Hannah Moskowitz's Blog, page 4
April 20, 2011
And the Last Winner Is...
Nice job, guys! I especially loved seeing you name those Muser books. I'm so proud of my musers.
1. Tons of correct choices, but a few: The Naughty List/So Many Boys/A Need So Beautiful by Suzanne Young, Handcuffs/The Red Masque of Death by Bethany Griffin, When the Sea is Rising Red by Cat Hellisen, The Unidentified by Rae Mariz, Kiss The Morning Stare by Elissa Hoole, and I'm sure many more that I've missed. We're kind of an awesome bunch.
2. Gray!
3. Zombie Tag is out December 20th, 2011. That's just before Christmas and the first night of Hanukkah, so it's a good time to be a present for some middle grader you love.
4. Well, mine would have to be "You've been chosen as an extra in the movie adaptation of the sequel to your life" from my homegirl "Shady Lane," though earlynerdspecial's line from The Engine Driver is way up there. (Although, on my more angsty days? "As I hide behind these books I read, while scribbling my poetry/like art could save a wretch like me, with some ideal ideology/that no one can hope to achieve, And I am never real; it is just a sketch of me/And everything I made is trite and cheap and a waste of paint, of tape, of time" from Bright Eyes's "A Waste of Paint." Good times!)
So we had 16 correct answers! And our winner is...
maine character. :) yaaaaay. email me!
You guys are so fabulous, thank you for being interested in IS! I hope that if you didn't win, you'll scoop up a copy of Invincible Summer on your own. Because, you know, I think the book is pretty cool.
I think in the next few days I'm going to be addressing the issue of the cover and the cover copy that almost all the reviewers have pointed out. It's important! And we might need a refresher course on why you can't use my book to hate your body. Come on humans!
You guys are amazing, and thank you so much for giving a shit about my little book.
1. Tons of correct choices, but a few: The Naughty List/So Many Boys/A Need So Beautiful by Suzanne Young, Handcuffs/The Red Masque of Death by Bethany Griffin, When the Sea is Rising Red by Cat Hellisen, The Unidentified by Rae Mariz, Kiss The Morning Stare by Elissa Hoole, and I'm sure many more that I've missed. We're kind of an awesome bunch.
2. Gray!
3. Zombie Tag is out December 20th, 2011. That's just before Christmas and the first night of Hanukkah, so it's a good time to be a present for some middle grader you love.
4. Well, mine would have to be "You've been chosen as an extra in the movie adaptation of the sequel to your life" from my homegirl "Shady Lane," though earlynerdspecial's line from The Engine Driver is way up there. (Although, on my more angsty days? "As I hide behind these books I read, while scribbling my poetry/like art could save a wretch like me, with some ideal ideology/that no one can hope to achieve, And I am never real; it is just a sketch of me/And everything I made is trite and cheap and a waste of paint, of tape, of time" from Bright Eyes's "A Waste of Paint." Good times!)
So we had 16 correct answers! And our winner is...
maine character. :) yaaaaay. email me!
You guys are so fabulous, thank you for being interested in IS! I hope that if you didn't win, you'll scoop up a copy of Invincible Summer on your own. Because, you know, I think the book is pretty cool.
I think in the next few days I'm going to be addressing the issue of the cover and the cover copy that almost all the reviewers have pointed out. It's important! And we might need a refresher course on why you can't use my book to hate your body. Come on humans!
You guys are amazing, and thank you so much for giving a shit about my little book.
April 19, 2011
THE LAST SCAVENGER HUNT
Happy Invincible Summer release day! I hope it's as spectacular for you as a Tuesday can be.
So here are the answers from yesterday's..
1. Abby (Also acceptable: Abigail, though I not sure she would agree with me on that.)
2. Shady Lane
3. "Shady Lane" by Pavement, teehee
4. Wil (Zombie Tag) and Will (Break). Wil is short for Wilson, Will is short for William. Go figure.
Everyone got them right! Which means today will need to be much harder...
And the randomly selected winner:
Essie!! Congratulations, Essie! Emailing me within 24 hours would be fabulous.
So we have one more scavenger hunt left! Here are the rules, same as every day:
You will have 24 hours, starting from the minute this post goes up, to answer a series of questions. You will post your answers in the comments section of this post. Some of these questions have multiple (perhaps nearly infinite) correct answers, and some do not. You must answer all correctly to have a chance to be the randomly selected winner. There will be one winner each day, and I will announce that winner in the post opening the next round of the contest. If you do not win, you are absolutely free to enter the next few rounds! If you do win, you have 24 hours to email me your mailing information before I pass off to a different winner. And please do not enter again.
To find the answers of the questions, I suggest you try some of the following strategies:
a) look deep inside yourself
b) Google it
c) copy the answers of someone who posted before you
d) ask a muser. Just saying. These guys tend to know things. They're also busy people, so you might be lucky and you might not.
(Some names to try: @gracetopia, @Sagecollins, @sayitwhirly, @althrasher, @_bethanygriffin, @briannaorg, @suzanneyoung, @brittanimae, @libbymartin, @raemariz)
e) ask me. I may take pity on you, especially if you ask me in a funny way.
f) otherwise bribe/cheat/steal. This is a lawless society.
There will be none of that +1 for following or retweeting nonsense, but I would be ever so much obliged if you would consider adding the little book in question to your goodreads shelf, because I am a goodreads whore and sometimes you need little things to make you happy.
--
Today's rules!
THE PRIZE IS:
One copy of INVINCIBLE SUMMER and one CD of INVINCIBLE SUMMER'S PLAYLIST, as well as one signed bookmark.
