Random Fact Friday

I eat M&Ms in a certain order: blue, brown, red, yellow, green, orange.

Why that order? Because it goes from my least favorite M&M color to favorite. In the real world, I like blue better than brown, but in M&M world... I know. It's weird. But that's how I do it.

What about you? Any weird eating habits?

Work in Progress Wednesday

Despite a title that hints at regular feature status, we all know I'm notoriously bad a regular features. But it is Wednesday, so I'm going to share a tiny snippet of my work in progress:

The number of keepsakes marking her six months with Jake Grayson is--kind of sad, actually. There are no black Sharpie-labeled mix CDs of their favorite songs. No love letters. Not even printouts of romantic e-mails or saved Instant Message chats. There is nothing in the bottom of the barbecue pit that says this boy was ever in love with this girl.

But what do I know about love? I’ve never cried myself to sleep over a boy. Or kept track of the days, hours, minutes since our breakup. Or drove past his house, plotting ways to get him back. Or burned up everything he ever gave me. Probably because I’ve never loved any guy enough to feel as if I couldn’t live without him.

It's tentatively called Second Wind, but since Josh Berk likes to call it Breaking Wind, I might have to re-think the title. While I'm thinking (and writing!) you know what you can do?

You can go to My Message Board and tell me and Mitali your favorite boys of YA. We'll be assembling The Boy List and we want to know!

P.S. One day I hope Jake Grayson will make the list. But until then, who do you love NOW? Go to the message board and tell me!

THE BOY LIST

So narrowing the boys of YA down to just five was hard, huh? Mitali and I were talking about how the list should be longer. More comprehensive.

So here's the deal. We want you to help us compile THE BOY LIST - The Favorite Boys of YA.

This is how it works:

1. Go this thread on my message boards. (You may have to register. It's free and easy. So just do it.)

2. Tell us who your favorite YA boys are. We don't care how many you list. Seriously. If you want to go through your entire bookshelf and list 100 of your favorite boys? Go for it. If you want to post multiple times, that's fine too. Just keep in mind: You can't say Dexter Jones from This Lullaby FIFTY TIMES. We're not voting, we're just listing. So don't try to stuff the ballot box.

3. You have until midnight on JULY 10, 2009.

4. Once everyone's contributions to the list are in, Mitali and I will analyze the data and come up with THE BOY LIST - The Favorite Boys of YA. Our goal is to make it a ranked list, but if we have a lot of boys with equal numbers of votes, we may just have to make it a comprehensive favorites list.

Either way? It's going to be awesome. So head on over to my message boards and tell us who your favorite boys of YA are. Right now!

Let's Hear it for the Girls

A few days ago, I posted my Top Five Favorite Boys of YA, but what about the girls--those main characters we love? After giving it some thought, I realized my favorites are divided into two camps: the girls who kick ass and take names, and the funny girls. And interestingly enough, although Sarah Dessen's boys rank high on my favorites list, the girls don't. Hm.

My Top Five:

5. Tally Youngblood - Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld

The first person who comes to mind when I think about kicking ass and taking names is Tally.

4. Katniss Everdeen - Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins

And while we're on the subject, I'm hoping we see Katniss take down an entire government. With Gale.

3. Georgia Nicholson - Georgia Nicholson series by Louise Rennison

She makes me laugh so hard I have to run to the piddly diddly department before I go in my knickers.

2. Ruby Oliver - Ruby Oliver series by E. Lockhart

Sometimes angst is obnoxious and sometimes angst is endearing. Ruby Oliver is the latter. I can't wait to see what happens next in her world.

1. Frankie Landau-Banks - The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

She brings both those things together. She kicks ass and she's funny. Smart. Awesome. I wish I'd been more like Frankie when I was her age.

Heck, I wish I was more like Frankie NOW.

By request...

Khy and Alea wanted a blog post, but I had no idea what to post about. When I asked for suggestions, they suggested tapirs. Except I didn't know anything about tapirs. I've only seen one once, peeing in a pond at the rainforest exhibit at the Cleveland Zoo. But I am flexible, not unlike a tapir's nose. So, here goes:

"I'm going to need you to take the boys for the afternoon."

There should be a rule that after you get your driver's license, you shouldn't have to play chauffer to younger siblings for at least a month. Maybe two. But I have three little brothers under the age of thirteen. So even if there was such a rule, my mother would break it.

"Do I have to?"

Mom sighs. "Danielle, I wouldn't ask if I wasn't important. Mrs. Hannaford next door has a doctor's appointment or she'd watch them."

"Fine." Even though it's not fine, it's not like I have anything better to do. Everyone is gone. Ema is at performing arts camp in upstate New York, Bria is at work, and Alea is spending the summer with her dad in Michigan.

She hands me her debit card and our membership to the city zoo. Okay, this won't completely suck.

"Come on, rugrats." I tuck the cards in the pocket of my jeans and grab the car keys. "We're going to the zoo."

* * *

My brothers take off the minute we get inside the front gate. Ben, age eight, will go to the monkey house, buy cotton candy, and then go to the playground--where his sticky fingers will attract a metric ton of dirt. Tommy, age eleven, likes the reptiles. And Sam, nearly thirteen, will go wherever he thinks he might find girls. He's recently made the transition from the cootie stage.

"Meet me back here at four!" I call after them, as I head for the rainforest exhibit. I like the tapirs the best. I have no idea why. I just do.

