Are on USA Today this morning!! I am in LOVE with this cover, omg. Thank you, Penguin.

Also, the first chapter has been posted there as well, and you can check out the beginning of Day and June's continuing journey:

"Where are they going for the sequel? Not Disney World — Las Vegas. Military-trained whiz kid June and Robin Hood-esque Day met in the first book, and now are off from Los Angeles to Sin City in Prodigy (G.P. Putnam's Sons), out in bookstores Jan. 29. The Elector Primo of the Republic has died, with his son assuming power."

USA Today's reveal of the cover and first chapter: [link]

Hope you enjoy!!

.....*drumroll*.....

Legend #2's final, official title is Prodigy!

And it comes out on...

January 29, 2013!

We got to announce this today on a Breathless Reads chat, which is now archived here if you want to watch me chat with my fellow fabulous Breathless Gals, authors Andrea Cremer, Beth Revis, and Jessica Spotswood. [link]

Ack, sorry for my absence--in case you couldn't tell, sometimes I get really sucky about updating things. Anyway. A quick little post about all the things! (There are a ton of updates that I WANT to talk about, btw, but I can't just yet, so I'll just have to stuff my mouth with cotton and wait.   )

I just got back last week from the Bologna Book Fair in Italy. Lots of fun. Lots of DELICIOUS FOOD. Lots of awesome foreign publishers. If you live in Europe and have read/liked Legend, I may be coming to a European country near you this fall! More news to come....

Oddly enough, one of the food highlights from Bologna was a homemade Greek yogurt I bought at a tiny food shop in a little local market. OMG. BEST GREEK YOGURT I'VE EVER HAD.

If you saw The Hunger Games this past weekend, maybe a few of you also caught a glimpse of a Legend trailer that showed before the previews! Also, Hunger Games movie. Two thumbs up. Jennifer Lawrence, you are too awesome.

I also have finally finished up Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood and am about a third of the way through Revelations. Gotta say, I still prefer Brotherhood. Revelations is great and all (and Older Ezio is pretty cool with that hookblade), but I am really NOT feeling the Tower Defense side missions. That aside, still enjoying myself. I am dying for ACIII. Dying, I tell you.

Book recommendations! I haven't done these in a while. Last night I just finished up a novella by Sarah J. Maas called The Assassin and the Desert. IT IS SO GOOD. Read it (and read the first novella too, which is called The Assassin and the Pirate Lord). They're on Kindle. Another amazing book is Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline. Seriously, you cannot call yourself a legitimate nerd until you read this book.

And that's about it for now. Hope you're all doing great! Lemme know in the comments.

I am obsessed with Assassin's Creed. It's not even funny. I am ordering HOODIES. This is not normal Mree behavior even for things she likes! Halp.

This means that for the past few weeks, the conversations in the house between me and Boyfriend have gone like this:

Boyfriend: *upstairs in the home office, working*

Me: *downstairs attentively playing Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood.....after I finished my daily writing, of course *

Boyfriend: *comes downstairs, stretches* Man, this new client project is so complicated. We had originally agreed on 35 items but now they're asking for variations on--

Me: GOD I LOVE ASSASSINATING PEOPLE WITHOUT BEING DETECTED.

Boyfriend: *blank stare*

Boyfriend: *carefully backs up to the stairs, peers at me from around the corner*

Hi guys! Sorry for my prolonged absence....I'm almost done recuperating from the (super-awesome) Breathless Reads tour, where I'm so lucky to have met a few of you in person. Thank you so much for coming out! I think there will be another tour this summer, although I'm not sure which cities yet--when I find out, I'll definitely post them up here.

Anyway, March is shaping up to be a very, very interesting month. For starters, I found out that Legend has a full-page ad (featured with Ally Condie's Matched) in People Magazine's The Hunger Games collector's issue, which is now out on stands! [link] Thank youuuu Penguin! If you pick up an issue of it, keep your eyes peeled for the Legend page.

