Is it over yet?

Happy Friday, everyone! I don't know about you but I've had a crazy week. I knew on Monday that I probably wouldn't be in the best mood since it is Nationals and I am NO where near Washington D.C. I did feel better knowing that my friends would update their Facebook statuses regularly and post pics. I did NOT know my four-year-old would decide to dunk my Blackberry in a mud puddle! I'm trying to dry it out because getting on my laptop a hundred times a day to find out the scoop is not easy (reference above spirited four-year-old who cannot be left unattended for more than thirty seconds!) I have found out that Tera Lynn Childs won two National Readers Choice Awards for Best First Book and Best YA for her debut, OH.MY.GODS. If you haven't read this book yet, I just feel sorry for you. It should be your life's mission to buy it and read it this weekend. Seriously.
And in case you've been in a cave, two of the Buzz Girls, Tina Ferraro and Tera Lynn Childs are up for a Rita in the YA category tomorrow night. The results will be on Twitter (which I don't do so I couldn't tell you how to find that tweet or twit or whatever) but they will also be available on www.rwanational.org . I will also post the winner here for those dying to know. And remember how you never thought you'd use fractions and all that seventh grade homework was a total waste of time? Not so. There are three YA authors up for the YA Rita. Two of them are Buzz Girls. That means that there is a 66 2/3 % chance that the winner will be a Buzz Girl. See, all that homework I did totally paid off!
So, what's the weirdest thing that happened to you this week?
Happy weekend!
xo,
Stephanie
www.stephaniehale.com

Good Luck, Good News, Good Grief!

I wanted to send my love, hugs, best wishes, and cheers to fellow Buzz Girls, Tera and Tina for the Rita Awards this week in Washington, DC. Even though I can't be there, I'm with you gals in spirit and I hope there's a tie and they have to give you each a pretty golden trophy.



I have some awesome news to share! My wonderful editor at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has signed me on to do TWO more titles in the GHOST HUNTRESS series, bringing the total number of books to five! I couldn't be happier!!! I'm hard at work finishing up Book 3 - GHOST HUNTRESS: THE REASON and can't wait to come up with ideas for books #4 and #5!



I've been on the go since June 17th, traveling around, doing conferences, selling books, doing signings, seeing friends and family. It's been exhausting, but exhilarating at the same time. I've been able to spend some down time at the beach and I got to parasail (wow!) and go waverunning with dolphins (double wow!) and snorkel and just enjoy the summer sun. But there's work to be done. As I said, I have to turn in Book 3, start promoting Book 2 and also start promoting my non-fiction book THE OTHER SIDE: A TEEN'S GUIDE TO GHOST HUNTING AND THE PARANORMAL, as well as my other non-fiction book CHRISTMAS MIRACLES. I'm headed to Baton Rouge, LA this weekend for the BabelCon Conference and then will be headed back to Boston to regroup.



To anyone going to the RWA National Conference in DC, have a great time!!

Hugs,
Marley = )

Off to DC...

Many of you know that Buzz Girl Tera Lynn Childs and I have had our books, Oh.My.Gods and How to Hook a Hottie, nominated by the Romance Writers of America for Best Young Adult Book at their annual conference/RITA award ceremony this upcoming week.

It's been a crazy few days for me, for in and around shopping, planning and packing for the trip to Washington, D.C., real life, of course, reared its head with various highs and lows which included rushing my 89 year-old aunt to the ER in an ambulance (she's fine now) and celebrating my birthday with a dinner out, my first iPod, and the SWEET news that my husband got me upgrades on my flights.

So I thought you'd like to see a picture of me, taken just moments ago:


Okay, obviously kidding, but that's how I feel!

I'd also like to mention how happy Tera and I are to be in the company the lovely and talented Rosemary Clement-Moore, whose book, Hell Week is the third nominee in the Young Adult category.

And to let our readers know that the winners will be posted rather instantaneously on www.rwanational.org (you may need to find the site's exact page). The award ceremony is Saturday, July 18 at 8 pm EST.

And meanwhile, any advice on the actual award ceremony is appreciated! Keep the heels low so I can walk? Don't drink too much water beforehand? Bring speech notes on an index card? What say you?

