Phoenix Public Library

I'm so terribly sorry about the mix-up.
Thank you to those who made such lovely signs and artwork to welcome us. We appreciated it...




...and we apologize for disappointing you. I'm working on setting up a new event -- unfortunately Cassandra Clare continues on her tour, so you're stuck with just me!

Mesa, Phoenix, Tempe, Chandler! Tonight and tomorrow...

Last night at Borders in Superstition Springs was a BLAST! Standing room only. Thanks to everyone for coming out. I had a chance to meet two (three?) more virtual friends in person -- Georgia, who made my lovely "dream" pendant, and Mom2BJM and her son, (B). Fantastic people!



You are invited to the following book readings/signings where I'll be signing my NYT bestselling YA paranormal book WAKE. The delightful NYT bestselling author of the Mortal Instruments Trilogy, Cassandra Clare, will be there too to sign her books and read a bit -- She's giving away a sample chapter of City of Glass, which comes out next year. Get your sneak peek!:

Wednesday, April 9
4:00 PM
Joint Event with Cassandra Clare (City of Bones, City of Ashes)
Phoenix Public Library
Burton Barr Branch
1221 N. Central Ave.
Phoenix, AZ 85004

7:00 PM
Joint Event with Cassandra Clare!
Changing Hands
6428 S. McClintock Dr.
Tempe, AZ 85283

Thursday, April 10
5:30 PM
Joint Event with Cassandra Clare!
Phoenix Book Company
4134 East Wood St.
Suite 290
Phoenix, AZ 85040

BBYA

WAKE has been nominated as one of the American Library Association's Best Books for Young Adults! BBYA is A compilation of the current year’s books with proven or potential appeal to teens.

Pretty freaking awesome. Many thanks to those ALA members who found WAKE appealing enough to nominate it!

Phoenix Reading/Signing Events April 8-10

I am so excited to be spending some time with NYT bestselling author Cassandra Clare when she is in Phoenix promoting her Mortal Instruments series, City of Bones (now in paperback) and her latest, City of Ashes -- just released. Come out and join us!

Tuesday, April 8
7:00 PM
Joint Event with Cassandra Clare!
Borders - Superstition Springs
6555 E. Southern Ave., Ste. 1502
Mesa, AZ 85206

Wednesday, April 9
4:00 PM
Joint Event with Cassandra Clare!
Phoenix Public Library
Burton Barr Branch
1221 N. Central Ave.
Phoenix, AZ 85004

7:00 PM
Joint Event with Cassandra Clare!
Changing Hands
6428 S. McClintock Dr.
Tempe, AZ 85283

Thursday, April 10
5:30 PM
Joint Event with Cassandra Clare!
Phoenix Book Company
4134 East Wood St.
Suite 290
Phoenix, AZ 85040

New York Times Bestseller (!!!)

GREAT news, friends! Just found out WAKE made the NYT Bestseller List. It comes in at #9 in the children's chapter book list.

WOOT!! Thanks to ALL of you who bought the book or spread the word about WAKE. You totally rule! I am so grateful!

If you haven't had a chance to pick it up yet, please do. Or spread the word to all your friends -- maybe we can keep it on the list for another week. That would so rock.

You can find a list of retailers here on my website.

Now, go celebrate for me.

xo

Coolest.WAKE contest.Ever.

Win a signed copy of WAKE, a Wake-skinned iPod or the grand prize...

a Wii.

Go here to read all about it.

San Francisco, here I come!

Woo hoo, this will be my first time in San Francisco and I can't wait!

Here are my events as I know them:

--Tuesday, March 18, Barnes & Noble, 7:00PM
1149 S. Main St., WALNUT CREEK, CA 94596
(Daytime school visit: Monte Vista High School)


--Wednesday, March 19, Daytime school visit: San Mateo High School with Books, Inc., SAN MATEO, CA. We'll be selling and autographing books on-site at SMHS.

Can't wait to see you there! Don't forget there's a dank* WAKE gift raffle thingy at the B&N evening signing!

*dank --- awesome or cool (courtesy of my friends at Lyon Township High School in LaGrange, IL)

PULSE BLOGFEST! Now!

Check it out. Comment! Ask questions! All your favorite authors in one place from now until March 27.

Go to PulseBlogfest.com to read answers to today's question, “What would you be doing if you hadn’t made it as a writer?” My answer is there! And so is Judy Blume's. We're, like, on the same page and everything. (OMG!)

My Book Tour Schedule

**Note: I've post-dated this blog entry so that the tour info stays on top. I'll be updating it as more info comes in. Meanwhile, new blog posts continue below this one.**

For each bookstore signing I do in March, there will be a special gift bag raffle. These gift bags contain a dream journal, a Dunkin Donuts gift card, a sleep mask and a mug with the WAKE logo on it! How cool is that?

---
Monday, March 10, Treehouse Books, 7:00 - 8:30PM
37 East Eighth Street, HOLLAND, MI 49423
(daytime school visit: West Ottawa High School)

----
Tuesday, March 11, Borders, 7:00PM
43075 Crescent Blvd, NOVI, MI 48375
(Daytime school visit: Novi High School)

-----
Wednesday, March 12, daytime school visits: Naperville North High School and Naperville Central High School (with Anderson's Book Shop), NAPERVILLE, IL

---
Thursday March 13, Borders, 7:00PM
1 N. La Grange Road, LAGRANGE, IL 60525
(Daytime school visit: Lyons Township High School)

---
Tuesday, March 18, Barnes & Noble, 7:00PM
1149 S. Main St., WALNUT CREEK, CA 94596
(Daytime school visit: Monte Vista High School)

---
Wednesday, March 19, Daytime school visit: San Mateo High School with Books, Inc., SAN MATEO, CA

---
Tuesday, April 8, Borders - Superstition Springs Mall, 7:00PM (w/Cassandra Clare)
6555 E. Southern Ave., MESA, AZ 85206

---
Wednesday, April 9, Changing Hands, 7:00PM (w/Cassandra Clare)
6428 S McClintock Dr., TEMPE, AZ 85283
(daytime school and library events)

---
Thursday, April 10, Phoenix Book Company, 5:30PM (w/Cassandra Clare)
4134 East Wood St. Ste 290, PHOENIX, AZ 85040
(daytime school events)

A few more reviews and interviews

Check 'em out and comment if you can. Show some love to the reviewers -- their only pay is through comments.

Hope's Bookshelf Interview

The Book Muncher Review

and another book read - review

Poised at the Edge Book Review

Slayground interview

Teen Troves Interview (the review is a few entries before this one.)

Teens Read Too Interview

A Page Turner Review

More to come in the next few weeks!

WAKE -- a Borders "Original Voices" Nominee

Exciting news yesterday -- we just heard that WAKE is a Borders Original Voices Nominee for the month of May.

The program description reads, "The Borders Original Voices program highlights exceptional emerging writers." Very cool! Every month they pick a book or two from the YA category (and from other categories too -- WAKE is in the Young Adult category). Through a magical process, at the end of the year they narrow down the nominees so maybe six remain, and then one is chosen as the YA Original Voice of the Year.

Fun times!

Creative teens

Check out orb28, a blog by and for people ages 12-18.

From their blog:

Orb28 is looking for exciting new content! Send in your stories, poetry, articles, travel logs, biographies, videos, songs, podcasts, drawings, paintings, photographs, games, cartoons, reviews—and whatever else you think would fit on our web space! Work on any topic pertinent to teen girls is invited…the sky’s the limit!

Follow up to the "John Green is not a Pornographer" post

Here is a nice article that sums up the school board meeting: Buffalo News

My favorite quote is apparently from one of those who wants to ban this book from the school curriculum (even though it wasn't required reading):

The Rev. Nelson C. McCall, pastor of Hillview Baptist Church in Depew, said he had not read the book “but a doctor doesn’t have to have cancer to treat someone who has.”

