mary e. pearson

of November. I know you didn't want to hear that, but there you have it. Somewhere in the year there must be a month that crawls by, don't you think? Maybe February? That must be it. That's why they only gave it 28 days, to help it along. But not November, that's for sure. It's a zipper.

I think having a conference backed right up to Thanksgiving helps make it a whirlwind. I had a great time at ALAN. It was my first time to Philadelphia, and I used that to my advantage to get my stomach stretched out for Thanksgiving. I am a true multi-tasker. Yep, Philly cheesesteak sandwiches (I had no idea that they were a foot long!) warm soft pretzels, Amish Horseradish Cheddar Cheese, and the dinner my publisher hosted had food that never stopped. Dish after delicious dish served family style which was fun, and even though we all moaned we couldn't eat anymore, we still managed to.

My husband came to Philly with me because he had some work there too and when we had free time you can see we frequented more food stops. This is the Amish store at the Reading Terminal Market where they sold various cheeses and snacks. They also had a fudge store, pretzel store, and several more. The Amish may go without a lot of the creature comforts, but food isn't one of them!


Of course, when I wasn't eating, I was enjoying the conference. I finally met joknowles ! I felt like I already knew her, but it was great to finally meet in person. And I saw a bunch of other LJer's there--too many to name them all. And I really enjoyed listening to the speakers. From gutsy girls, to censorship, teens growing up with war--the topics were varied, important, and enlightening. Jeanette Walls, author of the memoir The Glass Castle, shared how a teacher had made a difference in her life, accepting her as she was, unbathed because she had no indoor plumbling. She said that even if a student doesn't acknowledge a kind word or action, it makes it no less powerful as, "The ones who need to hear it the most, are the ones who can thank you the least." It was inspiring to hear her share how her life was impacted by books and teachers.

My panel with my editor, Kate Farrell and four other author/editors pairs, Sara Zarr and Jennifer Hunt, Rebecca Stead and Wendy Lamb, Elizabeth Scott and Jennifer Klonsky, and Tim Wynne-Jones and Liz Bicknell was fun. We all had so many different styles and relationships with our editors. It goes to show you there are so many different ways to hatch a book. Kate and I talked about the ups and downs of choosing a title for The Miles Between (original title that we loved but didn't fly: The Baboon Heart of Destiny) Many thanks to Angela Johnson of Wright State University for moderating our panel.

~~~Turkey toss
So we get home the day before Thanksgiving. Yikes. (At least my stomach was well-stretched and ready for it.) My daughter Jessica made the turkey--her first. It was a very small Thanksgiving for us this year so it was a good time for her to attempt this. And it came out beautifully. I'm passing the baton, Jessica, ya hear? Wait, don't run away . . .

~~~ Kirkus!
I also came home to learn that The Miles Between made the Kirkus Best Young Adult Books of 2009 list! Cheers to the other LJer's who are on the list: melissawyatt , halseanderson , thunderchikin , sarazarr , and Kerry Madden.

~~~iphone
I didn't participate in Black Friday, but I did have a sort of black Saturday. I can blame my editor. While we were at ALAN she was showing me her iphone and told me I had to get one. Yes, had. And I always listen to my editor. Or maybe it was that my phone is old and needed a new battery so I went ahead and took the plunge. Now I am trying to get up to speed with it. If you have an iphone, is there an app that you love? As you can see, I am easily influenced so if you say I HAVE to get it, I likely will.

~~~ Warning--Another Proud Mama Alert:
As I have often mentioned, I am not a good numbers person. I just didn't get that gene. So years ago when my mother tried to teach me to crochet I could never keep track of my stitches and I failed dismally. But sometimes I suppose genes skip generations, because my mom also taught my daughter Karen to crochet, and she is a dream at it. She makes beautiful scarves and now she is selling them online at Stradabella. My mom would be so proud, though she probably wouldn't get the whole "organic" thing. But I do. Go, Karen!

There, I think I am pretty much caught up for now.

Bring on December. I think.

1.  Busy, busy busy, lately.  And more submerging is sure to follow.  Trying to make headway on WIP.  Trying to keep up on other writerly stuff.  Trying not to open the packages of Halloween candy--  Oh.  I guess that's another topic. 

2.  I haven't opened any of the Halloween packages of candy yet (pat on back) because once I do, those teeny tiny little sweets just seem to disappear into thin air.  Halloween magic I guess.  Especially those Milk Duds and Good n Plenty.  What's up with that?  You have that problem too?