THE RESTRICTIONS ARE:
WE'RE INTERNATIONAL TODAY!! Enter from anywhere in the whole world. Even Antarctica!
One entry per customer. No exceptions. Don't make me come down there.
Contest ends at 5:45 PM, April 20th, 2011.
And our questions are:
1) So I know you've heard of the musers. We're a family of about 25 writers. Besides mine, what are two of our published (released already or no) books?
2) As of right this minute, what color shirt am I wearing?
3) What is Zombie Tag's release date?
4) If you had to choose one lyric that best describes you and your life, what would you choose?
Break a leg!
So here are the answers from yesterday's..
1. Abby (Also acceptable: Abigail, though I not sure she would agree with me on that.)
2. Shady Lane
3. "Shady Lane" by Pavement, teehee
4. Wil (Zombie Tag) and Will (Break). Wil is short for Wilson, Will is short for William. Go figure.
Everyone got them right! Which means today will need to be much harder...
And the randomly selected winner:
Essie!! Congratulations, Essie! Emailing me within 24 hours would be fabulous.
So we have one more scavenger hunt left! Here are the rules, same as every day:
You will have 24 hours, starting from the minute this post goes up, to answer a series of questions. You will post your answers in the comments section of this post. Some of these questions have multiple (perhaps nearly infinite) correct answers, and some do not. You must answer all correctly to have a chance to be the randomly selected winner. There will be one winner each day, and I will announce that winner in the post opening the next round of the contest. If you do not win, you are absolutely free to enter the next few rounds! If you do win, you have 24 hours to email me your mailing information before I pass off to a different winner. And please do not enter again.
To find the answers of the questions, I suggest you try some of the following strategies:
a) look deep inside yourself
b) Google it
c) copy the answers of someone who posted before you
d) ask a muser. Just saying. These guys tend to know things. They're also busy people, so you might be lucky and you might not.
(Some names to try: @gracetopia, @Sagecollins, @sayitwhirly, @althrasher, @_bethanygriffin, @briannaorg, @suzanneyoung, @brittanimae, @libbymartin, @raemariz)
e) ask me. I may take pity on you, especially if you ask me in a funny way.
f) otherwise bribe/cheat/steal. This is a lawless society.
There will be none of that +1 for following or retweeting nonsense, but I would be ever so much obliged if you would consider adding the little book in question to your goodreads shelf, because I am a goodreads whore and sometimes you need little things to make you happy.
--
Today's rules!
THE PRIZE IS:
One copy of INVINCIBLE SUMMER and one CD of INVINCIBLE SUMMER'S PLAYLIST, as well as one signed bookmark.
THE RESTRICTIONS ARE:
WE'RE INTERNATIONAL TODAY!! Enter from anywhere in the whole world. Even Antarctica!
One entry per customer. No exceptions. Don't make me come down there.
Contest ends at 5:45 PM, April 20th, 2011.
And our questions are:
1) So I know you've heard of the musers. We're a family of about 25 writers. Besides mine, what are two of our published (released already or no) books?
2) As of right this minute, what color shirt am I wearing?
3) What is Zombie Tag's release date?
4) If you had to choose one lyric that best describes you and your life, what would you choose?
Break a leg!
April 18, 2011
An Important Interruption
We're nearly an hour early, but...
Happy Invincible Summer day, everyone.
:)
Happy Invincible Summer day, everyone.
:)
THE THIRD SCAVENGER HUNT
Well done, guys! Yesterday's scavenger hunt had 21 people answering correctly! The answers were:
1. EEF
2. Elise (French middle name in the middle of my mega-Jewish name ftw?)
3. False
4. It's just a jump to the left and then a step to the right, put your hands on your hips and brings your knees in tight, but it's the pelvic thrust that really drives you insane. Repeat!
And the randomly selected winner is...
Karen Yuan!!! Congratulations, Karen! Please get in touch with me with your info sometime in the next 24 hours. But I'll attempt to track you down if I don't hear from you, don't worry.
Time for the 3rd of our 4 scavenger hunts, since Invincible Summer is out TOMORROW!! Oh wow.
The same rules as the days before:
You will have 24 hours, starting from the minute this post goes up, to answer a series of questions. You will post your answers in the comments section of this post. Some of these questions have multiple (perhaps nearly infinite) correct answers, and some do not. You must answer all correctly to have a chance to be the randomly selected winner. There will be one winner each day, and I will announce that winner in the post opening the next round of the contest. If you do not win, you are absolutely free to enter the next few rounds! If you do win, you have 24 hours to email me your mailing information before I pass off to a different winner. And please do not enter again.
To find the answers of the questions, I suggest you try some of the following strategies:
a) look deep inside yourself
b) Google it
c) copy the answers of someone who posted before you
d) ask a muser. Just saying. These guys tend to know things. They're also busy people, so you might be lucky and you might not.
(Some names to try: @gracetopia, @Sagecollins, @sayitwhirly, @althrasher, @_bethanygriffin, @briannaorg, @suzanneyoung, @brittanimae, @libbymartin, @raemariz)
e) ask me. I may take pity on you, especially if you ask me in a funny way.
f) otherwise bribe/cheat/steal. This is a lawless society.
There will be none of that +1 for following or retweeting nonsense, but I would be ever so much obliged if you would consider adding the little book in question to your goodreads shelf, because I am a goodreads whore and sometimes you need little things to make you happy.
--
Today's rules!
THE PRIZE IS:
One copy of INVINCIBLE SUMMER and one CD of INVINCIBLE SUMMER'S PLAYLIST, as well as one signed bookmark.
