As of Monday, I’ll be in Atlanta for the International Reading Association (IRA) annual convention!

I’ll be speaking there (along with some other fantastic authors) at the Scholastic Book Clubs Annual Breakfast Tuesday morning from 7:00AM-8:30AM (I know what you’re thinking: Isn’t 8:30AM the time Meg usually wakes up? Yes. Yes, it is. It’s going to be a fun adventure for all of us, especially Jacky, my publicist, who gets the fun job of meeting me at 6:30AM in the hotel lobby.)

But it’s going to be totally worth it, conference attendees, because we’ll be talking about our favorite teachers! And hey! Delicious food, witty speeches, and FREE BOOKS for everyone!

Conference attendees will also be able to find me right after breakfast at the Scholastic Reading Convention Center mini-theater reading from Allie Finkle’s Rules For Girls: Moving Day.

Then, from 9:15AM-11:00AM, I’ll be at the Scholastic Autographing Book (#2745), sleeping signing and giving away more books. I think the book I’m giving away will be advanced reader copies of Allie Finkle’s Rules for Girls: The New Girl:

In US stores August 2008

(Oh, yes, you read that right: I said “giving away”—while supplies last. I’ll be signing them, too!)

But if you miss me in the morning, I’ll be back at the Harper Collins Autographing Booth #1961 from 2:00-3:00PM later that afternoon. I have no idea what I’ll be signing and giving away there, but I bet it’ll be something good!

Don’t be sad if you’re missing out on the convention, though. I’ll be giving away more books and ARCs here on the blog (we’re still shipping out the winners from the last contest, so be sure to check your mailbox in the next couple of weeks if you entered…there’s still a chance you might have won….).

And you can always have vicarious Allie Finkle fun by going to Allie Finkle Rules! Since the site launched this spring, we’ve had over 13,000 kids join, with 18,000 new rules and counting submitted by readers. Some of them are truly hilarious (Kid Submitted Rule: if a new girl come’s to school to be the meanest bully ever, just get a sidekick that is cool popular and flipable), while others are heartbreaking (Kid Submitted Rule:treat new kids the way you treat your BEST friend because you dont know what you have till it’s GONE!!!).

Allie’s site is turning into a major social network for the under 13s, without the beat-downs (due to the fact that it’s fully moderated)!

(FYI, I can assure you that in Allie Finkle’s Rules for Girls: The New Girl, while Allie does encounter a bully, she does NOT get a Sidekick. But she might get that kitten she’s been longing for!)

Meanwhile, I’ve heard from readers that Airhead is showing up in bookstores everywhere! If you haven’t spotted it in a shop near you, keep in mind it’s selling online all over, and should be everywhere by May 13.

I’m superpsyched by the fact that the fantabulous blogging YA librarians, The Ya Ya Yas, seemed to like it!

There’s nothing better than a good librarian review, as librarians rule the world.

Speaking of which, I just found out that my book Jinx is one of 26 nominees for The Young Adult Library Services Association Teens’ Top 10 2008, the only booklist nominated by teens, and then voted for by teens during Teen Read Week, October 12-18, 2008. This is the hugest honor, and I’m so grateful! You guys rock!

This may not come as much of a surprise to many of you, but…I took a little time out yesterday to see a movie called Iron Man (never having read the comic books, I was surprised to find it referenced both “The Walking Dead” and something called Stark Industries, both of which are in my book Airhead. Well, in a different context. The Walking Dead in my book refers to popular people who subjugate their own opinions to fit in with the crowd, and the name of the company my character Nikki Howard works for is Stark Enterprises. Still, I was shocked. I didn’t know I was in a mind meld with Marvel Comics).

This is the best superhero movie I’ve ever seen! Christian Bale’s shirtless push-ups in Batman Begins are still very impressive, but no one beats Robert Downey Jr’s tortured brown eyes, or his character’s motivation for why he becomes a superhero. Even the US Navy fighter pilots who attended the same showing I did (Key West is 90 miles from Cuba. There are five bases here) loved it (while calling each other dorks for doing so. But they let me in a valuable secret: be sure to stay in the theater until the credits are over. There’s an important scene after the movie seems like it’s over that you won’t want to miss!)

And now I have to get back to work on Being Nikki, the sequel to Airhead, since it’s due, um, now.

Oh, Em! Don’t be sad! Your sequel will be out this time next year!

See you in Atlanta (I hope)!

And if not, see you right here…same place, different time!

More later.

Much love,

Meg

There’s so much going on I hardly know where to start. Of course there’s the Miley Cyrus topless photo scandal…

…although frankly, if I were Miley, I’d be more freaked out by the photos of her posing with her dad like he’s her high school boyfriend than by her alleged “topless” photos.

Seriously, think of your dad.

Then think of posing with your dad like this:

Could you do it? With a straight face?

No. Me either. I’d be all, “Dad, ew, gross, stop farting.”

But maybe when Billy Ray is your dad, it’s different.

But there is so much more going on than just the latest Miley scandal!

There’s the fact that Kathy Griffin and the Woz broke up! And he’s apparently marrying someone else! Why, Woz, why? You could have had gossip and laughter every day for breakfast. And now what are you having? Boring old oatmeal? For shame, Woz! It’s not worth it. Go back to Kathy!

And then there is the very icky news that just came out of that polygamist compound in Texas that 31 (at last count) of the 50 teen girls ages 14-17 that they plucked from there are currently pregnant or have already given birth! (Probably, although the blood tests have not come in, by the same couple of 50 year old guys. Ew, ew, and triple ew, and ditto what I said above about farting. Could you IMAGINE????)

I just wish Judge Judy were the judge on this compound case. She’d be like, “Older men having sex with teenagers? That’s disgraceful! That is disgraceful, sir! What were you thinking, madam, letting your daughter do that?” Then she’d make Byrd escort all the men off the compound (permanently), and then the women and children could just live there alone, and the kids would get all sorts of toys instead of having to get up at 3:30AM to mill flour every day. That would be so sweet.

Polygamist men, watch out: When Judge Judy and Byrd come to town, YOU ARE GOING DOWN!!!

Fortunately there is some good news. I have returned from the mother ship (or, as people who are not born there call it, the state of Indiana), where election fever is gripping the heartland. It’s lovely to see so many people caring so much about a presidential campaign for a change. I got to help by sticking labels on mailings and by pointing out to people who are not voting for my candidate of choice how wrong they are, something I think everyone always appreciates (okay, not really. But in my mind they appreciate it).

If you’re feeling down about the election or the state of the economy or the environment or just need a pick-me-up, I again suggest Alexander McCall Smith’s The Miracle at Speedy Motors. I just finished it and it was so good.

It did make me cry though (all the Precious Ramotswe books do, but in a good way. I don’t know why. As Precious put it in this book, sometimes things just pile up—something I think we can all agree on right now—and you have to cry).

I love these books because they follow my philosophy (or the one I try to follow), that kindness is the best policy. Although this isn’t always easy given how annoying most people are these days (like the gum chewer behind me on the plane yesterday). Still, if we’d all just try to be kind to one another, think how much better the world would be.

And Rachel Vail’s new book, Lucky, is out now!

I can’t wait to read it. I love Rachel’s books. Her writing is so crisp and spare, yet so affecting and touching—I can never put one of her books down without heaving a big sigh of happiness.

And this is just the first in a series about three sisters! This one seems to be based on something that really happened to Rachel (at least according to her blog), so that makes me thing this one should be especially good.

Meanwhile, reviews for Airhead (shipping now at many online retailers, coming to a bookstore near you by May 13, if not before—call your local bookseller and be sure to reserve your copy now [at no extra cost, of course]!) continue to roll in!

Here’s a fun one from 3 Evil Cousins (I love that name. I only have one girl cousin, and she’s the opposite of evil, so I could never have a blog like this)!

And here’s a great one from Kirkus:

Unlike her starry-eyed sister, down-to-earth Em Watts isn’t thrilled to be at Stark Megastore’s star-studded opening, especially since her best friend and secret crush, Christopher, can’t stop drooling over teen modeling sensation and Stark representative, Nikki Howard. Just as Em wonders how Nikki can captivate people so, she suffers an accident that sends her to a Manhattan hospital with life-altering injuries that intimately intertwine both women forever—(this line deleted due to being a major spoiler). This bizarre new relationship with Nikki forces Em, a self-identifying feminist, to reevaluate her life views and slowly to accept Nikki as more than just an airhead. Although quick to set up the accident and its repercussions, the text slows down to an even pace, introducing many juicy issues to be explored in the upcoming sequel, especially with respect to nefarious corporate activities. Although it relies on a somewhat far-fetched premise, the text’s abundant references to current pop culture and Em’s witty character keep this read both grounded and fun. (Fiction. YA)

This isn’t the first review to mention that the premise for Airhead is far-fetched, but I would just like to assure you, it is not. I don’t want to spoil the book for you by telling you what that premise is (it’s actually part of the mystery the heroine has to solve, or I would). But I spent days researching it, and the premise is not only possible, it HAS BEEN DONE.

