HearthFire Books - "He Said, She Said" National Tour

The ?HE SAID, SHE SAID? Author Road Show RANDOM HOUSE WRITING COUPLE ON NATIONAL BOOK TOUR WHO: Wendelin Van Draanen: an award-winning author of more than 30 books for children and young adults, including FLIPPED, which became a 2010 Warner Brothers feature film, and the Sammy Keyes mystery series, now 18 books strong. Mark Huntley Parsons: a long-time non-fiction writer, and now the author of ROAD RASH, a band-on-the-road YA adventure. WHAT: Road Trip Tour focusing on Independent Bookstores across the USA PROGRAM: For kids, teens, adults; readers, writers, dreamers. Mark & Wendelin will discuss books, writing, and how they survive sharing an office. They will also share how they juggled fulltime jobs and raising children as they worked toward publication. ?Everyone has a dream. We want to remind people that they can come true.? Random House, New York PUBLICIST: Lydia Finn: phone: 212.572.6014 e-mail: lfinn@randomhouse.com On the Road DIRECT LINE to Authors for Interviews, etc. Cell: 805.748.6466 / 6463 e-mail: shreddergirl@charter.net Follow The Tour: He Said: @MarkHParsons She Said: @WendelinVanD PRAISE FOR SAMMY KEYES ?The hottest sleuth to appear in children?s books since Nancy Drew.? ? The Boston Globe ?One of the most loveable sleuths around.? ? School Library Journal "The most winning junior detective ever in teen lit. (Take that, Nancy Drew!)" ? Midwest Book Review ?Sammy Keyes will endure for generations. Case closed.? -- Time for Kids PRAISE FOR ROAD RASH ?A road-trip adventure in romance and friendship that is ultimately all about the music.? ? Kirkus Turnkey Press Release WRITING COUPLE ON ?HE SAID, SHE SAID? AUTHOR TOUR Mark Parsons and Wendelin Van Draanen are both authors. They?ve both been writing professionally for around twenty years, albeit in separate fields for much of that time. Now they both work in that loosely-defined yet increasingly popular field known as YA. (She?s the veteran of the kid-lit genre, having worked successfully in the Middle-Grade and Young Adult venue since she started writing, while he primarily wrote non-fiction?magazine articles and books?and is the new kid on the YA block.) Additionally, they both share the same publisher?Knopf/Random House. And share the same office. And? the same life. Because Mark and Wendelin are married. And have been, for even longer than they?ve been writing. ?It took us a while to realize it?like around twenty years,? Van Draanen says with a laugh. ?But by the time Mark started planning for the release of his debut novel, we finally figured out that what we do is kind of unique.? ?Right,? Parsons says. ?I mean, we?ve shared an office for the past fifteen years, and we?re still married.? He pauses. ?And it?s not a very big office.? Consequently, their ?He Said, She Said? tour isn?t the typical series of ?read and sign? events. ?We?re talking about books, sure,? Parsons says, ?but also about how our little ?mutual aid pact? helps both of us be more creative and productive.? Other topics include their writing processes, staying motivated, pursuing their dreams while working day jobs and raising a family, and the book-to-movie experience. (Van Draanen has had two books turned into film properties, including the Rob Reiner-directed Warner Bros. feature, ?Flipped?.) ?People are curious about how all this stuff works,? Van Draanen says. ?And we?re happy to answer questions and share what we know.? She laughs. ?Although, as with any time you get a married couple discussing something, you should probably expect arguments!? Books featured on the California couple?s ?He Said, She Said? tour will include Van Draanen?s best-selling Sammy Keyes mystery series, as well as a selection of her popular stand-alone novels including The Running Dream and Flipped. Parsons will discuss and sign Road Rash, his new band-on-the-road YA adventure. ### Please include event location, date, & time from previous page. Supplied photo credit: Polar Productions