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THE DARK DAYS OF HAMBURGER HALPIN by Josh Berk releases TODAY!!! Go and get it. Just about every major review source in the world thinks it's the best book ever, and I believe you will, too.
While you are at it, view this, Josh's wacky release day song, which will be forever embedded in brain:
IT IS AWESOME! (I am the anonymous bookstore stranger).
(Goes back to digging and shaking fist at the sky).
A red-letter weekend! I GOT OUT OF THE HOUSE. For a book-event, no less. I went to Jennifer Hubbard's launch party for THE SECRET YEAR at Children's Book World in Haverford, PA. I am so excited to read this book!
Jenn talking about the day she sold THE SECRET YEAR.
Me & Jenn!
There were also a lot of other cool people on hand. I would name them all but the baby is crying, sigh. I think she is being eaten by an alien. But the book party was a lot of fun!
I can post it now, I guess! Here's the deal for my fourth paranormal YA, coming out in 2012:
Have you noticed I don't update my journal very much? Well, that's because I've set this journal up to me more professional than personal. And I have nothing professional to talk about. Well, I do have a book-saley thing to talk about, but I'm not sure if I'm supposed to talk about it yet, so, silence.
And I constantly read all the fun and interesting things happening to others and think, "Wow, my life is nothing like that." And it's not for lack of trying that my blog is empty of updates. I sit and search all corners of my mind for something interesting to post, but, nothing. The evidence: I haven't left my house since Tuesday. And it's not like I can comment on the publishing industry or world events because for me, if it didn't happen on Nickelodeon, it didn't happen. So, if I were to post an account of my life right now and where I am hour-by-hour, it would go something like this:
7 am: Wake up to Wilt's (that's child #2) screams for food. Feed.
8 am: While exercising, trip over children and fall on my face. Drop a dumbell on my head trying to make sure Ed (child #1) isn't trying to take off her own diaper and use it as a weight. Listen to her tell me I'm not doing the exercise right.
9 am: Put band-aid on invisible injury. Curse myself for buying Hello Kitty band-aids because Ed now enjoys hurting self.
10 am: Catch 5 minutes of Rachael Ray show while feeding Wilt and singing, by request, a made-up song about poopy to Ed. Ask Ed why she is picking her nose. Am told, "Because I love you so much."
11 am: Ask Ed if she will EVER be potty trained. Am told "No."
12 pm: Ed discovers my attempt to hide veggies in her grilled cheese sandwich and rebels by taking off her diaper.
1 pm: Feed Wilt and wonder if my eyesight is going bad because the TV is all blurry. Discover it's just wet-lip marks from Ed hugging the TV and kissing Spongebob.
2 pm: Ed wants to play Cinderella's castle. Must affect the voices of Cinderella, Jasmine, all the princes, Aurora, and Belle. She is Snow White. Accidentally make Jasmine sound like Prince Charming. Calm resulting tantrum.
3 pm: Play Honey Bee Tree. Actual act of setting up stupid game takes five time longer than playing of said game.
4 pm: Ask Ed why she won't clean up the books that I've had to clean up for the past 15 times today. Am told, "Because I love you so much."
5 pm: Send email to Rachael Ray asking for a makeover just because I feel like she is my only friend since she's the only adult I've seen all day.
6 pm: Feed Wilt and put her in bed. Celebrate.
7 pm: Put Ed in bed. Celebrate.
8 pm: Write.
I know, the excitement never ends with me. Next, maybe I will talk about cleaning my house this weekend. That's what I have on tap. It's a party!
Actually, I do have more goals than that! And okay, I know it's barely a week into the year, but so far they're going well. For example:
Exercise! I have always been big into working out. But with my two difficult pregnancies I wasn't able to. For the past two months I have been finding the time to exercise while simultaneously watching the kids, and am back to my pre-pregnancy weight! Though I may have to stop in between lunges to kiss a boo boo, it's lots of fun, especially when my 3-year old screams, "DON'T FORGET TO BREATHE!" at me.
