Happy Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year!
Thanksgiving is nice and all—for those of you who went home for the holidays, here’s one of my favorite Liz Phair songs to cheer you up. See? It’s not just you—but let’s face it:
It’s really all about the shopping [...]
So I didn’t see any movies at all this weekend—except Rachel Getting Married, but that was on Starz or HBO or something, and it’s been out forever, so that doesn’t count.
I have to say, if Kim (Anne Hathaway’s character) was my sister, not only would I NOT have invited her [...]
NEW MOON!!! AHHHH!!!!
Ha, no, I didn’t go to New Moon last night at 12:01. I was doing what I’m always doing lately at 12:01AM: waiting for my Ambien to kick in and going, “Why don’t they have Say Yes To The Dress on On Demand?”
If you’re doing NaNoWriMo right [...]
I went to see 2012 over the weekend.
As a disaster movie junkie—seriously, I LOVE a movie in which human beings are (pretend) killed by any sort of natural disaster, be it:
–Asteroids hurtling down from space.
–F5 tornadoes coming at them from the plains.
–Gigantic tsunamis barreling down upon them from the sea.
I [...]
I’m back from the Miami Book Festival. Did you miss me?
I missed you. Except for those of you I saw at the fair. Which was AWESOME, by the way. I got to meet so many fantastic readers (as well as authors Sue Corbett, Peter Lerangis, and Alicia [...]
I’m leaving now for Miami for my event tomorrow, and I’m so excited because I get to stay in a fancy hotel in South Beach instead of my house (which still smells like a rotting mouse corpse. How can such a small thing take so long to decompose?), eat room [...]
It’s perfect stay-indoors weather here because of pesky Tropical Storm Ida–windy and rainy, with palm fronds flying everywhere!
And while I hope it clears up in time for the book fair in Miami this weekend, it’s kind of a good opportunity for us to dip into Meg’s Mail Bag, [...]
It was an exciting weekend here in Casa Cabot. Why?
Well, since I’m going to be speaking and signing at the Miami Book Festival this coming Saturday (the fair starts TODAY! Click here to see all the amazing authors who are going to be there!) the Miami Herald [...]
I finally saw the movie of The Watchmen!
I’d tried to read the graphic novel, but somehow I could never finish it. I have no idea why. The book has everything…sex, naked people, romance, sex, mystery, pirates (there were no pirates in the movie)!
I think I got bogged down with the [...]
It’s November….
And you know what that means!
No, not pumpkin pie! (Although it means that, too!)
It means, among other things….
The Glee cast album is out!
Finally! I thought I was going to go crazy if I didn’t get that cast version of Bust a Move.
But now I can relax. [...]
This is truly a creepy Halloween. Just in time for the spookiest night of the year, a rodent (I pray that it is a rodent and not a larger mammal, such as a human being) crawled into a wall of our house and….
Died.
And we cannot find its body.
Do you [...]
It’s Fantasy Fest Week here in Key West!
You think things get crazy in your town for Halloween? Where I live for the week leading up to Halloween, people come from all over the world to party, elect a King and Queen (the two people who raise the most [...]
A while ago I was asked to be part of the Significant Objects Project.
This is a fun project you might have read about where authors are sent a photo of an object and asked to write a story giving the object new meaning (in under 500 words).
Then the story [...]
What’s that you keep asking me? When are you going to get to see the cover to Runaway, the final book in the Airhead series?
Why, that’d be today!
I got the final manuscript turned in, the revisions completed, and now I’m just awaiting copy edits (a copy editor works to improve [...]
Guess who’s going to be on Voice of America?
That’s right. Me.
(And Diana Gabaldon. And Shannon Hale. And Kristin Cashore. Yeah! The theme for the show is Strong Female Characters, in case you didn’t notice.)
I know you totally want to listen to it, and you can, [...]
I know, I know…you’ve always wanted to meet Judy Blume.
Well, now you have your big chance!
On Monday, October 19, she’ll be hosting a night of comedy to celebrate free speech (and benefit the National Coalition Against Censorship) at City Winery in New York City….
