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

More Romantic Times Convention

A couple more pics from the Romantic Times Convention in Orlando.

What romance book covers looked like in the eighties. Ew!! Mustache!!

ME - as RAYNIE THE VAMPIRE SLAYER!! w00t!!! (With and without mask...)








Staking author Leanna Hieber as she attempts to do her edits.





Texting fairies

Back from the Romantic Times Convention

I'm back from the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention where I spent a week hanging out with readers and writers - giving workshops and going to costume parties. So much fun! Plus it was in Orlando so the weather was amazing! Got to go swimming and on my last day I went to Disney World! w00t!

I'm waiting for my friend Liz to post pics so I'll have more to show you. Here's a couple I found from other people's sites. The first is me and Liz dressed as gothic lolita fairies. (Everyone thought I was a french maid though!)

And here's me - much more conservatively dressed! - at the booksigning.




I moderated the Young Adult Writing Panel and had some terrific panelists. Melissa Marr, Rachel Vincent, Stacey Kade, Jennifer Lynne Barnes, Lucienne Diver, and Caitlin Kittredge. I love when I am on panels where I learn something myself!

There was also a great urban fantasy panel I participated in, moderated by Richelle Mead of Vampire Academy fame. She is so pretty - I love her red hair! It was a fun panel as well.

Speaking of hair, Caitlin Kittredge had amazing pink streaks in hers. Which was completely awesome. She's working on a Steampunk book for teens - can't wait for that!

Melissa Marr told me when she grew up she wanted to dress just like me. Which was funny since a few hours before I said to my friend, "When I grow up I want to write just like Melissa Marr." I think she has a better chance of my wardrobe than I do of equaling her literary prowess, but oh well. She was so nice and interesting and smart. I would have loved to take her class back when she was teaching. I'm reading her third fairy book - Fragile Eternity - now. If you haven't started reading this series, you really should!

More to come soon...including video!!! :) For now, I'm exhausted and glad to be home! Still - I can't wait for next year!

MARIANNE

Went hiking yesterday up by Cold Spring, NY. It was a 5.9 loop that followed the Three Lakes trail and part of the Appalachian Mountain Trail. It was a decent hike, but I think if I did it a second time, I'd do it backwards. The first part was very beautiful, with a nice large lake to sit by and let Molly swim in. The second part was more hilly and rocky and less scenic. You don't want your major climb to be at the end of your hike. But in all, it was very nice - beautiful weather, too! Couldn't ask for a better day. Molly got very muddy so we gave her a bath afterwards. She wasn't thrilled.



We got home and ordered pizza (Jacob gets his with no cheese!) and watched Return of the Living Dead Part 3, which was actually a decent horror movie. Much better than the first two, which tried to be funny and ended up just being silly/cheesy. It's okay if horror movies are unintentionally funny cause they're just so bad - but when they TRY to make them funny, they just fall flat. With the exception of Shaun of the Dead. That was truly funny. Oh and Evil Dead is pretty funny, too. In any case, we're going through all the zombie films because I'm currently writing a zombie story for a romantic comedy anthology called "My Zombie Valentine" which will be out in January. My story takes place on the set of a zombie film.

It's supposed to be yucky and overcast today - I guess we get only one day of good weather at a time. At least I'm going to Orlando on Tuesday for the Romantic Times Convention. Of course you know the second I get there, the weather in New York will get nice. That's always how it happens. But hey, then at least Jacob can benefit!

Marianne

Eileen Fulton

Also wanted to post this Eileen Fulton of As the World Turns segment I did for Better TV, as I talked about it before. Got to love the old time soap clips!

Weekly wrap-up

Sorry for the lack of blog updates. I think my twitter obsession is making blogging feel like a chore. I mean, why write a whole post when I can just update with a one-liner on Twitter? Which reminds me, I'm mariannemancusi on Twitter if you want to follow me. :)

For those of you following old skool style on the blog, here's my week in a nutshell.

Easter - good. Bought a honey baked ham and brought it to Chris's for dinner. For the record, I don't like ham. But I know everyone else does and so I made the ham sacrifice. I filled up on delicious potatoes and vegetables and two helpings of ice cream sundaes so don't feel bad for me! :)

Tuesday I shot a segment at Rosa Mexicano on Cinco de Mayo food and drinks. Yum! They made some Ceviche with tuna that was extremely delish! I love that place - Jacob and I last went there for Valentine's Day. Dying to go back already!

