MacLeanSpace

Everyone Loves a Man Who Can Cook

2010-03-13T12:03:00.001-05:00

There's a big debate on Twitter right now--the YA lit world is buzzing with what could be the most pressing question of our time. Team Peeta or Team Gale? Not since vampires vs. werewolves has a debate been so heated. But honestly, I'm going to let Hunger Games experts be the ones to discuss this because, while I loved the books, this seems like a non-thing to me. Obviously, the answer is Team Gale. Obviously.

Now. My friend Amanda is vehemently Team Peeta. Her defense of this mousy, pasty beta-of-all-beta heroes is indefatigable. It is clear and single-focused: "Everyone loves a man who can cook."

Interestingly, this simple defense is enough to give me pause. Because, truthfully, everyone does love a man who can cook. Me, especially. I have a total obsession with chefs. The day Top Chef was created in a back room at Bravo I swear, I heard angels sing.

I admire knife skills. I dream of palates. I think those white jackets are about the sexiest thing ever worn by man. I TiVo No Reservations. I refer to Tom Colicchio as "Big Daddy Colicchio." I heard Eric Ripert expound on the difference between sea salt and iodized salt once--and fell a little bit in love. One of my dad's closest friends owns a restaurant. Sometimes I sneak into the kitchen just to watch the guys work the line.

My name is Sarah, and I'm addicted to chefs.

It's ok. My husband knows. He's cool with it. (Because he's a foodie, too.)

You have only to read Bella Andre's Tempt Me, Taste Me, Touch Me or Louisa Edwards's fab Can't Stand the Heat to know just how hot a chef can really be...but what is it about chefs that makes them so. Very. Sexy? They're artists, and they work with their hands, sure. But they're also keenly aware of the senses...taste, scent, texture, the way food looks on a plate...and I think that's where their sexiness lies--in their clear commitment to perfection in the most sensual of ways. Yum.

Are you addicted to chefs? Why?

Pamela Palmer's Nine rules of dating a Feral Warrior Shifter

2010-03-11T08:35:00.001-05:00

To celebrate the launch month of Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake, I've asked some of my favorite authors to share their own Nine Rules here on the blog...

About six months ago, I was in the Avon offices and I made an embarrassing confession--that I'd never read a shapeshifter romance. Well. That was not going to be allowed to go on if I was ever going to be able to show my face proudly in those offices again. I left with my marching orders...read Pamela Palmer's Feral Warriors series. I bought the first, Desire Untamed, on my way home. I bought the next two the next morning; because I was hooked. Utterly. Completely. Hooked.

Holy Cannoli. You gotta read these books.

So...I'm so so so thrilled that Pamela was willing to take time out of her crazy schedule of writing more of these books (the next...Rapture Untamed, about Jag, my favorite of the Feral Warriors...is out June 29th. HAWT cover here!) to join my Nine Rules celebration!

Nine Rules of Dating a Feral Warrior Shifter

1. Don't wear clothes that snag easily on claws

2. Don't wear fur

3. Bring a purse big enough to carry an extra pair of his pants if he has to shift

4. Be prepared for anything

5. Don't be alarmed by the sudden arrival of large predatory animals

6. Be prepared to hold his weapons if he has to shift

7. Don't be alarmed if he starts stabbing the air with his knives -- you can't see the things he's fighting

8. Wear heels – no matter how tall you are, you’re going to feel small

9. Be prepared for the night of your life!

As a FANTASTIC added bonus to her awesome Nine Rules, Pamela has offered one lucky commenter the first three books in the Feral Warriors Series: Desire Untamed (starring hot Lyon), Passion Untamed (perfect Paenther), and Obsession Untamed (yummy Tighe)!

To win, comment below with the animal least likely to be featured as a hero in a shape-shifter romance (I'm looking forward to this one)! Pamela will choose the most unlikely animal and the winner on Monday! (Don't forget to put your email address in the comment!)

And stay tuned for the rest of the month--and a dozen more Authors Rule(s) posts from an awesome range of authors! To read more of Authors Rule(s), please click here!

