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Friday, March 7, 2014

New Book Deal!

At last! I can FINALLY tell you!! I signed my second book contract with Razorbill/Penguin Random House, starting with KALAHARI, coming winter 2015. Guys, I LOVE LOVE LOVE this book so much! It's very close to my heart and I've been on absolute pins and needles these past six months as I've kept it secret.

It feels SO GOOD to finally just--




But anyway, enough dramatics, here's the announcement from PW:



Woohoo!!!

Here's a bit of a longer synopsis:


Sarah Carmichael has lived all over the world, from dense jungles to scalding deserts, with her zoologist parents. Six months after her mother is killed in a automobile accident in Africa, Sarah and her dad find themselves in need of research funds--and in return for them, agree to host a group of high school students from the States at their remote camp in the Kalahari Desert in Botswana. But things go quickly wrong when reports of poachers in the area call Sarah's dad away to investigate. When he doesn't return, Sarah finds herself alone in charge of a group of city kids she doesn't understand or relate to, in one of the world's most deadly wildernesses. She sets out to find her dad and instead runs across a secret research facility that has been left mysteriously in ruins. There, she and the students become witnesses to a horror that a certain biotech company will do anything to hide--a deadly virus created out of living metal that consumes everything it touches.

Curious to know more? Follow my KALAHARI Pinterest board to explore some of the inspiration behind the story!


A lot of people have asked me if this is another story from the same world as ORIGIN and VITRO--and yes, it is! But it's a lot different from my first two books in many ways, and one of my favorite things about it is that it's set in the Kalahari Desert in Bostwana, Africa! I was lucky enough to spend a few weeks there last summer doing research for KALAHARI, and can't wait to share more about that and the book in the months to come!

The speedy folks over at Goodreads have already got KALAHARI up for you to check out--and add to your to-read shelf! =)

hurray, Africa!!! 

believe it or not, playing with lion cubs was TOTALLY research for this book...