You know how people are always saying how busy they are?

And you know how that’s annoying?

Especially when “people” is a person like me, who spends most of her day staring into space, drawing squiggly lines in a notebook and/or obsessively googling new ways to cook brussels sprouts.

That said, I know I’ve been a terrible blogger, and there’s something I really need for you to know:

I’ve been sooooooo busy!!

But seriously.  Here’s why:

#1:  I got hitched!  

Yes, it was all the way back in September, but it feels like it could have been last week.  It was the most perfect day.  We had a full weekend to spend time with everybody we love,  and though the forecast called for “drown-pours,”  the rain stayed away long enough for us to say our vows:

…do some posing…

…and dance the night away.

Also, I got to wear these boots:

The Best.

(For more photos,  check out the blog of our super-talented and lovely wedding photographer, Alice Proujansky.)

#2:

I wrote a book!  

Well, part of a book.  And an outline.  And did lots of hemming and hawing about both.

But the best part is…a real-live publisher wants to publish it!  

From Publisher’s Marketplace:  

Children’s: Young Adult
Alexandra Coutts’s TUMBLE AND FALL, in which the imminent end of the world is an unavoidable fact of life and three contemporary teens must wrestle with love, friendship, and family as they decide how to live their final days, to Wesley Adams at Farrar, Straus Children’s, in a good deal, for publication in Fall 2013, by Sara Shandlerat Alloy Entertainment (World English).

!!!

(And yes, that says Alexandra Coutts, which is my new, fancy married-lady name.  I have such mixed feelings about changing it, but in the end I decided that my new initials are just too cool to live without. ABC!)

I am so excited about this book, I can’t even tell you.  It’s been a long, long time in the making, (and it’s not nearly finished, yet…) and I cannot WAIT for you to read it.

#3.  We’re building a house!  

Oh My God we are building a house.

I don’t have any pictures, on account of it’s just a tiny piece of land with some trees on it, but it’s Such A Pretty Tiny Piece Of Land!

Updates, updates, updates to come.

So…new name, new book, new house…that counts as busy, right?  (Even if I do still spend most of my days in pajamas.)

And you know how I feel about New Year Resolutions (I don’t like them) but I really, really hope that this year could be the year that I show up here more often.

Because I like you, and I like when you send me nice emails and comments.  I even like when you send me weird emails like “Can you write my book report for me?” or “I liked your book but the ending should be better.” And I especially like when you send me emails in languages I can’t read and I get to use some shoddy internet service to translate them and they end up sounding all backwards and amazing.  And I would like to get more of those in 2012.

So here’s hoping.

xoxo

abc

I’m slowly getting the old social-media-gears turning and I promise I’ll be back again soon — with some really good news!

(Actually, lots of good newses.  Turns out all kinds of things happen when you neglect your blog completely.)

But first, there’s something I really wanted to tell you right away:

You need to read this book.

Many moons ago, I did a yoga teacher training in Boston, and was lucky enough to meet a hilarious and smart (and incredibly bendy) woman named Wendy Wunder.  (She swears this is her real name — I’m still not totally convinced she’s not a superhero.)  We bonded over writing and yoga and I gushed about her to my lovely editors at Alloy Entertainment. Soon, she was busily at work on what would become this amazing book.  And a few months ago, I was finally able to read it.

I could go on and on about how beautifully written it is, how sharply drawn the characters, how simultaneously warm and hopeful  and real the whole thing feels.

But so many others have beaten me to the punch.

So go read all about it, if you must, or just trust me and order it now.

It will come as a shock to no one that I was never much for equations, but I can tell you this:

The probability of you loving The Probability of Miracles is a big old  10 out of 10.

xoxo

***and happy, happy holidays!***

A

There are a few things worth noting in this picture, I think.

1. It was taken in our old house, before I had an office.

(Who am I kidding, I still have no office.  I have a room full of boxes of books and gear and old coats thrown on a chair.  But by now I’ve moved my “workspace” to the couch.)

2.  Whiskey, who, like Ann Patchett’s Rose is most likely a cross between a Chihuahua and a Jack Russell (and called a Jackawawa ’round these parts…) almost never relaxes.  He’s a neurotic little lunatic who barks at the sound of the toilet flushing and literally sleeps with one eye open.  When he does relax, he looks like this, curled against some human curve, and sticking out his tongue.

3.  My headphones.  I think these may have been freebies on an airplane, back when you could still get something for free on an airplane.  A minor tangent involving my freakishly tiny ear-parts:  the interior spiral nook  is so miniscule that trying to wrestle one of those hip little earbuds inside is a feat both punishing and impossible.  I’m not making excuses here, but…yes I am, I’m making excuses.  Please excuse the massive plastic.

Whiskey’s getting up there in years and has been under the weather of late, so I thought it would be a nice time to send him some web-love.

Whiskey, you’re a teeny tiny terror, with leg-warming talents unparalleled.

xo

* Years ago, one of E’s friends started addressing Whiskey by growling “You Little Scumbag” (in the most endearing of tones.)  It stuck, and has since been abbreviated to “Scum.”   Sometimes “Scum-sucker.” Often “Scum-bum.”  TMI?  Maybe.

I don’t know.

In the meantime, here are some more excuses, for the three  of you who are still checking up on me:

1.  I was away!

And internet is hard to come by in Central America.

It’s okay, ’cause it’s so pretty there.

See?

Also, there are monkeys!

And waterfalls!  

It was a blast.

