Monday, May 28, 2012
Monday Muse: Linkin Park - The Catalyst (Official HD)
After some deliberation, I decided to go with this song today. Linkin Park never gets old in my world and this video sets the mood for the Post Apocalyptic piece that I'm going to be starting this summer.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Feature Friday: Carolyn Turgeon
Interview:
A.L.:
As some of the readers might be able to tell you I’m an absolute fan of Celtic mythology. The fact that your newest book, The Next Full Moon, is about a young girl who is a swan maiden just tickles me pink. Can you please tell me what led you to decide to write a swan maiden?
Carolyn:
Actually, my original idea for The Next Full Moon was about a mermaid, or, specifically, about a 12-year-old girl who begins noticing strange things happening to her body, like shimmering scales appearing on her skin. She’s mortified and embarrassed, of course, but will eventually discover that her mother (whom she thought had died when she was a small child) was, and is, a mermaid. So the girl starts out feeling like a freak but slowly discovers her true magical identity. I loved this as a metaphor for puberty. But when a UK editor swooped in and bought the UK rights to my second novel, Godmother, and asked what else I was working on, I sent a list of projects and had this children’s book/ mermaid idea at the end of it. She bought it, but as a mermaid novel for adults, and that ended up becoming my third novel, Mermaid, which doesn’t really have anything to do with this original idea. Later, when my friend Julie Merberg approached me and asked me to write something for her new children’s book company Downtown Bookworks, I came back to this idea, but I knew I couldn’t do another mermaid book when Mermaid hadn’t even come out yet. And then one day it hit me that swan maidens would work even better for the story.
A.L.:
What’s the best piece of advice you can give to a budding author?
Carolyn:
Probably the best advice I can give is to be tough, have a thick skin (but not so thick that you can’t listen to criticism and advice), and just keep at it, keep getting better, keep improving your craft and working until you find the audience you want. Too many writers get discouraged—by rejection, by criticism, by the endless hours you have to spend in front of a computer when no one really cares whether you do it or not–and give up. My first novel, Rain Village, took me ten years to write (in fits and starts, with many mistakes along the way) and, once I found an agent, four more years to sell to publisher. I could have easily given up in that time, but I just had this deep belief that this is what I was supposed to be doing and that it was worth it. I think you have to have that kind of faith.
A.L.:
Do you consider yourself a revisionist author? Will you ever deviate from retellings and mythic fantasy?
Carolyn:
To some extent, I do consider myself to be that; certainly Godmother, Mermaid, and The Fairest of Them All (my Rapunzel-growing-up-to-be-Snow-White’s-stepmother adult novel that comes out next year from Simon & Schuster) are all revisions of classic fairytales. Rain Village is fairytale-ish but not based on any other stories, and The Next Full Moon is a little less revisionist. But I do want to write all kinds of other types of novels (and plays and screenplays!) and hopefully will do so over the next many years. I have this noir-ish crime novel that’s been on hold for a while that I plan to finish this year, and though it shares some themes with my other books, there’s not a bit of fantasy or fairytale in it.
A.L.:
Ava, the main character in your book is only 12 years old. YA is often classified as books for readers between 12 and 18. Would you consider The Next Full Moon to be a MG or a YA book and why?
Carolyn:
I consider it to be a middle-grade novel, mainly since it’s for ages 9 and up and I wrote it with that MG age group (9 to 12) in mind. But honestly I don’t think it’s that much different from my other novels, which are for adults (but have YA crossover appeal). This book is just shorter and sweeter, with a protagonist who’s 12. I do think plenty of adults would enjoy it, too.
A.L.:
If you could chose to be one of the fantastic mythical peoples in your books, which would you be?
Carolyn:
Oh, I would be a mermaid, no question! I love mermaids so much I started a blog, iamamermaid.com, and in the last couple of years I’ve talked to and met a ton of real-life mermaids (that is, women who wear tails and love the ocean, etc.), I’ve become friends with the ladies at Weeki Wachee Springs (and even went to mermaid camp last summer!), and, inspired by them, I got scuba certified last fall in Nicaragua. This August I’m going on a 7-day diving trip out of Nassau with a bunch of mermaids, divers, and photographers, and we’ll be doing three to four dives a day in the open ocean. I MAY or may not wear a tail.
