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.