Dawn Metcalf's Blog, page 15
February 28, 2014
Sugar & Spice & BOATLOADS OF AWESOME!
I'm inspired by my little girl. Honestly, I'm inspired by both my kids--and cool people in general--but there's something special about watching someone become "who they are" throughout their lifetime and my little girl was here first.
I get to watch her explore her world, point out the beauty and ask the questions we forgot were out there, discover the things that make sense and the things that don't make any sense at all and ask "Why?" or come up with her own answers that make sense to her. She is 100% her own person and I'm the one privileged enough to be called her "Mommy" for the ride. So maybe I'm attuned to awesome little girls--they inspire and delight me, reawakening that wonder and magic I remember and giving me a much-needed wake-up call to the incredible world around me. In their eyes, life is sparkly and juicy and possible. There are other little girls who blow my mind as well and when I discover their stories, I want to share then with everybody, which, on a blog, I can do. So without further ado, here are some *really* awesome little girls who kick my inspirational tush into gear:
Via The May Sue, "Mayhem" is a budding fashionista who takes no prisoners. Her dresses are made from paper and foil, tape and tissue, and are inspired and inspiring so much so that I spent a good half hour simply checking out all of her designs and grinning like an idiot. Her mom, Angie, credits her little designer with most of the work and I love her quote: “if we can find it laying around the house and it’s pliable, it’s fair game.” THAT is creativity set on high and I love the heck out of it. Check out her Instagram and be blown away by the awesome!
An old favorite of mine, which I come back to time and again, is the young abstract painter, Aelta Andre, who I first saw videos of as a tiny girl in a splattered tutu standing on a canvas at least four times bigger than her as her parents watched her paint (as they are both artists themselves) but seeing and hearing how Aelta describes her need to paint was so moving, that I kept returning to the films, watching her art develop as she grew from age 4. She paints by dancing, clapping her hands, spraying paint and glitter over doll faces and toys. "I love painting," she says, "I am going to paint for twenty-four hours" and "I will dance and dance!" And she does.
And then, of course, there is my own little girl whom a friend dubbed "the Pigtailed Overlord" and it stuck. While I manage to squirrel away some of her quotes on my Twitter, 140 characters utterly fails to capture the awesome that is this kid. Allow me to share an example: somewhere in preschool, my daughter managed to lock onto the fact that hand washing was supposed to kill germs and keep her body healthy. She came home wanting to know what germs looked like and what is in our body that fights them off. My husband showed her a YouTube video of a white blood cell eating a macrophage. I got her some Magic School Bus books and videos. Something clicked in that little brain and she *ran with it* inhaling anything having to do with the human body, specifically the immune system, more specifically the lymphatic system and auto-immune diseases. She became fascinated and furious about Hepatitis C, AIDS and MRSA. She wanted to do nothing more than go to the Science Center or see the Bodies Revealed exhibit, even as a wee thing. Grandpa helped build a lab in her basement. We brought her out of state to hands-on science labs. She'd fall asleep reading The Human Body Encyclopedia in bed. She began asking for Giant Microbe plushies for her birthday. (No joke, her bed is festooned with these things and looks like a darling biohazard state of emergency.)
One day I was cleaning (I know--most likely I was avoiding some tough scene in a book) when she indignantly waved the Lysol can in front of me with a scowl on her face.
"It's wrong!" she cried.
"What?" I asked innocently from my dust-smeared crouch on the floor.
"This says that [X] is a bacteria, but it's a VIRUS!" (Honestly, I can't remember which one it was, but she was really upset about it. Her pigtails were in a twist.)
"Let's go check," I said and left the floor half-finished, opened up my computer and we Googled it. She was right.
"Well," said I, reasonably. "Why don't you write and tell them?" I clicked open Lysol.com, went to the Contact page and invited her to write and explain what was wrong, which she did, hunting and pecking keys with her two forefingers. When she was done, I added a little note at the end that the following was written by a six year old and that I was her mother and trying to support her interest in the sciences and if they knew of any resources, I'd greatly appreciate them! We pushed send. I gave her ice cream.
