Why didn't anyone tell me how funny How I Met Your Mother is? I watched an episode by chance recently and a. it had Mandy Moore, who I will forever adore because she was so awesome in SAVED!, as a guest-star, and b. Neil Patrick Harris! Alyson Hannigan! Jason Segel! Hello, parade of AWESOME!!

I admit I've never seen Josh Radnor in anything before, but he's fab as Ted and anyway, I watched a few more episodes from the current season last night and now I'm totally hooked on the show and am trying to decide if I should get the first two seasons on dvd. Has anyone else seen the show? Are the first two seasons worth watching?

Other stuff:

Don't forget today is your LAST CHANCE to win a copy of Perfect You--so if you haven't done it yet, leave a comment here, and you could win Perfect You--one month before it's in stores!!

I could talk about watching the Oscars, but I don't need to because Meg Cabot sums it all up way faster--and funnier--than I ever could.

A two-part interview with uber-famous agent Donald Mass--part one and part two--I was especially caught by his take on blogging, which seems to be the hot topic of discussion this week.

I admire Susan Beth Pfeffer because she's an amazing writer (I know the dead and the gone is coming out soon, but I wish it was out NOW so I could buy a bunch of copies and give them away so everyone can love the awesomeness) but now I also admire her because she's discussing her work-in-progress with great candor and humor on her blog. As some of you know, I can barely bring myself to discuss something *after* I'm done writing it, and so I love that she is just out there talking about what she wants to do. (And btw, the book she's talking about possibly writing? WOW.)

Finally, from agent Kristin Nelson, a reminder that No Two Editors Are Alike

Contest for Feb 25 and 26 ONLY: Win a copy of PERFECT YOU before it's in stores!!

Lisa McMann, author of the upcoming awesome novel Wake, is giving away an autographed copy of Perfect You --and all you have to do for a chance to win is leave a comment at her myspace blog!

That's right, leave Lisa a comment, and you could win Perfect You--one month before it's in stores!!

I went for a drive this morning, to think about some revisions I'm working on (and okay, to go to the bookstore). I'd forgotten how driving seems to make something in my brain switch on, and I ended up pulling over to the side of the road a couple of times to scribble down ideas. It felt really nice, and I'm going to have to try to remember to do it the next time I feel like my brain needs a nudge. Or twelve.

I also have loads of links to share:

Agent Nathan Bransford wants to know when you follow writing advice--and when you ignore it. Check out the comments to see what everyone thinks!

Publishers Weekly praises sales rep--those who sell books to bookstores. The praise is *so* well-deserved, and there's some interesting insights into how sales reps work as well.

Agent Jennifer Jackson on what happens when one of the big chain bookstores cancels an order for a book

Writer Jim Hines talks about how much money he's made as a writer, providing a nice companion piece to John Scalzi's post on the same subject

The LJ Community Fangs, Fur, & Fey has a great post on how a story goes from manuscript to book and another one on advances and royalties

Author Elizabeth Becka writes about what happens when your writing career goes wrong -- there are many, many blog entries out there about writing and selling, but so few that address issues that writers may run into after they've sold.

Finally, Editorial Anonymous is taking questions for an Anonymous Publisher Rep and An Anonymous Bookstore Buyer--this is a great chance to ask questions you've always want to, so get over there and ask!

apologies in advance!

I managed to muck up my blog settings in a truly awful way just now--I somehow managed to turn it into a page full of squiggles and broken code--and although I've fixed it, I'm afraid six zillion of my old entries may show up on various feeds. If that happens--I'm sorry!!!

As some of you have noticed, the cover for Stealing Heaven is now up on Amazon (and Amazon is once again running their 5% off all pre-orders special, which means you can get a copy of Stealing Heaven for about $11 (!))

We had a bit of an ice storm here last night, and all the trees look gorgeous today. (They certainly look much better than my windshield, which I had to scrape with a cd cover because I couldn't find my ice scraper. The result is one mangled cd case and a windshield that--well, could really use an ice scraper)

Also! Don't forget that if you're a student in grades 7-12, you still have time to enter the PUSH Novel Contest.

And, as usual, I have a bunch of links to share:

Who else but always awesome Maureen Johnson would realize that Pride and Prejudice benefits from the addition of a zombie?

Tess Gerritsen has more thoughts about the difficulties extremely successful authors face and has a wonderfully candid post about how writing is great, but also carries its share of unpredictablility .

John Scalzi offers Unasked-for Advice to New Writers about Money -- There's been some back and forth about some of his points, but if you do nothing else, read numbers one and two.

Following that, take a look at agent Jennifer Jackson's must-read post about advances

Finally, agent Nephele Tempest talks about what she looks for in submissions, and offers a great deal of very practical advice as well.

This is the first primary I can remember where people--by which I mean the media--is paying attention to what's going on in DC/MD/VA. And people are definitely voting--my husband, whose idea of "sleeping in" is getting up at 6:30 (I'm a morning person but even that's not what I'd call sleeping in) got us to the polls nice and early, but unlike usual, we weren't the third or fourth people voting--and there were other people there too! It was really heartening seeing so many people taking the time to make their voices heard.

And now on to this week's contest...

This week's contest is super easy--all you have to do is ask a question over at the Simon Pulse Blogfest

There are loads of authors just waiting to answer YOUR question, including Kate Brian, Melissa de la Cruz, Deb Caletti, Lisa McMann, Sonya Sones, and more!

