Hey! When did authors go from being faceless loners to self-promoting public figures with state-of-the-art websites, publicists, blogs, twitter, billboards, and (coming soon, no doubt) skywriting? Maybe it all started with Mark Twain, but things have gotten a lot more intense in recent years, and this may well be the source of my identity crisis.
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October 1
On October 8 at 6:00 pm I will be yakking and signing books at The Red Balloon in St. Paul, Minnesota. The splendiferous Erin Soderberg Downing will be joining me to talk about her North Shore adventure, Just Keep Walking.
Breaking News! Answers to Dog got a nice starred review from Publishers Weekly:
A wily border collie shakes up a boy’s quiet life in this finely tuned, heartfelt novel by Hautman (The Rat Queen). Eighth grader Evan and his distracted parents lead a monotonous existence following a daily routine that includes a strictly regimented dinner menu and not much fun. He finds release in running, something that feels “effortless” to him, but when a white dog with two different-colored eyes and one black ear starts joining in his after-school jogs, Evan’s world expands in a multitude of memorable ways. Via Evan and the pup’s alternating POVs, Hautman weaves a slice-of-life tale populated by distinctively rendered characters living in a vividly described semi-rural backdrop. As the scrappy dog journeys through farm and wood, bolts across highways, and escapes capture by an animal control officer, Evan helps shut down an abusive, disreputable dog breeder, makes a new pooch-obsessed friend, and learns more about his mother and father as they rediscover their zest for living. True-to-life moments of humor and pathos further ground a story that’s sure to win attention from misfits and dog people of all stripes.
Ages 9–12.
LA Times
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GINGER IS BACK! Ginger Crump and her fiancé-to-be Billy are back in another near-future (tomorrow!) adventure set in Flinkwater, Iowa, home of the world’s largest robot manufacturer. Ginger is fourteen now, and she figures she can handle anything. After all, she’s dealt with sasquatches, zombies, talking monkeys, computer-induced comas, and other everyday oddities. So when folks in Flinkwater begin to lose their memories she figures it’s no big deal…until her own boyfriend forgets who she is. To make matters worse, a mysterious censor has hacked every single digital copy of Charlotte’s Web by taking out all the talking animals and replacing them with human characters—and Ginger is only halfway done with the book! Will Ginger be forced to read a book printed on pulverized dead trees? And where will she find such a thing in futuristic, digitalized Flinkwater? Will Billy ever remember her? Will she ever find out what happens to Charlotte and Wilbur? What will happen when Ginger herself comes face to face with the Forgetting Machine? Click here for the BEST BOOK VIDEO EVER! I am not kidding. This is great! ________________________________________________________
Check out these starred reviews from
School Library Journal and Booklist. Read sample chapters here. Buy the book. Below is an unboxing video the like of which you've never seen before. My publisher has a wicked sense of humor. Fortunately, I had a chainsaw.
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School Visits & SkypesYes, I do school visits, in person or via Skype. Lots of them. If I didnt, how would I meet my readers?
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO. Sorry, I do not Twitter anymore. The site has turned to trash.
...where I talk about things like cooking, writing, and mushrooms. Click!
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