yoga. yogi. yogurt.

i am crazy about yoga. i think it's one of the most brilliant ways to exercise and to find peace on days when you're stressed, busy, sick or feeling generally out of sorts. the problem is, i don't do it nearly enough. i am making 2008 the year of yoga, though...because i'm turning 30 this year and, at 30, my mom started feeling the aches and pains of the hereditary arthritis that courses through the gene pool of the maclean women. for generations we've all been over 5' 10" and...well...let's just say that we're not small people. we're scots, we like to say, but who really knows? :)

so...i'm committing to doing yoga as often as possible...not just because it's good for me, or because i'm terrified of arthritis, but because i enjoy it. once i've finished with a day's practice, i feel peaceful and calm and rested and ready to take on the world. even if baxter feels it necessary to show off his incredible skill at downward facing dog...as if to say, "you're not doing it right, mom. woof."

to show his support of this commitment, eric loaded our new apple tv up with a bunch of video podcasts of yogis from around the country. my favorite is YOGAmazing, a podcast from Louisville, KY, hosted by a cool-seeming guy named Chaz who doesn't beat around the bush like all the other yoga videos do. He expects you to work hard and keep up. And I love it. I (heart) Chaz. (Apparently I'm not the only one...he's got millions of viewers, I just read.)

here's an example of one of chaz's podcasts...it's shorter than usual...but i totally recommend checking him out!

Other musings you might enjoy...

Yoga for Creativity

Poetry for Karma Repair

baxter the dog

so...it's no secret that i have a dog...baxter...who is my pride and joy and who i'm completely stupid over. seriously. he's my baby. and it's silly, i know...but just looking at him makes me 12-14 times happier than before i looked at him. :) here's a photo (yes, the nickel is there for scale :)):

he's a boxer/rhodesian ridgeback mix, we think...but because he's such a mutt, we call him a "brooklyn brown" which makes him sound like much more of a pedigreed dog. our wedding photographer understands his obvious breeding and took this glamour shot of him on the big day. i confess, it's my favorite shot in the whole bunch!

right now, b is sitting next to me on the couch, sweet and darling and not at all judging me for the fact that i'm on myspace instead of working on the next round of edits on the season. i'm in this funny place with the manuscript--I've done all the small things that my editor asked me to do, but now I have to bear down and do the real work. instead, i've been procrastinating, and not just on myspace. i've gone through the entire manuscript, changing a word here, a punctuation mark there. i've tagged the whole thing with little stickies where "big work" needs to be done. i've read and reread. but i haven't done a thing that needs to be done. i need to add a chapter, rethink a character, and hone the ending...and i haven't worked on that stuff at all. i'm such a slug!

maybe if the book had a sweet-faced brown dog, that would make it even better?

ok. now i'm REALLY going to work. REALLY. kick me out if you see me lurking around.

brothers & sports; breaking news & sisters

i make no secret of the fact that i am a throughly adoring fan of Brothers & Sisters...i think it does a fantastic way of portraying the complete craziness that comes with being a part of a family...nagging mother, neurotic sisters, gossipy siblings...all things that come with big, ridiculous families. eric finds it over the top and is uncomfortable even watching, but then he listens to me on the phone with my sister after my mom drives us crazy...or on the phone with my mom when my sister drives me crazy...and he sees that life really does imitate art. or is it the other way around?

anyway...i missed several episodes of B&S this season because I was on my honeymoon (i know...not a good reason to garner sympathy) but i've actually been rewarded by the writers strike (i'm the only one, i'm thinking) because they're rerunning all the episodes I missed. But...since Eric is so opposed to AWESOME tv, i have to watch it when he's not around. So I record it on Sundays and watch it the first chance I get during the week, when he's not home. In this case, that chance was this morning...because I have MLK Day off and he doesn't.

So...this morning I got up, took the dog out, got under a warm blanket and watched what was guaranteed to be the most tearjerking (not that i don't cry at almost every episode)--the one where Justin comes home from Iraq, injured. 10 minutes into the episode, WABC (my local ABC channel) cuts in with Breaking News. The Giants are going to the Super Bowl. As a New Yorker, I'm happy about this, sure. But couldn't we have just run that news across the bottom of the screen? I would have read it, smiled, and gone back to watching my pictures. :) Instead, we had 10 minutes of coverage, interviews from Green Bay (where they played) and NYC (where people are excited).