Kerrelyn Sparks's 9 Perfect Presents for Vampire Sweethearts!

2010-03-09T08:09:00.008-05:00

I am SUPER jazzed that Kerrelyn Sparks has joined me this week to offer up her Nine Perfect Presents to Give Your Vampire Sweetheart as part of my launch month for Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake! Kerrelyn's The Vampire and the Virgin--a continuation of her Love at Stake series--releases this week! Kerrelyn has offered up a signed copy of Forbidden Nights with a Vampire...to win, comment below with your favorite fictional vampire (winner announced on Thursday)!

I should warn you, when I first got this list, I couldn't stop laughing. It's the perfect example of how hilariously entertaining Kerrelyn's books are...Here we go!

Nine Perfect Presents to Give Your Vampire Sweetheart!

A roll of Vampos, the after-dinner mint that gets rid of blood breath.
A dozen blood-red roses.
A designer label black tuxedo and cape lined with red satin.
A king-sized coffin with room for two.
A flat screen television with a subscription to the Digital Vampire Network.
A sunlamp so he won’t look quite so pale.
A year supply of Bleer (synthetic blood mixed with beer).
A hot dinner date with you as the entrée.
Sex, sex, and more sex! A good Vamp can last all night long!

The Vampire and the Virgin releases March 9^th! Can you guess the perfect present the heroine gives her vampire? To read an excerpt or enter one of Kerrelyn's own contests, please visit www.kerrelynsparks.com!

And stay tuned for the rest of the month--and a dozen more Authors Rule(s) posts from an awesome range of authors! To read more of Authors Rule(s), please click here!

ETA: Thanks to everyone who entered the contest...and to Kerrelyn for stopping by again! The winner is Debbie Kelly!

Nine Rules Excerpt!

2010-03-08T17:23:00.000-05:00

Harper has released
an excerpt of
Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake

(SQUEE!)

To Browse Inside...
Click the cover!

Today, in Things that Make Me Smile.

2010-03-06T19:08:00.000-05:00

Via the fantabulous Coe Booth.

Jennifer Brown's Nine Rules for Being an Agent of Change

2010-03-05T08:24:00.002-05:00

To celebrate the launch month of NINE RULES TO BREAK WHEN ROMANCING A RAKE, I've asked some of my favorite authors to share their own Nine Rules here on the blog...

As regular readers know, one of my very favorite YA Novels of 2009 was the incredible Hate List by the hilarious, wonderful Jennifer Brown. I'm honored that Jennifer was willing to take time to celebrate the launch of Nine Rules with me...with her Nine Rules for Being an Agent of Change. The phrase--used by the principal in Hate List after the tragic events following a school shooting--encourages students to end bullying at the school...something I think we can all get behind.

With that, I turn it over to Jennifer (with the quick addition that Rule #1 is my very favorite lesson from her fabulous book):

1) See what's really there. Not what you "think" someone else is thinking, or what you're "assuming" someone else is like, but what and who is really there. Remember, you are not only your reputation -- why should anyone else be only theirs?

2) Listen to your gut. Deep down, you know if you're saying or doing something that is mean and hurtful. Trust that instinct -- if your actions (or inactions) feel bad to you... take a different route! It's never too late to change.

3) Save your applause for a friendlier show. Bullies love feedback, and the more you giggle, gasp, or stand and stare, the more likely they are to keep up their bullying act. So steal their applause. Just. Walk. Away.

4) Reach out in friendship to someone who needs it. You never know... the kid everyone tears down just might end up being the best friend you ever had.

5) Be the place where gossip goes to die. Bullying isn't just about shoving into lockers or ridiculing in the lunch line. Gossip and rumors hurt just as much as a punch to the ribs. Don't perpetuate rumors. Don't add to the gossip. Don't whisper or send hurtful emails. If you don't spread hurt, maybe it will die.

6) If you're being bullied, find a safe place... and go there! Don't suffer alone. Tell a school counselor or teacher, parent, friend's parent, or other trusted adult, sibling or friend. An adult can help put a stop to the bullying. And you could end up being someone's hero -- the person who prevented what's happening to you from happening to someone else.

