For this edition of Right Now, I give you a tantalizing list of recent major deals ($500K+) in speculative fiction!
- MATCHED - Allyson Condie Fall 2010
A 17-year-old girl, who’s spent her life waiting for a group dubbed “The Society” to tell her who her ideal mate is, has her world upended when she discovers she’s falling in love with someone other than her supposed soul mate.
Star-crossed love and overbearing societies… I love a good dystopian!
- ACROSS THE UNIVERSE – Beth Revis Spring 2011
A teenager is cryogenically frozen only to thaw too soon, before arriving at the new planet that’s her destination.
I’m especially excited about this book for two reasons: 1) It’s set on a spaceship, a setting I always find intriguing, and 2) Beth is a frequent visitor to the The Spectacle. Congrats, Beth!
- STARCROSSED - Josephine Angelini Summer 2011
A shy Nantucket teenager named Helen Hamilton is destined to start a Trojan War-like battle by falling in love with heartthrob Lucas Delos.
Greek tragedy + high school = next big romance sensation. I think this one should be made into a musical.
- FOREVER - Maggie Stiefvater Summer 2011
The final book in the trilogy that began with Shiver, about a girl’s romance with a boy who turns into a wolf during winter. Included in this deal were three other, unnamed YA fantasy novels.
Sam gets my vote for most lovable werewolf. Can’t wait to see where FOREVER takes him.
- SLEEPWALKING – Amy Huntington Summer 2011
A 16-year-old falls for a French teen named Vincent, who just happens to be a zombie.
Even after all the vampires and werewolves and faeries, I did not see this coming. Zombie romance? Apparently in this book, zombies aren’t quite as disgusting as usual–they don’t eat brains, and they don’t look like corpses.
- BROTHERBAND - John Flanagan Fall 2011
I can’t find a description of this novel, but it’s nice to have at least one male author represented on our list.
- THE DIVINERS – Libba Bray Fall 2012
A supernatural fantasy series set in Manhattan during the 1920s.
Bray has a way with settings–the Victorian boarding school in her Gemma Doyle series had some serious atmosphere. I can’t wait to step into a speakeasy!
- THE EDGE OF NOWHERE – Elizabeth George (no set publication date yet)
A teenage girl with psychic abilities runs away to Whidbey Island, Washington State to escape from her stepfather, who has been exploiting her abilities, only to also be abandoned by her mother.
George has previously published books only for adults, which are all set in the UK. Apparently, her recent move to Whidbey Island is shaking things up.
Chris Eboch
Greg R. Fishbone
Nick
lindajoysingleton
Parker Peevyhouse
Joni Sensel
I always wonder why they do that in Publishers Lunch, do that coded thing of deals, good deals, and very good deals or however it’s worded. Do people really need to know how much of an advance others are making, or is it all part of the PR machine — simply because people will assume that if the book is so valued by the publishers, it will be AWESOME, thus the buzz should start even earlier?
Just a random, disconnected thought.
Across the Universe is making Beatles songs stick in my head.
It makes me think of the Beatles too!
Yay!! I’m glad it reminds you of it because the title came from the Beatles song…and there are scenes built around lines from the song
Thanks for posting these. I’m so excited for Beth and excited for me to see so many books coming that I’d love to read.
Thanks for posting all these awesome books to look for. I’m especially excited to read Beth’s book. I follow her blog and she’s always so helpful to us aspiring authors.
500K … is that even feasible anymore? Wow. I sit in awe. Also, a couple of those titles have really caught my eye.
It’s nice to know the pub industry isn’t completely bust, right?
They all sound exciting! I hope they’re all worth it.
Yay, Beth! I didn’t realize that was YOU!
Tanita, it’s part of the PR machine. What I wonder looking over that list is if the market can really support THAT many mondo “you’ve got to buy this because we sank a load of money into it” hits. We’ll see, I guess.
It was me
So many good books coming out. I may start drooling…
Thanks for the list, Parker.
So many of these books are romance. I guess that’s due to the Twilight effect?
Hey! That’s my name up there!
Thanks for linking me and including me in the list!! 