A.L.:
Would you ever run away and join a circus? If so, what would your act be?
Carolyn:
Of course I would! Sadly, I don’t know that I have any talents to offer to a circus, unless it’s in a back office working on the brochures. But maybe I could learn to tame some lions or ride on the back of an elephant while wearing sequins and spangles.
A.L.:
Would you be able to handle being someone's Fairy Godmother? Would you keep your hands off of Prince Charming?
Carolyn:
I’d love to be someone’s fairy godmother. As an author, when you really touch someone, you can kind of get a taste of that. And one reason I wanted to write for a younger audience is to reach those little girls who need a fairy godmother more than anyone else. Also: my close friend Jeanine Cummins has a little girl whose been kept in pink cowboy boots since she was a toddler because of yours truly. If I can’t use real magic or change pumpkins into stagecoaches, books and pink cowboy boots are the next best thing!
A.L.:
Which of your characters is most like you? Why? Who is least like you?
Carolyn:
I think there’s a bit of me in all of my characters, but the only character I’ve written that I pretty much just wrote as myself—but in the 12-year-old incarnation—is Ava from The Next Full Moon. I thought it might be challenging to write for this new age group, but the minute I imagined myself as twelve again it was like no time had passed at all and there I was again back in 1983, too tall, overdeveloped for my age, the new kid in school (Ava’s not a new kid, but when I was twelve my family moved from Texas to Michigan), and just so so self-conscious and embarrassed all the time. I wasn’t growing feathers at that age, but I was every bit as mortified by my changing body as Ava is. Least like me is probably… Well, actually, they’re all kind of like me in one way or another. Except for the dashing tightrope walkers (in Rain Village) and all the princes and kings!
A.L.:
If you had to put two of your characters in an American Gladiators match, who would you pick and why?
Carolyn:
Both Mermaid and The Fairest of Them All have powerful witches. There’s the Sea Witch in Mermaid, Sybil, who gives the mermaid the potion that will change her tail into legs and takes the mermaid’s tongue as payment, and then there’s Mathena, who’s the witch who locks Rapunzel in the tower in The Fairest of Them All. A full-on gladiatorial battle between these two powerful witches, one who lives in the sea and one who lives in the forest, could be pretty interesting.
A.L.:
Did you ever have a point where you were just so frustrated with a plot or character where you almost gave up? What was it and why? How'd you overcome it?
Carolyn:
Maybe back when I was writing Rain Village, since that was my first book and I was frustrated all the time and had no idea what I was doing. For that book, I kind of started with a place and an image and a mood and worked over many years to figure out what the story would be and who the characters were. It was the most inefficient possible way to write a book! I’ve learned to figure all that out before I write, and the more books I write the more I know that even when something doesn’t work, you just have to make it work—step back, brainstorm, calmly figure it out, talk it though with a friend, give it time—or just scrap it and do something better. But that’s not really giving up so much as it is cutting the chaff and moving on!
A.L.:
You've covered circus people, fairy godmothers, mermaids, and swan maidens. What are you going to write next?
Carolyn:
Well, right now I’m finishing up my Rapunzel/Snow White book (which adds a healthy dose of witches to the above list), and then I’m finishing my noir novel. After that, I’m not sure! Maybe more mermaids (though I still run my blog and am also editing a Mermaids special edition magazine that’s about to debut) or mermen… maybe something that dips more into Greek myth… maybe a historical novel set in medieval Italy (I studied medieval Italian poetry in grad school and have had a Dante book on the back burner for years now, too)… or maybe something super realistic set in New York City. Godmother was half set in present-day New York (and half in the fairytale world of Cinderella) but that was a while ago. I’ve been writing a lot of kings and queens and castles lately, so it would be nice to write a book with subways and electric lights in it!
The Giveaway:
Carolyn is giving away a copy of Mermaid and a copy of The Next Full Moon to one lucky winner!
