News

1. Another week, another blog post written in the preschool parking lot. This time, however, I’m supposed to be snapping pics of myself WHILE doing this, for use in some promotional videos/materials for the new book. I’m as much of a fan of the selfie as anyone, but this is NOT easy. Plus I think I look totally weird holding my phone out to the side and blindly hitting the shutter button, hoping to capture SOMETHING that looks like what I am actually doing. As if all the other parents at preschool didn’t think I was weird enough already.

2. In other news, our trip to Austin was GREAT. My husband made the time he was aiming for in the marathon (3.5 hours) I ate a TON of good food, and I got to see the Landing Strip club, albeit from a distance, which was featured in Friday Night Lights. Also, I got a bobblehead armadillo, which look so much like a rat from a distance I moved it over to my office so as not to scare guests. I love it because all I have to do is flick him, and he agrees with anything I say. The POWER!

 

3. As I mentioned, Austin has AMAZING food. Tex Mex, barbecue, Polynesian-Asian fusion and bacon-wrapped deep fried Hot Dogs (yes, really). For me, though, it will forever be remembered as the place where I first tried the gloriousness that is fried chicken and waffles. There’s a place here in Durham that does this and is delicious, but I have never been. So when we were in the marathon waiting place and they had this up on the buffet, I could not resist. Even though it was, you know, 9am. I mean, the waffles make it breakfast food, right?

 

4. I know I said this last week, but attending marathons( and being at the finish line especially) is really inspiring to me. Because I had a five year old in tow who protested whenever I tried to drag her on any walks other than to toy stores or places with cookies, I didn’t get to check in with my husband at mile 5, 10, 20, etc. So we just saw him at the finish. It had been a long morning already, trying to get my kid to cooperate, battling the crowds, and, you know, eating chicken and waffles (Okay, that last part was a snap.) So by the time we climbed onto our seats on the bleachers near the finish we are overdue for a nap and kind of cranky. But then we settled in, and the music was playing, and the guys with the microphones were shouting people’s names and encouragement as they came in. Every few minutes someone in the crowd around us would burst out screaming and clapping, cheering on their person as they passed by and under the finish banner. People were crying, slapping hands as they ran past, pumping their fists. It was so awesome. (There was also the guy who finished, then stepped right in front of us and threw up five times in a row, which was NOT as fun to watch, but whatever.) We’d been tracking my husband on the mobile app, so we knew when to expect him, and when we saw him we screamed his name and jumped up and down. He was so focused he didn’t even see us. However, he did not throw up, so I call that a win. Anyway, it was really life affirming to see so many people reaching a personal goal, one right after the other. It made me think you can really do anything you put your mind to. And that’s always a nice thing to remember.

5. Finally, there was ANOTHER great inspiration this week: Robin Roberts returned to Good Morning America, five months to the day after her bone marrow transplant. Regular readers of this page know I am obsessed with GMA, and Robin is kind of like my pretend BFF (but in a friendly way, not a scary/stalkery one). Plus, one time when I visited, she let me sit it George Stephanopoulus’ chair!

 

Anyway, I bought the People cover with Robin on it and read it on the plane coming home from Austin. She was so positive and spiritual in her tweets and FB messages, but it was clear from article that she had some rough, hard times during the prep for her transplant and the recovery. I talk here a lot about my celebrity/pop culture obsessions, and how I love the Housewives and FNL and Amy Poehler. But Robin: she INSPIRES me. I kept thinking about her, in fact, as I watched all those people, some cheering, some grimacing, some crying as they finished the marathon. Whether your race is public or private, you’re the only one who can run it, and sometimes that takes more than you think you have. But all that really matters is somehow, you keep going. I’m going to think of her the next time I’m up against something that seems too much to handle. One foot in front of the other, over and over again, all the way to the finish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have a great weekend, everyone!

1. I’m writing this in the midst of trying to pack for our trip to Austin. We leave early tomorrow and I am SO far from prepared it’s laughable. Or maybe cry-able. Or laugh UNTIL you cry. Whatever, I don’t have time to figure it out as I am NOT READY. Somehow between Valentine’s Day and our normal chaos, I put off until today getting things organized and now it’s coming at me like a tidal wave. Plus my kid insisted on “helping” pack her own suitcase, which means that along with her clothes and allotted two stuffed animals there is now all OTHER kinds of things in it, like a lunchbox and a tiara and an old baby blanket she hasn’t used in ages. Clearly, she inherited her packing skills from me. My husband will do his later tonight and it will take him fifteen minutes, tops. Honestly.

