Teen Fiction Café

Martin Luther King Day

2012-01-16T07:12:00.001-08:00

Happy Martin Luther King Day!

This may age me, but I remember when President Reagan signed legislation creating this holiday back in 1983 - 15 years after it was first proposed. It took 3 more years for the federal holiday to go into effect. Even then, the governor of Arizona decided to rescind the holiday in his state - resulting in boycotts and even the loss of hosting the 1993 Superbowl. (Arizonans later voted to have the holiday reinstated, and all was forgiven by the NFL. They hosted the Superbowl in 1996.) Still, not all states recognized the holiday by name, nor as a paid state holiday. It wasn't until Y2K that all states were on board.

After such a struggle, it seems fitting to commemorate the life and contributions of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with something more than a day off school and a sale at the local mattress store. Since I'm in challenge mode this month, I'd like to throw out a challenge to all TFC readers: find a meaningful way to celebrate this day. Here are a couple of ideas to get you started:

Read Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech.

Join the Day of Service. You can find organized projects in your area here, or check out the twitter feed here. If you don't see anything nearby, you could always find a way on your own to serve your community. (Hint: lots of food banks and shelters say they have more help than they need in December when people are in the giving mood, but that volunteers drop sharply once the holidays are over.)

What are you going to do with today? Any other holiday/service suggestions?

Good News Friday: A New Website and a New "Zone"

2012-01-13T08:04:00.000-08:00

I love good news Friday! And today, I'm thrilled to announced that after several LONG months, my sparkly new website is LIVE!

www.JessicaBrody.com

I've been wanting to redesign my website for years and I finally took the plunge. And up until now, I've always designed and (semi-adequately) built my own. Because I figured it was a good way to save money and I was, after all, semi-adequate at web design.

But then recently I read this book called THE BIG LEAP: CONQUER YOUR HIDDEN FEAR AND TAKE LIFE TO THE NEXT LEVEL by Gay Hendricks. And he has this great philosophy about "Living in your Zone of Genius." Essentially, we all have FOUR zones:

The Zone of Incompetence - stuff we can't do at all, even if we tried...e.g. for me this would be singing opera, speaking Swahili, blogging regularly, and cooking.

The Zone of Competence - stuff you can do fairly well, but there are others who can do it WAY better than you. This is where my web design would come in. As well as my inexplicable desire to always want to try to fix my computer myself, before inevitably calling someone six hours later when I'm tired, sweaty and about to chuck it out the nearest window.

The Zone of Excellence - stuff you do extremely well and probably have been doing well for years but it's not exactly what you've always dreamed of doing. For me, this is the stuff I did at my old job, financial models, building pretty spreadsheets, crunching numbers, etc.

And finally, there's your...

Zone of Genius - And no, I'm not talking about some mythical place where all the Geniuses from the Apple store hang out after working, making fun of all the technically incompetent people in the world. Your Zone of Genius includes all the stuff that doesn't feel like work. That you could do all day, every day and never get tired or bored. The place where you really are at zen with yourself and the world. For me this is brainstorming new book ideas and seeing them come to life on the page!

And the book says that we should make a conscious effort to always live in our Zone of Genius and find ways to escape our Zone of Competence and even our Zone of Excellence as much as possible.

So...long story short (too late, I know!): It was for THIS is the reason I decided to finally hire a web design company to build my new website. (The awesomeness of Hanee Designs) Since building websites is clearly in my Zone of Competence (and sometimes even in my Zone of Incompetence) so that I could spend more time living in my Zone of Genius. Meaning, spending more time brainstorming and writing books!

And this website is the result. So I'm especially proud of it for several reasons. And I do hope you enjoy it!

www.JessicaBrody.com

Oh, and I should also note that the new website, which went live yesterday, features the FIRST EVER RELEASED synopsis of the first book in my forthcoming teen sci-fi trilogy. It's called UNREMEMBERED and you can read all about it here!

Happy Friday everyone! And here's to living in your Zone of Genius all day, every day!

- Jessica

(Writing) Books I Have Loved

2012-01-13T07:41:00.000-08:00

I'm a writing book junkie, for sure. I have an entire bookcase devoted to books on writing, publishing, publicity, creativity -- you name it. Many I'm lucky enough to find at library sales (especially out-of-print books and even grammar and textbooks on writing --yes, I'm THAT obsessed), but my favorite ones were purchased by me or given as gifts. Here are a few of my top, top, top writing books (i.e. ones that I will never lend to anyone, because I need to know where they are at all times).

Ann Lamott's Bird by Bird -- This is the very first book I ever read on writing that wasn't assigned to me in a classroom. And I return to it again and again, for inspiration, for comfort, for new ways to look at this crazy thing that we all do called writing. The title of the book explains how to tackle the seemingly impossible task of writing a book. It came from some advice that Ann Lamott's younger brother received from their father when he was doing a book report on birds and it seemed overwhelming. He told her little brother to "just take it bird by bird." Read it. Today!

Stephen King's On Writing -- While my writing leans toward the scary, thriller genre, this was a no brainer for me to read. But I recommend this book to any writer of any genre. King not only gives a look into his own writing style (the when, the where and the how), but he also offers short, easy, do-able ways of getting your story out. He doesn't give lofty, convoluted exercises that only MFA graduates can handle. He gives you manageable tasks: for instance, he describes his way of plotting as putting "a group of characters in some sort of predicament and then watch them try to work themselves free." Plus, any insight into the master of the horror genre is guaranteed to be a thrilling read.

Julia Cameron's The Right to Write and The Sound of Paper -- Julia Cameron has been known as a kind of creativity guru for decades, helping all kinds of writers overcome writer's block. Her most famous and widely read book, The Artist's Way, was born out of those lectures and teachings. One of her main exercises is for writers to write 30 morning pages every day, no matter what. It doesn't have to be your work in progress (or WIP) or an article you are working on. Just get those 30 pages done and you will train yourself (like an athlete) to become accustomed to churning the work out every day. She also advocates taking yourself out on Artist Dates -- a time when you and your artistic sensibilities (or "muse") are treated to some time together. It could be a 20 minute walk or a trip to a museum. Anything to get those creative juices flowing.

Lawrence Block's The Liar's Bible -- Lawrence Block is known for his great success in the mystery genre (especially his Matthew Scudder novels), but his writing books are what really stand out for me in his impressive body of work. This book is only available for download on Kindle or e-book, but it's well worth it. Liar's Bible, along with his other writing books, Telling Lies for Fun and Profit, The Liar's Companion, Spider, Spin Me a Web, and Writing the Novel, From Plot to Print, are indispensable in so many ways. Most of them are essays from a long-running column he did for Writer's Digest. I take a peek at any one of these books when I'm feeling down about writing. He takes away the "mystique" of writing. He is able to churn out a book in 60 days and he has a no-nonsense approach that makes anyone feel like if you just sit down and bite the bullet, you can finish that novel, that chapter, heck, even that page of writing that has been staring you in the face for weeks.

Cheryl Klein's Second Sight -- I started reading this after it was given to me as a Christmas present this year and I took it everywhere with me. It was amazing to get all of this insight from an editor of YA and children's books. It felt like a gift from the writing gods. Like I was getting information straight from the source. Almost like pulling away the curtain and getting insight into what editors are REALLY looking for. And then, I lost it. (Not my mind, the book!) For the life of me, I cannot find the book anywhere and it's driving me crazy. I've searched high and low in every reading spot in my house. Until I find it again, I will be one unhappy camper!

Other books that are near and dear to me on my beloved writer's shelf (or, I should say, bookcase) are The Writing Life by Annie Dillard, On Writing Well by William Zinsser, Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury, Writing Down the Bones and Wild Mind by Natalie Goldberg.

Happy 2012 and Happy Writing!!

Books I Have Loved...

2012-01-11T08:03:00.000-08:00

So many, so many! But here are a few very recent faves, presented tweet-style (in 140 characters or less).

How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr . Jill lost her dad; Mandy never had anyone who loved her. When they’re forced together by fate, they might just be able to rescue each other.

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins. Two loving dads, hot musician boyfriend, the streets of San Francisco–Lola has it all. (Except the guy who broke her heart.)

You Have Seven Messages by Stewart Lewis. Part mystery, part love story, part tale of forgiveness and coming-of-age, this one sparkles with sights and sounds of NYC.

Everybody Sees the Ants by A.S. King. Lucky Linderman has been bullied for years, but he’s figuring out how to take a stand.

Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley (pictured). Two plotlines — in Arkansas and Africa — merge seamlessly in this odd, appealing debut novel about a slow summer when a brother goes missing.

Anyone want to add some others, tweet-style, in the comments? My to-read list can always get longer and longer and longer. It's a glorious thing!

What I Read (and loved!) Over the Holiday

2012-01-09T08:00:00.000-08:00

This week we're talking about favorite books and boy am I glad we are because over the holiday I read some super amazing books that I've been bursting at the seams to talk about.

The first book I read over the holidays was ROOM by Emma Donoghue. It's an adult book and it's fabulousity! Definitely one of my favorites of all time. It's so haunting and beautiful at the same time. ROOM is about a five year old boy named Jack who lives in an 11x11 foot room with his "Ma." To him, Room is the entire world. It's all he's known. But to his mother, Room is a cell where she's been kept prisoner for the past seven years.

The next book I devoured was WINTERGIRLS by Laurie Halse Anderson. I'm embarrassed to say that this is the FIRST book I've ever read by Laurie (I know! What have I been doing with my life?) but I will definitely be reading more. Wintergirls was amazing. It was chilling and disturbing and awesome. I actually got physically cold while reading the second half. I had to read it under two blankets. That's pretty powerful stuff! Wintergirls is a teen novel about an seriously anorexic eighteen year old who is haunted by the death of her best friend, who died from a similar eating disorder.

I also recently read the arc for STRUCK by debut author Jennifer Bosworth. This book doesn't release until May but it's definitely something you'll want to look out for when it does! STRUCK is action packed and exciting, revolving around seventeen year old Mia Price, who is a lightening addict. She's been struck hundreds of times. And unbeknownst to Mia, the lightening has left behind a hidden power. A power that is highly sought after. It takes place in Los Angeles, after a massive earth quake has destroyed the city. Now two doomsday prophesies have risen--one wants to save the world. while the other wants to destroy it--and they both need Mia's help to achieve their goal.

And finally, right now I'm reading (and almost finished with) CINDER by Marissa Meyer, the first in the Lunar Chronicles, which just released last week! Marissa Meyer is a debut author published by my same publishing house (Macmillan Children's) and boy is she in for a wild ride. Not only is CINDER a fantastic, fantastic book that is so imaginative, vivid, thrilling, romantic, exciting, and super engaging, the book is getting tremendous buzz. It seems like everywhere I look I'm hearing about this book. I think Marissa is poised to be the next big thing in teen fiction. She's created a world as vast and creative as the Harry Potter and Hunger Games and I was immediately sucked right in. CINDER is a crazy retelling of the famous fairytale CINDERELLA, except Cinder is a cyborg (part human, part machine) who is living in a far future world (after World War IV) where cyborgs are second class citizens, androids do all of our dirty work, and there is a powerful nation of Lunar people (who live on the colonized moon) ready and waiting to take over planet earth. Oh, and the prince is super dreamy too!

So those are my latest faves. What about you? What have you read lately that you've absolutely loved?

Behind the Scenes: Connecting with Readers

2012-01-05T03:03:00.000-08:00

Wendy shared some amazing things that she's been doing behind the scenes in her writing life on Tuesday. I think my favorite behind the scenes thing that happens in my writing life has to be emails and letters from readers. I'm not a super huge rock star of a writer so I don't get tons of these (which is always awkward to admit when the email starts something like "I'm sure you get tons of these so if you can't write back...") but even if I did, I know that every single one would matter to me. It seems like most email I get is either junk or bills or boring day-to-day stuff, so when I get an email from someone who enjoyed one or both of my books, it is literally the highlight of my day. I write the books that I would have wanted to read as a teen, so when teenagers tell me that they connected with my characters and were encouraged by the books in some way, I truly feel like I've done something meaningful. No matter how many books I sell, no matter what I do with my life after this, I'll have made some small impact for someone.

In some cases, readers tell me that they never liked reading until they read my books because my stories felt so real. Huge compliment and I always send them book recommendations so that hopefully they will come to love the world of books as much as I have. In other cases, since my books deal with issues like rape, drug abuse, depression, and self-injury, I get emails from readers who were inspired to confront their own personal demons or who found my books therapeutic and healing. Those are some of the most meaningful emails/conversations I've ever had.

And then I get emails from readers who inspire ME, which is super mega awesome. A couple of weeks ago, I got an email from a girl named Kayla Spazz in Australia. She told me how she'd gotten I WANNA BE YOUR JOEY RAMONE as a gift for her best friend, Acacia Pip. She explained that she'd done something that I definitely have done before when giving books as gifts--she read the book before she wrapped. She really loved it and she thought it was crazy how much my characters Emily and Regan reminded her of herself and Acacia, who were not only best friends but bandmates. She said their band, Smash Mystery is made up of three girls and a boy and they take a lot of guff for being a girl band, but she doesn't care because those folks will be eating their words when they are on the cover of Rolling Stone. I noticed a link to the band's website in her signature and clicked to check it out. You should click it too and listen to the song at the top of the page, "Dolls." I listened to it like five times. I ADORE it! I ADORE them! And Kayla and Acacia are 15! They will be taking over the world, I am sure of it!

That is what I love best about having written I WANNA BE YOUR JOEY RAMONE in particular, meeting girls like Kayla and Acacia who are actually living it. I wrote that book because I always wanted a band like She Laughs to top the charts and through the book I discover bands like Smash Mystery who are posed to do it. Serious awesomeness.

And the story gets even cooler. Acacia got her Christmas gift and read it, and thank goodness, loved it, too! She sent me a picture she'd made of my main character Emily Black in photoshop. And as it turns out she imagines Emily pretty much as I do. She said I could share it with you so here it is:

So this, in my opinion is the best behind-the-scenes part of the writing life. Hearing from readers and discovering how amazingly talented they are! Enjoy Smash Mystery :)

Behind the Scenes

2012-01-03T06:45:00.000-08:00

One of the coolest things about being a YA author is all the opportunities we get even when we're not writing our next books or promoting our latest releases. Many of these opportunities come from knowing other authors, like the time Teen Fiction Cafe's very own Melissa Walker gave my name to her friend at MORE magazine, which resulted in my first-ever major magazine interview. Others come about when you accept an invitation to an event and make a good enough impression on someone there to be invited to something else down the line.

For example, I've been to a couple of author-student dinners at the local Olive Garden, an event organized by Cassie Cox (in the middle of the photo with the lovely long hair) who is an extraordinary English teacher at an alternative high school. Above is a photo from the latest one, which YA authors James Dashner (back row, v-neck sweater), Dan Wells (back row, glasses), Sydney Salter (front row, pink cardigan) and I (floral blouse on right side) went to. Later on, Mrs. Cox earned a grant to bring in two authors, Sydney Salter and me, to work with a group of teen writers at Two Rivers High School in Ogden, Utah. This 12-week period ended right before the holidays and I have to say it was definitely one of the highlights of my career thus far. Click HERE if you want to learn more about it.

Another amazing thing I recently got to do is edit an anthology, Pho for Lif e. It was penned by a diverse assortment of people, most having Asian roots or connections. Though it was my most challenging editing project to date, it was also the most eye-opening and fulfilling. We had a glamorous red carpet launch party in Los Angeles, California last month and it was wonderful getting to meet everybody in person. This is a photo of the editor-in-chief and man behind the project, Mai Bui. (photo by chrislynn photography)

Last summer, I ran a writing camp for kids and now that summer is long gone, I've made enough contacts in the community to become a "writing coach" for children, teens, and adults. I love helping people write stories, books, and practice for their SAT/ACT essays.

So, even though I consider myself an author by trade, I'm moonlighting as a teacher and an editor and I'm loving every minute of it! But enough about me! What are some things you've been doing behind the scenes?

10 Things You May Not Know About Me

2012-01-02T07:46:00.000-08:00

1) I'm 4'11. Shocking, I know - I blog so tall!

2) I'm a TV head.

3) I'm a politics geek.

4) I have four trophies from shooting pool.

5) I love Frank Sinatra.

6) I recently started a micro-blog at Red Room called "Fortune-Cookie Tips for Writers," the latest of which you can see here: http://redroom.com/member/lauren-baratz-logsted/blog/fortune-cookie-tips-for-writers-6

7) I sometimes find Blogger frustrating, which is why the above link isn't neat and pretty, and why probably no other links I might make below will be either.

8) I have a cat named Yoyo, who tried to put his paw in the Hanukkah candles, earning himself the nickname G. Gordon Kitty, and who also took a nap lying across the branches in the middle of the Christmas tree.

9) When I was little I didn't like my name and asked my mother to start calling me Andy.

10) Before writing YA and children's books, I was known primarily as a writer of adult fiction. I recently released my first comedic novel for adults in over three years as an ebook, which you can find on Kindle, Nook, Apple and wherever ebooks are sold. It's called THE BRO-MAGNET and I hope you'll give it a read. You can sample the first 30 pages for free here: http://www.amazon.com/The-Bro-Magnet-ebook/dp/B006KYQ36U/ref=pd_rhf_dp_p_t_4#reader_B006KYQ36U. It's about an ultimate man's man named Johnny Smith who's been Best Man at eight weddings but what he secretly longs to be is a groom.

And that's it!

How about you? What's something about you I may not know?

Be well. Don't forget to write.

Big Bang Theory

2011-12-29T18:04:00.000-08:00

I was very excited on Christmas morning to receive in my stocking, season 4 of the best TV show in the world.... Big Bang Theory. I then spent the rest of the day, and some of the next watching it. It's one of those shows that the more you watch the funnier it becomes. And then when you go back to watch earlier episodes they make you laugh even more because you know the characters so well.

It's becoming, for me, like Friends. I can watch episodes over and over and never tire of them and always laugh. And, like Friends my favorite character changes all the time because each one of them has their quirks.

If you haven't ever watched it then I urge you to find the time. You won't regret it!

Here's a short description of the show:

Set in Pasadena, California, the show is centered on five characters: experimental physicist Leonard Hofstadter and theoretical physicist Sheldon Cooper, two roommate geniuses who work at the California Institute of Technology; Penny, a blonde waitress and aspiring actress who lives across the hall; and Leonard and Sheldon's equally geeky and socially awkward co-workers and friends Howard Wolowitz, an aerospace engineer and non-PhD from MIT, and Rajesh Koothrappali, an astrophysicist also working at Caltech. The geekiness and intellect of the four guys is contrasted for comic effect with Penny's social skills and common sense.

Good News Friday: New Cover!

2011-12-23T20:08:00.000-08:00

Hi, guys.

I can finally reveal the cover for my May 22, 2012 release, ~~Small Town Sinners~~ Unbreak My Heart (Oops! I'm distracted, people!) Here it is. I'm smitten. Hope you like it!

A birthday surprise

2011-12-06T10:29:00.000-08:00

When I was driving home after teaching a writing class this morning, I was listening to the radio and the host was making a big deal out of her friend's 35th birthday. "It's a big one, just like every birthday ending in an '0' or '5,'" she explained to her skeptical co-host. In my opinion, every birthday is a big deal and though I'm not having a "big one" for another 2 years, this discussion brought me down memory lane to my "big 3-oh."

I'm kind of a weirdo and since my birthday is 3-3-73 and I turned 30 in 2003, I thought that was pretty cool. What wasn't cool was getting sick on my birthday. Not just a cold, I mean stay-in-bed sick. I was so sick; it didn't even bother me that my husband hadn't planned a single thing. I just figured we'd go to a nice dinner once I felt better. So, anyway, my girlfriend called and said she realized I didn't feel well but if I go to her house she'll make sure my family and I get some dinner. I felt bad because she wanted to do something nice for my birthday and since it would just be our two families, I accepted. I put on a comfy pair of sweats and put my hair in a ponytail (probably with a scrunchie *cringe*) and we headed over to her house for some soup. Before we even got there, I knew it was a bad idea. I couldn't smile or act happy to see her when I felt that crappy. I was about to feel a whole heckova lot crappier when all my friends, dressed to the nines, jumped out and yelled "surprise!"

