Farewell Two and a Half Trees

I feel guilty, because I'm positive at least two and a half trees are dead and it's indirectly my fault--my fault for checking "Yes, feel free to contact me" on the PSAT all those months ago. Because of that mistake, I've received piles of college brochures and letters every day for about two weeks now. All I can say is, thank goodness I checked "creative writing" as my major interest, and not something broader, like English, or Psych (which according to my grandma every school has).

But still, these brochures/letters, not to mention the emails that started a month and a half ago, present a problem: what do I do with them?

No, really. What do I do?

It's the first year I've taken the PSAT. (And now I'm almost hesitant for the SAT.) Before now I haven't really thought about where I want to go to college. I considered forensics at PSU in ninth grade, but once I started honors English this year I realized English is what I want to study. For ever and ever and ever. So now I'm stumped, and tons of college brochures saying OMG COME HERE WE'RE THE COOLEST THING SINCE NUTELLA doesn't help with the confusion.

My mom's excited about the college search, scheduling tours over spring break (though, it's more like spring weekend at my school, only two days off) and browsing websites. I suppose I find it exciting as well--but also incredibly intimidating. I don't know how far away I want to go, what kind of English program I'm looking for, if I want a small campus or a large one, et cetera et cetera et cetera.

So, if college brochures and emails could find a way to tell me that in between bright pictures of laughing students holding test tubes and notebooks, that'd be great.

Contest at YA Lit Six

It's about time I mentioned it on this blog: there's a super cool contest happening on YA Lit Six!

Go on the post and fill out the form to enter. Here's what you can win:

First prize: A signed copy of Rain (by me!), a custom header/button combo made by the lovely Katie from KD Designs (who made our gorgeous blog button) and a full manuscript critique from all of us (meaning the contributors of YA Lit Six).

Second and third prizes: A custom blog button from Katie (see how awesome she is?), and a critique of your first chapter by all of us.

Time for Exciting News

I hinted at some exciting news on my YA Lit Six post last week, and here it (finally) is:

My next book, Flawless Ruins, is coming out in June!

Which, let me say, is a perfect way to start off the summer.

Flawless Ruins is not a sequel to Rain--it has its own storyline, new characters, and, oh yeah, it's set about 200 years in the future. (Though I like to imagine the main character--Morgan--is some distant relative of Mel. She definitely has that same determination.)

So let me dangle a carrot now with an picture and a "jacketflap" teaser about the story... This is a temporary promo image a la my sister and grandma. Isn't it awesome?

In 2238, life in America is finally perfect. The Wars are over and the CommWall is in place, blocking communication with what remains of other continents. The women are content to have great education, choice careers, and glamorous hair. Best of all, when every girl turns seventeen she’s given her Like; an adorable, perfect spouse tailor-made just for her.

Everyone looks forward to the day she gets her Like, and Morgan Waters is no exception—until she accidentally stays out past curfew and stumbles across someone who appears to be a Like but claims to be a man. Morgan’s perfect world crumbles down around her in the midst of a forbidden romance, forcing her to deal with the realization that her life may not be so flawless after all.

There will be a Flawless Ruins page coming to kierynnicolas.com soon. I'm excited to be working with Echelon Press again...I'll keep you updated!

P&E

Guess what? Rain placed in the top 10 on the Preditors & Editors young adult novel category! Click the supercool picture below to see the list.