My first YA novel, Thirteen Days to Midnight, doesn’t come out for a few more weeks, but you can experience the vibe of the story early by visiting www.13dtm.com. The site is the first salvo in what will be an ongoing alternate reality experience (ARE) connected to the world of Thirteen Days. There are five things to find right now, one of which is a hidden video that should spark some conversation. The next item that will go live is a Facebook site where more information will be revealed – stay tuned for that in the next couple of weeks.

A few more tidbits about the story and www.13dtm.com as we lead up to the release:
- Everything about www.13dtm.com is important to the story: the setting of the scene, each of the hidden items, even the falling rain.
- Thirteen Days is my take on the superhero story. It’s much closer to Unbreakable then Spiderman – dark and dangerous.
- The relationship between Jacob Fielding and Ophelia (Oh) James is at the center of the story – what brings them together also threatens to destroy them both.
- The main setting is Salem, Oregon, where I grew up. The Oregon Coast also comes into play.
- The small high school in the story is based on the school I went to.

Please help spread the word about www.13dtm.com and the release of Thirteen Days to Midnight – I need my fans as I head into uncharted waters!

Keep turning pages,

Patrick

This just in from Scholastic – what a gorgeous cover for book 8 in the 39 Clues series! Gordon Korman is a super guy and an amazing writer – and now he has one of the coolest covers in the 39 Clues collection. Lucky! (insert Napoleon Dynamite voice when saying Lucky). Check out my 39 Clues, The Black Circle, by clicking here: www.patrickcarman.com/books/the-39-clues

And read on for an important message from Scholastic about book 8….
39 Clues Book 8: The Emperor’s Code cover art released today. It’s our sneakiest cover yet, as we hid four messages in the artwork, which all point to the location of the Book 8 Clue. Kids who find these messages can visit www.the39Clues.com/theemperorscode to enter in their guesses. If they get three of the four right, they get a sneak peek at a page from the book that has a big hint to the next Clue. (They’ll have enough information to figure out the Clue location if they do a little research.)

Congratulations to Peter on the fantastic release of Book 7, and to Gordon on the upcoming release of Book 8, which will hit stores April 6th!

This week I’m on the road visiting five schools in Florida and a reading festival in Ohio, and I thought it would be a good time to highlight the virtual touring program I offer for schools. I hope to complete 100 virtual touring events from my office in Walla Walla, Washington in 2010. If you’re a teacher or a librarian, you can sign up for one of these free events at the virtual touring page. There you’ll find a video about how the program works, a calendar with available days and times, and a downloadable PDF file for your classroom. The virtual touring events are free and last about 20 minutes. Perfect for groups of 30-150.

Other touring resources:

Real world calendar (changes often)

Follow me on Twitter for up-to-the-minute pictures from the road (both events and food!).

And finally a quick shout out to my friend Rick Riordan – congratulations on the Percy Jackson movie! Here’s hoping the 39 Clues movie is next in line.