So head on over to the Simon Pulse Blogfest, check out the list of authors, look for the Submit Question link on the left hand side of the page, and ask away!

Once you've submitted you question, all you have to do is come back here and say "Done!" (Or you can say hi, or whatever--just **don't** tell me your question! Keep it a secret until the Blogfest starts, okay? :-) )

I'll be keeping this contest open until midnight EST on Friday, February 15th, and then I'll pick four names at random, and each of those four people will win a book! Though you can only reply once, you can reply no matter where you live (I will ship books overseas), or if you've won something from me in the past.

Titles I'm giving away this week are: Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, The Luxe by Anna Godbersen, Enthusiasm by Polly Shulman, and Stay With Me by Garret Freyman-Weyr

Finally, congrats to last week's winner, Nikki!

Nothing but links to offer today, as I've spent the past couple of days taking care of the dog, who's been quite sick -- and I fully confess, it's scared me witless. I don't often think about how old she is, but this really drove home that she's ten and....well, I'm not ready to go there yet.

Anyway, the links:

Before I get to the writing ones, I want to share one I found via Colleen Mondor's blog, Chasing Ray. I think she sums it up best: "There are no words."

Tess Gerritsen offers two fasinating posts--one on how it feels when writing itself becomes an exercise in anxiety, and another one how it feels when you know that you've become of paramount important to a publisher's bottom line. Both of these posts do an excellent job of highlighting how stressful writing can be--even for those who seem to "have it all." I was a little disappointed in some of the comments on the second post I linked to, and while I understand the desire to think that those who are successful have it easier, I think that the more successful you become, the higher the stakes are for you, and everyone around you--and that's not an easy thing to live with. Would I like to be a best-seller? Of course! But I do think that the idea that success=happiness is just as dangerous a trap as happiness=being perfect.

From the New York Times, an essay on the publication process

Melissa Marr on writing do/don't lists and subjectivity

An interview with Judy Blume

And finally, Justine Musk offers up yet another fabulously written and eye-opening essay: "After the Contract: A Manuscript grows up"

win a copy of WAKE--before it's in stores!!

This week, I'll be giving away an autographed copy of Lisa McMann's fantastic new novel WAKE--which isn't even in stores yet!

That's right--if you win, you'll get a chance to read WAKE before anyone else!!

For your chance to win WAKE, all you have to do is leave me a comment. (Yep, that's it--though make sure you leave some way for me to contact you--a lot of you have closed Blogger profiles!)

I'll be taking comments through midnight EST on Friday, February 8th, and then I'll draw one name at random, and that person will win the autographed copy of WAKE! Though you can only reply once, you can reply no matter where you live (I will ship books overseas), or if you've won something from me in the past.

Here's a little bit about the book--

"For seventeen-year-old Janie, getting sucked into other people's dreams is getting old. Especially the falling dreams, the naked-but-nobody-notices dreams, and the sex-crazed dreams. Janie's seen enough fantasy booty to last her a lifetime. She can't tell anybody about what she does; they'd never believe her or, worse, they'd think she's a freak. So Janie lives on the fringe, cursed with an ability she doesn't want and can't control. Then she falls into a gruesome nightmare, one that chills her to the bone. Because for the first time, Janie is more than a witness to someone else's twisted psyche. She is a participant.... "

(PS There's also a *fantastic* love story!)

For even more about the book, check out Lisa's website, or visit her myspace page

Where the heck did last week go? One minute, it's Monday and now...it's Monday. Again. Go figure!

I've somehow managed to catch a cold, but don't worry, I'm taking care of it. Watching I, Claudius cures almost anything. (And for those of you who can read without blinding sinus pain making you clutch your head and go "OW!!", and if you haven't read the books that inspired the miniseries, please do yourself a favor and go read I, Claudius right now. Seriously. Right now!*)

In other news, I've gotten a bunch of emails asking me about writing, and well--here's the thing. I've had one book published, and, you know, I still have a lot more to learn myself. A LOT. So, while I do have my opinions--and here they are: 1. read as much as you can. 2. write as much as you can, and realize that most of writing is rewriting -- let me share some links I've shared before that I think offer a lot of great information about writing:

Holly Black's writing resources

Justine Larbalestier's blog is an excellent source of information about the writing process. Check out her Categories links, on the lower right hand side of the page, for links to dozens of great entries about Writing & Publishing. And whatever you do, please check out her post on How to Rewrite--it's the best one I've ever seen on the subject.

John Scalzi's Even More Long-Winded (But Practical) Writing Advice -- From Scalzi's blog, Whatever, this entry is blunt, and, as the title says, very practical, though it's less about the act of writing and more about being a writer. I first read this about a month before I started writing BLOOM, and though there are some commenters who quibble with his advice, I personally found it very helpful, and reread the entry several times as I wrote the book.

Finally, Stalled Careers, Writer's Block, and Monsters Under the Bed by Melisa Michaels, an essay that deals with an aspect of writing that doesn't get discussed very often--what happens when you get published and your books don't sell? Melisa Michaels writes with candor and grace, and I think this essay should be a must-read for all writers.

In addition, I've linked to dozens of articles/blog entries about writing, agenting, and publishing since I've started this blog, and all of them offer interesting and enlightening insights into the world of writing. Someday I'll try and pull them into one big list, but for now, me and my sixteen million pound head are going to watch more I, Claudius.



*I've only read the second book, Claudius the God, once, but the first--oh man. LOVE.