It's All About You – And Rebekah

[image error]Tonight, it's all about you. But first, it has to be about Rebekah.

That's because she's going to accompany me on the Ghosts & Graves Tour next week for the NY and PA leg, and I have to give her credit where credit is due. Many of you know that she's my Personal Assistant, but I feel like when I say that people think, "Yeah, right! Personal Assistant as in she helps you out when you ask."

But it's not like that, and I need to give her a little shout-out tonight. First of all, it IS a paid position. I was preparing to hire someone part-time to be my assistant when she offered. I figured if I was going to pay someone else for the work, I should pay her, too. And it is becoming an increasingly large job.

Rebekah answers emails at prophecypress@aol.com and replies to requests for swag, interviews, etc. She organizes my office and the many foreign edition of the Prophecy Trilogy (there are over 20 editions published in over 30 countries), the loads of swag I purchase compulsively throughout the year for my near-constant giveaways, and the mountains and mountains of paperwork, both business-related and personal, that would take over my life without her. She packages swag and book donations, addresses the boxes, and corresponds with people when things go awry and something isn't received. She cruises the internet to see what's going on, both with Prophecy and with other books in the genre, offering suggestions for marketing and promotion.

She also gives me permission to step back when I need to, which has become quite often.

She even dresses up for events when the situation calls for it, as she did in this picture above when we were doing a Steampunk take on Prophecy for the launch party last year.

She designs postcards, flyers, and posters and she mails them to bookstores, schools, and libraries, making sure that I sign everything and include a note to make it more personal. She accompanies me on events, packs the stuff I need, organizes it when we arrive at the venue. She flaps books for readers standing in line to get their books signed and puts a post-it in the front with the person's name (just like my publicist) so I don't have to worry about misspelling it when I sign. She gets me water, food, and anything else I need to be comfortable while "on" for my readers.

And she does it all while maintaining an academically rigorous course load in high school and keeping up with her art (she's an incredible artist) and a significant amount of reading (she's reading Under The Dome right now).

So when I say she's my PA, I mean it in every sense of the word. She's just FANTASTIC at it in every way (so fantastic, in fact, that my editor has already offered to write her a letter of recommendation should she ever decide to compete for one of the very few internships available at at the big publishing houses in the City). I owe her a huge debt of gratitude. I always have fun hanging out with her. She's one of those rare people who enjoys every new experience, laughs from the heart, and displays an inspiring amount of compassion for every human being. But she's become indispensable to me in so many ways on a professional level as well.

So thank you, Doll. You're the very best, and I have NO idea what I'd do without you. You've got brains, beauty, style, and class. I feel so fortunate to have you as both my daughter AND my Personal Assistant.

And now, it's all about you, dear reader.

That's because I'm considering some changes to the content of my site (not the design, as I just got this gorgeous on a couple of months ago), and I want to ask for your input. I've always tried to gear my site to you. I don't talk too much about writing because so many writers are doing it (probably better than I could). Ditto publishing. Instead, I've tried to chat with you guys on a more personal level about things that I think interest you.

What else do we need here? What would you like to see? Do you like the Friday Poll and the Anonymous Teen Reader feature? Do you enjoy Thursday Night Write? Is it fun to see pics of gorgeous dresses and jewelry? What else can I bring to the table for YOU? Would you be interested in a guest post feature where adults – librarians, readers, writers, booksellers – share their experiences in high school? Would you like to hear more about the books I'm reading? Or do we just want to talk more about the guys from Vampire Diaries (well, we don't watch TV, but you guys can talk and I'll listen!)?

:D

Seriously! This is your chance to tell me what you'd like to see here. Please share freely in the comments section and I promise to take it all into consideration when I make changes.

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