two words...SOLD OUT!

I had an amusing conversation with my husband on Saturday afternoon around 2:30:

Jackie: Hi!
Martin: Hi! How's the signing going? (note: My signing at the Lancaster Borders was scheduled from 1-3 pm)
J: Oh, well, I'm leaving now.
M: What!? Why?
J: Well, I sold out.
M: (several moments of silence) Really?
J: Yes, really!
M: That's @#*$@#& great!
J: Yeah, I'm pretty stoked myself. Oh, and this guy asked me out for tonight. That's okay with you, right?
M: (stonily) I do own guns, you know.

Obviously, Lancaster was a hit. I sold every copy of my book the store had ordered in an hour and a half. Met some very interesting people, some more "interesting" than others, proved that I still got it goin' on in more ways than one, and just generally had a great time with Danny and Michael, my official entourage for the weekend.

I love Lancaster!

Hey everyone,
YA Enchanting Reviews just posted both an interview and a review of Surviving Serendipity at www.myspace.com/enchantingya.

Take a peek, and check out some of the other fantastic reviews and interviews, while you're at it!

Book Review: "Specials," by Scott Westerfield

In the third installment of the “Uglies” series, Tally Youngblood has changed yet again. She’s a Special, the elite police force of the city, imbued with super strength and speed, unbreakable and unbeatable. Perfect.
Yet Tally can’t forget Zane, her boyfriend from her pre-special days, tragically damaged in his attempt to reverse the mind-dulling effects of becoming “Pretty”—damage Tally still blames herself for.
Now Tally is once again torn between allegiance to her best friend and fellow Special Shay, and feelings of love and responsibility for Zane.
This was probably my favorite (so far, anyway, since I haven’t yet read “Extras”) of the “Uglies” series. In the previous two books, I had a lot of trouble “bonding” with Tally and relating to the decisions she made. But the emotional climate in this book seemed much more plausible, and Westerfield’s dialogue shines. My only complaint is that the action scenes were a little too complex—you almost needed to sketch a diagram to keep up.

feeling blue?

When I wrote Surviving Serendipity, I imagined a very special group of people for its pages: the Valforte. It is not only their character and personality attributes that make them special; so does their unique blue skin color.
Imagine my surprise when I discovered that blue people actually existed outside my imagination. Here are just a few examples of what I’ve learned:

--In 1944, eleven homeless men were found on the streets of New York City, grievously ill, and bright blue. Their strange illness and coloring were later attributed to sodium nitrite (nitrite, not nitrate) poisoning from a local flophouse kitchen. (http://lilt.ilstu.edu/pefranc/ROUECHE.00.html, “Eleven Blue Men,” by Berton Roueche)

--The Fugates of Troublesome Creek, Kentucky, nicknamed the blue Fugates, were naturally blue, the product of inbreeding which brought a recessive gene, called met-H, to the surface. The gene reduced the oxygen-carrying capacity of arterial blood (the blood your heart pumps to your limbs), giving the blood itself a chocolate color, and giving the skin of Caucasians a bluish cast. One of the Fugate women was said to have “lips the color of a bruise.” (http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a980724.html, “A Straight Dope Classic from Cecil’s Storehouse of Human Knowledge,” by Cecil Adams)

--Paul Karason, of Madera, California, began turning blue a decade ago when he began ingesting and treating his skin with a mixture of colloidal silver, which caused a condition called argyria, a permanent but harmless condition in which a bluish or grayish cast appears on the skin. Now he looks like a blue Santa Claus. (http://bodyodd.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/01/22/598906.aspx, “The True Blue Story of Paul Karason,” by Linda Dahlstrom, and http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/phs146.html, “Public Health Statement for Silver,” distributed by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.)

the windy city

the windy city
Since I'm off to Chicago in the morning, I decided to look up some fun Chicago facts to share with all of you:

--The name "Chicago" was taken from the Native American word "Shikaakwa" which means "wild leek." Leek--isn't that an onion?

--Chicago is the home of the world's largest library, Harold Washington library center, which holds over two MILLION books.

--Chicago is home to the second largest Polish population in the world, the first being Warsaw.

--The Chicago river is the only river in the world that flows backwards.

--The city is also home to one of the last free zoos in the world, the Lincoln Park Zoo (and you can bet I'll be there if I can!)

Book Review: "The Host," by Stephenie Meyer

Having nothing better to blog about, I've decided to do amateur book reviews. So, without further ado:

Wow. And I thought I was imaginative. "The Host" has to be the strangest book I've read in quite some time, but also the best. Meyer weaves her tale in the midst of a terrifying backdrop, where the human race has been taken over by an alien species, "Souls," which, once implanted in to the cervical spine of their "host," take control of that person's brain, memory, and body. The invasion took place over a period of years, the implanted aliens using the stolen memories of their host's life and personality to assimilate themselves into our society until, at last, our society no longer existed.
Well, almost. A few humans were canny enough to put two and two together and retreated into the wilderness to avoid falling victim to the high-tech bodysnatchers. One such survivor is twenty-year-old Melanie, who, along with her younger brother Jamie and boyfriend Jared, has been ekeing out a fairly good existence, staying on the fringes of populated areas and out of the hands of the "Seekers," the alien equivalent of police.
All that changes when Melanie's attempt to contact a cousin she believes may still be human leads her into the hands of the Seekers. Now, Melanie becomes the host for Wanderer, a well-travelled soul who has inhabited many other lower life-forms on other planets, and looks forward to the complexities of life in this body. But Melanie refuses to cede her mind and body so easily, and an intense battle for control between Wanderer and Melanie continues for over a year.
Finally, overcome with Melanie's emotions and memories, Wanderer heads into the desert, where Melanie believes Jared and Jamie may be hiding. After nearly dying in the desert, Wanderer and Melanie are found and rescued by a group of rebels--including Jamie and Melanie's beloved Jared. Jared, however, is unable to hide his loathing for the creature who inhabits and controls his lover's body, and Wanderer, who has been deeply affected by Mel's intense love for him, feels rejected.
Gradually, though, Wanderer, now affectionately nicknamed Wanda, is accepted into the fold, and develops feelings of her own for another human rebel, Ian.
As the love quadrangle between two men, one woman, and one alien (shared out between only three bodies) intensifies, and the rebels' tenuous hold on survival weakens, Wanda is faced with a devastating choice; allow her new, beloved human family to fall victim to their greatest fear, or betray her own people by revealing the secret that could save humankind.
I cannot even begin to express how awed and impressed I was by "The Host." Meyer's talent for "humanizing" monsters, as previously demonstrated in her immensely popular "Twilight" series, is so adroit that readers may find themselves wondering whether humans wouldn't be better off in the hands of these peaceful yet egotistical interlopers. And her ability to create inner conflict and suspense is nearly matchless; I had to leave my half-finished book in my car overnight so I wouldn't be tempted to stay up all night reading. I anxiously await "Breaking Dawn," and any other novels this talented author cares to share with us.