Mel's Shopping Diary
Last Day of Poetry Contest Tomorrow!
June 18, 2008I will be accepting poems until June 20th at midnight. After that, any poems sent in will be read but not considered eligible for the contest.
Winners will be announced the week after July 4th. You’ve got to give me time to read them all! There are so many!
Also: PLEASE do not send me your stuff (novels, short stories, etc) to read. I can’t read them for legal reasons, so please don’t send them to me. Maybe one day I will teach a writing class and will invite you all to join, but that day is not today. I’m so glad so many of you want to be writers, and I ENCOURAGE you to follow your dreams and write your way to success. But I cannot provide feedback on your writing.
I will however, post all 35 winners on the blog and provide reasons on why I chose those poems!
It’s SCORCHING out here. It was 100 degrees outside. I was sweating in my own house! And we had the A/C turned up all the way to eleven. Hopefully the installation of our faaahbulous Knoll curtains on all the windows will ameliorate the situation. We practically live in a glass house there are windows everywhere. Which is kind of funny. When we lived in New York we had TWO windows for the entire apartment. And all New Yorkers craved LIGHT, LIGHT, LIGHT. And now in LA we have TOO MUCH light.
Speaking of ‘ameliorate’ I got a snotty email from a disgruntled dude who’d stumbled on my books in the library, read them, and wanted to let me know he thought I was showing off my vocabulary by putting words like “ameliorate” in my books. Showing off my vocabulary??? Is all I do!!! I distinctly remember when I LEARNED the word “ameliorate” which means to IMPROVE OR RESOLVE things. I just liked that word a lot. And I put it in all my books. I also like the phrase “well-appointed home”. I think I also put THAT in all my books. All the rooms in my books are well-appointed. LOL.
It’s kind of funny to be dinged on my vocab, since in person, I’m just like, you know, talking like this all the time and incredibly casual. I never use big words. EVER. Mostly because I didn’t grow up here, so I don’t know how most words are SUPPOSED to sound. And I ALWAYS say them wrong. For instance, I say “woooned” for “wound” and pronounce the “L” in “almond” and “salmon”. And kind of end up looking like an idiot like that Nomi in Showgirls who says “Ver-says.” I never seem simply FOREIGN, like quirky cute French people because I have an American accent so people assume I should know better. There are tons more words I mispronounce. To the amusement of first, my college friends, and now, my husband. I also say stuff like “Open the TV!” and “Close the light!” which really bugs him. He thinks our daughter will grow up talking like a fracking foreigner but really, she will grow up correcting her mother like my siblings and I did for our parents and laughing in their (my) face.
Anyway. A reader in Shaghai just emailed me my favorite new word; Fahhwwwsome - a combination of Fabulous and Awesome. Which are two of my favorite words! Hey, that is simply, fawsome!
xoxo
Mel
On June 18, 2008 at 9:06 pm, Pauline had this to say:
i cant believe the poem contest is almost over. i only wrote two. i hope she likes them even if i dont win. but i am just glad to have entered. melissa rocks. i got my friends hooked on her.
On June 18, 2008 at 9:25 pm, Shaina had this to say:
XD “open the lights”
*sigh* My friends and I say that all the time! Go, filipinas~~~
On June 18, 2008 at 9:59 pm, Natalie had this to say:
wow. from the sounds of it, its going to be a full-time job reading everyone’s poems. i hope it won’t be too awful.
as for the idiot that yelled at you for your use of vocabulary, it sounds truly childish to read someone’s books just to tell them that the way that author writes is “snobbish.” Furthermore, finding new and different ways to insult people like this make me wish my vocabulary was that much better.
a few of my fav words: ostentatious, spelunking, and savvy.
as always, thanks melissa for your wonderful guidance.lol.
On June 19, 2008 at 12:29 am, Irene had this to say:
I think Melissa’s books are awsome. Just because one guy dosen’t like big words, big deal. as for the contest I entered yesterday. Just bad the Melissa has to read all our poems. I bet its going to be hard picking one.
On June 19, 2008 at 6:34 am, Yuka had this to say:
LOL. “Open the TV”? Nice :3. Now that killed a minute of my time—happily ^^.
On June 19, 2008 at 8:07 am, tessa had this to say:
hey i LOVE ur books and not to sound mean so PLZ dont take it as a mean coment but scott westerfeld uses the word fawesome in his books also. And im from the south so i get made fun of from my cousins who live in new york for my words.
On June 19, 2008 at 12:10 pm, Cara had this to say:
Hi!
I just read Blue Blood and Masquerade the past two days and all I have to say is AMAZING! My sister got me hooked on your books 
These books are just so good, I can’t stop reading. I just finished reading Masquerade a couple hours ago, and OMG I’m dying to know what comes next! I enetered the contest, I hope me or my sister win, I can’t wait till October to find out!
