Google Alerts Round-up

It's time for round of my semi-regular ego-boost. It's been a while, so I've got a bit of a backlog. Here we go!

Editor Liz reports that The Brooklyn Nine was named to the 2010 Kansas State Reading Circle Catalog with a starred rating. "The lists are distributed and promoted throughout the state of Kansas during the current year." (Thanks, Kansas!)

The Brooklyn Nine is also now for sale in Scholastic Book Fairs. Here's a brief booktalk they put together for it. (Opens as a PDF.) And here's the featured book page.

Media center coordinator Beth Martin writes a lovely appreciation of The Brooklyn Nine in the Wausau Daily Herald.

Stephanie Dethlefs, writing the Children's Book Corner for the Neighborhood-Kids blog, calls The Brooklyn Nine a championship-level book. 

The Semicolon blog names The Brooklyn Nine as one of the two best sports books of the year.

Angela Craft at Bookish Blather wishes The Brooklyn Nine had at least been a Newbery Honor book.

Doret at The Happy Nappy Bookseller had The Brooklyn Nine picked as a Newbery sleeper candidate...

...as did DaNae at Literate Lives...

...and the Arapahoe Library District...

...and Sarah at The Reading Zone. (Thanks, guys! That would have been incredible!)

O.W.L. (Outrageously Wonderful Literature from the Middle Grade) has The Brooklyn Nine in their mailbox...

...as does Mallory at Grammar Girl.

While Valerie at the I Should Be Writing Blog has Something Wicked in her mailbox.

Something Wicked has been nominated for the 2010-2011 South Carolina Children's Book Awards. (Thanks, South Carolina!)

Serious about Series plugs Something Rotten and Something Wicked.

Someone at Books for Sale would include Something Rotten and Something Wicked in a YA starter library if he/she was given $1,000 and carte blanche.

Mer at the Harris County Public Library recommends Something Rotten as a great mystery.

A Baltimore English teacher is going to use Samurai Shortstop in a Lit Circle Unit this year (and it's in very good company!)

And the American School in Japan mentions my upcoming visit in their write-up in the 2010 International Schools Special from the Tokyo Weekender.  I can't wait, guys!


And I've joined the Children's Literature Author and Illustrator Booking Service. Here's my author page, including info on how to book me.

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Google Alerts Round-up

It's time for my semi-monthly ego trip! I was busy in the run-up to the holidays, so I have a lot of them stored up. Throw out that first pitch, Chewie*, and let's play ball!

GTC at the BooksForKidsBlog likes that baseball's story is the tie that binds the nine generations of Sniders/Flints together in The Brooklyn Nine...

...and one of Mrs. DeRap's middle school students thinks The Brooklyn Nine was "a perfect amount of pages."

Meanwhile, The Brooklyn Nine appealed to the inner history buff in Sarah at The Reading Zone...

...and was a nominee for the 2009 Cybils Middle Grade Fiction Award. (Even though it wasn't a finalist.)

Karen and Stephanie at Fabulous Reads list The Brooklyn Nine among their Top 100 Books Ever (!) ...

...and Marjorie Ingall at Tablet Magazine: A New Read on Jewish Life thinks baseball fans will plotz over The Brooklyn Nine, and names it one of the best Jewish chapter books of 2009.

BookKids Blog recommended Something Rotten and Something Wicked as great gifts for teens who love mysteries...

...and the Grace A. Dow Memorial Library in Midland, Michigan puts Something Rotten at number 19 on their Tab Fab 50.

Senior Year English teacher Jenny W. plans to use Something Rotten in her classroom study of Hamlet...

...while The Garden Pear thinks Something Rotten is one of the best books ever (!)

Editor Liz e-mails with the news that Something Rotten was named one of YALSA's 2010 Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults: Twists on the Tale...