I still give my husband a hard time about that, wishing he would have at least recommended I put on a pair of jeans or brush my hair (or teeth?). But it was sweet of them to give me a party so I couldn't be too upset about it.

Have you ever had a "big birthday" that was a flop, whether no one remembered or you were sick or there was something that went wrong? Or are you one of the lucky ones whose birthdays truly are the most special days possible?

Favorite Books [Read] in 2011

2011-12-05T05:46:00.001-08:00

We can sagely assume that all TFCer books are fabu so of the 154 books I've read so far this year, these are the other books I've read that I really loved:

YA

The Dark Devine, Bree Despain
The Miles Between, Mary E. Pearson
The Replacement, Brenna Yovanoff
The Unwritten Rule, Elizabeth Scott
Matched, Ally Condie
Across the Universe, Beth Revis
Brutal, Michael Harmon
Please Ignore Vera Dietz, A.S. King
Fat Kid Rules the World, K.L. Going
Before I Fall, Lauren Oliver
Some Girls Are, Courtney Summers
Will Grayson Will Grayson, John Green and David Levithan
The Chosen One, Carol Lynch Williams
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, Ransom Riggs
Okay for Now, Gary D. Schmidt
Cryer's Cross, Lisa McMahon
Divergent, Veronica Roth

ADULT

The Girl I Used to Be, David Cristofano
Still Alice, Lisa Genova
The Privileges, Jonathan Dee
The Old Romantic, Louise Dean
Gone, Mo Hayder
The Poison Tree, Erin Kelly
You Know When the Men Are Gone, Siobhan Fallon
The Complaints, Ian Rankin
Alice I Have Been, Melanie Benjamin
The Adults, Alison Espach
Voyeur, Daniel Judson
Rescue, Anita Shreve
The Weird Sisters, Eleanor Brown
Vaclav and Lena, Haley Tanner
Playdate, Thelma Adams
Cold Rain, Craig Smith
The Sisters Brothers, Patrick DeWitt
The Ninth Wife, Amy Stolls
The Tragedy of Arthur, Arthur Phillips
Stone Arabia, Dana Spiotta
The Kitchen Daughter, Jael McHenry
The Things that Kept Us Here, Carla Buckley
The Other Life, Ellen Meister
Names My Sisters Call Me, Megan Crane
Love in Translation, Wendy Nelson Tokunaga
When God Was a Rabbit, Sarah Winman
The End of Everything, Megan Abbott
Daughters of the Revolution, Carolyn Cooke
The Borrower, Rebecca Makkai
Headstone, Ken Bruen
The Cut, George Pelecanos
The End of the Wasp Season, Denise Mina
Hideout, Kathleen George
If Jack's In Love, Stephen Wetta
Sister, Rosamund Lupton
The Snowman, Jo Nesbo
The Winters in Bloom, Lisa Tucker

Wow! That's over 50 books - I'd say I just made your holiday sopping easier for you.

Now it's your turn: What have you really loved this year?

Be well. Don't forget to write.

Behind the Scenes: Deadlines

2011-11-16T08:50:00.001-08:00

I'll never, ever, EVER pass for a soccer mom. But . . . I suppose on the outside of things, my household might appear somewhat normal. You know, for a family with four kids (one moved out), two grandparents living with us, two dogs, a cat, a hedgehog, a ball python . . . and one mom who writes. There is the piano, the tuba, the violin (noise). One Naked Pirate Boy practicing Tae Kwon Do moves. (More noise.) And a LOT of clutter everywhere. Just too many of us in one house.

But whatever passes as "normal" around here (and man, am I using air quotes), disappears when it's deadline time.

In fact, Pirate Boy did not speak until he was two and a half. Not one word. Not mama, nothing. And then suddenly, he spoke in fully articulate sentences. And I'm not sure, but his first words may have been "Mommy has a deadline."

The following things--"normal" things--disappear when I have a deadline.

Showers.
Showers for Pirate Boy.
Clean clothes. For anyone.
Any semblance of healthy eating for my children.
Any THOUGHT of exercise, taking a walk, heck, I think breathing becomes optional.

The following things APPEAR when I have a deadline.

Pizza boxes. Everywhere.
Half-drunk cups of coffee. Everywhere.
Bedhead hair. I just don't have time to deal with it.
Dust bunnies. They breed.
Occasional tears, panic attacks, and meltdowns. Mine and Pirate Boy's.

Yeah. Behind most writers, this ugly scene takes place in some way, shape, or form.

So 'fess up. Whether a term paper, a deadline, a big work project . . . what does it look like behind the scenes when your life ceases being "normal"?

What I'm craving: TIME!

2011-11-10T13:56:00.001-08:00

This week at TFC, we're talking about what we are craving and while yes, I definitely could go for some cookies like Wendy ALWAYS, what I'm really craving is time! This is what time is always doing to me:

It's flying by and I don't have nearly enough of it. Between writing books, my new staff writing job for ROOKIE magazine, my teaching job, my bartending job, the emails, the blog entries, and the desire to I dunno see my friends and family every once in a while this is how I feel:

When the clocks went back an hour this weekend on a night that I generally work until 3 am, I was so grateful for that extra hour of sleep. I wish I could have the every day! I thought.

It seems like everything I do takes twice as long as I thought it would so I'm constantly scrambling and going if I had five more minutes, one more hour, gah!!!! And sometimes I'm totally my own worst enemy because I get very distracted and end up trolling the internet instead of writing or trying to multi-task which always ends badly. I keep trying to hammer down a routine that would allow me at the very least on the nights that I don't work to have a few hours with my husband and then an hour to read so that I can keep up better with books like Lauren's which sounds totally amazing. It seems like reading time and social time are always suffering.

Does anybody else struggle with this? Do you have any tips on balance or can we get together an lobby to turn the 24 hour day into a 25 hour day which would shorten the year probably by a few days or a week or something (I can't do that math, or I could but it would take a lot of much-needed time!), but we could take those days out of January since it's an unpleasant month anyway. What do you guys think?

craving cookies!

2011-11-09T11:29:00.000-08:00

Congrat's on Lauren's Little Women and Me book launch tomorrow!

What I'm craving today isn't quite as exciting as Lauren's big news but I've been yearning for pumpkin cookies. The way I like 'em is with dark chocolate chips and made with "Lighter Bake" which is a butter substitute made largely from plums. And as luck would have it, my dear mom, who flew in last night to visit and help me out while I go to a SCBWI conf. this weekend and my first-ever girls' trip (my friend Megan and I are heading to Charleston next weekend) is making pumpkin cookies for me. I've lost count how many I've eaten but WOW are they good!

What about you? Anything in particular you're craving today?

WHAT I'M CRAVING: READERS

2011-11-07T06:39:00.000-08:00

This week's theme at TFC is "What I'm Craving." I could go on about some cupcake I'd really like to eat, but what I'm really craving today is...readers!

Tomorrow, LITTLE WOMEN AND ME goes on sale. It's about a contemporary teen who time travels into the classic Louisa May Alcott novel. Once there, Emily discovers that she needs to change a major plot point of the book in order to get back out again. What will she do?

Kirkus Reviews calls it "a consistently entertaining read that delivers a genuinely original heroine and frequently hilarious satire."

I hope readers will agree because what I'm really craving these days - shameless admission here! - is a hit.

So how about you? What are you craving these days?

Be well. Don't forget to write.

Good News Friday!

2011-10-28T11:33:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love the month of October. Mainly because it's so beautiful weather- and scenery-wise, and also because Halloween is my favorite holiday. This October in particular has been even more wonderful than ever, and here's a quick summary of what all has been going on.

First, YA and MG author Sydney Salter (who wrote My Big Nose and Other Natural Disasters, Swoon at Your Own Risk, and Jungle Crossing) and I have been chosen by one of the most inspirational teachers I've ever met, Cassie Cox, to instruct a writing course at an alternative high school in Ogden, Utah. The class is made up of about 20 students who are serious about writing, many even want to be professional writers someday. So every Tuesday for 12 weeks, one or both of us show up bright and early and demonstrate what it takes to write a novel, short story, poem, etc. Here is a newspaper article about it if you want to know more: CLICK HERE. Anyway, if you can't tell, I'm over the moon about this opportunity and it's truly one of the best things to happen to me since having become a published author.

Second, I've been editing an anthology for a fascinating group of professionals, the majority of whom are Asian American and living in California. The book, Pho for Life: A Melting Pot of Thoughts, comes out in December and even though it's been a lot of hard work on many different levels, the final product is going to be simply amazing. People are always asking me how I became involved in this particular project and it all goes back to the MySpace days, when Mai Bui, who's heading up the project, asked me to do some light editing for Thirteen Minutes magazine. We've kept in touch all this time and I was deeply honored to be asked to edit their first book. (Yes, there will be more to come.) Here's the web-site if you want to take a peek and/or get involved: CLICK HERE.

Third, October has been a great month for hanging out with some of my favorite authors, including our very own Linda Gerber! (Alas, I forgot to take a photo.) Linda was kind enough to squeeze me into her busy schedule and we had a tasty lunch at Thaifoon in Salt Lake City where she told me all about her upcoming (March 2012) middle grade Celebrity series and its fantabulous heroine, Cassidy. I also got to see Brandon Mull, who was signing Beyonders at a library in Ogden, UT. I brought an entire mommy-mobile full of fan-boys and as always, Brandon was Mr. Rock Star. I also got to hang out with the beauteous and talented Becca Fitzpatrick, author of the Hush Hush saga, whose Silence tour brought her through Utah. Though I was unable to go to their book launches, I was there in spirit to welcome book-babies How to Save a Life by TFC friend Sara Zarr and The Death Cure (book 3 in the Maze Runner series) by James Dashner. And even though the Pen Fatale Tour, starring TFC darlings Alyson Noel and Jessica Brody didn't come to Utah, I was also there in spirit and my mom was able to catch them at the Tattered Cover (one of my fave indie book stores) in Highlands Ranch, CO.

Has your October been as exciting and memorable as mine? Do tell! :)

Road Trip Music

2011-10-27T04:00:00.000-07:00

I'm off on a road trip this week doing book research, so music week here on TFC comes at a great time for me. Why? Because I cannot travel without tunes.

Things have been so crazy at home over the last few weeks that I rarely have time to eat much less enjoy my favorite songs. But driving an entire day to my destination? Oh, baby. Crank up that volume.

In the spirit of playlist happiness, here are 10 songs currently on my travel soundtrack this time. Some of these are book-related (for writing inspiration) and others are just because I like 'em. I'm happily eclectic when it comes to music. :-)

Gravity by Sara Barielles
Back to December by Taylor Swift
One Last Breath by Creed
Better Life by Keith Urban
Across the Universe by Rufas Wainwright
World by Five for Fighting
This Could Be Heaven by Seal
Duck and Run by 3 Doors Down
Every Day by Rascal Flatts
Ordinary Miracle by Sarah McLachlan

What's on your personal soundtrack this week?

Favorite Bands

2011-10-23T18:45:00.000-07:00

This week we're talking about our favorite bands. My taste in music is varied. I love musicals with a passion, I also love Adele, Maroon 5, Barbara Streisand, Adam Lambert, Pink.....

But when it comes to my absolutely all time, no one can touch them, favorite band it has to be Queen. I was lucky enough to see them live at Wembley in London many years ago..... and wow!! Nothing can beat hearing We Are The Champions live... and as for Bohemian Rhapsody... it was amazing.

I can't believe that if Freddie had lived he would be be 65...yikes!!!

So who is your absolutely all time favorite?

Lists

2011-10-18T15:45:00.000-07:00

Hello TFC, my name is Amanda Ashby and yes, I have been missing in action for many, many months but now I'm back and I promise that I won't go wandering off again for so long! Of course I do have lots of lovely excuses but listening to my woes of moving countries and crowd surfing through bureaucratic red tape probably isn't anyone's idea of a fun time so instead I'll just give you all some Cyber Skittles and promise to do better!

So now that I've dusted off my long forgotten rota, I can see that the topic is about Lists. Which is totally fine for you A-type folk out there but what about people like me who can't even decide what their favorite chocolate bar is (though I've narrowed it down to three, which I think is jolly good going). But, because I'm feeling remorseful I'm going to give it a go and come up with a list. Let's call it:

Amanda's List of Small Crimes That Shouldn't Annoy Her But They Do*

(*please try not to judge me too harshly for what you are about to read)

1) When the checkout person at the supermarket who is meant to be scanning my magazines stops to read them.

Nooooooooooooooooooo. This should be illegal. It's wrong on so many levels. Oh, and I'm not talking when they just glance at the headlines and comment on someone's haircut, this is more a stop work and flick through it and START READING IT. And honestly, if this had only happened once then perhaps I would be more forgiving, but no, it happens All The Time so my payback is putting at the top of this list (see how they are now all quivering in fear)

2)Husbands who refuse to learn where light bulbs are kept (also applies to cutlery, towels, scissors and sticky tape) (also only applies to one husband in particular)

Actually, I have no words for this one. If you live in a house and are over the age of five you can learn where things are kept. It's that simple.

3) Anyone who says 'can I ask you a question?'

Actually, if I wasn't feeling so grumpy about the magazine business, this one would be at the top of the list because it drives me nuts. Why waste a question with another question? It's wrong (plus stupid because I will naturally always answer 'no'). TV and movies use this lame piece of dialogue all the time and if anyone who is reading this has also used it, then 'I'm sorry, I love you, but please, for my sanity consider deleting it next time it appears on the screen!'

4) People who try and phone me when one of my favorite TV shows are on.

Anyone who knows me knows that I will not answer the phone when I'm watching a show so therefore it stands to reason that if you are ringing me, then you don't know me so I'm perfectly entitled to let the machine pick it up. The only exception to this rule is when Sara Hantz texts me so that we can pass judgement on Australian X-Factor. I'm down with that!

5) Bananas

Just because I really hate them and tend to blame them for pretty much everything that goes wrong in the world. Not only are they a displeasing color and shape but that squishy noise they make when people are eating them is just a world of no.

Of course being an indecisive person, this list will change by tomorrow (or even in ten minutes) but for now they are definitely the main offenders!

So what about everyone else, what is a small crime that annoys you, even though it shouldn't!!!!

A Japanese Ghost Story

2011-10-17T09:19:00.000-07:00

The topic choices this week included something "seasonal", so in honor of Halloween, I'm going to share with you a ghost story I heard while living in Japan.

My family and I lived near the American School in a city called Tama. One of the things Tama was known for was its beautiful cemetery - the Tama Bochi, located just a few blocks from my house. (Bochi means cemetery.) It was such a prominent landmark that it became a point of reference for the HS kids. They called the train from Tokyo to Tama the Bochi Bullet, and the students who lived in the area called themselves the Bochi Crew. (My son and his friends made t-shirts with "Bochi Crew" written in kanji. One day an old lady saw my son wearing his t-shirt and gave him an earful because she felt he was up to something evil, referencing the resting place for the dead. His friends got a good laugh out of his dressing down.) But one strange event that happened at the bochi was no laughing matter.

Late one night, a taxi driver stopped just outside the Tama Bochi when a teenage girl flagged him down. He pressed the button to open the automatic door for her, watching in his rear view mirror as she climbed into the car. In a quiet voice, she gave him an address and then settled back against the seat.

He drove to the address - an apartment building on the other side of town - but when he stopped, she didn't move to get out of the cab. Instead, she simply asked him to wait. For ten minutes, she sat in silence, staring sadly at the window of one of the upper-floor apartments. Finally, she gave the driver another address and asked him to continue on.

The driver stole glances at his young passenger through the mirror as he drove, feeling the weight of her sorrow settling like a rock on his chest. When they reached the address she had given him, the driver stopped and turned to say something comforting to her, but when he looked to the back seat, it was empty. Suddenly, the back passenger-side door opened and then closed on its own. Terrified, the driver scrambled out of his taxi.

Just then, a man walked out of the house and calmly approached him. He handed the driver the exact fare that showed on the meter and turned back toward the house without a word.

The driver called after him and asked him how he knew how much to pay.

The man explained that the year before, his daughter been riding on the back of her boyfriend's scooter when they were hit by a car. His daughter had been killed and was buried in the Tama Bochi. Sometimes she would wake up confused and lonely, the man said. Each time, she would take a taxi to her boyfriend's apartment, but when he never came out to see her, she would ask the driver to take her home.

Do you have a favorite spooky story? Please share!

Memory Lane

2011-10-12T05:22:00.001-07:00

Okay, for my trip down memory lane, I thought I would blog about HAIR.

Because there are few things more representative of the teen years that the battles you fight with you hair. And few things chronicle a woman's life better than her hair.

I happened to grow up in the era of BIG 80s hair. Snooki has NOTHING on me. NOTHING. You think I'm kidding? Check out the photographic evidence.

BIG. BIG. GIANT. HAIR. And the BATTLES to get it that way. Hot rollers. Curling irons. Perms.

Then . . . I turned 20 and my first white hair appeared. Premature gray runs in my family on my mom's side--but they're all blonde. In my (natural) hair color of dark brown/black (photo above was a dye job) . . . it showed up. So I had NEW battles to fight. Dying it every four weeks. For YEARS. As long as I was dying it, I tried red, black, striped, highlighted. It was only hair, right?

I also stopped trying for the big hair thing (thank God, right?). Only this weird thing happened and it got more unruly the older I got.

Eventually . . . I reached some sense of peace. With myself. And my hair. Then this summer I spent a long stretch in the hospital. And if ever there was a time to let the "real" me come out, it was then. I wasn't able to get to the salon anyway. So I decided to see what was under all that dye. And it turns out, it's ALL white. So this is the new me.

And this me is ME. My real color (who knew after all this time???).

Ahh, but my hair? Thanks for the memories.

So how about you? Is you hair some sort of timeline of your life?

Favorite Haunts in Austin

2011-10-11T05:01:00.000-07:00

I just hit Texas for the Austin Teen Book Festival (which is AMAZING AND YOU MUST GO!), and though it was only my second time in that kickass town, I felt like I was seeing an old friend! Plus, I finally got to meet fellow TFC'ers Jessica Brody and Alyson Noel in person! YES.

My 2009 release, Lovestruck Summer, is set in Austin, and the characters hit a few of my favorite haunts, including...

Ironworks BBQ!

Shady Grove

Anywhere you can see the bats fly at night!

And my new favorite Austin haunt? The Friday Night Lights field! OMG, I adored that show so much. Here's me in between fellow fangirl Jenny Han and future fangirl Coe Booth. Future fanboy John Corey Whaley drove us out here. EPIC!

Don't you love it when a city has a lot of favorite haunts?

What I'm (still) listening to

2011-10-06T14:07:00.000-07:00

Since everyone else has been talking about what they are reading this week, I thought I'd vary things up and talk about what I'm listening to. It's nothing new. In fact I've been listening to it for 20 years. Well, not like 20 years straight or anything, but it's definitely the music I go back to more than anything else. That would be this band:

I've been on an especially big Nirvana kick since mid-September when everyone was talking about the 20th anniversary of this album:

I totally got in on the act here if you want to read about how that album and Nirvana in general influenced my life.

I just got back from doing a Smart Chicks Kick It event in my favorite city on earth, Seattle, and since Nirvana is so heavily associated with Seattle (though none of them actually lived in Seattle until after Nevermind broke. They are originally from Aberdeen, Washington), my Nirvana streak continued, especially since I went to this super cool exhibit at the EMP (Experience Music Project) that is all about Nirvana's career.

(That's a giant blown up photo of Kurt crowd-surfing with a quote from Krist Novoselic that says "Music is an art form that thrives on reinvention." You can click to make it bigger.)

