Blogging about John Hughes

If you're a child of the 80s like me, you grew up with classics like Pretty in Pink, The Breakfast Club, and Some Kind of Wonderful. This week over at the YA Paranormal Authors blog we talk about our favorite John Hughes movies. Check it out!! '

And have a very HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!! :)

Marianne

Now Shipping from Amazon!!

Looks like "What, No Roses?" is now shipping from Amazon!!! It's probably already out in a bunch of bookstores, too. (I'm going to go check my local Borders at lunchtime.) Official release date is Tuesday.

Run out and get your copy today -- before they're gone!! :P (Now I sound like one of those AS SEEN ON TV people. "If you buy Roses today, we'll throw in a set of knives...")

Marianne

Is it Friday Yet?

It's only Weds and I'm already jonesing for my New York trip this weekend to see my friend. I know it sounds cliche, but I really do love New York. It's such a great city--so alive and vibrant. So many stores, so many people. And yet you can walk down the street in complete anonymity. It's a beautiful thing. I want to move there so badly. Everyone always tells me they can totally see me as a NYC girl and I definitely agree. And hey--I've done the Florida thing and the California thing. I'm sooo ready for the Big Apple. :)

Tonight on Channel 7 I have a story on the air about video game addiction. Men and women who have lost their jobs, homes, families, etc. due to their excessive use of video games. It's kind of an interesting story to me personally because I'm such a gamer myself. And I've seen this kind of intense infatuation many of my friends have developed with the online games. (Like World of Warcraft, for example.)

Psychiatrists say video games can actually boost serotonin levels in the brain, causing gamers to get a high, much like alcoholics get by taking a drink. And the game's reward system allows them a sense of accomplishment they may not be feeling in real life. It's like they're running from something in their real lives--trying to escape stress or financial problems or depression or relationship issues. And the game just swallows them up. They form online relationships that become more real and interesting to them then their real life friends and family. Nothing is as satisifying as logging in. Nothing is worth logging out for.

Some might say, "Get a life!" But I'm not sure it's that simple or that true addicts really have a choice. Unfortunately, because this is a relatively new addiction, there are few therapists who can treat it. Hopefully that will change soon.

Anyway - kind of rambling - but like I said, I'm an avid gamer and I've seen so many people get sucked in. So the subject matter kind of hits close to home.

Marianne

Yay!!!!

Got my author copies of "What, No Roses?" today!!! Woot!!

Next week they'll be sitting pretty at a bookstore near you. Double Woot!

I'm still reading Shogun. Page 76 / 1,1000. This could take a while.

Why is it I write books faster than I read them?

Marianne

In other news...

Thanks for everyone who sent their support for my blog disclaimer entry. :) You guys rock and are the reason it's worth writing.

For those of you following the "MySpace Reunion With Long Lost Friend" saga, I have an update.

(Sorry "Andy" (if that's your real name...) - I know you don't care. Feel free to skip this entry and head over to Amazon to pre-order "What, No Roses?" instead - hehe)

For those of you still with me, Jamie called me today and we made plans to meet up in NYC this weekend!! I haven't seen her in over four years so I am completely thrilled at the chance to reconnect. She's so much fun and a great person. I can't believe she's been this close since January and I had no idea. :) Yay MySpace!!

In other news:

** "What, No Roses?" officially comes out in 8 days!! Woot! Pre-order now and I'll be your slave forever! (No, not a love slave. And I don't do dishes. Okay, I'll be a lousy slave, but I will be very, very appreciative!)

** I've been reading Simone Elkes upcoming "How to Ruin a Summer Vacation" from Llewellen Flux to give a blurb quote to and I absolutely love it!!! A must buy for all teens once it's released.

** I went to the stupid local Borders - the one too stupid to carry Boys that Bite - and realized they're too stupid to carry Gena Showalter's "Oh My Goth" and Caridad Ferrier's "Adios to My Own Life" as well. Though they had ten billion copies of the Da Vinci code, which, duh! Everyone in America (but me) has read.

