Tour Details! Retreat Info! Other Important Things!

I don't know what happened.

But somehow I got grouped in with a whole pile of awesome. I can barely believe my luck.

But I'm happy to announce the details of my upcoming tour--starting with the fact that I won't be touring alone!!!

Breathless Reads National Book Tour

Featuring: Ally Condie, Andrea Cremer, 

Kirsten Miller, Beth Revis, and Brenna Yovanoff

Wednesday, February 9th – 7:00 PM
Books of Wonder
18 West 18th Street
New York, NY 10011

Thursday, February 10th – 7:00 PM

Hennepin County Library (Ridgedale Branch)

12601 Ridgedale Drive

Minnetonka, MN 55305

 Friday, February 11th – 7:00 PM

Tattered Cover (Highlands Ranch)

1628 16th Street

Highlands Ranch, CO 80202

Saturday, February 12th – 2:00 PM

King’s English Bookshop, hosted by the Salt Lake City Public Library

210 East 400 South

Salt Lake City, UT 84111

Friday, February 25th – 7:00 PM
Quail Ridge Books and Music
3522 Wade Ave.
Raleigh, NC 27607











Right now, this is all I know. A few of you have asked about maybe meeting up before/after events and...to be honest, I just don't know. Our schedule is TIGHT. We've got a flight every single day of the tour, and I honestly just don't know if I'll be able to do anything at all other than showing up at the event.

Speaking of other things that are happening...

ABA Winter Institute!

Next weekend, I'm off to go to American Booksellers Association Winter Institute!  I will be at the Author Reception and then am going to dinner afterwards--hope to see you there! 

Writer's Retreat!
At the beginning of February, I'll be on a writer's retreat! Yes! Imagine the awesome, all packed up in one place! I have been assured that there won't be any moose ghosts, but I've still got my fingers crossed. I've also been assured that we're going to be productive little writers during that time, but I've got a feeling that we'll be up to SHENANIGANS as much as writing. Or, perhaps, WRITING SHENANIGANS.

Ask a Question!

Anyway, the coordinator of this awesome is Maggie Stiefvator (perhaps you've heard of her?), and she's doing something fairly cool: ask a writer a question. Go to her blog here if you have any question you'd like me to answer on video (or that you'd like to ask anyone else on the List of Awesome: Maggie Stiefvater, Tessa Gratton, Brenna Yovanoff, Carrie Ryan, Jackson Pearce, Jackie Dolamore, Dawn Metcalf, Kiersten White, Jenny Moss, Julie Kagawa, Frankie Mallis, Sonia Gensler, Victoria Schwab, Natalie Standiford, Saundra Mitchell, Myra McEntire, Jessica Spotswood, Carrie Jones, Jeri Smith-Ready, Julia Karr, Elizabeth Scott, and Sarah Darer Littman).

Order Signed Books Now!

This is all a really round-about way to say: I'm going to be gone for most of February. This means, if you want to order a signed copy of ACROSS THE UNIVERSE from Fireside Books and Gifts, you might want to do that soonish...or wait until after February.  

Interviewing Break!

And--not to end on a bad note--but I'm going to put a hold on doing interviews between now and the end of February. (I'm already on a break from doing Guest Posts.) It's gotten to the point where a lot of the interviews are asking the same basic questions, and I don't want to inundate your blog feed with the same sort of things. I've still got a few interviews in the queue--I'm going to do those, but not accept any more until I'm back from the tour and things have settled down a bit. 

Launch Party!

Last night was the launch party for Across the Universe! Judging by the fact that it's now 2:20 pm and I am only now getting to the point where I can sit down and write about it, I'd say yes: yes it was quite a success!!! (Pictures all by my mom, unless otherwise noted.)

Me in front of the "dump" full of my books!
PS: I'm not smiling good: I'm full of nervousness.

I was terrified no one would come. I mean, first of all: it snowed and the date got switched. Second of all: I don't have the best track record for parties. But! People came!

The line actually got really long...

Picture stolen shamelessly from Jeremy's twitter.

Of course, one of the reasons they came was for cupcakes:

Picture stolen shamelessly from Taylor's Facebook. 

But they also came for my book! Holy amazing, it was cool to see people lined up to buy my book and get my signature and...wow.

First, I read from the first chapter of the book, and then I answered Q&A.

Picture stolen shamelessly from Laura's Facebook.

