m a r y r o s e _ w o o d

So get this: one of my favorite teen book bloggers, Diana Dang over at Stop, Drop and Read, asked me to do a guest blog as part of her way fun blogaversary celebration.

But Queen Titania stole my blog! She went over there and guest blogged in my spot. This is very weird, people. I'm kind of used to Queen Titania messing with Morgan and Colin, but this is the first time she ever pulled one of her mean faery-queen pranks on me. Which makes me worry that the veil between the fictional world and the author world might be slipping a bit, frankly, and—

OMG! That is basically the plot of the third Morgan book!  WHAT I WORE TO SAVE THE WORLD. Coming December 1. Veil slippage galore!

Anyway, you might as well go read Queen Titania's blog.  She  does make an interesting observation about which awesome YA author is an adorable dead ringer for which Harry Potter character. Can you guess?

And Diana is giving away THREE signed copies of HOW I FOUND THE PERFECT DRESS. So leave a comment on Queen T's post and you might magically be a winner!

xoxo
m

Congrats to Diana, who won a signed copy of Why I Let My Hair Grow Out over at Mrs. Magoo Reads.

Diana, the book will be winging its way to you today!

In the meantime, check out a fun interview I did for this most enjoyable blog. You'll hear about my worst hair disaster and some advice for would-be writers.

In case you didn't get a chance to watch, here's the video book review Mrs. Magoo posted of WILMHGO. Enjoy!

xoxo
m

Sophie, the awesome book blogger at Mrs. Magoo Reads, is having a WILMHGO giveaway. It is so easy to enter.

First, you go to her blog.

Second, you watch the fun video review she's produced of WILMHGO! So sweet!

Third, you leave a comment on the video (include your email address).

You can even get bonus entries by linking to her post and following her on Twitter. Winner will be announced next Monday. I will sign the copy to the winner!

I was just about to post the video here too, but if I do that, I know some of you will leave comments here and not on Mrs. Magoo Reads. A tragic mistake, if you want to enter the contest. So go watch it there, okay? It is short and fun, and the blog is all about books and stuff! Can't beat that.

xoxo
m

Time to let a very exciting cat out of the bag — I’ve begun work on a new YA trilogy called The Poison Diaries. It will be published by Balzer & Bray (IMHO the coolest of all the many cool imprints at HarperCollins), and the first book will be released next summer.

Here’s the rather unbelievably awesome part: these books are based on a concept by the Duchess of Northumberland, and are inspired by the real-life Poison Garden on the grounds of Alnwick Castle, in northern England.

Duchess. Castle. Poisonous plants. Are you following how awesome this is?

Two months ago, while researching the first book, I had the opportunity to visit the exceedingly lovely Duchess (and her gracious husband, whom you may call, natch, the Duke). I roamed around the Poison Garden (look but don’t touch!), and was treated to a dungeon-to-parapet tour of Alnwick Castle. Here’s what we’re talking about:

 

If the castle looks at all familiar, that’s because Alnwick was used as Hogwarts in the first two Harry Potter films. Allow me to recap:

Duchess. Castle. Poisonous plants. HOGWARTS, PEOPLE!

I am very excited about these books, and I think you will be too. It’s so inspiring to be able to set a story in a place that is both totally astonishing and absolutely real. This project is also a chance for me to flex some of my favorite but lesser-known writing muscles: it’s creepy, gothic, and darkly—dare I say lethally—romantic.....

As they say, the difference between curing and killing is in the dose, so that’s all for now. You can find out more at theBookseller.com, or at the News Post Leader.

xoxo
m

At long last! I know some of you guys found this cover image on the internet already (see, sometimes authors are the last to know about these things), but still, I am very, very pleased to officially announce: the third book about Morgan Rawlinson (and her hunk o'Irish hottie, Colin, of course) is done!

It will be on sale on December 1st (can anyone say HOLIDAY SHOPPING?).

