Yes, it's true. I am sick. This is not good for a mother of four who still has shopping and baking to do.

On the upside, I have stopped throwing up. (Don't worry. As this is not a medical blog, I won't be offering further details!)

On another upside, my stomach is exceedingly flat.

On yet another upside, I can now keep down tylenol which helps keep the aches and shivers at bay.

This Christmas will be known in our family as The Christmas Mom Learned To Delegate.

I'm off for a cup of tea and some dry toast. I'm making detailed lists for various family members to pick up my slack. And then I'm crawling back into bed.

Seasons Greetings to you and yours!!

(And if I do manage to drag myself out and you see me in the stores, don't hug me. )

On Saturday, I had the MOST INCREDIBLE EVER book launch at The Yellow Book Road.

At home, before the launch, I was pretty much freaking out and worrying and giving my family fits. What if no one shows up? What if I forget how to spell my name? Why did I ever agree to do a presentation?

Anyway, my family totally put up with my neurotic behavior. Even my poor in-laws who came here from Oklahoma to enjoy a peaceful (?Say what? In my house where we don't even know the meaning of the word peaceful??) Christmas with the grandkids. So, to keep me quiet and out of a straitjacket, they all covered Hershey miniature chocolates with little sleeves of the book cover, stuffed disposable coffee cups with candy, said chocolates, cute I So Don't Do Mysteries pencils, notebooks, rhino tattoos and I So Don't Do Mysteries tattoos.

Child #4 and her streaky blue hair

Child #4 and I escaped to see Jamie the Wonderful Hairdresser who pinned teal streaks (yes, to match the cover!) in our hair. We picked up the cupcake cake on the way home. By this point, I was hyped beyond belief and talking three million miles a minute. I may have frightened the cake lady.

THE cupcake cake!

Then, it was off to The Yellow Book Road where my very amazing friends Eileen B-R, Eileen C and Vicki S set up the food table with cheese and crackers (Eileen B-R created extraordinary cheese trays), raw veggies and dip, m&ms, Chex Mix, water bottles, the cake and wine.

Mary and Kristin and Anne of The Yellow Book Road were remarkably calm and professional and did not even come close to slapping me around even though they probably wanted to see if that would snap me out of my hyperness.

DH set up the screen, projector and computer for the powerpoint while I tried, in vain, to convince The Yellow Book Road personnel that there was no real need for me to do the powerpoint. They good-naturedly ignored me and rolled book cases out of the way to make room for a signing table. And then they set up the raffle table.

And then the guests arrived. And more arrived. And they kept on arriving.

And they bought books. And more books. And more books. Until The Yellow Book Road ran out of books. And DH brought in some of my author copies from the car for the store to sell. And those sold out. So, DH raced home and got the rest of the author copies.

The signing line went right to the door.

Here are some people waiting to have their books signed. I signed way over 100 books!

And people hung around and chatted and ate and drank and got to know each other.

It was truly an EVENT.

Me in the middle of the powerpoint presentation. It's not the most flattering photo, but I'm giving it to you anyway!

The powerpoint went very well. Although I did cry a little. Mary and Kristin said I did an awesome job, one of the best author presentations they'd even seen. Which I'm sure is an exaggeration, but does mean I didn't fall flat on my face. So, yay.

Now I feel like Sherry is well and truly launched. Thank you to everyone who helped. Thank you to everyone who came. Thank you one and all.

before and after









Sigh. And now I can put up my feet and relax. Oh no, I can't. Because it's CHRISTMAS and I have bought a total of THREE gifts. You might remember that I have FOUR children. So....if you see a blur with teal streaks fast-forwarding through the stores at the mall, it's just me in a holiday panic.

Does this feed to my livejournal?

JK Rowling had the sorting hat. We have the choosing shoes. (Please admire these beautiful new shoes Child #4 got for the Father-Daughter Dance.)

I really enjoyed playing Katie Couric. Perhaps a little much! I may dress up as Katie Couric for Halloween. I've been a pirate for the last three years, and it's time for a change anyway. Maybe I could talk hubby into going as Matt Lauer.

