Psst...Check This Out....

I’ve been keeping a secret, and I am freaking out! FREAKING. OUT!

I got my first blurb. For my book. MY book. Someone famous (and amazing) actually read it, and loved it. Enough to BLURB it.

What???? Are you kidding me??????

So, who is this magical, wonderful, talented, amazing, and super-smart person? None other than the (that’s right THE) brilliant Melissa Marr.

Oh, didn’t you hear that? MELISSA MARR.

Melissa-freaking-MARR!!!!!!!! That’s right, of WICKED LOVELY and INK EXCHANGE (which I loved!), and most recently of FRAGILE ETERNITY (which I just got!!!!).

(Check out this cover, is it not the most beautiful cover???

And they're all like that...*envy and lust*)

She is so frickin’ hawt and awesome and remarkably creative and genius…and did I mention super-smart?

That’s right because she said this about THE BODY FINDER:

“The romance and the mystery in The Body Finder were so intense that I didn’t know whether to hold my breath or scream. I did know I wouldn’t be getting anything done until I read the whole book.”

THAT is going on my covers!!! Isn’t it too cool?

I have to go pass out on my couch now…

Melissa Marr loved my book. Enough to say so in public…

Sliding On The Edge (with C. Lee McKenzie)!

You guessed it, it's that time again . . . another Deb interview! I love these guys!!! So today we have C. Lee McKenzie, author of SLIDING ON THE EDGE (and here's what it's about):

At sixteen, Shawna Stone can handle anything, from a Las Vegas hustle to skipping out on the rent. Scarred inside and out, she's survived with a tough, hardened attitude. Yet she's thrown when her mother abandons her in Vegas with only a bus ticket and the name and number of a stranger to call. Now this troubled, desperate teen finds herself on a Northern California horse ranch with Kay Stone, her steely, youngish, disillusioned grandmother, who overwhelms Shawna with rules and daily barn chores. Shawna will baffle Kay with her foul mouthed anger and shrugging indifference to everything--except the maltreated horse on the ranch next door. But it's worse than even Kay suspects: Shawna's driven to cut herself by that strange voice inside her head, which at times has been her only steady companion. Wondering what secrets hide behind Shawna's barricade, Kay fears that unless she somehow helps this troubled girl, she could lose her last living family member. And Kay's own secret is the very one that's kept Shawna and her mother away for all these years. As this unlikely pair struggles to co-exist, will they overcome their inner suffering to build a bridge to each other, and together find the strength to transcend the past?

And here we go! Feel free to elaborate as much as you want (except of course on the one-word BONUS question)!

1) Would you rather be the Bestselling Rockstar Author or an Acclaimed Literary Award Winner?

I'd definitely go for the Acclaimed Literary Award Winner.

2) Make people laugh, cry, or hide under the covers?

Oh, a bit of all three. That's what makes a story so much fun to write.

3) Retire early or just keep writing from your beach house(s)?

I'll keep writing. I'm not sure I know how to retire.

4) FaceBook or MySpace?

Depends on who I want to connect with. On FB I'm "talking" to more of the establishment (Is that still a euphemism for older people?)On MS, it's younger group.

5) After a period, one space or two?

One. I learned that after writing 60K.

And your bonus question: What ONE WORD of advice would give to any aspiring writer?

Feel.

For more about C. Lee McKenzie and her books, check out her website at http://www.cleemckenziebooks.com/!!!!

My Reveal

My second book, a sequel to THE BODY FINDER, just got an enthusiastic thumbs-up from my agent, which means that it's now off to my editor at HarperCollins.

And my big reveal? The moment you've all been waiting for...well, no, probably none of you, but here it is anyway...

The title of book two: DESIRES OF THE DEAD

Up next: Much celebration, a trip to Costco to restock on supplies, and back to the grindstone...because that's how I roll!

WELCOME 2009 DEB, SYDNEY SALTER!!!

I haven’t had the chance to read Sydney’s book, MY BIG NOSE AND OTHER NATURAL DISASTERS yet, but I was talking to a friend who has and she tells me that she laughed out loud in several parts.

Okay, I say any book that can make me laugh out loud is a winner. Plus, TOTALLY cute cover!

About MY BIG NOSE AND OTHER NATURAL DISASTERS:

Seventeen-year-old Jory Michaels wakes up on the first day of summer vacation with her same old big nose, no passion in her life (in the creative sense of the word), and all signs still pointing to her dying a virgin. In spite of her driving record (it was an accident!), Jory gets a job delivering flowers and cakes to Reno's casinos and wedding chapels. She also comes up with a new summer goal: saving for a life-altering nose job. She and her new nose will attract a fabulous boyfriend. Jory survives various summer disasters like doing yoga after sampling Mom's Cabbage Soup Diet, enforced-mother-bonding-with-crazy-nose-obsessed-daughter night, and discovering Tyler's big secret. But will she learn to accept herself and maybe even find her passion, in the creative (AND romantic!) sense of the word?