Tuesday night I met up with Leanna and we went to Vynl - this hipster diner on the west side that features classic musical memorabilia. The menus are made out of old record covers and the bathrooms are shrines to various musicians like Elvis or Boy George. (They even play a song by the featured musician in the stall!)

Tuesday was the only night I didn't go to the gym, by the way. Have turned into a regular gym rat with the fitness center right downstairs from my apartment. I ran five miles on Monday! Signed up for a 5k race in June through my company, too.

Jacob's been going to the gym with me too. Except for last night, after him and his friends had a contest as to who could eat a triple king Fatburger the fastest. That's 1.5 pounds of hamburger, people! Jacob got third place and was kind of ill the rest of the evening. I feel sick even thinking about it!

This weekend we're going to try to go hiking up in the Cold Spring area on Saturday since we FINALLY have some good weather on the way!! It's supposed to be 70 and sunny. Fingers crossed! Molly will definitely enjoy a romp in the woods.

Speaking of Molly, she's been a vast help at devouring the leftover honey baked ham. I guess I owe her one!

That's about all for now! I'll try to post again soon!

Marianne

Friday!

And it's good. ;-)

Been a busy week, but what else is new, right? I've also been working out a storm these last few weeks. Doing five workouts a week down in my apartment's fitness center. Today I went and took a spin class at lunch at Equinox. Man, my thighs are jello now! Makes me realize I need to not cross-train a bit more.

Today I'm participating in a makeover segment for my show. Going to get my hair cut and colored. And guess what? I'm totally chopping it all off. I'm sick of long hair and need a change. Will post some pics when it's done.

Things have been going swimmingly for The Camelot Code 3.0 - my agent says it's my best work yet! It's a challenge, that's for sure, but I'm feeling good about it - learning a lot! It's funny - some books are so easy to write and some are just bears. This is a bear. A grizzly. But it may just end up being my best book. Yay!

Less than two weeks for the RT Convetion in Orlando. Can not WAIT. Not only do I love the RT convention, but I love my friends who live in Orlando even more.

That's about all for now - wish me luck on the haircut!! :)

HAPPY EASTER! May the Easter bunny bring you lots of peeps! (He already sent me some in the mail!! Thank you Easter Bunny!!!)

MARIANNE

Just ordered this Gothic Lolita dress...

For the RT Convention. Most likely will wear it to the vampire party.

You like? Will post pics of me actually wearing it when I get to the con.

MARI

Dog Abuse

This makes me LOL.

Disappointed Dogs in Star Wars Costumes - watch more funny videos

As the World Turns

Today I got the special treat of interviewing Eileen Fulton who has played bad girl Lisa on the As the World Turns soap for nearly fifty years. Eileen lives in a gorgeous apartment on the Upper East Side and insisted we have tea and cookies before we began our shoot. (Which was absolutely fine with my cameraman and I!)

She told tales of what it was like in the old days of soaps where married couples had to sleep in twin beds and you couldn't say the word "pregnant" on the air. (She threatened to say it once - insisting her character wouldn't say "since I'm with Bob's child" when talking to her on-screen mother in real life. She got the suits all in a fuss - remember it was live TV back then! - and it could have gotten them taken off air.) She also talked about how fans, especially back in the early days, couldn't recognize that the actors weren't actually their characters in real life and how that led to her getting punched in the face by a woman in a Chanel suit who didn't like Lisa's bad girl antics.

Anyway, it was fascinating to hear her stories - many of which were similar to those I've heard in the past from my own step-grandmother, Kathryn Hays, who incidentally has also been on As the World Turns for more than thirty-five years.

It's sad to think that soaps are a dying institution (Guiding Light being the latest casualty) and the cheaper reality TV is fast taking their place. I guess why bother paying writers for storylines when you can just point a camera at someone and they'll conjure up real life, unscripted drama at the drop of a hat. Yet, there was a certain glamour to the soaps that is not easily replicated by reality stars and I hope someday things will turn around again and make them relevent to a new generation.

Marianne

Gamer Girl in Associated Press article!

Gamer Girl got a nice mention in an AP article today on Scholastic Book Fairs. Pretty cool!

You can read the whole article here. But here's the blurb for my part:

They purchased Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" novels, the latest "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" and Linda Gerber's "Death by Latte," a mystery set in part at a Seattle coffee shop. Ashley Zhang, another seventh grader, bought Mari Mancusi's "Gamer Girl," featuring a lonely high-schooler who becomes a star when playing online games.

"I borrowed it from a friend and thought it was fascinating. I like that it's about a girl who really wants to fit into the world," Zhang says.

:)
MARI

Zombie Shoes!!

