1. Okay, so the biggest news is….(via PW Children’s Bookshelf, couldn’t find a direct link):

Regina Hayes at Viking Young Readers has signed YA novelist Sarah Dessen’s 11th novel, The Best After Ever, which will be released in May 2013. Set in the fictional beach town of Colby, where several of Dessen’s novels take place, it features 18-year-old Emmeline, who is spending her last summer before college working for her family’s vacation rental business and enjoying a summer romance with a young aspiring filmmaker. Leigh Feldman at Writers House brokered the deal for world rights.

So now you know why I wasn’t blogging, was talking about how tired I was AND kept posting encouraging writing-related quotes on Twitter. Because I was finishing the book I began ALL the way back in September 2010. I kept working on it all the way up until last April, when I had to set it aside to promote WHAT HAPPENED TO GOODBYE, then picked it back up in December. Whew! Thanks for your patience. I’m so excited to share more with you about this as I can. And there’s more fun book stuff, too! Stay tuned….

2. Today is also a Big Day in that my parents are moving from the house where they have lived since 1973. This has been a long time coming, but it’s still bittersweet to me. I’m happy that they’re moving to a smaller place with less upkeep and more of a community. But this is the house I spent my ENTIRE life in until I was 18. I watched Good Times and M*A*S*H there with my brother. Wrote my first stories on a manual typewriter at a little desk in the TV room. Covered my bedroom walls with quotes and pictures in high school when I was tormented and dramatic. SO much happened in that house, and today I’ll go over to watch everything be carried out. I’ve never seen it empty, ever. I think it might make me feel empty, too. Am bringing a camera. And tissues. Last night, I was up in my old room, where my mom now has her office. She’d taken everything off the door, exposing what was underneath: some quotes I’d written there, probably around 1986:

Yes, so that WOULD be Pink Floyd and the Talking Heads. The other quote you can’t make out is from THE BELL JAR: “To the person in the bell jar, blank and stopped as a dead baby, the world itself is the bad dream.” Yes, I had a quote about a dead baby on my bedroom door. As you can imagine, I was a lot of fun in high school. Sigh.

3. Over in the coop, one of my hens is sitting on eggs. Again. This is the third time she has tried to have chicks, and I am SO crossing my fingers for her. Because man, it’s NOT easy to be a hen on eggs. The other chickens, for whatever reason, totally gang up on her. They hover and cluck. Poop on her HEAD to get her to move. And I thought pregnancy was tough! But she’s such a tough girl. She stayed right there, poop and all, until my husband moved her and the eggs to their own mini coop. We are not yet telling my daughter there might be chicks: too much risk of the whole “circle of life” thing. But Spring makes me hopeful, so I am keeping my fingers crossed. You have to love a tough Mama, whatever the species. You GO, girl.

4. This week’s book recommendation: YOUR VOICE IN MY HEAD by Emma Forrest. I’d heard great things about this book but because I was finishing my own novel, I was brain dead and reduced to reading mostly US Weekly and my horoscope. (It happens. Towards the end of a draft, I can barely write my name.) But now that I’m done (yay!) I’ve had time to read and finally got my hands on a copy. It’s a memoir and it is SO GOOD that now I want to go find all her other work, which is how you can tell you really love something. PLUS when I Tweeted about how much I loved it, she tweeted me back. WHAT?? My day=made. Whoa and whoa, again.

5. Finally, a big thank you to everyone for reading this, and being so patient while my entries were so few and far between. Things have been crazy here, writing and chickens and moves and otherwise, but I’m hoping that between now and when revisions begin I’ll be able to start doing more entries. I miss this blog! But writing has to come first. I can’t BELIEVE I’m at number eleven. I feel like THAT SUMMER just came out, like, yesterday. You guys rock for reading and tweeting and helping me through those tough writing days, even when you didn’t even know you were doing so. So thanks. Here’s to what comes next!

Have a good weekend, everyone!

