Summer is in full swing here in D.C., and this has been a very family oriented one for us so far. Last weekend, we went to the community pool where my husband spent every summer of his childhood (this is a new concept to me. We didn’t do the community pool thing in Florida). This past weekend, we went to a family reunion on the shore and ate a lot of blue crabs. Mmmmmmmm… I know, I’ve made you jealous already, right? I’m trying to enjoy seafood while it lasts. I’ve got high hopes for the state’s efforts to revive the crab population, but I can’t help but think we’re facing the end of an era. S.B.’s uncle participates in the oyster gardening efforts as well, and it was cool to see those oysters I enjoy at all family holidays growing in the beds he has set up under the dock. You know how most people have a picture from their wedding of the bride and groom feeding each other cake? we have one of us feeding each other oysters. We’ve basically given up eating meat in this house, but I just can’t kick the seafood habit.

Sometimes I wonder if I’ll be an old woman, telling my grandchildren about the amazing things we used to eat that came out of the ocean. Little wonder there’s so much seafood-eating in Rites of Spring (Break).

Speaking of, today is the day of my big signing at the Rockville, Maryland Borders store. Metro accessible, food and fun, see you all there!

In related news, reader reactions and web-based reviews have been popping up all over online (and yes, they have spoilers, so click through at your peril):

• From Bookdaze: “The very fact I’m finding time to post this in the midst of Wimbledon mania is an indication of how much I adored this book.” She goes on to say she stayed up all night reading it and it was one of her favorite books of the year.
• From Liza, who won an early copy (spoiler-free): ” I loved Rites of Spring (Break) and can’t really tell much about the book without giving away great information.”
• From Finny: “Gasping, I snatched the book off the shelves, cast a furitive look over one shoulder to see if any other neurotic book-lover was going to sprint towards me, screaming “Nooooo!” as she tackled me to the floor, ready to wrest the book from my grasp! But since I spotted no one about to do anything of the sort, I clutched the book to my chest and — without caring about appearances, or the fact that I had my $2000 MacBook in my bag, and have never been blessed with an ounce of coordination — I took off in the direction of the register.” Love the enthusiasm!
• After she reads it, she reports back: “I confess: I think she’s terrific. The ’she’ I refer to could be applied to both the author of Rites of Spring (Break), the phenomenal Diana Peterfreund, and to her lead character, Amy “Bugaboo” Haskell. In the third installment of the Ivy League Novels, RoS(b) continues to dish out the intrigue, the developing romance, and a side helping of humor to make a rather satisfying read.”
• Anna K Jarzab writes: “Diana’s new book in the super-fun Secret Society Girl series, Rites of Spring (Break), came out on Tuesday but I cheated and went to the bookstore on Monday hoping they’d already put it out, which they had. I finished it in a two-day gulp.”
• Harriet Klausner is as spoilerific as usual (she gets a few facts wrong, too, but that’s HK for you): “somehow author Diana Peterfreund insures her myriad of secondary players, including a family and another group not mentioned above, have differing traits. Still this is Amy’s tale as she finds her senior year RITES OF SPRING (BREAK) initially prank-filled but soon dangerously deadly. Over the top absolutely, but fun.”
• Finn of The Good, the Bad, and the Unread, admits being lost because she hadn’t read the first two books, but calls it “an intriguing story” and gives it a B grade. [Note: Sorry, Finn! If you're looking for more inner workings of the society, it's probably best to read the first one, where they get initiated, since this book they spend most of their time on vacation from all that.]
• Kimberly Swan of Darque Reviews says: “Ms. Peterfreund offers fans a well-detailed world, and packs her latest book with non-stop danger and mystery. There’s a delicious bit of romance added to the mix that will both surprise and delight. Rites of Spring (Break) is a dose of campus life with secret societies that readers won’t soon forget.”
• JenWriter, who is injured (get well soon!), hasn’t read it, but says all kinds of nice things about the series as a whole: “I bought them at the same time, way after their releases, and read both over the course of one weekend. Actually, that’s not quite correct. I didn’t read them. I devoured them.”
• Lisa Baca of Romance Reviews Today says: “RITES OF SPRING (BREAK) is an entertaining quick trip into college life at an elite university. Classes, final papers, applications for grad school, secret societies — all this and the personal and secret society life of the main character are portrayed in clever, witty terms. I find this third installment to be the best of the series that includes SECRET SOCIETY GIRL and UNDER THE ROSE. It gives insight into what Amy learns about life and more is revealed about some of the “seemingly perfect” lives of her fellow knights. Amy is quirky and endearing, her insecurities and shortcomings make her more real to the reader.” She puts it on her list of recommended reads for summer, too.
• Night Owl Romance gives it a “Five Hearts” Top Pick and says: “ I loved this book. Ms Peterfreund’s writing style is easy to read and you just want to see what will happen next. She brings just the right feel to college life, the worry of what next along with the fun of not having any real responsibilities. When Amy’s books are destroyed due to Dragon’s Head and her not wanting to try to explain this to her parents, Rose and Grave members immediately start taking up a collection to replace them. This is truly college life.” And adds: “This is the third book of a series. I haven’t read the previous books and still loved this one. While things that happened in the previous books are mentioned, you don’t really have to know exactly what happened to enjoy this book. In fact, I’d love to go back and read the previous books as this one was so good.”

