Yeah, that’s pretty much it.

2. I also realized that week that even though I have been talking about it here nonstop and on Twitter pretty relentlessly, there are still some people out there that didn’t realize I have a new book coming out next month. (I know: you are NOT these people. But bear with me, I have to do this.) Anyway, we have a new listing put together of all my tour dates so far, along with the links for each store. Some of the events are ticketed ones, so be sure to find out what’s planned for YOUR place before you go. Here’s the updated list:

New York, New York

Barnes & Noble – Union Square, 33 E 17th St – Thursday, May 30, 7 pm (This is a group event: see more below in #3!) 

Durham, NC

The Regulator – 720 Ninth St – Monday, June 3, 7 pm

http://www.regulatorbookshop.com/event/2013/06/03/day

Washington DC

Politics and Prose – Great Hall, Martin Luther King Jr. Public Library

901 G St., NW– Tuesday, June 4, 7 pm

http://www.politics-prose.com/event/book/sarah-dessen-moon-and-more

Natick, MA

Wellesley Books – The Morse Institute Library, 14 E Central St –

Wednesday, June 5, 7 pm 

http://www.wellesleybooksmith-shop.com/event/sarah-dessen

Houston, TX

Blue Willow Bookstore – West Houston Community Center, 725 Bateswood –

Thursday, June 6, 7 pm

http://www.bluewillowbookshop.com/event/sarah-dessen-0

Cincinnati, OH

Joseph-Beth Booksellers – 2692 Madison Rd – Friday, June 7, 7 pm

http://www.josephbeth.com/KidsEvents.aspx

Boise, ID

Hastings – 7500 Fairview Ave – Saturday June 8, 3 pm

Does not appear to have event listings

Pleasanton, CA

Towne Center Books – 555 Main Street – Sunday, June 9, 2 pm

http://www.townecenterbooks.com/events.html

http://www.townecenterbooks.com/townecenternews.html

San Francisco, CA

Books Inc. – Opera Plaza, 601 Van Ness – Monday, June 10, 7 pm

http://www.booksinc.net/event/sarah-dessen-books-inc-opera-plaza

Cary, NC

Barnes & Noble – 760 SE Maynard - Wednesday, June 12, 7 pm

http://store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/event/4390234

Raleigh NC

Quail Ridge Books & Music – 3522 Wade Ave – Wednesday, June 26, 7 pm

http://www.quailridgebooks.com/event/sarah-dessen-moon-and-more

Falmouth, MA

Eight Cousins Bookstore - 189 Main Street - Tuesday, July 23rd, 3 pm

Not listed yet

For you booksellers, I’ll also be at BEA signing on Saturday, June 1st. And we’re in the process of adding a date in Asheville at Malaprops, one of my favorite NC stores, later in the summer. Stay tuned!

3. So I was already SUPER excited about my trip to NYC for BEA in a couple of weeks, for lots of reasons. First, BEA is a great convention for booksellers and publishing folks and anyone who works with books, so it’s always a blast. I haven’t been since two years ago, when I got to speak at the Children’s Breakfast and met Julianne Moore. Oh, did I mention that?

I think I might have.

Anyway, I knew I was signing books on Saturday June 1st AND going to a super fun party my publisher was throwing the night before. THEN I got invited to a party where, no joke, I think there might be celebrities. YIKES! It’s on Thursday night, the 30th, so I was already obsessing about what to wear (don’t want to look like I’m trying too hard, but also want to look cute, you know the drill) and everything else, like what if I see a Real Housewife? (I have it on good authority a few of them were at this party last year). Anyway, I was pumped. THEN I found out  that the very same night, but later, I had been invited to be part of a super rock star YA panel at the Barnes and Noble in Union Square with Rick Yancey, Andrea Cremer, Marie Lu AND Richelle Mead. I mean, hello! I am not sure how I ended up on this panel as these people are SUPERSTARS but I am going to keep quiet and hope nobody notices the error. So I get to (maybe) see celebs AND do an event at this awesome star with rock star writers, all on the same day? There is not enough punctuation to convey my excitement. Seriously. I won’t even try. *squeals*

4. In other news, tonight is the series finale of The Office. Regular readers of this blog remember when I first discovered this show on DVD, then got totally hooked. The Jim and Pam romance, as it built, just about killed me (in a good way). I will admit to not watching AS devotedly the last year or so, but only because we’ve stopped watching a LOT of things because we go to bed so early. (It’s not you, TV shows, it’s my early-rising kid.) But I’ve been tuning in the last four or so eps, as well as watching older ones on my DVDs and I know I will be WRECKED at the ending, even if it’s so well done. I just don’t do well with finales. I hate saying goodbye! At least I know I am not alone:

(images from Television Without Pity, thank you!)

Edit: Okay, it’s Friday morning now, and I DID watch The Office retrospective AND finale. And I cried. I think I’m going to miss Jim and Pam, and everyone else, a lot more than I thought I would.

