Michelle Zink's Blog, page 50

Thursday Night Write – Open Mic 2/17/2011

[image error]Welcome to another edition of Thursday Night Write! Last week's prompt, the word "fearsome", was a fun change, but I know you guys love sharing your work so we're going to open the mic this week.

Rules are as follows; post your original poem, song, short story, or novel excerpt of no more than 300 words for comment. If you post something of your own, you have to comment at least one other entry.

I read all the entries every week and comment when I can. I'm revising my Spring 2012 book (a new series!! Title to be announced soon!) and also working on two other projects, but I do try!

On another note, I wanted to show you guys this awesome Short put together by Aaron Lehmann for Jefferson Market Library. I love it because it's an awesome way to have fun while spreading the word about a service many library goers might not know exist, it's original, it features two of my all-time favorite people, Marie and Frank, and my son, Kenneth, composed the music.

Enjoy!

Song of the Week – Surrender

Thanks to Travis (one of my all-time favorite readers) for this week's song, Surrender, by Digital Daggers. I love this! It's very relaxing and kind of ambient, but I love the lyrics, too.

Great pick, Sweets!

And remember to forward your song recommendations to prophecypress@aol.com with "Song of the Week" in the subject line.

I also need to apologize for the lapse in Anonymous Teen Reader yesterday. The day just got away from me, so yesterday's scheduled Reader will go up next Monday instead.

I love Detroit!

No, that wasn't a typo.

THAT Detroit.

Actually, I've really only driven THROUGH Detroit once, when we were moving to NY from California.

But right now I love it anyway. I love it because of this article about how the Mayor is giving Detroit police officers and fire fighters the opportunity to purchase for only $1,000 beautiful but abandoned and run-down properties in some of the worst neighborhoods. Included is the opportunity to access funds up to $150,000 for renovations to the property. I was blown away by the idea when I heard about it.

What better way to bring crime under control, to give the city back to ALL of its people, than to give law enforcement officers an incentive to LIVE there by basically giving them a free house?!

This is the kind of thinking we need more of, in my opinion. Let's be creative in addressing the problems of our country. Let's work together in a positive way to bring about the change we all know NEEDS to happen.

Then I saw the commercial below (it was aired during the Superbowl, but since I don't watch TV, I read an article about it) and was impressed all over again.

Yeah, it's a car commercial. Yeah, it's designed to sell something.

But Eminem has been offered over 100 licensing opportunities for "Lose Yourself" and only agreed to its use here because he BELIEVED in its cause. He's passed up the opportunities to earn millions and millions of dollars on his iconic song and now is letting it be used for something wonderful that actually means something to him.

At the same time, Chrysler is thinking out of the box, using a music icon that speaks to young Americans to grow confidence in its brand not IN SPITE of its Detroit origins, but BECAUSE of them.

Both is these are reasons why I think Detroit is a city to watch. We're rooting for you, Detroit!

Friday Poll – Money or Fame?

[image error]Come on, you know you've thought about it!

I have. In fact, I've had a similar discussion with writer friends; Would you rather be a commercial success or a literary success?

I'll be honest, it's an easy answer for me. I'll take the commercial success and money over fame and literary acclaim any day. I guess that might make me seem shallow, but the truth is, my first love is writing, not money OR fame. But there are logistical obstacles to writing full time. If I can't write full time, I have to get a day job to take care of my family.

And that means less time for writing.

I honestly couldn't care less if I'm ever famous in the traditional sense of the word. I love making connections with readers and I love loving what I do every day. I love creating stories and living in the worlds I invent and I love sharing them with other readers. Being a commercial success means that I'm earning enough to write and write and write. It also means that I have more freedom to write the kinds of books I want to write most instead of just those that I know will sell.

Because I'm pretty sure no one's going to tell Stephen King what he can and can't write.

What do you guys think? If you had to pick just one, which would you choose?

View Poll

Thursday Night Write – 2/10/2011

I decided to keep it simple for Thursday Night Write this week.

No, not Open Mic…

Even simpler.

This week, your prompt for Thursday NIght Write is…

Fearsome.

And no, I didn't accidentally hit DELETE on the rest of that sentence. It's a one-word prompt. You can write something to go with it or you can post an excerpt of an existing, original work as long as the piece works with the word "FEARSOME". Just make sure your entry is no more than 500 words and that you comment at least one other entry if you post something of your own. Writers of all ages and levels of experience are welcome to play.

Happy writing!

You won! You won!

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I'm super excited to announce that the winners of the Valentine's Day Take care of Yourself Giveaway are Chloe and Natasha! Please email your address and last names to prophecypress@aol.com by midnight on Friday, February 11th.

