Michelle Zink's Blog, page 35

Song of the Week – Hurricane by Augustana

It's our first week back with Song of the Week and this one's from the Zink house – and specifically, Caroline. She listens to them constantly while she's on the computer. This is a perfect song to listen to when you're in a really mellow mood.

And what a voice. Love!

Enjoy! And don't forget to send your song recommendations to prophecypress@aol.com with "Song of the Week" in the Subject line.

Mystery Monday – Are We Alone?

One of the things I'm most fascinated with is the possibility of life on other planets. I just can't believe that we're the only ones spinning through space. The universe is just too vast, the opportunities for other life too abundant.

Which is why I was so excited to read this article in the Guardian about a new exoplanet that had been found outside our solar system.

New planets are discovered somewhat frequently. What makes this one special is that it's in what astronomers call "the Goldilocks Zone", an area with a just-right temperature for liquid water, something that's would be necessary to support Earth-like life.

The new planet is 37 light-tears from Earth. NASA has also identified over 50 other planets that could support life, but they haven't been investigated fully yet.

Still, that's a lot of possibility.

I'm Back!

I'm baaaaaaack! WOOT!

After a very long ten days with no website and a WHOLE lot of stress surrounding the problem, the amazing Shawntelle Madison, author of the upcoming COVETED (Ballantine Books, April 24th, 2012), came to my rescue and rebuilt the entire site in just over 24 hours. It was the BEST experience I've had with a website developer so far. Shawntelle was easonably priced, super responsive (I got PROGRESS REPORTS!), and very fast.

What say we all buy Shawnteelle's book in April to thank her?!

Anyway, things might look slightly different since the site had to be rebuilt from old screen shots. On the downside, we don't have a Forum anymore. I really wanted to get the main site up and running before I worry about the Forum, but if you guys decide you still want one, I can look into having it rebuilt. It was a nice place to hang out and chat when everyone had the time.

On the UP side, there is now a link to the Prophecy Merchandise Store on Zazzle. We'll be adding more products over time — including products for A TEMPTATION OF ANGELS. I'll also be hosting a merchandise-related contest very soon, so stay tuned.

On the OTHER up side, information for A TEMPTATION OF ANGELS and its beautiful cover are now part of the site, which is something I've been trying to make happen since August. So happy to have it up with my gorgeous Prophecy covers!

Anyway, we're back!!! I missed you guys so much!

*squooshes readers in ginormous hug*

I

Which is why this next giveaway is just for them.

This tough economy has hurt everyone and libraries are no exception. Most of them have suffered severely restricted funds that make it nearly impossible to add books to their collection.

And that just will not do.

So I'm giving away FIVE sets of the Prophecy of the Sisters trilogy to five different US and/or Canadian libraries. But wait! There's more!

I'm also giving away five signed sets of the trilogy to five readers who help spread the word about the library giveaway. If you already have a set of your own, think of all the people you know who would LOVE a signed set! You could even hoard it as a gift for the holidays (not that I hoard gifts three months before the holidays or anything… *shifty eyes*). All you have to do is tweet something to direct librarians to the giveaway and you could win a signed set of books as well.

Here's the deal.

If you're NOT a librarian and would like to win a signed set of books, tweet something like; "@michellezink, author of the #prophecyofthesisters Trilogy, wants to give YOUR library free books! Details here;" Don't forget to add a link to this page. Twitter should shorten it for you so you have room.

You'll receive an entry each and every time you tweet. Just remember, you MUST have the #prophecyofthesisters hashtag for your entry to count.

IF YOU ARE A LIBRARIAN OR LIBRARY REPRESENTATIVE all you have to do to enter is post a comment here telling me why you'd like to have the Prophecy of the Sisters Trilogy on your library shelves. I'll even throw in some wristbands for your students. You can give them away and/or use them as a reading incentive for each book (there are three different colors, each coordinating with one of the Prophecy books).

You can enter ON BEHALF of a library as long as the mailing address for the books is directly to a school or public library.

That's it! We'll choose by Random Number Generator five libraries from all the comments here and five individuals from all the tweets with the #prophecyofthesisters hashtag.

Just remember; in order to count, each tweet and RT MUST have the #prophecyofthesisters hashtag. Contest is open internationally, but the books are US editions. Contest runs now through Wednesday September 21st at Midnight EST.

