Author Interviews

We are starting a new Author2Author Chat on the Author2Author Blog

Hopefully some of you can check it out.

Up today is author April Henry talking about her book Shock Point.

We're are having lots more great authors coming up, including:

* Alexa Young talking about Frenemies

* Marlene Perez chatting about Love in the Corner Pocket

* Stephanie Kuehnert talking about I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone

* Jen Bradbury chatting about her novel Shift

and more!

Stay tune.

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Sharing the Love Book Giveaway

Hey everyone, myself and a few of my blog buddies are giving away some books on our Author2Author blog this week. We'd love for you to stop by and who knows you might win a free book!!!

Just stop by www.author2author.blogspot.com any day this week and leave a comment to be entered into a drawing for that day.

Here's the info as posted on the blog:

In honor of Valentine's Day this week, we're hosting a contest where each day, one lucky blog reader can win a lovey-dovey young adult novel. Yep, we'll be going to our bookshelves and selecting a new or a gently used, but like new, book and sharing the love, in more ways than one.

Here's how it works.

Each day, we'll blog about a book we are giving away. Simply leave a comment if you'd like to be entered to win that particular book.

If you'd like an extra entry, post about the contest on your blog, but make sure when you comment on our blog to enter for the contest that you tell us where to find your post for that extra entry. You only need to blog about it once, but when you are leaving a comment, refer to that entry each time, since we have five people doing five different drawings.

Entries must be received by midnight EST (9:00 PST) each day. Sorry, we will only be able to mail to US addresses.

Here are the books you have the opportunity to win!

Monday – IT'S NOT ABOUT THE ACCENT, by Caridad Ferrer
Tuesday – SOMETHING TO BLOG ABOUT, by Shana Norris
Wednesday – THE SECRET LIFE OF A TEENAGE SIREN, by Wendy Toliver
Thursday – THE BOYFRIEND LIST, by E. Lockhart
Friday – LOST IT, by Kristen Tracy

The contest begins Monday, February 11th - be there or be square. It promises to be a fun week, as we even have an interview scheduled with Shana Norris on Tuesday!

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Author2Author blog

Okay, didn't I just blog here about starting a new blog not that long ago?

Well...it's gone and happened again.

But this one is even cooler than a blog featuring just me, because it features four of my writing friends as well. Five for the price of one. Not to shabby.

The new group blog is Author2Author

Here's the gist: Five YA/MG authors from all stages in their writing careers have come together to share about their writing journey. We'll be sharing tips, advice, plenty of funny stories, and everything in between – five days a week.

My day will be Tuesday's.

I'm really excited about this project, and hope it will be beneficial to people. I'm also really excited to learn more about writing from my fellow Author2Author members and from all our visitors.

Hope you'll check it out!!

And if you want, you can get the LJ feed here: http://syndicated.livejournal.com/author2author/

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Winners for Cheesy Christmas Movie Countdown

Well, the winners have been selected:



First prize (Love Actually DVD): Miss Erin

Second prize (Prague Bookmark): JessicaBurkhart



Strangely enough, one came from my MySpace blog and one from LiveJournal, though, I didn't plan that.

You both have been contacted, but just email me your mailing addresses to elmarshall (at) gmail.com to receive your prize.

Thanks so much for everyone that participated. It's been fun. Sorry to all those that didn't win, you can blame my husband for note selected your name from the pile (nice, how I made him pick a name and not be, right? :)

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Cheesy Christmas Movie Countdown: No’s 10-12

We are down to the final three of the countdown.

Make sure to leave a comment by the end of today, and I'll draw a name tomorrow morning to win the Love Actually DVD and a separate person to win the bookmark.

10:) Eloise at Christmastime (2003):

..

I'm fairly certain my husband is laughing at me right now. As he always laughs when I watch any of the Eloise movies. But what can I say? I just like them, even though I'm fairly certain these are probably supposed to be for children like my six-year-old niece. Oh well, I guess Hannah Montana is supposed to be for them, too, but that doesn't stop me from watching it religiously.

