Introducing Booksmith's newest Upstream author: Aimee Lucido!
In a new city, at a new school, twelve-year-old Emmy has never felt more out of tune. Things start to look up when she takes her first coding class, unexpectedly connecting with the material—and Abigail, a new friend—through a shared language: music. But when Emmy gets bad news about their computer teacher, and finds out Abigail isn’t being entirely honest about their friendship, she feels like her new life is screeching to a halt. Despite these obstacles, Emmy is determined to prove one thing: that, for the first time ever, she isn’t a wrong note, but a musician in the world's most beautiful symphony.
Emmy in the Key of Code is very much fiction, but it is inspired by Aimee's own experiences both as a young girl learning to love computers, and as an adult trying to bridge the gap between the worlds of art and technology.
Aimee is the type of person who is only happy when working on a dozen different projects. As a student, this was always an asset, but when she began her first internship as a software engineer at Google, she felt the right half of her brain might melt. So, in her spare time, she started to draft what would become her first full-length manuscript. She continued to work on that manuscript through her remaining years as an undergrad at Brown University, and in her senior year it became her literary arts thesis. And while there is little worth salvaging from that original manuscript, the love of writing remained.
Aimee continued writing in fits in burst during her first full-time job as a software engineer at Facebook. Whenever she had a rough day at the office, writing was there as an escape. After one particularly bad day, Aimee decided to try something she never thought she'd do: apply for an internship with a literary agent.
She ended up finding a position that she could do while still working as a software engineer, and after six months of reading slush, she realized her true passion was in writing books, and so she applied to Hamline University's MFA program in writing for children and young adults. After two years and one job change (from Facebook to Uber), she graduated with a draft of what would soon become Emmy in the Key of Code.
Aimee is so excited to share Emmy in the Key of Code with the world, but especially with the city of San Francisco, since it is both the city that has been her home since 2013 and also the setting for the story. When she's not writing, you can find Aimee running through Golden Gate Park with her husband, Peter, performing musical improv at Stage Werx with her team Flash Mob Musical, and making crossword puzzles for The New York Times, Crosswords with Friends, and The American Values Xword. She also enjoys baking, rock climbing, and watching The Bachelor.
Upstream, for the uninitiated, is our ongoing (and ever-growing) effort to partner with local authors to provide an unending supply of signed books available for purchase—without events, lines, or hassle. Order and enjoy.
*** Please note***
- To pre-order a signed copy of Emmy in the Key of Code, order below and put your request in the comments field.
- If you plan to attend Aimee's launch party on Tues, 9/24/19, please note in the comments field that you'd like to pick up the book at the event.
- If you'd like to pre-order an unsigned copy, please note that in the comments field.