3.  We made it through October without our horrible hot and scary Devil Winds aka Santa Anas.  Whew, and thank you very much.

4.  Book news:  The first draft of the script for The Adoration of Jenna Fox is done.  Hooray!  Also, got a review in from BCCB for The Miles Between.  Really liked this:  "The lightness of the prose and subtle hints of magic belie the substance of this text the way the gossamer appearance of a spider web belies its strength."   Writing light with this particular content was a challenge so it was nice that this reviewer appreciated that.

5.  Anyone dressing up tomorrow? 

Happy Halloween!

At last!  And for two books!

The brand spanking new:



And also the paperback for:



Not sure how I should celebrate.  Maybe a day of indulgent reading is in order. Or . .  .

Yesterday when I posted the final ARC tour pictures in New York , in the comments newport2newport  suggested creating a playlist of car tunes to celebrate.  Her contribution was Baby You Can Drive My Car by The Beatles.  I added Fun, Fun, Fun, by The Beach Boys.  And I seem to remember that writerross suggested Thunder Road by Bruce Springsteen at the beginning of the tour.

If you have any other car songs to help me celebrate publication day, let's hear them!


      . . . Baby you can drive my car . . . Beep, beep, beep, beep, yeah . . .

I'm getting a slow start to Monday.  I am usually a pretty early riser but I slept in a bit this morning. Yesterday I went on a beautiful five-mile hike along the beach and at Torrey Pines State Reserve.  It pretty much wiped me out--not so much because of the distance but because of the incredible humidity.  We don't have a lot of that in California, but with the monsoons stirring up from Mexico, we've been getting our share lately. The first part of the hike is through the hills and towering cliffs next to the beach, and the last part is along the sand and shoreline.  The flat part along the shore is the reward after hiking up that endless hill. 

But we took a different route than we usually take and finally, to get back to our car, had to traverse a shallow inlet or backtrack to get up on the trail.  Tall hubby said, lets traverse.  Short me was dubious.  He went first and only got wet up to the tops of his knees.  Even still, I knew that didn't bode well for me being a whole foot shorter, but I crossed anyway, holding my shoes over my head so they wouldn't get wet, and sure enough I was soaked up to my waist.  So much for "shallow" but the water was very warm so I didn't really mind.

Other busyness this weekend:

marperez 's newest book, The Comeback, came out this past weekend.  I LOVE the cover of that book, and the inside is just as fun.  I really enjoy characters that you love and want to slap at the same time.  Sophie is that and more, and as always, Marlene's wit shines.  Congratulations, Marlene!

More news . . .
My editor's assistant is always sending me these lovely suprises in the mail--foreign editions, catalogs, cover flats--and this past weekend she sent me this:



A few copies of the REAL thing!

This is my fifth book and I have to say it is still a hurry-and-rip-open-that-envelope thrill.  And it really did turn out lovely.  The first thing I did was run my hands over the title. You can't see it here but it is raised type.  Very cool.  It's the little things in life, right?  And then I pulled off the dust jacket--yes the surprise was there!  Another cool moment.  Even cooler than wading in the ocean up to my waist--with clothes on!

Hope you all had a good weekend too.

I'm glad you all enjoyed the amazing picture yesterday as much as I did.  I did a little nosing around the web this morning and found out that this is the Blue Morpho Butterfly.  It's wings are five to eight inches across!  If you go to this site  you can see what the underside of its wings look like. Quite the transformation from that brilliant blue, no?

In book news . . .

The Miles Between is starting to be read!  (yikes!) Thank you professornana !

Also, apparently VOYA has released their Best Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Horror of 2008 list--33 titles altogether.  I was thrilled to see The Adoration of Jenna Fox on it! Yay!

Back to work . . .

Things have been busier than ever.  But I have managed to squeeze in a couple of slow activities in the past week.  One was working out in the yard planting some flowers.  When this started to bloom last week . . . .



I knew I needed to get out there and get some planting done.  This is my homely little succulent I have posted pictures of before that has amazing little flowers that spring forth once a year.  Meanwhile, my neighbor (the same one who made me paella last week) is bringing me things like THIS from her garden . . .


Yes, she grows beautiful orchids while I nurture plants that look like rock creatures.  But then again, she doesn't have two furry eighty pound peeing machines in her backyard either.  See guilty parties here.  You will also get a glimpse of my polka dot lawn.

