Every Picture Tells a Story

(blog title courtesy of Rod Stewart)

So this weekend I attended a little something called TBF Live--an amazing, annual event organized by the amazing librarians of Rochester, NY that easily surpassed all of my expectations, which, from all the wonderful things I'd heard about it, were admittedly high!

There were limos, marching bands, cheering crowds, a red carpet, a "walk of fame," and an awesome group of enthusiastic readers I was delighted to meet, including, but certainly not limited to: Cristina who came down from Toronto, Prom Girl who took time out from her morning prom prep to stop by and say hi, lots of friends from Facebook & Myspace (is the world shrinking, or is it me?), Jenaye's papa who came out to get her books signed since she lives in NC and pass on some awesome pictures she drew of Ever & Haven along with a really sweet note, and, after one of my talks, a mom passed me a note that brought me to tears--the good kind of tears, but still. I feel so fortunate to have such amazing readers, you guys are The Best!

And while I admit to not always being so quick with the camera, I'm usually too caught up in the moment to remember to document it, I did take a few, so here goes:

The official TBF poster--they are already planning next year's event- so stay tuned!

My books as seen in the Atlanta airport, I stuck bookmarks in them! And yes, I'm still a big dork who gets excited about spotting her books in the airport!

The Limo! They had 2 SUV stretch limos to take us to the event!

Me with the world's best "handlers" Kelsey & Marissa!

I got LOTS of swag and gifts, including a talking Office pen (one of my fave TV shows) that says, "That's what she said!" among other things = LOVE!

The walk of fame!

The amazing welcome from an awesome crowd!

I gave my talks in the chapel--so cool!!

And, back in the Atlanta airport, where I decided to get a little work done in lieu of stalking my books!

And just in case you think it's only the readers who get excited about these things, I can't even tell you how thrilled I was to get to meet & hang out with some of my favorite & soon to be favorite writers.

All in all a complete whirlwind of FUN!

Thanks to all of you who took the time to come out!

Alyson

:)

TBF Live!

I've been waiting for this event for a year now, and I can hardly believe it's almost here!!

I mean, where else can you meet 27 amazing YA authors all under one roof?

Only HERE that I can think of!

Hope to see you there!!

Teen Fiction Cafe!

I'm over at The Cafe blogging about friendships--come join me!

Just click HERE!

Children's Choice Book Awards!

Hey Everyone-

Just a quick note to remind you that today is the last day to vote for the Children's Choice Book Awards (BLUE MOON is a finalist!) for Best Teen Book of 2010--and all you have to do to cast your vote, is click HERE!

(Please note that you must vote in all 3 categories for your vote to count!)

Happy Sunday!

Alyson

:)

Living My Five- Champagne Wednesday!

As some of you may know, I'm a member of Living Your Five™, an inspirational web project devoted to making a difference in the world along with awesome authors Kay Cassidy and Tera Lynn Childs.

Living Your Five™ is about making the world a better place, one person and one contribution at a time. It’s about understanding what’s most important to you and how you can make a Positive difference in the world around you in ways both large and small.

Our Fives are the five areas in which we personally want to make a difference in the world, and once a month we share the progress we’ve made on our blogs.

Yep, that's right, I said "once a month" even though I admit I may have fallen off that particular wagon as of late.

Though that's not to say I've fallen off the Five wagon, because I haven't. In fact, it's become so ingrained, it's just part of my lifestyle now.

Oh, and just so you know, these are my Five:

1. Commit to frequent acts of kindness and gratitude

2. Commit to random acts of charity

3. For new item purchased, donate something similar to a person, place, or organization that needs it

4. Commit to living greener and helping lessen and/or offset my environmental footprint

5. Commit to positivity, to keeping all communications a no snarking/no ranting zone, and happily post about what’s going right in the world

For the record, I thought #3 was going to be pretty tough going, but it's actually been pretty easy and it's forced me to become way more cognizant of the things that I buy.

But today I want to post about Gratitude (#1), so here goes:

Last year, in February 2009, I hit the New York Times Best Sellers list for the very first time, and to celebrate, my husband and I drank champagne.

The following week, I hit again, and so, more champagne. And since the list comes out on Wednesday (even though it's officially published on Sunday) we jokingly called it "Champagne Wednesday."

Between Evermore, Blue Moon, & Shadowland, I spent 55 weeks on the list. And when the Wednesday arrived that I didn't hit, we'd grown so used to celebrating my husband proposed we find something else to celebrate each week instead.

I loved the idea. Not just because it allows me to drink more champagne, but because it forces us to stay positive, to come up with one good thing no matter how trying the week might've been.

Whether it be a flower, a sunset, a particular view from our window--there is nothing too small that isn't worth celebrating, and this Wednesday we celebrated my husband being in deep remission for over four years (definitely a BIG thing!). As for next Wednesday, who knows? We'll see what life brings.

But what about YOU? What are you celebrating this week?

Oh, and if you'd like to learn how to become an Honorary Fiver, click HERE!

Have a great day, everyone!

Alyson

xoxo