Library Love and Author Carrie Jones

Hey everyone, I wanted to spread the word about a rural library in need of help and an awesome giveaway by Carrie Jones (Bates alum, holla!), the kindhearted and talented author of the Need series, Tips on Having a Gay (Ex-)Boyfriend, and several other books.

Here's the deal: There's a private library with a devoted Super Librarian in rural Cherryfield, ME. The library is $3,000 short of its annual budget.

How can you help??

You can donate $5 or more to the library. The other day on Facebook, Catherynne Valente asked people how much a cup of coffee costs and most people said $5! So if you tend to pay $5 for coffee, consider skipping it tomorrow and helping out a library instead!

Here is the library's Facebook page.

If you are seriously short on money (hey, who isn't?) but still want to help, you can enter Carrie's contest and spread the word! AND you might win some books too. Huzzah!

Here are The Rules straight from Carrie's LiveJournal:

RULES!!!!
1. Comment on Carrie's LiveJournal post.
2. Put a link back to where you've posted about the library's challenge and this contest. You can post about it anywhere, on Facebook, on your blog, Twitter, anything, just provide a link. If you put in a picture of AFTER OBSESSION you get a double entry. If you put in a picture of DEAR BULLY and/or talk about bullying, you get a triple entry.
3. If you have don't have a Livejournal ID and have to comment anonymously, please give me a way to find you. Lots of people win things but then I can't get them again because they are anonymous. This makes me sad.
4. This will run until Sept. 1, noon EST.
5. I (Carrie) will pick five random winners who will get books.
6. For everyone who comments Carrie will donate a dollar. So tell your friends!

And here's a picture of the two awesome books you could win just by being nice and spreading the word:
Dear Bully

And After Obsession

Reader, let's be honest: if you EVER stop by this blog, then you must love stories and books and reading. And that means there must be at least one important library in your life. So spread the word and the library love!

Cranes and Color Coding

First off, I want to congratulate Sabrina of Coffee Quill for winning The Heart Of Hyacinth in my Paper Crane Contest!! Thank you to everyone who spread the word.

Is anyone else having better luck making cranes than me? I think my first mistake was using pages from old books that were too small and rectangular since I'm not known for accurate measuring or cutting or folding skills.

Also, it is snowing. At first it was like little stars falling. Pretty. Now it's legit snow and I am DISPLEASED.

And finally, as promised, here is the definition of the day courtesy of the incomparable Dianna Wynne Jones from her book The Tough Guide to Fantasyland:

"Color Coding is very important in Fantasyland. Always pay attention to the color of the CLOTHING, hair, and eyes of anyone you meet. It will tell you a great deal. Complexion is also important, in many cases it is coded too.

1. Clothing. Black garments normally mean EVIL, but in rare cases can mean sobriety, in which case a white ruffled collar will be added to the ensemble. Gray or red clothing means that the person is neutral but tending to Evil in most cases. Any other color is GOOD, unless too many bright colors are worn at once, in which instance the person will be unreliable. Drab color means the person will take little part in the action , unless the drab is also torn or disreputable, when the person will be a lovable rogue.

2. Hair. Black hair is Evil, particularly if combined with corpse-white complexion. Red hair always entails magical POWERS, even if these are only latent. Brown hair has to be viewed in combination with eyes, whose color are the real giveaway (see below), but generally implies niceness. Fair hair, especially if it is silver-blonde, always means goodness.

3. Eyes. Black eyes are invariably Evil; brown eyes mean boldness and humor, but not necessarily goodness; green eyes always entail TALENT, usually for MAGIC but sometimes for MUSIC; hazel eyes are rare and seem generally to imply niceness; gray eyes mean POWER or healing abilities (see HEALERS) and will be reassuring unless they look silver (silver-eyed people are likely to enchant or hypnotize you for their own ends, although they are not always Evil); white eyes, usually blind ones, are for wisdom (never ignore what a white-eyed person says); blue eyes are always GOOD, the bluer the more good present; and then there are violet and golden eyes,. People with violet eyes are often of Royal birth and, if not, always live uncomfortably interesting lives. People with golden eyes just live uncomfortably interesting lives and most of them are rather fey in the bargain. Both these types should be avoided by anyone who wants a quiet life. Luckily, it seldom occurs to those with undesirable eye colors to disguise them by ILLUSION, and they can generally be detected very readily. Red eyes can never be disguised. They are Evil and surprisingly common.

4. Complexion. Corpse-white is Evil and it grades from there. Pink-faced folk are usually midway and pathetic. The best face-color is brown, preferably tanned, but it can be inborn. Other colors such as black, blue, mauve, and yellow barely exist.

