Bad Blogger!

I know, I know.... Where have I been? Why have I let more than a month go by without updating this blog? Well, I have no excuse, except to say that I have been ridiculously busy. Now that the series has officially launched, things are happening pretty quickly. Like Inigo Montoya says in The Princess Bride, "Let me explain.... No, there is too much. Let me sum up."

First, on Friday, January 29, I had my first book launch party! I invited a bunch of my closest friends, my family, and a few of the great people at Delacorte Press who worked on the book to Bowlmor Lanes in Manhattan for a few hours of food, fun, and of course, book buying. Yes, I arrived a little late, but I had a good excuse! I was all the way up on 116th Street in Harlem picking up an amazing cake from the Make My Cake bakery. Take a look.

Have Your People Call My People

The past few weeks have been full of good news. For starters, I will be making my first ever author appearance this fall! The fine people at the Watchung Booksellers bookstore in Montclaire, New Jersey, have launched a writing discussion series called Writing Matters. In September they'll be discussing the craft and business of writing children's books--and they've asked me to be a panelist! (Exciting, no?) Even better is the fact that I actually have a publicist that I have to run this kind of thing by. (Is it too soon for me to say stuff like, "Have your people call my people"?)


Also, Flamingnet.com reviewed Your Life, but Better! and gave it their Flamingnet Top Choice Award. (They review books on a scale from 1-10, and anything that scores a 9 or 10 is considered a Top Choice book.) Thanks, Flamingnet!

Managing a Little Mischief

It's official: My book is now on sale, everybody!

So to celebrate the occasion, I did what any sane person would do: I stalked my book all over town. Okay, I only went to two locations, and I wasn't stalking in a creepy way. I mean, I brought friends with me, I never hid behind a bush or anything, and I wore a very fashion-forward scarf the whole time.

First I visited the Borders bookstore near Columbus Circle. I was a little bummed to find two lonely copies on a bottom shelf in a dark corner of the store (it is sometimes a curse to have a last name that starts with V in a world where most things are placed alphabetically). But then...one of my friends spotted the New Stuff shelf, where they have my book on display!

Good News

I have exciting news, people! I have received my very first industry review compliments of Kirkus Reviews:

“Choose your own adventure” meets fashion-magazine personality quiz in this lively, light story aimed at young teens. Employing second-person narration and a conversational tone laden with current pop-culture references, the book informs readers they are a 12-year-old girl who has been dragged to the mall by her friends to sleuth out tickets to a classmate’s exclusive Charlie and the Chocolate Factory–themed party. Though hoping to bump into her crush, she instead runs into a tyrannical model scout in need of an emergency replacement for a photo shoot taking place that day. To decide whether or not she’d like to participate, readers are prompted to take a short multiple-choice test to determine which direction the story will take, the first of many such divergent points. Gently skewed toward positive outcomes for the confident, there are still many satisfying story arcs for the meek. Jealousy, on the other hand, is discouraged outright. Girls who are eagerly anticipating their teen years will enjoy this breezy, reader-driven tale, however it turns out for them. (Novelty/fiction. 10-13)

New Covers

Okay, here they are, my new book covers! What do you think? 

Sorry it has been so long since I've written--a whole month to be exact--but I've been pretty busy over the last few weeks. For starters, I've been working on the second YOUR LIFE book, which is coming along nicely. My deadline is quickly approaching, so I'll be using this upcoming week's staycation of mine to finish it off. Wish me luck!

To that end, my editor has informed me that I now have completely new book covers. And I have to say, as much as I loved the last covers they came up with, these are really cute. I'll post them...as soon as I figure out how to do that correctly. I tried to do it just now, but the cover came out all yellow and there were words missing. (??) Like I said, I'm a little technologically challenged, but I'm working on it. Don't judge me. You can see the cover on the YOUR LIFE, BUT BETTER Facebook page, though. So go check it out.

Also, during the month I was away from this blog, I received another review from one of my friend Tom's nieces. This one is from Valerie, who now says she's my number one fan!


