Gwyneth Paltrow is Hurting and It's All My Fault

You guys, I feel really bad today. Apparently, people like me (and you -- I'm not alone here) hurt Gwyneth Paltrow with our mean remarks about her. They're "dehumanizing" and make her feel just like a soldier who has gone through a terrible and bloody war.

In case you don't know what I'm talking about, read this and then you'll be up to speed.

Wow. Right?

I had no idea Gwyneth took the comments of strangers on the internet to such deep levels inside of her.

RT Booklovers Convention 2014

Last week the Hubs and I attended the RT Booklovers Convention in New Orleans. I found this conference last summer when it was in Kansas City. I was able to attend one day and I sat in on several panels that all impressed me. The one that made the biggest impact on me was a group of YA authors that included Veronica Roth, Kami Garcia, and Melissa Marr. I was so impressed because they were so supportive of one other. I was also thrilled, because they were incredibly generous with their writing and publishing and marketing knowledge for the rest of us. I learned so much that day from every session I attended. I decided that no matter where RT went the following year, I'd go and I'd bring the Hubs. The agenda is massive and there are tons of great presentations, so I thought it would be best to divide and conquer.

We spent six days learning from authors, librarians, book sellers, book bloggers, and readers about how to write and market a best selling book. Oh and you get free books. It was like I won the lottery. The Hubs laughed, but I brought an empty suitcase with me just to bring home all of my free books.

My New Cover is Here!!!

You guys! I am grinning from ear to ear like an idiot, because today I get to share something really special with you: the cover for my BRAND NEW BOOK!!!

That's right, mark your calendars, folks, because People I Want to Punch in the Throat: Competitive Crafters, Drop-Off Despots, and Other Suburban Scourges is coming!

I am so excited for and proud of this book! I've been working on it with my editor at Random House for a year now! It feels like forever, but it's finally here. Yaaaaaaay. This book is a hilarious collection of stories about living with the Hubs, Gomer, and Adolpha in suburbia with overachieving moms, douchey dads, and other annoying types you find in every cul-de-sac of America. 

The book will be available September 9th, but if you think you might be too busy that day to get it, you should go ahead and pre-order it now. Then you can just mark that off your to-do list.

Me - For Eavesdropping on a 13 Year Old's Date

I am so glad I am not 13 anymore.  I would hate to be 13 again.  I hated 13 so much that I am not looking forward to my kids being 13.

Today I was working in a public place when I was suddenly surrounded by a gaggle of giggy 13 year old girls.  Pretty soon, a couple of surly 13 year old boys joined the gaggle and they became a full on group.

Call for Submissions

Have you figured out yet that I like publishing anthologies? Well, I do! I think anthologies are awesome, because I can put the book down and come back in a week and not have to remember which two fellas our plucky heroine is waffling between. I think anthologies are a terrific way to discover a new writer that I didn't know about before. I'm never bored reading an anthology because each chapter is a totally different voice from the one before it or the one after it. 

So. Because I love publishing anthologies so much I've decided to publish another one. Nope. Scratch that. I've decided to publish two at once! 

Live Free (and Compost) or Die

Today Mary and her kids showed me around the great state of New Hampshire.  I've only ever driven through New Hampshire on my way to the outlets in Kittery, Maine so it was nice to see what treasures lurk just off the highway.

Mary's kids are on Spring Break (Winter Break?  I don't know.  Some break the whole state has off.)  We decided we go to Dover to a children's museum her kids like.

We got to the museum and I fit right in.  New Hampshire are my people.  I've said before I dress/look like a plus sized model in an Eddie Bauer catalog - pg. 92 to be exact.  The moms in New Hampshire look just like me.  I was welcomed into a cocoon of fleece and canvas and sturdy, practical shoes today.  It was like coming home.  Ahhhh....no over achievers, right?

Open Letter to Rob Lowe

Rob Lowe has an interview in the New York Times Magazine titled Rob Lowe on the Problems With Being Pretty. Rob feels like no one took him seriously when he was a young heartthrob because he was too pretty and I don't think that was the case at all. I've written him a letter.