Thursday, November 3, 2011

THE BIG SEVEN-ZERO!!!! and gory murder... but no blood... how does that work? ;)

You read that right people!!!  The P&P has officially reached 70 followers!!! *does a little happy jig*

And as I promised, it's time to set up a giveaway in celebration. :)  I think what I'm going to do is set up a poll, and see what YOU GUYS would like to see given away as the prize.  Your options are at this moment:

1) a book (haven't decided which one yet... that decision will come later, if you guys decide you would like a book giveaway rather than anything else. ;D)
2) 1 black and white pencil drawing (finished) of one of your characters or favorite book characters...
3) an author page set up on the P&P for 1 month, and congratulations and links given over at SOTD's facebook page as advertisement.

There's a possible fourth prize, but I haven't decided on it yet.  It would be one song composed by Jonathan Miaco.  However, I have neither purchased this song yet, nor decided on which song exactly to choose (or whether to let you guys choose), nor have I talked to the composer.  So we will have to wait and see on that one.  ;)

Now... what does this have to do with gory murder without blood?  How is that even accomplished?!?!

It's quite simple really. ^_^  I'm going to set up the poll a little later today, but in the meantime, you, my faithful followers, are charged to KILL THIS THREAD!!!  No blood involved. No knives.  But death... yes, death! lol!

That's right, people.  Last person to post a comment on this thread for 24 consecutive hours is the winner of the prize that the P&P followers will choose by poll.  Choose wisely, my friends... you may end up the receiver of whatever prize is chosen! :)

This very game has been done on several other blogs before.  The one I remember the most was on author Wayne Thomas Batson's blog, "Enter the Door Within" and it lasted almost a year before Mr. Batson had to close the thread himself.  lol!  I doubt my version of the game will last nearly as long, but you never know. ;D

Comment away!!!

68 comments:

T.D. said...

Alright! Let's get cracking! :D :D :D

But where's the poll?

Star-Dreamer said...

haha! Workin' on it. ;)

Star-Dreamer said...

The poll is now set up. And I don't want to be the last person to comment, so let's get this game going peoples!!! :D

R.P.H said...

I'll make sure that you aren't the last person to comment ;-) You have some really cool prizes, so I highly doubt that my comment will be the last comment. I will for sure return... before this thread dies... unless my power dies from this crazy snow storm :-/ Love your pretty background on your wonderful blog and thanks for putting together a fun contest.
God's care,
~Ryan

Adele Treskillard said...

MWAHAHAHA. Let the Games begin! and may the odds be EVER in your favor!

~Adele

Philip Nelson said...

Congrats on 70! :)

Galadriel said...

Aha, and here I got

Jake said...

I'd love to do this, except, I have no internet most of the day.

Good luck at killing this thread, folks! I'll extend the life a little longer. ;)

R.P.H said...

Back again and I promise not to shoot any arrows into anyone ;-)I'll be back...

Unknown said...

Hmm... I see the contest is scarce begun, so I shall have to place my sword in as well! :)

Congratulations on reaching 70 followers Nicole!

On another note: I finished re-reading The Fiddler's Gun and the Fiddler's Green this past week. Such a good series! I find it fascinating that the Peterson brothers should both have written such tremendous books! What excellent books have the rest of you read lately?

R.P.H said...

Back again. Probably for the last time, for the 24 hours to kill this thread. Yes, I would like to win the prize ;-)

@Gillian Adams :-) Hi, that's a great question you have. I have not read those books, but I have read Andrew Peterson's, Wingfeather Saga. It was a fun series. I'll look into those two. The books I have been reading lately is, Christopher Hopper's White Lion Chronicles... I'm actually re-reading them. He just come out with his second edition on the first book of the series and you can find more info on it at his website http://www.christopherhopper.com/2011/11/rise-of-the-dibor-2nd-edition/
I HIGHLY recommend them, but wait to get the new editions... the are edited better and worth the wait! All three should be out by Christmas, maybe even around Thanksgiving. It is a beautiful and excellent series... truly one of my all time favs :-) I've also been reading two devotionals... My All in All by Robert J. Morgan, really good and Too Busy Not To Pray by Bill Hybels... it doesn't really pertain to me, but it's good book :-)

Star-Dreamer said...

