Swag, Baby. Swag.

So...I just have to give a shout-out to two lovely ladies in the blogosphere. I was recently interviewed by Shannan and Stacy of GirlsintheStacks.com, an awesome blog devoted to (what else?) books of all genres, shapes, and sizes. Imagine my surprise when as a THANK YOU gift, the two unstoppable S's sent me a little care package featuring a T-shirt, a bag of INSANELY DELICIOUS Texas peanut brittle, and EQUALLY INSANELY DELICIOUS Texas salsa.

Yes--the way to my heart is through my stomach. And through the extremely comfortable cotton wear, as embodied by the picture below.

You can read a review of my book or here a podcast about it from the girls here. Anyway, I just wanted to give a quick thank-you. I really love the community I've found in the blogosphere, and the Stacks Girls really embody that warmth and support.

Three cheers for bloggers, and four cheers for peanut brittle.

Tonight I'm doing an event with Gayle Forman, the virtuosic author of If I Stay! I'll have tons to post about tomorrow, I'm sure, so come back and visit me then!

xo

L

Do you live in or around Westchester, New York??

Then first of all, we have something in common--because that's where I grew up!

And SECOND OF ALL, come visit me THIS FRIDAY, April 30th, at 6 pm, at The Voracious Reader in Larchmont!!

There will be FREE BOOKS! And FREE PIZZA! (Although, to get the swag you have to be between 12-14).

Anyway, I'd love to see any/all of you there...so please stop by and say hi!

--L

Annnnd The Headshot Winner Is...

This is the face that will be staring out at you from your copies of Delirium--so get used to it! (Because you're all going to buy Delirium, right?? :P) Thank you for voting/giving your feedback!! You are all wonderful and pretty and nice.

xo and Happy Wednesday!!

Lauren

Can People Ever Really Change?

This question, and themes of change in general, are central to Before I Fall. So I ask you...

Are you interested in change?

Do you hate me for the way I ended my novel?

Or want to discuss BIF at a book club, or just among your friends?

Then you must check out the short article I wrote for Book Club Girl here! (Pretty please. Promise you won't regret it--and it will give you an excuse to procrastinate from work/errands/chores/school!)

What do you think? Do you believe people can change? And how do you feel about ambiguous endings in novels/works of fiction?

xo

L

New Headshots--Opinions, Please!

Okay, so, my friend French Jon (yes, that is what we all call him) recently took new author photos for me. I'm SUPER EXCITED because normally I'm not photogenic at all, but I really think these came out fantabulously. You can chalk it up to Jon's genius...and to the fact that my New Year's resolution was to "learn to take better pictures". (Well, that was one of them. The other one was to "see more movies." Low expectations, people, low expectations.)

Anyway, fun fact about French Jon: he is appearing on The City this season, along with Whitney Port, and in a few weeks he's having a big gallery show and might be featured in a new episode! Yes...he is a legend.

Okay but BACK TO ME. Here are the headshots--do you guys have any opinions about which ones I should use? If so, I'd LOVE TO HEAR THEM. From top, let's call 'em 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. (And btw, thank you to everyone who already commented on these on facebook--you're so nice!)

Happy Tuesday, my pretties.

xo

Lauren

OFFICIAL READING IS SEXY BOOK CLUB CONTEST!!

Hey all...

Alright, let's get this party started. In celebration of my favorite motto (and favorite t-shirt--modeled below at 8 a.m. this morning on the street outside my house in Brooklyn, and courtesy of the wonderful Becky Anderson of Anderson's Book Shop in Naperville, IL), I'm launching a READING IS SEXY GIVEAWAY CONTEST.

Here's how it works:

+1 point just for commenting back (with email included), by completing this phrase: Reading Is [BLANK]. And don't say Reading Is Sexy. That's my line. Find your own adjective!

+2 points for being in a book club. I'm trusting you to be honest about this, peeps...particularly for those of you who for "security reasons" (ummm...Lenore) can't provide photographic evidence of its existence.

+4 points for A PICTURE OF YOU AND YOUR BOOK CLUB!!!

But what do you have to do for +3 points? you may well be asking. The answer is: Nothing! Today is a day when I am doing away with the number three, for no good reason whatsoever. Hey. It's my blog, and I can play like I want to.

Onto the next question: WHAT WILL YOU WIN? You will win a signed copy of my book, BEFORE I FALL, along with signed bookmarks, and perhaps a sneak peak at the first chapter of my new book, DELIRIUM--which won't even be out until early 2011 and is super hush-hush!!!!

This contest runs until April 3oth and is open internationally.

xo

Lauren

Easter, Lemon Cream Cake, and Most Importantly, BOOK CLUBS!

Well, HELLO, my pretties...

I hope everyone had a lovely Easter Sunday. I did...it was sunny and gorgeous in New York, and full of delicious food and, of course, chocolate. I got to see my mom (in fact, I am sitting in her apartment THIS VERY SECOND) and old family friends, and I also got to eat lemon cream cake. Yum yum.

But that is NOT why I am posting this evening. I am posting this evening to talk about book clubs. Are you in a book club? Do you like to talk about books with your friends? Tell me--I'm curious!

You know I'm all about supporting literacy, peeps (thus my favorite READING IS SEXY t-shirt--pics to come soon), so I'm thinking of turning this into a kind of contest...send me pics of you and your book club, and I'll send one lucky clubber something fabulous. (Spoiler: it will no doubt be a signed copy of BEFORE I FALL, although who knows...maybe it will be something extra-special, like a signed copy of BEFORE I FALL plus a sneak-peak at my second book, DELIRIUM, plus a Hershey's Kiss or two, for good luck). What do you guys think of this idea?

Seriously. I'm asking!

And while you're mulling it over, please accept this basket full of happiness as a token of my appreciation...

Happy easter, all!