How much do I love reader reviews?? LOTS!!! Especially when they are good! Here’s one I found on Sebcobooks.com (a student review site – very cool!)

Book Review: Blue Bloods
Author: Cruz, Melissa de la
“I was quite cautious when I began reading Melissa de la Cruz’s, Blue Bloods. Having been aware that the story was about vampires, I thought Blue Bloods would be your typical anti-sun, blood sucking vampire tale. Well, I was wrong. Blue Bloodsis no doubt about vampires, but Ms. de la Cruz contradicts and explains everything you have ever heard about vampires. Basically the story focuses on the lives of a few select teenagers who all happen to share a secret; they’re all part of a group of vampires called the Blue Bloods, who landed at Plymouth after voyaging on the Mayflower. Now in present day New York City, these teenagers have discovered their pasts and are facing new dangers that they never knew existed. There will be a sequel to this book that I anxiously await. This story has many twists, turns, and surprises. I’ve never really enjoyed vampires, but this book expressed a completely different view on how they live and what they’re all about. The word choice in Blue Bloods is a bit advanced and there are even some phrases in foreign languages here and there. I think because of the uniqueness and manner of Melissa de la Cruz’s story, a variety of open-minded readers (who are willing to check a few words in the dictionary) can sincerely enjoy Blue Bloods.”
–Alison Fanizzi, North Syracuse Junior High School, North Syracuse, NY

Yay! Thanks Alison!

And thanks to everyone who has emailed saying they loved the book. It really makes me happy to hear that.

Because I am soooo ill. I just have been feeling sooo sick lately. It’s so awful. I have a stomach virus I think, and ugh, it’s just been killing me.

I’m also kind of sick of the Kaayva Viswanathan/plagiarism scandal. I feel sad for her. I’m sad for Megan McCafferty too–I’m sure she feels totally violated. (How else can a writer feel when this happens?) And she’s a fellow Columbia College grad, so I am totally in her corner. (Roar Lion Roar) But I am also sad for Kaayva, of course she deserves contempt for what she has done, but also pity, I think. The pressure she must have been under–writing a novel AND doing a full load of courses at Harvard? It doesn’t excuse what she did AT ALL. When I first read about her huge advance, and her youthfulness, I thought, wow, she is superhuman! Now it comes out she is just human.

When I wrote my first novel, Cat’s Meow, I had to take three months off of work to do it. I couldn’t do it while still working, so I just could not even imagine how anyone can study for school and put a novel together.

Right now I write full time and even then, it’s never enough time to write a book…

But anyway, like I said, I’m kind of sick of the scandal. It just adds to my feeling of nausea. It’s all just so yucky and sad.

So, moving on lighter topics!!!

Check out the hooters on Katherine McPhee last night huh??? Mike and I (who are huge Taylor Hicks fans) couldn’t get over the cleavage-baring dress. Yikes! I thought there was a little more of McPhee than we should have seen–and the split up to the thigh on the gown was also distracting. (Was it just me or were buttons popping out as she walked around the stage?)

Part of me totally admired her for wearing such a sexy dress, (I LOVE the cut-down-to-there style, it’s very sexy–but I think it looks sexier on flatter ladies–more Kate Moss-y and Euro), and another part of me was totally apalled. What was she thinking? It was WAY too tight and too revealing I think.

We’ve all been watching Idol thinking of her as this nice-girl-from-Sherman-Oaks and then she throws the twins at us! LOL. But I thought her rendition of the Whitney Houston song was pretty good.

But like I said, we’re Taylor Hicks fans. Mike thinks there is a conspiracy on the part of Idol producers to get the audience to vote against Taylor, and I quote my husband, “They don’t want a fat, goofy, gray-haired guy to represent American Idol.” So they are pushing for the more attractive and savvy Chris Daughtry. But I disagree–I think fat, goofy and gray-haired is exactly what we want in an Idol! Don’t you think?

We were walking in The Grove (an outdoor mall in L.A. where you can find us, oh, about four out of seven days of the week. Ok! I know it’s a mall. But there are so few places you can just park and then walk around in in L.A.) about a month ago, and we were coming out of the movie theater and all the people on the street (the fake mall street) had their camera phones out and there was this HUGE buzz of excitement — I haven’t seen anything like that ever! And I thought, oh my god, it has to be a huge star–Tom Cruise?? But lo and behold, it was Taylor Hicks! He seemed really flattered by all the attention, he posed for a lot of photos and was smiling at everyone. Looked like a real nice guy.

My book party is a week and a half away, and today I promised I would try on the dresses I’d been planning to wear to the party to see if they still look as fab as I thought they would when I bought them, oh, a year ago when I finished the book!

I’ll keep you posted…

UPDATE: So I tried on the dresses. And the Marc Jacobs dress still works, but the Diane Von Furstenberg is not looking so good. Sigh. Also, the thought of changing in the middle of the party just sounds like an inconvenience. So, I have decided on a third option.

I bought this Sass & Bide mini dress which is black with yellow piping, which I have never worn, from Diavolina in L.A. about eight months ago ($590), when I was shopping with my friend Katie. I think I will wear that to the party instead of the Marc Jacobs. It’s black = goth /vampiric enough for Blue Bloods but it also has yellow and a floral pattern = sunny and summery enough for Sun-Kissed. Actually the perfect option! I will post pictures of the party so you can all see what it looked like. I think I might even wear it with my new Skinny Jeans ($68 at Urban Outfitters), and my nude YSL platforms ($149 from $395 at the outlet). That’s a fun teen look, I think… Kind of inspired by the Lindsay Lohan outfit of loose Chanel blouse, skinny jeans and platforms..

xoxo
Mel