The first thing I listen for when my alarm goes off to NPR in the morning is if there was another shooting.
This is how I wake up now. Hoping that no one else was killed.
But there are places on this planet where mass shootings aren’t even news. Places where people live in fear of their lives and the lives of their loved ones every single day. Places where you are afraid to leave your home. Where simply being who you are, openly and proudly, means risking your life.
If the human race is to continue, we cannot go on like this. And PS? There is only ONE race. The human race. We are all connected. Regardless of skin pigmentation, sexual orientation, or any other component of our DNA. The human race will become extinct if we continue to kill each other like this. Considering the entirety of the Earth’s existence, humans arrived quite recently. We are new to this planet and we have already overstayed our welcome.
The hate thing? Has to stop.
I posed for this photo with my fiance for the NOH8 Campaign as a way of taking a stand against hate. NOH8 promotes love, acceptance, and respect for all human beings worldwide. I am speaking out for the 49 victims of the Orlando shooting, for Tyler Clementi, for Matthew Shepard, and for every other innocent human being who was discriminated against to the point of being murdered. Hate is a lethal virus. What is the antidote?
We have the capacity for kindness. We are able to make good choices. Our thoughts, words, and actions are all choices we make every day. Let them be positive ones.
We must choose kindness.
We must choose love.
We must accept that we are all one race. And that all love is love.
Be who you are. Love who you want. Live and let live.
Did you see my Epic Reads author fun facts video where I obsess over things like The Office and my Top Five Husbands List? I had so much fun geeking out that I decided to expand on some of those fun facts with a new video series I’m calling Fun Fact and a Book! Each fun fact is directly related to a book I will fangirl over. The videos will be streamed from my home on Facebook Live first, then posted on my YouTube. You can subscribe to my Facebook for notifications when I go live.
Here’s the first Fun Fact and a Book, featuring my collection of all things from The Little Prince, plus Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon:
Thanks for watching, friendly neighbors! Much love xoxo
TGIM, friendly neighbors! Happy shiny new summer week. I have a very good feeling that fabulous things will be happening for us this week. And I will be eating a ridiculous amount of berries and melons in celebration of the fact that I can. So lots to anticipate.
I have made an executive decision to move my Help Wanted advice videos to Facebook Mentions Live, then post them on YouTube after. I love the energy of a live stream, getting to interact with your comments, reaching out to you in real time. Help Wanted 4 was live on my Facebook yesterday. Now you can watch it on my YouTube.
Help Wanted 4 is all about positive energy. Specifically, how positive energy can protect you from haters. I know how hard it is to not care what other people think. To ignore nasty comments. To block out insults. And to survive being bullied. The thing is, haters hate because of their unresolved issues, not because of you. Happy people don’t feel the need to be hateful. Happy people are happy for others. They enjoy spreading the love.
Haters gonna hate, but you can choose not to react.
Positive energy brings so much goodness into your life and the lives of those around you. When you radiate positive energy, you attract positive energy, which is how you find your people. Your people are your team. Choose to surround yourself with positive people to build a strong team. Because love is a battlefield, but so is all of life.
Avoiding negative people as much as possible will reduce stress and increase happiness. Negative energy is toxic. It can actually make you sick. Positive people are the ones you feel good around. When you are with positive people, it feels like you can be exactly who you are, like you say anything and you know they will support you. Those are the people you want to be around as much as you can.
Wouldn’t it be awesome if we could choose who to interact with at school or work? Like we could just say, “Yeah, no, I’m not feeling anyone negative, so don’t even try interacting with me,” and they would leave us alone? What do you do when you are stuck with haters throwing shade at you? Keep in mind that it’s not about you. Your success or good news or achievements, or even if you’re working towards turning your big dreams into reality, shines a spotlight on their insecurities. It’s like your achievement is a trigger reminding them of the things they haven’t achieved but want to. Which makes them angry. Then they take that anger out on you. Don’t let them bring you down. Don’t let them make you cynical or bitter. Keep generating positive energy. Positive energy is the key to healthy relationships, achieving your goals, and finding true inner happiness.
No matter what, remember that you are important. You are loved. You have a purpose. You have the power to make this world a better place every single day.