Ryan: The game goes on! Like I said, it could go on for months. ;)

It's the last person to post, whose post is up for 24 whole hours without anyone else posting during that time... that person is the winner. It's not actually that you only have 24 hours to post. ^_^

Gillian: I've been looking into those books. They look extremely interesting, that's for sure. And I love the cover art as well!

Ryan again: I've been stalking the white lion chronicles online!! :) I want to get them really badly, but I have to wait for money... and for the new editions. ;)

Unknown said...

There are so many books that I really want to read right now... and buy... but unfortunately, my search for buried treasure always proves vain and so I have no money. *tosses away another ancient map in disgust* Pirates!

On my list of books to read next are Jill Williamson's To Darkness Fled and From Darkness Won. I've only read the first book so far and I am aching to read the next two...

The White Lion Chronicles have always intrigued me, but I have not yet been able to scrape together the funds to read them. Good to know about the new editions, though!

Alright, I'm off. There's a funny little man in a green suit at the door telling me to follow him and that there's a pot o'gold at the end of the rainbow! Not sure whether to believe him or not... ;) Since the pirates have proved untrustworthy, maybe the leprechaun will prove true?

Adele Treskillard said...

I love the autumn background for The Pen And Parchment.... :D

~Adele

Philip Nelson said...

Since I'm being asked to post indefinitely here, but posting nothing is foreign to me, here's something I've thought about.

Jesus spoke parables to hide the truth from the multitudes, and then he interpreted the parables in private to his disciples. It occurred to me that's the difference I like to see between Christian fiction and non-fiction.

Christian non-fiction should explain the truth explicitly, but Christian fiction doesn't have to; it can hide the truth, embedding it in the story. An author can write a story to Christian principles without ever stating them overtly.

For example, the Lord of the Rings is all about I Cor. 1:27-29: the foolish and weak things, the hobbits, bringing to nothing the wise and the strong.

R.P.H said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
R.P.H said...

Haha... thank you Nichole :-) I bet you were wondering why I asked you on fb about the time difference for where you lived. I thought this was kinda like an Ebay bid :-/ Silly me... now I totally get it. I also played this when WTB did it... so I should of known.

@Gillian Adams and Nichole: You both for sure don't want to miss out on, The White Lion Chronicles :-) I understand about the paperbacks of this series being expensive, but I promise you both they are worth every cent. Christopher Hopper is going to have book one, Rise of the Dibor available on Kindle within a few weeks for $0.99.... and he will have a free online-only version through his publishing website http://www.spearheadbooks.com/
that should be coming in a few days. Sure can't beat that ;-)
Bye for now,
~Ryan

Philip Nelson said...

Ooh... A sniper. :)

Prescott said...

I'm commenting right now to figure out the time difference. No questions, comments, articles, etc. for now. Maybe I'll share some music on my next one!

Star-Dreamer said...

Ooo! It's gettin' close, you guys! (and my posts don't count, haha!) ;D

Who's going to win, I wonder? ^_^

Star-Dreamer said...

Oh... and Noah.... I live in Central IL. Right now (the 6th of November) it is 5:34pm. :D Does that help at all? :)

Star-Dreamer said...

Adele: Thanks! My favorite time of year, full of my favorite colors!!! :D *Shmirkle!*

Phylip: I don't know why you said you were used to posting "nothing". That was certainly more than nothing. And I absolutely agree. I love the fact that christian fiction addresses truth, but can approach it in a subtler manner. It's part of what makes writing the genre so fun, and not only that, but by approaching the truth in so subtle a manner, I often discover smaller gems of truth that I never considered before. I think this is due to the fact that I'm constantly thinking about and considering my characters' lives and plights, but in doing so. I often discover things that I can or have applied to my life already... or else it's like God opens a whole knew chapter to me!! :D

Philip Nelson said...