5. As I said, I’m picking up this Five on Friday morning, around 8am, which is total meltdown time around here. My kid needs to go to preschool in a half hour, the dogs are barking, and I’m trying to juggle it all along with breakfast and blogging and everything else. I can VAGUELY remember a time when my mornings were leisurely, just me eating my breakfast and watching GMA while my older animals (now passed) snoozed peacefully at my feet. But it was long ago. Now, mornings are like being shot out of a cannon, and the day pretty much follows suit. Plus, my husband is away, so tag-teaming isn’t even an option. The bottom line is right now, I am SO APPRECIATIVE of my husband and all he did, and is going to do in a couple of weeks, while I do book tour. I love my job and love meeting my readers, but the flip side is someone has to hold down this crazy fort. Two weeks from today I’ll be waking up in NYC, starting up BEA and then the tour the next week. But for today, as crazy as it is, I am glad I am here doing my part while HE gets a much deserved break. Even if my kid is jumping on her trampoline and I’m still mourning the loss of my butterfly Havaiana flipflops, which puppy Goose got when I had my back turned. (They were silver. I loved them.) It takes a village. Sometimes, and in our case, a small city. But even in the midst of chaos, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Although a bit more sleep might be nice.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Yes, that IS Sriracha Chips, Hershey’s Special Dark with Almonds nuggets, and Carolina Blue cupcakes. Also pics of GMA and my beloved Tarheels. Do they know me, or what? The visit itself was GREAT, the girls were so amazing and asked incredible questions, and the staff and teachers made me so grateful there are such amazing people teaching in our public schools. Yeah, it was pretty much an all-on lovefest. Here’s a collage that the fabulous librarian who set ALL this up, Ms. White, made:

Bottom line: I felt loved. BIG TIME.

2. In other exciting news, this week I was finally able to share this SUPER big secret I’ve been having to keep for a few weeks now. Regular readers of this blog—especially those who were with me all the way back at LiveJournal—will remember how obsessed I was with the show Veronica Mars when it was on. I watched every season, swooned over Logan Echolls and was basically pushing it on everyone I met, insisting they join the cult with me. (So to speak.) Then I was one of MANY people who contributed to the Kickstarter to fund the VM movie, which I am so excited about I pretty much can’t even stand it. So imagine how I felt when I found out that I’d been invited to speak at the Austin Teen Book Festival in September with none other than Rob Thomas, who CREATED the show. WHOA. (I actually didn’t believe it until I saw it on the official website, but look, here it is.) Anyway, I’m SO excited both to read Rob’s YA book RATS SAW GOD and talk with him about books IF I can even look at him without dying of fangirling. We’ll see how that goes.

3. The other big thing happening around these parts this weekend is graduation at UNC, as well at NC State AND Duke. It is a weekend of caps and gowns and out of state license plates and crowded restaurants, as well as feeling of both accomplished and bittersweet. Two of my rock star babysitters are graduating, one to graduate school and the other to a great job, so I am so happy for them, but sad for us because they will be SO missed. It is the downside of hiring college girls and considering them family: they always have to move on. I won’t be attending graduation this weekend at Carolina—in fact, I will be avoiding campus and downtown like the plague, as we locals do—but I will take a moment on Sunday morning to wish the class of 2013 well. What a big adventure to be beginning. Hang on!

4. Also happening this weekend: Mother’s Day. Is it weird that I still associate this day with MY mom, as well as my mother-in-law and my husband’s grandmother, and don’t think about myself at all? I guess a habit of 37 years is hard to break. Which means I’ve been rushing around today getting gifts together, planning how to wrap them, and generally forgetting totally that I, too, am a mother. (Which is shocking, considering that this morning my kid put this crazy beaded necklace on me, which I forgot about until I was out at Sam’s Club, looked down, and discovered I was still wearing it. Whoops.) I’m sure my husband and daughter have something planned, but honestly I got the best gift already today, when my kid looked at me and said, “You look beautiful, pretty face.” I mean, come ON. Who needs a card when you have that?

5. Finally, I have to share this one last thing about my IL school visit. During this paperback tour—and whenever I do events—I love to do Q&A. It’s MUCH more fun than me just babbling on, although I can totally babble, it’s like a strength of mine. But questions are more fun all around. I can usually count on getting the same ones each place, like, “Where do you get your ideas?” (Everywhere and anywhere) and “What’s your favorite book you’ve written?” (Can’t pick, but have a soft spot for This Lullaby) and “What advice do you have for someone who wants to be a writer?” (Read and write as much as you can). Every once in awhile, however, I get one I haven’t heard before, and that happened yesterday at Granger Middle. This girl raised her hand and said, “If you had to pick one of your boy characters for your daughter to date, who would it be?” And I was STUMPED. My daughter? She’s only 5! She won’t be dating until she’s 30 at least (if my husband has any say it it, anyway). But still, I had to answer. The easiest reply was “Not Rogerson from Dreamland,” but that’s sort of cheating, so I really thought on it. In the end, I went with Wes from THE TRUTH ABOUT FOREVER, because I would want her to be with someone who didn’t expect or even want her to be perfect. But really, Dexter or Owen or Dave or Nate…they’d all be just fine with me. I mean, what mom WOULDN’T want to have hand-created the boy their daughter went out with? Sadly, I don’t think this will be an actual option when my kid is older, unless science comes a LONG way. Luckily, I still have some time. Although it is flying. Hug your mother this weekend! She probably needs it.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

2. Speaking of chaos, I finally get to share some video proof of the regular, daily kind around here with this video that we shot here at my house back in February. It’s about THE MOON AND MORE, and writing, but also features cameos by my kid, dogs and chickens. It’s a family affair, this kind of hectic. We had so much fun shooting this, but of course now all I can see is that my shirt looks wrinkled and I think I look very JOWLY. (Is that even a word?) But my kid is cute and so is Goose. I just regret that the footage of Frank, our late little rooster, didn’t make the cut. I miss him, but he’s surely terrorizing everyone up at the big chicken run in the sky. You do get a quick glimpse of Foghorn, though, and as usual, he is GLORIOUS.

