Blog

Haven't blogged in months, but I have a good excuse. Okay, not really. But there was the site redesign (apples! they're good for you!) and the new young adult novel I was trying to finish (which I did, bloody fingertips and all) and the home reconstruction project (I'm surprised I didn't throw myself out a window) and the holidays (cake, cake and more brain-addling cake). You get the picture. Anyway.

Recent and not-so-recent news:

1) Good Girls is now out in paperback.

2) Rights to Good Girls sold to Italy and Serbia (!).

3) I'm doing a series of teen writing workshops in Chicago starting mid-February. We'll hang out, do some great writing exercises, talk, etc. I will put the schedule on my calendar. (Really. I will. Soon).

4) Right before the writer's strike began, Laika Studios, the fabulous people working on the movie version of Neil Gaiman's Coraline, renewed the option on The Wall and the Wing/The Chaos King. Of course, while the writers are striking, the option isn't technically in effect. But since we hope the strike will be resolved soon, with the writers getting everything they want (including free donuts and as much coffee as they can drink), I don't mind.

5) Speaking of Coraline, a lovely blogger named Kelly Fineman got a hold of an ARC of the new Coraline graphic novel and told me that The Wall and the Wing and The Chaos King are featured in one of the panels. Being a bit of Neil Gaiman freak, I'm absurdly geeked out about this.

6) And speaking of bloggers, the Cybils finalists were announced and The Chaos King is on the list! Very cool...

It's officially the week of the Summer Blog Blast Tour, and it's taken me this long to post about it. Geesh. Is it possible I need even more coffee???

What is the Summer Blog Blast Tour? It's a week full of interviews with authors like Jordan Sonnenblick, Holly Black, Chris Crutcher, Brent Hartinger and more. Find the full schedule at Chasing Ray.

Today, I'm interviewed at The YAYAYAs here.

And I've already appeared at:

Kelly Fineman's blog, the delightful Miss Erin, and A Chair, A Fireplace, and a Tea Cozy.

Thanks for reading and commenting!!!

The Chaos King, the sequel to The Wall and the Wing is out and survived Kirkus: "Grand amusement for the hip and clever." Whew! Also, another great review on Flamingnet.

You'd think I'd have a good excuse for not blogging for two months. I was busily writing a new, utterly inspired novel, say, or, conversely, having a mental breakdown a la Britney complete with shaved head and lost, vacant expression. But no. No new novels, no shaved heads (for which my husband is grateful). I did have a Significant Birthday and, to celebrate, the husband threw me a Significant Surprise Party that required Significant Recovery Time afterwards. (I would post photos, but too many of these involve feather boas. Must. Spare. The. Public.).

Also in celebration of the Significant Birthday was a holy-Champs-Elysees-Batman-look-at-exchange-rate! trip to Paris with the one and only Significant Sister. It was fabulous. The architecture was fabulous. The museums were fab. The river and bridges and art and cafes and wine and galleries and shops and baguettes were fab (esp. the baguettes). The only thing that wasn't fab was a side-trip to Grasse, which is in the south of France. The only way I can describe Grasse is that it reminded me of Seaside, New Jersey during off-season. If you haven't been to Seaside, NJ during off-season, well, don't go to Seaside, NJ during off-season. Also, don't go to Grasse. When we arrived at our hotel, there were signs posted absolutely everywhere with dire warnings to keep cars and hotel room doors and windows locked at all times, to keep valuables like cameras hidden, to crawl under the bed and never come out (okay, the signs didn't say that but they might as well have). The Significant Sister and I shrugged the warnings off and went exploring the town anyway. One terrible meal (in France!!!), a few frightened tourists and several packs of lurching drunks later, we were back in the car and headed to Cannes where we soothed ourselves by buying shoes.

But, since I've been back in the US for more than three weeks now and have had plenty of time to adjust to the criminal lack of fragrant cheeses, my friends have informed me that's it time I did something productive again, something that doesn't involve baguettes or boas. Thus, this blog post about baguettes and boas.

Some news from the UK: GOOD GIRLS was officially released on May 1st. Some reviews here and here. There's also a Bebo profile here. Plus, the book was featured in Sugar, a UK magazine, right next to a bit about Paris Hilton going to jail. Cool, huh?

Some good news for friends, too. Lara Zeises' ANYONE BUT YOU and Tanya Lee Stone's A BAD BOY CAN BE GOOD FOR A GIRL were both nominated for the ALA's 2008 Popular Paperbacks list. Go, girls!

I must make an announcement: it was seventy degrees yesterday and warm today. I feel like a cranky old bear just waking up from her winter hibernation. The snow is gone, the kids are out, Li'l Bitey is out on the porch begging for pecans and/or threatening to bite me again. It's spring!! At least for now. For all I know, we'll have a weekend blizzard.

But I'm enjoying it while it lasts. I'm also enjoying the fact that both Good Girls and The Wall and the Wing were selected for the New York Public Library's Books for the Teen Age list. Also, a cool interview with the lovely Kim Winters in Edge of the Forest . An essay -- er, of sorts-- about stepmothering over at Literary Mama

And then there are some nice reviews for I'm Not Julia Roberts in The Denver Post, The Chicago Tribune, and Romantic Times cropping up recently. In the weird column, a mention of same in US Weekly, the one with a half-shaved Britney Spears on the cover. Okay.

Speaking of I'm Not Julia Roberts I want to thank everyone who told me about their worst vacations for the Authorbuzz contest. Winners have been chosen and signed books have been shipped out (thanks for your patience!).

