A/B is pleased to announce several new special sections in ’09:

UpClose & Personal with an Author, This Author Reads and Writing Tip Tuesday. Authors! See our Authors & Publicists page for submission guidelines. To kick off our New Year, our editor Malena Lott will submit her UpClose & Personal interview:

Malena Lott, Dating da Vinci, Nov ’08

Favorite guilty pleasure: Lipstick Jungle. Heard it may be canceled, though, and then I’ll be left with the shows I watch with my husband: 30 Rock and The Office. 

Writing crutch? Usually have to have a drink by my side. Starbucks Cafe Mocha and Frappaccinos are both addictive and expensive. 

Plotter or Pantser? Pantser, though I usually plot in bed right before I go to sleep. I figure if it’s a great idea I’ll still remember it when I wake up the next day. 

Favorite movie snack: Buttery popcorn with M&Ms in it. Only good thing that came from a relationship with an ex-boyfriend. 

Personal style: It changes from day to day, but I love to wear color and add a little glamour and glitz to my outfits, with a scarf or jewelry or funky hat. Gap jeans and cowboy boots with a fitted T and jacket would be my favorite ensem. Comfortable but seems dressy compared to a lot of mom-wear. 

Favorite brands: Apple, and therefore all the Apple baby brands like the iPod and iPhone and the cool applications like iTunes and iPhoto and iWeb, which is what I use to create malenalott.com

Favorite time of day to write: Mornings before 10. My mommy brain is fried by evening. 

Favorite writing spot: Lately I’ve started writing again in the playroom/office. I sit in this 1960s pink office chair against the window so it’s nice and sunny. I also love to sit in a sleek black recliner in my library downstairs. 

Favorite writing motivation: A fat, juicy contract would be nice motivation, but usually just setting a word goal is good enough for me. I like to write 2,000 words a day if I’m in first draft mode. 

Favorite weekend activity: Long walks with my husband if it’s nice weather. I also like to go on little mini adventures with the family. Weekends is when I update Athena’s Bookshelf and get more reading done, too. 

Favorite vacation spot: I’ve only been to Hawaii once, but it really was paradise. I thought, “Wow! This is on our planet? What else has the universe been keeping from me?” I aim to find out. Anything in nature is pretty satisfying for me. 

Favorite writing tip: Finish. 

Finish these sentences:

When I was young, I...dreamed of being famous and traveling the world. I grew up in a small town and couldn’t wait to see what else was out there. 

When I grow old, I...hope I can look back and see that I’ve made a difference in the world and that my loved ones felt I loved them as best I could. 

When I first fell in love, I…felt giddy and stupid. I usually had multiple crushes at once. The only time I felt truly hopeful about love was when I fell in love with my now husband. I had a feeling we could last, and fifteen years later I think I’m still right about that. 

I love to read because…there’s no better way to get to live multiple lives and experience the raw, rich emotion of human existence. 

Web site: www.malenalott.com

Lott’s second novel, Dating da Vinci, a tale of love, longing and la dolce vita, is in bookstores everywhere and available online.