Authors Unlimited 2025

Had such a wonderful time yesterday at Authors Unlimited!!! Here's me with the fabulous Jen Calonita (whose new book Isle of Ever made the NYT list last week -- yay, Jen!), the incredible graphic novelist Mike Cavallaro, and organizer extraordinaire Derek Ivie (and his spectacular beard)! Thank you to Derek, the staff, the volunteers, the booksellers, and all the wonderful attendees!

Stuff I Did in May

It's June.

I like June.  But I love May.  I love the leaves popping out of the trees, the new flowers, the baby animals, and all the other life-is-great, rah-rah-rah moments.  Also, the lack of mosquitoes.

Some things I did in May:

- Got a year older and discovered the true joy of Facebook: all the lovely birthday wishes.  Also ate a Carvel ice cream cake.  (It's my birthday tradition.  My husband promised me when we got married that he'd always get me a Carvel ice cream cake for my birthday.  It was practically part of our wedding vows.)

- Picked strawberries.  They were melt-in-your-mouth delicious.  And when you mixed in sugar, they were divine.  (Yes, I do judge the quality of a month by its food.)

- Saw a deer in my backyard.  I attempted to sneak closer in a bid to befriend it like Snow White, but it bolted.  Later, I told a friend about it, and he said, "Were you scared?"  At the time, I thought this was a comment on my usual lack of bravery.  But then I started thinking...  Should I have been scared?  Are there man-eating deer on Long Island?  So I am now on the lookout for carnivorous Bambis.

- Turned in SWEET NOTHINGS to my editor at Walker / Bloomsbury.  Yay!

- Walked a red carpet with thirteen other YA authors and then was followed by a marching band at a book festival called Authors Unlimited:

- Attended my high school reunion and did not claim that I invented Post-Its.

So that pretty much sums up the month.  In June, I'm diving into a new writing project, attending BEA (BookExpo America), and watching out for vicious deer.

For those of you attending BEA, please stop by the SFWA booth (#3591) on Wednesday June 6th at 2pm.  I'll be signing copies of DRINK, SLAY, LOVE and would love to say hi!

Authors Unlimited This Saturday

On Saturday, I'll be walking the red carpet.

I am one of the guest authors at Authors Unlimited, a teen book festival in Patchogue, NY, this Saturday (4/28).  Details are here.

I'm told that we'll be brought to the venue by limo and then proceed down a red carpet accompanied by a drum-and-bugle corps.  Hee-hee!  And then there will be a panel with all fourteen authors, followed by breakout sessions with individual author presentations, culminating in a big book signing.

Here's me (and Drink, Slay, Love) in yesterday's Newsday (Long Island newspaper) talking about the event:

I am totally practicing my princess wave.