top five, heart eyes edition

1. You know when you’re having a Twitter chat and S.E. Hinton drops in?

Turns out the author of my fave teen novel loves elephants as much as I do! In the chat, we were talking about things we will be forever in love with. I said how I will be forever in love with elephants because they’re my spirit animal. As I was posting, I saw S.E. Hinton’s RT of an elephant with some zebras and a giraffe. So of course I had to RT her RT…and there you go. This is the kind of connection with an author I admire that would have blown my mind when I was rereading The Outsiders for the zillionth time as a teen. Yay technology!

2. Speaking of The Outsiders, who remembers this slammin look from 1983?

I mean. C. Thomas Howell was killing it with the popped collar and Izod sweater. And that hair. I have so much love for this movie poster I can’t even. My tattered old copy of the book has this cover, the best cover of all the editions IMHO.

3. Throwing it back to the 80s, I played the violin from 7th grade to 12th grade because I loved the challenge of developing the skills specific to playing a string instrument. There was all this snobbery the orchestra nerds had over the band geeks. Mastering a string instrument requires finesse. Meticulous finger placement. Methodology of bowing. String instruments are nothing like wind instruments, where all you have to do is press buttons or cover holes or whatever. That was our philosophy, and we stuck to it, scoffing whenever some percussion player bragged about his new drum riff. Ah, memories.

I also just love how string instruments look. How they are made. Their parts and pieces. In a way, string instruments are like people.

4. What else do I love? So. Many. Things. Like how at my old place in the West Village and at my new place in Gramercy Park, a personal mourning dove has made friends with me. He sits in a tree outside my window.

If you searched “mourning dove” on this blog, you would probably come up with like 23 results of me talking about how the mourning dove hoo makes me so happy. Seriously. It’s one of those sounds that instantly elevates my mood, no matter what. And look how puffy and cute this guy is! Bliss.

5. THIS.

This is why I’m here. This was the inspiration for my City Love trilogy, which just came to an end with Forever in Love. This is why I moved to New York City 21 years ago, and why I will be forever in love with this magical place, glittery with infinite possibilities.

Here’s to your city love, wherever it may be. ❤

city love trilogy cover models

How much do I love behind the scenes stuff? SO much. Which is why whenever I get to see photos of the models on my book covers, I’m obsessed. You can’t quite see the models’ faces on the City Love trilogy covers. But now you can!

The City Love trilogy models were en fuego. They had the right look, the right clothes and accessories, and their poses were on point. Gustavo Marx, the cover photographer, shared some fun outtakes from the two-day photo shoot. The first day was on a rooftop in Brooklyn to capture the Manhattan skyline in the background. The second day was on a pier near the Brooklyn Bridge.

The City Love cover models were adorbs. They looked super comfortable together as Sadie and Austin, and I love the look of their clothes and sunglasses here.

They played around a little. With the Empire State Building in the background.

Brilliant cover designer Erin Fitzsimmons went with different outfits for the cover. They were still hot.

Speaking of hot, this photo shoot went down over two days in the summer of 2014 during a crazy heat wave. Erin said she didn’t know how the models weren’t drenched in sweat. After seeing how cool they look in these photos, I suspect that models may have anti-sweat superpowers.

Lost in Love is my favorite cover of the three. And these were my favorite models. Darcy and Jude were totally represented.

Love the clothes. Love her topknot. Love how she looks like Keira Knightley. Just. Freaking. Love.

And the lighting at sunset? Stunning.

The backlighting is so gorgeous, and that radiant shine of the sunlight on the water made the Lost in Love cover stand out.

The Forever in Love cover is a bit different. The models’ faces are the most visible. The focus is the sharpest. And the pose is super romantic. Ironically, Forever in Love is the least romantic book of the three, but we didn’t know that back in 2014! Back then I had no idea so much devastation would come crashing down at the end of the trilogy. But as this trilogy unfolded, I knew I needed to push my girls harder so they could push themselves out of their comfort zones. If you want big changes in your life, you have to make big changes, and that doesn’t happen when you’re stuck in a comfortable routine.

This girl looks like Brooke Shields here.

Rosanna and Donovan, of course. D is looking extra preppy here. And on the cover with that watch! But it was a good way to distinguish the unique characters.

HarperCollins did a behind-the-scenes photo shoot video you can watch here. You can watch my City Love trilogy tour featuring locations from the books on my YouTube. And Forever in Love can be ordered from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, or your local bookshop.

Happy summer reading, friendly neighbors! xoxo

full-circle in the park

As always during a book release week, I’m doing giveaways of Forever in Love here and there. Like this giveaway on Amazon. But Epic Reads is giving away the entire trilogy! With five winners! Their giveaway runs until July 24, and it’s open to residents in the US and Canada. You can enter here.

