Heather Demetrios's Blog, page 20
February 13, 2014
Friday Goodness #15
Book Boyfriends! Giveaway! Swoons!
I love all the love right now. So many great book boyfriends and what better way to celebrate them with a Valentine’s Day Book Boyfriends Pinterest board – all the boys from all the books. Swoons optional, but encouraged.
Valentine’s Day and the Olympics? Warm fuzzies to the max.
I am an Olympics fiend, so I am in my very, very happy place right now. I can’t get enough of all the awesome skating on TV right now, and with the team skating event, we get even more! As a former figure skater, I give this two thumbs up. Good times. Side note: if I could have the snowboarding commentators narrate my life as I live it, that would be all kinds of awesome. They crack me up! Vision: “Whoa! That sentence was epic! Heather dropped into this manuscript and took names!” Also, I’m one of the (apparently few) people that like Valentine’s Day. I like chocolate and hearts and romance. So if I can have that and the Olympics…
I love all the love right now. So many great book boyfriends and what better way to celebrate them with a Valentine’s Day Book Boyfriends Pinterest board – all the boys from all the books. Swoons optional, but encouraged.
Valentine’s Day and the Olympics? Warm fuzzies to the max.
I am an Olympics fiend, so I am in my very, very happy place right now. I can’t get enough of all the awesome skating on TV right now, and with the team skating event, we get even more! As a former figure skater, I give this two thumbs up. Good times. Side note: if I could have the snowboarding commentators narrate my life as I live it, that would be all kinds of awesome. They crack me up! Vision: “Whoa! That sentence was epic! Heather dropped into this manuscript and took names!” Also, I’m one of the (apparently few) people that like Valentine’s Day. I like chocolate and hearts and romance. So if I can have that and the Olympics…
February 9, 2014
Valentine's Day Giveaway!
Ladies, it's time to meet your new book boyfriend: Patrick Sheldon. Boys, it's time to meet your new book boyfriend: Benton™ Baker.
So, in celebration of Valentine's Day, I'll be doing a GIVEAWAY this week!
Here's what you do:
Check out my new Book Boyfriends page and when you "Like" it, you'll be automatically entered to win an "I Love My Boyfriend" T-shirt. (If you've read SOMETHING REAL, then you know why this is totally the perfect giveaway for Valentine's Day).
I've also got a Book Boyfriends Pinterest page, which has all the feels, all the time. I'll be updating it with all kinds of fun stuff.
Viva l'amour!
February 6, 2014
Friday Goodness #14
This has been a week of utter craziness, but crazy in that super-fun head exploding kind of way. Lots of good times here in NYC and around the world.
The Olympics!
I am an Olympics fanatic. I don’t even like sports, but I love me some Olympics. I’m ready to sob at the tearjerker stories of athletes and their families overcoming obstacles to get to this point (I’m looking at you, Visa “Thanks Mom” commercials), and I am thrilled to hang out with Bob Costas for the next two weeks. I am going to watch more figure skating than is humanly possible and then stress out that I have deadlines I need to meet. Why do I love the Olympics so much? Because it’s one of the few times when the world comes together to celebrate human ability, dedication, and cultural identity. I’m really sad about Russia’s response to gay athletes and I know the Olympics and Olympic coverage isn’t perfect. But, still. It’s like a global group hug.
NBC’s Olympics Facebook Page
You guys. This is awesome. I love all the behind-the-scenes photos and fun memes. If you love the Olympics, this is where you want to hang out for the next few weeks.
Something Real Book Birthday Week
If you’re reading this, then I’m sure you’re well aware…
The Olympics!
I am an Olympics fanatic. I don’t even like sports, but I love me some Olympics. I’m ready to sob at the tearjerker stories of athletes and their families overcoming obstacles to get to this point (I’m looking at you, Visa “Thanks Mom” commercials), and I am thrilled to hang out with Bob Costas for the next two weeks. I am going to watch more figure skating than is humanly possible and then stress out that I have deadlines I need to meet. Why do I love the Olympics so much? Because it’s one of the few times when the world comes together to celebrate human ability, dedication, and cultural identity. I’m really sad about Russia’s response to gay athletes and I know the Olympics and Olympic coverage isn’t perfect. But, still. It’s like a global group hug.
NBC’s Olympics Facebook Page
You guys. This is awesome. I love all the behind-the-scenes photos and fun memes. If you love the Olympics, this is where you want to hang out for the next few weeks.
Something Real Book Birthday Week
If you’re reading this, then I’m sure you’re well aware…
February 3, 2014
The Dog Days Are Over
Today, I will have a book that I have written sitting on the shelves of bookstores all over the country. Boxes filled with copies of my book will sit in warehouses, ready to be shipped off to paying customers who ordered them from the comfort of their home. A book. That I wrote. A book people will buy with money that they worked hard for. Maybe they slaved behind a cash register, or spent long minutes on their feet lifting and shelving and helping customers. Maybe they wrote legal briefs that gave them headaches or stitched up a wound. They labored—or someone in their life labored—so that they could exchange their effort for mine. They will give my words and the weavings of my heart and mind hundreds of minutes of their life. I am humbly, utterly, and deeply grateful.
The dog days are over.
I have spent my entire life hiding inside my head. For as long as I can remember, my imagination has been a refuge. A castle with a thick door to keep the monotony of day-to-day life away, an endless field of wildflowers where dads don’t leave and money grows between soft tufts of grass; a hiding place. My imagination was the soft voice in the night that sang me to sleep. In my head there are magicians and swordfights and romance and turbulent seas that spray their salt spit in your face if you get too close. There’s music that never stops and the kind of danger that’s always fun. In my head, the sun shines hot and when it rains, the…
The dog days are over.
