Facebooked

Yep, I've finally joined Facebook (thanks to those of you who've e-mailed me and said things like, "Why aren't you there? It's EASY!" or "Seriously? You're not on Facebook? WHY?")

So if you'd like to be my Facebook friend, do a search for Niki Burnham. I think there are five profiles that come up with that search, but you'll know which is me. I promise.

One nice thing about Facebook? I found this phenomenal review of Flirtin' With The Monster, with some really flattering comments about my essay, "Role Models." Made my day.

This Just In: A New Book!

Excuse the commercial interruption, but big news. There's a new book out, with a contribution from Yours Truly, that I'm excited to recommend.

If you're a fan of Ellen Hopkins, whose amazing books include CRANK, BURNED, and GLASS, check out the all new FLIRTIN' WITH THE MONSTER, a collection of essays about Ellen's work. The very first essay, titled Role Models, was my contribution. Other authors include Terri Clark, Gail Giles, Micol Ostow, and even "Kristina", whose real life story is told in CRANK and GLASS.

Interested? I'll have all the details on my site in the next few days. In the meantime, you can check out an excerpt right here.

Let me know what you think!

Hit By A Pitch

My Baseball Challenge team has been struggling of late. Like many managers, I can't seem to get a reliable pitching staff (made the mistake of picking the Mets for their doubleheader against the Braves. Ouch.) I finally had to let go of Rafael Furcal, even though I acquired him on the cheap and he's been earning me a ton of points, because he's simply been injured too long. Filled his SS slot with Yunel Escobar only to have Yunel get injured. Now I have Derek Jeter. (Yes, I have a Yankee in my lineup, despite being a member of Red Sox Nation./) What are the odds that Jeter will get injured tonight, simply because he's in my lineup? All the injuries compelled me to rename my team last week. I've gone from being "Nic's Basement Dwellers" to "Hit By A Pitch."

Maybe I'm pessimistic because I'm still stewing over Survivor. Going into the final episode, I was cheering for Cirie. I think she'd make smart choices with the money, and she strikes me as a nice person. When it got down to Amanda and Parvati, I figured it was a no-brainer for Amanda. But she whiffed with the jury, exactly the same way she did last season (check my earlier blog about that.) You just can't argue, "I stayed true to my alliance" and leave it at that. Parv made a case so strong that even Eliza ended up giving her a vote. So Parv got the big $$ (though Amanda did walk away with Ozzy.)


Guess I should stay away from Survivor Fantasy Leagues. Apparently I'm incapable of picking a winner!

In the meantime, good things are afoot on the book front. The just-released anthology Breaking Up (Is Hard To Do), which features my story, "Last Stand", alongside stories from Terri Clark, Ellen Hopkins, and Lynda Sandoval, has gotten some fantastic reviews!

Publishers Weekly said: "these four stories about love gone wrong...are likely to go over big with teens in search of solace for their own romantic misadventures." And: "readers will enjoy the stylish scenarios, projecting themselves into situations they can only wish were true."

Anything that says "go over big with teens" makes me do a yippy-skippy dance.

Now, to see if my rock-steady third baseman, Chipper Jones, and the Red Sox pitchers can get me out of my Baseball Challenge jam tonight.

Oh, wait. Chipper got hurt last night. Hit by a pitch! Well...

They're Out There

Happy May Day! Huge celebration at my house. Not because it's finally spring (though that's certainly reason enough!) but because TWO new Niki books are now available everywhere.

First, check out Breaking Up Is Hard To Do, which includes four stories (one each from me, Terri Clark, Ellen Hopkins, and Lynda Sandoval) about--shocker!--breaking up. Some bookstores are displaying the book on tables, while in others it's shelved--usually under "Burnham" but sometimes under one of the other contributor's names or with other anthologies--so if you can't find it, ask!

If you want a preview of my story, just click here to read an excerpt. "Last Stand" tells the story of Toby Maitland, an average guy who's scored an amazing girlfriend (as in, she's cute, funny, and stacked.) But when Amber goes ballistic in the middle of a makeout session, Toby has to decide what it is he really wants from the relationship.