3. As I said, both of my dogs are getting procedures done today. Coco has to have an ultrasound and possibly a kidneystone removed, and Goose, well…he’s getting what we’ve been referring to politely around here as “the snip.” People, it is time. He’s past six months and we’re not the sort who breed our dogs, plus we’re hearing from the doggy day care/socialization class he attends once a week that he’s been getting a BIT frisky with the other dogs. All of them, male AND female. So in he goes. It’s so stereotypical, but my husband is taking this harder than I am. He keeps sighing and apologizing to the dog, who gets confused because normally we are yelling at him for doing things like chewing the rug, tearing apart the plants on the deck, and barking nonstop for no particular reason. He cannot understand why we are suddenly so solicitous, and I think he’s getting suspicious. See, now I feel bad too. Poor Goosie! But it really is for the best. Spay and neuter your pets! It’s for the good of everyone!

4. This week has been all about re-entry for me, as well as planning for my next tour, which is coming up in June. (Hope to have solid dates/details for you about that next week, fingers crossed!) Between doing promotion for the paperback of WHAT HAPPENED TO GOODBYE and gearing up for the release of THE MOON AND MORE, you’d think that the last thing I’d be stressing out about would be trying to write the NEXT book. Well. Again, I do this to myself. Why oh WHY have I spent much of this week staring at my computer, feeling like a total failure because my book in progress isn’t clicking the way it should be? I’ll tell you: because I can’t catch the hint that I need to just let it rest and come to me in its own time. Truth is, waiting for a book release is really nervewracking. Even if it’s number eleven, as it is in my case. I feel terrified and excited and worried and exhilirated and COMPLETELY out of control, so I do things that make me feel like I have my act together. Like organize drawers, and shop for shoes, and try to write. But if a book isn’t ready to be put down on the page yet, it’s just not ready, even if I think I am. So I’m really just spinning my wheels and putting myself into MORE of a panic, which helps no one. Man, I wish I wasn’t so neurotic. But I’ve always had a sneaking suspicion that it is not only part of the job, but a REQUIRED part. Oh, well. For now, I will just try to breathe. That’s all you can do, right?

5. Okay, so now it’s almost 11:30 and everything is done (I think) and we’re in the car setting out for a wedding in the mountains. Earlier this morning I got to do a GREAT school visit at Carrboro High, where I met the most awesome group of girls (and their librarians!):

They’re posing with these great posters that my publisher sent me, which I feel VERY rock star signing for some reason. Although it is not very rock to star realize that you forgot your kid’s Nice Shoes for the wedding you are now en route to. Whoops. I can only hope that’s the worst thing I forgot after this crazy morning. Bring on the weekend!

Have a great one, everyone!

Okay, so I’m home, after that blur/whirlwind that was the week long paperback tour for WHAT HAPPENED TO GOODBYE. Good gracious. I had no idea how tired I was until I hit my own bed, and I’ve done pretty much nothing since but stay there and plan when I can get back in it when I DO actually have to get up. What a great trip, though. I mean, there were the crazy wake-up calls (one night, in Seatttle, I went to bed at 10pm and had to get up at 2:30am, whoa) and some running for planes (I was SO glad I finally started wearing flats when traveling) and more turkey sandwiches/wraps than I can count (they are my go-to when traveling, as they are at every airport/hotel and hard to mess up). But there were also SO many great and enthusiastic readers, people who waited in line and brought me potato chips and sweet letters and just made every bit of the trip so amazing. I have said it before: I have the BEST readers. You guys rock.

2. Last week’s Five I wrote in the car going from Chicago to my hotel in Naperville, IL. This one, I am back at my satellite office, i.e. the fellowship hall of the church where my kid goes to preschool. After my event at Anderson’s in Naperville (which was FANTASTIC, even if it was actually—gulp—snowing when we left, what the heck?) we headed off to sunny CA to an event in Huntington Beach. This one was especially cool because my brother, sister-in-law and nephew were in attendance, and I’d been gone long enough to be SO happy to see some more family. I had a great crowd, so many amazing girls, as well as a few boys. One was Alex, who patiently attended with his girlfriend and some other friends and toted their books:

Also in Huntington Beach, I finally got to meet the fabulous Jessi Kirby, fellow YA author (MOONGLASS, and soon to come, GOLDEN). We share both an agent and a love of wine and potato chips, and she brought me an AWESOME care package, which I pretty much scarfed down as soon as I got back to the hotel. I love meeting  Twitter friends in person!

