Does Your Book Club Want to Read These Things I’ve Done?

reading

Oh, hello there!

One of the great things about this whole agenting thing, is getting big ol’ packages of books. Advance finished copies. I mean, oh my goodness. Look at the pile of books. A box of ten copies of Rebecca’s latest novel, THESE THINGS I’VE DONE (out on August 1st with HarperTeen!) arrived this weekend, and combined with the review copies and extra early copies that showed up from Harper… well, I’ve got a lot of books.

One of the problems here though, is what do you do with all of these?

Sure, I’m sending a few to bloggers and some media friends who have asked (did you see that post?), but I’ve still got a big ol’ box full of these beautiful books. And while I am shamelessly keeping a handful to put on my shelf, I’d love to see Rebecca’s books in the hands of people who will actually read them.

So. I’d like to hook up your book club.

Does your book club read YA? Do a few of your members leave book reviews on Goodreads? Great! Shoot me an email. I’d like to send two book clubs a box of FOUR copies of These Things I’ve Done by Rebecca Phillips.

You can email me at ericsmithrocks at gmail dot com, and tell me a little about your club.

The catch? This is only open to reviewers in the US (sorry!), and to book clubs who have a few members that review books on Goodreads. I’ll pick two book clubs on August 1st (the day the book comes out!) and drop a box in the mail for you. And that’s it! You won’t get a single “hey did you guys read or review this any place?” email from me. I promise. Read more

Nook Daily Find: The Geek’s Guide to Dating is $1.99 for San Diego Comic Con

geek dating by lauren

Whoa!

Barnes & Noble picked The Geek’s Guide to Dating as their Daily Find for San Diego Comic Con! It’s currently just $1.99 on the Nook, and will be all day today (7/20) and through end-of-day tomorrow.

My lil’ non-fiction humor book came out with Quirk Books back in 2013, and has had quite the wild ride. If you haven’t checked it out yet, now is a good time!

The Geek’s Guide to Dating: Nook, $1.99

That photo is by Lauren Reads YA, and will forever be my favorite picture of my book.

Deals: Grown Up Drinks by Sam Slaughter Acquired by Andrews McMeel

andrews and sam

When Sam Slaughter first queried me with his first amazing cocktail book idea, I was ecstatic. I signed him right away, we dove into the work, and got him out on submission within a month.

And that week, several major publishers purchased very similar books, and the project was dead.

But here’s the thing. To know Sam, is to know someone with limitless ideas and boundless enthusiasm. We kicked around fresh concepts, in long email threads that very likely hold the seeds of his next book. And Grown Up Drinks was born.

In Grown Up Drinks, Sam teachers readers how to make a number of original cocktails that taste just like the beverages we’ve all grown so nostalgic for. Want to make Echo Cooler using ingredients found behind your bar? How about a Capri Sun? Ssips? Remember those? Sam does. And this book collects the drinks you grew up loving, and instructs how to craft them yourself with a boozy kick.

In addition, it has a bunch of original, pun-filled cocktails inspired by your favorite TV shows and films… such as the Are You Afraid of the Dark Rum. If you just groaned a little, good. Your groans in response to Sam’s bad puns give him strength. He grows strong with each one.

The book is hilarious and the drinks are delicious, and I’m so thrilled to say it’ll be published by Andrews McMeel.

You might know the famous publisher for their work on The Oatmeal’s bestselling comic collections, or you know, CALVIN AND HOBBES. They also publish stunning cookbooks and cocktail books, like Mark Bitterman’s Field Guide to Bitters & Amari, one of Sam’s favorite recent books. I’m just so thrilled to see him joining this family, with an amazing editor like Allison Adler.

Here are the details from Publisher’s Marketplace:

Spirits editor for The Manual Sam Slaughter’s GROWN UP DRINKS, on how to make cocktails inspired by nostalgic 90′s beverages like Ecto Cooler and Capri Sun as well as original themed craft cocktails like Are You Afraid of the Dark Rum, to Allison Adler at Andrews McMeel, by Eric Smith of P.S. Literary Agency (World).

Head to Twitter and wish Sam all the congrats, and say hi to his new publisher and his rockstar editor, Allison Adler.

Congrats Sam! I knew we’d get here.

Here’s How to Request Review Copies of Books by Rebecca Phillips, Samira Ahmed, & Dave Connis

three books

So, over the next few months, a few of the first books I’ve sold as an agent will be rolling out, and I’m so very proud of each and every one of them.

And guess what? You can request free review copies! NetGalley! Edelweiss! Physical copies that I want to re-home! Here’s how.

THESE THINGS I’VE DONE by Rebecca Phillips: This beautifully devastating book will be out with HarperTeen in… gasp, two weeks! And you can still request free review copies via Edelweiss, here. https://www.edelweiss.plus/#sku=0062570900

Word on the street my agent copies are on their way, and I will want to re-home a few of them to bloggers who will post about and review them. Want a physical hardcover copy of the book? You are more than welcome to email me with details about your blog. I’ve only got ten though, so supplies are limited. I’ll cross this out when they are all claimed.

THE TEMPTATION OF ADAM by Dave Connis: Fun fact, Dave’s debut was actually the very first book I got to sell in my first months as a Baby Agent™ in 2015, and now it’s here!  You can request a copy on Edelweiss, here. https://www.edelweiss.plus/#sku=1510707301.

For those of you who prefer NetGalley, you can request it here. https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/book/118159

LOVE HATE AND OTHER FILTERS by Samira Ahmed: You can currently request Samira’s debut on NetGalley and Edelweiss, here.

Now, if you’re interested in a physical review copy of any of these, feel free to email me (ericsmithrocks@gmail.com), and I’ll forward you on to the respective publicity team. Can’t make any promises, but I’m happy to send your request forward.

Deals: Brave Enough by Kati Gardner Acquired by Flux

kati and flux

I’m so happy this day is finally here.

When Kati Gardner pitched me her novel, I inhaled it immediately. After I turned off my iPad and stopped crying, I was moved to take on Kati as an author and represent her work not just because her novel was a stirring contemporary read, but because I think it’s important for someone like Kati to be able to tell a story like this one.

Kati’s debut, BRAVE ENOUGH, is about a teen ballerina who loses a leg to cancer… and Kati herself is an amputee and a cancer survivor. The world is full of books with characters living with disabilities and disease, written by people who have never experienced the truth of their fiction.

That needs to change.

Kati’s done sensitivity reading for a number of writers over the past year or so, and at now she gets to tell her own story.

I’m thrilled to say that BRAVE ENOUGH will be published by Flux in the Spring of 2018.

In BRAVE ENOUGH, readers meet Cason, a ballerina pushing herself to the limit, with the opportunity of a lifetime on the line… a scholarship and the chance to join one of the most prestigious ballet troupes in the country. And then there’s Davis, a recovering drug addict, volunteering in his old oncology unit, with the same people who saved him from the cancer that drove him to drugs three years ago.

The two of them collide when Cason is hospitalized, setting them on a path of physical and emotional recovery, as they navigate their new relationship and get ready to attend cancer camp together.

It reads like a mashup of Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson, Bunheads by Sophie Flack, Tiny Pretty Things by Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton, and The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, and I can’t wait for you to read it. 

Here’s the blip from Publisher’s Weekly Children’s Bookshelf:

bookshelf blip

Be sure to send Kati all the congrats on Twitter, and wish her and her editor (hi McKelle!) well.

Kati, I’m so proud of you and everything you’ve accomplished. It has been such an honor getting this book out there, and I can’t wait for whatever you do next.
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