Michelle Zink's Blog, page 36

Twitter Contest Reminder

Just a reminder that you still have a few more hours to enter the Twitter giveaway for a Prophecy Prize Pack (signed set of the Prophecy of the Sisters Trilogy, a $25 gift card to the bookstore of your choice, and a $10 iTunes gift card) or a signed set of the Prophecy of the Sisters Trilogy.

All you have to do is encourage your Twitter followers to follow me with the #prophecyofthesisters hashtag and instruct them to Retweet.

Example; "Please follow @michellezink, author of the #prophecyofthesisters trilogy. RT to win free books!!"

You'll receive an entry each time YOU tweet and every time one of YOUR FOLLOWERS retweets. That means if you tweet ten times during the course of the giveaway and 30 of your followers RT, you get 40 entries.

In turn, the people who RT your original tweet will ALSO get an entry for each tweet and RT attributed to them.

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 7th at Midnight EST.

Hurryyyy!

Song of the Week – You've Got the Love

This week's song is You've Got the Love by Florence and the Machine and was nominated by Laura.

This woman has SUCH an incredible voice. LOVE.

Thanks, Laura!

Send your Song of the Week recommendations to prophecypress@aol.com with "Song of the Week" in the Subject line.

Mystery Monday – Megalithic Cairns

I've been waiting to post this as a Mystery Monday because it ties into Circle of Fire and I didn't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't read the book.

Many of you now HAVE read it, but I'm still going to be cryptic in my description here for those of you who haven't. That said, if you absolutely don't want any spoilery stuff WHATSOEVER, don't hit play!

This video inspired a certain portion of Circle of Fire. It shows the sun hitting the backstone of a megalithic structure known as a cairn. The illumination of the backstone happens only once a year during the Spring Equinox, but it's absolutely magical to watch the sunlight reach all the way to the back of the cave, illuminating ancient writing on the very back wall, or backstone. You can't help but wonder who constructed these mysterious caves and why – and how they managed to engineer it in such a way that the sunlight would still be hitting the backstone centuries later.

What an awesome world we live in, and how wondrous our history.

Enjoy!

 

Weekly Roundup!

I'm not gonna lie; it felt good to get back into our regular blogging stride this week. I did miss Mystery Monday, but that's because hurricane Irene pummeled us and we were without power for three days.

The rest of the week, I was totally on schedule!

The Song of the Week was a gorgeous ballad, For You by Angus and Julia Stone nominated by Melissa. I LOVE this song! You can forward your Song of the Week recs to prophecypress@aol.com with "Song of the Week" in the Subject line.

Wednesday I unveiled a surprise giveaway for Twitter followers. I have two prizes to give away – the first is a Prophecy prize pack featuring a signed set of all three books, a $25 bookstore gift card, and a $10 iTunes gift card, and the second one is a signed set of all three books. Entering is as easy as Tweeting and you can enter as many times as you want, which is not to be discounted! The winner of the Ipod Touch in July had over 80 entries due to all the friends she sent to me on Facebook. Every entry gives you a better chance of winning. Check out the details here!

Thursday Night Write was Open Mic. As usual, we got some great entries. We have some talent represented here! I love to read your writing, even though I can't comment anymore. It was a light week, but you can submit an excerpt of your writing for comment through Midnight on Sunday.

In this week's Friday Poll I asked what era you would most like to live in. The Victorian era won with the 1920s in second. As much as I love all things Victorian, I still maintain that I would only like to live in that era if I were rich. Who wants to be a poor little matchstick girl?!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

 

Friday Poll – What era would you most like to live in?

[image error]As a writer, I'm fascinated with other eras. Of course, I know that in reality, times weren't as wonderful as they seem. There was no technology, little medicine, and in most cases, no modern plumbing.

Not to mention the lack of movies.

But there WAS Hemingway, candlelight, beautiful tableware, gowns (everyday!), manners, and chivalry.

All of which make me long (from time to time) for an era gone by.

It's always hard for me to choose, though. I do have a special fondness for the 1940s, but those of you who have read Prophecy have probably sensed my equal love for all things Gothic. And there is the 1920s…. what writer wouldn't want to go back to Paris in the 1920s (and on another note, iif your'e a writer who longs for Paris in the 1920s, I highly recommend the movie Midnight in Paris)?

What about you? Which era would you return to if you could have your pick?

Weigh in with the Friday Poll!

View Poll

Thursday Night Write – 9/1/2011

Before we get to Thursday Night Write, I have a couple of links to share with you.

