Or so it felt that way. What a great turnout! And a great time. It was wonderful seeing everybody there together having drinks, taking pictures, laughing, as my 2-year-old was ripped away from his mama and dragged off-stage so I could speak. Ah, good times.

Everybody loved the music, by DJ Iggy who does all our SCBWI Florida events, and the tarot card reader, Alejandra Fernandez, who everyone said was excellent and right-on about everything. Marjetta Geerling, author of Fancy White Trash, was there, and I accidentally signed her book to "Susan" (I was distracted). She was so gracious, she said she would keep it. I told her to cut it out and go get another book. Danielle Joseph, author of Dead Air (soon to have a new title, MTV Books) rocked the house with her MTV diva makeover, and thanks to my critique group friends Adrienne (and Meaghan), Linda (and Brian, Jerry), Tere, Mary (and her fam), Christina (and her husband), and a special thank you to my new Fansite creator, Betsy, for her hard work and dedication! Also, a special thank you to Jeanie at Books & Books who worked like a crazy woman organzing the whole thing and to her team of awesome teen volunteers!

So here are a few pics of the Captain in the House:







Overall, it was my favorite of my launch parties so far! And they've all been fun! It even prompted a new Gaby Triana Fansite on MySpace! Next up...May 22nd at Barnes & Noble 7 PM with Dorian Cirrone and Debbie Reed Fischer. It's going to be a hot summer, baby!

Tomorrow night is my book release party. I'm getting pretty nervous. There are a lot of people coming, and I have to remember that I'm not that shy little girl who couldn't speak in front of others anymore, or that college girl who changed universities just so she wouldn't have to take Public Speaking as part of her major (first time admitting this). I'm not that girl anymore. Too many things have happened the last five years for me to still have those kinds of fears.

I'm hoping we'll have a great time. I've hired a DJ, a tarot card reader, and ordered lots of overpriced bookstore cafe platters to ensure that we do. But the best part of it will be seeing all my friends and family gathered in one courtyard under the stars to celebrate and support me. This will probably make me cry. But I hope I won't because then my makeup will run, and I'll look like a stuffed-up baby raccoon.

Anyway, stay tuned...full report tomorrow night. Peace!!

Dude. I just paid $70 to fill my tank. $70!! That will last me four days. Four days!! And then I will have to pay $70 again on Saturday. Saturday!! $70!! I'm sick. Sick to my stomach. Oh, and did I mention that after grabbing a bag of grapes the other day and paying for them without looking, that I saw what I had paid for them when I got home? $7!! $3.75 a pound. For grapes!! Grapes, people!! Not gold-rimmed, diamond-encrusted grapes. Just plain green grapes. And they weren't even good grapes. They were slightly sour with a skin that was way too thick, and every fifth one was slightly brown. I mean, dude. Come on.

What's next, people? Will I have to sell my house and move into a teepee? Sell my car and drive my kids to school on a 4-way tandem bicycle? Grow my own cows in the backyard just so I can make hamburgers without taking out a loan?

Geez. How's everyone else holding up these days? Wait. If you're having a great financial time, I really don't want to know. Everyone else, the floor is open...

Last night in Boca Raton, FL, three of us spoke, read, and signed books as the Trio of Tropical Reads--Dorian Cirrone, Debbie Reed Fischer, and me. Admittedly, this wasn't our idea. It was our agent's who thought it'd be a good way to attract more people and sell more books, and because, according to him, we were all from S. Florida. Never mind that we're from 3 very different parts of S. Florida, all about an hour away from each other. But then we figured we'd each schedule the signings in our own area then coordinate through email. We started warming up to it, and last night was our first trial.

And it went really well! When I got there after an hour and a half drive, Debbie and Dorian were already there (I lived the farthest this time), and I learned that it was Debbie's first signing ever! I had no idea. I thought she would have had a book release party before our Trio Tour, but she hadn't, so it was mostly Debbie's family and friends there to congratuate her. Dorian and I each signed about 1 book for every 10 of Debbie's, LOL! She was definitely the superstar of the night! I have pics but it looks like I have to upgrade this LiveJournal thingy to post them, so for now, I'll put them on MySpace. Anyway, we passed out leis, crowns, bookmarks and cookies, then read and did some Q&A. The best question came from Debbie's son who asked, "Mommy, how much pounds do you weigh?" to which she promptly answered, "Next question..." It was a lot of fun, and Debbie's husband got it all on tape. Looking forward to our next event in Miami at Barnes & Noble on Kendall on May 22 at 7 PM. That day, it should take me about 5 minutes to get there. ;)

Wait, I did it! Thanks Mindy and Deb!

Okay, I don't usually share my son's writing with anyone except at home, but this made me wonder if he's really going to end up as an automotive engineer the way he plans to. What do you think? Future author? He's 7 and in first grade.

What a Treasure!
By Michael G.

