The Monday Five

I know, it's usually the Friday Five, but I'm a few days behind with *everything* lately. Like, so many people I know have already seen Catching Fire, but I won't get to see it until this weekend sometime. I'm SO excited - people are raving about it.

Anyway, I have a few things to share, so here we go, the Monday Five, which doesn't sound nearly as cool as the Friday Five, but that's okay since I've never been, and never will be, one of the cool kids.

1. This weekend I switched out my iMac that was about ten years old, so I'm writing this on my new and improved computer and I LOVE IT! I bought a used iMac on ebay from a company that specializes in cleaning up old ones and reselling them. This one (a 2009 model) came with a ton of software loaded on it and the latest operating system for much, much less than I would have paid new. I try to buy used as much as possible in life, because it just makes sense to me in so many ways.

As I was copying files over and getting everything set up on the new one, I noticed I've been using Office 2004. 2004, people! That is crazy!! The most frustrating thing was that Blogger wasn't playing nice with the old, old operating system I was using, so I couldn't read blogs anymore. I'm a strange beast of a writer. I have a laptop I use on the treadmill desk sometimes, but other times, I want a nice big screen and a comfy chair, so I really need both a desk computer and a laptop. I've dragged my feet for so long, but I'm glad I finally took the plunge and got something newer. The speed - OMG, the speed!!! Happy, happy, happy.

2. On Friday, I got news that School Library Journal will review Frosting and Friendship in its upcoming December/January issue, and it's an awesome review! Here's a snippet:

"Schroeder’s realistic dialogue and depiction of daily dramas show her strong grasp of middle-school life. The combination of baking and bands will initially attract many girls, but it’s the short chapters and simple diction that keep the plot cooking. Readers will be drawn to the well-delineated, quirky Lily. They’ll empathize with her, ponder her dilemmas, and cheer her on to make the right decisions."

3. I saw my baby nephew, Jacob, this weekend. He is almost three months old. He had a bit of a rough start but he's doing great now! Baby cuddles are the best!

4. The fourth and final CHARMED LIFE book is due one week from today. I have about three more chapters to write. I'm hoping to finish the draft by Wednesday, and then I will spend a good chunk of the long weekend editing before I send it off to my editor on December 2nd. Eep - I'm almost there! Fingers crossed things go according to plan!

5. Finally, I discovered over the weekend, thanks to Kim Baccellia who told me the news via twitter, that FALLING FOR YOU is a paperback pick in the December 16th issue of FIRST for Women magazine. Of course I had to go out and get a copy. And, I had to take pictures because, come on, Dr. Oz on the cover and Nicholas Sparks, Maria Semple, and Shirlee McCoy featured alongside my book? So. Weird.

click on the picture to enlarge

"When my book club chose this novel about a young relationship gone wrong, I was skeptical," says Melissa Sorrells, FIRST associate editor. "But its complexity drew me in and held held on tight." It goes on to say, "Rae's courage and journey to self-worth reminded me of roads I've traveled in my life -- and of just how strong I am."

The paperback comes out on December 3rd!! Next Sunday I'll have a list of ten things you should know about the book to celebrate the paperback release.

In the meantime, have a *wonderful* Thanksgiving holiday! Eat lots of pie, okay? I mean it. I really want a t-shirt that says, "Life is short. Eat pie."

Friday Five

I haven't done a Friday Five in a long time! Aren't you excited? I know I am! Here we go...

1) Stormy's eye is FINALLY all better. Thanks for all the good thoughts! It was a long two months with appointment after appointment and procedure after procedure, trying to get that corneal ulcer to heal. What finally did the trick was putting a contact lens in her eye. The vet explained to me how it works, but I don't remember and it's not really important that I understand how it works, I'm just thankful it did! Here she is in all her cuteness, free of the cone of the shame, finally!

