Biggest Week EVAH

I take a break from this:

Copyedits...I OWN you. (Well, I'll at least finish you.:D)

to bring you epic snack-cake, music, and interview goodness. Here's what's happening this week:

NIL!!!!!!!

I'm over at One Four Kid Lit talking about NIL and sharing how NIL was conceived.:) (And did I mention I got my copyedits on Monday, had a fantastic chat with my amazing editor on Wednesday, and am shipping these goodies back by Monday? Yeah. BRING IT.:D Sleep is SO over-rated.:D)

Music love and free tunes:

Over at All The Write Notes, I shared the awesomeness of AWOLNATION and Blondfire live. As y'all may know, I'm a huge Blondfire fan. Hop over if you missed the post because you've still got time to enter the Discover Blondfire giveaway and win $10 in free iTunes.:)

#TakeMyTwinkie contest:

So yesterday I posted my Cupid's Arrow on The YA Valentines blog, where I waxed poetic about the death of the beloved Twinkie (and also shared my newfound knowledge of the Twinkie Deconstructed, which may have been an over-share). :)

Anyway! I'd ordered a Twinkie in advance of my post--and my Twinkie never came. Now I know I don't want to can't selfishly keep this snack-cake goodness to myself.  So the #TakeMyTwinkie contest was born.

Follow my #TwinkieTrack tweets on Twitter as I track my Twinkie, and when it arrives, I'll tweet #TakeMyTwinkie. Be the first to reply with the hashtag #TakeMyTwinkie and it's yours! But the best part? You'll also win a copy of one of my favorite YA releases with a MAC with hair the color of the iconic golden sponge cake.:)

Ok, the rest of my week has been insane with family stuff. Now back to copyedits.:)

Happy weekend and good luck!:)

They're hereeeeeeee! Copyedits.:)

So on Monday, this package appeared on my doorstep:

*stares at...the light...* :)

Inside the golden envelope? My NIL copyedits. 

Ok, so there they sat, on my dining room table, until I could get two of my four boys into bed. I  knew that if I opened THE PACKAGE, my mind would be spinning, and there would be NO WAY I could focus on GO DOG GO and other important nightly reading. So my NIL copyedits waited, until approximately 9.00 pm. 

Then this happened:

I cracked open the edits...

And I read them ALL.

The next morning, the table looked like this:

DONE. (Reading, that is.)

See the notebook to this right? Yup, FULL of NIL notes and copyedit questions.*

Yesterday was packed with family matters with my boys, so my copyedits sat waiting. But today? 

I feel like this:

That's what I'm talking about...

Thanks to Jay C. Spencer for this last pic. So now, bring it on, copyedits!

*Music on my iPod while reading copyedits? Blondfire and Lana Del Ray

NIL is on Goodreads! And other book stuff.:)

Happy April everyone!

NIL is on Goodreads! Woohoo! I've been a Goodreads member for a while, first as a reader, now as an author. And the idea of someone adding NIL to their "to-read" shelf? It makes my day. Truly. I can't wait for people to meet Charley and Thad...and find out whether they make it off the island. *tease alert* hehe

Here is the link to NIL on Goodreads if you're interested. :)

Other book stuff... reads & recs, young-adult style.

Here's what I'm reading right now:

I really enjoyed Book #1 (THE NAME OF THE STAR) so I've been looking forward to this book for some time. I've got high hopes...

And my recent read I can't stop thinking about?

I LOVED this book. TOTALLY LOVED IT.

I know a book is going to stay one of my all-time favorites when I keep going back to the story...when I keep thinking about the characters and their growth and their choices--and how each choice impacted the plot. Gayle Forman is a master, and JUST ONE DAY is absolutely one of my favorite reads of 2013. If you haven't read it, run to your local bookstore and scoop it up. You won't be disappointed.:)

Other recent reads I loved too: Kasie West's PIVOT POINT, A. G. Howard's' SPLINTERED, and Jennifer Nielsen's THE FALSE PRINCE.

Next on my TBR list:

The cover alone is amazing.

If you had one book to recommend I read next, what would it be? And what's your favorite read of 2013 so far?