Merci, Merci, Merci

This month has been CRAZY.

I am so grateful—and so shocked, and so overwhelmed—by outpouring of support for Anna. I'm honest when I say I believed I wrote a small book, one that would be enjoyed by a modest but (hopefully) devoted community of readers. Contemporary romance is not an easy sell these days.

Thank you for giving my novel a chance.

Thank you for recommending it to your friends.

Thank you for your emails, letters, messages, and tweets.

Thank you, John Green and Nerdfighteria. (My WORD, thank you.)

I was not expecting any of this. And it's sad for me to be so removed from the internet right now, because this has been one of the most exciting months of my life. I wish I were more available to talk to you, to thank you all personally. To give you my time.

I'm working on a major revision of my second novel, and it's due soon, and it's a slow and painful process. I am not a fast writer. And I want it to be good.

It is a difficult thing to work on something that you know will, inevitably, disappoint a large number of people. And I don't say this to put myself or my work down—or to dig for compliments—but I say it in a realistic way. Most second novels (or films) disappoint. Unfortunately, it's the nature of storytelling. Things are no longer new and sparkly. And while I know that there are rare exceptions—The Two Towers and The Empire Strikes Back spring to mind—and while I know that some of my readers WILL love Lola's story, these are the facts:

Lola is not Anna.

The boy next door is not Étienne.

America is not France.

It's hard to finish something when you can already hear the negative reviews in your head. It's stupid and self-centered, I know. But that's the truth. I wanted to spend this month celebrating Anna, and instead, the majority of my hours have been spent worrying about Lola. Sometimes, it's all I can do to keep from jumping on my roof and shouting:

PLEASE LOWER YOUR EXPECTATIONS!!!

Which is not, you know, a great marketing campaign.

So instead, I work. And I hope at the end of this I'll have written something that I can be proud of. (Because if I don't like it, I sure as heck can't expect any of you to like it.) But I'll continue to be fairly absent online for the next few weeks while I finish.

To everyone who has emailed me or sent me a letter, I will reply! (If it makes you feel any better, I have not replied to anyone yet. It's not you. It's me.) I just need more time. But I'm really, really, really looking forward to telling you how much I appreciate your words.

Because I do. So, so much.

Merci.


P.S. Please lower your expectations, okaythanks.

So . . . That John Green Thing

I’ve been thinking a lot about this post for the last week. I hesitate to bore you with a long, personal story, but it’s the only way this can be written.

My apologies.

Last Monday, YA author John Green uploaded a vlog called “8 Things I Love” to his popular YouTube channel. Anna and the French Kiss was one of those things. My brain exploded. It’ll take me a while to get to the why, but if you have the time, here it is:

* * *

I am never good at answering the question, “When did you know you wanted to be a writer?” It’s kind of a toss up between “always,” “my freshman year of college when I switched majors from journalism to creative writing,” and “2007, the year I started writing Anna.” But I’d like to talk about that college answer.

In publishing, there are strong opinions about studying creative writing in a university atmosphere. Some authors think it’s necessary, but I hear many more advise aspiring novelists to do anything BUT study it in school. I fall somewhere in between.

Study it if you want to, but don’t forget why you’re there: You love to read. It gives you pleasure.

My experience in college was . . . okay. Majoring in creative writing taught me two of the most valuable career skills I possess today—being able to accept and work with criticism, and how to read novels with the eyes of a writer (that is, how to break them apart to see how they function). With practice and application, these skills, I believe, have turned me into a published author.

But college also sent me on a detour.

I’d always imagined writing for children. My first favorite author—the first one I recognized as an Author with a capital A—was Roald Dahl, and he sparked my love of voice in storytelling, a flame reignited in high school with the release of the first Harry Potter. At that time, J.K. Rowling had not yet left her mark on the world, and it was still VERY uncool for a teenager to read a children’s book.

But I read it. And I loved it. And I knew then that I wanted to write for children, because children’s books are fun. They give me pleasure.

So I took this idea off to college, where it was promptly trounced. My professors and the other students didn’t understand why I’d waste my time. The implication was that children’s literature was a lesser calling. At first, I laughed it off. Did they really forget that before Moby-Dick comes Charlotte’s Web? But after four years of their disdainful looks and snide asides, I am ashamed to say that I took their words to heart.

Why was I writing for children? Maybe it was a lesser form. I should write something with meaning and depth, something like those serious Best American Short Stories that we studied in class.

Even crazier than letting myself forget that children’s literature contains GREAT meaning and depth (hello, Dumbledore), was the idea that I might want to write a story like those in the Best American series, when I didn’t enjoy reading them. And it confused me. I wrote several serious and dull short stories that remain unfinished and untouched to this day.

So as I made my way through the rest of school, I . . . compromised. I’d secretly been loving Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones series—chick-lit was on the verge of explosion—and I decided that maybe I was supposed to write something fun, but I was supposed to do it for adults. So instead of finishing those short stories, I began to work on an adult chick-lit novel.

(I use the word chick-lit, because everyone knows what it means. Honestly, I don’t find it that insulting—other than the fact that the term “dick-lit” never caught on, because come on, it’s only fair—though I understand and sympathize with people who do.)

Because a friend knew of my love for Bridget and my love for teen movies, my life changed again, late in college, when she convinced me to watch The Princess Diaries. I'd pooh-poohed it, but she insisted. “No. I really think you’ll like it.”

She was wrong. I LOVED IT. So I picked up Meg Cabot’s first novel and, as books always are, it was much, much better than the movie.

Her books became my guilty pleasure. On the train ride home from school, instead of pulling out those Best American anthologies—which, despite everything, I still considered good for me—I pulled out Cabot novel after Cabot novel. Her characters were the first ones who felt like me, even more so than Bridget.

Yet I remained under the impression that writing for children—and for teens—was not my calling.

Fast-forward several years. I’m working as a librarian. I’m also working on that same adult chick-lit novel. It is moving slow, and I am frustrated. I want to be a writer, but I’m beginning to think it won’t happen. Perhaps, if I’m lucky, I might be published when I’ve had more practice, when I’m older.

