Ever wanted to be in a book? (pinned post)

Enter my Immortalize Your Friend in a Book contest, and you could be!

Contest ends December 31, 2006.
That's tonight!

Ever wanted to be in a book? (pinned post)

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2007/01/ever-wanted-to-be-in-book-pinned-post.html

I like that old-time rock and roll

In Michigan, we're known for automobiles, the Great Lakes, fudge, Motown, cherries...and Bob Seger.

Bob's a born and bred Michigander, and a few weeks ago, he came out of retirement to do a tour to promote his first new album in, sheesh, at least a decade.

Now I'm not necessarily one for 60-year old rockers doing reunion/coming out of retirement tours, but...this is Bob Seger.

I've seen him in concert four times and tonight will be my fifth--and they were the best shows ever. It's good, old-fashioned rock-n-roll. Not heavy metal. Not '80s pop (which, don't get me wrong--you know I love it). Nothing with even a hint of rap in it. Just rock-n-roll.

Now, for my Music Man, it will be his first Seger concert.

Which is why I told him he had to take me. You just can't be a native Michigander who loves music who hasn't seen our rock and roller. I told him that's all I wanted for Christmas, and he came through (though we had to pay through the nose for the tickets, 'cause the five shows have been sold out for weeks).

It was, of course, Risky Business that propelled Seger to the mainstream. He was already playing to crowds of 76,000 people in Michigan in 1976--years before Cruise danced by in his tighty-whiteys.

And it was thanks to Bruce Springsteen that Bob Seger (hmmm...interesting that they both have the same initials, huh?) got this chance. The film-makers of Risky Business wanted a Bruce song, but he wasn't willing or able to release anything for the movie, so they took Seger's "Old Time Rock-n-Roll" for that famous scene.

And the rest is history.

So...I'm going to see a 61-year-old rocker try to bring down the house in his last Detroit concert tonight. I have no doubt he'll do it--the reviews have been great. He does a lot of his old songs--mostly old stuff.

Tunes like "Night Moves," "Still the Same," "Turn the Page," "Main Street," "We've Got Tonight," "Sunspot Baby," "Rock-n-Roll Never Forgets," and others.

What aging rocker/band would you pay too much money to see?

What's your favorite Seger song?

I like that old-time rock and roll

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/12/i-like-that-old-time-rock-and-roll.html

This PC girl's Mac conversion

As I mentioned earlier this week, I've moved from the dark side (my Dell was dark gray) and have seen the light and bought an iMac. It's very pretty and sleek and white and quiet.

Love the quiet.

I'm learning my way through its intuitive system and really haven't had any problems in a major way....but I do have some questions for those Mac users who happen by this blog (some of whom encouraged my conversion!).

First...what's up with the END key? I lived by that key in my PC. I use (used?) it constantly, mainly because I am always editing while I'm writing, so I use the arrow keys to go up or down a line or two, and then hit END to go to the end of the row, instead of stopping to pick up the mouse.

Well...it doesn't work for me on my Mac except when I'm in Word. Which isn't helping. 'Cause I need it in all my applications. So, is there something, some setting, that I'm missing?

I need my END key!!!

Okay. Deep breath.

Second thing: keyboard issues. My Mac came with a lovely, business-like sounding white keyboard (non-ergonomic) with a really short cord.

My desk is set up such that I have a higher level for my monitor, then a regular desk-level surface for other stuff (ie, clutter), and then a pull-out drawer for my keyboard. Unfortunately, the keyboard cord isn't long enough to let me use the pull-out drawer unless I put the monitor/Mac on my regular desk-level. So what's the point of that?

Now I'm using the regular desk level to hold my keyboard, which, by the way, isn't the ergonomic one I'm used to, so that's another issue.

Therefore, I may have to use one of my PC ergonomic keyboards (preferably my wireless one, but I don't think it will work with my Mac). And that ugly Microsoft/Dell gray will really clash with my sleek white Mac, which really won't do at all.

Help!

And...hmm...oh, yeah. The control key.

I tend to use my keyboard and keystrokes more than my mouse, so getting used to those keys and the difference in the functions has been probably the hardest thing. However, I finally remembered what my friend Noah had told me about the control key on the Mac: It's not the one one that says "Control."

Gotcha.

We PC people are used to that CTRL key being the god of our keyboard, and it's in the same place on both a Mac and Microsoft keyboard...however, the Control key on the Mac doesn't do the same thing the CTRL key does on a PC. Therein lies the confusion.

But now that I've figured that out, I'm a lot happier.

And did I mention I love the way my keyboard sounds when I use it? So industrious, like I'm actually accomplishing something.

Anyway, I'd love some suggestions and feedback on my conversion issues. They're not that bad--after all, I've been using a PC for more than twenty years, and never a Mac--but that END key thing is really getting to me.

If someone can solve that problem for me, I think there's probably a free book in there for that person.


(Oh, and P.S.: As I'm writing this blog entry, I keep typing "Max" instead of "Mac." Wonder why that is.)

This PC girl's Mac conversion

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/12/this-pc-girls-mac-conversion.html

And Zee Winner Ees...

Liz!

Email me (author at colleengleason dot com) to claim your autographed copy of Surviving Demon Island!

Congratulations and thanks to everyone who entered!

And Zee Winner Ees...

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/12/and-zee-winner-ees.html

Oh, and a reminder!

You only have four more days to enter my Immortalize Your Friend in a Book Contest! So get hopping over and enter the contest!

What are you waiting for?

Oh, and a reminder!