When will people learn that they can make a much more credible argument if they actually read the book? I don't understand how the Reverend McCall can make a call on this without reading it. Especially a man with his education. Is that how he preaches the Word of God, too? He doesn't have to read The Bible in order to teach it? Please, sir -- you're only making Christians look more ignorant, and frankly, we don't need your help on this right now.

Why are you so afraid? And what are you afraid of? Acknowledging that sex exists is NOT the same as promoting sex. And it's certainly not porn. It seriously makes me wonder what is in the "history" log on these people's computers. And the deep, dark secrets they have that makes them so fearful.


Thanks to John's blog, Sparks Fly Up, for the link.

WIN WIN WIN!! You can win a hardcover copy of WAKE

Between now and Friday, February 8th at midnight, you can win an autographed copy of WAKE from friend and fellow author Elizabeth Scott, author of BLOOM and PERFECT YOU.

Go to Elizabeth Scott's blog and follow the rules to win. Good luck!


Also, if you haven't downloaded your WAKE countdown clock, dream journal stationery, avatars, screensavers and wallpaper, here's that link again.

John Green is not a pornographer.

And LOOKING FOR ALASKA is not porn. I? Actually read the book. Unlike some.

Week in review...

Crazy, busy and fun!

Have I mentioned lately that I love my publisher, Simon Pulse?

On Monday & Tuesday, they sent me to Ann Arbor, Michigan, so I could have lunch with some people at the home office of BGI (Borders Group Inc), which is basically Borders and Walden book stores. My wonderful escort, Victor, is the national account manager of the children's division of S&S, and we had a blast together.

I spent ten years as a bookseller, but I think I had forgotten how much fun book store people are. Victor, Jennifer, Tara, Lori...if you're watching from our studio audience today, here's a *wave* and a thank you for a fantastic lunch. We talked about books and babies and all the cool authors that these BGI friends have met (I'm so jealous) and it was a really lovely time. I hope our paths cross again one day.

Victor and I also visited four bookstores in Ann Arbor before it was time for him to drop me off at the airport for my flight back home.

On Wednesday, I received the edits for FADE from my editor, and I've been working on those the last few days. This would be an appropriate time to say my editor, Jen, is brilliant.

And now we are in February, and suddenly WAKE comes out next month. Wow!

FADE

FADE is the sequel to WAKE. I submitted the manuscript to my editor a few months ago, then did a revision based on her comments. I was delighted (*hop*) to find out today that my aforementioned lovely and talented editor, Jen Klonsky, LOVED the revision. YAY!! This is terrific news!

Kirkus Reviews WAKE

Review from the 2/1/08 issue of Kirkus Reviews:

McMann, Lisa

WAKE


"Dealing with an alcoholic single mother and endless hours of working at Heather Nursing Home to raise money for college, high-school senior Janie Hannagan doesn’t need more problems. But inexplicably, since she was eight years old, she has been pulled in to people’s dreams, witnessing their recurring fears, fantasies and secrets. Through Miss Stubin at Heather Home, Janie discovers that she is a dream catcher with the ability to help others resolve their haunting dreams. After taking an interest in former bad boy Cabel, she must distinguish between the monster she sees in his nightmares and her romantic feelings for him. And when she learns more about Cabel’s covert identity, Janie just may be able to use her special dream powers to help solve crimes in a suspense-building ending with potential for a sequel. McMann lures teens in by piquing their interest in the mysteries of the unknown, and keeps them with quick-paced, gripping narration and supportive characters. (Fiction. YA)"

Counting down!

Today, with my shorts and t-shirt, I wore a pair of boots around the house.

Yep, gotta break them in. I am gearing up for the WAKE tour, and I'm going to cold places! I just had to buy a new pair of boots for the occasion.

THE TOUR:
I'll be doing school events during the days and book signings in the evenings.
Will you be in or near one of these cities in March so that you can come see me, my book, and my new boots?


March 5: Mesa, AZ
March 6: Phoenix, AZ
March 7: Dallas, TX

March 10: Holland, MI (my old home town!) Treehouse Books
March 11: Novi, MI
March 12: Naperville, IL
March 13: Chicago, IL

March 18: San Francisco, CA
March 19: San Francisco, CA

April 9: Tempe, AZ (Changing Hands Bookstore) With NYT bestselling author CASSANDRA CLARE.

More details as they come in, so stay tuned! And if you haven't been here yet to get your free WAKE downloadables, go now and check them out, and then let me know if you put anything on your myspace or website so that I might come and admire you and thank you properly.

book characters and their jobs

When you read a novel, discovering what the occupation of the main characters helps define the character in your mind.

Janie Hannagan, the main character of WAKE, works in a nursing home, and that is simply the best darn job for her.

When you WRITE a novel, having worked in a variety of places helps make giving occupations to your characters a bit easier. The more experience an author has in a variety of occupations, the more options the author has. This is not to say that an author can't research and create an unfamiliar job for a character -- it's just easier if there is some life experience one can draw upon.

I never worked in a nursing home.

However, my mother did. She was a beautician, and one day a week, she would set up shop in the nursing home on 40th Street and do hair. My sister and I went with her sometimes. We got to know the residents there. Spent some time in the game room hanging out with the old folks and playing games while The Price Is Right blared full volume in the background.

It was a learning experience -- one I never expected I'd write about thirty years later. To this day, I enjoy visiting residents in nursing homes. There can be a lot of joy there.

I *heart* Judy Blume

And it is with delight that I point you to her new website.

Judy Blume's site is a wealth of information both for readers who have loved her many books over the years, and for aspiring and current authors.

She also has a blog.

What's your favorite Judy Blume book?

Cook! Read! Win Finn for your local high school!

A friend of mine, Jon Clinch, author of FINN: A NOVEL (the story of Huck Finn's father), is holding a cool menu contest.

From his blog:

Win a visit from Jon Clinch to your book club,
and copies of Finn: A Novel for your high school.

If there's one thing that book clubs like better than reading, it's eating. Which is why we've put together the Finn Book Club Menu Contest.

Here's how it works.

Design a menu for your book club to enjoy on the night you discuss Finn. Use your imagination. Use your frying pan. Use catfish and whiskey and fatback bacon and cornbread and sunfish and baking powder biscuits and...well, you get the idea. Be inspired. Have fun. And make sure that you don't forget the huckleberries...

More information at the contest link above.

An awesome blurb:

WAKE is "A lyrical, shuddersome novel whose images linger with you long after you've turned the last page, like the most haunting of dreams."
Cassandra Clare, author of NYT Bestseller City of Bones

Speaking of dreams...

In order to write my novel, WAKE, I had to do a good deal of research on dreams. A lucid dream is a dream in which you are aware that you are dreaming and you will remember the dream. Lucid dreams come into play in this book, and they have in my own life as well. I get a lot of my ideas for plots and events in my books from my own dreams.

There are lots of "typical" dreams. Who hasn't had a "falling" dream? I'm no expert at interpreting dreams, but some seem obvious in their meanings.

Last night, I had a dream that I was in my senior high English classroom. The only weird thing about the dream was that Mr. VanDenBerge was the teacher -- he was my math teacher back in the day. What's he doing teaching English, huh?

Anyway, Mr. VanDenBerge (a teacher I liked) gave me a "D" on a writing assignment. Pfft. Can you guess that I'm anxious to see what readers and reviewers think about my book?

Misc.

Look! I won a badge and I didn't have to do anything. Isn't it cute? Thanks to Lisa McGlaun for thinking of me.




In the writing world, things are winding down. I'm on little break from writing at the moment. Working on some marketing ideas. Speaking of that, if you aren't my friend on myspace, facebook, or goodreads, why not? The links are in the side bar. Come be my BFF.

I am trying to decide what to cook for Christmas dinner. It'll be just the four of us, so I hate to put a ton of effort into it. I may have my new favorite place, Midwestern Meats, deliver me one of those "just put it in the oven" meals. If you live in the Mesa area, they are wonderful butchers and they know everything.

And as for Survivor last night... plah. I wish Courtney had won.

