(Still using random song titles as blog titles and loving the ease of it- so expect it to continue until further notice!)
So the other night,when my BFF invited my husband and I to a "wine dinner at Morton's on Thursday," I pretty much said, "Sure!" without asking for any further details other than what time we needed to be there. I'm facing several deadlines, there'd been a bit of sadness lately, and I knew some time with her and her fiancee would provide a nice break.
As it turns out, "the wine dinner" was actually a Blind Tasting Seminar and was absolutely fascinating.
I like wine. It's pretty much the only alcoholic beverage I drink. I even spent a week in a French Chateau in the Rhone Valley several years ago learning about wine in a seminar sponsored by the airline I used to work for (there was an essay contest for people who wanted to attend and I was one of the winners!). The purpose of course, was not to have a blast drinking wine all day (which we did), but to learn enough about wine so that we could knowledgeably suggest wine pairings for our first class customers on international flights (which we also did).
But, as I said that was several years ago, and the memories of what I learned has since gone a bit fuzzy. So last night's course was not only a really fun refresher, but it gave me the inside scoop on how people can successfully pronounce a wine's vintage and type simply by doing the whole swirl, sniff, and taste without once seeing the bottle from which it was poured.
And while I won't get into all the minutiea of how that is done, and while I in no way want to promote underage drinking as I know many of you are well under 21, I will say I was pretty fascinated to learn that one of the distinguishing notes of Sauvignon Blanc is that it smells like "cat box" and that Pinot Noir smells like "barnyard."
MMMMM. . .YUMMMM!!!
But what's really cool is this certificate declaring me an official, Morton's Associate Sommelier!! Rock on!
Oh, and then after the class, we moved into the dining room to enjoy dinner, an I saw that my BFFs had arranged this:
Notice the first line at the top? How cool is that?!
Thanks Snarky & O'malley--you guys rock!!!
And speaking of things that rock, check out this brand spankin' new booktrailer for EVERMORE's UK release! I love it so much, I'm just gobsmacked by what a good job they've done!
View it HERE!
Have a great day everyone!
Alyson
xoxo
38 comments:
Congrats on the award Alyson! I loved the UK trailer for Evermore.
Hello there...
So, I was looking around your website (by the way I loved it) and I really want to read some of your books, most of them actually, but I was wondering if you know when will they come out in european-portuguese?(I'm a portuguese 17 years old girl)
Kiss Kiss,
Joana.
PS: I'm sorry to bother you and I'm sorry for my english ^^'
Thanks, Kajikitsune--we all got them-but it was really fun!
Hey OrdinaryGirl- Wow, all the way from Portugal--I LOVE it there! And yes, the Portuguese rights have been sold, to Brazil actually, though I'm not exactly sure when the book will be out, perhaps this fall? Thanks so much for stopping by, and no need to apologize for your English--you should see my Portuguese!!
:-D
Oh my GOD! I LOVE the new trailer. They did such an amazing job. WOWZA!!!!! You must be thrilled!
XO
Jess
Ok I have a million things I want to say... Well maybe I'm over exagerrating(sp?)... Your book Saving Zoe was the first book I ever read of yours. It was wonderful. Made me cry here and there but I liked it a lot. Then I saw this book named Evermore and I decided to give it a try. When I looked in the back and found out it was you who wrote Saving Zoe I got super excited. I had good reason to because wow, that book blew me away. My friend and I had decided to read it at the same time. I finished it before her and when she was done we couldn't stop talking about it for a whole week. Later on tons of my friends borrowed the book and I swear ever since then that book became magically famous. Today I saw Blue Moon at Borders I grinned so wide you'd think I just walked out from The Dark Knight as Heath Ledger as the Joker. (because the Joker has this huge grin on his face... Not sure if you'd get it...) So now I am so excited to start reading it. I can't wait and I hope you keep writing to my expectations ;] jk... But really your an amazing writer and I would like it a lot if you looked at my blog. I have a story there that I've started to write and I'd like to get professional assistance. Also two of my posts are just actual blogging, you can read them if you want, even though there a tad dumb but you can try it. Haha. Heres my URL: http://www.decemberluv123.blogspot.com I hope you enjoy them. I can't believe I'm doing this. I'm kind of nervous that you won't answer... :[ Well thank you for your time for reading this because I know I wrote a lot considering its just a comment. Thank you! -Mariah
Email me: decemberluv123@gmail.com or you can comment on my posts... hugs and kisses darlin! ;]
Amazing trailer!! Great stuff, Alyson!! ;)
Mariah- Wow. Thank you so very much for taking the time to stop by and write that! Your kind words truly made my day and are very much appreciated! Also, thank you for spreading the word of my books to your friends--that really means a lot to me! I love the name of your blog, my b-day is Dec 3, so of course I do, right? Though unfortunately, for legal reasons, I'm not allowed to read any unpublished works, so I won't be able to read your stories, though I want to wish you all the best on your writing, and urge you to keep at it!
