When I was teaching high school, during Banned Books Week, I brought in the ALA’s list of most frequently challenged books.  The students tried to guess what was on it and why, and then we discussed book-banning and censorship in general.

One book that has made that list over and over again–and it’s in the top ten even now, thirty-two years after the first installment was published–is the Scary Stories series by Alvin Schwartz, with the mindblowingly masterful illustrations of Stephen Gammell.

(Collage from geeklegacy.com)

The books are usually challenged for the rather arbitrary reason, ‘Unsuited to age group.’  I think it’s  pretty strange to assume that a book that’s suited to one ten-year-old is going to be suited to all ten-year-olds everywhere.  I’ve known ten-year-olds who love Captain Underpants (the most challenged book of 2012) and ten-year-olds who devour Stephen King.  Just like what terrifies a thirty-something like me–the dark, big fish, the telephone–is not going to terrify every other adult.  Obviously.

As a child, I was far more frightened by the “Terrible Tunnel” episode of Fraggle Rock than I was of any book.  Because when it came to books, I was in control.  My imagination was the engine that gave books their power.  I could skip past a particularly creepy page, or throw a book across the room if I liked, or study a single terrifying paragraph or image until the fear it provoked had crumbled away, replaced by familiarity, admiration, and even a little bit of pride.

I loved Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark as a child, even though–and partly BECAUSE–the illustrations haunted me.  I’m glad no one managed to remove these books from our school library.  Then again, I’m pretty sure that if they had, my friends and I would have passed our personal copies around even more feverishly, arranging extra sleepovers just to pore over their pages by flashlight, enthralled by the power of words and pictures.

Yep, this is one of those.

I can’t believe September is already one-third over.  The end of the summer was a whirlwind: a visit from the in-laws, a final round of revisions on STILL LIFE, and my (not-so-little) brother’s beautiful lakeside wedding.

Congratulations, you two.

Now I’m digging back in to the Shakespearean YA project, which has been put aside for so long that I can see it clearly again.  I’m eagerly destroying and rebuilding, rewriting and reacquainting, and spending a lot of time staring dazedly into the distance as new ideas fit themselves together.  It feels really, really good.

My fall schedule is rapidly filling with school visits and public appearances.  Among the recently added (public) events are:

– Wild Rumpus Bookstore, Minneapolis – Saturday, October 26, at 1:00 p.m.  Reading, signing, chatting, and all sorts of special Halloween fun.

– Addendum Books, St. Paul – Saturday, November 16, at 1:00 p.m.  This is a group middle-grade author event, featuring me, Anne Ursu, Kurtis Scaletta, and Lisa Bullard. (I’ll be insanely excited just to be in the same store with these writers, so please come and watch me make a fool of myself.)

And new information is constantly being added to the Louisiana Book Festival website.  The Festival is held in Baton Rouge on Saturday, November 2nd; once I know just when and where I’ll be speaking, I’ll share the info here.

Even with book releases, summer tends to be the quietest time of the year for me, events-wise.  I’m looking forward to a new round of school visits… And speaking of schools, this 4th grade class in Milford, CT read THE SHADOWS, created their own magical paintings, and wrote short stories to accompany them.  Learning that your work has inspired others to create things of their own — stories, paintings, playground games, new names and histories for their stuffed animals — is just about the coolest thing in the world.

Thanks, Ms. Nastasia, and everyone at Meadowside Elementary. 

Another cool Elsewhere-in-the-wild sighting, this one courtesy of my very own editor:

On display at Water Street Bookstore, with THE SHADOWS sold out, in Exeter, NH.  If I ever/finally get to New England, I’ll have to make a stop there.

And (I was serious about the twenty disparate things) I am starting to use Tumblr at last.  I know a lot of my readers can’t/don’t use Facebook, so I’m hoping this platform will be a bit more accessible.  I don’t think it will take the place of this blog, in terms of actual information, but it may outdo it in number of dog pictures.  We will have to wait and see.  http://jacquelinewest.tumblr.com/

It’s the end of another exciting/exhausting week on the road!  The “Endangered Authors” show is running like a smooth and bookish circus: We pile out of the minivan, snap the set together, talk and laugh with kids, and zoom away again, leaving the scent of Sharpies in our wake.  For another (and another) perspective on the tour, check out this review in Examiner.com (http://www.examiner.com/article/endangered-author-tour-with-jobling-rodkey-west-and-gidwitz) and this blog by a teacher at Carver Middle School, Miami (http://byrdonbooks.wordpress.com/2013/04/14/ya-authors-gidwitz-jobling-rodkey-and-west-are-on-the-endangered-authors-tour-and-it-is-awesome/).  Thanks for spreading the word, Pamela and Janas!