I loved reading these reviews and am adoring the spoiler thread, which is still going strong. Thank you guys so much for reading! I’ve gathered from there and the emails I’ve gotten that the, um, shower scene is just as popular as it was with my early readers (see acknowledgments). Go figure!  Who would have thought Hitchcock was so right?

Kidding!

Kinda.

See (some of you) at the signing tonight!

A lot of people are talking about the AFI’s release of “top ten films” in a variety of genres. I first heard about this from Sailor Boy and another friend last night,and they were saying that the only people who would actually put 2001: A Space Odyssey ahead of Star Wars would be Pretentious Film Types. (We say this with the full knowledge that we have just named out new desktop Hal.)

Also, they are clearly not Pretentious Genre Types, because those people would probably talk about the fact that Star Wars is actually space-set epic fantasy, but that’s neither here nor there. Me, I’m Genre-Interpretive, which was probably made obvious by the way I’ve been flitting about the internet, calling ROS(B) romantic suspense, to the dismay of all those who actually write romantic suspense. I think most people who look at Star Wars see a film set in space, and that sets off the sci-fi trigger in their brains, releasing sci-fi enzymes into their hypothalami. So sci-fi is fine by me.

But I digress. As with any release of lists of this sort, you read the winners and you’re left going, “Huh? How could they leave out my very favorite blah-de-blah? those bastards!” (No Tootsie?) And “What the hell is this piece of crap doing on the list?” (Yes, Lion King, I’m looking at you. You destroyed my love affair with Disney.) I could seriously go on forever about the things I’d put on the lists that they didn’t, or the things they kept off that should have been on there.

But instead, I’d rather talk about the categories themselves. “Animation, sports, westerns, mystery, romantic comedy, sci-fi, fantasy, epic, gangster, and courtroom drama.” Huh? Courtroom drama? Srsly? It’s a strange collection of groupings, to be sure. Some problems include:

• 40% of the Mystery listmakers are Hitchcock films. Hitchcock was very clear on the fact that he did not make mysteries, and in spite of my genre-interpretive leanings, I’m inclined to agree with him.
• A lot of courtroom dramas, however, are in fact mysteries. And a few Westerns, too.
• The fantasy list could in large part just be renamed “The Holiday Movie” list. Why don’t they put Miracle on 34th St. under Courtroom Dramas? Also, again, where’s the fantasy in that movie? Isn’t the whole point that it wasn’t necessarily fantasy? The fantasy list is a mess, despite the fact that I really do like most of the movies on that list. It’s just so broad, and so strange that they would stick LOTR there but not, say, The Ten Commandments, in which many fantastical things happen as well. Is it because the latter is biblical? Because they are both pretty darn epic.
• Speaking of Epics, what they chose to classify there is mysterious to me as well. Titanic? Epic? Don’t epics usually cover a period of years rather than a few days? And Leo’s Jack doesn’t really fit the mold of epic hero. I will, however, give them Saving Private Ryan, despite the “time crunch” issue, because they pack a lot of heroism and tragedy in such a small space.
• Speaking of Titanic, they should have created a “Disaster Film” category and slapped that in there. Disaster Film is a great category. It’s cross-genre as well — you could put in natural disasters, or Daikaiju, whatever floats your boat (or flips it upside down, or sinks it).
• Rather than separate out animation, I’d prefer if it was treated as a valid medium and classified according to the genre of said animated movies (Shrek is a romantic comedy, Finding Nemo is an epic, etc. John Scalzi makes this point brilliantly when talking about the phenomenal The Incredibles. Pause to note how much I love that film. It’s really one of my favorite movies of all time.)

