Hello, hello, hello.

I can’t believe it, but DREAMERS OFTEN LIE has been out in the world for nearly a month now. (Haven’t read it yet? You can enter to win a signed hardcover over at Bookhounds YA — or you can make me extra happy, and ask for it at your local library or bookshop. And if you have already read it, please consider writing a review on Goodreads and/or Amazon. Especially if you actually liked it.)

April and all of its attendant Shakespeare celebrations is over, but fun things are still turning up — like this piece from the New York Daily News, which includes DREAMERS in its list of new Bard-inspired books, and this article on Bustle, featuring 13 Shakespeare-inspired YA novels. It’s been a busy month online, but a strangely quiet one for real-life events. However, during this month and the next, things are REALLY going to kick into gear: Three school visits, two radio shows/podcasts, a book club visit, four writing workshops, a library festival, and–finally–some more bookstore events. Which are, of course, free and open to the public. Which means all of you are invited. Which means please come.

Upcoming public events (more info can be found on my appearance calendar, as always):

• May 20: Authors After Hours, Valley Bookseller, Stillwater, MN. 6:45 p.m.
• May 21: Reading, chatting, and signing DREAMERS OFTEN LIE, Fair Trade Books, Red Wing, MN. 12:00 – 2:00 p.m.
• June 4: Hudson Area Library Summer Reading Kickoff, Hudson, WI. 9:00 – 12:00. MG/YA panel at 11:00 a.m.
• June 11: First Annual “B-Fest” Teen Reading Festival: Barnes and Noble Galleria, Edina, MN. 1:00 p.m.
• June 14 – 16: Minneapolis Young Writers Workshop (evening keynote speeches and book signings are open to the public; visit http://www.mplsyoungwritersworkshop.com for more)

And if you are a young writer in MN/western WI and you’d like to study with me, this summer is your chance. Upcoming workshops include:

• June 14 – 16: Minneapolis Young Writers Workshop
• June 23: Teen Writers Workshop, Fox Den Books, River Falls, WI. 3:00 – 5:00. Contact the store for details/to register.
• June 28: Teen Writers Workshop, Dakota County Heritage Library, Lakeville, MN. 10:30 – 12:30.

I’ll also be visiting with the young writers in Red Wing Public Library’s Summer Writer’s Camp on June 29th. The Writer’s Camp is a two week program for grades 5 – 8 (sessions run from June 13 – 29), and I know past attendees have LOVED it. If you’re in the Red Wing area, check it out: http://redwing.lib.mn.us/summer-reading-2016/

So, DREAMERS OFTEN LIE was officially released two weeks ago, and the intervening time has been so packed, I haven’t had the chance to put up a blog post. Thanks again to everyone who came to Red Balloon Bookshop in St. Paul to celebrate, and double thanks to everyone who is already reading/has read the book. Finally seeing this book in the hands of actual readers is like a crazy dream (pun only partially intended).

If you missed the release party but want to catch me in person sometime this spring–and if you live in/will be visiting the upper Midwest–you’ve got several chances. Currently in the lineup:

May 20 – Valley Bookseller, Stillwater, MN. 6:45 p.m. “Authors After Hours” chat with Heather Anastasiu, Anne Greenwood Brown, and me. Plus great coffee! What more could you want?
May 21 – Fair Trade Books, Red Wing, MN. 12:00 – 2:00 p.m. Speaking, reading, and signing books.
June 4 – Hudson Area Library (with Chapter2Books), Hudson WI. 11:00 a.m. Summer Reading Kickoff Celebration! Crafts, snacks, and bookish fun of all kinds. Panel with S.A. Bodeen, Shelley Tougas, and me at 11:00.
June 11 – Barnes & Noble Galleria, Edina, MN. 1:00 p.m. First inaugural B-Fest Teen event! (More info to come…)
June 14 – 16 – Minneapolis Young Writers Conference (See www.mplsyoungwritersworkshop.com for all the amazing details)
June 23 – Fox Den Books, River Falls, WI. 3:00 – 5:00. Teen writing group discussion and workshop. (Call or visit the store for specifics…)

More are being added all the time, so check my events calendar if you’re curious.

Ooh — and Adventures in YA Publishing hosted me for an interview on release week. If you’d like to know more about the process behind DREAMERS OFTEN LIE, please go forth and read.

This weekend marks the 400th anniversary of the death of Shakespeare — April 23rd, 1616. April 23rd is probably his birthday too. Nobody knows his exact birth date, but church records show that he was baptized on April 26th, so historians estimate that he was born just a few days before that (they got babies baptized ASAP in those days…). A not-so-little life rounded with a sleep.

There are all kinds of bookish online celebrations in Shakespeare’s honor this week. Goodreads is hosting a special “Ask the Author” event, and I’m one of the happy participants. Visit us here to learn more or to start peppering us with questions.

I could write for pages and pages (or even a whole novel! Ha!) without summing up everything that Shakespeare’s work has meant to me, but I wrote a post for Nerdy Book Club trying to describe how it impacted me as a kid. Comments there are very welcome.

…And, for those of you who haven’t already seen it, here is my middle school obsession, as mentioned in the Nerdy Book Club piece: the brilliant Reduced Shakespeare Company, performing Hamlet in 30 seconds. Backward.