Best Book You've Read This Year

I've read a lot of books this year. More than most years. Mostly I read young adult novels, and some of my favorites this year were:

Every Crooked Pot by Rene Rosen
Evolution, Me & Other Freaks of Nature by Robin Brande
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes
by Chris Crutcher (which came out years ago but I just re-read it last month)

Also by Crutcher -- his latest, called DEADLINE. I'm in the middle of this one right now.

What have you read this year that you'd recommend?

Happy Thanksgiving to those in the U.S.

Test your vocabulary, have fun, and give free rice to stop world hunger, all at the same time.

Go here: Free Rice

NYC

What a blast.

I just returned from a short trip -- my first time in the big city. With me was author Lisa McGlaun. We had a blast together!

It was a tremendous visit. I spent Thursday with my amazing editor Jennifer Klonsky (who is so funny and very cool) and the fabulous team at Simon Pulse. It was so cool to meet them all and put faces to their email addresses. They are really supportive of my book and we had a great meeting. Then Jen took me to lunch at a cool restaurant in Rockefeller Center where our prime seat overlooked the famous ice rink. Cool! I also saw Tori Spelling in the S&S offices. Maybe I should contact Gawker. (Nah.) My roommate Lisa saw Holly Hunter.

That evening I dined with my agent, Michael Bourret, whom I love love love. We went to Sapa, an Asian-French restaurant. Michael knew the chef, who kept sending out extra dishes for us to try. It was delicious, great music too, and I highly recommend the restaurant.

Friday I hooked up with a smattering of friends including the highly entertaining Antonio Pagliarulo, who kept Lisa and me laughing all evening through the pouring rain that night.

And Saturday, before we headed back to the airport, was breakfast in Times Square. I paid $3.75 for some cream cheese to go on my bagel. That? Is ridiculously funny to me.

You? Must now tell me about your trip to NYC and your famous people sightings.

November is National Peanut Butter Lovers' Month

When Janie Hannagan, the main character in WAKE, needs some fast protein, she'll go for the peanut butter jar (if she can't get a Snickers bar, that is). Coincidentally, peanut butter is one of my most favorite foods.

For a recipe on making your own peanut butter, and for instructions on how to grow peanuts right there in your very own house, check out brownielocks.com.

If you manage to grow some, let me know!

Contest winners

Winners have all been notified via email!

If you didn't hear from me, that means you didn't win -- not this time anyway! But I will have more contests in the upcoming months, so stay tuned.

Thanks to all SEVENTY of you who entered -- your nightmares were great! I loved reading them all. Some of them were very much like nightmares I've had myself. Freaky! Janie wouldn't want to get sucked into half of them, that's for sure.

Congrats to the winners!

Contest ends Halloween at midnight!

If you haven't yet entered to win fabulous prizes, see the post below this one for details.

Yesterday I received the WAKE dog tags and they are suh-weet! They are all silvery-shiny aluminum with the word WAKE etched into them. Very cool, not obnoxious.

And today, Robin Brande shared a little bit about WAKE on her blog (she managed to get her hands on an ARC of the book). Just a little over 4 months to release day!

CONTEST!! Ends Halloween Night at Midnight

Woo, baby! It's time, peeps.

Time for the First Official WAKE Contest!! Follow the directions below and you could win one of the following very free, amazingly fabulous prizes:


-- An advance copy of WAKE (1)*

-- A giant 24" x 36" glossy WAKE poster (1)*

-- A smaller, less glossy, yet still completely delectable WAKE poster (1)*

-- A WAKE dog tag on a 24" chain (10)*



Here's how you enter:

1. Click to go to my official website, here http://lisamcmann.com. Scroll down until you see the link, "Email Me!" and click on it.
2. In the subject line, write "WAKE CONTEST"
3. In the body of the email, tell me in a few sentences about a nightmare you've had. (Keep it G or PG-rated, puh-leaze! Or I'll delete it and you'll be disqualified.) If you don't remember dreams, make something up! I'll never know the difference.


That's it. Simple. GO!


WINNERS WILL BE NOTIFIED ON NOVEMBER 1, 2007, via email. If you don't hear from me by midnight Pacific coast time, you did not win.



Contest FAQs (well, actually, just the answers. You can guess the questions if you are bored):

1. Chosen randomly.

2. Draw them from a hat.

2.5 A cowboy hat, if you must know.

3. Because I said so. It's my contest.

4. No, I'm totally serious. G or PG-rated dreams only.

5. No, I'm not a cowboy. I just like hats.

6. I will ask winners for their mailing addresses via email -- don't send them now.

7. Teens, college students, librarians, teachers, dads, moms...anybody reading this is eligible to enter the contest.

8. (x)* <--- indicates the quantity of that particular item I have to give away in this contest. One prize per person.

9. You really need to email me if you want to enter, yes. If you post a comment here, you are not officially entering the contest. I might forget about you if you are not tucked safely into my CONTEST inbox folder, and I don't want that to happen.

10. Absolutely NOT. I will not send you spam or sell your email address or do whatever those nasty people do without telling you. I hate that.

11. Truth? Because I want you to visit my website. That's why. Humor me.

12. I <3 u 2

The best advice

I've ever received about writing was this:

Think of the one thing your protagonist would never, ever do.

Then, make him do it.


On a related note:

Think of the one thing you would never ever do again.
I know what mine is.

Acrylic fingernails.

1. Ow. They hurt.
2. I couldn't type. TRAGEDY!
3. I woke up in the middle of the night in a panic, dreaming that each of my fingers were in tiny individual jail cells. And ow! (see #1)

Never. Ever. Again.


What's your one thing?

Fine dining

On Thursday night I had the pleasure of dining with the fabulous Robin Brande, author of Evolution, Me, and Other Freaks of Nature, and PJ Haarsma, author of The Softwire. PJ's lovely family was there as well. So was a terrific school librarian and several of the staff of Changing Hands Bookstore, including the amazing children's book buyer, Faith, who never seems to rest, and Faith's wonderful parents. It was a great little party.

We went to this cool gourmet pizza place called Picazzo's in Tempe.

We talked about very important things like wheat gluten and Sharpie pens, and then Robin let me try her sacred book signing pen. It was so amazing -- I *had* to have one. So Faith's mother invited me over for coffee and said she would give me one of her Sharpie Ultra Fine Point pens if I came over. Isn't she so sweet????

Anyway, after dinner I went to the rest room and there...

in the restroom was...

a carafe...

of mouthwash. With cute little disposable cups.

The mouthwash was blue.

And so I dragged Robin into the bathroom to show her this interesting development in restroom etiquette. And then we had a great little discussion with Faith's mom about religion and the church right there in the bathroom, all the while urging patrons to try out the mouthwash.

The thing about the mouthwash, though, that still niggles on the edge of my brain, is the thought of all those strangers spitting into the same sink.

Is that weird?

Yarrrrr!

I got my first bound copy, an uncorrected proof, an ARC, a galley...whatever you like to call it, of WAKE. It's so cool! Yarrrrr!


And? Also? Happy National Talk Like a Pirate Day.

(What else do pirates say besides "Yarrrr?")

The Simon & Schuster Spring Catalog sez:

Lisa McMann
Wake

a dark paranormal page-turner in the tradition of
The Sixth Sense.

For seventeen-year-old Janie, getting sucked into other
people’s dreams is growing tiresome. Especially the falling
dreams, the naked-but-nobody-notices dreams, and the
sex-crazed dreams. And then there are the nightmares. Like the
one where she’s in a strange house . . . in a dirty kitchen . . . and a
grotesque monster with knives for fingers is coming for her. This
is the nightmare she keeps falling into and, for the first time, Janie
is a participant in someone else’s twisted psyche.


(This is for the adult catalog -- only six children's books make it into the adult catalog, so woo hoo! There will be another listing in the S&S Children's catalog)

With thanks to my friend Eva...a cool new banner.

I am happy to report

that I have made significant progress in the area of "appropriate bookstore behavior." Yesterday, I successfully brought postcards of my book into Changing Hands Bookstore (the best bookstore in the world) and delivered them to a wonderful employee named Steve, and I did not trip, swear, or fling my purse at any old ladies.