I did get some beautiful ranunculas planted in the front yard though.  Carlsbad is somewhat known for its gorgeous ranuncula flower fields, so if you don't know what they look like you can check them out here, and if you are passing through in the spring, definitely take some time to stroll through the fields.  There is also a spectacular ocean view from the hills so you get two inspiring views for the price of one.

In writing news . . .
I have been having a lot of fun over at the Readergirlz blog.  They have been posting various questions this week like, which  superman strength  do you wish you had?  Heck, I want them all!  Especially after reading some of the responses.

In more book news, I talked to my editor yesterday and she said the ARCS for The Miles Between had arrived!  And they looked great!   She was going to pop a few in the mail to me.  I can't wait to see them.

Also, I found out I am going to LA for the Nebula Awards  banquet!  Yay!  And yikes!  Now comes the requiste pondering of what do I wear?  I have never been to this before so I haven't a clue.  This is all taking place in LA on the same weekend as the LA Times Festival of Books, so I think I will be stopping in for a bit there too.  Will any of you be there--either for the Nebula conference or the LA Times festival?

Holy smokes, what a crazy jammed pack week it has been--from the really good to the really stinky.  I will start with the good, and maybe I will run out of time for the stinky.

First, I got a very nice email from one, two, three friends, and then darn, I finally googled myself to be sure they were right because I hadn't heard anything and I saw that The Adoration of Jenna Fox won a Golden Kite Honor from the SCBWI.  Hooray!  I found the info at Betsy's Bird's blog where you can see all the winners.  And then yes, I got the offiicial email announcment too.  Hooray, again!

And then my editor emailed say AJF had made the NYPL Stuff for the Teen Age 2009 list.  That's right, it is now called "stuff" for the teen age.  The list is a little different this year.  It is limited to 100 things ; )  I think most of those things are books but there are videos in there too, and maybe some other "stuff" too.  I am not sure, but I am thrilled to be among the stuff! (does this sound like a George Carlin routine?)

Other good stuff in my jam-packed week:  Online author chats with students in Texas, writing in a coffee shop with friends (hey blitzers!  it was fun!), lots of fun chat and questions over at readergirlz, and I'm still doing flips over being a Nebula finalist.

oh!  And FINISHING the review of the master proofs of THE MILES BETWEEN! Whew, I think I positively have that manuscript memorized now.  This is why authors don't read their books once they come out!  They don't need to.  After so many readings they are permanently etched in their brains.

still not out of time . . .  so the not-so-good stuff that jammed my week.  Car #1 broke down.  Bad, but it is still limping along--barely.  And out of sympathy of course, car #2 decided to follow suit--no limping, dead as a door nail--thank you very much.  Both cars--grrr. It always happens that way, doesn't it?  So my weekend is going to be juggling cars and hoping they can be repaired--quick!

But more good news, my very dear friend and neighbor across the street called and said she was making paella tonight and did we want to come?    Do fish swim?  Do birds fly?  Do carless people walk?  You betcha.  I am clicking my castanets already.

Have a great weekend all!

I've had several friends email me to let me know about this:

Andre Norton Award Finalist

Wow.

I am blown away--and honored.

And thrilled to be in such fine company.

It's pub day! 

Can I be an honorary Aussie for a day and shout Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! Oi! Oi! Oi!

The absolutely awesome Allen & Unwin, who were a delight to work with, publish the Australian version of The Adoration of Jenna Fox today!


I love what they did with the cover.  And one of the very cool squee factor details is the spine:



I love the blue eye! Can you imagine if several were on a shelf and you see all these brilliant blue eyes looking out at you?

Now if I could just go to Australia one of these days and see it on a shelf there myself!  Well, I can dream.

And as long as I am indulging in squee . . .

The Adoration of Jenna Fox was named to the Amazing Audiobooks 2009 list!  This was my first audio book and I was thrilled that someone else loved the audio as much as I did.  You know, there is always that bias factor.

And speaking of audio, I guess I can finally announce that my newest book has sold audio rights at auction to Brillance Audio!  It is not like it was a secret.  It was announced on Publishers Marketplace back in December, but it was announced with my working title and not the final one.  So I wanted to wait to share the news until I had the real title, which is . . . drumroll . . . THE MILES BETWEEN.  It took a while to find just the right title for this book because it is, well . . . hard to nail down.  It is a combination of serious, quirky, and fun.  I think this title is perfect.