...and word that The Brooklyn Nine has been chosen as one of the Chicago Public Library's Best of the Best Books of 2009! (opens as a PDF)

The Allen County Public Library named The Brooklyn Nine to its 2009 Mock Newbery list... (opens as a PDF)

...while B9 is a nominee for the 2010 Grand Canyon Reader Award! (opens as a PDF)

Jessica at I Read to Relax! listed Samurai Shortstop among her favorite books read in 2009...

...while Kristine at Best Book I Have Not Read has The Brooklyn Nine in her Middle Grade 2010 To Be Read pile.

Doret at The Happy Nappy Bookseller lists The Brooklyn Nine as one of the 15 best sports books she read last year...

...and finally, Elizabeth Bird of the Brooklyn Public Library and the Fuse #8 blog includes The Brooklyn Nine in her last 2009 One-Sentence Reviews post of the year, saying, "Since I'm not a baseball person I didn't hope to be impressed by this nine generation tale of Brooklyn and baseball, but Gratz makes fine use of the characters and time periods in this oddly compelling little book."

I'll take "oddly compelling" any day of the week! Thanks, everyone, for all the kind mentions and inclusions on your lists. Here's to what's to come in 2010!




*(Did anyone notice Chewbacca is a south paw? Get that Wookiee a contract!)

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Google Alerts Round-up

Time for my semi-regular Google Alerts ego-boost!

Andrea at The Little Bookworm likes the tiara tease in Something Wicked, then finds a way to work Wicked into a title meme.

The McDowell News covers my recent school visit to East McDowell Middle School in Marion, NC, and reports on how I "obtained permission from my wife to write full time"...

The Brooklyn Nine has won a Library Media Connection 2009 Editor's Choice Award. (Opens as a PDF.)

The Brooklyn Nine is one of many terrific middle grade novels nominated for the 2009 Cybil Awards...

And Musings of a Book Addict muses on the connections between the first inning and the ninth inning in a Brooklyn Nine review for the Cybils.

Thanks everyone for the mentions!

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Google Alerts Round-up

It's time for my semi-monthly ego check!

country_gal from Decatur, Georgia, was prepared to be bored by Something Rotten, but was won over by Horatio's sarcasm.

Something Rotten also makes the Bookworms Carnival of delights at A Bibliophile's Bookshelf, thanks to this glowing review at Barney's Book Blog.

The North Carolina Literary Festival (of which I am a part) is getting some press.

KL Knight at Knight Reader thinks Something Wicked has a great hook to get kids interested in Macbeth.

And Sarah over at The Reading Zone has a really terrific post about perfect games, The Brooklyn Nine, and building schema.

Thanks everyone! Your affiliate checks will be mailed when you reach $100.

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Google Alerts Round-up

I hate to post the same day Wendi's put up a good one, but I've had my nose to the writing grindstone of late. I've met my daily quota though, so it's time to catch up with the blogging. I have a lot of Google Alerts/good e-mail news to post, beginning with the above pics, sent in from Penguin Field Reps. The first is of The Brooklyn Nine on a baseball book display at Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park, Washington. The second was taken in Dolly's Bookstore in Park City, Utah. That's some good company there--two Newbery winners, and The Brooklyn Nine! From their table display to the committee's ears...

Now, on with the news!

Bill over at Literate Lives wishes The Brooklyn Nine went to extra innings, Susan Harkins at BookPleasures.com thinks B9 knocks it out of the ballpark, and The Reading Zone can't wait to read it.

Meanwhile, despite believing baseball on TV to be a cure for insomnia, the resident bibliovore at Confessions of a Bibliovore thinks The Brooklyn Nine is a cracking good yarn...

...and her great review of The Brooklyn Nine has talked Jen Robinson into checking it out!

Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Teen Services recommends reading Something Rotten for Earth Day...

...while Maire at Books, Books, and Books appreciates Something Rotten's comparatively low body count.

BookAdvice.net likes Something Wicked even more than Something Rotten, even though it's darker...