Princess Margrethe has been hidden away while her kingdom is at war. One gloomy, windswept morning, as she stands in a convent garden overlooking the icy sea, she witnesses a miracle: a glittering mermaid emerging from the waves, a nearly drowned man in her arms. By the time Margrethe reaches the shore, the mermaid has disappeared into the sea. As Margrethe nurses the handsome stranger back to health, she learns that not only is he a prince, he is also the son of her father's greatest rival. Sure that the mermaid brought this man to her for a reason, Margrethe devises a plan to bring peace to her kingdom.
Meanwhile, the mermaid princess Lenia longs to return to the human man she carried to safety. She is willing to trade her home, her voice, and even her health for legs and the chance to win his heart...
A surprising take on the classic tale, Mermaid is the story of two women with everything to lose. It will make you think twice about the fairy tale you heard as a child, keeping you in suspense until the very last page.
Buy it on Barnes and Noble
Buy it on Amazon
Read Goodreads reviews
This thoroughly compelling, gorgeously told tale, begins as the weather turns warm enough to swim in the local lake, twelve-year-old Ava is looking forward to a lazy summer, and her crush, Jeff is most definitely taking notice of her. Everything is going beautifully. Until Ava starts to grow feathers—all over her shoulders, arms, and back. Horrified, mortified, and clad in a hoodie, she hides out in her bedroom missing her dead mother and worrying about the summer, and the rest of her freakish life. Carolyn Turgeon has a gift for imagining magical worlds. In Ava’s case, this other-worldly place belongs to the Swan Maidens, one of whom is Ava’s mother. Ava goes back and forth between middle school and this magical realm taking the reader along for an exhilarating, extraordinary ride.
Buy it on Barnes and Noble
Buy it on Amazon
Read Goodreads reviews
How to Enter:
Enter the giveaway using Rafflecopter. Hit the green "Do It" buttons, follow the prompts, and hit the green enter buttons when you're done. (You may have to log in using Facebook to do this). There will be one winner (selected by Rafflecopter). I will contact the winner via email. This contest is open to international entrants.
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Monday, May 21, 2012
Monday Muse: Band Of Skulls - Bruises
Back from Steampunk World's Fair and totally feeling like a zombie, so I picked this out because it embodies today's slow mood. It's a silly video, too. Enjoy!
LYRICS
Friday, May 18, 2012
Feature Friday: Sarah Beth Durst
This week we have the amazingly talented Ms. Sarah Beth Durst! Sarah was born in Massachusetts as Sarah Angelini and grew up in Northboro, a small town in central Mass that later became the setting for her debut novel. At the age of ten, she decided she wanted to be a writer. (Before that, she wanted to be Wonder Woman, except with real flying ability instead of an invisible jet. She also would have accepted a career as a unicorn princess.) And she began writing fantasy stories.
She attended Princeton University, where she spent four years studying English, writing about dragons, and wondering what the campus gargoyles would say if they could talk. Sarah lives in Stony Brook, New York, with her husband, her two children, and her ill-mannered cat. She also has a miniature pet griffin named Alfred. Okay, okay, that’s not quite true. His name is really Montgomery.
Interview:
A.L.:
In Enchanted Ivy, you write about a girl trying to get into the college that you actually attended. Do you think it was harder or easier to write a book set in an area that actually exists while still doing it justice?
Sarah:
I've done both, and I love both.
If it's a real place, then you can be inspired by what exists. On the archway to the Princeton University Chapel, there's a little sculpture of a dragon curled between the stone grapes and leaves. He's looking out on the plaza with the saddest eyes imaginable. You can almost hear him saying, "Tell my story!" He inspired me to create the Chained Dragon in ENCHANTED IVY.
If it's a purely imaginary place, then you're free to fill it with pure imagination. I filled the desert land of VESSEL (coming Sept 2012) with wolves made out of sand and sky serpents of unbreakable glass.
A.L.:
If you could give an aspiring author one piece of advice, what would it be?
Sarah:
Don't romanticize writing at the expense of actually doing it. You really don't need to be alone on a mountaintop or in a seedy cafe to write. You don't need hours of uninterrupted time or to feel the lightning bolt of inspiration. You just need to string a few words together every day. Make writing a part of your everyday life, as familiar and regular as brushing your teeth.
Honestly, I think the best writing advice comes from a sneaker: just do it.