Last but not least, one reason I am even resurfacing is because, yes, I have somewhat tamed the wisps of this new work in progress--or at least made enough sense of them that they have now earned a "file name" on the computer  and I am off and running.  Well, maybe taking baby steps is a better description.  But sheesh, it feels so good to be working on something new.  Yay!

to be on the watch for.

Thanks for all the suggestions. Feel free to add more in the comments that we may have forgotten!

A KISS IN TIME by Alex Flinn
ABSOLUTELY MAYBE by Lisa Yee
DEAD IS A STATE OF MIND by Marlene Perez
ETERNAL by Cynthia Leitich Smith
EVERMORE by Alyson Noel
FADE by Lisa McMann
FUNNNY HOW THINGS CHANGE by Melissa Wyatt
NORTH OF BEAUTIFUL by Justina Chen Headley
SAY THE WORD by Jeannine Garsee
SECRET KEEPER by Mitali Perkins
SHADOWED SUMMER by Shaundra Mitchell
SOUL ENCHILADA by David Macinnis Gill
TORCHED by April Henry
WINNIE'S WAR by Jenny Moss
WINTERGIRLS by Laurie Halse Anderson

Wow, lots of great reading ahead.

 This winter and spring are bringing some books to the "neighborhood" that I'm really looking forward to.  Books like:

melissawyatt 's FUNNY HOW THINGS CHANGE 

marperez 's DEAD  IS  A  STATE  OF  MIND

and  thunderchikin 's SOUL ENCHILADA 

and also,cynthialeitich 's ETERNAL 


edited to add: 


ah, what a second cup of coffee will do.  Here are more on my watch list:

 alixwrites  's A KISS IN TIME

and   halseanderson  's  WINTERGIRLS


Any other winter/spring books that I should be on the watch for?

Back from San Antonio!  And I have to say I LOVE that city!  The weather is not unlike San Diego where I am from.  In one day you can go from brrrrrr weather to warm and balmy.   We had both while we were there.  The Riverwalk is incredible.  More like canals really, that meander just below street level and have gorgeous landscaping and tons of restaurants and shops alongside of it.


But if you walk far enough out, the busyness disappears.  Hubby and I went for a long walk far beyond the restaurants and hotels and enjoyed the quiet and beauty of it all. 



Oh!  And then there are the restaurants.  Being from San Diego, we have pretty high expectations for our salsa and Mexican food.  When we travel we simply don't order it because it never measures up.  Not in San Antonio!  Wow!  Salsa, tableside guacomole, and Prickly Pear Margarita's at Boudro's on the Riverwalk  were so good we went there twice.  Oh, but all those chips . . . good thing we did a lot of walking while we were there.



And then of course, there was the conference! (I really didn't just eat and walk the whole time!)

On Friday I spoke on a panel with the awesome and funny, Susan Beth Pfeffer, about the realities of survival.  We had a nice crowd who asked a lot of great questions afterwards.  My own talk had been about the relationships of all kinds that sustain us in our lives and make life worth living. Later, throughout the rest of the conference, I had teachers come up to me and share their thoughts about it all.  It was nice to make that connection and share on a personal level.

After the panel I signed at the Holt booth.  Just before I left for the conference I had learned that The Adoration of Jenna Fox had made both the Lone Star and the Tayshas reading lists and several Texas teachers came through my line who were excited about that.  Well, partner, me too!  Excited and honored.

On Sunday, the NCTE baton was passed to ALAN with the kickoff cocktail party.  They gave the authors these cool red Author! Author! badges to wear.  Nancy Werlin and I met up and I got to give her a big congratulatory hug on her recent wedding.  Congrats again, Nancy!


Now fast forward through a lot more food, talking with teachers, librarians, meeting other authors, and catching up with the ones I know, and oh yes, walking, (I tell ya, the walking saved me after all the food I ate, but my stomach is definitely primed for Thanksgiving) and finally we arrive at Monday where the panels begin!

I love listening to these!

Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of the panel on Positive Portrayals of Sex in YA Lit, but the panelists, Tanya Lee Stone, Lara Zeises, Laura Ruby, and David Levithan had a lot of great things to say.  There were times I just wanted to jump into the fray!  My feeling is that as authors, we have stories to tell.  Real and true ones that are honest.  Not stories about how we would like the world to be or how we feel we should mold it, but the story that is true to that particular character.  That's it.  It is that simple.  We are not there to teach or guide anyone.  Just to share one character whose life may, or may not be like the one we know.   If I start feeling like I am writing a guidebook for teens for how they should or shouldn't live their life--sheesh--talk about writer's block, but I digress. That is for another post.  Back to the conference . . .

