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The Boy Who Steals Houses

Books To Read While You’re Waiting For The Boy Who Steals Houses!

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With just 10 days to go until The Boy Who Steals Houses is out, some of us just want to read it already.

Enough waiting okay.

Well, “some of us” does not include me, because I have read this book so many freaking times I can close my eyes, point to a page number, and know what scene it is. (Although tbh, if you guess “SAM WAS SAD HERE” then you’re 90% right for every page. But that’s beside the point.)

So it’s time for me to haul out some book recommendations…

6 books to read while you wait for the boy who steals houses!

I did a similar post before A Thousand Perfect Notes came out too, so it is becoming a thing. And I am okay with that. 🙌🏻 I love increasing your TBRs and your chances of being buried alive by good books. I’m just that kind of lovely friend.

Also these are “you might like…” sort of recs. TBWSH is a Goldilocks retelling but still most thoroughly my own monster.

OTHER POSTS TO READ

➸ What Is It Like Having Your 2nd Novel Published?
➸ Q&A About Publishing The Boy Who Steals Houses

PREORDER DETAILS

Goodreads | Amazon US | Amazon UK | Booktopia | Book Depository

 

…For big family shenanigans 🗝

One of my favourite things to write in TBWSH was the De Lainey family! They have 7 kids, they’re grieving the loss of their mother, their dad is so Chill™ he legit doesn’t notice Sam living in their house for, um, the whole summer, and there is at least 5 dramas happening at all times. Like I just loved writing this ok?! They are loveable chaos. There is a scene where Moxie rates her brothers on Usefulness Rankings. What can I say.

Anyway…you must absolutely try My Life Next Door which also features a Sam (a female one) and her next door neighbours are the messy and loveable Garrett family. This one is way more fluffy than mine loooool.

 

…For runaways looking for a place to belong 🗝

Am still not over Boomerang and how much it made me feeeel. It’s also about Sean who ran away from a neglectful home life and *found* a better family and a place in the world. Except now Sean has to go back home and he’s leaving people he absolutely loves, but his real-mum wants him back. It’s a book that tugs your heart all over the place. It’s also softly queer and softly stressful.

In my book ➸  Sam also runs away from home, with his autistic older brother Avery. But Sam breaks into houses when the families are home and just lives there. He has so many tragic dreams it’s just !!! kid, you need a hug and a hot drink.

 

…For autism rep 🗝

In When My Heart Joins The Thousand, Alvie is 17, autistic, and living alone and trying to be emancipated. But she is so lonely. Then she connects with this boy with such fragile bones that he can barely move without hurting himself. It’s an amazing story, and I just loved Alvie’s portrayal of autism?! She represents so many of we autistics: she’s got a job, she can take care of herself…but then she falls apart in so many ways that society doesn’t deem “acceptable” for her age.

This is pretty much Avery from my book. He’s vulnerable and naive and Sam basically gets grey hair the whole time trying to explain to keep Avery safe. Avery can hold down a job. He’s verbal. He has a wicked sense of humour and is so Soft™ and literally craves hugs. But he absolutely can’t see BAD THINGS COMING because he still trusts people. 😭 Dammit, Avery. Also these brothers have some co-dependancy issues and Sam is only 15, so he messes up a lot. He’s basically raising Avery, but the line between “protecting” vs “isolating” gets blurred.

 

…For found-family and disaster decision makers 🗝

Look The Foxhole Court is like my favourite thing so I had to find a way to mention it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I shan’t apologise. But look in this book we have NEIL who is on the run from an abusive father…but sacrifices safety because he so badly wants to play Exy and have a family. Have a place. And his team gives him that.

All I’m saying is that Sam and Neil have the same issue. “I don’t need anyone,” they say, while clinging to their new family and freaking out when they hold keys because it means they have a place.

Do their bad decisions come back to bite them? Yes.

 

…For neglected boys 🗝

The Wicker King is actually one of my all-time favourite books. I CRY. 😭 In my top 5, easy. And it’s about August watching his childhood friend spiral down into delusions and mental illness while the adults in their lives fully just neglect them. August and Jack just bREAK me…and their soft realisation that it’s ok to love each other through all of this is just everything.

In my book ➸ Sam has the similar experience of just turning to adults who aren’t there for him. At all. He’s totally ruled by his anxiety (like August) trying to keep it all together by himself. Part of why Sam holds so fast to the De Laineys is that for once he doesn’t have to be the adult. But if he’s not looking after Avery, then who is???