3. Then from HB it was off to LA for the LA Times Festival of Books. I LOVE this festival, as it is so fun AND a great place to scope out celebrities (which regular readers of this blog KNOW I love to do). I was keeping my eyes peeled, to put it mildly. Right after I arrived in the greenroom, I saw Maria Semple, author of WHERE’D YOU GO, BERNADETTE, a book I read recently and loved SO much I’ve basically become a zealot about it. I did not want to embarrass myself…but I had to go up and gush. So I did. Was not bold enough to ask for a picture, so you’ll just have to imagine me all flushed and stammering. I’m sure it’s not that hard to do. Also spotted in the greenroom: Nia Vardalos of My Big Fat Greek Wedding AND—wait for it—Molly Ringwald. I pretty much died when she walked behind me, with one of her little boys in tow. Later I ended up in the bathroom at the same time they were there and I complimented him on his shoes. He was very polite. I was pretty much dying. I mean, MOLLY FREAKING RINGWALD? Whoa. I was MOST excited, however, about finally meeting The Fug Girls, Heather and Jessica. If you’re a fan of their site, Go Fug Yourself, you know how truly awesome and funny they are. We’ve been Twitter friends for ages, but again, it was AMAZING to meet in person. Although I was a little nervous about what I was wearing:

That’s author Abby McDonald on the left, and the Fugs on my other side. SO FUN!

I had a great panel with some awesome fellow YA writers, then went off to two signings in a row. When I was done, I had to bid farwell to my publicist Elyse, who had been traveling with me from Chapel Hill onward. It was hard! She’d been my partner in crime (and turkey sandwiches)!

I’m beginning to realize how tired I look in a lot of these pictures. Haggard is another word that comes to mind. Oh, well.

Before I left LA, I HAD to make one more stop. I’d heard the hype, and wasn’t sure it would live up to it. But I was NOT disappointed:

Yes, friends, I finally got to try In-N-Out. It was AMAZING. I had a cheeseburger, animal style, and wolfed the entire thing down in about two seconds. Pure bliss. Hooray!

4. From LA it was onto Seattle, where I did a great school visit and met some of John Green’s biggest fans. Literally: when I mentioned his name, they gasped, audibly. Luckily, they liked me, as well (and I kind of envied their uniforms, in all honesty):

I had a little bit of time to walk around downtown Seattle (and had an amazing apple from the Pike Place Market, delicious) then it was off to an evening signing at Third Place Books, where I had two readers show up in the coolest t-shirts ever:

I think I need one of each. Just saying.

5. The next day was my 2:30 am wakeup call, then a flight to Austin via Phoenix. When I landed in Texas, I headed to my last school visit. I’d like to just say this: everyone should, at some point in their lives, be greeted with a sign like this one:

I did a great meet-and-greet with a small group (there was ice cream!) and got some awesome questions. Again, envying the uniforms:

Then it was off to speak to a bigger group, and by big, I mean HUGE. I had to use my panorama function to really do it justice (and you can see my fab Penguin rep, Jill, in the corner);

From the school, I had a bit of downtime, then headed to Austin’s famous BookPeople for my last signing. I have no pictures, but only because I was too tired to even work the camera function on my phone. Take my word for it: it was GREAT. And then I was done! I had planned to go out in Austin for a celebratory margarita and some Tex-Mex, but instead I went back to my hotel, ate a turkey wrap and fell asleep with the TV on. Ah, so glamorous.

The next day, I headed HOME, via Atlanta. As I got closer and closer, I could barely stand the fact that I’d be seeing my family again so soon. Sitting in Chapel Hill rush hour traffic about ten miles from my house, my husband sent me this picture, proving I was not the only one waiting:

She’s pretty much not let me out of her sight since. I feel the same way, though.

And there you have it! I know I am forgetting names and some places, but forgive me: as I said, I am TIRED. Hard to believe I’ll be doing another week in June. I think I should start banking sleep, like, yesterday. Better get on that.

Thanks to everyone who came out and made me feel at home, even when I was so far from what I know. You guys are the best. Have a great weekend, everyone!

2. On Tuesday, I did my first event for the paperback tour of WHAT HAPPENED TO GOODBYE, at my hometown bookstore Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill. It was SO fun to see so many local faces, as well as eat beforehand at Lucha Tigre, which is in the exact same spot as the restaurant where I worked for many years, back in the day. I’d been sort of a nervous wreck about being away for a week—okay, I’d been losing my mind, I can’t lie to you all—but starting at home was the best possible way to ease in. Also, two people brought me cupcakes, and we all know that those make EVERYTHING all right. If I could buy a cupcake for the world right now, I totally would.

3. Then it was off to Miami, VERY early the next morning: 5am to be exact. Which meant getting up at 4am, which is hard even for an early riser like myself. We got to the airport, flew into gorgeous Miami, then had a school visit at Carrollton School, where the reading club gave me a great welcome. Then, a quick rest before the store event at Books and Books, which was awesome. Whew! Also in Miami, I got to meet my newest cousin, Antonella, six weeks old and already a heartbreaker. I could have sat and held that baby ALL day long, but I had to work. Still, that infant thing: the cheeks! The toes! That baby smell!

Okay, I better stop. I miss my kid enough as it is.

