Ninja and The Box

Last night Jacob and I continued Valentine's Day with dinner at NINJA - an upscale theme restaurant in Tribeca. It was really, really cool. Sort of like a Disney restaurant for adults. Delicious food as well and creatively presented. And yes, there were ninjas as our waiters and one of them even did magic tricks. The whole place looked like an ancient Japanese village. You eat dinner in a small room that closes up to give you privacy. I wouldn't say it was the best place for a large group of people, but it's an extremely cool date spot! Too bad it's so pricey cause I would go back again and again.

Here are some pics.


The restaurant...


More restaurant...


The menus were made of parchment and rolled out like a scroll.


A little blurry, but you can kind of see how we were all closed in in a small private room.



My meal was supposed to look like a tree trunk! And the bark was edible.


Our waiter!


I ordered this dessert strictly for the mist! And we snagged the ninja throwing star coaster.

After dinner we wandered around for a bit and then met up with Liz and her brother Alex who was in town from Vegas for adventure #2. Alex has a part ownership in this uber hip new vaudville dinner theater thing called THE BOX. It's hard to explain, but it's sort of Moulin Rouge for the new generation. There was performance art, burlesque, Cirque Du Soleil type acrobatics and other such wackiness. It's an extremely hard to get into place and we wouldn't have had a prayer if it wasn't for Alex. He got us up to the exclusive balcony area with a private table and bottle service. (Table = $1,000, and it's $300 a bottle. No, those aren't typos, thank goodness Alex was treating!) Anyway, it was extremely fun and definitely a night to see how the other half lives. Soooo cool of Alex to include us!

You weren't really allowed to take pics, but I snapepd a few of the place so you could at least get a glimpse. It doesn't do the place justice though. It's decorated in the coolest old 1920s style with faded wallpaper, plush seats, hanging curtains and plenty of mood lighting.


View of the stage from our balcony. In Moulin Rouge style, you have to hang from the balcony to see the show.


This is what they call "bottle service" in NYC. Basically you buy a bottle of your favorite alcohol (for $300 up usually) and they bring you all the mixers you want. It ends up looking something like this. :)


Liz (looking oh so glam!) and Alex, our benefactor.


Still standing at 2am! Well, sitting anyway...


Rebels til the end. :)

That's all for now. I also have another adventure from Friday night to share but I'll save it for a slow day! :)

Marianne

Valentine's Day wrap-up

I'm happy to report my Valentine's Day was fabulous and wonderful this year. Jacob, most awesome guy ever, gave me a sony digital camera for a v-day/birthday gift! I'm so excited! As you know I've been dying for a new camera since mine was left in Cabo last summer. And he gave me a 2 gig memory card so I can take like 700 pics without even clearing it out. He totally rocks.

He also gave me a vampire beanie baby bear named Baron Van Pyre. Here he is, bonding with the Cowboys beanie. He's actually technically a Pats fan vampire, but as Jacob says they're all friends over tequila.



We decided to wait til Saturday to go out to dinner as it's crazy busy and terrible service on Valentine's Day and instead we made our own. We made beef enchiladas with ranchera sauce out of the Rosa Mexicano cookbook. Sooo delish. Even if we did improvise a little.

And of course, with my new camera, I decided to document the whole thing. :)


Molly is ready for some cooking!!


Before we start, of course, we need some liquid courage. Margarita, anyone?



First, time to study the recipe...and realize I forgot to photocopy a few essential pages.


Next, time to chop meat and onions. A lot of tears were shed.


"Are you guys done YET?"


Jacob's already regretting buying me a camera at this point...


So I put down the camera and started cooking.


"It's got to be ALMOST done, right???"
"Not yet, Molly!"


Real Mexicans use their fingers to flip the tortillas, even if that means callouses.


The final product! Okay, so the burned tortilla is on top. Food stylist I am not. But it sure tasted good!!


And yes, don't worry, Molly got her share. :)


HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!

:)
Marianne

Valentine's Day Thoughts

A lot of people hate Valentine's Day. In fact, I think in my generation of cynics it's almost cool to hate the holiday. People go on about the evils of Hallmark and the calories of candy and all such bitterness weeks before the holiday even happens.

Well, I have a confession to make. I've never felt that way. I am a romantic at heart, I guess. But I love Valentine's Day. Maybe that makes me uncool. Don't care anymore.

I've had a lot of sucky Valentine's Days. For example, the time this high school friend of mine decided she was going to ask my ex-boyfriend (who I was still totally in love with) to the Valentine's Day dance that WE WERE GOING TO TOGETHER! So I had to spend the whole night with him there, but with someone else. Ugh. That was a particularly painful night.

Or, going further back, in 4th grade when I sent a "special" Valentine to the boy I had a crush on (named Todd) and he showed it to everyone and they all laughed about it. I remember sitting at my desk, hearing them whispering about it, wanting to totally die!

Then there were the single Valentine's Days or the ones where I was dating the guys who hated the holiday and refused to do anything that required any effort. Saying that they didn't need a holiday to "prove" their love and that they didn't like when there were "expectations." And yet instead of letting them know that it bothered me deep down, I pretended to not care. I was too cool for Valentine's Day, oh yes!! I wasn't one of those silly, materialistic girls who put value on a holiday made up by Halmark--not me!!

