Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Here Comes the Sun

Every three months my husband has to go to the City of Hope so they can draw his blood and make sure he's still in remission. And since it's kind of far, and kind of a not so pleasant thing to do (well, the drawing blood part anyway--the remission is a very good thing!), I always join him on these trips and after we go to a movie, a museum, the horse races, whatever, we make it a "date."

So yesterday was "date day."  And we set off from the desert where we'd been staying, in the 106 degree heat, only to discover we had a broken air conditioner and hours of freeway before us!

We fiddled with the vent,  the controls, but nothing more than a trickle of warmish air came through. And by the time we arrived we were two dripping puddles of sweat and all we could do was laugh! Then on the way out we decided to skip the second act in favor of returning home to swap out cars and clothes, though we still managed to have a really great third act in an awesome dinner, HERE.

But it got me wondering-- how did I survive my air conditioning-free childhood? Those long family drives when I was relegated to the back seat alongside my sisters, legs sticking to the vinyl, windows rolled down, but not complaining near as much as I fear I did yesterday.  Not to mention those hot summer nights spent by the nearest open window, praying for a breeze so I might get some sleep.

Has my complete and total reliance on all these modern conveniences of dual control heat and air made me soft?

I fear the answer is yes.

But, now that the car's in the shop, and all is well (and cool!) again, I thought I'd share this:



This is a reader letter I received today, that made my day! I mean, seriously, how cute is that?

And, I also received this:



I swear, it's like Christmas in June!  That is the ARC for Kay Cassidy's up and coming new series: THE CINDERELLA SOCIETY, and I cannot wait to read it!  Though I should note that the cover is much nicer in person than the picture implies--that glaring, white, shiny spot is totally due to my lack of photographic skills! 

Oh, and in case you didn't know, Kay is also the genius behind the Great Scavenger Hunt where you can win all manner of prizes and books and which you can learn all about by clicking HERE!

And speaking of winning--I'm giving away 5 signed copies of BLUE MOON over at Free Book Friday Teens!  And everyone who signs up will receive exclusive BLUE MOON content which cannot be found anywhere else on the web!! Oh, and you can listen to a podcast interview where I answer reader question too!  All you have to do to get started is click HERE.  But hurry, the contest ends Friday!!

Now I've got to get back to work on UNTITLED IMMORTALS BOOK #4, so bye for now!

Have a good day everyone!

Alyson
:-D




9 comments:

Kay Cassidy said...

What a darling envelope on your reader mail! At least that helped balance out the no-A/C road trip. :-) And thanks for the shout-outs for THE CINDERELLA SOCIETY and The Great Scavenger Hunt Contest. You made my day!

Keri Mikulski said...

What a wonderful thing you do with your hubby. My mom just had an appointment just like his today.. I'm definitely going to mention making it more fun. :)

Cute pic!! What did we do without AC?? I remember an eight hour August drive in an orange pinto with no air. :)

Alyson Noel said...

Hey Kay- Aw, you're welcome! I can't wait to dig in!

Keri- I definitely recommend making it fun, it's one of the few times we allow ourselves to play hookey--no matter what else is going on.

And yeah, life before AC. . . Not fun!

Kori Rockwell said...

Pre-ordered my Blue Moon a while ago. SO excited! I'm looking forward to seeing where you're going to take the series. That's the entire fun of it.

Have a great day!

Unknown said...

That reader letter is so sweet! I bet you got that warm mushy feeling in the pit of your stomach.

A/C is a godsend in Tennessee heat. The air down here feels like it's filled with cheap low-fat vanilla pudding.

Glad you and your hubbie had a good time! And how is Shoadowland coming along? Have you gotten the copy-edits yet?

» αℓεxα☆ said...

Hope your husband continues to be healthy. Aw, the envelope is so cute. It's so adorable.

I'm okay with AC, it's not like I use it anyway. My area is totally cold but yesterday, oh man! It was HOT and I had to carry a squirming baby everywhere. I was sweating like crazy but she was an exhilerated, sweatless baby. :(

Alyson Noel said...

Thanks, Kori--hope you like it!

Hey JT- Oh, that Southern heat--a little "swampy" eh? As for SHADOWLAND, well, thanks for asking! The revision is finished, approved, and it is on its way to copy-editing as we, er, speak!

Hey Alexa- We don't have A/C at home, because Laguna stays pretty cool (ocean breeze and all that), but in the car--well, it's pretty much a necessity once you leave the beach citites!

Karen said...

Just thought I'd let you know. I bought Blue moon yesterday at Borders. I was so surprised to see it there and immediatly bought it. I must say it is fantsastic so far, I can't wait to read the rest!!!

Alyson Noel said...

Hey Karen- Wow, you're now the third person to tell me that--guess some stores are stocking it early! Wish my copies would arrive . . .