chit-chat

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2010-04-24T14:32:00.001-07:00

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film rights...

2010-03-30T20:47:00.000-07:00

It's true. We recently optioned film rights for Singletini!

How exciting is that? I heart Jenny Bent. She's such a rockstar. Here's hoping it makes a splash on the big screen some day. (Fingers crossed.)

And my latest project is cruising right along. I can't wait to deliver it. I'm still a few months out, but soon, soon...

;)

pickles!

2010-02-06T09:10:00.000-08:00

I just took a break from writing this morning and look at what I stumbled upon.

A cute Scandinavian DIY site called...

I'm kind of obsessed. They posted this Whirly Lampshade (very Random by Bertjan) that I really want to make this weekend. Directions are posted on their site. How cool is this thing?

Wish me luck. (I might need it.)

Me + Crafty = BIG mess.

dear jane.

2010-01-17T10:51:00.000-08:00

Have you met Jane Aldridge?

She's the 18-year old blogger who's taking the fashion world by storm. I first heard about her a few years ago when I was over at Gap Inc. A hip girl I worked with told me to check out her blog, which was just taking off at the time. It was smart, charming...addicting. I was hooked.

Over the past few years, Aldridge has pretty much gone super-star. In fact, Teen Vogue just did a piece about her in their January issue. She's guest-designing a trench coat for Gryphon.

How awesome is that? Love this girl. If you haven't checked out her blog yet, do. It's called Sea of Shoes. And it's kind of addicting.

i call red!

2010-01-13T22:12:00.000-08:00

Wow. Have you guys seen these yet?

Crayon rings!

Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.

They're spendy ($50 for 8), but so quirky and fun. I know what's going on my birthday list this year...

In other news, I've been working on the newest book a ton and it's going really well. (Yay!) Couldn't be more excited about it. More on that soon. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

the baby-sitter is back!

2010-01-02T12:18:00.000-08:00

It's true.

Scholastic Inc. is bringing back The Baby-Sitters Club.

And releasing a prequel.

How exciting! I mean, what girl didn't LOVE this series when she was growing up? I was obsessed.

I hope little girls enjoy the series as much as our generation did.

happy, happy...

2010-01-01T12:26:00.000-08:00

New Year!

Hope you all are off to a wonderful beginning.

I started my day with a trip to the gym, a cup of coffee while I wrote out my resolutions.* And now my head is down for an afternoon of writing. (Fun.)

Just wanted to pop in and say hello. Here's to big smiles and big dreams in 2010!

Love,
Amanda

*Resolution #9: Write faster. ;)

the new chick lit...

2009-08-23T11:31:00.000-07:00

Here's a great article from Publishers Weekly that recently caught my eye.

I sort of love it. And hate it.

On one side: I couldn't agree more. Life is dark and complicated. Things don't always work out. And Prince Charming is far from realistic. But, but, but...

On the other side: I do love a happy ending.

I can't help it.

Is that so wrong?

(Why do I always feel so guilty admitting that?)

It's why I read books. It's why I go to the movies. I'm a dreamer, I guess. A hopeless romantic. I want the happy ending. I want to see the girl get the guy. (Or the girl get the girl/guy get the guy/whatever your preference.)

Honestly, who doesn't want to see people happy and in love? I'm not saying that love defines happiness. No, no. Not even close. But, well, does it really have to be the worst thing in the world? That's all I'm saying.

But see what you think...

Women's Lit: Chick Lit Gets An Update

Enjoy!

THE INTERN

2009-07-13T19:17:00.000-07:00

I love, love THE INTERN.

If you want an inside look at publishing, check her out. She's hilarious. Her Hives of Apocalypse post is too funny.

Picture neon green, sequined flight suit with goggles. And a boyfriend in a bear costume. Enough said.

1001

2009-05-27T20:07:00.000-07:00

Oh, how I love a good list.

Check this out:

1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die.

Ahh! So behind, so behind...

for the love of the ;

2009-05-27T12:55:00.000-07:00

I just stumbled upon this article in The New York Times about the semicolon.

