The Ballad of a Birthday Tattoo: Stephanie Kuehnert

Today is the kickoff of the Ballads of Suburbia Cyber Launch Party!!!!! Welcome!!!

Here are the details:

Over the next month (Yes, seriously this will run every week day until 8/14. I have no idea what I've gotten myself into!), author and musician guest bloggers (and sometimes me) will share their "ballads"--the stories of poignant moments in their life (or one of their character's lives) or about their relationship with music or a certain song. You can find out who all of my guests are by viewing the video invitation!

Each day I will host a contest, whether it is something given away by my guest or something I donate. Each contest will be open for one week. Then a winner will be chosen at random from the comments.

At the very end of the Cyber Launch Party, a grand prize winner will be drawn at random from the comments on all the blogs and they will receive a gift basket of MTV/Pocket Books!!! So the more blogs you comment on, the more entries you have to win that grand prize! Fine print: Due to shipping costs, only people with US mailing addresses are eligible for the grand prize.

Now let's get this party started!

I figured the best way to get this party started is to post my very first ever vlog! You'll even learn how to pronounce my last name! It comes in two parts:

Part One: The Ballad of a Birthday Tattoo

(In this part I talk about and show off the tattoo I got this weekend with Jeri Smith-Ready.)

Special notes about this vlog:
-The video invitation I mentioned is here.
-The blog from February that I mention is here.
-That strange sound in the background toward the end is probably Sid meowing.
-This is filmed in my bedroom by my fiance. Those are his Johnny Cash and Misfits posters. I coveted them like crazy while were dating and planned for them to go up in the bedroom as soon as he moved it. It's an added perk to marrying him, good posters.

-Apologies for the awful bags under my eyes. The curse of the insomniac. I also filmed this at like 3 am after work.

Part Two: Reading from Adrian's Ballad

(In this part I read a section from one of the character's ballads in Ballads of Suburbia)

Special notes about this vlog:

-Now I'm in my office with all my own posters and a photo collage of my friends I made before I moved out on my own at 17. I filmed this one myself so I sound extra lispy. Sorry.

-If this reading inspires you to pre-order the book, I recommend you do so from Women & Children First because then you can get a signed copy. All the details are here.

-Remember when you buy or pre-order to book to enter the Ballads Blitz, which isn't my contest, but a fabulous contest put on by Write for a Reader. And there are some awesome prizes! Speaking of contests....

TODAY'S CONTEST

Last week, I ran a contest for my first-hot-off-the-presses copy of Ballads of Suburbia. I barely got any entries. That was probably my own fault. It's not really fun to blog about or link to the Cyber Release Party when it is not going on and there is nothing to see yet. But now there is lots to see. So I'm carrying over last weeks entries to this week and continuing that contest....

Up for grabs is my first hot-off-the-presses copy of Ballads and since I'm extending the contest, I'll throw in another prize. You'll also get a copy of my Ballads soundtrack cd.

Entries:

+1 for a comment on the blog.

+1 for a comment telling me about a significant tattoo you got or would get if you were ever to get a tattoo

+1 for spreading the word about this blog, the cyber release party, linking to the video invite or to one or both of my vlogs from today. Do it via twitter, blog, facebook, myspace, whatever. You can do as many of these entries as you want. Please list them in the comments here though since this party will be keeping me so busy I won't have time to be tallying from multiple places (except for last weeks entries, I have those and will add them to the tally, don't worry!)

Tomorrow's Guest:

As I mentioned in the vlog is the fabulous Cecil Castellucci. Please come back tomorrow to read her ballad because it rocks and she's giving away a copy of my personal favorite of her books, Beige.

Some other random links:

-An interview I did with the fabulous author Gwendolyn Glover

-A column I wrote for my local paper about my feelings (or lack thereof) about turning 30.

-Teen Fiction Cafe. Where I will be blogging about cupcakes shortly :)

And last but not least, for everyone curious about what I am doing for my birthday, I am going to Green Day. Fabulous fiance and BFF got me tickets! Woo hoo!

*Signed* copies of Ballads available for pre-order, ALA, and more!

I've got very exciting news for those of you outside of Chicago who are cursing my inability to visit your city and sign your book. You can get a signed copy of Ballads! A personalized one even!