7) Be a carpenter, not a demolition crew. You have the power to build someone up or tear them down. Which would you rather be? Those people in #6 need someone to go to. Be that safe place. You can make a real difference in someone's life, which is kind of awesome to think about.

8) Apologize. It's never too late to decide you are so done with making someone miserable. An apology goes a long way, especially if it's followed up with friendship (or at least a truce).

9) Wear an attitude: "Bullying is SO 1980s!" Make it loud and clear that you think bullying is another one of those uncool things your parents did "back in the day," like wearing big, permed hair and stirrup pants and listening to Depeche Mode cassette tapes. You are so much more evolved than that. You are cool; bullying is so boringly old-school!

Jennifer is offering up a v. cool "Agent of Change" bracelet and a signed copy of Hate List for one lucky winner! To win, please comment below--one entry for each comment, two for telling us about an agent of change in your life. One winner will be chosen at random on Monday!

ETA: WINNER! Congrats to Cari!

To read more of Authors Rule(s), please click here!

Toni Blake's Nine Rules for Visiting Destiny, Ohio!

2010-03-01T08:04:00.004-05:00

To celebrate the launch month of NINE RULES TO BREAK WHEN ROMANCING A RAKE, I've asked some of my favorite authors to share their own Nine Rules here on the blog...

I'm so excited to kick off the series with the fabulous Toni Blake, author of seventeen romances including the heartwarming, sexy ONE RECKLESS SUMMER. If you, as I am, are a sucker for homecoming romances--you know the ones I mean...the heroine goes back to her roots and falls for a dreamy local?--ORS is for you!

The book (and it's sequel, SUGAR CREEK, due out in June, Oh! The torment!), is set in a fictional small town called Destiny, Ohio--as much a character as the humans in the book. Toni's Nine Rules take us to Destiny--and teach us how to navigate this little town.

Nine Rules for Visiting the Quaint Small Town of Destiny, Ohio
by Toni Blake

Be sure to stop by the Under the Covers bookstore on the town square and share a cup of coffee with Amy and Tessa. If there’s good girl talk or gossip to be had, this is where it will be going on and you don’t want to miss it. There’s usually a cat-in-residence, too, who will be happy to rub up against your ankles or sit in your lap.
Don’t speed in Destiny. Hunky cop, Mike Romo is a stickler about that sort of thing and will give you tickets repeatedly – just ask Rachel Farris.
Take a canoe ride across idyllic Blue Valley Lake. Besides being quite scenic, this quaint body of water has seen a lot of Destiny drama over the years, most specifically between good girl Jenny Tolliver and the bad boy of her dreams.
But never, never visit the old Brody cabin in the woods across the lake. It’s SUPER creepy – especially when you think you see lights on even when no one has lived there in years!
Buy some apples from Edna at the Farris Family Apple Orchard on Sugar Creek and ask her to tell you the story of her tragic first love over a piece of her award-winning apple pie.
Stay away from Mick Brody! His brother is in prison, after all, and he was always a bad seed. No, it doesn’t matter how hot he is – beware!
In case of trouble, remember that the Destiny Police and Fire Departments are right next door to each other, just across the square from Under the Covers. And both come complete with lots of sexy men in uniform, which has the potential to make any emergency more enjoyable.
Hang out at Creekside Park. If you’re lucky, you’ll get to watch hot, sweaty guys playing softball, or you might even be invited into a touch football game with Mike Romo, Logan Whitaker, and Adam Becker – “touch” being the key word here.
Plan to stay awhile and soak up everything Destiny has to offer, from the quaint garden parties to nights at the Dew Drop Inn, from hot and sexy encounters to deliciously sweet romance.

Number 9 won't be hard at all...and I'm going to prove it to you!

Comment below with your favorite Small Town for a chance to win a copy of One Reckless Summer, the first in the Destiny series--I'll select one random commenter on Friday to win!

To read more of Authors Rule(s), please click here!

