BUMPED is on sale today. This is both extremely exciting and nerve-wracking. You’d think I’d be used to this by now, but I’m not. Here are five things that help me deal with all my nervous energy.

1. Rock Band. I looooove Rock Band. I will definitely play some Rock Band today. It’s very therapeutic. When I play Rock Band, I don’t think about anything else but Rock Band, which is rare because I have trouble shutting up my brain. I’m pretty much an expert on vocals and can maybe go medium on bass and drums which isn’t that impressive but who cares? It’s Rock Band and it’s fun.  My band is Mental Regional, which was the nickname for my high school.

2. Green Tea and Dark Chocolate. I gave up Diet Coke and coffee over two years ago. Green tea and dark chocolate  kept me alive during the headachey, cranky detox. They help keep me stable on days like today.

3. Reviews like this from Steph Su Reads: “BUMPED is a layered book that will be good for multiple rereads, as each successive reread reveals a new layer of characterization, wordplay, and world-building that you may have noticed in passing in the first read-through but become really impressed by only in subsequent rereads. This, I think, is Megan McCafferty’s ultimate gift as an author: she has a fierce talent for and dedication to writing books that can be enjoyed at multiple levels, good for a permanent fixture on your reread shelf. Avid lovers of her Jessica Darling books, such as myself, will, I think, appreciate that the most about her first foray outside of Jessica’s well-known world, and as a result I’m really looking forward to the sequel and whatever Megan has to share with us next.”

4. My Top 40 Songs of All Time. This playlist is the soundtrack to my life. I highly recommend that you put together such a playlist on days you need to feel invincible. I listened to “I Want it That Way” three times this morning.

5. You, the readers. Thanks in advance to those who are coming out to Princeton tonight to celebrate Pub Day. I know I’ll see family, friends and a lot of unfamiliar faces too, which is how I like it.  And for those who can’t be there, remember: Buy BUMPED and I’ll thank you with an autographed bookmark. You are why I do what I do and can’t imagine doing anything else.

And now I’m getting away from my computer to talk a walk in the glorious sunshine which sounds totally corny but I don’t care. The sunshine is also something that I’m grateful for, and exercise. Let’s face it, this is a very incomplete list.

And I’m grateful to be able to say that.