I promised I'd post here first with the Sammy Keyes Party videos...it's taken quite a while to get them done, but here they are at long last!Here's an overview of the Sammy Keyes party...the entire documentary couldn't be included, but at least you'll see a little of the intro.
Also, the interview with my editor was made into a separate file, for those who are curious about our process. The interview was conducted by the amazing and wonderfully dynamic Walter Mayes
And last (for now), here's a medley of the live music we did at the party, including parts of the Sammy Keyes song!
Thanks again to Tim Wadham, book missionary extraordinaire, whose vision and passion made this all possible. (And what other party's ever offered its guests mac'n'cheese'n'salsa?)
That's plenty to keep you busy for a bit, but following up on a few other things that may be of interest...
- Sammy will be getting new covers and reintroduced in Spring 2017. I'm very, very happy about that. I know it's a little ways off, but they're redoing all 18 paperback covers so that's a big undertaking. (Some of you are probably wondering, but I'm not sure if Kiss Goodbye will come out in paperback before then...)
- Flipped will have a 15-year anniversary edition next spring. I've written some fun extra content for it, and I'm holding my breath that a really cool idea for the cover gets approved...
- I have a new book coming out in Fall 2016. It's titled The Secret Life of Lincoln Jones. I'd elaborate, but, uh, it's secret?
I hope all this makes up a little for my silence over the past few months. I miss this community and think of you often, hoping you're happy and doing well. I'd love to see you in the comments!
24 comments:
Some of you who were at the party might find yourselves in the videos! :)
First i'm writing this as I'm watching.
-There was a converse signing ohmysammy i wish I could've signed that it's beautiful.
-NOOOO not enough of the documentary but whenever you find more we'll be waiting.
-YOU GUYS ARE ROCKSTARS
-Is that.... no it can't be.... WAIT IT IS. MACARONI AND SALSA WHAT I THINK THIS VIDEO IS JUST RUBBING IT IN MY FACE I WASNT THERE THEY GOT EVERYTHING RIGHT DOWN TO THE LAST SHOELACE
-I WANT A SAMMY DRAWING IN MY BOOK THE HARDCOVERS ARE LITERALLY MY FAVORITES.
i JUST REALIZED i never finished reading your post so I just went back and realized you warned about the mac and cheese and salsa but i missed it.
NEW BOOK NEW BOOK NEW BOOK
Lincoln Jones.... hmmm
It's no Sammy but it'll do.
But seriously that is so cool and exciting and i'll definitely be on the lookout for that!!!
Can't wait to see the new Sammy covers and the new Flipped cover and everything!
Also Nancy is gorgeous and great and I wish I was there to meet her!
Ok ok enough sidetracking by sammy stuff
I have AP English projects! And AP U.S. tests! And AP Bio to study for!
Until next time,
Yusa
P.S. Props to everyone who was part of that event they did the perfect job I cannot say they were missing a single sammy thing I approve and I think that was a fair farewell!
Aw, Yusa, I've missed you! Thanks for the enthused comment....
Loved the videos! I can't wait to see Risky Whippet again. Continued success my friend. :~)
I starting jumping up and down when I found out there was a new blog post! I loved the first video! (I haven't had time for the other two, but I shall get to them this weekend). I got so excited when I saw the salsa Mac and Cheese because 1. It's really good 2. I haven't had it in a while and 3. I just recently started making my own Mac and cheese because box Mac and cheese just doesn't cut it for me anymore so now I need to try my homemade with salsa!
The party looked like you guys has a blast! I loved seeing all the converse, it made me really happy! And also the girl with the stack of all her books because if I went that totally would be me!
Also Wendelin a month or two ago my 8 year old nephew needed to do a book report and he has been struggling to find a book that is in his reading level, but he called me all excited and told me he found a really cool book and he had already read half of it and he told me all about it and guess what book it was? Spy Guy: Meet the Gecko! He absolutely loved it and he had such a great time with the book report! I helped him made a diagrams with the fire sprinkler part. It was really great to see him get so excited over a book!
