Steampunk Prize Pack of Awesome Giveaway

Dear Beloved Followers,

I am not an expert in steampunk. After all, I'm no Matt Delman. (Which didn't stop me from dabbling in it, of course.)

But I can give you my impression of the genre.

You can find definitions on Wikipedia, or Matt's fabulous site, that describe steampunk as 1) science fiction set in a Victorian era using steam technology, and/or 2) a more expansive aesthetic that includes science fantasy features that are futuristic and retro at the same time.

But steampunk strikes me mostly as an attitude. With the future appearing bleak in much science fiction today, and future technology approaching magic, steampunk allows us to escape into an altered past, where technology is inventive but still intuitive - we can understand and admire an elegant airship or a clockwork robot or a fabricated Darwinist creature. The technology is pleasantly within our reach, and at the same time provides grist for many adventures, where communications are limited, speeds are slower, and the bad guys just might have a new mechanick device that will change everything.

And then there's the fashion. Buttoned up clothing, goggles that go with everything, and extreme manners and high teas give a high brow yet campy feel to these stories. And these elements also make for great storytelling and a rich playground for writers to frolick in.

But while most steampunk escapes into a fantasy past, it carries with with it modern sensibilities about justice and equality. The heroines of steampunk are spunky girls dressed as boys or intrepid spies with dark histories. The heroes struggle with the norms of society as much as the girls do, but in different ways. And some steampunk novels dispense with the past altogether and bring the steampunkery into an altered present. Thus we have steampunk novels set in an altered World War I era (Leviathan, Behemoth), a hidden steampunk world in modern Avalon, Minnesota (The Brimstone Key), or a rich world of steamworks in Victorian England along with shape-shifters and other creatures-of-science (The Hunchback Assignments). But they all share a sassy and adventurous attitude that readers will quickly come to love.


This week we'll have reviews of steampunk books, a guest post from a steampunk author, and the unveiling of a new feature on Ink Spells. To celebrate the steampunkery fun, I will be giving away the Steampunk Prize Pack of Awesome, as follows:

• My review copy of The Brimstone Key by Derek Benz and Jon S. Lewis 
• Four posters from the Grey Griffins series (four pictures above)
• My review copies of The Hunchback Assignments and The Dark Deeps by Arthur Slade
• A SIGNED COPY of Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld

I had the incredible good fortune to have Scott Westerfeld touring through Chicago this month. I missed him on his first sweep through for Leviathan, but now he is out touring for the second book in the series, Behemoth (which I'll be reviewing later in the week).

If you get a chance to go to a Scott Westerfeld signing, take it. He was not only funny and charming, but he gave a fantastic talk about the history of illustration in novels (Leviathan and Behemoth have gorgeous drawings, including some in color for Behemoth), as well as the evolution of the books themselves. He also took questions from the audience, so naturally I posed one or two. One of my questionswas about developing slang for his novels (his steampunk books are rich in alternate-world slang). He said he used a lot of Australian words as the basis for his Uglies series, and that a lot of the slang in Leviathan and Behemoth are actual words used in the time period (WWI).

Although Westerfeld looks a bit dour in both of these pictures, I can assure you he was delightfully funny in person and was gracious enough to sign multiple books, including a copy of Behemoth for the giveaway and the cover of my Nook (which held a copy of Leviathan).

This is an epic post, but this is the Steampunk Prize Pack of Awesome Giveaway, so there was a lot to cover. To enter is simple: leave a comment in this post. Winner will be announced on Friday. But you'll want to be stopping back all this week for the other steampunkery fun!

UPDATE: Open only to shipping in the U.S. Sorry, I should have mentioned that before!

Yours in Steampunk,

Dr. Quinn

Miscellaneous Stuff when I'm not Supposed to be Blogging

I'm a mad editing fool this week and not supposed to be blogging, but what can I say?

Just a couple things:

The Week of Steampunk coming next week is going to be AWESOME. (Yes, that required caps) Interviews, guest posts, reviews . . . I have so many awesome things, that I'll have to kick it off early on Sunday with the Steampunk Prize Pack of Awesome, so look for that soon.

Sunday is Halloween, but it is also the last day to vote for my query critique contest for OPEN MINDS. If you haven't already voted, please click here. If you have, THANK YOU! Your rockin' votes have helped me get into the top 10, but I need to stay there in order to go to the next round, so every vote helps!

On a completely different note: Kindle is getting an e-lend feature and Nook is going color! Will wonders never cease?