A.L.:
You decided you wanted to be an author at ten. What was your very first story called and what was it about?
Sarah:
My very first story (at age ten) was a cross between The Wizard of Oz and G.I. Joe. Everyone in it had superpowers and grappling hooks, as well as their very own talking lion.
A.L.:
So, reading the summary for Ice, I get the feeling it’s based off of the White-Bear-King-Valemon myth? If so, how did you learn about the myth and why did you choose this particular myth to use for your novel?
Sarah:
Yes, it's a modern retelling of the Norwegian folktale "East of the Sun and West of the Moon." I love that tale because it's about a fearless girl who saves her prince, rather than a girl who spends her story either asleep or dead. In my version, my fearless girl is an Arctic research scientist from northernmost Alaska who chases down a talking polar bear.
A.L.:
Drink Slay Love is about a vampire girl who lives in Connecticut. Being from Connecticut I’m quite fond of someone using my oft forgotten state as a setting. Why did you choose CT? And how did you set out to portray it?
Sarah:
I wanted a place where you wouldn’t expect vampires. Or vampire-hunting unicorns. Cities are known for their secret hidden sides, and rural areas have plenty of room for hiding secrets, but a nice Connecticut town… It felt perfect.
A.L.:
Your middle grade books, Into The Wild and Out of the Wild, are about fairy tale characters trying to live in the real world. I have to ask, do you like the television show Once Upon a Time? If you’ve seen it what do/don’t you like about it? What would you have done to make it better?
Sarah:
I'm really loving it. I think the actor who plays Rumplestiltskin is brilliant and is the cornerstone of the entire show. (He was also brilliant in Stargate Universe.) I can't wait to see how it develops.
I love fairy tale retellings and fractured fairy tales. There's just something about playing with universal archetypes that's so much fun.
A.L.:
In your newest novel, Vessel, you made the jump into pure fantasy. Are you going to stay there or do you think you’ll continue to revisit contemporary fantasy?
Sarah:
Actually, my novel after VESSEL will be contemporary fantasy. I love hopping between flavors of fantasy. I can, however, safely say that my books will always be fantasy. For one thing, I adore fantasy books. For another, I see my job as a writer to be to add magic to the world in whatever way I can.
A.L.:
Now that Vessel is well on its way, what’s next on your list of things to do?
Sarah:
I'm preparing for VESSEL's release this fall. I can't wait for people to meet my brave Liyana and the trickster god Korbyn and the young emperor! (VESSEL is about a girl who is destined to be a vessel, to sacrifice herself so her clan's goddess can inhabit her body... but her goddess never comes.)
I'm also writing a paranormal thriller called SWEET NOTHINGS (coming fall 2013) about a girl in the paranormal witness protection program.
A.L.:
So, you want to be a faerie princess, huh? Well then, Seelie or Unseelie? And who/what would your most trusted hench-faerie be?
Sarah:
Neither. I'd have my own significantly-less-bloodthirsty court. And all my trusted hench-faeries would be winged ponies. Or maybe were-manatees. You never hear much about were-manatees...
A.L.:
Will you ever write about a were-unicorn living in Connecticut? Cause I’d like to see that…
Sarah:
Maybe... :)
A.L.:
What's your favorite fairy tale? Why?
Sarah:
Beauty and the Beast. It's about true love, not love-at-first-sight. And I also love it because of the beautiful library in both Robin McKinley's Beauty and Disney's movie. I want that library!
A.L.:
Also, what's your favorite fairy tale creature? Why?
Sarah:
I'm rather fond of the bricklebrit donkey from Grimm's "The Wishing-Table, the Gold Donkey, and the Cudgel-in-the-Sack." When you say the word "bricklebrit," gold shoots out of both ends. I think that would be a useful pet to have, plus highly entertaining at parties. Much better than the goose that lays golden eggs -- I read once that if a goose were to lay a solid egg like a gold egg, rather than an ordinary pliable egg that compresses when laid, the egg would shoot out with such force it would puncture a wall. So I think I'll stick with the donkey.
The Giveaway:
Sarah has generously agreed to send a copy of her latest release, Drink, Slay, Love to one lucky winner!
