Happy Valentine's Day!

Maybe it's because I have kids or maybe I'm just nostalgic, but on Valentine's Day I love going back in time to my grade school days. There was something so titillating about the classroom parties. The oversized envelopes or shoeboxes coated in glitter, candies, construction paper hearts, and doilies sat on each of our desks, empty yet hopeful.

Then, when the teacher gave word, we'd dig into our backpacks to get the valentines that we'd prepared for our classmates--usually store-bought, but always specifically selected for each kid based on how much we liked him/her--and distribute them while trying to keep an eye on how things were going for our own envelope/shoebox. At some point, we might slip into another classroom to hand a few out to our best friends, who, of course, were never lucky enough to be in our class. Some kids gave stickers, others gave entire boxes of conversation hearts. But at least here in the U.S. (I say that because my friend from South Africa says that they only give valentines to people they love), we gave valentines to all the kids in our class. I remember wanting to hurry through all the crafts and cookie-decorating stations that the parents set up and dig through my stack of valentines to see what a certain-special-someone gave me.

My earliest memory of getting something different (better) from that certain-special-someone is 4th grade. He gave me a chocolate-covered marshmallow heart, hand-delievered by his buddy. Of course, I chickened out and didn't give him the better-than-normal valentine I'd brought just in case, but that was the best Valentine's Day of my 9 year-old life.

The Buzz Girls want to make your day special, too! This whole week we'll be doing giveaways, so you'll want to check back every day and then again next Sunday when I'll announce all the winners. The prize I'm offering is a really cute bracelet I found in our local boutique, Chic Style. Perfect for yourself, or if you're a guy, that special girl in your life. All you need to do is share your earliest memory of a special V-day and I'll have my resident expert, my 9 year-old Romeo, who left a note in his crush's desk three days ago so he'd get first dibs on being her valentine, choose his favorite. (I'll have to get back with you on what she said because sadly, she's on vacation and hasn't seen the note yet.) Good luck, and Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Geeky Cute AuthorBoyz

As I'm sure all BuzzBlog readers are aware, there are many glama-beautiful lady authoresses in the world of YA publishing. [see: BuzzBlog, Girls Of] But what about the boys? Are the male authors of teen fiction worth a look along with a read? I am hear to tell you, "Yes!"

I've prepared, for your viewing pleasure, a list of my top five Geeky Cute AuthorBoyz. (And before any of the subsequently mentioned AuthorBoyz happen upon this blog--please, please, please--and take offense with the term "Geeky," I offer a relevant quote from the Prince of Geek, Wil Wheaton: When we were younger, it was cruel and hurtful to call someone a geek. These days, though, it's a badge of honor.)

1. John Green -- Genius and Printz Award-winning author of Looking For Alaska and An Abundance Of Katherines. He also writes a hilarious blog (occasionally) and spent the whole of 2007 communicating with his brother Hank via the Brotherhood 2.0 video blog (you can find the videos on YouTube or at nerdfighters.ning.com). Also must mention that JG is a fellow Duttonite. Duttonian? Duttoner?


2. Christopher Paolini -- Child prodigy author of the Inheritance cycle--aka ERAGON, ELDEST, and (coming September 2008) BRISINGR. Seriously, child prodigy. He wrote the first draft of insanely bestselling and major motion picture Eragon when he was fifteen. Yes, FIFTEEN!


3. David Levithan -- Maybe most famously known for co-authoring Nick & Nora's Infinite Playlist and Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List with author goddess Rachel Cohn, he's also the solo author of Boy Meets Boy, How They Met, and Are We There Yet? DL is slated to co-author a book with JG titled Will Grayson, Will Grayson about two boys named--you guessed it--Will Grayson. This one's for Dutton, which makes him another Duttonista.


4. Scott Westerfeld -- Author of the phenomenally popular, dystopian trilogy, Uglies, consisting of Uglies, Pretties, Specials, and Extras. (Yes, I know that's four books, but it's still called a trilogy. I guess when you're a #1 NY Times bestseller, you can rewrite the rules of math.) He gets bonus points for having been born in my adopted home state of Texas!


