November in Review

My friend, Jen, does a blog post at the beginning of every month talking about things that happened the previous month, and I LOVE them. I have decided to copy her and do them too. I'm not sure if her categories change every month, but mine may, we'll see. Also, I think she adds to it throughout the month, as things happen, and that is definitely what I'm going to do from now on, since this hurts my brain trying to remember everything!

So, here is my review of November, 2012.

Special days I celebrated this month and how:

• My mom and step-dad came down over the Veteran's Day weekend, so we had brunch at our house with my sister-in-law and niece. My brother was sick, so he didn't come, and we missed him. It was sort of an early Thanksgiving celebration, but not on Thanksgiving and there wasn't any turkey.

• For the real Thanksgiving holiday, we went to my brother-in-law's house and had dinner with him and my husband's parents. It was a nice, relaxing day and this time we DID have turkey. And pie. Oreo and pumpkin, if you're curious. I made the Oreo pie and it was a big hit!

Gifts I gave and received this month:

• I put five copies of Sprinkles and Secrets, signed, along with a box of Legos under the giving tree at church. Tomorrow my youngest son and I will be volunteering to wrap gifts for kids in the area who might not otherwise have a very good Christmas if it weren't for the generosity of the Christmas basket program at our church.

• I sent out a whole bunch of goodie bags to members of my street team for helping to spread the word about FALLING FOR YOU (coming January 1).

• I got an Advanced Review Copy of Linda Urban's next book, THE CENTER OF EVERYTHING, that I'm really excited to read. 

Movies and TV shows worth mentioning:

• My husband dragged me along with him to see Lincoln. It had a slow start, so I took a little nap. After that, I enjoyed it, though I do see its faults. I'm pretty easy to please, however.

• The four of us saw Wreck-It Ralph and we all loved it. A really fun movie.

• I rented a really fun, quirky movie that I highly recommend, if you like romantic comedies. It's called Take Me Home.

• Movies out now I want to see: Life of Pi, Argo, Anna Karenino and Silver Lining Playlist. Most likely will not see them in the theater, so will have to wait for the DVD. Movies coming in December I want to see: The Hobbit and Les Miserables. 

• I am still enjoying Nashville immensely. As someone on twitter said so well, I'm pretty sure my love of the show comes down to 50% Connie Britton and 50% cute boys in plaid shirts who sing.

• Let the countdown to the third season of Downton Abbey begin, please!! It returns January 6, so that is only 37 days from today! 

New recipes or restaurants we tried:

• I made this parmesan chicken, and we all enjoyed it.

• My oldest son finally tried the chicken pot pie that I make and LOVE, and he said, "It's not bad."

• I think I'm going to attempt something different and special for gifts this year. I'll let you know how it goes next month! Wish me luck!!

Special or unusual purchases I made:

• The floor in my office is covered with Christmas gifts, and I'm not going to tell you any of them. 

• I bought four new pillows at the Black Friday sale at Fred Meyer because they were 50% off. No one likes them because they are way too puffy and need to be broken in. The only thing I can think of doing is to rotate them and sit on them while I'm watching TV.

• I bought two pairs of shoes from shoes.com that I'm waiting for, and I fully intend to return one of them, because I couldn't decide and finally just ordered both. I've never done that before - ordered two with the intention of returning one. Clearly I am getting more comfortable with the ways of on-line shopping. Lord help me.

• I pre-ordered Lifehouse's album, releasing December 11th, titled Almeria. I am so excited for this, I cannot even tell you.

My accomplishments:

• Finished a middle-grade manuscript and sent it on its way. Go, little book, go!!

• Wrote 20,000 words on a new YA novel.

• Revised about 1/3 of a contracted MG book. This is one of the hardest, if not THE hardest, revisions I've ever done. I hope the book is better for it!

• Personally, the only thing I can think of is that I lost five pounds. And I'm sure I'll gain it all back  in December. Oh well. It was fun while it lasted.

Anything else noteworthy:

• One of my son's best friends spent most of November in the hospital. We've been so worried about him. He's truly one of the nicest kids I've ever known. He is back home now and we are hoping he continues to improve.

• My husband's uncle passed away November 8th. He was 76 and lived a good life. We couldn't make it to Arkansas for the service, but my mother-in-law said the church was packed, many of them people he had helped throughout the years through A.A. 

• My mother-in-law turned 75 on November 29th. Yay!!!!

Happy December to you - may it be merry and bright!

From my mail

Thank you, readers, for your letters and e-mails to me. I read each and every one and try to respond to all of them as well. I appreciate you taking the time to write to me!!!

Here are some wonderful snippets from letters and e-mails I've received over the past month or so.