On July 24th I will be doing an event at a bookstore in Chicago that is incredibly dear to me, Women & Children First. If you pre-order a copy of Ballads of Suburbia from them online here before the 24th and in the questions/comments section of your order put that you would like your copy signed at my event (you can even mention who you would like it signed to), they will hold your book until then, I will sign it and then they will send it on it's merry way to you. So there you go. If you want a signed copy of Ballads, but I am not coming to your city, that is your way to get it. Order it online from Women & Children First or call them on their toll-free number, (888) 923-7323 (which is probably what I'd do because I'm anal like that with special orders; I prefer talking to actual human beings). The sooner you do it, the better, so they are sure to set aside a book for you, especially if you want it personalized.

And not only will you get a signed book, you will be supporting an amazing bookstore that really needs your support to get through these tough economic times. Women & Children First bookstore is important to me because when I was going through absolute hell on my 16th birthday, my mom took me there and the women at the store showed me all of these fabulous empowering books like Girl Power by Hillary Carlip, Backlash by Susan Faludi and Angry Women. Those books saved my life. That and just knowing that I could go back to Women & Children First and find more books and people that I identified with and that understood me.

I wouldn't be here without the discoveries I made in that bookstore. Other women and girls need that bookstore. So I would be absolutely honored and thrilled if you decide to order my book through them. Or if you don't order my book, order something else, order tons of books, make them your new amazon :)

On to further excitement.... So guess who is staying at my house this weekend??? The fabulous Jeri Smith-Ready, author of my favorite vampire books, the WVMP series. I'm so excited to get to hang with her for a few days and pick her brain. Last night we got tiki drinks. Today we're getting tattoos. Jealous? Of course the reason she is in town is because the American Library Association (ALA) conference is here. We're attending this YA Author Coffee Klatch at the ungodly hour of 8:30 am on Sunday and then we are signing at the Simon & Schuster booth at 1 that day. I'm quite psyched, and pretty damn honored to be signing beside Jeri. Also I hear I'm going to get to meet some awesome bloggers, The Page Flipper and The Story Siren. It's gonna be a sweet weekend.

And a few more things to celebrate this weekend:

-Ballads of Suburbia will be released in August in the UK (Aug 20 according to amazon.co.uk) and in October in Australia and New Zealand (no exact date given)

-A great review of Ballads from Plenty of Paper Reviews

-Another great review of Ballads from The Eclectic Book Lover

-A very fun music-filled interview with Just Your Typical Book Blog

But I hope everyone remembers that for once, the real party begins after the weekend!!!!

Remember, come back here Monday for the beginning of the Ballads of Suburbia Cyber Launch Party. Monday also happens to be my birthday, but I won't be the only one getting presents. One lucky winner will get a signed copy of Ballads of Suburbia. All you gotta do is enter this contest.

Have a great weekend everyone!

GCC Presents: Jennifer Banash

Today I have Jennifer Banash on her Girlfriends Cyber Circuit tour for her brand new book (just released on Tuesday!) Simply Irresistible. Here's the lowdown on the book:

Third and last in The Elite book series – Jennifer Banash brings us more adventures from the spoiled, rich teens in Manhattan who nearly ate Casey McCloy alive when she first arrived in the Big Apple from her small town of Normal, Illinois. Casey learned very quickly after she moved in with her grandmother at The Bramford, the most exclusive luxury apartment building on New York’s Upper East Side and got into the prestigious Meadowlark Academy on a full scholarship, that it’s not who you are but who you know!

Simply Irresistible (Penguin) brings us a whole new set of adventures now that Casey has had a big city-haute makeover, courtesy of her classmate and neighbor Madison Macallister – part teen icon and part queen diva-bitch. Wearing the right clothes, saying the right things, and meeting the right people, has given Casey the look and the attitude – she’s “in” and loving it! Much to Madison’s dismay, her rival is climbing up the social ladder in a big way and could end up just as popular as Madison now that the two are set to star in their own TV reality show, “De-Luxe.” Yes, showbiz came knocking on two of The Bramford’s most illustrious doors and, as much as Madison thrives on the attention the show brings, she’s not thrilled about having every bit of her life of privilege caught on tape. However, fame comes at a price and Madison is one chick who is willing to pay anything…especially if it means becoming the next reality “it girl.” Casey, on the other hand, is realizing that Reality TV can sometimes beunreal, causing her to wonder if she even knows who she is anymore. With her relationship with Drew, Madison’s ex, currently more off than on, she can’t help wondering if everything in her life is really just an illusion – and how much longer the illusion can last….