2. In other news, I think I am the last person in the world with super slow internet. As I write this, I have two other tabs still trying to connect. And that’s a GOOD day. I love so much about living in the country: the wide sky and stars at night, the quiet, deer walking through the yard, lots of room for my kid to run and play. But some days, especially when I’m trying to do something important like, you know, look at GIFs on Tumblr, I wish I lived closer to town so I could have a cable modem. Also, pizza delivery would be nice, but I’m not trying to be picky here. We have DSL, because it is all that is available, and every time I am someplace else with regular fast internet it’s like I’m a caveman seeing civilization. Wow! Look at that! Maybe, someday, cable will come out this far. Or maybe we’ll get to some technology change where you just have to THINK about the internet and it appears. In the meantime, I will just hope a chubby squirrel doesn’t jump on the phone line as I’m writing an important email. And wait patiently for those GIFs, which I shouldn’t even be looking at anyway, because I’m supposed to be working. Ahem.

3. Speaking of work, this week I did started a blog tour to give out some new info about THE MOON AND MORE, which will be published June 4th. We kicked everything off over at the amazing Forever YA, which provided the first fact AND links to all the other blogs I’ll be popping up on. You can get the full list here. And coming up in early March, I’m going to be doing a Twitter chat, so details on that when I get them. Be prepared for me to clog your feed. You have been warned! I’ll try to be nice about it, though. That’s the line between promotion and being obnoxious. I am trying to walk it carefully. (OH and I hope those squirrels stay off the lines that night. Maybe I can throw some food in the yard to distract them?)

4. In other animal news, I continue to battle with my little bantam rooster, Frank. My husband and his co-worker Will usually deal with the chickens, and both Frank and our big rooster, Foghorn, don’t really mess with them that much. But since I’m not in the coop too often, Frank always takes issue when I turn up to get the eggs. I’ve taken to recording his behavior so I can show my husband exactly what I am having to put up with, so I have documentation when I someday end up punting Frank across the coop in self defense. This is my second video, and as you can see, he is not backing down without a fight. And once he IS strutting off, he’s talking so much smack in chicken language it’s ridiculous. I get enough flack from the world. I do NOT need it from my own rooster. See what I mean here. (And FYI, I do NOT kick him in this video, even though I say I am going to. I only nudge him with my foot so he WILL NOT ATTACK ME.)

5. I’m really excited to cheer my husband on while he’s running the Austin Marathon this weekend. It’s his fifth one (I think?) but the first I’ve seen in ages, and the first time my daughter and I have accompanied him. He’s always nervous and stressed about the race, but as someone who gets to just tag along I LOVE the whole marathon experience. For a treadmill runner like myself, it’s like hanging with rockstars. But while I can’t relate to wanting to run 26.2 miles unless my life depended on it, I do like the connection between running and writing. I’ve talked about it before, the idea that books, at least for me, are marathons and not sprints. You can have a strong start and a slow finish, or the reverse, or anything in between. You will have times when it comes easy and feels great, and others where you literally don’t think you’ll make it another page or step. And support from others is key, although in a race it’s with clackers and cheering and for me, with writing, it’s my husband patting me on the back when I’m in a defeated spiral, or my agent reminding me I freak out Every Single Time, or even all of you here, asking when another book is coming because you’re excited to read it. There’s a lot to be said for a single, “You can do it!” That’s what I’ll be yelling when my husband and anyone else who might needs it passes me by on Sunday. I’ll be using my clacker, too.

Have a good weekend, everyone!

1. I’ve written here before about  how February is not my favorite month. Nothing personal, we just don’t mesh. Maybe it’s the cold, or the gray, or the cold and gray. But I must have angered February, because last week was a real kicker. My husband AND daughter both got sick over the weekend (with a stomach bug and cold, respectively) and I was playing double nursemaid. Also, I am highly suggestible and paranoid when it comes to stomach bugs, so I was convinced that at any moment I, too, would be felled like a giant oak. Clorox Wipes and soap and water were my besties, let’s just put it that way. I wiped down everything, constantly, including myself. If I could have worn a hazmat suit, I would have. Everyone’s better now, thankfully, although I am still exhausted. I’m determined, now, to make nice with this month. After all, next week is Valentine’s Day. Which means chocolate! Which is not cold or gray. Ideally.

