Happy New Year everyone! What did you do to celebrate the ringing in of 2009? I, like everyone else, watched a drag queen get dropped from the roof of a bar in a big red shoe.

Did you see her? Kathy Griffin and Anderson Cooper interviewed her live from Key West on CNN! Piece of Key West trivia (shhh…don’t tell anyone…): Sushi’s real name is Gary.

Anyway, the Tiara Auction has started! And people are already bidding! Not that it is a contest, but some of the most popular tiaras include:

Chesley McLaren’s Big Top Tiara

Chris Van Allsburg’s Bird on World Tiara

Princess Marie Chantel of Greece’s Tiara

Vera Wang’s Gorgeous Couture Tiara

Actress and author Meg Tilly’s Gold Leaf and Floral Tiara

…as well as several others.

Mo Rocca has just blogged that his tiara is the best. I can see that the bidding will probably become heated (particularly since Mia Thermopolis has entered the fray. She obviously is in possession of her dad’s Black American Express Card again). You can see all the bidders IDs (so far) on the auction home page.

But it’s only the first day. Who knows what will happen?

A few late additions to the auction include:

Judy Blume’s luminous Princess of the Sea Tiara

And

Actress Anna Sophia Robb’s cute All American Girl Tiara

Great job, everyone! Keep on bidding! Only 29 days to go. As libraries have their budgets slashed, more and more programs are being eliminated, just as the recession deepens, and people need these vital programs more than ever (I myself spent hours in the library as a teen, and was often there until closing time. What a nightmare if libraries have to start shutting down early because of funding problems)!

Special thanks for shout-outs to Teen Book Reviewer, Readergirlz, and iheartdaily for covering the event! Even Fashionista has gotten in on the act.

Hillary Knight’s T-Haira

In honor of the New Year, I thought we might take a peek into the mail bag, since it’s been a while. All of these letters guaranteed real and unedited!

Here is a letter I found from someone named Bad Mommy. It appears to be in reference to my last blog entry:

Dear Meg

I do not think it is very nice to say you throw up a little in your mouth when you think about your mother and your old teacher living together. I bet your mother is a very patient, loving, kind, talented, organized, prompt and creative person (who looks much younger than her real age and who makes you gluten-free cookies), and so you should not say unkind things like that about her love life. Old people may be very sensitive about things like this.

An anonymous reader

Even though this reader is trying to be anonymous, I have a suspicion she is really my mother, who earned the nickname Bad Mommy because she is a terrible correspondent who takes so long to get back to her friends when they write to her that eventually they email me via this website to ask if she is still alive. I see through her trickery here and am not going to fall for it.

Here is another one that came from someone named Tommy Sullivan:

You used to mock me every time I googled my name… LIES! Blasphemy! That is no longer the case. I have reclaimed my name. It is a great victory for Tommy Sullivans everywhere.
Yours truly,
Tommy Sullivan

I never thought when I named a book Tommy Sullivan Is a Freak (the UK title. In the US they changed the title to Pants on Fire) how it might effect the REAL Tommy Sullivans of the world.

Now I am duly chastened and have written Tommy an apology. He has won.

Dear Meg
This is a link to the Dan Band video for Please Don’t Bomb Nobody this Christmas. It’s pretty funny and has MANY celebrity guests, incld. Neil Patrick Harris (who rips his shirt off at one point!!) Matt Perry, Meg Ryan, the pussycat doll that does the interviews Nicole something, Christina applegate, Larry Millar, Kathy Njami, Ricki Lake, Sheryl crow and the list goes on. thought you might enjoy. Anne

Anne is so cool! I love the Dan Band (I saw them on Bravo) and am on their mailing list. However, Dan never comes to where I live, so I have yet to see them live. On a side note, Dan is married to Kathy Najimy (she is most famous for being the funniest nun in Sister Act). If you have never seen their act, you’re really missing out, it RULES (they are three men, led by Dan, who perform songs traditionally sung by ladies. It is a riot).