On June 19, 2008 at 5:36 pm, Kat had this to say:
I say so many words wrong. Instead of saying “cra-yon” I say “crown”. Their are a few others I can’t currently think of...some of my fave words are: giggle, antidisestablishmentarianism, and confuzzled (confused and puzzled mixed together jsyk). Oh, the other thing I do that annoys my friends is that when I sigh, I actually say ‘sigh’ aloud.
On June 19, 2008 at 6:09 pm, Rouchelle had this to say:
Im excited about knowing who won the contest. I believe i can wait for a while. Its gotta be a hard job to read all those poems though.
* going to sneek off and re-read Masquerade now*
Can’t wait to see who gets it!
On June 19, 2008 at 6:45 pm, Yuka had this to say:
@ Kat
ROFLCOPTER. I also used to say “crown” instead of crayon ^^.
On June 19, 2008 at 7:20 pm, Natalie had this to say:
Cara had this to say:I enetered the contest, I hope me or my sister win, I can’t wait till October to find out!
^^^ revelations (the third blue bloods novel) comes out in october, but we will know the winners next month.
Irene had this to say: Just bad the Melissa has to read all our poems. I bet its going to be hard picking one.
^^^^ she will be picking 30 or so of our poems (thats how many of the chapter samplers she has in her possession)
On June 20, 2008 at 7:39 am, cara had this to say:
i have the same problem to because apparently no where else in the u.s. do people pronounce “aunt” with a long “a” sound (they say “ant") and i say shut [or close] the light so you’re not the only one =)
good luck reading alllll the poems
On June 20, 2008 at 9:43 am, Karen had this to say:
I was wondering if you even have to be on the mailing list to be able to participate?
On June 20, 2008 at 10:06 am, Christian had this to say:
Wow, I love the whole thing about the word. I just think that he needed someone to bash, cause he was having a down day. I’ll tell you that I absolutely love big vocabulary---pseudopseudohypoporathyoidism is one of my favorites.
Here’s a puzzler for you: I’m in the summer musical for my high school (we’re performing Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat---I’m Benjamin.) In one of the songs we sing “being told we’re ALSORANS...” any idea on what that could mean? It has puzzled all eleven of us, and we’ve concluded that Andrew Lloyd Webber was at a loss for words. Haha.
Love the books! Can’t wait for Revelations!
-christian
On June 20, 2008 at 1:34 pm, Georgia had this to say:
fawesome aka from the last days by scott westerfield? lol!
On June 20, 2008 at 3:02 pm, Mel had this to say:
I had no idea that it was from Scott Westerfeld’s book, but that’s fawsome!!
And no, you don’t have to be on the mailing list to join.
I think the word isn’t “alsorans” but “also rans” which means wannabes, or aspirants who didn’t quite make it.
xoxo
Mel
On June 20, 2008 at 3:17 pm, Sarah had this to say:
I’m from the south- N.Louisiana to be exact. I have a slight accent when I get mad… hehehe the only one I can think of right now was when we were checking a spelling sheet. It was my turn and I can’t remember the exact word but I know it ended with a ‘Y’ and eveyone was talking so i raise my voice(which lemme tell ya can get pretty loud for a shy person) and at the exact moment that I say ‘Y’ (w/a twang -wyyyyy) everyone shuts up and looks at me. Then they all say ‘Y’ exactly like I did back at me. (They’ve never let me live it down) lol
On June 20, 2008 at 7:36 pm, Caitlyn had this to say:
hahaha! Sarah i remember that! and boy was it funny! and big words are fun!
On June 20, 2008 at 9:54 pm, Tricia had this to say:
I just turned in my poem!! WOoHOo! Neway,to the comment underneath mine. There are other REALLY good songs then Time is Running Out by Muse. You should get their Album “Black Holes & Revelations” and “Absolution”. By far, those are the two best Albums they’ve made so far. But anyway, Good Luck to all the writer’s who entered the contest!! And I can’t wait to see the results! OOOOhhhh and I can’t wait till the new book coming out in October!! I can’t wait that long! Oh well might as well keep myself busy!
On June 22, 2008 at 5:53 pm, Caitlyn had this to say:
OMG! I am tuh-oh-tally obsessed with Blue Bloods. Why? Cuz I am one (i think) hehe. weeelll, I am waiting for the Revelations first chappy. I already am on ur mail list, so where is it? lol
new word: Coolness. Oh yeah, that my word lol
Schuyler & Jack 4ever,
Caitz
On June 23, 2008 at 9:06 am, Rachel A Wilson had this to say:
It’s okay, Mel, I say “almond” and “wound” the same way, too. I didn’t think there was any other pronouncation for them o_o ...