All right, nose back to the grindstone . . .

Worthwhile Things

Ink Spells Goes Steampunk

Steampunk contraption at Disneyland

Clipart for our temporary banner comes from here, here, here, and here.

Dear Beloved Followers,

It is my pleasure to announce that next week Ink Spells will embark on a steampunk adventure!

Ink Spells will review steampunk books, throw a book giveaway, and introduce a new feature to Ink Spells (which mysteriously may or may not be related to steampunk). I shall keep you guessing at the other delights in store (i.e. whatever else the Ink Spells gears in my brain can think up).

In the interim, I will be taking a short blog-haitus to engage in the craft of writing.

Please check back next week (Monday 11/1) to participate in the clockwork fun! The pleasure of your attendance is greatly appreciated.

Yours in reading and writing,
Dr. Quinn

p.s. If you have not done so already, please take a moment to vote for my OPEN MINDS query. Voting ends October 31st. Thank you to everyone who has voted so far!

Writing Flash with the Kids -or- How Life Sometimes Takes a Detour

Today I'm off to teach some excruciatingly bright 3rd/4th and 5th/6th graders about the craft of writing flash fiction. These kids are in the Gifted class, which generally means that they are smarter than me and have a tendency to ask questions that make me stutter. They are also fantastically creative.


And we're going to write stories together!

Don't you hate when life interferes with your plans? Two out of three Quinn boys woke up sick this morning, so all plans are officially canceled while we sit at home, drink liquids, and engage in an epic battle against the germs.

There might be some video games played as well.

Happy Weekend!
p.s The winner of the Blogoversary Giveaway is .... kelseyketch! Please send me an email Kelsey, as I couldn't track down your email address!

Thanks to everyone who entered and shared their awesome Ink Spells! :)

Specialization is for Insects*

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

-Robert A. Heinlein*

No quote has ever spoken to me quite like this one.

First, I adore Heinlein. No. That's really the wrong verb. Adulate? Perhaps love will simply do. Because his works have had such an influence on me, not as a writer, but as a human being.

Second, I can't do all of those things, but I can do a lot of them. The rest come out in my fiction.

But mostly I love this quote because it speaks to the idea that people should not be limited to one endeavor in life. This is something we teach to our children, but somewhere along the way, we forget. We grow up and are expected to settle into one thing - a career - and stick with it. As you may have noticed from my profile, I've had many "careers," and sticking to one has not been my strong point.

In this world of specialization, I can't think of a more generalized occupation than being a writer. You need to know the velocity at which a bullet will disintegrate to cause maximum damage, how to conjugate Latin, and a hundred different ways to describe a smile (and that's just in the last month). And within writing, I think that children's fiction has the widest latitude of all. In adult genres, there is an expectation that you will stay "in genre" and build an audience. This may be changing somewhat, but if you break into traditional publishing as a mystery writer, or a romance writer, or a science fiction writer, you're pretty much expected to stay there.

But children's interests are varied and haven't locked into a specific genre (yet) - and thus writing for children allows you a wide range of genres to pick from. Only in the middle grade (or young adult) sections of the bookstore will you find science fiction next to comedy, romance next to horror. There's a freedom in kidlit that I love.

Now, there is some logic to sticking with a genre, or type-of-book, when you first break into traditional publishing, in order to "build an audience." But I plan to write children's books for many years to come, and I have many, many ideas that will fill those books. I'm glad that I have room within kidlit to do so.

What do you think about staying with one genre for writing?

NOTE: Unlike Heinlein, I don't agree that specialization is only for insects. Anyone with a Ph.D. (mine's in engineering) understands that concentrated, applied effort in any area is required to advance it. But there is also room, indeed requirement, for generalists as well.

p.s. Don't forget to enter my Blogoversary Giveaway! ENDS tomorrow a.m. in which I will announce the winner!

Happy Birthday, Lenny!

There's a special blogger amongst us ... and he's turning 11 today!

Thanks for all your hugs, smiles, and comments, Lenny! They always brighten my day. :)

In honor of this young man who keeps his spirits up and keeps writing no matter what, I bestow upon him the Manly Sweaty Doll Blogger Award. Previous esteemed recipients of this award will attest that it is much more Manly that many other Blogger Awards, and although Lenny is only 11, I think he has the fortitude of many Manly men put together.

There are no requirements for this Manly Award (although Lenny can pass it on to other Manly bloggers if he chooses) - only that he keep carrying on and writing to another birthday. Something I'm sure he will do anyway.

p.s. Don't forget to enter my Blogoversary Giveaway!