When it came right down to it, Child #4, not Eileen Cook, chose the winning commenter for a copy of the very well written, very funny, very why-isn't-it-longer UNPREDICTABLE.

I could've predicted (ha, ha!) that Eileen would cave on the who-gets-to-choose thing.

Why?

Child #4 can tap dance, and Eileen, um, really can't. Sorry, Eileen, but it was bound to come out at some point.

The winner of Eileen's very very marvelous, very very funny debut novel is: Becky Levine

So, email me your snail mail addy at: barrieDOTsummyATgmailDOTcom

For those of you who didn't win, thank you for participating. Now, just go buy the book. You'll feel better; Eileen'll feel better; I feel better. It's a win-win-win situation.

I promise I will get all the books I owe into the mail this week. Thus fulfilling New Year's Resolution #5.

Oh, yeah, I keep forgetting to do this. Here's the link to the first chapter of Eileen Cook's UNPREDICTABLE.

I'm a Katie Couric wannabe. She has great hair. She's smart. She's famous. And everybody loves her. Thanks to Eileen Cook, author of UNPREDICTABLE, who has good-naturedly agreed to answer a bunch of inane questions, today is my Couric day.


Oh wait, a short commercial before we start. If you want the chance to win a copy of Eileen's brand new ultra hilarious romantic comedy, UNPREDICTABLE, (and who wouldn't?), comment on today's or yesterday's post on this blog or on today's or yesterday's post on Eileen's blog or, for double the chance to win, on BOTH blogs. Alright then, freebie book business out of the way, let's go straight to the interview extraordinaire.


Do you outline before starting a book?







I'm a fly by the seat of my pants writer who secretly wishes she was a plotter. I have plotter envy- it goes well with my office supply fetish. I love the idea of binders with color-coded tabs and Post it Note flags. Instead I practice the time-honored tradition on beating my head on the desk until the story falls out. I am attempting to do more outlining, but it remains to be seen if these outlines provide me with a map or just a nice reminder of where I thought the book would go back before the head beating began.

I’ve met writers that do detailed 100 pages plus outlines with binders for all the main characters and writers who start with Chapter One and see where the story goes from there. I saw John Irving (author of A Prayer for Owen Meany) speak and he likes to write by starting with the end and working backwards. Sometimes new writers want to know “what works” and it is a tricky answer as what works for one person will completely block another. You have to find your own way into your story.

Are you part of a critique group?






I used to belong to a writer’s group that met on a monthly. Eventually due to people’s schedule the group disbanded. I now belong to an online writer’s critique group where we post scenes. I also use a group of early readers made up of both writers and readers to critique my draft. When I have a manuscript ready to go I pass it out to all of them and collect their comments before heading into the final revision stage.

In addition to getting feedback, I think it is important for writers to give feedback. It can sometimes be easier to pick apart someone else’s writing, looking at what works and what doesn’t work because you aren’t involved in the story. Once you can see it in someone else’s writing it is easier to look at your own and see if you are guilty of the same mistakes. If you don’t have a regular group of writers that you meet with I often suggest people pick a favorite book and a book they disliked and go chapter by chapter looking at what happens in each scene, what’s the conflict, if they liked it why, if they didn’t why? I have them highlight lines that they liked or places where they felt the story was dragging. One thing that excites me about writing is how much there is to learn. No matter how long you’ve been writing there is always a way to improve. I’m a bit geeky this way.

You are absolutely hilarious. Were you the class clown?






My parents are both funny so it may be genetic. Growing up I was mortified at my parent’s jokes and I’m pretty sure during my teen years I tried to ban them from talking at all when my friends were around.

I was a bit too shy to be the class clown, but I’m pretty sure my close friends saw me as the clown type. I’ve always tended to see things from a different angle that tends towards the humorous.

So, how'd you land Rachel Vater as your agent?






While writing Unpredictable I picked up a copy of Writer’s Digest that happened to have an interview with Rachel. I don’t recall what she said, but I remember thinking “she’s perfect for me!” I stuck the article on my bulletin board (complete with her picture) and whenever I found myself blocked I would remind myself that this fabulous agent was waiting for my masterpiece even though we had never communicated. Inside my head we were already a mean, lean writing team. I knew I wanted an agent I could connect with and who would take a career building approach to my writing.

