I Interrupt My Brain Eating Post to Announce.....

PIVOT POINT is going to be published! I SOLD MY BOOK!!! Well, I didn't sell it, my agent, Michelle Wolfson, did because she is amazing! I don't have a lot of specifics right now and my head is spinning and my brain (which really feels like it has been eaten) is still wondering if it's true (especially after my agent played a prank on me this morning), but I am so incredibly happy!

The things I do know are: I want to marry HarperTeen, I want to kiss editor Sarah Landis (and just might so she better watch out when we meet), and I get to write a sequel!! Wahoo!!!!!!!!!! I'll have more details in the coming weeks. But I am so happy....have I already said that?

Maddeningly Unhelpful Monday--Obsessed

So, I've gotten more comments/emails/phone calls about my last Monday "Duck Post" than any other post before. Which makes me wonder: What is wrong with you people?!? A duck's life hung in the balance, children were in the process of being scarred for life. What was so funny about that?

Just kidding. I left out the part in my post where I was laughing so hard that my daughter threatened to throw her iTouch at me. So, yes, I'm glad we all found the situation amusing. All that matters is the duck is safe. Right? We don't have to feel bad about our laughter because the duck is safe.

Now, on to today's post.

Welcome to my new obsession:

Like with most things, I'm probably late to the party. But have you played this game yet? It meets all the requirements of a great game: Plotting, Tension, and Zombies trying to eat your brains. (I know, the requirements are pretty specific so you can imagine how excited I was when I found a game that fits them.) It's awesome. You have to find the right plants to plant at the right time and in the right place that will hopefully kill the zombies before they invade your house and eat your brains.



I started playing it yesterday and am ashamed to admit that I ended up playing it for nine million hours or until the battery on my iPhone ran out. My husband kept trying to look over my shoulder, saying, "What are you playing?" "Shhhh," I'd hiss, "I have to kill the zombies." An hour later, "Are you still playing that dumb game?!" This is where I would've backhanded him across the stomach for such blasphemy, but I was too busy killing the disco-dancing zombie.

So, when you are all addicted to this game, I just want you to remember who helped you on your way to being extremely unproductive. Me.

Ah, Blogger is Back

Welcome back, Blogger. Where have you been? I hope that was a one time only vacation you took yesterday. Twitter has been giving me problems as well lately. This may place entirely too much importance on me and my influence but I believe I broke the Internet with my mind powers.

In other news, Sarah Dessen is going to be in Utah tonight and I am going to be here....not in Utah. Sarah is my author crush. I was up way too late last night reading her newest: What Happened to Goodbye. I haven't finished it, but so far it's everything I hoped for. Sarah never lets me down.......oh, wait, except when her signing tour doesn't include California! Come on, Sarah, why didn't you consult me on this. Maybe my mind powers can get her plane to make a landing here (not because of an emergency or anything but maybe because the pilot has realized that the woman he broke up with the week before is really his true love and he must prove his love by landing his plane on her street and proposing to her) and then Sarah will just have to do a last minute signing. Come on Mind Powers, don't fail me now. *Thinks really hard*

Maddeningly Unhelpful Monday--How to Traumatize Your Children

In honor of mother's day, I thought I would share a motherhood failure story to make you all feel better about your parenting. Or, you can take notes if you're looking for a way to traumatize your children.

Some of you may remember the baby duck that adopted our family. We named him Ding Dong and he lived in our pond.

He grew into a big healthy duck. Look at us, aren't we good duck parents. We raised a healthy duck.

But as the days got hotter, our pond (which is really a rain water drainage ditch) began to dry up and we knew we needed to find a real home for Ding Dong. We noticed at the end of our street some other ducks that looked exactly like ours living in a permanent pond complete with water lilies and grass. The ducks seemed so happy and nice waddling around their pond scavenging for food. So we thought when our pond became too low for our duck to swim in, we would take him down to the corner and ask the owners if our duck could join with the others.

In preparation of this inevitable day we began to mentally ready our children for the separation because they had become rather attached to the duck. So every time we drove by, I'd say things like, "Oh look, there's Ding Dong's family." I said this so much that soon my kids started saying it. My 4 year old son would wave when we drove by and scream, "Hi Ding Dong's brothers and sisters!" It was so cute and heartwarming that I just knew things were going to be fine.