I got to reconnect with old friends:

Some teaching buddies I'd not seen in forever!

A friend from high school--so good to reconnect over my book!

And I got to meet new friends:

Jeffery and Jeremy from Novel Thoughts.

Lois from Lotus Rising.

Overall, it was a night filled with smiles and hugs.

OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG: YOU GUYS!
IT'S STEPHANIE PERKINS AUTHOR OF ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS!
My curls cannot compare to the awesomeness of Stephanie's blue hair.
Picture stolen shamelessly from Stephanie's twitter.

Me, Laura and Leslie, friends since my teaching days.

My college roomie who knocked my socks off in surprise--
she drove six hours just to give me those flowers!!!

After the actual signing, I sat at the table, talking with friends and former students and it was awesome.

And, of course, I had to thank some of the most important people of all: my parents.

 At the very end of the day, Valerie, the manager at Fireside, pulled out one of the chairs. The tradition at Fireside is for authors to sign the chairs. I'd sat in the chairs enough times to wish to see my signature there, with Sharpies. It was crazy that I got to add my name to a slat.

The very last picture, and one of my favorite. Neither me nor my husband is looking at the camera. My face is shiny and my head's at an odd angle, and I could care less. I think those smiles say enough.

Commemorating Across the Universe

So, when I found out a book deal, I went on the hunt for something really special to commemorate it. I decided on jewelry--I wanted something I could wear, maybe even pass down. There are a lot of star-shaped jewelry, but I wanted something special and unique.

My next thought was to get a class ring made. Instead of a school name, I'd have the book title engraved, and my "graduation year" would appropriately be 2011. There were few designs I liked, though, and the ones I found were all vastly overpriced. I grew really frustrated with the whole idea.

Then I went to my source for unique, amazing stuff: Etsy. And I found Rickson. Rickson designs and makes her own jewelry--and when I say this, I don't mean she pieces together strands of beads or twists wire, I mean she created custom molds and works with liquid metal and is amazing. Take, for example, this necklace which is beautiful on both sides:

 Beautiful, right? I just adore it--I love how the staircase leads to a door, how the heart is so dark on one side and light on the other--it's amazing.

So clearly I was dealing with an artist here, but I wanted something specific to my book. Well, as most of you know, the book's title came from the Beatle's song, "Across the Universe." Not only is it the title, but it's my favorite Beatle's song, and something that I listened to over and over and over again while I was writing the book.

And Rickson makes what she calls song rings--a ring with a snippet of the actual music notes of the song engraved into the metal. Can you make me one using "Across the Universe?" I asked. "Can you get it to me before my book launch?" And because she's so awesome & amazing, Rickson got it to me (after shipping express from Canada!) just in time for the launch!

I love it--it's perfect. Totally unique, and totally perfect to commemorate the book launch! And not only does the outside have the musical notes of the song, the inside is engraved with something from the song that perfectly fits the book... "words are flowing."

Remember when I said Rickson was awesome? She's so awesome that she actually made a video of how she handcrafted the ring!!!! Be sure to check it out here: she makes the ring out of wax first, then pours plaster around it, then melts the wax and uses the plaster as a mold. Even when I knew the basic process, I had no idea how much detail and care went into the ring's production until I saw the video. Thank you so much for making the ring and the video, Rickson!!

Things to Do on the Day Your Book Launches

You know: it was kind of nice to get buried under the snow and be forced to stay inside. I'd been running around like mad to get everything working for the launch party--arranging cupcakes to be made, putting up posters, calling newspapers, sending invites, and one thing after another.

So when the snow came and said, "Nuh-huh," I was actually mostly okay with it. Instead of spending the day rolling my hair and stressing about being witty, I spent 70% of the day in my pajamas, ate terrible junk food with my husband, and played with my dog.

And then we made a snowman.

So of course I had to add a Gryffindor scarf and a Jayne hat, but then I found some red berries, and stuck them in the snowman's head, and suddenly it wasn't just a snowman...

IT'S AMY!!!!!!! Red hair: check. Made of ice: check. Short: check.

And lookit! She even likes to read!

The husband and I spent rather a lot of time trying to make it look like SnowAmy was actually reading, but her arms are made of tree branches (so she doesn't have opposable thumbs) and her body is made of snow (which is made of water, which is not healthful for books), so in the end, we gave up.

