Celebrating the Release of Bridget Zinn's 'Poison'

Bridget Zinn was a member of the Apocalypsies, just like me, and her debut YA novel, Poison, releases tomorrow, March 12th.

Here is the fantastic cover:

And here is the scrumptious synopsis:

Sixteen-year-old Kyra, a highly-skilled potions master, is the only one who knows her kingdom is on the verge of destruction—which means she's the only one who can save it. Faced with no other choice, Kyra decides to do what she does best: poison the kingdom's future ruler, who also happens to be her former best friend.

But, for the first time ever, her poisoned dart…misses.

Now a fugitive instead of a hero, Kyra is caught in a game of hide-and-seek with the king's army and her potioner ex-boyfriend, Hal. At least she's not alone. She's armed with her vital potions, a too-cute pig, and Fred, the charming adventurer she can't stop thinking about. Kyra is determined to get herself a second chance (at murder), but will she be able to find and defeat the princess before Hal and the army find her?

Kyra is not your typical murderer, and she's certainly no damsel-in-distress—she's the lovable and quick-witted hero of this romantic novel that has all the right ingredients to make teen girls swoon.

Whimsy, and humor and fairy tales = RIGHT UP MY ALLEY.

Tragically, Bridget passed away from cancer in May 2011, at the age of 33 -- 10 months before she got to see her debut book make its way out into the world.

To honor her and Poison, Bridget's family and colleagues have asked authors to write a little about their own debut experience. It wouldn't be that hard to write about mine since it was less than a year ago. It was a whirlwind of blog posts and interviews; release parties, panels, and social media well wishes; and a sense of utter wonder and amazement I can honestly say I haven't felt since I was a kid. It was hard work, but magical, wonderful hard work. I will cherish the memories of my release week for the rest of my life.

Like most authors -- and like it was for Bridget -- being published was a lifelong dream of mine. In writing this, I started thinking about why that is. Besides having a compulsion to write and tell stories, being published means leaving a legacy of sorts, your words echoing through time long after you're gone. Jane Austen still speaks to us. Roald Dahl still speaks to us. And so will Bridget Zinn.

It breaks my heart that Bridget is not here to experience all of this for herself as she deserves to, but this is where we all come in. In this day and age, most authors have to be their own marketing teams: that social media, blog post, interview maelstrom I talked about. But since Bridget is not able to do that for herself, it would mean a lot to the success of her book for us to be her mouthpiece and spread the word of Poison. If you're an author, blogger or reader (really, that should be all of you here!), here are all the ways you can help.

Because I hope, wherever she is, Bridget can experience her extraordinary debut week too.