Happy New Year! :D

Happy almost-New Year, everyone!

What're you guys up to tonight? Any fun plans? Wishing you all great things in 2010. :) To the reader girlies who have been chatting on my blog, I *love* it and feel, like, popular that you keep coming back to chat and say hi. :)

Quick note

Someone pretended to be me in the LWL discussion thread and I addressed the matter. Let's keep everything cool, 'cuz I don't want to have to moderate comments. Thanks, guys! :)

Vlog ideas? Share 'em!

I'm going to vlog soon (after the New Year) would love for YOU guys to suggest some possible topics or leave questions. If I pick yours, I'll say your name in the video and will give you a special shout out. So, leave as many ideas as you like here and look for the vlog in January.

You've got until January 4 (one week!) to leave ideas.

:)

Enter to win one of *three* copies of Rival Revenge!

I think it's time for a post-holiday give away!

Guess what I've got?? Copies of RIVAL REVENGE due out January 26! (Three days before my birthday, which is kinda awesome.)

Sooo...I think it's only fair that I give away THREE signed copies of RR. Leave a comment here or on LiveJournal. Tweet, Facebook, blog, vlog, whatever about the contest and let me know in the comments. It'll give you *two* extra entries. The drawing will be random and I'll only ship to US addresses. You cannot enter on Facebook, Twitter or anywhere else. Gotta comment here. :) The contest closes on January 1st at midnight at Eastern time.

Enter away and good luck!!

PS: Notice the number on the book spine? All future books will be numbered and reprints of previous books will also have numbers. Cool, huh? I love it! :D

PPS: Just so it's clear: Alison's on the spine and on the right front cover next to Julia. Jasmine's on the back. :)

NOTE: Hey, guys, please don't put LWL spoilers in this thread. Use the one below it that's open for discussion about the book. And note to everyone--there are a couple of spoilers in the comments, so shield your eyes if you don't want to see!

**I closed comments because the contest is over! Congrats to the winners!** :)

Little White Lies discussion thread *spoilers*!!

You guys asked for it and you've got it--chat away about LWL and be warned that there will be spoilers in the comments. Can't wait to read what everyone's thinking.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS! <3

First snow pics!

Took a few pics from yesterday's snow. I think we're done with snow for a while, but I've gotta get snow boots. As I walked home yesterday, I was totally prepared to pull a Bella Swan and be like, "Ice really doesn't help the uncoordinated" when I wiped out. But I made it!

So. Much. Work. To. Do.

Going now!

New interview

Nicole at Word for Teens was kind enough to interview me for her awesome blog. Check it out!

Thanks so much, Nicole!

I ran out and did all of my errands this morning since we're supposed to get 3-6 inches of snow starting Saturday night. I'm very excited about this. I'll be the wide-eyed girl standing in the street and taking it all in. (And, you know, watching for cars/buses.) I. Love. Snow. Pics will def occur.

TGIF, everyone!

Yay for Little White Lies!

It's now shipping via Amazon and Barnes & Noble! Yaay! That means it'll start showing up in physical stores verrry soon. I'm so excited about this book and can't wait to hear what you guys think. It was super fun to write and I'm very happy to have it out there! :)

Congrats, HorseGirlTV!

I'm reposting this from the Canterwood Crest forum:

HorseGirlTV has been striving the past three years to produce quality, educational and entertaining content for equestrian but likewise to bring the horse world to the world and reach mainstream audiences. We now have a chance to branch out through the Streamy Awards. One of the episodes nominated is with our favorite author, Jessica Burkhart, so please take a moment and vote!

Please help by clicking the link below and voting for HorseGirlTV as Best Hosted Web Series!

http://www.streamys.org/submit/public-submissions/
Best Hosted Web Series
http://www.horsegirltv.com/

You can also vote for Angelea Kelly Walkup for Best Web Series Host at:
http://www.streamys.org/submit/public-submissions-people/
Best Web Series Host
Angelea Kelly Walkup
HorseGirlTV
http://www.horsegirltv.com/

Thanks for your support and Happy New Year to all.

Kind regards,
Angelea and Team HorseGirlTV!

Holidaze

Just a note to my reader girlies that the blog might be quiet for a little while. I'm going out of town for the holidays soon and CITY SECRETS is due early next month. Gotta get that draft done! :) I'm also super excited that LITTLE WHITE LIES comes out in 6 days. Can't wait to hear what you guys think!

I won't be responding to emails over the holidays (if I did, I wouldn't be able to finish my draft), BUT I will be blogging as I can. I hope you all are getting excited about the holidays!

What's on your wish list for this year? Spill!

Now, signing off for pizza and my fave show--How I Met Your Mother. :)

New pic from Canterwood Crest photo shoot

Since we've been talking a lot about Paige Parker this week, I wanted to share another exclusive photo from the shoot for the covers of books 9-12. I'm (on the right) posing with the awesome model who played Paige. We chatted a lot on set and had so much fun.

Starting in January, I'll begin posting video clips and more photos from the shoot. I'll be starting with pics of wardrobe and make up, plus tips via vlogs from top stylists on how to dress like a Canterwood model with an affordable mix of pieces. :)

Winner!

