Win-It Wednesday: Shannon Hale's Book of a Thousand Days

You guys are way more artistic than I am, which was fun to hear about! The winner of Kelly Parra's Graffiti Girl, as chosen randomly, is... Amy K! Send me your address, A.

This week, I'm giving away a copy of Shannon Hale's lovely Book of a Thousand Days. I haven't read many books of this kind. You know, set in the days of ladies and handmaids and gentlemen kings. It is such a beautifully written tale, and I thoroughly enjoyed the twists and turns. I think you guys will love it!

So, to win, just tell me what time period you've dreamed of living in. I used to think I'd want to hang out in the late 1950s, with all the gorgeous Grace Kelly-esque styles and the soda-shop dates (two straws, one drink). But then I consider all the social problems that were swirling with racism and the start of the Vietnam war and all that stuff, so I'm not sure that's my ideal era. But I'm rambling.

Anyway, I want to hear from you, so comment below and you're entered! Yay!

Posted: April 30, 2008 | Comments (48) | TrackBacks (0)

Tags: book of a thousand days, grace kelly, graffiti girl, kelly parra, shannon hale

Marketing Monday: Guest Blog from Maggie Marr

Today, Maggie Marr, author of Secrets of The Hollywood Girls Club (and Hollywood insider herself), is here to guest blog. She very appropriately wrote about fashion (well, sort of). Take it away, Maggie!

My Turquoise String Bikini

Summer approaches. Swimsuit season is upon us. So today I write about something that is near and dear to my heart, something that changed my life, something that I will never forget and I will always love...
A turquoise string bikini.

An itty-bitty adorable once-in-a-lifetime you are lucky to find string bikini.

My family moved two times during my Freshman year of High School causing me to attend three schools in approximately twelve months. I started High School the "new girl" fifteen hundred miles from all my old friends. The second move occurred in April of my Freshman Year. This time I left my new High School for the fairly small city of Bloomington-Normal, Illinois. But in Normal, Illinois, I didn't get to go to High School. Oh no, no, no, in Normal, Illinois, I got to return to Junior High.

Yes... Junior High. As in Middle School.

Now I don't know about you, but for me, even in my old hometown, with all my great friends, Junior High, aka Middle School, well it sucked. Completely, irrevocably, absolutely and without question sucked. So now, at the end of the school year, after attending High School, I returned to Junior High in a small community with a bunch of ninth graders who'd just spent the last three years of their lives bonding. Can I just say, "the new girl" from Chicago wasn't welcomed with open arms.

The beginning of my Freshman year I looked like I was twelve. I have the pictures to prove it. But over nine months I changed. By June, I no longer looked twelve, instead, to the chagrin of my Mother, I looked twenty. And it was that summer with no friends, no social life, and no prospects for either, that I found and purchased in a very un-Maggie moment, my turquoise bikini.

At fifteen, with no friends, no life, and really not much but the bikini going for me, I had the audacity, the courage, the chutzpah to put that itty bitty oh-so-lovely string bikini on my newly minted (thank you hormones) body and go to the pool. I remember feeling shocked the first time I slipped off my white t-shirt, plopped my nearly naked body down on a lounge chair and lay in the sun.

But I also remember that I felt free. I felt alive. I felt good. I didn't care what anyone said. I didn't care what anyone thought. I didn't care who looked, who gossiped who whispered... And I believe that my feelings of just being okay with myself and my body, were what caused me to meet two girls by the pool that summer. Two girls that became and still are my best friends.

So this summer as swimsuit season approaches, be bold, be brave, be impulsive... buy the string bikini and wear it.

The end. I am digging Maggie. And if you're looking for your own bold summer bikini, might I suggest the ones below (just a couple of looks I love... in that blue theme... that are on sale!).

Links here and here.

Posted: April 28, 2008 | Comments (12)

Tags: maggie marr, secrets of the hollywood girls club, summer bikinis

Photo Friday: Violet in Grand Central Station

When I rocked the drop with readergirlz last week, here's where I left Violet on the Runway:

Happy Weekend, everyone!

Posted: April 25, 2008 | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

Tags: grand central station, readergirlz, rock the drop, violet on the runway

Win-It Wednesday: Graffiti Girl

Thank you all for sharing your lust and disgust for royal high school titles in the comments last week -- it was great to get all the perspectives. Homecoming Queens or not, each one of us deserves a tiara! But the winner of Stephanie Hale's Revenge of the Homecoming Queen, as chosen by random number generator, is Alli! Send me your address, A.