Like, twenty or thirty years older.

By this point, I had inspected the rest of the YA shelves. I read everything recommended by patrons and coworkers, everything that received a good review, everything that caught my eye. The stories tended to fall into one of two categories, fun or serious, with little to nothing in between. I read both types—and across all genres—voraciously.

But still . . . I kept returning to Meg. Rereading her novels, scouring her blog. And it took a while, but her words finally crept in and replaced the words of my professors and classmates. Meg has an uncanny ability to talk openly about her love of romance, of Star Wars and Buffy, about being confident in yourself and owning up to what YOU like. That there’s worth in love stories, in making people laugh, in writing for entertainment.

(Example: her most recent post about "The Princess Thing.")

With this encouraging voice in my ear, at long last, the “guilty” part of “guilty pleasure” vanished from my vocabulary.

And then one of my favorite library teens handed me An Abundance of Katherines by John Green. It was a new release, and I remembered the starred review. She told me that I HAD to read it. Because I’m of an obsessive nature, I decided to wait on Katherines and start with his first, Looking for Alaska, which had recently won the Printz award for excellence in young adult literature.

To put it simply: Looking for Alaska blew me away.

I zipped and laughed my way through the first part, read with wide and somber eyes through the hard part, and then had my mind exploded on the last two pages. I’d been so distracted by the humor and the characters and the story, that somehow—and I read a lot, so this is difficult to pull off—I didn’t realize he’d been setting me up for that Big Idea the entire time. Ka-POW.

I read Katherines next, of course, and was swept away again. It's even funnier, not quite so dark, but with that same depth and cleverness and spark. I gave it to my husband, and he fell in love with John’s work, too. When Paper Towns was released, I bought it and read it the first day, and the experience was so intense that it paralyzed me. I stopped writing for several days, because I knew I could never create a book that good. That perfect.

And when I say “perfect,” I mean, of course, that the book was perfect for me. It contained everything that I love about reading.

John Green taught me that a novel doesn’t have to be one or the other—fun or serious. That a novel can give both pleasure and have great meaning. That it can fill multiple roles in a reader’s life.

I am not, nor will I ever be, as smart or deep as John. My brain simply isn’t set up that way. But I did take this idea of a book being more than one thing, and I combined it with the ideas that I learned from Meg—that it was okay to admit that my favorite stories were young adult novels with kissing and humor and cute boys, and that reading and writing for pleasure isn’t something lesser or guilty—and I wrote Anna.

Once I had this last piece, my new career happened quickly.

And it's important to mention that John is more than a talented writer. He’s also a role model for an entire community. For the unfamiliar, he and his brother Hank are known as the “vlogbrothers” online, and they’re responsible for the establishment of Nerdfighteria.

The Nerdfighters are a group of self-proclaimed nerds dedicated to fighting world-suck. The community is tens of thousands strong, many teenagers, all doing amazing things such as the Project for Awesome event, which takes over YouTube one day a year to promote videos for charity. This year—just last week—they raised over $100,000.

Regular people. One day. One hundred thousand dollars.

[UPDATE: It was actually over $135,000! Holy moly!]

I wish with all of my heart that this community had existed when I was a teenager, but I am so grateful for its existence today. My husband and I are both proud to call ourselves Nerdfighters. Check out this video or this one and be prepared to call yourself one, too.

And I’m happy to say that the kind, intelligent, hilarious man that you see interacting with the online community is the same kind, intelligent, hilarious man that you meet in person. I wish I could say the same thing about all authors, but I cannot.

But John Green? He’s the real deal.

I met him not long after the release of Let It Snow, when he came to a signing in my hometown. My husband was his usual confident and chatty self as John personalized our books, but I was speechless. He meant so much to me that my voice was actually gone. It wasn’t until we were walking away that I finally sputtered:

“YouaremyfavoriteauthorIloveyourbooks.”

John took my words, as he always does, with graciousness and kindness.

(And I did manage to get this picture.)

I met him again the next year at LeakyCon, a Harry Potter conference. I’d just signed with his editor—whom I worshiped, because I worshiped John—a valid reason to speak with him, if any. But I could not. My husband was so frustrated by my inability to approach him that he finally walked over to John, forcing me to follow on his heels and introduce myself.

Again, John’s friendliness was astounding. I have always believed that nice is a vastly underrated quality, and anyone who has had contact with John can understand how remarkable nice people truly are. He has over 400,000 subscribers on YouTube and over a million followers on Twitter. Many people in his situation would not be so kind.

And all of this elaborate rambling is to say that . . .

It is a crazy, mind-blowing, and yes, overwhelming thing to hear someone you admire say that they like your work, too. I never believed that John Green would ever even READ my novel, so the whole ENJOYING part still remains far beyond my comprehension.

Sir, you do me a great honor. I realize that you’re careful about what you say and what you recommend, because you have a lot of people listening.

Thank you. My book would not exist without yours.

And I sincerely hope that the greatest lesson I have learned from you—the lesson that I can apply to all aspects of my life—is not the one about writing a good novel. It’s the one about remembering to be a good person. DFTBA.

Release Day Party!

So . . . I did the release party thing.

AND IT WAS AWESOME.

I wish there were an "exceeds expectations" box to check, because it did, and in every way possible. Malaprop's was packed, my book SOLD OUT (!!!), and the chocolate croissants were scrumptious. Thank you so, so, sosososo much to all of my friends and family (Shannon and Kerry! You came!) who attended. I'm grateful and lucky to have your support.

I won't bore you with a complete play-by-play, but here are some pictures:

Apparently, the following is what I look like when I read aloud. I think it looks like I'm having fun. (Hint: I am!)

This picture of my signing line makes me happy, because it's like playing "spot the friend," and THEY ARE ALL FRIENDS. Yay friends! I love you!

Speaking of friends, you can't really see it well, but I'm wearing a gorgeous necklace that my beautiful friend Lilie made a few months ago. It has blue beads (gotta match the hair!) and three charms: a heart, the Eiffel Tower, and another blue sparkly thingie. Perfection!! You can see it better in this picture.

