Home at Last!

After a twelve day sojourn that took me from Oklahoma to Los Angeles to Houston to Austin to Houston and finally back to Oklahoma, I am finally home in Poketown (aka Stillwater, OK). This is just my temporary home, of course, because I am working on getting to Seattle this summer, but my bed and my puppy were waiting for me, so home it is.

One of the things I love most about conferences and conventions (besides meeting fabulous fans and readers and bloggers and librarians) is getting to hang out with other writers. This always energizes me, recharges my writerly batteries and I come home eager to write-write-write.

This is an especially good thing right now because I have a book due, like, yesterday. (Okay, June 1st, but it feels really really close.) And, while I won't admit my current page count (it's pretty small) or how much I plan to write in the next two weeks (it's a lot) I will say that I'm going to be nose-to-the-grindstone to get Sweet Venom 2 done early enough to revise it before sending it off to my editor by deadline.

Before I left on my big trip I ordered a new Alphasmart. My old one had been my dear companion for many years, but the keys started getting sticky (even after I took them all off and cleaned off the sub-key gunk) and it hurt my wrists to type on it for very long. So my shiny new, non-sticky-keyed Alphie is charged and ready to go. I'm charged and ready to go. Operation: Write That Book is about to begin. (Sophie Jordan and I are going to do daily #deadlinedash check-ins on Twitter, if you want to follow our progress.)

With all the book inspiration I've accumulated in the last two weeks, I'm ready. Wish me luck!

Hugs,
TLC

Remember me? Recap of RWA Nationals and the Hectic Summah of 2010

Hey Buzz Readers!

Remember me? I'm the Bee who's been AWOL pretty much all summer. Sorry about that. In addition to traveling the country for conferences and booksignings in my RV, my boyfriend and I have also had his two boys (11 and 9) with us the entire summer and we've had a major adventure!

We started in New York City, worked our way over to Michigan and the U.P. and then a long stint in the north woods of Wisconsin with their grandparents, a visit to Mt. Olympus water park in the Wisconsin Dells, a five-day conference in Hohenwald, TN investigating several haunted locations, selling books, and doing lectures, and then down to Orlando, Florida, for the 30th Annual Romance Writers of America Conference.

Are you tired just reading all of that?

But, I'm back and I want to share some of my pics from RWA.

It was great seeing my fellow Buzz girls Tina, Steph, Wendy, and Tera, and we very much missed having Heather and Dona in our ranks.

As Tina has reported, we had a lovely dinner at Shula's (and yes, I was horrified that people don't know who Don Shula is...not just the winningest coach of all time in the NFL, but also the father of former Bama quarterback and coach, Mike Shula. LOL!) and the food was absolutely delicious, as seen here by my plate of food. What was I thinking ordering a 16 ounce steak?



I did a panel with my non-fiction editor, Rose Hilliard, from St. Martin's Press, and buddy, Louisa Edwards on "Creating a Symbiotic Editor-Author Relationship."



And here I am with Rose at the St. Martin's party on the Disney Boardwalk.



Met some famous ladies on my trip...

The fabulous Heather Graham, who can sing "Bobby MaGee" like no one's business and is also into ghosts and SCUBA diving.



The ever-amazing Suz Brockmann, fellow New Englander.



And WOW...THE Meg Cabot, queen of YA. She's a total doll and so very nice.



And here's our very own former Buzz girl, Simone Elkeles, and her brand new friend, Rita...for Best YA! So proud of Simone!



Of course...time cutting up with Buzz girl Wendy...



Hanging with fabu YA author (and critique partner), Jenn Echols...



Fellow Knight Agency sistah and YA author who sat next to me at the Literacy Signing, Linda Gerber...



And, with my sweetie, fellow author, Patrick Burns...



Despite coming home with a severe cold and sinus infection, it was a great conference and I loved every minute I spent with the Buzz Girls!

Hugs,
Marley = )

Event, Chat, and a Winner!

If you or your friends happen to be in the Little Rock, Arkansas area this Saturday...come check out the Books, Blood & Bones young adult author book extravaganza!