When I finished the book I sent off a query to Rachel. I was prepared to send it out to a long list of agents if needed, but she was my top choice. People are sometimes surprised when I tell them that I didn’t have any connections or family in the business. I was a slush pile find. I can’t imagine going through the publishing process without a strong agent in your corner and Rachel has been the perfect business partner for me.

What are you working on now?






I recently signed a contract with Simon Pulse (Simon and Schuster) and am really excited to be working on some young adult novels. I always loved reading and in the past couple years have started to read all the great stuff coming out these days in the young adult and middle grade market. I love Meg Cabot and would run away in a heartbeat to be her personal assistant if she would have me.

The other area that I’ve tried out recently is writing screenplays. I’ve always been a huge movie buff and when Unpredictable was optioned by New Line I wanted a chance to write the script. For some reason the studio didn’t want someone who had never written a script before to do the job- go figure. I took some classes and am really interested in how the format is so different than novels. Scripts have to be much tighter as you typically only have 90-120 pages and the story has to be told in all action and dialog.

What is your favorite cookie?







I can pick just one favorite? Of course I am coming off the post Christmas cookie butter and sugar hangover where I made all the cookies that you never make any other time of the year.

If had to pick one favorite I would go with the traditional standby of chocolate chip. I add a touch a cinnamon in mine as the secret ingredient. Shhh don’t tell anyone.

Happy Valentine's Day, Eileen! We wish you loads of Belgium chocolate (yes, we know you love it), wheelbarrows full of chocolate chip cookies and, most of all, great big humungous book sales!

The one and only....Eileen Cook!!

Eileen's debut novel, UNPREDICTABLE, launched only last week and is already climbing Barnes & Nobles' Trade Paperback Romance Bestseller List!

Here's a description of UNPREDICTABLE from amazon.com:

Sophie Kintock isn't crazy, she just wants her guy back. And posing as a psychic to give his new girlfriend a face reading designed to break them up isn't going overboard, is it? Don't answer that.

Faking psychic powers turns out to be easy and fun, especially after a few lessons from Nick, the cute (if a bit nerdy) skeptic, who knows all the tricks of the trade. But her readings do a lot more than she could have predicted, and soon Sophie needs to figure out whether the answers lie in the stars-or in herself.


This book is getting great reviews. It'll have you laughing till you're crying or snorting. And, let's face it, life is tough enough these days. Many of you (not me because I live in sunny So Cal!) are dealing with the cold harsh snowy realities of winter. You know you need a little pick-me-up in your life. We all do. So, trundle off and grab yourself some fun and humor by buying at least one copy of UNPREDICTABLE.




For a hugely entertaining treat, hop over to Eileen Cook's blog, Just My Type. While there, you can offer her a flute of cyber bubbly.

I asked Eileen a bunch of pointed, hard-hitting, personal and embarrassing questions. Come back tomorrow and I'll post her shocking answers. (Translation: it's an interview about writing and publishing. :) )

AND we have a copy of UNPREDICTABLE to give away. So, post a comment here or on Eileen's blog or on BOTH (and we'll count you twice). Eileen and Child #4 can duke it out for who gets to choose the winner! Oh yeah, we'll choose the winner from comments left on our blogs today and tomorrow (Feb. 13 and 14).

Child #4 donned her extra-large $4.00 Walmart high heels and chose the following names. Oh wait! There were so many names of wonderful bloggy commenters that we felt bad only choosing two. So, we chose four. Besides, it helps with my decluttering resolution. And, quite frankly, I am not doing well with the New Year's resolutions. This is the first year that I've been so negligent.

Anyway, anyway, anyway. Child # 4, with great pomp and circumstance, chose four names. I chose five books. Five, because we don't want the last person not to have a choice. Name #1 gets her/his choice of one of the five books; Name #2 gets his/her choice of one of four books; and so on, down the line.