And it is called (drumrolllllllllllll):

WHAT I WORE TO SAVE THE WORLD

Here's the little teaser that will appear on the back cover of the book, just to whet your appetites. Do you love the new cover? Tell me what you think!

xoxo
m

It’s not just the end of high school…

Senior year’s coming up fast and I still have no clue about college, or a career —the whole rest-of-my-life thing is basically a blank. Maybe it’s because I spent junior year obsessing about Colin, the hunky Irish guy I fell for last summer (that was right around the same time I discovered I’m a half-goddess from the days of Irish lore — trust me, you had to be there). I even saved Colin from a nasty faery enchantment, but he doesn’t know that. Colin doesn’t believe in faeries, not one magical bit.
 
…it’s the end of the world.

The truth is my grades stink and all my best extracurricular activities happened in the faery realm. But a visit to this wacko college counselor turns things around: soon I’m on an all-expense paid trip to England to take a very special campus tour. A mysterious message reunites me with Colin, but it turns out he’s caught up in the biggest faery-made disaster ever. We’re talking the end of reality, people, and I don’t mean reality TV. To save the world, I’m going to have to tell Colin the truth about my half-goddess mojo. But if he doesn’t believe in magic, how will he ever believe in me?

Isn't that the cutest poster? I'm so looking forward to participating in the first annual Hudson Children's Book Festival on Saturday, May 16th. I'll be there with more than fifty other authors for a full day of signings, shmoozing, workshops, panels, and of course, snacks. Stop by from 10 to 4, would love to see you there.

(First Amendment fans, note that I'll be on a panel at 2:00 PM discussing "First Amendment 'Writes': How Far Is Too Far in YA Literature?" Other panelists are Daphne Grab, Michael Northrop and Amanda Marrone.

Directions and a full listing of all the authors and cool events is on the festival's website. Also, please check out the "Name the Whale!" contest. When was the last time you got to name a whale?

xoxo
m

I love this video to death, have you seen it? From it we are reminded of several truths:

• That Steven Spielberg knows how to tell a story like nobody's business - out of the simplest materials, and in a little under five minutes, he takes you on a journey complete with beginning, middle, end, conflict, mounting tension, a shocking plot reversal, and a deeply satisfying ending.

• That movie stars are movie stars for a reason – find one false moment! These people are emotionally transparent to the camera; you can't take your eyes off them.

• That Harrison Ford pwns hawtness, at any age.

• And that it's really, really important to vote on Tuesday!

Enjoy. And vote!

xoxo
m

 

5 More Friends

Those two adorable penguins are still trouncing the competition! Courtesy of the American Library Association: here are the ten most frequently challenged books of 2007:

1) “And Tango Makes Three,” by Justin Richardson/Peter Parnell
Reasons: Anti-Ethnic, Sexism, Homosexuality, Anti-Family, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group

2) The Chocolate War,” by Robert Cormier
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Violence

3) “Olive’s Ocean,” by Kevin Henkes
Reasons: Sexually Explicit and Offensive Language

4) “The Golden Compass,” by Philip Pullman
Reasons:  Religious Viewpoint

5) “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” by Mark Twain
Reasons:  Racism

6) “The Color Purple,” by Alice Walker
Reasons: Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language

7) "TTYL,” by Lauren Myracle
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

8) "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” by Maya Angelou
Reasons:  Sexually Explicit

9) “It’s Perfectly Normal,” by Robie Harris
Reasons:  Sex Education, Sexually Explicit

10) "The Perks of Being A Wallflower,” by Stephen Chbosky
Reasons:  Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

Want to know more? Download the Random House First Amendment First Aid Kit by clicking below. Have a great week!
Download FirstAmend.Brochure.pdf

xoxo
m

You guys know I used to do comedy, right? I spent a couple of years immersed in the world of improv comedy, studied with the Groundlings in NYC, and proudly performed in front of inebriated patrons as a member of comedy groups with names like "Okay, So We Lied" and "The Spiritual Celebrities."

Classic comedy bits are not born every day, but the clip below is one people will be talking about for years. May I present: Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, my comedy goddesses of the week. Maybe of the decade. Enjoy!

