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The following story, to be told over the 12 days leading up to Christmas, is from a picture book manuscript I wrote years ago. I finally decided to post it here for all of you, and a friend agreed to draw me an elf for each day. Every morning, the latest installment will be added to the bottom of this post.

Enjoy!

12 days before Christmas the elves were running 'round
loading up the sleigh with lots of toys.

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Schools also used the concepts of forgiveness and reaching out to others for projects, like writing encouraging thoughts...


...and words of kindness on thematic art hung throughout the library.


Bookstores got into the theme, as well. Many offered hot cocoa (with the WHAT LIGHT hot cocoa packets my publisher provided), to be stirred with candycanes like Sierra does in the book.




So about that research trip...

The idea for WHAT LIGHT came from a newspaper article about a family that lives seventeen hours to the north of me, but for one month a year, they turn this local lot...


...into this Christmas tree paradise!


I visited the Hopper Bros. farm and received a tour by the owner, Dennis (who makes a cameo in my book as the owner of the other tree lot in town). Before I went on my research trip, I read a few books on growing and selling Christmas trees so I could ask specific questions instead of merely getting a feel for the basics.


Something that makes me feel like a professional author is when I don't write interesting details I've learned that won't add to the feel or progress of the story. But I learned so much! And while I didn't use the majority of what I learned, the mere confidence I gained to write about people who live this life most definitely made it into the book.




It just took me more years than I expected.

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In earlier trips to the area, I never got to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but this time I was determined to change that. So I did! And I got to see one of Slash's hats...


and Bruce's outfit from his Born in the U.S.A. album cover...


and the scribbled lyrics to Jimi's originally titled "Purple Haze Jesus Saves".


But in beweent the Christmas house and the hall of rock, I visited Holy Name High School in Parma Heights.


And they had some of the best questions. There were questions about character motivation, my own take-away from my books, and even a request to try to get Selena Gomez as some dude's prom date.


Then I had snacks and further conversation with 13 students. (The number 13 was just a coincidence...they said.)


The first presentation I went to was for Kid Chef Eliana. She is an incredible presenter...


and a delicious cook! I had her book Cool Kids Cook: Fresh and Fit signed for Isaiah.


One of the most entertaining while educational presentations I've seen was Nathan Hale's discussion of his "Hazardous Tales" series. Is there any better combination than hilarious and historical? I mean, if Nathan and Eliana did a program together, that would unbeatable!


I gave a keynote presentation, which is always fun (though slightly intimidating when other authors are present), where I got to get rid of more packets of my What Light hot chocolate in exchange for questions.

That was followed by a panel about social media with Julie Murphy and Kelsey Macke. So this pic, I guess, is Murphy, Mac and Me!

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Scrolling through the Publishers Weekly Fall 2016 Children’s Books issue, these are the soon-to-be released and recently released middle-grade and teen novels that most grabbed my attention:

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I snapped a photo of it and emailed it to my publisher and editor. I'll admit, I did not do the best job in telling them how I thought the image of the girl would be enhanced by adding light "flares" or "bursts" or "shimmers" or whatever I called them. And their casual response echoed that I did not describe my vision well enough to convince them.

So I had to show them.

To repeat myself, thankfully, it was winter. That meant I didn't have to climb into the garage attic to fetch a string of Christmas lights, I could simply untangle them from the tree! Then I pulled up the original design onto my laptop, which has a reflective screen, plugged in the lights, and snapped a photo of the cover that included reflected light flares/bursts/shimmers.


And I emailed them this...


Thank you, Theresa Evangelista, for working on this cover, which I absolutely love! It represents a book exactly like the one I wrote.

If you'd like to know what What Light is about, or pre-order it, here's a link!

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The morning of the conference, I strolled their Farmers' Market.


Beautiful. Cozy. And the conference itself? Amazing, for so many reasons!

This was the first Read Up, Greenville festival, and I have no doubt it will continue on. It needs to! These teen book festivals are popping up around the country, keeping people inspired to read at a critical time in their lives.

Thankfully, I get to be inspired, too!

I got to hear a keynote from Holly Goldberg Sloan, an author who's also written some great screenplays.


I finally got to hear the powerful presentation of Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely for their book, All American Boys, after following their travels online for the past year.


Another very fun and informative panel featured people who work at Penguin Random House Audio. We also got to hear from a couple actors who narrate for them, Kirby Heyborne and January LaVoy. One activity requiring audience participation prompted Jason, Brendan, and I to give our best impressions of happy cows.

That evening, the speakers were treated to a great meal, hosted at the beautiful bookstore, M. Judson Books. There, I was fortunate enough to sit beside and chat with the super-smart-but-makes-you-feel-smart-too Jennifer Lynn Barnes, an author I somehow haven't crossed paths with since shortly after her first book came out.


That evening, as everyone was winding down, some of us stayed up late in the hotel lobby. There, something happened that never even crossed my mind as a series of words I could one day string into a sentence: I got a tarot reading from Maggie Stiefvater.

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I had dinner with an author I haven't had a chance to hang out with before, Jenny Han. Chatting one-on-one with someone I've never really spoken with can be difficult for a shy, introverted, small-talk-fumbling guy like me. But I completely enjoyed--and learned from--our freewheeling discussion of writing, promotion, race, gender issues, politics and religion. Yes, we absolutely went there in our very first conversation. And we left as friends!

Plus, the food was delicious. Delicious! This wooden bowl is holding BBQ carrots. I know, they look all...whaaaaaa???...but they tasted like...mmmmmm!!!


Other wonderful authors whose books I've read that I dined with but was too dumb to document with a pic: Jennifer Snow, Heather Davis, and Sally Kilpatrick.



An exciting aspect of this conference was running into authors who had read my books and had teenagers back home who had also read my books. So they sent pics to their daughters to make them jealous!



Here's the larger group of YA authors I had the opportunity to hang out with at the conference.

Hopefully I'll see you all next year in Orlando!

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Still work!

Sadly, I am not a beach dude. Beaches are so...sandy. And if you get in the water, when you get out, that sand sticks to you. And the sun is so...hot.

My wife and my son, they love the beach. So when I sent them the pics from above, they both said they would be very upset if I came home without getting in that beautiful water. But as I told them, which is the same as I told you, this was a work visit. I wasn't there to play!

Plus, I didn't bring my swim shorts.

First order of business, I was interviewed by a local newspaper. And they brought a photographer with them. But I can not help it that this was the backdrop...




Yes, it was a small store (hence, the Boutique part of the name), but still!

I began by reading a couple of pages as Clay's character from Thirteen Reasons Why, and was soon joined by a girl from the audience who read the part of Hannah.


Then I spoke a bit about the writing for that book, and The Future of Us, and told them about the October release of What Light. During the Q&A part of my visit, I gave out packets of What Light hot cocoa mix.


They were an amazing audience! I had a great time, and would love to come back.

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A couple years ago, I posted about a YA writing retreat I attended. I wasn't able to attend their retreat last year, but this year they held it in Orlando. Though I couldn't hang out with them as much as last time, I did meet up with the authors for dinner. Kristin Harmel brought make-up bags for everyone, featuring our latest book release. But I've been using mine to carry Sharpies for autographing.


I drove a couple librarians to the site of the Pulse tragedy. People were crying and praying, in groups and alone. The air was so hot and humid, and the terror of what happened in that small building behind the fence was crushing.


Conversations about these events continued throughout the week, but the publishing world also pushed forward.


At the ABC Children's Institute, part of the American Booksellers Association, Penguin held a dinner for several independent booksellers from around the country. To celebrate the upcoming releases of The Inquisitor's Tale by Adam Gidwitz and What Light, the menu was styled as if we were dining at Jay & Adam's Evergreen Tavern.


Most of my Orlando events were later in the week at the American Library Association conference. One event was a pizza party attended by many authors and a whole lot of teens. Each author sat at a table-o-teens for several minutes to discuss their latest books, and then moved to the next table-o-teens where the pitch was repeated. During that time, the teens dines and the authors attempted. This is what I'd been able to eat after a few rounds.


Later, when Greg Neri tried to steal my man-purse (I mean, Sharpie container), my wrist held strong!


There were several restrooms marked for men and women around the convention, but this was the first event where I've seen a couple opened as gender-neutral. I was curious as to how people would react. Truly, it was kind of beautiful to see people notice the sign, shrug (if they offered a reaction at all), and head on in to take care of their natural business. After the nearby Pulse tragedy, it felt like an especially huge deal. After having lunch with my author friend Amber Hart and gonna-be author friend Tori Kelley, we wanted to get a pic at the entrance to this ALA awesomeness.


