Hello, Sunshine!

Once again, I am guilty of being a bad blogger and not updating.

Is it because my life is so full of excitement, jet-setting all over the world, that I can barely find the time?

No, it's pretty much because I have NOTHING to tell you that would be of interest. In fact, since my last post, I have spent 87% of the time crouching under a mossy rock.

Soooo, how's your summer been, slick? Mine's been keen. I didn't do summer school, either, contrary to the rumor.  Yeah, Cyn Balog has pretty much been putzing around for months, and watching too much Dead Poet's Society.

DEAD RIVER is still doing great. Thank you everyone for reading, and for your nice comments!

TOUCHED comes out in paperback August 9!

Nichola, however, has been busy working on revisions to DROWNED and is now drafting BURIED.

DROWNED is going to be published in Germany! This is the most exciting German thing to happen to me since FAIRY TALE was published there.  Yay!

Other than that, working on another secret project, and having fun. Gosh, the secret projects are the funnest, aren't they??

Have a great August!

School Library Journal Reviews DEAD RIVER

Normally I look forward to reviews as much as I look forward to dental work, but this one wasn't all that bad. :)

 

 

DEAD RIVER

 

BALOG, Cyn. Dead River. 256p. Delacorte. 2013. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-385-74158-3; PLB $20.99. ISBN 978-0-375-99012-0; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-0-375-98578-2.

 

Gr 7 Up–Kiandra Levesque’s father has kept her away from bodies of water ever since her mother killed herself in the river near their New Jersey home. Now living in Maine, Ki, 17, skips prom to go on a white-water-rafting adventure with her boyfriend, her cousin, and an annoying travel companion. As her group tells ghost stories, the teen has visions of the deaths of the individuals in the legends. She also begins seeing the spirits of those who died in bodies of water, and as she gets closer to the river, she hears voices. During her first journey on the Dead River, she is pulled out of the raft by something supernatural and is saved by Trey, a ghost from one of the stories. Ki, it turns out, is a “Mistress of the Waters” and has great magical powers . . . Balog tells a unique story providing supernatural romance fans with plenty of adventure, paranormal mystique, and angst.–Adrienne L. Strock, Chicago Public Library

News In Nichola's World

Hi!

Just a little news to let you know about.  When I sold my post-apocalyptic fantasy series to Harlequin TEEN, I did it with the knowledge that the original title I'd chosen (DREAM KINGDOM) would not be the title for long.

I am not sure why . . . maybe because that title sucks.  It doesn't really fit the book at all. Yes, that is probably why.

Anyway, after much deliberation, that book, which I'd started referring to as THAT BOOK, as well as its sequel (once called THAT BOOK PART TWO), now have titles!

They are:

DROWNED  (2014)

and


BURIED (2015) 


Rejoice!

For those of you who liked the titles DREAM KINGDOM or THAT BOOK, I'm sorry it didn't work out.

DEAD RIVER Is Out!

Yesterday, DEAD RIVER was unleashed unto the world.

Actually, no, it had already been in B&N for some time before that. But the official date was yesterday.

SO, as usual on book release day (I've heard that after 5 books, you can start to use "usual" and "book release day" in the same sentence!), I donned my fancy pants and got ready to bask in the congratulations that would surely follow.

Only, that really didn't happen.  Oh, how I remember those days where the twitter-verse would be bursting with well-wishes from people as far away as Mars, people you didn't know existed! Oh, how I remember having to beat people off with a stick.  But today, nothing. Probably because I'd beaten those people off with a stick. My husband didn't send me flowers, my parents were like, "Um, don't you have another book coming out one of these days?" my kids still whined. Random House forgot to send me my author's copies, or else mailed them to another YA writer on their list, or else some UPS drivers are using them as doorstops. World peace was not declared.

To make matters even worse, I found myself having to run after people, shouting "IT'S MY BOOK BIRTHDAY!  LOVE ME!!  AND BUY A COPY!" It was quite embarrassing.

I know, I'm not the only one who doesn't receive confetti cannons going off when her book releases. I can't tell you how many times, lately, I've seen a book out from a favorite author of mine, one who had burst onto the scene amidst much fanfare a few years ago, and been like, "Whoa, when did that release?" There are so many books out there.  I suppose as we go along, our new releases get less interesting to everybody else. But while everyone else might be "pshaw, another Balog book," I can't help secretly squeeing to myself, like a madwoman. It's still, and will always be, a thrill.

So there you have it. Book Five. Dead River. Out in the world.

Love me.

And buy a copy.

Squee!

Hey, Good Looking.

