Michelle Proulx's Blog, page 18
May 29, 2014
And the winners are …!
Remember that giveaway I started a month ago? Well, it’s finally finished, and it’s time to reveal the winners!
The grand prize winner of a signed copy of Imminent Danger And How to Fly Straight into It (plus related swag) is …
Congratulations!!! Send me your address, and I’ll send you your prize!
We also have two runners-up, who can choose their prize from the list below:
Imminent Danger fridge magnet + swag
Short story (written by me) featuring yourself and an Imminent Danger character of your choice
Digital artwork — one scene from the book (your choice) drawn by me (probably in Paint)
And these winners are …
I’ll be contacting the winners individually, but if you’re a winner and you happen to read this post, feel free to email me at michellishelli@gmail.com with your preferred prize.
Thanks to everyone for participating!!!
Unrelated media of the day:
May 25, 2014
Settlers of Catan Song
I love Settlers of Catan. It’s one of my favourite board games, I’ll play it anytime, and I actually win a fair amount, which is of course a plus. During some random Catan game a few years ago, I apparently penned a song about Catan, which I recently re-discovered in an old notebook. Thus I present it to you (in slightly re-touched glory) …
* * * * *
Rolling in the Sheep
(to the tune of Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep“)
* * * * *
(1st verse)
I just placed my second settlement on the board
I’m rolling wood, sheep, and brick, these resources I will hoard
You may ask me what I’m planning to do
Without no ore or wheat, you think I’m pretty much screwed
* * * * *
Furthermore, you say, why didn’t you build on eight?
If we only roll that number I won’t envy you your fate
But there’s a higher power in which I trust
Catan is mine to claim, and I’ll leave you in the dust
* * * * *
The dice are rolling, my hand is growing
I can’t help thinking that I’m gonna win this game
But a trend emerges, my horror surges,
I’ve got a bad feeling …
* * * * *
(Chorus)
Oh god it’s all my fault!
I’m rolling in the sheep!
And no one wants to trade, ’cause they’re worthless
Call me the Shepherd of Defeat
* * * * *
(2nd verse)
Why won’t you trade with me, can’t you hear me sigh?
I even gave my flock some names to entice you to buy
This one’s Fluffy, here’s Buffy and Puffy too
Look at how sad they are, they wanna go home with you
* * * * *
My sheep are crying, my hopes are dying
I try to stack them, but they all come tumbling down
They’re just too squishy to build a city
I’ve got a bad feeling …
* * * * *
(Chorus)
Oh god it’s all my fault!
I’m rolling in the sheep!
And no one wants to trade, ’cause they’re worthless
Call me the Shepherd of Defeat
* * * * *
Thank you kindly for your attention. Feel free to sing this at every opportunity, including on crowded trains and subways.
Mega-Giveaway ending tomorrow!
There’s still time to enter and win a free, signed copy of my debut novel, Imminent Danger And How to Fly Straight into It! Click here to check out the guidelines, and don’t forget that you’re welcome to enter as many times as you like.
Unrelated media of the day:
So this is apparently taken out of a psychology textbook …
Source: http://imgur.com/gallery/HfZ84Zs
May 24, 2014
May 2014 Writing Update + Mega-Giveaway Ends Soon!
Happy Saturday, fellow bloggers!
Just thought I’d do a quick writing update for anyone interested in how my assorted projects are going. In no particular order …
Chasing Nonconformity (sequel to Imminent Danger And How to Fly Straight into It)
The manuscript is currently in the hands of my mother/editor/life coach. She’s reading it through right now, and has promised to return it to me by the end of May. We’re actually meeting up for my friend’s wedding, so I’ve kindly informed my mother that she’s not allowed to attend the wedding unless she brings me the edited manuscript as tribute. Muahahahahaha.
Assuming she doesn’t suggest any crazy, sweeping changes to the story, I’m hoping to have this book out and published by the fall. Fingers crossed!
D.Y.S.C. (working title)
This is a post-apocalyptic, dystopian YA trilogy I’ve been working on for a while now. I actually wrote half a first draft a few years back, scrapped it, re-wrote it, and scrapped it again. Now that the weather’s nice again, I’ve started going on daily walks with my little brother, and we’ve been planning out the full trilogy. We’ve got the first book pretty much planned, the second one’s in fairly good shape, and the third one’s a mess. But we’re making good progress!