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/12/oh-and-reminder.html

Another Missed Thursday Thirteen...

Argh. Forgot it was Thursday until I saw Jaci's post. But I have an excuse--I've been technologically hampered and a bit discombobulated. (See previous post about the Blue Screen.)

However, to make up for my deficit, I'm going to be giving away a prize today. Yes! A prize.

First, though, picture this: Survivor meets LOST.

Then add in some really titillating, hot sex.

And a guy to die for.

Oh, and a few demons!

And what do you get? The sizzling mass market debut of Jaci Burton...which is my prize to one person who comments today and tells me...which show do you prefer: LOST or Survivor?

Jaci's Surviving Demon Island is a fast-paced, sexy adventure with a great cast of characters. I was trying to read it (by "trying" I mean that I wanted to be reading it, but was supposed to be doing other things like writing my own book...and I kept using it as a carrot dangling on the end of a stick for myself if I got enough done!) in early December, and it took me far longer than I'd hoped or planned.

Publishers Weekly says, "Realistic dialogue, spicy bedroom scenes and a spitfire heroine make this one to pick up and savor."

And I couldn't agree more! So, now that I've finished and enjoyed this book, I want to give away a brand new copy, signed by Jaci.

So, tell me which show you prefer (or neither as the case may be) and I'll draw a name after midnight tonight for the winner!

P.S. In case you were wondering( and I know you were!), I'm typing this on my new iMac. I'm still getting used to it, but so far so good!

Another Missed Thursday Thirteen...

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/12/another-missed-thursday-thirteen.html

My holiday started with the dreaded Blue Screen

If you have a PC and you've ever had the dreaded Blue Screen, you know what that means.

Bad, bad stuff. Bad stuff for the computer. Very bad.

So, yes, last Friday morning, I got up and came over to my computer to log in and do my daily blog entry, and I had the Blue Screen.

It's a pretty color blue, cobalt--don't get me wrong--but all that unexpected white gibberish-looking error messages told me my computer was very sick.

And it was. Is. Actually, it is. There's no cure for what ails it.

I managed to get my data off (thank goodness), for even though I have a backup system, something had gone wrong with that and it hadn't backed up since December 18. Eeek!

But, the happy news is, I have the data.

The bad news is: I either have to reformat my hard drive (which will be the second time in two years) or...get a new computer. Which is just as much of a pain as reformatting a hard drive (reinstalling everything, setting my preferences, bookmarks [for all the blogs I like to haunt] and other stuff).

But at least with a new computer, I get to have fun with it being new. It'll be faster and cleaner and sleeker.

And my husband, my computer geek brother, and my sister's cool martial-arts-expert S.O. all think I should get an iMac. So. I'm really considering it.

Anyway, that's why I haven't been blogging or surfing blogs since last Friday. Between the broken computer and the holidays, I just haven't had the chance.

But I'm back.

And in some places, my book is on the shelves at the bookstores!! Jaci Burton sent me a picture of my book on the new in paperbacks section at the Borders in Tulsa! Completely unexpected--after all, the release date isn't officially until next Tuesday. (You can see my covers next to Jaci's shoulder and her book, Surviving Demon Island, on the bottom row, second from the left--the orange ones.)

But I'm not complaining!

And sassymonkey tells me she got her copy, which she ordered from Chapters in Canada, last Saturday!

So it's out there. Already. Wow.

But if you're out and about at bookstores, look for Jaci's book. I have a copy to give away this week, signed by Jaci, and I'll be posting about it tomorrow. So stay tuned.

Now...off to check prices on iMacs.

It would be a tough transition. I've been a PC girl forever. I'm pretty computer savvy. But, man, that iMac is looking better and better all the time.

What do you have? iMac or PC? What would you have if you had your druthers?

My holiday started with the dreaded Blue Screen

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/12/my-holiday-started-with-dreaded-blue.html

Thursday Thirteen #15

Thirteen Reasons there will be
no Thursday Thirteen today....

1. I have about fifty presents to wrap (or so it seems)

2. I am having a cookie-decorating party this afternoon with my children and their friends (Akk!) Ten children. Hundreds of cookies. Icing in all colors of the rainbow. Sprinkles of all shapes and sizes. (do you hear me screaming?)

3. I still have one more (no, two) (no, make that three) gifts to buy

4. I have to make something to eat to take to a party tonight

5. I have to send out Christmas cards

6. But before I do that, I have to buy them

7. And before I do that, I have to write the obligatory family newletter (obligatory this year because I have to remind people about my book coming out January 2)

8. I have to make breakfast for the kids (who are just now waking up, yay, which meant I got to sleep in today, yay!, which is why this post is late)

9. I have to go to the grocery store to buy whatever it is I decide to make for Christmas Eve dinner

10. I have to write a few checks that need to go in the mail before the end of the year

11. Going to the bank is a good idea today too

12. I have to make sauerbraten for Christmas, which means I have to make the marinade today so the meat can "sauer"

13. I actually have to figure out what we're going to eat on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (I will probably do this before I do #9...but not guaranteed.)

....so that is why there will be no Thursday Thirteen today!

Thursday Thirteen #15

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/12/thursday-thirteen-15.html

Press Release: End of the Year Merger Announcement

Paris, France (Agence France-Presse)--In what is thought to be the biggest merger of all time, Men and Women have agreed to join forces into one sex, to be called Humanicorp.

