Popular Paperback Pick!

On this Good News Friday, I am happy to share that DEATH BY BIKINI was selected as an ALA 2011 Popular Paperback.

That is all. : )

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FRIENDS.

Okay, I’m not saying that I’m anti-social or that I don’t have any friends. It’s just that most of the time I’m totally content to spend my time alone. I work by myself, the day job involves hours alone in my truck and on ladders, the writing parts of my day are better spent by myself, and that’s all perfectly fine with me. I’ll have coffee and lunch alone, fish alone, go to the gym alone and for the most part it doesn’t really bother me. Actually, sometimes I much prefer being by myself. It’s simple, it’s easy and there’s no fighting over who’s going to pick up the check. Whoever said, “Hell is other people” might have been on to something.

But I digress. The topic at hand is friends, not the lack of friends, and contrary to what I might have led you to believe I do have a very close group of friends that I’ve known since grade school. The four of us will call or email each other on a fairly consistent basis; we even get together every couple of weeks and pick up our ongoing dialog where we left off. It’s like this ever-expanding novel that grows larger with each passing year.

The thing with old friends, I mean friends you actually grew up with, is that they really know you, I mean really. They’ve met your family, hung out in the house you grew up in, seen how you’ve changed over the years, met not only your wife but most of the girls you’ve dated before her. They’ve seen when you’ve done something completely embarrassing and they’ve been there when you’ve accomplished goals that you’ve set for yourself.

Old childhood friends can also be like an extended family, and like family, whenever you get together you tend to slip back into the roles you held growing up. I know when I get together with my family I feel myself quickly slipping back into my role as the oldest son. When I get together with my childhood friends I find myself slipping back into my familiar role of that group too (that would be the wisecracking, goofy guy). We’re like members of an old rock band who get together for an annual reunion tour, automatically moving to our designated places on the stage, strapping on our instruments and playing the same enjoyable songs we’ve played countless times before.

When I was a junior in high school my family moved to another town. It wasn’t far from the town I grew up in and I was driving by then so I could still visit my old friends but I still remember it as being an incredibly strange experience. I was going someplace where nobody knew me; I had no role to play, no group I was bound to hang with. I could be whoever I wanted to be and I have to admit I enjoyed the experience. There’s something to be said about trying to create the person you want to be. But after a while I’d feel that tug and I’d find myself getting together with my old friends and slipping back into that familiar role again and enjoying the experience for what it was and is…something special.

The years blend together, jobs and relationships come and go. My friends and I grow older (and somewhat stranger). It’s all the same but incredibly different like a really good mash-up with something old and something new. Bonus points go out to anyone who can tell me who their best friend was in the fourth grade and whether or not you’re still in touch.
Enjoy the mash-up.

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When Friends Aren't

We've all known someone like this - they say they are your friend, but they talk behind your back. They suck up all the attention and energy wherever they go. They are always seeking favors from you (that's what friends are for, right?) but disappear the second you need help. They say things to cut you down (often followed by "just kidding!")

Why do we put up with these kinds of friends?

I can only speak for myself, but I think our desire to please and fit in has a lot to do with it. I remember wanting so badly to be a part of a well-regarded group (not popular because that was a little out of my realm, so "well-regarded", i.e., not socially outcast, seemed like a viable option) that I would put up with a lot to hold onto friendships I really could have done without. I think (I hope) I have learned a lot from the experience

For anyone who has reason to question if their friends are really their friends, here are some good indicators that they aren't -

1. You can't be yourself around them - you feel you have to act, dress, talk, etc. like them to be accepted.

2. They gossip about other people when you're with them. (A sure indicator of what they do behind your back when you're not there.) Worse, you find yourself gossiping more when you're with them, too.

3. They make passive/aggressive comments about your accomplishments, likes, desires so you feel like you have to downplay yourself to be more like them. You notice yourself moving further away from your goals.

4. Your self-esteem is tied to what they think/say about you. You give them power to control your moods.

5. They isolate you. You start to distance yourself from your family and other friends.

Any other warning signs you can think of?

Better yet, what are some of the qualities you find in a real friend?