Her family thinks she was attacked by a vampire hunter (because, obviously, unicorns don't exist), and they're shocked she survived. They're even more shocked when Pearl discovers she can now withstand the sun. But they quickly find a way to make use of her new talent. The Vampire King of New England has chosen Pearl's family to host his feast. If Pearl enrolls in high school, she can make lots of human friends and lure them to the King's feast -- as the entrees.
The only problem? Pearl's starting to feel the twinges of a conscience. How can she serve up her new friends—especially the cute guy who makes her fangs ache—to be slaughtered? Then again, she's definitely dead if she lets down her family. What's a sunlight-loving vamp to do?
How to Enter:
Enter the giveaway using Rafflecopter. Hit the green "Do It" buttons, follow the prompts, and hit the green enter buttons when you're done. (You may have to log in using Facebook to do this). There will be one winner (selected by Rafflecopter). I will contact the winner via email. This contest is open to national entrants.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Love in Bloom Giveaway/Hop
Ah, love and spring...And a new giveaway!
The Giveaway:
The winner can take their pick of one of the following happy Contemporary YA romances:
How to Enter:
Enter the giveaway using Rafflecopter below. Hit the green "Do It" buttons, follow the prompts, and hit the green enter buttons when you're done. (You may have to log in using Facebook to do this). There will be one winner (selected by Rafflecopter). I will contact the winner via email. This contest is open to international entrants.
What Else?
This week, I'm also giving away Drink, Slay, Love by Sarah Beth Durst, enter to win HERE.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Monday, May 14, 2012
Monday Muse: Somebody That I Used To Know - Pentatonix (Gotye cover)
People who have this much talent always amaze me...Plus, this is a pretty awesome song.
LYRICS
Now and then I think of when we were together
Like when you said you felt so happy you could die
Told myself that you were right for me
But felt so lonely in your company
But that was love and it's an ache I still remember
You can get addicted to a certain kind of sadness
Like resignation to the end, always the end
So when we found that we could not make sense
Well you said that we would still be friends
But I'll admit that I was glad it was over
But you didn't have to cut me off
Make out like it never happened and that we were nothing
And I don't even need your love
But you treat me like a stranger and I feel so rough
No you didn't have to stoop so low
Have your friends collect your records and then change your number
I guess that I don't need that though
Now you're just somebody that I used to know
Now you're just somebody that I used to know
Now you're just somebody that I used to know
Now and then I think of all the times you screwed me over
Part of me believing it was always something that I'd done
But I don't wanna live that way
Reading into every word you say
You said that you could let it go
And I wouldn't catch you hung up on somebody that you used to know
But you didn't have to cut me off
Make out like it never happened and that we were nothing
And I don't even need your love
But you treat me like a stranger and I feel so rough
And you didn't have to stoop so low
Have your friends collect your records and then change your number
I guess that I don't need that though
Now you're just somebody that I used to know
[x2]
Somebody
(I used to know)
Somebody
(Now you're just somebody that I used to know)
(I used to know)
(That I used to know)
(I used to know)
Somebody
Friday, May 11, 2012
Feature Friday: Dan Wells and Giveaway of The Hollow City
Oh, I have such a treat for you! Today, we've got the one and only Mister Dan Wells as our Feature Author! Dan is the author of the YA John Cleaver series and the YA Partials series. Today he's going to talk about writing, having a family, and generally being awesome. :)
BIO:
Short: Dan was born at a young age, killed a man in Reno just to watch him die, and ate the last mango in Paris. Then he wrote several books.
Longer: Dan Wells is a horror fiction writer. Born in Utah, he spent his early years reading and writing. He is he author of the Partials series (Partials, with more book coming soon) and John Cleaver series (I Am Not a Serial Killer, Mr. Monster, and I Don't Want To Kill You). He has been nominated for both the Hugo and the Campbell Award, and has won two Parsec Awards for his podcast Writing Excuses. His newest novel, The Hollow City, will be released in July.
There's an even longer, more detailed version on his website!
Interview:
A.L.:
So, your favorite book is The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo. I have to ask, who is your favorite character and why?
