JADE release party, house and trailer update, allergy woes...



Hello, everyone!

I've been in the midst of moving back into our newly renovated house after nine months in rentals during the construction.  Feels SO good to be home (and in a roomier, sunnier home, to boot!)

That's the happy news.  The not-so-happy news is that my allergies (to certain kinds of tree pollen, like juniper) have kicked in full force.  I've been a puffy-itchy-eyed mess for the past week, although yesterday I broke down and begged my doctor for some prescription- strength stuff (which has subdued my itchiness and puffiness but has put me in a daze.)

On to more happy news!  My good friend, Laura Pritchett, and I have decided to combine our book release parties into one big animal-adventure-themed fiesta.  If you live in the Ft Collins area, I hope you can come!  Here's the official description:

What’s that, you say? Two new books by two authors? Turtles, bears, and more? Two Laura’s? 
Come hear Laura Resau, who will discuss her latest travel-adventure novel, The Jade Notebook, set in an off-the-beaten-track beach town in Mexico where rare sea turtles nest,  and Laura Pritchett, who will celebrate her new book, Great Bear Stories of Colorado, with a slideshow presentation of bears, humans, and how and when their lives have intersected – both the grizzlies that once roamed here, and the black bears that still do.
It’s bound to be a fun, lovely, animal-y evening!

Sat., March 31, 2012
7:00- 9:00 pm
Everyday Joe's Coffee House
Books available for purchase and signing (thanks to Old Firehouse books!)
All ages welcome! 
I think it'll be really fun. I adore Laura-- we gave each other feedback on drafts of our books. Her bear book is incredibly interesting- she crawled into a den with a hibernating bear in the Rockies as part of her research!

More news: Some people have been wondering about my sweet lil fifties rig (vintage trailer) and whether I'll still be writing in it now that I have a studio in our house.  The answer is a resounding YES!  It'll be my technology-free zone, where I do old-fashioned creative things, like reading musty books and scribbling in notebooks and staring at dust motes in sunlight.

In case you're wondering where the trailer is now, we couldn't keep it in the driveway because of the construction materials... and we couldn't tote it from one rental home to another because of parking issues... so for the past nine months it's been in a trailer space leasing lot, sitting sadly in the shadows of gigantic tractor trailers (as in eighteen-wheels-gigantic!)

Over the months my sweet lil rig and I have been apart, I've been gazing longingly at pics of trailers, getting ideas to snazz up mine when it's back in place (hopefully in a month or so)...

from The Trailer Gal blog

Definitely want some magical outside lighting...


 And an awning!



And paper lanterns!
Okay, must unpack more boxes now...

xo,
Laura

Announcing the NOTEBOOKS Contest Winners!

Hello, everyone!

I'm so excited to announce the winners of the contest I ran last week! First, thank you so much to everyone who entered... I absolutely loved reading about all the places you want to go (and of course, I was taking notes, adding your destinations to my own dream-destination list).  And I have to say that taking in your enthusiasm about the Notebooks series felt like reading a great big Valentine's card!  Even if you didn't win, please know that you made me smile BIG and smile  LOTS!

So, this morning I wrote down everyone's names on little slips of scrap paper and dropped them in a tin (one slip of paper per person, regardless of number of comments, to be fair :).


Then I drew the first winner...  WINIFRED! (Who happens to have the same name as my grandmom!)  Here was her entry:


"Hello! My name is Winifred. I would love to go to Italy, specifically Venice or Rome. I just think Italy is beautiful and has delicious food. I would hike, eat, dance, do everything there!"

Congrats, Winifred! You won a personalized copy of INDIGO!



And the next winner is MISTY!  Her entry:

"Me, me, pick me! I've always wanted to go to Iceland, land of trolls and legends. (and very different from Arizona!)  --Marianne Mitchell (aka Misty)"

Yay, Misty! You've won a personalized copy of RUBY!


And the winner of JADE is OONA! Hooray!

Oona actually made three lovely comments that made me smile EXTRA-BIG!:


"Hi I'm Oona! I live in Baltimore! I REALLY want to go to Paris! It's so awesome and beautiful! I cannot wait for The Jade Notebook! Happy Valentines Day!"

"I've already left a comment, but I wanted to say I'm only on chapter two and already in love with The Jade Notebook. This is Oona :)"

"This is Oona. I JUST finished The Jade Notebook. I am speechless. Now one of my favorite books. Thank you Laura! I'm sad to see the series end. I recommended the Notebooks series to my math teacher. Everyone should read them!"


