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March 2008
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May 2008

John Belushi Quiz

Wow. The responses to The John Belushi Quiz have been AWESOME and educational. Big thanks to Ally Carter, author of the Gallagher Girls books (I'd Tell You I Love You, But THen I'd Have to Kill You, etc.) for sending so many people over to my blog!

Anyway, I will do a big post in a couple days giving you the answers to every single thing, with humorous hair band pictures, Vespa photographs, Belushi video clips and an explanation of emulsions. (Hint: I bet you ate one today).
But meanwhile, I have to fix all my footnotes in Roo3, edit it and turn it in to my editor before going on tour for How to Be Bad, May 6!

So: Here as a quickie filler-in thing, are the most amusing answers y'all came up with – because even when you didn't know, you were witty! And when you knew, you were even wittier.

Also: No one has seen Point Break and EVERYONE LOVES QUEEN. This was a shocker. The most common response to that question was: Best Band Ever!!!!! Who knew so many people under 18 love the genius of Freddie Mercury?

3. What is ennui?_Ennui is boredom (also known as school).

6. What are Birkenstocks?_Old vegan-ey shoes in the 70's, right?
6. What are Birkenstocks? -shoes. they are fairly ugly in my personal opinion
6. What are Birkenstocks?They are the old german folk pants

8. What's a Vespa?_Sounds like a respitory infection
8. What's a Vespa? a indian god, and the princess from space balls

10. What is an emulsion?_*blinks with big, confused eyes*
10. What is an emulsion? Some word I should have known in my Chem test today.
10. What is an emulsion?_something u think is real but is really only something u imagined

12. Who is John Hughes? _I don't know, is he cute?
12. Who is John Hughes? Hmm. He wasn't one of the Beatles, was he? No, that was that other John guy...
12. Who is John Hughes? _Mmm....no idea. I know who Howard Hughes is though, but this won't help you.

14. Have you heard of/seen the movie The Godfather? Only heard of it. Some sacred guy movie.
14. Have you heard of/seen the movie The Godfather?_I've heard of it, but my dad told me I wouldn't like it.
14. Have you heard of/seen the movie The Godfather?_I've heard of it, isn't Morgan Freedman in it?


Help me with Roo3

I know I owe you answers to the rest of the FAQ questions -- and they're coming, I promise. But I am FINISHING ROO3! Right now! Like, I might get to the end TODAY!

So, now I need your help with something else.

If you are UNDER THE AGE OF 18, it would help me greatly in making sure Roo's footnotes are interesting and funny and not annoying/boring if you can copy the questions below into the comments (here on the blog, not on LJ, please!) and then answer them – quickly or at length as you see fit!

Do NOT use the internet or any other reference material. What I need to know is whether my teenage audience (you guys) will get these references or not – and whether Roo should include footnotes about them. So I want to know what you know/recognize without any research. Correct answers are not the goal. Showing me what references are on your radar already is the goal.

THANK YOU!!!!

1. Who was John Belushi? (you should know this if you read The Boy Book!)
2. What is a hair band? Can you name one?
3. What is ennui?
4. Have you seen the movie Moulin Rouge? The Baz Luhrman one.
5. What was Queen?
6. What are Birkenstocks?
7. What year do people in your school take the SATs? Junior or senior?
8. What's a Vespa?
9. What is anime?
10. What is an emulsion?
11. Have you seen the movie Point Break?
12. Who is John Hughes?
13. Have you ever read anything by Edith Wharton? What?
14. Have you heard of/seen the movie The Godfather?

Can't wait to read your answers!

NOTE: thank you for all your wonderful replies. Comments are now closed./E


More FAQ


Some more questions submitted by you guys:

How do you get to the comment section on other blog posts?

You don't! Sorry. Most of the time I don't leave comments open. I already spend too much time fooling around on the internet – if my blog had comments every day, I would never write.

Which books will you, Lauren, and Sarah be signing on your How to Be Bad tour?

Pretty much everything! We are told the stores are stocking backlist, and we all three have books that have just come out in paperback. As long as the stores have 'em, we'll sign 'em.

Lauren will sign the TTYL series, Rhymes with Witches, the Eleven Twelve series, etc. with Twelve just out in paperback. Sarah will sign the Magic in Manhattan series (Bras & Broomsticks, etc.) with Spells and Sleeping Bags just out in paperback. And I'll sign whatever you want – Dramarama and The Boy Book will be new in paper. Most of the stores we're visiting are children's bookstores, so I doubt they'll have Sarah's adult titles. But the general interest stores might!

Will you or could you ever write a book with a male protagonist. Why or why not?

I'd like to try someday. But female characters do come more naturally to me, at least in terms of writing in first person. Sometimes I have to go back through my drafts and stop the boys from saying things like "Oh my god, I can't believe it!" -- in other words, my boys come out sounding like teenage girls until I rewrite them.



