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In which we bid a fond farewell to our blog party...

Seriously, thanks SO MUCH to all of the authors and readers who came by to hang out--I'd say it was a pretty successful week, don't you think? And here's a fun link to the Borders Teen Libris website, where you can read an excerpt of POPULAR VOTE, if you are so inclined:

http://www.teenlibris.com/library26_PopularVote.html

I'll be picking the winners later this week and letting everyone know by email shortly thereafter. Yay blog party!

Oh, my friendlies, can we really be nearing the end of this exciting week of cyber-partying? It flew by so quickly! Thanks to all of the talented and fabulous authors who contributed, and the readers who stopped by and chatted with us. Feel free to keep up the conversation through the weekend--I'll be selecting winners at random early next week, so there's still time to post a comment and enter yourself to win lots of fun stuff.

Erin Dionne won me over when she told me she'd be giving away CHOCOLATE as part of her prize. Well, and also, her book is called, "Models Don't Eat Chocolate Cookies," which is one of a very many reasons why I will never, ever be a model. On the subjects of popularity, voting, and otherwise, Erin has this to say:

1) What's the most outrageous/silliest/weirdest thing you've ever done for the sake of popularity?

My sophomore year, I was the "new kid" AND I joined the marching band. It did wonders for my social standing. : ) Seriously, I *did* love it. But thanks to that, I was no candidate for Homecoming Queen!

2) Do you have any horror stories (or sweeping success stories) about participating in student government back when you were in school?

To help me "adjust" to my new school, the administration suggested that I co-chair an auxiliary student government group that facilitated freshman orientation and other campus events. Although the events went okay, being forced into the power structure/social order was NOT the best way to ease my transition...

3) What's the most unexpected cause you ever found yourself lobbying behind?

In high school? Trying to save the job of a teacher that I didn't like.

As a kid, Erin Dionne lived in five states and attended two elementary, junior high, and high schools. To fit in at each new place, she did cool things like join the marching band and the literary magazine. The awkward, introspective, outsider, writerly-thing thing paid off, though--her first novel, MODELS DON'T EAT CHOCOLATE COOKIES will be released by Dial Books on March 5, 2009. To find out more about Erin or her book, visit her at www.erindionne.com.

Paul Ruditis is no stranger to drama (in fact, he even named a book series after it!). He used to work for a major Hollywood studio, and could probably spill some pretty awesome secrets if we asked him nicely. Instead, however, I just emailed him the same questions I've been asking all of my authors this week, and this is what he had to say:

What's the most outrageous/silliest/weirdest thing you've ever done for the sake of popularity?

I became a writer thinking it would bring me fame and fortune and the kind of popularity I'd always dreamed of having when I was a teen. At the time I didn't understand that only really happens to a small percentage of writers. The rest of us just work really, really hard in minor obscurity (where we're lucky to have small but incredibly loyal fanbases) for the silly reason that we love what we do. I now wonder if I should have become a reality TV star instead. I probably wouldn't love the job as much, but the perks are amazing!

Do you have any horror stories (or sweeping success stories) about participating in student government back when you were in school?

In college I was a member of the student government of the theatre department. Can you imagine mixing politics and theatre? Talk about Drama!

What's the most unexpected cause you ever found yourself lobbying behind?

AAAARRRGGGHHHH! My brain! I can't decide to be flippant and funny here or actually serious. Okay, let's try serious for a change. I find it surprising that I'm lobbying for everyone to have the right to marry the person that he or she loves. I say it's unexpected because I would think in this millennium that right would be assumed for everyone and not something we actually have to vote for.

Paul Ruditis is the author of dozens of books for teens and people who act like teens. His most recent releases include the DRAMA! series books: The Four Dorothys, Everyone’s a Critic, Show Don’t Tell, and Entrances and Exits. Visit Paul at www.paulruditis.com.

Want to win a signed set of Paul's DRAMA series? Post a comment!

