Saying Goodbye to Summer

Okay, so technically summer is still here for a few weeks (although I must confess to loving Seattle-esque summers way more than those in Oklahoma, Houston, and Vegas--it's more like spring) but I can sense it winding down. The air will get crisper, the rain will come (maybe?), and I'll soon be cuddling with a good book and watching as the leaves fall.

Fall is probably my favorite time of the year, but I think I'll actually miss summer this year. Some of the fun things I've done this summer include:

• driving from Oklahoma to Seattle and sleeping in National Parks
• going sailing for the first time
• traveling to New York, Washington DC, Houston, and Las Vegas
• finally (!!!) moving to Seattle
• going to outdoor concerts with Heather Bee and friend Liz Gallagher
• walking Daisy around Capitol Hill

So, what (if anything) will you miss about summer?

Hugs,
TLC

Summer Means Getting Out of the City

It’s almost summer!  Though the weather may not be quite summery here in Seattle, it’s a heat wave in parts of the country.  I'm not quite ready for it, but June is here...

The start of summer makes me think of going to summer camp, learning to canoe, make braided bracelets, sing campfire songs, and luxuriate in the clean air of the forests in our area.  My family loved to go camping together, even if it was just setting up a tent in the backyard. 

Here, in the Northwest, it’s easy for most people to get outside and enjoy nature, but that's not the case in some places.

A friend told me about the The Fresh Air Fund, an organization that helps kids in NYC experience the joy of nature.

For over a hundred years, The Fresh Air Fund has provided New York City’s neediest children with free summer adventures in the country with volunteer host families.  For these kids, the chance to experience the summer fun we might take for granted is a life changing opportunity.

Right now, The Fresh Air Fund is seeking 1200 host families for the summer in 13 Northeastern states from Virginia to Maine and Canada.  It’s a two week experience, but the positive effects on the guest children (and your family) can last a lifetime.

If you think your family, or a family you know, might be interested in volunteering (or donating to help with transportation and other costs) check out the Fresh Air Fund’s website.  Please let other peeps in the Northeast know about the search for volunteer families, too!

I just can’t imagine a summer without hiking, barbecues, swimming in the lake, and being able to see more green than concrete.  I love that this organization is bringing kids out of the city, for a beautiful summer experience... 

If you had a guest of The Fresh Air Fund in your home, what would be the first activity you'd share? 

I think I would take my guest out on the lake in a kayak...


Hugs,


Heather

www.heatherdavisbooks.com
Sometimes by Moonlight: A Novella - eBook
Never Cry Werewolf - HarperTeen
The Clearing - Houghton Mifflin Harcourt - 2011 RITA Finalist Best YA Romance
Wherever You Go - Harcourt, Nov. 2011

Signs that Summer is Almost Here

I look at the calendar and it tells me it's the middle of May. The middle of May? Seriously? Another school year is wrapping up, television shows are having their finales, and summer is just around the corner...literally.

Here are some signs that summer is almost here:

People Tweeting about the prom: So many friends of mine have been posting about getting their son or daughter ready for the prom. Amazing how the girls love the shopping, picking out their dress, how they'll wear their hair and makeup, and the boys just complain that they have to stop playing video games long enough to take a shower and get ready. LOL!!



School's Out: There's no better feeling than the last school bell ringing to signify the end of a school year and the start of summer vacation. I remember that faithful bus ride home every year where people would celebrate by shaking up Coke cans and spraying them on each other. No one got off the bus dry. (I'm sure that's not permitted theses days.)



Picking up the boys at the airport: With the end of school, that means my fiance's son's will be joining us on the RV until they go back to school in August. They're flying up to Baltimore from Atlanta where we'll spend a few days in Gettysburg, then up to Boston, and then to Illinois and upstate New York for events and then down to Florida. We're planning on catching the VERY LAST launch ever of the space shuttle program.



Memorial Day: The official opening of summer! The campground is full of people with their grills and lawn chairs already set out. The pool will be open soon and hopefully, the sun will grace the east coast with its presence.



Good books to read: Well, my fifth GHOST HUNTRESS book, THE DISCOVERY, just came out and it would make excellent beach reading. So would any of the books from the Buzz Girls. Get them online, at the bookstore, or from us directly. Or, try downloading a digital copy for your eReader. Whatever the case, enjoy escaping into the story as you soak up the sun.



So what are some signs for you that summer is on the way?

Hugs,
Marley = )

The End of Summer??

Say it ain't so, dear readers! It's almost the end of summer and I'm totally not ready.

In between finishing my new book and traveling I did get at least one night of camping in, last weekend. The next morning, I had ten bug bites - all on my knee caps. How does that happen?

But at least I came home smelling of campfire and having eaten a delicious smore (made with Godiva chocolate) with friends.