ETA: Winner! Thanks to all for commenting...I think its so fun that everyone has a favorite small town (mine is Ashland, NH)! But, sadly, only one person can win! Congrats to Miss Tammy! Everyone else...keep trying all month to win goodies from the other authors who will be stopping by for the 9 Rules celebration!

Release Month Celebration! Nine Rules Excitement!

2010-02-28T13:29:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow makes it March!
Release month!

I am so excited, y'all...as you know, I've wanted to write romance novels for virtually my entire life, and this month...I get to be a bona fide romance novelist! I'm thrilled that in T-minus 30 days, my first romance novel, NINE RULES TO BREAK WHEN ROMANCING A RAKE, will be on bookshelves all across the country! SO. EXCITED.

Even more exciting is this: For the month of March, there are going to be all sorts of surprises, giveaways and excitements here at MacLeanSpace...free books, goodies, and, my very favorite thing...a series of guest posts by some of my favorite authors--each giving his or her NINE RULES to live by! I'm so very honored that so many good friends have agreed to celebrate with me!

If you'll do me a favor and bear with me, I also have to squee for a second or two...because the first reviews for NINE RULES have started coming in...and I really really have to share!

ROMANTIC TIMES gave it 4.5 stars and named it a TOP PICK for April...MacLean has penned a fast-paced, funny tale with a marvelous cast of characters who captivate and enchant. This book should come with a warning: Once you start, you won't want to put it down! (Yes...I'm calling that "my Times review." Forever.)

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY called it: An entertaining Regency debut, and said, The 19th-century clothes are luscious, the 21st-century sensibility is raunchy, and it’s all implausible, escapist fun. And, while I cringed a little at that raunchy the first time I read it, I'm now considering putting it on bumperstickers. :)

And...my favorite...A STARRED BOOKLIST REVIEW!!!--MacLean’s devilishly fun debut novel is an absolute delight: rich in supple wit, suffused with sensuality, and enlivened with a wonderfully engaging cast of characters.

SQUEE!!!

Ok...I swear, I won't post reviews often...so thanks for sticking with me on this one! I hope you'll come back over the course of the month and celebrate this amazing time with me!

And one more thing...I want to thank you all...for your patience, and your encouragement...and for being so willing to go on this crazy journey with me!

Much love...

Oh, Olympics, How Do I Love Thee?

2010-02-14T22:52:00.000-05:00

I do not like to watch sports on TV. I'll go to a hockey game, or to the US Open--and when I was in high school I had a big fat crush on a soccer player so, yeah, I've been to my fair share of soccer games--but when it comes down to it, I'd rather do anything than watch sports.

But there is something about the Olympics. Every two years (although I still think of them as every-four-years kind of things)...a bunch of kids from around the world come together and they compete. And every year, I am glued to the tv. Because there is something about the Olympics. Something really remarkable.

I think it's hope. I think it's the fact that today, in this world that is filled with people (myself included) who are filled with boredom and ennui and a real sense that there is nothing that can really awe us, there are hundreds of athletes in Vancouver who are literally experiencing the most amazing days of their lives.

You can see it on their faces when they enter the opening ceremonies in the parade of nations. You can see it in their eyes when they stick their landings. In the way they clutch their partners when they finish their remarkable iceskating routines. In the way they collapse to the ground when they cross the finish lines after the Nordic combined (did you SEE that?!).

They are awestruck. And they are hopeful. And they know that TODAY is the greatest day they have ever had.

And that is some serious mojo.

Serious enough that I feel it through my tv.

Eric makes fun of me. He thinks I'm silly to care about curling. But I do care. Not because I know anything about curling or ever will. But because these guys care about it. And they've been working their whole lives to be the best in the world at it.

And that's something. Because I recognize that I'm not the best in the world at anything. So I give mad props to anyone who can lay claim to that superlative.

So, to the Olympians...all of them...go you. I'm watching.

Felicity Walker on Inside the Character's Studio

2010-02-09T10:40:00.000-05:00

I'm very very happy to host Felicity Walker, the star of the truly hilariousRhonda Stapleton's Stupid Cupid, on Inside the Characters Studio!