I'm glad we used the Random Number Generator to choose the winners, because it would have been really difficult for me to pick just two out of all these great entries. I was really heartened to hear all the ways that YOU take care of YOU. Even though I couldn't offer prizes to everyone, I hope all of you remember to do a little something special for yourself now and then.

You deserve it!

My next giveaway is a big one. It will start in March and will be centered around Prophecy-related fanart. You can enter as many times as you want in any medium you want, and the grand prize is… Photoshop CS5 Extended Student/Teacher Edition. This is a Ginormous prize (and there will be a couple runner-up prizes as well)!

And I'm giving you guys a little heads up so you can start thinking about your entries!

The winner will be chosen by a panel of five published authors (more on that later) and will get some awesome exposure for his/her art. I'm super excited to see what you guys come up with!

More details soon…

Song of the Week – Easy to Love

You guys made my job very difficult this week!

That's because I got about ten amazing recommendations for songs. I literally couldn't choose for the longest time.

In the end I chose this one – Easy to Love by The Jezebels – because I love their Indie sound and the changes in volume and tone throughout the song. The lyrics are fantastic, and since Song of the Week is supposed to be about finding new music, I love that this is a Sydney-based band I've never really listened to. Plus, my International readers sometimes don't get enough internet LOVE!

So a big shout out to Jayne for the rec, and thanks to everyone else who nominated songs this week. I KNOW they'll be showing up here very, very soon.

Biting Back, Moving, and Endless Possibilities

[image error]Before we get to this week's Anonymous Teen Reader, I want to remind everyone that you still have a little over 24 hours to enter the Valentine's Day Take care of Yourself Giveaway. All you have to do to enter is post a comment sharing your favorite way to treat yourself, and you're in for a bunch of awesome self-pamepering goodies! But the contest closes for new entries tomorrow at midnight, so HURRY!

I also asked you guys via the Friday Poll which item YOU would like to win in the big Circle of Fire giveaway. Right now, the Ipod Touch is just a couple of points ahead of the Kindle. I'm going to be giving away whichever one wins in the poll (you can vote for an Ipod Classic, too), so if you care, get thyself to the Friday Poll and VOTE. I'm going to take the figures at Midnight EST February 14th and call it!

Oh! And I need some more Anonymous Teen Readers for this feature. If you'd like to be one of them, just send an email to prophecypress@aol.com with "Anonymous Teen Reader" in the subject line and we'll get you the questions. Ditto the Song of the Week. Tell us which song YOU'RE loving this week by sending it to prophecypress@aol.com with "Song of the Week" in the subject line.

And now, meet Lana, this week's Anonymouse Teen Reader! She's awesome!

Interview Code Name (you choose!);
Lana



Current country of residence;
United States Of America



Male or female?
Female



Age;
14






ABOUT THE BOOKS



How many books, on average, do you read a month?
One or two. depends how long it is and depends how much school work I have.



Favorite kind of book and why;
I like fantasy books because they can take you away to places you never dreamed of going



Name the single most important factor in your decision to purchase a book;
If the book does not sound good, I will not read it.



What makes you feel like you're reading or have read a truly amazing book?
If the book can make me feel like I am a part of it, then I know that it is the right book for me.



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



Thing you'd like to see more or less of in the YA genre;
More murder mysteries  or fantasy – I like for the books to make me feel like I am a part of it



What's your biggest pet peeve in a book?
When the editor of a book misses a spelling or grammar error.



Paperback or hardcover?
I have tons of paperbacks but i do prefer Hard Cover



Series or stand-alone?
Series – I dislike books that stand alone because it always leaves me wondering – what happens next?






ALL ABOUT YOU



If you had a life philosophy or motto, what would it be?
Let no one stand in the way of achieveing your dreams (I LIKE it!)





Are your parents divorced?
Yes.



Do you feel that being a teenager is difficult? If so, why?
Yes. peer presure mostly.



List some of your hobbies.
Reading, Writing, Graphic design



Why do you think teenagers feel the need to label one another?
Because, when a teenager lables another, it is basically saying, this is who you are or this is who I think you are and this is how I view you – it lowers self esteem.



Favorite color?
I have many – actually – 3 Orange, Black and Red



Is there anything in your past that makes you sad or angry? If so, are you willing to share it here?
When I was little, I moved. I moved away from all of my friends and family and that's what made me both mad and sad



What is your passion?
Reading.



Do you feel the need to pretend to be someone you're not? If so, why?
No. sure, when you were little kids that was okay but now if you do that people label you as a poser and that's not what I am.



What kinds of things do you think about when you're all alone?
I think about the endless posibilities – fictional stuff.