A random drawing has selected the winner of LWL! Congrats to...KACY L! Kacy, e-mail me to claim your signed copy of Little White Lies. Thanks so much to everyone who entered. :)

TGIF! What's everyone doing this weekend? I've got a few errands and am working on CITY SECRETS.

Welcome, Paige Parker!

Photograph copyright © 2009 Monica Stevenson.

Introducing...Paige Parker!

I got the okay from Editor Kate to share a pic of Paige, so here she is. Finally! :) The model who plays Paige is sweet, funny and I love this pic of her. Paige will make her debut on the cover of CITY SECRETS (CC #9).

Hope you're all as excited to see Paige as I am to share the photo!

Books = Gifts

The season is almost upon us? Trying to think of the perfect gift? Why not a book?

In these short videos, some awesome authors talk about why books make fantastic gifts for the holidays. :)

Books = Gifts Video One

Books = Gifts Video Two

Books = Gifts Video Three

For more info, check out this link! :)

Win a signed copy of Little White Lies!

Look at what I have!! LITTLE WHITE LIES! So...it doesn't come out until December 22, which seems REALLY far away. I was thinking some of you *might* be interested in entering to win a signed copy.

If so:

Leave a comment here and/or on my LiveJournal entry. For an extra entry, Tweet, Facebook, blog, etc., about the contest and let me know about it in your post. I'm crazy busy this weekend and next week, so the contest will stay open until Thursday, December 10 at midnight. I'll draw a winner and check back on Friday to see if you've won! I'll only ship to a US address.

Yaaay for LWL! Go Team Canterwood!

Opening this post to questions!

Got something to ask about the books, writing, etc? You can do it here since I'm veeeeeerrrrry backed up on e-mail. I'll do my best to check throughout the weekend and answer as I can. If the question's already been answered, I'll try to point you to the link. :) Check my FAQ at the Canterwood Website or my Website and see if anything there's already answered. If not, ask away!

I'll take questions till Sunday at midnight EST.

Hope you reader girlies are having a fab Black Friday and aren't getting run over by crazy crowds! :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy, happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I'm off to celebrate and hope you're all doing the same. :)

xoxo

Event notice--Annual Literary Tea

I'll be appearing here:

Annual Literary Tea

McMahon Hall Lounge, Room 109

Fordham University at Lincoln Center

155 West 60th Street

New York, NY

With other authors TBA.

It's on December 7th from 4-6pm. I don't have a flyer for this year yet, but last year's said attendees had to RSVP. Once I have that info, I'll post it. :) Hope to see some of you!

To clear up a little confusion

Hi, guys!

There have been a couple of e-mails and I wanted to address them here since I can't respond to every e-mail right away and write the Canterwood books. You guys wouldn't want them to come out, like, once a year would you? ;)

Anyway:

* Canterwood isn't a real school. It's completely made up.

* No news yet on the TV option for the books. I PROMISE that I'll post it here the second I know something.

* Yes! There are going to be 12 books and Little White Lies comes out on December 22, 2009. It'll prob start showing up a week or so early in stores. Rival Revenge comes out the very next month--January 26--just a few days before my birthday. :)

* I can't show the cover for City Secrets yet, but the second Editor K says I can, I'll post it here.

And, finally, Burkhart is not my real last name. It's a pen name that I'm using for the Canterwood series. If you e-mail and ask for my real name, I won't give it out (sorry!) for privacy reasons. You totally get that, right? :)

But know that it's ALWAYS me e-mailing you, Tweeting, blogging, etc. I'm working hard to e-mail as many of you back today as I can. Thank you sooo much for being on Team Canterwood and it means more than you know.

xx

Chillin' on a Saturday

Well, kind of. I'm playing with a couple of outlines, thinking about new ideas, cleaning and running errands. I went to my local B&N and signed stock. Check out my Tweets on my sidebar if you want to see a pic. They only had 1 copy of BEST ENEMIES, so that was cool.

Now we must talk Twilight and New Moon. Be prepared for girly craziness. :D

On Thursday, my theater was cool enough to show Twilight first, at 9:15 and then to show New Moon at midnight. I was freaking out all day and even only drank 1 Diet Coke so I didn't make BFF crazy with my already hyper state. One of our convos that day:

BFF: Are you totally spazzing?

Me: YES! But I only had one Diet Coke since, you know, I want to live and you'd kill me in my hyper state.

BFF: Ohhhhhhh, greeeat. (She was half-serious.) ;)

She told me to just go to our fave place for sparkly drinks and to calm down before she got there. I tried and spent 20something minutes talking to anyone near me, including my fave BR peeps, abt the night's awesomeness.

BFF arrived with a rose for me (again, pic on the Twitter feed) 'cause she knew tonight was a huuuuge deal for me. We talked Twilight/New Moon and eventually headed to the theater where we meet up with her boy.

Since I'd never seen Twilight on the big screen, I almost lost it when RPattz walked into the caf for the first time. It. Was. Awesome. Watching Twilight on a screen that size was like I'd never seen the movie before. I started thinking about where I was that time last year and remembered BFF had called me just before going to see Twilight at the same theater and telling me about it. Very cool that we got to see it together. Surreal.

