Things to look forward to...

in 2010!!!! Learn more at The Tenners!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

Happy Holidays from the evil one and the family she controls:


Have a great weekend everyone!!!!!

Love,
Suz

Book Recommendation: FLASH BURNOUT by LK Madigan

This may be one of my first book recommendations. I don't usually do them because, well, I know authors personally and it sort of feels like I'm playing favorites. But... oh, what the heck.



I loved Flash Burnout! I finished it tonight and I'm so impressed! For me a really great book needs to have voice. An authentic voice or I can't get lost. LK Madigan is so freaking dead-on with her teen guy voice... it kind of freaks me out a little bit. haha. But more than anything, the HUMOR made Blake so relatable, I felt like I could be him. Or know him. Or have dated him. He was a real person.

To me that's the mark of a great book. I'm never good at summaries, so I'll say this: The characters--including the brother who I may or may not have had a crush on--are all great. The girl friend vs. friend triangle works in the most realistic way possible. And the jokes are never forced, but instead natural and dang funny!

If you haven't picked it up yet, please check out Flash Burnout. I know you'll love it!! And visit LK Madigan to learn more!!

Suz

And PS: Thanks for all the well-wishes. I'm starting to feel better. :-) Rock climbing next week, maybe?

We could have fun anywhere

As some of you know, I had surgery yesterday. I'm okay, back home. No worries. But we were in the hospital for about 12 hours. And true to ourselves, we found entertainment.

First we prepped The Naughty List.



Then my husband began reading. He was ENTHRALLED.



Hopefully I'll be walking around by Monday! Especially since the kids are off from school.... (cue scary music)

I think it's time you meet....

MY BOOK!!!!!!!!! OMG! I just got my first author copy of The Naughty List. And you know what? It's pretty flippin' PINK!!!!



I've stared at that image for so long, but this is the first time I've seen it full sized. It's wild. And the word NAUGHTY is bubbled out!!!

Here's the back. It's different than all the descriptions online. I love new things. And get this, my picture is on the inside of the back cover! How weird is THAT!??



If fact, this official Naughty List looked so good, I might have to eat it!!!! But first I'm going to take it around town and introduce it to other friends and books. You know, if you buy a copy, it will look just like this!!! So. Weird!!!

The Weekend

After a terrible start (sudden crushing pain and burst pipes) the family and I pulled it together to have a great weekend!!! Some pics!

Friend and illustrator Matthew Holm with the elusive "Christmas Squirrel".

Sophie with a Snuggie and the evil dog (who she couldn't get off the couch)

Hope you had a great weekend!!!

Acknowledgements

My friend and author Hannah Moskowitz (Break) had a totally cool blog post about her dedications and acknowledgements. It inspired me to share my own! My first book's not out until February, so this is sort of a sneak peek! This is what you'll read in the back of THE NAUGHTY LIST. :-)

First is my dedication, which is the same for all three Naughty List books:

In loving memory of my grandmother,
Josephine Parzych.

Acknowledgements :

Before I dive in, I figured I’d throw out a disclaimer so that a bunch
of you can stop reading right now. **This story is fictional. No exboyfriends
(or their reputations) were harmed in the writing of this
novel. Glad I got that out of the way.

First things first, I’d like to thank Ben Schrank over at Razorbill for
being a smart, brave and overall awesome person. You rock! Next,
I’d like to thank all of the lovely people at Razorbill, especially Anne
Heltzel—a seriously butt kickin’ editor—and Lexa Hillyer. And to the
wonderful Laura Schechter, thank you.

My agent Melissa Sarver is an angel—patient and wise. Thank you
for taking my calls. All six thousand of them.

Of course, I never would have gotten to the great people at
Penguin if it weren’t for my insanely cool friends and writing partners
who helped me on this book. Don’t fight. I love you all equally.
Heather Hansen, Trish Doller, Amanda K. Morgan, Jay Asher, Andrew
Carmichael, Sasha Vivelo, Daisy Whitney, Courtney Summers, the
Crazy Cats over at Random Musings, and the wonderful professionals
on Verla Kay’s Blue Boards.

My family has always been a motivating force in my life—my
grandparents most of all. But I’d also like to extend my love and
thanks to my mother, Connie. Mom, you always said I was a “gogetter”!
Also, thank you to my father, David Ciccone; my brothers,
David and Jason; sisters, Natalie and Alex. Plus Jeff, my cousins,
aunts, uncles and nieces and nephews—too many to name.

There were also some wonderfully encouraging friends and
family that I’d love to give a special shout out to: Emily H., Lynny
W., Richard R., Amy C., Becky D., and Brandi C. Also, a professional
thanks to Andrew Karre and Amy Tipton.

