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!!!

More Updates and Random Randomness!!! :D

Ok, so I've received another entry for the "first chapter" contest!  It will be up on the contest page within the next few days.  That makes 3.  That's not very many and the submission deadline is coming up fast, so don't wait any longer.  Send me those chapters before it's too late!

On another note, I have some unfortunate news concerning the third prize, "Watership Down": my younger sister decided it was a coloring book.  I couldn't believe it!  It's one of my favorite stories ever and she decides to use a pen on it!

Fortunately for me I have another, not-drawn in copy.  Unfortunately it's in very bad repair and, though still very readable, it is quite literally falling apart.  I don't want to give away a scribbled up copy of anything as a prize, nor do I want to give away something that's falling apart, so until I can find another copy in decent shape that is not scribbled in, I'm going to have to pull that prize from the contest.  I will say, though, that I'm searching frantically for another copy.  And if another copy can't be found, I will find another interesting book to replace the third prize with... hopefully something everybody thinks is cool and exciting.

So the good news is that, even though I don't exactly have a third prize right now, there WILL BE a third prize... the third place winner may just have to wait a little while for it.  Sorry!

On another note entirely, I have just received some good news!  That good news is that I just found out I won a copy of Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper's new book "Venom and Song".  And to make things even more amazing, the authors will be in Champaign Illinois this Saturday: I live only 1 and 1/2 hours away from Champaign, so I will definitely be there!  *so excited.  does happy dance*

Currently I'm reading through WTB's first pirate adventure book "Isle of Swords".  Let me just say now, I literally cannot put it down.  It's wonderful!  Now I read  "The Door Within" trilogy and found it encouraging... if a little young.  I thought the story lines of those books were good, and the ideas behind the plot, while done many times before, shown in a new light.  However, my own opinion was that the writing in itself needed a little work, and I HATE... absolutely LOATH... thinking that sort of thing about other authors; especially authors who are already published while I only have my rejection letters to keep me company.  (and no, I haven't received an answer yet from the publisher who's looking at my book... I'll be sure to keep you posted, so keep your fingers crossed and pray! :D )

However, "Isle of Swords" is nothing like "The Door Within" trilogy.  It's WAY better!  It's amazing!  The writing's refreshing and its kept me on the edge of my seat with every page.  I just sit for hours (usually hours when I'm supposed to be doing something else... *sheepish grin*) reading it, and I can't stop!  I think about it as I drive to school, and when I do my chores, and (what really gets me in trouble) when I'm supposed to be doing homework.  I HAVE TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!  Now, I haven't finished reading it yet, but when I do you can bet I'll have a good review of it to post here.  So keep an eye out for that as well.

Now I'd better get going.  I'm in the Christmas Musical our church is putting on (for some reason we've always done big musical numbers... it's just so much fun!).  Practice starts soon so I have to get.

C y'all around.

With pen in hand,

Nichole

Questions, Answers, and the Prizes!!!

This post is in answer to a few questions about the "First Chapter" contest I am hosting on my blog. If you would like to know more about it, please read this post. The questions aren't in the same order as they were received, but that's ok. :)


Q: Will you keep the names of the authors to yourself until after the contest is judged?

A: Yes. As before, I will not be posting who wrote what until after the contest is judged; that way no one can be bias – unless you and a bunch of your close friends are all entering at the same time, but that just might get confusing. :D  However, I will need either the title of your book in progress, or the title of the first chapter that you send me in order for readers (and myself) to distinguish what is what. 

Also, just like before, the contest will be judged by my readers.  A poll will be put up on October 30th, which should give everyone enough time to read all the entries.  The poll will remain open until November 15th, so if you want friends and family to vote, let them know that they need to do so before the 11/15 or their votes might not count!  Also, please be fair to the other participants and try to read at least a few of the other chapters... this will make it fun, entertaining, and fair for all.  :D


Q: Can I submit just my prologue or do I have to submit the real first chapter too?

