When in Rome...

Only positive things can come from teens and adults honestly discussing the serious issues presented in so many teen novels. That's why I'm always so happy to hear about parents reading Thirteen Reasons Why, or teachers working it into their curriculum. So imagine how thrilled it made me to know an entire community had decided to read and discuss my book! My visit to Rome, Georgia this week was only the conclusion to their lengthy discussion of bullying and suicide prevention.

On Thursday, I spoke at three schools. My time at Floyd Education Center, Rome Transitional Academy, and Rome High School were wonderful because almost every student I spoke to had read the book. At one school, students figured out something positive to take away from each cassette tape (in most books, that's what you'd call a chapter), and were reminded of those positive thoughts every time they walked down the hall.


Another school recreated Hannah's map on the wall as they read through the book aloud. But they didn't read the entire book themselves. Their teacher had previously recorded all of Hannah's words onto cassettes (their sides labeled 1 thru 13), and then different students added Clay's words. They also made Found Poetry, taking snippets of text from each cassette to create poems.

At Rome High School, I spoke to all of their freshmen at once.


And then, something I thought was going to be insanely cheesy turned out to be quite inspiring. Each guidance counselor had their respective students stand up and repeat a chant, challenging their group to have the most graduates in 2014. The entire freshman class then stood and sang their alma mater accompanied by members of the school band.


That evening, I attended a reception with the seven winners of a county-wide Thirteen Reasons Why essay contest, which included middle school, high school, and college students.


The reception was followed by a presentation to the community.


It was a very emotional evening from beginning to end. Hanging up in the auditorium were quilts displaying the names and faces of Georgians who took their own lives. The woman who introduced me to the audience said she felt personally connected to Thirteen Reasons Why because her son had once attempted suicide, and I had the pleasure of meeting him when my speech was over.

The speech itself was so much fun. The questions during the Q&A were some of the best I've been asked (and I didn't even have to pull teeth to get them to ask questions!).

Here are some shots of my new friends. Aren't they beautiful!



To check out the newspaper's take on my visit, as well as see some photos and watch some video taken throughout the day, check out the Rome News-Tribune.

One Book = MY BOOK!!!

This Thursday, I'll be participating in one of the greatest honors of my writing career. The beautiful folks in Rome, Georgia chose Thirteen Reasons Why as their One Book Many Voices community read. So I'll be heading Down South to speak at several schools during the day, then giving a community presentation that evening.

Their newspaper has been hyping my visit for several weeks. They recently held an essay contest for middle school, high school, and college students in order to have a special dinner with me before the community presentation. Seven winners were chosen from 178 essays, and I am so excited to share a meal with those students!

But while I've used words like "greatest honors of my writing career" and "so excited", let me also add "insanely nervous" to describe what's going on. This community has set the bar fairly high. The past three authors they've invited have been Paul Rusesabagina (his autobiography, An Ordinary Man, was the basis for the movie Hotel Rwanda), Sherman Alexie (for The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian), and Dr. Maya Angelou (for I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings).

Every time I read through those names, my throat goes: Gulp!


If you're anywhere near Rome, Georgia this Thursday, I'd love to see you!

Local Boy All Growed Up

Friday night was the beginning of the 26th Annual Central Coast Writers' Conference. The keynote speaker, Nathan Bransford, had a lot to live up to. His blog is one of the absolute must-reads for any writer hoping to get published. So how did he do? Sure, he's nice and charming and smart and engaging and optimistically realistic and informative and funny. So yeah, if you like that sort of thing, you would've loved his talk.

That was followed by the first workshop session. In this biz, the author I've been friends with the longest is Kathleen Duey. So I was feeling pretty cool getting to "guest speak" in her workshop to a class full of teen writers. No, not adult writers writing for teens, but teenaged writers. While this conference is geared toward adults, they've started offering teen-writer tracks, as well as special scholarships for those teens. Much respect to the people who thought of that!

On Saturday, I attended a few workshops which gave me ideas for writing topics to discuss later on my blog. But in each of those workshops, I was slightly nervous because in the afternoon...I was to be presented with a plaque! And they expected me to say something inspiring! THE PRESSURE!!!