2. As I write this, the internet is buzzing with expectation for the SNOWPOCALYPSE and the BLIZZARD OF ALL TIME, which is about to hit the Northeast. They’re calling it Nemo, which is weird because when I hear that name I think cute orange fish, not travel nightmares, snowplows and shoveling driveways. There’s something contagious about storm panic/prep, though. Even though it’s doing NOTHING here (but being, well, cold and gray BUT THAT IS OKAY, FEBRUARY!) I have this urge to hunker down, make a big pot of mac and cheese  and nap. There is a certain comfort to being snowed in, or at least there WAS until I had a rowdy, energetic five year old to entertain. Gone are the days when I could, you know, eat carbs, crash, and watch Bravo marathons while the white stuff piled up outside. Now it’s all about Keeping Her Busy Without Making Myself Crazy. I keep telling myself, though, that a time will come when she’ll want to be only with her friends and spend most of her time in her room on the phone (or mind-meld, or whatever technology will rule by that point) so I need to soak this time up. Still, I miss those marathons. Hopefully Bravo will still be around and kicking in ten years.

3. The Moon and More, my next book, will not be out until June 4th, but things are starting to pick up  nonetheless. Some review copies have gone out, some ARCs to librarians and bloggers, and the folks at Penguin are busy cooking up all kinds of fun stuff that I’ll be able to tell you about as things get closer. It’s starting to feel more REAL,which you would think would not be that exciting since this is the eleventh time I’ve done it, but it TOTALLY is. The lag time between finishing a book and seeing it released allows for LOTS of time for neurotic types like me to obsess, agonize and just generally tie myself up in knots. The best thing to do at this point, at least for me, is to start another book. It just allows me to cut the cord that much more, so to speak. It’s not that I’m done with The Moon and More: it hasn’t even started yet. But it’s shifting, as we speak, into another phase. Like this week, I got to listen to some auditions for the audiobook, which is always fun. Also sort of bizarre, and I am not used to hearing anyone read my stuff aloud but, you know, me. It’s hard to let go! I have to admit, I’m so weird about all this I can’t even imagine how I’ll take my kid heading off to kindergarten in the fall. Jesus. Better start putting money aside for extra therapy NOW.

4. Another thing that happens as a book release nears is I have to find that sticky balance between doing necessary promotion and being obnoxious. This is not easy, as of course I WANT to tell people about my book and extra stuff that has to do with it, but I also hate it when someone bombards me with so much ME ME BUY BUY MY MY BOOK BOOK that I want to do exactly the opposite. Social media makes this even stickier. If someone, say, reads this blog, follows me on Twitter and Instagram AND Tumblr, they might get sick of hearing about the book fast. Lately I’ve been trying to figure out where Facebook fits in with all of this. I have a Facebook account under Sarah Dessen, as well as a Sarah Dessen page, but I am UBER slack about checking/updating them. To me, Facebook is more for friends and family, while everything else is for, you know, everyone else. But I know a lot of authors use FB for their professional stuff as well. I guess I’m wondering if you, kind reader of this blog, look for authors on FB or if it’s more for your friends/family, like I use it? The last thing I want to do is make everyone sick of my book before it’s even out. But at the same time…ugh. I think I need a dance break or something.

5.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ah, that’s better. You can only think about work for so long before you just NEED to see a picture of the Nard Dog from The Office busting a move in an elevator. If you’re in the Northeast, be safe this weekend! Hunker down and watch some Bravo for me. Don’t forget the mac and cheese!

Have a good weekend, everyone!

1. I’m writing this from the fellowship hall of my daughter’s preschool, which is big and quiet and has super fast internet, so it’s quickly become one of my favorite satellite offices. Downstairs, her class is having their annual Hibernation Day, and I’m pretty much in sugar shock from the cuteness. It’s the best tradition: every year at this time, there’s one day where everyone wears their pajamas to school, they put out big tents everywhere, and the preschool director makes pancakes for snack, tossing them high in the air as she does so. It’s just so freaking sweet, and it makes me realize how much I’m going to miss this place next year when my kid moves on to kindergarten. Is it weird that I am super anxious about the transition to Real School? I am trying not to pass this nervousness onto her, but at times I wish she could stay super little forever. Ah, the tug and push of parenthood. Never easy. I think I’d feel better if I was in my pajamas.

