Weekend Wrap-Up

This weekend Jacob's parents came for a visit, staying with us in Jersey City. Even though we didn't have perfect weather, we made the most of their time here.

On Friday night we tried out a trendy restaurant in the Meatpacking District called STK. Yes, don't let the no-vowels fool you - it is a steakhouse. I had a hard time finding a photo of it that I can paste here. This is the best I can do. For better photos - it's a very cool looking restaurant, click on the link above.

Obviously at STK I had steak. I also had their amazing mashed potatoes that must have had more butter and cream than potato but were absolutely delectable. And their mac and cheese side was to die for. Mmmm. Such an amazing meal!

On Saturday we had brunch at Jane in the Village and then at night we ate at Nobu. I'd only been there one other time (when Jacob took me for my birthday) and back then I didn't know that the thing to order was Black Cod with Miso. I tried it this time and oh wow it is the best thing I think I ever tasted. So delicious!!! And no, the picture cannot do it justice! But trust me - it's sweet and delicious and melts in your mouth!





I found the recipe online and so need to try to cook it!!

On Sunday, Jacob's parents had to fly back so we tried to go on a run. But the rain cut it a bit short. I did manage to run a little more than an hour though. I'm trying to up my mileage each week. At night we went to the movies and saw The Hangover. Which was raunchy and funny, but not as good as everyone has made it out to be, in my opinion. Oh well.

Hopefully this week will be mellow - I'm really tired at the moment!!

Happy Father's Day to my dad and all the other dads out there!

:)
MARIANNE

Lauren Conrad and me

Today I got to go interview Lauren Conrad of The Hills. Well, formerly of The Hills, I guess, seeing as this was her last season.

She's just written a teen book called LA Candy which is a fictionalized account of life on a reality TV series. It's the first of three books.





Now I know some authors are annoyed that a famous reality star like Lauren can get a big book deal when they're still struggling to get noticed, but here's my take. If her book can get people who might not normally read to pick up a book, then they might discover they like reading. And then they'll pick up more books - by other authors! So everyone wins!! So this is a good thing, I promise. And honestly, if you write a good book - a really good book - you don't have to be famous to get noticed. I mean, who heard of Stephanie Meyer before Twilight? JK Rowling before Harry Potter?

Plus Lauren was super sweet and nice. Totally down to Earth and not pretentious at all. I really liked chatting with her. She definitely goes in the "celebs who don't suck" category. :)

Mari

Real Housewives of NJ

For those of you addicted to the Real Housewives of New Jersey - here's a segment I recently produced with them for Better TV. Enjoy!!

Boys that Bite in German

Ever wonder what Boys that Bite sounds like, read aloud in German? (Come on, you know you have!!) Well, here it is, as uploaded by one of my lovely German readers. :)

My Zombie Valentine

In January I'm going to be part of a fun anthology with Katie MacAlister, Angie Fox, and Lisa Cach called "My Zombie Valentine." As you can probably guess from the title it'll be four romantic comedies having to do with zombies!

I just got the cover today and thought I'd share.

FOUR WOMEN ARE ABOUT TO DIG UP THE TRUTH

Tired of boyfriends who drain you dry? Sick of guys who stay out all night howling at the moon? You can do better. Some men want you not only for your body, but your brains. Especially your brains.

It’s true! There are men out there who care—early-rising, down-to-earth, indefatigable men who’ll follow you for miles. They’ll take the time to surprise you, over and over. One sniff of that perfume, and you’ll have to use a shotgun to fight them off. And then, once you get together, all they want is to share a nice meal. And another. And another.

Romeo and Juliet, eat your hearts out.

My story is actually a little different, I think, than the others, in which I believe the zombies might be the heroes. Mine is a campy homage to the zombie horror genre - taking place on the set of a low-budget zombie film. (Probably not surprising to those who know my love of cheesy horror movies!) The zombies in my story are definitely the bad guys!

It was definitely a fun story to write!! Can't wait to see what people think! :)

Marianne

My hair makeover

A lot of you have been asking about my extreme hair makeover. :) Well, here it is, as it aired this week on Better TV.

Yes, I got a TON cut off!!!!