The details of the arrangement are still being hammered out, but early negotiations have Men taking breasts. Women have agreed in principle to watch ESPN, but have refused to give up self-respect. Sources close to both parties say that genitalia remain a sticking point. There are also serious anti-trust issues that will need to be resolved.

A spokesman for Men, Bob, said that Men have been trying for years to merge with Women and that this was the culmination of a long-held dream for Men.

Women were unavailable for comment.


(taken from Mirth of a Nation, "More Mergers" by Jay Jennings)

Press Release: End of the Year Merger Announcement

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/12/end-of-year-merger-announcement.html

Cut, Pick off the Lot, or Assemble?

What do you do for your Christmas tree? (If you have one.)

We're definitely a cut-the-tree family. We go to a great tree farm (if you aren't aware, Michigan is the second or third highest producer of Christmas trees in the US) and make it a big production, usually the weekend before Christmas--which was, of course, just this last weekend.

The things I've learned about a good tree-farm experience?

1. You must be able to walk to the tree selection. It's no fun to wait for a wagon or cart to bring you out and then bring you back. It takes forever, and if it's cold....brrr! One year, we had to wait 45 minutes because they kept forgetting us!

2. They have to have hot chocolate available, either before or after (preferably both). Donuts are a bonus.

3. They have to provide saws. Sharp saws. (One year we brought our own saw and left it way out in the tree farm. We never saw it again and my Music Man has never let me forget that!)

4. They have to have a bathroom. (Please! With three kids, two of which are girls...you know what I'm saying.)

5. They have to have a variety of trees--heights, widths, and style. We have to get a short, fat one and we always get a blue spruce...at least, we always did until this year. This year we got a blue something else. It has long, soft needles (much easier on the hands when decorating).

6. They have to shake it for you, wrap it for you, and, the most important thing: they have to help you get it on your car!
after--or both--for the tree cutters. Donuts are a bonus.


PS. I'm guest blogging at the Writing Playground today...talking about my Cover Epiphany and also giving away a copy of The Rest Falls Away.

Cut, Pick off the Lot, or Assemble?

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/12/cut-pick-off-lot-or-assemble.html

You think fat is ugly?

I'm glad to hear that Italy is now getting in line (behind Brazil) in cracking down on anorexic models.

A friend of mine sent me these pictures awhile ago, just before that young Brazilian (anorexic) model died. I used the images in a session for a middle school youth group I work with.

The scary thing about this is that at least 75% of the students in this youth group indicated that they knew at least one person who was anorexic or bulimic or both. Girls making themselves throw up in the bathrooms after lunch, etc.

My best friend in high school was anorexic. It was terrible. But at least it was never as terrible as this:

You think fat is ugly?

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/12/you-think-fat-is-ugly.html

Here We Come A-wassailing

Have you ever been caroling?

Some of my favorite winter memories revolve around those crispy cold nights with flashlights or candles, red noses and excited, chattering friends.

I've been officially caroling--and by this, I mean going from house to house at night--probably four or five times in my life. I think I've been a carollee once as well.

The first time I went, I was in eighth grade and I went with a bunch of friends from my class. We ended up at our teacher's house (she was expecting us), and she invited us in for an impromptu party.

Last year, I went with my daughter and her Girl Scout troop and froze my patootie off. But the girls had a blast.

One of the best times was when I went with my Music Man during our first Christmas together. We got together with a group of thespians we'd been doing a musical with, and, clutching our hot cider and hot chocolate (appropriately spiked, of course) we caroled through a neighborhood with beautiful, large old houses that must have been built in the early 1900s.

It was just cold enough that we didn't want to be out all night, and that the hot chocolate and schnapps-laced mulled cider felt great in our cold fingers, but not so cold that it was miserable.

It didn't snow, but it had snowed, so we had a white backdrop for our set. We thrashed through some bushes to get from where we parked into the lovely neighborhood with long, broad streets and front yards big enough to stand in without feeling crowded.

People were delighted to hear from us, and since many of the carolers in the group were musicians (we were doing a play, remember), we had some percussion and I think we might have even had a guitar in the mix.

I think caroling is a lost art. And based on that experience, with the obvious surprise and joy from the people we sang to, it's an art that should be resurrected. Such a simple pleasure, and so traditional!

Now our streets are lit up with a blaze of Christmas lights so we hardly would need candles or flashlights, which is a shame. But there's nothing like the sound of singing breaking in over the blaring TV or the family conversations, and a group of red-nosed, pink-cheeked singers wishing holiday cheer.

Here We Come A-wassailing

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/12/here-we-come-wassailing.html

This week's winner is...

ejslack!

Congratulations and thank you for signing up for my newsletter.

Watch for another chance to win The Rest Falls Away next week.

This week's winner is...

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/12/this-weeks-winner-is.html

I just made a total elf of myself...

Click here to see.

Oh, if only I could really dance like that!

(And thanks to Esri for the link. I'm sure I'll be hanging out here the rest of the weekend.)

I just made a total elf of myself...

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/12/i-just-made-total-elf-of-myself.html

The Dragon or the Pig?

Well, here we are. Big kids movie opening weekend, and I've only got time to take my lovelies to one of them.

So which one will it be?

Eragon is being slammed by reviewers and readers of the book. They say it's nothing like the book, it's a joke, but that it's good for elementary-school age children. (Of which I have three.) My son cannot wait to see it, so he'll be vehemently lobbying for that choice. And since it's only rated PG, my five year old can see it without me worrying that she'll be frightened. My ten year old daughter would probably rather see Eragon too.