** I've started reading SHOGUN just to prove to a friend that 1,100 word books about feudal Japan do not intimidate me. Actually it's good so far. I mean, how could you not like a book where a samurai chops off a guy's head simply because he didn't bow?? We need to send him after whoever buys books for Borders.

** I'm kidding!! I love all booksellers - even if they don't choose to carry me and my friends' books. Really! Booksellers rock!! (Now don't forget to place an order for "What, No Roses?" or I'll send Oni-San after you!)

** Diana Peterfreund has an amazing new website called secretsocietygirl.com. I am very jealous of all the flashy technology stuff.

** Congrats to my aunt who just retired after 30 something years of teaching. And to my cousin and her girlfriend for graduating from Yale law school. And to my other cousin who is expecting her first baby in the fall!!

** Congrats to Angelina and Brad for baby Shiloh as well. (Didn't want them to feel left out.)

That's all for today!
Marianne

Blog Disclaimer

Grr. I'm so angry at all these drive-by posters and their comments. (see below entry - I refuse to delete this time!) Especially ones who don't have the guts to link to their profile/blog. So disclaimer time:

My blog declares no responsibility to:

a) Make the world a better place
b) Entertain you
c) Cause you to think
d) Make you want to buy my books (Someone in a drive-by the other day asked if I thought "this depressing crap would make people buy books")

It is what it is. Sometimes I'm going to talk about my lousy day (or my great one!). Sometimes I'm going to post pictures of my dog or me and my friends out at a bar. Sometimes I'll talk about real issues and often I'll pimp out my books. (Did I mention "What, No Roses?" is out next week!?!? LOL) But it's MY blog and I'll post what I want. I'm not looking to win a content award here. I just want a platform to ramble from.

That is all.

Mar

Can I just tell you....

...how much I love MySpace?

I just found one of my really, really good friends from when I lived in San Diego. I lost her # when my cell phone died a few years ago and have been searching for her ever since. She has a very common last name, so I was having no luck. Then I found a profile on MySpace. There was no pic, but it was someone with her name, her age, and lived in San Diego. So I took a chance and wrote her a message.

She responded and said she's been searching for me, too! And that she moved to NYC and comes to Boston all the time!!! She sent me her cell # and I'm going to call her this afternoon!

Yay! I love MySpace!!
Marianne

Hm...Interesting

From Publisher's Lunch:

Children's: Young Adult
Jamie Michaels' KISS MY BOOK, story of a teen writing sensation who gets caught plagiarizing her debut novel, but finds redemption and romance when she escapes to a small town, to Krista Marino at Delacorte, by Michael Bourret at Dystel & Goderich Literary Management (World).

Random thoughts

I am still doing my Buzzing your Book workshop over at Romance Divas. Today I wrote about using MySpace as a promotional tool. If you've ever thought of promoting for free to over 87 million people - and no they're not all teens! - you might want to check out my step by step guide.

I'm feeling so much better today than I felt during the beginning of the week. Phew. Sometimes life can really smack you upside the head. But if you can just get through the bad days better ones always come. :) The important thing is that when you're going through bad moods or whatever that you don't take it out on people you love. Especially the ones who are trying to cheer you up. They care about you and want you to feel better and they probably feel helpless because they can't seem to make you smile the way they usually do. And it's so easy to lash out at these people because they are around and they don't run away from your bad mood like casual friends will.

If you can't deal with them, tell them you need some time alone. But never, ever be nasty to them. Because they have opened themselves up, made themselves vulnerable, in an effort to help you feel better. And that, my friends, is something more valuable than gold.

Anyway - that's your psych lesson of the day from Marianne.

Tonight I'm going to a cookout at my dad's. It'll be the last time I see him and my stepmom for like a month cause they're traveling cross country to go to Colorado to visit my brother and camp and hike etc. I'm totally jealous. Oh to be retired and have whole summers to tour the country. Then again, I'd probably just sit at my computer the whole summer if I had a choice.

