shiny new giveaway

You know how much I’m crushing on my new BF, WordPress. I’ve pretty much been renting a billboard about it. And I’m a fan of spreading the love. Which is why my shiny new blog calls for a celebration! Here’s a Shiny New Giveaway that’s super easy to enter. Just leave a comment telling me one thing you’re looking forward to this summer and you’ll be entered to win. What books can you win?  Check it:

      

      

Ten Things We Did (And Probably Shouldn’t Have) by Sarah Mlynowski – signed!

Prom and Prejudice by Elizabeth Eulberg – signed!

All the Things You Are by Courtney Sheinmel – signed!

The Carrie Diaries by Candace Bushnell

Summer and the City by Candace Bushnell

So Much Closer by Susane Colasanti – signed!

Two winners will be randomly selected. Winner one gets to pick three of these books. Winner two gets the other three. That’s hot.

Shiny New Giveaway Rules:

1. Leave a comment telling me one thing you’re looking forward to this summer. Include your first name and email address.

2. Entries must be received by Friday, July 8, 2011 at 11:11 pm.

3. This giveaway is open to US residents only. 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.

Topic: summertime is fun time. Discuss!

snit fit

Did you guys hear about the snit fit LJ threw after he read my breakup letter? It was not an immediate snit fit. He ignored me the day I sent the letter. But then yesterday? He totally spazzed out and stole all my pictures. Real mature. You couldn’t see them here at WP or over there. I already told LJ he could keep my CDs in the letter. And then he goes and takes my pictures, too?

Who does that?

LJ has stolen my pictures before. There were days when you couldn’t see any of them on my old blog. It wasn’t just my blog – you couldn’t see pictures on anyone else’s LJ blog, either. And because all the pictures here on my WP blog were imported from LJ, if they’re not visible over there you can’t see them here. Unless I delete each picture and upload them all to WP. Guess I’ll be working on that this summer. But LJ seems to be getting over himself. I appealed to him on Twitter yesterday to give me my pictures back. I was just about to tweet that he could keep my CDs and my books if he would just give me back my pictures when the pictures appeared. He left them on my stoop while I was at the gym. Now all I can do is hope that he moves on soon.

The best way to handle someone else’s snit fit is it focus on the good things in your life.  It’s all about overpowering negative energy with positive energy.  Like how a bunch of you have already found me over here at my shiny new blog!  Thanks for making the move with me. I really appreciate it. The thought of losing readers makes me sad. But tons of spam, stolen pictures, and denied access to my own blog made me even sadder. Dude, and I pay for that service. Look at all the cool things I’ve been able to do over here for free! This is clearly the beginning of a beautiful relationship with WP. What can I say – I’m already infatuated with my new BF. I get like that.

What other good things are happening these days? Summer, of course. I’m loving flip-flops. Rainbow Italian ices. Colorful new Bobble filters. Chasing fireflies in the park. Berries and melons. And lots of summer night walks along the river. Times are sweet.

Not so sweet? Hunting down fans and finding nothing but ugly, cheap plastic ones. Where are all the vintage old-school fans? I love a fan with a retro look and will settle for no other. The tabletop fan next to my desk is a brushed nickel vintage number that I adore. I wanted a similar one for my bedroom. So I put the time in online and found my new fan:

I can already tell this is the beginning of yet another beautiful relationship.  I hope good things are happening for you, too!

welcome!

Greetings, friendly neighbors!  Welcome to my shiny new blog.  For those of you who have been reading my blog for a while, thank you for moving over here with me.  Please leave a comment to let me know you’ve found me.  And for any new readers out there, thanks for stopping by.

In addition to a clean, fresh look, the blog has some cool new features.  Down the column at the right you will find:

1.  My latest news right at the top.  As soon as I can share stuff like pub dates, tour info, and the title of my new book, I’ll post everything right there.

2.  The connect section has links my my website, Facebook, fan page, Twitter, YouTube, and Goodreads.  You can also share posts directly on Facebook and Twitter.

3.  In the notifications section, there’s a subscribe button where you can sign up to receive email notifications of new blog posts.

