Pausing for Happiness...

Hello dear readers,

If you're wondering what I've been doing lately, here's a clue...

... yes, I've been pausing in the pursuit and just being happy. (Which, *ahem*, means I might not exactly be prompt answering emails.)

We're getting re-settled in our house after nearly a year of being in rentals during a giant renovation (building a second story.)  During that time, I dreamed of how blissful it would feel to just be in our house once again.  So I'm letting myself experience the bliss, along with other sources of bliss:

springtime (it's warm and sunny here in Colorado)

irises (I just picked a bunch and put them in a black clay vase from Oaxaca)

cooking (I just made potatoes au gratin in a beautiful ceramic dish I got at a French market years ago)

having quesadillas and cake and tea with friends (thanks, Gloria and Julie)

listening to new music (Carla Bruni)

writing more of my book-in-progress at a deliciously leisurely pace (sorry to those of you anxiously awaiting it)

eating chocolate with cinnamon and almonds (which is a necessary activity for my book-in-progress)

doing author visits at schools in Boulder (thank you awesome kids at Centennial Middle and Manhattan Middle)

watching an amazing performance of the stage version of What the Moon Saw by students at Manhattan Middle (I was truly blown away)

dancing (with my lovely, free-spirited NIA friends)

reading Bringing Up Bebe, which has inspired me to bake more little gourmet treats with Lil Dude, require him to taste food he doesn't like for the hundredth time because that might be the time he realizes he likes it, and instead of attempting to bribe or negotiate with him on certain stressful occasions, letting myself say firmly, C'est moi qui decide! (I'm the one who decides!)

receiving-- with lots of gratitude-- nice honors for The Queen of Water (Skipping Stones Honor Award for Multi-cultural/International literature, Bank Street Book of Outstanding Merit, Colorado Book Award Finalist)

wandering in the woods by the river and "enjoying the nature" as my lil Dude says

biking with Lil Dude and Ian to our favorite burger joint in Old Town (Al's Burgers, which lil Dude calls Owl's Booglars)

doing an author panel in Boulder with author friends Amy Kathleen Ryan and Todd Mitchell (thanks to everyone who came out!)

hanging in Boulder for tea with more author friends- Tara Dairman, Jeannie Mobley, Melanie Crowder, Cindy Strandvold, Lauren Sabel (Congrats to Lauren and Tara on their exciting book contract news!)

I could actually go on and on, but the dappled shade of my apple tree beckons...

Happy spring to you!

xoxo,
Laura

Release Party Recap (plus an upcoming event and good news)!

 

Hey guys!

I'm happy to report that 1)  we're mostly settled into our house now, 2)  I happily dove back into writing my next book, and 3) my allergies are worlds better. 

Thank you so much to everyone who came to the book release party (for THE JADE NOTEBOOK) -- aka The Lauras Party, since I joined forces with my friend Laura Pritchett who was celebrating her GREAT BEAR STORIES release.  We had a blast!

Here's Laura Pritchett, signing away...

Below is Teagan selling books at the party,  from Old Firehouse Books, the awesome local indie bookstore that always keeps my books well-stocked, which I'm very grateful for.  (In fact, if you don't live near me, but you want to buy autographed books of mine, you can email them at oldfirehousebooks@gmail.com and see if a signed copy of the book you want is available to buy online.  It probably is, since I just went in and signed a giant pile of books!)

 I always intend to take a bunch of great pics at these events, but then I get sidetracked with blabbing away to friends and I completely forget about my camera... until the end, when most people have gone home and there are just a few wonderfully devoted stragglers left... like swordfighters. (I brought dress-ups and toys for Lil Dude and friends, which were enjoyed by some grown-ups as well...)

We had a really nice turnout-- a friendly, happy crowd.  Here is Amanda Rose Adams, whose memoir called Heart Warriors just came out! (It sounds really wonderful and moving and I'm excited to read it.)