Thanks again for leaving such a sweet message!
Alyson
Waving to Ms. Keri Mikulski!! Hope you're having a great summer!
Thanks, Jessica!! Those Brits did a great job!
Hey Alyson! Well, your website/blog is so addictive. Every time I check my email, I have to check your blog.
I'm sorry about the death of your friend. My grandfather died in June. So I know how it feels when death is sudden. I'm from Argentina, and for money reason I couldn't even go to the funeral. So yeah... That's when I actually found your books and I buried myself in them :) I'm already reserved Saving Zoe at the library, so I'm going to read it after A Separate Peace.
I have a question about the trailer. Why do they need to make trailers for books? I don't know. I didn't like the guy that was supposed to be representing Damen.
Anyways, I hope everything's going great. I just made a lemon cake, so I'm gonna go see how it came out :)
Hey Lucia- I'm so sorry about the death of your grandfather, I know how tough that can be. Do you live in Argentina now? I've always wanted to go there!
As for the trailers, it's just one more tool to get the word out there about the books, but you're right about the cast--to be honest, that's not how I pictured Damen either, but I was working with a limited number of photographs and he was the closest one from all the choices I had!
Hope you're having a good weekend!
Hey! Nah, I live in Mass right now. I lived in Texas for five years and then we had to moved, which kind of sucked, since I was a sophomore in high school and had my group of friends and all that. That's one of the many reasons I love Ever: You're in high school, you think your friends are closer to you than your family and then after a month they don't even remember your last name or they became totally different. But luckily, there are a couple of people who remained awesome.
You should go to Argentina! It's an awesome place, I love it there. Have you ever been to Madrid? It's kind of like that, but with cooler people! And much better food, of course. I think right now a dollar is like, four pesos, so that the country really cheap for people who are coming from Europe and the US, etc.. And Buenos Aires is filled with tourists nowadays. I can always recommend you places and restaurants!
You made the trailer? That's awesome. I thought your publisher made it. Do you know the French actor Gaspard Ulliel? I don't know why, but that's how I picture Damen.
Weekends are always good. The only bad thing about them is that I have to work. Hahah.
Hey Lucia- I've been to Madrid lots of times and I really love it there--the food--the people--the excitement--it's a really great city!
Oh, but I didn't exactly make the trailer! For the American one, I hired a company, Circle of Seven to make it, but I chose most of the photos. For the UK one, my UK publisher made it, and I think they did an awesome job!
And yes, I know that actor, very cute!
Enjoy your weekend--work and all!
oh and also i read blue moon in two days and ABSOLUTLY LOVED IT!!!!!!!!! i had to read a free book (well i probably have read around ten) for school and i decided to do your book for my summer project because i loved it so much :D
Congratulations! my brother is actually taking a wine course this year at Cornell so I sort of know what you're talking about because he's sooo excited for it (he is in fact 21 and i will be in 4 years but i will neevr drink anything like that - thank you medicine... for my escuse because that stuff is nasty!) but anyways I absolutly LOVED YOUR BOOK! it is one of my all time favorite books and i'm so excited for the next series to come out! keep it up cuz you're an amazing writer! I look up to you for I am planning on probably publishing a few books for I write fantasy romance myself!
sorry to bother you but i wanted to tell you that you are amazing if you ever read this :D
i have so much more to tell you but ill just leave it at that for i know you are REALLY busy haha... it must be hard being famous because everyone always writes to you and you bearly have any time on your hands but it must be fun too in alot of ways! ;)
ps: i read both in like two days.. i was in nyc when i read blue moon and there was so much to do but i could NOT put it down! i cannot wait till your third book comes out..and since i loved your book so much, i'm using Blue Moon for my free book that I read over summer.. cuz we have to do a book report for school and ive read over 10 books but chose yours! you are an amazing writer! keep it up and i can't wait to read the next book!
