CBS News Anchor Talks about Bullying On-Air

This is anchorwoman Jennifer Livingston of the CBS affiliate WKBT in LA Crosse, Wisconsin. In this video she confronts a cyber-bully who sent her an email telling her she was no role model because she was "obese." The man talked only about her looks, her outward appearance, she says in this video, and not about what is inside her.  She reminds us that October is Anti-Bullying Month and she reaches out to all kids who might be bullied because of their size, sexual preference, disability, etc. She encourages them to reject their bullies' definitions of them.

I love that her approach is nether strident nor a plea for acceptance.  She is frank and honest and sharp in her words.  She does not become an "emotional female" when discussing her weight; in fact, she does not discuss her weight at all. That is exactly her point: her weight is not a topic of discussion or speculation for anyone outside her family or circle of friends. Case closed.

Another very good point she makes is that attitudes like this have a trickle down effect.  When someone in your household voices the opinion that fat people are bad (or gay people are bad or the disabled, and so on), then the members of that household internalize the opinion and take it away with them.  They might go to school and see someone who is overweight, call them fat, call them bad. She turns the tables on her cyber-bully and tells him that he is no role model if this is how he talks about other people.

Like most women, I am sensitive to weight(y) issues and I am always watching certain industries in which women's weight is particularly noted, like on-air journalism, acting, modeling, and so on. I'd like to believe my characters in FAT GIRLS IN LA would respond like Jennifer Livingston does.  She not only takes the high road with dignity but delivers her message to everyone, not just her bully.

YA's too dark? Bring it on!

For the past week, the YA world has been aflutter with essays and tweets about the Wall Street Journal opinion article by book reviewer Meghan Cox Gurdon. Here it is for your reading pleasure but I can sum it up briefly: she spoke to a mother who walked into a B&N store and couldn't find a book for her 13 year old daughter that wasn't filled with vampires and werewolves or dealt with issues like cutting, suicide, etc. Where are all the fun books for teens?

Well, LOTS of well-known writers jumped into the fray, providing cogent arguments refuting her claims. Among the best that I read were by Laurie Halse Anderson, Cecil Castellucci, and Sherman Alexie. There are plenty more plus the Twitter hashtag #YASaves that asked people to talk about their own experiences with books and how they helped them in rough times.

My reaction? It's all overreaction. The woman at the store, Ms. Gordon, and many of these writers. First of all, that woman at the store didn't try very hard because there are hundreds of books on the shelves that don't have black covers and "blood" in their titles. And if she bothered to look online, thousands of bloggers would gladly direct her to their favorite contemporary novels. Second, I don't think Gordon was condemning the entire YA lit world but she was making lots of incorrect assumptions. The idea that YA writers and publishers should somehow be held responsible, more so than their adult lit counterparts, is ridiculous. We write stories because we want to tell stories. We don't write stories because we want to be role models or teach lessons. If lessons are gleaned, well, hurrah.

When I worked in network standards, there would be periodic uprisings from Parents Television Council, a very vocal conservative watch group that would freak out about blood on the show "Angel" or sex on just about any other show on television. Language, nudity, sexual innuendo - they would lump it all together and shout, "Enough!" Some show runners might tone down things for a little while in response; some would dig in the heels, but eventually, it all worked out.

In the world of TV, you vote with your remote control. You don't like a show, you don't watch. The numbers get to the networks and they cancel shows that no one likes. It's that simple. The book world is the exact same thing. Vote with your dollars: you don't like a book, don't buy it. Will they go away? Yup, they will. Will this argument- and the one on television - come up again? No doubt about it.

Random Thoughts on a Friday

Text and Subtext

1. Text: THE RISE OF GINNY COOPER is available *exclusively* and for *free* at The Story Siren until February 12th. If you haven't read it or downloaded all 4 parts, you can until next Friday,

Subtext: What are you waiting for? You can open a new window and then come back to this while you're waiting. That's one of the cool things about the internet - you can do more than one thing at once. And can I tell you how my life turned around when I learned the concept of "windows"? Seriously worldview-changing.

2. Text: LOST is back and I could not be happier - and sadder since the show will end this season, but that's a good thing because I don't think I can take any more questions about the island.