Well, on monkeys. I’d provide you with the links to the data I read (which is online), but again, it would spoil the book for you.

And okay, the monkeys didn’t live very long, and personally, I don’t think they had a very good time. But I’m just saying. It’s been done.

So, it’s not far-fetched in any way. It is the FUTURE.

I’ve often wondered why people say books where girls turn out to be princesses, or get struck by lightning and turn out to have ESP—BOTH OF WHICH HAVE ACTUALLY HAPPENED IN DOCUMENTED, REAL LIFE CASES–are far-fetched, but never say books about boys who turn out to be wizards, or fly around on dragons, or turn out to be vampires or fairies, are far-fetched. Because there is actually such a thing as princesses and ESP. There is no such thing as wizards, dragons, vampires, fairies, or, sadly, Hellboy. Or Speed Racer. Or, by the way, zombies.

And just why doesn’t anyone think zombies are far-fetched? All of my friends categorically believe in the zombie apocalypse, and even plan on coming to my barnhouse in Indiana in order to survive it.

Artist’s rendering of how actual zombie invasion might look.

(Because as everyone knows, by the time the zombie apocalypse occurs, Florida will be underwater, and my barnhouse is far out in the country, off the grid, and has it’s own septic tank—and of course my friends and I all assume we’re going to live, and not be turned into zombies…although my recent idea, to buy a grenade launcher with which to shoot the zombies from the barn’s hay loft windows, has not been met with as much as enthusiasm as I expected, especially from He Who Shall Not Be Named In This Blog, who says he would feel uncomfortable having a grenade launcher in his basement, even if it is solely for use in the event of a zombie apocalypse. Author’s note: With current Indiana gun laws, it is both possible and easy for anyone to buy a grenade launcher).

Whatever. This leads me to my final thought, which occurred to me on the plane coming home to Key West yesterday: Do zombies poop? And if so (and I am thinking they do, because they eat a lot of brains), where? Do they just go on themselves? Or do they use toilets?

If they use toilets, they can’t use mine, because my septic tank can’t sustain that many people, live or undead. Which is why the number of people who can seek refuge in my barnhouse in the event of the zombie apocalypse is, sadly, limited. I mean, I would like to invite all of you, but there are practical hygienic concerns to keep in mind.

However, if you bring a grenade launcher, you are totally welcome anytime.

More later.

Much love,

Meg

It is really freaking boring here in the country, and since I know you’ve already gotten your copies of Airhead since the online retailers all started selling them this weekend, and you’re probably busy reading, I decided to compile this guide to the summer’s big new movies for you…or at least the ones I felt like writing about, now listed in no particular order, and previewed the right way…the Meg Cabot way:

Speed Racer May 9

This is kind of embarrassing, but when I was a tween, I fell in love with Speed Racer. Seriously, I thought a cartoon character was hot. I used to wish I was Trixie, and would have impure thoughts about what I would do to Speed Racer if I were alone with him in the garage. It was sick.

Hottie.

So, naturally, I am totally going to see this movie, but not for the same reason everyone else is. I’m glad Christina Ricci is playing Trixie, because she’s a bit of a dirty girl, like me (oh, whatever, if you’ve read She Went all the Way, you know I’m a dirty girl). That’s the only reason she agreed to do this movie (well, maybe the money had something to do with it. But not totally).

Dirty, dirty girls.

Weirdly, this appears to be a kid’s movie. How am I going to sneak into it and think impure thoughts about a cartoon character if there are a bunch of kids there? I might have to wait for the DVD.

Sex and the City the Movie, May 30

I know the rumors are that Mr. Big and Carrie break up and Miranda and Steve’s marriage runs into a snag in Sex and the City. Let’s hope if this is true, they all get back together by the end (yes, I’m a Mr. Big fan. I have seen every Law and Order episode he was in 5 times at least and I still watch them when they come on TNT. And when my friend who went to the same gym as Chris Noth used to call and go, “He’s here!” I’d go, “What’s he doing now????” and make her stay on the phone while she’d stalk him and describe in great detail exactly what he was doing: “Now he’s getting a sip of water! Now he’s talking to his trainer! Now he’s looking at me! Oops, he’s calling the cops! Gotta go!”).

Made of Honor May 2

Made of Honor seems like a remake of My Best Friend’s Wedding except with the sexes are reversed. I don’t really care, because it has Patrick Dempsey in it. But if I were Patrick’s agent I’d advise him to take some meatier roles. Like something where he could wear a Revolutionary war uniform that he has to peel off because he gets really sweaty from battle, and has to show his extremely built up biceps while he bathes himself in a river. Yeah! That would be worth ten fifty.

Iron Man May 2

I have the biggest crush on Robert Downey Jr. so I can’t wait for Iron Man which is about a billionaire playboy who gets kidnapped by terrorists and told to build this secret weapon he’s invented (or something, I’m basing all this on the trailer).

Instead he builds some kind of super suit and blows the terrorists up. Then he goes around fighting evil in the suit. Or whatever. Who cares, really? The point is, it’s Robert Downey, Jr., who used to be addicted to drugs but is clean now, but you can still see the crazy in his eyes, and that always makes his performances (Restoration, Home for the Holidays, Zodiac) exciting, because you never know when he might just pull down his pants. Granted they will probably save that for for the DVD extras, but I will be there opening day just in case they forget to edit it out from the final cut.

The Incredible Hulk June 13
Didn’t The Incredible Hulk already just come out a few summers ago? Yes, it did, but Ed Norton is playing Dr. Bruce Banner in this one. But Ed Norton is mad at the way this version was cut and won’t do press. I’m mad, too, Ed. Mad that they made this instead of a movie featuring a female superhero such as Wonder Woman or Batgirl or Susannah Simon. Keep the faith, Ed.

Wanted June 27

Actually, there IS a movie coming out featuring a female superhero-esque heroine…played by Angelina Jolie. It’s called Wanted. So maybe there is hope, Ed.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull May 22

Of course I’m going to be in line to see this the very first day this comes out, because, hello, KAREN ALLEN is coming back to the Indiana Jones franchise. I know we’re supposed to be excited about Harrison Ford and SHIIIIIIIIIIIAAAAAAH as my 21 year old neighbor E. calls him, but I am more excited that they’re bringing Marion Ravenwood back to the series because I LOVED her in Indiana Jones and the Ark of the Covenant. She was such a badass and I worshiped her!!! When that movie came out in the theaters (yes, I am that old) I used to try to get my mom to do my hair the way Marion’s was (single ponytail braid).

Anyway, I can’t wait for this movie just to see how Marian is wearing her hair now and I think it’s fantastic they’re bringing her back instead of making Indiana hook up with Megan Fox or someone (not that I don’t like Megan Fox, but let’s face it, she belongs with Shia, not Harrison Ford). GO KAREN ALLEN!!!!! Author’s note: If they kill Marion off in this movie, I swear I will go Iron Man on someone.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian May 16

I freaking loved the Narnia books when I was a kid…until I got to the last one and found out what happened to Susan, just because she happened to like lipstick (even at age twelve I suffered from chronically thin lips).

But according to C.S. Lewis, if you use lipstick…well, I won’t spoil the end for you. I’m sorry, but you can use lipstick and still believe in magic.

So I won’t go see these movies. But Prince Caspian does look like it might not suck. If you’re 12 or under.

***Edited later: Okay, so a lot of you over-12 Narnia fangirls are upset about what I wrote above. I’m happy so many of you have retained your love for this series in spite of what CS Lewis did to Susan, which I found misogynistic. And…I’m trying to think how to put this: When you’re Catholic, you’re given a set of these books on your First Communion. At first you think, COOL!!!! BOOKS!!!!

Then all your CCD teachers keep talking about them. And slowly, round about sixth grade, you realize: THESE ARE RELIGIOUS BOOKS. And then they become not so cool (only because all your CCD teachers approve of them, and by then, you only want to read books that your CCD teachers DISAPPROVE of. Being completely immature, I am still in that stage).

And honestly, I just can’t get into things with talking animals. Excluding Chewbacca. Carry on.***

The Happening June 13

This is another M. Night Shyamalan movie. I can’t decide if M. Night is a genius or a manipulative jerk. I loved The Sixth Sense and Signs, but Lady in the Water really bugged me (although I like going around whispering “Lady in the water”), as did his other movies. I can’t decide about this one. What do you think?

I think it looks amazing, and I love Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel, but since it’s M. Night it could easily turn out to be horrible. If it turns out to have a lame ending where everybody I like dies or something equally awful, I am putting M. Night in the jerk category, and siccing Marion Ravenwood on him.

X Files—The Movie… I Want to Believe July 30

I used to watch The X Files and then Gillian Anderson’s character got pregnant and had a baby but by then I had stopped watching because alien babies remind me of that miniseries V, but not in a good way.

But it turns out it was David Duchovny’s baby. How did I miss all that?

Fortunately they’re making a movie so I have a chance to redeem myself. David Duchovny is married to Tea Leoni and she’s amazing and he’s amazing and so is Gillian Anderson. How could this movie not rock?

