Friday 5 - Random stuff.

1.  I'm going to a  cousin's bachelorette party tomorrow night, which is something I've never done.  I've heard that we are going to have to wear, um, certain things all over our clothes when we go out.  This should be interesting.

2.  I live near Seattle, which is a place where most people don't have or need air conditioning in their homes.  We are, however, experiencing summer-ish weather, and my upstairs office is poorly insulated, so I have three fans going in here.  So far so good. 

3.  We don't allow our cats in the bedrooms anymore because of the horrible mischief they get into.  But I didn't want to keep my office door closed while this heat is happening, so I set up a quicky barrier so they'd stay only on the side of the room where I can keep an eye on them.   Two buckets, a heater, and a broken chair.  Yes, it's about as effective as you'd expect it to be.

4.  I haven't been able to get much (read: any) writing done for weeks now.  Which makes me sad.  But Other Things seem to be slowing down for me right now, so I'm going to get back into it.  Hooray!

5.  And finally, here is a picture of something Kari ( A Good Addiction) did with her FREEFALL bookmarks.  Awwww! 

No, I'm NOT stressing out over one word. Why do you ask?

Recently, I was flipping through my FREEFALL ARC.  I don't remember why, but it's kind of a thing I do.  I tell myself that there is always an excellent reason for it.  Like, say, if someone with an ARC emails me or says on Twitter that they are up to page 100 and are enjoying it so far, I will, OF COURSE, turn to page 100 to see what's going on.  Then I'll maybe read forward a little bit.  You know, just to predict what their reading experience will be in the coming minutes. 

What can I say?  It's a sickness.

So, the other day I was doing that thang.  And I spotted something.  A word.  A word that was used completely grammatically . . . correctly. 

OH NO!

What could possibly be wrong with that? you might be wondering.

Well, in this case, it's a teeny-tiny, miniature slip in voice.  Because even though, yes, that is the correct way of phrasing it, my narrator wouldn't necessarily use that word.  He would probably use a word that differs by one letter and is grammatically incorrect.

After a restless night, I sent my editor an email asking if it's too late to change it.  She said, yes, for the first printing it is too late.   But, she says, we can change it for future printings. 

I wrote back saying, "How soon until the next printing?" and she responded with just a smiley face. 

Which I chose to interpret as:  You are silly and endearing and you really do need to stop worrying about this. ♥

So I'm trying!  Really hard, actually!

*sigh*

Three months from today...

My book is coming out in exactly three months.  I feel just like I was told I would feel:  like it's taking forever, like the time is going by too quickly, like I'm ready, like I'm so not ready.

I've had a emails from readers who have been able to check out Advance Reviewer Copies, and the feedback has been really positive.  So that's good news so far! 

There are days when I am overwhelmed--most days, in fact.  I'm scheduling/responding to blog interviews, chats, and the like.  I'm working with my publicist to plan a couple of events: a launch party/reading/signing scheduled near Seattle for 10/17/10 (more details to come) and a joint Tenner signing that I'm hoping will be scheduled for 10/10/10 in NYC.  I'm mailing out bookmarks.  I'm making lists and checking them twice to see if see that sure I'm doing what I can to get ready for this launch. 

It's so exciting that people are mentioning FREEFALL on their blogs, preordering it, adding it on Goodreads, and taking time out of their days to get in touch with me via Twitter, FaceBook, LiveJournal, and email.  Word of mouth can be so important for helping readers find a book (for debuts, especially), and I appreciate it so much.

There's a reason Dwayne and I got married in Vegas: planning (and waiting) is not a thing I am good at or enjoy, necessarily.  But I'm proud whenever I can see the results of what I'm doing here, and I'm hopeful that the work Simon & Schuster and I have been putting in will help us reach readers.  That's all I can really ask for.  ♥

Friday 5: My Nemeses Edition

From Merriam-Webster's online dictionary:   Main Entry: nem·e·sis

Pronunciation: \ˈne-mə-səs\

Function: noun

Etymology: Latin, from Greek

Date: 1561

1 capitalized : the Greek goddess of retributive justice
2 plural nem·e·ses \-ˌsēz\ a : one that inflicts retribution or vengeance b : a formidable and usually victorious rival or opponent
3 plural nem·eses a : an act or effect of retribution b : bane 2

When I use the word nemesis, most of the time I'm exaggerating.  What I'm meaning is: "Someone who annoys me consistently."  

So keep that in mind as you read on.  Oh, and also!  This is all in good fun.  I don't actually want to hurt famous people on their feelings.  Okay?  Okay!  Counting them down now:

5.  Ann Hathaway.    I watched THE PRINCESS DIARIES.  I didn't like it.  I watched THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA.  I really didn't like it.  What do those two movies have in common?  Yep.  The thing is, I read an interview and AH seemed actually pretty cool and sweet.  I want to like her.  But those two movie experiences were bad enough for me that I'm not sure I'm willing to ever give her another chance.

4.  That One Girl at Work (not pictured).  Several years ago, I was trying to fix a jam in the copier at my office.  Some girl from another department came into the copy room, threw her hands up, and exclaimed, "WHAT did you do to it THIS time?"  I was, shall I say, unthrilled at that accusation.  Every time I see her in passing (maybe a few times a month), I find myself getting annoyed.  Most of the time, I can't even remember why.

3.  Jack White.  He writes and performs music.  I even like many of his songs.  But when I saw the White Stripes several years ago, they didn't play "Fell In Love with a Girl." I'd been so sure was going to be their encore song because they didn't have any other radio singles at the time.  Also, someone I used to hang out with really idolized Jack White, so that made JW even more my nemesis.  (I like the White Stripes.  And I really like The Raconteurs.  All of this is in spite of Jack White, not because of him.)

