floor display contest

To celebrate next week’s release of Something Like Fate, I’m running my largest (and last for a while) contest to win copies of the book. It’s the third annual Floor Display Contest! Starting May 4, Barnes & Noble and some indie stores will be putting up floor displays (book towers) of Something Like Fate. If you find a display and document yourself with it, you can enter to win a copy of the book from me. The floor display and header look like this:

     

Breaking news:  B&N stores are putting up larger floor displays, called stepladders, and doing big endcaps.  You can ask for either of these at the store if you can’t find their display.

Here’s how the contest works. Take a photo of yourself with the floor display. Since not all bookstores put up these displays, you can take a photo with just my books in the store or even at home. As long as the photo includes you and Something Like Fate, you can enter. Email your photo to me at friendly.neighbor [at] hotmail.com. The photo that speaks to me the most will win. Photos will be judged on creativity, originality, and overall awesomeness. You may use Photoshop or another program to alter the image in any way you’d like: adding color, text, graphics, anything that lets you express your artistic talents. Three winners will be selected!

Floor Display Contest rules:

1. Email your photo of you with either the floor display or Something Like Fate to me at friendly.neighbor [at] hotmail.com. Photo enhancement is allowed.

2. Include your full name and complete mailing address with your entry.

3. Entries must be received by 11:11 pm on Sunday, May 23.

4. This contest is only open to US residents. However, if you live abroad and have a contact in the States who can receive the prize for you, it can be sent to their address.

Prizes: Three prizes will be awarded. First prize is Something Like Fate, Waiting for You, and your choice of either Take Me There or When It Happens. Second and third prizes are both Something Like Fate and your choice of either Waiting for You, Take Me There, or When It Happens. All books will be signed to whomever you’d like, of course.

I can’t wait to see your creativity shine.  Let’s get this party started!

book excerpts

It’s day nine of my blog tour! Today I’m over at Pop Culture Junkie discussing palm reading, positive energy, and inspiration. Yesterday I revealed what My So-Called Life taught me about tarot cards over at Book-Lover Carol, and tomorrow I’ll be ending the festivities with The Compulsive Reader. I’m loving all of your non-coincidence comments at Presenting Lenore. Your stories really show that there’s more to our connections than we realize. Thanks to all of my hosts for an outstanding blog tour!

At the moment, I’m deciding what to do on May Day, which is May 1, which is Saturday, which I can’t believe is already here, which is my birthday. Saturday birthdays are always the best. I feel like I should be taking advantage of that. But I mostly feel lame because I can’t think of anything spectacular to do. There are definitely things I want to do, like walk along the river with a friend and let SP take me out for a fun dinner and of course enjoy a delicious piece of cake. I guess it will be a low-key kind of day, which is usually the kind I like best.

The friendly neighbors at Penguin have put together a sampler of my books on Scribd. You can read the first few chapters of Something Like Fate and my other books here. I’ve included an additional chapter on my website.

See you back here tomorrow for my biggest contest ever!

kiefer’s other gf, plus tweet Q&A

This email totally made me smile:

Hi Susane,

Maybe you can help me out here. I was in the West Village today w/ my son having lunch. We saw Kiefer Sutherland walk by and my son swears you were walking with him. He’s read your books and he insists it was you, now we’re both curious if it was you? Sure looked like you!

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know that Kiefer and I are neighbors. You also know that we’ve met and you know what a huge deal that was for me. However, Kiefer was not walking with me. That was his girlfriend. Kiefer and I have a mutual friend who keeps saying how much I look like his girlfriend. When I Googled her, I discovered the main difference between us: she is gorgeous. But! I did find this pic of her that managed to fool lots of my friends. Even I was like, Wait, when did we have lunch?

Okay, I’m really not supposed to be blabbing about my relationship with Kiefer. I am supposed to be reminding you that it’s day seven of my blog tour. You have a chance to win a copy of Something Like Fate over at A Good Addiction. Plus, I speculate about who my main characters would hook up with if they weren’t together.

TeenReads wanted me to answer some questions today. I’m going to try something different with them. I’ve noticed a few author Q&A sessions on Twitter and I’m thinking about doing something like that, too. Which reminds me – I just redid my Twitter. Does it look okay to you? It’s so hard to tell if a new background will work on everyone’s monitor. Anyway, in preparation for my Twitter Q&A thing I’ve decided to do a practice run with the questions from TeenReads.

TeenReads Tweet Q&A

What’s your inspiration? – Brittany P.

Life in its entirety. Especially the parts that make an impact.

