I got on a magical ride back in 2003 with my friend and the co-creator of Tyme, Ruth Virkus.  The ride was called Let’s Write A Fairy-Tale Series.

The first nine years of the ride were slow. Sometimes surprising. Often delightful. Usually difficult. But always

s

l

o

w.

In 2012, the ride got faster. Acquisitions. Revisions. Line edits. Copy edits. First pass pages.

And then the little car rounded a bend and started to climb a steep, clickety track. I’m sitting in it now, pitched back, staring up, listening to the  click click click click click

click

GROUNDED: THE ADVENTURES OF RAPUNZEL moved up from being a Summer 2015 title to being a Spring 2015 title. What I thought would be a July (or something) release date is now April 28. APRIL 28.

click

My editor, the indefatigable Cheryl Klein, sent me the beautiful jacket copy that she wrote for the book (the text that will appear on the cover, the inside flaps, and the back of the book jacket). Suddenly I was able to see lots of small pieces all together in one place: her words, other authors’ encouraging blurbs, the ISBN, my bio, and little shocking realities like $17.99 US / $20.99 CAN, reminding me that oh, yes, this has all been fun and games, hasn’t it, but the idea here is that now this book needs to sell.

click

Also listed on the jacket copy is the name of the artist who is illustrating the cover of GROUNDED: Iacopo Bruno.  The cover is not final yet, but as soon as I saw Iacopo Bruno’s name, any lingering cover-anxiety I might have had vanished forever. Because, in case you’re not familiar with this man’s work, his jackets are total show-stoppers.

click

My friend Melissa Anelli sent me a Google Hangout chat with a link in it. Unsuspecting, I followed the link. Oh God.  GROUNDED is on Amazon.  I called my mother. She preordered a copy. Sale #1.

click

The Scholastic Spring 2015 Online Preview went live yesterday.  In Middle Grade, at 11:59, Cheryl speaks about GROUNDED with the love and confidence that she has shown throughout this entire process. Even since way back in 2004, when she gave my very early first draft some tough love and told me she wanted to see it when it was rewritten. (Also, in this preview, you can catch a very quick glimpse of the not-yet-final book cover. It’s sensational.)

click

I don’t know. I can never predict what the next surprise will be. But for the next five months, I know the surprises will just keep coming, making everything realer and realer, closer and closer, and then – and THEN –

click.