Now...I appreciate this is big news for Giants fans...but I ask you...what Giants fan (who needs to know immediately if his or her team is Super Bowl-bound) is watching Brothers & Sisters in rerun instead of the football game itself? It's just not logical. If I cared enough to waste 15 minutes of valuable Brothers & Sisters watching color commentary of a football game I didn't watch, wouldn't I have watched the game???? Yes. I would have. Instead, I was watching dreamy, witty Matthew Rhys and was quite unfortunately interrupted. Boo.

Boo. I say.

:)

movie sunday...

some friends and i went to a midnight showing of Cloverfield last night...and i have to say, i found it really boring. i know, i know...this is not something you should say about a movie written and directed by the team from LOST, that is, essentially, the biggest monster movie of our time. and, frankly, the monster part of it is terrifying and totally awesome...in the true sense of the word.

now...i should preface what i'm about to say with this: i am crazy about movies that are completely unbelievable. i like trashy, epic, cheesy movies where i can suspend all disbelief and buy, thoroughly, that what's happening on the screen is actually happening. so this movie should have been a slam dunk for me. but here's my problem...i am find it absolutely unable to suspend that disbelief when filmmakers attempt to put their characters and these ridiculous plots into some kind of legitimate framework. in this case, Cloverfield is supposed to take place during a 6 hour span in New York City. In order, the characters go from the financial district to halfway across the brooklyn bridge then back to spring street and lafayette to 59th street and lexington avenue to columbus circle to 42nd street to 40th and park. in the middle of this, they climb up and back down 50 flights of stairs in an apartment building and wait for a good hour in a subway station. For those of you who are not New Yorkers, this might seem totally feasible. but it's really totally not. REALLY TOTALLY NOT.

And i know what you're thinking, "Sarah...it's a MONSTER movie. No giant monster is going to attach the city either...but you don't seem to struggle with that piece of it." You're right. I don't...and if they'd set this movie somewhere fake, like Metropolis, or Gotham City, I'd be so fine with the running all over the city thing...but it was SUPPOSED to feel as if this was ACTUALLY happening in New York...and it just isn't possible that they did all that stuff in 6 hours. it's just not. and i couldn't shake my knowledge of NYC geography for the hour and a half i was watching this movie (partially because i was thoroughly bored by the plot and HATED the characters)...so...there it is. I'm terribly unforgiving.

i don't want to say much else about the movie, because i don't want to ruin it for you...but i will say this...if you do decide to see it...don't wait to rent it or see it on the cable. go see it in the movie theater. it's worth it that way. the other way, you'll be disappointed.

Haven't Done One of These in Ages!

1. Where's the person you have feelings for?
that depends on the kind of feelings you're referencing. if you mean my guy, he's working over at blip.tv. at least, i *think* he's over there.

2. What are you doing Friday?
ooh...we talked about this last night. and, of course, it's gone from my mind. something "new media" related. wow. not even thirty and can't remember.

4. Do you sleep with the TV on?
not on purpose...but sometimes that dog is so warm and he puts me right to sleep on the couch!

5. What are you doing right now?
writing a blog while i should be working.

6. What did you do yesterday?
work, dinner with friends, home to edit.

8. Do you have a job?
sadly, yes. :) i actually love my job. even though i dream of being a full-time writer.

10. Have you ever been suspended or expelled from school?
yes. in the fifth grade. no. i'm not telling you why.

12. Have you ever crawled through a window?
hehe. yes. what a weird question! but yes!

13. Who knows a secret or two about you?
i don't have that many secrets. i find that if you share them, they're much more fun.

14. Can you handle the truth?
*sigh* oh...aaron sorkin...how you must love knowing that your words have become part of everyday speech. yes. i can handle the truth. but that scene still gives me chills.

15. Are you too forgiving?
no. in fact, i'm rather vengeful. it's a major flaw.

16. Are people too forgiving to you?
i hope not!

17. Olive Garden?
I don't understand the question. I neither have an olive garden nor eat at them.

18. Are you closer to your mother or father?
that changes as I grow...growing up, i was much closer to my mom. and in college, i was much closer to my dad...now they're both equally important to me.