4. The next day, I got to sleep in until 5am (yay!) and we headed to the Miami airport to fly to Memphis. There had been some sort of suspicious package found in the American terminal, however, so the security lines were HUGE and everyone was very on edge and stressed. I have not been able to work out on this trip, so perhaps it was a good thing that I had to sprint through the terminal to make my flight just as the doors were closing. A lot of other people were not so lucky. When was the last time you had a whole row of seats to yourself? I think for me, it was never. Once in Memphis, we got to stop for barbecue at a famous place called Corky’s, where my fab publicist Elyse had sweet tea for the very first time. As you can tell, she approved:

Then it was off to the Hutchinson School, where I spoke to a bunch of middle school girls, who had GREAT questions about writing and books and, also, One Tree Hill. Of which I am no expert, but they were kind anyway. Then it was BACK to hotel, change clothes and off to The Booksellers at Laurelwood, where I had a GREAT crowd despite the fact that it was basically monsooning outside. Those Memphis girls are not afraid of a little weather, y’all. Also notable from this event was that I actually stumped the audience with my trivia challenge, a total first. I asked a question about Dreamland: what was the name of Caitlin’s waitress friend? Nobody knew it. Victory!

5. Which brings us to today, Friday. Which I actually thought was Thursday, because this travel schedule has me completely out of it. Also I was so tired yesterday I couldn’t even open my hotel room door without trying multiple times (I had the key backwards, d’oh!). I am approaching total slap-happiness, and we’re not even to LA yet. The sad thing is that I was SO EXCITED for my school visit today to Granger Middle School in Aurora, and they had big plans, probably the best welcome I was ever going to get. But the weather did not cooperate. It has rained like crazy there, flooding the streets, and the schools were closed. BOO! In fact, I am driving through that area now (or riding: safety first!) and I see standing water everywhere. Yikes. Am hoping I can come back later and make it up. But my signing tonight at Anderson’s in Naperville at 7pm is still on. So come out and say hello, if you’re around! Next stop is Huntington Beach, CA, and then the LA Times Book Festival, where you can catch me here.

Okay, time to crash and try to get some rest. Wherever you are, be safe and take care. It’s all we can do, right?

Have a good weekend, everyone!

P.S. Caitlin’s friend in Dreamland was named Corinna. Did you know?

It was a very exciting day on Tuesday when the book hit stores. People were tweeting me pics of the displays, which was awesome, and my lovely publisher sent me a box of macarons that were SO FREAKING AMAZING. (I had never had a macaron before. I thought they were the same thing as macaroons, the coconut desserts, but they are NOT. I had a salted caramel one and it basically changed my life. But I digress.) And now, starting on Tuesday, I’ll be doing a book tour to support the paperback. This is my first paperback tour EVER, plus I am doing school visits, which I haven’t done in ages. (You can see the dates and stops here.) So it will be crazy busy, with visits in the morning and bookstore events in the evening and very early morning flights and a different city every day and and….BREATHE. Plus it’s going to be the longest I’ve ever been away from my kid. So if you come out and see me and I’m a little tired looking, be kind. Please?

2. Also this week, this happened:

I have to back up a little bit. Back when I was in college, People magazine was my biggest indulgence. I saved up all week so I could buy the latest issue, then would sit down and read it cover to cover while eating a box of Super Snax, my favorite snack mix. (Just writing that, I am now CRAVING Super Snax. I wonder if they still make it? Hmmm.) I always wanted to subscribe to People but it was REALLY expensive for me at the time. Anyway, fast forward to this weekend, when people began tweeting me pics of this full page ad for my books in the latest issue. It blew my MIND. I mean, all those years ago, stuffing my face with snack mix, I NEVER would have imagined that someday I’d see my books in the same publication. It’s just insane. But in the best, most wonderful way.

3. Also this week, I did my last Twitter chat for #readpenguin. There were three in all, each on a Thursday night. Because we happen to have a Thursday night sitter, and I was not about to give up that opportunity, I did each of the chats at one of my favorite restaurants, City Kitchen. They have super fast internet there (yay!) and incredible pizza (double yay!) so it was a total win-win. My babysitter Bianca, who also works there, was very kind about letting me work from her table. So anyway, last night, for the full-hour chat, I got there only to find there was a big charity event happening, complete with a fashion show. The runway was right by our table! So there I am, madly tweeting and trying to eat bites of pizza while models posed right beside me. It was so surreal. Almost as weird as the People magazine thing. Plus, it totally made me think of That Summer and Just Listen and the Lakeview Models. Worlds colliding! Whoa.