I’m happy to report that my Spanish-language skills have been improved, while my surfing has also improved in the sense that it got MORE pathetic.  (This is more impressive than you can possibly imagine.)

#2.  I’ve been writing!

I don’t have any pictures to make this part more interesting, so you’ll have to take my word for it.

And that’s probably a good thing, because how many pictures of me on my couch, in yoga pants and unwashed hair, can a person be expected to endure?

Zero, is the answer.  You’re welcome.

#3.  I’ve totally lost my mind!

I’m serious.

It all started up there in pretty Panama, when E. asked me to marry him.

(This happened to be the one occasion when it would have been nice to have internet…but we got to share the news, eventually….)

It’s all very exciting, except that I decided I needed to plan a wedding IMMEDIATELY and have since lost all sense of perspective and can’t stop thinking, talking and/or dreaming about all things wedding, all of the time.  It’s a sickness.  I know.  But it’s my one big chance to be a total lunatic about things like calligraphy and flowers and napkins and all of the tens of thousands of teeny tiny details (that absolutely NOBODY will notice or care about, but me.)

So there’s that.

I’ve also been getting excited about some Wish-related business (like fun events planned for this spring and summer, not to mention the incredible New York Teen Author Festival I attended in March…check out the facebook photos here!)

But I have missed being here, and I’ll try (again) to stop by more often.

xoxo

akb

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In other news, I’ve officially had it with the treacherous ice, relentless snow and overall wintery blahs.  We are headed back down to Central America for five weeks of sun, surf and spanish language immersion.  (Two border crossing adventures are planned…stay tuned for updates!)

I hope you are all hunkered down with good books, hot tea and warm blankets…or running off in search of warmer climes, like those of us less-hardy (and sick of tea and blankets.)

But never sick of books!  In fact, I’m most excited to catch up on some reading.  This trip will mark my first e-reading experience (it feels so shameful!) but I’ve already downloaded This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper, The Wave by Susan Casey and…finally…The Hunger Games! I have to say I’m nervous that I won’t be able to get into the screen-y bookless-ness of it all, but I’m also really looking forward to the extra room in my suitcase.

One more thing before I get to packing — remember last year’s Teen Author Festival?  The really fun week of readings and signings and panels that David Levithan organized in NYC?  It’s happening again in March and I’m going to be there!  It would be so great if you came too. Check here for schedules and updates.

Hasta luego!

xoxo

akb

A few of you loyal linkers may have noticed that Friday’s TALES OF A RAVENOUS READER post didn’t go up.  This is because the Ravenous Reader herself didn’t receive a review copy in time (whoops!) and so we’ve decided to reschedule for this week.

Here’s an updated post calendar:

Tuesday, Jan. 11:  The Compulsive Reader

Wednesday, Jan 12:  The Story Siren

Friday, Jan 14:  Tales of a Ravenous Reader (for real!)

And while we’re on the subject, I want to thank all of you lovely bloggers and blog-readers for being so wonderful to me in the past two years.  It’s been so great getting to know all of you and it absolutely makes my day to read your comments, emails and letters.  Please keep them coming

SHOUT-OUTS!

Sara Shepard, author of the awesome Pretty Little Liars series (the books are even better than the show!) has a video up on the Barnes and Noble website.  She’s talking about some of her favorite books of the season and Wishful Thinking made the cut!   See the video (and get some other great suggestions) here.

Also, some of you might be familiar with the official Wish website (in fact, some of you might even be reading this blog on it right now…)  I just noticed that it’s been given a gorgeous Wishful Thinking make-over so if you haven’t checked it out yet, you should!

Have a great week, everyone!

xoxo

akb

Yesterday, I answered some questions for Mavie at The Bookologist.

Tomorrow, Thursday 1/6, check out the Green Bean Teen Queen for a guest post about library love.

And Friday, 1/7, don’t forget to visit Tales of a Ravenous Reader for some more Q&A.

Happy Travels!

The random.org-selected winners of the resolution contest are…

LENA and AMANDA!!!

Ladies, please email me your addresses (alex at alexandrabullen dot com) and I’ll get those shiny books out to you asap!

Thanks to all who shared their resolutions.  I hope all of your New Years dreams come true.

WISHFUL THINKING BIRTHDAY and BLOG TOUR!!!

So in all of the holiday craziness, I’ve sort of forgotten that WISHFUL THINKING is in stores TOMORROW, January 1!  If anyone happens to see a copy out there in the real world please take a picture for me.  It will be a while until I return to civilization and I’d love to see how this pretty lady looks on the shelves.

I’ll be doing a mini blog-tour for the next few weeks, starting with an interview on Monday at Lauren’s Crammed Bookshelf. Stop by and get to know a little about Hazel, the star of Wishful Thinking, my favorite vegetable, and all sorts of other fascinating stuff.

Check back here, on Facebook and on Twitter for more links and dates!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I am always skeptical of New Year’s Resolutions, mostly because I’ve never been able to keep them.  So this year I am thinking small.  One thing I would really, really like to do is to finally remember to bring any one of the TEN BILLION eco-friendly canvas totes I own INSIDE the supermarket.  I decided to start early, and yesterday as I was leaving the house I grabbed two (from a hook hung deliberately next to the front door)…and STILL I managed to leave them in the car.

I hereby swear to never do this again.  This is my resolution for the New Year.  Glamorous, yes?

Here’s wishing you love, laughs and happy reading in 2011.

xo

akb