Books, Blood & Bones
Come meet some of your Favorite Authors
Host: Books-A-Million North Little Rock
Date: Saturday, October 24, 2009
Time: 5:00pm - 8:00pm (CT)
Location: Books-A-Million
Street: 2747 Lakewood Village Dr
City/Town: North Little Rock, AR

Book Signing By Authors: Melissa Francis, Stacey Jay, Rosemary Clement-Moore, Linda Gerber, Marley Gibson, and Chloe Neill. Creatures of the Night Costume Contest. Come as your favorite Vamp, Vampire, or Mystery Character. Paranormal/Mystery Trivia Contest.

Also, tonight, please join me and my co-authors, Patrick Burns and Dave Schrader for a live chat at The Knight Agency. Click here for the login to the chat site.

And finally, the winner of last week's givaway for CHRISTMAS MIRACLES is Girlforchrist. Please contact me at marley_gibson (AT) yahoo (DOT) com with your snail mail address and I'll get a copy of the book out to you ASAP.

Thanks so much!
Marley = )

An interview with Lois Lowry

It is my great privilege and honor to have been able to interview the amazing Lois Lowry, a fellow Houghton Mifflin Harcourt author, about her amazing career, her characters, and her writing.



First, for those of you not familiar with Lois' books, I ask you..."where have you been?" Lois is famous for her Anastasia Krupnik series that started in 1979 and continues today with more Anastasia books, as well as a spinoff of her brother, Sam. She's also penned the ever-so-charming Gooney Bird series. Lois lives and writes in New England, where she makes her homes in Maine and Cambridge, Massachusetts.



Thanks to my fabulous publicity contact at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, I was able to snatch a few minutes of Lois' time to ask her some questions.

Marley: Thanks so much for joining us here at Books, Boys, Buzz, Lois! We appreciate your taking time out of your busy schedule to answer some questions for our readers. My first question in, you've been writing for many years now and have created some amazing characters with Anastasia and her brother Sam, the Gooney Birds, not to mention all of your single title books. What do you think it is about your writing...your storytelling...that resonates so well with readers that keeps them coming back for more?

Lois Lowry: I’m not sure I have a good answer to that. I think I’m pretty adept at getting into the head and heart of a character and writing through his/her sensibilities (I don’t mean, necessarily, writing in the first person, although that is true sometimes) and so the character, to the reader, seems real and believable---even when exaggerated, as Gooney Bird, for example. I think I’m good at assessing and choosing detail, and that I have a good sense of the fluency and flow of language. And I avoid like the plague trying to hook into any glib, contemporary vernacular. Most of these are subliminal things but they do affect a reader and a reader‘s reaction.

Marley: That's excellent. Can you tell our readers a little bit about your journey to publication? What was your original inspiration to start writing?

Lois Lowry: Nothing unusual here. I majored in writing and in literature in college. Writing had always been my goal. I married young, had children young, so I postponed professional writing until the kids were in school, then began working as a journalist and photographer. Fiction was always my first love but it was (probably still is) much harder to achieve publication of fiction. I did not plan to write for young people. But when a children’s book editor, having read some adult fiction I’d written, contacted me and asked my to consider writing a YA book...I took her up on it. That resulted in my first book for a young audience---A SUMMER TO DIE---(1977, still in print) and eventually, after other books, I realized I loved the young audience and their response. Gradually I shifted until I began doing kids’ books almost exclusively.



Marley: A SUMMER TO DIE is a phenomenal, timeless book. You write a lot about your own personal experiences, weaving in deep and believable emotions. How is it for you when you're writing such personal stories? How do you manage the emotions? How do you answer readers' questions when they're seeded in stories related to your own life?

Lois Lowry: I’ve always felt that the best way to write a story is as if you are writing a letter to a friend. The reader, actually, is a friend...just one you haven’t met in person. And so you tell that friend your story, and you tell it with the kind of affection, intimacy, and honesty that a friend deserves. It’s true that some of my fiction has arisen from my own experience. But I treat “real” fiction the same way---it, too, becomes a true story to me. I don’t “manage” emotions; I let them affect the telling. And I try to do so with honesty. Same with readers’ questions.

Marley: That's a beautiful way to view writing and your stories..."a letter to a friend." I'm sure that's helpful to any aspiring writers out there. Since you have literally your own library of titles, can you tell us which is the "book of your heart" or the one that stands out as your all time favorite and why?

