Release Day (in pics)

*cross-posted from Author2Author.

My release day this past Tuesday was so fantastic! Since it was my birthday also I decided it was going to be a big fun wonderful day. It started bright and early with dropping off tot #1 at school (husband took the day off from work to watch tots #2 through 4) and then a stop at:





















You saw that coming didn't you? :-) Yep. I didn't get my regular drink though. Instead I got a celebratory Venti Espresso Truffle. Yum. Then off to:


















for a spa day! Oh my, this was HEAVEN.





















5 hours of quiet and relaxation! Facial, massage, pedicure, manicure, and makeup. Awesome. I tried the steam room for approximately 13.5 seconds and thought I was going to die though. Do people really like that?!

After my spa day, there was still a little time before I needed to pick up tot #1 so I stopped at the local B&N. And look:




















5th row down, 4th from the left. My book!! I just gazed at it with a stupid look until a woman came over and asked if I needed something. I told her that's my book!! She was very nice and asked if I would sign the five that they had. I said of course! And then she put these cute little autographed by author stickers on them:




















After I got home with tot #1 we finished off the day with family birthday stuff: dinner, cake, and presents.




















It was a super fabulous day!!

Interview with Pam Bachorz, author of CANDOR

Pam Bachorz, author of CANDOR is here to chat today. This book is at the very top of my wish list (aka shopping list next time I go to the bookstore) because it sounds so darn cool.



About the Book:

In the model community of Candor, Florida, every teen wants to be like Oscar Banks. The son of the town's founder, Oscar earns straight As, is student-body president, and is in demand for every club and cause.

But Oscar has a secret. He knows that parents bring their teens to Candor to make them respectful, compliant–perfect–through subliminal Messages that carefully correct and control their behavior. And Oscar' s built a business sabotaging his father's scheme with Messages of his own, getting his clients out before they're turned. After all, who would ever suspect the perfect Oscar Banks?

Then he meets Nia, the girl he can't stand to see changed. Saving Nia means losing her forever. Keeping her in Candor, Oscar risks exposure . . . and more.

Our Interview:


KRISTINA: What's your very favorite thing about your book (Certain chap? Scene? Cover?)

PAM: I love my main character--he's an antihero, really, with a smart mouth, dark outlook and some really questionable morals. But I love him like my own child. I know he's actually very lonely and vulnerable. I just want Oscar to be happy! *big mama sniff*

KRISTINA: Where do you do most of your writing? And if you have a picture could you share?

PAM: I do most of my writing in my study, at a little old oak desk we bought at an antiques show in Mount Dora. It's tucked in the upstairs part of our house, carved out of attic space and with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. I have a wire that runs from one end to the other that I hang index cards on whilst plotting. Pic here: http://pics.livejournal.com/pambachorz/pic/0000fdp3/

KRISTINA: What's the naughtiest thing you did in high school that you DIDN'T get caught doing (Fess up now!)

PAM: My secrets stay buried deep, deep within me. I mean come on, man, my Mom follows my online life too closely! Although, really, I was a good girl in high school. Not much exciting stuff to report. I think my imagination is too outlandish for me to do much bad stuff; I am all too aware of what the consequences, however unlikely, could be!

KRISTINA: What did you do on the release day of CANDOR?

PAM: I would have loved to be in Florida, since that's where the book is set and it's where I wrote nearly the whole book. But I can say that I did NOT cook dinner, or wash dishes, or any other such daily-life stuff! I reveled!

KRISTINA: What's your favorite coffee drink? (If you don't like coffee, WHY NOT?! Really, what do you like to drink then while you're writing?)

PAM: Decaf iced cafe americano. Because Starbucks does not make decaf iced coffee and we don't have a lot of Dunkin Donuts near our house!

KRISTINA: Thanks so much for stopping by Pam! Good luck with Candor!

Interview with Lauren Bjorkman, author of MY INVENTED LIFE

I have always wanted a sister. Seriously, I still give my mom crap for not having given me a sister. Sisters look like they have SO much fun. They are the built in best friend right? So I'm curious to check out Lauren Bjorkman's debut book about sisters, My Invented Life.

About My Invented Life

Roz and Eva are sisters, close friends, and fierce rivals. Roz fantasizes about snagging the lead in the school play and sexy skate god Bryan as her boyfriend. Sadly a few obstacles stand between her and her dreams. For one, Eva is the more talented actress. And Bryan happens to be Eva’s boyfriend. But is Eva having a secret love affair with a girl? Enquiring minds need to know.

Roz prides herself on random acts of insanity. In one such act, she invents a girlfriend of her own to encourage Eva to open up. The plan backfires, and Roz finds herself neck deep in her invented life. When Roz meets a mercurial boy with a big problem, she begins to understand the complex feelings beneath the labels. And she gets a second chance to earn Eva’s trust.

My Invented Life is set in a small California high school during rehearsals for a Shakespeare comedy.

Our Interview

KRISTINA: What's your very favorite thing about your book (Certain chap? Scene? Cover?)

LAUREN: My characters. I wish I could hang out with them more!

KRISTINA: Where do you do most of your writing?

LAUREN: In bed. My house is cold a lot of the time. I upgraded to fuzzy sheets recently.

KRISTINA: What's the naughtiest thing you did in high school that you DIDN'T get caught doing (Fess up now!)

LAUREN: I was too good in high school. Ah, the regret. One night I snuck out with three friends and we picked up some visiting track stars from USC who'd come to compete at Stanford. We pretended to college students. Hah! I bet they weren't fooled for a second.

KRISTINA: What did you do on the release day of My Invented Life?

LAUREN: A full on bash!

KRISTINA: What's your favorite coffee drink? (If you don't like coffee, WHY NOT?! Really, what do you like to drink then while you're writing?)

LAUREN: If coffee didn't exist, I couldn't write, and ergo sum, there'd be no book to celebrate. I adore cappuccinos, lightly sweetened, for their lovely foaminess. I have many foam spoons. And my nine year old son can say demitasse in a French accent. I only let him drink decaf for now.

KRISTINA: Another coffee lover! OMG, I think we'd be BFFs if we met! Thanks so much for stopping by Lauren, good luck with your book!

That's my boy!

We just got another delivery of stuff for the launch party.

6yr old son: Book stuff again?
Me: Yep
6yr old: Isn't your book released yet?
Me: Nope. Soon.
6yr old: It's too bad you're just an author.
Me: Um...what?
6yr old: Maybe someday you can be an illustrator too.
Me: :-) I doubt it.
6yr old: When I grow up I'll be your illustrator for you.
Me: Awwwwwww! *slobber with kisses*