Real quick, Minions, but lots of news.

1. Heard back from my editor (via my fabulous agent) that she loves TENTH GRADE BLEEDS, and has no major changes for me--which is super dooper cool, bercause TGB is the darkest Vlad book yet, and I think you're gonna lurve it big time.

2. Whatcha think of the cool new skin for my MySpace page? My web designer rocks!!!

3. I guest blogged over at Story Siren yesterday--check it out! (and comment, would ya? I feel lonely...)

4. I'm guest blogging over at Linda Gerber's blog today (a comment enters you to win a copy of NGS....and an iPod Shuffle from Linda! Be sure to check out the other guest bloggers too)

5. If you're in the Saint Louis area (or can be with a drive), please come out to Kisker Road Library tonight at 7pm and hang out with me and my fellow YA authors Jody Feldman and Marissa Doyle. It'll be a blast, I promise.

And that, as we say in Minion Land...is all. :)=

(Pic thanks to Lola!!)

Auntie Heather is feeling waaaaaaay stereotypical goth today. In a word: bleak. But we'll get to that in a moment.

First: fangs so much to all the Minions who came out to see me at Borders!!! It was so cool hanging out with you guys, and I hope we can do it again soon (see my Appearances page). Borders was wonderful--the staff there in Creve Coeur are absolutely top-notch, and it was my pleasure to do an event there.

Okay. Mopeyness. I hate waiting. That's pretty much what all my mopeyness boils down to. Especially when I'm waiting for feedback on a manuscript. I know it's coming eventually (and that my editor is insanely busy), but I'm going nuts over the waiting. How do my Minions deal with their impatience?

Oh...btw...you might want to stay tuned to this lil secret. Just sayin'. :)=

Real quick, Minions--I recorded an interview today with the Phillips & Company morning show on Y98 here in Saint Louis today. They were lots of fun and very cool to make time for me. It'll air tomorrow (between 5:30am and 10am CDT) and they'll give out fangtastic prizes *cough* hoodie! *cough* so you might want to listen in--you can stream it here.

Also, this Saturday, I'm heading over to Borders in Creve Coeur, MO (a suburb of St. Louis) to sign books starting at 2pm. I'll be giving away t-shirts and hoodies there too! So come on out, wear your Minion Bling (or pick up some if you don't have any) eat some cookies, and just chill with me for a while....maybe buy a book or two...or twelve. :)=

Gerard looked completely delicious (though he kept complaining that the zipper of his $40 jeans was broken--I wasn't complaining, but he was), and the band rocked! The great thing about The Pageant (the venue I saw them at--actually "we", as my son and husband went too) is that everywhere you sit/stand is a great spot, super close to the stage. I could see every bead of sweat rolling down Gerard's face. The lighting was incredible, and the opening bands were...well, one kinda sucked, but the other, Billy Talent, was awesome (they're Canadian, eh?). And I (we) met this really cool girl and her step-mom, who were both great. But for One Thing, it would have been a perfect evening.

That One Thing was the woman in standing in front of me. She clearly had come to the concert for her son, who seemed like a pretty cool kid (he looked roughly 13 years old). But this woman...first, her gigantic, mushroom-shaped haircut kept getting in my view. And then, every time she danced it was a horrific blend of how I imagine she probably danced back in high school (the 80s, I'm assuming) and like some kind of dog humping the air. It was AWFUL. And then she kept hugging her son, much to his embarassment. Poor kid. Auntie Heather understands. In fact, this may be fodder for a future Vlad book.

So there ya have it. MCR rocked! Unfortunately, they were kicking people out for taking pics, so you'll have to use your imagination.
:)=

Thanks to Marilyn for the comic!)

I completely forgot to mention that Vlad is available in all sorts of e-book formats now. So now you can download him to whichever e-book reader you have (if you have one...and yes, Kindle too). Yay!

In non-book news: I FINALLY watched Sweeney Todd last night. HOLY AWESOME MUSICAL, BATMAN!!! Loved it. Deeply. I'm going to buy the dvd and the soundtrack and put both to memory asap.

