It's book release day for CONTRIBUTE!

I'm so excited to announce that Contribute has officially released today! The sequel to Consider and the conclusion to the Holo Series brings many mixed emotions since my debut year was a long, winding journey. There were times I wasn't sure if book 2 was ever going to see this day. And here we are. Series done. :)

It's weird writing a series. It still feels like my characters are alive (well, the ones who survived--spoilers!) and they've been put on pause. At the same time, there's a giant sense of relief to have reached this point, to let them go creatively and discover new characters and new stories. The best way to get over an old love is to find a new love. Isn't that what they say? I'll be spending the next year working on a new YA project (top secret for now, sorry. You'll be the first to hear details when I can share, so stay tuned).

To the readers out there, I want to say thank you for sticking with me and giving my debut series a chance.

***To celebrate publication week, some giveaways!***Check out the flash giveaway on Twitter:

FLASH GIVEAWAY to celebrate my book release! Today only: RT & follow to win a signed copy of CONSIDER+CONTRIBUTE, plus some extra swag! pic.twitter.com/hNEZigEq5N

— Kristy Acevedo 📝 (@kristyace) July 11, 2017

On Goodreads, there are two separate giveaways for each book. Both end July 17th.Enter Consider Goodreads GiveawayEnter Contribute Goodreads GiveawayFinally, if you're local, please come celebrate this Saturday, July 15 from 2-4pm at Barnes & Noble in Dartmouth, MA. More details here!

My Trip to Seattle: The 2017 Philip K. Dick Award Ceremony at Norwescon

(pic left to right) Winner of the 2017 Philip K. Dick award Claudia Casper, Finalist Matt Hill, Finalist Kristy Acevedo, Special Citation Susan diRende. Not in attendance were Finalist Eleanor Arnason and Finalist by Yoss, translated by David Frye.

What a whirlwind the last few days have been! I was honored to attend the 2017 Philip K. Dick award ceremony at Norwescon in SeaTac, Washington as one of six finalists on the ballot. Consider was the only young adult novel and the only book in a series nominated this year.

The award celebrates the distinguished, original science fiction paperback since much of Philip K. Dick's work appeared in mass market.  Even if you haven't read a lot of science fiction, you'll probably recognize some of his works that have been turned into films, including Blade Runner (1982), Total Recall (1990), Minority Report (2002), Paycheck (2003), A Scanner Darkly (2006), Next (2007), and The Adjustment Bureau (2011), and The Man in the High Castle (2015 Amazon Prime).

I had a wonderful time bonding with the nominees. Here's the only pic I have of us together, and it's a goofy pic of us fake arguing--well, except for Claudia. She had a lot to celebrate as this year's winner!

2017 Philip K. Dick awards at Norwescon in Seattle. Didn't win but had a blast! ⭐

A post shared by Kristy Acevedo (@kristyacevedo) on Apr 14, 2017 at 9:29pm PDT

You can watch the video of the ceremony on YouTube, including readings from the works. I read an excerpt from Chapter 1 of Consider.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAtLrF36_lMAfter the awards, I explored Norwescon, spoke on panels, and attended their book signing before sightseeing in Seattle. I still managed to squeeze in writing time during the mornings. The East Coast/West Coast time difference worked in my favor. I couldn't sleep past 5 am.

Early morning in Seattle. 💙#amwriting #nwc40 #AprWritingChallengeA post shared by Kristy Acevedo (@kristyacevedo) on Apr 15, 2017 at 8:10am PDT

And while everyone else slept in, I took selfies with the Daleks at breakfast.

Breakfast at @Norwescon and had to take selfies with the Daleks. #DrWho #nwc40

A post shared by Kristy Acevedo (@kristyacevedo) on Apr 15, 2017 at 6:49am PDT

Seattle has always been on my must-visit-someday list, so the location of the convention was an added blessing. I  explored as much of Seattle as I had time for, including the Space Needle, the Museum of Pop Culture, and Pike Place Market.

When in Seattle...A post shared by Kristy Acevedo (@kristyacevedo) on Apr 17, 2017 at 7:01am PDT

The Museum of Pop Culture was my absolute favorite since they had a special Star Trek exhibit. I could've spent the day in there. (click pic to see 10 photos)

More pics from today's #StarTrek exhibit in Seattle. So amazing!

A post shared by Kristy Acevedo (@kristyacevedo) on Apr 16, 2017 at 7:18pm PDT

There were so many other fandoms and artifacts that I can't possibly show all the pics. However, for the Buffy fans out there... (click pic to see 3 photos)

OMG. #BuffyA post shared by Kristy Acevedo (@kristyacevedo) on Apr 16, 2017 at 7:25pm PDT

At the Pike Place Market, I bought myself a Philip K. Dick book at LampLight books, as a souvenir.  It was a great way to commemorate my first visit to the West Coast.

Bought myself a PKD souvenir from a used bookstore in Pike Place Market. Good reading for the plane. #bookstagram #booksofinstagram #sciencefiction

A post shared by Kristy Acevedo (@kristyacevedo) on Apr 17, 2017 at 8:25pm PDT

A CONSIDER Book Launch Party Huge Thank You!