Love it. Brilliant. Had to share...

CELEBRATING THE SEMICOLON IN A MOST UNLIKELY LOCATION

By SAM ROBERTS
February 18, 2008

It was nearly hidden on a New York City Transit public service placard exhorting subway riders not to leave their newspaper behind when they get off the train.

“Please put it in a trash can,” riders are reminded. After which Neil Neches, an erudite writer in the transit agency’s marketing and service information department, inserted a semicolon. The rest of the sentence reads, “that’s good news for everyone.”

Semicolon sightings in the city are unusual, period, much less in exhortations drafted by committees of civil servants. In literature and journalism, not to mention in advertising, the semicolon has been largely jettisoned as a pretentious anachronism.

Americans, in particular, prefer shorter sentences without, as style books advise, that distinct division between statements that are closely related but require a separation more prolonged than a conjunction and more emphatic than a comma.

“When Hemingway killed himself he put a period at the end of his life,” Kurt Vonnegut once said. “Old age is more like a semicolon.”

In terms of punctuation, semicolons signal something New Yorkers rarely do. Frank McCourt, the writer and former English teacher at Stuyvesant High School, describes the semicolon as the yellow traffic light of a “New York sentence.” In response, most New Yorkers accelerate; they don’t pause to contemplate.

Semicolons are supposed to be introduced into the curriculum of the New York City public schools in the third grade. That is where Mr. Neches, the 55-year-old New York City Transit marketing manager, learned them, before graduating from Tilden High School and Brooklyn College, where he majored in English and later received a master’s degree in creative writing.

But, whatever one’s personal feelings about semicolons, some people don’t use them because they never learned how.

In fact, when Mr. Neches was informed by a supervisor that a reporter was inquiring about who was responsible for the semicolon, he was concerned.

“I thought at first somebody was complaining,” he said.

One of the school system’s most notorious graduates, David Berkowitz, the Son of Sam serial killer who taunted police and the press with rambling handwritten notes, was, as the columnist Jimmy Breslin wrote, the only murderer he ever encountered who could wield a semicolon just as well as a revolver. (Mr. Berkowitz, by the way, is now serving an even longer sentence.)

But the rules of grammar are routinely violated on both sides of the law.

People have lost fortunes and even been put to death because of imprecise punctuation involving semicolons in legal papers. In 2004, a court in San Francisco rejected a conservative group’s challenge to a statute allowing gay marriage because the operative phrases were separated incorrectly by a semicolon instead of by the proper conjunction.

Louis Menand, an English professor at Harvard and a staff writer at The New Yorker, pronounced the subway poster’s use of the semicolon to be “impeccable.”

Lynne Truss, author of “Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation,” called it a “lovely example” of proper punctuation.

Geoffrey Nunberg, a professor of linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley, praised the “burgeoning of punctuational literacy in unlikely places.”

Allan M. Siegal, a longtime arbiter of New York Times style before retiring, opined, “The semicolon is correct, though I’d have used a colon, which I think would be a bit more sophisticated in that sentence.”

The linguist Noam Chomsky sniffed, “I suppose Bush would claim it’s the effect of No Child Left Behind.”

New York City Transit’s unintended agenda notwithstanding, e-mail messages and text-messaging may jeopardize the last vestiges of semicolons. They still live on, though, in emoticons, those graphic emblems of our grins, grimaces and other facial expressions.

The semicolon, befittingly, symbolizes a wink.

###

can you say jay?

2009-04-13T19:26:00.000-07:00

Heads up. The man is back:

Jay McInerney.

Oh. Yeaaaah.

I don't know about you, but I can't wait to pick this hardcover up. I guess it's 26 short stories. Spanning 26 years. It's going to be awesome. Here's the New York Times write-up. Check it out.

All I can say is...

"It’s Six A.M. Do You Know Where You Are?”

I do.

(Wink.)

Bye for now,
-A

lazy sunday

2009-03-15T12:30:00.000-07:00

Hi there. I just wanted to pop by and say hi. Hope all is well with everyone.