So great to see old writer buddies.  Laura Katers (yes, another Laura writer friend-- there are many) came to town, and I hadn't seen her for ages...

Here are me and Ian (hubby), who'd just come back from a business trip in Portland and was completely beat, but stuck it out (except for when he decided to go home to sleep, and walked the six blocks home, only to realize he'd forgotten the key, and then walked six blocks back to the party, poor guy)...

Another event is coming up! If you're in the Boulder area, read on.

My friends Amy Kathleen Ryan and Todd Mitchell and I are having an event on Sat, May 5 at 2 pm at the Boulder Bookstore in Boulder, CO. Here's the official blurb:

Join acclaimed authors Amy Kathleen Ryan (GLOW), Todd Mitchell (THE SECRET TO LYING), and Laura Resau (THE JADE NOTEBOOK) for a fun, informal discussion of their young adult books, writing processes, and journeys to publication. Free and open to everyone! Tell your friends!

Oh, and some good news that recently came in:  THE QUEEN OF WATER is now a Colorado Book Award finalist... hooray! The winner will be announced in Aspen this June.  QUEEN was also selected as a Bank Street Best Book of *Outstanding Merit*... double hooray! It's so exciting to have this good QUEEN news rolling in...

 

Okay, thanks for reading!

xo,

Laura

 

JADE release party, house and trailer update, allergy woes...

Hello, everyone!

I've been in the midst of moving back into our newly renovated house after nine months in rentals during the construction.  Feels SO good to be home (and in a roomier, sunnier home, to boot!)

That's the happy news.  The not-so-happy news is that my allergies (to certain kinds of tree pollen, like juniper) have kicked in full force.  I've been a puffy-itchy-eyed mess for the past week, although yesterday I broke down and begged my doctor for some prescription- strength stuff (which has subdued my itchiness and puffiness but has put me in a daze.)

On to more happy news!  My good friend, Laura Pritchett, and I have decided to combine our book release parties into one big animal-adventure-themed fiesta.  If you live in the Ft Collins area, I hope you can come!  Here's the official description:

What’s that, you say? Two new books by two authors? Turtles, bears, and more? Two Laura’s? 

Come hear Laura Resau, who will discuss her latest travel-adventure novel, The Jade Notebook, set in an off-the-beaten-track beach town in Mexico where rare sea turtles nest,  and Laura Pritchett, who will celebrate her new book, Great Bear Stories of Colorado, with a slideshow presentation of bears, humans, and how and when their lives have intersected – both the grizzlies that once roamed here, and the black bears that still do.

It’s bound to be a fun, lovely, animal-y evening!

Sat., March 31, 2012
7:00- 9:00 pm
Everyday Joe's Coffee House

Books available for purchase and signing (thanks to Old Firehouse books!)

All ages welcome! 

I think it'll be really fun. I adore Laura-- we gave each other feedback on drafts of our books. Her bear book is incredibly interesting- she crawled into a den with a hibernating bear in the Rockies as part of her research!

More news: Some people have been wondering about my sweet lil fifties rig (vintage trailer) and whether I'll still be writing in it now that I have a studio in our house.  The answer is a resounding YES!  It'll be my technology-free zone, where I do old-fashioned creative things, like reading musty books and scribbling in notebooks and staring at dust motes in sunlight.

In case you're wondering where the trailer is now, we couldn't keep it in the driveway because of the construction materials... and we couldn't tote it from one rental home to another because of parking issues... so for the past nine months it's been in a trailer space leasing lot, sitting sadly in the shadows of gigantic tractor trailers (as in eighteen-wheels-gigantic!)

Over the months my sweet lil rig and I have been apart, I've been gazing longingly at pics of trailers, getting ideas to snazz up mine when it's back in place (hopefully in a month or so)...

from The Trailer Gal blog

Definitely want some magical outside lighting...

from pompidou

 And an awning!

from before-to-after

And paper lanterns!

from photobucket

Okay, must unpack more boxes now...

xo,
Laura

Announcing the NOTEBOOKS Contest Winners!

