Fans of HOMEBOYZ alert: I just sold a new book of YA fiction yesterday
I sold a new book proposal yesterday. Its going to be a YA book aimed at boys (particularly at reluctant readers). Truth is, I get emails all the time from fans of my book HOMEBOYZ which constantly ask for another. Well, this book isnt a sequel but its going to be just as hard-edged and raucous.
If my writing career is akin to that of a baseball pitcher, these books book are high heat!
Reaching reluctant readers has really become my lifes work. In the classroom, working with peers in the field, speaking at confs, cranking out fiction.
Im gonna keep a bunch of it under wraps right now title wont hit shelves for another 18-24 months (thats the way the world of publishing with the big houses works these days a process which I actually like) but for those who are looking for fresh new material that is gonna get that kid, that boy to engage with a text, know that I am right there with ya trying to do my darndest to rock the socks off that kid with the hope of actually flippin him into becoming a reader.
It can be done. Ive done it, seen it, know it in my bones. And when the process works, Wow the joy, magic, beauty and power of reading congeals in a way that is just tremendous.
For those who are interested in the actual behind the scenes writing process Ive got a chunk of it written and a top-notch outline in place which drew tons of praise from a host of publishers, but at the end of the day, I am gonna do it under the Hyperion banner. (i.e. Disney which means this will now be my 8th book with them. Essentially my editor at Disney is just so amazing that the grass is not nor will ever be greener. Im really fortunate in this regard.)
Stay tuned more to come as things evolve.