Get Smart June 20
I love Steve Carrell. I love Anne Hathaway. Get Smart will earn a billion dollars at the box office. The end.

Mamma Mia July 18

For those of you who like me, never saw Mamma Mia on Broadway, now you can (on film). Starring Meryl Streep, no less! She does sing, you know. And really well.

The Dark Knight (Batman Returns) July 18

I know I’m basically saying I’m looking forward to all these movies because of the hot guys in them, but let’s face it, the shirtless push-up scene in Batman Begins WAS some very, very impressive acting.

In fact I think they should give out a special Oscar just for Best Shirtless Push Ups, and Christian Bale should win it every year. He should be required to do shirtless push ups in every movie he’s in. I know a lot of people are saying they’re looking forward to this movie for Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker, and I totally am, as well. But really what I’m hoping for is more shirtless push ups. Please, if there is no shirtless push up scene, can we edit one in really fast?

Brendan Fraser
Brendan gets his own category because he has not one but TWO blockbusters for release this summer, Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D (July 11) and The Mummy 3, Tomb of the Golden Emperor (August 1), which Rachel Weisz did not choose to come back for as his character’s wife (Maria Bello will be subbing as Evelyn the Librarian) because she just had a baby and they filmed it in China which as we know from the calls for an Olympic boycott is not where you might want to go with a newborn. So get ready for a lot of Brendan (never a bad thing in my opinion) and Maria, who also rocks.

Pineapple Express August 8
This is another movie from the guy who wrote Knocked Up, which I loved. Need I say more?

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 August 8
Entertainment Weekly points out that when SOTTP 1 came out, Amber Tamblyn and Alexis Bledel were the big breakout stars. But Blake Lively is the big star now! And America Ferrera has her own huge megahit show too! Oh, the irony.

Hellboy 2, The Golden Army July 11

Of all the movies that are coming out this summer, this is the one I’m looking forward to the most. I LOVED Hellboy 1. I love the romance between Hellboy and Liz. He’s a mutant freak and she’s a firestarter. They were made to be together, but like all relationships, there are problems.

I’m sorry to bring this up on a family blog, but someone has to ask (I’m in the countryside right now, where there is a lot of nature. Naturally my mind is going to turn to these things): What does Hellboy look like under his pants? I mean, he’s got a TAIL, for crying out loud. What else is going on under there? I’m just saying, Liz might be in for a shock their first night together.

In the second movie, they’ve moved in together, but it’s not going well. My theory is, it’s because of what is going on under Hellboy’s pants.

Liz has just fainted due to having seen Hellboy pantless.

Seriously, I’m just guessing it’s probably a lot more impressive than what is going on in Speed Racer’s pants.

Oh, wow, I feel guilty for saying that. I’m sorry, Speed! I didn’t mean it.

The fact is, this is going to be a very hard summer for me, because I’m torn between my love for two fictional, non-human characters now, one of whom is a demonic hell beast, the other a cartoon.

Oh, well. That’s why I will be there opening day: to see which one of them wins my heart.

More later.

Much love,

Meg

What a week it’s been already! First off, I’m done with Princess Diaries 10….

Well, okay, I’m done with the first revision. We’ll see if I need to do more. If so, it’s cool. I’m up for it. Because….

I’m feeling MUCH better! Although according to:

Don’t laugh, beginners need books like this. I’ll move up to harder books with smaller print later

–I do have to pee in the orange jug so my doctor can check my peptides (whatever those are).

So, I’m working on that, too (well, not right this minute, obviously)….

Really, who wouldn’t feel great after such a fantastic weekend? First off, it was Passover, which we spent at Judy Blume’s fabulous house here in Key West (I know, don’t be jealous).

Then—and not that it’s the same thing as seder at your favorite YA author’s house, really, but let’s face it, we’ve all been waiting a really long time for a new Gossip Girls episode—and last night there finally was one!

I don’t know if I agree that Gossip Girls is the Best Show EVER. I mean, I think the Best Show Ever was the first two seasons of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. But whatevs. Gossip Girls is pretty good.

Although my favorite show right now is still Intervention, no matter what anyone says. Thanks to Intervention, I know all about burl, something I’d never heard of before. It can be worth thousands, you know!

Oh, and then Trashionista, one of my favorite websites, wrote a fabulous preview review of Airhead, for which I’d like to thank them very much. I would also just like to elaborate further on the “Meg Cabot, you’ve gone too far” story and say that He Who Shall Not Be Named In This Blog’s remark shook me so badly that I sent an emergency SOS to my writer friends Michele Jaffe, Rachel Vail, and Susan Juby, asking them if THEY thought I’d gone too far. They all wrote back to say they did not, in fact, think I had gone too far AT ALL, which is why each of them is named in the acknowledgements of Airhead, as you will see when it comes out on or around May 13.

Here are two other delicious reviews of Airhead, one from RoWiJo’s blog and one from Liv’s Book Reviews. A big mwah to both of them.

Right now I’m off to Bloomington, Indiana to support my favorite political candidate in the upcoming election there. Did I mention that she’s having her first baby in June?

(This is not her baby, obviously, which hasn’t been born yet, but a stunt baby.)

Meanwhile, how awesome is it that Danica Patrick became the first woman in a century of open-wheel racing ever to win an event after taking the checkered flag in Sunday’s Indy Japan 300?

SO AWESOME.

Oh, and I hope my mother is happy. She never wanted me to have a Barbie because she thought Barbie was too slutty, and now Barbie is dead!

That’s right, plummeting sales have killed Barbie, because some even sluttier dolls have come along—Bratz, who are basically prostitots. At least Barbie has had multiple careers. What do the prostitots do to earn money? Wait—don’t answer that.

*Special note, Mom did break down and buy me P.J. (Barbie’s best friend) in return for my agreeing to quit sucking my thumb when I turned eight.

Finally, don’t forget Sarah Dessen’s Lock and Key is finally out!

I got sent an advanced reader copy of this book, and I loved it! I fell in love with all the characters, especially some of the secondary ones Ruby ends up going to school with (against her will)…they had me laughing out loud. I think you’ll love this book as much as I did.

Honestly, I can’t tell you how many people have sent me this, which means I’m sure you’ve all seen it, but just in case you haven’t, I present you with: Corporal Cuddling (I do this to Henrietta, too, and she HATES it).

P.S. My dad taught Quantitative Business Analysis (later changed to Decision Sciences) at Indiana University, and I would like to point out that some of his colleagues were exactly like those engineers, only they weren’t being funny about it. They were seriously like that.

Okay, I have to go to bed so I can catch my plane in the morning! Bye!

More later.

Much love,

Meg

There’s a sneak peek to the first two chapters of my May release, Airhead, up now! Click here to see it (this link is guaranteed a pop-up so you won’t have to worry about getting back to this page) (Yes, I’m still very proud of myself for learning how to do this)!

And be sure to check out the new links on my homepage—The Meg Cabot YouTube Channel (now newly purple) and the new Airhead Flash. Empty your cache if you don’t see them (I had to).

And thank you all SO MUCH for the outpouring of support for the celiac thing. I had no idea there were so many people who a) have celiac disease or b) know or are related to someone who does! You guys are the best.

I actually feel a bit guilty about it, because when I said I was feeling “crappy,” I didn’t mean it literally. I don’t have any of the bathroom-related celiac symptoms, or any celiac-related symptoms at all. My hyperthyroid is just keeping me from sleeping, so I’m tired all the time…..

And of course, when you’re tired, what do you want to eat (at least if you have no self-control, like me….)?

Cupcakes!

But they are now verboten to me (although as hundreds of you have told me, I know I can buy some wheat flour-less cake mix here and make my own). But in the meantime, I’m all over THIS instead:

Vanilla Swiss Almond Haagen Daz….Mmmmmm!

My real problem at the moment is that my doctor wants me to spend a day peeing into this:

(Barbies are for scale)

I am not even joking. He wants me to put it in the refrigerator between pees (next to the Haagen Daz? Oh, wait, that’s in the freezer, thank God….)

I’m sorry, but that is just not going to happen. For one thing, before I spend the day peeing into it, I am supposed to give up tomatoes, eggplants, avocadoes, and nuts for eight days. Those first three things are no problem, but nuts? Hello, does he not know about the Vanilla Swiss Almond?

And okay he says there is a lot of valuable information he can get from my pee…but enough to stop the zombie apocalypse? I don’t think so.

Let’s just be real for a second here. No Haagen Daz? For eight days?

No. Just no.

Anyway, regarding things NOT taking place on the Planet Never Gonna Happen, in case you didn’t know, today is Teen Lit Day, and over at Readergirlz, they’ve organized an incredible event called Rock the Drop, getting publishers to donate over 10,000 books to pediatric hospitals. Visit Readergirlz for more info!

And join the online two-hour Post-Drop book Myspace party today from 6-8pm Pacific/9-11pm Eastern (the chat will be in a thread titled “TBD Post Op Party”). The Readergirlz divas will be giving away books and prizes, and chatting with teens and authors from around the world. They’ve invited so many authors and girlz, you just never know who you might end up cyber meeting!

