Friday, May 29, 2009

A Change Is Gonna Come


I was going to write a nice chatty and informative blog entry, but I just got a one two punch. My rent is going up by a whole heck of a lot (in a failing real estate market, this is really improper), and Television Without Pity has removed its Adam Lambert thread, which has been my favorite place to escape for quite a while now. TWoP says maybe if it's in a good mood, it will bring it back on Monday.

I could become a bitter woman very fast.

Or I could write the entry I intended to write this morning, or at least an approximation thereof. I'll give it a try, but growl grump grump grump.

Okay. Big breath. As you can see, I received the Garden State Teen Book Award for Life As We Knew It, and if you look to the right side of the blog, it has been hung up on the Wall Of Ego, where it looks quite striking. I am very pleased it's horizontal.

There are two other important changes over on the right side. The first is a new poll concerning This World We Live In and whether it should have chapters. It is a completely spoiler free statement to say my editor read the manuscript and expressed doubts about whether the book should have chapters. I figured I'd get input from you, so I put the poll up. For those of you who are interested, I wrote a long entry over at thirdmoonbook summarizing my editor's suggestions and my thoughts about those suggestions. My responses would have been a lot crankier if I'd written that entry after finding out about my rent increase and TWoP, so it's all for the best I got it written this morning when life was good. Growl grump.

The other significant change over at the right, and this is purely coincidental, is that I've removed the offer of bookplates for Life As We Knew It and the dead and the gone. I'm down to about 30 of the Always Have Hope plates and about 70 of the Never Lose Faith plates (after giving away close to 1500 of the Always and close to 1000 of the Nevers), and I decided to wait a while before reordering (they come 500 to a roll). I may restock when d&g comes out in paperback (winter 2010) or I may reorder and make a third plate for This World We Live In (still on schedule for spring 2010). I hesitated about removing the offer, kind of hoping I could use them all up in dribs and drabs, but my concern was someone would ask for a large number, and I wouldn't be able to fulfill the request.

The plates were my small way of thanking people for buying my books. I sent them to readers all over the world, and to independent bookstores here and abroad. My UK publisher got a big batch of them as well. Each one was personally signed by me, using a variety of red pens over the past year.

Le sigh. What I save in postage, I guess I'll be paying in rent!





6 comments:

Judi said...

Hi Susan - your two bookplates are in the front of my diary and when times get tough looking after my Alzheimer's-affected father, as they did this morning, Always Have Hope and Never Lose Faith give me a boost. So thanks from a far-away reader. And the red pen is great!

Susan Beth Pfeffer said...

Hi Judi-

Alzheimer's is such a horribly cruel disease, devastating for the person who suffers from it and for everyone who has ever loved that person.

If my bookplates, in even the tiniest way, help you get through a day, I am very glad.

Thank you for telling me. You'll be in my thoughts.

Julie Robinson said...

Ms.pfeffer,I just wanted to let you know I finished your book "the dead and the gone." I had just previously read your book "life as we knew it." Your novels are riveting and nothing short of brilliant. I am primarily a non-fiction reader,with World war II as my primary interest, but your books dragged me away and I read them start to finish without break. For someone with 5 teens two dogs a cat and a husband that is no mean feat. I have read literally tens of thousands of books over years(I'm 43) but you have captivated me the most recently. Kudos to a wonderful author. Also any chance of any more on this event. I special ordered "The dead and the gone," and would do whatever I could to read more of your stories. Keep it up!
Julie Robinson - Colorado springs, Co - originally from Brooklyn

Susan Beth Pfeffer said...

Hi Julie Robinson and thank you-

I can't believe you find time to read with everything going on in your life. I really appreciate that some of your limited spare time went to reading my books. You have 281 days to prepare for the third one.

The New York Times gave a rave review to a new book about the Bataan death march. I was tempted to read it, but I think I'd find it too devastating.

Say hi to your husband and your teens for me!

Libby said...

Hi Ms. Pfeffer! My name's Libby, pleasure to meet you. Gotta say, I love your books. I was psyched when, today, looking over Wikipeida, I see that there is going to be a third book, to go along with the dead & the gone, and Life As We Knew It. Have yet to tell my brother, but I know he'll be pumped too- which is weird, since he doesn't really read much, let alone enjoy what he reads.

Can't wait to read This World We Live In!

Susan Beth Pfeffer said...

Hi Libby-

I'm very excited about This World We Live In. If you look at the right side of the blog, you'll see a countdown to its publication date (280 days right now).

I love that Wikipedia has articles about Life As We Knew It and the dead and the gone. Now that's fame.

Say hi to your brother for me!