New digs!

My new website is live! Come on in and take a gander: www.rachelsearles.com. I'm so happy with the way it turned out, which is thanks to the very talented Mark Figlozzi at Bizango. I'm also happy to move away from my Awkward Girl blog title. Don't worry, I'm still just as awkward as ever, but I've moved on from those early what-the-heck-am-I-doing days (to a slightly more self-aware what-the-heck-am-I-doing phase).

My reading nook

In other news, BEA is next week! Ack! I can't wait, even if the idea of having ARCs out in the wild makes me want to simultaneously dance a jig and pull the covers over my head. I'm still drafting the sequel, and a couple of weeks ago I finally got that nice big CLICK of important pieces dropping into place. That feeling is the best, no? I spent last weekend up in the mountains at Lake Arrowhead with my local writer pals on our annual retreat, which was so much fun and so inspiring. I wish we could do these once a month instead of once a year!

As for books, my reading time has been pretty tight lately, so to remedy that I did something dumb with a heavy propane tank that resulted in several days of bedrest. When I wasn't zonked out I read GONE GIRL and ELEANOR & PARK, both of which caught my eye due to massive word of mouth. I think I was too overhyped on GG by the time I read it, but E&P was unexpected and lovely and the kind of story where you rush through the obligations of your day so you can get back to reading it. I also read an ARC of LINKED by Imogen Howson, and WOW! Such an intense ride! I'll be interviewing Imogen on the OneFourKidlit blog next month on her publication date, June 11th, so keep an eye out for that!