Meanwhile, there are even MORE free books (by me) being given away by none other than ellegirl.com…click here for more information (and to read a funny interview with me).

And even MORE copies of books by me are being given away by the Compulsive Reader, here!

And click here for another funny interview I did at The Page Flipper!

Reviews of Airhead are starting to crop up, and rather than post them all at once I thought I’d sprinkle them through-out my blog entries over the next few weeks…so here’s one by TeenBookReview, and here’s another by The Story Siren (all reviews posted here guaranteed spoiler free)! Thanks, TeenBookReview and Story Siren!

I’m hard at work right now revising Princess Diaries 10, Forever Princess, so no more updates until I’m done!

I really mean it.

I’m totally serious.

Until I think of something else to do with the Pee Jug.

More later.

Much love,

Meg

I won’t lie to you. I’m a little depressed.

And it’s not because I keep getting emails from people who are angry with me because they ran out to buy my new books and it turns out they’ve already read them….

To those people, I just want to say, I’m very pleased you enjoyed my book Pants on Fire so much that you rushed right out to purchase Tommy Sullivan is a Freak, assuming it was a sequel. I’m sorry to have to tell you it is the same book under a different title (the title I originally gave it, only my US publisher changed it).

These are the same book….

Naturally you want your money back. I quite agree you should have it back!

But that is an issue you are going to have to take up with my UK publisher or with the bookseller–not with me, who has no control at all over these things! I’ll probably only get about four cents of your sale (if that much), so I actually can’t write you a check for however much it was you spent on my book.

Please take your book back to the shop where you bought it (or send it back to the online retailer from whom you purchased it) and explain the situation. I’m positive they’ll understand. If they don’t, my publisher will, I’m sure, so take it up with them.

I’m also not depressed, for those of you who’ve been asking, because Princess Mia in the Vietnamese edition of Princess in Love is depicted as a fairy (or faerie as many people have taken to spelling it) on the cover.

I know she is shown with wings on that edition, but I can assure you that Princess Mia does not go to live with fairy folk in any version of the books, Vietnamese or otherwise.

Although Michael does look kind of hot on the back cover….

It’s true it’s the day before taxes are due here in the US, a day when anyone might naturally be depressed. When you’re self-employed, the government doesn’t take the taxes out of any of your paychecks, so you have to write the IRS a personal check yourself.

And that’s always much more painful than having the money taken out a little bit at a time…especially when you don’t happen to approve of many of the things the government is doing with the money you send them.

Although I do approve of our tax dollars being spent on this, obviously. I think it was the right thing for those girls to be removed from that compound. Honestly I don’t think they should be returned until their mothers can prove they aren’t going to put their daughters in danger of being married to any more fifty year pedophile polygamists. Ick. Can you imagine?

Oh, and I’m really mad at Dr. Phil. These girls have shown no remorse for beating their victim (though they are very sorry they were caught), and while it’s true they’re the victims of bad parenting themselves (their parents seem to think the Internet is to blame for their actions), surely they knew six against one was wrong. Dr. Phil, since it’s pretty certain these girls won’t do any jail time for what they did, I want YOU to serve in their place. Seriously, why isn’t he doing a show to help VICTIMS of this kind of thing? Why aren’t his producers giving HER money? Hate.

And then some UK readers wrote in to tell me that the Season Two BBC America version of Robin Hood has a horrible ending. I won’t tell you what they said but if you want to know you can read about it here (there is some hope, but at this point it all seems to be conjecture).

But wait: THERE ARE SOME HAPPY THINGS GOING ON, TOO, I PROMISE. Such as:

Badass feminist fantasy writer Justine Larbalestier got a new author photo that is to die for, and I am SO JEALOUS of her handmade (and self-designed boots) that show her family crest. I WANT THESE (I wish I had a family crest but Cabot, alas, means mutt, and a scruffy dog would hardly look the same on a pair of boots as a crossbow. And Cabot is pronounced, for those who keep asking, to rhyme with rabbit).

And there’s a new installment of Alexander McCall Smith’s Precious Ramotswe’s books due out tomorrow, just in time for tax day!

I truly adore these books. They transport you to another world, a world where bad things happen, but, just like in the real world (I believe) something a little bit sweet always happens to counteract the bad–you just have to know where to look. They’ve made a TV show of the first book in this series (the first episode already aired in the UK—I hope you all liked it!), and my friend Beth and I can’t WAIT to see it here in the US.

The sad thing is, the director died, and we’re worried there won’t be anymore (it was supposed to be a series). Check out the cast:

Look how fantastic they look! EXACTLY (except maybe a LITTLE younger) how I pictured them. For more on the TV series, click here.

Anyway, I’ll tell you what’s depressing me, if you really want to know. My blood tests have started coming back from all the doctors I saw during my “rest cure.”

The phone rang last Friday night during an episode of What Not To Wear. He Who Shall Not Be Named In This Blog was making a big pot of my favorite pasta, Spaghetti Due (pasta, olive oil, garlic, and hot pepper flakes). After I hung up from speaking to the doctor, I was so upset at first, I couldn’t even tell HWSNBNITB what the endocrinologist had said. I just sat there, watching Stacy and Clinton.

“What’s the matter?” HWSNBNITB kept asking from the kitchen.

“Nothing,” I said. “Are we having garlic bread with that?”

“Yes. Who was that on the phone?”

Me: “No one. Just the doctor. That pasta smells good.”

HWSNBNITB: “What did he say?”

Me: “Nothing. I just have this weird thing. It’s giving me thyroid disease. Hashimoto’s Thyroidosis. I have a tiny goiter. But a pill will clear it up. Well, the thyroid disease, anyway. Let’s eat now.”

HWSNBNITB: “What’s the weird thing that’s giving you thyroid disease, though?”

Me: “Oh, nothing. Just some weird thing called celiac disease where I’m not supposed to eat wheat anymore because my numbers are through the stratosphere and I could get diabetes or cancer and die if I don’t go gluten-free right away. That smells good! Let’s eat! I’m starved!”

HWSNBNITB (looking astonished): “There’s wheat in pasta. It’s made from flour. Also in garlic bread. There’s wheat in everything you eat. You’re a…a…wheat-a-holic!”

Me: “I’ll start my wheat-free diet tomorrow. I swear! Just let me have wheat one last night! JUST ONE LAST NIGHT!”

That’s when he tossed the pasta down the garbage disposal. Along with the garlic bread. We had to just have salad for dinner, the only non-wheat thing in the house.

Yes. It turns out I’ve got celiac disease, which means I’m allergic to wheat-gluten.

Which is kind of funny, considering ALL I EAT IS CARBS.

So I’ve had to give up my steady diet of bread, cookies, pasta, bagels, breadsticks dipped in nacho cheese sauce, taquitos, cinnamon toast, pizza (PIZZA), fried chicken, cake, pie, beer, soy sauce (I bet you didn’t know there was wheat in soy sauce did you?), Kit Kat bars, and malted milk balls, and am now only eating healthy meats, fish (YUCK), fruits, vegetables (DOUBLE YUCK), dairy, eggs, and rice.

Yes. I am trying to put a positive spin on it. I know it’s healthier and I’ll feel much better (eventually–the truth is, I HAVE been feeling kind of crappy lately). Plus there are a lot of great websites and cookbooks out there to help people with gluten-free lifestyles.

But I still have lots of questions. Like…HOW DO I ORDER FOOD IN A RESTAURANT? Am I going to have to ask the waiter how everything is prepared? That is going to be excruciating.

But tons of people do it. One out of 133 people in the United States is affected with celiac disease. A simple blood test can tell you if you have it. If you have it, it is likely that a family member does as well. The cause of Celiac Disease, also known as celiac sprue, or gluten sensitive enteropathy (GSE), is unknown.

Many people who have it are asymptomatic (like me–well except for my goiter, which I also never knew I had until the endocrinologist noticed it, and the part where I feel just generally crappy). Undiagnosed, celiac disease can cause longterm medical conditions such as diabetes, GI cancers, liver diseases, osteoporosis, anemia, and as we already know…thyroid disease. People who were totally fine with wheat all their life can become allergic to it after childbirth (this happened my friend Mellie when she had her twins) or a traumatic event such as an injury or major surgery (such as removal of an ovary).

So, this is all Lefty’s fault.

ALL YOU HAVE TO DO TO GET BETTER IS STOP EATING WHEAT, RYE, AND BARLEY…forever.

Which is easier said than done because let me tell you, that stuff is hidden everywhere.

Anyway, He Who Shall Not Be Named In This Blog is looking forward to the challenge of cooking gluten-free. He has already made me throw out my secret stash of Oreos and all the Biscoff cookies I ordered from Airplane Road. I have consumed a whole pint of vanilla Swiss almond Haagen Daz in in retaliation, so losing weight won’t be a problem.