Felicity Walker believes in true love. That’s why she applies for a gig at the matchmaking company Cupid’s Hollow. But when Felicity gets the job, she learns that she isn’t just a matchmaker…she’s a cupid! (There’s more than one of them, you know.)

Armed with a hot pink, tricked-out PDA infused with the latest in cupid magic (love arrows shot through email), Felicity works to meet her quota of successful matches. But when she bends the rules of cupidity by matching her best friend Maya with three different boys at once, disaster strikes. Felicity needs to come up with a plan to set it all right, pronto, before she gets fired…and before Maya ends up with her heart split in three.

Welcome, Felicity!

What is your favorite word?
Crap.

What is your least favorite word?
Ummmmm, this one's hard. I don't like the word "moist", actually.

What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
The feeling I get from making a great match.

What turns you off?
The feeling I get from making a wretched match. *sigh*

What is your favorite curse word?
Ass. I'll say it again...AAAAAAAAASSSSS. Man, it feels good. haha

What sound or noise do you love?
I love listening to my friend Maya play the trumpet. She's really good!

What sound or noise do you hate?
I hate the squeaky sound my shoes sometimes makes. Especially when it's just one shoe, so it's all lopsided.

What profession would you like to attempt?
I'd like to be a BETTER cupid than I am...I'm still attempting that one.

What profession would you not like to do?
Anything involving garbage or stinky stuff.

If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
Felicity, thanks for working so hard as a cupid. And for saving those nuns from that burning building. That was extra generous of you.

LOL. That last answer always cracks me up! Thanks for coming over to play, Felicity!

----
Check out other interviews from Inside the Characters' Studio here.

The end. Or, finishing your book.

2010-02-01T07:58:00.001-05:00

There are few things in life better than the pleasure of finishing a first draft. In fact, today I can't really think of something better. This is, of course, because I finished the first draft of my third book--the sequel to Nine Rules to Break When Romancing A Rake--last night.

Just to put it into perspective, here are nine things that finishing your first draft is better than:

1. Finding a $20 bill in your coat when you weren't expecting it.
2. A kick in the pants.
3. A great new haircut.
4. Friday afternoons.
5. Clamcakes and chowder at the beach (and I'm a New Englander. So that's no joke.).
6. Christmas morning.
7. An Ocean's 11, 12 and 13 marathon...in the theater.
8. Chocolate.

and, by a nose:

9. The tasting menu at Craft. (Tom Colicchio not included. Obviously, I would have to reclassify if he were.)

For me this is particularly true because, honestly? I still get incredibly doubtful about whether or not my books will actually get finished when I'm writing. Seriously. I'll be 300 pages in and think...is this even a thing? But then I come out on the other side...and OMG. It's a thing. And I actually like it. And I get giddy. And I do a little dance and have a glass of wine and watch West Wing for three hours.

So...yeah...that's nice.

And, of course, I know I am not even close to being done with this book. Because now comes the part where I hand it over to my ridiculously-brilliant-editor-who-happens-to-see-things-in-my-manuscripts-that-I-would-never-have-seen-had-i-had-an-ice-age-to-find-them and I will say, "These are all the words I know. And this is the order in which I know to use them." And she will say, "Push yourself. I will help."

And I will. And she will. And revisions will happen (another blog post for another day).

And the book you read in the fall will be infinitely better than the book I have today.

And that, too, will feel great.

But it still won't feel as good as finishing the first draft.

xox

Nine Books You Should Buy From Not Amazon

2010-01-30T19:41:00.008-05:00

So, anyone who follows the publishing industry has heard about the throwdown between Macmillan Publishing and Amazon today. I think there's a lot of insanity from both sides, but it sounds like it went something like this.

Macmillan: Hey, Amazon, we're not so thrilled that you're price-fixing eBooks for the Kindle. Since iPad is going to take over the world, uhm...yeah...we're gonna need you to go ahead and up the prices on Macmillan ebooks. All of them. Also, we're pretty sure that Steve Jobs can kick Jeff Bezos's butt in a cage match.

Amazon: Yeah...no.

