NEW YORK NEW YORK

Posted on December 14, 2015

Dara Palmer would be SO happy right now because in America I’m, like, TOTALLY FAMOUS.

Actually, that’s not true. I’m not famous at all. I can still walk down the street without being mobbed (it’s only a matter of time) but Amber is going so well in the US, I’m flabbergasted! And that’s not a word I ever say because it makes my tongue confused so if I’m using it, I must be.

I LOVE YOU, NEW YORK!

I have two reasons to love New York, hence the title of this blog post. It’s not because it’s so good, they named it twice, but that’s a very good reason too.

The first is that The New York Times had a Sunday book supplement recently, and – wait for it…wait for it… Dream on, Amber was featured in the children’s section. WOOOOOHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Malinda Lo wrote a cracking review of Amber, for which I’m enormously grateful. I mean, this is The New York Times, just in case you didn’t catch that. THE NEW YORK TIMES. And that follows the (sadly for subscribers only) review in The Wall Street Journal the month before!

Phhhhhhhhooooo – I need to breathe. I’m still freaked out by all this.

Secondly, and MASSIVELY, every December, The New York Public Library publishes its annual list of the Top 100 Books of the Year. This is a HIGHLY PRESTIGIOUS and enormously respected list recognised right across the country. It recommends just a handful of the thousands of books published every year, and DREAM ON, AMBER is included in the children’s section. 

(faint)

(smelling salts)

(gets up from the floor)

(carries on as if nothing happened and I didn’t just faint in front of a load of people)

Ahem. I cannot tell you how honoured I am (with a u because I’m British, and because honoured is such an honourable word, it deserves that u, don’t you agree?)

Thank you so much to the committee for including Amber: that is the American Dream right there. I am stoked. Like a furnace. Honestly. Overwhelmed.

 

(faints again)

 

(you might have to come back later)