Okay, so they didn't write back, but 1-2 years later as I was cleaning again (see: most likely avoiding something else), the Pigtailed Overlord ran up to me again, this time beaming triumphant.
"I was RIGHT! They changed it! See?"
And, in fact, the error had been corrected. I can't say that it was her who did it, but you never know. And the fact that she saw herself as capable of making changes in the world around her was not a bad thing...although it inspired her to try and make a "super bug" for her science fair project that year and I had to explain that it's not nice to create potentially hazardous biological terrorist organisms and that she should always use her powers for good. She said, "Yes, Mommy" quite contritely and asked if we could bake oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. I considered it a fair compromise.
Honestly, thank goodness for little girls!
I get to watch her explore her world, point out the beauty and ask the questions we forgot were out there, discover the things that make sense and the things that don't make any sense at all and ask "Why?" or come up with her own answers that make sense to her. She is 100% her own person and I'm the one privileged enough to be called her "Mommy" for the ride. So maybe I'm attuned to awesome little girls--they inspire and delight me, reawakening that wonder and magic I remember and giving me a much-needed wake-up call to the incredible world around me. In their eyes, life is sparkly and juicy and possible. There are other little girls who blow my mind as well and when I discover their stories, I want to share then with everybody, which, on a blog, I can do. So without further ado, here are some *really* awesome little girls who kick my inspirational tush into gear:
Via The May Sue, "Mayhem" is a budding fashionista who takes no prisoners. Her dresses are made from paper and foil, tape and tissue, and are inspired and inspiring so much so that I spent a good half hour simply checking out all of her designs and grinning like an idiot. Her mom, Angie, credits her little designer with most of the work and I love her quote: “if we can find it laying around the house and it’s pliable, it’s fair game.” THAT is creativity set on high and I love the heck out of it. Check out her Instagram and be blown away by the awesome!
An old favorite of mine, which I come back to time and again, is the young abstract painter, Aelta Andre, who I first saw videos of as a tiny girl in a splattered tutu standing on a canvas at least four times bigger than her as her parents watched her paint (as they are both artists themselves) but seeing and hearing how Aelta describes her need to paint was so moving, that I kept returning to the films, watching her art develop as she grew from age 4. She paints by dancing, clapping her hands, spraying paint and glitter over doll faces and toys. "I love painting," she says, "I am going to paint for twenty-four hours" and "I will dance and dance!" And she does.
And then, of course, there is my own little girl whom a friend dubbed "the Pigtailed Overlord" and it stuck. While I manage to squirrel away some of her quotes on my Twitter, 140 characters utterly fails to capture the awesome that is this kid. Allow me to share an example: somewhere in preschool, my daughter managed to lock onto the fact that hand washing was supposed to kill germs and keep her body healthy. She came home wanting to know what germs looked like and what is in our body that fights them off. My husband showed her a YouTube video of a white blood cell eating a macrophage. I got her some Magic School Bus books and videos. Something clicked in that little brain and she *ran with it* inhaling anything having to do with the human body, specifically the immune system, more specifically the lymphatic system and auto-immune diseases. She became fascinated and furious about Hepatitis C, AIDS and MRSA. She wanted to do nothing more than go to the Science Center or see the Bodies Revealed exhibit, even as a wee thing. Grandpa helped build a lab in her basement. We brought her out of state to hands-on science labs. She'd fall asleep reading The Human Body Encyclopedia in bed. She began asking for Giant Microbe plushies for her birthday. (No joke, her bed is festooned with these things and looks like a darling biohazard state of emergency.)
One day I was cleaning (I know--most likely I was avoiding some tough scene in a book) when she indignantly waved the Lysol can in front of me with a scowl on her face.
"It's wrong!" she cried.
"What?" I asked innocently from my dust-smeared crouch on the floor.
"This says that [X] is a bacteria, but it's a VIRUS!" (Honestly, I can't remember which one it was, but she was really upset about it. Her pigtails were in a twist.)
"Let's go check," I said and left the floor half-finished, opened up my computer and we Googled it. She was right.
