*blinks*

I know, I've been away for a while and I've missed all of you so much! Here's what's going on:

I wasn't feeling really well during September, which is while I went offline, and when I went to ALAN in November (because there was NO way I was missing that), I basically staggered around a bit, did my panel and signing, then went home and collapsed.

For real. I got a concussion and everything.

Long story short, after some rest (because apparently recovering from a concussion can mess with blood test results), I went to see my doctor. She ran a lot of tests and told me to go see another doctor about my eyes, which had been painfully dry for months.

The eye doctor told me that my eyes weren't producing tears (in fact, one eye isn't making any tears at all) and that I had an infection in my eyes' oil glands. After I got done saying "Ewww!" (because, really, even though it isn't contagious, it explained why my eyes looked so awful) So, loaded up with prescriptions, me and my eyes went home.

Then I heard from my doctor. My red blood cells are--and this is a direct quote from my doctor--"floppy." (HUH??) Apparently it means they are too large. So I am on meds for that, and go back for more testing in March to see if I'm okay or if I have to go see a specialist.

To top if all off, when I went back to the eye doctor, my eye infection had actually gotten worse (I didn't say "Ewww! this time. I said another four letter word.) And so I got more medicine.

And that's where I am now. I'm really not able to go online much at all (I suppose that's obvious, huh? :-)

Hopefully, come March, my blood tests will be good and my eyes will be better. I've got my fingers crossed....

Miss you all SO much!

hiatus

Hello, lovely wonderful readers. As much as it pains me to do this, I'm taking an Internet sabbatical to deal with personal stuff. Thank you all for being so wonderful to me, and I hope to be back soon!

yay! for happy days!

Talk about having a great day:

1. As I Wake is now officially out in bookstores--if you pick it up, I'd love to know what you think!

2. I've always longed to visit one of Anderson's Bookshop stores, and now I'm going to be able to? How? Because in what is a total dream come true, I'm going to be part of their Annual Young Adult Literature Conference next Saturday, September 24th.

Next week! As I Wake in stores!

Must go before I overload on !

"Here's what I need to save a life: coffee."

This month has just flown by, but I'm thrilled to say the lovely ladies of Merry Sisters of Fate invited me to share a short story, and I was beyond happy to to do.

You can read Sight here, or for feeds that strip out links, it's here: http://merryfates.com/2011/08/22/sight-by-elizabeth-scott/

I hope you read and enjoy it, and I'll be checking in to read and respond to comments!

my new fave pic! (and win a copy of Between Here and Forever!)

This came into my mailbox yesterday and I had to share because a. I love pugs and b. therefore I love this picture.



Comment here with the name (or better yet pic!) of your fave pic through midnight EST on Friday, August 5th, and the person who talks about/posts the pic I like best will win a signed copy of Between Here and Forever. You must have a US mailing addy, and make sure to leave a way for me to contact you!

interview with Jennifer Echols--and win a copy of her new book, Love Story!

Today, I'm doing a Girlfriends' Cyber Circuit interview with Jennifer Echols about her new book, Love Story




Me: Tell us about your book in ten words or less!

Jennifer: Erin writes about her crush and he reads the story!


Me: What's the best writing advice you've ever been given?

Jennifer: I was told by someone very close to me that my writing was awful, I would never be published, and I should quit. I did not take this advice. In fact, sometimes anger is a terrific motivator. (Me: Wow! Go Jennifer!)


Me: What do you wish you'd known about being published/publishing before your book/first book came out?

Jennifer: Bestsellers are made, not born. Usually the publisher has to get behind a book and pay for it to become a bestseller, so if that’s going to happen, you’ll know way ahead of time. No surprises. (Me: I have to agree with Jennifer on this one (I was nodding so hard when I read it, I'm surprised my head didn't fall off!) although I think that very rarely, a book will become a huge hit based on word of mouth. But it is--well, rare.)


Me: What's the last book you read that you loved so much you had to tell everyone about it?

Jennifer: There are so many of these! When I love a book, I tell EVERYBODY. So I’ll go with my critique partner Victoria Dahl’s adult historical romance, A Little Bit Wild, which was a finalist in the RITA. (Me: that's a big deal, as it's a huge romance award!)


Me: I hear people can win a copy of Love Story...

Jennifer: There are lots of giveaways of Love Story--and other prizes--going on all over the web right now. I am linking to them, so check my blog at jenniferechols.livejournal.com.


Me: Well, you know..

Suzanne: Newman’s Own used to have a Southwest ranch dressing that I absolutely loved, but I can’t find it anymore. My tomatoes and I are unhappy. (Me: Awwww!)


Thanks Jennifer for stopping by, and to help celebrate the release of Love Story, I'm giving one copy away!

How can you win it? All you need is a US mailing addy, and to leave a comment telling me what you'd do if your crush (present or past) read something you'd wrote about him/her by midnight EST tomorrow, July 29th.

link-o-rama!

Lots of links to share:

From Genreality, a great post about what it's like the day after your novel comes out

Over at Pimp My Novel, a fab guest post on rejections

Pimp My Novel on Borders closing, and what it means to publishing

Over at YA Outside The Lines, they've been dishing out one gem after another, starting with Do What Works For You (to which I say, Amen!), That Middle Place (I swear, this could be, okay it SO is me: "And maybe...not stress so much? I've never tried this approach. It does not come naturally."), Writing As An Extreme Sport (I can't get over Lynsay Sands's schedule either!), and finally, a truly wonderful post about Borders closing and, in my mind, more importantly how utterly hard it can be for teenagers to find books to read--"However for the numerous subdivisions across the freeway, no public library exists. I actually offered extra credit last year for my seniors (the high school at which I’ve taught for the past number of years is also across the freeway) if they got and showed me a public library card. The vast majority did not have one until this motivated them to get one. At first this shocked me. Actually it still does. But freeways, as my husband the retail guy often reminds me, are like mountains. If you have to go that far to get to something, often you just don’t."

Writer Unboxed is also cranking out some interesting pieces: Reasons Why Your Online Marketing Doesn't Work, a feel-good post where best-selling authors talk about what keeps them writing, a knock-out post on characterization and one on the power of unplugging from the Internet

Food!

You got love recipes to beat the heat during a heat wave (featuring car-baked cookies!)

There's also Brown Butter and Brown Sugar Muffins and Butterfinger Oatmeal Cookies