Game of Thrones and Other Blogging Lessons

I confess. I was a bad blogger last week. I wish I could say that I had a great excuse for missing the Friday Field Trip, but the truth of the matter is…I was weak. I cheated on the blog with movies. A lot of movies. And tv shows. Between Ryan Reynolds in twinkly green spandex and a marathon session of Game of Thrones, I really didn’t stand much of a chance. I checked Amazon to buy more hours in a day but they were all out. This week, however, is a new week. I’ve dug myself out of my tub of popcorn and have learned my lesson. In fact, I’ve learned five.

Top Five Blogging Lessons I’ve Learned (While Playing Hooky)

1.) “Mutant and proud” – Amy, X-Men First Class

Know what your mutant power is and own it, baby. Don’t be afraid to be different.  Speak your mind and use your own unique voice. Black and yellow jumpsuits are optional.

2.) “Production value!”  - Charles, Super Eight  

Charles knew that production value was going to spell the difference for his little Super 8 Zombie movie at the film competition. The same principle holds true for blogs. Words are great, but posting them on a spruced up page is even better. It’s no different from tidying up the living room when you have visitors. Offer cupcakes and I’ll love you forever.

3.) “Individually, we are vulnerable. Together, we are unstoppable!” – Sinestro, Green Lantern

Blogging is about connecting with people and being in a community. Half of what makes a blog a joy to read is the interaction that takes place. Comments, blog hops, guest posts – they keep the virtual cobwebs away.

4.) “This is a real tattoo!” – Stu, The Hangover II

“Drunk” posting is never a good idea. While it’s great to speak your mind, it’s also worthwhile to take time to think about your posts /comments and make sure that you aren’t immortalizing something you’ll regret the second after you click “publish.” You don’t lose anything by taking time to step back and think about what you want to say and how you want to say it.

5.)  “Winter is coming.” – Ned Stark, Game of Thrones

Um, okay…I don’t really have a lesson for this quote, but hey, isn’t it Just.So.Cool? If you think of one, let me know! :D

The Other First Lines

source

“All children, except one, grow up.”

Peter Pan, J.M. Barrie

“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.”

1984, George Orwell

"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife."

Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen

Brilliant. Grabbing. Memorable. These opening lines have it all. I could name a few more of my favorites, but I won’t. This post isn’t about those first lines. It’s about the other ones – the first lines we read in the book, though the last the author writes. I’m talking about dedications.  

I am fascinated by dedications. It is the last glimpse I have of the author before I go on the journey he or she has set before me and make it my own.  They range from the poignant to the hilarious, but they share one thing in common: they are the truth beneath the author’s wings that allowed imagination to take flight.

I’ve put together a small collection of dedications that I thought you might enjoy:

“To Vic Lovell for telling me that dragons don't exist, and then leading me to their lair.”

Ken Kesey, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

“My Dear Lucy,

I wrote this story for you, but when I began it I had not realized that girls grow quicker than books. As a result you are already too old for fairy tales, and by the time it is printed and bound you will be older still. But some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again. You can then take it down from some upper shelf, dust it, and tell me what you think of it. I shall probably be too deaf to hear, and too old to understand, a word you say, but I shall still be your affectionate Godfather, C. S. Lewis”

C.S. Lewis, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe

“The dedication of this book is split seven ways: to Neil, to Jessica, to David, to Kenzie, to Di, to Anne, and to you, if you have stuck with Harry until the very end.”

J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows

Here are dedications from a series:

Book 1: City of Golden Shadow

“This Book is dedicated to my father Joseph Hill Evans with love.

Actually Dad doesn’t read fiction, so if someone doesn’t tell him about this, he’ll never know.”

Book 2: River of Blue Fire

“This Book is dedicated to my father Joseph Hill Evans with love.

As I said before, Dad doesn’t read fiction. He still hasn’t noticed that this thing is dedicated to him. This is Volume Two – let’s see how many more until he catches on.”

Book 3: Mountain of Black Glass

“This is still dedicated to you-know-who, even if he doesn’t.

Maybe we can keep this a secret all the way to the final volume.”

