Contest Winner and the excitement from Denver!

Just wanted to pop on quick to announce that Tracy from myspace is the winner of the signed copy of WICKED GAME. Tracy, I sent you a myspace message telling you how to claim your prize.

Denver has been crazy fun so far. Lots of photos taken, but they will have to be shared later. There was a huge margarita last night. Shopping at several thrift stores today where we had some good finds including matching dresses. Eryn's is purple and mine is green. And there was also a rehearsal for Sunday. And let me just tell you, we are going to be awesome! I knew Eryn could sing, but man, hearing her today... If you can come you absolutely have to! Exhausted, so I will have to tell you more once I return to Chicago after Memorial Day. I leave you with the fabulous flyer one last time:

Denver, EBay, and a window into my soul

In just about 24 hours, I'll be on a plane to Denver to visit one of my best friends, the fabulous Eryn Mulloy. Good times. Who know what crazy things might go down. Don't even ask me what we were doing here in Seattle in 2005 (Eryn is in the poncho, I am wearing her hat):


But if you really want to witness exactly how weird we are, hear Eryn sing, and me read and possibly win a signed ARC of IWBYJR, you will want to come here:


So there may be some blog silence while I'm away, though I will log-in on Friday because I need to announce the winner for the Jeri Smith-Ready WICKED GAME Contest. Keep entering that until Thursday night!

If you can't make it to Denver to see me read. I leave you with two things to amuse you:

A window into my soul (aka my top 50 favorite albums of all time list) on the MTV Books Blog.

An IWBYJR ARC on eBay! Yeah, I know, I was like wtf, too! Umm, I hope it's worth something!

Jeri-Smith Ready Interview and Contest!

First off, I want to announce the winner of Alexa Young’s FRENEMIES. Alexa had a hard decision to make, she and I both loved all your stories, but ultimately she decided on Dominque! So Dominique, please email me at stephanie AT stephaniekuehnert DOT com to claim your prize.

Today I’ve got another author with a new release here to do an interview and a contest. I’d like to introduce Jeri Smith-Ready, who is going to tell you about her book WICKED GAME, which is definitely one of my favorite books of 2008! I mean, it mixes rock ‘n’ roll and vampires, how much cooler can you get? Not to mention it’s funny and sexy, the heroine kicks ass, it brings up the important issue of corporate radio buyouts (bad for music!), and it allowed me to fantasize about what Kurt Cobain would be like if he were a vampire. But enough of my blathering, here is the official lowdown on WICKED GAME:

Late-night radio you can sink your teeth into

Recovering con artist Ciara Griffin is trying to live the straight life, even if it means finding a (shudder!) real job. She takes an internship at a local radio station, whose late-night time-warp format features 1940s blues, 60s psychedelia, 80s Goth, and more, all with an uncannily authentic flair. Ciara soon discovers how the DJs maintain their cred: they’re vampires, stuck forever in the eras in which they were turned.

Ciara’s first instinct, as always, is to cut and run. But communications giant Skywave wants to buy WMMP and turn it into just another hit-playing clone. Without the station—and the link it provides to their original Life Times—the vampires would “fade,” becoming little more than mindless ghosts of the past. Suddenly a routine corporate takeover becomes a matter of life and un-death.

To boost ratings and save the lives of her strange new friends, Ciara re-brands the station as “WVMP, the Lifeblood of Rock ’n’ Roll.” In the ultimate con, she hides the DJs’ vampire nature in plain sight, disguising the bloody truth as a marketing gimmick. WVMP becomes the hottest thing around—next to Ciara’s complicated affair with grunge vamp Shane McAllister. But the “gimmick” enrages a posse of ancient and powerful vampires who aren’t so eager to be brought into the light. Soon the stakes are higher-and the perils graver-than any con game Ciara’s ever played…

Here’s what you need to know about Jeri:

Jeri Smith-Ready has been writing fiction since the night she had her first double espresso. She holds a master’s degree in environmental policy and lives in Maryland with her husband, cat, and the world’s goofiest greyhound.

