Childhood TV Shows

I was reading a NY Times article about how Sesame Street is on DVD now but some of the early episodes are not suitable for today's children. LOL. Crazy. Now I want to go back and watch those. I was ADDICTED to that show as a kid.

Anyway, I thought I'd look up on YouTube to see if I could find a clip from one of my other favorite shows - 3-2-1 Contact. Specifically the mystery segment "The Bloodhound Gang" that aired in the last five minutes of the show. (Except on Fridays when they did a recap show.)

So here's an episode for those of you who might have missed this classic TV drama!! LOL.

Mar

Blog Slacker Update

Hey all,

Sorry I've been a total blog slacker! Let's see, what have I been up to? On Friday went out to Necromantic with some friends for a little dancing. Ended up out til after 3am so needless to say I slept most of Saturday. Worked on my revisions for Karma Kitty novella over the weekend. Went raiding with my new WoW guild and did Kara. Got some nice tanking gloves and a tanking ring. Tonight I’m going to the East Village’s Landmark Theater to see Blade Runner, The Final Cut. Should be awesome. Haven’t seen Blade Runner on the big screen since college days when they came out with the director’s cut. I really want the DVD box set that has ALL the versions, including the first one with the tacked on happy ending.

I’ve decided not to go home over Thanksgiving. I don’t really feel like dealing with the crazy crowds on the busses and trains. Plus most of my friends will be away. Seems like a better plan to pick a weekend to visit when everyone’s around. I’ll enjoy having the four days off in a row though!

Finished reading Life as We Knew It, a YA apocalyptic novel about an asteroid hitting the earth and one family’s dealing with the end of the world as we know it. Everyone raved about this book, but I got to say, I found it a bit slow. It was probably very realistic, but all of the chaos happened off screen. It’s kind of like an apocalyptic Anne Frank, where everyone’s cooped up in a house for much of the book with little news about what’s happening in the outside world. It was more about family relationships, which is fine, but I guess I was hoping for more looting and chaos and volcano eruptions instead of slow starving to death and accounts of what the characters had for dinner every day. Also, the ending was a bit weak – very dues ex machina, in my opinion. But everyone else seems to love this book, so maybe it’s just me.

Now I’m reading Isolde, Queen of the Emerald Isle, by Rosalind Miles, which I know I’ll like cause I’m a huge fan of her Guenevere series.

I’m looking forward to next week when Liz moves to NYC. And then the week after that a bunch of us are attending the NY Anime Convention. Cosplay time! Woot!

Marianne

Hey all,

Continuing to enjoy my week off of writing. I really need to buckle down starting tomorrow and work on those novella revisions. They're not major so no big deal, but I have to finish them before I can start the new book! Time's a wasting.

Last night I went to see one of the After Dark Horror Fest movies. It's like a film festival for independent horror movies. We saw Crazy Eights which was fun. Definitely one of those ones where you just have to laugh. Then went to Zanzibar for dinner/drinks. Turns out they serve my favorite wine -a New Zealand Sauv Blanc called Noblio. Yum. Got home way too late for a Tuesday, but oh well. Tonight I had to work late on a night shoot in Queens. It wasn't too bad though. And I got to walk through Queens for the first time.

I can't believe Thanksgiving is next week. I don't think I'm going home for it this year. But I will enjoy the 4 day weekend. Maybe I'll go check out the Macys parade. I used to always watch that as a kid. It would be cool to see some of it live.

Well that's about it - just wanted to do a quick update. Time for bed!!

Mar

Random Stuffz

Nothing too exciting going on here. Had a pretty uneventful weekend. Did go to see Saw IV, which was enjoyable, but not as good as the first three. A lot more confusing and they didn’t explain the twist in the end very well, which was disapointing.

Went out for dinner/drinks with my friend Stacy last night down in Union Square and St. Marks. We visited my favorite goth store - Trash and Vaudville - while down there. I really wish I had money for boots! I still totally want a new pair of docs.