2.  Seann William Scott.  We have things in common!  The same birthday (he's exactly one year older than I am). The same last name.  But he played the role of Stifler on AMERICAN PIE, and I hate Stifler more than I have ever hated a fictional character.  I can't get past it to watch SWS in other movies.  I just want to slap his Stifler face.

(Okay, now I feel kind of mean.  This poor guy!  But he was STIFLER!)

1.  Bristol Palin.  I think this girl is so pretty.  And she's a young, single mom taking care of her son.  When she first announced that she wanted to be an advocate for teens, to use her experiences to help other teens make different choices and not end up getting pregnant at such a young age, I was intrigued.  Really!  And when she went on the record saying that abstinence "isn't realistic," I was further intrigued.  I mean, there are only a few certain ways to avoid pregnancy and it seemed unlikely that Bristol Palin was going to have anything truly unique to say on the subject.  Still, I was looking forward to seeing her come up with motivational things to tell other teens help them make good choices for themselves.  But then!  Then she changed her original stance and is now going around preaching an abstinence message. Yes, I can say, "Hypocrite much?" but that isn't even my entire issue here.  She had an opportunity to really make an impact, to really reach young girls, and she chose to be predictable. 

Yes, Bristol Palin is my most formidable and victorious opponent in all the world right now.

Okay, your turn.  Please, please, please tell me your nemeses!  As you can see, it is a subject of great interest to me.  :-D

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Shari Maurer

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Shari Maurer is the author of Change of Heart, a YA novel published by WestSide Books and now available.  She joins us as part of her “You Gotta Have HEART” blog tour.

In a world where the most stressful thing seems to be winning a soccer game or what to wear in the morning, you take some really basic things for granted.

Like the love of your parents.

Or hanging with your friends.

Or the beating of your heart.

When you’re 16 years old, it never occurs to you that you might die. Emmi Miller’s got a fabulous life. She has tons of friends, does great in school and is an all-star soccer player who played in Europe last summer. It even looks like Sam Hunter, a totally cute baseball player, might be interested in her. And then she gets a virus. No biggy, right? Until the virus goes to her heart and weakens it so much that, without a transplant, Emmi will die.

Will Emmi get a heart in time?  Is Sam too good to be true?  What about her new friend Abe, who has also had a transplant and guides her through these scary times — is he just being supportive or is there more going on between them?  And will Emmi realize it before it’s too late?

THE MAGIC 8

1.      At age eight, what did you want to be when you grew up?  And at age eighteen?  And while you’re at it, what about at age twenty-eight?

At eight, I wanted to be a Supreme Court Justice.  I was very into the Women’s Lib Movement of the 70’s (yes, at eight).

At eighteen, I was still figuring it out.  It was the time I was morphing from being a pre-Law Political Science major to an English Major who had no idea what I wanted to do.

 

At twenty-eight, I had a one year old daughter and had decided to “retire” from my career in International Production for Sesame Street.  So at that point, I was just focused on being a mom and figured I’d worry about the future as the kids got older.

2.      Which Breakfast-Club-style label would have best fit your teenage self? 

(Clever Examples:  The Bad Ass, The Athlete, The Hottie, The Dork, The Genius, The Psycho, The Social Butterfly, The Band Geek, The Drama Queen/King, The I Wish I Were a Vampire, The Entirely Something Else.)
I just read through the list and crossed them off as I went.  Is there a “goodie goodie” choice?  I was an honors student, played volleyball, was a yearbook editor – that kind of stuff.

3.      What are some of your superstitions and/or phobias?

Huge snake phobia (yeah, don’t try to psychoanalyze that one).  When my husband and I were at camp when we were 17 he came back from the soccer field with his hands behind his back, telling me he had a surprise.  I thought ‘wow, he picked wildflowers, what a great guy.’  Until he pulled the dead snake out.  I screamed and sobbed and it took me about a half hour to recover.  He never did that again!

4.      Without giving away too much from your book, which character or scene are you the most pleased about having created, and why?

I like Abe, Emmi’s friend who has also had a heart transplant.  He’s a little geeky and a little cool and I’m not sure if he’s majorly insecure or has more self-esteem than all of us.

5.      Was there any certain music that inspired you while you were writing this book, or is there a song that could serve as your protagonist’s theme song?

“Don’t Stop” by Fleetwood Mac.  You’ll have to read the book to see how it fits in.

6.      What’s up next for you as a writer?

Tweaking Book 2, “Ellie’s Sister” and creating a Book 3.

7.      And, now, the most important question of all:  Beatles or Elvis?  Please support your answer.  ;-)

My mom was a huge Elvis fan, but I’ll have to say the Beatles.  Lennon and McCartney were two of the greatest songwriters ever.

8.      Okay, your turn.  Do you have a question you’d like me to ask my Magic 8-Ball on your behalf?  (I’m telling you, this thing is scarily accurate!  Well, except for when it’s lying.)

Will BP find a solution to the oil spill before the end of the summer?

 Oh.  Outlook not so good.  That is disappointing news.  :-( 

Thank you so much for answering my questions, Shari!

Thanks, Mindi. I just wanted to throw in one more little thing: a plug for organ donation registration. I’ve been using my book tour to encourage people to register to become organ donors. There is a severe shortage of available organs and while I hope you never need it, if the unimaginable does happen, wouldn’t it be great to save several lives? For more information please go to www.donatelife.net.