Marianne

Monday

Oh what a surprise - it's a rainy Monday. Sigh. I'm so sick of the rain - I feel like we moved to Seattle and someone forgot to tell me. Grr.

This weekend we were supposed to go hiking on Saturday - the weather report said sunny and 70s - but instead it poured and we had to head home halfway there. :( We did get to stop at Friendly's at least where Britany and I devoured ice cream sundaes while the boys ate fried type foods. Still, kind of a waste of a rental car. :(

Speaking of, we're seriously considering getting a car. We totally need one, now that we live in Jersey. And it's much more feasible than in NYC where parking is non-existent. Now we just need to decide if we want to invest in a new one or try to find something second hand. Maybe one of those certified used cars? We'll see what we can find that we can afford. Unfortunately we have to spend an extra $125 a month just on parking so that cuts into our budget a bit. Still, it will be SOOO NICE to have a car and not feel so trapped all the time. We can head up to New England for the weekend on a whim or just swing by the grocery store to grab bread. It's funny - for those of you who live in the suburbs a car probably seems so standard. But for us - even the biggest clunker would be the ultimate luxury.

On Sunday (the sunnier day we SHOULD have gone hiking) we went jogging through Hoboken. Did 7 miles which is the longest I've gone so far! Woot! Maybe I will be able to someday do this half-marathon I keep talking about!!

Oh and on Friday Jacob, Chris and I saw MOON, a cool indy sci-fi film. Liked it a lot. It was directed by Duncan Jones, aka David Bowie's son. But I would have enjoyed it regardless. ;)

That's all for now!!
Marianne

Rain, rain go away

Hey all -

Thought I'd give up a quick update of my week, though nothing too exciting going on. Sunday Jacob and I headed out to Long Island to see Nine Inch Nails in concert. We had great seats - like 8th row - but it was freezing cold out. Here's me, huddling to get warm.

Speaking of getting warm, it's been cool and rainy in NYC all week. What is up with that? I mean, we're in mid-June now! My current "would rather be there" spots, Orlando and Austin are 80 and 104 degrees, respectively. Yes, you New Englanders are shuddering at the idea of 104. But, uh, it's a dry heat? Anyway, I'd rather deal with hot sun than rain any day of the week, just sayin.

Yesterday Jacob ran a 5k race as part of the citywide corporate challenge. I was registered but wimped out. Not cause I can't make 5k but because I didn't know anyone going from my work and didn't really want to enter that madhouse of thousands of runners without a friend. I swear Im going to do a race soon, though. And I did go home and run my own personal 5k. So I'm not a total loser.

Well, except that EA sent me a review copy of Sims 3 and I've been playing it nonstop since. I think it's so superior to former Sims games, even though I've liked them too. It's got a lot more goals and game like aspects so your sims are doing more than just peeing and sleeping. The only thing I don't like is they age rather quickly. I'm worried my original sims are going to die of old age before they can meet all the goals I have for them. I guess, not unlike real life.

In writing world, I passed in my anthology story for My Zombie Valentine, which will come out in January. Waiting for edits on that. And I'm still plugging away at The Camelot Code. Actually I'm more than plugging at this point. I feel like I'm flying a bit. It's coming much easier now that I have the main setup right at last. I really think it will end up being my best book yet - even though it's given me the most trouble. So yay! Expect it on store shelves in 2053. hah.

This weekend, if it stops raining, we're going to go hiking on Saturday and bring Molly. We can't do huge hikes with her cause she's getting old, but she enjoys herself so much we can't leave her behind. So we're going to pick a happy medium.

That's all for now! :) Hope everyone is well!

Marianne

Weekend of Horrors!

So yesterday I took time out from my new SIMS 3 addiction and Jacob and I headed to the Javitts Center to go to Fangoria, Weekend of Horrors. It's basically a horror movie convention they have every year. It was very cool. I really need a new camera so I can take photos though. Cause there were a lot of very creative and very scary costumes.

For horror celebrities I saw a couple from Friday the 13th - "Mrs. Voorhees" aka Jason's Mom, actress Betsy Palmer. Kane Hodder, the best Jason ever, the Jason from Friday the 13th part 2 and even the little kid Jason from the end of part one. Crazy that he is still appearing at these things. (Of course he is all grown up.)