With Paula, my dear friend and first writing mentor, who has the first paragraph of Anna's acknowledgments and deserves so much more:

Seriously, Anna would not exist without Paula.

Oh my stars! Is that?? YES! It's Beth Revis, sister-in-awesome at Penguin and author of the soon-to-be-ginormous Across the Universe:

I'm going to HER signing next month!

And I was flabbergasted when I saw that Michelle had come. Michelle is part of the Wizard Rock community, who has been SO INCREDIBLY SUPPORTIVE of my novel. Never underestimate the power of Dumbledore's Army:

Gred & Forge shirt = my husband's band! CRAZYCOOL.

Here I am at the end of the night with my favorite-est bookseller Caroline:

We totally match!

It wasn't until I got home that I realized I'd forgotten to get a picture with the MOST important person—the guy who took the above pictures! We took a lot of serious shots, but, of course, this is my favorite:

I love you, Jarrod! You = Best

Thank you, everyone, for giving me the gift of a perfect night.

Really. Perfect.

Thank You, Dear Readers

I am so happy and discombobulated and overwhelmed and exhausted and thrilled and excited and thankful for your support.

Thank you for your emails, posts, tweets, comments, messages, texts, phone calls, and for every other way you've reached out to me this week. I'm preparing for tonight's Anna and the French Kiss release party—Malaprop's in Asheville, 7 pm!—but I wanted to let you know how grateful I am to have you all in my life.

I am especially thankful for my husband, who works hard so that I can stay at home to pursue my dreams. Jarrod has the first and last mention in Anna—the dedication and the final acknowledgment. (He also deserved several acknowledgments in the middle, but I worried that might disrupt the flow of the story.) It is my greatest wish, my love, to someday be able to support YOU so that YOU can pursue YOUR dreams.

I'll blog more in a day or two, once I have my head back.

Thank you. Much love to you all.

[♥ Edited to add: I will reply to your emails and messages as soon as I can! ♥]

Tick Tock . . . Tick Tock . . .

Oh, man! I love this "So You Want to Write a Novel" video that has been circulating amongst the publishing world:

"Have you ever attempted to write a novel-length manuscript?"

"I've already written the first page. It's really awesome. I plan to finish by the end of the week. Do you think I can get it published in time for the Christmas shopping season?"

HA HA HA HA HA! *wipes tear from eye* *looks at Lola document* *laughs until cries again*

So . . . I've been wanting to tell you about this:

♥ The front window display of my favorite bookstore. ♥

I took that picture ten days ago at Malaprop's in downtown Asheville, North Carolina. I'd always pictured my first wild book-spotting as a scenario where I'd discover a copy or two tucked in the back on a crowded shelf, so finding a LARGE DISPLAY in the FRONT WINDOW of my FAVORITE BOOKSTORE was one of the most . . . astonishing moments of my life. I think I hugged the employees a dozen times.

I also did things like point to the cover and say, "That's my name!" and then to my picture on the back flap. "THAT IS ME!"

(If you are reading this, Caroline and Alsace, thank you again for humoring this very excitable writer.)

So . . . yes. Anna has been for sale here for nearly two weeks. I've also heard that Barnes & Noble's online orders shipped before Thanksgiving, and Anna has been spotted inside of Borders. I should probably be keeping this under wraps, so that I can have better sales on my actual release date, but . . . whatever.

I just want people to read my book!

My official release date is this Thursday, December 2nd, and my release day party will be held at Malaprop's that evening at 7:00 p.m. The Sisters McMullen bakery is generously donating mini-chocolate croissants to the cause. If you live in or around Asheville, I hope you'll attend! I would *LOVE* to see you there. Your support and friendship is very, very appreciated.

I have no idea where this picture of Colin Firth came from.

Yesterday, I worked for twenty-two hours. (That's normal, right?) First on Lola, and then on interviews and emails, and then on Anna-related extras for this site. I'd like to have the extras go live this Thursday, but the thing is . . . I HAVE TO WRITE THEM. Ack! I hope some of them will be ready, but I'll definitely have them up by the end of December.

I'm preparing something really, really embarrassing. Here's a hint: Anna’s original name. And Étienne’s alternate first name, which I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH how HILARIOUS and HORRIBLE it is. Also, you’ll finally learn the name of Lola's Boy Next Door! For reals! All in one deliciously humiliating package.

Stay tuned.

More Scattered Anna News (sorrysorrysorry)

NPR named Anna as one of the top five YA novels of the year. Holy moly! Even better is that the writer of the article is one of *my* favorite writers, the brilliant and beautiful Gayle Forman. I am honored. I've read all of the novels with the exception of Dana Reinhardt's, which I'll be purchasing soon, because I love Gayle's other selections. It's so flattering and exciting to be in their company. And on NPR's website.

Because, really. NPR!!!

Also, if you have a moment, it would mean a lot to me if you visited the NPR link and clicked on "recommend" at the top of the article. If it gets enough recommends, they'll record it for the radio! Which would be amazing! Thank you for your help.

The most fun interview of the week was the one for my friend Lisa Madigan. Love, love, love her. Have you picked up her latest, The Mermaid's Mirror? I reviewed it halfway through this post. It's a beautiful read.

And the most fun review of the week (part one, part two) was this hilarious quad-review in which Étienne St. Clair is referred to as a "hot hobbit" aka, "the hobbit all the other hobbits were in love with." Guys . . . I WILL NEVER HAVE A MORE AWESOME REVIEW THAN THAT.

Hot Hobbits

Speaking of, how have we not discussed how awesome it is that Martin Freeman (aka: Sherlock's boyfriend) will be the newest Hot Hobbit? And that RICHARD freaking ARMITAGE (aka: Mr. Thornton in the greatest BBC romance not enough people have heard about) will be playing Thorin?

RICHARD freaking ARMITAGE

Will it be better than The Lord of the Rings?

PERHAPS.

Book-wise, I actually do like The Hobbit better than The Lord of the Rings. And I'd happily talk Middle Earth all night, but . . . work beckons. Have a wonderful evening!