And you can be [...]
Guess what I just got?
A big box of the new Allie Finkle adventure, Glitter Girls and the Great Fake Out!
I know! I was like, didn’t Allie’s Rules for Girls, Stage Fright, just come out? How can the new one be here already?
But this is just the advanced reader [...]
Today I made a startling discovery.
I was putting on my eye makeup and listening to the 80s channel on XM radio (as I do every morning) when they played George Harrison’s I Got My Mind Set On You.
That’s when I realized it:
This song is totally about writing a book!
I [...]
Warning: SPOILERS
So we’ve been trying to relax by catching up on the recordings on our DVRs.
He Who Shall Not Be Named On This Blog doesn’t want me to tell you this, but in addition to long documentaries about Icelandic rock groups (no, really…sometimes they play music with rocks), HWSNBNITB loves [...]
I’m so excited that Malinda Lo’s brilliant retelling of Cinderella, Ash, is finally in stores!
I was fortunate enough to be able to read a review copy of this book a long time ago, and couldn’t wait to be able to talk about it with you.
And now here it [...]
I just got home from Birmingham, Alabama, where I got to speak at a luncheon in front of a BIG audience of Books-A-Million sales managers and buyers (hi, guys)!
A lot of people think being a writer is just sitting around writing books, then jetting off to sign those books for [...]
Don’t I know you from somewhere?
I knew the cover for the new book in the YA series by Robert B. Parker looked a little familiar.
I just couldn’t figure out where I’d seen it before.
Then I was like, Oh yeah….
That’s where!
Well, they’re a little similar.
And no, you can’t [...]
Since getting home from Brazil I’ve been really tired, as you can probably imagine. Who wouldn’t be after all those crazy but fun signings; the party bus; the monkeys…
…then coming home to get a flu shot that has caused my arm to inflate like a piñata; all the work I [...]
What can I say?
Big love to all the Julianas, Giulianas, Juliannas, and Giuliannas, Marinas and Ana Carolinas, the Luisas, Luizas, Ana Luisas and Maria Luisas, the Andressas and Alessandras, the Isabels and the Marianas, the Helenas and Rafaelas and Raquels, and everyone in between!
(Not to mention a big shout [...]
I have a LOT to say about what happened at the Bienal. Brazilians. Love. Books. And. Authors.
Really, though, words cannot describe. Except to say: WOW.
And thank you!
(Obrigada!)
But first, it’s been pointed out that my post on Clarice Lispector has disappeared!
I can’t believe that, especially because the other [...]
WHERE I HAVE BEEN: Rio de Janeiro!
WHY I HAVEN’T WRITTEN IN SO LONG: Because I have been in Rio de Janeiro!
WHAT’S GOING ON HERE: You seriously wouldn’t believe it I told you. Do you know what time people eat dinner here? 10PM. Yes, 10PM. EVERY NIGHT. The car comes to [...]
Thanks so much for the love, everyone who wrote me with tips on what to wear during my book tour in Brazil over the next two weeks! I think I’m going to be fine.
But if not I’ll know who to blame! (Ha, just kidding.)
Anyway, now that I’ve got the [...]
Calling all fashionable Brazilian girls (which, according to my research, is all Brazilian girls):
I’m leaving for my trip to Brazil for the Rio Book Fair and my book signings in Sao Paulo, Curitiba, and Salvador, and I just realized:
I have NO idea what to bring to wear in Brazil. [...]
So a few months ago, my mom is talking to me on the phone about, oh, I don’t know, her boyfriend, aka my former teacher, or whatever, when suddenly she goes, “Oh, remember that time the doctor had to pull your ovary out of your bellybutton?”
Which is not exactly how [...]
In my quest to see the Best Movie of all time, I saw The Proposal the other day.
(Full disclosure: I saw it with one of my gay husbands: my hair stylist.)
(Fuller disclosure: I have many gay husbands.)
(Fullest disclosure: I have so many gay husbands who are in [...]
