Other Stuff
Just a salute to the iconic pin-up girl who always had a sunny smile, great style and the Best. Bangs. Ever. Am I right?
PS-Thanks to the Book Girl for putting all the Violet cover story links into one convenient post, and for reviewing Violet by Design!
I couldn't resist this book trailer for Simone Elkeles's new book, Perfect Chemistry, out December 28th. I heard "rap" and I thought "uh-oh," but it's hilarious, and I looove it! What do you think?FYI: if you click on the small words "Watch in High Quality" located on the bottom right of the video, it will give a much better picture. If you haven't had enough, there are outtakes after the jump... PS-Another blog to check out today: Read, Read, Read where I did an inter(re)view with Chelsie about Stephanie Kuehnert's I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone!
Today I'm introducing a new site that I created with my friend Anne: I Heart Daily! I'd love it if everyone would check it out and sign up for our newsletter.Our Mission: "Each day, you'll find out about one thing we think you'll like: The band you should hear, the girl who's making a difference in the world, the new lip gloss color that looks good on everyone, the undiscovered designer who is making amazing clothes. You'll never hear about stuff we hate, just stuff we heart. We're nice that way."
You can also become a fan on facebook and follow us on twitter. Let me know what you think of the site so far... Anne and I are working hard on it!
This week, we've gotten some fun press from NYLON, Ypulse, Folio and Teen Vogue.
Come join our new adventure? Tell your friends (seriously, I would love it if you would bulletin it or blog it or tweet it or post a note to facebook). And email us with feedback--good or bad, really! We're at editors AT iheartdaily.com.
Happy weekend!
PS-Something else to check out today: West of Mars-Win a Book, where you can find out about a gajillion book contests!
Here's a story I wrote for the Dec/Jan issue of Teen Vogue. Some regular blog readers helped me with quotes--thank you! Click for larger versions of each page.Isn't Kristen pretty on the cover? I'm a new fan.
Also, how hilarious is the art they used of Joe Simpson? Perfect!
PS-Another blog to visit today: A new book blogger in town, THOUGHTS ON YA LITERATURE. Say hi!
PPS-Major giveaways going on at Teen Fiction Cafe. Win Amanda Ashby's last ARC of ZOMBIE QUEEN OF NEWBURY HIGH or a signed copy of Sarah Zarr's SWEETHEARTS. Bonus: You get to talk about zombies and body image. Go, go!
The winner of Matthue Roth's hilarious Losers is... (((Renee))) is a {{{loser}}}. Is that fate or what?! Though I'm sure Renee is not a loser. And she has an awesome Taylor Swift song on her profile. Sigh. Send me your address, Renee, the not loser.
Now, this week I want to give away an awesome book that would make a great holiday present... John Green's Looking for Alaska. I know lots of you have read it, and know how truly lovely and smart and funny it is. It really is!
I'll say no more. You can find troves of info online about it, but here's how you win it: Tell me the last 3 things you googled. Seriously! Check your cache. I'm curious. Mine are "random number generator" (to determine last week's contest), "i heart daily" (i'm starting a new site and wanted to see how search results showed up) and "how women act around men" (working on a story for Glamour).
Your turn! What are the last 3 things you googled? Then, you're entered! Extra entry if you post about this contest (or twitter, or status update or do whatever to spread the word).
Happy Wednesday!
This is going to be an economically friendly post about Books & Dresses--two of my favorite things!
Last chance for a signed bookplate for your Violet books. If you want to give one as a gift this holiday season, make it extra special with a personalized bookplate! Just email me with your recipient's name and where I should send it. Easy!
Also, this seems like as good a chance as any to make an argument for giving books as gifts this year (and for putting them on your wish list too!). Luckily, bookreporter.com already did that for me. So go read their reasons.
PS-Another blog to visit today: Style Goodies, where Miss Angel has a fabulous roundup of Forever 21 holiday dresses under $30! (My favorite one is shown above. Yours?)
Happy Tuesday!
Greg Logsted is here to tell a Cover Story this week (that's his final cover at left), and I think he's the first guy I've hosted in this way. Yay, Greg!His novel, Something Happened, is about Billy, an 8th grader struggling with the death of his dad. His mom is very distant, and his friends just don't get what he's going through. His new English teacher, though, the young and beautiful Miss Gate, offers friendship... and maybe more.
I'm really interested to read this book, which was originally going to be a Middle Grade book but then was bumped up to the older age group--Young Adult. I like that it's from the point of view of a 13-year-old boy, too--that feels new to me. Plus: Scandal!
