Want to talk summer romance with me, Huntley Fitzpatrick, Jessa Holbrook, and Una LaMarche? Then join us tomorrow, July 1, 7:00-8:00pm EST for a #SummerRomance Twitter chat!
Tweet your questions to us with #SummerRomance. One winner will be randomly selected to receive this summer romance book prize pack from Penguin Teen.
Happy summer reading!
How dazzled was I with all of your entries to my Seventh Annual Ginormous Contest? So dazzled it took me an extra two days to decide on the winners. You guys have so much musical passion, talent, and vision. I am beyond impressed ❤
First prize goes to Madeleine N. from the Philippines!
Madeleine rocked some bold color to illustrate how strongly music gives color to our lives. Love the old-school boom box graphics.
Second prize goes to Daniela C. for her musical artwork.
Beautiful, resonant, and striking.
Third prize goes to Tricia Ryzner. Tricia blew me away with her powerful vocals and beautiful lyrics. I should note that Tricia comes to my book events pretty much every year and has collected a signed set of my books. She graciously accepted third place so she wouldn’t prevent someone else from winning signed books she already owns. How sweet is that? Enjoy the musical sound of Tricia performing Scars (lyrics below):
We took a knife to each other’s backs
An end to a start that we never really had
You took yours out and then you laughed
But I fell apart and let it break me in half
For a while we fell
Into a never ending past
Somewhere in the dark
I found the strength to climb back
Somehow we made it this far
All the cuts smoothed into scars
A weakness turned forgiveness
It might be treacherous
But broken pieces only free us
And now here we are
By your hand we lit up in flames
And now we run from the smoke we had made
With nothing to show but a jar of ash
To remind us how far we’ve come since our quick collapse
For a while we fell
Into a never ending past
Somewhere in the dark
I found the strength to climb back
Somehow we made it this far
All the cuts smoothed into scars
A weakness turned forgiveness
It might be treacherous
But broken pieces only free us
And now here we are
All is mended
Can’t pretend it
Wasn’t for the best
Since it ended
We transcended
Who would have guessed
Somehow we made it this far
All the cuts smoothed into scars
A weakness turned forgiveness
It might be treacherous
But broken pieces only free us
And now here we are
Here we are
Honorable mention goes to Becca J.
Becca used a quote by her favorite French poet, Victor Hugo, about music expression. She loves quotes inspired by music. I love her record player design.
Thanks to everyone who entered this year. Stay tuned for more contests and giveaways, rock stars!
Happy summer solstice week, friendly neighbors! Summer officially begins this Saturday, June 21, at 6:51am EST. Bring on those summer nights.
I have a bunch of notes about stuff I want to share with you. As the bunch has gotten a bit out of control, I decided that a top ten list of the most important notes was in order. So here you go…
1. Which movie boy character is more adorable than Lloyd Dobler? That is a trick question. No one is more adorable than Lloyd Dobler. Who else would kick broken glass out of the way for Diane Court?
Say Anything… turned 25 this year. Respect. Enjoy these 15 Life Lessons from Lloyd Dobler.
2. Stay Bookish is doing a giveaway of a signed copy of Now and Forever. Plus they look at the Now and Forever playlist with a Story Soundtrack. You can listen to the complete Now and Forever playlist on Spotify.
3. Am I giving away books too? Of course I am. You can enter my Seventh Annual Ginormous Contest to win FOUR signed copies of my books! Show me your musical creativity in the form of a video, performance, fan art, original sound…however you want to express your musical brilliance!
4. In other book news, The LAMP is auctioning off a complete set of my first edition signed hardcover books to benefit their Media Breaker project. The LAMP brings media literacy training to students, parents, and teachers, encouraging everyone to perceive media messages in thoughtful, intelligent ways. Media Breaker allows you to remix and criticize commercials, news, music videos and more. As my good friend and co-founder DC says, Media Breaker is inspiring hundreds of little Jon Stewarts. What’s not to love about that?
