Top 10 Things To Know About LOSS

10. LOSS is about a boy named Billy Ballard, the most bullied kid in tenth grade.

9. LOSS is also about Pestilence, the White Rider, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

8. Some people refer to Pestilence as the Conqueror — and you get to find out why!

7. The cover depicts arrows and a crown, both of which are important to the White Rider.

6. You get to see more of Famine and War and all the steeds.

5. One of LOSS’s subplots focuses on coping when a loved one suffers from Alzheimer’s — and a portion of proceeds from the book will be donated to the Alzheimer’s Association.

4. There’s a hat-tip to Piers Anthony in LOSS.

3. LOSS is very different from both HUNGER and RAGE — and yes, you can read it as a standalone without having read the two earlier books.

2. LOSS is peppered with foreshadowing about BREATH, which I’m writing now. AND…

1. LOSS shows a a lot more of Death — including an entirely different side to the Pale Rider.

~

I’ll be making LOSS posters, as well as more HUNGER and RAGE posters. Everything should be available by February!

Today I’ve been spending a lot of time with my personal superhero, Heather Brewer (Vlad! Joss! KAYA!!!), whose hair looks even MORE awesome than before. And I heard Andrew, as well as Cheryl Rainfield, Paul Yee, and Lauren Myracle on a terrific panel — then met Cheryl and hugged her fiercely, because she is That Awesome.

And Heather introduced me to Laurie Halse Anderson. I didn’t faint! I did babble about how much SPEAK meant to me. And I gave her an ARC of LOSS. OMG. FANGIRL SQUEE!!!

Tonight’s the big Anderson panel with Heather, Amy, David Levitan and a number of other authors. Can’t wait to go! And tomorrow is the breakout session with Heather and Amy. Rah!!!

Okay, okay. Back to writing!

Today is Day 4 of the awesome Crossroads Blog Tour!

Here is the official press release, posted on the amazing Judith Graves’ blog. In sum, 15 authors (including yours truly) are doing blog tours from October 22 through October 29. What do readers get out of this, besides a chance to be introduced to new-to-them authors and learn more about authors they already knew? As Judith says, “Participating bloggers will give away ghoulish amounts of SWAG donated by the authors, as well as inscribed copies of books by touring artists and a chance to win a Skype author visit from bestselling author Rachel Vincent.”

Cool, eh?

I’m touring with the fabulous Lucienne Diver! Here is our schedule:

October 22 – Narratively Speaking

October 23 – Electrifying Reviews

October 24 – Just Your Typical Book Blog

October 25 – Late Bloomer Online

October 26 – Book Faery

October 27 – Confessions of a Bookaholic AND A Simple Love of Reading

October 28 – Book Swarm

October 29 – Kid Lit Frenzy!

Want to know why else you should participate in the Crossroads Blog Tour? You could win this:

LOSS

That’s right — LOSS ARCs have arrived!!! And one of them will be given away at the end of the Crossroads Blog Tour!!! So check out the official info, and go meet some terrific authors and bloggers. (And me too!)

“Jackie Morse Kessler has a keen eye for capturing the awkward uncertainty of adolescence, which she wraps quite deliciously in a coating of mystery, fright, and suspense. LOSS is a treat for readers, a one-of-a-kind, twisty turny carnival ride through Billy Ballard’s struggles and triumphs. I loved this book.”
—Andrew Smith, author of The Marbury Lens

“I lost sleep to finish this, and I’m not sorry at all. Jackie Morse Kessler’s prose illuminates an ancient, disintegrating king as poignantly and effortlessly as it does a bullied teen; it’s easy to see ourselves reflected in Mita’s grief and Billy’s desperation. LOSS is whip-smart and elegant, a truly worthy companion to HUNGER and RAGE.”
—Saundra Mitchell, author of The Vespertine

“Gritty and raw with powerful truths. An addictive read.”
—Sophie Jordan, New York Times bestselling author of Firelight

Thanks so much, Andrew, Saundra and Sophie!!!

And really, if you haven’t read The Marbury Lens, The Vespertine, or Firelight (or Sophie’s latest, Vanish)…what are you waiting for? Also, Andrew’s new book, Stick, will hit the shelves in October. Preorder your copy at fine bookstores near you!

The Once & Future Podcast

The third book of the Riders of the Apocalypse series is officially coverfied. Many thanks once again to the incredibly talented Sammy Yuen and the terrific folks at Harcourt/Graphia!

Did you notice the spiffy “Riders of the Apocalypse” logo? Didja? Didja? **happy dance**

Here are more cover tidbits:

Back cover copy:

Fight back.

Fifteen-year-old Billy Ballard is the kid that everyone picks on, from the school bullies to the teachers. Things change drastically when Billy learns that years ago, he’d been tricked by Pestilence, the White Rider of the Apocalypse. Now it’s Billy’s turn to wield Pestilence’s Bow and spread sickness through the world. He uses his new power to lash out at his tormentors . . . and accidentally causes an outbreak of disease. Horrified by his actions, he wants nothing more than to be rid of the Bow. For that to happen, Billy must track down the previous White Rider, who is hiding in a place where even Death cannot go.

Billy’s search takes him across the centuries: from ancient Phrygia, where a man called King Mita agrees to wear the White Rider’s Crown; to a mighty forest, where Pestilence plans to cheat Death; from the docks of Alexandria, where plague is packed into cartons of grain; to the Children’s Crusade in France, where the White Rider learns a truth that will break him. By the time Billy finds the man who had tricked him so long ago, the White Rider is completely insane—and is poised to unleash a plague that would make the Black Death look like a summer cold. And only Billy can stop him.

Does one bullied teenager have the strength to stand his ground—and the courage to save the world?

And a terrific blurb from author Saundra Mitchell:

“I lost sleep to finish this, and I’m not sorry at all. Jackie Morse Kessler’s prose illuminates an ancient, disintegrating king as poignantly and effortlessly as it does a bullied teen; it’s easy to see ourselves reflected in Mita’s grief and Billy’s desperation. LOSS is whip-smart and elegant, a truly worthy companion to HUNGER and RAGE.”
—Saundra Mitchell, author of The Vespertine

You can preorder LOSS at Amazon, your favorite local indie via Indie Bound, Books-A-Million, Barnes & Noble and the Book Depository.

I’ve got to say…it might have taken me 22 drafts to write, but I truly believe it was worth it. I hope you think so too!

What is Albacon, you ask? It’s a local fan-run SF/F convention that celebrates science fiction and fantasy books, flicks and TV. But hey, it’s not just epic fantasy and space opera; it’s urban fantasy and paranormal romance and military SF and horror and almost any sub (and sub-sub) genre in the SF/F field. It celebrates fiction for adults and fiction for teens. There are panels and workshops and vendor booths galore. There are banquets and costumes and (rumor has it) a keynote from yours truly.

Albacon is very laid back. It’s a fun, low-pressure sort of convention, run and attended by terrific SF/F fans and authors who love the genre. And hey – there’s a bar. Woot!

Programming is being finalized, but I’m crossing my fingers that there will be:

• A panel on the worlds of Joss Whedon. And that’s not just because I wrote a short comic set in the Buffyverse! Give me Firefly. And Doctor Horrible. (Dollhouse? Erm.) And yeah, Buffy and Angel and the Scoobies.
• A favorite monsters panel, be it vampires, werewolves, zombies, ghosts, or something completely different. Me? I’d vote for demons. Some people might say “Death,” but any character that looks like Kurt Cobain just can’t be a monster, sorry.
• A writing-focused day of workshops that cover a broad array of topics (OMG, I’ve lapsed into Business Speak!), including queries, the changing author/agent relationship, the realities of e-SP (electronic self-publishing), spicing up nooky scenes, choreographing an action scene…really, my hope for this sort of thing is almost endless.
• Hey, if I’m fantasizing, I also hope that Matt Damon will be there. And Nathan Fillion. And Neil Gaiman.

And hey, I mentioned there’s a bar, right? (That part’s not a fantasy. That’s a fact. Bars at SF/F are mandatory.)

Registration is cheap, the authors and fans are awesome, and hey, you need something to do in October. Come to the thriving metropolis of Albany, NY, and hang your hat at Albacon.

~

Fight Back

Fifteen-year-old Billy Ballard is the kid that everyone picks on, from the school bullies to the teachers. Things change drastically when Billy learns that years ago, he’d been tricked by Pestilence, the White Rider of the Apocalypse. Now it’s Billy’s turn to wield Pestilence’s Bow and spread sickness through the world. He uses his new power to lash out at his tormentors…and accidentally causes an outbreak of disease. Horrified by his actions, he wants nothing more than to be rid of the Bow. For that to happen, Billy must track down the previous White Rider, who is hiding in a place where even Death cannot go.

Billy’s search takes him across the centuries: from ancient Phrygia, where a man called King Mita agrees to wear the White Rider’s Crown, to a mighty forest, where Pestilence plans to cheat Death; from the docks of Alexandria, where plague is packed into cartons of grain, to the Children’s Crusade in France, where the White Rider learns a truth that will break him. By the time Billy finds the man who had tricked him so long ago, the White Rider is completely insane—and is poised to unleash a plague that would make the Black Death look like a summer cold. And only Billy can stop him.

Does one bullied teenager have the strength to stand his ground—and the courage to save the world?

~

I am so psyched.

For those wondering, LOSS will have a lot more worldbuilding than either HUNGER or RAGE. And there will be a lot more of Death in the book — including a whole other side of him. **rubs hands gleefully** LOSS is also significantly longer than either of the previous books — almost 20,000 words longer than HUNGER.