First, a big thank you to Book with bite for a lovely review of Circle of Fire. I can't tell you how gratifying it is to see such glowing reviews for the final book in the Prophecy Trilogy. I really wanted to create a series that just keeps getting better and better. So far, the reviews make me feel like I just might actually have pulled it off.

I also want to thank Shelley Koon, who featured me as one of her real life heroes on her blog. I was fortunate enough to meet Shelley when I was on tour for Prophecy of the Sisters. I knew right away that she was a sweet, insightful person. As a debut author, her enthusiasm meant the world to me, but I had no idea that our meeting meant to much to her. That we, as writers, have the opportunity to connect with young, creative people is really the biggest of many blessings. I'm beyond honored.

I'm running a Twitter contest for the next week! All you have to do is tweet and/or retweet and you could win a Prophecy Prize Pack to include a signed set of all three books, a $25 bookstore gift card, and a $10 iTunes gift card. One runner up will also receive a signed set of the trilogy. Even if you have signed books and/or books with bookplates, this is a great opportunity to win a set for a reading friend, not to mention a gift card to stock your own bookshelves. I'm happy to personalize the books to the name of your choosing. Go check it!

Okay, time for Open Mic. You know the rules; post your original poem, short story, song, or novel excerpt of 300 words or less for comment. If you leave a piece of your own, you have to comment at least one other. That way, everyone gets a little feedback. Writers of all ages and experience are welcome to play, and you can post your piece up until Midnight on Sunday.

Happy writing!

Surprise Twitter Giveaway

You guys! I have more stuff for you!

Over the next few days, I'll be giving away a Prophecy Prize Pack to include a signed set of the Prophecy of the Sisters Trilogy (you can have it signed to you or a friend if you already have signed books), a $25 gift card to the bookstore of your choice, and a $10 iTunes gift card plus a second signed set of the Prophecy of the Sisters Trilogy.

Here's how it works;

Encourage your Twitter followers to follow me with the #prophecyofthesisters hashtag. Instruct them to Retweet.

Example; "Please follow @michellezink, author of the #prophecyofthesisters trilogy. RT to win free books!!"

You'll receive an entry each time YOU tweet and every time one of YOUR FOLLOWERS retweets. That means if you tweet ten times during the course of the giveaway and 30 of your followers RT, you get 40 entries.

In turn, the people who RT your original tweet will ALSO get an entry for each tweet and RT attributed to them.

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 7th at Midnight EST.

That gives you a whole week to rack up entries!

Song of the Week – For You Angus & Julia Stone

Wow… I am in love with everything about this song. The lyrics, the simplicity of the music, and this woman's incredibly unique voice.

I got so many great song recommendations this week, but this one really suited my mood. A big thanks to Melissa Silva for the tip. And thanks to everyone else for the recommendations, too. If your song wasn't chosen this week, stay tuned! I'll pick from these next week, too.

 

Hurricane Irene Update

Just wanted to post a quick update that after nearly three whole days without power or water, we finally have both restored. It's been a rough three days trying to keep the kids comfortable by myself, but I think we did pretty well under the circumstances.

I'm woefully behind on everything, so if you've sent me an email or comment in the past few days, please be patient while I get my house back in order and catch up on book stuff. I'll try to get back on the regular blog schedule as soon as possible!

Thanks to those of you who thought of us and sent us good wishes via Facebook, Twitter, etc. It was really nice to know you were all thinking of us.

Hope you are all safe and well and that none of you have suffered or are suffering too much due to Irene.

*hugs*

 

 

Thursday Night Write 8/25/2011

Tonight's Thursday Night Write is a prompt. I've decided to part with tradition and give you a couple sentences from Circle of Fire.

Remember; you should use this snippet to come up with anything that comes to mind, giving your self no more than 30 minutes to write something. The idea is to force yourself to write something – anything! – rather than agaonize over every word. Hence, the time limit (on the honor system!). Your piece doesn't have to be in the same POV, set in the same time period, or even feature a female narrator. This is just a jumping off point for you to create something totally new of your very own.

When you're finished writing, post no more than 500 words of your piece for comment, Just remember to comment at least one other post if you leave one of your own. Writers of all ages and experience are welcome to play, and you can post your piece for this week's exercise anytime between now and Midnight EST on Sunday.

Herte's your snippet from page 127 of Circle of Fire;

The hallway is narrow and dim. I cannot keep from peeking into the rooms as we pass.

Happy writing!