Megan sent me a link to these! LOVE! I wish they had my size...

Random stuffz

I can't believe I'll be leaving for the Romantic Times Convention in three weeks! I booked my flight to leave Tuesday at like 5:30 so I can get into Orlando around 8ish. Ali will be picking me up from the airport so we can hang out that night and then Weds AM she will drop me off at the hotel on the way to work. Four days of convention, a whopping six panels, and a ton of costume parties comes next. Should be fun! Liz and I will be rooming together, as per usual. Then Saturday night, after the Dorchester bookseller party, Ali will pick me up and we'll head up to Orlando proper to go goth dancing. On Sunday we're going to go to Disney's Animal Kingdom to try out their new roller coaster. My flight leaves Sunday night at 10:30.

I'm so glad the convention is in Orlando this year!!

In other news, still loving the new apartment. I think I've finally figured out a way to love NYC - by living just outside of it. I like coming into the city to go to work or to go out and then being able to return home to my quiet apartment on the sea. (Okay, it's technically on the Hudson River, I guess, but it feels like the sea...) In any case, it's really nice. Just want the weather to get warm so we can play tennis and bbq on our balcony!

I've been really good about working out, too, since we have the gym in our building. It's so much easier to just go downstairs to work out than to trudge to the gym. I've been running a lot on the treadmill - about five times a week. Will be in good summer shape!

In writing news, I'm working hard on The Camelot Code, my next Dutton book. Also signed on to write a story for Dorchester's "My Zombie Valentine" anthology, which will be released in January 2010. Yes, more zombies! Should be fun to write! I know I said I was done writing adult romance, but how can I resist a(nother) zombie story? :)

That's about all that's going on here!

Marianne

Boys that Bite book video

Well, I've been experimenting with the video editing software I bought and created this book video for the re-release of BOYS THAT BITE!! Check it out and let me know what you think. :)

I will eventually be doing a individual video for each book in the series and a new Blood Coven website.

Not dead, just busy!

Sorry for the radio silence - just got a lot on my plate these days. But all good things! For example, Blood Coven Book #4 - Bad Blood is finished, edited, and turned in! So now I'm back to working on The Book That Will Not End. And all new and improved version! (Hopefully.)

Jacob had friends in town this past weekend so there was clubbing. I'm old so I only went out one of the nights - to the goth club CONTEMPT. It was fun though. And we had brunch with said friends on Sunday at the Arte Cafe in my old stomping grounds of the UWS.

Last night I did a speaking event on Cyberbullying at the White Plains library with some other bully experts. (Gamer Girl features bullying, so I've been talking a lot about this issue.) Went well, though I didn't get home until midnight so I was a bit tired today, as you can imagine. I like waking up at 6:30am to write, don't get me wrong, but I also like to get more than six hours of sleep a night.

I've been a gym fiend now that we have a fitness center in my apartment. Sunday I ran five miles on the treadmill. On weekdays I try to run a fast 5k. Would like to get into shape for the summer!

Let's see, what else? Signed up to do a comedy zombie related story for a Dorchester anthology called MY ZOMBIE VALENTINE. That'll be out in January, I believe. I have a great idea for the plot and can't wait to write it! (In, like, my spare time!) Still, I can't pass up zombies, right?

That's about it for now. I'll try to be less of a blog slacker in the future!
MARIANNE

Bad Blood Back Cover Copy

I should be getting my edits for BAD BLOOD by Monday from my editor at Berkley But in the meantime, she sent me the back cover copy for the book! Check it out! I'm so excited to have this book an actual reality - it seemed like for so long that it'd never actually exist. But now it's done, has a cover, and is less than a year away from hitting store shelves! Just goes to show - it pays never to give up!

BAD BLOOD

Sunny McDonald is in the ultimate forbidden relationship. Her boyfriend Magnus is a vampire, and the leader of the Blood Coven. Their differences have never been an issue, until now…

When the Blood Coven decides that Magnus needs a mate to be his co-ruler, Sunny’s humanity puts her out of the running. The Coven’s chosen candidate is Jane Johnson, a magna cum laude graduate of Oxford University who just happens to look like a vampiric celebutard.

Sunny is suspicious of a Rhodes Scholar who can’t answer the most basic poly-sci questions, but Magnus brushes it off as petty jealousy. Still, when the Blood Coven goes to Las Vegas for a vampire convention—where Magnus and Jane’s bonding ceremony will be the main event—Sunny and her sister Rayne secretly tag along. And Sunny’s not going home before she learns the truth about Jane. Because not everything stays in Vegas—especially bad blood…

New Blood Coven Vampire series covers!