Eloise is slightly annoying at times, but this is still a good movie. Some of you might be familiar with the books, if not the movie. It takes place at the Plaza Hotel at Christmastime and involves Eloise helping with a Christmas wedding, while she's plotting a matchmaking scheme.

11.) Samantha: An American Girl Holiday (2004):

..

What can I say, I guess, I'm in a cheesy kid Christmas movie mood today. But I love historical films and I love Christmas films, so it's only natural that I'd like this movie. And I know there are more historical Christmas films out there. I just can't think of any at this time. So if you know of any, please remind me. And I'll make sure to check them out.

This movie is set in 1904 and revolves around the popular American Girl character Samantha. She lives with her grandmother after her parents death and bonds with Nellie, a girl that moves in to be a servant next door. She also bonds with her uncle and his new wife, while improving the lives of some orphans. Good clean fun. It's really a cute story. I need to see the rest of the American Girl movies. I have them DVR'd as I write this.

12.) Single Santa Seeks Mrs. Clause (2004):

..

This last one was hard to narrow done. There were tons in the running, but ultimately, I had to stick to the cheesiness of them. And this one's title alone is pretty darn cheesy. It stars Steve Guttenberg and Crystal Bernard, and basically involves Santa's sons search for a wife as he's about to take over Santa's duties. He meets Beth, whose a workaholic at an advertising firm. He stars in several commercials for her company, all while trying to convince Beth and her son to believe in Santa. The sequel Meet the Santas is decent, too.


So there you have it, my top 12 Cheesy Movies. Now, share yours . I need more Cheesy Movies to find.

There's a few that look good this year, especially:
• A Christmas Caper
• Holiday in Handcuffs
• Snowglobe


And just in case you were wondering, these are my top Cheesy Movies, but my FAVORITE movies to watch at Christmas isn't really a tough decision. They easily are:

Love Actually
..

While You Were Sleeping
..

Serendipity
..

6:15 AM - 8 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

Cheesy Movie Countdown: No’s 8-9

Prize has finally been bought.

1st Prize:

..

Copy of the DVD Love Actually. In all fairness, this movie isn't even cheesy enough to make it on this countdown. But it's one of my all-time favorite movies to watch during the holiday season now! And I wanted a copy for myself, so giving one away gave me a good excuse to purchase a second one for me.


2nd Prize:
Isn't as big, but still very cool since it was purchased in a foreign country. But it's a bookmark from Prague.


So there you go. Make sure to leave a comment to win one of the above. If you happen to own either of the things, then you'll get a spiffy present for someone else if you win!


Onto No's 8 and 9:

8.) I'll Be Home for Christmas (1998):

..

Compared to everything else on this list, this movie really isn't all that cheesy, either. However, I enjoy it so much, that I had to include it on the list. For those that haven't seen it, it stars Jonathan Taylor Thomas. He plays a college student who has difficulty making it home for the holidays when as payback he's dumped in the desert while wearing a Santa costume. It's part road trip, part learning the true meaning of the holiday.


9.) Once Upon a Christmas (2000):

..

This one and it's sequel Twice Upon a Christmas could probably be combined in one entry. Both are cute and super cheesy. Both star Kathy Ireland as Kristen Klaus, Santa's daughter who needs to save Christmas. Santa wants to take a break, since no one has Christmas spirit, so Kristen poses as a nanny to try to change one family and convince her dad that people still believe in the "true meaning of Christmas."

In the sequel, they all have to save the north pole, which is being sold piece by piece by Santa's other daughter, Rudolfa. Sounds super cheesy, doesn't it? That's just the way I like them!

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Cheesy Christmas Movie Countdown: No’s 5-7

5.) His and Her Christmas (2005):

..

This one is a no brainer for me. Merely because David Sutcliffe (Christopher from Gilmore Girls) is in it. And I'm all about anything from Gilmore Girls. Plus, it involves the publishing business (newspapers, but still publishing.)

