Jenny O'Connell

2009-11-15T19:41:00.004-05:00

Laurie Stolarz has two new books out, and because she can do a better job telling you about them than I can, here's a little note from Laurie. (but before that, can I just say that I LOVE the cover for DEADLY LITTLE LIES).

Dear Readers of Jenny's Blob:

Thanks so much for inviting me to talk here about BLACK IS FOR BEGINNINGS and DEADLY LITTLE LIES.
BLACK IS FOR BEGINNINGS is a companion book to the BLUE IS FOR NIGHTMARES series. When my editor approached me with the idea of writing a graphic novel, I was very intrigued because it gave me the opportunity to not only try something new, but to really picture the book as a movie. I have a background in screenwriting and wrote BLACK IS FOR BEGINNINGS in screenplay format, adding in ideas for illustrations and sidebars. It was an absolute thrill to write – to have the opportunity to work with an illustrator, and to see my work come to life in this way. BLACK IS FOR BEGINNINGS does not take the place of a regular prose novel in the series. It is a companion piece, complimenting the entire series as a whole. It picks up where RED IS FOR REMEMBRANCE left off, and also shows some fan-favorite scenes from the entire series.

DEADLY LITTLE LIES is the sequel to DEADLY LITTLE SECRET, (the first book in the TOUCH series). I’m really excited about it, because I think it has even more suspense, romance, and twists than the first book. It starts up a few months after Ben’s departure at the end of DEADLY LITTLE SECRET. Camelia’s spent those months researching everything she can.

I’m launching the release of DEADLY LITTLE LIES with a really exciting contest; be sure to check out the details here.

Lastly, the paperback of DEADLY LITTLE SECRET is out as well. For a limited time Barnes & Noble is offering an exclusive edition that has bonus excerpts from Ben’s secret blog.

Many thanks again for this opportunity to chat!
All best,
Laurie Stolarz

A Good Book?

2009-10-29T19:04:00.002-04:00

I'm jonesing for a good book. I have about 5 books that I recently bought and, sadly, none of them is doing it for me. And I really, really want to like them. One is actually the third book from an author I've read in the past. I never loved the other two I read, but I enjoyed them. But this one, I'm just not getting into it (although I think it has one of the prettiest covers I've seen in a while). Last night I started LIAR and I'm hoping I like it. Everyone seems to have something to say about the book, so we'll see.

I just wish I had a book that I couldn't put down.

2009-10-05T10:08:00.001-04:00

I just finished reading Sonya Sones' latest book, WHAT MY GIRLFRIEND DOESN'T KNOW (making it the fourth book with a male main character I've read this year). I loved WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN'T KNOW but wasn't convinced I'd enjoy reading about the continuing story from the boy's point of view. But I LOVED it. Then I picked up another of Sonya's books, ONE OF THOSE HIDEOUS BOOKS WHERE THE MOTHER DIES. And I just ordered another of hers (sadly, after this one I'll have read all of her books and will have to wait for a new one).

Sonya writes in verse - that means they're poems!! Yes, I'm loving poetry (or at least Sonya's). These books are so amazing. But I decided to see what other readers thought of her latest, because not that many teen books are written in verse. I found a review by a mother.

The title of her review was Absolutely Disgusting. In her review she said that the book "is all about sex, kissing, arranging alone time while parents are not present." And she went on and on about how inappropriate this book was (even calling it a glorified sex movie in print). And nobody in the book ever even has sex!!

It totally boggled my mind. Because I have a daughter and I'd let her read this book in a heartbeat. The writing is wonderful, the characters are finely drawn. And to her point about the "sex" etc., the fact is Robin (the male main character) had an opportunity to "kiss" and go further with another girl, but he chose to be with the girl he loves - the very girl who wasn't having sex because she wasn't ready. I was more disturbed and appalled by the actions of the other characters - the kids who callously pick on Robin, the "best friends" who turn their back so easily - than I was by the honest emotions and physicality of the main characters.

