As you are all painfully aware, I am dreadfully behind on my blogs. So it really shouldn’t be a surprise to anybody that I’m now writing about a very cool convention I attended in NOVEMBER: BeatExpo, my first Beatles convention! Scholastic armed me with some Lonely Hearts Club postcards and my friend Natalie and I decided to take a journey down Abbey Road (or more accurately, to Stamford, CT).

Highlights from the weekend include:

SID BERNSTEN – Mr. Bernstein is the promoter credited for starting the British invasion of the 60s by bringing the Beatles to the United States.  He booked the Beatles at Carnegie Hall for their infamous 1964 concert and brought them back to perform at Shea Stadium – the first band to ever perform at the baseball stadium.  Mr. Bernstein has also worked with the Kinks, the Rolling Stones, Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Jimi Hendrix, among others. Needless to say, this guy is a legend.

Mr. Bernstein was signing copies of his autobiography, “It’s Sid Bernstein Calling…” so I bought a book and waited in line to get his autograph.  I gushed when I met him and told him that as a publicist, he is a constant source of inspiration.  He looked at me and said, “Are you married?”  To which I replied, “No, sir.”  He then gestured at the seat next to him and said, “Well, come here and sit next to me.”  He didn’t have to tell me twice!!  He was such a sweet and kind man.  To sit next to the person who had worked so closely with The Beatles was very humbling.  Oh, the stories he could tell (which he does in his excellent book).

With Mr. Bernstein!

GREG HAWKES – There was a concert to kick-off the festival and featured some fabulous Beatles cover bands (Penny’s parents would not have approved of my behavior!). Greg Hawkes, keyboardist of The Cars, did an amazing solo set with the ukulele.  I was waiting for him to perform “Something” because George Harrison (who wrote “Something”) was a big ukulele player, and generally people (including Sir Paul) play “Something” on the uke. Of course, I REALLY had to use the restroom, so I stepped out for two minutes and missed the beginning.  Mr. Hawkes was my favorite performer of the evening.  He gave a very heartfelt performance and hung out with people afterwards. Very classy person. When I returned home the next day, I immediately went on iTunes and downloaded The Cars Essentials.

PETER TORK – Peter Tork, from The Monkees, also performed at the concert. This was a huge kick for me because Nickelodeon started airing reruns of The Monkees when I was in middle school and I became a ridiculously huge Monkees fan.  It was very fun to see Peter these many, many years later performing both Monkees and Beatles songs. [Fun fact: I saw Micky Dolenz perform at an Art and Music Festival in my town a few years ago, so that leaves Davy Jones (who was my favorite) and Michael Nesmith. Guys, consider yourselves warned.]

THE FANS – I loved meeting fellow Beatles fans. After the concert on opening night, a bunch of fans gathered in the hotel lobby with guitars for an impromptu Beatles sing-along.

THE CONVENTION – Yes, I was there for a convention after all! So much merchandise. Seriously, so much merchandise. I’m not really into crowds so we didn’t stay on the convention floor very long. And surprisingly, I didn’t leave with that much stuff. But I did leave with some new friends, memories and fabulous songs in my head.

‘Til next time, Elizabeth

I know, I know… It’s been awhile and I’m very sorry. I was a little busy promoting The Lonely Hearts Club, finishing up the edits for Prom and Prejudice…and there is the little matter of the job I have on top of being an author! (Notice that I didn’t mention a life?)

Okay, I was able to throw in a few fun things during this time (but, shhh, don’t tell my agent!).

I recently returned from Houston where I attended the first (hopefully annual) TeenBookCon. It was a fabulous event. I’ve gone to countless events as a publicist, but to go to a conference as an author was so surreal and a lot of fun. Sharon Draper (Out of My Mind) was the keynote speaker and I was on a panel with Ms. Draper, Gayle Forman (If I Stay), Jon Skovron (Struts and Frets), Marjetta Geerling (Fancy White Trash) and Judson Roberts (The Strongbow Saga).

The fabulous group of authors at TeenBookCon

Special thanks to everybody involved in the conference, especially Blue Willow Bookshop!

Okay, I did have a bit of a life. I went on a very short trip to Charleston, South Carolina in March. My parents rented a place for the month on Foley Beach, and I visited them for a few days with a friend. It was nice to get away, plus I had issued an internet/email ban, except for emergencies (I only used it once, to figure out who an actor was in a movie we were watching — as I said, for emergencies only). The weather wasn’t that great, but I got to relax, which was nice (despite having the Prom and Prejudice edit waiting for me at home). And most importantly, I ate a lot. My brother-in-law got me addicted to Man vs. Food on the Travel Channel, and I made my parents take us to the Hominy Grill, a restaurant featured on the show, so I could eat something called The Big Nasty.

Yummy!

My mom, Judith, and I saw an intersection where Elizabeth Street meets Judith Street - how could we not take a picture?

Now I’m back and the edit is (mostly) done. I SHOULD be able to blog more, although now I’m starting on my next project (it never ends, but it is a good problem to have!). While I can’t make any guarantees, I can promise that I’ll try to keep this updated more.

Hope everybody is enjoying their spring! XO, Elizabeth

I’ve gotten a lot of comments about the line in my bio that says, “She lives outside of Manhattan with her three guitars, two keyboards, and one drumstick.”

One drumstick? You only have one drumstick? What’s up with that?

Yes. I only have one drumstick. Since I don’t have any pets or children, I thought it would be funny to include the musical instruments I own (although I neglected to include my clarinet since I haven’t played that thing in years). I also like to say that I’m one drumstick short of being a one-woman band.