CoffeeCoffeeDanceCoffeeDance

HELLO, YOU.

Everything in my head SOUNDS LIKE THIS right now. MY APOLOGIES. But I've been drinking A LOT OF COFFEE and I'm listening to the NEW GIRL TALK (download here) ALBUM and I'M SLAM-DANCING THROUGH A MARATHON OF AWESOME.

WOOOOO!!!

(Calm down. Calm down. Calm down.)

WOOOOO!!!

I'm gonna throw out some bits and pieces of newsy things, because that's ALL I CAN MANAGE:

• I was just in NYC for a week! I did work stuff! I hung out with friends! I forgot to take pictures! Except for this one! You're welcome!

MERRY EARLY CHRISTMAS

I actually did take one more picture with my agency sister Erin Danehy, who I'd never met before and who I LOVED. But the proof is still on my camera. And my camera is downstairs!

Which means it'll have to wait.

And it's lame that I didn't get any pictures of Manning and Marjorie, since I was staying in their apartment, which, by the way, was DECORATED LIKE A SPOOKY FOREST. Instead, here's a picture of them dressed like evil mechanical dolls that Heather (who makes EXCELLENT MACARONI AND CHEESE, IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING) took a few weeks ago:

HAPPY LATE HALLOWEEN

• While talking to someone on my trip, it became apparent that I've been slack in reporting the foreign sales of Anna and the French Kiss. So far, Anna will also be published in: Germany, Australia/New Zealand, Taiwan, Hungary, and Brazil.

HURRAH! I LOVE YOU, WORLD! THANK YOU!!

• If you're doing NaNoWriMo, GOOD LUCK. And KEEP GOING. I didn't have time in my schedule this year to participate, and I'm bummed. But I hope you're kicking word-count butt without me! If you need a pick-me-up, I've written a bit about NaNo in this post (scroll halfway down) and in this interview.


• I've been doing a lot of interviews, but those of you who read this blog already know most of my answers, so that's why I haven't been linking to them. But this interview has some new/different stuff in it. Also, if you're waiting for my interview response (or email), you haven't been forgotten! I'm just a bit backlogged.


• In my last post about the fantasy dinner party, I mentioned a recent dream that featured John Waters. In the comments, Tone mentioned her own film director dream:

"I once dreamt I was at a dinner party with George Lucas. My chair was too low, so I sat on my legs to reach the table, the way kids do. George Lucas frowned at me, then ducked under the table, then reappeared with the comment 'Resourceful.'

See? Mr. Lucas though I was resourceful. That has to count for something."

It TOTALLY counts for something. And it's adorable!


• A handful random things I've starred on my Google Reader in the last few months:

—"Sense and Swoon-ability": Lilie watched and ranked eleven period romances. Fun!

—"I Dream of Houses": Connie finds a website that specializes in photos of gorgeous movie homes. LOVE.

—"An Interesting Experiment": Shelley Moore Thomas reads aloud the beginning of several books and asks her after-school writing club if they'd keep reading them. The result? Pretty great.

—"Squares and Triangles Agree": Kristin Cashore talks about how hard writing her new book is, and it makes me feel (a little) better about Lola. I also love this subtle but oh-so-insightful writing lesson.

—And while I'm thinking of Kristin Cashore, she wrote a brilliant article for The Horn Book about fantasy world-building. I don't remember if I've linked to it before, so here it is, just in case. I also love this Horn Book interview with Sarah Dessen.


Hmm. There has been a steady decline of ALL CAPS and exclamation points. (!!!) You know what that means . . .

COFFEE TIME!

Starred Review for Anna + Gushing Review for Sherlock

I've received the a-okay to share this news. Kirkus gave Anna and the French Kiss a starred review!


"Perkins’s debut surpasses the usual chick-lit fare with smart dialogue, fresh characters and plenty of tingly interactions, all set amid pastries, parks and walks along the Seine in arguably the most romantic city in the world. Sarah Dessen fans will welcome another author who gracefully combines love and realism, as Anna’s story is as much about finding and accepting herself as it is about finding love. Très charmante."


HURRAH!! This was very, very unexpected and very, very exciting! I will happily accept the positive review, but the star? That belongs to my brilliant, instinctive editor. Thank you for making my book worthy, Julie. It's such an honor to work with you.

The full review is available here.

I haven't linked to many blogger reviews, because they tend to be spoiler-y, plus you'd grow tired of me! But since I'm on the subject, I'd like to share three favorites:


• Persnickity Snark: "I was losing hope that a contemporary romance could be authentic and deep, self-aware (but not bloated) and fun (without trying too hard) would show its face this year. Perkins threw me a life raft in a sea of bitterness and allowed me to ride the swell of her fantastic debut . . . Full of yearning, laughter and a touch of discord, Perkins has made her mark with great character beats, a genuine friendship and the minutiae that make overseas travel such a unique experience."


• Beth Revis: "What ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS has that most other contemporary love stories don't:

• A very hot boy
• Who also has flaws and is no where near perfect
• A very nice girl
• Who isn't a push-over and is willing to stand up for herself
• A very beautiful city
• That's so realistic, it's practically a third main character
• A plot
• Yes, really! There's a plot! An actual, interesting plot!"

• Lisa Schroeder at YA Bliss: "There were places I laughed out loud, and places I teared up because my heart hurt for the characters. I've always said—my favorite books are the ones that are able to bring that full range of emotions. ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS is *definitely* one of my favorite books."


Thank you to everyone—listed here and not—for giving me such a bounty of wonderful, thoughtful reviews. I feel unworthy.

But ecstatic!

In non-me news (because seriously), did you guys watch Sherlock last night on PBS?

OHMYSTARS, SO GOOD.

The new-to-America series consists of three 90-minute episodes. The characters have been shifted into the twenty-first century, and Holmes has become a text-messaging "highly functioning sociopath" and Watson is a blogging Afghanistan war veteran. The show's appearance is cool and stylized, and the writing is intelligent and hilarious (hugely, unexpectedly so).