I can't imagine writing a book that wasn't honest to the characters in it. And I certainly can't imagine keeping my daughter from reading a book because I was afraid she'd feel it was an endorsement of what takes place in the story. I read books growing up that contained sex, drugs, pregnancy, etc. and you know what? I didn't end up a crack addicted pregnant teen. But you what I did end up being? Someone who can appreciate stories and characters and the thrill of loving a story told through the eyes of fabulous characters.

What about you? Did your parents ever prohibit you from reading an "inappropriate" book? How do you feel about this?

2009-09-27T11:10:00.002-04:00

Over on the MTV Books Blog, Jennifer Echols posed the question: What DON'T you see yourself ever writing? Thought I'd repost my answer here (although in addition to this one thing, I also never see myself writing anything having to do with fantasy, vampires, angels, ghosts, special powers or historical fiction).

In the past 4 years I have read exactly 3 books with a guy as the main character. And those three books are all by the same author (John Green). Is that lame? Maybe. But here's the thing: I love reading about girls. I like when I feel like I relate to a character, that she could be my best friend or my enemy or even me.

And a guy? Well, I'll never be a guy. I can't even pretend to know what goes through a guy's head. In my book THE BOOK OF LUKE every chapter begins with a "Tip" for guys. Like Chapter Two: "Tip #3: Toenail clippers do not require hours of instruction, exceptional manual dexterity or an advanced degree. They're like scissors, but smaller. Use them." Or Chapter Twenty-five: "Tip #86: Bed head is not a hair style. Show a little effort. It can go a long way." I had so much fun coming up with those tips, I got to rehash everything about guys that I don't understand and put them down on paper. It was like therapy.

I suppose I should be open-minded enough to admit that some great male characters come from women, and some men have written great books with a girl as the main character. But that's them. Me? If I was going to try to honestly and truly get inside the head of a guy I may as well spend my time trying to get inside the head of a nuclear physicist. They'd be equally challenging. (caveat: I love, love, love writing the male characters in my books, but would never ever want them to be the main characters) So I don't think I'll ever write a book with a guy as the main character.

That said... I am currently writing a book with a boy as the main character (RYAN PICKLER: BORN TO BE RAD). But it's a middle grade book and I'm writing it with my son, who is a fourth grade boy. And I know him pretty darn well enough to write a character that is the spitting image of him (and all the gross things a 9 year old boy does). I'm loving every minute we spend coming up with crazy stuff for Ryan Pickler to do, say and react to. I love Ryan Pickler, farts and all.

But as soon as Ryan turns 14, I'm done with him.

2009-09-20T13:32:00.002-04:00

I just read a book I loved, loved, loved!!! WHAT MY GIRLFRIEND DOESN'T KNOW by Sonya Sones. I loved the "prequel" to this book, WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN'T KNOW but hesitated a bit before buying this book. Because the main character is (gulp) a guy! And I don't usually like books about guys (and you can see why here).

But, boy, it was awesome (no pun intended). Sones writes in verse - which means it's (another gulp) poetry! But it feels like the most fluid story ever, and I hated, hated finishing it.

So, Sonya Sones, I love your books! Go out and buy one and see for yourself why her books are so great. ( just bought her book ONE OF THOSE HIDEOUS BOOKS WHERE THE MOTHER DIES and I can't wait to jump in!)

2009-09-03T19:19:00.001-04:00

My new jeans just arrived in the mail and my husband rolled his eyes at me. "How many pairs of jeans does one person need?" he wanted to know.

"You can never have too many jeans," I told him. But it got me thinking about jeans, and how jeans have defined parts of my life.

One year for school (6th grade) I told my mom I wanted "French" jeans. She bought me a pair of Sassoon jeans before anyone had ever seen them mentioned (along with Oo-la-la) in a commercial. The next year I got a pair of Calvin Klein jeans and I can remember how they'd stretch when I put them on because they had spandex in them. Those were my designer years, when jeans felt "formal" and special. And even though nothing came between Brooke and her Calvins, underwear came between me and mine.