Book 4: Sea of Silver Light

“My father still hasn’t actually cracked any of the books – so, no, he still hasn’t noticed. I think I’m just going to have to tell him. Maybe I should break it to him gently.

‘Everyone here who hasn’t had a book dedicated to them, take three steps forward. Whoops, Dad, hang on there for a second...' “

Tad Williams, Otherland series

“You know how it is. You pick up a book, flip to the dedication, and find that, once again, the author has dedicated a book to someone else and not to you.

Not This Time.

Because we haven't yet met/have only a glancing acquaintance/are just crazy about each other/haven't seen each other in much too long/are in some way related/will never meet, but will, I trust, despite that, always think fondly of each other...

This one's for you.

With you know what, and you probably know why. “

Neil Gaiman, Anansi Boys

I’ve saved my all time favorite for last…

For Colin Firth--You're a really great guy, but I'm married, so I think we should just be friends.

Shannon Hale, Austenland

Do you have any favorite dedications in mind? Or better yet, what dedication would you write? 

I'm Back!!!

Clipart from Clipartheaven.com.

What did I miss? What did I miss? Well, of course I missed YOU, silly! :-)

The quest was a success. I found my three wizards. Are you ready to meet them?

Wizard 1

I found the first wizard over here.

Allow me to introduce you to my incredible agent, Stephanie Kip Rostan. Don't let the lack of a wand fool you. It was her magic that rescued me from the slush pile. The person standing next to her is no less a wizard. There would be no “Levine” in the Levine Greenberg Literary Agency without the awesome Jim Levine.

I also had a chance to meet the other wonderful members of the agency...

....including Jim’s puppet alter-ego.

Wizard 2

For the record, walking through the Random House lobby, surrounded by their first edition archive was one of the most surreal moments of my LIFE. (Up until the point the security guard told us we weren't supposed to take pictures there. Oops.)

Finally “meeting” my editor, Kate Kennedy after TWO years of exchanging emails with her was another such moment. If you don’t believe in magic, all you have to do is look at the first draft of Before Ever After and compare it to the final book to know what a wizard this woman is.

Wondering what we're all happy about? 

Ta-dah! 

I know. Book jackets are great, but what does the REAL book look like? Your wish is my command...

What? Too small? Oh. Okay. No worries. I can fix that. Read on while I get my wand…

Wizard 3

What magical trip would be complete without a pilgrimage to Hogwarts?

Or Hogsmeade?

And while I was there, I got you some presents...

Chocolate Frogs, anyone?

Or do you prefer Butter Beer?

Oh, I know! Wands for everyone!

Well, that's all for now...Huh? What? Oh, right! I almost forgot. (Too much Butter Beer. Sorry.) I was supposed to get my wand and show you the hardcover mock-up of Before Ever After.

Hmmm. Okay...now how do you use this thing? I suggest you stand back...

Let me try changing this paperback ARC into...

...a hardcover copy!

Phew! For a second there I thought I was going to blow up this  blog. So do you think Professor Dumbledore will let me keep my robe?

Friday Field Trip: The REAL Slight Detour (Part 2)

“Once you have traveled, the voyage never ends, but is played out over and over again in the quietest chambers. The mind can never break off from the journey.” – Pat Conroy

Hey, Campers! Glad you could join us for the second part of the "real" Slight Detour, the backpacking trip that inspired Before Ever After.  If you missed the first part of the tour, you can hop aboard it here. I'm not sure if everyone on the van knows each other, so this might be a good time for you to say hello to  the person sitting next to you (read: why not leave a link to your blog after your comment? Sorry, I don't know how to set up those fancy linky-thingamajigs yet.)

For this trip, I thought it would be fun to let you in on some little known facts that could make you rich should you ever become a contestant on Jeopardy. If you win, no need to thank me. Cash will suffice. 

Are you ready? Follow the red umbrella!

Vienna, Austria

Good news! On this leg, we no longer have to sleep on a bridge like we did in Lucerne. Your accommodations have been upgraded to a...belfry.

