advanced reader copies. and hobbits and such.

Hello folks! Long time no see!

How've you been? Is it snowing where you live? Did you do something new to your hair? It looks adorable.

So I was trying to decide which post to share today - the one in which I geek out over my favorite Emily Dickenson poem, or the one about the museum I visited last weekend that has a miniature pig who lives in residence. (Life's been offering up lots of blog fodder lately.)

Before I write about either of those topics, I thought it might be worthwhile to do a quick post about galleys. Also known as advanced reader copies. ARCs, as the cool kids call them.

I'm not a cool kid, so I like to pronounce arcs like ORCS. In honor of my fellow citizens Middle Earth.

(On that note, do you pronounce the dragon as SMAW-g or SMOG? Or should we just call him Benedict?)

... how did I end up talking about hobbits-iz? Anyway!

I've received several emails and tweets lately asking about how to get an ARC of A Snicker of Magic. 

Two things:

First, THANK YOU! It rocks my heart so hard to know you actually want to read Snicker. Thank you, thank you, for your interest in the book. Thanks for helping me spread the word about this quirky story. I'm so grateful for the time you've taken to talk about it or blog about it or tweet about it or pre-order it. That is so, so kind.

One of the most surprising book-related things happening now is that I'm getting emails and tweets from people who already read the book and liked it (!!). That means the world to me. Thanks for taking the time to tell me you enjoyed it. Thanks for telling me who your favorite characters are! And thanks for taking such good care of the Pickles, and helping them find more hearts to call home. You deserve endless pints of Dr. Zooks. ;)

Second, I don't actually have control over who receives an ARC. If you're interested in obtaining one of those, you are most welcome to holler at the publicity department at Scholastic. (If you email me about ARCs, I just forward it along to them anyway.)

I have that info on the contact page over there ----->

Everybody I've met at Scholastic is so kind and fun and easy to chat with. I love them dearly (and I'm not just saying that because they sometimes read my blog). If, for some crazy reason, there are no ARCs left, fear not! We're barely two months away from the day Felicity Juniper Pickle laces up her wordy-sneakers and takes on the world.

(That thought both terrifies me and thrills me. I'm thrillified.)

Thirdly (... is that a word? Thirdist? Felicity would say something like, "For thirdicus!") : 

- ARCs will be available at Winter Institute in Seattle next month. (I'll be there too, if you'd like to hear my accent in real-time. My twang doesn't come with subtitles, so steady yourself.)

- And ARCs will be available at ALA in Philadelphia next month. I'll be there with my editor and we are both so darn excited! I've hoped to attend ALA ever since I knew what it was. It's book-heaven, basically, and I can't believe I really get to go! If you're there, too, I hope you'll snag a galley and say hello.

That's all the ARC-news I have, but if you have any questions, holler in the comments. I'll try to find an answer. (Or I'll just make one up.)

Next week we'll return to our regularly scheduled programming: Emily Dickinson and miniature pigs and books. Oh my. ;)

*PS: A few years ago, Holly Root wrote a great post about what an ARC actually is and how it should be used. It's a great read, if you're in a clicky mood.