Hooray for Westwood

The other night I got to attend the premiere for the new Zac Efron movie, Charlie St. Cloud, you guys. If you know me at all, you would know I was pretty excited as soon as I saw the poster, way back when, because I love boys with good hair who gaze:

Hey, actually, guys, can we talk for a minute about how the new Google image search sucks? I had to find this image myself. It never would actually display an image of the poster of a movie that’s about to come out. WHAT THE HELL.

Anyway, I have lived in L.A. for awhile so I have worked a couple premieres before and even attended one (randomly, Juno, and all I really remember is my friend talked about wanting to kiss Ellen Page while we were standing very closely to her, oops, and that I was really sad Allison Janney wasn’t at the party), but I must say this was the most insane thing I’ve ever been to.

Why?

Uhhh. This is why:

APPARENTLY SOME PEOPLE REALLY LIKE ZAC EFRON.

I mean. I think he’s dreamy and all. I think his hair is epic. (HIS HAIR IS EPIC.) But, dude. We were still driving to the valet, and with our windows up we could hear the screaming.

Holy crap. The screaming! It was like Beatlemania. Or some kind of deadly outbreak. Just. Decibel-splitting levels of lust and crazy.

I had to cross the red carpet to get inside the theatre, and I mentally thanked the blockades for existing and took out my camera to document the hoards of fans held back by said oh-yes-I-love-that-you’re-here blockades.

An unidentifiable girl yelled out: “How did YOU get a ticket???”

The question could be interpreted in a number of ways. Perhaps she asked everyone how they got a ticket to the premiere! Perhaps she thought I looked super unimportant! Perhaps she thought, how did that purple-striped-hair freak lady get in when I am but trapped beyond these horrible gates?

The crowd looked kind of threatening:

So instead of pondering the question or coming up with an answer, I retreated inside very, very quickly, and drank a free Diet Coke.

My favorite moment of the night was, obviously, being yelled at on the red carpet. This was my second-favorite moment:

We were waiting in line for the bathroom once we got to the afterparty. There is a tiny commotion of sound, and then I hear the voice of a dude I think I know. But it is not a dude I know! It is Zac Efron, who has just exited the men’s room. (Stars! They’re just like us!) All the girls behind us in line are little (hey, what did you do when you were twelve, guys? for me it was NOT “attend premiere afterparties”) and they are FREAKING OUT. FREAKING OUT!

Two speak to him. He is so nice to them! What a class act. They get back into line. They are so weak after this encounter they must face the wall and lean on it for support. The first exclaims, “OH MY GOD I SPOKE TO HIM HE SPOKE TO ME OHHHHH MY GOD” and I’m not gonna lie, if He Of Epic Hair ever spoke to me I might have this reaction too, at least internally.

Her friend shrieks in horror! “HE’S STILL STANDING RIGHT THERE! HE CAN HEAR YOU RIGHT NOW!!!!!!”

I have never heard such an amazing unique mix of love, lust, and fear distilled into two short statements in my life.

Book Bash – Tonight!!

Come one, come all! 7:30pm at Skylight Books on Vermont in Los Feliz! I’m wearing my zombie stompers so you know it will be a good time.

Also I might start a brawl with Cecil Castellucci over superfluous letters.

The Lit Thing: Book Bash – June 16!

Gentle readers, I will be appearing at The Lit Thing: Book Bash at Skylight Books this Wednesday, June 16, at 7:30p.m. to rant or rave about my favorite or most-hated book. Be sure to attend if you want to find out which it is!

Bad Blogger!

Egads, it has been a terribly long time since I posted. Here is what I did instead of blogging, in no particular order:

1. Finished the first draft of Current Project! I suppose now it is no longer Current Project! The abbreviation for its working title is MLLM so I guess I’ll be calling it that around these parts too. You will never guess what that stands for but if you really want to try go ahead! Here are three things about MLLM: show choir, boys with good hair, Stephen Sondheim.
2. Began first draft of what is now Current Project! Here are three things about Current Project: improv comedy, baristas, reinvention.
3. There might be some REWRITING going on too! Three things about the rewritten project: school paper, hot college boys, tattoos.
4. Went to fun events! Another Goodreads swap, this one at the fantastic Book Soup and involving the Kogi truck. Frank Portman (I KNOW RIGHT?) read at Skylight! (King Dork was totally seminal in my path to YA.) I tried to see a panel at the Paley but I ended up stuck in the lobby, which was fine, because the lobby has free soda, mostly-delicious snacks, and cute caterwaiters.
5. Went to St. Louis! Do you know what St. Louis has? My family! Also: humidity.
6. Shopped! It is the Fall of cardigans, and since I live in L.A. it will also be the winter of cardigans. I am so happy patterned cardigans are in right now! It’s not that I particularly care about fashion trends; it’s that I enjoy when my favorite items are easily accessible in stores. Also I think Doc Martens may be coming back in, but either way, I just ordered a new pair and I am psyched beyond a reasonable level.