However, when searching for a pen, I did have to dump all my stuff out of my purse onto the counter, and a tampon rolled out and fell on the floor on the other side. (Yes, OF COURSE it was unused and still in it's wrapper. How crass do you think I am?)

Score one for me!

Oh dear.

37%

Mingle²

More about my workspace

Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.

Take that, you neat freaks!

xox

Looking for an agent?

Pitch your novel to dozens of agents at this cool seminar:

Let's talk about workspaces, woo hoo.

I used to have a desk. Like any good desk, it was covered with craploads of stuff, because that is what desks are for -- to put things on.

I don't write at my desk. There's too much crap on it, and it's not a comfortable place for me to write. I write in the green chair in my "office," which consists of the green chair and ottoman in the living room.

So now, my crapload of stuff is on the ottoman. Mail, magazines, notes about manuscripts (yellow sticky notes, of course -- can't find a notebook to save my life), my sexy half-glasses -- yup, nothing makes you feel old like 1.5 prescription half glasses so you can read the computer screen.

And today, I think we have reached maximum capacity. Things are falling off. I have a small space cleared for my tootsies to rest, and the piles are bleeding over into my space.

I may actually have to go through and sort things.

I hate doing that.

What does your workspace look like? Am I alone? Or is clutter important to you too?

And most importantly, what is on your desk?

Never mind the wrinkles...

You Are 23 Years Old

Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe. 13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world. 20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. 30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more! 40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

What Age Do You Act?

Website

is now live. Check it out!

Dear USA,

You're not bad either.

WAKE is now available for pre-order from Amazon.com too.

Wheee! We're rolling now!

Order your copy before they run out.

xo

Dear Canada,

You are my BFF.

Canadians, you can pre-order WAKE now, woo hoo!

It's that time again

A trip to Michigan always reminds me of the Chronicles.

Hope you are having a productive summer. I'll get some new material up here in the next couple weeks. Meanwhile, enjoy!

In 1787, I'm told, our founding fathers did agree...

And they put those principles down on paper, and they called it The Constitution.

Help Tsunami victims. Yeah...remember them?

A note from Richard Lewis, author of THE KILLING SEA, a YA novel about the tsunami. Richard lives in Bali. He has seen incredibly heart-wrenching evidence of the effects of this disaster, and he's trying to sponsor children who have been orphaned by this. He is using his advance money for THE KILLING SEA to sponsor children in Aceh.

READ HERE.

I just got a letter from the second student whose school fees I am paying this next year out of the donation from my advance.

Mursyida is now 16 years old. She lost her whole family except for two brothers, one younger (actually, the Indonesian she writes in doesn’t make it clear if this sibling is a brother or sister) and one older. Her mother was never found. To add to the tragedy, her father survived the tsunami but that night died in the mosque where they were taking refuge...

More at the link.

*hop*

WAKE has a cover!

Oh heck.

I have an ISBN. And a page on the Simon & Schuster website.

I think I'm going to cry.

Go look.

I *heart* ninth graders

Last week I had the pleasure of visiting one of the largest high schools just outside of Washington D.C., and it was a total blast. I spent the day hanging out in my dear friend Ilse's classroom and got to chat with lots of 9th graders about writing.

It was a bit nerve-wracking at first, but the students were terrific. I started off my talk in each class by asking questions.

"Because I write for teens," I said, "I need to know the language. What's the latest terminology? I need to know the latest buzzwords, the newest lingo, the urban words of the day. I already know what a roller (pronounced "rollah," natch) is. What else is new?" That got a laugh. And then they pelted me with jargon, some of which I'm proud to say I already knew, but most of it was new to me.

I also asked what they were reading, and got some great feedback there too. We talked about my book, WAKE, a little, and they had some terrific suggestions for me. They asked great questions, like, "How do write a book that is going to be part of a series?" And "How do you get through writing the boring parts of the books?"

Of course I answered, "My books don't have any boring parts." *grin*

One of the best parts of the trip was having tons of bling to give out to the school. Many, MANY thanks to my amazing publisher, Simon Pulse, for donating EIGHT CARTONS of books for the school's summer reading program!! Holy moley, I was blown away by their generosity, as was the teacher and the head of the English Department.

And big thank yous go to my YA author buddies who provided me with signed copies of their books to hand out, as well as buttons, bookmarks, and pencils. You guys made my visit really special. Here's the list of the great folks who helped out -- click on their names to learn about their books:

Antonio Pagliarulo -- CELEBUTANTES - ON THE AVENUE (just released!)
Heather Brewer -- EIGHTH GRADE BITES (comes out in August!)
Caridad Ferrer -- ADIOS TO MY OLD LIFE (her new book IT'S NOT ABOUT THE ACCENT comes out August 21)
Renee Rosen -- EVERY CROOKED POT (on bookshelves in 3 weeks!!)
Richard Lewis -- THE KILLING SEA (he even sent a postcard from Bali to go with the book!)

And Ilse, you're a bun. Thanks for inviting me!

Heading to the east coast

Going to Maryland to visit my dear friends and to speak to classrooms full of 9th graders about writing. Woo hoo!

Back next week to tell you about it.

In Memoriam

Shocked, I tell you. Shocked!

There's a common thread among YA and Middle Grade authors that has turned into a bit of a joke for those of us who have children in the age groups we write for: our own kids don't read our books.

This was true for me until yesterday.

I've been working on a middle grade fantasy novel. Just finished the rough draft the other day, woot! What happens then is that my hubby and I sit down with it. He reads it, tells me what works and what doesn't. Only this time, when the kids heard us talking, first one and then the other perked up. Since I had the first 100 pages printed out, the first kid picked it up and started. By evening, both were reading different parts of the manuscript while hubby read on the computer.

And then.
Suddenly.
Out of nowhere.

I had three beta readers bombarding me with nits from three different sections of the manuscript. Oy! I was both delighted and, to tell the truth, a little bristly. (I don't think the kids have learned the value of the "critique sandwich" theory yet. Ouch!)

But by bedtime, I had two kids urging me to hurry with my edits so I could print out the rest of the manuscript. Even the kid who doesn't like to read. I am shocked.

How cool is that?

Lizard season

We've definitely entered lizard season out here in the desert. So far we've rescued two from drowning in the pool. A third one didn't make it, even after I made my son do chest compressions on it. Those darn big ones -- they don't float nearly so well as the little guys. Sad day.

Manuscript copyedits are done on WAKE, yay! I feel like I learned a new language with all those proofreading marks. I also learned that I, use, too many, commas. And I'm terrible with bring/take. Yikes.

A new title?

It looks that way. YAY!

Introducing Janie book 1 under its new title:

WAKE.*

Book 2 is still a go with FADE.


*please note: This is the third time we've changed the title for this book, and I've found that it's not the easiest thing to go through. So if you hate it? Lie to to me, baby, because I don't think it'll change again.

What not to do when talking to bookstore clerks about your upcoming book.

Today I went out to my favorite bookstore, CHANGING HANDS, which was recently voted the #1 independent bookstore in ALL OF AMERICA by PUBLISHERS WEEKLY. No pressure. Especially since I went there purposely to chat with the YA book buyer about my book and find out if they'd maybe do my launch party, since it's the PERFECT location and has an attached restaurant.

I was nervous, but I did okay. I even remembered what my book was about.

I spent $50 on books to show her I'm a supporter of their bookstore (which I am, but I've never made pointed contact with them before).

And then.

The clerk who rang up my purchase asked me a question about my book while I was closing my purse (which has a long shoulder strap), and I got all nervous. I slung my purse over my shoulder, trying to be all nonchalant, and assuming, like every other time I've ever done this, that my ARM was inside the damn LOOP of it. But it wasn't.

And it went sailing off behind me (it was quite heavy, since my phone was attached) and hit a old woman who had one of those walker shopping carts.

So. How was your day?

(and yes, you may point and laugh)

I have a DATE.

A publishing date for book 1, that is. March 4, 2008. Isn't that the most perfect date ever?