Well, there is good news today, because the planet did not implode into a black hole when physicists pulled the ripcord on the new Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland. Go, science!

In other news: thanks to Ron Hogan of the always invaluable GalleyCat blog for posting a link to this article from the archives of the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman. It's a December 1996 story about then-Mayor Sarah Palin (currently the Republican VP nominee) making inquires to Library Director Mary Ellen Emmons about censorship, and specifically how she would respond to any attempts to ban books from the library. There are no words for how much I love this exchange:

Emmons recalled that [in] the Oct. 28 conversation she pulled no punches with her response to the mayor.

“She asked me if I would object to censorship, and I replied 'Yup',” Emmons recounted Saturday. “And I told her it would not be just me. This was a constitutional question, and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) would get involved, too.”

Please read the whole article, it's very interesting. Is Mary Ellen Emmons my hero? Yup. Yup, she is.

xoxo
m

I'm guest blogging on Wednesday, August 25th at the Fresh Fiction site. My subject? "How the Writer Works in the Summertime." Turns out that warm-weather wordsmithing requires the right tools, the right beverage, and above all the right locale.

So before Labor Day arrives and the vaycay fun is over, come learn my secrets of seasonal productivity! Who knows, they might come in handy next year....

xoxo
m

It's Fashion Week at  In Bed With Books! I'm guest blogging on Tuesday (July 29th), along with authors  Jennifer Banash (July 31st) and Melissa Walker (Aug 2nd).

And there are books giveaways!

Come check out this very fashionable review and leave a comment, and you could win a copy of HOW I FOUND THE PERFECT DRESS. Want an extra chance to win? Leave a comment on my guest blog, too.

Title of my Fashion Week guest blog: "How I Found the Perfect Bathing Suit (hint: it rhymes with fettucini)."

You gotta read it, people! Important swimwear life wisdom is contained within!

Other giveaways this week: Jennifer's THE ELITE and Melissa's VIOLET IN PRIVATE. Summer reading rocks!

xoxo
m

Okay, I am not normally a technogeek type person. I waited until the last possible second to finally get a cell phone. I waited to get an iPod until Apple was giving away the old model Nanos for free. I had the same microwave oven for like, twenty years, and only recently replaced it, after deciding it was probably giving off megadoses of evil radiation and we might all end up as mutants.

But I think it is so incredibly kewl that SEX KITTENS AND HORN DAWGS FALL IN LOVE is available for the Kindle! The Kindle, for anyone who's been hiding under a rock, is the snazzy e-book reader from Amazon.

Now, I don't have a Kindle. But I am kinda starting to want one. And I need to know — do any of you guys have one? Do you like it? Is it even close to being worth $400 bucks?
 
Having done my taxes like a good citizen, I know how much money I spend buying books each year. And it is waaaaaaay more than $400 bucks. If I had a Kindle, would I pay so much less for e-books that the Kindle would be functionally free? Would I save money, read more, have more shelf space? Dust less? Kill fewer trees? Would I miss my books?

Leave comments, please! I am Kindle Kurious!

xoxo
m

Thursday, May 8th — Writerspace is hosting a live author chat tonight for Berkley authors with new books. I'll be there to say hi and answer your questions about all kinds of important stuff — you know, like how to find the perfect dress!

Click here and follow the instructions to join the chat. It's from 9 - 10 PM Eastern time. Hope to see you later.

xoxo
m

It's May 6th! And HOW I FOUND THE PERFECT DRESS is finally here!

While I'm deciding what to wear in honor of this auspicious occasion, take a gander at what this sequel to WHY I LET MY HAIR GROW OUT is all about:

Soon-to-be-seventeen-year-old Morgan Rawlinson, snarky Connecticut teen and half-goddess from the long-ago days of Irish lore, takes another wacky romp through the faery realm.

This time it's Colin, her own freckle-faced Irish hottie, who's under a strangely yawn-inducing spell. To save him, Morgan has to find a leprechaun. In Connecticut. And that's only the beginning!

