fairy skeletons.: So there's this boy. (No, not like that.)

*ahem* I'm in love.

Let me reiterate from the post title: No, not like that. (What, did you think I actually developed a crush on someone NOT fictional or famous?)

I'm in love and you could be too. Oh yeah. Actually, I'm pretty sure you will be. *tap dances*

I've talked about Kimberly (the queen Karalius, obviously) on this blog before - she's one of the Figment friends who so kindly supported me when I first joined the site and continues to support me even now. In fact, she is one of the most popular writers on Figment, so I was a little starstruck when we first started interacting. Kimberly's a wonderful person, and I love talking about writing, books, films, and whatever else might come to mind with her around the Internet. She's very, very kind, insightful, and creative, and I'm so lucky to know her. And her writing reflects her whimsical, curious spirit in every way, featuring a trademark style of magical realism that turns even the most ordinary places and people into little treasures. Girls who can command a hive of bees? Check. Boys small enough to live in dollhouses? Check. Mothers who shapeshift into human hearts to save their sons' lives? You got it.

However, whenever we started talking about publishing, Kimberly said she hadn't had any luck snagging an agent or a publisher for any of her works. I was shocked, almost outraged, because she's an absolutely brilliant writer. I thought, "The publishing world sure is missing a lot if it won't take notice of Kim."

Well, that changes today. Kimberly Karalius is getting published.

*squee*

Here's a blurb of the book, for all your grabby hands:

Love is real in the town of Grimbaud and Fallon Dupree has dreamed of attending high school there for years. After all, generations of Dupree’s have successfully followed the (100% accurate!) love fortunes from Zita’s famous Love Charms Shop to happily marry their high school sweethearts. It’s a tradition. So she is both stunned and devastated when her fortune states that she will NEVER find love. Fortunately, Fallon isn’t the only student with a terrible love fortune, and a rebellion is brewing. Fallon is determined to take control of her own fate—even if it means working with a notorious heartbreaker like Sebastian. Will Fallon and Sebastian be able to overthrow Zita’s tyranny and fall in love?

Yes, that is every bit as awesome as it sounds. And the boy I was referencing in my post title is indeed Sebastian. He ran off with my heart, the knave. 

That shows how much I'm willing to give for Kim and her story - I am never using the word knave in a blog post again. Or casual conversation. Or... anything, really.

I mean, Sebastian is the knave. It just so happens that I am perfectly and totally okay with that. But I digress. 

I was lucky enough to read the manuscript of Love Fortunes and Other Disasters (originally titled We Could Fall in Love), and let me tell you, it is one of the most glorious books ever to book. (Book is both a noun and a verb now. Roll with it.) Which is why, when Kim submitted it to Swoon Reads back in April, I was absolutely sure they would select it for publication.

Swoon Reads is a YA/NA romance imprint of Macmillan that takes open submissions through an online community. The manuscripts submitted are then voted on over a rating period, and some of the top-rated manuscripts are looked at by the publishing team at Swoon Reads. Then three manuscripts are picked to become actual BOOKS. It's an innovative and really wonderful publication model, and a huge step forward for the publishing world.

After enthusiastically doing my best to support Kim in both the writing and the promotion of her manuscript as much as I could, I was overjoyed to see that it had made it to the top ten manuscripts on the entire website. And now Kimberly Karalius has been chosen for publication of her novel.

My first thought upon reading the announcement was YES. JUSTICE HAS FINALLY BEEN SERVED. VICTORY IS MINE.

That was before I dissolved into incoherent squealing.

Everyone go give her some love, okay? She's worked incredibly hard on her journey towards being a published author and I'm so, so proud of her.

(That makes me sound really stuffy and pretentious. But honestly the only thing I'm stuffed with is pride and sheer happiness.)

The book releases on June 9, 2015, and without spoiling anything, I'll tell you a few things about it: it's got ships (the definition that involves kissing). It has magic. It has color and wonder and life. IT HAS A SUPPORTING CHARACTER NAMED BEAR (yes, you read that right, and no, he isn't an actual bear). I, for one, plan on going for it the moment it comes up for preorder.

THE NINTH OF JUNE, EVERYONE. Mark your calendars now. I can't wait to hold Love Fortunes and Other Disasters in my hands and give it a huge bookish hug. And trust me, you'll want to as well.

Please do congratulate Kim on her blog or Twitter. She deserves it ten times over.

(By the way - because I'm a complete dimwit and forgot to link while I was fangirling - the info link for Love Fortunes and Other Disasters is right here. And OH MY GOODNESS but Swoon Reads decided to quote me in the "Praise" section. Look for the gushing of a certain Christina near the bottom of the page.)