This week, I'm giving away a copy of Kelly Parra's Graffiti Girl. I got a chance to read it last fall, and it's just such a lovely tale of one girl's quest to find the true artist within herself. (There's also a pretty hot love story.)

To be entered win this book, comment below and tell me the most artistic thing you've ever done--be it creating a scrapbook for your best friends, a mural for your neighborhood park, or a birthday card for Grandma. ("Art" is so subjective.)

I'll say that my best artistic endeavor so far was probably writing the Violet books. That counts, right?

Posted: April 23, 2008 | Comments (32) | TrackBacks (0)

Tags: artsy stuff, graffiti girl, kelly parra

Marketing Monday: A Visit from Lola Love!

I am all for go-for-it guides for girls (and not just because of the alliteration). I really do think that if you dream big and believe in yourself, you can create a fabulous life. Okay, Oprah moment over. But I do have a guest today, Lisa Clark, the author of two newly released books, Viva La Diva and It's a Girl Thing, which are all about positivity and girl empowerment. That's her icon at left (adorable, no?) and you can find out more about her books below (don't blame her for odd spellings--she's a Brit!):

Tell us a bit about Lola Love and her sassy pink ladies.
They're kooky girls, they're fabulous girls, they're girls you would totally want to have round for a soiree! Lola: she's a writer girl, with pink hair and a pink 'tude to match. Bella: a platinum blonde guitar girl who is totally fearless. Sadie: a real fun-time frankie who loves craftin' and playin' the drums. Angel: a fashionista of the highest caliber, she goes to a super-swank boarding school and has an afro as big as a house!

What inspired you to create these characters and the Lola Love books?
I'm agony aunt for Mizz magazine (a UK mag for teen girls), and I was getting letters from girls about how their role models were Paris and Lindsey, how they hated what they saw when they looked in the mirror and how they weren't enough. That made me pretty sad, so I looked around for books I could recommend and sshh, don't tell anyone, but they were a li'l bit dull and fact-y, so I decided to create a series of go-for-it guides, in a magazine style, with characters that girls would dig and want to know more about, so I did!

It's a Girl Thing has lots of upbeat, practical advice for positivity. Was there ever a time in your life when that advice helped you out?
The book is filled to the brim with everything you'll ever need to help deal with being a teen girl in the world, and I really wish I knew the power of pink thinking when I was a teen girl, because my teen years were sucky x 100 - if only I'd known that Girlsville can be a total pink-party poppin time of fun and that it's not just all about rollercoaster emotions, icky periods and hair growing in all kinds of crazy places!

In Viva La Diva!, Lola's back to encourage girls to dream big. What's some advice you can share from the book?
She does! Lola's a big, big dreamer and nothing is impossible in Lola's world, that's why I love hanging with her! I think my favourite advice from the book would be that you if you have a dream, you've got to take action to make it happen - so, if you wanna be a pop star, then go get singing lessons and practice, practice, practice, if you want to be a vet - find out what qualifications you're going to need and get passionate about learning, if you want to be a mag editor, start by making your own zine - don't wait for stardom to come find you, make your life a fabulous adventure right now!

Your lovely blog is enormously positive and fun! Why is a happy spirit is so important for girls?
Because I know that being a teen girl can be super-tough, but it can also be a lot of fun, if you flick your mood switch to pink and positive! When you do, you realise that the girls in magazines are air-brushed to within an inch of their lives and don't actually look like that in real life, that being YOU-nique with quirks and kooky traits is a positively fabulous thing to be and that life really is what you make it...which is why mine is pink and glitter-filled, because that's what I've decided it will be!

And now, the books:

How could you not love Lisa (and these cute covers)? She's even blogging for fredflare.com now, which is very cool. I'm way into Lola's message. So, if you care to share: What's your dream, and how are you making it happen?

Posted: April 21, 2008 | Comments (9) | TrackBacks (0)

Tags: lisa clark, lola love, pink-world.co.uk

The Cover Debut of Violet in Private!

Some of you guys have probably seen this on amazon.com, but here it is! This cover is the first one where they show her head, though the big glasses obscure her face a bit... I really like the college campus background. So... what do you guys think? More later on the revisions made to the cover and the process--I'm in a rush today!

Posted: April 17, 2008 | Comments (28) | TrackBacks (0)

Tags: violet in private

Win-It Wednesday: Revenge of the Homecoming Queen!

First, how fun were those prank stories you shared last week? I loved all of them, and I'm glad I don't have to pick a winner, because a random number generator does it for me! And the winner is... Grace L! G, send me your address for your autographed copy of E. Lockhart's fabulous The Boy Book.