Yeah right. Deep inside the girlie girl in me wanted nothing more than a bouquet of flowers, delivered. Or a piece of jewelry in a box. Or a box of freaking chocolates even. It doesn't have to be expensive. It doesn't even have to be creative! I just wanted to share in the long-standing tradition of the day. Is that wrong to want?

Guys - when a girl says she doesn't care about V-Day, SHE IS LYING. She's protecting herself from being hurt. She feels that if she doesn't "want" anything, she won't be let down. And when her friends ask the next day (as they invariably do) what she did or got from her SO, she can save face by saying she didn't want anything to begin with.

But she did. Deep down in her heart, she did.

There is one person in my life who has never let me down on Valentine's Day. And that's my dad. He always sends a box of chocolates without fail. Every year. No matter if I'm nearby or 3,000 miles away. He delivers. And so no matter where I am in my life or what boy I am dating or not dating, I can rest assured I will always have one valentine. He probably has no idea how much that has meant to me over the years and I certainly haven't always deserved it. But I think that's why I can now, even after many disapointments, still honestly say I love Valentine's Day.

So thanks Dad! And Happy Valentine's Day everyone!! :)

Marianne

No Good Girls

So Jean Marie Pierson is this new author for Dorchester (I mentioned I was having drinks with her last night, I think.) She made a video to go along with her upcoming release. But not just one of those lame book trailers that everyone has. She actually hired actors and shot a real scene out of her book! It's so awesome. Now I'm wishing she filmed the whole book. But since she didn't, you gotta read.

So watch, then go forth and pre-order!



:)
Marianne

Dreaming of Pina Coladas

Nothing too exciting to report here. It's snowing today, but doesn't look like it'll accumulate. Hitting the wine bar tonight with Liz and new Dorchester author Jean Marie Pierson whose debut, "No Good Girls" is out next month. Tomorrow is dinner with my agent, who is town for the month from Colorado. She sure hit some bad winter weather for her trip. Freezing cold and snowing - at least in Colorado you just have the snow without the 12 degree temps!

This is where Liz and I were in August. And where we'd rather be at the moment. It's a view from our Cabo balcony. Ahhh I can just taste the pina coladas.



Oh well, what can you do? At least it's easier to find time to write books when you're stuck indoors. And spring will soon be on the way, right? RIGHT?

Marianne

Sofa Shopping

Jacob needed a new sofa so today he and I went down to Soho to wander around all the furniture shops down there. The boutiques down there are full of really modern stuff that looks awesome, but isn't necessarily going to be really comfy to actually curl up and watch TV on. And then there were the prices! At one point we sat on this sofa that we thought was pretty nice and then decided to look at the tag. $10,000! I believe that one was in the Armani Casa store.

Some people in this world have way too much money!

Still it was a lot of fun to look at what the other half buys. For example, check out this leather platform bed we found at one store. How cool would this be in your bedroom?



Price? $12,000.

But my favorite find of the afternoon was this. From a store called MOSS.



Yes, it's exactly what it looks like -- a chair made out of stuffed pandas! It was so cute I couldn't believe it. It said don't touch, but I had to cheat a ltitle bit. After all, it was a PANDA CHAIR! It was really soft. Price? Well, there was a sign that said you had to ask and you know what they say: "if you have to ask you can't afford it." So I had to reluctantly leave the panda chair behind. But not before a photo, of course!

ADDED: When I got home I looked up the chair online. Evidently there are only 25 made. Previous years there was a teddy bear chair and an aligator chair. Check them out!

All in all it was a really fun afternoon. And Jacob did find a great couch that is smooshy and cozy and didn't cost $10,000 so mission accomplished, too! :)

Marianne

More Morimoto plz plz

Last night Jacob took me out to this amazing restaurant called Morimoto which, you might know, is home of the Iron Chef himself. Evidently Mr. Morimoto was in the kitchen last night, too, but I don't know if he actually prepared our particular meals. They had blowfish as a special last night, but I was too scared to try it. Instead I got this amazing surf and turf special which was Kobe Filet (Mmm) and hamachi ribbons mixed with crushed citrus and avocado and these little mini herbed potatoes. It was so delicious I can't even begin to explain.

It was a really gorgeous restaurant all together, but what was truly unique was the bathrooms. They had heated toilet seats that opened for you as you entered the stall. Behind the toilet is a glass wall that looks out into what looks like a long, cherry blossom filled glass hallway. Because of trick mirrors, it looks like the hallway extends out to infinity. It's definitely a sight to see.

Anyway, it was a really nice night out. Jacob scores big points on restaurant selection. :) And if that wasn't enough, he also set up his old wireless router in my apartment, which truly rocks cause now everyone who comes over to work on their laptops can share Internet. Before now we were always fighting over the one connection and I had to keep cycling the modem every time I switched from laptop to desktop and back. So yay to Jacob!

Today Morgan, Liz and I went back to Williamsburg Brooklyn (my 3rd time to Brooklyn in as many days /sigh) to go thrifting. They have this amazing store called Buffalo Exchange that has great clothes for really cheap prices. I got an awesome turquoise Betsy Johnson dress that was brand new for only $32! It's gorgeous. Can't wait to have an occasion to wear it. I also bought a few shirts and a cute Armani Exchange skirt. It was a great store and I definitely want to go back.