...while the North Carolina School Library Media Association has nominated Something Rotten for the 2009-2010 North Carolina Young Adult Book Award! (Pretty stiff competition though--but at least there's no Stephenie Meyer book on the list this year!)

E. Lockhart, Printz Honor winner, National Book Award Finalist, and all-around swell gal likes my video blogs.

And finally, perhaps the best news of all: Editor Liz reports that Dial has already gone to a second printing of The Brooklyn Nine! Woohoo! That's just two months out of the gate!

That's it for me. Back to the new book!

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Google Alerts Round-up

It's time for my regular vanity check from the internets:





















Something Wicked is a SIBA award nominee.

Professor Nana's been reading more books based on Hamlet.

LJ at 75 o'clock is looking forward to the next Horatio Wilkes mystery.

Mr. Muldowney's class can choose to read Something Rotten for their 9th grade book project, but they have to discuss symbolism and irony in the book by April 21st.

School Library Journal featured Samurai Shortstop in a recent article on books for kids set in the days of the samurai.

Devaney Doak & Garrett Booksellers in Farmington, Maine, thinks The Brooklyn Nine would make a great classroom book.

Susan Harkins at BookPleasures.com thinks Something Wicked is a treasure.

And Linda Sue Park, author of the Newbery Award-winning A Single Shard, writes about both The Brooklyn Nine and Something Rotten on her Amazon blog!

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Forsooth! Or something like that.

Just a quick note to let my East Tennesee peeps know that I'm going to be in town tomorrow for the Knoxville Public Library's "ShakesFest," a celebration of Shakespeare, YA lit, and prancing about with swords.

The event is from 1-4 p.m. at the East Tennessee History Center downtown on Gay Street, and admission is free.

Members of the Tennessee Stage Company's Shakespeare on the Square troupe will be performing scenes from Hamlet, and I'll be reading my take on the same scenes from Something Rotten before selling and signing books. Then, there will be fencing.

Hope to see you there!

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Google Alerts Round-up

Here it is, my semi-weekly vanity check, courtesy of Google Alerts:

Cari at the Joplin library thinks Something Wicked is an "especially good 'guy' book."

Middle school librarian KB thinks Samurai Shortstop has a killer beginning. (And technically, of course, she's right.)

The Happy Nappy Bookseller is in a baseball mood and wants to get her hands on an advance reader copy of The Brooklyn Nine. Hmm. If only the author would swoop in and save the day...

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Something Interesting at Book People Bookstore

Editor Liz sends me this report from a field rep: Something Rotten and Something Wicked are in good company on the staff recommended shelf at Book People Bookstore in Austin, Texas! (I love the plaid on the shelf talker, by the way...)

Thanks, Book People! Give me a holler--I'd love to come visit.

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Another Wicked Review

A nice review of Something Wicked by librarian Sharon on SherMeree's Musings...

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Google Alerts Round-Up

Time for another vanity check, courtesy of Google Alerts:

I give some advice on writing for young readers in an interview over at Novel Journey.

BookAdvice.net has made Something Rotten their book of the month for December.

The Christian Science Monitor has named Something Wicked one of its ten Best Children's Books of 2008.

Carol Moyer of Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh also recommends Something Wicked this holiday season on the Southern Independent Booksellers Association blog.

Pam Mingle suggests the gift of Samurai Shortstop for boys and girls who might like a little seppuku under the tree this holiday.

And over at author friend Ally Carter's blog, the announcement that I will be participating in an online chat with a reading group made up of her fans over the holidays! More info about this coming soon to a Gratz Industries blog near you...

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Alan Gratz is the new Frank Zappa?

If young adult literature is the new Rock ’n’ Roll, as some suggest, then author Alan Gratz is Frank Zappa, and his smart, droll remakes of Shakespeare’s tragic hits – Hamlet and Macbeth – should win new converts to the old bard’s gems.