I really don't know what to call this post, other than the "my-husband-checked-my-blog-and-called-it-pathetic-because-I haven't-updated-in-so-long" post. So really, that title is for him, since he snoops on my blog. But also for you. You are quite attractive as well.

So let's see.  News.  DEAD RIVER is releasing in only a few weeks!  Are you excited?  This will be my fifth book and I'm kind of shocked I've lasted this long. (Okay, I almost didn't.) 

Anyway, it's based on a whitewater rafting trip I took with my husband and his friends on the Dead River in Maine.  (Side note to Mainers: I am sorry to disappoint you if you thought this was a book about the gas station). We lived in Maine, once, a million years ago, until the madness set in. Being quite timid and completely unadventurous, it's a wonder I even made it out on a river called The Dead. What was I thinking?  I will tell you three things I learned during that trip:

1. I look like a black garbage bag filled with potatoes, in a wetsuit.
2. If you give me a life-saving paddle AND a granola bar during the trip, expect that I will drop the life-saving paddle AND hold onto the granola bar for dear life (it's food! and it has chocolate chips in it!) if we should fall out of the raft.
3. If I am with you, we WILL fall out of the raft. I think because dirty, freezing water with gross things in it likes me a lot.

My husband actually texted the poor guy who arranged the whole thing and made the mistake of inviting us. He was excited to be mentioned in the acknowledgments and promised to "single-handedly make Dead River a bestseller in Maine." After he gets over the trauma of reliving that terrible event. So if you live in Maine, please do not let this guy down.

This is the cover blurb:

My friends and I are spending prom weekend at a remote wooded cabin on the Dead. The Dead River.

I thought it was going to be just us.

I was wrong.

Nothing is what it seems in this creepy paranormal thriller by Cyn Balog.

I know!  Doesn't it sound like Jason will be involved? He isn't, but that would probably be just my luck if I ever decided to go rafting on the Dead again. Jason shows up in his freaky hockey mask, or creepy hands come out of the water a la the cover. Trust me, you do not want to go with me next time.  Which, there will NOT be a next time. For the above reasons.

If you would like to check it out, go here.  And I can't lie, I would love if you would buy a copy, too.

Also, Nichola Reilly, that little vixen, is working on her 2014 edits and just gearing up to write the sequel! Gosh, I hate talking about myself in the third person. No wonder writers are crazy.

A Tale of One Author, Two Names

Today I'm announcing some very exciting news (well, for me, anyway!).

Children's: Young Adult
Cyn Balog writing as Nichola Reilly's DREAM KINGDOM, set in a future flooded world in which the heroine and her island people must all climb onto a precarious platform at high tide or be swept away and drowned -- or worse, attacked by deadly ocean predators -- and the secrets kept by the ruling class may be the end of their dwindling society, to Annie Stone and Natashya Wilson at Harlequin Teen, in a two-book deal, by Jim McCarthy at Dystel & Goderich Literary Mana gement.

This is big news for me, and makes me probably more proud than any other deal I've made, because last year was really tough on me, personally. I'd written this book many years ago, but it took awhile before it felt ready for the world.  Also, despite being published, which I always thought would make me feel like the Queen Master of the Universe, I still felt like a poser who knew nothing about how to write. There were many times I never thought I'd ever publish again, and I even tried to walk away. But in the end, I realized that if I just need to do what makes me happy, and accept whatever happens after it, good or bad. This is one of the good things.

People have asked why I am writing under a pen name, and there are a number of small reasons that made it the best choice. The biggest of those is that it's a departure from paranormal and supernatural romance. It's post-apocalyptic fantasy, about a girl named Coe who has to overcome enormous odds to save the remaining members of her diminishing society. It is a very odd thing, though, to be writing under a pen name, and so I am sure people may wonder if they call me Cyn or Nichola or what, but hey, just don't call me big fat loser, and I'm good. :)

Also, it will be my very first series. I do not know why I'm so late to the series party... actually, I do. It's hard work. Series writers, you have my kudos! I'm hoping that both books from the series will be released in 2014, so you won't have to wait too long between them, because that drives me crazy, too. Well, I suppose I should just hope that you'll WANT to read the second book. Like I said, writing series = crazy hard. And I have not even really delved too deeply into the second book, yet. I am going to have a busy summer!

Thank you for reading my news. And it would mean a lot to me if you'd follow me on twitter and facebook, where I will be posting more updates about this book (I'm not calling it anything right now because the title is undergoing reconstruction!), Twitter: @NicholaReilly (I'll follow you back), or like my fan page on facebook.