A TRUE NORTH SCAVENGER HUNT!
Oh my goodness! The imaginative minds at Shadow Mountain have come up with THE COOLEST idea! Readers can virtually and in-person go on a TRUE NORTH SCAVENGER HUNT. I am so very impressed. Please visit ShadowMountain.com/TrueNorth for all the information.
And if you share the below meme on your socials, with the hashtag #trustingtruenorth, you will automatically be entered you to win one of two signed copies of TRUSTING TRUE NORTH (complete with bookmark) from yours truly! I will randomly draw winners on July 11th. Thank you for reading!!
THANK YOU!
When a book of mine goes out into the world, I can’t help but have a lot of emotions. Leading the way, today, as TRUE NORTH finds its way into the hands of readers, I want to talk about gratitude. When I put pen to paper, when I start that brainstorming/planning/falling-in-love-with-characters part of the process, I also dream. I envision what it is that my main character might want to say with their story. What is their arc? What’s at stake for them? And how do they change? And what might this be saying to the young readers who stumble upon this book?
I hope and I dream, always, that what I want to say through my characters comes through. I want my vision to be clearly executed. So when an editor “gets” your novel, it’s a gift. It’s not only a seal of approval, in that you did what you set out to do, but it’s more than that. It’s an invitation to focus on and embolden your themes and perfect your manuscript. It’s an invitation to teamwork, and when you have a great editor, you get to see your manuscript transform into what you always thought it could be. Instead of just a kernel of the truth you were hinting at, you get at the whole shebang. Your manuscript, your theme, your vision, becomes REALIZED.
Great editors do this.
TRUSTING TRUE NORTH has a great editor. So today on TRUE’s book birthday, I want to say a loud and emphatic THANK YOU to Lisa Mangum. TRUE’s story is a triumph, it’s timely, and it’s a testimony to the power of empathy.
And I thank you, Lisa Mangum, for helping TRUE go from pretty good to something … exquisite. Something that seems to live and exist on its own, outside of me. It’s taken on its own energy. TRUE is a force. I’m so proud for her to be out in the world.
THANK YOU!
Trusting True North ILLUSTRATIONS
Oh, I have a special treat for you! A sneak peek at some of the fabulous illustrations for TRUSTING TRUE NORTH! The awesomely talented Kevin Keele has answered a few questions about creativity and inspiration today here on the blog. Please check out his great answers below, as well as a few (only a few! I had to keep some secret!!) of the illustrations that he created for TRUE NORTH. They just pull you right into the story and add dimension and feeling. Please also check out Kevin on Instagram @kkeeleart. Thanks for your creative genius, Kevin, in these illustrations, and for talking to us today!
What are some things/people/books that inspired you to become an artist?
My parents were both art majors and met in art class, so I almost feel like my future vocation was set in stone. I love reading and grew up drawing scenes and characters from my favorite books. I’ve always been inspired by a good story.
Did you always like drawing as a little kid?
I was always drawing as a kid, and as I grew up my enthusiasm for it never dimmed. I have taken a sketchbook with me everywhere for as long as I can remember.
Can you explain your artistic process? And what’s your favorite part? Least favorite part?
I have different processes depending on the medium I’m using, but I use Photoshop and work digitally for most of my professional art. I always start with a very rough sketch that I refine over a few layers. Once the sketch is solid, I work out the values in black and white. Next comes a rough color pass; the image is still fairly malleable at this stage, so I make sure the art director is happy with the direction it’s going before adding the finishing touches. The last step is to do the final rendering and bring all the elements of the image into harmony. I used to prefer certain parts of the process, but I’ve been doing illustration long enough that I’ve come to enjoy all the individual stages along the way that makes a final image.
Do you have any advice for aspiring artists?
The best advice I have is to practice! Like anything, to get good at any aspect of visual art you need to do it every day. Keep a regular sketchbook and focus on the fundamentals. There are so many great resources these days to help you refine these skills: YouTube tutorials, art books, online courses, Instagram, etc. It’s an enthusiastic industry that is eager to share.
What is your favorite medium to work in?
For me, nothing beats the old-fashioned pen and paper. I truly love digital and traditional painting of all types, but traditional drawing makes me the happiest.
Do you have any favorite artists/books/authors that you enjoy?