:)
Marianne

Sunshine and Roses

I took Monday's post down, in case you were wondering, because some anonymous commenter said it was irresponsible to my teen readers to admit to feeling down in a blog. I don't want to be a bad influence so I'm sorry. I was just having a lousy day and really didn't feel like chatting about sunshine and roses.

But now it's Tuesday and it's sunshiny out and ohhh - I have a new book called "What, No Roses?" out in stores in less than two weeks! Woot!! So there we go!!!

BTW if you're one of my MySpace friends, I'm running a special contest til the end of June. Post a comment about what you liked about "Boys that Bite" and on June 30th I'll draw from all the commenters and pick three people to name characters after in book 3 - Girls that Growl. :) Check out MySpace Boys that Bite for more details!

That's all for now! I'll be posting lesson #1 on buzzing your book over at Romance Divas in a little bit - so make sure you stop by.

Marianne

Friday!

It's Friday! Yay! And tomorrow is a special day for me. I'm doing a booksigning at Annie's Book Stop in Sharon, Massachusetts. Now, normally booksignings aren't that exciting, but at this particular booksigning I'll be signing my brand new book "What, No Roses?" You see, my publisher set up the signing and so they're sending books before the actual July release date for it. So this will be the first time I see a copy of my book in book form!! w00t!!

Hopefully I won't end up buying all the copies in sheer exultation...

And yes, the new book thing never gets old. In fact, I bet if I get to book 100 I'll still be just as excited to hold it in my hands. :)

In sadder news, my ex husband Aaron's dog Adora got hit by a car yesterday. She will likely survive, thank goodness, but she has a collapsed lung and multiple fractures and has to have her leg reset. She's only a year old and so cute--Australian Shepherd mix. She had to have surgery today and the whole thing is costing Aaron $4,000. I wish I wasn't so broke or I'd pitch in. I love that furry little mutt.

Okay, now that I've depressed you - have a great weekend!

Marianne

Vegas Pics

Okay I've got a few pics of Vegas for you to check out! Click on pics for larger images.

The girls: Me, Mary, Heather, Lisa, Kara



The view from my hotel room at the Mandalay Bay:



The hotel that the medieval geek in me would like to stay in: The Excalibur!



The clubs were crazy! Huge, with waterfalls and cage dancers and acrobats! This was "Rum Jungle" at the Mandalay Bay.




There you have it! :) I have to say though, Vegas is not my favorite place in the world and while it was cool to experience it, I don't think I would go back anytime soon. It's like Spring Break for adults who want to behave badly. Maybe I'm just not the party girl I used to be, but the atmosphere was just too rowdy for me. I think I'd much rather go somewhere with some history and culture. Or at least just a white sandy beach. The cheesiness and tackiness of Vegas were just too much for me.

Marianne

Now Touring: Julie Kenner

Hi all,

Back from Vegas. Will post pics soon. But today we have an Out of the Blogosphere tour guest. Julie Kenner is the bestselling author of many funny paranormal books. She was also awesome enough to give me a quote for my upcoming "A Hoboken Hipster in Sherwood Forest." So needless to say we love her here at Cosmos and Chat.

She has a new book out - second in the series - about a soccer mom who fights demons in her spare time. (I know, you're like "What spare time?") It's called "California Demon" and looks adorable!

CALIFORNIA DEMON: The Secret Life of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom by Julie Kenner
(Berkley Trade, June 2006)

What's a mother to do, when there are only so many hours in the day, and the fate of the world is in her hands?

Kate Connor was a retired demon hunter. Now, after fourteen years busting her tail as a suburban housewife, raising two kids, and supporting her husband's political ambitions, she's rejoined the workforce-and except for a few minions of evil, no one has a clue. She tries hard to keep her home and work lives separate-a good idea when your job involves random slaughter.

Between fending off demon attacks, trying to figure out why the mysterious new teacher at the high school seems so strangely familiar, and keeping a watchful eye on her daughter's growing infatuation with a surfer dude, Kate is the busiest-and most dangerous-soccer mom on the block?