4.  RSS feeds.

5.  A search box.  There’s also a search box at the upper right corner of the home page.

6.  All of my tags from the old blog made the move.  This is good news for those of you who use tags to search.  I’ve been using tags since I started blogging and I think they’re really helpful.

7.  All of my archives are in the house!  I’m still going through them to replace a few photos that didn’t make it over, insert YouTube videos that were stripped out, and remove random codes, but for the most part they’re intact and ready to explore.

So yay!  I’m excited for this change.  Actually, my breakup with LiveJournal was overdue. LJ had cooties.  Their spam filter was attacked and they never recovered, causing my blog to be inundated with corroded comments.  But I’m going to keep that account for a while to give everyone a chance to find me here and change their bookmarks.  I love the fresh look, the fonts, the simple design.  And how I was able to create my own header image in Photoshop.  Nice, WordPress.  Snaps for you.

I’ll be posting a contest soon to celebrate this new home.  But for now, please do leave a comment so I know you’re here!

Update: Could LJ be any more corroded? My photos were fine yesterday, but right now you can’t see them because they were uploaded to LJ and LJ is having problems with their pics showing up. See what I mean? Sorry about that. This has happened with LJ before. They usually fix the problem within a day, so please check back soon!

Update to the update: My pictures are back! I told LJ on Twitter that they could keep my CDs if they gave me back my pictures. I guess they’re over their little snit fit.

profesh pic

If you take like 100 pictures of me, you might get two good ones. Might. I just look like such a dork in pictures. Which is always a challenge when I have to submit a new author photo. Some authors use the same picture over and over. If I had a really good one, I’d probably do the same thing. But I like the idea of having a fresh photo on each book. That way I still look like the same person and all.

My past author photos were all taken by important people in my life. I liked the idea of the casual street shot, or snapping a few spontaneous pics at Chat ‘n Chew. And having people I love take those photos meant a lot to me.

But the problem of my extreme dorkitude persisted.

So last year I promised myself that when I was done with Invisalign, I’d get my first professional author photos taken. Fellow YA author (and a true gentleman – book nerd joke!) Michael Northrop had some profesh photos done. They were really good. I wanted his photographer. Fortunately, I was able to hook that up. If you’re looking for a profesh photographer based in New York, I highly recommend Matthew Rodgers Photography. He’s super fun to work with and has a sharp eye for warm light. Here’s what Matthew was able to do with me:

He’s working on a few other shots, but this is my fave. All ready for book six!

If you’ve seen me at an event, you know I love to get my bling on. A few of you were asking about my ring when I posted this pic on Facebook. True, it has a vintage look. But it’s totally from Forever 21. Same with the necklaces. Forever 21 has such pretty necklaces lately that I can’t go in without getting one. Or, um, four. Even though I have more than enough necklaces. Oh, and if you see this photo on every single one of my books from now until I’m 73? Would you blame me?

getting my summer on

Welcome summer! I know summer starts for a lot of you the day after school ends. Or after Memorial Day. But for me, summer always begins on the first day of summer. Which is the summer solstice. Which is tomorrow. I will try to focus on the happy fact that sunset is at 8:30 instead of getting that sinking feeling I always have when daylight hours start decreasing. We have the greatest amount of daylight hours all year on the summer solstice (about 15 hours in New York), which means that the day after tomorrow…nope. I will not think about that. I will think about getting my summer on.

Actually, I’ve already begun the funtivities. Section two of the High Line just opened. I was so there. As if more High Line in my life isn’t enough, there’s an outdoor art installation right at the end called Rainbow City with all these interactive balloons. Balloons! Plus more High Line! These are the days, yo.

