Having books released during the holiday season just proves how TERRIBLE I am at multi-tasking, but even so, I would not change a thing.

Life is hectic! I am typing this at 12:27 am and in like 15 hours, I will begin preparations for my Christmas Eve dinner menu. On the 23rd. I could probably make it less work if I enlisted more people to help me, but that’s impossible because it’s less fun when you have to share the glory of an amazing meal with someone else. JUST JOKING.

… Or am I?

In the time since I last wrote, Internet, Some Girls Are got a starred review from Publishers Weekly! I was stunned. They called it a “very real story,” that is “frightening and effective,” also, “every emotion is palpable.” I still am stunned, actually. PW also said I took mean girl stuff to a “a new level of nasty” and I have to admit I am DYING to put that on my business cards that don’t actually exist, but only if I can put it like this:

Courtney Summers: “A new level of nast[a]y.” – Publishers Weekly

Can I do that? Probably not, right? Mostly because I am looking at it now and I am not sure it makes sense in that context, but oh well. Some Girls Are has also been getting a positive reception around the blogosphere, which I am really thrilled about. I have been diligently posting them on my Facebook page (there are also some giveaways happening right now, heads up!) and to the Some Girls Are page on site, if you want to check them out.

In Cracked Up to Be news, two things. First: it’s now available audible! As soon as I discovered this I… signed up for an audible account and bought it. NOT GONNA LIE, I wanted to hear it. It seems like a majority of authors who have their books released on audio can’t listen to them but uh, I quickly discovered I am not one of those authors! I listened to it. I listened to it A LOT. You guys, Parker is kind of really mean! And that this is a revelation for me surely means Khristine Hvam did an EXCELLENT job with the narration and made a terrific Parker. If audio books are your thing, CUTB is now an option.

And the second thing is that a year ago today Cracked Up to Be was released!

That is really, really crazy when I think about it. In the entry I wrote when it was released, I said, “Preparing Cracked Up to Be for publication was a bigger adventure than I could have anticipated or hoped for. Thank you for that.” And now, 365 days later, I can tell you having Cracked Up to Be out in the world was a bigger adventure than I could have anticipated or hope for too, and I thank you for that as well. Seriously, THANK YOU. I can’t really express how I feel about but I think this gif comes close:

JUST LIKE THAT. That is exactly how I feel in my heart.

So last Friday, there was an Editor Appreciation Day! Friday was a blur of holiday season related crazyness, so while I regret not being able to post my editor appreciation ON the day, I think it’s sort of fitting to do it on the one year anniversary of Cracked Up to Be’s release.

I can’t tell you what an impact my editor, Sara Goodman, has had on my writing. I’ve had the extreme good fortune to work with her on two books now, and her insights always give me the opportunity to improve myself. It is incredibly exciting to work with someone who brings out the absolute best in you. Her enthusiasm and passion for the written word is contagious and the way she listens and communicates is a thing to behold. Also, during Some Girls Are edits, she would not let me pass off a few subpar pages as my attempt at being “post-modern.” See? Sara doesn’t let me get away with stuff like that! Seriously, Sara is a GREAT editor and I appreciate her more for this than this paragraph can convey. Thank you, Sara. You are awesome.

In other news, I’ve been lucky in the reading department. One good book after the other! Check out my GoodReads reviews for these awesome books and then immediately go forth and add them to your To-Read Lists: The Line by Teri Hall, All Unquiet Things by Anna Jarzab and Imagining Canadian Literature: The Selected Letters of Jack McClelland.

And finally, before I post this and start preparing to prepare for the next few Christmassy days:

Finished copies. I has them. :)

St. Martin’s Press did a GREAT job.

And on that note–at 1:21 am in the morning–HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO YOU AND YOURS, INTERNET!

I will be back here, blogging, when I am done stuffing my face with the food what I made with the rest of my family! Ah, holidays.