And this will not turn into a blog about being gluten-free, I promise. There are already plenty of those out there, so I will leave that to the experts.

Although I am looking forward to planning my next birthday party at the American Girl store, which offers a gluten-free birthday menu.

Okay, maybe I’m not so depressed anymore. Thanks for reading.

More later.

Much love,

Meg

I’m finally home from my medical odyssey and of course I was greeted by my psychotic cat Henrietta who has slight senile dementia and didn’t remember me (I was only gone a week) and tried to attack me until I explained I was her Two Legs and she finally calmed down.

Anyway, regarding the mail, a lot of you seem to wish I would come up with a better term for chick lit, which many of you seem to think is sexist. I have a number of thoughts about this, foremost of which is I don’t see why I should have to be the one to come up with a new name for my genre, since I’m far too busy writing new Heather Wells books for it. As my hairstylist Les says when I complain about how I hate blow-drying my hair, “Do I have to do everything in this relationship?”

Secondly, I don’t see what’s sexist about calling books written for women by women about women “chick lit,” especially if the people calling them that are the woman who wrote the books in the first place. Some people say “chick” is a derogatory word for female, and maybe it used to be during the days when The Mod Squad was a hit show and I wanted a pair of go go boots like Peggy Lipton’s (and a pony) more than anything in the whole entire world.

Honestly, though, I think we’ve reclaimed the term “chick” and made it cool. I think being called “chick lit” separates the books I write nicely from “women’s fiction” (generally weepy, though with a hopeful ending, veering dangerously close to being turned into a Hallmark Channel Hall of Fame Special) and “romance” (emphasis on the relationship, not so much on the main character’s career goals and self-deprecating sense of humor).

Some readers worry that the term “chick lit” keeps readers who might otherwise read the books from picking them up. Honestly, this doesn’t worry me at all.

Because if there really are readers out there who are so snobby that they would let the name of a genre (or the image depicted on the cover) keep them from reading certain books, that’s their problem, not mine. I know, I too have heard them going, “I’m not going to read some book about women and shoes.”

Oh, really? So you’re not going to read Blue Shoes and Happiness by Alexander McCall Smith, one of the best books I’ve ever read, in which a woman not only obsesses over but talks directly to her shoes (and they talk back)?

Well, that’s your loss. Sorry, and see ya.

Because of course, that’s not what the book is really about. Just like no chick lit book is really ever about shoes, either, despite what the cover might lead you to believe.

But you can’t argue with people who have weird literary hang ups, anymore than you can argue with people who have weird food hang ups. See, readers who won’t pick books up because of the name of the genre are like people who refuse to try certain foods because they think they won’t like them. They’ve never actually tasted them. You know how wrong these people are, but they’re convinced they’re right, and no amount of arguing is ever going to convince them they’re wrong.

So my theory is: Why bother? That just leaves more delicious culinary treats for the rest of us.

Anyway, here are a couple new entries into the chick lit lexicon, out now:

Audrey, Wait is a great book that I couldn’t put down during a flight. I’m betting you’ll love it as much as I did. Audrey’s dating a high school slacker, and when she dumps him he shows an uncharacteristic burst of energy (or B.O.E. as I like to call it), and writes a song about her that is soon racing up the charts.

Now everyone in the whole country knows SHE’s the Audrey in the song, and she can’t even go to her dorky job in the mall ice cream parlor (with the equally dorky co-worker she might be crushing on) without church groups stopping by to stare at her through the window. This book cracked me up because Audrey is so sarcastic (and, having dated my fair share of them, her slacker boyfriend was very realistically depicted). I hope we’ll be hearing a lot more from Robin Benway.

Meanwhile, one of my favorite YA authors, Catherine Clark, also has a new book out—Wish You Were Here.

I devoured this one in one sitting, too, and it’s as laugh-out-loud funny and yet sweet as all of Cathy’s other books (I got to see Cathy when I was in Minnesota—I know, don’t be jealous–and she was as hilarious as always). Here’s a review by Little Willow and another by The Compulsive Reader that should give you all the details. Wish You Were Here, like everything Catherine Clark writes, is a definite keeper. Don’t miss it.

Someone said I Was Told There’d Be Cake by Sloane Crosley isn’t chick lit. It’s a collection of essays by a 29 year old publicist who locks herself out of her apartment a lot. Also someone said she wouldn’t appreciate being called a chick lit writer, which I don’t believe. She wants cake. So do I. Therefore, she won’t mind.

Anyway, it took a while for me to get into, but it’s pretty funny, especially the essay about how she got the name Sloane (no, not from the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, she’s 29, not 22).

In book news, Jinx, Pants on Fire, and my short story The Exterminator’s Daughter from Prom Nights from Hell have all been named Books of the Teen Age for 2008 by The New York Public Library. This is an annual list of books for teenagers compiled by Young Adult librarians. This is so great, and I’m so honored!

Meanwhile, Queen of Babble in the Big City

and Tommy Sullivan Is a Freak came out in the UK recently (this is the British version of Pants on Fire, only the UK kept my original title, which my US publisher felt was too long. Check out megcabot.co.uk for a chance to win a free iPod).

They have really outdone themselves with the TSIAF cover, let me tell you. The printed cover band is in red velvet flock. I just like to fondle it.

I love this cover so much, I’m going to give some copies of it away (along with copies of the UK and US versions of How to be Popular, both of which are out in paperback now, as well as some copies of She Went All The Way.

I would give copies of the UK version of Queen of Babble in the Big City away as well, but they haven’t arrived yet. I only have the French version. However, if you want a copy of Miss Le Gaffe a la Grande Ville, you are welcome to one).

***Edited to add: I am now officially out of all copies of all these books! The contest is over. But thank you for entering! You will now either find a book in your mailbox in a few weeks (entries will arrive via media mail) or not. Sorry we cannot notify all of you whether or not to expect a book, but this is not possible due to the fact that we are not that organized, being writers.***

I’m exhausted from learning how to make new windows pop up from links. It literally almost killed me.

I have to go find some cake and eat it. Good bye and good luck with the contest!

More later.

Much love,

Meg

First of all, let’s just get the latest rumor out of the way: Miley Cyrus is not starring in a Disney-made movie version of my book All American Girl.

I don’t know how this one got started, but I’ve checked with all my sources. And I still own the film rights to this book, and no one from Disney has called me about the purchase of those rights.

Rumor Control: Miley isn’t Sam. But these are the new redesigned covers of All American Girl and Ready or not, out now!

In other news, my friend Beth saw John Krasinski of The Office walking down the street. She says he was tall and smiling.

Life is so unfair. The closest I have gotten to John Krasinski is Mindy (aka Kelly Kapoor) Kaling’s blog.

Meanwhile, the new MTV reality series about a high school newspaper staff, The Paper, looks so good (premieres after The Hills April 14).

And there’s a second season of Robin Hood beginning April 26 on BBC America!

And there is still no news on the Seventeen fiction contest. I have gotten no entries to judge yet. Sorry!

A lot of you have asked me to comment on the Sweet Valley High controversy. In a nutshell, this series is being started up again, only now the twins are size 0 instead of size 6s like they were the first time around. My take on this issue is that it’s a non-issue. I weigh more now than I did in high school, but when I go clothes shopping, I can be anywhere from three to four sizes smaller than I was back then.

So the twins haven’t necessarily shrunk. They are just victims of vanity sizing, like everyone else!

The truth is, I tried to get into Sweet Valley the first time around and couldn’t. I know! Scandalous! As far as my “book series not really written by the author” choice was concerned, I was more of a Boyfriends/Girlfriends (republished as Making Out) series by Katherine Applegate kind-of-girl (I heard a rumor that Nina and Ben weren’t really supposed to have had sex. One of the ghost writers snuck that in even though it wasn’t in the story bible. I don’t know if this is really true but either way, I. LOVE. IT)

I’ve been away from my desk (er, bed) on a rest cure, seeing doctors about one of my laparoscopy scars which still has a hard painful lump in it. I’ve received many varying diagnoses, meaning no one knows what The Lump is (of course if they opened me up they could tell, but that would be too easy. For them). Almost all of the doctors agree on one thing though: acupuncture as treatment for the pain.

I know what you’re thinking…ACUPUNCTURE?????

Letting someone stick needles in you (even ever so gently) is definitely something that takes guts, especially given that my brothers and I used to stick each other with all sorts of things on purpose all the time in order to torture one another back when we were kids. So I know perfectly well what this feels like.

This just made me even more reluctant to pick up the phone and schedule my appointment. I only just got around to scheduling my baseline mammogram, a year and half late (and yes the rumors ARE true: they do squeeze your boobs as hard as they can between two plastic trays—although it’s over pretty quickly it turns out. And mine was negative, thank God, though they also had to ultrasound me, so I kind of wondered what the point of all that squeezing was).

I would like to say acupuncture worked right away, but it didn’t, it takes a lot of sessions, I’m told. Hopefully it will work eventually. Until then I’m hanging onto my painkillers…also my mint Milanos and all my DVR’d episodes of The Real Housewives of New York City and my Ace Bandage hot patches.