Now on to this week's contest:
When I first started reading Stephanie Hale's Revenge of the Homecoming Queen, I thought, Oh, man. The main character Aspen is hard to like! She's so stuck up! But as I got immersed in the book, I really started enjoying this unlikely heroine and her hilarious inner dialogue. By the end of the story, I was thorougly loving the adventure I'd been on with Aspen, and I can't wait to read the sequel, Twisted Sisters, which just came out this month!

So, I'm giving away a copy of Revenge of the Homecoming Queen to one commenter below. My question for you is: "Did you ever dream of being Homecoming Queen (or King)?"

Confession time: I did. When I was about 8 years old, I got obsessed with a tiara that my cousin Sarah Parker had won after being crowned Queen at her school. I thought it was the ideal. I snapped out of that mindset by high school when my friend Anna won the crown, but I have to admit, it was a dream of mine once!

Posted: April 16, 2008 | Comments (29) | TrackBacks (0)

Tags: revenge of the homecoming queen, stephanie hale

Marketing Monday: The New York Times!

"It's a hard sell, asking readers to muster sympathy for the congenitally gorgeous whose job it is to wear designer clothes and walk. In 'Violet on the Runway,' Melissa Walker pulls it off." --Holly Brubach, The New York Times

I'm so excited to be in the pages of The New York Times style magazine, T. You can read the story here, or just click below for a larger version of the scanned pages.

The way this story came about was that I emailed a Times editor, saying that a lot of Young Adult books about the modeling world were coming out, and maybe they'd like to do a round-up. They liked the idea and asked for a list of books, so of course I put Violet on the Runway on the list. Luckily, Violet was chosen to be featured, along with Cheryl Diamond's Model: A Memoir.

It's a matter of getting them an idea that's not just "Please cover my book?" but more of a trend piece. Yay! I hope you guys like the article. And isn't Emily Blunt so pretty on the cover? She reminds me of my character Veronica (looks wise, at least)!

Posted: April 14, 2008 | Comments (17) | TrackBacks (0)

Tags: america's next top author, cheryl diamond, new york times, violet on the runway

Guest Blogging at Teen Book Review

So come see me over at Jocelyn's and leave some love. I wrote about using real life in fiction, like the way I set my books in Chapel Hill. Isn't it pretty? What do you love about your hometown?

Posted: April 10, 2008 | Comments (8)

Tags: chapel hill, teen book review

Win-It Wednesday: Three Questions for E. Lockhart, and a Sacred Cod

First, last week's winner of Aimee Friedman's The Year My Sister Got Lucky is... Jester Feign! She had an awesome shoe story (as did everyone!) but you know she won by random number generator. Send me your address, JF!

I just read E. Lockhart's The Boyfriend List last year. I know, I was late to discover her. But once I did, I couldn't get enough. And though I haven't yet read her latest book, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banks, I am super psyched to do so because a) I've heard her read from it, hilariously, and b) A total of four people I totally trust taste-wise have told me that I will love it.

So really, when E. agreed to do a quick interview with me, I wanted to ask her: 1. How is it that you're so witty? and 2. How can I be as awesome as you? But I felt like that would be weird, so I asked her normal things instead.

Without further babble, here she is:

1. Do you ever get writer's block? If so, what helps you unblock?
I don't get writers block, really, because when I have it I just switch projects. I make myself work, but I work on what seems manageable. So that means, if I can't write what I am supposed to be writing, I make notes for another project, or work on copyedits, or something of that nature. But I do get stuck, usually about 3/4 of the way through a novel, and think: I can't write the crisis scene! I have no plot! What I planned to do is never going to work! And then I complain a lot. Going for walks sometimes helps. Sometimes I tell my plot to a friend or colleague, in hopes of sorting out what the ending should be.

2. Your characters tend to be sharp wits with quick minds. Are those the kind of people you know and love in real life?
Nah, I prefer dullards who are slow on the uptake. :) Actually, although I do like smart and funny people (who doesn't?) I get annoyed when there's a table full of people all pressing their wits to the forefront of a conversation. I am much wittier on paper than I ever am in person. I fine-tune the dialog in my books over and over, so the things my characters say on the spur of the moment are things it has taken me months to dream up. I have never liked angling to be the cleverest in the room, and I find I don't really enjoy people who make me feel as if they are somehow wittier and sharper than I am. Of course, nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent, but I find that avoiding people who TRY to make me feel inferior is one key to happiness.

