What's up with the perfect storm of television Monday nights? My DVR can't handle the overload of Gossip Girl, HIMYM, Chuck, and The Sarah Connor Chronicles. I wish Fox would move Sarah Connor to another night. (I also think a move would improve SCC's odds of not getting canceled.)

Bummer news: if you call Ingram's stock status number (615-213-6803), you get a message that the number will no longer be in service at the end of this year. Does anyone know why Ingram has decided to axe this?

Links:

It's Banned Books Week -- find out what you can do to support it here

Agent Jennifer Jackson wants to know why you write--and why you want to be published -- *tons* of responses to this one!

Barbara Caridad Ferrer writes about having a book canceled -- I confess, I didn't know this sort of thing happened, so color me surprised, and very impressed with Ferrer's honesty in writing about it.

Lauren Barnholdt on what she's learned about being published

Living Dead Girl is dissused over at Omnivoracious , and I'm interviewed over at Hope's Bookshelf

Also, congrats to Kristen, Sara, and Ariel, who won last week's contest. (The fourth winner picked had an email address that came back as "user unknown"--so I'll donate that book to my local library and remind you that if you enter a contest, please *please* make sure you leave me a way to contact you so that if you win, I can tell you!)

!!!!

Just got word that Living Dead Girl got a starred review in the October 15th issue of Booklist. This is another journal I get, and as it's published by the American Library Association, having a book reviewed by them is flattering in and of itself. But a starred review??

WOW.

And YAY!

Living Dead Girl has provoked a lot of reaction. I talk about that, the book, tv, other books, and (!) my upcoming novels over at popgurls. (They're also giving away five copies of Living Dead Girl.)

I got such a kick out of reading everyone's comments about titles--and I have to admit, a clever title definitely makes me notice a book! (And covers too. I am a sucker for a great cover.) Also! Congrats to Amber, Katie, Brittany, and Diana, who were last week's contest winners.

In the past couple of weeks, I've been told several times that I *have* to read a book that's just come out--Skinned by Robin Wasserman--and so I'm going to head out and pick up a copy today! Which leads me to this week's contest...

What books are your friends saying you *have* to read? Leave me a comment letting me know what books you're hearing a lot about, and you could win a copy of one of the following: Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson, Serafina67 Urgently Requires Life by Susie Day, Demon Envy by Erin Lynn, and A Song For Summer by Eva Ibbotson.

I'll take comments through this Friday, September 26th--be sure to leave a way for me to contact you if you win!--and then I'll draw four names at random and each of those four people will get a free book. You can only enter once, but you can enter regardless of where you live (I will ship books overseas) and if you've won something from me before.

Elsewhere, be sure to check out this great blog entry from Ally Carter about writing for teens and asking the wrong questions -- I think my favorite part is this "It has been my experience that you should have different expectations of teen readers than adult readers: you should expect your teen readers to be smarter."

Reason number 672 why I love my dog: Because when she falls asleep (which she does quite often) she likes to crawl under a blanket (yes, even when it's hot outside! go figure, right?) and when I lift up the blanket to peek at her she'll roll over onto her side a little bit and wait for me to rub her belly, which is all warm. And then she goes back to sleep, snoring and happy. And seeing that makes me happy too.

Today I've got a bunch of links to share:

A 12 15-step program for Gaining Good Writing Habits -- I don't do all of these, but I do a lot of them, and I find them helpful

Agent Nathan Bransford cautions against impatience

Meg Cabot: SO Awesome.

Two great looks at landing on the NYT Bestseller list, one from agent Kristin Nelson, and another from one of her clients, Ally Carter

Do you notice book titles? Do you have a favorite? I see the "What's you favorite novel?" question all the time, but no one ever asks about titles. I ask because a. I'm curious and b. this week I'm giving away a bunch of books with pretty creative titles.

They are: How NOT to be Popular by Jennifer Ziegler, Breaking Up Is Hard To Do (a collection of short stories featuring one by Ellen Hopkins), Does My Head Look Big In This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah, and Bewitching Season by Marissa Doyle

So let me know what you think about book titles and if you have a favorite, be sure to share what it is! I'll be taking comments through Friday, September 19th and then I'll draw four names at random and each of those four people will get a free book. You can only enter once, but you can enter regardless of where you live (I will ship books overseas) and if you've won something from me before.

Also! I want to congratulate Pam, Brittney, Ashley, Katherine, Nancy, Audrey, Taylor, Dominique, Beth and Jenna, who won my latest mailing list contest, and then share some links:

Jennifer Lynn Barnes has two excellent posts that I think everyone should read: Thoughts on YA and Finding (and Keeping) the Love

I'm pretty sure I've posted this one before, but a link to it popped up in a discussion I was reading the other day and so I went and reread Holly Lisle's Ordering to the Net...Or How to Kill a Career in Three Easy Books and was reminded all over again of how fascinating it is.

And finally, if you're interested, I wrote about my most memorable summer for The Story Siren

I want to say a quick 'yay!' for last week's contest winners: Krystal, Lindsey, Hannah, and Taylor!

And now on to something else.

