Dawn Metcalf's Blog, page 38

One Month Countdown: Contest Winners, Teaser Trailer & Upcoming Blog Tours!

First thing's first: The five winners of randomness in the Random Contest of Sunshine & Chocolate are:
shveta_thakrar
authorwithin
jab0217
jynnmorgan
joleneallcock

And the winner of the signed ARC of LUMINOUS is:

*** authorwithin ***

Congratulations!!! Please ping me back with mailing addys for your prizes!

Secondly: I HAVE A NEW TEASER TRAILER! With words and everything for you who missed them in my spooktastic Official Book Trailer; huge thanks to Kurt Boucher for helping me create this little ethereal beauty. Behold:



Available to share with your friends, loved ones, online acquaintances & fellow book-loving enthusiasts. Isn't it pretty?

Thirdly: BOOK TOURS! We are now entering the one-month countdown to LUMINOUS officially hitting the shelves (as opposed to unofficially sneaking onto shelves and making me grin like a lovestruck girly-girl), and I am honored to be invited on book tours beginning tomorrow, June 1st, at Electrifying Reviews!



This tour, hosted by the amazing Mundie Moms, will have an extra added goodie puzzle: follow the June tour, collect the letters, unscramble the phrase and plunk it into the website to access your Secret Goodie Surprise! The {Teen} Book Scene's blog tour extends into July and there are tons of other interviews, prizes, surprises and giveaways in store right up to the GRAND PRIZE GIVEAWAY (more to come on THAT soon)!

There's so much happening, I can't wait to see how it ends! Oh, wait, I *know* how it ends: A PUBLISHED BOOK!

One Day at BEA in Commerical Format

SCBWI Author One-Day pass: $60
Round-trip commuter rail: $40
Parking: $11
Random lunch & dinner: $30
Hanging out with Apocalypsie great, Shari Arnold, getting hugs with fellow online author buddies Alexandra Bracken, Cindy Pon, Kiki Hamilton & Lisa Desrochers while signing books, running into fab Elevensies Gretchen McNeil, Scott Tracey, Karsten Knight & Leah Clifford, grabbing lunch with Kate Milford and her awesome crit partner, getting an armload of *incredible* ARCs, recognizing TONS of awesome book bloggers ("Hi, Lauren & Stacy!") and crowds of cool librarians, seeing familiar editor faces (biggest smile awards go to Sarah "JJ" Jones, Molly O'Neill, and Nikki Mutch), attending the YA Buzz panel, hanging on every word and pitch, and snagging a quick hug and a hi with my very own agent, Michael Bourret: PRICELESS!

It was a really good day. :-)

A Lifelong Dream Come True

This weekend was my very first author panel. I was fortunate to be one newbie among great authors I've followed and admired for years: Marissa Doyle, Kate Milford, Deva Fagan, and Ellen Booream, all of whom participate in the Enchanted Inkpot blog for fantasy authors and enthusiasts. I was excited as I drove to Tatnuck Booksellers in Westborough, MA on the first beautiful day in over a week; that plus the pre-scheduled Rapture was enough to make any indoor speaker a little nervous. But the store is gorgeous, welcoming, and totally stocked (and if you've never been there, you are missing out!), my fellow authors were all beautiful, erudite and wonderful, and I was thrilled to see fellow Elevensie author, Kim Harrington sporting her new Spring haircut (which is devastatingly cute) and awesome book blogger, Gail Yates, from Ticket to Anywhere! What could be better?

This:

I'd prepared for the panel by repeating my segment about mythology, legend and folklore in fantasy over and over in the car ride down and I'd prepared for the signing afterward by bringing bookmarks and my trusty silver pen so I'd have something to do while the other authors signed books, knowing mine wouldn't be out for another month-plus. I was not prepared for the professional-quality talks that the others gave (with notes and everything!) about character and history, plotting and genre-busting; I was so enthralled I forgot that I was supposed to be speaking too! (Note: me forgetting to speak is like Homer Simpson forgetting to say "D'oh!") But nothing prepared me for what I saw as we begun organizing our signing tables:

On the cart, along with everyone else's hardcovers and paperbacks, were brand new copies of Luminous.

