The paperback version of EVERYTHING I NEEDED TO KNOW ABOUT BEING A GIRL I LEARNED FROM JUDY BLUME comes out on Tuesday, April 14. It has a new blue cover but includes the same wonderful essays from some amazing and funny writers. But you don't have to believe me, believe these reviewers:

"Fun tributes to a beloved role model."
- People Magazine

"Each writer is fearlessly honest... it's emotional reading."
- Chicago Sun-Times

"Wry pieces... make this more than a nostalgia trip."
- Entertainment Weekly

This week's Entertainment Weekly has an essay by Diablo Cody (who wrote the screenplay for Juno) praising Judy Blume. Judy Blume turned 70 recently and Diablo looks at a Judy Blume "renaissance" that seems to be taking place. She mentions EVERYTHING I NEEDED TO KNOW ABOUT BEING A GIRL I LEARNED FROM JUDY BLUME in the essay, and myself and the other essay contributors thought that was pretty cool.

The count down has begun. Three more days until the annual girls sailing trip along the Florida Keys. Have packed the sailing gloves (those lines are rough and rope burn isn't fun). The hat (the sun is quite hot). The rain jacket (last year we hit a wicked storm, was a ton of fun sailing with the wind whipping the rain at us). And the iPod speakers (a little mood music at night when we anchor the boat and cook ourselves a meal...and crack a frosty drink).

Am so excited!

I've never played match maker. Never set anyone up on a blind date or even met someone and thought, "I've got the perfect friend for you." But last summer my husband and I had a party and we decided to invite two friends of ours. They drove to our house from the city, meeting for the first time when Matt picked Jennifer up at her apartment. Well, they ended up hitting it off. And this weekend they bought their first place together and moved in. And last night Matt proposed to Jennifer and she accepted (as if there was any doubt). It hasn't even been a year since they first laid eyes on each other (the party was in July) and yet so much has happened! And they're crazy happy. And my husband and I sort of feel responsible, although if you'd asked me back then, when Jennifer was swimming in the pool with mascara dripping down her cheeks and wine dribbled on the front of her shirt, if they'd end up getting married, I'd have said the odds were not in their favor. But I would have been wrong. So we're hanging up our match making hat, because there's no way we could top that.

This is how I spent last week (those are actually my toes). Vacation was wonderful, read four books (loved one, liked two, stopped reading one because I just didn't get into it). The one I loved was by Jill Davis, who wrote GIRLS POKER NIGHT. I couldn't wait for her second book to come out, and it took a long time for that to happen. But Davis didn't disappoint, and I flew through ASK AGAIN LATER. I just love her writing, so crisp and spare to the point, she's brilliant. The thing is, after I finished AAL I started another book that had a ton of hype around it. But with all the hype I just didn't get into it. And, after reading Davis' book imagine my surprise to find out that the hyped book, which just came out, had practically the same story line as AAL - even though AAL came out at least a year ago. The main character even had the same name (Emily)!!!! Both characters were attorneys, both had mothers with cancer, both were estranged from their fathers, both were commitment-phobes, both lived in New York - it was unreal! But as far as quality of story telling and writing, there was no comparison. Davis won hands down.

On the flight back to Boston I happened to sit down next to a man who noticed the book I was reading (Elinor Lipman's ISABEL'S BED) and asked if I liked it. I told him that I'd already read it ten years ago and wanted to read it again. We chatted briefly about the book and I thought, "Nobody cares that much about what anyone's reading - except a writer." Then I saw the manuscript he placed on his tray. And we started talking and it turned out he was a writer. It was Robin Cook. Now, I've never read any Robin Cook, although I'd have at least 20 books to choose from. But last summer our friend was on the Vineyard with us and he was telling me I had to read Robin Cook (our friend is a doctor and so is Robin). We talked practically the entire way back to Boston and so, sadly, Robin didn't get much editing done on his page proofs - which are due to his editor this week. Turns out the main character in his latest book is named Jennifer. I told him that one of the main characters in RICH BOYS goes to Wesleyan, Robin's alma mater. He has a house on the Vineyard and I told him that I have an event there the last week in July for the launch of the Island Summer series. We're hoping to hook up this summer. So enjoyed talking with Robin and listening to his stories, what a really nice guy.

All in all, the perfect end to a perfect vacaction. I couldn't have written a better ending myself.

I think eBooks are pretty cool, and what's even cooler is getting 20% off! Diesel eBooks is offering a special 20% discount on some of my books if you click here and enter the special promotional code OCO20c84.

What could be better with tax day right around the corner than saving 20% on books?