Even more exciting news, though, is that if you're planning on seeing The Hunger Games in theaters, keep your eyes out for a Legend book trailer that will play before the movie starts. zomg. It's no secret that I loooooove The Hunger Games, so to see Legend on the screen right before the first movie is going to be......I'm going to try to sneak a flip cam into the theater to catch it on tape.

And finally, there is a very very VERY awesome piece of news that I can't quite share yet. But it's incredible, and it's something I hope I can announce in the next couple of weeks. Stay tuned. And thanks, as always, for all your very very kind support!

Now I'm off to play some Assassin's Creed. Seriously, I started this series relatively late but I'm now sooooo obsessed, it's not even funny. I love you, Ezio. I LOVE YOU SO BAD. (Currently playing Brotherhood--moving on to Revelations soon. And of course, I'm super excited about ACIII, even though I shall miss my dear Ezio. Maybe he'll make a couple of appearances here and there)

(Well, technically it begins on the 15th, but since I'm on the road tomorrow, I'll count that.)

I have the final times for all of the Breathless Reads tour's public events! To recap--I am going on a book tour from February 15 - 26! Penguin has announced their Breathless Reads tour, which will include myself and three amazing authors: Andrea Cremer, Beth Revis, and Jessica Spotswood. If you happen to be living in or near one of the following cities, I would love to see you. Here's our itinerary:

Wed., Feb. 15, 2012

Chicago

Anderson's Bookshop at 7:00 PM

23 West Jefferson, Naperville, IL 60540



Thurs., Feb. 16, 2012

Washington, D.C.

Bethesda Library (Politics and Prose) at 5:00 PM

7400 Arlington Rd, Bethesda, MD 20814



Fri., Feb. 17, 2012

New York City

Books of Wonder public event @ 6 PM

18 West 18th St., New York, NY 10011



Sat., Feb. 18, 2012

Philadelphia

Towne Center Book & Cafe (Collegeville, PA) at 4:00 PM

220 Plaza Drive, Suite B-3, Collegeville, PA 19426



Sun., Feb. 19, 2012

Philadelphia

Doylestown Bookshop (Doylestown, PA) at 4:00 PM

16 S Main St. Doylestown, PA 18901



Tues., Feb. 21, 2012

Atlanta

Little Shop of Stories at 7:00 PM

133A East Court Square, Decatur, Georgia 30030



Wed., Feb. 22, 2012

Houston

Blue Willow Bookshop at 7:00 PM

14532 Memorial Drive, Houston, TX 77079



Thurs., Feb. 23, 2012

Dallas

Barnes & Noble Frisco at 7:00 PM

2601 Preston Rd. Unit 1205



Fri., Feb. 24, 2012

Los Angeles

Once Upon A Time Bookstore at 7:00 PM

2207 Honolulu Ave, Montrose, CA 91020



Sat., Feb. 25, 2012

Los Angeles

Passion and Prose event @ Westin Long Beach, ~12:00-2:00PM (TBA)

333 E Ocean Blvd, Long Beach, CA 90802



Hope to see you there! Also, I wanted to say a huuuuge thank you to everyone who has sent such kind notes about enjoying Legend. I can't tell you how happy they make me. So much for you guys!

Happy 2012, deviants!!! *confetti* Hope you all had a safe, happy, and food-filled holiday season, and thank you all SOOOO much for all of your very kind notes and support! Here's to a wonderful 2012 to all you guys. The Mayans clearly thought this would be a pretty epic year....and those Mayans were clever ones.

Also, thank you SO MUCH to those who have picked up a copy of Legend already! Seriously, words cannot express how thankful I am. If you enjoyed the book, please help me spread the word to your friends! The first couple of months in sales are so critical to a book's success....thank you so much in advance!

In more fun news, I am going on tour in February for Legend, and hopefully coming to a city near you! What's even better, I'll be going with a bunch of other amazing Penguin authors, and it's going to be the coolest shindig since sliced bread's launch party. Details soon!

And lastly, there is a very, VERY cool Legend announcement I hope to make public in the next week or so. I can hardly contain my excitement for this one because it's very close to my heart. You'll understand when you hear about it. In the meantime, please spread the word!! I love you guys!