Then...25 mins till New Moon. Everyone was ready. The theater was packed with all ages and lots of guys. (Most of whom were Team Jacob when they vocalized it in the theater.) The movie started and I thought hyperventilation might occur. But, you know, I stayed cool. Ish. ;)

The movie crowd was the best--there was cheering, sighing (longing sighs), and shout outs for Jacob or Edward.

The high points:

* Taylor Lautner (Yes, I put him first.) The kid thought he was going to lose his job after Twilight and he worked his butt off to put on 30 pounds of muscle to play werewolf Jake.

* RPattz looking as if he'd been dying without KStew during their separation.

* Alice driving the car through Italy.

* The fight sequence with the Volturi.

* Dakota Fanning killing it as Jane. Scary with the red contacts. And speaking of...

* New contacts for the vamps. Awesome.

* The special effects for the wolf transformations. I was a little worried, but they pulled it off quite well.

* The acting. Much improved.

Okay! Forcing myself to stop here. :) It's better, in a different way, than Twilight. I cannot wait for Eclipse. Where's my countdown clock?

New Moon and Twilight tonight!

I'm taking today off from work in girly fandom celebration of NEW MOON. I was sooo excited to learn this week that my theater is playing TWILIGHT first and then NEW MOON. I didn't see TWILIGHT when it was in theaters, so I'm insanely excited. I'm taking BFF and her boy (hopefully he'll make it) to the movies and I can't wait. Must call the theater when they open, so I can figure out what time I need to get in line to secure 3 seats together.

Anyone else going at midnight? Team Edward or Team Jacob?

Thanks, Dolbear6!

She was the first to email me to say a NEW title for the #10th Canterwood Crest book has been released on Amazon.

It is....

ELITE AMBITION

Yaaay! :)

Can't wait for the CITY SECRETS cover to go up. I think you guys will heart it. <3

As soon as I've got time to sit down and write a decent blog entry, I've got a few things to share with you guys (not Canterwood related), so look for that soon.

Excerpt of Little White Lies

Soooo....can't wait till December 21 (says Amazon) when LITTLE WHITE LIES goes on sale? Well, you can read an excerpt of the book at Simon & Schuster's Website. Cool!

Check it out here!

Event cancellation

To those I was sooo looking forward to seeing at the Equine Affaire, I'm yet again under the weather and can't make it today. I'm so sorry and I hope you all enjoy the events.

Sneak peek...full Little White Lies cover

Since I can't share the CITY SECRETS cover yet, I thought post something else. This is the full cover for LITTLE WHITE LIES (Dec 22, 09). Pretty, right?

On the front, it's Sasha and Callie and Heather is on the back. I absolutely can't wait for it to come out! Eeee! :)

Aladdin MIX widget

Just wanted to share this cool widget from the new Aladdin Mix site! :)

City Secrets (Canterwood Crest #9) cover to be revealed soon!

Hey guys!

I've been getting so many awesome notes about when the cover for CITY SECRETS will be revealed. The answer? Not sure yet. It's almost done and as soon as I get the okay to post it, you know I will! I can't wait for you all to see it--it's so gorgeous and fun!

Plus, there's a twist to this book that'll make it unlike any other Canterwood book before it. :)

First NYC school visit

I just finished my first NYC school visit. I spoke to a group of sixth graders at Pershing IS-220 and we had a fun visit. They even gave me flowers--so sweet! I ran through my Power Point and the kids asked great, engaging questions.

The best part? I didn't spill coffee on my skirt (and I mean a LOT of coffee) until I was heading down the stairs to leave. Win!

Thanks so much to Lucia Greenberg for being a fantastic host. She took photos of the event and got releases from the students' parents, so I'll be able to post pics to my blog soon.

Gotta do some writing before heading into Manhattan for an appt. Happy Monday!

Two bits of press

First, I wanted to say THANK YOU so much to everyone who has been emailing, Facebooking, Tweeting, etc at me about BEST ENEMIES. You guys absolutely rock and I've been reading every message, but am this close to finishing HOME SWEET DRAMA, so I can't reply to email right now. I will when I turn in the final draft and have a couple of days to reply.

There were two pieces of press that ran last week about my involvement in NaNoWriMo or National Novel Writing Month. First, I was interviewed for Media Bistro and my article is part of a toolkit for people participating in this month's contest. You can see some of the article here and thanks to GalleyCat for featuring it.

Then, the SFist picked up the article and a columnist wrote about it. The article made me laugh because he said my NaNo tale was "inspiring/annoying." LOL. I can see that...

Back to revising!

And the title for book 9 is...

I didn't even know that the 9th Canterwood book was up on Amazon (no cover yet), but a supercool reader just sent me an e-mail saying it was there and she was excited. So, the ninth book is called CITY SECRETS and it comes out on July 10, 2010. Yay!

Also, the blog template is the process of getting a makeover. I love it!