Macmillan: Well, we're at an impasse then. Because that means we won't let you carry our eBooks. So, there.

Amazon: Uhm...while we're at it, why don't we make it ALL your books. Paper ones, too?

Macmillan: Uhm...

Amazon: Tell Steve Jobs it's on.

Macmillan: Shit.

Ok...so there's some crazysauce on both sides of this debate. And I don't really know who was more ridiculous in the discussion, because, frankly, Macmillan shouldn't have been so astoundingly short sighted, and Amazon shouldn't have been such a bully. BUT...what I do know is this: Authors who publish with Macmillan (or any of the imprints of Macmillan, like Tor, Farrar Straus & Giroux, Holt, and St. Martin's) are pretty well screwed by this news...because for a lot of authors, Amazon accounts for the lion's share of their sales.

So...without further ado...I give you Nine Books You Should Buy From Not Amazon. All of these books are published by Macmillan. And, yes. Some of these authors are my friends...because I want them to be able to eat. I think it's important to stress how INCREDIBLY vast the impact of this kind of major publishing event is--it impacts authors from all genres...as you can see from the list below.

1. Elizabeth Strout's, Olive Kitteridge (Literary Fiction & Winner of the Pulitzer Prize)

2. Lisa Kleypas's, Blue-Eyed Devil (Contemporary Romance)

3. Lisa Mantchev's Eyes Like Stars (YA)

4. Polly Frost's Deep Inside (Erotic Horror)

5. Liel Leibovitz's Aliya: Three Generations of American-Jewish Immigration to Israel (Nonfiction)

6. Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series (Bestselling Mystery)

7. Natalie Babbit's Tuck Everlasting (Children's & one of my favorite books of all time)

8. Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall (Historical Fiction & Winner of the Booker Prize)

9. Deva Fagan's Fortune's Folly (Middle Grade Fiction)

Really, team? We can't get it together and reach some kind of agreement?

ETA: There are, of course, thousands of other authors impacted by this insanity. Visit the Macmillan website to look for more.

you can have my book for free!

2010-01-30T11:40:00.000-05:00

**with many thanks to the fabulous Saundra Mitchell for the icon.

9 Books that I Can't Wait to Read

2010-01-23T13:13:00.000-05:00

I'm on deadline.

Like, that awful, I-have-to-work-every-waking-minute-between-now-and-two-weeks-from-now-to-make-my-deadline kind of "I'm on deadline."

It's always right about now in the process of writing a book that I get this burning desire to read books. But I persevere and ignore it...and make a list of all the books that I'm going to read once I turn in my book. I have them in a pile in my house...and they are my prize.

Here are 9 books I will read the very second I can:

1. Lisa Kleypas's Tempt me at Twilight - which has been pretty much torturing me since it came out in September. When I'm working on a book, I always take one romance novel by one of my very favorite authors and set it aside as my "I finished the book!" treat. This one is it. And OMG I'm DYING to read it.

2. A.J. Jacobs's The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible - I love nonfiction that follows an author through an insane journey. This seems like a completely insane journey.

3. Alison Weir's The Lady in the Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn - I will pretty much read anything that Alison Weir writes. If you like British History, you should do the same.

4. Carrie Ryan's The Dead-Tossed Waves - Carrie is a dear friend, and I've been wanting to read DTW for months. Finally, I'll be able to!

5. Charles Dickens's Great Expectations - I know. This one is just embarrassing. But, no, I haven't read it.

6. Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love - I appear to be the only female on earth who has not read this book. It's time.

7. Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking - It seems weird to want to read a cookbook, I know. But I feel like this one has so many fantastic little nuggets of information...I'm in.

8. Sandra Hill's Viking in Love - Uhm. Romance novel about Vikings. Yes, please.

9. Steig Larson's The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - Because I don't read enough thrillers...and this one has a heckuva title. And I don't think I've heard of a single person who didn't love it.

Ok, readers. What did I miss?

Sunday Sighs...The West Wing, Josh & Donna

2010-01-17T21:22:00.001-05:00

Every time I watch an episode of The West Wing, I think I find my favorite line from the whole show. But, the romance reader/writer/lover knows that there's only one answer to this question.

