Things Afoot

For years after seeing Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, my friends would utter the line, "Strange things are afoot at the Circle K..." whenever odd events popped up in groups. Well, today's not so much filled with odd events, per se, but it's definitely a day in which there are Things Afoot. Things Bill and Ted would deem "Most Excellent!"



Okay, that was a hokey intro. But you know what I mean. It is a HAPPY day!

First: Survivor starts up again tonight! (Collective YAY!) I'm participating in Fantasy Survivor (you can sign up on the CBS site, right here, if you're interested.) However, I will warn you that I plan to win.

Second: I've raved about Alyson Noël's books since I read her first one, FAKING 19. This week, her newest, EVERMORE, is on the New York Times List. If you haven't read her stuff yet, you must must must grab this book. And, frankly, everything else Alyson has written. (Collective YAY for Alyson!)

Third: Yesterday I was perusing the aisles at my local Barnes & Noble and, lo and behold, there's also gorgeous display for my good friend Cynthia Leitich Smith's newest release, ETERNAL. ETERNAL takes place in the same wacky, paranormal version of Austin, TX, as Cynthia's last novel, TANTALIZE. I wasn't expecting to see ETERNAL for another week or thereabouts, so it was truly a happy find. (Collective YAY for Cynthia!)

Go. Read. Watch. Enjoy!

Picture Day!

Two coolio pics to share today. The first was sent to me by the fabulous Alyson Noël (she wrote the books Cruel Summer, Faking 19, and Art Geeks and Prom Queens, among others!) While I've never made it to the beach in Santa Monica, apparently my books have. This was taken at the Barnes & Noble there:



Of course, I'm horribly jealous. It's just under a hundred degrees at my house today, and I am NOT a hundred degree girl. Not without sand, a shaded lounge chair, and the sound of surf. (A book or magazine would do nicely, too.)

Today's other great pic came to me from Jennifer, the YA Librarian at Otis Library. She's collected photos of authors and made READ posters out of them for the library. You can check them out on her MySpace--just click on her Pics to see them all. Here's the one she made of me. Isn't it fun?



Finally, it's not a picture, but doesn't Picture Day always deserves a prize?? (Maybe because I'm not that big on getting my picture taken, I figure it's a good excuse to give myself a gift!) Check out Book Chic's MySpace blog to win some great prizes, including a copy of Breaking Up (Is Hard To Do), which includes my story, Last Stand, as well as stories from Terri Clark, Ellen Hopkins, and Lynda Sandoval.

Happy Picture Day!