There were two stand-out entries, one from Jean Burkhead of Newark, California, who wrote about a family trip that involved a "Beaver" (a pontoon boat/airplane used by outfitters in Alaska), her elderly parents, her soon-to-be ex-husband, and a "fairy-tale" fishing destination some 75 miles from civilization. This turned out to be anything but a fairy tale when they discovered that the fish were still sleeping off the winter and they had to spend days eating nothing but ravioli. She wrote: "Running water was me running up and down the hill with a bucket, my parents snored so loud in our one room shack that I would have sought refuge in the woods to sleep except for the bears, and it was perpetual daylight. My soon-to-be-ex lashed out constantly and the water was so cold my feet felt like they were on fire when I tried to bathe in the lake. Finally, the week was over and the Beaver returned. Upon landing, the pilot crashed into the dock and we were sinking! A perfect ending to the "vacation." Jean gets major points for even attempting such a trip. Li'l Bitey is about all the nature I can take.

Christine Harris of Little Rock told a story about a trip she took some thirty years in the spring of 1975. She wrote:

"I should have listened to the alarm bell that went off in my head when my husband David's older brother and his wife suggested taking a trip to Disney World in Orlando, Florida - together - with our two children (ages 3 and 5) and their son (also age 5). On the surface that doesn't sound like such an awful plan - two young families happily trekking off from Arkansas to Florida for a fun-filled romp with Mickey et. al. But you need to know something about my sister-in-law first. She was a tiny Hitler. (I say 'was' because, for reasons that may become apparent she and my brother-in-law parted ways some years ago...) She ran her household with an iron fist and a controlled budget that would make any CPA jealous. She got 99.9 cents out of every dollar, to say the least. David's brother was no better. He considered buying something at the first place you found it the next thing to blasphemy. "I'll get it for you wholesale!" was his mantra. The trip was to be on the cheap is my point. Ok -- David and I were poor as Job's turkey and this made sense.

Anyway, said sister-in-law and I started to plan the logistics. Well, she started to plan the logistics and I meekly acquiesced to every suggestion. (She was one of those people you find it hard to stand up to. I was a little scared of her, even though I was taller and outweighed her by a good 25 pounds.) We set the dates for the trip and began to discuss travel arrangements and food. Sis figured the most economical way to go was to rent a travel trailer, stay in KOA campgrounds, and cook our own meals. So we (translation: she) started to plan the menus and grocery list. Did I mention that she was borderline obsessive-compulsive and a radical clean-freak? To the best of my memory, here's what we took:

-- Complete set of cookware and cooking utensils including cast-iron skillet
-- Complete set of dishes, flatware and glassware (disposables were too expensive)
-- Dishwashing liquid, sponges, dish towels, scrubbers (gotta wash all those dishes and pans)
-- Rubber gloves, disinfectant cleaners of various kinds, toilet paper, cleaning rags (Paper towels? Too expensive.), broom, dustpan, and mop
-- Towels, washcloths, soap, deodorant, shampoo, conditioner for seven people (factoring in two five-year-old boys and a three-year-old girl who meant to keep up with them in every way including the filth-factor)
-- Pillows, sheets, pillow-cases, blankets and woobies, also for seven -- Clothing for seven days for seven people
-- 5-lb bag of flour, 5-lb bag of sugar, 2-lb bag of cornmeal
-- Cooking oil AND shortening
-- Salt, pepper, oregano, chili powder, bay leaves, turmeric, marjoram, parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme (well, you get the picture)
-- Cereal, milk, OJ, bacon, eggs, bread, butter, jelly, peanut butter, sandwich meats, chips, crackers, canned soups, potatoes, onions, salad vegetables
-- Frying chickens (I swear on my grandmother's grave)
-- Toys, books and games for the kids
-- Enough craft and needlework projects to stock a state fair

I know this is way too long, so let me just sum up the trip by reporting that it included:

Cooking fried chicken and all the trimmings inside our tiny travel trailer because it was raining too hard to use the outdoor grill, bringing the inside temperature to an estimated 105 degrees with 100% humidity - we might as well have cooked in the rain.

Taking turns carrying or piggy-backing the three-year-old all over Disney World. Well, three of us took turns because Sis brought in a bag (containing in miniature everything on the above list) that would make a Marine recruit's field pack look like a coin purse - and proceeded to tote it around wearing the demeanor of a martyr;

Making a stop at Daytona Beach which happened to be carpeted ankle-deep in dead jellyfish (sister-in-law sat in the car and knitted)

Many, many other equally delightful moments of family fun which I have forgotten, or more accurately - blocked.

We made it, though, and got back to Arkansas tireder and wiser. There are only certain people throughout the course of life with whom you can travel. And your family ain't them."

Thanks for sharing Jean & Christine!

Taking a minute out to mention a couple of things. One, my friend Cynthia Leitich Smith has a brand new vampire tale for all you dark fantasy lovers out there, called Tantalize, a Borders Original Voices pick for March. The cover alone is delicious.

Second, Cynthia's experiencing bizarre and very annoying technical problems, so for the time being, she will be blogging at Greg Leitich Smith's blog, syndicated for LJ here.

Thanks to all of you at Dear Reader who have sent me your vacation tales of woe! I'm having a great time reading them. Winners will be chosen this weekend!

If you any of you reading this a) live in the Chicago area, b) feel like going out in sub-zero tempatures tonight, please come see me at Barbara's Bookstore in Oak Park, IL, where I'll be signing I'm Not Julia Roberts. The book's been getting some great press, so I'm especially happy. Favorite quote so far, from The Boston Globe: "Chick lit this may be, but it's not for sissies." That belongs on a T-shirt.