Tonight we're going dancing. I might go take a quick nap before people arrive for the pre-party. :)

Marianne

Game without end...

Last night we went to Barcade again. I love that spot. I wish it was closer to Manhattan. It's a 45 minute subway ride to Williamsburg from where I live which is quite the trek. Yes, I'm lazy, I know, but what can you do.

Anyway, Jacob and his coworkers and I journeyed there with the sole mission to play lots of Gauntlet. You may remember Gauntlet was one of the first D&D type games to pop up in an arcade. You chose your character - elf, warrior, valkerie, or wizard - and basically just ran through neverending mazes of monsters. There are several popular (well, geek popular) phrases that came from that game such as "Elf needs food...badly!" and "Valkerie is...about to die!"



Anyway, what we learned from this experience is Gauntlet actually never ends. There are hundreds of levels and as long as you keep shoving in quarters it will keep going and going like some freaking Energizer bunny. When you're a kid, this is less of an issue because you run out of quarters quick. (Also back in 1985 them were some stellar graphics!) But as adults with more than twenty dollars worth of quarters, let's just say it started getting pretty painful. By the end we were all dying to just, well, die, and get it over with.

In all, I'm not sure we even made it to level 30 before we couldn't take it anymore. And now I'm totally cured of any desire to play that game ever again.

I still dig Crystal Castles though! ;-)

Marianne

Rolling, rolling, rolling...

I had a mini freak out with the book not gelling together right yesterday, but I think I've fixed it today. So my apologies to everyone I stressed out to -- it's all good now. At least til the next freak out. But hey - this is how we writers roll. ;-)

So as many of you know, I live in a studio apartment here in NYC where the location drives up the rent rather than the space. Lately I've been having a lot of guests over to hang out, write, watch Superbowl, etc. and I've realized the clutter is getting to critical mass. So my vow is to clean one section of my apartment each night and really go through everything and toss all that stuff I don't need. Minimalist, baby! I started with my computer area and I already feel much more relaxed hanging out here without stuff falling all over the place.

Sometimes I think it's fortunate that my house burned down when it did cause there is NO WAY I could have fit all that stuf in here. haha. Still, I would have preferred to pick and choose.

I think we're going to hit Barcade tomorrow again - this time for a good old round of Gauntlet. (And some Crystal Castles, of course, let's not be crazy here!) I wish the place wasn't in Williamsburg cause I would go there all the time if it was on the UWS. Hm, maybe it IS a good thing it's in Williamsburg. Otherwise I wouldn't have any quarters for laundry.

Ohhh speaking of, I finally broke down and tried the wash and fold service at the local laundermat. You bring them clothes and they wash them and then deliver them back to your apartment all clean and folded. Seems the ultimate in lazy to me, but everyone keeps raving about it so I decided on a little experiment. I only dropped off sheets and blanket and towels though as I'm a little wary of them damaging my real clothes. So will report back tomorrow with the results. (Wow, this blog is fascinating, huh?)

I'm also trying to exercise more. I went jogging Monday and Tuesday and rollerblading today. I'm sick of being such a slacker and exercise also relieves stress- something I have a lot of these days with this book!

That's all for now, going to grab some dinner.
Marianne

I <3 NY but not the Giants

I don't to discuss the game. Too depressing. As were the whoops and cheers and honking outside my window far into the night. I may live in New York. I may love New York. I may never want to live anywhere BUT New York. But I will never, ever, ever root for a New York sports team.

Ever.

I'm from New England, after all. And we don't roll like that.

To add insult to injury I now owe Liz a tube of lipgloss... She's currently deciding between Dior and Chanel. Sigh.

Okay, moving on. I thought some of the commercials last night were really stupid - especially considering how much money was spent on them. Some even bordered on racist. But I did really love Hank the Clydesdale. It still brings a tear to my eye - that dog high fiving the horse. Awhhh.

eff the giants

/sigh

Videogames, Mustaches and Techno - Oh My!

Quick drive by post to tell you about my weekend. Friday I had dinner with my agent friend Nadia Cornier in Astoria. Caught up on all the publishing (and other!) gossip. Was fun. Then Jacob, Leanna and I went to Barcade in Williamsburg, Brooklyn which was this bar that had all really old-school videogames like PacMan and Galaga and my favorite -- CRYSTAL CASTLES. Ever play that one? There's a bear and you have to have him get all the crystals but instead of a joystick you use a roller ball thing.

Here's a couple screenshots...





Then Saturday we went to the NY RWA meeting and listened to Isobel Kelly give a talk about how animals have sex which sounds weird, but was actually really interesting. Then Liz and I went to Melissa Walker's book release party, held at the Lancome store on 69th and Columbus. Her new book in her "Violet on the Runway" series is out next month. The party was crowded and super swank and there were makeovers and champagne and mini cupcakes. Very cool. Liz and I now have lots of ideas on our own book party we'll have this coming fall.