The campground was only five minutes from the old resort where I worked the summer before I sold Werewolf. When we drove up the road to take a look, it was totally shut down for reconstruction. I was happy they were upgrading the place, but the rustic rundown cabins and creaky dock were pretty lovely in their own way.

I spent many mornings that summer watching eagles and drinking cocoa in the company truck with my shift partner Hank, a wonderful retired gentleman who worked there to keep busy, and running the boats on the giant lake. It was hard work at the resort, but by the end of summer my arms looked better than Michelle Obama's do now. I'll have to go back when they are done with construction so I can relive the good memories again.

So are you sad about the coming of fall? Are you ready? What are your end of summer rituals that you'll complete before the seasons change?

Hugs,

Heather

www.heatherdavisbooks.com

Never Cry Werewolf - HarperTeen Paperback 9/7/2010

The Clearing - HMH Graphia - out now

Wherever You Go - Harcourt Fall 2011

A final summer fling

I'll admit...I'm a seafoodaholic. After all, I live in New England where you can fall out of your front door and have your fill of shrimp, scallops, cod, and clams. So, imagine my thrill when a friend of mine here in Florida said she'd take us out on their boat for a day of fishing.

It was a gorgeous day in St. Pete when we floated out onto Tampa Bay.



The water was calm and inviting, as was the sun as it shimmered down on us. With our bait of pin fish, shrimp, and squid, we took to the poles.



After a few hours of nothingness, the tide shifted, causing the water to airate, which means more fishies! That's when we started pulling them in. A couple of gray snappers, a few salt water catfish, but most of all, I caught an 18-in Spanish mackerel!



And, my sweetie and co-author of THE OTHER SIDE: A TEEN'S GUIDE TO GHOST HUNTING AND THE PARANORMAL, Patrick Burns, caught a two-foot long shark! Check out the video we did!



I cooked up the mackerel in flour, salt, pepper, and garlic powder and did a quick fry in veggie oil. I whipped up a mango coulis from fresh mangos from my friend's tree and voila! A meal fit for a king.



So, that's pretty much it for summer. Time to get back to the grind. There are book proposals to write, books to edit, and promotions to do. And speaking of, soon, we'll have a huge week of giveaways for my newest book in the GHOST HUNTRESS series - THE COUNSELING.



To get things started, let's have a little contest. Did someone say CONTEST?

Tell me about your summer adventures and your highlight of the season. I will pick three winners to announce next Wednesday. Two winners will get a packet of Silly Bandz and one winner will get an advanced copy of THE COUNSELING.

Hugs,
Marley = )
http://www.marleygibson.com/

Get spooked this Halloween!
GHOST HUNTRESS: THE COUNSELING - available September 1st!

Summer Camp with a Twist

What an exciting week we're having here celebrating Tera Lynn Childs’ second book Goddess Book Camp with a daily book giveaway! Thanks for hanging out with us and huge congrats to TLC!!

I have to admit that I allllllllways wanted to go off for summer camp to some lake with cabins and (sorry Tina) outdoor bathroom facilities. I wanted to make a bird cage out of popcicle sticks and a bird feeder from pine cones - all the things that Girl Scouts engrained in me. Alas, it was not to be. My parents, God love them, didn't feel good about sending me off into the "wilderness" and so my time at a dream camp never happened.



However, I did get to go to a summer camp with a twist...

I went three years in a row to summer music camp at Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama. First off, if you know me, you know I went to The University of Alabama and Auburn is our arch rival...so for me to step foot on this campus, let alone live, eat, and sleep there for a week, was an act of faith. LOL!



Music camp was a blast though...but it wasn't fun and games. This was for people who were serious about their art. There were two tracks: choral and band. For those of us who really lived on the edge, you could do both tracks. I did choral only my first two years and both tracks my third year, which was mega hard work.



In choral, we had to have a singing try out to be placed in the proper voice group. I was a soprano for two years and an alto my third year. Inside choral, it was broken into subgroups: formal chorus, accapella, and show choir. I, of course, did all three. Formal chorus consisted of singing arias and opera-type stuff. Accapella is singing without musical instruments accompanying. The secret to that is staying on key. Let me tell you, it sounds easier than it is. And, show choir is performing dances while singing popular songs or ones from Broadway shows. One year, we did a tribute to Barry Manilow. To this day, I still can't hear "Daybreak" without running through the dance steps and hand motions in my head.



Band was a bit more challenging. You had to try out for a "seat" with whatever instrument you played. I played cornet - or a smaller trumpet for those of you not familiar. I nabbed a second chair seat, which was pretty cool, considering how many trumpeters there were in the camp. Practice was long and hard, but our concert totally rocked.



By the end of the week, I needed another week of vacation just to recuperate! But it was an amazing experiences and I met a lot of wonderful people along the way. The "camping" part was spent in dorm rooms on the campus and eating in the cafeteria. It really got me excited about college life to be with so many people from so many different places all after the same purpose.