So, I was going to blog today about why I feel I must write for every age and in every genre, mixing up my agent and driving my publishers crazy. But you know, I'm not sure why. Boredom? Multiple personality disorder? Sheer mischievousness? Also, I've been deep into my new YA and can't get my head around anything else. I decided to ask my far more articulate and generally more dignified friend, Gretchen Moran Laskas, what she thinks about the subject. Gretchen is the author of The Midwife's Tale (Dial Press, 2003), a novel that Library Journal called "A deeply affecting, beautifully written story..." in a starred review. Just yesterday, her brand new YA novel called The Miner's Daughter(Simon & Schuster), was released. This is a gorgeous and moving book about 16-year-old Willa, who comes of age in a depression-era mining camp and must face the horrors of hunger and poverty until a chance at a new life changes everything. Newbery Winner Cynthia Kadohata said, "brings to life a harsh and real -- yet beautiful -- world that is nothing less than fascinating."

Firstly, as the author of a successful, award-winning adult novel, what made you write a novel for teens?

I've always known I might write for teens. I loved the time in my life -- it remains very vivid to me even today -- not that I'd want to relive it. But there are levels of intensity and emotion from that time that I didn't feel before and I haven't felt since. So it makes sense to me that there are levels of emotions, whether in characters or stories, that would make sense in a teen reader's world that would be less potent in an adult's.

And I knew from the beginning that THE MINER'S DAUGHTER would be written for teens. Set in the 1930's West Virginia coal camps, Willa, at sixteen, is living in a world where the fragile line between who lives and who dies from abject poverty is all too close to her. An adult might give up under such circumstances, and indeed, reports from that time make it clear that apathy in adults was all too rampant. But the photos from the area taken then show children and teenagers full of life and vitality. They are hungry, much too thin, often less than hygienic by today's standard, but they are clowning around, grinning for the camera. These younger mountaineers had not given up on their lives -- indeed, we know this to be the generation that would not only survive the Great Depression, but will also live through the Second World War. This was a generation that had to learn to hope as part of their currency -- they paid for their very existence with hope.

Oddly, although today's teenagers live in dramatically different environments, I thought younger readers would better understand that irrational, desperate hopefulness to make their lives and the world a better place more fully than adults.

I've heard many people dismiss the idea that there truly is a definition for YA novel and that this classification exists only for marketing purposes. Do you think that's true? What's the difference between a novel for teens and a novel for adults? How does that explain books with teen protagonists like Curtis Sittenfeld's Prep and Jodi Picoult's My Sister's Keeper, both of which have teen protagonists?

While I'm sure there are stories out there, I don't think that marketing is the final arbiter. This isn't to say that editors won't read a manuscript and suggest that it would be better placed in adult or YA, just that I don't believe that marketing is the be-all of publishing in the way writers (and perhaps editors!) sometimes feel that it is.

For me as a reader and a writer, YA books are all about the point of view -- that all encompassing gaze that the character turns upon her world. It's a view that is often myopic, there is no denying that teenagers lack the sheer quanity of experience that adults come to during the passage of time, but what they lack in breadth teenagers often make up with depth. No one examines the world around her like a teenager does -- and with good reason. How else will she come by those experiences if she isn't looking for them?

I do believe there are novels that can span the gulf. My adult novel, THE MIDWIFE'S TALE, begins with a sixteen year old viewpoint. No one is more pleased than I am that high school librarians have listed THE MIDWIFE'S TALE on several state lists. But it's clearly an adult novel. While Elizabeth, in the beginning, sees the world in black and white, it's as the novel progresses, as her experience grows, as her experience widens,that she learns those shades of gray. You see some of that in novels like SISTER'S KEEPER, with its multiple viewpoints.

Books like PREP are more complicated. Yes, it's trying for that older retrospective voice, but it's not really, in my opinion, strong enough. If I had been an adult editor, I likely would have sent it back saying to try a YA Imprint. Because while I don't necessarily believe that marketing is the be-all when it comes to making purchasing decisions, deciding how to market a book as it is going out into the world is a huge deal. Review sources, the role of libraries, readership, awards -- each is significantly different between adult and YA publishing. There are personal, political and financial reasons why someone might wish for one over the other; some of this does indeed come from the publishing side, but I've learned, anecdotally, that it's just as often the wish of the author herself. There are writers who would never want to publish in the other genre -- they're adamant about it.

But that's not me.

Did you ever begin writing a novel and then realize that the book should be told from a younger or older perspective?

I've come up with ideas that I weren't sure would be best told by adult or teen perspectives, but I try to figure that out before I do much writing in a significant way. The truth is, I'd rather sit around and think than write -- heck, I'd rather do almost anything than write! So sitting and thinking about these issues is a great way to keep from writing, and it also makes the books that I do write easier, because I've done much of the mental work beforehand.

Is writing YA fiction easier than writing adult fiction? What do you say to people who assume it is?

This question always makes me laugh. My adult novel is only about 10,000 words longer than my YA, so I can say with good authority that it's not much shorter, let alone easier. For me, writing a good novel is hard, no matter what the age. In many ways, THE MINER'S DAUGHTER is a better written book than MIDWIFE. If you do one of those "reading age" tests on it, the grade level of MINER is actually higher. And while I hope that both books are easy to read (why be deliberately obscure?) that doesn't mean that either of them are either simple books or that they were simple to write.

What do you think of the recent spate of adult novelists who switch to writing for teens?

