Book Giveaway! The Maze Runner

**Comments are now closed! Thanks to all

who entered the giveaway!!**

No Book Talk today... I haven't read anything this week, and yeah, I could do a Book Talk about an old favorite but here's another idea...

In honor and appreciation of reaching fifty Followers,

and because I want to pay forward the fact that 

I won this book in The Literary Girls Book Giveaway,

everyone is welcome to join in

The Coaster's First Ever Book Giveaway!

The winning entrant will receive a copy of 

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

For my vague and gushing blog about this exciting book, click HERE. For actual reviews of the book, go HERE to read Jessica's or HERE to read Mary's. I still think it was fun reading it "blind," from page one, with no idea what it was going to be about.

International, national, natioregional, regional, wherever you are is fine. Future giveaways, if any, may be more geo-restrictive depending on how much it ends up costing me to ship out a book, but for this first giveaway the party is all-inclusive-- yay to inclusivity! (I'm sure it's inclusiveness, but Google says both are actual words so I'm going with it. And I AM a fan of made-up words that could pass as semi-real, so it would have worked either way).

Deadline and Other Rules:

1. All entries and bonus entries must be posted in the comments section before midnight on Tuesday, November 24th. 
2. Bonus entries may be submitted apart from the initial entry, but must be received by the November 24th deadline.
3. All entries and bonus entries must be posted in the comments of THIS blog post. 
4. Barring any strange occurrence, the drawing and grand giveaway winner announcement will be held on Wednesday, November 25th. 
   

How to enter:

Post a comment with your email.

Please let me know in your comment if you have any bonus entries coming at ya!

Bonus entries!

• Old Follower +3
  
• New Follower +2
• The Coaster is in your sidebar +2
• The Giveaway is mentioned on your blog +1
• The Giveaway is mentioned on a forum or is pimped by you in some other way +1 (no max on the number of pimps)
• You include a made-up word in your entry +1
• You have the most bonus points +1

And one more secret bonus point... are you an alliteration aficionado? Haiku-lover? Rhyming wizard? Throw something creative in your comment for an extra entry point (I always liked it when teachers gave extra credit for creativity). Maximum of two creativity bonus points per entrant. Good luck everyone!!

Always Reasons to Celebrate

There are reasons to be happy, yes there are. Here are some of mine:

• I just discovered the Internet Archive, which has many things including primary source documents from Marie Antointette's life. My wip concerns the French Revolution (sort of), and this site with letters, glorious letters, penned by and to this fascinating person, makes my brain feels like a garden that someone just threw Miracle-Gro all over. (Happiness).

• I went to the ocean yesterday. (More Happiness).

• Life is good. Really. I live in a free country, I have food in my kitchen and the love of my family and am blessed enough to have extra time (somehow) and can occupy my life with a passion (writing), and that is worth being happy over... at least once a day, anyway.

Is there anything good going on you'd like to share? Share the positivity! Let's spread some good vibes :)

Before I move onto awards I have to give props to Wendy, who left a comment yesterday that makes my non-committal Top Comments E-v-e-r Posted list. Woo hoo Wendy! A gold star for you!

And now...

THANK YOU Natalie from The Sound of the Rain

for the Heartfelt Award

Here are the rules:

1. Display the logo.
2. Nominate up to 9 blogs that make you feel comfy or warm inside. 

3. Link to your nominees.
4. Let them know they have been nominated by commenting.

5. Link to the person from whom you received the award.

My award nominations go to the following (I decided to just give one to everyone who replied to my post on Papa's passing. I thought that was very heartfelt of you all, but if you aren't much for awards-- or if you and I have made a pact about not giving awards-- just accept and don't worry about the rules.)

Ailsa from Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost

Mary from Writer's Butt Does Not Apply to Me

Angie from Notes From the Writing Chair

Emily from The Chronicles of Emily Cross

Melane from Chasing the Dream

Bethany from Shooting Stars

MM from The Sesquipedalian

Charity from Thoughts...By Charity Joy Bell

Wendy from Where Ladybugs Roar

I have other awards to catch up on, especially the One Lovely Blog Award from Mary Anne at Starlight Blog. I will soon, I promise! 