And the international winners... since we only had two entries here, I've decided to make you both winners! You'll be getting personalized bookmarks and home-made Valentines. <3

Congrats to ISABEL of Colombia!


And BEE of India!


I'm so happy for all the winners, and can't wait to send off your prizes!

*If you won, please email me asap at Lauraresau [at] gmail [dot] com with the subject heading NOTEBOOKS CONTEST WINNER. Please let me know (this week!) who you'd like me to sign the book/bookmarks to and what address to send them to. If you don't get an email back from me, that probably means I didn't get your email for some reason, in which case you could contact me via a facebook message or blog comment.)*

Thanks again to everyone who entered!

Lots o' love,
Laura

Valentine's Day Book Giveaway!!!

Hello, dear readers!

In celebration of the release of The Jade Notebook on *Valentine's Day* (Tuesday, Feb 14th), I'm doing a book giveaway! You'll have a chance to win a personalized, autographed copy of one of these three books...






All you have to do is make one comment on this blog post with 1) your name and 2) your dream destination (where you'd fly/sail/drive/bike/hike off to if money/time/work/school were no object). (One comment per person, por favorcito. :-)

You can comment from today (Sunday, Feb 12) through Sunday, Feb 19 at midnight (Colorado time).

On Monday, Feb 20, I'll randomly select *three winners* from the U.S., who will each get a signed paperback copy of either The Indigo Notebook or The Ruby Notebook, or a hardcover of The Jade Notebook.

I'll also select an international winner, who will get some signed bookmarks and a valentine handmade by me and my Lil Dude. (Be warned that my own valentine-making skills are at the level of my 5-year-old's, so remember it's the thought that counts here...)

Be sure to check my blog on Monday, Feb 20 to see if you won! If you end up a winner, please email me your mailing address with the subject heading: NOTEBOOKS CONTEST WINNER.

Tell your friends! Good luck! Comment away...

xoxoxoxo,
Laura

P.S. Oh, and if you haven't already, try to swing by Melissa Walker's Cover Stories Blog this week-- I did a guest post on the evolution of the cover look for the Notebooks series. Enjoy!


Take me away...


It is officially here.... my uncontrollable mid-winter longing for sparkling blue water and sultry tropical air and all manner of jungle creatures-- I wouldn't even mind the skeeters at this point.  But there's none of this for me this year, as we're at the tail end of a house renovation (we've been in rental homes for 8 months now!)...which means we have a distinct lack of time, money, and energy with which to plan a Mexico beach trip.  And just to rub it in,  two of my  closest friends (you know who you are) just went to a beautiful tiny coastal town in Mexico only accessible by boat.  Argh!  (Okay, I'm *mostly* happy for them...)

Playa Mazunte

Whenever I feel jealousy creeping in, I try to transform it to inspiration.  So,  this is inspiration for me to make sure that *next year* we take a delicious beach trip. In the meantime, I've been looking longingly at these pics from my last trip to Mazunte, where I did research for The Jade Notebook (which comes out on Valentine's Day!!)


Here are bits of reviews that have been coming in... this first one's from Kirkus:

"In this third in a series of novels focusing on Zeeta and her wanderlust-stricken mother, readers are immersed in the details of a lovingly described coastal town in Mexico and an action-filled mystery surrounding the poaching of ancient sea turtles that make their home there...  a graceful conclusion to Zeeta’s story."

This part of the review made me smile.:
"... Resau’s skill in evoking an almost visceral experience of setting firmly anchors the story...."


I really love writing setting details... this is something I practice, scribbling observations in my spiral-bound notebooks.  I try to use all or most of my senses in every scene. And this setting of beach-meeting-jungled hills is such an intense sensory experience in real life-- the thick, humid air, the constant hum of insects and bird calls, the rush of ocean, pounding of water against rocks, taste of salt everywhere- on your skin and hair and damp clothes... it was fun to try to capture that on paper.
On the porch of my cabana.  Perfect writing spot.

The first official blogger review  came in this past week, too... Marjolein, a YA book reviewer, calls it "an amazing conclusion" to the series in her 5 star review. (Thanks Marjolein!!)

And a lovely librarian review from TATAL Online:
"This book transcends travel or mystery to instead be a book about growing up, learning to trust and let go, and finding belonging within a family and a community. A fitting end to this unique trilogy."

I love the  landscape of Mazunte....  little beach coves you can hike to, where you feel completely alone.


 

Some of the action in the book takes place here, on Punta Cometa (Comet Point.) See how it's shaped like a comet, the tail trailing into the ocean?