I am a twelve year old boy and a very big fan of you and your leadership in politics. I collect autographs and would love to have yours in my collection. Can you please send me and my brother, Michael, an autographed photo? Thank you.
Sincerely,

Ken

I am torn between wanting to send Ken a photo (I actually don’t really have photos of myself, just a postcard of myself and Henrietta, which is a bookmark) and being kind of weirded out that he thinks I’m a politician.

ok, so i have a problem about my sister. I know that you probably get hundreds oof e-mails a day, but i REALLY need your help. I don’t know what to do with her. SHe is sooo over sensitive, and honestly, by now, all i want is for her to stop bothering me this much and being mean to me. I seriously don’t know how much more my self-esteem can take.

I never had a sister so I don’t know how to answer this. I had two brothers and they were younger than I was and like all little brothers, they were, by nature, usually annoying. I spent a lot of time in my room wearing head phones and writing novels, trying to ignore them.

I guess I would suggest rewarding your sister when she is behaving in a manner you find acceptable, and ignoring her when she is not. This is called positive reinforcement. It works with dogs, and, I find, with siblings. Whatever you do, do not allow your sister access to any of your money.

I am currently working on a book..and im having a hard time picking a setting for it. How do you choose these places? I’ve been debating for awhile now wheather or not I should should choose a real place or make one up. DO you have any advice on that? I would appreciate it alot.

If you are going to set your book in a real place, make sure it’s a place you’ve actually been to and can describe in detail. Otherwise, people who have been to that place will be able to tell you have never been there from all the mistakes you make (for instance, if you set your book in New York City, and you have your character run through the river in Central Park, everyone who lives in New York City is going to be like, “WHAT A LOSER,” and want their money back, because there is no river in Central Park).

You can, of course, do a lot of research, but it’s easier just to set your book in a place you’ve been, or to set in a made up place or set it a few hundred years ago, so there is no one left alive to tell you that you got it wrong. That is my two cents from having once set a book in Alaska, a place I’ve never been, and even though I did a lot of research on it, I still got some hate mail from some Alaskans (well, one piece of hate mail. Most people from Alaska are very very nice).

Forever Princess is in some US Stores now! So, I get to work and they are closed for another hour, so I decided to go to Barnes & Noble on the other side of the freeway to kill time (and because I didn’t have anything to read). So I look on the shelf, and I see Forever Princess!! So I went ahead and bought it
I just started it and it’s good!!

But I thought i’d let you know that some US Book stores have it on shelves now

Audrey

Thank you for the alert, Audrey! I’ve heard that Ransom My Heart has been spotted in some US stores as well! I can’t wait to see a copy! I still haven’t gotten mine. (Well, I got some Forever Princesses but no Ransom My Hearts. Maybe they got shipped to Mia Thermopolis in Genovia by mistake).

Hi Meg!
Wow, I have just finished reading the last of the Princess Diaries books…Forever Princess. I live in the UK by the way so that is why i have read it early! I really loved the book, it was amazing! I loved the ending but at the same time it was quite sad knowing this is the last book! It ended exactly how it should have though! I am truly greatful for your writing and wanted you to know how much i loved the book! Hope you had a great christmas and a happy new year!
Xx Alice

Thank you, Alice. You’re so nice!

But you don’t need to feel sad because I’ve gotten so many letters like this that the wheels in my head are spinning, and I’m already thinking of new books about Princess Mia. Princess Diaries, The College Years, perhaps? Who knows.

But first I have to finish the many books I’m currently contracted for. So it will be some time before I ever get to PDTCY. But thanks for the encouragement!

And now I have to go start packing for my trip to NYC (yes! I leave soon to do radio and TV satellite tours, which is when you sit in one room and all the radio and TV stations call into you).

Then I’ve got those big book signings at the NYPL and in Long Island! Hope to see you there! I’ll be updating here along the way, so talk to you soon.

Happy tiara bidding!

More later.

Much love,

Meg

Popularity: 20% [?]

It’s finally here! The second to last day of the year.

What a year it’s been, right? Thanks so much for sticking through it with me! We’ve been through so much together this year, haven’t we?

Britney’s long recovery from her breakdown….

So many housewives….

Some of us having to go gluten free….