This is a tremendous and much appreciated THANK YOU!

My debut book launch party for Consider on April 23, 2016 at Barnes & Noble in Dartmouth, Massachusetts was a phenomenal success thanks to the huge local outpouring of support. We sold out of 130 books. Yes, you heard that right. Then people placed more orders. Rumor has it the store has ordered 45 more copies.  The line snaked around the store for 90 minutes. I have no idea how many books I actually signed because some people pre-ordered and brought those copies with them. Family, friends, colleagues, students, locals, strangers. People I haven't seen since elementary school. Old high school friends. Readers. Non-readers.I am completely overwhelmed and still in shock.

The whole experience is surreal. When I look at photos, it all seems like a fabulous, unbelievable dream. Well, it was! Not to mention all the local media attention--Fun 107 & WBSM radio, and newspapers, including this amazing Standard Times review by Lauren Daly.  I am feeling the local love. Many wonderful people--family, friends, colleagues, librarians, book sellers, and students who I taught over the past fifteen years, pitched in and donated items, time, and talent to help pull off the event.Thank you to all who came out to show your support. Thank you to all those who couldn't come and messaged me with more support. You have no idea what it means to have the community behind me and my debut book as I start on an unpredictable publishing journey and a new phase in my creative life.I am so grateful to have good people in my life.

 I'd like to share with you my most touching moment of the day. In order to fully appreciate the scope of this moment, first read my blog post about my "big sister" from the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization when I was a child. Okay. *deep breath* So a family approached the table and handed me a book to sign. As I signed my name, the father put his hands on his son's shoulders said, "This is Sid's grandson." Then he broke down crying. My brain didn't comprehend at first. Then I looked at the father's face. It was my Big Sister's adult son, maybe around 15 years older than I am. The last time I remember seeing him was when I was twelve. He added, "He never got to meet his grandmother. She died before he was born."

I experienced a complete, full circle moment. Here was the grandson of my childhood mentor, a phenomenal woman who fostered my love of books and brought me to the library for years.  And here I was, handing her grandson a signed copy of my first young adult book.  I felt the loss of her and the love of her and the love of her family all in one moment. Oh, the tears.

There's more. Her son explained that they didn't know about the book signing until that day. A newspaper that they don't subscribe to mysteriously appeared in their mailbox and fell open to my book launch article. You don't need explanations for serendipitous moments like that. As I slid my book over to her grandson, I knew that someday when he reads it, she'll be reading along with him.

It was a truly remarkable life moment to top off a wonderful dream. I feel blessed and truly honored. Thank you for sharing this day with me.

Meet the Winner of the CONSIDER Fan Art Contest

RIOT by Cat Scully First Place

The #ConsiderYourEnd Fan Art Contest inspired artists to create incredible work using scenes from my book, Consider.  Thank you to all the artists who participated in the contest; the talent was overwhelming.The winners were announced on social media on April 4. As one of the first place prizes, the winner receives a special feature on my website. So here it is!

First Place SHOWCASE: Meet the artist

Cat Scully

RIOT by Cat Scully in stage 1

RIOT by Cat Scully stage 2

RIOT by Cat Scully stage 3

Amazing, right? Out of all the submissions, RIOT truly captures Alex's (the main character) emotions and anxiety amid the chaos surrounding her.  I can't get enough.

Catherine "Cat" Scully is an illustrator, writer, motion design student, and freelance editor. As illustrator, she has worked on concept art for film, world maps and chapter headings for books, and storyboards for broadcast. She is best known for her world maps in Winterspell by Claire Legrand, her forthcoming maps in 2016 include Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova, and the Seven Forges series by James A. Moore. She is currently a motion design student at the ANVEL in Atlanta, GA, where she is lucky enough to learn motion graphics with a fabulous crew of people. UPDATE: Her debut YA illustrated horror novel, JENNIFER STRANGE, comes out in July 2020! Cat loves drumming, Evil Dead, campy B-movies, classic movie monsters, Sailor Moon, yoga, cooking, and firmly believes she would be sorted into both the Ravenclaw and Slytherin houses. Cat is represented by Lane Heymont of the Seymour Agency and is a member of AIGA and the Horror Writers Association, where she acts as the YA Editor. Check out her website,  and follow her on Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram.

I spoke to Cat about her process in creating this winner masterpiece. She said she "dropped the sketch in Corel painter and speed painted it in about three hours" and the sketch "took maybe 20 minutes." Even better, she saved images of her work in stages and was willing to share them with me. I LOVE THIS. 

Now even though only first place was supposed to be showcased on my author website, I can't help but at least list all the other winners with their works below.I mean, check these out...

Second Place

Technological Belly Button by Jason Ford

Third Place

Beyond the Void by Anissa Basnayake

Honorable Mention

Melia LaFleur

Honorable Mention

Shannen Mills

Which one is your favorite?