Buzzing About Firsts

It's a very special week over a Books, Boys, Buzz... We're celebrating the release of Heather's first book, Never Cry Werewolf. Buzz on over to see what first I'm buzzing about.

Hugs,

TLC

Covers in the Air--er, Water

The fabulous art team at Harper (*waves at Amy*) has at long last relinquished the final cover of my upcoming mermaid book, FORGIVE MY FINS. Are you ready for it? Here goes...

Wait a sec. First I think you need to read a bit about the story. I mean, you're not supposed to be judging books by their covers, are you? Even if we all do that, just a tiny bit, today I'm not giving you a choice. You're going to have to get through the jacket blurb before you see the cover. (And don't even think about skipping over! Naughty, naughty.)

Lily Sanderson has a secret, and it’s not that she has a huge crush on gorgeous swimming god Brody Bennett, who makes her heart beat flipper-fast. Unrequited love is hard enough when you’re a normal teenage girl, but when you’re half human, half mermaid like Lily, there’s no such thing as a simple crush.

Lily’s mermaid identity is a secret that can’t get out, since she’s not just any mermaid – she’s a Thalassinian princess. When Lily found out three years ago that her mother was actually a human, she finally realized why she didn’t feel quite at home in Thalassinia, and she’s been living on land and going to Seaview high school ever since, hoping to find where she truly belongs. Sure, land has its problems – like her obnoxious, biker boy neighbor Quince Fletcher – but it has that one major perk – Brody. The problem is, mermaids aren’t really the casual dating type – when they “bond,” it’s for life.

When Lily’s attempt to win Brody’s love leads to a tsunami-sized case of mistaken identity, she is in for a tidal wave of relationship drama, and she finds out, quick as a tailfin flick, that happily-ever-after never sails quite as smoothly as you planned.

Whew! Got that out of the way. Now without (much) futher ado, I present the gorgeous, beautiful, magical cover of FORGIVE MY FINS.

Thoughts?

Hugs,
TLC

Read My Five

As part of the official launch week of the Living My Five community, it's my turn to share my intro post in which I explain what my Five are. Click on over to find out what five things I want to change in the world.

Hugs,
TLC

The 80s: Sixteen Candles

After my first 80s educational post, I've been a little keyboard-shy. I mean, I post about Michael Jackson and then.... Well, you know.

But, my desire to share my historical (*gag*) knowledge with the younger generation has overcome my fears that I might be able to kill people with my blog. I now present to you one of the great classic 80s movies, Sixteen Candles.

The Story

Samantha Baker is having an awful day, on what should be one of the best of her life. Her Sweet Sixteen. It's starts when, amidst the chaos of her sister's next-day wedding, her entire family completely forgets that it's her birthday. Add to that a delirious crush on hottie senior Jake Ryan, a disastrous note-passing incident, an outrageous foreign exchange student, a house full of grandparents, a panty-hunting geek, a drunk ex-girlfriend, and a whole host of other hilarious problems, and it's easy to see why this movie is such a classic. Want more details? Here's the trailer:

Seriously, I think Jake Ryan is the model for pretty much every hero I write. (Even Hank Stuever, a staff writer for the Washington Post, though so. He wrote an arcticle called "Real Men Can't Hold a Match to Jake Ryan of 'Sixteen Candles'"!)

The Cast

John Hughes, the late great director and screenwriter of Sixteen Candles (and about a billion other movie classics), managed to assemble a completely awesome cast. Check this out.

Molly Ringwald (aka the 80s teen queen) as Sam Baker
Michael Schoeffling as hottie-with-a-heart Jake Ryan
Anthony Michael Hall (no longer a geek) as Ted the Geek
John Cusack as minor character Bryce
Joan Cusack as minor-minor character Geek Girl #1
Paul Dooley (you'll recognize him when you see him) as Sam's dad

The Quotes

Samantha: I can't believe this. They #@$%! forgot my birthday.

Jim Baker: That's why they call them crushes. If they were easy, they'd call them something else.

Samantha: May I be excused?
Grandma Helen: Where are you going?
Samantha: I have a dance to go to at school. It's a very important dance... we're being graded on it for Gym.

Jake: I want a serious girlfriend. Somebody I can love, that's gonna love me back. Is that psycho?

Samantha: Donger's here for five hours, and he's got somebody. I live here my whole life, and I'm like a disease.

Jake: Happy birthday, Samantha. Make a wish.
Samantha: Well, it already came true.