When Epic Reads said they wanted to do an author fun facts video with me, I was psyched out of my head. We all know Epic Reads is the biggest and best book lover community out there. And they do the most adorable videos.
You should not be surprised to discover that my author fun facts video is dorktastic to the max. Watch me geek out over David Letterman, The Office, and my Top Five Husbands List. Oh yes. The list is featured.
In other book news, this Barnes & Noble Readout gives you a taste of what happens in Lost in Love after City Love. Spoiler alert! If you haven’t yet read City Love and are considering it, you might want to skip this excerpt.
Epic Reads posted a fun summer paperbacks feature and 40 Perfect Paperbacks for Summer, including City Love and a bunch of other hot reads. If you are looking for summer reading recommendations, check out the books featured there. And it looks like there’s still time to enter their Summer Reading Prize Pack giveaway. You can win TEN BOOKS, a beach towel, a water bottle, and a tote bag. Get it!
Anytime a bookstore closes, it breaks my heart into a million pieces. When I think about all of the amazing experiences I’ve had in bookstores over the years, especially indies where you can just feel the passion and dedication the second you walk in, it is obvious that the bookstores I have visited across the country are an indelible part of me.
So it was especially heartbreaking when the Citigroup Center Barnes & Noble closed here in New York at the end of June. That store was huge. When I was starting out as an author, they had a really big teen section with lots of room for those cardboard floor displays you don’t see anymore. I went there to take photos with my displays, and everyone was always so kind and welcoming. I was honored to moderate the very last event that store had, a teen panel that was part of B-Fest. Lots of sweet memories there.
Every negative situation has a positive side. The positive side of the Citigroup Center Barnes & Noble closing is that they let me keep my shelf talker…and also take a few faves. Shelf talkers are those labels you see under some authors’ books in Barnes & Noble stores nationwide. Here are the ones I took as mementos:
I am beyond grateful to have a shelf talker, and to be in such good company with these rock star authors.
Laurie Halse Anderson has been my favorite YA author since day one. Laurie is the OG of YA. Speak was the catalyst for an actual teen section, which pretty much didn’t exist until around 2000. Back in the day, there were like two shelves of teen books in the children’s section. Laurie inspired the teen section we know and love today. She is a beautiful writer. Every single page of her books resonates with truth and brilliance and emotion so strong sometimes you actually have to put the book down for a minute to get yourself together. She dropped the mic before that was even a thing. I will always be grateful to Laurie for helping me find my own voice, and will always be her #1 fangirl.
Everyone was saying I needed to read The Hunger Games. This was right before the final book came out. I was like, “No thanks, I’m all set with my TBR stack of realistic contemporary teen novels.” I am all about the realistic contemporary teen novels, which is why they are all I write. But people kept insisting. They were like, “You don’t understand.” And I was all, “No, you don’t understand. I’m not into dystopia.” But they would not shut up about how I didn’t understand. The first two books sat on my nightstand for a long time before I gave in and picked up The Hunger Games one night. Next thing I knew, I was still reading at four in the morning, eyes burning out of my head, not caring that I would be an exhausted mess the next day. Because OMG HOW GOOD WAS THAT BOOK? So yeah. Took that one.
Sarah Dessen paved the way for teen romance. She was a mentor when I was first getting started and is a friend I look up to today. I have learned so much from Sarah over the years. We have a lot in common, especially all things summer like flip-flops and long daylight time and fresh treats. Her books bring all the nostalgic feels. They have a timeless quality that feels like a dream to read. Leaving her shelf talker behind was just not an option.
There are some names that require no explanation. John Green is one of them. Enough said.
This Facebook Mentions Live video summed up my shelf talker feels:
Snaps for my readers on social who noticed the Joey + Pacey pic on my bulletin board. And yes, that is Jason Segel brushing his teeth in a scene from The Muppets!
Fortunately our shelf talkers are in lots of Barnes & Noble stores. And B&N will be opening some new high concept stores that focus on community and ways to inspire more social interaction, bringing book lovers together in wonderful ways. I am really looking forward to seeing those.
Susane Colasanti - Blog 