So I come home after five hours of Japanese straightening, which is what I do twice a year because my hair in its natural state is so curly and big and frizzy you would be horrified if you saw it, and there’s a box from my publisher waiting for me. It’s too early for finished copies of Lost in Love or paperbacks of City Love, so I thought maybe it was some foreign editions. But then I opened the box and saw a note from a reader. In her note, Betsy R said that she couldn’t think of a bigger fan to share these with.
I knew it had to be Office things before I even started unboxing.
There were stickies, pads, a bookmark, pens, pencils, Michael’s World’s Best Boss mug (now I have three!), a dry erase board, magnets, plus lots more…and all because Betsy R wanted to give me a spectacular gift. She is a serious collector like I am, so now I have doubles of a new choice items. I could tell how much she loves The Office by how carefully and meticulously each item she sent was wrapped. Most of these items were never opened. She knew I would give them all a loving home…and talk about spark joy! I am amazed at her generosity and thoughtful kindness. And of course I wanted to share her act of kindness with you. Thanks for the ultimate box of warm fuzzies, Betsy!
Today is the 5th day of spring and flowering trees are already in bloom here in New York. Flowers on trees make me happy. And birds are chirping and it’s not freezing and just YAY. All of this springtime glee makes me want to share some things with you that will hopefully make you smile.
1. First off, I have to give a shout-out to my girl Ronni. Ronni is a longtime reader, aspiring author, and has been coming to my Chicago events for years. So when she told me that she would be in New York for the NYC Teen Author Festival this year, I was psyched for another reunion…local this time. Look how Ronni got the outfit memo I didn’t even send. BOOM.
You know someone is a rising star when they travel with their own super profesh photographer. The remarkable Wanda Lotus took this happy photo of us at the Upper West Side Barnes & Noble. You can admire Wanda’s photography at Lotusland Fine Art.
2. Who else did I get to chill with at the big Reader’s Theater event? Oh, I don’t know. Only Nicola Yoon, author of Everything, Everything, a book I completely worship in a godlike way. You can read some of my Everything, Everything fangirling here. Nicola and I share a love for all things Little Prince. So when she rolled in wearing a Little Prince tee (which I believe is this Out of Print one), it just made me love her even more. And don’t even get me started on her Kate Spade typewriter bag. Could this girl be any cuter?
I was freaking out before the event (and decided to capture my freakout live on my Facebook) because we were acting out each other’s books and I was playing Maddy from Everything, Everything. And David Levithan was playing Olly. I KNOW. Not too much pressure or anything. David and I were joking in rehearsals about him doing Olly’s handstand for real. Then he actually went for it! Of course I spotted him cat quick.
All of the authors were hilarious. I really liked meeting multi-talented debut author Jeff Zentner.
The Serpent King has so many starred reviews it is pretty much its own galaxy. Snaps for Jeff on his stellar achievement!
3. Events are my fave part of author life because that’s where I get to meet my readers. You guys are why I write. Having the opportunity to meet you in person means so much to me. So yay for book events and all of you who come out for them!
On the other side of author life, the side where I exist most days, I am by myself writing in my home office.
I think it’s important to surround yourself with a creative space that inspires joy. Even if you are not working in a creative field. Surrounding yourself with beautiful things that spark joy and inspire positive energy will help you create your dream life. Finally being able to have the kind of home office I had envisioned was probably the most exciting part of buying and renovating my apartment four years ago. You can see how this office space was constructed here. Since then I’ve added more pieces to my desk, found the sweetest lamp for that corner, and snagged a violet window settee with the perfect dimensions. Curating your ideal creative space is a process. But the cool thing is, you can start right now by simply organizing and letting go of clutter. Then when you find your sweetest lamp, it will feel right at home.
5. Lately I have been listening to a lot of Coldplay. I mean, they have been one of my fave bands for years. Coldplay was even acknowledged in When It Happens. But now I’m listening in a different way. The new book I am just beginning to work on is different in some major aspects that are challenging me as a writer, challenges that I felt the need to bring on. I don’t know, it’s like this music I have loved for years that has helped me so many times in countless ways is now inspiring me to take things to the next level.