 

…For anyone looking for a Goldilocks retelling! 🗝

I can’t even recommend any other Goldilocks retellings?! I dare say Im not the first lmao, I juts haven’t found any. So HERE is to my genderbent Goldi-Sam-Locks who steals into houses and eats their pancakes, not porridge.

I have a ton of references too, so keep your eyes peeled for the Easter Eggs! Like the fateful Saturday when the book begins, Sam breaks into 2 houses before the 3rd is…just right.

have you read any of these? (and do you know of any ya Goldilocks retellings?) and if you’re a writer ➸ tell me what books you’d compare your current project to? i’m very curious!

 

What Is It Like Having Your 2nd Novel Published? (Ft. I Have A Finished Copy of The Boy Who Steals Houses!)

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In exactly 12 days, my second novel (The Boy Who Steals Houses) will be out in the world.

Why yes I am absolutely 1000% freaking out, how are you. The weeks leading up to release day are equal parts thrilling and terrifying — and I still feel like I’m trying to find my footing after my debut, A Thousand Perfect Notes, came out just last June. Yes. That was only 10 months ago.

Am I tired??? Dude I am Very Tired™.

When I got to make the official announcement for The Boy Who Steals Houses’ release date + title, a lot of people said, “I can’t believe you have a second book already!” But I actually announced I had a 2-book deal right up front! So this was always always coming! I still have to pinch myself that I even landed a 2-book deal in the first place.😍 TBWSH wasn’t even written! It wasn’t even a blimp in my imagination yet! Being trusted — and wanted — like that was such an encouraging way to start my career.

My emotions were !!!!!!!!!!! for days and days.

 

So I thought I’d outline how The Boy Who Steals Houses came to be.

I was going to do this closer to release day but then I realised: “CAIT. IT IS CLOSE TO RELEASE DAY HOLY HECK GET ON THIS.” This is also a good time to admit I have very limited time-and-spacial-awareness. I’m the person who cheerfully believes, every. freaking. time., that I can fit 6 hours of writing into 30mins before bed. And then I wonder why I never sleep, but anyway.

 

Also I hope you are beholding the GLORY that is the finished copy of The Boy Who Steals Houses!! I got sent two (the rest of author-copies will come later) and I may have just cried over my package. (I sent the second one off to my critique partner Maraia who this book seriously wouldn’t exist without.😘)

PREORDER DETAILS

Goodreads | Amazon US | Amazon UK | Booktopia | Book Depository

Also NOTE: It’s out in Australia on the 9th, instead of the 4th! So you get to suffer and wait longer.

I wrote The Boy Who Steals Houses in November 2016.

It was a NaNoWriMo novel! It was also a heckin’ mess. So if that doesn’t encourage you to resuscitate your beloved but also catastrophically messy NaNo drafts — then what will. There is hope out there, in the darkness.

I’d signed my 2-book deal (starting with A Thousand Perfect Notes) back in June of 2016, so I didn’t know what that “untitled 2nd contemporary” was going to be. My plan was to write a ton, cry a bit, and pitch ideas to my editors. I ended up writing two full novels and coming up with a few other pitches. Writing grew strangely hard right then. I had ATPN signed and in edits and there fore I had plenty of time to panic. (Ex: COULD I EVEN WRITE?!?! WAS ATPN A FLUKE!?!? have i ever written a novel in my life).

Am I dramatic?? Pshaw.

Anyway. The pitch that everyone pointed to with a YES was for → The Boy Who Steals Houses.

(What about the other contemporaries I’ve written and pitched? Some got rejected, as that’s the business. And some I’ve scoured their cold corpses and gone through their pockets to take scenes for other books.)

 

TBWSH was officially confirmed to be my 2nd novel around November 2017.

That’s pretty fast ok!! Almost exactly 1 year since it even crawled sulkily into existence.

And next?

edits edits edits edits edits edits edits edits edits edits

Actually the whole process of how TBWSH got to be a final draft felt very different from how it went with my debut, A Thousand Perfect Notes. So basically n o t h i n g is certain. Except cake. Bless cake.

➸ The Boy Who Steals Houses required a rather large edit.

The first things authors do when asked to rewrite something is: cry. I cried. It was a daunting taste and I was a New Green Author Hatchling still (ATPN wasn’t out yet remember). I was also insecure about writing about two things that were very personal to me: (1) anxiety, and (2) autism. When you splatter your heart on the table and people say, “Hm, this needs to be better,” it’s a terrifying moment of: I’m wrong. How could I be so so wrong. I shouldn’t be writing this. Cue me staring into the bottomless pit of despair.

So that life meltdown lasted, um, one day. Then I wanted to work.