Fast forward to a month later. It was time. Our pond was dry. The duck needed to be moved. We got a box, put the duck inside and drove to the corner. The owners were very nice and agreed to the addition. So we walked, as a family, up to the fence. "Have fun with your new family," I said. My husband threw Ding Dong over. He spread his wings and gently glided to a landing.

Immediately the ducks were on him, tackling him to the ground and pecking his neck. I gasped in surprise, my husband said, "It's okay, let's wait a few minutes, they'll work it out." A few minutes go by, Ding Dong is running, wings flapping around the pond with the other ducks in pursuit. They tackle him again. My son screams, "They're killing him!!" My daughters burst into tears. I look at my husband and start laughing. My daughters tell me to save him. "They'll work it out," my husband keeps saying. We drag our kids, crying, to the car where we look on for a few more minutes, still horrified. Finally, we drive away.

When we get home I look up 'How to introduce a duck to a new flock' on Google.

Short answer: Don't. Or: Take your time, it's very hard and can result in duck murder.

I get back in the car and retrieve my duck. The next day I buy a kiddie pool for the months our pond is dry. We still have a duck.

Every time we drive by the house on the corner my son stares out the window and in a low voice says, "Those are the mean ducks, mommy."

End result: Traumatized children with a life lesson on the pecking order.

Wednesday Review-The Voice

I tried to resist. "Self," I said, "You are not going to talk about The Voice on your blog because it will come off as an Adam Levine love fest." I listened to myself really well for one whole week.....until The Voice came on again. And then I said to myself, "Self, considering how much you talk about this subject ("this subject" being Adam) on twitter, people already know, they already know." So here I am. Talking about The Adam...I mean The Voice. I love this show. And surprisingly, my love for the show, goes beyond this guy:

(Not very far beyond this guy. I mean, look at him!)

I've decided that shows such as these really get me because, in a way, they remind me of trying to get published. You start with a dream that you've worked hard on, poured your soul into. It's a passion. Then you take that dream (by this point that dream is an actual book), write a query letter (or in their case, stand in front of four judges) and hope someone can hear your voice. Hope they can see your potential. Dream they'll want to help you reach that potential. So when that chair turns around (sorry, if you haven't seen The Voice, you probably won't get that) it makes my heart so happy for those people. And when it doesn't, I feel their pain. I've just really been so happy with this show.

If you've seen the show, do you like it? If not, what show do you love?

Next week, back to regularly scheduled programming (meaning, I might actually review a book).

Wednesday Review-Demonglass

(I love the cover. Hex Hall's cover is equally beautiful.)

I have been waiting to read this book ever since I finished the last word of Hex Hall (the first book in this series). I'm so glad I finally read it. Amazing. I am a huge fan of Rachel Hawkins. I love her fun, fresh voice. Sophie, the main character, is hilarious. I like a book where I can laugh one minute and feel tense the next, and Rachel does an amazing job of balancing these emotions well. A great sequel to a great series. I can't wait for the third book....sigh....but I'm going to have to, considering this one barely came out. If anyone wants to throw an ARC my way in the future, I would not be opposed to that at all. Anyone?.....Anyone?

On a completely different and totally unrelated topic, did anyone see The Voice last night? Loved it. (And not just because Adam Levine makes me happy.) The show was very entertaining.

To the Cannons!

My son's been asking me all week: "Mom, is today the day we get to see the cannons?" You see, we're going to the Grand Canyon and since my son has no reference for the word 'canyon' he's turned it into the only thing he knows that sounds like the word: cannon. He even told my daughter, "There's going to be big fireworks." Am I a little worried that when we pull up to the big hole in the earth today that he is going to melt into fits of extreme disappointment? Uh.....yes, yes I am. Oh well, at least by the end of the day he will have a reference for the word 'canyon.' I've lived in California my whole life and have never been to the Grand Canyon, so I think I'll have a new reference for the word as well.

Is anyone doing anything fun for Spring Break?