1. It's 6:40 in the morning and I'm cleaning my oven. Well, that sounds worse than it really is. The oven's self-cleaning function is on. It's cool this morning (finally!) so all the windows are open, which is a good time to clean it. Blackberries are ready, so we will be picking them this weekend, and pie baking will commence!! Mmmm, can't you just taste it?
2. My boys have survived sports camp this week despite the record-breaking high temperatures. They want to do cosmic bowling tomorrow afternoon. In air conditioning. I can't say I blame them!
3. My web designer and I have been working on giving my site a fresh, new look. Another couple of weeks and I think I'll be able to reveal! YAY!!
4. I think my husband and I are going to see Funny People this weekend. Please, PLEASE let it be funny.
5. My Reader Appreciation Contest ends tomorrow, August 1st, at midnight EST. Thanks to all the people who have entered so far. I wish I could give everyone a prize!! I leave you with a trailer that a fabulous reader made for the contest. Enjoy!
Friday, July 31, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Suh-weet!
Look at just a few of the pictures I've gotten from the Reader Appreciation ARC contest:
I love them!! Keep them coming!
You have until Saturday, Aug. 1st, midnight EST to enter if you'd like to. There are all kinds of things you can do for entries, including the simple one of following me on twitter. You still have to e-mail me to enter though.
All the details can be found HERE.
Good luck to all the entrants!!
I love them!! Keep them coming!
You have until Saturday, Aug. 1st, midnight EST to enter if you'd like to. There are all kinds of things you can do for entries, including the simple one of following me on twitter. You still have to e-mail me to enter though.
All the details can be found HERE.
Good luck to all the entrants!!
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
May the force be with us!
I was watching some of the Comic Con coverage this weekend on TV, and they kept talking about how Star Wars has been at the center of it now for years and just keeps getting bigger every year. It's now basically the corner stone of the conference.
They talked about the 1976 conference, before the movie came out in 1977, and people involved with the movie were nervous, wondering what people would think of it. I even heard George Lucas say he was worried it wouldn't make any money and he would have to figure out how to pay for the other two movies he wanted to make.
Well, we know George Lucas doesn't have to worry about money anymore, don't we?
I wonder, in the past 30+ years, how many people have thought - I want to come up the next Star Wars? Don't you think it's got to be a lot???
And yet, it seems to me, like with Twilight, it's not something you plan, or even try to predict. It's not something you can force to happen.
Certainly Stephenie Meyer couldn't have predicted what's happened with her TWILIGHT series. Did her publisher expect it to be big? Probably, yes. But THAT big? No way. It took on a life of its own. It became bigger than big.
It seems like the YA publishing world is working really hard, trying to find the next TWILIGHT. Or maybe they aren't. Maybe they just figure if something is a little like Twilight, it has the potential to earn a little of the money Twilight has earned, and a little of billions or whatever is still a lot.
Anyway, don't you think the next BIG thing will happen when we least expect it? Like it will be something that no one saw coming, and everyone will be like WHOA!?
And really, don't we secretly like it when something sneaks up on us, and surprises us? Isn't that what makes the whole thing so spectacular?
I don't know what it's going to be. But I can't wait to see what it is! And who knows, one of us might be writing it RIGHT NOW!!
They talked about the 1976 conference, before the movie came out in 1977, and people involved with the movie were nervous, wondering what people would think of it. I even heard George Lucas say he was worried it wouldn't make any money and he would have to figure out how to pay for the other two movies he wanted to make.
Well, we know George Lucas doesn't have to worry about money anymore, don't we?
I wonder, in the past 30+ years, how many people have thought - I want to come up the next Star Wars? Don't you think it's got to be a lot???
And yet, it seems to me, like with Twilight, it's not something you plan, or even try to predict. It's not something you can force to happen.
Certainly Stephenie Meyer couldn't have predicted what's happened with her TWILIGHT series. Did her publisher expect it to be big? Probably, yes. But THAT big? No way. It took on a life of its own. It became bigger than big.
It seems like the YA publishing world is working really hard, trying to find the next TWILIGHT. Or maybe they aren't. Maybe they just figure if something is a little like Twilight, it has the potential to earn a little of the money Twilight has earned, and a little of billions or whatever is still a lot.
Anyway, don't you think the next BIG thing will happen when we least expect it? Like it will be something that no one saw coming, and everyone will be like WHOA!?
And really, don't we secretly like it when something sneaks up on us, and surprises us? Isn't that what makes the whole thing so spectacular?
I don't know what it's going to be. But I can't wait to see what it is! And who knows, one of us might be writing it RIGHT NOW!!