3. In honor of Frankie, what is the best prank you've ever pulled (or been involved in, or seen pulled off)?
One of my inspirations for The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks was remembering the hijinks I got up to in college, sneaking into buildings, climbing onto roofs, having parties on the golf course. But I myself am not a prankster -- I think I was more of an explorer. So I had to do a lot of work to make up the ornate pranks Frankie invents. I read a number of books about pranks and researched the greatest college pranks of all time. One of those college pranks was the theft of the Sacred Cod of Massachusetts (yes, there is really a sacred cod!) by Harvard students in the 1930s. It was a brilliantly orchestrated and witty prank, so I pilfered a bunch of its details and reworked them for the book. Others I made up with inspiration from what I'd read. But for quite a while there were big blank spaces in the book that said: DESCRIPTION OF PRANK HERE. Because I was not writing from memory!

See, I told you E. was completely badass. Now, to win a signed copy of The Boy Book (which E. is writing a continuation of right now, probably as you're reading this!), just tell me about a prank you've pulled (or seen pulled, or dreamed of pulling).

Phew! Ok, so comment below to win, and I look forward to loving your prank stories!

Posted: April 9, 2008 | Comments (26) | TrackBacks (0)

Tags: e. lockhart, the boy book, the disreputable history of frankie landau banks

I'm baaack, from Chapel Hill

Okay, sorry I've been such a bad blogger this week. I blame it all on a trip to Chapel Hill, which was fantastic fun. Except for a certain Saturday night basketball game. But I'm getting over it. Slowly.

I'm going to paste a few shots from my trip (minus time with my mom and my brothers and my friends, who are all awesome), and then tomorrow we'll choose a winner for last week's contest. There's still time to enter if you do it now. I so want to hear about more shoes!

Before I left, I painted my nails as close to Carolina Blue as possible. But it didn't help.

I met up with some awesome girls at East Regional Library, and Katie shared the shoes she mentioned for Wednesday's contest. V hot.

I went to my high school and took this hallway shot between classes. It looks just the same as in the 90s when I was there. Seriously. Not even new paint!

I did a show at Dirty South Improv, where I read from Violet by Design, and then told stories about my life (which the comedians mocked of, sort of). So much fun!

The blossoms were blooming on campus. I love Carolina spring.

I guess the lot was open on Monday. Wah.

And I got to meet Sarah Dessen. What could be better? She was exceedingly gracious and kind to me, and she gave a completely kickass reading. I met Book Chic there, too! And I ran into David Levithan, who later read at the Chapel Hill Public Library. I haven't picked up his How They Met yet, but after tearing up (and then cracking up) at his reading, I definitely will. Haven't I told you laughter through tears is my favorite emotion?

Happy Tuesday!

Posted: April 8, 2008 | Comments (7) | TrackBacks (0)

Tags: book chic, chapel hill, david levithan, dirty south improv, sarah dessen, violet by design

Win-It Wednesday: The Year My Sister Got Lucky and Shoe Stories

Last week's prize was a copy of Siobhan Vivian's excellent debut novel, A Little Friendly Advice. And the randomly chosen winner is... Karin! K, send me your address!

This week, I'm giving away a copy of Aimee Friedman's The Year My Sister Got Lucky. It's a really heartfelt tale of the friendship between sisters, and the perspectives that define who we are... and how we can change. It's a great read!

The contest this week is based on shoes. That's right. In honor of the 100th birthday of Converse (which, I have to say, are still my favorite shoes), I have a question for you: Tell me about your favorite pair of shoes. It doesn't matter if you love them for comfort, style, or a memory of a moment while wearing them--I just wanna hear about it! One random commenter will be chosen to win Aimee's book.

I'm heading to NC tomorrow to visit East Regional Library in Knightdale and then do the Dirty South Improv show described at left in Carrboro (and, of course, to watch my Tarheels kick some ass).

Woohoo!

PS-Thanks to everyone who commented on my haircut! You guys are so kind that I'm not quite so nervous about speaking in front of people with this short hair... merci!

Posted: April 2, 2008 | Comments (35) | TrackBacks (0)

Tags: aimee friedman, converse, siobhan vivian

Haircut time!

Okay, so you guys saw me with longer hair, and here's my new short cut in various states.... I'm not quite used to it yet. Isn't it so weird when you get a haircut and you're not sure you look like yourself anymore?

It's kind of hard having short hair. I'm like, Do I look like a boy? Does this cut make my body seem bigger? Am I totally delusional to think that I can rock this as well as Michelle Williams does? But then I see a girl on the subway with awesome shortness, and I admire her, and I aspire to be her. So it's all okay.

Anyone got a haircut story to share? Do!

Posted: April 1, 2008 | Comments (32) | TrackBacks (0)

Tags: michelle williams, short hair