I posted on Teen Fiction Cafe today... the topic? Running, of course! Check it out here.
I have an article due today that I haven't started on. A synopsis for my agent, and need to finish the first chapter of SOAP.
I also have a Fourth of July bbq coming up and need to get ready for that. My yard is so not done yet. Add in an hour or more of working out everyday, and you might say it will be a busy week. Check out the blog tomorrow for a fun surprise!
Happy Monday Everyone!
Monday, June 30, 2008
Saturday, June 28, 2008
I did it!
I ran a mile today without stopping! And yes, it is very much mental with me. I've never been in better shape, I'm just a baby!
My goal this morning was to run two laps around the track, but I finished my second one and I didn't feel to bad so decided to run around a third time. Then I was partway done with that and I realized what I did... Now I HAD to run around again, even if I felt like crap, because a mile was just one more little lap, right?
So I did it.
And it felt AMAZING! I can do it! I might even be able to run the 3k for the race for the cure!
Go me!
My goal this morning was to run two laps around the track, but I finished my second one and I didn't feel to bad so decided to run around a third time. Then I was partway done with that and I realized what I did... Now I HAD to run around again, even if I felt like crap, because a mile was just one more little lap, right?
So I did it.
And it felt AMAZING! I can do it! I might even be able to run the 3k for the race for the cure!
Go me!
Friday, June 27, 2008
It's Friday Already?
Really? This week simply flew by and I didn't get hardly any of the work done I wanted to.
I did however something else. I ran a quarter mile, yesterday. Yep. All the way around the track. Then I walked a quarter, then ran, then walked, then ran again! Just call me Flo Jo. So it looks as if I actually can run and it won't kill me. Though, it would be a bit of a stretch to call what I do running. More like a very slow jog.... honestly, conserving my energy is the only way I got around. HA!
Today is synopsis day. I sent one of my CP's the worst synopsis in the world and I am working on another really super duper bad synopsis. Sometimes I just HATE them. How come sometimes they just seem to flow and other times they don't? I wanna know. And then you get different advice from everyone you show it too... You need more of the emotional journey, clarify this so the reader understands it, cut this because it's not needed, it's too long, it's too short, this isn't your voice, this is your voice...
WTF?
And for those who have looked at my synopses and give feedback, this is not a slam! It is just a wee vent in the frustration I feel in writing the damn things.
(taking a deep breath.) Anyway, writing a synopsis and finishing is an article is my hope for the weekend. How about you?
I did however something else. I ran a quarter mile, yesterday. Yep. All the way around the track. Then I walked a quarter, then ran, then walked, then ran again! Just call me Flo Jo. So it looks as if I actually can run and it won't kill me. Though, it would be a bit of a stretch to call what I do running. More like a very slow jog.... honestly, conserving my energy is the only way I got around. HA!
Today is synopsis day. I sent one of my CP's the worst synopsis in the world and I am working on another really super duper bad synopsis. Sometimes I just HATE them. How come sometimes they just seem to flow and other times they don't? I wanna know. And then you get different advice from everyone you show it too... You need more of the emotional journey, clarify this so the reader understands it, cut this because it's not needed, it's too long, it's too short, this isn't your voice, this is your voice...
WTF?
And for those who have looked at my synopses and give feedback, this is not a slam! It is just a wee vent in the frustration I feel in writing the damn things.
(taking a deep breath.) Anyway, writing a synopsis and finishing is an article is my hope for the weekend. How about you?
Thursday, June 26, 2008
What I'm Doing
Dude... I had homework. When discussing revisions with an editor he said the magic words... Like such and such a movie meets such and such a movie. I nodded my head sagely and my fingers flew to netflicks. So I spent the last couple of days watching a couple of movies. One of them several times. I love a really good script in a movie, you know?
As you know, I am now working on several projects... which is something I did before with two projects of different genras, but never three projects so close to the same starting point. It's very interesting what grabs my mind and imagination when. Right now I'm all about Laguna. Yesterday, I was all about Deck... day before, Soap. So go figure... I work on whatever grabs me.
I am also trying to run. I feel like I have lost enough weight (ounces from 25 pounds!) that I can start the running process. Its... difficult. I do a run/walk thing that I call interval training. But I'm beginning to think that running is as much a mental thing as it is a physical thing. I want to run the Race for the Cure next September, so I need to do something.
Any advice on working on multiple projects or running would be appreciated!
As you know, I am now working on several projects... which is something I did before with two projects of different genras, but never three projects so close to the same starting point. It's very interesting what grabs my mind and imagination when. Right now I'm all about Laguna. Yesterday, I was all about Deck... day before, Soap. So go figure... I work on whatever grabs me.
I am also trying to run. I feel like I have lost enough weight (ounces from 25 pounds!) that I can start the running process. Its... difficult. I do a run/walk thing that I call interval training. But I'm beginning to think that running is as much a mental thing as it is a physical thing. I want to run the Race for the Cure next September, so I need to do something.
Any advice on working on multiple projects or running would be appreciated!
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Blogging and New Projects
Have deadlines, so I leave you with this:
Ever wonder who does the reviews at ALAN Online , Teens Read Too, YA (& Kids) Books Central, The Edge of the Forest , Fuse # 8, Reviewer X, Off to Turn Another Page, Book Chic, Slayground, Reader Rabbit and many other places?
They're usually the ones who interview us, but for one week we turn the tables on several YA & MG book reviewers and ask them the hard questions! We even tackle bad reviews. You don't want to miss one answer!
Please check out the Class of 2k8's blog for the Book Reviewer Hot Seat!
There are some great interviews already:) Enjoy!
On to my projects...
I'm working on a Inspy YA, a regular YA and a paranormal YA. I have two long chapters done on the paranormal YA, but can't for the life of me work out a synopsis. Probably because I need more plotting. All I have on the regular YA is a bunch of notes and a note from my editor. The inspy YA is just a fairly thought out synopsis. I need to get the regular YA and inspy YA done fairly soon. The para just needs a synopsis and a little bit of reworking and it hsould be odne.
Anyone have an extra cup of motivation I can have? Sigh.
Ever wonder who does the reviews at ALAN Online , Teens Read Too, YA (& Kids) Books Central, The Edge of the Forest , Fuse # 8, Reviewer X, Off to Turn Another Page, Book Chic, Slayground, Reader Rabbit and many other places?
They're usually the ones who interview us, but for one week we turn the tables on several YA & MG book reviewers and ask them the hard questions! We even tackle bad reviews. You don't want to miss one answer!
Please check out the Class of 2k8's blog for the Book Reviewer Hot Seat!
There are some great interviews already:) Enjoy!
On to my projects...
I'm working on a Inspy YA, a regular YA and a paranormal YA. I have two long chapters done on the paranormal YA, but can't for the life of me work out a synopsis. Probably because I need more plotting. All I have on the regular YA is a bunch of notes and a note from my editor. The inspy YA is just a fairly thought out synopsis. I need to get the regular YA and inspy YA done fairly soon. The para just needs a synopsis and a little bit of reworking and it hsould be odne.
Anyone have an extra cup of motivation I can have? Sigh.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Book Stuff
What a weekend! I managed to workout everyday and got tons of stuff done on the yard! My plate is full again today so I'll get right to it!
Fan Mail
I am getting fan mail from teens! How cool is that? One girl told me she loved my story but I cuss too much. So I wrote her back and told her that I actually cuss very little, but sometimes my characters have potty mouths:) Another wrote and told me it was one of the best books he had ever read. WOW!I have received a few emails from fellow authors and I love them, (keep em coming!) but I prize the ones sent by teens!
Reviews!
I have gotten some good reviews and some bad reviews. I am learning not to let the bad reviews get to me and vow to do better on each book. That's all we can do, people!
School Visits!
Hyped by my fabulous launch party I am going to be doing some school visits. Am planning on making up a Brochure and going for it this fall. I think a few Toastmaster lessons are in order.I especially want to go to alternative schools. I have a real heart for kids who don't fit into the mold, ya know? Can you tell what my teen years were like?
Interviews!
Kelly McClymer has an interview of moi up on her blog. Great questions!
The wonderful Sara Hants also interviewed me on her blog. You can read it here.
Yes, I have several more interviews to finish up this week... am so excited!
New Projects!
I am currently working on three, yes three, brand new projects. My Cp's are going to hate me, but I hope to have news for you all soon! (That is, soon publisher time, not real time)
Fan Mail
I am getting fan mail from teens! How cool is that? One girl told me she loved my story but I cuss too much. So I wrote her back and told her that I actually cuss very little, but sometimes my characters have potty mouths:) Another wrote and told me it was one of the best books he had ever read. WOW!I have received a few emails from fellow authors and I love them, (keep em coming!) but I prize the ones sent by teens!
Reviews!
I have gotten some good reviews and some bad reviews. I am learning not to let the bad reviews get to me and vow to do better on each book. That's all we can do, people!
School Visits!
Hyped by my fabulous launch party I am going to be doing some school visits. Am planning on making up a Brochure and going for it this fall. I think a few Toastmaster lessons are in order.I especially want to go to alternative schools. I have a real heart for kids who don't fit into the mold, ya know? Can you tell what my teen years were like?
Interviews!
Kelly McClymer has an interview of moi up on her blog. Great questions!
The wonderful Sara Hants also interviewed me on her blog. You can read it here.
Yes, I have several more interviews to finish up this week... am so excited!
New Projects!
I am currently working on three, yes three, brand new projects. My Cp's are going to hate me, but I hope to have news for you all soon! (That is, soon publisher time, not real time)
Friday, June 20, 2008
Another Boring Blog...
I promise I'll try to be interesting next week! Just a few things...
1. Remember Sarah Rose Evans, who won the grand prize? Turns out she lives in Portland! NO! I did not do that on purpose! I ran the number of comments on blogger and MySpace in order and went the random number generator route. Anyway, yesterday I hand delivered the gift to the other side of the city and had coffee in a Stbux B&N with the winner. My sidekick, Ann, came along and we had a wonderful time watching Sarah's baby enjoy the coffee shop. This kid is a doll! Or a tank, whichever you prefer:) I love talking to other writers face to face and we are already planning on doing it again!
2. I have lost 23 pounds in my quest for my nationals goal. How awesome is that? And I have been only working on it for eight weeks... how cool is that?
3. Writing-wise I am all over the place, working on too many things at once and getting none of them finished. Hopefully, I will be able to finish my nonfiction today and then start fresh on fiction Monday. Weekend is for yard work!
4> I posted at teen fiction cafe today... you won't believe what my friend Ann, did for me! Check it out here.
1. Remember Sarah Rose Evans, who won the grand prize? Turns out she lives in Portland! NO! I did not do that on purpose! I ran the number of comments on blogger and MySpace in order and went the random number generator route. Anyway, yesterday I hand delivered the gift to the other side of the city and had coffee in a Stbux B&N with the winner. My sidekick, Ann, came along and we had a wonderful time watching Sarah's baby enjoy the coffee shop. This kid is a doll! Or a tank, whichever you prefer:) I love talking to other writers face to face and we are already planning on doing it again!
2. I have lost 23 pounds in my quest for my nationals goal. How awesome is that? And I have been only working on it for eight weeks... how cool is that?
3. Writing-wise I am all over the place, working on too many things at once and getting none of them finished. Hopefully, I will be able to finish my nonfiction today and then start fresh on fiction Monday. Weekend is for yard work!
4> I posted at teen fiction cafe today... you won't believe what my friend Ann, did for me! Check it out here.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Discussing Publicity
Some people have asked me to explain how the blog party came together in the way that it did and the value of it for me, so here it is.
Lots of authors have blog parties and ask their author friends to participate. I always have fun at those, but it seemed like often the same people would be there. Which is fine too, I love my crowd.... but I wanted to try to find a way to be different, to reach more teens.
Then I decided to use only Pulse authors. That way I could see if my publisher would support the blog party. I wrote the marketing department and told them my idea. At the same time I was also getting in touch with Pulse authors. The response from authors was fantastic. I only had three tell me no, and mostly because they had huge events going on in their lives. And my publicity people were behind it 100%. They told me to come up with a guest list and they would design me a logo and a banner. So I kept asking for things. I asked for an invitation and got a fabulous one. I asked for a ticker and got one. I asked for a big box of Pulse books and got that too. But the big prize was they promised to send an announcement of the party out to the Check Your Pulse E-zine list... this reaches thousands of librarians, teachers, teens and other teen fic lovers.