On my grouchy mean days, I think they are just trying to hop on the bandwagon. It's no secret in publishing that the last few years have seen explosive grown in the teen market while adult fiction has been stagnant, if not in slight decline. But on my good days, I can't help but think that most of us were readers before we were writers. Most of us remember our younger selves reading -- the power books and the written word could have over us. Perhaps they are writing in hopes of recapturing that sense of magic that books can bring; perhaps they hope to have a chance to inspire someone else.

And you know, that's not a bad reason to write anything.

It's January, it's snaining (snowing, raining), and I'm feeling sleeeepy and unmotivated. All I want to do is curl up on the couch and watch movies all day, is that so wrong? But I can't. Got to keep plugging away on the new YA, which was to be called The Wicked Witch of Crybaby Mountain but probably won't be called that anymore. Seems to be a devisive kind of title; some love it, others HATE it, and some can't remember it, which is a bit of a problem. So. Must brainstorm brilliant and memorable new title. Okey dokey.

While I'm sleepy and unmotivated and plagued by title issues, other people are going about their business, getting their work done. Colleen Mondor, over at Bookslut featured Good Girls in her column "Heirs to Judy Blume," along with Sara Zarr's Story of a Girl, Lauren Baratz-Logsted's Angel's Choice and Aury Wallington's Pop . Pretty cool.

Also cool: Cynthia Leitich Smith pronounced Good Girls one of her favorites of 2006, as did Jennifer Hubert over at Reading Rants . Thank you, ladies!

On the I'm Not Julia Roberts front, the Hartford-Courant came in yesterday with an amazing review. Reviewer Carole Goldberg called it an "acerbically astute exploration of stepparenthood" and that it "manages to be both hilarious and genuinely sad, a cracked but revealing mirror of torment." Love that.

Unfortunately, I can't bask in the love. Gotta get back to work on I'm Not Called The Wicked Witch of Crybaby Mountain Anymore...

Whoa.

I'm in People!

Yes, that People. The one with Oprah and (!) Julia Roberts on the cover. On the same page as Hillary Swank (page 42).

About I'm Not Julia Roberts they said, "Ruby makes hilariously, heart-wrenchingly clear that breaking up is hard to do." Three out of four stars.

My husband flipped the pages of the magazine, saying, "Here's Laura, here's Beyonce. Laura, Beyonce, Laura, Beyonce."

I'm going to have to savor this one, because it will never happen again...

Got an early Christmas present this week. I arrived at my mom's house only to have her tell me that my new book, I'm Not Julia Roberts was featured in this month's Redbook magazine in their "Ten Things To Do In January" column (along with my friend Gayle Brandeis's new book Self-Storage). Redbook said: "When it comes to emotional baggage, the extended clan in I'm Not Julia Roberts by Laura Ruby needs a full set to carry all their issues. This hilarious story of blended-family tumult will make you see your own brood in an entirely new light." AND it's on the shelves at the local bookstore a few weeks ahead of schedule. After eight years in the making, it's so cool to see this one on the shelves. I hope all you stepmoms, stepdads, and not-so-blended family members look for it.

Even better was my two-year-old neice, who, upon seeing me for the first time in weeks, wrapped herself around my legs, looked up at me, and said in her sweet, peeping chick voice, "I saw your book!" Is she a genius? I think so.

Another early Christmas present: my YA novel Good Girls made Cynthia Leitich Smith's Cynsational Books of 2006 list. Thanks, Cyn!

Happy holidays to all!

A confession: I've been annoyed for weeks. Peeved. Put out. Okay, if you know me, you know this is nothing new. I'm always annoyed about something. The state of the world, the size of my butt, my hair, the weather (I like wearing scarves as much as the next person, but the drop in temperature from 60 to minus 6000 in the space of a week is a bit much, don't you think????) I'm annoyed that it's already December and I'm going to have to brave the mall to shop for people I don't necessarily like. I'm annoyed that I was delusional enough to publish three different books in three different genres in the space of a year. It's like having three kids in a year. Of course you love the kids, each is special in his or her own way, and you're grateful, oh so grateful that you had them, REALLY REALLY GRATEFUL, but then having them has left you fat, exhausted, cranky, and virtually brain dead and what is up with THAT?

At first, all my recent crankiness motivated me to do is buy shoes. (To be exact, six new pairs of boots -- three black, two brown, and one green. Holy High Heels, Batman, I love my new boots...) But then I thought about what my friend Gail Giles told me, that I do "angry" really well (she meant on the page, not in life, though I do it pretty well in life, too). And I see that anger is what gets me to my computer. Apparently, I really have to be in a twit to write. So I found some writing quotes to help me get focused:

"I write to make people anxious and miserable and to worsen their indigestion." -- Wendy Cope

"I write because I hate. A lot. Hard." -- William Gass

"I write out of revenge." -- William Goldman

"I hate everybody and everything." -- Lottie, My 90-year-old Neighbor With Sciatica

But the hard part is to do what Virginia Woolf advised in her book, "A Room of One's Own." Taking your anger and your outsized sense of injustice and let it burn incandescent on the page, so that people see the truth of the story (and not just the anger). I love the idea of burning incandescent. I hope I can do it. And the funny thing is, now that I'm really thinking about being angry and how to use it to my best advantage, I'm a lot happier. Yeah, I've got issues.

A few more things I'm happy about: one of my favorite books of the last year, Elise Broach's Desert Crossing, was picked as one of Amazon's favorite books of 2006 (scroll down to see.) If you're a YA mystery/thriller lover, and haven't read this book yet, you must.

