First Novels Club Rules

Over at the First Novels Club, where they do everything with such awesomeness, there's a very thorough recap of the author breakfast on Sunday with Sarah Dessen and Laurie Halse Anderson (who also mentioned us briefly in her blog).

Nice job, Janine, Sara, Frankie, and Donna (and honorary member, Courtney).


And many thanks for the plug. I'm actually eternally grateful to Frankie for taking all those excellent notes and putting it on the blog, because I certainly didn't have time to take notes. And both authors had some fascinating tales to tell. For instance, they're both married to carpenters. Isn't that amazing? And I loved what Laurie Halse Anderson said about her first drafts. It's good to know that her rough drafts are, well -- what else can I say? -- crap.

Wish I could have gone to Children's Book World too, but I went straight home (after putting away 60 chairs while Cindy handled all those heavy tables -- yeah, Cindy!) and I took a nap.

I'm excited to actually own this:



My biggest regret is that I forgot to get Laurie Halse Anderson to personalize my copy of Wintergirls (she was signing someone else's books while Sarah was writing that sweet message above). Then, ahem, I was asked to take pictures for a certain group of bloggers, so I set the book on the podium, and never thought of it again until Laurie had left.

It's okay, though. Both Laurie and Sarah were really nice about signing stock for us, so I exchanged my unsigned copy of Wintergirls for a signed copy.

I read an ARC of Wintergirls months ago but had never had a chance to read Along for the Ride. I'm up to page 175 and enjoying it immensely.

Most important tip from both authors? Turn off the internet while you write. Good advice. So, um, I'm going to go write now.

Exhausted but happy

Okay, so I got up very early yesterday, Sunday, November 22nd, and came to work. Not a morning person. Try to picture this: I was standing there in front of the microphone (public speaking = my number one fear), getting ready to introduce Laurie Halse Anderson (left) and Sarah Dessen (right). Was I still asleep and dreaming?


Not sure.

But it was a very successful event. Laurie and Sarah are two of the coolest and nicest authors I've met. They answered questions for about an hour. And they took their time and spoke with every customer who came up to the signing table. One lucky girl even got a signed dollar bill for being brave enough to ask the first question.

And since I never got around to posting a Gem of the Week last week (Oops. Did anyone notice?), I can now give you two.

WINTERGIRLS (Viking, $17.99) by Laurie Halse Anderson is the powerful and chilling account of one girl's descent into anorexia and self-destruction. Lia's best friend Cassie is dead. And Lia is barely holding on. Matchstick thin, she still believes she's overweight. She counts every calorie. It's harrowing, poetic and hard to put down when you start reading it. Ultimately uplifting (spoiler alert?). Lia learns that food is life. Brilliant. For young adults, ages 12 and up.





ALONG FOR THE RIDE (Viking, $19.99) is Sarah Dessen's newest novel. For the summer before college, Auden decides to go stay at the beach with her father and his new wife and their baby daughter. The baby's colicky screaming bouts drive Auden out of the house to the boardwalk and beach, where she meets an enigmatic loner named Eli. Also for young adults, ages 12 and up.