Authorpalooza!!!

All right, for all of you who haven't heard, this weekend it's Authorpalooza time at the South Towne Barnes & Noble.

"What is Authorpalooza?" you ask. Well, just imagine dozens and dozens of authors (of which I am not even nearly the coolest) all in one spot. If I'm lucky I'll get to sit next to James Dashner and draft off of his momentum. Or if I'm REALLY lucky, then I I'll be seated next to Wendy Paul and get cake bites, cupcakes, or cookies.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

The Barnes & Noble website isn't doing me any favors by listing the authors, so if you're an author visiting this blog and you're going to be signing with me on Saturday, feel free to name drop yourself here in the comment area :)

Hope to see you all there!!!

Date: Sat, Feb 5th 2011

Time: 1-4 pm

Address: 10180 S. State Street, Sandy, UT 84070, 801-233-0203

And the Winner Is:

Okay, you all voted (or at least some of you did), and your favorite quote won by one vote. And since no one demanded a recount, I set to work to do what I promised to do: design the first giveaway that I'll be giving out this year.

If you recall, the winner was: "Been there. Done that. Got reincarnated for it."

For those of you who haven't read the original version of "City of Angels," this is the night shirt/tank Kay wears as a pajama top when she and Rhea are in college (just a random mention by Rhea, not an actual scene). And now, you can own it as well. I hope you like it, because while some people can't be trusted with a credit card and a mall in the same place, I can't be trusted near a designer or a printer with any amount of money. Designing shirts, cards, stickers, and other things that magically appear when you press print is my secret joy.

So welcome to my happy place, and thanks for playing with me there. But I warn you, if you encourage me in this area, the avalanche of items that may appear could be overwhelming.

Just sayin'.

So with no further ado, I now present your winner (which will initially be made into fun stickers and likely a journal if I can find any place in America who will make them the way I want them...):

For those of you who live in the Salt Lake area, the first time you can pick this up for free will be next Saturday, February 5th, at the B&N Authorpalooza at the South Towne location, from 1-4 pm. Totally hope to see you there :)

I'd like to thank Harper Collins

I'm one of those people with an impaired sense of delayed gratification. I like spoilers. I like sneaking around to figure things out before I'm told. It's harder for me to wait for Christmas if I actually know what I'm getting.

I know, I know. There are armies of souls out there that think sneaking a peek at a present ruins Christmas and learning the end of a story before you even know the beginning is a total kill joy. I understand I'm weird. I like spoilers. Then I like watching to see how the spoilers happen. It's the journey, after all, and knowing the destination only gives my brain a million paths to think about until someone shows me the "right" one.

Then I get to decide if I like my way better.

All this is a big preface to say: I like ARCs. Okay, I love ARCs--as in lurrrrrv them. Being one of the first to discover a story only adds to the fun of reading it in my world, which is why I would like to thank Harper Collins for sending me an ARC of PALE DEMON (Rachel Morgan series #9, by Kim Harrison).

Thank youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!

I stayed up all night reading it... on a work night. Naughty me. But once I start, I can't stop. And I have zero impulse control, which means I started reading it the same day I got it.

Totally worth it. And a review coming soon, for any of you who are friends with me on GoodReads :)

By ONE Vote

Who says your vote doesn't count?

The votes separating first, second, third and fourth places were all one vote. So by the hair of its chinny-chin chin, the winner is:

"Been there. Done that. Got reincarnated for it."

So watch out. The new notebook will be designed around that... and I think you'll like it. :)

And for those of you who voted for the three close runners up... I might just be inspired to have some fun with those too.

Until then, it's time to consult with my designer, Chris Brewer. So. Awesome. If you need an art job, he's the guy for you :):)

Can't wait to unveil what we come up with!

Golden Globes

I didn't watch the Golden Globes. I thought about it... but then other things sounded better, so I skipped the TV.

Leave it to me to miss a scandal.

At work today, a friend came up and informed me that Ricky Gervais took no prisoners in an offensive onslaught of mean-spirited comedy.

So, naturally, I looked it up on youtube.

Considering how offensive I thought the jokes would be, I was somewhat underwhelmed. They didn't seem that bad, really, which made me wonder why hackles were up. All the comments online say that stupid Americans just don't know how to laugh at themselves (probably written by stupid Americans themselves, who consider themselves more enlightened or "euro" than the common American), and I found myself disagreeing.