And then there's Charlotte's Web, which my five year old can't wait to see. We have the original version with Paul Lynde as Templeton (my favorite character), and we all love to see that. It's getting better reviews than Eragon (but what does that really mean anyway?)...but my son will be really disappointed if we don't see Eragon.

So what about you? What are you going to see this weekend? Or are you going to be shopping???

The Dragon or the Pig?

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/12/dragon-or-spider.html

Last chance!

Sign up for my newsletter (scroll down to email subscribe box on the right side of this page) and be entered in a drawing to win a copy of The Rest Falls Away!

I'll be drawing a name Friday at midnight, EST, from the newsletter list!

Last chance!

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/12/last-chance.html

Thursday Thirteen #14

Thirteen of the best parts of
Spamalot

My Music Man and I went to see Spamalot last night, and we loved it. So in honor of this Broadway musical version of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, here's a Thursday Thirteen.

(and don't forget to sign up for my newsletter by tomorrow for a chance to win a pre-release copy of The Rest Falls Away!)

1. The description of Arthur's Knights of the Round Table:








The strangely flatulent Sir Bedevere
The dashingly-handsome Sir Galahad
The homicidally-brave Sir Launcelot
Sir Robin the Not-Quite-So-Brave-as-Sir-Lancelot, who slew the vicious Chicken of Bristol and who had personally wet himself at the Battle of Bradon Hill
...and the aptly named Sir Not-appearing-in-this-show


2. The Song That Goes Like This (Arthur & the Lady of the Lake)
"Once in every show/there comes a song like this/
It starts off low and slow/And ends up with a kiss..."

"I'll sing it in your face/while we both embrace/
And then we change the key!/
Now we're into E/That's awfully high for me/
But everyone can see/We should have stayed in D..."

3. "I'm...not quite dead yet."
(the old man who is nearly dead, but not quite dead yet)

4. Sir Galahad and his entrance with the Lady of the Lake after he's been "transformed" into a knight...they appear standing in a small boat, gliding downstage, with a chandelier that suddenly appears overhead....strangely reminiscent of scenes from The Phantom of the Opera...

5. "I fart in your general direction!" (French taunter to Arthur and his men)

6. "We burst our pimples at you!" (French taunter and companions to Arthur and his men)

7.

Arthur: I am your king.
Peasant: Well I didn't vote for you.
Arthur: You don't vote for kings.
Peasant: Well how'd you become king then?
Arthur: The Lady of the Lake, her arm clad in the purest shimmering samite held aloft Excalibur from the bosom of the water, signifying by divine providence that I, Arthur, was to carry Excalibur. THAT is why I am your king.
Dennis/Galahad: [interrupting] Listen, strange women lyin' in ponds distributin' swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony....You can't expect to wield supreme executive power just because some watery tart threw a sword at you.

8. The Tale of Sir Robin

(this is the ringtone I have playing when my Music Man calls me, and it cracks me up every time)
"Bravely Bold Sir Robin/rode forth from Camelot/
He was not afraid to die/O brave Sir Robin/
He was not at all afraid to be killed in nasty ways/
Brave, brave, brave, brave Sir Robin!
He was not in the least bit scared to be mashed into a pulp/
Or to have his eyes gouged out and his elbows broken/
To have his kneecaps split and his body burned away/
And his limbs all hacked and mangled, brave Sir Robin!
His head smashed in and his heart cut out/
And his liver removed and his bowels unplugged/
And his nostrils raped and his bottom burned off/
And his penis split and his--"

9. When poor Sir Lancelot comes out of the closet to dance with the disco-dancing guys
"You can all find him pumping at the gym/at the Camelot Y.M.C.A"


10. The playbill for the show was itself a a comedy. The first three pages described a Finnish show, complete with long Finnish-looking names with multiple consonants and vowels, and hilarious biographies for each of the actors in the supposed production

11. I could just kick myself--really hard--for not making the trip to see the show on Broadway. Tim Curry was playing King Arthur, David Hyde Pierce (whom you know I adore) was playing the not-so-brave Sir Robin, and Hank Azaria played Lancelot.

12. There were pokes at Andrew Lloyd Webber, Britney Spears, and even a segment where they burst into an extended segment of "Lady" by The Commodores (good grief, remember that one?)

13.

King of Swamp Castle: Guards, make sure the prince doesn't leave this room until I come and get him.
Guard: Not to leave the room... even if you come and get him.
King: No, no. *Until* I come and get him.
Guard: Until you come and get him, we're not to enter the room.
King: No, no, no. You *stay* in the room, and make sure *he* doesn't leave.
Guard: And you'll come and get him.
King: Right.
Guard: We don't need to do anything, apart from just stop him entering the room.
King: No, no. *Leaving* the room.
Guard: Leaving the room, yes.
King: All right?
Guard: Right. Oh, if, if, if, uh, if, if, uh, if, if, if, we... oh, if... oh...
King: Look, it's quite simple. You just stay here, and make sure he doesn't leave the room. All right?
Guard: Oh, I remember, uh, can he leave the room with us?
King: No, no, no, no, you just keep him in here, and make sure...
Guard: Oh yeah, we'll keep him in here, obviously, but if he had to leave, and we were with him...
King: No, just keep him in here...
Guard: Until you, or anyone else...
King: No, not anyone else. Just me.
Guard: Just you.
King: Get back.
Guard: Get back.
King:All right?
Guard: Right, we'll stay here until you get back.
King: And make sure he doesn't leave.
Guard: What?
King:Make sure he doesn't leave.
Guard: The prince?
King: Yes, make sure he doesn't leave.
Guard: Oh, yes, of course.
[Points at Guard #2]
Guard: I thought you meant him. You know, it seemed a bit daft me I were to guard him when he's a guard.
King: Is that clear?
Guard: Oh, quite clear. No problems.
King: Right.
[King of Swamp Castle turns to leave the room, both guards follow him]
King: Where are you going?
Guard: We're coming with you.
King: No, no, no. I want you to stay here and make sure *he* doesn't leave.
Guard: Oh, I see. Right.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
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Thursday Thirteen #14

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/12/thursday-thirteen-14.html

I could have been a millionaire

Remember the dot-com rush?