Here are the five books (in alpha order by the authors' last name):

A Good House by Bonnie Burnard (Adult)
I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter (Young Adult)
Slam by Nick Hornby (Young Adult)
Sushi for Beginners by Marian Keyes (Adult)
Light My Fire by Katie MacAlister (Adult)

And (drum roll) the winners are:

1. Jim D
2. candycana
3. J. Cheney
4. Beth at Blind as a Bat

So, shoot me an email at barrieDOTsummyATgmailDOTcom. Congratulations!

So, um, how is everyone doing with their New Year's Resolutions? Is it just me, or is this a particularly tough year for keeping them???

I woke up this morning and thought, man oh man, but I better get a post up for my wonderful bloggy friends.

And then there was a small thud at my front door.

Mr. UPS Man was leaving behind a package from Random House.

My cover proofs!

I wrapped one around a Delacorte Press book (Bras and Broomsticks by Sarah Mlynowski).



This is the incredibly adorable shiny front. Excuse the glare which is due to my mediocre photography. I haven't even managed to get the color right.



And this is the incredibly adorable shiny back. Blah, blah, blah with my pitiful photography.



Inside front flap... This is the color closest to the real McCoy.



Inside back flap...

Unfolded, the cover measures approximately 8.5" X 19.5". DH (Darling Husband--a handy engineer) figured out that it would take roughly 668 dust jackets to wallpaper our living room. This includes covering doors and windows. Of course.

I kind of feel like I'm back at the hospital, looking at all the newborns and feeling sorry for the other parents because my baby is by far the cutest.

Let's face it. THIS IS ONE CUTE COVER!

A wonderful Thursday to all.

p.s. Mr. UPS Man--I'm a little bit in love with you. Even though I've never seen you because you knock on my door, hot-potato-drop the package and scurry off. But you are my Official Bearer of Exciting Publishing Stuff.

I'm over at the 2k8 blog, posting about The Yellow Book Road, a very kicking San Diego children's bookstore.

Come visit me. You know you don't want me to be lonely. :)

I'm here.

Sorry to have taken so long to check in. But, for some strange reason, the family felt I should spend some time with them (that is, OFF the computer) after my weekend holed up in a hotel. :)

Ahhhh....the weekend. It was VERY productive. As I blog, FedEx is whisking the galleys up to New York. I am done, done, done with I So Don't Do Mysteries! Which I'm glad about. I am. Really. Truly. Really. It's time to let go. Time to move on. I know it.

Yes, the Postal Annex man had to pry the package out of my hands. Just a little last-minute panic before I sent my baby out into the world. How many commas did I miss? Couldn't I have tweaked such and such a metaphor? Was Sherry wearing too much makeup in the last chapter? All I can say is--please be kind to her. And friendly and understanding. Please show her some love.

On a technical note: the font is Officina Serif. I usually prefer a plumper font, but this one fits the book perfectly.

Back to book #2 in the a.m.

Have a great day!

male veiled chameleon drinking water from a ficus leaf

I've gotten lots of writing done over the last couple of days. I'm almost halfway through the second book. And I think the story's coming together nicely. So, yay!

All that writing and I still managed to sign child #4 up for more dance classes. (The world should not be deprived.) Dorothy the Dog is headed for a long overdue grooming tomorrow.

Plus. Plus. Plus. I'm going away this weekend. On my own. So I can accomplish even more writing stuff. I am SO excited.

Off to read your posts! Some tonight, but most tomorrow. It's way late.)

Today's a REALLY, REALLY big day for these two classmates. It's their debut book release day!! They've been working toward this my-book's-actually-on-the-shelf day for a while. I can't even imagine how it must feel to have finally arrived.

So, you might want to hop over and leave them some love.




Congratulations LIZ GALLAGHER on your release of THE OPPOSITE OF INVISIBLE!

Congratulations LISA SHROEDER on your release of I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME!

I am adding a new New Year's Resolution: #7 Watch more TV and movies

To this end, I downloaded Grey's Anatomy, Season #3 to my iPod Classic. Yes, it cost $34. But I had to do it. Now that it's a New Year's Resolution and all. I'll watch it at the gym.

