DOUBLY DAZZLED!

I am doubly dazzled today. First, by acclaimed author Frances O'Roark Dowell's praise for

After the River the Sun

, my forthcoming companion novel to

Eva of the Farm

. O'Roark Dowell, the author of

Chicken Boy

and

The Second Life of Abigail Walker,

wrote:

In After the River the Sun, Dia Calhoun has written a quietly powerful story of a boy who steps out of a fantasy world of knights and monsters into a real-life quest for family and home. Calhoun deals with loss, healing and friendship in language that is both direct and lyrical, making every page of this marvelous book a pleasure to read.

       --Frances O’Roark Dowell

Second, I am dazzled by the cover for

After the River the Sun

, illustrated by Kate Slater, designed by Sonia Chaghatzbanian, and shepherded by the ever-patient, ever-watchful Ariel Colletti.

Thanks to everyone for making this book so beautiful. I can't wait until it finds its way into the world this July.