Friday's Favorite: Jen Calonita PLUS chance to win SIGNED book!

For those of you who follow me on Twitter or Facebook or just see my events page, you've seen a familiar name keep popping up time and again: Jen Calonita. Jen and I have done a bunch of events together and besides being one of my favorite people, she's also one of my favorite authors.

I first met Jen back in 2006 when I was Director of Publicity at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. LBYR was getting ready to publish Jen's debut novel, Secrets of My Hollywood Life. Right away I knew that I was going to love Jen from reading her book. Secrets follows 16-year-old Kaitlin Burke, an actress on one of TV's hottest shows. But the pressures of fame were getting to Kaitlin so she decides to enroll (undercover) at a normal high school. I don't want to give anything away to those who haven't read it, but surprisingly enough, sometimes the pressures of high school can rival those of being a teen starlet. Reading the books makes you feel like your best friend is telling you a story. Plus, every chapter reveals a Hollywood secret (Jen spent years as an entertainment journalist and has interviewed tons of celebrities) so you feel like a total Hollywood insider.

Over the past five years, I've gotten to see Kaitlin grow up and tackle the paparazzi, problem co-stars, crushes, Broadway, her Momager, among many others through her six books. This past month, the last Secrets of My Hollywood Life book, There's No Place Life Home was released (it's my favorite of the series!). It was bittersweet to say good-bye to Kaitlin, but luckily for readers, Jen is working on a new series, Belles, which is coming out next spring (and if you can't wait until then, check our her other novels: Reality Check and Sleepaway Girls).

It probably won't be hard to guess that Jen and I are already talking about what we'll be doing together for the release of our next books. We are tour buds for life!

I also want to say that Jen is one of the most generous people I've ever known. When I finally revealed to her my deep dark secret that I was working on a novel, she was so supportive. She was the first author to give me a blurb for The Lonely Hearts Club and I really feel honored to do events with her.

So in honor of Jen and the Secrets series, I wanted to do something special for my readers. So I have a SIGNED copy of Secrets of My Hollywood Life for one lucky reader!

All you have to do is answer this question in the comments section below: Who is YOUR secret (or not-so-secret) Hollywood crush? I'll choose one person from random on Sunday evening (EST). (And sorry - for US residents only!) Please note, my comments section has been recently re-opened so I do have to approve all comments, so it may take a few hours for your comment to show up, but don't worry, I'll approve them all (even if I think your crush is icky - kidding!).

Good luck!

UPDATE: Thank you all for participating, I really loved reading your entries (you all have FABULOUS taste in boys!). Drumroll please! The winner (chosen by the lovely folks at random.org) is Kristen Shealy! Congrats Kristen - I just sent you an e-mail!

XO, Elizabeth

Snakes on the Brain

I've been debating writing about this, but this whole escaped cobra from the Bronx Zoo has left me on edge. A lot of people respond by saying, "What idiot gets nervous about a snake that has escaped from a zoo miles away from you?" Well, the kind of person who was once chased by a SNAKE THAT ESCAPED FROM A ZOO. Yep. When I was five years old, my friend Tara and I were at a campsite and on our way to the pool. We took a shortcut that went through these tall weeds and we came across a gigantic boa constrictor. We started to scream and run. The snake probably wasn't chasing us, but it was coming in the direction that we were running. And I was 5 so I was CONVINCED it was out to get us. Later we found out it was missing from a zoo about the same distance as the Bronx Zoo is from me. So OF COURSE this cobra is coming to get me (makes total sense, right?).

Think I shouldn't be scarred for life from one snake-related instance? Yeah, well, when I was 8-9 my brother, his friend Andy, and I were walking from my aunt's cottage to go to the beach (apparently I should never swim). We were walking on a road and at the same time my brother and I realized we stepped on something. That something was a half-run over rattlesnake. Cue the freaking out.

Oh, let's see, there are SO many other snake run-ins that I could discuss (seriously, it's insane). Let's fast forward to me being in my 20s and cleaning my parent's basement with my mom. Their backyard is on the Wisconsin River so we'd get water bugs in the basement. We opened this small compartment where the pipes are and there were a ton of dead bugs. Since my mom is scared of bugs, I suggested that SHE vacuum them up since it would be good for her fears (what a kind, caring daughter I am). At one point there was something stuck on the vacuum, she lifted it up, and yep, dead snake. I responded like any sane, rational person by running upstairs and screaming. My brother finally had to go down and put the thing in a bag. To this day if I go down to the basement and see that door opened, I turn right around (even though my mom has assured me that the crack has been fixed). Again, the snake was clearly coming after me!

And can we talk about the people who walk around with giant snakes on them? Oh, haven't seen that happen EVER? Yeah, well, FOUR times in FOUR different places have I been minding my own business and some person is just walking around in PUBLIC with a snake. It's happened to me in a park in Hoboken, Times Square in NYC, Michigan Avenue in Chicago and the Charles Bridge in Prague. Three of those instances I was with someone and they wondered why I tore off (sometimes knocking over people), then saw the snake and quickly understood. What I don't understand is why they WOULDN'T run away?

So basically I TRY to put myself in circumstances where there is no chance I'll come in contact with a snake. When I was in Tucson with my parents, we went to go for a hike in a national park. I decided to talk to the park ranger first and the conversation went something like this:

ME: So it's too cold for the snakes to be out, RIGHT? PARK RANGER: The snakes are always out. ME: WHAT?!? DAD: Can you just tell her that there aren't any snakes so she doesn't freak out? PARK RANGER: Well, you should always be on the look out. And they are more scared of you than you are of it. ME: I doubt that.