Has your inspiration for novels ever come from a dream? – Runa

Definitely! The main plots of Take Me There and Something Like Fate both came to me in very intense dreams.

How do you keep your teen perspective? – Dee

My internal age is 16. I have a feeling it will always be like this.

Are there instances where you’ve written about your own experiences in your books? – Vienna
Do you base anything you write on your real life? – Adeola M.

Totally. Hopefully, adapting actual experiences helps to make my books feel real. Realistic books are the kind I love to read.

Do you ever get writer’s block? If so, what makes you push over that hurdle? – Anne

I’ve never met that monster. If you’re writing about things that make you feel alive, the words will flow. Passion inspires creativity.

With four books under your belt now, what do you think is the hardest part about the writing/publishing process? – Marisa

Expectations, both my own and others’. My expectations are enormous. Disappointing readers is something I hope to never do.

What will your next book be about? – Krissy

I’m revising my fifth book now, but it’s too early to discuss. I can say that’s it’s about following a dream that seems larger than life.

next week…

Something Like Fate comes out on May 4! It’s hard to believe that’s next Tuesday. Later this week, I’ll be posting my biggest contest to win copies of Fate. It involves the floor displays that will be going up in Barnes & Noble stores nationwide starting May 4, so check back here for all the info. These floor displays are the prettiest ever! I think their header (the piece that goes at the top of the display tower) is gorgeous:

I’ve had an early copy of the book for a while. It’s always exciting to get that first copy and then all of my author copies, but nothing compares to that first bookstore sighting. When my books are out in the world where other people can see them, that’s when they feel real to me. It’s all about my Real Book Love. This is the kind of love one has for books made of paper, where you can turn the pages and smell the ink and adore all of the unique details. Like how underneath the dust jacket of Something Like Fate, it has a pink hardcover and purple foil letters on the spine. Purple foil!

Other big things are happening next week. A week from today, I’ll be leaving on my book tour! The Best Friends & Boyfriends Tour is coming to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, CT, and NJ. You can find the complete tour schedule here.

But this week deserves love, too. Particularly for those of us working on living in the Now. Today is day six of my blog tour. Find out how creative visualization has changed my life over at TeenReads. Oh, and what about last week? If you participated in National TV Turnoff Week, I hope you accomplished your goals. Even if you watched less TV instead of none, that means you had more time for other activities. Which means success!

Did you know that the cover photo for Something Like Fate was taken during a photo shoot? The images on my previous book covers were all adapted from stock photos. This time, the process was more exciting. My publisher wanted to show the lovers’ triangle conflict in a way that would reflect the tone of the book, so models were acquired and a photo shoot was had. I was originally going to write about it here, but Melissa Walker does such an amazing job with her Cover Story feature that I shared my behind-the-scenes info on her blog. And P.S.? I’ve seen pics of the boy model from the front. Yeah, he’s just as cute as you think he is.

fate playlist

Yesterday was the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day! Did you show some planetary love? I did by not driving anywhere. Oh, wait. That’s every day. Well, I did fill my Klean Kanteen with Tazo Refresh Herbal Infusion. If the only beverage I could drink (besides water, duh) were this beverage, I would be completely okay with that. Infusions are the best. At the W Hotel in South Beach, they had a big pitcher of ice water with oranges, lemons, limes, mint, and strawberries on top. So refreshing! I also love cucumber water in the summer.

Today is day five of my blog tour. Find out which three literary characters I’d want to meet over at The Page Flipper. And did you catch day four at Shooting Stars Mag? I discussed whether I believe in fate. I also posted the Something Like Fate playlist. Creating playlists for my books is really important to me. While I’m writing each one, there are certain songs I listen to over and over that help me shape key scenes. And there are always songs that reflect the tone of my story so well. You can find the playlists for all of my books on my website.

Here’s the Something Like Fate playlist, along with my explanations about why I included each song:

1. “Northern Sky” – Nick Drake

This song is all about finally finding the person you’ve been searching for. After waiting for so long, this is what it feels like to find and be found.

2. “Dice” – Finley Quaye

I first heard “Dice” on an ep of The O.C. Ryan was running in slow motion to get to Marissa on New Year’s Eve. I always think about that scene when I hear this song. It’s about taking a chance and making a decision to be with someone. Nothing can compare to when you roll the dice and swear your love’s for me.

3. “Move On” – Jet

The Unknown can be scary. Especially when you’re letting go of something you don’t want to leave. We try to trust that the next choice we make will lead us down the right path. This song is how it feels to make that choice.

4. “Cry Me a River” – Justin Timberlake

When the person who is your whole world chooses to be with someone else, then realizes that they made the wrong choice. Angsting!

