Saturday, April 6, 2013

Sammy's Birthday! (And a FB Page is Born)

In honor of Sammy's birthday, I'm posting a day early.

Regular followers of this blog will recall a contest we did last year where the challenge was to figure out Sammy's birthday. Since the date was never stated in any of the books, it required the analysis of several books to determine what day our troublemakin' Aries was born. :-)

That was a fun contest. Lots of participation! And great detective work, too.

(Well, there were the entries that were total stabs in the dark, but they came out and said, This is a total stab in the dark, but..., which I found to be fun, too!)

Anyway, April 6th is the day and, today being April 6, I wanted to alert you to two things:

1) there is finally an official publisher-sponsored Sammy Keyes FaceBook page. I promised it months ago, but, Random House being a big corporation, well, there were delays.

...and....

2) there's a birthday survey at the page, which I know you will all get a kick out of (and I hope you'll all vote on).

The FB page will not take the place of this blog. This is where I, you know, talk to you! And listen to you! And share stuff of much greater depth than what you'll find on a FaceBook post.

But I hope you'll all go to the page and "like" it, and participate, and even "share" it with your friends. It'll only be fun if people go there and chime in, and you guys are the truest, bluest :-) so I hope you'll play along. (Leave comments, do surveys, enter contests...there's lots of stuff planned and it will be an active place clear through the publication of the final Sammy Keyes book.)

There's supposed to be a migration of other Sammy Keyes FB pages over to the official one this weekend. (There were/are several, and someone created a page on Mrs. Wedgewood, if you can believe that!) But before that happens I wanted to tell you guys about it, because it seems only right that you should be the "first" to know.

Here's the link to the new page. I hope you'll help us make it a fun place to visit! http://www.facebook.com/sammykeyesbooks

Happy Birthday to Sammy!

26 comments:

Jessica said...

You might want to read the last few comments on the last blog post -- your fans are fast!

Happy Birthday, Sammy! The Facebook page looks awesome. I look forward to... whatever comes next with it. The poll was funny. That was definitely not a Grams cake!

Gabrielle said...

I really like the Facebook page! I'm telling my friend to like it! This is so exciting!! :D




Gabrielle

Kylie said...

Happy Birthday Sammy! You are finally no longer unlucky 13! Although how un-lucky was 13 for you?

Last night I was sitting in my room and I realized that tomorrow, now today, was Sammy's birthday! I can't believe that I almost forgot.

I really liked the Facebook page. I liked it! The cake was definitely all Lana's doing.

I was thinking today of things that I would get Sammy for her birthday. First thing would be a backpack with a skateboard strap on it, second would be a camera, and third would be $20 so she could get something that she really wants.

What would you guys get her? What do you think her friends and family would get her?

Have a great week everyone!

Kylie

Jessica said...

Kylie, I think I'd get her a box of emergency Double Dynamos to keep in her freezer, so when she's really desperate for one, she won't have to deal with TJ. And a toy detective kit, as a joke. And... is it legal for junior high kids to carry pepper spray? If not, maybe a very loud whistle. And a small prepaid cell phone, for emergencies only (a smash-proof, waterproof one, of course -- with Officer Borsch, Hudson, and Grams on speed-dial).

If I were Holly, I'd make her a "The Tiny Tiger" t-shirt.

Kylie said...

Once I read detective kit all I can picture is Sammy riding a skateboard with a trench coat, magnifying glass and a deer stalker hat. Like a little Sherlock Holmes. I can't stop laughing!

Ky

Kylie said...

I think Hudson would give her a key to his house so that she can stop by whenever she wants to, even if she wasn't there.

As I was reading the newspaper today, and since I had Sammy on my brain, thinking how funny would it be if someone that worked at the newspaper in Santa Martina heard about Sammy and all she has done and wanted to write an article about her. I can picture him waiting for Sammy after school and she tells him that she doesn't want and article written about her because she is no big deal. Then when she is riding away on her skateboard he runs after her, trying to convince her. I can't stop laughing at how funny this would be. And then he finally convinced her and he published the article, is making front page with the title "Teenage Santa Martina Dective Solves Another Mystery" and then she reads it after Hudsin tells her it is a great article and she realizes everything she has done and how many lives she has affected.

I can't stop thinking about great that would be.

Sorry for going off topic here.

Wendelin Van Draanen said...

Okay, you guys are just awesome.

And you think, therefore I think, and (when possible!) act.

Which will make sense later today.

As it is still THE BIRTHDAY.

And I've got to dig up this "interview with Sammy" that was done (and published in the local paper) years ago. I will find the link and share it. You will love it Kylie

Wendelin Van Draanen said...