Song of the Week – Worry List

This week's song is Worry List by Blue October and was nominated by Martin.

I don't think I can express how much I love this song or how much it makes me feel.

Thanks so much for the rec, Martin.

Please keep sending your song recommendations to prophecypress@aol.com with "Song of the Week" in the Subject line. And if you're song wasn't chosen this week, don't worry! I often go back to earlier recommendations for subsequent weeks.

Hy-Brasil

[image error]I have a special fascination with Atlantis (always have), which only makes me more interested in the legend of another lost island, Hy-Brasil.

Seen on maps as early as 1325, the island is said to have been off the coast of what is now Ireland. Legend has it that the occupants of the mystical island were part of a different race than the Europeans across the water and that in fact, the Hy-Brasilians didn't want anything to do with them.

The island hasn't been seen since 1872 (at least not that it was documented) but exploration of the area thought to be home to the island does show evidence of land mass changes at some point in history.

All of which begs the questions; What happened to Hy-Brasil? And who were the people living there?

Interesting, yes? And a perfect subject for this week's Mystery Monday!

This Is What I Remember

A beautiful September morning, the sky a brilliant blue that I will always make me think of September 11th. My two oldest children, Kenneth and Rebekah, were in 4th and 2nd grades. I had already dropped them at school and was at home with Andrew and Caroline when the first plane hit.

I was watching the new coverage of the first plane when the second one came into view on camera and hit the second tower.

I was transfixed at the site of those two massive buildings, shimmering like an oasis against the sky, on fire with smoke pouring from them. The minute someone on TV said, "terrorism", I left to pick my children up from school. I wanted them close. I wanted them home.

Later, Rebekah would tell me how it happened for her. How the teacher was called from the room and went out in the hallway. How she she came back in, clearly upset. How the names of children started coming from the intercom and kids were called to the office as frantic parents came to pick them up. How at first, it was one name in five minutes. Then five names in two minutes. Then lists and lists of names.

And it was more than just fear.

We live in Orange County, New York, which just happens to be the farthest away New York firefighters and police officers were allowed to live. This is because in a catastrophic situation, they would need to be able to get into the City quickly. Any farther out, and they wouldn't be able to get there fast enough.

Because we are a bit of a distance, property was cheaper here than in areas closer to the city. We had – and still have – a large population of NYFD and NYPD.

A large segment of our population also commutes to the city for work.

Many of those children who were called down to the office were called because their parents were in the trade center, headed to the trade center, or on their way into the City to try and evacuate people from the trade center. People didn't want their kids to hear about it from someone else, especially if they had parents that worked downtown.

I remember watching the towers fall, staring at the TV disbelieving. "Is that…? No. It can't be."

It can't be.

I sat, curled on the couch for days as tears streamed down my face, trying to explain it to my kids, calling to find out if the people we knew who were with NYFD and NYPD were okay. One of the worst moments for me personally came shortly after the fall of the towers. On TV, it was nearly black with smoke, almost impossible to make out anything substantial. And in the background, a high-pitched chirping that seemed to come from every direction at once. Shrill and persistent, it demanded my attention, forced my thoughts away from the journalists on TV who were talking.

A little while later someone came on the TV and explained that the chirping sound we were hearing was the alarms firefighters wore when they went into a building. Designed to go off when a man was down, they were supposed to lead rescuers to their fallen brothers in conditions when they might not be able to see.

There were so many alarms. So, so many.

A few days later, I went down to the city for an appointment. I wasn't prepared for what greeted me when I stepped out of Grand Central station.

An apocalyptic sky, so dark it blotted out the sun.

An acrid smell in the air, and tears that again filled my eyes when I realized it wasn't just burning wood and steel, but the near-evaporation of human beings.

Flyers littering the ground, the faces of the missing staring up at me on every street, every corner.

Missing. Lost. Have You Seen Me?

I don't like to talk about September 11, 2001. It still makes my throat close up. Still makes my eyes sting. Still brings back memories too raw, too fresh, even after ten years. I usually keep the TV off and spend the day thinking about the people that we lost and the people still here. Still trying to make sense of it all, just like me.

But it seems important to remember. To KEEP it raw and fresh, even though it hurts.

So this is what I remember.

A beautiful September morning. The last of our innocence.

Buildings burning and then, inexplicably, falling.

Children, afraid and scared.

Mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers and children and friends, lost.

Haunted faces at soccer games and school functions. Haunted for weeks, months, years.

Funerals. So many funerals and memorials in our town and others. So many people who left for work or went to help and never came back.

Love. Yes, there was love, too, because in that moment we glimpsed the inherent truth of our existence as human beings;

We are in this together, my friends. The good, the bad, the horrific.

And I can think of no better way to honor the people we lost that day than to remember that, even when it gets hard. Especially when it gets hard.

Weekly Roundup

I don't know about you guys, but this was the longest short week EVER. It probably had something to do with the fact that after surviving Hurricane Irene, we were hit with torrential flooding from Tropical Storm Lee. Our house has definitely been battered. In a matter of two hours, our basement flooded and our roof sprung leaks that hadn't been there the day before. Plus, my garden (already an exercise in faith) is in sad shape indeed.

I'm not gonna lie; it sucks. But I'm grateful that my family is safe, my house is still standing, and we didn't lose as much as some of those in surrounding towns. Sending them wishes for a quick recovery and speedy relief from insurance companies and FEMA.

A quick roundup for this past week;

On Monday, I gave you an incredible glimpse into one of the real-life sacred sites featured in Circle of Fire.

The Song of the Week was You've Got the Love by Florence and the Machine.

Wednesday we wrapped up the Surprise Twitter Contest and tallied the entries. Don't be sad if you didn't win! Next week I'll kick off another contest aimed at giving sets of the Prophecy of the Sisters Trilogy to libraries across the US and Canada.

This week's Thursday Night Write featured a beautiful prompt to get your creative juices flowing.

Yesterday via the Friday Poll I asked you to share your favorite things about the Back to School season. And yes! This is for adults, too. Head on over! It's not to late to weigh in!

Next week, we'll have all our regular features plus a book giveaway aimed at supplying your favorite library with signed copies of all three Prophecy of the Sisters books – and a set for you, too.

Stay tuned!

Friday Poll – Back to School

[image error]Guess what, you guys?! My kids are ALL back in school.

Do I sound too happy? I'm sorry. It's not that I don't love having them around. In fact, that's the very best part of summer for me. I love being able to spend more time with them. But I definitely don't get as much work done when everyone's home. I hate retreating to my office to work instead of hanging out with them, and the result is a drastically decreased word count.

So while I always miss my kids terribly when they first go back to school, I'm also a little relieved because I know I can get back to my writing schedule which is rigorous by anyone's standards.

What about you? What's your favorite part of the Back to School season? New clothes? Hot new guys? A clean slate?

Weigh in with the Friday Poll!

View Poll

Thursday NIght Write 9/8/2011

[image error]Sunflowers always make me think of the end of summer. There's a ginormous field of them heading into New Paltz, an arty little town near us. I have to resist the urge to pull over and get lost in them, because I'm pretty sure the farmer who own them wouldn't want me trampling through there!

Anyway, since everyone's pretty much back to school this week, I thought we'd use this as our prompt for Thursday Night Write.

Use this picture to write the first thing that comes to mind, giving yourself no more than 30 minutes. Don't worry about editing! The idea is to let your mind go and just WRITE. This is a great exercise for getting the words flowing, and you might just be surprised at what you can do when given free reign and no time to self-edit!

When you're done, post no more than 500 words of your piece for comment. If you leave a piece of your own work, be sure to comment on at least on other piece. This way, everyone gets a little feedback.

Happy writing!

On another note, I have the winners of the Twitter contest. We had TONS of entries and assigned a number to each one with the #prophecyofthesisters hashtag in the order that they were tweeeted and retweeted. With around 200 entries, the following two winners were chosen by Random Number Generator;

Grand Prize – @mrscupcakeman

Signed Set Prophecy of the Sisters – @v97_

Congrats to both winners! Please email your address to prophecypress@aol.com with "Twitter Winner' in the Subject line. And @mrscupcakeman, be sure to tell us to which store you'd like your bookstore gift card.

Don't worry if you didn't win; I'll be having several more contests in the coming weeks on both on Twitter and Facebook.