Alternate Prologues, Preorder Campaigns, and Accolades, Oh My!
Hello and welcome to the second issue of Drizzle & Deadlines, newsletter for author Maya Prasad. I’m so excited to share some fun stuff with you, including a first look at my preorder campaign for Wild Wishes and Windswept Kisses and an exclusive alternate prologue for Drizzle, Dreams, and Lovestruck Things!
Children’s Book Council Favorites Honoree
Firstly, I was so honored to learn that Drizzle, Dreams, and Lovestruck Things was selected as a Children's Book Council Young Adult Favorite of 2023! It's especially touching because teens across the country voted for this list: in fact, 500K students participated across all categories! How cool is that? It means the world to me that my book full of brown & queer joy is resonating with actual teens. Yay!
Sejal Sinha Battles Superstorms out May 2nd
It’s hard to believe that Sejal Sinha Battles Superstorms comes out in just a few weeks, on May 2nd! I can’t wait for readers to find it! I’m happy we have some lovely early reviews on Goodreads, if you want to check them out. Also, we received our first trade review:
"Sejal’s narratorial voice crackles with intelligence and perseverance . . . a well-plotted, entertaining story about science, tradition, creative thinking, and growing up."
—Kirkus
If you have kids ages 5-9 in your life, preorder now: Queen Anne Books | Wise Owl Books | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop | Amazon
Wild Wishes and Windswept Kisses Preorder Campaign Preview
You guys are the first to see the gorgeous custom artwork for the Wild Wishes and Windswept Kisses preorder campaign. Drumroll, please…
Gorgeous, isn’t it? It depicts one of my favorite swoony scenes from Wild Wishes and Windswept Kisses—and I think the illustrator, Darshini Chetty of Darsh Illustrations, really knocked it out of the park! (FYI, “Preorder Campaign” won’t appear on your custom art print if you enter the campaign!)
Full details on my website for how to nab a print! However, if you want the quick links, preorder from Queen Anne Book Company and you’ll receive a signed & personalized copy + exclusive extras! Or preorder from the retailer of your choice (including but not limited to Barnes & Noble, Bookshop, and Amazon) and fill out my form.
Plus, if you help spread the word, I’ll keep adding extras when we reach certain preorder numbers! So please, tell your friends and enemies, anyone who wants to read a warm hug of a book filled with brown & queer joy! I appreciate your support!
Alternate Prologue for Drizzle, Dreams, and Lovestruck Things
Do you love deleted scenes? I’m sharing with you an exclusive alternate prologue that I wrote while drafting Drizzle, Dreams, and Lovestruck Things. It didn’t make it to the final version, and it hasn’t been edited or anything so it might be a bit rough. But it was a different direction, much more voicey (possibly too voicey?). I hope you enjoy it all the same! Note: at the end, there’s a reference to the original title I had come up with (Fall Winter Spring Summer).
Alternate Prologue
[Redacted - Due to AI training on author works’ without our permission, my free excerpts will only be available for a limited time.]
What do you think?
I hope to come up with new exclusives for future issues! In the meantime, happy spring!
Warmly,
Maya