Saturday, October 16, 2010

Hug Me Back Or I Attack!

I’m reporting in a day early because I won’t be able to get to a computer tomorrow (and I don’t want to be late again!). It’s been a week of lovely feedback about Sammy Keyes and the Wedding Crasher. Thank you to those of you who read it already! Isn’t it amazing how something can take so long and then be over in a day. I’m glad it’s not over over. I really enjoyed the comments on last week’s post, as well as the e-mails that were sent in, and what struck me is how many people expressed a love for Billy Pratt. I laughed my head off when he said the anaconda from Rwanda line so I’m glad I’m not the only one. (Well, okay, I wrote it, but it could only have been because I was channeling Billy Pratt.) Lucky me (because it’s been so much fun to be around him) Billy is one of the five zombies in Sammy Keyes and the Night of Skulls. Can you guess the other four? (No, not Heather.) (She’s a vampire.) (Of course.) (Not) speaking of Heather, I also cracked up over“target practice” (tee-hee!). Glad some of you did, too! I went back to the cemetery last week to deliver some books to the “graveyard engineers” who have been helping me with research for Night of Skulls. How else are they going to really understand who this Sammy creature is? We also get to see a little of Elyssa—remember her from Runaway Elf? So even though some of you have devoured Wedding Crasher, know that Night of Skulls won’t be such a long wait—and that some of your favorites are back and in rare form! One last thing: I received three more Sammy-Keyes-changed-my-life letters this week. I can’t tell you how wonderful that is to hear. It makes me feel that even in her bleak hours, Sammy’s got friends. That I’ve got friends. We may not actually know each other, yet we know and love Sammy, so somehow we do. Now give me your best guesses on the Five Zombies! See you next week, Wendelin

47 comments:

Pooja Dimba said...

Hmm so one of the zombies is Billy, so I am supposing the rest are his friends?
So maybe Casey, Danny, Sammy, Marissa?
I don't know lol, can't wait for the next one lol! :)

bookworm said...

WENDELIN YOU'RE TORTURING ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I JUST FINISHED GETTING OVER WANTING TO READ THE NEXT SAMMY KEYES AND NOW WHEN I GOT ON YOUR BLOG YOU TRIGGERED IT - AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wendelin Van Draanen said...

I consider myself hugged! (Thank you bookworm and Pooja!)

Anonymous said...

I really should have e-mailed you about Wedding Crasher. It is amazing, but that's also because it's so nice to have a new book to read.

So my zombie guesses are: Holly, Dot (random one), Casey, (because I think she's awesome) and Cricket. And cannot wait for the next one!

Elizabeth said...

I LOVE THAT LINE XD. Zombies... Billy, Sammy, Casey, Cricket, Marissa? And you're getting a mental hug from me right now, just so you know! Thanks for being such a great role model, and for creating characters that inspire. You really make a difference :).

Alexa said...

Since one of the zombies is Billy maybe the other 4 would be: Casey, Marissa, Holly, and Dot? I dunno, just guessing! I still haven't read wedding crasher! It's driving me CRAZY!!!!!!!!!! After I read it about 3 times I am gonna want Sk14 to come out soooooo bad! Patience, Alexa, patience....I'll try not to go crazy before it comes out ;P

Raisa Karim said...

hmmmm....billy, sammy (if shes not a marsh monster) casey marrissa and...cricket?
ps. i LOVED the wedding crasher! one of my faves!!
pss. i didnt get the target practice part! i feel so stupid... what did u mean that the boys were using it for target practice? target practice for what? gosh i feel ridiculous asking u this!!!

Raisa Karim said...

or maybe holly or dot

Raisa Karim said...

one more thing...
what is billy supposed to look like? this is a VERY odd comment for me to ask cuz i can ALWAYS imagine wat a character looks like, but it's just hard for billy pratt...:/
GOSH it just drives me crazy not knowing!! how did U imagine him?

Elizabeth said...

The guys were using her phone for target practice in an outhouse... emphasis on outhouse, and guys. Can you tell I just realized I could use italics in comments? :D lol

Raisa Karim said...

ooohhh!! thx elizabeth. thats kinda gross...but funny!!

neonina05 said...

My sister absolutely loved Wedding Crasher! We both cried when Casey "sent the text", then screamed when they FINALLY kissed.