THE RESTRICTIONS ARE:
WE'RE INTERNATIONAL TODAY!! Enter from anywhere in the whole world. Even Antarctica!
One entry per customer. No exceptions. Don't make me come down there.
Contest ends at 4:30 PM, April 19th, 2011.
And our questions are (today we have a theme!) :
1) Hannah Moskowitz has one sibling. What is his or her name? (hint: are you and I facebook friends? That will help.)
2) What is Hannah Moskowitz's Absolute Write username?
3) That username is a reference to a song. What is the name of that song?
4) Here's the tricky one: A major character in BREAK and a major character in Zombie Tag have the same name, though they are spelled slightly differently. What is this name?
Good luck!
1. EEF
2. Elise (French middle name in the middle of my mega-Jewish name ftw?)
3. False
4. It's just a jump to the left and then a step to the right, put your hands on your hips and brings your knees in tight, but it's the pelvic thrust that really drives you insane. Repeat!
And the randomly selected winner is...
Karen Yuan!!! Congratulations, Karen! Please get in touch with me with your info sometime in the next 24 hours. But I'll attempt to track you down if I don't hear from you, don't worry.
Time for the 3rd of our 4 scavenger hunts, since Invincible Summer is out TOMORROW!! Oh wow.
The same rules as the days before:
You will have 24 hours, starting from the minute this post goes up, to answer a series of questions. You will post your answers in the comments section of this post. Some of these questions have multiple (perhaps nearly infinite) correct answers, and some do not. You must answer all correctly to have a chance to be the randomly selected winner. There will be one winner each day, and I will announce that winner in the post opening the next round of the contest. If you do not win, you are absolutely free to enter the next few rounds! If you do win, you have 24 hours to email me your mailing information before I pass off to a different winner. And please do not enter again.
To find the answers of the questions, I suggest you try some of the following strategies:
a) look deep inside yourself
b) Google it
c) copy the answers of someone who posted before you
d) ask a muser. Just saying. These guys tend to know things. They're also busy people, so you might be lucky and you might not.
(Some names to try: @gracetopia, @Sagecollins, @sayitwhirly, @althrasher, @_bethanygriffin, @briannaorg, @suzanneyoung, @brittanimae, @libbymartin, @raemariz)
e) ask me. I may take pity on you, especially if you ask me in a funny way.
f) otherwise bribe/cheat/steal. This is a lawless society.
There will be none of that +1 for following or retweeting nonsense, but I would be ever so much obliged if you would consider adding the little book in question to your goodreads shelf, because I am a goodreads whore and sometimes you need little things to make you happy.
--
Today's rules!
THE PRIZE IS:
One copy of INVINCIBLE SUMMER and one CD of INVINCIBLE SUMMER'S PLAYLIST, as well as one signed bookmark.
THE RESTRICTIONS ARE:
WE'RE INTERNATIONAL TODAY!! Enter from anywhere in the whole world. Even Antarctica!
One entry per customer. No exceptions. Don't make me come down there.
Contest ends at 4:30 PM, April 19th, 2011.
And our questions are (today we have a theme!) :
1) Hannah Moskowitz has one sibling. What is his or her name? (hint: are you and I facebook friends? That will help.)
2) What is Hannah Moskowitz's Absolute Write username?
3) That username is a reference to a song. What is the name of that song?
4) Here's the tricky one: A major character in BREAK and a major character in Zombie Tag have the same name, though they are spelled slightly differently. What is this name?
Good luck!
April 17, 2011
THE SECOND SCAVENGER HUNT
So! Yesterday's answers were:
1. Sarah Greenhill
2. 445.3 lbs
3. (you guys had good answers for this one!)
4. Gideon
Fourteen people got all four answers correct. And from those fifteen, the randomly selected winner is....
ERIN!! (though the worst lyric of that song is obviously "today never happened before.")
Congratulations, Erin! You have 24 hours to email me your info.
Now for the next scavenger hunt! These are the every day rules. Please skip if you read them yesterday:
You will have 24 hours, starting from the minute this post goes up, to answer a series of questions. You will post your answers in the comments section of this post. Some of these questions have multiple (perhaps nearly infinite) correct answers, and some do not. You must answer all correctly to have a chance to be the randomly selected winner. There will be one winner each day, and I will announce that winner in the post opening the next round of the contest. If you do not win, you are absolutely free to enter the next few rounds! If you do win, you have 24 hours to email me your mailing information before I pass off to a different winner. And please do not enter again.
To find the answers of the questions, I suggest you try some of the following strategies:
a) look deep inside yourself
b) Google it
c) copy the answers of someone who posted before you
d) ask a muser. Just saying. These guys tend to know things. They're also busy people, so you might be lucky and you might not.
(Some names to try: @gracetopia, @Sagecollins, @sayitwhirly, @althrasher, @_bethanygriffin, @briannaorg, @suzanneyoung, @brittanimae, @libbymartin, @raemariz)
e) ask me. I may take pity on you, especially if you ask me in a funny way.
f) otherwise bribe/cheat/steal. This is a lawless society.
There will be none of that +1 for following or retweeting nonsense, but I would be ever so much obliged if you would consider adding the little book in question to your goodreads shelf, because I am a goodreads whore and sometimes you need little things to make you happy.
--
NOW. For the special rules for today.
THE PRIZE IS:
One copy of INVINCIBLE SUMMER and one CD of INVINCIBLE SUMMER'S PLAYLIST, as well as one signed bookmark.
THE RESTRICTIONS ARE:
U.S. and Canada only once again (sorry guys! There will be an international day).
One entry per customer. No exceptions. Don't make me come down there.
