Here's a snippet from my favorite review of Night Road!
“
Hannah effectively builds tension as the novel moves towards the pivotal tragedy and maintains suspense afterward not only with several surprising twists but, more subtly, with the way she limns the grief and eventual healing of her appealing characters. A breakout for popular novelist Hannah.”--BooklistA breakout. Woo hoo!!!
Hello to everyone from the rainy, gray Pacific Northwest. It's funny, I always hear from readers that they love the local settings of my book--well, let me tell, you, mid-March in my backyard is a dreary place. When I look out the window, really all I see are shades of gray. I love it! Why? What's better on a rainy day than to read--or write--a book? Which reminds, what are you reading right now? We haven't done a reading shout out in a while...
The rain means spring, and spring means that I have a new book out. NIGHT ROAD, like Firefly Lane, is a book that comes from my own life. It’s about the best, worst, most stressful, most frustrating, most wonderful year of my life: my son’s senior year of high school. I don’t know about you, but I remember senior year as the best of times. Believe me, it’s a whole lot different on the other side of the fence, when you’re the parent, worrying constantly. It’s all very natural—kids trying to test their wings and fly; parents trying to keep them safe. Senior year these days is a dangerous time of testing limits, parties that spring up in the dark like mushrooms, and the kids think they’re invincible. That’s the setting for Night Road—the push/pull between parents and kids in that last, most important year of high school. I think you’ll find a piece of your own life in there, whether you’re a parent of small children, of high school students, or even if you’re a teen, in the middle of a time you don’t quite understand. Most of all, I hope the book sparks a dialogue between parents and kids about how to be safe in a dangerous world. I talked to the good folks at Barnes and Noble about the book. If you’d like to watch the interview, here’s the link:
http://media.barnesandnoble.com/index.jsp?fr_story=80ae78d309887165ffbdd36abf44a2700965330d&cds2Pid=29166&linkid=1690678 Although, I have to be honest, I haven't worked up the courage to watch it yet. :)
If you're on my facebook page, you probably already know that I'm getting ready to go on tour again. In between drafts of my new book, I'm fervently searching the web for clothes. It's not fun, but I like it better than "real" shopping. :)
I will be coming to a city—hopefully-- near you. (If it’s not near you, please don’t blame me. We authors are mere pawns in the game of cross country touring). Between March 22 and April 12th, I’ll be in Seattle, Poulsbo, Redmond, Portland, Beaverton, Chicago, Naperville, Dallas, Atlanta, Raleigh-Durham, New York City, Red Bank (NJ), and Columbus. If any of these cities are close enough, I’d love to meet you! In several cities, I will be hosting special book club oriented “pre events.” If you belong to a book club—big or small--or you’re thinking of starting one, this is your chance to come and talk to me for tips and/or advice, or just to say hi. If you can make it, please send an RSVP to Sarah.Goldstein @stmartins and tell her you’ll be there. That’s all you need to do, but please RSVP quickly—some locations have limited admission. I look forward to meeting you and signing your books. Check out KristinHannah.com and/or my facebook page for dates and information. (Also, if you live in any of these areas, I'd love to know what the weather is like now...)
Don't forget---I'm giving away a copy of Night Road. Comment to this blog entry and you'll be entered. The winner will be announced on the 21st of March.
Also, just fyi, I often run contests on my facebook page, so if you haven't checked it out, don't be shy, join me there, too!
I have had so much fun talking to book clubs in the past few years. If you’d like to talk to me about Night Road, just fill out the form on my website Kristinhannah.com and I’ll do my very best to be available via speakerphone on your meeting day. I know you’ll find a lot to talk about in this novel—it’s about such a timely subject and the choices these characters make are sure to spark some animated conversation.
THANKS SO MUCH to all of you who supported Winter Garden in trade paperback. It is currently on its TENTH WEEK on the New York Times best seller list. Sales have exceeded my wildest expectations—and best of all, I am hearing so much wonderful feedback. It’s been especially well received by book clubs, and it’s been a pleasure to talk to so many of you about it. I appreciate all of your support for this novel that is so near to my heart.
Hope to see many of you on the road---
All my best,
Kristin