That icky thing with Miley and her dad….

Princess Mia starting her own blog…

A few book releases….

The election….

And finally, who can forget Spaghetti Cat?

As the year winds down, we get closer to several momentous events:

The inauguration…

A certain tiara auction that’s just about to begin…

Some book releases (the reviews are starting to arrive….)

A book trailer contest, the entries to which are still pouring in….

The release of The Switchblade Kittens’ Princess Diaries’ themed album, Rebel Princess (click here to download a FREE copy of the first release from the album, Sneaky Sock Eater)!

A sold-out event in New York City (but remember the waiting list)!

It’s all so exciting!

And what might be best of all is…I’ve finally seen it: The worst movie of the year.

Honestly, I thought it was going to be Mr. Woodcock, which I know technically is a movie from last year, but I saw it this year, because I am approximately a year behind in everything, so I’m counting it as a 2008 movie.

I was really looking forward to Mr. Woodcock, because it’s about a guy whose mother is dating his teacher, and if you know anything about the Princess Diaries series, you know it was inspired when my mother started dating one of my teachers (they are now living together, a fact which makes me throw up a little in my mouth every time I think about it).

My mom dating my teacher was so disturbing to me when it first happened, I had no choice but to start keeping a journal about it, because as those of you who keep a journal know, writing is much more effective at getting out your emotions than shooting someone (no mandatory jail time), and it’s cheaper than therapy.

When I finished the journal (which eventually turned into a book) and showed it to my friends, they all went, “Well, this would be good…if the girl wasn’t thirty…and if something actually happened in it other than the girl’s mom dating her teacher.”

(Sometimes, if you choose them wisely, your friends can give you valuable advice about your writing. However, you must drop all sycophants and haters immediately.)

So I made the girl in the book fourteen instead of thirty, and threw in the whole princess part (it was that or an alien invasion. My friends felt the princess thing would be more realistic).

Many readers are fixated on the princess thing in the books, but actually, the entire series is about a girl whose mom dates, then marries, then has a baby with her teacher. If you read Forever Princess, you will discover that something even worse than her mom dating her teacher happens to Mia at the end.

“Worse,” to Mia, is relative, of course.

So I was very excited when I heard Mr. Woodcock was coming out. I thought: “Finally, someone who understands me!” Maybe now I’ll have a catharsis, and I’ll be able to quit therapy!

However, Mr. Woodcock was greatly disappointing. In the end, the hero learned that Mr. Woodcock was actually a kind and giving person, who loved his mother very much.

Um…excuse me? Where is the catharsis in that? I could have written that. I wanted to see Seann William Scott hit Mr. Woodcock in the head with a shovel, then bury him in the backyard. What gives? I want my $4.95 back. WORSE MOVIE EVER!

Blows. Because it tries to be heartwarming!

Then the other night, I saw it. This year’s worst movie (so far): The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Or, as I will now refer to it in my review here, The Curious Case of Benjamin Butthead.

This is the worst movie I have seen all year, possibly ever, and I would like to point out that I just watched The Women. Also, Smart People (or, as I like to call it, Stupid People Who Won’t Shut Up (Except the Brother From Wings, Who I Liked).

What I can’t understand is why, during a showing of Benjamin Butthead, a man shot another man for talking. If I had a gun during a showing of this movie, I’d have turned it upon myself. This movie is THREE HOURS LONG!!!! IT WOULDN’T END!!!! And Brad Pitt is only hot for about TWENTY MINUTES OF IT!!!!!

Not hot.

Still not hot.

Severely not hot.

When is this thing going to end????

And nothing happens in the entire movie except for one boat/submarine battle that lasts approximately five minutes, and seven lightning strikes that last about two seconds each.

Benjamin, unlike Forrest Gump (who by the way was supposed to be retarded), doesn’t inadvertently invent anything, save anyone’s life, or run across the country and back multiple times. He just has a lot of sex. BIG DEAL. Anyone can do that.

And what does Benjamin Butthead learn (or teach us) from his weird experience of growing up (or down) backwards? NOTHING.