Subtext: You can pretty much tell everything about me by the scripted television I watch. I only watch 3 dramas: LOST, Medium, and Fringe. And I only watch 3 comedies: 30 Rock, The Office, and The Simpsons. So I'm kind of snarky and prefer alternative realities.

3. Text: Facebook gets all my best ideas. It's so easy to jot down a few funny words and a minute or an hour later change them when something better comes along. And yes, I admit I will save something interesting for Facebook rather than say it out loud. Sue me.

Subtext: It's a fine line between funny and annoying and I constantly struggle with it. This is the exact same thing that happens when you write for real: if you put words on the page that are meaningless to you simply to provoke or manipulate a reader, it backfires. People sense insincerity.

4. Text: I hit the ground running before I'm out of bed, planning my day from hour to hour, and still everything doesn't get done. I need a clone.

Subtext: I need to say "no" more often. And I need a clone.

Random Thoughts on a Friday

So-called news stories

1. Conan v. Jay - another late night hype. As of yesterday, Conan was walking away with $45 million for himself and crew and a vacation for 9 months, because you know someone is gonna snap him up for their own network in September. And Leno gets his old job back, which is fine with him because he's a workaholic who couldn't spend all the money he has in 50 lifetimes.

While HH, a Conan fan, has sworn to never watch the Tonight Show again, I could not care less. I find it unbelievable that late night ratings are so important that NBC has to pay out an incredible amount of money to someone to NOT work for them. Really? I mean, really? The people I know watch all the funny bits on YouTube the next day and never even see the commercials or whatever that the networks want them to see. What is so gosh-darn valuable about late night?

Frankly, I think it's a holdover from the Dave v. Jay days when the networks were much more powerful and late night ratings actually meant something. I'd rather watch repeats of The Simpsons as I fall asleep. And to be honest, I was always a Letterman fan - I'm from the east coast, what do ya want from me? I like snark. And my fondest memories of the Tonight Show were watching Johnny Carson with my grandmother in the summer time. Clearly, I'm not the demo anyway.

Just send me the funny YouTube clips.

2. Cindy McCain supports gay marriage - I think it's terrific when formerly conservative political figures come out in favor of liberal domestic policies. Wonderful. Enlightening. And far too late. It's very nice that McCain and her daughter approached a website supporting gay rights in order to volunteer their faces and names to their NoH8 campaign. Wonderful. Enlightening. But where was she when her husband was the governor of Arizona and put the smackdown on gay marriage there? And where was her voice when he was running for president on a pro-family platform?

It does this country far more harm than good when political figures and their spouses keep their real beliefs hidden only to espouse them long after the campaign is over. For the average citizen who may have been debating the issue internally to hear after the fact that the person they held up as a role model or political influence had contrary personal views to their public ones actually stifles the possibility of change.

3. Religious references on military weapons - a manufacturer of rifle scopes has been putting references to Biblical scripture on weapons supplied to the US military. Um, what? One company, who shall remain nameless because why give them any more facetime than they already have, has been inscribing Biblical references such as, JN8:12, apparently referring to John 8:12: "When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.' "

This goes against the Constitution's very definition of separation of church and state, not to mention the discrimination of non-Christian soldiers. Plus, it's just all-around icky to associate the Bible with weapons (don't get me started on the actual contents of the Bible!). It's kind of like saying, "God wants you, his child, to go out and kill." Yeah, no.

4. Various sex scandals - John Edwards had a baby with his mistress. Tiger Woods had affairs with just about every woman he met. Who cares and who cares again? Humans are flawed. They will do what they have to in order to preserve themselves and their places in society. Get over it and do the right thing.

Okay, that's Leigh's "Eye on News" for this morning. LOL!! You know what I'm excited about? Part 4 of THE RISE OF GINNY COOPER is coming to the Story Siren on Monday, January 25th. That's the last section! The final part! When you find out the answers to all of your burning Vee-related questions! No, seriously, just enjoy it.

Random Thoughts on a Friday

4 Questions I'm Asking Myself This Morning

1. Why did they let Squeaky Fromme out of prison? She tried to kill a President! She's only 60. That's not a life sentence.

2. How can I clone myself so I can be in 3 places at once? Not just two but 3. There's the Leigh who teaches dance, the Leigh who writes, and the Leigh who runs errands - and all 3 of them are busy these days.