5. Markus Zusak -- Oh, I've definitely saved the best for last. (Not on the scale of literary talent or writing ability, but just look at that picture.) MZ is the Printz Award-winning author of The Book Thief and I Am The Messenger. He also surfs, plays soccer, and is Australian, which you know means he has a swoon-worthy accent to go with that smile.


So there you have my top five Geeky Cute AuthorBoyz. What do you think? Have you read any of their amazing books? Do you have any Geeky Cute AuthorBoy crushes of your own?

Hugs,
TLC
OH. MY. GODS. -- Dutton, May 2008
teralynnchilds.com

*In the spirit of full disclosure, I feel compelled to point out that: John Green, Scott Westerfeld, and Markus Zusak are married and David Levithan is gay, making Christopher Paolini the only AuthorBoy (to my knowledge) available for legitimate stalking. Delusional fantasy remains a viable option with the others.

Crush Confessions

Since it's Boyz week here at BuzzBlog, I thought it high time I finally made a confession. Ten, actually. I've had a lot of crushes in my lifetime (sadly, it's been too long since my last one) and I've done some crazy things in pursuit of those crushes. So, here you go, my top ten list of the craziest things I've ever done for a crush.

1. Serenaded him with Mickey by Toni Basil. Seriously, it was first grade and my bffs and I serenaded our group of boyz (my crush, Josh, included) complete with choreographed dance routine. That song still makes me smile.
2. Played kissing tag. This time it was second grade (but still all about cutie Josh, who, as I mentioned before, is the root of my dark, curly hair obsession). I think the boyz were a little frightened.
3. Joined the swim team. At the end of fourth grade, one of my crushes (Mark) showed up for show-and-tell with a bag full of ribbons from his swim meets. I joined a team that summer--and wound up with a load of ribbons of my own, thank you very much).
4. Almost got in a fight. This totally wasn't my fault! In seventh grade I was totally in love with a soccer-playing eighth grader named Damien. And, although there was less than no chance that he would actually dump his girlfriend for me, she told everyone when wanted to fight me. I tell you, the northern Midwest is a violent place.
5. Looked forward to math. In eighth grade, there were two total hotties in my algebra class (Drew and Jeff). They absolutely made going to math worthwhile.
6. Learned to enjoy at great butt. I'm not a butt girl, by a long shot, but my main crush senior year had a phenomenal one. I remember one time in AP Chem, he was bent over the desk in front of me and I nearly lost it... (I can only think of one other butt as perfect as his: Rafael Nadal)
   
7. Sought a fortune-teller. My freshman year of college there was a guy on my floor that I had an on-again-off-again crush on. You know the kind? Where one day you hate him and the next you love him? Well, on this particular day I hated Scott. A friend and I went to the street fair on Broadway and I was venting the whole time. We passed a palm-reading booth and I said, "Let's go get pizza and then come back." So, we come back, she takes my hand and says, "Who is Scott?" Sure, you may be thinking that she over heard me talking about him, but I NEVER called him by name. (I had been using a far more derogatory term.)
8. Changed majors. When I transfered schools the summer after my sophomore year, I was going to be an environmental biology major. Then, my first summer at Colorado, I went to see The Merchant of Venice at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival. I fell immediately in love with the actor playing Bassanio. The next semester I changed to a theatre major and never looked back.
9. Drove an hour-and-a-half every week for nearly a year. One time, I had a huge crush on a friend of a friend. My friend lived forty-five minutes away and her friend was staying with her and I drove to her house every week just so I could see him.
10. Stole a pair of Speedos. Okay, technically I didn't steal them. My senior year in college I was in love (seriously in love) with the lead actor in the theatre department. In a show that my friend happened to be on the costume crew he had to wear a Speedo in one scene. After the show closed she snagged the Speedo for me. I still have it.

Needless to say, none of these crushes ended in anything less than tears. You'd think I'd learn. So... What's the craziest thing you ever did for a crush?
Hugs,
TLC
Growing Up Godly, Summer 2008
Dutton Children's Books

what I'm reading ... Guerilla Marketing For Writers by Conrad Levinson, Rick Frishman, and Michael Larsen (sad but true!)