In high school, my sophomore year, I got the greatest pair of Girbaud jeans. They were amazing. I wore them with flats. I went to a high school with a dress code that didn't include jeans, so on the weekends all I ever wore to parties were jeans. That pair of Girbaud saw lots of life in their three years of high school. I felt so contemporary when I wore them.

My first week of college I bought a pair of Levi's. I thought they were too dark, so I also bought a bottle of bleach and soaked them in the bathroom sink until they were a nice pale shade of blue with some patches of dark where they didn't get covered. I wore those jeans into the ground. Jeans in college were all about comfort and feeling good. Even when they eventually ripped (I really did wear them ALOT) I sewed blue bandannas into the knees and kept wearing them (I went to college in the late 80's so the look was totally acceptable).

After college I bought Gap jeans. Skinny ones. They never made me feel as good as the Levi's.

Now I have 12 pairs of jeans in my closet. The newer ones are bootcuts (from Abercrombie), which I never thought I'd wear because I never thought I was a bootcut kind of girl. I have some with tab pockets in the back, which look cool but sort of make me feel like I'm trying too hard. And I have a few old pairs that for some reason I keep even if I haven't worn them in years. And I still have that faded pair of Levi's from college (and they still fit). It's not like I ever plan to wear them with all their holes and bandannas sewn all over the place. But I can't bear to get rid of them. They remind me of college and hanging out with friends and writing on my jeans in class when doodling was more fun than taking notes on Plato's Republic. If those jeans could write a book, let me tell you, it would be a comedy and a drama and one heck of a read.

What about you? Do you have clothes in your closet that tell your story?

Happy Back to School!!!

2009-09-01T19:12:00.002-04:00

For everyone heading back to school, good luck & have fun!

2009-08-26T21:03:00.002-04:00

I love chocolate chip cookies. Especially soft gooey ones. I don't like hard choc chip cookies, but my mom does. When she bakes her cookies they're hard and crunchy. Mine are barely cooked (and we already know I've been known to plow through a whole tube of raw cookie dough for dinner, so actually getting into the oven is a huge feat in and of itself).

I have an AMAZING chocolate chip cookie recipe. Supposedly it's Mrs. Field's recipe. I really believe it is - because it's that good.

So today when I passed by a store and saw fresh baked cookies in the window I bought one. Then I got into my car. And started driving. And eating. And discover that the gooey cookie was making so thirsty I was going to die of thirst.

Lesson learned. Those milk commercials aren't kidding. In the future I will have a gooey cookie in one hand and a glass of milk in the other.

2009-08-15T08:31:00.003-04:00

Megan Kelley Hall's THE LOST SISTER, combines romance, terror and family with the graceful pen of a master. Now her second book in the series, THE LOST SISTER, is out! Here's a little bit about it. And check out the first book in the SISTERS OF MISERY series (which has one of my most favorite book covers ever).

Sisters are born, not chosen…
Maddie Crane is grappling with the disappearance of Cordelia LeClaire, and trying to escape the grasp of The Sisters of Misery—an insidious clique of the school’s most powerful girls, whose pranks have set off a chain of horrific events, and who have Maddie in their sights…

Beware the sister betrayed…
Now in a prestigious boarding school far away from her mysterious hometown of Hawthorne, Massachusetts , Maddie feels free from danger. But when an unmarked envelope arrives at her dorm containing a single ominous tarot card, Maddie realizes with terror that some secrets won’t stay buried. Knowing she must return to Hawthorne—a town still scarred by the evil of the Salem witch trials—Maddie prepares to face the fears of her past...and the wrath of the sister she wronged.

2009-08-09T08:19:00.002-04:00

Stephanie Kuehnert has a new book out. You can check out the first chapter on Stephanie's Web site, but here's a little glimpse into BALLADS OF SUBURBIA.

