Cover Stories: Freefall by Mindi Scott

Mindi Scott's debut, Freefall, has already garnered some impressive praise. The New York Journal of Books says, "In a genre overloaded with bubble-gum-pink teendom and paranormal dark fantasy full of fangs and fur, Mindi Scott's debut novel Freefall stands out as fresh, realistic, young adult fiction... sure to be one of the best contemporary young adult books of the year."

Very cool. And the cover? It's stark and mysterious. Here's Mindi to share the story:

"The day I saw my cover for the first time, I kept my Twitter followers in the loop. But I was secretive about it, so they had no idea that that's what I was doing.

"After hearing a rumor that I might be seeing the cover art, I tweeted this: 'Something cool(ish) might happen today, but it probably won't. I should really unplug the internet so I stop checking my email!'

"A little more than an hour later, my editor sent an email with the subject line 'COVER!!' In her note, she mentioned that at the meeting for the sales, publishing, and marketing team, there were literal sharp intakes of breath around the room when the cover art for Freefall was

revealed.

"While preparing myself for what I was about to view, I posted this on Twitter: 'Heart is racing.'

"I clicked to download the attachment and held my breath while I waited. And then, this appeared on my screen:

"I stared at it.

"I thought: I love it!

"I thought: It's gorgeous!

"I thought: But... what does it mean?..."

Read the rest of Mindi's Cover Story at melissacwalker.com.

rgz (guest) HOST Seattle: Holly goes to Mindi Scott's FREEFALL launch!

On Sunday I put on my sparkly sweater and headed out to Mindi Scott's FREEFALL launch party at Third Place Books and came home with a stack(!) of signed books...

...alas, none of them were FREEFALL, because Mindi sold out! (Hooray, Mindi!)


But I did get to hear Mindi read from the book and hang out later with lots of cool Northwest authors - here I am with Denise Jaden (LOSING FAITH), Mindi, Kimberly Derting (THE BODY FINDER), Karen Kincy (OTHER), and Mandy Hubbard (YOU WISH):



I'm really sorry I missed Phoebe Kitanidis (WHISPER), who was kind enough to come to my Tell Me a Secret party last July even though she didn't know me from Adam. Plus I would have come home with five books! Next time, Phoebe.

Mindi contributed to my author secrets video, plus you can check out her Story Secrets interview here!

Story Secrets: FREEFALL by Mindi Scott + Giveaway!

It is my pleasure to get to introduce you to Mindi Scott, fellow 2010 debut author of FREEFALL, which comes out in just a few days! In the meantime, Mindi has generously promised a copy of FREEFALL to one lucky reader (see below for details).

I'd heard about Mindi and was so excited to find out she's a hometown Seattle girl! We met at the SCBWI Western Washington Conference last spring - in fact, you can meet Mindi in my TMAS author secrets video:

Welcome, Mindi!

*****

FREEFALL is the tale of sixteen-year-old boy, Seth McCoy, who was the last person to see his best friend alive and the first to find him dead. The story begins about two months after that event when some of the numbness is starting to wear off and Seth has to decide how to move forward with his life.


Holly Cupala: so what is the story behind the story?

Mindi Scott: My husband has been in various bands since he was in high school, so a lot of the dynamics and band details are from my observations being around musicians all the time.

Also, I have certainly experienced loss, grief, and pain. None of the character backstories in Freefall match my life, but I found it very easy to relate to some of them...

Click here to learn more about Mindi's secrets and to enter to win FREEFALL!

~Holly Cupala