The final City Love trilogy tour video is up.

I did videos at five different New York City locations from the books, and tied in a theme from the books at each location. The final tour stop is Washington Square Park, which brings it back full-circle from the first chapter of the trilogy. Even filming the video was a full-circle moment because there was a magician performing who looked a lot like Jude, and in that first chapter of City Love Sadie and Rosanna are walking through the park and they stop to watch Jude perform. They just don’t know he’s Jude, because Darcy hasn’t even arrived yet and…well. No spoilers. PS That boy running through the fountain was not choreographed, but was amazing.

Thanks to everyone who made Forever in Love release week a blast. Your warm fuzzies, excitement, and support of the trilogy means so much to me. I will be forever in love with your positive energy, friendly neighbors. Shine on ❤

xoxo-
Susane

girl boy stuff

SO THIS HAPPENED.

I have been a hardcore Blake Nelson fangirl ever since I discovered Girl in 1994. I was in college and it was in the adult section because we really didn’t have a teen section yet except for a few sorry shelves in the children’s section and I could not even wait for another Blake Nelson book to come out. But that was before, like, the internet, and way before socials, so there was no way to just contact Blake directly and be like, “Do you have another book coming out?” I stalked the area where I found Girl for a long time afterwards. No new books were ever there.

Years later when YA was established, you can imagine how stoked out of my head I was to discover that Blake Nelson had several books on the shelves. They are all amazing and brilliant and I highly recommend you read each and every one of them.

For the past 10 years of my author life, I have been hoping to be on a panel with Blake. And then BOOM! My Forever in Love book launch event happened at Books of Wonder, the best indie bookstore in New York City that has hosted all of my City Love trilogy launch events, and we were finally on a panel together. Perfect timing so we could celebrate shiny new Boy and fresh faced Girl.

Basically? Don’t stop believing.

What else. The City Love trilogy tour videos are rolling out on my YouTube. The third location is 43 5th Avenue, the building where Sadie, Darcy, and Rosanna are sharing an apartment together the summer before college. Which was also the dorms where Felicity Porter and her friends lived on Felicity! This building was University of New York (which doesn’t exist IRL) student housing, so I brought it back in the trilogy as UNY student housing again because Felicity is one of my Top Five Fave Shows and hopefully the trilogy has some Felicity feels.

The theme is resilience. Story of my life.

More soon. xoxo

forever in love in the world

So it happened. The final book of my City Love trilogy came out yesterday.

Forever in Love is out in the world. The excitement here in my home office is all sparkly hearts and rainbows and unicorns!

You can find Forever in Love on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, or…you know. Out in the world.

The second stop of my City Love trilogy tour is the Zen Garden in Hudson River Park. I mean, it’s not officially called that or anything. That’s just what I call it because it’s this secluded enclave with tall grasses and bamboo benches with a mellow vibe I LOVE. Sadie loves the Zen Garden too, which she also chills at with Brooke in So Much Closer. The theme for this tour stop is positive energy. Can you feel it?

My appreciation for you is abundant. If you enjoyed any of the City Love trilogy books, would you kindly share a review online? Your opinion matters to me, and your bright stars can attract new readers. THANK YOU for your kindness!

Much love. xoxo

forever in love today

Today is here! Today is here!

Forever in Love is out in the world!!!

For those of you who missed the billboard I rented about it, Forever in Love is the final book of my City Love trilogy. You can find it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, or at your local bookshop.

Speaking of online booksellers, if you read Forever in Love and enjoy it or have read City Love and/or Lost in Love and enjoyed those, would you kindly consider sharing your review online? Your opinion matters to me and to others. Those bright stars attract new readers!

I’ve been doing online Q&As with giveaways this week. Tomorrow, July 12, I will be answering your questions all day in my Goodreads Q&A group. On Thursday, July 13, I’ll be doing a Twitter chat 7-8pm EST. Everyone who asks a question will be entered to win a signed copy of Forever in Love, two winners per event. My goal is to answer as many of your questions as possible, but I usually don’t get to them all. A remaining one that made me smile is this:

Q: What are your Top Five Reasons to Love the City Love trilogy?

A: The summer before college, New York City, finding your people, embracing change, and dreaming big beyond fear. Oh, and summer love.

To show you what I mean, I am rolling out videos all week of my City Love trilogy tour. Each tour stop features a location from the book, and I tie in a theme from the books at each location. Of course the tour had to begin at the High Line.

Stay tuned to my YouTube for more tour videos rolling out this week!

Thanks to everyone who has read the City Love trilogy and is excited for this final book. I love connecting with you on socials, and am eternally grateful for your enthusiasm and support. You are why I write.

