mary e. pearson

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!

I just got the coolest email.  It was from a girl who wanted to share a fun coincidence with me.  She had no idea what The Miles Between was about but began reading it on October 19th and finished reading it today, October 20th. 

October 19th has significant meaning in the book and these are the two days on which the story takes place.  She said it must have been her "destiny" to read the book.  I think so.

She also wished Destiny and Caroline a happy birthday.    Me too. : )

Has reached its destination! We have traveled through:

California
Texas
Missouri
Florida
North Carolina
Illinois
Wisconsin
Connecticut
Massachusetts
Ohio
New Jersey
Vermont

And some of these states we have visited multiple times!

Now, take a deep breath.  The ARC has visited . . . 

with seals on piers, haunted hotels, YA sections in libraries, antique car shows, cow pastures, cow towns, coffee shops, mysterious gates guarded by giant stone cats, butterfly caterpillars, a Portuguese bakery, an enormous milk bottle, the zoo, a silver buffalo, a Thunderbird air show, a beautiful university, a bookstore shelf (for practice!), the beach, a restaurant where Destiny wrote on the tablecloth, the tin man, a bus, a giant silver bean (Cloud Gate), botanical gardens, a hugemongus high heel shoe sculpture (Mira loved that one!), an observatory, teachers, librarians and writers on a deck, an ice cream cow menu, a tractor, chicks (the peeping kind), a pie-eater at the fair, the Bronze Fonz, and lions, and tigers, and bears--oh my! And drumroll . . . yes, even the kitchen sink (I kid you not) at  Main Street Books in Missouri.

Whew.

This has been a wondrous journey of epic proportions, and more fun and quirky than I ever could have imagined. Your miles have been fabulous! Thank you to each and every one of you road-trip bloggers who climbed into the car and shared your worlds with us. They really are something.

And now the trip is complete. The ARC has arrived in New York City!  My editor was happy to report that she gave the ARCs a nice NY welcome and gave them a tour of the Henry Holt offices at the historic Flatiron Building.    I think they felt quite at home with the skyline view of the city.  It has sort of a surreal look, don't you think?

 

And of course there is this shot looking down at the street.    The Flatiron Building is a pie shape so from this point of the pie it feels like you are hanging right out over the street. Wouldn't you love to have that view every day from your office?  As you may notice, there are only three ARC's that made it to NY.  One is MIA, but I am sure it will turn up.  It probably took an irresistable side trip down a country road.  You know how road trips can be.

 

And finally she took a shot of all the wonderful notes inside the ARCs.  I can't wait to get the ARCs myself and read them all. 



Thanks for the great pictures, Kate!

Thank you all again for sharing this journey with me. It was a blast.  Destiny thanks you too.

Tomorrow is the big day--the official publication date of The Miles Between.  Wow, here at last.   Hooray!

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.

Since we are in the middle of a road trip, I thought we should know WHERE we are going, right?  Bone up on our geography!  So, if you dare. . .  take the test, and post your scores! (and see if you're smarter than a fifth grader)


 
Sadly, I think most fifth graders will do better than me.  My scores for locating the states were:

78% correct
49 miles average error
457 seconds

That means almost 1/4 of the time I will be getting us lost!  Or at least 49 miles off course!

Whoever has the best score will be hailed the Geography Queen or King and get shotgun for the rest of the trip.

And I wish I could just play chopsticks--with my fingers!

Just a quick last note before I head off for LA.  I am not normally the starstruck giddy fan type.  I am just as likely to be enthralled by a chance encounter with a stranger as any celebrity.  But I have to admit that I gave a little squeal (okay, a big squeal) when I found out I was going to be signing in the same booth at the same time as JANIS IAN!  My god, I grew up in my teen years with Janis Ian!  Not literally, but I listened to her on the radio and tapes (yes, tapes back then) all the time.  She is amazing.  Listen to this clip on YouTube of her singing Society's Child when she was only 16!   When I was 16 I was still trying to figure out how to tie my shoes.  
 

Off to LA!  Hope I see you there!

So last night, the kids are all here for dinner, and I ask them want they want for dinner on Easter Sunday.  Usually I always make a lamb and a ham.  But I thought I would forego the ham this year since we end up with so much left over that doesn't seem to get eaten and maybe make lamb and a beef roast (two of our kids don't eat lamb which my husband and I love so I have to have an alternate)  A nice beef tenderloin seemed like a good alternate, right?

Um, no.

Before I know what is happening, they are all gabbing about having something else entirely.  Not an Easter alternate at all.  Not in my world anyway.  Until now.