She's a GREAT listener, but I don't think she actually paid attention....her eyes sort of glazed over....

Party with AtU!

So this happened:

SNOOOOOOOOOOOW!

Let's set the mood properly: How about some Dean Martin?



And because of the snow, Fireside Books and I decided that the best course of action would be to postpone the official book launch party until Thursday.

In some ways, this was good. ACROSS THE UNIVERSE got to sleep in:

There's a scene in the book where Amy has a teddy bear named Amber. This is Amber.

And AtU likes to sleep in. After sleeping half the morning away, AtU was happy to read the local newspapers.

My mother bought ten copies.

"But AtU," I said, "it's your birthday! Your FIRST birthday! Right now! We should celebrate!!" So I put on some party music that Lost in Believing found for me:




And then I hung up a banner made by Jeremy over at Novel Thoughts:

And AtU and I were in the mood for a party!

First we had to get all dolled up. I started with painting our nails--and of course, I used Across the Universe nail polish!

Notice the new ring? Some of my Twitter followers will remember how I tweeted about this jeweler, who makes rings engraved with the musical notes of a song. And, well, there's a certain song by the Beatles that really seemed to fit with AtU...

And since it's a VIRTUAL book birthday, one AtU and I did two things. First, we checked out the official AtU page. Yesterday, it was a countdown, and AtU and I (and a bunch of fellow nerd Twitter followers) are such nerds that we snagged a screen shot at 1:11:11:11.

But this morning, the website was all changed! And HOLY AWESOME, it's amazing. AMAZING. Guys. YOU GUYS. Go check it out!!!!

After that, AtU and I checked out the Facebook page and looked at all the new entries into the contest--so much fun to see what you guys are doing with YOUR AtUs! And don't forget guys--enter that contest! Because my husband keeps looking at my water bottle and the iPod multi-touch nano and threatening to steal them....

But you know what? AtU isn't really the kind of book that wants to stay cooped up inside--we'd much rather go outside and play in the snow! First, we had to put on our snow gear.

Recognize the hat AtU is wearing? That, my friends, is a Jayne hat. And if you don't know what I'm talking about, you need to watch more FIREFLY.

"How's it sit? Pretty cunning, don't ya think?"

Well, it doesn't really fit AtU, so I took the Jayne hat back. AtU didn't seem to like it, and one thing led to another, and....

SNOWBALL FIGHT!

Don't feel bad for AtU. It's quite good at stockpiling snowballs...

AtU is such a cheater. Hiding snowballs behind its back. Tsk, tsk.

After that, we chilled by making snow angels.

And then we got together and made a snowman.

By this time we were freezing! Time to go inside for a cup of cocoa!

Did you notice the Penguin cocoa?

But you know....something was missing.

We made a wish when we blew out the candle.

Happy Birthday, AtU.

BOOK LAUNCH PARTY POSTPONED

It's official!

The book launch party at Fireside Books and Gifts that was scheduled for tomorrow is officially going to be postponed for this Thursday, January 13th, from 5-7 PM.

If you can still make it: please come out!!! I think the Party Curse has descended on me full force, but I hope I'm proven wrong on Thursday!

If not: you can still order a signed copy of the book through Fireside Books and Gifts (website: http://www.firesidebooksandgifts.com/) if you'd like. (They're closed today, but please leave a message or order online.)

And! And! And! Since I don't get to have a launch party tomorrow, I'm going to do a VIRTUAL launch party here on the blog!!! Pictures (and cupcakes) (no, really) to come!!!

Winter Wonderland...of DOOOOOM

This is my back yard:

AND IT IS STILL SNOWING.

No word yet on whether or not we're postponing the book signing, but....it's likely. Especially because it's supposed to move to sleet and ice tomorrow....

In Case of Snow...

So of course, the Party Curse has descended upon me! Right now the weatherman is saying we're either going to get dumped with snow before the party....or not. SOooooo, we're not sure if we're going to be snowed out or not, but just in case, IF we are snowed out next Tuesday, we'll have a back-up plan on rescheduling the party on Thursday, January 13th, from 5-7, IF the snow dumps down and cancels everything.

I'll keep you all updated here as well!

Full-Up!

Thanks for the great response to the secret project for bloggers! Anna at Razorbill let me know that they have more than enough volunteers now and are closing down submissions. Thanks to everyone who jumped on this!!! :D

Calling All Bloggers!