Last week I posted about a few things I’m loving right now. To balance things out, here are a few things I’m hating at the moment:
Rejection:
Check out my essay on my personal experiences being rejected (to quote Kim Zolciak of The Real Housewives of Atlanta: “Let your haters be [...]
I seriously did NOT want to watch The Incredible Hulk. The Incredible Hulk is so stupid, and also, he’s green.
GREEN! Why does he have to be green? Apparently from the gamma rays, whatever they are.
But the other night I was flicking around the channels on my TV and suddenly [...]
Okay, so, yeah, I went a little bananas because it’s back-to-school time and I just realized one of my nieces is starting kindergarten.
She’s old enough for school supplies!
So I accidentally went to the online Disney Store and accidentally bought her this:
Which opens up to look like this:
But how [...]
Summer’s not over yet! We still have a few weeks to go!
So you still have time to enjoy a few more summer reads….
I remember a few years ago when I was trying to get The Mediator series published, all I got were rejections. That’s because the publishers were [...]
Happy Monday! Here are some things you might want to know:
The latest edition of Seventeen Magazine (the September issue, on shelves now) has the winning entry in the 2009 Fiction Contest, which I helped judge! Congratulations are in order to Kerry Reardon.
ALL the entries I read were fantastic. [...]
I can’t get anyone to go see District 9 with me because “it looks too scary” (why are all my friends/relatives such babies?) but this morning at breakfast I turned on the TV and they were showing Center Stage, one of the Best Ballet Movies Of All Time!
Of course I [...]
I’ve been so busy trying to finish up my deadlines before I leave for my book tour in Brazil—and yes, Princess Diaries 10 is out now in Brazil! Check it out–I almost forgot to offer ADVANCED READER COPIES of one the two new titles I’ve got coming out this [...]
Booksellers love it.
Book bloggers are giving away signed copies in their excitement over it.
Even YA librarians can’t wait to get their hands on a copy.
And lucky me…I’ve already read it!
Take a look at this gorgeous cover!
I have to admit, I’m a reluctant reader. [...]
I didn’t want to watch Beowulf. There was no way I was going to watch Beowulf because first of all, they forced us to read Beowulf in school and OMG it was such a YAWN.
And second of all, Angelina Jolie is in it. No offense against Angelina, but I am [...]
From an 8/3/09 PW article:
Brenda Knight, associate publisher of Cleis Press’s Viva Editions, thinks she knows why the paranormal has become so dominant (in romance):
“In the age of social networking sites like Facebook, Myspace, Twitter and Craigslist, there’s less fantasy. It’s increasingly easy to find and be found,” she [...]
I had a LOT of people write in with suggestions since I posted that I’d be writing about my search for the Best Movie of All Time.
I just want you to know that I’ve seen most of the movies you suggested and yes, you’re right: they’re all very good, [...]
It’s true. I watch a lot of movies. Don’t we all?
I’m basically looking for The Best Movie of All Time. I’ve seen a lot of really good ones (who can forget Why Me? The Leola Mae Harmon Story starring Armand Assante and Glynnis O’Connor as a brave plastic surgeon [...]
I totally forgot that today, July 31, is Meg Cabot Day (as proclaimed by the mayor of Bloomington, Indiana way back on July 31, 2004)!
How did you spend Meg Cabot Day? The preferred way to spend it is floating in a body of water, reading books.
But really you [...]
This weekend when you’re baking on the beach (or the pool, which is where I intend to be—ha, psych to any editors who are reading this…no, actually I’ll be inside in the AC working on the book I owe you even though all my friends are making fun of me [...]
Yes! I’ve got deadlines!
I know, I know, who doesn’t?
At least, all my writer friends do. We’ve been burning up the Internet, going:
“How many words do you have left? What chapter are you on? Do you think I can get away with a fifty page flashback? What about a two hundred [...]
Check it out! I’m going to be on National Public Radio’s “Talk of the Nation” this Thursday, July 23, along with Lizzie Skurnick (”Shelf Discovery”), from 3 to 3:40 p.m. Be sure to tune in (okay, yeah, that’s NPR, and yeah, that’s TODAY)!
