Info Leaked About New Apple Tablet

Okay, so you can tell that I really, really want one of these bad boys. I haven't been so up on

technology updates since--since--okay, never have I been so interested in tech updates.

Today is the big day. Steve Jobs is going to be unveiling the new Apple tablet or iSlate or iTablet or whatever it's going to be called.

BUT, today on CNBC, McGraw-Hill CEO Terry McGraw may have stolen Apple's thunder by dishing that the iTablet (which is what it's going to be called, according to WPP Group Head, Sir Martin Sorrell) is based on the iPhone platform and will be compatible with iPhone apps and content. There have also been a few photos leaked around the web, but I'm not sure if they are legit.

What I'm wondering is, if it's a phone and a tablet, are people going to be walking around with the tablet like boombox on their shoulders? Or is the iTablet going to be like the cellphones of the eighties. Remember Zach from Saved by the Bell? The one that he used to haul around?

Pretty strange.

Anyway, most people are advising me to wait for the second generation, but I don't think I have the patience. The only thing that will keep me away is the price tag. And I still have a Kindle to return from Christmas. So, that might help balance out the difference.

Let's stay posted for 1pm eastern time for the BIG announcement.

I just hope that we aren't going to be walking around like this with the new iTablet:

Read More

It's official! Film option for Sisters of Misery!

Publisher's Marketplace
The Latest Deals
January 25, 2010

Film rights
Megan Kelley Hall's SISTERS OF MISERY, a modern-day gothic retelling of the Salem witch trials which focuses on the disappearance of a teenage girl from a small, elitist New England town, optioned to director Allison Anders, along with writing partner Terry Graham, by Elisabeth Weed of Weed Literary and Julie Kane-Ritsch of Gotham Group. Anders is represented by Ragna Nervik.

And here is the full release:

The film rights to Megan Kelley Hall’s debut novel, “Sisters of Misery,” have been optioned by award-winning director Allison Anders, along with writing partner Terry Graham. A graduate of UCLA's film school, Allison Anders was honored by the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best New Director in 1992 for Gas Food Lodging. Other films, which include Border Radio, Mi Vida Loca, Grace of My Heart, Sugar Town and Things Behind the Sun, have premiered at the Cannes International Film Festival and at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival. Together with Terry, Allison wrote and sold a pilot script to AMC in 2008. “Sisters of Misery,” published by Kensington books and set for re-release in the summer of 2010, is a modern-day gothic retelling of the Salem witch trials and focuses on the disappearance of a teenage girl from a small, elitist New England town. With elements of the supernatural and magic realism, this coming-of-age series has been described by Publisher’s Weekly as “a suspenseful saga that sits between fairy tale and thriller, though readers need not be a diehard fan of either genre in order to appreciate Hall’s intricate story of family history, witchcraft, teenage romance and sisterhood.”

Both Allison Anders and Terry Graham are represented by manager, Ragna Nervik. Hall is represented by Elisabeth Weed of Weed Literary and Julie Kane-Ritsch of Gotham Group.

Read More

GCC Tours Carrie Jones!

First of all, I have to give a HUGE congrats to my fellow GCC-er, Carrie Jones, because her books NEED and CAPTIVATE both debuted in the top ten on the NYT Children's Bestsellers List. Way to go, Carrie! You totally deserve it. I also saw a ton of people drooling over her latest books at the recent ALA Mid-Winter show in Boston (I was so excited for her, that I took a quick, crappy, cell phone pic and sent it to her right then and there).

In any case, Carrie stopped by during her whirlwind tour of her NYT bestselling books to answer some questions for me and let me know a little bit about her new book CAPTIVATE. She also discusses mutilating ninja toys and her fascination with Zachary Quinto's eyebrows (he's from Heroes, right?), and the smack-down fight she had to endure in the third grade (watch your back, Lynelle -- you have the GCC-ers to contend with now!)

So, here goes:

1. First topic: Revenge. What is your experience with it? Have you ever sought revenge? As the old adage goes, do you think that living well is the best revenge?

I am such a wimp. I’m totally afraid of conflict, so no….I’ve never sought out revenge. Except once, but it was a group thing. And it involved mutilating a ninja action figure and leaving it on someone’s door step. Does that count? We bought the action figure. It wasn’t his.

Wow. I am so dull.

* hides head *

2. Cliques and mean girls are everywhere. At book signings I've had everyone from 12 year old girls to 45 year old women tell me they still encounter them. Do you? How has it changed since you were a teen?

I’ve always been pretty immune to mean girls ever since Lynelle Quick beat me up on the school bus in third grade and then became my best friend the next day and told me all about sex, but they are really still out there. It’s horrifying really. There’s a clique of them in my town. They are wealthier than everyone else and they have a tendency to berate other people. It’s sad that they are so insecure. I find them amusing in a weird way. I don’t find their hurtfulness amusing, but just how childish they are? That is amusing in a sad, sad way.