I learned more from Mr. Woodcock, frankly. And that is that I should just stay in therapy get to know my mom’s boyfriend instead of hitting him in the back of a head with a shovel because he is kind to her and makes her happy.

In conclusion, this holiday season, go see Marley and Me. I haven’t seen it yet, but how can it be bad? It stars these two and a dog.

And now: The Ten Best Cat Videos of 2008. Agree? Disagree? Discuss amongst yourselves.

Happy New Year!

More later.

Much love,

Meg

Popularity: 38% [?]

Holiday greetings, merrymakers! I’ve just gotten back from my traditional Christmas Day bike ride along the beach, trying to work off some of that peppermint bark (now I can eat more of it!) before I veg out in front of Scrooged, and as promised, I’m going to gift you all with the sneak peek of Forever Princess!

Click here, scroll down, and enjoy! The first 80 pages, just for you.

What happens in the 322 pages after that? Well, you’ll have to wait until January 6 to find out (if you live in the US and Canada, that is. People who’ve already read it…Shhh! Don’t tell! Keep the people in the US and Canada in suspense)!

And for those of you who’ve read it already, here are a few thoughts from some of the Princess Diaries characters on Hanukkah/Christmas, straight from the pages of Holiday Princess, a guide to celebrating the holidays (specifically, the winter ones) in royal style.

Holiday Party Looks: If We Took a Holiday/Took Some Time to Celebrate
By Paolo
Royal Hair Stylist and Cosmetician

I am Paolo, beauty advisor to the Princess Amelia. Many will say the holiday season is, for women, a time to break out the green velvet dress with the red satin sash, and those shiny patent leather Mary Janes….

Well, not I! I spit on green velvet! I say the holiday season is a time to break free and take a risk! Wear black instead of red to the company Christmas party. Trade in that light-up Santa pin for a studded leather bracelet. Get rid of reindeer sweater. Listen to Paolo: NO MORE REINDEER SWEATER!

Holiday time is the time to try new things. Put on those false sparkle eyelashes you’ve been wanting to try. Yes! Wear them to school! Who cares what the people say? The people know nothing! You want to wear the plaid pants? Wear them! Never will you have a better chance to take the fashion risk than during the holiday season, when you can blame a fashion faux pas on the Christmas spirit!

The Christmas Star: White Dwarf or Jupiter in Retrograde?
By Kenny Showalter,
Conspiracy Theorist and Biology Lab Partner of Princess Mia Thermopolis

While many assume the Star of Bethlehem was only a myth, some of us disagree. Some of us, in fact, have spent many, many hours analyzing data from the numerous astronomical events around the time of Jesus’ birth that could have provided the star the three wise men (aka “Magi” or astrologers, as some New Testament translations explicitly call them—later translations bumped them up to “king” status) followed to Bethlehem.

Our research has led to some startling theories that could, should they become more widely known, shake the foundations of Santaland as we know it:

CONJUNCTION: There were three extremely rare conjunctions (a conjunction is when two or more objects appear very close together in the sky) of planets around the time of Jesus’ birth—one in May, when the wise men would have started out on their journey, the second in late September, when they were visiting King Herod, and the third in early December, over Bethlehem, when they would have been leaving Herod’s palace. Though Jupiter and Saturn never got close enough together to be confused as a single object, the word for star may have had a different definition than it does today. WAS IT A CONJUNCTION THE WISE MEN SAW????

NOVA: While the exact time of Jesus’ birth is not known, Chinese astronomers recorded a new star (nova) in the constellation Capricorn around the time He was thought to have been born. This star was said to have been visible for over two months. Novas are caused by dying stars (so the term ‘new star’ is erroneous, as they are actually very old stars) which sometimes become white dwarves, due to thermonuclear reactions on the surface as the stars die, which flare very bright, then fade from view in a few months. Possibly, it was a nova the wise men were following.

METEOR, SHOOTING STAR, COMET: A meteor lasts only a few seconds or minutes at best. The wise men followed the star for weeks looking for Jesus, so it couldn’t have been a shooting star. We can rule out comets for the same reason. They are not stationary long enough for the wise men to have followed it for as long as they did, therefore ruling out this theory (HA! I told you shooting star theorists your idea was lame!).