FROM THE DESK OF KATE CONNOR?
? Groceries
? Pay bills
? Gas up the minivan
? Pick Allie up from cheerleader practice
? Clean out nest of evil, blood-thirsty preternatural creatures with a few wooden stakes, some holy water, and a can of Diet Coke
? Self-defense class
? Volunteer at nursing home
? Battle determined demon while making meal
? Put Timmy to bed
? Clean up dishes
? Dispose of demon carcass
? Iron Stuart?s shirt
? Write tomorrow?s to-do list

Read an excerpt here.

ABOUT JULIE KENNER
National bestselling author Julie Kenner's first book hit the stores in February of 2000, and she's been on the go ever since. Her books have hit lists as varied as USA Today, Waldenbooks, Barnes & Noble, and Locus Magazine. Julie is also a former RITA finalist, the winner of Romantic Times' Reviewer's Choice Award for Best Contemporary Paranormal of 2001, and the winner of the Reviewers International Organization's award for best romantic suspense of 2004. She writes a range of stories from sexy and quirky romances to chick lit suspense to paranormal mommy lit. Her foray into the latter, Carpe Demon: Adventures of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom, was selected as a Booksense Summer Paperback Pick for 2005, was a Target Breakout Book, was a Barnes & Noble Number One SFF/Fantasy bestseller for seven weeks, and is in development as a feature film with Warner Brothers and 1492 Pictures.
Julie spent four years mainlining venti nonfat lattes in order to write, practice law full time, and take care of her kiddo. Then she wised up, quit the practice of law, and settled down to write full time. She now lives in central Texas with her husband, daughter, and a bunch of cats.

Check out her website: http://www.juliekenner.com/

Viva Las Vegas

Greetings from Vegas. I'm writing from my hotel room at the Mandalay Bay. For those of you who have never been, Vegas is crazy! Everything is HUGE here. And themed. It's like an adult DisneyWorld. Or an adult spring break. Of course it's a total meat market as well, all these overgrown college frat boy types trying to hook up. Um, thanks, but no thanks.

My friend Bobby from Orlando is out here too - attending a conference. So I hung out with him and a couple of his coworkers last night. We found the cheap side of Vegas where there were $1 drinks instead of $11 like at my hotel. Low brow and not as nice, but better for my wallet. I can't believe how much everything costs here. I've done a tiny bit of gambling, but I'm not really into it. The place has a great pool so we went swimming yesterday. I think we're going clubbing at Studio 54 tonight cause my cousin's husband got us on the VIP list.

That's about it for now. I'll post pics at some point.

Mar
PS I've yet to win a million dollars. In case you were wondering.

One more book...

I knew if I started listing July books I'd forget one.

Reality Chick - by Lauren Barnholdt. It's a YA put out by Simon Pulse about a girl who has her freshman year in college videotaped for a reality show. Good premise - I couldn't imagine if they had done that to me my freshman year!! My parents would have probably stopped paying the tuitiion bills once they watched the show, lol.

I haven't read it yet, but Lauren is way cool and she wears tiaras at RWA conferences with me. So you should buy her book. Seriously, go pre-order it now, while you're thinking of it. :)

I'm off to Vegas tomorrow so expect a blog hiatus. But I'll be back Tuesday with lots of pictures. Of course, I'm not sure how many I'll be allowed to post on my blog. After all, what happens in Vegas...

Mar

July Books

July seems to be a good month for new books by friends of mine.

Diana Peterfreund's debut novel - the much hyped "Secret Society Girl" will finally hit store shelves. I remember reading a partial of the manuscript before Diana sold it last year and thinking - wow - how could this book not sell? Then she sent me this email the morning she sold saying, "Hey guess what? I sold my book!" Or something along those lines. No mention of it being the huge sale it was. Now she's on her way to becoming a huge star. Yay Diana! I can't wait to get my hands on a copy!

Caridad Ferrier (aka my friend Barb Pollack) has her debut YA "Adios to my Old Life" out in July as well. It's sort of a Latino American Idol type book. I got an advanced copy to read and I really loved it. As my MySpace kids say, "This book rocks my socks." The heroine is spunky and cool and I really think kids will enjoy the Cinderella at the ball idea of becoming famous overnight.