"Oh, look at you lot. You're all so vacant. Is it nice not being me? It must be so relaxing." —Holmes

There is simply nothing not to like about it.

Of course, there's also much to admire HBM-wise about the new Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Watson (Martin Freeman, aka the new Bilbo Baggins). Holmes is equipped with a killer wardrobe, and the rapport between the actors is so tight that it elevates the entire production into something far beyond the usual television fare. It's impossible to imagine one actor without the other.

They're so fantastic that . . . I'm beginning to wish they were a romantic couple. Their chemistry could be as legendary as Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. Imagine Watson gazing coyly at Holmes over a piano! Holmes BURSTING from a lake in wet undergarments!! And then, of course, there would be this scene, shot in the rain as a sexy, sexy nod to Macfadyen and Knightley:

HOLMES: You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.
WATSON: Um . . . what did you just say?
HOLMES: Nothing. Shut up. You're annoying.

WOULD YOU NOT DIE???

If you missed it, here's the trailer:

You can catch the entire show here on the PBS website now through December 7th.

BEDITSHOA: There's still time . . .

. . . to enter my Anna and the French Kiss advanced copy giveaway.

ENTER THE GIVEAWAY HERE.

It's the last day! Do it, do it!

The novel is funny and romantic and smart. (Says the author.) The heroine is BFF-worthy, and the hero is crush-worthy: French name, English accent, spectacular hair. And look what Gayle Forman—Gayle! Forman!—said on her blog this weekend:


"It somehow managed to be the perfect romantic comedy, lovingly and excruciatingly (in the best of ways) drawing out the realistic relationship between St. Clair and Anna over a year at a boarding school for Americans in Paris. But it’s also more."


If you want to know what the "more" is, check out her blog. P.S. You'll also find another opportunity to win an advanced copy.

In honor of the best book written by myself set in France that's being published in 2010, here's one of my favorite French bands, Phoenix, doing a "Tiny Desk Concert" for NPR:

I love them.

FUN FACT #1: Phoenix's vocalist Thomas Mars is in a long-term relationship with film director Sofia Coppola. They have two children together. Anna Oliphant—heroine of Anna and the French Kiss—named her car Sofia in her honor.

FUN FACT #2: Sofia has a goooorgeous-looking new film called Somewhere. Phoenix is on the soundtrack. Phoenix's song "Love Like a Sunset" plays in the beginning of the trailer. That song is on my Anna playlist! I'll release Anna's complete playlist this December, but here's Sofia's trailer now:

Good luck, everyone! I'll announce the winner tomorrow night.

BEDITSHOA: The one with the Anna and the French Kiss giveaway!

A brief pause from book recommendations to announce:

It's time.

In honor of BEDITSHOA (Blog Every Day in the Second Half of August), I'm giving away my LAST ADVANCED COPY of Anna and the French Kiss. Anna won't be released until December 2nd, and advanced copies are rare.

In other words . . . zis iz beeg deal!


"Anna was looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. So she's less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris—until she meets Étienne St. Clair. Smart, charming, beautiful, Étienne has it all . . . including a serious girlfriend.

"But in the City of Light, wishes have a way of coming true. Will a year of romantic near-misses end with their long-awaited French kiss? Stephanie Perkins keeps the romantic tension crackling and the attraction high in a debut guaranteed to make toes tingle and hearts melt."


According to my own, personal, way-not-biased, five-star review on Goodreads: "This is, like, totally the best book ever. Or at least the best book I wrote that is coming out in 2010." Also, for the record, "smart, charming, beautiful" Étienne who has-it-all? He also has an English accent.

You know you want a piece of that.

But juuuuust in case my word is not enough (ha ha), here are blurbs from *FIVE* incredible authors:


"Very sly. Very funny. Very romantic. You should date this book."
—MAUREEN JOHNSON, NYT bestselling author of 13 Little Blue Envelopes and Scarlett Fever

"Imagine a mug of rich, thick hot chocolate. Now add a swirl of sweet whipped cream. Yummy? Oui. Well, Anna and the French Kiss is richer, sweeter, and—yes—even hotter. You're in for a very special treat."
—LAUREN MYRACLE, NYT bestselling author of Peace, Love, & Baby Ducks and Let It Snow

"No one captures the exhilarating and exhausting 'but-does-he-like-me?!' question better than Stephanie Perkins. A scrumptious read."

—JUSTINA CHEN, author of North of Beautiful

"Smart and sensual, Anna and the French Kiss is everything your heart is longing for. You'll want to live inside this story forever. More, s'il vous plaît."
—LISA MCMANN, NYT bestselling author of the Wake trilogy

"From the magical streets of Paris to its charming narrator, Anna and the French Kiss has it all. A wonderfully winning book!"
—ROBIN BENWAY, author of Audrey, Wait! and The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May & June


(The last one is new! I'm so excited! I love Robin, and I love her books!)

So now that you've decided you OMG HAVE TO READ this romantic, hilarious, intelligent, swoony, luscious novel set in beautiful Paris featuring a smoking hot boy with a French name and an English accent, how do you win it?

THIS IS HOW YOU WIN IT

Your name will be entered once for each of the following, which you'll let me know you've done in the comments of this post:

— Give me a link (in your comment) to an image of a Hot British Person*
— Follow this blog (or point out that you're already following me)**
— Mention this giveaway on Twitter***
— Mention this giveaway on Facebook
— Blog about this giveaway


*In case you're not into HBMs (Hot British Men). And if you're new to this blog, this one might make me sound nutso, but that's a risk I'm willing to take for a comments box filled with HBP!

**I normally keep this function hidden, because it fills me with ooky "this person is more popular than that person" feelings. But I'm temporarily showing it this August (in my blog's sidebar), because it's the smart thing to do. But . . . I just want you to know that I still feel ooky about it.

***My twitter name = @naturallysteph. You don't have to include it, but it would be nice!


Your name will be entered FIVE TIMES if you have a blog, and you add this Anna and the French Kiss countdown widget to your sidebar (if you're reading this in an RSS feed, you might have to visit my actual blog to see it):

If you do everything, your name will be entered in the drawing TEN TIMES. Ten!! Please make sure in your comment(s) that you let me know which items you've done.