Also: a lovely Good Girls review by teen reviewer Emily Ventker that appeared in the Virginian-Pilot:

"Yes, "Good Girls" is a novel about a photograph. But more importantly, it's a story about what happens afterward, and how it changes one girl's life unexpectedly for the better. Through her novel, Laura Ruby challenges her teen readers to examine their impressions and first glances before judging, because chances are they don't know the full story. There is more to a girl than whether she is labeled a hottie, a tramp or even a good girl. This book poses real-life questions that most teens are still trying to figure out. All in all, "Good Girls" is a true and honest tale about high school and what you don't see in the movies."

A quirky little interview at Bookburger (scroll down).

A nice blog entry about I'm Not Julia Roberts.

A great Booklist review about I'm Not Julia Roberts. "With the same kind of emotional understatement that made Shari Goldhagen's Family and Other Accidents (2006) so riveting, Ruby tells the interconnected stories of a group of families trying to cope with life in the wake of divorce. Riffing on the idyllic view of blended families presented in the movie Stepmom, starring Julia Roberts, Ruby offers a more rueful, realistic, way-funnier version as bitter ex-wives, angry teenagers, and beleaguered second wives attempt to wade through daily negotiations involving clashing schedules and wounded feelings...novelist Ruby captures both warring emotions and fleeting moments of connection in this smart take on fractured families."

Rueful, realistic, way-funnier! Can't do much better than that. Now I'm going to put on some new boots and burn incandescently into the sunset...

Back from London! I'm officially a fan of rugby. Huge men in tiny shorts = big fun. Who knew?

And while I've always been fond of British humor, I wasn't aware that the entire country has been schooled from birth to be honorary members of Monty Python. Even the random comments on the tube were funny.

Also funny, Avenue Q, which we saw in a West End theater. (Yes, we watched a show set in Brooklyn while visiting London).

But now I'm home and it's back to the old American grind, that is, swilling coffee, answering emails, and chatting up the cats. Oh, and dealing with very strange and unexpected book challenge issues. And no, this is not about Good Girls , which I had imagined might be a problem for some people. It seems that my novel, Lily's Ghosts has gotten some complaints in two very conservative counties in Florida, despite the fact that the book was chosen for The Sunshine State Award list.

At first, this was really upsetting to me. Someone had a problem with my little Lily? Say it isn't so! But then I got over myself. Cynthia Leitich Smith interviewed me about it here. .

Ironically, while two or three Florida parents are having issues with the fact that I wrote about ghosts -- which, I have to warn you, are dead people -- some folks in Washington suggested Lily's Ghosts as good book group discussion material for kids. Read about it here.

So, fine. The world is insane. No surprise there, really.

On another topic, I did find a lovely blog entry on Good Girls from the Goddess of YA Literature herself. Long live the goddess!

And thanks to all you guys who have sent me such nice mail about Good Girls. If I can make a request of y'all: if you liked the book, write a review on Amazon or B&N. I don't want the only comments to be written by a bunch of boring adults.

Cheers!

Happy Halloween! Had a great time at the St. Pete's Festival of Reading over the weekend, where I hung with my dad & Jo, my new friend Ann & hubby Bryan as well as lots of amazing kids & parents. Hope you all are enjoying Lily's Ghosts!

Some news before I jump on a plane for London. The Good Girls "backstory" will be appearing at MJ Rose's amazing blog on Thursday, November 2nd. Check it out! .

A little experimentation with podcasting! Here's a snarky commentary about Teen Reed Week and book banning. On older computers, it might take a minute to load. (And if you can't hear it, it's my fault, not yours. Haven't quite got the hang of all the techy stuff yet!)

Good Girls now has its own home . Check it out! And if you're a teen writer, you might also want to check out HarperTeen's new FanLit event. Tons of fabulous prizes are involved...

Found a new review today on Curledupkids.com, a reading resource for kids, teachers, librarians and parents.

The reviewer, Jocelyn Pearce, says, "Laura Ruby's Good Girls is a book that teenage girls won't want to miss. It's one of the best, most honest and real books for teenagers that I've read. It's original and definitely takes place in the world known by teenagers today (especially the part about cell phones being the means by which the story is spread). The plot never allows a dull moment, and some interesting twists and real surprises...There's also a slight mystery element: who took the picture of Audrey with Luke that changed her life?"

Thanks, Jocelyn!

You might notice that we're making a few changes around the site, so pardon us while we're under construction.

So, my first events for Good Girls were not just good, they were great!

First, I got the chance to hang out with Sarah Mlynowski at the Bookstall. Turns out she's already published something like eight books and she's...well...a lot younger than I am. I hate her. No, of course I don't. She was cool and funny and wearing great shoes. Who could hate a funny girl with great shoes?

Next up was the first leg of a radio tour. Up until two weeks ago, I had no idea what that entailed. Now I know that it means I can sit in my house in my cruddy, ripped up jeans and talk on the phone about my book with radio hosts. If there's anything I can do, it's talk on the phone! I'll post links to some of the interviews if I can find them (unless I sounded totally stupid, in which case I won't be posting any links, duh).

And I just presented at the Anderson's YA conference this past weekend. Met Jordan Sonnenblick of Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie fame -- he's HILARIOUS -- and did a couple of panels with him called "When is YA too YA?" Turnout was fabulous (and so was Jordan!) Thanks to all the librarians and teachers who came out for the event and took part in the fascinating discussion.