It was actually my second time to the exhibit because I'm that obsessed. (Also because I was traveling with Jeri Smith-Ready who is a fellow Nirvana geek and I had to make sure she saw the exhibit.) They have all these great video interviews with people in the Seattle music scene in the early 90s plus Nirvana memorabilia like this little display that includes the shirt Kurt wore and guitar he played in the "Smells Like Teen Spirit" music video as well as the MTV VMA award they won for the video:

As a result the Nirvana kick continues, but admittedly on this particular kick even though everyone else has been on about Nevermind a lot lately, I've been listening to their live albums. They put on a hell of a live performance, which sadly, I never got to see, but since I'm such a fangirl, I actually have just about every show of theirs that was ever bootlegged. My favorite right now is an official release though, their 1992 Reading Festival show. I'm also waiting to get my hands on the 1991 Halloween show at the Paramount in Seattle that was just released on DVD (but right now you can only get it at Best Buy and I'm an avid supporter of indies so I am waiting patiently til my local record store can sell it). They showed bits of it on VH1 a couple weeks ago and streamed the whole show on VEVO, but in case you missed it, here's a song that is still up on YouTube:

I also recommend checking out the Live, Tonight, Sold Out DVD which not only showcases some stellar live performances, but also the band's sense of humor, because yes, even though they are rarely portrayed that way, they definitely had one.

What about you? What band do you consistently return to? Or whose live performances do you love as much as their albums?

What I'm (Not) Reading

2011-10-05T11:49:00.000-07:00

Pictured above: William Faulkner,
judging me harshly.

I've been on a really big reading kick lately! This might not sound like a surprise, because I'm an author and a librarian and a general book nerd. But sometimes I get in reading slumps. Not sure if it's just a mood or a series of less-than-inspiring books, but I do sometimes go through periods where I can't get into anything, book-wise. But lately I've been on a tear! In the past few weeks I read some actual grown-up novels (That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo & Jennifer Egan's 'A Visit From the Goon Squad') and some books for younger readers, including two great reads by friends of mine ('The Only Ones' by Aaron Starmer & Steve Brezenoff's 'Brooklyn, Burning'). These books were all great! All very different and all pretty amazing.

And now I'm on a reading roll. So I'm feeling inspired to tackle one of the American classics -- a great work of American literature I've always meant to read, and maybe started, but never actually finished (hence the title of this post). Soooo, even though it's kind of embarrassing to admit I've never read all these, please weigh in to comment and vote which classic I should tackle. Then I PROMISE to finish it. I'll blog about whether or not it stinks. If it does, I hold you highly accountable. Just kidding.

I decided to use this list -- http://www.modernlibrary.com/top-100/100-best-novels/ and pick the ones that (1) I have heard of/have always meant to read (2) haven't read and (3) are by American authors. I'm not sure why I limited it to American novels. OK I do know why and it's because I don't want to have to read a nine thousand page Russian novel or one of those fussy British books about dukes and ladies who wear hats or whatever. Those hat-ladies will kill my reading groove! Haha. Just kidding. Not really. Anyway please vote by commenting for your favorite/whichever you think is the greatest, and NOT which one you think I'll hate the most just because you want to see me suffer/ are a sadist ;)

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner

As I lay Dying by William Faulkner (I don't think I've ever read any Faulkner except for maybe some short stories?)

Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser

I'm excited! Pick me a winner, friends!

What I'm Reading

2011-10-04T06:00:00.000-07:00

I just barely finished reading Erin Vincent's memoir, Grief Girl. When Erin was fourteen, both of her parents were killed in a car crash. Her mom, instantly. Her father died a little later in the hospital, due to a blood clot. Now, left with her sister (17), brother (3), and a band of relatives with suspicious motives, Erin must figure out how to pick up the pieces and remember how to live her own life. So far, I'm really liking Erin's raw, emotional story. She somehow manages to mix a sense of humor in with moments of deep despair. A gripping, sincere read.

Since Halloween is around the corner, I'm also reading Tales from H.E.L. and Beyond, a collection of spooky short stories penned by a group of writers with ties to Huntsville, Eden, and Liberty, Utah (collectively known as Ogden Valley). I like to read it right before bed, to freak myself out.

Next up? The Limit by Kristen Landon, which comes highly recommended by my 11 year-old son. Kristen was kind enough to sign it for him so I had to promise not to get anything on it. Below is the trailer. Sounds awesome, doesn't it!?

Now, it your turn to share what you're reading!

What I'm Reading Lately

2011-10-03T06:04:00.000-07:00

Last week I was in Vancouver, BC, doing events for the amazing Kidsbooks for the release of The Sisters 8 Book 8: Zinnia's Zaniness. We sold nearly 600 books which was pretty happy-making for me. In between events, I got to catch up on Canadian TV - does the U.S. have anything like "Canada's Worst Driver"??? - and I also got a chance to catch up on my reading. The following are three books that I particularly loved, all adult novels but I think each has something to offer lovers of YA too:

DAUGHTERS OF THE REVOLUTION by Carolyn Cooke. It’s 1968. The prestigious but cash-strapped Goode School in the town of Cape Wilde is run by its aging, philandering headmaster, Goddard Byrd, known to both his friends and his enemies as God. With Cape Wilde engulfed by the social and political storms of integration, coeducation and the sexual revolution, God has confidently promised coeducation “over my dead body.” And then, through a clerical error, the Goode School admits its first female student: Carole Faust, a brilliant, intractable fifteen-year-old black girl.

Jumping around in time, this is more a novel of interconnected stories than a conventional novel and it is very, very good. It's often moving but at least on one occasion it's laugh-out-loud funny. That's when a woman in her early 20s, after having had an alcohol-related fall that lands her in the ER, upon exiting the hospital, suggests to the male neighbor who took her there, "We could go somewhere and have a drink," to which he replies, "Are you out of your nmind?"

THE END OF EVERYTHING by Megan Abbott. Thirteen-year old Lizzie Hood and her next door neighbor Evie Verver are inseparable. They are best friends who swap bathing suits and field-hockey sticks, and share everything that's happened to them. Together they live in the shadow of Evie's glamorous older sister Dusty, who provides a window on the exotic, intoxicating possibilities of their own teenage horizons. To Lizzie, the Verver household, presided over by Evie's big-hearted father, is the world's most perfect place. And then, one afternoon, Evie disappears. The only clue: a maroon sedan Lizzie spotted driving past the two girls earlier in the day. As a rabid, giddy panic spreads through the Midwestern suburban community, everyone looks to Lizzie for answers. Was Evie unhappy, troubled, upset? Had she mentioned being followed? Would she have gotten into the car of a stranger?

Considering that this is a literary novel and not a mystery, it certainly reads with the page-turning quality of the latter.

WHEN GOD WAS A RABBIT by Sarah Winman. This is a book about a brother and a sister. It's a book about secrets and starting over, friendship and family, triumph and tragedy, and everything in between. More than anything, it's a book about love in all its forms.
In a remarkably honest and confident voice, Sarah Winman has written the story of a memorable young heroine, Elly, and her loss of innocence-a magical portrait of growing up and the pull and power of family ties. From Essex and Cornwall to the streets of New York, from 1968 to the events of 9/11, When God Was a Rabbit follows the evolving bond of love and secrets between Elly and her brother Joe, and her increasing concern for an unusual best friend, Jenny Penny, who has secrets of her own. With its wit and humor, engaging characters whose eccentricities are adroitly and sometimes darkly drawn, and its themes of memory and identity, When God Was a Rabbit is a love letter to true friendship and fraternal love.

Highly unusual and emotionally satisfying plus the school Nativity play is hands down one of the best school Nativity play scenes in fiction.

And that's it!

So how about you? What truly great books have you read lately?

Oh, and don't forget to get the latest Sisters 8 book and all The Sisters 8 books. If you love my writing, give them to a young person you love. And if you hate my writing? Then give them to a young person you intensely dislike!

Be well. Don't forget to write.

I love favorite books week! Sometimes I even read...

2011-09-29T03:00:00.000-07:00

... books for grown-ups.

No, seriously.

Most of the last five years have been spent reading YA in all its various forms. And then, every once in a while, I will decide that I need to stop living in the world of teenagers and actually *gasp* be a grown-up for a bit.

This year, I discovered Sarah Addison Allen. I kept hearing all this great buzz about THE PEACH KEEPER, so I decided to check it out. I loved it literally from page one.

I’m not a huge fan of traditional adult paranormals, but I adore books where the magic is woven in more as part of the ambiance of the story. Sarah is absolutely brilliant at this. Lovely romance, great magic weaving, and an intriguing mystery make this an absolute winner.

Sarah also does something that I love as a reader. Even though her books aren't a series, she sometimes weaves in characters from previous books. Which made me super bummed that I hadn't started with her first book, GARDEN SPELLS.

When my mom passed away this winter after a decade-long battle with cancer, I really needed a charming, lovely, hint of magic read to help me through that difficult time. Allen's books were exactly what I needed when I needed it most. I immediately went out and bought her entire backlist after reading THE PEACH KEEPER. I adore them one and all.

What about you? Which authors have you discovered recently that you absolutely adore?

The changing face of books!!

2011-09-28T13:06:00.000-07:00

So this week it's all about books. I LOVE books. I love the feel of books, the smell of new books, I love everything about them. And when I pass a book shop I go all glassy eyed and have to go in there.

And I treasure my books and treat them well. I never, ever, ever, turn the corners of the pages down and get very upset if I see anyone doing it. I always use a bookmark and when I've finished reading a book it still looks like new.

My only problem is living in NZ and Australia, books are double the price as anywhere else. I mostly buy my books through Book Depository in the UK because they're loads cheaper and they ship for free.

Plus, when we go on vacation my suitcase is weighed down by all my books. I'll often read one book a day.

So...... with that in mind, for my birthday I got a Kindle!!!! O. M. G. It's amazing. I can take it anywhere in my purse, without it being too heavy.... the hair salon, doctors, dentist.... I've never had such an awesome present.

And........ although I never thought I'd hear myself say this, I'm not sure I'll buy a book again (okay, I will probably buy non-fiction reference type books but not fiction).

So what about you..... an ereader convert?

Loyalty Program Update!

2011-09-22T13:18:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! It looks like our Teen Fiction Cafe Loyalty Program is already off to a rockin' start!

Two loyal visitors have already reached 5,000 points and claimed free books!

Congrats to Amanda and Laurene!

SMALL TOWN SINNERS by Melissa Walker and MY LIFE UNDECIDED by Jessica Brody are no longer in the catalog. But don't worry! We still have tons of fantastic free books left to be claimed.

As of 9/22/11, the following books are still available:

Kay Cassidy - The Cinderella Society
Wendy Toliver - The Secret Life of the Teenage Siren
Erica Kirov - Magic Keepers: The Eternal Hourglass
Stephanie Kuehnert - I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone
Elizabeth Scott - Between Here and Forever
Alyson Noel - Evermore
Linda Gerber - Death by Bikini
Josh Berk - The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin
Amanda Ashby - Fairy Bad Day
Greg Logsted - Alibi Junior High
Lauren Baratz-Logsted - The Education of Bet
Sara Hantz - The Second Virginity of Suzy Green

Remember, you can earn up to 500 max points per day simply by...

- Visiting our site (100 points)
- Commenting on of our posts (100 points)
- Tweeting one of our posts (100 points)
- Liking one of our posts (100 points)
- Google Plus-ing one of our posts (100 points)

Click here to read the full details about our loyalty program and learn how to join!

Keep visiting and sharing!

Sincerely,
The Teen Fiction Cafe Authors

What I'm Craving...a Bully-Free World!

2011-09-15T09:42:00.000-07:00

While I didn't want to use this post as a shameless plug for Dear Bully (although

it DID come out last week with great reviews from the New York Times, Boston Globe, Booklist, Publisher's Weekly, Romantic Times, School Library Journal and got some shout outs from USA Today, Seventeen.com, and Better Homes & Garden!), I feel that it's okay to do it here, because several Teen Fiction Cafe members are also contributors to DEAR BULLY: 70 Authors Tell Their Stories (HarperTeen, Sept. 2011). Essays included are Alyson Noel's Silent All These Years, Jessica Brody's End of the World, Linda Gerber's The Innocent Bully, Melissa Walker's When I Was a Bully Too, and Stephanie Kuehnert's The Soundtrack to My Survival. The contributors to DEAR BULLY (including the ones on this blog) were incredibly generous with their stories; wanting to share a deeply personal part of their lives in order to help teens deal with bullying today.

The sad fact is that it's a LOT harder for teens today than it was when we were roaming our schools' hallways. With Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, IMs, text messages, email (I am ashamed to admit for fear of scaring everyone off with my age, but I didn't even HAVE email or a cell phone until after college!), with all of these technological advancements, it's almost impossible to escape from bullies. Every time a new social networking site pops up or a new gadget like the iPhone becomes available, there's just one more way for kids to target each other through bullying, spreading rumors, sending hurtful messages or harassment.

This is why I became so concerned with their plight. There is virtually no escape, no safe haven. That is why I created a Facebook page called Young Adult Authors Against Bullying, which eventually morphed into Dear Bully. That was the goal -- a place online where teens could go to know that they were NOT alone. And that (hopefully) will be the result of the anthology DEAR BULLY. A way for us to share with our readers our own stories of being bullied. And to show that we made it through okay. Because that's the whole goal: to make it through.

Just to give you an example of how dire the bullying situation has gotten in schools across the country these days, consider this: The third leading cause of death for kids aged 15-24 is suicide. And a huge percentage of suicides involve some kind of bullying. That statistic alone is staggering. And when you add the other national statistics available, it gets worse:

1 in 3 kids is bullied. That's roughly 2.7 million students each year.
77% of children are bullied mentally, verbally and physically.
Every 7 minutes an American child is bullied.
160,000 kids miss school each day for fear of being bullied.
1/3 of all teens have admitted to being involved in bullying at some point in their school career.

And if you think this doesn't affect you directly, consider this: Approximately 289,000 students (4.1 % of bullied kids aged 12-18) brought a gun, knife or other weapon to school. And that percentage jumps to 7.4% when cyberbullying is brought into the mix. 75% of all school shootings arise from some kind of school bullying or harassment.

Truly frightening.

On the upside, if bystanders get involved and no longer give bullies the audience they so desperately crave, the number of bullying incidents drop dramatically. It's okay to stand up against a bully when you see something that is not right going on. Not just okay, but necessary. Bullying is not and never has been acceptable. It's not a right of passage and it's not something that everyone has to go through to become a better, stronger person.

And, finally, most importantly, teens need to know that they aren't going through this alone. That's the most important message of our book. If teens don't have anywhere else to turn, at the very least, they have us. We are here. We believe in you. We know that it's hard and it sucks and sometimes you want to give up, but you can do it.

Just trust us.

We know.

We've been there.

What I'm Craving . . . . My Own Shoe

2011-09-14T05:21:00.000-07:00

No, I wouldn't wear the shoe in the picture. I haven't worn heels in nearly a decade, I don't think. I DO wear cowboy boots--one pair is fire engine red, the other is worn and gray. Now that fall is here, I will be breaking them out.

But I DO feel like the Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe. I have four kids. They range in age from adulthood down to Pirate Boy in first grade. Both my parents live with us. We have two dogs. We have a cat (who used to be called Pumpkin, but when my mom moved in, she HATES cats and nicknamed the cat "Fleabag"--this got shortened to Flea, as in the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and it has stuck). We have a hedgehog. (Again, the hedgehog used to be called Penelope, but now we all refer to her as Hedgie.) We have a snake. A python, actually. A ball python (they are smaller and calm and docile). It is not OUR python. It is my oldest son's python. When he leaves for college in two years, it must go to a good home because I loathe the snake. LOATHE it. Lydia (the snake) started out the size of a pencil. I rather liked her then. She is not, most assuredly, the size of a pencil now and I live my life in mortal terror of her escape, when I am certain she will seek me out (because she KNOWS I loathe her) and eat me. The fact that she really isn't THAT big (three feet or so) matters not one iota. I find my fear perfectly rational.

Anyway, my office is open on two sides. My dad sits in the next room and generally talks to me a lot of the day. This is not conducive to writing. Then there is the fact that I must chauffeur said children to various activities. The homework hour. The laundry all of them create. And so on and so on and . . . .

So I want my own shoe.

A little place of my own to write and escape. To run away from home to. A place that is QUIET. Very quiet. And ALL MINE.

I don't really expect that to happen. And I assume even if I HAD my own shoe, I would miss the chaos a bit.

But it's what I crave and it's my pipe dream after all.

How about you? Ever long for some SPACE? QUIET? What?

Ode to Zooey

2011-09-09T06:20:00.000-07:00

Besides getting to wear boots again, one of my favorite things about the fall is the new lineup of sitcoms. Is there a new TV show you're eager to watch?

I am so excited for Sept. 20 because it's when the first episode of The New Girl will be on Fox TV. I've been a fan of Zooey Deschanel since I first saw her in Eulogy at Sundance Film Festival about 6 years ago. If you haven't seen it yet, I totally recommend it!

Now tell me what other shows I should be recording this fall! And don't forget to sign up for Teen Fiction Cafe's brand-spankin' new Loyalty Program as introduced HERE.

Stephanie's Can't-Miss TV

2011-09-08T02:34:00.000-07:00

Though I can be out of the loop a lot with new TV and movies because I work nights and spending my days in the writing cave, I have a few “can't miss” TV programs that are on currently, but about to wrap up: True Blood (dude, I love Eric way more than I want to admit!) and Weeds. With both of these my husband and I started watching them on Netflix. We got the first season and were so hooked that we set aside money so that we can order HBO and Showtime respectively when they are on. But I was out of town so I haven't seen this week's episodes yet, so shhh no spoilers please!

I tend to discover TV shows late through Netflix. My current “new discovery” is Mad Men. We've powered through the first two seasons in about two months and will definitely be caught up by the time season five starts in January. (Right now we just started season 3, so again, please no spoilers!) It's actually always a bummer when we catch up because then we have to watch the show one episode at a time and after months of binging, it's total agony. Not to mention the season breaks. I'm sure True Blood in particular will end on a cliffhanger and I don't know what we'll do while we wait for it to come back next year.... Actually I guess we'll fill our time with The Walking Dead and then Mad Men will be back along with Californication and before we know it it will be True Blood and Weeds time again! Plus I'm sure we'll have a new Netflix addiction to binge on.

As you can see the TV I watch is extremely varied. We've got a vampires/werewolves/faeries/witches/shapeshifters show, a dramedy about the very dysfunctional Botwin family, and then a sixties drama. I have to say one of the coolest things for me about watching Mad Men is that my mom would've been about the same age as Don Draper's little girl on the show, so I feel like I'm getting a hint of what her childhood is like—except she was raised by a librarian and a baker, so it was probably very different. Also I highly doubt she got caught smoking at 8 like Sally here:

Anyway what all three of these shows have in common are great characters who are like no one else on TV. As a character-driven writer, it's no surprise that that's what I look for in good TV. That and I like a lot of drama, even if it's supernatural drama or drama with comedy thrown in, or really emotionally repressed sixties drama.

I also of course am very open about my love of over the top soapy drama, which means my most anticipated fall return is 90210. In terms of characters, I really got thrown a curve ball by that show last season. I also loved Adriana and hated Naomi, but now I've completely flip flopped. Adriana became so shallow and Naomi actually began to show some depth. Of course we ended the season by finding out that Naomi was pregnant and I'm dying to see what that does to her character. So, even though it's totally a guilty pleasure (and I'm still very angry at the writers for pushing Adriana beyond what I think was realistic for her character, but that's a whole other rant), I'm really psyched for 90210.

What about you? Do you watch TV shows regularly or catch up later on Netflix? What is your most anticipated show to return? And have you heard of any new ones that look like they are going to be good? Maybe I can jump on the bandwagon early instead of 5 years late like with Mad Men!

PS. In case you haven't heard about TFC's new loyalty program yet, check it out! You can earn points to win our books just by commenting, linking to, or tweeting about us!

