Mary E. Pearson's Blog, page 13
November 29, 2010
Tis the season . . .
I fetched Christmas boxes out of storage today. It's always a stroll down memory lane as I open each box, from the decorations my kids made as toddlers, to handsewn tree skirts that have been nibbled my mice, to brand new things that I forgot I bought just last year. What is your favorite decoration you couldn't live without?
I will post a picture of mine--when I find it.
I will post a picture of mine--when I find it.
November 24, 2010
Happy Thanksgiving . . .
Wishing you all smiles and golden bliss,
Happy Thanksgiving from me and the gang to you.
November 5, 2010
Friday Five . . .
1. I'm dog-sitting. So right now I have three sleeping dogs at my feet. Getting up from my chair becomes a logistics nightmare. Hunter and Penny are probably worn out from their earlier stand-off. Hunter is a tank and Penny is persistent and neither will let go of the ball. This can go on for a long time. Brody thinks he's above all that and refuses to get involved.
2. Hooray for the authors and books on Amazon's Top Ten Teen Books of 2010 , and special congrats to my friend Nancy Werlin and her book Extraordinary which made the list! The only other book on the list I've read besides Nancy's is Incarceron by Catherine Fisher which was awesome too, so I have lots of good reading ahead of me. I just need more free time. Can you buy that anywhere?
3. Tomorrow I'm heading up to LA for the Children's Literature Council's annual Fall Gala . I'm excited to hear keynote speaker Jacqueline Woodson--she is always so good. And I get to see to lots of other great writers too--Kathleen Krull, Marla Frazee, Andrew Smith, and Hope Anita Smith. They're all receiving various awards for their books. (I have to note that three of the award winners are Macmillan books--looking at you Hope and Andrew : ) The Miles Between is getting an award too, which is why I get to go. And I get to hang out with librarians, teachers, and others who love books. What more could an author ask for?
4. I'm searching for new music to write by. Especially music with no words. One of my new favorites is Jonae . I heard Renae Truex playing with a country rock band in Nashville and bought the Jonae CD there. Jonae turned out to be a completely different kind of music than what I had heard--but I loved it even more. Anyway, I am looking for other great music for my playlist for--well, read below. Any suggestions?
5. And last but not least, there was news in yesterday's PW Children's Bookshelf about The Fox Inheritance and a third book in the Jenna saga. Yes, there's going to be a third book! I'm really excited. The thing that's interesting for me is that I never planned to write these two additional books. They chose me. When I finished The Adoration of Jenna Fox, one particular scene kept niggling at me and my mind kept going back to it. I tried to ignore it but I finally set another book I was working on aside (which is my number one no-no) and decided to write "one quick chapter" just to get it out of my system. Ack. Big mistake. Instead I was hooked. That one is The Fox Inheritance which is out next year. I wrote it as a standalone, but when I was nearly done, a third story was already whispering in my ear! What would my editor think?! Luckily, she was thinking the same thing. We excitedly talked about all the possibilities. So that's where I am now--writing the third! Or about to. So far I've been getting all my research in place. Now back to #4--music to write by?
2. Hooray for the authors and books on Amazon's Top Ten Teen Books of 2010 , and special congrats to my friend Nancy Werlin and her book Extraordinary which made the list! The only other book on the list I've read besides Nancy's is Incarceron by Catherine Fisher which was awesome too, so I have lots of good reading ahead of me. I just need more free time. Can you buy that anywhere?
3. Tomorrow I'm heading up to LA for the Children's Literature Council's annual Fall Gala . I'm excited to hear keynote speaker Jacqueline Woodson--she is always so good. And I get to see to lots of other great writers too--Kathleen Krull, Marla Frazee, Andrew Smith, and Hope Anita Smith. They're all receiving various awards for their books. (I have to note that three of the award winners are Macmillan books--looking at you Hope and Andrew : ) The Miles Between is getting an award too, which is why I get to go. And I get to hang out with librarians, teachers, and others who love books. What more could an author ask for?
4. I'm searching for new music to write by. Especially music with no words. One of my new favorites is Jonae . I heard Renae Truex playing with a country rock band in Nashville and bought the Jonae CD there. Jonae turned out to be a completely different kind of music than what I had heard--but I loved it even more. Anyway, I am looking for other great music for my playlist for--well, read below. Any suggestions?
5. And last but not least, there was news in yesterday's PW Children's Bookshelf about The Fox Inheritance and a third book in the Jenna saga. Yes, there's going to be a third book! I'm really excited. The thing that's interesting for me is that I never planned to write these two additional books. They chose me. When I finished The Adoration of Jenna Fox, one particular scene kept niggling at me and my mind kept going back to it. I tried to ignore it but I finally set another book I was working on aside (which is my number one no-no) and decided to write "one quick chapter" just to get it out of my system. Ack. Big mistake. Instead I was hooked. That one is The Fox Inheritance which is out next year. I wrote it as a standalone, but when I was nearly done, a third story was already whispering in my ear! What would my editor think?! Luckily, she was thinking the same thing. We excitedly talked about all the possibilities. So that's where I am now--writing the third! Or about to. So far I've been getting all my research in place. Now back to #4--music to write by?
November 4, 2010
October 20, 2010
I Am Not a Tomato
I am up to the you-know-what in catch up. The last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind. But must share a few things . . .
1. This is Teen Read Week, October 17-23, and it sure started out with a bang for me. I just got back from The Writing Conference Inc., Literature Festival in Lawrence, Kansas. I cannot say enough about how amazing this conference was. Exhausting but wow--four hundred teens and tweens who made a special effort to connect with authors and a community of readers and writers. This was a button worn by a teen boy who was in my line to have a book signed and was typical of their energy and excitement about books and reading:
He's got that right.
