KIEFER!!!

The following took place between 10:30 and 11:30 p.m. Events occur in semi-real time. So last night I was hanging out with my friend Jocelyn who recently moved to NYC from Chicago (she's a Bears fan, but cool so all is forgiven). I was showing her around my fav part of the City and ended up at this cool bar (I'm being vague for privacy reasons, Mr. Sutherland's, not my own).

After returning from the jukebox (to make sure the person putting songs on wasn't going to play crap - I'm generous like that), Jocelyn turned to me and said, "I think that's Kiefer Sutherland over there." I looked over and ten feet away from me was Kiefer Sutherland. AKA Jack Bauer. AKA my favorite character from one of my favorite TV shows of all time. Cue ridiculous excitement.

Weird thing is earlier in the evening we were talking about seeing celebrities. Generally I don't say anything because a) what am I going to say that they haven't heard and, more importantly, b) I respect their privacy. So there's Kiefer hanging out with a friend. I did not want to bother him, but I love him and had to do something. So I called the bartender over and said, "I don't want to bother Mr Sutherland, but I really respect him so much. I'd like to buy him and his friend their next drink. But again, don't want to bother him, just tell them it's from a fan." The bartender asked my name and then waited for Kiefer to finish his drink. He then told them the next round is on me. I gave a little wave and thought that was it.

Yeah, no. Kiefer came over to me. Let me say that again: Kiefer Sutherland (AKA JACK BAUER) came over to ME! Yes, ME! He walked over and thanked me and said, "That's so sweet of you, but the only way I'll let you buy me a drink is if I can buy you one." Um, yeah. I tried to not freak out so I said something like, "Well, if you twist my arm..." (I'm like SO cool and suave, really it's a wonder that I'm single...). Anyways, I told him how much I enjoyed That Championship Season (the amazing Broadway show he's currently in) and then I figured I had to do it. So I said, "Okay, I'm going to be a total geek right now. I love 24. And I'm a published author and in my first book, I named the main guy Ryan Bauer (Kiefer laughed) and in my next book there's a Jack and Chloe." Oddly enough, he didn't call the Stalker Police on me.

So some time passes and I'm going about my evening (actually I was on Twitter freaking out) when there's a tap on my shoulder. It was Kiefer again. I'm just going to let that sink in for a second. Me. Shoulder. Kiefer. Got that? He was leaving, but wanted to say good-bye. He gave me a hug and a KISS ON THE CHEEK and wished me the best of luck with my books.

O.M.G.

So basically, it was the best night ever. Kiefer was honestly so super sweet and nice, it's not only a testament to him as a person, but as an actor that he can play such a super Bad-A person like Jack Bauer. (Okay, let me just say again that JACK BAUER BOUGHT ME A DRINK!).

Life complete.

XOXO, Elizabeth

The Cut

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I realized this morning that today is the one year anniversary of when I donated my hair to Locks of Love. I grew up with short hair and wore my hair at or above my collarbone for most of my adult life. So a few years ago, I thought I would grow my hair out and then donate it to Locks of Love, an organization that provides hairpieces to children who lose their hair due to various medical reasons. It took me a few years to get it long enough, but finally I had enough hair to donate.

But there was a problem. I never had really long hair before...and I really, really liked it! So I started to have conflicting feelings - after all, the reason I grew my hair out was to donate it, so it would be super selfish of me to keep it, right? And I knew I couldn't grow it out much longer, so I finally made the appointment and got the 10 inches cut (the minimum required).

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The picture makes my hair look longer than it actually was. It was just below my chin. Now us Eulbergs are known for having full faces so it was not very flattering. I've never been the kind of person to get really caught up over the length of my hair, but all of a sudden, I felt really self-conscious. I couldn't believe I was having separation anxiety (and going to the post office to mail my hair was traumatic). What kind of person was I turning into? And why am I even blogging about this?

Because my hair has grown back a bunch (I've only gotten it cut once this past year). Because at the end of the day I did something nice for a complete stranger. Because there are way worse things that can happen to you than getting your hair cut.

It's amazing what a difference a year can make. And I'm not just talking about my hair, but about a lot of different things. Time moves forward. You can either wallow in the past or pick yourself up and move on.