Happy weekend!

back to blogging

I think (hopefully!) I'm back to regular blogging. I was really sick for 3 days or so and am finally back on my feet and feeling like normal. I was going stir-crazy after forcing myself *not* to do work after the 2nd day of being sick. But I think it was good to take a break. I'm only going to work for a couple of hours today, then I'm done. Got a sparkly event on Friday that I have to be in perfect shape for, so I'm okay with taking a slow week and then working like a crazy person over the weekend.

I hope everyone had a great Halloween! If you dressed as a Canterwood character, please email me a pic! I'd love to see. I've already seen a photo of a reader as Heather Fox and it was soooo cool. :)

And, um, the countdown to NEW MOON is drawing closer! How exciting is that?! I. Am. Ready. Now.

Oops!

Missed one of the contest prize winners! For the RIDE LIKE A GIRL bag and stickers, the winner is...E! E, please email me (jess_burkhart [at] hotmail [dot] com with your address so I can mail your prize. :)

Contest winners

It's time to announce the winners of our giveaways! Again, thanks so much to the awesome sponsors. (All winners were randomly drawn from Blogger and LiveJournal.)

Girls Horse Clothes gift certificate:

Tiana S.

The I Love Horses bag:

Adina

English princess T-shirt:

Zoe

Charm clip:

Emily B.


Winners, please email me (jess_burkhart [at] hotmail [dot] com--with your parents' permission) your name and an address you can receive your prize. Congratulations!

First Knicks game

Since the blog was taken over by awesome giveaways (winners will be announced after the final deadline for entering has passed), I haven't been able to blog about personal stuff for a while. For example...last Tuesday, I went to my first ever Knicks game at Madison Square Garden! It was a pre-season game against the Celtics and it was sooo much fun. The crowd was excited and the entire atmosphere was energized. The entire experience of hot dogs and nachos only added to the awesomeness. Plus, we won! :) I've seen MSG on TV before and it's sooo much better in person. It's just insane. I kept saying, "OMG! I'm at MSG!" like a total dork. :)


These are the sparkly cups that you get when you order drinks. Love. Them. Was jealous of BFF's sparkly cup and wanted my own. Now I've got some! They're actually glittery, which is hard to see in the pic.

Going to see another Knicks game this Saturday on Halloween! BFF and I are coordinating our outfits. She's wearing blue tights and I've got orange ones. Knicks colors and also very Halloween appropriate. I can't wait for the train ride home because (or so I've heard) there will be a zillion people in costume on the train. Can't. Wait.

Halloween is almost here! Let's talk costumes.

Sooo...my fave holiday is almost here! Halloween!
glitter-graphics.com

I'm into to cutesy, fun Halloween stuff. I *adore* IT'S THE GREAT PUMPKIN, CHARLIE BROWN and HOCUS POCUS. It's hilarious to watch Sarah Jessica Parker before she became SJP. Love. I DVRd those and also set mine to record INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE. I've always been too scared to watch it, but I think I'm ready. Trying to build up my tolerance for horror films. I also realllly want to see SLEEPY HOLLOW with Johnny Depp (my pirate-boy!) and Christina Ricci. Again, I was too scared to see it when it came out. I did have the soundtrack that I played on Halloween and that was freaky.

I was thinking about past costumes when I was a kid/teen. One year, I was a cowgirl with a (*cringe*) fringe skirt and button down pink shirt and cowboy hat. I also had a pair of killer cowboy boots and a belt that had a horse on the buckle.

Another year, I was Snow White. That was fun. Then I was Belle from Beauty and the Beast.

I was also (shocker) an English rider. I wore that to school for costume day.

One of my faves was a black cat. Ears, whiskers, black pants and a tail. Very fun!

Anyone dressing up this year? If so, what's your costume? If not, what was your fave costume?



glitter-graphics.com

Catching up on a busy Monday

Wow, so many of you have entered the contests--that's awesome! Keep checking last week's posts and be sure you've entered all of the giveaways. It was a great week to celebrate the release of BEST ENEMIES. Yaaay!

I wanted to share a new interview with pix and a vlog. Check here at the Girlz Like Me Website. Thanks so much to Taylor for conducting a fun, professional interview.

I spent the weekend in Balto with K, R and A and we had sooo much fun! We were at a wedding for our awesome friend and the reception was at a super cool comics museum. I was seated at the Strawberry Shortcake table--so cute!

The next couple of weeks are going to be insanely busy as I finish the draft of HOME SWEET DRAMA and start editing it. I've also got several speaking gigs, so I've got to make extra time for those and check over my presentations. As soon as I get the draft finished and turned in, I'll start responding to reader girl e-mails as they've come in. :)

Last, check out the all new Aladdin MIX site. It's adorable and I love it!

PS-Someone emailed me and said she's going as Sasha for Halloween. She asked if Sasha would wear orange nail polish. ABSOLUTELY! :)

Enter to win an I Love Horses bag!

The final giveaway for the launch of BEST ENEMIES is an "I Love Horses" bag from Girls Horse Clothes. This hunter green bag is super cute!

To enter: leave a comment here, on LiveJournal or in both places by Friday, October 30th at noon. I'll draw a name and will post the winner next week, so be sure to check back or leave an e-mail address in your post so I can contact you if you win.