And...drumroll, please...the paperback edition of Goddess Games has been officially released! I'd heard reports of it popping up in a few stores last week, but this week it's in stores all over the U.S. and Canada. I've been getting e-mail from readers for months asking when the paperback would be available. To all of you who've written, huge thanks for your patience. (Seneca, one of the main characters, would give you an air-kiss and tell you that you're "just the best!" Then she'd probably ask why you wear your hair that way. She's whacked like that.)

For an excerpt and behind-the-scenes info on Goddess Games, just go here.

In the meantime, I'll be watching tonight's episode of Survivor. I'm worried about my man James. I was dying for him to approach Jason ahead of the vote last week to let him know that the girls were going to blindside him. James could've said something like, "Look, Jason, I know you think the girls are supporting you and they're telling you they want to get rid of me. The thing is, they want to get rid of ALL of the guys. You first, which is why they have Natalie telling you you're safe and trying to convince you not to play the idol. They want to get you the same way they got Ozzy. Then they're getting rid of me and Erik. I'm voting for Parvati tonight, 'cause if you play the idol, then the second-highest vote getter is out. If it's Parv, we can break up the girls' alliance. If you play the idol and it turns out I'm wrong, what's the harm? But if you play the idol and if I'm right, I just saved your bacon. And you'll know exactly who your allies are. Think about it."



But if he said anything like that, they sure didn't show it. Naive Jason went down without playing the idol, and now James and Erik are on the chopping block. I'm afraid they missed their chance. I'd have thought by now that James--of all people--would know what happens when you don't play the idol at the right time. He needed to convince Jason that last week was the right time. AND that it was the best possible time to break up the girls' alliance. I'll cross my fingers that he redeems himself tonight. I hope he and Erik both somehow manage to have immunity.

(BTW...did you realize that Parvati's last name is Shallow? I find that so funny.)

BOLO

BOLO being cop-speak for "Be On The Lookout."

The official release date isn't until May 5th, but guess what Terri Clark spotted in a Colorado Barnes & Noble?



Breaking Up (Is Hard To Do) is showing up in stores! I've also had reports of sightings in California and around Seattle, and the book is now listed as shipping from Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble online, Books-A-Million, and dozens of great independent booksellers.

Breaking Up features stories from Terri Clark, Ellen Hopkins, and Lynda Sandoval, along with yours truly. You can get more info and read an excerpt of my contribution, "Last Stand", right here.

We just learned that the April 15 issue of Kirkus gave the book a fabulous review. It's long, but here's a highlight:

"Although the focus is breakups, each (story) leaves protagonists and readers with the hope of a new and better relationship to come...Often frankly sexy and peppered with teen-friendly references (hip slang, IM conversations), this box of candy for the lovelorn satisfies."

Nifty, eh?

In other good news, the paperback edition of Goddess Games is going to be hitting the stores any day. It has a new, bright blue cover I adore, so again, BOLO!




As always, all the details (a quickie blurb, an excerpt, and some fun behind the scenes info) are right here, on the official Niki site.

And if you see either book in a store, snap a pic on your cell phone and send it in. ( Just be sure to use a good subject line in your e-mail so it doesn't end up in the spam folder, and let me know where your shot was taken.) Your photo might show up here on the blog!

The "Ticket-Buying Experience" (With Bonus!)

Sounds like a Disney ride, or something Trekkers might see at the Las Vegas Hilton, but it is sooooo not.

Try staring at these words for, oh, THREE AND A HALF HOURS:

Please wait for the server to become available. The site is experiencing heavy loads at this time.

To improve your ticket-buying experience and to make it as pleasant as possible, this site permits entry to a limited number of patrons at a time.

This page will refresh when the countdown timer below reaches zero. When this happens, the system will automatically try to access the site again.

Do not refresh this page or you will be dropped to the end of the line. Thank you for your patience.

Here's what would have made "ticket-buying experience" (experience? they call this an experience?) "as pleasant as possible": If I could GET THROUGH.

Two and a half hours on Monday, then they announced a server crash. Then three hours yesterday before my screen told me that games three and four were sold out, and there were a "limited number" of seats still available for game five. A half-hour trying for game five, and it, too, sold out. (I'd originally been trying for game four.) And what's worse? That little line about not refreshing the page. What do you do when it freezes? You HAVE to refresh.