JUPITER IN RETROGRADE: Many astronomers feel the star was simply Jupiter undergoing retrograde motion (going backwards: stars do this sometimes, the same way I sometimes put my shirts on backwards and don’t realize it until I get to school). While in retrograde, the planet appears to be stationary for about a week. Jupiter in retrograde, while ALSO in a conjunction with other planets (see first theory), would have been the brightest point in the sky, besides the moon, at that time, and COULD be the star the wise men were following.

The above are just SOME of the many, many theories out there that could explain the Star of Bethlehem. Could there be other, as yet unexplored, explanations? Oh, yes, my friend. And while some people suggest it’s better not to examine the science behind historical miracles, as the findings can be disappointing, I, however, disagree, at least so far as the Christmas star is concerned. To me, as to the ancients who recorded its viewing, the star symbolizes hope—and isn’t that what Christmas is all about?

Go Team Maccabee
By Michael Moscovitz

Contrary to popular opinion, Hanukkah isn’t about getting eight presents on eight consecutive nights. Well, I mean, that happens. But that’s not what it’s about.

Hanukkah is actually a celebration dating back to two thousand years ago, in Palestine, when Antiochus the Syrian, a guy who hated everybody and vowed to destroy all faiths but his own, was killed by the Macabees, led by Judas (no, not the same one from the Mel Gibson movie).

Everyone was psyched Antiochus was finally dead, and ready to get back to their normal routine. But when Judas went to light the eternal flame in the Temple lamp, there was only a small container of sacred oil left—just about enough for a single night, which was a huge deal, because in order to reconsecrate the Temple, which Antiochus had basically trashed, they had to have the eternal flame going…and it was going to take eight days to make new oil.

Which meant, basically, that Judas was screwed.

So you can imagine his surprise—not to mention everyone else’s–when that one little container of oil miraculously lasted throughout the eight days it took to get the new oil. It’s this miracle that Jews celebrate during the eight nights of Hanukkah, when we gather in our homes to light the eight candles in the Hanukkah lamp.

Note from Mia: Don’t forget the presents!

Traditionally, on the eight nights of Hanukkah, children are given gifts.

Note from Mia: Eight gifts. One for every night. Which is way more than I ever get at Christmas.

Not that it’s about the gifts, of course.

Another one of the best known symbols of Hanukkah is the Dreidel. Although the dreidel (the origins of which go back to a game called “totum” or “teetotum” which was played in England and Ireland in the 16th century) has long been associated with Hanukkah and children, the story behind the dreidel is actually super serious: In times when Jews were forbidden to meet and practice their religious beliefs, men would keep a dreidel and gelt (money) handy while gathering to study the Torah (the Hebrew bible). When soldiers would approach, the men would pull out the dreidel and pretend to be playing a game. So basically, the dreidel saved their lives.

Note from Mia: And this is where we get the famous Dreidel song:

Dreidel dreidel dreidel
I made it out of clay
And when it’s dry and ready
Then dreidel I will play

Not to be confused with the other famous Hanukkah song by Adam Sandler.

Christmas in Hollywood: Lilly and Mia’s Guide to the Top Ten Holiday Movies
By Lilly Moscovitz and Mia Thermopolis

Okay, okay, so the holidays are SUPPOSED to be about spending time with family, and not about watching movies.

Well, we discovered a long time ago that a great way to spend time with your family is to spend it WATCHING MOVIES. Yes! That way, there is no fighting—except maybe over which movie to watch.

That’s why we’ve composed this helpful list, so in the future, you won’t have to fight—you can just pull out the list, and use it to persuade others of the superiority of your film choice over theirs.

Here goes:

10. Groundhog Day

Although technically this a movie that takes place on February 2, or Groundhog Day, it still has a very holidayish feel to it, since it’s very funny and uplifting, and is all about living life it to its fullest, and helping others, which is really what the holidays are all about. Plus, Bill Murray is just hilarious.