They're here! And I can finally show them to you! These are the new covers for my Blood Coven Vampire series!! The three originals AND the new cover for BAD BLOOD. They are a LOT different than the former covers.

Let me know what you think!!!! Which is your favorite???

A new drug to combat perkiness

Found this on the Onion. A new "depressant" to combat perkiness... It's about time! LOL. Had to share.

Weekend with Floridians

I'm tired today, but it's totally worth it. Had an incredible weekend with my friends Ali and Bobby who came in from Florida for "birthday weekend." You see Bobby's birthday is only four days (literally - same year and everything) from mine and so most years we try to get together - either me going to Florida or them coming to wherever I'm living at the moment. (San Diego, Boston, NY...)

This year, Ali decided to do it as a surprise - not telling Bobby until they were almost on their way to the airport! Pretty awesome birthday presents, huh? He was totally blindsided - but in a good way!

They arrived Thursday night and we picked them up at the Newark airport. (As we're Jersey people now!) Stayed up late talking and hanging out at home. Then the next day me, Ali and Bobby headed to a delicious pancake house near me for some breakfast. (Jacob had to wokr.)

After pancakes, we headed to the Liberty State Park to take the ferry over to the Statue of Liberty. Ali has ALWAYS wanted to see it and never got a chance so she was determind to check it out. Of course, when she'd bought the tickets online she hadn't realized you could actually see it from our apartment, lol. But we decided to go anyway. We got there at 11:50 - the ferry was supposed to leave at 12 noon - but it had left 10 minutes early for some reason and so we had to wait around. It wasn't too bad though cause we got to watch an interesting immigrant documentary. I wonder what my great grandfather would have thought, when he and my great-grandmother came over to Ellis Island - if he'd known that in a couple generations, he'd have me living in a high-rise just across the river. :) I kind of think he'd be pleased to know their sacrifice worked out pretty darn good for the kids.

Anyway, we finally got on the ferry and headed over. For time's sake, we decided to skip the Ellis Island part and just go to the statue. Unfortunately, once we got off the ferry, Ali realized she'd left the tickets on the boat. So we couldn't actually climb up the base of the statue. So we walked around it and hung out for an hour, waiting for the ferry to return. Oh well. I guess she's destined not to see it too closely.

Jacob was out of work by then so we met up with him at home and headed into the city. We checked out a museum for a few hours, then headed back to Jersey to change to go out to a goth club. Our favorite goth night - Necromantic - was moved to a club in the West Village. So we danced there until the wee hours of the morning and then headed home and slept.

The next morning we woke up and had a delicious brunch at the White Horse tavern in Jersey City. Highly recommend that place - it's even worth leaving Manhattan for! I had this french toast that was crusted with corn flakes - Mmmm! After that, we headed into the city to watch Watchmen. I have mixed feelings on the film but I can go into it another time.

After the movie, we headed to the East Village to do a little shopping on the way to Avenue A Sushi. There, we met up with Chris and the five of us had dinner. Avenue A Sushi is awesome - it's like a sushi disco. They have great rolls and a DJ who spins techno.

After a lengthy dinner we headed over to Club Love to dance the night away part two. (This time at a rave/techno club instead of goth.)

All in all it was a great weekend!! Though I'm ready to go to bed now and sleep for a week!! I miss Ali and Bobby so it's always wonderful to be able to hang out with them. I'll count the days til I can see them again! (Not too many, since RT is in Orlando!)

Marianne

Another Killington Story

Here's another ski story I did when up in Vermont. What to do at a mountain resort if you don't want to downhill ski! (Or you hurt your back the first day, like some people I know...)

Ski Mountain: Behind the Scenes

This is one of the segmetns we shot when I went up to Killington, Vermont. What happens on a mountain after all the skiers go home. Kind of interesting, I thought, and so I decided to share! :)

Marianne

Birthday Continued! :)

Last night Jacob took me out to a surprise dinner. Well, I knew there would be a dinner, but I didn't know where. Turned out to be Nobu, a really amazing Japanese restaurant in TriBeCa. It's co-owned by Robert DeNiro and sooo good! Definitely a special treat!!

I didn't have my camera, but I was able to find photos for you on the web.

I had the tenderloin beef with teriyaki sauce. So delicious! Came with miso soup and rice. I also got an order of sweet potato tempura.





Jacob had the Chilean Sea Bass. Also delish.




All in all it was an amazing dinner. Jacob scores high points! (As usual!) I especially like that it was a surprise - that made it extra fun!! :)

Yay birthdays!!
Marianne

Dad Birthday Memories!

