Announcing The Debutante Ball - Class of 2009!

My debut novel, Catching Genius, was sold in December of 2005. Sadly, within two weeks my editor (Leona Nevler) passed away, and I was in a panic. Some luck must have remained though, because my publisher, the brilliant Leslie Gelbman, still wanted the book, and I wound up with the editor I am convinced I was destined to work with, Jackie Cantor.

But my panic had helped me develop an idea that grabbed hold of me and wouldn't let go. It seemed to me that every genre had a built-in support system, RWA for romances, a plethora of organizations for mysteries and thrillers, and so on. But what about us mainstreamers? What about us debut authors? I wanted, needed, some help, some support, and, as a reader first and foremost, I wanted readers to know about us struggling debut authors and our books, and I wanted to share with them what the year leading up to publication was like.

And so the grog (group blog) The Debutante Ball was born. Our founding Debs and their debut novels: Moi, of course (Catching Genius), Tish Cohen (Town House), Anna David (Party Girl), Eileen Cook (Unpredictable), Jennifer McMahon (Promise Not To Tell), and Mia King (Good Things). The Debutante Ball turned out to be a real hit within the reading, writing, and publishing communities. The Debs had a great time and wound up developing great relationships with each other and our readers.

The Ball was so successful that we knew it had to keep going, but you can only be a Debutante for one year, can't you? So in late 2007 we turned it over to the capable hands of a new group of debut authors whose books were coming out in 2008: Gail Konop Baker (Cancer is a Bitch), Eileen Cook (Unpredictable, yes, Eileen got to be a Deb for two years! Due to heavy advance buzz and foreign sales, Eileen's original pub date was pushed back), Jess Riley (Sideways), Danielle Younge-Ullman (Falling Under), Jenny Gardiner (Sleeping With Ward Cleaver), and Lisa Daily (Fifteen Minutes of Shame).

They did a great job of continuing The Debutante Ball tradition and growing the concept. And now, well, now 2008 is quickly running out, but The Debutante Ball is as popular as ever. What to do? Find the best debuts of 2009 and continue dancing, of course!

So I'm delighted to announce that my little idea, sprung from panic in 2005, The Debutante Ball, lives on in the class of 2009.

From the 2008 Debs:

Announcing the Debutante Ball Class of 2009

We are most excited to announce the 2009 Debs, who will take over the Debutante Ball on September 1, 2008. We had so many extremely talented authors from which to choose, all with exciting books debuting next year, and narrowing it down to five was no easy task.

Without further ado, our 2009 Debutantes are:

Eve Brown-Waite, author of the memoir First Comes Love, Then Comes Malaria: How a Peace Corps Poster Boy Won My Heart and a Third World Adventure Changed My Life (Broadway Books/April 2009).

about the book: With wit and candor, First Comes Love, Then Comes Malaria chronicles Eve’s misadventures as an aspiring do-gooder in the developing world. From intestinal parasites to being held hostage, from eating termites to cultural misunderstandings, here is an honest – and hysterical – look at the search for love and purpose – from a woman who finds both in the last place she expected.

Tiffany Baker, author of the literary novel The Little Giant of Aberdeen County (Grand Central Publishing, January 2009).

about the book: The Little Giant of Aberdeen County is about how Truly, a woman born a giant, overcomes her small town’s prejudices, uncovers decades of family secrets, and learns that love doesn’t always come ordered to size.

Katie Alender, author of the YA thriller Bad Girls Don’t Die (Disney/Hyperion, April 2009).

about the book:When 15-year-old Alexis Warren suspects that her younger sister Kasey’s strange behavior is more than just angst, she thinks she can handle it on her own. But creepy parlor tricks are just the beginning, and it soon seems that Kasey may actually be living out the violent legacy of the Warrens’ gothic home. Alexis is forced to seek out the help of her arch-rival, cheerleader queen, Megan Wiley. Only by working together can they try to save Kasey. But what if the green-eyed girl isn’t even Kasey anymore?

Kristina Riggle, author of the women’s fiction book All Happy Families (Avon/HarperCollins, May 2009).

about the book: Faded flower child Mira Zielinski isn’t about to have surgery for her newly diagnosed breast cancer, which will no doubt upset her grown children — when she gets around to telling them. They’re coming home with their own lives falling apart over spousal secrets, an elopement, and withered dreams. As this all comes to light on one pivotal weekend, will it shake Mira’s resolve?

Meredith Cole, author of the mystery novel Posed for Murder (St. Martin’s Press, February 2009).

about the book: Lydia McKenzie, an edgy art photographer who recreates murder scenes in a film noir style, finally achieves her dream of putting her art in a gallery. But when someone starts killing her models just like they were posed in her photographs, she has to catch the killer before she becomes the next victim.