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Book Recommendation - JUMPING OFF SWINGS
I probably shouldn't do this on a Sunday, because I don't know if many people read blogs on Sunday, but I have a busy week ahead and not sure how much I'll be around these parts.
Jo Knowles is the author of JUMPING OFF SWINGS and wow, does Jo tackle the tough subjects or what!? LESSONS FROM A DEAD GIRL was her first novel and it was almost difficult for me to read in parts it was so painful. But I think she has a gift - it takes a special something to write about tough subjects in a way that is honest and real. And Jo obviously has that special something.
JUMPING OFF SWINGS is told from the point of view of four teens, four friends. How one night and the aftermath affects their four lives is played out in the book, and we get to know each of the four characters (Ellie, Corinne, Josh and Caleb) so well, they start to feel like friends of ours. And as a result, the pain they feel becomes our own. I was sitting in my car in the parking lot, while my son was at an appointment, as I read the last quarter of the book, and I cried and cried.
It's SO well-written, the dialogue real, the pacing superb... I could go on and on. I can see this being a great book for teen book clubs and literature circles. It tackles teen pregnancy in a way that speaks to us, just like 13 REASONS WHY tackles suicide in a way that speaks to us. I really think, and certainly hope, this book could see the kind of success 13 REASONS WHY has had.
JUMPING OFF SWINGS is released August 11, 2009 - check www.indiebound.org to find an independent bookstore near you, and ask them to order it!!
Jo Knowles is the author of JUMPING OFF SWINGS and wow, does Jo tackle the tough subjects or what!? LESSONS FROM A DEAD GIRL was her first novel and it was almost difficult for me to read in parts it was so painful. But I think she has a gift - it takes a special something to write about tough subjects in a way that is honest and real. And Jo obviously has that special something.
JUMPING OFF SWINGS is told from the point of view of four teens, four friends. How one night and the aftermath affects their four lives is played out in the book, and we get to know each of the four characters (Ellie, Corinne, Josh and Caleb) so well, they start to feel like friends of ours. And as a result, the pain they feel becomes our own. I was sitting in my car in the parking lot, while my son was at an appointment, as I read the last quarter of the book, and I cried and cried.
It's SO well-written, the dialogue real, the pacing superb... I could go on and on. I can see this being a great book for teen book clubs and literature circles. It tackles teen pregnancy in a way that speaks to us, just like 13 REASONS WHY tackles suicide in a way that speaks to us. I really think, and certainly hope, this book could see the kind of success 13 REASONS WHY has had.
JUMPING OFF SWINGS is released August 11, 2009 - check www.indiebound.org to find an independent bookstore near you, and ask them to order it!!
Saturday, July 25, 2009
A quote I love
"Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes it is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow."
- Mary Ann Radmacher
- Mary Ann Radmacher
Friday, July 24, 2009
A Friday Five
mostly in links today.
1. I love THIS POST by an agent about writing another book. That's what I did, again and again, before I finally found one that felt right to me and got me an agent. There is so much trying to distract us in today's world, but I want to be one of the ones who keeps writing.
2. And THIS POST by Editorial Ass on authors trying too hard to be cool. I may not be cool. But I can be nice. And nice goes a helluva long way.
3. A GREAT POST on what authors can do to help make their booksignings a success.
4. The talented AND hard-working author, Linda Urban, talks about talent versus hard work. Go. Read. It's good!
5. And finally, a video, courtesy of author Jenny Moss who shared it on her blog yesterday. It was on Good Morning America this morning and I dare you to watch it and not simultaneously laugh and cry. That's what it's all about, people. Have fun. Live. Laugh. Love.
1. I love THIS POST by an agent about writing another book. That's what I did, again and again, before I finally found one that felt right to me and got me an agent. There is so much trying to distract us in today's world, but I want to be one of the ones who keeps writing.
2. And THIS POST by Editorial Ass on authors trying too hard to be cool. I may not be cool. But I can be nice. And nice goes a helluva long way.
3. A GREAT POST on what authors can do to help make their booksignings a success.
4. The talented AND hard-working author, Linda Urban, talks about talent versus hard work. Go. Read. It's good!
5. And finally, a video, courtesy of author Jenny Moss who shared it on her blog yesterday. It was on Good Morning America this morning and I dare you to watch it and not simultaneously laugh and cry. That's what it's all about, people. Have fun. Live. Laugh. Love.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Stormy says...
Man, these look like some REALLY good books. What? There are even more scattered around the house? No way!
Wait. What did you say? I can't read them!? Because you're GIVING THEM AWAY?
waaaaaah!
No fair, no fair, NO FAIR!! I'm going to be depressed forever!!
Don't forget to enter. Good luck!!!
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