The thing with being a traditional author and working with your editor is: they are ON YOUR SIDE. They see your work, they see the imperfections and the gnarly edges that you don’t see. Because you’re way too close to your own vision of the project. Half of my intentions for the story where still in my head. NOT on the page. They kinda needed to be on the page!

So we fixed it. We got MY full vision on the page. I worked with my editors ideas. (My agent is really supportive and close in my journey too and weighs in when I need her!) We made the book 100 x better, kept my vision, polished it, and turned out a book I’m so intensely in love with it makes my heart fit to burst.

Changing your story, your baby, will always be scary. But writing a novel isn’t a one person job. If your editor knows your book’s heart and knows *your* heart, then you’ll both work your hardest to turn this story into a fully incredible novel.

I emphasis this because I get a lot of unpublished writers tell me, “Yeah but I don’t want anyone to *change* me.” And look, I get the stubborn feels? Like I said: this is our baby. Our hardest work. But your editor is here to make it your best work. Not just your hardest. You’ve got the passion. They’ve got the professional knowledge to get your passion into trim shape.

ugh i love just love having people help me with my work lmao otherwise I’m a mess

 

Things That Changed Between Drafts

  • I added in the flash backs!! I LOVE THE FLASH BACKS. These were my editor’s idea.
  • Also fun fact: I legit wrote “backflash” every single time in the manuscript and my editor is like, “Uh did you know it’s flashback?” Well there.
  • I trimmed some scenes. I felt sad losing them, but also…the book was really long and as cute as the scenes were, they were pointless haha. (But you WILL get to see a deleted scene as part of my blog tour! More details will come!)
  • Avery’s character got a large overhaul. He’s my autistic character and I was scared to change him — but also the way he is in the final book? It’s 1000% what I wanted but didn’t quite get to originally.
  • The violence…had to be…toned…down. (Lmao. I swear I’m nice in person in real life.)
  • Approximately 39849839 typos had to be fixed.
  • I actually changed almost ALL the De Lainey kids’ names! The sole De Lainey who kept their name was Jeremy. I named him after A CHILD’S PICTURE BOOK ABOUT A KOOKABURRA.
  • And we did a bit of UK vs Australian translating. Apparently the British do not have “eskys”. What’s wrong with you lot.

Right! So the massive edits were finished! Then what?

Then waiting. Looots of waiting. I’d maybe do a few more tweaks. Copy edits came in. I did a last minute panicked fix of the very final pages.

I got to see the cover! It’s designed by Thy Bui who also did covers for: Shadow & Bone, The Astonishing Colour of After and Everless! I originally did hope it was going to be more yellow, because it’s a Goldilocks retelling. But in the end it’s perfect and I was stoked with everyone’s reactions. The keys are utter perfection and fit in with the story so well!

Acknowledgements writing time: aka when I freak out because WHAT IF I FORGET SOMEONE. I got all emotional while writing them though, so when you read the acknowledgements: picture me with my heart melting like a pot of warmed chocolate.

The dedication? I used a line out of the actual book:

if lost please return to the De Laineys

This captures both everything Sam feels and everything my readers also feel (!!) because, no joke, I am getting constant messages saying “I WANNA BE ADOPTED BY THE DELAINYS TOO.” Mood, my friends.

 

And on April 4th it’s going to be in bookstores 😍 and I’m going to be a happy mess.

This book stole my heart. It is both a story where I wrote vulnerable things and also heart things. There were so many times I thought it wouldn’t make it — but it did. And I just…!! Do you want to get an umbrella so I can cry on you, maybe? Because, me right now.

And look, I don’t know what happens after TBWSH. Being an author isn’t a place of guarantees. I have fingers so tightly crossed that TBWSH will do well, sell well, and be loved — and that I’ll be able to sell another book and keep telling you all my heart’s stories. So we’ll see, OK!?

Right now I’m excited and anxious about release day. I’m in love with this book and I can’t wait for you to meet my disaster son, Sam, and his desperate wish to find the home and family he is looking for.

 

Do You Want To See The Cover for The Boy Who Steals Houses?!

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I’m absolutely beaming right now because it’s time to share the cover for The Boy Who Steals Houses!

We are coming ever closer to the April 4th release date (70 days to go, to be specific) and I’ve been doing exciting things like writing acknowledgements (still a surreal experience!!) and seeing page proofs and excitedly awaiting the moment when I get to hold a physical copy of TBWSH. Which is, arguably, the very best moment of all.

But the cover…!!

Are you ready?!

