Katherine Pine's Blog, page 3

Michelangelo's crazy pizzas

It rained pretty hard yesterday. Of course that isn't surprising here in the Pacific Northwest, but it did give me an excuse for not mowing the lawn. But this blog post isn't about mowing the lawn (which, by the way, I still have to do, and should have done today while it was sunny). Instead, I'd like to talk about pizza.

I often think of pizza when it rains. As I write that I realize it sounds kind of icky (who would want soggy rain pizza?) but my guess is that a lot of people feel that way. Who wants to go to the store when it's wet and cold outside? And, since the pizza parlor is the only restaurant that delivers in my town, who else am I gonna call? Still, as I looked out my window at my overgrown, dandelion-dotted lawn, I realized that this connection between rain and pizza might just be a bit deeper than I'd originally thought.

Whenever it rained at my preschool, the teachers brought everyone inside to watch Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I guess they did this because they didn't want us to get sick. But in any event, since it rains a lot in the Pacific Northwest, I saw a ton of those turtles in action and those turtles eating their favorite food, pizza.

Even though I was one of the biggest girlie-girls anyone had ever seen (I wore fairy wings to school—really), I was obsessed with TMNT. My favorite turtle was Donatello. I LOVED Donatello. Why? Well, because he wore purple, of course! I thought that purple was one of the coolest colors around, and so he had to be the coolest turtle. The fact that he accidentally blew stuff up when he tried to fix it was just a wonderful bonus (and, unfortunately, something I could relate to). But just because I adored Donatello didn't mean that I also didn't have love for the other turtles! I really liked Raphael's loyalty and angst, and remember thinking Michelangelo was just hilarious. In fact, if Michelangelo had worn purple, he might have been my favorite turtle, which is convenient because this post is really about him. Or more accurately, him and his nasty pizzas.

Recently, James over at Cinemassacre had a Michelangelo pizza-tasting party. Fortunately (or unfortunately) for all of us, he filmed it. Man, I remember craving pizza as I watched this show right before lunch. I remember one day the teachers ordered pizza for all of us and we got to watch TMNT while eating pizza. I remember thinking that day was so cool. Now I just wonder what was wrong with me—what was wrong with all of us for laughing and getting hungry while Michelangelo was chowing down on…those "pizzas".

Here's the link. I've already tweeted it, but I wanted to talk about it a little bit too. Rain still makes me nostalgic, even after all that. If you weren't a turtles fan as a kid, and Michelangelo didn't make you giggle until you were stupid, you probably don't want to click on it. It's just, you know, kind of disgusting. But if you remember the turtles fondly (as I do!) you may find yourself delightfully repulsed.

Michelangelo, Pizza and Rain

It rained pretty hard yesterday. Of course that isn't surprising here in the Pacific Northwest, but it did mean I had an excuse for not mowing the lawn. But this blog post isn't about mowing the lawn (which, by the way, I still have to do, and should have done today while it was sunny). Instead, I'd like to talk about pizza.

I often think of pizza when it rains. As I write that I realize it sounds kind of icky (who would want soggy rain pizza?) but my guess is that a lot of people feel that way. Who wants to go to the store when it's wet and cold outside? And, since the pizza parlor is the only restaurant that delivers in my town, who else am I gonna call? Still, as I looked out my window at my overgrown, dandelion-dotted lawn, I realized that this connection between rain and pizza might just be a bit deeper than I'd originally thought.

Whenever it rained at my preschool, the teachers brought everyone inside to watch Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I guess they did this because they didn't want us to get sick. But in any event, since it rains a lot in the Pacific Northwest, I saw a ton of those turtles in action and those turtles eating their favorite food, pizza.

Even though I was one of the biggest girlie-girls anyone had ever seen (I wore fairy wings to school—really), I was obsessed with TMNT. My favorite turtle was Donatello. I LOVED Donatello. Why? Well, because he wore purple, of course! I thought that purple was one of the coolest colors around, and so he had to be the coolest turtle. The fact that he accidentally blew stuff up when he tried to fix it was just a delightful bonus (and, unfortunately, something I could relate to). But just because I adored Donatello didn't mean that I also didn't have love for the other turtles! I really liked Raphael's loyalty and angst, and remember thinking Michelangelo was just hilarious. In fact, if Michelangelo had worn purple, he might have been my favorite turtle, which is convenient because this post is really about him. Him and his disgusting pizzas.

Recently James over at Cinemassacre had a Michelangelo pizza-tasting party. Fortunately (or unfortunately) for all of us, he filmed it. Man, I remember craving pizza as I watched this show right before lunch. I remember one day the teachers ordered pizza for all of us and we got to watch TMNT. I remember thinking that day was so cool. Now I just wonder what was wrong with me—what was wrong with all of us for laughing and getting hungry while Michelangelo was chowing down on…those "pizzas".

Here's the link. I've already tweeted it, but I wanted to talk about it a little bit too. Rain still makes me nostalgic, even after all that. If you weren't a turtles fan as a kid, and Michelangelo didn't make you giggle until you were stupid, you probably don't want to click on it. It's just, you know, kind of disgusting. But, if you remember the turtles fondly (as I do!) you may find yourself delightfully repulsed.

