My old high school made NATIONAL NEWS today because a group of (presumably) students let loose dozens of chickens throughout the school. Considering the school once held the Guiness World Record for Largest Simultaneous Whoopee Sit (yes, that’s the entire student body–and FACULTY–all sitting on Whoopee Cushions at once), it should not be much of a surprise.

If you head on over to the Simon Pulse Ro Com Blog (and scroll to February 8th, if necessary) you’ll find another exciting tale from my time working as a tour guide as a motion picture and TV studio.

Enjoy!

Okay. Actually, the winning began five days ago. I would have mentioned it sooner, but I was once again visiting a black hole of dial-up connection where trying to put up a post is a Herculean task. (Actually, it’s not that bad. I just like the word “Herculean.”)

This month at TeensReadToo.com, you can enter to win “(Nearly) 30 Books a Day in (Almost) 30 Days!” My publisher has partnered with the website to give away FIVE copies of the Simon Pulse Romantic Comedies EVERY SINGLE DAY during the month of February. That’s 145 free books just there for the taking!! If you haven’t picked up your copy of Love, Hollywood Style now’s your chance to win it for free. Well, not now now, but tomorrow. My book is the prize for February 7 and February 28, but you only have to be entered once for the entire month of winning. So go now! No wait. Go later. Now, I have one more thing to talk about…

First Kiss, Then Tell—the collection of first kiss stories I have a piece in—has had some very nice things said about it in the reviews. My piece, “Improvisation,” has been mentioned or briefly referenced in several of them. Here’s a chopped up excerpt from one of the most … interesting?

From School Library Journal:
In this entertaining collection, the contributors’ experiences range from the sublime to the hilarious, and they are related through essays, poems, a play, a his-and-her version of events, and two comic strips. Cecil Castelucci’s story of secret kisses with a “bad boy” is one of the most intriguing, while Amy Kim Ganter’s artistic rendering of her “third first kiss” with her future husband is romantic … David Levithan writes touchingly of a kiss between boys rehearsing a Shakespeare scene, while Jon Scieszka amusingly relates how his first kiss finally came about…

Now, I have been called many names in my life. Some nice. Some not-so-nice. But I can honestly say that I have never been called David Levithan before. Then again, if I’m going to be mistaken for another author, that’s a darn good one to choose. Mr. Levithan also has a story in the collection. It’s told as a graphic novel with drawings by Nick Eliopulos. The story is also quite touching, but there’s nary a Shakespeare scene to be found.

Oh, well. Honest mistake. Still, the review doesn’t hold a candle to what Booklist said about Everyone’s a Critic and how my writing “…go[es] down as easily as a Starbucks latte.” That’s going to be my favorite soundbite for a while. Get used to reading it around here.

If you’ll excuse me, I have to go to Starbucks to get some work done.

Okay. Now, you can go enter the contest.