2) Yesterday I had to take my son downtown for a mid-term, since he's taking a class at PSU this summer. Traffic was horrendous all the way in and I seriously thought he was going to be very, very late. One lane was moving faster than the others, so I got into that lane and then switched back later, which I know annoys people, but I had to do it, right? Once we got into town, traffic was really backed up and I finally told my son to jump out and run. So he did. He literally ran down the sidewalk, passing all the stopped cars. He said he walked into the room at 5:31 (only a minute late). WHEW. After that, I went shopping to try and get my blood pressure back down to an acceptable level. I can't stop thinking about a dress at Banana Republic that I really, really loved. As a person who stays at home 90% of the time, I need another dress like I need another pretty pair of heels. Still, I can't stop thinking about it. I may go back and get it. We'll see.

3) The UPS man just dropped off a package. Yay, more work for me! Not really that excited, to be honest, but I'll take it because it needs to be done and it means one more book that is that much closer to being on the shelves. This has been the busiest year of my life as a writer. If I think about it too much, it kind of freaks me out, so I just try to take it one day at a time and do what needs to be done that day. And, you know, write a blog post when more work comes my way. Obviously.

4) I have a new favorite artist, and yes, there may be a reason why. *whistles nonchantly* What do you think? Check out Nicoletta Ceccoli's work. Lovely and magical and a little bit eerie.

5) Tomorrow I'm participating in the Relay for Life. I know we get asked often to donate to causes, but if you haven't yet donated this year to help the American Cancer Society fight cancer, I'd love it if you'd make a donation to my team: Click HERE to find the donation page.

Happy weekend! Make it a good one!!

The Friday Five

1. Let's start with this, shall we? Oh Vampire Diaries, you did NOT disappoint. I laughed when Damon got out of the bubble bath and walked through the house. Yeah, the director knows how to give the viewers what they want. That scene at the end, where Stefan calls Elana? *Sob* Overall, what a fantastic episode - so much going on!

2. I said on twitter one day this week, when lots of people seemed to be talking about new shows this season, that I am glad I'm not alone in my love for good TV. For me, it can be really hard to turn the writerly brain off. And a good TV show helps me do that. I also think studying story, in whatever means, is never a bad thing.

3. My teens seem to be adjusting to the school year okay. Partly because I am the sleep nazi, and make them go to bed between 9 and 9:30. My older one reads for a while, which is fine, I just want to make sure they get 8-9 hours of sleep on school nights. They need it! And the bus comes at 7:10, which is early. An interesting side note, this summer, when they could sleep in, they would sleep 10-12 hours a night. The 16 YO grew 2 inches over the summer, the 14 YO 3 inches!! Wow.

4. Some exciting nomination news - The Day Before is on the consideration lists for YALSA's Quick Picks AND Best Fiction for Young Adults. Yay!!! And I'm thrilled Chasing Brooklyn is a Missouri Gateway Preliminary Nominee. My agent has 3 clients on that list, which I think is awesome.

5. Sorry the blog has pretty much been all Sprinkles all the time! I'm sure regular readers are tired of it, but for people who happen to stop by after reading It's Raining Cupcakes, I wanted to make sure the information about Sprinkles and Secrets was front and center. I have a couple of more things planned next week, and then no more book releases for a long time. Kind of sad. But you know what I'll be doing - writing new books!!! Oh, and revising the ones I sold this year I suppose. :)

Five things on a Friday - The Day Before edition

1. Thank you to everyone who has read THE DAY BEFORE and posted nice reviews on goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, your blog, etc. Seriously, THANK YOU SO MUCH!! In case you want to read a few...

Go HERE (Books, Sweets and Other Treats)

Or HERE (Novel Novice)

Or HERE (Story Siren)

2. Some people are having trouble finding the book. Please do order it if you go to a store and they don't have it. The more people who order it, the higher the chance that the store will end up carrying it. It's all about supply and demand - if you demand it, they'll supply it!

3. There are many signed copies available at Books of Wonder in New York! If you pay with a credit card over the phone, they will SHIP IT TO YOUR DOOR! Call 212-989-3270 to place your order.

4. I did an interview over at YA Highway where I answered *all* of the questions from lines from the book. It's like your own little sneak peek of the book - check it out HERE.