Forever in love with the infinite possibilities the future holds…

xoxo-
Susane

forever in love playlist

Only five more days until Forever in Love is out in the world!

So of course the official Forever in Love playlist is up on Spotify. You know I do playlists for all of my books, right? You can find them on the books pages of my website, including links to each playlist on Spotify.

The Forever in Love playlist consists of music that inspired the end to the City Love trilogy. Some of these songs are featured in the book. My girls Sadie, Darcy, and Rosanna sing to one of them at the top of their lungs walking along the Hudson River. And some resonate with that bittersweet feeling of saying goodbye.

1. “Ziggy Stardust” – David Bowie

2. “One Dance” – Drake

3. “Lost Stars” – Adam Levine

4. “Empire State of Mind” – Alicia Keys

5. “Shape of You” – Ed Sheeran

6. “Into the Night” – Cardiknox

7. “Here Without You” – 3 Doors Down

8. “Starboy” – The Weeknd

9. “DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love” – Usher

10. “Emoji of a Wave” – John Mayer

Interested in the playlists for City Love and Lost in Love? The trilogy playlist lineup goes like this:

Happy summer reading (and listening, and looking up), friendly neighbors! ❤

forever in love online events

Dear Readers,

My City Love trilogy is coming to an end next week!

Please join me in celebrating the release of Forever in Love on July 11 with some online events and giveaways from July 9 to July 13.

Everyone who participates in these chats and Q&As will be entered to win a signed copy of Forever in Love. Here’s how this will go down:

Sunday, July 9, 2017   7-8pm EST
Instagram chat + giveaway

Earlier in the day on July 9, I’ll put the chat post up on my Instagram. Everyone who asks a question for the chat will be entered to win a signed copy of the book. Two winners (US only) will be randomly selected right after the chat ends and announced on the post. You can comment with questions for me about love, life, literature, or anything else before or during the live chat. This will be my first Instagram chat and I can’t wait to see how it goes!

Monday, July 10, 2017   7-8pm EST
Facebook Q&A + giveaway

There will be a Q&A post on my Facebook before the live Q&A starts. Everyone who comments on the post with a question will be entered to win a signed copy of the book. This giveaway is international! Two winners will be randomly selected and announced in the post right after the Q&A ends.

Wednesday, July 12, 2017   all day
Goodreads Q&A + giveaway

Our group for this event, Susane Colasanti Q&A + giveaway, is already live on Goodreads! You can go ahead and join, and post your questions anytime. Everyone who asks a question will be entered to win a signed copy of the book. I will be answering your questions throughout the day. Two winners (US only) will be randomly selected and announced in a post to the group immediately following the Q&A.

Thursday, July 13, 2017   7-8pm EST
Twitter chat + giveaway

Let’s talk about all the things you will be forever in love with. I want to know what makes you feel alive! I’ll announce that our chat has begun on my Twitter, and then have fun with it. Everyone who tweets with #ForeverInLove will be entered to win a signed copy of the book. Two winners (US only) will be announced right after the chat ends.

And yes, if you’re participating in more than one of these events you can totally ask the same question if I haven’t answered it yet. My goal is to answer as many of your questions as I can!

If you’re in the New York City area, I’m doing a launch event on Tuesday, July 11, 6-8pm at Books of Wonder. With some freaking amazing authors. Info here.

I’m really looking forward to connecting with you. See you soon.

xoxo- Susane

forever in love in one week

An epic summer love?
Finding your people?
Creating your dream life?
That’s what the City Love trilogy is all about. And it is coming to an end next week.

Forever in Love comes out on July 11, but you can pre-order it now (because you freaking deserve it!) from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, or your local bookstore.

Are you thinking about getting into the trilogy? City Love is only $1.99 on all ebook platforms until July 10. Easy ordering links here! Plus you can read an excerpt of Lost in Love here and the first four chapters of Forever in Love here.

I’ll be doing tons of online events with Forever in Love giveaways all next week (schedule coming in next post!), but one of them you can get the jump on is my Goodreads Q&A group. Feel free to go ahead and post questions you have for me about anything in the group. On Wednesday, July 12, I’ll be answering your questions there throughout the day. Everyone who asks a question will be entered to win a signed copy of Forever in Love.

And guess what? The same giveaway applies to my Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter chats I’m doing next week as well! Stay tuned for the full Forever in Love release week online event schedule. Also next week: I’ll be rolling out City Love trilogy tours of some locations from the books. Each location reflects a theme from the books, and you can see what these places that mean so much to Sadie, Darcy, and Rosanna look like before saying goodbye to our girls.

Happy summer reading, friendly neighbors ❤