Also I am very very excited for the new covers and the new book your writing. I will definitely be getting both!
Have a super fantastic week everybody!
Kylie
When I saw that you posted a blog post I got so excited! I missed having blog posts every week!
I watched all the videos and they were great!
I can't wait for your new book! I'm so excited!
Also, I'm excited for Flipped and the new Sammy Keyes covers! I'm just very excited in general! :p
Gabrielle
This post was an awesome surprise! I'm always excited to hear about Sammy and...A NEW BOOK! Can't wait to lean more!
The Sammy party looks like so much fun! You've signed most of my books, but it would be so cool to have the drawing in them too. And the mac and salsa looks delicious!
I actually found the Sammy documentary on YouTube.I came across it somehow a few months ago, and it was so fun to see you at some familiar locations (I'm from "Santa Martina"). It was about 15 minutes long, I think. Would that have been the full one?
Thanks for the update, and I can't wait to hear more about the new projects!
The documentary made me cry no lie.
--Yusa
So great to "hear your voices" again! And Emma's right--the documentary has been posted on YouTube. I had no idea. Here's the URL: http://youtu.be/2BW60qCU2Pg
I wish I could have come to a sighing! But I wrote you a letter and I don't know if you got it. Hopefully you did. If not I basically said I'm a huge fan of all of your books and sammy keyes has changed my life in so many ways.
Hope everybody has a good day!
Abby
Hi, Abby! Thanks for your comment :-) I'm having trouble getting through my fan mail so I'm really glad you chimed in here. I will see it eventually, but meanwhile, thank you !
Dear Wendelin Van Draanen,
I am about to be a senior in high school, and I cannot tell you how much Flipped has made a difference in my life.
My older sister showed it to me when I was a freshman, and I remember reading it and feeling...I don't know how to describe it. Your words made me feel the same way Julianna felt when she was up in her sycamore tree. It was pure, inexplicable magic. Probably because I relate to both Bryce and Julianna.
Needless to say, a paperback was mine by Christmas of that year, and I carried it with me literally everywhere. It has some pencil marks across it from sitting in my backpack, and the white cover has turned a light grey, but whenever I pick it up, I won't put it down until I've read every single letter. It's one of my favorite books of all time, and it will probably always will be.
I would start to explain why it is so magical to me, but frankly, it would probably be the longest comment on here you'd ever receive. I'm not even kidding; it spans the course of over four years. But I understand now. I really do. Your book Flipped only reassured me of everything. I cannot thank you enough times for writing it. It has changed my perspective and the way I view the world in a big way, a change that I think was made for the better. A change that would not have been made without you.
Thank you for using your literary magic to change my life. I will never, in the history of the whole stinkin' universe, never, ever get tired of reading Flipped. Because I, too, was flipped.
And like Bryce's grandfather said, "you'll never be the same again."
Dear Wendelin Van Draanen,
This all seems a little strange to me, but I feel compelled to write to you.
First, please let me tell you about a very special person. She is a library tech in the El Cajon School District (elementary). She is my wife Robin.
Robin reads all the books in her libraries….all of them. She “reads” children as well. If one of her students asks for a book suggestion, she considers her reading of the child and matches them to books she knows they will enjoy. She is very successful at this and has surprised many children as to how much they can love reading.
Recently, while on vacation, we were relaxing in the best non-eventful ways we know how. For Robin, that means reading. She was reading your last book of the Sammy Keyes series. We were sitting on separate sofas and I noticed she marked her place in the book and slowly placed the book in her lap. Her eyes were looking off through the glass door and I could see she was deep in thought, very much affected by what she was reading. So, I asked her “how’s the book?”
She pulled her eyes away from the glass door and looked at me. “Oh, it’s wonderful like the rest of the series (pause) and this is the last one”. She began to tell me a bunch of information about the books, how she “gets” Sammy…(how she can get into trouble?)