In WoW news, I finally got my Netherdrake mount! So I get to fly around on my very own dragon from now on!! Woot! It was a pain to get – saving up 5,000 gold and then doing a long series of repeatable daily quests until I was exalted by the Netherdrake faction, but it was all worth it!! Weird how things in WoW feel like real accomplishments. I know they’re really meaningless, lol. Still, it’s fun and I’ll post a picture when I get a chance.

Now that I’m done my Gamer Girl edits my goal is to join a gym and work out more. I’m too busy this week, but I swear next week I’ll do it. We have a deal through work where it’s like $20 a month for a great gym so I really don’t have any excuse!

Any Malomar fans out there? They’re like my favorite cookie ever! And we learned how to make homemade Malomar like cookies yesterday on our show. It’s super easy, too – I think even cooking challenged me could do it! They were totally yummy as well. They’re from a Ladies’ Home Journal recipe, but I don’t think they’ve posted them yet. I’ll link when they do for those of you who are interested.

Speaking of cookies – I’m ready for lunch. Which will not be cookies, sadly, but more likely salad. Oh wellz.
Mar

Gamer Girl Done! Woot!

I'm happy today cause I was able to send in my revisions for Gamer Girl to my editor. I have been working like crazy on them all week - morning, noon and night - and am so glad to have them finished. The book is also a lot better for doing them - I'm thinking my editor is pretty brilliant at this point. (And I'm not just saying that on the chance she reads my blog, lol.) I cannot WAIT to see the cover for this book. I've seen a mock-up with stock art already so I know the direction they're going in, but am waiting for the custom art to be created for the final product. It'll be a manga cover and there will be manga artwork inside at the top of each chapter as well - so cool! I can't wait to see the book all put together. Sadly, I must since it won't be out for another year. **sniff**

Leanna's still too sick to go clubbing tonight - boo!! Not sure what I'll do instead. Maybe just play some WoW. I think we're joining a new guild and that means we'll start raiding again. I really would like to cause I miss it and also it'll help me get better gear. (Just in time for the 2nd expansion which will make it all useless again, lol.)

Oh special shout out to Diana Peterfreuend who got married this week! Congrats, girl!

Gotta run. Have a great weekend!

Marianne

Busy, busy!

Been a busy week for me, working hard and trying to finish up Gamer Girl revisions in my spare time. They’re going well, though—will be ready to pass them in to my editor on Friday. Then a few quick tweaks on my novella for the boots anthology (which my editor said he LOVED – yay!) and I’m free to start on Razor Girl! Can’t wait. Feels like I’ve been revising forever…so ready to start something new.

It’s crazy that I have three books and one novella out next year. I am so cutting back from now on. I just can’t take the work load with my current day job schedule and I’d rather spend more time on a book and enjoy writing it then to be always pressured to get finished.

For those of you American Idol fans out there, we had Elliot Yamin on the show yesterday. He was really very sweet. Of course, I’m the only person on the planet who doesn’t watch the show so I’m not sure how far he got in the finals or what kind of music he plays, but he seemed genuine and nice.

That’s about all that’s going on here. Not very exciting, I know! But I must be lame for a few more days for the good of my book. :)

Marianne

Go Liz!!

I'm "wired" this afternoon after hearing some great news! My friend (and partner in crime) Liz Maverick's Shomi book "WIRED" received a BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR (!!) award from Publisher's Weekly. They only picked five romance for the entire year and hers was one of them. I am sooo psyched for her!!! Go Liz!!! An honor totally deserved.

Here's what they said:

Wired Liz Maverick (Dorchester/Shomi)
Told by a sassy female computer programmer pursued by two strange men with the power to alter reality, this suprising mashup of romance and cyberpunk may be the blueprint for romance's next generation.

By the way, for those of you who don't know, Liz is also signed up for another round of Shomi next year. She's writing a yet-to-be-titled sequel to Wired, starring Roxanne's best friend Kitty. Can't wait!