OK, so remember how I told you all that Razorbill/Penguing was awesome? Recently, Razorbill told me how much they appreciate YOU guys, and all the bloggers who have been supporting ACROSS THE UNIVERSE.

And they want to do something for YOU by way of thanks.

So: if you're a book blogger who either has already done a review or interview for ACROSS THE UNIVERSE or who was PLANNING on doing a review when the book came out--please contact yrmarketing@us.penguingroup.com for details on a secret project that Razorbill would like to invite you to participate in.

I can't say more than that! It is, after all, a secret!!!

Bookanista Feature: Author's PRISONERS IN THE PALACE

The Bookanistas are a group of writers - in various stages of the publishing process – who have decided to band together and review the special books of our peers.  No negative reviews here! We post every Thursday and cover various topics– upcoming ARCs, books we love, special diamonds in the rough, classics, and even cover reviews.

Here is a list of the Bookanistas: Christina Fonseca, Jamie Harrington, Michelle Hodkin, Kirsten Hubbard, Shelli Johannes-Wells, Myra McEntire, Shannon Messenger, Bethany Wiggins and Suzette Saxton, Beth Revis, Lisa and Laura Roecker,  Sarah Frances Hardy and Katie Anderson, Scott Tracey, Carolina Miller, Gretchen McNeil, Jen Hayley and Shana Silver

PRISONERS IN THE PALACE

 by Michaela MacColl

I knew I wanted to review this book for Bookanistas when I was only about 30 pages in--because it grabbed my attention that quickly, and wouldn't let go at all. 

I first found this book by an interview on The Elevensies site--I thought it was intriguing that the cover didn't have the title on the front (I found a pic with the whole jacket spread for you to see) (and I was going to link to it here, and can't find it at all, fail). The cover's even better when you see that the newspaper-style of the back is actually very relevant to the story. But what really sold me on the book is that it told the story of the young Queen Victoria...before she was queen.

I'll admit: my image of Queen Vic is of her being old and shriveled and dressed in black. I'd never even considered what she was like while young, which is why this book stood out to me. And let me tell you: I devoured it. I read late into the night, three nights in a row, and finished it with a smile on my face. 

Things I loved about PRISONERS IN THE PALACE:

• It's told from the POV of Queen Victoria's lady's maid. This is good for several reasons:
• We know Queen Victoria makes it out of the situation--but we don't know about her lady's maid. There is definitely an element of danger and tension for the main character that wouldn't be there for just Queen Victoria.
• We get an image of below-stairs, which is so cool 
• Because the maid is a lowly servant, it makes logical sense that she can do something that Queen Victoria couldn't, such as go into the city on her own, etc.
• The history is fascinating:
• Did you know that Queen Victoria really was essentially a prisoner in the palace? She was controlled by the man her mother took up with, and had very little freedoms. It's crazy to read about how one of the most powerful monarchs of England spent her childhood under the thumb of minor Irish lord.
• We get an "inside" look--in the Author's Note, we're told that the "Kensington System" that Queen Victoria was raised under was considered a remarkable education system by outsides, but we can see how cruel it was to Victoria herself by seeing it from the inside.
• Speaking of: the Author's Note was amazing. Some of the most unbelievable parts of the story--Inside Boy, for one, and a few others that would be spoilers if I mentioned them--were based on actual facts that the author details in the note. Furthermore, Victoria's journal entries are from Victoria's actual journal. Wow.

I highly recommend this book for any history fans out there--and anyone just interested in reading an awesome, gripping story!

PS: Sorry this is late--my internet was down late last night and early this morning!

*~*~*~*

Other Bookanista Features Today:

• Michelle Hodkin gushes about The Near Witch
• Elana Johnson schools us on The Education of Hailey Kendrick
• LiLa Roecker celebrates XVI's book birthday
• Christine Fonseca raves about Wither
• Shannon Messenger travels Across the Universe with a special giveaway
• Shelli Johannes-Wells gets Lost in the River of Green
• Scott Tracey falls in love with Across the Universe
• Beth Revis is captivated by Prisoners in the Palace
• Carolina Valdez Miller is mesmerized by The Healing Spell
• Megan Miranda takes a peek through The Marbury Lens
• Shana Silver is digging Delirium
• Jamie Harrington tells the truth about The Liar Society
• Jen Hayley dies for a Touch Mortal
• Bethany Wiggins dotes on Paranormalcy

First Entries Up!