5. I have seven book plates left - e-mail me at lisaschroederbooks (at) gmail (dot) com if you'd like a signed book plate to stick in your copy of THE DAY BEFORE. What I write will be specific for *this* book, so you'll need a copy of this particular book, not one of my other ones. The first seven people will get one.  I'll update the blog when the seven are gone.
*update - the book plates are gone, thank you!*

I leave you with one thought today, something Matt Nathanson (one of my favorite singer/songwriters, and he is mentioned in THE DAY BEFORE) tweeted this morning and then Heather Zenzen retweeted with a comment attached. Here it is:

Yes. This! RT @heatherzenzen Or a book. RT @mattnathanson: people spend $4 on a latte. and complain that albums are too expensive. yuck.


Let's support artists, writers and musicians, even if we have to skip a couple of lattes to do it, yes? :)

Friday Five

1. Vampire Diaries was like WHOA this week. So much going on, my little brain could hardly keep up! My take-away for my writing - keep your reader guessing. Predictability is not as fun as BIG SURPRISES.

2. Every time I watch VD, I am in awe of Nina's (Elana's) tall, thin legs. I can't help but think how fun it must be to shop if you are tall and thin like that. I am sick of all of my clothes, and yet, just the thought of going shopping causes me to break out into hives. I'm SO tired of shopping for clothes for my short and, um, curvy self. 

3. I have been doing cleaning projects around my house this week. All of the window tracks have been cleaned. The toy room was cleaned out so my oldest son can move in there (my boys have shared a room all of this time because they wanted to!) Today I get to clean the refrigerator. So excited (not).

4. The sun is shining today, which means after the fridge is clean and shiny, I can reward myself with a nice, long walk. March was so wet and gray. My husband said he read somewhere that it rained every day in March except one. I'm so ready for summer I can't even tell you.

5. I'm going to wake up tomorrow and start a new book. It is a book with the best title ever. There is nothing better than a great title to get me excited about writing. I haven't written anything book-wise for a couple of months, so it's time!

Have a great weekend!

The Friday Five

1. Tonight I get to see these guys with my friend Suzanne Young. I'm SO excited. Do you know who they are? I'll be the one in the audience yelling, "I love you, Johnny!"

2. Today I'm practicing my presentations for next week. I'm traveling to central Washington for a school visit and a student writing conference. Oh, and I'm taking the train! I've never done Amtrak before, so I'm excited! People tell me I will love it. I'm not a fan of flying, especially on a small plane, so this seemed like the logical solution.

3. My 13 YO son is home sick today with a fever. I wonder if he'll sit and watch my presentations? I highly doubt it.

4. GMA just did *another* story on Charlie Sheen. So, does Charlie Sheen realize so many people are following him on twitter because it is like watching a train wreck? Does he care? (I am not one of those one million people, by the way. I really just wish he would go away, honestly.)

5. I really want to see the movie BEASTLY. Alix Flinn, the author of the YA novel from which the movie comes from, blogged yesterday that the book enters its second week as the number one NYT bestselling children's paperback. So wonderful to see good things happen to a hardworking YA author!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Five things on a Friday

1. It has been hard to blog lately. Hard to be on-line very much, actually. I don't really want to say why, so I'm just going to leave it at that.

2. I have news I'd love to share, but I can't yet, so... Wow, this is a fun Friday five, isn't it? I might as well just put a bunch of numbers up and no words next to them. Let's see if I can do better for the last three.

3. I finished revising my latest YA manuscript yesterday and sent it to my agent! Whew. What a relief. It's the longest book I've ever written, at 65,000 words, which I know is really not that long at all. But when you write in verse most of the time, that's long! It isn't in verse, but it's a contemporary story with mystery, romance, and a great hook. I hope she likes it, but she may not, and since I prefer writing the whole thing, I'm okay with whatever happens now. I have an idea for a verse novel that I can start any time. Well, after I get my taxes done and get ready for some presentations in March.