Conference Director Judy Salamacha and Cathe Olson

They named me the Central Coast Writers' Conference 2010 Success Story, which was an extremely kind and wonderful honor. I began writing while attending Cuesta College (the location of this conference), and the Central Coast Writers' Conference was my first professional step toward publication. So I briefly shared with them some of the ups and downs of my journey, and I even let them in on a little secret that I haven't shared publicly yet.

Hey, I told you to attend!


And the after-party? Mmm...! It was held in the beautiful garden at Coalesce Bookstore in Morro Bay, and they had nummiest hors d'oeuvres I've ever had. Let me repeat: Mmm...!

See ya there next year!

Nathan Bransford, me, Merrily Kutner, Kathleen Duey

Central Coast Writers' Conference

This Friday and Saturday is the 26th Annual Central Coast Writers' Conference. This conference was my very first step toward taking myself seriously as a writer.

Here are my internal thoughts before registering for my first Central Coast Writers' Conference:

What in the world am I doing? If I do this, it's letting everyone know that I really want to be a published author. Who am I to think I'll ever write anything publishable? Everyone's gonna laugh at me!

Forget it. I don't need this! I can get published without anyone giving me tips on improving my craft. I don't need anyone's advice on getting ahead in the publishing world. I'm a self-made writer!

Okay, now I'm just lying to myself.

Just do it. Do it!

I did it.

But now I'm afraid to actually show up.

Whatever's keeping you from taking that first step, get over it!

I'll be there, giving a brief Local Success Story speech. Kathleen Duey will be there. Nathan Bransford will be there. A bunch of other writers and publishing people will be there.

And you? I hope to see you there, too.

The Hungarian Edition!

CelebrEIGHT!!!

Eight years ago today, JoanMarie and I both said, "I do." Two thousand eight hundred eighteen days later, looking back on everything, would we do it again?

"We would!"

(And yes, I did ask. Cynics!)

It's weird to think that this will be our last anniversary spent with just the two of us in our home. Weird...but wonderful.

Last weekend, atop San Luis Mountain.

If there's one thing that makes me feel like I'm absolutely glowing inside and floating a few inches above the ground, it's knowing that my son will have JoanMarie as his mommy. Isaiah is a very blessed boy.

And I'm a very blessed hubby!

Happy 9/02/10 Day!

I'm not (very) embarrassed to admit that I was a huge fan of the original Beverly Hills 90210. Of course, I probably wouldn't bring it up unless I had an extremely good reason. And that reason is, today's...

International 90210 Day!!!

We won't get another chance to celebrate this wonderful day until September 02, 2110. So you might as well party it up now!


Before you laugh at me too much (I'm not sure what constitutes "too much" in this case, but I'll let you know when you reach it), let me remind you that Beverly Hills 90210 was fairly groundbreaking in its early years, tackling subjects like drugs, sexual abuse, eating disorders, and lying to your parents(!!!). Yep, that was controversial stuff back in the early '90s. Thankfully, our society isn't afraid to openly discuss those issues today.

Sorry, now I'm laughing!

When the show was in its first season, a bunch of my guy friends were really into it. But I was much too cool to watch a show with such a silly name, so I made fun of them. Eventually, I had to start watching it just so I'd have something to talk about with them during lunch. And then...

I got totally hooked! I needed to know what trouble Steve was going to get into next. Was Donna going to lose her virginity to David on prom night? Would the hairless patch on Dylan's eyebrow ever be explained???


Here are some me-centered 90210 facts:

• When my friends and I formed a rock band in high school, we played a smokin' version of the theme song.
• Even though the actors and actresses were older than the characters they played (in some cases, much older...I'm looking at you, Andrea Zuckerman), they played students who were in the same graduating class as me. Class of '93 rocks!
• During the final few seasons, I became good friends with one of my co-workers after one of us accidentally let it slip that we liked the show. From that moment on, if you needed to get ahold of me on Wednesday nights at 8pm, you could find me at Shannon's house.
• A cast member who starred on the show for a couple of seasons contacted me about producing a film version of Thirteen Reasons Why. I had to say no for various reasons, but just being contacted by him and knowing that he loved the book was insanely cool!

And now, for your viewing pleasure, the opening theme song and credits to the original (and still the best) Beverly Hills 90210...