4. This week also involved another milestone: I enrolled my kid in kindergarten. I showed up at her future school with all my forms, met the principal and the nurse, and filled everything out. Then, I went out to my car and cried. I am SUCH a sap. But OH MY GOD how is it possible that she is already going to start Real School? I feel like I was just swaddling her and giving her a pacifier. It totally made me feel sorry I hadn’t had another baby, just so that part wouldn’t be totally over for good. But then, the next day, she threw an EPIC tantrum about what she wouldn’t wear to school, going all Diva on me, and I thought, “Nope, I think I’m good.” So there’s that. But still: kindergarten? *sniffles*

5. Finally, Spring has finally sprung around here, and you know what that means: chickens. Okay, maybe not for everyone, but for us, when the weather turns nice, we start thinking about poultry. It’s that time, when we need to add to our flock, which is good because our little chickens are dwindling quick. First, my frenemy Frank, YouTube star, passed away, which was heartbreaking. Then we lost another one unexpectedly the other day. We’re down to three, and it’s getting harder and harder to explain to my kid why everyone is suddenly going to heaven en masse. Of course, things are hectic enough without adding MORE animals to the mix, but we don’t like things dull around here. Apparently. My husband was musing about getting some black australorps this morning, and I fully expect that when I return home in a few hours he will have acquired some. Well, at least it’s never dull. And look how pretty they are!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

2. This week, the awesome Laurie Halse Anderson announced that she’s teaming up with the publisher of her book SPEAK, MacMillan, to raise money for RAINN, the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network. If you’ve ever read SPEAK, you know what at amazing story it is, and for years it’s helped survivors of sexual abuse in their healing process. Just a ten dollar donation allows RAINN to aid one survivor in getting the help they need. And if you give $75, you get a signed copy of SPEAK! What’s not to love about that? You can get all the info (and see Laurie in a video discussing all this) by going here.

3. In other news, I’m having to start thinking seriously about my tour for the paperback release of WHAT HAPPENED TO GOODBYE, which begins a week from this coming Wednesday. Yikes! Regular readers of this blog know that I am sort of a neurotic freak when it comes to packing for trips. (Okay, fine, total neurotic freak.) But I think anyone would be challenged by a week-long tour that involves stops in Miami, Chicago and Texas. I mean, how to even plan for those kind of climate changes? Also, I don’t think I’ll have time to send out laundry at all, which means…the big suitcase. And I always feel judged with the big suitcase, especially when I know authors who tour with only a carry on, somehow. I know enough to plan for layers, but between school visits AND bookstore events, I’m going to have to have a lot of options that fold down SMALL. Oh, I’m already getting all nervous thinking about it. Maybe I should just bring a stack of caftans? Muu-muus? Onesies? Um, maybe not.

4. Last week, I mentioned how much it means to me that my character Dexter, from This Lullaby, is such a reader favorite. People always pick him in their top two or three of my boys, as he was honestly probably the most fun character I’ve ever gotten to write. I think I’ve mentioned here before that I took Dexter’s name from a local musician here in Chapel Hill named Dexter Romweber. THAT Dexter was several years ahead of me in high school and one of those people that everyone knew by sight if not by name. When I was in college, in 1990, he was in a band called The Flat Duo Jets, and that’s when I really started getting into his music, not just the local myths about him. Anyway, when I needed a name for a boy in a band who played guitar, it just seemed perfect. My Dex is forever on the page, but Dexter Romweber is, well, all over YouTube, as well as still playing regularly here in Chapel Hill. I went to see him the other night, in fact, at a local bar with my husband, and he played as a special surprise at my last birthday party. (I.Died. I truly, truly did.) Anyway, in the interest of sharing where things come from, I wanted to post a link to this clip from a documentary that was made about Dexter Romweber a few years back called Two Headed Cow. It shows The Flat Duo Jets performing on David Letterman AND has some great commentary from Jack White and Cat Power, among others. If you’re intrigued, there are lots of other performances you can find online. Or just come to Chapel Hill, hit The Kraken some weeknight, and be prepared to be awed.

5. Finally, in my OWN appearance news, my fab publicist Elyse has given me the go-ahead to post the dates for my June tour for THE MOON AND MORE that are now confirmed. This is not a full list, as details are being worked out for a few others, and I’ll be updating them as I can over on my News and Appearances page. But for now, here you go. I’m so pumped. I cannot WAIT to get out and talk about this book!

Monday, June 3, 7pm
The Regulator
720 Ninth St
Durham, NC 27705

Tuesday, June 4, 7 pm
Martin Luther King Jr. Public Library with Politics and Prose Bookstore
Great Hall
901 G St., NW
Washington DC 20001

Thursday, June 6, 7 pm
Off-site event with Blue Willow Bookshop
West Houston Community Center
725 Bateswood
Houston, TX 77079

Friday, June 7, 7 pm
On-site event with Joseph-Beth Booksellers
2692 Madison Rd
Cincinnati, OH 45208

Monday, June 10, 7pm
On-site Not Your Mother’s Book Club event with Books Inc.
Opera Plaza
601 Van Ness
San Francisco, CA 94102

Wednesday, June 26, 7 pm
On-site event with Quail Ridge Books & Music
3522 Wade Ave
Raleigh NC 27607

This year, on my birthday, I won’t be dancing to Dex but hanging in Houston with the folks from Blue Willow. And it will be AWESOME, I just know it.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

2. One reason this week was so busy was that I was doing promotional stuff, gearing up for the paperback release of What Happened to Goodbye on April 9th. On Wednesday, I went to speak in the media center of East Chapel Hill High, which was super fun. I hung out with a bunch of girls while they ate lunch, talked about writing and my books, and eyed their nachos and donuts with a barely disguised longing. (We did NOT have nachos as a lunch option when I was in high school. I wish!) I always love going back to the local high schools as I gear up for tour, as it’s a good way to get used to speaking in public again. I feel like I’ve been under a rock for, well, the last two years or so. Except for my gig in Pittsburgh back in January, I’ve basically just been writing, tweeting and playing Princess Car Crash with my daughter. Now, though, it is about to be ON. It’s like training for a race. You have to start slow, condition yourself, and be sure to remember to stretch. Also, naps are crucial. Always.