In high school, Kara McNaughton helped maintain the “Stories of Suburbia” notebook, which contained newspaper articles about bizarre and often tragic events from suburbs all over, as well as personal vignettes written by her friends,which Kara dubbed “ballads”. Ballads are the kind of songs that Kara likes best.

Not the clichéd ones but the truly genuine, gut-wrenching songs that convey love, loss and an individual’s story. Those “stories of Suburbia” were heartbreakingly honest tales of the moments when life changes and a kid is forced to grow up too soon. But Kara never wrote her own ballad. Before she could figure out what her song was about, she was leaving town after a series of disastrous events at the end of her junior year of high school.

Four years later, Kara returns to face the music, and tells the tale of her first three years of high school with her friends’ “ballads” interspersed throughout. Among them are her best friend Stacey, who dates guy after guy trying to find the one who will take care of her the way her parents never did; Cass, who copes with her mother’s mental illness and her older brother’s abandonment by doing copious amounts of acid; Adrian the creator of the “Stories of Suburbia”, who has “Thrown Away” tattooed on his forearms to express how he feels about his adoptive parents and his birth parents; Christian, who seems like the nice guy type that Kara belongs with, but has a violent streak; Kara’s little brother Liam, who idolized Johnny Cash as a preschooler and has idolized Kara all his life though she lets him down again and again; and Maya, an eccentric but beautiful redhead who refuses to talk about her mother’s suicide.

Then of course, there’s Kara. She begins high school as a loner, who copes with her lack of friends and her rapidly unraveling home life by going to concerts with Liam, smoking the occasional joint, and cutting herself when things get really bad. She’s reluctant at first when she tags along with Maya to Scoville Park, where the "misfit" kids hang out, but she really wants “a life.” The summer after junior year that life nearly ends with a heroin overdose, the event that triggers Kara’s exit from Oak Park.

All the things that happen in between make up the ballads of suburbia.

2009-08-04T16:25:00.002-04:00

I'm on Martha's Vineyard and that means I'm having lots of ice cream. I love ice cream. And I've even done a few stints scooping and pumping ice cream (and frozen yogurt) myself. I once worked at a place in Arizona called The Fountain of Yogurt. We had a whopping 8 fro yo flavors and a whole host of hard ice cream flavors and this stuff called Fruit Frazee, which was like pureed fruit with no sugar added (kinda like soft sorbet).

I used to make myself milkshakes and ice cream sodas and cones and cups of ice cream and fro yo with sprinkles galore. But I never went for the candy toppings like oreos and M&Ms and peanut butter cups. I'm a purist, just sprinkles. And just chocolate ice cream or fro you. Or uber chocolate like dark chocolate or milk chocolate or any other variation of chocolate, chocolate, chocolate.

So it's no surprise that when there is ice cream in my books (like the Fribbles in THE BOOK OF LUKE or the cones in RICH BOYS and LOCAL GIRLS) the main character always prefers chocolate. Perhaps I lack imagination, but I just can't fathom choosing anything else.

I also worked at a place called The Cultured Cow. It didn't have ice cream, just frozen yogurt (but it also had home baked cookies, which meant I could raid the refrigerator and have all the chocolate chip cookie dough I wanted). We served this amazing flavor, Ghiradelli Chocolate. So dark and rich and amazing. I loved it.

Amazingly, I didn't gain a zillion pounds at either job, even though I helped myself to more ice cream and frozen yogurt than is humanly possible. I chalk that up to a fast metabolism that probably wouldn't behave the same way today.

My past ice cream scooping experience makes me a pretty picky customer, like if they don't put enough chocolate syrup in a milkshake or don't push the ice cream down into the cone so you get ice cream long after you've eaten all the stuff on top.
Luckily I get to hone my skills at home, where there is always a carton of chocolate ice cream in the freezer, a tub of sprinkles in the cabinet and always, always enough ice cream on the cone to last until the very last bite.

