Your name affects how people view you - and how you view yourself. In fact, "Ernests, Prestons and Tyrells of America are significantly more delinquent than the Michaels and Davids." [Full disclosure: David Lubar – why didn’t they factor you in?] This article in Time magazine also says “The researchers developed an equation that gave the most popular name of the period, Michael, a score of 100....

Because I have no book out this year, I am able to read the YALSA lists that went up last night with dignified detachment.  But I do congratulate many friends who made the lists, particularly marypearson  ,  coebooth  , whose book made both BBYA and QP -- a significant accomplishment, and particularly my friend, Marjetta Geerling, whose first novel, Fancy White Trash,  made the cut...

Okay.  It's 10:24.  I have twenty minutes to post this sucker.  Why the rush?  After some comment exchanges with the talented coebooth  regarding time spent writing blog entries, one of my resolutions this year is to spend twenty minutes per entry, thirty max and NO ANAL EDITING ALLOWED. (I don't have time to dwell, but let me just say for someone like me, this will be a very difficult,...

2008 was a year of many miles and milestones for me. I think I traveled more in '08 than in any other year of my life. My awesome publisher sent me to many places to meet with readers, bookstore owners, teachers, librarians, and more. In the process I got to meet, for the first time, so many people including a whole lot of LJer's like, beckylevine literaticat seaheidi ...

Sunday, 11/23 Boarded an early flight to Atlanta, where I caught another flight to San Antonio, for the ALAN conference. Checked into my hotel around 1:30 p.m. local time, took a 15-minute stroll around the Riverwalk, and then back to my room for a hot shower, a little relaxing, and then some major primping. Met my speaking agent, Catherine Balkin of Balkin Buddies , for drinks in the hotel's lobby...

am I tired. Yeah, I know that's not how the saying goes, but I didn't think I'd have enough energy to handle the collective, internet-wide groans Seriously, though, the 2008 ALAN Workshop was such a fantastic experience, made all the more fantastic because this year's ALAN president (now past-president...congrats on passing the gavel, David), our own thunderchikin ran the whole thing beautifully...

i put a big photo post up at the longstockings blog , if you want to see all the shots, but here's my four favorite pictures from last night's NBA readings.   me and  e_lockhart   halseanderson  freshly medaled me and my number one lit boy, david levithan coebooth   and  jennyhan  ...the best writing buddies a girl could hope for!