Attention Deficit Reading

I tend to read a lot of books at once.

Not really sure what my problem is, but if you look at my Goodreads "currently reading" list you would think I have six sets of eyes and an unlimited amount of reading time. In fact, I barely have time to read what I need to (for writing), want to (for the blog), or just have a guilty desire to (Hush, Hush, I'm looking at you).

I chastise my children for starting a new book before they've finished the old one, but feel guilty about that. I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Are you a multi-book-at-once reader? Or do you carefully work your way through one before tackling another? What about your middle graders?


p.s. Don't forget to enter my Blogoversary Giveaway!

Blogoversary Giveaway!!

For my one-year blogoversary and in celebration of having 200+ followers, I'm holding a giveaway. In honor of the Ink Spells name, I will be giving away a kit to use for your very own ink-spell-making, whether of the fictional or magickal variety.

The kit includes a vintage cast-iron inkwell, which will impress your family and friends when artfully displayed in your work area. The inkwell is 6 " square x 3.5" high with a notched lid and metal container for ink.

If your work area resembles an unkempt collection of USB cables, random CDs, and an old Diet Pepsi cup from the bagel shop like mine...

...well, this stylish inkwell will add some much needed class. Of course you will need some ink and a quill to properly create your Ink Spells, and so included with your inkwell is a genuine bottle of Dragon's Blood Ink and accompanying quill.

I'd be entering for the Dragon's Blood Ink alone, but to sweeten the pot even further, I'll include a 10 page critique from yours truly. Unless you consider that a form of punishment, in which case you can use the Dragon's Blood to write an ink-spell-of-retribution.

RULES: Well there has to be some, right?

1) Be a follower.
2) Spread the word. Facebook, Twitter, blog post, tell your neighbor. It's the honor system here, so I assume you'll do your best.
3) Leave a comment below. Extra points for telling me what spell you would write. Negative points if the spell includes a hex on me (kidding! Not really. Karma, people, karma).
4) Because of the tricky shipping involved, inkwell and accoutremonts are limited to U.S. residents. If you are outside the U.S. you can enter for the critique alone.

Contest open until Friday, but you need to leave a comment in THIS POST. Otherwise, we'll have spells floating all over the place, and it will just be messy.

And thank you to all my blogger friends for a wonderful year of blogging together! I'm looking forward to the year to come!

Please Vote for Me!

I've entered a query contest, and I could really use your help!

The contest is on YAlitchat (a great gathering place for YA writers), and the Top 10 vote-getting-queries will go to the next round to be judged by agents and editors. The winners will receive critiques, manuscript submissions, and agent consults.

Those prizes are like gold for writers, people! But I need votes to get into the Top 10!

Here's a summary of my WIP, a young adult paranormal novel called OPEN MINDS:

Although everyone now reads minds, sixteen-year-old Kira Moore can't and never will. When she almost kills her best friend by accident, she discovers she can control the minds of others and is torn between passing for normal and exposing the hidden pushers of her world.

Please Vote Here for my entry by clicking the VOTE tab for OPEN MINDS!

Voting is open to anyone - you just click on the VOTE tab by OPEN MINDS and you're done! Voting ends October 31st, but unlike Chicago politics, you are only allowed to vote once.

Thanks so much!!

On Becoming a Writer

When people find out I've published a book, a surprising number say, Oh, I have this book I've always wanted to write. Naturally, they want to know how I got published, mostly because they want to know how to publish their (as yet unwritten) book.

This is natural because of the persistent idea that writing and publishing is easy, 1-2-3, off to fame and riches. And because most people want to know the end game before they start, which has a redeemable logic. I understand this and help people decipher the business when I can.

But it's surprising to me for two reasons: 1) Although I had a childhood love of writing, I never had a novel that I carried around in me, waiting to be written. Once I had a novel that wanted to be written, it was all I could do to keep myself from writing it night and day, and 2) These gentle souls don't really know if they are writers yet.

There is a difference between someone-who-writes and a writer. The point where you own that title and proudly tell others I'm a writer, marks a transition where writing is not just a hobby, but a passion. Each person will have their own story about when they owned that title for themselves. But most people who say I have this book I've always wanted to write aren't there yet.

This is what I tell my friends, acquaintances, and the occasional security guard, who want to discover if they are writers:

1) Just sit down and write. Write as often as you can. Write every day, even if only for fifteen minutes. Write some more.