Also, a couple of years ago, we tried looking up Darren Cole ... He's not real, by the way ... neither is "waiting for the rain to fall". So, we want you to write it and post it, 'cause you're a musician and all, so why not?! Seriously, we're dying to hear it!

We think the zombies are Casey, Sammy, Billy, maybe Marissa/Holly, or Mikey/Ellyssa.We think it'd be a pretty neat twist if there was a smaller kid involved, even though it's not really likely ...

Hugs from both me(tessa) and my sister(leah). Double hugs!

neonina05 said...

Sorry, I meant my sister AND I loved Wedding Crasher! LOL.

Actually, we think it's one of the best so far ...

neonina05 said...

Also, (sorry to be overloading your comment page), when do you think the next SK will be released? You said it wouldn't be a long wait!

BTW, we loved your dedication to the Cammy Crew. It was awesome! If we wrote books, we would dedicate them right back to you.

Anonymous said...

I also saw that “special thanks” to “The Cammy Crew”. :D I saw it when I was rereading some of the parts. Actually, this is one of those ooks that I can just open to any random part and read from there whenever I want to reread it, since I like all the parts. And yes! When I was reading that “Anaconda from Rwanda” part I was thinking, “How does she think of this stuff?!” heehee. And, oh, my older sister is in the process of reading it right this moment and whenever she finds a part funny she calls me to her room to laugh with me about it. Which is like almost every five minutes. Sooo :)
I’m guessing (for the zombies):
So since we already know Billy is one… um… hmm. Sasha (I don’t know if she’s gonna be in the next book but I’m just guessing), Sammy, Holly, and… Marissa? Or Casey…? I DON’T KNOOOOW, I’m a bad guesser!
On another note, I think this Sasha girl has slight issues. I wish I could find out more about her. :P And Lars is just creepy. But I love how you made Sammy describe his hair and when he talks he “swooshes” his head. Like, those duded (coughcough JUSTIN BIEBER cough) that need to twitch their head every minute to get their hair out of their eyes?
Hmmm,that’s all. This is an insane question since Wedding Crasher JUST came out, but in ABOUT how long will Night of Skulls be released?
I’m just going to guess for fun.
Since Wild Things came out in May/June 2007 (or around the spring months) and Cold Hard Cash came out in October 2008 and Wedding Crasher came out Oct 2010, I’m GUESSING that Night of Skulls will possibly… hopefully… come out Spring/Summer 2011? Or Fall 2011? HOPEFULLY SPRING. HOPEFULLYYYY.
But that’s just my guess.
Okay I gotta go, my older sister is calling me. :)

Eleanor said...

Wedding Crasher is probably my new favorite Sammy Keyes... Although Wild Things is still TOTALLY AMAZING!! I loooooooove the I'm a anaconda from Rwanda hug me back or I attack! Target practice, truly awesome!!! Hhahahahaha.....

SPOILER: I'm SSSSSOOOOOOOO happy they kissed! I wonder what the future holds for them!!! I hope they become are REAL couple!!!

OMG Elyssa is gonna be back!! YAY!! She's the best! How old is she supposed to be?
I'm SOOOO excited for Night of The Skulls!!
You're my all time favorite author Wendelin! I'm so happy that I've gotten to meet you TWICE!!!! I feel SO lucky to live near you (I live in SLO) & I also feel lucky to have two books signed by you!

Jinnyd said...

AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Note to Self: stop reading so many comments by fellow Sammy-fans! GARGH SPOILERS! WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY DID I READ THAT ONE COMMENT?!?!?!?!? Makes me UBER excited to read it.

I still haven't read it yet. But I am in great nervous anticipation! GREAT ANTICIPATION!!!

Hmmm...zombies? Mostly likely Billy, Casey, Sammy, Marissa, and Holly? Don't really know about Holly, but she just seems more likely to go as a zombie than Dot or Cricket. OOHOOH OOH Is Elyssa the fifth zombie? Okay, that was just a totally random guess.

Unknown said...

oh gosh the next one sounds soooo good already!! haha :) i can't wait! and i think the zombies would be [Billy], Marissa, Dot, Holly, and Casey? :) when will it come out? that feels like a really funny thing to ask considering Wedding Crashers just came out on the 12th. hehe. Also, i love the title of this blog post! soo funny! I completely agree with xxCammyLoverxx because the comments you add to the Sammy Keyes books totally make me wonder how you came up with them :D i love it. its so hilarious !!Oh and some random thing relating to the characters: when i read about them i totally give them each a face of someone i know in my life! It's so crazy! But its so much fun because it makes me love the characters that much more- especially Billy! Once again, great job !!!!!!! That was one of the most funnest Sammy Keyes book to read :D

Eleanor said...