 

Book Depository | Hachette UK | Amazon UK | Amazon US | Booktopia Australia

Preorders do so much good for new small authors (like meeee) and bonus, the book is usually a bit cheaper before release day! If you’re in the USA, your best option is Book Depository! They do free shipping too. Amazon US will get it in, but so far only the kindle is up for preorder. I think this is because I’m not published in the US. But who would know!

and you can add it on goodreads…!

 

🗝 yes there will be ARCs and it’ll be up on Netgalley UK!

This should happen early February, but I’ll keep you updated from where you can request. (Physical ARCs will only be for those in the UK and Australia, as far as I know.)

 

🗝 and this is a good time to say…if you ever want to interview me or share about TBWSH or ask any questions — GO FOR IT.

I do not bite (well, not on weekends anyway) and I love you so much. I’ve had a few people message me starting off with, “I’m so sorry to bother you…” pfftshtfffsfs. YOU ARE NOT A BOTHER. I’m immeasurably grateful to you.

 

🗝 The Boy Who Steals Houses is not a sequel to A Thousand Perfect Notes.

They’re set in the same universe though!! There may or may not be a wonderfully placed cameo or mention or two.

 

🗝 It’s 360 pages!

Compared to ATPN’s 288…so someone got long-winded ha ha. Although, as I was reading through for the 180th time and crying over copy-edits, I pledged to myself never again to write over 300 pages. So much more to edit. Why do people write 100K books. Why…why would they.

 

🗝 The keys on the cover mean things.

So many things…

 

🗝 There’s a lot going on in this book and I’m very proud of it.

It has homelessness and big messy families. It has anxiety and autism. It’s set in summer, so there’s popcorn and mangoes and a soft yellow pocket of happiness before everything goes really bad. It has brothers with a very intense relationship. It has a very soft and tentative romance (between a Hufflepuff and a Slytherin). It is a genderbent modernised Goldilocks retelling. There is banter and snark…and also tears and bloody knuckles. When I say “I’m going to make you laugh AND cry…” dude, I mean it.

It is dark and light and about being lost and found.

It’s about looking for something and stealing the impossible.

And there is a heck tonne of brownies in it because I drafted it for NaNoWriMo 2016 and I was home alone for a week and brownies is one of the few things I can bake. So like. There sits the truth of my inspiration.

 

🗝 I’m never going to get over this whole AM AN AUTHOR thing.

It’s just my dream, ok?! The process isn’t all perfect and I still have so many wishes I’m desperate to come true. But just !! knowing people read and enjoy my work, having publishers and an extraordinary agent who root for me, and being able to unravel the stories that make my heart beat faster…I’m so so grateful.

(And wouldn’t be here without my blogger-friends’ support! So thank YOU.)

 

me @ not being able to wait to take proper photos of it

well I am a happy swamp right now!!!! what do you think?! are there fairy tales you wish were done in contemporary and/or genderbent? ready to be broken by meeee again? 

Announcing My Second Novel (The Boy Who Steals Houses) Coming Out in April 2019!

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I am practically beaming with happiness right now okay?! Let me introduce you to my second soon-to-be-published novel!

If you remember from when I announced A Thousand Perfect Notes back in October, I said it was a 2-book deal. And here is news of my sECOND SON. My second novel is called The Boy Who Steals Houses and it’s coming out in April 2019, with Hachette Children’s / Orchard UK! Which is actually less than a year away already.

I’m growin’ up so fast omg hold me.

Now it is still so so early so I’m not going to say a lot (!!) but I’ll do a fun little Q&A for this post and basically continue beaming until I outshine the sun. I know it looks like, “WOW Cait is coming out with all these books so fast!!??!” but trust me there’s been 7 years of work behind this and quite a few sacrifices to the trees and a criminal amount of chocolate.

But I’m so so happy and my heart is so full. There were so many times I nearly quit and screamed myself into another dimension…but here I am. Author of two books. That you will soon be able to read. And I just…my current state is: !!!!!

THE BOY WHO STEALS HOUSES

Can two broken boys find their perfect home?
Sam is only fifteen but he and his autistic older brother, Avery, have been abandoned by every relative he’s ever known. Now Sam’s trying to build a new life for them. He survives by breaking into empty houses when their owners are away, until one day he’s caught out when a family returns home. To his amazement this large, chaotic family takes him under their wing – each teenager assuming Sam is a friend of another sibling. Sam finds himself inextricably caught up in their life, and falling for the beautiful Moxie.
But Sam has a secret, and his past is about to catch up with him.

Goodreads  Book Depository  Waterstones  Amazon UK  Pinterest Board!

 

To be clear, on one has asked me anything yet. But I am prepared. Hence here is a presumptuous Q&A where I will answer questions no one asked.