There were also guys from Last House on the Left (I guess they revived their appearances after the remake came out) and several behind the scenes types like Tobe Hooper (directed Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Poltergeist) and Tom Savini. (Makeup/special effects for Friday the 13th and other fine horror films.) Tom is kind of a weird hero of mine so I got my photo taken with him with Jacob's iPhone. Problem is, he's also kind of a hero of Jacob's and he got nervous and the picture ended up blurred. Oh well.

Our mission was to find the cheesiest but best horror movie DVD there. For mine I chose The Funhouse, a Tobe Hooper film which kind of was like Texas Chainsaw Massacre at a carnival. And Jacob chose House of the Dead 2, a zombie flick based on the videogame. The fact they made a House of the Dead 2 after the first House of the Dead videogame movie Uwe Boll did astounds me. We have yet to watch that one. Will let you know.

Here are some photos of the event that I found on Flickr.

This guy had the best steampunk glasses ever. I think he was a Victorian Butcher.

Steampunk heart.




Yes, GWAR was there. I first saw them when I was like 16 years old at the Escape Club in Salisbury Beach. I was at a Battle of the Bands that my friends' band, Guido's Dead was performing at and they were the closing act. I remember they splurted fake blood onto the crowd and many of my friends' hair ended up stained pink for a week.

What I want to know is - are these the original members or is it like Menudo where they swap them out?





Anyway, I'm sure most of you don't care about horror, but we love it. So it was a fun time for us to check everything out!!

MARIANNE

Thanksgiving in May: The Photos!

The location: Jersey City. Just behind Lady Liberty.

Jacob, turkey chef extraordinaire, surveys the bird.




While Trey and Marianne cook up some sides. Marianne worked so hard she didn't even have time to blow dry her hair!





With Texans at the feast, there's gotta be cornbread.





Real glasses, plastic silverware and plates. That's how we roll.





Molly waited patiently.





Sort of...




You lookin' at me?




Our kitchen definitely seems larger when we're home alone.





Turning the camera on the photographer herself.





Dude, you're cramping my style! Important begging work to do!!





All that cornbread makin' makes me thirsty!





Mmm...stuffing!





Is it done, yet?





The feast!





We're so ready to eat!





I have a feeling this was taken when we were playing YouTube videos on the TV...





"For the love of dog, I said TURKEY not ear rubs!! Though, those do feel good..."





Jacob challenges of the gods of stain with a white shirt.





The marina, as seen from balcony.





Seriously, guys...





Our balcony has the best sunsets.





Yum.





Hanging on the balcony.





I have no idea the story behind the pic...





Amazing shot of Morgan.





Someone managed to steal Liz's new camera for a moment!





Chil-axing.





Happy Thanksgiving in May!!

Thanksgiving in May!

On Saturday, Jacob and I hosted a "Thanksgiving in May" party at our apartment in Jersey City. We cooked a complete turkey dinner for about 12 guests. It was a very fun afternoon/night and Liz took a bunch of pictures, which she should be uploading soon. We were lucky to have nice sunny weather so guests got to sit out on our balcony, too. Yes, there were some jokes about traveling to Jersey (Manhattan people are sooo lazy) but everyone seemed impressed by our new place. I have to say, I prefer to live here than Jersey - it's quieter and we have way more space and amenities for the money.

All in all, a very good party and ended with a big karaoke fest. We'll be eating leftover turkey for a while! Yay!

Pictures to come soon.

Marianne

I love this segment

I do segments for BETTER almost every day, but sometims there's a segment that just stands out. I love this one - not because of my amazing producer skills - but because the topic is so heartfelt.

Peter Yarrow, of 60s folk legends Peter, Paul and Mary, is continuing his work in the peace movement by empowering school children through a program called "DON'T LAUGH AT ME."

Take a look!

Oh and yes, I got to hear Puff, the Magic Dragon sung live and in person. My life is complete!! :)

Marianne

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

While yesterday we were out and about, running five miles, going to eat BBQ at the famous Dinosaur in Harlem, and then watching Terminator Salvation, today has been much more low-key. Which is fine - sometimes you need a down day to recover from the week.

