Latest Authorish Stuff

Thought I'd give an update today on all things author.

1. I received the schedule for my prepublicity buzz tour for THE MAZE RUNNER! It's gonna be a hectic five days, but I absolutely can't wait. I'm flying to San Francisco on Sunday, be there Monday, then Seattle on Tuesday, Chicago on Wednesday, Washington DC on Thursday, then back home on Friday. My day in SLC will be on June 4th.

2. I just want to give a shout out to all those booksellers, librarians, and educators who have RSVPed for the dinners in each city. I was very impressed with the list and can't wait to meet all of you! If you happen to stumble onto my blog before I come, say hi in the comments.

3. Each day I'll be meeting with a school group of 7th and 8th graders who have read the book. I'm excited to meet you guys too! And I really hope you don't think my book sucks. If you do, please tell me nicely. Like, "Mr. Dashner, I mean, James? Can I call you James? Yes, well, your book sucks. In a good way."

4. Did you know that publishers treat you like royalty when you go on one of these tours? I know I never grew up, but this is just too cool. Fancy hotels, fancy restaurants. Words like "your driver" and "media escort." I have a feeling I'll spend the whole week thinking they surely picked up the wrong guy. But I won't tell anybody! All I can say is I'm beyond honored, so THANK YOU Random House.

5. I'll try to blog each day of the tour. I'll try very hard. It'll be fun for you guys to get a glimpse into what it's like. So stay tuned in next week!

6. I've been through the second draft of the sequel (THE SCORCH TRIALS) up to about 100 pages. In all honesty, I'm very, very pleased. And relieved. Still some work to do, but it's pretty solid. Anyone who likes MAZE is gonna love this second one. In my humble opinion.

7. RH asked me to write a letter to booksellers to send along with my ARC. I thought that was kinda cool. I basically talked about how MAZE was influenced by ENDER'S GAME and LORD OF THE FLIES. And that despite the darkness along the way, my story is really about hope. Too cheesy?

8. For those of you going to BEA (Book Expo America) in NY at the end of the month, I will be doing two signings. Both are on Friday: 11:00 in the RH booth for MAZE, and at 1:30 on the autograph floor for THE 13TH REALITY (Book 1 to get some new exposure). Then the Buzz Forum is at 2:30 that same day, where Krista Marino (my editor) will be doing a presentation on MAZE. I'll be there the whole three days, so come find me!

9. I recently discovered a song that, for some reason, perfectly describes the mood and feel of SCORCH. You should go listen to it on iTunes or whatever. It's called EPIPHANY by Staind.

10. Seems like there was something else. Hmmm. If I remember, I'll come back and put it here.

11. The world won't know about them for another year and a half, but you should be afraid of Cranks. You should be very, very afraid.