Germany! Brazil! The UK! Oh My!

Screw Cupid has gone international!

Germany!
My editor likes to email me with updates, and then at the very end of the email casually mention amazing news. I love it. He emailed me about updates on the copy-editing process, and then casually mentions after five paragraphs that Screw Cupid has sold to a publisher in Germany--the Egmont will bring out their German edition in fall of 2009!

Brazil!
Screw Cupid has sold in Brazil! The land of the great Amazon rainforest and the birthplace of many Victoria’s Secret models has a publisher, Bestseller/Record, and they are going to publish my book. I couldn’t be happier! Stay posted for the Brazilian version publication date.

U.K./Australia/New Zealand!
I had a check-in call with my editor today, and he shared the extremely happy news that Screw Cupid has been picked up by U.K. publisher Constable & Robinson, and will therefore be published in the U.K., Australia and New Zealand. This is so amazing! Their publication date is spring of 2010.

Yours in lederhosen, caipirinhas and hot accents,
S

Outdoor Festivals, Blankets and Hot Guys

I was at the Seattle International Beer Fest for the 4th of July (because what better way to celebrate U.S. Independence than with an afternoon of tasting local microbrews?) The Beer Fest takes place at Seattle Center and besides being a great way to spend a day, I noticed (not too surprisingly, given the activity around which the Fest centered) that there were an especially large number of attractive guys walking around, standing in groups (sometimes with other guys, sometimes with girls), and.... sitting on blankets.

When you're outside at a noisy venue like a beer fest, with hundreds of other people milling around, positioning yourself well enough to speak to the whole group at once and provide yourself with an excuse to sit down or squat next to them is the goal. Getting proximity wasn't challenging - there were enough people around that you could wander anywhere and have a perfectly valid reason to be there. But what is the ideal opener?

I've said it before, and I'll say it again here - any question that has to do with dating is a goldmine for an opening question. Everyone - and I really mean everyone - has a strong opinion about dating. I tried out the "Can I ask you guys a question? I just got off the phone with my girl friend, and she just got a voicemail from this guy she went out with last week. At the end of the message, he said 'See you around'. What does that mean in guy speak?" on three different groups that day, and because of the outdoor, comfortable setting, within 10 seconds I was sitting with the group, sharing a beer and discussing the finer points of leaving voicemails. Ideally, you'd position yourself so that you ended up sitting next to or as close to as possible the guy you were targeting, but it was so easy to talk to anyone in the group because of the friendly atmosphere, it didn't matter as much as it normally would. Everyone introduced themselves very quickly, and we all had a great conversation. Plus, the group was constantly changing because people were getting up and sitting down in different places to talk to their friends or to get another beer, so if you didn't end up sitting next to your target guy at first, it would be really easy to re-position if need be.

Moral? Go to outdoor festivals where people sit on blankets. It seems to bring out the friendly in everyone, which works very much in your favor when you're cruising for guys, or if you're just trying to make new friends.

Yours in unexpected friendly places,
S