For me? I'm having a lazy Sunday by the fire — drinking tea, doing a little work, flipping through The New York Times Magazine. (One of my favorite things to do on the weekend, btw.) And I just came across this fantastic article about Facebook by Peggy Orenstein.

It poses the question:

"Can you forge your future self when you never leave the present?"

It's funny, insightful and definitely worth a read.

Who knows? Maybe R is better off by refusing the Facebook frenzy. Only time will tell. Until then, here's a sneak peek at the article (enjoy!)...

Someone I haven’t seen in decades just posted a snapshot of me on Facebook: there I am at 16, dressed in an unfortunate cowl-neck sweater, my hair cut to resemble a Semitic cotton ball. William Faulkner, I suspect, would love it — Facebook, after all, is the best evidence yet of the undead past. Ever since I signed up a couple of months ago, I have felt thrust into a perpetual episode of “This Is Your Life” (complete with commercials). “Friends” from nursery school have resurfaced, as well as high-school teachers (including the one who pinned me to a wall during a graduation party and slurred, “You’re not much to look at now, but when you’re 30 you’re gonna be terrific”). I have reconnected with the brother of a friend who was killed; rediscovered college chums and colleagues from my early days in New York. I am by turns amused, touched and horrified by these gentle breezes and icy blasts from the past.

addicted to...

2009-03-01T18:08:00.000-08:00

apartmenttherapy.com.

It's a cool website that shares design ideas for New York, San Francisco, Boston, DC, LA and Chicago.

It's awesome. I love looking at all the artwork and furniture. So many ideas, so little time...

jenny bent = rockstar

2009-03-01T07:16:00.000-08:00

I absolutely LOVE my agent. Love her.

I was talking to Jenny late last week — telling her AGAIN how terrible I felt about letting the second book go. I was convinced she'd be furious. Tell me I was a failure. A one-hitter. Or, worse — drop me.

But she didn't. Not even close.

She was sweet, encouraging. Told me it wasn't a big deal. That it happens all the time. I'd learn from this. It would be fine.

Wow.

It was exactly what I needed to hear. I feel very lucky to have her in my corner.

GQ - kitchen savant

2009-02-21T19:30:00.000-08:00

Here's a fantastic article in GQ about Chicago's Schwa restaurant...

The writer of this article is just brilliant. I was on a flight down to Mexico. Headphones in. Laughing away. R had to lean over (more than once) to tell me to pipe down. I guess I was disturbing fellow passengers.

Whatever. I was having a great time. The writer even mentioned our Chicago neighborhood and our infamous tire dealership:

The restaurant is directly across the street from an ornate tire dealership festooned with fake palm trees, the coconuts neon bright. “It looks like a gay Colombian nightclub,” Carlson says.

Too. Funny. Was practically crying/laughing.

Here are a few other favorite quotes:

He is intolerant of attitude, saying, “Assholes get filtered out quickly. If anybody acts as though they expect to be catered to, they’re in the wrong place. We’ve had a couple altercations. One guy got up, gave us the finger, and walked out. One woman—she was wasted—accused us of stealing her wine. I bought her meal and told her to get out. There are not many places where the owner will come out and call a customer an asshole.”

...

On one wall are sepia-like photographs that Carlson took, one in Venice, the other in Paris. “We had a guy here, a curator of art from London, and he was making fun of them,” Carlson says. “To tell you the truth, I’d have velvet paintings on the walls if not for other people telling me not to. I’d be asking customers, ‘You like my velvet panther?’ ”

Definitely check out the article when you have a chance.

It's worth the read.

alcoholics, sexaholics, shopaholics.

2009-01-19T21:04:00.000-08:00

Over at Salon.com, Laura Miller talks about addiction and two new books that explore it all. The quote that stuck out to me the most:

"They're alcoholics, meth fiends, crack heads, compulsive gamblers and overeaters and shoplifters. They beat the odds, then relapse at the moment things seem to be going their way. They congratulate themselves on kicking one drug while kidding themselves that they're not getting hooked on something else."