Star-Dreamer, I just meant that I'm not used to posting just for the sake of posting. :)

Anyhow, thanks for the comment. If this goes on long enough, I'll do more posts like that. :)

By the way, I forgot to mention when I first posted on your blog that I was homeschooled too (all the way through high school).

Unknown said...

Well, I'm back after an exciting weekend spent chasing horses, leading wild adventure trail rides, and epic Shakespearean performances (ever heard of the skit "Stab-Die?"). Now, unfortunately, 'tis time to get back to work.

Anyone else suffer from writer's insomnia? Those precious minutes of sleep that are ever elusive because a thousand different story ideas won't stop floating around your head... Or the random characters that invade your brain while you're trying to sleep and won't go away until you've fixed all of the plot holes!

Philip Nelson said...

On the topic of hiding truth in stories, George MacDonald wrote an essay called the Fantastic Imagination:

http://gaslight.mtroyal.ca/ortsx14.htm

If you're writing Christian fantasy, his essay is worth reading. (George MacDonald was a 19th century Scottish preacher, a contemporary of Mark Twain and Lewis Carroll. MacDonald's stories inspired both C. S. Lewis and Tolkien.)

As a bonus, here's perhaps my favorite all-time story (also by MacDonald), the Golden Key:

http://www.george-macdonald.com/etexts/fiction/golden_key.html

R.P.H said...

Just saying, "Hi". ;-)

Unknown said...

I have not read much George MacDonald yet - just haven't had time! This spring I'm planning on cracking down on my ever increasing list of books to read as well as getting tons of writing done! It will be awesome.

Right now, I'm reading Corus the Champion for the upcoming CSFF blog tour. Unfortunately, I have not had a chance to read the first book. Never a good idea. :( But it seems quite intriguing so far!

Star-Dreamer said...

Hi everyone. :)

I just noticed that there are only 5 votes in the poll. If your choice of prize isn't winning, perhaps you should vote on it again. And get your friends to vote too! :)

Philip Nelson said...

Hadn't seen the poll yet; I'll check it out. :)

Both of those George MacDonald works are short, by the way.

Unknown said...

@ Star-Dreamer: Wait. Are you allowed to vote more than once? ;)

One of my favorite verses to start off the day: I Thessalonians 5:16-18 "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in ALL circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

Have any of you ever read the Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom? I can never read that verse without thinking about the episode of the fleas in the concentration camp. While Corrie took the flea infested bunkhouse as yet another trial, her sister Bessie thanked God for it. Later, they found out that the fleas were what kept the German officers away from the bunkhouse so they had time to lead the other prisoners in worship and Bible study! Such an amazing story! What we think could only bring evil, God uses to bring about His perfect good.

Philip Nelson said...

I read the Hiding Place a long time ago, and liked it. I also liked China Cry, which I think was by Nora Lamb. My favorite part is perhaps the time she used the scripture about cattle on a thousand hills to convince a Communist official she had a rich father.

By the way, what about a poll option to let the winner choose the prize they'd like?

Unknown said...

Philip, that sounds like an interesting book. I'll have to look into it. So many books to read and so little time! Oh well, I guess 'tis a better fate than all the time in the world and no books to read at all. :)

Philip Nelson said...

Indeed. :)

R.P.H said...

~Psalm 62:8

Philip Nelson said...

I'll see your Psalm 62:8, and raise you Lamentations 3:41. :)

Unknown said...

Right now I'm reading Rick Riordan's The Lost Hero! The Percy Jackson books are so clever, the characters quite lovable, and the action makes it a page turner! I read the Kane Chronicles this summer and was pretty disappointed. Perhaps part of it was because the Egyptian myths aren't nearly so familiar as Greek or Roman legends, but I didn't find myself identifying with the characters and I thought many aspects of the story seemed forced or overly strange to keep reader attention.