With everything looking so professional, I garnered a lot of industry attention. I got a mention on Ypulse, a marketing site devoted to teens and middle graders, I made it to countless blogs, and I even had another Pulse editor write to tell me how much she loved the idea and the invite.
I sent the invite to everyone I knew and on the first day of the party, Pulse sent it on to their e-zine. The results the first day were huge... over 150 comments and the hits went through the roof. My hits stayed high, though they slumped on Weds a bit and picked back up on Thursday.
Will this result in more books being sold? I think so... I hope so. But I did accomplish several things. One, I had a great party and it was a blast. Two, I got my name out there in a big way. Three, I learned that publishers are willing to go the extra mile if your PR event promotes more than just one author or book. (I really think giving them more bang for their buck is key. )
I also made some fabulous friends in the industry. Writers are just nice people, you know?
Lots of authors have blog parties and ask their author friends to participate. I always have fun at those, but it seemed like often the same people would be there. Which is fine too, I love my crowd.... but I wanted to try to find a way to be different, to reach more teens.
Then I decided to use only Pulse authors. That way I could see if my publisher would support the blog party. I wrote the marketing department and told them my idea. At the same time I was also getting in touch with Pulse authors. The response from authors was fantastic. I only had three tell me no, and mostly because they had huge events going on in their lives. And my publicity people were behind it 100%. They told me to come up with a guest list and they would design me a logo and a banner. So I kept asking for things. I asked for an invitation and got a fabulous one. I asked for a ticker and got one. I asked for a big box of Pulse books and got that too. But the big prize was they promised to send an announcement of the party out to the Check Your Pulse E-zine list... this reaches thousands of librarians, teachers, teens and other teen fic lovers.
With everything looking so professional, I garnered a lot of industry attention. I got a mention on Ypulse, a marketing site devoted to teens and middle graders, I made it to countless blogs, and I even had another Pulse editor write to tell me how much she loved the idea and the invite.
I sent the invite to everyone I knew and on the first day of the party, Pulse sent it on to their e-zine. The results the first day were huge... over 150 comments and the hits went through the roof. My hits stayed high, though they slumped on Weds a bit and picked back up on Thursday.
Will this result in more books being sold? I think so... I hope so. But I did accomplish several things. One, I had a great party and it was a blast. Two, I got my name out there in a big way. Three, I learned that publishers are willing to go the extra mile if your PR event promotes more than just one author or book. (I really think giving them more bang for their buck is key. )
I also made some fabulous friends in the industry. Writers are just nice people, you know?
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
On Children, Dogs and Goddesses
On Children
It's odd only having one child at home. Now that my two have reached the more mature teenage years, they fight less, talk more and seem to (though neither would admit it)actually enjoy one an other's company for brief spurts of time. Don't quote me on that because both would vehemently deny it.
But now that I only have the girl child at home (fisher boy has run off to Canada for a church thing)it's much quieter. I think the only thing fisher boy has in common with his father (besides a love of fishing, of course,) is both feel they have to pack a certain number words into each hour or they would explode with the unspoken. Both feel the TV needs to be on at every given opportunity. During the day, when both are gone, it's so quiet it almost makes me nervous. Don't get me wrong, I adore the silence. It's just verra different.
On Dogs
I tried to find a pix of my Hap Scrappy Doo, but could not. I don't think I have one on the computer. But regardless, my Scrappy Doo is an amazing dog. He is part wiener and part beagle and all adorable. But he is completely and totally a hound dog. He sleeps a lot, points his nose in the air and bays like snoopy and loves to tree a squirrel. Oh, and he MY dog. He wants to be where the mama is at all times. His eyes seek me out constantly and if I'm not home the family tells me he is always looking for me or waiting on the arm of the couch looking longingly out the window. When I was in the hospital for five days getting the brain tumor out, he wouldn't eat... he just waited for me to come home and when I did, he laid in bed with me until I started to recover. He is my third child. (Well, kinda, you know what I mean.)
When tumors began popping out on him I was pretty freaked out... after all, he is almost eleven even if he still does have a puppy look about him. But I am happy to report that they are just fatty tumors. No worries! YAY!
On Goddesses
I just want to thank the goddesses in my life for being there for me... Miss Annie, Kerry... you both rock and thank you so much for being you. (No, I actually don't believe you guys are goddesses,it just seemed a nice tribute.)
Okay, back to work. Yesterday was all about errands. Today is all about nonfiction.
It's odd only having one child at home. Now that my two have reached the more mature teenage years, they fight less, talk more and seem to (though neither would admit it)actually enjoy one an other's company for brief spurts of time. Don't quote me on that because both would vehemently deny it.
But now that I only have the girl child at home (fisher boy has run off to Canada for a church thing)it's much quieter. I think the only thing fisher boy has in common with his father (besides a love of fishing, of course,) is both feel they have to pack a certain number words into each hour or they would explode with the unspoken. Both feel the TV needs to be on at every given opportunity. During the day, when both are gone, it's so quiet it almost makes me nervous. Don't get me wrong, I adore the silence. It's just verra different.
On Dogs
I tried to find a pix of my Hap Scrappy Doo, but could not. I don't think I have one on the computer. But regardless, my Scrappy Doo is an amazing dog. He is part wiener and part beagle and all adorable. But he is completely and totally a hound dog. He sleeps a lot, points his nose in the air and bays like snoopy and loves to tree a squirrel. Oh, and he MY dog. He wants to be where the mama is at all times. His eyes seek me out constantly and if I'm not home the family tells me he is always looking for me or waiting on the arm of the couch looking longingly out the window. When I was in the hospital for five days getting the brain tumor out, he wouldn't eat... he just waited for me to come home and when I did, he laid in bed with me until I started to recover. He is my third child. (Well, kinda, you know what I mean.)
When tumors began popping out on him I was pretty freaked out... after all, he is almost eleven even if he still does have a puppy look about him. But I am happy to report that they are just fatty tumors. No worries! YAY!
On Goddesses
I just want to thank the goddesses in my life for being there for me... Miss Annie, Kerry... you both rock and thank you so much for being you. (No, I actually don't believe you guys are goddesses,it just seemed a nice tribute.)
Okay, back to work. Yesterday was all about errands. Today is all about nonfiction.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Catching My Breath
I'm so sad my blog party is over, but kind of happy to be getting back to normal life. In fact, normal life has been screaming for my attention by the way of missed appointments, missed deadlines and missed sleep. Time to take care of all those things. (Hence the late post today, I slept innnnnn!)
Things that have been happening in the real world while I have been partying and working on my book launch.
1. My dog needs to go to the vet. He has a small lump on his rib and now it's a bigger one. (Pretty sure it's just a fatty tumor, but still!)
2. Clean the bathroom. As wonderful as my family has been about keeping things up, the bathroom seems to have been missed. Repeatedly. I think we now have small trolls living in there.
3. A new proposal to write. Fast.
4. Interviews to finish. I have a gazillion interviews sitting in my inbox, vying for my attention. I will get to them this week... I promise!
5. The jungle in our back yard. The land of the lost, anyone?
6. My son. My son left for Canada for ten days. I think I actually took him, but have no recollection. All I know is that his room is empty of everything except the chaos teenagers leave when they pack.
I have some ideas for blogs this week, but will probably put them on the back burner till next week and just have a week of boring blog. (I know, I know, blog suicide, but I am maxed people!)
Hope you like my book. If you haven't bought it, buy... baby needs to go to cabo!!
Things that have been happening in the real world while I have been partying and working on my book launch.
1. My dog needs to go to the vet. He has a small lump on his rib and now it's a bigger one. (Pretty sure it's just a fatty tumor, but still!)
2. Clean the bathroom. As wonderful as my family has been about keeping things up, the bathroom seems to have been missed. Repeatedly. I think we now have small trolls living in there.
3. A new proposal to write. Fast.
4. Interviews to finish. I have a gazillion interviews sitting in my inbox, vying for my attention. I will get to them this week... I promise!
5. The jungle in our back yard. The land of the lost, anyone?
6. My son. My son left for Canada for ten days. I think I actually took him, but have no recollection. All I know is that his room is empty of everything except the chaos teenagers leave when they pack.
I have some ideas for blogs this week, but will probably put them on the back burner till next week and just have a week of boring blog. (I know, I know, blog suicide, but I am maxed people!)
Hope you like my book. If you haven't bought it, buy... baby needs to go to cabo!!
Saturday, June 14, 2008
And The Winner is...
The winner of Secrets of My Suburban Life is Lenore!
The Winner of a Kate Brian/Keiran Scott book (not sure which one) is Domenique!
The Winner of the big box of fifteen Simon Pulse books is:
Sarah Rose Evans!
Thanks to everyone who participated! It was a never-to-be-forgotten experience. And of course, the tat is there to remind me if I ever do forget!
I hope you all had as much fun as I did!
The Winner of a Kate Brian/Keiran Scott book (not sure which one) is Domenique!
The Winner of the big box of fifteen Simon Pulse books is:
Sarah Rose Evans!
Thanks to everyone who participated! It was a never-to-be-forgotten experience. And of course, the tat is there to remind me if I ever do forget!
I hope you all had as much fun as I did!
Friday, June 13, 2008
Last Chance to Party!
I can’t believe my party is almost over. What a fabulous week it’s been for me and I hope you all have enjoyed it, as well.
A couple of Tat things before we get started—
1. MY ANKLE!
2. Yes, it did hurt a lot.
3. My daughter loves it and my son said it made my hip factor go up by 90%
4. My husband wanted me to get a tramp stamp on my back. My children vehemently vetoed that.
Moving on…
The winner of I Heart You, You Haunt Me by Lisa Schroeder is The Compulsive Reader!
The winner of an Imogene book by Lisa Barham is Melissa Walker!
YAY! I will be in touch with you shortly!
Have you bought Read My Lips yet? A friend had to write and remind me early in the week that my book was what the party was all about and I should mention it every once in a while! You can buy it here, or read an excerpt here. Remember, my little girl wants to go to Cabo! (I just want to fix the flagstone patio in the front, but hey, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.)
And remember, today is the last day to enter for the grand prize, so be sure to comment! I will announce the winner of the fabulous box of Simon Pulse books tomorrow. EDIT: I am taking off for a cozy B&B with the hubby and then have a signing tomorrow. So the winner won't be announced till the afternoon.
I have some fabulous guest authors today and a really big surprise! What? You want the surprise first? Okay! Okay!
Ladies and Gentlemen, I have the supreme pleasure of being interviewed today by the one and only Scott Westerfeld, also known as Scott-la by his minions. And yes, he has minions.
Teri: Scott! Thanks so much for agreeing to interview me! I saw you were interviewed on TV a couple days ago. Congrats. I have to tell you though, that your hair… it was looking kinda … puffy. Can you comment on that before we get started?
Scott: (Clearing throat) Television is, as Marshall McLuhan famously said, a cool medium. And I'm afraid my hair is just too damn hot.
Teri: ????? Let’s just get right to the interview…
Scott: (Nodding sagely) Can you read lips?
Teri: Yes. And I read minds too. (laughing) No, actually I don’t. But if I did, I would use it for good and not evil. I think.
Scott: What were writerly challenges of creating the POV of a deaf person?
Teri: I wanted to really amp up the other senses, so I had to be aware of what was going on around my character all the time.
Scott: In your research on deafness, what did you learn that surprised you
most?
Teri: A lot of deaf people have residual hearing and thanks to technology, can hear some things with hearing aids. But when you see someone with hearing aids you just assume they hear what you hear. They don’t. I watched some movies that illustrated what a deaf person with hearing aids might hear and I was astonished at how different it is. I am just super impressed at how deaf people take that and put it together with body language and lips reading and communicate.
Scott: "Read My Lips" is about eavesdropping. Have you ever gotten in trouble
for spying on someone or divulging a confidence?
Teri: Actually, no. But I did use a gossip for my own ends once. My best friend and I had a spat that women sometimes do…I don’t even remember what it was about. But we hadn’t spoke for about four years or something. (Shaddup, sometimes women are like that!) Anyway, I was seriously ill and needed to tell her I would be going under the knife. But when I saw the local gossip, I used her to communicate with my friend. I told her about the illness and sure enough, my BFF called me that afternoon. I answered with uproarious laughter. So you see, gossip can be a useful method of communication!
