August | 2019 | valerie r lawson

One thing I absolutely love about the kid lit community is how we rally behind a good cause and put our sorrow, our anger, our love into action.

In the latest kid lit community rising to action, it’s all about showing our love for YA author Beth Revis.

Here’s a little bit about Beth:

She is a NY Times bestselling author with books available in more than 20 languages. Her most recent title, GIVE THE DARK MY LOVE, is a dark fantasy about love and death. Beth’s other books include the bestselling science fiction trilogy, ACROSS THE UNIVERSE, and a novel in the Star Wars universe entitled REBEL RISING. She’s the author of two additional novels, numerous short stories, and the nonfiction PAPER HEARTS series, which aids aspiring writers. A native of North Carolina, Beth is currently working on a new novel for teens. She lives in rural NC with her boys: one husband, one son, and two massive dogs.

Back in July, Beth posted on social media about her husband going into advanced heart failure without warning. One can only imagine what she and her family have been going through with the long hospital stays and multiple surgeries involved, all of which have taken her away from her work as an author. Appearances had to be cancelled and there was no time for her to promote her latest book, BID MY SOUL FAREWELL, coming out in September.

Enter fellow author Amie Kaufman (co-author of the IILUMINAE FILES series) who helped mobilize the writing community in support of Beth with an outstanding Preorder Giveaway to help promote her next book.

That’s right, Amie got 150 authors to participate in this giveaway! And we can all do our part by preordering Beth’s book and spreading the word.

I absolutely loved Beth’s ACROSS THE UNIVERSE series. And I enjoy listening to her writing advice videos that she shares on Instagram. She is definitely a kind soul that deserves our support. I’ve preordered my copy. I’m encouraging you to do the same.

To learn all about the giveaway and how to preorder your copy of Beth’s new book BID MY SOUL FAREWELL, visit Amie’s website here.

The giveaway is open through September 30th.

A few weeks ago some writer friends and I took a road trip from Tulsa to Oklahoma City for the express purpose of visiting the Artist in Residence at the Skirvin Hotel, our fellow SCBWI OK pal and supremely talented THE Jerry Bennett! He kindly set aside his day just for us.

Jerry gave us a tour of his artist’s space, talked to us about comic design – explaining the difference between a penciler, inker, and colorist among other things. And what each job brings to the story.

And white space. He said that was very important. Who knew?

Gathered around Jerry’s workspace as he shows us some of the projects he’s been working on.

All of the artwork that you see in the background is Jerry’s work. Besides giving him this wonderful space to create in and a monthly stipend, the Skirvin also hosts several events for him to highlight his work throughout his residency. It’s great exposure for any artist selected.

This is the piece Jerry was working on when we arrived.

Jerry showed us the activities area he had prepared for visitors where they could create their own comic.

We were then included in a special treat as Jerry recorded an “unboxing” video of his new comic, Glamorella’s Daughter. It’s a fantastic story about a young girl with Asperger’s who has a super hero mom.

The unboxing video begins! We were all very excited to participate. We “oohed” and “ahhed” in all the right places.

Don’t tell anyone, but Jerry let us buy our own copies of Glamorella’s Daughter a few days early before the official release date. He even signed them for us!

You can get your own copy here from Literati Press.

We had a great time with Jerry. If you want to visit him at the Skirvin, swing by and watch him work or stop in and say hello! He’ll be there through the end of September.