me a big smile and said, "Yes!" I said, "Emily, I wanted to meet you! So I decided to come and see you in person instead of through the computer."

I walked into the family room where everyone was gathered, and the look on their faces was priceless. They were happy to see me and I was soon signing books and after that, answering lots and lots of questions. It was a great group of girls and moms and they made me feel so welcome.

Here are a couple of pictures from the evening.

Like I told them - writing can be a lonely job at times. Connecting with readers is one of the best parts of being an author, so as much as I wanted to make it a special evening for them, it was something I did for myself too. I knew they would remember the surprise for a long time to come, and the evening spent chatting with them would be something I would carry with me as well.

Thanks to the Moms and girls who so kindly welcomed me into their club for the evening. I had a great time and I hope you did too!!!

Happy Book Birthday Jo Knowles

Tue, 08 May 2012 14:32:53 GMT

Wow, it kind of feels like the good old days on LJ today - all the wonderful celebratory posts about Jo's latest book, which I can't WAIT to read!

So let me join in on the party and say - YAY JO!!! Sounds like you've written a real gem. Congratulations!

IRA 2012 and School Visit Recap

Thu, 03 May 2012 18:25:14 GMT

Sunday and Monday I attended the International Reading Association conference in Chicago, IL. The weather was yukky, but when you're so busy with workshops and signings and meeting cool people and eating fabulous food, who needs nice weather anyway?

Sunday was the all-day institute put on by eight incredible authors and me - Carolee Dean, Carolyn Meyer, Caroline Rose Starr, Kersten Hamilton, Kimberly Little Griffiths, Uma Krishnaswani, Esther Hershenhorn and April Wayland. We talked about using the story strategies of professional authors to inspire a love of reading and writing.

Here we are, looking all professional and authorly.

We went out to dinner the night before, where much fun was had, as you can see:

Simon and Schuster took its authors out to dinner Sunday night. I sat near the incredibly talented and kind author/illustrator Peter Reynolds and his brother, Paul. Here is a picture I took, so I'm not in the picture, but you can see Peter and Paul to the right, and that's Carolee on the left. And Carolyn Meyer who turned around just as I was snapping the picture.

Peter drew me this little gem that I plan to frame and place on my desk:

I didn't take many pictures at the convention center on Monday. I signed books for an hour in the S&S booth and met lots of fabulous teachers. I did find Kate Messner, who was there signing a bunch of her books, including her latest release, EYE OF THE STORM:

Of course you can't visit Chicago and not have deep dish pizza, so Carolee, Caroline and I went to Giordano's downtown Monday night and had ourselves a fabulous dinner.

Tuesday I went to Blackhawk Middle School where I did three presentations for each of the grades and signed lots of books. It was a great day and the teachers and librarians there are obviously very passionate about reading.

Check out the wall of poems that kids wrote, inspired by one of my books that they read:

There were a whole bunch of sweet thank you notes, too!

And here's the stage lined with welcome posters:

Now, I'm back home, with some work on a manuscript I need to get to. When I'm finished with that, I plan on taking a much-needed break for a few weeks. I'm a very tired author about now...

Happy May!!!

About the book that is now FALLING FOR YOU

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 19:56:48 GMT

I want to tell you a little bit about this novel I wrote back in the summer and fall of 2010.

Originally it was titled CHERISH.

As is usual when I begin writing a book, I had a few seeds of ideas that I started with.

First, I wanted to do something in and around a flower shop. I'd written two previous novels where a flower shop played a role and neither of them were ever published. I hoped that maybe the third time would be a charm. I loved the idea of the flower shop being my main character's safe place. And so, where Rae's job is sunny and bright, her home life is dark and sad.

In fact, there are strong themes of dark and light throughout the novel.

Check out this flower shop in Vienna. So adorable, yes?

I love it when there are mysterious notes or clues or something like that in a story, so I decided to add mysterious, anonymous flower deliveries to the story. Who is sending flowers to people throughout town and why do the instructions always have Rae's name on them?

Finally, I wanted to try and challenge myself, and wanted to write this book in a bit of a different format. Rae's story is primarily told through flashbacks. This is a tricky thing to do, in case you're wondering. The reader learns on the first page, something bad has happened to Rae, but it's not revealed until the end of the book what has happened.

My first draft had Rae doing a project in Language Arts called The Cherish Project (thus the previous title CHERISH). My editor had the brilliant idea that instead of the book reports she was doing, which were kind of boring to read, I could somehow have poetry play a part in the story.

And so, Rae is a poet. Through her poetry, she can express her feelings about her abusive step-father and her distant mother. And then something happens at school, and poetry begins to play an even bigger role in Rae's life. So although it is my first YA novel not written in verse, poetry still plays a part in the story.