Scott: Was there a secret sorority at your school?
Teri: No, but we had a bunch of cowboys/rednecks. Does that count?
Scott: Do you remember that scene in 2001 where Hal reads the astronaut's
lips, and then KILLS THEM? Just thought I'd mention it.
Teri: ?????
Thanks Scott for agreeing to interview me! Next up, a fabulous writer who is successful across all genres, the multi-talented author of Angel’s Choice and Secrets of My Suburban Life, Lauren Baratz Logsted!
Thanks Lauren!
Thanks for having me, Teri! I'm thrilled to be a part of your launch!"
Fiction, for both adults and teens, is loaded with characters who are fish out of water. Jay Gatsby? Fish out of water, even if he is a self-made millionaire. Boo Radley? Fish our of water, or I guess you could also say recluse in house. Even Harry Potter begins his journey as - you guessed it! - a fish out of water: first living with his awful relatives and then trying to get adjusted to wizardry and Hogwarts. There's a reason why the theme is so universal in fiction and that's because it's so universal in life. We have all had times when we've felt alienated, like we don't fit in. Even the quarterback of the football team has felt this way. He just doesn't show it the way the rest of us do, but believe me, he has felt it.
In my latest YA novel SECRETS OF MY SUBURBAN LIFE, Ren D'Arc is a fish out of water geographically, socially and culturally. After Ren's novelist mother dies, having been crushed to death by a stack of Harry Potter books, Ren's father decides to escape the painful memories by moving with Ren from New York City to Danbury, CT. There's just one problem (or one of many): neither of them know how to drive. And the process of learning to drive terrifies Ren, who's been transported all her life in trains, cabs and subways. So Ren resorts to what she knows: she steps outside her house and raises her hand to hail a cab. Unfortunately, Danbury, considered to be a small city, looks more like the suburbs in its residential neighborhoods. So there's Ren, on that grassy lawn, waiting for a cab to just happen on by. Do you think one ever will? Not a chance. So Ren begins using a taxi service where her rotation includes an African American named George, a Middle Eastern man named Mohammed and an American Amazon woman named Blue. Before long, these cabdrivers are as much Ren's posse and saviors as they are her form of transportation.
Please leave a comment below for a chance to win a signed copy of SECRETS OF MY SUBURBAN LIFE and feel free to visit me at www.laurenbaratzlogsted.com.
Happy Launch Day, Teri!
Thanks Lauren!
Next up (pausing for total fan girl gushing) We have the amazing fabulous, needs no introduction, author of a gazillion amazing books for teens, Kate Brian!
First of all, Teri, thank you so much for inviting me to la soiree de blog! I'm SO one of the cool kids now!
So I was thinking about this whole "fish-out-of-water" thing and trying to relate it to my own life when I suddenly realized that . . . OMG . . . I've NEVER been a true fish-out-of-water. I am a total Jersey girl. Grew up in Jersey, went to college in Jersey (go Rutgers!), lived in Hoboken after college, and still live in NJ today. Everywhere I went, there were a lot of other people like me. So what was I going to blog about? When have I ever been the odd girl out? And then, I remembered.
Los Angeles.
I traveled to LA a few years back to see if I wanted to move there and try to break into TV and film writing. I have never been so supremely uncomfortable in my entire life. Why? Well,
A) Everyone drives everywhere. I am a walker. One day I was strolling along a street full of shops and I was literally the only person on either sidewalk. (Talking point: why do they even have sidewalks in LA?) Were they filming one of those movies where everyone on earth is destroyed by some renegade comet and I was the only person left? No. I knew this because the outdoor café I walked by was packed with gorgeous people staring me down like I had some freakish communicable disease—just because I was walking! Totally weirded me out.
B) Every single person I met had written a screenplay. Or was writing a screenplay. Or wanted to produce so-and-so's screenplay. I know I'm a writer, so I should have fit in, but I occasionally like to talk about other things! No one there seemed to talk about anything else! At a party I finally met a girl who was an architect and I sucked to the poor chica all night long like she was the last source of oxygen on planet Earth.
C) I am not about image. On the streets of NYC I get an occasional appreciative glance. In LA all I got were grossed-out sneers. I felt like Shrek or something, just because I wasn't fully made up and carrying the latest bag. So not my scene.
So that was my big fish-out-of-water experience. I packed my bags, came home and stuck to novel writing. Good thing, too, because otherwise I may never have written Private—which is, of course, a fish-out-of-water story. See how it all comes full circle? J
Good luck with the book! I can't wait to read it!
xoxo
Kieran Scott (who writes Alloy Entertainment books under the pseudonym Kate Brian)
Thanks Kieran! (I call her Kieran cause her and I … we’re like that (crossing fingers) .
Wow! What a wonderful week you all have given me! I hope you enjoyed my party and I will see you all around once in a while. Drop me a line and tell me if you liked Read My Lips!
Hugs!
A couple of Tat things before we get started—
1. MY ANKLE!
2. Yes, it did hurt a lot.
3. My daughter loves it and my son said it made my hip factor go up by 90%
4. My husband wanted me to get a tramp stamp on my back. My children vehemently vetoed that.
Moving on…
The winner of I Heart You, You Haunt Me by Lisa Schroeder is The Compulsive Reader!
The winner of an Imogene book by Lisa Barham is Melissa Walker!
YAY! I will be in touch with you shortly!
Have you bought Read My Lips yet? A friend had to write and remind me early in the week that my book was what the party was all about and I should mention it every once in a while! You can buy it here, or read an excerpt here. Remember, my little girl wants to go to Cabo! (I just want to fix the flagstone patio in the front, but hey, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.)
And remember, today is the last day to enter for the grand prize, so be sure to comment! I will announce the winner of the fabulous box of Simon Pulse books tomorrow. EDIT: I am taking off for a cozy B&B with the hubby and then have a signing tomorrow. So the winner won't be announced till the afternoon.
I have some fabulous guest authors today and a really big surprise! What? You want the surprise first? Okay! Okay!
Ladies and Gentlemen, I have the supreme pleasure of being interviewed today by the one and only Scott Westerfeld, also known as Scott-la by his minions. And yes, he has minions.
Teri: Scott! Thanks so much for agreeing to interview me! I saw you were interviewed on TV a couple days ago. Congrats. I have to tell you though, that your hair… it was looking kinda … puffy. Can you comment on that before we get started?
Scott: (Clearing throat) Television is, as Marshall McLuhan famously said, a cool medium. And I'm afraid my hair is just too damn hot.
Teri: ????? Let’s just get right to the interview…
Scott: (Nodding sagely) Can you read lips?
Teri: Yes. And I read minds too. (laughing) No, actually I don’t. But if I did, I would use it for good and not evil. I think.
Scott: What were writerly challenges of creating the POV of a deaf person?
Teri: I wanted to really amp up the other senses, so I had to be aware of what was going on around my character all the time.
Scott: In your research on deafness, what did you learn that surprised you
most?
Teri: A lot of deaf people have residual hearing and thanks to technology, can hear some things with hearing aids. But when you see someone with hearing aids you just assume they hear what you hear. They don’t. I watched some movies that illustrated what a deaf person with hearing aids might hear and I was astonished at how different it is. I am just super impressed at how deaf people take that and put it together with body language and lips reading and communicate.
Scott: "Read My Lips" is about eavesdropping. Have you ever gotten in trouble
for spying on someone or divulging a confidence?
Teri: Actually, no. But I did use a gossip for my own ends once. My best friend and I had a spat that women sometimes do…I don’t even remember what it was about. But we hadn’t spoke for about four years or something. (Shaddup, sometimes women are like that!) Anyway, I was seriously ill and needed to tell her I would be going under the knife. But when I saw the local gossip, I used her to communicate with my friend. I told her about the illness and sure enough, my BFF called me that afternoon. I answered with uproarious laughter. So you see, gossip can be a useful method of communication!
Scott: Was there a secret sorority at your school?
Teri: No, but we had a bunch of cowboys/rednecks. Does that count?
Scott: Do you remember that scene in 2001 where Hal reads the astronaut's
lips, and then KILLS THEM? Just thought I'd mention it.
Teri: ?????
Thanks Scott for agreeing to interview me! Next up, a fabulous writer who is successful across all genres, the multi-talented author of Angel’s Choice and Secrets of My Suburban Life, Lauren Baratz Logsted!
Thanks Lauren!
Thanks for having me, Teri! I'm thrilled to be a part of your launch!"
Fiction, for both adults and teens, is loaded with characters who are fish out of water. Jay Gatsby? Fish out of water, even if he is a self-made millionaire. Boo Radley? Fish our of water, or I guess you could also say recluse in house. Even Harry Potter begins his journey as - you guessed it! - a fish out of water: first living with his awful relatives and then trying to get adjusted to wizardry and Hogwarts. There's a reason why the theme is so universal in fiction and that's because it's so universal in life. We have all had times when we've felt alienated, like we don't fit in. Even the quarterback of the football team has felt this way. He just doesn't show it the way the rest of us do, but believe me, he has felt it.
In my latest YA novel SECRETS OF MY SUBURBAN LIFE, Ren D'Arc is a fish out of water geographically, socially and culturally. After Ren's novelist mother dies, having been crushed to death by a stack of Harry Potter books, Ren's father decides to escape the painful memories by moving with Ren from New York City to Danbury, CT. There's just one problem (or one of many): neither of them know how to drive. And the process of learning to drive terrifies Ren, who's been transported all her life in trains, cabs and subways. So Ren resorts to what she knows: she steps outside her house and raises her hand to hail a cab. Unfortunately, Danbury, considered to be a small city, looks more like the suburbs in its residential neighborhoods. So there's Ren, on that grassy lawn, waiting for a cab to just happen on by. Do you think one ever will? Not a chance. So Ren begins using a taxi service where her rotation includes an African American named George, a Middle Eastern man named Mohammed and an American Amazon woman named Blue. Before long, these cabdrivers are as much Ren's posse and saviors as they are her form of transportation.
Please leave a comment below for a chance to win a signed copy of SECRETS OF MY SUBURBAN LIFE and feel free to visit me at www.laurenbaratzlogsted.com.
Happy Launch Day, Teri!
Thanks Lauren!
Next up (pausing for total fan girl gushing) We have the amazing fabulous, needs no introduction, author of a gazillion amazing books for teens, Kate Brian!
First of all, Teri, thank you so much for inviting me to la soiree de blog! I'm SO one of the cool kids now!
So I was thinking about this whole "fish-out-of-water" thing and trying to relate it to my own life when I suddenly realized that . . . OMG . . . I've NEVER been a true fish-out-of-water. I am a total Jersey girl. Grew up in Jersey, went to college in Jersey (go Rutgers!), lived in Hoboken after college, and still live in NJ today. Everywhere I went, there were a lot of other people like me. So what was I going to blog about? When have I ever been the odd girl out? And then, I remembered.
Los Angeles.
I traveled to LA a few years back to see if I wanted to move there and try to break into TV and film writing. I have never been so supremely uncomfortable in my entire life. Why? Well,
A) Everyone drives everywhere. I am a walker. One day I was strolling along a street full of shops and I was literally the only person on either sidewalk. (Talking point: why do they even have sidewalks in LA?) Were they filming one of those movies where everyone on earth is destroyed by some renegade comet and I was the only person left? No. I knew this because the outdoor café I walked by was packed with gorgeous people staring me down like I had some freakish communicable disease—just because I was walking! Totally weirded me out.
B) Every single person I met had written a screenplay. Or was writing a screenplay. Or wanted to produce so-and-so's screenplay. I know I'm a writer, so I should have fit in, but I occasionally like to talk about other things! No one there seemed to talk about anything else! At a party I finally met a girl who was an architect and I sucked to the poor chica all night long like she was the last source of oxygen on planet Earth.
C) I am not about image. On the streets of NYC I get an occasional appreciative glance. In LA all I got were grossed-out sneers. I felt like Shrek or something, just because I wasn't fully made up and carrying the latest bag. So not my scene.