Although The Elite series is obsessed with fashion and glamour, Branash does an impressive job of examining real issues that teens face, such as cutting, divorce, infidelity, and drug addiction. Having personally attended high school on the Upper East Side of Manhattan provided the author with the background for her ample insight and imagination portrayed in The Elite Series.

"If you love all the drama, scandal, and high-end fashion of Gossip
Girl...you'll want to check out...The Elite!"--Seventeen.com

"The Elite is Pretty in Pink for the millennium generation."--Romance
Reviews Today

"An awesome tale of friendship and betrayal with just the right amount
of humor and heart. Seriously irresistible, and impossible to put
down."-Alexa Young, author of Frenemies and Faketastic

I think this series sounds like a really fun summer read. Here's an interview with Jennifer to give us a little more insight!

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

Jennifer: 1. I'm good, I'm gone: Lykke Li (This could be Madison Macallister's theme song)

2. Kim and Jesse: M-83 (This entire CD sounds like the soundtrack to a John Hughes movies circa 2009. I listen to it on repeat while I write)

3. It's Never Over: Kate Walsh (Casey listens to this song in a scene in the book where she's lying in bed, wondering if she'll ever speak to Drew again)

4. One Time Too Many: Phoenix (Could be Drew's theme song--he's so self-destructive and indecisive)

5. A&E: Goldfrapp (Just because I love it)

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

Jennifer: See below. My character's like the music I like. It's easier that way--and we fight less :)

Who are some of your favorite musicians or bands?

Jennifer: M-83, Bat For Lashes, Phoenix, Sufjan Stevens, Rufus Wainwright, Juliana Hatfield, Cocteau Twins, Elliot Smith, Jesus and Mary Chain, Goldfrapp, The Radio Department..

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?

Jennifer: I have to listen to music when I'm writing, but only with headphones. I have to really block out the outside world in order to become submerged in the world I'm creating. Sometimes the songs even show up in a scene--this happened a few times while I was writing Simply Irresistible.

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?

Jennifer: Film. I get tons of ideas form watching really great movies, and I adore the John Hughes films of the 1980's like The Breakfast Club, and Sixteen Candles.

Thanks, Jennifer for visiting my blog and I hope everyone enjoyed the interview and is off to check out the book!

Women Who Rock Wednesday: Jodi Gianakopoulos of The Old School Records

Welcome to Women Who Rock Wednesday! This is the last WWRW before the big cyber party, so I wanted to make it an extra special one. I decided to feature a woman who I'm proud to call a friend, who owns my favorite record store ever, Jodi Gianakopoulos of The Old School Records in Forest Park, IL!

Before we meet Jodi, I've got a couple things to mention. First, the winner of Jennie DeVoe's CDs is stephanieburgis from LiveJournal. Stephanie please email me at stephanie at stephaniekuehnert dot com to claim your prize!

And also, Amber from Just Your Typical Book Blog has decided to feature lil ol me as her Author of the Month for July! I'm incredibly honored! She's got some very cool stuff going on. She did a super fun interview with me that you can read here. She also has a contest running through July 21st where you can win a copy of Ballads of Suburbia, so go enter! And tomorrow, she'll have another short interview with me for her Rock This! feature, so be sure to visit her blog again then to get some music recommendations for me.

But now I would like to turn the blog over to a woman who knows a hell of a lot more about music than me, Jodi Gianakopoulos. So read up and comment away because Jodi has agreed to give away an Old School Records t-shirt to one lucky winner chosen at random from the comments. All the cool kids have Old School t-shirts.... well, um, I have one at least!

Anyway, here's Jodi:

Q: Welcome to Women Who Rock Wednesday, Jodi! I thought you were a great person to feature because you are the co-owner of my favorite record store on the planet, The Old School Records in Forest Park. When I was in high school, I thought the ultimate job to get would be record store clerk. Unfortunately, a lot of other people felt the same way and had better connections than me, so I ended up bagging groceries instead. Can you tell us a little bit about your path to record store owner?

Jodi: My sister worked at a head shop/record store in high school. One of my best friends also worked at a record store in the mall. I would hang around there so much that when I turned 16 they gave me a job. After I had that experience, the store my sis had worked for hired me. I moved to go to university and found a good local record shop, called REAL! Records.
I had been reading a lot of Jack Kerouac, so I went in and asked for Bebop recommendations. From there I became a regular shopper and one day basically told them that they should hire me. They did and I worked there for the next five years.