Most of all, I want to thank my husband, Jesse, for always believing
in this near-impossible dream. It was your encouragement and
never-ending bad jokes that kept me going. And to my beautiful
children, Joseph and Sophia, I promise to make dinner again sometime
soon.

I hope you all enjoy the book you’ve helped create.

***

Well, that's for book 1. SO MANY BOYS acknowledgements are also in... and pretty similiar. haha

Acknowledgments:

Disclaimer: The same ex-boyfriends that were not harmed in the writing
of book 1 were also not harmed in the writing of So Many Boys. However,
some of the emotions in the situations may or may not reflect feelings
the author could have possibly experienced at some point in her life.

First, I have to thank Melissa Sarver for her continued patience
and dedication to this series. And always knowing how to talk me down
when I freak myself out.

My editor Anne Heltzel, who worked tirelessly on this project.
You make my chest ache! And of course all of the wonderful folks at
Razorbill, thank you for supporting me and my neurotic tendencies. And
for promising me gold stars!

I’m incredibly lucky to be surrounded by supportive, brilliant friends.
First, Heather Hansen, who is never afraid to tell me the truth and who is
always there to sing my praises. You make me a better person. Amanda
Morgan, a smiling face that always cheers me up and reminds me of who
I am. Trish Doller, just about the best person in the world to write with,
is completely inspiring. Daisy Whitney, your brilliance makes me feel
like an awful writer, but it also makes me work harder. And some great
friends: Lisa Schroeder, Laini Taylor, and all the amazing authors that
have made Portland home.

Thanks to the Tenners, an amazing group of debut authors who
continue to support me and listen to the highs and lows of the biz. The
very cool bloggers that have gotten me excited about my own books
with their never-ending charm. The musers who listen to my complaints.
And the great businesspeople who have always offered me advice
throughout the process: Alice Pope, Jen Rofe, Jordanna Fraiberg
LeVine, and Laura Schechter.

Thank you all for investing your time in me. I hope I make you
proud.

Finally, my love belongs with my family. My wonderful, sometimes
funny husband, Jesse. (Just kidding, honey. Always funny.) And my
equally entertaining children, Joseph and Sophia, who never let
me take myself too seriously. My mother, Connie, and my sisters,
brothers, cousins, and all you other folks who share DNA with me . . .
THANK YOU.

And as always, to my grandmother: You are always with me, and I
still miss you every day. Thank you for giving me permission to take
chances.
***

Hm... I wonder who I'll thank in book 3???? Maybe it's time some ex-boyfriends get credit. haha. KIDDING!

So... anyone want to share their acknowledgements???

Rollercoaster.... of love

Last night my husband and I were sitting outside--yes, it was 15 degrees--and I was telling him how I was pretty nervous about doing my first panel at the Washington SCBWI Conference in April. We were going over things I should and shouldn't do--like: Do be funny. Don't show up hungover. Do let other people finish their sentences. Don't tell people to shut up and let you finish. Things like that.

But then he cracked me up.

Him: You know, I've been thinking about it. I think I should do a panel.
Me: Um... on what?
Him: Being married to a writer. I'll call it: The Ups. The Downs. The rollercoaster of love.
Me: That's actually brilliant!
Him: And although no one will show up, I'll talk about how stressful it is to be married to a writer. One day you're the audience, one day you're the therapist. The cheerleader. The friend. And then there's things like learning the names of other authors. You can't just call them the, "Is that the 'I got a huge advance' lady?" And finally you'll need large quanities of alcohol.
Me: I'm pretty sure that's just for me. Other writers are much more balanced.
Him: Oh. Then I guess I'll just do the panel here.

An Exclusive SCBWI Team Blog Pre-Conference Interview with Jacqueline Woodson

The wonderful Lee Wind has an interview with conference speaker Jacqueline Woodson . Jacqueline has written seven picture books, six middle grade titles, and ten Young Adult novels. To read more, hop on over to Lee's blog post!!!!

Exclusive SCBWI TEAM BLOG Pre-Conference Interview:Tina Wexler

The always amazing Alice Pope has just posted a pre-conference interview with agent Tina Wexler of International Creative Management (ICM). Her list includes fiction and nonfiction for children and adults, with a focus on middle grade and YA.

Tina will be a speaker at this year's SCBWI Annual Winter Conference in NYC. To read Alice's interview with her, click here!

And don't forget, if you can't make the conference, you can still follow all the action at the official SCBWI conference blog!

NY SCBWI Annual Winter Conference Official Interview: Starring Ben Schrank

I’m here with Ben Schrank, President of Razorbill —a division of Penguin Group USA. (Which also happens to be my publisher!) Ben will be doing a breakout session at the NY SCBWI Annual Winter Conference, and we are intensely curious about him!