You can find Jeri on her website: www.jerismithready.com, but today she’s obliged me with an in-depth interview and after that, she’s giving away a signed copy of WICKED GAME!

Thanks for letting me interview you, Jeri. Now getting to read an advance copy of WICKED GAME was one of my first published author perks. You and I found each other on myspace, realized we had the same editor and a lot of the same interests, and decided to trade ARCs. I cannot say how glad I am that that all happened because WICKED GAME is an absolutely awesome book and a truly unique vampire story, which is hard to find. Rock 'n' roll gives these vampires a connection to the era they were born, thereby keeping them from "fading" into mindless ghosts. What a cool concept! Can you tell us a little bit how you came up with it?

Stephanie, thanks so much for having me. I found you totally by chance, when I was web-surfing one day avoiding work, and your blog post caught my eye, “Everything I Needed to Know I Learned from Rock 'n' Roll." Then I stalked you, and the rest is history!

Anyway, the idea for WICKED GAME: I was driving to work flipping the dial and came to a classic rock station playing “Bad Company” by the band of the same name. I thought, Hmm, “Bad Company” would be a perfect title for a paranormal book with a shady main character.

I suppose it was the radio itself that got me from title to concept. By the time I reached the office half an hour later, I had a fully formed idea about vampire DJs stuck in time and a heroine with a criminal past. (The punch line is that even though it all began with “Bad Company,” the publisher ultimately asked me to change the title.)

Ciara, our heroine, is a kick-ass chick who is sexy (my YA readers should take note that this book is definitely an adult book and R-rated), sly, and tough and her whole con artist upbringing makes the book even more unique. Would you share the inspiration for her or tell us a little about how she developed as a character?

At the beginning, I only knew that Ciara would be 'bad' in some way. Bad but not bitchy. Blonde but not ditzy.

When I figured out she would be a con artist, that helped me form her personality. Con artists are the charmers of the criminal world. They tend to be highly intelligent and highly attractive, which is probably why they're so glamorized in Hollywood. Look at the dudes in Ocean's Eleven. We all want to be that cool.

Ciara’s a little different than most urban fantasy heroines. She kicks ass, but with her brains and charm, not with muscles or magic.

It would have been very easy to make the vampires cliche. Not only are there the typical vamp cliches, there are the stereotypes associated with their eras, but you avoided those. Your 60s vampire may be a hippie, but he's got a very dark streak in place of that peace-and-love thing. You chose a reggae vampire for the 70s and a goth vampire for the 80s instead of the stereotypical disco and neon wearing new-waver. Can you speak to these choices? Did they come out of your own musical preferences or did the characters just reveal themselves?

Heh. Jim's darkness was definitely an effort to buck the stereotype. I decided that when he was alive, Jim became a hippie as more of a fashion statement (and to get chicks) than as an expression of his true inner philosophy. This was not uncommon, I am told. Every movement has its poseurs.

As for reggae, I loved the idea of a man trying to reconcile his Rasta faith with a vampire's need to prey on others. Noah does his best to stay true to his religion (even though he can't strictly be a vegetarian). Plus, reggae has an revolutionary, anti-establishment attitude, like all the other genres represented by the vamps. Disco does not.

As for the 80s, Goth and vampires go together like peanut butter and jelly. Regina is the only DJ who looks like a stereotypical vampire (and her transformation was definitely voluntary). But Regina also has the punk thing going on, which gives her a more aggressive edge than your average goth.

Speaking of musical preferences, what are your favorite musical eras? Which eras took more research to write?

Out of the 6 represented in the book, I'm most passionate about the oldest (Delta blues) and the two newest (80s punk/Goth and 90s grunge/indie).