This book has magical prom dress shopping, a rather unusual game of mini-golf, and a special guest appearance by Gene Simmons. Seriously. I hope you have as much fun reading it as I did making it all up.

xoxo
m

Check out one of the most fun interviews I've done in a long time — it's with Jocelyn Pearce at her great Teen Book Review site.

Many secrets are revealed! And there's a new book announcement too, which will be of special interest to WHY I LET MY HAIR GROW OUT fans.

I promise, you will discover things about me that boldly go where no interview has gone before....

xoxo
m

Come visit me at  Paperbacks Plus, a wonderful independent bookstore in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, this Saturday, March 29th at 2:30 PM.

I'll be reading from MY LIFE: THE MUSICAL. Books will be available for purchase and signing.

Plus, enjoy a special guest appearance by the fabulous Riverdale Rising Stars! This amazing teen theater company will perform a few numbers from their production of "Zombie Prom," a hilarious musical that's playing now through April 12. For more info about "Zombie Prom," click here.

Paperbacks Plus is located at 3718 Riverdale Avenue, Bronx, NY, between 238th and 235th Streets. For directions, click here.

Hope to see you there!

xoxo
m

How much do I love Little Willow? She is a tireless booster of kidlit, has read everything, and is just so cool and smart and nice. Her booklists are a national treasure.

I had much fun doing this interview with her, so please check it out. We talked about MY LIFE: THE MUSICAL (in stores this week!),  Broadway adventures, why kids' books need more "sex" in their titles, faery-fun, and tons more.

xoxo
m

Allow me one more post to kvell over Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure. The launch party was beyond swell, and now that I have my copy I am gobsmacked with delight. It’s so very cool, and there are like eight hundred of these little gems inside, and they will make you laugh and cry.

And, honestly, when else in my life can I expect to be published in an anthology alongside Aimee Mann, Amy Sedaris, Deepak Chopra, Stephen Colbert, Moby, and — hello! — Joan Rivers? This is Miller time indeed.

To further whet your collective whistles for the six-word memoir oeuvre, I thought I’d share some of the entries that will be of particular interest to lovers of YA books:

Daniel Handler (A Series of Unfortunate Events) baldly sums up what Tennessee Williams famously described as “the catastrophe of success” in this minimalist cry from the soul:

What?
Lemony Snicket!
Lemony Snicket!
What?

Ned Vizzini (It’s Kind of a Funny Story) shows his slacker-cool authorial voice is honestly come by in his six-word memoir:

Oh shit! No way? Yeah dude.

In her poignant entry, Curtis Sittenfeld (Prep) divulges what so many have wondered about but were afraid to ask — what’s it like to be a chick named Curtis?

Woman with man’s name — thanks, parents!

But Best in Show in the YA-Relevant Six-Word Memoir category goes, hands-down, to Beth Greivel, who wrote:

Discovered moral code via Judy Blume.

This book has got me hooked, so check it out (E. Lockhart of the SO BRILLIANT, soon-to-be-released and already many-starred The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks called the youtube promo clip "the best book trailer I've seen").

And I’d love to hear your six-word memoirs! Bring ‘em on, people, that’s what the comments are for.

xoxo
m

How cool is this? Just released: a completely addictive collection of six-word memoirs, titled Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure.

Anyone who's read SEX KITTENS AND HORN DAWGS FALL IN LOVE knows how I feel about counting syllables, so when Smith Magazine editor Rachel Fershleiser asked me to contribute to this anthology I was all over it.

And now it's out! And it's a freakin' sensation, apparently. I'll be picking up my copy at the launch party tonight, at the very cool Housing Works Used Book Cafe in  Soho.

The very funny part is I have absolutely no recollection of what I submitted to Rachel! But with gems like these to browse through, I know I'll have a blast looking for my own contribution. Check out the teaser video below; it's awesome, hilarious, and surprisingly moving.

xoxo
m