I’m also disappointed in the romantic comedy list, but for reasons I can’t quite put my finger on, genre wise (except for Sleepless in Seatle, which is not a romantic comedy, but rather, should go under the heading of Hollywood Meta). I’m inclined to think it’s just bias over the fact that they can’t possibly put all my favorites in one top ten list, though I am so pleased that they saw fit to cut out the horrific dreck that tries to pass itself off as romantic comedy these days. Filmmakers: please watch these films (especially the black and white ones) to see how it’s done.

Hmmm… maybe I’m not as Genre Interpretive as I thought.

Today, I’m guest blogging at Fictionistas. Head on over and read Amanda Brice’s interview with me.

Sad confession: I’ve been pretty laid up with a summer cold for the past few days. I haven’t even gone to visit my own book in the wild. Fortunately, people have been sending me pictures. Yay!

ROSB at a Borders in my hometown in Florida (thanks, Mom!):

ROSB at a Bookstore on Broadway in New York CIty (thanks, Patrick!):

Not ROSB, but even better, at the Reston, VA, Barnes & Noble where I’m signing next month (thanks, Nessa!):

My mom’s already got the prize I was sending out, and I’m pretty sure Nessa’s coming to the signing (right?) so Patrick, be on the lookout!

As promised, a post for you to talk to your heart’s content about Rites of Spring (Break). Comment here if you want to register your surprise that George turned out to be an alien,* your excitement that Amy switched from Literature major to Pre-Med,** and your enthusiasm over the fact that Demetria stole Lydia’s boyfriend.***

Or, you know, whatever really happened.

______________________

* Um, no.
** Hell, no.
*** Can’t even tell you how much no.

New Digs. Ha. I crack myself up.

Pretty, huh? Poke around. It’s an all new website, with lots of fabulous goodies and more on their way every day. For instance, in the “coming soon” category:

• a revamped conspiracy theorist website, complete with podcast!
• More behind the scenes information about the creation of the SSG series
• New author photos, press kits, and goodies
• CONTESTS!!!!

And in “available now”: new reviews of ROS(B), excerpts, upcoming appearances, and all this lovely unicorn stuff.

And not that I want you to click away from my gorgeous new site (courtesy of the fabulousness of Austin Design Works), but I’m guest blogging again today — about the unusual setting in my latest novel.

Head on over to the Plotmonkeys and check it out! (There’s a giveaway, to sweeten the deal…)

And come back this afternoon, when the Rites of Spring (Break) spoiled thread goes live.

Rites of Spring (Break) is out today! I’ve already got one “wild spotting” from Patrick, and Trish Doller says she’s read it, so it’s out there!

In honor of my release day, I’m guest blogging over at the Manuscript Mavens. Head on over there and read my post about the challenges of writing this book and more — the challenge of releasing it while in the midst of writing the fourth!

(Yes, comments are off. We’ll talk more about that tomorrow… in the meantime, hold your spoilers, and leave comments on the Manuscript Mavens page. Prizes to be given… over there.)

Hey, guys! Brand shiny new modem here, which means I’m back on line. Thank goodness. I’m such an addict.

I’ve heard from several people that Amazon, at least, has been shipping copies of RITES OF SPRING (BREAK), and it should be appearing on bookshelves everywhere tomorrow. (Or maybe today. Some places jump the gun.)

I’m having a small contest (though it doesn’t take much to win): Send me photos of your copy of ROSB in the wild and I’ll send you a special treat. What treat, you ask? Well… the hint is in the cover of the novel itself.

Meanwhile, there are some reviews coming out. Night Owl Romance gave the book five hearts and a “top pick” and I’m not linking to the review, since it’s spoilertastic, though I will quote from some of the non-spoilery sections:

I loved this book. Ms Peterfreund’s writing style is easy to read and you just want to see what will happen next. She brings just the right feel to college life, the worry of what next along with the fun of not having any real responsibilities… The characters are excellent. Amy is the main character and you feel as though you know her. She is confused and still trying to do the right thing at all times even if it’s not what the majority want…This is the third book of a series. I haven’t read the previous books and still loved this one. While things that happened in the previous books are mentioned, you don’t really have to know exactly what happened to enjoy this book. In fact, I’d love to go back and read the previous books as this one was so good.