A: Well... this is a "First Chapter" contest. I know what it's like to have a bad first chapter, but don't worry so much about it. For one thing ALL FIRST CHAPTERS ARE BAD ONES until the publisher deems them otherwise. And the writer is always their own worst critic. We are picky by nature; I'm still picking on SOTD, and I just sent the manuscript off! So, even if you believe that your chapter isn't good enough, I ask that you please note that I've given everyone until the 25th of October before anything really needs to be submitted. That's a whole month away! I appreciate early submissions of course, but I know what it's like to be a finicky writer... and YOU KNOW what you want your first chapter to be like. If you think you will drastically change the first chapter later, then fine -- if you think you can't send it in because it's still just concept, that's ok; we don't have to know all that. But we would still like to read your chapter. So yes, please send in your first chapter with your prologue, and try not to worry too much about it. While there will be prizes at the end, this contest is mostly just for FUN! :D

Q: What are the prizes? Will they be the same as last time?

A: Yes… mostly. The First Place Winner will have a page completely dedicated to showcasing their work on “The Pen and Parchment”, AND they will also have a choice between two books (which I will talk about in a minute). The Second Place Winner will receive the book that wasn’t chosen by the first.

When I posted before, I wasn’t sure which books I would have up for grabs, but I have decided now and they are both amazing!  The pictures I have aren't the greatest, but here...

The First one is "Submerged" by Alton Gansky:

As senior project manager for his father's construction firm, Perry Sachs has helped build top secret military installations around the world.  Now he learns a secret beyond his imagination - one on which his father's life depends.

Forty years before, Henry Sachs and a small group of scientists had studied a mysterious underground base not built by the U.S. government - nor any other country, as far as the experts could tell.  Concerned by the unexplainable complex on American soil, authorities flooded the site to prevent its creators from ever returning.

Now, Henry and members of his team are falling, one by one, to a strange, deadly illness.  When Perry hears his father whisper the name "Lake Lloyd," he and his team begin a desperate search - for the exact location of Henry's secret mission, for the cause and cure of his condition, and for answers to the decades-old questions Henry has kept hidden inside. 

Will Perry's faith carry him through this quest - or will the realities of Lake Lloyd prove to be his undoing?

This is a book you will read all the way through.  I couldn't even put it down!  It was amazing to the very end.  Alton Gansky has written a numerous amount of Christian suspense novels and "Submerged" is no exception.  I have no doubt that whoever gets this book will love it!

The second book is "Dragon Rider" by Cornelia Funke, author of the "Ink trilogy" the first of which, "Inkheart" was turned into a motion picture.  She is also the author of "The Thief Lord" and quite a few other books.

Fire Drake, Ben, and their fury friend, Sorrel are in search of the mythical place where dragons can live in peace forever.  Together they embark on a journey that takes them to magical lands where they meet marvelous creatures - and one ruthless villain.  Along the way they will discovers allies in odd places, courage they didn't know they had, and a hidden destiny that changes everything.

"Dragon Rider" is fast paced and filled with action and fun.  It's pretty thick, but the reading is relatively easy and you certainly won't regret picking it up!  I have read several of Mrs. Funke's books: the Ink Trilogy is, by far, some of my favorite books ever, but "Dragon Rider" and "The Thief Lord" are not far behind.  While this isn't necessarily a Christian book, Mrs. Funke definitely knows who she's writing for: all of her books are written extremely well and are very fun, very clean reads.  If you haven't already, you WILL fall in love with her writing!

So those are the prizes: you could hardly ask for better!  Both copies have been read before, but they are in EXTREMELY GOOD condition -- practically like new.

So tell your writing friends about it, AND DON'T MISS OUT ON THIS OPPORTUNITY!  Send in your first chapter, even if you're not sure about it.  At least you'll have a chance.  And who knows, you might win!  :D 

Goodbye for now

Well, this is it... the last post I will most likely write in the next 2 1/2 weeks.  Let's see what interesting tidbits I can come up with to hold you off until the next post, shall we?