Hope you all are having a fantastic, safe, and fun holiday season. See you all in 2012!

Update: I just wanted to say an extremely heartfelt thank you to all of you who have been so kind as to buy a copy of Legend already and read it! First week sales in particular (and first few months in general) seem to matter quite a lot, so the fact that you guys are already purchasing some copies....wow, that means the WORLD to me, you have no idea--thank you, thank you, thank you!

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Today is November 29, 2011. It is the day my first novel, Legend, releases in bookstores.

I'm sitting in the little living room of the bungalow I share with my boyfriend, buried under a pile of dogs (I have three—two corgis and a Chihuahua), and attempting to not hyperventilate into a paper bag. Playing the 'Finding Nemo' theme song on repeat is probably not helping, either. (Could there BE a more depressing theme? I want to bawl every time I hear it. Oh, Nemo! You adorable little gimpy-finned fish egg! Anyway. I digress.) Is it really The Day? How do I articulate the avalanche of emotions going through my head? How do I even begin to communicate this? Today, my twelve-year journey of trying to get published officially comes to an end, and I will have stepped through the looking glass to the other side.

Sorry, I may get a little metaphorical and cheesy, but come on! You only get a debut novel release date once in your life. (Well, once in your country, anyway…) Cut me some slack, yeah? Besides, I like cheese. It's very delicious.

For some reason, the only thing I can picture in my head is my fourteen-year old self, back when I first started trying to get published. I remember setting my alarm for 2 AM every night, then writing by lamplight for two hours with a robe stuffed under my door so that no one would know I was awake. Out of all my writing memories, this is the one I see the most clearly. I remember everything about those late-night writing sessions. How quietly I tried to type on that old IBM computer. How annoyingly hot the lamp would get. How chilly the nights in winter were, and how stuffy the summers felt (this was taking place in Houston, by the way). How sometimes I'd pass out in front of the computer from sheer exhaustion, then wake up after half an hour and keep going. I'm fairly convinced that I might have gotten a few more A's in school if I'd gotten more full nights of sleep. But I can't say that I regret it. For any of my high school teachers who might be reading this, now you know why I occasionally looked glassy-eyed in your class. I promise I still loved learning! I just…lacked sleep…

I was incredibly naïve at fourteen, so blissfully unaware of how long the journey would really take. In fact, I think I had less fears back then than I do now. It's the day Legend launches and I am scared, so very scared. Eat-a-pint-of-ice-cream-by-myself scared.  There are a thousand expectations I've created for myself, and so far to fall. Am I any good? Will readers be disappointed? Will they like the story? Will they like the characters? Will they egg my door? Should I change my address? Move to the Alps and hide in obscurity and shame? The closer I got to seeing Legend on the shelves, the more I understood why a lot of writers are a little wonky in the head. I feel the wonk quite strongly now.

But just when I think the pressure and terror might swallow me whole, I remember that I'm walking a well-trodden path. There are hundreds of thousands, millions, of writers who have taken this road before, and I'm just one traveler in a group of many, many others. I'm not alone. I remind myself that a lot of people held my hand through the bumps in the road. I remember that I have so much more to learn. I think of all the kind words and support people have given me during the time leading up to today, and those words help quell the fears.

It's no secret that there has been a lot of upheaval in the book industry lately. A lot of bad blood, a lot of fear, a lot of anger thrown back and forth between all the cogs of the profession about contracts and technology and change, about money and percentages and formats and royalties. But in the midst of that, there are books—little bundles of words built on heart and soul that we tentatively push out to the public and then cross our fingers for. This has never changed. (Okay, except for Snooki. Maybe.) It reminds me that in spite of all our bickering, we all love books, we all love words, and we wait for these little moments, the quiet connection between our world and our readers' world. This unites us, no matter what.

So… Thank you booksellers, thank you writers, thank you bloggers, thank you reviewers, thank you Penguin, thank you NLA and UTA, thank you CBS Films/Temple Hill, thank you family and friends, and thank you readers. Thank you, readers.