Alesia Holliday has a new chick lit called "Seven Ways to Lose Your Lover" out as well. It got 4 1/2 stars from RT! Woot! Go Alesia! I actually don't know too much about this book except that it's written by Alesia so it is guaranteed to be laugh-out-loud funny. :)

Marjorie M. Liu has another entry to her Dirk and Steele series with "The Red Heart of Jade." She also got 4 1/2 stars from RT. A top pick, if I remember right. If you like dark, kick butt paranormal, she is definitely an author to watch and enjoy. Think X-Men with romance.

Anyway, I'm probably forgetting tons of people, but there's a few to start you out with. Besides, can't mention TOO many good July books or you'll run out of money before you get to pick up MY July release - "What, No Roses?" hehe.

Til tomorrow!
Marianne

Don't trust a first person narrator

So I had been waiting for this. A review or comment about Boys that Bite where the user said I unfairly stereotyped or bashed goths, etc. I knew it was coming, and finally I got an Amazon review where it basically said I had no idea what a goth was or how they acted.

First up, I want to point out that I was probably a goth girl before the reviewer (assuming she's a teen) was born. LOL! I know exactly what goths are like, how they act, what's important to them, etc. Believe me, I know (unlike the reviewer claimed) that there's more to being "goth" than dressing in black and watching Donnie Darko, lol.

That said, the book is NOT IN MY VOICE. It's written in the first person voice of Sunny, the other twin. Sunny is not goth. She's mainstream, kind of preppy, and into things like the prom. So when I describe goths in the book, I did it from HER perspective. In her view, bassed on her personal experiences with her sister she believes goths are only interested in dressing in black and hanging out in cemetaries. When I switch to Rayne's point of view in Stake That!, the sequel, you get the opposite. A goth girl who makes fun of jocks, preps and cheerleaders. Is that because I don't know what a real jock/prep/cheerleader is like? No. It's cause is Rayne talking.

Which leads me to my point. When you're reading first person, do you inherently trust the narrator's voice? Do you equate that voice with that of the author and the author's knowledge and experiences? If you do, then you're not (in my opinion) enjoying the story to the fullest. The point is that because we are in a specific person's head, we're getting her colored view of life. She thinks a certain way, makes judgments, compares people and incidents based on her own experiences. Nabokov was a master at this in books like Pale Fire or Lolita. Some of the enjoyment comes when the author realizes that you can't necessarily trust the narrator and his/her judgement calls.

Also, interestingly enough, the reviewer herself was unknowingly stereotyping goths by her post. She says that a true goth wouldn't say certain words or act a certain way. Um, are all goths equal? Do they all have the same speech patterns? Would a high school goth from San Diego act/dress/speak like one from New Hampshire? I would be willing to bet a lot that while there are some similarities in the sub-culture, there are just as many varities. She says Rayne would not be a goth, but a poser. Is that not a judgement in and of itself?

I don't mind people pointing things out about my books or having opinions on the characters and this reviewer was very respectful in her argument and gave good examples to back up her claims. But I also feel I have the right to make a rebuttal. Unfortunately you can't really do that on Amazon so I've got to do it here. Thanks for indulging me. I swear I'll go back to shoes and wine and Vegas topics tomorrow.

YA Paranormal Authors

I blogged today over at the YA Paranormal Authors blogsite. If you haven't checked that site out, you definitely should. It's MaryJanice Davidson and her husband, Gena Showalter, Serena Robar, Bev Rosenblum, and yours truly. We each blog once a week about a specific topic. This week we talk about what we'd like to undo in high school. :)

MJ's story is great. Everyone should bring pickles to Nationals to torture her with, lol. :)

Mar

P.S. Did I mention it's one month 'til "What, No Roses?" comes out? So, um, everyone go and pre-order it so I can obsessively watch the Amazon ranking go up and down. hehe. Just kidding. Well, sorta. ;-)