Found something interesting while googling yesterday (yes, yes, writers google. You google too, so shut up). Turns out that the Philadelphia Inquirer actually printed a letter to the editor I wrote in response to one of those articles slamming all teen lit for being either too salacious or too depressing. Seems that the columnist bought a teen novel for her fifth grader -- ??? -- and was surprised to find that the book had stuff about, um, teens in it. Okay. Here's part of what I wrote:

"If kids read nothing but "aspirational" tripe steeped in casual sex, drugs and Manolos, why is Harry Potter one of the bestselling children's books of all time? Contrary to Ms. Heller's assertions, I don't see all tweens clamoring for the A-List. I see The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo, Flush by Carl Hiaasen, and The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau studding bestseller lists.

And the reading tastes of those "hormonally challenged adolescents wallowing in misery" seem to be much more varied than Heller would allow. Amazon teen bestsellers include Prom by Laurie Halse Anderson, Just Listen by Sarah Dessen, Rebel Angels by Libba Bray - even Austen's Pride and Prejudice.

I have to wonder why parents like your columnist would give a 10-year-old novels such as Peaches and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, which are about teen girls' struggles with boys, body image, sex, etc. I also have to wonder why these same parents are shocked to discover that a book about high school kids is actually for high school kids. Your columnist is right about one thing: Parents should pay attention to what kids are reading. Too bad she doesn't."

Hey, I thought it was pretty good!

One more good thing: thanks to the amazing E. Lockhart for blogging about Good Girls. I just picked up The Boy Book and can't wait to dive in!

Today is September 19th, the official release day for Good Girls ! My dear friend, Rosemary Graham was kind enough to blog about it here.

A huge THANKS to all the good girls (and boys!) who supported this book. You know who you are...

My first official event for Good Girls will be the mother-daughter YA night at the Bookstall with fabulous author Sarah Mlynowski. Come see us if you can!

A squirrel has adopted us. Every morning, he's waiting on our porch railing, peeking in the kitchen door. Cause we're total suckers, we've been giving him nuts and seeds.

A few days ago I was putting out some pecans and didn't move my hands fast enough. CRUNCH. Moochy creep tried to eat my finger. Blood everywhere, my own little episode of ER. Thankfully, squirrels don't carry rabies. (The plague yes, rabies no.)

I've been suffering from pre-pub anxiety lately, but I figure if I get really out of control I can blame it on my battle with nature. I can imagine my friends all shaking their heads sadly, murmuring: She was all right until the squirrel got her.

His rap star name is Lil' Bitey.

Taking just a few moments out from obsessive, possibly pathological U.S. Open tennis watching to say that Good Girls is nominated for the Best Books for Young Adults List. Cool.

Also, a new interview with Not Your Mother's Book Club is up! But the best part is clicking through to the Harpercollins Good Girls page, scrolling down, and reading about the new books that are "similar" to Good Girls. Yeah, you're reading that right. Heidi . Gotta love those computer-generated links.

Now, back to Andy Roddick...

Book Sense independent booksellers announced their Autumn 2006 picks and Good Girls is one of them! Very happy!

Other books on the list that I'm looking forward to reading: K.L. Going's St. Iggy, Christine Kole MacClean's How It's Done and Amy Timberlake's That Girl Lucy Moon . I also want Emily Jenkins' Toys Go Out and Gail Carson Levine's Fairest.

But these books will have to wait until I finish rereading Moby Dick and Sharon Darrow's harrowing verse novel Trash.

In other news, I now have a myspace along with 60 million other people.

Lost and Found

Good Guy (husband) lost, then found: my car, a 1994 Saturn, minus a tank of gas and the faceplate of the newish stereo the hubby had installed for my birthday a few years ago.

Bad Guy (who stole the car and took it for a joyride) lost: Bactine and Band-Aides. Two packs of personalized matches and some razor blades. A Snickers bar and a pack of Big Red gum. Capri Cigarettes and a tube of mascara. Oh, and W2s from 2005. Yes, I did say W2s from 2005. With a name, address and social security number on them.

Good Guy good news: got car back in one day with no damage, except the radio faceplate and smell of Bactine.

Good Guy bad news: 2 parking tickets ($150) and car impound fee ($160).

Bad Guy good news: found an easy car to steal.

Bad Guy bad news: ran out of gas.

Bad Guy bad news (yes, there's more): poor darling only made about $1000 bucks last year (at least as legally reported to the feds). Plus, it appears he's dumb as a stump.

Mysteries to solve:
(1) Was it a good party in the Saturn? Really good?
(2) What's with all the weird stuff left behind?
(3) Who are Mike & Michelle, who were married on Valentine's Day in 1992 according the cover of the matchbooks? Did the (alleged) thief attend their wedding? And would they be happy to know that an inept criminal was among the guests? Are they inept criminals themselves?
(4) Since we have the guy's name, address, and social security number from the W2s, should we apply for a Sears card and maybe charge a new stereo? Should we call him up and thank him for the mascara? Warn him that smoking is bad for his health? That Capris are for girls? That normal people spell the name "Mathew" with 2 t's?
(5) What new nickname to give the car?

They don't get crimes like this on CSI.

The theme of today's blog is the phrase "apropos of nothing." Which means related to nothing. Pertinent to nothing. Random, even pointless.

I use this phrase a lot because I'm prone to strange leaps in conversation, introduced with, yes, "apropos of nothing," as in: "Apropos of nothing, did you know that slugs have four noses?" Here are a few things that I'm thinking about this minute that are apropos of nothing:

- Octopi and squid are extremely bright. I have to actively NOT think about this every time I order calamari at Italian restaurants.

- Squirrels are also one of the ten smartest animals, smarter than -- gasp! -- cats.

- I have a little gargoyle in my garden. His name is Edward.