2) Don't worry about rules or fancy seminars or even those instructional books about writing. Don't worry about other people's writing. Worry about writing your story.

3) Write your story all the way to THE END and don't stop until you get there. The first draft is hard, but don't let your internal editor keep you from reaching THE END.

4) Writing is a journey as well as a craft. Sharing the journey with other writers makes it a joy, as well as endurable.*

*If all this sounds like an ad for National Novel Writing Month, it's not, but I support all those intrepid writers as they embark on their word-blitz.

Once you've written a rough draft of your novel, you will have some idea of the scope of the thing you are attempting. You will either be consumed with the craft of writing, or you will decide that it is too much work, or your need to creatively express yourself has run its course. None of these outcomes are good or bad, just different. Your outcome will be uniquely you, and I guarantee only that it will be a voyage of discovery.

But most importantly, after you've written that first draft, you will know if you are a writer or not. If you can't wait to get started on the second draft, or you have five more novels that have been spawned while you wrote the first, or you are eagerly seeking out any and all information you can about the craft of writing, then my friend, you are a writer.

I didn't start writing until I was 43 years old, but it wasn't long before I was completely hooked and literally couldn't stop. Two novels later, I was ready to consider whether I wanted to try to write for publication.

Strangely, I still hadn't owned the title when I sent the rough draft of my second novel to be printed at the Staples. The Staples guy handed me my bound manuscript, covered in plastic and safely wrapped in brown paper. "Oh," he said. "Are you a writer?"

I blinked. "Uh, yes. Yes, I am." It was the first time I had been asked that question, but I hope to be answering it for years to come.

Blogoversary and the Importance of Backing Up

Blogoversary
I'm coming up on my one year anniversary as a blogger on October 17th. (Here's my first post. Oh, I was so young and naive!)

Back then my boys were 6, 8, and 10, and my fourth child was my Byrne Risk manuscript. Now, a year later, my boys are 7, 9, and 11, and I have a book published (Life, Liberty, and Pursuit), Byrne Risk is launched and in the hands of agents and an editor, and the fourth child that wakes me up at night is my Open Minds manuscript. And I have over 220 followers who, for some reason, keep coming back to see what I blog about next.

Any way you slice that, it's been an amazing, thrilling year. Clearly some kind of follower/blogoversary celebration is in order, so stay tuned for that!

The Importance Of Backing Up

My awesome blogger friend KarenG, who has been blogging for an amazing 5 years, made me realize that I have a huge amount of written work that I've never backed up. Namely, my blog.

I refer to it all the time, send friends and acquaintances to it for book recommendations, and generally use it to store tidbits of information I find relevant to the writing universe. I would cry wet, sloppy tears if it all went *poof* one day.

Fortunately, Blogger has a back-up function. Go to your Blogger Dashboard > Settings > Basic > Export blog. Blogger creates an XML file you can save to your computer, and then later use to import, should Blogger hiccup all over your blog, or decide that you're a SPAM blog and delete you outright.

I now have a tidy XML file with all my blog postings, an impressive 5 megs containing nearly a quarter million words. So that's what I've been spending all my time on! Since I have a regular backup system on my computer, my blog now has a triple redundant backup system (assuming I remember to back up the blog on a regular basis).

Because if I'm going to cry, I want it to be over a really good book, not lamenting the loss of 1's and 0's.

The Lost Hero Webcast!

Rick Riordan's The Lost Hero goes on sale today! Check out Riordan's webcast party at 7pm EST today!

Also: You can download a free e-book preview. Since Riordan's book tour isn't bringing him anywhere near Chicago (darn!) I downloaded the e-book, which thankfully was available and sensibly priced less than the hardback. And it's e-lendable!

I surveyed my two Riordan-fans about paper-book vs. e-book. Dark Omen had no preference and Worm Burner (my tech-minded-child) was emphatically pro-e-book. He didn't have to wait for me to make a trip to the bookstore, and he was reading it before he went to school this morning.

I think the e-revolution is old news for those two.

Attack of the Grouch Monster

*

I was grouchy today.

There was no real reason, just one of those days: I grouched at the cat, probably yelled at the kids (more than they deserved), and generally huffed around in a bad mood. It happens.

What I didn't expect was for it to disable my writing.

I literally couldn't write. Not a single thing. Even this blog post had to wait until the grouch-monster had un-possessed my body.

Do you have days when you're writing-disabled?

*Thanks to Adam Heine for pointing me to the motivational poster site. 