Ben, thank you so much for the interview. This is a total score for me, so thanks for making me look cool. Let's begin!

1.) Many Razorbill books have been incredibly successful, namely the Vampire Academy series and Thirteen Reasons Why. Why do you think teens are responding so well to your novels? And what type of books is Razorbill currently looking to acquire?

We think teens are like everybody else. They love great stories. We are obsessed with story here at Razorbill and we make sure that story drives everything we do; The cover, the marketing—really everything to do with the book comes from the story and we think teens understand that and appreciate it. We never like to be too specific about what we’re looking for. But I can say that right now we’re not looking for much since we feel pretty well booked-up right into 2012!

2.) There’s been a lot of internet discussion on author marketing lately. Personally, I love to blog, occasionally vlog, but some authors are uncomfortable with putting themselves out there personally. What are your thoughts on authors marketing their books?

I have heard our marketing people say that ‘it depends on the author’ and I agree with that. We know that Sarah Dessen has been blogging forever and is enormously successful at it. But there are authors who do not blog, who are also very successful. I do not think you have to put yourself out there personally all the time and more importantly: I think readers understand that. It’s cool when an author says ‘I’ll be writing a book for the next several months, for you, so no blogging!’ But of course at the beginning of a career, it’s smart to figure out what part of self-promotion works for you and helps your cause and then to make sure you really do that. So if you’re good at readings, do that. Good at blogging, do that, ectcera…

3.) What will you be talking about at the Annual Winter Conference? Can we have a sneak peek?

I want to talk about books I love and why Publishers do what we do. I try at all times to be really honest about the business of publishing so I won’t do much sugar-coating. It’s just not my style. I’ll also want to focus as much on story, since, as I said above, story is what keeps us going everyday. So in sum, I will talk about the triangle between writer, story, and the business of publishing. I’ll try to tell some war-stories, too. Those are always fun! Remind me to tell the one about the Wal-Mart buyer!

Thanks again for the interview, Ben. I hope I kept it short and painless. To learn more about Razorbill and their books (including mine!) check them out on the Penguin page or their Razorblog.

I joined a cult on my birthday!!

My 33rd birthday started off with a bang. Or rather, a scream. I'm prone to Vicodin nightmares, so when I was in the middle of one and was jolted awake by my husband, son, and daughter belting out Happy Birthday at my bedside, I nearly jumped out of my skin. I'm a little sick, so even though the pancakes, toast and eggs were great, I could only nibble. And bring my blood pressure down because they scared the crap out of me.

Then my husband had to go to work, so the kids and I took the dogs--both of them--to the dog park. The old one was a little cranky, but surprisingly, the small evil one was really good. Unlike at home where her existence relies on annoying me, at the park she was completely on her own. Not barking. Not whining. She just looked... cute.

Until I got her back in the car and she whined the ENTIRE way home.

But after that, something amazing happened. My dear friend and author Lisa Schroeder showed up with the two most amazing presents EVER!!! A freaking leopard print Snuggie and a bag of Reese's Pieces!!!!! I squealed.

Then of course, I had to go out and buy my son a kid's snuggie. But first, we all tried out mine.




I plan to spend the rest of the night cozied up in my Snuggie and watching terrible movies. It's that good of a day. Thank you all for your birthday wishes!! I really really loved hearing from you!!!

Suz

Exciting News about the SCBWI Washington Conference!

Last year I was lucky enough to attend the SCBWI Western Washington conference and it was amazing. I blogged the heck out of it here. There was such an awesome lineup: Ellen Hopkins, Adam Rex--not to mention the cool agents and editors that I got to meet! It quickly became one of my favorite conferences. Not to mention I got to hang with some rocking authors from Portland and Seattle. :-)

And now... I'm going to be there this year as faculty!!! I get to do my first author panel!!!! I'm so insanely excited about this!!! I'll be on a panel about writing a series and also a local success panel. And I'll get to do manuscript critiques. This may sound lame, but I CRIED when I got the email. I was just... so honored.

This year's lineup is equaling exciting. Laini Taylor, Mitali Perkins, Jay Asher, Suzanne Selfors--and tons of agents and editors Oh, and me!

My first panel. *faints

To learn more about the conference and the supercool people that run it, visit their site: http://www.scbwi-washington.org/

Hope to see some of you there!!!!

SCBWI Annual Winter Conference News!!!

The 11th Annual SCBWI Winter Conference in NYC has just announced a new addition to their already stellar lineup! Author Jane Yolen has been added to the roster! *faints

Jane is the award-wining author of books including Owl Moon, The Devil's Arithmetic, and How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?--and she will be giving the closing keynote address.