Dan:
That's definitely one of my favorites, but I'd have a hard time choosing a favorite character from it. It would definitely come down to a neck and neck race between the hunchback himself and the priest that raises him; the priest because he's so completely twisted, one of literature's greatest tortured villains, and Quasimodo because he's unfailing good in a world that has no room for goodness. I like some pretty dark stuff, obviously.
A.L.:
Are there any works or characters in particular that you feel have really influenced you as a writer.
Dan:
One of my greatest influences is A. A. Milne, not so much for his Winnie the Pooh stories but for his Christopher Robin poems. I've worn out two different copies of that book from reading it so much. Reading those poems as a kid I realized that he wasn't just writing, he was playing with words--he was having so much fun. I knew then that that's what I wanted to do with my life.
A.L.:
Your parents started you out young as a science fiction/fantasy lover. You’ve got five kids, are you doing the same with them?
Dan:
I'm doing my best. We've read The Hobbit, the Prydain chronicles, and now I'm starting them on The Hero and the Crown. And of course they're all Star Wars AND Start Trek geeks.
A.L.:
What would you suggest a parent read to their children to get them to love books?
Dan:
No single book will be as valuable as a wide variety. In my experience, the 'reluctant readers' of the world tend to be those who just haven't found the genre or the style that they respond to yet, so read your kids fantasy, SF, horror (of an appropriate level, of course), westerns, poetry, non-fiction, mythology, fairy tales, 'mainstream' fiction, and everything else. Something will catch.
A.L.:
Has there ever been a point either in writing the John Cleaver novels or the Partials when you had difficulty channeling a particular character?
Dan:
I had a lot of trouble getting Kira right, the main character of Partials, because I was trying to write her as a girl. What I realized is that I don't try to write my boys as boys, I just write them as people--I needed to do the same thing with Kira. She's not defined by her gender, it's just one facet of her complete personality. Once I did that, she became one of my favorite characters to write.
A.L.:
You write about a young man who is a serial killer…Do your friends and family look at you funny?
Dan:
It's much creepier to people who know me than people who don't. The books themselves aren't horribly disturbing, unless the guy who wrote them has a key to your house.
A.L.:
What do you want for your birthday?
Dan:
A reunion concert of Halfcocked.
A.L.:
On a personal note: I give you major kudos for having five kids. On a humorous note: You love science fiction and fantasy. If you could pick any two names (boy and girl) to name your children, what would you name them? Why?
Dan:
I've been campaigning for Tiberius as a boy's middle name since the beginning, but my wife won't go for it. I almost got a kid named after Benjamin Sisko, but then when he was born he looked more like an Ethan. And I'd love to name a girl Eilonwy, if I didn't think she'd waste ten years of her life telling people who to spell and pronounce it.
A.L.:
I first learned about the John Cleaver novels from a friend who pitched them to me as a “teenaged Dexter.” How do you feel about this comparison?
Dan:
I don't mind it at all, and I usually even take it a step further: John Cleaver is like a teenaged Dexter in an X-Files episode.
A.L.:
John’s a male pro-tag while Kira is a female. Did you find it difficult to write from a different gender standpoint? Especially, with the underlying implications for unborn children in Partials?
Dan:
I talked earlier about writing a female character. The added implication of the Hope Act, with its mandated pregnancy and staggering infant death rate, added a strong sense of urgency to the character, but I don't know if I added anything intrinsically female on that topic. I have five kids, as mentioned, plus my wife and I have had four miscarriages, including one very dangerous one that landed my wife in the emergency room, so I'm extremely familiar with pregnancy and childbirth, and I feel like I was able to put a lot of that into the book, but I guarantee that if the same book were written by a woman it would be vastly different.
A.L.:
If you could give one piece of advice to an aspiring author, what would it be?
Dan:
You can make a living as an artist, it just takes a lot of work. Spend as much time and energy on your writing as a doctor spends on pre-med schooling and internships--often ten or fifteen years--and I can almost guarantee you'll be as or more successful than that doctor.
A.L.:
After Partials, where would you like to turn your attention?
Dan:
I'm about halfway done with another SF book about cloning, and I want to finish that by the end of this year. Then it's time for Partials 3, and then I hope to write more John Cleaver books.
