Robin Mellom

Coming Up

2011-09-22T09:47:00.000-07:00

I have a little case of The Randoms, so here's a list of unrelated stuff, but I've numbered them because THAT'S WHAT ORGANIZED PEOPLE DO.

1. I'm not actually organized.

2. I'll give away an ARC of DITCHED very soon. Still waiting on some swaggy stuff to come in the mail. Also, waiting to get my act together. Because my act? Not together.

3. The reason for that is because I've been super busy lately writing BUSTED and the deadline is, um, looming. Just keep swimming, as Dori says.

4. I've also been busy writing answers to questions for a little feature that Writer's Digest is going to do on me. (I know...me?!) Not sure which edition it will be in--maybe the December or January one. But I'm honored and I'll keep you posted.

5. My editor said ARCs for THE CLASSROOM arrived and they look amazing!! A bunch of them are now on a plane headed for my house. Hope they have a nice window view. Now I have to clean off a bookshelf for their arrival!

6. My website is almost done, so I will be redirecting you to my new home HOPEFULLY by the end of next week.

7. Life is starting to feel complete again now that Modern Family and Parks & Rec are back on TV.

8. I probably shouldn't base the quality of my life on TV shows.

9. But I do.

Check Out the Cover for THE CLASSROOM

2011-09-06T05:00:00.000-07:00

So here is the cover for the galley of THE CLASSROOM. Honestly, I spend most of my day staring at it. Petting it. Taking it for rides in the convertible. (Not true, I have a truck). It's amazing to see my characters' faces--they're like my own children so it was an emotional moment when I first saw them. Trevor, my main character, is literally a member of my family. He never eats his peas.

And here's the back of the ARC with a description of the book. In particular, I love the spine. Is it peculiar to love a book spine? Hi, I'm peculiar.

In other news, I'm putting together a contest to win an ARC of DITCHED, which will hopefully be ready to announce later this week. I'm making a gift package and it involves something I had to "order" and now I must "wait" for the UPS "man." "!!!"

So stay tuned...

A Peek Inside THE CLASSROOM

2011-08-28T09:59:00.001-07:00

The galleys for THE CLASSROOM will be printed this week. THIS. WEEK. It feels so soon. I'm back to feverishly vacuuming the floors again, feeling like the guests have arrived early! Do NOT look in my closets.

I can't tell you how excited I am about the book-- the illustrations and page design are AMAZING. Here's the inside title page...

And here's a peek at how we incorporated student interviews in between chapters (and sometimes they interrupt the chapters, those little rascals)

The illustrations are items that have been "found" by the documentary crew, so you'll find drawings in the students' notebooks, report cards, yearbook pictures, brochures from the counselor, etc. I love this one in particular...

I'll have more to share soon! Meanwhile, I'm busy working on the next teen book and enjoying the fact that school is back in session and my life now has a routine to it. Refreshing!

Final Cover for DITCHED

2011-08-23T20:00:00.001-07:00

It's real. It's REAL!! The final cover...and only two little changes made (yay!!). One change will be obvious and the other may be very hard to spot. Anyone? ;)

I heart New York!

2011-08-14T11:22:00.001-07:00

Last week I treated myself to a trip to New York to visit my publisher! And whatever amazing force in the universe it was that orchestrated such an amazing week for me, I thank you. (I'm guessing that force was Jay-Z since he's the mayor.)

Yes, to prepare for my trip, this small town girl listened to Empire State of Mind over and over until I was absolutely certain I was headed to a concrete jungle where dreams are made. It turns out, Alicia Keys was pretty right on about that.

I stayed in Greenwich Village and was fortunate to witness many a New York "moment": A stylish woman in extremely high heels walking her extremely groomed giant poodle. People demonstrating aggressive street crossing, and then aggressive bleep-worthy language and then you know...hand gestures. Then there was all the horn honking, but I'm sure that's just because everyone knows each other so well. That's the only reason people honk their horns in my town. (Honk! Honk! Hi! How's it going?) Such nice folks, those New Yorkers.

Actually, many of them were. Namely my dear editor, who took me to dinner and then we went to see The Book of Mormon.

The play was OUTRAGEOUS! I thought they might pull back from their usual South Park "flair" since this was a Broadway play and all, but oh no. They brought the raunch! No. Holding. Back.

Cool tidbit: also in attendance at the play? Stephen Moyer (of True Blood fame) and Sean Penn. I totally yelled out to him, "Spicoli!!" (I totally didn't. Jay-Z told me to be cool like that.)

The next day I went to the Disney-Hyperion office. A little ominous. Who knew the people inside would be so adorably sweet?!

It was an amazing visit. My editor put together a lunch party for me with all my support team (sales, publicity, school & library, etc.) and it was all DITCHED-themed. There were 7-Eleven cups filled with daisies and the food was all from the book...bags of Funyuns, double stuff oreos, peanut butter cookies. (That will all make MUCH more sense when you read the book.) It was truly one of the sweetest things anyone has done for me. (I totally teared up. Sheesh.)

Later in the meeting, they showed me the cover for THE CLASSROOM. Which is amazing and yep, I teared up again. They must think I'm an emotional flake. But I was in a concrete jungle where dreams are made! I couldn't help but flake out!

I should be able to show you the cover in the next week or two, but meanwhile I can announce that the illustrator is Stephen Gilpin. Talented, amazing. I'm so honored.

Just when I thought my visit to New York couldn't get any dreamier, I looked out the window of my room and saw a crowd gathering. I stepped outside and President Obama drove by. The windows weren't tinted and I could totally see him! And yes, his head is very round in real life.

President Obama being guarded by Mikey, a cop from Brooklyn

(I know this because I chatted with Mikey for half an hour and he hopes to retire in exactly 11 years and move to Florida which he pronounces Flah-rida)

I *heart* New York. Well-played, Jay-Z. Well-played.

SCBWI Conference--Los Angeles

2011-08-08T19:39:00.000-07:00

It was a surprise--the best surprise we could've hoped for. Miss Judy Blume made an appearance at the conference this year! And I was fortunate enough to shake her hand and blabber some words about how honored I was to meet her and how much she meant to me...and then I'm sure I peed my pants. But it's Judy Freaking Blume, y'all! Totally understandable, yes?!

Other highlights? Henry Winkler (yep, he went into his Fonz routine, and it included some "choice" words and I haven't laughed that hard in a long time).

Libba Bray--hilarious and touching. I was fortunate enough to spend a little time with her and whether she likes it or not, we are now BFF's, and even if it isn't a two-way-street thing, I'm cool with that.

If you've attended the conference, you know that the MOST rewarding part is meeting up with friends...there's nothing like staying up late at night with people who "get" you, the kind who will talk about writing then play dress up with you and do The Running Man with you on the dance floor. And then, of course, order $60 room service pizza with you at midnight. If you do the math, I think it comes out to $2.75 per olive. Just wanted to point that out.

With my buddy, Lee Wind

Evie and Greg Pincus: also known as "he who wears exotic t-shirts"

With my dear friend, Cynthia Jaynes-Omololu

Then it was time for the Saturday night pajama party!! Yay, it's adorable Suzanne Young!

Graeme went as "Miss Elaine"...your annoying, nosey neighbor

After the conference I hopped on a plane and landed here...!

(Hint: those things down there are buildings. ALL of them!! And Jay-Z's down there somewhere.)

HOME! (for like a minute)

2011-08-01T20:37:00.000-07:00

I managed to take almost the entire month of July to travel with the family to Utah, Colorado, Montana, Washington and Oregon! I learned there is not a Starbucks in EVERY SINGLE TOWN, as I had previously thought. Parts of our trip were spent bummed out. BUT! Snapples make a good replacement for lattes and I feel like a flexible person now.

A big highlight of the trip? Boating through the canyons in Lake Powell and taking early morning swims next to cliffs. INSANE.

Now don't go thinking it was all play, play, play. My editor tracked me down so I could do copy edits for THE CLASSROOM. So I got those done on the dock by a lake in Montana. Not a bad office space.

After Seattle and the Olympic National Park, we ended up in the town where Twilight was set.

The town is VERY proud of their Twilight fame. I found it quite humorous that at the grocery store you can pick up a six- pack of soda, or this...

Now I have to un-pack and re-pack to get ready for the SCBWI national conference in LA this week. Hope to see some of you there! I'll try to post pics while I'm there. (TRY. Key word there.)

Announcing...My Next Teen Book!

2011-07-12T13:06:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited to finally tell you all the details about my next teen book. The feedback from DITCHED has been amazing and we've decided to do something...similar. Also known as a companion novel!

(Eeek!)

It will feature one of the characters in DITCHED--her name is Serenity and she is hardly calm and quiet...this girl is a firecracker! Which is making this fun (and challenging) to write. As a fictional character, she misbehaves quite a bit...often showing up at all hours of the night to give me details about her story. I wish she would just chat with me from 9 to 5, but no. She's my firecracker. And she's getting her own novel--it's called BUSTED.

A quick summary...

In BUSTED, 17-year old Serenity takes a job running errands for an eccentric couple and finds herself involved in the crazy world of LA nightlife. After a misunderstanding lands her in jail, she has one fateful night to clear her name, help a rising movie starlet avoid the paparazzi and find Adam, the coworker who is quickly stealing her heart.

As she makes decisions that can change the course of her life, Serenity discovers just how far she’ll go to set the record straight.

Many other characters from DITCHED will have appearances so I'm excited to keep writing about them. Hopefully there will be more companion novels in the future and OF COURSE I want them to all be titled past tense verbs! I shall call it the -ed collection. Then maybe move on to -ing? (The gerund collection! Ha!)

I'll keep you all posted about BUSTED. Meanwhile, I'm finishing up book one of THE CLASSROOM and galleys will be printed in August, which means I'll have cover art to share very soon.

Stay tuned. Hope y'all are having a warm, splashy summer!

ARC Winner and Summer Reading

2011-06-24T10:47:00.000-07:00

This summer I'm planning on catching up on some reading. And I'm going to commit to reading the books I'm embarrassed to say I've never read. Like really embarrassed. I've been meaning to...I swear! Sometimes I even dodge conversations because I don't want to admit that I haven't read these yet.