Hey folks:

I'll be posting interviews later on this afternoon (Judy Goldschmidt, Kelly Parra, and Nancy Krulik), but in the meantime I wanted to share this super-fun review that came in for POPULAR VOTE via SparkLife:

"Here’s a novel to inspire readers to stand up and fight for the greater good."
-- SparkLife

I like the idea that people might be inspired by my book/s, especially on September 11th, here in NYC.

Here's the link to the full write-up:
http://community.sparknotes.com/index.php/category/books

It's really nice placement (and they even used Little Willow's fancy graphic! Yes!)

More later--watch this space!

Jen Echols is not only a fantabulous writer, but she also oversees the Simon Pulse Romantic Comedies blog (www.simonpulseromanticcomedies.blogspot.com), which means that she will always get my vote. She rocks! Here's what she had to say on the subjects of popularity, voting, and etc:

1) What's the most outrageous/silliest/weirdest thing you've ever done for the sake of popularity?

When I was drum major of my high school marching band (the student who stands in front of the band at football games and directs the music), I fell down the stairs at my house (well, okay, one stair--that's all it takes for me) and strained a ligament in my ankle badly enough that the doctor had to put me in a cast. The band was performing at a football game that night. This was my junior year, and drum majors were elected by the band. I was deathly afraid if the band thought I was being a princess, oh-oh-oh-I-hurt-my-ankle-I-can't-march, they wouldn't re-elect me drum major for my senior year.

So, I insisted the doctor put me in a cast I could walk in. I insisted the band director find me some band pants to replace my drum major skirt and cover up the cast. And I marched that night in excruciating pain. Two trombones had to pick me up and put me on the podium because I couldn't climb the stairs. It was all very melodramatic and Kerri Strug.

I did get re-elected, but I'm pretty sure now that if I'd missed that night as drum major and the band director had to do my job for me, nobody would have remembered later, or blamed me for falling down the stair.

My ankle still hurts though.

2) Do you have any horror stories (or sweeping success stories) about participating in student government back when you were in school?

We had the coolest teacher and student government sponsor who was all about student liberation. He HATED the principal. He tried to get the student government more power and more say in what went on at the school. When the principal absolutely refused to budge on anything, the teacher insisted that we re-name ourselves a student council instead of a student government, because we obviously weren't governing anything. At the end of the year he was fired and/or quit. I have no idea what happened to him after that, but I hope he went on to stir things up at high schools all across Alabama. He remains one of my favorite teachers ever.

3) What's the most unexpected cause you ever found yourself lobbying behind?

Free speech, and I mean for anybody. I am all about the ACLU, even though some of the people they support are reprehensible. It's not about the message, it's about the right of anyone to express it.

Jennifer Echols is the author of two Pulse Romantic Comedies available now: MAJOR CRUSH and THE BOYS NEXT DOOR. Her next romantic comedy, THE EX-GAMES, will be out in October 2009, and her romantic drama GOING TOO FAR will be published by MTV Books in March 2009. Please visit her web site at www.jennifer-echols.com.

Prizes: a copy of MAJOR CRUSH and a copy of THE BOYS NEXT DOOR. Win one today!

Tricia Rayburn's book, THE MELTING OF MAGGIE BEAN, features an ice cream cone on the cover, which always makes me hungry. I say this by way of praise--who doesn't like ice cream? Although the cover of my copy is going to get warped what with all of my drooling. 
Tricia actually had a very pragmatic approach toward popularity back in her school days. Check it out:

Much like Maggie in The Melting of Maggie Bean, I was a very studious, organized middle-schooler...even when it came to the pursuit of popularity. In fact, Maggie's Master Multi-Tasker, an extensive, multi-tabbed spreadsheet of grades, goals and accomplishments that Maggie updates every night, was inspired by a list that my best friend Aimee and I started the summer before 6th grade. While our list wasn't quite as involved as the Multi-Tasker is at any given point, it was still focused and effective. It included one very important goal, and three very important steps toward achieving it.

