Michelle Zink's Blog, page 45

I Love Victorian Cowboy Boots!

[image error]This week I love these GORGEOUS Victorian cowboy boots from Prance and Swagger. They would never fit my ginormous feet, but I still covet them!

Happy Saturday, you guyssss!

Friday Poll – Looks, Personality or Values?

[image error]I think this Friday Poll – and the picture at left – pretty much says it all.

Weigh in!!

 

View Poll

Thursday Night Write – 4/14/2011

[image error]Sorry for the late TNW post, but here it is!

Time for Open Mic. You know the rules! Post 300 words or less of your original short story, poem, song, or novel. Don't forget to comment at least one other entry if you post one of your own.Writers of all ages and experience are welcome to play!

Song of the Week – Lift Me Up

This week's song is from me! I love this one, Lift Me Up by Moby, for it's retro vibe and almost ambient-like undertone. I feel both energized and introspective when I listen to this one, which is an interesting combo.

Hope you guys enjoy it! If you'd like to nominate a song for Song of the Week, send the name of the song and artist to prophecypress@aol.com with "Song of the Week" in the Subject line.

And don't forget that you can still vote once a day for the Guardian of the Gate trailer on Justine Sparks Reel Book Video Awards!

Horses, Saying Goodbye, and Loving the Life You Live

[image error]This week's Anonymous Teen Reader is Symphonic Sounds (LOVE the name!). She lives in the US and reads about 5-6 books a month. I love this interview and know you will, too!

JUST THE FACTS

Interview Code Name (you choose!); Symphonic sounds

Current country of residence; U.S.A.

Male or female? Female

Age; 15

ABOUT THE BOOKS

How many books, on average, do you read a month? 5-6

Favorite kind of book and why; I would have to say paranormal.  It gives you something else you can get into, another point of view.

Name the single most important factor in your decision to purchase a book; I will admit, I look at the cover, then read the back cover.

What makes you feel like you're reading or have read a truly amazing book? The feeling I get is, I feel like the character is someone I can compare myself to and there's a good story and plot and it keeps me wanting to read.

How important is a friend's recommendation in your decision to purchase a book? All my friends have different tastes in books, but their recommendations have a lot of pull to if I buy it or not.

Thing you'd like to see more or less of in the YA genre; What I would like to see less of is probably vampires and werewolves, but I would love to see more different things, like my dystopians or more books that have less love triangles.

What's your biggest pet peeve in a book? The heroin or the main character making stupid decisions or making decisions to get attention of someone else.

Paperback or hardcover? Hardcover, my paperback books get destroyed quickly

Series or stand-alone? Definitely series, I don't like books that stand alone because it leaves a lot to be wanted.

ALL ABOUT YOU

If you had a life philosophy or motto, what would it be? Love the life you live, and live the life you love, or live life to the fullest, (LOVE!)

Are your parents divorced? No

Do you feel that being a teenager is difficult? If so, why? I find being a teenager difficult because you have all these responsibilities placed on you and people expect so much, and because of drama.

List some of your hobbies. Horse back riding, reading, sketching and music.

Why do you think teenagers feel the need to label one another? I think teenagers feel the need to label each other because it makes them more comfortable having things labeled so they know what to call them.

Favorite color? Purple.

Is there anything in your past that makes you sad or angry? If so, are you willing to share it here? I would have to say not getting the chance to say goodbye to my Grandpa

What is your passion? Music, literature, and helping people.

Do you feel the need to pretend to be someone you're not? If so, why? I don't feel the need to be someone I'm not because I don't care what people say about me either way.

What kinds of things do you think about when you're all alone? Music, and books.

How do you keep your bed? Covered in pillows? Made perfect every morning? a mess of tangled sheets? Haha, my bed is a mess of blankets and stuffed animals.

Do you ever feel the need to be invisible? If so, why? There are times around my parents I would have to say yes because embarrassment, but other words I make a point to stand out.

Do you believe that you will ever find the type of love in books and movies? I say love depends on the person, there may be love out there but it takes time to find.

Do you like school? Why or why not? I love classes but what I don't like is the people and the lack of freedom.

Do you believe that education is important? I feel that education is important. Yes.

Are the cliques you read about or see on TV present in your school? Most indefinitely the cliques exist in my school.

Do you ever feel awkward and uncomfortable? There are times I do.

Favorite animal? My favorite animal would have to be a horse or zebra.

Have you ever been mean to someone? If so, why? How did it make you feel afterward? I was mean to someone once and it made me feel like a horrible person, the reason I was mean, I would rather not say.

Do you regret any of the choices you've made? If so, are you willing to share them here? I regret a few choices I made but I would rather not share on here.

Do they wonder or worry about what other people think about you? Be honest! I am being 100% honest, I don't care what people think about me, I never worry about it.  But there are times I do wonder about it.

Fanart Winnersssss!

Welp, we had some amazing entries for the Massive Prophecy Fanart Contest. I'm sure it was very, very difficult for the judges to choose, but I'm totally happy to announce the winners and post their entries.