You know how some offices have summer hours? Well, I’m the boss of a one-person corporation over here, and I say my only employee Susane gets to enjoy summer hours, too. Sort of. If it’s a sunny morning that’s not, like, a thousand degrees, I’m allowed to lay out on the beach volleyball pier instead of being online. It’s this new thing at Hudson River Park where volleyball courts are fenced in on a pier – with sand! My entire floor is now covered with sand. Looks like summer. And, um, time to vacuum…

Normally, I would avoid such close proximity to balls zinging in all directions. But they have these cool curvy chairs to lay out on and a sweet summer breeze off the water and it’s just too awesome to resist. I watched some fierce Chelsea boys playing a highly profesh game this weekend. It was good to desensitize myself. Back in junior high and high school, I was terrified of getting smacked in the head with any type of ball – baseball, kick ball, dodge ball, basketball, and especially volleyball. Because when you’re playing volleyball, you are under attack from overhead. Scary much? Now that I’m (technically) a grownup, I think it’s time to be a bit less afraid of volleyballs. So I sat right there and read my book and didn’t get hit. Small steps, people. Small steps.

I have to say that I was shocked by how many people borrowed my sunblock. If you’re going to be outside for a while, bring protection! One new product I’m loving is Neutrogena Wet Skin.

You know how when you’re laying out and sweating and even if your sunblock is waterproof, it still comes off sometimes and you burn? And then you’re furious because, hello, you spent half an hour putting on sunblock before you left and you even reapplied it and now look? Or is that just me? Well, if you can relate then you’ll love Wet Skin. It’s sweatproof, waterproof, and you can spray it right on wet skin. I’m using SPF 85 and loving it. This is the beginning of a beautiful relationship.

In online news, The Guardian has come to my attention with this piece on authors’ responses to that ridiculous WSJ article about how teen novels are all corrupt a few weeks ago. Then When It Happens got a sweet review. “It’s like Twilight without the vampires!” I’ll take it. Also, the Book Blog Experience is running a giveaway of So Much Closer to go with this interview.

As if the summer solstice isn’t festive enough, even more funtivities are going down tomorrow. I’m doing my last book tour event out on Long Island with fellow YA author/good friend/all-around amazing chica Elizabeth Eulberg. Dude, I’m almost as excited for the train ride as I am for the event. Traveling with friends is way more fun than traveling alone. Elizabeth and I will try not to be too rowdy. But we’re not making any promises. Quiet car FAIL. If you’re a Long Islander (or into road trips), here’s where you can find us:

Tuesday, June 21 – 4:00 pm
Beach Bag Book Club
Merrick Library Annex
2369 Merrick Avenue
Merrick, NY 11566

If I didn’t make it to your area on this tour, I def hope to next time around!

5 sweet things

1. The event I had at Anderson’s Bookshop with Sarah Mlynowski and Maureen Johnson was off the hook. Sarah and Maureen are hilarious. There were so many enthusiastic readers! I did events at the other two Anderson’s locations last year and really wanted to do one at their Naperville store. So I was pretty much stoked out of my mind for this. Lots of kindred spirits were in the house. I had no idea there were so many Container Store fans out there. There was much bonding over my organization stories. I was like, Yay, I’m not a total freak! Also awesome – I got to meet a few readers I’d been communicating with online for years. Lauren brought me cupcakes. And I could not get over the huge gift basket Cassidy put together for me. It had all these cool scrapbooking things like Jolee’s Boutique NYC decorations and flower stickers and a peace sign stamp/stamp pad and even a calligraphy set. What blows my mind is how well she knows me just from reading my blog and stuff online. Thank you for the amazing gifts, Cassidy!

2. The Best Gift Basket Ever wasn’t the only gift to be given. Katie brought Maureen a Maureen doll wearing – wait for it – the Pajants! As in the Pajants that have been circulating within the YA lit circle for the past few months. We all signed the Pajants after wearing them. Most of us added some artwork. So what did Katie do? She freaking went and made a mini replica of the Pajants. I could not get over the accuracy. She even used the same colors we did. I posted a close-up on the Twitterhood of the Butt Lifting Pajants page. Here’s Maureen and Katie with the doll:

3. I’m honored that a second quote from When It Happens has been added to the English wing of Erica’s high school. She selected the Mr. Potato Head line. Thanks for sharing this, Erica!