The Goal: To Be More Popular
I wish I could say we were more eloquent than this, or that our aspirations were a bit more meaningful (like to read a hundred books that year, or to help every single substitute teacher feel as welcome and comfortable as possible), but...no. We were leaving 5th grade, when we ruled a school of 4th and 5th graders, and dropping back to the bottom of the totem pole in a totally new school of 6th, 7th and 8th graders. We were concerned with only one thing: not being completely invisible.

Step #1: Chew Minty Gum
Yes, this really was our very first brilliant idea. As tasty as Bubblicious and Bubble Yum were in 5th grade, and as much as everyone in our class loved their shockingly super-sweet flavors, Savage Sour Apple and Gonzo Grape simply wouldn't DO in 6th grade. They weren't nearly as sophisticated as Trident Spearmint, or Carefree Wintergreen. And 6th grade was about sophistication. It was about being taken seriously. And we were prepared to do anything--even sacrifice our true chewing-gum preferences--to let people know we meant business.

Step #2: Say Hello to At Least Five People a Day
This might not sound like a big deal, but it was understood that "five people a day" meant five NEW people. Which meant that Aimee didn't count as one of my five, and I didn't count as one of hers. Our parents didn't count. Neither did our brothers and sisters. Teachers were definitely out. So that meant that in between classes, when other people were busy going to their lockers and talking to the friends they already had, we were supposed to naturally interrupt with a friendly greeting. This proved to be far more challenging than enjoying the fresh-breath effects of minty gum, and simply hoping others would, too.

Step #3: Dress Accordingly
Now, dressing accordingly when I was in 6th grade meant something very different from dressing accordingly in 6th grade today. It meant slouch socks. And scrunchies. And jeans so tightly cuffed they left light lines around your ankles. It also meant LA Gear sneakers--high-tops, preferably with neon colors. Mine were white with hot-pink trim and laces; Aimee's were white with bright-turquoise trim and laces. And if I remember correctly, we did our best to make sure our slouch socks matched our scrunchies, and that our slouch socks and scrunchies matched the neon colors of our LA Gear sneakers. It was, as you can imagine, quite a process.

That was it. One very important goal, and three very important steps. I wish I could say that we achieved our goal by taking these steps, but the truth is, we didn't take them for very long. A few months later we were in 7th grade and no longer at the very bottom of the totem pole, and a few months after that we were in 8th grade, when, by birth date alone, we already had something on 2/3 of the kids in school. And then by 9th grade, when we were the youngest again and it might've been helpful to start a new list, consciously working to be more popular probably would've only resulted in some sort of social crash-and-burn. Because aren't the most popular kids usually the ones who don't seem to try so hard?

Plus, have you tried Gonzo Grape lately? SO not worth the sacrifice!

Tricia Rayburn is the author of The Melting of Maggie Bean and Maggie Bean Stays Afloat, and the forthcoming (tentatively titled!) Maggie Bean in Love and Ruby's Slippers. She lives near the beach on eastern Long Island with her fiance and crazy shih tzu. Visit Tricia at: www.triciarayburn.com.

Liz Gallagher is a grad of the Vermont College of the Fine Arts, as well as a member of the class of 2k8 (www.classof2k8.com). Talk about popular--she could start her own entourage if she wanted! She was lovely enough to answer all three of my questions for this party:

1) What's the most outrageous/silliest/weirdest thing you've ever done for the sake of popularity?

I think I wanted to be popular when I was a teenager, but I don't remember ever doing anything about it. I knew it wasn't that important in the long run. A friend of my brother's, who had a popular sister in my grade, once told me that his sister's popular friends would love me if I just showed up to one of their parties and asked for the keg. I never did that; as if I'd want people to like me because I want to party and drink with them! That conversation did, however, make it into The Opposite of Invisible. My main character, Alice, does flirt with popularity. She's got a crush on a boy in the popular crowd, and when those kids start to accept her into their fray, she realizes that they're just people, too, and that some of them are sweet and some are mean, and all of them are just trying to figure out the world, same as she is.

2) Do you have any horror stories (or sweeping success stories) about participating in student government back when you were in school?

I never did!

3) What's the most unexpected cause you ever found yourself lobbying behind?

