Thumbs up review from Kirkus!

Oooh hoo!

Kirkus Reviews has gone and reviewed my Twisted book, and I'm getting the idea they liked what they saw!

A lot of the review is directed toward book buyers and summarizes some of the stories, but here's a collection of parts where it's all about the review:

A clever collection of stories and comics by debut author Thompson.

An experienced illustrator and graphic designer, Thompson organizes this flash-fiction book into 28 extremely brief chapters on many subjects and uses both text and spacing to heighten interest. Her artwork tends toward the gory, though the drawings also contain elements of humor. The words themselves are arranged on the page for an atypical and interesting reading experience...Thompson shines at using unexpected or multiple perspectives to breathe new life into conventional tales, with story endings that are surprising and skillfully foreshadowed. This balance between the unpredictable and the expected rewards rereading. Thompson uses amusing chapter titles like “Cleaver Over-Achiever” and “Lobotomy Pie,” and her phrasing is often similarly adroit...the book is an excellent example of its genre and will likely appeal to younger readers.

An assortment of repulsive yet funny chapters makes for a quick and enjoyable read. —Kirkus Reviews

I don't think some of the words they use to describe the book are entirely accurate, but I'll focus on that aspect next week. For now, I'm just going to bask in a repulsively positive review!

My book is totally available--with incentives!

It's taken me a while, but I finally was able to get my book available for purchase on its own site:

http://www.hairyeyeballs.com/books.html

And that's not all: If you buy the book directly from me (rather than through Amazon or Barnes & Noble), not only is it cheaper (cost-wise), I'll also throw in a free bookmark (those are them to the left over there) and I'll sign it for you! Even with personalized signage! Just let me know who to dedicate your copy to in the "Add special instructions to the seller" box when you check out.

Yep. It's that simple.

Publishers Weekly liked the book!

Yes! THE Publishers Weekly!

Here's what they had to say (and how it looks on the printed page):

In "Garlic Toast," one of nearly 30 brief works of "flash fiction" in this collection of dark comedy and horror, the main character is brutally attacked and chased by a monster, before awakening in bed from a nightmare. "You wipe the sweat from your forehead.... You close your eyes and smile. You hope the next one is just as good." That type of kid—the one who revels in being terrified—is the audience first-time author Thompson is aiming for. In stories that last only a few pages and comics that resemble Nickelodeon cartoons on acid, Thompson riffs on zombie, werewolf, and other ghoulish genres, while also finding the horrific in unexpected places. In "Testophobia," a test-taker's increasingly anxious thoughts are superimposed over a blurred-out exam below ("Hemophobia: Fear of blood. Won't wipe off. On fingers. On sleeve, paper. Smeared. Trembling. Shaky. Shaking"). And in a cartoon labeled "Lobotomy Pie," a freshly baked pumpkin pie cools on a counter, while a jack o'lantern sits mutilated in the foreground. Just the thing for readers who aren't scared of the dark—or for those who are and like it. Ages 12–up.

(!)

And here's the link to it online:
http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-9836699-0-6

I got to talk about writing and illustrating—and people actually listened!

A few weeks ago I was part of a panel at the Frick Art & Historical Center discussing kid's books, writing and illustrating them and getting them published. The panel was in part in conjunction with their current exhibit: Draw Me a Story: A Century of Children's Book Illustration, but it was also to celebrate Women's History Month.

We talked about our influences in writing and reading kid's books, including influential female characters and writers. I explained that I wasn't a very good reader growing up—not that I had trouble reading, but that I just wasn't interested in doing it. I was what publisher's now refer to as a "reluctant reader," which generally is code for "boys."

When I wrote Twisted: Tales to Rot Your Brain, I had no trouble keeping that young, reluctant reader in me in mind. I wrote short, short stories that would work well with the short-attention-spanned reader I used to be. I also illustrated many of the stories in the book which addressed the "pictures or it didn't happen" side of my reading brain. And, for the part of me that wasn't interested in the subjects that were available for me to read at the time, I wrote about the things that might have kept my attention.

So I guess I wrote this book for the me I used to be, but I'm hoping it sticks with other readers who are struggling to pay attention as much as I did. And those readers aren't just the boys in the room. I'm proof.

See? I wasn't lying. Saturday rocked.

I totally survived my first book signing last Saturday at the Frick Art & Historical Center, and had a great time. It was fun seeing how people "got it" when they opened the book and got a look at the twisted illustrations inside. I don't know who else I signed for, but I know one of my books will be going to the Murrysville Community Library, so I'm just warning all you parents with kids over there: It's coming.

It was also terribly fun to use my new Square credit card reader on my iPad. The best part was how the people handing me their cards also thought it was fun. I was a tiny bit afraid they might be apprehensive about it, but I had no problems at all. It was fast. It was easy. I'd recommend it completely. (I've mentioned Square so many times on my blogs that people are going to start thinking I work for them. I really don't.)

Book buyers were rewarded with a free bookmark to take home with their new book, and we also had prints and posters available, along with various free postcards options to choose from.

I'll be doing a little research to see where else I might be able to have a book party. If you know of any independent bookstores or quirky shops that might be interested, just let me know and I'll see what I can do.

Just a reminder about how great Saturday is going to be

As I mentioned in my last post and to remind everybody, I'll be doing my first book signing for Twisted: Tales to Rot Your Brain Vol. 1 this Saturday. Here's the info:

What: Book signing (along with my new buddy Stacy Innerst)
Date: Saturday, April 14
Time: 1:30-2:30 pm
Location: The Frick Art & Historical Center, in the museum rotunda

For more information: http://www.thefrickpittsburgh.org/programs_events/The_Frick_is_for_Families.php

What you can expect when you get there:

• puppets
• write and illustrate your own stories
• storytimes
• book signings (that's me!)
• kid's flicks
• food!

Events start at 11:15 and run through 4:00.

Book signing @ The Frick

Last week I was one of the speakers on a panel at the Frick Art & Historical Center in Pittsburgh. We talked about writing and illustrating kid's books, and I wrote a preview about it on my kid's illustration blog here.

The museum's current exhibit is Draw Me a Story: A Century of Children's Book Illustration, and on Saturday, April 14 they're going to have a family day. Admission will be free with lots of activities for kids throughout the day. Besides book readings, puppets and movies, they're also going to have book signings, and they've asked me to be a part of that.

So. I'll be doing my first book signing for Twisted: Tales to Rot Your Brain Vol. 1 a week from this Saturday! Here's the info:

What: Book signing (along with my new buddy Stacy Innerst)
Date: Saturday, April 14
Time: 1:30-2:30 pm
Location: The Frick Art & Historical Center, in the museum rotunda

For more info: http://www.thefrickpittsburgh.org/programs_events/The_Frick_is_for_Families.php