1. So I’m just back from New York, where I had the BEST time (not to mention the best weather: 80 degrees? In March? What?). Regular readers know I am a total GMA nerd, so of course the first morning I was there I had to go to Times Square and visit the show. It was Hunger Games Week, which meant there were HUGE crowds, even at 6am, an hour before the show began:

I knew that all the Hunger Games stuff was going to make it harder to get in, so my daughter and I made magic bars before I left and packed them up all pretty. And by pretty, I mean in plasticware with a sticker I printed out on my computer:

So there I was, at the window at 6:15 or so. Everyone ELSE was out on the median, where all the Hunger Games stuff was going to go on, but I was just hanging out watching the crew set up for the show. (Don’t get me wrong, I like the Hunger Games. But I LOVE GMA.) At about 6:30, Robin Roberts came out and sat at the desk. I reported this on my Twitter, and a minute later she looked up and pointed at me: a moment later, she tweeted asking if I was the one in the yellow shirt. I WAS! Also the only one holding magic bars with a custom sticker. By this time more people are gathering. Some women beside me asked one of the outside crew folks if they could get in, and were told, “Nobody goes inside.” Uh-oh. I was just losing hope when this nice guy in a suit came out and asked me if I was there I alone. I said I was and he told me to follow him. Cue dirty looks from EVERYONE around me. Sorry! I went. Turned out Robin gave me the go ahead, and I got to watch the show from inside. BONUS! When I got in, I gave her the magic bars, which an assistant quickly spirited away, I figured never to be seen or eaten. Which I got. I mean, you can’t eat things strange people offer you, right? I’ve watched enough Princess movies lately to know that VERY well.

2. So I spent the first part of the show sitting on the ledge watching, totally entranced. What’s fun about GMA is that they always look like they are having a good time, and truly, it didn’t seem like an act. They were totally cutting up and laughing together even during the commercial breaks. And when someone else was doing a segment, they still hung out and chatted. Here’s Josh and Sam when a segment was going on outside:

3. Then there was suddenly this big frenzy outside. People started pressing up against the windows, many with cameras. It was NUTS! Then I saw why: Jennifer Lawrence was coming in. She had a whole group with her, surrounding her: makeup and hair, a publicist, security, a few other people. She looked gorgeous (fierce shoes, I was coveting them) and sort of stunned by all the attention. They hustled her over in a corner away from the windows, which meant she was literally about two feet from me. I was trying to act cool but sort of freaking. I mean here is this girl who is about to be a worldwide superstar standing next to ME, who is there because of magic bars. Yikes! Then Robin Roberts comes over and they have a quick chat, which I totally act like I am not listening to. (I was. Sorry. Could not help it!) Then she’s hustled out front for her interview, and the crowd goes wild. I WISH I’d had the nerve to snap a pic inside but her publicist was kind of scary. So this is the best I could do:

I know, you can’t even tell it’s her. But I swear it is!

4. Then Jennifer Lawrence was whisked away, still looking overwhelmed—I felt kind of bad for her, is that weird? I think it probably is—and Emeril went outside for his segment. I watched the rest of the show with the crew, who were so funny and nice. I even made Twitter friends with one the cameramen. I know you are not surprised. And then the show was over. When Robin came back in, I thanked her PROFUSELY for letting me in and asked if I could grab a picture. She said, “Sure! Let’s do it at the desk! You can sit in George’s chair.” OH MY GOD. I didn’t believe she was serious. I still don’t. But I have proof:

Then I got a big hug from Josh Elliott, said goodbye and thank you to everyone again, and stepped out into Times Square. Where I promptly texted every single person I know that picture.

5. Then I went on with my day and my trip. There was some book stuff, some fun stuff, lots of walking and pizza and people watching. And one trip to the Disney Store that left me feeling like I had PTSD, but that’s another blog entry. It was later that same day, though,when I was meeting me editor for lunch, that I checked my Twitter. And there, on my feed, was a tweet to me from Robin Roberts about…my magic bars!!! Holy crap. Plus she included a picture of her, Josh and Dan Harris eating them. Look!

I swear I can’t tell you how much I love the fact that my kid and I can make magic bars in our kitchen here in NC, then have them eaten by morning news anchors the next day.The world is crazy sometimes. In all the best ways.

And now I am home, for Tarheel basketball tonight (oh man am I nervous) and serious girl time with my kid. New York was great but I’m happy to be hearing chickens outside instead of sirens. Plus, there are more magic bars in the fridge. Hello, Friday!

Have a good weekend, everyone!