I don't think I've ever actually lobbied for anything, but I'm thinking about how small the world's become thanks to the internet. Now, I know that if I have an issue, I can likely get right in touch with the people in charge. For me, so far, that's meant being part of a campaign to save the tv show Friday Night Lights. I suppose it is kind of unexpected that I'd be writing emails in support of a tv show -- but just imagine what might've happened if we could've done this back when My So-Called Life got canceled! On a more serious note, I really do think the internet is a powerful tool that lets anyone --including teens-- voice their opinion and gather numbers for a cause.

Liz Gallagher grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia and was an English major at Penn State. She worked on the editorial staff of Highlights for Children. She is a graduate of the University of Denver Publishing Institute and the Vermont College MFA program in writing for children and young adults. Her home in Seattle is within chomping distance of the Fremont Troll. The Opposite of Invisible is her first novel, and her dream come true. Visit Liz at www.lizgallagher.com.

Liz will be giving away a signed copy of The Opposite of Invisible.

I finally had the chance to meet Jeanine LeNy after many years of circling each others' publishing orbit when she came to speak to my YA writing class. She's the sweetest, and I'm so excited to have her here for our par-tay.

Here's what Jeanine has to say:

I was very naïve in High School--so much so that I wasn’t even aware that there were steps a girl could take to make herself more palatable to the popular crowd.

In retrospect, I guess there were a few things that I might have considered not doing back then such as, not being obsessed with all things tiger print and not wearing a white leather motorcycle jacket Every. Single. Day.

Perhaps the secret language that my BFF and I used in our casual conversations was not cool . . . and, yes, slightly weird. And getting a perm that made my head resemble a light bulb covered with poodle fur was just a bad choice--in any social circle.

But you know what? Now that I’m thinking about it, if I could go back, I wouldn’t change a thing. I would still have that popular cheerleader make nasty comments to me math class. I would still act goofy and wear my father’s old shirts instead of the latest fashions. In fact, I wish I still had that old motorcycle jacket. Okay, maybe that’s going a bit too far, but you get the idea.

I was just being me back then. So what if it wasn’t popular? Sometimes it wasn’t pretty either. But it was real, one hundred percent.

Just the way I like it.

Makes me wish she and I had known each other back when I had my "highlights!" Want to win a copy of one of Jeanine's books? Post a comment, any comment!

Y'all, I totally forgot to answer my own interview questions yesterday! Heaven forbid. Here you go:
1) Dumbest thing I ever did for popularity:
Tried to give myself "highlights" with Jolen creme bleach. And then lied about it to people when CLEARLY I had random chunks of ORANGE on my HEAD.
2) Student council stories: Actually, I was more of a lit mag girl. But when I was in 6th grade I joined the social action committee because I was new to middle school and thought "getting involved" was a good idea. Oh--and I thought "social action" meant planning dances and stuff--you know, being social. Oops.
3) Cause I'm surprised to be all involved in: What can I say? I have Obama-fever. I don't talk about that stuff much on this blog, mainly because I also don't talk about that stuff much in real life. My man will tell you I don't follow politics nearly as much as I should. But he's finally starting to rub off on me, and I've really enjoyed watching the conventions with him and getting more involved in the presidential race.

But enough about me. On to today's visitors!

Can it really be September 8th already? Then let's get down to it!
This week I'll be celebrating the release of my latest book, and I was lucky enough to wrangle some amazing kidlit folks into partying with me!

POPULAR VOTE tells the story of Erin Bright, First Daughter of her small town and long-time girlfriend of her student council president. Erin's life gets turned upside down when she decides to go head-to-head in the student election--and challenges her father's Mayoral candidacy in the process. This is party politics with a fun twist in the vein of "Legally Blonde" and "Election."

I asked all of our guest bloggers three questions:
1) What's the most outrageous/silliest/weirdest thing you've ever done for the sake of popularity?
2) Do you have any horror stories (or sweeping success stories) about participating in student government back when you were in school?
3) What's the most unexpected cause you've ever found yourself lobby behind?