Paperback!

The Boy Book (sequel to The Boyfriend List) releases in paperback today.

Find out clever responses to catcalls, the care and maintenance of boobs, what to wear when you might be making out -- and more spurious advice from Ruby Oliver. Also find out what happened next with Jackson, Kim, Angelo and Noel.

You can read an excerpt here.


Sara Hantz's Disreputable History

Suzyfinalcover
Sarah Hantz is on the GCC with me and her new book is The Second Virginity of Suzy Green. (You can check out her blog here.)

After the death of her sister, former Goth Suzy moves to a new town and tries to be as perfect as her memory of the late Rosie. The new Suzy Green makes straight As, hangs with the in-crowd at her new school, and dates the hottest guy around. And since all her new friends belong to a virginity club, she joins, too. So what if she’s not technically qualified? Nobody in town knows . . . until Suzy's ex turns up.

Chicklish said: "This is a fabulous feelgood book, full of humour and engrossing twists."

Anyway, Hantz is much more like good Suzy than Goth Suzy, from what I can tell from her Disreputable History interview, but she has an awesome idea for a club and pretended to be a store mannequin on a regular basis! Read on.

DISREPUTABLE HISTORY Q&A


1. Tell me the sneakiest thing you ever did.

Gosh…… well I’m not really a sneaky person…. though when I was a teenager I’d take the bus to town and pay child fare, and then go into an 18 rated movie (is that sneaky, or does it make me a good manager of money??)

2. Tell me the sneakiest thing that happens in your new book.
Suzy lies about being a virgin so she can join the Virginity Club

3. Are you a prankster? Tell me a story.
Hmm…… I remember when I was sixteen I worked in my fathers shop. He sold children’s clothes. When I was bored I’d stand in the shop like a mannequin then suddenly when people were looking in the window I’d move. It sure made them jump. And kept me amused for hours.

4. Were you in any clubs or societies in high school? Did any of those club activities make it into your novels?
No, I was too naughty to be in any…… like Suzy in her previous life.

5. Do you consider yourself a feminist? Why, or why not?
Yes…. I believe women and men should be treated equally in all aspects of life.

6. How does your answer to question 5 show up in your new book?
Suzy sorts things out for herself. She doesn’t rely on a guy to help her out.

7. The club in my book is called The Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds. If you were to found a secret society, what would it be called, and what would its mission be?
The Chocolate Club. It’s mission would be to invent the most perfect tasting, zero calorie, chocolate in the whole world, of which there was a never ending supply.


FAQ replies!

Thanks so much for all your awesome FAQ questions! I will answer them here on the blog in the next couple days, and transfer most of them to the FAQ page on the website as well. Your reward books will be mailed out by Wednesday at the latest!
Yay!

Do you ever do tours to the Midwest, or author visits?

I'll be in the Chicago area this May! Dates and locations for the How to Be Bad tour are here.
However, I'm just not in charge of where I go. My publicists are. I tour for some books and not for others.

Out of all your characters, who could you most imagine being best friends with, and who could you most imagine dating?

Dramarama is all about having a best best friend – and what happens when the circumstances of your friendship change. So Demi from Dramarama is certainly my idea of a great best friend, one I would like to have.
Dating? I am way too old to date any of my characters, but Fly on the Wall is my only romance – so I'd definitely say Titus from that book. He is hot, open-minded, vulnerable and artistic – my kind of guy.

Who are your favorite authors, YA or otherwise?

I have a lot of friends who are YA authors, and I love them and their work, so I'm going to give you an answer that EXCLUDES any and all people I'm friends or friendly with. Jaclyn Moriarty, author of The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie, The Year of Secret Assignments and the wonderful new The Spell Book of Listen Taylor – she's my favorite YA author. Her books are so amazing!


ask me your FAQ questions

Ask me your FAQ questions and win a free signed copy!
Of what? How to Be Bad (just signed by me, not Lauren & Sarah) or Disreputable History. Or if you prefer, a paperback of The Boy Book. Your pick.

I am updating my FAQ on my shiny new site. Now, I feel like I've answered every question anyone could ever ask me, but you, my faithful readers, you know what it is you really want to know. And if there's nothing you want to know, you can ask me something funny, which might make the FAQ page less full of long semi-intellectual rants about pedagogy.

So the deal goes like this. Ask me a question in the comments below -- here on the blog, not on LJ. First ten people (I will honestly be surprised if there are ten questions, but hey, I have books!) get a free signed copy of their choosing. You should not post your address on the internet, though! You should send it to me at [email protected] and put "free FAQ book" in the subject line.

I'll answer everything on the blog over the next week.

xo
E