It's always flattering when people fanboy and fangirl while getting an autograph. Myself, I did plenty of fanboying at ALA. I mean...it's Anne M. Martin! Not only is she the author behind The Baby-Sitters Club series, but she's bringing one of my favorite series back-to-life. While I read about Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle growing up, today's kids will get to read those same books, but also new ones about her niece, Missy Piggle-Wiggle.


I finally got to meet a friend of some of my author friends, Amy Lukaviks, who writes creepy and scary books. That--be prepared!--is a bucket-list genre for me, too.


I also got to meet a man whose commentaries I always enjoy, Roger Sutton, editor of The Horn Book. If you don't read Roger, you should!


PIP (People In Publishing) always laugh at me for assuming other PIP won't know who I am. But, whatever! It makes it that much more exciting for me when people do know who I am. Simply asking for a selfie for this blog post, I had a couple of those exciting moments when I met Daniel Handler (a.k.a. Lemony Snicket)...


...and Kwame Alexander.


Actually, I already knew Kwame knew who I was, but only because of a freak-out fanboy moment I had earlier on Twitter.


Dude. I mean, just...dude!

I took part in another table-hopping pitch fest, but this time with librarians and many more authors. Check out all these story-scribblers!



For my final event before heading to the airport, I had a book signing at a table next to Grace Lin, which allowed me to get another great book signed for my son.


Books I had signed and personalized to me were Ashes by Laurie Halse Anderson, Gertie's Leap to Greatness by Kate Beasley, Poppy Mayberry, the Monday by Jennie Brown, The Inquisitor's Tale by Adam Gidwitz, The Edge of Everything by Jeff Giles, Diabolic by S.J. Kincaid, The Women in the Walls by Amy Lukavics, The Homecoming by Stacie Ramey, and The Changelings by Christina Soontornvat.


Books I had signed for my son were Whoosh! by Chris Barton, illustrated by Don Tate, Ling & Ting: Together in All Weather by Grace Lin, Missy Piggle-Wiggle and the Whatever Cure by Ann M. Martin and Annie Parnell, and Poet: The Remarkable Story of George Moses Horton written and illustrated by Don Tate.

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And here's what it says:


Dear Readers,

     Since the debut of my first novel, Thirteen Reasons Why, the themes of hope and forgiveness have been at the center of my interactions with teens. Many have told me they finally felt understood within the pages of that book, even if it could never reflect all parts of their lives. Others, while they could appreciate the book, didn't see it as a reflection of their experiences. A novel about their lives, sadly, would not get hailed as "a brave, honest look at the teen years." So, after a recent book tour that had me speaking to such a variety of students in all fifty states, I felt drawn to explore hope and forgiveness again, but in a new way.
     The story of What Light has been glowing in my mind for a long time. I read a newspaper profile about a family with a Christmas tree farm in Oregon. Every year, they hauled the trees south and sold them on a lot where I live in California. The part of their story that stood out most concerned their children. When not selling trees, they attended a nearby public school or hung out with friends. When the holiday was over, the whole family went back home. Two sets of friends? A defined timeline? There had to be a story there! But it would take about a dozen years before I found it.
     I continuously brainstormed and took notes even after I began work on Thirteen Reasons Why. That book describes the suicide of someone who lost hope in the future and was unable to forgive the past, though hope and forgiveness are found by someone left behind. If I were to address those themes a second time, I wanted to bookend them in an uplifting story about love.
     I looked closer at my notes for What Light and saw that potential. It would let me revisit many similar issues, but through different lenses. Love rather than hurt. Overcoming rather than succumbing. Forgiveness--especially the forgiveness of self--rather than guilt.
     I wrote this book for the teens I've met who've had too many dark days but hold on to hope that things can get better. And I wrote it for the teens I've met who have mostly good days but who still encounter sadness and difficult decisions.
     It is a story I've wanted to share for a long time: What Light.

With gratitude,
Jay Asher



You can find out more about What Light, or pre-order it, by clicking here.

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Where you can find me in the next few weeks:

894 Marsh Street

San Luis Obispo, California

1pm

(for booksellers)

Orlando, Florida

June 25-26

American Library Association Conference

(for librarians)

Orlando, Florida


Plus, a video I love about six
awesome upcoming books!
(Mine, What Light, is the last one discussed.)