And now I promise to be a better blogger. If you don’t believe me, look at a cute picture of my cats:

Delinquency

I’ve been told it’s been too long since I’ve blogged… and that is absolutely right. The thing about being a writer is you are probably also something else in your Other Life, and for me I’m actually currently two other things in two Other Lives. And I love Day Job, and I love Freelance Job, but, egads, it’s been a busy time.

Last weekend was full of ridiculously fun YA events,from LAYAPALOOZA at Vroman’s to the monthly meeting of the Pardon My Youth YA book club at Skylight Books. Amazing to think just a few short years ago I was merely dipping my toes into the YA genre, and now it’s become this huge part of my life. I remember I used to feel sort of guilty just going into the section at the library, worrying someone would see this nearly-30 freak looking at books for children and deduce she was a Freako McGee. But of course that didn’t happen, and of course YA is growing and thriving and a fully acceptable place for people of all ages to hang out.

I am thrilled because it is officially summer in my world: Gelson’s has figs back in stock! Before I moved to California, I knew nothing about figs that extended beyond the realm of Fig Newtons. Eating them with slices of brie is one of my favorite snacks. But, then again, so are half-cracker half-pretzel hybrids, so I’m no connoisseur of fine cuisine.

Upcoming Events!

L.A. YA devotees, two upcoming events you shouldn’t miss:

1. Layapalooza Pizza Party (no, I don’t know why it has such a dirty name either…) at Vroman’s in Pasadena! Starring some of your favorite YA writers like Cecil Castellucci, Lisa Yee, Michael Reisman, Ben Esch, and many more. Perhaps your favorite unpublished YA writers will be there too….
SATURDAY JUNE 20 @ 2PM

2. June meeting of the Pardon My Youth YA Book Club at Skylight Books in Los Feliz! This month’s book is Rats Saw God by Rob Thomas of Veronica Mars fame, not Matchbox 20. This month’s meeting will be moderated by Kerry Madden.
SUNDAY JUNE 21 @ 2PM

Be there or be square.

Skylight Books Tweet-Up

Last night I went to the Skylight Books Tweet-up, because I am just that kind of nerd who likes to combine literature with social networking web sites. Actually, the Skylight Books Twitter is totally informative about upcoming events.

Anyways, everyone there was quite cool, and I even got an anti-Twitter friend to come along with me. The planned activity was for those who wanted to to read from their favorite book. I usually have at least a few of those, but I figured given my writing and what I mainly read, it would be disingenuous to read from a book meant mainly for grown-ups. So I read from the first chapter of my favorite kid book of all time, Lois Lowry’s a Summer to Die. (If you haven’t read it, what are you waiting for? Don’t let the death-lit title scare you off, it also has hippies and photography and feminism! It’s Lois frigging Lowry! You know it’s gonna be great.)

It was kind of weird reading someone else’s book in public! I am an OK speaker, so I know how to emphasize, and linger over certain words, and I know phrasing and whatever else. But it was funny to derive joy from that when all I could think about was how much I envied Lowry for writing this book and how annoying it was that I hadn’t! And that is when I know I truly love something in such a specific way, when all I can think about is that I wish I’d been the one to write it instead.

Moonlight Madness

I am really barely making my BEDM deadline! BUT I AM.

Last night I went with Rochelle, Mary, and Matt to Disneyland for Minnie’s Moonlight Madness, which is a scavenger hunt for Disney/ABC employees and their friends. The hunt itself (or THE MADNESS if you will) began a bit after 10 pm with a time limit of two hours. There were quite a few clues/tasks to get through, plus the 50 trivia questions that kicked the evening off (yes, 50, because what people want to do when gearing up for a late-night scavenger hunt is sit around and listen to 50 questions!). We sadly didn’t get through all our clues, but I think for first-timers we showed impressive skills, and even got used to making our way around the park roped together.

That said, Matt is 6′8″. It is not fun being roped to a person who is 6′8″ when you are a lady of a mere 5′4″*.

*For years I believed I was 5′3″. I only learned recently I was a full inch taller than I’d ever known! Sadly, it has not translated into anything new or exciting in my life.

L.A. Times Festival of Books

I love living in a city where panels at the Festival of Books actually sell out, because that means people are reading and interested in authors and writing and, oh my god, isn’t that fantastic?

Oh, right, except for the part where I didn’t manage to get tickets to either YA lit event!

First Pardon My Youth Book Club Meeting!

I just attended the first meeting of the Pardon My Youth YA book club at Skylight Books, and I must say it was frigging awesome. The discussed book was I Am the Messenger by Marcus Zusak, and it was seriously fantastic to really dig into the plot, themes, and characters with others… including actual teenagers! SO great.

If you live in the L.A. area and love YA, you should definitely check out next month’s meeting! Next month’s book is What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell, and I’m super psyched about it because I’ve been wanting to read it anyway.