Friday Five!

It has been awhile since I've done one of these posts so I thought it'd be fun to start 'em up again!

1.) I'm in Indianapolis with my husband's family right now, getting ready for my father-in-law's memorial service. It's a sad occasion to be gathering for, but I love any opportunity to see my two-year-old niece! She makes my heart melt, even when she's crying over her lost bink or refusing to go to bed. She's simply too cute and she even calls me "Auntie Cawaline." Awww!

2.) I had a great time this week getting together with some of my writerly friends: the hilarious Ellen Oh, the fabulous Alexa Barry and Emily Kelly (I know you've changed your name, Em, but you will always be Emily Kelly to me!), and the illustrious Lynn Colt.

It was also so fun to finally meet Meagan Spooner, who I've been emailing back and forth for a few months. She lives in Australia currently but is visiting her family here in DC. I can't wait for her to move back to the area so we can eat cupcakes and talk about books!

3.) Speaking of friends, does anyone want to attend Amy Chua's upcoming event at Politics & Prose with me? It's on February 18th. I'm sure the event will be pretty packed due to all of the press surrounding her memoir, The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, but I think it'll be worth it!

4.) Thanks to the aforementioned Lynn Colt, I'm reading Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready. It's a YA urban fantasy (or maybe it's more paranormal? I get these genres mixed up!) and it's quite good so far. It's about a girl who can see ghosts, namely the ghost of her boyfriend who recently passed away. The twist in the story is actually really interesting: every person under 16 can see ghosts, not just the main character. Nobody knows why this "Shift" happened, but the protagonist is gaming to find out.

5.) My WIP (a YA dystopian) is coming along well---it's even keeping me up at night as I try to work out its plot twists and character arcs! I'm thinking about sharing a teaser next week, but we shall see... That kind of freaks me out!

So what sort of things are you guys doing this weekend? Read any good books you want to recommend to me? :)