Blog: List Friday: What I've been up to lately.

I can't promise that this is going to be interesting. But it is a list of things I've been doing, in case you've wondered:

1. Receiving awesome emails. When I was writing Freefall, even when I was waiting 17 months for it to come out, I didn't really think about fan mail or have any expectation that I would receive such a thing. But it does happen! And it's always so wonderful! The emails I receive--and especially the ones from teens--really make my day. ♥

2. Eating stuffed peppers. Last week, I invented my own recipe for Mexican-inspired stuffed peppers. This week, I invented a recipe for Asian-inspired stuffed peppers!  I still think that Italian-inspired stuffed peppers are my favorite, but it's nice to have options. (I didn't post a picture of my latest creation because it sort of went splat on the counter when I was pulling it out of the baking dish with tongs. Maybe another time.)

3. Trying to win U2 tickets. I wanted to win U2 tickets for my friend Matt's half-birthday. Yesterday, I listened to the radio all day while I was writing and texted "U2" a number of times every hour when they'd play U2 songs. The closest I got was when I was #105. I needed to be #107. Only afterward did I realize that he probably already has tickets to that concert. Still. It would have been nice to win. I tried so hard!

4. Exercising. I'm going to the gym . . . sometimes. And doing a yoga workout video with a friend once a week. We've also invented chat-yoga, which is when you roll out your mats and sit or lie on them. Then you talk for an hour or two instead of doing the workout. Fun! (But such an activity can cause disapproval at times from husbands, it seems. Ha!)

5. Working.  Between my job and Live Through This, the book I'm writing, I'm working long hours without a day off in sight. I'm talking seven days a week, eight to twelve hours a day. It's, um, what's the word? Exhausting. Yes.

6. Writing. This goes along with #5, but it's such a big thing right now, I wanted it to have two mentions. Also, I said this really funny/sad thing to Dwayne right before he fell asleep last night that shows you that writing is kind of making me lose it a little maybe:  "Hey, you should kiss me because I'm writing a kissing scene tomorrow. Um . . . I mean, because we love each other!"

Have a great weekend! I'll be, you know, working. I'll also be taking a couple of hours off to see my husband's band on Saturday night at King Cat Theater in Seattle. It's all-ages, so if you're in the area, come on out! I think Alabaster is going on first, between 8pm and 9pm.

List Friday: A few things I enjoyed this week.

I'm still sad about my kitty, Oz. It's been rough around these parts, and in the (edited) words of My Chemical Romance, "I'm not o-KOMO4ing-kay."

But blogging about sacks of sad isn't great for anyone, so I've made a list of things that I've enjoyed this week:

1.  100 Shows a Year blog. I know this guy named Jim who is a big-time theater geek in NYC. He sees over 100 performances a year and started a blog this past January cataloging what he sees as he sees it.  I am not a big-time theater geek, but I love reading what he has to say. Truthfully, I'd probably be entertained reading his grocery lists, but since he happens to post about shows, those are what I read instead!  They are often my favorite updates that pop up in my GoogleReader during the week.

2. Planet Fitness.  My trial membership in Aim To Be Fit Boot Camp ended recently.  I really loved going and definitely gained strength and muscle, but I can't afford to continue at this time. Dwayne and I joined Planet Fitness, which is a brand-new gym in our area. It's very affordable. I've gone only one time so far, but I think it's going to be an okay alternative. It's nice to be able to run beside Dwayne for once. He runs up to nine miles an hour, while I'm at about half that right now.  At the track, we run separately, but on treadmills at the gym, we can be together!

3. Damn You, Auto Correct!  This site takes submissions of the hilarious misunderstandings that crop up from typos and the auto correct function on phones. A good portion of the text conversations are (unintentionally) super vulgar, but I read them and laugh and laugh and laugh. I never get tired of them; even some of the ones I've read before continue to amuse me on rereads.

4. Book report for Freefall by PoshDeluxe at Forever Young Adult.  The Forever Young Adult blog is one of my favorite book blogs out there. Their tagline is "for YA readers who are a little less Y and a bit more A," which is totally me!  I find that I have very similar book taste to some of the reviewers, and like them--and many other women my age--I credit Regina Morrow from Sweet Valley High as being reason #1 why I never got into drugs. Anyway, PoshDeluxe a.k.a. Sarah read Freefall, gave it a BFF charm, rated it a seven on the swoonworthy scale, and is going steady with it! I'm really, really happy about all of these things. :-) 

Blog: List Friday: Commercials that Have Stuck with Me.

Remember, like, eight Fridays ago when I said, "I'm not going to do Friday four or five anymore.  I'm going to do List Friday so that my lists can have as many items as I want!" and then I made one or two Friday lists and stopped doing List Friday?  Well, I'm making another attempt today!

Commercials that Have Stuck with Me

1.  Morgan Freeman's narration of the emotional Visa advertisements during the last summer Olympics just about killed me on a regular basis.  I cried every time I watched the Derek Redmond commercial.  I cried while thinking about the Derek Redmond commercial.  I cried when I told people about the Derek Redmond commercial.  And just now while collecting the embed code from YouTube, I watched it and cried some more.

2.  I'm a vegetarian.  The only things I order at Jack in the Box are chocolate milkshakes and mozzarella sticks.  Still, Jack's irreverent meat-loving in the commercials cracks me up for some reason.  I especially love this one where Jack's son reads an essay about how he wants to become a vegetarian when he grows up.