And Publisher’s Weekly has this to say:

The third installment to Peterfreund’s Rose & Grave series follows the Diggers—members of Eli University’s elite, secret society Rose & Grave—on a spring break trip fraught with intrigue. Amy “Bugaboo” Haskel can’t wait for her first visit to the society’s private Florida island, Cavador Key: a prank gone awry against a rival society has loaded Amy’s spring semester with petty revenge plots. The pranking takes a sinister turn at Cavador, where Amy nearly drowns after her lifejacket appears to have been tampered with. And there’s a small band of weirdos on the periphery, as well (a disgraced government official and his family are on the island, and a gaggle of Rose & Grave conspiracy theorists are camped out on the next island over). As tension escalates, Peterfreund adds an appealing romance subplot. While the stakes are uneven and the climax is predictably soggy, the novel moves fast, packs some laughs and does its job as a light diversion.

Darn tootin’ it’s soggy! I would consider myself remiss, as a storyteller, if I sent a girl who rather famously cannot swim to an island and didn’t take plotly advantage of that. To start with, when I go to that great Algonquin Round Table in the sky, how would I ever look Chekhov in the face?

Speaking of Chekhov, his weaponry, and Yale, I watched Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull last week. It was not my favorite of the IJ movies, sadly. Or even my second favorite. Though I still love Karen Allen, and am once again impressed with Shia LeBeouf. Unfortunately, this movie reminded me far too often of Peter Jackson’s horrific King Kong — I feel like they pretty much used the same sets, and recycled whole set pieces. And I couldn’t figure out why Indy hiked toward the mushroom cloud in the opening scene. And there was a big ol’ gun on the wall that they never managed to use, which mystified me. However, all the scenes at Yale were fun to watch, especially when they drove into the Library and ended up in the Commons Dining Hall, or appeared to be driving down Elm Street from one shot and College Street from another. You also got a couple of seconds of the Skull & Bones tomb, so, fun!

I also went to SilverDocs (which is the American Film Institute’s documentary film festival) last week, and watched All Together Now, which is about the collaboration between Cirque de Soleil and Apple Records to make a Beatles-themed Cirque show called “Love.” Very very cool film, about the nature of collaboration, and artistic respect, and the Beatles. (I had no idea how much Dhani Harrison looks like his dad. Exactly. It’s eerie.)

Sailor Boy and I also went to see This Beautiful City, which is a documentary play put on my The Civilians theater company about the evangelical Christian communities in Colorado Springs. Yes, it’s a documentary. Theater. And a musical, to boot. Very unusual creation, but extremely well done.

And I read. I read four historical romances last week:

A Rake’s Guide to Seduction, by Caroline Linden. First book for me by this author, but certainly not the last. My favorite part was the author’s inclusion of diary entries by the characters. I love that in books. It was one of my favorite parts of Betina Krahn’s RITA-winning Book of True Desires, too.

Secrets of Surrender, by Madeline Hunter. I won Maddy’s latest at a recent WRW meeting. This one is about a ruined gentlewoman who is given one opportunity for redemption: to marry a lowborn-made-good engineer, thereby making her respectable and giving him a boost up the social ladder. Totally fell in love with the hero of this one. Kyle. Sometimes you need a break from all the dukes and viscounts and such in historical romances. Kyle was not a gentleman, and he wasn’t a secret one, either. No one was about to die and make him an earl. So refreshing!

Forbidden Shores, by Jane Lockwood. Historical erotica, with a splash of romance. Gorgeous, gorgeous atmosphere in this one. The first half of the book is set entirely ship board, and with none of the niceties you usually see about ship board-set books. This one is gritty. Really, really down and dirty. And then they get to the Caribbean, and you meet the slaves, and Lockwood does not let up on the setting realism one little bit.

Rumors by Anna Godbersen. This is a YA, a sequel to last year’s Gossip-Girl-meets-Edith-Wharton’s The Luxe, which I loved. So dishy. This one was even more about social niceties and frocks. I remain confused about the ending, but it’s clearly in the groove of series now, so I bet each successive book is going to be more and more of a cliffhanger ending.

And now I write. Later!

So my modem is fried. Which means I’m sitting in a coffee shop typing this. People! Outside world! Extraordinary.

Question: “How do you pronounce your last name?(I’ve told some of my friends about your books, and I’m sure I messed up your name)”

Answer: Thank you for telling friends about my book! I tend to say “Peter-froind” (like “Freud” but with an N), but “Peter-friend” is what most of my family sticks with. It’s the Americanized version, since “freund” is German for “friend.” I suppose if you were German, you’d pronounce it “peh-tur-froind.” “Peter-friend” seems to be easiest to most people. It’s unfortunate that people can pronounce “freud” just fine but add that N and it throws everyone out of whack!