Having mingled and mixed, J joined us and we went to eat at Dallas Barbeque. Now for the record, while I think this place is very yummy, J insists it's not representative of real Dallas Barbeque. Since I've never had the genuine article, I can only say that my baby back ribs were delish anyway.

Next we left Liz and headed down to a German bar where J's friends were having a mustache theme party. Everyone, including the girls, had to wear mustaches. Was pretty wild to see. And yes, though a bit embarassing I am going to post the pics.





We hung there for a while then J and I headed down to the village to check out this dance club called LOVE. I'm scouting out a location for my future party and J said it might work. He was totally right, too. The place is so cool. Very cheesy 60s sci-fi'ish with a lounge room that has sort of a jungle gym kind of thing going on but with shag carpeting - even on the ceiling. I can't even begin to describe it but it was really cool and the music was good, too. We danced a lot. Haven't danced to old school techno in a while, so that was very fun. Then we went home.

Now it's time to work on the book. And I'm going to make chili this afternoon too. Cause yeah, it's Superbowl Sunday and you gotta have chili to watch the Pats kick some Giants butt. Woot!!!

Okay that's all I got. (Isn't that enough?) Out for now.

Marianne

Cupcakes...Mmmm

Today I had a fun morning doing a Valentine’s Day cupcake shoot at Magnolia Bakery. I don’t know if you guys know about Magnolia’s but it’s this famous cupcake shop in the village (and they also just opened on a couple blocks away from my apartment on 69th and Columbus). There is ALWAYS a line there – even at midnight. You might remember they were featured on Sex and the City. Anyway, needless to say, delicious cupcakes and a fun shoot. The owner tried to teach me how to frost a cupcake “the Magnolia way” which didn’t exactly turn out to be the best frosting job ever let’s just say. All these poor bakers and cooks trying to teach me! I’m an eager, but completely unskilled student. Still it’s fun to try. (Tasting was even more fun!)

In other news, I was hanging out with my friend Justin last night. He and I used to both work at Channel 7 and would go out for a beer sometimes with our friend Kurt and complain about how much everything sucked and how we hated our jobs. Last night we both sat down and just started gushing about how great everything is and how much we love our jobs, love NY, etc. etc! It was really funny when put into perspective. I guess we both made the right moves by coming to NYC. (He works at CNBC as a producer now.) There are sooo many people from my old work that do TV in NY and everyone seems happy. So that’s good!

Happy weekend everyone!

Marianne

She keeps going and going and going...

My week of non-stop’ness has not stopped yet. Tuesday J and I went to see Marilyn Manson in concert, which was actually pretty cool. I’m not a huge fan, but he puts on a really high energy show. It was also fun going to the nearby diner afterwards and seeing all the goth kids eating burgers and drinking milkshakes under harsh florescent lighting.

Last night I went to my wine bar (Riposo 72, which is downstairs from my apartment, hence the “my”) with my friends Chris and Mike. I love that place so much. We had wine, cheese, and interesting debates that got quite heated, considering the banal subject matter.

Tonight we’re on the hunt for mustaches for J’s friend Sarah’s mustache party on Saturday night. Yes, even the girls are required to wear them. Going to hit Halloween Adventure down in Union Square, which is a great year round costume store. Then I’m going to go meet up with my old Boston coworker/friend Justin at Westside Brewery. I haven’t seen him since I left Channel 7 and it turns out he and his wife live on the Upper West Side too. Total randomness.

Tomorrow is Friday (yay!) but we’re skipping the goth club in favor of a bar that features old school videogames like PacMan and Galaga. Should be fun. There used to be this great bar in Boston called Jillians that had every videogame you could think of—including really high tech, virtual reality ones. Then they remodeled and took out the games and put in a bowling alley. Can we say L-A-M-E?

Saturday is my friend and fellow author Melissa Walker’s book release party at Lancôme (free makeup – yay!) Liz and I are going to drop by to that. Then Sarah’s mustache party. Then Sunday is Superbowl Sunday! GO PATS! GO TOM BRADY!

Oh so J and I were talking about Friday the 13th movies and the question is – which one had both counselors and actual kids attending the camp? As opposed to the usual counselors are there but kids haven’t arrived ones. I say it’s either 3 or 6. We’ve decided to have a Friday the 13th marathon movie session sometime next week. At least 1-6 since then they just get horrible. (I know you’re thinking. “Aren’t they ALL horrible?” Well, the answer, my friend, is NO.) I found part 3 in actual 3D dvd on eBay and ordered it. So we’ll get to see it how it was meant to be seen! Woot.

Hm, is anyone still reading or are you running screaming from my dorkiness yet?

Marianne

I can walk like a Penguin!

It's funny how sayings you grew up with mean nothing to people from other parts of the country. Every time I think of penguins I think of the little girl in the New England Aquarium saying, "I can walk like a penguin!" It's what we would say EVERYTIME someone brought up penguins. It just was. But I realized today that the rest of the world has grown up with absolutely no idea about the penguin thing.

Luckily now with YouTube you can share this kind of stuff with your penguin loving, non New England born friends. So without further ado, one of my favorite childhood commercials.


The counterpart was the "I want to know what makes an ocean wave wave!" which was a Musuem of Science commerical. Not as good, but still iconic for a New England kid growing up in the 70s and 80s.



Anyone else remember these???