"Our teacher asked us to do a book report on our favorite book. So of course I chose your book It's Raining Cupcakes! You are an amazing author. I love how you ended the book with a cliff hanger making me very excited to read Sprinkles and Secrets. For my report I made a new book cover. I'm making cupcakes for my class when I present my book report." ~Janine, age 9

"In 4th grade our book club read It's Raining Cupcakes. I could not wait to read it because my favorite thing to do is bake. After everyone read the book in book club we got together, and our teacher made the s'mores recipe on the back. The cupcakes were delicious!" ~Emily

"I first wanted to own a florist shop but then I read It's Raining Cupcakes and now I want to own a cupcake shop! I really hope you will make a third book in your series." ~ Veronica, age 10

"Hi! I'm reading your book, It's Raining Cupcakes. I love it. I'm reading chapter 8. My friend told me that it's a really good book, and I should read it. I think your imagination is really out of this world." ~
Annie

"Hi there. I'm a fan of your books from Malaysia. I've bought Chasing Brooklyn from Scholastic. It was so amazing and interesting to read. I really love the way you made the story line. I'm going to buy your other books to keep me entertained. Keep writing amazing books, okay?" ~Rhidga

"Just wanted to tell you that I LOVED The Day Before and the first thing that I after I was finished with it was to go to your website to see if there was going to be a sequel. Although I was disappointed to figure out that you weren't going to, I respect your decision not to, because I get that you wouldn't want to find a different conflict to put into words." ~Hannah, your obsessed Cade fan

On thinking positive

When my oldest son was 12 or 13, he had to wear head gear to bed every night for eight long months. It was not fun, as you can imagine. The day the orthodontist told him he didn't have to wear it anymore was a happy day. 

We stopped in at his favorite card/gaming shop to buy a pack of figures for this game he had as a reward for his diligence.

While we were walking inside, he said out loud, "I really want Captain America." (He has many, many Captain America comic books and has been a die-hard fan long before the movie).

These packs had random figures in them. You never knew what you're going to get. 

So, we went into the store with both of that in our brains. I thought, it would be so great if he got Captain America.

He told the guy he wanted a Hero Clicks pack (or whatever they're called) and we both stood there, and I knew we were both thinking the same thing.

The guy opened a brand new pack with a LOT of boxes. And he picked one from the middle. He handed it to my son, who smiled and pointed to the picture of the Hero on the box. They were all random as well. The Hero on the box was Captain America. I could tell my son was thinking, this is a good sign. 

When we got to the car, he opened the box. 

Not only did he get a Captain America figure, he got one that is REALLY rare. He was so excited!

I know we don't always get what we want. And my kids know that as well. They've had plenty of times when they've opened a card pack or a box of figures or whatever and not gotten what they wanted.

So what's my point?

My point is - think positive! Don't send that manuscript out thinking, why am I doing this, no agent/editor is even going to want it?

Send it out thinking, someone is going to love this! 

Today, for myself as well as for everyone out there wishing and hoping for good things, we need to remember

Captain America IS possible!!!!

The cover of Frosting and Friendship!!!

Coming September 24, 2013!!!

What do you think?

I LOVE it! I love the purple and red and how the fun streamers make it feel like a celebration. And check out the charm bracelet that once again gives little hints about what's in the story.

So excited to share this with the readers who have gobbled up IT'S RAINING CUPCAKES and SPRINKLES AND SECRETS. A huge thank you to Aladdin who said, yes, let's do a third book!

In January, I'll share more about what the book is about. But for now, we can gaze at the delicious little cakes and drool, haha.

Kidlit Cares

There's an auction going on right now with authors and editors donating their time and talents to raise money for the victims of Sandy.

Round one recently ended and over $36,000 was raised!

Round two began yesterday and I want to make sure my readers are aware of what I'm offering up.

Ten *signed* copies of my latest young adult novel, FALLING FOR YOU, and a 30 minute Q&A Skype visit for your library, classroom, book club, etc.

Here is a brief description of what FALLING FOR YOU is about:

Good friends, her poetry notebooks, and a mysterious "ninja of nice" give seventeen-year-old Rae the strength to face her mother's neglect, her stepfather's increasing abuse, and a new boyfriend's obsessiveness.

I realize the cover (which I didn't choose, by the way, my publisher did) makes it seem like the book is all about romance, but I promise, there's more to the book than that.

Here is a link to the auction: http://joannelevy.com/2012/11/12/auction-2-kidlit-cares-lisa-schroeder/

To place a bid, you simply bid higher than the last person in the comments.

Thank you and of course check out the other auctions going on too: http://joannelevy.com/2012/11/02/kidlit-cares/

Scholastic Book Fair

I've been hearing from people across the U.S. that they've found SPRINKLES AND SECRETS at the Scholastic Book fair.

Here's a picture a nice author named Melissa Buell sent to me:

I'm so glad many more kids will get to read Sophie's story and find out what happened to Isabel and the baking contest in book one. If you've read one or both of the books, and you tell your friends you think they should get the books too, I want to say THANK YOU! The best thing you can do for an author whose books you love is to tell your friends to read them.

There IS going to be a third book, coming in 2013, called FROSTING AND FRIENDSHIP. As soon as I have a cover image to share, I'll post it here.

Happy reading!

Thank you street team!

Thanks to everyone who commented on yesterday's post!!

The forty spots are filled and I'll be contacting you all very soon via e-mail to get your addresses so I can send out your packages!!

Thanks again!