I'm at the beach! And that's very exciting, because I haven't really been to the beach in several years. I mean, sure the Gothic Girls were in Savannah, but that isn't so much a lay-on-the-beach/find-rafts-to-catch-tiny-waves/get-sand-everywhere kind of beach.

But this one is. This morning my sister my cousin and I went into the ocean and adventured and floated around on rafts. Tomorrow I'm breaking out my alligator float, which I anticipate will make it one hour before popping, and sometime this week we're supposed to go deep sea fishing...I want to catch a shark. But then I want to release it because of those Finding Nemo sharks that were trying to turn over a new leaf...it's given me pity for misunderstood sharks everywhere.

Also particularly fun about the beach is that it's in South Carolina. SWEETLY, my current WIP, is set in a South Carolina town that's about an hour from the coast, which means when we were one hour away I sat up and started taking mental notes. I hope I can get some writing in while I'm here-- I've hit a stride with SWEETLY and I want to keep it up. It's hard to go on vacation from things like writing...people tell me I should take a break for the week, but I don't WANT to. I like it. So here I am, still all salty and ocean-y, about to poke around with the SWEETLY file...

I FORGOT TO BLOG ABOUT FAIRY TALE.
This is FAIRY TALE, by Cyn Balog.




It used to be called FAIRY LUST, but someone somewhere at some bookstore decided that title was too sexified.

Here are some questions for the author:
1. Name a book you feel weird about loving.
THE GIVING TREE. I've loved it since I was a kid but so many people say it sends the wrong message, since the boy is so greedy. Ok, yes he is, but the tree, to me, symbolizes a mom. Moms are willing to give and give and give of themselves for their kids' happiness and expect nothing in return.

2. If you were in high school/middle school/whatever, would you be friends with your protagonist? Would he/she travel in your social circle?
Probably not; she's kind of snarky and intimidating.


3. Your least favorite part of the writing process?
Revisions.

4. Food you could survive off if necessary?
Twix bars.

5. What aspect of your novel changed the least from first draft to publication? And no saying "the plot," even if you're one of the lucky few where that isn't the case-- I mean like scenes, characters, etc...
The whole thing didn't change much at all; I had a couple very light rounds of edits so I was lucky that way.

Basic things I'm doing:
-working on SWEETLY
-working on SISTERS RED acknowledgments
-painting the back side of bamboo blinds white to make the homeowners stop spamming me about my "regulation-breaking window covering colors." It's brown, people. Geez.


Also, come to Twicon in Dallas, TX on Friday, July 31. I'll be speaking on a panel and signing AYW afterward (about 25 days before AS YOU WISH actually releases). You should probably come and buy a book and let me sign it and such things. Just my thoughts.

There is a reason my sister and I are standing outside a liquor store. Perhaps not a good reason, but there IS a reason.

Tell me this isn't the most awesome cover you've ever seen:



And if you don't think that's the most awesome cover, then we are no longer friends. To be honest, I think this cover (and the entire book's design) is awesome enough that I don't even have to tell you anything about the book itself for you to recognize it's brilliance,

DULL BOY is a boy book. It's a superhero book. And it's a great book. It's all kinda comic booky-kinda angsty-kinda coming-of-age. What I really love about it though is that there's nothing else on the market right now like it-- genuine old school superhero books. There will be a video review of this one eventually, I'm thinking, since I want an excuse to dress as a superhero...

I spent the week in Savannah, with these people:



(back row left to right) Maggie (SHIVER), Brenna (FE), Heidi (SEA), The Cannon, Jackson (That's me), Jackie (MAGIC UNDER GLASS), Dawn (SKIN AND BONES), Carrie (THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH)
(front row left to right) Tessa (Resident Rockstar), cannon base explaining historical importance of said cannon, Linda (DEAD GIRL WALKING)

In fact, I'm still in Savannah with Carrie, but the other Gothic Girls are safely at home. Video antics to come when I get back home tomorrow.

I really NEED to be packing and cleaning out my car in preparation for the Gothic Girls retreat but...instead I'm just staring at my Booklist review-- and the Booklist Online Exclusives email it came in! Thanks, megancrewe for pointing it out (her book is up there too!)



The review is here: CLICK

1) Does anyone know of a good livejournal client for macs?
2) OMG SHINY IMAC MAKES ME HAPPY
3) I have to start packing for Savannah...
4) If I started doing BlogTV stuff occasionally, would anyone come? I don't want to be by myself in an empty chat...
5) I have 610 subscribers on YouTube now! Which means a drawing is imminent. I promise to TRY and do the drawing before the Gothic Girls Savannah Retreat, but if not it'll be first thing when I get back.


