Finding joy amid the grief

Hello friends and readers. I’ve been away from the blog for a while, and before I jump back into my usual bookish news, I thought I’d let you know what's been going on. It’s not a happy story, I’m afraid. 

My husband, Rich, passed away suddenly at the end of November. We had been happily married for 21 years, dated for three years before we got married, and were friends for ten years before that. It has been hard to imagine life without him, and to in fact be living it. He was such a huge presence—full of life and love and energy. He was so eagerly looking forward to what was ahead for our family, in his work and my writing, everything that our children, Sebastian and Anna, would do in their lives, and everything we would do together. His obituary was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to write (which I only managed with help from my friend Betsy). It made me realize how fortunate I was to have had him in my life, and for our children to have had him as their father. I think he would’ve been surprised to see how much he’d accomplished in his short life, and how well he was loved. We miss him terribly, but we are trying our best to keep doing what made us happy, what made him proud, and what he would’ve loved doing with us.

I'm finding joy in my children... my son Sebastian is a musician (vocal and guitar) and he continues to perform and audition for colleges and share his music. My daughter is a dancer, and has immersed herself in that art, both performing and doing choreography. 

I’m finding joy in the books of friends... seeing my critique partner Joy McCullough’s historical novel in verse, BLOOD WATER PAINT, approach its release date with rave reviews is a source of considerable happiness. I am uplifted by all the bookish good news of so many friends. 

I’m finding joy in seeing my own books make their way in the world. HOW TO DISAPPEAR is featured in Scholastic Book Fairs this season, and many of those readers are finding their way to the special Instagram I set up for the main character, Vicurious. It's been lovely to connect with them. The book has also been translated into Polish, Italian and French so far... and it's fun to see readers sharing pictures of the foreign covers. 

Many wonderful friends from the YA community have reached out to me, to share their condolences and offer help, and I'm so grateful for that. I do feel surrounded by love and support. It's a tremendous help. 

I hope to be writing again soon. I had started working on a new book before Rich died, and that story is changing a bit, but I'm excited to dive back into it. I know who it will be dedicated to, and that motivates me. 

Thank you all for being here. You are a source of joy for me, and I'm grateful to have you.

Goodreads Giveaway!

Want to win a copy of How to Disappear? I'm giving away three hardcover copies on Goodreads. Open internationally. Enter by December 8! 

Goodreads Book Giveaway

How to Disappear

by Sharon Huss Roat

Giveaway ends December 08, 2017.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

Bringing Vicurious to Life (IRL!)

During the process of writing How to Disappear, I spent a lot of time on Instagram checking the same hashtags that the main character, Vicky, explores in the novel. As Vicurious, she reaches out to followers who feel #invisbile and #ignored, who have #socialanxiety and #depression and just want to be #seen. 

To connect with readers and let them know they are #notalone, I decided to bring Vicurious to life by creating a real Instagram for her. Below is a visual of a few of the Vicurious posts I’ve created so far. It took a while to find my model, make a wig and put together the costume, do some photo shoots, and then learn Photoshop well enough to create some images of Vicurious living vicariously! So, I started with some text posts, like the one which references Vicky’s “Terror List.” Then I ventured into current events to throw her into some exciting events.  

Next up… I’d love to get readers more involved in the content, providing suggestions of places and events they want Vicurious to visit, and even their own photos. I’ll also use the Vicurious account to post fan art and graphics, and hopefully become a place where people with social anxiety can find their people and make new friends. 

Visit her @vicurious on Instagram!

#PubforPR - Help us raise money for Puerto Rico hurricane relief, Auction open through Oct. 5th

Members of the publishing community have come together to raise money for hurricane relief in Puerto Rico. There are many wonderful items and services up for auction—for writers, readers, teachers and librarians—including manuscript and query critiques, writing retreats, book bundles, Skype visits and more. Visit the PubforPR website for more information!

ALL of the money raised will go directly to these two organizations:

Unidos por Puerto Rico (United for Puerto Rico) is an initiative funded by Puerto Rico’s First Lady, Beatriz Rosselló, to assist Puerto Rico in its relief efforts for the victims of hurricanes Irma and María.

ConPRmetidos is a Puerto Rican organization dedicated to developing Puerto Rican communities and industries across the globe through the assistance of Puerto Ricans abroad. They have created a relief fund to help Puerto Rico with hurricanes Irma and María.

My donation to the auction is featured in this book bundle of contemporary YA novels. Go here to bid, and thank you so much for supporting this cause.

Two book festivals this weekend (Sept. 23-24)!!!

I'll be at Barnes & Noble Christiana Mall on Saturday, and Baltimore's Inner Harbor on Sunday.

Saturday's B-Fest is full of events for teens, including an author panel I'll be on at 3 p.m. AND, if you mention the Delaware Festival of Words, a portion of proceeds from your purchase will go to the festival. So please come by and help us raise funds for our 2018 event.

And on Sunday, I'll be joining a YA author panel for a fun game of "Whose Book Is It Anyway?" at the Baltimore Book Festival, on the Inner Harbor. Book signing to follow! 

San Francisco, here I come!

I leave for San Francisco today, and I'll be with Jessica Taylor at Linden Tree Books on Sunday, September 17. We'd love to see you there!

I went to the National Book Festival and it was awesome! Here's why:

Here's a little recap of the incredible day I had at the National Book Festival in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 2. 

1) There were tons of amazing authors there. On the teen stage alone, that included Sabaa Tahir, Nicola Yoon, Melissa de la Cruz, Sandhya Menon, M.T. Anderson and Angie Thomas. Here's the crowd:

That's Angie Thomas, author of The Hate U Give, up there
in the middle. I was in the way back. She was amazing.

2) There were two Children's stages featuring authors. I caught a little bit of A.S. King's talk about her middle grade novel Me and Marvin Gardens, which has a great message about caring for our environment. I also saw Ronald L. Smith, author of Hoodoo, The Mesmerist, and the forthcoming Marvel comic origin story, Black Panther The Young Prince. The children's stages were super cool with fun bean-bag-filled seating areas:

Hi Ron! The kids loved you!

3) When I wasn't listening to these amazing authors, I was in the Pavilion of States, where my book was chosen to represent Delaware. I appeared at my state's booth for two stints which lasted a total of five hours, and it was a blast. This area was packed (the whole festival was packed) with kids and parents and teachers and librarians, all participating in a map activity where ether go to each state to get their map stamped, and also get other fun stuff... including How to Disappear bookmarks! I have five different designs that feature quotes from the book, so it was fun to see which were the favorites. (#1-"It Feels Good to Be Seen." #2 - "You are not alone.") SO. MUCH. FUN. 

See what I mean about it being packed? That center aisle
was mobbed. With READERS! So awesome. 

These lovely teens had already read HOW TO DISAPPEAR and
stood at the corner of the booth telling everyone how great it is!
I LOVE THEM! 

Here I am with Patty Langley of DE Division of Libraries
and her lovely niece Christina.  

I don't know this woman's name but when she read about my book at the booth,
she hurried off to buy it at the store and came back to have it signed.
She told us it was the last copy! Sold out! WOOT!

I signed lots of bookmarks, and the kids had such beautiful names,
I started writing them in my notebook. Inspiration for
future book characters! Aren't they lovely?