Inside, the warm air is heavy and damp and I can feel my carefully flatironed hair starting to curl. I lean against the railing, watching one tapir pulling a banana into its mouth with its flexible nose. The other is standing in the middle of a shallow pond built into the habitat.

"Did you know that tapirs can walk underwater?" a voice from my left asks.

I turn to find a boy leaning against the rail beside me. He's got dark brown hair that hangs in his eyes. Gray eyes that match the gray t-shirt that hugs his shoulders in a very appealing way. He smiles at me and suddenly I'm hyper-aware of the fact that my hair is getting frizzier by the second and that there might be a toothpaste stain on the front of my red tank top. I nod. "I did know that."

"And did you know they have four toes on their front feet--"

"And three toes in back." I interrupt, smiling.

"Okay." He rakes his fingers through his hair, pulling it off his forehead. It falls right back into his eyes. "But do you know how tapirs have been around?"

"About 20 or 30 million years," I say. "Since about the Oligocene epoch."

He turns and lifts himself to sitting on the top rail, hooking his Adidas sneakers behind the middle rail. "What's your name?"

"Danielle. What's yours?"

"Matt." He extends his hand and I shake it. Wrapped around his wrist is watch on a thick brown leather strap and a silver bracelet that looks like it's made of fishing swivels. "I bet, Danielle, that you didn't know there's a World Tapir Day."

"I did. I mean, I do. It's April twenty-sev--It's today."

He leans toward me. "I think that's cause for celebration, don't you?"

If my friends were in town we'd have a World Tapir Day slumber party. "Of course."

Matt flashes a wide smile that sends the butterflies in my stomach on a little spree. "So what time should I pick you up?"

Boys of YA

I've been thinking lately about the boys of young adult fiction. The teenagers I've talked to can get quite passionate about their favorites, as I mentioned in this post. I suspect many of them could fill their Top Five Favorite Boys of YA strictly from Sarah Dessen books. (And I can see why. She does write fantastic boys.) Which made me start thinking about the boys I've liked best.

So here is my Top Five Favorite Boys of YA list (which may or may not contain spoilers, although I'm striving for not):

5. Charlie - A Little Friendly Advice by Siobhan Vivian

I like that he's got a cinnamon dusting of freckles and dirty blonde hair and that he makes buttons to find Ruby and that he rides a bike. In my mind's eye he's cute in a thrift store kind of way. A good way.

4. Christopher - the Airhead series by Meg Cabot

Okay, so he's tall, blonde, and blue-eyed, which is usually not my thing, but his sadness and loyalty to Emerson is just... *sigh*

3. Will - Perfect You by Elizabeth Scott

Honestly? I couldn't even tell you what Will looks like. I just like that he's very singular of mind when it comes to Kate, even when she doesn't even know it. That, and the kissing!

2. Wes - The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen

Until recently he was my favorite Dessen Boy, edging out clumsy and adorable Dexter by the thinnest of margins. Wes is honest. He's an artist. And I'm fairly certain he has amazing shoulders.

1. Eli - Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

Dark, mysterious, a little moody, a good heart. Who could ask for more than that? Well, maybe you can. But me? Not so much. My new favorite.

It's Magic

For a short time I was a contributor at Flashy Fiction, where daily writing prompts are posted and watchers are encouraged to write little vignettes. I got busy with revisions and things and didn't have time to contribute as often as I should, so I dropped off.

While I was still a contributor, Christy Raedeke posted the following prompt:


According to astrology, we are romantically doomed. According to my little sister's Magic 8 Ball, All Signs Point To Yes.


Now, I love Magic 8 Balls. So I was inspired. Here was my contribution to the prompt:


I got it." Sophie waves her little sister's Magic 8 Ball over her head. "She had it hidden in a hat wrapped in a t-shirt stuffed under a pile of sweaters in her bottom dresser drawer. Piece of cake."

"Soph, I don't think we should be trusting our romantic fates to a toy," I say.

She rolls her eyes. "The trouble with you, Bree, is that you take things too seriously. It's just for fun."

We hop up on the wall outside Devlin Park. Sophie holds the black sphere to her heart and closes her eyes.

"Does Cam Foster like me? Does Cam Foster like me?"

I'm not sure why she asks the question twice. Maybe so the cosmos doesn't confuse Cam Foster with creepy Sam Pfister who collects snakes.

Sophie cracks one eye open to see the results. "My sources say no."

She sighs and hands me the Magic 8 Ball. "You're probably right. It's just a toy."

I give the ball a little shake to erase her answer. "Does--I can't say it out loud. It's too embarrassing."

"You have to," Sophie insists. "It makes the question more permanent. And hold it close to your heart, so the ball can feel your intent."

"And you think I'M taking this too seriously?" I laugh, but put the ball up to my chest and close my eyes. Sophie leans against me so she can see the answer.

I picture Nick Murphy with his hair like a new buckeye, all shiny and deep reddish brown, and the way his green eyes squinch up when he smiles. And those light sun freckles splashed across his nose.

"Does Nick Murphy like me? Does Nick Murphy like me?"

Sophie gasps and I open my eyes.

Nick Murphy is standing in front of us. He takes the Magic 8 Ball from my hands, reads the result, then tosses it over his shoulder. As the blue liquid inside leaks out all over the sidewalk, he smiles. "All signs point to yes."