Thanks for your sympathy on my kitchen debacle, but as many of you pointed out, I do have a barn in Indiana I could go live in. I guess I could leave my husband’s cat behind with the carpenter, who would take really good care of her, and then she wouldn’t get eaten by coyotes.
But even then I would still worry about her (even though she isn’t even my cat). This is what happens when you have pets. Even if you don’t want to, you fall in love with them.
And I can’t afford to be worried about cats that aren’t even mine, because I have a LOT of work to do right now. I have to start work on the second Allie Finkle book, my new series for middle grade readers, aged 8 and up! The first book debuts in March 2008.
I got to pick the model who is playing Allie on the covers, and I ALSO got to pick out her outfit. Here is the cover for the first book, and if I do say so myself, it rocks (you can’t tell, but the writing on it is all sparkly and raised):
When nine-year-old Allie Finkle’s parents announce that they are moving her and her brothers from their suburban split-level to an ancient Victorian house in town, Allie’s sure her life is over. She’s not at all happy about having to give up her pretty pink wall-to-wall carpeting for creaky floorboards and creepy secret passageways—not to mention leaving her modern, state-of-the-art school for a rundown, old-fashioned school just two blocks from her new house. With a room she’s half-scared to go into, and the burden of being “the new girl,” how will Allie ever learn to fit in? Maybe by teaching herself a few rules….Now if she could only learn to follow them!
This is not an ordinary book…and it didn’t get an ordinary cover! It’s actually folded, origami style. When you unfold the dust jacket, it becomes a three foot poster kids can hang on their wall! Inside are all these other pictures of Allie, along with places you can write your own rules (all of Allie’s rules are written there as well). I am not going to post the unfolded version here because there should be some surprises. But believe me, it’s sweet.
A lot of people have asked why, in addition to the two new teen series I’m doing for Scholastic that will be out in 2008 and 2009, I’ve started writing a series for younger readers. The answer is because when I’m at book signings, so many 8, 9, and 10 year olds have asked me to. Seriously. Their moms won’t let them read my books because they say “FOR READERS 12 AND UP” on them (plus they have kissing and sexual references in them). So this series is for them (but really there’s stuff in these books for readers of all ages. My aged 40 plus friends read the book and laughed till they cried. So I think everyone will enjoy it).
And yes, there’s a tiny romance. BUT NO KISSING!!!!! I mean, the characters are NINE, for God’s sake.
–Lately I’ve been wishing that the Oracle in the Matrix movies was real, and that I could go to her and ask her advice about stuff. Fortunately, I got a note from author Holly Shumas (who is also a counselor and has an online advice column) asking me to post her site’s address so you all will come and ask her advice…I’m not sure she really knows what she’s in for, especially when the bulk of you get home from camp, but she seems to know her stuff, so here it is. Since Dr. Michele Jaffe is taking the summer off from her own advice blog to finish up Bad Kitty 2 and also work on some Bad Kitty mangas for Tokyopop (yes, a bunch of authors with HarperCollins are working on mangas with Tokyopop. It’s not just me), this might be a good site to try instead!
If I had an oracle, here is what I would ask her (I didn’t think this was really appropriate to ask Holly):
–Obviously, when the zombie apocalypse happens, getting prescription drugs won’t be a problem because I’ll just be able to loot pharmacies. But what is going to happen when all the drugs expire? Will I have to make my own drugs? And if so, how? Maybe I should start taking pharamaceutical classes in my spare time now.
–Why am I obsessed with shows about people who lose weight and then have to get their sagging skin surgically removed? It’s like the hoarding thing. I can’t stop thinking about it. And why did that one show on the Discovery Health Channel about this mom of sextuplets and twins who then had lose skin from her belly removed cause me to DVR the whole series?
This has nothing to do with oracles. It’s just a still photo from the new Neil Gaiman movie Stardust. Pretty, huh? Doesn’t it make you want to go see it? I know I do.
–Finally, even though my kitchen is a wreck, my TV still works. Can I just tell you how much I love back to school ads (maybe because I don’t have to go back to school)? And even though it’s August, there are so many new shows starting this week. Or rather, new seasons of old shows…we’ve got a third season of Weeds on Showtime on tonight at 10PM on Showtime
…and a second season of Tori and Dean: Inn Love starting Tuesday August 14 on Oxygen Network….
Buy the above shirt here
…not to mention High School Musical 2 on August 17th
(honestly, I loved the fast songs and dance numbers in the first one. So if there are fast songs and dance numbers in #2, I’ll be in heaven….) 
…and though the new season of Dexter doesn’t start until September 30….
…you can begin terrifying all your friends now by sending them a link to a personalized news video telling them that they’re a serial killer’s next victim.
Well, that’s it for now, I guess. I’m going to go attempt to summon the oracle.
More later.
Much love,
Meg