3. Is the whole world really that interested in Jon & Kate's disintegrating marriage and the inevitable negative effect it will have on their 8 kids? I just don't get this at all. He cheated; she's a control freak; they are far too selfish to have so many children.

4. Will the summer end without me actually having gone to the beach in a bathing suit? It's impossible for me to believe I live in Southern California and don't have a tan from being outdoors, playing in the sand and surf. That's why I moved here in the first place. Sheesh!

More to Love premiere

Did everyone watch this brand new show last night on FOX? Normally I don't like dating shows because they feel so contrived and inevitably, I end up saying about each contestant or bachelor/ette, "Really? You couldn't get a date?" I mean, come on, most of the men and women on these shows are in perfect shape with perfect teeth and hair and tiny waists.

But these 20 women and 1 man come from different circumstances. Many of the women claim never to have had a boyfriend. One had never been on a second date. And most said the problem was related to weight. It hurt me to hear so many of them worry about being alone for the rest of their lives, despite the happy faces they put on and the confidence they try to project.

Who among us hasn't felt that? Regardless of our size, we have all worried about loneliness, about what would happen if that certain someone never comes along. Even if we are happy in our other pursuits, loving and being loved often trump riches and success.

This is why I think the majority of the television audience can actually identify with these women as opposed to the women on traditional dating shows, which producers of "More to Love" claim are size 2's while the average American woman is size 14.

Cheers - finally - for a reality show! I hope the overnight numbers were good enough to encourage producers to do more.

Remember: MORE TO LOVE, Tuesdays on FOX, 9PM

Celebrity Sighting AND High Culture!

Yes, I DID use this title before (see also Mindy Kaling at LACMA). This time, HH and I were attending the thee-ah-tah in Downey: a performance of "42nd Street" by the Downey Civic Light Opera.

The show, btw, was a blast! LOTS of great numbers and you know I love seeing dancers work. Put 'em all to work - give 'em all jobs - dancing everywhere all the time! Love it.

Okay, so who was in the audience but opera singer Richard Fredericks? You may not know him unless you follow opera, but he did guest star on The Odd Couple as himself, a character who knew Oscar Madison from his days as an athlete (whether Mr. Fredericks truly was an athlete before he was an opera singer remains a mystery). HH was thrilled as he was and always will be a major Odd Couple fan.

And my reason for being in Downey in the first place? My friend and student, Heather, was performing as Lorraine. She was gorgeous, fantastic, and she kicked serious butt as both a dancer and singer! I was so impressed - she worked so hard to get there. Kudos, Heather!

Only in LA

You're driving north on Fairfax. You pass Third Street. You glance over at the Farmer's Market, now celebrating its 75th year in business. Behind it is The Grove, the hip outdoor shopping mall with lots of upscale stylish stores like Abercrombie and Nordstrom's and Crate & Barrel.

You see several groups of people on the sidewalk between The Grove and CBS on Beverly Boulevard. Each group is dressed identically, in garishly-colored t-shirts with funny slogans, family names or simply photos of Drew Carey.

Who are they, you wonder, tourists? Visitors who don't want to lose track of each other while they get on and off the tour bus?

Come on down!

And then you remember, "The Price is Right" films at the CBS lot. These are all families and friends who are vying for the big bucks, to get chosen to "Come on down!" and guess the price of a Segway scooter or a Kenmore Upright Washing Machine.

You silently wish them luck when they finish their lunch break and return to the studio where they will cheer for hours.

Only a select few will get lucky enough to chat with Drew.

Only in LA...

Random Thoughts on a Friday

4 Things I'm Excited About - Yet Sad Too

Isn't that the very definition of "melancholy"?

1. Star Trek - the new JJ Abrams movie is out this weekend and I have tickets for tomorrow night.

Happy: I have been so jazzed about this film since I saw a trailer for it during I am Legend last year. I have seen every Trek movie and television incarnation and even if I didn't care for Deep Space Nine and Enterprise, I did watch some episodes just to keep checking to make sure I hadn't changed my mind.

Sad: It can't possibly live up to the hype that my own mind has created and much as I love Abrams' work, I know he's not a Trek fan. He grew up as a Star Wars nerd and never the twain shall meet. I know that sounds way too geeky but it's true! Trek and Wars are two very different universes and they appeal to different types of people. Anyway, I still want this film to do well.