We’re going to talk about YA Mother-Daughter reads!
[...]
Check it out: I made it to Minnesota!
Maybe you thought I wouldn’t make it here after being stranded by Delta Airlines in Atlanta (or Hotlanta, as I like to call it, after the book series).
But Delta pulled through with flying—ha, get it, flying?—colors. Even my bag arrived on [...]
Hi! I am stuck in the Atlanta Airport (Gate E10, to be exact) after being stuck at the Key West airport for approximately four hours earlier today with an entire Cub Scout Troop.
(I felt so sorry for the troop leader, I wanted to offer him a Vicodin. But then [...]
I totally forgot that, in addition to Harry Potter 6 opening today (I’ve got my tickets! I’ll be standing in line in a few hours…I’m feverish with anticipation!), today is the day of the big national Romance Writers of America conference (and literacy signing)!
So if you live in the Washington [...]
I know, right? Everything is going wrong! Your hair looks terrible, you haven’t finished the chapter you have due, and you made the mistake of weighing yourself. And why is the tip of your nose always so red?
But don’t worry. At least you haven’t missed the latest episode of [...]
So both Lauren Conrad and Miley Cyrus have written* books that are in the top ten on the New York Times Children’s bestseller list this week (Lauren’s is number one)!
When else has this ever happened, that two young actresses (or whatever those ladies are) were both on the children’s [...]
Happy 4th of July (in advance)!
4th of July is one of my favorite holidays because it involves eating delicious grilled foods, explosions, and water sports (depending on where you live, of course).
In fact it was a year ago this 4th of July that I was snorkeling and my [...]
I seriously tried to quit the Internet this past weekend because there was just too much news. I couldn’t take it!
However, as you can see, I’m back.
Internet, you’ve won. I can’t quit you.
But this doesn’t mean I like you as much as I used to. You’re like that [...]
Tonight is part one of the Real Housewives of New Jersey reunion, and I. Cannot. Wait!
Why do we (okay, I) care about these people? Why do I care about Bethenny and Jill Zarin and Susan Boyle and her cat Pebbles and Jon and Kate and their divorce?
Because watching them [...]
I’m keeping busy writing Runaway, the sequel to Being Nikki, and revising Allie Finkle’s Rules for Girls #5 (which just had a title change—from Birthday Bash to Glitter Girls and the Great Fake Out, which is more appropriate given that there’s both a great deal of glitter and girls acting [...]
So I think I saw the second worst movie in the world (after Benjamin Butthead, of course).
It’s kind of a toss up because the other day I was feeling a little down (my grandma has been sick and things have been a little sad in my family. After I posted [...]
So many people have sent me this article (or the link to the original one it refers to)!
Books about “dark” subject matters (like “13 Reasons Why,” about a girl who commits suicide, and “If I Stay,” about a girl in a coma) are hot in YA right now!
There’s [...]
I am writing this from my new daybed in my office in NYC. It’s currently my favorite place on the planet.
I decided to go Moroccan after being inspired by Bethenny’s fashion show on Real Housewives of NYC, as opposed to going French Chateau style like Theresa on Real Housewives [...]
The Hills Are Alive….
…with the sound of zillions of books being given away at Book Expo America (the largest book trade fair in the US), which was opened this year by none other than….
Julie Andrews!
If you’re in New York City this weekend, you’ve probably noticed the place has been [...]
I’m busy getting ready for my big trip to New York City for Book Expo America, where I’ll be speaking and signing this Friday (click here to see my complete schedule)!
I’ll be speaking at the Children’s Book & Author Breakfast with authors Tomie de Paola and Amy [...]
It’s that weekend! Officially the first weekend of summer, the one where you go into your closet to get last year’s shorts, pull them on, and…they don’t fit.
Or if they do, you look in the mirror and freak out because:
a) you’re so pale you look like Edward Cullen (and [...]
Do you love books? Of course you do!
Then you should know about this online book auction for a young YA author/teen librarian who has cancer. I’ve bid on a book (one of my faves, Catherine Called Birdy by Karen Cushman).…
Stop by and check the auction [...]