Q: What’s the title?
A: The Boy Who Steals Houses!

Q: Why is this vaguely familiar to me, a keen observer of your blog.
A: Because, you clever finch, you might remember me talking about this project back in 2016 when I wrote it for NaNoWriMo! It was a book I finished in 3 DAYS and I was pretty excited about that. I never knew if it’d end up being an actual published novel but look!! look!! I’m so happy I can’t even explain !!!

Q: So is this a sequel to A Thousand Perfect Notes??
A: It is not. It is a standalone, but it’s in the same world as ATPN and it’s set 1 year later. In fact Beck and August from ATPN go to the same school as Sam and Avery from TBWSH.

This is page 18 in A Thousand Perfect Notes…

I am ridiculously pleased with myself and my Easter Eggs, ok. RIDICULOUSLY PLEASED. The scheming here from me is wild.

Q: Can we call agree TBWSH is a horrible acronym and looks like mouthwash.
A: Yep. I’m gonna go ahead and agree.

Q: Also tell me about the title.
A: Can you believe I, the infamous horrific titler, actually TITLED THIS ONE MYSELF. I’m so proud. (FYI A Thousand Perfect Notes was named by my agent! I originally called it Tremolo because I cannot title.)

Q: How do you steal a whole house.
A: You know what? You’ll have to wait and see.

Q: Will there be ARCs?
A: I assume so but it is waaay too early. I have literally only just sent back an early round of edits. This isn’t quite even book-shaped yet.

Q: So do you have a favourite between your two sons now?
A: Nooooo. I mean, I love them both to death and each has a special place in my heart. But TBWSH has definitely stolen (har har) my heart and it’s one I can’t ever stop thinking about. Sam and Avery are the softest cinnamon sons, who also make such bad decisions I have no idea how they’re still alive. This book is dark. It’s very raw and honest. It’s extremely special to me.

Q: Are there dragons this time????
A: um, still no

Q: Is there cake?
A: YES. Actually, funny story: when I wrote this, I was living alone (my sister doesn’t count as a person because she was there but useless in the kitchen) for a month and basically living off sandwiches and brownie because apparently cooking is hard and I am small and tired. In the end there was brownie in like every third chapter of TBWSH. It’s not quite that bad now, but the whole book is an ode to brownie.

Q: Will I cry tho. Is it happier or sadder than ATPN????
A: Dude, you know it is sad. You already know. And it is just as dark as ATPN…

Q: What’s with all the yellow?
A: Yellow is a really important colour in the book! Also I’m not sure if the protagonist, Sam, is a Hufflepuff or Gryffindor…I will get back to you on that. And also, this is a genderbent Goldilocks retelling!

Q: So you are writing about autism.
A: Yes! There is an autistic character in here from an autistic author. And look, I just want to smile in a very deviously satisfied way to all the people who’ve told me that autistic authors DON’T get published. They do! Hello! I know I am very lucky, but I’ve also worked monstrously hard and I’m not undermining that by saying it’s all luck and timing. And while this book has an autistic secondary character in it (Avery), it isn’t actually about autism. Because autistic kids get to have plots and narratives too. This also isn’t the “usual” autism narrative you see. Avery isn’t a math genius, he has a lot of stims/tics, and he gives me a chance to talk about the autistic kids who aren’t low or high functioning and how the world either demands too much or too little from them.

Q: What does this mean for the blog then?
A: You get to put up with me mentioning two books all the freaking time. Please don’t go.

Q: When will we see the cover?
A: I haven’t even seen the cover! Probably not for quite a while!

Q: Anything else you want to spill? Look I can see you shimmying around. Just spill it.
A: OKAY!! So if you’ve preordered a copy of A Thousand Perfect Notes, there is actually a sneak peek (half of the first chapter!!) of The Boy Who Steals Houses in the back!! YOU GET TO MEET MY SONS, SAM AND AVERY, VERY SOON. In 19 days to be exact. And then you get to wait 320 days for the rest. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Q: What else goes down in this book?!
A: There are two homeless brothers + also a very very big messy chaotic family + a lot of banter + the cutest awkward romance ever + more bad decisions than is healthy for anyone tbh + a glitter catastrophe like you’ve never seen + one of the biggest character-casts I’ve written + it GETS DARK.

Q: Tell me something cool.
A: um on Waterstones it’s being compared to “Perfect for fans of Jandy Nelson and Jennifer Niven.” And I just !! That’s pretty neat! Don’t mind me as I explode into the sun!

APRIL 2019. I’m so happy you’ll meet Sam and Avery!