Anyway, it's about Tom (Sutcliffe), whose large newspaper wants to buy out a smaller one. One of the staff members of the smaller newspaper, Liz (Dina Mayer—who has amazing curly hair in the movie, in case you were wondering), finds a way to try to save the newspaper by creating a special Christmas column. When the column's a hit, Tom gets assigned to write a competing column. Then the sparks fly. In Cheesy Christmas terms that means in multiple ways, of course. First, they are rivals and before you know it. And we all know what comes after rivals…why romance, of course.


6.) The Night they saved Christmas (1984):

..

To me this movie isn't cheesy at all, because I've loved it since I was little. But when I get down to it and examine it at it's core, it is pretty cheesy. Plus, I realized there was an abnormally high number on my list that was from 2003-2005 (must have been a good cheesy Christmas movie time), so I figured I needed to mix it up a bit.

For all those that said they hadn't heard of any of the others, I'd be pretty surprised if you hadn't seen this one on at one time or another.

If you haven't seen it, it's about an oil company that's blasting in the Artic. Santa gets concerned more blasting will run the North Pole, so he gets the wife of an oil executive and her children to convince her husband to stop. But the best parts of the movie are when they ride around in the snowmobiles and end up in the North Pole. I haven't seen this movie in a few years, so I forget all the details, but I'm fairly confident the special effects on this one alone are pretty cheesy. But still this is an all time favorite.


7.) A Carol Christmas (2003):

..

As I'm sure you can guess by the title, this one's a retelling of a Christmas Carol. But Tori Spellings the one that needs the lesson this time around. She plays Carol a successful and shrewd talk-show host. And while putting together a Christmas special for her show, she's visited by "ghosts" from her past. And you all probably know the rest of the story. Plus, there's a romance in this version, which personally is just what the original story needed, in my opinion.


Don't forget to leave a comment. The more days you comment, the better your chance for a prize.

3:12 PM - 4 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

Cheesy Christmas Movie Countdown continues

Onto numbers 3 and 4 of my favorite Cheesy Christmas Movies.

3.) Christmas in Boston (2005):
Okay, this one I really like. I have no idea why. But it stars Marla Sokoloff and Patrick J. Adams, and honestly, I think Marla Sokoloff needs to do a ton more movies. I've been a fan of hers, since she was Gia on Full House. And I loved her in last year's Big Day.

Anyway, it's about two pen pals that have been friends for 13 years and when one goes to Boston for a toy conference for work they decide to meet for the first time. Problem is that both of them sent pictures of their best friends, instead of sending their real pictures. So they force their best friends to meet instead, not realizing that the other one is doing the same thing. Then the friends start to fall for each other.

Seriously, it involves a toy conference, Boston, pen pals, cases of mistaken identities. What's not to love?


4.) Eve's Christmas (2004):
This one involves time travel in the vain of 13 Going on 30 (except backwards). Good cheesy stuff. It stars Elisa Donovan (from other great movie Clueless) as Eve Simon, a wealthy and successful career women whose alone at the holiday season and wondering about the year's past and if she's taken the right path in life. She runs into a homeless man who tells her to "wish upon a Christmas star," and when she does she's thinking about her ex-fiancé, Scott, that she walked out on twelve years ago. She's sent back in time and given the chance to relive a crucial week in her life, right before her would-be wedding.


Don't forget to leave a comment to be eligible for a prize. I've still yet to find a movie. It's really hard to find an actual DVD of a Cheesy Christmas Movie in the stores, so please bare with me as I figure out what the final prize will be.

8:34 AM - 2 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Count Down to... (comment and you could win a prize)

Cross-posted from LiveJournal Blog


I'm back from my trip to Europe. I had an amazing time and will post a recap and pictures soon. In the mean time, I must deliver what I promised before I left, due to the seasonality of the issue.

It's almost that time of year again: when the holiday decorations go up and singing randomly at someone's doorstep becomes not only acceptable, but also encouraged. Many people anticipate Christmas and the other holiday's celebrated in December throughout the entire year.