A.L.:
So, Mr. Voracious Gamer, if you were stranded on a desert island and could only have one game, what game would it be?
Dan:
That depends on who's there with me. If I'm alone I'd need a good solitaire game, of which I don't have many; I'd probably choose a card game like Magic: The Gathering, because I could spend ages building and refining new decks. If I had a group I'd go for one of the big, long, super-time-commitment games I don't get a lot of chance to play, because if we're on a desert island we won't have anything to interrupt us. Something like Game of Thrones or Battlestar Galactica. If I had to choose one it might be--and this is a weird one to pick, but there you go--Memoir 44, simply because it works well 1-on-1 and with big groups, and it's almost endlessly variable and re-playable.
A.L.:
Likewise, if Earth were putting together a capsule that must survive the apocalypse and you could only pick one of your own pieces to be saved from oblivion, which would you chose for future generations?
Dan:
If I had to choose one of my own books, I'd cheat and assume the existence of an omnibus edition of the John Cleaver trilogy--which would still be shorter than any given epic fantasy novel.
Find Dan Wells:
The Giveaway:
While Dan is known for his excellent work in YA, his newest novel, The Hollow City, is going to be for adults. Dan was nice enough to send me an advanced reading copy and some happy fun-time swag!
The Hollow City: Dan Wells won instant acclaim for his three-novel debut about the adventures of John Wayne Cleaver, a heroic young man who is a potential serial killer. All who read the trilogy were struck by the distinctive and believable voice Wells created for John.
Now he returns with another innovative thriller told in a very different, equally unique voice. A voice that comes to us from the realm of madness.
Michael Shipman is paranoid schizophrenic; he suffers from hallucinations, delusions, and complex fantasies of persecution and horror. That’s bad enough. But what can he do if some of the monsters he sees turn out to be real?
Who can you trust if you can't even trust yourself? The Hollow City is a mesmerizing journey into madness, where the greatest enemy of all is your own mind.
How to Enter:
Enter the giveaway using Rafflecopter. Hit the green "Do It" buttons, follow the prompts, and hit the green enter buttons when you're done. (You may have to log in using Facebook to do this.) There will be one winner (selected by Rafflecopter). I will contact the winner via email. This contest is open to international entrants.Monday, May 7, 2012
Monday Muse: Nightwish - While Your Lips Are Still Red [HD - Lyrics]
So, the goth kid in me shamelessly admits to loving symphonic metal. Thus, I enjoy Nightwish. I heart this song and the video tells a tale just as beautiful as the lyrics.
LYRICS:
Sweet little words made for silence not talk
Young heart for love not heartache
Dark hair for catching the wind
Not to veil the sight of a cold world
Kiss while your lips are still red
While he's still silent
Rest while bosom is still untouched, unveiled
Hold another hand while the hand's still without a tool
Drown into eyes while they're still blind
Love while the night still hides the withering dawn
First day of love never comes back
A passionate hour's never a wasted one
The violin, the poet's hand
Every thawing heart plays your theme with care
Kiss while your lips are still red
While he's still silent Rest while bosom is still untouched, unveiled
Hold another hand while the hand's still without a tool
Drown into eyes while they're still blind
Love while the night still hides the withering dawn
Kiss while your lips are still red
While he's still silent
Rest while bosom is still untouched, unveiled
Hold another hand while the hand's still without a tool
Drown into eyes while they're still blind
Love while the night still hides the withering dawn
Love while the night still hides the withering dawn
Friday, May 4, 2012
Feature Friday: Lucienne Diver and Bad Blood Giveaway
Today's Feature Friday author is the lovely and multifaceted Lucienne Diver. Not only is Lucienne a successful literary agent with The Knight Agency but she's also an author. Lucienne broke into the industry as a YA author, but her newest novel is for the big kids :). She's been gracious enough to give us a guest blog post talking about her new book, Bad Blood. But first, we're going to learn a little bit more about her.