Marianne

Busy Friday

Today was a crazy busy day at work. I'm already exhausted and yet I have a whole night full of fun ahead of me. Red Bull anyone? :)

We did a couple stories with Brenda Cooper, an Emmy award winning Hollywood stylist. She actually created the whole look of The Nanny back in the day. And she hosted one of the original reality shows - E's Fashion Emergency. I used to watch that show religiously (before I gave up TV) and so it was really cool to work with her. She was so sweet and nice, too. The first segment we did was on finding your "true colors" - you know, like are you a summer, winter, fall, etc. But it's much more sophisticated these days. Turns out I'm a soft autumn. Which means it's better for me to wear grays and browns rather than black. Guess Mom was right all these years.

Then we went to the White House, Black Market store on 5th Avenue and did a segment on building a complete wardrobe (work, evening, comfy) starting from a basic black silhouette. I stood in as one of the models and it was a lot of fun trying on all the outfits. I wish I had a Hollywood stylist to go shopping with all the time! My wardrobe would be so much more functional instead of all the odds and ends I have that never match.

In the afternoon we interviewed plastic surgeon Dr. Rey of the E show Dr. 90210. He was quite the character-- a little crazy, but a lot of fun. He is promoting his new line of body shapers. Good way to skip the plastic surgery and look good. He drew a naked woman on our celebrity signing wall. Boss is going to freak about that, come Monday!!

Here's a pic of he and I on the Better TV set.

Tonight I'm going to a booksigning for Kathryn Smith over at Posner's in Grand Central, then to NYC RWA president Elizabeth Mahon's bday party. And late night, Leanna and I are hoping to hit the Knitting Factory for some dancing. Fun, fun.

Then the rest of the weekend I need to be a good little girl and work on my Gamer Girl edits!!

Marianne

Halloween Pics

The Village Halloween parade was such a blast!! There were so many cool costumes and it was so much fun parading up 6th avenue. We danced and frolicked and generally had much too much fun.

As I think I mentioned, we went as the 4 Elements. (I was fire.) Here we are in all our elemental glory!

I definitely think marching in the parade is more fun than just watching it! Already trying to decide on a costume for next year. :)

Marianne

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!!

Tonight my friends and I are going to march in the Village Halloween parade. We’re going as the four elements (air, earth, fire, water.) I’m fire. I think I might look more like a club kid or drag queen than an actual element in my costume, but I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing, considering the parade! :) I need a couple of finishing touches which I’ll run out and grab at lunch, but then I should be all set! It’s a lot harder to be something abstract than say, a pirate, I’ve realized, but creating costumes is fun.

I’m sure we’ll take pics and I’ll post them.

Yesterday I attended a NY Library teen Halloween party and read from my Girls that Growl book and talked about writing to the teens. They were really great – so into it and we had a really good discussion together. I’d like to do more events like that in the future.

I told you how the other day my dog Molly came into work to film a segment about dog massage, right? Well, it’s since aired and is now up on our Better.tv website. Check it out! I think she did a very good job! Most dogs would have jumped off the table! I am a very proud dog mommy.

Marianne

Let's go Red Sox, Let's go!

Yay Boston won the World Series!!! Go Boston!!!

It seems weird to be in NY and be so far removed from the excitement. I remember the last time they won I was working in Boston at the NBC station and so we were crazy busy, working nonstop every day and night. Then I'd go to parties to watch the games. I was so exhausted, but it was an exciting time. Seems like a lifetime ago.

When they had the celebratory parade I got to go out on Fenway's field and interview players. Here is me with my then favorite Red Sox - Bronson Arroyo - with his infamous cornrows. Yes, I had quite the crush! (Taken with my camera phone, which is why the quality is bad.)

Hope you all had a good weekend! Halloween is in 2 days!!!

Mar

Yay Friday and Sat YA library event

Yay it's Friday! I've been so tired all week, I'm soo ready for the weekend. Going to go out dancing tonight with my friend Leanna. Woot! Can't stay out too late though cause I'm going to do a writer event at the NY Public Library at 2pm the next day. Actually I should post the details of this, cause it's kind of cool, for those of you in the NYC area.

When : Saturday, October 27 @ 2pm

Where : Donnell Library Center 's Central Children's Room2nd floor of the Donnell Library Center20 West 53rd StreetNew York , NY

Description : A monthly opportunity to join others interested inchildren's and young adult literature for a stimulating discussion ofbooks, reading trends and services to youth.