"Well," said I, reasonably. "Why don't you write and tell them?" I clicked open Lysol.com, went to the Contact page and invited her to write and explain what was wrong, which she did, hunting and pecking keys with her two forefingers. When she was done, I added a little note at the end that the following was written by a six year old and that I was her mother and trying to support her interest in the sciences and if they knew of any resources, I'd greatly appreciate them! We pushed send. I gave her ice cream.
Okay, so they didn't write back, but 1-2 years later as I was cleaning again (see: most likely avoiding something else), the Pigtailed Overlord ran up to me again, this time beaming triumphant.
"I was RIGHT! They changed it! See?"
And, in fact, the error had been corrected. I can't say that it was her who did it, but you never know. And the fact that she saw herself as capable of making changes in the world around her was not a bad thing...although it inspired her to try and make a "super bug" for her science fair project that year and I had to explain that it's not nice to create potentially hazardous biological terrorist organisms and that she should always use her powers for good. She said, "Yes, Mommy" quite contritely and asked if we could bake oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. I considered it a fair compromise.
Honestly, thank goodness for little girls!
February 12, 2014
Announcements, News & General WOO HOO!
Last night, it became officially official:
The secret's out!
Now I can *finally* tell people what I have been bursting to shout from the rooftops since, oh, before Thanksgiving:
The Twixt is now a SERIES!
Snagged and bragged from Publisher's Weekly:
"Natashya Wilson at Harlequin Teen has bought INVIOLATE and INVINCIBLE by Dawn Metcalf, the third and fourth titles in the Twixt series for teens. The books will continue the story of a girl who is accidentally marked by a mysterious boy to whom she becomes indelibly bound, finding herself caught between the world of the Folk and the world of humans. Publication is scheduled for summer 2015 and summer 2016; Sarah Davies of the Greenhouse Literary Agency brokered the deal for world rights."
Now, if you read that right (go on--read it again! I did!) you will notice a second bit of news tucked amongst its giddiness; namely that I have a new agent. I am now represented by Sarah Davies of Greenhouse Literary Agency! This is also a new change that I have been keeping under my hat, fluffed and preened, until such time as that became officially official and I could share that, too. Having thus reconnected with Sarah and finding that we still admired one another's work after 4+ years, it was a meeting of the minds that soon became a meeting of the persons as she told me that the agency's client retreat was taking place in 1.5 weeks in Orlando, Florida. Continuing my tradition of last-minute career opportunities of the "why wait?" variety, I dropped everything with the support of my family and flew down to meet, well, everybody!
Disclaimer: this folder could not contain all the awesome that happened this weekend.
So I went to the writer's retreat in Orlando this past weekend where I got to hang out with 40+ Greenhouse clients and meet friends, old and new, including some Tenners, Elevensies, Gothic Girls and lots of cool new people--not the least of whom were Sarah Davies, fellow agents John Cusick and Polly Nolan, and foreign rights maven, Allison Hellegers--to share coffee, anecdotes, thought-provoking discussion and inspirational laughs as we studiously ignored the cold and overcast rain preventing us from descending on the Disney Parks like a crazed horde until the very end of our stay, where most people still opted for Universal Studios and Harry Potter World. Still, it was *way* more entertaining than staying in Connecticut (nothing against you guys). The highlight may have been the "Greenhouse Got Talent" show where I got to whistle and hum at the same time (as well as do karate) but was completely blown away by musical numbers, a Mr. Rogers spoof, and a throwing knife bait-and-switch. It was quite an evening!
Now, this is not to say that this hiatus has been all roses and song. (Well, actually the weekend was all roses and song...but I digress.) The intervening few months have brought their own heartbreak (as well as foot-break as I managed, after my last brilliant injurious debacle, to trip on a stair resulting in a sprain, a strain, a hairline fracture and a lovely set of crutches to go with a boot cast), including having a big WIP project fall through, switching agents, having a cancer scare (no worries: all is well) and discovering that my next book, INVISIBLE, would be pushed back almost six months until September, 2014.
I know, I know.
