Regular (well, let’s be honest, more like irregular) updates on Alissa’s travels, books, life and other important and not-so-important stuff.
The Trailer Countdown: It’s Raining
Just a few more days until the official release of the Ferocity Summer book trailer, and it’s time for another hint about the trailer. Because I was aiming for authenticity with the trailer, most of it is filmed on location in Byram Township (aka The Township of Lakes), New Jersey, where I lived as a teen. Actually, the only scene not filmed there is a brief shot of Lenape Valley Regional High School, which is next door in Stanhope. Anyway, since the book is called Ferocity Summer and takes place during the summer months, I wanted to...
read moreThe Trailer Countdown: Here There Be Lakes
My sister was down visiting for the holiday weekend and just went home this morning. One of the things that came up this weekend was that she got to use her extensive knowledge of Northwest New Jersey Lakes and the pronunciation of those Lakes (many of them come from Lenni Lenape Indian words) over the weekend. Her brother-in-law mentioned something about Lake Hopatcong, but being from South Jersey mispronounced the name of the lake, which as any Sussex County girl knows is pronounced HO-Pat-Cong (so, yeah, pretty much exactly the way it...
read moreThe Trailer Countdown Begins
First of all, I am happy to report that I am alive and well. I know I slacked off on blogging and social media activity last week, and I don’t really have any good excuse other than that life got a bit busy, and I simply ran out of time. Some of you might be wondering why you haven’t gotten this month’s newsletter yet. Rest assured, there’s a good explanation. I haven’t actually sent it yet. A special edition of the newsletter will be going out later this week. What’s so special about it? Well, come the end...
read moreA Valentine for My Readers
Hi, Readers! This valentine is just for you. I wanted to thank all of you for your support. Thank you for reading my book. Thank you for reading my mindless ramblings on this blog. Thanks for reading my newsletter, which probably won’t be going out quite on time once again this month. (I know, shocker, right?) I wish I could send each and every one of you an individual valentine, but since I can’t, you’ll have to make due with this blog post disguised as a...
read moreAnnouncing The First Official Ferocity Summer Book Promotion Event
It’s still about three months before Ferocity Summer will be out in the bookstores, but my first official promotion event for my second novel is just over a month away. March 15, I’ll be headed to Philadelphia for PLA 2012 (the annual national conference for the Public Library Association). I’ll be signing advanced copies of Ferocity Summer at the Flux booth (#1244) from 1:30 to 2:30. If you’ll be attending the conference, be sure to stop by. If you’re into YA don’t miss signings by my fellow Flux authors...
read moreNames I’ve Been Called
Last week someone accidentally called me Patricia. That’s a new one. When I was growing up, no one was named Alissa. I might be exaggerating slightly. After all, there was me, of course. Also, I think there might have possibly been a few Alissas scattered about, oh and some Alyssas, as well, and here and there an Elissa. Anyway, the point is that years ago, Alissa (in any of its permutations) was not a very common name. When names are uncommon, they confuse people. They have difficulty pronouncing the name, even when you tell them and...
read moreLook out, Longfellow
New England is famed for its poets, so it shouldn’t be surprising that there are poets hiding in all sorts of unlikely places in New England. I returned from a trip to Maine just over a week ago, and during that time I spied some poetry in unlikely places. On the drive up both the highway signs in New Hampshire and Maine delivered messages to motorists in rhyme. I can’t for the life of me remember New Hampshire’s clever little poems, but the highway signs in Maine flashed, “Ice and Snow, Take it Slow”...
read moreHappy Groundhog Day
Unlike Punxatawney Phil, I have not been hibernating for the past week, even if I have been pretty absent from the internet. Life’s just been a bit busy and hectic of late, but I think I’ve finally made it through the mound of emails in my inbox and I’m nearly caught up on laundry. We’ve had a ridiculously mild winter here so far, which makes me wonder if anyone around these parts is all that concerned about whether or not the groundhog sees his shadow or not. I suppose the same can’t be said for Maine. They...
read moreEnjoying the Ride
Earlier this week, I was down in Delaware for the day job. My dog, Jack came along for the trip. Delaware may not be known for a harsh winter climate, but this Tuesday, it was unusually warm for January. I had some time to kill so I made good on my resolution to enjoy the ride. Jack and I explored Cape Henlopen State Park. This was Jack’s first experience with saltwater. He was very confused by how peculiar it tasted. He kept trying to lay down in the shallow water only to become startled when a wave smacked him in the butt. This...
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