Lucienne does not actually come from circus folk, though you’d never know it to meet her family. She is, however, in no particular order, a wife, mother, book addict, sun-worshipper, mythology enthusiast, beader, travel-junkie, clothes horse and crazy person. She writes the Vamped series of young adult novels for Flux Books, which School Library Journal calls, “a lighthearted, action-packed, vampire romance story following in the vein of Julie Kenner’s “Good Ghouls” (Berkley), Marlene Perez’s “Dead” (Harcourt), and Rachel Caine’s “The Morganville Vampires” (Signet) series.” Her short stories have been included in the Strip-Mauled and Fangs for the Mammaries anthologies edited by Esther Friesner, and her essay “Abuse” is included in the 2011 anthology Dear Bully. Bad Blood marks her first urban fantasy and fourth published novel. Long and Short Reviews gave it her favorite pull-quote of all times, "Bad Blood is a delightful urban fantasy, a clever mix of Janet Evanovich and Rick Riordan, and a true Lucienne Diver original."
Lucienne's Guest Blog:
"Welcome to Tori's World
Tori Karacis is just like the rest of us. Her world is our world. Nice, normal, sane...ish. Okay, so her family legends say that their line traces back to a drunken liaison between the god Pan and one of the gorgons. And she maybe starts to believe it when she sees Hollywood agent Circe Holland (potentially that Circe of myth and legend) struck down by something that looks a helluva lot like The Creature from the Black Lagoon. Certainly, as Hamlet might have said, "There are more things in heaven and earth than are thought of in her philosophy" (I may be paraphrasing here). Or, as one of her heroes, Sherlock Holmes, would have said, "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” But aside from the maybe-true ancient history, she's really a lot like you and me. Crazy family, insane love life, dead end job...
Oh, yeah, the building blocks of humor (and suspense, even, because Bad Blood has a lot of both) are recognition, surprise and a healthy sense of the absurd. In other words, you have to start with reality before you can blow things out of proportion. In the characters readers must recognize themselves or the girl or guy next door in order to emphasize. As a writer, you need to surprise a laugh or an emotional reaction out of the readers. Danger or humor, climax or punchline, the impact is vastly lessened if your audience sees it coming. And a sense of the absurd? Don't we all need that just to get through life?
So while Tori's family might be a little crazier than most, they're really not that far beyond the pale. Meddling grandmother? Check. Only hers is not only an actual sideshow bearded lady, she also in her off hours runs the Goddities website - kind of the gossip rag of the ancients, where she keeps track of who's doing what to whom. (For example, Aphrodite is the new Mayflower Madam; Hephaestus is the current wunderkind of ILM; Hermes is a syndicated humor columnist a la Dave Barry...) This means that when Tori's life intersects with that of a certain incredibly hot film star, Apollo Demas, Yiayia is the first to know. Dysfunctional homelife? Well, she did leave the Rialto Bros. Circus under something of a cloud after her obsessional curiosity led her to uncover secrets they'd rather have swept under the rug. Black sheep in the family? Yeah, that would be her.
And that insane love life I mentioned...you'd think being the object of desire of one of Hollywood's hottest men would be a dream come true, but when that "man" is the sun god, notorious for love affairs that don't end well for the mortals involved, let's just say the whole thing is a non-starter. Especially when Tori has a prior crush on a seriously studly Italian stallion cop named Nick Armani who might finally be waking up and taking notice.
Dead end job? Well, I might have exaggerated the point a bit. Private investigation is definitely a growth industry in L.A. It's more that her first solo mission ends with the death of the aforementioned Circe Holland and whether someone wants to stop her subsequent investigation or simply silence the only witness to the murder, someone is determined to see Tori dead too.
So there you have it, craziness, crime, death and destruction, gods and gorgons, murder and myth...really just a typical day in L.A.
Want to get in on the insanity? Enter the contest below to win a signed copy of Bad Blood. And if you enjoy, I'd love to hear about it!"
Find Lucienne Diver:
Website
Goodreads
Facebook
Twitter
Find Lucienne Diver:
Website
Goodreads
The Giveaway:
I'm giving away Lucienne's new book, Bad Blood!
How to Enter:
Enter the giveaway using Rafflecopter. Hit the green "Do It" buttons, follow the prompts, and hit the green enter buttons when you're done. (You may have to log in using Facebook to do this). There will be two winners (selected by Rafflecopter). I will contact the winners via email. This contest is open to international entrants.
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