Thank you for giving me today.

The time is almost here. And I am in FULL SCALE PANIC MODE. O___________O

*twitch*

Also, another reminder to any Southern California folks: if you're in or around the Los Angeles area on Dec. 1st at 7:30 pm, please come out to Legend's official book launch party at Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore in Redondo Beach, CA!</b>

Legend Launch Party Info

Where: Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore, 2810 Artesia Blvd, Redondo Beach, California 90278

When: Dec. 1st, 2011 from 7:30 - 8:30 pm

What: Legend's official launch event, which will include signing, possibly some talking, and a lot of books

(If you'd like to say "Attend" on Facebook, the event page for this is here: [link] )

Open to: Everyone who can make it! In other words, I have a terrible terrible HORRIBLE fear of sitting by myself in a bookstore with a stack of Legend books....so, please feel free to bring as many friends as you can! I would be so extremely grateful and so thrilled to see you there. (I am also terrified over what I'm supposed to do for the party....can you tell I'm not a party organizer? Yep.)

I also wanted to say to my deviantArt folks, thank you all so very much for your support, kind words, and encouragement over the years. You guys were some of the very first to ever read my early, crappy writing, and over time I grew into a better writer with your feedback and help. Love this community dearly.

We are now 2 DAYS away from Legend's release (Nov. 29)!

In New York City now. Man, I love this city. Chaotic, bright lights, smoke, fantastic food....

Anyway, Penguin is doing this amazing November to Remember campaign featuring 5 book titles coming out in November, and Legend is one of them! There's a chapter sampler from Legend included in this online campaign, which you can check out here: [link] . Please pass this along to any friends who you think might be interested, too.

We are now at T-minus 28 days until Legend launches in the U.S.! Holy friggin crap. Where is my oxygen tank. *panic* If you are thinking of pre-ordering, now is the time you can do so! [link] And don't forget to check out the aforementioned November to Remember link.

Now, I am off to go hunt down some more NYC munchies. I've already stumbled across a delicious waffle cart that won a Bobby Flay throwdown. Nom nom.

~drosana!

---
~drosana's entry: "I'd go by Puck. It's the name of the impish character featured in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream (hehe, Even Robin Hood has taken his name from this character! Puck is also called Robin Goodfellow. Robin Hood's mother even called him Robin-Puck!)

Like him, I like to joke around and act a bit silly, even more so, I love to be mischievous and sneaky. I am good at lying and misleading, leaving most to believe they know me well, when in fact, they're more acquainted with one of my facades. I am a master of disguise without the need of a mask (or fake mustache, thought it cannot be said that I haven't tried it anyway!) Despite all of this, I'm a laugh and a rather good natured person. I try to keep to my manners and with my boyish appearance, most call me a gentleman! I have a flair for the dramatic and fun. So that's my entry! *tips hat and jumps off*"
---

Congrats on winning the limited edition version of Legend! I'll Note you with details.

We had well over 150+ entries combining all deviantArt, Blogger, Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads entries. Man, you guys are GOOD at coming up with rebel names. I love these! I may do another contest in the near future where the prize is to feature your rebel name in Legend 2 as a side character. Thank you all for participating!

The winner was chosen by a random number generator and a list of all the entries. While the winner was randomly chosen, I also wanted to give a shout out to my 3 favorite entries from you guys:

1) (from deviantArt's ~Star-Bunny): "I'd be Pancakes... cause pancakes are awesome. They are unassumingly delicious and its hard to be upset with someone named pancakes."

This just made me laugh out loud.

2) (from Twitter's BookWormLove): "@Marie_Lu My streetname would be Gadget (It was my nickname in girl scouts for years because I'm all about technological stuff) #Legend"

Gadget from Rescue Rangers was one of my favorite childhood characters. LOVE girls with techie know-how!

3) (from Facebook's Jeni Hackett): "Assuming astronomy is roughly the same (or at least the names of the stars), I'd go by Polaris after the North Star. It's a good name for a 'guiding' rebel, which is what I'd likely aim to be; less of a hell-raiser, and more of a care-taker, guardian sort. Maybe I'd run a safehouse, where the North Star parallel ties in as Polaris has always been a star associated with pointing towards home and safety."

