Back from Atlanta

I am wayyyy too tired to tell you everything that happened in Atlanta (and - heh - maybe some of it best stay in Atlanta anyway :P) but needless to say the conference was a blast and I'm so glad I went. It was wonderful to see all my fabulous author friends!

But the big news of the week?? Guess what my dear friend Alesia Holliday won! Yup, a RITA! For best novella! WOOT! Sooo well deserved!!!! Here are the two of us. Doesn't she look sooo happy?

For those of you not in the writing world, that golden statue is called a "RITA" and it's the best award a romance author can win. Sort of like an Emmy. Yay Alesia!!

Mar

P.S. For those of you wondering, my apartment is fine. No lightning disasters this year!

Next stop: Atlanta!

Well in two days I'll be off to Atlanta for the National Romance Writers of America conference. I'm so looking forward to seeing all my friends and going to all the parties. If you see me in the hall, please stop me to say hi. I love meeting new people!!

Stuff I will definitely be attending:

* Paige Wheeler's Chocolate Devastation party (my agent's party for clients)
* From the Heart Romance Writers party (Thursday)
* National Reader's Choice Awards (Thursday) - wish me luck in the Young Adult Category!
* Berkley book giveaway - signing copies of "Boys that Bite"!! (Friday afternoon)
* Dorchester Publisher's dinner (Friday)
* Berkley cocktail party (Friday)
* Ritas/Golden Heart post party (Saturday night)

I was thinking of trying to sightsee during the day on Saturday. Anyone know any cool stuff to see in Atlanta? I've only been there once, for a work related thing, so I'm not very familiar with the city.

I have the BEST dress for Friday night! It totally looks like something right out of the 1920s - flapper style - to go along with my "What, No Roses?" book's theme! I can't believe I found such a perfect dress. :) Very psyched to wear it!

Marianne

Blog Slackers Unite

Hey all,

Sorry for the week of silence. I've just been going through some personal drama that has sadly become all-consuming. But hey, what else is new, right? :P And, as they say, whatever doesn't kill us will make us stronger. (And after the last year, I'm destined to become the strongest person ever!)

Anyway - I'm looking forward to seeing people at Nationals in Atlanta next week. I am going for a few days - just to network and party. I'm up for a Reader's Choice Award, which is cool. If you see me, make sure to say hi! My usual partner in crime, Liz Maverick, is in Paris and can't make the festivities - so if you're an author behaving badly who has a thing for conference chicken, find me in the bar!!! :)

I got a copy of the coverflat for "A Hoboken Hipster in Sherwood Forest." It's really pretty - much prettier than the online version. The lettering is pink foil. (Did I mention I love foil lettering? haha) I've got to stop using really long titles in my books though - my name is practically microscopic in order to fit it on the page. Ah well. Maybe people with bad eyesight will confuse it for a Katie MacAlister book!!

That's all for now!
Mar

Now Touring: Angel with Attitude

I read Michelle Rowan's "Bitten and Smitten" and it was really cute! Now she has a new paranormal comedy out called "Angel with Attitude." The interesting thing is that book features a talking rat--just like my new release, "What No Roses?" Isn't that a crazy coincidence? Obviously talking rats are the new black!!! :)

Anyway - the book looks like a lot of fun. Here's more info:

ANGEL WITH ATTITUDE by Michelle Rowen
(Warner Forever, July 2006)

When you're hot for a demon, you might as well kiss your halo good-bye...

Falling naked into the killer whale tank at MarineLand is always bad news, but it's a real bummer when you've just been kicked out of Heaven. Former angel Valerie Grace is determined to reverse her banishment-Earth's just no fun.

Her best friend is a slightly perverted human-turned-rat, and she's being tailed by a sexy Tempter Demon named Nathaniel, who's trying to lure her to hell with kisses that are almost worth the trip. With the talking rodent sneaking peeks down her shirt and Nathaniel getting more irresistible every minute, this ex-angel has only one hope: find the stolen Key to Heaven and go home.

Then the oddest thing happens-Nathaniel starts to show signs of loyalty and love. And soon Val is asking herself if it is such a bad thing to have the hots for a demon.