It’s commencement season.
I got asked to make a few commencement speeches this year, but I couldn’t, due to scheduling conflicts.
I thought a lot about what I would have said if I could have made them though, and the following is one of the drafts I came up:
I often talk about [...]
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I’m so grateful to all of you for making Being Nikki a New York Times bestseller!
Really, this was the nicest gift any of you could have gotten me. You’re the best readers a girl could have!
Traditional Chinese character for love!
It’s been [...]
Check it out! Here’s the latest video in my Being Nikki Walking Tour of New York City!
It’s the building where Nikki/Em and Lulu live!
It’s the old Police Building on 240 Centre Street, between Broome and Grand Streets. Yes, it’s a real building, and people actually live there (including Nikki). [...]
Well? Have you taken the Which Jane Austen Heroine Are You Quiz yet? Take it now, and find out who you are!
I was a tiny bit disappointed (but not very surprised) to learn that I am an Emma.
Not that there’s anything wrong with being an Emma (I [...]
No Read Our Lips advice vlog this week so that we can bring you this very special presentation instead:
Yes! Another episode of my Being Nikki book trailers and New York City walking tour!
This one is extra cool because it has bloopers and a special guest spot by my publicist [...]
My mom and many of my friends were super excited to get a letter in their inboxes from Judy Blume the other day.
It looked like this (only it had their names where this says “Friend.” For my mom’s the subject line said “Are you there Barb? It’s me, Judy”):
[...]
Or at least that’s what it said on the cover of the Star Magazine that I snagged on my way out of CVS yesterday. Tori eats only 130 calories a day, you know.
Then when I got home and read the article, I found out the Star came by their [...]
Would I ever leave you without something to read/watch over the weekend?
Of course not!
I’m answering reader questions about writing over at seventeen.com this month in honor of Being Nikki being out on Tuesday (and some readers have already gotten their hands on copies, so it’s in some [...]
It’s been the craziest week already, hasn’t it? The World Health Organization has raised their alert level to 5, the second-highest level, because of the swine flu….
…and yet, more people die every year of ordinary flu than have ever died of this one, and they’ve never raised their alert level [...]
Okay…don’t lie: How many of you woke up today convinced you had swine flu?
(Hand raised.)
What it is it about international pandemics that brings out the total hypocondriacs in (some of) us? Seriously, I woke up with a pounding head and burning eyes and was like, “This is it. I’m [...]
Yes! Another episode of Read Our Lips is up!
Michele and I tackle some important issues in this one, such as what to do if you’ve never been kissed (we hear about this problem a lot).
We also hear from a young lady who fears that she acts like a [...]
My house got struck by lightning, causing me to lose my wifi connection! It only got back and up and running now, so my apologies for the lack of blog posts.
I was, however, posting things to Twitter whenever I could find a wireless hotspot, which turned out to be [...]
Okay, so the bad news is:
There will be no new Read Our Lips (my advice vlog with Dr. Michele Jaffe) this Friday.
The good news is:
Instead, I will be putting up a sneak peek to Being Nikki, due in stores May 5!
The reason there will be no new Read Our [...]
I finally finished the book I’ve been working on (Allie Finkle #5, Birthday Bash), and I slept till noon today! I had breakfast for lunch and I’ll probably have lunch for dinner, and now I have to get started on the next book (Airhead #3) I have due. It’s all [...]
Do you ever have one of those days where you wake up and go to put on some jeans, and maybe they’re jeans you haven’t put on in a while, but they used to fit, and now you can’t even button them anymore?
And so you decide maybe they shrank in [...]
As I’m writing this I’m watching the worst movie I’ve seen in a while (but nowhere near as bad as Benjamin Button), Clive Barker’s The Plague.
But I can’t turn it off because it stars James van der Beek, who is in two of my favorite teen movies of all time, [...]
I had the most amazing time at TLA (the Texas Library Association conference) and at my signing at the Blue Willow Book Shop! Seriously, it was so fun.
Although I must admit, I’m exhausted. I’m crashed in my hotel room right now, barely able to move, listening to Vampire Weekend [...]