9. The Ref

Denis Leary plays a thief who gets trapped in a house on Christmas Eve with what is perhaps the most dysfunctional family ever documented on film. As you might expect, this chain-smoking, foul-mouthed criminal knows more about the Christmas spirit than the horrible, supposedly loving family he is trapped with, and ends up teaching them a thing or two about love and family loyalty. Plus, it contains the immortal quote: “Kid. Gag your grandma.”

8. Home for the Holidays

Jody Foster directed this hilarious and touching movie about a down-and-out single mom (Holly Hunter) who goes home to visit her parents for Thanksgiving, and ends up alienating her sister, while bonding closer with her gay brother, fabulously played by Robert Downey, Jr., (who seems to ad-lib most, if not all, of his lines). Even better? A pre-The Practice Dylan McDermot plays Holly Hunter’s love interest.

7. Scrooged

Another Bill Murray movie, only this one really DOES take place over Christmas. A modern re-telling of Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol, in this version, Scrooge is a TV executive who sold his soul (practically) to be rich and famous. Debra Winger stars as the perky social worker he left behind. Carol Kane is hilarious as an abusive Ghost of Christmas Present.

6. Scrooge (the musical)

This ANCIENT film starring Albert Finney features many songs that you will recognize, such as “Thank You Very Much” and “I Like Life.” Well, okay, maybe you won’t recognize them, but by the end you’ll be humming them. This is by far the best version of the A Christmas Carol that we know of, plus one of the few with DANCING in it, so that it makes it far superior to its non-dancing cousins. Plus it has the best line of any Christmas movie ever: “I want the dolly in the corner!” Say it a few times with an English accent. Go ahead. We DARE you.

5. It’s a Wonderful Life

This is a fabulous movie about a man who wishes he had never existed and gets his wish (don’t worry, it has a happy ending). It’s a movie that begs many questions, such as, Is it possible to watch this movie without crying at the end? And How does one spell ZuZu? And Why can’t Donna Reed be MY mother? The part when Jimmy Stewart grabs her and says he doesn’t want plastics is actually way hot, for an old black and white Christmas movie.

4. The Santa Clause

We hate to admit it, but this movie is a bit of a guilty pleasure, enjoyable even if you AREN’T seven years old. Tim Allen plays a man who inherits the role of Santa—the REAL Santa—and is none too pleased about porking out and having to move to the North Pole…though his son couldn’t be more delighted. This movie answers a lot of those questions that have bothered us, such as, How does Santa get to every house in one night? And Does he really eat all those cookies? Satisfying as Oreos and a glass of milk.

3. Die Hard

A lot of people forget this is a Christmas movie, but that’s the whole reason Bruce Willis is visiting his wife in the first place. See, she moved to LA for a fancy new job, while her husband stayed in New York to be a cop. So he’s coming home for the holidays to patch things up, and—as usually happens—Eurotrash terrorists choose Christmas Eve to take everyone in his wife’s office hostage. Bruce has to save the day…and not to give anything away, but he survives to make Die Hard 2.

2. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

This movie is the silly antidote to all the sappy Suzanne Somers made-for-TV holiday movies you’ve been watching (don’t even try to deny it). Chevy Chase doesn’t get the Christmas bonus he’d counted on receiving in order to build his family a pool, and he goes a little insane. But you can understand why after you meet his in-laws. Not to mention the squirrel in the Christmas tree.

And the number one Christmas movie of all time….

1. A Christmas Story

This movie is written by a guy from Indiana, and also set there, but the story of his main character Ralphie’s obsession with owning a Daisy air rifle is familiar to us all, Hoosier or not (only for Mia it was Prom Dress Barbie. For Lilly, an electromagnetic microscope). Ralphie’s endeavors to be good so he can earn his rifle—his fantasies about what he’ll do when he gets his rifle—his painful trip to see Santa to ask for the rifle—and his adventures along the way—all speak to the heart of what Christmas is all about in the eyes of a child. Speaking of eyes, the best line in the whole movie? “Yellow eyes! He had yellow eyes!” Hasn’t every kid in the world been menaced by a yellow-eyed bully? What’s UP with that???