My favorite book ever is The Hobbit. I’ve read it at least ten times, and I buy a copy whenever I come across an edition I don’t own (I currently have 14 different editions). I like books from every genre and for any age range. A good story is a good story, period. I feel so fortunate when I get to create artwork for today’s great authors, like Gina Linko! 😊
My favorite artists include Justin Gerard, Mike Mignola, Rodney Matthews, Alponse Mucha, and J.C. Leyendecker.
Why do you think that art and being creative is important?
Being able to express ourselves and communicate in ways beyond the spoken word is really rewarding. Telling a story through art - be it literature, music, or illustration - is among the most profound ways to really touch hearts and change minds. Even when a bad situation is too inflexible or out of our control to influence, good art can console and contextualize in almost supernatural ways.
Do you want to win a class pack of TRUSTING TRUE NORTH?
You can win a class pack, which includes a hardcover, an audio book for that perfect afternoon read-aloud, and a class set of fun, colorful compasses! These will help you on your mapmaking adventures! All you need to do is follow me on Twitter and quote-retweet my post about this giveaway, telling me where the map of your heart would lead! I will randomly select two classrooms to win a class pack! Giveaway ends 3/11!
TRUE's first blurb!
Be still my heart! Thank you for reading!
TRUSTING TRUE NORTH deal announcement!
Getting to write for kids is an honor, and I take it very seriously. I am so very proud of this book and the empathy, hope, resilience, and love that this story has to tell. Sometimes, ideas come to you fully formed and the characters alive and already speaking to you, and you don’t feel so much as you create them, but channel them. That’s TRUE NORTH. She’s a spitfire, a middle child, a girl with plans. And she wants you to go on an exciting journey with her. There’s a lot to deal with — a lockdown, an angry rooster, an even angrier grandma, a too-cool big sister, and a face-off with the school bully that doesn’t go quite as planned. But it’s not that dangerous! Really. Come on and join True on this quest. I mean, she’ll draw a map — you won’t get lost. But it won’t be exactly what you’re expecting. Then again, growing up never quite is!
Thank you to Caryn, my fab agent, and thank you to my editor Lisa Mangum who really gets True, who has championed this book, and who has helped make it its best self. I’m so excited to work on another book with you! Shadow Mountain is a fabulous publisher, with fantastic resources and, let me just sneak you one more fabulous illustration from illustrator Kevin Keele. Have I told you I love cats? Coming your way April 2022!
NOTHING ELSE IS LOVE release day!
Would you like to read the start of Chapter 1? You’re in luck! Look no further:
Chicago, 1978
The little girl with strawberry-blonde curls sits on the black office chair, her legs dangling. She is small and cherubic. She holds a stuffed giraffe in her hands, alternately hugging it and picking at its fabric eyes. She looks into the camera lens with a serious stare, and she answers the man’s question.
“Je parle le francais.” Her accent sounds perfect. Her eyes are a sandy brown color, framed with the lightest of lashes.
“How did you learn French? Were you taught by your mother?” The man’s voice is off-camera, but the girl’s eyes follow him.
She shakes her head. “Mama can’t speak French. But I know it from l’avant.”
“L’avant?” he asks. “What does that mean?”
“The before. I know French from the before.”
“What is ‘the before’ exactly? Can you explain it to me?”
“It’s when I was a different me. I lived in the place with the lavender and the parfumerie.”
Off camera, there is a low hum of voices, the sound of paper shuffling. “How did you first tell your mother about the before, Alice?”
“I don’t know. Mama?” Her brow furrows a little, and Alice looks past the camera, searching. “Mama?” The girl presses her fingers against the inside of her opposite palm, a nervous gesture, the giraffe forgotten, tumbling onto the floor.
“I’m right here, Alice,” the mother’s voice answers. “You’re doing great, honey. Do you remember the picture you drew? Can you tell Dr. Lewellyn?”
Alice’s eyes light up, but she quickly draws her brow again. “It was a scary picture. Lots of blood on the grass. I drawed a picture and Mama worried about it.”
Dr. Lewellyn asks, “Do you have a copy of this drawing?”
“Of course, at home,” the mother answers. Alice listens, biting on her bottom lip.
“Alice, can you tell me what other things you know from your time in the before?”
“Um, lots of things. They weared hats all the time.” The little girl jumps down from the chair to retrieve her giraffe. She hugs it tightly and maneuvers back into her seat. “I umm … I want to go home.” Alice looks past the camera again. “Mama?”