Well, I had a great idea for an online business, and if I'd gotten my act together, I could probably have gotten funding, an IPO, ads during the SuperBowl...heck, I might be a millionaire(ess?) by now!

I would have called it OneShoe.com. (gosh, guess I'd better check to see if there is such a place, come to think of it...)

You know how you always lose socks in the Land of No Return? (Actually, I think I lose them under my bed--it's a black hole under there--but you get the idea.) All those single socks?

Well, I've had the same problems with shoes. It's happened where one of a pair would get chewed up by a new puppy (or an older dog), or something would happen to the shoe itself and it would be unrepairable...or I'd simply lose one (not because I was dancing barefoot on tables or anything crazy like that).

So I thought it would be cool to start a website for people to find the missing half of their pair of shoes. Someone else out there would have had to have bought a size seven of my favorite Dansko sandals, right? At some point in time? And chances are, they either got tired of them or lost one or danced barefoot on tables at a bar and somehow misplaced one of them...or whatever.

So in my dreams of virtual business-ownership, I thought it would be interesting to start a site--a dating site, if you will, for single shoes.

I know I would have paid for the shoe, plus shipping and handling, to replace half of a pair of my favorite shoes.

What about you?

I could have been a millionaire

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/12/i-could-have-been-millionaire.html

Places to go....

Dance Chica, over at Insomnomania, has posted Part I of her interview with me!

And Carl of Stainless Steel Droppings also had a little chat with yours truly and posted the results.

If you go check them out, I can blow off writing a blog entry today. How does that sound?

Places to go....

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/12/places-to-go.html

Another chance to win my book before it's released

This is easy-peasy.

Just sign up for my newsletter (there's a little box on the right column here on my blog...just scroll down).

If you're already signed up, you're already entered in the drawing! I'll be picking one name from my newsletter list on Friday.

And stay tuned for more...there's more, I promise!

Another chance to win my book before it's released

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/12/another-chance-to-win-my-book-before.html

Getting back to it, and a random question

Missed blogging yesterday, but some days that can't be helped. Especially around the holidays.

It wasn't anything in particular that kept me away, just a little of everything.

Here's something that I've been pondering for awhile, as I'm going through my Christmas shopping list, and I'm interested in thoughts from the peanut gallery.

My son is eight, and he's currently reading Harry Potter #5. He can read at that level and he does enjoy it. But he also loves to listen to books on CD. He's listened to Eragon and the unabridged Chronicles of Narnia, along with Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson's Peter & the Starcatchers (a fabulous prequel to Peter Pan).

He's listened to those books over and over and over. Instead of music in his room while he's playing with pirate ships and Star Wars figures, he listens to the books on CD.

I love the fact that he does this, and I've noticed a wonderful increase in his vocabulary. He probably (though I've never asked) could quote lengthy passages from The Silver Chair and Eragon (guess which movie he's counting down to go see...this weekend!).

So when I was thinking about what to get him for Christmas, I considered whether a CD version of Eldest (the sequel to Eragon) or the book version would be better.

And I couldn't decide.

I found merit in either option. I'm leaning toward the CD for several reasons, though: first, because he doesn't read as often as he listens to CDs (although he's plowing through The Order of the Phoenix pretty darn quickly for an eight year old), and second because he'd probably listen to it over and over and I doubt he would read it over and over.

But I begin to wonder: is there a much greater benefit to reading, literally reading, as opposed to listening? To the same story?

You'd still get the vocabulary. You'd still get the story (I only buy unabridged audiobooks).

But you wouldn't see the written word. But...you'd hear it, and hear the words pronounced correctly.

Yes, reading the written word is important--I'm not discounting that at all, of course; in fact, I believe it's imperative. But I guess what I'm asking is, does listening to the book fully replace the benefits of reading it? Or only partially? Or not at all?

What do you think?

Getting back to it, and a random question

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/12/getting-back-to-it-and-random-question.html

And the winner is...

Megan Frampton!

Megan, congratulations on winning a Venator Survival Kit. Drop me an email to claim your prize. (author at colleengleason dot com)

And a big thank you to everyone who participated wholeheartedly in the Pay it Forward contest. I wish I could have given each of you a prize, and I'm so glad to know that all of you have made at least a little difference in someone else's life. Congratulations to everyone.

Stay tuned for more chances to win a copy of The Rest Falls Away!

And the winner is...

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/12/and-winner-is.html

Wow...what a week

I've been watching the entries in my Pay it Forward Contest add up over the last week, and I'm just blown away by the wonderful things you've been doing.

I wanted to share some of the stories people have told, and remind you that today is your last chance to enter the contest to win a Venator Survival Kit, which includes a pre-release copy of The Rest Falls Away.

Here are some (unfortunately, I can't share all) of the comments I've received about paying it forward:

"Today, I helped entertain and calm a crying baby at Walmart so her stressed mother could load her cart and pay for her items. She was thankful, but I think I got the better end of the deal. Her baby was a doll with a cute giggle."