Okay, that’s it! Hope you’re having fun and staying warm! Don’t forget the Forever Princess Book Trailer contest!

And take a look at the Tiara Auction! The tiaras are on full display NOW! Be sure to refer your friends! It’s for an excellent cause…teens and libraries!

More later.

Much love,

Meg

Popularity: 54% [?]

It’s nearly here! I’m talking about Christmas, of course. I love Christmas and everything about it—the carols, the food, the lights, the food, the TV specials, the food, the excitement in the air, the food, Santa, the food, the Christmas newsletters, just everything about it, especially the food, in case I forgot to mention that.

Where was I? Oh, yes, back to holiday cheer. I don’t know about you, but I am really glad to see 2008 go. 2008 had some highlights, such as Britney’s comeback, the election, and Spaghetti Cat, but the rest of it, such as the “credit crunch” which is now a full on recession, etc, pretty much blew.

I’m glad to say goodbye to 2008, and look forward to 2009, which seems especially promising, because:

Number One Good Thing about 2009:

Jenny’s dead! Have you heard this? On the The L Word? Yes, I watch the The L Word, which I never thought I would, because, hello, no cute guys (but whatever, it turns out you don’t even need them to have an awesome show. Who knew?).

One time I was flipping around on TV and I stopped on Showtime where there was this “writer” named Jenny being so unbelievably horrible, and I had to keep watching because I wanted someone to kill her, and now finally…SOMEONE HAS! It’s the whole basis for the last season of The L Word! I’m so excited!

Number Two Good Thing about 2009:

Chuck on Gossip Girl.

Okay, how awesome was Chuck’s mental breakdown after his dad “died”? (FYI, I do not believe Bart is really dead. How did he die but the detective who was in the same car with him escaped with hardly a scrape? Bart is so not dead.) LOVED IT.

And that scene where Chuck showed up in Blair’s bedroom and they did that awkward backward hug thing? Yeah. I was inspired to buy this T shirt from Fred Flare:

Because I’m an idiot.

Number Three Good Thing about 2009:

There is Joss Whedon’s new show, The Dollhouse, which I hope will be good (I’m keeping my fingers crossed).

Number Four Good Thing about 2009:

There’s the Inauguration….What will Michele wear???? Some past Project Runway contestants weigh in on their ideas for her:

Number Five Good Thing about 2009:

There will be new Lipstick Jungles! It’s not cancelled yet! People sent tons of lipsticks to NBC and they ordered nine new episodes!

THANK GOD because I love this show, in the same cheesy way I loved Candace Bushnell’s One Fifth Avenue. Did you see the last episode? I don’t want to give anything away, but Victory! Oh my God! LOVE HER! I rewound the Joe scene like ten times.

I love all the story lines on LJ right now, because they’re all stuff many of my girlfriends are actually dealing with in real life right now (egg harvesting, husbands who occasionally act like giant asses, kids getting in trouble in school, having to pose for naked photos at work, blah blah blah).

Okay, none of my girlfriends have closets that big or are dating billionaires, but whatever. This show is such brain candy after a long, hard week.

Number Six Good Thing about 2009:

The last episode of Friday Night Lights! Okay actually this a bad thing because I love this new storyline where Tami is the high school principal. I want MORE! It’s causing all this friction between her and Coach (her husband) because she has to make decisions (like the Jumbotron!) that are good for the school, but potentially bad for the football team. One word: BRILLIANT.

And when Coach walked in on his daughter and his player, Matt…I died. I thought that was handled so perfectly. Coach is so old school. I swear sometimes when I’m in a tough situation, I think to myself, “What Would Coach Taylor Do?” It’s not a bad way to go about life. Coach reminds me a bit of Spenser, minus the guns and Hawk.

(Oh my God I just checked Spenser’s site…I didn’t realize there was a new book out about him in October, while I was on tour. Guess I know what I’m getting for Christmas.)

