Will Parker have to leave Wallingford Academy and move away from the Lylas? Will James and Parker ever get what’s up between them? Will Tribb ever flip down his collar? Does Parker actually know more about her father than she thinks? Will the webcast catapult them into the fame stratosphere or will it ruin them? Will Kiki realize that she’s actually in love with…well, I’m not giving that one away.

So what do you think? Should there be more?

Aristobrats #2 – on shelves this spring.

Listen here.

A testament to you: fine friends, talented and tenacious bloggers and lovely family, I just received the following notice. (Keep in mind, The Aristobrats was barely on shelves anywhere…so this is ONLY because you called, demanded, had a hissy fit and asked for it by name. YOU ARE MY KINDA PEOPLE!)

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Next stop, New York Times.
xxx
—————–
Sent: Wednesday, September 22, 2010 3:00 PM
To: sb_all
Subject: Aristobrats makes regional bestseller list

Hello everyone,

I wanted to share some good news, The Aristobrats by Jennifer Solow has made the extended Northern California Indie Bestseller List for the week ending September 19th!

This is the author’s home area (she lives in the Bay Area) and is a really good piece of news to help us build momentum with this title.

Thanks!

http://www.bookweb.org/files/open/docs/indiebound/regional/100922nc.txt

CHILDREN’S TITLES
1. The Hunger Games
Suzanne Collins, Scholastic, $8.99, 9780439023528
2. Mockingjay (The Final Book of the Hunger Games)
Suzanne Collins, Scholastic, $17.99, 9780439023511
3. Catching Fire (The Hunger Games, #2)
Suzanne Collins, Scholastic, $17.99, 9780439023498
4. The Red Pyramid (The Kane Chronicles, #1)
Rick Riordan, Hyperion, $17.99, 9781423113386
5. It’s a Book
Lane Smith, Roaring Brook, $12.99, 9781596436060
6. Goodnight Moon
Margaret Wise Brown, Clement Hurd (Illus.), Harper, $8.99, 9780694003617
7. The Adventures of Ook and Gluk, Kung-Fu Cavemen From the Future
Dav Pilkey, Blue Sky, $9.99, 9780545175302
8. The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Eric Carle, Putnam, $10.99, 9780399226908
9. Zen Ghosts
Jon J Muth, Scholastic, $17.99, 9780439634304
10. Bats at the Ballgame
Brian Lies, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $16.99, 9780547249704
11. The Book Thief
Markus Zusak, Knopf, $12.99, 9780375842207
12. We Are in a Book!
Mo Willems, Hyperion, $8.99, 9781423133087
13. Fallout
Ellen Hopkins, Margaret K. McElderry, $18.99, 9781416950097
14. The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1)
Rick Riordan, Hyperion, $7.99, 9781423134947
15. Ivy and Bean
Annie Barrows, Sophie Blackall, Chronicle, $5.99, 9780811849098
16. Children Make Terrible Pets
Peter Brown, Little Brown, $16.99, 9780316015486
17. Dick and Jane and Vampires
Laura Marchesani, Tommy Hunt (Illus.), Grosset & Dunlap, $9.99, 9780448455686
18. The Name of This Book Is Secret
Pseudonymous Bosch, Gilbert Ford (Illus.), Little Brown, $5.99, 9780316113694
19. A Ghost Tale for Christmas Time (Magic Tree House)
Mary Pope Osborne, Salvatore Murdocca (Illus.), Random House, $12.99, 9780375856525
20. The Cloud Searchers
Kazu Kibuishi, Graphix, $10.99, 9780545208857
21. The Aristobrats
Jennifer Solow, Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, $7.99, 9781402242588
22. The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 2)
Rick Riordan, Miramax, $7.99, 9781423103349
23. Room on the Broom
Julia Donaldson, Axel Scheffler (Illus.), Puffin, $6.99, 9780142501122
24. The Atlantis Complex (Artemis Fowl, #7)
Eoin Colfer, Hyperion, $17.99, 9781423128199
25. The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 5)
Rick Riordan, Hyperion, $17.99, 9781423101475

It’s an OMGasp moment and a testament to what bloggers can do because not a single newspaper or magazine (even Publisher’s Weekly) gave a peep about it.

All I can say is – if you can get your hands on a copy, let me know. I couldn’t even get one! I might have to start bidding on Ebay.

And warm up those printing presses!

“A perfect middle school read: fun and breezy with depth…Each Aristobrat is true to herself and they respect their differences. I look forward to more books in the series.”

A small painting by Shari Elf sits above my desk and shines down on me everyday. Some days I take its message literally. And on those days I wear lots of feathers and something sparkly and see-thru. But on most days, I take it metaphorically. What would Cher do?

On this night, about 30-ish hours from the launch of my new book, I look up and wonder. What if I fail? What if no one likes me? What if I can’t sing as well as I thought I could? What if both sides really were against me since the day I was born? And I think, so what?

I’ll just keep putting myself out there. Be me as best I can.

Wear as many sparkly things as I can muster.

xox

ESQUEEZE ME?

Okay, so I’d get if he was going to play golf with the Kushners, or perhaps a few days in the country with the Kushners, or even, in the craziest stretch of my imagination, a cruise to Alaska with the Kushners, but BURNING MAN?