So, if your acquaintance is wearing green and is blue-eyed and brown faced, she/he will be OK. Caution: Do not apply these standards to our own world. You are very likely to be disappointed."

Someone should have really given Bella Swan a copy of this guide when she moved to Forks. Corpse-white skin and golden eyes? Hello! Also, this provides some insight into why I've always been obsessed with red hair (so often described as red-gold hair). All the coolest girl characters were redheads, in my reading experience.

Paper Crane Contest: The Heart of Hyacinth

I hope more of you plan to comment on my Paper Cranes post and spread the words about sending paper cranes to Students Rebuild to raise money for Japan--$2 for every crane sent!

As promised, I'm holding a little contest as incentive. Remember, you don't even have to link to MY blog, you can link directly to Students Rebuild. Then leave a comment on this or the previous post on my blog to be entered into the contest. You will be entered once for every form of media with which you spread the word (blog, twitter, facebook...). You will be entered twice in all media if you also *make* some cranes and post a photo to their facebook page, linking to it here!

And here is what you get:

A beautiful first edition copy of The Heart of Hyacinth
(...which, by the way, is apparently selling on ebay for almost $250!!!!)

I bought this copy from the used book store where I work, though I did not pay $250.

I chose this book for a couple reasons. One, it's beautiful and it's set in Japan. The cover alone is lovely but there are also four full color illustrations. Here's one:
There's also artwork on every single page, surrounding the text, like this:
Two, it's set in Sendai, which was near the epicenter of the earthquake. It just seemed to be the perfect fit to me.
The book has an odd heritage, which appealed to me. It was written by Onoto Watanna--the pen name of Chinese-Canadian author Winnifred Eaton. Interesting, huh? You can read more about Eaton in this review of Diana Birchall's biography Onoto Watanna: The Story of Winnifred Eaton.

As the child of an interracial couple, Eaton explored those circumstances in her novels. Hyacinth in The Heart of Hyacinth is born of (White) American parents but raised in Japan as a Japanese girl. In fact, she doesn't even realize that she looks different from her Japanese peers until she sees herself in a mirror. Lindsay Lindgren has written a wonderful review of the book for the Universtity of Minnesota here.

And if you're looking for more information on Watanna/ Eaton, here's a nice bibliography for you.

I wonder if some people find this book infuriating. I suppose you could see it as a woman writer appropriating Japan for her own commercial success, traipsing around in a kimono and further exoticizing Japan for her readers.

However, I prefer to look at it this way: both she and her characters remind us that people are universal, stories are universal. No matter where we're from, or what culture we identify with, the important thing to remember is that we are all in this together.

Paper Cranes for Japan

It's been a week since the massive earthquake rocked Japan. I'm a visual person so this BBC map and Week in Pictures helped give me an overall idea of the devastation, which I otherwise can't wrap my head around at all.

And one week later I'm still wondering, "What can we do?"

I'm sure you're wondering the same. Like many people, I donated to the Red Cross. What else is there?

Here's one idea: Host a Paper Crane Making Party.
DoSomething.org has partnered with Students Rebuild and Architecture for Humanity to raise money and inspire hope for Japan.

In the words of Students Rebuild, "...our goal is to collect 100,000 origami cranes from young people to represent 100 wishes for support and healing for Japan. A list of wishes will begin to appear when we receive the first 1,000 cranes by mail. These simple yet powerful gestures will trigger a $200,000 donation from the Bezos Family Foundation - $2 for each crane received - to Architecture for Humanity's reconstruction efforts in Japan. Once we reach our goal of 100,000 submissions, the cranes will be woven into an art installation - a symbolic gift from students around the globe to Japanese youth."


Here's What You Do:
(Instructions courtesy of Students Rebuild)

1. Invite your friends and family over. Do it tonight, tomorrow, Sunday afternoon, whenever...

2. Make paper cranes

3. Take a quick photo and upload it, along with a message of support to the Facebook page "Paper Cranes for Japan"

4. Turn your crane into dollars for reconstruction - and eventually an art installation - by mailing it to Students Rebuild. You can email info@studentsrebuild.org to receive a pre-paid shipping label for a large box in which to ship your cranes!

5. Send the box to: Students Rebuild 1700 7th Avenue STE 116 # 145 Seattle, WA 98101

And to sweeten the deal, here's a little contest: comment on this post with a link to your twitter, blog, or facebook where you shared this idea--you don't have to mention this blog, just Students Rebuild. For every link, I'll enter your name in a giveaway.