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Above, the city of Tallinn looks very modern, which it is. After all, Skype was invented in Estonia! Sadly, for a country with a history much older than the U.S., most of its historical buildings have been destroyed over the centuries by the many countries who have occupied this area. But what has survived is beautiful.


The following pic was taken on my second day, after driving to the city of Tartu for my first event. The people who helped organize much of my trip include Triin Toomesaar (executive director at KiVa), Annika Aas (librarian), and Tiiu Vitsut (from the U.S. Embassy).


I was one of three speakers at the opening ceremony of the 13th Tartu International Literary Festival Prima Vista. (13th. I know!) But before the speakers began, they had a very weird...but also cool (but very weird)...artsy thing going on with a man in a bathrobe who sang and flipped through an atlas while another man played the piano and a synthesizer. And all of this happened while a green flame burned on top of a cart, of course. It was very Northern European and very cool...but weird.


I was asked to follow that up with a few minutes talking about whatever I wanted, though it should fit this year's festival theme: Mystification. I was followed by Eugen Ruge, a writer from Germany. He was followed by Viktor Yerofeyev, a writer from Russia. And then the festival was underway!

We exited the room so that it could be made a little less atmospheric, and then I spoke to an audience about Thirteen Reasons Why. While I spoke, a handful of attendees wore headphones so a translator sitting in a nearby booth could translate my words into Estonian.



I didn't know it, but the Estonian publisher of that novel was in attendance! So this is the guy originally responsible for me being invited over.



And this reader brought her Russian edition to be signed, which was also a first. And this particular Russian  cover I actually had never seen.



Then I was given a tour of the city. Apparently there are several of these rectangular yellow art structures around town, which you can swivel to frame things like they're on a National Geographic cover, such as this leaning building.




As I told the students in Narva, if I had known while writing this book that it would one day bring me to speak at a college in Estonia, introduced by U.S. Ambassador, James D. Melville, I probably would have puked. But that happened! (The speaking, not the puking.)


Narva is so close to Russia, about half of the students here listened through headphones as my words were translated into Russian.


This reader had me sign the first version of this Russian edition.


The history of Estonia is fascinating. Seriously, look into it! They've only had a few decades of independence in their long history, most recently gaining it back in 1991. Because of Narva's proximity to Russia, and the majority of its citizens speaking Russian as their first language, most things are printed in both Estonian and Russian, such as these posters for my visit.


How close is Russia? In the following pic, I'm standing in Estonia, and the castle across the river is Russian. That's pretty close!

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In my li'l rental car, in which I swoop through areas where I'm speaking to see as many local oddities as I can, I caught a distant ark being built. This isn't being built for a flood, but as a duplicate to one used during a well-known Biblical flood in an attraction called Ark Encounter. Still, if it starts raining a lot, I know where I'm heading!


As the following road sign proves, if there's anything Kentucky is known for besides horse racing, it's bourbon.


Every few years, I'll take a sip from a shotglass to see if I've finally acquired the taste buds for "adult" beverages. The answer is always an instantaneous "No!" Still, I wanted to check out some of the nearby distilleries due to regional curiosity. But before driving out to any of them, I did more of what I was there for. This time, the seats were filled at Bardstown Middle School.




If you've ever seen their bottles, they're distinctive because of the dripping red wax on the neck. I learned that those drips are trademarked! Here's what it looks like when the wax-less bottles arrive, get dipped, and then set back on the conveyor belt.




The next day, I began my journey to Bowling Green, which should have taken an hour and a half. It turned into an all-day adventure as I kept finding road signs luring me to amazing destinations. For example, the land once owned by the following family.


The Lincoln's lived here for the first two years of Abraham's life. They drew their water from this very spring!

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Another student designed this poster in the library.


The office door in the library was full of positive notes left by students and faculty.





Then...time to speak again!



Before I left, I was taken on a tour of decorated classroom doors that won a school-wide contest.

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I shared my author experience with two groups of students in the theater, and led a workshop on writing suspense to a smaller group of writers.


The "green room" was backstage, where departing theater students had left messages on the walls for future students. I love the sentiment below.


The next day, I spoke at Grayslake North High School's Spark Week. Here, many types of arts are explored with many speakers and performers.