Where do you shop for stories?

Much to my dismay, I live almost one hour from a decent brick and mortar bookstore. We have a Waldenbooks outlet in our local mall but they only stock the most popular releases. They have kindly offered to order books for me, but unfortunately they arrive through the Pony Express. We have a fabulous place called The Old Book Barn. It is an amazing place that is stocked with new and used books. Unfortunately, every time I set foot in the place my asthma kicks into full gear because it is very musty and dusty. So, most of the time I have to order from Amazon to get the goodies on my wish list. While this is super good for my wallet because I just can't seem to stop myself from purchasing tons of books at a book and mortar store, it still kind of blows. I found this picture of the coolest looking Barnes & Noble store in Rochester, MN. It used to be an old theatre. And this link shows some amazing bookstores around the world. http://www.miragebookmark.ch/most-interesting-bookstores.htm

Are you lucky enough to shop at any of these cool places?

Also, I want to wish our very special little bee, Tina Ferraro, an extremely happy birthday tomorrow. I hope all your wishes come true, Tina!

xo,

Stephanie

http://www.stephaniehale.com/

Summer Reading?

It's summertime, so naturally, I've got a teetering TBR pile. Top of the pile today is Beating Heart, the latest release by A. M. Jenkins, a fellow Harper author who wrote the fabulous Night Road and Repossessed.

There's nothing better than a sunny day spent laying in the grass reading a great book. In fact, any day reading is great day, right?

So... what are you psyched to dig into this summer? Are you finding all the time you need to get reading?
And where is your absolute favorite place to read?

Hugs,
Heather


www.heatherdavisbooks.com
Never Cry Werewolf ~ Harperteen Sept. '09
The Clearing ~ HMH April '10

Writer at work

Sorry for the late post today! Still on the road on the world's longest road trip...and working hard on GHOST HUNTRESS: THE REASON, book three in the Ghost Huntress series. The book is due on July 17th, so I'm writing my fingers to the bone.

The road trip is still going great. Spent a lot of time with my family in Alabama where we celebrated the Fourth and had a great time. (Even buzzed over to Biloxi and won about $200 at roulette at the casino...saaaaweeeeet!)

I made a pilgrimage to my alma mater, The University of Alabama, and visited the Walk of Fame displaying our many national championships in football...



Spent some time with my niece, Sarah...



Is that a halo I see above me?...



Hung out with my parents. Here's me and my mommy...



Made a new friend...unfortunately, I ate him...



I signed and sold books at the Barnes and Noble in the Easter Shore Plaza...







And now, just basking in the sun and writing my book. Hope everyone had an amazing Fourth of July! I'll close with a picture of the fireworks in my parents' neighborhood...



Hugs,
Marley = )

GHOST HUNTRESS: THE AWAKENING (Available Now! Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
GHOST HUNTRESS: THE GUIDANCE (Coming September 2009, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
GHOST HUNTRESS: THE REASON (Coming May 2010, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
THE OTHER SIDE: A TEEN'S GUIDE TO GHOST HUNTING AND THE PARANORMAL
(Coming September 2009, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
CHRISTMAS MIRACLES (Coming October 2009, St. Martin's Press)
SORORITY 101: Zeta or Omega? (Available from Puffin Books)
SORORITY 101: The New Sisters (Available from Puffin Books)

The Write Stuff

My two favorite “writer” t-shirts have hit the dust lately. The first, purchased at a Romance Writers of America conference, was hot pink and read “Careful what you say or it could end up in my next novel.” The other, picked up at Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, Arizona, read, “Imaginary Character.”

I am hoping to find one or two new ones at the Romance Writers of America conference in Washington, D.C. next week. But in case I don’t, thought I’d do a little shopping on-line. And I have to say I’m quite amused by:


and


How about you, any favorite t-shirt sayings, writer-related or otherwise?

Tina

Tina Ferraro
How to Hook a Hottie, 2009 Rita Finalist
The ABC's of Kissing Boys, 2009 YALSA Nominee
Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress
www.tinaferraro.com