I stopped. It couldn't be... but it was! An entire shelf-load of hardcover books with my cover art. I stared, actually gaping, and Ellen asked, "Is this the first time you've seen your baby?" and I nodded and got a hug. Congratulations abounded. I grabbed one and held it up. I couldn't believe it. My book. MY BOOK. On a shelf. Here. In my hand. EARLY! A ton of them waiting to be signed. "I don't even have these yet!" I laughed. "I've got to meet whoever works here because they've got connections!" It blew my mind, which would explain my first reaction to finding a stack of my own hardcovers was less dignified author and more like a giddy kid with Lego blocks:



Talking with Gail afterwards, she even lead me into the store itself where I got to see the one thing I've been waiting all my life to behold: MY BOOK! On a shelf! MY BOOK! In a bookstore.



*sniff*

So, although Luminous isn't due to come out yet for another month or so, I know a place where you can get signed hardcover copies before anyone else (even me!) ;-) Click here! But I'd love to see you at my *actual* launch signing, which is at another fabulous indie bookstore, The Odyssey Bookstore in South Hadley, on Wednesday, July 6th from 7-8pm followed by another signing at yet *another* fabulous indie store, Pandemonium Books & Games in Cambridge, MA, on Wednesday, July 13th, from 7-9pm, right before ReaderCon! I can't wait!!!

But this, here? This was a lifelong dream come true.

*sniff twice*

Fear Factor

Yesterday, I got into a conversation about fears. With all this talk of the Rapture*, I guess it was in the air. The whole thing started with an unfortunate incident of someone finding dead chipmunks after their lawn had been sprayed and someone else mentioning how they had snakes die at their house but that chipmunks were cuter than snakes and since she was afraid of snakes, it didn't bother her has much. She admitted she couldn't even look at worms; they way they moved freaked her out. Her son admitted he didn't like snakes at all and I said snakes didn't nother me, it was scorpions that weirded me out: they didn't look like they should be real, just some movie-magic creature made out of crabs and snakes and worms and spiders. They shouldn't be real. A guy said that he'd almost gotten a pet scorpion. I shivered. We started talking about heights and close spaces, loud noises and the dark.

Fear is a great motivation. If you don't want to do something, fear can quickly change your mind! Threats of health, death, or generally wigginess can be enough to get a lazy butt off the couch, change your eating habits, get thee to a gym, or even propose to your girlfriend. Fear means that the thing you fear means more to you than the thing you don't want to do. Fear trumps.** It turns inaction into action and keeps it running for as long as the adrenal rush holds. This very thing is used a lot in movies, in music, on TV reality shows and cable dramas, in religion, in discipline, and in work and education. Grades are fear. Tests are fear. Cutbacks are fear. Unemployment is fear. It should be no surprise that a great tool in literature is fear.

Here's a great litmus test for your characters: think of the thing that they fear most in life, and then make sure to do that to them. It's motivation. It's character depth. It's empathy and reaction and instant action and resonance. We, the readers, understand what it means to be afraid of something and we wonder what would we do if we had to face it. Seeing that happen to characters *is* a concrete show of character; quite simply what is this person made of? What will be the instantaneous reaction and what will shine through? Facing a fear also preempts change and the journey of a character from one state to the next requires change. Every plot depends on it. A total freak-out guarantees it.

So here I am encouraging you to sadistically, maliciously, scare the !@#$%^&* out of your characters and your story will be the better for it. Can't think of one?*** Share some fears and let your fellow authors borrow them! Come on...

What are you afraid of? ;-)

* I'm really not sure why everyone's getting all excited about it. It was a decent book and a terrible movie, but still...that was, like, twenty years ago.
** As opposed to "Fear Trump" which is what I'd say if I could take his candidacy seriously. Which I don't.
*** If you want a great list of fears, I'd recommend NEED by Carrie Jones and PEEPS by Scott Westerfeld if you'd like some good suggestions of where to start (or gain some phobias of your own)!

Clearly, Mother Nature Needs Chocolate

Inspired mere moments ago by @jab0217, @JonathonArntson, @Kim_Harrington, @WilowRedHouse & @annastanisz on Twitter, I have decided that the wacky weather we're experiencing in New England is due to Mother Nature's disconcerting lack of chocolate. Her mood swings are affecting us all and we're stumped with what to do about it. One week of summer bounty followed by the next of freezing rain is enough to drive anyone bonkers, which is the only sane excuse I have for creating a contest right this very minute. (Why not? I'm inspired and I'm stuck indoors on a yucky day.) So to appease Mother Nature and soothe my fellow confused earthlings enduring her moody wrath, I proudly present:

THE APRIL SHOWERS/MAY FLOWERS
RANDOM CONTEST OF SUNSHINE AND CHOCOLATE!
No, seriously. Why not? I've got some right here...