When I moved to Chicago, Borders was just putting in their stores. Getting a job there was a breeze, so I went into management. Later, I worked for a Music House where I made no money, so I went back to management with Rizzoli Bookstore and was in charge of their international music and everything in the store that wasn't a book. I wanted to get into the distribution or promotion side of the biz. I was making connections with industry people and thinking I was getting "in". Too bad the shop was on the way out, so I took a job with a local independent chain called 2nd Hand Tunes. I would work for cash on Sundays. It was cool and I quickly developed a secret crush on the manager, Pete. Then I dove in full time. It was totally depressing. I went from attending conferences and being treated with respect to being the lowest on the totem poll. That was when I decided to open my own shop. The chain was later sold to an internet company and Peter and I started seeing each other at meetings. Then we were both store managers and started dating. We started to plan our own shop and one year after we married we opened The Old School Records. We have been in biz for six years, have a little house, two dogs and a five month old baby girl. Life is funny.

(Here's Jodi with her husband Peter at their store!)

Q: Was it something you always wanted to do?
Jodi: No, I really just thought it was a good idea in 1998. It took five years of planning.

Q: For those who haven't had an opportunity to drop in yet, tell us a bit about the store, what makes you guys unique and so much more fun than shopping at Best Buy or on iTunes?

Jodi: We offer tons of vinyl and cds. We sell lots of movies and have about 20 magazines. We even sell tapes, mostly r&b, punk, jazz and rap. You find really different stock here, because our knowledge and tastes are quite broad and varied. We strive to be respectful, helpful and friendly. Often our clientele is older, but you will find any age group shopping here. Our regular customers are friends and our new customers are potential friends! I NEVER went with the snotty approach and having a largely older crowd as customers for so many years, there would never have been any room for a bad attitude. I am a salesperson and honey works better than vinegar. Peter and I come from families with strong work ethics and we always get the job done. When we first opened, the shop was really clean and organized, now it feels more lived in!

I strongly believe that it's important for us to patronize shops in our own communities. Maybe not everyone can come in to The Old School Records, but this can serve as a good reminder as to why they should visit their local indie record store! What do you love best about owning your own store and what are some of the challenges?

Jodi: Being in charge and making the customers happy for both!

Q: Not all of my readers can pop in and visit you at Old School, but they all can listen to your radio show! Can you give us a link to it, tell us when it airs, what kind of stuff you play and how you got the radio gig?

Jodi: The Old School Playground airs every other Tuesday from nine 'til midnight. (And here is the MySpace page.) Peter and I are both the DJs and it is an entirely world music show. Right now Peter is doing the show while the baby and I listen from home! However, I will be DJing the next show in two weeks, hopefully. I usually play new releases for part of it and then explore a theme. I play reggae,african, brazilian, asian/pacific, gypsy, balkan, persian/arab, turkish, french, italian and other rhythmic stuff. I've never heard a show like ours.

We play some pretty far out stuff! Peter DJ'd professionally for years and we started by guesting with the show that is on opposite ours, Prognosis.

Q: Between the record store and the radio show, no doubt you are a music expert.
Since our focus is on women who rock today, can you tell us about the female musicians you grew up loving, who made you passionate enough to go into this business?

Jodi: When I was in sixth grade Joan Jett "I love rock and roll" and the Go-Go's
"We got the beat" showed me the way. Later it was Anabella Lwin, Kate Bush, Debbie Harry, Bjork, Billie Holiday, Maria Callas, Evelyn Glennie, Poly Styrene, Sandy Denny, Brigitte Fontaine, Jessie Mae Hemphill, Mary J. Blige and Missy Elliott, to name a few, who would display their gifts and inspire me. I guess that I admire women who can stand toe to toe with men. The music biz is often a man's world, but it really is better off with women in the mix!

Q: Also tell us about any new discoveries, female artists or bands we may not have heard of but we should absolutely check out!

Jodi: St. Vincent is the best thing I've heard in a while. The Japanese group Mono is also great.

Q: Now for my standard Women Who Rock Wednesday questions. The first is a two-parter and I think it's perfect for a record store owner. What was the first album you purchased for yourself and what was the first concert you attended?

Jodi: Early as a child it was Kiss "Rock and Roll Over". Later, it was "The Indestructible Beat of Soweto". My first concert was Kiss in 1978.