I go see MCR in concert tomorrow!!! Happy weekend, Minions!

First things first: there's this new kick-butt band from Saint Louis (current home of moi) that you simply must worship and love for all eternity. They're called Ludo, and they have a deliciously twisted song out right now called "Love Me Dead". Go forth and listen, my Minions. And you're welcome.

Meme time! I was tagged by Jackie Kessler (who is mucho awesome-o). And FYI, I'm tagging every one of you...because I am a mean, overlordish kinda leader (also because I am in a lazy mood today). :)=

The Rules:

1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people and post a comment to the person who tagged you once you've posted your three sentences.

The nearest book to me is THE VAMPIRE ARMAND by Anne Rice. So...page 123...

I kicked the weapon at him. I pushed it right at his hand. "Pick it up, Lord Harlech," I said.

Oooooh, good sentences. Lots of action and potential violence! Okay, your turn...

Do you remember that amazingly awesome school visit to LakeVille Middle School that I mentioned? Yeah, well, what I didn't mention is that that middle school and high school are where I was picked on growing up--my experiences in those schools led to all of Vlad's bully-related stress (though Vlad has it easier schoolwise than I did). I actually stressed over the idea of going back. Big time. Cried a lot. Considered cancelling. But then I realized that it's just a building, and that all of the people who picked on me are gone, and that I was going to hang with my Minions, and I felt much better. So I went, and you know what? It was the best day that I had ever spent at that school. Everyone was so, so great and I absolutely enjoyed spending time with them. I actually enjoyed walking through those halls.

While I was there, this really cool Minion asked how I'd dealt with bullies while I was there, whether or not I had any advice. I told him to keep his head down, to never let 'em see ya sweat, to wait it out and eventually, bullies will go away. Yes, tell a teacher or a friend or a parent if you feel you can (in fact, I urge you to reach out to someone, if just to vent), but the big key is to not let it bother you. Eventually, they'll find someone new to pick on (sad, but true). The best thing you can do is know that they are wrong. You're smarter, cooler, better than they are. And one day, when you're in your 30s, you could be a doctor with hundreds of patients, and they could be working at a gas station and still living with their parents. Bullies may be tough, but what they have in strength, they lack in endurance. Out-think them. Out-last them. And work hard in school, because the best revenge (not that I advocate vengeance) is utter success.

And when you are a success (SEGWAY ALERT!), you can afford all sorts of cool socks, of which I have an enormous obsession. I'm not sure if I've shared my sock love with you, Minions. I have everything from toed rainbow socks to Happy Bunny (my fave being "I'm not mean, you're just a sissy") to pink, white and black socks which read "kiss me stupid". I'm not sure if they're supposed to mean "kiss me, stupid" or if they're supposed to be as insulting as they seem to be without a comma, but I (heart) them. Am I the only one with a sock fetish?

Something else I've noticed about my wardrobe lately: I have a deep love of pseudo military clothing. Just trrust me. Once I take over the world, I can certainly dress for it.

Now I just have to figure out whether or not it's acceptable for me to do events in my usual clothes (which are all sorts of yummy goth), or if I should dress up in the clothes I've been wearing to events (which make me feel very uncomfortably like a grown up). What I want to wear are black jeans, a military top, and my pink and black Converse. But I have this ongoing nightmare of booksellers never asking me back. Huh. I have issues.

For those of you who have emailed to ask if there will be another Vlad book and when it will be out: the third book in the Chronicles is TENTH GRADE BLEEDS and I have no idea when it will be in stores, but it is written! (and oh boy...you guys have no idea how good it's gonna be...) Also, if you want to know if you can use my vampire smiley, the answer is yes. Just make sure you tell people all about Vlad when they see it. In fact, the next time you're at a bookstore or library, it would rock my groovy neato socks off if you could tell booksellers and librarians all about my books. They like to hear what people are reading, and it absolutely would help your Auntie Heather out (not to mention our favorite fanged boy). So, get out there and spread the Vlad love, and them make more friends read the books too (I often picture the Horde working like the aliens in Puppet Masters...it's awesome!). You guys rock.