New Year, New Book: The Rock and the River

I'm kicking off my posts for 2009 with a little shameless self-promotion. This is a most exciting week for me. Well, let me not understate: This is a most exciting year for me. My first novel hits bookstores tomorrow!

A few words about the book:
The Rock and the River is a young adult novel set in 1968 Chicago. Thirteen-year-old Sam finds himself torn between his father (a leader in the nonviolent civil rights movement), and his older brother, Stick (a member of the Black Panther Party). Will Sam follow his father or his brother? His mind or his heart? The rock or the river?

It's hard to know what to say about the book coming out. To me, it's so momentous. But I find it difficult to express to people outside my profession what the inner world of writing and publishing is like: unpredictable, slow-moving, fraught with challenges and rejection, yet at the same time utterly tied to your soul. I feel about this book the way I imagine I might feel about my own child -- it came from within me, I've nurtured it, helped it grow, learned from it, fought with it, fought for it, and finally it's big enough to move on its own into the world.

My mind is suddenly flooded with all the things I could say, about the writing process, the topic of the book, my inspirations, the adventures of being an author. Yes, there's much more I could say, and I will -- in future posts. For now, I'm allowing the excitement to overtake me. The holiday season, which typically blows by in one deep breath, has been agonizingly slow as I've awaited the book release. It's finally here, and I'm beyond thrilled!

That's what's new with me... so, what's new with you in this new year?