“Just a few more questions, honey, I promise.”
“I can play le piano!”
“The piano?” Dr. Lewellyn asks.
A woman with bright red hair enters the camera frame, and she kneels in front of Alice. She has the same upturn at the end of her nose as the girl. She holds Alice’s hands and whispers to her.
“We have the keyboard from the other studio,” Dr. Lewellyn offers, now also in the camera frame.
“She’s never had a lesson, but a few months ago, at a friend’s house, she just started playing,” the mother says. “It’s probably not that compelling to you, but I never … I … can’t explain it.”
A blonde woman moves into the frame carrying a large, freestanding keyboard. She sets it up in front of the girl, working to lower it to a child-friendly height. But Alice doesn’t wait. She jumps from her chair and begins to pluck out a melody using two fingers. After the first three or four notes, it is clear that she is playing “Frere Jacques.”
She finishes the song, while the adults clap for her. Alice joins in applauding herself, smiling.
“Ms. Grier, this is interesting.“ Dr. Lewellyn says. “Skeptics, of course, will conclude she could have picked up such a simple tune, but she—"
“It scares me,” the mother says quietly. “I don’t want—"
She is silenced as Alice begins to play another song, her hands set in perfect middle-C position, her fingering skills a wonder as she hits full chords and shows the advanced skills of a serious pianist. The mother’s hand goes to her mouth in surprise.
The room is silent for a few more bars of complicated music, until Alice hits a wrong note. This trips her up. She pauses. “Oh, the cow!”
“I think you mean, Holy Cow, Alice,” the mother whispers, clearly shaken by the piano playing. She turns to Dr. Lewellyn. “She always gets that saying wrong.”
“No, no,” a woman’s voice adds from off-camera. “It’s French. Ah, la vaca. A colloquialism. Literally, it means Oh, the cow. But it doesn’t really translate. It means something akin to, Oh my gosh!”
“Oui. Ah, la vaca,” Alice whispers, once again hugging the giraffe.
The mother shakes her head. “We need a break. Turn it off. Please,” she says, and then, the camera goes black.
Chapter 1
St. Paul, Minnesota
1998
I spread my map on the little outdoor bistro table at which Serena and I sat. We were new to St. Paul, transplanted for the summer from University of Chicago, each here for our own separate graduate research projects. I’d photocopied this map earlier at the St. Paul Historical Society, and now I tapped a finger on the handwritten cursive label of an immigrant neighborhood near the Phalen River. The neighborhood didn’t exist anymore, but back when it did, it was known as Swede Hollow or Svenska Dalen.
In real life, sometimes there were no signs. When I was younger, I was constantly looking for signs, making them up. If it’s a good song on the radio, then Mom won’t drink too much after her day at the storm-door factory. If the light stays green, then I’ll dare to ask Mom for the field trip money.
Sometimes there are signs though. A sense of deja-vu, the feeling of awareness that tickles the tiny hairs on the nape of your neck. Or is it that extra da-dum beat of your heart when you first see his face? Or even the feeling, that pull, that magnetic zing, that lures you somewhere different … but not exactly new?
The devil’s advocate in me questioned—when you’re so aware, seeking out signs, do you create them, bring them to fruition with the sheer power of your will?
I was guilty. Either way. Both ways.
My mother, Isabel Grier, had confessed, right away, once I was old enough to comprehend. Isabel told me that it was all a clever ruse, this previous-life nonsense, another of her money-grubbing schemes. And it had worked too well. “You had that birthmark,” Isabel told me, gesturing to the strawberry mark covering half my hand and fingers that crept up my forearm. “And I thought to myself, I could run with this. I could make some serious dough. I taught you a few French phrases. You were a natural on camera. It was too easy.” Mom had given me her signature wink then. She’d sucked in a drag of her cigarette, her red lipstick already staining the filter, and I believed her. Of course I believed her. She was beautiful, like the newscaster on the local Chicago station, with red hair that never frizzled. I idolized my mother. Loved every quirk of her eyebrow, every word from her mouth.
Like every kid loves her mother. I did. I hated her a little too, of course. But I mostly loved her. And believed her.
I still did, some days, even now as a twenty-five-year-old grad student, with my mother only two months in the ground.
“I’m just saying I wouldn’t mind a lumberjack,” my friend Serena said, sipping her coffee.