Stop by each day to see different answers from different authors (and sometimes from their characters). Post a comment, and you just might win a prize. Every day I'll be giving away one copy of my book, and each of the guest authors will be giving away prizes as well.

The whole thing makes me feel awfully popular....

And now for today's authors:

TAYLOR MORRIS has this to say:
What's the most unexpected cause you ever found yourself lobbying behind?

I’ve never lobbied behind any unexpected causes—purely expected ones, like women’s rights. But I did try to volunteer once for a great cause—with disastrous results.

When I first left Texas and moved to San Diego, I spent a lot of timing trying to figure myself out. I decided that volunteering would be a good, productive way to fill up the many hours I spent alone with no new friends in my new city, so I answered an ad seeking volunteers at an AIDS clinic.

I was only 19 and had never been on a job interview. I was pretty naïve and wondered why I had to interview for something I was going to do for free. But I put on my best suit (a Charlotte Russe monstrosity), and took my sweaty-palmed self to the office.

It was a very formal interview, which threw me completely. But I maintained my composure and answered as best I could when the interview guy asked me this question: “What does the word confidentiality mean to you?”

I said, “It means to have faith in oneself. To believe that you can do whatever you want, whatever you set your mind to.”

I still remember the stunned look on his face. Silence for an excruciating moment. And then he said, “This is an AIDS clinic. Privacy is of most importance to us. Whoever comes through these doors needs to know that their visits here are completely private. Confidential.”

“Oh,” I said. “Right.”

He never called me back. And I never mistook the word confidentially for confidence ever again.

Taylor Morris is the author of Class Favorite and the September 2008 release, Total Knockout: Tale of an Ex-Class President, both published by Simon & Schuster. She is hard at work on her next novel, which she is keeping top secret—just in case it stinks. She has a terrible palate, is a horrible gift-giver, and thinks writing for teens and tweens is just about the best gig a girl could have. Visit her at www.taylormorris.com

In honor of her new novel, Total Knockout, she’s giving away a pair of Lucia Latham–approved pink boxing gloves.

(and yes, a day early).
Welcome to September, friendlies, back to school, fall, and all that that implies. I'm doing my darndest to acclimate to the urban life again (FANTASTIC premieres like "Gossip Girl" and "Top Model" this week have helped).
But I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss this place just the eensiest bit:
http://www.twopointonefilms.com/Bethel/Photos.html.
(Too many doggie photos? No such thing).

Next week starts up the next session of my Media Bistro YA writing class, and in the meantime I'm battening down the hatches for what I anticipate to be a hellacious weekend: my second packet for school is due on Sunday and, as this is my last semester, I'm determined to wring every last drop of genius out of my current advisor.

Also, there's that pesky little issue of the Bradford 2 manuscript needing to go in, stat. Eek.

But enough dwelling on the scary workload. Let's concentrate on the positives, shall we? Yes, 1) "GG," 2) "ANTM," and 3) Louise Hawes are big-time Faves (Friday or otherwise), but what I'm most amped about this week is the POPULAR VOTE cyber-launch party that runs all next week! We've got a stellar roster of kidlit folks who will be posting interviews and providing prizes and giveaways to some of you lucky commenters, including: Claudia Gabel, Jill Santopolo, Liz Gallagher, Marjeeta Geerling, Paul Ruditis, Linda Gerber, and many more! I'll be giving away five copies of POPULAR VOTE and some super-fancy bookmarks, too. So come check us out from September 8th until September 13th. In the meantime, here's what one teen has to say about POPULAR VOTE:
"I adored Micol Ostow's fun, well-written novel. Her style is so fresh and clear, and each paragraph is packed with purpose and to-the-point. I loved getting inside Erin's head and devouring her juicy blog posts...Popular Vote was entirely a blast to read. My opinion? Well, I'm not rating this amazing novel 5 stars for nothing..."
(www.bookwormbooklovers.blogspot.com)

And check out the book trailer on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bubMJVb17Ao

or take the Facebook quiz:
http://apps.facebook.com/quizzes/fbqzr/qzr.php?id=233735

Hope to "see" you at the cyber-launch party.