Marianne

Goth Night Out - the photos

Morgan was nice enough to take pictures at the Goth Night Out pre-party this past Friday. Here we are in all our midnight glory. :) Creative attire (and makeup) was mandatory, the bull and goose was flowing, and a fun time was had by all. Enjoy!

The whole gang, clockwise from left: Liz Maverick, Jacob Beach, Morgan Doremus, Isabo Kelly, Stacey Agdern, Nick, Elizabeth Mahon, Leanna Hieber, and Marianne Mancusi.

Another pose... And yes, I'm wearing wings. Had to try out my gothic lolita fairy look that I'm thinking of sporting at this year's RT fairy party! Elizabeth was bailing before club time so you'll have to excuse her non-creature of the night getup.

Sometimes it hurts to look this good. Liz Maverick and Leanna Hieber showing a little "restraint"...as usual.

And then there's Jacob...showing none.

The Rebels of Romance, strike a pose.

RAWR!!! We have PhotoShop and we're not afraid to use it! ;-)

A super fun night and one we won't forget! (But plan to repeat as soon as possible.)

Weekend Wrap-up

Happy Monday!

Good weekend, got a lot of writing done. Book is going swimmingly now that I’m back on track. I’m hoping it continues and that there will be no problem meeting my deadline. Fingers crossed, if you will!

Friday Jacob and I went out to a delish Cuban place called Socialista for dinner. It’s in the middle of nowhere - just south of the meatpacking district and I guess it can be kind of a scene’y type place but we were there early enough that we didn’t have to deal with any of that. They make strawberry daiquiris with real strawberries crushed in with the ice which was yum.

After dinner we went to our friend Morgan’s tv studio where we had our pre-clubbing party, which turned out to be so much fun that I didn’t even care about going clubbing. We did though and got our dance on later that night. Didn’t stay out too late – I think we left just after midnight – but it was really fun all the same.

Saturday brunch with Jacob and Liz then Liz and I met Leanna and we worked on our books in Starbucks. That night went over Jacob’s and we had a James Spader movie marathon while painting the little plastic zombie figures from the Zombies!!! game we played the other night. Okay, we’re dorks, I know. Still, my gun metal and glitter zombie dogs rock. Sunday more writing and we were going to see No Country for Old Men, but it was sold out so we just went back to my place and watched the Heath Ledger junkie movie Candy. It was weird to watch him on the screen and think about the fact he is dead. So sad.

Marianne

Razor Girl: The Cover!!

Check it! The cover for Razor Girl, my September 08 Shomi release. Pretty darn cool, huh? Very different than the original batch of Shomi books...

THE WORLD HAS ENDED, MOLLY.

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO NOW?

Molly Anderson is not your average twenty-one-year-old. It’s been six years since she and her family escaped into a bunker, led by her conspiracy theorist father and his foreknowledge of a plot to bring about the apocalypse. But her father’s precautions didn’t stop there. Molly is now built to survive.

Yes, Ian Anderson’s favorite book gave him ideas on how to “improve” his daughter. Molly is faster, stronger, and her ocular implants and razor-tipped nails set her apart. Apart, when—venturing alone out of the bunker and into a plague ravaged, monster-ridden wilderness—what Molly needs most is togetherness. Chase Griffin, a friend from her past, is her best bet. But while he and others have miraculously survived, the kind boy has become a tormented man. Together, these remnants of humanity must struggle toward trusting each other and journey to the one place Molly’s father believed all civilization would be reborn: a magic kingdom, where everyone knows it’s a small world after all.

It's almost Friday...ALMOST!

It was great to see April last night. She and I had a blast talking about old times and old friends. So nice to reconnect. Hopefully we’ll be able to hang again soon. She wants to come goth clubbing with us, but tomorrow she has a bday party so it’ll have to be another week.

Tonight some friends and I are doing a restaurant week night out at Delmonico’s – a fancy steakhouse in the financial district. Should be delish. I love restaurant week ‘cause you get to try new places that you might normally not be able to afford.

Found another pic from Bowie Ball. This is the only one where you can see my whole outfit, so I’m posting it here. Courtesy of this party promoter girl named Etie who I met at the ball. She was dressed as a Little China Girl and looked quite awesome.



That’s about all going on here.
Marianne

Thru the lens of a camera...

I need to buy a camera. I hate not having one. Mine was left in Cabo this summer and it’s felt like such a void in my life ever since. Like with the Bowie Ball. I had to troll flickr to find ONE picture of us at the event. And no one likes how they look in it. Maybe I will buy a cam before Friday. We’re doing another goth night out with a pre-party at Morgan’s tv studio. I need pics of this event!!

Last night I had drinks/pizza with my friend Jenny at Riposa 72, the wine bar beneath my apartment. I hadn’t seen her in forever, so it was good to catch up. Then Liz and Leanna and I went to Magnolia’s Bakery. They opened one at 69th and Columbus – yay! Now I have two terrific cupcake shops within a block radius. I <3 NY!

Tonight I’m meeting up with a long lost high school friend named April for dinner. So looking forward to seeing her. It’s fun catching up with people from my past. Got to love technologies like MySpace that can bring people together.