JinnyD: Sorry did I spoil it? I spoiled it for myself cause before I read the book I was flipping through reading random pages & I read the page were it happened!!!
I never though of Elyssa as one of the zombies.... But she does spend a lot of time in the cemetery....

sammy4ever said...

IM SO EXCITED!!! HEHEHEYAYAYAYAY

Lucy said...

Uhhhh... could the five zombies be (besides billy,) sammy, marissa, dot, and holly??? i hope they attack heather. or at least eat her brains. :D

Jinnyd said...

Eleanor: It's okay! It was actually quintessajazz's comment, but I'm sure I would've spoiled it for myself, too! I also have a habit of flipping through books before actually reading them (hmm...maybe I should stop doing that before I drive myself crazy...), which I definitely would've done with Wedding Crasher. It happened when I read Cold, Hard Cash, actually, with the pool-party-Heather thing. So no hard feelings! Just REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY exciTED to read WEDDING CRASHER!

neonina05 said...

Sorry JinnyD! I should have put a note about spoilers at the head! I guess I just assumed everyone reading the post had finished the book ... MY BAD!!!!!!!!! =/

Elizabeth said...

Hello WVD! I just wanted to let you know that I emailed my local library to let them know about Wedding Crasher's release, and the librarian replied the following:

"Elizabeth,
I have added this title to the next order cart, but it will be a few
weeks before it actually arrives. Thanks for letting me know about it --
I love this series too!"

I just wanted to let you know :).

Anonymous said...

I'm gonna go with what Pooja Dimba said (great name by the way :), that the other four zombies are - maybe - Casey, Sammy, Marissa, and someone else, cause it seems like no one's really talking to Danny anymore. Except Heather, so ewww!

Anonymous said...

Danny has just been RE-JEC-TED! :D

just thought I'd throw that out there. :)

Unknown said...

Ugggh, I knew I shouldn't have read the bloody comments before the I got the bloody BOOK, and nowww, I know what happens.
Life is just a bowl of coconut moth balls, isn't it

:-((
-CharlieSchulz

Pooja Dimba said...

Wait, I was confused when in the book Sammy said, "Yeah even Casey's not friends with Danny anymore..." I was confused whether she was just saying that or not.
???

Eleanor said...

OMG!!!!
Today at school my friend & I were talking bout Sammy Keyes & my teacher was like:
"I wanna read that series, what's the first book called?"
& I was like
"Sammy Keyes & The Hotel Thief"
& my teacher was like:
"Do either of you own it?"
& my friend was like
"I do!"
& my teacher was like:
"Could I borrow it?"
& my friend was like:
"Sure!"
So know my teacher will read Sammy Keyes!!!!!! & she said if she likes it the class might read it when we study CA!!!!!
I'M SO HAPPY!!!

Sam said...

i reeaaaaally wanna read wc!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! my mom keeps saying sh'll take me to the bookstore but she never does!!!!!! waaaaaaaah!!! jk, i dont cry. im just going CRAZY!!!!! how many 10 year olds do you know who have a sammy obsession??????

Optimistic4ever said...

Sorry Im so late and that I didnt comment on the last 2? posts. Okay, the zombie thing. My ideas are really random but...
Billy, Elyssa, Madam Nashira, Hudson and Grams. Wait, not Hudson. Tenille. And Sam, Cammy crazygirl has a Sammy obsession and is 10 yrs old. Or so she claims... jk! I havent read Wedding Crasher yet! The library ordered it back in August. Why isnt it here yet?!?!?!

Optimistic4ever said...

Btw, I got my best friend hooked onto the SK books! Which is kinda weird cuz shes the one who recommended them to me in the first place. My cousin is reading the first one too... lets keep our fingers crossed.

Anna said...

I'm 10 and me and a lot of my friends who are 10 love Sammy keyes!! I'm on page 200 in Wedding Crasher

stuckinmexicogirl said...