Also, use as many vocab words as ya want, don’t let people like that tell ya otherwise, rawr! XD
Okay, that’s enough chocolate for me…
Anyway, have fun reading those poems.
P.S, Because you mentioned you live in a “Glass House”, I recomment reading “The Morganville Vampires” series if you haven’t already.
Ironically, book 1 is called “Glass House”. XD
Melissa De La Cruz ROCKS!
On June 23, 2008 at 6:38 pm, Natalie had this to say:
caitlyn said: weeelll, I am waiting for the Revelations first chappy. I already am on ur mail list, so where is it? lol
^^^ she said thatshe doesnt know when the first chapter will be available. there was still some things being done in the editing process. when thats over, she said she will let everyone know.
natalie
On June 23, 2008 at 6:50 pm, Caitlyn had this to say:
Thanks Natalie! :] Sorry, I just recently came upon this site and haven’t read all the posts thoroughly.
On June 24, 2008 at 4:36 pm, Natalie had this to say:
its cool. i figured that was why you asked. if you have any other questions you can ask me (the FAQ page can be very useful too).
natalie
On June 24, 2008 at 10:01 pm, tiffany had this to say:
=(, it makes me sad because I picked up Blue Bloods yesterday and finished reading it today (my friend’s copy) for the second time, and when i finally go check your website out again, this contest is up and done! I wish I checked a month ago, because I am always writing poetry...blah! But oh well, I guess...I still cant wait for the book to come out!
On June 26, 2008 at 4:08 pm, amanda smith had this to say:
lol. i have an almost the same problem, i can’t spell very well, even though i’m i high school ^_^ and i always want to play hangman when we go out to eat. i always make it more of a challenge to play XP
On June 26, 2008 at 8:34 pm, Jasmin had this to say:
i love the blue bloods series i think it is unique.
and i think Ms. De la cruz is unique too. i know how she feels with big words, i use them sometimes in my vocab, and my family memebers look at me like, “ugh, why uses those big words we dont understand”. and when i use them with my friends, and i have no intention of showing off, they look at me and go “smarty pants’ which i dont think i am....
anyways just wanted to say i love the blue blood series, and the author of them =)))))!!!!!!!
On June 27, 2008 at 6:13 pm, Catie had this to say:
The nerve of that guy, lol! I have a rather large vocabulary and it drives my friends up a wall when I start using it in casual conversations. I’m like a walking dictionary. I love the blue bloods series. I’m going to start reading the Au Pairs(soon, I’m tied up in other series, Luxe, Gemma Doyle Trilogy, Etc) But I CAN’T wait for Revelations. The cliff-hanger in Masquerade killed me! Fahhwwwsome, thats a great word. Total Awesomeness!
On June 30, 2008 at 4:42 am, Fark Johannsen had this to say:
I am a big lover of salmon dishes and I make a few silly poems about salmons, I wonder is they are fit for this contest.
On July 1, 2008 at 6:58 am, Sarah had this to say:
Hahah fawsome
i just had to say how much that made me laugh...which was a freaking lot
tehhehe
On July 1, 2008 at 9:52 pm, Maria had this to say:
hi Malissa…
I just stumbled on your site.. I dont know who you are...But it seems that many peeps do...anyways I have been writting since I was 12 years old I am now 46 and still writting.. I would love to send you some of mt stuff..
Thanks Maria Larra
On July 7, 2008 at 10:33 am, Aubrey had this to say:
Hello Melissa,
I have read and reread your Blue Bloods series. I’m quite the die-hard Vampire novel lover and so is my best friend. We have actually made weekends of sitting up all night reading your books or Anne Rice novels. I just wanted to say that I have read quite a few books and not many rival yours.
Writing books has turned into my more or less my life. I know I shouldn’t, but I even hold it high above education. Most of my books are the relust of classroom bordom.
I have started over twenty books. Only one is finished. I have a bad habit of writing 4 books at a time. I hope someday to publish them. It’s probably the only thing i want out of life.
My books are quite popular among my friends and class mates. I’m hopeing that someday they’ll be just as popular with the nation. One can only hope.
Well Thank you so much for your time and your amazing writing. You’ve given me quite the inspiration.
Aubrey
On June 18, 2008 at 8:46 pm, stheno had this to say:
omg! im firrrrsttt! yaay!
i just want to say that mellisa de la cruz ROCKS!!!
omg! i loooove it how you included the song “time is running out” by muse in the first book of the blue bloods series! that is my favorite song EVER! yay
i just finished my first poem for the contest.. its not very good, but, hey, i never think my stuff is good.. other ppl seem to like my stuff, so im sending it anyway.. are we supposed to send you our addresses in the emails?
well, anyway, i wanted to say that u are FAWSOME!