2. Last night, we went out with our friend Heather to a local restaurant. Heather’s a bartender at  one of our favorite places, Peccadillo, and basically knows EVERYTHING about wine. I am on the other end of the spectrum. I love wine, and basically will drink just about anything you put in front of me, from Ernest and Julio to a forty dollar bottle. I am clueless when it comes to all these terms Heather was using to describe these various reds we were tasting, not to mention how she was able to sense a difference in the wine after it had been open awhile. They were all lovely to me, but again, my standards are low. I guess. Someday I will learn about wine, just as I will get more gourmet with my food and learn another language. I just need, you know, some spare time. Where is that, again?

3. Speaking of food and drink, the Superbowl is this weekend. I am not a football fan, but I love any excuse to eat and imbibe, and this is basically the pinnacle of allowed gluttony. Case in point: on GMA the other day, they were making a 47 layer dip that I first saw featured on Buzzfeed. They were literally assembling it in a food prep BUCKET, the kind I remember from my restaurant days. Which prompted my husband, who is always drawn to GMA when they are featuring animals or food, to say, “I just don’t know about a snack you have to eat from a bucket.” True that. Still, I was intrigued. But how do you even dig DOWN 47 layers? NO chip can take that! Personally, I’m planning chili for Sunday, along with maybe some pigs in a blanket and nachos. But there is still time for more of a menu. Okay, now I’m hungry. Moving on…

4. As I write this, I am waiting for word about my cousin Deborah, who, if all goes well, will be getting a lung transplant today. She’s been on the list for a long time, and we got the word early this morning that they’d received the call. Her sister, my cousin Erika, just had two transplants in the last year for the same condition, pulmonary fibrosis, a disease that causes scar tissue to build up in the lungs. I’ve always been an organ donor, and seeing what miracles have happened for my family because others have made the same choice has been really enlightening. Of course, a lung becoming available is only the first step: it has to be viable, the transplant must go well, and there is recovery and the fear of rejection. But for now, I am just thinking the best thoughts I can for Deb and praying for her family. If you have a second to do the same, I know it would be much appreciated.

5. Finally, we are in the final days of counting down to our big family trip to Austin, TX, where my husband is running the Austin Marathon. This is his fourth one (I think?) but the first my daughter and I have tagged along on since she was born. Marathon prep is NOT for wimps. For the past few months, he’s been doing these daily runs, with a few off days, and SUPER long runs on Sundays (last week, 23 miles. TWENTY THREE!). It makes him achy and cranky and he’s stressed about his times, but he still swears he’s doing it for fun. Really? I will never truly understand the runner’s mentality, which is why I am a treadmill-while-watching-Bravo-long-run-is-three-miles kind of gal. Which is just fine. I don’t have tattoos, either: that’s this thing as well. But I AM excited about Austin, where I have been twice for work but never for fun. If anyone reading this has good suggestions for what to do with an active five year old there—preferably near downtown, as we won’t have a car—please leave a comment. I am thinking Duckboats, but am not sure of anything else. Any and all TX native advice is WELCOME. Thanks in advance!

Have a good weekend, everyone!

1. Another week, another “wintry event” here in NC. Last week I was in Pittsburgh when it snowed (and by snow, I mean a dusting, which is basically blizzard in these parts) but this time I get to be here for all the craziness. It’s supposed to start doing something (ice? snow? sleet?) around noon, and already the local schools have set for early release. My babysitter is worried about coming. My husband is convinced we’re going to lose power. (This last one is not so hysterical, actually, as out here in the country it doesn’t take much for this to happen. Ice can do it, but so can a pudgy squirrel bouncing on the lines. It’s why we have a generator. We learned our lesson long ago.) Meanwhile, I saw on GMA that in Pittsburgh this morning it is three degrees. Yes: that is 3, as in one less than four. Whoa! Loved my visit but am super glad it was last week and not this one. Small mercies.

2. Speaking of Pittsburgh, it was a total blast. I had so much fun meeting tons of my readers, as well as the awesome Siobhan Vivian, author of THE LIST and BURN FOR BURN with Jenny Han. Siobhan is one of my Twitter friends, but it was so cool to finally meet in person. Plus, when she introduced me at the Carnegie Library she referred to me as the “original gangsta” of YA, which is a definite first for me. I have street cred! Sort of. Seriously, though, who knew? If you don’t believe me, check out this article in PW. Because if it’s in PW, it MUST be true!