Q: And I'm excited to hear your response to the other standard question too because I know your husband Peter has some great tales and I can't wait to hear yours. Please dish about your biggest rock star moment. It could be a big moment of success in your career, a time where you met someone famous and had the Wayne's World "I'm not worthy" experience, or where you got the total rock star treatment?

Jodi: At Borders on Michigan Avenue there were lots of famous people coming through. Spending the afternoon with Los Lobos and meeting Elvis Costello were two nice moments. I don't want to know or meet musicians/artists, the ones I idolize are dead.

The more I know about "stars", the less interested I become. None are worth mention. My biggest moment was maybe getting the keys to our shop. My biggest success is definitely yet to come!

I hope you guys enjoyed this interview as much as I do and I encourage you to visit the Old School Records website and blog. As I mentioned mid-interview supporting indie record stores is very important to me. Comment away, maybe tell us about your favorite local stores, your record store job fantasies, or anything else you gleaned from the interview and be entered to win your very own The Old School Records t-shirt. I'll announce the winner next Wednesday during the blog party! And if you are in Forest Park, do stop into the store!

FAQ of sorts on Writing and Publishing

I've been getting a lot of emails lately asking me for writing and publishing advice and I've been so overwhelmed with book stuff and wedding stuff and life-in-general stuff that I've become terribly slow at responding to emails and I feel awful.

So I figured I should bite the bullet and do some sort of FAQ type thing that I can point people to. And I thought it would make a good blog entry and hopefully be filled with answers to questions many readers and writers have.

Here goes the frequently asked questions, topics ranging from the basics to publishing and I will add more to this blog as I get more....

You got your MFA in Creative Writing. Do all writers have to go to school for writing?

A: Getting an MFA in Creative Writing was what worked for me. I told myself that I was just going to write on my own for years and I got very little accomplished. Plus I was living in a bubble where I got no feedback except rejections when I sent my stories out to magazines. I was 21 years old, directionless in life, but I knew I loved to write and wanted to make a serious go at getting published. I figured going to school for writing would buy me time to write. It basically became my job to write for 6 years (3.5 years undergrad, 2.5 years grad). Part of that time I lived at home and worked only part-time. Part of that time, I lived on my own and worked three jobs plus went to grad school. It was not easy, but instead of having to make excuses to write, I had to make excuses not to write. I wrote a full first draft of a novel my first year in school. It was really a productive time for me, so that's why I stayed on for grad school. I'm glad I did because I made incredible connections. I met my agent through a conference at my school. I took classes from some of the writers I admired most including Irvine Welsh and Joe Meno. I absorbed, absorbed, absorbed everything .

However, I know plenty of people who go to school for writing and end up doing something else. I also dropped out of college when I was younger because I was in writing classes that were useless and terrible for me. They were based on the standard method: write two pieces a semester, go to class, listen to people rip them to shreds. That was not useful for me. It is for others, but not for me. I chose Columbia College Chicago's Fiction Program because they use the Story Workshop Method, which is generative, meaning you write in every class. The method of critique is also different, critiques being phrased as comments and questions rather than cutting remarks. It helped me learn how to incorporate feedback from others.

Do you have to go to school for Creative Writing to be a writer? Absolutely not. If your parents won't let you or you have other interests you want to study in school, that is totally fine. Those interests, building up areas of expertise will shape and strengthen your writing. Like I said, going to school is what I needed to develop discipline and learn about craft, but there are other ways to do that.

How do I develop my craft outside of going to school? Do I really need critiques from other people, can't I just send my stuff off?

A: There are a ton of online and offline communities that have workshops and newsletters and tons and tons of information for you to absorb. The two I have personal experience with and can recommend are Romance Writers of America, which is great not only for romance but for Women's Fiction and YA and Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, also great for YA. Both have big yearly conferences where you can meet other writers and agents and editors and network and get tips on craft. You can often find critique groups through your local chapters.

Critique Partners or CPs are essential. Writing is not a solo sport. You think it is because you spend so much time in front of your computer or alone with a notebook, but if you don't show your work to others, your work will suffer. Trust me on this. I know from firsthand experience, years of languishing short stories. Other people will see holes in your story that you are blind to because you know the thing so well. They will also be there when you are freaking out and have writers block or need to talk a plotline through.

