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Two Great Things
February 15th, 2012Yesterday, I was at my favorite coffeehouse in Decatur, Java Monkey, and I saw this on their bulletin board:
I thought it was pretty terrific. And for those of you who don’t quite get it:
It is almost as great as the E-GALLEY FOR BEING FRIENDS WITH BOYS, which is available now thanks to Simon & Schuster’s Galley Grab. If you are a teacher, reviewer, librarian or official blogger, follow this link (http://www.galleygrab.com/?asset_url=9781442431447) and apply to receive a copy. I’m excited that this is finally available, and I’m looking forward to seeing what everyone thinks!!
Songs in my Head Upon Waking in the Last Week
“Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” by U2; “We’re Still Fighting,” by Ben Folds; “I Love the Way You Hold Me,” by some girl I don’t know; “Number One,” by Goldfrapp; “Wait In Vain,” by Bob Marley; “I Will Always Love You,” by Whitney Houston*; “Will You Ever Love Yourself?” by Hammock
*Yes, not surprisingly, this was the morning after I found out she died.
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Why I Love Valentine’s Day
February 8th, 2012
A lot of people I know (both in relationships, and not), hate Valentine’s Day. To them, Valentine’s Day means only one thing: cheesy coupledom. And then only in a commercial sense. February 14th represents the materialistic necessity to BUY something stupid that Proves You Are In A Relationship: cards, chocolate, flowers from somewhere-that-isn’t-local, needless diamond tennis bracelets, etc.
And I completely understand where they’re coming from. Valentine’s Day, whether you have a valentine or not, can be ridiculous. I remember myself in 7th grade, spending hard-earned babysitting dollars on bleached-out carnations for all of my friends. I sweated in homeroom over the order form, making sure I’d included EVERYONE, so that no one’s feelings got hurt. I’m sure I still have pimple scars from the stress it caused. And, yet, where are those carnations now? Did they even matter, when they were delivered then? Stupid tradition. I have also, of course, watched jealously as girls with boyfriends made starry-eyed plans for the 14th, while I gnashed my teeth around how “happy” I was for them.
It’s easy to be cynical about Valentine’s Day, because there’s so much that’s silly about it, including the mascot. (A naked baby with heart shaped arrows? Come on.)
And yet, I love Valentine’s Day.
I love the roses. I love the chocolate. I love the stupid plastic heart garlands for sale at Party City, and I love the “Doctor Quinn, Medicine Woman” commercials for those diamond pendants she’s selling now.
Because, to me, Valentine’s Day is more than Victoria’s Secret underwear, more than a Sweetheart Steak dinner. Instead, it’s all about love. REAL love. And sure that means real love between you and your partner-if-you-have-one (or even just the crush kind you have on the guy you pass in the halls), but it also means the love between you and everyone else you like to have around, especially your friends.
I mean, how often do we really tell our friends how much they mean to us? 
Maybe once in awhile, in a fist bump or by buying them lunch, but not always in so many words. And for me, Valentine’s Day is that day. It’s an opportunity to reach out to all the friends I adore, and say to them, “I love you.” Or, at least, “I really, really dig you a lot, man.” It’s a chance for me to get out all my decoupage supplies, and spend some decent time making a card that I will send slow-style, USPS, in order to convey to someone else: I AM GLAD THAT YOU ARE IN MY LIFE. I like this tradition more than I like my birthday.
So, I know it’s an annoying holiday. Even a Valentine lover like me can do a whopping eyeroll at some of the chintzy stuff that’s out there. But this year, give Valentine’s day a chance. Go ahead and buy that three-foot-tall mylar balloon in the shape of a teddy bear squeezing a glittering heart dripping flower petals. Give it to your BFF. Or even just your co-worker. Spread a bag of pink Hershey’s kisses around in the grocery store line. Write sweet, inspiring anonymous notes and slip them in your friends’ lockers. Hold somebody’s hand. Get yourself some flowers. Use this day as your annual opportunity to spread a little extra love around, cheesy as it may be.
(Because –I’ll tell you a secret– it isn’t that cheesy, after all.)
Songs in my Head Upon Waking in the Last Week:
“Feel My Love,” Bob Dylan; “I See the Rain,” Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoff; “What Will You Do When Your Suntan Fades?” Beulah; “Why Should I Cry?” Sting; “Who Says,” Selena Gomez; “Candyman,” Christina Aguilera; “I Wish I was the Moon,” Neko Case
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Making Soundtracks for Your Books Is Fun
February 2nd, 2012So, I’m currently between books. What this means is that I am in the small lull between finishing typing the first draft of WIP #5, and actually printing it out to read it, but I am also waiting for the paperback release (April 3rd) of The Summer of Firsts and Lasts AND the release (May 1st, people) of my newest book, Being Friends with Boys.
Which means, I miss my projects. Sure, it’s great to have a little time now to do things like, oh, I don’t know, have lunch with a friend, or read a few books, or experiment with new recipes, but after a few days of not being in the world of one or another of my characters, I start to miss them.
So it’s awesome that I made soundtracks for each of my books when they got released.
Now, whenever I miss the mood of, say, Camille in After the Kiss, or Brynn in The Summer of Firsts and Lasts, all I have to do is go to my iTunes, pull up whichever playlist I’m into, and can bop (or drift, as the case may be) to the appropriate tunes.