So my parents and I went for a hike. Before we headed off, I turned to my dear, dear parents who have raised me and been there for me through thick and thin. I looked at them and said, "If we see a snake, I'm taking off and you are on your own."

I'm not sharing these stories so that other people become scared of snakes (although who isn't?). I'm just saying that this is why I'M convinced the Bronx Cobra is after me. And OBVIOUSLY it is a clear and rational thought after everything I've been through.

So may you all have a peaceful, snake-free existence and said cobra get caught already.

Oh, and does anybody have Samuel L. Jackson's phone number?

XO, Elizabeth

I Guess That's Why They Call it the Blues

Don't worry, I'm not depressed (quite the opposite!). This past Sunday I saw Elton John in concert. Before the show, I had to warn my friend/concert bestie Chris that I was going to freak out when Sir Elton plays "I Guess That's Why They Call it the Blues." And that I would be singing along VERY LOUDLY (more loudly than normal) and might be grabbing him. Why? Because that song is one of my favorite songs of all time. When I was in college, I went through an Elton John phase. I listened to his three (yes THREE) greatest hits albums. And then I was heartbroken (stupid boys). So I would put "I Guess That's Why They Call it the Blues" on repeat and just sit on my bed and sing along. I know, I'm such a girl. The weird thing is, when I hear that song now, I don't think about that particular boy. I just think about how that song can bring out so much emotion in me. Every time I hear it, I want to sing along at the top of my lungs.

So on Sunday night, the song started. I did indeed grab my friend and started singing along. I'll admit, I got some looks from the people around me, since I was REALLY into it. But that's what a good song should do. Bring something out in you, good or bad (hopefully good).

Since a lot of you might not know the song, I give you for your listening pleasure, Sir Elton (I'll admit the video is a little cheesy nowadays but the song is still gold):

May you never have the blues, but if you do, just hit play.

XO, Elizabeth

Fun with Authors!

Greetings from Tucson! I took a last minute trip to visit my parents who are vacationing here for the month. It's gorgeous and sunny...and I'm sitting here writing a blog. Granted, I'm outside on a deck, but still. A full-time author's work is never done. Yes, me, full-time author. WOO-HOO! I've had a crazy couple weeks that I wanted to share with you all. Two weeks ago the fab Jen Calonita and I took a road trip to Pennsylvania to do some events. (Please note, I'm going to be doing a blog about Jen next week, including a giveaway of a signed copy of Jen's Secrets of My Hollywood Life to one lucky reader.)

We had a blast! During our first event at a school, we drove up and saw this:

Yes, some adorable boy used Solo plastic cups to ask a girl to prom. (We heard she said yes!) Is this not the most adorable thing you've ever seen? Chivalry it seems, is not dead. Well, at least at this middle school. You're so lucky Christina!

That night we got to do an event with the lovely Sara Shepard. It's always so much fun to get to meet other authors. And Sara is...AWESOME! Plus, she's an absolutely amazing author. I just finished reading Pretty Little Liars (I know I'm so behind) and have her latest, The Lying Game, for my plane ride back.

I could pretty much write a blog about each and every event I've done for the past two weeks, but I will not bore you with the details. But I have to, OF CORSE, talk about the NYC Teen Author Festival.

My editor, the insanely prolific David Levithan, is the coordinator of an absolutely intense week of author events in the NYC area (see my last blog post for the entire schedule). On Monday night, I had the pleasure of being on a panel entitled "Finding Voice, Giving Voice: Speaking Up for Characters" with Cathleen Bell, Jen Calonita (yes, we don't do anything without each other!), Cecil Castellucci, Brent Crawford, Brian James, Kekla Magoon, Melina Marchetta and Marie Rutkoski. I always find it a little odd to be on a panel with other authors since I am still finding my groove as an author myself. I learned a ton from my fellow panelists and have added even more to my already ridiculous reading pile!

On Friday, my publisher Scholastic hosted an event with all the participating authors for the week. It was great catching up with so many author friends, and of course making new ones. That morning I had a bit of a geek-moment, when I changed my outfit FOUR times because Libba Bray was going to be there (luckily for all of us, Libba read last). Probably my most memorable moment from the entire week was after I read, Libba asked me if I ever had theatre training since I do different voices. I think my response was something like, "No, I'm just loud." (Gah, such a geek!) But Libba liked my reading, so my year has been made!

Sunday was the ginormous Books of Wonder signing. I believe there were 45 authors signing in four shifts. I got there early (after spending the morning with the adorable Tricia from The Truth About  Books blog) and got to, yet again, hang out with some amazing authors. See a trend here? You write a book, you get to hang out with other authors. But what really made my day was meeting one particular reader. As the four of you who read my blog about my Prom and Prejudice pub party may recall, there was a father there whose daughter had read The Lonely Hearts Club more than Harry Potter. So imagine my utter excitement when I got to meet the infamous daughter, Katherine!

Last year, I think I probably only signed about four books, but this year I had a line! (That could also be because I'm SUPER chatty!) But it is amazing to see how much can change in one year.

I know this blog was a little all over the place, but I really wanted to share some of the memorable moments over the past two weeks. It is such a blast to go to events and meet readers. I'm so grateful to all the booksellers, teachers, librarians, bloggers, and of course, readers who have made not only the past few weeks, but Author Elizabeth, a possibility.

Much love to you all! Elizabeth