So, here they are, the books I will be reading this summer so that I don't have to avoid people and conversations and public situations anymore. (And I'm so excited!!)

Wow, it feels good to publicly admit that. Whew. Big weight. Lifted. (Stop throwing tomatoes and bookmarks at me!)

Okay, moving on to the winner of the ARC of DITCHED!!

I wrote everyone's names down, mixed 'em up, poked 'em with my finger while I said "eenie-meenie, etc." and the ARC winner is...

KELLY POLARK!

Woo-hoo! Thanks for your support, Kelly. I sent you a message on The Twitter. :-)

Thanks, everyone. More to come!

Want an ARC of DITCHED?

2011-06-21T16:39:00.000-07:00

I can't help it. I have to give one of these things away. I'm planning on doing contests and such later this summer, but I decided to go ahead and quietly give one out now.

I'm not going to tweet it and Facebook it...I just want to give it to one of you. Thank you to all of you who have followed my blog--many of you from before I ever sold a book. This community of writers astonishes me daily. I wish I could toss books at ALL of you! (How 'bout air kisses? Muah!)

So if you'd like an ARC of DITCHED, just leave a comment for me. And I'll do that very fancy technique of "eenie-meenie" to determine a winner. I'll email the winner later this week.

Thanks for hanging out with me on this writing journey of mine. It means the world to me. Y'all rock!!

Line Edits and NYC!

2011-06-09T13:56:00.000-07:00

I've been busy in the revision cave finishing line edits for THE CLASSROOM. I can't WAIT to share this book with people--it has been an utter joy to write. (Even though right now I'm pulling my hair out with line edits because I am insanely obsessed with using the word smirk. Maybe because it's just such a fun word to say??)

In other news, this small town girl is headed to the BIG CITY! Yep, I'm going to visit my publisher in New York later this summer. I've never been there so I am all sorts of GIDDY. Mostly because I snagged two tickets and my editor and I are going to go see this...

Eeeeek! I'm so excited! I'm hoping it wins the Tony this week, then I can get even MORE excited and eek to y'all some more. I know eeeking is annoying but it's all I know to do in this case!

And finally, in DITCHED news, actual real live people have started reading it. The ARC went up on Net Galley and I've already seen that people are reviewing it. These are people I do not know. They aren't my best friends. Or my agent. Or my editor. Or my mom.

People. Such a new, strange feeling! And it happened a bit earlier than I had anticipated, so I'm strangely running around the house vacuuming and stuffing junk in closets as if the guests are arriving a half hour earlier than expected. Aack!

Hold on, let me throw on some lipgloss and fluff my hair.

Okay. Now I'm ready.

A Blog Move

2011-06-02T19:49:00.000-07:00

So I wanted to give a heads-up that I will be moving this blog later this month. Which was a hard decision! I am getting a website and I've decided to put my blog within the site, so that means I'm switching over to a wordpress blog.

The downside to switching over is I lose my list of followers. Even though people can still "subscribe" or bookmark it or whatever, it won't show up in their blogger dashboard.

But I decided it would be best to have my whole life over in one spot, all together, like a family. What do you all think about that? Is it a total pain?

For me, I've noticed my blog reading habits have changed lately. I used to go through my blogroll on my dashboard and browse through a gazillion blogs. But somewhere along the way, it all started feeling overwhelming. I noticed that I would skim through Facebook or Twitter instead and click on a blog post every once in a while that looked particularly interesting. I've also noticed lately that I'm getting WAY more hits on blog posts when I link to Facebooktwitter.

So maybe that's the best way to let readers know there's new content on the blog? I dunno. Just trying to keep life simple and manageable. Has anyone else been thinking about these matters lately? Or have you just been thinking about how much you loved the movie BRIDESMAIDS?

Anyway, hope to share the website and NEW blog with you very soon. A friend of mine is designing it and he's put all his love into it...and from what I've seen so far...it is RAD.

ARCs are Here!

2011-05-26T21:14:00.000-07:00

The UPS driver did NOT expect to have such an excitable customer when he dropped off my box of Advance Reader Copies. Of course, I HAD to tell him why, as a writer, the contents of that box were so meaningful to me...I probably didn't need to get into my childhood stories, but HEY! My ARCs are here!!

I'll probably start some contests later in the summer. So stay tuned!

Meanwhile, I'm feeling a little frazzled now that all the TV finale shows are over. All that emotion! I'm drained. Oh wait, and also bored. What am I supposed to watch NOW?! Is this the time of year we all migrate over to the Bravo channel?

What are you going to be watching?

Cover for DITCHED and a new pub date!

2011-05-17T11:38:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited to finally share the cover of DITCHED! (This is the galley cover, so it may change some in the final.) There is so much I adore about this cover...the twinkly lights, the sweet expression on her face, the irony that beneath that sweet expression is the word "ditched." Cracks. Me. Up.

And oh yeah, the cover has MY NAME on it. MINE!! Seeing my name as an "author" for the first time makes me all sorts of weepy. Waaaaaaaaahhh!

But I gotta pull myself together soon because the OTHER news I have is that Hyperion has moved up the publication date. It had been April, but now it will be coming out January 10th! That's very soon! Like just-a-few-holidays-away soon! (Cool side note: January 10th also happens to be my editor's birthday. The stars are aligning, y'all!)

The ARCs will be coming out next month so contests will be coming. Here it is... DITCHED!

And on the back cover of the ARC is this summary:

High school senior Justina Griffith was never the girl who dreamed of going to prom. Designer dresses and strappy heels? Not her thing. So she never expected her best friend, Ian Clark, to ask her.

Ian, who always passed her the baseball bat handle first.
Ian, who knew exactly when she needed red licorice.
Ian, who promised her the most amazing night at prom.
And then ditched her.

Now, as the sun rises over her small town, and with only the help of some opinionated ladies at the 7-Eleven, Justina must piece together – stain by stain on her thrift-store dress – exactly how she ended up dateless. A three-legged Chihuahua was involved. Along with a demolition derby-ready Cadillac. And there was that incident at the tattoo parlor. Plus the flying leap from Brian Sontag’s moving car…

But to get the whole story, Justina will have to face the boy who ditched her. And discover if losing out at prom can ultimately lead to true love.

Prom, documentary-style

2011-05-12T09:37:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, my favorite 16-year old went to prom! She's my son's babysitter, but she's also my friend--we have our own little two-person book club and when EASY A came out in theaters, she's the one I went with. She is a fabulous teenager and I write my teen books with her in mind.

Since my husband and I do wedding photojournalism, I had this dream to photograph all those pre-prom moments in a documentary, black & white style. So I was honored to shoot these pictures--not focusing too much on posed photos, but just finding tender moments.

It makes me want to go to prom all over again. (With less hairspray.)

Back From Atlanta, and Revision...done!

2011-05-09T21:25:00.000-07:00

Please forgive me, for it has been weeks since my last ~~confession~~ blog post. BUT, it was all for a good reason…the revision for THE CLASSROOM is done. (DONE, I tell you!!!)

So now I’m going to join the rest of the world and start doing things like cooking food, cleaning clothes, and talking on phones. (Apologies to my friends I have completely neglected the past five weeks.)

I did manage to fit in a trip to Atlanta to visit my family and go to my cousin’s wedding in Athens—which was a blast because I hadn’t been there since I graduated from college (go Bulldogs!). Some things haven’t changed in that town in the past 20 years…public drunkenness, hipsters in cool shoes, funky vintage stores, and public drunkenness.

While I was in Atlanta, I will admit I did too much of TWO things:

1. Ate vanilla dream cups from Chick-fil-A...

And shopped at my favorite mall store, Buckle.

Meanwhile, stop by the blog again this week…I’ll have some interesting pictures for you from prom 2011!

Today Is...?

2011-04-21T12:36:00.000-07:00

I'm deep in revisions for THE CLASSROOM. I need to finish by the beginning of May, which means I've been focused on this day and night--blerrrrrg. I have officially lost track of the days.

In fact, my agent emailed me the other day and just said, "YOU CAN DO IT! And today is Tuesday."

Love her.

So I'll be checking back in very soon...possibly with cool stuff to share. I've seen the cover for DITCHED and was told who will be illustrating THE CLASSROOM. A hint...both are fantastic!!!

Romantic Times Convention

2011-04-09T20:58:00.001-07:00

I had a fabulous time at the Romantic Times Convention in LA. I've never been to one before and I was fascinated by the sheer number of people who love romance stories! The place was packed!

I live in a small town, so I was also fascinated by all the tall buildings around me. Which meant I spent a lot of my time just staring out my hotel window.

Wow. So tall.

Melissa de la Cruz threw a fantastic party the first night. Here is a picture of me with fellow Hyperion ladies Jennifer Jackson, Ally Carter, Stacey Kade, and Melissa de la Cruz. (I'm the tall one, looking like a downtown LA building.)

And my bestie, Eve, joined me for a couple of days. OF COURSE we had to check out the rotating lounge on the top floor of the hotel. This is Eve, cute-while-rotating.

So now I'm heading back into the revision cave since my middle grade is due soon. I thought I'd have to train my husband in his role of Revision Support Team Captain, but he showed up tonight with a steaming plate of pad thai and placed it on my desk. So no worries there--he is sufficiently trained. I KNEW I married him for more than his height.

He is revision-support-ready.

Back in I go... :-)

DITCHED--Inside pages!

2011-04-01T14:55:00.000-07:00

The package arrived! First pass pages for DITCHED...which meant I was able to see how the inside of the book will be formatted. I adore the font they used for the title--exactly the tone I was hoping for!

And for the inside chapters, they used photographs of the main character with arrow hearts pointing to the stains on her dress, etc. How stinkin' cute is that??!! I heart you, Hyperion!

This all feels VERY real now. (Eeeeeeek!) (Man, I eeeek a lot.)

