"WORDS ARE, IN MY NOT-SO-HUMBLE OPINION, OUR MOST INEXHAUSTIBLE SOURCE OF MAGIC. CAPABLE OF BOTH INFLICTING INJURY, AND REMEDYING IT." ~ALBUS DUMBLEDORE

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Oh Yeah, Glamour. That's RIGHT.

So the other day, I was getting my hair did and flipping through Glamour when I came across something that made me smile.

Can you find it?


Need a closer look?


Yep. I mean, they're just stating the obvious, but still. It made me happy :)

Though, instead of titling this "Hey, it's OK," I'd call it: "Hey, it's AWESOME . . . "

Duh.

Monday, September 19, 2011

M is for Monday, and it's also for . . .

MUSIC!!

And when I had this amazingly deep revelation about the letter M, I took it as a sign that I should share another song from my WIP playlist :)

So this one is Emily Browning's version of "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)." Some of the lyrics absolutely fit my WIP--but I also just love the mood of the music and the sound of her voice.

This is from the Sucker Punch soundtrack. If you haven't seen the movie yet, I wouldn't bother. It's very pretty and the soundtrack is amazing (I write to it quite frequently!), but the plot is . . . meh. IMO, anyway.





How were your weekends? I want to hear everything!


PS For more songs from my playlist, click here! 

Thursday, September 15, 2011

We write for teens, so we should know about them, right?

I promise I'm not going to do the double post thing everyday where I tell you to go check out something on YA Confidential. (I mean, hopefully you'll do that anyway!) But I'm a little nervous / excited / thrilled about my post over there today, and I'm really hoping you'll stop by.

See, I interviewed my friend Kacey. She's 15 and talks all about books, bullying, drugs, and the teenage life. She gave me such fantastic information . . . Stuff that I will definitely keep in mind while writing.

So, please--instead of commenting on this post today, will you come over to YA Confidential and say hello to Kacey instead?

I'll love ya forever.

(I'll do that anyway.)


xoxo

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Yep, It's Another ARC Giveaway!

Clearly, I'm super excited about our new YA blog, YA Confidential! So to celebrate, I'm having an ARC giveaway!

BUT. Before I tell you what I'm giving away, I should tell you that we're also having an ARC giveaway at YA Confidential. 

AND at YA Confidential there are agent critiques being offered as well!!

So, hop over there too, because you could win:
  • A query critique from agent Sarah LaPolla of Curtis Brown, LTD
  • A five-page critique from agent Vickie Motter of Andrea Hurst & Associates
  • ARC: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
  • ARC: The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
  • ARC: Legend by Marie Lu
  • ARC: Crossed (Matched #2) by Ally Condie
  • Finished copy of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin


And now, onto MY personal celebratory giveaway! 

LOOK AT ALL THE PRETTIES UP FOR GRABS!!

(Titles link to Goodreads descriptions.)

Eve by Anna Carey
Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon
Tris & Izzie SIGNED by Mette Ivie Harrison
Everybody Sees the Ants SIGNED by Printz honoree A. S. King
Variant by Robison Wells










So, basically, it's the same deal as usual.

The contest
  • is open internationally
  • is easy to enter
    • all you have to do is leave your name / email / location / book choice (in the form)
  • has lots of ways to earn extra entries (see the form)
  • closes September 30th
All I ask, is that if you win you find a way to spread the word about anything and everything you liked about the ARC. 


And good luck!
xo

Monday, September 12, 2011

Wanna Know Something Kinda Cool?

So there's a new YA group in the blogosphere . . . and *I* get to be a part of it!!

I am super excited to tell you that YA Confidential is live as of today--so if you're a fellow YA reader / writer / lover come check us out!

The deal is this: YA Confidential is allll about the teen perspective. Seriously, we even have our own group of teen spies who will be giving the teen lowdown. Teen crits of YOUR pages. Teen roundtables. Teen interviews. Teen reviews.

And, of course, everything else YA-related.

I'd tell you more . . . but then I'd have to kill you.

Sike.

Really, I'd tell you more, but it's all over on the new blog! Today, you get to meet all of the operatives. Tomorrow, our teen spies. And then Wednesday? We're having a HUGE mega giveaway to celebrate our launch! Agent crits, YA ARCs, and some other fun prizes.

And, I mean . . . I *may* even have an ARC contest here to celebrate as well.

Maybe.

Probably.

Okay, definitely.

So what are you waiting for?? Come on over and say hello!

My OPERATIVE photo. Shhhh. Don't tell anyone.


xoxo

Friday, September 9, 2011

Friday Funny: Thug Story Edition

Happy Friday, dudes!

I heart Taylor Swift. Love her songs--plus, I mean, she's just so cute. I can't handle it.

Enjoy!

I uploaded the vid from my computer because the official one on youtube kept freezing--but the link for that one is HERE if you want it!

PS Want some more funnies? CLICK HERE

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

I mean, I really couldn't have said it better . . .

source

So, what's up with you guys? Reading anything that's got you spellbound these days? 


Two books recently affected me this way: Chime (Franny Billingsley) and Blood Red Road (Moira Young). I so so SO highly recommend them both!

Also, how fabulous is Colin Firth? I adore him.

xoxo