The Contemps!

I've teamed up with a group of 21 YA authors who have contemporary fiction releasing in 2011: The Contemps!Readers who read 18 of our 21 releases over the year are eligible for a prize package full of great stuff. Check it out: Can I just show the list of the company I'm in (which makes me swoon)? * April Henry * Brent Crawford * Courtney Summers * Daisy Whitney * Denise Jaden * Elizabeth Scott * Emily Wing Smith * Hannah Harrington * Jo Knowles * Kirsten Hubbard * Kody Keplinger * Kristen Tracy * Lindsey Leavitt * Lisa Schroeder * Melissa Walker * Michael Northrop * Micol Ostow * Mindi Scott * Sara Bennett Wealer * Sarah Darer Littman * Sarah Ockler PS-We're on twitter at @YAContemps, and on Facebook here. Join the party, people.

If You Like Sarah Dessen...

How cool is it that the lovely and amazing Ms. Dessen recommended Violet on the Runway, officially, to readers? I feel like I just won a major award. Check out all these fantastic books by Gayle Forman, Elizabeth Scott, John Green, Laurie Halse Anderson and Susane Colasanti -- I've actually read all of these titles, and I can assure you that Sarah D. has good taste! (In books and TV and hometowns, naturally.) Happy Thursday!

Tell Me a Secret Trailer!

The lovely Holly Cupala is the featured author at readergirlz this month. Go check out the discussions and Tell Me a Secret love! The trailer for her book is a work of art in itself. Check it out, and share it for a shot at winning tons of prizes (info here). (Kind of the best book trailer I've seen in a while!) Happy Tuesday!

Authors Telling Secrets

Holly Cupala's Tell Me a Secret blog tour has been all over the map, and it's winding down this week with a huge Trailer Release Party (tomorrow!). Today, she invited some authors to share secrets with her in this totally fun video (my secret comes early!): Happy Sunday!

Local Girls and Rich Boys by Jenny O'Connell

"There are two types of people on the island--those who leave at summer's end... and those who are left behind."How awesome is that tagline? I've been meaning to go to the beach with, well, a book about the beach. And I love the idea of Jenny O'Connell's Local Girls and Rich Boys. Plus, major abs on those covers. It's like a Fitness photo shoot. Want more summer read ideas? This video of Sarah Dessen sharing her favorites is packed with ideas. (Scroll down to the "reviews" section to see the video.) Happy Summer!

Who Loves Ally Carter?

I do! Have you guys read her books? If not, you are missing out.Seriously, I'm reading Heist Society right now and I'm amazed at her skill with all the characters and the twists. I love a good caper! This month at readergirlz, we're talking with Ally about the fourth book in her Gallagher Girls series, Only the Good Spy Young. So far, we've hit on codenames, chameleons and different points of view. Also, the live chat? It will rule. It's on Wednesday. On twitter. Happy Sunday!

Courtney Summers on Unlikeable Female Protagonists

The amazing Courtney Summers just wrote a great post "on unlikeable female protagonists", and I had to share a bit of it here (though you really must go read the whole thing).Basically, when people responded to one of her novels saying they loved the guy protagonist, who was not exactly a sweetheart, but hated the girl protagonist, also not sweet (they couldn't connect with her, she was cold, etc). So Courtney says:

"I did a lot of navel-gazing soul-searching and I just kept getting annoyed because my thoughts decided to circle in this way: WHY DO GIRLS HAVE TO BE NICE ALL THE TIME THEY CAN BE MEAN AND ANGRY AND GENDER STEREOTYPING MUCH ARGH. Just. Like. That. I was bothered that the behaviours that are supported, loved, celebrated or romanticized in male characters would be, I thought, rejected in female characters because we have the perception that girls are sugar and spice and everything nice (er, not that I think wanting your significant other to DIE is an inherently male characteristic). "We are HARD on girls." The whole post is fantastic, and it reminded me of this video clip I filmed of Libba Bray last year discussing something similar. Let's let female characters be compelling -- must they always be likeable? Thoughts?

Eclipse: Report From the Premiere

My friend Charles is a producer in LA and he got to attend the Eclipse premiere last Thursday (his birthday). I was way jealous, but he promised to guest blog, so that won him some points. Here he is: "Last week, I got the chance to attend Summit Entertainment's MASSIVE Twilight: Eclipse premiere and party. The event took over all of LA's downtown NOKIA Theater LA Live and its large courtyard. The red carpet seemed a million miles long and hundreds of screaming fans were barely held behind metal barricades. It was mayhem and craziness. "So many celebs showed up the action on the red carpet lasted for more than two hours. The carpet was star studded - with pro-skater Evan Lysacek, Big Mike from The Blind Side (I know Melissa Loves him), Jennifer Love Hewitt and more. Then the movie's stars came out in full force, Dakota Fanning in a beautiful pale dress (above, right), Oscar nominee Anna Kendrick, Kellan Lutz (who gave the camera his trademark smirk, above right), Peter Facinelli (and wife Jenni Garth). When Rob, Kristen and Taylor walked down the carpet the fans got so intense I was only able to get a pic of Rob, below - he looked great in his red jacket. "Afterwards, everyone shuttled into the huge 6,000 seat Nokia Theater (with our complimentary popcorn in a collectible Eclipse cup!) for the film. The movie looked beautiful, was achingly romantic and featured some really funny Jacob-Edward banter. "Then it was off to the most insane, excessive (in a good way!) party ever which took over the whole roof of an adjacent parking garage. There were bars made completely out of ice, a huge globe that glowed like the moon, VIP areas which looked like snow capped mountains (referencing a v. important scene in the movie), snow cone carts and mountains of food and drink. All the celebs and movie-goers partied into the wee hours of the morning. I had a wonderful time and capped the evening off by posing for a picture with super cute Kevin Alejandro from Southland and True Blood." Thanks, Charles! I'm a little miffed that you didn't get a Taylor Lautner pic (don't you know I'm Team Jacob?) but you can give me the Eclipse cup to make up for it! No, seriously, this was an excellent and fun report--thank you! I love that Charles is all big-time but still not ashamed to take photos with celebrities like the fanboy he is. So that's the story. Are you guys seeing Eclipse this week? I may wait until next week, but I am excited. I hear this one has the blockbuster thrills the other two lacked (though I did enjoy those too. I can't help it.) Happy Tuesday!

Tuesday Cooking: Chick Peas!

This week I made this Jamie Oliver Summer Chickpea Salad. It was DELICIOUS, and I did not repeat my bean sprout blunder. I also served fried pimientos with this one, because I adored them in Spain and I'm trying to recapture the joie de vivre I had en Espana! I'm a big meat-eater, but I like the idea of at least one day a week where I'm a vegetarian. This was it! Happy Tuesday, don't forget to visit Holly Cupala's Book Birthday Party!

Before You Were Hot

I've been meaning to tell you guys about the new site I created with my I Heart Daily co-founder Anne Ichikawa, and here's the perfect opportunity. We were on The Early Show on CBS this morning for Before You Were Hot, so check it out:
Watch CBS News Videos Online The site is really about going from the awkward years to feeling comfortable with yourself. Take a peek, enjoy and submit! (Yes, I put my own pic up...it's only fair.) PS-Behind the scenes I was soooo nervous! My legs were shaking and my tongue was dry, but the anchors were really nice and Anne helped me get through it. Phew!