This was my fifth visit to Texas in two years — the Lone Star state has been awfully good to me — and we had a great time in Houston and Austin on Monday and Tuesday.  Thanks again to everyone at West University Elementary, Bunker Hill Elementary, Mills Elementary, Kiker Elementary, and to the booksellers at Blue Willow Bookshop (where, by the way, signed copies of our books are currently in stock), and to the fabulous folks at Perma-bound.

(A slew of signed books at West University Elementary)

Then it was off to Chicago, where torrential rain caused some crazy flooding, turning roads into rivers, schoolyards into swamps, and cemeteries into zombie aquariums…or so we imagined.  Dozens of schools were forced to close, including Hester Junior High, where we were supposed to stop on Thursday.  [Students/staff at Hester JHS: We’re sorry we missed you. If you’d like to arrange an email interview, or get some signed bookplates, or schedule a future in-person visit with me, please get in touch any time.]  To everybody at Lincoln Middle School, Cossitt Middle School, Heritage Middle School, Lincolnwood School, and Oak Terrace School: You were awesome.

Here’s the crowd at Lincolnwood on Friday morning, making us feel welcome (and slightly deaf):

Chicago is a wonderland of indie booksellers.  To find signed copies of The Books of Elsewhere, The Chronicles of Egg, Wereworld, and A Tale Dark and Grimm, visit The Book Stall in Winnetka (where Robert can answer all of your kids’ lit questions), Magic Tree Bookstore in Oak Park (thanks again for braving the deluge, Rosie!), and Anderson’s in Naperville.

While the rest of the troupe flew home to NYC for some family-hugging and underwear-washing, Curtis and I headed on to DC.  We spent today visiting TWELVE local bookstores to sign books (it was supposed to be THIRTEEN, but we were just a few minutes too late for the downtown B&N), so for a limited time, you can find signed copies of Wereworld and The Books of Elsewhere at almost every DC-area Barnes & Noble, at Books-A-Million in McLean and at Dupont Circle, and at the practically perfect Politics & Prose Bookstore.

Here’s the staff picks display at the Rockville, Maryland Barnes & Noble, which made me very happy:

(Not staged, I swear)

And here’s famous author Curtis Jobling in the children’s section at Politics & Prose:

And lastly, here’s some student art from Lincolnwood Elementary:

“Read Forever.” Good advice.

A few months ago, I posted pictures of an incredible work-in-progress: Artist Tiffany Vincent’s hand-crafted recreation of the McMartin grimoire, as described in Spellbound. Now, I have the real (almost) finished book right here in my very own office, and it is DAZZLING, as you can see.

In what might be the very best twist of all, Tiffany left the pages blank and unbound, so that I can bring the book to schools and book events to have young (or not so young) readers concoct and contribute their own McMartin spells.  I can hardly wait.

(Happy author, with book.)

If you would like hear and see more of the creation process (and I know you would), visit http://www.curiousgood.com/?p=858

Another wonderful gift: This review of The Second Spy, which appeared in the Star Tribune’s summer roundup of teen/tween books by Minnesota authors.

Two other reviews have recently–and belatedly–come to my attention.  This review of Spellbound comes from a blogger in France, and this write-up of The Shadows is thanks to a blogger in Indonesia.  From what I can decipher/translate/guess, they both seem very positive.  Fly, my little world-traveling books!  Fly!

There are now exactly sixty days until the release of THE BOOKS OF ELSEWHERE, VOLUME THREE: THE SECOND SPY.  Not that I’m excited or anything.

Last May, an artist named Tiffany J. Vincent got in touch with me.  Tiffany creates amazing, one-of-a-kind art objects inspired by works of fiction; for examples, check out her Harry Potter and Narnia pieces at her website, Curious Goods: www.curiousgood.com.  I drool over Bellatrix’s necklace.  Her niece, Anna (Hi, Anna!) is a fan of THE BOOKS OF ELSEWHERE, and Tiffany is currently at work on a full-sized replica of the McMartin grimoire, as described in SPELLBOUND.  As a preview, she sent me her smaller-scale test version of the book’s leather cover, and her gorgeous interpretation of the McMartin family tree on the frontispiece.

Here’s a closer look at each:

How lucky am I?  (I’ll answer that myself: Insanely lucky.)

The news has already spread via many writing and publishing blogs, but just in case a writer between the ages of 18 – 25 hasn’t heard about it yet and happens to be reading this: Hot Key Books, in cooperation with The Guardian, is launching a truly incredible prize for young writers of children’s/teen’s fiction.  You can get an overview here and find specifics at the Hot Key Books website.

Publishers Weekly just ran a piece on the Endangered Authors Tour.  For photos and on-the-road stories from my fellow Endangered Authors, read on.

I promised that I would try to post here every day for the two months leading up to the release date.  I already missed yesterday, so I’m not off to the most auspicious start, but I have Good Intentions and a Plan.  There will be more blogging.  Soon.  I swear it.

And thanks for sharing your excitement about THE SECOND SPY, everyone.  Knowing that readers are out there waiting to dive into Volume Three is an awfully welcoming feeling.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.