The Big News!

First of all,

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. day. Go forth and fight social injustice in his honor. (For real. If you want to skip reading this blog entry and go straight to fighting social injustice, I support that.)

Secondly,

I teased with the big news last week. Now I will share. Here's the official announcement from Publishers Marketplace

"Stacey Jay's futuristic retelling of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, to Michelle Poploff at Delacorte, in a very nice deal, in a two-book deal, by Ginger Clark at Curtis Brown."

I am SO very excited to be writing two more books for Delacorte! They are an amazing crew made of awesome over there and I feel honored to continue to work with them for at least two more books. And I'm really excited about writing a stand alone book for book one (no word on what book two will be at this point, but that's kind of nice too. A bit of mystery is exciting.).

Now, the Beauty and the Beast inspired book is unfinished at this point (I'll be starting Chapter Nine tomorrow), but I can say with a certain amount of assurance that it's not so much a "retelling" as a "reinterpretation." Those of you who've read "Juliet Immortal" know that I like to twist my retelling. A lot. Sometimes to the point that it resembles the original story hardly at all. This book will have more in common with the original fairy tale than "Juliet Immortal" has with Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet," but there will definitely be surprises.

And also, just for clarity, I wouldn't really call it futuristic. (Though it does take place in the future. Sort of.) But it's definitely not sci-fi, so that description didn't work. (Though there is advanced technology in use. Sort of. Though the people using it don't understand it because the science behind the technology has been lost.) And...um...and...

Well, it's still a work in progress and won't be published until 2013. Let's stick a pin in it and I'll be back with more information later in the year. In the meantime, I've got other book related newsy bits to share:

1. JULIET IMMORTAL will release in paperback in September of this year. In the meantime, Barnes and Noble is still selling the hardcover at a discounted rate. So if you haven't snagged a copy yet, you can get one for less than $12 (33% off the list price): http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/juliet-immortal-stacey-jay/1100083575

2. The Page Sage interviewed me over at her blog. She's quite clever and asked great questions. So maybe cruise by there, if you'd like?: http://thepagesage.blogspot.com/2012/01/author-interview-stacey-jay.html

3. Also a very nice review of JULIET IMMORTAL over at Chicks with Crossbows: http://www.chickswithcrossbows.com/?p=1002 (I don't often link to reviews, but come on, Chicks with Crossbows. The name alone necessitated some link love.)

4. I am still sore from the Friday ballet class (that's not book related, but it's on my mind, and legs and back and neck, so...).

5. My husband and I had a date day yesterday (he got tickets for a Winter Wineland event), and while wine tasting I met a girl who plays the electric ukulele. We chatted and I gave her my email and we're going to meet up next time she's in town for a ukulele lesson. I am going to learn to play the ukulele! I am one step closer to performing in an all girl folk band (one with appreciation for the uke)!!! I love it when New Year's goals fall into place in January. (Also not book related, but ukulele related, which is almost as good.)

6. ROMEO REDEEMED (Fall 2012) has a cover and it is GORGEOUS. I will post it here as soon as I am allowed to do so. But trust me, it is...yummy ;).

7. I like cheese. But not Chuck E Cheese, where I will now take my children. I'm so ready for winter to be over. I like it when there are outdoor things to do and lots of good excuses to stay away from The Rat Hole.

Happy day to all,

Stacey