Other quick takes from the conference that made me smile:
Two girls who wanted me to autograph their copies of The Adoration of Jenna Fox next to their favorite sentence of the book: "I am not a tomato." Yep. I think that's going to become my new phrase when I'm feeling under appreciated. (What? You take me for a tomato or something?)A great Q&A session with the teens. Their questions were tough! (Spoiler questions behind the cut) The person who makes the conference happen year after year, along with a whole host of wonderful volunteers, is Dr. John Bushman. Here I am saying goodbye near his car. Check out the license plate. I am awed by John and his volunteers and their dedication. They really pull off an incredible feat every year--and the teens keep coming back for more. Nearly every single teen I talked to was a "repeat" at the conference. If I wore a hat it would be flying off my head for John and his fantastic co-conspirators.
2. Finally, as we were driving on the bridge over the Kansas river on our way to the airport we encountered this:
That's right. BRAS. A whole string of them lining each side of the bridge. Pink. Red. Blue. A to Double D. It's National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Lawrence, Kansas is celebrating women and breast cancer awareness. Go Lawrence! And while we're on the subject, this is a good time to remind the women in your life about mammograms and monthly self-exams. Early detection is key. Go tell them! Now! Early detection saved my very dear friend.
3. On a more personal note, two weeks ago my youngest daughter became engaged! My husband and I were actually in Napa at a friend's wedding reception when we got the text message, "She said yes!" from her fiance. And of course, we're thrilled. He's a great guy. Ohh, a wedding! And if I can be a braggy mom, she's going to make a beautiful bride.
1. This is Teen Read Week, October 17-23, and it sure started out with a bang for me. I just got back from The Writing Conference Inc., Literature Festival in Lawrence, Kansas. I cannot say enough about how amazing this conference was. Exhausting but wow--four hundred teens and tweens who made a special effort to connect with authors and a community of readers and writers. This was a button worn by a teen boy who was in my line to have a book signed and was typical of their energy and excitement about books and reading:
He's got that right.
Other quick takes from the conference that made me smile:
Two girls who wanted me to autograph their copies of The Adoration of Jenna Fox next to their favorite sentence of the book: "I am not a tomato." Yep. I think that's going to become my new phrase when I'm feeling under appreciated. (What? You take me for a tomato or something?)A great Q&A session with the teens. Their questions were tough! (Spoiler questions behind the cut) The person who makes the conference happen year after year, along with a whole host of wonderful volunteers, is Dr. John Bushman. Here I am saying goodbye near his car. Check out the license plate. I am awed by John and his volunteers and their dedication. They really pull off an incredible feat every year--and the teens keep coming back for more. Nearly every single teen I talked to was a "repeat" at the conference. If I wore a hat it would be flying off my head for John and his fantastic co-conspirators.
2. Finally, as we were driving on the bridge over the Kansas river on our way to the airport we encountered this:
That's right. BRAS. A whole string of them lining each side of the bridge. Pink. Red. Blue. A to Double D. It's National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Lawrence, Kansas is celebrating women and breast cancer awareness. Go Lawrence! And while we're on the subject, this is a good time to remind the women in your life about mammograms and monthly self-exams. Early detection is key. Go tell them! Now! Early detection saved my very dear friend.
3. On a more personal note, two weeks ago my youngest daughter became engaged! My husband and I were actually in Napa at a friend's wedding reception when we got the text message, "She said yes!" from her fiance. And of course, we're thrilled. He's a great guy. Ohh, a wedding! And if I can be a braggy mom, she's going to make a beautiful bride.
October 11, 2010
It's really dangerous . . .
to straighten ONE shelf in a cupboard.
What was I thinking?!!?
Yesterday I started out just straightening the top shelf in my pantry that had stuff precariously thrown up on it. That led to straightening the shelf next to it. And then the next one below where I spotted an ugly stain. "I'll paint just this one shelf to cover that stain," I thought. But then when it was painted, my gosh, all the other shelves looked terrible, so . . .
One thing led to another.
Soon my whole pantry was strewn about my kitchen floor and every square inch of counter space. On the plus side, I found olives that expired three years ago. Do olives really expire?
But I digress--I really don't have time for this. Now it all has to be put back. (But at least it will be on sparkly white shelves.) I know that old saying, that one thing leads to another, but yesterday I must have had a serious lapse. For the rest of the week I will be sporting blinders.
But there is that one teeny cupboard under my bathroom sink . . .
September 29, 2010
September 22, 2010
Smart Chicks in San Diego!
The Smart Chicks Kick It Tour came to the gorgeous Encinitas Library last night! The library is ten minutes from my house (yes!) and the panoramic ocean view can't be beat.
In the hall outside the auditorium, the amazing MYSTERIOUS GALAXY , sets up tables and tables of books! Authors at the Encinitas stop were Melissa Marr, Alyson Noel, Kelley Armstrong, Rachel Caine, Rachel Vincent, Carrie Ryan, Margaret Stohl & Kami Garcia, and yours truly.
Let the fun begin! And we did have fun. ...
September 17, 2010
Four cities down . . .
Eight to go!
The SmartChicks tour is under way!
Check out these fun interviews and videos from the tour:
Girls in the Stacks
Random House
Forever Young Adult
If you know of more, put them in the comments!
You can check out the whole schedule HERE.
I'll be joining the tour this coming Monday at Vroman's book store in Pasadena. Here's my stops:
September 20th, 2010 6 PM @ VROMAN'S, Pasadena, CA
Melissa Marr, Alyson Noel, Kelley Armstrong, Rachel Caine, Melissa de la Cruz, Rachel Vincent, Marga...