And I'm no exception.

But for me starting December 1st, the holidays mean more to be then eggnog, hot cocoa, and roasting chestnuts over an open fire (side question: has anyone even attempted that last one and lived to tell about it?).

Instead, the end of the Thanksgiving Holiday begins a special time of year in the Marshall household…

…CHEESY CHRISTMAS MOVIE SEASON!!!!!!

Add a dash of romantic comedy, a pinch of snow and holiday cheer. Put it on ABC Family Channel or Hallmark Channel and you've got: Cheesy Christmas Movie Madness!!

So in celebration of Cheesy Christmas Movie Season, I'll be counting down my top 12* favorite Cheesy Christmas Movies** of all time.

Up first and second (note these are in no particular order):




1.) A Boyfriend for Christmas (2004):



I'm sorry, but if the title of this movie doesn't get you, then I think you shouldn't continue on reading my tribute to Cheesy Christmas movies. Seriously, with a title like this, how could you not watch this movie? It's classic Cheesy Christmas!

It's about Holly (the lovely Kelli Williams) who at the age of 13 stops believing in Santa Clause after her wish to receive a boyfriend for Christmas never comes true. It's truly a sad state of affairs, but have no fear, jump forth to the present 20 years later, and Santa finally makes good on the promise that a boyfriend will arrive. And this time, she has two to pick from: Ted (her one-time high school heartthrob) and Ryan, a rival attorney, who has a mysterious connection to a 20-year-old gift from a department store Santa Clause. Do you even think it's going to be a close call, between the two guys?



And next,

2.) Recipe for a Perfect Christmas (2005):

Not only stars the lovely Carly Pope as JJ, a food critic, but Bobby Cannavale, Will's love interest Vince from Will and Grace as a young chef, Alex.

Things for JJ go south when her mother shows up unannounced for the holiday season. In an attempt to keep her mom busy and to avoid her, she works out a deal with Alex to occupy her mom. But of course, JJ ends up falling for Alex. Very cute holiday movie. Even though, it's not nearly as good as the non-holiday-cheesy-movie staring Carly Pope and Brian Austin Green (or Brian A. Green as I guess he likes to be called now), This Time Around. Had that been a Christmas movie it would definitely beat this one right out of it's spot.





Numbers, 3-12 will be coming later this week.

And as promised, I will even be awarding as a prize, one Cheesy Christmas Movie that has yet to be determined and a second prize of a small gift I picked up in Prague.

TO WIN A PRIZE, just leave a comment any day this week on either my LJ Blog or my MySpace Blog. I'll draw a winner at the end of the week (I'll put your name in the "hat" for every day you comment).



* NOTE: yes, 12 was choosen not because there are only 12 great cheesy movies out there (because, hello, there are clearly tons more in existence), but instead because 12 appears to be a very Christmasy number. And I must note, I had like 50 movies in the running for the top 12 and had to narrow it down to the most Cheesy. Thus, I have an extended list that I will be giving at the end of the week.

** 2nd NOTE: Cheesy Christmas Movies are not to be confused with Cheesy Classic Christmas*** Movies. So you will not be seeing any National Lampoons Christmas Vacation, Home Alone, A Christmas Story, or any of the cheesy classics on this list. Those are all in another movie genre to themselves.

*** 3rd NOTE: to any member of my family that might be reading this blog, please note that Cheesy Classic Christmas Movies in now an official genre of movies as proven in this blog dated November 26, 2007. Which means, at the next game of Scattergories if I happen to use this in the context of the game, it would be an automatic triple-word score!

5:37 AM - 4 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

My Blog has Moved!

Hey everyone,

As you can tell, I haven't updated this blog in awhile. I've decided to make the leap to Livejournal.

Here's my new blog address: http://elmarshall.livejournal.com/

I'll still update big news here on my MySpace blog, but my LiveJournal will be for those everyday-type issues that writers deal with.

If you are on LiveJournal, make sure to friend me!

Emily

10:12 AM - 4 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment