Friday, January 8, 2010

Welcome to the World, Jenn's Book!


Do you hear that toot tooting and woo hoo-ing way off in the distance? That's me, celebrating the grand entrance of The Secret Year, the long awaited baby of my friend Jenn Hubbard.
Do you know Jenn?
Here's her pretty face.

Jenn contacted me a couple of years ago when she was considering signing with Nathan Bransford, my literary agent. Is he as amazing as he seems? Oh yes. Even more so.
She signed (I'm taking complete credit in case you're wondering :) ) and we became friends. Actually, I suppose we're sisters of some sort. So that makes The Secret Year my niece, right? No wonder I'm so proud. But anyone connected with The Secret Year would feel that way. To quote Booklist, "With this debut novel, Hubbard has crafted a fine addition to the pantheon of YA literature." How impressive!

I remember how thrilling it was when my own baby found her place in the world. I drove to three different stores on publication day just to look at it, to squeeze it and stroke it and admire it on the shelves. After such a long labor, it was exhilarating.

So Jenn, I thought I'd show you how The Secret Year looks in South Carolina.

See, there it is!


Let's take a closer look.

What a lovely spine. And there were three copies, not two. I'm holding one in my hot little hands.


Oh my goodness, how did that happen?
It's now arranged properly, with the cover for all to see.
Very nice.


And equally nice is this lovely girl who rang up my purchase, who has now heard all the buzz about the book and can't wait to read it. And hopefully gush about it to everyone she knows.

Would you like to hear more about the book? Here's Booklist's complete summary/review:

For a year, 16-year-old working-class boy Colton Morrissey met rich girl Julia Vernon, his schoolmate and girlfriend of a member of the local gentry, on a regular and frequent basis. No one knew of their romance until the night Julia was killed in a car accident (in which Colt was uninvolved). Hubbard sensitively shows the year before the accident and the year following—as Colt comes to terms both with Julia’s death and the need to share the secret of their romance. Julia is revivified through a diary she kept and which her brother gives to Colt. His friends, including would-be lovers and guys who can’t see past class lines, and parents are fully human; his mostly offstage older brother joins the action long enough to help Colt understand why the worst secrets are those we keep from ourselves. With this debut novel, Hubbard has crafted a fine addition to the pantheon of YA literature.

Wow.
There's also an excerpt over on Nathan's site, here, that might give you a feel for what the book is like. Scroll down. It's at the end of the post.

Congratulations, Jenn!
Have a super weekend, everybody!
Love, Becky

14 comments:

jama said...

Yay for Jenn! Love this post and learning about how you became friends. Actually, it was because of Jenn that I found your blog. :) I'm eating Black Forest Cake to celebrate!

http://jamarattigan.livejournal.com/363377.html.

Leah Skaggs said...

We do the same thing to your book whenever we hit the bookstores here in Wilmington!

Congratulations to your friend Jenn! I am going to go to the bookstore this afternoon ... sounds wonderful. I will be sure to turn the cover forward before I leave!! Now I know how to spend this wet weekend.

Renee said...

You are a dear friend. Nice promotion.

xoxo

Anonymous said...

Thank you, Becky! It's an honor to be your "book sister!"

Jenn Hubbard

LW said...

How exciting…
Congratulations Auntie!
and
Congratulations to Jenn!

Louise

Anonymous said...

HOW exciting for her! Congratulations! I shall look for this book and tell my friends about it!

Ronnie said...

The baby has arrived, indeed!
I can only imagine what goes into writing a book and revealing it to the world.
CONGRATULATIONS, JENN!!!!!

lotusgirl said...

That looks like a really interesting book. I'm going to have to give it a read.

Heidi R. Kling said...

Wonderful! I loved The Secret Year (and Jenn!)

Unknown said...

How exciting for Jenn! Sounds like an interesting read.

Rebecca Ramsey said...

Hey y'all.
Just wanted to tell you that I sat down with Jenn's book yesterday afternoon, intending just to read the first chapter, and finished it last night! The tension was absolutely delicious-it kept me turning the pages as fast as I could- and the characters were completely real. As a parent I have to say that I wish the scenes depicted in the book weren't as true to life as they indeed are for many teens (the alcohol, sex, and violence) but the story is beautiful and so very well told. I recommend it for older teens and definitely for adults too. Awesome job, Jenn. I'm sure I'll be thinking about the story for a very long time.

rochambeau said...

Congrats to Jenn!! And to you, it must make you so happy to be a conduit in your friends success!!!!!
Happy New Year Becky!!

xox
Constance

Rebecca Ramsey said...

Hey Constance,
You're sweet, but I'm really not much of a conduit...Jenn and her book are going to hit the big time, with wild success. I just was lucky to meet her on the way!

Veronica and Thomas said...

I'm so jealous you got a copy! None of the bookstores in Omaha have it yet! I had to order it last night and have it shipped to the store. I'm blaming the snow:)