Hello all! I know I've been MIA on this blog, but a) I've been busy traveling for the release of We Can Work it Out and b) working on the first book in my new middle-grade series, The Great Shelby Holmes (coming Fall 2016)! It's been great meeting so many wonderful readers, and look forward to meeting more of you at the LA Times Festival of the Book next weekend! When I sat down to write We Can Work it Out, it was a big moment for me. Not only did I get to revisit the characters that have meant so much to me, but I got nostalgic for all my characters. As I started writing a scene in which the Lonely Hearts Club was going to spread beyond Parkview, IL, I realized that I could bring a couple characters from a past book into this world because it worked out geographically. Then I started putting little references to other books throughout.
Now, the two characters who appear are fairly easy to spot (many of you have). But the others aren't so obvious. I did a trivia question on Twitter about one and nobody got the answer right, but then I realized it wasn't that fair of me. I hit people up out of the blue. Which leads me to...
THE GREAT (AND LATE) WE CAN WORK IT OUT EASTER EGG CONTEST!
On Saturday, April 25th, I'll be hosting a contest over on Twitter asking about specific references in We Can Work it Out. The first person who answers correctly will win a signed book from me (it can be We Can Work it Out or any of my books). I'll be doing it throughout the day and giving people a heads-up when it's going to happen. There are technically SEVEN references to past books (Prom & Prejudice, Take a Bow, Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality, and Better Off Friends--all get a little nod, some more obvious than others). Afterwards, I'll post a blog with a listing of all those references for those who are curious.
Of course, I can't host a contest without rules, so please note: you have to answer in reply to my question, you can't just start tweeting references you spot. The first person who shows up IN MY FEED with the correct answer wins (this was a problem last time and there were screenshots involved, trust me, I'm an honest person). And, I'm sorry, but it's US only.
Why US only? Well, first, We Can Work it Out is only LEGALLY available in the US and Canada right now. So if you've gotten a copy of it online for free, you've technically stolen it. I won't reward that! Plus, it's complicated to ship internationally. I LOVE my foreign readers and WILL do something for you closer to the foreign release dates for We Can Work it Out (and since I'm always asked, this is what I know so far: Spain on May 21st, Latin America and Mexico in October and please note, I have NO CONTROL over when/where my books come out).
These little shout-outs were fun for me to write, but I also did them for my readers. Without you, I'd just be some crazy girl with voices in my head. Now I get to write those voices down and people think I'm only somewhat crazy. ;) Thank you again for all your support and hope you enjoy reading We Can Work it Out!
XOXO, Elizabeth