I love astronomy. Yay Polaris.

Again, thank you so much to all who entered! I had a ton of fun, and I hope you did too. Stay tuned for further contests!

----

Update: Legend's official playlist is UP today, over on the official Legend page! [link] Hop over there to hear all the tracks I had on repeat while I was writing the book. Some Michael Jackson, some Abney Park, some epic soundtracks....etc. Also, this week's featured character? June's shmexy older brother, Metias. Get the details on him at the Legend page.

Also, there are now two months left before Legend releases. ENSUE PANIC. The time has come to pre-order Legend, if you haven't done so yet and are interested! [link]

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Legend's official Facebook page [link] has now reached 502 "Likes", thanks to you guys!

I said before that once it passed 500, I would give away a very special, limited edition version of Legend. So here we go, as promised!

The Prize: I have exactly ONE of these. Here's what it looks like. [link] This is a limited edition version of the advance copies of Legend (which doesn't go on public sale until Nov. 29 this year). Penguin, my publisher, made a very small number of these. They probably won't make any more. Unlike the regular advance copies, these are packaged in a gorgeous box that opens up into a limited edition magnet, profile info of Day and June, and etc. (And, of course, it also includes a softcover advance copy of Legend.) The one that I have is still in its plastic wrap and brand new.

How long this giveaway contest runs: From today (9/27) until midnight Pacific Standard Time on next Tuesday (10/4).

Open to: Everyone, both in the U.S. and internationally.

What you have to do: (You can enter by posting a comment to this journal entry right here. OR, you can also enter by commenting on the same journal entry at my writing blog [link] , my Facebook page [link] , or send me a tweet [link] .)

At any of the aforementioned places, answer the following in your comment:

All rebels in the Republic, the dystopian future version of America in Legend, have a street name. (For example, "Day" is the street name of Legend's boy protagonist. He has his reasons for nicknaming himself that. ) If you were a rebel in the Republic, what would your street name be, and why?

On next Wednesday (10/5), I will read through all the entries and pick a random winner.

Have fun! Looking forward to hearing your street names, rebels.

(that's a Jobs quote, btw)

Steve Jobs resigned as Apple CEO today, possibly because of his health: [link] Taken from his official resignation letter, he says, "I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple's CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come."

This, coupled with a few emails I've gotten from readers and aspiring writers over the last few days, has made me really pensive. So I'm going to quote Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford commencement address below:

"Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart." [link]

You only have one life. Don't spend your precious days working at a job to please your parents, or at a job you hate in exchange for some financial security. Believe me, I understand--I still regret not majoring in art and I almost went for a career I would have hated. I know the urgency of a roof over my head and food on the table, but my life's work should never be something I don't want to do. Do what you have to do to survive, but never lose sight of your real goals. Never get lost in the maze of Security. As Steve Jobs says, you have got, you have GOT, to find what you love. Life is just far too short to be spent otherwise. It stuns me every time I stop to think about how much Jobs has achieved in only 55 years of life. I hope that I'm able to achieve even a sliver of that.

If you know that you'll regret pursuing an accounting degree instead of a creative writing degree, pursue the creative writing degree. If you want to be an artist instead of a doctor, then be an artist. Be brave. Have faith. Do it. You only get one shot at life.

There are 2 different articles about Legend in the Wall Street Journal today! The first is in their print edition and also online under their subscriber content, and the 2nd is online at their Speakeasy section. There's some extra information about the inspirations behind the book as well as other tidbits:

Online article: 'Twilight' Producers, Penguin Are Betting on 'Legend' [link]

Print/Subscription article: Penguin Puts Marketing Muscle Behind 'Legend,' a Dystopian Debut [link]

I wanted to say major thanks to reporter Barbara Chai, who was such a delight to talk to. You are amazing!