Number Seven Good Thing about 2009:

There are so many awesome new movies coming out: And because I’m a voting member of the Academy (I can only vote for best screenplay), I’m getting all these special pre-screening DVDs of them in the mail, such as Doubt and The Reader and Revolutionary Road and Defiance and The Wrestler and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and even movies that have been out a while like Milk and Tropic Thunder and Dark Knight and Burn After Reading. I don’t even have to leave my couch to see them (shut up, too-tight pants from too much peppermint bark).

I’ve watched some of them but so far my vote for best screenplay (and best picture) so far is Slumdog Millionaire.

I LOVED IT. Everyone I have recommended it to has freaked out over how good it is. It’s about three orphans, and the love story between two of them. It’s just so amazing (and no, it will not bum you out, I promise. Sad things do happen during it, but there is a dance number at the end, if that tells you anything).

But seriously, my favorite movie so far is the one that someone emailed me (and sadly, I’ve since lost this email, so Maker of this Video, please write back if you want to be entered in the contest I’m about to announce) of a Princess Diaries 10, Forever Princess book trailer! Check it out, it’s so sweet….

This has completely inspired me to have a Forever Princess book trailer contest!

Admit it, you’re all just sitting around on Winter Break with nothing to do anyway.

So if you feel inspired, why not make a Forever Princess book trailer?

And no, you don’t have to use footage from the Disney films. Since nothing that happens in the second film will happen in Forever Princess, there is very little of it you can use anyway (although the person above did a brilliant job).

So get filming!

Send the link to your SPOILER FREE entry, like the one above, already uploaded to your YouTube channel using the tags Forever Princess by Meg Cabot to me at meg@megcabot.com, with Forever Princess Trailer in the email’s subject line. Include your name, age, and snail mail address. Contest ends midnight January 12.

Since the trailers must be SPOILER FREE, you don’t have to have read the book to make it. Remember, you don’t want to give anything away! Discuss your entries here.

The winning videos will be shown here on this blog. First prize will be a complete signed set of the ten novels, and a $100 gift certificate to either iTunes or Barnes and Noble (winner’s choice). Second prize will be signed copies of Forever Princess and Ransom My Heart and a $25 gift certificate to either iTunes or Barnes and Noble (winner’s choice).

So, now we ALL have something to look forward to in 2009!

And stay tuned for a Forever Princess excerpt coming to this blog Christmas Day!

More later.

Much love,

Meg

Popularity: 61% [?]

If you do not live in the UK, do not read this. US readers (and the rest of the world who does not live in the UK and its territories), look away. Go read Cuteoverload instead!

OK, has everyone who doesn’t live in the UK gone away? Yes? Good!

Shhhh, UK readers–Do not tell anyone from outside the UK about this:

I’ve just received word that Princess Diaries Volume Ten (called Ten Out of Ten over there) has been spotted on store shelves where you live!

This is a 100% genuine email I just received. Check it out:

Heya Meg!
i have just finished reading princess diaries 10! it was so amazing! thought you might like to know that it’s hit the shelves already over here in the uk a full 18 days early!
which i am fully grateful for because it’s been like the best xmas pressie ever and it’s not even xmas yet!
thanks! totally loved the ending. everything happened just as it should have! it was perfect!
Merry Christmas and a happy new year!
XX

Truthfully, I did hear a rumor that the book was going to be released early in some UK bookshops (sorry…I’m not allowed to tell you which ones…call around to your local bookstores, and they’ll tell you whether or not they’ve put out the books in time for Christmas/Hanukkah), but I didn’t know if the rumor was true.

But it is! It is truly a Chrismukkah miracle.

So look out for it, UK readers. The front cover (which is a slipcase) looks like this:

And the INSIDE the slipcase, the book looks like this:

I just got my copy in the mail, and it’s sooooo cute (and very long! Over 400 pages)!

And remember, UK readers…just because you get your copies early doesn’t mean it’s okay to reveal the ending to the rest of the world! Keep them in suspense! That way, you can feel superior.

A little taunting (such as telling overseas readers you know how it ends, but of course, not saying how) is fine, however.

And for all of you who have read this far who DON’T live in the UK—yes, I caught you–stay tuned for another Princess Diaries Ten sneak peek excerpt, coming to this blog soon!

More later.

Much love,

Meg

Popularity: 75% [?]