Okay, okay, but why do you only have one drumstick?

Funny you should ask. Over a year ago, my friend Natalie and I went to a private taping of the Sirius Satellite show “Artist Confidential” featuring Snow Patrol (one of my favorite bands). There were only 40 of us in the audience, so it was a very intimate show. The band played six songs and answered questions from the audience. While answering my question, Gary Lightbody, the lead singer who I sorta have a crush on (understatement of the year), said something like, “and that goes for all bands. I don’t think you sit around and just listen to us.” Now for those of you who haven’t realized this yet, I can be a little sarcastic. So I replied. “No, no. I only listen to you guys.” To which Gary responded, “Aw, that’s sweet of you. YOU LIAR!” Everybody got a good chuckle out of that. Ah, Irish boys…

After the taping, the host of the program gave me the drumsticks from the concert. I got really excited and gave my friend Natalie the other one. Here’s the photo of me with my drumstick.

Me, my drumstick, Gary and Natalie (please note, I am not short. Gary is super tall, so is Natalie and I had flats on!)

After I already wrote the bio and had a few people comment on the mystery of the one drumstick, I got to meet Snow Patrol again. They played in New York City last September and after the show, I got to hang out with them backstage. We were in their private room so I didn’t say anything to them at the time because I wanted to respect their privacy. However, Gary was sitting two seats away from me and we were both having a drink, so I consider that a date…

When we headed outside, I went up to drummer Jonny Quinn to tell him the whole bio/drumstick story. First off, Jonny is perhaps the nicest rock star I’ve ever met. He was so sweet. After I told him the story, his face lit up and he said, “I’m in a book! That’s so cool! I’m in a book!” I didn’t want to correct him since he technically isn’t IN the book, but still, he was very cute about it. I asked for a picture so I could include it when I finally got around to blogging about it and he was more than happy to oblige.

With drummer (and original drumstick owner) Jonny Quinn

So that’s the story of the one drumstick. But because I try to use any excuse to tell this other story, I’m not done yet. After talking with Jonny, Gary came over. I didn’t mention the whole “YOU LIAR” comment because a) I doubt he would remember and b) why embarrass myself again. We were talking about their new single “Just Say Yes” (which is AMAZING!) and I made a comparison about it being a cross between Phoenix and LCD Soundsystem. Gary looked at me and said, “That’s exactly what we are going for. I love you. I’m going to kiss you on the face.” I laughed because I thought he was joking, but then he kissed me. So in just two meetings, I’ve gone from a liar to somebody he loves. Not bad, not bad at all…

Don't we make a cute couple? (BTW - I wore four-inch heels this time!)

Needless to say, I can’t wait for our next meeting. Maybe I’ll finally get another drumstick to keep the other one company!

I thought it would be appropriate to kick off Friday’s Favorite by discussing the return of one of my favorite TV shows of all time: 24.

I LOVE 24.  However, I will be the first to admit that it’s had some shaky moments (Kim being chased by a cougar, anybody?).  But when it’s good, it’s AMAZING.  And I really think that last season was incredible and so far this season is shaping up to be a good one.  I already screamed at the end of the fourth hour in total disbelief about what happened.  Then I started to get giddy and said aloud (to nobody), “This is so good.  SO GOOD.  Oh my gosh!”

I get really excited when a new season starts, but I also get anxious.  24 isn’t a show that I can watch for an hour and then go on with my day.  It’s an emotional investment.  (My sister had to stop watching it because it exhausted her.)  I’m grateful for the invention of DVR so I can fast forward through commercials instead of pacing like a lunatic during the four-minute breaks. 

I also get REALLY annoyed when anybody questions Jack Bauer.  Um, the man has single-handedly saved the world seven times now.  Take his word for it people!  Stop giving him crap!  He’s been through enough!  (See what I mean about getting invested?) [Lonely Hearts Club fun fact: the character of Ryan Bauer’s last name comes from Jack!]

At one point last year, the President said to Jack something like, “Mr. Bauer, why should I trust you?”  And Jack replied, “With all due respect ma’am, ask around!”  I literally jumped off of my couch and started screaming at the TV, “That’s right, he’s JACK BAUER!  Don’t you dare question him!”  I sometimes wonder what my neighbors must think of me, but I do have a karaoke machine, so me screaming at the TV is not the worst sound they’ve heard coming from my apartment. 

Which brings us to Kiefer Sutherland.  Ah, Kiefer…  First off, that voice.  “The following takes place between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m.”  Um, swoon!  I would really like him to read me a bedtime story.  Then there is the man.  I don’t know anybody else who could pull off making a character as complex as Jack Bauer believable.  Jack is (how do I put this?) a little nuts.  But you can’t help routing for him, especially after everything he’s done.  (Seriously, why do people give him crap?  It really does drive me nuts.  I almost lost it already this season.  New CTU guy, you better get in line fast!)

And how can you not love Chloe?  Spoiler alert for anybody who has not begun watching this season: I think it’s brilliant that they’ve made Chloe’s character struggle this season with the new CTU system.  It has already given us some hilarious Chloe moments.  If I was ever running around a city trying to dismantle a bomb (let’s hope for everybody’s sake that never happens), Chloe is the person I’d want on the other line.

So for the next 20 weeks or so, I’ll be happily spending Monday nights glued to the TV set to see what craziness the folks of 24 have to offer.  

And seriously, if people don’t give Jack the respect he deserves, there are going to be serious consequences.