Dear readers and fellow writers,
Please recommend to me your favorite songs about the creative process, creative industries (the music business, Hollywood, etc.), and/or fame.
The plot bunny that began here has started growing and wants a plentiful soundtrack. 
Many thanks in advance,
Me
Just a quick reminder that you have until the end of the day to enter the March giveaway. Good luck to everyone who’s already joined in! I’ll start answering your questions next week.
As promised, here’s your March giveaway! Up for grabs, the three books pictured below:
Entering is simple: just ask me a question you’d like me to answer on this blog. About writing, publishing, me–anything you like. Just keep in mind…
-Your question should be unique, so specific questions are better than general ones, and you should check the already posted questions before entering.
-You may enter more than once–you can ask one question for each day the giveaway is open!
-Questions that are too personal or relate to confidential information will be discarded; please use your discretion.
-If you have a preference of which book(s) you’d like to win, please note it in your entry.
Open now until the night of March 9th, to anyone in the world. I will pick the three winners at random on the 10th. Please include your e-mail address so I can contact you!
Happy questioning!
If you’ve been wondering why I’ve been so quiet online lately, it’s because my mind is mostly consumed by my current WIP. I plan to return around the beginning of March with a giveaway of some sort. In the meantime, you may be able to catch up with me in person.
On Friday, February 26, I’ll be signing copies of GHOST for attendees of the Ontario Library Association’s Super Conference, starting at noon.
And for those of you who plan well in advance, I should be on a few panels, as well as signing books and doing a reading, at this year’s Ad Astra in April! Details to come later.
Hope to meet more of you at one or the other!
Today I’m guest-posting over at Fodder For Fiction, where I talk about how real life helped shape the writing of GIVE UP THE GHOST. With a snippet of a flashback for illustration!
I’ll be checking comments there and here.
Many of you have probably already heard about Amazon.com’s sudden removal of all Macmillan titles (they are still available on the website for sale by third parties, but not from Amazon itself). Macmillan’s CEO had something to say about why this might be.
Since GIVE UP THE GHOST was published by Henry Holt, one of Macmillan’s houses, that means at the moment it can not be bought from Amazon.com.
Which makes this an excellent time to continue to encourage you to support your local independent bookstores! If you had intended to purchase GHOST or any other Macmillan title from Amazon, I recommend instead checking Indiebound to see if any indies in your area carry it. If they don’t, I am a big fan of Powells, which will ship anywhere in the US and has a free shipping offer as well!
And if you have a preference for chain stores for whatever reason, I would point out that Barnes and Noble is still carrying GHOST in several locations as well as online.
After all, just because there’s a bully in the room doesn’t mean you have to pay them any notice. (Though if you would like to express disappointment with Amazon’s actions, that may be helpful in getting this situation resolved quickly!)
In honor of having recently (finally!) read, and loved, SUITE SCARLETT.
The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary – The Mountain View Inn: Where a mouse and a boy form a friendship based on a shared love of a toy motorcycle.
Bad Kitty by Michele Jaffe – The Venetian Hotel: Where all the trouble begins, starting with a three-legged cat leaping on our heroine.
Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan – The Marriott Marquis: Where our couple is caught in a compromising position in the ice room.
Prada and Prejudice – Unnamed five-star hotel in London: Where an embarrassing moment and a surprising encounter provoke Callie to buy a very special pair of heels.
Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson – The Hopewell: Where the Martin family makes their home and livelihood, and the means by which Scarlett meets the eccentric woman who will throw her life into a whirlwind.
Things I looked up on the internet to fill in some of the square brackets in my WIP:
-top performing arts schools in N. America
-illnesses that most often lead to death in N. America (answer: for the most part, cancer, cancer, and more cancer)
-what exactly is a strait?
-dance sequences in movies
Time taken to find all the info I needed: 1.5 hrs
December 29, 1995 (Megan is 15)
We watched a movie called THE MAN IN THE MOON tonight. In it, this girl falls in love with a guy who’s 17 (she’s 14) but he and her sister fall in love later (when they meet). [My cousin] and [my other cousin] and X were saying that they hated the older sister, but I don’t see why. Just because she (the younger sister) liked the guy first didn’t mean he belonged to her. And although he did start to like her, it was more as a friend.
How can you say one love is more important than another? The only reason it is right that the older sister and the guy got together is that they both loved each other, whereas it was one-sided, or would have been, with the younger sister. It wouldn’t be fair to the two to give up happiness because her feelings would be hurt, and her feelings would have been hurt anyway, ’cause he didn’t like her in that way any more.
The one thing that is really important to think of is that nobody chooses for someone to love them. You can’t blame a person because the one you love loves them and not you. And you can’t blame the one either. That’s the thing with love–you can’t control it, define it, or restrain it. You can blame it, but it won’t do anyone a lot of good. That’s just the way it is.
–
An Introduction to Flashbacks
The Flashback Cast
The Flashback Timeline
The 2009 Debs have come together to create a fantabulous prize pack of signed books, which The Leaky Cauldron will be offering in their Help Haiti Heal event this Saturday (January 23rd) starting at 2pm EST!
For more information on the event, here’s the announcement.
For a full list of the books to be offered, check out this Debs post.
Please help this great cause by posting/tweeting/spreading the word however you are best able!