Contest ends at 4:00 PM, April 18th, 2011.
AND YOUR QUESTIONS ARE:
1) When played on piano, what are the first three notes of "Ode to Joy?"
2) What is Hannah Moskowitz's middle name?
3) True or False: In INVINCIBLE SUMMER, Claudia is older than Chase.
4) Explain to me, please, how one dances the Time Warp.
Go go go!
1. Sarah Greenhill
2. 445.3 lbs
3. (you guys had good answers for this one!)
4. Gideon
Fourteen people got all four answers correct. And from those fifteen, the randomly selected winner is....
ERIN!! (though the worst lyric of that song is obviously "today never happened before.")
Congratulations, Erin! You have 24 hours to email me your info.
Now for the next scavenger hunt! These are the every day rules. Please skip if you read them yesterday:
You will have 24 hours, starting from the minute this post goes up, to answer a series of questions. You will post your answers in the comments section of this post. Some of these questions have multiple (perhaps nearly infinite) correct answers, and some do not. You must answer all correctly to have a chance to be the randomly selected winner. There will be one winner each day, and I will announce that winner in the post opening the next round of the contest. If you do not win, you are absolutely free to enter the next few rounds! If you do win, you have 24 hours to email me your mailing information before I pass off to a different winner. And please do not enter again.
To find the answers of the questions, I suggest you try some of the following strategies:
a) look deep inside yourself
b) Google it
c) copy the answers of someone who posted before you
d) ask a muser. Just saying. These guys tend to know things. They're also busy people, so you might be lucky and you might not.
(Some names to try: @gracetopia, @Sagecollins, @sayitwhirly, @althrasher, @_bethanygriffin, @briannaorg, @suzanneyoung, @brittanimae, @libbymartin, @raemariz)
e) ask me. I may take pity on you, especially if you ask me in a funny way.
f) otherwise bribe/cheat/steal. This is a lawless society.
There will be none of that +1 for following or retweeting nonsense, but I would be ever so much obliged if you would consider adding the little book in question to your goodreads shelf, because I am a goodreads whore and sometimes you need little things to make you happy.
--
NOW. For the special rules for today.
THE PRIZE IS:
One copy of INVINCIBLE SUMMER and one CD of INVINCIBLE SUMMER'S PLAYLIST, as well as one signed bookmark.
THE RESTRICTIONS ARE:
U.S. and Canada only once again (sorry guys! There will be an international day).
One entry per customer. No exceptions. Don't make me come down there.
Contest ends at 4:00 PM, April 18th, 2011.
AND YOUR QUESTIONS ARE:
1) When played on piano, what are the first three notes of "Ode to Joy?"
2) What is Hannah Moskowitz's middle name?
3) True or False: In INVINCIBLE SUMMER, Claudia is older than Chase.
4) Explain to me, please, how one dances the Time Warp.
Go go go!
April 16, 2011
THE FIRST SCAVENGER HUNT
So.
We are having the first of four scavenger hunts today.
You are about to embark on a quest to win a copy of INVINCIBLE SUMMER.
Good luck.
--
First, the rules for every day:
You will have 24 hours, starting from the minute this post goes up, to answer a series of questions. You will post your answers in the comments section of this post. Some of these questions have multiple (perhaps nearly infinite) correct answers, and some do not. You must answer all correctly to have a chance to be the randomly selected winner. There will be one winner each day, and I will announce that winner in the post opening the next round of the contest. If you do not win, you are absolutely free to enter the next few rounds! If you do win, you have 24 hours to email me your mailing information before I pass off to a different winner. And please do not enter again.
To find the answers of the questions, I suggest you try some of the following strategies:
a) look deep inside yourself
b) Google it
c) copy the answers of someone who posted before you
d) ask a muser. Just saying. These guys tend to know things. They're also busy people, so you might be lucky and you might not.
(Some names to try: @gracetopia, @Sagecollins, @sayitwhirly, @althrasher, @_bethanygriffin, @briannaorg, @suzanneyoung, @brittanimae, @libbymartin, @raemariz)
e) ask me. I may take pity on you, especially if you ask me in a funny way.
f) otherwise bribe/cheat/steal. This is a lawless society.
There will be none of that +1 for following or retweeting nonsense, but I would be ever so much obliged if you would consider adding the little book in question to your goodreads shelf, because I am a goodreads whore and sometimes you need little things to make you happy.
NOW. For the special rules for today.
THE PRIZE IS:
One copy of INVINCIBLE SUMMER and one CD of INVINCIBLE SUMMER'S PLAYLIST, as well as one signed bookmark.
THE RESTRICTIONS ARE:
U.S. and Canada only this time (sorry guys! There will be an international day).
One entry per customer. No exceptions. Don't make me come down there.
Contest ends at 2:30 PM, April 17th, 2011.
AND YOUR QUESTIONS ARE:
1) What is Hannah Moskowitz's porn star name?
2) What is the weight of a Tyranitar?
3) What is the worst lyric from your favorite song? (Example: My favorite song is "A Perfect Sonnet" by Bright Eyes, and the worst lyric is absolutely "so I stand in the sun/and I breathe with my lungs" because wow. That's pretty terrible. Obviously there are many correct answers. I want yours.)
4) Who is the first character named in INVINCIBLE SUMMER?
aaaaaaand go.
We are having the first of four scavenger hunts today.
You are about to embark on a quest to win a copy of INVINCIBLE SUMMER.
Good luck.