Tackle the Page

2011-03-19T21:39:00.000-07:00

I rarely (if ever?) do posts about writing. So I’m going to step away from my usual oh-I’m-such-a-dork posts (surprise!) and talk about writing. I wouldn’t call it advice, as much as a manifesto (for myself.) I would also call this post: Long. So I apologize in advance.

For me, I would say 50% of my writing technique is made up of learned skills: the stuff I’ve learned at conferences (active verbs! show, don’t tell! grab your reader on the first page!! don’t approach editors in bathroom stalls!!!), then there are plotting devices, and characterization worksheets and, of course, Scrivener (which I haven’t taken the time to learn, but I’m okay with that for now).

But the other 50%? (And clearly, this is a totally scientific number I’ve come up with) The other 50% is…

Confidence.

For real. It’s science. Really, really made-up science. SO! Boys and girls, confidence is what I’m going to talk about today. (Oh, hi, I just turned into a kindergarten teacher. Criss-cross applesauce, get your fingers out of your noses, and listen up!)

Let’s start with Gwyneth Paltrow.

I loved her character on GLEE. At first I was skeptical because she seemed almost too quirky, but dang if she didn’t fully commit to that role. And it rocked! I was completely engaged by her and loved every minute. I kept saying, “More. I want more!”

However—in contrast—her performance at the Oscars had the opposite effect on me. Mostly because of this: while she was being interviewed on the red carpet (looking fabulous, btw) she kept talking about how nervous she was and that she hadn’t slept in days because of her anxiety over her performance. So when it came time for her to sing, I winced and dug my fingernails into the couch. It was painful to watch because I knew she wasn’t feeling confident. I wish she would’ve just strutted down that carpet, all happy go-lucky, and told reporters, “I’m going to do my best and have some freaking fun!” I would’ve rooted for her instead of wallowed-in-pain for her. I kept saying, “When will this be over?”

Oh, so harsh of me, I know. And I say that not to bring dear Gwynnie down, but to suggest that it’s the same thing for writers—the reader wants to feel like the author is in absolute control over this story and there is no need for worrying…cuz you’re about to go on the literary ride of your life! Even if it’s a bumpy, not-so-perfect type of ride, it doesn’t matter because you’re going to enjoy it.

Enjoyment. Very important.

Sometimes when I’m reading a story (usually my own story), I can tell when the author has written a scene on a different day. The sparkle isn’t quite there, it drags a bit—just takes us from A to B. Then other times in the story when you can tell the author was on fire. There’s an edge, a spark, an attitude, a style, which all leads to that elusive concept…voice.

The goal, I think, is to write on fire ALL THE TIME. Because when you’re on fire, you come to the page with a mindset that will let you tackle it rather than bat it around like a kitty does with catnip toys.

So I’ll share what I do to get into a mindset that will allow me to tackle the page.

1. Read the good stuff. Sometimes I will read books that are similar in genre and tone, but if the book doesn’t have attitude and voice, I put it down. So I often read a variety of things that aren’t necessarily in my area of writing simply because I’m looking to read only authors with confidence and control over the story. I have to TRUST the author. So, for example, I’m reading Dave Eggers’, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. That dude’s got guts. His writing is fierce. I will follow him anywhere. Another fierce dude writer…David Levithan. My word. He is…fantastic. (But you probably already knew that.)

I usually don’t pick up paranormal books very often (maybe I have a lack of imagination?) but I loved Alyson Noel’s Evermore. Such a page turner, and it felt like the story unfolded with such—for lack of a better word—confidence.

Also…the third person voice in E. Lockhart’s, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks. Holy smokes. Are you kidding? Amazing.

Then there are books with strong, kick-butt contemporary voices…Ned Vizzini (Be More Chill), Shauna Cross (Whip It), and Jim Benton (Dear Dumb Diary). LOVE!

These are all very different books, but I read them because they remind me to tackle the page—be myself and write with fire!!

2. Eat and run. This may sound like a silly one, but really…I have to fuel my brain with Thinking Man’s food, or else I punch out what resembles junk food—not very filling. So I eat lots of walnuts and sushi when I’m writing. Seriously. It’s brain food! (Yes, I supplement it with side dishes of Reese’s and Pirate’s Booty.) In the afternoon, I usually go for a run and work out what should go in the next chapter. Then I come home and furiously write down my notes, and voila! I have my plan for the next day all ready and waiting for me.

3. Have a Writing Pump-Me-Up Playlist. This may be one of the most important parts of page tackling preparation. Before I go into my office, I slide the headphones on and listen to these songs (my current playlist is below). I do NOT listen to these while I’m writing (I just usually have some quiet something-something playing in the background). But BEFORE I write, I crank the volume and dance around the house, do some fist-pumps, maybe a karate kick or two, and get pumped up. There are a lot of dorky movements involved and…you know, basic embarrassment. But I. Don’t Care. I personally feel like it’s my job to come to the page emotionally and physically pumped up and ready to TACKLE. Confidence, baby. Gotta find it. Kitty cats hesitantly batting their toys? Not allowed.

So here’s my playlist. It’s a pretty varied list, but each one of these is either personally important to me, or just plain rocks. (A warning that the first Mumford & Sons song has a wee-bit of foul language. So skip that one if you’re young or if you get offended easily or something. (Or you could just sneeze loudly when you get to an f-word. That'll work.)

What about you? How do you get prepared to tackle the page? (And let me know if you have any Pump-Me-Up songs to add to my playlist!)

Create a MySpace Music Playlist at MixPod.com

A Visit From My Editor

2011-03-16T19:50:00.001-07:00

My editor stopped by for a visit last weekend--which was a blast, except it involved me blabbering on and on about myself. "And then this one time when I was five..." Yeah, he probably knows more than he ever wanted.

We wandered around Barnes & Noble looking at different illustrated books and discussing the styles we like and how we'd like THE CLASSROOM to look. It was so much fun to brainstorm all our ideas--and how cool that I get to be involved in this part of the process. Luckily my editor and I have very similar tastes so I have no doubt the final outcome will be awesome!

He did give me an update: ARC's for DITCHED will be printed in June. (JUNE!) and ARC's for THE CLASSROOM should be ready in August. (August!!!) You know, for as slow as publishing seems to move, sometimes it jumps to its feet and moves very quickly. Woohoo!

I also wanted to share a link with any of you writers out there. Tamson Weston, previously a senior editor at Disney-Hyperion, wrote this amazing post about how to block off your time and not get distracted by the laundry, the dishes, the phone. It's awesome advice and will give you permission to skip some of the dirtier things in life, at least until you get that book written!

Going Down the List

2011-03-07T20:59:00.000-08:00

Finally...I was able to check some things off my list! I turned in copy edits for DITCHED and also turned in the first draft of THE CLASSROOM. Whew! (But when does the twitch go away?)

My editor is coming into town this weekend, so I'll spend some time rehearsing how to get gussied up--I don't want him to know I actually spend my days wearing yoga pants and bandanas with acne cream dotted all over my face. No, no. I will place this cool. Daily drills: Pants. Mascara. Earrings! Don't forget the lip gloss, soldier!!!

Wish me luck. I'm out of practice.

In other news, if you get a chance, stop by The Apocalypsies blog on Tuesday to check out my interview with adorable Kirsten Hubbard--her debut teen book Like Mandarin releases this week and it is FAB!!

Writing Retreat with Mr. Darcy

2011-02-28T17:58:00.000-08:00

I had a great time at my self-induced writing retreat up near Monterey. We wrote, brainstormed, ate a LOT, and spent our evenings watching Pride & Prejudice (which we did NOT turn into a drinking game).

In between eating unhealthy snacks and swooning over Mr. Darcy (oh, and writing), I managed to take Cynthia's new author photo. My camera loved her--she made it very easy.

(Gorgeous!)

A Favor?

2011-02-20T12:58:00.001-08:00

Hey, so...my blog posts will be spotty at best for a while. The next few months are beyond hectic. I have the middle grade manuscript due in March, a teen manuscript due in June, my copyedits for DITCHED just arrived and are due in about ten minutes. On top of that I'm going to the Romantic Times Convention in LA (attending, not speaking), then heading to Atlanta for a week for my cousin's wedding (yay!), and also my editor is coming into town so I have to show him how fabulous it is here! And somewhere in there my child has to eat?

Thunk. I just re-read that paragraph and fainted.

Okay, so on top of all that, I'm meeting with my web guy to design a website. Which is where my favor comes in. I've been looking at websites of authors and trying to find ones that show what I'm looking for. Only I'm having a hard time because my needs as an author are a bit unusual in that I'm writing for teen girls and middle grade boys. Ha! How different could I get??!!

So, do you know of any fabulous websites of authors who write across age levels or genres? I'm trying to find a style that will appeal to lots of different types of readers.

Thunk. Just fainted again.

Meanwhile, I'm off to a week long writing retreat to try to get the previously mentioned projects under control. May be popping in with updates and silly pictures...stay tuned!

Got Stuck. Went to Michael's

2011-02-16T20:55:00.000-08:00

I hit a wall in my work-in-progress the other day. I couldn't quite visualize how a scene was going to happen. I knew WHAT was going to happen--I just didn't have the details.

The scene involved the main character stopping by a Michael's Craft Store, and I thought I could rely on my vast personal knowledge of the store (because I'm a craft junky), but no. No details. Nothing.

So I closed my laptop and took a drive into town to stroll the aisles of Michael's. And whammo! Right there in the adhesives aisle, I found all the details I needed! (Along with a dried flower arrangement--which I totally needed. Don't judge me!)

It's amazing what you can learn by going out into the real world sometimes. So, you might ask...is that why I went to see the Justin Bieber movie all by myself? Research, you wonder?

Naw, he's just a cutey-patootie. Plus, how could you not love this song? Seriously. And if you don't love it, then something is seriously wrong with you. And if something is seriously wrong with you, then I'm sorry for bringing it up because you're probably sensitive about it and all.

My New Favorite Show

2011-02-09T11:51:00.000-08:00

I've found a new TV show to put in my faves column...Portlandia! It's on the Independent Film Channel, I think on Fridays.