Many, many more great panels.  I managed to snap a shot of this one with Cynthia Leitich Smith, Melissa Marr, and Rick Riordan, who talked about the mixed myths of urban fantasy.  Meliisa Marr talked about how, according to her mother and grandmother, knowledge came at 40.  Well, shoot, I missed that boat, didn't I?


And finally, at the end of the day, my panel came.  God bless those teachers for hanging in there!  I was on a panel with Amy Kathleen Ryan, whose debut book, Vibes, just came out this fall, and with PJ Haarsma who writes The Softwire Series.   We talked about Slipstream fiction, which, before I was assigned this topic, had no clue what it was.  I learned it was the "fiction of strangeness."  This definition actually fits my next book even better than JENNA.  But as I said in my talk, I wonder why *I* was chosen for the "strange" topic.  hmm . . .


After our panel, I signed with the other authors in the back of the room while David Lubar entertained the crowd with his, "A Few Too Many Minutes with David Lubar."  I couldn't catch most of his talk because I was so busy signing and the acoustics in the corner were bad, but I could sure hear the audience laughing!  Maybe if we are lucky he will post it.

And last but not least, our own David Gill aka thunderchikin did an outstanding job of running the whole show.  Throughout the day we could see him in the back of the room making sure all the panels ran on time.  Well done, David!  And next year, I expect to see YOU on a panel for the fiction of strangeness!  Soul Enchilada definitely fits the bill!

Cheers all!  And Happy Thanksgiving!

1.
Stand up to cancer--tonight at 8pm--ALL THREE NETWORKS will be televising this benefit. Be a part of it. Make a difference. I'll "see" you there.

2. Happy Birthday Boys! The mongrels are five years old today. Bones for everyone!


3. I got a haircut. I love new haircuts. It's short--just to my shoulders. Well, that's short for me anyway.

4. Book Updates: A very nice review for the audio JENNA in the September/October issue of the Horn Book Magazine. I agree. I think Jenna Lamia, the reader, did an excellent job.
Other bookish news: My fall schedule is filling up fast. Lots of book club visits, then heading up to San Francisco for some school visits, and the Not Your Mother's Book Club (yay!), and more. Also, I will be the master of ceremonies for the SCIBA 2008 Authors Feast on October 18th, introducing authors, Jamie Lee Curtis, Dorothea Benton Frank, Brian Sanderson, and Loren Long. Should be a lot of fun. And right after that comes NCTE/ALAN . . . yes, somewhere in all of this, I will be writing my next book too . . .

Have a great weekend everyone--and don't forget tonight!

I met with screenwriter, Dana Stevens, who is writing the screenplay for the movie version of The Adoration of Jenna Fox. We had been trying to get together for a while but our schedules just hadn't coincided. It was wonderful to finally meet her and chat. We had lunch and talked about writing and, well, the book. She asked me questions about my own inspirations, visions, and what I thought was the heartbeat of the story.

It was really interesting for me to hear about her screenwriting process. Like writing a novel, it is a very delicate journey trying to maintain vision and the essence of the story, and yet at the same time, it must also be adapted so it works on a big screen. That's quite a challenge. But I immediately clicked with her and felt confident that she would somehow blend the two mediums in the best possible way.

She said it would probably take three to four months to write the screenplay, and from there casting would probably begin which would take at least as long or longer. A long process, but it's very exciting to see each step happen.

On another note, I have changed the look of my blog, taking advantage of another Livejournal layout that shows page summaries, syndication links, and a tags listing. Yes, I now finally have tags. So if you want to know just about the ducks, dogs, or craziness in my life, you now have it with a simple click. Yes, I know you already have craziness in your life, but now, lucky you, you get mine too.

Since I have been shaken out of lurkdom--by the very earth itself no less!–I figured I would peek a little farther out of my hole.

I’ve been in Revisionland. My deadline is mid-August, and I have been going back and forth with emails and phone calls with my editor and I think we are nearly there. Whew.

Of course, in the midst of working on my road trip book, I took my very own road trip. I planned to work on the manuscript while on the road, but you know how that goes. I was seeing and doing too many things to remember, um, oh, that I had a book that was due? (Which explains current deep lurkdom)

My husband and I hit the road without a clue where we were going except for our first night where we stayed in Santa Ynez. Over the next couple of weeks when I get a chance I will post a picture here and there. I love California. Love every inch of it. And this trip sure made me proud of it.

