jennsylvania

Sixteen, No, Forty Really Self-Promote-y Candles

What are you doing on March 24th?

If you're in the Chicago area (or, as I like to say, If You Were Here), join me for what's going to be the coolest event ever!

What:  A screening of the beloved John Hughes classic film Sixteen Candles, coupled with onstage conversation, audience Q&A, and a book signing! 

Who:  Do I need to mention the signing is with me?  Because the signing is with me if that wasn't abundantly clear. 

Where:  Theater Wit, 1229 West Belmont, Chicago, IL

When:  2:00 PM, Saturday, March 24th

What Else:  Tickets are $40 and the price includes admission, a signed copy of the paperback release of If You Were Here, and a champagne toast! 

Why:  Because there's an entire generation who's never seen the glory that is Jake Ryan on the big screen!

The event is limited to 100 people, so if you're interested, buy your tickets here and now!

(This is the paperback cover.  It's the same book as the one with the welcome mat, except this edition has a Q&A and a reader's guide in which I detail exactly which incidents are true, as well as a sneak preview of Jeneration X.)

As a quick reminder, here are the deets to my Spring Break Book Tour for the IYWH paperback release:

TUESDAY, MARCH 6

MIAMI, FL

Books & Books

265 Aragon Ave

Coral Gables, FL 33134

8 PM

 

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7

VERO BEACH, FL

Vero Beach Book Center

2145 Indian River Blvd

Vero Beach, FL 32960

6 PM

 

THURSDAY, MARCH 8

JACKSONVILLE, FL

Barnes and Noble

10280 Midtown Parkway

Jacksonville, FL 32246

7 PM

 

FRIDAY, MARCH 9

PHOENIX, AZ

Barnes and Noble

21001 N. Tatum Blvd.

Phoenix, AZ 85050

7 PM

 

Finally, tour dates and cities for the memoir Jeneration X will be coming as soon as the events are nailed down!

(This is the cover of Jeneration X.  Get it?  It's a ceral box!  Also, I get in trouble if I don't show the cover often enough, so there you go.)

Thanks and I hope to see you out there somewhere this spring!

(P.S. Yes, I'll post a photos of Fletch's hateful photos tomorrow.  Or, you could just come to the Sixteen Candles event and see it live and in person.  Totally your call.)

 

Victory Lap

Seven.

I have seven books under my belt now.

Sometimes they're easy to write, like Bitter or Such a Pretty Fat.

And sometimes they're rough, like when my house filled with mold and I had to move, like it did during Pretty in Plaid.

I've been working on Jeneration X, the new memoir, all summer. This one's been fun to write, yet it took FREAKING FOREVER, way longer than anticipated. I feel like I missed out on some of the best days this year because I was up in my office working while my pool sat there, all blue and clear and empty and unloved. (Yeah, the blog was empty and unloved, too. I know. But when I finished writing for the day the last thing I wanted to do was write more. That's just how it goes every fall.)

Anyway, this book was a tough one because things kept happening during the process, like losing our electricity four times. FOUR TIMES. Then I waged war with Lands End and a Ford dealership and a bunch of other behind the scenes stuff, none of it urgent, but all of it taking time away from my goal of being finished. And when I finally got on a roll and felt like I was at the home stretch, some asshole getting off a plane from Detroit sneezed before I could cover a yawn and that knocked me on my ass for a week.

I vowed I'd finish this book before we closed the pool and when I did, I'd take my victory lap. I wanted to take one swim this year that didn't make me feel guilty for not doing my work.

We're closing the pool tomorrow.

I finished right under the wire.

And I took my victory lap.

Yet, when I think back on this, I'll probably remember it as the day my chest cold turned to pneumonia.

So what I'm saying is I'm back.

(Until my edits are due.)