YA Fresh

Postcard from Arizona

Sometimes good things happen...and you just have to go with them, celebrate them, and tell yourself you deserve them.

On that note, allow me to post the postcard that New York Times Bestseller (giant and genius, author of Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse) Stephenie Meyer handed out at her mega-book signing on September 18th at Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, Arizona.


(You might be able to enlarge it by clicking on it; otherwise, zero in on the pink book cover in the center.) And yes--your eyes do not deceive you. Among the books that Stephenie Meyer recommends for her readers is mine, Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress.

OMIGOD, huh???

I do not know Stephenie, and until about three weeks ago, had no idea she'd even heard of my book. But the Children's Bookseller of the store, Faith Hochhalter, contacted me to say she was a fan of my book (in fact, has been hand selling it to customers, and listing it as one of their store's favorite summer teen reads) and had passed it along to Stephenie. Together, they made up the recommendation postcard.

Faith was also kind enough to invite me to lunch with her and debut author, Robin Brande (Evolution, Me, and Other Freaks of Nature, out now from Knopf) while I was in Arizona last weekend. I felt instant chemistry with them both, and there were lots of laughs.

And you can imagine my out-of-body experience as the two of them discussed my book's attributes? I wasn't just Author Tina, but all the Tina's of my lifetime, who had dreamed the dreams, set the goals, and persevered through the rejections, and finally sold the little book she hoped some people might like...

Back in the bookstore, I checked out a perfectly pink top shelf Faith had arranged. I am also an interviewed First Author in the 2008 Childrens Writers & Illustrators Market, which appears just slightly to the right of that shelf. Any wonder I had to be a geek and take a picture?


And now I'm home and reading--and loving--Robin's Evolution, Me, and Other Freaks of Nature, so next lunch between the three of us (which I hope is soon), it's going to be Faith and me expounding on the captivating and memorable aspects of Robin's book. Oh, and safe to say there'll be a compliment or two about Stephenie Meyer, and her books, as well!