So that was my big fish-out-of-water experience. I packed my bags, came home and stuck to novel writing. Good thing, too, because otherwise I may never have written Private—which is, of course, a fish-out-of-water story. See how it all comes full circle? J
Good luck with the book! I can't wait to read it!
xoxo
Kieran Scott (who writes Alloy Entertainment books under the pseudonym Kate Brian)
Thanks Kieran! (I call her Kieran cause her and I … we’re like that (crossing fingers) .
Wow! What a wonderful week you all have given me! I hope you enjoyed my party and I will see you all around once in a while. Drop me a line and tell me if you liked Read My Lips!
Hugs!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Party All Over The World!
We’re on day four of my Simon Pulse Blog Gala and still going strong! First off, the prerequisite pitch for my book, Read My Lips… 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 excerpt of my brand new YA novel, READ MY LIPS, here.
Okay, the winner of Melissa De La Cruz’s Sun-Kissed is Joanne Levy!
The winner of Niki Burnham’s Goddess Games is BookChic!
Congrats! I will be getting in touch with you shortly about your prize!
Don’t forget to leave a comment for your chance to win the Grand Prize… 15 fabulous Simon Pulse Books! You can check out the rules and see the prize, here.
And I have a heck of a surprise for you at the bottom of the post, so make sure to read all the way down through our fabulous guests!
Let’s move write on to the first guest author today, the incredible Lisa Schroeder, author of I Heart You, You Haunt Me!
Welcome Lisa!
Woo hoo – thanks for inviting me to your party, Teri! I loved your book, and I’m sure it’s going to be a huge success. Here, I brought you some lip-shaped sugar cookies for the occasion. I know, I know, they look more like blobs than lips, but they are de-lish!
When I started thinking about what to write for this guest blog post, I realized I have had my fair share of “fish out of water” moments. Like the time I was thirteen and went to horse camp and everyone knew what Preparation H was used for except me. I don’t know who decided that my lack of knowledge in pharmaceuticals made me a prime target for teasing the entire week, but they didn’t let up and they wouldn’t let me in on the joke. There was also the summer before my senior year, when I put my foot under the lawn mower and had to walk around with a humongous bandage on my big toe all summer. Yeah, so while the rest of my friends jumped into Foster Lake, I sat on the shore feeling sorry for myself. A fish out of water? Absolutely.
It’s human nature to want to belong. To feel like we fit in, like Serena so desperately wants to fit in at her new school. And yet, some of the people I admire the most are people who would be considered fish out of water. People like Ghandi, Leonardo Da Vinci, and yes, even my wonderful, brilliant, unique thirteen-year-old son. Almost every day he’s given a hard time by someone at school because he doesn’t “fit in.”
When I started writing I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME, it came out in verse. I wrote a few pages and then I stopped. I thought, what am I doing? I can’t do it this way. It’s too different. Too weird. I’d heard novels-in-verse were a tough sell. As if getting published wasn’t hard enough, I was now going to make it even harder? But ultimately, I knew I had to be true to the voice and to the story and tell it the way it wanted to be told.
Yes, my book is different. Some people aren’t going to like it. And that’s okay. I’m guessing there isn’t a single book out there that’s liked by every person who reads it. The more important thing to me is that there are kids who have e-mailed me and told me how they don’t usually like to read. But they read my book. And they want to read more like it.
So here’s what I think. A fish out of water shouldn’t look longingly at the water and cry. Instead, he should look at the birds in the sky, find his wings, and fly.
Thanks Lisa… I love flying fish!
Next up, we have another Lisa! The fabulous creator of the irrepressible Imogene of Project Paris and Accidentally Fabulous.
Welcome Lisa! (Didn’t I just say that?)
In life timing is everything. After three years of unconditional service, my devoted companion, (aka espresso maker), who’d seen me through a series of back-to-back book deadlines, finally kicked the bucket. I took that as a sign. (Then again I take everything as a sign.) With my final deadline dreamily fading to memory, not only was it time to shop for a new espresso maker, it was also time to put any recessive agoraphobic/reclusive tendencies to rest and get back into the world of the living. Unfortunately, I had no idea how to do that.
Enter BFF. Every girl needs a friend who will drag her to the opening of an envelope. As luck would have it, this envelope, was filled with two tickets to the designgawd of the century’s much coveted fall ’08 fashion show and reception. Naturally, news of this released a stream of complex chemicals within my brain, promising long life, the purest love, and eternal youth. It seemed just the thing to resuscitate my life. Yet one nagging question lingered in the back of my mind as I turned on the shower. What to wear?
I arrived to find the entire Greenwich fire department prying open the glass elevator door that lead to said designgawd’s in-store boutique. The elevator had obviously jammed itself between floors and the Jaws of Life had been employed to free its captives. All eyes were glued (not only on the hunky firemen, but) on the elevator, which looked like a cross between a giant fish tank and a Vogue fashion shoot. Trapped inside the glass elevator were a bevy of well-dressed, well-groomed women ala Carrie, Samantha, Miranda, and Charlotte.
I, conversely, was dressed head to toe in forced vintage. (You’ll understand better shortly.) I looked as if I’d just stepped out of a time machine. My pink lame Maud Frizon cone heel pumps circa 1985, (which I bought in 2003 at my fave vintage shop in L.A.), and an old Norma Kamali jersey number (the Ungaro, circa 1999, refused to slide over my hips, which had apparently gone on strike after the birth of my son, and to date have snubbed my repeated appeals to budge).
I scanned the crowd. No sign of BFF. Instead, I found a great spot to view the action, yet avoid the probing lens of the roving photographer, still bewildered as to the all-pervasive chic that emerged while I was away slaving in my little writer’s hovel. When did Carrie Bradshaw sprinkle her fairy dust over Greenwich? And why wasn’t I notified?? Someone with a shiny tray of sushi, danced past me as I declined her offer. (I was secretly hoping for truffle risotto and peach Jell-O shots but noo…). And then, just as someone shoved a Cosmopolitan into my hand (copy cats!), someone else shouted:
“Lee!”
It was Rene, my in-name only personal shopper, though I wondered if that status hadn’t changed a bit given the fact I hadn’t seen her in a while––do personal shoppers come with an expiration date?
Rene looked me over, employing her professional, p.s. eye. Unsurprisingly, her expression registered confusion, which quickly morphed to sympathy. I felt uncomfortable. I searched for a descriptive word to help me understand the distinct emotion bubbling up inside me. It finally hit me. I mean you don’t have to calculate square roots the long way to know that weird feeling we girls feel from time to time. It was shame. Clothes shame. I felt like a fish out of water, an alien in a strange and unfamiliar land. Laid bare was all the fear and insecurity reminiscent of adolescence. I mean, who knew that that was lurking inside me––hiding out like some weird virus of unknown origins. Shouldn’t I have outgrown those feelings by now? The firemen didn’t seem to have a problem with what they were wearing. I mean, I can’t remember when shoulder-to-toe rubber, and pointy brimmed Day-Glo hard hats were last in fashion.
“You know the big sale’s starting. You have to come in first thing Monday and I’ll fix you up … not to worry.” I’m worried.
An old friend—a parent from my son’s school appeared, hurling air kisses around my head, just as Rene’s client shrieked her name. I mumbled a good-bye and promised to come by next week.
“Ohmigod, Lee! Where have you been hiding?” she cooed. Her eyes traced my fine facial lines, no doubt in search of some message encrypted there as to whether or not my strange get up was a portent of an emerging new trend. “I loooove vintage. But my husband would just freak if I wore something like that out of the house…”
Ohgawd, what was I thinking!!
Finally, BFF appeared.
“What’s the matter with you?”
“I feel out of place.”
My statement needed no further explanation. She was after all, dressed to a Samantha tee.
“You don’t have to wear the latest and greatest. You’re creative.”
Eww (which, in point of fact, rhymes with boo-hoo)!
As the reception wore on, designgawd-dujour flitted from one fashion clique to the next, fielding questions from his clientele, while their personal shoppers scribbled down their selections. I managed to forget myself by placing my attention squarely on the Collection, and considered what purchasing one or two new pieces would do for my bruised fashion ego.
When I finally arrived back home. I ripped off my dress, kicked my shoes skyward, and swung through my walk-in closet, past the jungle weeds otherwise known as my wardrobe. I headed straight toward the big box I’d been saving for our upcoming move, and began throwing anything even remotely vintage into it. I wouldn’t rest until every last Gaultier bullet bra and Thierry Mugler shoulder pad was in that box.
Finally I was done. It was ten past twelve. I was still restless, which I attributed to a few rogue adrenaline molecules, still circulating through my bloodstream, so I mindlessly flipped on the TV and my computer. A TBS rerun of SATC was on. Great. (Sarcasm!) My email pinged, just as Carrie uttered the words:
“Vintage is the new black!”
Huh?
Before the implications of that quote could register. I double clicked on the one and only message in my in-box. It was a confirmation that my new espresso maker was shipped and would arrive in the morning––just in time for the start of another writing stint.
I un-taped the box I’d labeled SALVATION ARMY, still reeking of Sharpie fumes, and pulled out a fuchsia Thierry Mugler silk charmeuse dress with heart-shaped, keyhole neckline (circa 1989), and wriggled it over my head. Perfect timing.
Thanks Lisa… fabulous story!
Okay… now for my next surprise. When I first imagine becoming a published novelist, I knew I wanted to do something big to celebrate, I just wasn’t sure what. I wanted it to be something fairly monumental that would stay with me forever. So without further ado….
TADA! I know, the pix is blurry and the tattoo is a little red still... I guess it takes a couple of weeks to calm down... but isn't it purty?
See, it's like the book cover...
EDIT: IT'S ON MY ANKLE, PEOPLE!! MY ANKLE!
Okay, the winner of Melissa De La Cruz’s Sun-Kissed is Joanne Levy!
The winner of Niki Burnham’s Goddess Games is BookChic!
Congrats! I will be getting in touch with you shortly about your prize!
Don’t forget to leave a comment for your chance to win the Grand Prize… 15 fabulous Simon Pulse Books! You can check out the rules and see the prize, here.
And I have a heck of a surprise for you at the bottom of the post, so make sure to read all the way down through our fabulous guests!
Let’s move write on to the first guest author today, the incredible Lisa Schroeder, author of I Heart You, You Haunt Me!
Welcome Lisa!
Woo hoo – thanks for inviting me to your party, Teri! I loved your book, and I’m sure it’s going to be a huge success. Here, I brought you some lip-shaped sugar cookies for the occasion. I know, I know, they look more like blobs than lips, but they are de-lish!
When I started thinking about what to write for this guest blog post, I realized I have had my fair share of “fish out of water” moments. Like the time I was thirteen and went to horse camp and everyone knew what Preparation H was used for except me. I don’t know who decided that my lack of knowledge in pharmaceuticals made me a prime target for teasing the entire week, but they didn’t let up and they wouldn’t let me in on the joke. There was also the summer before my senior year, when I put my foot under the lawn mower and had to walk around with a humongous bandage on my big toe all summer. Yeah, so while the rest of my friends jumped into Foster Lake, I sat on the shore feeling sorry for myself. A fish out of water? Absolutely.
It’s human nature to want to belong. To feel like we fit in, like Serena so desperately wants to fit in at her new school. And yet, some of the people I admire the most are people who would be considered fish out of water. People like Ghandi, Leonardo Da Vinci, and yes, even my wonderful, brilliant, unique thirteen-year-old son. Almost every day he’s given a hard time by someone at school because he doesn’t “fit in.”
When I started writing I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME, it came out in verse. I wrote a few pages and then I stopped. I thought, what am I doing? I can’t do it this way. It’s too different. Too weird. I’d heard novels-in-verse were a tough sell. As if getting published wasn’t hard enough, I was now going to make it even harder? But ultimately, I knew I had to be true to the voice and to the story and tell it the way it wanted to be told.
Yes, my book is different. Some people aren’t going to like it. And that’s okay. I’m guessing there isn’t a single book out there that’s liked by every person who reads it. The more important thing to me is that there are kids who have e-mailed me and told me how they don’t usually like to read. But they read my book. And they want to read more like it.
So here’s what I think. A fish out of water shouldn’t look longingly at the water and cry. Instead, he should look at the birds in the sky, find his wings, and fly.
Thanks Lisa… I love flying fish!
