Po(sey) Sessions

  Signs You Drink Too Much Coffee (click for more) - You answer the door before people knock. - Juan Valdez named his donkey after you. - You ski uphill. - You grind your coffee beans in your mouth. - You haven't blinked since the last lunar eclipse. - You lick your coffeepot clean. - You're the employee of the month at the local coffeehouse and you don't even work there. - Your eyes stay open when you sneeze. - You chew on other people's fingernails. - Your T-shirt says, "Decaffeinated coffee is the devil's blend." - You can type sixty words per minute ... with your feet. - You can jump-start your car without cables.  

It is true. Today IS my birthday. You don’t have to get me anything. (Though I am not going to say no to books!) Instead I am giving something to you. That’s right. I am hosting my first ever contest . So, first things first. You have to email all entries into this contest and I am therefore disabling commenting on this post. If you would like to leave me birthday wishes you can comment on an alternate post or feel free to email me. Or just send me books. ALL EMAILS in regards to this contest MUST have the subject “Contest”. (Okay, Megan, will you shut up already and tell us what we can win??) Fine, fine. 1rst prize : $30 Amazon shopping spree. You pick the books, I purchase and have them shipped directly to you. 2nd and 3rd prize: $10 gift certificate to book seller of your choice. Step 1: Email me, mopsmomut @ yahoo.com, with the subject “Contest”. You must list one book you would want to get if you win. If you do not do this step you cannot be entered to w...

Last week I started my feature Inside The Writer’s Studio where I invited authors to take us inside their workspace and give us a glimpse into their writing life. Mandy Hubbard, the author of the upcoming young adult novel Prada and Prejudice , agreed to be the first participant. I hoped readers would ask her questions and they obliged me. Mandy was so wonderful that she answered ALL the questions. Mandy: First off, thanks for all the great questions! Secondly, um, I think I have to admit that my office is NOT always that clean, even though I would like it to be. The pictures were taken the day after I assembled that lovely IKEA desk, bookshelf and chair. So it hadn’t had time to get cluttered yet! I asked Mandy to explain the rest of the room that you can’t see in the picture. And tell us a little more about the writing space in her own words. I used a small chunk of my advance money to buy the long-wanted office furniture (and the framed print) so it was money well sp...

Maria is currently an independent business writer and works mostly with technology and financial services companies. One day she quit her job and ended up in Argentina for a year, where she played semi-pro soccer and also wrote the first draft of what would eventually become Perfect on Paper . (Doesn’t she look adorable here? She has something mischievous going on in those eyes. And I LOVE that necklace) Why did you go to Argentina in the first place? It’s a crazy story, but one day I quit my PR job and literally had no idea what I wanted to do - other than not go to that job anymore. After a couple months of not going anymore, I bought a ticket to fly to Argentina by myself for a couple weeks to practice my Spanish. I didn’t know a single person in the entire country when I got there, but after two weeks I loved it so much that I decided to stay if I could find something to do down there. So I ended hooking up with the women’s soccer team at River Plate to play for a year ...

Last Sunday I talked about the things I enjoyed about the changes being made in book trailers. I talked about how I liked M² 's style and featured one of her trailer. The trailer above for The Professors' Wives' Club is completely different, but I love it just as much. This is the second of the interview/author talking about their book type video I have seen and I really enjoy them. I love how this one gives a peek into Joanne Rendell 's creation process. “Alternately amusing and serious, with a little literary mystery thrown in for good measure, Rendell’s smart and pleasing tale of friendship and self-actualization has broad appeal.”— Booklist I really want to read this book and this trailer just made me lust for it even more. It was great getting a real live glimpse into Joanne's daily life. And Benny is so adorable you have no option but to fall in love with him. (I already have, several times.) Read this New York Times article on Joanne and Benny.

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to chat with Kelly Parra and win a copy of Invisible Touch . (I just realized it should have been included in my mail post. Silly me!) I have been reading it and enjoying it. During the chat I was also about to meet the fabulous Tina Ferraro. And let me tell you, the more I get to know about her, the more I like her. Tina is crazy with energy and always friendly and helpful. Tina is a passionate writer and a thoughtful and caring person always looking for new ways to connect with her readers. In fact YOU can connect with her in much the same way I first did on February 12th. She will be participating with the members of Chelsea’s book club (and other interested parties.) Feel free to email me or head over to Chelsea ’s blog for more info. Kelly and Tina share a unique partnership. They are critique partners, co-bloggers, and (not least of all) friends. It seems fitting to meet them as a pair; they compliment each other so well. So, why a...

I didn’t get my post done last week. In part I only got one book. And believe me I was excited, but instead you get to see about the books I got over the past TWO weeks. (You know what THAT means. DOUBLE the thrills and chills!!) __________________________ Chelsea was generous enough to enter me for winning The Secret Life of a Teenage Siren . You had to enter a friend and since I am so awesome she decided to enter me. I had never heard of Wendy Toliver previously, but I am happy to know her now and receive this book. I have friended her on facebook and proved both of our awesome by making her reportedly laugh on several occasions. We both know she made a wise choice in accepting me in the first place! From Wendy’s site : (the book is in stores NOW !) I have inside info that tells me she is going to be featured in an author chat with Chelsea very soon. You will not want to miss getting to “meet” this fun loving author. She realized my fabulousity early on and we...

Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo started off slow for me.  It didn’t have the magic I was hoping for and expecting after reading Tiger Rising .  I am happy to report it did pay off in the end and I really enjoyed the book.  DiCamillo, as I have previously stated, makes great use of tying literature into her books for young readers.  The book that was used in this story was Gone With the Wind , which I have still yet to read.  But even though Because of Winn-Dixie barely mentioned Gone With the Wind , it still made me really want to read it. This story, like Tiger Rising , has a great simplicity to it.  I am having a hard time imagining how it was translated into a movie.  I have seen it. I haven’t even heard that much about it. The trailer looks pretty cute. I can see a lot of the elements of the book in it.   I did have one favorite part of the book that will not shock any of you. And I would like to share it here for you...

I am in the middle of a million books right now but I can’t seem to finish any of them. Does this ever happen to you? For the past 6 months or so I have really been investing my reading time into my growing interest in science fiction. If at least one of my titles isn’t sci fi, I’m not happy. Right now I am in the middle of two science fiction titles. Unwind by Neal Shusterman was suggested by my friend, and it is great that she understands what I like to read. I enjoyed it from the first page. But now we are in the middle of the book and all the science fiction and futuristic elements have mostly faded away. I enjoy the speculation that a lot of science fiction books provide but get bored when the plot pushes those things aside. The other science fiction book I am reading is Dune . I thought this would be a very slow and difficult book for me, but I am surprised at how much I am enjoying it and how quickly it is passing by. I am happy that I saw the movie first. It has...