And I went out Friday evening with a girlfriend. It was wild. It was crazy. We almost got popcorn WITH butter. Actually, we abandoned our respective children and spouse and escaped to the movies. We saw Juno. Which I've been wanting to see since Maureen reviewed it.

Anyway, we loved Juno. Even though we were the only two slightly seasoned babes (I was the one with the cuter highlights) in a sea of teens. Great fodder for a middle grade/young adult writer. :)

Thank you Diablo Cody for the amazing dialogue. Here's an example. During the ultrasound, Juno's friend smarts off about how freaky the baby looks. And Juno's brilliant reply: "I am a sacred vessel; all you got in your stomach is Taco Bell."

And for those of you who have seen Juno, but didn't stay in the theatre until the very last letter of the very last line of the credits, here are a few interesting tidbits:

-The baby in the ultrasound got a credit. (His name was Matthew....well, something. I think it might have been Sanders?)
-The catering company for the movie personnel during the shooting was TV Dinners Limited
-Their were no out-takes. So, you didn't miss anything on that front.

And, now, a confession: Today I washed down my vitamins with diet coke. It felt wrong, but I couldn't stop myself.

the Class of 2k8's books are starting to hit the shelves. In fact, I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME by Lisa Shroeder was spotted today in a Seattle bookstore.

We're a group of 28 debut middle grade (MG) and young adult (YA) writers who banded together for promotional reasons. Along the way, we've become friends and learned a lot about each other's books. The books are very eclectic, but there's one thing they have in common--they all make for good reading.

So, without further ado, let me introduce the books to watch for in 2008 (Release months are not necessarily hard and fast):

January
THE OPPOSITE OF INVISIBLE by Liz Gallagher (Contemporary YA)
I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME by Lisa Schroeder (Contemporary Paranormal YA)

February
THE GOLLYWHOPPER GAMES by Jody Feldman (Contemporary MG)

March
A CURSE DARK AS GOLD by Elizabeth C. Bunce (YA)

April
BEWITCHING SEASON by Marissa Doyle (Historical Paranormal YA)
THE LUCKY PLACE by Zu Vincent (Contemporary YA)
BRALESS IN WONDERLAND by Debbie Reed Fischer (Contemporary YA)
A DIFFICULT BOY by M.P. Barker (Historical YA)

May
ALIVE AND WELL IN PRAGUE, New York by Daphne Grab (Contemporary YA)
SHIFT by Jennifer Bradbury (YA Mystery)

June
THE MAGIC THIEF by Sarah Prineas (MG Fantasy)
READ MY LIPS by Teri Brown (YA Romance)
A HORSE OF HER OWN by Annie Wedekind (Contemporary MG)

July
BRINGING THE BOY HOME by N.A. Nelson (MG Adventure)
LA PETITE FOUR by Regina Scott (Historical YA)
UNDONE by Brooke Taylor (Contemporary YA)

August
SLEEPLESS by Terri Clark (Paranormal YA)
THE KULAK'S DAUGHTER by Gabriele Goldstone (Historical MG)
UP AND DOWN THE SCRATCHY MOUNTAINS by Laurel Snyder (MG Fairy Tale)

September
DRAGON WISHES by Stacy A. Nyikos (MG Fantasy)
THE POSSIBILITIES OF SAINTHOOD by Donna Freitas (Contemporary YA)
SAMANTHA HANSEN HAS ROCKS IN HER HEAD by Nancy Viau (Contemporary MG)
THIRD GRADE BABY by Jenny Meyerhoff (Contemporary MG)


October
THE UNNAMEABLES by Ellen Booraem (MG Fantasy)
THE EMERALD TABLET by PJ Hoover (MG Fantasy)
MY SO-CALLED FAMILY by Courtney Sheinmel (Contemporary MG)
AUTUMN WINIFRED OLIVER DOES THINGS DIFFERENT by Kristin O'Donnell Tubb (Historical MG)


December
I SO DON'T DO MYSTERIES by Barrie Summy (MG Mystery)

Our blog is up and running. Please come visit. (Our 2k8 website is a work in progress.)

