Susan Beth Pfeffer's Blog, page 39

"Why Me?" Cried The Figure Skating Bunny Rabbit

Because I am self-employed, I feel the need to impose structure on my life, the sort other people might get from 9-5 jobs or plowing through a semester.

Therefore, once every four years, I go to my mother's assisted living complex and give a talk about what to look for at the Olympic figure skating competition.

I bring with me Marci and my figure skating bunny rabbits. This year Cynthia, who'll be giving me a birthday dinner a few days later, is also coming along.

You're all invited too. It's i...

Ich Bin Begeistert Und Ekstatische (Or So Google Tells Me)

I got an email over the weekend from a person who works at Carlsen, the German publisher of Life As We Knew It and the dead and the gone. She sent me this link, which I promptly followed.

Of course, it was all in German. Google, which loves me a lot (I think it's sending me roses for Valentine's Day), translated it for me, or at least some of it. Enough that I catch the drift.

My character, Miranda Evans, has her own Facebook page and Twitter account and posts videos. Well, one video, and it's ...

Anyone Want A Bookplate (Or 3)?

The bookplates have arrived.

You may notice I went with a slightly different approach this time. The designs are identical (all waxing moons), but I chose different colors for each one. Always Have Hope kind of matches the cover for Life As We Knew It and Never Lose Faith kind of matches the cover for the dead and the gone, and Trust In Tomorrow has nothing to do with the cover of This World We Live In (I didn't like the idea of a grey bookplate and the yellows were too garish).

You may also n...

I Hope The Last Survivors Last A Long Long Time

One of the pleasures of being self-employed is you can look forward to Mondays.

I like Mondays because sometimes I get a check on Monday (and today I did, the advance money for the French rights to This World We Live In, ooh la la).

But I got something else in my mail today. My UK publishers sent me their special order form for The Last Survivors (aka Life As We Knew It, The Dead And The Gone and the aforementioned This World We Live In). This form is for bookstores to order what I hope will...

Wake Me Up When It's Eastern Standard Time

For someone who has no life (i.e. me), I'm very busy these days. No, not working. Following figure skating and tennis.

This week is like eating a hot fudge sundae and apple pie a la mode simultaneously. Only because everything is happening far from where I live, I think I'm eating them for breakfast.

I've been watching the European Figure Skating Championships online, on a combination of Estonian and Turkish television (when the Estonians freeze up, I hop over to the Turks). The picture is appr...

Without Google, I Would Know Nothing

Lately Google has felt the need to email me every time one of my books is available on eBay. Oddly enough, I have less than zero desire to know about this, but you know Google. Once it gets it into its thick little skull that I'm interested in every single thing about me, it feels the need to inform me of every single thing about me.

That Google has no sense of discretion. I will never ever ask it if my outfit makes me look fat (actually none of my outfits make me look fat, since I look fat ju...

Haiti

I have a peculiar relationship with disasters.

On the one hand, I am riveted by them. Many people are. There's the rubbernecking aspect, the simple desire to satisfy curiosity. And there's the element of shared experience. A shared experience doesn't have to rise from bad news. It's one reason why the Olympics have lasted as long as they have. But there is an aspect of a catastrophe, natural or man made, that makes its observers part of a bigger whole.

How I differ from other people when someth...

Names And Numbers

The countdown has begun!

Of course, since the countdown is in German, I'm not sure what we're counting down to. But whatever it might be, I'm very excited that it's begun.

I have a particular fondness for countdowns that end with ice cream, cake and fireworks. None of which I'll expect, especially because if the countdown does end with ice cream, cake and fireworks, they'll all be in Germany and I won't.

I took a train ride in Germany a long long time ago, during my cute years, and the customs i...

Blue Plate Special

Over in the New Year's wishes comments section, Fear Death By Water asked about autographed copies of This World We Live In. In lieu of answering directly, I set up a poll.

What I did for Life As We Knew It and the dead and the gone was have bookplates created and printed, which I signed in red ink for anyone who wanted one. I distributed more than 2,000 of them and sent them all over the world. Most went to individual owners of the books, while others were given to book discussion members or...

Happy 2010!

Scooter and I want to wish a happy, healthy, prosperous and productive new year to abbyscam3, Alex, Alice, Amanda at WEL Anande, Anne, Anne M, Ann Marie, Anonymous, Anonymous Person, Anonymous Santa Fe, Aoife (aka wild-force 71), April, April Henry, ashlee marie ;), Ashley, barking owl, Becky, bestbookihavenotread, Bethany, Billy, Brenda Nepomuceno, Bri, Bryce (anon), Candice, Caroline, Carrie, Charlotte, Cindy, Chris, C.K., Corey B, Courtney, Courtney Milan, Crystal, Crystal (anon), Cynthia...