There are also two boys in the story. A good looking boy who is new to school and takes an interest in Rae right away. They start going out. There are things she really likes about him and other things... not so much. There is also a boy who works next door to the flower shop, someone who is Rae's friend. And as time goes on, she begins to lean on her friend more and more, as Rae's affection for her boyfriend begins to turn to fear.

If you were to think of my book like a cake, the recipe for making that cake was not a simple one. There were a lot ingredients and the preparation required a great deal of complicated steps. It's a unique kind of cake. Different. I can't even describe the cake very well, and so, I have to just tell you that I hope you'll try it, and see what you think.

It's the publisher's job to decorate the cake and make it something that will hopefully appeal to a wide audience. There were so many choices here, as you can imagine, with a book that has a lot going on. In the end, they decided to focus on the romantic aspect of the story for the cover, and I can now share that cover with you:

In December, 2010, right before my sweet friend, Lisa Madigan, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, she read an early draft of CHERISH. Her e-mail back to me, with a critiqued manuscript, had one word in the subject line.

Cherishable

Coincidentally, today is Lisa's birthday. She would have been 49 years old. (I love and miss you, Lisa).

Soon reviewers will be sent galleys. Some bloggers, teachers and librarians may read the book through Simon and Schuster's galleygrab program. And next January, thanks to my publisher Simon Pulse, the book will be available to the public to purchase.

I think one of the hardest parts of being an author is letting a book go. But it's time. The book doesn't belong to me anymore, and so, I have to let it go. To let it be what it will become out there in the big, scary, exciting world. My work, with the help of my friends, my agent, and my editor is (mostly) done.

And so, I will end this post by simply saying ~

Best wishes, dear book. My greatest hope is that you touch the lives and hearts of those who read your story.

Middle School Author Visit Recap

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 17:16:25 GMT

Last week, I traveled four hours to beautiful Grants Pass, Oregon, where I did a two-day school visit at South Middle School.

I had a great time talking to the kids, signing books, chatting with the Library Tech, Mrs. Anderson, as well as the Language Arts teachers and the Science teacher who is the Author Visit Coordinator. The visit went so smoothly and I'm grateful to everyone for their hard work.

When I pulled into the parking lot, this is the sign that greeted me:

Inside, this sign was hanging above the library, where I did all six of my presentations:

The kids were invited to enter a writing contest to have lunch with me, and a whole bunch of kids wrote some amazing stories. They were asked to write about meeting one of their favorite characters from one of my books.

Here is a picture of some of the eighth grade students, streaming into the library.

The Language Arts teachers were so great about getting behind me and my books. The sixth grade teacher read SPRINKLES AND SECRETS to his classes. The seventh grade teachers read CHASING BROOKLYN. And the eighth grade teachers read I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME. One of the eighth grade teachers said she was also having the kids write some verse of their own. And the seventh graders acted out some scenes from I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME. So wonderful!

Thanks to everyone at South Middle School for an amazing time!

Next up - Blackhawk Middle School in Bensenville, IL!

Cupcake Madness Recap

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 15:03:45 GMT

I'm flying home today, after a fun weekend in Narragansett, Rhode Island. I had a great school visit on Friday with all the kids at Narragansett Elementary School. Yesterday, I signed books at the Cupcake Madness event, put on by Friends of Hazard Castle. Toward the end of the day, I got to taste nine cupcakes and assist in naming the best cupcake in Rhode Island, which went to Patticakes, for their green velvet mint cupcake.

Friday was beautiful and I spent the entire afternoon outside. People were actually sun bathing on the beach. It was a perfect day - warm, sunny and no wind. Today is a different story, which is good, because it makes me even happier to be going home.

I ate at Crazy Burger not once, but twice, so got in some good food while I was here as well.

For your viewing pleasure, here are some pictures I took at the Cupcake Madness event:

Yep, as some of you said, it was a tough job, but somebody had to do it! :)

Have a great week!

Announcing my 2013 YA novel

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 20:39:15 GMT

YAY! We have a title! And a very, very short description.

This is supposed to run in Publisher's Marketplace one of these days:

Lisa Schroeder's FALLING FOR YOU, about a teen girl who relives the love of a dangerous boy, and unravels the secrets that haunt her family, as she hovers between life and death, searching for light amid the darkness--and a reason to hold on, to Annette Pollert at Simon Pulse by Sara Crowe at Harvey Klinger, to be published in Spring, 2013.

I worked really, really hard on this book and I hope my readers like it. It's different for me - it's not in verse, although there is some poetry sprinkled throughout. It's also sort of a mystery -- from the first page, the reader knows something bad has happened to the main character, but it's not revealed what's happened and how it happened until the end of the book.