19. Have you ever wanted to be a teacher?
yes. i always thought i'd kill at being a social studies teacher

20. Do you have trust issues?
why do you ask? i'm not telling you! *she looks about, cagily.*

21. Would you live with someone without marrying them?
i did...but then he "bought the cow" (she shudders)...what a terrible phrase!

22. Have your friends ever seen you cry?
yes. something that comes of having too much drama in my soul. :)

23. Who was the last person you cried in front of?
i wept like a child at the on sunday. in front of eric and hank azaria. is that weird? rhetorical question. don't answer that.

24. Have you ever wanted to strip naked in front of someone?
ack! no thank you.

25. How many people can you say you've really loved?
depends on what kind of love. if you count my friends and family...a lot.

26. Do you eat healthy?
i try...but it's hard in new york city!

27. Do you still have pictures of you & your ex?
of course...you have to remember how much you (and your taste) have grown.

28. What are you listening to?
right now, the person in the next office...talking to a reporter.

29. If you could pick one person to disappear from the planet, who would it be?
the person in charge of the genocide in the Sudan.

30. Have you ever cried because of something someone said to you?
are there people who answer 'no' to this question?

31. How often do you go to church?
on christmas eve.

32. Speaking of church, are you going to heaven or hell?
i try my best

33. If you're having a bad day, who are you most likely to go to?
my bff

34. What is your biggest fear?
homelessness. and cruise ships.

35. Are you confident?
never. but i have an excellent game face.

36. Are you a good driver?
depends on who you ask.

37. What will you be When you "Grow up"?
older and wiser.

38. Do you have any pets?
my dog, baxter

39. One person you're sure will be in your life years from now:
eric

40. One person You Miss?
my friend, Sarah, who moved from NYC to Denver in October. boo! come back!

Royal Love

Right now, I'm watching VH1 Classic Albums...something I would probably NEVER watch if I didn't live with a musician. I, of course, opened my laptop, checked email, surfed the web, played around on myspace, not really paying attention to a vast documentary on Queen. But WOW! What an incredible tv show!

I've always liked Queen...Bohemian Rhapsody is, I think, one of the greatest songs ever made...but I didn't know anything about them. What was there to know? A few guys with big hair made A Night at the Opera and inspired my mom to like rock music.

This is all true...but what I didn't know is that these guys cut albums for months and months, laying down multiple layers of tracks. guitar solos in triplicate. vocal arrangements for dozens. they played all the parts of a dixieland jazz band on a GUITAR. Then they put them all together and made music. not just music...the music we all think of as being Queen. Operatic...Rock...Glam Metal. WTF??

Here's the thing that really gets me. Mercury (who was raised in India, and wasn't British at all), while he was gay, had a common law wife who he considered to be the love of his life. They never had a romantic relationship, but they were two people who loved each other deeply, inspired each other, and chose to spend their lives together.

What a wonderful concept...the idea that a powerful friendship holds equal weight to a powerful romantic love. There's no reason, really, why this shouldn't be the case. Why shouldn't the two be equal? Who are we to prioritize one type of love over the other? Anyone who has ever spent a night lying awake laughing with their best friend knows what I'm talking about.

So I'm raising my glass to my incredible friends...who have made my life richer, more full, more incredible. I'm blessed to have Eric, sure. But no more blessed than I am to have them.

theater...or theatre?

For Christmas, Eric gave me tickets to The Farnsworth Invention, a new Broadway play by Aaron Sorkin staring Hank Azaria and Jimmi Simpson. I should tell you that I am OBSESSED with Aaron Sorkin. I think A Few Good Men is an amazing move...I think Sports Night is the greatest television show ever made, followed very closely by The West Wing...and, in general, I covet Sorkin's ability with the written word.

I would have wanted to see this play no matter what it was about because of my unhealthy love of all things Sorkin, but that desire was enhanced by this--the first time I'd ever heard of Philo Farnsworth, the inventor of the television, was from Sorkin himself--on a fantastic episode of Sports Night during which William H. Macy regales a group of people with the story of Philo's brother in law, Cliff Gardner, who didn't understand a thing about chemistry or physics or engineering, but recognized that Philo would need glass tubes, and taught himself to blow glass to help him. That reference was designed to impress upon people the importance of finding the talent in every person, but it's always inspried me.

