Category Archives: Other

“I still tell friends about your series ten years later.”

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Jenna P. forwarded this email she originally sent in 2003, adding, “I still tell friends about your series ten years later.”

“I‘d just like to thank you for writing these books.  They are just completely awesome (in the true sense of the word.).  It is not only what you wrote, but how you wrote it.  I loved these books.  I had found Sloppy Firsts as a fluke one day in the bookstore.  I picked it up and thought it seemed like a good book.  I then read it not only once or twice, but three times.  Three days ago, I was in the book store, yet again, and as i was walking out, i happened to see Sloppy Firsts on a shelf, with Second Helpings right next to it.  As soon as I saw Second Helpings, I almost lost it.  I had been waiting and waiting for your next installment of Jessica Darling to come out, and I immediately forgot about the cd that i had originally intended to buy, and bought your book.  I just finished it this afternoon.  Let me just say, it is a great novel.  Really.  While I am not still in high school, I still feel I can relate to Jessica in many ways.  It has made me think about myself a lot more, and also the decisions I make, so, thank you for that.  I laughed and cried.  Your work is amazing.  You reach out to the readers by making your characters extremely real. Any how, I’m sure you get this all a lot.  I just wanted to be cheesy and let you know how I feel.”

I always appreciate readers who take time to express how much my books have meant to them. Then and now.

Thank you.

P.S. You’ve got one more week to enter SLOPPY FIRSTS: The Epic 10th Anniversary Giving Away of Rare and One-of-a-Kind-Stuff.  Express your love for SLOPPY FIRSTS and the Jessica Darling series with a clever tweet (tagged #sloppyfirsts10th), blog post, video, song, original artwork….whatever creative form best suits you. Tweet or email a link to your entry by August 22nd. I’ll announce the winners on August 28th.

“Jessica Darling taught me that I’m not alone.”

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What an AMAZING start to the SLOPPY FIRSTS 10th Anniversary celebration! Thank you all for your tweets, blog posts,  and email, like this one from Annie in Westchester, N.Y. (excerpted with permission):

“Before SLOPPY FIRSTS, I had never met a character that seemed so real to me. Jessica came alive in her diary entries. She was just so much like me…or how I wanted to be. The series quickly became my favorite books of all time. When I was in between books I actually missed Jessica. She was like my fictional best friend, and I wished she were real. 

Jessica Darling taught me how to laugh, how to be myself, but most of all, that I’m not alone. That we’re all insecure and frustrated. Your books were my friends when I was lonely and my mentors when I was down. I cannot thank you enough for SLOPPY FIRSTS. The series has truly impacted me as a person and influenced how I view life.”

Keep those tributes coming! (Though I have no idea how I’m going to pick the winners….)

 

“SLOPPY FIRSTS saved my life.”

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  I’m so excited that you’re so excited about SLOPPY FIRSTS: The Epic 10th Anniversary Giving Away of Rare and One-of-A-Kind Stuff. Many of you have already responded with deeply moving stories about discovering my books, like Amanda from Barnegat, N.J.:

“Jessica’s high school experience was the one I wish I had. She screwed up, she lied, hid things, wanted what she shouldn’t want. She had balls in the way I never did. Jessica Darling gave us writers and loners and outcasts of high school a voice. She made all my thoughts more eloquent and more real because I knew someone else felt them. Because I figured that if Jess felt them, so did you at some point, Megan.  

SLOPPY FIRSTS saved my life, amused me, made me cry, laugh, mortified me. It summed up a few years of my high school years except more well written and sounding much more glamorous. I’ll always go back to read it and I’ll always be passionate and spread the word.”

What has SLOPPY FIRSTS meant to you? Make a tribute in the form of a blog entry, video, Twitter campaign, song, original artwork or however you best express yourself creatively. Share the link via Twitter, Facebook or megan@meganmccafferty.com by August 22nd. You could win one of two autographed UNCORRECTED PROOFS of SLOPPY FIRSTS, the Advanced Reader Copies that went out for review before the finished book went on sale. Or you could be the GRAND PRIZE winner of the one-of-a kind annotated edition of SLOPPY FIRSTS that I have personally filled with all sorts of insider info about how the story came to be, including the true inspiration behind the infamous Pineville High Talent Show.

Thanks for celebrating this milestone with me. I can’t wait to see what you come up with!

 

Happy 10th Anniversary, SLOPPY FIRSTS!

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Can you believe it’s been almost TEN YEARS? But I haven’t aged at all! Alas, it’s true.

 

 

 

SLOPPY FIRSTS was published on August 28th, 2001. It’s kind of hard to believe when there are new readers just discovering Jessica Darling and Marcus Flutie every single day. I’ll be announcing fun ways to celebrate the occasion (i.e., GIVEAWAYS!) throughout the month of August.

And I need your help.

BLOGGERS! If you’re interested in conducting a special 10th Anniversary interview with me on your site, please email questions to megan@meganmccafferty.com by Sunday, July 31st. I’ll pick 10 bloggers based on the creativity of the questions and enthusiasm for the series.