It was interesting to learn about Jim's era, delineating his focus (60s psychedelia and British Invasion) from all the other classic rock that I've listened to my whole life. Jim died in 1970, so he wouldn't have had a clue about bands like the Eagles or Boston or Billy Joel (or if he did, he would ignore them).

Now, I think everyone knows Nirvana is my favorite band and I kind of feel like Shane is Kurt Cobain if he became a vampire instead of killing himself, so that makes him my favorite vamp. Do you have a favorite?

Definitely Shane (Nirvana is my favorite band, too). In a lot of ways, Shane is me. I'm not nearly that tortured, but I think that's due to the grace of good fortune. Shane faced a lot of challenges in his human life, and like Cobain, had (and still has, as a vampire) a rawness to his soul that leaves him vulnerable.

If Shane were just Moody Guitar Boy, it would get old really quick. But also he has a very dry, self-deprecating, occasionally raunchy sense of humor. Not unlike Cobain himself.

Now I'm gonna provide you with my questions I ask every writer I interview, though I think they will work extra well since WICKED GAME is such a musical book. Please list five songs that would be on the soundtrack to your book and explain how they relate to your story or characters.

Better yet, I’ll give you the complete playlist. These are most of the songs that are mentioned in the actual book. It can also be found at http://www.playlist.com/node/32768601 . Playlist.com is a fantastic site I first learned about from none other than Stephanie Kuehnert (thanks!). (If anyone would like the code to put the WICKED GAME playlist on your website or MySpace page, just e-mail me at jeri AT SIGN jerismithready DOT com. The playlists come in different colors!)

Name some of Ciara's favorite musicians or bands.

Red Hot Chili Peppers is her #1 favorite. My mother-in-law read the manuscript and said she thought of Ciara when she heard the song "Dani California." The band completely embodies her attitude.

Other faves:
Jane's Addiction
Coldplay
Fiona Apple
Radiohead
The Shins
Violent Femmes

Who are some of your favorite musicians or bands?

First tier (ones whose every album I own)
Nirvana
Morphine
Cake
Eve 6
Tori Amos
Green Day

Second tier, close behind:
The Cure
The Smiths
Steve Earle
Marcy Playground
Liz Phair
Neil Young (with or without Crazy Horse)

Then there are the subgenres I love, like the riot grrls (especially L7 and Bikini Kill), Delta blues (esp. Leadbelly and Son House in the old days and more recently Guy Davis and Alvin Youngblood Hart), and Irish folk-rock (especially The Pogues and Dropkick Murphys). I also love all forms of punk (too many to name).

My latest hot band discovery is The Raveonettes. Entertainment Weekly described them as “the supergroup that, in an alternate universe, the Ronettes, My Bloody Valentine, and the Velvet Underground formed on a lost weekend.” For me it was Love at First Listen.

Even though music plays in so heavily into my storytelling, I rarely can actually listen to it while I'm writing. Can you? How does music fit into your writing process?

I usually listen to music when writing a first draft. It helps me focus, keeps my mood up, gets me into a rhythm, and most important, keeps me awake. But during editing, I can't have anything on because I need to be able to hear the words in my head.

While music is my muse, I know other writers find their muse in theater, sports, art, the great outdoors, etc. What is your main muse?

Definitely music. My first two novels came to me while I was watching live performances, and WICKED GAME hit me while I was listening to the radio.

I find inspiration in sports as well, but not for the creative part. I admire athletes' drive and perseverance, and especially their discipline. Professional sports is a lot like the entertainment industry, of which publishing is a part. We work hard and dream hard for years, with no guarantee of success. The life can be all-consuming and requires unwavering dedication. But there are triumphant moments when it’s all worth it.

Okay, now that everything thinks Jeri is as awesome as I do and are dying to get their hands on WICKED GAME. Here’s the contest to win a signed copy! It’s easy, just leave a comment, a question for Jeri or tell us how music inspires your life or creativity by Thursday at 5 pm, Jeri will pick a winner at random, let me know and I will announce them on Friday. It would be an excellent way to start off your Memorial Day weekend, right? So comment away!