In the meantime, Mary Anne from Starlight Blog AND Natalie from Sound of the Rain BOTH gave out the Icing on the Cake Award to all of their followers, and my followers are the icing on the cake too, so I'm doing the same thing. Thank you everyone, and please accept The Icing on the Cake Award, you guys are the sweetest followers ever.

Writing Winter on a Summer Day

So today I am getting back to my writing. My wip is at a fun point with lots of action, and it will be nice to step into those shoes for a while. 

I remember reading some good advice about painting that I think could apply to writing. Maybe you've heard it before... 

On a blazing hot summer day, an art teacher told his class to paint a snowy winter scene. When the students complained that they couldn't get in a wintery mood on such a hot day, the teacher told them that if they were ever going to be working artists, they must learn to channel their past emotions into current projects. By seeking out their own inner inspiration, rather than waiting for inspiration to strike, they would always find a way to create. After all, if an artist mastered a winter scene during the summer, imagine how effortless it would be to paint a winter scene during the winter.

Applying this to my writing, I  tend to take on my characters' moods and feelings, not the other way around. If I'm feeling angry, I don't need to write an angry scene. I write whatever comes next in my story, and bring out from myself the emotions my characters need. I find that almost right away, I am writing not as myself at all, but as my character. It's incredible and thrilling, and sometimes I don't even know it's happening until I'm interrupted for some reason. I don't need to be in the same mood as my character, because it feels like I've become my character... moods and all. I'm sure other writers can relate. For me, becoming my characters is one of the many reasons why I love and adore writing. 

What about you? Obviously it's easier to write a sad scene if you're already sad, but can you overcome it and write what needs to be written? Even if it's a joyous wedding scene or a powerful first kiss? Is it problematic if the way you feel doesn't match your characters' emotions?

A New Day, Possibly with Chili

Thank you so much for your sweet and touching comments, guys. I never thought when I started blogging I'd end up with a support system for a major life event. Actually I pretty much doubted anyone would read my blog, just another blog out of hundreds of thousands, so thank you for that too. You guys are, as Wendy might say, awesome with a big scoop of awesome on top.

I have nothing really to blog about, other than to say, "I'm here!" Today I've been catching up with laundry mostly. It's nice mindless therapy. Plus it's a familiar old adversary, always there when I need it. 

I'm so not used to blogging like this... without an idea of what I'm blogging about. It's like, real-time, moment-to-moment blogging. Right now, as-I-think-it-blogging. Right now I'm craving chili-cheese fries and a strawberry milkshake; right now I'm listening to my kids play Wii; right now I'm ignoring the enormous pile of clean clothes that needs folding; right now I'm texting my little sister-in-law about my craving for chili cheese fries and a strawberry shake; right now I'm happy that she's back from the East Coast because she brings my "friends who read books" count up to two people; right now I'm contemplating going to visit my little sister-in-law with a condolence offering of chili cheese fries and a strawberry shake. 

What's everyone else doing right now (besides being bloggerific)? In case you don't tell me, I shall guess...

• You are thinking about your wip
• You are procrastinating something... like a school assignment, your wip, or housework
• You are watching Temptation Island, The Littlest Groom, or some other form of Reality TV/Junkfood for the Mind. If you want, check out this LINK to the fifteen worst reality shows ever made... Can you hold your head up high and say you've never seen a single episode of any of them? Sadly, (*sigh*), I cannot.
• You are being a Super Mom. I am proud to say I am not! Check out Shelli's hysterical blog on this at Market My Words and you'll see why :)
• You are eating chili cheese fries and having a strawberry shake (I'm so jealous)
  

Thanks again you awesome people you :)

Papa

When I was sixteen

My boyfriend was “The One”

Handsome, smart, respectful,

He also was your son

 

You were a caring father to us both

Watching our love and lives progressing

And when your son proposed to me

You gave us both your blessing

 

The years ahead brought grandchildren

You thought them all so clever

Until the doctors told the news

That changed our lives forever

 

There should have been a cure

But Papa, they couldn’t make you stay

We watched you take your final breath

And God took you away

 

Your suffering is over now

But you didn’t want to go!

And we can’t hear your happiness

As you watch our children grow

 

God took you for some golden purpose

At the age of fifty-seven

But my heart can’t understand

Why you must watch us from heaven