I wish I could post some of the pics that I have from those days, but sadly...no scanner in my abode anymore. You'll just have to imaging...LOL!!

Did you ever experience a different type of summer camp? If so, what was it? What was your experience? Leave your comment in the trail to be entered to win a copy of Tera's book! Feel free to enter as many times as you'd like!

Hugs,
Marley = )

Gone to the Beach...

Ahhh...vacation. What can I say? It's the end of summer, which calls for one more fling with the sun and surf. One more chance to get my skin golden brown and delicious to get me through the pasty-white New England winter. Fortunately, Tropical Storm Fay decided not to mess with my vacay too much and I have been happily floating in the pool, enjoying the sun, reading good books, and (hopefully) writing one. Couldn't ask for a better time.

And while I was in Daphne, Alabama, visiting the parentals, I stopped in at the local Barnes & Noble to sign stock of my books SORORITY 101: ZETA OR OMEGA? and SORORITY 101: THE NEW SISTERS. I was thrilled when then manager said he'd display them at the featured counter...next to a triva book about my Crimson Tide that he said is "flying" off the shelf.



While I was there, I checked out some of my friend's books!

Here's Tera Lynn's book...



And BOTH of Stephanie's books...



But my favorite view of all...the view from my beach house. Ahhhh...does it get any better than this?



What are you going to do to celebrate (mourn?) the end of summer? Let us know!

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)

Summer Blockbusters!

One of the great things about summer time is the onslaught of big-budget, highly-touted summer blockbuster movies. I love going to the theatre and diving into a bigger than life epic on the screen to take me out of my world and into another experience.

There are so many movies this summer that have that amazing eye candy appeal. Lots of explosions, cute guys, dark situations, comedy, old favorites, new ones...you name it, it's all out there.

So far, I've seen SEX AND THE CITY and INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULLS. I've got so many moves on me "to be seen" list, it's not even funny. I'm on deadline for my second GHOST HUNTRESS book, so I need to be selective as to which movies I spend time watching. (Also, the theatre is a great escape from the summer heat as they're all air conditioned!)

I thought SEX AND THE CITY was really well done and stayed pretty true to the series. I loved the movie when I was in the moment (cried through most of it) and loved how it showcased New York. However, I have to admit that it "ruined" some of the characters for me and I prefer to think of the ending of the series as that final moment when everyone was happy and had what she wanted. I don't want to spoil anything if you haven't seen it -- it made a freakin' fortune, so you can rest assured there will be another one.



INDIANA JONES was...well, it was what it was. It tried hard to immitate the original installations, but at times, it was just over-the-top. It was good, however, to see Harrison Ford suit up again as Indy and take to the screen. They did a good job working Shia LaBeouf into the movie and I can almost predict a new franchise of movies for him.



In addition to the movies I've already seen, I thought I'd toss up a list of blockbusters that are sure to draw in audiences and make a mint for their producers:

Iron Man


Speed Racer


The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian


The Strangers


Kung Fu Panda


You Don't Mess with the Zohan


The Incredible Hulk


The Happening


Get Smart


The Love Guru


WALL-E


Wanted


HellboyII


The Dark Knight


Journey to the Center of the Earth


Mamma Mia!


The X Files


Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2


Star Wars: The Clone Wars



Who has time to see all of these?! LOL!! So, what have you seen? What did you think of it? What are you planning on seeing? What is it about the movie that draws you in? Let us know what you think?

Happy Saturday!
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)

Sum-Sum-Summertime

Summer seems to be the topic of the week here on the Buzz Blog, and I'm not about to derail that train. Although summer means blistering heat and sweltering humidity in my current hometown of Houston it still brings bright blue skies, the occasional thunderstorm, and the promise of a season of fun. Pull on some flip-flips. Turn up your speakers. Here are five great songs that will get you on your feet.

1. Summer Nights (Olivia Newton John and John Travolta)


2. Summer of 69 (Bryan Adams)


3. Boys of Summer (Don Henley)


4. Summer in the City (The Lovin' Spoonful)


5. Summertime Blues (Eddie Cochran)


Anyone else have a favorite summer playlist? Do share.

Hugs,
TLC
OH. MY. GODS. -- Dutton, available now!
teralynnchilds.com

Welcome Summer!

Today's the first official day of summer...whooohooo!!!

After sleeping in late, we're going to go out for lunch, do a little shopping, get something nummy for dinner, and then go sit by the pool and soak up the sunshine. I love this time of year when you can rejuvenate yourself in the sun and just...relax.

What are you doing today to celebrate summer?

Oh...and something else to celebrate...the winner of my contest last week! Drum roll....

THE WINNER IS: petra

And the crowd goes wild! Please send me your snail mail address via my e-mail at marley @ webstuffdesign.com (no spaces.)

Have a great weekened everyone!



















Hugs,
Marley = )

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