Procrastination Station

I know, I know… It’s been awhile and I’m very sorry. I was a little busy promoting The Lonely Hearts Club, finishing up the edits for Prom and Prejudice…and there is the little matter of the job I have on top of being an author! (Notice that I didn’t mention a life?)

Okay, I was able to throw in a few fun things during this time (but, shhh, don’t tell my agent!).

I recently returned from Houston where I attended the first (hopefully annual) TeenBookCon. It was a fabulous event. I’ve gone to countless events as a publicist, but to go to a conference as an author was so surreal and a lot of fun. Sharon Draper (Out of My Mind) was the keynote speaker and I was on a panel with Ms. Draper, Gayle Forman (If I Stay), Jon Skovron (Struts and Frets), Marjetta Geerling (Fancy White Trash) and Judson Roberts (The Strongbow Saga).

Special thanks to everybody involved in the conference, especially Blue Willow Bookshop!

Okay, I did have a bit of a life. I went on a very short trip to Charleston, South Carolina in March. My parents rented a place for the month on Foley Beach, and I visited them for a few days with a friend. It was nice to get away, plus I had issued an internet/email ban, except for emergencies (I only used it once, to figure out who an actor was in a movie we were watching -- as I said, for emergencies only). The weather wasn’t that great, but I got to relax, which was nice (despite having the Prom and Prejudice edit waiting for me at home). And most importantly, I ate a lot. My brother-in-law got me addicted to Man vs. Food on the Travel Channel, and I made my parents take us to the Hominy Grill, a restaurant featured on the show, so I could eat something called The Big Nasty.

Now I’m back and the edit is (mostly) done. I SHOULD be able to blog more, although now I’m starting on my next project (it never ends, but it is a good problem to have!). While I can’t make any guarantees, I can promise that I’ll try to keep this updated more.

Hope everybody is enjoying their spring! XO, Elizabeth

The Mystery of the One Drumstick

I’ve gotten a lot of comments about the line in my bio that says, “She lives outside of Manhattan with her three guitars, two keyboards, and one drumstick.”

One drumstick? You only have one drumstick? What’s up with that?

Yes. I only have one drumstick. Since I don’t have any pets or children, I thought it would be funny to include the musical instruments I own (although I neglected to include my clarinet since I haven’t played that thing in years). I also like to say that I’m one drumstick short of being a one-woman band.

Okay, okay, but why do you only have one drumstick?

Funny you should ask. Over a year ago, my friend Natalie and I went to a private taping of the Sirius Satellite show “Artist Confidential” featuring Snow Patrol (one of my favorite bands). There were only 40 of us in the audience, so it was a very intimate show. The band played six songs and answered questions from the audience. While answering my question, Gary Lightbody, the lead singer who I sorta have a crush on (understatement of the year), said something like, “and that goes for all bands. I don’t think you sit around and just listen to us.” Now for those of you who haven’t realized this yet, I can be a little sarcastic. So I replied. “No, no. I only listen to you guys.” To which Gary responded, “Aw, that’s sweet of you. YOU LIAR!” Everybody got a good chuckle out of that. Ah, Irish boys…

After the taping, the host of the program gave me the drumsticks from the concert. I got really excited and gave my friend Natalie the other one. Here's the photo of me with my drumstick.

After I already wrote the bio and had a few people comment on the mystery of the one drumstick, I got to meet Snow Patrol again. They played in New York City last September and after the show, I got to hang out with them backstage. We were in their private room so I didn’t say anything to them at the time because I wanted to respect their privacy. However, Gary was sitting two seats away from me and we were both having a drink, so I consider that a date…

When we headed outside, I went up to drummer Jonny Quinn to tell him the whole bio/drumstick story. First off, Jonny is perhaps the nicest rock star I’ve ever met. He was so sweet. After I told him the story, his face lit up and he said, “I’m in a book! That’s so cool! I’m in a book!” I didn’t want to correct him since he technically isn’t IN the book, but still, he was very cute about it. I asked for a picture so I could include it when I finally got around to blogging about it and he was more than happy to oblige.

