Even though FOR KEEPS won't be hitting bookstores until April, Viking has been hard at work. Sub rights have already been sold to the Netherlands (my first Dutch translation!) and the Junior Library Guild has selected FOR KEEPS for their spring 2010 edition (which means tons of exposure in schools!) The new year is off to a great start. . . .

P.S. Notice the new cover? Crazy eleventh hour change, when it was discovered that another Y.A. book was using the exact same art as FOR KEEPS. Never a dull moment in the publishing biz.

Here's the interview I did in Hamilton, NY (my old home town), where I returned after 22 years (!!!) to join in the first ever Young Writers' Workshop at Colgate--47 fabulous sixth through tenth graders (see photo; that's me and baby Emma lounging in front).

Note to self: slowwwww dowwwwwwwn the next time I give an interview. I sound like I'd been mainlining caffeine all day (which, to be honest, I had been. That's what getting four hours of sleep a night will do to a person.)

RadioFreeHamilton

O.K. all you curious readers! At long last, here is the flap copy from my new book, FOR KEEPS, due out in April 2010:

"For sixteen years, Josie Gardner and her mom, Kate, have been a team. It’s been the Gardner Girls against the world, and that’s how Josie likes it. Until one day, in the pet food aisle of Shop-Co, they run into the parents of Paul Tucci, Kate’s high school boyfriend—the father Josie has never met. If Mr. and Mrs. Tucci are back in town, it’s only a matter of time until Paul shows up. Suddenly Josie’s mature, capable mother regresses to the heartbroken teenager she was when Paul moved away. Meanwhile, Josie’s on the verge of having her first real boyfriend, while her free-loving best friend, Liv, begins yet another no-strings-attached fling. When Josie learns some surprising truths about Paul Tucci, she finds herself questioning what she’s always believed about her parents—and about herself. In FOR KEEPS, Natasha Friend tells a fresh, funny, smart story about what happens when a girl gets the guy she always wanted and the dad she never knew she needed."

FINDING PAUL TUCCI (previously known as BOXING PAUL TUCCI), has morphed again (gotta love the sales and marketing department). The new book is now, officially, drum roll please. . . . FOR KEEPS.

Good news from the book front: all of my revisions for my next Y.A. novel--FINDING PAUL TUCCI--have been approved, which means we're on schedule for a Spring 2010 release--yeehaw! Stay tuned for more info, and for a sneak peek at the cover art, as soon as I have it. . . .

xo, Mama Tash

P.S. BOUNCE is now out in paperback!

Emma Scarlett arrived on March 19th at 9:30 AM. 6 lbs., 12 oz., 20 inches and beautiful (but then, I'm her mama; could I possibly say otherwise?) For anyone wondering about the name choice, think literary: one of my favorite Jane Austen novels and the heroine from Gone With the Wind.)

xoxo from the land of joy and sleep deprivation. . . .

Tash

Just delivered Book #4 to my editor and am now sitting in bed, drinking raspberry leaf tea, reading Jodi Picoult's new book, and waiting for Baby #3 to make her appearance. . . .

Roses are red
Violets are blue
I love my readers
And choc-o-late too

Happy V-Day, everyone!

xoxo

So many of you have e-mailed asking for additional info. for your author studies that I have finally answered the call. Check out:

1) The new and improved Bio page

2) The new and improved FAQ page (including "25 Random Facts About Natasha Friend")

3) The new Awards page

4) The "From the Archives" additions to the Photos, if you really want to know what I looked like in junior high (yikes!)

Happy perusing . . .

It has been brought to my attention that LUSH has been pulled from the bookshelves of a middle-school library in Pennsylvania. Apparently, the parents of a sixth-grade student issued a complaint about the book to the school's administration, and voila: LUSH is banned. Needless to say, several of the school's English teachers are peeved and e-mailed me to let me know that they're going to fight this every step of the way. I'll keep you posted on any developments. Meanwhile, want to know how to combat censorship in your own school? Check out Judy Blume's website for some great tips.

Judy Blume on censorship

Check out this pic of a Canadian reader who was asked to dress as her favorite author for her school's "literacy day." Not only am I completely flattered that she chose to be me, but how much do I love that she wore a basketball under her shirt all day? This is pretty much what I look like right now; five weeks and counting until baby #3 arrives--eek!

I know, I know, I'm a horrible blogger, and I'd love to say that I'll be better in '09, but the truth is that life is so hectic around here that I barely have time to tie my own shoes, let alone create clever little missives for my dedicated readers, HOWEVER, you all deserve an update, so here 'tis:

Three big, exciting things are about to be "delivered":

1) My next book, BOXING PAUL TUCCI: first draft due to my editor at the end of January, final draft in March, book itself should hit stores in Spring 2010. I'll send out a sneak peek once everything's been approved.

2) A new Pres. Hello! How excited am I that my kids will grow up seeing an African American family in the White House??? Go, Obama!

3) And speaking of kids . . . I'm about to have another one. Yep, you heard me. (And you thought I don't have time to write now, wait until March--eek!) After two boys I was way too curious not to find out the sex of the baby, and . . . drum roll, please . . . it's a girl! We haven't decided on a name yet (so far my boys have come up with "Wildcat" and "Little Christmas Tree); if anyone has any name suggestions, bring 'em on!

Meanwhile, wishing everyone a merry, merry and a happy, happy, and lots of great new books to read in '09.

Cheers from me and my gigantic belly,

Tash

So, I just got back from this INCREDIBLE whirlwind trip to Western Nebraska, where I met with 2,000+ 7th and 8th graders from 25 different schools. Nebraskans are some of the friendliest people I've ever met (even if they don't necessarily share my political views), and they gave me the warmest possible welcome, complete with posters made by the students (see above).

Can't wait to go back!

Honorary Corn Husker,

NKF

P.S. Check out the "Nebraska Tour" photo album in the gallery!

Photo Gallery

In response to all the enthusiastic queries about future books . . . some good news: I've completed a 286-page draft of #4, NIGHT SWIMMING, which brings Isabelle (PERFECT), Sam (LUSH), and Eyvn (BOUNCE) together at a fictitious summer camp in Maine. The bad news: the story needs a lot of revising before it's reader-ready. (Grrr.) Summer '09 was the intended release date, but now everything is getting pushed back while I decide how to proceed with revisions. In the meanwhile, I'm working on Book #5, so it's anyone's guess which will cross the finish line first--or when that finish line may materialize. Much depends on how willing my boys are to let me write this summer. My five year-old, Jack, summed it up the other day when he said, "Mommy, I want you to have a baby,and I want it to be a girl." I asked him why, and he said, "So she can write all your books while you play with us." Funny kid. But since I don't yet have a daughter to be my surrogate, I will just have to continue the precarious mom/writer juggling act until I get the job done. And I will get the job done; it's merely a matter of time!

Meanwhile, wishing everyone a great summer (let me know what you're reading!)

xoxo, Tash

Just when I thought LUSH was the poor, neglected middle child of my three literary offspring, the good news keeps on rollin'!

Thanks, Rhode Island readers!!!

Check it out. . . .

Rhode Island Teen Book Award