I’m Writing More Books! Announcing: MILBOURN FALLS!
I’ve been sitting on this super happy-making news for exactly a month, and I am so happy to finally share:
In case you can’t read the eensy print, that says: Jessica Spotswood’s MILBOURN FALLS, about the summer a girl must contend with her family’s legacy of women who are cursed or crazy, the return of the mother who abandoned her, and the tattooed poet who helps her decide what kind of woman she wants to be, to Annette Pollert-Morgan at Sourcebooks, in a two-book deal, by Jim McCarthy at Dystel & Goderich Literary Management (World).
Which means: more books! I get to write more books! Yay!!
MILBOURN FALLS is still very much a work-in-progress (it sold on proposal) so I don’t want to say too much about it yet. But I will share my Pinterest inspiration board! You can check it out here. Let me know what you think!
MILBOURN FALLS is a standalone; the second book in the contract will be another, unrelated contemporary YA. This is a very different project for me – no magic! Contemporary! Standalone! But for those of you who loved the Cahill Witch Chronicles, there are some similarities – a maybe-cursed family history; complicated sisterly dynamics; a hot bookish boy (in this case, a boy covered in tattoos that are snippets of poems) and kissing.
And Ivy, the girl – I can’t wait for you all to meet Ivy! I’m still kind of getting to know her myself, but I find her and the summer before her senior year pretty fascinating.
Let’s see…what else can I tell you?
We’re hoping it will be out in spring 2016. Right after the PETTICOATS & PISTOLS anthology. So I won’t have a book out in 2015 (except the SISTERS’ FATE paperback, which will be out May 5) — but then I’ll have TWO out in 2016!
I am so excited to be working with Annette and Sourcebooks on this. They do some of my favorite contemporary YA (see: my friend Miranda Kenneally’s awesome books). And I am so happy to get to write this book. To write more books at all.
The last year has been hard. The hardest I have personally ever been through. I wrote about my anxiety & depression here. There were so many days I felt just utterly, illogically hopeless. But now – I get to edit an amazing anthology. I get to write more books. I found out just yesterday that I got a part-time job as a library associate at the DC Public Library! For the first time in what feels like a really long time, I am more excited than scared about the future.
Anyway, if you want to sign up for my brand new newsletter, you can do that here. I’ll be sending out the very first one next week and sharing a little more about the inspiration behind MILBOURN FALLS (including which YA novel made me want to write my own book set in a house by the sea)!
Also, if you are in the DC area, I have TWO book events with some fantastic authors coming up next week – one in Arlington and one in Bethesda! Check out my events page for all the details.
IM SO HAPPY FOR YOU JESSICA!!!! CONGRATS! The synopsis you wrote sounds AMAZING! I am so so excited and yeay! welcome to sourcebooks! I love Miranda Kenneally's books and I'm SO excited for a contemporary from you! and congrats on the job too!!
Thanks so much, Juhina! I love Miranda's books – I'm one of her CPs – and I'm so excited to have the same editor as her!
I'm so deeply happy for you, Jess.
Thank you, April! 🙂
I’m so excited about new books from you!! Many congrats! <3 I'm also psyched that things are going so well for you — it's much deserved!
Thanks so much, Ashley!
Congrats, Jess! Wonderful news!
Thank you, Lydia! 🙂
CONGRATS! I'm super excited, even more so now that I've seen your Ivy inspiration board!! Glass! Boys with tattoos!
Thanks, Jennie! I love boys with tattoos. 🙂
Congratulations on two book deal!
Thank you, Petra! 🙂
HURRAY for all sorts of good news!!! Looking forward to the new books. 🙂
Thank you, Annie! 🙂
Hurray! I can't wait to read the book and the anthology!
Thank you, Alicia! 🙂
I am sooooo glad this news is finally public and so glad that we've been able to support each other during our scary on-submission periods. You deserve all this and more 😀
Also…tattoos that are snippets of poems???? I'm just going to claim this boy right now. (Did you hear that, Stacee??)
Thank you, P! I appreciate all your support so much. Here's to many more sales in our futures! (And I think you'll like Connor.)
Badass. This new project sounds awesome. Congrats!
Thanks so much, Joanna!
Jessica, I am so happy for you! And so happy for us readers who get to read more of your amazing work! I'm so glad the tides are turning for you, and I wish much success with this new deal. Can't wait to hear more! Many blessings!
Thanks so much, Anna! <3
Oh. My. Glob. I can’t wait!!! And spring of 2016? That will be around the time of my 17th birthday! I have been waiting for you to say you were writing more books! And from the description I have a feeling I’m going to like it! I can’t wait! <3 You are honestly one of my favorite authors! I'm so happy for you! 🙂