But, seriously, you will thank me for this. Don't worry--the book is finished, edited and nestled happily in the hands of my lovely editor and the Harlequin Dream Team, but it needs time to be dressed properly for its debut into the limelight. (INDELIBLE is a tough act to follow! Did you see that cover?!? Sibling envy is hardest on the parents...)
Imagine something almost, but not quite, entirely unlike this, but just as cool.
So when I have news about cover reveals, upcoming events, sneak peek tidbits, excerpts, exclusive content and contests, I'll be announcing them with some extra fun things to help tides readers over until the new launch date. Trust me, this will *totally* be worth it!
And I'm already writing Book 3 and laughing myself sick.
The Twixt is now a SERIES!
Snagged and bragged from Publisher's Weekly:
"Natashya Wilson at Harlequin Teen has bought INVIOLATE and INVINCIBLE by Dawn Metcalf, the third and fourth titles in the Twixt series for teens. The books will continue the story of a girl who is accidentally marked by a mysterious boy to whom she becomes indelibly bound, finding herself caught between the world of the Folk and the world of humans. Publication is scheduled for summer 2015 and summer 2016; Sarah Davies of the Greenhouse Literary Agency brokered the deal for world rights."
Now, if you read that right (go on--read it again! I did!) you will notice a second bit of news tucked amongst its giddiness; namely that I have a new agent. I am now represented by Sarah Davies of Greenhouse Literary Agency! This is also a new change that I have been keeping under my hat, fluffed and preened, until such time as that became officially official and I could share that, too. Having thus reconnected with Sarah and finding that we still admired one another's work after 4+ years, it was a meeting of the minds that soon became a meeting of the persons as she told me that the agency's client retreat was taking place in 1.5 weeks in Orlando, Florida. Continuing my tradition of last-minute career opportunities of the "why wait?" variety, I dropped everything with the support of my family and flew down to meet, well, everybody!
Disclaimer: this folder could not contain all the awesome that happened this weekend.
So I went to the writer's retreat in Orlando this past weekend where I got to hang out with 40+ Greenhouse clients and meet friends, old and new, including some Tenners, Elevensies, Gothic Girls and lots of cool new people--not the least of whom were Sarah Davies, fellow agents John Cusick and Polly Nolan, and foreign rights maven, Allison Hellegers--to share coffee, anecdotes, thought-provoking discussion and inspirational laughs as we studiously ignored the cold and overcast rain preventing us from descending on the Disney Parks like a crazed horde until the very end of our stay, where most people still opted for Universal Studios and Harry Potter World. Still, it was *way* more entertaining than staying in Connecticut (nothing against you guys). The highlight may have been the "Greenhouse Got Talent" show where I got to whistle and hum at the same time (as well as do karate) but was completely blown away by musical numbers, a Mr. Rogers spoof, and a throwing knife bait-and-switch. It was quite an evening!
Now, this is not to say that this hiatus has been all roses and song. (Well, actually the weekend was all roses and song...but I digress.) The intervening few months have brought their own heartbreak (as well as foot-break as I managed, after my last brilliant injurious debacle, to trip on a stair resulting in a sprain, a strain, a hairline fracture and a lovely set of crutches to go with a boot cast), including having a big WIP project fall through, switching agents, having a cancer scare (no worries: all is well) and discovering that my next book, INVISIBLE, would be pushed back almost six months until September, 2014.
I know, I know.
But, seriously, you will thank me for this. Don't worry--the book is finished, edited and nestled happily in the hands of my lovely editor and the Harlequin Dream Team, but it needs time to be dressed properly for its debut into the limelight. (INDELIBLE is a tough act to follow! Did you see that cover?!? Sibling envy is hardest on the parents...)
Imagine something almost, but not quite, entirely unlike this, but just as cool.
So when I have news about cover reveals, upcoming events, sneak peek tidbits, excerpts, exclusive content and contests, I'll be announcing them with some extra fun things to help tides readers over until the new launch date. Trust me, this will *totally* be worth it!
And I'm already writing Book 3 and laughing myself sick.