It seems that on Sunday--the day I usually drag out my China and cloth napkins, we are going to have . . .

hot dogs

okay, I guess my mom isn't going to see this so I will say it again, kind of in the loud voice I used last night:

Hot dogs!?


Yep.  But I bow to the consenus.  They want a whole hot dog bar.  All the toppings from here to there.  My husband was the worst of them, naming about ten different toppings we could have with them.  I mean, how many hot dogs can any one person eat?  hmph, I may still drag out the China and napkins anyway.

On another note, a friend sent me this warning about holiday identify theft this season.  Consider yourselves all warned.  Be careful out there:








Watch our for those imposters!

 Me.
 
Well, not me.

I am going to a cooking class tonight with my husband and some friends.  I've taken cooking classes before but never with my hubby--should be fun--and interesting. 

All I have had to eat today is yogurt and my stomach is rumbling and I keep thinking about what we are making tonight.  Here is the menu:

Beet Salad with Candied Walnuts
Asparagus Rissotto
Steak Diane
Champagne Zabaglione

A bit more than our usual Friday night pizza.  I really have no idea what Champagne Zabaglione is, but I am assuming it is some kind of dessert.  Hm, a very good dessert.  Maybe even a tipsy dessert?

If any of the dishes are knockouts I will post the recipe.  The Asparagus Rissotto is especially calling me . . .




 

I have been having such a great time over at Readergirlz this month.  Last week we had a live chat that was a whirlwind but so much fun too.  Lots of questions and conversations!  It was like going to a big family gathering where you haven't seen everyone in a long time, like Thanksgiving, and everyone is talking at once and you miss a conversation here or there because you are so busy talking. 

There were some really interesting, thought-provoking conversations spawned by the various questions that were asked.  I missed a few questions entirely and I hope to answer a few of them later in the week. Here is the chat log if you want to check out the craziness and fun.

Meanwhile, Little Willow posted a fun challenge:  Create your own version of the cover of The Adoration of Jenna Fox.  I love what she did!  And Paradox created an amazing cover that blew me away.  So I decided to take up the challenge, but I did it with my own twist.

This is the cover for The Adoration of Rex and Spot:




Hey d_michiko_f do you recognize that butterfly? 

I have a few other blue butterflies around here that I have collected--one that is all glitz and glitter, another that is beautiful aqua glass, and another that is beaded on a purse.  I wonder what versions those could be . . .

. . . EVERYONE is Irish!

And I am celebrating my Irish roots, the Nolans, and the Rileys.  I have a bit on each side of my gene pool--the green sides. I'll make the traditional corned beef and cabbage too. But I think I will pass on the green beer.

Did you see the White House fountains? I hope Michelle told the girls that the leprechauns did it.

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!

Wicked fun humor over at Alien Onion.  

All writers MUST check this out.  Those editors know how to poke fun--even at themselves.

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!

I am going to a birthday party this afternoon.

A very special birthday party.

A 105th birthday party!  The last party I went to for this lady was her 100th.  She wore high heels and danced--and I am not talking slow dancing.  This gal shook a leg.

What?  Is 105 the new 40?

I grabbed this from beckylevine

Three jobs I have had in my life:
1. Baker
2. Artist
3. Teacher

Three places I have lived:
1. Lakewood, CA
2. Santa Ana, CA
3. Encinitas, CA

Three TV Shows That I Watch
1. 60 Minutes 
2. Two and a Half Men
3. Boston Legal 

Three Places I Have Been
1.  Down in a sewer chasing ducks
2.  In an emergency room for a black widow bite
3.  In the middle of Lake Powell during their storm of the century

oh, you mean PLACES
1. Austria
2. Provence
3. Matzatlan

Three People Who Email Me Regularly
1. Some fellow in Nigeria who thinks I am so "dear"
2. A pharmacy who thinks I have body parts that I don't have (every freaking day)
3. PW Daily

Three of My Favorite Foods
1. Salads
2. Burritos
3. Ice Cream

Three People I Think Will Respond
1.  I think almost everyone already has.
2.  If you are the lone ranger,
3.  then this is your chance 

Three Things I am Looking Forward To
1.  Paris and meeting the French publisher of JENNA next week!
2.  Beginning a new writing project!
3.  San Antonio and NCTE/ALAN!

A couple quick updates:

The So Cal Independent Bookseller Award finalists have been announced!

An LJ friend sent me this: I've been haikued.

Love it. I think this is my all time shortest review.

