Hi, everyone! First, please forgive me for joining #IMWAYR -- and then disappearing for three weeks. I've been dealing with headaches and blurry vision, so reading has become difficult. The good news: I had a CT scan of the head and neck, and a follow-up video visit with my neurosurgeon. She says my brain is in great shape! (Yes, contrary to popular opinion, I do have a brain...) No new aneurysms, and the coils, clip, and shunt are all working properly.
As for the blurry vision, I have an ophthalmologist appointment at the end of this week. Keep your fingers crossed that it's not serious. I feel as if my prescription changed suddenly.
In the middle of all this, I finally received page proofs from my editor and had only ten days to read through them. So I had to discipline myself to stay off social media, stay off the computer for other reasons, and read 25 pages a day of my proofs for those ten days. I've never been so happy to have written a novel in verse. So few words on the page!
From now on, I will try to continue to participate in #IMWAYR, but probably only every other week. And it may take me a few days to read your posts, so please be patient with me.
Onward!
The Nightmare Thief by Nicole Lesperance (coming January 12, 2021, Sourcebooks, ages 8 and up)
What a fascinating novel! It's both deliciously creepy (oh, that villain! Oh, those nightmares!) and heartwarmingly touching at the same time. This book will rank right up there with Coraline by Neil Gaiman, A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd, and Savvy by Ingrid Law. And the writing is so imaginative and so visual I could totally see this book as a movie.
Set in the fictional New England town of Rockpool Bay, this delightfully whimsical tale of magic and dancing and dreams will pull you in from the first page. Maren Partridge is learning from her grandmother how to create dreams, which her family sells in their shop, Typewriters and Dreams. There are lots of other magical products in Rockpool Bay: singing bubbles, edible fireworks, roses that grow back as soon as they're picked. But Maren's family's dream shop is the only one in town.
Then a mysterious woman enters the shop and wants to buy a dozen nightmares. Maren's grandmother will only sell three nightmares at once.
The other hard and fast rule: dreams cannot be given to someone without their consent.
Maren's older sister, Hallie, is in a coma after a car accident, and Maren decides to break the rules and give her sister a nice dream, hoping it will awaken her from her coma. But the mysterious new customer happens to witness Maren's transgression and bribes her into stealing nightmares for her from the shop.
As the mysterious woman's true purpose becomes clear, the story becomes so compelling, you won't want to stop reading. Because of my vision issues, I could only read a little at a time, and it was driving me nuts! And the best news of all: there's a sequel!
This book will arrive in one month. You can pre-order it from Bookshop.
Whew. Glad that the health news is good so far. Will hope that the eye appointment addresses the rest of the issues. I'm not a fan of audiobooks, but maybe this is the month for them!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Test! I would be thrilled if ARCs came in audio version, but ARCs are all I'm reading lately. I'm trying to read as many of my fellow 2021 debut authors' novels as I can!
DeleteSorry to hear about your troubles. Glad it isn't a brain issue. Hopefully you just need a new prescription. At least there's audiobooks for when your eyes can't focus. I hope you feel back to yourself soon.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Liz! (And I'm glad it isn't a brain issue too! Whew!)
DeleteSorry for your health challenges, but I'm glad you've been able to get your writing done. This sounds like a fantasy I'd really like. Hope my library gets it in.
ReplyDeleteYou would love this story, Natalie!
DeleteAs the biggest blogging flake of all time (probably), I can completely understand missing three weeks, especially after sudden and terrifying health issues! I hope you figure out what is going on with your blurry vision. Congrats on page proofs! The Nightmare Thief sounds absolutely fantastic—I loved Coraline and A Snicker of Magic, so apparently this is right up my alley! Thanks for the wonderful post, and I look forward to seeing you on #IMWAYR whenever you post!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Completely! You would love this book!
DeleteGosh, I don't read much mg nor fantasy, but I do love creepy. Putting this on my tbr list. I hope you continue to get good health news! (I'm only participating sporadically with IMWAYR. I figure occasionally is better than not at all?)
ReplyDeleteCreepy can be good if it's also heartwarming. Thanks, Laura. And I'm glad occasionally participating in IMWAYR is acceptable!
DeleteI'm so glad the news was good about your brain. I hope the blurred vision is just a case of needing a new prescription. Best of luck. Meanwhile, I enjoyed your review. I don't read a lot of fantasy these days, but this book sounds compelling.
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