Happy Book Birthday, SO SILVER BRIGHT paperback! You are... *sniff* the last little bird out of the theater book nest.

Coincidentally, the day after the paperback release, the series got nominated for a Mythopoeic Award for YA Literature alongside talented people like Tamora Pierce and Maggie Steifvater and Delia Sherman and Cat Valente. So I went shopping and bought myself two "award rewards":

HEADBAND OF SPARKLING DOOM:



Here, have a terrible washed out cameraphone pic of me wearing said headband:



And CHUNKY PLASTIC BRACELET OF AWESOME:



*majestic wave of my hand pictured above* AS YOU WERE.

And I was going to explain ALL THE FEELINGS, but there is too much. Let me sum up.



( More Tangled screen caps, under the cut )

Thanks to my faerie godmothers (Gwen Hayes and Tiffany Trent) I've been invited to participate in FaerieCon West!


Peaseblossom, Moth, Cobweb, and Mustardseed have already packed their bags, and we hope you'll meet up with us. There's going to be programming, fabulous authors (Charles de Lint! Carolyn Turgeon! Julie Kagawa!) artists (Amy Brown! Brom!) Masquerade Balls, Abney Park...

I may 'splode from excitement before we get there.

Come find me at the event... I'll be giving away theater-themed swag. More information on what else I'll be doing as I get it.

Here it is... the project that's been simmering on the back of the stove alongside the snozzberry jam!

*drumroll*

May the powers that be protect me from myself when it comes to musical guys... and artistic guys... and smart guys.



And more of Steven here *swoon*:



Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go download everything he's ever recorded off iTunes. (Also, Star Wars fans, he and another cellist have a piece on YouTube you want to see.)

Addendum to yesterday's entry:



Yes, this is The Boy's homemade vanilla between two of the ginger cookies.

Last year, I gave jennawaterford this:

This year, I am filling it with cookies (she knows this... I promise I am not ruining a surprise!) The Barefoot Contessa's Ultimate Ginger Cookies, with modifications. I started making a test batch this morning, but I questioned my molasses, and the crystallized ginger was hard as rocks.

I remedied the ginger problem by soaking it in warm bourbon. Might have been drunk on fumes when I added too much butter to the batter, then had to compensate with extra flour and leavening.

Worried as I was, the test batch turned out GORGEOUS and ginger-spicy, with a hint of the bourbon in the back.

(not my actual cookies, but damn close. My cracks are smaller. AHAHAHAHAH-my-cracks-are-smaller. *wheeze*)

And I might totally sandwich two of them together with the husband's HOMEMADE VANILLA ICE CREAM for the best ice cream sammich evar.

*OM NOM NOM NOM*

*crumbs*

Whoops.

*will be making more batter tomorrow... yanno, for actual cookies to Jennifer*

Yesterday, I posted a pic taken from the parking lot of my new, favorite local coffee bar. Not only do they offer a "bottomless" press pot of coffee, they have a "100 mile restaurant" that serves local cheese, butter, jam, bread... it's epic awesome, and the perfect refuge for a writer addicted to coffee and carbs.

I never go in there without buying something else. Yesterday, it was Dry Soda in four different flavors. Last week, it was cranberry syrup:



I'm planning to float on orange juice and champagne at Christmas, like this:



You cannot buy this syrup on Amazon. And even if I could, I wouldn't. FOR REASONS.

Granted, this may not be a big deal to big box stores, but I implore everyone not to do this to your local Mom and Pop. Better yet, I'd like to encourage everyone to show your pride in local stores and products. Buy something, take a picture, post it to your blog or FB or here in the comments. Explain what you are doing and why you are doing it. Tag me in the post or email me at lisa at lisamantchev dot com with a link. Participants will be entered into a drawing to win all three (signed!) theater books, shipping to US and Canada addresses only, please. I'll close to entries next Friday, December 16th at midnight PST.

So post your pride, and consider joining the Occupy Amazon group over at Facebook.

Just added: Michelle Zink, author of the Prophecy of the Sisters trilogy and the forthcoming A Temptation of Angels is going to donate the complete/signed Prophecy trilogy to this contest! So keep the entries coming!