5. “In Your Room” – The Bangles

How much do I love this song? I obsessed over it in 10th grade. That was before I had a boyfriend, so I could only imagine what it would be like to make out with a boy in his room. There’s something about seeing his room for the first time, that feeling of here are all his clothes. Classic.

6. “Transatlanticism” – Death Cab for Cutie

Death Cab was on heavy rotation while I was writing Something Like Fate, so it’s no surprise that this song plays an important role in the book. I need you so much closer…

7. “Do You Know Me” – John Mayer

Surprise, John Mayer is on my playlist! No, but this is one of the most wistful, beautiful songs I’ve ever heard about about longing for someone you don’t know. Longing for the idea of someone. Waking up from a dream you had about this person you’re searching for with such a strong sense of who they are. It’s like you can’t even stand it, knowing they’re out there but not knowing where. It also applies to the connection Lani and Jason have. When you first meet a soul mate, there’s this immediate connection you can’t explain, but you could never deny.

8. “Bring on the Night” – The Police

There’s something so magical about the night. Lani lives for those summer nights with Jason. The night has an energy the day can never know.

9. “Nightswimming” – R.E.M.

This song is perfect for the scene where Jason is teaching Lani how to swim at night.

10. “Maybe I’m Amazed” – Paul McCartney

Jason is overwhelmed by his feelings for Lani in a way that changes his whole life. That’s what this song is about – being amazed by how much one person can make your world a better place. The live version of this song is awesome, by the way.

11. “Let Go” – Frou Frou

If you overcome your fear and give in to your heart’s desires, there’s magic waiting on the other side.

12. “Helplessly Hoping” – CSN&Y

They are for each other.

author video

My author video for Something Like Fate is ready! This is the marketing video that goes on the Amazon and Barnes & Noble pages, plus a bunch of other sites. We wanted to film it outside, but it turned out to be super chilly and windy that day. Which actually worked out because we got to film in the Magnificent Office of Regina Hayes! In the video, I discuss a bit about the book’s plot and what fate has to do with it.

Lauren Saffa is the filmmaker who created this video. She’s incredibly sweet, so I was psyched to work with her again – she also did my Waiting for You videos last year. You rock, Lauren!

In other news, it’s day three of my blog tour. You can find out why I’ve spent New Year’s Eve in complete silence over at Lauren’s Crammed Bookshelf.  That would be a different Lauren by the way, although she also rocks.

Ciao for now.

wrong & right

It’s Day 2 of my blog tour! Find out how dreams made me miss the school bus over at The Story Siren.

Today is also the second day of National TV Turnoff Week. For those of you participating, you may be feeling a bit anxious right about now. I know how it feels to look forward to a fave show at the end of a stressful day. Actually, I’m still getting over some show-related sadness from last week. I finished watching Prison Break. As I’ve mentioned before, the first season is a masterpiece. What an amazing ride! Even though the following three seasons weren’t as excellent, they were still awesome. I mean, it’s hard to compete with perfection, so what do you expect? I was not at all prepared to discover that Michael Scofield died. I have this thing where I get really attached to my favorite characters, whether they’re in books or movies or shows. Michael was one of the most impressive characters I’ve ever known. I’m not embarrassed to admit that I totally cried at the end of that last ep. The writers are fabulous, but I might have to contact one of them to complain. His death was wrong!

Something else that’s wrong? My corner deli’s new awning. They spent all this money to have a brand-new awning made. They spent two days putting it up. I’m sure I’d be horrified to discover how must it cost. And what does the awning say? Gourmet deli, grocery, vegetable, beer, ATM. It’s such a shame. Like, what, you only have one vegetable? Come on! I get really worked up about typos. When I was younger, I’d get so annoyed that I’d point them out to the people working at the store, even if they had no control over their signs. I’m pretty sure I’ll be bringing up this atrocity to the deli owner one of these days.

To end on a positive note, here’s a review of Something Like Fate by The Compulsive Reader and another one at BookCrossing. Two of the major reviewers have weighed in as well. Booklist says:

“Colasanti provides credible and engaging character development for each cast member and interactions that spark just the right amount of tension to make this a romantic page-turner.”

And Kirkus says this about my main character, Lani:

“Lani recounts both the thrill of romance and the terror of losing what little social status she has in an intelligent, fast-paced present-tense narration.”

Yay!

turning it off & starting it up

Congratulations to Jessica and Evie! They’re the winners (randomly selected) of my Waiting for You Contest. Cheers, ladies!