And lookit over in the side bar!

a countdown-o-meter.

Innit cute?


----->

Janie book 2

is finished well ahead of schedule and awaiting a first read by my lovely editor Jen. It will be a few months before we start working on revisions for that one.

Meanwhile, how do I get Hayden Panettiere (Claire Bennett on Heroes, aka The Cheerleader) to read and give me a blurb for my first book?

Hayden, are you out there? Do you read my blog? Will you read my first novel, please? I think you'd really like it. My Janie, she's a lot like your Claire! Except, well, not really. In fact, Janie doesn't really care for cheerleaders, much. But I'm sure she'd like Claire. Oh totally, she would. Yeppers. So, please?

On Being a Newbie Author

I'm increasingly fascinated by the book publishing process, and many fears have been laid to rest over the past few months. As I learn how this all works, I have found some really great resources written by very generous authors on the HOW of being a successful author. Author of the Jack Daniels trilogy, JA KONRATH, is among the most generous with his time and advice that I've discovered so far. If you are interested in straightforward information and advice not only on getting your books published, but sold (!!), click on his name for a link for his blog, A Newbie's Guide to Publishing. Plus!! JA Konrath has two free technothriller e-books he's giving away on this blog: THE LIST and ORIGIN.

Here are just a few of my own discoveries and tips:

1. Agents and editors are amazingly helpful people. Don't be afraid to ask questions.

This seems obvious, but when novelists first begin the querying process, it's pounded into our heads that we must follow a strict set of rules regarding proper, professional behavior -- and above all, don't be a nuisance! Learning the time frame of publishing is a hard lesson. A query to an agent might take a day to garner a response, or it might take four months. We learn that it is not proper to follow-up until the appropriate amount of time has passed. When in doubt, allow three months. For partials, four months. Full manuscript, six. (Of course, many agents respond much more quickly than this.) As agonizing as it is, we follow these guidelines.

After querying for months or years and finally getting an agent, we tend to continue in the pre-agent mode: We must not make a nuisance of ourselves. We must not bother the agent. Some new authors sit in angst, wondering how, why, when, for months.

It took me a few months to feel comfortable emailing my agent with questions. And guess what? When I emailed him, he responded with answers! And now that I have an editor, she responds to my questions as well! I just have to ask them. Isn't that simple?


2. Agents and editors are human. They have lives outside of work. They get the flu sometimes. They likely have good days and bad days, just like everybody. And you know what else? They are funny. All the ones I know are, anyway. I adore my team.

3. Being On Time is a good way to be.

The weird thing I discovered about being an author is that I've been in charge of my own writing schedule all along, and when I sold a book, that changed. Working on my own, I rarely had a day where I felt like procrastinating or blowing off work. Now that I have people expecting things from me, I have this tremendous urge to procrastinate (rebellion from my teen years has re-surfaced!). This new urge fights against my inherent anal tendencies to be early for everything. It's quite a humorous battle raging in my head. Odds are high that procrastination loses this battle every time, though.

4. Work ahead -- once you sell your novel, there are many new things to consider. Marketing. Promotion. Public speaking, visiting classrooms, booksignings (yikes! You mean, like, physically leaving the house?), marketing gizmos and gadgets and giveaways, contests. Start the brainstorming early, so that when you actually have cover art and a definite title, you are ready to promote.

Although I don't have a pub date yet, it is likely to be less than a year away for Janie book 1 (spring 2008). I've finished my first round of edits and sent them off. Simon Pulse has my bio and author picture for the spring '08 catalog -- they are working on that already.

If my revisions are acceptable to my editor, Janie will go to the copy editor. And now, I must work on the ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS page -- I'm told they'll need this soon. Wheee! This is so exciting.

Check it out!!

I'm the guest blogger today at the Canadian Writers' Collective.

Take a peek!

Time to edit!

On Saturday, I received my marked up manuscript in the mail from my editor, so now it's time to do the first edits on Janie. Thankfully there are no major changes necessary and no over-arching plot lines that have to be fixed, but I still see a lot of red! Yikes! And what I thought was a pretty grammatically correct and clean manuscript turns out to have a few embarrassing third-grader mistakes, like YOUR/YOU'RE (Dang!). There is definitely something to be said for reading/editing a hard copy of a manuscript -- some mistakes are too easy to miss on a screen.

My editors, Jen and Caroline, did an amazing job and now they really have me thinking hard about a few concepts and suggestions for changes.

Despite all the red marks, most of them are simple fixes. The handful of other suggested changes will take me some time to think about and when I'm all organized, we'll have a discussion about what to do.

This is all very exciting!

Bad blogger

I have neglected this blog, partly because I don't have much news. Right now I'm sort of in waiting mode with my lovely editor. She's working on Janie, and while I wait for revisions, I'm working on a couple of other books. Both are quite different from Janie, and both are turning out to be a lot of fun. More on those another time.

We are still considering titles for Janie 1 and 2, and may go with simple one-word titles with sophisticated cover art. At the moment, DREAM for book 1 and FADE for book 2 are at the top of list. Oh, and I got my formal contract, signed and returned. Things are moving along steadily.

I got my author photos taken -- the pics are on my Myspace page if you want to see a few of them. The link to that page is over there on the right. I am looking forward to seeing what sort of cover design S&S comes up with. And now that it's April, I'm guessing we're less than a year away from launch date, though I don't have an exact date yet.

My sister is visiting from Michigan this week, so we're taking it easy and she's enjoying the sunshine and warm temps (90/60 pretty much every day). Thinking about driving down to Nogales for a day -- Nogales is on the AZ/Mexico border.

Hope you are all having a lovely week! I hope to have more interesting news to share over the coming months. :)

The week in review...

Wrote about 5000 words on the next novel.

Spent countless hours as a parent representative for my kid's school on a panel, interviewing principals. Eighteen of them, to be exact. My brain is fried.

And now I know the principal buzz words: Respect. Dignity. Wiping down tables in the lunchroom (I swear to God, at least 15 of them said they do this). Team player. Facilitator. The teachers work the hardest. Greeting the kids when they come off the bus. Shooting baskets with the kids at recess. Honor, respect, dignity (over and over). Engagement. Enthusiasm. High expectations.

Boy. That was interesting.

What did YOU do this week??

New title...

It happens a lot. Luckily, I wasn't in love with the title of my book in the first place. In fact, I'm sort of excited to have some help in renaming my book.

Janie Hannagan: Dream Catcher ... catch you later.

So, now what to name it? This is the tough part. When I first wrote it (for "it" is what we are calling it, now) I had huge troubles coming up with a title. So now what? It remains to be seen, but I imagine "Dream" will be in there somewhere. My editor and I joked about calling it "Angsty Teen Dreamer." But now I need to get serious and think of something. Agent and editor and editor's assistant are all thinking too.

Keeping track

If you haven't found it yet, I started keeping track of things folks are saying about Janie Hannagan: Dream Catcher. If you are so bored that you'll read anything, feel free to take a peek.

Woo Hoo!

"Janie Hannagan: Dream Catcher," a book for teens and up, will hit bookstores in spring of 2008, with its sequel in autumn '08. Published by Simon Pulse.

What's it about?


For 17 year-old Janie Hannagan, getting sucked into other people's dreams is growing tiresome. Especially the falling dreams. The naked but nobody notices dreams. And the sex-crazed teenager dreams. Janie's seen enough fantasy booty to last her half a lifetime.

But then there are the nightmares that leave her blind and paralyzed in fear, even after the dreams are over. Those are the worst. Because one day, someone's going to notice her freefalling to the floor after somebody's study hall naptime nightmare, or collapsing outside a resident's room at the nursing home where she works. Or her worst fear: careening headlong into a tree if she ever drives past *that* house again.

She can't tell anybody about it. They'd never believe her. And she can't do anything to stop it. Until she gets to know Cabel Strumheller, a secretive, pothead flunkie turned pretty-boy. And he accidentally falls into a dream with her on the senior high bus trip to Stratford.

