TOMORROW!

TOMORROW!!

You know the rest.

My book goes on sale. I think it may already be available in some stores but you can buy an official copy as opposed to an advance copy and these distinctions matter!

Many thanks to Megaterrific Meg Cabot for her plug for the the book. (And you should be reading Meg's blog anyway, especially her account of her international tour, which is hilarious and because her site has just undergone a beautiful makeover.)

Thanks also go Gabe, who also blogged about the book on Reading Book, Watching Movies.

In other news, I enjoyed reading at Word on the Street Vancouver yesterday. Susin Nielson was wonderful and shared with us her first diary. Like a lot of first diaries, hers went great guns for a week and then died off. Luckily, the story of Ambrose the Word Nerd is longer! Laura Trunkey gave an amazing reading from her new book, The Incredibly Ordinary Danny Chadelier, which has a bit of a dark Snickety feel to it. She's definitely a writer to watch.

I had the pleasure of sharing the stage with Meg Tilly (yes, that Meg Tilly) whose new YA is called First Time. It's an uncompromising page turner about... well, you should read it. I would like to say for the record that she was one of the most gracious people I've ever read with. At the question and answer period after the reading, most people wanted to ask her questions and ever so artfully she made sure to include me in the process. "What do you think, Susan?" she'd say. She was also very funny and I enjoyed watching my husband have some kind of fit when he found out that he missed seeing her. So all-in-all, an interesting afternoon. Many thanks to my adoptive bookstore for the event, Huckleberry Children's Books in Vancouver. It's a new store that's just opened at Main and 28th Avenue. If you live in the Vancouver area, be sure and check it out.

Sign me up!

I'm now a proud member of YA for Obama, the very cool site started by author Maureen Johnson. The site features essays by a host of amazing writers, including Judy Blume, Scott Westerfeld, Sara Zarr, John Green, Lauren McLaughlin, Cecily von Ziegesar and Maureen Johnson, as well as interesting discussions, photos, networking and more.

I know, I know. I'm Canadian and can't actually vote for Obama and we have our own federal election here to worry about. But let's face it, none of our candidates inspire quite the same passion as Obama. Here's the kind of thing people create in response to Obama's candidacy: (This may have been designed by Maureen, who seems to have wizard-like abilities on her computer.)

Can you imagine anyone creating an image like that for Harper, Dion, Layton or May? Sigh. No. Possible tag lines for our candidates range from "Prime Minister of Creepy Eyes" (Harper), "Prime Minister of I'm Sorry I Didn't Quite Catch That" (Dion) or "Prime Minister of A Snowball's Chance" (Layton and May). None of those have quite the same ring as "President of Awesome" do they? For the record, I really like Dion's Green Shift and am fond of the Green Party (even though they can't get my name right and seem to think I'm a lesbian couple or sisters -- as evidenced by correspondence addressed to Sally and Susan Juby), but I don't see myself writing a song or creating a poster any time soon.

The relationship between Canada and the United States is both close and complex. What happens in the U.S. affects us deeply. Like a lot of Americans, many Canadians have felt worried and demoralized by the Bush administration's policies over the last eight years. It only seems fair that we get to to join in the thrill at the prospect of change in the form of an inspirational leader. A recent study found that I am not alone in feeling the love.

Go Obama!

In other news, I am also thinking of becoming a proud Claymate.

And still more...

shameless self-promotion!

Chapters-Indigo has featured Getting the Girl as a Top Teen Book for the fall!

Help me to celebrate by coming out to Word on the Street this Sunday in Vancouver. I'll be on at 11:40 in the Canada Writes tent. And don't miss Susin Nielson reading from Word Nerd (about which I've been raving on this blog) at 11:00, Laura Trunkey at 11:20 and the Meg Tilley at 12:00. Good stuff.

Muchas Gracias...

Bookluver Carol for the review of Getting the Girl and for her excellent site!

CM Magazine

Many thanks to CM Magazine for the vair nice review of Getting the Girl!

Somewhat savvy. Maybe.

A new advice column on the subject of piercings and drawing the line.

This one's for you, persnickety...

Since we're democratic...

around here, and interested in balance, I will share with you a somewhat snarky review from the Globe and Mail. Oh well. There's one less for the Christmas card list.

On the plus side, this fits well with my first podcast, which I hope to post when Getting the Girl comes out at the end of the month. I have interviewed four fabulous writers - Robyn Harding, Art Slade (who, unlike yours truly, got a great review in the Globe today), Meg Cabot and Lauren Mechling -- on the always sensitive subject of bad reviews. They were all hilarious and honest. I think you'll enjoy their thoughts.

As for recovering from this little setback, I've found chocolate to have a soothing effect on scratches and small puncture wounds.

Pine Bark

1 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter (Oh YEAH!)
12 oz. organic chocolate
1 stack saltine crackers

Line pan with foil. Boil sugar and butter for 3 minutes. Pour over crackers. Bake 7 minutres at 400 degrees. Cut up chocolate and put on top. Spread as it melts. Let set until cold. Lift foil and break apart.

The Word

on Getting the Girl has been great so far!

As promised, here are a few choice quotes about Sherman Mack:

"Juby again demonstrates her ability to tell a story that's richly colored all the way to the edges... Whether kids fancy themselves unlikely stand-up heroes or just wish there was one out there as they enter high school, they'll relish Sherman's endearingly dorky nobility."
BCCB, October 2008, starred review.

"Delightful noir motifs distinguish the tale... As always, Juby endows her endearing characters with quirky, comedic voices and original backgrounds."
Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"The author of the Alice MacLeod series, having successfully tried her hand at a horse story in Another Kind of Cowboy, now applies her signature brand of humor to a detective novel. Given the dearth of sleuthing capers for the high school crowd, here's hoping that Juby delivers on the promise of sequels."
Horn Book Magazine, September/October 2008

And I'm completely thrilled by the review on the ever fabulous Reading Rants! In particular, I am honoured by this quote: "Susan Juby’s hilarious story of high school hierarchy and the one super nerd who’s determined to stand up for what’s right even if he has to topple Trophy Wives to do it is equal parts Say Anything and The Pink Panther." (Only two of my favourite movies ever!)

Thanks also to The Compulsive Reader for a fabulous review and to my friend Sara O'Leary for her kind words, one of which I had to look up. Oh, and thanks to Book Shipper, too! (Book Shipper puts up a review a day: a feat of blogging that puts me to shame.

Oops! I better go. I think poor Frank was just stung by one of the many ill-tempered wasps loitering around outside. Where is my Reactin? And that bottle of canine Valium?