This giveaway is open internationally, and it ends August 30th. I'll announce the winner here on August 31st, the final day of BEDITSHOA. The winner will receive an advanced copy of Anna and the French Kiss, signed and personalized.

Good luck! Thank you so much for entering!


[THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED.]

YA in NY Winner + Lisa & Laini + Maybe Perhaps a Hot Guy in Pretty Clothing (MAYBE)

Congratulations to "I Heart YA in NY" winner, Danae, who left this very kind message in my comments:

Stephanie, your blog posts always add sparkle to my day, and i can't wait to read Anna!!! *hands orange flower macaron*

Merci beaucoup, Danae! The fleur d’oranger macaron was divine. Please email me your address (steph AT stephanieperkins.com), and I'll send out your package prontissimo.

Or, you know, whatever the equivalent of "prontissimo" is in French.

SO . . . this happened:

"Smart and sensual, Anna and the French Kiss is everything your heart is longing for. You'll want to live inside this story forever. More, s'il vous plaît."
—LISA MCMANN, NYT bestselling author of the Wake trilogy

[Steph opens email from editor.]

[Steph's jaw hits floor.]

I'm ecstatic and overjoyed!! Lisa writes such twisty, page-turny, sexy novels. Her characters are real and interesting, they actually grow throughout the series, and as I told her in my thank you . . . it's rare to surprise me as a reader. I'm sure others who read or write a great deal can relate: since I study stories for a living, I see "twists" coming a mile away.

(Sorry, Christopher Nolan. I like your films, but they don't surprise me. But thank you for putting Joseph Gordon-Levitt in such pretty clothing and making him do cool things. A++.)

But Lisa? Something in one of her books COMPLETELY fooled me! Oh my word, it was fantastic. I'm honored by her blurb!

Also, whenever I think of Lisa, I can't help but think of this funny story my friend Laini Taylor told back in January 2009:


"One of the Cybils shortlist titles in sci-fi/fantasy, selected by me and my co-panelists, is Lisa McMann's Wake, a book I read in one sitting (well, one 'lying' because I was in bed and didn't fall asleep until I finished it at 1:30 or so). When I posted about it, a friend in Arizona emailed to tell me essentially, 'Yeah it's great, and did you know she wrote it in seven days?'

At which point I swore violently and laid curses in the general direction of Arizona, where Lisa McMann also lives, because, you know, just because. Because writing a good book in seven days is just plain showing off!! So, this same friend from Arizona, a YA book enthusiast and his wife . . . were in Portland last weekend and when we got together for lunch, they had this gift for me, a copy of Wake inscribed, by Lisa McMann, as follows:

Tee hee. I find this very, very funny, and it's made funnier by the fact that the book was handed off at night between car windows in a parking lot, the way FBI agents meet informants in TV shows. All clandestine-like. So, thank you Daanon and Michelle for the gift of the book, and thank you Lisa McMann, for good-naturedly rubbing my nose in your absurdly fast writing abilities. :-)

[psst. I don't really think she was showing off. I'm just jealous. And I really liked this book. It's about a girl who has the very bad luck that, whenever someone falls asleep in her vicinity, she gets sucked into their dream. It's a thriller and a romance, and an unputdownable read . . . It's a good read for adults or teens, and you can count on it for teen reluctant readers, because it is so fast-paced.]"


To which Lisa replied in the comments . . .


"Hey Laini! What I didn't mention is that it took seven days for the rough draft, and months for the revising, and the final product is approximately two hundred-something-something pages shorter than yours.

So there's that."


Ha ha! As someone else who writes sloooooooow first drafts (high-five to Laini), I, too, am jealous of Lisa's talent. Which is why I remember the story!

Speaking of Laini, did you hear she had a second announcement about Daughter of Smoke and Bone? I kid you not, that book will be HUGE. I feel so so sosososo lucky to have already read it. I mean, listen to what her UK editor is saying:


"Daughter of Smoke and Bone is a magnificent book, which grabbed me from the opening page, and had everyone at Hodder completely enthralled. The book’s macabre fairytale feel is incredibly inventive and original, and the fantasy is wonderfully creative yet extremely accessible.

I felt the same way about it as I felt when I read His Dark Materials and Twilight—that shiver of excitement knowing I was reading something outstanding. It’s a brilliant novel, with a feisty heroine who I know will resonate with readers young and old, male and female."


I KNOW, right? It's already on Goodreads, so mark it as to-read!

Oh. And here's the obligatory picture of Joseph Gordon-Levitt in pretty clothing doing cool things:

Of course I didn't forget.

And, for good measure, here's an interesting interview with him courtesy of Kiersten White (yes, there are pictures, better ones) and . . . here's an interesting interview with Kiersten White! Though I'm more than a wee bit biased, because she says super-nice things about me and uses the phrase "Celebrity Boyfriends staff."

What's that? You want more?

IF YOU INSIST:

Joseph Gordon-Levitt in MORE pretty clothing, dancing with Zooey Deschanel who is ALSO wearing pretty clothing. I truly cannot decide which one is more adorable!

Happy weekend!

Stars in Paris, Hearts in New York

Directly between my feet is a coppery-bronze octagon with a star. Words are engraved in the stone around it: POINT ZÉRO DES ROUTES DE FRANCE.

"Mademoiselle Oliphant. It translates to 'Point zero of the roads of France.' In other words, it's the point from which all other distances in France are measured." St. Clair clears his throat. "It's the beginning of everything."

I look back up. He's smiling.

"Welcome to Paris, Anna. I'm glad you've come . . . Now make a wish."

Anna was looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. So she's less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris—until she meets Étienne St. Clair. Smart, charming, beautiful, Étienne has it all . . . including a serious girlfriend.

But in the City of Light, wishes have a way of coming true. Will a year of romantic near-misses end with their long-awaited French kiss? Stephanie Perkins keeps the romantic tension crackling and the attraction high in a debut guaranteed to make toes tingle and hearts melt.