Vienna, Austria

Europe's second largest cemetery, the Zentralfriedhof, can be found in Vienna.This is not the Zentralfriedhof.

Venice, Italy

Venice has less than 20 plumbers. This is not why it is sinking.

St. Mark's Square is the only place in Venice where it is legal to feed the pigeons. The pigeons are not aware of this law.

Florence, Italy

The clock at Florence's Duomo runs counter clockwise.

The Vatican, Italy

In Italy, it is good luck to hear a cat sneeze.

Rome, Italy

Italians invented the ice cream cone.

Athens, Greece

Greece is the leading producer of sea sponges.

Athens, Greece

The word “tragedy” is Greek for “goat-song.” Early Greek tragedies were held in honor of Dionysus, the god of wine. Actors in these plays wore goatskins.

Ios island, Greece

Sleeping on the beach is not a good idea. Even if you are drunk. And broke. Don't do it. Don't.

Ios island, Greece

You have to pay to sit under these umbrellas. 

(I did not believe the hairy shirtless man who told me this. He asked me if I wanted him to prove it. I snapped said yes. He told me to come with him. I agreed. I hopped on the back of his motorcycle. We sped away. Far, far away. I thought I was going to die. I didn't. On the other end of the beach was a sign. It said you had to pay to sit under the *bleep* umbrellas.) 

And that concludes our tour, dear campers. I hope you had fun. Remember, "a man travels the world over in search of what he needs, and returns home to find it" (George Moore) and when in doubt, PLEASE just pay the hairy shirtless man his dollar. 

I'm on Facebook! :)

Hi, guys!

I just set up my new FB Author Page. Hope you can visit me over there and "like" the page. Thanks a lot! :)

Love,
Sam

Friday Field Trip: The REAL Slight Detour (Part 1)

"Writing, I think, is not apart from living.  Writing is a kind of double living.  The writer experiences everything twice.  Once in reality and once in that mirror which waits always before or behind."  ~Catherine Drinker Bowen, Atlantic, December 1957

Hey, campers! Welcome to our Friday field trip! Today we're making a u-turn in time, to the backpacking trip that helped inspire Before Ever After. 

This was a spur of the moment adventure that I took with a good friend during a time when we were both sick and tired of our jobs and had just watched the movie Before Sunrise. The film hopelessly infected us with a bad case of wanderlust. We flipped a coin on our lunchbreak to decide whether to take a camel tour of Mongolia or make our way around Europe. (I'll give you one guess which trip won out.) We hopped on a plane without any firm plans other than the fact that we needed to be in Athens on the date printed on our return ticket. 

So, are you ready to see the REAL Slight Detour? Oh, wait. Before we leave, there are a few new rules that you need to be aware of:

1.  There will be no laughing about 90s hairstyles or wardrobe choices. 

2.  There will be no laughing about 90s hairstyles or wardrobe choices. 

3.  There will be no laughing about 90s hairstyles or wardrobe choices. 

Hey, you in the back of the van - I can still hear you snickering!

Now that we've gotten that out of the way, follow the red umbrella!

Remember this picture. This will be the cleanest I will be on the trip.

Can you spot me? I'm the white splotch sitting in front of the decayed tooth, er, Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.

In my "Before Sunrise" sundress at Versailles. You will see this dress many (many, many) more times before the tour is over. Don't judge me. ;-)

Hmm. I wonder why Dan Brown didn't include this statue in the Da Vinci Code?

Or this one?

Luckily, unlike my main character, Shelley, I didn't have to race up the more than two hundred steps to the Sacré-Cœur Basilica to take this photo.

I was young.

Notre Dame required a more dignified pose.

The bridge in the background is where we spent a homeless night in Lucerne when we got kicked out of the train station when it closed for the day.

Meet our guide. We met him when we arrived in Austria and joined "Bob's Bavarian Mountain Tour." He offered to take us around Austria in his dad's convertible, but the van he drove had its own charm. (He's standing on the van in this photo - which explains the perspective of the shot. Why he is standing on the van is another story.)

That's all I have for you now, but make sure to come back next week for the second part of the tour!