Of course I really did not know what she was talking about since I have not read your books. Then she said, “this one is written in the first person, and…” (pause)….looks away…tears…choking back tears…composure regained. “Well, you know, it’s just very personal…”
Wow.
Thank you for that Wendelin. You’ve really connected with Robin.
Your books are in her libraries, she made sure of that.
Sincerely,
Mark Wade
Agghhhh! Apparently I did not properly sign up for notifications and just saw this post. I must remedy that!
But now I have less time to wait for "Lincoln Jones."
I agree with what everyone else said -- the party was AMAZING! Converse, mac and cheese and salsa, a conga line... Wish I could have been there, but the video at least let me taste some of the experience. Loved the documentary, too.
Alright, time to get back over to where I'm pet-sitting before it gets any later...
Nope, I have absolutely no idea how to get notifications... I'm "following" the blog, but I wasn't informed about this post, and I can't see a place to make that happen...
@Jessica, I follow the blog too and have no idea how to get notifications either so i just have to keep checking but its okay for me to keep checking since even if there arent new posts, sometimes there are new comments which are also interesting because its wonderful to see these books change people's lives.
Always,
Yusa
Jessica, Yusa -- I hope you've figured it out! It was great to see you both pop up in the comments. I was actually a little worried about Jessica because it seemed she'd vanished, poof! Greetings to everyone, hope you're doing well! I'm working on a stand alone novel. Miss my blog friends! :-)
Dear Girl-With-A-Blog -- Thank you for your beautiful comment about Flipped! I love that it had that impact on you, and I very much appreciate your taking the time to write!
And, because I know y'all look out for each other here, for those of you who read these comments and wonder if I could possibly have skipped over Mark Wade's message, I did not! (I wrote him back directly...)
Yusa, if you scroll all the way down to the bottom of the main blog page, you can choose to subscribe using live bookmarks. I don't know what that means or how it works, but I did that. I guess I'll find out if it worked the next time Wendelin posts.
I have cut back my online time lately to focus on more fun real-world things. (Plus Facebook developed this nasty habit of crashing my computer... and it has gotten a bit cluttered and hard to find the interesting information between all the cat pictures and political squabbles.)
Dear wendelin Van Draanen ,
My name is Jose . I am a 7th grader at Frank Borman Elemantary School . I recently just finished your very heart touching book "The Running Dream" . Its an awesome book . This book made me realize that we don't know what we really have until its gone .This book honestly touched my heart . I have never read such an amazing book before . I am trying to finish all your books . i love your books ! I bet if there was a movie to "The Running Dream " it would be just perfect ! Will there be a sequel ? If so ,Im totally going to get a million copies . If you don't mind i would like to ask a couple of questions: How did Marryl react to Gavin & Jessica being together ? How is Jessica doing ? Did she get her permanent leg ?
Sincerely Jose , Frank Borman Elementary School ,
Phoenix , Arizona
I am doing a project in school right now, where we pick an author and then research them. Picked you and I am almost done with my research, but I still have a few questions:
1. Do you have any pets?
2. Where were you born?
3. When you wrote your first book in the perspective of a kid, were you at all embarrassed when the publishers said it was a kids book, even though you meant for it to be and adult book?
Hi Wendelin! I'm a HUGE fan of yours! I've seen you speak 3 different times over the years - the last time bringing my daughter. :) Even though the Sammy books are finished...would you ever consider coming to an elementary school for an author visit? I'm a school librarian and would love to have you at our school someday. Ahh. One can dream. :) I'm not sure how else to find you but in the comments section of your blog. You need a website! :) Anyway, i'm in the bay area so it wouldn't be TOO far...if you ever miss the kids just come my way.
Elizabeth! I do have a new website (wendelinvand.com) and am working on getting the full name URL to direct to it. There's contact info there, and I am still quite active doing school visits. So check out the website and let's talk :-)
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