Kate and I will be leaving for Mayo tomorrow. *waves to Rochester, MN people* Not sure when we’ll be back, but I’ll let Team Canterwood know when we’re home. 

Happy Monday!

Wow!! Wanted to take a quick break from writing to say THANK YOU to Sony for promoting Canterwood on their Reader Store! 🙂 This is beyond exciting and I’m so grateful for the coverage of the Canterwood e-books. Check it out here!

SQUEEEE!! That’s right!! If you have an iTunes player, click on “store,” “books,” and “children and teens.” At the top, there are banners running and along with Melissa Marr and The Lying Game (!) is a Canterwood banner! The e-books are available for a limited time price of $2.99. Just seeing them on iTunes is The. Coolest. Thing. Ever.

Apparently, Sony and the Nook will be running a similar promotion. So thrilled!

Thank you to Editor Fiona (she is one of my “in house” editors although Kate edits the books) for passing this fab Friday news along!

Happy Friday, all!

xoxo

As part of the INITIATION contest, here’s an entry! Connie with Initiation! Her mom sent the photo and gave me permission to post it. Thank you for being a part of Team Canterwood, Connie!!

Happy Sunday, all! Busy writing COMEBACK. 🙂

xoxo

I’m soo excited to be able to share the cover of Canterwood Crest #17 (JEALOUSY) with you! 🙂 I have three more covers ready to be shared as soon as I get them. I can’t wait and I hope you love this one as much as I do! We’ve got Lauren on the right and a new (!) character on the left. And doesn’t Whisper look gorgeous?!

Thank you to everyone at Simon & Schuster for creating such a lovely cover that embodies the Canterwood spirit.

Happy weekend!

xoxo

I’ve been so welcomed into the online community–not just by writers and publishing people–but by teens, tweens and all types of fabulous people I never would have met without my blog. 🙂 I consider you all friends, and I think it’s time I share a ten year old secret with you.

I felt the need to do so now because of the volume of mail I’ve been receiving from wonderful readers who “want to look like me.” I feel like a total fraud. Like I am portraying a false image of what they should aspire to look like. Readers who sent me this mail do not know what I’ve done to my body to look how I have in the past.

I’ve been struggling with anorexia since I was fourteen. Maybe even a little before then. For me, it was never a “I want to be skinny and then I’ll be pretty!” it was a control issue. My home life was chaotic, I had no control and with food, I had the power. I chose what I ate, when, how much.

Over the years, my weight fluctuated depending on how things were at home. I reached my lowest, scariest weight in April 2009.  By then, my body was severely damaged. My hair was falling out, I was growing soft, thick hair on my arms in an effort to keep my body warm, I had more cavities than any religious teeth brusher should have. I fainted. Several times. I was freezing all of the time. Nosebleeds were part of my day. I had no energy.

I moved to NYC, determined to change my habits. I tried and failed. I tried again, failing. Finally, last fall, I saw how much it was hurting someone I loved. She told me she was scared that I’d have a heart attack, that my organs would start shutting down, or something worse would happen. I’d known, all along, that this can happen with anorexia, but I was deeply in it. Those options didn’t seem real. But hurting her did. As my best friend, she said I had to change. I had to fix this–either one more try on my own or check into a treatment center.

I was terrified. I didn’t think I could do it and I balked at the idea of treatment. But I went online, ordered a dozen Ensure weight-gain drinks, forced myself to start eating meals, and veeeerry slowly, a change happened. I worked so damn hard. You’d think gaining weight is easy.

It isn’t.

I had a couple of minor set backs, but nothing even remotely close to the weight I had been. The weight I’d been while standing outside a bar in 2009 and a man walked up to me and said I needed to eat a burger.

Now, it’s not a daily struggle. I think about it from time to time, but I will never go back to the place of making my already ill best friend worry that I’m going to starve myself to death. If I’m feeling like old habits might be creeping up, I talk to her about them. Honesty is saving me. My face isn’t hollow anymore. My hair stopped falling out. My premature wrinkles stopped forming. I went from a barely A-cup to a C-cup. (And I love it!!) I love my body and feel so confident with it. There’s no going back.

I wanted to share this because I know so many young girls, guys, and women are going through it. Mostly, I want to say to my readers–you do not want to look like me. Maybe the me now who is healthy. But not the old me. I will never go back. I say that with absolute certainty. If you’re struggling, know that you can make it. We can–and are–fighting this.

xo

Guess what comes out officially in exactly a month? INITIATION! 😀

But . . . I’m betting stores have it a week to 10 days earlier. Sooo excited! Let me know when you snag a copy.

I had the pleasure of receiving friend and author Sarah Prineas’s new book, WINTERLING. It happened like this:

Me: OMG, Sarah! I love your new cover! It has a horse!

Sarah: Thank you! But it’s not a horse . . .

Me: ARC!!

And the HarperCollins publicity team had one at my doorstep a few days later.

Sarah and I share a book birthday, January 3, 2012. I’m not going to spoil the plot, but I will say that Fer, the main female character, is refreshing and curious. I love seeing a girl in this role and Fer learns a lot about herself while she tackles what seems like an insurmountable journey.  It’s a true coming of age story that I’d recommend to middle grade and tween readers.

Here’s what Barnes & Noble has to say:

Pre-order a copy now! 🙂 ❤

Things have been a little rough lately to say the least. We learned this week that Pacey the cat has cancer. His tail is going to be amputated before the cancer spreads and he has two masses in his head. On Saturday, we’re meeting with an oncologist to discuss chemo and radiation. All of this is scary, sad, and incredibly expensive. But Pacey will get the care that’s best for him. Cats, and pets in general, are members of the family and it’s an incredible toll on the ones who love them when they’re sick.

Because of Pacey’s illness, K and I have postponed her trip to Mayo. We were supposed to leave on Monday, but we just can’t not knowing what the future holds with Pacey. Luckily, we got a VERY fast reschedule date and will be going to Mayo on January 5th.

Sorry for such a sad post, but I wanted to keep you all updated.

Hope you’re ALL doing well and much love!

xx