Okay, I now expect you all to run out and rent Sixteen Candles. (And if anything happens to Molly Ringwald, Michael Schoeffling, or Anthony Michael Hall in the coming days... I am not responsible. I swear.)

Hugs,
TLC

Sarah Quigley's Prologue

Sarah Quigley is a fellow Dutton author whose debut novel, TMI, came out in April. Considering that her book is about a girl with a tendency to overshare, I though it'd be great to ask Sarah herself to overshare about her own personal work history. She did not disappoint.

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What was your favorite job ever?

I am currently employed at my favorite job ever: stay-at-home mom. My daughter is sixteen months old, and I love being with her every day. We spend a lot of time outside at playgrounds and going for walks. She’s also become a big fan of the library although when we’re there, she’s more interested in pulling books off the shelves than actually reading them. She’ll sit through a huge stack of stories at home, though.

My daughter has so much enthusiasm and is so hungry to learn about her world that she turns even the most mundane activities into adventures. For example, she loves helping me unload the dishwasher. The look of pride and excitement on her face as she hands me a fork is priceless.

Your least favorite job?

I worked at a woolen mill the summer after my freshman year of college. The mill made blankets for a cruise line and several federal prisons. I think it would have been excellent punishment if the prisoners had made their own flippin’ blankets.

My shift was 6:00 AM to 3:00 PM with thirty minutes for lunch. It was absolute drudgery. I assisted a woman who made warps (the vertical strings on a loom), and my main responsibility was to restock the warping machine with rolls of yarn. The yarn broke easily, so I had to retie it. I tied about a thousand knots a day.

To make matters even more Dickensian, it was a scorcher of a summer, and I was in the older part of the factory that wasn’t air-conditioned. I was also right next to the electric looms, which were so loud that I had to wear earplugs.

By far the most depressing thing about this job was the woman I worked with. She’d started her career at the woolen mill the year I was born. I often reflected on the fact that for my whole life, she’d been in that noisy room doing the same thing every day. And she was only earning fifty cents more an hour than I was.

That’s just not right.

Your hardest job?

Hmm, I think it’s actually a tie between stay-at-home mom and woolen mill employee. But not for the same reasons, of course. Being a mom is incredibly intense, but it’s so rewarding. Tying knots all day is soul sucking.

What is the biggest job perk you've had?

Between working at the woolen mill and becoming a mom, I taught English as a second language for eight years. My first teaching job after graduate school was at a private language institute in San Francisco. The institute offered a multitude of social activities, and teachers volunteered to lead the activities.

I was new in town and didn’t know many people yet, so I was happy to spend a few hours after work hanging out with students. I got paid to take them bowling, shopping, and sightseeing, and the school reimbursed me for my expenses. We frequently went to bars and played pool and darts. I asked the bartenders for receipts after they mixed my drinks.

Yep, being paid to play pretty much ruled.

What did you like least about working in an office job?

I know I’m not alone in my hatred of ass time. You know, the obligation to sit at a desk for a certain number of hours each day whether I was doing something productive or not. This was one of the main reasons I decided to go into teaching. Sure, I sat at a desk while lesson planning and grading, but I could leave when I was done. Or I could go do something else for a while and finish things at home. Or at a coffee shop. I need that freedom.

I’ve my share of temping and admin work, where ass time is de rigueur. It was really bad when I was a secretary for a year after college. I didn’t have enough work to do, and I was a prisoner to my cubicle. I don’t even remember how I passed the time, but I should have been working on a novel.

What did you like most about working in an office job?

I’m a fan of paychecks, and I miss those. I also enjoyed my students and still keep in touch with many of them. I traveled to Japan a few years ago, and about a dozen of my former students got together for a party in Tokyo. We stayed out until the wee hours singing karaoke and then went to a Japanese version of Denny’s. That was a great night.

What you would do if you weren't a writer?

Keep mothering my girl, eventually go back to teaching. Or maybe pursue my lifelong dream of being a singer/model/actress. I think I have what it takes to be a triple threat.

What you would do if you were independently wealthy and didn't actually HAVE to work?

I’d hire a cook and a housekeeper so that my husband and I could spend more time enjoying our daughter and each other. This would also give me more time to write. I try to write during naptime, but there are always other things that need doing, and if I’m not doing them, then I’m stressing about not doing them. Today I made 75 Swedish meatballs while my daughter slept. Which was great; now I have a few extra dinners in the freezer. But I didn’t get a chance to write.

I need some servants.

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What fun! (Well, except for that bit about the woman in the woolen mill.) And, yeah, paychecks. Sigh.

Hugs,
TLC