Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig

♥ So much love for these people. ♥

Phew! These last two weeks . . . phew!

LeakyCon and Comic-Con. What a magical, unforgettable July you have given me! I have no words yet, and that's not just because I've lost my voice. I have seen so many friends, so many readers, so many talented creators that I've admired for years . . . yeah. Just . . . yeah.

I can't think of a more perfect way for Jarrod and I to have celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary. Further happiness and details when I have recovered.


EDITED TO ADD: Oh! But I have a guest post here about being a teenage outsider, if you're interested.

Impromptu New York City

I like to call this series of pictures taken by Mitali from Alley of Books as: That One Time Gayle Forman Grabbed My Butt!

Her devious expression . . .

. . . leads to this!

Don't worry. I returned the favor twenty minutes later . . . on the street! Hee hee.

Gayle and I were at a release party for Courtney Sheinmel's latest, All the Things You Are. (Can't wait to read!) It was a spur-of-the-moment thingie, since my trip to New York was spur-of-the-moment, and I'm grateful Courtney let me crash her party. We'd never met before, and she was such a sweetheart!

Sara (Super Librarian!), Moi, Courtney

Doesn't Courtney have the most beautiful smile? I was dazzled by it all evening.

The day before was my impromptu Bryant Park gathering, which Rachel at Bookshelf Lust wonderfully chronicled here. (I wish Rachel would photograph and write-up ALL of my events. Such talent!) I can't even begin to say how amazing it turned out to be. It was unquestionably the most fun event I've had this year, thanks to the intimate setting and delightful attendees. Thank you to everyone who came!

The rest of my quickie visit was spent arm-in-arm with Gayle (who graciously allowed me to stay with her, even though I only gave her sixteen hours notice), telling scary stories over a Japanese dinner with my friends Manning, Marjorie, and Marjorie's mother (who speaks little English, and I speak even less French, which did not impede our enjoyment one bit!), eating a yummy breakfast with my always-fabulous editor Julie, and . . . researching. (Ooo!)

I also bought a fox penis bone for my writing desk at Evolution, a marvelous store lovingly described by Laini Taylor in this post.

Why? Because I could!

Now I'm looking forward to this weekend.

Working on my novel? Maybe. Painting my bathroom? Maybe. Relaxing with a few good books? Definitely!

Speaking of, what are you reading these days? Anything I should know about? I have a ton of recommendations for YOU, I just need to get into gear and blog about them! (And blog about our Princess Army. And several events-of-past. And and and. Etc.)

Happy weekend!

Hang out with me tomorrow (Saturday) in NYC!

Like this, but perhaps with rain.

This is a last-second announcement, because these are last-second plans. I just booked a flight to Manhattan for this weekend. A few people on Twitter asked if I'd be willing to do an impromptu signing, so . . . here we go!

Tomorrow (Saturday, June 11th) I will be hanging out in front of the Bryant Park Cafe in Bryant Park at 3:30 p.m.

As I will not recognize YOU, you will have to look for ME. Thanks to my hair, I'm pretty easy to spot! My stripes are currently pale turquoise.

Since it might rain, we might have to move locations. We'll figure it out when we get there! Check my Twitter account for updates. But, rain or shine, we'll at least meet in front of the Bryant Park Cafe at 3:30.

I'll be happy to sign my books if you bring them. And if you don't have a copy, that's okay, too. We can just hang! Pictures are cool, too. This will be a REALLY, REALLY, REALLY informal (and hopefully fun) gathering.

I'm not sure how many of us there will be; it might be just you and me! But I'll be hanging out until 5:00 p.m. Again, check my Twitter account, because if you're arriving late, we might switch locations.

Hope to see you New Yorkers there tomorrow! WOO HOO!

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!

BEDITSHOA: Susan + Hillary + Ira

I was supposed to tell you about these.

It occurred to me after writing yesterday's post—in which I mentioned reading Into the Wild Nerd Yonder during my July beach vacation—that I never finished blogging about that trip! I didn't take any more pictures of the beach, but I did come away with a handful from my side trip to Wilmington, NC.

I went to visit my agency sister Susan J. Steward, who lives in gorgeous historic downtown Wilmington, which is everything a Southern town should be: the houses have massive porches and white columns, ferns drip from hanging baskets, and flower gardens peek from between wrought iron fences.

But because it's on the coast, it also has an artsy, surfer flair.

