Gamer Girl Party Recap

Last night fellow YA author Melissa Walker and I hosted what turned out to be a fantastic book release party at Butter. We had a geat turnout - probably about 75 people over the course of the night. Great crowd too--attendees from Vogue, Teen Vogue, ELLE, InStyle, Daily Candy, CNN and, of course, Better TV. We also had socialites, publicists, a ton of great authors, and Dorchester and Penguin editor types.






As people snacked on Butter's signature homemade chocolates and sipped martinis at the bar, Melissa and I mingled and signed books.



Since the theme of my new book is gaming, I brought a bunch of fun kids' games to put on the tables for guests to play. People got really into it!


Socialite Mina Jacqueline Au and author of Schooled, Anisha Lakhani, play Connect Four.


Britney, Jacob, Benny and Chris play Hungry Hungry Hippos.

I was especially excited that my friend Diana Peterfreund (Secret Society Girl, Rampant) came up from DC for the night. I hadn't seen her in like forever, so it was great to catch up.


Liz Maverick with Diana.

Diana arrived accompanied by the amazing Scott Westerfeld and his wife author Justine Larbalestier and author Maureen Johnson.. I'm such a big fan of Scott's Uglies series and it was great to meet him in person at last. He was so nice and down to earth and approachable. And he told me he'd seen Gamer Girl all over the place while on his book tour. Yay!



Scott even gave us a sneak peak of the steampunk artwork of his upcoming novel Leviathon. OMG we are all in for a treat when this one comes out! I think we have to wait til 2010 though. :(




All in all it was a great night! Couldn't have asked for a better turn-out or a better party. Thanks to everyone who came out and partied with us! Also thanks to Clarins and Lierac for their gift bag donations and Butter for allowing us use of the space.

Marianne

Gamer Girl on Store Shelves!

Here it is - Gamer Girl, as seen in Barnes and Noble in San Antonio, Texas, where I was visiting this weekend. They were good and had it out on the shelves. But other bookstores I've visited have not put the copies out from the backroom. Sooo...if you don't see it out, make sure you ask! We need to make sure these books get onto shelves and don't hide in the storeroom!





MARI

Gamer Girl <3's Indy Booksellers

We authors all love independent booksellers. LOVE THEM! You know why? Cause they really care about books. So I was super excited to have GAMER GIRL be selected for the American Bookseller's Association Indie Next List.

The Indie Next List, drawn from bookseller-recommended favorite handsells, epitomizes the heart and soul of passionate bookselling. Independent booksellers are and have always been discoverers of the next big thing, the next great read, the next bestseller, and the next undiscovered gem.

Pretty awesome, huh? I feel very honored to be included in such a list. Here's what they said about the book:

Gamer Girl by Mari Mancusi
(Dutton, $16.99, 9780525479956 / 0525479953)
"After her parents' divorce, a move away from her friends in Boston, and a horrific first day at her new school, Maddy seeks refuge in her manga and the game world of Fields of Fantasy, where she can be powerful, beautiful, and beat back the bullies with her spells. Mancusi handles the ups and downs of high school, family, and virtual reality with zest, uniting books and the online world in a fun-tastic novel." --Jenn Northington, The King's English, Salt Lake City, UT

Thank you Jenn and ABA!! It means so much to be chosen for your list.
Mari

GAMER GIRL OUT TODAY!!

Woot!!

The wait is over! Gamer Girl hits store shelves today. Yay, so exciting!

Now I need your help in spreading the word. You guys did such a great job with the Blood Coven books, I know you'll be great at this. Here are some things you can do:

* Tell your local librarian (and your school librarian, too!) that they should order the book. (This way people can read it for free!)

* Check your local bookstore. If they don't have it in stock, tell them they should order it.

* Tell your friends about it. Or buy a copy for them as a holiday gift!

* Write about the book in your blog or MySpace or Facebook.

* Post a picture of the book cover on your MySpace/Facebook.

* Do a book report on it for school. (I'm available for interviews if you need to ask specific questions for your report.)

Then, be sure to let me know what you did! Those who go above and beyond will get prizes. So be creative!

Mari




:)
MARI

Gamer Girl - First Sighting Contest!

Gamer Girl officially gets released November 13th!!! That's only 10 days away! So I've decided to hold a contest to celebrate!

First person who finds Gamer Girl at the bookstore...and takes a photo and emails it to me or posts it online somewhere and sends me the link...wins!

What do you win? A $25 gift certificate to Sephora - AND an autographed copy of any book of mine you want!

Good luck! Happy hunting!

Marianne

Halloween!

Isn't Halloween the best holiday ever? It's definitely my favorite!! This year my friends and I dressed up as fairy tale characters gone wrong. I was Little Dead Riding Hood, lol.

What were you??? I want to see pics, too!!!

Mari

Gamer Girl!

Three videos where I talk about Gamer Girl, bullying, and girls playing videogames.



Mari Mancusi's newest release Gamer Girl from Miss Media Productions on Vimeo.


Author Mari Mancusi and bullies from Miss Media Productions on Vimeo.


Author Mari Mancusi - the original Gamer Girl from Miss Media Productions on Vimeo.

Vamping it Up!

My friends and I, vamping it up at the Romantic Times Convention! :)

Stake That! Fan Video

Look what I came across on YouTube! :) I think this is the first time anyone did a video for one of my books. I love it!!! Watch, watch!

Rayne Avatar

I created a Yahoo avatar of Rayne. What do you think? :)

November 2008 Book

Check out the cover for my next teen book. It's called GAMER GIRL and will be out in November. It's not a vampire book, but I hope you'll like it all the same! :)