I'm not a one-hit wonder, the second book sold!

Friday afternoon after I got back from my brother's law school graduation (see pic to the left, click to make big, congrats, Dan!), I got word from my agent that we'd officially reached a deal with MTV Books for my second book, BALLADS OF SUBURBIA! I'm very excited to be working with my fabulous editor Jen Heddle at MTV Books again, but mostly I just heaved a big sigh of relief when I found out she wanted the book. Maybe it's silly, but I kinda felt like the first book was a fluke. I've had multiple nightmares since finishing BALLADS and sending to my agent to send to Jen wherein Jen rips my writing to pieces and basically laughs at me. Even though writing has always been the thing I'm best at, I've always felt like my best may not be good enough.

BALLADS is also a very different book than IWBYJR. I think it's beautiful, but in a different way. Like IWBYJR is a Nirvana song with big catchy hooks and BALLADS is a Joy Division song, darker, moodier, and a little bit harder to interpret. I'm glad that Jen could appreciate them both and I hope that readers will, too.

It seems fitting that I sold the book around the time Dan graduated from law school. He and I both have two degrees from college now. And selling the second book is much like graduating from college a second time. You've done it before, so part of you expects you can do it again, but it's much harder this time (at least for me, the second book came a lot harder than the first. Jen says it needs editorial focus and it really does and I'm so glad it is her because I know she will ask the questions that will get the story right on track *finally*), and when it's done it's more of this feeling of relief almost than celebration. Again, at least for me. When I got my BA, I went out and got totally smashed to celebrate. Getting the MFA was a much quieter affair.

Anyway, enough of that comparison. Here is what you need to know about BALLADS.

The little one sentence summary of it:

After years of feeling like an outcast in her suburban town, sixteen year-old Kara McNaughton finds her place among a group of punks, skaters, and other misfits who hang out at a local park, but as the teens try to cope with bad relationships and broken homes, life spirals out of control.

Very hard to summarize, had to leave lots out like how the main life spiraling out of control thing is heroin addiction (see darker than IWBYJR, yes?), so you can read more about it, including an excerpt on my website here: http://stephaniekuehnert.com/backstage.html

I don't have an estimated release date yet, but will post it on my website as soon as I do and prolly blog about it, too.

So yay! That's my big news!

You have about nine more hours to have something of your own to celebrate, namely a signed copy of FRENEMIES by Alexa Young, so read the blog before this one and answer the song question to enter!!!

Alexa Young Interview and Contest!!!

Tuesday marked release day for two authors I’ve gotten to know and love recently. Jeri Smith-Ready released WICKED GAME and she will be on the blog on Monday. And Alexa Young released FRENEMIES and she is here today! Best of all, both of them are running contests for their books!!! I haven’t had contests on here yet, so I’m pretty psyched, how ‘bout you?

Alexa Young has quickly become one of my author BFFs. I met her while trying to find someone to collaborate with on a rock ‘n’ roll literary event in Los Angeles. No one was cool and energetic enough to step up until Alexa. She even coined the event name, ROCK AND READ. We are still in the find a venue phase, so no new news on the R&R front, but it’ll happen soon. I’m sure it didn’t happen this week because it didn’t want to steal Alexa’s debut release thunder. This week is all about FRENEMIES.

