Friday Fun Facts: I'm Like a Kid in a Candy Store...

"We should read to give our souls a chance to luxuriate." ~Henry Miller

I've just scheduled another book signing, for Saturday June 5, 2-4 pm at the Barnes and Noble in downtown Ithaca, NY. If you're in the area, please mark your calendars and stop by to say hello!

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Yesterday was my "kid in a candy store" day, since this week is Educator Appreciation Week at Borders, which means 30% everything if you have your school ID. Now, Borders usually has pretty good deals/sales anyway, but still, this is a treat for me :) I actually asked my students today which books they'd like to see on our "borrowing bookshelf" in the classroom (most of those I get from used book sales, paperbackswap.com, donations, or the few I buy I myself). These are the ones they suggested that I was actually able to find in the store (and thanks to gift cards left over from Christmas, I didn't spend a cent!):

Jellicoe Road
Thirteen Reasons Why
Shutter Island
An Abundance of Katherines
We Need to Talk About Kevin

Have you read any of them? I'll give a report as I do!

Writers' Wednesday: Hunt for Eggs and Prizes!

Awake, thou wintry earth -
Fling off thy sadness!
Fair vernal flowers, laugh forth
Your ancient gladness! ~Thomas Blackburn, "An Easter Hymn"

Very exciting news! The Long and the Short of It review site is sponsoring a FANTASTIC Easter Egg Hunt, beginning next week. But you can find out all about it right now (and there are tons of prizes) by clicking on the graphic above. Don't you want to play??

Monday's Mentionables: A Hodge-Podge of Things

"She said she usually cried at least once each day not because she was sad, but because the world was so beautiful & life was so short." ~Brian Andreas

Hmm, what's worth mentioning today? Let's see, I think a hodge-podge of things:

First and most exciting, I'll be reading from Summer's Song at Lady Jane's Salon on November 1, 2010. Yes, I know that's a while from now BUT mark your calendars! Very very exciting for me...reading from one of my books in a swanky Manhattan nightclub to friendly romance readers and fellow authors. And the book releases in print the very next day, so I'm hoping it will be a great promo opportunity!

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I play the NCAA March Madness brackets at my workplace every year. Some years I do pretty well - others not as much. This year even though the weekend saw some top seeds knocked out (Nothern Iowa over Kansas? I still can't believe it) I have somehow managed to be in 3rd place out of 9o+ sheets. (This, of course, won't last, but it's still kind of fun bragging rights now).

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It was GORGEOUS here over the weekend - flirting with the high 60s both Saturday and Sunday, which inspired me to do some spring cleaning outdoors. Ugh. First off, our lawn is huge, second, it's covered with leaves and sticks, and third, my body's crying out after 2 straight afternoons of raking and lifting and hauling and...

I suppose since it's only March, I have some time, but still. The weeks fly by!

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I officially put my most recent romance novel, Entwined, to the side (well, actually it's with 2 beta readers) - so I'm not going to look at it again for a while. Instead, think I'll go back to my YA novel and do some work on that. Interestingly enough, my massage therapist knows a 16 year old psychic and gave me her phone number - which is perfect since that's exactly what the heroine of my book is going to be. Soooo...I'm glad I have someone "authentic" to tap for research, but I'll be honest - I'm a little nervous about what I might find out after talking to her!

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OK, that's all for this Monday. I'm off to tackle the first of 5 days 'til Spring Break - can't wait!!!