Hello, everyone!

I'm so excited to announce the winners of the contest I ran last week! First, thank you so much to everyone who entered... I absolutely loved reading about all the places you want to go (and of course, I was taking notes, adding your destinations to my own dream-destination list).  And I have to say that taking in your enthusiasm about the Notebooks series felt like reading a great big Valentine's card!  Even if you didn't win, please know that you made me smile BIG and smile  LOTS!

So, this morning I wrote down everyone's names on little slips of scrap paper and dropped them in a tin (one slip of paper per person, regardless of number of comments, to be fair :).

Then I drew the first winner...  WINIFRED! (Who happens to have the same name as my grandmom!)  Here was her entry:

"Hello! My name is Winifred. I would love to go to Italy, specifically Venice or Rome. I just think Italy is beautiful and has delicious food. I would hike, eat, dance, do everything there!"

Congrats, Winifred! You won a personalized copy of INDIGO!

And the next winner is MISTY!  Her entry:

"Me, me, pick me! I've always wanted to go to Iceland, land of trolls and legends. (and very different from Arizona!)  --Marianne Mitchell (aka Misty)"

Yay, Misty! You've won a personalized copy of RUBY!

And the winner of JADE is OONA! Hooray!

Oona actually made three lovely comments that made me smile EXTRA-BIG!:

"Hi I'm Oona! I live in Baltimore! I REALLY want to go to Paris! It's so awesome and beautiful! I cannot wait for The Jade Notebook! Happy Valentines Day!"

"I've already left a comment, but I wanted to say I'm only on chapter two and already in love with The Jade Notebook. This is Oona :)"

"This is Oona. I JUST finished The Jade Notebook. I am speechless. Now one of my favorite books. Thank you Laura! I'm sad to see the series end. I recommended the Notebooks series to my math teacher. Everyone should read them!"

And the international winners... since we only had two entries here, I've decided to make you both winners! You'll be getting personalized bookmarks and home-made Valentines. <3

Congrats to ISABEL of Colombia!

And BEE of India!

I'm so happy for all the winners, and can't wait to send off your prizes!

*If you won, please email me asap at Lauraresau [at] gmail [dot] com with the subject heading NOTEBOOKS CONTEST WINNER. Please let me know (this week!) who you'd like me to sign the book/bookmarks to and what address to send them to. If you don't get an email back from me, that probably means I didn't get your email for some reason, in which case you could contact me via a facebook message or blog comment.)*

Thanks again to everyone who entered!

Lots o' love,
Laura

Valentine's Day Book Giveaway!!!

Hello, dear readers!

In celebration of the release of The Jade Notebook on *Valentine's Day* (Tuesday, Feb 14th), I'm doing a book giveaway! You'll have a chance to win a personalized, autographed copy of one of these three books...

All you have to do is make one comment on this blog post with 1) your name and 2) your dream destination (where you'd fly/sail/drive/bike/hike off to if money/time/work/school were no object). (One comment per person, por favorcito. :-)

You can comment from today (Sunday, Feb 12) through Sunday, Feb 19 at midnight (Colorado time).

On Monday, Feb 20, I'll randomly select *three winners* from the U.S., who will each get a signed paperback copy of either The Indigo Notebook or The Ruby Notebook, or a hardcover of The Jade Notebook.

I'll also select an international winner, who will get some signed bookmarks and a valentine handmade by me and my Lil Dude. (Be warned that my own valentine-making skills are at the level of my 5-year-old's, so remember it's the thought that counts here...)

Be sure to check my blog on Monday, Feb 20 to see if you won! If you end up a winner, please email me your mailing address with the subject heading: NOTEBOOKS CONTEST WINNER.

Tell your friends! Good luck! Comment away...

xoxoxoxo,
Laura

P.S. Oh, and if you haven't already, try to swing by Melissa Walker's Cover Stories Blog this week-- I did a guest post on the evolution of the cover look for the Notebooks series. Enjoy!

