For the Love of Zombies!

As you might be able to tell from this charming picture of me, I've gotten some lovely new red highlights... and a really bad case of poison ivy. Obviously I'm severely allergic to poison ivy. I'll be fine...in time. Lots of time & ointment. In the meantime, at least I still have my smile. Okay, the truth is I'm celebrating (in style) the launch of BAD TASTE IN BOYS, a wickedly funny YA zombie book by the amazing Carrie Harris. I was lucky enough to be able to read an early draft of BTIB... and have to say it's as awesomesauce as its author! And I'm not even naturally the zombie-loving type...but this book converted me to zombieism (spelling?). So, the short of it is if you're looking for laughs, a fabulous zombie-fighting heroine, a hottie, and some good wholesome...er, maybe not so wholesome (we're talking lost body parts here, people) zombie fun, you should run and get your copy of BAD TASTE IN BOYS today!

Don't believe me about the zombie fun? Take a look at this trailer:


While you're celebrating the zombierama, you should also check out the special launch auction called NIGHT OF THE GIVING DEAD that Carrie has set up to benefit the Giving Library at the University of Michigan C. S. Mott Children’s Hospital. There are tons of fabulous items up for bid, including signed books, critiques, phone conversations with authors and agents, and two awesome grand prizes! For a full list of auction items, click HERE. If you'd like a signed copy of THE LIPSTICK LAWS from yours truly (ah-hem...me), click HERE to bid! I will give you a cupcake (free of zombie parts).

So, what are you waiting for? Start bidding & celebrating zombie-mania!

What Makes a Book Cry-Worthy?

I came across a website called cryingwife.com where a husband records his wife crying at the end of movies and shares the videos online. Other than the fact that he's totally invading her cry-worthy moments and posting them for all to see, it's pretty entertaining as showcased below:



I couldn't help but wonder if she's faking her tears...because it seems a little over the top to cry hysterically at the end of Star Wars (and this is coming from someone who cried at the opening scene and music of Titanic upon watching it for a second time). My skepticism sparked me to read the Q&A section of the site to find out more about the couple behind the tearful dramatics... and I was surprised to come across this question and answer:

Q. Does she cry when she reads books?

A. Nope. Only movies with happy/sad endings.

I found this surprising because one would assume that a woman who becomes so emotionally connected to characters and storylines within films would be equally connected to characters and storylines within literature. But apparently that's not the case.

So I began recollecting my cry-worthy history, and realized that I'm much more prone to cry over movies than books too. I can count the number of books that have made me cry on one hand, whereas I'd probably need both hands and my toes to count movies that have made me shed tears through the years. To be fair, I usually choose to read books that are light hearted and funny rather than heart wrenching... so maybe it's not an accurate comparison. Still, I find the question of why movies evoke more intense emotions than books in some people to be an interesting topic.

Perhaps balancing a book with tissues inhibits the ability to turn pages properly, therefore crying is averted when reading. While hands are (usually) free for tissue use when watching movies... unless you're holding a huge tub of buttered popcorn.

What do you think? Are books or movies more apt to make you cry? What is the most cry-worthy book you've read? What made that book so cry-worthy?

My Confession...

In light of Valentine's Day, I feel it's time to come clean. I can no longer deny that I have a serious problem with monogamy. Yes, I admit, I am a book cheater...

It all started when I'd shift between the pages of Dr. Seuss and P.D. Eastman books carelessly... all the while, neither book knew about the other. Call me naive, but I didn't know two-timing was wrong back then. Soon enough two books weren't enough to satisfy my book cheating urges... I'd move on to three, four, or five at a time. Board books, picture books, coloring books - it didn't matter how I satisfied my compulsion - I wasn't picky.

Things progressed grimly during my elementary years when the Scholastic Book Club reinforced my book cheating addiction even more. I'd purchase piles of books at a time despite the incredulous stares and whispers of my fellow classmates.

But I confess, I didn't just book cheat in school... I would have late night trysts with the pages of Roald Dahl books... and move on seamlessly to Katherine Paterson, Madeleine L'Engle, Shel Silverstein, and Beverly Cleary...

Fortunately, my early years weren't completely devoid of book monogamy. My Judy Blume phase was a time I'm proud to say I went steady with a book. It was good while it lasted... But then Christopher Pike and R.L. Stine dragged me into the depths of cheating again by their wicked plots and twisted writing. After that, I was right back to my dirty old book cheating habits.

As I matured into young adulthood, my book cheating grew worse. Once in college, I began cheating on fiction with non-fiction... and I cheated on non-fiction pleasure reading with academic reading... and then academic reading with TABLOID MAGAZINES! Good grief, it's disgraceful to own up to!

However, I can't take all the blame for my tainted book moral compass. There are book pushers who drive me to cheat with their "books for purchase" ploys. Yes, I'm referring to bookstores.

But with the warped help of Amazon, I no longer worry about the awkward glances from book pushing clerks while I peruse the shelves of Borders and Barnes and Noble adorned with a fake mustache disguise. Amazon has been a book cheating middle-man, making it all the more easy to find books willing to help me cheat on my other books in the privacy of my own home.

And Amazon's enabling ways don't stop there... Most recently I've gone down a new technologically sick book cheating path by cheating on my real books with my Amazon Kindle books. Does the shame ever end?! For the love of books, I need HELP people!

So tell me, my friends of the blog world (if you're still actually reading this...), am I the only one suffering in the depths of book cheating torment? I beg you to come forward so we can work together toward book monogamy... or, on second thought, we could trade books and begin a polygamous book cult.

Happy heart day to all and to all a good night!



*Best Wishes & Lipstick Kisses*