R.P.H said...

Thanks, Philip Nelson :-) Your verse blessed me... Deuteronomy 16:15~

@Gillian Adams: I haven't read any of Rick Riordan's books... glad to hear that they are good :-)Currently I'm reading, Corus the Champion by D. Barkley Briggs. So far I'm enjoying it, though I haven't read the first one :-/

I hope you all have a great blessed weekend!

Philip Nelson said...

@R.P.H: Thanks for telling me. :) Zechariah 8:19...

I'm reading General Pershing's memoirs about his experiences in World War I. So far it's all about the incredible logistics required to build and maintain an overseas army (and if it sounds boring, it's not :).

I got that set of books at the same old bookstore I found a book called Unvisited Places of Old Europe, which was written a hundred years ago (before WWI changed Europe). An American traveler was royally treated in a city as the very first American to have ever visited it, and so he went on a tour of other such places, and found lots of interesting things.

For example, he found a village where on a certain holiday the unmarried young women would try to hop around the church three times one one foot and then throw flowers in the river. Any girl who made it would be sure to be married within the year. :)

(Call it research. :) I couldn't make that stuff up!)

Unknown said...

So... The Lost Hero finished and I'm now galloping my way through the Son of Neptune. 'tis a pity the third book won't be out for quite a while!

@ Philip Nelson - Wow. Quite an interesting custom. I'm afraid I'm doomed. My one foot hopping skills are in need of improvement. :)

Philip Nelson said...

Something else I've been thinking about is how much writing fiction is like the verse about the heart of the king being as rivers of water in the hands of the Lord.

I don't want to force my characters to choose to do things out of character, yet sometimes they won't do what I want them to do to advance the story.

So, I'll put an obstacle in their path such that it becomes logical and in character for them to make the choice I want, very like putting an obstacle in front of flowing water so that it goes in another direction.

Unknown said...

Whew. I finished the Son of Neptune yesterday afternoon. About 1,000 pages (counting the Lost Hero) in about 24 hours. Not bad. Now to get back to school work...

Very interesting analogy Philip. It does feel like that sometimes, doesn't it?

Star-Dreamer said...

Whew! Busy weekend, and I can see that this is still going. How neat! :)

Gillian, first of all, I see no reason why you couldn't vote more than once. I didn't set up so that you couldn't. Second of all, I read the Lost Hero long before the second book came out and it was SO PAINFUL to have to wait so long to read the next book in the series! :D They are so good, aren't they?

Philip, let me just say that your verses are truly a blessing. And that I also really liked that article by George McDonald (even though I didn't say so before.) Just thought I'd let you know.

And hopefully I will be able to post something a bit more meaningful in the near future. ;D

In the meantime, it would be so cool if you guys decided to spread the word about this little contest a bit. ^_^ I know that it's easier not to, so that you have a better chance at winning and all, but still... I think it would be cool anyway. ;D ^_^

Thanks!

Philip Nelson said...

Thanks, Star-Dreamer! But spreading the word: oh my. :)

R.P.H said...

@Philip Nelson:I loved your last verse Philip... thank you :-) I hope you and others enjoy this one Psalm 40:16~

@Nichole White: Share this with others... no way ;-) Perhaps I'll do a blog post about it on my blog tomorrow... no guarantee on getting more players though :-)But I will try for you and it would make the game even more fun :-) Oh and I am also not able to vote again. I can only change my vote, which I don't want to :D I rather love the prize I picked in hopes of winning.

Philip Nelson said...

Yes, I like that scripture. :) Psalm 132:16...

Galadriel said...

It is not dead yet!

Philip Nelson said...

No, it's not. :)

R.P.H said...

@Nichole: I did a blog post on this for ya...
http://realmofhearts.blogspot.com/2011/11/killer-game.html
No guarantee on getting more players though :-)

@Philip: Beautiful verse, thank you :-) ~2Chronicles 6:41 and ~Psalm 71:23.