First of all, I started looking into the book "T'aragam", a POD book originally published by createspace although the author's book publishing name is sweatshoppe.  Cool name.  I haven't read the entire book yet, but by visiting the website at http://www.taragam.com/ and going to the page titled "Free Stuff", a person can download half of the e-book and the entire audio book read by the author for nothing at all.  I've now listened to the audio book.  It was pretty good... there were a few scenes that seemed... well, cliche really.  But on the whole, it was pretty good.  And to top it off, the author -- Jack W. Regan -- is one of the judges for the Highschool contest called "Tweener Times Competition" in which Highschoolers can enter a story they wrote aimed at a middle grade audience.  The competition is hosted by Moody Ministries.  (I even entered the RD for "Song of the Daystar" a few years back.  In fact, SOTD was originally written because of that competition.  Didn't win, but that's ok; the book went through major revisions since then.)

I've also been looking up some interesting blogs.  http://www.authorhaven.blogspot.com/ is one of them.  It has an interesting post about building a platform up right now.  The owner of "authorhaven" is also soon to be a published author, come 2011.  Check out her website to learn more.   At her other blog here, there's a good post about Publishing Christian Fantasy in Today's World and Market.  I was a bit inspired and discouraged at the same time after reading it... but discouraged in a very good and wholesome way.  I would definitely suggested reading it to all of my followers; it's very good.

On another note, if you haven't already checked out http://www.createspace.com/, now is as good a time as any to do so.  It's a POD publisher for authors who would like to self publish.  It doesn't cost anything, but it does take a bit out of an author's "royalty" as compensation for publishing costs.  This means that every time someone buys your book, you get some and they get some, and depending on what your set list price is, you may get more than they do or vise-versa.  But all in all it's an intriguing site, and after seeing the success of T'aragam, I've been considering it.

Well, that's all for now.  I've finished reading Cynder's Midnight but don't have a review written up so I'll have to work on that while I'm in Colorado.  I'm come back with pictures form the trip.

Until then, Live, Laugh, Love... WRITE!

I'll see you all later.

Nichole

The Artist and the Writer

This is a subject that doesn’t get addressed often enough, I think. I mean, give me a show of hands, how many of you writers out there believe you have some talent in visual arts? Visual being the key word in this instance, not literal.  Maybe some of you do, and that's great!  *thumbs up*

From what I’ve heard tell, though, there are a lot of writers out there who believe they are also amazing artists. Don’t get me wrong! They are artists in the craft of words… but sometimes – sometimes they’re not so great with a pencil and a sketchpad.

On the other hand, there are artists out there who think they are also writers. (Believe me, I know a few). They are so sure they can capture with words what they capture with paint when, more than half of the time, it just isn’t so.

And yet once more, there are those few people who really are talented in both areas. They’re very rare, it would seem… and yet they're not quite as rare as many think. In fact, if anyone reading this has a Deviant Art account, or would just like to browse the site, they might find several talented artists who are also talented writers and vise versa.

I guess it all depends on who you think you really are. If you really believe you are both, then what’s stopping you from being both? So you struggle with the visual aspect of art: take a few art classes, learn some stuff, keep practicing. You’ll get it. So you have trouble fitting words, sentences, and paragraphs together in a smooth flow; take some writing classes, go on line, read, study… it’s not like rocket science. Really anyone can learn to do these things! And when I say anyone, I mean anyone.  It just takes practice, as every action or talant does.

And of course there are those writers/artists who can do miracles with photo editing! (I’m still a baby in that area.)


Me though? I actually fall into the category of both. Yes, I’m a writer and an artist. And also a musician. Those are my three strengths. Some people are like that too (especially if they’ve been playing an instrument since they were young – which I actually haven’t had the pleasure of doing... just since I was 14.)


What? Don’t believe me? Here, I’ll give you a few examples of my artwork:

These are just a few of my favorite pieces (I have more faves, but I thought this post might get too long, so I decided not to post them yet.)
 
So what are your tallants?  Share them with me!  It be awesome to hear about them.  :)