At one of my presentations, I was introduced by two students who sang while one of them played the ukulele. I love ukulele! I own a ukulele! This student, though, played her ukulele much better than me. And both students sang much better than me. But, whatever...


Another one of my presentations had me introduced by an accordion and singing pirates. In this case, I have no relation to either the accordion or pirates.


I'm seeing these Writers Week and Spark Week ideas pop up more and more throughout the country, and I really hope it keeps growing. And I hope they keep inviting me!



Next year's prank is already being planned.

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Every so often, a reader tells me their impression of something I wrote in a way that deepens my own understanding of my own words. Someone in Florida once told me how a decision one of my characters made helped her illustrate a sentiment she'd been trying to get across to her friends.

Here's what she told me:

In the past, I've had to help friends realize that life goes on even after you've made a poor decision. Not because you move on or get over it, but because you grow as a result of it. You build something new, something with a higher purpose, using what you've learned as one of your bricks.

When I read that, my heart leapt! Since there was no way I could say it any better, I immediately knew I'd be using her words in future speeches...and blog posts.

So what does this have to do with Easter?

One of the most beautiful ideas surrounding this holiday is that we're all given an opportunity to make corrections if we find ourselves traveling down a road we don't want to (or shouldn't) be on. In fact, we're given this opportunity to change every day. Every second! But sometimes we need a calendar to remind us.

Refresh. Repair. Rebirth. Whatever you want to call it...

Renewal is a wonderful blessing!

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• #1 New York Times bestseller
• over 2.5 million copies in print in the U.S.
• translated into 35 languages worldwide
• in production as a 13-episode series for Netflix (Tom McCarthy, director of Spotlight, recipient of the Academy Award for Best Picture, will direct the first two episodes; Brian Yorkey, Pulitzer Prize winning writer of Next to Normal, is the series creator and lead writer; executive producers: Steve Golin, Selena Gomez, Kristil Laiblin, Tom McCarthy, Diana Son, Michael Sugar, Kristen Teefey, Mandy Teefey, Joy Gorman Wettels, Brian Yorkey)

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The book festival has grown a lot since my visit four years ago. For example, hashtags and selfies are much more common. In fact, many of the pics I'll post below were found using #OntarioTBF. And if you were a reader attending the festival who wanted selfies with authors, even if they were speaking you could get one!


A few times, unlike the photo above, actual versions of the authors could also be found in the same place.

Virginia Boecker, Kristin Halbrook, Mary McCoy, B.T. Gottfred, Robin Reul,
Jessica Brody, Stephanie Diaz, Sara Elizabeth Santana,
Nicole Maggi, E. Katherine Kotaras, Marrisa Meyer


There were three panels that attendees could attend in the morning. Unfortunately, I only got to attend one. Fortunately, I got to be on it!


Full bellies make authors very happy.

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Browsing through the Spring 2016 Children’s Books issue of Publishers Weekly, these are the recently released (or soon-to-be released) middle-grade and teen novels that most grabbed my attention:

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I gave my first author talk eight-and-a-half years ago, so it's rare to see something done for the very first time. But at this library, they labeled the refreshment stations after places in Thirteen Reasons Why! The coffee table became Monet's Garden...


...and if you wanted a root beer float, you went to Rosie's Diner.



The audience was great, which isn't unusual...thankfully!



But I was especially grateful to have such a good audience for this visit. This was my first talk where I was able to mention two exciting career developments. As you can see by the screen behind me, I can now talk about three books: Thirteen Reasons Why, The Future of Us, and What Light, which comes out this October!



Maybe the next time I speak I'll have even more news to share!

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If you follow me on Twitter, you already know that I get very excited to watch the Academy Awards each year. Not just because I get to eat my traditional pint of Ben and Jerry's Chubby Hubby, but because I'm also a movie freak!

One of my not-so-secret fantasies is to one day write an Oscar-nominated screenplay. If that happens, and I get the chance to walk the red carpet, the question then becomes What will I wear? Or What shall I do with my hair?

So, with the help of InStyle's Hollywood Makeover, I decided to try on some hairdos of the nominated actresses of 2016...

Cate Blanchett for Carol:

Jennifer Lawrence for Joy:

Rachel McAdams for Spotlight:

Kate Winslet for Steve Jobs:

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