Like the wise and wondrous TV Gal from Zap2it.com, I too am spending the holidays in a House That Technology Forgot, which is why I’m a day late with this post. But, December 26th was the official release date of First Kiss (Then Tell): A Collection of True Lip-Locked Moments, a book of anecdotes, comics, poems, and more (like my short, short play) about the first kisses of many of my favorite authors … and me. Not that I’m implying that I’m my own favorite author. Quite honestly, I don’t always like myself that much. But seriously, the book has contributions from Niki Burnham, Deb Caletti, Cecil Castelluci, Shannon and Dean Hale, David Levithan, Scott Westerfeld, and my pal, Micol Ostow (and many, many, more!).

There’s a little something for everyone in this collection, from sweetly memorable moments to tragic parting kisses to embarrassing busses. (That’s an old fashioned word for kissing. It’s not a book about public transportation.) And the best part is that a portion of the proceeds will go to NPR Youth Radio. ‘Tis the season of giving and what better way to give than by getting something for yourself in the process. (See, this kind of selfishness is one of the reasons I don’t always like myself. Actually, no. It’s one of the reasons I love myself.)

While we’re on the subject of the giving season, seeing as how Christmas is my favorite time of the year, I couldn’t let the holiday go by without some comment on all that the season has taught me. For a lesson on the true meaning of Christmas, you should search out some kid with a blue blanket to explain it to you. Here are the things I’VE learned over the years…

-Changing from bad to good is as easy as taking your first step.

-It’s a difficult responsibility to be first toymaker to the king. (And it’s even harder to work for the Burgermeister Meisterburger.)

-Christmas is a commercial racket run by a big eastern syndicate.

-A traditional holiday feast is still possible even without the roast beast.

-If things don’t turn out the way you want them the first time, you’ve still got to believe.

-There is a train that goes to the North Pole. (But a refrigerated boxcar—though perfect for a snowman or a fur-covered rabbit—is not appropriate travel accommodation for a young girl.)

-Bumbles bounce.

-No man is a failure who has friends.

-Santa Claus isn’t always a jolly fellow. At times her can be a surly boss who berates his elf employees or ignores them completely. He has also been known to react with a disproportionate amount of anger when faced with the birth of a reindeer that possesses unique attributes. (Of course, this attitude could be a result of his having to live with Mrs. Claus constantly harping on him to “Eat, Papa, eat!”)

Happy Holidays!

Is there a better way to start off a new year than by winning a prize? Okay, I can think of several better ways to start off a new year, but I can only help you with the prize part. TheCharmedOnes.com has posted a contest with little old me as the prize. Well, my books, that is. Check it out! The grand prize is a set of my Charmed novels. Signed. (And I threw in the first two DRAMA! books as well just because it’s the season of giving … and self-promotion.)

But the really exciting news is that there are TWO DOZEN first prizes of signed copies of Leo Rising. So much better odds than a weekend in Vegas. (Okay, that would be one better way to start out the new year.)

All you have to do is send a simple email. That’s it. No essays to write. No hoops to jump through. A simple email.

How can you not?

Looks like I’ve gone and disappeared from my own blog again. But I do have a good excuse. Actually, a couple good excuses. I was, once again, in the wonderfully awful position of having deadlines backing up against each other. All the work is a good thing. All the people expecting stuff from me in a timely manner? Not so good.

The most important among those deadlines was turning in the manuscript for DRAMA! Book 3: Show, Don’t Tell (unless my editor on another project is reading this and, of course, that was the most important deadline). Now, the thing about deadlines is they’re kind of like potato chips. You can’t just have one. Only a few weeks after I turned in Show, Don’t Tell, my editor returned it to me all marked up with edits and a new deadline … Of yesterday … Which I met. Yay, me! Now, I’m starting work on Book 4, Entrances and Exits, but I’ve got some time before that one is due.

Getting notes on a manuscript is another wonderfully awful thing about being a writer. I clearly turned in the best piece of writing in the world when I sent in the manuscript the first time. How could there possibly be anything to change? Every word is gold. Fool’s Gold, but gold nonetheless.

Even worse than getting notes is getting good notes. You see, when an editor gives you bad notes with comments that make no sense, questions that are just plain silly … those you can simply ignore. Well, okay, you can’t ignore them, but you can debate them. But when you get good notes, when all the edits are totally understandable and obvious, well, you kind of feel like an idiot. Like, “Why in the world didn’t I notice that in the first place?”

My notes were of the good variety. The really good variety. The “I couldn’t argue with any of them” variety. Not a one. Which is kind of annoying when you think about it. And I’m not just saying that to suck up to my editor. (Particularly since I’m pretty sure he doesn’t have time to be reading my silly little blog.) Thankfully, the notes were fairly minor and now the book is absolutely perfect … until the copyeditor says otherwise … and I get another deadline.

Meanwhile, in random business…

Check out my latest post at the Simon Pulse Romantic Comedies site for some tips on how to survive the holiday shopping season. (You’re probably going to have to scroll down to November 27 to read it.)

Speaking of links … if you’re bored, here’s an interview with me for Bones: The Official Companion.

And, finally, congratulations to Kristi and Lauren! They both won copies of DRAMA! The Four Dorothys and Everyone’s a Critic in the monthly book contest hosted by teensreadtoo.com. Check out the site every month for more contests with a variety of authors. I’m sure I’ll be doing more with them in the future.

I promise to try to blog more before the year ends. (Notice how I promised “to try” rather than promised “to.”)

Until then … have a Happy Holiday Season!