Other updates . . .
While down under in Revisionland, I got the happy news that The Adoration of Jenna Fox has sold foreign rights to Latin America. So, olé! Jenna will be coming to you in Spanish!

Horn Book Magazine did a podcast of summer reads and it was fun to "hear" how the editors reacted to JENNA.

And last but not least, while I was at ALA, Ed Spicer of Spicy Reads filmed Nancy Werlin and I interviewing each other about our books. It was a very unreahearsed impromtu little interview (as will be quite apparent ) but it was fun. Our interview is right below

halseanderson 's which he did last year.

Check out his teen reviews while you're there. It's always inspiring to hear teen talk about books. 

Back to the last tweaks . . . (I hope)

 

 

 

Whew! What a whirlwind! Here's a quick breakdown of the long weekend!

Friday
Arrived! I stayed at the Disneyland Hotel. Gloved Mickey Mouse hands held the sconce lamps on either side of my bathroom mirror.I guess it's to be expected when you are at the magical kingdom. And the mouse ears on the shampoo bottles were pretty cute too.



Saturday

In the morning I had my signing for The Adoration of Jenna Fox. It was great to see so many LJ'ers! Thanks for coming! I also had a lot of YA book people come--bloggers, librarians, etc-- who I knew from online but finally got to meet.

That night I had dinner with a dozen other authors, with the Pope in the center of our table presiding over our antics intelligent bookish conversation. The guilty shall remain nameless.



Sunday

Sunday morning came bright and early. I participated in the YALSA speed dating breakfast. One of the librarians at my table videotaped the event and posted it on the YALSA blog, so if you want a taste of the breakfast, check it out. The table she recorded had Barry Lyga, moi, Nancy Werlin, Elizabeth Knox, Margarita Engle, Amy Goldman Koss, and Sherman Alexie.

That night was the Newbery-Caldecott banquet. The only word I can use to describe Brian Selznick's and Laura Amy Schlitz's speeches is SPECTACULAR. They will be posted online at some point--maybe they already are. Be sure to see them. After the banquet I had the pleasure of chatting with authors Linda Sue Park, John Green, and Schneider Family Book Award winner, Tracie Vaughn Zimmer, who was receiving the award at the conference. Congratulations, traciezimmer, Tracie!

Monday

I did a little last minute arc gathering at the exhibits, and then an impromtu interview with Ed Spicer. I think he will be posting it at his review site before too long. That is, if it makes any sense. Nancy Werlin and I "interviewed" each other, and by Monday we were both feeling a little giddy.

That night was the Printz reception where my friend, Amanda Jenkins, was receiving the Printz Honor Award for her book Repossessed. Her speech was magnificent, as were all of the award winners. Geraldine McAbercrombyandFitch unfortunately couldn't come to accept her Printz Award for The White Darkness, so her much more interesting "au pair" accepted the award for her. But her speech was magnificent too. Be sure to read them all.

Tuesday

Returned home loaded down with books and dead tired, but there was good news waiting that perked me up pretty fast. The Adoration of Jenna Fox sold foreign rights to two more countries--Japan and Finland! Very cool.

And now, I am busy catching up and eager to begin reading all these great books that are stacked up everywhere. Also eager to get back to writing. I have had a little hiatus and I am feeling the itch to face a blank page. Wonders never cease.

1. Love what everyone had to say about stereotypes yesterday. I wonder if writerross has a pretty Bertha in her future . . .

2. At BEA I did an impromptu interview for School Library Journal's new online teen newsletter. I thought it was quite interesting that the interviewer, Dodie Ownes, picked up on the "grandmother theme" in my last two books. I think it is probably something you wouldn't notice if you hadn't read them back to back. hm. Do I have grandmother issues?

3. In other book news: Our own d_michiko_f has posted an interview with me on her website.
Also, The Adoration of Jenna Fox is an ALAN's Picks for the month of June on their newly redesigned site.

4. Simply awesome: JK Rowling's speech at the Harvard commencement.
http://harvardmagazine.com/go/jkrowling.html
Gives you a lot to ponder on the absolute need for imagination.

5. Sun is shining. I love summer.

Whew, it was only three days, but what a jam-packed whirlwind!

