Meg's Diary

Catching Up

Days until READY OR NOT is released on July 26: 8

Days until Meg Cabot Day on July 31: 13

Number of bite-sized Milky Ways, purchased as part of Hurricane Dennis survival kit, left in the bag: 27

(I decided that, with all the Harry Potter countdowns over, we needed some new countdowns. The first one, as you can see, is for the sequel to ALL AMERICAN GIRL, which comes out July 26. The second one is for Meg Cabot Day, which if you were reading this blog last year, you know is July 31. The third one is self-explanatory.)

Meg Cabot Day is actually an official day, proclamated by the mayor and everything. Well, okay, it is only an OFFICIAL day in Bloomington, IN, where I was born. But you can celebrate it even if you don't live in Bloomington. I suggest celebrating it by taking a six-pack of Tab to your local beach or pool, along with a really good book (I would never be so crass as to advise taking one of my OWN books—especially since I am assuming you have already read them all. So I would recommend something by Susan Juby, Michele Jaffe, or Jasper Fforde), and reading all day in the sun (wear sunscreen, please), with frequent breaks for dipping.

Sadly, this is not what I will be doing on Meg Cabot Day, due to my many deadlines. I will be unable to travel to Bloomington for the festivities. But if any of you live there, your county councilwoman, Sophia Travis, is planning a Meg Cabot Day benefit to raise money for Girls, Inc, at which a number of signed copies of my books will be raffled off, including some READY OR NOTs. So do try to attend. Check the Herald Times for more info.

I will be thinking of all of you as you celebrate.

Anyway, on to business:

A lot of people have written to ask me to please post my tour dates for READY OR NOT. Well, get ready for THIS: I am not touring for READY OR NOT. I am not touring for any of the books I have coming out in the next year—not for HOLIDAY PRINCESS (due out November 2005), not for SIZE 12 IS NOT FAT (due out January 2006), or AVALON HIGH (ditto), or PRINCESS DIARIES 7, PARTY PRINCESS (March 2006), or even for SWEET SIXTEEN PRINCESS (May 2006).

I know! It is shocking! It used to be that I was on the road every 3 months! Because that's how often I have books coming out! For which I would like to apologize, by the way. I do not mean to monopolize the New Fiction shelves. These are all books I wrote a long time ago, and they are just coming out now. Honestly, it is not because I suffer from hypergraphia, a disorder which causes its sufferers to write all the time. I have checked out this disease, and as far as I know, I don't have it.

I just want to get all the stories that are rattling around in my head down before I forget them. Or die. Whichever comes first.

While I won't be touring anymore this year (or next), I will still be showing up at various book and literacy festivals, like the one in Washington DC in September, where I will even be dining at the White House, if I am still invited after the Bushes read READY OR NOT, which I kind of doubt.

In other news, I heard from a couple people who objected to what they termed my “unfair” description of Bloomington High School South in my last blog entry. I am glad to know some people in my class actually had a good time while they were there.

However, judging from the mail in my inbox, only like 10% of the people who went to BHSS actually enjoyed it (I should probably point out that my own brother is one of those people–but then he was a jock and also has an innate ability to get along with everybody, which is invaluable in his current job as a cop).

I mostly heard from people who agreed with my assessment of the place. One of them actually thanked me (her exact words: “I never wanted to go anyway, but after having you remind me exactly why and how much that school was the pits of hell, I thought, 'I'd rather eat bees than go to that reunion.' And then I actually sat there and thought about what it would be like to eat live bumblebees, one by one, and how I would enjoy it, knowing that I would not have to go to that reunion. I am deadly serious.”)

That said, I heard from several people who went to the reunion that it was a blast, that clique barriers came down (just like at the end of the movie CAN'T BUY ME LOVE) and everyone hung out and had a good time, and that no one got a DUI. Which is all you can ask of any gathering, in my opinion. Carpe diem, BHSS Class of 1985. Carpe diem.

Speaking of high school: Have you been watching Degrassi this season? Ai yi yi. Emma! Girlfriend! What are you thinking? A good rule of thumb is: Don't do anything with a boy unless he's willing to do it to you—then make sure he does it to you first (because sometimes they lie—“Sure, I'll do that.”—and then they totally try to make out like they're late to go home to paint the ceiling. Not that this has ever happened to me. I'm just saying).

Otherwise, like Manny says: What do YOU get out of it? Geez.

Also, condoms, people: CONDOMS (and dental dams, obviously).

And as for Harry Potter 6, SO GOOD, SO MUCH KISSING, which is all I ask from any book. Special note to Ms. Rowling concerning Book 7, though: If Hermione, Ron, or Ginny die in Book 7, you better not plan on coming to any book festivals I will be attending, or you will be introduced to a unique American sensation called the “noogie.”

In Henrietta news, the vet made her switch from regular Pounce to Tartar Control Pounce, and because of this, Henrietta's poops have turned green. He Who Shall Not Be Named In This Blog was alarmed by this and wanted to rush her to the kitty emergency room, but I put “feline poop green” in Google and found many other cat owners who suffered a similar shock after giving their pet Tartar Control Pounce.

We thought about not giving it to her anymore, but it is an excellent behavior modification tool, in that we throw Tartar Control Pounce at her when she is trying to attack us, which is frequently, and it calms right her down.

In other Henrietta news, only one of you sent a letter addressed to HENRIETTA FOR SAM after the HENRIETTA FOR SAM blog. I am happy to tell you that that that reader will be receiving free advanced reader copies of READY OR NOT and SIZE 12 IS NOT FAT in the mail this week, since Henrietta was eager to show her gratitude for the young lady's support. I'm sorry for the rest of you, but if you write to Henrietta now, it won't work, because Henrietta will know it's just a ploy to get free books. She may have green poo, but she is not dumb.

I have to go eat some Milky Ways—I mean, work on my book that was due July 1 now. More later.

Much love,

Meg

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