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Good News...and good-bye

Happy Friday, everyone! Today's post is bittersweet for me, as it will be my last for the TFC blog. But, my reasons for good-bye are based around good news, so, no tears.

Though I did not have a book out in 2010, it was a big year for me. I finished up work on what will be my fourth YA novel - How to Save a Life. I am so excited about this book. Writing it, researching it, revising it, working on it with my editor...all of that was pretty much a joy. Or at least much a "joy" as writing can be, for me. It will be out about a year from now, so, still a ways to wait!

In 2010, I was also a judge for the National Book Awards, and that, along with wrapping up HTSAL, took the majority of my energy. It was a huge honor, though.

My third book, Once Was Lost, won the Utah Book Award late in the year, which was a thrill. (And it was just released in paperback - I'm celebrating all month with giveaways at my blog.)

Other great stuff, like opportunities to teach, and to write in new areas, came my way. And I'm trying to plan 2011 around trying new things and continuing to stretch myself and take risks.

All good things. But, I've got the same 24 hours in the day I had before, and am adding a bunch of new goals. Therefore, I have to let go of some other activities, no matter much I've enjoyed them. Such as blogging at TFC.

I'll miss all my fellow bloggers here, and the readers! Thanks so much, Teen Fiction Cafe, for including me in your community the last couple of years. I'll look forward to celebrating and chatting with you in 2011 as a follower if not a contributor.

Happy new year! And stay in touch - I'm @sarazarr on twitter, and my online home base is sarazarr.com.

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In the News: Redemption

Am I the only one taken by this story? I suppose you can be a novelist and a cynic. Heck, I've even had more than my share of cynical protagonists in my books.

But I still get to write a happy ending if I want. And something about the story of the Man with the Golden Voice tugs at my heart strings.

English teachers tend to drive students nuts, right, with "themes." Like the good versus evil painting of St. Michael defeating Satan, themes are nothing new. I'm sure the first cave people told stories of the great hunt. And tales of defeating enemies.

Themes bind us and they talk to us. And for me, as the New year unfolds, there's no greater theme than an old-fashioned story of redemption.

And maybe that's even more fitting when you're a teen. Because we all make mistakes, and I know in my teen years, I made PLENTY of them. And it's nice to know there's usually a chance for a second act, a part II, a turnaround, a redemption. In books. And in real life.

Thoughts? Any great tales of redemption you know about?

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In the News: SNOW

Although I am no longer trapped in my Brooklyn apartment, it's still mighty snowy outside! In the news, they called it SNOWPOCALYPSE (I'm not exaggerating. They might be, but I'm not.) All this snowy news got me thinking about a book that I really want to read: Michael Northrop's Trapped.

It's the story of seven mismatched students who must adapt in order to survive when they're stranded at their high school without heat or power during a massive, weeklong blizzard, according to Publisher's Marketplace. And according to Michael, it's:

(That's The Breakfast Club meets The Shining, in case you aren't familiar.) How good does that sound?! It's out in early February officially, but word on the street is it's already on some shelves. I'm going hunting.

Is it weird that news, and happenings in the world, makes me think about the books I want to read? What's on your list this week?

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Movies Vs TV

I had a major realization this year. I like TV shows more than movies.

This is strange for me because in my teens and twenties, I always preached that TV was mostly crap with the exception of shows like Twin Peaks and The X-Files that were quirky or shows like My So-Called Life that was the most realistic portrayal of teenagers I'd seen on TV (and I was the same age as the characters when it came out so I was highly critical) and of course got canceled after a year. Now I still watched some TV. I wasn't a huge sitcom fan (which might have been part of the reason I was so dismissive of TV because that's what seemed to rule network television in the 80s and 90s), but I'll totally zone out to some Seinfeld. And I'm a sucker for melodrama; I've been watching the soap opera One Life To Live since the summer before freshman year of high school. But with the exception of the X-Files for many many years, TV was nothing but mind-numbing entertainment for me. I watched it when I was sick or to wind down from a hard day. Movies were what I went to for real storytelling.

Now the tables have turned.