If you want an extra entry, blog about the contest, Tweet about it or get creative and publicize it another way. Leave me the link in your comment and it'll count for your extra entry. (I'll only mail to US addresses, sorry!)

Thank you, thank you to GHC and all of the sponsors who've offered up amazing, fun prizes over the past few days. This has been one of the best releases ever! Yaaay!

A brief interruption :)

Just a quick announcement--tomorrow's giveaway will be the last! But remember to go back and enter any you've missed since the deadlines are all varied. There's still plenty of time to enter. A sincere thank you to all of our sponsors who provided amazing, fun products. Yay!

There's sooo much to blog about that I've left out because I've been super busy and I wanted the focus to stay on the give aways.

But next week, look for posts (with some pics!) of my first Knicks game at Madison Square Garden. Plus, a post about my hilarious (oh, snap) dress shopping experience with Aly. But we DID end up finding gorgeous dresses, so it was totally worth it.

I'm off to Baltimore tomorrow for a wedding. Going to try and get editing done on the way there, but we'll see how that goes...

Enter to win a Girls Horse Clothes gift certificate!

Today's amazing giveaway is from our friends at Girls Horse Clothes! They're giving away a gift certificate for a horse top of your choice! Check out their Website and see what they've got.

To enter: leave a comment here, on LiveJournal or in both places by Thursday, October 29th at noon. I'll draw a name and will post the winner next week, so be sure to check back or leave an e-mail address in your post so I can contact you if you win.

If you want an extra entry, blog about the contest, Tweet about it or get creative and publicize it another way. Leave me the link in your comment and it'll count for your extra entry. (I'll only mail to US addresses, sorry!)

Thank you so much to GHC offering this sparkly prize! :) I'm so excited that BEST ENEMIES officially came out yesterday and thanks so much to everyone who's as excited about it as I am.

Win a fab bag and stickers!

Today, Paula from BE A GIRL TODAY has generously donated this supercute bag, postcards and stickers!

To enter: leave a comment here, on LiveJournal or in both places by Wednesday, October 28th at noon EST. I'll draw a name and will post the winner next week, so be sure to check back or leave an e-mail address in your post so I can contact you if you win.

If you want an extra entry, blog about the contest, Tweet about it or get creative and publicize it another way. Leave me the link in your comment and it'll count for your extra entry. (I'll only mail to US addresses, sorry!)

Paula, thank you so much! :)

Enter to win an English Princess t-shirt!

We're still celebrating the release of BEST ENEMIES, which, so happens to be today!! Yay!

Today's giveaway is this ahhhh-dorable English Princess t-shirt from Dana's Doodles!! (You'll be able to choose your size.)

To enter: leave a comment here, on LiveJournal or in both places by Tuesday, October 27th at noon EST. I'll draw a name and will post the winner next week, so be sure to leave a way for me to contact you if you win.

If you want an extra entry, blog about the contest, Tweet about it or get creative and publicize it another way. Leave me the link in your comment and it'll count for your extra entry. (I'll only mail to US addresses, sorry!)

Thank you so much to Dana for sponsoring this awesome contest and go enter! :)

Win a supersparkly charm clip!

All right! Today is the first of three giveaways from Girls Horse Clothes! Want to win this supersparkly clip with adorable charms? I looove this because it reminds me of Sasha's special charm bracelet.

The rules:

Leave a comment here, on LiveJournal or in both places. You have until next Monday, October 26 at 8am to leave a comment. After that, I'll draw a winner and will announce it shortly after! Please be sure to leave an email address or way for me to contact you in your comment. :) (I'll only ship to US addresses.)

Thank you to Girls Horse Clothes for sponsoring this giveaway! :)

Congrats, Karly!

And...the winner of a signed copy of BEST ENEMIES IS...Karly!! Congratulations! I've already send an email to the address provided, so if you didn't get it, shoot me one at jess_burkhart @ hotmail dot com.

Check back tomorrow for another chance to win a super cool prize!

Also, the Canterwood Crest site has been updated with some new stuff so head on over and check it out.

Shout out to Jobros0913 for sending me a link to JSYK. There's TONS of awesome New Moon and R Pattz info on the site, plus other fun tween gossip/entertainment. Very cool!

Thank you, Team Canterwood!

(Vid processing will be complete soon then quality will improve) :)

Don't forget to enter to win a copy of BEST ENEMIES below!

Win a signed copy of Best Enemies!!

Want to win a signed copy of BEST ENEMIES? You can! Leave a comment here, on LiveJournal or in both places by Sunday at noon. I'll draw a name and will post the winner on Sunday. If you want an extra entry, blog about the contest, Tweet about it or get creative and publicize it another way. Leave me the link in your comment and it'll count for your extra entry. (I'll only mail to US addresses, sorry!)

Goood luck! :)

As if you didn't already know...

Editor K is a super star. (Duh.) A book she edited, THE ROCK AND THE RIVER, by the fab Kekla Magoon was named one of the Top 10 First Novels for Youth 2009 in the fiction category. This is so well deserved and it's exciting news! Check out the link here!