I’m really sad that Heath Ledger died. It’s not like I knew him personally or anything, but I thought he was a great actor and seemed like a good person. I remember him reading how him and his ex-finace Michelle Williams were living like normal people in Brooklyn and not caught up in the Hollywood hype. And it’s so sad that their daughter will grow up without a father. I hope it turns out that it was accidental and not a purposeful OD. That would just be too sad. And, um, this is just upsetting! I hope it’s a joke, but I don’t think so.

Weekend Wrapup

Happy Tuesday!

Had a great weekend. On Friday Jacob hosted a Zombie Night where we drank margaritas, watched zombie movies and played a board game called….well, ZOMBIES!!! (Yes, with three exclamation points in the title, lol.) Pretty funny game and there are like five expansion packs to it. I started out strong, but then the boys ganged up on me and it was Jacob who reached the helicopter to freedom first.

Saturday we laid low and Sunday we went to a Red Sox friendly bar to watch the Pats take on the Chargers. Jacob was disappointed for the second week in a row as his second tier team (he’s from Dallas but lived in San Diego for a time just like me) went down to the unstoppable Pats. I actually like the Chargers, but no one can compare to my beloved Tom Brady and his boys. I can’t wait to see them kick the stupid Giants’ butts in the Superbowl. (Just cause I live in NYC doesn’t mean I have to like their teams. I was born and raised in Massachusetts, after all.)

Later Sunday Leanna, Jacob and I went to the Bowie Ball. Yes, it was a ball dedicated to all things David Bowie. Totally awesome. The drag queens had the BEST outfits, too. It was definitely a blast. I found this pic up on Flickr someone took of us. I'm not sure what Jacob's looking at, but I'm sure it was something crazy.

You can check out all the outrageous costumes here.

On Monday (I had it off cause of MLK day) we went to see Cloverfield. Such a cool movie, but the shaky cam made me feel like I wanted to die. I was nauseous the whole movie, just as I was in the Blair Witch Project. But it was worth it. So freaking cool you can’t even imagine. Definitely suggest you go see it – if you have a strong stomach. Heck, even if you don’t, see it anyway. It’s worth being sick for.

Book is going well. I’ve mostly finished rewriting and am starting on fresh material. I’m dedicated to 3,000 words a day, which is a LOT, but I’m doing it. My goal is to have a draft done by February 15th and then take 2 weeks to polish and pass it in to Chris on March 1st.

That’s about all that’s going on here. Hope all is well with you guys!
Marianne

Day #3 Writer Marathon

Okay I'm burning through the rewrites, which rocks! It's making so much more sense with my adjustments that the book is practically writing itself now. Phew. Last night Leanna, Liz and I met at Starbucks to write, then Liz and I went and I got a pedicure and she got a manicure. (Leanna was teasing that I got a goth pedicure cause I had my toes painted this dark blue/black color, which looks awesome.) Then we all met back up for Chinese food and then headed to my place to do some more writing. We wrote to music, which really helped set the mood. I kicked them out at 11. We're going to do the whole thing over again tonight. (Exchanging dinner/pedicures for a little costume shopping for RT.) Gotta mix up the writing with a little fun, after all.

Speaking of fun, Liz and I are planning a futuristic themed Valentine's Day party for next month. Invites will go out soon. And yes, by themed I mean you need to dress up...in futuristic style clothes. I found this great silver dress in Patricia Field's that I might wear. Anyway, we're working on the backstory for the party now, so stay tuned!!

This will be the first in a series of theme parties we're working on. Other future themes may include (but not limited to): steampunk, hooka, viking dinner. haha.

So much fun to be had, so little time to write!

An old friend from high school just emailed me and we're going out for dinner next week and she might come goth clubbing with us soon. Yay. I love reconnecting with old friends. There's one friend I have never been able to find though. Her name is Gretch Sgouros and she was my best friend in high school. I have absolutely no idea where she is now. I wonder if she got married and changed her name cause I haven't been able to google her or find her on facebook/myspace or anywhere! I don't think there's a single other person in my life that I've lost track of like that. Even other former friends of hers have no idea where she's gone to. It's sad cause it would be fun to talk to her again. If anyone knows her (by some weird coincidence) please email me. She'd be 33 years old and used to live in Groveland Massachusetts. Was kind of a goth girl type. Used to work at Express and went to Salem State. She loved Bowie, Morrissey and Madonna.

Anyway, tangent. But talking to April again makes me think of Gretchen and wonder where she is.

Marianne

Writing Marathon Day #2

Okay I got through Day #1 of my 3,000 words a day. Now just 29 days to go. Ha, ha. I can do it though. I can, I can! It may take a lot of Diet Red Bull, but the end will justify my caffeine addiction and sleep deprivation and WoW abandonment. Yup, you heard it folks. I’m giving up WoW until the book’s done. It’s sad, but it’s also the right thing to do. WoW is fun, but a time sucker. Work comes first.

The good thing with rewriting versus starting a book from scratch is that the basic skeleton and plot is there. It’s not like I need to change events or fight scenes – it’s more the characters reactions to those events and scenes. So it’s not as daunting as it might first seem.