Make Healthier Food. I have had a hard time making it to the store with the two kids in tow, so often I send my husband and we would end up having pasta or chicken nuggets for dinner. These seem to be the only things he can find in the store. Sooo... for Christmas I got the Sneaky Chef cookbooks. These are amazing. My family is very picky when it comes to eating, but they ate baked ziti with tofu, carrots, and yams in it, and cupcakes with spinach and blueberries! I've been making the recipes for awhile now and they are all so good, and I already feel a lot healthier. Yesterday my daughter ate her entire meal (mashed potatoes with white beans, carrots, and turkey meatloaf stuffed with oatmeal, wheat germ, and sweet potatoes!). This is a rare thing. And I actually find making the purees for the meals kind of fun. My food processor is my new favorite toy!
Write Two More Books. This is more important, I think, than actually selling two more books, which I wrote in my last list of goals. Yeah, selling would be nice, but the hard part is actually writing them! I am totally not a night owl, but I have been working at nights, after the kids are in bed. And amazingly, this works for me! I'm averaging about 1,000 words a night and am halfway through with a new novel, DREAM KINGDOM. I am having so much fun with it I haven't yet (knock on wood) hit that sagging middle that I dread so much.
Finish HARRY POTTER. My sister-in-law bought the box set for me for Christmas and I have read the first two books. I keep saying I am going to do it but when all 7 books are placed in front of you it seems like this huge, daunting task. I liked the first two books, yes, but there are so many other interesting books out there vying for my attention. Anyway, I vow to finish, no matter what! And then I think I will watch the movies, since I've never seen any of them.
Speak at at Least One Writer's Conference. Eee this makes me nervous. But I need to continue to improve my public speaking, and the only way to do that is to do more of it, right? So I will be presenting two workshops at the Pennwriters Conference in May this year, on writing YA and hooking your reader. Should be... mortifying? Er, I mean fun. ;)
Get Ready for Vermont. Did I mention I am going to Vermont College for my MFA? I was supposed to start this month but I had some personal issues that held me back. Since my brother-in-law is getting married smack in the middle of the July residency, I had to defer for an entire year, until next January. I am so excited to go, and really bummed I had to put it off. So I'll just put my ducks in a row and make sure I have the time to devote to it. I can't wait for 2011!
How are your New Year's resolutions coming along?
1. Take the Christmas Tree down. How is it that something can cause you so much joy one day, and so much dread the next?
2. Watch SLEEPLESS come out.
3. Have another birthday.
Okay, those are pretty easy. I should probably challenge myself a little more:
4. Not freak out when SLEEPLESS gets the bad reviews it inevitably will get. Okay, that's impossible.
5. Sell another two books. Hmmm... maybe.
Happy New Year to everyone!
"One day, Tinker Bell was walking by and saw an audience. 'Yum yum!' she said, and ate the audience."
She has talent, that one. I mean, not many people have written about zombie fairies yet.
All I can say is, John, you're a dummy. Every kid on my holiday shopping list is getting at least one book.
Ok I wasn't going to broadcast pics from my Disney Trip to the world, but I can't resist... I will show just this one.
I am so excited for Princess and the Frog to come out! December 11, 2009! I have been waiting for another Disney Princess movie for a long time and a movie with original Disney songs, and this one looks so adorable.
It's already my daughter's favorite bedtime story. Plus, Tiana is gorgeous, and Prince Naveen is really, really cute. :)
Oh, yes, it's coming.
TWILIGHT MOVIE PARTY WITH FAIRY TALE AUT
Thirsty for New Moon? Join us as we watch Twilight on a big screen and meet Fairy Tale author, Cyn Balog. With no more books about Bella and Edward to read, Fairy Tale can satisfy the cravings, with pixies and romance.
Registration is required. This is a ticketed event. $5 for the party ONLY or $18 for the party AND a signed copy of Fairy Tale by Cyn Balog. If you purchase the party ticket only, you can upgrade to the party and book ticket later.