"Let's see ~ I let a lady go in front of me at Walmart. This poor old woman had 2 things in her shopping cart ~ the lines were as per usual this time of year. I could not believe that anyone wouldn't let her go in front of them. So, friend and I had two carts full of things (we're getting ready for a big bake-off) so I actually went and got her and walked her back to our line so she could go in front of us. I mean ~ she had two items; we had two carts. It's really a no-brainer, isn't it?"

"The kind deed I did today was to carry a load of personnel files downstairs to HR for one of the directors at my work who is not in my area. I thought that she deserved a break (we're in the middle of a big audit), so I took this duty off her hands."


"[I] gave a jacket away to a boy selling something on the street. Actually did this with mom since we drove by and saw said boy and figured he needed a jacket."


"[I] gave money to a friend who barely had so she could pay her rent and buy some food. Also gave said friend tons of food. No, we are not rich, trust me on that, but man did she need it way more than we did. The woman had nothing to eat and wasn't getting paid for two whole weeks!"


"My good neighbour and friend recently lost her long time best friend. About a week after the funeral, while she was trying to cope with that loss, she received news that her Mother had gone missing. Soon after, she received news that her Mother killed herself. She told me yesterday, at the mail box....the two of us standing there, me comforting her as she sobbed.

"She needs some serious healing right now, and I know that material things won't do it, but I am going to bring her a poinsetta, and hope that somewhere in herself she can find a comforting place."


"Yesterday I was Christmas shopping with my 21 yo old daughter and we wear talking about some of her friends with kids. Now I'm an adopted grandma to a 3yo little boy whom I adore so kids are a weakness of mine. Well a couple of her friends don't make much and have babies and toddlers so I bought clothes for all of them. People in my life did it for me when I was broke so I can do the same for them."


"My first deed for the day. Driving to work in a sudden snow squall and the traffic was horrendous. I was sitting in a line of traffic thinking about Paul, dogs, work and blogging when I remembered the pay it forward. I decided to let a bunch of people out of the side street in front of me. They had been sitting there trying to get onto the road for a while. The traffic behind me didn't love me but those folks did."


"Today my son and I were at the grocey store and when we where leaving an ederly women we see there alot was having a problem pushing her cart so I offered to push it for her.

"My 3 yr old son got a 5 dollar tip so we went to Mcdonald's I bought him a small fry and bought the person behind us lunch. "


"Last night my colleague called and told me her husband had to go to a family members funeral, and asked me what the procedure was for missing out on exam day (we're teachers, so this is serious business). Even though I had the morning off because I wrote the exams, I told her not to worry, I would do her first exam and take care of getting everything covered for her with the office so she could go be with her husband."


"A neighbor with a new baby looked like her older child was working on her last nerve. So invited said child over to play with my kids and baked chocolate chip cookies with them. When the child left she took a plate of those back to the other mommy."


"I let the lady with one baby and three toddlers in tow in front of me at McDonald's on my lunch "minute" even though I knew her kids would take forever deciding nugget or burger."


"My daughter is in piano classes that she attends once a week. Her piano teacher is a lovely woman and my daughter just loves her. She's one of these people that talks so much she pretty much annoys any adults that happen to be around her though. The only thing that she does for income is teach piano. She doesn't have any type of contracts.

"The winter time is difficult (especially in the snow and cold) to make the weekly classes. We had considered pulling our daughter from class until the Spring. Before I could talk to the piano teacher - she called me. Just two weeks ago she discovered that she has a lump in her breast and they are fast tracking her into surgery. The piano teacher was positive but I knew she was upset. She was also worried about her family. The piano classes are all she has. She was afraid that parents might pull their students if they found out she was sick.

"I told her that I would continue to pay her every month - whether she was well enough to teach the class or whether or not our daughter made it to class because of the weather. The next day I sent her the pay to cover the next 5 weeks of classes."


"Took my money for a fancy cup of coffee, and instead put it into the charity donation box not far away from the cafe."


"I try to live my life by the "paying it forward" method. ( I stay with my grams during the week- do her housecleaning and grocery shopping, I always look for opportunities to put myself second, give a secret donation of money to people I think need it over the holiday season ... things like that)

"In fact I encourage my bf to do the same, (he wasn't raised to think like that as I was), and jus the other week he surprised me. He had this old truck he decided to get rid of. One night a man stopped by his house seeing the for sale sign. The man was from a slovic country, and had left his country to avoid being forced into the army once again- he was brutalized that last time he was forced to serve. (BF said his nose had obviously been broken and his some of his fingers were at odd angles.) Anyway, the man had very little money, and was about to leave after hearing bf's asking price. I guess bf has been listening to me- he sold the guy the truck for $60. (I'm so proud of him!) "


"I have me husband getting the act too.lol His Boy Scout troop went out in the cold last night and haned out Hot coco and cookies, with no planning for no reason. I'm a proud wife."


"There was a lady in front of me in the supermarket and she was short ten dollars so as she went to go put something back, i gave the cashier twenty bucks and told her not to tell the lady i had done it. The woman was very grateful and never found out it was me :)"

There are lots more, but I wanted to share as many as I could!

Thank you so much for participating and for making others' lives a little better! I wish I could give all of you prizes...but I suspect that you're not really doing this for the prize, are you?

Anyway, remember, you have until midnight EST to enter the official contest.

Have a great day!