So yeah, I've turned a blog about getting my haircut into an inspirational rant. That's how I roll sometimes.

Oh, and I'm totally growing my hair out and I do plan to donate again (but not for awhile). And the next time, I won't be such a baby.

XO, Elizabeth

Ladies and Gentlemen... TAKE A BOW!

“Untitled Book #3” has a title: Take a Bow! The attendees at the NYPL's Teen Author Night a couple weeks ago not only got to see me in the Pajants (see previous blog), but were the first to hear the title when my editor, the fabulous David Levithan, told me that I could reveal it (I didn't believe him at first and I'm sure the audience thought I was insane for arguing with David about it!). It's not like the title was some big secret, but for awhile I didn't have a confirmed title, so I got used to calling it "Untitled Book #3." Take a Bow will be coming out in Spring 2012 from Point/Scholastic. The inspiration came from my love of music as a child and my obsession with performing arts high schools. I blame the movie Fame - the original - for my assumption growing up that high school kids regularly broke into song during lunch. I truly believe the world would be a better place if we lived in a musical. Have an issue? Dance it out!

As I started doing research on performing arts high schools, I realized how competitive they are. There's one school that requires the students to re-audition every semester. How stressful would that be? Performing arts schools generally have longer school days and you're constantly competing against your friends for roles or performance spots.  It got me thinking: What kind of strain would that put on relationships? Let's face it, high school is stressful enough already.

Take a Bow takes place at the (fictional) New York City School of the Creative and Performing Arts and follows four students -- trusting (and a little naïve) Emme, diva-in-training Sophie, reluctant frontman Ethan, and former child star Carter -- as they prepare for the Senior Showcase recital, where recruits from colleges, dance academies, etc. scope out the graduating class. With the competition heating up, there is plenty of drama and backstabbing with a little humor and romance thrown in. After all, this IS high school.

I'm really looking forward to sharing more about the book with you (including the stunning cover) in the coming months. Until then, I'm going to try to stop thinking I'm going to get in trouble every time I say Take a Bow!

XO, Elizabeth

With Pajants Comes Great Responsibility

By now it is the stuff of legends. The ghosts of Jane Austen, Louisa May Alcott, and Charlotte Bronte visited author Julia DeVillers in her dreams. They told her, "You must create a new sisterhood of YA authors with pajama jeans." Oh wait. That's a total lie. My bad.

What I believe happened was that Julia received pajama jeans as a gag gift. She then bravely decided to wear them. In public. In Georgia. The country. She took a photo, signed them and passed them on to Lauren Myracle. Thus the beginning of the Twitterhood of the Butt Lifting Pajants (check out the Facebook page for tons of photos). Lauren passed them on to Sarah Mlynowski, who gave them to Susane Colasanti. [To read about their Pajants experiences, check out their blogs: Lauren, Sarah (courtesy of Courtney Sheinmel), and Susane.]

Then it was my turn. I'll admit, I was a little nervous about wearing them, not because I was worried about embarrassing myself (I do that all the time). I wasn't sure if they would fit me. Sure, they are clearly magical, but I'm the most voluptuous person to wear them so far. (I could fit Sarah in my pocket.) So the moment of truth came, could the Pajants handle my jelly?

Yes, yes they could. (Although it was a wee tight on me, but hey, you gotta rock what you got!) So they fit, now I just needed a venue. I decided to wear them to the Teen Author Reading Night at the New York Public Library so I'd have some friendly faces in the audience (including Twitterhood sisters Sarah, Susane, and Courtney).

The Pajants were a hit. The boys could not resist their hotness.

After a truly magical turn in the Pajants, it was time for me to make my mark and pass them on to Courtney Sheinmel. I'm not an artist by any stretch, so I decided to go with a saying, courtney of my beloved Beatles.

While I'll miss the Pajants, they will be keeping very good company. After Courtney, they will go to E. Lockhart, Melissa Walker, Tara Altebrando, Jen Calonita, Maureen Johnson and Sara Shepard....with lots more to come!

Farewell Pajants! May your butt-lifting capabilities bring joy to everybody you meet. And as Green Day said, "It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right. I hope you had the time of your life."

XO, Elizabeth