It's his own dream.
And it's a dream he'd rather no one knows about.
Especially Janie Hannagan.


I am thrilled to be a part of Simon & Schuster (Simon Pulse).
And did I mention I love my agent? Because I do.

I met an online writer friend

in person for the first time, today. Whee!

It was a fun lunch at The Cheesecake Factory, and then we had to check out B&N to find our fellow writer friends' books.

And I made a new bookstore friend. I hope he works there forever -- he was really smart about the books, knew where everything was, had terrific suggestions. *sigh*

It's nice to find a bookstore worker who actually knows a lot about the books. I wish he worked on commission.

Since my brain is fried,

and I can't pull together a coherent blog post of my own, I bring you a spot-on post from author Holly Kennedy.

Just so that you know why I forget to call you back...for six months. It's not you, it's me.

xo

lisa

P.S. Weather in the Phoenix valley: warming up to 60, finally! Monday we had snow on the mountains again, and ice (read: ICE!!) on the car windshield. You could sell an ice scraper here for a hundred bucks. Thank goo'ness we still had one in the car from when we drove here from Michigan.

Slang and stuff

WEATHER in the Phoenix Valley: Forty degrees and raining at 2pm. This is insane.

On to the topic of the day. When writing historical fiction, it's a bonus when you can find slang terms. For the first historical I wrote, it was harder because the characters spoke German and lived in England, slowly learning English, and man, that was nuts trying to accurately nail the process, while still writing the entire book in English.

On my second historical, which I'm just starting (yeah, we had a few paranormals in between), life is easier for two reasons. One, I grew up there and know the local dialect with Dutch influence, subtle as it may be (oh, knock it off). Two, a simple Google search brings up websites with slang of the 1920s...it's the berries (aka bee's knees or cat's pajamas)! Though getting used to the word "Bimbo" being used as a compliment (A tough guy) is a little difficult. Insert the word "Bimbo" into a book without proper context could have your readers scratching their heads.

"Bum's rush" today has shades of a sexual nature. In 1925, it meant to get kicked out of an establishment.

"Butt me" sounds, um.... but it was a common phrase referring to lighting up a cigarette, and a "Dick" was, of course, a private investigator.

If you write anything other than present day fiction, a great place to check your slang words is an etymology dictionary. I used it to check the word fink. Did that word exist in 1930? If so, how was it used?

But, as one wise commenter mentioned in the previous post, technology has come a long way in the past 20 years, and the language has changed along with it.

So writers, don't be a pill. Get on the trolley, or you'll be all wet.

Researching is FUN

You may disagree, but I think researching is a fascinating adventure.

I'm working on a new novel that takes place in 1930, in the town of my birth. The setting is one I know well -- not because it exists anymore (well, the land is still there), but because I've spent so many hours researching it that I feel like I know it well -- I can picture the buildings, the landscape, the views... yes, the view hasn't changed much in 80 years. And I've been to the site many times.

I'm so excited about this story. Sometimes there's nothing more exciting than real life in a small town in 1930. I'll tell you more as I make some progress.

Meanwhile, I'm reading a history of the 1920s, so I have a very good understanding of the political, social, and economic environment leading up to my story.

Next time: Fun slang words from the 20s and 30s. Some of them might surprise you.

Lisa

Oooh, Snap

It's been cold here in the desert. Temperatures in the 20s at night have caused people's water pipes to burst and damaged citrus crops (not to mention my two 20-foot tall ficus trees).

So while you East coasters have been lounging in the January heat wave, we've witnessed a cold snap like we haven't seen in years around the Phoenix valley (so they tell me, anyway). Now's your chance to point and laugh. I mean, like, my swimming pool temp is like totally down to 46 degrees.

Once...

"Once On This Island" is a musical, set in Jamaica.

My daughter just landed a small part in the Actor's Youth Theater production of this.(squeee!) After having a blast with The Three Musketeers last fall, she thinks this one sounds equally fun, maybe even more so. Rehearsals start Saturday.

Performances in early March.
Tickets: $10 for adults and...um...less than that for kids 10 and under.

Beaker apparently wasn't an option

You Are the Swedish Chef

"Bork! Bork! Bork!" Your happy and energetic - with borderline manic tendencies. No one really gets you. And frankly, you don't even get you. But, you sure can whip up a great chocolate mousse

The Muppet Personality Test

So, hordes of minionses...

where are you? I'm waiting. *tap tap tap*

I know, you're taking down your plastic trees and Menorot*. I'll be here when you're done.


*edited for proper spelling, hat-tip to Sasha

Scarce

It's been a while since my last post. I've been working on my MySpace page. There's a link to it over in that side bar ---------->

Happy holidays to all!

Crossover Books

This post is sort of a continuation from last week's.

If there had been a section called Young Adult back when "To Kill A Mockingbird" was first published, according to today's rules it would belong there. I've read more than one literary agent's guidelines that state something like, "If the protagonist is a child or teen, the book is for children."

Well, what if the protagonist is a hobbit...or even a rabbit? When I ran a children's bookstore, we kept a copy or two of "Watership Down" on the shelf. I can't recall selling a single copy of it. The general bookstore across the street from my store carried it too -- in their fiction section. They didn't carry books for children.

But what about this year's "The Book Thief?" It was marketed originally in Australia as a book for adults, even though the protag is eleven. Here, it's called a young adult book, but I've seen it in both children's and adult's sections of bookstores. This book is a successful crossover book - it appeals to an audience of many ages.

Harry Potter -- another obvious success in the crossover department. And Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" was a surprise crossover. Adults love Edward just as much as teenage girls.

Because I write for teens, I read a LOT of middle grade and young adult books, both new releases and some of the old favorites I read as a teenager. Just finished Judy Blume's "Deenie" the other day...ah, the memories. There are many, many young adult books that I think adults would love. Pick up just about any Newbery Medal or Honor book and you'll find yourself engrossed (I said 'just about'! There are a few that make me shake my head and go 'what were they thinking').

I don't really like compartments, but I can work with them. I'm not sure why the industry has turned in this direction, but for a need for organization - everything in its own defined space. Or maybe the intent was to show kids, "Here -- this is for you. A section, a space, something to which you can claim ownership, in hopes that it will make you want to read more." Did this all begin when R.I.F. began? I have no idea. I never really spent much time thinking about it before.

I wish, though, that calling something YA or MG doesn't somehow 'alienate' adult readers, or cause adults to decide that YA books are for kids, not for grown-ups. Because the adults are really missing out on some terrific stuff!

I'm hoping to see a larger, growing trend of 'crossover' books. Books with child or teen protags that adults will read, even if they have to go to the YA section to find them. I'd guess most bookstores will double-shelf the crossover books, with a few in YA and a few in whatever special adult section it belongs.


Your comments are encouraged.

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Confusion about kids' books

I've noticed some speculation and muttering lately on these here Internets about categories for kids' books. I thought I'd throw my two pennies into the ring.

When I was a kid, I don't think the categories YA (young adult) or MG (middle grade) existed. There were generally two sizes of books in what was called the Intermediate section of the library. The trade size, which is the larger of the two, indicated (to me, anyway) books for ages 8-12 or so: Beverly Cleary, Eleanor Estes, and the Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing books by Blume. The smaller sized books, called mass market, were in spinner racks. These were for the 12-and-ups. Books like the Sweet Valley High series. SE Hinton. Robert Cormier. More mature works by Judy Blume. There were sub-categories for Fantasy, Science Fiction, Mystery, and Non-fiction.

That was it.

Many kids in high school were assigned books to read such as Huck Finn and To Kill A Mockingbird. These books were found in the Classics section, and included both adult and children's classics. Also, many high schoolers were reading books from the adult section.

Ten years ago, I managed a children's bookstore. We had Picture Books, Early Readers (short, easy chapter books), Intermediate (ages 7-12), and YA (ages 11-14 or so), as well as the usual sub-categories. We determined the correct placement in the store not only by size (mass market vs. trade) but also by content. Some books overlapped.