“We’re in Minnesota, not the Pacific Northwest, you know. There are no lumberjacks.” We sat on the main drag of downtown St. Paul, in the neighborhood of Summit Hill. We’d somehow finagled our projects to be in the same city, hers an internship in psychology, mine a research project in local history. It was convenient, and it anchored me. Serena did that for me, had been doing that for a few years. She knew Isabel well.
But she didn’t know my secret. No one did.
She continued, “Christ, Alice, let me have my fantasy. And admit it, it feels very lumberjacky here.”
“It’s all the flannel.” I dug in my backpack for my current map of St. Paul, and placed it on top of the old one. I’d annotated this one with the areas I needed to focus on: the many Hamm’s brewery buildings, the Victorian homes on Planck street, the speakeasies, the most famous of which was housed in the Wabasha Caverns.
Serena scratched her nose. “I’m probably going to get hives being so far from the El. From the lake. The bustle. It’s so quiet here.”
“It isn’t exactly the middle of nowhere, Serena. We’ll deal.”
“I haven’t been a lot of places, Alice. This whole nice Midwestern, suburban thing is throwing me for a loop. I mean, who takes on boarders in their own, actual home for God’s sake. It’s like a set-up in a small-town horror flick.”
I laughed and gave Serena a look, shaking my head. We were both staying at a quirky Victorian boarding house up the road that sat atop the sandstone bluffs above a picturesque green-space community park.
I compared my current map of St. Paul with the photocopy of the older turn-of-the-century map. Swede Hollow. I had learned about it in my earlier research, even before I came here, and I could’ve seen it as a sign. Sure.
The whole Swede thing.
It could’ve factored into my decision to come here to do my research, to write my thesis, rather than to go somewhere else—anywhere else, really.
He was a Swede.
I remembered the stiff click of his consonants, the reluctance to form the English “j” sound. I remembered everything about him.
Whether it was real or not.
A blurb for NOTHING ELSE IS LOVE!
This twisty, lost-love mystery has its first blurb! And it’s stellar!
Thank you to author Jenn Bouchard, and let me just say, her debut, FIRST COURSE, is absolutely delightful —what a delicious debut! Reinvention and romance -- relax, read, repeat. Loved it!
COVER REVEAL: Nothing Else Is Love
Nothing Else Is Love comes out from Touchpoint Press on October 12, 2021. And it has the most gorgeous cover. I LOVE it. It might be my most favorite cover of any book covers ever created for any book.
This is a book of mysteries , of French parfumeries, of hidden underground speakeasies, of lost love, and of poetry speaking the language of heartbreak. It is my first novel written for adults. It’s ambitious. It’s subtle. It’s a romance. A mystery. A meditation on hope and family, on love’s lasting endurance. t’s my heart on a platter.
The look of this cover is fantastic. Rows of lavender curling toward a French parfumerie in my beloved Grasse, France. It’s perfect. It’s full of life and stories and this image makes me want to find out what they are! I want to thank Touchpoint for this gorgeous cover — especially Colbie Myles and Alexy Erofalov . And to Jennifer Haskin and Sheri Williams thank you for making this book into its best self! For understanding and believing in Rune and Lolotte’s star-crossed fate, and for loving Alice and Eli in all their complexities.
Okay, here it is. Try not to gasp!
Don’t you love that tagline? It gives me chills!
You can click on the image and go to the preorder page! You can read the fab back-cover copy. And please consider pre-ordering the book. Preorders mean SO MUCH to publishers and can help determine a book’s success!It is the most important thing you can do to support an author!
THANK YOU!
Middle-Grade Magnificence
I’ve been on a middle-grade reading kick lately, and I have read some stunners. Do yourself a favor and check these out:
Honorable mention for this one because it hasn’t come out yet, but it has a gorgeous cover! Can’t wait to read it.
Are you a book reviewer?
Would you like a reviewer’s copy of NOTHING ELSE IS LOVE? Please contact me at gina@ginalinko.com!
A NEW BOOK! (And it's for grown-ups)
I’ve been working on this book for years. These characters are my friends—no, my family.
NOTHING ELSE IS LOVE is the story of a Swedish immigrant, Rune Folkeson. It’s also the story of a French parfumerie heir, Lolotte Guillet. It takes place in Goteborg, Sweden, and in 1920s Grasse, France. It’s about poetry and perfume. It’s about family loyalty and a Japanese puzzle box with a secret. It’s about reality and its limitations.