Sad, but probably true. I guess we all need something, right? If it's not A, it's B.

favorite new recipe

2009-01-13T21:29:00.000-08:00

One of my NY resolutions = Taking care of myself. Yep. Just like everyone else right now.

TRANSLATION FOR ME:

1. Stop devouring entire cans of Pringles. Yes, I've done this on more than one occasion. And, yes, I realize it's sick and wrong. (Look, no offense little Pringle chip. I love you. I do. It's just that no human being should consume an entire tube. In one sitting. Ever.)

2. Stop drinking 4+ cups of coffee a day. Uh. Yeah. It's kind of a problem. By noon, I'm talking so fast—ZZZZZzzzzzz—even I can't understand what I'm saying.

3. Stop avoiding the gym.
Seriously. Stop it, Amanda. (Wrist slap.) And, look, sneaking out after 7 minutes isn't cool either. I'm forcing myself to stay there for 30 minutes. Even if that means standing in the corner and texting people from my iPhone...which, of course, I would never, ever do. (wink)

Now to go along with my healthy new outlook, I'm trying to cook a little lighter too. My first recipe?

Pecorino, arugula and tomato pizza
~From Martha Stewart Everyday Food

It's fabulous. Ridiculously easy. And my pizza turned out looking exactly like the picture, which NEVER happens for me. If I can do it, you can do it. Trust me.

Ingredients:

Olive oil, for baking sheet and for serving (optional for serving)
1 cup grape tomatoes
Coarse salt and ground pepper
4 individual pizza shells from 1 pound Whole-Wheat Pizza Dough, fresh or frozen
1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
3 cups baby arugula
3 ounces shaved Pecorino Romano cheese
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, for serving

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Turn a large baking sheet upside down; rub with oil. Using your hands, crush tomatoes into a pulp in a small bowl; season with salt and pepper.
Spread crushed tomatoes on pizza shells; sprinkle with red-pepper flakes. Bake until crusts are golden, 18 to 20 minutes.
In a bowl, toss arugula with Pecorino; top pizzas with salad. Drizzle with vinegar and, if desired, oil.

Enjoy,
-A

the wimpy kid

2009-01-11T18:33:00.000-08:00

Heard of it? It sounds like a gem. And it looks like the latest book The Last Straw is being released today.

I guess it's written for middle school boys, but it sounds hilarious in this NYT article.

"Greg, who is finely attuned to social pecking orders, writes that he is “around 52nd or 53rd most popular this year.” He is also lazy and manipulative, always choosing to do what is expedient rather than what is right — qualities that place him somewhere on the continuum between Dennis the Menace and Bart Simpson..."

Hmm. I might just have to pick it up at the book store. (Heading there tonight.)

Hope everyone is staying warm. It's freeeezing here in Chicago.

2009.

2009-01-04T15:20:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

Happy New Year!

Long time, no chat. Right? ;)

So it's been almost a year since I last posted. (Yikes!) Let's just say, 2008 was a rough year...

It took us longer than expected to get settled in Chicago. And it definitely took its toll on my writing. In the end, I had to make the decision to let go of the second book. I just wasn't happy with it. And I refused to deliver something to the publisher that I didn't love.

It's sad, but exciting at the same time. I can't wait to start on something new. I'm in full brainstorm mode for Book #3. And, well, I have a good feeling about this one. It's going to be awesome. I'll keep you posted along the way, so stay tuned...

XOXO,
Amanda

it's mini me!

2008-01-13T15:03:00.000-08:00

So I have a very talented friend at work who does illustrations. (Her blog is HILARIOUS, btw. Check it out. It's called Lucky Pork.)

Anyway, for Christmas she drew my dog Rosie and I, and put it on a coffee mug. It was the best gift ever. Seriously. It topped everything. Look, here we are...

How funny is that?

I asked her to draw another illustration of R. (Shh. R doesn't know yet.) And she did a fantastic job. He's going to love it! Stay tuned. I'll post it later...

caught!

2008-01-12T17:51:00.000-08:00

Here we go again...