Americans know how to laugh at themselves.

We do it all the time. I think most people just aren't used to dressing up in fine apparel, investing in the best money can buy, and putting their best foot forward only to have someone throw a chili dog on them and dump a drink in their hair.

My thoughts for the raised hackles are these: An award ceremony, celebrating the best in an industry is not a "roast." Or if it is, the dress code and the logo probably imply it.

And also, insults don't sit as well when they're issued from one of the least accomplished (that is a snipe as his 2D portfolio... about as diverse as "The Tourist" and Sylvester Stallone's bio) and least manicured people in the room (although Annette Benning beat you there, Gervais. Nice try, though). Respect comes from doing something and doing it well. Only then can you really look at a room of people who are better than you and say, "You're amazing!" Or look at that same room of people and make them laugh. Ricky's jokes were so basal that they were more appropriate for a routine comedy club with a $5 cover. Tragically, based on that monologue, he wouldn't even make it to the Top 10 of Last Comic Standing.

But I digress. My point is, I think Ricky Gervais was (allegedly) "pulled" from the second half of the show because he ignored/didn't understand one essential point: The Golden Globes are not about mocking those who contributed to the "best" films of the year for the purpose of propelling your own notoriety. They are about applauding those who shape and exemplify an impossibly competitive business and make it thrive. Yes, people want to laugh. That's why they hire comedians. But they don't want to run into each other after the show and grimace at each other over a snipe they'd both rather not talk about.

Laughing= Yes

Awkward/Painful/Cringing= No

And to create such an ambiance, the consistently mean-spirited and disrespectful need not apply.

That's why I think some people are walking around with hackles raised today... are you one of them?

And now that it's a given that Ricky Gervaise will not host next year, who do you think should?

A BIG Thank You!

I'd like to take a moment to thank the fantastic ladies who just spent the past 90 minutes with me, getting my head into a new book--my next book. For the past several weeks my head has been stuck in my urban fantasy book and the 5th and 6th Rhea novels. Whenever I think of writing, I see Kay and Dahl... Rhea and Ty... and other characters I haven't introduced to you yet.

Mike, Rori, Luke and Kris have been VERY neglected.

So a HUGE shout out to the beautiful women who hung out with me on Twitter and kicked me in the pants.

Want to know who these charitable, inspiring souls are? Check out their blogs and/or books here:

Rachael Renee Anderson

Nichole Giles

Debbie Cranberry Fries

Cheri Chesley

LDSWBR

Thank you again, ladies, for giving me challenges that put me back on the right writing track :)

*BIG HUG*

New Year's Games

This post is like a week-and-a-half late, which means everyone else has moved on to bigger and better subjects than the usual new year boilerplate.

Well, not me. I'm actually excited for the year, because I don't have resolutions this year. I have GAMES.

Seriously, doesn't that sound WAY more fun? My friend introduced me to the concept, and I'm hooked. Now I have 4 new year's games to play throughout the year. I kind of want to make a scoreboard, too, to see which game I play the best.

Oh, and NONE of the games involve fitness or weight as a goal. *Phew* Some of the games might indirectly affect one of those areas, just like playing any game or sport might, but it's not the point.

SO love that about my games, too.

Anyway, I just thought I'd throw that out there, in case any of you want to play along. So far, I have to say, it's fun way to start a new year :)

Narrowing Down the Candidates

Okay, before I launch into your nominations, I must say I was pleased to find this review in the Mormon Times of City Limits (#3).

Yaaaaaay!

And now that the cheering has subsided, it's time--as promised--to reveal your nominations for best quotes from the Rhea Jensen. You will see the somewhat lengthy list of candidates by looking to your right sidebar. One thing to note is that I've allowed you to vote for multiple quotes, just to make it easy.

So vote away, and invite others to do the same if there's one quote you really want to win. Anyone can vote. We're a democracy here.

A big thanks to all those who nominated quotes. There are a lot of them there I never would have thought of. (Although Rachael, I think you win for "Most Unexpected Nominee." Too freakin' funny.)

I now look forward to seeing which quote wins, so get your vote on :)