Lois Lowry: I am particularly fond of one called THE SILENT BOY, which is set in the time of my own mother’s childhood, and in the town where she lived, and illustrated by old photographs—several of her as a child. It is not a “true” story, but it has all the elements that appeal to me: the visual element in the old photos, the nostalgia and the carefully-chosen details, quite a complex plot, characters with heartbreaking problems, and some deeply felt themes.



Marley: I can see how that would be a favorite for you. A lot of our readers are fellow writers and/or aspiring writers. Let's ask a question for them like what is your writing "ritual?" Do you play music? Seclude yourself? Go to Starbucks or tuck away in a nook in your home?

Lois Lowry: I have two houses, and I have an office in each house. In summer, I am in Maine, which is much more isolated, so with fewer distractions, and I am able to work better and more productively there where it is quiet and undisturbed. But the rest of the year, in my “real” house, I also work each day, sit at my desk for many hours. Few rituals. No music. No Starbucks. But I do read poetry frequently. It reminds me, lures me back into, the cadence and flow of lyrical language.

Marley: I'm jealous of your getaway in Maine! My getaway is putting on my headphones during my lunch break so I can block out everything else. LOL!! So what can we look forward to in the future from the amazing pen of Lois Lowry?

Lois Lowry: I have a picture book, CROW CALL, coming out in the fall, gorgeously illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline. In spring, 2010, a light-hearted playful novel called THE BIRTHDAY BALL, with black-and-white illustrations by my friend Jules Feiffer. A lot of other stuff, including a new Gooney Bird, in the works, but I don’t like talking about things in progress. Superstition, maybe.



Marley: LOL! I certainly understand that! And we appreciate the preview of the books you can talk about. I'm sure our readers here will run out and get them as soon as they hit the shelves. I want to thank you sooooooooo much for hanging out here with us at Books, Boys, Buzz. We all love your books and you're an inspiration to us in our own writing. We wish you much continued success!! Thanks again!

For more information about Lois and her books, please visit her website at http://www.louislowry.com/

Thanks again to Lois! If you'd like to win a copy of your favorite Lois Lowry book, please leave a comment in the comment section and let us know what you think of Lois' interview. You may comment/enter as many times as you'd like.

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)

Get Thee To A Library

We've shown lots of library love here on the Buzz Blog over the years, but here's something new. My darling friend Kay Cassidy (author of next year's fabulous debut, The Cinderella Society) has launched a wonderful new program to help libraries get kids and teens motivated to read books--with the opportunity to win awesome prizes.

It's called the Great Scavenger Hunt Contest, and here's the info:

If you’ve been looking for a way to get kids reading a variety of books, look no further. You’ll find nearly every kind of book you can imagine: fantasies, historicals, mysteries, romantic comedies, sweeping literary novels… you name it. The Great Scavenger Hunt Contest authors include many New York Times bestselling authors and winners or finalists of the Newbery Medal, Printz Award, National Book Award and Edgar Award. There truly is something for every reader.

To participate, readers (called hunters) simply read a scavenger hunt book, complete the scavenger hunt, and turn it in to you. If they get 8 out of 10 answers correct, you get to enter them in the monthly contest. Easy, right?

Every month, I’ll choose one lucky hunter as the winner. The winning hunter will receive a $50 Barnes & Noble gift card (good in stores or online) to use for whatever their heart desires. Even better, when they win, YOU win too… a library prize tote filled with more terrific scavenger hunt books for your library collection.

Fun, fast, simple plus free prizes. It doesn’t get any better than that, does it?

There are beyond tons of amazing authors participating in the hunt! Everyone from New York Times Bestsellers to Newbery and Printz Award winners to a Buzz Girl or two (or more).

You can find complete details on how the program works here on Kay's site, but basically if you want to participate you need to get your library to sign up so you can submit your completed scavenger hunts to them. (It's free and easy, so it shouldn't be hard to convince them!)

I wish there had been fun stuff like this in libraries when I was a kid! I bet I would have been there a lot more often.

Doesn't it sound like fun?

Hugs,
TLC

OH. MY. GODS. (available now!)
GODDESS BOOT CAMP (coming June 2009)
teralynnchilds.com

Some of My Best Friends are RITA Winners

Okay, maybe the title of this post should be "Some of My Favorite Authors are RITA Winners" but whatever. Semantics.