It's in the second season, during the episode titled "17 People." This is a fantastic episode--one that shows the incredible talent of Richard Schiff (who plays the curmudgeonly, patriotic Toby Ziegler)--in which, among other things: Toby is made the 17th Person to discover that President Bartlet has MS; Ainsley Hayes (my favorite Republican on television) reveals that she is a Smithie; and Sam & Ainsley have a fantastic argument about the need (or lack thereof) for the Equal Rights Amendment.

But the very best moment in the whole show is when Donna and Josh peel off from the rest of the group, and she confesses that she came to work for the White House not (as he's always believed) when her boyfriend dumped her, but when she dumped him--because the tool stopped to have a drink with friends on the way to pick her up from the hospital after she had been in a car accident:

Josh gets superior (as he does), and says:
"I'm just saying that if you were in an accident, I wouldn't stop for a beer."
Donna replies:
"If you were in an accident I wouldn't stop for red lights."

ok. le sigh.

But if that weren't enough, here's the kicker. The audience knows in that moment (if they didn't already) that Josh and Donna are destined to be. But the stellar writing staff of the show doesn't give in to what I am certain was an overwhelming desire to just-get-them-together-already-and-have-them-make-out. They go another five seasons before we get the smooch we want here in season two.

And OMG it's worth it.

And that is just one of the many reasons why I think The West Wing is the greatest thing that has ever been on television.

Help Haiti

2010-01-16T16:38:00.000-05:00

Text HAITI to 90999 to donate $10 to the American Red Cross.

OR...Visit the Red Cross online and give all you can.

Call into Blog Talk Radio Chat with Sarah MacLean!

2010-01-15T22:45:00.002-05:00

I'm super excited to join Barry Eva for A Book & A Chat on Blog Talk Radio on Saturday, January 16th at 11am ET!

Please listen in...and call in with questions about The Season, the upcoming Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake, me, my writing process, Baxter, Brooklyn, my obsession with The West Wing, or anything else you'd like to chat about!

I survived 2009

2010-01-06T18:52:00.000-05:00

And this is very likely the reason why:

Thanks to the very fabulous 2009 Debutantes. Yes. They are made of win.

Sunday Awesome: Gail the Goldfish!

2010-01-03T23:21:00.001-05:00

I just discovered this awesome easter egg in The West Wing...then discovered that someone awesome has created an entire website as an homage to Gail the Goldfish!

Gail first appeared on The West Wing early on in Season 1...Since that episode, Gail has become more than a prop on a set, she’s become the focus of private jokes between the West Wing production team and eagle eyed fans of the show. In most episodes her bowl contains some object that alludes to the plot, and this web page catalogues as many of these as possible.

For the record, I noticed Gail's special decor in Six Meetings Before Lunch, which is about panda bears and the national zoo. Gail gets two in her bowl!

I am now through being a West Wing nerd.
For today.

Dream Occupation: Romance Novelist

2010-01-02T18:30:00.002-05:00

I think I've blogged before about the fact that I've always wanted to be a romance novelist...I usually tell a story about a silly "tell us about yourself" project that I had to do in high school that still lives on my bedroom door in the house where I grew up, on which I wrote: Dream Job: Romance Novelist. Well, thanks to Eric's iPhone, I can now share the proof with you!

There I am...17 years old. And there it is...my dream job.

17-year-old me would be "wicked stoked" right now.

Also, because I followed that 11th Commandment to the letter.

Mostly.

At least...I didn't date a lot of actors.

And I didn't *marry* an actor.

She'd also tell me I had to get back to work or risk having to become an economist or something.

You Say You Want A Resolution...

2010-01-01T18:15:00.000-05:00

Oh, January 1st, how you tempt me with your big, fresh, blank slates and fresh, exciting promise.

Every year, I make New Year's resolutions. Every year I break New Year's resolutions. And, in the immortal words of Paul Thomas Anderson, And so it goes, and so it goes. And the book says...
"We may be through with the past...but the past ain't through with us."