The realization was shocking for me, but the shift was probably gradual. First, I stopped going to the movies as much. The movies I've seen in the theater the past two years are Harry Potter (which I saw twice), Sherlock Holmes, Alice In Wonderland, Zombieland, and The Hangover... or did that last one come out even longer ago? I also saw the recent (and totally disappointing!) X-Files movie, and I can't remember when that one came out. I might be forgetting something, but I think that's about it. In two years. I used to go to the movies like once a month. Part of this is because it's expensive so I only see things I think are essential to see on a big screen. At least that's what I kept telling myself, but then I realized I haven't been watching many movies at home either.

Up until last month, my husband and I each had a Netflix queue. We determined together what would go in them together and made it so one queue had movies and one had TV series. We get two discs at a time, so this way we always had a movie at home as well as the latest disc in whatever series we were watching. But we'd always choose to watch the TV disc over the movie disc. I only have a couple nights off a week since I work nights, so the movie disc would just languish sometimes for a whole month until I eventually decided to watch it more out of obligation than enthusiasm. I tried rearranging things, examining the queue to find the movies I was most excited about. Then I realized that I just wasn't very excited about movies anymore. We switched it so that Netflix only ships from our TV queue now.

Being the analytical person I am, I spent a long time pondering this and I've come the conclusion that just like I prefer to read and write stories that are driven by unique, fully drawn, multi-dimensional characters, that is what I prefer to watch as well. A TV show has more room to grow its characters and it seems that with all the great dramas on cable TV in particular that TV has finally realized it's potential for doing this.

The two shows that I got completely addicted to this year as we watched them on Netflix were Battlestar Galactica and The Wire (which we are only on season 3 of, so no spoilers please!). I do love sci-fi, but I'm picky about it. I don't watch cop shows AT ALL, so I resisted The Wire for a long time even though so many people told me how brilliant it was. I adore both of these shows because of the characters. Even the "bad guys" are multi-dimensional, they have their own quirks and you get what motivates them even if you don't completely agree with it. If I find myself sympathizing with the guy I'm rooting against, that's some good story telling.

Other extremely well written stories with characters I love include Veronica Mars, Gilmore Girls (only on season 5!), and Deadwood, which are recent discoveries for me that I'm catching up with on DVD and True Blood, The Walking Dead, and Californication which I've been watching as they air and in the case of True Blood and Californication, I actually *pay* for premium cable networks so I can see them--something I thought I'd never do, but I am saving that money I used to spend on movies.

Now that's not to say that I've completely written movies off. This year, I had a couple of friends loan me movies and insist that I watch them and I was glad I did. Those movies were Green Street Hooligans and Gran Torino, both centered around unique characters, and I am intrigued by Sofia Coppola's new movie, Somewhere, because the characters interest me. The Harry Potter movies remain my favorites, but I think that's because of the books and since it's a long series, I'm invested in the characters. Those are the exceptions and for the most part movies are mindless entertainment because I either like the goofy comedies (my movie version of Seinfeld but usually with more swearing) or fun blockbuster stuff like Sherlock Holmes and the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.

What about you? Are you more of a movie or a TV show person? And any character driven movies or shows you'd like to recommend to me?

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Best Album of 2010!

I love year-end lists! Best books, best movies, best sandwich of 2010 – I love all of it! I know of course that it’s almost absurdly subjective. “Best” is truly in the eye of the beholder and it’s almost impossible to judge art by anything resembling a universal standard. I know that, but yet I love reading the wrap-ups of what various publications or people thought was the best thing of the past year. (I’m especially interested if you had a great sandwich in 2010. Please share in comments.)

I’m not going to touch "best books" because I know way too many authors and I can’t speak with any sort of authority on best movies because I have little kids at home and they rule the DVD player. I could easily tell you what the best “Handy Manny” episode was of 2010 ("Chico Goes to Preschool," obvs.) but that’s about it. And OK, I don’t listen to music nearly as much as I used to, but I am happy to nominate my favorite album of 2010. It is ….. (*drum roll*) “The Monitor” by Titus Andronicus!

