~~~Lara Zielin~~~

FAVE LINKEY-POO RIGHT THIS SECOND: Okay, this one is really good. Who’s the first person you call when you get locked up in jail? Why Jesus Christ, of course. As in Jesus Christ bail bonds.

As I noted on Facebook, I will be dressing up as a writer this Halloween. A writer wearing jammies, eating cheese, and probably drinking wine.

My friend and colleague Matthew has little people in his house that he can dress up. Here are his two sons, who stopped by my office today. It’s so cute it hurts. But good hurt.

The best costume I heard about this year was a woman who said she was going to dress as a pirate, then put speakers on her body and an antenna on her head. She was pirate radio. Pretty brilliant, I gotta say. What are some awesome costumes you’ve heard about or seen?

Okay, so these were just too good not to share. And both come from Minnesota.

The first is a picture my friend Val put on her Facebook wall showing a Duluth, Minnesota Hardees sign. Can I just say — this is simultaneously brilliant and ridiculous.

And the second thing is this article my friend Karl sent about a man who drove his motorized La-Z-Boy chair home … drunk.

I love the Land of 10,000 Lakes right now. Yes, I do.

FAVE LINKEY-POO RIGHT THIS SECOND: My office is awesome but, seriously, I want to work here and sing Backstreet with hipster colleague friends.

A friend and I were chatting the other day about the right level of scary we crave in a movie. You see, we’re both cowards a little bit, but we both still really love to be scared. We agreed that Signs was a good scary/suspense movie that was freaky-deaky, but didn’t keep sleep at bay for days. Another was Sleepy Hollow with Johnny Depp (mmmmm…Johnny). I love that you don’t find out if the horseman is real or not until about halfway into the movie. Anything more than that — liiiike, The Exorcist, Saw, or Friday the 13th — is a little to much for me. And by much I mean I cry I’m so, so scared.

But even so, right now there are two Scareville temptations out there that are calling my name, but which might make me sleep with the nightlight on for days afterwards. One is the Paranormal Activity movie that everyone is talking about. The other is this creeptastic alien flick called The Fourth Kind. Here’s a trailer of the latter if you’re interested in seeing it but, I warn you, it’s crazy scary.

What is your threshold for scary? Are you a scare addict or is Monsters vs Aliens as far as you’ll go?

FAVE LINKEY-POO RIGHT THIS SECOND: The Huffington Post’s guide to dressing like a world leader for Halloween. I might scrap my donut costume and go as Kim Jong-Il.

I have book club tonight and, I have to say, I love being part of a group that commits to reading and discussing a book once per month. This month’s pick was DANCE OF THE HAPPY SHADES by Alice Munro and, even though it really wasn’t my cup of tea, I appreciate being yanked out of my comfort zone and forced to read something I normally wouldn’t.

I also wouldn’t be opposed to being part of a YA book club (*bats eyelashes and looks wistfully at the sky*). Now wouldn’t that be dreamy? Anybody out there part of one? If so, what are you reading?

FAVE LINKEY-POO RIGHT THIS SECOND: In the spirit of Halloween, this clip makes a classic film, The Sound of Music, seem like a horror film. Creative and creepy! Thanks once again, S.E.!

While I was recently finishing up a round of edits to PROMGATE, I was thinking about the things that inspire me when I don’t feel like I’m at my creative best. One of the best things I have in my arsenal is the tiara pictured below, a gift from my wonderful friend Colleen who knows that a.) I love to sparkle and b.) tiaras with book titles on them rule. I don’t know if you guys can read the lettering on the crown, but it actually says PROMGATE on it. When I feel like I’m stuck on a chapter or section, I don this beauty and, hey, even if the words don’t pour forth right away, at least I feel fabulous and look like I can conquer the world.

Are you a writer or creative type with a piece of flair that inspires you? If so, let’s hear about it!

FAVE LINKEY-POO RIGHT THIS SECOND: S.E. sent this to me and, I have to say, my life hasn’t been the same since. I love Regretsy, which you think would be a parody of Etsy but no. These crafts are real. This is not a drill. (Caution: NSFW. Some adult content.)

So, why is Jamie Oliver on the cover of this week’s New York Times Magazine giving love, I mean donuts, a bad name? He’s looking at them like he doesn’t get them. But Jamie. Jamie Jamie Jamie. They’re god’s GIFT to food, you see. They are the perfect shape, they can come with sprinkles — or not, if you’re Amish — and look, even as you prove, they are stackable. So what if they’re caloric and, as some doctors say in their medical speak, “unhealthy.” Embrace the One True Ring, Jamie. Embrace.

