On Enthusiasm..

admin — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 19:39:51 +0000

The talented Megan Crane on the virtues of enthusiasm:

I love romance novels, chick lit books, perfect pop songs, so-called “predictable” stories that still make me teary, just about every romantic comedy ever made, boy bands (particularly old school boy bands with appalling hair), Disney movies (especially the kind featuring un-animated singing and dancing by supernaturally good-looking teenagers), and almost every single show on the CW. I like to dance, for hours, often by myself. I like to scour the internet for mentions of former teen idols who I still love, and feel protective of. And if a band is only loved by a handful of scraggly-looking holier-than-thou hipster types who will abandon them at the first whiff of a record deal, that is probably not the band for me. Until they “sell out,” that is, and have their latest song featured during an emotional moment of Gossip Girl, at which point I will buy their entire catalogue from iTunes.

Enthusiasm is not a dirty word. I promise.

AMEN TO ALL!

(‘Enthusiasm’ is also a wonderful gem of a book by Polly Shulman, and well worth the read!)

7 Secret Facts About Sophomore Switch

admin — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:04:58 +0000

Wohoo! Today is a very special day: Sophomore Switch releases in shiny new paperback! So, to celebrate, I’m going to give you some behind the scenes info; the bonus feature section, if you will.

1. The first draft was written almost exclusively in Diesel Coffee house, and the Davis Square Starbucks in the fall of 2007. I was living in Cambridge, MA, which has a bounty of great writerly coffee spots, but my routine was set. See, Diesel had the couches, the amazing caramel apple cider, and the cute baristas; Starbucks had the superior baked goods. I’d get an early start at Diesel, stake out my power outlet (gold dust!), have some lunch, and then come afternoon, hop over the road (and I mean, over the road – Starbucks is EXACTLY OPPOSITE) and hang out there with cake for a while. Stopped me feeling like I was spending 10 hours straight in the same place, let me people=watch with a whole new crowd… The only people who didn’t like it, were the poor Diesel students who had to stare at my pile of belongings for hours from their cold, hard chairs. Whoops!

2. Originally, I had Tasha exchange from a non-specific campus around LA. But as soon as I rolled into Santa Barbara on my, ahem, research trip, I knew I’d found the perfect spot. Beaches, cute shopping, and a distinct (yet filthy rich) college town feel. So, tax people, if you ever read this: that 2 week trip I took down the Californian coast on Amtrack was totally a legitimate expense.

3. There is actually no women’s health centre for the Oxford students, which is ridiculous, and neither is there an awesome feminist called Eliza Card who dallied with JS Mill – as far as I know. But all the other locations in the book are true: Blackwells bookstore (where students scribble meaningful notes into poetry volumes), G&Ds ice-cream (oh, the Blueberry!), and the Jericho Picturehouse cinema. But Borders, my love, my life, is no longer with us. Sniff. Sob. Whimper.

4. Emily recieves a MySpace message from her ex-boyfriend that may, or may not, be a word for word duplicate of a MySpace message *I* recieved from a college ex-boyfriend of mine…

5. I’ve never been surfing, but I really, really want to learn. Except for the fact I hate being underwater. And wear contacts. And don’t want them to swim away.

6. Clearly, I’m Team Kristin.

7. One day, I want to write a sequel with Em and Tasha hanging out in LA together doing summer internships and flirting with cute boys and eating Krispy Kreme and making movies (BUT NOT THAT KIND) . So if you want to make that a reality, order your copy of Sophomore Switch today. It’s cute! And makes a great gift! And don’t you love those red shoes on the cover?

To celebrate, I’m giving away a copy to a random commenter. Just leave your comment below, telling me where you’ve linked to this post, and you’ll be entered to win!

Click through here to find out more and read the first chapters.

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admin — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 20:02:27 +0000

Yes, this is a shiny new website I’ve been building here, to prep for all the books I’m pushing your way in 2010. Still working out the bugs, so ignore the temporary place-holders, and let me know if you have any problems!

Abby McDonald

On Enthusiasm..

7 Secret Facts About Sophomore Switch

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