Michelle Zink's Blog, page 55

Saturday Night Music – Beautiful Boy

I'm in a John Lennon kind of mood tonight. This was written for John's son, Sean, to ease his fear after a nightmare.  You can hear the love in it.

I'm sending all that love to you and more.

Friday Poll – What Do You Want Santa to Bring?

[image error]As most of you know, I LOVE gift-giving. Whether it's swag for you guys, gifts for family, or tokens of appreciation for friends and colleagues, it's just plain fun to choose something special for SOMEONE special. I never have a hard time figuring out what to buy. If anything, it's hard for me to narrow the field (hence the ridiculous amounts of swag I'm infamous for giving away).

But I hear SO MANY adults agonize over what to buy teens for the holidays. Clothes are almost always welcome, but unless you're absolutely sure of size and fashion, it's risky. Cash is useful, but it's not much fun to give unless you wrap it up in a pretty box. Electronics are awesome – and expensive!

It's a conundrum!

So I thought this might be the perfect opportunity to see what's on YOUR holiday list with the Friday Poll…

And maybe, just maybe, Santa will be listening.

PS. This poll is super special awesome because you can choose more than one answer!! Because who can choose just oneeee?!

View Poll

Thursday Night Write – I Want Candy!

[image error]After all the seriousness of NaNoWriMo, I decided it was time for something fun.

And because my kids gave me a ginormous box of candy for my birthday (to, uh, yanno, facilitate my WRITING), I thought this was an appropropriate prompt.

You might say I have candy on the brain.

So go ahead! Have a little fun with it. Just remember the rules; give yoursel no more than 30 minutes to write anything that comes to mind – song, poem, short story, you name it! Then, post no more than 500 words of it here for comment. Don't forget to comment at least one other entry if you post one of your own. Writers of all ages and levels of experience are welcome to play.

On another note, I'm reading REVOLUTION by Jennifer Donnelly right now and am LOVING it. The teens in my Borders Teen Book Club chose it for this month's selection and it is truly fantastic. I'll post more when I'm finished, but suffice it to say, it's already got my attention.

And guess what, you guys? It's almost FRIDAY!

Song of the Week – Tie Up My Hands

This week's song was actually nominated last week by Stephanie P, but I was in kind of an "Eff you, World" mood so I went with Amanda Palmer's Do You Swear To Tell the Truth.

But I can't NOT pass on Tie Up My Hands because I've totally fallen in love with it. Thanks, Stephanie!!

Hope you guys enjoy it as much as I do.

PS. Keep those song nominations coming at prophecypress@aol.com. Put Song of the Week in the subject line and include the name of the artist/band, song title, and a video link (optional). Et voila! Check back on Tuesdays to see if your song was chosen!

Band of Horses, India, and Project Perfection

[image error]

This week's Anonymous Teen Reader is Booklover12!

But before we get to her, I want to remind everyone of a few things.

I still need Anonymous Teen Readers for future Monday nights. If you're under the age of twenty and would like to be featured, shoot me an email at prophecypress@aol.com and I'll send you the questions.

Our new Song of the Week feature was hugely popular! This week's song – nominated by one of you – will go up tomorrow night. If you'd like to nominate a song, send the title, band/artist, and (if you want) a link to a video to prophecypress@aol.com. I'll choose one song every week to feature and will give credit where credit is due. It's a great way to share your favorite music with the masses!

Lastly, there's still time to get a signed, personalized bookplate to give away this holiday season. I'm offering them completely free of charge and will even send them to you on my dime. All you have to do is send an email to prophecypress@aol.com with the number of bookplates you'd like, the name of the recipient(s), a little about him/her (if you'd like me to make the note personal), and an address where you'd like everything mailed. They were custom designed to match the interior artwork of both Prophecy of the Sisters and Guardian of the Gate and stick right into the front of the book. It makes a book an even MOAR special gift!

And now, meet Booklover12. I was especially excited to hear about her fascination with India. When I was a teenager, everyone else wanted to go to Paris and Italy, and while I wouldn't turn away a trip to either, I've always wanted to go to India, Africa, and Egypt the most. Enjoy!

JUST THE FACTS

Interview Code Name (you choose!);

Booklover12

Current country of residence;

United States

Male or female?

female

Age;

16

ABOUT THE BOOKS

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

2-7 depending on how much free time I have

Favorite kind of book and why;

Romance, supernatural and mystery

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

Interesting story line and characters

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

If I can relate to the characters in it and if after I finish the book it leaves me wanting more

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

Very important

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

I love books that have a supernatural plot line and i would like to see that continue

What's your biggest pet peeve in a book?

I like a strong and independent protagonist and a weak and winy protagonist gets on my nerves, I also don't like when the author rushes through the story and doesn't take the time to fully develop the story leaving holes in the story.

Paperback or hardcover?

paperbacks are cheaper but a hardcover lasts longer so it just depends on what book it is or how much money I willing to spend on that book

Series or stand-alone?

Series allows you to get to know the characters and gives the author more time to fully develop the story.

ALL ABOUT YOU

What music do you most often listen to?

I listen to all types types of music, I don't feel the need to restrict myself to one genre of music

Name your favorite band;

At the moment The XX, Band Of Horses, 30 seconds to Mars, and Phoenix  but it changes weekly

Best movie of all time?