So that’s the story of the one drumstick. But because I try to use any excuse to tell this other story, I’m not done yet. After talking with Jonny, Gary came over. I didn’t mention the whole “YOU LIAR” comment because a) I doubt he would remember and b) why embarrass myself again. We were talking about their new single “Just Say Yes” (which is AMAZING!) and I made a comparison about it being a cross between Phoenix and LCD Soundsystem. Gary looked at me and said, “That’s exactly what we are going for. I love you. I’m going to kiss you on the face.” I laughed because I thought he was joking, but then he kissed me. So in just two meetings, I’ve gone from a liar to somebody he loves. Not bad, not bad at all…

Needless to say, I can’t wait for our next meeting. Maybe I’ll finally get another drumstick to keep the other one company!

Friday's Favorite: Please Don't Stop the Music

My friend David does a music poll every year looking for people's Essential Albums.  I've already written about my love for K. Clark (that would be Kelly Clarkson) and Glee, so I thought I would share my list of other favorite CDs from last year. Phoenix, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix – I was counting down the days for this album to come out and love every song on it.  Out of any release in 2009, it still holds up for me every time I listen to it.  (I will have to admit that I was disappointed in their live show, they didn’t really add anything in person, but I’m willing to give them another chance live.  I’m generous like that.)

The Temper Trap, Conditions – I only got this CD right before Christmas, but I’ve been listening to it non-stop.

Passion Pit, Manners – If you ever want to see me dance around like a maniac, put on “Little Secrets.”  Plus, they are pretty amazing live – seen them twice in two months!

The Swell Season, Strict Joy

Empire of the Sun, Walking on a Dream

Animal Collective, Merriweather Post Pavilion

La Roux, La Roux

Metric, Fantasies

Green Day, 21^st Century Breakdown – American Idiot is one of my favorite albums of all time, so this had huge expectations for me.  It had some great moments.  Didn’t match AI, but still pretty dang good.

Oppenheimer, Oppenheimer (great Belfast duo who opened up for OkGo a few months ago – really unique and fun band)

Owl City, Ocean Eyes

Gomez, A New Tide

Franz Ferdinand, Tonight

With a Little Help From My Friends

To celebrate the start of my mini-tour (NJ, MA, NY, PA, CT, TX, MD - here I come!), I thought I'd talk about my very first event.

I’ve gone to countless author events as a publicist. But on January 8, 2010, I attended one as an AUTHOR. Crazy, huh?

Books of Wonder, a wonderful independent bookstore in Manhattan, hosted my very first event. They host fantastic publications parties with yummy treats (hello, cupcakes!).

I was a little nervous, but mostly I was embarrassed. People who know me find that hard to believe because I am NOT a shy person. As my editor, David Levithan, introduced me, I quickly realized that I’m much more comfortable at the side of the event instead of in front of the crowd.

It was also surreal to be standing in front of so many people in my life, many who played a huge part in the publication of my book: from providing stories of boys gone stupid to being my early readers, from doing my hair and make-up for my author photo to designing my website. I had friends from my childhood, college, post-college, work, even my friends from the gym came. My friend Sarah flew from Minnesota to attend! In college, Sarah and I studied abroad in London. While there, we took a Beatles walking tour and posed for a photo that might look familiar to some of you.

I also made some new friends at the event. Yes, there were even people who didn’t personally know me who came as, um, fans? It’s weird to think that I might have fans. I prefer to think of people who attend my events as friends. And I was so happy to make some new friends that night.

I did a brief talk, read an excerpt and then signed some books. One of my authors told me that I need contact all the authors I’ve worked with and apologize to them because now I’ve experienced all of the things I forced upon them. I would push so many books on my authors and never paid attention to whether or not all the signing hurt their hand. So I felt incredibly guilty when my hand started hurting. Then I got over it – having your hand hurt because you signed so many books is a GOOD thing!

After the event, my friends and I went to a karaoke place. I got a private room and we had a blast. And for those of you who have read the book, David and I kicked off the night by singing (what else?) “A Little Help From My Friends."

Thanks so much to everybody who turned out. And for those of you in the Northeast and Texas, be sure to check out my upcoming events listed under the EVENTS tab. I hope to see you there and make even more new friends!

XOXO, Elizabeth