Today, there are many more categories. That can be a good thing, but it can also make it harder to find the specific book you're looking for in a bookstore or library. Intermediate became Middle Grade, and now there's Tweens as well (ages 10-12).

Also, the Young Adult category has grown fantastically over the past decade or so. It's also gotten edgier. Typical young adult books are considered suitable for ages 10 or 12 to 15 or so, depending on content and the child's reading/comprehension level. You'll find elements including romance (crushes and dating), dysfunction, social/racial/ethnic issues, some abuse (physical and emotional), and sometimes tragedy including death in contemporary YA (for whatever reason, death in historical middle grade appears acceptable, but I don't see a lot of death in the 7-10 year old range of books when the characters are living in current times -- Though Bridge to Terabithia comes to mind).

YA has expanded in age as well, to include more mature themes. Drugs, sex (with some detail, but generally not terribly explicit), moderate amounts of profanity, emotional illness and and teen problems such as anorexia, sexual abuse, teen pregnancy, suicide, murder (as opposed to accidental death)...everything you might find in an adult book. This category is sometimes referred to as Mature YA, Upper YA, or Teen Lit.

So if this upper YA category is similar to adult books, why does it exist? I'm not positive, but unlike 20 years ago, it seems that if the main character of a book is under the age of 20, the book is considered Teen Lit by default.

I invite you to share your opinion -- my post here is my own personal opinion which relies somewhat on memories from 10-30 years ago. I could be waaaaay wrong on this. But I think I'm closer to reality than some.

More on Teen Lit in the next post.

Another Great YA

Newbery Honor winner Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy is an historical novel that takes place in Maine in the early 1900s. Filled with racial tensions and religious disharmony, author Gary Schmidt transports the reader to the shores of the real town of Phippsburg, gives us a variety of tremendously developed characters, and shows us the coast through his gorgeous description. I feel like I've seen a whale in real life.

(well I have, actually, but this is different - it's the description, man!)

And I can't tell you about this book without feeling rather proud that Gary Schmidt was one of my favorite college professors back in Michigan in the late 80s. Prof. Schmidt taught (and still teaches) kiddie lit, among other English/lit classes. Good job, sir! I give you an A.

This is me.

Create your own South Park character.

Aw, myahn! I haven't lost my midwest accent...

Though carbonated drinks are not 'pop' anymore. Definitely 'soda'.
My ten year old daughter's accent has changed the most in the past two years. Which is funny, because Phoenix is it's own little melting pot, and there's really not a 'southwest' accent, as far as I can tell.

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Inland North You may think you speak "Standard English straight out of the dictionary" but when you step away from the Great Lakes you get asked annoying questions like "Are you from Wisconsin?" or "Are you from Chicago?" Chances are you call carbonated drinks "pop."
The Northeast
Philadelphia
The Midland
The South
North Central
Boston
The West
What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

A new addition

After searching high and low for just the right dog for our family, I think we have a winner.

Jessie is a 3.5 year-old saluki mix. Emphasis on the 'mix'. Though no one seems to know what the mix part is. She's black and tan, shorter and stockier than the saluki in the photo at the link, and has a thick coat. When she stands to look at something, she reminds me of a small golden retriever with a collie-face.

We were very picky in our selection. We didn't want a puppy. We wanted a medium-sized dog who is housebroken, doesn't bark, doesn't chew on the furniture, doesn't need a huge amount of exercise, and doesn't shed. We got everything we wanted except the 'doesn't shed' part. Yay.

Third thing...

One more great thing to share today -- design your own radio station.

Two of my favorite things today

Sometimes the taste for good ol' Chicago style pizza is overwhelming. And it's impossible to find the authentic stuff around here. Introducing Lou Malnati's pizza with nationwide delivery. A friend of mine who lives in Chicago (though he's somewhere in Africa at the moment) was so kind as to send me some Lou's pizzas last year, when I was mourning about being so far away from Chicago now.

Now, if y'all are going to argue with me and try and convince me that NY style or St. Louis style is better, well, just include a link to a place that will ship it to Arizona, and maybe I'll have a little taste test show-down.

The way to buy pizza online, by the way, is not to look at the price for one pizza. ($37, includes delivery, ouch!) What you need to do is have a party, see. And get 4 pizzas for $69.99, which also includes delivery. So I buy a couple cases of beer for $30 and we're good.

Think about it. Say you live in Chicago. You and seven friends all go out to Lou's (parking $10 per vehicle, 2 vehicles). You get drinks while you wait (six beers, $30 -- and the DD's drink coke, right? So $6 for those, plus a $5 tip to the bartender). And then you get a few pitchers once you're seated (I dunno, $25?). You order 4 pizzas, $10 a piece plus tax ($45) and tip ($15 minimum, and that's even skanky), and then you accidentally leave the leftover box of pizza on the sink in the bathroom (why on EARTH would you take your takeout box into the bathroom? Gross!).

And there you've spent $150, to my $100. It's a bargain, I'm telling you!


My second favorite thing today is Quelf.
This is a most hilarious board game, and would make a great gift, but like most great board games, they sell out before Christmas. So get yours early. If'n you do that Christmas thang, that is. See, players draw cards and they have to do what's on the card. Like, for the entirety of the game, instead of saying 'yes' or 'no', you might have to say 'word' or 'bogus'. If you screw up, you take a penalty. Or anytime another player rolls a 4, you might have to stand up, spread your arms and hum a mournful song until that turn is done. Or you'll have to put a pan on your head, bang it with a wooden spoon, and shout "I'm coming, Billy!" There are a variety of cards, some that make you list things like brands of shampoo or female authors' names.

It's a blast.

Pizza, family game, it's all good.

Now I have to go get my hair cut. Which reminds me; I've got to find that South Park website where you can design a character to look like yourself. Because I have Butters' hair.

Forced time off

I'm forcing myself to take time off from writing or editing for a few days -- I started this break on Friday. Do you ever do this? It's sort of killing me to do it, but I've written like a mad woman for six months with few breaks, and I'm at a point where I think that if I don't take a break, I'll get sick of it, or my stories will suffer.

So what do normal people do when they take a break? I have no idea. But here's what I'll be doing today:

1. VOTE and mail in my ballot

2. Wrap birthday presents

3. Read a book

4. Take out the recycling


Is there something else I should be doing? I mean, besides housework. I'm sitting here, out of sorts, and salivating when I think of opening up my latest rough draft and start editing.

But I guess that's the purpose. I need to get to the point where I can't go another minute without getting back to work. Maybe tomorrow.

Now you -- tell me what you do.

Ruh Roh - I've been tagged.

The most adorably creepy author of The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod, (Eighth Grade Bites is book 1, due in summer 2007) Heather Brewer , has tagged me. And now I must tell you five interesting or unique things about me.

1. Homegirl don't play tag.

2. I'm left-handed and have an extra vertabra and extra set of ribs. I also majorly tore the cartilege in my knee as a kid, but my mother didn't believe me because I faked broken legs and illnesses a lot. I was one of those kids who wanted crutches and braces and glasses. Anyway, three weeks after limping and whining, mom finally took me to the doc. Ha! Serious injury. He wondered how I'd walked on it for all that time. (Sorry, mom)

3. When I'm stressed out, unlike most people, I DON'T eat. I cook. And then I can't eat it. So today, I'm spending 12 hours smoking a pork butt on the grill (indirect heat! Never put a pork butt over flame! Even if you're thirteen, like my son, and you wonder if a pork butt can shoot a blue flame). Of course, we are always polite and call it 'pulled pork' or a 'pork shoulder' in fine company. Even though the tag says Boston butt. Because really, it does come from the shoulder. (Wait, how did this turn into interesting things about pigs? Doh! Don't answer that.)

4. When I was doing research for my book about the Holocaust and the Kindertransport system, my mother casually mentioned that I had two second-cousins that were Nazi soldiers. They both died in POW camps in Russia.
GAH! That put me in a tailspin for several days.