5. This.
6. PRN radio interviewed me about Now and Forever, why my main motto is Dream Big, and how my personal love life influences my books. You can listen to the podcast here, starting at 32:55.
7. Fun fact time for my fellow NYC trivia geeks. You know those orange discs on top of street lights? They are photo cells that turn the street light on and off. What about those orange bulbs on the side of some street light poles? They are vestiges of New York’s fire-box era, indicating that an emergency box to call the fire department is nearby.
I don’t know about you, but I feel way better that this mystery has finally been solved.
8. Skeptical about whether true love exists? I can tell you from personal experience that it does. Which is why I write book after book about soul mates. I want my readers to know that the kind of love they want exists. But don’t just take my word for it. The Lovumentary has collected the most epic love stories all across the country. Read them and be inspired.
9. I’m more of a scrapbooking than a quilting person, but this quilt freaking rules.
A quilt featuring cupcakes and strawberries? Is my kind of quilt.
10. I am definitely in the running to set a world record for playing Happy on mental repeat. That song is my summer jam. Every time it comes on, no matter where I am, I get super happy. Even when I ordered oatmeal at brunch to try it because I don’t like oatmeal but I feel like I should so I wanted to give it another try even though I knew I probably wouldn’t like it.
Did I suddenly like oatmeal? No. Was I regretting my choice of oatmeal instead of fruit salad? Yes. You all know how obsessed I am with summer fruit. But it wasn’t a consuming regret. Trying new things (or giving old things another try) is important. Even if it’s oatmeal that doesn’t taste any better after putting cinnamon and honey on it. As a Taurus, I tend to be a bit, um, inflexible about my opinions. I know what I like. I know what I don’t like. But I also know that change is key. Change is what makes our lives better than we ever imagined. Change is why Diane Court let Lloyd Dobler push that broken glass out of her way. And why she let him fly away with her.
Here’s to a spectacular summer filled with happy sounds, true love, and positive change 🙂
TGIM, friendly neighbors! I have some good news for you. My author copies of Now and Forever plus paperbacks of All I Need are in the house. You know what that means.
The Seventh Annual Ginormous Contest is on! And it’s international!
This one’s all about the music. For the Sixth Annual Ginormous Contest last year, you guys dazzled me with your beautiful summer collages. The collage idea was inspired by Seth Katims from All I Need. Seth is an artist who makes collages from repurposed and found objects. Since Now and Forever is about the world’s biggest rock star, Ethan Cross is inspiring the musical theme this year.
Show me your musical creativity and you’re in. What do I mean by musical creativity? Fan art, original lyrics, musical composition or mixing, artwork, video, or performance. Just express your love of music in whatever way works best for you. Let your musical obsession shine! I want to be dazzled by your musical brilliance! And what can you win in return?
Dude. First prize is FOUR signed books! How ginormous is that?
Here’s the breakdown of prizes:
First prize is a signed hardcover of Now and Forever, a signed paperback of All I Need, a signed paperback of Keep Holding On, a signed paperback of So Much Closer, and a Now and Forever guitar pick bookmark.
Second prize is a signed hardcover of Now and Forever, a signed paperback of All I Need, a signed paperback of Keep Holding On, and a Now and Forever guitar pick bookmark.
Third prize is a signed hardcover of Now and Forever, a signed paperback of All I Need, and a Now and Forever guitar pick bookmark.
How to enter the contest:
1. Create fan art, original lyrics or a tribute to existing lyrics, musical composition or mixing, artwork, video, a song or dance performance, or any other form of expressing your musical creativity. Let your musical obsession shine!
2. Email your entry in the form of an attachment or link to me at susanecolasanti at gmail. Include your full name and mailing address with your entry.
3. Entries must be received by Sunday, June 22 at 11:11 pm.
Shine on, you rock stars. Shine on 🙂
Susane Colasanti - Blog 