Thus begins perhaps the best, most flattering review I've ever gotten in print for one of my books. And this from the Christian Science Monitor, no less--a big-time daily! The comparison to Zappa is funny--particularly because I wore a similar imperial mustache back in the Seventies:

(That isn't photoshopped. I swear.)

I'm tempted to quote the whole review here, as it's pretty terrific, but I'll just highlight a few lines and let you click through if you're interested:

Gratz’s new novel intended for older teens, Something Wicked, based on Macbeth, comes on the heels of his first remake, Something Rotten, based on Hamlet.

In that first book, teen sleuth Horatio Wilkes finds something rotten in Denmark, Tennessee: His best friend’s father has just been murdered.

Though the tale follows most of Shakespeare’s original – with a dash of evil environmental pollution thrown in – Gratz succeeds in remaking Horatio into one funny, fresh dude.

Horatio is even better in “Something Wicked.”

He’s a witty, snarky, self-deprecating king of one-liners and inside jokes who never met a metaphor he couldn’t make amusing:

“[A]s awkward as Michael Vick at a PETA rally,” “as white as a suburb,” “as black as a telemarketer’s soul,” “deader than the Confederacy,” a nerdy father and son are “two peas in a pocket protector.”

It’s impossible not to laugh – or at least smile – your way through Horatio’s take on the world. Author Gratz challenges readers, keeps them turning pages, and makes every word count.

Many thanks to reviewer Elizabeth A. Brown. May your car never get a flat in the rain and your children never need orthodontics!

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Google Alerts Round-up

My weekly vanity check!

Ms. Fischbuch at G.S. Lakie Middle School thinks Samurai Shortstop has terrific curriculum tie-in potential and enjoyed Something Rotten.

A young reader at Norwich Middle School gives Samurai Shortstop five stars, and wishes it were longer.

And of course my fifteen minutes of fame on EW.com, where Something Wicked is currently winning (losing) in a battle of best opening lines.

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Something Wicked on EW.com!

Imagine my surprise when today's Google Alert included a link to Something Wicked on ew.com! That's the web site of Entertainment Weekly, to which Wendi and I were long-time subscribers until we ran out of money. (Read: Until I, the author, became the primary bread-winner.)

This entry on ew.com's "Popwatch Blog" lists the opening lines of three current novels, and asks readers to vote for their least favorite. It's an odd way of phrasing things, and I must confess that I blithely scrolled down to the poll and clicked my own novel, thinking, "Oh! I think mine's the best! I'll vote for it!" before realizing, to my horror, that I had just voted my own novel's opening lines as the worst of the three.

What can I say? I'm an idiot.

So now I'm calling upon all you loyal Gratz Industries readers--go to ew.com's Popwatch blog and avenge my shame! Just remember to vote for one of the other intros--assuming, of course, you don't think mine is actually the worst. At first, I worried that this blog was saying, "Look, all three of these suck. Which sucks the worst?" But now I'm just feeling glad Something Wicked is on EW's radar, odd poll or not.

Right now, I'm winning--or, that is to say, fewer people have voted my intro the suckiest. Be sure to scroll down and read the comments too--my opening lines are getting some nice reviews down there.

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A Wicked Good Review

I've been very fortunate to have each of my first three novels selected by the Junior Library Guild as books they promote to librarians all around the country. Here's their review for my latest, Something Wicked:

To some readers, the language and settings of Shakespeare's plays can seem distant and boring; conversely, some contemporary retellings that aim to make Shakespeare trendy or accessible end up stripping the emotional depth from the plays. Something Wicked, however, is an exceptional adaptation.

Horatio's friend Mac, and Mac's girlfriend, Beth, are the Macbeth and Lady Macbeth of this story. Beth's constant challenges to Mac's manhood and their mutually destructive relationship echo the play's themes of manipulation and ambition in a context that teens will easily recognize. Likewise, Horatio and Mac's rapidly souring friendship may remind teens of their own social difficulties.