The winner will receive a special book from the used book store (which I will post here later today). So, sadly, I can only ship within the US. But still, please spread the word. Make paper cranes. Get involved.

And don't EVER give up.

Candy Land, Curse Workers, and Other Happy Things

Hello, Faithful Reader! I must apologize for neglecting you in the past week. If life was a Candy Land board (as I often wish it was), then last week I was stuck with stumpy Plumpy and his totally lame Plum Tree.Nice try, Plumpy, but PLUMS do not candy make. Sugar plums, maybe, but those do not grow on trees. And as we all know, getting stuck with Plumpy is about the most depressing thing that can happen to you in Candy Land aside from missing the Rainbow Bridge by one stupid square.

Side note: a quick wikipedia entry informs me that there have been some Very Upsetting Developments in Candy Land since I last visited. WTF do you mean Princess Lolly is no longer a princess and Queen Frostine has downgraded her crown for a princess tiara!? Methinks not, my friends. METHINKS NOT.

Anyway, getting somewhat back on track, when I'm feeling glum I tend not to blog because I don't want to drag you down with me. But! It's a new week and I'm determined to make it a good one. To make it up so you, here are some good things that filled me with happy today.

1. Cindy Pon--awesome person and talented writer of SILVER PHOENIX

and the forthcoming sequel FURY OF THE PHOENIX is doing a giveaway for the two books in Holly Black's ongoing Curse Workers series: White Cat and Red Glove. I've been wanting to read these since I met Holly at Sirens and she read an excerpt from Red Glove. So please don't enter this contest because I want to win!! Just kidding...send Cindy and Holly some love and enter right now. Right this instant!

2. I've been struggling with my voice as a writer, lately (another reason to be a bit glum) so Terri Windling's most recent posts have seemed as if they were written for me. Not so, of course, and I recommend any writers and artists go read what she has to say on the creative process. I know I know, I'm totally obsessed with her but she's so grounded and yet so magical.

3. Neil Gaiman's blog has been a bit sparse lately, but he recently blogged about walking in Australia and seeing a woman with a tattoo of his own words on her body. His reaction was complex and, I think, similar to how I would feel in that situation. I have my ghost days--not because I've seen someone tattooed with my own words, of course. But we all have our ghost days when the world doesn't seem real or, more troubling, WE don't seem real.

And once again it is snowing and very soon I'll go walk through the snow to read with my fifth grader, Ryan. Today we are going to begin The Hobbit. Let's hope he likes it as much as he likes The Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. I'll let you know.

Good Karma

Writer friends, take note:

There is a writer named Sarah Wylie. Her first novel ALL THESE LIVES has been sold by Suzie Townsend and will be published in 2012. Do you not love this title?

Sarah must be a very kind-hearted, generous, and well-connected woman because to celebrate her book deal she has launched an incredible contest. Here are the deets:

What To Do: Fill out the contest form on her blog. The winners will be chosen at random.

What Do You Win: (I hope you are sitting down, with smelling salts in hand)

1 Lucky Winner will receive a critique of their first 30-40 pages by the fabulous Suzie Townsend + a pack of Twizzlers + a copy of Hex Hall

3 Lucky Winners will receive a query letter critique by one of these three agent extraordinaires: Kathleen Ortiz, Joanna Stampfel-Volpe, or Colleen Lindsay (One agent will be randomly assigned to each winner.)

1 Winner will receive a writer's survival guide consisting of Twizzlers, a copy of Silver Phoenix and When You Reach Me, and a cute notebook and pen.

And....

1 Lucky winner will score a lunch date with THE Janet Reid and THE Suzie Townsend. Um, yeah, that's not a typo. (I'm tempted to enter myself. Would it be so wrong?) Unfortunately, this is not a free trip to NYC. BUT if you live in the NYC area, or whenever you're visiting NYC? You. Janet. Suzie. LUNCH.

Umm, yeah. Did your brain just explode all over your computer screen? That happened to me about five minutes ago. Writing is messy business.

So what are you waiting for??? Go to her blog RIGHT NOW and enter this contest.

And since this is all about good karma, need I remind you that it would behoove you to check out her forthcoming novel as well? It's about TWINS so you know it's going to be awesome.

Editor's Note: I feel the need to state that the prize descriptions were taken directly from Sarah's blog. Didn't want to take credit for her witty write-ups.

A Sunny Friday

I'm not sure what to do with myself today. I'm getting really anxious to start my new WIP (can I even call it that yet if I'm still in the planning stages?). The problem is I'm snagged on a plot point, and I don't want to begin unless I at least know where I will be at the end. But I really just wanttostartwriting!

