Stephen King, Judy Blume, LTUE Schedule

Before I tell you my detailed schedule this weekend (come see me!!!) at the symposium at BYU, I want to throw out something very random.

I really want to have dinner with Stephen King, my writing idol.

I know there has to be someone who can make this happen for me. Please help. I'm just throwing this out there for now, but I'm actually contemplating and scheming on what I can do to push it along. I'm thinking a charity may need to be involved. Stay tuned.

One of the shining moments of my life was when I had cupcakes and tea with Judy Blume. If you missed my embarrassing write-up on that, CLICK HERE (where there is also a picture to prove I'm not lying). As you can clearly see, this experience can only be topped by dinner with Abraham Lincoln or Stephen King.

Anyway, here is my schedule. Don't miss my reading from The Death Cure on Friday morning!!! All events are in the Harman Building over by the Marriott Center.

THURSDAY the 17th:

3:00 pm Panel: Slush Piles and what not to do when submitting your writing.

4:00 pm Panel: Dystopias and Utopias.

6:00 pm Panel: Marketing - what can you do?

FRIDAY the 18th:

10:00 am READING: First 2 chapters of The Death Cure.

12:00 pm Panel: What is an agent and what can they do for you?

2:00 pm Panel: Character's morals/theology vs. the author's.

6:00 pm Panel: How not to talk down to your YA audience.

SATURDAY the 19th:

11:00 am MAIN ADDRESS: That's me, giving the main address. There will be a Top Ten list!!!

1:00 pm: Signing books in room 1188

2:00 pm: Signing books again in room 1188

4:00 pm: Why write about worlds that don't actually exist?

7:00 pm: LTUE Banquet. (You MUST buy tickets to this before the actual conference. Even though the website says you can't anymore, tickets WILL be available through tomorrow. CLICK HERE to order them.)

I can't wait to hang out with those who come! See ya soon....

Upcoming Events and Etc.

I wish this post had all the many things I want to tell you about regarding what's coming down the pipeline in my career. Ya know, things like the cover for The Death Cure, what projects might come after that, other... stuff...

But, you'll have to be patient, I'm sorry. Patience is a virtue, ya know. Stay close, though. I don't want you to miss anything. There'll be lots to talk about. Soon.

At the end of this post I give you some absolutely free pop culture recommendations. But first...

There ARE a few events on the horizon, however, and I thought I'd pop in here and make sure they're all laid out. I hope I get to meet some of you...

Saturday, Feb. 5, 1:00 pm

Um, that's TOMORROW

Barnes and Noble, Southtown Mall

Sandy UT, 1:00 pm

This is an Authorpalooza, with over 40 authors, none of whom I'll name because I'd certainly leave out a friend!

Thursday through Saturday

Feb. 17 - 19

LTUE, a symposium at BYU (Harman Bldg)

I'm the Guest of Honor (hey, quit snickering!), so I'll be on lots of panels and will be giving the keynote address on Saturday at 11:00 am.

I'll also be doing a reading (first chapter or two from The Death Cure) at 10:00 am on Friday.

For more details and a full schedule, CLICK HERE.

April 12- 15

TLA (Texas Library Association)

Austin, TX

I'm not sure yet of my schedule, but I DO know I'm going!

May 6-7

Storymakers Conference

Salt Lake City, UT

For details, CLICK HERE.

May 9-10

Battle of the Books

St. Louis, MO

Sorry, I don't know many details, but I'll be there.

June 4

Festival of Books

BYU

Those are the only events that are solid on the schedule, but other things will happen, especially as we get closer to the release of Book 3 this fall.

Absolutely free pop culture advice:

Anyone else watch Downton Abbey on PBS? I am officially an old person, because I loved it. Blame my mother.

I'm reading an incredible book. Matterhorn, by Karl Marlantes. I've always been interested in the Vietnam War, and this is about as authentic as you can get. Not for the faint of heart.

If you want a funny, leave-your-brain-behind movie to watch, go see The Green Hornet. I was pleasantly surprised (but I wouldn't call it a kid's movie) and laughed a lot.

If you'd rather be creeped out and see Anthony Hopkins channel Hannibal Lecter one last time, go see The Rite.

And I can't say this enough: go see The King's Speech. One of the best movies ever. I'm not lying. Ever. Unless you're eight, and then you might be bored.

Finally, I'm officially the last person on earth to join Netflix. I usually see movies in theaters, so I never got around to it. But... what? This is for real? 10 bucks a month? Unlimited streaming of bazillions of movies and TV shows? For real? Way too good to be true. I may have to stop writing books.....

(No, I'm not fishing for "you better NOT quit writing!!!" comments. Don't be silly.)

Have a great day and a great weekend.