Here's what "downtown" Mazunte looks like... I think this is the only paved road.


And here's the dirt road leading to the cabanas where I stay:


Some of the most exciting scenes in the book take place on the rocky crags around Punta Cometa... It's such a dramatic setting-- seawater churning and beating against the cliffs... just begging for a story climax to happen here (hint hint...)


From these pics you can't really tell, but this chaos of water is several stories below--it's dizzying and scary to be near the edge...


The water is crashing, booming here...


A giant cactus on Punta Cometa, referred to in the story...



Sunsets viewed from Punta Cometa are stunning... I spent an evening perched there with my notebook, recording my sensations minute by minute as the sun sunk.


If you look closely, you can see the silhouette of a sweet couple watching the sunset together.



Okay, enough beach-longing...time for me to get to work on some other things-- like preparing the presentations I'll be doing at the CCIRA conference next week. But before I leave you, I'll mention some good news with The Queen of Water... it was selected as a title on the 2012 Best Fiction for Young Adults, announced a few days ago by the ALA (American Library Association).  I also found out it was selected as a Recommended Title by the ALA-affiliated Amelia Bloomer Project, which focuses on feminist literature for young people. Maria Virginia and I are happy and grateful for these honors!

Thanks for reading!

xo,
Laura       P.S.  If you want to see more of my Mazunte pics, visit this older blog post.

Boulder Event for Literacy in Rural Guatemala


Hey everyone!

I'm so excited about the Story-a-Thon event I'm participating in at the Boulder Bookstore this Saturday.  It's a benefit for Reading Village, a non-profit that fosters leadership, educational opportunities, and literacy in rural Guatemala. All day, local authors and educators and other folks will be at the store reading our favorite picture books aloud (some in English, some in Spanish).  There will also be a bookmark station where kids can make bookmarks for themselves and for kids in Guatemalan villages. It'll be a fun, fun day!


The past two years, I've donated 5% of my royalties to another organization that focused on scholarships and leadership in the Guatemalan Village of Xucaneb.  I'm happy to say that they've met their goal of creating a self-sustaining program with local leadership.  This year I'm looking forward to donating to Reading Village... these kinds of programs are so important. (Rural Guatemala has a 50% illiteracy rate.)


Reading Village's belief statement reminds me of Maria Virginia's speech near the end of The Queen of Water (on pgs 318-319), where she talks about how she spent her early childhood without a single book in her house, and how when she did learn to read (as a teen), it opened a world of possibilities for her.  Both then and now, she feels strongly that literacy and access to books are keys to getting out of poverty and creating a fulfilling life for oneself. 


 Here's the statement from Reading Village:
 
  "Every child should be able to grow up free to express their fullest self, give what they have to contribute to their families, their communities, their countries and the world.
     Access to books, the ability to read, and to think critically and imaginatively are fundamental to the full development of individuals and society.
      Poverty is a human construct and not a natural condition. It can be eliminated. The world is as we shape it."

As Maria Virginia has experienced, reading books gives people the power to shape their own worlds.

 I'm hoping that on our next trip to Guatemala with Lil Dude (who we adopted from Guatemala four years ago), we can visit the communities where Reading Village works.


Speaking of Lil Dude, he wants me to play castle with him now, so, without further ado... here's the info for the Story-a-Thon Reading Village Benefit event-- if you're in the Boulder area, I'd *love* to see you there!

Saturday, Jan 21, 2012, Boulder Bookstore in downtown Boulder, CO.  I'll be reading picture books in English and Spanish from 1:30-2:00. They're not my own books, but there will be copies of my books on hand that I can autograph for you.  I'll plan on hanging out there before and after my session (from 1 pm-2:30)  to chat with you about books, writing, and life!  You can find details on the event here.

Thanks for reading!

xo,
Laura  

( * photos from the Reading Village and Boulder Bookstore websites)

A Diggety-Dazzling New Year!

Hi everyone!

Hope you're excited about the new year... I am!  In just two months, we'll be moving back into our newly-renovated house.  We've been in rental homes over the past six months. Here's a to-scale model of what our house will look like once it's done:


Well, not really, but wouldn't that be fun?

Lil Dude has given lots of input on our house design this past year.  He wanted it to be made of candy and have 20 swimming pools. Lately, he's been talking about how he wants a fire pole, fire bell, and roomy fire engine parking.... He is indeed firefighting-obsessed.

When we made this gingerbread house together, he said that all those gumdrops were smoke detectors, and that candycane on the side was a hose.

May your own home be filled with happiness and love and lots of delicious books this year...

xo,
Laura