I really don't have anything to write about today

Sorry, Alliterati ... my brain's just plain blanking on stuff to write today.

In that vein, I'm opening myself up to questions -- both serious and non -- that you might want to ask.

Ask me something in the comments and I'll answer in next week's post.

The book party continues!

So last night, I hosted a book party. In light of my leaving the States (and subsequent weight restrictions on things we pack) I realized that a lot of my books had to go in storage or to someone else. But to me, books are like...I don't know, kittens. They just don't do well in storage!

And awesome people came! Seriously, some of my favorite people in San Diego (and beyond!) joined me for lots of sugar, delicious dip (Thanks to L.T. Host!) and a whole glut of books. ARCs! Fiction and non-fiction! Kids and adult books alike! Even a handful of signed copies of books thanks to friend Charles!

There was swapping of stories, practiced elevator pitches and even a reluctant performance of an American Idol hopeful. (She's auditioning today...fingers crossed!) All in all, a crazy awesome shindig. Thank you to everyone who came! And the four boxes of books I had hoped to give away? Well...I still have four boxes. But full of a lot of different books! I guess I have three weeks to read REALLY FAST.

Our physical distances certainly keep us apart...there were hundreds of people around the world that I would have loved to invite to my hard-to-find house in San Diego! But that's the beauty and joy of the internet, especially to us bookly people. There's no distance between blogs and tweets and emails! Our community is right at our fingertips.

So who's up for a party? There's been a lot to celebrate this week and we want to hear everything. Any great news coming your way? Any great ideas? Need to practice your elevator pitches?

Pull up a seat on the sofa and grab some of L.T.'s delicious dip. Ain't no party like a bookly party 'cause a bookly party don't stop! (Except if you gotta sleep. Then it can stop for a little bit.)

Cheers, good people!

Pant pant pant...did I miss anything? OPEN POST!

Hi guys!

Many many apologies for the lateness of my Friday post. I thought I had everything together and every base covered this week, but there's always that extra SOMETHING that slips through the cracks. Sigh. All my base did not belong to me.

So! Instead of a real post, I'm doing something I've never done before: an OPEN POST! (Guys, I'm scared.) What do you guys want to talk about? Any questions for me, writing related or otherwise? I'll answer in the comments! Do you mind if I ask you questions? What are your feelings on George Lucas making a Star Wars live action television show? Why is focaccia bread so delicious to eat and so difficult to spell? Who dared cancel Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip? Was it the same guy who canceled Firefly? And Wonderfalls? Are they just doing this to mess with us? Let's discuss in the comments.

Happy Friday, all! And if your geographical location gives you Monday off for Memorial Day, happy that, too! Me and lolcatz are OUT.

Cute kids, failed spy missions and questions for YOU.

Once again, I'm traveling on my posting day. I can't say to where because my destination is a secret to one person only. Although I'm pretty sure that person doesn't read this blog, I best not take any chances. The internet is written in ink! And not the cool disappearing kind! So let's pretend I'm on another secret spy mission and leave it at that.

I often see those "have any questions for me?" posts on other blogs and I've always been afraid to do one of those because 1) what if no one asks questions? That'd be a waste of a post (oh, like the internet's written in EXPENSIVE ink.) And 2) What if someone asks where I'm going on my secret spy mission? My integrity as a open, honest writer and a spy will be compromised. I just can't have that happen, not after my last twitter update fiasco: "Moscow smells funny this time of year...then again, it could just be because I'm hiding in the sewer system below the Kremlin."

Yeah, you just don't bounce back from that sort of security breach.

Anywherewasigoingwiththisways, I'd rather turn the tables on you, awesome reader, and I hope you'll indulge me in some questions of my own. Answer one or all or none...or just link to a really cute picture of a kid. Nathan Bransford got the ball rolling with this, but have you seen Adam Heine's contender? My money's on Adam.

So, without further ado ('cause, really, I could ado all day):

- Where'd you get your idea for your latest WIP?
- Have any FABULOUS books you've read lately?
- If you could have brunch with any living writer, who would it be? Would you be afraid to order onions in your omelet?
- Any particular writing moment as of late that you've been incredibly proud of? (Heightened word count, finished draft, plot breakthrough, etc.) How did you reward yourself?
- How are you handling the approaching beauty of spring and the urge to play outside all day versus sitting inside and writing?
- Once you start playing Angry Birds, how do you stop? No really. HELP ME.

And now, I'll end with a cute kid of my own:

No, baby, NO! We do not EAT the unicorns! We cuddle and love and play with them! Noooooo!!

Om nom nom.

Insanity and Open Post

Hey folks! Sorry I missed last week, but it was teh craziness what with a whole bunch of non-blog-friendly family stuff that went on.

This week isn't any less insane, especially because I started a brand-new freelancing gig writing feature stories for HelloMetro.com. My territory will include Portland, Maine; Concord and Manchester, NH; Hartford, Conn.; and Providence, R.I. among other cities. So that's pretty darn cool.

In that vein, I'm opening this post to any questions y'all might have for me about pretty much anything. Marketing, writing non-fiction, outlining, etc ... all of the stuff that I've blogged about here and at Free the Princess over the past year and however many months.

Well? What do you want to know?

Open Post: What "Rule" Bothers You the Most?

I think we can all agree that it's pretty much impossible to follow Bane's post on Voice from yesterday with anything approaching that level of awesome. So, in true pragmatist (or maybe lazybutt) fashion, I'm not even going to try.

Instead, I'll turn the spotlight around onto the Alliterati readers. I've talked about my hatred of writing rules over at Free the Princess already, and L.T. Host has detailed her loathing of the same here, but I'm wondering ...

What "rule" bothers you the most?

I'm curious to see if there's one particular admonition that people keep getting annoyed by, or if it goes pretty much across the board. Let us know in the comments!