-----

Also, Legend has now sold foreign rights for Complex Chinese and Dutch! My family members in China can now have an edition they can read, which makes me all kinds of happy.

In other news, I've been writing the beginning of Legend 3 and am discovering all sorts of new things about what it's like to write the final book in a trilogy. Legend 2 (which is still undergoing revisions) was way, way, WAY harder to draft than Legend 1 was. In fact, I'd say the first book of any series must be the easiest one to write....and the second one is the hardest. I'm still afraid of Book 2. Man, it pwned me so much. It's STILL pwning me.

Legend 3, though, is an interesting beast. Writing it is, again, completely different from writing the previous two. Book 2 is a lot of character fleshing-out, digging deeper into the personalities and motivations of the characters that were introduced in #1. #3 is so far all about Tying The Loose Ends. Getting everything that's been wandering about in #1 and #2 back together and tied together into one thick string is a much bigger challenge than I guessed. I suppose it's sort of like writing #1 in reverse--where #1 is about starting off with one thick string and then branching it all off into multiple little strings. Much of the challenge I'm hitting is being able to think of the right plot scenes to match the tying of loose ends. What scene can be used to start tightening up two or three individual strings? That's pretty much all I've been mumbling to myself lately. I take notes at the gym, at restaurants, at the laundromat, everywhere. And then I toss them out and write new ones. I'm so glad no one sees me working at home. People would probably think I'm nuts, walking around in my PJs, mumbling to myself and running my hands through my messy hair until it looks absolutely incomprehensible.

I've never ever tried writing a book 2 or 3 before in my life. I've had practice writing book ONES of stories....I mean, all the unpublished manuscripts I wrote before Legend were all book ones of stories. But this is the first time I've gone farther than the first one. And man, it is a serious learning experience.

I'm still recuperating from the madcap fun of Comic-con....but I did get to compile all my photos and upload them. The whole thing was a blast--it's the first time I got to attend all four days of the con. The highlight of the trip was hanging out with George R.R. Martin for a half hour at a cocktail party, where we talked Daenerys from Game of Thrones. He is full of awesome! Anyway, here are all the photos:

[link]

In other news, I still haven't been able to fix the hacked Fuzz Academy site. I'm so sorry, guys. This is really bumming me out, because whatever happened to the site happened to every single page on the site.....and all the code has been messed up. Sigh. I have a "back-up" but it is sadly outdated to the point where things would probably be broken if I uploaded it because the versions of PHP and MySQL on my server are different now. I know, I know. I should've had a more recent back-up. Definitely my mistake there. So at this point, I don't know when, or if, I'll be able to get Fuzz Academy back online. The static site is still there, the Flash one that has the cadets and the image gallery, but the game site is missing. I just don't have the strength to reprogram the entire thing from scratch...there's simply too much, and I'm exhausted.

Maybe it's for the best....the site had been in hibernation for a long time, and wasn't going to be getting updates anymore for the forseeable future. Maybe it's a blessing in disguise, so the site can be taken down until the day when we can get a real game company interested in reviving it. A site like FA simply can't be run anymore by 2 people--I think it needs a team working full-time on it, to make it something worth playing. Anyway, the hacking still makes me sad. Really sorry about that, everyone. I know some of you were still using it and it sucks that you can't access your cadets.

At any rate, Fuzz Academy still holds a very special place in my heart. It's down, but not out. For now, I will keep it on display and on the shelves, and hopefully the right opportunity for it will come someday.

To end on a happier note, I bumped into at Comic-con when I went to get a signed copy of the Sonic: Genesis comic issue #1! How cool is that.

And to end on an even happier note....Legend's UK/Australian cover has been officially revealed! It's epic and awesome, thanks to the talented team at Penguin UK/Australia!!

Hi guys! I will be at San Diego Comic-con this week, from Thursday through Sunday. If you're also attending, please stop by the following if you can! Would love to see you there.