They're short skits about Portland life. And you will love Will Armisen (from SNL) more than ever. I love the creativity and weirdness. But also love that the finger is pointed further north so we Californians can get a break!! Haha!

Correction...

Oops, I meant to say Fred Armisen. Not Will. Guess I got sidetracked again by my crush on Will Forte. (Call me, MacGruber!!)

Two Words: Wind. Machine.

2011-02-07T06:48:00.000-08:00

I woke up Friday morning to a bunch of texts and pictures from my editor. He was at the photo shoot for DITCHED. Eeeeek! It was so amazing to groggily look over at my phone and see my main character.

There she was. On my phone. In the morning! Weird!!! (and she's GORGEOUS!!)

Later he sent me a short video of them doing the shoot, which was made MOST AWESOME by the use of a wind machine. It's amazing how much movement those things bring. I think I'm going to get a personal one and set it in my hallway so that whenever I enter a room I look photo shoot-ready. That's important.

Anyway, it was so exciting to see my character "come to life." Tears were involved. But later I suffered from a Joy Headache. Blerg.

Oh, and I have another two great words...Writing Retreat! In a couple of weeks, I'm taking off with a couple of writing friends to Pacific Grove for four days! It will consist of non-stop writing and absolutely NO CHIT-CHAT.

hahahahahahahahaha

(I'm happy to get a block of time to write, but let's be honest...I'm happy it's located near an IKEA.)

Cover Update & Stuff I've Never Done Before

2011-01-31T08:05:00.000-08:00

1. Cover update...I found out the photo shoot for the cover of DITCHED will happen this week! My editor said they auditioned different girls and found the PERFECT Justina--she had a great attitude and total spunk. He's going to text and send me pics during the photo shoot! (This is where I explode with freakish amounts of joy. Joy----->!!!!!!!)

2. Stuff I've never done before...I'm working on the first draft of THE CLASSROOM and I'm putting in notes to the illustrator of what drawings are needed and where to put them. Now, as the title of this section suggests, writing notes to an illustrator is something I've never done. And I keep thinking, "Does this make sense? Is this clear?" I'm finding it's sort of a different skill set from just regular old writing. Explaining a drawing in just a few words? Haaaaaard! (But honestly, this is some of the most fun I've had so far with this whole writing thing. Eeepers!)

3. Something random...My Mom's Monthly Movie Night Out is coming up. (Yep, we're moms. We go to movies. Once a month. Sometimes on a Monday, because we find alliteration fascinating.) I'm hoping we'll go see something that's an Oscar contender. Maybe The King's Speech? Any other suggestions?

Back at My Desk

2011-01-25T09:08:00.000-08:00

Finally, all my dog's begging worked and the floors are done! I'm back to working in my office and, right now, I don't plan on leaving it ever again. Two weeks spent in coffee shops and libraries and parking lots has left me fatigued on the whole "public" thing.

I missed my ergonomically perfect chair. The balmy temperature in my office. And the access to a refrigerator. But the wait is finally over!

You may remember in our last episode...the dog was not happy with the tile guy wrecking Momma's office...

But now, the floors are done!

And the dog is back to using his happy face! (Which is similar to his "I want a bone" face.)

But later, I discovered someone else is using my office now when I'm not in there. Yeah, I hear he's writing the unauthorized biography of Goofy. Very smutty. But totally true. Apparently, Goofy didn't pay income taxes on his chipmunk housekeeper. (I can't wait for this book!!)

Good grief, stop me, boys and girls.

Thanks! And Also My Dog is Upset

2011-01-19T10:52:00.000-08:00

Thank you all SOOO much for all the sweet, supportive comments and emails about my middle grade series. The Kidlit world rocks!

My first book in the series is due in March so I've been writing up a storm lately trying to get it in ready condition. Last night I finished my first round of revision on the rough draft. Who knows how many more rounds it will take--two? three? Let's hope for single digits.

But it sort of cracks me up because when I say "I worked on it last night", what I really mean is I worked on it while teetering on a stool at my kitchen counter, smooshed in between my refrigerator and the terrarium holding our bearded dragon. We call him Lightning. Because he's slow.

So yeah, the house renovation is causing me to write in unusual situations. At one point I wrote a chapter in the front seat of my car. Arrgh. BUT! By this weekend I will have new floors and my office will be ready for me to start writing like a normal person!

But I would say the whole "House-o-Chaos" thing has probably been hardest on my dog. He really wants them to finish up soon. Here he is, standing in my demolished office, giving our tile guy his best puppy dog looks. "Please, sir. Finish Mommy's floors!"

I’m Going To Be Writing a Middle Grade Series (Eeeeek!)

2011-01-13T14:03:00.000-08:00

Finally…my big announcement!! This is huge for me because it means I’m going to have the chance to write not only for teens, but for middle graders too (who have a special place in my heart since I’m a former middle school teacher…I miss those little turkeys!)

Here’s the announcement in Publisher’s Marketplace:

Robin Mellom's THE CLASSROOM, pitched as MODERN FAMILY for middle graders, in which a documentary crew descends on Westside Middle School to chronicle the life of Trevor Jones, seventh grader and epic worrier, and his classmates, to Christian Trimmer at Disney-Hyperion, in a 4-book deal, by Jill Corcoran at Herman Agency.

I am so ecstatic to be working with my editor again, Christian Trimmer. Fortunately he has a wildly fun and wicked sense of humor, and I get the feeling writing a humorous series will be much easier with him ~~teasing me~~ helping me through it. (Big hugs, CT!!)

I am probably most excited (almost strangely excited) for my book characters. This series is based on Trevor and Libby, the characters from the very first novel I ever wrote. Over the years, that book and those characters won me an award, landed me an agent, and got me to acquisitions meetings. Trevor and Libby have been a big part of my life and I so wanted to some day see them on a book page.

So when my editors collaborated with me on a new formatting idea for the novel, I knew it was exactly what Trevor and Libby needed for their story. (Hold on a sec...I know I’ve said it before, but I need to say it again at this point. Eeeeeeeek!!!)

The book is a fake documentary showing the behind-the-scenes life at middle school—there are lots of side interviews so many points of view can be shown--which gives me room to be random and weird. (My two favorite things! Yay!)

The most exciting part is that my publisher is planning on having the book illustrated as well. So Trevor’s wacky drawings will appear along with the story…how flippin’ cool!!! It’s looking like it will be published July 2012, which means it will come out just three months after DITCHED. Holy deadlines!!

So…I have a lot of writing to do. I am going to be one very busy bunny. (And a very grateful bunny.)

A big ol’ hug goes to my agent, Jill Corcoran, for helping me to make this writing dream become real. (Love you, sweet lady!) It all almost feels surreal. Like it’s not really happening.

But it is. And I’m going to breathe deep and savor all these wonderful moments. Thanks to you guys for going on this journey with me! Hugs for everyone! (ala Oprah?...You get a hug, you get a hug, YOU get a hug!!!)

Take a deep breath, Robin. Stop hugging friends and strangers.

Alright, middle grade series…let’s do this!

Wait. Actually, I think I’m going to go back to hugging friends and strangers for a little while longer.

:-)

Chaos

2011-01-09T20:05:00.000-08:00

When we bought our house, we decided we would continue the saltillo tile pavers that are in the living and dining room throughout the rest of the downstairs. We thought we would do it right away.

Um.

It took a little longer than expected to get around to it...also known as...thirteen years.

But finally, starting tomorrow my house will be filled with tilers and contractors. Which means I plan to totally disappear and go write in coffee shops and libraries and street corners and your house (thanks for having me!) in order to stay out of the way of that tile saw.

But it also means in a week I'll have new floors!

So for now, I'm sleeping on a mattress on the dining room floor and the clothes in my closet are in some box somewhere in an unknown room and my office furniture is under a tarp on my deck.

Hello, chaos. I can handle you.

*runs away screaming* *but with tile dust sparkles in my hair...cute!*

In 2011...

2011-01-02T19:56:00.001-08:00

1. I plan to utilize my alarm clock. I am going to commit to a writing schedule...one that consists of me waking up in a timely manner and possibly applying a wee bit of mascara. I will clock in at 9 and clock out at 5. I will not get sidetracked with laundry. I will ignore it. (I know...ewww.)

2. I plan to not feel jealousy toward people who write with flexible schedules--sometimes late at night, or sometimes in the middle of dinner, or sometimes at the end of their long, wistful beach walk. Oh, to be that unique and adorable. But no. Given all the writing I need to accomplish this year, it will only get done through the use of an alarm clock and wearing dirty clothes.

3. I will blog when I can. Facebook when I can. Twitter when I can. Network socially...when I can. And I will not judge myself about whether it's too much or too little, because really...I need to lighten up.

4. And also, I plan to be way more random and weird.

5. Mayonnaise.

The Epic Year In Review!

2010-12-19T19:55:00.000-08:00

I won't be blogging much between now and the end of the year--we have relatives coming into town and then I also have two weeks left of "Keeping The Kid Entertained" (which consumes all my time, not to mention all my blogging time).

I plan to spend New Year's Eve at Chateau Mellom, eating things that have been heated in a microwave and drinking things that are appropriate for plastic cups. And also I'll be watching these two (best pairing EVER, imho)...

Oh yes, we will ring in 2011 in class.

So!

Here is my recap of all the best things about 2010:

1. It wasn't 2009. Because that one? Sucked. Okay, that's done. Let's move on to the fun stuff.

2. Best movies...it's hard to say because I still haven't seen Inception or The Kids Are All Right. Hope to remedy that soon. But other than those possibilities, I would vote for Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and How to Train Your Dragon.

3. Best TV episode...the one where Modern Family goes to Hawaii. I was so worried it would feel like they were jumping the shark, but they showed how to take a show on the road and do it RIGHT.