5 people will each receive:

1) A packet of Mixed Color Marigold seeds. Marigolds are the signature flower of Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead, whose scent is highly prized and they are the most gorgeous, orange, sunshiny flowers. What better way to celebrate spring?
2) Chocolate! Chocolate needs no introduction. The food of the g-ds! If anything will appease Mother Nature (or calm our frayed nerves), this is it.
3) A signed LUMINOUS Bookmark. Might as well, right? It's my contest, after all.

And ONE lucky winner will receive the additional Grand Random Prize of a signed ARC of LUMINOUS!

There. That ought to bring some sunshine! :-)

Rules Thingies:

1) To enter: comment here. Include your email. This makes it easier to contact you if you win.
2) Tell others about this contest. Spread the sunshine on your social media of choice!
3) Heck, sunshine knows no bounds: let's open this up INTERNATIONALLY and have it run from now until March 30th.
4) Check back here on March 31st when I'll announce the winners & show off something new for LUMINOUS' one-month countdown to launch! YAY!

So: that's it! Sunshine & chocolate for everyone! And you can thank the other Dawn as well as Jonathon, Kim, Emily and Anna for this bit of inspirational randomness. Enjoy!

Go enter now. Umbrella not included. :-)

Inspiration at the End of My Arm

Instead of attending NESCBWI this year, I ran around the woods teaching kids about compassionate listening and communication skills with creative puppetry. Yes, this is the sort of silliness I do for a living and, oddly enough, it works! Taking a ton of either behaviorally mature or behaviorally challenged kids and presenting them with situations slightly left of center often brings surprising results and always *ALWAYS* inspires me. Nothing is quite so impressive as a child creating something magical out of the world, answering tough questions with honesty and undisguised ego and id. I got to see greed, excitement, compassion, quiet contemplation, that spark of understanding when the penny drops, and that incredible smile that sweeps the face when they are rewarded for getting the right answer. I am blown away every single time.

I'm very grateful for all the tweets at #nescbwi11 that kept me in the game and grinning at everybody's "popcorn" moments and sharing favorite quotes, but truth be told, I was pretty happy where I was: jogging through the woods with a script, a bag of goodies, a puppet, and a goal.

Today I'm sore, but smiling.

Happy Monday! Go be inspired!

What Gets My Gears Turning

So how was the International Steampunk Festival? Essentially, it can be summed up like this:



Yes, that's me, laughing in the rain (as opposed to singing in the rain, but I'm not that cruel to animals) having a great time in costume under an umbrella. Despite assurances that the sky was blue and the sun was shining, I've lived in New England enough to know better than be fooled and heeded Mark Twain's advice that if you don't like the weather in New England, just wait five minutes and it will change. So putting aside the fear of soaking my hat's bee-yoo-ti-ful plumage, it was a fun and lovely event out on the Waltham green; a real testament to random people's creativity and willingness to be silly in the face of an otherwise perfectly normal afternoon. (Many onlookers and innocent passers-by clearly noticed that it was anything but a perfectly normal afternoon!) But truly, that's part of the fun! The point is to "Scene and Be Seen!"

First, let me say "Hats off!" to my sister-in-law who gamely donned borrowed costuming and accepted cameo pins, teeny tiny top hat, and a homemade hand-held gattling in stride when she agreed to come along with me on this last-minute whirlwind exploration of steampunk geekery. And if THAT'S not love, what is?

We entered the Visitor's Check-In to browse the indoor displays, pick up a newspaper of events, and repair my double-barrel sidearm that had broken a sight not five minutes into the festival. (Yay epoxy!) We quickly went to check out the display tables of trinkets and hats, the street performers with balloons and clocks, accordions and violins, and (of course) people-watch. The costumes and gadgets were a wide range of fantastic amidst a backdrop of music and merry mayhem that included giant-wheeled ancient bicycle rides and steam-powered model engines tooting and chugging and spurting impressively. My favorite pics are featured

The good sport and her wacky tormentor pictured here.


