The Thief, Some Science and a Couple of Contests

I don't know about you all, but this has felt like one loooooong summer to me. I am so ready for Fall! But, before we say goodbye to August, I wanted to share some things you might find interesting....

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I am a HUGE fan of Markus Zusak's The Book Thief. I read it years and years ago, fell in love with it, then promptly sent Mr. Zusak a gushing, geeky fan email to which he very kindly responded. So, when I heard TBT was going to be turned into a movie, I was nervous, torn between wanting to see it and not wanting to see it...until I saw the movie trailer and fell in love with it all over again. I don't even care if it's different than the book - the movie looks amazing in itself.

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Kate, over at My Next Life, is running a custom art contest. She just finished up a project and she's "dying to create something else." Lucky for us! You've got some time - winner announced on September 25th - but don't wait too long. Head on over and check out how to enter. (No worries - it's really easy!)

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Lisa Cron wrote a fantastic post, "6 Ways to Make Sure Your Reader's Brain Syncs with Your Protagonist's Brain," over at Writer UnBoxed. I've been trying to apply her Wired for Story to my WiP but her book is so meaty that I think I'm just going to sit and read it through, absorbing as much as I can first. 

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Did you know that literary agent Janet Reid runs flash fiction contests? I'm not sure when her next one will be, but keep an eye out. The contests are a lot of fun and a real creative challenge. I love seeing what everyone comes up with - the talent out in the blogosphere is amazing!

And under the "toot my own horn" category, two of my entries received recognition: 

For "A Dangerous Fiction" Contest = Special Recognition for Entries that had a Wonderful Line

For the "Gone Fishin'" Contest = Not Quite A Story But Just Glorious Imagery 

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Are you ready for Fall? Do you plan on reading - or re-reading - The Book Thief? Will you see the movie? Going to enter Kate's contest? How about Ms. Reid's next one? Have you read Wired for Story?

The Lovely Liebster Award

One of my new blogging buddies, Kate over at My Next Life, nominated me for a Liebster Award back in April. Thank you, Kate!

** Also, Kate is running a "Win a Banner" contest! Deadline is June 6th, so hurry over and check out all the details. **

Since I've received the Liebster before, I'm going to be a rebel and instead of listing facts about myself, I'm just going to answer Kate's fun questions.... 

1) If you were an animal, what would you be? You know how they say that after awhile, people and their pets start to look alike? Yeah, well, put a pair of glasses on Mrs. Larry and....

2) What is your favorite book of all time? It's a weird tie - The Stand by Stephen King and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. 

3) What's your biggest fear? The zombie apocalypse. I mean, seriously, have you seen me run?

4) If you could have any talent (that you don't already have), what would it be? Hmm, there are so many.... I'd go with cooking or playing an instrument.  

5) If you could invite three famous people (alive or dead) to dinner, who would you choose? I wouldn't subject anyone to my cooking. See my answer to #4.

6) If you had a time machine, where would you go first? The first thing that popped into my head was pioneer times, like maybe to Laura Ingalls Wilder's home. I have no idea why, since I would last about as long there as I would during the zombie apocalypse. 

7) If calories didn't count, what would you eat today? The cheesiest, creamiest, richest mac and cheese I could find.

8) What book do you wish you'd written? So many for so many different reasons. First one that came to mind? The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.

9) What antagonist do you most relate to? I'm going to go with the one in my current WiP which will scare the Hell out of anyone who has read some of those pages. She scares me to death but there's something about her that makes me want to write her story.  

10) If you could relive any day of your life, what would it be? The day my husband proposed. It is such a sweet, funny, romantic memory that even just thinking about it makes me smile. 

11) If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live? Pretty much where I do now, only closer to the water. Or some place closer to water. And I'd split my time between there and a villa in the Italian countryside. 

I know a lot of you already received the Liebster so I'm not going to pass it on, but I would love it if you'd answer any or all of Kate's questions in the comments. Come on, I can't be the only one who wants to eat magically calorie free mac and cheese before the zombies arrive....