Susan and I spent the afternoon strolling around, talking about writing and books. Unfortunately, I dropped (and broke) my camera about halfway through, so I never took any pictures of the houses! But here are a few other things that made me smile:

A giant skateboard bench.

A fence decorated with keys.

Orange and green store = Planet, home of the squirrel undies.

Me on the Riverwalk with Planet bag. (No undies actually purchased!)

A painting of Captain Jack in the coffee shop.

Venus Flytrap sculpture. (A native plant!)

With my fabulous hostess, Susan.

One of my favorite things about my job is how many incredible friends I've made, people I never would have met otherwise. Special thanks this time to Agent Kate for having such cool clients. I can't wait to hang out with Susan again!

So I read several excellent novels during that week at the beach, but Hillary Frank's The View from the Top was the other one that left a lasting impression. Here's the jacket description:

TOBIN won't miss anything about life in Normal, Maine, when he leaves for conservatory . . . except for his dream girl.

JONAH would give up his player ways—and his best friend—for a chance with his best friend's girlfriend.

LEXI desperately hopes that her crush will see her in a new light, but fears that her love will remain unrequited.

MATT is anxiously clinging to the past, afraid that he won't be a part of his girlfriend's brighter future.

MARY-TYLER wishes people would look past her weight and wealth and accept her for who she is.

And then there's ANABELLE, the one who ties them all together. As she sorts out her love life and tries to make sense of her increasingly complicated friendships, Anabelle begins to question how well her friends really know her . . . and how well she knows herself.


I was interested in this book because I read Hillary's first novel (about art school) Better Than Running at Night when it was released in 2002, and though many of the details have since escaped my memory, the tone has never left. Interestingly, I've talked to a number of people who've had this same experience! There's something compelling about the way she can string a sentence together.

It's haunting.

I inhaled her latest in one breath. The novel is told by six characters in seven stories, and each character's story begins where the last left off. (In other words, the plot moves forward. It's not a Rashomon.) Sometimes, as a reader, when I'm thrown from point-of-view to point-of-view, I feel like the work suffers. I get antsy for the author to return to the interesting character. Not so here. I was impressed by how different each voice was, but how the overall tone (that word again!) worked seamlessly as a whole.

This book falls into the category of "hard to describe." It's a deceptively simple story with real characters, but . . . that's a complete undersell. It just works. I think the key is in the language, but I still can't explain WHY or HOW her language so captivating.

It just is.

I recommend The View from the Top to all fans of contemporary fiction. There's humor, there's heartache. It's good. Really, really good. I'm curious to revisit her first novel and to read her second, I Can't Tell You. (Which, unfortunately, I only learned existed after reading the bio on this one. Me, upon finding out: "You mean I could have had another Hillary Frank novel six years ago?")

One cool tidbit is that she's also an independent producer for several pubic radio programs, including MY FAVORITE RADIO SHOW EVER, This American Life. Which means . . . she probably knows this guy:

Ira freaking Glass.

Who I do not not not have a crush on. At all.

Except I totally do, because not only does he host the most fascinating show on radio (and in such a *human* way), but he also did an amazing four-part video series on storytelling. I've posted this one before (and at least twice), but it's always worth re-posting. I love it so much that for several months while writing Lola, I kept it as my homepage:

I don't think I will ever get tired of hearing those first two minutes. Thank you, Ira.

He also gave this INCREDIBLE interview for Slate a few months ago on the subject of being wrong. Again, storytellers take note. There's a lot of wisdom packed into that one interview.

I can't think of a smooth way of ending this, so in summary: Susan J. Steward rocks. Please read Hillary Frank's new book. And if you're in the business of creating—anything!—watch the Ira Glass video.

California, Delaware, Disneyland

Tinkering with the Vignette Droid app in the airport. The filter that highlights my hair is called "Paris." Cool!

(August? How on EARTH did it get to be AUGUST?)

I just arrived home from a wonderful week in California. Before I say anything else, I want to thank the person who made my trip possible: Kiersten White. Without her, I wouldn't have been able to attend the summer conference for SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators). Thank you, Kiersten, for being one of the most charming, hilarious, kind, trustworthy, beautiful, generous people in my life.

Also, it was insanely good timing on my behalf to be there when this happened:

Her first HARDCOVER copy of Paranormacly!

How thrilling it was to knock on it and hear its heavy, thick book-y sound! The sound that announces:

I am real.