4. Best songs...Animal by Neon Trees and The Only Exception by Paramore.

5. Best books...These are all YA, of course. Before I Fall, The Sky is Everywhere, Anna and the French Kiss.

6. Best magazine...Entertainment Weekly. (Are there others??)

7. Best small kitchen appliance...the Magic Bullet (responsible for every morning smoothie of 2010)

7. Best e-book reader from Amazon.com...Why, that would be my Kindle, of course!

8. Best quote from my 8-year old..."Are those adults?!" (upon sneaking downstairs after his bedtime and watching the first few minutes of The Office)

9. Best moment with my 8-year old...Having him beg me for extra time to read alone in bed. (Thank you, thank you, Jeff Kinney)

10. Best day...March 18. The day my agent gave me "the call." She didn't even start with "Hi!" or "What's up?" She just said, "Are you ready for your life to change?" And she was right--2010 was the year things really changed for me. I was able to quit my social work job and focus full time on my writing. And BEING a writer was my ultimate goal. So yay for you, 2010. You rocked.

11. Second best day...xxxxyyyyxxy!! It's the news I can't chat about yet. Arrgh! But the Powers That Be tell me I'll be able to share in January. And I can't wait to talk about this with you guys--it's my squealiest news yet. So stick around for news next month!

12. And finally, no year would be complete without a best viral web video. If you haven't seen this yet, it will blow. Your. Mind. Enjoy!

DITCHED Update And...Um...Fear!

2010-12-14T21:45:00.000-08:00

Yay! Fear! It's the holidays--let's talk about it, yes?

But first--and this might be totally related--I turned in my line edits for DITCHED. Which means it now goes on to a copy editor. And I'm guessing the copy editor will have a conniption over my excessive use of Inappropriate Capitalization. Oh Well.

And now...fear.

So let me back up, about a year, if you don't mind. I wasn't too far into writing DITCHED when I became very fearful. I called my mom and said, "I don't think I can do this one. I'm in over my head." At the time, the book felt too ambitious for me. Like something I couldn't possibly pull off. But now that I've turned in line edits and I've seen what the book has become, I can tell you without a doubt, it was worth pushing through that fear.

I'd love to say that after pushing through it, the fear goes away. That you become miraculously confident in all your writing henceforth and it flows easily and all the bumps in the road get smoothed out by a bump smoother-outer. (I really want one of those. Do you have one?)

Not true. Not for me. With my next novel, the fear has crept back in. The other day I had a long (and oh-so-helpful) talk with my editor. We talked about my next novel and how to take it to a new level--like, pretty much going for it.

Now, I had thought about doing this idea previously, but, again, it felt too ambitious. Like something I couldn't possibly pull off. After all, this is just me we're talking about here. I wear my pajamas later in the day than I should...I putter around the house and repeat lines from The Jerk...I sometimes drive into town to a specific coffee shop just because they are the only ones who make this Reese's cookie that, when heated, is to die for.

Me?!

But his pep talk has reminded me that I pushed through that fear once before. And I can do it again. So if you're a writer and fearful you've taken on too much...I'm with you. Let's push through this together. Taking on the things that we're fearful of will make us remarkably less fearful. (Right? Please tell me I'm right so I can stop shaking in the corner!!)

And I often like to remind myself of the inspirational words of Adorable Overly Optimistic Kitty...

(He doesn't seem to be aware of the grave situation he's in. Are you nuts, kitty? Jump!)

Step Away From The Google Calendar

2010-12-08T18:34:00.001-08:00

I've finally gone digital with my calendar. I held on strong to my paper calendar, even though it was so awkward with its tiny little boxes hardly big enough to write the word "doctor." But I always loved the pictures that went along with the seasons and the reminders of national holidays. Helpful.

Now that all of my life is organized inside my iPhone, I hardly ever look at my paper calendar. So that means this year there were no reminders of what was to come...no photographs of leaves falling to remind me Fall was here...no pictures of snow falling on broken down tractors sitting by a frozen lake to remind me I needed to get my butt in gear and buy Christmas gifts!!!

No, on the iPhone every month looks exactly like every other month. Boxes. Numbers. Totally and utterly digital. Where was my snowy tractor?! Yes, it's convenient and I'm addicted to having my calendar accessible at every Breathing Waking Moment, and I love the sound those alerts make when I have something to do that day. But holy snowflakes, December totally snuck up on me!

I just said to my hubby last night, "I'm not sure, but I think Christmas is getting close."

Since his calendar is now digital too, he said, "But how do you know?"

"Because people keep talking about it on Facebook."

So I apologize to my family and friends who may not be getting gifts on time this year. But I'm on it...just as soon as my phone gives me that cute little blingy sound.

Read Them...Before It's Too Late

2010-12-05T12:59:00.000-08:00

That's the motto of The Apocalypsies...a debut group of 2012 children's book writers. (Catchy motto, eh?)

It's so nice to be a part of a group of people going through similar experiences, and people who don't mind answering questions (author photos? websites? copy edits? what the--?) Luckily, it's a fun, saucy group. I wouldn't want it any other way. :-)

So if you're interested in seeing a list of all the debut novels for 2012, (cuz that's soooo soon) (ugh, it feels like freaking forever away!), then head over to the blog and check 'em out. Lots of variety and amazing new authors to follow!

Do You Have a Motto? I'll Tell You Mine

2010-12-02T15:49:00.000-08:00

I've adopted a new motto. I use it now whenever I'm pondering life's big questions...

Will Steve Martin ever write me back on Twitter?

Did GLEE jump the shark?

Do I spend too much time on Facebook?

Should I keep treating my iPhone like a human?

My new motto is what Fred Armisen says on SNL when he's playing Joy Behar...

Who Cares? So what? [with a little fidget of the blouse]

When the Tofurkey is Gone

2010-11-27T09:24:00.000-08:00

We had a nice Thanksgiving. (Hope you did, too!) Usually we spend it in LA with my uncles, but this year my hubby had to work so we packed up the meal and took it down to the newspaper. It was sorta fun to eat in the break room and let the kids run wild around the building. (Let's not tell the editor that.)

Now that the tofurkey is gone and Thanksgiving is over, I'm able to get back to some serious line editing on DITCHED. So far, I've discovered I must've had a deadly encounter with a comma in a past lifetime, because I rarely use them! Why do I hate them so?

It makes no sense...I was a fifth grade language arts teacher...I know how compound sentences work!!! But no, when I write fiction I seem to "forget." Blerg.

But while I hate commas, I apparently love the word glance. I have people glancing all over the place!! If anyone comes up with a stellar word for glance other than "look," please let me know!!

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

(A bunch of commas. Maybe I need to desensitize myself in order to love them again?)

Under Construction

2010-11-21T19:36:00.000-08:00

I'm changing the blog look again. This is because I am an antsy person. It's also because sometimes I like things that are wild, chaotic, and swirly.

And sometime I like simple.

So I'm changing to simple. Lots of white. Easy to read. Nothing very much swirly.

We'll see how I feel next week.

Line Edits

2010-11-18T09:45:00.000-08:00

We're moving on to line edits for DITCHED. Woohoo! This whole process is fascinating to me. I have no idea if it's fascinating to anyone else though. Sorta like pregnancy--when it's your own body growing a human, every twitch is a major milestone! So to me, line edits are like seeing an ultrasound. We're getting closer!

I also talked with my editor and he told me about some of their ideas for a cover. He laughed at me because I hyperventilated at the thought of an actual cover. I kept taking deep breaths and saying, "Hold on, hold on, having a moment here..."

He then asked me to help out with finding the dress for the model to wear in the photo shoot. And you know what happened when he said the words "photo shoot." Yep, more hyperventilating.

My baby's gonna have a photo shoot and a cover! Waaaah! She's growing up so fast.

Meanwhile, I received another package in the mail that I'm all sorts of excited about. Except that it reveals my impatient side...I couldn't wait for Christmas and had to go ahead an get myself a Kindle!

Along with a cute red cover. (I had to make it seem like Christmas somehow!)

Just For 'Scuzz

2010-11-14T21:15:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite Thanksgiving movies (or anytime movie) is Home for the Holidays where cutey-patootie Robert Downey Jr. plays the brother of Holly Hunter.

When he does something funny & off-kilter she asks, "Why'd you do that?" and he answers, "Just for 'scuzz."

I love that phrase. And I think we need to do more things in life "just for 'scuzz." No reason needed. Just do it. All of us, yes? We'll call it our JFS moment.

Like how you know in the opening of The Colbert Report (you watch that, right?) he sometimes changes the last word that appears on the screen. Sometimes it's a serious words. Sometimes it's nonsense. But I get the feeling Stephen Colbert is channeling his inner Cutey-Patootie-Robert-Downey-Jr.-Just-For-Scuzz-ness. Which is all sorts of cute & cool.

So JFS, I'm going to re-name the title on my "followers" list whenever I feel like it. Why am I doing this? You know why.

So go this way ----------------------------------------------------------->

And then down. (Hey, there's no cute downward V on a keyboard. Dang!)

And btw, if you haven't seen Home for the Holidays, you must see it if you want to continue this bloggy-friendship of ours. You'll never see a better turkey cutting scene. And in these trying times, we all need one of those.

It's Friday, I'm In Love

2010-11-12T08:29:00.001-08:00

Been listening to The Cure again. So this song made me want to start a Friday post where I talk about things I'm loving. This week the winners are...

1. The Rotten Tomatoes show. I'm addicted to this. They rate movies based on regular people's reviews. And the editing of the reviews is hilarious!

2. The new natural foods grocery store in our town. It has a sushi bar. Fresh stir-fry bar. Hot food bar. Coffee bar. Cheese bar. Olive bar. And a bunch of vegan cookies. I'm going to bring a cot with me and move in.

3. Baked Tostitos.

4. Scarves. (That's the plural of scarf, right? For some reason it looks weird written down. Looks more like a disease.) Anyway, now that I have super short hair, my neck is always in constant need of warmth. I think I'm up to six now. I need more.

5. This week's episode of GLEE. Kurt has a love interest! And I almost went into GLEE overload when Puck sang a Bob Marley song, "One Love." Yep, loved it.

Anything that you loved this week?

Oil and Water

2010-11-08T09:50:00.000-08:00

Just like oil & water, revision deadlines & holidays do not mix.

I'm getting all angsty and wiggy as I look at the upcoming calendar. I have a revision due in the next few weeks and I'm feverishly drafting a couple of new books. But when I look at my son's school calendar, the hives start to surface.