We Have a Winner!

2009-07-19T17:47:00.003-04:00

Thanks to everyone who entered to win Sarah Dessen's new book, ALONG FOR THE RIDE.

Your answers were great and it sounds like you definitely look for something different when looking for a "summer read." I randomly picked a winner, so this wasn't based upon your answers, just the luck of the draw.

The winner of the book is: Taylor. Congrats Taylor!

Everyone else, thanks for sending me your emails. And I hope you have some good sumemr books to read.

Happy Friday!!

2009-07-10T10:38:00.001-04:00

If this doesn't make you laugh you're unlaughable.

2009-07-09T20:38:00.002-04:00

The third and last in The Elite book series from Jennifer Banash is out! It brings us more adventures from the spoiled, rich teens in Manhattan who nearly ate Casey McCloy alive when she first arrived in the Big Apple from her small town of Normal, Illinois. Casey learned very quickly after she moved in with her grandmother at The Bramford, the most exclusive luxury apartment building on New York’s Upper East Side and got into the prestigious Meadowlark Academy on a full scholarship, that it’s not who you are but who you know!

Simply Irresistible brings us a whole new set of adventures now that Casey has had a big city-haute makeover, courtesy of her classmate and neighbor Madison Macallister – part teen icon and part queen diva-bitch. Wearing the right clothes, saying the right things, and meeting the right people, has given Casey the look and the attitude – she’s “in” and loving it! Much to Madison’s dismay, her rival is climbing up the social ladder in a big way and could end up just as popular as Madison now that the two are set to star in their own TV reality show, “De-Luxe.” Yes, showbiz came knocking on two of The Bramford’s most illustrious doors and, as much as Madison thrives on the attention the show brings, she’s not thrilled about having every bit of her life of privilege caught on tape. However, fame comes at a price and Madison is one chick who is willing to pay anything…especially if it means becoming the next reality “it girl.” Casey, on the other hand, is realizing that Reality TV can sometimes beunreal, causing her to wonder if she even knows who she is anymore. With her relationship with Drew, Madison’s ex, currently more off than on, she can’t help wondering if everything i n her life is really just an illusion – and how much longer the illusion can last….

Happy Fourth of July!!

2009-07-05T20:12:00.003-04:00

Hope you all had a great Fourth. It was finally sunny here in Massachusetts, I'd almost forgotten what a blue sky looks like!

I hung out by the pool, read a whole bunch, had lots of lemonade and ate Cheez Doodles like they were going out of style (and proceeded to feel totally sick for eating so many Cheez Doodles and promised I would never eat so many ever again).

Not that the weather finally feels like it should, it's beginning to feel like the start of summer. Which is sort of sad, because growing up I always felt like July Fourth was the middle of summer. Now summer will be a short two months long. Sigh.

Anyway, hope you're all having a good summer so far!!!!

No Bathing... Really?

2009-06-26T15:10:00.002-04:00

Was in New York City for the day today. In Penn Station there was a sign that made me smile because I was feeling so sweaty and gross and hot and just generally disgusting. The sign said NO BATHING. It was as if they'd read my mind. Only I was thinking a nice clean shower, not the sink of the rest rooms at Penn Station.

Michelle is my Favorite Person for Monday!

2009-06-22T14:55:00.002-04:00

I just saw this comment on the prologue I posted a bit ago.

I really love it. Then again, I love all of your books so I was bound to like this as well. ;)

That was from someone named Michelle. Well you know what? It's raining out, it's crazy windy, it's hovering around 60 degrees and feels like it's more like 40, and it's Monday.

So thank you, Michelle, for making my day. You made this miserable excuse for a summer day seem not so bad.

Win Sarah Dessen's New Book!

2009-06-19T10:39:00.006-04:00

Obviously I love to write books but I'm a crazy fast reader, too. I LOVE to read (and it's so much easier to do than write!).