I’d like to thank Sydney for taking part. Sydney, feel free to elaborate on each of the questions (except, of course, for the one-word BONUS question)!

Here we go:

1) Would you rather be the Bestselling Rockstar Author or an Acclaimed Literary Award Winner?

Bestselling Rockstar Author

2) Make people laugh, cry, or hide under the covers?

Laugh! (I told you, she's funny!)

3) Retire early or just keep writing from your beach house(s)?

Always writing (can't even fathom not writing).

4) FaceBook or MySpace?

Facebook. Friend me, please!!!

5) After a period, one space or two?

One.

And your bonus question: What ONE WORD of advice would give to any aspiring writer?

Read.

About Sydney Salter:

She has held a variety of jobs before becoming a full-time writer, including her brief stint delivering pies and flowers, wrecking vans, and destroying wedding cakes in Reno, Nevada. Sydney now lives in Utah with her husband, two daughters, two cats, and two big Bernese Mountain dogs. She loves reading, writing, traveling, and, of course, baking and decorating cakes (but not driving them anywhere).

For more about Sydney Salter's books, check out her website at http://www.sydneysalter.com/.

TEAM ZOMBIE: CARRIE RYAN!

I have envy: Cover envy. Title envy. Even website envy. THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH is one of those books I’ve lusted over from the moment I saw it!

And one of the things I’ve figured out is that my eight-year-old listens to everything I say. And repeats. Apparently she’s been listening a lot lately, so when I asked her one day what she was playing, she looks at me and says: "I’m playing Forest of Hands and Teeth".

HAHA! She doesn't even know what that means, but apparently the name resonates...even with the 8-year-old crowd!

NOTE: I got THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH for my birthday last week (apparently my husband listens too!).

About the book:

The Forest of Hands and Teeth is about a young girl named Mary growing up generations after an apocalypse in a village surrounded by fences protecting them from the Unconsecrated, zombie-like creatures inhabiting the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Cut off from the rest of the world and told they are the last survivors of the Return, every part of her life is controlled by the religious order called the Sisterhood. As Mary starts to fall in love with someone she shouldn’t, she learns the extent of the Sisterhood’s power and starts to discover more of their darkest secrets. When the security of the fences is threatened and her world is thrown into chaos, Mary must decide what she’s willing to risk to find out if there’s life beyond the Forest.

So, let's all welcome Carrie! YAY!!!

I call this interview Six of One, Half Dozen of the Other. It’s five questions, plus one bonus. Feel free to elaborate as much as you want (except, of course, for the bonus question!):

1) Would you rather be the Bestselling Rockstar Author or an Acclaimed Literary Award Winner?

Am I allowed to choose all of the above? Or either? Honestly, I think when it comes down to it I've loved being able to be a full time writer and so I'd love to sell enough books to stay that way. So I'd probably go with bestselling :)

2) Make people laugh, cry, or hide under the covers?

I wish I could make people laugh - it's such a skill! But I have a feeling my book makes more people dive for the covers and sometimes cry. Any response is awesome to me!

3) Retire early or just keep writing from your beach house(s)?

Just keep writing!

4) FaceBook or MySpace?

Facebook for sure (at least for me!)

5) After a period, one space or two?

Two! Always two!

And your bonus question: What ONE WORD of advice would give to any aspiring writer?

Write!

To find out more about Carrie, and her books, check out her website at http://www.carrieryan.com/. (Or just check out her website because it’s so freaking cool!)

A Different Spin on the Blog Awards!!!

After an entire weekend without internet, it is so great to be back! Great. Did I mention GREAT?!?! (I love me some hi-speed internet.)

AND I’m back to announce that my blog has been nominated for a blog award by three of my favorite bloggers: Lisa and Laura, Purple Clover, and Little Miss J!

So, now it’s my turn to pay it forward, but I’m gonna play a little differently. See, I’ve decided to nominate based on my favorite individual posts. And since I’m a fan of the hilarious (and sometimes so-disgusting-it’s-hilarious) these are some of the posts that have made me laugh the hardest…or in a few cases, cringe the most.

In no particular order:

Stephanie Perkins at Natural/Artificial for “I. Have. NEWS.”, the best I’ve-got-an-agent-announcement EVER. Seriously. Ever.

Little Miss J for “Poop Christmas or Who Said ‘I Love You’ First”. (H-I-L-A-R-I-O-U-S!)

Christie at Juvenescence for “R.I.P.” about a bunch of college girls and a pickled baby. (I warned you, this is cringe-worthy at its best!)