You guys know that I obsess over The Office something fierce to the point where I could create an entire 5,000-card trivia game from memory. So when I found this video of Jim and Pam’s history set to Sparks, I freaked the eff out.
Happy springtime, friendly neighbors! I cannot tell you how thrilled I am that spring is officially here…and that I have a new book coming out really soon. The second book of the City Love trilogy, Lost in Love, comes out on May 3.
Which means it’s time for a contest to win signed advance copies of Lost in Love!
Excuse Chez for not getting out of bed this time. He’s been sort of…lost since Dave retired.
Sadie, my girl from the City Lovetrilogy and So Much Closer, is all about random acts of kindness. Making warm fuzzies for people she knows and doesn’t know is part of her initiative to help make the world a better place. What is a warm fuzzy? Sadie has a pretty strict definition. But for the purposes of this contest, a warm fuzzy is any note or image that can brighten someone’s day. Warm fuzzies can be made from inspirational quotes, like this one I made from a Taylor Swift quote that I think is on point:
They can consist of only one word, and/or use mixed media:
They can be gifts to cheer someone up made from actual paper, old-school style:
Basically, a warm fuzzy has the intention of making someone feel better, get inspired, or even just smile. Show your #citylove with a warm fuzzy and you can win a signed advance copy of Lost in Love! You may use an existing warm fuzzy or create your own. Text can be your original message, an existing quote, song lyrics…whatever you feel can help make someone’s day better.
2. Post a warm fuzzy on Twitter and/or Instagram with #citylove and tag me, @susanecolasanti. You may post the same warm fuzzy on both Twitter and Instagram for a double entry.
3. You may post as many different warm fuzzies as you would like. However, each warm fuzzy posted will only be counted as one entry on Twitter or Instagram (it will be counted twice if posted on both Twitter and Instagram).
Contest rules:
1. Two signed advance copies of Lost in Love will be awarded to two contest winners.
2. All entries must be posted by March 29, 2016 at 11:11pm EST.
3. Winners will be announced on Twitter and/or Instagram. Each winner will have three days to email their name and address to me, susanecolasanti at gmail.
4. This contest is US only. However if you live abroad but know someone in the States who can receive your book for you, you may enter and have the book sent to their address.
Part of the reason I have never owned a TV (for reals, as in the last time I lived in a home with a TV I was 18, right before I left for college) is in protest of what TV is babbling at us in between commercials (and especially commercials). That said, you know I love my shows and don’t mind always being a season behind. But seriously. How could the two best shows ever, My So-Called Life and Freaks and Geeks, only run for one season each?
That. Is. Egregious.
My heartache over never knowing what happens next will never die. I imagine Angela’s parents splitting up, her dad getting with Hallie Lowenthal while her mom falls apart. And what about Brian Krakow? Angela discovers that Brian wrote Jordan’s note right before the show ended forever. I mean hello, of course Angela gets back together with Jordan Catalano. You can’t not get back together with Jordan Catalano. But then what?
EGREGIOUS.
A part of our pop culture history has been irrevocably stolen from us. Stolen for eternity. That is an undefendable thing. The person in charge of that horrifying decision clearly had an unconscious wish to punish us.
Naturally being a hardcore fangirl of My So-Called Life comes with adoring Claire Danes in general. Her intelligence, radiance, and outstanding talents shine in any role she plays. Right before I moved to Gramercy Park about four years ago, I lived in the West Village for nine years. A few blocks from where Claire Danes lives now. My celeb encounters over the years, from talking to Philip Seymour Hoffman about his son’s new skateboard to asking David Duchovny to move aside so I could open the gate of my building’s stoop when he took over my street for filming and was totally hanging out with us, inspired me to write a scene for City Love in which my girls pass Claire Danes on the street. Of course they follow her. But not in a creepy stalker way. In an adoring fangirl way. The Claire Danes scene is on pages 37-39 of City Love.
