A California Christmas

My sweetie and I are on the road this Christmas, calling Southern California "home" for the holidays. It's hard to be traveling over the holidays, which includes Christmas, my birthday, and New Year's Eve, but so many people have opened their homes and hearts to us that it's overwhelming.

Our friends Kathy and Malcolm let us stay with them for a couple of weeks while our RV was getting regular maintenance. They made us feel right at home, letting us take over their dining room table with our computers and cameras. Their pets, Speedy (the dog), Precious and Scooter Boy (the two cats) treated us like we were part of the family. And, the UPS guy was even starting to recognize me from all the packages he delivered for us!

My sweetie's kidlets are with us for Christmas. They're 11 and 9 (almost 12 and 10) and they are thrilled to be in California. On the agenda is a touristy bus tour of Hollywood and the stars' homes, Grauman's Chinese Theatre, La Brea tar pits, and maybe a drive up to Big Bear, weather permitting.

Speaking of...I have NEVER seen this much rain in my life. And I've been in several tornados, two hurricanes, and a flood. I'm told this is the "Pineapple Express" weather system from Hawaii that brings such dumps of rain. Let's just say that the RV is squeaky clean from all of nature's washing.

People wonder what we'll do Christmas day...well, no worries...we have a small tree that we're going to decorate with the kidlets, stockings for them, and we'll await Santa's visit Friday night just like everyone else. Our friend Kathy has invited us to her parents' house in Escondido for Christmas dinner, which we're really looking forward to.

All in all, not you're usual Christmas. No snow or cold weather clothes. But we're together and we're blessed with wonderful friends and family.

What are you doing this holiday season?

Hugs,
Marley = )

P.S. Prayer request goes out for my missing fur-niece, Leeny, who escaped from my sister's house in Florida yesterday. Please pray that she returns home safely in time for Christmas.

Symbols of Friendship

What an awesome week we've got here celebrating Wendy's new book, LIFTED. I'm so proud of her and this book and everything she put into it. It really gives a good look at friendship and how important it is in our lives.



Through the years, when people have formed best friendedness, as I like to call it -- and I'm known for making up words -- they often choose some sort of symbol to show their connection to their best friend. I know that when I was growing up, we'd sometimes buy the same stuffed animal or the same outfit so we could be besties and twins almost.

Friendship has been symbolized with embroidery thread (gimp) bracelets...



Safety pins with beads on them...



Even friendship rings...



Or a necklace that breaks in two so each friend can wear a piece...



And more recently, the trading of Silly Bandz, which I'm completely fascinated by. You'll see people with seven or eight of these bands in different colors and shapes around their wrist...



So, in celebration of the release of Wendy's LIFTED and to be entered to win a copy of the book, leave your comment about the symbols of friendship you've seen over the years. As a special bonus, I'll have Wendy's son draw an extra name for the winners and you'll get two packs of Silly Bandz sent to you. How's that?

Hugs,
Marley = )

Ghosts don't hang up their sheets November 1st...
GHOST HUNTRESS: THE REASON - available now!

Friendship Week

Congratulations to Buzz girl Wendy on the release of her third book, LIFTED! (This is Wendy's first release week as a Buzz girl, so let's make it a good one!) In honor of her book, we're talking friendship all week long.

For my part, I want to talk about one of my favorite romantic plots of all time: the best friends who realize they love each other. I am such a sucker for this storyline. It might all date back to kindergarten when my best friend was an adorable blond Dutch boy named Wauter. Secretly, I still wonder whether we're still meant to be....

Anyway, I adore books and movies about best friends (or childhood friends) who all of a sudden wake up to the fact that the perfect person has been right next to them all along. I think it's all about getting to that moment, that instant where one of them realizes the truth of their feelings. The duality of being thrilled to find love and terrified that the other friend won't feel the same way and that confessing might end the friendship all together. How will it all work out?

One of the first complete stories I ever wrote was about a pair of best friends/roomies who realize they're meant to be together after an April Fool's joke forces them to start thinking about each other differently. Hmmm, might have to go dig that story out....

This theme is one of the reasons I love The Hunger Games. There's obviously something under the surface between Gale and Katniss, I mean he almost said he loved her in Catching Fire, right? And when Mockingjay comes out in two months (TWO MONTHS!!!) I fully expect a little best friends romance.