That's the description printed on the back of my advanced copies. I realized the other day that it's more detailed than the previous one I shared with you. It's also—in a weird, tiny way—the first time I've posted an excerpt here. Ha!

It also means that I can finally share this:

THE HAPPIEST AUTHOR IN THE WORLD

My sister took this picture last January. Point Zéro is a real place, located in the courtyard of Notre-Dame. Thanks to Anna, it has captured a very special place in my heart. And that's all I'm going to say about it! If you want to know the thing about Point Zéro, please read my book when it comes out this December!

(Sorry! Hee hee.)

So. It's been another strange week. And by "strange," I mean AWESOME. Book blogger reviews for Anna and the French Kiss are popping up everywhere. Yeah, that "it's getting real" thing I mentioned last week? It's, like, totally real now. I promise I won't link to them all, but here are two (non-spoiler) reviews that I found particularly exciting. Sara and Erica decided to read Anna at the same time:

"Top 10 Reasons to Read ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS" by Sara at The Hiding Spot

"And now, two days later, I'm still carrying it around with me. And no, I don't mean in my head, I mean LITERALLY. This book is so full of awesome that I can't let it go. I am unable to stop talking or thinking about it."


"In which I profess my love for Anna and the French Kiss" by Erica at The Book Cellar

"There was not a single thing I didn't like about it, and I can't wait until it is out so I can go out and buy a copy. The wait for her next book is going to be painfully long and I really hope she writes many many more lovely books. I would highly suggest preordering this one! It is THAT good."

Thank you, Sara and Erica. I am . . . blown away. I don't think I've even allowed myself to dream of people liking my novel that much. It's very, very unexpected. (And very, very wonderful.)

Also, Myrna Foster wrote a review, interviewed me, AND is hosting a giveaway! The giveaway is for pre-orders of both Anna and the French Kiss and Kiersten White's Paranormalcy, Shelley Moore Thomas' Good Night, Good Knight, an Anna bookmark, a jar of Nutella (!), and "something pink and/or sparkly" to go with Para.

Did you catch that? ALL OF THAT COOL STUFF YOU COULD WIN? Enter, enter, enter!

Myrna was the first person who wasn't a family member or a friend who began commenting regularly here on my blog. (THANK YOU, MYRNA!) She's a friend now, of course, and because of that, I had so much fun doing her interview. And I probably said more than I'd usually say, too. Also, I'm frequently asked how I became critique partners with Kiersten White, so I finally answer that question. In great detail.

I need to get back to revising Lola, but this feels like it's been kind of a selfish me-me-me post.

SO.

Here's the video for The Dead Weather's "Treat Me Like Your Mother," which I've recently decided is the SEXIEST MUSIC VIDEO OF ALL TIME.

Which is soooooo wrong because it's filled with things that I normally do NOT find sexy (guns, violence, leather, cigarettes), but OH MY STARS. After watching the sexysexysexy Alison Mosshart and Jack White, I honest-to-goodness thought to myself, "I need to buy a pair of tight black pants and a leather jacket."

WHAT???

No. I do not need to buy tight black pants and a leather jacket. I would look ridiculous in tight black pants and a leather jacket.

BUT BEHOLD THE SEXY:

Ooo, they are so angry at each other!

(WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME? I WRITE STORIES WHERE THE SEXY PEOPLE ARE *NOT* ANGRY AND LEATHER-CLAD. WHY CAN'T I STOP WATCHING??)

But if angry rock stars aren't your thing, how about another giveaway?

This would be that giveaway I've been hinting about, oh, FOREVER. Arrrghhh. The humiliation! Do you see what it is? Do you see the theme?

"But Stephanie," you say. "Weren't you in New York last April?"

Yes. Yes, I was. I was there in EARLY April. And I bought these presents for you, and I've been holding on to them ever since.

[Hides in shame underneath mountain of unwashed laundry.]

So. Um. If you'd like to win this special *cough cough* New York City giveaway, please leave a comment in this post that says: I Heart YA in NY!

No need to announce this contest on Twitter or Facebook or your blog. Just an "I Heart YA in NY!" comment here will be enough to enter. I'm keeping this low-key, because:


(A) It's embarrassing how long I waited to do this.

(B) I want the package to go to someone who actually read this entire post. Ha!


My giveaway includes a classic "I ♥ NY" mug filled with instant Starbucks coffee and two of my favorite YA romances set in the city, Maureen Johnson's Suite Scarlett and David Levithan and Rachel Cohn's Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist.

Maureen's book features the HOTTEST OLDER BROTHER TO GRACE THE PAGES OF YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE, Spencer Martin. And if you've only seen the Nick and Norah movie, then you're missing out! The novel has one of the sexiest scenes I've ever read. (And they aren't even angry or wearing leather jackets.) I am NOT exaggerating. And it is NOT what they put in the movie.

My only warning is that Nick and Norah has a lot of strong language. Not a little. A LOT. So if this is the sort of thing that bothers you, for the love of New York, please don't enter. Seriously. (But do check out Suite Scarlett and its sequel Scarlett Fever!) And if you win, and you aren't a coffee drinker, let me know. I will gladly keep the coffee for you. Or you could save it for house guests. Like me.

This giveaway is open internationally, and I'll choose a winner next Friday, July 16th.

SO. The moral of the story is: if you've ever contacted me, and you've wondered at why I am sooooo slow at replying, um . . . obviously, I am slow at MANY things! In other words, it's not you. It's me.

("BUSY! I'VE BEEN BUSY!!" she says desperately.)

Oh! And I still have to tell you about the rest of my beach trip! I mean, I saw squirrel underpants, you guys. Ah, well. Next time.

(She says.)

* * * The giveaway is closed now, thanks! * * *

Beachy, Sandy-Feet Greetings!

Anyone else singing Echo & the Bunnymen? "Lips like sugaaaar. Sug-ar kiss-eee-ees!"