3. While I was traveling I did a lot of reading on my iPad. In doing so, I discovered a downside I hadn’t realized before: when I’m reading an actual BOOK, I can tell when I’m getting close to the end, as I can see the pages dwindling. But there I was, reading Jami Attenberg’s THE MIDDLESTEINS, which I was LOVING, and suddenly it just ended. Poof! I was like, NOOOOOOO! Maybe it was the way it was written, with chapters that could sort of stand alone, but I had no idea it was coming to a close. I wanted it to go on forever. I’m going to have to start paying attention to the page count on the bottom of the screen, clearly, to avoid future disappointment. Although that IS the sign of a great book: when you don’t want it to end. I’m feeling the same way about listening to David Rakoff’s HALF EMPTY on audio. It’s so great, and I love his voice, but I also feel so sad knowing he passed away recently. Reading is so emotional! I guess that’s why I love it so much, though.

4. One of the super cool things about being an author (and there are lots, truly) is that sometimes what you write can inspire someone else to write something equally super cool. I’m lucky that I often get tweets and emails from people who have done book trailers for my novels, for school or just for fun, or gifs and quote pages. This week, someone tweeted me a link to a song a girl named Sarah Bryant had written that was inspired by THIS LULLABY. It’s not the song from the book, but rather a song SHE wrote after reading the book. I went and watched the video and seriously it’s been stuck in my head ever since. It’s like the best earworm ever. So if you want to watch it, it’s here. But you have been warned! You WILL be humming it the rest of the day.

5. Last night, I went over to visit some friends who have a three month old baby. I was in heaven, as I LOVE holding babies, especially little ones. They are such awesome people, I knew they’d be awesome parents, and they totally are. Being with the baby brought back SO many memories for me. My kid is a handful now, and was then, but she’s changed so much. There are days that I wish I could just scoop her up over my shoulder, like I did with this little one, or that her fingers and toes were still so tiny. But that’s the great thing about parenthood: all the ages are fun. I love that, at five, my kid can have full-on, detailed conversations with me. Of course, she can also argue/negotiate me into the ground. Witness when she doesn’t want to eat her green beans. “Just a couple,” I say. “That’s two!” she replies. I say, “Eat a few.” “How many is a few?” I say, “More than two.” And on and on. I have a feeling she might be a litigator when she grows up, she’s that tenacious. I love that we play princess and fairy games and put on plays with the dogs. But OH for those days when she was this tiny, warm bundle in my arms, just babbling away. Can you want to go back and stay where you are at the same time? Apparently. OH I am such a sap. I’m going to blame it on the weather. Why not?

Have a great weekend, everyone!

1. Greetings from lovely Pittsburgh, PA!

This the view from my hotel room window. Gorgeous, yes? There’s a football stadium right there! (I don’t know what it’s called. Sorry.) What you CAN’T tell from this picture is how FREAKING COLD IT IS HERE. For a Southern girl like myself, it’s a BIT of a shock, even though it was not warm in NC when I left. How cold does it get here? I was watching the news this morning and they put up the extended forecast. One day next week, the high is going to be 20. The low: 9. Yes, that’s NINE DEGREES. Back in Chapel Hill this would call for a state of emergency. We’d all be freaking out. But here, everyone’s like, oh, yeah, nine degrees. It’s all good! You have to love that kind of attitude. These people are TOUGH.

2. I’ve never been to this city before, and I have to say everyone I’ve met is SO NICE. Plus the food is amazing. Last night we went to a Mexican place on Market Square (I think it’s called Market Square? Can you tell I don’t remember much when I’m traveling?) where I basically ate my weight in queso dip. (Related: I love queso dip. I basically lived on it, as a major food group, back when I worked at a Mexican place in the nineties. I was also a lot bigger then, but that’s another story.) Today went to a place that offered a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with BACON, bananas and pickles. I am not making this up. See?

I did not order this sandwich. I think I would have passed out from sugar/pork shock. But just knowing it exists makes me happy. Also, after the meal, they gave us free chocolate chip cookies. There is NOTHING wrong with that. Yum!

3. I’m here because I was invited to speak at the Carnegie Library by Pittsburgh Arts and Lectures. I’m talking at 7 tonight, and I THINK there are still tickets available: info is here. I also did an interview with the Pittsburgh Post and Gazette in which I reveal—and this is breaking news—that high school was NOT, in fact, the best time of my life. Maybe it wasn’t yours either. Maybe that’s why we get along so well. My best friend Bianca always says she doesn’t trust anyone who loved high school, which MAY be a bit extreme. I think it’s more that it can be very disappointing if something’s supposed to be the Best Time Of Your Life and it totally is NOT. Life is long. Let’s hope there are LOTS of great times to balance out the down parts. I’ve had some pretty awesome times so far, and I hope more to come. I’d rather have a handful of greats than only one best. But that might just be me.