Squee!!! I was so stoked to see some of the first entries going up on the Facebook Page! Hillary posted a picture with her dog that made me smile--I have such a soft spot for dogs--and Liz has got the ball started on the most creative picture contest!!!

Now, I know that a lot of you can't enter until the official release date on 1/11/11 (next Tuesday)--but I also know that there have been some early releases of the book, and I wanted to give people time to plan their pictures early, which is why I decided to start the contest early. But don't worry--the contest doesn't end until January 25th--so that should give you plenty of time to get a picture up if you'd like to enter!!

I am SO freaking excited about this contest!!! I reallllllllly can't wait to see what you guys come up with!!!!!

Launch Contest: Now With More Epic

It's almost time! Ohmygoodness, I can barely believe it...it's almost time for ACROSS THE UNIVERSE to be out!!!

And of course, you guys know me: I celebrate by giving things away! And because I have the very best publisher in the whole wide world (Razorbill! Woot! Woot!), they are once again joining in with the celebration and offering FIFTY awesome prizes in addition to the three big prizes I'm offering!!!

Entering to win the prizes is super easy. All you have to do is take a picture of yourself with your copy of ACROSS THE UNIVERSE. That's it. Just snap a picture and send it in, and you're entered!

How easy is it? Here's how easy:

Please don't notice that I am (a) in my PJs, (b) with no makeup
and (c) that I've not brushed my hair yet. Or my teeth. I'm a slob.
But also: I guess this proves that the contest is so easy to enter, you can do it in your pajamas.

That little pic of me up there? Totally qualifies for an entry into the contest. If, er, I wasn't already disqualified since I'm the one running the contest. But you know what I mean.

I know the book isn't technically out until January 11th, but I wanted to let you all know (1) that you should rush out and buy your copy on January 11th so you can enter and (2) you can start planning your awesome picture now :D :D :D

First, here's what Razorbill is providing for you--custom made, totally sweet, amazingly cool WATER BOTTLES! And trust me--when you read ACROSS THE UNIVERSE, you are going to know how very very appropriate this prize is!

WANT. WANT. WANT.

To win ONE OF FIFTY water bottles (dude! Those odds are awesome! Thank you Razorbill for providing them!) All you have to do is upload your picture to the Facebook Page! You were going to do that anyway, right? Now when you do it, you can win a prize!

But that's not all! (<<--said in a TV game show announcer voice)

There are also THREE awesome prize packs that you can win!

The grand prize is:

PRIZES INCLUDE:

-Signed hardcover copy of ACROSS THE UNIVERSE

-Audiobook version of ACROSS THE UNIVERSE

-Pin buttons and book mark and a star sucker (yum!)

-A MULTI-TOUCH IPOD NANO!

Yup! You saw that right! A multi-touch iPod nano! These little things are so cool--they are small, but they still have the multi-touch screen (like an iPad). I really wanted to include one of these in the prize pack because in my book, the characters use something called "floppies" which is a computer, but the size and thickness of a piece of paper, and the multi-touch controls in the floppies were something I developed in the book after playing with my own iPod. 

To win the grand prize pack: all you have to do is submit a picture of yourself with the book in some way. If you enter for the Facebook water bottle prize, that totally counts and you're already entered for the grand prize! How easy is that?! If you for some reason don't want to enter the Facebook prize, you can also enter for the grand prize by either posting your picture on your own website, tweeting the picture, or emailing it to me at ATUContest@gmail.com.

But that's not all!!!

You guys know I love how creative you are, right? I mean, you guys are pretty awesome, and have come up with some awesome stuff. And, well, I'd love it if I could associate ACROSS THE UNIVERSE with some of your awesome.

So I'm doing another prize pack. 

PRIZES INCLUDE:

-Signed hardcover copy of ACROSS THE UNIVERSE

-Audiobook version of ACROSS THE UNIVERSE

-Pin buttons and book mark and a star sucker (yum!)

-Something very cool and very secret that is hidden inside of that little brown box. 

Only the winner will get to see inside and claim the prize that's there.

To win the best picture prize pack: all you have to do is have the coolest picture of yourself. This is going to be totally arbitrary, and totally up to me--whatever picture I pick as being the most awesome gets this prize. You can do anything--you can pose in a cute way, you take the book somewhere cool and pose with it in the awesome location, you can do something neat and have the book with you while you do it--it is 100% up to you, and which ever of you take the most awesomest cool picture, gets the prize! I am seriously excited to see what you can do with this!!!