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"No Damsels in Distress" Panel, Room 25ABC, Thursday at 4:00 PM

I'll be speaking on this panel about Legend and its characters. I will be in the amazing company of the following panelists:

Chloe Neill – Chicagoland Vampires series
Jeanine Frost – Night Huntress series
Jeanne Stein – The Anna Strong Chronicles
Jocelynn Drake – Dark Days series
Carrie Vaughn – Kitty Norville series
Seanan McGuire – The October Daye series
Sherrilyn Kenyon– Dark Hunter novels

There will be a signing session after this panel in the autographing area!
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Penguin Booth Autographing Session, Friday at 10:00 AM, Penguin Group Booth #2913R

I'll be signing advance copies of Legend from 10 AM to 11 AM on Friday.
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Comic-con is always such a good time, and this year I'm as excited as ever. Costumes, panels, people, woot! Love it. See you there! <3

=====
(From yesterday)

Have been looking forward to this article's release and am excited to finally share it! USA Today is running an article about Legend right in time for Comic-con, where I will be on a panel this Thursday at 4:00 pm (Room 25ABC)  to talk about Legend (panel is called "No Damsels in Distress"). Brian Truitt (the interviewer) is way past awesome.

Plus, see the official Legend trailer from Penguin, as well as read the first 3 chapters, at the article link! For those who read the first chapter and saw Day's point of view, now you'll get to see June's point of view too. Hope you guys all enjoy!

USA Today: Lu's dystopian novel is a 'Legend' in the making: [link]

Update: Happened again today--my boyfriend was trying to make a Harry Potter joke and called Nagini 'Nigiri'. Oh, that boy....

----

My boyfriend has a really quirky habit of not remembering the names of movies/books properly. Instead, he'll say what he THINKS is the name of something, but it is often hilariously off. Case in point:

Real title: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Boyfriend's memory: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Sorcerers

Real title: Percy Jackson and the Olympians
Boyfriend's memory: Jason Jones and the Argonauts

Real title: The Golden Compass
Boyfriend's memory: Curse of the Golden Compass

Real title: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
Boyfriend's memory: Snow Flower and the Seven Dwarves

Now I mention book and movie names just to see what he'll twist it into later on.

Happy Friday, guys! May you go forth and watch some HP this weekend! Or at least eat something scrumptious.

Had a rough bout of food poisoning early last weekend, one bad enough to actually give me a minor stomach ulcer. WUT. O___o Not the most comfortable feeling in the world. Anyway, when I went to my local urgent care to get it checked out (to make sure I wasn't dying or something), the male nurse led me to one of their back rooms:

Nurse: "Wait here. The doctor will be in to see you shortly."
Me: "Okay."
Nurse: (hands me a thick wad of that hospital butcher paper) "I'll need you to take off your pants."
Me: "Excuse me?"
Nurse: "You'll need to remove your pants. Wrap this around you when you're done."
(nurse leaves)

In hindsight, I found this hilarious because I'd just recently rewatched that Family Guy episode which makes fun of this, where no matter what you go in for, you're supposed to take off your pants. Turns out they just wanted to poke my stomach without, like, belts in the way or something. But I swear the doctor could tell I was giving him the EVIL EYE the entire time, my hands ready to go into ninja battle chop mode.

Anyway. TMI? Yeah, probably. Whatever. I'll delete this story later.



In other news, I will be on a panel at Comic-con! On Thursday at 4pm, I'll be on the "No Damsels in Distress Here" panel in room 25ABC, talking about Legend. If you're attending, please come by and gimme some DA love! Other panelists presenting with me include the amazing Kathy Reichs, creator of Bones (the TV series). Here are the panel details:

4:00-5:00 No Damsels in Distress Here— Female voices in sci-fi and fantasy create kick-ass heroines. Danger just might be these girls' middle name. But no amount of bad guys can keep these ladies from doing what's right. Whether standing up for friends and family, or just plain kicking some ass, these girls don't shy away from a fight. Damsels on the panel include Marie Lu (Legend), Kathy Reichs (Bones & Virals series), Chloe Neill (Chicagoland Vampires series), Jeanne Stein (The Anna Strong Chronicles), Merrie deStefano (Feast: Harvest of Dreams), Carrie Vaughn (Kitty Norville series), Seanan McGuire (The October Daye series), and Sherrilyn Kenyon (Dark Hunter novels). Moderated by Maryelizabeth Hart of Mysterious Galaxy. Room 25ABC

And in other very awesome news, check out this BEAUTIFUL fan art of Day [link] , by Dianne Garcia [link] !!!! This is the first official fan art of Day from Legend, and I am so incredibly psyched. Look at all those watercolor details! And the hair! The smug expression! The vest, the background! The posture! I love everything about this. The attitude screams Day. LOVE IT!