1. Yes, it’s Friday. And it’s GORGEOUS out, around eighty degrees. These things make me happy. But what makes it all even BETTER is that there is SO much basketball on today. Thanks to March Madness, all three of our local NC teams are in play today. NC State already won, my Tarheels play at 4:10 and then Duke is tonight. I literally am giddy because this is the ONE sport in the world I truly adore. Football is too slow for me. Ditto soccer. (It takes SO LONG to make a goal! Man! I’m clearly too impatient for most sports.) Baseball not my thing. I like figure skating but not enough to obsess over it. If watching The Real Housewives was a sport, I’d probably be at a competitive level, but alas, I can’t even justify my love for that show by making watching it seem like exercise. (But I do only watch it while on the treadmill or elliptical, which is kind of the same thing.) Anyway, for the next couple of weekends, I’m going to be in serious basketball heaven. Saying good mojo over my bracket as we speak. Go Heels!

2. Confession: I have not read The Hunger Games. I KNOW! I feel like I am the only person left on the planet. It’s to the point where I didn’t even want to say it here because I KNEW the global outcry over my lameness would be audible from all directions. But there it is. To be honest, I don’t read a whole lot of YA. Secondly, I don’t read a whole lot of dystopian ANYTHING. Thirdly, I have this very short person who demands much of my reading time so I don’t read nearly as much as I used to. I know, all of these are pretty lame excuses. Which is why I am determined to read the book as soon as I can get my hands on a copy. I’m heading out of town for a work/fun trip next week and figure it would be perfect airplane reading. And maybe then I’ll feel like SOME part of the crazy huge movie hype? Maybe? We’ll see.

3. As I said, I’m heading up to New York for work stuff and to visit one of my closest friends who is pregnant with her first baby. Oh, baby stuff. I pretty much burst into tears whenever I even SEE onesies, much less imagine someone I love having a baby to put one in. My kid is not even five but she seems SO BIG right now. I mean, honestly! I guess this is classic dilemma of parents: you spend all your time, energy and heart to make this person grow, grow, but then when they do it kind of breaks your heart at the same time. Sob! Anyway, I am totally loving getting to buy baby stuff and help my friend get everything ready. Although our experiences are very different: I had my daughter here in NC in the country, and she’s doing it in a big, bustling city in an apartment. So of course, dear readers, I come to you to say: if you are a New York mom or dad and have any NYC-specific wisdom to share (about the best parks, tips for travel around the city with an infant or anything else you wish someone had told you) please take a moment to leave a quick comment below. My friend reads this and would so, so appreciate it. And I promise if any of YOU have friends that need tips on, say, the best place to calm a screaming baby at Chapel Hill Whole Foods, I will be totally here for you. Just ask.

4. As always when I go to New York, I have to make the whole decision about how much I am going to geek out about Good Morning America. Regular readers know I am, well, sort of obsessed with Robin, Josh, George and Sam. (What? I hang out with them every morning, we are clearly on a first-name basis.) In the past, the folks at GMA have been super kind to me, inviting me in the studio or making sure I get a good spot to watch outside. But I definitely don’t want to wear out my welcome. Also, next week is Hunger Games Week on the show, so I know there will be huge crowds no matter what. I would LIKE to think I could just watch from my hotel room and call that close, but I have a feeling at least one morning I WILL have to trek over there and stand outside. This time, though, I will not bring a sign. Since I already did that, back in December:

I MAY have to have a Tarheel tattoo on this time, though. Hello, it’s tourney time! Josh Elliott: you have been warned.

5. Finally, an update: I mentioned on my last post that I’m now on Tumblr (authorsarahdessen) and OH my goodness it’s like the worst time suck EVER. And of course I mean that in the best possible way. I think the reason I’ve been so slack on THIS blog is that it takes a fair amount of time and writing energy (neither of which I’ve had in solid supply lately, for various reasons) to put together a good post. But over on Tumblr, I can just put up one thing, or a quick quote, and move on. Also, at any moment, I can look at pictures of Taylor Kitsch or purses with the click of a button. I mean, COME ON. I love this blog so much, but who can compete with Riggins and Kate Spade? Anyway, I think from here forward I’ll be both places, although maybe a bit more over there. Man: all this social networking is time consuming. But again, in the best possible way. Ooh, and now it’s time for basketball!

Have a great weekend, everyone!