Um…what? (and more chances to win a copy of After Eden)

I haven't been blogging for very long, so just today I noticed a feature that probably everyone who uses WordPress already knows about. In the bottom corner of the Blog's dashboard, there is a little box that says "Top Searches" that lists all the things people typed into the search engine that led them to your site/blog.

Oh great! I thought. This is going to be fun! Turns out it was maybe a little too much fun. Before you scroll down, I just want to warn you that this may not be something you want to read. It's not the worst thing ever, but it kind of falls under the "TMI category," especially for a young adult blog. Just highlight it if you really want to read it.

One of those searches was…… "stripping in front of the mirror and spreading my cheeks"

Yeah. I kid you not. "After Eden" indeed.

Now that we've got that out of the way, let's get onto bright and shiny things! I received another wonderful review for After Eden today from Bree on The Awesome Magic Attic (you can read it by clicking here). Bree is also hosting an After Eden giveaway, so if you want to get a free copy of After Eden check out her blog.

As for my last post, I thought I should explain the "hmmm" comment a bit because I'm a little worried it could be taken the wrong way. Sharon (the reviewer) had noted that I had a tendency to sometimes repeat words, and I thought it was kind of funny to bring that up considering I'd repeated a few words (like glow) in my blog post. It was very gracious of Sharon to read and review my book and I certainly don't want my comment to appear disrespectful.

"Glowing" and First Book Review

A lot of people have asked me how it felt to publish my book. Those same people probably also wondered why I immediately looked down at the ground and started to giggle after they asked. Now, to a certain extent this reaction really isn't that weird. I mean, I should be smiling, right? I just shouldn't be smiling as if someone had just told an inappropriate joke, and I'm trying so not to laugh that I start to frown and end up making this red-dimply-pouty-face.

After that description the reason I give for my reaction is going to seem extremely anticlimactic–but that's actually perfect, and you'll see why in a second. You see, when I hit the "publish" button on Amazon's site, a very deep satisfied feeling washed over me. This feeling was also familiar, because it's the same feeling I get when I finish a paper for school.

Yes, that's right. Publishing my first book felt exactly like finishing my homework.

Oh God, isn't that embarrassing? What, it doesn't seem embarrassing to you? Just imagine how the conversation would go:

Random Person: "So Katherine, I heard you published a book. How does it feel?"

Me: "Great! So great! I feel as wonderful as I did when I finished that 10-page paper on Chaucer."

Random Person: "Then why don't you just write an essay instead of a book?"

Well, I guess that's not so bad–or at least marginally better than shuffling my feet and giggling. But really, why does something that I've spent months working on give me the same satisfied feeling I get when I finish a paper? Am I really that big of a nerd?

However, in my defense, the glow from publishing a book lasts much longer. I put After Eden online on April 17th, and I'm still feeling it. I walk around with a smile that's probably a little too big, because people on the street are always stopping me and asking me what's wrong. I tell them that I wrote a book. They ask me how it feels…

I think you know where it goes from here.

Anyways, I decided to share this little story because I got my first review for After Eden from a book blogger today. While it isn't exactly a glowing review (amongst other things she did mention that I had a tendency to repeat words, hmm…), it is very fair and respectful. I couldn't be happier that Sharon from Obsession with Books took the time to read and review my work, which is probably why I'm glowing from a 3/5 star review

The full review can be found if you click here. Also, this Friday Sharon is going to pick a random commenter (who has also subscribed to her book review blog) and give them a free ecopy of After Eden. So check it out!

First Blog

I've thought a lot about this post, though probably not for the reasons you're thinking about right now. You see, I don't think I've read anyone's first blog post (well, with the exception of one or two, and I'm sure you're familiar with the ones I'm talking about–those poor blogs that only have one post on them, and that one post was made over one year prior).  I'm very aware that I'm talking to myself right now–or rather myself and my mom (hi mom!), so I feel kind of silly. Still, most blogs start out that way, so nothing new there.

I'd love to make a post about my decision to self-publish, but at the moment I'm tired. Blogging about being tired is probably the most boring subject ever, so if anyone has stumbled across this blog I apologize in advance. There will be better content up here shortly. Probably. No, actually absolutely, because I don't want this lame blog entry to be the first or third or even fifth thing people see when they visit this site. (As an aside, I think I just stumbled upon a super sneaky and effective way to make writers update their blog more often–write a bad entry, and then you'll have to write some good ones, because nothing makes people want to buy your books less than a series of rambling blogs).

In other news, After Eden is finally online and available for people to buy. As my grandma would say, I've been on cloud nine for the past few days (what does that even mean? Anybody?). Right now it's available on Smashwords (please don't click on the link yet. Something went terribly, terribly wrong with the "meatgrinder"–the name Smashwords affectionately gave its automated ebook creator–and so I'm in the process of reformatting and resubmitting the book) and Amazon (yay! Totally ready! Please click and buy!).

I think this is a good place to stop. I mean, I could go on for a while about the different types of tea I had to drink today (English Breakfast and Brown Rice Green Tea), or the things I thought about (plotting the beginning of Fallen Angels #2), but I think that can wait. Right now I'm looking forward to eating an early dinner and getting some much needed sleep.

Ahh…the excitement of the writing life.