If you entered the contest, this next thing pertains to you. Today is the first day of National TV Turnoff Week. Participating in this annual event is simple. All you have to do is not watch TV (including TV on the computer) from April 19 to April 25. You’ll be surprised at how much free time you’ll suddenly have! With all that free time, participants pledge to do at least three things that will improve their lives. Everyone who entered my contest left a comment telling me three things they’ll do this week instead of watching TV. If you commented, then it’s time to start! No worries if you didn’t – you can decide on your three things now and begin. Please let me know how it goes.

When I was teaching, I’d offer National TV Turnoff Week as extra credit. I passed out pledge forms to my students and we hung them up all around the room. Here’s my pledge form from 2006, while I was writing Take Me There (the Mrs. Maguire thing is because Tobey was at the top of my husband list at the time):

It’s also the first day of my Something Like Fate blog tour! For the next two weeks, I’ll be visiting ten blogs to discuss fate-related concepts from the book. To kick off the festivities, Lenore asked me about my craziest “coincidental” connection. Find out what it was (it was hard picking just one!) and why I consider coincidences to actually be non-coincidences at Presenting Lenore. Plus, if you tell her your craziest non-coincidence you’ll be entered to win a signed copy of Something Like Fate. Sweet!

blog tour

Next week I will be embarking on a blog tour! To celebrate the upcoming May 4 release of Something Like Fate, I’ll be visiting ten blogs. Each visit will include a guest post discussing a concept related to fate, like astrology, palm reading, and tarot. In the book, Lani and Erin have created a list of ten topics related to fate, one for each month of junior year. Their goal is to learn as much as possible about each topic so that they can be experts on fate by the end of the year. I used their list to write about my own experiences with each of their topics. In addition, I’ll be answering three questions by each blogger. Three is an auspicious number. In the case of Something Like Fate, the number three represents the lovers’ triangle dynamic. It also relates to Lani’s environmental activism – how the recycle symbol has three arrows representing Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

But that’s not all. At every stop of my blog tour, you’ll have a chance to win a signed copy of Something Like Fate. I’m not talking about an ARC, I mean a finished hardcover! Sweet!

Here’s the schedule:

• April 19 – Presenting Lenore

• April 20 – The Story Siren

• April 21 – Lauren’s Crammed Bookshelf

• April 22 – Shooting Stars Mag

• April 23 – The Page Flipper

• April 26 – TeenReads

• April 27 – A Good Addiction

• April 28 – Book-lover Carol

• April 29 – Pop Culture Junkie

• April 30 – The Compulsive Reader

In case you haven’t heard, I’m also going on an actual book tour May 4-12. You can find all the tour details here.

stand-outs

One thing I love about living in New York is that there are so many amazing things right here. Like Teen Author Reading NIght. David Levithan organizes a few YA authors to read almost every month at the Jefferson Market NYPL, which is like a five-minute walk from my place. Last night was amazing! My friends Elizabeth Scott and Rachel Vail read from their latest books. I would have documented the event for you, but the lighting in there is always kind of weird and every time I try to take pictures of authors reading they come out all bootleg. Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus read from Dedication, which sounds so freaking good! And how cute is it that these girls write books together? I also want to recommend Gimmie a Call by Sarah Mlynowski. Sarah is one of the best readers I’ve ever encountered – majorly entertaining. Gimmie a Call is about a 17-year-old girl who can call her 14-year-old self, warning her to avoid a certain boy who wasted years of her life. I love the concept of being able to tell our younger selves things we wish we would have known back then. My list of things is really, really long.

Have you entered my Waiting for You Contest yet? If not, you have until Sunday night. When my author copies of a new book arrive, the best part is getting to donate and give some away in contests. Soon I’ll only have a few left. But for now, I love seeing all of these copies piled on top of my bookshelf. The new spine art on my paperbacks is just so gorgeous. And it really pops in bookstores. I was in B&N the other day in a whole other section when something caught my eye over in teen. It was an incorrectly shelved copy of When It Happens. The new spine art is so powerful that it totally captured my attention all the way across the room! That’s hot.

Also hot: I just finished a phone interview with Romantic Times Books Reviews. It’s funny how I didn’t even realize I was writing teen romance until I started seeing my books labeled that way. Soul mates are always at the core of my books so I guess it should have been obvious, but with all the other issues I include I just thought I was writing about life. Anyway, I’m happy to be a part of the romance world! In other interview news, Cover to Cover interviewed me about selecting music and incorporating real-life experiences in my writing. Thanks for the fun interview, Jessica!

Yesterday I stopped in at Crumbs to ogle their new springtime cupcakes:

Any cupcake with flowers is a friend of mine. I hope your day includes some sweetness, too!