On Weds I had dinner and drinks with my agent and we brainstormed some for The Camelot Code. I really think the story is starting to click for me. It's such a bigger tale than when I started the first version - in fact, likely the biggest story I've ever written. In this version there's a lot more fantasy elements and plot threads drawn from Arthurian legend. Which I like, being a big King Arthur junkie and all. At times it feels like The Neverending Story but I think when it is finally completed it will be the best thing I've ever written.

I was just thinking how this fall/winter is going to be a big release time for me.

October: BOYS THAT BITE re-release
November: STAKE THAT re-release
December: GIRLS THAT GROWL re-release
January: BAD BLOOD
MY BLOOD VALENTINE ANTHOLOGY
Spring: GAMER GIRL trade paperback release

And then what next? I'm not sure. But I have a ton of ideas! It's just a matter of picking one. I will say I'm having fun writing the fantasy elements of Camelot Code so a fantasy novel wouldn't be out of the question.

Let's see, what else? Last week at work I interviewed actress Julianne Moore. She was very nice and down-to-Earth. She was talking about her new children's picture book, Strawberry Freckleface. Wonder who that was based on? *smile*

This weekend is BEA - The Book Expo of America. I'm going to attend on Friday for my day job to see what I can find for books/story ideas for the next year. Should be fun. One of the media breakfasts I'm going to has both author Meg Cabot and actress Julie Andrews.

And then on Saturday Jacob and I are having people over for a THANKSGIVING IN MAY party. Which is basically just as it sounds. We'll be cooking a turkey with all the trimmings. Cause really, Thanksgiving is too good not to come twice a year. It'll also be kind of a housewarming party for the new apartment. Hopefully we'll have good weather so people can hang out on the balcony.

Then the following weekend we're going to the horror convention FANGORIA and then the following weekend after that Jacob's parents are coming for a visit. So lots of great summer stuff coming up.

OK I'm off! Happy Memorial Day Weekend!!
MARIANNE

Florida Fun!

This past weekend Jacob and I headed down to Hobe Sound, Florida to spend some time with my mom on her birthday. She lives about a mile from the beach and it was great to relax and enjoy some warm, non-rainy weather for once.

We stayed at a great hotel called The Jupiter Beach Hotel which was right on the water. Two thumbs up. Except that their waffles tasted like vinegar. Or maybe orange juice. Bad after taste, whatever they were.

ANYWAY...

We swam in the ocean, ate out at my favorite chain steakhouse, Longhorns, danced to a 60s/70s cover band at a local bar, and I even signed books at a local Barnes and Noble. A very good time!!

Some photos:

The beautiful, greenish waters of the Atlantic, right outside our hotel.

And there was also a nice pool.





Doesn't Jacob look relaxed?




That was before he had to fix Mom's computer!





Me, reading a book at Mom's. Ravens of Avalon by Diana Paxon, in case you're wondering. Pre-Arthurian fantasy.





Mom and I outside the hotel.





Signing books at Barnes and Noble. They get more excited when you come down south to sign books. Most NYC booksellers could care less about authors. I guess they're a dime a dozen here.





My mom found it amusing that I wanted to go in Hot Topic. I have to admit, I did feel like a bit of a narc in there. But hey - it's research. And besides, I bought some awesome flip flops.





Of course no visit to the 'burbs can be complete without a visit to Dairy Queen! Oh Blizard - I love you so!





All in all, it was a great trip! Happy birthday, Mom!

Teen Read Night

Last night I went to the monthly Teen Read Night at the Jefferson Market NYPL in the Village. (Great library, btw. It's like a freaking castle.) These nights, hosted by the amazing David Leviathan of Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist fame (as well as Executive Editor (or some similiar such title) at Scholastic). David was the BEST moderator. He was funny and interesting and, most importantly, kept it all on track and on time.

The authors reading were also great. All funny, contemporary stories, which was refreshing, seeing the current overload of dark paranormal. (Author Melissa Walker, who was also there, said these nights are often full of contemp authors and suggested perhaps the dark fantasy authors live somewhere else? An interesting theory, to say the least...)