In other book news, Dorchester is doing a Buzz Building Campaign for my News Blues book. So if any of you would like a free advanced copy of the book in exchange for writing a review on amazon, posting info on your blog, etc. email me your address (readerletters at mariannemancusi.com) and I’ll put you on the list. I think we’ve got probably 10 or so slots left.

Last night Jacob and I went goth clothing shopping, which was a lot of fun. (Gotta love a guy who likes to shop!) Saw lots of good things I want to buy for upcoming parties. I’m starting to gather my outfits for the Romantic Times convention, especially. Have a really good idea for the fairy party. (No, I can’t say yet!!) And the vamp party is easy. What I cannot seem to find, though, is a pair of gold platform boots. You see, Dorchester is having a crazy shoe theme for their RT party this year – to go along with the two boots anthologies they’re releasing. (These Boots Were Made for Stomping and These Boots Were Made for Strutting.) I want to wear the same boots as my character does in Stomping, but I wrote them to be gold platform boots. And I cannot find them ANYWHERE. Silver, yes. Gold, not so much. I might have to end up spray painting. Grr.

That's all I got. Happy Weds.

Mar

Back from Boston

Boston was super fun. Went to my favorite sushi place: Douzo on Friday and then to this awesome goth night at TT The Bears called XMortis. It was small, but cool, and they had a steampunk theme and lots of people dressed for it. Think of kind of a Victorian meets futuristic. Awesome.

On Saturday went shopping, had coffee with Dad and my stepmom, then went to my boss Mark’s house in Brookline for drinks. His son AJ is sooo cute and funny. Then we went to a bar to watch the Patriots and then to Clink, the jail bar, then to the Beehive. On Sunday returned to NYC and went to a Texas barbeque bar with Jacob and his friends to watch the Cowboys/Giants game.

All and all it was a great time and really good to hang with friends and family.

Now I’ve got to buckle down for the rest of this month and yes and work on Razor Girl. I actually decided to go back to the beginning and start it from scratch, using some of the scenes I wrote, but completely revamping the book. I realized my characters weren’t working together and there wasn’t enough push-pull conflict. So I had a long talk with my editor and he helped me figure out a way to make it work. Thank goodness for smart editors!! It's scary to start over, but I think it will make the book so much better and easier to write, too. This is why you should always have a good outline!!

Marianne

America's Team... RIP (Sorry Jacob!)

A moment of silence for the crushing defeat of Jessica Simpson's bf and his 'boyz yesterday.

Tom, stop laughing!!!

Mmm chocolate

Did I mention I love my job? I just got back from making chocolate and sugar decorations with world renowned pastry chef Francois Payard. He was so cool and had an awesome French accent. It was so much fun I kept forgetting we were working and I wasn't just learning a craft. He helped me make sugar swizzle sticks to use for stirring martinis. So much fun! We also learned techniques to decorate a cake with chocolate.

I swear I'm going to end up a total foodie working this job. I never really understood it before, but now I'm hooked.

My other exciting news: Liz and I bought our tickets to Tokyo for June!! Woot. That is going to be the trip of a lifetime. I've never even been to another country besides Mexico and Canada, which don't really count. :) It still doesn't seem real to me that we're actually going. It's something I've wanted to do for as long as I can remember. I just think Japan is the coolest ever.

Off to Boston! I probably won't post til I get back so have a great weekend!!

Mar

I <3 Hillary

I <3 Hillary...

another day, another blog entry

Shot a segment on a cool fitness class yesterday. It’s called Inten-Sati and it’s sort of a half aerobics, half motivational seminar kind of class. You basically chant affirmations while you work out. It sounds kind of corny, but it’s really, really cool. I want to go try it out. This will mean joining the gym, which I’ve been meaning to do anyway. I did go jogging for the last three days, taking advantage of the 60 degree weather. Yesterday I ran a 5k even. Let’s just say my legs aren’t working properly anymore. Heh. I have to say, I like jogging better than any other exercise cause it totally clears your mind. It’s great to figure out life problems or to work out book plots. And as a bonus, you get a sleek, lean runner’s body. I want, I want!

This weekend I’m heading to Boston. Should be fun. Can’t wait to see all my friends and visit my old haunts. I don’t miss living in Boston AT ALL, but I do miss the people. Sadly my dad is going to be away skiing so I won’t see the family, but I’m sure it’ll be a fun trip all the same.

I can’t believe it hasn’t even quite been a year since I moved to NYC. (I moved on March 5th.) It seems like I’ve lived here forever. I’m so entrenched in the city now – I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. I love everything about NY and have such great friends and a great job and a great life. I’m happier now than I can ever remember. I just feel so positive and good about life. Which is so unusual for me. I’m usually all sad/emo girl. But whatever. I’m going to enjoy it while it lasts!

Marianne

Gamer Girl cover

As promised, here's the cover art for my November book GAMER GIRL! Isn't it the cutest thing ever? I love it sooo much! It's very special, too, cause it's my first hardcover book. It's being published by Dutton Children's. They've been absolutely great to work with so far and I can't wait to see the finished book!

