Justine Larbalestier

Sekrit Project Revealed!

I have very exciting NEWS!

I wrote a book! The book is sold! It will be out early next year!

Even more exciting and this is the best part: I DID NOT WRITE THIS BOOK ALONE.

I wrote it with Sarah Rees Brennan, who is not only a wonderful friend, but one of my favourite writers.

The book is called Team Human. It will be published by Allen & Unwin in Australia and Harper Collins in North America and will be out 3 July 2012.

And here is the cover, which totally proves this is all real:

(We got to sit in on the photo shoot for it. Fancy, huh?)

Writing Team Human was the most fun I’ve ever had writing a book. All because of SRB.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with her—and seriously how did that happen? what are you doing reading this blog when you could be reading hers or, even better, her wonderful books—SRB is the author of the Demon’s Lexicon trilogy, which are some of the scariest, most gut wrenchingest awesome books I’ve read. Your heart will be seared as you read!¹

Oh, and she’s funny too. Just read her blog. Seriously funny. In fact, it was her funniness that led to Team Human. We were instant messaging each other² discussing a movie we’d just seen and she kept making me laugh so hard I fell over³ and somehow we got talking about a million and one extremely funny things and then we found ourselves agreeing to write a book together. For the full story check out SRB’s version of events.

Now, I have planned to write books with many people and each time we’ve both earnestly assured each other that we were going to truly rooly do this thing. But every time something would get in the way. They were already writing a book with someone else, we could not come up with enough good ideas, if we did come up with good ideas the enthusiasm would die, one or both of us was too busy, etc. etc.

Not this time. I don’t think it ever occurred to SRB that we wouldn’t write a complete novel. It occurred to me. I have never been as shocked as when I realised we were really, literally, actually⁴ going to write a complete finished book together! It was almost as surprising as the first time I did that on my own.⁵

I should have realised sooner that we would finish because almost straight away we were swapping chapters back and forth, doing our best to make the other laugh⁶. Such larks were had! Though I can see why I was full of doubt, apart from all the usual stuff that can get in the way, it’s kind of hilarious how completely different SRB and mine’s writing styles are. We must have the least compatible writing methods ever.

Readers, SRB made me outline. I know! It was HORRIBLE. We had to figure out Every Little Thing ahead of time. Who does that? Madness! She expected me to know who our cast of characters were before we started writing them! Who does that? Sane people figure out that kind of stuff as they write.

How could I have known SRB would put me through such torture? Other than this interview we did with each other on how she outlines and I wing it, I mean. (Actually reading that exchange between us gives you a very accurate idea of how we wrote a book together and of what kind of book we wrote. Hint: it involves slutty hamsters. Sort of.)

So, yes, extremely detailed outlining = very traumatic. Yet, somehow I survived and the book was written.⁷

And there’s a sequel! Which we are writing RIGHT NOW. Which was also outlined ahead of time.⁸ It will be published a year after the first in early 2013 by Allen & Unwin and Harper Collins.

And that is my big big news that we’ve had to keep secret for way too long. I hope you are a tenth as excited as I am!⁹

1. Not literally. That would be bad. [↩]
2. Back in the days when I could do that without searing pain. Hmmm, “sear” seems to be my verb of the day. Sorry about that. [↩]
3. Literally. I was bruised! [↩]
4. Anything I said about not overusing the word “actually” on twitter clearly does not apply to this blog. *cough* [↩]
5. To be honest, I am always surprised when I realise I’m going to finish a book. I have started way more of them than I have ever finished. [↩]
6. I don’t think I ever caused SRB to fall over though. One day . . . [↩]
7. Though I continue to not outline my solo books. Agressively so. Which is probably why they take me so long. Oh, well. [↩]
8. Aaaarrrrggghhh!!! [↩]
9. If you were as excited as me you might die and no one wants that. [↩]

Posted by Justine at 3:22, 17 September 2011 under Team Human, Writing life, Writing process | 21 Comments »

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