So when I saw that Sarah Dessen was coming out with a new book this summer I pre-ordered it so I'd have it on day one. Well, I guess I was so enthusiastic I pre-ordered it twice! Good for Sarah, not so good for me because I don't need 2 books!

So I decided to share the wealth. Because it's summer, and everyone needs a good summer read.

Now I haven't started ALONG FOR THE RIDE yet so I can't offer any insight into the book other than what I've read.

But if you email me with an answer to the question below, I'll enter you to win my second copy of ALONG FOR THE RIDE. No strings attached. You have 2 weeks to email, then I'll announce the winner. So... go!

Q: What do you look for in a good summer read?

Email your answer to jenny@jennyoconnell.com and put 'Contest' in the subject line.

Good luck!

2009-06-17T19:55:00.002-04:00

Melissa Walker's new book is out!

LOVESTRUCK SUMMER is the story of Quinn, an indie rock girl who came out to Austin, Texas for a music internship. She also plans to spend long, lazy days in the sun at outdoor concerts--and to meet a hot musician or two. Instead, she’s stuck rooming with her sorority brainwashed cousin, who now willingly goes by the name “Party Penny.” Their personalities clash, big time.

But Sebastian, a gorgeous DJ, definitely makes up for it. Sebastian has it all: looks, charm, and great taste in music. So why can’t Quinn keep her mind off Penny’s friend cute, All-American Russ and his Texas twang?

Sebastian is the kind of guy Quinn wants, but is Russ the guy Quinn needs? One thing’s certain: Quinn’s in for a summer she’ll never forget!

To Blush or Not to Blush...

2009-06-14T09:37:00.005-04:00

I received this comment on my blog and I thought it was interesting. It referred to my comment about how I'm so sick and tired of reading how girls blush in books.

"u have no right to go around saying that girls dont blush."

Um, I didn't say that. I did say, "I am so sick of characters being described by their ability to blush. Honestly, I can't think of a single person who I have witnessed blush to such an extent. Yet it seems to be the physical trait of choice for teen girls who are feeling flustered/embarassed/caught off guard/attracted to someone/stupid/inept, etc."

Case in point: I just started reading a new book and in the first 8 pages the main character "flushes" twice. In 8 pages!! And there wasn't even anything terribly mortifying or embarssing that happened. One book I read had a character blush a total of 12 times in the book. Was there no other way to describe her feelings? How the situation made her feel?

It has nothing to do with blushing. If books were having characters clear their throats or scratch their chins as much as they have characters blushing it would be just as annoying.

Sure, people blush. They also look away, cast their eyes down, feel their stomach do flip flops, want to throw up, want to run away and hide, etc. I still think there is way too much blushing going on in teen books. I think it's just an easy way to describe how someone's emotions are communicated to the outside world physically. But it loses its impact when it's the go-to reaction for every uncomfortable situation.

I also said, "To think that teen girls are simply a hotbed of cheeky blood vessels is to do them a supreme injustice to their emotional range," because I believe that - girls feel a million different ways and react to those feelings differently depending on who they're with, who saw them, how big the mistake was, if they were caught off guard, etc. Blushing isn't always the answer when writing how a girl feels. Sometimes they don't blush but they do something else, like twirl their hair. Everyone is different and yet characters all seem to blush. I don't get it.

And to answer the commenter's last words, "i guess u and ur friends r just so perfect that u have never done anything remotely embarrassing."

We do embarassing things all the time, it's a big reason why we love each other. We do stupid things, make mistakes, say dumb stuff, make idiots of ourselves in front of other people. I just think there are more interesting ways to describe how that makes us feel then to sum it up by saying our cheeks turned red.

2009-06-07T12:33:00.001-04:00

I read 5 books on vacation - all teen books, the oldest being from 1999, the latest a print proof for a book that hasn't even come out yet.

