BreeHive Swarm at YALLWest

Hey, Lovely Reader,

Happy Spring! March and April were very productive months for me. Oathbound is coming along nicely, I have pretty cover-shaped things in my inbox, and in May, I got to visit California for another amazing year at YALLWest! 

The Fierce Friday preview event was held inside the Santa Monica Public Library this year. Imagine my delight when I was led to a circulation desk for my signing line—is there anything better than being in a library with a ton of book people? Shout out to librarians!

The 10th anniversary festival on Saturday was massive, as usual, and I had a blast on two panels: “Big Fantasy on the Big Stage” and "The Origin of Stories: Inspiration, Concentration, and Imagination." Seeing readers is absolutely the highlight of every book event, but a close second is sharing space with so many brilliant author peers, some of whom I only see briefly at festivals like this.

My signing lines were epic. This part of every event is so special, for so many reasons. Readers share their Legendborn Cycle stories (who introduced them to the series, how the books have helped them, and to whom they’ve introduced the books!), they arrive with their best friends or family members, and they show up with lovingly annotated and well-read copies of the Cycle. I might hear folks talk about how they are a “Sel girlie” or a “Nick girlie” but, ultimately, everyone tells me they are Team Bree. Speaking of. . .

This YALLWest was extra special because I helped SimonTeen launch the new BreeHive newsletter! You may ask, How is this different from the “Notes from Tracy Deonn” newsletter I’m reading right now? Here’s a handy breakdown:

• The BreeHive: The new, official Simon & Schuster/SimonTeen newsletter. Your place to get The Legendborn Cycle updates first, focusing specifically on the book series and other publisher goodies, reveals, and content.

• Notes from Tracy Deonn: My personal author newsletter. Editions will continue to feature Cycle updates and teases from my creator perspective, with behind-the-scenes publishing, writing craft, and life updates from yours truly. As I write outside of the Cycle (one day!), my newsletter will cover those books and stories too. 

Both newsletters offer gifts! When you signed up for my personal author newsletter, you received a welcome gift of annotations of Legendborn Chapter One. When you sign up for the BreeHive, you’ll receive a second, different set of annotated excerpts that follow the foreshadowing of Bree’s royal lineage in all of the Easter eggs and clues I planted throughout Legendborn. So, join the BreeHive to receive both sets of annotations from me.

The folks at SimonTeen and I are working hard behind the scenes to make these two newsletters unique, with different and complementary offerings for subscribers. We have BIG plans to feed everyone in the fandom as we lead up to the release of Oathbound next year!

See you soon. ;-)

Tracy