A Can't Miss Movie for Writers

2011-09-07T07:46:00.000-07:00

I stink at watching movies. I have had "The Social Network" home from Netflix for literally six months. I really plan to watch it one of these days! But my kids always rule the TV. I've seen lots of children's movies. But usually I go to bed really early. Also: baseball is on a lot.

This is too bad because I used to watch a lot of movies and in fact had a job (well, freelance gig) as a movie reviewer for a while. It was a two-man column, sort of like a printed Siskel & Ebert, but with more jokes. I wore a weird hat and scarf in my headshot. (Note, I can't find that picture anywhere, but it looked sort of like this.) We would often spend a lot of the column making fun of each other rather than talking about the movie. But we always (eventually) got around to watching the movies and, because it was a city paper we tended to focus on the movies playing at the one arty cinema in Allentown rather than the blockbusters at the multi-plexes in the burbs. This was fine with me, as I really like artsy movies. (I mean: "films." Artsy movies are always "films.") I have my limits of weird to be sure, but I am way more likely to enjoy a film that is two hours of people talking about sadness than two hours of robots blowing things up.

This means that, yes, Woody Allen is still one of my favorites. He hit a rough stretch there of course (understatement!) but he has made some pretty good movies lately. And my choice for recent "can't miss movie" (specifically for writers) is Woody's 2010 "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger." This movie was recommended to me be a writer-friend. It was Sally Keehn, who also lives here in Allentown. (Hi Sally, if you're reading this! You should be proud because I actually got around to watching a movie and chose the one you recommended.) Sally slyly said it was a great movie for writers and would say no more. I can see why she didn't want to say too much because it has some twists that are best left unexplained. It has generally gotten mixed reviews, but man, I really think all writers will like it.

There are a couple of different plotlines, all of which I enjoyed, but Roy (played by Josh Brolin) is the one who writers are likely to connect with. He gave up his previous life (as a doctor) to become a writer. He's written one successful novel and is now faced with the massive struggle known as "book #2." He's going a little crazy, he's under a lot of pressure, and he finds himself in a desperate situation (I hope this isn't giving too much away) where he is considering "borrowing" someone else's brilliance. There's a great twist at the end and so many little scenes of a writer's life that I really related to. Even his apartment (flat maybe? it is set in London) with its leaning piles of books looks exactly like every writer's apartment/house I've ever been in. So check it out! Let me know what you think! I give it forty-five thumbs up.

Win Free Copies of Our Books with Our New Loyalty Program!

2011-09-06T00:01:00.000-07:00

Hey loyal TFC Fans! Guess what!? We're SO appreciative that you continue to visit our site, that we wanted to REWARD you for your loyalty! That's right! We've installed a brand new "Loyalty Program" on the Teen Fiction Cafe. The more you visit and interact with our site, the faster you can earn points to win free copies of our books!

You earn points by:

Visiting our site daily (100 points)
Commenting on our posts (100 points)
Liking our posts on Facebook (100 points)
Tweeting our posts (100 points)
Sharing our posts on Google + (100 points)

But FIRST, you need to sign up for the program.

Signing up is SUPER easy.

1) Click on the "Become a Member" button in our Loyalty Program widget on the top left corner of the site.

2) You'll be asked for permission to link your Facebook profile. Click "Allow"

That's it! You're a member of our loyalty program! Now every time you visit our site, comment, and share posts, you'll be collecting points!

Once you reach 5,000 points you can choose one of our books to win!

But remember, there's only 1 copy of each of our books in the catalog, and once someone claims it, it's gone! So be sure to start visiting, commenting, and sharing now so you can claim your favorite! (Once you sign up for the program, you'll be able to view the catalog and see which books are left to claim).

Use the Like, Tweet, and Google+ buttons at the bottom of each post to share and earn points!

Points are limited to 500 per day (1 visit, 1 comment, 1 Tweet, 1 Facebook Like, 1 Google+ ) so keep coming back each day to earn max points and claim your Free book fast!

We hope you enjoy the new program! And thanks again to our loyal fans!

- The Teen Fiction Cafe Authors

Can't Miss TV

2011-09-05T06:03:00.000-07:00

When I was growing up, September was cause for much rejoicing, rejoicing along the lines of: Yippee! It's the new TV season! Of course, times have changed. Now we get the launch of various TV shows scattered throughout the year. There are even new shows launched during the summer now, where summer used to be the dead zone of reruns or third-rate variety shows. Still, despite its downgrade in uniqueness, there's something special about the fall season. Maybe it's that there's still more new shows that launch then than at any other time of the year? Maybe it's just habit? Whatever the case, here's five fall shows I'm really looking forward to:

5. Pan Am. It'll be like Mad Men but without advertising and in the skies! OK, maybe it won't really be like that. Maybe it'll just be nostalgic fun for me since I'm old enough to remember when even little boys and girls put on full suits and ties before getting on a plane.

4. Terra Nova. I'm pretty sure there are supposed to be dinosaurs in this one. When have dinosaurs ever worked in any show filmed for the small screen? But, you know, Steven Spielberg. Plus, small screens are much bigger now!

3. The X Factor. Because I need another entertainment/competition reality show in my life!

2. The New Girl. Zooey Deschenel. Zooey Deschanel. Zooey Deschanel. It's just so much fun to say Zooey Deschanel! The first episode was available On Demand even though it hasn't aired yet on network TV - how quaint! I just said "network TV"! We saw it and all gave it thumbs-up. It was really cute. Plus, you know, Zooey Deschanel.

1. Luther, Season 2. I know, I know, I'm cheating and this isn't a new-new show. It's the second season of a BBC show that's already aired over in England but who cares??? I just found out that my favorite new-to-me show of last year - Luther! Luther!! Luther!!! - has ts U.S. premier on September 28. Could I be any more excited? I could not.

So how about you? What upcoming new shows or returns of old favorites have you champing at the bit?

Be well. Don't forget to write.

What could your walls say?

2011-09-01T05:00:00.000-07:00

My favorite web gem - for messing around whenever I need a pick-me-up (or, okay, feel like procrastinating) - is Wall Written. Wall Written allows you to custom design wall clings of a variety of inspirational sayings. You can choose the size of the overall quote and also the colors of the text and decorative elements. Like this one, of my very favorite quote in the world:

You can even choose your own saying and custom design it as a wall cling using their awesome design tool! You choice the saying, font, color, layout, and decorative elements. Is that cool or what? If I had my way, my entire office would be blanketed with sayings. They already kind of are! My two favorites? "Be the change you wish to see in the world" and "Live-Laugh-Love".

What could *your* walls say?

Kay

Good News Friday: Baby!

2011-08-19T11:52:00.000-07:00

I missed my TFC post this week (sorry!) but I have a good excuse, I promise! Baby June is here, almost three weeks old, and so delightful. She has a big library already and will definitely be a Teen Fiction Cafe girl before I know it.

Happy Friday!

xo,
Melissa

Favorite Haunts: Vacation Edition

2011-08-11T06:13:00.000-07:00

August is vacation season and since I'm about go to on mine, I thought I'd talk about my favorite haunts away from home to fit in with this week's TFC theme.

When I was a kid, my family had some regular vacation spots, mainly Door County and the Apostle Islands in Northern Wisconsin. Some times we stayed a bit closer to home and went to Starved Rock, a state park in Northern Illinois. Or there were trips to Michigan where my aunt had a cabin. We did a lot of camping. For someone who is terrified of spiders, likes the comforts of a nice indoor bathroom, and has lots of allergies and dislikes extreme heat, this wasn't usually very pleasant.

Fortunately, now I get to pick my own yearly vacation spot and that would be the city that I wish I could afford to move to:

Ah, Seattle. Sigh. City of my heart. I visited for the first time in 2004. It sounds kind of morbid, but I went on the 10th anniversary of Kurt Cobain's death. No artist has had a bigger influence on me than Nirvana and since Kurt committed suicide when I was 14, it left a really big impression on me. I'd always wanted to go to Seattle since I was a teenager, so I went with some friends to pay tribute to Kurt and I also kind of closed the door on my own troubled youth in the process. It's hard to explain, but I tried to do so in this essay if you are interested.

Anyway I didn't expect to fall in love with Seattle. It was just a vacation, a trip with my girlfriends who were fellow music nerds. But as soon as I saw all the bright green trees (that rain is good for something) and all of the water (of course as a Cancer I would love a city that is surrounded by water on three sides), I fell in love. The air smelled better. The land had dimension. (I come from the abysmally flat Midwest.) And I just felt like I belonged.

One of these days (like when the economy turns around and we can sell our house), I will move out there and live happily ever after. But for now I make a yearly visit. Usually I go with two of my girl friends that I visited with the first time in 2004, who fell in love with Seattle like I did. The three of us live in different cities (me in Chicago, my friend Jenny in St. Louis and my friend Eryn in Denver), so it's like a little reunion. Normally we go in spring, but this year we head out on August 20th and I'm currently putting together a list of must-do's for us. Eryn and I have visited Seattle together 6 times and I've been there 2 additional times on top of that, so I definitely have my favorite haunts. Here are some of them:

1. The Waterfront:

The first time we stayed in Seattle, we were in a hostel just a block away from it so the first thing we did was walk along Elliott Bay. Now it's basically a tradition. We dump our stuff in the hotel and head directly there. Yeah it's touristy, but it's beautiful and there is nothing like it back home so who cars.

2. The Pike Place Market:

Also a touristy location, but I love a good farmer's market and this is pretty much the king of them all. We generally stay downtown so I like go here every morning for breakfast. Then I can buy fresh fruit and a vegan cinnamon roll at Cinnamon Works. (I definitely can't get vegan cinnamon rolls at home!) If I were a coffee drinker, I might grab a cup at the original Starbucks, but I'm a tea gal so I stock up at Market Spice. I usually will get one cup of Joe while in Seattle because well when in Rome... But I generally go for one of the smaller, local coffee houses.

3. The Seattle Center:

This is basically as touristy as it gets, but since the Space Needle symbolizes Seattle to me, we always have to walk by and get some cool shots of it (or totally dorky ones like the one above of me pointing to it), though I don't usually feel the need to pay to go up in it. The Seattle Center is also home to the EMP (Experience Music Project) and the SFM (Sci-Fi Museum), which is that super funky looking building pictured above. I geek out hardcore over both music and Sci-Fi so I do love both places and when they get exhibits I'm interested in, I go. Right now EMP has a huge Nirvana exhibit and SFM has a Battlestar Galactica exhibit. I am so there.

4. Thrift Stores and local crafty boutiques. It's weird because I don't shop much at home. Maybe because I grew up in Chicago now I'm cynical about it and nothing seems as cool as it used to be. But in Seattle I love to hit Red Light, my favorite vintage store at both of it's Capitol Hill and U-District locations and then I like to wander both of those neighborhoods and see what else I find. I also love the Ballard neighborhood which has this strip of boutiques where I can always find clothes by local designers. A lot of times we also hit up craft fairs like I Heart Rummage because I love to support local artists and find unique clothes and accessories. There's something wonderful about knowing that no one in your town will be able to get that hoodie or necklace.

5. Food and Drink. Since I work at a dive bar, I'm kind of a dive bar aficionado and Seattle has some of my favorites like The Comet Tavern in Capitol Hill, Nitelite downtown, The Central Saloon in Pioneer Square, and 9 Pound Hammer in Georgetown. It's also vegan paradise, especially compared to Chicago. I love the all-vegetarian Asian Restaurant, Bamboo Garden and Pizza Pi has the best vegan pizza I've ever tasted. Georgetown Liquor Company has these great vegan sandwiches with sci-fi names like Frac and the Picard. Umm yeah, that is pretty much the best thing ever.

6. Outdoorsy stuff. Seattle definitely has Chicago beat for this as well. I love going to the very odd Gasworks Park:

And visiting the nearby Fremont Troll:

Then there cool hikes like through Discovery Park to this neat little beach:

But this year I am really excited to check out Lincoln Park in West Seattle which has public pool right on the beach that is fed by Puget Sound waters.

7. Of course the big mama of parks for me is actually a very tiny park, Viretta Park. It's next to the house that Kurt Cobain owned, the house where his body was found. Fans gathered there in mourning in 1994 and my friends and I gathered there in 2004. It was where I had a bunch of personal epiphanies about letting my past go, fitting since like my characters in Ballads of Suburbia, I spent much of my time as a teenager hanging out in a park. So I do have to make a trek there every time I visit Seattle and leave a little hello and thanks for the music to Kurt on the bench where fans write messages to him and then have a little quiet reflective time for myself.

So those are my favorite Seattle vacation haunts. Do you take an annual trip somewhere? Or do you have a city that you wish you could visit regularly (or move to!)? What are some of your favorite places there?

Indie Bookstores: Gotta Love 'Em!

2011-08-09T08:35:00.000-07:00

First off, don't forget to comment on Lauren's post below for a chance to win 2 signed copies of her books!

This week we're talking about Favorite Haunts and I've decided to dedicate my post to indie bookstores. We all have our favorites, whether a local one or one that we love to visit when we're traveling. Today I'm posting some photos I've taken at The King's English, a bookstore located in the Salt Lake City, Utah area that's full of wonderful character, genuine book lovers, and of course great books.

In the below photo, you'll see YA authors and Utah residents Sara Zarr on the left, me in the middle, and Emily Wing Smith on the right. The King's English is great about celebrating local authors.

Recently, Emily Wing Smith launched her highly anticipated Back When You Were Easier to Love and I was lucky enough to get to come to the party The King's English threw. (Bottom photo)

Do you have a favorite indie bookstore? If you're looking for one close to you or in the next town you're visiting, check out this cool web-site: http://www.indiebound.org.

Favorite Haunts + Little Women and Me/Crazy Beautiful Giveaway!

2011-08-08T05:57:00.000-07:00

It's still summertime, time to be a little lazier - yea!

Here are some of my current favorite summertime haunts:

- The movie theatre. On hot days, I love going to matinees with my daughter. And my favorite thing to do there with her is take over six seats in the back row, three for each of us, and lie down on our sides head to head to watch. Since she's gotten a bit older and has always had more mature tastes, this has been the Summer of the Inappropriate Movie for us. Probably tied for first are "Friends with Benefits" and "Horrible Bosses".

- Shopping at J Crew. Everyone knows by now how short I am, but at J Crew there's always at least something that fits and the clothes last and last.

- My own dining room table. Every Friday night for over 10 years now, I've hosted a writing group in my home. It's something I always love but particularly in summer, when I can also have my (beleaguered) Mets on mute on the living room TV and when we take breaks outside the weather is conducive to sitting for a spell over a glass of good wine and good gab.

- The bench outside my front door. Over the course of the day, I take several 10-minute breaks outside to recharge. While I'm recharging, I'm also always reading. I read all year long but there's something special about summertime reading, that nostalgic feel of hot days with no responsibility but plenty of time to lie by the pool or under a shady tree and gorge on books. I'm like a tick when it comes to books. Did that image just gross you out?

- The couch in front of the TV. "General Hospital" in the afternoons, "Glee Project" on demand with my daughter, catching-up-on-movies Saturday nights with the lights out - I love it all.

So those are my summertime haunts. OK, maybe you'll think they're lame, with a serious homebody bent, but they're mine.

How about you: What are your favorite summertime haunts?

Oops, almost forgot! I'm offering a signed ARC of LITTLE WOMEN AND ME and a signed paperback copy of CRAZY BEAUTIFUL to one commenter below. Just leave a comment between now and midnight Friday and I'll randomly select the winner. Please do leave your email address if it doesn't automatically follow from your name link so I'll have a way to notify you. Thanks for playing!

Be well. Don't forget to write.

I know it's only Monday but..

2011-08-01T05:25:00.000-07:00

This week's focus is art, and when this came into my mailbox this morning, I had to share because a. I love pugs and b. therefore I love this picture.

Comment here with the name (or better yet pic!) of your fave pic through midnight EST on Friday, August 5th, and the person who talks about/posts the pic I like best will win a signed copy of Between Here and Forever. You must have a US mailing addy, and make sure to leave a way for me to contact you!

Pietro Annigoni

2011-07-31T00:53:00.000-07:00

This week it's all about art, and I thought I'd share one of my favorite pieces. Cristine by Pietro Annigoni (1910-1988).

For my 21st birthday I was asked by a group of people I worked with what I'd like, and decided some money to buy a painting. I went to a local art dealer and fell in love with this print.

Now......... lots and lots of years later....... I love it as much as I did then. Wherever we live it hangs close to my computer so I can look it as often as I wish.

I hope you love it too.

Is YOUR Life Undecided?

2011-07-18T07:00:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! This week at the Teen Fiction Cafe, we're blogging about Cyber Gems. Cool websites, articles, videos, etc that we've found on the web.

My "Cyber Gem" is not something I found, but something I created. Hopefully you'll think it's a "gem" too!

Anyone who knows me knows that I like to bring my books to life. I was a reluctant reader as a young child and teen and so I try to make sure that all my books have something associated with them that pulls them off the page and makes them accessible to more people. That's why I do my live action book trailers!

For my latest release, MY LIFE UNDECIDED, I decided to build an interactive website for the book as well. And it wasn't difficult to figure out what the website would be!

In the story, my main character, Brooklyn Pierce, (who is infamous for making horrible decisions) starts a website/blog where she posts all of her life's decisions and has her blog readers vote on what she should do. The site is called MyLifeUndecided.com...and it's now a real-life site!

The site has been expanded from featuring Brooklyn's decisions to featuring...well,everyone! Now anyone with a tough decision in their life can poll the community and get some help deciding what to do.

So head on over and post your pressing questions, collect votes, and get help making those decisions. Or just head over and vote on everyone else's questions. And there are some really tough questions on there right now!

www.MyLifeUndecided.com

And keep a look out for little posts, notes, and photos from Brooklyn herself. After all, she's the original founder of the site. :)

Enjoy!
Jessica

Are You Non-Plussed About GooglePlus?

2011-07-16T14:59:00.000-07:00

Have you joined yet? Are you a Google+ member? What's taking you so long? Don't you know that everyone has joined? Even Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is a member! And Google is his biggest competition! So if Zucky is there, why aren't you?

A few weeks ago, Google+ invitations were like Willy Wonka's Golden Tickets. They were as sought after as a Gmail account when they first came out, even though it was in Beta testing and the majority of Google+ users were tech people. And even if you got a coveted invite to use Google+, chances are that you couldn't find any of your friends (online or otherwise).

Now that the doors have finally been opened up and invitations are sailing across the web faster than you can shout Yahoo!, users are furiously adding each other and are being added to circles. They are offering virtual "hangouts" -- the equivalent of a chatroom only with videos. And networking abounds. (Both Ashton Kucher and Justin Timberlake are in my circles, though they haven't included me in theirs yet. Still waiting for those boys to extend an invitation.)

So basically, Google+ is a mash-up of Facebook and Twitter. You "follow" people like you do on Twitter and you can communicate with your friends like you do on Facebook. Instead of "liking" something, you give it a +1. Not sure what the online vernacular will be for that. I'm assuming that instead of "liking" something, you will be "plussing" or "plus one-ing" a post that meets your approval.

There are new ways of tracking people down on Google+. For instance, a quick way is to go to http://www.findpeopleonplus.com/ Several authors and illustrators have created links to fellow authors and bloggers. Here are a few links to those lists. (I'm not sure if those lists are accessible until you become a Google+ member, so make sure to join today!)

Also, don't forget to add links in your profile to your books. That way, when someone does a Google search for you, links to your books will appear under your name. If you Google my name: Megan Kelley Hall, you'll see that Sisters of Misery, The Lost Sister and Dear Bully all come up right under my name. Now people can click over and buy your books easily and hassle-free. (It all comes back to selling books, doesn't it?)

In any case, join Google+ and add me to your circle. I'm not sure what we'll do once we've all joined each other's circles, but it should be fun figuring it out together.

Good News Friday: Summer Reads Picks!