Now admittedly, I still have to get my copy of FRENEMIES (planning to pick it up at the bookstore this weekend!), but I read the first chapter online and am psyched! (You can read it, too, by going here) When I first approached Alexa about doing events with me, she swore that she and her book were not cool enough for me the punk rock girl with the punk rock book. But I assured her that despite the tough girl façade, I am the least judgmental person ever and I like a wide variety of things and refuse to be ashamed of them. For example, I’ve been watching the soap opera One Life to Live since I was fourteen. FRENEMIES appeals to my inner-soap opera lover as well as my inner teen-melodrama-lovin’ Degrassi fan. (When the N runs a Degrassi marathon, my weekend is usually shot.) Here’s what the book’s about:

Best friends Avalon Greene and Halley Brandon have big plans for eighth grade: Not only are they coauthoring a fashion column for their school’s online newspaper, but their celebration of their forever friendship is sure to be the blowout party of the year. But when the girls begin to disagree about…well, everything, these two besties turn into full-blown worsties. From sharing custody of their puppy, Pucci, to drawing up a list of who gets which friends, Avalon and Halley discover what happens when you battle the person who knows you best—and isn’t afraid to use your secrets to get what she wants.

You can learn even more about the book at www.bestfrenemiesforever.com

As for Alexa not thinking she’s cool??? Yeah I have to disagree. Check out exactly how cool she is:

ALEXA YOUNG spent the first several years of her professional life working in the music industry—for the legendary Capitol Records and the irreverently funny trade magazine HITS. She subsequently worked as an editor for the now-defunct teen magazine JUMP, as well as for the #1 women’s fitness magazine in the country, SHAPE. As a freelance writer, she’s contributed to a number of national consumer magazines, including Marie Claire, O: The Oprah Magazine and Family Circle. She holds a bachelor's degree in Literature/Writing from the University of California, San Diego, and lives in the Los Angeles area with her husband, son and dog. FRENEMIES is her first novel.

You can learn more about Alexa on her website and her blog. But today, she is here to answer my favorite questions to ask authors and also give away a signed copy of FRENEMIES!

Please list five songs that would be on the soundtrack to your book and explain how they relate to your story or characters.

Alexa:

1) Fashion (David Bowie) The two protagonists—Halley and Avalon—are obsessed with anything and everything having to do with fashion, and Bowie is such a class act who has pulled off just about every style he’s ever attempted (even the god-awful ones!). I mean, new wave, bohemian, futuristic, punk, supermodel sophisticate…he’s kind of done it all, hasn’t he?

2) I Wanna Be Adored (The Stone Roses) It’s a song from my own youth and it totally captures the foggy, hazy, trippy adolescent experience flawlessly. Don’t we all just want to be loved, and yet we’re never totally clear on why that is, or even how we can achieve it…and is any of that so wrong?

3) Friend Is a Four-Letter Word (Cake) This band puts a smile on my face every single time I see them. I’ve been in the WORST MOOD EVER and not wanted to go out, but the moment I get to the show and they take the stage, I’m in a totally different headspace. They’ve just got this skewed but oddly accurate way of looking at the world and especially relationships, and how could a song like this not be appropriate for two besties who become full-blown worsties?

4) I Will Survive (Gloria Gaynor…or the Cake version!) Best breakup song ever. Whether you’re dealing with the demise of a friendship or any other relationship, you NEED this song. It’s all about empowerment…moving on…getting stronger…being better than you’ve ever been. Both of my girls draw strength from songs like this. Who wouldn’t?

5) Unwritten (Natasha Bedingfield) I realize this song is such a clichéd reality TV anthem right now, but I just can’t resist it. It captures all the energy and passion and optimism of youth—the notion that anything is possible, that you can change the course of your life by continuing to move forward. THE FUTURE IS IN YOUR HANDS…SO WHATCHA GONNA DO?! When you’re dealing with the drama and trauma of a relationship gone wrong, that’s exactly the attitude you need: Take responsibility for your own life, dammit!

Name some of your main character's favorite musicians or bands.

Alexa: Avalon is kind of the Top 40 pop princess with a beachy, California girl twist. She’s into “classic” Kelly Clarkson or any of the American Idols du jour. She also likes Broadway soundtracks and show tunes—like songs by Bette Midler and Barbra Streisand, as well as the Wicked ST (“Popular” being one of her absolute faves!).