3. I have a "Writing Music" playlist on my iPod. What would be on yours? What one song or artist captures the essence of your book?

Right now I think it’s Cheryl Wheeler because there’s just so much pain and loss.

4. What do you tell people is your favorite book/author? Now what is your "real" favorite book/author. (i.e. I tell people Pale Fire by Nabokov is my fave, but right now I'm really intoAre You There Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea.)

Dude! I totally tell people it’s PALE FIRE, too! But right now my favorite book is actually THE BELOIT POETRY JOURNAL’s retrospective, which actually is just as hoity-toity sounding. I’m also into OUTLANDER. I totally have the hots for Jaime. (MKH Note: PALE FIRE is the BEST! Second best for me, The Secret History).

5. If you could swap lives with anyone for a day, who would it be and why?

I’d like to be Zachary Quinto and see what life is like with eyebrows. My eyebrows are pitiful.

6. Who would be in your dream cast if your book was made into a movie or television series? (And multimillion dollar salaries were no issue--they'd all do it for free!)

I don’t know! I am so bad at this! I am terrible TERRIBLE terrible at this.

* sobs *

* hides under chair *

(MKH Note: Is there a role for Johnny Depp? If so, can I come to the set and stalk--oops, er, I mean watch?)

7. As a publicist, I know that it's important for every novel to have journalistic hook. For The Lost Sister, it's mean girls, bullies and hazing. What's yours?

For CAPTIVATE, it’s mean pixies, love, and choices.

8. Just because it hasn't been asked yet, favorite 1980's movie?

Red Dawn

9. Why should I choose your book for my book club?

Because I would love you forever if you did?

Because it talks a lot about choices and empowerment but in a subtle way?

Because you are nice like that?

(MKH note: Awwww! You are so sweet! Of course, I'd pick your book!)

10. I'm a huge and fabulously powerful movie producer and you have 30 seconds (an elevator pitch) to sell me on why your book is great and should be made into a movie. Go!

Um…..um…..because people keep emailing me that it should…..um…..ah…..cough, cough….. gee I like your shirt.

(MKH note: haha!)

About CAPTIVATE:

In this NYT-Bestselling sequel to NEED, Zara and her friends knew they hadn't solved the pixie problem for good. Far from it. The king's needs grow deeper every day he's stuck in captivity, while his control over his people gets weaker. It's made him vulnerable. And now there's a new king in town.

A turf war is imminent, since the new pixie king, Astley, is moving in quickly. Nick nearly killed him in the woods on day one, but Zara came to his rescue. Astley swears that he and Zara are destined to be together, that he's one of the good guys. Nick isn't buying it, though Zara isn't as sure -- despite herself, she wants to trust the new king. But it's a lot more than her relationship with Nick that is at stake. It's her life -- and his.

What People are Saying About NEED and CAPTIVATE:

“If you asked Stephen King and Stephanie Myers to co-author a book, they would come up with NEED.” – Justine Magazine.

"An exciting venture filled with nasty evil creatures,
nail-biting action and heart-pounding romance." 
—teenreads.com

“Romance, suspense, and a very clever heroine 
make this a must-read!” —Toledo Blade

"Genre fans will enjoy the sizzle between Nick and Zara 
as well as the paranormal cast." —PW

“This book is for fans of Holly Black and Melissa Marr… fairy lovers crowd in! It’s got some really good reviews coming in already. We’re talking a love story people, with fairies - please, who would not buy this? So look out!”— Annette’s Book Blog

"Jones masterfully blends paranormal fantasy, suspense, and romance to craft a new supernatural tale that is certain to appeal 
to fans of dark urban fantasy like Marr's Wicked Lovely and paranormal romances like Meyer's Twilight books. A likeable cast 
of engaging and interesting characters combine with a plot that grabs readers and refuses to let go." —VOYA

"A fast-paced novel worthy of the fantasy greats, 
Need will take you for a ride." —VOYA, teen reviewer

About Carrie Jones:

1. Carrie can not drink coffee. It makes her insane. Do not give her caffeine.

2. Carrie is very responsive to loving strokes on the hair, kind of like a puppy. However, do not do this without asking first unless you are a ridiculously handsome man or an editor who is about to offer her a trillion dollars for the first draft of her novel.

3. Carrie is secretly really, really shy even though she’s pathetically outgoing in person. She has a very hard time calling people. So, if you want to talk to her, make the first move. And, if you’re her in-Maine female best friend, Jennifer, do NOT get mad at her because she is so bad at returning emails.

4. Carrie sometimes wears mismatched socks, if you do not think this is cool, do not tell her. You will hurt her feelings.