Purple Clover for “New Career – Food Critic”. (I have to add that she has funnier posts, but this one was both funny AND informative. Nicely played, PC. Nicely played!)

Lisa and Laura for “All I Want for Christmas”, a countdown of a husband’s attempts at finding the perfect Christmas gift, while failing. Miserably. Year after year. All laid out on an easy to follow timeline. (Again, so many to choose from, but for some reason, this one struck a chord.)

Plot This for “Feelin’ Funky”: Woman finds baby squirrel and nurses it back to health (middle of the night feedings and all). And, as an added bonus: if you read the comments section, you find that, later, poor exhausted Katie finds a SECOND baby squirrel. (Okay, I’ll admit it, this is more of a Ha-Ha, I’m-glad-it’s-you-and-not-me kind of choice. Sorry, Katie!)

And, lastly, Shelli for “Ah the 80s”, a TOTALLY AWESOME list of all things 1980s. Need I say more?

Ladies, you all rock! Keep up the great work!!!

THE GOOD STUFF...

I was accused of being mean. That’s right, MEAN, by someone who read my blog post yesterday. Well, only one person. Who happens to live in my house, and is maybe the ONLY person in my house who actually reads my blog.

So, in light of the fact that yesterday’s post made me sound like a total scrooge, I thought I’d post some of the things that I LOVE about being a mom.

1) Christmas mornings. All of them.

2) Snuggling on the couch to watch TV at the end of the day (obviously I mean with my eight-year-old daughter and not my 15-year-old son.)

3) Seeing my son’s eyes all lit up when he comes back from a driving lesson with his dad. Or seeing him laugh any time, really. (He has the best laugh!)

4) Watching my oldest spread her wings as she goes out into the world, and realizing that I must have done *something* right that she’s so grounded, and funny, and all-around amazing.

5) A kiss (or hug) from any of my children, at any time. (The older they get the more I appreciate this!)

6) Seeing the amazing differences between three children who are so genetically similar and have been raised in the same household. How can they be SO different from one another???

7) The possibility of being a grandmother. I know, that's crazy talk! But with a 22-year-old, I’m already thinking about this. (Although I would never tell her that.) But, wow!

8) This picture of my son, although a) he looks a little like a crack addict in it and b) he’d kill me if he knew I’d posted it. (Thankfully, *he* doesn’t read my blog.)

Again, I’m sure there are a gazillion more things I could list, but it’s your turn…any FAVORITES???

FAKING IT!

With Easter right around the corner, I’m feeling that familiar dread creeping in.

After my last post, you know how long I’ve been a’parentin' (it's been a long, looong time). And I have some complaints, some things I’m just plain-ole tired of doing. Except that I’m not done yet. See, my youngest is only eight. Which means…I’ve still got work to do. Lots of it. Which means FAKING IT, because the 8-year-old deserves the excited mommy that the 22-year-old got on her first day.

Here is a list of things that I am SO OVER:

1) Easter Eggs: It’s not that it wasn’t fun the first 5 or 6 times, but come on! I’m at, like, 18+ and counting. And there’s no end in sight…she’s only eight, for God’s sake!!!

2) Picking out the Christmas Tree: Okay, so here’s my gripe with this. We live in a rainy climate, not snowy and picturesque. We dress the kids appropriately, pile into the car where they commence to bickering, stop at a tree farm where they argue over trees, attach the tree to the roof of our vehicle, and then drive home where my husband and I bitch at each other as we’re putting it up. And then it’s a daily mess of pine needles until it becomes a shriveled fire hazard. (Note: A couple of years ago I caved and bought the fake tree, trading the fantastic real-tree smell and vacuuming every day for an annual trip to the garage and pre-hung lights. This has been a vast improvement.)

3) Decorating said tree: This year my husband and I fixed ourselves Baileys & coffee and sat back and watched the kids do all of the decorating, clumps of ornaments and all. Funny thing, the tree was beautiful. Or the drinks were strong. Either way, it was win-win.

4) Weekly homework packets: Like I don’t have better things to do after school than to stand over my kids and make them cry. (Oh yeah, did I mention I’m not very patient with homework. My kids don’t like my “help”.)

5) Carving pumpkins: Again, rainy weather = mud at the pumpkin patch. AND if I have to watch another child fall apart because they’ve accidentally carved off their pumpkin’s tooth, I swear I am personally going to hunt down The Great Pumpkin!

6) And, finally, School music performances: Two hours? Really? Sorry, I only really just want to see my kid…not yours, and not everyone else’s.

I’m C-E-R-T-A-I-N that I’ve missed a few (or twenty!) of my own personal peeves, but I’m throwing it back to you. What are some of the things that you don’t love doing over and over (and over) again???