Some experience.

Same thing happened to everyone in my family (and extended family, and friends, nearly all of whom are in Colorado) who tried to get tickets. Not one of us got through, ever. Grumble, grumble. I *so* wanted to see a game at Coors Field to cheer on the Rockies. Apparently, however, they do not want me.

On the bright side, I'm going to game one tonight at Fenway. We have ONE ticket, and my husband told me six weeks ago (thinking he was making the safest promise ever), "If it ends up being the Red Sox and the Colorado Rockies, you can have it."

I'm still waiting for the planet to spin off its axis.

So I'm there. My husband is kicking himself. And the biggest surprise is probably awaiting the poor guy who has the other of our two seats for the game...we split our tickets six ways, and Jim has the other seat for tonight. I'm sure he's expecting to kick back, enjoy the game, and have a beer with my husband while he cheers on the Sox. Instead, he gets The Wife. And not only that, he gets The Wife Who Is Also A Rockies Fan.

That brings me to a big dilemma: What do I wear?!? If I'd snagged a seat at Coors for later in the week, it'd be easy...wear Red Sox gear at Fenway, Rockies gear at Coors. Cheer for each team in their home ballpark and enjoy the fact that I get to see my two absolute favorite teams in the Series. But I'm just not willing to shell out over a grand for Rockpile seats on StubHub so I can give a healthy profit to the jerk who managed to buy a ticket online yesterday with the sole motive of reselling to an actual (gasp) FAN.

Instead, I think I'll end up wearing my Manny Ramirez jersey over a Colorado State T-shirt, then pinning a Colorado flag to my hat. (Though which hat, I haven't decided yet. Probably a Sox hat, if I want to survive the evening in one piece.) I'll try to get online sometime tomorrow to post pics from game one (the camera battery is fully charged this time!) Maybe I can convince Jim to take a picture of me before some drunk fan rips the Colorado pin off my hat.

In the morning, I fly out wicked early for Seattle. Come on over to Bellevue and see me, get an autographed book, tell me who you think will win the Series and feel free to make fun of my ticket-buying "experience."

There will be copies of Goddess Games, as well as at least a few other recent titles. This is your chance to ask me, face to face, anything you want about writing, my books, or whatever!

In the meantime, check out the "bonus" promised in the blog's title: The cover for my upcoming book is in! My editor sent it yesterday. Does it not ROCK??



I'm thrilled to be included with the fabulous Terri Clark (author of the upcoming book SLEEPLESS), New York Times bestselling author Ellen Hopkins (author of CRANK and GLASS), and the ultra-cool Lynda Sandoval (author of WHO'S YOUR DADDY? and CHICKS AHOY.)

Look for BREAKING UP this spring!

A Grand Slam Kind of Day

Oh, happy day!

On the writing front, I've just about wrapped up a new proposal for a YA novel. I'll be sending it to my agent early this week. As soon as I can share more details, I'll post them to my website. At the moment, I'll just say that it's a comedy, I've LOVED writing it so far, and it's set in eastern Nebraska.

In other news, as I've mentioned before, my husband and I have Red Sox season tickets, but they're split six ways. (In other words, we get to attend--roughly--every sixth game.) During the playoffs, we have a draft for the tickets. Instead of drafting games, we draft seats. (For instance, "I want seat number two to ALCS game one.")

As his first pick, my husband drafted a seat to game one of the World Series, which is great if Boston makes the Series, not so great if they don't. As his second and third picks, he drafted both seats to game seven of the ALCS. Again, risky, because who knows if they'll make the ALCS, let alone whether it'll go the full seven games. (His final pick was one seat to game five of the division series...a game that was never played.)

Well...guess what? Since Curt Schilling and J.D. Drew had phenomenal performances at Fenway last night, the ALCS is going to game seven...and so am I!

Never would have predicted that a J.D. Drew grand slam would do it, but whaddya know? If you're a member of Red Sox Nation, you just gotta believe.

Tonight's prediction: Sox take it 8-3.