Also, a quick reminder that giveaways start *tomorrow*! I've got so many cool things lined up from awesome sponsors who are excited to be a part of Team Canterwood. Check out the blog tomorrow for your chance to enter to win the first prize.

Again, yaaay EK and Kekla!

Currently engaged in...

writing this. That is all. :) Go #8!

Oh, and a random tip--do not grab a hot pole in your apartment to see if it's really on. A tap of a finger would be plenty if hot pole is indeed on. If this was a Tweet it would end with #aptfail

Equine Affaire in W. Springfield

I'll be at the Knight Equestrian Books booth signing Canterwood books on Saturday, November 14th. I don't have times or more details yet, but I've had a few people ask if I'm going. That's a yes! :) I'm excited about attending Equine Affaire since I've never been. It should be fun and I hope to see lots of you there. More details to come.

Now, to try and drag myself out of bed and from under my electric blanket. *cozy*

Coming next Friday...prizes!

Next Friday, October 16, kicks off giveaway days running through October 23 to celebrate the release of BEST ENEMIES (CC #5).

BE comes out on October 20, so I'm starting early by giving away a signed copy of BE next Friday. More sparkly prizes will follow! So, be sure to check back often then and enter to win some fun, cool stuff.

Happy Friday!

Maybe I should buy stock in Red Bull

Been slow going on HOME SWEET DRAMA today. I had a bunch of errands today and then I haven't been able to get back into the draft. I'm still ahead of schedule, which is great, but it's just an off day. Grr. And, plus, I forgot to get Red Bull when I went out. *annoyed*

I did, however, successfully make Lauren Barnholdt's pumpkin spice latte recipe. It wasn't that complicated and it tastes soooo good. I've got an addiction to the ones at Starbucks, but refuse to keep paying that price for coffee. I'd rather spend the $$ on other stuff!

Speaking of Team Barnhart, we're meeting up with Ross and The Boy (Lauren's Boy) for sparkly drinks at Cowgirl when LB comes to NYC tomorrow. I've never been to Cowgirl, but everyone says it's amazing. I can't wait.

Back to the draft...

Welcome, Best Enemies!

It's a double-post day because...

BEST ENEMIES is now shipping from several online bookstores! It might even be in actual stores now or very soon. I'll have to start stalking this weekend and check.

I'm *always* caught off guard by the early releases. That said, I'm still going ahead with the pre-planned schedule of release week festivities. It'll celebrate the official release date, so yay!

I'm still shaking my head over this entire thing. And by that I mean how my fifth book is out. It's an indescribable feeling when a book hits shelves. This was the first book that I finished writing in New York, so it has special meaning.

Very sparkly hearts to my BKBs who helped make this book possible. <3 Toasting you guys with Swarlos and the slap bet episode. :)

D-I-S-T-R-A-C-T-I-O-N

Oh, yeah! It's everywhere. :) I was, uh, reading an unauthorized bio of R Pattz this afternoon when I should have been, you know, writing. Then, a friend sent me his manuscript that I've been *dying* to read. I started to read it and then had to use it in my write then reward system. So, I've got to write 500 words before I can read another chapter of it. 2500 words need to go down today and my evil Excel chart tells me my grand total is 269 so far. Eeeep. But I'm ready to go now!

Btw, on Friday, look for an announcement about all of the fun things to come to celebrate the October 20th release of BEST ENEMIES. Yaay! There will be *tons* of sparkly prizes. Woo! Also, if you won a signed copy of BE from the giveaway, it went in the mail yesterday. Hope you enjoy it!

Home Sweet Drama progress

The blog has been a little quiet because I've been working hard on the draft of HOME SWEET DRAMA. I'm 30 pages in and and I usually really get going around page 50. The first 50, for some reason, are always the hardest. It feels like an uphill climb where I'm not sure if I can make it. Even at book eight, I'm crazy paranoid like, "Whoa. What if I can't write another book?!" But then the rational side kicks in and I go back to my chapter by chapter outline and know what I have to do.

So things are moving ahead on that. I typed 9 pages yesterday (eh, but whatever!) and want 10 today. I think it's possible just because of the amount of caffeine I'm about to go out and purchase. :)

Going to be purposely cryptic because it's necessary, but I got the most amazing gift yesterday. BFF got me a signed copy of this author's second book. I'd read the first book and actually wrote on the pages, put sticky notes in the margins and got more out of this book than any other I've ever read. Holding the new book with a note to me inside was so special. So. Amazing.

Anyway...

Will vlog soon! I'm planning to read the first chapter (and likely the second) of BEST ENEMIES. I can't believe it'll be out so soon. Yay!

Ready, set, type!

I Tweeted this pic yest, but in case you don't have Twitter I wanted to share it. That's the BFF's cat who watched me work yesterday. She's usually attracted to my handbrace that I wear when I type. And when I say "attracted," I mean she attacks it and then falls in love with it when I take it off and put it on the couch.