I look forward to reading your questions and commemorating this milestone with you, yes, you.

BUMPED: A Romantic Times Top Pick for May!

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BUMPED received the highest possible 5 1/2 Gold Star rating from Romantic Times book reviews!

“BUMPED is wonderfully original, with an extremely well thought-out dystopian society, the details of which the reader deduces through context and dialogue, rather than via a dull prologue. The protagonists begin as manifestations of two extreme points, but morph into stunningly human portrayals of conflict and a search for autonomy. McCafferty’s future echoes just enough of current events to seem chillingly possible.”

Read full recap/review here.

 

 

How To Get Your Autographed Bookmark

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“It’s like the Uglies series on crack…Strange, ridiculous, but brilliant.” Hobbitsies

Thanks to all of you who have already bought BUMPED. Remember: I want to thank you by giving away autographed stuff. Here’s what to do:

1. Buy a copy of BUMPED. I’m bothered by reports from readers who say they’ve had trouble finding it at their local bookstore. For reasons unclear to me, some stores may not be stocking it until May 1st. In any case, PLEASE ASK FOR IT. That’s the only way the seller will know there’s a demand for it.

2. Take a picture of yourself posing with the hardcover or the cover picture on your e-reader. (ARCs or NetGalley don’t count. Sorry.)

3. Make that picture your Twitter or Facebook icon, or post it on your blog.

4. Tweet, update your status, or blog about how BUMPED is on sale NOW and whatever else you’d like to say about it.

5. Email megan@meganmccafferty.com with your mailing address and the link to your photo/post with “BUMPED BOOKMARK” as the subject heading.

I’ve been so thrilled by responses like this:

“BUMPED is going to make a lot of people very upset, and that is an AWESOME thing…There is nothing depressing about this tale as it is packed with McCafferty’s trademark snarky wit and sympathetic characters. Sure, the alternate-reality near-future in which the characters live is a bit bleak, but honestly, it’s only a more extreme version of our present society. This is part of the diabolical appeal of the book and the part that will surely lead to lots of controversy: amid all the humor and exaggeration is a bitingly honest commentary on modern society and our current values.” Cloudy With a Chance of Books

I hope BUMPED makes YOU laugh and think, too.


5 Things I’m Grateful For on Publication Day

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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.

 

Buy BUMPED & Get Autographed Swag!

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After three years of researching, writing, rewriting and waiting…BUMPED finally goes on sale tomorrow! (Though I’ve heard reports of early sightings on bookstore shelves.) My appearances are limited because I’m so busy finishing the sequel, but I want thank readers everywhere for supporting my most thought-provoking novel yet. That’s why I’m giving away autographed bookmarks* to 250 readers! How can YOU get one?

1. Buy a copy of BUMPED in an online or offline bookstore…which is something I hope you were already planning to do.

2. Take a picture of yourself posing with the hardcover or the cover picture on your e-reader. (ARCs or NetGalley don’t count. Sorry.)

3. Make that picture your Twitter or Facebook icon, or post it on your blog.

4. Tweet, update your status, or blog about how BUMPED is on sale April 26th and whatever else you’d like to say about it.

5. Email megan@meganmccafferty.com with your mailing address and the link to your photo/post with “BUMPED BOOKMARK” as the subject heading.

The first 250 readers to respond will get a bookmark personally signed by me with my very own Sharpie. BONUS GIVEAWAY WITHIN THE GIVEAWAY: I’ll pick 10 readers from that pool of 250 to win personalized copies of PERFECT FIFTHS. I wish I could thank you all!

*Yes, I realize that bookmarks are ironic thank yous for a book set 25 years from now, when e-readers will certainly dominate the market and such things will serve no practical purpose. Consider this gift a future artifact.

Watch the video. Share your story. Win a book.

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In the months leading up to the release of BUMPED, I’ve been oscillating wildly (Smiths fans, holla!) between confidence and fear. Yes, I still worry about how my work will be received, even when I’m fully aware that I have NO CONTROL OVER HOW MY WORK WILL BE RECEIVED. (Note to aspiring authors: You can either take comfort or umbrage in knowing that it never gets any less nerve-wracking.)

There is no end to the ways in which I can use the Internet to torture myself about my career. So to help me get through this last push to publication, I’ve decided to use technology in a positive way:

I’m gonna give away some books! Yay!

How? Watch this video (which also might be interest because I talk all about BUMPED):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxapLgQAdVk

Here are the details: Post a video on YouTube describing YOUR life-changing moment. Make sure you tag it BUMPED EXPECTATIONS so I can find it. Every Friday I’ll choose TWO video-makers to receive copies of BUMPED before it goes on sale April 26th. One copy will go to the video with the most views. The other copy will go to the story that speaks to me that week…for whatever reason that may be. No story is too small. And if you want to get creative with your videos (original songs, dramatic re-enactments, finger-puppet theater), GO FOR IT.

And in the interest of fairness, here’s my story about how I bumped expectations:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KM_lrBKx77o

I’ll choose the first winner next Friday, March 4th.

I look forward to hearing your stories!