How sexy is the new cover for my agency sis Carrie Harris' zombie book? MY WORD. I'm fanning myself and chugging an entire pitcher of lemonade. I want to devour this novel NOW. (It comes out next July. *sniff*) That's winning the cover lottery if I've ever seen it.

The tagline is brilliant, too: "It’s scary. It’s twisted. It’s sick. It’s high school."

ACK. Love it.

So! I'm on vacation! Yippee!! Apologies to those who have already seen this picture on Twitter:

But it's the only good one I have. My camera keeps fogging up from the humidity! I wanted to take a picture of a sailboat yesterday and make a cheesy quip about how sailboats are so '80s, but no luck.

You'll have to pretend there's a picture of a sailboat here. If it helps, the sail was white with pink and orange stripes. (LIKE ANY SELF-RESPECTING '80s SAILBOAT WOULD BE.)

During the day, I've been sleeping, eating, and reading, and doing most of it in a rocking chair. At night, I find myself taking long walks along the shoreline. It's as if I can't walk enough. I never tire, and it feels like I could walk forever. My legs and heart are restless.

I've been thinking a lot about The Darjeeling Limited. The film is about three brothers (Jason "will one day realize he's Steph's best friend" Schwartzman, Adrien "best nose in Hollywood" Brody, and Owen "shouldn't be allowed to make movies without Wes Anderson" Wilson) who are dealing with, well, issues. And they're traveling by train across India with an exquisitely strange and burdensome amount of luggage.

(Fun fact: the luggage was designed by Louis Vuitton!)

There's a scene at the end—which I imagine made most film critics roll their eyes, but that I've always loved—when the brothers are racing to catch the train home and they literally have to shed their baggage to catch it.

I think that's what's happening with my restless night walking. It's as if the farther I walk, the more baggage I shed. The last year of my life is slipping away, and I'm heading toward something new.

Something better.

These days, I often find myself thinking about the last thirteen months, in which I destroyed myself while working on Anna revisions and writing Lola and the Boy Next Door. It would be easy—terrifyingly easy—to jump back into the same cycle while working on Lola revisions and writing Book Three. So the question on my mind is: How do I keep from repeating last year? Some of the things were out of my control and couldn't be helped, but most of the damage was self-inflicted. Most of it came from a scared new author trying to figure out how to make this NEW life work.

Who knew having your dream come true could be so . . . challenging?

I have made mistakes in my daily life. MOUNTAINS UPON MOUNTAINS of mistakes. But I'm learning from them. And some day, when my thoughts have solidified, I'll share what these hard lessons have taught me. Maybe they'll help someone else.

Goodbye, Bad Year. See you never again ever.

So . . . this week has been GOOD.

There have been many good things! Alexa and Jessica Shea both sent me pictures from the big ALA conference last weekend. EEK! THANK YOU!!

DUDE. THERE WAS A POSTER.

SERIOUSLY. A POSTER.

And I heard from two people that the Penguin booth ran out of advanced copies of my book! And while it isn't the type to have a bazillion copies printed, this is still awesome happy-making news. Thank you so, so much to everyone who picked one up.

And—AND—my novel finally met Kiersten's! Look how cute:

It's like they're on a date! Fingers crossed for hand-holding and paper-cut kisses!

Thanks, Jessica, for that AMAZING picture. I grin like a fool every time I see it.

Everything is getting real now. It's strange to be in this position where people are actually reading my book. I mean, I realize that's the ultimate goal, but truthfully? This is where it gets nerve-wracking.

PEOPLE ARE READING (*cough* JUDGING) MY BOOK. RIGHT NOW.

Because of this, I've been making an effort to get Anna into the hands of as many friends as possible—people who will help me build that cushion of comfort, so when the going gets tough (I am looking at you, future nasty one-star Goodreads reviews), I'll have their kind words to fall back on.

So to everyone who has sent me such WONDERFUL emails this week (and you know who you are), please allow me to thank you from the bottom of my heart. Your words mean the world to me.

Also . . . advanced copies are arriving into the hands of other authors! I exploded with surprised joy when I opened up my Twitter feed today and found a stream of comments, including these:

Thank you Suzanne, Lindsey, (and Kimberly!). It's still near-impossible to believe that OTHER AUTHORS are READING MY BOOK.

WHEN DID THIS BECOME MY LIFE??

On top of this (!), ANNA RECEIVED ANOTHER BLURB:

“No one captures the exhilarating and exhausting ‘but-does-he-like-me?!’ question better than Stephanie Perkins. A scrumptious read.”
— Justina Chen, author of NORTH OF BEAUTIFUL

Surreal. I can't stop shaking my head. My name is in that blurb, you guys. Thank you, Justina. Wow. THANK YOU.

Justina is one of the super-cool Readergirlz and has written three novels, the latest of which I've heard nothing but great things. (And it got a starred review from Booklist!) The description sounds fantastic:


"From behind, you’d think Terra Cooper had it all: she’s tall but not too tall, has a figure to kill for, and boasts naturally blonde hair. But the palm-sized birthmark on her face might as well be her fate map. Everyone in her small, touristy town knows what’s hidden beneath the heavy makeup she’s worn since birth. Sick of being the town oddity and even sicker of her caustic mapmaker of a father, Terra yearns to escape the suffocating grid of her life. And then she nearly runs over an Asian Goth boy, her age . . . and encounters True Beauty in him . . . and herself."


It's been on my to-read list for months, so it's safe to say I'll be devouring it the moment I get home. I can't wait!

And now I'll leave you with a list of things seen on tonight's beach walk: green fireworks, young boys chasing crabs with flashlights, sandcastles being erased by the tide, a dark sky filled with stars, and one lonely golden planet.

Happiness. A good week.


EDITED TO ADD: *faints* *cries* These just in from my first book blogger! And THIS is why I love Twitter. Thank you for capping off a perfect day, The Hiding Spot:




FURTHER ADDED: I will stop bragging now.

EVEN FURTHER ADDED: But I really like the idea of other people typing "St. Clair."

EVEN FURTHER-EST ADDED: St. Clair, St. Clair, St. Clair.