I finished line edits last month and I'm frantically working on copy edits right now, so we're still working hard to make it the best book it can be. Stay tuned in the coming months, when I'll tell you how you can read a sneak peek of FALLING FOR YOU long before the release date!

Happy Monday!!

I get to be a cupcake judge!

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 15:46:01 GMT

Yes, it's true! My wonderful job gets even better!

On Sunday, March 25th, I will be at an event called Cupcake Madness in Narragansett, Rhode Island. It's a fun family event where you can walk around and taste cupcakes made by some of the best bakers in the state of Rhode Island.

Here's a picture of the strawberry lemonade cupcake that took home the title of "Best Cupcake" last year! Doesn't it look delicious??

I will be on a panel of judges who determines which is THE best cupcake after a timed bake-off of the finalists!

Along with eating delicious cupcakes, I'll be signing books (IT'S RAINING CUPCAKES and SPRINKLES AND SECRETS), which you can buy at the event from the local, independent bookstore, Wakefield Books.

I've never been to Rhode Island, so I'm really excited about this trip. Along with Cupcake Madness on Sunday, I'll be doing a school visit on Friday, and Saturday night I go out to dinner with a family who won the opportunity to dine with me in a raffle prize drawing.

To read more about the event, click HERE. I hope if you're in the area, you will come, eat cupcakes and say hi!

Thankful Thursday

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 16:37:57 GMT

I have been a horrible blogger.

Life has just been crazy busy lately. Appointments right and left for all kinds of different, not very fun, things, along with sickness and work and kids and the dog... I keep dreaming of summer, my favorite time of year, when things slow down a bit.

This morning, I'm sitting here with a nasty cold, and taking a moment to relax for a few minutes. I'm looking out at the blooming camellia bush in the backyard, thankful we get warm sunshine and beautiful blue skies today. If I can muster up the energy later, I'm sure a walk in the sunshine would feel really, really nice.

I am thankful for some good news this week.

I am thankful for my agent, and my editors.

I am thankful for all of my readers, and the teachers and librarians who are so supportive of me and my books. It was a lot of fun to do six Skype visits yesterday with kids all across the country to celebrate World Read Aloud day.

I am thankful for a job that is somewhat flexible, so I can take the time when I need to in order to take care of myself and my family.

I am thankful for the banana bread I made yesterday that goes really well with the gallons of tea I'm drinking.

I am thankful the dog's leg is getting better, slowly but surely. I hope she can recover fully. Think I'll end with a picture of Stormy, because there's nothing like a cute dog picture, right?

Have a great weekend!

Good news/Bad news

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 17:43:08 GMT

Good news: I am about ready to send my revised YA manuscript off to my editor. It feels like all I've done for the past month is work on this book. I hope I can share more about this project soon - I don't even have a title yet.

Bad news: I still worry it's not good enough. I've never been this worried about a book before, and I'm not sure what that means exactly.

Good news: I had a fabulous time on a writing retreat this past weekend in Midway, Utah. It is so beautiful there, and these ladies are so fun to hang out with. From left to right, top to bottom, Irene Latham, Rachel Hawkins, Emily Wing Smith, Mr. Moose, Lindsey Leavitt and me.

Bad news: It was like the calm before the storm. Last night the dog hurt her leg running down the stairs and I have to take her in for an x-ray today. Freshman son wants to go out for track and I just learned he has to have a physical before he can start practice next Monday. I have to have some dental work done tomorrow. And I swore I'd get started on taxes this week. I hope our bank account survives all the madness. And me too, of course.

Good news: Some exciting news is in the works.

Bad news: I can't say anything about it yet.

I've missed you all! Hope everyone is doing well.

Dear John Green

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:19:05 GMT

Watching you and your brother on stage yesterday in Portland, as the "grown-up" that I am, was such a wonderful experience. Young adults gathered in a place where it's okay if you read. It's okay if you like quirky songs about protons and anglerfish. And it's okay that you feel different sometimes.

In fact, you and your brother show them, day after day, not only is it okay, it's actually awesome.

A few years back, there came a point where you and your brother realized people were watching you. Lots of people. And you had choices as to which direction you went. Some may think that choice was easy, but I'm guessing it probably wasn't as easy as they might think.

As I looked out at the crowd today, people clutching your book and singing Hank's songs, happy to be among like-minded people, I felt amazingly proud of all have you done. Yes, you write great books, books I love and have loved since way back when I picked up LOOKING FOR ALASKA before it had that shiny sticker on it. But see, that's the thing. A lot of people write great books.

It's what you've done beyond that -- proving to the world that people can do amazing things when they put their hearts and minds in the right place -- that makes my heart feel all squishy when I think of you. And why I teared up at the end of your performance today.