4. One of my greats from this week is when a national media figure referred to me as a “literary lion.” Oh, you didn’t hear that? Well, actually, initially, neither did I. But someone on Twitter let me know that on Monday, on GMA Live, the webcast they do online AFTER the show, that Josh Elliott was saying nice things about me. So of course I raced over to the website to find the clip. It’s here, and I’m mentioned at about the 4:23 mark. I squealed it was so nice! Also, I love how on GMA Live, Josh Elliott always looks like he rolled down a flight of stairs in his suit just before they started filming. Not saying he DOES this. Just nice seeing someone loosening up and kicking back. Also, they have a social media guru on GMA Live. Why do I not have this job? Oh, right. Because I already have one. I’m a literary lion! At least as far as Josh is concerned, and honestly, that is all that matters.

5. Finally, on a more bummer of a note, Lance Armstrong finally confessed to doping during his Tour de France wins this week. It just is so depressing to me. Regular readers of this blog know that I have watched the Tour for many years now with my husband and some friends who love cycling. We always rooted for Lance and I just admired him so much, for so many reasons. So knowing it was a big lie….makes me feel kind of sick, actually. I loved Lance so much I gave Owen in JUST LISTEN his last name. And I know Owen Armstrong, of ALL people, hates liars. At least I know that Owen Meany, from A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY (by John Irving, my favorite book of all time), who inspired my Owen’s first name, will never let me down in the same way. There’s comfort in that, even if it’s a small one. I’ll take it.

Gotta bundle up and get ready to speak. Have a good weekend, everyone!

1. I’m starting this Five before sunrise, at 6:41am. Why am I up so early? Well, my kid will only stay in bed until 6. Which I’d sort of gotten used to, as much as a person can get used to being up that early EVERY SINGLE DAY. But now my dogs have decided to get in on the action and start getting restless around, oh, 5:30 or so. I ignore them for as long as I can but eventually the whining and tag jingling and banging of noses against crate doors can’t be ignored. I’ve taken to going to bed earlier, as it’s really the only way to ensure I get a LOT of sleep, which I need to keep me from going, quite simply put, insane. (Me when my daughter was a newborn, waking up every few hours to eat: certifiable. I barely remember it.) But I feel SO lame going to bed at 9:30, especially on the weekends. What is the answer? There isn’t one. Welcome to parenthood/adulthood/life in general. It’s nice here! And at least there is coffee.

2. In other breaking news, my puppy Goose just discovered in the last few minutes that our living room rug and rug pad are, apparently, DELICIOUS. I left the room to play Princess Car Crash upstairs and came back down to find him in full out gnaw, pieces of the pad all around him. He is VERY stealth and quiet when being particularly bad. The worse he acts, the more silent he becomes. Not quite sure how I will keep him away from the rug, which is big and, you know, on the floor. Sometimes I feel like we are Clouseau and Cato, constantly battling to outwit each other. I think I lose most of the time. And the rug takes the damage, at least this time.

3. In book news, I was SO excited to see that my fab publisher is doing a special offer for the e-book of my novel DREAMLAND for only $2.99. It’s happening tomorrow, 1-12-13, and you can get more info from this Penguin Teen Tumblr post. I love all my books–even if I don’t love the writing process every day—but I have a special place in my heart for DREAMLAND. It’s always been different from the others, certainly a bit darker of a story, and it also had a very dark cover for many years which I think some people weren’t drawn to as much as the more bright pastel ones. DREAMLAND isn’t my story, but the sadness and isolation that Caitlin feels keeping so many secrets about her relationship with Rogerson (and other things) was something I could relate to pretty well from my own high school experience. Anyway, I’m happy some people who haven’t read it might pick it up at this price. Everyone loves a bargain, right?

4. Speaking of books, the guy who works for my husband, Will, just returned my copy of THE ART OF FIELDING, which I’d lent him. He liked it a lot—how could you not, it is an AWESOME novel—and we started talking about how strong the characters were, how well written. Which of course got me onto my favorite characters from books ever, which got me to Owen Meany. I assumed Will had read John Irving’s A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY, mostly because it’s my favorite book of all time and I figure it must be everyone else’s as well. But no! He had not read it. He had not read any John Irving. I was like WHAT??? Then I tried to explain what makes Owen Meany such an amazing character, and book, but of course it’s just impossible, there’s no way to know until you read it. So now I will be putting my totally dog-eared copy of the book into his hands, the cover barely still attached I’ve read it so much, and hope he likes it as much as I did. There is NOTHING like getting to give someone your favorite book and knowing they’re in for a treat. Nothing.