2011-07-15T08:48:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! I'm so delighted, I just have to share!

My new novel, MY LIFE UNDECIDED, which just released last month, was chosen as both a TEEN VOGUE Must-Read Book of the Summer AND a SEVENTEEN Summer Beach Read pick! Squeee!!!

You can read the reviews from each by clicking the links below.

Teen Vogue
Seventeen

MY LIFE UNDECIDED is about a fifteen-year-old girl, notorious for making terrible decisions, who enlists blog readers to vote on how she should live her life. But she soon discovers, some things in life simply aren't a choice...like who you fall in love with.

If you haven't seen the book trailer yet, watch it below!

And check out the brand new book website I just launched for the book: www.MyLifeUndecided.com where you can post your own undecided questions and poll our readers for some advice!

Happy Friday everyone!

XO
Jessica

In Which Stephanie admits that she kinda doesn't get most art

2011-07-14T03:55:00.000-07:00

When I saw that this week's topic was "Art," I got all nervous thinking that I'm so not qualified to talk about this at all.

Usually I like to use the word "art" really liberally. I think music, literature, theater, and fashion totally all qualify and I could talk at length about any of those things (well, maybe not the last two as much as the first two) and I know exactly what I like about both those things and can define it. When it comes to the visual arts, ie. painting, drawing, the stuff people really mean when they say art, I'm not very knowledgeable and I don't even really know what I like. I hate to admit it because it makes me feel uncultured, but I feel lost when I go to art museums. I don't know what I'm supposed to be looking for or feeling or supposed to like. I'd totally pick a history or science museum over an art museum. *cringes and hides from all of my artistic friends* Don't get me wrong, I can appreciate the beauty of a Dali painting or "Starry Night" and especially the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, but it doesn't give me the same feeling that reading a powerful book or listening to one of my favorite albums does. But maybe I'm just not finding the right art?

I have some friends who are artists whose work compels me, though unfortunately I could only easily find 1 persons piece to share. My friend Kevin does some pretty cool ink sketches that remind me of old Gothic novels and my friend Eryn makes paintings that feel as raw and real as the best Riot Grrrl songs. My friend Kasia does paintings of trees that make me want to write otherworldly stories and that is the one I have an example of:

All three of these folks are incredibly talented and I admire them hugely. Since I was a creative kid, I tried my hand at painting and drawing both, even had a cool little easel in my room for a time, but by high school I pretty much knew that I didn't have talent there and I covered that easel with my detention slips.... Oh collages-- that is a form of art I can get into. My whole bedroom as a teenager was a giant collage of pictures I'd cut out of magazines, mainly of rock stars. And speaking of rock stars, the only drawing I ever finished was one I copied from a photograph of Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love right after Kurt Cobain died as my way of grieving I guess. It actually took me forever to finish and it's still pretty crappy:

Of all the visual arts I guess it's easiest for me to relate with photography because they are tangible images like of places or people. And as you can see all of my attempts to be artistic (the collaging of photographs and my bad drawing, I also drew a lot of horses as a little kid) are pretty realistic too... and of course my strong suit is realistic fiction. So maybe my inability to be abstract is part of my issue with understanding most art.

One piece of art that I have always loved because it evokes so much emotion for me is a certain painting of Ophelia. I'm so poorly educated about art that I don't even know the artist, but my friend Jenny did get it as a gorgeous tattoo:

Tattoo art may actually be my favorite of the visual arts and I like all styles especially the classic Sailor Jerry sort like this Rose of No Man's Land tattoo that I got in honor of my nurse mother:

My tattoos are all kind of random pieces that mean things to me--again, really intense emotional things--but I've never been able to pull them together well. Again, I don't think I have the best eye for that sort of thing, but my friend Jenny does. Another one of her tattoos--which is more of a piece than just a tattoo like mine--is probably one of my all time favorite pieces of artwork. Check it out:

It really resonates with me emotionally, but once again I have no words to explain how or why.

So yeah, my conclusion is that I appreciate art, especially a certain kind that appeals to me emotionally, but I can't explain why I like it so I have a hard time finding more art that I like and I honestly feel like a moron when I talk about it.

I want to learn though, especially because I have a tattoo (which I got with my friend Jenny) that I want to pull together into something super cool like her tattoo. It's a cherry blossom on my chest that I want to branch on to a creepy old tree on my arm, maybe with a girl reaching up toward the flowers. Maybe my friend Kasia can help me out with the tree. We shall see...

What about you? Can you talk in an educated way about art? Can you school me? Please post links to your favorite pieces or ones that based on my babbling or personality you think I might like! I'm eager to learn!

Art for a Cause

2011-07-12T05:59:00.000-07:00

If you were to ask me what my favorite subject in school was, I would definitely say art. My parents recognized my love for art at a very young age and one of my earliest memories was painting a monster in an art room at a local college. From there, I was lucky enough to be accepted into my elementary school's gifted & talented program, where I did all sorts of interesting art projects. One of the most memorable was making a marionette for the puppet show "The Boy Who Cried Wolf." A few years later I was chosen to represent my school in painting a brand-new car with Olympics-inspired pictures when the Olympic torch made its way through my home town of Littleton, CO. I kept active in art classes throughout high school and would have loved to continue in college but I had to buckle down and concentrate on classes that went toward my major. Art has always been and will always be part of who I am, whether drawing, graphic arts, music, theater, or writing.

Now, I live in a tiny mountain town called Eden, Utah. It's not abnormal to see photographers and painters set up with tripods and easels alongside our picturesque roads and trails. Not too long ago, I happened to meet an artist by the name of Ashley Bennett-Stoddard. Not only is she a gifted painter and sculptor and an amazing art teacher for budding artists; she is a generous soul who donates to notable causes, including: Rape Recovery Center, Image Reborn, YWCA Salt Lake City, Ferguson Ridge Ski Hill, Dragon Fly Health Foods, Autism Speaks, The Hope Alliance, Natural Birth Project, and Love Whole Heart/Stephanie Pope. Here is her web-site, if you want to take a look at her art: http://ashleybennettstoddard.com

I'm not an art critic so I don't think I'd be able to do her work justice, but here are some things that Ashley Bennett-Stoddard's art brings to my mind: inspiration, peace, continuity, happiness, female, celebrations, life, blossoming, spirituality, and above all, hope. Thanks to people like Ashley Bennett-Stoddard,who use their gifts to make a difference in the world.

Do you have a favorite local artist? How has art changed your life? And don't forget to comment on Lauren Baratz-Logsted's post for a chance to win a signed ARC of Little Women and Me.

(Cover) Art + "Little Women and Me" Giveaway!

2011-07-11T05:34:00.001-07:00

The top cover image, with the face of the girk busting through the center of the book, is the most recent cover I've seen for LITTLE WOMEN AND ME, my forthcoming YA novel due out on November 8. It's the cover that's on the ARCs. The one below it, with the girl holding the book, is the first cover we had. My understanding is that there still isn't a final version and I'm anxious to see what that final version will be. I always liken an author seeing her final cover art as being something akin to the moment you have a baby. You've been living with this thing inside you for so long and all of a sudden it's finally out in the world and you're all, "Hello! So that's what you look like!"

Anyway, I'm curious to hear what others think of the above versions. What say you?

And, in case you don't know what LITTLE WOMEN AND ME is about, here's the cover copy:

Emily is sick and tired of being a middle sister. So when she gets an assignment to describe what she'd change about a classic novel, Emily pounces on Little Women. After all, if she can't change things in her own family, maybe she can bring a little justice to the March sisters. (Kill off Beth? Have cute Laurie wind up with Amy instead of Jo? What was Louisa May Alcott thinking?!) But when Emily gets mysteriously transported into the 1860s world of the book, she discovers that righting fictional wrongs won't be easy. And after being immersed in a time and place so different from her own, it may be Emily-not the four March sisters-who undergoes the most surprising change of all. Lauren Baratz-Logsted's winning confection will appeal to fans of Little Women as well as anyone who enjoys a modern twist on an old favorite.

Finally, I'm hoping you'll be as excited about this book as I am. In order to stir that excitement, I'm offering a signed ARC of LITTLE WOMEN AND ME to one commenter below. Just leave a comment between now and midnight Friday and I'll randomly select the winner. Please do leave your email address if it doesn't automatically follow from your name link so I'll have a way to notify you. Thanks for playing!

Be well. Don't forget to write.

If I could be anyone for a day I would be...

2011-07-07T05:00:00.000-07:00

... MY DOG.

I know, I know. I should be posting something profound and thought provoking.

But seriously, what a life that dog has! She naps most of the day until she needs to be let out or wants something to eat or drink. Then she's waited on hand and foot. Granted, the eating part consists of kibble, but still.

To lounge around all day pondering the nuances of life. Or, you know, how many squirrels she could catch if we'd only let her have free reign over the neighborhood. To get belly rubs simply by rolling over and looking cute. To snooze in the sun whenever the mood strikes.

That is the life, I'm telling you.

Other than the kibble part.

Kay

In A Perfect World.

2011-06-30T05:23:00.000-07:00

The topic this week is In A Perfect World. When people talk about what can be done to make this a more perfect world they never mention the main problem facing our society. I’m talking about war. Think about it. We’re killing and maiming each other daily. We’ve become so jaded that if you even attempt to voice opposition to war you’re quickly dismissed as a bleeding heart, naive dreamer. The common perception of war is that it’s inevitable; it’s going to happen, definitely, so you might as well prepare for it and if you don’t you’re just being foolish and immature.

When I was younger I could sit and watch a war picture and sometimes even get caught up in the adventure of it all but I can’t really do that anymore. Now war movies just look like insanity to me. There’s no adventure in watching people, nations, tribes, or cultures cutting each other down like a sick and bitter harvest.

It’s just not the death and destruction, or the lost wages, opportunities and potential. It’s also the money; think about the trillions upon trillions of dollars that are spent year after year by nations on defense. Ever wonder what we could do with all that money? Well, I bet we could feed the world, we could make starvation a thing of the past and while we’re at it, did you know that well over two million people, mainly children, die each and every year simply because they don’t have clean water? We spend trillions on guns and bombs while millions die from dirty water. We could make sure that everyone has clean water to drink. And while we’re at it, how about worldwide free healthcare? How about cures for cancer and other diseases? We could do all of that with the money that’s wasted on war.

Think about it. Imagine what mankind could do, imagine what we could accomplish if we could only manage to just stop killing each other. Greatness would be within our grasp. I’m not saying that the lack of war would absolutely guarantee a perfect world but I will go so far as to guarantee that it would be a far, far more perfect world than the one we have now.

The first step is to recognize war as the collective insanity that it is and the second step is to begin preaching the possibilities of what this world could accomplish if it could manage to free itself from that insanity.

Isn’t it time to make imagine world peace more than just a bumper sticker?

.

Summer's Here!

2011-06-23T04:59:00.000-07:00

I was supposed to post on the solstice (Tues) but I was out enjoying the longest day of the year! Oops.

To make up for that, I'll share the Top 3 things I love about this summer season...

♥ I love writing outside on my stoop. Yesterday, as I participated in Stephanie Kuehnert's awesome 90-minute writing challenge, I got to watch families walking to the park and I saw six cute dogs. That does not happen in my living room, where I write in winter.

♥ Iced coffee. (Have I mentioned this one before?) I drink it all year, but in the summertime, no one looks at me like I'm crazy when I order it.

♥ Dresses! No restrictive tights, no bulky jackets necessary. Just flowy, comfy, pretty dresses (or rompers) for every day of the week. Now that I'm pregnant, I have to choose more carefully -- "dress" can quickly become "tent." It's still fun though!

So what are your top summer loves?

A Giant List of Words

2011-06-16T02:09:00.000-07:00

Since Lauren provided us with new vocabulary words and Wendy gave us a very inspiring quote, I thought I'd do my own twist on words and vocab week at TFC.

Besides, I already talked about one of my favorite quotes ever (something Angela Chase said on My So-Called Life) when I was reflecting on the hoopla that Wall Street Journal article about contemporary YA being too dark for teens. You can read the My So-Called Life quote and see how I used it to respond to the hoopla here on my personal blog if you like.

And when it comes to vocabulary, I'm kind of braindead right now and I'm about to show you why. A few weeks ago, I finished revisions on the book I've been working on for the past year or so. I don't know what other writers do, but for me one of the final stages of revising is noting down words/images/phrases that I think I may have overused as I do a read through my book. The I use the Find function on word to look for these words and see if I really did use them to much and if so I try to find a better way to rephrase or replace them. That's when I break out my word bible:

It's an excellent tool, but you have to be a bit wary or you will start inserting words that your character would never use or getting out of control with flowery language that your editor will later mark, "PURPLE! Rephrase!" Yeah, that has definitely happened to me.

Anyway here is my list of words/phrases/images I was worried about overusing in the draft of the book I just finished (just click to enlarge it):

Yep, as the blog title indicates, that is a GIANT list of words. Fortunately they weren't all as overused as I thought they were and as you can see some are synonyms so if they were sprinkled through out, I was okay with it. I did however have a lot of "insisting" and "demanding" going on, so I will share with you the list of alternatives I made from my handy synonym finder:

Importune
Entreat
Mandate
Command
Urge
Maintain
Assert
Exhort
Admonish
Implore

Some are more normal sounding than others and I did use those. I was excited about admonish, which I felt I could safely use and I think might I have used entreat as well, but although I really loved exhort, I wasn't so sure I could get away with it.

I really love the Synonym Finder though. Are there any other word geeks out there who think thesauruses are fun? What about those of you who write, what are your methods for handling those overused words?

My Favorite Quote

2011-06-14T08:10:00.000-07:00

As some of you might know (okay, so maybe only if you're my mom), I wrote an entire book on quotes. The Little Giant Encyclopedia fo Inspirational Quotes. (Click just to see the crazy price this little book is going for now that it's out of print.) But anyway, yes, I dig quotes, and sometimes when I'm feeling down, I'll pull out this little book and turn to a random page.

There's one page, 398 to be exact, that this little book opens to the most often, and on it is one of my favorite quotes ever. This is a popular one, and it's for good reason.

What is success?
To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics adn to endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson

How do you define success?

When Sunday is Monday

2011-06-12T06:17:00.000-07:00

I'm scheduled to blog here tomorrow, Monday, but I'm going to be at my daughter's school tomorrow to do some fun next-to-the-last-day-before-summer-vacation stuff and I want to be able to just enjoy that and not try to cram everything else in around the edges, so...

This week the theme at TFC is supposed to be New Vocab or Interesting Quotes. That also has a connection to my daughter because just last week she had to come up with a new-to-her word and quote for school. Her homework is definitely her job but I do like to get involved in the vocabulary/quote selection because, well, I'm a big ol' word geek!

In the past, I've helped her find her way to some of my favorite words, like termagant and enisled. It's not often that I come across a word I've never seen before in a novel, unless of course it's some kind of highly specialized technical term. Enisled was the last new-to-me word I've ever seen in a novel. It comes from Wayne Johnston's amazing novel, The Colony of Unrequited Dreams.

For quotes in the past I've helped her discover Martin Luther King Jr's famous line, “I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character”; and also Edgar Allan Poe's terrific "Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night."

So what did we come up with this week?

The quotation part was easy. I have a framed print of Rudyard Kipling's "If" in my basement-cave office, so we selected, "If you can fill the unforgiving minute/With sixty seconds worth of distance run."

The vocabulary selection proved more difficult. After much debate, she finally settled on furor. I was disappointed because I'd been lobbying hard for makebate, a word I'd never seen in my life before I came across it in the dictionary by chance early in the week. Makebate - have you ever heard of that before? Isn't it just a marvelous-looking word? Just in case it's as new to you as it was to me, I'll define it here. Makebate is an archaic noun from 1529 and a makebate is "one that excites contention and quarrels." Sometimes I can be such a makebate.

OK, that's all I've got for y'all today, except to congratulate all my talented TFCers on their many successes and novel releases this past week and to ask:

How about you? Any favorite words or quotes you'd care to share?

Be well. Don't forget to write.

Good News Friday...continues!

2011-06-10T09:55:00.000-07:00

As Friday leaves down under and enters Northern America, the good news continues!

Thanks to Amanda for the lovely shout out about my newest release! I'm thrilled to announce that my new young adult novel, MY LIFE UNDECIDED releases THIS week! And I'm very proud to be sharing such a kick-arse release week with Amanda Ashby and Alyson Noel (hands down two of the coolest peeps I know!)

Below is a book summary for MY LIFE UNDECIDED and the aforementioned (by Amanda!) "movie-style" book trailer that I produced for it! I hope you all enjoy!

BOOK TRAILER:

BOOK SUMMARY (From the Inside Flap):

PLEASE READ THIS! MY LIFE DEPENDS ON IT!

Okay, maybe that was a bit melodramatic, but I’m sorry, I’m feeling a bit melodramatic at the moment.

Here’s the deal. My name is Brooklyn Pierce, I’m fifteen years old, and I am decisionally challenged. Seriously, I can’t remember the last good decision I made. I can remember plenty of crappy ones though. Including that party I threw when my parents were out of town that accidentally burned down a model home. Yeah, not my finest moment, for sure.

But see, that’s why I started a blog. To enlist readers to make my decisions for me. That’s right. I’m gave up. Threw in the towel. I let someone else be the one to decide which book I read for English. Or whether or not I accepted an invitation to join the debate team from that cute-in-a-dorky-sort-of-way guy who gave me the Heimlich Maneuver in the cafeteria. (Note to self: Chew the melon before swallowing it.) I even let them decide who I dated!

Well, it turns out there are some things in life you simply can’t choose or have chosen for you—like who you fall in love with. And now everything’s more screwed up than ever.

But don’t take my word for it, read the book and decide for yourself. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll scream in frustration. Or maybe that’s just me. After all, it’s my life.

EARLY REVIEWS:

"Brooklyn is a sympathetic protagonist with whom teens will identify. Her journey is fun to read, and decision-challenged readers will learn an important lesson about self-acceptance along the way."
--School Library Journal

"Brody taps into a universal human desire...An amusing coming-of-age story with many funny moments...[Brooklyn's] flustered, off-the-cuff narration should keep readers as invested in her actions as her blog followers are."
--Publisher's Weekly

Thanks everyone for sharing my Good News Friday!

Good news Friday

2011-06-09T12:54:00.000-07:00

Okay, so perhaps it's not Friday over in the US but it's Friday in NZ and I'm so excited that I am shamelessly going to hijack TFC to talk about my new book Fairy Bad Day.

But first I just wanted to say a big hooray to my fellow TFC buddies who have books out this week!

Not only is Alyson Noel going to finally put us out of our misery and let us know what happens with Damen and Ever in her final Immortals book, Everlasting, but the too-cool for school Jessica Brody has just released her second YA book, My Life Undecided (which has one of the best book trailers I've ever seen) so, as you can see, I'm in very good company!

To say that I've been nervous about this book would be an understatement since in a world of dark love triangles and dystopian terror, for some reason I ended up writing a book about giant killer fairies and . . . well . . . Skittles. Yes, those little candy treats that are too delicious to stop at only one. Apparently they're the next big thing in YA fiction. Okay, maybe not!

But anyway, this book is definitely on the lighter side of the paranormal spectrum. Oh and I should mention that as well as Skittles, it does have lots of sword fights and a very cute hero who spends the entire book on crutches! Anyway, here is a short blurb and some reviews so you can make your own mind up. And you can read an excerpt over at my website.

Fairy Bad Day

While most students at Burtonwood Academy get to kill demons and goblins, fifteen-year-old Emma gets to rid the world of little annoying fairies with glittery wings and a hipster fashion sense. She was destined to be a dragon slayer, but cute and charming Curtis stole her spot. Then she sees a giant killer fairy - and it's invisible to everyone but her! If Emma has any chance of stopping this evil fairy, she's going to need help. Unfortunately, the only person who can help is Curtis. And now, not only has he stolen her dragon-slayer spot, but maybe her heart as well! Why does she think it's going to be a fairy bad day?