January 7, 2014
Happy New Year & A Happy Accident
I'm interrupting my self-imposed hiatus of silence to bring you a Happy New Year anecdote as a writer, a reader and a friend. This winter break I got to go to my Chicago hometown and laze about with my ladies in the family while enjoying food, friends, the city and the arts. Along with this was a luxuriant dive into my TBR pile that has been sorely neglected as I attempt to double my normal daily word count upon my return. That said, what I discovered was something that I call a Happy Accident.*
One of the greatest gifts of going to big book conferences is meeting fans and fellow authors. Another one is getting a ton of good books! Of course, it takes time to get around to devouring all of these good books and so I was thrilled to finally be getting a chance to dive into a long-awaited pile. One of the book covers that had snagged my interest was this one:
As a fan of twisted fairy tales and snarky takes on old tropes, I was curious about what I'd find in store. But as I started reading, I realized I had a thought-provoking introduction about the nature of what it means to be a teacher. (As a sympathetic reader, the message resonated but as former teacher, I realized that I recognized the poem as "What Teachers Make.") Confused, I flipped back to the cover again. Then checked the inside flap. No, this was supposed to be a bunch of amusing, satirical short stories written by Tim Manley. Curious, I removed the cover and this is what I saw:
It was the much-hailed book I'd heard of but never got around to reading, the musings--both poignant and poetic--of educator-activist-poet, Taylor Mali. How one book managed to get wrapped in the other's cover, I don't know, but I happily devoured the book I had in hand rather than mourn the one I did not. It was startling and touching and everything I'd hoped it would be back when this book had originally been on my radar and then been forgotten in all the Day to Day. Hence, my Happy Accident.
But it got me thinking about "judging a book by its cover" and the nature of surprise and the thrill of the Happy Accident. What if I could share that feeling of discovering a good book right in your hand? What if it could be like the brown paper project done by Webster Library? (Full story here.) What could we learn if we were tricked to go out of our usual reading/writing comfort zones and venture beyond our well-trodden paths? Would we be like Shel Silverstein and fall off the end of the sidewalk or be like Robert Frost and be profoundly changed from that point forward?
It's something to think about. And now I'm thinking...
Slightly NSFW but definitely Safe For Schools
* Most of my accidents tend to be UNhappy, usually of the injurious variety, so I savor that which doesn't attempt to kill me or make me stronger.
One of the greatest gifts of going to big book conferences is meeting fans and fellow authors. Another one is getting a ton of good books! Of course, it takes time to get around to devouring all of these good books and so I was thrilled to finally be getting a chance to dive into a long-awaited pile. One of the book covers that had snagged my interest was this one:
As a fan of twisted fairy tales and snarky takes on old tropes, I was curious about what I'd find in store. But as I started reading, I realized I had a thought-provoking introduction about the nature of what it means to be a teacher. (As a sympathetic reader, the message resonated but as former teacher, I realized that I recognized the poem as "What Teachers Make.") Confused, I flipped back to the cover again. Then checked the inside flap. No, this was supposed to be a bunch of amusing, satirical short stories written by Tim Manley. Curious, I removed the cover and this is what I saw:
It was the much-hailed book I'd heard of but never got around to reading, the musings--both poignant and poetic--of educator-activist-poet, Taylor Mali. How one book managed to get wrapped in the other's cover, I don't know, but I happily devoured the book I had in hand rather than mourn the one I did not. It was startling and touching and everything I'd hoped it would be back when this book had originally been on my radar and then been forgotten in all the Day to Day. Hence, my Happy Accident.
But it got me thinking about "judging a book by its cover" and the nature of surprise and the thrill of the Happy Accident. What if I could share that feeling of discovering a good book right in your hand? What if it could be like the brown paper project done by Webster Library? (Full story here.) What could we learn if we were tricked to go out of our usual reading/writing comfort zones and venture beyond our well-trodden paths? Would we be like Shel Silverstein and fall off the end of the sidewalk or be like Robert Frost and be profoundly changed from that point forward?
It's something to think about. And now I'm thinking...
Slightly NSFW but definitely Safe For Schools
* Most of my accidents tend to be UNhappy, usually of the injurious variety, so I savor that which doesn't attempt to kill me or make me stronger.
