Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Jersey Girl

It's snowing outside right now (duh. It's not going to be snowing inside, right?), and it's so insanely beautiful when I have nowhere to be. Now, if it continues (which it is supposed to) tomorrow, that is going to suck for our holiday travels. So is the way of Christmas. All stress and rushing and money and fatness. At least, that's what it feels like right now to this Jewish gal.

In non-weather news, GET WELL SOON has been nominated for a Garden State Teen Book Award! Thanks to Brenda for the tip. To all you teens in Jersey reading my blog, please vote here! Maybe then I can visit New Jersey and stop by the Cake Boss bakery! They call me Buddy. And Buddy can make me a special book award cake! Yeah!

Be sure to visit Teensreadtoo.com to read the new, great review of INTO THE WILD NERD YONDER! Thanks, TR2 (um, do you guys ever refer to yourselves that way?)!

In new book news, I have FINALLY finished typing up my new novel. As some of you may remember, I hand-write (like an idiot, I'm starting to think), and then it takes me forever to retype what I wrote. But I can't have someone else do the typing because I do such much revising. But now that it's done, I think I am going to try something and go back and insert a bunch of new chapters from a different character's perspective. I just feel it will give more insight into why that character did what she did, and it will also show you about the two main characters through this character's eyes. Dunno. We'll see how it works. The book is not super-long, and I have a little over a month before my deadline, so I'm going to play with it.

Happy Hanukkah (over, I know, but I'm saying it anyway)! Merry Christmas! Happy Kwanzaa! Happy New Year!

Friday, December 11, 2009

List of Six

My husband, the magnificently talented Matthew Cordell (you should see the new picture book he is working on for Lauren Thompson! It made me cry last night) has a monthly feature on his blog about his top ten favorite things of the month. I don't feel like committing to doing that right now, but I am always up for a list. So here is a list of things in my brain right now (RIGHT NOW!):

1. The Duggars. I can't get enough of the 18 Kids and Counting family. This morning I saw a 16 kids episode. They have to keep changing the name of the show! Because they keep having kids! The mom looked so different! Bizarre bangs surrounding her face. And the kids all wore matching clothes. That were homemade. Not anymore. TV really has changed them. For the better? Don't know, but I can't stop watching them. I have so many questions I would ask them. Do any of them NOT want to have kids when they grow up? Is Mama Duggar just one big mushball under her clothes? Do all of the girls have their periods at the same time? These questions are all kind of gross. Moving on.

2. The JK Rowling documentary on the Half Blood Prince DVD. It made me love her even more than I already do. It made me remember where I was when I first read Sorcerer's Stone-- how it wasn't even ANYTHING yet-- and then it was EVERYTHING. It made me relate to her as an author. Like, I'm an author, and I really am, because all of the things Jo was talking about with her writing is stuff I can relate to. And I never really thought that before. Or at least, not as much as Jo made me. Magical.

3. My DVR. Yes, I love it. Just like you all promised. We watch stuff and fast forward stuff and demand stuff whenever we want. So excellent.

4. My XM Radio is possessed. Seriously. The programmed buttons keep changing. How does that happen? And yet, I like the channels that it chooses for me.

5. Clementines. I can't stop eating them. Not like I'm some healthy freak and I only eat mass quantities of fruit. I eat tons of clementines (at least 4 per day) on top of my candy fix. One of the best pieces of winter.

6. Getting a new car. I think it's time. I drive a 98 Civic, and it is going to need new front tires and front brakes soon. I'd rather spend that money on a new car, with correct safety restraints for Romy's car seat, than spend it on fixing the old car. But can I part with it? And what will happen to my bumper stickers: "I played D&D before it was cool" and "WWBD: What Would Buffy Do?"?

I guess that's it. I'm sure I could add a million more, but for now, I will leave you with six.

A Happy Hanukkah to all, and to all, a good night!

Thursday, December 03, 2009

Thursday Follies

I have made a decision to postpone the Proust Questionnaires until the new year. I have several authors lined up, all with books that won't be out until 2010, so I figure I'll wait until their books are closer to being debuted.

In Julie news, I have started obsessing somewhat about Rupert Grint emailing me. Not that he has, but that he hasn't. So pathetic of me. Will he really write me just because I sent him my books and included his name in one of them? Will he, I ask? Sigh. Why do I get all weird when it gets wintry out? I seem to feel more Harry Potterly obsessive this time of year.

I happened upon something quite cool, and I don't remember what I was even searching for when I found it. INTO THE WILD NERD YONDER was nominated to be on the Amelia Bloomer List, a yearly list of the best feminist books for young readers selected by the Feminist Task Force of the American Library Association! That is such a HUGE honor! I was a Women's Studies major in college and am so down with the this list. That would be majorly fantastically cool to make it. Cross your fingers!

I wonder how Rupert Grint feels about feminists?