It all began on a Saturday. This kid named Holly was having a party. The theme was Pokemon. People were relaxing in a hot tub, and swimming in the pool Of her house. Of course I was invited. All I was doing was playing video games. Then all of a sudden the lights went out, the TV turned off too! I found a map. A map that showed around the house. An X lied in Holly’s bedroom. That means theres a treasure in her bedroom! Holly! Holl! I came running to her. Look! A map! Awsome! She said. Let’s go! So we kept the door closed. Thank god none of the people here bothered us! Let’s dig! Ready! Set! Go! We dug, dug, dug, and dug. Still not here. I have an idea! I said. I called every scientist in the world. 1 million down, one to go! Holly said. Finally! We borrowed his dig machine. Go! Trrrrrrr! Bam! We hit the ground. No treasure here! Where else could it be? Party’s over 2:50 P.M. party starts. 8:20 P.M. party ends. It’s 8:57! Way over average! I said in a small voice. The floor started to move aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh! We’re falling! Ahhh! Baaaaaaaaam!!! Hit the ocean, ocean, ocean. Hey, look. Gold Doubloons! There lying on a rock was a SUNKEN SHIP! We swam inside (in our diving suits that we changed into somehow.) There in the cabin of the captain of the mysterios ship was a TREASURE CHEST! Come on! As soon as we were back in Holly’s room, we heard people leaving. Time had frozen! My watch now said 12:00 AM! Time to open presents! Wait Michael hasn’t left yet! Buy Micahel, she said. And that was the ending…

THE END

I was at a dinner the other night, and a girl who heard I was an author asked me if what I wrote were "fluffy fun books." I looked at her for a second to try and determine if this was a good thing or bad thing to her, so I could adjust my answer accordingly. Finally, I realized there was no easy answer, plus her parents and siblings were all waiting for my response, and she had probably already decided whether or not she wanted to read my book, so I just went with the truth (as I usually do, and always get into trouble). I told her yes and no. While I never sit down to try and write great American literature, my goal is always to entertain. And if to entertain, I need to write in some girl fights, so be it, but not without complex relationships that come off as real and memorable to readers. The last thing I want to do is to write about cattiness and topless girls without the depth of real human relationships.

Because that's my 2nd goal: to create characters that you know. You've seen these people before as your friends, your mom, your sister, your ex...shades of people all around us. I don't care to create quirky characters that stick only because they're so weird. No Edward Scissorhands for me (not that Johnny Depp isn't hot, if only he would stop smoking). And maybe that's why I don't have a movie contract in my hands. But does that mean I should sell out and write for a larger audience? Well, honestly I'm torn. Because I would love to make money, but I don't think I could do it any way other than my own. So to answer the girl's question...is it a fluffy, fun book? Fluffy...no. Fun...yes. Do I feel guilty that it's not going to win any Most Provoking-Heart-Wrenching-Life-Changing Book Awards? Hell no. But am I confident that you'll lose yourself for a day or two on an imaginary beach somewhere? Yes. And with all the crap we're all going through these days, if I could do that for a reader, then I did my job.

Question: for writers, how far mainstream would you be willing to go to achieve a wider audience? How important is this to you? Not judging anyone. Just curious.

Well, here goes my first post on LiveJournal in 2 years...

First of all, I'm excited that The Temptress Four is out! It's a really fun book with a great premise, and my first book with no parents in the story, which felt weird because I feel that parents are a super important part of any teen's story. But sometimes, you just want the folks to take a back seat, and T4 gave me the chance to do just that. Second of all, there's so much going on this month, and I feel very overwhelmed by it. Signings, and visits, and blogging, oh my!

Also, it's good to get off MySpace and Facebook for a while. I spend so much time there, hoping to meet as many people as I can, but there is a certain disconnection that happens when there are too many "friends" on your profile. It's sort of like inviting too many guests to your party. You can never spend enough time with all of them. Sometimes, a smaller dinner party is better for connecting with people, and I'm hoping LiveJournal will provide that intimacy I feel the whole internet friends thing is lacking.

Well, I'll keep this first post pretty short because I have to go and bathe my kids now, but I just wanted to say hello to everyone and also say that I'm glad to be back. Not just to LiveJournal, but also to writing full time (now that my kids have started daycare) in the sense of laying down a new draft as well as having two books coming out in two years. Having twins definitely interrupted things (so did some red tape at Harpers), but I'm back, and with a renewed sense of purpose too. Hope you'll comment and stop by often!

Wow! I wrote ten pages of a new story today! I know ten pages doesn't sound like a whole lot, but when you've spent the former part of last year lugging around two humans inside of you and then the latter part of the year carrying them on the outside, all the while trying to meet the needs of a Pre-K midget who loves repeating, "Mommy, I need you, Mommy, I need you..." over and over again...oh, yeah, and also spending what little free time I have trying to get the house in order because you'd never know by looking at it that I have a housekeeper...

You get the point.

So ten pages is a LOT! More importantly, it's something I'm excited about. I've thought of some other story ideas because I thought they might sell well, but maybe not because my heart is into it as much.

I think the Chica Lit conference had something to do with it. Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez, the author of Dirty Girls Social Club and lots of other funny books about Latinas, hosted the first ever conference for Latina writers last weekend in Miami Beach. Aside from getting to meet numerous talented writers, such as Caridad Ferrer, Mary Castillo, Kathy Murillo, Alisa herself, and also TV producer and mogul, Nely Galan, I got to spend some time planning out my next writing moves and braining up a storm.

I have another conference next week, which is SCBWI in Orlando, a workshop which I enjoy attending because my critique group is responsible for having put it together, but I wish it had more to offer writers who are already published. Sometimes, we need a push just as much as the beginning writer does, ideas for getting into TV and film, how to market your work, and stuff like that.

Anyway...off to put kids to sleep (no school tomorrow...still awake)...