This group is open to authors, librarians, parents, publishers, students,teachers and anyone else who loves children's and young adult literature.

This is not a formal book discussion group, but rather a chance to:-connect with others-find out what's going on in the world of publishing,-come away with exciting new ideas and reading recommendationsWe'll also have lovely refreshments and piles of Advanced Reader Copies ofbooks to give away.

The second meeting of the Children's and Young Adult LiteratureCafe will take place on Saturday, November 10 at 2pm. Shaun Tan, authorof the critically acclaimed graphic novel The Arrival , will be ourspecial guest!

For more information, please contact: Sarah Couri (Senior Young Adult Librarian in Teen Central):scouri@nypl.org ; 212-621-0633Rebecca Schosha (Senior Children's Librarian in the Central Children'sRoom): rschosha@nypl.org ; 212-621-0636

10 Tenors

I promised you a picture of the hot Australian opera singers who graced our Better TV studios on Monday. So here they are! The Ten Tenors and me. (Yes, I have a great job!)

Blogger is cutting off the 10th guy so click on the pic for all their true glory. :)



And yes, they can really sing too! Check them out online at TheTenTenors.com.

Win Girls that Growl

The lovely Melissa Walker (author of Violet on the Runway) is giving away an autographed copy of GIRLS THAT GROWL. Go over to her website (or MySpace) for your chance to win it!

All is well here. Finished my novella story and am on to edits on News Blues. Luckily they are minor and I should be done by Monday. Then I have to do revisions on Gamer Girl. Then start the new book!

Shot a few stories with Dannielle Romano, editor at large of DailyCandy.com yesterday. She is such a sweetheart. I love working with her. And I love the Daily Candy newsletter, too.

Not too much else going on. Saturday I am doing a YA author event at the NY Public Library, which means if I go out on Friday I need to force myself to get home at a reasonable hour! I haven't been sleeping well because of the lingering cough and so I'm really exhausted all the time.

Marianne

Doing time in Boston

I’m back from Boston. It was great trip. The 6B Lounge didn’t play 80s music cause the Red Sox were playing so we ended up going to CLINK, this bar in Boston that was converted from an actual jail! It still looked like a jail, too, with bars and original brickwork. The center was open and there were different levels of balconies (where the cells used to be) circling the building, just like you see in regular jails. It has to be one of the coolest bars I’ve ever been to. Here’s my friend Mary and her boyfriend “locked up.” And below, me, evidently posing as one of the femme fatales in Chicago, lol.

Then on Sunday we went walking the dogs with my dad and Sherri at Maudslay State Park in Newburyport. Very beautiful day and nice to see some fall foliage.

Now I’m back. We had some great studio guests in this morning on our show. The Ten Tenors – a group of 10 hot Australian men who sing. Nice way to start off a Monday! And those accents! I think Audra and I were swooning a bit. Their PR guy took a picture. If he sends it to me I’ll post it here.

I’m mostly better from being sick, but still have a bit of a cold. Will be happy once I’m 100 percent again. Hopefully soon.

Quick Update from Boston

Hey - been a blog slacker so I thought I should quickly update and say I'm alive and well and in Boston for the weekend. A bunch of friends and I are going to a the 6B lounge, which is spinning 80s tonight. Woot! I spent the day wandering around shopping. Got a nice new pair of Steve Madden boots.

Boston was PACKED though! Evidently everyone is in town for the Sox game and some Regatta thing on the Charles river. I'm sick of Sox talk already, but I'm sure there's going to be a lot more out at the bars. I mean, I do hope they win. But let's talk about something else!

It's great to hang with Mary. Missed her while I've been in NY. Luckily with good friends like her you can pick up right where you left off.

Okay gotta run! More later. :)

Marianne

Sk8er Boy en Francais

I stayed out of work today cause of my sickness. Didn't want to infect my coworkers and all that. Been vegging out, watching Battlestar Galactica, which I borrowed part of the first season from a friend. Finished what I borrowed - need the rest now. Maybe it's best that I ran out, however, since I really should get some writing done.