Veteran's day? Teacher work day? Conference day? Early release week? And then that Thanksgiving thing??!! Ack! I have work to do!!! And don't even get me started on Christmas holiday falling in the middle of my revision deadline. Oh, Santa. It takes me two days just to organize all my ornaments, much less put them on something! *sigh.

But hubby is promising to step it up and take it all on. With his level of efficiency I'm sure that tofurkey will be microwaved to perfection and the Christmas tree will be bought, set up, and decorated in twenty minutes.

I'm kinda liking the sound of that. Maybe revision deadlines & holidays do mix!

The Big City (that really big one)

2010-11-03T20:58:00.000-07:00

I had a great conversation with my editor the other day and we decided I should come to New York next spring to meet the editorial and publicity team. I felt like that guy in that old salsa commercial who yells, "New York CITY??!!"

Because I have to admit something...I've never been there.

Is that unusual? Because whenever I have a conversation with a New Yorker about me never having been to New York they instinctively yell, "YOU'VE NEVER BEEN TO NEW YORK CITY??" Really loud like that.

Nope. And I can't wait to go! Because it was my dream to become an author, but it was also my dream to go to New York for the first time in order to meet the publisher of my book.

I have this vision of arriving in New York, fresh and wide-eyed with (as Miley Cyrus puts it) "a dream and a cardigan." I'll have adorable luggage and smart heels and Jay-Z and Alicia Keys will be my personal tour guides. And right after I meet the book publisher, I'll be whisked away in a limo to a taping of The Daily Show.

That's what it's like in New York CITY!!

Right?

Awesome.

Sorta Scared

2010-10-31T16:59:00.000-07:00

Scared not because of Halloween, but because of what happened the other night when I was sleeping.

I was happily slumbering deep in the night when my hubby, sleeping next to me, suddenly yelled "Are you OK?" I laid very still. But then he asked again. "Are you OK?!" I mumbled a little hoping it would all go away. I was asleep for sleep's sake, what did he think was wrong??

Then he reached over, slapped me on the forehead, then yelled in my ear, "ARE YOU OKAY?"

I flailed my arms around and yelled some very indecent words at him. But then all I heard was the sound of him snoring. Honk-shew, honk-shew.

He was just in the middle of a dream. And I had a flipping red mark on my forehead.

The next morning when I explained to him what happened he didn't remember a thing. And he also laughed and snorted so hard I had to remind him to breathe.

So no, I'm not scared of The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. But I am sorta scared to go to sleep tonight.

Writing and the City

2010-10-27T20:19:00.000-07:00

We live in a small coastal community--it's cozy, it's quiet (it's also often cold and foggy). There are a couple of grocery stores and gas stations, but no fast food, no big restaurants. No GAP. No Anthropology (waaah). There are just houses and the bay. So it actually makes for pretty cool writing conditions.

But I have found I need to break it up. After days on end of writing in my office (my little sanctuary...here's a pic) I find that I need to be a City Writing Girl...a day to channel my inner Carrie Bradshaw.

So today was the beginning of my weekly trek into the "city" to force myself to get out of my yoga pants and Ugg boots and try to say words to people. It was awesome. People are so talkative--way more talkative than my labrador retriever! I wrote in my favorite coffee shop, met my hubby for lunch, wrote some more, and did some frivolous shopping (I can't help it...the women's clothes in surf shops are SOOO cute!). Yay for City Writing Girl Day!

My hubby is more the type to just do things when the feeling comes and he doesn't quite understand my need to label things and announce things and write things on our dry erase board.

But I just have to. Because if it goes on the dry erase board, it will happen.

(Maybe I need to write Maui Vacation on there?)

What about you other writers out there...do you break up your routine or do you stick to it?

News, Salad, and Social Network

2010-10-24T20:49:00.001-07:00

Last week was Incredibly Good News Week. And hopefully I'll get the green light soon to share the details.

Strangely the good news came when I was experiencing that short-not-so-fun hospitalization, so it wasn't until this past Saturday that I actually felt good enough to celebrate--yay for fresh salads and a good bottle of Cabernet with girlfriends!

We also went to see The Social Network, which was riveting. Who knew a story about a guy making a website for us to state our Relationship Status would be so interesting?! And Justin Timberlake rocked it.

But did anyone else see it and then feel sorta weird & creeped out about getting on Facebook for a day or so?

Okay now, into the writing cave I go. Happily. :-)

Keeping Current

2010-10-22T10:20:00.000-07:00

With my chaotic life, I rarely get to see a current movie and very rarely even read a current book. It makes for awkward social conversation. “Wow, have you read the second book in that Twilight series?” People tend to just stare at me.

And it was only last week that I finally got around to seeing Mamma Mia! My word, I loved that movie. I’m pretty sure that it was made just for me, so I feel bad for the producers that it took me this long. But I want to thank them for taking my love of Greece and ABBA and making a movie for me. (Oh, and also my love of whoever that guy was who played the girl’s fiancé.)

But not too long ago I managed to see both Easy A and Scott Pilgrim in the movie theater on opening weekend. Unbelievable! And I’m sure I was totally obnoxious about it. Did you see it? Did YOU? How ‘bout YOU?! Because I did! I saw it! I’m current! I’m timely! All of which makes for even more awkward social conversation.

This weekend I’m going to be semi-current…I’m getting together with friends to go see The Social Network.

Have you seen it? How ‘bout YOU?

So yay, in only two days, I’m going to be officially semi-current!

_____________________

But this one I’m sorta embarrassed of…I have still not seen Avatar.

Getting Better

2010-10-20T10:59:00.000-07:00

So I spent the past couple of days in the hospital…an appendix problem. But luckily a Higher Power (or possibly western medicine) stepped in and relieved me. It was close, but fortunately I did not have to get an appendectomy. Whew.

I have to say, not eating for three days does weird things to me. Like it makes me crave food I don’t normally crave. I spent days fantasizing about tomato soup and unsweetened iced tea. Tomato soup? A little strange for me. But unsweetened iced tea? Unheard of! I grew up in Atlanta…my momma practically nursed me on sweet tea! And Georgia sweet tea is like no other—it’s pretty much that stuff you feed to hummingbirds.

But now that I’m all tea & tomato souped-out, I’m getting back into my writing groove along with some solid food.

Oh stir-fry, how I’ve missed you.

Remember SOAP?

2010-10-13T11:11:00.000-07:00

Um, I forgot to blog yesterday. This daily thing sure seems to happen far too regularly. I can't keep up!

Probably because I've been too busy keeping up with GLEE. Which was a good one last night. (Yay! Thanks for showing the human side of Rachael!!)

At the beginning of GLEE they do this thing where they summarize what happened in the previous episode. And every time it feels like deja vu. I feel like I've seen that style used before.

Then I figured it out. Depending on how old you are you may or may not remember that show from the late 70's SOAP. I looooooved that show. And they did the same thing at the beginning of their shows. Can't believe I actually found this clip, but Youtube is my awesome personal assistant.

Three Things Not Related In No Particular Order

2010-10-10T20:51:00.000-07:00

1. In my quest to never leave the house and spend all my time downloading things, (I wish I could download my kid from school...come on, I have to drive there every day?!) I have discovered you can now download e-books for free from the local library. How cool, huh?! I spent Friday night watching a Netflix movie I downloaded while simultaneously reading a library book downloaded to my computer. (When I'm alone and my hubby isn't around to tell me how weird it is, I am the type of person to watch movies and read books at the same time. I know, weird. I need more supervision.)

2. My son experienced Karate Kid (the original!) for the first time. He loved it. Keeps saying "wax on, wax off" and practicing the karate moves. Just like I did when I first saw it. Watching your kid experience something for the first time that you loved as a kid is one of the most awesome parts of being a parent--you get to enjoy life through their eyes. Again. (Plus Ralph Macchio? Adore him!)

3. I have a new website addiction. It's modcloth.com. They have the cutest retro clothes and I keep thinking "maybe I'll get a gift card to modcloth for Christmas and maybe my mom will read this post and suddenly decide what a great idea it would be to get me a gift card from modcloth for Christmas!" (You will, right? Momma?)

What I've Learned So Far

2010-10-08T09:36:00.000-07:00

ABOUT WRITING:

1. It's hard. You know how you go to conferences and amazingly talented and successful authors get up and say stuff like, "You better love writing. Because it's hard." And usually I'd say to myself, "Yeah, it's hard to set your own schedule? And wear comfy pants? And make stuff up??!!" But alas, I've finally come to the realization that writing is haaaaaaaaaard. Even if these yoga pants are super comfy. Which brings me to #2.

2. I love it. Wow, those conference speakers know what they're talking about. But it's true, I love writing and not so much because it's fun like Disneyland fun, but fun like I can calm the crazy thoughts in my head and putting them on paper seems to shut up the crazies for a while. Love that. But really, I love it because now that I'm writing "full-time" (gulp) and not doing social work, I don't have one ounce of dread about my "job." That is an amazing feeling.

3. That Tahereh has a hilarious (and so true it's scary) post today on what you lose when you're writing a book.

ABOUT BLOGGING

1. I enjoy doing it. Years ago I had this dream of being a newspaper columnist. That never happened, obviously, but writing a blog is somewhat similar. There's something about writing in this short format that is super pleasing for the crazies in my head.

2. That trying to blog every day in the month of October has been fun yet challenging. And I doubt I'll be able to blog on the weekends.

ABOUT MY READERS

1. That they will understand when I say I won't be able to blog on the weekends. (Y'all are so sweet and understanding!!)

ABOUT THE TODAY SHOW

1. That Paula Deen is on the cooking segment and her voice instantly makes me crave fried chicken.

ABOUT MY WII

1. That you can download movies from Netflix on it and never, ever have to leave your house in these crusty, comfy yoga pants.

A Different Mindset (or just room temperature)

2010-10-07T09:04:00.000-07:00

I’ve transitioned from revising a novel to drafting a novel. The two are like Tim Gunn and Glenn Beck…very different.