It's no secret I was a Sonic fangirl growing up. I haven't really thought about the games or related stuff in a long time, but today I downloaded the Sonic Generations demo for PS3 and played it.

GAH. LOVE.

I loved everything about it. I think it's a thing of beauty. The camera zooming in and out took a few minutes for me to get used to, but once I did, it was all smooth sailing. Green Hill Zone looks AMAZING, and I love that the full game will let you switch between Classic Sonic and Modern Sonic. The music is, as it seems to be with almost all the Sonic games (with the exception of those awful ones that have lyrics--ick; I much prefer the soundtrack ones!), flawless....so nostalgic, and yet still upgraded! Man, Sega does know how to pull at their loyal fans' heartstrings....well, most of the time, anyway. *coughSonicUnleashedcough*

I am now ridiculously excited for Sonic Generations to come out. And I gotta say--being a full-out geek really is something to be proud of. I used to feel embarrassed being geeky when I was younger, but now I just think it's stupid for anyone to judge a person solely based on their hobbies (well, as long as the hobby isn't illegal). People make fun of you, sure, but honestly, there's just nothing wrong with liking what you like. And we nerds tend to band together, so I guess we're popular within our own cliques! Long live the geeks! Still love the Sonic fandom.

Edit: How have I never heard of Sonic Colors?!?! I hang my head in shame. Just realized IGN gave it an 8.5. omg, has the era of crappy Sonic games finally ended? MUST HAVE NOW.

Or, at least, I have this unbreakable tendency to try to say something polite/complimentary and then have it come out as insulting. O__o I shall give you two recent examples below:

Scenario #1: Boyfriend and I step into our local diner.

Hostess: "Hi! How are you?"
Us: "Great, thanks! How are you?"
Hostess: "Oh, doing fine, thanks."
Boyfriend: "Busy day?"
Hostess: "No, not really."
Me: "Oh, that's good."
*awkward silence*

What I meant: Oh, that's good, because I'm glad that you didn't have a stressful day dealing with huge crowds of people.
What it sounds like: Oh, that's good, cuz your restaurant's gonna TANK.

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Scenario #2: Twitter. I am watching a video of Harry Shum Jr.'s mad dancing skills (you know, that Glee guy), and a Conan the Barbarian trailer pops up.

What I wanted to say on Twitter: You know, even though buff guys like Conan the Barbarian are supposed to be the ones I'm attracted to, I still like lean guys like Harry Shum Jr., because they are also handsome and attractive and appealing even though they do not have big bulging muscles. Yay for those of us who are not alpha perfect!

What I actually say on Twitter:

Muscles are so overrated.
*suddenly remembers that there are some muscular, friendly ppl on her followers list*
I mean, abdominal muscles are nice. But I still like lean+mean over muscular guys.
I mean, some muscle is good. But I mean muscular like, The Rock. Not hot.
*remembers The Rock is actually a nice person in interviews*
I mean, @redcrest is right, I probably like lean guys because I like bishonen boys in anime.
*@redcrest comes to my aid, gently suggesting that muscular guys are also great, they are the evolutionary instinct*
I mean, my preference for lean guys over muscular guys gives me a distinct evolutionary disadvantage.
I mean, not that muscular guys are unattractive. I just like lean guys better.
I mean, not that lean guys are evolutionary disadvantages.
*awkward silence*
Ok, now that I have thoroughly insulted both muscular and lean guys, I'm going to shut up now and go back into my box.

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Hmm........I really need to work on my delivery.....