All in all, things went well. No screaming babies on the plane next to me. No businessmen who had eaten beans and broccoli for lunch standing in the aisle next to my head emitting toxic odors. Of course, the airline will now charge you two bucks for that package of stale crackers, but the soda was free, so there wasn’t much to whine about.
The most exciting day of the year
Tuesday, March 20th, means…
… that Spring is finally here. It snowed on and off all day yesterday.
… that the TWISTED book contest is closed to new guesses. This is one of the deeper snow drifts around the house – it is about 55 inches high. BH will be monitoring the melting daily. As soon as the last bit of snow is gone, I’ll make the announcement and choose the winner.
… that TWISTED is officially launched!!! Yee-haa!!! You can buy it in a bookstore today! Please read it and tell me what you think.
… that the TWISTED podcast is up on my website. (Thank you, theoblack!)
… that ShelfLife is celebrating one of my heros, Judy Blume.
… that I have to finish packing
I will be blogging daily from the road. Here is tomorrow’s schedule:
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21
8am – SCHOOL EVENT – Blytheville High School, Blytheville, AK (not open to public)
Sponsored by: That Bookstore
11am – STOCK SIGNING: That Bookstore
316 W. Main, Blytheville, AR 72315 Tel:(870) 763-3333
2:00 PMish – STOCK SIGNING at Barnes & Noble
Wolf Chase Galleria
2774 N Germantown Parkway
Memphis, TN 38133
901-386-2468
3:00 PMish- STOCK SIGNING at Barnes & Noble
Carriage Crossing
4610 Merchants Park Circle Suite 52
Collierville, TN 38017
901-853-3264
3:30 PMish – STOCK SIGNING at Borders
6685 Poplar Ave
Germantown, TN 38138
901.754.0770
7:00pm – PUBLIC EVENT! at Books-A-Million
135 Towne Square Boulevard, Southaven, MS 38671
(suburb of Memphis, TN) Tel:(662) 536-1888
Podcast preview
I spent yesterday afternoon and half of the night recording the TWISTED podcast and then trying to figure out how to post it. Thanks to everyone who wrote in with suggestions and explanations. I recorded it using GarageBand. That part was fun. Figuring out the next step was near impossible.
For right now, you can find the podcast here. Some people have been able to open it and listen with no problems. Other people only get an an error message. Let me know if it doesn’t work. If it does work, let me know what you think.
Do me a favor – if you are going to comment on the podcast (or your inability to listen to it) let me know what kind of computer you have.
In the next couple of days, we’ll figure out how to post the podcast on the Writerlady and the Penguin websites. Then everyone will be able to hear it and peace will reign again in the Forest.
Today I have to go to the library and the drug store and the bank and Staples and Mom’s and the gym. I have to pack, fret about what I forgot, unpack to double and triple check, repack, and stare at the suitcase.
Have I mentioned how excited I am?
edited to add My webgod, theoblack, just figured out the problem. It has to do with the format in which I saved the podcast not being compatible with everyone’s sound cards. Or something like that. He is fixing it. I’ll let you know when he’s finished.
Kirkus review – TWISTED
Thank you, Kirkus, for the very nice starred review:
“Anderson returns to weightier issues in the style of her most revered work, Speak (1999), and
stretches her wings by offering up a male protagonist for the first time. Tyler was always the kind of
guy who didn’t stand out until he spends the summer before his senior year working as punishment
for spray painting the school. His new image and buff physique attracts Bethany-the über-popular
daughter of his father’s boss-but his angry and distant father becomes even more hostile towards
him. Despite the graffiti incident, though, Tyler is a conscientious, albeit confused, young man, trying
to find his way. Unfortunately, his newfound notoriety as a “bad boy” leads to false accusations that
land him-and his father’s job-in hot water. As tension mounts, Tyler reaches a crisis point revealed
through one of the most poignant and gripping scenes in young-adult literature. Taking matters into
his own hands, Tyler decides that he must make a choice about what kind of man he wants to be, with
or without his father’s guidance.”
Yes, this review put a bounce in my step. And then I found out TWISTED has been nominated as a BBYA. That made me fly.
Today and tomorrow are getting ready for this weekend’s trip to the Michigan Reading Association. I love going to Michigan, and am really looking forward to seeing many friends while out there.
Random Thursday Thoughts:
1. Tattoo is healing nicely.
2. It is snowing. Again. At least we won’t have sub-zero windchills today.
3. The Big East Tournament will be playing on ESPN all-freaking-day. And I am supposed to work?
4. I haven’t been to the gym in four days and feel like a slug.
5. Are they ever going to release Season 3 of Deadwood on DVD?
Stomach twisting monday
It’s two weeks until TWISTED is released. Let the nausea begin.
I expect to get back my editor’s comments on my WIP today. I want to try and turn it around before I leave. More tummy-twisting.
Oh, and yeah, the book tour is in two weeks and I am obsessing about packing and I need to remember to buy Sleepytime Tea for the trip and to pack my vitamins and I better get to the gym because exercise time will be short and it is snowing again and they closed Rt. 81 because nobody could see anything. But, really, I’m fine. Really. I just need a nap.
Theo has given the homepage of my website a new feel. He also posted the Tour Online, and started putting up the dedicated TWISTED pages.
I am going to eat Tums now.
Oh, and I got a tattoo this weekend. What did you do?