5. Confession time. When I was in first grade, I stole stuff from my classroom. Like one of those smiley face ink things that the teacher used to stamp our papers. And? A cross-stitch needle. Because it was 1976, and the entire grade school was making this giant cross-stitched American flag/eagle thing as a project. And that needle was way cool and shiny. In fact, I'm wondering if it's still where I hid it, down in the basement in my parents house (they still live there). Also, my teacher gave out a handful of cereal as a treat if we kids did a good job with reading (I was a very good reader). And at home, we couldn't afford cool cereal. I'm talking really cool cereal, like Cap'n Crunch's Peanut Butter cereal and Lucky Charms. So I would get my mom to write me a 'stay in at recess' note (because I faked sick a LOT), and then I'd steal cereal and keep it in my desk.

I feel sorta bad about that, now.


I should tag some people. So...I tag Ellen Meister, Supes, Katrina, and Katie.

Very (very) short stories. Six words.

A fun read from Wired.

Okay, you know about the Numa Numa guy, right?

Jesus does the Numa Numa

Also, Numa guy has a new video out. But it's not as funny as the first one. YouTube has it somewhere...

Why do my characters do what they do?

Sometimes they make me so angry.

I mean, who do they think they are, that they can just go quitting a job that took me forever to set up? Now what am I going to do? That job was crucial to the plot.

Ungrateful wretches, that's what they are.

I met Stephenie Meyer

And dang, she's adorable. She looks like Anne Hathaway.

Stephenie spoke at the Southwest Regional Library in Gilbert, AZ yesterday, about 10 miles from my house. When I got to the library fifteen minutes early, there was a line, and the cute teenage girl in front of me was wearing "I love Edward Cullen" jeans that she designed herself. Several of the teenage girls I spoke to (or overheard) while waiting to get in had gotten out of school early to attend this, though I believe the Gilbert schools were on fall break.

She read to us and answered questions, showed us some of the other countries' book covers, and then signed books. When I got to the table, I admit it. I gushed like I was 13 or something. We chatted briefly, I mentioned my book, and she was so enthusiastic about it! She asked me all about it. We also talked about all the authors who call AZ their home and decided we should all get together sometime (hello, Barbara Kingsolver!). Heh. I'm hoping that once Stephenie's life settles down (she's just done with her tour) she'll have a chance to drop me an email -- I gave her my name and info and stuff. She was just delightful, and I'm so glad I got the chance to meet her.

Quill Awards

The 2006 Quills have been announced. Congrats to the winners!

Janie is ready!

After adding roughly 4000 words and making a handful of changes to the manuscript, Janie Hannagan: Dream Catcher is ready! My agent will begin submitting the manuscript to editors sometime this week.

A few weeks ago, at my agent's suggestion, I picked up Stephenie Meyer's first book, Twilight. Though my book has nothing to do with vampires, my agent said my writing style was similar to Stephenie's and he thought Janie would appeal to the same audience as Twilight.

I've never enjoyed, cared about, or read a vampire book in my life, but I'm always looking for interesting YA books. And once I started reading, I couldn't put this book down. I had no idea vampires could be designed to be so intriguing as what Stephenie has done with the Cullens. Wow! I had to read more, so I picked up her second book, New Moon, which is the sequel to Twilight.

Meanwhile, I made my husband Matt read Twilight. I didn't mention to him what agent Michael had said about my writing style being similar to Stephenie's. After the first few chapters of Twilight, Matt said "This sounds like your writing." Interrrresting.

I found Stephenie's website and discovered that not only is she a wildly successful and popular author, she is also practically my neighbor. (Okay, okay, she lives an hour away, but here in the southwest, that's not much). She's doing a booksigning at my local library tomorrow so I think I'll go say hello and get my books signed.

Research

I might be unusual, but one of the things I just love about writing a novel is the research.

I feel like I'm taking a class. And it's always a class I'm terribly interested in. So far, I've researched WW2, several parts of England, Judaism, the Holocaust, Bucharest and other parts of Romania, street children, food, dreams, dresses, causes of blindness, welfare, psycho- and telekenisis, and more.

I love when I'm writing about something I think I know a lot about, and then something happens in the story that is out of my area of expertise. Actually no, I take it back. I hate that. But then, after starting research, I love it again, because I learn so much.

My novel, Janie Hannagan: Dream Catcher, has been edited and needs just a few more changes before my agent is ready to submit it. How exciting!

Yippee!

So what can I say about Michael Bourret? Well, before today I could have said he's a great literary agent, and the first agent I ever queried.

Today, however, I can say that he is not only a great literary agent, but he is also MY agent. I am thrilled to be working with such a terrific guy. And I'm ready to get to work on Janie Hannagan: Dream Catcher, to make it perfect for submission.

Michael Bourret is with Dystel & Goderich Literary Management.

What with all the Memoir hype...

...about folks whose memories have been altered by aliens in such a way that their families are ganging up on them to prove them worthless vile citizens of the literary world, I would like to exploit this situation by writing a new book:

My Terrible Life Down By the Crick: An Exaggerated Memoir

---- In which Lisa McMann finds herself in extreme peril (near death, several times in a variety of provoking ways) while catching crawdads in the crick down by the ol' church parking lot. But when she goes through the tunnel of doom under the road, she comes out the other side a changed woman--with many, many cobwebs in her Dutch-blonde hair, and a new, much more serious problem...she turns 12 and grows boobs, and Timmy VandenBrink has to kiss her in Paulette Toilet's dog pen before Paulette's big brother Fudd will let them out of the cage.

But I'm worried that it won't sell so well without the controversy. Hmmm.

The Quill Awards

Vote here until September 30th.

Inspiration for writing

A few months ago, I took a break from sending queries for my first book, Kinder Farm, to finish a second novel called Sister Andri.

And then, I read The Time-Traveler's Wife...

Wow. Loved that book. Loved that I couldn't figure out what was going on at first. Loved the style in which it was written. And it was just the inspiration I needed to pen a third novel that had been rattling around in the back of my brain for a month or two.

It's funny -- I think I 'm unusual in my obsession with writing. I don't use outlines, but sometimes before I write, I'll write up a 2-paragraph summary of the book, much like a query letter. Usually I'll have the idea for a few weeks or months, and I don't know exactly how it happens but often I'll dream about what happens in the story. Once the idea for a novel grows larger than just a glimmer, I'll write a few notes, and then do a bit (or a LOT -- as was the case for Kinder Farm and Sister Andri) of research. When I finally start writing, I'll write 12-15 hours a day until I get stuck, or until it's done.

So, when I finished writing the rough draft of Janie Hannagan: Dream Catcher in a week, it didn't surprise me. But other people look at me like I'm either lying or the book must be terrible. But 100 hours went into the book that week. Not to mention the dreams at night, working out the plot for me (how nice of my dreams to do that!). After writing the rough, I put it away for a few days, then spent a day editing. And then my toughest critic read it and almost fell over in excitement about it. That's a good sign. :)

So I put it away and wrote a sequel to it over the next ten days. Then went back to the first book about Janie and edited for a week, sent it out to my handful of readers and got it ready for querying.

And then, oh the horrors, I took a whole weekend off from writing.

Today, I'm ready to edit the sequel. And work on a query letter and synopsis of Sister Andri.

And look for another amazing book out there to read.

Books, books

Here in Arizona, we try to escape the heat by visiting Michigan relatives. Just returned from two weeks there of amazingly hot and humid weather. Phoenix is almost more tolerable...

Of course, with a vacation comes summer reading. I struck it rich this year, with the following:

Australian author Markus Zusak's new novel, "The Book Thief," is a fantastic read, and one of the few books I couldn't bear to pass on to my sister-in-law. It's my new favorite book, and I plan to read it again. "Water For Elephants" by Sara Gruen was unique and beautiful, about circus performers during prohibition. I'm not much of a fan of detective stories, but I'm halfway through James Lee Burke's "Crusader's Cross." Love his description. I finally pulled "The Flame Tree" by Richard Lewis from my dusty pile of books and loved that as well, and learned a bit about Indonesia in the process. And Ellen Meister's new "Secret Confessions of the Applewood PTA" is up next.