Here’s what the soundtrack for The Summer of Firsts and Lasts looks like:
INTRO: Voicedude’s Summertime Suite
CALLA AND VIOLET SEE DUNCAN AND JAMES ON ARRIVAL: I Think I’m In Love With You, Jessica Simpson
WHAT VIOLET DOESN’T WANT TO ADMIT: Teenage Dream, Katy Perry
STATING THE OBVIOUS: My Sister, Juliana Hatfield Three
“GOT TO BE SOMEONE WE CAN TRUST OUT HERE AMONG US”: Three Marlenas, The Wallflowers
DAISY’S PEACE: Running To Stand Still, U2
VIOLET & CALLA AT THE LAKESIDE: You and Me of the 10,000 Wars, Indigo Girls
ODE TO BRYNN, IN TRUTH: Nightswimming, R.E.M.
ODE TO BRYNN IN TRUTH, AND IN ACTING COOL: Me and Bobby McGee, Janis Joplin
DAISY LEARNS SOMETHING IMPORTANT: You Never Can Tell, Chuck Berry
WHAT WAS GOING THROUGH VIOLET’S HEAD THAT NIGHT: All the Way, Ladytron
THE SONG DUNCAN WILL FEEL TOO MUCH TO, YEARS LATER: Summer Skin, Death Cab For Cutie
ALL CALLA CAN THINK: You Don’t Love Me, Matthew Sweet
EVEN MONTGOMERY IS IN THIS SONG: What It Feels Like For A Girl, Madonna
WHAT A WICKED COVER: Ice Cream Man, Tom Waits
JAMES HEARS THIS SONG AND SMILES: Summer Girls, LFO
I’m already working on the soundtrack now for Being Friends with Boys, and I can tell you that The National is featured heavily, since they’re whom I listened to the most while I was writing.
I’ll be printing out the draft of WIP #5 before too long, and then my head will turn to other thoughts, but for now I’m having fun reminiscing, and hope this is an idea that might be fun for you to try, too!
Songs in my Head Upon Waking in the Past Week:
“Angel in Snow,” A-Ha; “Down By the Water,” the Drums; “Dynamite Pressure,” DJ Tripp; “Bad Romance,” Lady Gaga; “No Son of Mine,” Genesis; “Say You Love Me,” Beyonce; “I’m No Good,” Amy Winehouse
Posted in Summer of Firsts and Lasts | 1 Comment »
I Love Doing School Visits!
January 25th, 2012The past week was a terrific one for two reasons: 1) I finished the first draft of my fifth book, which felt really good, and 2) I got to do not one, but TWO school visits!
Thanks so much to the 8th grade students at CrossPointe Christian Academy:
And undergrad & grad writing students at SCAD (at the beautiful Ivy Hall):
for being such terrific listeners, great question-askers, and willing participants in some writing exercises that may have been a bit strange at first.
Getting to visit classrooms of readers and writers (whether they are in sixth grade, or tenth grade, or college, or grad school) is such a kick for me. I’ve been reading, and studying writing, just about my whole life, and so it’s really exciting to me to get to hang out with other people who are doing the same thing, no matter what age they are. I love sharing what I know about writing, the publishing industry, the bookselling world, and what great things there are to read, and I love hearing what new writers are interested in knowing, and answering their questions. (Like, “Why are there petals missing from the flower on the cover of Pure,” “How would you define the YA genre?” and “Are you rich?”) Getting to lead a writing exercise or two is especially fun, because I get to share some of the keen tricks I learned from my own teachers, with a whole new crop of writers. Seeing what their imaginations and talents come up with is even better than completing a satisfying writing session of my own.
If you are interested in having me come visit your school or class, workshop or festival, please do contact me and let me know. It is definitely one of my favorite parts of being an author!
Songs in my Head Upon Waking in the Last Week:
“Reading Rainbow,” by Jimmy Fallon (as Jim Morrison); “I’m . . . Matt Damon,” by Sarah Silverman; “Save the Lies,” by Gabriella Cilmi; “Run to Me,” by Susanna Hoff & Matthew Sweet; “Ghost on the Dance Floor,” by Blink 182; “I’m Yours,” by Jason Mraz; “Empire State of Mind,” by Jay-Z (featuring Alicia Keys)
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The Funniest Song I Heard in 2011
January 18th, 2012WordPress is acting all weird for me lately, and hiding its toolbar whenever I log in. This keeps me from being able to add links in my posts (and, no, I don’t know code, so I can’t do it myself), which means today I am not going to be able to post any of the blogs I’ve been thinking about, on issues like The Importance of Indies, What I Think About The Goodreads Review Argument Going On, and Why Authors Tweet. Knowing me and my technology handicap, likely by the time this gets fixed, these issues may not be very timely. (Well, except the Indie thing–that’s always timely.)
In the meantime therefore, I want to leave you with possibly the funniest song I heard in 2011 (and I watched a lot of “Flight of the Conchords.”) Even if you never saw the old TV show “Reading Rainbow,” which you should one day see, this is still great.
Happy week, everybody. And take a look! It’s in a book!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBTie0F_BCc
Songs in my Head Upon Waking in the Last Week
“Yes,” by LMFAO; “Blue Eyes,” by Cary Brothers; “Jesus He Knows Me,” by Phil Collins; jumbled mix of lots of things; “Brothers on a Hotel Bed,” by Death Cab for Cutie; “England,” by The National; “Angel,” by Gavin Friday
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