And the winner is...

Jess (ificouldonly)! Please email at julie@juliehalpern.com with your full name and address. I will mail out the galley as soon as I can get myself to the post office (not that there's anything wrong with me so I can't, but it's just a matter of me actually getting there).
Thanks to all who entered!

Contest! Last Call!

I will choose the winner for my NEW BOOK GALLEY CONTEST on Sunday, from all of you who have commented on my blog some time between my original contest post and this Sunday. I will pull the winner's name from Romy's strawberry hat! Um, I would post a picture, but it's stored on another computer and I'm being lazy. Just know that it's shaped like a strawberry. Ca-ute!

Love Ya, Linda!

For all of those from Chicago, do you know Linda Kollmeyer? The kooky, wacky, absolutely nutty Lottery woman on WGN 9:00 news? I freakin' love her! She is always SO happy and strange. She says lovely, positive things, and always gives a nice "woo!" when she's excited. I used to think she was being sarcastic, but the more I watched her, the more I believed in her. Then the Chicago Tribune put her ON THE COVER. A huge article all about Linda! On the cover of the Chicago Tribune! That's craziness! So, for those of you who don't know Linda, or for those who do and can't get enough, here is a taste of her uniqueness.

Chub Cycle

I don’t know what the deal is, but I’m in a chub cycle. I think it’s because (at least partly) that people keep telling me how great I look after I had my baby (poor me, I know), which then makes me feel pressure to actually look great which in turn makes me feel like eating. Yes, yes, I can wear my pre-pregnancy awesome jeans, and I do look pretty good, but I know that I still have about five pounds to lose, and, more importantly, I just feel squishy. Doughy, if you will. And I don’t want to be that person anymore. I don’t mean I don’t wan to be the doughy person. I don’t want to be the person who bitches about her body. Because I know that stuff rubs off on little girls, and I would hate myself if I caused Romy to have some sort of body complex due to my insecurities. So what I want to know is, how does a woman living in today’s society (and growing up in a world where she felt fat) not pass that crap on to her daughter?

Matty at 7 Impossible Things

As long as no one's reading my blog, I thought I'd tell all zero of you that my super talented and amazing husband, Matt, is featured over at a very popular blog, Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast (and how appropriate that I'm writing as I eat breakfast!). And if you are reading my blog: Thank you!!!!! Now go have some breakfast. Preferably a waffle.

Sooooo Pathetic

Man, are you all mad at me for not being a good blogger anymore? Cause I feel seriously lame that the only two people who have so far commented on my contest post for a copy of my new book galley are my good friend, Joyce, and my awesome student, Skye. Sheesh. What can I do to win back my once loyal blog readers? Shall I start talking about pandas again?

Contest!

Dang. This has been a week where I, once again, had so many funny blog posts in my head, and now it is the end of the week, after school, I am pooped, and I have nothing in my head. So instead of a rip-roaring blog post, I offer you a contest! I have an Advanced Reader Copy of my new novel, Into the Wild Nerd Yonder, which won’t hit stores until fall of this year. Here’s a description:

It's Jessie's sophomore year of high school. A self-professed "mathlete," she isn't sure where she belongs. Her two best friends have transformed themselves into punks and one of them is going after her longtime crush. Her beloved older brother will soon leave for college (and in the meantime has shaved off his mohawk and started dating...the prom Princess!)...

Things are changing fast. Jessie needs new friends. And her quest is a hilarious tour through high school clique-dom, with a surprising stop along the way--the Dungeons and Dragons crowd, who out-nerd everyone. Will hanging out with them make her a nerd, too? And could she really be crushing on a guy with too-short pants and too-white gym shoes?

If you go into the wild nerd yonder, can you ever come back?

Here’s how to enter: make a comment on this post about the travesty that is the Sears Tower becoming the Willis Tower OR just post and say hi. I’ll pick a random poster from a funny hat, and they’ll win the ARC! You have until next Friday to enter. Happy Friday the 13th!

Mighty Casey Out Today!

MIGHTY CASEY, the new picture book written by James Preller and illustrated by my amazingly talented husband, Matthew Cordell, is out today! It is a hilarious version of Casey at the Bat, all with kids and full of silly situations-- like one of them peeing on a fence! Pee! OK. So you should all buy a copy. Pick one up through Amazon or your local independent bookseller!

I have started trying to write my next novel. Oy. I am so conflicted. Do I want to write this serious-ish novel I have started, or do I want to continue with the funny and less intense way I write? I am leaning toward the latter. It's kind of not fun to write about serious stuff. But does that not make me a "serious" writer? To not write "seriously?" I know I'm no Markus Zusak or John Marsden (because I am not an Australian man, but I am also not of their caliber of writer), but does that matter? So then I have to ask myself, why do I write? Is it to create great literature? Is it because I just enjoy writing? Is it because I want to make people laugh? And so far, I don't have the final answer. I'll have to think about it. If you're a writer and you're reading this, why do you write?

New Plan

So My new plan is to try and blog once a week, in hopes of luring blog readers back. Will that do it? I don't' know. But with work and my commute and Romy, that's all I can commit to.

Speaking of Romy, we are now having the big debate over what color her hair is (not to mention the constant debate that everyone must know WHO DOES SHE LOOK LIKE). I am feeding her as I type this (such a multitasker), and it is looking redder than it has. My mom and sister both believe she has red hair, but Matt and I were thinking she really just had more of a red scalp and her hair was reflecting that. But I don't know. It could be red. Matt's brother has red hair. I would love it if she had red hair, although that would prevent her from ever being a true Mini Me. The debate continues!

In other news, I am starting to brainstorm my next novel. I am also trying to brainstorm when I will ever be able to WRITE my next novel, but that's another story. I think this one may be based on a true story that happened in my life (actually, just a little after Get Well Soon took place), where I sort of watched a friend do something totally crazy. That's all I'm going to say for now. Next week is ISATS testing at work (Illinois Standard Assessment Test, I believe), and every year while I proctor the tests, I start writing a new novel. It gives me a couple of quality writing hours for four days, which is enough for me to get in two or three chapters. And then I usually take what I wrote, sit on it for a while, and then start up again and write the rest of the book over the summer. I also plan on exercising every day this summer. Am I totally delusional?

Did I tell you already how Romy is allergic to dairy in my breast milk, and so I am not eating dairy? The hardest part for me was the loss of cheese. I tried a vegan pizza the other night, but the fake cheese was nasty. Better just to do it without the cheese. I have also been indulging in vegan carrot cake. Not bad. But I can't wait until I can attempt to eat cheese again. And real frosting! I better stop writing about this. It's making me hungry.