3. Another thing I did this week was my first Twitter chat with PenguinUSA for their online book club, which is discussing What Happened to Goodbye. It was from 7-7:30 last night, and we happened to have a babysitter, so I had a dilemma. Do I cancel my sitter, or try to do the chat while out in The World so I can enjoy a dinner with my husband? I decided to get all cavalier and try the latter. So I packed up my Macbook and my portable hot spot and headed out to City Kitchen, one of our favorite restaurants. Our waitress was one of our babysitters, so she was totally okay with me working from her table. We ordered apps, enjoyed a glass of wine, and then I powered up and joined the chat. It worked! I was cooking along, typing like crazy, while my husband ate his hanger steak. Occasionally, he picked of piece of my pizza and held it out to me so I could grab a bite. Teamwork! He also documented me as I was working:

Anyway, the chat was SUPER fun. The next one is this coming Thursday, April 4th, again from 7-7:30 pm EST. The hashtag is #readpenguin. I think I will try to stick closer to home, as I don’t want to tempt fate. Yes, this living on the edge for me. I am such a rebel!

4. One thing that came up during the chat—-and during just about every Q&A I do, online or otherwise—is whether I will ever consider doing a sequel to any of my books. I understand why people ask. There are SO many good series in YA that readers almost expect a follow up. But the truth is, I like to think that my characters are fine where I leave them on the last page of the novel. And I worry any sequel I tried to write just wouldn’t live up to expectations. This is why I orginally began bringing characters back from previous books, as  a way of thanking people for WANTING sequels, and trying to do something sort of like that. When I was asked this question last night, though, I happened to mention that if I ever did do a sequel it would be to This Lullaby, and that I’d actually started one a couple of years back and got scared. Which is true. The pressure! Dex and Remy! I mean, come on. But people got SO excited hearing this, I was crazy flattered. Maybe, maybe. Someday. But for now I’m at work on another book. Never say never, though. I do love me some Dexter. How much fun would it be to get to spend a whole other book with him? Hmmmmm.

5. Finally, I will admit here to being a bit of s superstitous person. I won’t open an umbrella anywhere NEAR inside, avoid cracks whenever I can, and knock wood pretty much constantly. Also, I do a lot of magical thinking, I think because as a writer I never know if I’m going to have a good work day or a totally terrible one, so I try to control it by saying things like, “If I make this wastebasket shot, today will be the day I figure out that scene that’s making me nuts.” Because of this, I will also do just about any ritual that anyone says might work for, well, anything. Which is why I ordered a St. Joseph statue yesterday. Let me explain. We have an investment property that has been on the market for almost a year now. It is gorgeous, with new appliances and floors and an addition, in a great location close to UNC. But for some reason, we haven’t had even a good nibble. I was lamenting this yesterday when my Twitterverse suggested the St. Joseph thing. Apparently if you bury a statue of him upside down by the For Sale sign, facing the house, and say a prayer, you have a much better chance of selling. Will this work? I don’t know. But I am going to try. Another suggestion we had from our painter was that we let a live chicken loose in the house’s yard to scare away bad vibes and “cleanse” the property, but that seemed a bit extreme, even for a magical thinker like me. So St. Joseph it is. You never know, right? Can’t hurt….

Have a good weekend, everyone!

2. In book news, I am SO EXCITED that Penguin USA has chosen WHAT HAPPENED TO GOODBYE for their @PenguinUSA Twitter Book Club Pick this month. You can get all the info here. Also, there is a sweepstakes to win a collection of my books, which you can get more information about on Facebook via this link. I’ll be doing three chats about the book with @PenguinUSA:

March 28th
7 PM EST/4:00 PM PST (goes until 7:30 PM)

April 4th
7 PM EST/4:00 PM PST (goes until 7:30 PM)

April 11th
7 PM EST/4:00 PM PST (goes until 8:00 PM)

The hashtag is #readPenguin. I am so excited! And limbering up my fingers now, as the last Twitter chat was like running a sprint. With hurdles. But so fun.

3. In reading news, I am SO excited that one of my favorite authors, Jill McCorkle, has a new book out this coming week. It’s called LIFE AFTER LIFE and you can read all about it (and see tour dates) here. Disclaimer: Jill is my friend, and was also one of my first creative writing teachers at UNC. When I was in her class in the early 90′s, I babysat for her daughter. That SAME daughter babysat for my baby when she was an infant. (We believe in keeping things in the family around here.) That said, I have always LOVED Jill’s writing. It’s a Southern voice, but a NEW kind of voice, and this is her first novel in several years, since the fantastic CAROLINA MOON. (Although her short stories are amazing as well.) If she’s coming near you, you should definitely check her out. You won’t regret it.