4. Author Turf interviewed me about the writing process. If you’re an aspiring writer, you might want to check it out.

5. As you very well know by now if you’ve been reading my blog or ecstatic tweets for a while, Sprinkles opened here in New York last month. This is a Very Big Deal. Sprinkles cupcakes are the best. I had them last year in L.A. and immediately fell in love. So of course I had to gather my friends Elizabeth Eulberg and Courtney Sheinmel to check it out. Courtney is a purist. She likes vanilla cupcakes with chocolate icing. We agreed it would be a good idea for us to all get the same ones for the purpose of taste testing. But inside I was like, “LEMON COCONUT!” The verdict seems to be that their plain vanilla cupcakes are maybe not their forte. But when it comes to their more creative flavors, watch out for deliciosity.

I needed to return. I needed to experience the deliciosity.

Some old students of mine (aka vintage friendly neighbors) also love cupcakes. They were more than ready to try Sprinkles. So we all went last night for a friendly neighbor reunion. Was it wrong to have a cinnamon sugar cupcake, a frosting shot, and then half a strawberry cupcake? Good, I didn’t think so. You can get these little cups of frosting in any flavor featured on the current cupcakes (most of their flavors change daily). I had a strawberry frosting shot. I was blown away. It was like a burst of fresh strawberry goodness partying in my mouth. So of COURSE I had to try a strawberry cupcake after that. Which was bursting with even more fresh strawberry goodness. You can totally tell they use fresh, organic ingredients. Unreal. Here I am with Jane, Mamusu, and Sherae in front of the special window bedazzled with signature Sprinkles dots:

We had a time.

P.S. Thanks for the warm fuzzy at Anderson’s, Mia (the other Mrs. Krasinski)!

three events to go…

Just a quick post to remind everyone about my last three tour events.

CHICAGO

Monday, June 13 – 7:00pm
Anderson’s Bookshop
123 West Jefferson Avenue
Naperville, IL 60540

With Sarah Mlynowski and Maureen Johnson
Ticketed event – call 630.355.2665 for reservations

NEW YORK CITY

Thursday, June 16 – 6:00pm
Books of Wonder
18 West 18th Street
New York, NY 10011

With Sarah Mlynowski, Tara Altebrando, Nova Ren Suma, and Lisa Pliscou

LONG ISLAND

Tuesday, June 21 – 4:00pm
Merrick Library Annex
2369 Merrick Avenue
Merrick, NY 11566

With Elizabeth Eulberg
Ticketed event – call 516.377.6112 for reservations

Hope to see you there!

get closer to inspiration

One of the most frequently asked questions I get is, “What was your inspiration for this book?”

Sometimes ideas come from dreams (like Rhiannon’s relationship with James in Take Me There). Sometimes ideas just burst in (like the plot of Something Like Fate). Sometimes they’re based on quirky details from real life (like the dots game in When It Happens). And sometimes my own experiences spark ideas. That’s what happened with So Much Closer.

In this bootleg, 99-cents store, garage sale, discount video that I very unprofessionally put together, I share what inspired So Much Closer. Thanks to my friend Elizabeth Eulberg for filming! Note: The lacking quality of this video has nothing to do with her. She is highly profesh.

hot summer reads

What do I love most about summer? How the whole city slows down. Infusing water with cucumbers and strawberries and mint. Flip-flops, summer breeze, and long walks at night. And most of all, having a big stack of fresh books waiting for me to dive right in. Here are three I’ve already read and two that are burning up the TBR pile.

Summer and the City by Candace Bushnell

You don’t have to be a Sex and the City fan to enjoy this sweet series. But if you’re a fellow major fan, you’ll love finding out about Carrie’s early days in New York City. Summer picks up right where The Carrie Diaries left off. Carrie has arrived in New York and she just met Samantha. Now she has a whole summer ahead of her to figure out how to stay in New York. Some differences between the book characters and the show characters continue to strike a discordant note, like how Carrie’s father is in her life and that she’s still a virgin after high school. Book Samantha was married and wants kids! Book Carrie cooks! But there are plenty of similarities that paint an authentic earlier version of the girls we know and love. Carrie’s immediate love for the city is palpable. Her passion reminds me of when show Carrie said, “Nobody talks s#$! about my boyfriend.” She was dating New York right from the start. Her determination to become a famous writer is there. She has the Knowing. I love how Candace included actual locations from 80s New York City, places that still exist like the Pink Tea Cup (which immediately made me kick myself for not including the Pink Tea Cup in So Much Closer – dir!). Discover how Carrie meets Miranda and Charlotte in this second book of a series I’m hoping continues for many more books.

