Party On Garth!

Day two of my Simon Pulse Launch Gala promises to be as fantastic as the first day! First order of business, the winners of yesterday’s book drawing!

The Winner of Lisa McMann’s Wake is…. Less than 6 days! (From My Space!)


The Winner of Kristen Tracy’s Lost It is… Hillary! (From Blogger)

Congratulations! I will be in touch with both of you shortly to get your contact information!

Oh, and If you haven't picked up a copy of READ MY LIPS yet, you can find it
here on Amazon.com or in your local bookstore. And if you just
stumbled across my blog and are wondering what the fuss is all about,
read an except of my brand new YA novel, READ MY LIPS, here


Next up is the week’s first SURPRISE!



What’s a party without chocolate? Moonstruck is some of the best chocolate in the world… they’ve even had their chocolate given away in the Academy Awards goody baskets! So not only will I be giving away books from today’s authors, I will be drawing a name from today’s comments to receive a box of Moonstruck chocolate!

(Much whooping and applause ensue)

Next up is my first guest author, the fabulous Robin Wasserman, author of the Seven Deadly Sin series and Hacking Harvard with her fish out of water story!

Welcome Robin!

Thanks for inviting me to your blog party, Teri -- and congratulations on the new book!

I had a surprisingly hard time coming up with a good 'fish out of water' story -- not because I have no experience with that, of course, but because I have more experience than anyone could ever want. My whole life is a fish out of water story.

And I'm not just talking about specific moments of ridiculous out-of-place-ness, although there was plenty of that (the musical theater camp where I couldn't carry a tune, the basketball team where I couldn't dribble the ball, the time in junior high when...well, okay, all of junior high).

It's more than a few million anecdotes -- it's who I am. In almost any group situation, I can be counted on to feel out of place. And by "group" I mean two or more people.

Not that I think I'm unique in this. I suspect that a lot of writers feel like strangers to the world around them, surreptitiously analyzing every interaction like an anthropologist embedded in some exotic tribe. Maybe, like me, they've come to cultivate that sense of alienation, even occasionally (I guess this is the contrarian in me talking) enjoy it.

When I was growing up, I desperately wanted to fit in, but never made much effort in that direction. I think I knew from the start it was a lost cause. (Or I was just lazy.) And the older I got – especially once I hit college, where I could feel like an outsider without feeling like an outcast – I realized that standing apart from the crowd has advantages of its own.

But sometimes, I admit, it's easier to be at the center than on the fringe. Which is a big part of why I started to write. Sitting down in front of the blank page, I get to create a world governed by my rules, a world where everything makes sense to me — a world where I fit in.

HA! I know exactly what she means! Next we have the incomparable, Elizabeth Scott, author of Bloom, Perfect You and Stealing Heaven.

I just spent two weeks traveling across the country, and let me tell you, nothing gives you time to think like sitting in a car for hours (and hours) for days. (And days!)

I was a little nervous about the fish-out-of-water theme Teri wanted me to write about because I didn't feel like I had something to share. Quite honestly, it wasn't until I was about halfway through Arkansas (on the trip out to the West Coast) that I stopped thinking about what fish look like when they're out of water (not good!) and started thinking about people.

But you know what? The people thing just wouldn't stick. As I drove across the country, I saw rivers that had nothing but a bare trickle of water, and creeks that were nothing but cracked, dry earth. And I thought about fish--and everything else that lives in rivers and creeks and watering holes--again.

It made me think about how fragile life is. One moment, you're a fish, swimming along in your stream or creek, and then the water slowly starts to disappear.

What do you do then?

I suspect that fish do what people do. Try to survive. That's all any of us can do, I think. We try to get through life, and hope that the life we live--the water we swim in--won't start to disappear.

What would you do if your water--your life--started to change or worse, began to disappear?

Thanks Elizabeth… that is exactly what my main character, Serena does when she is transferred to a new school-- tries to survive!

Remember, anyone who comments today will be entered into the drawing for a copy of Elizabeth Scott’s new book, Stealing Heaven and Robin Wasserman’s book, Hacking Harvard, as well as a box of Moonstruck chocolate!And don't forget about the Grand Prize!