In terms of actual plot, the story will follow Victoria, a teenage girl who lives on an asteroid colony out in the belt (the Earth was destroyed about a century earlier, so this is the last outpost of humanity). Crime runs rampant on the asteroid colonies, and she lives in a poor sector, so she joins a street gang. An arms deal goes horribly wrong, and she ends up getting arrested. In this world there are crazy rules for what happens if you’re a criminal, and Victoria ends up being drafted to a DYSC team (DYSC is the sport that everyone follows — it’s sort of like a gladiatorial arena, except with more sport-like elements [scoring systems, teams, branding, sponsors, etc.].) So she joins a team, has to risk her life in the arena, has to deal with her psychopathic teammates (who are also criminals), has to deal with the team owner lusting after her, etc. Fun!
Those are the big two I’m working on right now. I have a couple of other projects off to the side, but they’re sort of on hold while I play around with these two projects.
In Imminent Danger news, I’ll be attending the “Gathering on the Green” festival in London, Ontario next month and selling my book. I’ll have my prize wheel out and ready for kids to spin, I’ll have a bazillion bookmarks and stickers to give away — and, of course, a big box of books to sell. If for whatever reason you happen to be in London, Ontario on June 7, stop by and say hi!
Mega Giveaway Ends Soon!
My mega giveaway for Imminent Danger And How to Fly Straight into It ends on Monday! It’s really easy to enter (almost too easy) — just do something (literally anything) to promote my book. Tweet a link to it, Facebook share it, buy it, write a review, write some fanfiction and post it in the comments, draw some fanart … sky’s the limit! And you can enter multiple times — if you want to tweet about my book every day for the next three days, that’s 3 entries! Wow!
Ahem. Check out the original giveaway post for details. Prizes include a signed copy of my book, plus possibly more awesome prizes if I get enough entrants. Now go forth and conquer!
Unrelated media of the day:
Source: http://imgur.com/gallery/WucqWZh
May 22, 2014
Up Yours, Literary Fiction
Funny and insightful post about the “literary fiction” genre label.
Originally posted on Tara Sparling writes:
I know. How uncouth! How belligerent! How sanctimonious, and other words of some syllables!
But this is, hopefully, the last of the genre rants. (Until the next one.)
So, Jimmy Joyce and Sam Beckett walk into a bar…
Book genres have become a bit of a joke really, as I said in my last post regarding the nonsense categorisation of “Women’s Fiction”.
Here’s another literary joke for you:
*********************************************************
Q. What’s the difference between Literary Fiction and Romance?
A. So’s your face.
*********************************************************
Isn’t that brilliant? Isn’t it just the best joke you’ve ever heard? Brief, and yet crammed full of the sharp wit of the universe?
Of course it isn’t. But if enough people said it was, you might believe it. Which is how Literary Fiction works.
I’m not saying Literary Fiction isn’t good. I’m not saying that it isn’t sometimes work of such brain-stroking brilliance that it can’t make me laugh, cry and want to be 21 again, all at the same time…
View original 491 more words
May 19, 2014
New Imminent Danger Fanfiction!
As you may or may not know, I’m currently holding a mega giveaway for my novel, Imminent Danger And How to Fly Straight into It. One of the ways you can enter is by writing up a bit of fanfiction for the book. Now, the esteemed Misha Burnett sent me a tiny little fanfiction piece for funsies, but I think it’s awesome and I’m therefore sharing it with you all!
Here it is, in untouched glory (for reference, Grashk is a six-armed lizard man):
Varrin buried his face in Grashk’s scaly chest, breathing in the musky reptilian odor.
“If loving you is wrong, I don’t want to be right …” the Raskorsian husked.
“What about Eris,” Grashk asked. “Have you told her?”
“Her?” Varrin sniffed. “I am so over the whole human thing. Once you go Ssrisk, you’ll never go back!”
That’s all for today! Have a glorious weekend, and don’t forget to enter the giveaway! Oh, and if you decide to write me some fanfiction, yes, you will 100% be featured on this blog whether you like it or not. Ahahahahahahaha.
Unrelated media of the day:
Source: http://imgur.com/gallery/BkrUKLF
May 7, 2014
8 Storytelling Wisdoms
Happy Wednesday, everyone!
Today, I’d like to share with you some wisdoms about storytelling that I found in an old notebook on my bookshelf. I’m pretty sure I wrote most of them down whilst playing through Kingdom Hearts, although a couple are potentially from elsewhere.
Do with these wisdoms what you will!
Storytelling wisdoms found in my old notebook
(possibly inspired by Kingdom Hearts)
Things with wings that don’t traditionally have wings are awesome!
Insightful, strong, and silent guys are hot.
Permanent reminders of childhood memories and friendships are sweet.
Best friends who turn evil for good reasons are tragically appealing — but only if the hero believes they can be redeemed.
Evil best friends who appear out of nowhere, taunt you, and then disappear, rock.
It’s really annoying when bad guys withhold vital information.
Obscenely over-powered fathers are awesome, especially when protecting their children.
