Monday, January 13, 2020

A Playlist for Beginners Welcome!



My second middle grade novel, Beginners Welcome, hits shelves in just a few short weeks. It's about an eleven-year-old girl named Annie Lee, who's struggling to find healing after her beloved daddy unexpectedly dies. Writing Beginners Welcome was an especially fun process, because I got to draw on one of my favorite things in the world: my own musical background.

Music has been a big part of my life for as long as I can remember. I started taking piano lessons pretty young, and when I was ten I picked up a cousin's violin and taught myself how to play "Minuet in G" in a few minutes—proving to my reluctant mom that yes, I DID need violin lessons. I studied violin seriously all through middle school and high school; in fact, at one point, I planned to be an orchestra teacher! Over the years, I've taught violin, tutored piano, composed music (I even had one composition place at the state level in a competition!), and been an orchestra assistant. In high school, I even got to conduct a local children's orchestra while they played a piece I'd written myself. It was a really cool experience!

In Beginners Welcome, music is the thread that connects Annie Lee to her daddy, even after he's gone. It's also the thing that helps give her the courage and strength to begin moving on after his death. Annie Lee meets an elderly pianist at the local mall, and through piano lessons with him, she starts to open her heart up to others once more.

Because music is such a big part of the book, I had to make a playlist for it—of course! Many of these songs are ones that I listened to as I worked on the book. Although I don't listen to music WHILE I'm actually writing, I'll often listen to it while I'm thinking about the book, outlining, or planning, to help get me in the right mindset. A lot of the songs on this playlist—like the John Denver ones or "Carolina in my Mind," by James Taylor—are songs that are directly mentioned in the book. (One of them happens to be Annie Lee's daddy's favorite song in the world, and the song she's named after... you might be able to figure out which!)

Other songs are the kind of dreamy, improvisational piano pieces that I imagined Ray the pianist playing during his improv sessions at Brightleaf Square Mall. There's a few on there, too, that are passionate, emotional pieces from the classical repertoire, the kinds I imagine Annie Lee and her daddy listening to together.

The final song on the playlist, "Anthem" by Leonard Cohen, was actually part of the inspiration for the story. In fact, the very first title Beginners Welcome had was How The Light Gets In, after a line in that song. I love the chorus of that one, and how it emphasizes the fact that beauty—and light—come from brokenness, rather than perfection. That's a message that Ray delivers to Annie Lee as she struggles through her piano lessons, and it's one that I hope readers take away from Beginners Welcome, too.

I hope that you enjoy this playlist as much I enjoyed putting it together!

(In addition to the embedded player above, you can access the playlist here.)

Thursday, January 9, 2020

Beginners Welcome pre-order giveaway!

Everything included in the pre-order giveaway!
(Note that some giveaway tiers may not receive all items pictured.)

One of my favorite things that I did to celebrate the release of Where the Watermelons Grow was holding a pre-order giveaway, so I knew that I wanted to do the same with Beginners Welcome! I see pre-order giveaways as such a wonderful way to thank YOU, my readers, for your support and enthusiasm for my books. Even heading into the publication of book two, it's absolutely mind-boggling to me to realize that real people out in the world have read, loved, and shared my books. This giveaway is a way to say thank you to each of you for your support!

Unlike the giveaway for Watermelons, the Beginners Welcome pre-order giveaway does not include entries for a grand prize. Instead, I've tried to make sure that each entrant will get something a little bigger and more special than the swag I offered with Watermelons. This time, I'm also offering a couple of different entry tiers, which I'm really excited about!

Something completely new included with this giveaway is a digital download of both sheet music and a recording of an original piano composition that I wrote to coordinate with the book. In Beginners Welcome, Annie Lee is entranced by elderly pianist Ray Owens and his skill for improvisational composition—something that I drew from my own life and my own love for piano songwriting! I'm really excited to share the digital downloads for the sheet music and recording for this song, and hope you'll enjoy it as much as I have.

What you'll get for pre-ordering BEGINNERS WELCOME through retailers other than Annie Bloom's

Here's what you can expect to receive if you enter this giveaway:

—Pre-orders through most retailers: Digital download of sheet music and recording for "Beginners Welcome" song; a signed bookplate; a BEGINNERS WELCOME bookmark; and a BEGINNERS WELCOME sticker.

—Pre-orders through AnnieBlooms.com: Digital download of sheet music and recording for "Beginners Welcome" song; a signed bookplate; a BEGINNERS WELCOME bookmark; a BEGINNERS WELCOME sticker; and a music-themed elastic charm bookmark (colors and charm styles may vary, and not all elastic colors are shown in the photo).

If you pre-order through AnnieBlooms.com, you'll receive a music-themed elastic
charm bookmark in addition to the rest of the swag!


—Library order requests or holds (Only eligible through 2/11/2020): Digital download of sheet music and recording for "Beginners Welcome" song; a BEGINNERS WELCOME bookmark; and a BEGINNERS WELCOME sticker.

—If you are a teacher or librarian who pre-orders the book to share with your classroom: Bookmarks and stickers for one classroom's worth of students; a signed bookplate; and a personalized letter from me to your class. (Note that I can only send swag for one classroom's worth of students, even if you teach multiple sections.)

The giveaway will be open from now until one week after the book's release, closing on 2/18/2020. Mailed swag and digital downloads may or may not be sent until after the giveaway period closes.

To enter, follow this link to the Google form where I'll be collecting information! Also, please don't hesitate to enter if you've pre-ordered Beginners Welcome—everyone is eligible for this giveaway, even my friends and family. ;) Help me show my gratitude for your support!