5. In the gap between the entry above and this one, I just fell down a serious Pinterest hole. There is NO time suck like a Pinterest one, at least for me. I think, “Oh, I’ll just pop over and see what the folks I’m following are pinning,” and the next thing I know literal HOURS have passed. There’s just something about all these images, and organizing them neatly into boards with clever (or trying to be clever) titles that appeals to my inner organizational geek. Case in point: this week, one of my major accomplishments was creating a board that is solely about bacon. Yes: bacon. (If you’re on Pinterest, you can see it here.) My life may be total chaos, with dogs waking me up at 5:30 and daughter wanting to play Princess Car Crash and books to be written and promoted and groceries to buy, but my Pinterest boards are VERY neat and tidy. I’ll take it where I can get it. The bacon is just a bonus.

Have a good weekend, everyone!

1. Okay, so it’s a new year, which means it’s my annual opportunity to do the whole clean-slate, start-over, brand-new-me thing. Which will last…oh, a couple of weeks. So far I’ve given up my morning magic bar habit (one day and counting!) hit the gym (did squats and lunges!) and attempted to the get the rusty, creaky gears of my brain involved with writing moving again. All this industriousness will, if tradition holds, last for a few weeks before I kind of slide back into my regular ways. However, usually, SOMETHING I’ve tried to change sticks, and I’m just hoping it’s the writing thing. Although I’d really like to kick my magic bar problem. I don’t NEED chocolate chips, coconut, graham cracker crumbs and pecan chips every morning with my coffee, right? Although having just TYPED that, I am not sure. Whoops.

2. I’ve been sticking close to home, appearance-wise, for the last year or so, because I actually WAS writing and had traveled SO Much to promote WHAT HAPPENED TO GOODBYE. But now, with the paperback of that book due out in April and my NEW book, THE MOON AND MORE, due out in June, I’m starting to book more stuff. First up: an event on Friday, January 18th in Pittsburgh, PA, at the Carnegie Library Lecture Hall. I’ll be talking, taking questions and signing books, and you can get info on tickets here. If you’re NOT in PA or nearby, never fear: like I said, I’ll be OUT and about in 2013. Might even need a new suitcase. (Any excuse to shop, right?)

3. Speaking of shopping, that’s another one of my resolutions that has already hit the dust. It’s only January 4th and I swore that I would not buy ANY more purses this year unless it was, like, a fashion emergency. (Which has a flexible definition, and don’t think I didn’t realize that when I said it.) Anyway, I FULLY intended to stick to it…until I was at Nordstrom today and saw this Coach bag that was just calling to me. It was like I could hear it! (Okay, not really.) Anyway, I had some holiday money and decided to get it, even though I was feeling guilty. But then—BUT THEN!—they went to ring it up and it was ON SALE. For, like, $100 less! So clearly it was meant to be, and Meant To Be trumps resolutions. Right?

4. Another one of my resolutions (I know, I had a lot, it makes for a better batting average when I can’t stick to them) was to read more great books, and luckily I am starting it off strong with THE MIDDLESTEINS by Jami Attenberg, which is flat-out awesome. I’m about halfway thru and wish I had more time to read, which is always the sign of a great choice. On audio I just finished Joe Bastianch’s RESTAURANT MAN, which was a great pairing to the books I’ve read by Anthony Bourdain and Gordon Ramsay about the chef/restaurant world. On the YA side, I’m racing through Gayle Forman’s newest, JUST ONE DAY, which is out this coming Tuesday. Also out Tuesday is Elizabeth LaBan’s THE TRAGEDY PAPER, which I got to read early and really, really liked. So even though I am failing at the whole shopping thing, at least I am reading. And as we all know, reading trumps all.

5. Finally, I know I write here and on Twitter a lot about the daily chaos around our house. There is my energetic five year old, who wants so badly to be a Princess she often insists on being addressed as royalty. My puppy Goose and Boston Terrier Coco, who continue, daily, to break my No Barking Loudly Before Sunrise rule. My husband, his worker Will, various friends and relatives coming and going. And then there are the chickens. Our Rooster Foghorn is kind of my boyfriend, we love each other so much. I mean, what’s NOT to love about this face?