This is WINGS:


It's by Aprilynne Pike. Here are some reasons you should read it:

1) It's number one on the NYT List right now, so clearly everyone else is reading it. You don't want to be the only one not reading it, do you? That would be so uncool. Everyone might think you're a loser. I'm just saying...
2) Aprilynne makes her own laundry soap. I don't know why, but I think that's cool. I mean, YOU don't make your own laundry soap I bet. I sure as hell don't...so the fact that there's someone out there that DOES is awesome.
2a) How does one even learn how to make laundry soap, anyway?
3) Aprilynne is one of the old-timer Debs. I don't mean she's old, but rather that she's one of the Debs who has been around since the very beginning, when there were less than ten of us. That makes her a winner, if you ask me.
4) She's also the one who bought to www.feastofawesome.com domain for the Debs.
5) WINGS is light and fun but not "fluffy," which is a hard medium to accomplish.
6) She gave birth to all her kids NATURALLY. Sorry if this is TMI for the general public, Aprilynne, but I'm JUST SAYING: If I ever have to walk down a dark alley filled with sketchy guys, I want someone who went through Natural Childbirth with me, because clearly they FEAR NO PAIN. If you read WINGS, I bet Aprilynne is more likely to help you down that alley with her Kung Fu Mommy skills.
7) WINGS has an awesome cover. It went through fifty zillion incarnations, and I LOVE the one they ended up going with.

Last Thursday, right before I shot the video of baby raccoons, I went to a JC Penney to film a video review. It involved prom dresses. I set up a video camera in the dressing room (I know, I know, "what kind of video is this?" I promise, it was totally innocent) and proceeded to put on a bright green chiffon number that from this point on shall be known as Lime Death.

Lime Death was covered in little glittery things, was strapless, was a size too small and had a broken zipper that was permanently about halfway zipped up. But I figured I didn't really need it to look prom-worthy, so I tugged it down over my head, hiked it over the boobs, and forced it down over my hips. It was hideous. If the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Charo got together to design a dress, it would be Lime Death. I didn't even bother trying to lace up the stuff in the back, but I did decide to try and zip it up the rest of the way so the unzipped portion didn't look like bright green bat wings sprouting from my back. The zipper went up, I proceeded to film the bit of the video, then went to take Lime Death off.

Only that zipper? The one that was now zipped all the way up? It didn't budge.

Let me interrupt my tale to tell you about my issue with clothing/fabric. One summer I bought on a tshirt that was a size too small. It squeezed my arms and was too tight and I freaked out and yanked it off and threw it at my sister and swore to never wear it again while wiping sweat away from my face. Sometimes I think my jeans/the blankets/my shirts are eating me, and thrash and panic and wage war against my own clothing. I have cut my way out of shirts before. I think it's some bizarre form of claustrophobia that probably calls for some yet-to-be discovered form of therapy.

And Lime Death was not helping. I forced myself to breathe slowly even as the room seemed to be getting hotter. My palms were getting sweaty and it was hard to get a grip on Lime Death's bodice. I twisted and sucked in and tried to contort my body like the Cirque du Soleil girls do. I shoved it toward my hips, hoping I could get it off that way-- not a chance. Not the tiniest, tiniest, chance. The only solution would be to try and pull Lime Death off over my head.

This presented a problem for several reasons: 1) As any self respecting former prom-going girl knows, you don't wear granny panties and a Wonderbra under your prom dress. You wear a thong and, if necessary, a strapless bra. By this point, I'd opted to shimmy out of the bra in an attempt to get the dress off, but the thong was still in place. 2) I recognized there was a very good chance that I would get my arms stuck above my head and be unable to move, a prospect which terrified me and would render me relatively helpless. 3) I was at the mall alone.

All this combined meant that there was a possibility that I would have to scream for help, avoid having a clothing-claustrophobia panic attack, and beg a disillusioned JC Penney employee to come yank a neon green prom dress made for 14-year-olds off an adult woman who happened to be, for all practical purposes, naked, with a video camera pointing at her.

At this point, I began to reevaluate the need for video blogs, proms, and chiffon in the first place.

However, it wasn't like I had a lot of options, and the glittery-stuff on Lime Death's bodice was beginning to tear into my skin and actually draw blood. So I grabbed the bodice, held my breath, shut my eyes, and yanked toward my shoulders with all the force of one of those guys throwing logs in the StrongMan competitions. Something ripped but my heart was beating so fast that I could not possibly care less. I couldn't see anything--Lime Death was everywhere, crinkling and rustling and trying to eat me alive. With one final desperate yank I felt the bodice tear, and to my relief found fresh air. I threw Lime Death across the room as I collapsed into the complimentary fitting room chair, sweating and panting. Lime Death's skirts slowly deflated, like a dying jellyfish, and it finally sank into a seemingly harmless pile of neon green on the floor.

There was a long rip by the zipper where the fabric had torn. I felt no remorse. No one should want to purchase that monster anyhow.

At which point a JC Penney employee knocked on my door and asked if I needed any additional sizes. I weakly told her no, then said there was something she could get rid of for me. I cautiously put Lime Death on a hanger, shoved it through the door, and looked warily at the pile of pink prom dresses that I needed to put on the for the remainder of the video.

Of course, then I got home and realized that in my struggle with Lime Death, I'd somehow moved the video camera, and all my shots for the rest of the day cut my head off. Rendering the video completely useless. A reshoot is in order. But I won't be wearing any green dresses in that one.

Okay, if this adorable-ness doesn't get me to 600 subscribers, I don't know what will.