Hehe, this thread will never die ;-)

Star-Dreamer said...

Thanks Ryan. ^_^

And LOL! Oh, I'm sure it will die at some point in time. You guys are all so determined to win though! Which is pretty neat, if you ask me. haha!

Philip Nelson said...

@R.P.H: Isaiah 61:10. :)

R.P.H said...

@Philip Nelson: ~Psalm 25:4-5 :-) Thank you. This has truly blessed me more than you know. I have really enjoyed sharing all these verses!

@Nichole: My pleasure, my friend :-)Thank you for your very kind comment and for starting this wonderful game... I have a feeling it's going to last for a little while... I hope ;-)I might be without power this weekend due to a very BIG snow storm coming my way :-/ So I could be out of the game for a day or two. We'll see...

Galadriel said...

Hiya and hey, snow might be coming our way, but I hope it's not here to stay.

Philip Nelson said...

@R.P.H: Psalm 119:97-104 (I tried to cherry-pick, but I just had to quote the whole section...)

This little scriptural volleyball game has been a lot of fun. :) I'm glad you've enjoyed it. Thanks!

(And I hope you keep your power and network...)

Galadriel said...

Hello, let's see what's next

Unknown said...

Wow, I cannot believe that this thread is still alive. Persistent isn't it? *pulls out whet stone to sharpen sword*

This thread MUST die!

:)

Star-Dreamer said...

Lol! Well... You may want it to die, Gillian, but personally I find it absolutely THRILLING that it's lasted so long! You guys are really persistant, and I'm guessing that you all really want one of the prizes, or why else would this thread still be alive? lol! I'm just so happy to see that so many of you are loyal to the P&P. I never realized it before. It's encouraging to know that my little nich-corner on the web actually means something to people. ^_^ :)

Philip Nelson said...

I'm just having fun commenting. :)

So, what's with all the Lina Lamont Fan Club links?

R.P.H said...

@Galadriel: Hey'a :-) No snow for me... I think the weather people like to lie... we were expecting a blizzard with lots of snow. Today is cold, but sunny. I guess I shouldn't complain ;-)

@Nichole: I am really enjoying this contest! It's been a lot of fun and I might be sad when it finally ends... dies I mean ;-)

@Philip: Thank you :-) 1Peter5:5~
I'm wondering the same thing... what's with all those links?

Philip Nelson said...

@R.P.H: Psalm 138:6...

Philip Nelson said...

Dang, I think I won...

R.P.H said...

Hehe... I think you have Philip! Congrats :D You killed it.

Philip Nelson said...

Thanks! :) I'm sorry it's over, though...

Star-Dreamer said...

Congrats Philip!!! :D It does indeed look like you killed the thread! :)

Wow... I never thought it would last that long. How exciting! You guys were all really persistent!

It's interesting though... the thread is dead, but my poll for the prize is still live. As of this moment, The illustration is winning.

So, here's what I want to know: do you want me to leave the poll up to continue voting for the prize? Close the poll and stick with the illustration? Or just go with Philip's preferences for the prize?

Let me know!

And btw, I have no idea what's up with all of those links. :P I keep deleting them and they keep coming back. It's starting to get extremely annoying...

Philip Nelson said...

I voted for the book promotion, but either way works for me. I'd want a rain check on the prize in either case.

R.P.H said...

I vote for Philip to choose his prize :-)

Nichole this was so much fun! Thank you :-) I hope you do another one in the future.

Philip Nelson said...

Yes, thanks, Nichole. :)

And thanks for that vote, R.P.H. :)

Star-Dreamer said...

Ok then! :D Good deal. We'll do the book promotion. Philip, let me know when you are ready for promotion and I'll set things up. Thanks for playing, everyone! :D It was so much fun!

Philip Nelson said...

Will do. Thanks again for setting up the contest! :)