Book an Author Visit

WHO: Things Change, Nailed, and Cheated are intended for high school students, although the core audience is 9th and 10th graders. Chasing Tail Lights works best with 11th graders. The key to any good author visit is having student familiar with the book, thus I would like to present to one or two classes (no large presentations) with an interest in teen fiction and/or creative writing.

WHAT:   Presentation teaches about writing fiction, involves students in creating a story, and provides opportunity for students to ask questions about and/or publishing.   Teachers might also want to prepare the class using book discussion questions.  Things Change also lends itself to discussion of issue of dating violence in high school.

WHEN:    I'm available anytime during the school year, but prefer presentations on Mondays or Fridays.  I would prefer to do no more than four presentations in one day.

HOW:   Contact me  (patrick@connectingya.com) to arrange details.  Fee is negotiable.  The most important thing is getting books for students to read in advance. Things Change is in paperback with a list price of $7.99, while Nailed is only in hardback listing at $16.99. Books are available at 40% discount by contacting:

Erin Hendricks
Von Holtzbrinck Publishing Services Special Sales
Tel:  646-307-5370
e-mail:  erin.hendricks@hbpub.com

Please provide, on school or library letterhead, complete information about the date of visit, number of books needed, etc.   Ms Heusel will work with you on all the details, including working with a local book store.  You can, of course, also order materials through your regular book jobber such as Ingram, BWI, or Baker & Taylor.

WHAT NEXT? 
The number of books and how they are distributed is your call.  Some options are:

1. Purchase enough copies for students attending presentation to read, then keep at the school.
2. Purchase enough copies for students attending presentation to read, then allow students to have books autographed and keep these copies for themselves.
3. Obtain enough copies for students attending presentation to read, but then allow them to buy copies if they wish to have book autographed then keep
4. Purchase copies for the library or the classroom to circulate among students, then sell or ?raffle? off copies for students to keep
5. Purchase copies for the library or the classroom to circulate among students, then sell or ?raffle? off copies for students to keep, but then have for additional books for sale for students to keep on day of presentation.
6. As part of the visit, distribute order slips for students to order books from staff member. Staff member will collect money and order books. I?ll autograph book plates with student?s names to put in books when they arrive.

ONE TEACHER?S COMMENTS
?As a high school teacher, I assigned this book for reading in a literature circle. One of my male non readers was sitting in the hallway while an almost non reader (also male) was reading aloud. They were hanging on every word, and trying desperately to finish the book in time for the discussion. I almost cried to think that they finally had found something that made them want to read. When everyone had finished the book, the discussion was lively, animated, and the book had appealed to both males and females, something that is a bit rare for this age group.   Another student even wrote a note thanking me for letting her read a book which because of its realistic character portrayals helped her see herself through someone else's eyes.  Forced to read the book, I was cringing, as I hate YA literature. What a delight to learn that this was a novella that would not be put down. I found myself carrying it around all day until I was finished. Jones obviously has some talent for creating realistic characters, realistic situations, and a plot that enthralls readers.?