Without further ado, here's Greg:
"My first idea for the cover of Something Happened was the cover image from a movie "Romance & Cigarettes" that had a woman lying on her back, holding a cigarette, wearing red heels and, um, suggestive clothing. Because the original title for Something Happened was "Sock Puppets in Love" - which I scrapped because, great as it was, it didn't fit the serious tone of the book - I thought she could have a sock puppet in her hand instead of the cigarette. Well, of course a cover with a cigarette and a woman in suggestive clothing wasn't appropriate for a YA book - even I recognized that! I did share my "Romance & Cigarette" idea when asked my thoughts - for some odd reason, no one went for it. Btw, I do not smoke.
"The original cover design (left, full jacket) was cartoon-like with a yellow background and a car driving on a zig-zaggy street - a far cry from the beautiful colors and tight sweater we wound up with for the final cover. Truthfully, the original cover was a lot of fun...for a completely different kind of book (just like the original title).
"Because they eventually decided to publish it as a YA rather then a MG, the cover changed. The woman used as a model for the final cover actually works at Simon & Schuster. But she's headless in the picture and no one has ever told me her name, unfortunately. Still, she does look like the kind of woman a teenage boy would find, um, hot.
"As for the final cover, I honestly was pleased with it. I love it."
I think it's pretty enticing too, and it sounds perfect for the mood of the book. What are your thoughts on the covers?
PS-Another blog to visit today: Author Helm Matthews is giving away a copy of Violet on the Runway on his myspace blog. Good luck!
1. flip.com is closing (sad!) so this is your last chance to watch the flipbook I made just before my first book, Violet on the Runway, came out. Here it is, for one more week.2. Come chat with Meg Cabot on the readergirlz forum. I get a thrill every time I ask a question and Meg responds. I'm a dorky fangirl like that. Swing by!
(That's Meg--how cute is she?!)
3. There are a couple of chances to win Violet books this week! Here are the contests I know of:
* Linda Gerber is giving away a copy of Violet in Private, and also the Japanese edition of Mari Mancusi's Boys That Bite! Go here to enter.
* Diana Peterfreund is giving away a signed copy of Violet in Private (she picked it up at the book party this week). Yay! Go here to enter.
* Carmen Rodrigues is giving away a copy of Violet by Design (and other books by your favorite authors). Ends 12/9! Go here to enter.
* And, just for fun, this contest at Yummy 4 Tummies (it's a baking site!), gives you the chance to win one of four $25 gift cards. Go here to enter.
Happy Sunday!
I was interviewed in the NY Times this week about my record collection, which was fun. Of course, the way I describe sitting on the couch with a glass of wine and the lights out makes me sound a little douchebaggy, but I think The Times likes that sort of thing.I really liked talking to the writer, Roy Furchgott. He knows a lot more about records than I do, and that was interesting.
A photographer, the awesome Angela Jimenez, also came to take pictures, and she snapped the lead photo, where I have no chin. But my skin looks really good, right? Glowing, even? I'll take what I can get.
It was a funny day because the cable guy came at exactly the same time as Angela, so she had to wait around and shoot stills of my records while I showed him how to navigate the basement. But she was really cool and fun to talk to, and we really just sat there chatting and listening to albums like New Order and Bishop Allen.
Happy Friday!
PS-Something else to know about: Yahoo! Shine's Gifts for the literary fan includes Violet in Private (among lots of great gift ideas). Go find a book that you can give as a gift!
I had a really fun book party last night at Butter (totally where Blair Waldorf eats) with Gamer Girl author Mari Mancusi, who rules. Here she is signing her book. Isn't she pretty in purple?
Also there (with me) were awesome authors Bennett Madison (The Lulu Dark mysteries) and Deborah Gregory (Cheetah Girls series and Catwalk).
And Mari and I got to rub elbows with Scott Westerfeld (Uglies) and Diana Peterfreund (Rampant). They came with fellow fabulous authors Justline Larbalestier and Maureen Johnson.
And my ELLEgirls were there too! Here's me in the center of Linnea, Mariel, Erin and Marie.
Mari put games on the table, so here's Becky, Jeff and Dave getting into Hungry, Hungry Hippos.
Thanks to everyone who came and celebrated with us--too many awesome people to name. Also, thanks to Butter, and to Clarins and Lierac for the gift bag contributions. We had a blast!
PS-Something else to know about today: Flip cams going to non-profits so they can document the cool stuff they do (great idea!).