Hmm zombies? I would have to say Sammy, Casey, Marissa, and Holly. WC was sooooooo good!!!!!! I loved it! Quick question! Are you expecting #14 to come out next year around Halloween? It's hard cuz I'm like so happy that WC came out and now I'm like how did I wait that long and can I do it again and again? Obviously I have to! I could never give up Sammy Keyes! Another question to everyone. If an actress could be Sammy Keyes who do you think would be the best? I know I always think "Oh i would love to play SK in a movie" but I think every girl who has read them thinks like that! Anyway LOVED WC! Thanks for writing it!!! :D

neonina05 said...

I think Wendelin should get online and check her comments, then reply to all of our questions and tell us who the zombies are! Jeez, I can't just wait until Sunday!

Anonymous said...

And *I* think she should tell us the approx release date,yuss. c:

neonina05 said...

I agree!!!!

Anonymous said...

MISS WENDELIN VAN DRAANEN-
I've noticed that some of the books have come out right after the other, like the year after or whatever, but you had us waiting for two years for Wedding Crsher! I was just wondering if you could maybe tell us if we're going to have to wait for a long time again, or if you may ease that pain and possibly write really fast! I don't know what other books you're writing right now, but please hurry!
And guys, I'm fifteen and I've been a SK obsessionist since fifth grade!
Also, what does CA mean?

Surfgirl said...

I just finished reading Sammy Keyes and the Wedding Crasher! In response to everyone's love for Billy, he was always one of my favorite characters. I have a friend who is just like him into drama, and always goofing off. But the thing is I feel like his character has changed a lot since the last book. Was this meant to happen? I just found it odd that all of a sudden he's hugging and kissing Sammy all the time. He was always a goofball but not quite so...i don't know feminine? Did anyone notice this change?
sammy jo
oh and billy, sammy, casey, marissa, and cricket no holly maybe dot not danny uh pass

neonina05 said...

Yeah, I've been an SK fan since the 3rd grade and in the 6th grade I managed to get all of my friends hooked ... So yeah, Wendelin, you've got a die-hard following of high school students here in NM! Haha.

And Surfgirl, I did kind of notice the change in Billy, but I don't think he's feminine. He's just lovable!

Surfgirl said...

in response quintessajazz:
hahaha i'll back up that statement. Me and my friends smuggled sammy keyes back and forth in high school. And yes im sorry i didnt mean feminine I just couldnt come up with a word

Optimistic4ever said...

ilove2read: CA means California. So does Cali.

Alexa said...

Yay! I finally got wedding crasher! I stayed up until like 2 AM reading it!!!!!!!!!!! I really hope Casey and Sammy get together!!!!! Now...the question on all our minds is: WHEN WILL NIGHT OF SKULLS COME OUT?????????????? Will it be a very long wait? I hope not....

ANYWAY, I love your books Wendelin! You are my beyond most favorite author! And I love books, and you are THE BEST!

Wendelin Van Draanen said...

As you may already know from this week's post, (well, that would be next week in relation to this post, but that would make it next week which makes no sense at all). ANYWAY< as I was saying before I interrupted myself, As you may already know I was on the road all last week, so I'm sorry I didn't reply earlier. BUT thanks for all the comments. Loved the input! Here are a few answers:

NIGHT OF SKULLS: nest October or slightly before.

The 5 ZOMBIES: (some of you got this right and I loved the speculation!) Sammy (duh), Casey, Billy, Marissa, and Holly.

BILLY: He's just coming into his own. Anyone remember the first time Billy "attacked" :-) Sammy (and what he did?)? You'll see his personality has always been there. It's just time for him to shine. I love Billy Pratt!

Thanks for all the nice comments about Wedding Crasher. Sammiacs (and Cammiacs) are the best!!!

Check out the new post if you haven't already -- hope I'm touring near you!

XOX (like BP!),
W

Hadley Janae said...

OMG I love Sammy Keyes!!!! I fell in love with your books every sence my teacher showed them to me!!! Why only 6 more after Night of Skull??? I love the weding crasher!!! So funny!! :P Look at my sammy keyes blog (and see how obsesed i am) its http://wendelinvandraanen.blogspot.com/

Unknown said...

Mikey!!! Why isn't anyone thinking about mikey!!? Would he be a good zombie? Hmm...

Unknown said...

Aww never mind. Just read the post, he's not a zombie. :(