Today’s the day: THE BOOKS OF ELSEWHERE, VOLUME FOUR: THE STRANGERS is an official, purchase-able, readable book.  Look for it at your local bookstore (and if you’re in Barnes & Noble this month, please note the special displays of Volumes 1 – 3 in paperback!) or library.  Pictures of THE BOOKS OF ELSEWHERE  in the wild are always welcome.

Find it on IndieBound here or on Amazon here — and of course it’s also available for Kindle and Nook for you e-reader readers.

AND, along with THE STRANGERS, VOLUME THREE: THE SECOND SPY is available in audio format at long last!  You can find both books at Audible.com (Here’s THE STRANGERS, and here’s THE SECOND SPY).  They’re read, just like THE SHADOWS and SPELLBOUND, by the wondrous Lexy Fridell.

Release day — even now that it’s my fourth — is exciting and frightening in equal measure.  Knowing that THE STRANGERS is out there in the hands of actual readers fills my stomach with staticky butterflies; they’re bumping around in there, giving each other little electric shocks.  If you read and like the book, please consider writing a review on Goodreads, Amazon, or any other bookish blogs.  Or tell your friends.  That’s even better.

If you’re in the MN/WI area, I hope you’ll consider joining me at Karma Gifts in River Falls, WI for a book party this Saturday, July 20, from 1:00 – 3:00 (more info on Facebook here).  It’s going to be great.  And if you’re on the MN side of the river, stop by Valley Bookseller in Stillwater at noon on Saturday the 27th.  I’ll also be at the Summer Reading Finale Celebration at the Hazel Mackin Community Library in Roberts, WI, on Monday, August 5, from 6:30 – 8:00, signing books and chatting with readers.

Here’s the whole BOOKS OF ELSEWHERE crew (plus a photobombing copy of Neil Gaiman’s THE OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE, which is just as good as everyone says) at the Anderson Center’s celebration this weekend.  Thanks to everyone who stopped by.

In three weeks,  THE BOOKS OF ELSEWHERE, VOLUME FOUR: THE STRANGERS will appear with a burst of shimmery purple in bookstores, mailboxes, and readers’ hands!   23 days and counting.

June began with a week of school visits in DC/northern Virginia.  To the fabulous teachers, librarians, and students at Porter Traditional School, Centre Ridge Elementary, Eagle View Elementary, Crestwood Elementary, Lutie Lewis Coates Elementary, Old Bridge Elementary, and Laurel Hill Elementary: Thanks again for the welcome, the pizza and strawberries, the works of art, the fabulous questions, the follow-up emails…and most of all, for reading my books.   Thank you, thank you, thank you.  And more thanks go to the staff at Hooray for Books! in Alexandria, for providing boxes full of THE BOOKS OF ELSEWHERE.

Now, with most schools out for the summer, I’ll have a couple of quiet-ish weeks before THE STRANGERS events kick off.   And THEN…

Thursday, July 11: THE BOOKS OF ELSEWHERE, VOLUME THREE: THE SECOND SPY is released in paperback.

Saturday, July 13: I’ll be at the Anderson Center here in Red Wing, MN for the annual Summer Celebration of the Arts — an outdoor festival featuring local food, art, and entertainment on the Anderson Center’s gorgeous grounds — selling and signing my books, including a limited number of pre-release copies of THE BOOKS OF ELSEWHERE, VOLUME FOUR: THE STRANGERS.  Come on down/up/out and join us.

Tuesday, July 16: THE BOOKS OF ELSEWHERE, VOLUME FOUR: THE STRANGERS is released in hardcover and downloadable audio format.  The book is already available for pre-order, so visit IndieBound, Amazon, or B&N anytime.  And if your favorite bookstore doesn’t have it on the shelves, ask them to order it — word of mouth means so much.  AND, for those of you who have been waiting for it, THE BOOKS OF ELSEWHERE, VOLUME THREE: THE SECOND SPY will also be released in downloadable audio format.  More info on that when I’ve got it.

Saturday, July 20: Party for THE BOOKS OF ELSEWHERE at Karma Gifts, 204 N. Main Street, River Falls, WI.  Art projects, treats, reading, Q&A, book signing — the whole shebang — and copies of THE SHADOWS, SPELLBOUND, THE SECOND SPY, and THE STRANGERS will be available.

Saturday, July 27: I’ll be reading, chatting, and signing books at Valley Bookseller, one of my favorite bookshops, in Stillwater, MN.

Those of you who live far from my part of the world: I love getting pictures of my books in the wild.  If you spot copies of THE BOOKS OF ELSEWHERE — and THE STRANGERS in particular — in bookstores, libraries, or readers’ hands and feel inspired to send me photos (jacqueline@jacquelinewest.com), I’ll share them on my blog.

Here it is… The Books of Elsewhere, Volume Four: The Strangers.

“It’s Halloween. But not for Morton, who’s trapped in Elsewhere. Good thing Olive has a plan: Swallowing her dread of the McMartins, she sneaks Morton out and takes everyone trick-or-treating. But when they’re followed by a creature who’s not all he seems, they’re in for a surprise—something, or someone, is living in Mrs. Nivens’s abandoned house. Yes, strangers have come to Linden Street. And though they claim to be her allies, Olive has a bad feeling. She returns home late Halloween night to discover something worse: Her parents are gone.

Desperate to get them back, Olive strikes an unbalanced bargain with Annabelle McMartin and loses something incredibly valuable in the process—something that could mean doom for the house, and for Elsewhere itself. Turning to her uncertain allies, Olive attempts to sever the McMartins’ power at its root, unleashing a flood of darkness and terror that could overwhelm not only her, but the house and everyone in it. To mend her mistakes, Olive must determine who to trust. Will she put her faith in her own worst enemies to save the people and the home she loves?”

Release date: July 16, 2013.

(You can pre-order it now from Amazon.  I’ll post links when pre-order is available on IndieBound and other venues.)

More cool news: Audiobooks of The Strangers AND The Second Spy will also be released on July 16, 2013, in downloadable format (no CDs this time).

And now, the wait.  Good thing I’ve got Volume Five to keep me busy.

The multi-talented Matt Myklusch (of the Jack Blank trilogy) and I are both lucky enough to be clients of agent Chris Richman.  Matt and I recently chatted for his podcast, The Other Side of the Story, which is rich with behind-the-scenes info and anecdotes.  You can listen to our conversation here.

One of my favorite parts of traveling is coming home to a huge pile of mail.  Here are two of the best things that were waiting for me on our return from NYC: A thank-you card fr0m readers at Fairmount School, and my Cybils Award for The Shadows, a gorgeous fountain pen in a carved wooden case.