December 20, 2013
Congratulations & A Happy New Year!
Firstly, congratulations to the contest winner:
*** Kelli Beauchamp ***
Look for your copy of INDELIBLE winging its way to you in time for milk and cookies under the festooned tree!
Secondly, I am going offline as I delve into the latest project that I can't wait to share, but alas, can't share now. When I return, I am uncertain whether I will keep mirror-posting to Livejournal because while I love my LJ community, the erratic and spamtastic service since the hand-off has been a major deterrent. I am investing other fun possibilities, but you can always find me on my website at www.dawnmetcalf.com!
So, in advance of diving into the writing cave, I'd like to wish everyone Happy Holidays and a healthy, happy and abundant New Year filled with every joy and success.
sparkly photo by Anna Langova
All the very best,
Me
*** Kelli Beauchamp ***
Look for your copy of INDELIBLE winging its way to you in time for milk and cookies under the festooned tree!
Secondly, I am going offline as I delve into the latest project that I can't wait to share, but alas, can't share now. When I return, I am uncertain whether I will keep mirror-posting to Livejournal because while I love my LJ community, the erratic and spamtastic service since the hand-off has been a major deterrent. I am investing other fun possibilities, but you can always find me on my website at www.dawnmetcalf.com!
So, in advance of diving into the writing cave, I'd like to wish everyone Happy Holidays and a healthy, happy and abundant New Year filled with every joy and success.
sparkly photo by Anna Langova
All the very best,
Me
December 13, 2013
Being Brave
I think the bravest thing a writer can do is write the damned book.
In our minds, the story is perfect with the promise that, when we tell it, it will flow like liquid gold. The truth is that the moment we put words on paper, the story curdles--the nebulous becomes murky, the flaws embarrassingly obvious, the plot too thick and the characters too thin--and yet if we don't brave the fog, the story will never be told. If we don't keep digging, we'll never discover the nuggets of gold worth keeping. If we don't build our castles, we won't have anything to knock down and rebuild better and stronger than before. It's tough to dive in, knowing that it will be a treacherous road doomed to be torn up, ripped out, redesigned and overhauled with more than one bypass, shortcut, dark alley and dead end...but "The End" is worth the journey. Honest.
Step by step.
Word by word.
Bird by bird.
And as they say in The Hobbit: we're off to have an adventure!
In our minds, the story is perfect with the promise that, when we tell it, it will flow like liquid gold. The truth is that the moment we put words on paper, the story curdles--the nebulous becomes murky, the flaws embarrassingly obvious, the plot too thick and the characters too thin--and yet if we don't brave the fog, the story will never be told. If we don't keep digging, we'll never discover the nuggets of gold worth keeping. If we don't build our castles, we won't have anything to knock down and rebuild better and stronger than before. It's tough to dive in, knowing that it will be a treacherous road doomed to be torn up, ripped out, redesigned and overhauled with more than one bypass, shortcut, dark alley and dead end...but "The End" is worth the journey. Honest.
Step by step.
Word by word.
Bird by bird.
And as they say in The Hobbit: we're off to have an adventure!
December 6, 2013
Happy Holidays! Have a Book! On Second Thought, Have Two!
I know what I like to get for the holidays: BOOKS! And I know when I get a good book from someone that I can't wait to read, I feel like that person really gets that part of me. Books are personal, beautiful, transportive, funny, heartfelt, honest and touching. Give someone you love a book this year and you've earned a place in their heart.
To celebrate, I'm doing a giveaway--it's easy:
Pre-order INVISIBLE from Barnes & Noble, Amazon or your favorite indiebound bookstore and send proof of purchase to me at Dawn (dot) Metcalf (at) gmail.com for a chance to win a signed & doodled copy of INDELIBLE in time for Christmas!
Plus you can RT or FB this contest for an extra chance to win! Contest is open until Friday, December 20th, open to US residents only.
Of course, you can also get your own for the friends and family that you like best! INDELIBLE is available at Barnes & Noble, Amazon, WalMart & an independent bookstore nearest you!