But that's not all!!!!!!!!!!!

I also really want the whole wide world to know about ACROSS THE UNIVERSE and I want to reward the people who have helped me spread the word about the book. So...at the bottom of the entry form, there's a space to fill out who told you about the contest. I am going to take the top ten people who refer the most people to the contest, and I'm going to draw a name from those ten and give the winner this:

PRIZES INCLUDE:

-Signed hardcover copy of ACROSS THE UNIVERSE

-Audiobook version of ACROSS THE UNIVERSE

-Pin buttons and book mark and a star sucker (yum!)

To win the referral prize pack: all you have to do is advertise this contest and remind people to add your name (and website or twitter or facebook or whatever) to the bottom of the form. I'll add them all up and reward one of the top ten referring peeps!

BUT THAT'S NOT ALL!!!!!!!!!!!

There are also: rules! 

OFFICIAL ENTRY RULES:

1. All entries must fill out the form below to be considered for the prize (it's how we know who entered and how to contact winners).
2. To win a water bottle, you must upload your picture to the Facebook Page (emailing, tweeting, or blogging doesn't count for that prize).
3. If you upload a picture to the Facebook Page, that entry counts for the other prize packs, too--you only need to take and upload a picture once; you don't have to upload anywhere else.
4. If you don't upload your picture on Facebook, either email a copy to ATUContest@gmail.com or include the hyperlink in the entry form.
5. The prize packs with Beth are international; the water bottles are US only.
6. The picture must be taken with a final copy of the book--ARCs don't count. You can display either dust jacket you want (the kissing cover or the blue print cover) as long as it's a picture with the actual physical book.
7. Taking a picture in a bookstore doesn't count--ACROSS THE UNIVERSE wants to go home (or on an adventure) with you!
8. eBooks count! Just make sure to show the book on the screen of your eReader in the picture.
9. The winner of the best picture is up to me. No whining. 
10. Deadline for pictures: January 25th. (As in: pictures need to be received by January 25th; winners will be announced later that day.)
11. One entry per person--but one person could win multiple prizes (i.e. you could win a water bottle from the Facebook contest and still win a prize from me, or you could be randomly selected for one prize and still win the best picture or the referral prize).

BUT THAT'S NOT ALLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, wait. Yes, it is. That's all. 

Except for the entry form!!

PS: Thank you, Kiersten White, for letting me use your super-cool contest idea!

Here, have another picture of the awesome custom water bottles:

Questions? Post in the comments section here and I'll answer! 

A Bright, Shiny New Year: Elevensie Debs!

I can't believe it's well and truly 2011. I don't think I've ever anticipated--and dreaded--a year so much before this! I'm sure I will one day look back upon 2011 as just another year and all these wound-up-tight-as-a-top emotions will seem silly, but right now, I'm still all wound up and borderline crazy.

But at least I'm not alone!

As many of you know, I'm a part of an awesome debut group of writers called The Elevensies. If you're into reading new debut work, you have GOT to check out this site--there's a bucketload of awesome there. Don't believe me? Check out this cover-compilation of all the debuts coming out this year!

New Years Traditions

Yesterday, I ate New Years dinner with my family.

That's a tradition we always keep: on January 1 of every year, we eat a meal together. And we always eat the same things:

• Ham, for luck (it's supposed to be ham hocks, but my mother's a Yankee and won't cook them)
• Collard greens, for "folding money" (dollar bills)
• Black-eyed peas, for lots of coins 
• Christmas cookies, because they're almost stale and the diet's not begun, so eat 'em up now

My mom mentioned that when she lived up North, she ate different things on New Year's, like sauerkraut (blech!). And my husband mentioned that even though he has lived in the South all his life, like me, he's never done the traditional ham-greens-black-eyed-peas before he married me.

Which all got me to thinking: what sorts of traditions do you have for New Years? I can't imagine starting the year without eating that traditional meal with my family--I suspect the entire year would implode with suck if I even attempted it. So: what do YOU do? 

(And if you don't have any traditions, check out these--I kinda wish I could add soba noodles to my menu...)

Lastly: Victoria Schwab posted this short speech by Neil Gaimon on wishes for the new year:

This is What 2011 Feels Like

Via The Daily What