Take me away...

It is officially here.... my uncontrollable mid-winter longing for sparkling blue water and sultry tropical air and all manner of jungle creatures-- I wouldn't even mind the skeeters at this point.  But there's none of this for me this year, as we're at the tail end of a house renovation (we've been in rental homes for 8 months now!)...which means we have a distinct lack of time, money, and energy with which to plan a Mexico beach trip.  And just to rub it in,  two of my  closest friends (you know who you are) just went to a beautiful tiny coastal town in Mexico only accessible by boat.  Argh!  (Okay, I'm *mostly* happy for them...)

Playa Mazunte

Whenever I feel jealousy creeping in, I try to transform it to inspiration.  So,  this is inspiration for me to make sure that *next year* we take a delicious beach trip. In the meantime, I've been looking longingly at these pics from my last trip to Mazunte, where I did research for The Jade Notebook (which comes out on Valentine's Day!!)


Here are bits of reviews that have been coming in... this first one's from Kirkus:

"In this third in a series of novels focusing on Zeeta and her wanderlust-stricken mother, readers are immersed in the details of a lovingly described coastal town in Mexico and an action-filled mystery surrounding the poaching of ancient sea turtles that make their home there...  a graceful conclusion to Zeeta’s story."

This part of the review made me smile.:

"... Resau’s skill in evoking an almost visceral experience of setting firmly anchors the story...."


I really love writing setting details... this is something I practice, scribbling observations in my spiral-bound notebooks.  I try to use all or most of my senses in every scene. And this setting of beach-meeting-jungled hills is such an intense sensory experience in real life-- the thick, humid air, the constant hum of insects and bird calls, the rush of ocean, pounding of water against rocks, taste of salt everywhere- on your skin and hair and damp clothes... it was fun to try to capture that on paper.

On the porch of my cabana.  Perfect writing spot.

The first official blogger review  came in this past week, too... Marjolein, a YA book reviewer, calls it "an amazing conclusion" to the series in her 5 star review. (Thanks Marjolein!!)

And a lovely librarian review from TATAL Online:

"This book transcends travel or mystery to instead be a book about growing up, learning to trust and let go, and finding belonging within a family and a community. A fitting end to this unique trilogy."

I love the  landscape of Mazunte....  little beach coves you can hike to, where you feel completely alone.

 

Some of the action in the book takes place here, on Punta Cometa (Comet Point.) See how it's shaped like a comet, the tail trailing into the ocean?

Here's what "downtown" Mazunte looks like... I think this is the only paved road.

And here's the dirt road leading to the cabanas where I stay:

Some of the most exciting scenes in the book take place on the rocky crags around Punta Cometa... It's such a dramatic setting-- seawater churning and beating against the cliffs... just begging for a story climax to happen here (hint hint...)

From these pics you can't really tell, but this chaos of water is several stories below--it's dizzying and scary to be near the edge...


The water is crashing, booming here...


A giant cactus on Punta Cometa, referred to in the story...

Sunsets viewed from Punta Cometa are stunning... I spent an evening perched there with my notebook, recording my sensations minute by minute as the sun sunk.


If you look closely, you can see the silhouette of a sweet couple watching the sunset together.



Okay, enough beach-longing...time for me to get to work on some other things-- like preparing the presentations I'll be doing at the CCIRA conference next week. But before I leave you, I'll mention some good news with The Queen of Water... it was selected as a title on the 2012 Best Fiction for Young Adults, announced a few days ago by the ALA (American Library Association).  I also found out it was selected as a Recommended Title by the ALA-affiliated Amelia Bloomer Project, which focuses on feminist literature for young people. Maria Virginia and I are happy and grateful for these honors!

Thanks for reading!

xo,
Laura       P.S.  If you want to see more of my Mazunte pics, visit this older blog post.