A big thank you and shout out to our AWESOME judges, authors C. Lee, McKenzie, Saundra Mitchell, Jessica Verday, and Lisa Mantchev. Please show them some love by supporting their work!

The Grand Prize goes to… Stephanie @ mai06tran@yahooo.com.

 

Stephanie described her entry as a pen and ink drawing of the grounds surrounding Birchwood Manor. As our Grand Prize winner, she wins Photoshop CS5 Extended Teacher/Student Edition plus signed copies of both Prophecy of the Sisters AND Guardian of the Gate.

Our first runner up is Ayla at alvinfreak@gmail.com. Her entry was a Prophecy book trailer shot and edited by herself. It's really awesome!

 

Ayla wins an art prize pack plus signed copies of Prophecy of the Sisters and Guardian of the Gate! Congrats, hon!

And finally, our last runner up winner is Jenny at artgurl324@gmail.com. Jenny submitted a sketch based on the Circle of Fire trailer shoo. It's gorgeous! She also wins an art prize pack and signed copies of Prophecy of the Sisters and Guardian of the Gate.

 

 

Please should send your mailing addresses to prophecypress@aol.com with Fanart Winner in the Subject line. Congrats to all the winners and thanks so much to everyone who entered!

Things I Love – Family by Micol Ostow

I totally flaked on you guys for the Friday Poll and Things I Love post this week. I'm sorry! Blame it on a ridiculously hectic week in which BOTH of our cars dies within two days of each other.

O_o

But I'm making it up to you with a Things I Love post today! And I'll post the Fanart Contest winners later this afternoon.

Earlier this year I was lucky enough to read an advanced copy of Micol Ostow's FAMILY and it just blew me away. I already knew Micol was talented from her book SO PUNK ROCK (co-authored by her brother, David Ostow), but FAMILY  broke my heart in a completely new way, leaving me both touched and disturbed by it's insight into the mind of a girl who gets sucked into a Charles Manson-like cult. Loosely based on the Manson family killings, it was alternately beautiful (because of the incredible writing) and horrifying (because of the subject matter).

It left me unnerved in the way great art should.

I HIGHLY recommend the book and also wanted to share this incredible trailer made by David and his partner, Dan Solomon. David and Dan are taking on more trailer projects, too, so if you're looking for a great trailer-maker, you can contact them here. You can learn more about Micol and her work at www.micolostow.com.

 

 

Pre-order FAMILY, by Micol Ostow.

Thursday Night Write 4/9/2011 – Plus Winners!

[image error]How adorable is this prompt for this week's Thursday Night Write?! I'm DYING to write something for this… If only I wasn't up against that deadline thing.

O_o

Anyway, same rules as always; give yourself no more than 30 minutes to write whatever comes to mind when looking at this prompt, then post no more than 500 words of it for comment in the Comments section. Don't forget to comment at least one other post if you play. This is a great writing exercise to get the creative juices flowing, and I've had several people tell me they've even come up with book ideas from just one little prompt.

Plus, IT'S FUNNNN!

I also need to annnounce two new winners in my joint contest with photographer Heather Gardner. The previous two winnes didn't contact us with their mailing addresses, so the new winners are…

Rachel Micallef and Stacie Amelotte!

Rachel and Stacie, please send an email to prophecypress@aol.com with "Contest Winner" in the Subject line and we'll get your prizes right out to you! Just let us know which photo you'd like to win and to whom you'd like your books autographed.

Congrats!

Song of the Week – Taken by a Stranger

This week's song, Taken by a Stranger, is by Lena. It was Germany's entry in the BBC One Eurovision Song Contest for 2011 and was nominated for Song of the Week by Krystal.

I totally love it! It has all the things I love about techno with a mellow, European vibe.

Thanks for the rec, Krystal!

If you'd like to nominate a song for Song of the Week, send the title and artist name, along with a link to the video if you'd like, to prophecypress@aol.com. Put "Song of the Week" in the Subject line and you're good to go!

 

Stressing Too Much, Lust, and Finding You're Alike

[image error]

This week's Anonymous Teen Reader is Danica! I'm very happy to feature her interview because A) she's awesome, and B) I have a soft spot for my Canadian readers!

One quick update; I'm preparing the Fanart entries to give to the judges and should have winners for you in a few days. Stay tuned.

And don't forget to email prophecypress@aol.com with "Anonymous Teen Reader" in the Subject line if you'd like to be a featured reader.

Hereeeeeee's Danica!

JUST THE FACTS

Interview Code Name (you choose!);

Danica (means morning star in slavic)

Current country of residence;

Canada

Male or female?

Female

Age;

19

ABOUT THE BOOKS

How many books, on average, do you read a month?

It depends on how much school work I have and it depends if I have books from the library to read.

Favorite kind of book and why;

Historical Fiction because it lets me learn about history without out it being a biography.

Name the single most important factor in your decision to purchase a book;

I would have to say it's the title and cover of the book that catch my eye.