I very rarely buy CDs anymore, but I was given a giftcard to Border’s and decided to not just buy books (shocking!) but some music too. I forget when I first heard Titus Andronicus, but when I saw their disc at Border’s I was like “Oh yeah, those guys!” So I bought it and listened to it pretty much non-stop for the next few months.

Now, if you google this album, you will no doubt read that it is a punk rock concept album about the Civil War. Maybe that sounds awesome to you, maybe it sounds terrible. But I don’t think it really has all that much to do with how great this album is. There are little spoken passages between some of the songs quoting Lincoln and so on, and some of the songs do mention the Civil War, but the songs aren’t history lessons. They’re sometimes fun and sometimes sad and always well-written and they really do rock hard. There are shouted choruses, huge guitar solos, and even some good storytelling. There you go: best album of 2010.

(Note: on the album, this song is twice as long, but this is a pretty good intro to their sound if you’re curious.)

One more fun thing: One of my Twitter friends (she works at my publisher) was tweeting about Titus a while ago and I was like “I love that band!” And she was like “Yay, that’s my brother!” And I was like “Wait: what?” And she explained that her brother is the singer of the band! I was like “Tell him I love his band. And his beard.” So I feel happy about that connection. Also I feel like the possibility exists that I might get a chance to hang out backstage at some time in the future, or possibly be invited to sing with them at a show. Call me, guys: I know all the words.

Happy New Year!

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Movies and Books

MOVIES

The holidays are a great time to catch up on movies and books. Recently I watched a movie with my boys that left me with that "What a blast!" feeling. It was "MEGAMIND." Yeah, it's a silly and cartoonish flick, but it's also creative, has quirky characters (including a kick-butt heroine and a heroic villain), cool music, and is fun for all ages. And what's more, it's actually kinda meaningful in that sticks-with-you-after-the-final-credits kind of way.

Movies I've watched at home recently (as I'm a brand new Netflix subscriber, even though our internet service has been sketchy at best these past few weeks due to avalanche problems) include: "The Good Heart" (love those quirky characters), "Letters to Juliet" (sweet, but maybe too sweet), "When in Rome" (cute with some LOL bits), and "Ira and Abby" (Abby is quirky to the point of being crazy).

As always, there are lots of movies I want to see, including: "Easy A," "Tron," "Little Fockers," and "Life in a Day," which will be shown at the upcoming Sundance Film Festival here in Utah.

BOOKS

I've also had a chance to dig a little deeper into my TBR pile, including Glimpse and The Chosen One, both by Carol Lynch Williams, Once Was Lost by Sara Zarr, and Sisters of Misery by Megan Kelley Hall. I loved every page of each of the aforementioned novels and am happy to say every one of these authors is a talented and amazing person to boot.

So ... what movies have you seen over the holidays? (And is it just me, or is Russell Brand everywhere you turn?) What books have you read lately? (And is it just me, or does trying to keep up with all of Lauren Baratz-Logsted's book releases make you dizzy?)

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Movies, Books, TV, Music...But Really: Snow!!!

I'd really like to talk about the movie I'm going to go see today but I can't...because there's a four-foot drift of snow outside my door! I'd also like to talk about all the TV shows and music I'm interested in but I can't...because I'm obsessing about the foor-foot drift of snow outside my door!

So what can I do?

Well, I guess I can talk a bit about the upcoming year and how excited I am about all I've got going on. But really, I'm only doing that...so I can stop thinking for a few minutes about the foor-foot drift of snow outside my door!

In 2011, I've got a lot going on. Three of my YA books will have their paperback releases: Crazy Beautiful on January 3 (just eight days away!); The Education of Bet in April; and The Twin's Daughter in August. The next two books in The Sisters 8 series for young readers will also be released simultaneously in hardcover and paperback: Book 7 Rebecca's Rashness in May and Book 8 sometime in the fall. But finally, what I'm perhaps most excited about...

LITTLE WOMEN & ME comes out in hardcover on August 16!

Here's the publisher's description of LITTLE WOMEN & ME:

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 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.

And why, you wonder, am I so excited about this particular book? Because even though it's not coming out for another eight months, it's already receiving lots of early blogger love, appearing on several lists of Most Anticipated Titles of 2011.