...and just *wait* til you see the cover reveal for INVISIBLE!
Happiest of holidays & Good Luck!
December 3, 2013
Belated (emphasis on "late")
Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Channukah!
Acknowledge World AIDS Day!
Duck on Black Friday!
Support Small Business Saturday!
Surf Cyber Monday!
And now it's Tuesday, right?
I have edits for INVISIBLE: Book Two of the Twixt and am logistically far behind. Therefore, I will be offline for the forseeable while as I gather letters into the semblances of words and sentences for your future reading pleasure.
I will now return you to your regularly-scheduled program. With candles. They're extra-flamey.*
* A most appropriate quote given the above-mentioned list.
Happy Channukah!
Acknowledge World AIDS Day!
Duck on Black Friday!
Support Small Business Saturday!
Surf Cyber Monday!
And now it's Tuesday, right?
I have edits for INVISIBLE: Book Two of the Twixt and am logistically far behind. Therefore, I will be offline for the forseeable while as I gather letters into the semblances of words and sentences for your future reading pleasure.
I will now return you to your regularly-scheduled program. With candles. They're extra-flamey.*
* A most appropriate quote given the above-mentioned list.
November 26, 2013
Where I'll Be
This is me in my 3D glasses geeking out.
*Spoilers*
November 21, 2013
Sometimes You Just Need to Bunny Dance
There is a lot going on right now--some of it good, some of it not-so-good--but a lot of it are things I can't share just yet so I am unable to blog about it and this leaves me vibrating at the keys like too much caffeine. My daughter noticed my edginess last night and invited me to her room to re-enact a little ritual we came up with one day when she was feeling overwhelmed: we start this song and I begin with one finger-bunny dancing, to be slowly joined by a second finger bunny, and she provides bunnies three and four until we are happily bouncing our fingers to the beat in a tiny, coordinated finger-bunny jamboree.
Works every time!
Here's the song BE OK by Ingrid Michaelson. I dare you not to finger-bunny dance!
Works every time!
Here's the song BE OK by Ingrid Michaelson. I dare you not to finger-bunny dance!
November 5, 2013
The Long-Awaited NY Comic Con Post!
So, as promised, this pic-tastic post is a visual hooplah of my experience at the 2013 NY Comic Con where I had the honor and the pleasure to be interviewed by my editor whilst handing out copies of my book amidst some of the very finest offerings made to some of the very best fandoms anywhere.
Bottom line: I had NO idea what to expect.
It started out quiet. Very quiet. I was there super-early in an attempt to be professional, but in all honesty it was more because I have a debilitating horror of being late and I knew taking a ton of public transportation would put things thoroughly outside of my control, so in order to stop my inner voice from screaming itself hoarse, I was there with my exhibitor pass before they'd even unwrapped the floor. It was kinda errie and kinda cool, like the lone sheriff come to a deserted town. All it needed was some glossy, plastic tumbleweeds rolling by.
My shadow falling across a lonely red carpet by the light of an early morning sun.
Then the crowds came. And the costumes. (And more costumes. And more costumes!) I was delighted and astounded by the work that went into these things and equally so by the sheer numbers of people coming into the electronic maze of booths, ad hoc buildings and interactive displays. To say it was "overwhelming" might be an understatement, but I'm a veteran of Chicago Jazz Fest and Disney so I could handle it! I think my favorite thing was watching when genres collide (for example getting a shot of Kick Ass and Wonder Woman together)--so much fun!
I know these photos fail to convey the energy of the place, but it was as if they'd concentrated all the happy, goofy, exuberant fandom of years of comic-/TV-/movie-/gaming-/genre-loving hearts and lit it up with sparklers, leaving everyone gasping over the shiny, colorful, wild creativity on the shelves and each other, filling the aisles, jamming on consoles & dancing to Just Dance 2014 in full costume. It was *definitely* all about getting your geek on and the smiles were completely contagious!
There were cars. And games. And artists. And silly things. Dr. Who and Firefly and South Park and X-Men, and personal faves from Elfquest and Saga to Kami Garcia and Stan Lee! There was certainly enough things to make your head spin as opposed to just the people themselves. I walked around and soaked it in, snapping pictures everywhere I went.