What makes you feel like you're reading or have read a truly amazing book?

When I am sitting on the couch on Sunday morning start reading, my mom has finished her paper and turns the tv on and I see the time.

How important is a friend's recommendation in your decision to purchase a book?

Not that important. I sometimes I get recommendations from my cousin but I don't normally read them or I have already read them.

Thing you'd like to see more or less of in the YA genre;

Historical fiction because it's lacking in the YA genre. It's usually about romance or high school students being mean to each other. But in historical fiction modern history is lacking because there is nothing on the Balkan wars and it's an important part of our modern history (it all started the year I was born)

What's your biggest pet peeve in a book?

Grammar and spelling mistakes. If it's a stand alone book it has to have a good ending where it doesn't leave you wanting more or guessing what can happen next.

Paperback or hardcover?

Both are ok but I prefer hardcover because then the pages don't turn and make what my mom calls them ears on the pages

Series or stand-alone?

Both again and here's why. With stand- alone books your not waiting for the next one to come out. But it has to have a good ending. With series there sometimes to long so I actually like trilogies like my favourite would be The Many Lifes and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B by Sandra Gulland.

ALL ABOUT YOU

If you had a life philosophy or motto, what would it be?

Don't let anyone tell you can't do something. Pick yourself up and start again if you get down. Don't let no one stop you. Follow your dream.

Are your parents divorced?

Since I was 2.

Do you feel that being a teenager is difficult? If so, why?

Oh for sure it is. There's peer pressure and parents. Well one parent likes me and one wonders why I don't go out and party and I'm like I am not that kind a girl.

List some of your hobbies.

Coming on the computer, reading, writing (this is my 2nd attempt at writing a response for everyone lol), hanging with family.

Why do you think teenagers feel the need to label one another?

I think teens label each other to make themselves feel better. They also have nothing other to do but make people feel miserable. Instead of labeling someone try getting to know them. Maybe you will find that you are alike.

Favorite colors?

Blue, pink and black

Is there anything in your past that makes you sad or angry? If so, are you willing to share it here?

Yea I could name a lot of things but that would take too long.

What is your passion?

I want to work with kids who are going through the same things that I've been through because I've been through so much. Writing my music yea my lyrics might be not that great but I write for myself not for someone to judge and say it sucks.

Do you feel the need to pretend to be someone you're not? If so, why?

There are days that I pretend to be happy of course if you count that as pretending then yea I guess I do pretend sometimes.

What kinds of things do you think about when you're all alone?

I think a lot about what's going on in my life. I stress way too much about school and some other stuff that I have going on.

How do you keep your bed? Covered in pillows? Made perfect every morning? a mess of tangled sheets?

Perfectly made because it leaves a good impression on company if they come over. I've had a lot of workers in the past and one worker said to me I've never known a teen who makes there bed in the morning.

Do you ever feel the need to be invisible? If so, why?

Back in high school yea I did want to be invisible because no one ever sat with me at lunch. What made me mad was these girls that claimed to be my friends sat at the table directly next to mine.

Do you believe that you will ever find the type of love in books and movies?

Oh god no. Movies and books are all just fictionalized. Yes one day I will find love but not the kind in the book but one that is true where we both share the same interests and it's not just about the lust.

Do you like school? Why or why not?

Why wouldn't you like school. It's the only place you can talk with friends who have the same interest as you that's especially true in college because everyone in your classes or program enjoys what you do.

Do you believe that education is important?

Yes I do because if it wasn't important then we wouldn't be having to pay for it so much. Books and tuition and other expenses are costly enough.

Are the cliques you read about or see on TV present in your school?

I wouldn't really call them cliques everyone has there own group in high school. But there not defined as geeks or Goths or something like that. Your friends with people because you have the same classes and your in the same art classes. I went to an Art high school.

Do you ever feel awkward and uncomfortable?

High school was very uncomfortable for me. No one sat with me at lunch. Yet these girls found a table right next to me and never asked if I wanted to have lunch with them. They all claimed to be my friends.

Favorite animal?

Small dogs I don't like big one because I was attacked by a boxer a couple of summers ago nothing really happened the dog just jumped on me and then the owner called him back.

Have you ever been mean to someone? If so, why? How did it make you feel afterward?

Me and my half sister are always fighting. The last time was she commented on my friends status and I told she shouldn't have done it because she had so many spelling mistakes and people would wonder who she is. So when I inboxed her she got mad at me and said don't go telling dad and then she goes and does what she told me not to do. She's older, I think she is 21 and I'm 19.

Do you regret any of the choices you've made? If so, are you willing to share them here?

Yes there is one thing I regret. It is a secret with most of my family. When I use to do it. I only thought I was hurting myself but that wasn't true I was hurting the people who knew about it. When I use to SI it was hard. (*hugs*)

Do they wonder or worry about what other people think about you? Be honest!

Yes I actually do wonder because I wonder why people don't want to hang out with me. I was never asked to sleepovers or to parties or to hang out.