On the flip side, there is Frank. Frank is my OTHER rooster, the cranky head of our small group of furry-footed d’Uccles. He is a walking example of little big man syndrome: though he’s about a quarter of Foghorn’s size, in his mind I am his bitch. So we have this continual battle of wills whenever I have to go out to the coop to get eggs, because I have to establish my dominance every single time, even if it means him coming at me and me shrieking, somewhat embarrassingly, like a little girl.

Anyway, last week I decided to document it. You can tell I was nervous because I forgot to hold the camera in landscape. He’s small but his beak is SHARP! I was, as always, grateful for my thick Hunter boots. Take that, Frank!

Have a good weekend, everyone!

I know, it’s been FOREVER since I’ve done any real appearances. What can I say, I was writing a book. And raising a kid. And watching Bravo. But now it is 2013 and I will be once again Getting Back Out there. First up: an event at the Carnegie Library in Pittsburgh, PA. It’s Friday, January 18th at 7pm and you can get tickets and info here. Hope to see you!

1. Truth: in the title for this entry, I initially wrote “last of 2013!” This is the second time in as many days that I have jumped ahead, skipping the coming year pretty much altogether. Yesterday, organizing our holiday pictures on iPhoto, I called the album I made Christmas 2013. I’m a superstitious, naturally jumpy person, and I read too much into EVERYTHING, so of course I am now convinced that for some reason this year is going to be bad or something. Honestly. You would think I’d be too busy to be this neurotic. You would be wrong. Then again, it’s not like the number 13 doesn’t carry just a WEE bit of baggage along with it. Hotel floors skip it entirely! So maybe I’m not crazy. Okay, fine, whatever….

2. The dust is still settling here from Christmas, which was chaotic and lovely, all at once. My daughter did not sleep through the night for DAYS ahead of time, she was so excited, and she woke up Christmas morning at 3:15am (I wish I was kidding) then cried when I told her it was too early to get up. I’d forgotten, in my old age-needing-sleep-always state, about how STRONG that feeling for Christmas morning was at five. By the 24th, you feel like you’ve been waiting FOREVER already, so those last few hours are downright excruciating. I know there will come a time, probably before I’m ready, when she’s a sleepy teenager, dragging herself down at 10am to open stuff, still yawning. I also know that then I will miss all the excitement and innocence, because my friends with teens tell me I will. But 3:15am? REALLY? Suffice to say I was NOT feeling the holiday spirit when I shut her back in her room and told her to pipe down until at least 6. Bah, humbug.

3. And now, the only holiday I have left is New Year’s Eve, which….is not my favorite. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s usually that by the 31st I am all holiday-weary, or the fact that it involves staying up past midnight, something I wasn’t a huge fan of even BEFORE I had a kid that, you know, was basically nocturnal in terms of her wakeup times. It’s just that one night a year that you feel like everyone else is doing something super fabulous, so you should too, even if you REALLY just want to sit on the couch in your pajamas and watch Bravo, drinking wine and eating potato chips. (Truth: what I just described? That’s my most IDEAL NIGHT EVER. I’m all about honesty here.) I am, however, a fan of New Year’s Resolutions. I love a fresh start. This year, I’m thinking mine will involve being on the internet less (we’ll see how that goes) and stopping obsessing about my book coming out (ditto). Three more days to figure out how to make that actually happen. I think I will need them.

4. Another plus side of the end of the year is all the recaps and lists, summing up best moments, movies, books, etc of the past twelve months. All of this satisfies my need to get things organized, even if the year has felt like one crazy hot mess. I got an email from Hulu Plus yesterday featuring the top SNL skits from 2012. This Disney Princess one is my very favorite., for reasons that will quickly become clear. And then there’s always the awesome GMA wrapup, which I ADORE as much as the show itself. But again, I am a BIT biased as to both these things, as a glance over the pics I’ve posted here proves:

 

5. Finally, I just want to thank everyone reading for this for sticking with this blog, and with me, for the last year. I know the entries have been erratic (at best) and not always very interesting. But I love having this space to say whatever I want in however many words I need to say it. There is a lot ahead in this new year: a paperback release, a new book, two book tours, so much excitement. I hope to be able to continue to share it with you, along with all the OTHER nonsense that fills my head. For 2013, I wish for you to have health and happiness and everything you need. See you next year!