Next up, we have another Lisa! The fabulous creator of the irrepressible Imogene of Project Paris and Accidentally Fabulous.
Welcome Lisa! (Didn’t I just say that?)
In life timing is everything. After three years of unconditional service, my devoted companion, (aka espresso maker), who’d seen me through a series of back-to-back book deadlines, finally kicked the bucket. I took that as a sign. (Then again I take everything as a sign.) With my final deadline dreamily fading to memory, not only was it time to shop for a new espresso maker, it was also time to put any recessive agoraphobic/reclusive tendencies to rest and get back into the world of the living. Unfortunately, I had no idea how to do that.
Enter BFF. Every girl needs a friend who will drag her to the opening of an envelope. As luck would have it, this envelope, was filled with two tickets to the designgawd of the century’s much coveted fall ’08 fashion show and reception. Naturally, news of this released a stream of complex chemicals within my brain, promising long life, the purest love, and eternal youth. It seemed just the thing to resuscitate my life. Yet one nagging question lingered in the back of my mind as I turned on the shower. What to wear?
I arrived to find the entire Greenwich fire department prying open the glass elevator door that lead to said designgawd’s in-store boutique. The elevator had obviously jammed itself between floors and the Jaws of Life had been employed to free its captives. All eyes were glued (not only on the hunky firemen, but) on the elevator, which looked like a cross between a giant fish tank and a Vogue fashion shoot. Trapped inside the glass elevator were a bevy of well-dressed, well-groomed women ala Carrie, Samantha, Miranda, and Charlotte.
I, conversely, was dressed head to toe in forced vintage. (You’ll understand better shortly.) I looked as if I’d just stepped out of a time machine. My pink lame Maud Frizon cone heel pumps circa 1985, (which I bought in 2003 at my fave vintage shop in L.A.), and an old Norma Kamali jersey number (the Ungaro, circa 1999, refused to slide over my hips, which had apparently gone on strike after the birth of my son, and to date have snubbed my repeated appeals to budge).
I scanned the crowd. No sign of BFF. Instead, I found a great spot to view the action, yet avoid the probing lens of the roving photographer, still bewildered as to the all-pervasive chic that emerged while I was away slaving in my little writer’s hovel. When did Carrie Bradshaw sprinkle her fairy dust over Greenwich? And why wasn’t I notified?? Someone with a shiny tray of sushi, danced past me as I declined her offer. (I was secretly hoping for truffle risotto and peach Jell-O shots but noo…). And then, just as someone shoved a Cosmopolitan into my hand (copy cats!), someone else shouted:
“Lee!”
It was Rene, my in-name only personal shopper, though I wondered if that status hadn’t changed a bit given the fact I hadn’t seen her in a while––do personal shoppers come with an expiration date?
Rene looked me over, employing her professional, p.s. eye. Unsurprisingly, her expression registered confusion, which quickly morphed to sympathy. I felt uncomfortable. I searched for a descriptive word to help me understand the distinct emotion bubbling up inside me. It finally hit me. I mean you don’t have to calculate square roots the long way to know that weird feeling we girls feel from time to time. It was shame. Clothes shame. I felt like a fish out of water, an alien in a strange and unfamiliar land. Laid bare was all the fear and insecurity reminiscent of adolescence. I mean, who knew that that was lurking inside me––hiding out like some weird virus of unknown origins. Shouldn’t I have outgrown those feelings by now? The firemen didn’t seem to have a problem with what they were wearing. I mean, I can’t remember when shoulder-to-toe rubber, and pointy brimmed Day-Glo hard hats were last in fashion.
“You know the big sale’s starting. You have to come in first thing Monday and I’ll fix you up … not to worry.” I’m worried.
An old friend—a parent from my son’s school appeared, hurling air kisses around my head, just as Rene’s client shrieked her name. I mumbled a good-bye and promised to come by next week.
“Ohmigod, Lee! Where have you been hiding?” she cooed. Her eyes traced my fine facial lines, no doubt in search of some message encrypted there as to whether or not my strange get up was a portent of an emerging new trend. “I loooove vintage. But my husband would just freak if I wore something like that out of the house…”
Ohgawd, what was I thinking!!
Finally, BFF appeared.
“What’s the matter with you?”
“I feel out of place.”
My statement needed no further explanation. She was after all, dressed to a Samantha tee.
“You don’t have to wear the latest and greatest. You’re creative.”
Eww (which, in point of fact, rhymes with boo-hoo)!
As the reception wore on, designgawd-dujour flitted from one fashion clique to the next, fielding questions from his clientele, while their personal shoppers scribbled down their selections. I managed to forget myself by placing my attention squarely on the Collection, and considered what purchasing one or two new pieces would do for my bruised fashion ego.
When I finally arrived back home. I ripped off my dress, kicked my shoes skyward, and swung through my walk-in closet, past the jungle weeds otherwise known as my wardrobe. I headed straight toward the big box I’d been saving for our upcoming move, and began throwing anything even remotely vintage into it. I wouldn’t rest until every last Gaultier bullet bra and Thierry Mugler shoulder pad was in that box.
Finally I was done. It was ten past twelve. I was still restless, which I attributed to a few rogue adrenaline molecules, still circulating through my bloodstream, so I mindlessly flipped on the TV and my computer. A TBS rerun of SATC was on. Great. (Sarcasm!) My email pinged, just as Carrie uttered the words:
“Vintage is the new black!”
Huh?
Before the implications of that quote could register. I double clicked on the one and only message in my in-box. It was a confirmation that my new espresso maker was shipped and would arrive in the morning––just in time for the start of another writing stint.
I un-taped the box I’d labeled SALVATION ARMY, still reeking of Sharpie fumes, and pulled out a fuchsia Thierry Mugler silk charmeuse dress with heart-shaped, keyhole neckline (circa 1989), and wriggled it over my head. Perfect timing.
Thanks Lisa… fabulous story!
Okay… now for my next surprise. When I first imagine becoming a published novelist, I knew I wanted to do something big to celebrate, I just wasn’t sure what. I wanted it to be something fairly monumental that would stay with me forever. So without further ado….
TADA! I know, the pix is blurry and the tattoo is a little red still... I guess it takes a couple of weeks to calm down... but isn't it purty?
See, it's like the book cover...
EDIT: IT'S ON MY ANKLE, PEOPLE!! MY ANKLE!
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Party On, Wayne!
Isn’t this wild??? You guys are the BEST! I’ve got a ton of stuff going on today, so let’s get right to it!
First,
The Winner of the Moonstruck Chocolate is: Keri Mikulski! (Blogger)
The Winner of Elizabeth Scott’s Stealing Heaven is: Martha Alderson! (Blogger)
The Winner of Robin Wasserman’s Hacking Harvard is: Jodi! (My Space)
Congratulations! I will be getting in touch with you soon to get your information!
Next, we have the week’s second big SURPRISE!
The most fabulous, amazing Ellen Hopkins is interviewing ME!
Hey Teri! Ellen Hopkins here. If your readers don’t know who I am . . . HMPH! Why not? Just kidding. If they don’t know my work, I write novels-in-verse. The four I have now are Crank and it sequel, Glass; Impulse; and Burned. Oh, and my new novel, Identical, will be on bookshelves in August. But hey, I’m here to talk about you, and since I’m not interviewing you for a magazine article, I thought I’d ask questions a Publishers Weekly reporter might not ask. Answer if you dare!
Ellen: My readers often want to know what high school was like for me. I was the “artsy, creative” type. How about you? Did you fit into any of these cliques?
Prep
Jock
Brainiac/Nerd
Goth/Emo
Hippie/Earth Mother
Artsy (Theater/Choir/Band/Creative writing)
Other
Teri: Wow. I just now realized that I didn’t really fit into any of those groups. Talk about a fish out of water! I was smart enough to be a brainiac (except for math) but lacked the self discipline. I was artsy in a way because I wrote a lot, but lacked the sense of style that the artsy crowd requires. I would have been a good hippie, but lacked the commitment. Is there a horse lover/smart/rebellious/ party girl kind of type? No? (Shaking head sadly.) I knew I was a misfit.
Ellen: What about body image? Did you love how you fit in your skin?
Teri: I was 5’8 in sixth grade and one of the tallest kids in junior high, how do you think I felt in my skin? LOL! I’ll never forget those stupid clog my mom let me buy… I wore them once and realized I was taller than most of the teachers! It wasn’t until I was a junior in high school that the guys caught up to me and by then the damage had been done.
Ellen: How about now?
Teri: It took a long time, but I am now so comfortable in my skin it’s scary. I am losing weight, but it isn’t because I feel bad about myself, but because I want to be as healthy as I can. I love feeling strong.
Ellen: What was your worst habit? Do you still have it?
Teri: Smoking was my worst habit. No, I don’t have the habit, but I realize I will always be a nicotine addict and have to avoid it like the plague. There’s no such thing as just one for me! HA!
Ellen: Tell us about the first time you fell in love. Was it amazing?
Teri: I was in kindergarten. He was beautiful. But unfortunately, once I got close to him, I realized that he smelled. Looking back, I don’t think he was completely potty trained.
Ellen: So, like, when did you decide you wanted to be a writer, and not just for fun?
Teri: I think I was always a writer, I just didn’t have the drive and determination to withstand the work, the rejections and the bad reviews. And then suddenly I did. I became a writing maniac. I wrote nonfiction for years, and just dabbled in fiction, and then I just decided to go for it. To my surprise, I snagged one of the best agents in the business and after a long, drawn out process, someone actually bought my book!
Ellen: IS writing fun for you?
Teri: Sometimes it’s an absolute blast. Other times it’s like pulling freaking teeth.
Ellen: When you decided you wanted to be a writer, what did your family and friends say?
Teri: I think they just laughed. (Who’s laughing now, people?) Ahem.
Ellen: Tell us about Read My Lips. Where did the idea come from?
Teri: My Mother in law. After her grandchild was born deaf, she became an advocate for deaf children everywhere. Some people are just born to make a difference. I wanted to be like her in that way.
Ellen: Is your protagonist really “you”? How much like you is she?
Teri: We actually have quite a bit in common—she and I both had issues with school, though for different reasons and I definitely wanted to fly under the radar at school.
Ellen: So, are you, like, mega-rich now?
Teri: No, my teenage daughter wants all of you to buy a copy of Read My Lips because she really, really, really wants to go to Cabo on vacation.
Ellen: What words of advice would you give aspiring young writers?
Teri: Write. Then write some more. There are no shortcuts to publication and there is very little about the process that you can control when you are just beginning. The only thing you can do is to get better at writing.
Ellen: Hey, this was fun. Maybe I should go back to freelancing and give up writing novels . . . Nah! Don’t think so. I totally love what I do. And I know Teri does, too.
You got that right, Ellen. I love what I do!
Now for our guest authors! First up is the utterly talented and amazing Niki Burnham author of Spin Control, Scary Beautiful and Goddess Games.
Welcome Niki!
I am a huge believer in the concept of gifts-to-self. Had a bad day? Gift yourself with a copy of Lucky so you can ogle high-end clothing. Aced an exam or a nailed a tough report for work? Hello, manicure. This week is my birthday, so naturally I'm gifting myself with a copy of Teri's Read My Lips. (Good timing on that book release, Teri!) Buying myself inexpensive treats now and then helps me maintain an upbeat attitude.
When Teri asked me to blog about "being a fish out of water," my first thought was, "What? Blog about a time when I felt ostracized? Blog about feeling BAD?" But the thing is, as an Army brat who grew up moving every 2 – 3 years, I've always been a fish out of water. I attended eight different schools between kindergarten and my high school graduation. It sounds awful, but it really wasn't.
What I learned is that when you catch yourself in these fish-out-of-water situations—say you're the non-sporty girl at a football game, or the one person on your class trip to Mexico who didn't pay attention during Spanish class—you can choose how you feel about the situation. The key to making yourself comfortable is to look for the little gifts you can give yourself. In a country where you don't speak the language? Buy yourself a guidebook with simple phrases (okay, and maybe a few dirty ones. Rick Steves' pocket-sized language books always include a few choice words!) Ask someone with a friendly face why the ref called something the way they did during a game, and you'll both make a friend (hopefully) and learn a little about the game.
Of course, you can always grab yourself a copy of Teri's new book as a self-gift.