A steampunk computer: mounted, framed, and sporting typewriter keys on wooden desk


Working steam engine from an engine model builder's group...I have a film clip of this!


One of the most impressive costumes: A Steampunk Gentleman Professor. Every detail was exquisite.


One of the most hilarious costumes: can you see her? It's the Green Absinthe Fairy!
Many more fabulous (and professional-looking) photos can be found here!



And then it started to rain. Luckily, we'd taken a well-timed break for lunch so missed the worst of the downpour, but eventually had to concede that if we were going to see anything outside the Thai restaurant walls, we'd have to venture outside with our single umbrella. Which we did. Ducking under awnings and picking our way up Moody street, we slipped into stores that boasted discounts for costumed crazies and Free Comic Book Day at The Outer Limits. The tough part was that, because of the rain, many of the outdoor concerts and venues were either canceled or relocated and we couldn't seem to find where. (The worst was getting to the Watch Factory to go in one wrong door, exit, go round the back, find more vendors but no performances, only to learn by happy accident that all the scheduled events had been moved to Moody Street...where we'd just come from. Sigh.) So I didn't get to see enough of Frenchy and the Punk, but *did* manage to catch some tunes and comedic performances as we explored the last-minute market that popped up within the old Sovereign Bank building. (Something that reminded me of the Floating Market at Harrods in Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere but that's the way my mind works.)

And then we met these people:



As we were being treated to a display of futuristic-past-Mad-Max-Meets-Matrix-ala-Jules-Verne sort of head contraptions, I overheard these important words: "interactive", "scavenger hunt" & "pub crawl." Can you say "DING?!?" From that point on, our priorities changed because while I adore interactive theater, my sister-in-law adores puzzles even more (as does her husband and all of their friends) so: New Plan! We went home, begged for a babysitter, kidnapped my brother-in-law, dressed him up in vest, cravat and gold key on a chain, and headed back to join a team of hardy adventurers ready to save the world (or, in our case, destroy it) by searching for clues to a Doomsday Engine! (Honestly, I don't think these people were in any way prepared for the likes of us...but laughter was abundant and it was fun!) Alas, only trooper newbie Dan showed up to join our trio but held his own as we underwent black magic charades, drugged an agent with truth serum, unscrambled coded clues, drew a vampire's inner beauty and bartered our way into wealth, high status, and immortality. All in all, a great way to spend an evening in surreality.

So, to my family: thanks for my Mother's Day present, guys! It was a great laugh and the kids love their new goggles!

When You Get Stuck in Peanut Butter

This is my analogy for writing along your merry way and then getting mired down in the middle, attempting to slog through to the end, and end up thigh-deep in the Fire Swamp or, as Jim Butcher aptly calls it, the Great Swampy Middle. Me, I feel like it's taking a big bite out of a peanut butter sandwich and having half of it stuck to the roof of my mouth as I struggle, gagging and scraping to get it out. (This is why I should depend on other people's analogies and not my own.)

But we've all been there and I've heard a lot of great advice about getting out. Here's some of the top picks:

1) Break up your routine: write somewhere new or at a different time from your usual habit
2) Get physical: take a walk, ride a bake, hike a trail, go to karate class: get oxygen to the brain
3) Do something rote: wash dishes, wash your hair, iron (bonus points for getting chores done!)
4) Switch your art: instead of writing, go to a play, a museum, listen to music, dance, sculpt, sing
5) Talk it out: a very understanding friend or critique partner is worth their weight in Lindt
6) Surround yourself with excellence: go to a conference, day event, or writer's workshop
7) For plungers, outline: go back and see where you're going & where you've been
8) For plotters, no-mind: shut off the brain and just dive in, knowing you'll cut back later on
9) Change gears: either skip ahead to a scene you know is coming or write a short story, song, or poem
10) Read: pick up a book that does what you want to do & does it well!

There. That ought to get the brain cells firing!

Whether it's a marker on a road map or a really big spoon, use whatever you can to get yourself out of the muck and keep writing! Have another one to share? Leave it in the comments. We all need a little help along the road to The End.

P.S. And if you haven't read Jim Butcher's incredibly generous informal guide to writing, I'd advise doing that for a start!