As Steph and Tina have pointed out, Tina, Rosemary Clement-Moore and I have been nominated in the Best Young Adult of RWA's RITA contest. (And I've been nominated for Best First Book, too, but that's not really relevant at the moment.) Just look at the wonderful company Tina, Rosemary and I are keeping with some of the past RITA winners who also happen to be some of my favorite writers.

• Karen Marie Moning (2001 Best Paranormal Romance for The Highlander's Touch)
• Rachel Gibson (2002 Best Contemporary Single Title for True Confessions)
• Jennifer Crusie (2005 Best Contemporary Single Title for Bet Me)
• Alesia Holliday (2006 Best Romantic Novella for "The Naked Truth About Guys")
• Kresley Cole (2007 Best Paranormal Romance for A Hunger Like No Other)
• Julia Quinn (2007 Best Long Historical Romance for On the Way To the Wedding and 2008 Best Regency Historical Romance for The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever)
• Caridad Ferrar (2007 Best Contemporary Single Title for Adios To My Old Life)
• Melissa Marr (2008 Best Young Adult for Wicked Lovely)
• J.R. Ward (2008 Best Paranormal Romance for Lover Revealed)

I'll be happy no matter who wins, because no matter what another one of my favorite writers is going to be added to that list. =) Yay us, girlfriends!

Your assignment, Buzzers, is to tell me your favorite author/book and what award you would give them if somebody let you totally make up awards. Like I would give E. Lockhart's Fly on the Wall the Best Book That Actually Made Me Want To Read Kafka award. Okay, your turn.

Hugs,
TLC

OH. MY. GODS. (available now!)
GODDESS BOOT CAMP (coming June 2009)
teralynnchilds.com

The Theme of the Day is ... Castles

As we speak--er, read?--a group of talented young adult authoresses are spending their days lounging, chatting, and writing in AN IRISH CASTLE! I kid you not. You can read all about Operation Writing Castle (which includes a list of the authors involved) and the details on How To Rent a Castle on Ally Carter's blog. You can even follow their TeamCastle Tweets as they report back live from the emerald isle. Sigh, jealousy. I'm picturing something like this:

(Photo borrowed from the Dunluce Castle website.)

But, alas, there are more big Castle-related doings this week. Namely, the series premiere of ABC's new show, Castle. I knew this show was coming up, but had totally forgotten it until I just happened to tune in to Dancing With the Stars (which I never watch) and then happened to hear them mention Castle starting after the show. Thank goodness!


Castle is about a bestselling mystery author who gets called in by the police department when a pair of murders replicate murders from his book. Soon their on the hunt for a deranged fan ... and maybe more.


What I loved about this show:

1. Nathan Fillion (of Firefly fame). Heart him. Big time. (see above)
   
2. Writer as protagonist. Maybe some of his career-related details are a little unbelievable, but, hey, I'm not a bestselling author (yet!) so what do I know? This also relates to my post about Why I Love Psych, where I proposed that Shawn would make a great writer because he's so observant. Now we get to see a writer be a great detective because he's so observant. Love.
3. Cameos by James Patterson (mega-bestselling author) and Stephen J Cannell (also a bestselling author and producer of almost every great 80s detective show you can think of) at Castle's weekly poker game.
   

This is one of those shows that I'm afraid isn't going to make it past one season. But I'm determined to enjoy it while I can!

Hugs,
TLC

OH. MY. GODS. (available now!)
GODDESS BOOT CAMP (coming June 2009)
teralynnchilds.com

Deep thoughts...and a winner!

I must apologize for not having much in the way of posting today. I'm in the throes of finishing up my two non-fiction books and my mind is a bit fried. So, I'll leave you with two things. First, the winner of the copy of Wendy Toliver's MISS MATCH and a pretty cool YouTube.com video that really makes you think...

And the winner is.........

Marjolein

Congrats! Please e-mail me at marley @ webstuffdesign . com (no spaces) and get me your address so I can have the book sent to you.

And now...sit back and check this out...



Really makes you think, eh?

Hugs,
Marley = )

GHOST HUNTRESS: THE AWAKENING (Coming May 2009, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
GHOST HUNTRESS: THE GUIDANCE (Coming October 2009, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
GHOST HUNTRESS: The REASON (Coming May 2010, 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)

Awesome new YA book!!!

I have to brag.