I hope all the anticipation proves worth it. I hope people read and enjoy the book. I hope the book does well enough that I can go on having a career as a writer. I hope no one curses the day I was born, or at least not over this. I hope...I hope...I hope...

I HOPE A GENIE APPEARS AND DOES SOMETHING ABOUT THIS FOOR-FOOT DRIFT OF SNOW OUTSIDE MY DOOR!

Oops, what's that you say? All the genies are currently busy? Rats. I suppose that means that I'm going to have to save myself from that foor-foot drift of snow. Ah, well.

Before I go do that, let me just say that I hope that, whatever you celebrate, you got to read great books, saw great movies and TV, and heard great music this year. Please use the comments section to tell me what those were so that if I ever make it back inside from outside, I'll know what to look for.

Be well. Don't forget to write.

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The great social media debate

In keeping with Sara's theme of To blog or not to blog (that is the question), I want to take that a step further and ponder the point of social media in general.

Last week, after 2+ years of blogging, I had my web guy take my blog down. Partly because Wordpress has been a NIGHTMARE this year for me (that's a whole other post), but also partly because I started blogging before Facebook became the sensation it is today and before Twitter even existed in a public way. I spend a lot of time on Twitter (probably more than I should, truth be told) and try to update Facebook at least once a week. So the question became, What is the point of my blog?

Much like Sara, I had to stop and think about what I really wanted to accomplish and how much I cared about it. And the truth was, I just didn't feel like it made sense to rehash in a blog post something that I've already tweeted or FB'd about. Sure, a blog gives you unlimited space to share your thoughts. But with unlimited space does not come unlimited time, and so I made the decision to remove blogging from my list of things to do.

But the more I got to thinking about my blog, the more I got to thinking about social media in general. And I realized that, for the most part, it requires a lot more energy than it probably nets in benefits for me.

The benefits of social media (at least to me - your mileage may vary!) is to be able to connect with like-minded people. Whether they're fellow booklovers, people you're friends with in real life but don't get to see very often, or people who share your passion for kittens or underwater basket-weaving, it's nice to be able to make a connection with people at your leisure. No more coordinating schedules or avoiding a phone call because you fear a friend's new baby may be asleep.

But what I've also discovered is that I don't get as much personal connection value out of it anymore. I love being able to cheer someone's good news as it happens (it's usually on Twitter long before they get around to blogging about it or sending a mass email with news). And people make me laugh... a LOT... which can be just the thing I might be needing when I check Twitter at that moment.

That's the upside.

The downside? It can be a HUGE time suck if you let it. I'm one of those people who feels bad if they don't respond to every tweet or FB comment. I'm just wired that way. :-) And yet to respond to all of them would require me to take more time away from my real life (you know, that life you have when you're not attached to your keyboard or your phone?). In many cases, I'm taking time away from my family and my closest friends to respond to people I have never met and probably will never meet.

That realization was a powerful one for me.

What is the purpose of social media for me then? I think the answer is that it's a way to stay active in the book world. I like hearing what's going one, who has good news, and seeing what fabulous new books people are recommending to feed my book habit. But it has to come with balance. Family and friends first, writing second, social media further down the list.

2011 is going to be the year I put my real life first. We'll see how that goes. :-)

What about you? Any plans to change your social media ways in 2011?

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To blog or not to blog.....

That is the question..... and something I've been thinking about a lot lately. I'm not thinking of TFC, even though I'm ashamed to admit I forgot to post the last couple of times (purely a memory problem, which is nothing to do with age, before anyone says anything), but my own blog.

I look at some people and they blog at length every single day, and at the moment I'm lucky to blog once or twice a month. I'm not sure why this has happened, though I suspect Twitter has a lot to do with it. I seem to either Tweet or blog but have trouble doing both. And then there's Facebook, that too takes time. If I'm not careful I'll end up spending all my time networking at the expense of writing!!!

So, what to do? I don't know. I've been blogging for over five years, and it would be sad to stop. I have no idea how many people regularly read my blog because my stats don't reflect all those on Google reader etc.

What do you think? If you're a blogger do you blog as much now? Has your blogging suffered as a result of Twitter and Facebook?

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