S.H.I.E.L.D., consoles & Walking Dead, oh my!
Firefly board games, Weeping Angel bobbleheads & Unicorn Poo-scented candles (?!?)
There were real stars and fake stars and famous authors...and me.
X-Men's Mystique, a Dr. Who + his TARDIS & the real Cookie Monster!
I, the intrepid author, editor, Natashya Wilson, and fellow HQT author, Amalie Howard.
Piece of advice: when posing for an official shot, always let your editor hold the gun.
At the Twitch booth, I was interviewed after being wired for sound (quite a trick given my massive amounts of hair). It was a quick 11 minutes of chatting and laughing in my Zoe-inspired outfit while sitting on a very white couch and blinking up at the cameras and then it was over and I was free to roam the floor, exchange hugs with friends and head out to lunch (and eventually return to buy myself a magenta pigtailed wig which totally made my day complete)! All in all, I had a fabulous time being another fangirl in the mob, smiling and laughing along with the crowd.
But I knew that I had been there as a guest author at one of the greatest Cons in New York, which felt kind of "WOW!" and left me giddy all the way home.
Bottom line: I had NO idea what to expect.
It started out quiet. Very quiet. I was there super-early in an attempt to be professional, but in all honesty it was more because I have a debilitating horror of being late and I knew taking a ton of public transportation would put things thoroughly outside of my control, so in order to stop my inner voice from screaming itself hoarse, I was there with my exhibitor pass before they'd even unwrapped the floor. It was kinda errie and kinda cool, like the lone sheriff come to a deserted town. All it needed was some glossy, plastic tumbleweeds rolling by.
My shadow falling across a lonely red carpet by the light of an early morning sun.
Then the crowds came. And the costumes. (And more costumes. And more costumes!) I was delighted and astounded by the work that went into these things and equally so by the sheer numbers of people coming into the electronic maze of booths, ad hoc buildings and interactive displays. To say it was "overwhelming" might be an understatement, but I'm a veteran of Chicago Jazz Fest and Disney so I could handle it! I think my favorite thing was watching when genres collide (for example getting a shot of Kick Ass and Wonder Woman together)--so much fun!
I know these photos fail to convey the energy of the place, but it was as if they'd concentrated all the happy, goofy, exuberant fandom of years of comic-/TV-/movie-/gaming-/genre-loving hearts and lit it up with sparklers, leaving everyone gasping over the shiny, colorful, wild creativity on the shelves and each other, filling the aisles, jamming on consoles & dancing to Just Dance 2014 in full costume. It was *definitely* all about getting your geek on and the smiles were completely contagious!
There were cars. And games. And artists. And silly things. Dr. Who and Firefly and South Park and X-Men, and personal faves from Elfquest and Saga to Kami Garcia and Stan Lee! There was certainly enough things to make your head spin as opposed to just the people themselves. I walked around and soaked it in, snapping pictures everywhere I went.
S.H.I.E.L.D., consoles & Walking Dead, oh my!
Firefly board games, Weeping Angel bobbleheads & Unicorn Poo-scented candles (?!?)
There were real stars and fake stars and famous authors...and me.
X-Men's Mystique, a Dr. Who + his TARDIS & the real Cookie Monster!
I, the intrepid author, editor, Natashya Wilson, and fellow HQT author, Amalie Howard.
Piece of advice: when posing for an official shot, always let your editor hold the gun.
At the Twitch booth, I was interviewed after being wired for sound (quite a trick given my massive amounts of hair). It was a quick 11 minutes of chatting and laughing in my Zoe-inspired outfit while sitting on a very white couch and blinking up at the cameras and then it was over and I was free to roam the floor, exchange hugs with friends and head out to lunch (and eventually return to buy myself a magenta pigtailed wig which totally made my day complete)! All in all, I had a fabulous time being another fangirl in the mob, smiling and laughing along with the crowd.
But I knew that I had been there as a guest author at one of the greatest Cons in New York, which felt kind of "WOW!" and left me giddy all the way home.