I have spent my entire life hiding inside my head. For as long as I can remember, my imagination has been a refuge. A castle with a thick door to keep the monotony of day-to-day life away, an endless field of wildflowers where dads don’t leave and money grows between soft tufts of grass; a hiding place. My imagination was the soft voice in the night that sang me to sleep. In my head there are magicians and swordfights and romance and turbulent seas that spray their salt spit in your face if you get too close. There’s music that never stops and the kind of danger that’s always fun. In my head, the sun shines hot and when it rains, the…
January 30, 2014
Friday Goodness #13
Below are some of my favorite things from this past week. Getting ready for my book launch, so it’s craziness. It’s a big week and the next one’s gonna be epic. It may be the 13th Friday Goodness, but it feels lucky to me.
The SOMETHING REAL Blog Tour Begins!
From now until March 4th, I will be on a blog tour for SOMETHING REAL all over the country! I’m very excited for all the giveaways, guest posts, and interviews that we have lined up.
Writer’s…
The SOMETHING REAL Blog Tour Begins!
From now until March 4th, I will be on a blog tour for SOMETHING REAL all over the country! I’m very excited for all the giveaways, guest posts, and interviews that we have lined up.
Writer’s…
January 29, 2014
Let The Blog Tour Begin!
Today marks the beginning of the epic SOMETHING REAL blog tour! Below is the list of all my stops as well as the links to check out the posts. Or you can just check the links to your right for interviews and guest posts. Most if not all of the stops will be hosting a giveaway of the book, so make sure to enter! Today begins with a stop at The Book Rat, where I give you my top ten tips for surviving a reality show.
Blog Tour Schedule
Read My Guests Posts
Read My Interviews
Blog Tour Schedule
Read My Guests Posts
Read My Interviews
January 23, 2014
Friday Goodness #12
January 21, 2014
MFA Round-Up
For the past eleven days I’ve been in Vermont for my MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults residency at Vermont College of Fine Arts. In other words, I’ve been at writer’s camp, soaking up the wisdom of our faculty and having late night chats about everything from diversity in children’s lit to what exactly an objective correlative is. I love these days; they’re long, packed with more information and inspiration than your brain can absorb, each minute full of discovery and laughter and warmth. It is a second home, a community full of my fellow writer misfits and while I know I need to get back to work and life as usual, it’s hard to leave. This post is a round-up of some of my favorite Aha! moments during lectures. It barely skims the surface; this is just a taste of the magic that is VCFA.
In her lecture on metaphors, Martine Leavitt talked a lot about how to get your writing to express the particular, rather than the general. We joked about the clichés of “clenched fists” “hot tears” and “wildly beating hearts.” Martine reminded us to move our reader, not manipulate her. She encouraged to “refuse to express things in an old way” and that if our characters are crying and feeling sorry for themselves, the reader doesn’t have to use their emotion, just be passive observers. The thing is, we don’t want to tell our readers…
In her lecture on metaphors, Martine Leavitt talked a lot about how to get your writing to express the particular, rather than the general. We joked about the clichés of “clenched fists” “hot tears” and “wildly beating hearts.” Martine reminded us to move our reader, not manipulate her. She encouraged to “refuse to express things in an old way” and that if our characters are crying and feeling sorry for themselves, the reader doesn’t have to use their emotion, just be passive observers. The thing is, we don’t want to tell our readers…
January 9, 2014
Friday Goodness #11
Happy New Year and welcome to the first of many Friday Goodnesses! You’ve survived the Polar Vortex and another week without Downton Abbey: time to celebrate with some of my favorite things about this week.
Writers and Architects Unite!
In this fabulous article in The New York Times “Opinionator,” writers and architects team up to design buildings that represent a specific book. Not only is this a fascinating way to look at story, it’s a great challenge for two fields that might seem drastically different, but actually have a lot in common. At the end of the article are the models for several book buildings.
VCFA Residency for the MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults
Today marks the beginning of my ten-day residency at VCFA. I’m only a semester away from receiving my MFA! We like to call these ten days “writer’s camp,” and for good reason. You basically put a bunch of writers together who are passionate about children’s literature and give them the keys to the kingdom: lectures by amazingly talented and accomplished faculty, workshops, readings, and late-night conversation. Um, it’s pretty much the most amazing thing ever. If you’re considering getting an MFA, I highly recommend this program.…
Writers and Architects Unite!
In this fabulous article in The New York Times “Opinionator,” writers and architects team up to design buildings that represent a specific book. Not only is this a fascinating way to look at story, it’s a great challenge for two fields that might seem drastically different, but actually have a lot in common. At the end of the article are the models for several book buildings.
VCFA Residency for the MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults
Today marks the beginning of my ten-day residency at VCFA. I’m only a semester away from receiving my MFA! We like to call these ten days “writer’s camp,” and for good reason. You basically put a bunch of writers together who are passionate about children’s literature and give them the keys to the kingdom: lectures by amazingly talented and accomplished faculty, workshops, readings, and late-night conversation. Um, it’s pretty much the most amazing thing ever. If you’re considering getting an MFA, I highly recommend this program.…
January 8, 2014
My Moroccan Adventure
This was one of my favorite moments. I was standing on one of the huge dunes (called…