I'm not a mother, but I'm a mother hen. And when a good friend has an amazing accomplishment, I have to gush just like she's a kid of mine.

My friend and critique parter, Wendy Toliver, has just debuted her new YA romantic comedy entitled MISS MATCH and it's just the most adorable book. I had the priviledge of reading this book in the early stages...before it was even bought. And let me tell you...what a fun, satisfying, heartwarming read this is.



Sasha Finnegan has always had a knack for setting people up, and at sixteen, she's turned her talent into an online business, molding high school crushes into true love. But Sasha finds her toughest match yet when hottie Derek Urban asks her to set him up with Sasha's gorgeous sister, Maddie. It's not that Derek isn't a good catch. In fact, after spending so much time with him, Sasha can't help but think he's perfect -- for her, that is. Can Sasha push her feelings aside for the sake of her business? Or has this miss finally found her match?

To celebrate Wendy's new release, I'm going to give away a copy of the book to our loyal Books, Boys, Buzz readers. Just leave a comment in the stream telling us about any matchmaking you or a friend has done in your life. Winner will be announced next Wednesday.

Congrats to Wendy!! Love ya, hon!!

Hugs,
Marley = )

GHOST HUNTRESS: THE AWAKENING (Coming May 2009, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
GHOST HUNTRESS: THE GUIDANCE (Coming October 2009, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
GHOST HUNTRESS: THE REASON (Coming May 2010, 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)

Things I'm looking forward to...

As I sit here next to the heater with yet another snow storm blowing through downtown Boston, I'm thinking of the year ahead of us and all the wonderful things in store. I can't help but get excited about what I'm looking forward to. Thought I'd share a few:

FEBRUARY: Writing retreat with a couple of friends, as well as a photo shoot and a ghost hunt in cold, cold Minnesota. I know...who goes to Minnesota in the dead of winter? My critique partner, Wendy Toliver's MISS MATCH is out in stores. Sooooo adorable. Pick up a copy!



MARCH: Pre-media blitz for my GHOST HUNTRESS series with ghost hunting events in Boston and New York City. Also, will be going to a conference in Gettysburg called Phenomenology 101. My friend, Jenn Echols' book GOING TOO FAR comes out this month, too...amazing book! Everyone buy it!



APRIL: Book launch party and presentation at GhoStock 7 in Salem, Massachusetts. It's going to be a blast!


MAY: GHOST HUNTRESS officially hits the shelves on May 4th. Lots of promo going on including trips to Louisville, Indianapolis, New York, and Columbus. Also, be sure to check out Diana Peterfreund's YA debut, RAMPANT, about killer unicorns and the virgin huntresses who are pre-destined to save the world from them.

JUNE: As I right now, I have nothing on the calendar for June, but hopefully the sun will be out, the pool open, and there will be some time for rest and relaxation before a busy fall schedule.



JULY: Can't wait to see all my writing friends in our nation's capital for Romance Writers of America Conference. I'll be signing GHOST HUNTRESS: THE AWAKENING there, as well.

AUGUST: Going to ParaCon 2009 for a book signing in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada and then later in the month, a camping trip in Washington state to go UFO hunting. Whoooo... Also, I'm told that GHOST HUNTRESS: THE GUIDANCE will be available for my book signings.

SEPTEMBER: Football season starts and my Crimson Tide returns to hopefully repeat their awesome Top 10 season of last year. Would love to visit the alma mater for a football game.


OCTOBER: This is going to be a crazy month! There's sure to be lots and lots of promotional trips for GHOST HUNTRESS: THE GUIDANCE, but also, my non-fiction book, CHRISTMAS MIRACLES, will be available in stores. Very excited about the book! Also, this month will be my twentieth wedding anniversary!



NOVEMBER: More than likely, another trip out to Estes Park, Colorado, to The Stanley Hotel for a ghost hunt and book signing. I'll have to remember to take canned oxygen this time to avoid altitude sickness...bleck. Also, we're hoping to take a European trip in November. That would be the bomb!

DECEMBER: Wow...2009's almost over? Nothing planned as of yet, but it's the holiday season (hopefully the CHRISTMAS MIRACLES books will be selling well) and my b-day and just gearing up in general for a jam-packed 2010!



So...what are you looking forward to in 2009? What are your big plans? Share with us!