My Review
~ I liked how at the end of each chapter there was a quiz with really great questions that led me to a new part in my life. I also liked how the main topic was something I could relate to because having someone come up to me and asking me to be a supermodel and trying to get invited to a party is something that could happen to me in real life. I enjoyed having the book be about my life and I liked how it was easy to follow along with the book, even though you take quizzes at the end and skip some pages. If I would rate this book (1-10, 1 being the worst, and 10 being the best) I would definitely give this book a 10 because it was fun to read and everything that happened in the book was something I could relate to because it could happen in real life. Great book!!!

Love always,
Your pal Val


Thank goodness. Another good review! I don't know if I can take much more of this praise. (Just kidding. I love it. I live for praise. Keep it coming, people!) Once again, I have passed muster with one of my first four reviewers. Phew! And you might think I'm too old to get excited about scoring a 10 on a scale of 1 to 10. You would be wrong. The kid inside me loves getting high scores and pats on the back, and I'm definitely still a sucker for gold stars. Who isn't? They're gold and shiny, and you can put them on your forehead if you want to! Think I'm being silly? Well, check out a book review in a real newspaper or magazine. You'll find the ones the reviewer really, really like get--that's right--starred reviews. I'm just saying... It's not a coincidence. Anyway, thank you, Valerie! Your review was my gold star for this month.


I'm still awaiting one more review, so I'll let you all know when that comes in. Apparently, she broke one of her fingers a while ago, poor thing. So now I'm picturing her trying to type up my review with her big toe or something, which could take some time. My own niece, Jasmine, has also promised me a review now that she's read my book, so look for that soon too! (SPOILER ALERT!: She's already given me a thumb's up.)


In other news, I recently got another year older. Yep, my birthday just passed on October 2, and let me just say, it was awesome. My friends and family showed me so much love this year, I don't even know what to do with it all! It started on Friday, my actual birthday. I went to work (which isn't the exciting part), and there was a suprise party for me! Okay, um, it wasn't actually for me. It was for one of my coworkers who is getting married soon. But still, there were chocolate cupcakes that pretty much had my name on them. Then after work, some of my coworkers took me out for drinks, after which Stephanie took me to see that movie Whip It. (Good movie, by the way, with a great sound track.) Then the next day my mom surprised me with tickets for In the Heights, the Broadway show. (Loved it!) Aside from having to climb up into the stratosphere to reach our seats, we had a fantastic time. Then the next day, Dereeka, who has been my friend since we were twelve years old, surprised me with a roller skating party in Long Island! (Ahh, she knows me so well.) All my closest friends were there, and we skated our hearts out for a good three hours. Then we went out to dinner at a nearby Japanese restaurant and had a delicious meal, followed by even more delicious chocolate mousse birthday cake--and lots of presents. :)


That was more than enough for me, but my birthday month just keeps getting better. This past Wednesday, as part of Breast Cancer Awareness month, the Chelsea Clearview Cinema's had a screening of the classic John Hughes film Pretty in Pink. (If you haven't seen this yet, you should really get on that. It's Molly Ringwald at her finest.) Part of the proceeds from the evening went toward breast cancer research and programs, so I was happy to buy the pink cotton candy and donate money. But the real surprise came when it was time to reveal the winners of the raffle. Now, I've been a fan of the Clearview Cinema's classic movie night for some time. I've been there to see Xanadu, Niagra, The Best of Everything, and a few others, and never have I won their raffle. But this time I won! I couldn't believe it. And I got some pretty good stuff too:


*One Whip It sound track CD
*A Whip It T-shirt (that says Whip It: Be Your Own Hero)
*A Michael Jackson: This Is It T-shirt
*Two movie passes
*A silver compact mirror shaped like a purse
*The 50 First Dates DVD


Not bad, huh? I considered it all part of the birthday luck I'm having. And it wasn't even over yet! On Friday, a few of my friends who couldn't make it to the roller skating party took me out for an incredible dinner at Brazil Brazil, and then for dessert at Ruby Foo's. That was two days ago and I'm still full.

As you can see, I'm a truly lucky person, and I'm really grateful for all the wonderful people I have in my life.

That said, I lost my cell phone in the park last night and no one tried to return it. Bummer.

Here Comes the Rain Again

It's another gray, rainy day in New York. But unlike the rest of this summer when the constant rain felt like an unwelcome intruder, today it feels appropriate. I am, of course, talking about the anniversary of 9/11.