--
First, the rules for every day:
You will have 24 hours, starting from the minute this post goes up, to answer a series of questions. You will post your answers in the comments section of this post. Some of these questions have multiple (perhaps nearly infinite) correct answers, and some do not. You must answer all correctly to have a chance to be the randomly selected winner. There will be one winner each day, and I will announce that winner in the post opening the next round of the contest. If you do not win, you are absolutely free to enter the next few rounds! If you do win, you have 24 hours to email me your mailing information before I pass off to a different winner. And please do not enter again.
To find the answers of the questions, I suggest you try some of the following strategies:
a) look deep inside yourself
b) Google it
c) copy the answers of someone who posted before you
d) ask a muser. Just saying. These guys tend to know things. They're also busy people, so you might be lucky and you might not.
(Some names to try: @gracetopia, @Sagecollins, @sayitwhirly, @althrasher, @_bethanygriffin, @briannaorg, @suzanneyoung, @brittanimae, @libbymartin, @raemariz)
e) ask me. I may take pity on you, especially if you ask me in a funny way.
f) otherwise bribe/cheat/steal. This is a lawless society.
There will be none of that +1 for following or retweeting nonsense, but I would be ever so much obliged if you would consider adding the little book in question to your goodreads shelf, because I am a goodreads whore and sometimes you need little things to make you happy.
NOW. For the special rules for today.
THE PRIZE IS:
One copy of INVINCIBLE SUMMER and one CD of INVINCIBLE SUMMER'S PLAYLIST, as well as one signed bookmark.
THE RESTRICTIONS ARE:
U.S. and Canada only this time (sorry guys! There will be an international day).
One entry per customer. No exceptions. Don't make me come down there.
Contest ends at 2:30 PM, April 17th, 2011.
AND YOUR QUESTIONS ARE:
1) What is Hannah Moskowitz's porn star name?
2) What is the weight of a Tyranitar?
3) What is the worst lyric from your favorite song? (Example: My favorite song is "A Perfect Sonnet" by Bright Eyes, and the worst lyric is absolutely "so I stand in the sun/and I breathe with my lungs" because wow. That's pretty terrible. Obviously there are many correct answers. I want yours.)
4) Who is the first character named in INVINCIBLE SUMMER?
aaaaaaand go.
April 15, 2011
INVINCIBLE SUMMER Playlist: Song 20
SONG #20: "Bixby Canyon Bridge."
The last very important song, and the last song period.
I always like to say that I write in returns. And it's something I have to remind myself while I'm writing all the time, ha. If a character says something important or goes somewhere important, he has to somehow return to that space, literally or otherwise. There are very few times I'm not in favor of a character physically returning to a significant place. It always helps.
Invincible Summer is a book about returns, really, because it takes place on the same beach, in the same house, but each part has an entire unspoken year in-between it and the next. So there's a lot you're not seeing, and the location is what pulls the story together. If I had them in a different place every summer, it would be a lot more difficult for both of us, probably. It would be hard for you to see what's changed. That's what returns are about: an impossibly easy way to see what's changed when a space or a room or a moment remains the same.
That's what Bixby Canyon Bridge is about.
And that's the end of the book, guys. The giveaways start tomorrow! I'm crazy excited for them. There will be more details tomorrow, but quickly: each one's going to be open for only 24 hours. At least 1 of the days will allow international entry as well, but most will be only U.S and Canada, sorry. They're going to be ridiculously fun for me (and hopefully fun for you) and, well...I hope that you will like them.
I also hope that you will like Invincible Summer.
And I hope you're having a lovely day.
SAMPLE LYRIC:
Barefoot in the shallow creek,
I grabbed some stones from underneath
And waited for you to speak to me.
AND HERE IS THE PLAYLIST:
1) "Turn Up The Sun" by Oasis
2) "Island in the Sun" by Weezer
3) "Just Like Heaven" by Gatsby's American Dream
4) "Bigger Than My Body" by John Mayer
5) "New Soul" by Yael Naim
6) "Across the Universe" by Rufus Wainwright
7) "Boys of Summer" by The Ataris
8) "Slang" by Def Leppard
9) "City Hall" by The Fray
10) "The Worst Part" by Motion City Soundtrack
11) "Time Won't Let Me Go" by The Bravery
12) "Hello Helicopter" by Motion City Soundtrack
13) "No One's Boy" by Marcy Playground
14) "You Can Do Better Than Me" by Death Cab for Cutie
15) "Sorry" by Pushmonkey
16) "Little Sparrow" by David Cook
17) "Long Division" by Death Cab for Cutie
18) "Not Just Sometimes But Always" by Idlewild
19) "Long Long Time" by Guy Forsyth.
20) "Bixby Canyon Bridge" by Death Cab for Cutie.
The last very important song, and the last song period.
I always like to say that I write in returns. And it's something I have to remind myself while I'm writing all the time, ha. If a character says something important or goes somewhere important, he has to somehow return to that space, literally or otherwise. There are very few times I'm not in favor of a character physically returning to a significant place. It always helps.
Invincible Summer is a book about returns, really, because it takes place on the same beach, in the same house, but each part has an entire unspoken year in-between it and the next. So there's a lot you're not seeing, and the location is what pulls the story together. If I had them in a different place every summer, it would be a lot more difficult for both of us, probably. It would be hard for you to see what's changed. That's what returns are about: an impossibly easy way to see what's changed when a space or a room or a moment remains the same.
That's what Bixby Canyon Bridge is about.
And that's the end of the book, guys. The giveaways start tomorrow! I'm crazy excited for them. There will be more details tomorrow, but quickly: each one's going to be open for only 24 hours. At least 1 of the days will allow international entry as well, but most will be only U.S and Canada, sorry. They're going to be ridiculously fun for me (and hopefully fun for you) and, well...I hope that you will like them.