The captivating murder mystery will keep readers (even those familiar with the play) guessing who the real culprit is. Alan Gratz's detailed setting, a Scottish Highland fair, is inspired, and his prose and dialogue are consistently funny and well crafted: "'You're just going to get him madder," Lucy told me. 'I'm good at that,' I told her. 'I have mad skills.'" And Gratz seamlessly incorporates a wide array of pop culture references, including the Ramones, Jackson Pollock, Magnum, P.I., and Aqua Teen Hunger Force, in humorous, intelligent ways.

Thanks, JLG!

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Samurai Shortstop + Something Wicked = ?

From Editor Liz: what do you get when you cross Samurai Shortstop with Something Wicked?

Click here for the answer.

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Something Wicked in the Blogosphere

Kids Book Buzz is hosting a Something Wicked book blog tour. All this week bloggers are posting reviews and interviews. Here's the first round of reviews:

The 160 Acre Woods
A Christian Worldview of Fiction
All About Children's Books
Becky's Book Reviews
Cafe of Dreams
Hyperbole
Through the Looking Glass
Never Jam Today
Reading is My Superpower

Thanks, all!

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Something Wicked on Tour

Okay, Something Wicked isn't really officially on tour, but I'm doing a couple of events this weekend, first in Atlanta and then in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you live in one of those two places, I'd love to see you!

Saturday, October 18th I'll be appearing at the Gwinnett Reading Festival in Lawrenceville, GA from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the kids tent, talking about Samurai, Rotten, and of course Something Wicked. The festival is free and open to the public. Come say hello!

Then on Sunday, October 19th I'm hosting a book launch party for Something Wicked at Carpe Librum in Knoxville at 3 p.m. Everyone is welcome! I'll be reading, signing, and chatting up friends and family. Please drop in!

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Something Wicked This Way Comes!

Can you believe it? I almost let the day get by without announcing, O-fficially, that today is the "pub date" for Something Wicked! Welcome to the world, little guy!

For those of you who haven't suffered my incessant promos, here's the skinny:

Something wicked this way comes, and only Horatio Wilkes can stop it.

A Scottish Highland Fair turns foul when Horatio discovers the games' founder, Duncan MacRae, dead in his tent. All signs point to Duncan's son as the murderer, but Horatio's not so sure--especially when his friend Mac and Mac's girlfriend Beth start acting like they own the place. And that's just one of many mysteries: Like why are Mac's and Beth's fathers acting so suspiciously? What's the deal with the goth-punk bagpiper corps threatening Horatio's friend Banks? Who is the hot girl spying on everyone? And why, exactly, are there men in kilts tossing telephone poles around?

Horatio will need all his snark and smarts--and maybe a little amazing grace--to thwart the fate a road-side psychic laid out for him and his friends. Not that Horatio believes in that kind of thing anyway . . .

Kilts, Celts, and killers: the sequel to Something Rotten is "Macbeth" as you've never seen it before!

And it's on sale TODAY!

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Something Free!

To celebrate the release this week of Something Wicked, my contemporary young adult mystery based on Macbeth, Dial Books is offering a special promotion: they're letting you read the first Horatio Wilkes mystery, Something Rotten, for free.

You read that right. Free. Gratis. Complimentary. No charge.

You don't have to register, you don't have to give your e-mail, you don't have to buy something else to read it.

All you have to do is click here.

Why are we letting you read Something Rotten for free while it's still on sale at your favorite bookseller? Because the number one challenge facing most authors is obscurity. Of all the people who didn't buy Something Rotten today, the majority did so because they simply didn't know it existed--not because someone gave them a free copy of it. Like Cory Doctorow says, we think it's more important to get more people into our tent than to make sure everybody inside bought a ticket.

So click on the link in this post, or the banner stuck to the top of the Gratz Industries blog, or go to www.alangratz.com, and read Something Rotten. The book is free (did we mention?) but this special promotion ends on November 30th.

So what are you waiting for? Go. Now. All the cool kids are doing it...

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