Any of the Harry Potter movies

Without naming names, tell us a little about your group of friends;

I have a close group of friends and they are very smart, diverse, funny and I can always count on them to be there or for a laugh when I'm down.

What's your biggest concern about the world right now and/or the people in it?

The fact that as we get more technologically advanced we get lazier. Children these days rely on calculators to do all their math even simple math and while you might get things done faster, you don't really learn anything the same think with us using Google, you don't even have to think anymore with Google on your phone, laptop and computer.

Someone gives you a million dollars, no strings attached. What do you do with it?

The first thing I would do would be to buy myself a new car because I am tired of asking my parents for rides to place, then i would get myself some new clothes and shoes and with the money left I would save the rest of the money to ensure that I can pay for college.

You can live for one year in any place in the world. Where do you go and why?

I would go to India, I love the culture, the saris and the food and ever since I read the Gemma Doyle Trilogy I have been obsessed with India. (I've ALWAYS wanted to go to India! Always!)

Have you ever "Hidden" someone on your Facebook feed? If so, why?

No, I try not to post anything offensive on Facebook because i know even if I hide it from somebody they could still find out what I posted from somebody else

Do you get along with your family? Either way,tell us why.

For the most part Yes but I do have the occasional quarrels with either my brothers or my parents

What is one thing most people don't know about you?

I might project perfection on the outside but inside I'm anything but perfect.

Name your biggest secret fear.

As cliche as this sounds FAILING

Name something you like about yourself.

That I am hardworking and I try to do everything to my best ability

What one thing would you like to know about other teens?

How they deal with being a teenager and all the problems that come with being a teenager

It's Saturdayyyy! So Gimme Pizza!!!

This is the creepiest/funniest freaking thing I've ever seen.

Friday Poll – Best 80s Movie!!

[image error]Watching Pretty in Pink with my girls reminded me all over again how very cool the 80s were.

Sure, we had our missteps like every other high school generation, but we also had Madonna, New Wave, eclectic fashion, and a host of movies that have stood the test of time.

John Hughes was the undisputed king of teenage movies in the 1980s, but I have to admit to a soft spot for Cameron Crowe as well (Almost Famous is my #1 music movie of all time, though it was made in 2000).

So on this Friday night, I pose the all-important question; which of the following movies is YOUR favorite from the 80s?

Weigh in with the Friday Poll!

View Poll

Open Mic – Thanksgiving Edition!

[image error]Okay, you guys! Enjoy this last Open Mic of November. I went easy on you for NaNoWriMo, but we're going to do a prompt next week.

Dun-dun DUN!!!

So if you're not stuffed from Thanksgiving, post your poem, novel, song, or short story excerpt of 300 words or less for comment. Don't forget to comment at least one other post if you leave one of your own!

The BEST Holiday Gift? A Signed Book, Of Course!

I have a Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanza present for you.

Yes, YOU!

Or, yanno, someone you know.

That's because I checked my stash of custom-designed bookplates and discovered that I have about a hundred of them left. And we all know there's no better present than a personalized, autographed book, right?

Right?!

The bookplates are really gorgeous. They were custom-designed to match the interior art work of both Prophecy of the Sisters and Guardian of the Gate. They stick on the title page, and if you place them just right, the vines on the bookplate line up with the vines on the artwork in the book. It's very cool! They really elevate the gift of a book to something extra special. And this is the end of these bookplates, so it's first-come, first-served.

Once they're gone, they're gone, bay-beee!

So here's the deal, if you'd like a free bookplate (or more than one), send me an email at prophecypress@aol.com with "Bookplates" in the Subject line. In the body of your email, include;

The number of bookplates you'd like

To whom you'd like them signed

A little about the person who will receive the book (this is optional, but it enables me to write a personal message.)

The address to which you'd like the bookplates sent.

I'll get them in the mail to in the next week – plenty of time for you to receive them by the holidays!

In the meantime, I want to wish a very Happy Thanks giving to my US readers. I'll still try to post Open Mic tomorrow since I missed it last week due to the craziness of our 22-person midnight showing of Harry Potter. The Friday Poll will be up on schedule!

Song of the Week – Do You Swear to Tell the Truth

Oh, my gosh, you guys! You nominated SO MANY great songs for the Song of the Week. I had so much fun listening to all of them and now I definitely know where to go for new music recs.

I can already tell this feature's going to be a winner!

It took me a long time to choose this song by Amanda Palmer. I'm not new to Amanda's work. In fact, I've been a fan for a long time, but I have to admit that I either haven't heard this one before or don't remember it (The Kill is probably my favorite of all Amanda's songs). It suits my mood perfectly this week, probably because it comes on the heels of my Nobody's Bitch post of a few days ago. Thanks to Aimee Walker for the stellar suggestion!

But don't worry if your song wasn't chosen this week. I'm keeping all of them on my computer and reserve the right to recall any of the suggestions at any time. That said, please keep sending your song recommendations to prophecypress@aol.com and I'll post a new one every Tuesday.

In the meantime, hope you enjoy Do You Swear To Tell the Truth as much as I do. It's got a fantastic message for women everywhere. Be sure to pay attention to the lyrics.