2. LOST - the two hour season finale is on next Wednesday.

Happy: I have heard a rumor that we will finally meet Jacob which is very intriguing. He has been a specter that haunts the island for so many years and we really don't know anything about him.

Sad: Once the episode is over, we will have to wait 8 months for its final season. Yes, final season! I'm happy and sad about that too! Also, I have a feeling they may explode the hydrogen bomb and then simply leave us hanging until next year.

3. The Hunger Games - the library has reserved a copy for me and I can pick it up tomorrow.

Happy: I've heard so many awesome things about this book, plus my agent has suggested I read it as research for a book I'm writing now.

Sad: I'm sure I will love it and then be super depressed that my book can't possibly be as good.

4. Summer - almost here!

Happy: I love the warm weather and going to the beach and in July, HH and I will be meeting my brother and his family in Arizona on their vacation. Yay!

Sad: I gave myself a summer deadline for the rewrite of this book which makes me anxious. I am happy and sad about this too: love the ideas I have but afraid I won't write well enough for submission.

Celebrity Sighting - Sort of...

When is a celebrity sighting NOT a celebrity sighting?

When you've both been invited to an event. Over the weekend I attended a party at the private home (can't say where) of a friend (can't say who). HH and I were thrilled to celebrate the launch of her new book and we were having a good time snacking and cocktailing and chatting up the guests when all of a sudden, HH leans over to me and whispers, "Oh, Conan's here."

As in Conan O'Brien, the late night guy who's about to take over Jay Leno's spot on NBC.

I love how HH told me this, like Conan was a friend of ours and HH was informing me of his arrival or he was someone we'd heard would be there.

Ha! Like no. This was a private gathering! Celebrity stalking would be the uncoolest thing in the universe. He was there to celebrate too. He wasn't there to crack jokes or be the center of attention and despite how tall he appears on television, he was not the tallest man at the party. He's kind of hard to miss when he's in a room: the red hair really stands out and tales of his pale skin have not been exaggerated. But he was low-key, mingling on the outside of the groups, completely unassuming, and pretty much everyone there kept their distance.

We spent the rest of our time there talking to our hosts and admiring their gorgeous house and enjoying the fantastic snacks they had.

"See?" I told HH as we sipped our drinks and wandered around the yard. "This is how you mix with celebs."

"But we're ignoring him."

"Exactly."

Random Thoughts on a Friday

4 Bits of Goodness

1. Celebrity Goodness - check out my latest celeb sighting here in LA.

2. Television Goodness - HH and I have been watching "Fringe," which was okay for a while but has suddenly gotten downright terrific. Before I put up with it because I was so missing "The X-Files," which used to be a big-time favorite show of mine, but I didn't feel "Fringe" was X-worthy. This week's episode proved it just may be its successor.

2A. Commercial Goodness - I hope all Trek geeks like myself and HH (and Paula Yoo!) saw the fantastic trailer for the JJ Abrams-directed "Star Trek" which won't hit theaters until May 09 (argh!) but will have me on pins and needles until then. Complete awesomeness!



3. Authorly Goodness - there are a lot of things I don't care for about LA but one of them is most certainly not the presence of some amazing authors. I have had the privilege of meeting up close and personal many of my very favorite authors right here in this city. Among them: Paula Yoo, CG Watson, Liane Bonin, Claire LaZebnik, Jordanna Fraiberg, Sasha Watson, Amy Koss, Kerry Madden, Sally Nemeth, Michael Reisman, Phyllis Gebauer, Janet Tashjian, Lisa Yee, Joyce Lee Wong and I'm sure I'm leaving someone out! How lucky am I???

4. Goodness Goodness - all you knitters out there, pick up your needles and get knitting some preemie caps for the Save The Children fund's "Knit One, Save One" campaign this year. They're so very easy to do! And they're so important. And don't forget to send along a message to our President-elect, Barack Obama, urging him to consider aid to needy children around the globe.

New show: Ruby

A new show to check out: Ruby

As many people who have read my novel, ALL ABOUT VEE, know, people with weight issues are very close to my heart. I've had my own battles - and continue to wage them even as I get older and presumably wiser - so I can empathize with both the overweight and underweight who suffer.

The story of Ruby, which is chronicled in a mini-reality series on Style channel beginning last night, is a touching one. Many people might look at Ruby and think she's lazy or weak-willed, that if only she really wanted to lose weight, she could do it.

