Oscar Week celebrations, Hollywood and Linc

It's Oscar week! It kind of snuck up on me, to tell you the truth...

In case you're wondering why it matters: Double Vision: The Alias Men (Linc's third adventure) sets in Hollywood, with the final scenes during the Academy Awards. It was a lot of fun to take the story there. The ending is pretty over-the-top--such a blast to write.

To celebrate, I thought I'd give away a copy (U.S. only, postage is wicked expensive overseas...) of Double Vision: The Alias Men. Later this week, I'll share some resources I found during my research for the book--all about Charlie Chaplin, silent films, and Hollywood history. Cool stuff.

In the meantime, here are the nominees for Best Animated Feature, since those are kid-friendly. I'm ashamed to admit that I have only seen the Dragon 2 movie (which was fun). Any guesses on the winner...?

Here is the full list of categories and nominees.



a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Secret Files of Fairday Morrow interviews me (plus, a #giveaway of CODE NAME 711!)...

The awesome Secret Files of Fairday Morrow blog was kind enough to review Double Vision: Code Name 711 a few weeks ago. And now they've interviewed me, so I had a chance to talk about how long it takes to write a book, and what spy gadget I'd like Henry to invent for me.

Check out the interview, and enter the giveaway of Double Vision: Code Name 711!

And if you're in Jackson, Mississippi, come see me at Lemuria Bookstore. I'll be signing books at 5 p.m., and sharing cool spy stuff about George Washington...

The power of the paperback: reports from the road (plus, a #giveaway)

I've been a bit quiet around here lately--apologies for that. After the release of Double Vision: Code Name 711, I spent a lot of time doing school visits, book signings, and telling everyone who would listen about the book, and how cool George Washington is.

It's been fun. I'm happy to say that the world has a few more Linc readers. And I learned lots of new things while on the road, like that should always bring extra books, a sweater (that airconditioning can be crankin', y'all), and a lot of bookmarks.

One surprise was how fast the paperback of the first book sold! And it makes sense: you want to start a series at the beginning, plus paperbacks are easy on the wallet. I had a lot of people buy Double Vision as a stockingstuffer (how cool, huh?).

Which made me think it might be fun to do one last giveaway for the year. I like to play Santa...

a Rafflecopter giveaway

U.S. only, please, because of postage.

Happy reading, all!

It's Monday! What are you reading?

This is one of those fun things that some blogs participate in, and I thought I'd share my reading adventures today.

For some reason, I got to thinking about The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler, so I picked it up at my library to re-read. It's still good, I'm glad to say. Below is my kitten Chloe, ready for me to snuggle up with the book. I usually read a kids book at the same time; my MG read is Rick Riordan's House of Hades. Will let you know how that one stacks up.

Next up, I'll read the Criminal Element short story collection The Malfeasance Occasional: Girl Trouble. There are lots of good authors in there, so I'm looking forward to it. Also, I plan to read Jay Asher's Thirteen Reasons Why.

What are you reading???

P.S. If you know a teacher, pass on this link to Caroline Starr Rose's blog, where I talk about using Code Name 711 with Revolutionary War Curriculum. There's a double giveaway, too...

Gulf Coast friends: hope to see you in Gulfport this weekend!

I'm continuing my blog tour today at Pragmatic Mom's blog: there's an interview where I give tips on pacing for writers, and I explain how the president in Double Vision: Code Name 711 got to be a woman. Stop by, and enter to win books and spy gadgets! Spy stuff is cool.

And I'm signing in Gulfport at the B&N this Saturday. Come say howdy if you're there... I'm bringing stickers, and love to meet new people.

Happy weekend, y'all!

Some music to kick off your week: Imagine Dragons

This song came on the radio, and the whole family liked it (which is unusual). So I thought I'd share.

Oh, and don't forget to follow the Code Name 711 blog tour! There are lots of book giveaways; today, the amazing Erik at This Kid Reviews Books gives his review of Linc's second adventure...

 Hope you have an awesome week!

 

The last ARC giveaway--version 2.0

**This giveaway has ended... I drew the winner from my hat: Akossiwa Ketoglo! Congrats. For those of you who didn't win, check in next month for lots of Double Vision: Code Name 711 giveaways in conjunction with my blog tour. Stay tuned...**

Okay, so the Rafflecopter doohickey doesn't work so well... My dinosaur status must be rubbing off on the blog. So I'm rebooting the giveaway of the last ARC of Double Vision: Code Name 711, Linc's second adventure, out in October.

We're going old-school. I'll take all your entries that the Rafflecopter did record, plus your comments are entries. Then I write your names on a piece of paper, and put them in a hat. No glitches possible there.

U.S. only (sorry, international friends), because postage beyond out borders is wicked expensive.

I'll run the giveaway until Sunday. If you want to enter, just say howdy below! Or tell me what your favorite snack is; I'm always looking to expand my food repertoire...

I'll draw and announce the winner Sunday evening...

Last ARC giveaway...

*** This giveaway has ended... I drew the winner from my hat: Akossiwa Ketoglo! Congrats :-) For those of you who didn't win, check in next month for lots of Double Vision giveaways in conjunction with my blog tour. Stay tuned...***

That sounds like I have an ark or something, but really, it's an advanced reader copy of Double Vision: Code Name 711. And since it needs a good home, I'm giving it away...

You can enter at the Rafflecopter thingy below--U.S. only, unfortunately, since I don't have any clout with the USPS...

And if you're feeling extra lucky, you can also enter the Goodreads giveaway that the kind people at Harper are hosting.

Want A Copy Of DOUBLE VISION?

Head over to Goodreads--you can click on the nifty widget to the right here if you want to enter to win a copy.

I hear it's halfway decent, this book...