Oh I thought this deserved a separate post from the rest of the birthday stuff. My dad gave me a great surprise present this morning - in the form of a blog entry about my birthday! I found it this morning when I woke up in my Google Reader. Awhh. Brought tears to my eyes. I remember all this stuff too! Great memories, Dad!!

Sometimes the best presents are homemade ones!!!

Marianne

Happy Birthday to Me!!

I always like to make my birthday last as long as possible and this year is no exception. I'm going for a week long birthday celebration!!

On Saturday, a few friends and I headed to Medieval Times to begin the celebration. I was a bit tired, having worked unpacking boxes and fixing up the apartment all afternoon, but I rallied once I got inside and the show began. I love Medieval Times - it's so much fun. I know a lot of people might think it's cheesy, but I love all things Medieval so to me it's like Disney World! :)

The show was great, as always, and our knight (black and white) ended up winning the jousting tournament and becoming hero of the realm. So that was a nice added bonus. Thanks to everyone who came along with me - it was a fun night!

Then Sunday we spent the entire day getting a couch from Liz's apartment (where I'd been storing it since my sub-letter moved out of my UWS place) to Jersey City. Eight mile trip - and it took ALL DAY. It was a day of frustration, let me tell you! First the moving van we rented wasn't there at the time of rental and then, after we waited a half hour and finally said forget it, the lady said the company would charge us anyway if we left. Um, they're going to charge us for a van we rented that wasn't there? Finally, 40 minutes late, the guy showed up with the van. (And got no penalty for being late, I might add.) So we get the van, only to be told we have to get it back by 4pm (3 hrs and 20 mins later cause they were closing. Yes, the truck rental place is only open from 12-4. WHAT?!? So we had to rush to the UWS...only to find out they wouldn't let us through the Holland Tunnel cause it was "commercial" even though it was just a van and not a truck. So we got lost in Jersey trying to figure out how to get to the Lincoln Tunnel. I don't need to get into too much detail, but it was just one thing after another. It all worked out in the end though. Still, what's the deal with truck rental places? Everytime I rent one there seems to be a problem! I never want to move again, let me tell you!

Today there was a huge snowstorm and so we were allowed to leave work early. I'm sticking in the city though cause Jacob and I are going out tonight. He won't tell me where - it's a birthday surprise!! I like that. :) I guess we'll all find out tomorrow where he takes me!

And the rest of my birthday week is going to be awesome. I can't explain right, but much goodness later in the week is to come!

Oh and I am turning in BAD BLOOD to my editor today!! Woot! Hope she likes it!! :) It was a fun one to write - the vampire ones always are!!

Marianne

Busy, busy...but no longer sick!

This week has been incredibly busy and I still feel like I'm mostly in boxes. But the new place is great! I can't wait til I have a moment or two to enjoy it. Maybe this weekend...

Last night I met up with Ron Hogan of GalleyCat, Leanna Heiber, and Melissa Walker for a drink at Carnegie Club. Melissa had some great news, but I'm not sure if it's public yet so I won't spill. And Leanna had a copy of her upcoming book cover. (Her first book is out in September from Dorchester!) The book's called The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker and is a Victorian ghost fantasy romance. I can't wait to read it!

I actually got the brand new covers of The Blood Coven Vampire series from my editor this week as well, though I'm not allowed to post them yet, until they're finalized. But I can tell you - they are soooo beautiful! I love them to death. I think they might be my favorite covers ever. They're dark and sexy and moody. And so in tune with other big paranormal covers out there right now.

I've been mostly lucky with covers, with a couple exceptions. But these just blow me away with their beauty. Can't wait to show them off. They're such a different style than the originals, that's for sure!

Today I did an online interview (using a microphone in a chat room, something I'd never done before) with OPAL - a collaborative program that provides web-based programs and training tolibrary users and library staff members. It was an hour long live interview that will also be archived on the website. I'll let you know when it's up, in case you want to take a listen. The moderator, Tom Peters, did a fantastic job interviewing me - and asked a lot of unusual questions that I don't normally get. You could tell he read the book and really thought about it, which I love.

Lastly, I have been watching the first season Mad Men. LOVE IT! What a great show!!! Oh and Lost's on tonight! Yay!

Marianne

Turning the Corner

I was sick ALL WEEKEND. Couldn't eat, could barely get out of bed. Which is so not good when you have to move. Thank goodness Jacob stepped up to the plate and finished the packing. Poor guy - his work was moving the same weekend so he's been going nonstop since Thursday. And he was just getting over his sickness, too! Plus it was his birthday on Friday! I was too sick to do anything for it, but will make it up to him soon!