Happy April Fool’s Day (also happy wedding anniversary for those of you who got married on April 1st, which, hello, I did)!
And so, of course, I’m headed for Texas (no joke).
I can’t wait! I’m going to be in the Houston area, where I once spent a summer when [...]
Hey! Here’s something Michele Jaffe and I have been working on, with the help of my friends Brian and Lisa (Lisa was my first boss at Hayden Hall, the dorm I worked in at NYU. You won’t find a character based on Lisa in the Heather Wells [...]
Wow! Lots of requests for Being Nikki Advanced Reader Copies. Keep them coming! We’re still sorting through the requests and seeing how many copies we can get from the publisher. We (by we I mean myself or Nancy, my indefatigable assistant) will let you know if one is headed your [...]
Guess what? Her Royal Highness Princess Mia Thermopolis has updated her blog (finally…it’s hard to be a student princess/romance novelist). There’s Ransom My Heart in France and Spring Break news! Mon Dieu.
And if you haven’t voted for Airhead as your choice for Teen Book of the Year [...]
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
I hope you’re wearing green, even if you’re not Irish…it’s lucky, you know. And we all need as much luck as we can get these days!
I had my Friends of the Library event last night with Judy Blume and though I do say so myself, I [...]
I’m getting ready for my slumber party with comedian Caroline Rhea tonight (although technically, we’re not actually sleeping over anywhere, but we’ll be wearing pajamas) and I haven’t even washed my hair yet.
Although it’s pretty exciting (not the hair part) because kids sent in their own rules and [...]
I can’t believe it! This day totally snuck up on me. I only got off the plane for New York City (yes! The Big Apple! Actually, I hate it when people call it that, because, whatever, there really aren’t that many more apples here than anywhere else) yesterday, and next [...]
Whenever I was feeling sad because a boy had said something mean to me or dumped me or asked some other girl to the prom and not me, my mom would make me a cup of hot cocoa in a special Mary Englebreit mug we used to have that looked [...]
I have to make this short and sweet because I’m leaving in a few minutes for lunch with Judy Blume!
You’ve heard of Judy Blume, right? She’s the one who taught you all about sex in her book Forever (page 95!) and about God and having your period in Are [...]
Hey! Check it out….
On March 12th at 7:30PM EST tune in to see the amazingly funny and bubbly Caroline Rhea (yes! The aunt from Sabrina the Teenage Witch, who had her own talk show and does such hilarious stand up!) chat with me – LIVE – at Allie Finkle’s [...]
It’s the last week of February! You know what that means:
Yes…the final romance give-away from megcabot.com!
But before I get into that I want to talk about the #1 question I got while I was on my mini-tour this past week. And that was, surprisingly, not “Where do you get your [...]
I’m writing this from a location of mystery. Yes, I’ve gone rogue! The plane I took from Chicago to Miami was late, thanks to de-icing (but de-icing is good…we like de-icing), so I missed my connecting flight to Key West.
Then the airline tried to put me in a shuttle [...]
I’m in the Miami Airport American Eagle Lounge on my way to Chicago for my signings this week. It’s all fancy in here and everyone is drinking white wine and tapping on their laptops (except me, I just have sparkling water and a laptop)….
…except this one kid, obviously just [...]
The Valentine Day Contest is over! Just letting you know because for some reason I’m still getting entries even though the contest ended at midnight on Valentine’s Day.
Also just to let you know, I think it’s likely that due to the Friday the 13th bike accident sustained by He Who [...]
Yes! It’s that time again! February is the month of romance–which can sometimes stink, I know, if you don’t have a Valentine.
That’s why I’ll be giving away romances all month!
The books (yes, that says books, plural) I’m giving away this week are:
Tommy Sullivan Is a Freak
[...]
I’m off to Miami tomorrow for my signing at Books and Books!* I hope I’ll see some of you there!
*Just added–I’ve just received word there will be a DJ…and a chocolate fountain. Thank you, Books and Books!
I’ll be sure to let those of you who won ARCs of Best [...]