And the incredible Sammy Yuen will once again be doing the cover. **happy dance**

Guys. GUYS. I am so thrilled about this book! It’s due to hit the shelves in spring 2012; once there is an actual launch date and preorder information, I’ll blog about it.

There’s nothing quite like falling in love with a story. It makes all the time sitting in front of the computer, staring at the screen and wishing to God I could find the right words, completely worth it. It’s the sheer joy of losing myself in the story. And it is freaking AMAZING. I love this feeling. I love falling in love again with a new project.

Just wanted to share.

When I read the article, I got my second surprise: the article blasts darker-themed contemporary fiction for teens. Rage was used as an example to illustrate how “tame” issue-oriented books from the 1970s were in comparison — including Go Ask Alice, Sarah T: Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic, and I Am the Cheese. Worse, after mentioning that the protagonist in Rage struggles with self-injury and quoting two lines from the book, the article goes on to say that books like Rage are likely to help “normalize” issues such as self-injury — and “may even spread their plausibility and likelihood to young people who might otherwise never have imagined such extreme measures. Self-destructive adolescent behaviors are observably infectious and have periods of vogue.”

That sound you hear is my blood pressure rising.

To suggest that Rage effectively glamorizes self-injury is both insulting and stupid. The entire purpose of the book — indeed, of all of the Riders of the Apocalypse books — is to raise awareness of issues such as self-injury and eating disorders and bullying.

Not everyone wants to raise awareness of such things, though. The WSJ article argues: “If books show us the world, teen fiction can be like a hall of fun-house mirrors, constantly reflecting back hideously distorted portrayals of what life is. There are of course exceptions, but a careless young reader – -or one who seeks out depravity — will find himself surrounded by images not of joy or beauty but of damage, brutality and losses of the most horrendous kinds.”

Heads up, WSJ: Life isn’t always beautiful and joyous. That’s not the real world; it never was. We just know more today about the issues that have been around for a long time — and we’ve come to a point where we’re not afraid to talk about these issues.

But then, not everyone wants to talk about them. The WSJ article laments, “Alas, literary culture is not sympathetic to adults who object either to the words or storylines in young-adult books” and goes on to suggest that “the book industry’s ever-more-appalling offerings for adolescent readers spring from a desperate desire to keep books relevant for the young.”

You want relevant? Let’s look at the numbers.

According to the Cornell Research Program on Self-Injurious Behavior in Adolescents and Young Adults, “12% to 24% of young people have self-injured” and “about 6%-8% of adolescents and young adults report current, chronic self-injury.” According to the Royal College of Psychiatrists, “about 1 in 10 young people will self-harm at one point.”

One in 10. So in a classroom of 30 teens, 3 of them either are or will self-injure.

According to the National Eating Disorders Association, 10 million females and 1 million males suffer from anorexia or bulimia, and another 15 million suffer from binge eating disorder.

I was one of those 10 million females.

CyberMentors indicates that “as many as 70% of all young people have experienced some form of bullying” and “1 million kids are bullied every week.”

Let me repeat that: One million kids, every week, are bullied. This is not okay.

These numbers show that issue novels such as Cheryl Rainfield’s Scars and Lauren Myracle’s Shine — two books also mentioned in the WSJ article — are not simply “relevant for the young.” They’re urgent for the young, and for their parents. Ignoring issues such as self-injury or eating disorders or bullying doesn’t make them go away. Covering our ears and shutting our eyes and going “LA LA LA” as loud as we can doesn’t make these problems magically disappear. The only things that go away if you ignore them are your teeth.

Maybe the notion of discussing these issues makes some people uncomfortable. That’s understandable; these are not comfortable topics. But that’s not a good reason to remain quiet. To those who insist that they’re protecting children and teens by not talking about these issues — or by banning books that discuss these issues — don’t you realize that the best way to protect children is to educate them about these issues?

The WSJ article concludes with the following: “The book business exists to sell books; parents exist to rear children, and oughtn’t be daunted by cries of censorship. No family is obliged to acquiesce when publishers use the vehicle of fundamental free-expression principles to try to bulldoze coarseness or misery into their children’s lives.”

That’s right: parents are there to raise their children. And that means teaching our kids about the world, the real world, not just some idealized fantasy where everything is joyous and beautiful. With numbers like “1 in 10″ and “10 million females/1 million males” and “1 million kids,” it’s crucial that kids and teens — and adults — understand that when they’re suffering with conditions or disorders that might otherwise lead them down a path of no return, they’re not alone.

At the very top of the WSJ article, there’s a blurb that sums up the article’s tone: “Contemporary fiction for teens is rife with explicit abuse, violence and depravity. Why is this considered a good idea?”

Why? Easy. Ignoring ugly truths doesn’t make those truths go away. Silence is never the answer. Granted, there may be those who will always advocate censorship rather than frank discussion. But the more that people insist on limiting the books we read, the more those books need to be read.

Learn about the world. Read a book.

To everyone on Twitter who responded to the WSJ article with #YAsaves: Thank you. You all rock out loud.