But...getting back to the Farnsworth Invention...what a remarkable play--the performances were incredible; Hank Azaria blew me away...and the story (which could have been a real snore considering it was, at its core, about a patent battle between Farnsworth (the person who invented the television) and David Sarnoff (the guy who started NBC and put a television in every house)) was amazing--telling, instead, the story of a brilliant young inventor and the invention that changed the world...while destroying him in the process.

More importantly, though, the play explores the question that we've all asked ourselves hundreds of times..."what if we could do it all over again? would we change anything?"

I would love to say I wouldn't change anything...but I have to imagine that if I did some serious soul-searching, I'd change quite a bit. What about you?

jacket copy...and more!

The last two weeks have been really really exciting...mostly due to the AMAZING work of my fantastic editor...I keep turning to Eric and saying "it's really happening!!" (He's getting tired of smiling at me supportively, I think.)

I got my first round of edits back, which means i'm back to work in a big way...I was TERRIFIED that the book would come back filled with red ink and pushed back to 2010. But Lisa (my editor) has assured me that it's not a turd...and that it's officially on the March 2009 list! Yay! It's really happening!! (Are you getting tired of hearing me say this too?) :)

In other news on The Season, Lisa and I took a first pass on the jacket copy for the book...which is super exciting (and ridiculously difficult...after spending a year with this story, boiling it down to two paragraphs is a task of sisyphean proportions). Here's what we came up with! What do you think?

Seventeen year old Lady Alexandra Stafford simply doesn't fit into the world of Regency London — she's strong-willed, sharp-tongued, and she absolutely loathes dress fittings. Unfortunately, her mother has been waiting for years for Alex to be old enough to take part in the social whirlwind of a London Season so she can be married off to someone safe, respectable, wealthy, and almost certainly boring.

Alex, however, is much more interested in adventure than in romance. When the Earl of Blackmoor is killed in a puzzling accident, Alex--along with her two best friends, Ella and Vivi--decides to help his son, the brooding and devilishly handsome Gavin, uncover the truth. It's a mystery brimming with espionage, murder, and suspicion. As Alex and Gavin grow closer, will her heart be stolen in the process?

Romance and intrigue fill the air as this year's season begins!

Orchard has already hired an artist for the cover, and I saw pics of potential models this week...it's so weird to see my characters in real life! I can't believe it! SO EXCITING!

Yay!

I'm really excited to finish the edits on The Season, because I finished my outline for book two in the series. It's a really different type of love story than The Season, but also filled with danger and excitement...so I'm looking forward to sinking my teeth into it!

Today, though, I'm off to do laundry...which is much less exciting than all this book stuff...but does give me a chance to catch up with some of my friends who have been woefully neglected while I've been finishing everything up. I miss them!!

hope you have a great weekend...
xoxo

me me me. ugh.

my editor called me today and said, "could you write a brief bio for your jacket copy and for the catalog?" sure! no problem! (I'm an eager beaver, you know.)

of course, little did I know that this is FAR FAR easier said than done!

here's the thing...I am a publicist by day. I make my living writing bios of people, among other things. And I can honestly say that I've never spent more than 30 minutes on one. Until I had to write my own.

For some reason, writing about myself is the hardest thing in the world for me. At first, I couldn't think of a single interesting thing to say--not ONE thing ANYONE would care to hear. Pathetic, right? And then, when I started to write information about my background, it just started to sound boastful and awful. Ugh.

Suffice to say, I hated every minute of it. But I did it... and here's what I ended up sending:

Sarah MacLean grew up in Rhode Island, where she spent much of her free time bemoaning the fact that she was more than a century too late for own Season. Her unabashed addiction to historical fiction helped to earn her a degree in European History from Smith College before she moved to New York City to pursue a career in publishing. After receiving a Masters in Education from Harvard University, Sarah returned to New York, where she lives with her husband, their dog, and a ridiculously large collection of romance novels. She is currently at work on her second novel.

Oy. So nervewracking!

xoxo