Halley is more of an edgy, artsy, pop-punk princess with an interest in the past (specifically eighties and nineties bands, like those her mom worked with as an ex-music biz executive) as well as the future (she totally wants to discover the next big thing—like the Dead Romeos—the band her crush is in—perhaps?). Anyway…she likes some of the stuff Avalon likes—if she’s being forced—but is mostly into bands like Coldplay, Snow Patrol, Beastie Boys, Foo Fighters, Radiohead, etc.

Who are some of your favorite musicians or bands?

Alexa: Where do I start? You’re talking to somebody who worked for the college record store and campus radio station, who graduated with a degree in lit/writing but moved to Hollywood to work for Capitol Records as an UNPAID intern…until they kicked me upstairs for a paying gig because I was violating labor laws by working for free! I used to be a total music snob, but at this point I pretty much embrace anything and everything. I have total respect for almost all forms of music on one level or another. If I have to name a few artists though, I’d have to say U2 is at the top of the list. I’m a huge fan of a lot of other Irish artists as well, like Sinead O’Connor, the Pogues, the Devlins, the Stunning, the Frames, Luka Bloom. I also love Coldplay, Snow Patrol, Beastie Boys, and classic artists like Cat Stevens (“Oh Very Young!”), James Taylor, the Beatles, Badfinger. Honestly, I could go on for days answering this question. You can see on my MySpace and Facebook pages just how ridiculously long the list is!

Even though music plays in so heavily into my storytelling, I rarely can actually listen to it while I'm writing. Can you? How does music fit into your writing process?

Alexa: I need complete silence and an absence of any and all distractions when I write. However, I find that listening to a particular song when I’m stuck can definitely pump me up and put me in the right headspace—so while I don’t want it on in the background, I tend to take periodic music breaks. Anything from an old Chicago or Styx song to a new Avril Lavigne or even—gasp!—Justin Timberlake track can totally get me back in the mode I need to be in. My two protagonists are a cheerleader and a gymnast…so I need to hear the things they’re hearing and get super-pumped-up to feed their energy.

While music is my muse, I know other writers find their muse in theater, sports, art, the great outdoors, etc. What is your main muse?

Alexa: Citibank…and my mortgage lender. Knowing I’ve got to pay my bills every month has this incredible way of inspiring me to take my writing to the next level (or at least meet my deadlines). Was that a horrible thing to say? Okay, it’s really all about the chirping birds and cute little squirrels frolicking in the wilderness just outside my suburban Los Angeles window. That, and a big cup of coffee, and I’m SO. TOTALLY. MUSED.

Now I’m sure you think Alexa is as cool as I do (love the honesty about paying her bills!) and you probably wanna win her book, so here is how you can win. Leave a comment in which you tell us about a song that reminds you of either your best friend or one of your frenemies. Be sure to tell WHY the song reminds you because Alexa will choose the best song story and that person will win a signed copy of FRENEMIES! You have until Monday May 19^th at 8 am CST to enter, so start commenting!

Even though I am not eligible, I figured I will share my songs. Actually I have an entire album for my best friend Katie. She’s just that cool and I’m just that music-obsessed. It’s …And Out Come the Wolves by Rancid, which reminds me of junior year (Katie’s sophomore year) when we were always planning to run away. It also reminds me of our loyalty to each other and in fact this summer we are incorporating a lyric, “To the end, to the end, I’ll journey to the end” into a tattoo we’ll both be getting.

My frenemy song is “Bruise Violet” by Babes in Toyland. Though the girl that Katie and I used to scream a certain very angry line (umm, you can read the lyrics here and guess…) at was much more an enemy than she ever was a friend. It’s the ultimate punk rock girl frenemy song though because Kat Bjelland of Babes wrote it about her frenemy Courtney Love.

Okay, share your stories and win!!!!

The first big gigs: Young Authors and Denver!

