I have some news.

I am pretty pumped.

No, I am really really pumped. I am making that EEEEEEEEEEEEE noise that balloons make when you pull the blowing-in part all straight across.

It is this:

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

WHY:
Contract-y reasons with my publishers. TSARINA is what’s called a “Write For Hire” book, which means that Razorbill approached me and said “Faberge eggs. Russia. Romance. Danger. GO.”
And I said “HELLS YEAH WATCH ME DO THIS.”

(I’m paraphrasing, of course, mainly because I don’t know how to type the squealing sound I made for the first few hours after getting the email.)

For some reason, certain people have this idea that there’s something dirty or impure about write for hire deals– that if I didn’t think of the idea 1000% organically, that the book is cheapened somehow. This is strange to me since…well…I don’t think of ANY of my books 1000% organically. SISTERS RED was inspired by Red Riding Hood. PURITY was inspired by a student. AS YOU WISH was inspired by Shakespeare. Nothing I write just APPEARS in my brain from nowhere.

So, I can say with no reservation whatsoever that I love TSARINA as much as any book I’ve ever written. It’s as much mine as anything I’ve ever written. I’m so proud of it and am incredibly excited to share it with you– and personally, I don’t really care if I do that as Jackson Pearce or as J. Nelle Patrick.

Anyhow, the reason I had to use a pen name is because with most write for hire deals, publishers want to own the author name so if they want, they can continue to expand on the universe without asking me to write 802349083734 books a year. Which I appreciate, since my hands are tired.

A small secret: You can tell which books are write for hire books by looking at the copyright. If the copyright is to the publisher or a company (like Alloy Entertainment), it’s a write for hire. For example, Lauren Kate’s Fallen series, Maureen Johnson’s 13 Little Blue Envelopes, and L.J. Smith’s Vampire Diaries series are all write for hire books.

HOW:
So, how did I choose J. Nelle Patrick?

I went with the J. so I could continue to introduce myself as Jackson, since it felt a little weird to say “Hi, I’m NEWNAME!” when you all know I’m Jackson.

Nelle (well, Nellie) is my great-grandmother’s name.

And Patrick? Well. Patrick is close to Pearce. It’s usually shelved at eye level in a bookstore. And it’s shelved near James Patterson, who sells a bajillion books.

That’s right. I’m not ashamed to admit it. BUY MY BOOKS, PATTERSON FANS.

So. THERE YOU HAVE IT, folks.

I’ve been sitting on this news since October. OCTOBER. Do you know how hard it is for me to keep secrets? I am terrible at it. Please don’t make me your secret keeper. It will only result in heartache.

So. News. Here you go, in seven parts:

1) I HAVE A NEW BOOK COMING OUT.
(Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Ah.)

2) IT’S CALLED TSARINA.
(In the midst of the Russian Revolution, a young noble girl must find a powerful, mystical Faberge egg in order to save Russia– and the life of Alexei Romanov.)

3) IT COMES OUT WINTER 2014 WITH RAZORBILL
(Which is not very far away at all, and can we talk for a minute about how awesome the Razorbill team is? It’ll be a short conversation, because all I have to say is: They are VERY awesome.)

4) I’M WRITING IT UNDER A PEN NAME
(I am now moonlighting as J. Nelle Patrick. You can still call me “Jackson”. Or, if we’re dating and/or you’re Ryan Gosling, “baby”.)

5) RUSSIA
(It has been All Russia All The Time in my apartment for the past six months. If you are starting a trivia team and need someone who knows about Russia in the early 1900s, call me.)

6) THIS IS NOT THE DAMN HISTORICAL NOVEL
(A few years ago I wrote a book I lovingly referred to as the DAMN HISTORICAL NOVEL. This is not that book. This is a book I love and adore and cuddle, but I just want to clarify, since there have already been questions.)

7) TSARINA!
(I am just excited, so I wanted to type the title again.)