I just intercepted two new thank you cards that R was about to send in the mail. He hadn't sealed them yet, so I took a peek. (Mind you, he promised me a few days ago that he'd cool it with the rest of the cards.)

Dear X-
Thank you for making the trip to Carmel to celebrate with us. We hope you had a great time. Also, thank you for the frying pan — although I'm a little worried that Amanda may use it against me, both in the kitchen and over the head! We hope that you get a chance to come visit us in Chicago.
Thanks!
R & A

Dear X-
Thanks for coming to Carmel! It was great to see you. Also, thank you for the steamer and allowing me not to have to learn how to iron. We hope that we get to see you in Chicago the next time you're in town.
Thanks!
R & A

It's hard to be mad. I mean, they're pretty funny..

P.S. He's not happy at all that I'm writing about him on here. Good thing he doesn't know the password to my blog or these postings would be "intercepted" as well. (Doh!)

thank you cards

2008-01-06T09:34:00.000-08:00

Well, you know what they say...

Be careful what you ask for.

And it's so true.

Yep. After all the wedding planning this year, I was exhaaaaaausted. So I asked R (the new hubby) if he'd write all the thank you cards.

Brilliant plan, right?

Uh. Not so much.

It's not that R wasn't enthusiastic about the project. Oh no. It was quite the opposite...

He immediately ran out and bought all the thank you cards. He alphabetized the gift receipts. And then he carefully logged everything into a trustee spreadsheet. He even bought stamps! (A tiny miracle, seriously.)

I was ELATED. Everything was cruising along just brilliantly...

Until this week.

A girl at work (who was at the wedding) comes up to me and says, "Hey! I got your thank you card yesterday. It was REALLY funny."

Hmm.

"Funny?" I tilt my head. That's odd. What could possibly be funny about brownie mix and shiny new pans?

"Yeah. Totally..." The girl bubbles on. "R wrote all about how he couldn't wait for you to bake all the brownies! Too bad it'd never happen though. Unless he signed you up for a cooking class...or two. Ha!"

He wrote that???

My cheeks flush.

What else is he writing?

I quickly return to my desk and I'm about to call R when an email pops up from a friend. The subject line reads: HILARIOUS.

Oh God.

My stomach drops as I skim the email...

I knew I should have just written them myself.

hello, 2008

2008-01-01T22:41:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you guys, but I'm reeeeeady to get this new year started!

Let's just say, 2007 was a bit of a handful.

Book.

Puppy.

Wedding. (Yep, we finally tied the knot in November.)

Honeymoon. (Not complaining. It was a blast.)

And, well, a big cross-country move to Chicago. (We're moving back in a few weeks!)

This year nearly put me over the edge...

Whew.

I can't wait for things to settle down again. I'll finally be able to put my head down and crank out some serious pages. No distractions. I can't even tell you how much I'm looking forward to it.

So without further ado...

Let's all put our fingertips to our lips.

And kiss this crazy year goodbye.

XXXXX

heeeeyyyy

2007-06-24T10:33:00.000-07:00

So I haven't really been on here lately. Sorry, sorry. I'm trying to hit a deadline, so it's taking up all of my time. As soon as it's over, I'll be back up and chatting away. Promise. Until then, I thought I'd say a quick hello and share a few things.

First off, here's the Spanish cover for Singletini. (Cute!)

They named it: Y LO QUE SURJA. (ROUGH TRANSLATION? And what arose.) Hope you all love it over there.

New book update? Oh, it's coming. Slowly. Very slowly.

Rosie? She's damn cute, but she's a HANDFUL. Here's a recent picture...

She's currently going through a stage where she thinks everything belongs in her mouth. And I do mean everything. Rocks, shoes, books, remote controls, water bottles. I walked downstairs the other morning and she had successfully ripped a houseplant out of its pot and was flinging it around the living room.

Ahh, just the way I like to wake up.

On a separate note, check out this New York Times article when you have a chance. It's about the "Boys of Summer" out in the Hamptons. Very entertaining. Sounds like spring break for thirty- and forty-somethings.

That's all for now. Be back soon...