I also hope that you will like Invincible Summer.
And I hope you're having a lovely day.
SAMPLE LYRIC:
Barefoot in the shallow creek,
I grabbed some stones from underneath
And waited for you to speak to me.
AND HERE IS THE PLAYLIST:
1) "Turn Up The Sun" by Oasis
2) "Island in the Sun" by Weezer
3) "Just Like Heaven" by Gatsby's American Dream
4) "Bigger Than My Body" by John Mayer
5) "New Soul" by Yael Naim
6) "Across the Universe" by Rufus Wainwright
7) "Boys of Summer" by The Ataris
8) "Slang" by Def Leppard
9) "City Hall" by The Fray
10) "The Worst Part" by Motion City Soundtrack
11) "Time Won't Let Me Go" by The Bravery
12) "Hello Helicopter" by Motion City Soundtrack
13) "No One's Boy" by Marcy Playground
14) "You Can Do Better Than Me" by Death Cab for Cutie
15) "Sorry" by Pushmonkey
16) "Little Sparrow" by David Cook
17) "Long Division" by Death Cab for Cutie
18) "Not Just Sometimes But Always" by Idlewild
19) "Long Long Time" by Guy Forsyth.
20) "Bixby Canyon Bridge" by Death Cab for Cutie.
April 14, 2011
INVINCIBLE SUMMER Playlist: Song 19
SONG #19: "Long Long Time" by Guy Forsyth.
This is one of those songs that appeared somehow on my iTunes. It's also one of my very favorites. So thanks, iTunes ghost!
So really this is a song about frustration with American and capitalism and big business, but it goes so well here because there's something angrily nostalgic and at the same time a little hopeful about it. And it works really well between Not Just Sometimes But Always and Song #20 (the last song!) which are both more serious. It's also a song about coping with bullshit, frankly. And that's relevant on a personal level for Chase the same way it is on a national level in the song.
This is a really exhilarating scene in the book, and I think this works really well.
Also, it's an amazing song.
SAMPLE LYRIC:
I remember listening to songs about trains and feeling the rush of wonder
At the possibility that the world was infinite and accessible all at the same time.
And then it was songs about highways and born to be wild and little red corvette
And the road went on forever in my mind.
But now it's clogged bumper to bumper with stinking SUVs and two-story pickup trucks that can drive over anything except the two-story pickup truck right in front of it.
Not even the highways look the same, Starbucks and 7-elevens and Walmarts jam the feeder roads.
We don't live around this mess, we live under it.
It's been a long long long long long long long long long long long long time
It's been a long long long long long long long long long long long long time
Since I felt fine.
PLAYLIST SO FAR:
1) "Turn Up The Sun" by Oasis
2) "Island in the Sun" by Weezer
3) "Just Like Heaven" by Gatsby's American Dream
4) "Bigger Than My Body" by John Mayer
5) "New Soul" by Yael Naim
6) "Across the Universe" by Rufus Wainwright
7) "Boys of Summer" by The Ataris
8) "Slang" by Def Leppard
9) "City Hall" by The Fray
10) "The Worst Part" by Motion City Soundtrack
11) "Time Won't Let Me Go" by The Bravery
12) "Hello Helicopter" by Motion City Soundtrack
13) "No One's Boy" by Marcy Playground
14) "You Can Do Better Than Me" by Death Cab for Cutie
15) "Sorry" by Pushmonkey
16) "Little Sparrow" by David Cook
17) "Long Division" by Death Cab for Cutie
18) "Not Just Sometimes But Always" by Idlewild
This is one of those songs that appeared somehow on my iTunes. It's also one of my very favorites. So thanks, iTunes ghost!
So really this is a song about frustration with American and capitalism and big business, but it goes so well here because there's something angrily nostalgic and at the same time a little hopeful about it. And it works really well between Not Just Sometimes But Always and Song #20 (the last song!) which are both more serious. It's also a song about coping with bullshit, frankly. And that's relevant on a personal level for Chase the same way it is on a national level in the song.
This is a really exhilarating scene in the book, and I think this works really well.
Also, it's an amazing song.
SAMPLE LYRIC:
I remember listening to songs about trains and feeling the rush of wonder
At the possibility that the world was infinite and accessible all at the same time.
And then it was songs about highways and born to be wild and little red corvette
And the road went on forever in my mind.
But now it's clogged bumper to bumper with stinking SUVs and two-story pickup trucks that can drive over anything except the two-story pickup truck right in front of it.
Not even the highways look the same, Starbucks and 7-elevens and Walmarts jam the feeder roads.
We don't live around this mess, we live under it.
It's been a long long long long long long long long long long long long time
It's been a long long long long long long long long long long long long time
Since I felt fine.
PLAYLIST SO FAR:
1) "Turn Up The Sun" by Oasis
2) "Island in the Sun" by Weezer
3) "Just Like Heaven" by Gatsby's American Dream
4) "Bigger Than My Body" by John Mayer
5) "New Soul" by Yael Naim
6) "Across the Universe" by Rufus Wainwright
7) "Boys of Summer" by The Ataris
8) "Slang" by Def Leppard
9) "City Hall" by The Fray
10) "The Worst Part" by Motion City Soundtrack
11) "Time Won't Let Me Go" by The Bravery
12) "Hello Helicopter" by Motion City Soundtrack
13) "No One's Boy" by Marcy Playground
14) "You Can Do Better Than Me" by Death Cab for Cutie
15) "Sorry" by Pushmonkey
16) "Little Sparrow" by David Cook
17) "Long Division" by Death Cab for Cutie
18) "Not Just Sometimes But Always" by Idlewild
April 13, 2011
INVINCIBLE SUMMER Playlist: Song 18
SONG #18: "Not Just Sometimes But Always" by Idlewild.