Wow...what a week

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/12/wowwhat-week.html

Thursday Thirteen #13

Thirteen Things You Can Do To

Pay It Forward
(and get a chance to win a copy of my book!)

Click the image above to read about my Pay it Forward Contest and how you can be eligible to win a copy of my January release...along with some other fun things!
(please don't post your contest entries on this post)
Contest ends Friday at midnight, EST

1. Drive past the really good parking place so the car behind you can have it.

2. Pay for the person's order in line behind you at the drive-thru window

3. Drop off two toys, instead of one, at Toys for Tots

4. Make a few extra batches of cookies and bring them to a local senior home

5. Find a family to adopt for the holidays

6. Buy an extra roll of stamps and give it to the person in line behind you at the post office

7. Offer to babysit (for free) for a mother of young children so she can go shopping or wrap gifts...or just take a breather!

8. Bring a box of your old books to a women's shelter

9. Give a 30% tip at a restaurant instead of 15-20%

10. Make a donation to your favorite charity before they even ask!

11. Buy a bag of groceries and take it to your local food bank
(they're really hurting this year!)

12. Donate blood

13. Let someone in line behind you go first at the checkout counter

(and check out the other comments on my Pay It Forward Contest post to see what others are doing to make the holidays easier!)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Thursday Thirteen #13

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/12/thursday-thirteen-13.html

Because Diana tagged me: Christmas Meme

I'm taking a break from encouraging everyone to Pay it Forward for a chance to win a Venator Survival Kit (enter by midnight Friday!) to complete this meme that the amazingly-talented, witty, gorgeous and charming Diana Peterfreund tagged me to do.

(She said I needed to find something to do other than to fondle my new book...)

So, without further ado:

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot chocolate! Definitely.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree? Wraps'em. All of'em. For weeks on end. Wraps and wraps and wraps. (Or so it seems.)

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? White on house, colored on tree

4. Do you hang mistletoe? No...I don't need to. ;-)

5. When do you put your decorations up? The weekend before Christmas.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? Nothing in particular...I like it all! I figure the holiday is an excuse to eat whatever I want, in amounts that I normally would not.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child: Going to Midnight Mass with big, fat snowflakes swirling down in from a moonlit sky.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I don't remember. It wasn't traumatic at all; I remember having a casual conversation with my mom about it.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? One gift--pajamas for the kids. It's a family tradition that started when my grandmother used to make us all pjs every year for Christmas, that way we were all wearing them when we woke up in the morning!

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? Ha ha! Well, since we have three kids, it's rather haphazard. I string the lights after Music Man trims up the tree and puts it in its stand, and then it's a free-for-all. Very random. But fun!

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? I love it through Christmas, and all the time except when I have to drive in it.

12. Can you ice skate? Sort of. We live on a lake. Every year I get a chance to get a little better. I'm just learning how to skate backwards.

13. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you? The Reason for the Season.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? I have too many to name! But cranberry cheesecake is probably up near the top.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Lazing around all day on Christmas after the whirlwind of getting ready for the holidays...we take our time opening gifts, often stopping to play a game or watch a movie or assemble a toy or eat. Often we don't finish until well after 4 pm on Christmas Day, even opening the gifts from Santa. And then we put in the LOTR trilogy to watch while the kids play with their new toys. It's just the five of us, and we know we have nothing to do and nowhere to go but enjoy the day and be together.

17. What tops your tree? An angel.

18. Which do you prefer: giving or receiving? Ummm...giving. Really. As I've gotten older, I've realized it really is true.

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? O Holy Night, Sleigh Ride, and What're You Doing New Year's Eve are my favorites, but my all-time fave is William the Angel by Rob Mathes.

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? Yuck.

Because Diana tagged me: Christmas Meme

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/12/because-diana-tagged-me-christmas-meme.html

This is not my idea of paying it forward....

Heh heh heh.

Try something different, okay?

This is not my idea of paying it forward....

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/12/this-is-not-my-idea-of-paying-it.html

Retro Tuesday: '80s Lyrics Quiz #9

Here's a short version this week, so you can spend your time paying it forward instead of flipping through that old '80s collection!




1. Just don't ask me how I am
2. Your lights are on but you're not home
3. Take your passion and make it happen
4. That little faggot he's a millionaire
5. I was wrong, now I find just one thing makes me forget
6. So if you're feeling low, turn up your radio
7. It's no better to be safe than sorry
8. Darlin' in my wildest dreams I never thought I'd go
9. The road is long, there are mountains in your way
10. The Salvation Army band played and the children drank lemonade

(notice I did resist the urge to post a pic of Sting again...I could have, too--quite legitimately!)

And don't forget to enter the Pay it Forward contest. You have until Friday at midnight!

Retro Tuesday: '80s Lyrics Quiz #9

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/12/retro-tuesday-80s-lyrics-quiz-9.html

Pay it forward...and Win a Venator Survival Kit!

I was at the post office today, in line for the self-service automatic postal service machine, and I got to talking to the woman behind me.

She was holding a big box, and this was the second time she'd been at the crazy post office that morning, she told me, because the first time she came in with the box, they'd sent her back home to cover it up--it was a carton that had shipped beer (Bell's Oberon, in case you're interested), and she couldn't ship the box as it was. So she had to go home and repackage everything, and then come back.

Anyway, we got to talking and I had about seven things I had to mail, and there was a man in front of us who was holding a nine-month old baby under his arm, and with his other, he was processing probably 10 different packages one-handed (doing really, well, too). So I told the woman behind me that she could go ahead of me since I wasn't really in a hurry...and of course, she was very appreciative.