Hugs!
Marley = )

GHOST HUNTRESS: THE AWAKENING (Coming May 2009, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
GHOST HUNTRESS: THE GUIDANCE (Coming October 2009, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
GHOST HUNTRESS: The REASON (Coming May 2010, 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)

Parties and Football and Ghost Hunting, oh my!

Just like Tera Lynn's post, I find myself in a frenetic whirlwind of events and things to do. My brain is so fried, I don't know if I can compose a proper blog post, so I'll follow TLC's lead with all the things going:

1. Spent the weekend outside of Atlanta at my agent and fabulous author, Deidre Knight's, book launch for her new Gods of Midnight Series with the first book RED FIRE. Here we are enjoying the lovely evening:



2. Stayed up late last night finishing up edits/proofs on the galley of my first ghost book, GHOST HUNTRESS: THE AWAKENING. (Got an e-mail from my editor just now saying she's reading GHOST HUNTRESS: THE GUIDANCE and "is loving it so far!"

3. Doing a last-minute party for the sales desk at my work. Pulling it off tonight at a downtown hotel bar with is really, really nice, so I've got all that going on.



4. Tonight is TV night and I'm sooooooooo far behind on my DVR list! Tonight is America's Next Top Model, and the Project Runway finale. There's also new Ghost Hunters and let's not forget The Debacle...I mean, The Debate. I've got several episodes of Kitchen Nightmares, Haunting Evidence, Ugly Betty, and Ghost Whisperer to watch and catch up on. What an eclectic list, eh?

5. Tomorrow is my hubby's b-day and a VERY important element of his gift is missing. Stupid Amazon. Better get here today!



6. Friday night, we're going to go see...SWOOOOOON...Rick Springfield in concert. Never in my life would I have told you that I had the hots for a 60 year old man! LOL!! He rocks, though, and God bless Mike for going with me. Fourth row, baby!



7. Saturday, I'm joining my friends with the New England Ghost Project for their Spectral Evidence session in Salem, Massachusetts as part of the whole Festival of the Dead. We'll do a little ghost hunting and experimenting with new equipment.



8. Not to mention that my Crimson Tide is ranked #2 and playing on CBS Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET) against the Ole Miss Rebels. When will I have time to watch?



9. Sunday is my monthly RWA chapter meeting...if I can find the strength to wake up and drive there. LOL!!

10. Check myself into the hospital after doing all of this! LOLOL!!

What do you have planned for the weekend? Family fun? Football? A concert? Let us know!

Hugs,
Marley = )

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

Pics, pics, pics...and your opinion!

It was soooooo wonderful hanging out with my fellow Buzz Girls at the RWA National Conference in San Francisco. We certainly missed having Tina and Stephanie with us, but you were there in spirit. Thanks to everyone who came to our panel discussion. We will get to that Q&A we promised.

Here are a few more pictures from the conference:

The Buzz Girls with fellow YA writers, Sara Hantz and Wendy Toliver:



My first RWA Book Signing!



With my "neighbor," New York Times bestseller, Rachel Gibson:



At the Chick Lit Party with my lovely critique partner, Wendy Toliver



More from the Chick Lit Party with Aussies Kandy Shepherd and Carla Molina



My "Gossip Girls" panel with the fabulous Elaine Spencer of The Knight Agency:



At The Knight Agency party with my amazing agent, Deidre Knight, and my mentor and fellow TKA sistah, Jessica Andersen:



With my darling Kristen Painter at the TKA party:



And my darling Louisa Edwards White:



At the Ritas with the gorgeous Amazon, Kristen (check out my bling!)



And with my BFF Kwana Jackson:



Nadine Dejani, looking fashionable, as always:



Here I am with the amazing Victoria Dahl, historical author:



Cindy Gerard welcomed me to the RWA signing table with open arms



Also, I had my author picture photography session with Faith Dugan in Newport, Rhode Island. She's a total doll and does amazing work. I'm posting a few here and would love your opinion on which photo I should use for my GHOST HUNTRESS book covers, as well as for my website. I appreciate your weighing in!

Image #1:



Image #2:



Image #3:



Image #4:



Image #5:



Image #6:



(If you're wondering why I have a video camera, we use it in our ghost investigations.)

Image #7:



Image #8:



Please weigh in with your vote in the comments section. Most appreciate!

Hugs,
Marley = )

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