Got 10 pgs typed yesterday--not even close to what I wanted (*bangs head*), but I'm starting again now and we'll see what happens. Every bit of housecleaning that can be done is complete so I can't be distracted with any of that. Lame, right? But that's become my "I can't work because I have to sweep/mop/do dishes, etc" even though it's not necessary. Things are sparkling now so no excuses. I've got coffee and Diet Coke on my bedside table and have my twinkly Halloween lights plugged in, which makes me happy.

Btw, I talked about it on the Canterwood forum, but if you notice on Amazon.com or B&N that there's a different pub date for Rival Revenge (#7)--it's true! The book is coming out in January instead of Feb. Very cool because it comes out on Jan 26 and my birthday's on Jan 29. Fun week!

Off to work!

PS- NaNoWriMo starts next month!! Who's doing it? If you are, friend me! :)

Blog post up at Girlz Like Me

I was lucky enough to be interviewed by the fab and supercool Taylor and her sister Allie. Taylor is a 12-year old homeschooler who started an online magazine. I'm so impressed by her and the site is so cool. Here's a link to the blog post and I'll be sure to post another link when my interview and shout out vlog go up. :) Taylor posted a blog entry about our interview and included a few cool pics.

Thanks so much to everyone at Girlz Like Me!

I'm still at my friends' apt on a writing spree. I got a superlate start (2:30something) and it took forever before I hit my stride. But words are accumulating now and I'm going to see how much longer I can keep it up. The Thai food, Red Bull, Diet Coke, coffee, and Twizzler (thanks, AlyCat!) helped. :)

How I wrote ALL day--not!

Last night I decided that today I'd get up super early, write a lot and then keep writing. Umm...yeah. Didn't happen today. Instead, it went something like this:

6am: Evil alarm on Blackberry. I snooze it for 5 mins.

6:05am. Evil alarm on Blackberry. Snooze for 5 more mins.

The next time? Reset for an hour. Will try again at just after 7am.

7am still a no-go.

I finally start moving around 8-something, only to fall back asleep until 9:40. Twenty minutes before an interview with Taylor at Girlz Like Me.

I wake up, panic and try not to sound as if I'd been sleeping when I called her at 10am. Of course, I totally did.

The rest of the day? I grabbed the R to Target and spent waaay too much time in the Halloween aisle. Plus, I needed winter clothes 'cause I've been borrowing hoodies from BFF and I found some awesome stuff including 2 pairs of boots. One for dressy stuff (with heels) and the other for walking to the subway. The subway steps are crazy icy in the winter (I was in NYC for a few days in Jan) and slipping is not an option.

I somehow ended up with enough stuff that I couldn't take the train back. Hello, taxis waiting outside of Target. Love them.

I got back and it was just after 2. Spent the rest of the day trying on clothes and, um, hanging the twinkly Halloween lights I got. I meant to go to the post office to mail books, postcards, etc to winners, but I missed them. They're closed tomorrow, so you guys will get your stuff put in the mail on Monday.

Tomorrow is hard core lock down day. It's supposed to pour/storm all day and to prevent myself from being distracted in my own apt, I'm going to my friends' apt and am planning to shut myself inside and write, only stopping for an occasional Red Bull or meal. The plan is to be out the door at six or earlier if I can be super-awesome. *wills self to make it happen* :)

How's everyone's weekend?

Interview with HorseGirlTV is live

My video interview with HorseGirlTV is live! So much fun and big thanks to Angelea, Janice and everyone else involved. Check it out here: http://www.horsegirltv.com/blog/?p=929.

Want an early copy of Best Enemies?

This is going to be a CRAZY week and blogging might be scarce. So...how about a contest? If you'd like to enter to win one of TWO signed copies of BEST ENEMIES (out Oct 20), then leave a comment here and/or on my LiveJournal. Make sure to leave an email address so I can contact you if you win.

You have until Thursday, October 1st at 7am to leave your comment. I'll contact the winners over the weekend for their addresses. I'm only shipping to US addresses, too, so sorry international peeps!

If you want an extra entry, Tweet, Facebook, blog, vlog, etc., about the contest and put a link in your comment. :) Spreading the word about the contest is superhelpful, so thanks in advance!

Soon, I'll be posting a reading of the first and *possibly* second chapter of the book.

Go enter already! :)

Best Enemies copy! Yaay!

In my hands, I have finished copies of BEST ENEMIES! Eeeee!! Above is the full spread and you can see the wrap around cover. *happy sigh* I'm just in love with it. Of course, I couldn't wait to see all five books together.


In. Sane. Five! I'm so proud of them and can't wait for BEST ENEMIES to release!

Going to be working all weekend and at a crazy pace while I get the chapter by chapter outline down for HOME SWEET DRAMA (CC #8). Once that's a go, then it's writing time. :)

Happy weekend.

The Literary Review's spring launch with guest author J.R. Angelella

So excited to attend this event tomorrow evening! It's the spring launch party for The Literary Review, which is exciting enough...but even cooler than the kick off? J.R. Angelella is reading as a special guest author. *cue applause*

If you're in the area, come stop by and listen to the authors read. It's going to be a great night!

Welcome, Lauren Barnholdt!