Looking for a little fun this Friday night? Live in NJ or the NYC area? Then come join me, Megan McCafferty and Alison Pace as the Friends of the Nutley Public Library host their annual tea on Friday, March 7 at 7pm. We'll be talking about EVERYTHING I NEEDED TO KNOW ABOUT BEING A GIRL I LEARNED FROM JUDY BLUME and our experiences as writers and readers.

The event begins at 7pm with Champagne, followed by high tea provided by The Petit Cafe. Guests will be treated to scones, quiche, other treats and a selection of exquisite teas. Copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing by the authors.

Seating is limited to 15 tables of four for tea. Tickets are $40 for the evening and available at the Nutley Public Library. For information please call Gioya at 973-667-0405 x. 2636.

Let's talk meatloaf. No, not THAT Meatloaf. The other kind.

My friend Jennifer has always had a fantasy about creating a place where meatloaf lovers can come together and celebrate the greatness that is a little chopped meat tossed with spices and a pinch of something special (my something special is Worcestershire sauce and Romano cheese). So Jennifer decided to create just a place with her Meetloaferie blog. Check it out, she'll have opinion pieces, favorite recipes and fascinating meatloaf facts to share. In fact, I'm so inspired it's what we'll be having for dinner tomorrow night with some mashed potatos, which, in my opinion, is the perfect sidedish. Yum.

The Clueless: Upon the announcement, she tilts her head to the side and asks, "You were married?"

Last night Vicki and I had an interview with a jounalist in Australia who is writing an article about our book for a Sydney paper. But, due to logistics, she interviewed us separately at different times. The funny thing is, that usually when we talk about the book we're together, I mean we spent 24/7 together for five days when we crash wrote the majority of the book. So it was a little weird to be talking about the book without Vicki there to give color commentary. I have to admit, I just loved talking to Daphne, the journalist, and not because I love talking about the book (although I do) but because her accent was so lovely. As soon as Daphne and I hung up I called Vicki to see how her interview went, and before I could even say hello she was giving me her version of what an Australian sounded like, to which I responded, "And toss another shrimp on the 'barbie!" Sad, the only Australian I know is from outdated Crocodile Dundee movies.

Anyway, my agent sent this to all of her clients today. So funny. You've got to watch it if you want some idea of what it's like to send your agent or editor a piece of writing and then await their feedback. The guys in the video have an accent, too. Total bonus.

I am afraid of snakes. As in so afraid I don't want to be in the same house as one, no less the same room. My family is well aware of my complete and utter freaked-out-ness around snakes. I never had a bad experience with snakes, wasn't raised to fear them, but I do. Give me an animal with fur and legs, no matter how big, and I can deal. But don't give me the smallest snake in the world. I can't even get near worms (but that may have something to do with Greg Burke putting a worm down my shirt in third grade).

So at our neighborhood block party saturday night, I was sitting in our neighbor's kitchen just hanging out by the island. When my daughter came up behind my and said, "Mom, I have something for you," I certainly wasn't prepared for that something to be placed across my bare shoulders and wrapped around my neck. And I certainly wasn't prepared to look at the thing she'd placed there and see a yellowish-brown snake about three feet long. Well, let me tell you, the entire party knew what happened. I freaked out. As in heart racing, limbs shaking, absolutely panicked to the point of going ballistic. I stood up screaming, attempting to get this thing off my shoulders, touching this disgusting thing and just trying to get loose. Yes, I was yelling, "Get it off!" Finally it dropped to the ground. And that's when I noticed everyone staring at me like I was absolutely insane. It was a fake rubber snake.

Now, I didn't know whether or not these people had a snake, but I had no reason to think they wouldn't. And I wouldn't put it past my daughter to think it was funny to do that. She certainly didn't think it was funny after I told her 73 times, "That isn't funny!" From here on out I shall be known as the neighborhood lady who lost her shit over a fake snake. But I guarantee my daughter will never put a plastic snake near me again.

Happy Labor Day! We had a very lazy weekend that included the discovery that there's apparently an underground picnicing society that we are not privvy to. After spending Saturday planting 10 bushes around the pool fence we were ready for some fun. So Sunday John started calling some friends, only to hear that everyone was going to a picnic. Everyone, that is, but us! We started to wonder how one gets on the Labor Day picnic circuit, because obviously we were doing something wrong. I know it isn't the fact that we don't own any picnicing stuff because thirteen years ago someone gave us a picnic set for a wedding gift. Perhaps it's our inability to make homemade potato salad... or anything else remotely resembling picnic cuisine. We ended up driving an hour to hang out with some friends before they went to a picnic. And I watched as Manny made homemade potato salad and bruchetta. It was delicious. And I felt completely unworthy of any future picnics knowing that I would never, ever be able to find the German vinegar Manny used in her recipe (not to mention the fresh dill she clipped from her herb garden as a garnish). She shamed me and my lack of picnicing skills.