I arrived on Friday at my hotel, the Westin Bonaventure. It is a gorgeous hotel with fountains everywhere in the lobby, including this one where two fish are blowing a streamed arch of water to walk under. Cool, huh?


I grabbed my badge which was waiting for me and raced to the convention center so I could make it in time for marperez's signing for DEAD IS THE NEW BLACK. Unfortunately I got there just as they closed her line. But I could see her at her table packing up and I pleaded with the gate guard to let me by for a quick hello.

After a hug and getting a copy of DEAD (yay!) we were walking away chatting, and there among the 30,000 people at BEA, we ran into d_michiko_f! I was going to have to leave early Sunday morning so I would miss Debbi's signing, but I was so happy we got a few minutes to say hi before I had to leave to go get ready for the ABA Not A Dinner Dinner.

Back at my hotel, after a quick change, I hurried to the lobby where a whole bunch of us Macmillan authors, publishers, and such were meeting to drive to the dinner. Carl, and his human, Alexandra Day, were there too. Here is Carl, with his babysitter for the evening, and Laura Godwin. Usually he is unleashed, but he was about to hit the streets for a walk.

Carl is probably the most laid back, well-behaved dog I have ever seen. But we all know, that Carl is special. I wouldn't be surprised if he had an adventure with a baby or two while we were gone.


At the ABA Not A Dinner Dinner, I met up with too many authors, booksellers, and publishers to name. I was so busy yakking, I forgot to eat. Dumb. I wish I would have tried those mashed potato martinis. Check out lisayee's blog for a glimpse of the food. But the yakking was fun. Got to meet some new people, and catch up with old friends too. Oh, and I bid on a piece of art at the silent auction. I didn't win though. It was a pencil drawing of Library Lion. Beautiful.

The next morning I signedThe Adoration of Jenna Fox. It went by too fast! My agent, who sat next to me, said I was quite the gabber. Okay, I think we are seeing a theme here. Gab, yak, gab, yak. hm. But when you meet people in your line, you kind of actually want to MEET them. But I only had an hour to sign and the line was long so I had to curtail my chatting.

Afterwards I had a little free time and managed to snag a few arcs. My agent got THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins for me, and later I picked up IMPOSSIBLE by Nancy Werlin, and PAPER TOWNS by John Green. There were more I wanted to get, like THE POSSIBILITIES OF SAINTHOOD by Donna Frietas, and several others, but I was called for an impromtu interview and never finished my rounds! But I have plenty of reading material to keep me busy for a while anyway. And ALA is coming soon.

That night was the Macmillan Party at the LA Central Public Library, which is gorgeous. The party was in a room with marble floors and painted ceilings. I felt like I was in a museum. When I walked in I was surprised to see a big shiny poster of JENNA. Laura Godwin, the publisher at Holt, and I took a quick snapshot . . .


and then hit the dessert table which was magnificent. Meringues, chocolate dipped strawberries, crepes, and more. Yum. Several authors, including myself, gave brief talks, and I got to meet some booksellers who I knew online but had never met in person. It was a fun evening. The only downside was my shoes. They have a three hour limit and one minute past that and my toes turn to pumpkins. How do you spell relief? I walked barefoot back to my hotel.

Oh, and Carl was there. And he never begged for a single dessert. Good dog, Carl.

I visited a book club yesterday at Valley Middle School who had read The Adoration of Jenna Fox It was fun to talk with them and hear their thoughts. One girl asked if Jenna could eat cold food. My mind immediately flashed to ice cream. No ice cream? Just can't let my mind go there. Anyway, it is always fun to see what things readers will focus in on.

I leave for BEA tomorrow. Lots of meetings (will get to see my agent and film agent!), dinners (good food and good talk!), and signings (there are a billion at least) that I'm looking forward to. If you are going be sure to stop by the Henry Holt booth. They are giving away free signed copies of The Adoration of Jenna Fox beginning on Friday, I believe. I will be signing more books on Saturday at 9:30, table 10 so please come and keep me company!

A lot of my pals will be there signing too.

Marlene Perez on Friday at 3:00
Debby Garfinkle on Saturday at 9:30 (same time as me--see you can get a 2fer!)
Debbi Michiko Florence on Sunday at 11:00
Nancy Werlin on Saturday at 4:00
Kathleen Krull and Paul Brewer on Saturday at 11:00
Dave Barry on Friday at 2:00 (okay, he is not a pal, but he does crack me up.)

Here is the complete signing schedule of a gazillion authors.

See? I wasn't exaggerating.