(If you never caught the episode titled "A Night to Remember", you're probably wondering: Did Donna and David do it on prom night? Well, it truly shouldn't matter anymore. Seventeen years, one month, and twelve days later, David married Megan Fox.)

An Abundance of Jordans

While brainstorming ideas for stories, I often take things from my own life, mix them with things that happened to friends, then blow things way out of proportion. A lot of YA writers first look to the news for ideas and end up with something ripped straight from the headlines.

Another common source of inspiration is classic literature, which is then reimagined for today's teen audience. For example, even though it isn't a novel, the soon-to-be-released Easy A is basically a YA version of The Scarlet Letter. (And I kick myself daily that I didn't think of it first!)

But most YA writers who use other literary sources for inspiration forget to turn around and look in the opposite direction. Instead of looking toward adult books for inspiration, why not dig through the stacks of the children's library and reimagine one of those books with a cast of teenagers pulling us through the story?

For example...

While I don't think John Green got the idea for his Printz-honor winning novel from a picture book, he could have. And so can you!

Released in 2006:

From the jacketflap:
When it comes to relationships,
Colin Singleton's type is girls name Katherine.
And when it comes to girls named Katherine,
Colin is always getting dumped.
Nineteen times, to be exact.

Released in 2004:

From the jacketflap:
How many names do you think there are in the universe?
Thousands? Millions?
Probably even billions.
So why does there have to be
four boys named Jordan in Elizabeth's class?
Just to make her crazy, I think.

Four's Family

Each summer, JoanMarie and I watch our niece and nephew for a week. It's a week we all look forward to, and with this year's week-long extravaganza coming to a close, we're already looking forward to next year!

This year began as it usually does, camping for a few days in beautiful Big Sur.


We did much experimenting with the best way to eat a S'mores. Ever try adding a bit of PB&J to your S'mores? Ever try roasting marshmallows with a slab of chocolate between the burning 'mallows? We did!


After a hike to the top of Buzzard's Roost...


...it was time to relax in the river right next to our campsite. Here's Ellory, JoanMarie, and Genevieve chillin' on some tubes.


But you can only relax for so long. Then it's time to rock-jump!


It's fun finding new ways to quickly dry off.


Whenever JoanMarie felt Isaiah move, it was all-hands-on-belly.


The weather could not have been better all week. Avila Beach was amazing.


Somehow, for the first time, no one got sunburned!


Over chocolate fondue, I introduced them to The Monster Squad and Explorers (two of my faves from the mid-80s). The expressions say it all.


Each night, I read to them before bed. I'm getting a bit better at differentiating voices, but I've got a ways to go.


One morning, we went out for donuts at Sunshine Donuts. Back in college, JoanMarie worked their 11pm to 6am shift for a while, and I'd visit around 1am for some free donuts and a little flirting.

For those of you who've ordered JoanMarie's CD (available on the right-hand side of this blog), the song Sunshine is about a few of the customers she met while working at the donut shop.


I know. I know! All I've mentioned so far are S'mores, chocolate fondue, and donuts. But I swear, we ate healthy. There were salads! (No, there were no salads available at the Great American Melodrama. But the chilidogs were great!)

Of course, it's all about noticing the little things which makes hanging out with family so special. For example, Ellory noticed how perfectly my tire stopped after rolling over a couple wads of gum.


And we all noticed the friendly starfish at the aquarium.


On our last night, we took them to their first ever drive-in movie.


It doesn't matter what you see at the drive-in, just being there is worth the admission.

Next year, there'll be a new addition to our week-long extravaganza. I can't wait for Isaiah to spend some quality time with his cousins...and they can't wait to hang out with him!

Get In My Belly

I love this picture!


I love that JoanMarie's finally showing. And she loves it, too. She no longer has to deal with strangers glancing at her belly with "Is she or isn't she?" looks.

At the beach this weekend, I was reading aloud from a book about taking care of newborns, when JoanMarie raised the bottom of her shirt. Isaiah was stirring! I placed my hand on her tummy and, for the very first time, felt the movements of my son. I have no idea what my face looked like, but a squad of teenage girls on towels a few feet away touched their hearts, tilted their heads, and sighed. They looked so cheesy!