Two songs to go.
I'm putting a bit of a spoiler warning on this one. Don't listen if you hate knowing anything (though why would you be following along with these posts, really).
Besides that, I don't know what to say about this one.
It's by far the most important song on the playlist. Or to anything I've ever written. And it still makes me cry.
I should have dedicated the book to it, I'll tell you that.
SAMPLE LYRIC:
I tune the radio to drown out these voices I don't know
I'm suddenly an empty house that almost fills up with home
There are days and nights when I don't need to close my eyes
And they feel as real to me
Like an elegy
In disguise
CORRELATING PASSAGE:
note: this is the last passage I'll be posting. The last two songs come naked. Sorry.
"Uncross your arms and put down the fucking Camus! This is our life!"
--p. 262
PLAYLIST SO FAR:
1) "Turn Up The Sun" by Oasis
2) "Island in the Sun" by Weezer
3) "Just Like Heaven" by Gatsby's American Dream
4) "Bigger Than My Body" by John Mayer
5) "New Soul" by Yael Naim
6) "Across the Universe" by Rufus Wainwright
7) "Boys of Summer" by The Ataris
8) "Slang" by Def Leppard
9) "City Hall" by The Fray
10) "The Worst Part" by Motion City Soundtrack
11) "Time Won't Let Me Go" by The Bravery
12) "Hello Helicopter" by Motion City Soundtrack
13) "No One's Boy" by Marcy Playground
14) "You Can Do Better Than Me" by Death Cab for Cutie
15) "Sorry" by Pushmonkey
16) "Little Sparrow" by David Cook
17) "Long Division" by Death Cab for Cutie
18) "Not Just Sometimes But Always" by Idlewild
Two songs to go.
I'm putting a bit of a spoiler warning on this one. Don't listen if you hate knowing anything (though why would you be following along with these posts, really).
Besides that, I don't know what to say about this one.
It's by far the most important song on the playlist. Or to anything I've ever written. And it still makes me cry.
I should have dedicated the book to it, I'll tell you that.
SAMPLE LYRIC:
I tune the radio to drown out these voices I don't know
I'm suddenly an empty house that almost fills up with home
There are days and nights when I don't need to close my eyes
And they feel as real to me
Like an elegy
In disguise
CORRELATING PASSAGE:
note: this is the last passage I'll be posting. The last two songs come naked. Sorry.
"Uncross your arms and put down the fucking Camus! This is our life!"
--p. 262
PLAYLIST SO FAR:
1) "Turn Up The Sun" by Oasis
2) "Island in the Sun" by Weezer
3) "Just Like Heaven" by Gatsby's American Dream
4) "Bigger Than My Body" by John Mayer
5) "New Soul" by Yael Naim
6) "Across the Universe" by Rufus Wainwright
7) "Boys of Summer" by The Ataris
8) "Slang" by Def Leppard
9) "City Hall" by The Fray
10) "The Worst Part" by Motion City Soundtrack
11) "Time Won't Let Me Go" by The Bravery
12) "Hello Helicopter" by Motion City Soundtrack
13) "No One's Boy" by Marcy Playground
14) "You Can Do Better Than Me" by Death Cab for Cutie
15) "Sorry" by Pushmonkey
16) "Little Sparrow" by David Cook
17) "Long Division" by Death Cab for Cutie
18) "Not Just Sometimes But Always" by Idlewild
April 12, 2011
INVINCIBLE SUMMER Playlist: Song 17
SONG #17: "Long Division" by Death Cab for Cutie.
We're four songs from the end, and we've finally hit the first of the VERY IMPORTANT SONGS.
Long Division is one of my favorite songs. I'm sure I'm not the only Death Cab fan who views this as a sequel to "Your Heart is an Empty Room." It's about someone who used to run away all the time who's trying to change. Trying to stay.
This one really could have gone anywhere on the playlist. It's where it is more for mood than anything. It provides a good break between "Little Sparrow" and song #18.
But this song is hugely important, because this song is where Noah came from.
It's no secret that Noah is one of my very favorites of the characters I've written. And that might be because he was the easiest. Being inside Noah's head would have been a nightmare (and a bitch for you to read, because God that kid is angry) but his lines were always the easiest ones to write. I could space out a little while I was writing dialogue with Noah. I would start with one line and then I would just let myself run with it. Noah is smart and poetic and cynical and so incredibly affectionate, and he knows a ton about the outside world and just about nothing about himself.
And in a lot of ways, Invincible Summer is Noah's story. Claudia is the real hero--I will forever maintain that Claudia is the hero--but if the story has a tragic hero, it's absolutely Noah. And the fact that the book is in Chase's head let me have a really fun time writing Noah, because Chase absolutely adores him. I mean, fuck, Chase is sleeping with a girl in attempts to be closer to him. It's fucked-up and crazy and it is all because of this song.
This song is where I got Noah, and Melinda, and the relationship between them. This song is all of that.
So let's have a lot of text today.