Question: “Were you ever a virginal unicorn hunter?”

Answer: Yes, but I’m married now, so those days are behind me. It’s all ironing boards and bread baking and affairs with the milkman.

Question: “What do you love most about unicorns?”

Answer: They are very tasty, but a bit tough, so you have to marinate them for at least two hours in a sauce made from equal parts soy sauce, honey, and olive oil. Delish!

Question: “Who did you want Veronica Mars to be with?”

Answer: Logan. I never bought any of her boyfriends but Logan. Duncan, in particular, was disastrous. Then again, if Veronica is with Logan, that means he can’t be my boyfriend. Hmmmm…

Question: “What should I major in to become a writer?”

Answer: Major in anything you want. I did Geology, and then, because I wound up taking classes that worked for the Literature major (which fell into every category from Film to American Studies) I wrote another paper and took a second major in that. I think it’s better, actually, if you don’t major in English, Literature, or Writing. It means that you know stuff that every other yahoo trying to write a book out there doesn’t know. If you major in Epidemiology or Computer Science or 17th Century Danish History, while the rest of us are breaking our backs doing research for our books, you’re sitting pretty, because you already know all this stuff. Ask Tess Gerritsen or John Grisham or Michael Crichton.

Plus, it’s way easier to get a job to support you while you write with an Epidemiology or Computer Science degree. Danish History I don’t know about.

Question: “How hard a job is writing?”

Answer: 6.7. Kidding. It’s the best job ever, since I can work whenever and wherever I want, and I get paid for making things up. At the same time, it’s the hardest because the onus is entirely on me to create a demand. People don’t actually need what I do. I’m not a butcher or a baker or an overpriced espresso maker. So I have to write something that people actually want to spend their discretionary income on.

Question: “How do you respond to the blank stares from people when you say you’re a writer?”

Answer: I feel very lucky that I don’t get blank stares. I do however, get an automatic assumption that “I’m a writer” equals “unemployed.” The conversation goes like this:

Cocktail Party Guest: “I’m a lawyer. So, what do you do?”
Me: “I’m a novelist.”
CPG: “Oh. Um, er, anything… published?”
Me: “Yes. My third book comes out from Random House this month.” (Inwardly, I wonder why no one ever responds to “I’m a lawyer,” with “Oh, Um, er… an employed one?” Yet the assumption is that I’m an out of work novelist. Believe me, if I were, I would say something like, “I’m a barista at Starbucks” or etc.)

I’ve taken to telling folks at cocktail parties that I’m a smoke jumper. More believable. Of course, then you do get blank stares.

Question: “What time of day is best for writing?”

Answer: For me? All times are the same. Sometimes i get good writing done in the morning, sometimes in the evening. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and go write until I can fall back to sleep. I probably shouldn’t admit this.


Question: “When writing a book do you already have an idea on the ending for some characters?”

Answer: Absolutely. In fact, it’s pretty rare that I don’t know what will happen to the characters, or that it changes while writing. The interesting thing about writing a series is looking back to where the characters were at the end of the first or second book, and thinking about where they’ll be by the end of the fourth. I didn’t necessarily have that all mapped out, though I did have a general impression. George, of course, is abducted by aliens. And Odile becomes a kindergarten teacher.

Having said that, however, I love it when characters surprise me. For example, when I first started writing Secret Society Girl, I didn’t think of Poe as a major character, but he appeared on the page and insisted upon being included. So I did. I always try to go with my gut when things like that happen. If there’s an interesting character hanging out in the wings, use him!

Question: “Where do you get your ideas?”

Answer: Varies from book to book. With the Secret Society Girl series, it was a conversation I had with my now-husband about the bizarre and misleading way Yale secret societies are represented by Hollywood. I wanted to write a story about secret societies the way they really are — where the twenty year old members aren’t constantly committing murders that the “powerful” members of the society are somehow hushing up, or being branded, or being given hundreds of thousands of dollars — but where the personal, collegiate level intrigues and influence can be every bit as mysterious and devastating. The impression is that a secret society can destroy your life, empty your bank account, ruin your family… the reality is far more mundane (though no less important to the people involved).

Rampant developed from an overheard snippet of dialogue, a dream, and a bit of research that snowballed. It’s all about playing what if. What if I a girl who buys into the conspiracy theories of secret societies were to join one? What if unicorns weren’t the fluffy gentle creatures we think they are? What if they were dangerous?