You know that I am all about dreaming big. About creating your dream life by visualizing your goals, then taking steps every day towards making them reality. Part of this process involves putting your dreams out there with positive energy. Every time you express your dreams in verbal, written, or artistic form, you are making them known to the Universe. I wrote this scene a few years ago. And this weekend, it manifested. Not in the exact way I wrote it. Even better.
My friend Linden and I were having dinner Saturday night. Linden said how she saw Claire Danes on the street right before we met up. I am not embarrassed to admit that I knew Claire’s address because I counted it as “research” I was doing for the book. We were having dinner like two blocks from Claire’s place. So after dinner we decided to go see her townhouse. Because dude. That’s how hardcore fangirls roll.
Here’s the fascinating thing about how the Universe works with us to manifest our goals. I knew where Claire’s townhouse was. I only lived a few blocks from it for nine freaking years. But as we were walking to find it, I suddenly blanked. It was the weirdest thing. We were wandering around for longer than it should have taken. Which made no sense until we were standing in front of Claire’s door for three seconds…and Claire pulled up in a cab. She got out, looked at me, and I looked away out of respect. Because a person should be able to open their front door as, like, a basic human right. Yeah, part of me wanted to rattle off an obscure MSCL line like, “Excuse Angela. She’s the product of a two-parent household.” Or tell her how much that show has meant to me, how many times rewatching those eps have saved me from feeling sad. But Claire’s privacy was more important. She was going home.
The timing of every single thing that happened to allow us to have that small encounter blows our minds. If we had gotten there a few minutes, or even seconds, earlier or later, we would have never seen her. I am in profound awe of that moment. Moments like that one spark renewed city love…and make me appreciate celebrating my 20th New Yorkiversary this year even more.
This also makes me wonder what will manifest from Lost in Love, the second book of the City Love trilogy, coming out on May 3. Into the Hall of Books wants to know. And I’m about to revise book three of the trilogy. Better pay extra attention to detail 🙂
Only two months to go until Lost in Love is released on May 3! Which means I will do some fun book events in March and April leading up to the book release. Are you in the New York, Las Vegas, or Santa Monica area? Then I hope to see you at one of these.
More book tour events will be posted closer to May on the events page of my website, but for now here’s where I know I will be.
I am thrilled to be participating in this annual epic festival again. This year I get to be part of the Reader’s Theater! Some amazing authors and I will be acting out our books in what is sure to be a dorktastic book nerd fest. Join us on Friday, March 18 at the Upper West Side Barnes & Noble, 7:00-8:30pm. And then on Sunday, March 20, I will be signing at Books of Wonder with like a gazillion other authors. Note: My time slot is 3:30-4:00pm. Links to author lists and all of the NYC Teen Author Festival events can be found here.
This will be my second year at RT and I am revved to get my book love on! I have never seen a more enthusiastic group of romance novel enthusiasts ever. Check out this huge list of teen authors who will be there. Teen Day is Saturday, April 16, where we will all be at the Giant Book Fair 10:30am-2:00pm. You can see my other events at the convention here.
After my first YALLFest just happened, I cannot freaking wait for YALLWest. The YALLs are amazing! Can you even believe this magnificent author lineup?! The schedule of panels, signings, and other events has not been released yet, but I might be doing stuff on both Saturday, April 30 and Sunday, May 1. You know how I love a good non-coincidence? Dude, May 1 is my birthday! Party in Santa Monica!!! I have always loved it there, which is why Darcy in City Love is from Santa Monica. Can’t wait to absorb all the positive energy like a happy sponge.
So YAY. More events will be posted closer to the Lost in Love May 3 release date. Please stay tuned to my website and socials for those to be announced. I am really looking forward to meeting some of you for the first time and seeing some of you again!
Susane Colasanti - Blog 