You chose wisely, John. And today, I just wanted to say, thank you for choosing the path that isn't always easy for you, isn't always easy for your family, and puts you out there more than any introverted author would ever be comfortable with. You chose the path that would help make the world a better place. The path that would help kids across the WORLD see themselves, and others, in a different light. I know you don't feel like you can take much credit for everything that's happened, and it's absolutely a community effort, but it began with a choice. Yours and Hank's.

Like you said today, we choose what we think about every second of every day. And we choose where those thoughts take us. Thank you for being such a good human and leading by example.

With love from my squishy heart,

Lisa Schroeder

Authors and reviews

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 18:57:25 GMT

True story:

My very first full-time job after college was working for this woman who yelled a lot. She would be in her office, sitting at her desk, and instead of coming to get me, she would yell.

"Lisa, what is wrong with this? Please come in here, I don't understand it."

"Lisa, did you do that PAF I asked you to do? I can't find it."

"Lisa, where is that posting listed? Is it in the spot it's supposed to be in?"

And so it would go.

And the way she asked the questions made me feel like I was on the defensive *all* the time.

In case you've never worked for someone like that, let me tell you, it isn't very fun.

Now, some people probably have no problem with this style. They simply accept that's how she is, and it doesn't bother them.

Remember, this was my first "real" job. I was a 22-year-old college graduate, and I hadn't been around long enough to not take it personally.

It felt personal.

The more time that went by, the more it got to me. I didn't like being yelled at all the time. Even when I walked into her office, she'd fire questions at me. "Did you... " Why did you..." "How come..." And her voice was harsh as she asked. I constantly felt like a child who had done something wrong and needed to figure out how to get myself out of trouble.

I finally called the Employee Assistance Program and made an appointment with a counselor to try and get some help with how to deal with it. You can guess what happened. "You have to tell her how you feel."

Are you kidding me?

"You have to tell her how you feel. There's no way anything will change unless you two talk it out."

I'm pretty sure it was one of the scariest moments of my life, walking into that lady's office, asking if I could talk to her for a few minutes, shutting the door, and telling her how her yelling made me feel.

Do you know what she told me? She had no idea she'd been doing that. She had no idea I felt like she didn't like my work all the time. She had no idea she made me feel that way.

I can't say things got better, really. I think maybe she tried, for a little while, but she was the way she was and I was the way I was - more sensitive than most, probably

And so it is with authors. Some authors are more sensitive than others. Some authors are able to let things roll off their backs while others take it all in and it becomes a part of them. And so, here is where problems can happen between reviewers and authors.

I think everyone can agree - reviews are not for authors. But I don't know that it's realistic to simply tell authors, stay away from reviews, because everyone is different. Some really want to read them and to learn from them.

What's important, I think, is for you to know yourself. And then, come up with a policy that is going to make sense for you. In developing that policy, you need to ask yourself questions. Are you sensitive? Is it going to do more harm than good for you to read reviews? What are you looking for when you go looking for reviews? Be HONEST with yourself.

I think many of us, deep down, whether we want to admit it or not, are sensitive creatures who long for love and approval. Maybe we didn't get enough of it growing up. Maybe we didn't get it when we were 22 years old and worked our first job. Maybe we don't get it now from our life partners the way we wish we would.

But whatever it is that we're missing? Here's what we need to understand - we're not going to find it in reviews. All the wonderful, glowing praise about a book I wrote will feel good for a minute. Maybe even five minutes. But it eventually goes away. Because that's not really what I'm looking for. Is it? No. It's not.

And responding to reviews, getting worked up about them, trying to change them? None of that is going to help. It really isn't. Those reviewers aren't like a boss, who I have to work with day in and day out. Those reviewers have nothing to do with me and my life. And no matter how upset I get in regards to a review, it is NOT appropriate to talk it out the way I tried to talk things out with that boss.

I think sometimes we get confused and think, well, if this were someone I had to work with, I'd say something. So maybe I should say something. Do we not remember what we've already agreed on? Reviews are NOT FOR AUTHORS.

I worked that job for a year and a half, and I finally had enough and decided it was time to move on. That lady and I were not a very good match. I needed different things from a boss than she could give me.

It's not always easy figuring out what we need. What's missing. Or if we do figure it out, how to get it. I have a hole in my life right now because of some things outside of my control. I'm trying to figure out how to fill that hole. How to find the joy I'm longing for in that particular area of my life.

But I want to assure you, readers and reviewers - I know you are not the answer. I appreciate you reading my books, I appreciate your kind notes to me, and I appreciate that because of you, I'm still doing a job that fulfills me in a way other things don't.

Appreciation is one thing. Expecting you to satisfy my soul, and to fill me up with peace and love is quite another. And I promise I'm not going to put that on you.