Beads

I found out this weekend that breaking your necklace at a book signing is something that makes a great story later.

It was actually pretty funny. I always fiddle with my necklaces, and on Saturday I borrowed a beaded necklace from my grandma. And while I was at the Borders Express in the Exton Square Mall I continued to fiddle. I forgot that it wasn't my necklace, and the beads were merely strung on a thin string.

Oops.

The string snapped, and beads flew everywhere. I was totally shocked, watching them spray around me, off the table, and skitter into the main area of the mall. People all around started scooping up runaway beads. We gathered them into a bag. I couldn't stop laughing, and I continued to laugh. Each time I moved for the next ten minutes at least four more beads would go flying, and I'd start laughing again.

See what I mean? Good story.

Make sure you check out the article about my Doylestown book signing!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone...
I hope you have a great break!

Not Ashamed to be a Fan

I consider myself a fan of many things: NCIS, Castle, Hunger Games, Daily Show, Mortal Instruments, Meg Cabot. But the #1 thing I am a fan of?

Harry Potter, of course.

I read, reread, rereread, and rerererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererererereread (not kidding) every book in the series when I was in elementary and middle school. My mom actually took the books away at one point so I would read anything else. I'm going to the Harry Potter park in January. I made a broomstick when I was ten.

However, the movies. I loved the first two. They followed the plot of books one and two, and the actors were totally in character. The third movie was good, but the entire time I was wondering, where the heck did the cloaks go? The fourth movie left out a ton of details and instead added in (in my opinion) pointless dialogue. Don't even get me started on the fifth movie. I can't stand watching it. The sixth movie was enjoyable. And now I'm hoping the seventh movie(s) will be as good as one and two were. I know they're probably making two movies mostly to stretch out the moneymaking as long as possible, but that's okay. I don't want the era of New HP Material to end. And hopefully, with two parts, a lot more plot can be included.

And that's an extra midnight premiere to attend.

So. Excited.

Poison Ivy

Guess what?

My short story, Poison Ivy, was released this past week! It's available on Amazon and Omni-Lit (Nook coming soon).

The blurb:

Would you tell the truth?

Luz Bennet doesn’t know if she can. She never really thought about being popular, but she didn’t desire to be one of those unnoticed kids, either. And when students at Ivy High turn hurt pride into a campaign against one of the “invisible” girls, they use Luz as their figurehead, never mind that Luz didn’t even start the rumors in the first place. Shoved in the spotlight, Luz has the ability to lead the poisonous movement and rocket to popularity; or she can counter rumors and lose any social standing she has…or she can do something else entirely.

It's an interesting time for the release, with all the bullying that's been in the news lately. I didn't write this story because of the current news, though I could have. I actually wrote Poison Ivy in eighth grade, in response to reading To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. (Which, by the way, was the only assigned reading of that year that I liked. It's a good book. Read it.)

Anyway, my English teacher that year said we were going to do a creative project that used themes from TKAMB (this is how we abbreviated it. In my head I say it tekahmb). We could do an essay, a collage, a short story, et cetera. I raised my hand and said, "Um, how short is short?"

My teacher said, "Oh, about five or so pages."

Page limits were a constant cause of conflict between my teacher and I. Actually, every English teacher has had this problem with me. Anyway, I negotiated until she said, "Fine. Twenty pages. Can you do that?"

It was going to be a challenge, but I managed. I think I had exactly twenty pages when I finished.

A few months ago, I revisited the story. I knew Echelon was going strong with Echelon Shorts, so I revised the story and submitted it to see if it was something they would be interested in. And now it's released, with a snazzy cover, and I suggest you read it if you like short stories. Or maybe even if you don't like short stories.

Hope everyone had a good weekend!

PAYA Auction

Hey everyone!

Just a quick reminder-- PAYA is holding an auction with some really cool (SIGNED!) books. The proceeds benefit the PAYA event and therefore PA Libraries. Definitely check it out!

Some books for auction:

Will Grayson, Will Grayson (by John Green and David Levithan)
Such a Pretty Girl (by Laura Wiess)
You Know Where to Find Me (by Rachel Cohn)
Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist (by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan)

Aaaand more!