- The Chrysler Building in New York City has gargoyles in the form of radiator caps.

- The Chrysler Building is no longer owned by Chrysler.

- I just bought a brand new Mazda 3. It's zippy.

- Goat cheese is delicious.

- Great white sharks breach like whales.

- I have tendonitis in my right knee which has kept me from running, so I'm beginning to look like a whale.

- In a recent interview, Philip Roth was asked: "Which of your many books succeeded best at conveying what you had in mind when you started to write it?" Roth's answer: "What I have in mind when I start to write could fit inside an acorn--an acorn, moreover, that rarely if ever grows into an oak. Write fiction and you relinquish reason. You start with an acorn and you end up with a mackerel..."

- That's all.

I do have one relevant thing to report. This coming Monday, June 12th, between 9 and 10 am, Chicago Public Radio will run a piece about The Wall and the Wing. It's an interview with me and Sylvia Ewing on "Eight-Forty-Eight." If you're in the Chicago area, you can tune into 91.5 FM or you can go to Chicago Public Radio and find the interview in the archives by the end of the day. And don't worry. I don't say "apropos of nothing" even once...

A quick note to say that a new, updated interview about all my books is live at Cynthia Leitich Smith's blog Cynsations. Click here to see me get on my soapbox about everything from fantasy literature to sensuality in young adult novels to Julia Roberts.

Just spent the weekend in Normal, Illinois at the sensational Young Authors Conference. (And yes, we all snickered at the signs that said "Normal Public Library" and "Normal Police Station." You have to.) Anyway, me and my fellow authors were amazed by all the cool and talented kids that we met there. I spent a few hours talking to groups of the smartest, most interesting sixth graders in the universe. (I wanted to steal all their ideas. But I won't! I swear!). They forgave me for running out of flyers in the middle of a session, viewed all my weird slides of albino alligators, breaching great white sharks, and plastic surgery nightmares with interest and even laughed politely at some of my jokes, which is always appreciated. After the workshops, Harriet Robinet, Esme Codell and I attended a panel session with all the young authors where they stumped us with question after intelligent, perceptive question. Geez. (When I was their age, I was still watching cartoons.) Then we presented each young author with a signed copy of our latest books. It was wonderful.

And if you can believe this, also wonderful was the zillion-hour drive to Normal with Brenda Ferber , Carolyn Crimi, and Esme Raji Codell. If you have to be stuck in traffic, these are the ladies you want to be stuck in traffic with. I was laughing so hard I was snorting (which is just so attractive...)

So, when it rains, it pours, right? Except this April, this has meant good stuff.

First was a panel discussion had with Carmela Martino and Brenda Ferber at Esme Raji Codell's PlanetEsme on April 2nd. Wow. I don't think I've ever had that much fun at an event before (or at least an event where wine wasn't served). My panel-mates were smart and funny and informed, the house was packed with friendly and enthusiastic readers, boxes and boxes of books were sold, and there were chocolate chip cookies! Sounds too good to be true, right? Wait. I'm beginning to wonder if this is something that I dreamed up...

?????

Nope. Real. Real, I say!

Then, if that wasn't enough, the gorgeous and talented Sophie at my lit agency, Trident Media, comes up with a French offer for Lily's Ghosts. Magnifique! Oo la la! Creme brulee!

THEN, it's my birthday. A big birthday for me, as I turned 27. Okay, 28. FINE, if you must know, 29. But that's as far as I'm going. Anyway, the husband took me out to see David Sedaris with some friends. There is nothing better than spending your birthday listening to David Sedaris tell you a bunch of crazy stories about sheep and crows and shopping for skeletons in France. I laughed so hard I was snorting. (Not attractive, but there it is).

After that was a few days in New York City hanging out with my gorgeous, adorable, and talented friend Linda and eating obscene amounts of food with my editors and agent. I just adore eating obscene amounts of food, don't you? It's practically a must when it's one's birthday month (yes, I said "month." The official diet begins May 1st.)

And the fun continues with a interview with Chicago Public Radio's Eight-Forty-Eight this week, to be aired sometime in the future. We'll be talking about THE WALL AND THE WING.

And that's been my April. Alas, all fun has to come to an end. Now I have to de-chaos THE CHAOS KING, the WALL sequel. Now that I think about it, it's a good thing I've been eating enough food to nourish a small country. I'll be needing all my energy for this one...

So, yesterday the kid comes home and asks if I can help her with her outline for her term paper. What I couldn't believe: they're still teaching people to write papers with that totally insane notecard system, the same thing they taught at my high school back in the dark ages. Took us HOURS to arrange all this crud into piles and then try drum up an outline from them. I've written five books and dozens of short stories and essays and I never ever once said, woo-hoo, let's break out a crisp pack of notecards and get cracking! I'll write single sentences on 600 of them with special codes that identify the sources, and then make all these piles, and then spent a decade organizing them, and...hello? I said to the kid, couldn't you just type stuff into a Word file and then flip things around until you like the order? The kid said, no, I have to use all these notecards. She's being graded on the @#$% notecards. I said, Isn't this the 21st century? And the kid said, Not for my English teacher.

After the Monday Night Notecard Extravanganza, I tried to get some sleep, as pointless as THAT was. I have officially hit the wall 'o stress, as I have finally accepted the fact that it's a mere six months till my next book comes out, and then only another six till the one after that. Three books in a year. Who's the genius who thought this was a good idea?

Oh.
Well.