Words, Power, and Politics

When the Nobel Prize for literature is announced, my usual response is, "Um, who?"

After all, I don't read (much) literary fiction, and to my knowledge no writer of children's fiction or science fiction has been recognized for being "the person who shall have produced in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction." (Nobel's criteria)


But this year's winner, Mario Vargas Llosa, caught my eye - not only for being the first South American winner of the prize, and for his previous run for President of Peru, but because of this snippet from an interview:

Mr. Vargas Llosa has now left politics, and he believes that he can better shape the world with his pen. Or as he told me (the reporter) in Lima: "Through writing, one can change history."

Being both a politician and a writer myself, this resonated with me. And while I'm nowhere near the stature of Mr. Vargas Llosa in either politics or writing, I can see the truth of his statement: I too believe that ideas are more powerful than any one person, and that capturing ideas in writing can literally change the world.

I believe children's fiction has a similar power to move the world, by shaping the young lives that it influences. I know the books I read as a child had a formative effect on the way I think and the beliefs that I still hold. Perhaps someday, the Nobel committee will recognize the importance of children's literature. But until then, I will have to read some of Mr. Vargas Llosa's work, to see how his pen is shaping the world. Most of his novels rail against the evils of dictatorships, which is something the world needs to hear.


Note to Mr. Vargas Llosa: Mockingjay is an anti-dictatorship YA novel that you would probably enjoy.
Note to my followers:  Make sure to enter the Scribbler's Cove contest to win a signed copy of Mockingjay. Contest ends 10/15.

10 Reasons to NOT Quit

I was going to write a blog post about how to keep going in this (sometimes) punishing game of pursuing publication, but my friend Adam Heine beat me to it, and did a better job with his post 5 Secrets to Keep in the Game. So check his blog first, then read on.

Sometimes I get frustrated. Which is truly ridiculous because I've had nothing but crazy good luck. But frustration is part of this game. It's hard work, and a long haul, and there are lots of pits to fall in along the way. This is not a normal job, where you're paid for your time and talents, get vacations and benefits, and maybe even an "atta girl" every so often.Writing is unlike any job I've ever had, both a hundred times more satisfying and a thousand times more frustrating.

There may be good reasons to stop writing. Things like personal health and family issues. Contrary to these Top 10 Reasons to Quit Writing, butting heads with the Frustration Monster is rarely a good reason to quit. 

I'm always inspired by reading about long-time authors that have the same struggles that I do: frustration with the craft itself, struggles with the industry, difficulty with reviewers/critiques. In hopes of inspiring you to keep on the path, I'm sharing my personal ...

10 Reasons to NOT Quit Writing and Why*
*Yes, these all happened to me.

#1 You've just gotten a devastating critique that left your heart in shreds.
Why: Anything that wounds you that bad is not helping you become a better writer. Leave it behind and move forward.
#2 You're afraid that someone will actually read your novel, and hate it.
Why: For every person that hates your story, there will be one (or many more) that love it.

#3 You get back a critique that finds a fatal flaw in your story destined to kill the entire novel's reason for being.
Why: That critique will make you a better writer.

#4 Re-reading your first attempts at fiction make you want to either gouge your eyes out or invent a time machine to go back and disable your computer.
Why: It's not the flaws in your old work you have to worry about; it's the flaws in what you're typing now that you need to work on.

#5 You read about a writer who got representation after sending out 100 queries and you're not sure you can live through 99 rejections.
Why: You won't know if they want your story unless you ask.

#6 You read a famous author's book in your genre and you panic, thinking there's no way you can ever measure up to that and it might be a good idea to quit now so no one is disappointed.
Why: That author didn't get there by giving up before they got started.

#7 You read a post on the interwebs about how your genre is dead, has been in the doldrums for decades, and you have as much chance of publishing in that genre as being hit by an asteroid.
Why: Genres are dead until someone writes something fabulous. And then they're called "trends."

#8 You read a post on the interwebs about how your genre is hot, hot, hot - so hot in fact that it's already burning itself out and your MS isn't complete yet.
Why: Half of all you read on the internet is wrong.

#9 You don't know if you can possibly survive another revision of your MS.
Why: Having faith in your story will help you grow as a writer in ways you never expected.

#10 You find a movie on the Blockbuster shelf that has THE EXACT PLOT of your novel.
Why: You are unique, and your version of that story will never be the same as someone else's.

I'm sure I'll find a lot more reasons to not quit along the way, because I'm not giving up any time soon.