Reading about a character in your own situation will remind you that—no matter how out-of-whack you feel with the rest of the world—you're not the first person to feel this way!
Thanks Niki! The nice thing about moving all the time is that you get to see a lot of things other people never have the chance to! Can you tell I moved a lot when I was a kid?
Now it’s time for some serious fan girl gushing, because next up is the awesome, fabulous, amazing, Melissa De La Cruz!
First off, thanks Teri for inviting me to such a FUN party with all these famous people! Those are the kinds of parties I love best, of course, and in my book, author-celebs are even better! Congrats on your debut and all the best with your new book!
My whole life has been a fish-out-water story. I was twelve when we moved to the United States from the Philippines. While I was a huge fan and expert on American pop culture--my favorite shows were The A-Team, Knight Rider and Family Ties, and my friends and I re-enacted scenes from "Return of the Jedi" the summer before my family moved, (I always got to play the Emperor because I liked to hiss "Rebel Ssssscum!") actually being in America was a total culture shock.
For the first couple of months I felt like I was on a movie set. Every boy was a cute as Michael J. Fox and every girl was as pretty as Justine Bateman, so I was intimidated by everybody. Even though I spoke English fluently, and lost whatever trace of an accent I had pretty early, I still pronounce some words incorrectly--just watch me order lobster bisque at a restaurant and you'll see what I mean.
When we moved here, I had no idea what a "booth" was, and when waiters asked if I wanted a "soup or salad", I would just nod, thinking I had ordered the "super salad". I was shocked that at school, no one stood up when the teachers walked in, and that my friends routinely criticized their parents. I'm pretty sure I gasped the first time I heard someone describe their mother as a "bitch".
Americans to me seemed very rowdy, loud, cheerful, friendly, casual and fascinating. Of course I wanted to be just like them. These days I drive barefoot, am known to laugh too loudly at formal restaurants, and use way-too-colorful language on a daily basis like the New Yorker I grew up to become.
But even if I believed I'd finally shed my immigrant awkwardness, the first year my husband and I rented a summer house in the Hamptons brought me back to 1985 again. We arrived via Jitney and as everyone got off the bus toting their weekend gear in crisp LL Bean bags, I pulled along my black wheelie suitcase that went kerplunk kerplunk kerplunk over the cobblestoned streets, once again trumpeting my fish-out-water status.
But that's okay. I've learned how to breathe through my gills.
Thanks Melissa!
Remember, 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 excerpt of my brand new YA novel, READ MY LIPS, here.
Thanks everyone! Hope you enjoyed the party! Come back tomorrow for more prizes, surprises and author guests!
First,
The Winner of the Moonstruck Chocolate is: Keri Mikulski! (Blogger)
The Winner of Elizabeth Scott’s Stealing Heaven is: Martha Alderson! (Blogger)
The Winner of Robin Wasserman’s Hacking Harvard is: Jodi! (My Space)
Congratulations! I will be getting in touch with you soon to get your information!
Next, we have the week’s second big SURPRISE!
The most fabulous, amazing Ellen Hopkins is interviewing ME!
Hey Teri! Ellen Hopkins here. If your readers don’t know who I am . . . HMPH! Why not? Just kidding. If they don’t know my work, I write novels-in-verse. The four I have now are Crank and it sequel, Glass; Impulse; and Burned. Oh, and my new novel, Identical, will be on bookshelves in August. But hey, I’m here to talk about you, and since I’m not interviewing you for a magazine article, I thought I’d ask questions a Publishers Weekly reporter might not ask. Answer if you dare!
Ellen: My readers often want to know what high school was like for me. I was the “artsy, creative” type. How about you? Did you fit into any of these cliques?
Prep
Jock
Brainiac/Nerd
Goth/Emo
Hippie/Earth Mother
Artsy (Theater/Choir/Band/Creative writing)
Other
Teri: Wow. I just now realized that I didn’t really fit into any of those groups. Talk about a fish out of water! I was smart enough to be a brainiac (except for math) but lacked the self discipline. I was artsy in a way because I wrote a lot, but lacked the sense of style that the artsy crowd requires. I would have been a good hippie, but lacked the commitment. Is there a horse lover/smart/rebellious/ party girl kind of type? No? (Shaking head sadly.) I knew I was a misfit.
Ellen: What about body image? Did you love how you fit in your skin?
Teri: I was 5’8 in sixth grade and one of the tallest kids in junior high, how do you think I felt in my skin? LOL! I’ll never forget those stupid clog my mom let me buy… I wore them once and realized I was taller than most of the teachers! It wasn’t until I was a junior in high school that the guys caught up to me and by then the damage had been done.
Ellen: How about now?
Teri: It took a long time, but I am now so comfortable in my skin it’s scary. I am losing weight, but it isn’t because I feel bad about myself, but because I want to be as healthy as I can. I love feeling strong.
Ellen: What was your worst habit? Do you still have it?
Teri: Smoking was my worst habit. No, I don’t have the habit, but I realize I will always be a nicotine addict and have to avoid it like the plague. There’s no such thing as just one for me! HA!
Ellen: Tell us about the first time you fell in love. Was it amazing?
Teri: I was in kindergarten. He was beautiful. But unfortunately, once I got close to him, I realized that he smelled. Looking back, I don’t think he was completely potty trained.
Ellen: So, like, when did you decide you wanted to be a writer, and not just for fun?
Teri: I think I was always a writer, I just didn’t have the drive and determination to withstand the work, the rejections and the bad reviews. And then suddenly I did. I became a writing maniac. I wrote nonfiction for years, and just dabbled in fiction, and then I just decided to go for it. To my surprise, I snagged one of the best agents in the business and after a long, drawn out process, someone actually bought my book!
Ellen: IS writing fun for you?
Teri: Sometimes it’s an absolute blast. Other times it’s like pulling freaking teeth.
Ellen: When you decided you wanted to be a writer, what did your family and friends say?
Teri: I think they just laughed. (Who’s laughing now, people?) Ahem.
Ellen: Tell us about Read My Lips. Where did the idea come from?
Teri: My Mother in law. After her grandchild was born deaf, she became an advocate for deaf children everywhere. Some people are just born to make a difference. I wanted to be like her in that way.
Ellen: Is your protagonist really “you”? How much like you is she?
Teri: We actually have quite a bit in common—she and I both had issues with school, though for different reasons and I definitely wanted to fly under the radar at school.
Ellen: So, are you, like, mega-rich now?
Teri: No, my teenage daughter wants all of you to buy a copy of Read My Lips because she really, really, really wants to go to Cabo on vacation.
Ellen: What words of advice would you give aspiring young writers?
Teri: Write. Then write some more. There are no shortcuts to publication and there is very little about the process that you can control when you are just beginning. The only thing you can do is to get better at writing.
Ellen: Hey, this was fun. Maybe I should go back to freelancing and give up writing novels . . . Nah! Don’t think so. I totally love what I do. And I know Teri does, too.
You got that right, Ellen. I love what I do!
Now for our guest authors! First up is the utterly talented and amazing Niki Burnham author of Spin Control, Scary Beautiful and Goddess Games.
Welcome Niki!
I am a huge believer in the concept of gifts-to-self. Had a bad day? Gift yourself with a copy of Lucky so you can ogle high-end clothing. Aced an exam or a nailed a tough report for work? Hello, manicure. This week is my birthday, so naturally I'm gifting myself with a copy of Teri's Read My Lips. (Good timing on that book release, Teri!) Buying myself inexpensive treats now and then helps me maintain an upbeat attitude.
When Teri asked me to blog about "being a fish out of water," my first thought was, "What? Blog about a time when I felt ostracized? Blog about feeling BAD?" But the thing is, as an Army brat who grew up moving every 2 – 3 years, I've always been a fish out of water. I attended eight different schools between kindergarten and my high school graduation. It sounds awful, but it really wasn't.
What I learned is that when you catch yourself in these fish-out-of-water situations—say you're the non-sporty girl at a football game, or the one person on your class trip to Mexico who didn't pay attention during Spanish class—you can choose how you feel about the situation. The key to making yourself comfortable is to look for the little gifts you can give yourself. In a country where you don't speak the language? Buy yourself a guidebook with simple phrases (okay, and maybe a few dirty ones. Rick Steves' pocket-sized language books always include a few choice words!) Ask someone with a friendly face why the ref called something the way they did during a game, and you'll both make a friend (hopefully) and learn a little about the game.
Of course, you can always grab yourself a copy of Teri's new book as a self-gift.
Reading about a character in your own situation will remind you that—no matter how out-of-whack you feel with the rest of the world—you're not the first person to feel this way!
Thanks Niki! The nice thing about moving all the time is that you get to see a lot of things other people never have the chance to! Can you tell I moved a lot when I was a kid?
Now it’s time for some serious fan girl gushing, because next up is the awesome, fabulous, amazing, Melissa De La Cruz!
First off, thanks Teri for inviting me to such a FUN party with all these famous people! Those are the kinds of parties I love best, of course, and in my book, author-celebs are even better! Congrats on your debut and all the best with your new book!
My whole life has been a fish-out-water story. I was twelve when we moved to the United States from the Philippines. While I was a huge fan and expert on American pop culture--my favorite shows were The A-Team, Knight Rider and Family Ties, and my friends and I re-enacted scenes from "Return of the Jedi" the summer before my family moved, (I always got to play the Emperor because I liked to hiss "Rebel Ssssscum!") actually being in America was a total culture shock.
For the first couple of months I felt like I was on a movie set. Every boy was a cute as Michael J. Fox and every girl was as pretty as Justine Bateman, so I was intimidated by everybody. Even though I spoke English fluently, and lost whatever trace of an accent I had pretty early, I still pronounce some words incorrectly--just watch me order lobster bisque at a restaurant and you'll see what I mean.
When we moved here, I had no idea what a "booth" was, and when waiters asked if I wanted a "soup or salad", I would just nod, thinking I had ordered the "super salad". I was shocked that at school, no one stood up when the teachers walked in, and that my friends routinely criticized their parents. I'm pretty sure I gasped the first time I heard someone describe their mother as a "bitch".
Americans to me seemed very rowdy, loud, cheerful, friendly, casual and fascinating. Of course I wanted to be just like them. These days I drive barefoot, am known to laugh too loudly at formal restaurants, and use way-too-colorful language on a daily basis like the New Yorker I grew up to become.
But even if I believed I'd finally shed my immigrant awkwardness, the first year my husband and I rented a summer house in the Hamptons brought me back to 1985 again. We arrived via Jitney and as everyone got off the bus toting their weekend gear in crisp LL Bean bags, I pulled along my black wheelie suitcase that went kerplunk kerplunk kerplunk over the cobblestoned streets, once again trumpeting my fish-out-water status.
But that's okay. I've learned how to breathe through my gills.
Thanks Melissa!
Remember, 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 excerpt of my brand new YA novel, READ MY LIPS, here.
Thanks everyone! Hope you enjoyed the party! Come back tomorrow for more prizes, surprises and author guests!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
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!
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!
Monday, June 09, 2008
Welcome to my Party!!
It’s my party and I’ll cry if I … No, that doesn’t fit! How about, “Welcome to the Freakshow!” Um no. Let’s try, “I want to rock and roll all night… and party everyday!”
Better. But it might be best just to say welcome to the Internet release party for Read My Lips! Grab yourself a latte, green tea chai or a martini, and have some fun! I have major guest authors, books being given away everyday, surprises and check out the grand prize!
Fifteen books from some of the best and brightest authors Simon Pulse has to offer. Check out the list!
1. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
2. Wake by Lisa McMann
3. The Au Pairs, Sunkissed by Melissa De La Cruz
4. Private by Kate Brian
5. Wild Roses by Deb Caletti
6. Forever by Judy Blume
7. Chill by Deborah Reber
8. Prama by Jamie Ponti
9. Goddess Games by Niki Burnham
10. Extras by Scott Westerfeld
11. Glass by Ellen Hopkins
12. Ironside by Holly Black
13. Night World by LJ Smith
14. Uninvited by Amanda Marrone
15. 100 Girls by Adam Gallardo, Todd Demong
Now that you know what the grand prize is, you’re going to want to know how to win it, right? The rules are simple. The winner will be drawn at random from everyone who leaves me a comment this week— from now till midnight Friday the 13th. (Ohhh that sounds ominous!) Sorry, only people living in the continental US are eligible. Winner will be announced Saturday, June 14th.