I tooled around on the web, looking for creative ways to de-stress myself that didn't include flinging myself out of my second story window in the hopes I'd land on my head. I found this list of stress relievers, for which I have provided the appropriate commentary:

Laugh! -- you know, this reminds me of those guys who pass you on the street and order you to smile. What is up with that?

Stay Healthy -- oh, you mean eat boiled seaweed and do pilates and drink eight glasses of water a day and walk briskly in the sunshiny morning while monitoring my pulse? Um hmm. I'll get right on that.

Guided Imagery -- okay, this could be distracting at least. I'm not in the Midwest! No! I'm in the Bahamas! Basking on the beach! Frying in my own sunscreen! Drinking fancy umbrella drinks! Except who's going to do all the guiding? My cats don't seem to be interested.

Autogenics -- I had to look this one up. It's a system of exercises that's supposed to provide a profound state of relaxation, calm, mental acuity, bodily health, and world peace. Apparently, you're to sit somewhere and imagine your limbs getting heavy. And then getting warm. Or something. The websites I visited said not to get alarmed if you experience some sort of dissociative state in which all your perceptions seem distorted. Yeah. Sounds relaxing.

Journaling -- I should write MORE???? Are you CRAZY????

Yoga -- my husband once talked me into going to a weekend yoga retreat. Three full days in a sweat box packed with human pretzels. Oh, and a gong. Yeah. We left a little early.

Sex -- not touching that one. Oh! I didn't mean...nevermind.

Plant a Garden -- you hear that? That's my husband, howling. I am the killer of all things green. I'm Morticia Addams without the crazy dress. All I have to do is look at plants and they turn crispy all around the edges. Perhaps because I don't smile enough?

Enjoy Aromatherapy -- I'm sorry, but I really don't think that sniffing some eucalyptus leaves/cinnamon sticks/vanilla extract is going to help much here.

Reduce Caffeine Intake -- hey, I'm already down from 12 cups to 8. That's an improvement, right? RIGHT????

Dont Procrastinate -- HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Well, look at that. At least it got me to laugh.

Drumroll please. Here are the winners of the AuthorBuzz drawing: Mary Holden, Arlene Ross, Connie Brand, Tracee Imai, and Judy Brumlow. Congratulations! And thanks so much to everyone who tooled around my website and wrote to me.

Thanks too to Publisher's Weekly, who gave The Wall and the Wing an awesome review. They called it "an utterly odd and charming fantasy" and "inspired silliness from start to finish." Very cool.

And now to answer all of you who asked ME whether I'd like to have the power of invisibility or the power to fly. I have to admit that though I've had those flying dreams like everyone else, I've always wanted the power of invisibility. Has something to do with my terrible nosiness, I'm sure. Also, my finely honed sense of cautiousness and paranoia. I mean, think about it. Say you could fly. Don't you think the government might be, oh, just a wee bit interested in that? And that they might try to catch you with some ginormous butterfly net, spirit you back to their labs and do nasty X-File type examinations on you and never ever ever let you see your mom again? See what I'm saying?

Yes, you do.

Well, it's officially that day. Pub day. Happy Wall and the Wing day! For your reading pleasure, I added an excerpt. Coming soon, a teacher's discussion guide, bookmarks, and a bunch of other stuff.

To celebrate pub day, I am going out to meet some of my favorite writers and we are going eat food that is very very bad for us and laugh as much as we possibly can. In the meantime, let me ask you this question: would you rather have the power of invisibility, or the power to fly?

Booklist and School Library Journal both came through with great reviews. SLJ says, "All of this fast-paced wackiness is told with humor, often black, that will have young readers giggling even as they cheer for Gurl and Bug, the Wall and the Wing." Librarians are amazingly smart and perceptive people, that's what I always say.

What's even nicer is the number of reader reviews we've gotten from Harpercollins's First Look program. Some that you won't see up at the Harpercollins site:

"Fans of Harry Potter and Lemony Snicket will find this book awesome! ...Readers will find themselves transported to a whimsical world where almost everyone can fly, with the exception of our young heroine, Gurl. However she more than makes up for it in the fact that she can turn invisible. Get ready for a fantastic ride!"
--Maricella (Henderson, KY)

"An ancient and eccentric Professor with pockets full of kittens opens this tale, which quickly whirls you into Gurl's world...an orphan child who cannot fly in a sparkling city of flight. Charming and entrancing, you won't be able to put this book down!"
-- Diane (Cedar Rapids, IA)

"Quirky, strange, odd and absurd in the tradition of Roald Dahl or Shel Silverstein. Wildly entertaining and tons of fun!"
--Tracee (Turtle Creek, PA)

"This book was a great pleasure to read! It had me hooked instantly from begining to end I stayed up all night reading it. It's about a girl named Gurl whose talent rather than flying is the gift of invisibility and her adventures of being misused and finding her place. This is a story is all about mystery, a little bit of action, friendship, and finding out where you belong. The imagination given in this story is simply thrilling. I give 2 thumbs up and recommend it to anyone who would like a good read."
--Bethany (Jacksonville, NC)

"I loved Laura Ruby's "The Wall and the Wing"! I could not put it down once I started reading it! The story is set in a realistic and creative setting with fantastic characters! The story itself is wonderfull and fit for any age, I totally recommend this book to anyone."
--Lena (Covina, CA)

"An engaging fantasy for readers of all ages. The adventurous meets the fantastic, a quest-for-identity by way of Daniel Pinkwater. Well-visualized world, interesting characters, surprises on every page. If your child likes looking at the world in funny ways, this book will entertain for hours."
-- Mike (Seattle, WA)

Thanks Maricella, Diane, Tracee, Lena, Bethany and Mike!