Vote for Erin! Vote for POPULAR VOTE!


Happy fall and happy reading, kiddos.

Something that is NOT a fave? The fact that there's only one week left to my lovely, relaxing, and uber-productive August up here at Stone Hearth. There are lots of great things about going back to NYC (sushi, for one, not to mention DVR, and my mail), but I always get a little weepy to see the end of the summer upon us.

Regardless, deadlines call, and I'm starting to make a dent in Bradford 2. It's weird trying to acclimate to Madison's POV; on the one hand slipping back into Brad-speak is as comfortable as stepping into a jacuzzi, and yet, Miss Madison_Ave and I are getting to know each other in a whole new way. She's in love with her BFF's BF. I really feel for her.

On to the short list:

1. This book
I put off reading RA Nelson's "Breathe My Name" because I thought it couldn't possibly be as gripping, powerful, and wrenching as "Teach Me." I thought wrong. I read it in one fevered sitting.

2. I seriously want to marry those sharp shooters over at Jezebel. Yes, this post is about a month old, but I stumbled upon it last night in a post-dinner stupor and felt my faith in humanity restored ever-so-slightly.

3. Speaking of girl-power, this week I had the distinct pleasure of reading through a manuscript I'd been asked to blurb. I won't name names, especially since I have no idea if they'll end up using my quote or not, but the experience was super-fab. Not only was it flattering to be asked, but the book was great, all about girl power and self-esteem and the kind of stuff we should see way more of in YA lit. Warm fuzzies all around.

4. Plans for the "Popular Vote" cyber-launch party are coming along swimmingly, with some this nice shout-out. I've got some new authors confirmed, including Kelly Para, Erin Dionne, Paul Ruditis, and Jennifer Echols. I can't wait!

I guess that's one good thing about fall, then.

Mom should be here any minute with Georgie-dog in tow, and we'll be taking the pups to the beach. Pics to follow for the Sunday sleep-ins, natch.

Do you think I'll ever make it to the gym again?

Happy weekend, people!

I'll start by stating the obvious, which is that this week's sleep-in was so *in* as to bleed into Monday. Oops. What can I say? Yesterday was a perfect upstate afternoon, crisp, warm, and sunny, such that N and I spent the bulk of it reading on the front porch like old folks. It was grand.

I did, however, manage to tackle 7 pages/1,296 words of Bradford 2. Lest you think I was letting the deadlines fester. In fact, they're only festering a leetle bit. Could be worse.

Lots to be amused by/excited about this week, including a visit from college roomie for some quality girl time out in the country. I'll be stocking up on 80's vids later in the day. AND we've got some awesome pics from Miss J's encounter with the toad who took temporary residence on our front porch. Here's a sample:

She was dubious, to say the least. Which, as a friend pointed out, is odd--one would think Bridget Jones of all creatures would understand that you have to kiss a few frogs!
(Or toads, as it were).

I also had the thrill of opening my mail on Saturday to find a Scholastic TAB order form featuring POPULAR VOTE! As someone who absolutely lived for those Scholastic forms as a young'un, seeing my own book cover there made me feel as though I'd arrived.

And in other POPULAR-related news, an eagle-eyed teen blogger found that the cover model on our book is also featured on the cover of GEEK HIGH. You can check her post out (and compare the images) here:
http://bookreader4.blogspot.com/2008/08/popular-vote-by-piper-banks.html. I found it pretty hilarious.

I'm happy to say that plans for the POPULAR VOTE cyber-launch party are coming along swimmingly (though who know how much work it was to plan one of these things?). Right now we've got 16 amazing authors confirmed, and more joining in all the time. I hope you'll swing by from 9/8-9/13 and check us out!

Off to enjoy more of the peace and quiet of Bethel. Did you know that Bethel, NY, was the home of the original Woodstock festival? Caretaker Don here at Stone Hearth actually worked security for the concert! Talk about a time warp!