I always love it when bands schedule a short tour right before their new album comes out and you get a sneak peek of their new material. So I’m doing that a little bit for IWBYJR. Well, I mean, I have been reading sections of the book at open mics and local events for a while, but now I have swag to give away and can answer questions about writing and the publishing process and stuff, too. Basically these are bigger, better events that are a preview of my tour and the stuff I’ll do after the book comes out.

I did my first major event this weekend. I was a panelist at Young Authors at Columbia College Chicago. I helped coordinate this event for four years while I was at Columbia, so it was really amazing to be invited back to be a part of it in this way. I got to answer questions about my writing process and publishing for high school students. It was my first ever experience on a panel. I’m glad that I was with such a great group of authors (Don DeGrazia, Colt Foutz, and Drew Ferguson), who had really insightful things to say and taught me a thing or two and we were in front of a very savvy audience of teens who asked great questions. I actually felt surprisingly comfortable up there and didn’t have a whole lot of brain freezes or anything. Good for a first time out. The best part was talking to the teens afterwards and hearing them read at the open mic at the end of the event. I always loved that part when I worked on Young Authors, so I made sure to stick around for it, and I was not disappointed. There was some extremely powerful, sad, hilarious, and daring stuff. Much better than I was when I was in high school. So I hope they all keep it up.

My next event on May 25^th at 2 pm at the Mercury Café in Denver is exciting for several reasons:

• It’s my first out of state event (this also makes me completely nervous that no one will come so if you are near Denver or have friends in the area please please come or send them!)
• It’s my first event with musical accompaniment, which given the subject matter of my book and my not-so-secret desire to be a rock star is so appropriate and I want to do more of these kinds of events if possible.
• My musical accompaniment is the River Rise, a band that one of my best friends in the whole world Eryn plays guitar and sings for. She is like one of the best people to try to this music/literary combo event thing out with because she is so talented and easy-going and helpful and with her up there I will be less nervous.
• We’re doing a raffle for one of my last available ARCs of IWBYJR.
• Eryn made this sweet-ass flyer that she intends to plaster all over Denver (if you click on it, it will open in another window so you can zoom in and read it better):

So yeah, please come see us in Denver in less than two weeks!

After that I’ll be doing some more sneak peek gigs with swag and book giveaways at Printer’s Row Book Festival in Chicago, Summer Fest in Forest Park, and at Old School Records in Forest Park. Check out my gigs page for info.

PS. Melissa Walker has a great opportunity for teens on her blog today. Check it out here!

Attack of the Giant Books (and thanks Erica!)

I came home last night slightly tipsy from 1.99$ margaritas. My boyfriend told me I had a very large package waiting for me and I was trying to figure out what I'd ordered. When we finally got inside, I saw that it was from my publicist, Erica Feldon. I remember that she said she'd sent me two posters that I could bring to my non-bookstore events (ie. Printer's Row, the release party at the Beacon Pub and the library stuff). I figured she would just send me posters, like the kind you hang on a wall with thumb tacks. Well, actually wasn't sure what I expected. I just asked for some sort of larger than a book-type advertisement, Erica said she would do what she could. I did not expect giant stand-up cardboard book covers!!! Seriously these things are huge and gorgeous and now I feel like the star of some big movie with my name appearing so huge.
It was particularly exciting because I was slightly drunk, so we took pictures of the giant book with each cat.
Sidney:
Lars:
Kaspar:
And me just being like "Holy shit, my publicist rocks!"

And since I didn't start working with Erica until after the acknowledgments page for the book was written, I didn't get a chance to thank her properly in a public forum. So this is my big thank you blog for Erica. She has been awesome to work with, answers my fifty million questions, and so far hasn't thought any of my ideas to be too crazy. I ask her for things and she does them very quickly. So far, she has been able to make everything happen (fingers and toes crossed that she scores the venue for Rock and Read in which case I'll have to send her lots of chocolate or something). In short, she is amazing. So thanks, Erica. You made my Friday night delightful!