Although I did feel very Zen-y afterwards and craved Doritos and Letterman and kept wondering if I should just blow off my Intro to Soc class….

Wait…what were we talking about?

Something I like to do after acupuncture is go to Bree Sharp’s Myspace and play the songs Counting Back to 1 and Robots in Love. I suggest you go there too. Why? Because Bree is awesome (you might remember Bree from her hit song, David Duchovny, Why Won’t You Love Me?) When will Bree’s new album come out? I don’t know, but I can’t wait.

I notice Maureen Johnson’s new book Suite Scarlett is out (also, her site has been redesigned). I read this book and it’s super sweet (excuse the pun).

So get yourself a copy of Suite Scarlett now!

Finally, author Jen Weiner posted an interview on her blog, A Moment of Jen, in which she addresses the question all us women fiction writers get asked ENDLESSLY, which is “How do you feel about the term ‘chick lit’?”

Jennifer gives a lovely well-balanced response (as opposed to me, who usually says something like, “Whatever. People who have a problem with it are usually other authors who don’t write it, and no one is reading their books because they’re so gloomy and boring and don’t have fun scenes with girls spying on their boyfriends and doing pretend kung fu moves in the dark like in Megan Crane’s English as a Second Language.”):

Jen Weiner: There was an interview with another writer that I read where she said that she was dismayed by having her work called chick lit when she realized that it’s absolutely never meant as a compliment. I think that’s the problem writers can have with it – the label, even the word “chick” comes with the built-in assumption that you’ve written something frothy at best and stupid, or even dangerous, at worst (yes, my work has been called harmful to America, a comment which, I have to confess, delighted me. There’s nothing like feeling that you’re powerful enough to be a menace to your country when you’re tooling around in your minivan on your way to pick up baby wipes at Target).

The good news is, no matter how the publishers and booksellers label the books, and what the critics say (that’s if they bother to say anything at all), readers know what they’re getting with quote-unquote chick lit. They know they’ll laugh, they know they’ll identify with the heroine and her dilemmas, they know her voice will be familiar and that her story will end well. And if that’s what chick lit is, I don’t think it’s so terrible, or so dangerous.

Right on, Jen! I would only add that, in addition, there’s the added bonus of not being gloomy and boring, having kung fun moves, etc.

Maureen Dowd mentioned in her tirade against chick lit in the NY Times that we should all read The Red Badge of Courage instead. But, Maureen, I read that in the 9th grade. And besides, it didn’t even have any girls in it, that I recall. Can’t we read some funny new books? And can’t they be written by women, for women, and be about balancing romance and families and careers? And the fact that the heroines can’t stop eating Nutter Butters and feel guilty about not recycling as much as they know they should?

Is that so wrong? Or dangerous?

Meanwhile—call me, Miley! We’ll do lunch and talk!

More later.

Much love,

Meg

Get ready! Jinx is coming to your TV screen.

Karen Glass, one of the producers behind The Princess Diaries and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (and sister to This American Life’s Ira Glass) has optioned Jinx for a TV movie for ABC Family.

No word on casting yet, but the script is underway, so I’ll try to keep all you red-headed, spiral-curled aspiring actresses in the know.

In other news, Allie Finkle is in Time Magazine for Kids! Did you even know there was a Time Magazine for Kids? Well there is! And Allie is in it! Allie is the budding activist everybody loves.

Meanwhile, He Who Shall Not Be Not In This Blog and I are on a secret 15th year anniversary get-away. I can’t tell you where we are because…it’s secret! It’s not where I’d like to be (Tahiti…I’ve never been there. I wish I had thought of it before this minute), but it’s okay, I guess. At least it’s not raining (right now)!

For our fancy anniversary dinner, we got very dressed up…then I realized I’d brought the wrong shoes (the ones that brutally stab me in the back of the heel every time I walk). So I felt awful. Then the waiter was snobby to us and the food which was supposed to be three star or whatever tasted like it came from Long John Silver’s which used to be my brother Sergeant Friendly’s favorite restaurant when he was five.

But it was OK because we still have each other and afterwards we came back and took off our bad clothes and watched TV and ate a Toblerone bar we found that had expired in 2004 (note to self: 4 year old Toblerone bars are not that good).

I would probably have been more outraged by my bad food experience if I hadn’t been stricken by a stomach bug this past weekend, so really even bad food tasted OK. I was incapable of doing anything for three days but tracking how many other people in the country had the same thing on WhoIsSick.org (thanks to a reader for sending me this invaluable link) and watching old episodes of How I Met Your Mother (I now love this show. For one thing, when I got married, I had the debt of a small nation, like the girl who played Willow, so I can really relate to her. It was so mean of those credit card companies to keep giving me more and more credit, the more I spent. Although now I realize…that is how they suck you in).

And secondly, well…who doesn’t love Neil Patrick Harris?

The other show I could not stop watching was The Real Housewives of New York City. This is one of those shows that is supposed to make you feel better about yourself because most of the women on it are so pushy and awful (does a three year old need French lessons? Would you walk out if you were put in the second row of a fashion show?).

Mostly it made me ask myself…why would these women agree to be on this show? They had to have known how negatively they’d be portrayed. These are smart women—women who, if they used their minds for good instead of scheduling town cars and tennis matches, might be able to help Allie save the polar bears. Come on, Housewives!

These women reminded me a little bit of the mom in this book, Pretty Face, out now by Mary Hogan:

This is a great book by the author of The Serious Kiss, which I also really enjoyed.

Hayley wishes she could love living in Santa Monica, blocks from the beach, where every day—and everybody—is beautiful and sunny. But she just doesn’t fit in with all the blond, superskinny Southern California girls who have their plastic surgeons on speed dial. Hayley is smart and witty and has such a pretty . . . face. Translation: Don’t even think about putting on a bikini, much less dating superhot Drew Wyler. A bikini will never be flattering, and Drew will never think of her as more than a friend.

Just when Hayley feels doomed to live her life in the fat lane, her parents decide to send her to Italy for the summer—not for school, not for fat camp, just for fun. It’s there, under the Italian sun, that Hayley’s vision of herself starts to change. She’s curvy, not fat. Pizza isn’t evil. And life is so much more than one-size-fits-all. Who knows? Once Hayley sees herself in a new light, maybe the girl with the pretty face will finally find true amore.

It really is true how when you stop dieting, you lose weight! When I stopped drinking diet soda and just ate what I wanted (but not to excess), I lost ten pounds. TEN POUNDS!!! Just by not dieting.

(I didn’t give up TaB for weight loss purposes of course, but because of my migraines (which I still get all the time, FYI). But that’s what happened.)

Anyway, I loved Pretty Face, not because it’s about an effective weight loss plan (although not worrying about your weight and just being healthy IS an effective weight loss plan–you don’t have to go to Italy to do it!), but because it’s a sweet book!

Finally, in a galaxy far, far away: Carrie Fisher sings to Han Solo and some Ewoks friends. This is why so many actors and actresses become drug addicts, FYI. Because directors make them do stuff like this.

More later.

Much love,

Meg

I’m on Jezebel!

I never thought it would happen, but I’m on one of my favorite fashion/gossip/feminism (and also, on Fridays, YA lit) sites, Jezebel.

I guess I’m not the only one feeling a lot of John Hughes nostalgia these days.

The fuss is all about this:

Although truthfully my favorite John Hughes movie was Some Kind of Wonderful. Why do you think my main character’s last name in my upcoming May release, Airhead, is Em “You break his heart, I break your face” Watts?

(I would like to mention that no dolls were harmed in the filming of this video, and that after filming, all dolls–many were auditioned. Strawberry Shortcake and GI Joe did not make the cut–were donated to the local Salvation Army thrift shop, where I hope they were adopted by children who will love them.)

Anyway, I had a fantastic time at both my events in Minnesota this week. The signing at the Ridgedale Library could not have gone better—thanks to everyone there for planning such a special event…and to everyone who attended. I do feel like I owe an apology for the “baldie” remark…I actually think bald men are really sexy. Case in point, Bruce Willis:

Hot stuff! It’s actually hard to find a picture of Bruce on the Internet in which he is not covered in fake blood, just FYI.

I feel like I also owe a special thank you for the huge show of support from the librarians at the PLA event, especially when I let them in on my little secret—the true plot of Airhead.

You see, I normally don’t share the plots of my books in advance with my husband, because 46 year old men aren’t necessarily my target demographic.

But for some reason I did tell He Who Shall Not Be Named In This Blog what’s really going on in Airhead (hint: it is not “magic” as a lot of people seem to believe).

And when I did, he just shook his head and said, “Meg Cabot, this time you’ve gone too far.”

!!!!!

Image of a star going supernova, ejecting most of its mass, which if you ask me is really going too far.

This is really not what you want to hear when you’re in the tender planning stage of a book. This is not what you want to hear at all! In fact if I recall correctly, I didn’t speak to him for about five whole hours after that.