SAMPLE LYRIC:
His head was a city of paper buildings
And the echoes that remained
Of old friends and lovers, their features bleeding
Together in his brain
And once it'd start, it was harder to
Tell them apart
He was always distracted
By the very mention
Of an open door
'Cause he had sworn not to be what he'd been before
To be a remain remain remain remainder
To be a remain remain remain remainder
The television was snowing softly
As she hunted for her keys
She said she never envisioned him the type of person
capable of such deceit
And they carried on like long division
And it was clear with every page
That they were further away from a solution that would play
Without a remain remain remain remainder
CORRELATING PASSAGE:
I don't blame Noah for what happened. None of us do. I think, for a while, he was waiting for the other shoe to drop, waiting for us to lose it and finally scream at him that we were so angry and so disappointed and we wished he'd never come home that night. He used to steal my stuff every time he came over. He wouldn't be sneaky about it, and he always took stuff that I'd be sure to notice, like my favorite shirt or my toothbrush. I confronted him about it once, and he kept saying, "Why don't you tell me what you're really mad about? Why don't you tell me what the real problem is?" until I eventually told him to shut up and just stop stealing my shit. It's not as if we're still fighting about that, but that was when he stopped coming over.
I take a deep breath. I'm feeling okay about going back. Quiet, but okay. I'm feeling ready. After all, as Noah and Camus and probably Melinda—though I don't think of her much anymore—would say, "one always finds one's burden again."
--p. 242-243
PLAYLIST SO FAR:
1) "Turn Up The Sun" by Oasis
2) "Island in the Sun" by Weezer
3) "Just Like Heaven" by Gatsby's American Dream
4) "Bigger Than My Body" by John Mayer
5) "New Soul" by Yael Naim
6) "Across the Universe" by Rufus Wainwright
7) "Boys of Summer" by The Ataris
8) "Slang" by Def Leppard
9) "City Hall" by The Fray
10) "The Worst Part" by Motion City Soundtrack
11) "Time Won't Let Me Go" by The Bravery
12) "Hello Helicopter" by Motion City Soundtrack
13) "No One's Boy" by Marcy Playground
14) "You Can Do Better Than Me" by Death Cab for Cutie
15) "Sorry" by Pushmonkey
16) "Little Sparrow" by David Cook
17) "Long Division" by Death Cab for Cutie
We're four songs from the end, and we've finally hit the first of the VERY IMPORTANT SONGS.
Long Division is one of my favorite songs. I'm sure I'm not the only Death Cab fan who views this as a sequel to "Your Heart is an Empty Room." It's about someone who used to run away all the time who's trying to change. Trying to stay.
This one really could have gone anywhere on the playlist. It's where it is more for mood than anything. It provides a good break between "Little Sparrow" and song #18.
But this song is hugely important, because this song is where Noah came from.
It's no secret that Noah is one of my very favorites of the characters I've written. And that might be because he was the easiest. Being inside Noah's head would have been a nightmare (and a bitch for you to read, because God that kid is angry) but his lines were always the easiest ones to write. I could space out a little while I was writing dialogue with Noah. I would start with one line and then I would just let myself run with it. Noah is smart and poetic and cynical and so incredibly affectionate, and he knows a ton about the outside world and just about nothing about himself.
And in a lot of ways, Invincible Summer is Noah's story. Claudia is the real hero--I will forever maintain that Claudia is the hero--but if the story has a tragic hero, it's absolutely Noah. And the fact that the book is in Chase's head let me have a really fun time writing Noah, because Chase absolutely adores him. I mean, fuck, Chase is sleeping with a girl in attempts to be closer to him. It's fucked-up and crazy and it is all because of this song.
This song is where I got Noah, and Melinda, and the relationship between them. This song is all of that.
So let's have a lot of text today.
SAMPLE LYRIC:
His head was a city of paper buildings
And the echoes that remained
Of old friends and lovers, their features bleeding
Together in his brain
And once it'd start, it was harder to
Tell them apart
He was always distracted
By the very mention
Of an open door
'Cause he had sworn not to be what he'd been before
To be a remain remain remain remainder
To be a remain remain remain remainder
The television was snowing softly
As she hunted for her keys
She said she never envisioned him the type of person
capable of such deceit
And they carried on like long division
And it was clear with every page
That they were further away from a solution that would play
Without a remain remain remain remainder
CORRELATING PASSAGE:
I don't blame Noah for what happened. None of us do. I think, for a while, he was waiting for the other shoe to drop, waiting for us to lose it and finally scream at him that we were so angry and so disappointed and we wished he'd never come home that night. He used to steal my stuff every time he came over. He wouldn't be sneaky about it, and he always took stuff that I'd be sure to notice, like my favorite shirt or my toothbrush. I confronted him about it once, and he kept saying, "Why don't you tell me what you're really mad about? Why don't you tell me what the real problem is?" until I eventually told him to shut up and just stop stealing my shit. It's not as if we're still fighting about that, but that was when he stopped coming over.
I take a deep breath. I'm feeling okay about going back. Quiet, but okay. I'm feeling ready. After all, as Noah and Camus and probably Melinda—though I don't think of her much anymore—would say, "one always finds one's burden again."
--p. 242-243
PLAYLIST SO FAR:
1) "Turn Up The Sun" by Oasis
2) "Island in the Sun" by Weezer
3) "Just Like Heaven" by Gatsby's American Dream
4) "Bigger Than My Body" by John Mayer
5) "New Soul" by Yael Naim
6) "Across the Universe" by Rufus Wainwright
7) "Boys of Summer" by The Ataris
8) "Slang" by Def Leppard
9) "City Hall" by The Fray
10) "The Worst Part" by Motion City Soundtrack
11) "Time Won't Let Me Go" by The Bravery
12) "Hello Helicopter" by Motion City Soundtrack
13) "No One's Boy" by Marcy Playground
14) "You Can Do Better Than Me" by Death Cab for Cutie
15) "Sorry" by Pushmonkey
16) "Little Sparrow" by David Cook
17) "Long Division" by Death Cab for Cutie