It's never that easy. Please.

But one of the most unusual things about Ruby is that she's basically a very happy individual. Certainly, she is on this program to document her weight loss, but that's because her doctor has told her in no uncertain terms that she will die much too early if she doesn't take off some weight. She's happy. She has great friends. She loves life. I hope she's able to maintain her happiness even as she goes through what will be a very difficult - and public - time.

Of Heroes and Housewives

Who's watching these shows this season? Are you liking them?

I have to say, I was quite disappointed in the way both series played out last year. In Heroes, sticking Hiro in the past for the whole season? And Maya and her lame black-eye-death power? Plus I was so confused about Sylar who is such a great bad-guy!

As for Housewives, the fast-forwarding (like in my very favorite show, Lost) was a great idea and a terrific means of freshening up some stale storylines. Mike 'n Susan had gotten so old and I was just about tired of Edie constantly stealing everyone's man. New stories, writers, please!

So I'm happy to say I'm cautiously optimistic about this season for both shows. I love seeing Robert Forster as the ultimate villain - and the father of Sylar to boot! And last night saw the return of Kristen Bell as Elle, the electricity princess. Love her!

And over on Housewives, I have to say, Sunday's episode was truly brilliant writing. I loved the judicious use of flashbacks to flesh out some of the women's fears and to delicately shed light on what happened during the 5-year jump. Learning more about Bree and Catherine's relationship was very important (although I could pretty much guess Carlos and Gaby's situation). And I am so very intrigued about Dave's motives - who is the man who ruined his life that he's come to Wisteria Lane to take care of? I thought for sure it was Bree because someone told me his last name is the same as the deceased pharmacist she was engaged to and whom she let die. If it's not her, then who is it?

Hmmm, very juicy.

Emmy? Who's Emmy?

This was the first year in a long time that I didn't have some sort of interest in the Emmy awards from a professional standpoint. Personally, sure, I had my favorites - some of whom won, some who were not even nominated. But since I haven't been working in broadcast television in over a year, I wasn't aware of all the nominations or hoopla or controversy (see WGA Strike of 2008) surrounding this year's ceremony - not that the network I worked for was ever in contention for any awards. LOL!!!

But I do know a winner! My friend from graduate school, Eileen Finkelstein, was an editor on a documentary called, "Autism: The Musical," which won two Emmys, one of which was for Best Editing. It aired on HBO and will air again so look out for it. I know I will! Congrats, Eileen!

FYI Duarte on DCTV

That's Duarte, California, the site of the 6th Annual Festival of Authors which will be held this year on Saturday, October 4th. I will be there with my friend, author Liane Bonin, sharing a table and a panel and hoping people come chat with us! Ray Bradbury will be a featured speaker, as will be the prolific Stephen J. Cannell andDJ MacHale, author of the popular Pendragon series.

To publicize the event, author Phyllis Gebauer (Hot Widow) and I talked with Mary Barrow on her show, FYI Duarte, a local cable show in Duarte.


Talk about fun! First of all, Mary totally did her homework about Phyllis and me, figuring out the cool stuff we have in common, which would seem to be nonexistent based solely on the titles of our books.

Here are Phyllis and me with our books as we sit on the set, relaxing after our grueling interview.

Phyllis' Hot Widow is a memoir about her life after her husband passed away and no less a literary figure than Thomas Pynchon suggested the title! How awesome is that!

Here we are on the set with Mary.

We had a total blast talking about writing and books and marketing and why we're both so smart! Since the show is only local for Duarte residents, my Ninja Webmaster will get a copy of it and post it on the website.

You have got to check out my hair, which is seriously the best part of the interview for me.

Random Thoughts on a Friday

The perfect storm of fat-positive publicity...

1. Rebecca Rabinowitz posts on Shapely Prose a list of children's and YA books that emphasize positive images about weight - and she promises to read VEE!

2. ALL ABOUT VEE is mentioned on Amazon's book blog, Omnivoracious, as part of its YA Wednesday post re: fat-positive teen books.

3. The AP reports that models on the 2008 Fashion Week runways are size 2-4, instead of size 0.

Outstanding...