And that got me to thinking about the whole "Pay it Forward" movement. This is the perfect time of year to Pay it Forward--everyone is so stressed out, in such a hurry, and so focused while we try to get things done to make our holiday perfect, that sometimes we forget about little courtesies.

So I'm going to challenge you all--even you lurkers who don't post here (I know you're there) to do one kind, unexpected, unncessary thing for someone else this week. Pay it Forward.

And then, post here in the comments section (I'll keep this post open until Friday night at midnight EST) about your "good deed."

For every good deed you post in the comments section, you'll be entered in a drawing to win a Venator Survival Kit in honor of the countdown to the release of The Rest Falls Away!

What is a Venator Survival Kit? you ask.
It will include:

• a stake
• a vis bulla (every Venator must have one...that tiny silver cross you see in the picture)
• a Born Venator t-shirt (your choice of size and style [eg, fitted/baby-doll, regular, or tank])
• an autographed copy of The Rest Falls Away
  

If you post the Pay It Forward Contest icon on your blog and link to this post, I'll give you an extra entry in the drawing, too...because, the more people who Pay it Forward, the more good we'll generate in this world, right?

Right.

So, you have several chances to win:
1) Link to this post by putting the Pay it Forward icon on your blog with a link (and then add your link below)

2) Do a good deed and tell us about it in the comments section. (If you do two good deeds, write two comments. If you do three...)

So...have at it. I'll draw a winner on Saturday December 9th!

Pay it forward...and Win a Venator Survival Kit!

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/12/pay-it-forwardand-win-venator-survival.html

Way cool site...in time for holiday shopping

I just found this site. Neato fa-teato! Great ideas for gifts.

Mighty Goods

(of course, I found bunches of things I want there for me, too.)

Way cool site...in time for holiday shopping

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/12/way-cool-sitein-time-for-holiday.html

Of milestones and author quotes

I reached two milestones in my career as a debut novelist this week.

The first one: I received the first copy of my book! My wonderful editor sent me her only copy so I could hold it in my hot little hands, breathe in the smell of newly-printed paper and binding glue, and show it off to all and sundry (including the bemused waitress at the bar last night).

The second: I was asked to give my first "author quote."

For those of you who aren't sure what that means (although you likely suspect correctly), an author quote is the endorsement or blurb that one author gives another author for marketing purposes.

I was fortunate enough to get a fabulous quote from J. R. Ward, arguably the hottest author in vampire romance these days, for The Rest Falls Away. Thank you again, JR! In a debut situation, these kinds of things really do help.

One of the reasons they help is because when the publisher's sales people take the book and its cover to their buyers at, for example, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Books A Million, Chapters, Levy, etc., a good quote from a "named" author helps to show the buyer that, yes, the book is good--or great--or fabulous.

Partly, because the book is presented to the buyer long before any professional reviews are written for the book, so it gives the buyer something to work with. It helps to show support for this unknown author, and, despite what people may or may not think, author quotes do help sell books.

While there are a number of people who say they don't pay attention to author endorsements on the fronts (or insides) of books, good quotes do indeed work. They work at the corporate buying level, and they also work at the customer level.

I know I will pick up a book with a good author quote on it--especially if it's from an author I love, and especially if I haven't seen their name plastered all over a million other covers (except their own). It won't necessarily cause me to buy the book, but it will get me to pick it up. And that's the first step in getting me to buy.

Now, there are authors who will give quotes without reading the book. (gasp!) It's true. In fact, Jennifer Crusie admits to doing this....once. And then learned her lesson when, later, she picked up the book she'd given a quote for and realized she didn't like it. At all. Yikes.

There are some authors who give quotes very rarely (Nora Roberts, for one--but can you imagine how many requests she gets?), and won't even give them to friends unless they really do like the book. Nora has said in a public forum that she has had to decline giving a quote for a friend because the book just wasn't for her.

So, how does someone like me, an unknown author, get a great quote like the one I got from J. R. Ward?

Well, it can happen in several ways. First, if I happened to know Ms. Ward, I could have asked her to do so. (I didn't.)

Secondly, and this is what happened in my case, since Ms. Ward is published by the same house that I am, my editor asked her editor to ask her to read the book.

Ms. Ward could have declined--and that is perfectly acceptable. (Trying to find time to read is just as hard for novelists as it is for everyone else; although at least we can tell the IRS it was for research.)

Or, thirdly, my agent might possibly have had a client who would have been a good "quotee" whom she could have asked to read the book.

But, as I said, it happened through my publisher, for which I am eternally grateful.

(And by the way, I know for sure that Ms. Ward did read the book and liked it, because when I met her in July, she raved to me personally [and previously, to my editor] about it with enough detail that it was obvious she'd enjoyed it. Can I just say...WOOT!)

Another thing that can happen (hope springs eternal!) is that once the book comes out and is available for purchase, if a "named" author happens to read it, and likes it, they may very well contact the author and offer to give a quote.

So, for those of you who were wondering about those quotes on the front of books--now you have the whole scoop.

And of course I'm curious: what effect, if any, do author quotes have on you?


P.S. I forgot to mention that I was asked by my friend Janet Mullany, a very witty, smart writer, to give her a quote for her new erotic romance novel. I will gladly do so, because I've been reading her book and enjoying every sexy, naughty bit of it!

Of milestones and author quotes

http://colleengleason.blogspot.com/2006/12/of-milestones-and-author-quotes.html