I’m finding that with revision, I need to work in a variety of environments, almost extreme environments, (maybe even where it's a bit nippy!) just to ensure my mind is totally awake and aware. But with drafting, I need the exact same environment. It must be warm--almost tropical. I must be fed and pleasantly full. There must be something caffeinated nearby to sip on. And Greenday must be playing on Pandora.

No flexibility with this.

So yesterday I was full on veggie stew and quinoa, sipping a cup of French Roast coffee, and listening to Holiday, when I decided to stop drafting and update the synopsis of my story. Luckily my drafting environment also works for my synopsizing environment. (Synopsizing sounds like the result of a big, messy sneeze, yes?)

But writing a synopsis is typically an act that I dread. It’s one of those things I write for my editor and it’s sooo difficult because I love writing for kids and teens…not adults! How bizarre?!

Part of me wants to throw the synopsis away and just call my editor and say, “Okay, I dunno what’s gonna happen in the story but here’s what I’m thinking…”

Sigh. It just doesn’t work that way. He wants it in words. In the computer. So he can forward it.

But I’m discovering that the act of writing a synopsis truly is helping me discover what my story really is about. Even if I have to write it for an adult.

So I’m going to hope that writing for adults isn’t really all that bad and if I get enough quinoa and dark roast coffee in me, I must just be able to get this puppy done. Thank you, Greenday. Couldn’t do this without you (or Weezer, really.)

Glee and Beef

2010-10-06T08:39:00.000-07:00

Yes, I’m going to talk about my beef with GLEE.

Except I don’t quite understand that saying: “Here’s my beef with…xyz.” Does it mean beef isn’t agreeable? Beef is a complaint? I personally don’t agree with beef and have been complaining about it over the past couple of years ever since I turned into a semi-vegan.

I say semi-vegan because I have a side love affair with rotisserie chicken. It’s my downfall. Like if something goes wrong or if something goes good or if something just goes, rotisserie chicken is always there for me. It’s juicy. Tasty. And your basic vegan nightmare.

Anyway, with that long rambling introduction out of the way, I want to chat for a bit about my quinoa with GLEE. (Because that’s way more vegan.) I’m going to tell you the truth: I was a little disappointed with the first couple of episodes of season 2. Because, for me, the reason why the show was so insanely wonderful was because of the writing. The song & dance routines were like really, really good icing. Dairy-free, vegan icing.

So when the past couple of episodes were leading me to believe that GLEE was going to become merely a parade of stars with incredibly over-produced dance/song sequences, I was like, meh. I can watch Moulin Rouge whenever I want.

For me the show has always been about these kids. Their struggles, their interactions, their stories. And thankfully, last night, we got back to them.

Don’t get me wrong. I love me some Miss Britney Spears. But it was starting to look like the plot lines were merely a vehicle to parade these stars around.

So thank you, GLEE, for getting back to what makes you special. And it reminds me as a writer to not chase after what’s hot or now or sexy, but what makes me uniquely special from the rest of the pack.

Because isn’t originality what we’re all inspired by? If we name who shaped us, isn’t it the ones who went in a different direction? The ones who took the road less traveled?

I can’t wait for more GLEE. And not rotisserie chicken. Nope, not gonna do it. Lentils are way more sexy.

Read This Letter

2010-10-05T09:05:00.000-07:00

There have been five suicides this week by teens who were bullied. And the tremendous outpouring of celebrity support has been amazing. Ellen. Neil Patrick Harris. And Larry King did a whole hour last night...awesome.

But the best response I've seen so far has come from a teen writer, Shaun David Hutchinson, author of The Deathday Letters.

Please go read his open letter. Simply wonderful.

Cover Envy

2010-10-04T11:02:00.001-07:00

Is it just me or have book covers been getting better and better lately? It's amazing how a cover can convey the mood of a story. These two books caught my eye lately...gorgeous photography, moody, and the best part...these covers make me want to read the book. What about you? Any gorgeous covers you're loving lately?

Gearing Up

2010-10-03T10:12:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I'm gearing up to work on a first draft. So I want to share a quote from Uncle Stevie that I like to read before I get pumped up for writing. I hope this pumps you up for whatever you're doing, too.

You can approach the act of writing with nervousness, excitement, hopefulness, or even despair--the sense that you can never completely put on the page what's in your mind and heart. You can come to the act with your fists clenched and your eyes narrowed, ready to kick ass and take down names. You can come to it because you want a girl to marry you or because you want to change the world. Come to it any way but lightly. Let me say it again: you must not come lightly to the blank page.

I'm not asking you come reverently or unquestioningly; I'm not asking you to be politically correct or cast aside your sense of humor (please God you have one). This isn't a popularity contest, it's not the moral Olympics, and it's not church. But it's writing, damn it, not washing the car or putting on eyeliner. If you can take it seriously, we can do business. If you can't or won't, it's time for you to close the book and do something else.

Wash the car, maybe.

--Stephen King

On Writing

p. 106

Swoon Defined

2010-10-01T17:35:00.000-07:00

So I took the son to see Legend of the Guardians. It's an owl story. Finally, one for the owls!!! It's also stunningly gorgeous and it gives The Matrix a run for its money with fight scenes.

But I started paying close attention to the voice of the main owl-- can't remember the owl's name, so let's call him Owly.

Owly's voice was familiar, and sort of...intoxicating. I found myself in a bit of a memory lane trance, not knowing why. Then the credits rolled and I discovered the reason.

Owly was played by Jim Sturgess.

Swoon, defined.

If you don't know who he is, Jim Sturgess is the guy who played Jude in Across the Universe. And the opening scene of that movie is, for me, the swooniest cinematic moment ever. (Except for when Jake sits on the table at the end of Sixteen Candles and asks Samantha to make a wish. Eek!)

So if you dig greasy-haired English men singing on the beach, then the next 56 seconds will be the swooniest you've ever had. If not, look away, pay no attention to my Girl Moment here.

And Now, I Blog

2010-10-01T09:19:00.001-07:00

Not too long ago I proclaimed when I finished my revision I would blog every day for the month of October. Didn't I mention that at the time I was all doped-up on Excedrin Migraine?

But with or without high doses of acetaminophen, I will not back down! Let's do this, October...

I turned in my revision one hour before it was due. Woohoo! And I won't bore you with lots of details about this whole revision process because it's probably like what pregnant women do? Talk about lower back pain and hemorrhoids and stretch marks as if the whole world really wants to know all that?? (I thought the whole world wanted to know all that when I was pregnant. So, sorry, Whole World.)

But one thing I will share. I learned the value of words. (Imagine!)

Sometimes I think I'm a little unconscious when I use words, not paying close attention to the weight of their meaning. Like, for example, in DITCHED I had the characters lost a lot. Like they weren't sure where the hotel was and they were always looking at a map and then they'd get lost again. I didn't even know why. I just used the word "lost," like it didn't mean anything.

But in the story, it didn't make sense because they lived in a relatively small town. It's not like she had just moved there. Why include it?

Enter: The Editor

Luckily for me, I have an editor with an acute sense of sarcasm who knows exactly how to steer me in the right direction. He wrote a note on the side that said: "Lots of getting lost. I guess explain to the reader that prom in in some distant far-off land?!"

Haha. Love that. Working with him is gonna be a blast, I can already tell.

So now I'm getting busy on book 2 along with some other projects that I hope to chat about soon. Maybe even before the end of Blogging-Every-Day-October!

;-)

Brain Tricks

2010-09-28T14:06:00.000-07:00

I recently read an article in the NY Times that said research shows people learn better and pay more attention when they change up their study environment. Something about how your brain is alert when there are new sights and sounds around that it must attend to. Or something like that. I wasn't paying close enough attention...reading in bed again.

Oh.

They must be on to something there.

I do find that when I'm revising I find my mistakes when I do two things: 1. Sit somewhere new. 2. Change fonts.

Since I'm turning in my revision at the end of the week, I've been revising on the front deck, the back yard, the coffee shop, the carpool lane...wherever. And it helps! I've also been reading the manuscript in Courier. You will find all misspelled words when it's in Courrier.

And for my final read through, I'm doing a trick I picked up from the wonderful Lisa Schroeder. Here's what you do: Format, 2 columns, single-space, and print in landscape. And voila...it looks like the actual inside of a book! Deadline here I come...

Chop Chop

2010-09-24T21:53:00.000-07:00

I'm enjoying my new life without much hair. I don't know why I didn't do this years ago when I had a kid attached to my hip and not much free time. It seriously takes me like 2.6 minutes to get ready in the morning. Love that!

And now...I do that thing where I hold out the camera and act like it's natural to take a picture that way when really it's extremely awkward and kinda hurts my shoulder...

Peeking Out

2010-09-23T09:21:00.000-07:00

Taking a quick break from revisions...aaahh...it's nice out here. Fresh air. People. Puppies. CNN reports about some lady running for Senate who's into witchcraft, or something?

Maybe I'll go back in my cave now.

But before I do that, a quick life update:

1. Easy A was hilarious. Go see it! Emma Stone is going to be a major movie star!

2. Things are feeling a little bit more normal now that GLEE and Modern Family are back on the air.

3. I'm halfway to buying a Kindle...I downloaded the Kindle application for my laptop. So I instantaneously read books, but I don't have the device. Yet. I want it now. My Christmas list is now full and closed to new inquiries.

Okay, back to finishing these revisions!!

Oh, and I may have kinda, sorta cut all my hair off. :-)

Nathan's Keynote

2010-09-18T12:40:00.000-07:00

I can't make it to the entire Cuesta Writer's Conference this weekend (our local conference here in San Luis Obispo) but I did manage to make it to Nathan Bransford's keynote last night.

He didn't have notecards, but used his iPad for notes...and he talked about the decline of the publishing industry but then how it's it responding to all the changes and how there will always be a need for storytelling and books, no matter how they're presented, and we should be hopeful for the future because readers will benefit from all the choices in books, and he was positive and excited and downright brilliant.

And I kept thinking, wow...I really need to get an iPad.

Is there some sort of app that makes you awesome? Because he was.

