Presenting...Dashti

Okay, intrepid readers, I know many of you will have opinions about this. Here's the paperback cover for book of a thousand days, to be released in September. The hardcover will keep the original.

This book has received more award and list loving than any book of mine besides princess academy. It's a very precious book to me and my husband's favorite. I'm thrilled to have it coming out in paperback. I don't announce on my blog everything, but I keep a list of honors my books receive on my website. Here's the one for book of a thousand days. I love those state awards. A committee chooses the nominees in each state, then for the year the children are encouraged to read the books from the nominee list and vote on their favorite. Truly children's choice. The lists are always full of wonderful books.

I don't post all my reviews, etc., for this book either. I keep an up-to-date list on my site. But I just got a happy-dance national review for the actor and the housewife, from New York Daily News that I want to share. It's short and magically spoiler-free, so I'm going to post it all here.

"The Actor and the Housewife" is completely unbelievable and totally credible. Where did Shannon Hale come up with this story? Becky Jack is a devoted wife and a Mormon who, against all odds, sold a screenplay. She is in her agents’ office when British screen star Felix Callahan walks in. They begin a sparring conversation, and things go from there.

But not to bed. Becky is devoted to her husband, Mike, and their four children. Her way of life, as well. Felix can’t quit her, though. She adores him, but not in that way. The dialogue is witty, the romantic suspense genuine, and the finale? It ends the way it should.

Ah! Makes me happy. It was featured in Parents magazine, will be featured in the August Family Circle magazine, and is an Indie Next Great Read this month. Hooray! Thanks to Michelle, a publicist at Bloomsbury, who has been working hard to help get it attention.