Here is a challenge for you all:
Haiku one of your favorite books but don't tell me the title. Let's see if we can figure it out.

Here's mine:

Disreputable
girl turns tables on guys
by being clever

Like I mentioned yesterday, we didn't really know for sure where we were going other than our first night in Santa Ynez. For those of you who are not familiar with California, just above Los Angeles is the coastal city of Santa Barbara, and then just above that if you head inland, you will find the small Danish community of Solvang. And then tucked just behind Solvang are the smaller communities of Santa Ynez and Los Olivos.

When I say small, I really mean small--the main streets are not much longer than two school buses put end to end. Of late they have enjoyed a bit of "celebrity" since they were featured in the movie Sideways. But they are still essentially the same small picturesque towns they always were.

The landscape surrounding them is beautiful. My snapshot taken out the window as we were driving doesn't do it justice, but the towns are nestled in golden rolling hills dotted with big beautiful oak trees.

I think a lot of people conjure up pictures of glitz, freeways, Jacuzzis, and concrete when they think of California--and yes we do have that--but that is just a small part of what California is all about.

We stayed the night at a small bed and breakfast in Santa Ynez and the next day we drove to the neighboring town of Los Olivos. We walked up one side of the main street and down the other and peeked in the Fess Parker Inn while we were there. Over the fireplace in the lobby is a picture of a large standard poodle. It seemed a little out of place and I asked someone there about it. It is Fess Parker's poodle. Somehow, I didn't quite picture Fess Parker as being a poodle man. Wouldn't you guess a retriever or a hound dog?

We walked a little farther down the street and came to an eclectic gift shop with new and used items sprawled out onto the sidewalk.




And then . . . what is that?

Do I see what I think I'm seeing?




A purple Adirondack?

Now I know that probably wouldn't catch most people's attention, but I have a serious soft spot for purple Adirondacks. And I've never seen one before! Except in my imagination that is--and in A Room on Lorelei Street. Opal, one of the characters in the story, had one in her garden. An old, much painted over Adirondack, that was now currently purple. For me it continues to be a symbol of nourishment and taking a moment to refresh your soul and dreams.

I SO wanted that Adirondack to take home with me, but 1) it was expensive, and 2) it wouldn't fit in our tiny car.

But seeing it was enough. It made me smile.

And then there were the Main Street cats that made me smile too, but I will post that tomorrow . . .

I saw that the awesome Cynthia Leitich Smith is having a giveaway for her book Tantalize to celebrate the paperback which will hit stores July 22nd. 

But besides the paperback she is also giving away T-shirts. How fun to have Tshirts that fit with the theme of your book. I especially cracked up at this one, "Cell Phones Will Be Eaten" .  I'd like that one! Yes, I have a cell phone, but I try to use it discreetly, if you know what I mean. (As not yelling into it in public so the whole world is party to your one-way conversation.) 

But I digress. I think her book has so many tasty possibilities for quippy Tshirt sayings. I was trying to think what I would put on a JENNA Tshirt and came up blank. I just know I would make it blue.

Anyway, if you want a chance to win a free book and a cool Tshirt, get thee over to Cynsations .

Back to work.   And sheesh I have to clean this office . . .

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.

I know I have yet to post my BEA pics and report, but I just got back from an awesome school visit, sooo . . .

Why was this visit awesome?

Pajama Day!


Yep. There I am in the library and the students begin arriving in their PJ's. Darn, I wish I would have known. Rolling straight out of bed and into my car works any day for me. But there are lots of other reasons why the visit was awesome too:

1. The students had already read my book and were eager to talk books and ask questions. And they asked some terrific ones. You can always tell when students are prepared for a visit. We all get more out of it. (And hey they had some great slippers too. I think we all need to have a pajama day once a month, don't you think?)

2. San Pasqual school is so unique. I visited there a few years ago (and blogged about it) and was blown away by the beauty, the architecture, the staff, and the students.

3. Librarian Goddess, Teri MacDonald, who was responsible for all the above mentioned preparation.

4. And not only that, I had another Librarian Goddess, Vicki Reed, from the SDCOE who arranged the whole visit, and accompanied me.

L to R, Vicki, moi, and Teri, in front of the spectacular library "barn" with reading silo.


What a difference both of these librarians make, to make sure that no child is left behind in the truest sense. Not to get all sappy, but reading is where it's at. Period. Empower kids with the right book for them and you open their worlds. I've seen it happen over and over again. And that's what these ladies do. Okay, I got sappy. Sorry. But it's true.

Tomorrow, BEA!