IF I FIX YOU by Abigail Johnson

Today I am an aunt. Sort of. A book aunt, if you will. And I couldn’t be more excited.

My critique partner Abigail Johnson’s debut, If I Fix You, releases today, and I remember so vividly how I felt three years ago when my own debut released. But watching the dream of one of your writing besties come true might actually be better. I get all of the excitement and none of the anxiety.

I met Abigail and our other critique partner, Kate Goodwin, through Maggie Steifvater’s Love Connection back in early 2012. If I Fix You was the first thing I ever read of Abigail’s, and I loved it immediately. I have watched it grow and change over the years, and finally, I get to watch the world fall in love with this story as much as I did.

I can’t tell you how wonderful it is to see Abigail’s hard work pay off, and I love watching the process from this side of the desk. I’m so grateful she trusted me with her words when I was still a complete stranger on the internet. I believed in this book from the very beginning, and it’s immensely gratifying that I can now step back and watch it soar.

Click here for like ten different buy links. And do yourself a favor: READ IT!

ARE SOME THINGS MEANT TO STAY BROKEN?

Readers of Sarah Dessen, Cammie McGovern and Morgan Matson will adore this thought-provoking, complex and romantic contemporary novel from debut author Abigail Johnson, about finding the strength to put yourself back together when everything you know has fallen apart.

When sixteen-year-old Jill Whitaker’s mom walks out-with a sticky note as a goodbye-only Jill knows the real reason she’s gone. But how can she tell her father? Jill can hardly believe the truth herself.

Suddenly, the girl who likes to fix things-cars, relationships, romances, people-is all broken up. It used to be, her best friend, tall, blond and hot flirt Sean Addison, could make her smile in seconds. But not anymore. They don’t even talk.

With nothing making sense, Jill tries to pick up the pieces of her life. But when a new guy moves in next door, intense, seriously cute, but with scars-on the inside and out-that he thinks don’t show, Jill finds herself trying to make things better for Daniel. But over one long, hot Arizona summer, she realizes she can’t fix anyone’s life until she fixes her own. And she knows just where to start…

“If I Fix You is a heart-rending story about life not being what you hoped for … and being okay anyway.”
—#1 New York Times bestselling author
APRILYNNE PIKE

“Broken boys and broken cars and broken hearts. Heartfelt and romantic! Read it!”
—KASIE WEST,
AUTHOR OF THE FILL-IN BOYFRIEND

“Adroit and strong-minded. If I Fix You is a whole-hearted page turner.”
— HUNTLEY FITZPATRICK,
AUTHOR OF THE BOY MOST LIKELY TO

“I know readers are going to LOVE this book as much as I did.  A feisty and strong heroine to root for, and a love interest who is dreamy and complicated in all the right ways.  What a fabulous debut by a great new writer to watch!”
—CAMMIE McGOVERN,
AUTHOR OF A STEP TOWARD FALLING

2012: A Year in Review

2012 has been an amazing year. I may have learned more about writing, patience, frustration, and joy than any year before. I’ve made awesome new friends through Twitter, who have encouraged and supported me while making me giggle. I also found my critique partners this year, and I probably haven’t said it enough, but having them help me to become a better writer has been incredible. They’ve pushed me past my comfort zone and cheered for me every step of the way. If you’re a writer and don’t have critique partners, you need some. Get connected with your local writing group or find them online. (I found mine through Maggie Steifvater’s love connection, but there is an awesome new website out there for finding critique partners. Check it out at cpseek.com.)

The biggest thing that happened to me this year was that I sold my YA debut novel Reclaimed to Spencer Hill Contemporary. Go here for the story. I just want to say that working with my editor Danielle (and everyone else at SHP) on edits has been such an awesome experience. I can’t wait to finally share this book with the world!

While my writing life had a great year (I also finished the first draft of another novel I’m really excited about), my reading life was great as well. I got to go to Harry Potter world in Universal this summer! The Harry Potter books mean a lot to me and are one of the the reasons I read and write young-adult. I mostly read adult classics in high school, and as an English major in college, I was kind of a literature snob. I was pretty put out when I had to take a children’s literature class, but that was when I fell in love with the genre. I read the first three Harry Potter books (the fourth hadn’t been released yet) as well as The Giver, The Westing Game, and The Chronicles of Narnia, just to name a few.

I didn’t read as many books this year as I normally do, but I think that is because I also read several manuscripts (2012 was the first year that I read other people's manuscripts, and I have learned so much from this) and wrote a lot. Here’s my reading recap of 2012:

Books Read – 62

Those that were re-reads – 8

I re-read Divergent and the Harry Potter series this year. I gave Divergent a second read because I’d assigned it to my English II students and because Insurgent was coming out. (They loved it, by the way. Not sure I’ve ever had that many kids actually read the assigned novel.) I allowed myself to re-read the HP series (I’ve lost count the number of times I’ve read it) since I was going to Harry Potter world. I also finally talked my husband into reading the series. I always feel a little guilty re-reading books when there are so many great new ones I should get to, but getting lost in a re-read is a little like going home.

Adult – 12

If I had to pick a favorite, I’d say Language of Flowers. This book is so beautifully written it made me ache. The story is sad but hopeful, but it was the writing that really did it for me.

Honorable Mention: Shadow of Night  This book did get a bit tedious at times, but I’m a huge fan of the series. I read the first book, A Discovery of Witches, right after it came out, and it was so good I read it twice in the same week. If you haven’t read this series yet, check it out. It has vampires, witches, and a whole lot of history.

Nonfiction – 3

Favorite: Reading Lolita in Tehran

I don’t read many nonfiction titles, so it’s easy to make my best list. But I love this book so much. It was heartbreaking and well-written.

YA – 47

Obviously I can’t pick my favorite YA’s because there are too many, but here’s a list of the ones I really enjoyed:

Shadow and Bone

The Fault in our Stars

A Million Suns

Code Name Verity

Insurgent

Raven Boys

 

Thankful: A blog hop post

Today I’m thankful for people who make me better. I hope all of you have someone, or several someones, in your life who push you to be the very best at whatever you do. I am many things (teacher, runner, daughter, sister, wife, friend), but today I want to thank those people who push me to be a better writer.

1.  My critique partners: I met my two awesome critique partners through the love connection on Maggie Steifvater’s blog. I cannot stress enough how much writers need critique partners. I was very nervous exchanging my work with strangers, but I couldn’t be luckier to have met Kate and Abigail, who took my manuscript and improved it. They told me where it was slow, where it was weak, where I could do better. Yes, they told me the parts that worked as well, but they didn’t only tell me how much they loved the story because that wouldn’t have helped at all. They said things that I knew were true but had been afraid to admit. They helped mold my story into the one I was trying to tell, and they kept me from giving up when things got hard. There was a point when I was pretty sure I was going to have to trunk this novel, but with their encouragement and help, I sold it instead. I am so thankful I listened to them.

2. My editor: I know I lucked out when I landed Danielle Ellison as my editor. She answers my emails almost immediately, Skypes with me whenever I need, and pushes me to make my manuscript what she knows it can be. She loves my stories and characters almost as much as I do, which is such a relief, but she doesn’t allow me to be lazy or sloppy, which is an even bigger relief. But she isn’t just making this book better. She’s making me better, so that the next book and the next and the next will reflect her influence and her drive to make me the artist she knows I can be. It means so much that she believes in me enough to ask me to do hard things. She believes I can do them, so I can. I'm so grateful for that.

So stick around this month to see all the things I'm thankful for, and participate in the Thanksgiving Blog Hop at Brenda Drake's blog.