Viva, Las Vegas!

And I'm off to the conference! Thank you, Blink YA Books! You treat your authors like Rock Stars. Love you!

I'll be signing at the HarperCollins Booth, #508, Saturday at 10 am, hitting the BFYA Luncheon and the YALSA Coffee Klatch. Going to meet the narrator of FIRSTBORN, Jorjeana Marie, and my editor Jacque Alberta for the very first time. Epic!

Have a great weekend, and pop over if you are in town!

Poetry Friday: Switzerland

Switzerland



Arms stretched wider

than the Alps, he stands atop

his own bucket list.

 

 

Lorie Ann Grover, 2014

Made a Big Deal

 

Squeeeee! Kindle has chosen FIRSTBORN as an ebook Big Deal. The feature runs through 6/28. May it fly into the hands of readers, and attention to gendercide increase!

Poetry Friday: By Grace

 

By Grace



I will, with arms raised,

plunge and swoop through life, joy-filled

in the glancing sun.

 

 

Lorie Ann Grover, 2014

The Dream Cast for Firstborn

Thanks to my daughter and son-in-law for this Dream Cast! It was originally posted during the Book Nerd Blog Tour by Beauty and the Bookshelf. What do you think?




The Dream Cast
If Firstborn was made into a movie, here's who Lorie would cast as her characters!

Maisie Williams as Tiadone

Miles Heizer as Ratho

Russell Crowe as Father

Timothy Spall as Sleene

Rachel Griffiths as Madgea

Michael Fassbender as Droslump

Chatting Today: 1 PST with #ReadOn

Looking forward to it!

Poetry Friday: Crystal Refractions

 

Crystal Refractions

 

Palms have grasped. Love,

hate, and hope refracted; the

white door left ajar.

 

 

 

Lorie Ann Grover, 2014

 

This is an antique doorknob from our home, now for sale. I'm struck by how often it has been grasped and turned, while refracting and reflecting how many emotions over the years and years.  

 

Living with Lupus: the Blink Book Tour

Logo from this blog.

After returning from the Blink Book Tour, I thought to share how it went regarding my physical conditions. It's fascinating that my mind regularly returns to believing my body isn't ill. It convinces me I can push through a rheumatoid or lupus flare...until the door opens, and I'm blasted low.

With a stop in Memphis cancelled, the tour took me to Salt Lake City, Phoenix, and Tempe. The latter was 104 degrees, with blazing sun. Basically, I hid in the shade and shadows until I could be escorted from one event the next. Under a huge hat.

 

Here I'm waiting inside while Jonathan, Jill, and Lisa wait on the patio for our car. I enjoyed the pool at night and camped out between appearances in my room. Twice the door opened to lupus, and I was reminded I was on tour not by my own strength. Thankfully, the door closed before the death eater could suck the life out of me. (Thank you for the image, J.K. Rowling.)

 

My companions were kind, speaking up for me. They'd request to be driven to the front door so I wouldn't have to walk across a sunny parking lot.  

 

Because of Sjogren's Syndrome, I kept my eyes closed during the flights and went through vial after vial of tears in dry Arizona. My eyes still looked like cranraisins. So that's something to try to solve. Restastis helped, but I returned with a bleeding bladder and can no longer take the prescription.

 

That's pretty much how it went down. By grace, I was sustained on the edge of the knife, comforted by travel companions, and invigorated by readers. Let's see how ALA in Vegas goes at the end of the month. Right now, I'm trying to figure out how to get my crinoline through security.

Poetry Friday: A Flowered Conjunction

 

A Flowered Conjunction

 

A universe of

bopping spheres and pulsed patterns

blasts into my own.

 

 

Lorie Ann Grover, 2014

 

I happened upon this flower early one morning in Phoenix. The color is not altered. 

Fun Times on the Blink Book Tour, 2014

The Second Leg of the Blink Tour, May 15-17^th, 2014: Jill Williamson, Lisa Bergren, Jonathan Friesen, and Lorie Ann Grover

We rocked the tour! It was so much fun hanging with the Blinkites! We got to know each other and a ton of readers. There was swag, there were smiles, there were fan moments and awe as we listened to each other read and teens read to us.

Signing swag and talking to teens, Jill Williamson and Lorie Ann Grover

Shout out to the teen poet at Evergreen Junior High, in Salt Lake City, who left us speechless with her poem. What a privilege to duck into schools and share moments with so many. Whether it was field day, an hour before second lunch, or two weeks till graduation, time was set aside to talk about books.

Preparing to speak at Imagine School of Avondale, Lisa Bergren and Jonathan Friesen

At the Salt Lake Library entrance, Lorie Ann Grover, Lisa Bergren, Jill Williamson, and Jonathan Friesen

The Salt Lake Library wowed us as it soared above our heads. We got to join Bryan Young and his writers’ group, Prose and the Spoken Word, where we were able to read, hear new works from local authors, and meet long time facebook followers. Thanks to King’s English for supporting sales.


We had a scrumptious media luncheon at Aunt Chiladas orchestrated by BookSparks who know how to stage a party. Great fun meeting Literologie and SheKnows in person plus teens and local book club leaders.

The Blink Tour and awesome ladies from BookSparks

At Changing Hands we met with their start up YA Book Club and then spoke with family, friends,writers, and readers. Our parting gifts were awesome as we got to choose anything from the store. Lisa found a shirt with a giant smile on it for Jonathan. When we went outside, we all laughed as a Cheshire cat bloomed in the sun. I got to meet in person, Georgia Cranston, my longtime friend from readergirlz. We’ve known each other online since 2008 when rgz hosted Stephenie Meyer!

Georgia Cranston and Lorie Ann Grover

Tidbit on the Blinkites: The other three were all writing on the down time. I had just turned my revision in for Hit, so was taking a break, noodling my work-in-progress, but they were typing away, Jill aiming for her daily 2,000 words. Amazing.

Heads up to schools across the country: I watched these authors speak and it would be an awesome treat to have them visit your readers. Jonathan, standing 6’5”, delivers his stories with so much emotion and strength. He finds a rhythm like a slam poet. Everyone is moved by his authentic voice. Jill speaks with boundless energy, connecting to the teens on everything from her works, to David Tennant, to Star Wars. She’s infectious. And Lisa stands and speaks with such calm authority, you can see the audience lean in, trusting her insights and encouragements. And then of course I’m up there, my 6’ self under an enormous hat, talking about 300 rejections, gendercide, dreams dying and being reborn. It was a complimentary panel of support and cheer.

So thanks for coming out to meet us on the second leg of the tour. Thanks to those who supported the first half. I’m sure it was just as fun!

With my boots back up on the shelf awaiting the ALA Annual Conference, all the Blink Authors send out  love. Happy reading to everyone. Your next great read is only a blink away! I’m sure of it, because we are all back to writing. Shhhhhhh.