I'm looking forward to blogging about the conference, but I'll wait until more attendees have uploaded their pictures. My own camera is being repaired, so I was stuck with my camera phone! It takes great pictures with the above Vignette app, but it's a pain when it comes to regular pictures.

There are only two things I'll say about the conference for now:

(1) I met so many fantastic authors, illustrators, and bloggers! I say it frequently, but it's always incredible when internet friends become real-life friends. Thank you to everyone who introduced yourself to me. I'm grateful to be in CHILDREN'S WRITING, a career packed with such sweet, funny, supportive people.

(2) M.T. Anderson. Hello, you. Please allow me to bathe your feet in liquid gold and feed you grapes plumped by Italian sunshine.

Mr. Anderson. I did not take this picture, nor did I attend this party. Unfortunately.

Okay, fine. I'll explain that last one.

For the unfamiliar, Anderson is a two-time Printz Honor and National Book Award-winning author of The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Volume 1: The Pox Party (best title ever) as well as Feed (often cited for its memorable first sentence: "We went to the moon to have fun, but the moon turned out to completely suck") and several more YA novels, middle grade novels, and picture books (including one not often discussed, though it should be: Me, All Alone, at the End of the World).

His work is sophisticated—sometimes challenging (Octavian), sometimes laugh-out-loud hilarious (The Game of Sunken Places)—and always interesting.

I'd been looking forward to his keynote, because I knew it would be good. I didn't realize it would be GREAT. It was on the use of geography in literature, with examples from a wide variety of writers and sources, including his own Jasper Dash and the Flame-Pits of Delaware. In it, Anderson reimagines Delaware as a mystical land (Amazon description): "Long cut off from civilization by exorbitant toll-road charges, it is a dangerous region of lofty mountains, impenetrable jungles, and exotic cities, ruled by a crazed military dictator."

I know, right? Brilliant.

He had us, his entire audience, wrapped around his finger as new perspectives and ideas exploded throughout our minds, but then—as if he hadn't done enough—he burst into his own Delaware state anthem:

(Not my recording. So if you're interested, watch him sing it now before it's snatched away!)

For the rest of the conference, he was surrounded by throngs of single women. Ha ha! I was bummed to miss his workshop two days later, which I heard was "better and harder than any college lecture," but a friend was kind enough to take notes for me, because I had somewhere else to be . . .

DISNEYLAND.

Oh, yeah. I ditched work for Disney.

In a weird coincidence, my husband just-so-happened to be in Los Angeles! So I spent Sunday with Jarrod and our friends Alex (The Remus Lupins, for you wizard rockers) and Sarah. They made awesome companions, because they're from the area and know the park's secrets! We hardly waited in line all day.

The following pictures are courtesy of Sarah, who also has red hair with blue stripes:

And beautiful eyes. She has really, really beautiful eyes.

Alex, Sarah, Jarrod, Moi. And a riverboat.


HAM (Hot American Man), HAD (Hot American Dude), or HAG (Hot American Guy). Sorry I can't find a sexy acronym, honey. But you are!

EAT THE CHURROS.

Jarrod was taking this picture for Twitter.

The lady behind us does NOT want in our picture!

"Ooo."

"AHH!"

I'm pretty proud of how dorky we are.

Alex's hat celebrates our ninth anniversary.

Toontown phone. I'm concerned. About . . . something.

Official and stuff.

Thanks to Jarrod, Alex, and Sarah for a perfect Sunday! And before I go, something from my blog comments. Mary Clare said:

"Me thinks you should do BEDA with Maureen Johnson. She's doing it in August, if you don't recall. :) I know you're busy and I understand if you cannot, but that would be AWESOME! You are one of my favorite bloggers and it is nice to here from you again."

Props for saying "me thinks." I'm a fan.

And thank you! It takes a loooooong time to write each post (even the short ones), so blog compliments always make me happy. I would love to do Maureen's BEDA (Blog Every Day April/August) but I'm wrestling with a VERY PRESSING DEADLINE this week, so perhaps I can try BEDITSHOA?

That, of course, stands for: Blog Every Day in the Second Half of August.

Maybe? Perchance? No promises—because I've broken more promises this year than I care to admit—but I'd love to do this. Thank you for asking!

Happy August, everyone.

(SERIOUSLY. HOW IS IT ALREADY AUGUST?)

January Flashback

HOW CAN THIS BE REAL?