I had four critique partners who read my last manuscript. They were essential. They are listed in my acknowledgements right under my fiance, that shows how important they are. One of them lives in Australia and we correspond entirely by email. Two of them live locally and we meet and have a writer's group every week. Both methods work and each of my critique partners brings different insights to the table. So after you finish a draft of your first book, find yourself some critique partners either through local chapters of writing organizations like I mentioned or through online communities. I don't know a ton of online communities. The one that has been essential to me as a YA writer is the Teen Lit Authors group on Yahoo.

Will you read and critique my work?

A: No, I'm sorry, but I can't. I wish I could, but there are a couple different reasons I have to say no. Mainly because I don't have time. If I read everyone's work, I couldn't write my own work. As I mentioned I have four critique partners, between their work and mine, I am quite busy. Then there are legal reasons. You could later claim I stole your idea. Not saying that you would, but apparently enough people have made these claim that it causes agents and editors to tell their authors, no, don't do that.

How do I get an agent?

A: I lucked out with my agent. I met her at a conference. Writing conferences are a good way to meet agents. You might luck out too. But for the most part people get agents the old-fashioned way, by searching for one whose interests match what you are writing and sending them a really awesome query letter. Admittedly because I lucked out, I don't know as much as a lot of other writers about this process, but I do have some tips.

Agentquery.com -it's the largest, most up-to-date database of agent listing and it also has tips on writing a query letter.

Publishersmarketplace.com- Here you can sign up for a free daily email that lets you know the biggest news in the publishing world. Or, when you are ready for that big agent search, you can sign up for their paid service and get emails with all the deals that are being made. Not every deal is listed, but most agents report their deals to PM and then you can see who is selling YA novels about the zombie apocalypse and pitch them your fabulous idea about the werewolf apocalypse.

Do I need an agent to get a book deal?

A: Again, this is something that varies from person to person, but it most cases, yes. Most publishers, including my publisher MTV Books, do not take unagented submissions. Sure there are exceptions. People who send stuff and it gets plucked from the slush pile or bloggers who have a huge following and get offered a book deal. But for the most part, you need an agent. I needed an agent. My agent has been my biggest ally and I highly recommend you search for an agent before searching for a book deal.

I wrote a book or have an idea that involves music or is thematically similar to your book or other books that your agent or editor has picked up. Can you refer me to your agent or editor?

Like I said, if you want to submit to MTV Books, you need an agent. I don't have any pull there whatsoever. In fact, they might only like me because I send nice holiday gifts ;)

My agent's submission guidelines are posted here. If your book fits with what she is looking for, by all means query her. I can't read and recommend things to her though. First of there is the whole time thing that I mentioned before. But also Caren is very opinionated. This is why I like her. My opinion will not sway her. GOOD WRITING WILL SWAY HER AND THAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING! (Hence the aforementioned critique partners, who help you polish it to perfection before you submit to her or anyone else.) What you absolutely can do is say that you have read my books and other authors of hers' books (providing you actually have read them because otherwise that gets embarrassing) and explain why our books made you want to pitch her. That will impress her (as long as you have the writing to back it up). Do the same thing with other agents, read their authors, it give you a better idea of who they are.

Okay, that is all the basic advice I have for today. I will write a more process oriented thing at some point. I don't feel like process advice is all that helpful because everyone's process is so different, but it is fun to pick up tips to try and I know people are interested. So I promise I was blog about that at a later date.

Hope this is helpful. I don't know everything; in fact I feel like I know next to nothing most of the time, but I wanted to share what I have learned. If you have other questions, feel free to ask away in the comments and I will try to answer, though admittedly my replies may be slow....

Contest for the first finished copy of Ballads and more!

The winner of my very last ARC of Ballads of Suburbia is... Andrea (or @buzzinglikeneon from Twitter)! Congrats Andrea and thank you to everyone who spread the word about the Ballads of Suburbia Cyber Release Party!

Now, for the final Ballads of Suburbia contest before the release festivities begin.... A couple weeks ago I told you that I received two hot-off-the-presses finished copies of Ballads from my editor. Here they are in all of their glory:

One is my copy, but the other could be yours. This contest is a total free-for-all. You get an entry for every time you blog/tweet/link to/whatever about Ballads Of Suburbia or the Cyber Release Party. Here are some links to things you might want to mention in your contest entries:

-My Website

-The Ballads of Suburbia Book Trailer

-The Cyber Release Party Video Invite

-The Ballads Blitz

-My Blog

-This contest

-And I'm sure you guys have even more ideas....

