One of the most common questions young readers ask authors is, “Will your book be made into a movie?” or “Can I be in the movie version of your book?”

As of today, the answers to those questions are, “YES!” and “MAYBE!”

Well, the yes is kind of a maybe too.

See, filmmakers have optioned the movie rights to my first book, BUTTER, a few times, but nothing ever came of it until now. A few years back, director/producer Paul Kaufman reached out to me asking about the film rights to BUTTER. The film option was tied up with someone else at that time and would be for at least another year. Disappointing timing, as Kaufman seemed like the better fit. However, he remained interested and was tenacious about seeking the option. A year later, when the other contract expired, Kaufman picked it up. I was thrilled!

More exciting still, he sought my consultation on the script, a courtesy many authors do not get when their books make the leap to film. The current script is very faithful to the book, and the few changes are appropriate – so much so that at least one change I really wish I could write into the book!

So, after working on the script, I still did not get my hopes up. Hollywood seems to move even slower than publishing, and a lot of things can go wrong in the journey to make a movie. Instead of speculating or hoping, I buried myself in drafting my next book, THE CHAOS OF NOW. But while I was writing, Kaufman was working! And it looks like Butter’s story has a fighting shot of making it to screen.

Here is a link to the movie website, including a nationwide casting call underway for the lead character of Butter!

I hear that in Hollywood, there is no guarantee a film will get made until it’s actually, well, made. But I’m letting myself get my hopes up… just a little.

It’s 2018, and that means The Chaos of Now comes out THIS YEAR! I can’t wait to share Eli’s story, and I’m thrilled that I no longer have to wait to share the COVER for this book. I’ve been sitting on it for months, and I can finally reveal it. Later this month, I’ll have an excerpt here as well.

So, without any further drum roll, here it is… the cover for The Chaos of Now, coming fall 2018.

 

I have spent the past year and a half cuddled up with three things… my two new baby girls and a manuscript for my fourth novel. Somewhere in that 18 months, the babies became toddlers and the manuscript became a book.

Today, I’m excited to share the title of that book!

The CHAOS of NOW

The Chaos of Now is the story of Eli, a teen coder who gets roped into a dangerous hack.

Eli Bennett is coasting through high school, barely looking up from his computer and doing his best to ignore the rest of the world. But it’s hard to tune out the offer he gets when he meets fellow hackers, Seth and Mouse.

They invite Eli to join their team for a prestigious coding competition, after losing their last teammate in an explosive suicide that made national headlines and triggered strict new laws on internet bullying.

It soon it becomes clear that Seth and Mouse are after more than winning a competition—they’re seeking revenge for their friend. To get that revenge, they’ll need Eli’s help subverting the new cyber laws, but Eli is hiding a dangerous secret of his own that could lead to even more trouble if he isn’t careful.

In a story about the shift of power from those who rule at school to those who rule online, the line between bully and victim blurs. And Eli, whose coding skilled have taught him to make order out of chaos, will find the real world is a little harder to control.

The Chaos of Now is due out in Fall 2018. It also has an awesome cover in the works that I hope to share in the new year, so more to come!

Well, I clearly haven’t gotten around to filling in my old posts, in the wake of the great website crash of 2017, but instead of the old, here’s something new… and FREE!

To celebrate the paperback release of REBEL BULLY GEEK PARIAH, I am giving away 5 signed copies. Enter Here:

I’ve been in my writing cave for a couple of months, but now that I’ve come up for air, I plan to finish updating this site, and hopefully, I will have some exciting news to share soon….