"Teens with a taste for the paranormal school story and a tolerance for raucous humor will be involved with and amused by this romantic fantasy. The exciting plot, humor throughout—often provided by the little fairies—and relatively innocent romance between characters will grab readers and keep them involved. " Kirkus Reviews

"In a fun mashup of the modern and the magical, Ashby (Zombie Queen of Newbury High) creates nicely developed characters and supports them with strong plotting and zippy writing. Laced with humor, danger, and romance, this book will have readers smiling all the way to the last page." Publisher's Weekly

So now, because I live in New Zealand and can't actually go and see my book in a store I'm going to bounce around the house like a Tigger and annoy my family! But if you have any sightings of Fairy Bad Day out in the world, I'd love to hear about it and you have my total permission to pat it and sniff it as much as you want!!!!!!

In A Perfect World...

2011-06-06T06:14:00.000-07:00

This week's blog topic really got me thinking. On the one hand, a perfect world would be amazing! Nothing would ever go wrong and oh! I'd be a best-selling author! And my dog wouldn't be old and my cousin wouldn't have died from ovarian cancer and I wouldn't be dealing with multiple revisions (because I'd have written the books perfectly the first time!)

That sounds really good, and I have to admit, I'd love for all of those perfect world things I mentioned above to be true.

But they aren't, and you know, as painful as some of them are (my cousin's death being the most painful), I don't think I'd want to live in a perfect world because if I did, everything would always be perfect and then--

Well, then how would I ever feel anything?

I don't have a perfect life, and so I rejoice in the moments that are good (the love my family had for my cousin and how we were all able to share it at her memorial service), and the bad...well, I feel them, and they hurt.

In a perfect world, I wouldn't have any of that. I'd just be there, and everything would always be perfect.

I'd rather feel.

In A Perfect World........

2011-06-05T16:18:00.000-07:00

This week it's all about a perfect world. Rather than focusing on wider world issues, like poverty, wars, and disasters which we'd all love to eradicate, I thought I'd list ten things that would help make my life more perfect:

1. Everyone to want to watch the same TV program at the same time.
2. No complaints about the meals I cook (that could be tricky, seeing as I burn most things).
3. No bickering.
4. Chocolate to be calorie free.
5. Washing, ironing, cooking and cleaning to magically do itself.
6. TV programs I watch to be spread evenly across the week, and not all on one night.
7. Sunshine every day.
8. No internet problems.
9. Children to do everything I ask, without question.
10.Dog to only shed her hair outside.

Okay, so these are little things..... what about you, what would make your life a little more perfect?

Good News Friday EVERLASTING Trailer!!

2011-06-03T18:30:00.000-07:00

It's a good day for trailers, did you see Melissa's (below) for SMALL TOWN SINNERS? Awesome--I can't wait to read it!

The EVERLASTING trailer was also released today--the final installment in THE IMMORTALS series will hit stores on Tuesday, June 7- and I'd love to see you at one of the tour stops!

Enjoy!!

Good News Friday: Small Town Sinners Trailer!

2011-06-03T13:34:00.000-07:00

The fantastic Andie of Air Productions made this trailer for Small Town Sinners! July 19th... it's coming!

FAVORITE HAUNTS

2011-06-01T21:01:00.000-07:00

Well…you had to go and ask that now, didn’t you? Be careful what you ask for.

A DREAM WITHIN A DREAM
By EDGAR ALLAN POE

Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?

All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.

I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep - while I weep!
O God! can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?

Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?

Favorite Places

2011-05-30T10:50:00.000-07:00

The topic this week is supposed to be favorite haunts, but I'm altering it just a little bit because I'm pretty sure a place I've visited only once hardly qualifies as a haunt...

My daughter and I just returned from our trip to Italy and Greece and came home with a whole new list of favorite places to visit:

In Verona: We were kind of sad that the note wall we saw in Letters to Juliet is no longer a feature at Juliet's house, but it was still worth the walk to visit her home and sit in the courtyard.

In Venice: The entire city is amazing. We rode up and down the Grand Canal, of course, but some of the most beautiful finds were tucked into back alleys and canals.

In Pisa: After ooh-ing and aah-in over the leaning tower, we found an old fortress that had been converted into a public park and garden.

In Milan (which, for some reason, I can't say without an Edna accent-"Milan, dahling...") The Duomo is absolutely gorgeous, and there's a castle down the road (and panini and gelato street carts between the two!)

In Corfu: We rented a car and drove around the island and found this little beach a short hike from the road.

On Santorini: Oia is stunning. I little hike out to the old fortress was the perfect place to take pictures (and watch the sun set.)

On Delos: Amazing ruins. It used to be one of the busiest, most prosperous cities in that corner of the world. Imagine if New York City one day ceased to be.

In Elis: At Olympia, we walked on the original Olympic field and saw where the Olympic torch is lit for each of the modern Games.

So, those are some of my favorite places. What are yours?

What You Don't Know About Me: Obsessions

2011-05-25T07:44:00.001-07:00

One of the best parts about writing for middle-grade and young adult readers, I would think any MG/YA author will tell you--is the mail. Email, handwritten mail, art . . . it arrives via the Internet, handed to me at signings or classrooms, or via snail mail. My favorite ones are those that ask me random questions . . . like one reader who wanted to know . . . WHAT KIND OF PIE DO YOU LIKE?

I like peach--so there, something you don't know about me now revealed. But I know that what's behind the questions are the fun ways we look to draw connections to each other, to find things we have in common--such as a shared obsession for peach pie.

So without further ado . . . here are five things I am crazy obsessed with.

1) Canada Dry ginger ale. It is the ONLY brand that will do and it is my cure-all. No flu, no cold, no headache, no anything that ails me cannot be made at least a little better with Canada Dry. And sorry Seagram's and Schwepp's. You don't hold a candle to Canada Dry.

2) Buddha statues. I have dozens and dozens all over my house to remind me to pause and think of a little karma once in a whole. I just like them . . . and now I get them as gifts from friends . . . each statue is different. I love them all.

3) My strawberry plants. I have them this year and they are sprouting MAJOR strawberries. But my arch nemesis . . . the SQUIRREL . . . is stealing them. This is a daily battle. But I am determined to grow them perfectly red and luscious.

4) All things Daniel Craig. Need I say more? I think not.

5) Old movies. The more swoon-worthy, then better. Musicals? I'm in.

How about you? Have an hidden obsessions you care to reveal?

What You Don't Know About Me: Nerd Glasses!

2011-05-24T06:34:00.000-07:00

I filmed this tiny little snippet for Holly Cupala's Tell Me a Secret release, and it's still holding true...

So, what don't I know about you?

15 Things You Don't Know About Me

2011-05-23T20:31:00.000-07:00

The theme this week is "What You Don't Know About Me" and those of you who read my last post know that I loooove lists. So here it goes:

15 Random Things You Didn't Need To Know About Me (But Now You Do)
by Jessica Brody

I loves bananas but hate anything banana flavored.
I'm squemish about collar bones and belly buttons. (Good luck touching either one of them)
I've always secretly wanted to be a member of the Spice Girls
I don't like it when vegetables try to pass themselves off as dessert. (Carrot Cake, I'm on to you. You're not fooling anyone!)
The first book I learned to read was Go Dog Go at age 2, although technically I probably just memorized it.
I can't whistle. (And no, it's not as simple as just putting your lips together and blowing).
I'm allergic to avocado (a fact that I hate because I happen to love guacamole!)
My favorite movie to quote is the movie, Arthur starring Dudley Moore. ("Bitterman, drive through the park. You know how I love the park.")
I've always had a strange obsession with the scanners at supermarket registers and now I never miss an opportunity to use the self check-out lanes so I can scan my own food.
I love speaking in a British accent, much to the annoyance of everyone around me.
I've always hating doing anything athletic and I used to hide behind the handball courts in elementary school during P.E.
I'm a major tech-y and have to own every gadget that comes out. Regardless of whether or not I have any intention of using it.
I can't stand the word "pocketbook" or "panties."
My all-time favorite foods are pixy sticks, sushi and afternoon tea sandwiches and I insist on having all three at my birthday parties.
My very first novel was called The Puppy and the Kitty and was complete with illustrations. I wrote it when I was 7. (See photo below).

Oh, and one thing you MAY have known about me, but I just thought I'd remind you is that my fourth novel, MY LIFE UNDECIDED releases on June 7!

Now here's one thing I know about YOU: You're going to go pick up a copy, right? RIGHT?

If you haven't seen the trailer yet, take a look below!

So there you have it! You now know everything there is to know about me. Does your life feel more complete? No? Well, you can't say I didn't try!

Okay, so what don't we know about YOU? Comment away!

Good News Friday: PW Review of Small Town Sinners!

2011-05-20T06:19:00.000-07:00

I was really excited for my first Publishers Weekly review* this week. PW calls Small Town Sinners (out July 19th) "tender and provocative."

Another great sentence: "While the combined sincerity and extremism of the Hell House production is viscerally shocking, Walker creates an astutely balanced portrait of a conservative congregation's in-your-face response to perennial issues of domestic abuse, teen pregnancy, and suicide, as well as of those who struggle to fit the prescribed Christian mold."

Yay! Hope you guys will check it out this summer.

*The review is slightly spoilery, so be careful if you click

Cyber Gems: A brand new website

2011-05-19T05:09:00.000-07:00

As a tween/teen this was my favorite magazine on earth:

I mean look at that beautiful Johnny Depp! (and that is from over 20 years ago and he's still hot if not hotter, how is that fair!)

But Sassy was not about the eye-candy (though the covers with Johnny and Kurt Cobain and those sorts of guys definitely did it for me). It was about being yourself as a teenage girl, way more so than those other teen mags IMHO. It taught got me thinking about tough issues like rape and abortion. It introduced me to some of my favorite bands like Bratmobile and others from the Riot Grrrl era. It was about being YOU, not the you your friends or your parents or some cute guy wanted, YOU.

And I've missed it forever and been sorta kinda obsessed with Jane Pratt, the founder of Sassy ever since. I subscribed with her other magazine Jane, too, but alas it disappeared, too. So I was so thrilled when I got an email on Monday telling me that Jane is back with xojane.com!

It's got reviews and DIY stuff and all the brutal honesty I expected from Sassy and Jane. Some of the content is aimed toward older teens and women (ie. frank talk about sex and your body), but I'm thrilled to see Jane online again, bring her wit and honesty and savvy to the internet FOR FREE! So check it out. It's brand new but I think it's going to become one of my cyber gems.

What about you, did you love Sassy or if you are younger, what mags are you/were you hooked on?

Cyber Gems: This Video has Zero Views

2011-05-18T11:57:00.001-07:00

I have an amazingly good (not that I'm bragging) cyber gym. A hidden gem. This video has been viewed zero times. You are impressed. I'm like one of those guys whose favorite band has never played outside of their basement. Well, this band has played outside of their basement. Actually it's an orchestra. And actually they played outside my library, so it's not like I was digging so hard to find these hidden geniuses. But nonetheless, I have a gem I want to share!

This is the Allentown School District City Orchestra and the reason I'm posting it here is not necessarily because they're the greatest musicians in the world (sorry, kids, but we all know that the greatest musician in the world is my dog --hidden secondary gem!). The reason I want to share this video is just because I think there are few things in the world cuter than kids playing classical music. And Allentown is sort of a rough place so the fact that these kids make space in their lives for violins and cellos and so on is wonderful to me. It makes me smile every time I see them trucking downtown with their unwieldy instrument cases. It makes me optimistic even, for the future.

Yet you will not be surprised to learn that this program is fighting for its life as the school district suffers through another round o' budget cuts.

I don't want to go on a diatribe (who am I kidding? Of course I do...) but we *need* arts in schools. We need music in schools. We need to tell kids that this stuff is important, that there is more to life than the ugliness we often see around. We need to let them know that we care enough about their future that we don't mind investing in them, even if we're going broke and even if they aren't the greatest musicians in the world (sorry, kids). This orchestra makes me smile more than any professional orchestra (with the possible exception of the London Punkharmonic Orchestra -- 3rd bonus gem!)

Rock on, Allentown.

Cyber Gems

2011-05-16T04:56:00.000-07:00

It's Cyber Gems week here at TFC, the week for us to focus on great websites, interesting articles and fun YouTube clips etc. There's just one problem with that, or at least with me being part of the rotation this week: I'm pretty much the biggest tech-not in the world. You know the type of person, the one who's the last to know what LOL Cats is or discover the Numa-Numa Song or see Matt crazy-dancing in a gazillion countries. And since writing and reading is pretty much all I do with my waking hours, here's all I've got for you:

Backspace - If you're interested in having a career as a writer, the best thing you can do for yourself is join Backspace, an online forum with 1500+ writers at all stages of their careers, from just starting out to NYTimes bestsellers. There's a modest subscription fee but I know of no better place to get information on all aspects of the art of writing and the business of publishing while networking with other writers.

BookBalloon - The ultimate site for book lovers, there is no subscription fee, just discussion threads devoted to every genre, NF and book-related topic imaginable, and there are even monthly book-discussion groups. The proprietor, Gary Glass, is like a genie, making innovations to the site as demand arises.

The Official Sisters 8 Website - It hasn't been updated recently - there are only five books currently on it even though the seventh of nine was just released - but I still adore the publisher-created website for the series for 6- to 10-year-olds that I write with my husband and daughter. There are a lot of fun features there for kids to play around with - there's even a section on advice for kids to start their own book discussion groups - and all kids seem to love taking the personality-profile quiz "Which Eight are You?"

So that's all I've got for you today. I wish I had more. I wish I were the kind of person likely to be the first to discover the next Numa-Numa Song, but that's not me. Hopefully it's you? Please tell me: What are your favorite Cyber Gems?

And just in case you haven't seen it: The Numa-Numa Song.

Be well. Don't forget to write.

Anniversaries, the photo method

2011-05-12T06:00:00.000-07:00

Recently, my husband and I celebrated 15 years of marriage. I swear we were just college students the other day. Where did that time go?

As I started pondering that question, I pulled out a photo box and sifted through it. There, captured on film, was the last 15 years. Or, as it turns out, mostly the holidays and trips of the last 15 years.

Being in a sentimental upcoming-anniversary mood, I decided that I would create a scrapbook of our life together. Not our family, just us. We have tons of pictures of our family, but not nearly as many that celebrate us as a married couple. This, I thought, would be a lovely anniversary gift.

So I began happily organizing the photos, jotting down funny notes about the trips that I happened to remember (which I should have done LONG ago because I'm sure I've forgetten most of them). And then I made the critical, bubble-bursting error... showing them to my husband while he sat watching a Nascar race and reading email on his laptop.

ME: Look, honey, remember when we went to San Francisco?
HIM: Mm-hmm. (not really looking)
ME: No, here. See? This is one of my favorite pictures of us. Look how young we look!
HIM: (watches cars go three wide into turn 2 then glances at the picture) It's nice. (gives me a kind, patient smile)

What I realized, other than my timing was perhaps not ideal, was that he wasn't all that interested in seeing the *process* of my scrapbooking. 50 miles to go in a big race wasn't egging on his sentimental side. :-)

So I've taken on this monumental task: scrapbooking our first 15 years together. It feels monumental to me because I've never really scrapbooked before. Zoikes. But I've got the pictures organized, a friend to scrapbook with (who, unlike me, actually knows what she's doing), and some basic (and, ok, not really necessary but SO COOL) supplies. My goal is one 2-page layout a week. Two pages celebrating events from the last 15 years of our life together. It's just two pages, right? That seems doable. Two pages that should capture the magic of those 15 years because they deserve to be honored and remembered.

No pressure. :-)

What about you? Do you take lots of pictures during the holidays and at other big events? If you do, what do you do with them after you take them?

IF I COULD BE ANYBODY FOR A DAY.

2011-05-05T04:14:00.000-07:00

When I was a kid nothing beat the summers, I mean absolutely nothing. They were the best. My brother and I would rise with the sun, shovel our breakfasts into our mouths as quickly possible and then bolt out of the house, leaving the screen door to slam loudly behind us. It seemed like we were always running and that we always had someplace to go. We’d spend the summers running to friends’ houses, ball fields, homemade clubhouses, lakes or just exploring the huge nature preserve at the end of the neighborhood. This was back in the day when a kid could disappear on his own for the majority of the day without his parents freaking out and sending out a massive search party.

The thing is back then I was…happy. I mean really happy. I loved each and every day. I tried my best to suck every ounce of pleasure out of the day and more often than not I succeeded. Back then life was simple and I didn’t really have a worry in the world, had close friends and was creative enough to keep myself constantly occupied. As I grew older things changed, but they have to, that’s life I guess, or so I’ve been told. Insecurities, responsibilities, relationships and days that get measured not by pleasure but by a monetary reward system have a way of changing your perception of the world.

If I could be anyone for a day I’m not sure who I would be. I mean there are rock stars that come to mind. Playing in front of thousands of people has to be rewarding. There are astronauts, pilots, actors and adventurers that hold degrees of appeal. I imagine the thrill of being a professional football or baseball player would be incredible, to be the star of the big game is every boy’s fantasy but I’m also struck by something Troy Aikman once said after winning the Super Bowl. He asked, “Is that all there is?”

There lies the genesis of my dilemma. Being one of these people would also require me to actually really be one of these people. I have no idea how other people perceive the world. I mean I can guess because I am a living person and I interact with other people, I listen to what they say, read what they write, experience much of what they experience but the thing is we’re all locked into our bodies, we’re billions of separate realities occupying the same world, each of us with our own memories, emotions and temperaments. There’s a reason why they hand out menus at your local restaurant.

That guitarist performing in front of thousands of adoring fans is the same person who’s spent countless hours alone in a room someplace practicing. The same holds true for sport stars and actors. What drives a person to success? Is it pleasure or personal demons? I have no idea. I’m not this or that person. I’m only myself. So when I think about who I’d like to be for the day that memory of my younger self claws its way into my thoughts and it becomes less of a quest to identify a person and more of a quest to identify an emotion because if I could be anyone for a day wouldn’t it make more sense to request to be the happiest person in the world or the most content, fulfilled or enlightened person?

But then again…isn’t happiness subjective? Take TV as an example. Doesn’t Dexter define personal happiness a whole lot differently than House? There’s no guarantee that what gives one person immense pleasure will give another the same degree of satisfaction. Ah yes, speaking of satisfaction, isn’t that another nice emotion?

Here’s a question: If you could be overwhelmed by any emotion for a day, to experience it more than any human in the world has ever experienced it, what emotion would you chose?

Happiness may be a lot of different things to different people but how many think it’s a warm gun? I guess everything’s subjective.

Channeling Sookie Stackhouse

2011-05-04T14:06:00.000-07:00

Well, it seems it's my turn to choose who I would most want to be for a day, and taking my cue from Amanda--I'm gonna go the shallow/TV route as well.

I mean, yes, I'd love to be someone meaningful who engages in world changing/meaningful work--that's a given--but I'd also like to be Sookie Stackhouse.

Especially in this upcoming season of True Blood.

And this is why . . .

Waiting Sucks: Eric

How about you? What TV character would you most want to be for a day?? Sing it out in the comments!!

Alyson

If I could be anyone...

2011-05-02T14:17:00.000-07:00

This week's post is all about 'if I could be anyone for a day'.

Now to begin with I thought I would be my husband just so I could find out how awesome it really is to be married to me. But then I looked at myself in the mirror, complete with bed head, wrinkles and yesterday's mascara and I thought better of it (oh, but don't be feeling too sorry for the husband, he knew what he signed up for!!!!)

So then I wondered if I should be someone who is terribly important and worthy so that you would all think better of me, but then I worried that I might let the team down by accidentally adding billions onto world debt by signing the wrong piece of paper.

And finally I realized that there is absolutely no point pretending that I am anything other than shallow and self-serving, so in answer to the question, 'if I could be anyone for a day', I have to say that I would be Nina Dobrev from The Vampire Diaries because seriously, she has the best job ever. I mean between playing Elena and Catherine she pretty much ends up seeing every guy on that show in a serious state of undress!