If you haven't registered already, hop to it!!! There's still time to register for the SCBWI event--click here. Early registration rates end after January 4th.

But if you can't be there in person, be there in cyber space. The Offical Team Blog is back again to cover the event and get you behind the scenes. Our neverending coverage can be found on the Official SCBWI Conference Blog.

But heck! I'd like to see you there!!!

Deleted Scenes

Sometimes when I'm writing a book, I'll get a random scene in my head that may or may not work. I write those scenes in a new document--and usually forget about them. I label them things like, "Important" and "Don't forget". I think I need a better system.

Anyway, here's one I have for A GOOD BOY IS HARD TO FIND. I'm currently working on the revision for Book 3, so there's always a chance it could make it's way in. You'll have to buy it to find out! :-)

Yep. So here's a deleted scene. It's short because I didn't want to give away any spoilers. Sorry.


A GOOD BOY IS HARD TO FIND

“I don’t get it,” Leona said. “Blaze has everything—sports, popularity, a hot girlfriend—why would he cheat?”

“They say that men with power stray because they’re egomaniacs. It’s not about scoring, it’s about getting people devoted to them. It’s a control thing,” Izzie answered, twirling a strand of hair around her finger.

“Wow,” I said. “That’s pretty good, Iz. Where’d you hear that?” She had really been expanding her knowledge base. I was proud of her, really.

“Dr. Phil.”

“You’re cheating on Oprah?” I gasped and darted a glance over to Leona and Kira, waiting for backup.

“Don’t look at me.” Kira picked at her nails. “I watch Ellen.”

Girlfriends' Cyber Circuit: Starring Debbie M. Rigaud

Back again with another fabulous author from the Girlfriends' Cyber Circuit!! I have with me Debbie M. Rigaud! Her book PERFECT SHOT is releasing TODAY!!!!! Here's a little more about it:

PERFECT SHOT/Simon Pulse
By Debbie Rigaud
Release date: December 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4269-7835-0
281 Pages

Synopsis:

What’s the wackiest thing you’ve ever done after a crush attack?

High school athlete London Abrams is more likely to spike a volleyball than wear spike heels. Yet in one crush-tastic moment, she signs up for a modeling contest as an excuse to meet the photo intern Brent St. John. But instead of getting a call back from Brent, London gets a call back from contest judges! Now she’s in a fierce modeling competition feeling out way of her league, and Brent’s camera is zoomed in to document everything. Suddenly, London’s not feeling so ready for her close up.

Hooray for PERFECT SHOT!

· First book in the Simon Pulse Romantic Comedies series to feature an African-American protagonist
· First book in the Simon Pulse Romantic Comedies series to be written by an African-American
· Features a multicultural cast of characters in a contemporary setting

Now, many of you know my love of America's Next Top Model. So this sounds like something I would DEVOUR!! Let's meet Debbie:

Debbie Rigaud began her writing career covering news and entertainment for magazines—namely, Seventeen, Twist and CosmoGIRL!. She’s interviewed celebs, politicians and other social figures, but enjoyed interviewing “real” girls the most. A total Jersey girl at heart, Debbie lives in Bermuda with her husband.

Thanks for taking the time out to answer a few questions, Debbie!

Okay, first question. If this were high school, which senior superlative in the yearbook would you score?

Most Likely To Be The Next Dear Abbey. I was the prototypical/bridesmaid-type gal pal--full of advice or comforting words.

What is one thing you wish you would have done when you were younger? For me, it's that I never studied abroad. How about you?

I wish that I would've studied ballet. It's to the point that I tear up when I watch ballerinas on stage. Seriously!

Now here's the self-promotion part: Can you please tell us all about your book? We have some book shopping to do!

PERFECT SHOT is a romantic comedy that follows what happens after sporty-girl London Abrams impulsively signs up for a modeling contest just to catch the fancy of the contest's cute photo intern.

So, say your book just got picked up for a movie (congratulations!) Who's playing your MC?

She's not as widely known, but I like to think of singer Teyana Taylor as London and I'd go with 90210's Tristan Wilds as her love interest Brent.

If you could take one literary character to prom, who would it be, and why?

Oscar from Junot Diaz's The Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. He was overlooked by so many girls because of his outward appearance, but Oscar's a gem a sweet, thoughtful, cool person. To me, that's super attractive.

And finally, since all of the other questions were so serious: What do you hope teens take away from your book?

I hope they challenge themselves to push past that uncomfortable, fish-out-of-water feeling and experience life without barriers.

Thank you so much for taking time out of your release day schedule!!! And I can't wait to pick up my copy of PERFECT SHOT!