3.  The PSA about how Parents Who Use Drugs Have Children Who Use Drugs is pretty much my favorite commercial ever.  I've never really understood the dad's behavior, and when I was a kid, he actually kind of freaked me out.  But the son's frustrated comeback?  AWESOME.  I use this phrase all the time in my real life.

Husband:  Why did you open the mail and leave it all over the table?
Me:  I learned it by watching YOU!!!!

What are some of the commercials out there that have stuck with you?

Blog: List Friday: Times when I've cried about FREEFALL

I'm going to try a new thing for the Fridays when I remember to blog.  Instead of attempting "Friday 5" or "Friday 4" or Friday with any other number behind it, I will instead attempt "List Friday" which means I can make a list of any amount of items.  Sometimes my list will have three things on it!  Sometimes--like today--my list will have six!   It's a whole new world, I'm telling you!

Times When I've Cried About FREEFALL

1.  I received a rejection.  From an agent.  On a full manuscript.  When I'd had really high hopes.  Now, this wasn't an uncommon thing for me--getting agent rejections.  (In fact, I've received over 150 of them in my life.)  But full-on crying over a rejection happened to me only this one time and it really, really sucked.

2.  Mere days after I got my book deal and joined the Tenners, Trish Doller posted letting me know that some bloggers had told her that they were excited about my book.  I thought to myself, Oh, isn't that so sweet?  And then the reality hit me.  They were excited to read my book!  Not only that, but they might very well one day actually read my book! It was overwhelming and wonderful all at the same time.

3.  A few weeks before ARCs were printed, my editor let me know that the woman who had copyedited Freefall sent an email saying that she loved the book.  Then my editor wrote me again pasting the exact words that had been said about it.  This was the first time that feedback from someone other than my agent, editor, or a critique partners had been passed on to me, and it was my first taste of what People Out There might say.  It was a great start.

4.  This past summer, Dwayne and I were eating dinner at Panera when my phone indicated that I had a new email.  I tried to resist looking, but I just couldn't stop myself.  The email was a Google Alert (hooray for Google Alerts!), letting me know that a review was up at Goodreads by Amber at Just Your Typical Book Blog.  This was only the second review ever posted for my book.  It included words like "best" and "favorite" and I burst into tears right then and there.  I had to get the rest of my dinner to go because I couldn't concentrate on the food anymore.

/ 5.  A few days before my book's release date, I received a Google Alert (damn you, Google Alerts!) letting me know that someone had posted about my book, the gist of which was that my book didn't matter and was a waste of time.  I spent the whole day watching movies on the couch, eating ice cream and popcorn, and worrying that the whole world was going to feel this way.  (Never mind the twenty or so reviews out there that already said the opposite.)  It was my biggest fear, really.  Sure, I don't want people to hate my book, either, but indifference stabs in a completely different way.  Then that night, I took a break from the movies at my house to see a movie at the $3 theater by my house.  (What a day, what a day!)  Afterward, Dwayne drove me to Barnes & Noble where Freefall was already on the shelves.  I then petted my books and cried for other reasons.

6.  A few weeks after my book's release, I got an email from the mother of a teenage boy.  She said he'd chosen Freefall for himself and she wanted to get a peek at what he was reading.  She ended up staying up until 2am to finish it.  She feels like this book has given her an opening to talk about some difficult things with him, and she thanked me for writing it. Which is just . . . wow.  I mean, WOW! 

Friday Five: The Countdown Edition

I've spent most of 2010 waiting for things to happen.  And here we are, September 10th, and the things I've been waiting for are finally... happening!

Here's a list of some of the things I've been counting down to:

1.  September 10:  SHORECREST HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL.  Tonight!  Okay, I've actually only been waiting for this since June.  But, man oh man, am I excited!  One of the big reasons is because the girl in my current manuscript is on the dance team at her school and I am looking forward to watching those girls.  But really, this will be our third season of devoted football game attending and it just gets better and better.  Now, Dwayne isn't going to be here for the first game (and yes, I am bitter, if you must know), but my friend Matt is coming with me and we are going to have all the F-U-N. (I wrote more about why I like going to these games here.)

2. September 17:  THE PREMIERE OF THE CLONE WARS.  My favorite TV show.  Because I am in love with Matt Lanter's voice and cartoon Anakin Skywalker is The Sex-ay.  I'll actually be at a football game when the first ep airs (see #1), but I'll catch it on Sunday night instead.  Eeeee!  (Read more of my thoughts about my cartoon crush here.) 

3.  September 21:  Glee.  Okay, you'll notice that this isn't in all-caps like the others.  Because Glee kind of let me down the second half of the first season.  What's up with that? Usually shows will wait until they're into season two before screwing everything up!  Anyway, I'm going to give it another chance here, but I'm a little hesitant, I have to admit.  *fingers crossed*

4.  October 3:  MY 33RD BIRTHDAY.  My birthday gets no love this year because That One Book That I Wrote That One Time comes out two days later (see #5).  But really, it's a cool thing.  Having a birthday.  Getting presents!!!!

5.  October 5:  THE RELEASE OF FREEFALL.  I've been waiting for this moment.  All my life.  Also?  While I was revising this bugger back in the olden days, I became paranoid that I would die without finishing.  After it sold, I became paranoid that I would die before it would hit the shelves.  Twenty-five more days, people!  If I can survive the next 25 days, Pedro will finally make all my wildest dreams come true. *knock on wood*

Bonus:  October 9-13 will be super-special, too, because I'll be in NYC visiting my publisher and whatnot.  And by whatnot, I mean that I'll be having my first ever booking signing at Books of Wonder!!!

But I have to get through #5 before I can think too much about this one.  ;-) 

Have a great weekend, everyone!