So spread the word and win. Either post a list of all your entries in the comments section here or email them to stephanie at stephaniekuehnert dot com by Monday at 9 AM CST. I will announce the winner at the beginning of the Cyber Release Party on Monday the 13th!

Also I just want to say again how thrilled I am by the support I'm getting from the book blogging community, who are organizing things like the Ballads blitz for my book and other authors. It means the world to us.

I was recently sent two early reviews of Ballads from book bloggers that I wanted to share:

From The Life of a Teen Librarian

From Ravings of a VA

I'm going to be doing the fabulous Traveling to Teens blog tour, but I am always happy to do interviews, guest blogs, etc with bloggers and I've been getting a couple emails, but I can definitely do more, so please don't hesitate to email me at stephanie at stephaniekuehnert dot com if you want me to visit your blog!

Contest Reminders, Ballads Blitz, and Total Deliciousness

Whew this week has been even busier than the last one! And I totally dropped the ball on Women Who Rock Wednesday this week because I suddenly got really sick on Wednesday afternoon (I think it was the herbs my acupuncturist gave me for insomnia). But all that means is that you have an extra week to enter the contest for Jennie DeVoe's CDs and then I will announce the winner next week when I post my interview with Jodi Gianakopoulos, my favorite record store co-owner ever. Are you guys still digging WWRW? I've noticed less contest entries as of late.... Should I cut back and do it only twice a month? Actually after Jodi, there will be no WWRW for about a month due to THE BLOG PARTY!!!!!!

I'm also quite low on entries for that contest--y'know, you spread the word about the party, I reward you with the VERY LAST advanced readers copy of BALLADS OF SUBURBIA, which is totally a collectors' item ;) So when you get tired of fireworks this weekend, enter contests!

Speaking of contests... Shelly B of Write for a Reader surprised me in a huge, huge fabulous way this week. She and a bunch of other awesome bloggers came together to create the Ballads Blitz contest, which works very simply, you buy or pre-order Ballads, you send your receipt to Shelly, and you are entered to win a TON of fabulous prizes. Here are all the details. I seriously had no idea that these guys were doing this and I *cried from happiness* I was so honored that they'd chosen to spread the word about my book in this way. Seriously, book bloggers are my heroes. I love you guys!

Also for those of you in the Chicago area who want BALLADS like right now, there is a store in Forest Park that has already gotten the book in and is selling it: Centuries and Sleuths at 7419 W. Madison St in Forest Park, IL. Yeah, BALLADS is already out there in the wild. I'm kinda freaked. I'm not ready yet. I'm supposed to have two more weeks to prepare and promote and ahhhhh!!!!! But I bet you guys are ready for it. Who knows it may pop up in your local bookstore soon!

Lastly, I just have to tell you about the deliciousness I experienced yesterday. This was probably very bad for me but I don't care. Yesterday I had cupcakes for lunch. Yes, cupcakes. I was doing a tasting for my wedding (yeah, I've been trying to cram wedding stuff in with all this book-about-to-be-released stuff... needless to say I'm quite stressed) with Vegan Bomb, this brand-new independently owned business in Chicago. They made seriously the most gorgeous cupcakes I've ever seen (should have photographed them before we ate them) and it was probably the tastiest dessert I've ever had in my life. Scott loved them, too, and he's not vegan. He said they are better than any non-vegan cupcakes he had. So many flavors... coconut lime, lemon-aide (injected with vodka!), strawberries and cream, mint chocolate chip, peanut butter, cookies and cream, vanilla chocolate chip, and then this chocolate covered one that was just like a Ho-Ho or a Hostess cupcake. Oh. My. Freakin'. God. So if you need dessert in Chicago: Vegan Bomb. And if you are coming to my wedding, you will get to experience this. We're sold.

Speaking of wedding, I also got my invites from Leslie of Unless Someone Like You. I'm totally torn. I want to take pictures and show them off right now. But I want my friends who read this to be surprised when they see them in the mail. So friends who read this, should I wait til after I send you the invites til I post pictures or does it not really matter and should I do it now???

Okay, that is my excitement for the week. Please, please enter the contests. And have a good holiday weekend. I will be working of course.... But two of my favorite people in the world are in town so I'm off to see them now and that makes me unbelieveably happy!