It’s extremely tragic when someone with ultimate power loses their power.
Tanning works better if you aren’t fully dressed.
That last one was written in red ink, while the rest were written in blue ink, so I think I might have tacked it on as a more general life wisdom. Anyhoo, hope you enjoyed the wisdoms!
************
Imminent Danger Giveaway!
Remember, my mega-giveaway for my debut novel, Imminent Danger And How to Fly Straight into It runs until May 26! Entering is really easy — just share the giveaway, or a link to the book, or draw some fan art, or write a short fanfiction piece, or … basically anything you want that even slightly relates to my book in some capacity! The grand prize is a signed hardcover copy of the book, and then there are potentially secondary prizes if enough people enter. Click here to learn more.
Unrelated media of the day:
Kind of a fun little musical compilation. Guy sings Katy Perry’s Dark Horse song in 20 different musical styles.
April 28, 2014
Poem + My Editor Hard at Work!
Happy Monday everyone!
First off, I wanted to share this poem with you. The first line resulted from a rather silly conversation I had with my mother, and the rest followed. See if you can guess what the poem’s actually talking about:
I ate its ears in a fit of pique
Broken shards of brown
Cascade down smooth curves
Sprinkled across a carpet of cream
Also, I recently finished the re-write for Chasing Nonconformity, and I gave it to my mother to read when she went to Cuba for vacation last week. She just sent me some photos of her hard at work at the beach, editing my book, so I thought I’d share!
Doesn’t she look tranquil? She’s about halfway through the book, and has tentatively agreed to have the full edit done by the end of May. So, fingers crossed, I might actually be able to release this book this fall!
In other news … don’t forget to enter my giveaway!
It runs until May 26 — click here for details!
Unrelated media of the day:
I may have shared this before, but I just came across it again and I love it, so here it is!
Source: http://imgur.com/gallery/7uA7PAq
April 26, 2014
MEGA GIVEAWAY for my book! Check it out!
What up, internet friends? In honor of my 300th WordPress post, I’ve decided to hold a mega giveaway for my debut novel, Imminent Danger And How to Fly Straight into It.
The rules are simple. I’m going to list various ways you can enter. Then you do them … and you’re entered! Prizes are listed below. Woo!
The giveaway will run from the now until May 26.
How to enter:
Complete any of the following activities, and send me some sort of evidence that you completed them. You can email me (michellishelli@gmail.com), write it in the comments, write it on my Facebook page, tweet me (@michellishelli), send the evidence to me by messenger dragon … literally whatever you want, so long as I actually receive it.
You get +1 entry into the giveaway for each activity completed. The activities are:
Buy a copy of Imminent Danger. Send me some sort of evidence of your purchase — anything works, including a picture of you holding the book! If you already bought it, awesome! Send your evidence and you’re in!
Write a review for Imminent Danger . Send me a link to the review, or a screencap of the review, or whatever. If you’ve already written a review, that totally counts! Send that shizzle my way, friend.
Share this giveaway on social media. On your blog, on your Twitter, etc. Send appropriate evidence of your awesomeness. +1 for each place you share the giveaway.
Share Imminent Danger on social media. Same rules as for sharing the giveaway. Here’s a link to the book … http://amzn.to/1lytZwB
Draw some Imminent Danger fan art. As long as it vaguely resembles something from the book, it works for me! Oh, and this obviously goes without saying, but any fan art you send me will be showcased on this blog.
Write an Imminent Danger fanfiction. Sky’s the limit with this one! Pick a character, come up with a silly situation, and have some fun! Like with the fan art, all fanfiction will be showcased on this blog.
Make your own activity! Thought of a different way to show support for my book? Awesome! As long as it’s related to Imminent Danger and promoting/supporting it, or promoting/supporting me, in some capacity, it counts.
So that’s how you enter! Now for the …
Prizes:
How many prizes I dish out depends on how many people enter, obviously. The more entrants, the more awesome the prizes!
Confirmed prizes:
Signed copy of Imminent Danger And How to Fly Straight into It, plus related swag!
Possible other prizes:
More signed copies!
Imminent Danger fridge magnet!
Short story written by me, featuring you and an Imminent Danger character of your choice!
Scene from the book, drawn by me! I’m a terrible artist! You’ll love it!
Assorted Imminent Danger swag!
Whatever else I can think of! If you have a suggestion, let me know!
That’s all she wrote! Thanks in advance to everyone who participates. And now, for some totally related media to get you in the giveaway mood …
Totally related media:
April 22, 2014
Cover reveal! “The Song Caster” by Danielle E. Shipley
Cover reveal time! Danielle E. Shipley’s fourth book in the Wilderhark Tales series, The Song Caster, is coming out on June 24th. Check out the cover below!