Please welcome the supersparkly Lauren Barnholdt! Lauren's here to dish all about her new book, DEVON DELANEY SHOULD TOTALLY KNOW BETTER, that comes out today. Happy release day, L!

Book summary:

Devon Delaney cannot believe she's lying again. But the thing is, she couldn't help it. Her new boyfriend, Luke, is talking to his (gorgeous) ex-girlfriend, Bailey Barelli (!!!), every single day in mock trial.

Devon couldn't just stand by and let him find out that she'd never dated anyone else before. Could she? Oopsie. Too late now. To show how totally unaffected she is by Bailey's obvious Luke hang-up, Devon invents a fake ex-boyfriend of her own: Greg. Fab! What could go wrong?

But it isn't long before Devon finds herself in the middle of another supergigantic lie. Can Devon come clean in time to keep the guy? Or will she lose everything due to another lie?

Bio: Lauren Barnholdt is the author of many books for teens and tweens, including TWO-WAY STREET, FOUR TRUTHS AND A LIE, and THE SECRET IDENTITY OF DEVON DELANEY. She lives in Boston with her husband.

Okay, here we go!

Pitch Devon as a Tweet! (140 characters or less, people who are not familiar with the awesome that is Twitter)

Devon’s lies get her in trouble again – will she come clean in time to keep the guy? Complete with some kissing and a brand new cell phone!

How are you and Devon alike and different? Break it down.

Hmm, Devon is fun, and I like to think I’m fun. She also likes the same colors and things I do – like sparkly cell phones and pink.

She’s thirteen, so, you know, we’re different in that sense. At least, I hope we are, hmm.

She’s a lot more self-confident and more outgoing than I was at thirteen. But she’s dramatic the way I was at thirteen. (I’m totally not dramatic anymore, la la la.)

You’ve been writing at coffee shops more recently. Fellow coffee shop writers understand the shortage of outlets. (So wrong!) Tell the truth, LB. Have you ever wanted to unplug someone’s lap top when he/she got up to grab an order? Or (*gasp*) have you already done so??

Jessica!! I would never do something like that!!!

Okay, I’ve totally wanted to. I mean, some people are doing things in coffee shops that are just.. I don’t know. Like, what if someone is playing video games? And I am under deadline? Shouldn’t that be more important?

Lately I’ve also noticed some people with their laptops plugged in, and they are just chatting away to other people, not even using their computer! Mostly, though, it hasn’t been a problem—I try to only go to places where there are enough outlets to go around.

Devon invents a fake boyfriend, Greg. Would you have ever been able to pull that off at your school?

Um, well….full disclosure: The first Devon book is based on something I did in junior high. So I guess, um, yeah, kind of.

I know (because I have people) that you and Editor Kate don’t get along AT all. Do you just cry every time you get an edit letter from her? It’s okay. This is a safe space.

I don’t cry, because I’ve been in therapy to deal with it. Plus last time I went to visit her, she gave me tons of amazing books, to sort of buy me off and keep silent about her torturous techniques.

Obviously, the above question was a total joke. Lauren and I share Editor Kate and she nicknamed us “Barnhart.” She recognized that we only need to go by one name, ‘cause we’re awesome like that. When do you expect Team Barnhart to dominate the publishing biz? (And don’t give away any secrets to the enemy camp…)

Classified. Barnhart would never give away any secrets on a blog --- there are spies everywhere!

There’s one tiny issue I have to bring up. The one that could one day cause a Barnhart-break up that would be splashed over every tabloid. You know where I’m going with this. Nick and Jess. You’re obsessed with them—totally fine—but I’ll still tell you that Robsten is better, la, la, la…Predict it for us, Lauren. Are Nick and Jess getting back together?

Sadly, no. But that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t!! They were so in love! Didn’t you see the episode of Newlyweds where Jess did laundry for Nick because SHE LOVED HIM SO MUCH? I just don’t see what went wrong.

Also, I don’t really get Robsten. Like, is that even happening? Or is he just obsessed with her? It’s so meta, like I totally picture him, like, watching over her on the set and stuff.. Crrreeeeepppppyyyy.

Favorite line from the book?

Can it be “favorite paragraph”? If so:

“Okay,” I say. “Point taken. But we’ve turned over a new leaf! I don’t have any secrets from you right now. You know everything that’s going on with me, and I want to know everything that’s going on with you. We’re BFF.” Mel doesn’t look convinced, so I rush on. “For example,” I say. “Last night at mock trial I made up a fake boyfriend, and now Luke wants to meet him.” I give her an encouraging smile. “Now you go.”

Knowing that you looove your iPhone, if we should see more of Devon, will she upgrade?

Hmm, I don’t think so. Devon’s parents hardly even let her get a flip phone, I don’t think she’s ready for such technology. It would probably get her into more trouble.

But if she did, it would be sparkly and pink.

Final question: Write your own question and answer it. Make it good. *pressure*

Would Devon from my book and Sasha from your book be friends? Totally! Except I think Devon might corrupt Sasha a little bit. Although I’ve heard that Sasha is totally ready to French kiss, and Devon isn’t quite there yet, so maybe they’d be bad influences on each other.