Poetry Friday: M*A*S*H

Remembering the last episode of M*A*S*H to air on February 28, 1983, thirty years ago, and the ebook release of Loose Threads, here is the opening poem of my novel. Happy Poetry Friday!


M*A*S*H

Our living room
is cozied up with laughter.
Great Gran Eula smiles at the colonel
and sips her iced tea.
Grandma Margie snickers at Radar
over her knitting
Mom laughs at Hot Lips
and doesn't finish paying the bills.
I laugh so hard at Hawkeye
my beanbag chair
squishes under me.
We finally stop laughing
during the commercial,
and Grandma Margie says,
"I found a lump
in my breast."


Loose Threads
Lorie Ann Grover
Simon & Schuster, ebook, 2013

ebook release day: Loose Threads, On Pointe

Oh, happy news! Loose Threads and On Pointe are released today as ebooks! Many thanks to my agent Elizabeth Harding and my publishing house Simon & Schuster. I appreciate their work in this venture. May both books wing into the hands of just the right readers.

To recap Loose Threads:

In a household of four generations of women, Grandma Margie discloses that she has a lump in her breast. Told through forthright and perceptive poems in teenager Kay's own voice, Loose Threads reverberates with emotion and depth and will leave no reader untouched. (flap copy)

Booklist named Loose Threads a Top Ten First Novel for Youth and gave it a starred review:

"Like Virginia Euwer Wolff's free verse novels, Grover's book balances vivid emotional scenes with plenty of space between the words. Readers, especially those who know illness up close, will connect with Kay's secret worries and deep sadness, and will admire her strength."

The work was also a Washington State Book Award finalist, a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age, a Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year, and a Rhode Island Teen Book Award Nominee.

And to review On Pointe:

On Pointe soars with emotion as it explores what it means to reach for a dream -- and the way that dreams can change as quickly and suddenly as do our lives. Clare learns to dream and then dream again. 

On Pointe was a Girls Life Top Ten Summer Read.

"The teen's voice rings true. This finely written novel touches on contemporary themes such as body image leading to bulimia, overly ambitious parents, and aging grandparents who can no longer live alone." School Library Journal

The work was also a Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award Nominee and a Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year.

Thanks for celebrating with me today and helping to spread the news. With my love!

Loose Threads
On Pointe
Simon & Schuster, 2013, ebook release

Goodreads and Stars Upon Thars

With a nudge from Simon and Schuster, I've made it over to goodreads.com. I've received invites from friends for a year or so but haven't had the time to jump on it. Now I have!

I've made my list of my own works, classic loves, and what I'm reading now. THAT I love. However, I don't love putting up public stars on books. I know I'm truly missing out on the spirit of the site. But this is what comes to mind:




Do I put a star on the belly or not? Did a reader star my belly? If so, with how many stars? Is my belly even that big?

I can't do it! My compromise is to use goodreads as my bookshelf to review what I've read. Rarely will I do reviews.

If you want to know what I really think, you'll have to get your hands on my journal. There you will find my world belly view, those who have stars upon thars, and those that, in my opinion, don't. Because come on, we all have our own opinions, right? I just prefer to keep the bellies covered. If my little words, or absence of stars, ever hindered an author from writing their next great work, it would be a great sadness. On the flip side, I can't fling stars without merit, either.

So, at this point, for me, if you pass me on goodreads, let's just say I'll shake your hand, no matter the stars on your belly or mine.

TLA Top Ten (and a few more)

Justina asked me to share my top 10 moments from TLA. I found I had a photo for most!

1. Getting to travel with Justina and Dia. Although we missed Holly Cupala and Melissa Walker dearly!


2. Packing up the gifties for publishers who are supporting TBD '09!


3. Finding Jodie Cohen on the floor. She's now at Listening Library. We formerly worked together at Simon and Schuster. Note: she's wearing heels!


4. Meeting the legend Sharyn November who probably has her eyes closed here because she can't believe the ruckus the co-founders of rgz are making over her.


5. My massive fan girl moment over Gary Schmidt where I kept mentioning the breeze, the breeze in Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy. Oh, my.


6. Happening upon Joan Bauer and putting two and two together to remember we first met at SCBWI National where we listened to Karen Hesse speak. I lurve Joan's work!


7. Our presentation to over 200 fantastic Texas librarians!


8. Our signings where S&S provided Hug Hug! and On Pointe for conference attendees.


9. Coming upon Justina's shrine of stars!

10. And then meeting Meg Cabot after working together multiple times with rgz!


There were so many highlights, really:

Authors: Sara Zarr, Ally Carter, Jennifer Zeigler, Justine Larbalestier, Walter Dean Myers, Margo Rabb, John Green, Scott Westerfeld, two Brown Bookshelf co-founders, and Cynthia Leitich Smith (and more, more, more!)

Publishers: the Little, Brown staff--Victoria Stapleton (Who I just love. She brought a chair into the Publishers' Reception. So appreciated. And her humor just cracks me up!) Kate Sullivan who helped carry my bags. How sweet is that? Laura Antonacci from S&S and her full team.

Librarians: our power lunch with Lorienne Roy and a midnight meeting with Beth Yoke. Susi Grissom and Joanna Nigrelli, our Texas hosts. An entire conference full of passionate, generous librarians. Just wonderful!

Here's to a great conference, and the rumor of TLA '10. I hope, I hope, I hope!



And sweet thanks to the librarian who asked me if my hair color was natural and another who gave me the "Best Shoe Award" for the entire conference. *wink*