My favorite read of the night was for my Dutton sister author, Sarah Cross, and her book DULL BOY(just released today!) I've been hearing a lot of buzz on this book, but had no idea how awesome would actually be. So funny! I totally need to pick up a copy this afternoon.

Also there were Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus - authors of "The Nanny Diaries" who evidently are writing YA now. Their first book, The Real Real, is about a reality show. Or behind the scenes of one, I guess. The authors were fun and down to earth, esp considering their high profile status. And the excerpt was funny.

Other authors included Nick Burd, The Vast Fields of Ordinary - a gay coming of age story. Susane Colasanti, Waiting for You. (I liked that Susane told us (when someone asked how did she know how to speak YA) "My internal age is 16." I'm going to have to use that from now.) Jenny Han, The Summer I Turned Pretty and Kieran Scott, Geek Magnet. There wasn't one bad book in the bunch!!

After the reading, Leanna and I went and grabbed Thai food and caught up. All in all a very fun night! I'm definitely going to go again next month!

MARIANNE

Romantic Times Convention Recap Video

Liz and I put together a little 10 minute documentary on the Romantic Times Convention that took place in Orlando, Florida last month. Take a look!

Romantic Times Convention Recap from Marianne Mancusi on Vimeo.

Molly's new haircut

Everyone keeps asking for pics of MY new haircut. But to hold you over - here's Molly's!! :) And yes, I made her howl for the video!

It's her birthday on Monday - she'll be 13 years old! Quite the old lady. But everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) asks if she's a puppy when we go on walks.

:)
Marianne

My deck view

This video's for my dad, who wanted to see my Statue of Liberty deck view. (And anyone else who's curious.) They've been shooting fireworks over it every Saturday night. Maybe one weekend I'll have motivation enough to set up my videocamera to catch them!

Pardon the wind noise on the video - windy morning on the water!

Friday

It's Friday! And I figure I haven't blogged in a while and should do a quick update before my family thinks I'm dead.

NEWS IN MY WORLD:

Got a grill! It's a Weber Q 200 which is perfect size for our balcony. I believe my dad has the same one. Works great and Jacob's already fired it up several times this week. We've had steak and chicken and hot dogs on it and all were delish. Of course most nights he's bbq'ing in the rain - hopefully the weather will clear up SOMEDAY and we'll be able to sit out on the balcony to eat. Hmm...maybe tonight.

Speaking of the balcony - saw some great fireworks over the Statue of Liberty from it last weekend. It's going to be the perfect Fourth of July party pad.

This week's surprise in the writing world - I saw a big jump in booksales for my vampire series and when I investigated, I discovered Barnes and Noble had done a huge nationwide buy for all three books in the series. Which is awesome, seeing as these are the old covers and it's not even re-release time! I chalk it up to vampires being so hot right now. In any case, I checked out three Barnes and Nobles in my area and in each one all three books were displayed prominently on walls that advertised "VAMPIRE BOOKS". Yay! It makes me so happy cause this is what I always wanted for the series - good distribution and placement - and could never seem to get. I admit in the past I always felt a little envious passing through the YA sections and seeing the vampire wall without any of my books on it. So it's so nice to be included at last! :) Fingers crossed they do well - I so want to write a fifth book in the series!

Celebs I interviewed this week: Peter Farrow (of Peter, Paul and Mary), Ivanka Trump, and two of the Real Housewives of NJ. Thumbs up on Peter and Real Housewives. Thumbs way, way down on Ivanka.

Molly got a cute summer haircut today. We used a mobile groomer - meaning they come to your dog and pick the dog up and do the whole thing right in the van. She looks adorable and like a puppy again!

That's all I can think of right now! Happy weekend everyone!

Marianne

Fan Art

I like to check Deviant Art sometimes to see what people have drawn based on my books. Here are some I've found recently. If YOU have a drawing, you can always send it directly to me!! :) I love to get them!

Gamer Girl by Mari Mancusi by ~BlueFireFoxChibi on deviantART

Gamer girl cover by ~Darkness-Rakiri on deviantART