Cool Stuff About Cool Friends

Many congrats to a few friends of mine who have some awesome things going on in their lives (through which I plan to live vicariously):

First, kudos to Lisa who will be on The Tyra Banks Show! Whoo-hoo! Lisa told me they flew her out to NYC for the taping, which is about dieting and how it affects relationships. They did her hair (fabulous) and makeup (fantastic) and put her in some gorgeous clothes (ooooh!). She doesn't have an air date for the episode yet but she promises to tell me when it will be so I can tape it and watch it over and over!!

Second, kudos to Holly whose poetry was turned into a short film that will be shown at the Healing Through Creativity art festival being held in West Virginia this Fall. Check it out here at their website for more information. Holly's film is called "Cycle" and will be on the big screen on October 17th PLUS she will be reading aloud from some of her work. If anyone's in the area, I hope you'll check it out for me since I won't be anywhere near there on that date!

Third, kudos to Chris whose short film "Fleece" was shown at the Palm Springs International Film Festival this weekend. I saw this hilarious short at the Los Angeles International Short Film Festival last week and thought it was fantastic! The audience went crazy for it!

I'm so thrilled for Lisa, Holly, and Chris and I can't wait to read/see/hear more about their experiences very soon!

The Olympics and Leigh - both on TV!

All right, so it's not the Olympics with a billion people watching and Michael Phelps and his gold medals but it IS television. In Los Angeles. On cable. Today.

That's right, for those of you who missed it, my interview on "Connie Martinson Talks Books" is airing again today: at 3PM and 11:30PM on Channel 35. As before it will also stream live if you want to watch on your computer. Check my website for more info on how to do that.

Meanwhile, did you see the amazing Romanian marathoner, Constantina Tomescu, who won at the age of 38? And how about Oksana Chusovitina, on the German team, who took the silver on the vault at age 33? Anyone over 25 is practically ancient in women's gymnastics. Then there's Dara Torres, the 41 year old swimmer who nearly had the gold in the 50m free and who helped her teammates get the silver in the relay -fantastic display of sportsmanship when she took it upon herself to hold the race when a competitor had a swimsuit issue.

These are athletes in their prime. Amazing and impressive. When I grow up, I want to be just like them.

New Vee Review! New Website Video!

Not one but 2 very cool announcements:

Numero Uno:

Jocelyn at Teen Book Review has posted a beautiful review of ALL ABOUT VEE. I love how she describes the book and the main characters. She really captures the spirit of Veronica May. Check it out on her blog here. And while you're at it, take a look through some of Jocelyn's other fantastic reviews and author interviews. She's got a lot of great stuff there (and I don't say that just because I did a guest blog and because she had nice things to say about my book..;)). Thanks, Jocelyn!

Numero Dos:

My Ninja Webmaster has posted the interview I did with Connie Martinson last month for her show "Connie Martinson Talks Books." Yes, it's right here. And if this isn't enough for you - you absolutely have to see it happen live on your television or computer! - the show will air again on August 18 at 3PM and 11:30PM on Channel 35 here in LA.

Cheers~

Random Thoughts on a Friday

1. My episode of Connie Martinson Talks Books will be on television again here in LA on August 18, at 3P and 11:30P! And again, if you're not in the area or don't have cable (like me!) you can watch it stream live from LA City View Channel 35. I have all the info on my website.

2. Yesterday was my first earthquake! I was in ballet class, in the middle of plies, when the floor started shaking and the lights overhead began swaying. We all sort of looked around at each other like, "What the heck is this?" The guy at my barre waltzed on over to take cover under a doorway but the rest of us just stood there. It seemed to go on forever! But when it was over, our accompanist began playing and we went right back to plies. Dancers are pretty hardcore, I guess. It's impossible to get us to give up our class.

3. Check out this thread over at Reviewer X's blog. Not just because she claims I inspired the post with my question on an earlier thread but because I think there's a lot of great information i there. I am the sort of person who hates to bug people for reviews. Sure, I have gently cajoled my readers here about posting reviews at Amazon or on their own blogs but when I send books out, I kind of try to let them go and not worry. But I do! I am always anxious about people with my books. And I have a tendency to assume people don't like them if they're not responding right away.

4. This weekend is the big national convention for the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Although I'm not attending for various reasons, I hear it's great and lots of authors, especially local ones here in Los Angeles, are going. So if you're trying to get in touch with your favorite SoCal writer, that's probably where they are.

5. I am still totally jazzed about the new book I'm working on. Still. That's a good sign.