What reason do you have for NOT quitting?

Please excuse me while I go put my butt in a chair ...

Guest Posting on The Alchemy of Writing

The ever gracious Bryan Russell has posted a flash fiction piece I wrote, called "The Dancer," on his blog, The Alchemy of Writing.

I don't write a lot of flash, focusing mostly on my novels, but every so often, inspiration strikes and a story must be told. This was one of those, and I'm rather partial to it. :) Bryan is awesome for hosting these little bits of work and allowing writers to share and enjoy them. Thanks Bryan!!

Hop over and check it out!

Why Write Children's Books?

Is it for a chance to entertain? To educate? Is it the pure enjoyment of the creative act?


One of my critique partners commented on a recent chapter of my young adult novel, You’re really going to make kids think, aren’t you? 

Yes, I certainly hope so.


If there is a common thread in all my books, and even my blog, it is that I enjoy making people think. Since it's a voluntary thing, I figure you're only here if you enjoy it as well. :) For the kids, I hope that they will be drawn in by the story, drama, and characters, but leave with new thoughts, fresh perspectives, and an itch to discuss the newfound ideas that snuck into their brains.


Yes, I'm sneaky that way.


Any writer that can make me think, or even better, to make me feel while I think, has won me over. This was true even when I was a kid myself, so I think it can hold for some children, if not all.


If you write for children (middle grade or young adult), what drives you? If you write for adults, do you think your purpose is the same or different?

Book Signings

It. Was. MOBBED.

People were threaded through every aisle in the bookstore, waiting for up to two hours, all to have their books stamped by Suzanne Collins.

There were over 600 people that got copies of Mockingjay (or Hunger Games) stamped. It would have been many more, but the bookstore only gave out the 600 wristbands, and everyone was limited to getting one book signed.

Sigh.

Although it was disappointing to not have a signature, the stamp was pretty cool. (Poor Suzanne has a hand injury and I can only imagine how exhausted she must be doing this tour.)

Supposedly, the stamp will be destroyed after the tour is complete.

The wait was long ... I could only get one book stamped ... and I only had about 4.5 seconds to fan-girl over Suzanne. I managed to tell her I was a fan and a writer and loved her craft, and she graciously said, "Good luck with your writing."



Having a majorly talented author that I'm crushing on wish me luck? That, my friends, made it all worthwhile! :)

See that stamped copy of Mockingjay in the picture? Win it here.

This was more of an event than a signing. I've been to author signings before where there was much more interaction with the author (because they weren't mobbed).

Do you go to author signings? What do you enjoy about them? Would you do signings if you were published?

Taking Time for Life

Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin

This weekend I was working on the second half of this quote. (First half here.)

Marveling at the feel of limestone caves and spatterings of rain . . .

Exploring hundred year old lighthouses on tiny islands of isolation . . .

In wonder that 240 Watts of technology can replace what used to require a man and his wife keeping owl hours for forty years . . .

But mostly in awe that the man I married seventeen years ago is still so darn cute!

Crushing on an Author

I have an author crush.

I'm not embarrassed to admit that if I could transmutate into Suzanne Collins, author of the wildly popular Hunger Games series, and only had to trade my immortal soul, I might be seriously tempted. Okay, maybe not, but I'm sure to be fan-girling when I meet her on Monday at a signing at our local Borders (what? Borders still exists? I know).

It's not because her royalty checks are a pretty sight, or because she's going to have legions of fans lining up just to meet her. It's because I admire her craft and storytelling skills, and she's legitimizing a genre (YA) and subgenre (SF) dear to my heart. I plan to tell her this, in between things like "ZOMGosh, I just love your books!" and *squee*.

I'll also be getting a signed copy of Mockingjay to give away - BUT you'll have to visit my team blog, The Scribbler's Cove, to enter to win.

There will be other cool pirate prizes, like an eyepatch and some parrot artwork by one of our talented contributors, Jonene Ficklin, plus a gift certificate to B&N and a copy The Gardener by S.A. Bodine - so make sure you hop over and enter, and spread the word!

Although you might come for the prizes, I think you'll stay for the conversation. We're a relaxed group of eight  writers (including our cabin girl!) posting and chatting about our adventures in writing. We've talked about Worldbuilding vs. Geometry Homework,  Character Conflict, and Genre Hunting, as well as how to Talk like a Pirate and Driver's Ed.

The Scribbler's Cove is a great place to hang out and talk with your writer friends. Come join us!