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



Do you ever feel the need to be invisible? If so, why?
Yes, I feel to those who do not like me I shall be invisible because they don't like me any ways so why would I want to be un invisible?



Do you believe that you will ever find the type of love you read about and see in books and movies?
Yes.



Do you like school? Why or why not?
Yes! I love school! all of my friends are there!



Do you believe that education is important?
Well, some subjects, yes – others, not so much.



Are the cliques you read about or see on TV present in your school?
Yep, totally, from goths to emos, to preps and geeks.



Do you ever feel awkward and uncomfortable?
Yes.



Favorite animal?
A seal.



Have you ever been mean to someone? If so, why? How do you feel about it now?
Yes – but you do have to understand – If someone bites, I have to offend my self and bite back – and yes, sometimes I do feel bad



Do you regret any of the choices you've made? If so, are you willing to share them here?
Not so far no. but if I did I would share.



Do they wonder or worry about what other people think about you? Be honest!
Yes Ma'm I do.

Things I Love – Tempestuous Book Trailer

This week, I came across the awesome book trailer for Lesley Livingston's book, Tempestuous and have been in love ever since. I've been planning to do my own trailer for Circle of Fire, but I was so excited by this trailer's awesomeness that I emailed Lesley to ask about it and then found out that she's also SUPER nice.

I love it when that happens!

I'm super picky about book trailers. In my opinion, great ones A) have fantastic music (I have seen perfectly good trailers ruined by passe music), B) a minimum of text, C) nothing cheesy (I'd rather have decent stock photos than bad effects or cheesy live action, though great effects and great live action is always good, too!), and D) the most important of all, it has to make you want to read the book.

This trailer has ALL of that and more.

Isn't it gorgeous?! Enjoy and learn more about Lesley's books here!

PS. The Kindle and Ipod Touch are neck in neck for the Circle of Fire giveaway. Go vote in the Friday Poll if you care, because whichever one wins is the one I'm giving away!

Friday Poll – Ipod, anyone?

[image error]As we ramp up to the Circle of Fire release – to say nothing of the new book (title to be revealed) that releases about six months later – I'm thinking more and more about promotion.

Promotion's a tricky proposition for me. Those of you who know me know that I find too much book pimping icky. This is probably because when I'm bombarded with too much sales pitch on ANYTHING, I just tune it out (or Unfollow the offender).

And I pretty much assume everyone else does, too.

Plus. I feel like that kind of thing cheapens my connection with my readers, which I truly feel is special. I cherish the opportunity to speak with readers – and especially teens – about books and music and life. Trading on that with a 24/7 sales pitch just seems wrong (or maybe I'm just being naive).

At the same time, book promotion is a requirement now more than ever. New books are hitting the shelves in record numbers, especially in the YA genre. Competition for your attention is fierce. And teens are online constantly, making it a no-brainer as a venue for book promotion.

So where's the line? Sounds like a simple question, but I've spent the equivalent of weeks pondering the answer. In the end, I came to a simple gut-check; I like interfacing with teens and readers of YA. I appreciate bloggers and other reviewers who do the important work of spreading the word, but in the end, I'm most comfortable, most myself, when I'm just chatting it up with readers about everything under the sun.

So I decided everything I do – EVERYTHING – has to be something that keeps me true to, well, ME. It's the only way I can be sure that I'm doing the right thing instead of the thing that just sells books. And it makes everything SO EASY.

Cozying up to reviewers in the hopes of getting a great review? Not me.

Talking to specific reviewers for fun because I happen to enjoy their company? A-OK!

Worming my way into another author's life because I'm hoping for a blurb? Not me!

Becoming friendly with authors that I just happen to like for the sake of their friendship? Totally!

Slamming my readers with links 24/7 to everything and anything Prophecy? SO not me.

Passing on the occasional link that makes my day or links to blog posts that I know my readers follow? Yes!

And then we come to giveaways. The truth is, I like to buy stuff for people! I just… like it. It's fun, and I do it all the time for my kids, friends who are having a tough time, etc.

So it's a perfectly natural continuation of that for me to do giveaways, especially of all the things I love most which are comfy bath-type stuff, books and book gift cards, and the technology that is more and more apart of our lives.

Which brings me to tonight's poll. Every year right before one of the Prophecy books releases, I do a very big giveaway. Last year, it was an Ipod. It's a great way for me to connect with new readers who might be interested in the Prophecy trilogy and come on! How much fun is giving away a freaking Ipod?!

But now there are all these different models and and ereaders and everything under the sun, so I thought I would ask YOU which prize YOU would most like to win! Makes sense, right?

So now's your chance! Tell me via the Friday Poll which item you'd most like to win for the big Circle of Fire giveaway in July!

View Poll