In the meantime, I found a cover for the French version of Sk8er Boy. They spelled it "Sk8ter Boy" though. I don't get why people do that. It's sk-eighT-er, right? Don't need an extra "T". Oh wellz.

It's a cute cover though! Funny - the girl is wearing a very similar getup to my RWA "costume" -- maybe THIS was the character I was accused of being dressed as! Who knew? Hopefully they'll send me a couple of real copies. I can read a little French - would be fun to try to interpret.

:)
Marianne

Still Ill

I was way too sick to go to work today, but did anyway cause I had so much going on. We had Keri Russell (aka Felicity or the actress with the curly hair who once cut it, lol.) in for an interview. She is so sweet and nice and down to earth. So tiny too! I can't believe she just had a baby 4 months ago. But yes, she was great. She's evidently in a movie coming out with Robin Williams and Jonathan Rhys Meyers. She told me all the girls love Jonathan. What?!? I thought my crush was exclusive!! haha.

Had a lunch meeting at The Capital Grille that I didn't even feel like eating cause I was feeling so rough. Hopefully I didn't come off as a moron to the potential guest. She was fab, actually. Runs a site called SpaAddicts.com. We'll probably be working with her on some spa segments in the near future.

Lastly, I had a night shoot at our resident hair stylist who is giving one of our contributors a makeover. Even though they were completely nice and wonderful, I was so happy to leave and come home to collapse.

The sickness is bad cause I haven't been able to write this week. I need to get better for Boston, too!

So I guess I should sign out and rest, huh? TTYL!

Marianne

Ugh, Monday already?

Clubbing at the Knitting Factory on Friday night was a blast. It was so good to hear the music and dance and we stayed until like 3:30am. Was cheap to get in ($8) and cheap drinks, too. I can’t wait to go back! I love goth clubs because unlike regular clubs you don't get harassed by guys who want to grind up on you.

The rest of the weekend I kind of vegged out and played WoW. Oh Saturday I lost my phone in a taxi and so I bought a new one on Sunday. Then they found my phone, but I love my new phone and my old one was dying anyway, so it’s for the best.

I saw some cover art conceptions for my Dutton book, Gamer Girl, today. Looks really awesome! I’m psyched. They’re going with a manga look since my heroine is a budding manga artist. Sooo cool!!

This weekend I’m going to Boston for a visit. About time – I haven’t been back since I moved here in March. I’m long overdue to see friends. Can’t wait!!

I’m not feeling very well, so I’m on my way home to take a nap.

Mar

Sex and the City Sightings

Went to meet a friend for lunch in Bryant Park this afternoon and ran into today’s Sex and the City movie filming. (I swear they’re everywhere!! Drove past them filming earlier in the week down in the village.) There were a ton of people crowded the street set and I had my dog so it was hard to stop to look, but I did walk right by Chris North. (Ahhh, Big, I loves you!!!!) Anyway, just seemed like a very New York moment.

Oh and yes, my dog got to come to work with me today, which was extra fun! We were shooting a segment on dog massage. She did a great job lying still on a table under the bright lights, allowing some stranger to touch her. Actually the stranger was the masseuse for the NJ Nets, so I guess Molly was in good hands, to say the least.

So glad it’s Friday! I think I mention I’m going clubbing tonight. Fun, fun! Then tomorrow I’m going to try to go to the NY RWA meeting if I’m not too tired from being out all night dancing. I’ve also got to work on my novella which is getting very close to being finished. Just in time to start the edits for my book News Blues, which should come to me next week. THEN I hope I can start my new Shomi book!

Speaking of, I asked before if anyone knew what Razor Girl referred to. Well, it’s a nod to William Gibson’s Neuromancer. The original Razor Girl, Molly Millions, had 4cm retractable razor blade implants in her fingers, along with other cybernetic enhancements, which helped her fight and hustle. She’s a street samurai and one of the coolest women ever in cyberpunk fiction. I don’t want to spoil the plot of my book by explaining why my title fits, but that’s what it references.

Happy Weekend!