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Greetings and welcome to a new week!
There are several reasons to be doing a happy dance this Monday, beyond the typical disbelief that I was up and at my desk by 10am.
While I admit that it is difficult to be in a particularly bad mood while surrounded by natural splendor (see pic above--Stone Hearth, the fall foliage season), there's the fact that we had a torrential downpour last night that was so violent that Miss Jones thought it best to growl menacingly at the thunder.
Needless to say, she seems to have shamed the storm into submission. Sunny skies ahead, at least for a few hours, which means that I get INTERNET, and can therefore feed Liz materials for our Bradford 2 launch!
Blissful peace and quiet of a near-empty house means that the writers' retreat marches on: this afternoon is all about LIES MY CELLPHONE TOLD ME, my forthcoming novel from Puffin. And hopefully by sundown I will be sufficiently creeped out to dive into my super-seekrit deep-dark experimental WIP that I first began in this desolate but beautiful farmland this time last year.

BUT FIRST, the fabu announcement, which is that Taylor Morris, former student/current friend/talented writer/she of shiny, shiny hair, HAS SOLD HER THIRD NOVEL TO SIMON AND SCHUSTER. It is a tween novel that tells tale of a BFF breakup, something which my Bradford girlies know ALL ABOUT. Scandalicious! Please join me in congratulating Taylor. Yay yay yay!

(I mean, I know looks aren't everything, but HOW CUTE IS SHE?)

It's official: Liz over at FlirtyGirl is the Empress of all things Interactive. Check out her blog post about all of the fun goings-on we have planned for the launch of the second novel in the Bradford series, Fashionista, and watch the Bradford 2 trailer, if you've got a moment for some fun, scandalicious procrastination on this fine Friday morning.

Right now I'm in my parents' house. Mom and I are heading back to Stone Hearth after lunch to enjoy a weekend with some friends and pets, but currently I'm recuperating from a fab author visit to my hometown library last night! Dave and I had a great time talking So Punk Rock with teens, librarians, and parents, and we worked in some Brad-chat, as well.

Living in the information age means that even when I'm sequestered away on deadline lockdown, as I am this month, I'm always connected to other writers and readers, but it's actually pretty rare that I meet teens face to face. Seeing middle school girls getting as excited about books as I always did is beyond rewarding. Now I get to bask in the post-human contact glow all weekend long.

What are YOUR plans for weekend relaxation?

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!