Now on to our first guest author, the fabulous New York Times Best Selling author of WAKE, Lisa McMann, I wanted to let you know that all my guests will be writing on my fish out of water theme... Ever felt like that?
Welcome Lisa!
Teri, I'm so excited about READ MY LIPS. Congratulations on writing a brilliant novel and I hope you enjoy these moments! Way to go -- you should get a tattoo or something to commemorate it, you know???
(Hmmm, why would she say that?)
The older my kids get, the more I like them. I have felt this way since they were born, because part of me is still an obnoxious teenager and now I finally have cohorts. So naturally at the San Diego Zoo’s gorilla exhibit a few weeks ago, when my 14-year-old muttered “go suck a mean one” in a cranky old-person’s voice to zoo-goers standing in our way, it put me in hysterics.
Have you ever seen gorillas? Unbelievable. We watched, mesmerized as the two babies wrestled and twirled in front of the plate glass window. Decided then and there that we must have one of our very own to hug.
And then. You know what’s really funny, right?
Poop. Especially gorilla poop.
At the silverback’s first squat, fifty adult on-lookers immediately began shuffling their feet, looking away, embarrassed, while fifty children and teens (and one adult) oohed and giggled and watched, fascinated by the way that gorillas move their bowels, sitting bass-ackwards to the glass in the toilet area of their cage. And what they do, you see (because I am SURE you are curious), is they actually squat, push AND pull – that is, they reach around and carefully help the bright green roughage softballs along by pulling. Absolutely fascinating. Now, some teens out there will be reading this and saying, “ew, gross!” But secretly, I bet they’d all watch too if they knew nobody was judging them.
Fast forward to my book signing the next day. Facing me in perfect rows of chairs were about twenty-five adults and one – ONE – teenager. Adults make me nervous. They ask about WAKE’s “theme” and “message” and “symbolism,” all questions I have no idea how to answer except to say, “It’s just a book. You read it, and hopefully you get sucked into the story because it’s exciting and suspenseful and there’s a hot romance in it, too. That’s all.”
And all the while I stuttered out answers to the adult questions, I had this incredible urge to blurt out to the one teenager there, “Guess what?! I saw a gorilla poop into his hand yesterday and it was awesome.”
Best wishes on your launch, Teri!
Thanks Lisa! Next we have the fabulously funny and, quite possibly, brilliant Kristen Tracy, author of Lost it and Crimes of the Sarahs.
Welcome Kristen!
This is my first blog party ever. And to celebrate, I’m eating a cupcake. Thanks, Teri, for throwing it! And of course I think you should check out her debut book Read My Lips. (For the record, I like books even more than I like cupcakes, and that’s saying a lot, because recently I’ve become addicted to sugar again.) Okay. Here’s my fish out of water story. I was not blessed with athletic abilities. My head tends to attract balls. Softballs. Basketballs. Disco balls. Also, before I managed to escape adolescence, I broke both my arms, got hit in the head with a golf club, was involved in a minor bicycle wreck, and got attacked by a variety of random neighborhood pets. Plus, there was that incident with the lawn mower. So when I was fourteen and my parents gave me and my sisters skiing lessons, I feared for my life right away. Had I have realized how crowded the Bunny Hill was, I would have feared for the lives of others as well.
At the slopes (I'll skip over the hour-long, up-hill, treacherous bus ride, packed with insane teenage guys hellbent on tormenting my friend and seat mate about her eye deformity) we met our aged ski instructor Kirby. He asked us if we'd ever been skiing before. I said, “No.” To remain in my group, my older sister said the same. As well as several of my friends who’d decided to take lessons with me. But they were *totally* lying. They’d all been skiing before. I suspected some had developed a fair amount of technique. So, once our gear was on, our group looked extremely capable. We could walk forward in our skis and sideways. Plus, we could fall down and get up using our poles. Okay. I couldn’t do any of these things, but for some reason Kirby overlooked my failings and took our group to the next level. The ‘tow rope.’ The only piece of advice I was given before I gripped the tow rope, was ‘don’t let go.’ This was said emphatically by a man wearing goggles and snow pants. I got the message. When my friend Sue Ann (not real name) fell down in front of me, I didn’t know what to do. My first impulse was to let go of the rope so I wouldn’t ski over my friend. But then Kirby’s voice boomed in my head, “NEVER LET GO OF THE ROPE!” As I angled my ski tips up over Sue Ann’s new, puffy coat, and skied over her torso, I felt an odd mix of guilt and accomplishment. I never looked back.
Once we got to the top of the Bunny Hill, our instructor was impressed yet again by our group's skill level. Even Sue Ann managed to recover and join us. Then came the snow plow. Everybody--except me--mastered this technique within seconds. Soon, we all made it down the Bunny Hill and Kirby said it was the fastest a new group had ever done it. He was proud of us. My strategy for getting down the hill was to fall and roll a considerable distance before I tried to get back up. It got me down with the least amount of skiing. Then, the next thing I knew, we were all moving toward the ski lift. I remember thinking that we weren’t actually going to board it, but just study how other skiers got on it. Wrong! Kirby insisted that he should be my escort to the top. As I stood waiting, I remember feeling uncomfortably close to death. And as we traveled upward, I remember commenting, “It’s amazing people don’t fall off of these things.” To which Kirby replied, “Sometimes they do!” When we got to the top, Kirby signaled for the lift loaders/unloaders to slow down the lift. I wasn’t offended in the least. Once we were up on the mountain, I realized how exhausted and terrified I was. I stared down toward the lodge. They sold hot chocolate there. And muffins. I watched the rest of my group dutifully zigzagging in the snow plow position down the slope. I tried. And fell. And tried. And fell. “Left knee out!” Kirby yelled at me. I looked at the lodge again. Why couldn’t I just ski straight to it? Sure, I’d go fast, but once I hit the level bottom wouldn’t my momentum slow?
I pointed my skis toward the lodge, lifted up my poles, and was off. The amount of speed a fourteen-year-old can accumulate shooting straight down a ski hill was amazingly higher than I’d anticipated. As I raced toward the lodge--eyes watering, lips twitching--I realized there were many things in addition to my rocket-speed that I had neglected to take into account. The biggest issue I faced was the ski line that stood between me and the lodge. Dozens of people were waiting to board the ski lift. And they only thing separating them from me was a small, orange, plastic snow fence. I noticed a few people point to me. The pointing turned into waving. Then, the line began to part very ‘Moses Red Sea style’ as I continued to barrel toward them. I’m not sure how fast I was going when my skis impacted the snow fence. Luckily, they got twisted up in it. This stopped me very quickly, ripping off my skis, boots, and one sock. But I remember being relieved to feel my bare foot in the snow, because having sensation in my extremities meant that I hadn’t suffered a spinal cord injury. Complete strangers ran to my side and asked if I was okay. Oh, I was more than okay. I didn’t feel a big sense of shame or embarrassment. This was the most athletic thing I’d ever done. I listened to them advise me about exceeding my abilities. Somebody said, “Stick to the Bunny Hill.” And another person said, “There’s more injuries on the Bunny Hill than on the actual slopes. All those beginners.” When I got home, my parents weren’t all that surprised to hear about my day. Apparently, my mother once skied over a St. Bernard.
Thanks Kristen!
Everyone who leaves a comment in the comments section is going to be entered into today’s book drawing! One lucky person will receive a copy of WAKE and another will receive a copy of Lost It. (You don't need to live in the continental US to win a book, just the grand prize)
Oh, and don’t forget, you will be entered into the grand prize drawing!
Better. But it might be best just to say welcome to the Internet release party for Read My Lips! Grab yourself a latte, green tea chai or a martini, and have some fun! I have major guest authors, books being given away everyday, surprises and check out the grand prize!
Fifteen books from some of the best and brightest authors Simon Pulse has to offer. Check out the list!
1. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
2. Wake by Lisa McMann
3. The Au Pairs, Sunkissed by Melissa De La Cruz
4. Private by Kate Brian
5. Wild Roses by Deb Caletti
6. Forever by Judy Blume
7. Chill by Deborah Reber
8. Prama by Jamie Ponti
9. Goddess Games by Niki Burnham
10. Extras by Scott Westerfeld
11. Glass by Ellen Hopkins
12. Ironside by Holly Black
13. Night World by LJ Smith
14. Uninvited by Amanda Marrone
15. 100 Girls by Adam Gallardo, Todd Demong
Now that you know what the grand prize is, you’re going to want to know how to win it, right? The rules are simple. The winner will be drawn at random from everyone who leaves me a comment this week— from now till midnight Friday the 13th. (Ohhh that sounds ominous!) Sorry, only people living in the continental US are eligible. Winner will be announced Saturday, June 14th.
Now on to our first guest author, the fabulous New York Times Best Selling author of WAKE, Lisa McMann, I wanted to let you know that all my guests will be writing on my fish out of water theme... Ever felt like that?
Welcome Lisa!
Teri, I'm so excited about READ MY LIPS. Congratulations on writing a brilliant novel and I hope you enjoy these moments! Way to go -- you should get a tattoo or something to commemorate it, you know???
(Hmmm, why would she say that?)
The older my kids get, the more I like them. I have felt this way since they were born, because part of me is still an obnoxious teenager and now I finally have cohorts. So naturally at the San Diego Zoo’s gorilla exhibit a few weeks ago, when my 14-year-old muttered “go suck a mean one” in a cranky old-person’s voice to zoo-goers standing in our way, it put me in hysterics.
Have you ever seen gorillas? Unbelievable. We watched, mesmerized as the two babies wrestled and twirled in front of the plate glass window. Decided then and there that we must have one of our very own to hug.
And then. You know what’s really funny, right?
Poop. Especially gorilla poop.
At the silverback’s first squat, fifty adult on-lookers immediately began shuffling their feet, looking away, embarrassed, while fifty children and teens (and one adult) oohed and giggled and watched, fascinated by the way that gorillas move their bowels, sitting bass-ackwards to the glass in the toilet area of their cage. And what they do, you see (because I am SURE you are curious), is they actually squat, push AND pull – that is, they reach around and carefully help the bright green roughage softballs along by pulling. Absolutely fascinating. Now, some teens out there will be reading this and saying, “ew, gross!” But secretly, I bet they’d all watch too if they knew nobody was judging them.
Fast forward to my book signing the next day. Facing me in perfect rows of chairs were about twenty-five adults and one – ONE – teenager. Adults make me nervous. They ask about WAKE’s “theme” and “message” and “symbolism,” all questions I have no idea how to answer except to say, “It’s just a book. You read it, and hopefully you get sucked into the story because it’s exciting and suspenseful and there’s a hot romance in it, too. That’s all.”
And all the while I stuttered out answers to the adult questions, I had this incredible urge to blurt out to the one teenager there, “Guess what?! I saw a gorilla poop into his hand yesterday and it was awesome.”
Best wishes on your launch, Teri!
Thanks Lisa! Next we have the fabulously funny and, quite possibly, brilliant Kristen Tracy, author of Lost it and Crimes of the Sarahs.
Welcome Kristen!
This is my first blog party ever. And to celebrate, I’m eating a cupcake. Thanks, Teri, for throwing it! And of course I think you should check out her debut book Read My Lips. (For the record, I like books even more than I like cupcakes, and that’s saying a lot, because recently I’ve become addicted to sugar again.) Okay. Here’s my fish out of water story. I was not blessed with athletic abilities. My head tends to attract balls. Softballs. Basketballs. Disco balls. Also, before I managed to escape adolescence, I broke both my arms, got hit in the head with a golf club, was involved in a minor bicycle wreck, and got attacked by a variety of random neighborhood pets. Plus, there was that incident with the lawn mower. So when I was fourteen and my parents gave me and my sisters skiing lessons, I feared for my life right away. Had I have realized how crowded the Bunny Hill was, I would have feared for the lives of others as well.
