Malinda Lo

March was quite a jam-packed month for me! Here’s what happened:

March in News

Huntress received some wonderful kudos last month, as it was long-listed for the James Tiptree, Jr. Award, which recognizes science fiction or fantasy that expands or explores our understanding of gender. It was also named a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award in the Children’s/Young Adult category. Woohoo!

March was also a month for book cover reveals, and I had two to show. First up was the cover for the anthology Foretold, coming this September, to which I’ve contributed a fairy tale-ish short story, “One True Love.”

And I revealed the cover for my next novel, Adaptation, also coming out this September:

I did an ARC giveaway, too, and the winner of the signed ARC is Kim. (There were a few Kims, so I’ve emailed the winning one!) Thanks to everybody who entered and shared the news of my new book cover!

Finally, last Friday the details of another anthology I’m contributing to were announced:

Tu Books, a new imprint of Lee & Low Books that publishes diverse science fiction and fantasy for young readers, has announced the upcoming publication of Diverse Energies, a YA anthology of dystopian stories edited by author Tobias S. Buckell and literary agent Joe Monti. The anthology, which will be released in Fall 2012, will feature stories by several award-winning speculative fiction writers including Ursula K. Le Guin, Paolo Bacigalupi, Malinda Lo, Cindy Pon, and Greg van Eekhout.

My contribution is called “Good Girl”:

Malinda Lo’s “Good Girl” is about a girl searching for her brother in what they think is the last city on earth, a doomed, tightly controlled New York City. “It’s about manipulation and loss and the hope of possibilities,” says [Tu Books Editorial Director Stacy] Whitman.

That is a very cool way to describe it! I would say it’s about a criminal. Can’t wait to share it with you guys!

March in Writing

I spent all of March diligently writing the first draft of the sequel to Adaptation. As of March 31, I was at 71,878 words. My goal was to finish the draft by April 1, but no fooling, I need more time. So I have another week of drafting to get to the end of the story, which is going to be So! Dramatic!

Here’s one of my favorite photos I found last month to illustrate the writing process:

Two chickens and a duck plotting! No, there are no chickens or ducks in the book, but there is lots of plotting. (Also, the fact that this photo cracks me up so much demonstrates that I have totally gone off the deep end. This happens every time I get to the end game portion of writing a novel. So, crazy = normal. Just ask my partner.)

March in Reading

Last month I read a wonderful historical novel that people have been talking about for years: A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly. Here’s what I said about it on Twitter:

I finished reading Jennifer Donnelly’s A NORTHERN LIGHT last night. It came out in 2003 & was critically acclaimed/lauded at the time. …

— Malinda Lo (@malindalo) March 29, 2012

It was SO GOOD, people. It’s a historical novel with a mystery in it, and it was so heartbreaking. And brilliant. With a fantastic MC. …

— Malinda Lo (@malindalo) March 29, 2012

Anyway, just wanted to say if you haven’t read it, go to your library and read it. It’s in the YA SECTION.

— Malinda Lo (@malindalo) March 29, 2012

March in Photos

Last month I traveled to San Miguel de Allende to participate in a fantastic writer’s retreat with some of my favorite authors. Here are some photos of the gorgeous city and the villa where we stayed:

Last but not least, I couldn’t get all of us in one shot, but here are four of us after a lovely dinner one night:

In April, I’m looking forward to finishing the first draft of the sequel to Adaptation, and to enjoying lots of sunny spring weather. More later!