5. Carrie really, really wants you to like her books. Please like her books. PLEEEAASSSEEEE. She’ll be your best friend forever. That is, if you want a friend who is shy about calling and emailing and who wears mismatched socks and can’t drink caffeine and likes being pet on the head. Hhmmm….

6. Carrie is not above begging.

7. Carrie, like Belle in TIPS ON HAVING A GAY (ex) BOYFRIEND drinks Postum. It’s for the same reason, too.

8. Carrie loves Great Pyrenees dogs. They are huge and white, and furry and it looks like they have white eyeliner and mascara on, which is way too cute. Do you have one? Send a picture!

9. Carrie lives in Maine. She has a hard time with this in the winter. It is bleak in Maine in the winter. Imagine everything shades of gray and brown and no green anywhere except for in people’s noses. This is Maine in Winter. Maine in summer is the best place in the world, so it’s a trade-off. Feel free to invite Carrie to your house in the winter, but not if it’s in Greenland, Canada, or anywhere north of Florida.

Forget that. She’d still probably come.

Links:

http://www.carriejonesbooks.com

http://www.needpixies.com (This is where sneak peaks and contests are. You can win a computer. Seriously!)

http://www.facebook.com/carriejonesbooks?ref=profile

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Need-by-Carrie-Jones/53387039515?ref=ts

Read More

Apple tablet in MARCH???

I really don't want to wait that long. Seriously, I've never been a big techy person, but I WANT THIS APPLE TABLET (iSlate, iTablet, whatever).

I was patiently waiting until the end of January. And now I hear it's not coming out until March????!!!????

I'm not the only one who's anxiously awaiting the release of this new gadget. Bloggers, editors, news outlets are all going wild with speculation on what this new Apple "gadget to end all gadgets" will be. Reports are surfacing of what the exact specifications will be.

According to Phone Arena, the iSlate will have a seven-inch screen and run a 2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB shared L2 cache and 1066MHz system bus. It will be sold with 2GB of RAM, but will support up to 8GB. The iSlate will feature a 120GB SATA hard drive that spins at 4200rpm....Other specs include a built-in iSight camera and projector; multitouch display with oleophobic coating; two USB ports and an SD slot; stereo speakers with mic and optical digital output; and gigabit ethernet, 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR.

Plus it will run with a "Mac OS X Clouded Leopard v10.7." Whatever that is.

Who cares??? I want to know what will it look like? What will it do? How much will it cost? And...most importantly...WHEN can I get my hands on it?

Is this going to be like the Cabbage Patch kid crunch of the eighties, when they sold out faster than they could stock them? Or, more recently, the ZhuZhu pet frenzy of this past Holiday season, where they sold for 8 dollars in Target but over 40 dollars online and on eBay?

Okay, deep breaths, deep breaths. I need to go to my zen-happy place and remind myself that material things are not important.

Screw it! I want the Apple iSlate/Tablet, i-whateveryoucallit NOW!

Note to Steve Jobs: Hurry up!

Read More

GCC Tours Eileen Cook!

First of all, how awesome is this cover? This is what my readers would like to see happen to my character, Kate Endicott in SISTERS OF MISERY. :)

Anyway, I want to thank Eileen for stopping by to promote her book which comes out tomorrow, so I hope everyone goes and braves the post-holiday sales to pick up a copy.

And I also wanted to thank Eileen especially for stopping by on my birthday! Today I'm celebrating the 15th anniversary of my 21st birthday! You guys can do the math. I stopped counting at 30! :)

Without further ado, here's a little more info on Eileen's latest book, Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood, as well as a Q&A on the fun topic of *REVENGE*!! What a great way to kick off a new year, hee hee!

Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood

Simon Pulse Release Date: January 5, 2010

Eileen Cook www.eileencook.com

Popularity is the best revenge.

In the final weeks of eighth grade, Lauren Wood made a choice. She betrayed her best friend, Helen, in a manner so publicly humiliating that Helen had to move to a new town just to save face. Ditching Helen was worth it, though, because Lauren started high school as one of the It Girls--and now, at the start of her senior year, she's the cheerleading captain, the quarterback's girlfriend, and the undisputed queen bee. Lauren has everything she's ever wanted, and she has forgotten all about her ex-best friend.

But Helen could never forget Lauren. After three years of obsessing, she's moving back to her old town. She has a new name and a new look, but she hasn't dropped her old grudges. She has a detailed plan to bring down her former BFF by taking away everything that's ever been important to Lauren—starting with her boyfriend.

Watch out, Lauren Wood. Things are about to get bitchy.

About the Author:

Eileen Cook spent most of her teen years wishing she were someone else or somewhere else, which is great training for a writer. When she was unable to find any job postings for world famous author, she went to Michigan State University and became a counselor so she could at least afford her book buying habit. But real people have real problems, so she returned to writing because she liked having the ability to control the ending. Which is much harder with humans.