At the slopes (I'll skip over the hour-long, up-hill, treacherous bus ride, packed with insane teenage guys hellbent on tormenting my friend and seat mate about her eye deformity) we met our aged ski instructor Kirby. He asked us if we'd ever been skiing before. I said, “No.” To remain in my group, my older sister said the same. As well as several of my friends who’d decided to take lessons with me. But they were *totally* lying. They’d all been skiing before. I suspected some had developed a fair amount of technique. So, once our gear was on, our group looked extremely capable. We could walk forward in our skis and sideways. Plus, we could fall down and get up using our poles. Okay. I couldn’t do any of these things, but for some reason Kirby overlooked my failings and took our group to the next level. The ‘tow rope.’ The only piece of advice I was given before I gripped the tow rope, was ‘don’t let go.’ This was said emphatically by a man wearing goggles and snow pants. I got the message. When my friend Sue Ann (not real name) fell down in front of me, I didn’t know what to do. My first impulse was to let go of the rope so I wouldn’t ski over my friend. But then Kirby’s voice boomed in my head, “NEVER LET GO OF THE ROPE!” As I angled my ski tips up over Sue Ann’s new, puffy coat, and skied over her torso, I felt an odd mix of guilt and accomplishment. I never looked back.
Once we got to the top of the Bunny Hill, our instructor was impressed yet again by our group's skill level. Even Sue Ann managed to recover and join us. Then came the snow plow. Everybody--except me--mastered this technique within seconds. Soon, we all made it down the Bunny Hill and Kirby said it was the fastest a new group had ever done it. He was proud of us. My strategy for getting down the hill was to fall and roll a considerable distance before I tried to get back up. It got me down with the least amount of skiing. Then, the next thing I knew, we were all moving toward the ski lift. I remember thinking that we weren’t actually going to board it, but just study how other skiers got on it. Wrong! Kirby insisted that he should be my escort to the top. As I stood waiting, I remember feeling uncomfortably close to death. And as we traveled upward, I remember commenting, “It’s amazing people don’t fall off of these things.” To which Kirby replied, “Sometimes they do!” When we got to the top, Kirby signaled for the lift loaders/unloaders to slow down the lift. I wasn’t offended in the least. Once we were up on the mountain, I realized how exhausted and terrified I was. I stared down toward the lodge. They sold hot chocolate there. And muffins. I watched the rest of my group dutifully zigzagging in the snow plow position down the slope. I tried. And fell. And tried. And fell. “Left knee out!” Kirby yelled at me. I looked at the lodge again. Why couldn’t I just ski straight to it? Sure, I’d go fast, but once I hit the level bottom wouldn’t my momentum slow?
I pointed my skis toward the lodge, lifted up my poles, and was off. The amount of speed a fourteen-year-old can accumulate shooting straight down a ski hill was amazingly higher than I’d anticipated. As I raced toward the lodge--eyes watering, lips twitching--I realized there were many things in addition to my rocket-speed that I had neglected to take into account. The biggest issue I faced was the ski line that stood between me and the lodge. Dozens of people were waiting to board the ski lift. And they only thing separating them from me was a small, orange, plastic snow fence. I noticed a few people point to me. The pointing turned into waving. Then, the line began to part very ‘Moses Red Sea style’ as I continued to barrel toward them. I’m not sure how fast I was going when my skis impacted the snow fence. Luckily, they got twisted up in it. This stopped me very quickly, ripping off my skis, boots, and one sock. But I remember being relieved to feel my bare foot in the snow, because having sensation in my extremities meant that I hadn’t suffered a spinal cord injury. Complete strangers ran to my side and asked if I was okay. Oh, I was more than okay. I didn’t feel a big sense of shame or embarrassment. This was the most athletic thing I’d ever done. I listened to them advise me about exceeding my abilities. Somebody said, “Stick to the Bunny Hill.” And another person said, “There’s more injuries on the Bunny Hill than on the actual slopes. All those beginners.” When I got home, my parents weren’t all that surprised to hear about my day. Apparently, my mother once skied over a St. Bernard.
Thanks Kristen!
Everyone who leaves a comment in the comments section is going to be entered into today’s book drawing! One lucky person will receive a copy of WAKE and another will receive a copy of Lost It. (You don't need to live in the continental US to win a book, just the grand prize)
Oh, and don’t forget, you will be entered into the grand prize drawing!
Saturday, June 07, 2008
Trailer Contest Winner, Party Schedule and More!
Check out the new digs! Can you tell I've been cleaning house for the party?
I won't be blogging tomorrow in preparation for Monday, but I did want to leave you with the winner of the trailer contest and the party schedule. So without further ado... The winner of the signed book, chocolate, and twenty dollar Starbucks gift card is...
Avni Gupta !
Thanks everyone, for participating and getting my book trailer out there!
Now for the party schedule. (Schedule subject to change in case of emergency, serendipity or whim.)
June 9th
Party Kickoff: Introduction, grand prize rules, picture of grand prize
Guest authors: Lisa McMann, Kristen Tracy
June:10th
Announce winners of Lisa McMann and Kristen Tracy books.
Guest Authors: Robin Wasserman, Elizabeth Scott
Surprise!
June 11th
Announce winners of Robin Wasserman, Elizabeth Scott books
Guest Authors: Melissa De La Cruz, Niki Burnham
Surprise!
June 12th
Announce winners of Melissa De La Cruz, Niki Burnham books.
Guest author: Lisa Schroeder, Lisa Barham
Surprise!
June 13th:
Announce winners of Lisa Schroeder and Lisa Barham books.
Guest Author: Kate Brian, Lauren Baratz Logsted
Surprise!
June 14th
Announce Grand Prize Winner
See how many surprises I have? Can you tell that I love to surprise people?
I won't be blogging tomorrow in preparation for Monday, but I did want to leave you with the winner of the trailer contest and the party schedule. So without further ado... The winner of the signed book, chocolate, and twenty dollar Starbucks gift card is...
Avni Gupta !
Thanks everyone, for participating and getting my book trailer out there!
Now for the party schedule. (Schedule subject to change in case of emergency, serendipity or whim.)
June 9th
Party Kickoff: Introduction, grand prize rules, picture of grand prize
Guest authors: Lisa McMann, Kristen Tracy
June:10th
Announce winners of Lisa McMann and Kristen Tracy books.
Guest Authors: Robin Wasserman, Elizabeth Scott
Surprise!
June 11th
Announce winners of Robin Wasserman, Elizabeth Scott books
Guest Authors: Melissa De La Cruz, Niki Burnham
Surprise!
June 12th
Announce winners of Melissa De La Cruz, Niki Burnham books.
Guest author: Lisa Schroeder, Lisa Barham
Surprise!
June 13th:
Announce winners of Lisa Schroeder and Lisa Barham books.
Guest Author: Kate Brian, Lauren Baratz Logsted
Surprise!
June 14th
Announce Grand Prize Winner
See how many surprises I have? Can you tell that I love to surprise people?
Friday, June 06, 2008
You Are Cordially Invited...
Isn't this the most fabulous thing ever? I mean really? There are so many surprises! And make sure to check back tomorrow as I will be posting the schedule and the winner of my trailer contest! And if you want to find out how my launch party went at the deaf school yesterday... check out the class of 2k8 blog!
And don't forget to join me on Monday!!!
Thursday, June 05, 2008
What I Need
Before we get to what I need, I want to remind you all that there's still time to enter my trailer contest! Also, check out my interview with my characters on the 2k8 blog!
And there's one more day to get one. Shoot me an email at teribrownwrites (at) hotmail(dot) com if you want one.
On to what I want...
1. A Personal Assistant
Someone that will plan my schedule and tell me where I have to be and when. It's pathetic that with all my lists I can't remember everything and I still have emergency runs to the store. I blew my waxer off so many times she won't even take my calls anymore. I look like the missing link!
2. A House Keeper
Someone to come in twice a month and do the touch stuff. I can keep the day to day stuff going and when the work is lighter can even keep the house tidy and orderly and make wonderful meals, but when I'm busy it all falls to shite. My husband does not like that.
3. A complete phone/email/calendar device
Any recommendations? I was thinking the Pearl? We're on Verizon and that's what they sell... but I have to pay 30 dollars a month more for web service. I just think it's time to take my lists to another level.
4. A Trip to Hawaii.
Just because.
And there's one more day to get one. Shoot me an email at teribrownwrites (at) hotmail(dot) com if you want one.
On to what I want...
1. A Personal Assistant
Someone that will plan my schedule and tell me where I have to be and when. It's pathetic that with all my lists I can't remember everything and I still have emergency runs to the store. I blew my waxer off so many times she won't even take my calls anymore. I look like the missing link!
2. A House Keeper
Someone to come in twice a month and do the touch stuff. I can keep the day to day stuff going and when the work is lighter can even keep the house tidy and orderly and make wonderful meals, but when I'm busy it all falls to shite. My husband does not like that.
3. A complete phone/email/calendar device
Any recommendations? I was thinking the Pearl? We're on Verizon and that's what they sell... but I have to pay 30 dollars a month more for web service. I just think it's time to take my lists to another level.
4. A Trip to Hawaii.
Just because.
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Have You Gotten Yours Yet?
Well, have you?
If you have you will know what I'm talking about.
If you haven't you won't.
If you want one, give me a shout out.
In other news... I am having my launch party tomorrow at the Washginton School for the deaf... and I still don't know what excerpt to read. Or what I'm going to talk about. Good thing I'm taking cake.
If you have you will know what I'm talking about.
If you haven't you won't.
If you want one, give me a shout out.
In other news... I am having my launch party tomorrow at the Washginton School for the deaf... and I still don't know what excerpt to read. Or what I'm going to talk about. Good thing I'm taking cake.
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Release Day
Today my book should be available everywhere. With all the hoopla surrounding a launch, it's hard to stop the promotions merry-go-round and remember that release day, especially a debut release day, is all about dreams coming true. It is a moment that belongs to someone who not only had an idea, but had the drive, determination and plain old fashioned guts to make that dream come true. To go after it no matter what.
Today, the moment is mine.
But it's not mine alone.I also share that moment with Daphne Grab, author of Alive and Well in Prague New York, and Sarah Prineas, author of The Magic Thief.
Congrats, my friends.
But without promotions the literary world would not go round and delectable as this moment is, I am greedy and want another one! So on to a little promoting!
See the fabulous logo and counter on my blog? (yeah, I know the counter is a wee bit too long for the space, couldn't fix) That means my Simon Pulse Launch Gala is coming.
My gala will have... famous guests, prizes, and unbelievable surprises.
You won't want to miss it.
Today, the moment is mine.
But it's not mine alone.I also share that moment with Daphne Grab, author of Alive and Well in Prague New York, and Sarah Prineas, author of The Magic Thief.
Congrats, my friends.
But without promotions the literary world would not go round and delectable as this moment is, I am greedy and want another one! So on to a little promoting!
See the fabulous logo and counter on my blog? (yeah, I know the counter is a wee bit too long for the space, couldn't fix) That means my Simon Pulse Launch Gala is coming.
My gala will have... famous guests, prizes, and unbelievable surprises.
You won't want to miss it.
Monday, June 02, 2008
Trailer Contest!
To honor my launch on 2k8 and my debut release tomorrow, I am having a trailer contest.
All you need to do to enter is put my trailer up on your blog/myspace/livejournal/whatever and send an email with a link to teribrownwrites@hotmail.com. Be sure to include your name and the email address you want me to contact you at if you win. You can put the trailer up any day from now until Friday 5PM Pacific time to be eligible. The trailer is below. Just watch it and copy the code to paste in your blog or site. (If it gets any more technical than that, I can't help ya!) Winner will be drawn at random and announced Saturday morning.
The prize? A signed copy of Read my Lips, Chocolate Lips, and a 20.00 Starbucks card. Coffee, chocolate, and a book... what can be better?!
And don't forget to check out my 2k8 party! I love my 2k8 classmates!
All you need to do to enter is put my trailer up on your blog/myspace/livejournal/whatever and send an email with a link to teribrownwrites@hotmail.com. Be sure to include your name and the email address you want me to contact you at if you win. You can put the trailer up any day from now until Friday 5PM Pacific time to be eligible. The trailer is below. Just watch it and copy the code to paste in your blog or site. (If it gets any more technical than that, I can't help ya!) Winner will be drawn at random and announced Saturday morning.
The prize? A signed copy of Read my Lips, Chocolate Lips, and a 20.00 Starbucks card. Coffee, chocolate, and a book... what can be better?!
And don't forget to check out my 2k8 party! I love my 2k8 classmates!
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