Archive for the 'Awesome Stuff' Category
July 25, 2010
I will be chatting with the Mundie Moms (http://mundiemoms.blogspot.com/) on Tuesday, July 27 at 6P/9E. I’ll answer questions about P4H, and even give some clues about PRINCESS FOR HIRE 2. So please stop by!
June 3, 2010
The last few months have been pretty hectic around the Leavitt casa (which, as of memorial weekend, also happens to be my parent’s casa, but that’s another tale). I noticed a few weeks ago that I’d become so focused on accomplishing all the things I needed to do—for my family, for my move, for my work—that I wasn’t really reaching out beyond the immediate me. The excuses, however valid, just kept building up until they’d created a wall between me and those who I could potentially serve.
I often write IMPACT when signing my name in books. It’s a word that has new meaning to my main character, Desi, as she takes on different princesses’ identities. I believe in that word—believe everyone in this world has the ability to positively impact others—but sometimes felt weird writing it. How could I tell others to reach out when my own arms were folded so tightly to my chest?
So this summer I’m making a pledge to somehow make a positive impact every day and record my experiences in a personal journal. It’s not a new or revolutionary idea, but it’s a good one. Potential adventures: helping a little old lady cross the street, giving advice to an aspiring author, finally getting someone in my family on What Not To Wear, or donating time/money to assorted charities. It doesn’t have to be a huge or monumental task. I think this quote by Judith Kelman says it well, “Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones surround us daily.”
To kick it off, I’m also doing a feature on my blog: The Impact Initiative. I’ve asked over 20 other authors to share a time when they were touched by another person OR a time when they reached out to someone else. Every weekday for the next month, I’ll post their beautiful, thoughtful, heart-touching essays.
To make it even more fun, I’ll be doing a weekly giveaway of some of these authors’ books, as well as contributing a boat-load of signed copies of PRINCESS FOR HIRE (every winner will get two books—one to keep, one to share).
To enter, all you have to do is post a comment. Double points if you share your own story.
You can enter EVERY DAY, and of course you’ll want to because you’ll be checking back to read these essays.
Starting with… mine.
May 23, 2010
I sometimes get girls writing to ask for beauty advice, assuming perhaps that a “princess” author must know about “princessy” things. If you’ve read PRINCESS FOR HIRE, you could probably guess that I don’t believe princess should be equated with outer beauty or even girly tendencies, but let’s not get into a discussion on that here–that’s what my future princess books are for!
So although I have some limited knowledge on the subject (take a bath, brush your teeth, wear clean clothes), I’m by no means a expert–I’m lucky if I can get my own daughters’ hair combed. But I do have a cousin (by marriage, but I still claim spousal relations as my own, especially the awesome ones) who has some fantastic hair skillz, and has set up a blog to show you how to recreate her styles. Her daughter–who I suppose is my second cousin through marriage?–serves as a model. My own daughter carries around her hairstyle book, often flipping to pages and asking why HER mommy can’t do that with hair.
Because I’m WRITING about it. Dearest. And you also have more hair than a yeti. Beautiful yeti hair, but still very hard to tame.
So, if you’re looking to create a fun princess ‘do, check out Princess Hairstyles*
*I endorse this product not because of my familial connection, but because this woman is a ARTIST, and I am a great supporter of the arts. Ahem.
April 24, 2010
If you’re not familiar with the world of book bloggers, it’s a pretty interesting place to hang out. Teens and lovers of teen fiction feature reviews,discussions, and buzz for books new and old (yep, PRINCESS FOR HIRE has gotten mucho book blog love). Many of these blogs offer contests to help build their readership, and if you click around enough, you’ll find a contest for pretty much anything. Here are some going on right now…
March 26, 2010
How cool is this? PRINCESS FOR HIRE is in the April/May issue of Girl’s Life magazine! They’re doing a really fun giveaway, that includes a sparkly pink guitar (and a sparkly pink book you might have heard of:)). To enter, click here. Ends April 30.
Copyright © 2009-2010