4. Speaking of things I love, this week is the official beginning of the NCAA Tournament and true March Madness. I filled out my bracket on Wednesday, going with my tried and true method of a mix of rankings, teams people I know are fond of and all out guessing. As a true UNC fan, I of course had to pick my team to cut down the nets in Atlanta in the final, even though I know we are a BIT of a long shot. (Okay, super long shot.) I also picked Gonzaga for the final game, mostly because they are a number one seed AND I had a student years ago who was totally obsessed with them. She had not grown up with the team, but started being a fan in high school, and she had even written a partial novel about her obsession with them. Years ago she was a finalist in some ESPN College Ball Super Fan competition for her Zags. I think her name was Ashley, and wherever she is, I’m thinking of her this week. I know she is PUMPED. This is what I love about college ball. It’s not just about the games, but so much more. Bring it on!

5. I’m writing this entry from an oil change place, as my car gets serviced. I am fully humiliated that I, the wife of a total car person, was so overdue for an oil change that the guy who checked me in basically clucked his tongue at me. Whoops. This is just one of many things I have fallen behind on lately, along with answering emails/phone calls, doing laundry and getting my tax stuff organized. I also run late now. I used to ALWAYS be on time, if not early, and now I am That Person who shows up ten minutes past the appointment time, flustered and apologetic. (See Spring, above.) And I haven’t even really BEGUN to promote my two book releases yet! It might get ugly, folks. But I want to say here how much I appreciate everyone who asked last week that I please not let this blog fall by the wayside among the chaos. In this Twitter/Tumblr/Texting world, I think it’s easy for me to assume that no one has time to read this much content anymore. You guys said otherwise, so I’ll keep showing up here on Fridays. Even if it means I am blogging about my guilt over late oil changes. Next week will be better? I hope?

Have a great weekend, everyone!

2. Now it’s 10:57, and my whole day’s gone askew because my kid’s sorta stuffy nose blew up into a full fledged cold JUST before we left for preschool. So now I have no idea how this blog entry is going to get done, because I lost three hours of time. Oh, well. So it goes. Motherhood has taught me a lot of things, but being flexible (or trying to be flexible) is probably the biggest. I used to have all day and still complain about not having enough time, so it’s not like everything’s changed. I managed to have an important business conversation WHILE playing princesses today, which was a mean feat, if I do say so myself. But not something I try to do on a regular basis. No point in pushing my luck.

3. Okay, now it’s 12:37. (Just keeping you updated.) Most of you have probably already heard the GREAT news about the Veronica Mars movie. Thanks to a great pitch on Kickstarter (you can watch it here) Rob Thomas, the creator, managed to raise the 2 million he was aiming for IN ONE DAY. Longtime readers of this blog (and you guys know who you are: you remember my Livejournal) know how I was obsessed with this show back when it was on. It was creative and funny and smart and just flat-out awesome. I mourned when it was canceled, my grieving only abated by the hope that maybe there MIGHT be a movie someday. And now there will be! Let the speculation about plot and script begin. All I am saying is that I REALLY hope Max Greenfield, who was on VM and now plays Schmidt on New Girl, makes an appearance. That would be nirvana for me.

4. 1:02. (This one and the preceding I am writing between bites of lunch, and thanks to the TV show Franklin, which is keeping my kid occupied between bouts of whining.) On the reading front, this week I started THE CRANES DANCE by Meg Howrey, which has been on my To Read list for ages. It’s a novel about two sisters who are ballerinas, competitive, and very different, and so far I’m loving it. The voice is REALLY original, and I love all the behind the scenes stuff about the ballet world, from mangled toes to all the parts of Swan Lake. On audio, I finished Domenica Ruta’s memoir WITH OR WITHOUT YOU, which is about her relationship with her dysfunctional mom, and how it led to her own addictions. Very compelling. I’m about to start listening to Piper Kerman’s ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK, which is soon going to be a Showtime series by Jenji Kohan, who made Weeds. So I am excited about that. Plus I still haven’t even CRACKED the Vanity Fair with Taylor Swift on the cover yet. Again: no time!

5. 3:04 pm. Lastly, it’s been a stressful week around here concerning my little rooster Frank, who has been ailing. Regular readers will remember that Frank and I have a BIT of a tense relationship: he’s kind of like Cato to my Clouseau, if you remember the old Pink Panther movies. He’s my nemesis, but in a fond sort of day. (You can see proof in the videos I put up of us waging battle, which are here and here.) Anyway, Frank is a total prickly pear, but he’s OUR prickly pear, and a few weeks back something (a possum? raccoon?) got into his cage, scrapped with him, and messed up his leg. He’s not been right since. He can’t stand up on his own and got totally weak, which was hard to see considering how tough he normally is. My husband and his co-worker Will have been nursing him back to health, carrying him out gently each morning and propping him next to the food, then returning him to the coop in the evening. And he DOES seem to be getting better, although he still can’t get around at all. We’re hoping it’s just an injury and not permanent, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed. I’ll forever blame myself for kicking/nudging him when he was coming at me, even though my husband swears it had nothing to do with it. Still, though. STILL.

Whew! Blog post done. See, and it only took eight hours! THIS is why I worry I can’t keep this blog going much longer, or may have to switch over to a smaller Tumblr one. But I can’t worry about that, because my kid is whining and the phone is ringing. So, later. Maybe?

Have a good weekend, everyone!