4. I am going to try to win the lottery this morning, er, get Taylor Swift tickets. Wish me luck!

5. Finally, look what I got in the mail!!! These are the Advanced Review Copies for SPRINKLES AND SECRETS, the companion novel to my middle grade novel IT'S RAINING CUPCAKES. I plan to give them all to independent booksellers. I have a few in town I'll hand them to, and then I'll have a few left to mail. If you are an independent bookseller who loves middle grade fiction or you know one who would love to read this, please let me know in the comments.

Hope you have a lovely weekend. I get to do taxes, clean my house, and catch up on life in general after being focused on the book for so long. I'm actually looking forward to all of it.

Friday Five

1. My presentation went well. The drive over was SO beautiful. Hardly any traffic and everything is so lush and green because of the wet spring we had. I didn't get to walk on the beach - it was really windy. But the view overlooking the ocean was breathtaking.

2. It was fun to put faces to names and tweets - I met both editor Molly O'Neil and agent Jenn Laughran. They sit in on all of the presentations, so it was a little like teaching in front of the principle!

3. I have one more round of edits on THE DAY BEFORE that I'm trying to finish today. So tired. And very ready to be done with this book.

4. The amazingly talented Laini Taylor, who writes the most beautiful prose I've probably ever read, had good news a few weeks ago and more amazingly good news today. She blogs about it HERE and HERE. She says it's her fairy tale come true, and I'm telling you, it couldn't happen to a nicer, more deserving writer.

5. Let's end this five with some cupcakes, shall we? I could really use some chocolate ones about now. And yeah, how about some stars, for all of our hard work this week??



Happy weekend!!

Five things on a Friday

1. Looks to be a rainy weekend here. I have lots of cleaning, shopping and cooking to do, so for the most part, I don't mind. However, I do hope the rain pauses for awhile Sunday morning, so we can do our annual Easter egg hunt!

2. I have such happy memories of Easters past. It's a holiday where I really, REALLY miss my grandparents, as they were always a part of it. Definitely bittersweet.

3. I hope to attend two author events in the next few days - Kimberly Derting, author of the YA novel THE BODY FINDER, will be at Powell's on Saturday and Gayle Forman, author of the YA novel IF I STAY, will be at Powell's on Monday! I will make sure to take pictures (assuming I don't forget my camera, which happens about 50% of the time) and report back next week!!

4. You can watch my TV debut here, if you are curious. I was more nervous right before watching it than I was before actually DOING it.  But, thankfully, it's not too bad.

5. For those of you who celebrate, I wish you a happy, joyous Easter, filled with chocolate.

Five things on a Friday

1. LITTLE CHIMP BIG'S DAY comes out fall, 2010. Today, I've shared the cover at the Author2Author blog. I think he is just SO cute!

2. My anniversary is this weekend - 20 years!! Marriage isn't always easy, but most of the time, mine is pretty wonderful. I love my family, and the life we've made.

3. Also this weekend - the Olympics! Oh how I love you, Olympics!!

4. I'm thinking of all of you still under all of that snow. Hope you are doing okay.

5. HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!

Friday Five

1. Look at this cute Liz Claiborne jacket I got at the thrift store for $7.99!! I took it to the cleaners, brought it home and only then realized the pockets were even still sewn shut. As soon as I saw it, I had that spine-tingly chill I get when I find something I love and I know it'd cost me at least ten times as much in the store.



2. Some of you may see me wearing that jacket in Chicago for the ALA conference in July! I booked my flight last night - hooray!!!

3. It is amazing to me how quickly prices change on flights. I had been checking 24 hours earlier and tickets were $100 less. I am not good at making snap decisions, especially when it comes to travel! But lesson learned, when there's a great deal, you need to snatch it up, just like at the thrift store!

4. I am SO excited - the mailman brought me an ARC of Lisa Mantchev's EYES LIKE STARS. I have heard wonderful things about this book. Now that my revisions are done, I can get back to the books I abandoned and finish them so I can start this one. Can't wait!

5. Tomorrow spring FINALLY arrives - sunny and 65+ degrees! Pedicure, HERE I COME!!!

Happy Friday!