In Which I Decide Two Big Things

2010-09-15T15:59:00.000-07:00

#1. I am turning in my revision of DITCHED by Sept. 30. Which means October will be...different. The last two months have been full of insanely long hours pouring over the same words, adding lots more words, then taking some words out and dropkicking them into the neighbor's yard. Fulfilling, but exhausting. And that means I haven't been blogging all that much. SO....!

I've decided that for the month of October I am going to blog every day. Every. Stinking. Day. I don't know how I plan to fill the blog, but you can bet it will be filled with random weirdness. Because who can talk about writing every day? No one! It can't be done!

Wait. Smart people out there do it every day. But I am no Jack Handy. I don't have deep thoughts on a regular basis.

So check back in October for daily postings...there will be freakishness and where-did-that-come-from-ishness. And, of course, discussions of GLEE. And maybe even stuff about writing.

Next.

2. I found that new ivory trench coat I wanted! It's a DKNY thingy I found on Zappos. That site is amazing...they deliver anything to you from across the country in like 20 seconds! Seriously, by the time you close your laptop, the UPS guy is standing at your door. Kinda weird.

It just came today. Love it! Wanna marry it!! (no babies)

P.S. This weekend I'm going to hear Nathan Bransford speak at the Cuesta Writer's Conference. (Yay!) And hubby and I are going on date night to see Easy A. Wanna go?? Let's all go together!! I'll be the freak in the back in a trench coat.

It's Coming Off

2010-09-12T19:36:00.000-07:00

When the seasons change I tend to make big life changes. Now that it's fall, I've decided to put away my old black peacoat I've worn year after year (even though I love that soggy old thing!!!) and get a new one.

An ivory trench coat.

I've never had a specific coat in mind like this, so I'm pretty proud of my un-spontaneous shopping technique this time around! Let me know if you have any advice on where to find a kick-but ivory trench coat. I need help!

The other change I'm making? I'm lopping off my hair. Yes, it is already pretty lopped off but I've had this asymmetrical bob for a couple of years and my strands are in need of some serious shaping up!

I won't say I'm going full pixie...but... :-)

(I can just hear my mother gasping right now.)

My Next Book: A Hinty Hint

2010-09-07T10:10:00.000-07:00

So my second book is in the drafting stage but I can't announce just yet what it's about or the title because it still has to go through a formal "acceptance" procedure at Disney-Hyperion. I believe that procedure involves it being blessed with holy editorial water, draped in robes and sprinkled with editorial magic dust, then stuck with a meat thermometer. I think that's what happens--not totally sure 'bout that.

But my editor has given me permission to be hinty.

When I'm writing a novel, I like to put things in my office that inspired me to write the book or things that play a big role in the book. Like for DITCHED, it's daisies.

So for this next book, I have a big poster. Anyone recognize this magical movie moment?

Kindle--Under Consideration

2010-09-01T21:32:00.001-07:00

The price dropped. It's getting good reviews. So I'm thinking of giving in and buying a Kindle. It's funny that I think of it as "giving in."

For some reason, I've always felt books should only be experienced in print format. I'm resistant. Why is that? Change? Old age? Fear that an e-book may turn me into some wild animal?

I have two lines of thought on this:

1. There are some books that I want to hold: Speak, Fat Kid Rules the World, and my most recent read, The Sky is Everywhere. These are books that make we want to climb high in a tree and hug them tight. Hugging a book? Cool. Hugging an electronic device? Sorta creepy.

2. If I had an electronic device (that I would never hug) and I could download books immediately, I would buy more books. I just would. I live 20 minutes away from the nearest Barnes & Noble so I rarely get there. And sometimes when I shop on Amazon I say to myself, "Ships in three days? Really? That's forever away!!!" So I end up on Zappos. Luckily, you cannot download new shoes. I would be in trouble.

So I'm not sure where these two lines of thought leave me, other than to say, meh. What the heck. Buy a Kindle.

I'm kinda hoping that since the price went down to $139, that it will go down to $99 for Christmas. Because that's the limit I give my hubby for his gift to me. Except he usually exceeds his limit by saying "but it's for the family!" Which was how I ended up with my killer Moroccan wood dvd holder.

I've thought about buying an iPad because I love anything Mac. In fact, my iPhone is like a member of the family. We call him Phone-y. So part of me wants and iPad just so I can have a complete set. But I really only need it for book reading, so all its bells and whistles may get lost on me. (But not on Phone-y. Phone-y can do anything. Love you, Phone-y.)

Any thoughts? To Kindle or not?

Firelight

2010-08-29T10:10:00.001-07:00

I'm not sure how I missed Taylor Swift on SNL the first time it aired, but luckily they

re-played it Saturday night, just for me. And this parody of Twilight is THE BEST.

If one wants to poke fun at the vampire craziness, THIS Is how you do it...

Into the Woods

2010-08-26T13:29:00.000-07:00

I spent the last week in Sequoia National Forest with the family. I set aside some time to relax and hike, but I also couldn't help myself...I brought my manuscript with me. I worked on revisions under quiet, giant trees. It was PERFECT.

Getting back into the regular swing of things now...pushing the boy off to his first day of school, dealing with thick fog on the coast, wondering who ate the last of the ice cream, and waiting, waiting, waiting for the season premiere of Glee and Modern Family.

And yes, finishing revisions without big trees. It can be done, I'm told.

Scott Pilgrim, Easy A, Funny Story

2010-08-16T08:49:00.000-07:00

I saw Scott Pilgrim vs. The World this weekend...omg, omg, GO SEE IT!!! So incredibly unique, creative, and visually stunning. It'll pump you up to take on the world! What I loved most was that the makers were fearless...they took an idea and fully committed to it, then doubled their commitment. Such a great reminder to me as a writer...commit to an idea and be FEARLESS!!!

Go see this movie. Go.

There are two more movies coming up that I can't WAIT to see. They're contemporary teen movies and I want all of us to go together opening weekend. K?

First up, Easy A. I've been bouncing on my toes waiting for this movie for decades. (Not really, but it feels like it!) The premise sounds perfect (why didn't I think of it!!?? Wah.) and it's a girl-centric teen movie, which I believe is SO needed.

Girls can carry movies. We want them to. Let's go see this movie.

All of us.

(The Judy Blume reference in this will make all of us teen writers want to hug this trailer.)

And then, It's Kind of a Funny Story. I loved this book. And I loved Ned Vizzini's first book, Be More Chill. His voice is spot on authentic and hip and hilarious and awesome. I can't wait for this one, too! See you all at the movies!!!

The Process

2010-08-10T09:50:00.000-07:00

I've started working through the revisions for DITCHED, which is causing me great excitement followed by painful head clunks. Some friends have suggested soft padding for my desk--brilliant, I say.

Since I'm a former middle school teacher, I had to summarize my revision points in the form of a chart, using attractive lettering with color-coded headings and then post it high on a wall. I actually turned around to my empty little office and said, "Can everyone see that??"

Teacher habits never die.

Now, back to the revision cave!!! Right after I say the pledge of allegiance and take roll.

SCBWI Los Angeles

2010-08-03T20:41:00.001-07:00

I'm recuperating from the SCBWI National Conference in LA...my brain is not back to full capacity so I'll keep it simple. Plus, I can't seem to think of any descriptive words other than awesome, awesome, freaking awesome.

It was fabulous to have a bunch of time to work and socialize with my adorable energizer bunny of an agent, Jill Corcoran. And we had a fabulous lunch on Monday with Stephanie Lurie, editorial director at Disney-Hyperion. I am so excited to be working with them--it truly feels like I've found my writing home. :-)

So.

The speakers? Awesome.

The food? Freaking awesome. (That Rock Sugar restaurant over at the Westfeld Mall is where I plan to retire someday.)

And the attendees? Awesome, awesome friends...

I wish I had more pictures, but I was so busy laughing with all these fabulous people I rarely remembered to bring out the camera.

Lobby time with three amazing & adorable ladies: Cynthia Jaynes Omololu, Shelli Johannes Wells and Lindsey Leavitt

Me and Cynthia (my roomie!)

Graeme Stone, The Most Interesting Man in the World

My bestie, Eve Porinchak & insanely talented illustrator David Diaz

Getting ready for the poolside gala...Eve almost made it into the picture but she fell into a sinkhole. That happens in LA, I guess?

Good times with my always energetic agent, Jill. We joked that she's like a succulent plant... just give her a little water and she keeps going for longer than expected.

When I got home, my son and hubby gave me handmade cards and a gorgeous orchid. *sniff. And if you look on the right hand side, you'll see they also left out my mail that arrived...my editorial letter for DITCHED!

And my favorite gift my boys gave me? I walked into a spotless clean house.

Yep. Awesome.

My Editor!

2010-07-27T14:40:00.000-07:00

I was so fortunate this past weekend...I got to meet my editor, Christian Trimmer, in person!!! He is hilarious and brilliant and a blast to be around. I knew we were an editorial match in heaven when he used the word "wonky." I love wonky!!!

My agent Jill went with me and we all met in San Diego since Christian was at Comic Con to work with Rick Riordan (I now know how to pronounce Rick's name! Rior...like fire.) Jill and I ended up hanging out in downtown San Diego till late in the night because the city was thumping. So much fun!

We saw superheroes and zombies and one-too-many girls wearing fishnets and platform boots and skirts that were borderline illegal.

So now I'm unpacking and re-packing for the National SCBWI conference in LA this weekend! Which is always a blast and is reminiscent of summer camp. Flashlight tag, anyone??

Shiny New Idea

2010-07-19T15:40:00.000-07:00

So I’m having an issue with Shiny New Idea. It’s over in the corner doing an alluring dance and it’s kinda ticking me off.

I keep yelling at it, “I’m busy! I have to do edits for DITCHED! I have book 2 to write! Leave me alone!”

But there it is. Blowing kisses at me, winking, and doing a hula dance.

I’m thinking I’ll go over there, give it a Mai-Tai and tell it to party without me for a little longer.

**But don’t you worry, Shiny New Idea. Just when you’re least expecting it, I’ll come for you…and we will dance…