So, that's me in all my shallow glory. What about everyone else, who would you be for a day?

In Erica Orloff's Perfect World

2011-04-27T09:37:00.000-07:00

Oh, where do I even begin?

World peace and all that, but that's a given.

1. Three years ago, I had a wild ambulance ride involving my blacking out in the middle of Grand Central Station and fracturing my skull. The cause? Sudden onset of adult allergies--to seafood. I can't TOUCH it. Eat it. I'm not even sure if I can smell it. If I do, I go into shock. I carry an Epi-pen at all times. Which means, the ONE food that brings me JOY, that I adore, that I could eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, is off-limits. That's right. Sushi. In a perfect world, I could eat it. Lots of it.

2. As long as we're in a perfect world, there would be an Erica channel on cable. It would play all my favorite shows, and carry all my favorite movies, 24/7. I would turn it on and watch Love Actually. I might next flick it on and see an old movie I love, like The Bishop's Wife. Then there would be my Law & Order BBC version. And all the ones from America with Bobby Goren. Whatever the heck I wanted to watch, it would be on. And it would be on when I have insomnia at 3:00 a.m., which is about three nights a week.

3. I used to think I'd cure my insomnia. But I have to admit, finding an extra couple of hours here and there is groovy. I would just like for my coffee to have not only caffeine but some weird restorative power so that the day AFTER my insomnia bouts, I would drink it and feel fresh as a daisy. It's my world after all.

4. In a perfect world, my phobia of flying would be cured by new technology from Star Trek. I would be able to beam myself where I needed to go. Dinner in Florida with my best friend? Beam me up, Scotty. I'm there. We're eating sushi. It's all good and I still can fly back to tuck in Pirate Boy.

5. Finally, in a perfect world? I would have a rich old uncle leave me a zillion dollars so I could buy a bigger house. My parents moved in with me this week. I have three kids still living at home. It's a tight squeeze. We're busting at the seams. I'd like a house with WINGS. Or at least a couple more bedrooms!

How about you? What's in your perfect world?

In Melissa Walker's Perfect World...

2011-04-26T04:55:00.000-07:00

Behold: A list of 5 things for my perfect personal world. (Of course, in a larger perfect world we'd have peace and love and flowers and hugs all around.)

But here's my self-involved list:

1. All coffee would taste like coffee ice cream (we finally have iced coffee weather in NYC -- yay!).

2. The Carolina Tarheels would win the NCAA championship year after year.

3. My ipod would play everywhere I go, and it would mind-read my mood.

4. I could get amazing, local heirloom tomatoes all year round, and basil would grow wild in my tiny little Brooklyn garden.

5. "Friday Night Lights" would stay on forever (or at least until I tire of Tim Riggins, which might take forever).

What happens in your perfect world?

Happy Passover! (Encounters with the Gefilte)

2011-04-23T08:15:00.001-07:00

Happy Passover! Or, as they say in Hebrew … um, I forget. I also forget if today is even Passover. I am, in fact, a terrible Jew. No, no, no, let’s not judge. I’m just a lax Jew. OK, beyond lax. Beyond Reform Judaism. My dad in fact always says “reform reform.” If we’re being honest, I could add a few more “reforms.” But I in fact love Passover. (Not well enough to remember when it is, obviously, but, well, we just celebrate it whenever our schedules allow.) That’s reform-reform, my amigos. (I was going to say a Hebrew/Yiddish word for "friends" but all that came to mind is "amigos.")

Passover is a beautiful holiday -- the seder is a lovely story, the songs are fun (namely Dayenu!), and all the traditions are pretty great. The food is … interesting? OK, the main dishes are usually OK, and I don’t particularly mind matzah. I really love matzah ball soup, despite the barbaric practice of harvesting them, which must be beyond painful to the male matzahs. But the desserts are pretty awful. I get that you can’t eat leavened bread, I really do. (Another one of Passover’s good points is that it’s pretty much the only time of the year I use the word “leavened,” much less “unleavened,” which are pretty great words.) But why eat baked goods at all then? If we want a dessert with no wheat or leavening ingredients, couldn’t we just eat ice cream? Maybe just a piece of fruit? I fail to see how macaroons are better than these options. I was going to say that I’d actually rather eat a box of sawdust than macaroons, but I suspect that they are actually the same thing. Perhaps there is a valid reason to eat macaroons, but I am not aware of it.

Nontheless, I am not here to talk with you about macaroons. I am here, as the title suggests, to discuss the great mystery known as gefilte fish. (Fun spell-check-fail: a suggestion for “gefilte fish” is “defiled fish,” which sort of sounds about right.)

To the uninitiated, gefilte fish is a disgusting mass of white fish that appears to have been recently and heartily sneezed on. But to the sophisticated Jewish eater, it is … well, yeah, it’s still basically a disgusting mass of white fish that appears to have been recently and heartily sneezed on. When I was young, I thought “gefitle” was an actual type of fish. Like a stream might have bass, trout, carp, what-have-you, and then a “gefilte” could swim by. I grew up in the suburbs and did not know from fishing. Turns out that gefilte is actually a way of preparing a fish, which probably has some sort of significance, but is mainly just gross. It comes in a jar that looks like it should contain pickled animal fetuses.

I have come to believe that the entire Passover Seder (basically a long ceremony you do before the food is served) is designed to make gefilte fish edible. You get so bored and so hungry that by the time the first course is served -- the gefilte course of course -- you’d pretty much eat anything (including a disgusting mass of white fish that appears to have been recently and heartily sneezed on). Oh, and to make things better, sometimes you put carrots and horseradish on there. Does anyone out there actually enjoy it? Have any of the gentiles among you ever been confronted with gefilte fish? Please share your stories, if so. And happy Pesach (yes! I remembered!) to all, whenever you may celebrate it.

(BTW, I did some -- not very much, obviously -- research for this article, and found a site called JewishRecipes.Org, which claims that when making gefilte fish, “the fish is first debunked.” I did not know you had to expose/ridicule the fish’s false notions! But I will be sure to do this. Does the gefilte claim Obama was born in Kenya? I SHALL DEBUNK YOU, FISH. HE WAS DEFINITELY BORN IN HAWAII. WHO ARE YOU, FISH, DONALD TRUMP?? Oh, wait, maybe it’s just more spell-check-fail and it should say “debone.” Anyway...)

Happy Sweet Sixteen Sidney!

2011-04-21T06:37:00.000-07:00

I feel like a total dork writing yet another blog post about one of my cats, but the theme for this week at TFC is Holidays, Anniversaries, and Seasonal postings and while I could write about how excited I am for the arrival of spring (even if it was only here for a day or two so far in Chicago before winter resurfaced) and how I cleaned out my garden and have planned out all of the vegetables I'm going to grow (Okra is going to be a new one this year since I love it and my husband loves pickling it), but today just happens to be my eldest cat, Sidney's birthday, which is holiday-like (birthdays should be holidays!) so I had to celebrate. Of course, this means you should expect one other dorky cat post here this year because since I talked about my middle cat, Kaspar's crazy eating habits back in January and I'm talking about Sid today, I will need to talk about my youngest, Lars, at some point or I'll feel guilty.

But today is Sid's day. He turns sixteen, which is getting up there for a cat and he has all the ailments to prove it. He has kidney disease and irritable bowel, which require two different slightly conflicting diets that took us almost all of last year to balance, very stressful. We also recently discovered that he has high blood pressure. (How did we determine this? because he was yowling in the middle of the night, annoying the crap out of us. I felt very guilty when it turned out to be a symptom of painful headaches, not just him being old and deaf like I thought.) We have to crush up two pills a day in his food and feed him four, sometimes five times a day in small doses so his stomach doesn't get upset. But we do all of this because we love him and he's my baby-- the first cat I got who was mine and mine only. I grew up with a family cat, Snuggle--who was not very snuggly--but for my sixteenth birthday all I wanted was a cat of my own. I was going through a really tough time. I was reeling from an abusive relationship that had just ended and not coping well, struggling with self-injury, depression, and anorexia. Though, my parents didn't know the extent of what I was going through, they knew I was depressed and understood that a kitten would both cheer me up and give me something to feel responsible for.

Since I was young and uneducated, I got Sidney at a pet store in the mall. I would never ever get an animal from a pet store now because A. There are so many animals in shelters who need homes, breeding for pet stores should not be encouraged and B. Pet store animals tend to be cared for poorly and are often sick. But I happened to be in the mall and saw this little black-and-white kitten playing in a cage. Black-and-white was my favorite color scheme at the time and he was cute and looked forlorn, so I asked if I could see him. They brought him in a room for me and my best friend to pet and hold, but he spent the entire time running around in circles because as I interpreted, he was so happy to be free from that awful cage. I had to free him for good. So I put down a small deposit, went back to my parents and asked if they would pay for the rest as my birthday present and the very first place I went with my brand new driver's license was to pick up my kitten! My best friend Katie held him in the car and he fit in the palm of her hand. This is a picture of her holding him in my bedroom presumably taken the first week we got him.

And here is with me. My what big ears you have!:

I named him Sid after Sid Vicious. I'd mostly grown out of the Sex Pistols and gotten into less well-known (and IMHO much better) punk bands by that point, but Katie and I were totally obsessed with the movie Sid & Nancy and we liked to yell, "SID!!!!!" like Nancy does approximately 82 times in the movie (we counted. like I said, obsessed.) So he was Sid to give us an excuse to yell, "SID!!!!" Though oddly enough, I call him Sidney just as often as I call him Sid, perhaps because I like multi-syllable names for cats and dogs. (I also at some point gave him the middle name of Jonathan and the last name of Puffins. I have no idea how I came up with these, but as a result he sometimes is referred to as Sidney Puffins, Mr. Puffins, or S.J., short for Sidney Jonathan.) But as you can see here by his desire to lay down on top of my Flipper CD and next to my Doc Marten boots, he was true to his punk roots.

He also enjoyed a good game of Sonic the Hedgehog:

And he got along better with our family dog, Domino, than with Snuggle, who he terrorized (hence I couldn't find a picture of them together). Maybe it was a black-and-white thing.

When Sid was less than a year old, he moved with me to Madison, Wisconsin when I graduated high school early. Living on our own was a big adventure and Sid liked to get the best view in the house:

And Sid found some stuffed friends to fill in for Domino and Snuggle:

The only time Sid and I did not live together was the nine months that I went to school at Antioch College in Ohio, where I could not have (and would not want to trap such an adventurous cat as Sidney) in my dorm room. When I dropped out, I went back to Madison, Wisconsin for a couple of years and Sid came with me. He also moved home with me when I returned to Chicago to go back to college. Between my mom and my ex-boyfriend, he got very spoiled with people food. Here you will see Domino and Sid in what I call their fat Elvis phase. At one point Sid was a whopping 22 pounds, but I got him back to an average weight of twelve pounds.

Now he lives with his BFFs Kaspar and Lars--though he'd be perfectly fine if those obnoxious little brats went to live elsewhere because I was his person first.

And when I make him wear the rooster costume, he probably wishes that he could go live with grandma (my mom) again:

Even though he is sixteen and suffering from some old age ailments, he still loves to play with his favorite toy... pipe cleaners, which he will bring to my husband and me and yowl proudly like he killed a mouse for us. He also loves a good laser pointer and sleeps loyally at our feet almost every night (despite the rooster costume torture).

Sid saw me through several very rough periods in my life and I feel like in a way we grew up together. Though I love all of my cats--or sons as I call them-- he has a special place in my heart, so much so that I have a tattoo of his paw.

So I had to pay tribute on this birthday when he turns the age I was when I got him. I hope he's got a few more birthdays in him. What about you? Tell me about an animal you grew or are still growing up with.

Oh and I also have to give a shout out to Misha, who is author Jeri Smith-Ready's cat, who apparently was separated at birth from Sid because he also turns sixteen today!

Chocolate Bunnies in the Rain

2011-04-19T05:49:00.000-07:00

Like Halloween, it seems like Easter in Northern Utah is almost always cold and rainy (or snowy) and egg hunts are moved indoors. Which puts a damper on the whole holiday, in my opinion. However, every few years, it's halfway decent weather and we get to spend the day outside: hunting eggs, playing ball, having a picnic, going on a hike, etc. I'm crossing my fingers for this year, but as it's been raining three days straight, I'm not holding my breath. One thing is a constant, and that's Robin's Eggs, chocolate malt candies that turn your mouth a rainbow of colors. Bring 'em on!

Do you celebrate Easter? If so, what are the things you like to do to celebrate? Church? Brunch? Egg-dying? Chocolate bunny decapitating?

P.S. After telling my 4 year-old son the (Biblical) Easter story, he wrinkled his nose thoughtfully and asked, "So Jesus is a zombie?" (Amanda, are you reading this? I thought you'd get a kick out of that.)

Anniversaries: A Date to Remember

2011-04-18T05:31:00.000-07:00

Many moons ago, I used to go to a neighborhood joint regularly to shoot pool. One of the owners was an older man who referred to his wife of several decades as "The Little Lady." This was a pretty rough place to shoot pool, hence my referring to it as a joint instead of something more fruity-drink appealing, but whenever The Little Lady would stop by, the older man would hurry to her side and escort her to a seat as though the place was the Ritz. He owned a joint where a person could get themselves killed but he sure loved that woman. I remember talking to him one time around Halloween. He said his anniversary was coming up in about two weeks but that he could never remember exactly what the date was - was it November 12th or 13th or 14th? He never could keep it straight. I thought it sounded like it could be a problem, and wondered why he didn't just use one of those miniature Hallmark pocket calendars they used to give out, but he said not to worry; he had it under control. He'd just do what he'd been doing for years. He'd buy a present the first week of November and hide it in the trunk of his car. Then he'd wait for the day when The Little Lady would start looking worried or disappointed, at which point he'd whip the great present out of the trunk with her none the wiser that he had no idea exactly when they'd gotten married. I do think people should be able to remember their own anniversaries, but I've always been charmed by the idea of that: he knew what his flaws were and took the necessary measures to keep his beloved from ever being hurt by those flaws. Me, I come from a line of people who have scary-good memories for dates. So not only can I tell you when my wedding anniversary is but I can also tell you that my husband and I first met on Saturday, August 13, 1983 at 10:30 at night. And I can tell you the dates of many other obscure significant-only-to-me dates in my life but that's enough about me-me-me. How about you-you-you? Are you good at remembering dates or are you in need of some present-in-the-trunk assistance? Be well. Don't forget to write.

Good news Friday

2011-04-14T17:45:00.000-07:00

Yay! I'm so happy that I can finally share the details of my latest book deal! It's a YA called Demonosity and out of all the books I've written, this is by far my favorite! It's a lot darker than anything I've done before but there is still lots of humor (and lots and lots of seriously lovely guys in it!!!!!!)

Anyway, here is the Publisher's Marketplace announcement!

Amanda Ashby's DEMONOSITY, in which a sixteen year old girl's life is
turned upside down when she has to protect an ancient alchemist's
relic from two demon knight brothers, one of whom is good and one of
them bad: the problem is she has no idea which is which, to Puffin, in
a nice deal, by Jenny Bent at The Bent Agency (World English).

I've also just sold the Indonesian rights to my upcoming book, Fairy Bad Day. This is the first time that any of my books will have been translated! I sure hope that they have a word for evil-killer-invisible-fairy-with-bad-taste-in-leather-wear!

My new favorite word: SIMPLIFY

2011-04-14T10:01:00.000-07:00

Sometimes life throws you a curve ball. Sometimes life throws several at the same time. Over the last six months, I've been through several major life changes including, most recently, the loss of my mom and turning 40 within a two-week period. For those of you who've read The Cinderella Society, you may recall that the book is dedicated to her. The dedication reads:

For my mom,

my role model, my friend, and the world's first Honorary Cindy

I love you, Mom.

My mom battled cancer for 10 years. When she was first diagnosed back in 2001, she had advanced cancer and the long-term survival prognosis was dim. Little did we imagine back then that we would get to spend 10 more years with her. It was a blessing I'm incredibly grateful for.

In the weeks since her passing, I've spent a lot of time thinking about the last 10 years. Things I've accomplished, and things I haven't. Times we spent together, and times we could have but didn't. And it turns out the only thing I really regret is that I let the unimportant "tasks" of life take precedence over my true priorities.

So often the little things - the imagined crises stemming from being a writer, the home maintenance issues, the nagging weight of things like social media or blogging - got addressed long before I made sure that the important things in my life were running smoothly.

My new favorite word for this next stage of my life is SIMPLIFY. To that end, I'm cutting out a lot of the riff-raff of my life. That sounds like a gang of bandits I'm banishing from the homestead and, in a way, maybe it is. It's about nixing all of those seemingly urgent but actually unimportant "things" that constantly bubble up in our lives. What does SIMPLIFY look like for me? Well, for starters:

** First and foremost, I'm making sure I'm focusing on the five most important priorities in my life by doing my own happiness project. If you haven't read Gretchen Rubin's fabulous The Happiness Project, you're missing out on a lovely opportunity to rethink how you approach life. (A special thanks to my wonderful agent Holly Root for recommending this book to me after my mom passed away. I appreciate you, H.) In the book, Gretchen focuses on a different theme each month but I chose to focus on my five major life priorities - well-being, relationships, career, home, and peace of mind - and establish one new positive habit in each area each month. Those become the top priorities of my everyday life and ensure that all of the unnecessaries take a back seat to what's really important.

** Restructuring the national Great Scavenger Hunt Contest(TM) reading program for kids and teens that I run for more than 800 libraries across the country. There will still be winners every month, but everything else will be updated quarterly rather than monthly to streamline the process of managing such a massive program all by myself.

** Clearing the clutter of my home, my to do lists, and my life. I've purged my office, cleared out closets and under sinks (an ongoing project), and tackled nagging projects like calling the plumber to replace the faucets in the master bath. (He's here right now. Hooray for more water efficient plumbing!)

The more I reflect on SIMPLIFY the more ways I find to streamline the chaos of my life and get back to what really matters. Because in the end, no one will care how many times I tweeted or washed the windows. What they will remember is who I was as a person and what truly mattered to me. (And possibly that I was a cupcake fanatic. I do talk about them rather obsessively.)

In this year of so much upheaval across the globe, I think it's a good time for us each to take a step back and rethink what it is that's important to us. And then to ask the simple but powerful question, "Does the life I'm living now reflect that?"

If we can't answer a resounding YES, maybe it's time to think about simplifying our lives so that our true priorities are front and center.

So what about you? Can you think of one way you would like to SIMPLIFY your life?

The Secret of Success

2011-04-11T00:55:00.000-07:00

This week we're talking about interesting quotes, and whenever I think of quotes I always remember my first boss. His mantra was:

THE SECRET OF SUCCESS IS..... DO IT NOW!

For some reason it reasonated with me, and it's something I've always tried to stick to. Of course, I can procrastinate with the best of them, but when it's something to do with work, or the various committees I've been on I've always stuck to it.

What about you, is there any quote or saying that influences you on a daily basis?

Good News Friday: Support Teen Lit Day with Rock the Drop!

2011-04-08T07:08:00.000-07:00

Readergirlz and Figment are going to ROCK THE DROP in honor of YALSA's Support Teen Lit Day next Thursday, April 14th.

What does that mean? It means that YA lit lovers all over the world will be dropping books in public places for others to find and enjoy. So keep your eyes open!

You can snag a bookplate for any books you want to release out into the world over at readergirlz, where all day on April 14th there will be photos of people Rocking the Drop (send your own pic to readergirlz AT gmail DOT com).

Imagine people around the globe finding copies of amazing books in unexpected places, gifted out of love for YA lit. COOL.

Are you in?

(Graphics created by the uber-talented David Ostow.)

Larry Or Lawrence (LOL) moments.