Thanks, lizzie9208, for providing the raccoons :)

I've been trying to work on SWEETLY lately, but since I'm waiting for a few more SISTERS RED edits I keep thinking "I should really hold off, so I don't have to stop working on SWEETLY right after I start..."

And besides, I have the Gothic Girls Savannah retreat next week! In which I'll be spending almost a week in Savannah, GA, with Maggie Stiefvater, Jackie Dolamore, Tessa Gratton, Brenna Yovanoff, Carrie Ryan, Linda Joy Singleton, Heidi Kling and Dawn Metcalf! So clearly, I can wait to work on SWEETLY until then. Besides, maybe all that Spanish Moss and Beaches and Savannah-ness will help me with SWEETLY's setting. See how I justify things? Maybe I can justify buying the Wearable Towel for the beach aspect (I mean, it can be worn in TOGA style OR TUNIC STYLE!).

BUT I've told myself that if I'm not working on SWEETLY, then I need to be working on videos. Reviews for THE SEASON by Sarah MacLean and GRACELING by Kristin Cashore on on their way, along with another writing video, though I think I'll wait till my new computer arrives to edit them up...

If this review was helpful, you should say so here!

I am not going out for lunch today. Or tomorrow. Or the next day.

I have promised myself that I will no longer go out to eat when I'm sitting at home and could very easily make something here. I will only go out to eat if I'm actually out, or if a friend invites me. Because I'm seriously not kidding when I say I sometimes eat out for every meal of the day. And I must save money, you see, because I'm going to have to buy a new computer.

I've built every PC I've had since about 2002 (with my Dad's assistance, of course). I've bargain hunted and bought off ebay and newegg.com and used coupon codes. And while I like my computer now, the hard drive is full and the video card is pretty bad-- it can't handle playing an itunes movie, much less adding effects and editing the HD video my new camera takes. In fact, the last two videos I made were editing in a seriously jacked up way-- I either had to turn the sound or video off while editing, because the computer couldn't handle both. Editing a video without seeing it or hearing it is very, very interesting.

I say all this to justify the fact that I'm thinking I'm going to go ahead and shell out a lot of money to get an iMac. Everyone tells me they're great, I'll love it, it'll be perfect, but OMG IT IS SO MUCH MONEY FOR A COMPUTER-- well, so much money when you're used to buying pieces off ebay and sticking them together. docjohnboy went with me to the Apple Store and protected me from the creepy geniuses who scared me when I bought my iPhone last year so I could play with the iMac undettered. And I think it's the right one. But I am stressed. Money money money...

/end crazy

Cake shall be eaten! Books shall be read! ANTICS SHALL ENSUE!

Also, vlogs will be filmed...though they will be unrelated to the birthday-ness. But there you have it, my birthday plans in a nutshell.

Last night I stayed up till 4:45am reading GRACELING, which I somehow missed when it came out. I haven't read high fantasy in a while-- it was a fantastic refresher. Only now I'm thinking "Maybe I SHOULD go to BEA after all..." solely so I can pick up a copy of Cashore's new book, FIRE. And Maggie's SHIVER. And Kaleb's BRAN HAMBRIC. Is it weird if I pay almost $700 to go to BEA just for advance books? Because...um...I want to.

Anyhow, I'm done with round one of line edits on SISTERS RED, and am expecting to start the short and quick round two later this week. This is convenient, because Sunday and Tuesday were largely consumed with me driving my car. In circles. No, really. I just had it repaired, and apparently you have to get 100 miles on your car since the last repair in order to pass the state emissions test. So, in the lull between SISTERS RED needs, I drove. And drove. And drove. And had to start all over once, because the check engine light came on. Then drove some more.

I don't really mind driving though, so long as it isn't in heavy traffic, because it gives me time to think. If you just let a manuscript sit in your mind and focus on something else for a while, sometimes solutions will emerge out of no where. I managed to work out a few bits and pieces of SWEETLY this way-- in fact, I got the idea for SWEETLY while driving. Is this just me? Does driving/thinking work for everyone, or do some of you...I dunno, shower/think or cook/think or yoga/think or whatever?

I kind of wish I was driving/thinking now, actually. Hmm...

P.S.: Tomorrow is my birthday. I think my birthday present should be books. Cause, you know, I didn't already buy five new ones yesterday.

Rapid fire style:

1. The Pass Along ARCs make me so happy. If you have one, remember that you have to send me a picture. I've gotten lots of "I read your book!" emails, but only a large handful of pictures. EMBRACE THE CAMERAPHONE people.

2. I am working on SWEETLY, but in a painfully slow way. I think I'm overthinking it. What do you think? Think think think...

3. I just realized my jar of Nutella expires August 31st, which means I CAN ENJOY THIS NUTELLA on AS YOU WISH's release day if I want! Only...I think I'll just eat it all now instead.

4. I started reading too many books at once and it's blowing my mind. This is resulting in dreams that involve characters from both BEAUTIFUL CREATURES and THE DEMON'S LEXICON.

5. I am giving an ARC of AS YOU WISH to a contestant in the Scripps National Spelling Bee because she's a YA fantasy lover and writer and that's simply awesome. You should find your favorite contestant and send them a book. Just saying.