But it’s also about reality’s hazy edges.
NOTHING ELSE IS LOVE also takes place in 1998 St. Paul, in a neighborhood known as Swede Hollow, and inside the labyrinthine tunnels beneath the city, where old-timey gangsters used to hide and traffic their illegal booze during Prohibition. It’s also where clandestine lovers met, where secrets were kept, ghosts were born.
In 1998, Alice Grier has a secret past life, one that she remembers vividly, one that seems to be haunting her. That specific clink-clank of the pipettes when she worked on her parfum, the subtle stinging smell of the perfumer’s alcohol, the earthy scent of the lavender buds, purple-gray on their stalks, covered in morning dew at dawn.
Him. Always him. His hands, capable and strong as he carved the little wooden bird, sitting on her porch, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
NOTHING ELSE IS LOVE is about a past life, an impossible mystery, a love separated by space, by time, an ocean, nearly a century.
This book.
I love this book. It was difficult to write, even more difficult to revise and get just right. It took me years. It pushed the edge of my writing ability. It made me grow. It scared me. I’m so very proud of it. I can’t wait for you to read it.
Thank you, Touchpoint, for taking a chance on Lolotte and Rune.
More fab books!
The writing. I read her debut Conversations With Friends and loved it. This book, though, could be one of my favorites ever.
I looooved this one. Romance with a hint of magic. My fave.
This one is a master class in voice.
2019 in books
I’ve read a lot this year, and there’ve been so many great titles. I realize some of these didn’t come out this year, but I read them this year, so they count!
A feminist heroine, a buttoned-up duke, stellar writing, and, really, do you need anything more?
An aging, reclusive movie icon with a secret to tell. Picked this up right after reading Daisy Jones and the Six.
A quirky read, with writing that just felt like home to me. Loved it.
Look at that cover! And Lydia Kang is fast becoming one of my favorite authors.
10 Thrilling Middle Grade Fantasy Books!
This list has some fabulous middle grade reads, and I’m honored that FLOWER MOON is on this list:
https://wiki.ezvid.com/m/10-thrilling-fantasy-novels-for-middle-grade-readers-tzQOyGOC9AooT
My Fave Reads So Far This Year
So many great books in the first half of 2019!!
This romance had me swooning.
The form is innovative — and the ending aces!!
Late to the party on this one, but soooo good.
Really, really good reads
I’m on a roll. I can’t seem to read anything but EXCELLENT books. I’m not complaining. Please do yourself a favor and read these fabulous books:
I want to go to there. Oxonian chip shops, swoony complicated love interest, and deconstructing romantic poetry. I am so in.
Dear God, the writing in this one. It was exquisite. I loved this book and how it traversed that bridge from floundering, optimistic, brash youth into realistic, yet hopeful, middle-age, and it didn’t get cynical. I LOVED this.
A terrifying sleeping virus, a dash of prophetic dreams, and glowing, ethereal prose that illuminates what it means to be human. Walker’s prose sings.
Thank you, Drauden Point!
I had a lovely, wonderful school visit with the students at Drauden Point Middle School. They were a fantastic, lively audience, with so many interesting questions and fun insights. And they gave me the cutest gift! Thank you, Drauden Point!
It’s just gorgeous!
Look at the cute sign!
These are my gorgeous nieces and nephew! And check out the paper chains— like from the book.
Teachers! Librarians! I want to give you books!
EDITED 8/15/18: We have a winner! Thank you for entering to win FLOWER MOON!
Would you like to win a class set of FLOWER MOON? One of my favorite authors calls it, “A gorgeous ode to the transcendent power of sisterhood, painted in words as magical as the tale they tell.” ―Sarvenaz Tash, author of The Mapmaker and the Ghostand The Geek’s Guide to Unrequited Love.
A few other glowing reviews:
"Linko crafts a satisfying coming of age tale . . . Fans of Frozen in particular will devour this celebration of love between sisters”
―The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
“Tally and her folksy, lively narrative [make] fantastical events ring true. Supporting characters, both carny folk and relatives, come across as fresh, as well. Readers will race through this.” ―Booklist
“A quirky read perfect for those fascinated by twins.” ―School Library Journal
Just leave a comment here on this post to enter to win, or DM me on Twitter @GinaLInko, and you can win 20+ hardback copies for your classroom. Happy back-to-school season!