Ten Things We Did (And Probably Shouldn’t Have) by Sarah Mlynowski

I don’t blurb a lot of books. But I was beyond stoked to blurb this one, which comes out today! Ten Things takes you on a wild ride along with two BFFs who get to live together senior year…without any parents. Everyone’s fantasy, is it not? I was super impressed with the way Sarah pulled off the whole our-parents-can’t-find-out-we’re-living-here-all-alone thing. This is a hilarious adventure you won’t want to end. Plus it has tons of fun dialogue, which I adored. Summer reading at its best!

Divergent by Veronica Roth

The buzz surrounding this book is so loud it’s like all I’m hearing these days. I used to be a person who only liked realistic fiction, who wouldn’t dream of trying out dystopia. Then The Hunger Games came along. I am now a different person. Divergent sounds amazing.

Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares

Ten years later, the pants still fit and the girls are still friends. Or are they? I’m just playing with that teaser…haven’t read this one yet. Sisterhood Everlasting was my reward for participating in the magical Pajants funtivities with a bunch of other badass YA authors. Thanks to Random House for this sweet gift. I can’t wait to see what happens next!

Press Here by Herve Tullet

One thing I love about book tours is getting to discover new authors. I usually have time to chat with booksellers in indie bookstores, who of course know everything there is to know about books and have tons of awesome recommendations. When I was in Berkeley last month, I stopped in at Mrs. Dalloway’s between events to do some exploring. And that’s where I discovered my fave new children’s book author. Herve Tullet is freaking brilliant. He is the master of Less Is More. I immediately fell in love with Press Here. I love dots. I love pressing the dots. Press Here invites you in right away and keeps the action moving.

You might think this book shouldn’t be sitting at the same lunch table as the books above. I challenge you to look closer.

Wishing you a summer filled with refreshing water games, colorful fruit salads, and endless summer reads!

happy spring, happy mash, happy table

Yay, it’s the Return of Spring! Early Summer was oppressing us with these hot, humid days everyone was over after like five minutes. People kept saying that we didn’t have spring. I kept insisting that spring would be back. And now it is! I’m hoping spring will decide to stick around for its official three more weeks. Spring is my favorite season. I am very happy right now.

Well. I’d be happier if I could actually go out and enjoy the springtime that is happening beyond my apartment. The cool breeze blowing in my windows is nice, but I’m looking forward to handing in this revision and taking a few days off. We’re on Day 8 of the 10 Day Challenge Throwdown. Things are looking good. Really good – I spoke with my UK editor at Scholastic in London this morning. She is amazing. I love how she’s into collaborating and getting to know her authors. I’m thrilled to finally have some good news for my English readers! Two of my books are coming out for you next year. The UK edition of When It Happens will be out in May 2012, followed by So Much Closer in September 2012.

In other book news, Forever YA asked me about my inspiration for So Much Closer. They wanted to know if I think moving for a boy is okay. First off, if you haven’t visited Forever YA you need to get over there immediately if not sooner. Freaking. Adorable. Site. Second, I’m really happy they asked. This is a controversial topic. I didn’t expect the discussion to get quite so heated, but I love that my book is inspiring debate! You can read my response, plus find out which fictional characters I’d select for my own Ocean’s Eleven and all sorts of other fun stuff, here. And P.S.? Their MASH game results made me entirely too happy. Seriously, I am still smiling over them.

Keeping today’s happy theme going, I’ll leave you with this display table I found at Barnes & Noble. Just chillin with my girls…