Anyway, we managed to pull it off - thank goodness we hired movers and it wasn't a do-it-yourself type move! All the stuff is out of the Queens place and in the Jersey City place and we slept there last night. I took a few photos so you can see what the area looks like. They were with my iPhone so excuse the quality.

View from balcony.




Second view from balcony - that's the Statue of Liberty there on the island! (You can see it a lot better in real life.)




The actual balcony. No furniture yet! I didn't take any indoor pics because there are boxes everywhere! Soon! The cool thing about this balcony is there are entrances from both the living room and bedroom. So the apartment gets a ton of light!








There's a nice park right off of the apartment building, jutting out into the water. Everyone lets their dogs run free. Molly has already met dozens of new friends!


That's all for now! More soon!
Marianne

Puking at Fashion Week? Priceless

So today was supposed to be a fun-filled adventure at New York's Spring Fashion Week. I had the backstage access to Rebecca Taylor and was working two stories for Better TV. Instead it turned out to be a nightmare. (WARNING: Not a good post for sensitive stomachs or those eating - though I'll try not to be too descriptive!)

I started feeling a little weird at work. Really tired, run down. I was a bit worried since I'd gotten like nine hours of sleep the night before, which is a lot for me. Not to mention Jacob had just gotten over a horrific stomach something-or-other that we attributed to possible food poisoning. I mean, he was messed up hardcore for two days- couldn't keep anything down.

Anyway, I ignore the symptoms, hoping they'll go away if I have a little lunch. After all, I HAVE to do this shoot. And I want to! So I eat and feel a tiny bit better and my photographer and I head down to the tents. I'm wearing some pretty intense high heels and my feet are killing me, but I figure I won't be walking much so no big deal. More important to look fashionable, I decide. After all, once we finish part one of the story, we're heading over to the Rebeca Taylor after-party to shoot some more footage and mingle with some regular Better TV interviewees. Fun!

We go through the backstage. See Jamie Lynn Sigler (who I've interviewed before), one of the Real Housewives of NY (Ramona - who I am shooting a story with in a couple weeks.), and in the tents we see Tori Spelling and her husband Dean. She looks pretty in real life. Very polished. I can't wait til she's on the new 90210 again!

ANYWAY we get our set-up shots of Mina Jacqueline-Au, the socialite who we work with all the time at Better, and Mary Rambin of Nonsociety.com who we're also doing a piece on. (About bloggers at Fashion Week.)

Mina urges me to find a seat, but I suddenly feel extremely sick. Faint and sick to my stomach. I want to see Rebeca's collection SO BADLY - I loved her spring show back in the fall and her clothes are so feminine and pretty. But I realize I need to suck it up and head outside. So I walk out the front door, watching mobs of people trying to get into the show. Hopefully the girl who took my seat is a big fan and was worthy of admission. :)

I walk out and sit down and wonder what I should do. At the very least I'm supposed to interview Mary for my blogging story after the show. But I feel so badly! I can't find a free bathroom and the heels are stabbing into my feet like knives as I try to push through the crowds. I find a Starbucks, finally, but it's one of the bathroom-less kind. I start to panic. What am I going to do?

Marty calls and Mary calls and I arrange to meet them, but then the sickness overwhelms me. I tell Marty I have to go and I quickly empty my makeup bag - the only bag I have - to prepare for the inevitable. I don't even make it out of Bryant Park before I lose my lunch. People all around - so embarrassing! Though someone at work joked that I was just like the models now.

Now I'm in bed. Have thrown up everything I've drank this afternoon. Feeling weak and yet bored. What a horrible sickness! Now I know what Jacob was going through. Major bleh! And I'm sad I missed the show and the party and that my story might not work out anymore. Booo!! Also we're moving on Sunday and I should be packing, but there's no way I can get out of bed at the moment. I will definitely need to stay out of work tomorrow.

I guess it's horrible to feel sick anywhere, but NYC is particularly bad. There's no place here to be alone. You're often in spots with no bathrooms. And you don't have a car to drive home with. I figured a cab would make me sick so I ended up taking the subway.

So that was my "glamorous" day at Fashion Week! Oh well, there's always the fall shows!


Marianne

Packing and Writing and Packing and Writing...

That's my week in a nutshell. Putting on the finishing touches of BAD BLOOD and putting all of my worldly posessions in boxes. I can't wait to be done with packing and moving, but I'm having fun with my vampire story. I just love writing that series. Guess I'll have to see about a Book #5. :)

I found a photo on the interwebs which shows the new apartment, in case you are curious!

Pretty, huh? I always wanted to live on the water.

Let's see, what else? For Gossip Girl fans, TV Guide has an article on how to fix the show. As much as I like the show, I agree. Last season the second half was breathtakingly good - I couldn't WAIT to watch the next episode. This year it's like some mildly pleasant brain candy. Yummy, but forgetable. Also, what's with all the repeats? You lose momentum if you air new shows once every 2-3 weeks.

Tonight I'm hitting a Fashion Week event and tomorrow I'll be at the tents doing a couple segments for Better TV. Looking forward to the Rebecca Taylor show and after-party. I love her stuff so much. Someday I'm going to buy something of hers! (If I can ever afford anything better than H&M quality clothes!)

That's all I've got for now! More packing and writing soon!

MARIANNE

Publisher's Weekly

PW blogger extraordinaire Barbara Vey was sweet enough to post Melissa and my Better TV clip, which airs on the show today. Go check it out and be sure to leave a comment on her blog!! :)

Thanks!
Marianne

Valentine's Day Recap

With Valentine's Day on a Saturday the celebration can go all weekend long!

On Friday we pre-celebrated by grabbing some BBQ and then seeing the 10:00 show of the Friday the 13th remake. I thought it was a very worthy remake (or reboot/reimagining whatever you want to call it.) I didn't think the new Jason was as good as Kane Hodder, but only true fans would understand my reasonings why so I won't get into it too much here. But I thought it was a lot of fun and in the true spirit of the originals. (And certainly a lot better than certain installments (*cough* nine *cough).

But you want to hear the romantic part of the weekend, I know, I know!

On Saturday I woke up to a dozen red roses, a bottle of champange (for the evening, not breakfast!), and some Teuscher chocolates.

If you've never had Teuscher chocolates - they're these special chocolates flown in daily from Switzerland. So delicious! Jacob picked a box of champagne truffles and one of chocolate mints. They're made with no additives or perservatives so they have to be eaten within 10 days. I think I'm up to the challenge.




He also gave me a fluffy bathrobe and some of the softest flannel pajama bottoms - two things I've been really wanting. Shows he pays attention to my rambling. :)

After having breakfast and watching the Valentine's Day 30 Rock, we started packing. We're moving to our new apartment in a week and decided to bring some stuff over today to get started. (We have storage space to put stuff in before the apartment is ready.) So we packed up a zipcar SUV and headed to Jersey City.





I know you're probably saying JERSEY? You're leaving NYC for Jersey? But truthfully, it's just over the river - one stop on the PATH train and you get SOOO much more for your money there! Our apartment is almost a thousand sqaure feet for one thing, whereas similarly priced buildings in NYC only give you 650 sq feet. It has a washer/dryer IN the unit (unheard of for NYC), a dishwasher, two bathrooms, and a balcony that overlooks the Statue of Liberty. In fact, I think that's what I like most about the place - it's right on the water. There are also tennis courts and a fitness center downstairs.

Here's the skyline view from one side...





And here's the sunset view from the other.





And you can walk along the water on a little promenade.





I'll post more photos next week - of the actual apartment - once we move in. But I'm very excited to leave Queens and become a resident of Jersey. Who knew?!

After dropping our stuff off we went back into the city for dinner at Rosa Mexicano, a delicious upscale Mexican restaurant in Union Square.

They make guacamole by hand right at your table.





And serve it in a molcajete shaped like a pig!





They gave us a free jar of salsa as a Valentine's gift and I tried their signature drink of the night - a Passion Margarita. Served with a rose petal floating on top.





It was a delicious meal and I left feeling so full, but happy! Jacob definitely made Valentine's Day memorable and special for me!! Even the packing was fun. :)

Today our three day weekend continues with a Game Night scheduled by our friend Jenny. (Actually game afternoon to be more accurate.) And then we're going to a Vampire Ball that's being held tonight at a local club. Must figure out what to wear for that!

So all in all a good weekend! Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Marianne

On TV!

My show, Better TV, did a segment on me and fellow YA author Melissa Walker. It'll air Monday on 47 different tv stations around the country. Here's the clip!

Let me know what you think!
Marianne

Happy Friday the 13th!!

We're going to see Jason tonight!!!

Marianne

The Blood Coven Vampire Series lives on!

I forgot to officially announce this on my blog. Duh! But better late than never and always an excuse to pop some cyber-champagne!

(The above champagne was indeed popped when I first got the news and couldn't tell anyone publically, in case you were wondering.)

Anyway, my Blood Coven Vampire series (Boys that Bite, Stake That, Girls that Growl) will be re-packaged and re-released starting in October of this year. One book per month - Oct, Nov, Dec - culminating with the long awaited Book #4 in the series, which will be called BAD BLOOD.

I can't tell you how thrilled I am that Berkley is doing this and that I'll get a chance to continue the series. I'm actually almost finished writing BAD BLOOD because I was already writing it for Germany, who bought the book independently. It takes place in Las Vegas and is written from Sunny's point of view. It's been a ton of fun to write - to go back to my favorite twin heroines and continue their adventures.

The re-packaged books will have new covers and will be branded as a series, unlike the originals. They'll also be a more traditional trade paperback size. I'm really hoping this will introduce a whole new generation of readers to the books who love Sunny and Rayne just as much as I do.

Okay, enough gushing. I will end by saying this is something I thought would never happen. I begged for a year and a half and got turned down for the fourth book a ton of times. Finally, Berkley not only changed their mind, but made the new deal even sweeter than I could have ever imagined. Sometimes it's all about timing and it's a good example of why you should never give up in this business and in life in general.

Marianne

Weekend Wrap-up

Hey all,

I swear I'll be less of a blog slacker this week. Or at least I'll try.

On Friday night I went out for drinks with Liz, Leanna, author Alisa Kwitney, and PW blogger Barbara Vey at the Old Castle Pub in midtown. After drinks, Liz and I headed back to Astoria to get our Dance, Dance Revolution on. She's still better at it then I am, go figure. Then we ate pizza and I forced her to watch an episode of TRUE LIFE, the MTV documentary show I'm addicted to.

On Saturday Jacob and I headed to the Javitt's Center to attend the NY Comic Con. It was really crowded, but the booths had some cool stuff. I didn't dress up but a lot of people did. Still, there it was nothing compared to something like Dragon Con where the costumers go all out. I bought a box set of .dot//hack manga and a few other small things.

That night we went home and watched the documentary "His Name was Jason" about the Friday the 13th series. It was okay, nothing spectacular. This week the re-imagining/remake of the actual film comes out in theaters. (On Friday the 13th, of course!) Can't wait!

On Sunday Jacob and I did brunch then went to see My Bloody Valentine in 3D. We'd tried to see it once before, but the audience was very loud - talking through the whole thing. Luckily this time people were more respectful and we were able to stay for the whole thing. (I run into this problem SO OFTEN in NYC. I don't understand how people spend $14 for a ticket and then want to just text and talk through the whole film!)

So all in all it was a good weekend. I also worked a ton on my 4th Blood Coven book, Bad Blood. I'm up to 50k now and closing in on the end. I'll be sad to be finished - I love writing about Sunny and Rayne - but since it's due March 1st I guess it's for the best. :)

That's about all I've got to report for now!

Marianne

Molly eats very spicy chili

We had very spicy chili at the Superbowl party and there was tons left over that Jacob's been eating every night. (I don't like spicy food so it's all him.) He gave some leftovers to Molly and I filmed the results. She gets VERY slurpy after eating it...can't keep that burning tongue in her mouth. TOO funny!

DDR Marathon! (Oh, and Superbowl watching, too)

Yesterday Jacob and I had a Dance Dance Revolution Superbowl party. There were two kinds of chili (hot/mild), two kinds of guacamole (manly/girly), two types of cornbread (with jalapenos/without) and two television centric activities available (watching the Big Game/playing DDR)

So basically, something for everyone who attended.

If you haven't played Dance Dance Revolution you're missing out on a cultural phenomenon of our time. Basically there's a touch-sensitive mat attached to the XBOX 360 that serves as the dance floor. On screen you hear a song and see dance moves (in the form of <- ->) and you have to hit them at an exact moment. It's not much different than Guitar Hero, really, except you're using your feet. And it's better exercise. In fact, I'm pretty sure we burned at least a thousand calories a piece last night playing. Probably enough to counteract that first bowl of chili.

I sadly did not take any video of this. Maybe because I was afraid of the blackmail potential of having something so embarassing end up on the interwebs. Instead, I'll give you video of a true expert.



Out of all the party goers, Liz has the most potential to someday become as good as that little kid. Next time I'm going to video her.

Oh and we also watched the Superbowl. It was a good game and Pittsburgh won, as you know. I was rooting for them because my sister-in-law Karen is from there. It was a pretty exciting game. Especially the Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet at halftime.



Sometimes it's the little things. :)

Marianne