rgz LIVE twitter chat with Maureen Johnson tonight!

Join readergirlz and me for a Twitter chat tonight with Suite Scarlett and Scarlett Fever author Mareen Johnson!

***sounds of cheering***

It all starts at 6pm PST/9pm EST - search for the #rgz discussion and follow @readergirlz and @maureenjohnson.

Don't have a Twitter account? It's fast and easy to set one up!

At http://twitter.com/, just click on the yellow "Give it a try" button to get started. All you will need is your name, a unique user name, and an email address. Add a password, and you're now on Twitter!

Search for readergirlz to begin following us and our tweets.

If you want others to see your posts ("tweets") during the chat, make sure the "Protect my tweets" box is not checked on the Accounts tab. If you want to get fancy, you can add a picture and customize your page in the Design tab.

Protect your privacy! No one can see your email address on twitter, but it's a good idea to choose a user name that doesn't give away your real name or location (especially if you are not an adult).


To join the Maureen Johnson chat:

Click on the "Home" page and enter #rgz in the Search box. Our chat will come up, and you can jump right in! Be sure to include #rgz in your chat posts so that everyone else can see them and respond.

We'll see you there tonight!

What the Hashtag?! Twitter recap

If you missed the chat with Holly tonight, check out What the Hashtag?! There's a complete archive available. Thanks to Bookaliciouspam for the heads up. Very cool!

Twitter chat tonight!

We're chatting with the amazing Ally Carter at 6 p.m. Pacific, 9 p.m. Eastern. Her latest Gallagher Girls book is on the New York Times bestseller list for the fourth week.

If you've never used Twitter before, here's how to do it:

First, create a Twitter account if you don’t have one already. It’s easy and free, and all you need is an e-mail address.

From here, there are two choices:

• Log onto Twitter at 6 p.m. Pacific, 9 p.m. Eastern.
• Type @officiallyally plus your question, followed by #rgz. This asks Ally your question and funnels it into the readergirlz chat stream.
• To follow along the chat, go here (the #rgz Twitter stream).

OR (and this is easier, we think)...

• Go to TweetChat (http://tweetchat.com/). 
• Enter in the rgz hashtag in the box on top of the page. 
• Then, sign in to Twitter (there's a button on the top right). 
• Type @officiallyally into your questions. The hashtag will be added automatically.

Going forward, you’ll be able to follow rgz and lots of your favorite authors on Twitter. You can find us and everyone we follow here: http://twitter.com/readergirlz

Questions? Post them in the comments and we'll take care of you.

June: rgz LIVE! Twitter Chat Recap!

Okay, this is a tad long, but I really only picked highlights! This is for our non-Twitter peeps! Listen in to John, rgz:

I hope to tour again sometime next year, but we'll see.

I'm a very amateur philosopher, but I'm fascinated by the same big ?s that obsessed me as a teen.

I really liked Vonnegut, Toni Morrison, and Salinger.

I think I was inspired by the IDEA of books--using ink on paper to communicate something--more than particular books.

Yeah, I was really deeply engaged in the religion classes I took as a student (but that was in college).

In a very broad sense, my current novel is set on a beach.

I started writing as a kid, but I got serious in high school and more serious in college.

I can't find just one thing I love about nerdfighteria. It's a huge, huge part of my life.

Well, I believe the world is essentially broken, and I guess I think the only true ending is an ambiguous one.

Oh sure, sometimes I feel misread. But my books don't belong to me. They belong to their readers.

I feel happy if I write more than 1,000 words in a day, but sometimes I make more progress deleting 1,000 words.

No, I write alone these days (well, aside from skype friends).

My advice to other writers is to read and read and read and read. And listen to criticism. It hurts but it's right.

I write for my readers. I am inspired by them, and I feel challenged by them.

I am inspired by this infuriatingly broken world we live in. I want to put it back together in my head.

Well I think one of the general challenges in life is being sociable without being untrue to one's self.

I loved the babysitters club when I was growing up. I loved series. I was like Eudora Welty in a sweet devouring.

Hank takes it personally that I've never written a protagonist with a sibling. I haven't stolen much from Hank.

Nerdfighteria has profoundly influenced my writing by showing me how smart and engaged contemporary teens are.

I wrote Alaska because I was obsessed with the problem of theodicy--how evil can exist with an omnipotent god.

Well I think one of the points of literature is to help us understand how to be human in a compromised world...

Although you won't like this answer, I think intense critical analysis of literature is a hugely important skill.

Broadly speaking, I wanted to write because I loved reading and wanted to be on the other side of the page.

I still don't think of writing as a career. I love it, but I don't know that I'll be able to do it in 20 years.

That was fun! AND CRAZY! You guys are the best.

It was a super fun chat. Join us next time if you can!