ABOUT MICHELLE ROWEN
Michelle Rowen was born in Toronto, Ontario. As a child she decided that when she grew up she would become a flight attendant, a jewel thief, or a writer. One out of three ain't bad. She is a self-confessed bibliophile, the proud owner of an evil cat named Nikita, Reality TV junkie, and has an unhealthy relationship with all things Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

REVIEWS
Rowen does a delightful job mixing things up with her sassy and sexy characters. She has her own unique spin on life and the afterlife and good and evil, which makes for downright fun reading. 4 stars ? Romantic Times

ANGEL WITH ATTITUDE is such a fun story...Michelle Rowen has proven herself to be an ace storyteller with a truly fresh and sharp sense of humor. I'm officially a fan! -- Lani Diane Rich, RITA Award-winning author

An amusing heavenly romance with a hell of a price to pay for not reading it. -- Harriet Klausner

Website: http://www.michellerowen.com/

A Hoboken Hipster in Sherwood Forest - COVER!

Okay here it is - the long awaited (at least by me!) cover and back cover blurb of the sequel to "A Connecticut Fashionista in King Arthur's Court".

(And yes, Diana, it's still mostly blue!)

A Hoboken Hipster in Sherwood Forest

"Mancusi writes with style, wit and charm...an absolute treat!"
-USA Today Bestseller Julie Kenner

If Chrissie Hayward knew that morning she'd be traveling back through time to rescue her crazy coworker Kat, she'd have worn better shoes. Doubly so if she'd expected to meet her true love. According to the mysterious gypsy, Chrissie was "the gentle soul who would tame an outlaw's thirst for revenge"-aka, the real Robin Hood. So how come the guy was such a dud?

LOST...IN SHERWOOD FOREST?

No, Robin of Locksley was no Prince Charming. And the part about robbing the rich to feed the poor? He didn't get the memo. In fact, all the guy seemed to do was mope. (And he and his not-so-merry men thought Chrissie was a boy. Sure, she wasn't stacked, but still!) Nonetheless, he was loyal and brave and handsome as sin. If Chrissie could just get him with the program, she could right this wagon and get these boyz 'n the wood to be heroes of the realm instead of twerps in tights. Only then could this prince of thieves become king of her heart.

--

There you have it! Let me know what you think!!!
Marianne

ITALIA!

Well they're dancing in the streets where I live in the North End of Boston (Little Italy) this afternoon! A nailbiting penalty shot finish had Italy beat out France for the 2006 World Cup. Traffic was blocked off on Hanover Street and people overflowed out of bars and restaurants--cheering and singing and dancing and waving the Italian flag. I've never seen anything like it! It was great - so much energy and patriotism! It made me proud to be Italian.

I grew to love soccer/football while married to my ex who is from England. He believes there is nothing better in the world than soccer and can't understand how America isn't into it like the rest of the world. My cynical thoughts are it's because you can't throw in advertisements every 5 seconds in a soccer match like you can with American football. But in any case, it's become one of my favorite sports. I called him after the match and he was saying over 1 billion people watched the game. Incredible.

It may be too loud to sleep tonight- I'm sure the celebrating will go on til the wee hours of the morning--but I don't mind. This is a world event and I'm happy to be a tiny part of it.

Marianne

MySpace

For those of you wondering, yes my Boys that Bite MySpace page has disapeared. I'm not yet sure what happened - it seems to have been deleted somehow. I'm working to figure out what's going on, but haven't heard back from MySpace just yet. Pretty distressing, considering how much time I put into the page. :( But what can you do?

I finished my charity anthology story for "Fangs Again" today. I love how it came out!!! I could totally expand on my main character - the were-dragon virgin Ash-lee Firebreath - and write a whole book on her. I know that after the last anthology some of the authors got a deal with Berkley to do "Mysteria" based on the same characters/storyline of Bewitched, Bothered, and BeVampyred. So you never know. But for now, suffice to say I'm happy with my chapter and glad to be a part of such a noble cause as raising money for breast cancer research.