We ended up going to a restaurant for dinner. And while we didn't eat on a plaid tablecloth or roast marshmallows over a fire, John did win $40 at Keno (so it wasn't exactly fine dining, as gambling between the appetizer and main course doesn't usually translate to haute cuisine). We did, however, adopt a a new O'Connell family motto: "Screw picnics, we have Keno."

Even though our 40th birthday doesn't roll around for another six months, my two best friends and I are busy planning the celebration. Originally the idea was to go to the Dominican Republic for a week with our kids and John, taking advantage of Vangie's parents' beach house. Free and sunny. What could be better? But after our week on the Vineyard Vangie decided that seven days with five children is anything but celebratory and the entire trip with them might actually age us beyond our forty years.

So she suggested that just us birthday girls go away to somewhere memorable - some place that would truly be monumental. I said let's do a Caribbean island or a spa. She said that wasn't monumental enough. This is a life milestone! It deserves something amazing! She was talking somwhere totally unique and fabulous. And then she tossed out the idea of the South of Spain and then a boat ride to Morocco for a few days. Definitely memorable. I pictured us dancing in some harem in Morocco or being fed peeled grapes by girls dressed like Jeannie. But I can't say Spain has ever been on my list of "must go" places. So I said Italy, maybe Capri. And we agreed, but then we figured why limit ourselves? What about Lake Como or the Amalfi Coast. And then Vangie really wanted Tuscany (I think she had visions of us channeling Under a Tuscan sun a la Diane Lane). And today Vicki throws a monkey wrench into the entire thing by suggesting somewhere a little more adventurous - like Belize or Costa Rica. Vangie, being from Latin America, isn't that thrilled, although she conceded that if we could find a Four Seasons she might consider it. With so many choices we decided another trip was in order. So in November Vangie and I are traveling to Richmond to visit Vicki, where the three of us will hunker down in the Barnes & Noble travel section and try to figure it all out. A little less exotic, yes, but who needs harems as long as your with your best friends. And I'm not a big fan of peeled grapes.

My friend, and fellow MTV Books author, Caridad Ferrar, has a new book out. I love the cover, the girl looks like she's having so much fun. And, even if I'm not a dancing type of gal, I can still appreciate a good spin in a flowy skirt.

IT’S NOT ABOUT THE ACCENT traces the bold transformation of Caroline Darcy, a college-bound beige-blonde born and bred in small town Hampshire, Ohio, into “Carolina,” a half-Cuban aspiring actress, with striking Havana Brown hair, a caliente wardrobe, a taste for platanos, and a hunger for adventure. Carolina has no problem dressing, dancing, and talking the part, down to her effortlessly rolled rrrs – even though she’s only one-eighth Cuban. She owes her attraction to her exotic heritage and her yearning for something… different to Elisa Maribel Teresa de La Natividad Sevilla y Tabares – her Nana Ellie, the great-grandmother she loved, dearly and fiercely, and lost when she was thirteen. Carolina vividly remembers Nana Ellie’s romantic stories of her encounters with everything from the Eiffel Tower to Russian nobility. And she regrets missing the chance to unravel the facts from the fantastic tales – and learn more about her Nana’s mysterious, scandalous past.

The story opens at the beginning of Caroline’s Latina rebirth and undergrad career at the University of Southern Ohio for the summer session. To her thrill and amazement, her Cuban act works like a charm on the opposite sex. Faster than her first beer buzz, Caroline finds herself becoming more popular and getting increasingly intimate with Erik, a smooth-talking frat guy with gorgeous baby blues. The only male on campus who doesn’t fall for Carolina’s Latina allure is Peter, the full-blooded son of Cuban immigrants, who hails from Miami. Despite the danger of being exposed as a fraud, Caroline is drawn to this quiet, serious student – on a strictly friendship basis. But when Carolina gets in over her head and on the edge of a dangerous situation, Peter is the one who comes to her rescue. What’s more, he accepts her for who she is – and leads her on a real adventure to discover the truth about Nana Ellie and the very wealthy family she left behind in Cuba. What Caroline discovers about her ancestors – including one unknown living relative – is more exciting than she ever could have imagined.


Part mystery, part romance, and all captivating, IT’S NOT ABOUT THE ACCENT affirms Caridad Ferrer as a gifted teller of stories that resonate with young women, both Latina and Anglo.