That's Mysore Palace in India. A good friend of mine is traveling to Mysore (the "City of Palaces") for a wedding later this month, and she's decided to stop by Paris for three days on the way back.

India. And France. Excuse me while my eyes bug out.

She asked me about restaurant and to-do recommendations in Paris, and last night as I was emailing her back, I realized, Hey. I really DO know stuff about this city! Which should be obvious, but it kind of wasn't until that point. I mean, I know practical information now. I can tell you how to get from A to B, and where to eat when you're at C (and what to order), and how long it'll take to get there, and if there's a chance you can fit D into your schedule, too, but as long as it's not a Monday, because D is closed on Mondays. Oh, and you should check out E, F, and G if you have the time, because they're amazing and centrally located.

That sort of thing.

Cool, huh?

And it's exciting for me to realize this, because my year is about to get a LOT more Paris-y. Between promoting Anna and diving back into Book Three, I'm falling into that world again. It's a nice place to be.

So it's reminded me that I never finished telling you about my trip last January! If you recall, my laptop died toward the end of it, and then I came home, and I was really, really tired and busy. And a little melancholy. France was incredible. Going back to my regularly scheduled life? Who wants that?

When I came back, my friend Connie (who also went to Paris this year!) left this quote in my comments:

"America is my country and Paris is my hometown." — Gertrude Stein

I like that.

So here are some scattered memories from my last week in my hometown. Here's an obligatory pretty picture:

So now I can show you some crap!

Here's a random big thing near the Catacombs:

I have no idea what it is. BUT I LIKE IT.

And here's a picture from the actual Catacombs:

It looks like a toilet. And it says "Etienne."

Of course I took a picture.

(I think it's saying that the remains behind it were taken from St. Etienne's cemetery in 1787 and deposited here, behind the stone toilet thing. Anyone else have a better translation? And of course I took pictures at St. Etienne, too!)

If you recall, I took also took several of the Hot Dudes at the Louvre. This guy was in my favorite art museum, the Musée d'Orsay. He isn't super-hot, but he sure as heck thinks he is! It made me laugh. I believe it was my sister who dubbed this: God's Gift to the Flower Ladies.

(Real name: Le Chevalier aux Fleurs by Georges Rochegrosse.)

Here's the Musée d'Orsay itself:

Gorgeous, isn't it? The building is a former railway station, and the museum is primarily known for it's collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings. Also, if you ask a native Parisian what their favorite art museum is, chances are high they'll say the d'Orsay!

I took this next one for Lois, who recommended I try them and said they were tastier than the variety we find in America. Too bad I don't remember exactly what "they" are. Vietnamese spring rolls? Maybe? Ha!

But I do recall them being delicious, and that's what counts. Thank you, Lois!

We found them around the corner from the Panthéon, my favorite monument. Here's me on the outside:

And my husband Jarrod on the inside:

We are QUITE happy to be there. If you couldn't tell.

Here are the cutest helmets I've ever seen:

And here are some ceramic pickles:

Oh! And C-3PO:

I'm becoming a nut for les BD (bandes dessinées, comic books) and this was inside of Album, a huuuuge comics store (actually two stores, on opposite sides of the street!) in the Latin Quarter. French comics are VERY different from American comics—they're big and hardcover and glossy and just plain beautiful. Not a lot of superheroes either, though they definitely have our imports! And though still considered a bit nerdy, they're popular and much more mainstream. You'll always find elegantly dressed businessmen browsing the shops.

And there are many, many comics shops.

This particular store also taught me that the French word for "wand" is "baguette."

HA!! Awesome.

Jarrod and I spent our last day at the Musée de la Magie and Musée des Automates (Magic Museum and Automaton Museum—they share a building) with our friend Manning. And as I was trying to get this shot of Jarrod:

I accidentally dropped my camera and got this:

Which I ended up liking, because how cool are Manning's shoes? Also, his socks match my coat. Which makes for a nice "huh" moment.

The museums were filled with what can only be described as "Really F***ed Up S***." Which is, of course, my favorite kind of stuff.

FOR EXAMPLE:

Obviously, I cannot recommend these museums highly enough.

That's enough for today. I took a few thousand pictures while I was in Paris, so I think I'll do this again! But I won't post ALL of the pictures. I promise.

There are still two days left to enter my "I Heart YA in NY" contest. Enter if you're interested!


EDITED TO ADD: I just realized that today is La Fête Nationale (Bastille Day). Joyeux quatorze juillet!