This month is Ovarian Cancer Awareness month. Ovarian cancer is the 5th most likely cause of cancer-related death in women, and yet there remains no specific test that can accurately determine if a woman has ovarian cancer. Please consider participating in the Break the Silence program, which aims to find a way to earlier diagnosis, and offers information to help women talk to their doctor about any symptoms they may have.

Everyone kept telling me that Goodreads was something I should join, but I kept saying, "Oh yes! I'll go check it out right now!" and then I'd get distracted by really important things* and forget.

But! I went over the weekend and okay, it is pretty nifty (there are tons of authors on there! and you can see what they're reading!) and plus some awesomely sweet person had set up a page for me!

After seeing that, how I could I not join?

So I did, and you can find me here

In other news, while I wasn't a fan of the first episode of Gossip Girl, I kept watching anyway and got sucked in by Chuck/Blair. And this season--aaaaah! LOVE. THEM. (In fact, it's taken me about an hour+ to type this entry because as soon as I started writing about Gossip Girl, I had to go watch the episode again. And next week's preview? Double aaaaah!)

Also, as you know, I'm a proud Kindle owner--to the point where when people ask me about it, I go on and on until their eyes glaze over-- and I'm thrilled to say my first novel, Bloom, is now available for the Kindle.

One last thing: Tess Gerritsen talks about the release of her new novel, and wonders how many books she--and all authors--have in them (the comments are interesting too)



*like hitting refresh for ontd and muttering, "Just going to read this one new post. Oh, wait, I'd better read this one too!"

dream come true

Confession: I've been reading Publishers Weekly for a little over three years now, and it's always been a dream of mine to have a book reviewed in the magazine.

Today, that dream came true.

Living Dead Girl received a starred review in the September 8th issue.

From the review: Disturbing but fascinating, the book exerts an inescapable grip on readers--like Alice, they have virtually no choice but to continue until the conclusion sets them free.

To say that I am happy would be a HUGE understatement. To be reviewed in the magazine is amazing. To get a starred review...I seriously don't have words. But to give you a clue as to how happy I am:

When my editor called and told me, I screamed so loud I'm afraid I perforated her eardrum. And as I type this, my hands are still shaking.

School's definitely started again--and I figured that some free books were in order!

So, drop me a comment telling me how going back to school has been for you, and you could win a free book!

I'll be taking comments through midnight EST tomorrow, Friday September 5th, and then I'll pick four winners at random and each of those four winners will win a book! You can only enter once, but you can enter regardless of where you live (I will ship books overseas) and if you've won something from me before.

Books I'll be giving away are: Identical by Ellen Hopkins, Forbidden Boy by Hailey Abbott, The Explosionist by Jenny Davidson, and Aurelia by Anne Osterlund

Also:

Don't forget Melissa Walker's readergirlz chat tonight!

Want to know if I like rain or shine, coffee or tea, and whether or not I have a tattoo--and possibly win a copy of Stealing Heaven? Check out this interview at Liv's Book Reviews

And finally, for my fab mailing list subscribers--there's info about a special contest for Living Dead Girl headed your way!

For Seinfeld fans (hi, Jess!) and also, quite possibly, the best court story EVER:

"Maryland’s highest court is relying on a Seinfeld episode to explain why author Tom Clancy cannot harm a partnership with his ex-wife simply because of spite. In footnote 27, the court reprints dialogue between Seinfeld and a store clerk. Seinfeld tells the clerk he is returning the jacket for spite because he doesn’t like the salesman who sold him the jacket. This is part of the exchange:

Clerk: I don't think you can return an item for spite.
Jerry: What do you mean?
Clerk: Well, if there was some problem with the garment, if it were unsatisfactory in some way, then we could do it for you, but I'm afraid spite doesn't fit into any of our conditions for a refund.

And yes, this really is true. (I swear, real life is so much more crazy than novels ever are!)

Unrelated, but another great link: Sarah Monette on what she knows about writing--I love Monette's columns, but this one is especially good. "I know that in the end, it turns out that those lies are all there to point the way toward the truth. Or a truth. Or some truth. If we could just tell the truth straight out, it would save a lot of time. But on the other hand, telling lies is fun."

Living Dead Girl is here!!

Living Dead Girl is in stores today, and I can't wait to hear what you think of it!

First, some really surprising and happy-making news--Living Dead Girl, which is officially out tomorrow, is already in its third printing!! WOW. And thank you.

Second, and also very fabulous....

Here are the winners of the Picture This contest! It was incredibly hard to pick the winners, because everyone who sent in a photo a. rocks and b. did an amazing job, but I did finally narrow it down to five photos.

This one, which captured so much of Stealing Heaven, was taken by Renee


This one, taken by Christina while on vacation in Yosemite National Park, is one I know Lauren would love. And although it's been a long time since I've been in the world of Bloom (I wrote it back in 2004 (!!!)), Christina's pic really pulled me back into it. Plus it's just a plain old gorgeous picture.


This one, taken by Heidi--well, come on! SO. ADORABLE.


Lucile took Stealing Heaven to the beach and to a town called Heavenly--and then she created an amazing photo collage.


This picture, by Naomi, hit on every single element of my absolute favorite scene in Perfect You (the one with Will and Kate at the party) and had vitamins to boot!