NIL is available for pre-order! A timeline! And a contest alert...:)

I just learned a few days ago that NIL is available for pre-order on Amazon!

It's book birthday is March 4, 2014, so it's still almost nine months away. I know, nine months is forever, right? But it's not. Especially in publishing. So here's my sekrit: I can't help clicking this link now and then, because it makes the whole I'm-getting-published-thing so much more real.

That probably sounds weird. But here's the thing:

I began writing NIL in February 2010 . . .

drafted and revised . . .

went to a writer's conference in May 2011 . . .

revised even more . . .

queried NIL in the fall of 2011 . . .

signed with Jennifer in February 2012 . . .

Jennifer sold the book in May 2012 . . .

and NIL is coming out on March, 4, 2014.

That's essentially four years from the time the idea popped into my head to the day NIL hit shelves. And this is totally normal in traditional publishing.

Four years.

So can you see why I'm crazy-excited that NIL is available for pre-order, even though March 4 is almost nine months away? I can't wait for readers to discover Charley and Thad's story, and get swept up in the world of NIL. That's the dream every author has--to touch a reader, and make them feel.:) I hope y'all will love NIL as much as I do!

I'm so excited that I'm going to come up with some kind of giveaway for readers who pre-order the book. I haven't figured the giveaway out yet, but it'll be some kind of cool NIL swag.:)

So if you pre-order NIL (I will love you forever! :D), please check back for a pre-order contest announcement! :)

Happy Tuesday!

P.S. Little fun Tuesday fact--did you know that all books are released on Tuesdays? Yup, NIL releases on Tuesday, March 4, 2014. It's sekrit publishing stuff....and now you know.:)

NEWS!!!!!!!

My debut novel NIL sold! *pinches self*

It's still a bit surreal.: )

I've known for a while, and I'm SO glad to finally be able to share this news. (Secrets are HARD. :D) But I love this book, and its characters. And I can't wait for y'all to meet them!:)

Here's the official announcement on Publisher's Marketplace:

"Lynne Matson's NIL, when teens end up on the Island of Nil, through a "wormhole" in space, they have 365 days to catch a gate back home or die; a newcomer falls in love with a boy who only has 86 days left...will Nil let them survive?, to Kate Farrell at Holt Children's, for publication in Winter 2014, by Jennifer Unter at The Unter Agency (world English)."

-Sept. 5, 2012

I'm so grateful to my agent, Jennifer, for making this happen. She is truly made of awesome. :)  I can't wait to work with Kate, and to be honest, Henry Holt publishes some of my very favorite authors (like Mary Pearson and Leigh Bardugo) so I'm just a *little* star-struck.

HUGE hugs to my family, friends, and awesome crit partners (who are also friends!:D). I couldn't have done it without y'all. Cupcakes for life are on me. :)

Happy Wednesday y'all!