(Like I said, I have no idea what I looked like.)

And speaking of bellies...

Now that I don't have to worry about fitting into my Cupid costume anymore, I decided to catch up on some food I've been meaning to try. You've all heard about that KFC Double Down, right?

"This one-of-a-kind sandwich features two thick and juicy boneless white meat chicken filets (Original Recipe® or Grilled), two pieces of bacon, two melted slices of Monterey Jack and pepper jack cheese and Colonel's Sauce."

I was so excited to finally dig into one of those! Unfortunately, the KFCs around here don't carry them.

Boo!!!

But since we were there, I enjoyed my first fried chicken in several years, and it was gooooooooood.


And yes, since I don't have any upcoming author visits for a while, I'm also letting my facial hair grow. In a month or so, I'm hoping to look like Zach Galifianakis.

That guy's hilarious!

Coming Attractions

Something borrowed:




Something original:

(Complete with original bloopers!)

Something German:




Hollywood, we're waiting...

SCBWI ’10

The annual Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators conference took place this past Friday thru Monday, which means I'll be catching up on my sleep until at least next Monday. So how did this year hold up against previous years? You'd think I would be jaded after attending this event for eleven years straight, but the 2010 conference is neck-and-neck with the 2000 conference (which was pretty flippin' amazing) for my favorite conference experience.

The keynote speeches were better this year than any year I can remember. Speakers who inspire, entertain, and get across nuggets o' wisdom are rare...but they were in abundance this year.

The best part of any SCBWI conference is catching-up with old friends while also stepping out and making new friends. This year was a wonderful mix of new and old for me and I'll definitely be keeping in contact with several people I met for the first time this year.

And now for some photos!

Two of the authors I was most looking forward to seeing were M.T. Anderson and Carolyn Mackler (both were keynote speakers).


Mr. Anderson is one of the most down-to-earth smart dudes you'll meet. He also loves doing character voices, though his Grover sounds a tad more Yoda-ish.


Ms. Mackler and I actually did meet briefly years ago when she signed my copy of Vegan Virgin Valentine, which is one of my favorite books. She claims to remember meeting me, and I think it's very sweet that she tells me that.

Of course, the conference ain't complete without a costume and a dance! This year's theme was Heart & Soul, and before I show you a good photo of my costume this year, see if you can spot me:


Several weeks ago, I found a cupid costume online. It was an embarrassing costume, which made it the perfect costume. I sent the link to Ms. Mackler to show her that, yes, people do dress wacky at SCBWI. In her keynote speech, she claimed that I asked her to dress up with me. In truth, she asked me if it'd be cool to dress alike. And of course it was cool! So while our origin stories may differ (I personally think she can't believe it was her idea to dress like...as she dubbed the costume in her speech...Skanky Bo Peep), it was absolutely less embarrassing to dress as S.B.P. with someone else. And when our friend Rachel Vail (an amazing speaker) agreed to dress up with us, it was even less embarrassing and much more fun!


We even tied for first place in the costume contest!

Finally, just before everyone went home, the attendees stood in long lines for autographs. The one autograph I was most looking forward to was from Loren Long.


This will be Baby Isaiah's very first signed picture book:

Fall 2010 Children's Books

The Fall 2010 Children’s Books issue of Publishers Weekly is finally here!!! Relying on the brief descriptions given for each title, here are the upcoming (or recently released) mid-grade and teen novels which most piqued my curiosity:

Benjamin Franklinstein Lives! by Matthew McElligott and Larry Tuxbury, illus. by McElligott. Victor discovers that Benjamin Franklin was put into suspended animation and hidden away in his basement for 200 years.

The Blending Time by Michael Kinch. In 2054, three teens are chosen to help repopulate Africa after a solar flare leaves its people sterile.

Bloodthirsty by Flynn Meaney. When the other girls at school become obsessed with a vampire book, shy Finbar pretends to be undead to get some attention.

The Boy Who Howled by Timothy Power. A boy who has been living with a wolf pack tries to fit in when he is sent to live with humans.

The Candymakers by Wendy Mass. Four kids competing in a candy-making competition must discover who is trying to sabotage the candy factory.