Hey!
I am from canada,
I just loved the immortal series so far and now that I have to wait til febuary I don't know what to do with myself!
please do not stop writing the next novels to it!
from maggs
Katie- That is too cool!! Thanks so much for choosing BLUE MOON for your project!
Hey Maggs--Thanks so much! And good news, SHADOWLAND comes out on Jan 5, 2010 now instead of February!!
hi this is maggs twin sister. molly she is so excited that she won't leave me alone at all!!! thanx for writing back
mo
Thanx so much! you are like my idol! my hero! and you actually typed back to me! thanx so much
Molly & Maggs-- You guys are too sweet!!
:-D
Have a good nigh!
Alyson
Wow how do u read, write, go shopping, have a life, and keep up with all your fans?! You are a complete idol to me! I hope that I grow up to be like you! Oh and how many books are going to be in the immortals series? I canot wait til shadowland Ps I'm starting a book based off of a dream I had.and if it weren't for your books, I would have never enjoyed reading as much as I do enough to write a book!
Wow how do u read, write, go shopping, have a life, and keep up with all your fans?! You are a complete idol to me! I hope that I grow up to be like you! Oh and how many books are going to be in the immortals series? I canot wait til shadowland Ps I'm starting a book based off of a dream I had.and if it weren't for your books, I would have never enjoyed reading as much as I do enough to write a book!
Aw, Katie, you are truly too sweet! To answer your question, there will be a total of 6 books in THE IMMORTALS series, and beginning in Fall 2010 Riley, Ever's ghostly sister, will be getting her own series!
I LOVE the idea of writing a book based on a dream--that is the purest form of inspiration and I wish you all the best with it!
I love the series The Immortals. When i first started reading it the descriptiveness in the book would make me want to continuously read them to see what happens next. When i first started the books, i thought that it was going to be a very predictable book, but it turned out to be a book that draws you in and has suprising twists that take you by suprise. I don't know if i like the Twilight series, or The Immortals series more. Thank you for writing this series, it is by far one of the best series i have read, and i will definetely recommend it to other readers...is there going to be a fourth book in the Immortals Series?
Alyson,
Thank you sooo much for writing the Immortal Series. I have never been so drawn to a series before. It is a book that draws you in and never get tired of reading it. Each page is something more exciting to read and i never wanted to set it down. I absoultely loved Blue Moon!!! You are an amazing author and i can't wait for Shadowland to come out! AHHH!!! I love how there was an unexpecting twist to the book Blue Moon. It is nice when you aren't predicting what will happen next, it comes more as a suprise. I can't wait for more books in the Immortal Series to come out. It is sometimes hard for me to find a book that i am really drawn to but once i started reading this series i couldn't put it down. You are descriptive and it makes it easy to be visualize and imagine the characters and settings in the book. It's also easy to understand how the characters feel in the book. You have the same emotions as them when you are reading. This is a series I will definetely recommend to my friends and something i would read more than once. My friend was in the middle of another book and I called her telling her to stop reading that book and start this series. Telling her how amazing it is. So once again thank you so much!! And i can't wait for any of the other upcoming immortal books! Can't wait to have the whole series! How many of them are there going to be? :)
Hey Anonymous-Thank you so much for all the kind words and thank you for spreading the word! To answer your question, there will be a total of 6 books in the IMMORTALS series, and starting in Fall 2010 Ever, Riley's ghostly sister will get her own series!
Thanks for stopping by!
Hey Angela- Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by and leave such a nice message!! I"m so glad you are enjoying the series and hope you continue to!
To answer your question, there will be 6 books in the series, and then later, in Fall 2010, Riley will get her own series!
But in the meantime, be sure to check out the new website at: http://www.immortalsseries.com
Thanks again!