He says that he (and the Kushners) “arrive Thursday morning and leave after they burn the man.”

BURN THE MAN?

I truly cannot imagine it – my father, from the planet Pittsburgh in the galaxy Pennsylvania, landing on the planet where they “burn the man.”

I told him to remember to bring his ecstasy, some furry clothing and body paint. I sent him a few photos (like the one in this post) so he gets the idea. I’m not sure how Ralph Lauren khakis are going to fare.

Have fun, Dad! Send a postcard!

I love hearing from new friends but when I get really busy I forget to let them know how very much I appreciate it. So I got this note from The Preppy Princess (I know her real name but it may in fact be classified information) and I wanted to make sure I made the time to say thanks.

Here’s what she had to say about The Aristobrats:

Many thanks to you, PP! And go visit her for a truly royal prepsta experience. And I always do love hearing from you even if I can’t post all your notes. Feel free write to me or leave a comment and say hello!

xx

Okay – so here’s the answer:

1. Write a really good book. (I may do a blog on this too – comment and let me know if you want the instructions on that…I’m serious.) I would define a good book as one that, when you describe it sitting at a long table full of people, the people at the other end of the table, the ones you don’t even know, wind up in the midst of your conversation. In other words, it’s talk-worthy – even to strangers.

2. About 4 months before your “really good book” is done, go to your favorite bookstore with a pencil and paper and grab a comfy chair. (Don’t do this much earlier than 4 months prior, or much later.)

3. Pick out all the books you can find that are similar in some way to your really good book: tone of voice, subject matter, author personality, mood. DO NOT pick Marley & Me, Harry Potter anything, Twilight anything, or The Bible. Go ahead, ask a bookseller to help you with your task (This is a good idea for later on in the publishing process, but again — another blog entry.).

4. Turn to the acknowledgments page in the back of all those yummy books. Every author thanks his or her agent. Write down all the names of all the agents. If you can’t find any acknowledgments, look for the first edition hardback of the book.

5. Go home with at least 50 agent names and Google every name on your list. Some familiarities will begin to emerge. Do they agent zillions of books? Too many? Too few? Are there any interviews about them and what they like to read? Are they hyper-self-promoters? Is anyone suing them? Can you find their picture just to get a looksie? Etc.

6. Some of the names will start coming up again and again. You’ll begin to get excited. This is the DANGER ZONE! You need to be careful here at step 6. Do not begin to query these agents yet. Not yet.

7. Open a folder. Create a list called: My top 12 Dream Agents.

8. Create a second list called: My 12 backup Dream agents.

9. 4 months later, when your really good manuscript is ready and your Surefire Query Letter is done, begin sending queries to your top pick agents. Don’t send them all at once – maybe you need to adjust your query headline or maybe you need to work a bit on your manuscript. REMEMBER, you only get one chance to make a first impression – if you botch that with your top pick agents…well, it’s not good. “Keep your powder dry” should be your mantra.

10. You will either begin to get positive or negative responses (or none). You should be hyper critical of your work at this point. If you have positive responses then you need to move onto “How do I choose a literary agent (another blog someday).” But if your response is negative you need to re-think your query letter, your agent choices or your manuscript. Choose to be harder on yourself rather than easier at this time. And I say harder…not meaner. Be a constructive critic.

And finally — remember: YOU are hiring the agent, not the other way around. You should no more take the first agent who’ll have you as hire the first person who applies for the job. Interview them. Wait for a good one. Wait for you Dream Agent. Don’t settle for less.

The following a copy of my acknowledgments page from The Aristobrats. I don’t say “my agent” but Jennifer Joel is the first person I thank. If an author doesn’t thank his or her agent right up there with Mom, Pop or God, they shouldn’t be your agent. A good one is all three.

Acknowledgments

To Jennifer Joel, Daniel Ehrenhaft, Niki Castle, Dominique Raccah, Kelly Barrales-Saylor, Kay Mitchell, Paul Samuelson, Kristin Zelazko, Dawn Pope, Mallory Kaster, and Sarah Cardillo for their tireless faith, work, and support. To Tommy Jacoby, who makes my magic happen, and to Griffin and Tallulah Musser, who inspire me every day. To Nan, Don, and Jordan Solow, whose palpable love of each other and of me has made me who I am. To my lifelong friends, Karen Goldberg, Sharon Reidbord, and Juditta Musette. To my newer lifelong friends, John Scott, Iole Taddei, and Nona & Randy Daron. To my board of advisors, Zoe Goldberg, Damon Jacoby, Ethan Jacoby, & Allen Meyer. To Winchester-Thurston, where this story was born, to Mill Valley Middle School, where the blanks were filled in, and to Shadyside Academy, who provided the boys when there were none.

Now I love to hate/hate to love Massie Block as much as the next Clique chick, but can’t a popular girl actually be a nice person? Ever since Lindsay Lohan was taken in by “The Plastics” a.k.a. “Mean Girls” and Blair Waldorf planted her pointy-toed Chanel firmly up someone’s nether parts, have we come to equate a popular girl with…well, rhymes with itch.

Are all popular girls uber-mean? Do they all have thick luxurious long hair? Are they all rich? Do they all wear designer clothes? Are there any out there we can admire?

xx