The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman. In a rare items library, Elizabeth discovers a secret room filled with items from Brothers Grimm tales.

Hero by Mike Lupica. Billy learns that his father was a superhero—and he has inherited his powers.

The Limit by Kristen Landon. If a family exceeds the debt limit imposed by the government, the oldest child is taken away to a workhouse.

The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney. After she is date-raped at school, Alex turns to an underground student society to seek justice.

My Fake Boyfriend Is Better Than Yours by Kristina Springer. Two seventh-grade frenemies battle it out using their made-up boyfriends.

Past Midnight by Mara Purnhagen. A girl whose parents have a ghost-debunking TV show discovers that two angry ghosts have followed her to her new school.

Rules for Secret Keeping by Lauren Barnholdt centers on a girl who runs a successful secret-passing business.

Stork by Wendy Delsol. The heroine of this novel of romance and the supernatural has the ability to decide who gets pregnant.

Three Quarters Dead by Richard Peck. Kerry begins receiving text messages from three schoolmates who died in a car accident.

The Unidentified by Rae Mariz is a dystopian novel about a girl attending a school in a mall where students are used for market research.

Virgin Territory by James Lecesne. After his mother dies, a boy meets the leader of a group of kids whose families seek out sightings of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

You Are Not Here by Samantha Schutz. When her secret love is killed, Annaleah struggles with a grief that no one will acknowledge.

You Wish by Mandy Hubbard. On her birthday, Kayla wishes that all her previous birthday wishes would come true, but may regret it when they do.

Rock this Way

This past weekend, JoanMarie and I did a lot of cool things which I'm not allowed to publicly tell you about...yet. But I will tell you about the most awkward moment. On Saturday, we stayed at my aunt and uncle's house and watched a home video from 1990. Now, JM's never seen a video of me from the High School Daze. This one was set on Christmas Eve and contained me in my acid-washed jeans, skinny body, gap-toothed, full-on mullet glory.

JoanMarie's response to that visual embarrassment? "You're so cute."

Yep, she's a keeper!

On that video, one of the presents I opened was Aerosmith's Permanent Vacation CD. And that was weird because, two days later, we went to the California Mid-State Fair and saw...AEROSMITH!!!

If you've never been to a state fair, half of the fun is the food. And even though bacon and chocolate are two of JM's favorite foods, the combo seemed a bit too much to even try.


Aerosmith was one of the bands which caused guitar rock to dig its claws into me during the summer of 1988. The anticipation of seeing them live for the first time was almost unbearable.


Steven Tyler, the lead singer, has to be the best frontman of all time. His vocal screams are still perfect and his stage presence is mesmerizing. And the dude is 62!


Remember the slappin' da bass scene in I Love You, Man?



That was pretty much me all night. But I was shreddin' da guitar!


JoanMarie's response? "You're so cute."

Rock on!

It's a . . .

IT'S A BOY!!!

Here's our first family photo.

(Jay Edward Asher, Isaiah Nathan Asher, JoanMarie Asher)

The 3-D ultrasound imaging they do is amazing. We got to watch him kick and squirm and grab his toes. It was so adorable!


When he's sleeping, his mommy thinks he looks just like his daddy.


But like his mommy, he already likes to sing. Here he is singing a Diana Ross song: I'm coming out. I want the world to know...


I swear, at one point, he looked right at us and smiled!


So who guessed boy and was randomly selected by JoanMarie to win a whole bunch of goodies?

Congratulations
Jennifer Petro-Roy!!!

Since you left your email along with your guess, you've made this next part easy for me. I'll be sending you an email to get your shipping address, and in the near future you'll be receiving:

• a signed copy of Thirteen Reasons Why (let me know who you'd like it personalized to)
• a signed copy of JoanMarie's CD In This World (ditto the above info)
• The Hardy Boys #1: The Tower Treasure
• an It's A Boy bubblegum cigar
• a blue footprint lollipop
• pretzel M&M's
• a blue My Sticker Book
• an Uglydoll named Ket
• a blue diapered mini-baby
• tropical punch Pop Rocks
• a blue razz berry Blow Pop

Thank you all for being so excited for us. It was one of those beautiful days we'll never forget!