Come on, Spider Monkey, you know you want to.SLEEPLESS, coming out July 13, 2010, is finally available for pre-order on Amazon. In case you just, um, wanted to put it in your cart. Of course, if you want to wait and get it from your local Indie, I support you in that decision. :)
And even though GIMME FEVER isn't going to be available until 2011, some really quick person already added it to Goodreads (thank you ever-so-much!). Add it to your to-read list? Please?
I returned from my Disney trip to find that FAIRY TALE was mentioned in this past Sunday's New York Times book review, along with books by Lisa Mantchev, Melinda Lo, and Aprilynne Pike. Very cool!
It looks like my third novel, coming out from Delacorte in 2011, is going to be a little something called GIMME FEVER:
When Gwendolyn “Dough” Reilly’s boyfriend and best friend Wish moves away in seventh grade, the only consolation she can find is in her family bakery’s donuts. Now, it’s sophomore year, and Wish is coming back. But in only three years, they’ve both changed—drastically. She’s seriously overweight, and suddenly Wish is the most popular guy in school, and girls everywhere want him. Dough has doubts that appearances don’t matter and that Wish can love her as she is, so she launches into a plan designed to keep them together. That is, until she discovers that Wish’s gorgeous looks and charm might not be all they appear to be.
I figure every teen author has to write a book that touches on self-esteem in their career, and this is mine. It's funny and heartwarming, with a little paranormal action mixed in there, of course!
I am hugely excited because Disney is love. I love everything Disney. More than you can know. More than I can express. However, I have only been to Disneyworld four times (Disneyland twice), the last time over 5 years ago, so I'm not exactly an expert.
I am sure there are Disney experts out there, so please tell me... what is your favorite thing to do at Disney? Your favorite memory, your favorite Disney tips, whatever. I just want to talk about Disney and my real-life friends are sick of me.
I am over at the lovely Saundra Mitchell's blog today, telling my spooky, scary, horrific Halloween Story. Before you click over, please be warned that it is NOT for the squeamish!
Also, you can win a really cool Halloween prize pack there, so even if you ARE squeamish, you may want to brave it.
Introducing PAYA, dedicated to bringing more YA to Pennsylvania!
This program was started by some fantabulous YA lovers in order to 1) share their love of YA with the state, AND 2) benefit libraries!
They're planning a BIG Philadelphia event in 2010, but they'll be starting off with a benefit auction on livejournal on October 7th. Watch the community
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ya2pa so that you can be involved in the fun!I'm talking: TWILIGHT, EVERMORE, SHIVER, WINGS, HUNGER GAMES... etc.
Is it because YAs do not like to laugh? Is it because these books are a better mirror of their humorless lives? Can a dark book have a humorous element? Or does that make it more difficult to take serious? I know there are funny YA paranormals out there, but none of them seem to be as successful as their darker counterparts. As someone who can not keep humor out of her books (I've tried), I'm curious.
Discuss.
Donate Books to Places I Don't Like. I buy books. I therefore need to donate them from time to time. This time, however, I decided not to donate to the Bucks County Library System. Why? Because while the county as a whole does carry a couple copies of FAIRY TALE, my local library did not. Even after I went there and introduced myself. This is the one I pay taxes for. Before you go saying, "Well, maybe it wasn't in their budget . . .", please know that I do understand budgeting issues with libraries; however, my local library stocks multiple copies of just about every other YA book out there; and I'm talking just about EVERY book. After I politely brought the situation to their attention, hoping it was an oversight, they came back with, "Well, budgeting issues . . ." It's sad, because I LOVE libraries. I would love to love MY library. Maybe there is a librarian out there that can explain this to me? Did they just really hate my book or something?
Two:
I am never paying attention to Bestseller lists again. I have limited time to read books, so lately I've just been picking up the books that have the most buzz, figuring that I need to appear knowledgeable for watercooler conversations. I have started-- and not finished-- just about every one of those books. Bestseller lists are nothing more than a snapshot of what is out there as a whole, I guess-- some good stuff, some utter crap. So I have decided to instead pick up books that sound interesting just based on the cover copy, not based on whether they're on the bestseller list. I'd rather figure out what to read on my own instead of letting a publisher tell me what I should be reading.
Three:
Eat tofu. Ew.