And so, here we go again. It's January 1, 2010. A new year, a new decade, and here I, Sarah MacLean, do hereby resolve to:

1) Write every day. Even when I'd rather watch The West Wing for the 43rd time.

2) Finish three books. "But Sarah!" you say, "You only have two books due in 2010!" Ah hah! See what I did there? I aimed high.

3) Make Pate de canard en croute. Yes. That requires deboning a duck. I know. I'm wicked adventurous.

4) See at least one movie, in a movie theater, a month.

5) Read Great Expectations. All the way through.

6) Use my elliptical for more than a clothes hanger. At least once a week.

7) Take fewer taxis.

8) Do more yoga.

9) Do a better job of keeping in touch with old friends.

10) Learn one new skill. I haven't decided what this will be. Any ideas? Should I learn a language? Pick up an instrument? Take a photography class? Join an archery club?

Ok...so what are your resolutions?

9 Things That Made 2009 Awesome

2009-12-31T15:48:00.003-05:00

As 2009 draws to a close, I'm feeling a little nostalgic...after all, it was the year I published my first novel!

So, in honor of today...December 31st, 2009, on the cusp of a new decade that will bring who knows what, I give you, 9 Things That Made 2009 Awesome.

1. January 20, 2009 - History is made. And this happens.

2. March 1, 2009 - THE SEASON is released into the world. PW references its "clever conversation in the spirit of Jane Austen." I fall off my chair.

3. This rug from CB2 - Yes. It looks like grass. Yes. We have a dog. Never say we are not risk-takers.

4. I finish my second book - Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake clocks in at nearly twice the length of The Season. My editor does not break up with me when she reads it. Sue Grimshaw at Borders True Romance compares it to Eloisa James. I fall off my chair.

5. The 2009 Debutantes - a few scores of writers all launching their writing careers in 2009. We keep each other sane. And honest. And we survive our debut year with relatively few scars.

6. The Jane Austen Society of North America, Connecticut Chapter Annual Tea - The ladies of JASNA/CT invited me to spend a day with them in early December to celebrate Jane. They ply with me with tea and cakes. I have a splendid time.

7. Cate Blanchett as Blanche Dubois - A Streetcar Named Desire at the Brooklyn Academy of Music blows my mind. I realize that a female director can make a play I've read 30 times seem like something I've never heard of.

8. RWA 2009 - I get to hang out with Diana Peterfreund, Anne Mallory, Sabrina Darby and Julianne MacLean. I sit next to Stephanie Laurens at an event. Manage, barely, not to fall off my chair.

9. Sherlock Holmes - Robert Downey Jr. + Guy Ritchie + Victorian London = Epic Win.

So...farewell '09. Here's to you. May 2010 be even awesomer.

Happy New Year, y'all.

Merry Merry Muppets

2009-12-22T15:04:00.002-05:00

If this doesn't make you smile, you aren't human.

Merry merry, y'all.

9 Rules to Live By - Jane Austen Style

2009-12-16T19:03:00.001-05:00

234 years ago, today...Jane Austen was born. It's no secret that my world would be vastly different were it not for Aunt Jane...and so, in honor of her birthday, I give you, 9 Rules to Live By...Jane Austen-Style:

1. A watch is always too fast or too slow. I cannot be dictated to by a watch. - Mansfield Park

2. Give a girl an education and introduce her properly into the world, and ten to one but she has the means of settling well, without further expense to anybody. - Mansfield Park

3. One does not love a place the less for having suffered in it, unless it has been all suffering, nothing but suffering. - Persuasion

4. Selfishness must always be forgiven...because there is no hope of a cure. - Mansfield Park

5. Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance. - Pride & Prejudice

6. Friendship is certainly the finest balm for the pangs of disappointed love. - Northanger Abbey

7. Encouragement should be given. - Emma

8. It is such a happiness when good people get together--and they always do. - Emma

9. Know your own happiness. - Sense & Sensibility

Happy birthday, Jane.

30 Rock Gives Me A Christmas Present

2009-12-12T12:52:00.002-05:00