AIDS Walk New York 2013: A Smashing Success!
This past Sunday, 30,000 New Yorkers braved the unseasonably chilly temperatures and relentless rain and came together to walk for a great cause: the fight against HIV/AIDS and the support of GMHC and more than 40 other New York area AIDS service organizations. As a whole, we raised $5.5M!!! Amazing, right?
And I’m personally so proud and grateful because the My Life After Now and EBG team contributed $2,885! We exceeded our goal by $385 so I’d like to send out a super special thank you to everyone who donated and walked with us. We had such a great group — including a baby and a dog!
Until HIV/AIDS is a thing of the past, it’s so important for us all to keep fighting, educating, and supporting volunteer and health organizations — both with our time and money.
If Lucy Moore, the HIV+ heroine of My Life After Now, were a real person, I’d like to think we did her proud this weekend.
Help Support the ‘My Life After Now’ AIDS Walk New York Team!
Every year I walk in AIDS Walk New York. It’s ten kilometers of amazingly fun, uplifting awesomeness for a great cause — there are celebrities, drag queens, cheerleaders, dogs in t-shirts, and tens of thousands of people from all walks of life coming together to support GMHC (Gay Men’s Health Crisis) and over 40 other tri-state area AIDS organizations. GMHC is the nation’s oldest and most comprehensive AIDS service organization, serving approximately 15,000 people living with HIV and AIDS each year, as well as countless more through its prevention and advocacy work locally and nationally.
And this year is going to be the best year ever because I’ll be walking with the My Life After Now team! That’s right — in honor of Lucy Moore, the HIV+ heroine of my debut novel, readers and friends will be coming together to raise funds to help combat HIV/AIDS.
If you’re in the New York City area and free on Sunday, May 19, I’d love it if you would come walk with us! And bonus — my husband’s company EBG is teaming up with us and donating $50 for every person who walks with our team. So come join in on the fun! The more the merrier! You can join the team here. If you’re not able to walk but would still like to contribute to the cause, donations are welcome and greatly appreciated. Go here to donate!
Thanks, everyone! Hope to see you May 19th!
‘Parks and Recreation’ for President
Here’s my bold yet true statement: Parks and Recreation is the best comedy on television.
I mean, seriously, what other show is so funny, well-written, well-acted, quirky, political, adorable, and insightful?
Why I love this show, in a nutshell:
‘Nough said.
NYC Teen Author Festival at WORD
This past Tuesday, I did my first ever public book reading. And it was awesome. I was lucky enough to be on the panel at the NYC Teen Author Festival event “The Only Way Out Is Through: Engaging Truth Through YA” at WORD Bookstore in Brooklyn. The reading and discussion was moderated by David Levithan (Every Day, Boy Meets Boy, and so many more), and on the panel with me were Ellen Hopkins (Crank, Tilt, and more), Timothy Decker (The Punk Ethic), Crissa-Jean Chappell (Narc), and Amy McNamara (Lovely, Dark and Deep).
We had a packed house — standing room only — and great questions from the audience. I was overwhelmed by the positive feedback I received from attendees after the event, and I was equally as thrilled to see My Life After Now on the shelves of a very real bookstore — two whole weeks before its release date! Read more…
Puzzle Piece Plot, or Index Cards For the Win!
Lately I’ve been hard at work on my third contemporary YA novel, and, while I love the story and love my protagonist, this book has been giving me trouble, my friends. Right here in River City. (Okay, New York City, but whatever.)
I know every book is different, and that’s all part of being a writer, but sometimes I feel like the universe played a cruel joke on me — the plot of My Life After Now came to me so easily, and now I can’t help feeling like every book should be that effortless to write. Meh. For this current project, I have all these random ideas floating around in my head, all these plot points, all these character possibilities, but it’s taking a loooong while for them to form some sort of shape. I’m growing antsy. Read more…
Why I Loved ‘Why We Broke Up’
This past New Year’s Eve, my dear friend and fellow YA author Corey Ann Haydu said she had a “must read” book for me. She’d read it over the holidays and had fallen completely in love and knew I would feel the same. The book was Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler, with illustrations by Maira Kalman.
The first thing I noticed when Corey handed me the book was how heavy it was. In a good way. It’s a beautiful hardcover, with thick, glossy pages and stunning illustrations that add both vibrancy and a sweet melancholy to the book — the overall effect is to create a complete reading experience. Don’t read this book on an eReader — you’ll miss out.
The story is simple — Min is breaking up with Ed. She has a box filled with “treasures” from their time together, and she’s on her way to his house to give it all back. Read more…
Welcome to My Brand New Blog
Welcome to my brand new author site and blog! This is the place where I’ll be blogging about all things YA — writing, my experiences, my thoughts on the industry, the books I’m reading now, and a lot more.
But let’s face it — I won’t just be writing about books. I’ve also been known to be something of a television junkie, so I’m sure there will be several occasions where I just won’t be able to stop myself from sharing my thoughts on the latest episodes of my favorite shows. Actually, as I write this, I can’t stop thinking about last night’s Vampire Diaries. Seriously, that fire at the end? My heart is still broken…
Anyway.
This is the space where I’ll be blogging about the various topics that skeet their way through my brain, so I hope you’ll continue to come back from time to time to read and comment. In the meantime, I also blog over at Teen Writers Bloc, a YA and MG blog started by The New School Writing for Children MFA class of 2012. The opinions over there are just as varied as the topics, so check it out!
Thanks for visiting my website. Until next time…
Jess
