YA for NJ Auction

This week dozens of authors are auctioning off autographed books, Skype visits, school visits, and lots of other goodies to raise money for the Community Food Bank of New Jersey.  After Hurricane Sandy, the resources of the food bank were tapped...this auction helps to feed a community that's been devastated in the wake of that storm.

As part of this eBay auction, I'm offering autographed copies of Royally Crushed and Sticky Fingers.  If you'd like to see all of the great items being auctioned, check out the listing right here.

Thanks for helping support a fantastic cause!

Sticky Fingers Interview - The Busy Bibliophile

Happy Monday, all!  (Well, maybe not so happy for Patriots fans like my husband, but we'll forget the Super Bowl for now.) 


Today I'm on The Busy Bibliophile answering questions about Sticky Fingers, fan mail, books I love to read, and my biggest writing challenges. Chocolate may be mentioned.  If you have follow up questions, feel free to post tot he comments here or on The Busy Bibliophile.

YA Saves Reading Challenge

Two bloggers, Patricia at Patricia's Particularity and Andrea at The Busy Bibliophile, are hosting a fun, year-long event for anyone who loves YA books.  It's called the YA Saves Reading Challenge and you can sign up via Goodreads.

The goal is to read YA books that tackle tough issues, whether they're realistic fiction, paranormal mysteries, or anything in between.  This month, one of the recommended reads is Sticky Fingers, so big thanks to Patricia and Andrea for including it in the challenge.

While the organizers have compiled a fantastic list of suggested books, there's no limit to what you can tackle.  Participants then discuss and post reviews of what they've read.  It's a great way to find books that may appeal to you, but that you may never have discovered on your own.

Book Report Time

You probably came across today's blog because you did a Google search using the term "Book Report" and then either "Niki Burnham" or the title of one of my books.  Since I can only assume you typed in those phrases because you're actually writing a book report, I hope you find today's blog useful.

I decided to write about book reports because I can pretty much guess what time of year it is by the subject lines that pop into my e-mail inbox.  If I'm getting e-mails with headers such as, "Help! Book Report on YOU!" or "Royally Jacked Questions" or "Sticky Fingers--Very Important!" I know that it's the week before Thanksgiving (when many book reports seem to be due), one of the last two weeks in February (ditto) or the week before April break.  Such is the cycle of the school year and projects.

While I am truly flattered that you chose one of my books for a report (I'm going to assume you chose it, because if you were assigned the book and didn't want to read it, I don't want to know), and I am glad you took the time to find my website and e-mail me, it's not the best way for you to get information for a book report. 

First off, book reports usually have a due date.  My inbox doesn't, so when I'm traveling or on deadline, it's easy for me to get a few weeks behind on reading and responding to e-mail.  By the time I see your e-mail, it's quite possible your deadline will be long past.  Second, if I answer one person's book report questions I'd feel obliged to answer them all, and I don't have time to write, eat, AND answer book report questions.  (I'll admit it, it's mostly because I like to eat.)  Finally, there are a lot of questions I can't answer, even if I want to answer them.  "What's the theme of Goddess Games?" is a question only you, as a reader, can answer.  And I couldn't begin to tell you about symbolism.  Again, these are for the reader to interpret.

That being said, I don't want to leave you frustrated!  There are a few things you can do to help with your reports:

   1)  If you're writing about a specific book, go the main page of my website and click on the link for that book.  There is an excerpt (which you should have already read, since you have the book and read the whole thing) and a section called Behind The Scenes.  The Behind The Scenes might be helpful to you. 

   2)  You can go to the About Niki page of the website to find out more about me.  Anything that you see there is fine to use in your report.  There is more biographical info on the Press Kit page, but that requires downloading a PDF file.

   3)  There is a page on the site called FAQ with answers to common questions about each book, about my writing process, and about where I get my ideas. 

   4)  You can always search this blog by clicking on the keywords at the bottom of posts.  That will bring up all the other posts on that topic.  To help you, I put the titles of all my books in the keywords at the end of this post.  Click the one you want, and it will bring up every blog about that book.

Hope you find that helpful!  Again, as much as I wish I could explain themes and motifs, if I took the time to answer every e-mail I receive about book reports, it would mean that no more books of mine would be published, because I wouldn't have the time I need to write them and would miss my own deadlines.  Which, in turn, means I would not eat.  (Did I mention that I like to eat?)  I work hard to meet or beat my deadlines, just as I know you work hard to turn in your book reports when they're due.

However, if you think this is rather uncool of me and that an author should simply write your book report for you (because admit it, some of you who have e-mailed me in the past were hoping for this!)  I urge you to check out author Pete Hautman's website.  He's the author of several phenomenal books you may have already read, such as Godless, Blank Confession, and Hole In The Sky.  Pete has an entire page of book reports ready to go, right here.  I think you'll get a better grade if you follow my suggestions, rather than going for Pete Hautman's reports, but that's your call.  Good luck!

Brasil! Brasil!

Quick, where did I take this photo?!



If you say "Brazil" because you know that "Brasil" is the way Brazilians spell the name of their country, and you noticed that the ads are not in English, well, you are a smarty pants for looking at the title of today's blog. But you would also be WRONG! This was taken in the good ol' U.S. of A.

This past weekend, Boston's Gillette Stadium played host to a double-header of the New England Revolution vs F.C. Dallas, followed by a wickedly rowdy game between the national teams of Brazil and Venezuela. I was lucky enough to go (and had a fantastic time, once I actually got a parking spot.)

To give you an idea of how things looked before the game, check out the parking lot:



You could hear the music pumping out of loudspeakers and smell the barbeque from over a mile away. (And I got asked to dance three separate times just walking from my car into the stadium. Now that's a party!)

Those of you who read Sticky Fingers, which was set in the Boston suburb of Framingham, know that there's a huge Brazilian community west of Boston. I think ALL of them showed up to the game--the attendance was around 55,000. The stands were filled with Brazilian flags, yellow soccer shirts, and even green-and-yellow striped wigs. I think Mat (from Sticky Fingers) would have fit right in. The guys behind me even brought their trombones. (Seriously. I got the evidence!)



And I met this woman as I came in the gate. Had to get my picture with her and her Brazilian Statue of Liberty!



I did see one lone carload of Venezuelans. But this was about it for the entire night:



They were parked right next to the gate, I assume so they could make a quick getaway. Smart people: Venezuela won 2 - 0. Would you want to be on the other side of this crowd after they lost? (Especially since Brazil was heavily favored and has never lost to Venezuela?) I wouldn't, either!

Autographed Books!

This is your chance to get an autographed Niki Burnham book (for yourself, or as a Christmas or birthday gift for a friend!)

Yesterday, I signed piles of books for the Borders store in Redmond, Washington. But if you act quickly, you can get an autographed copy sent to YOUR local Borders!

Here's what you need to do:

1) Go to your local Borders;

2) Tell them you'd like to order a book from Borders #0191 in Redmond, Washington;

3) Your store will call up the Redmond Borders and let you know which autographed copies are still available (I signed copies of Goddess Games, Sticky Fingers, and Scary Beautiful);

4) You pay for it at your local Borders; and

5) They'll call you when it comes in.

The Redmond Borders will only have these books for a limited time (the employees are probably tripping on them!) so if this is something you want to do, please act sooner rather than later.

In the meantime, thanks again for all your support (I think I have the best readers in the world!!) and be sure to check out my all-new website and bulletin boards.