You can read more about Eileen, her books, and the things that strike her as funny at eileencook.com. Eileen lives in Vancouver with her husband and dogs and no longer wishes to be anyone or anywhere else.

Praise for Eileen’s Writing:

“Sassy and sly and sweet all at the same time, this book made me laugh out loud.” --Meg Cabot, author of The Princess Diaries and Airhead

“Not since Judy Blume's Margaret introduced herself to God has there been such a funny, genuine, conflicted, wanna-be-sorta-good-maybe-later girl as Emma. Cook's tone as she takes on the big ones—life, love, faith, and friendship—is pitch perfect.”--Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of The Midnight Twins and The Deep End of the Ocean

"Smart and fun and full of heart." --Sarah Mlynowski, author of Bras & Broomsticks and How to Be Bad

Q & A with Eileen Cook

1. First topic: Revenge. What is your experience with it? Have you ever sought revenge? As the old adage goes, do you think that living well is the best revenge?

We are revenge twins! My book is all about the quest for getting the perfect revenge. I had a tremendous amount of fun with coming up with evil plans. In real life I’ve thought about revenge (apparently enough that I wrote a whole book on it), but I’ve never done it. I do think living well is the best way to go. Way less stressful and not likely to result in any criminal charges.

2. Cliques and mean girls are everywhere. At book signings I've had everyone from 12 year old girls to 45 year old women tell me they still encounter them. Do you? How has it changed since you were a teen?

I don’t think the “mean girls” phenomenon has changed since I was a teen- just the ways they have to go about being mean (i.e. Now they can reach out and use Facebook to make your life hell). The sad truth is that there are people who only feel good about themselves by trying to make other people feel bad about themselves. The good news is that this is a lousy way to live your life and eventually karma catches up with them.

3. I have a "Writing Music" playlist on my iPod. What would be on yours? What one song or artist captures the essence of your book?

When I’m writing I love to have music on, but I find if it has a lot of words I tend to sing along instead of paying attention to my story. I have a whole playlist of movie soundtrack music.

4. What do you tell people is your favorite book/author? Now what is your "real" favorite book/author. (i.e. I tell people Pale Fire by Nabokov is my fave, but right now I'm really into Are You There Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea.)

I always have a hard time with this question. My typical answer is A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving because I really do love the book and have read it a zillion times, but the true answer is usually whatever I am reading at the moment. I love being caught up in a story for the first time. You know it’s fiction, but you still care so much about what happens. I love that.

5. If you could swap lives with anyone for a day, who would it be and why?

Oooh hard question. I can’t think of any particular actress I would like to be, although I think it would be fun to do that job. It would be interesting to be a really good female athlete because I’m basically terminally clumsy so it would be nice not to trip over things all the time. Changing places with someone in London (my all time favorite city (MKH Note: Mine, too! Minus all the rain and cloudy days, of course!) would be good because I can always think of something fun to do if I’m there. I’m also open to spending the day in New York, Paris or a place near here called Tofino that is right on the ocean.

I think the problem is that while in high school I wanted to pretty much anyone other than myself, right now I like my life. I might just stay put.

6. Who would be in your dream cast if your book was made into a movie or television series? (And multimillion dollar salaries were no issue--they'd all do it for free!)

I’ve been asked this sort of question before and I stink at it. I come up with one name and then change my mind and then sit there and spend hours on IMDB trying to figure out a better plan B. Personally, I would like to cast Colin Firth so I could meet him, even though there is no real Colin Firth type character in the book. Thus, I will leave the casting to Hollywood as long as they promise to invite me to the fancy parties.

7. As a publicist, I know that it's important for every novel to have journalistic hook. For The Lost Sister, it's mean girls, bullies and hazing. What's yours?

For Getting Revenge it would be about how friendships change, the quest for revenge and what is the best way to get revenge.

8. Just because it hasn't been asked yet, favorite 1980's movie?

Breakfast Club. Or Pretty in Pink. Maybe 16 Candles. As you can see I had a strong Molly Ringwald fetish. (MKH note: Me too! When I try to remember stuff about my high school days, I have to try hard to differentiate between what really happened, and what happened in a Molly Ringwald/John Hughes movie!)

9. Why should I choose your book for my book club?

Other than the fact that I would really appreciate it, I would guess there would be some great discussion between the book club on if they have ever wanted revenge, if it is ever okay to get revenge, and what is the best revenge you can get.

10. I'm a huge and fabulously powerful movie producer and you have 30 seconds (an elevator pitch) to sell me on why your book is great and should be made into a movie. Go!

Let’s be honest, in real life I would start blathering and maybe doing that thing where you spit when you talk. You would assume I was off my medications. If I had it together I would say something like: Doesn’t everyone dream of getting revenge on someone who has done them wrong? This is one girl’s story of getting the revenge she’s always dreamed of- now she has to figure out if that is what she really wants.

Read More