And some I loved, some I liked and some not so much. But you know what I hated the most? Blushing. Yes, I have never read so much about "flaming cheeks," "prickling cheeks," "red burning cheeks," blah, blah. I am so sick of characters being described by their ability to blush. Honestly, I can't think of a single person who I have witnessed blush to such an extent. Yet it seems to be the physical trait of choice for teen girls who are feeling flustered/embarassed/caught off guard/attracted to someone/stupid/inept, etc.

I hereby boycott all flaming cheeks in every book I write. I don't think I've ever blushed in my life. I've never seen my best friends blush, and believe me, they've had plenty to blush about. Enough with the blushing. I shall seek new innovative ways to physically demonstrate an emotion - or not.

To think that teen girls are simply a hotbed of cheeky blood vessels is to do them a supreme injustice to their emotional range.

NOTE: I just started to read a new book, main character "flushes" twice in the first 8 pages due to embarassment - does it never end?

2009-05-25T15:24:00.001-04:00

Lucienne Diver's new book, VAMPED, has hit stores! It's the first in a new vampire series, and because she's terrible with synopses, Lucienne decided to let her protagonist (heroine might be pushing it just a bit), tell you all about it in her own words:

Hey, all, it's me… Gina Covello, fashionista of the damned. Yeah, I know, I managed to get almost all the way through high school without cracking a book and now here I am immortalized in one. Well, actually, the immortalization process might have started a bit earlier, like in the broom closet at the after-prom-party, somewhere around the time Bobby-freakin'-Delvecchio started gnawing on my neck. Anyway, this is one book I'd maybe even phone a friend about, since it covers all my adventures going from chic to eek. Because, let me tell you, eternity without a mirror or tanning options—totally uncool. And they don't tell you in, like, Vampirism 101 about crazy conspiracies, psycho-psychics and other hazards of unlife. But I will, so stay tuned.

2009-05-02T09:20:00.003-04:00

The third book in Linda Gerber's DEATH BY series is out, and this time it's... DEATH BY DENIM. Ouch! Makes me look at my jeans in a whole new way! Linda has a party planned, and you can find out all you need to know about the event here. And now, a little about the book:

Aphra Connolly is being chased by some very dangerous people. She knows her survival depends upon staying far away from love interest Seth, and listening to her mom’s lectures on the finer points of anonymity and survival. But how is a girl supposed to live under the radar and not think about her boyfriend when she’s in Paris—the most romantic city in the world? When her mom’s contact in Paris is found floating in the Seine with a deadly message stuffed in his mouth, Aphra realizes that she will never be able to stop running unless she confronts the situation head-on. Sneaking away from her mom, Aphra tracks down the criminal mastermind in Italy, only to unwittingly reveal Seth’s location. And her mistake has just put them both in mortal danger. . . .

2009-04-30T15:04:00.002-04:00

Oh, it's really beginning to feel like summer might actually get here! And the closer it gets it makes me think of school. And what I used to do when school was over. So, for the next few days you're going to hear about my summers. The old kind. When they were fun. And you didn't have to pay bills.

Summer between 7th & 8th grades
Went to figure skating camp - which I loved. Such a blast. Except when I woke up one morning covered in ants because my roommate had brought a bunch of candy with her and stored it next to our beds. The wall was literally a sheet of ants. So disgusting. And then I remember washing one of my skating outfits but not wanting to spend the extra 50 cents to dry it so I could buy an ice cream cone from the store next to the laundrymat. Then when I went to wear it the next day it totally smelled like mildew. So freaking gross. But except for those nasty experiences, a pretty great time. And I still love the smell of an ice rink.

2009-04-26T19:54:00.003-04:00

So you've decided that getting updated on people's thoughts in 140 characters or less is cool?

I personally don't know about Twitter. One more thing to do, one more page of stuff to read. Result: More work!!!

But I'm there. If you want to follow me, go to http://twitter.com/authorjenny