But when I told the librarians at the PLA event this story, and what the plot of Airhead really is (right: Your local librarian might just know the truth that no one else does–except of those of you who won ARCs…and, I’m sorry, but those of you who won, you’re just going to receive copies in the mail, there will be no advance warning!), the response was nothing but laughter and applause.

This is just more evidence that sometimes you’re better off not discussing your work-in-progress with those you love most dearly. I truly believe opposites DO attract, and that for a romantic relationship to last, sometimes it’s better to lead semi-separate lives. Otherwise, things can get too same-old/same-old, and the spark dies. Sure, you have to have SOME things in common. But not EVERYTHING.

Case in point: He Who Shall Not Be Named In This Blog would not be caught dead discussing the finer points of Britney Spears’s mental health with me (a subject I hold very dear to my heart). Just like I would not be caught dead discussing who should be the next coach of the Indiana University basketball team. This type of conversation causes my eyes to glaze over and my fingers to stray towards the remote control.

–Speaking of which…Jericho! Cancelled! But hopefully some other network (SciFi…hello?) will pick it up.

R.I.P., Jericho

He Who Shall Not Be Named In This Blog does not watch Jericho. But then, I do not watch his favorite show, How I Met Your Mother. But since Britney was on it this week, I’m going to sneak a peek at his DVR list.

But since we’re coming up on our 15 year wedding anniversary on Tuesday, April 1, we’re apparently doing something right.

And he recently conceded, after having watched the above video featuring Raspberry Torte and myself, that perhaps it isn’t possible to go too far, after all, in the name of art…Long Duk Dong not withstanding.

More later.

Much love,

Meg

I am writing this from Minnesota where I just gave a speech to like 400 fantastic, enthusiastic, hilarious librarians. Go librarians!!! If you haven’t done so already, hug your librarian today.

I’m giving another speech tonight at the Hennepin County Library in Minnetonka. It is true what they say about Minnesota…cold country–but very warm hearts!

But for those of you who can’t make it, I have a new video blog up and it involves me playing with dolls again. You can see it here.

And here’s a fantastic interview by TeenBookReview.com!

Thanks for your requests for AIRHEAD advanced reader copies!

At this time we’re out of ARCs. The rest of you? You’re just going to have to wait for the real thing (I promise it will be worth it)!

In the meantime, I hope you’ve all snagged a copy of E. Lockhart’s The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks. I haven’t gotten a chance to read this yet, but Little Willow’s review made me want to so badly! Hopefully I’ll be able to snag a copy for the plane ride home.

In other news, a recent study by Emory University showed that people who have gum disease have a mortality rate 23-46 percent higher than those who don’t.

So floss if you want to live.

Also, one third of people aged 100 or older watch reality television. One quarter of them watch MTV or music videos, and some even surf the web and use an iPod. What does this prove?

The key to a long life (besides flossing), according to research, is staying interested in popular culture and current events–as well as maintaining an active and healthy lifestyle.

So the next time someone rags on you for watching (or reading) “trash,” tell them it’s been scientifically proven to help you live longer!

Speaking of which, my favorite reality shows at the moment are What Not to Wear, Say Yes To The Dress, Bulging Brides, Intervention, The Hills (yes…they finally got to me….Paris was so fun! But I hate that Spencer, oh my God), and whatever else is on that doesn’t involve Simon Cowell and bug eating.

OK, gotta go put on my fancy clothes. See you at the signing!

More later.

Much love,

Meg

PS I totally saw creping of my neck in the mirror in the airplane bathroom. The horror. The horror.

So, guess what? If you’d like a FREE, ADVANCED READER COPY of my new May release, AIRHEAD, all you have to do is email your name and home mailing address to thisispoint@scholastic.com, and you’ll be eligible to win!

It’s first come, first serve, but there are 200 copies to give away! Quite good odds, if you ask me.

Because it’s Point, Scholastic’s teen division, sending the ARCs out, not me, I really can’t tell you how long it’s going to take for you to receive your copy…or even if you’ll get a confirmation email telling you if you’ve won, or anything like that.

But is this a deal you really want to pass up? I mean, it’s free (an uncorrected proof, so there are mistakes in it and stuff…Sorry)! But if that still interests you, hurry up and enter!

Psst…if you are a LIBRARIAN, BOOKSELLER, or BOOK REVIEWER, and you’d like a copy of AIRHEAD, email your name and mailing address (and the address of your library, bookstore, newspaper, magazine, or the blog you own/at which you work) to Meg (meg@megcabot.com). Scholastic has reserved a limited number of copies for you. I know! Sneaky!

What is Airhead about? Well, I can’t really tell you without giving away the plot–and I’d love it if readers and reviewers who get sneak peeks could not ruin it for their friends/fellow readers as well! I can tell you it’s a mystery/sci-fi/romance/comi-drama.

I really hope both new and old Meg Cabot readers are going to enjoy it.

So I’m going to be a bit busy in the coming week and won’t have much time for blogging. I’m going to Minnesota for the 2008 Public Library Association Conference, where I’ll be speaking (and signing books) at the preconference lunch on Tuesday. I hope people will stop by and say hi, or I’ll feel pretty lonely!

Then Tuesday night I’ll be speaking and signing at the Hennepin County Library in Minnetonka. Click on the links for more information. Hope to see you there!

(Yes, I’m having a clothing crisis. I am currently wearing shorts and flip flops. I am not mentally prepared at the moment for coats and closed-toe shoes. But hopefully I will be by Monday when my flight leaves.)

Honestly I have to start packing (not to mention working on Airhead 2–and no that isn’t the title), but I did want to thank Iriel for the fan art of Princess Mia:

I absolutely adore it.

I’m torn about which I want as my screensaver, the one above or this portrait from the divorce proceedings of Paul McCartney and Heather Mills, where she dumps the glass of water over Sir Paul’s lawyer’s head:

This one does have a certain piquant style to it. I think it would look very nice in my bathroom.

But I think overall I prefer the one of Mia. I do get a bit tired of people confusing my heroine’s name, Heather Wells, with that of Paul’s ex, Heather Mills, which seems to happen a LOT. One, as reported by Trashionista’s Helen Redfern, is likable and fun. The other is…well, a bit rude!

Anyway, I’ve spent this past week writing about one of MY favorite heroines (by someone else)–Gilly Ramsey, the heroine of Thornyhold, by the author Mary Stewart.

In case you don’t know, Mary Stewart is one of my favorite romantic suspense writers. Actually one of my favorite writers, period. Her books are so compulsively readable!

So you can imagine what I said when the publisher who is reprinting her books in these beautiful trade editions asked me to write a foreword to her witchiest book, Thornyhold.

I said, “YEEEEEEESSSSSS!!!!!!!!! OH MY GOD YES!”

But then I realized Mary Stewart herself is probably going to read my foreword. So I had to make it really good. Not like I wasn’t going to do a good job on it before, but…it had to be really, really good. I got so nervous. I’m FREAKING! I worked on it for days.

Anyway, I just turned it in. Now I have to wait to see what they (meaning the publisher, and who knows, maybe even Mary Stewart) says.

I basically want to barf.

I could really, really use a Spring Break now. Which I guess I’m sort of getting. In Minnesota!

See you there (hopefully).

More later.

Much love,

Meg

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I am especially qualified to wish this to you, being half Irish. Well, at least a quarter.

Erin go bragh!

This weekend was very hard on everyone. Clearly, if you don’t know what I’m talking about, then you must not own a TV, or if you do, you probably didn’t turn it on.

Obviously, I am speaking of sports. There is a lot of sports on in the US right now, specifically basketball, specifically college basketball. In addition to being one quarter Irish, I am also fully Hoosier, and so is He Who Shall Not Be Named In This Blog, and Indiana’s stunning loss at the buzzer in the Big Ten Championship Friday night left him feeling so hurt and confused.

I told him I knew exactly how he felt. It was like the time I tried to order these fantastic shoes in gold from Michael Kors

and they were temporarily out of my size (but they’re in stock now and I finally got them and they’re so comfy and only $98 as opposed to $600 for crazy Jimmy Choos or whatever and whenever I wear them someone goes, “Where did you get those shoes?” and I go “Here”)!

But HWSNBITB said it actually wasn’t like that at all and even went so far as to tell me gold shoes do not solve everything (???!!!!WHAT?????!!!!)

So then I said it was like the time on this blog when I said how much I liked the show Lipstick Jungle but then last week’s episode was so incredibly stupid. A JK Rowling prequel? Andrew McCarthy buying a fashion designer a closetful of clothes without asking her opinion on them first? Who is she, Belle?

I can’t imagine she’d really like that. Also, realistically, what are the chances he’d get it right, even with the assistant’s help? Once HWSNBNITB bought me a sweater set from Brooks Brothers. Sweater set! From Brooks Brothers! HA HA HA!

Where was I? Oh, and Suddenly Susan pulling out the mommy card? No. Just no.

I’m so sorry I ever said I liked this show. It is a travesty that Jericho (and, many readers would like me to point out, The Bionic Woman) is on the brink of cancellation, when Lipstick Jungle is still doing well in the ratings. Of course I will still watch it, but only for the clothes.