We Have a WINNER (& More Cool Stuff)!

WE HAVE A WINNER!

Totaling all the entries (including those lucky folks who won "extra early entries" from the signed bookmark contest), I tossed them all together and picked one out of a hat. Please note: it is a truly fabulous hat with flowers and veils and swooping feathers--photos forthcoming--but, most importantly, it gave me what I needed: a truly fabulous prize-winner!

Therefore, the winner of a signed ARC of Luminous *plus* a bonus ARC of Dreamland Social Club goes to:

Aurora Momcilovich
*cue applause and whistles and big brass band*

Aurora, please email me at Dawn (dot) Metcalf (at) gmail (dot) com to claim your prize!

But you don't think that's all, do you? Oh, no! We have LOTS more going on during our countdown to epic excellence with the release of LUMINOUS just under two months away! In fact, it's almost staggering what I have in store for you including interviews, blog tours, guest posts, and surprise giveaways (like this one, for instance) right up to the Grand Prize Giveaway scheduled to happen *on* launch day, June 30th. Hang on to your own truly fabulous hats, people, because I am fully prepared to set this contest on "stun"...

In other news:

1) Remember how I said that I wasn't going to the International Steampunk Festival in Waltham? I lied. Photos and post on escapades forthcoming, featuring said aforementioned truly fabulous hat and randomness featuring real steam engines, cool music, and maniacal mayhem. Fun was definitely had.

2) Mother's Day! A day of family, food, and homemade cards. I approve.

3) Have you been tuning-in to my website, www.dawnmetcalf.com? If you have, you might have noticed that I've been featuring one-of-a-kind illustrated character sketches from online comic artists that I fangirl like a rabid mongoose...er, I mean "admire and deeply respect for their storytelling and art". Yes, that sounds much better. The first was an *astonishing* interpretation of Consuela as "Bones" made by Paul Taylor, creator of WAPSI SQUARE. I think I made an audible gasp when I saw this. You can see why:



Today's newest character portrayal is up and it's Consuela's best friend, the Watcher, Sissy, drawn by Rebecca Morse, the witty comic idol of genre fangirls everywhere with her DeviantArt strip, GIRLS NEXT DOOR. Rebecca *nailed* my beautiful freak with her quirky style! You want to see and smirk? Click here!

Sometimes, my friends, life is very very good indeed!

Steampunk City: May 7 & 8

So in the midst of planning launch events, signings, library talks, etc. I was supposed to weigh-in on what we should do for Mother's Day weekend. Since today will be my greedy attempt at a designated "skull craft day" (photos sure to be coming soon), I hadn't actually thought a lot about what was happening and figured we'd "do something Sunday." Alas, had I peeked my head out of a hole, I would have seen it sooner:



Me: O_O

The International Steampunk City is a transformed Waltham, Massachusetts into "a city that would make Jules Verne proud" and my mind is agog with all that they've listed here; the idea of a New Orleans style parade alone makes my head spin full of cogs and gears and things that go 'ping'. What I love about the concept, beyond the sort of Renaissance Fair-meets-Brass World that Never Was, is that historic estates are jumping on board and museums like the Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation are opening their doors to give a sort of history setting of steampunk and restaurants whisper of getting in on the act with specials for all "chrono-adventurers". There will be games and demonstrations, film and dance, interactive theater and showcases, the list of things going on ranges from the academic to the outrageous!

And I'm not going.

My husband is confused. I admit that this is certainly up my alley, but I'm not prepared! Today is already all about LUMINOUS promo prep, tomorrow is about kid's parties and incoming family, and Sunday will be Mother's Day plans and *this* sort of thing requires intense study, not to mention costuming! He asked why I didn't just go and check it out. I laughed at him, saying that I'd never go to a Ren Faire as a mundie, but he didn't get it. (Maybe I should have said "Harry Potter World as a Muggle"?) Anyway, as this is their second year, I can only pray that another event like this is happening next year as I want to plan for it properly. With ALL the trimmings. That said, if anyone is lucky enough to go, come back and link me pictures! I'd love to see them!!!

But for now: paint, skulls, and colored chocolates...

Reminder: tomorrow is the last day you can enter to win a signed ARC of LUMINOUS and a bonus ARC of DREAMLAND SOCIAL CLUB! Deets here.