Alyson, thank you so much for responding to my message! I really appreciate you taking the time to reply it means a lot to me. The fact that you are going to be putting the series in Riley's point of view is really exciting! So you are basically going to rewrite the books in her point of view? I can't wait for the rest of the books to come out. I have thought about writing a book in the past but have never sat down and put my mind to it. Although, after reading these books it makes me want to write my own, and be able to put my own thoughts into something I would be proud of. Where did you get your inspiration to decide to right The Immortals series? It is almost as if when I'm reading this series i get so into it and the characters. You feel like you become one of them and it seems as though you're in their shoes. You can feel the same emotions they feel even though it isn't real, the descriptions and emotions bring the book to life. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Sincerely,
Angela
Hi Angela- Actually, Riley's series will take place from the moment she "crossed the bridge" so it's going to be about her life in the afterlife-I'm going to start writing it soon (still finishing up the 4th IMMORTALS book) and I'm really excited about it! As for the inspiration for the series, well, it stemmed from grief. A few years ago i lost 3 people I loved in 5 mos and then right after that my husband was diagnosed with leukemia (he's in full remission now!). Going through that terrible time got me thinking a lot about life and death, mortality and immortality, and how you can still feel a connection to your loved ones even after they've passed on, and Ever and Damen's story was born from there!
Thanks so much for all the kinds words--and I wish you all the best on your writing!
Alyson
aww alyson i'm so sorry that your husband got diagnosed with lukemia. my mom's best friend got diagnosed recently with breast cancer. she is very strong! she actually has brain tumors which she's had all her life. she's had cancer b4 i think but now it's bad. she has to get 64 WEEKS of chemo... she's holding it off so she can come to the beach with us this weekend :D because she wants to have one fun last time. its really sad what cancer does to people. i understand loss too well my best friend's mom (from overy cancer)passed away when she was twelve and just sunday she had to put her dog down (sick)also my aunt died in 05.. in two there's been 6 deaths of people i know and one of them was my best friend who was 15 (he was very sick but the NICEST kid anyone ever met!)
anyways so i guess i get some of my writing off of death too. i'm writing a greek mythology/horror story about like the first people who came to earth etc. now and i'm planning on publishing it :D
and i'm sorry again alyson :( it must be very hard.
Hey Katie- And I'm sorry for all of your loss--you seem to have suffered a great deal of it, though I'm so glad to see you also drawing strength and inspiration from it. It's the tough things in life that stretch us the farthest, make us grow and learn the most! Your books sounds wonderful, and I wish you all the best on it!
Oh, and have you seen this site? It's run by a friend of mine, talented author Kay Cassidy, and it truly is awesome:
http://www.kaycassidy.com/blog/2009/08/18/teen-author-challenge-week-6-plotting-strategies-part-two/
I am sorry to hear about your husband as well, alyson. I wish him the best of luck in recovery. That is a very hard thing to go through and i know how it feels to have a loved one that has to go through something similar to that. My dad was recently diagnosed with ALS, and bulbar lou gerighs disease. Unfortunately there isn't a cure for it, but it has been reversed in some cases. We are praying for a miracle and hope that everything works out for the best. I have no doubts, and i think he will pull through. The best thing you can do is always think positive and enjoy the time you have with your family. Never regret having them in your life, and live everyday to the fullest. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I will keep your husband in my thoughts, everything will get better. Sincerely,
Angela :)
Hey Angela- My husband is in full remission and is doing great now--it was a rocky road in the beginning, but now all is well.
I am so very sorry to read about your father, please know that you are in my thoughts at this time. But you are so right about staying positive, enjoying each moment, enjoying your family, hoping for miracles, and seizing each day--that's a great way to approach just about every situation, but even more so, the difficult ones. Hang in there.
Alyson
Thank you so much for the support Alyson I really appreciate it. It means a lot to me that you are keeping me in your thoughts.
I am very happy to hear that you husband is doing just fine! That must be very exciting for you :) Nice to know that everything will be back to normal, I wish you and him the best of luck in the future, and in the many years to come. Thank you for all the inspirational words, and once again taking the time to read these messages. Hope I haven't bothered you. If I do let me know.
Angela :)
Hey Angela-
Thanks for all the well wishes and nope, you are not bothering me. Not even close!!
:-D
Have a good night!
A
lol alyson i just dont understand how you keep in contact with all your fans.. isn't it hard to do at times? not many authors like to keep in contact with their fans but you are amazing how you do everything!
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