I'm a sucker for best friends turning into lovers in the movies, too. One of my all-time favorite movies is Drive Me Crazy, starring Melissa Joan Hart and Adrian Grenier. The pair were best friends in elementary school, but had drifted apart by the time high school rolled around. But a basketball mishap and a breach of dance date protocol brings them back together as pretend boyfriend-girlfriend. It's only a matter of time before the pretend part disappears.

Now I'm looking for recommendations. To be entered to win a copy of LIFTED, tell me about your favorite best-friends-fall-in-love book or movie. And if the boy has secretly loved the girl all along, then all the better!

Hugs,
TLC

Oh. My. Gods. and Goddess Boot Camp (Greek gods are more than myth.)
FORGIVE MY FINS (What happens when a mermaid kisses a human?)

A newfound pleasure

Last night, I went to see TOY STORY and TOY STORY 2 in 3-D. I had never seen either of these movies when they originally came out and let me just tell you....I'm in luuuuurve.




It's a given that the animation is amazing and blows you away -- not to mention seeing it in 3-D, but the stories were so heartwarming. Underneath the cutesy Disneyfication, there's really a soul to these characters and a message so strong it made me cry. Friendship is the glue that holds our society. The love of a child is indescribable. Loyalty to those you love goes above and beyond all things.



You might think it's just a simple kid's cartoon...but it's really about standing up for those you love and letting them know how you feel. It's also important to love your toys because they are important in your life and they are your friends.

Case in point...I still have my teddy bear that I got on my third birthday. His name is Donny and he not only did he go off to college with me, but he went on my honeymoon. Any time I've had a horrid day, Donny is always there sitting on the chair when I need him. His love is unconditional and he asks for nothing in return.

Donny and me then...



Donny and me now...



My stuffed animals and toys still hold a special place in my heart. I have never thrown any away, sold them in a yardsale, or given them away (with the exception of a stuffed lamb my grandmother made me and my Jolly Green Giant that my mother put in a yardsale when I was away at college -- along with my cheerleader pom poms and batons -- and I was heartsick to learn that they all sold.)

Do you have a special toy that means something to you? A stuffed animal that's always been there for you?

Hugs,
Marley = )

GHOST HUNTRESS series - The story is fiction. The science is real. Welcome to a new reality!
THE OTHER SIDE: A TEEN'S GUIDE TO GHOST HUNTING AND THE PARANORMAL
co-authored with Patrick Burns and Dave Schrader

Stuck in the middle with you...

(For anyone who's curious, the haunted spice rack on eBay sold for $232.50!)

So...in high school, I was part of a trio. Three really close friends. Inseparable. Two girls and one guy. We were bestest friends and like brother and sisters. We hung out together, did homework together (even did each other's some times), went off campus to lunch together, did stuff on the weekend, and were basically joined at the hips three-ways.


Our senior year, I noticed that my two friends would disappear more and more. They weren't always available for lunch or homework or riding around after school. Then, I caught them making out in her car. Needless to say, I was shocked, horrified...and hurt. I think secretly, both of us had always had a crush on him and hoped something would blossom...but why was it her and not me? They both tried to comfort me that "nothing will change" and we'll all still be friends. But how can you go back to how things were when you're clearly the third (undesired) wheel?



This happened two other times to me in my college years. Obviously I can't learn. Each time, I felt betrayed, idiotic, and lonely over the loss of the unique friendship. I also wondered why wasn't I the one the friend chose? Which leads to typical teen self-doubt, lack of self-confidence, and overall fear of rejection.

I'm thinking of including this type of situation in a future YA book since it's a really emotional thing that a growing teenage girl has to deal with and overcome to be a confident, strong woman.

Have you ever found yourself to be the third wheel or odd man out in a special relationship? What did you do when you found out? How did you cope with it?



Would love your feedback!

Hugs,
Marley = )

GHOST HUNTRESS Series (Coming May 2009, Houghton Mifflin)
SORORITY 101: Zeta or Omega? (Available from Puffin Books)
SORORITY 101: The New Sisters (Available from Puffin Books)