Here’s the photo in context:

Y’all I am so humidified excited! For so many reasons!

I’m thrilled to announce that blog commenter Jill just won a free copy of DONUT DAYS, and I’m especially elated because I loved her comment! When asked which food holiday she would invent, she gave not one but two. One for peanut butter, and one for Tootise Rolls. Now that is a girl after my own heart, let me tell you.

The other thing I learned? Jill has an awesome website and you should go see it! It has owls! And books! Again, two of my favorite things.

Jill and I can’t be BFFs because Lauren Myracle and I already are, but I hope she will consider inviting me to her next sleepover. I know she’s on my VIP list.

Congratulations, Jill!!!

FAVE LINKEY-POO RIGHT THIS SECOND: After a 30 Rock, Season 3 marathon, I have to say this moment where Kenneth reveals his true accent just about had me on the floor crying with laughter.

As we all know, if the interwebs says things over and over, it must be true. So based on the pages here and here (scroll to page 4 of the ad on that last one), I’ve surmised that October must, in fact, be National Donut Month.

So to celebrate the momentous event, I’ve decided to give away a free signed copy of DONUT DAYS to a lucky blog reader. But, there’s a catch. You have to tell me, in the comments, the food holiday you would create, and why. (Saying “I would create a diet or non-food holiday” doesn’t count. This is a pro-food blog, people. And I’ll just say right now that people who plug cheese and meat have a special place in my heart.)

To get you thinking creatively about some of the food holidays that are out there, try this link. You can certainly also support one of the food holidays that are in the latter link (come on, National Margarita Day? Nutella Day? I’m so there!) but you have to tell me what you love about it.

I’ll leave the contest open through the weekend and choose the winner on Monday. Happy eating, reading, and commenting!

FAVE LINKEY-POO RIGHT THIS SECOND: If you can get through the preview to the actual dancing (which starts at about 1:20), this clip of Aaron Carter’s quick-step performance on Dancing With the Stars is pure magic. I had it on the DVR and watched it, like, five times back to back.

This past weekend I was in Cleveland (Cleveland rocks!) for the Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association conference to sign books and, I gotta say, it was pretty cool. One of the highlights totally had to be meeting Lauren Myracle who has written a host of famous books like the “Internet Girls” series that includes TTFN and BFF, and other books like PEACE, LOVE, AND BABY DUCKS. I am super excited to be the proud owner of her newest book, LUV YA BUNCHES, which I can’t wait to read.

Lauren and I pretty much hit it off, and I’d be surprised if she doesn’t ask me to be the godmother of her next child. Well, okay, maybe we’re not that close. Yet. Here’s me and Lauren, clearly making a BFF pact.

One of the stories Lauren  told when we were sharing promise rings was how she’d been invited to speak at an Ohio high school and how she’d just found out that the principal had disinvited her. Yup. Turns out her books aren’t what the high school is looking for. Um, hello? How crazy is that.

Well, no worries, Lauren. We still love you, even if that principal doesn’t. Also, that blue book you’re holding looks AWESOME.

TTYL!

Okay, it’s pretty much official: author Eileen Cook and I share a brain.

I just got done reading her adorable book, WHAT WOULD EMMA DO?, and I have to say, it has a lot in common with DONUT DAYS. Like, you remember how I wrote that author Sarah Quigley and I had a bunch of crazy coincidences happen to us? Well, this might just put that to shame.

Here are some of the scary-cool ties our books share:

1.) Both our main characters are named Emma.

2.) Both our Emmas are struggling to figure out what they believe, all while being in the center of a very religious environment.

3.) Both our Emmas are in a fight with their best friends.

4.) Both our Emmas are also fighting with their parents (or in the case of Eileen’s book, that would be parent, singular) about where they should go to college.

5.) Both our Emmas are trying to make their college education happen on their own, through a scholarship.

Those are just a few of the main similarities, but there are other more subtle ones. Like, I felt Eileen’s writing was a lot like mine, and her pacing and dialogue was similar to DONUT DAYS. At one point, I think we both used a metaphor for a book that involved a tree’s falling leaves. She pointed out the hypocrisies of the church in her text, and I tried to do that in DD as well.

I thought her book was funny, clever, and charming. Does that mean I think DD is funny, clever and charming? Hmmm … I guess all I can say is that you should read both books and look for the similarities yourself!