Other than that, it's been a quiet weekend so far. Which I needed, considering I just got back from five days in NYC. Time to clean my apartment, have a 24 season 1 marathon, and continue to read Shogun. (I'm almost 400 pages in now - what a great book!)

Hope you're also having a great weekend!
Marianne

Thursday Stuff

I've been working on my charity anthology story for part two of "Bewitched, Bothered & Bevampyred: Fangs Again." I absolutely love how it's coming out. It's so fun to write a short story after working on novel length fiction. Totally refreshing. Plus, how cool to write a book and have the proceeds go toward breast cancer research. It's such a great idea. But after I'm done I must buckle down and complete "A Hoboken Hipster in Sherwood Forest", which is due at the end of the month. Gah!! Lots of work ahead of me.

I'm supposed to get a royalty statement sometime this month for my first book, "A Connecticut Fashionista in King Arthur's Court." That'll be pretty cool to see. My first royalty statement! I mean I'm not expecting a million dollar check here - who knows if I even earned out. But it will be very interesting to see the breakdown. Another writing milestone.

I've been getting some great reviews for "What, No Roses?" which is pretty exciting. Here's a portion of one from Romance Reviews Today:

Slapstick, sarcastic, silly, and downright laugh-out-loud funny, WHAT, NO ROSES? is Ms. Mancusi's second foray into this genre, and it's just as entertaining and hilarious as her first, A CONNECTICUT FASHIONISTA IN KING ARTHUR'S COURT. The time traveling part is logical -- if one believes in time travel, that is. It's a machine; no magic is involved. Everything that happens after her arrival in Chicago is pure fun, although also just a tad on the dangerous side. These are mobsters, after all! But Dora is lots smarter than her 1920's body personifies, and she uses common sense to accomplish her objective. Most of the time, anyway.

WHAT, NO ROSES? is a hoot! For a great summer beach read, don't miss it!

Jani Brooks Romance Reviews Today

Nice, huh? I was thrilled, to say the least. You just never know how a new book will be received.

You know what's so weird? "What, No Roses?" features a talking rat who's really an FBI agent, which I thought was a pretty unique idea. Well, another book - released this month no less - also features a talking rat! It's called "Angels with Attitude" by Michelle Rowan. (Warner I think.) AND there's a new movie where a talking rat gets flushed down the toilet in!!

Dude, talking rats are the new black. It's so obvious!

Off to see "Devil Wears Prada." Will let you know what I think!
Marianne

Happy 5th

I'm back from a terrific weekend in New York. Did I mention I'd really love to live there? :) Seriously, the place has absolutely anything a human being could want! Got to see my long lost friend Jamie (who I mentionde previously) and it was soo good to spend time with her again. I hope we stay in touch from this point forward.

I saw Superman Returns--was pretty good, I thought, though a bit long. Very faithful to the original movies -- and WOW does the new Superman look like Christopher Reeve. Crazy.

Went to the bookstore and saw that "What, No Roses?" really is sitting on the shelves!! It's still pretty surreal to see my book just sitting there, waiting to be bought. I remember for so long going to bookstores and finding the "M" section and imagining my book fitting in between people like Katie MacAlister and Liz Maverick. It seemed an impossible dream, but now here I am on Book #4. So for those of you still submitting, don't give up! If I can get here, you totally can too!!!

Hope you all had a great Fourth of July!

Marianne

Blogging about John Hughes

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

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

Marianne

Now Shipping from Amazon!!

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

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

Marianne

Is it Friday Yet?

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

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

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

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

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

Marianne

Yay!!!!

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

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

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

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

Marianne

In other news...

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

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

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

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

In other news:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

That's all for today!
Marianne

Blog Disclaimer

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

My blog declares no responsibility to:

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

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

That is all.

Mar

Can I just tell you....

...how much I love MySpace?

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

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

Yay! I love MySpace!!
Marianne

Hm...Interesting

From Publisher's Lunch:

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

Random thoughts

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

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

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

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

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

:)
Marianne

Sunshine and Roses

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

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

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

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

Marianne

Friday!

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

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

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

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

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

Marianne