2011-04-07T04:28:00.000-07:00

What’s in a name? Was Shakespeare right, “That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet”? I’m not so sure. Would Mickey Mouse be as popular as he is today if his name was Michael Chapman Mouse the third? I think not. Even the whole mouse thing is a bit misleading, people tend to think of mice as rather cute little guys but really, when you think about it, what’s the difference between a mouse and a rat which everyone agrees are disgusting creatures? I mean a rat is just a large mouse, right? Would you build a theme park around a rat?

Take the names Larry and Lawrence. If you were writing a short story, would you send your protagonists to the tough biker bar to share a beer with Larry or Lawrence? Let’s see a show of hands from everyone who picked Lawrence. Yeah, that’s about what I thought. And what about the name Lawrence? Doesn’t it sound more fitting for an investment banker or someone with a column in the financial section? Now if you were going to name the lobster that was about to appear on the dinner table then I’d have go with before-mentioned Larry, as in, “Oh-no, Larry the lobster has fallen into a pot of boiling water!” But I can’t see calling him Lawrence; it just doesn’t have the right ring to it. Larry, Lawrence, Larry, Lawrence, Larry, Lawrence – what’s in a name? The details, of course, and everyone knows that the devil is in the details. Yeah, sure, a rose might smell as sweet with a different name but who’s to say a different name would sound as sweet? We’re talking marketing here, people, it’s the whole package we’re trying to sell.

Names matter. Sticks and stones might break your bones but words can really rip your heart out. A good friend of mine changed his name after high school. I didn’t think the old name was that bad. Sure, it wasn’t pronounced anything like it was spelled and if you pronounced it like it was spelled, well…I guess that could be a problem, but to actually go before a judge and have it legally changed – that’s got to show you something. He said he was teased and tormented so much about his name throughout school that he just wanted a fresh start. Even after all these years I could see his pain and hear the anger in his voice. Time doesn’t heal all wounds but I guess a new name might have some bandage-like qualities.

What if people or objects that weren’t named properly glowed fiercely like fireflies? Wouldn’t it then be our duty to take the time to properly name them so that we could all get some sleep at night? But here’s a thought: what if you glowed brightly but you really loved your name?

It would be like, “Hey, glad to meet you my name’s Greg.”

And everyone would just stare at you with their best puzzled expressions before finally shaking their heads and saying, “No…I don’t think so.”

Here’s a little something to bring out that healthy lol glow.

Misplaced Condolences

2011-04-06T01:43:00.000-07:00

After the Bar Mitzvah!

So this week we’re talking about LOL moments, and, no big surprise to anyone who knows me, but as it just so happens, I just had one.

Recently we were invited to attend my friend’s son’s Bar Mitzvah, so the day before the event I ran to the store and bought a card.

It was one of those “blank inside” cards wrapped in plastic. I liked the illustration, I liked the fact that it was blank inside since I prefer to write my own messages, and, as it was, I was in too big a hurry to read through a bunch, so I grabbed it, paid for it, and ran.

It wasn’t until the next morning, just before leaving for the Bar Mitzvah, and already running late, that I realized it wasn’t blank inside AT ALL.

It was a sympathy card that had been shoved in the “blank inside” section.

Okay, I thought. It’s not like its overly sympathetic. Noticing how it merely said something a long the lines of: “Thinking of you during this difficult time.” And since her son has a good sense of humor, and since prepping for a Bar Mitzvah can be difficult (or so I’ve heard), I shoved a check inside and decided to go with it.

My husband and I set out for the temple (still running late), and as I’d never been to this temple before, was unfamiliar with this part of town and didn’t realize it was actually “temple row”—the first temple I saw I told my husband: “Pull over here, and hurry—we’re late!” And even though GPS insisted we had a ways still to go, he decided to listen to me instead.

By the time we snuck in, the bar mitzvah was already in progress, and as it was an Orthodox temple the men and women were seated separately with a partition placed between them.

I grabbed an empty seat and looked all around, thinking how strange it was that I didn’t know my friend belonged to an Orthodox temple, and once I got settled with that, I realized I didn’t recognize a single face in the room—including the boy being Bar Mitzvahed. After about ten minutes of my husband and I shooting each other quizzical looks from across the partition, he motioned for me to join him outside, and said, “I think we’re at the wrong temple.”

Turns out, we were. Which meant we were now really, really late for the intended Bar Mitzvah and all we had to make up for it was a sympathy card with a check shoved inside.

Luckily, my friend and her son both share the same great sense of humor, so no harm was done, but in the future, I’ll double check my cards, and bow to the wisdom of GPS.

LOL! It's Good for You

2011-04-04T11:04:00.000-07:00

"Life is too important to be taken seriously." ~Oscar Wilde

Did you know that April is National Humor Month? Which means it's a perfect time for LOL moments - our topic for this week.

Laughing is one of the best things you can do for your health. It's good for your heart, it reduces the level of stress hormones while increasing healthy hormones, like endorphins and neurotransmitters. Laughter strengthens your immune system. It even burns calories and tones your abs!

Laughing is one of the best things you can do for your social life. It connects you with others, it's a universal language that can diffuse negativity and spread joy.

Laughing is one of the best things you can do for yourself. It lightens your mood. It helps keep things in perspective.

My problem is, that when I most need a laugh - when I'm frustrated or angry or discouraged or sad - I don't really feel like laughing.

My solutions?

* Listen to children laugh. They are so pure in their joy, I can't help but smile.
* Call a friend with a good sense of humor and share a laugh.
* Watch a feel-good comedy.

What do you do when you need to laugh? How does laughter make you feel better?

* photo credit: Parade.com

Good News Friday!!

2011-04-01T13:07:00.001-07:00

So it's Good New Friday here at The Cafe--and this week I finally got the okay to announce some good news I've been holding onto for a very long time--like a painfully long time--but now, I'm free to shout if from the roof tops, but since I've got this incurable fear of heights, announcing it here feels a whole lot safer!!

So anyway, without further ado . . .

Summit Entertainment has optioned the dramatic rights for all 10 books in both The Immortals & The Riley Bloom series!!

You can see the story HERE!

Hope you all have an awesome weekend!

Alyson

xoxo

The List of Rejected Lists

2011-03-28T10:00:00.000-07:00

This week on the Teen Fiction Cafe, we're talking about Lists. What kind of lists, you might ask? Well, any list really. Top 5 TV Shows, Top 5 Movies, Top 5 Favorite Airlines Ranked in Order of Which One is Least Likely to Lose Your Luggage. So pretty much anything you can present in "list" format is eligible. Now, this is a fairly broad topic. So you could imagine what a challenge it was to figure out which list to include in my post this week. Let it suffice to say that there were several ideas that were seriously considered and soon after rejected.

And as I stared dishearteningly at the multitude of rejected list ideas, I came to the sudden realization that I had, in fact, unintentionally created...well...a list.

So here it is. My "Top 5 Rejected Top 5 List Ideas." Okay, here it goes:

5) Jessica's Top 5 Unflattering Photo Angles (complete with visual aids) - This idea was rejected after taking the first photo.

4) Jessica's Top 5 Cravings While Trying to Not Eat Junk Food - Seeing that I'm currently in a "trying not to eat junk food" phase, this idea was scrapped for its torturous side-effects.

3) Jessica's Top 5 Most Despised Words in the English Dictionary - I tried to write this one. I really did. But I got halfway through the first word and the gag reflexes kicked in and I had to excuse myself from the computer for a few minutes.

2) Jessica's Top 5 Secret Make-Out Spots from When She was a Teen - Although I did actually complete this list, I opted not to publish it after realizing that these "secret make-out spots" would cease to be secret and one never knows when one might find oneself in sudden need of a good secret make-out spot.

AND the NUMBER ONE rejected Top 5 List Idea is....

1) Jessica's Top 5 Excuses She Gives to Her Editor for an Overdue Manuscript and/or Line Edit and/or Copy Edit - I obviously couldn't post this one as there's a very good chance my editor might read this blog. And if anyone reading this right now just so happens to talk to her, if you wouldn't mind casually dropping into the conversation that you DID in fact see me on the news last week saving puppies from a burning pet store in Honduras, that would be grreeeat.

What You Don't Know About Me

2011-03-24T09:36:00.000-07:00

Hello! After a week in sunny, breezy, 80 degree Kauai, it's a little hard to be back in blustery, snowy Utah. But this winter weather gave me an idea as to which little known fact about myself I will be sharing with you today.

I, Wendy Toliver, have been banned from snowmobiling.

Snowmobiling Story #1: The first time I ever even sat on one of these machines was the winter before my wedding. My fiance's family invited me on a trip to West Yellowstone. After reserving the biggest machine possible, I decided it was too hard to turn so I opted for a smaller version. Then I suited up, helmeted in, and revved the motor. But I soon discovered that following in a long line of snowmobilers on a long flat trail (like in the first picture) wasn't for me and I veered off from time to time, looking for something more exciting. I found a huge jump on the side of the trail and went for it. (I'm sure I looked exactly like the photo on the bottom.) I heard a terrible snapping sound and realized later that night that my nose was at a concerning 45% angle on my face. It never bled and it seems a little strange that someone could break a nose when wearing a helmet. But somehow, I did it. I got married with my nose at this weird angle and had to work a full year to get enough health insurance to have it fixed.

Snowmobiling Story #2: I used to work at an advertising agency. It was a really great place to work because every day, we sought out ways to nourish our creativity. And what better way than to take my department up to the mountain wilderness for a day of snowmobiling? In true Wendy fashion, I didn't stay on the trail and found myself some jumps. (In hindsight, I should've learned my lesson from the broken nose incident.) Unknowingly, I launched my machine into a snow-covered river. The machine sank into the slushy waters. My poor employees had to spend a couple of hours helping me get the darned thing out.

Needless to say, my husband has banned me from snowmobiling. But now that I'm older (and wiser?) maybe I can talk him into letting me give it a go again sometime. But between us, I'm just not sure I trust myself.

Now it's your turn! Is there something you always get yourself into trouble doing? If so, have you been banned from it or decided on your own not to do it anymore? Or did you learn your lesson? Do tell!

What You Don't Know About Me (video)

2011-03-23T19:23:00.000-07:00

Hey look, I made a video for my post this week!

What You Don't Know About Me

2011-03-21T06:21:00.000-07:00

I'd love to confess something funny today but it's snowing again here in CT, even though the first day of spring was yesterday, so I'm not feeling particularly funny.

OK, here are three observations. Let's see how long it takes you to figure out what serious thing about me I'm confessing.

1) The "Sports" section in the New York Times today is eight pages long. Despite the fact that the Women's NCAA Tournament had twice as many games as the Men's yesterday, only one of those pages was devoted to women in sports.

2) The King's Speech is a pleasant enough movie, and it's certainly well acted, but it's nothing the world hasn't seen before in terms of plot. It's Rocky from start to finish. Black Swan, on the other hand, while also well acted, is fresh and surprising to the point where sometimes the audience isn't sure if what's happening is really happening. But Black Swan has one leading role, and that role is female, so it's chances of winning the Academy Award for Best Picture were probably even lower than that of Toy Story 3. The last time a movie with no lead male won was Chicago in 2002 although four movies with no lead females have won since then.

3) Jennifer Egan's A Visit from the Goon Squad won the National Book Critics Circle's fiction prize last week. Rather than celebrate that success, the L.A. Times chose to frame the victory as "Egan beats Franzen in National Book Critics Circle's fiction prize." They accompanied the online piece with a picture of Jonathan Franzen, who did not win but who is a male, rather than Egan. If you follow the link now, you won't see the Franzen picture, because as the result of reader outrage, it's been swapped by the L.A. Times for more appropriate pictures of Egan and the cover of her winning book. Still, can you imagine? You win a major literary award and yet somehow it's still more about someone else - some male someone else - than it is about you?

That's right. You've guessed it. I, Lauren Baratz-Logsted, am a feminist. And not one of those who's scared to use the word either. Are things better for women than they used to be? Sure. Are things better for women in the U.S. than in undeveloped countries? Sure. But on both counts, so what? Wherever you look - or at least wherever I look - I see indicators that whatever women do, it is almost always perceived as being somehow less than.

Want to read a real eye-opener? Try Big Girls Don't Cry, Rebecca Traister's account of the 2008 presidential election.

On the plus side, I think things will continue to get better, more equal. But that's a story for another day.

So now it's your turn: What don't I know about you that you're willing to share?

Be well. Don't forget to write.

LOL moments. Sort of.

2011-03-17T07:32:00.000-07:00

This week, I'm supposed to write about LOL moments. The only problem is, as some of you know, is that since I'm sick, I haven't had many lately, unless you count the fact that I've had so much blood drawn in an effort to figure out exactly what's wrong with me that I know every single lab tech in the hospital where my doctor is and I always do a fist pump when I'm told I'm having less than eight vials of blood drawn and may actually say "YAY!" when it's four or less.

Okay, I actually do say YAY!

Anyway, so I was thinking, how about *your* LOL moments?

Share your fave LOL moment over at my blog here and you could win a free YA novel.

Yep, make me LOL and I'll send YOU a free YA novel!

Good News Friday: MY LIFE UNDECIDED Trailer!

2011-03-11T07:29:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! TGIGNF! (Thank Goodness It's Good News Friday!)

So excited to announce that my new "movie-style" book trailer for my next book, MY LIFE UNDECIDED (June 7, 2011) is now up online! Check it out below!

These book trailers are a labor of love for me and I'm so proud of the way this one came out. I hope you'll help me spread the word by tweeting and embedding!

Thanks!
Jessica

ART (Farrel)

2011-03-10T05:06:00.000-08:00

I guess I was about twelve. It was a Saturday morning and I really wanted to play football. Normally back in my old neighborhood this wasn’t a problem; there were always plenty of kids around if you wanted to organize a quick pick-up game. I loved that.

But on this particular morning there was no one around and I was left on my own to entertain myself. I wanted to practice receiving passes, not an easy feat to do when you’re by yourself. After some thought and a little experimentation I discovered that if I stood a few feet in front of our house and threw the football up and onto our roof (we lived in a two-story colonial) it would roll off the roof in such a manner (because of the odd shape of the football) that I could never quite tell where it was going to fall. One throw would roll far to my right and the next might roll far to my left. It was perfect for practicing (yes, I really was a simple boy).

I must have been at it for a good half hour, working up a sweat, having fun before my father came home from the hardware store. He pulled into the driveway, stepped out of his car, gave me a smile and a wave.

I shouted, “Hey, Dad, look at this!”

And then proceeded to somehow throw my football right through his second-floor bedroom storm window. I can only imagine how it looked to my father. I say I can only imagine because I didn’t stick around long enough to see his reaction – I just ran.

That’s just the way it was in my house. My younger brother and I always seemed to be in trouble. I still don’t get it. We weren’t bad kids. We weren’t troublemakers or bullies; we just had a knack for getting into trouble. I think it might have been some kind of hormonal imbalance, or maybe we just didn’t have that thing in our brains that keeps people from acting on every impulse. If there were something in the house that could break sooner or later we’d manage to break it.

Unfortunately this wasn’t a problem that was just confined to our home. We seemed to get in trouble all over town, at the boys’ club, at school (constantly) and even at Boy Scouts meetings (I think I may have been the only kid in our town encouraged to leave the Boy Scouts). After a while my brother and I realized that if we couldn’t control our impulses, what we really needed was a scapegoat. We needed some kid in the neighborhood we could blame for all of our destructive deeds. We needed a fall guy. That person became Art Farrel.

Art wasn’t really a bad kid. He was like us, impulsive and high-spirited, but he had something we didn’t have – long hair and a loud dirt bike and in my dad’s book that was enough to label him as a troublemaker. My parents never questioned why Art Farrel single-handedly launched his reign of terror against our house but we blamed that kid for everything: broken birdbaths and windows, trampled flowers, disconnected telephone wires (we would do this whenever our teachers told us they were going to call our parents), garbage cans that were flattened when we tried jumping them with our bikes – I mean everything.

Not only did we blame Art for all this vandalism around our house but we would also make up stories about things he did in school. Over dinner one of us might say, “Hey, Mom, guess what Art Farrel did in school today…” It was always something borderline psychotic like flushing a cherry bomb down the school toilet or stealing everyone’s lunches and throwing them in a Dumpster. We launched a complete and well-crafted character assassination.

So Art, if you’re out there someplace, probably playing the part of the well-respected-man-about-town with a wife and family, I’m sorry. It wasn’t personal; I even kind of liked you. You didn’t deserve the reputation we thrust upon you. You were basically a good kid but you have to realize, it’s like my father always told me: “You have to be careful who you pick for your friends.”

Bella Donna

2011-03-09T11:10:00.000-08:00

This week we’re talking about art—and I have to admit it’s a topic I can get pretty excited about.

I’m an art lover—have been for a very long time. I grew up in a family with a healthy appreciation of the arts, and have vivid memories of my very first painting class that my parents enrolled me in somewhere around age 7 or 8.

I remember the thrill of squeezing colorful tubes of acrylics onto my palette—the rush of putting brush to canvas—eagerly creating still lifes, and sunsets, and paintings of Eeyore, Tiger, Piglet, and Poo holding various contemplative poses as they enjoyed those still lifes and sunsets.

And while my pictures never quite captured the image I held in my head (okay, they weren't even remotely close to the image I held in my head!), the excitement of creating something from nothing was enough to sustain me.

So, while visiting Santa Fe, New Mexico last week--a research trip for my upcoming SOUL SEEKERS series--I was thrilled to make another visit to the Georgia O'Keefe Museum. She’s always been a hero of mine—as much for her beautiful images, as for the daring way in which she lived her life.

Taught in art class to mimic what all the other prominent (mostly male) artists were doing at the time- she grew so frustrated, she almost gave up. Lucky for us, she prevailed, and left behind not only a large collection of stunning images, but eleven years after her death had a museum dedicated to her—the only museum in the world dedicated to an internationally known American female artist!

Georgia O'Keefe

1887 - 1986

“I have things in my head that are not like what anyone has taught me - shapes and ideas so near to me - so natural to my way of being and thinking that it hasn't occurred to me to put them down. I decided to start anew to strip away what I had been taught.” Georgia O’Keefe, 1935

So tell me--what sort of art and/or artists inspire you??

peace * love * joy

Alyson

My favorite art moments

2011-03-07T21:11:00.001-08:00

Kia ora (that's hello in Maori if you're interested!!!!).

This week at TFC it's all about art, problem being that I'm not really an art buff. It's weird because my brother is a professional artist and my husband and daughter are both majorly talented in drawing and photography, but for me it's always been about books. However, every now and then certain things capture my interest so I thought I'd share some of my favorite art moments.

The Green Violinist by Marc Chagall

I first saw this when the Dunedin Art Gallery presented a collection from the Guggenheim Gallery in New York and I'm not sure why I love it so much (apart from the obvious that he's green and has a violin and somehow that makes it cool) but it was definitely my favorite painting in the collection

The Banksy Rat in Liverpool

I always loved this piece of graffiti when I lived in Liverpool, but it wasn't until about a year later that I even discovered it was done by Banksy. There was a lot of talk of the council taking it down, but from what I can discover it's still there.

The Lourve

Like most backpackers, I was the biggest tight arse when I was traveling around Europe and preferred to spend most of my cash on beer and cupcakes (clinically proved to be very nutritious. Okay, so not really, but lots of fun).

Anyway, point is that it wasn't until I went into the Lourve that I really understood how amazing art galleries can be. In fact it was so wonderful that I had to go back the very next day and I still didn't even up getting to the end of it.

On Beauty and On Ugliness by Umberto Eco

My husband had been wanting these books for ages but me, being the art heathen that I am never paid any attention to him. However, we finally got them and now I love them to death. They are exploration of Beauty and Ugliness through history and art.

Birds by Nick Ashby

Okay, so I'm biased, but I adore my brother's paintings. He did these ones not long after my dad died and it was in tribute to my dad's love of bird watching. I really like how intricate it is, while at the same time still looking simple.

So there you have. A few of my favorite art moments, what about everyone else? Do you have a favorite art moment that you'd like to share with me???