In the meantime I think I'll give myself a kickboxing class and maybe go for a walk to get coffee.

Oh yeah!!! And enter this cool contest from blogger, aspiring YA author, and publishing intern Weronika Janczuk!!! It's a heady cocktail of book giveaway and possible pages critique. How can you resist?

I'm also going to throw myself into a contest designed specifically for Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy manuscripts. The prizes are:

First place: 1) A critique of 20 pages of your work, by your agent judge. 2) A one-year subscription to WritersMarket.com.

Runner-ups - second and third place: 1) A critique of 10 pages of your work, by your agent judge, Joanna Stampfel-Volpe. 2) A one-year subscription to WritersMarket.com.

The blog is called Guide to Literary Agents by Chuck Sambuchino, and it's definitely worth reading if you're an unpublished author. Actually (and not just because it's part of the contest) I'm adding it to my blogroll. I've been meaning to for a while now (but alas, I am absentminded and easily distracted by candy).

It's always good to take a chance of Fridays, right? Be bold!

Happy Friday, everyone : )

Contests!

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share with you a few awesome contests I've discovered online for writers. Check them out and give it a shot! I'm always a little hesitant about them but I think they can provide a wonderful jumping off point for a new story and they often give you some perspective on your writing.

Contests:

1. Nathan Bransford's Stupendously Ultimate First Paragraph Challenge: You probably already know about Nathan's blog. He's a lit agent, who blogs extensively about writing and publishing.

How To Enter:: Submit the first paragraph from any WIP you're working on. Choose wisely because you can only submit ONE. Be sure to put your paragraph in the comments section of the post I linked to because that's the only way your entry will count.

The Prize: The grand prize winner gets her choice of a partial critique, query critique, or phone consultation, a galley of THE SECRET YEAR, and a SECRET YEAR bookmark. The finalists win a query critique and bookmark. Pretty awesome, right!? Any writer should read through the entries whether you participate or not. It's incredibly interesting to see what other writers are working on as well as what entries catch your attention and which don't. This contest is a win for everyone. What are you waiting for? Go enter right now!

Deadline: Thursday (tomorrow) 4 PM pacific time.

2. Stuart Neville's Twitfic Contest: This is a fun contest meant to help promote Neville's debut novel THE GHOSTS OF BELFAST. I'm partial to this contest for a couple reasons: one, it's short and fun. I'm not one for brevity so this challenge intrigues me. If nothing else it's a great writing exercise. Two, Neville was a frequenter on many of the same blogs I follow (such as Editorial Ass) before getting published and so I'd like to help him promote his much-buzzed-about debut if I can. It's good to help out new authors!

How to Enter: Tweet your scariest, funniest ghost story in 124 CHARACTERS OR LESS. Remember to include the hash tag #GhostsOfBelfast or your entry won't be seen.

The Prize: (Taken from Neville's blog) "I will choose ten finalists. Each of those tweets will be re-tweeted by me and the good folks at Soho Press (or linked to a special page on my website if they're too long). The finalists will then be put to the vote on via Twitter, and the top five will each win a signed copy of THE GHOSTS OF BELFAST, as well as be featured on the home pages of StuartNeville.com and GhostsOfBelfast.com. What's more, whoever gets the most votes of all wins one of the last remaining copies of THE SIX, my limited edition signed and numbered short story collection - only fifty of these will ever be printed!

Deadline: BEFORE Midnight, October 31st

3. 2010 Bakeless Literary Publication Prize: This contest is sponsored by the well known Bread Loaf Writers' Conference of Middlebury College. The contest is for new authors of *literary* works in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. (Needless to say I won't be submitting my work to this contest since faeries are not considered literary. humph!) This contest has a LOT of information so if you're interested, I think it would be best to learn more about the contest directly from the link I've provided.

How to Enter: The Bakeless Prizes require that poetry manuscripts contain at least 50 pages of text; fiction, which includes novels and short-fiction collections, 150-450; creative nonfiction, 150-300. NO genre fiction is accepted. Details for how to send your manuscript can be found on the site.

The Prize: Winners of the Bakeless Prizes will have their book-length manuscripts published by Graywolf Press!! In addition to the publication prize each winner will be awarded a fellowship to attend the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference.

Deadline: November 1st

4. Writer's Digest: Instead of picking just one contest, I thought I'd direct you to the WD contest page, where you can select the contests that best suit your schedule and writing style. You have to pay to enter these contests but WD is a legit writing publication. Check out the list of contests at the link above. At the very least, one of them might give you a good idea for a story or writing exercise, and that's always a good thing.