To which I would also like to add, what happened to House? That show used to be good. But when he squirted that little girl with milk from her adopted mom’s tumor on the alleged Christmas episode, I was done.

The Hoosiers losing at the buzzer in an extremely bizarre play that was a pretty good example of “the harder I work, the luckier I am” (i.e. that kid must have practiced that shot a million times, it wasn’t a lucky shot…thanks to Sarah Dessen for the term, btw) is just like Lipstick Jungle sucking now. Right?

Except HWSNBNITB says it is not, that it’s nothing like that at all.

So then I said maybe it’s like this Allie Finkle article in the Detroit Free Press, which is extremely cute, but in which I accidentally confess how I really feel about ketchup.

And he said, no, it isn’t like that at all and would I please go away.

So then I showed him this, which is guaranteed to cheer up even the saddest person:

Friendly dolphin! Saving whales!

Fortunately Slutty-McSlut-A-Lot chose that moment to get into a fight with Herbie, the cat from next door, and Slutty succeeded in chasing Herbie off our property. So HWSNBITB cheered up quite a bit after that with no help from me, praising Slutty and giving her treats and trying to wash her dirty, dirty face, much to her annoyance.

So everything is back to normal around here (Henrietta even threw up to celebrate).

Don’t you feel better now? No?

Okay, well, maybe this will make you feel better. Scholastic is giving away TWO HUNDRED advanced reader copies of my new book, AIRHEAD. Yes, you read that right—TWO HUNDRED.

What will you need to do in order to win? Stay tuned to this blog for details, coming as soon as I find out what they are.

More later.

Much love,

Meg

Quick update: It’s official….There will be two more Heather Wells books!

No titles to announce yet for the new books. The books themselves won’t be out until next year.

The fourth one will take up soon after Big Boned (Size Doesn’t Matter in the UK) left off. It will probably take place over summer break and be about Tania Trace Rock Camp. The fifth one will be about Heather and Cooper’s you-know-what and take place the following fall.

In Allie Finkle news, check out this fun KidsReads review…

…and there’s now a She Went All The Way sneak peek!

Meanwhile, over at Maureen Johnson’s and Justine Larbalestiers’s fantastic blogs, they’re talking about publishing, and also luck. To which I would like to add that I’ve always thought luck = 95% preparation + 5% opportunity (according to a SWAT team sharp shooter. But if you think about it, it applies as much to getting published as as it does to blowing off a hostage taker’s head).

I would also add, when luck strikes, take advantage of it by being professional. Don’t act like a prima donna. There are tons of other talented writers who aren’t in your place solely for the reason that their opportunity just hasn’t come along yet. But it will.

And yes, I know I made a big grammatical gaffe in my last blog entry. I make them every time I post (I did say I didn’t take any English classes in college, remember?). This blog isn’t copy edited–I write how I talk, and I’m a Hoosier! Here is another Meg Cabot-ism for you: “There is no instrument known to man small enough to measure how little I care.” I say this every time He Who Shall Not Be Named In This Blog starts telling me about Hoosier basketball, with which he is as obsessed as Sarah Dessen is with NC basketball this time of year (it’s sort of cute. I just hope IU and NC don’t have to play each other).

Meanwhile, in cool librarian news…YALSA has posted some awesome new categories for their 2009 Booklists and Awards, and now it’s easier than ever to find something for even the pickiest young readers in your life! (Plus, you can nominate your own!)

Speaking of which, Alanna! On Jezebel!

Awesome!

If there’s a picky young reader in your life, s/he is probably reading something called Warrior Cats. I had no idea what these books were until a kindly person explained that they’re about these rival tribes of cats. In my mind, the tribes all gather nightly in someone’s backyard to fight (please don’t correct me if I’m wrong because I so WANT the books to be about this).

I can just see Gem being all:

“The Two Legs are approaching. They possess the milk…I must gather my clan to attack to get the milk….”

I’ve decided Henrietta belongs to the Barf in the Bathroom in the Middle of the Night Clan. They are known for their beauty and digestive problems.

(Thanks to your informative emails, Gem is getting a little bit of cream in small doses since she has no such stomach troubles. Gem is in the Lurks in the Bushes Fearful of Rain Clan, known for being brave yet almost fatally dumb.)

Anyway, what I do know about this series is, if you go to YouTube, you can see many tribute videos kids have made to these books. Seriously, they make me practically pee myself with joy, they’re so great. I mean, they are made by kids, so how can they not be?

Homemade Warrior Cat Youtube videos are my anti-drug. Live long, Brambleclaw!

Also, check out this great article on the Women of Comedy from Vanity Fair….I love that we have so many hilarious comediennes to light up our TVs and big screens these days. I adore Amy Sedaris and Chelsea Handler (He Who Shall Not Be Named In This Blog asked me the other night if she was Daniel Handler’s wife. I said: “Yes. Yes, she is,” and he totally believed me. Lying to my spouse about celebrities is my other anti-drug) and Amy Poehler and Kristin Wiig and Maya Rudolph and Wanda Sykes and oh, just all those funny ladies.

I do miss Gilda Radner though. She taught us how to Talk Dirty To The Animals (this video clip not safe for work or children)!

Just don’t Talk Dirty to the WARRIOR CATS!!!

I leave you with this:



More later.

Much love,

Meg

I know this is supposed to be a journal about my most private thoughts but it’s not really, because if it were no one would speak to me ever again, especially vis-à-vis my views re: baby showers, which match this girl’s completely–minus the sports part (I can’t even get my cell phone to show me my emails, let alone sports highlights).

Anyway, it was a thrilling weekend here at Chez Cabot, we spent a lot of time playing “Where’s Gem?” because every time there’s a thunderstorm my husband’s incredibly stupid cat chooses to cling to whatever piece of deck furniture she is sitting on instead of using her cat door to come inside, because she is so transfixed with fear of water falling from the sky (she will, however, use her cat door to come inside every time she senses anyone is about to use half-n-half in their coffee. So go figure).

Sometimes she drools when she sleeps.

So at four in the morning in a hailstorm with blinding lightning crashing all around, both myself and He Who Shall Not Be Named In This Blog were staggering around the backyard going, “Here kitty kitty,” only to find her clinging soaking wet to a lounge chair. Not even UNDER the lounge chair. That’s how dumb she is. But we love her.

But get this: if I open the refrigerator to take out milk for my Cheerios, she goes, “Ah-ah?” Like, she KNOWS what a carton of milk is. This is because some stupid tourists who rented a place down the street once gave her some milk (milk is bad for cats).

Worse, she can tell that the SHORT carton is cream, and when she sees it, she goes MENTAL (“AH-AH! AH-AH!”) It’s really hard not to give her a tiny amount just to shut her up. (And because she’s so darn cute when she talks like a monkey).

Got milk?

Anyway, many thanks to those of you who kept Allie Finkle’s Rules for Girls on the New York Times Bestseller List last week, holding strong at #6! Thanks too to those of you who purchased copies of She Went All the Way, re-released in a fancy new format and also selling strong!

I’ve gotten a lot of mail recently (more than I can ever hope to answer, but Nancy and I are working on it, and one of the things we’re working on is actually really answering it, not just sending a note saying we can’t, although please recognize a response may take several weeks) and one of the questions I get most often is:

What should an aspiring author major in in college?

A lot of people think the answer to this question is obvious (creative writing, journalism, or English), but to me it’s really not. I know a lot of writers, and very few of them majored in these things. I actually know more people who majored in these things who DO NOT write professionally than do. What does that tell you?

What it tells me is that when you’re in college, you should keep your options open and explore lots of things.

(As a side note…that’s why when I hear stuff like that many of the Ivy Leagues are offering free tuition to students from middle income homes—but only if they keep a straight A average—I get so sad. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s great schools are offering free tuition…but why only to super smart kids, who’d probably get scholarships anyway? Creativity can’t be measured by grades, and lots of great middle income kids occasionally get Bs and even *gasp* Fs. And why the caveat that they keep a straight A average? How can students do what they’re supposed to do at that age—try new things and find out who they are—if they don’t have the option to fail? Saying to these kids, “Here’s free tuition…but only take classes you know you can ace. Don’t try anything challenging or new that you might get a C in!” does a disservice to them and to our country.)

But that has nothing to do with what aspiring writers should major in in college. Which is, in my opinion:

A) Something that interests you.

College is a time to explore and try new things (um, unless you might get a bad grade and lose your free scholarship. Then, I guess, don’t risk it). When I started college, I refused to declare a major until I absolutely had to (at Indiana University it used to be that you didn’t have to declare a major until you were a junior. I have no idea if that’s still true). Majors I toyed with: Social work, psychology, medieval studies, African art history, costume design, sociology, and painting.

You’ll notice none of those have to do with writing or English! That’s because when I was sixteen I met an aspiring writer at a college party who was an English major who warned me the English department would suck any love I had for creative writing right out of me.

I was so scared this might happen to me, I never t