Marianne

Goth Night Out Recap

Sorry haven’t posted. Recap the weekend:

Friday Jacob and I went to Rosa Mexicano for dinner. I had met the chef doing a story there earlier in the week and so he did a special tasting menu for us to try. It was awesome. Like seven courses of delicious food. And they totally accounted for our allergies (mine shellfish, Jacob’s dairy) so we were able to eat everything placed in front of us. There was so much food – we couldn’t eat it all. But we did manage to make it to dessert, which was worth it. I highly, highly recommend trying Rosa Mexicano if you are in NYC. Absolutely worth it.

Then we headed back to my place to get the party started. Liz, Nya, Leanna, and Marcos all soon arrived and we drank Grey Goose and Cranberry while listening to music and dressing up. Painting nails, applying glitter, lacing boots, the works. My goal had been to take three million pics, but forgot to actually use the camera. Here are a couple of Liz and I, though, so you can see outfits.

(Liz is also wearing her infamous black shiny boots, though sadly they're cut off in this pic.)





(I'm not a fan of this one below, but it's the only one where you can see my whole outfit. And my new docs! Which, by the way, were really comfy!)



At around 10:45 we headed to the subway and down to the club for dancing. It was a blast and everyone had a good time – even the newcomers to the scene. I’d tell you all the funny stories, but what happens at the goth club stays at the goth club – so you’ll just have to come with us next time! :)

Saturday I was totally exhausted but I had a hair cut/color so I crawled out of bed to head to the hairdressers. I looked like a total mess, I’m sure, remnants of glitter still stuck to my lashes. And of course who is in the next chair over but Vanessa Williams. Yes, I’m sitting next to former Miss America. Not my best moment.

Sunday Jacob and I watched Edward Scisorhands, as planned, and some Angel. I’m thinking I should go back and watch all of Burton’s films. Next up should definitely be Ed Wood. Classic.

That’s about all. Next post I’ll show you my new Gamer Girl cover. It rocks!

Mar

Yay Friday!

It’s Friday! It was a short week, but felt rather long. I guess ‘cause I’m just getting used to being back at work.

Tonight Leanna and I are hosting “Goth Night Out” for some of our friends. Having a little pre-party at my apartment and then heading down to Necromantic, our favorite goth night at the Knitting Factory, for some dancing. We call it Goth Night Out cause we’re indoctrinating our friends into our little gothy universe. The one requirement? They have to dress all in black. Ha ha. I told Liz to bring her camera so I should be able to post some pics this weekend. (I left my camera in Cabo, which is why this blog has been so picture-less lately.) I need to decide what to wear since – my original outfit – short velvet skirt by Shrine - may not be suitable for the extreme freeze we’re undergoing here in NYC.

Before the party, Jacob and I are grabbing dinner at Rosa Mexicano. A Mexican place that has the best guacamole in the whole wide world. They even make a variation with mango and pineapple and it is to DIE FOR. Seriously.

For those of you following my WoW adventures, was raiding Kara last night and snagged King’s Defender. Woot. Perfect, since they keep making me off-tank the instance…

King's Defender
Binds when picked up
Unique
One-HandSword
182 Armor
98 - 182 DamageSpeed 1.60
(87.5 damage per second)
+28 Stamina
Requires Level 70
Equip: Increases defense rating by 13.
Equip: Improves hit rating by 17.


Bee-yoot-iful tanky sword. Yay me.

As for the rest of the weekend, I’m getting hair cut/colored (thank goodness) on Saturday. More WoW playing Sat night. Then probably going to write on Sunday with Liz then go watch Edward Scisorhands over Jacob’s. After seeing Sweeney Todd we both were jonesing to see it again and so he downloaded the new high def version. Ah Johnny, I luvz yah so…

I think next weekend I might go hit Boston. Need to go hang with Mary and the gang. Miss them.

Mar

New Year's Resolutions

I forgot to post yesterday and list my new year’s resolutions. So here goes:

I resolve to:

* Not over commit myself with projects so I can still enjoy life and not always be stressed out about deadlines.

* Learn to cook.

* Join the gym and exercise regularly.

* Stay in better communication with family and friends who don’t live nearby.

* Not compare myself and my progress with that of others.

* Embrace life with both arms and have as many experiences and adventures as possible this year!

Happy 2008!!
Mar

Happy New Year

Hope everyone had a good New Year's. Mine was very fun. First went to dinner with Jacob at Sambuca, an Italian restaurant on my street. Was very delish. Then we went over to the east side to a party one of his friends was throwing. It was low key, but everyone was really nice and fun. We drank champagne and watched Dick Clark ring in the New Year. Then we left and met up with Leanna and Marcos and the four of us went back to my place for more champagne and a little impromptu dance party. It was more fun than a club cause we could pick our own music and didn't have to pay for drinks.

Today Jacob and I went to see Sweeney Todd which was AWESOME. Burton really outdid himself this time. So so good. Johnny Depp was amazing as always...very Edward Scisorhand'esque. Who knew he could sing!? And Helen Bonham Carter was great too. And the settings were so creepy Burton style. I definitely give it two thumbs up.

But now the time of fun has come to an end and tomorrow I have to go back to work. It's going to seem weird being back after such a nice extended vacation. But what can you do?

I realize I need to make some New Year's resolutions. Maybe tomorrow I'll come up with some and post them...

Marianne

A Very WoW Christmas ;-)

Allora and "friend" all decked out for the season.