With scissors, tape and various festive items, Child #3 and I snuck up the street to a house that's undergoing renovations. We decorated the port-a-potty and her gnome so they'd be ready to usher in 2008!

Here are a few of my New Year's Resolutions:

1. Take my vitamins daily. Even on the weekend.

2. Play a board game weekly with my children. Be a good role model if I lose.

3. Pass on the joy of reading by giving away a gently-used book each month. At the end of the month, I'll have one of the kids (probably child #4 who has the most legible handwriting) print your name (once for each comment over the course of the month) on a small piece of paper. We'll put all the names in a bowl, pull a winner out and, voila, someone'll get a book in the mail. This will help with Resolutions #4 and #5.

4. De-clutter one shelf or drawer each month.

5. Be timely about trips to the post office.

6. Add new goals as necessary. Perhaps one concerning internet addiction?

For January, there's a choice of books: A GOOD HOUSE by Bonnie Burnard (adult) or SLAM by Nick Hornby. I also post on blogger, so those names will be included too. And, obviously, the more comments you leave, the more bits of paper there will be with your name. I'm looking forward to sharing the books. Nothing I like better than passing on a good read.

Wishing you all a wonderful and amazing 2008!!

The Fed Ex man delivered a very nice gift--the galleys for I So Don't Do Mysteries.

This is the typeset copy of the book--I can see how each page will look, how each chapter will start, what the font is.

Here are my thoughts:

The font is extremely cute. I'll have to ask Editor Wendy which font it is. I like to know fonts in the same way that I like to know the catering company listed in the credits of a movie. Being serious here.

Each chapter begins with an adorable line drawng of a coffee cup with slender wisps of steam. The chapter number is on the cup. Very adorable.

There are 264 pages. I was really curious about this. My computer version (New Courier) has 282 pages (around 55,457 words).


Anyway, anyway, anyway. I have to read through the galleys, mark any changes and have them back to Editor Wendy by mid-January. This is my last chance to make changes. LAST CHANCE, folks. Kind of freaking me out. I'm going to have to trick myself into reading the galleys withOUT thinking it's my LAST CHANCE.

So... La, la, la. I think I'll sit down with a cup of tea and read the cute galleys. Just for fun. La, la, la. No big deal. No particular pressure. La, la, la.

I SO DON'T DO MYSTERIES will hit the shelves!

Seems pretty far off, but you know how that goes. :)

So, I got my outline for book #2 back from Editor Wendy. Let me just say that this is the absolutely-most-detailed-of-my-entire-life-planned-out outline I have ever written. I suspect it's better choreographed than my wedding was.

Naturally, Editor Wendy found some holes. Because this is her job. And she is very excellent at her job. Lucky for me. I'd much prefer to fill in the holes and iron out the wrinkles (sorry about the awkward mixed metaphors) now than after many, many, many hours of typing.

I am clearing my calendar for December so that I'll have lots of writing time. Or as much as possible given the festive season. I have already been invited to FIVE Christmas parties. This may surprise some of you, but I can actually be a lot of fun at a party. Ha!

This year, however, I will be the woman with the beautiful highlights (thank you Hairdresser Jamie) in the black, sequined dress (thank you fashion-conscious child #3) in the corner on her lap top. I'll have to be in a corner with an electrical outlet because my MacBook battery died (shame on you Apple Customer Service for leaving me on hold for 30 min.) which means I'm always plugged in.

Right now, I'm seated at my kitchen table with a steaming mug of Irish Breakfast tea, a delightful oatmeal cereal bar, and my plugged-in MacBook. Dorothy the Dog is asleep at my feet. Next to me is, of course, the trusty MULTI-paged outline.

Wish me luck. I'm off to write, write, write.

I will take a break in a while and check out all your journal entries. And I'm curious to know who writes with what kind of outline?

It's my ISBN.
I think I'll have it tattooed on my forehead.
I'll spend the rest of the day chanting these numbers.
Somehow I will creatively work these numbers into conversations.
978-0-385-73602-2