Back o’ book blurb:
The dull doom of impending marriage at his back and a reticent royal at his side, remarkable minstrel Gant-o’-the-Lute is off in search of adventure, and you can be sure he finds it – complete with much music, magicked maidens, and a dangerous power so great, Lute might for once find himself outmatched.
The Song Caster
Book Four of The Wilderhark Tales
<> ~ <> ~ <>
An enchantress’s curse turns a spoiled royal into a beast; a princess’s pricked finger places her under a hundred-year spell; bales of straw are spun as golden as the singing harp whisked down a giant beanstalk – all within sight of Wilderhark, the forest that’s seen it all.
You’ve heard the stories – of young men scaling rope-like braids to assist the tower-bound damsel; of gorgeous gowns appearing just in time for a midnight ball; of frog princes, and swan princes, and princes saved from drowning by maidens of the sea. Tales of magic. Tales of adventure. Most of all, tales of true love.
Once upon a time, you knew them as fairytales. Know them now as Wilderhark’s.
About the Author:
Danielle E. Shipley’s first novelettes told the everyday misadventures of wacky kids like herself. …Or so she thought. Unbeknownst to them all, half of her characters were actually closeted elves, dwarves, fairies, or some combination thereof. When it all came to light, Danielle did the sensible thing: Packed up and moved to Fantasy Land, where daily rent is the low, low price of her heart, soul, blood, sweat, tears, firstborn child, sanity, and words; lots of them. She’s also been known to spend short bursts of time in the real-life Chicago area with the parents who home schooled her and the two little sisters who keep her humble. When she’s not living the highs and lows of writing young adult novels, she’s probably blogging about it at www.EverOnWord.wordpress.com. Her first novel, “Inspired”, is now available through J. Taylor Publishing.
Book Details:
Full Title: “The Song Caster (Book Four of The Wilderhark Tales)”
ISBN: 978-0-9891846-3-2
Genre: Young Adult Fairytale
Length: Novella (212 pages)
Release Date: Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Future availability: Paperback (Amazon.com) and eBook (Amazon.com and BarnesAndNoble.com)
Add “The Song Caster” to your Goodreads shelf today!
Unrelated media of the day:
Source: http://imgur.com/gallery/qbyAPKS
April 19, 2014
Finished my first re-read / edit of Chasing Nonconformity!
That’s right, people — it’s done! Well, this draft, anyway.
As you may recall, I finished my third and final re-write of Chasing Nonconformity (the sequel to Imminent Danger And How to Fly Straight into It) back in March. I vowed to put the manuscript aside for a month or two so that, when I returned to it down the road, I would be able to read it with fresh eyes.
And my plan worked! Sort of. You see, the first person on my “people I force to read the awful first drafts of my books” list is my mother. This is partially because I love her and value her opinion, and mostly because I know she won’t mock me behind my back for the rest of my life if I hand her a terrible manuscript. Not that others have done this, but you can never be too careful!
Anyway, she’s going on vacation starting today. So last weekend she called me and said that if I can get her my edited draft by Friday, she would print it out and bring it with her to the beach. Square deal. So I edited and edited and edited, and … voila! Edited manuscript! Woo!
I had a ton of fun re-reading it — my dear space explorers get up to a lot of shenanigans, and it was awesome to re-live them. I re-worked the first two chapters a bit, as I ran both past my critique group and got some great feedback. I’ll definitely be running future chapters past them, as who knows the craft of writing better than other writers?
The slight problem that resulted from this editing spree is that I discovered the book is approximately 125,000 words. Yikes. By comparison, Imminent Danger is only about 94,000 words — and that was after we cut it down from 110,000 words. Obviously sequels are allowed to be a bit longer than the first book, but once you get over 100,000 words, it’s getting pretty darn long for a YA book. I get the feeling I’ll be doing a lot of chopping in the next few months. Alas!
As a special teaser, here’s a screenshot of the front page of the manuscript:
So after I get the manuscript back from my mother, I’ll go through it again for another round of edits. Then I send the manuscript off to my preliminary beta reading team — a select group of people who I know will both A) provide a quick turnaround, and B) provide useful feedback. Then more edits. Then a second beta reading team … then more edits … then probably back to my mother again … then a round of copy-editing … and then done!
I’m hoping to have it done by the end of the summer, but that’s a bit unlikely, as my best friend’s wedding is coming up in August, so I’ll be somewhat occupied with that. Still, fingers crossed!
Unrelated media of the day:
Check out more awesome animal puns here: http://imgur.com/gallery/KPQaq
Source: http://imgur.com/gallery/KPQaq