PS This morning I woke up really early and Mark said, "Where are you going?" and I said, "It's Sammy's birthday!"

So, yeah. I've crossed over.

Wendelin Van Draanen said...

Okay! A new survey is up at the FB page. Don't you feel influential :-) ?

Kylie said...

I didn't even think about her skateboard and I was totally thinking about that earlier today. That moment when her skateboard broke devastated me. The skateboard was something that has done a lot for her. Brought her and Casey together, protected her in NoS, was her transportation. And when it broke it was like she was broken. That was the part of the book that had me in tears.

I love the survey! I have no idea what I would pick!

So excited to see the interview! Thanks so much for finding it!

Ky

Wendelin Van Draanen said...

Okay, here's that interview with Sammy. You may already have seen it because it's on the old SK website, but if not, hope it gives you a chuckle or two!

http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/vandraanen/sammykeyes/interview.html

Unknown said...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAMMY!! =) =) =)
Sorry I have been gone, it's been driving me crazy that I couldn't read the posts cause I was away, but now I'm here to stay again!=)

Jessica said...

Ha! They only sell plush cat beds because new cat owners don't know better. The only time I ever got my cat to sleep in hers was when I moved it to her favorite sunspot by the window and pretended I didn't want her to sleep in it. At night? Always right on top of me. After my knee surgeries? Right on top of the knee. Sorry, Sammy, new cat bed or not, you shall continue to suffocate and have weird dreams.

I voted for the skateboard, but maybe Hudson can help her fix the old one. It has so much history!

Wendelin Van Draanen said...

Haha! I know. There's no herding cats...or getting them to sleep where YOU want :-)

Kylie said...

That interview is great! I remember reading it a long time ago, thanks for showing it to me again.

I decided that Sammy really needs a flannel shirt for two reasons. 1-she doesn't have a big coat so when it does rain she is stuck surviving it in a sweatshirt, so if she wore a flannel with that it would be an extra layer of warmth. 2-When it becomes mid-fall and it is still to hot for a sweatshirt but to cold for just a t-shirt, a flannel would be perfect.

Plus I think every skateboarder needs a flannel.

Isabel said...

Okay, the FB page ROCKS!!!!!
I liked it and answered the polls, it's so cool.
Man I'm busy the whole week, so I'm trying my best to get here, wow...that sounds funny.
Okay, okay, okaay:
Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Sammy, happy birthday to you. :D :D :D :D :D
I'd give Sammy a skateboard as a birthday present, since hers was kinds of destroyed. My second choice would be the backpack with a skateboard strap.

Yusa said...

Its a great page! I hope the same contests are on here also though because i dont have a facebook. :/ Oh yeah and i put my Happy Birthday post on the other blog post haha.
Oh and hows that TV show project coming along?

Isabel said...

Nice question, Yusa, I also want to hear about the tv show.

Norma said...

Ah, it's been forever and a day since I commented. My computer's been in and out of the repair shop for a month, and I come back to this. I love, love, love this! The Facebook page looks incredible! Yay!

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

The best thing abt being a SK fan, to me: Sammy and I are 3 days apart! It's kind of awesome! Ok, not kind of, REALLY AWESOME! Here's a fun fact for you: Aries don't like to share their food.

Unknown said...

P.S: which year was Sammy born?
PPS: have you ever thought of making another series? Not of Sammy though. Maybe Sammy's kids?

Isabel said...

Areebah Pervez: I agree that it'd be cool to read a series of Sammy's children, that be funny and cool! ANd I'm pretty sure Sammy was born....well she turned 14, and it's 2013, soooo, 1999...IF my calculations are correct.

Jessica said...

But Hotel Thief was published in 1998, so does that mean Sammy turned 13 in 1999 (and was born in 1986)? Or even earlier, since Wendelin started writing it years before that? I mean, she got herself a *discman* as her birthday present -- most 13yo's I know have no idea what those are. Now she could probably find an MP3 player for less than she spent on the discman. On the other hand, camera phones are abundant in later books.

I personally like that SK feels modern without trying too hard to happen in a certain year. To me, she's timeless (that way she never grows up -- I definitely would not want to *ever* see her as a mom; I'd rather leave her adulthood to my imagination).

Optimistic4ever said...

On the Sammy Keyes page on the cake survey, I may have accidentally added the category, "suspiciously edible-looking". It showed it there for a second. My apologies for that :( BUT THIS PAGE IS EXCITING :D

Unknown said...

Facebook is FB Pages useful too for business, popularity or whatever cause through . That's why though some may know about it, I also made a simple how to make a facebook page tutorial for those who are interested. Just giving them a piece of advice which is to be responsible page admins. Keep sharing informative stuffs about FB. thanks!:) goodluck with your page!