Monday, September 24, 2012

This vs. That: Stay-up-late vs. Get-up-early

First, I want to thank everyone for their great reading suggestions from last week. In fact, I think you are inspiring me to add another page to my blog. Something along the lines of "Book Suggestions." The idea is definitely swirling in my brain.

Now on to the subject at hand as a This vs. That post is LONG overdue. So, without further ado, I will jump to the numbers. As you recall, we were debating the finer points of staying up late vs. getting up early:


Total votes: 21

Stay up late: 10 votes; 47%
Get up early: 7 votes; 33%
Neither: 2 votes; 10%
Both: 2 votes; 10%

Clearly we have a couple of crazies with us. Both? Egad you two are gluttons for punishment. At the very least, I hope you sneak in a nap somewhere. OR, I guess if you have superpowers, that would work, too.

Ooh! Random thought: Next time someone asks, "If you could choose any superpower, what would it be?" I am totally choosing the superpower of not needing sleep. Wouldn't that be awesome??? Think about how much you could accomplish!

Okay, okay, back to the subject . . . Other than those two bizarre votes, these results are as they should be (so hopefully you can guess where I voted). As one commenter said (and I'm paraphrasing), the glory of staying up late is that you have this huge supply of extra time you can take advantage of! And don't we all need extra time? (*wink,wink*)

On the other hand, if you get up early, the day starts at the same time, just like every other morning and you get no extra time. Why not? Because you had to get up early to make up for the lost time of going to bed early. Seriously. Think about that.

But not for too long, because you have to make some decisions on the next debate:

Cat

vs.

Dog

Picture courtesy of Reb Sumner

Monday, September 17, 2012

Winner and a Question

Today I have winners for my giveaway of Leigh Moore's The Truth about Faking.

And drumroll please . . . . .

Beth who blogs at Of Muses and Meringues

and

Amy Sonnichsen who blogs at The Green Bathtub

Hurray and congratulations! Just let me know what format you would like (see that "Contact Me" page up top?) and I'll have it off to you.

Now, next item on the agenda. So I have this 8-year-old who has recently turned into a voracious reader, and I mean VORACIOUS! I'm talking zombie-piranha here. He has ripped through pretty much every book in my personal library, and a good number from the library as well.

He's gone through The Lightning Thief series (and its spin-offs), The Magic Tree House series, The Secrets of Droon series, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Prydain series, the Molly Moon series, gosh just more than I can name.

So I need suggestions. What books would you recommend for an 8-year-old boy?

Monday, September 10, 2012

The Truth about Faking (and a Giveaway!)

Many moons ago I wrote this post which led to a series of emails, a couple of nicknames, and a blogging bestie who is now my writing buddy/critique partner/cheerleader/generally fabulous friend. And if you don't recognize the picture, I present you Leigh T. Moore!

So when she released The Truth about Faking last week (you can read the whole story >>here<<), I begged her to let me interview her and happily she agreed. 

But since she's told her publishing story elsewhere, I wanted to show you the heart and other sticky stuff that make Leigh and her writing just so loveable. *Warning: Silliness May Ensue*

Me: If you were a character in THE WIZARD OF OZ, who would you be?

OMG! I am a character on TWOO. I'm Glenda the Good Witch. Seriously. First, because I can sing that whole song starting with "Come out, come out whereeeever you are..." But also because when we were in college, my husband and I never dated--we were just friends. But we both really loved Wild at Heart (David Lynch). It's a really awful movie, but we would laugh at all the silly dialogue, including the part where Nicholas Cage is visited by the dead girl from Twin Peaks as Glenda. "The good witch...!" That became me for whatever reason.  

Me: I shall see you differently forever after, Glenda! And I shall get you a wand for your birthday. :)

Me: Jolly Green Giant vs. Stay Puffed Marshmallow Man. Go.

JGG, of course. Reasons: #1-Stay Puffed is haunted. Didn't you see Ghostbusters? (heehee! love that movie!) #2-That Giant is hot. I'm just sayin. Have you checked him out? And finally, #3-JGG kinda looks like "jiggy" to me.  

Me: How do you take your banana splits?

You know, I don't really care for banana splits. Now if you made that a Bananas Foster... 

*madly Googles Bananas Foster . . .*

Me: What is your best party trick?

I can dance like Coco the Bird Lady from Freaks.  

*face burns red as I turn to Google again . . . who *gasp* fails me!!!*

Me: Ahem. If you were planning the next Hacky Sack Club challenge, what would it be and why?

Dance like Coco the Bird Lady from Freaks. Because I would win. 

Me: Oh yes, I think you would. But now it's like an expectation. Do it! Do it! Do it! ;)

Me: During your Fairy Relocation Housing Project, how many fairies did you provide housing for and how did you discover the need? 

Well, I'm glad you asked about this, and I know it was prompted because you are the Clean Up Fairy (eek! You outed me!). I have to credit my youngest daughter for this outreach. She often walks around seeming to ignore me and the world in general. I'll say, "Laura, where are your pants?" And she'll walk into a wall. Then last spring, we discovered it was in fact the fairies distracting her. They were telling her they needed new homes. As for numbers, well, they don't like us to share that information. It was between a trifle and a bonanza. 

Me: Please thank said daughter. The house is fabulous, darling, simply fabulous. Tell her I'll leave a pot of fairy grease in the hollow log in the magic forest for those head bumps. Works wonders!

Me: Tell us one thing about you we probably don't know (we promise not to tell anyone, bwahahah!). 

I tell so much, is it possible to answer this question? Umm... I uhh... well, let me see. I took classical piano lessons for 12 years. That's why I think I type so fast. (That's not very exciting is it? I also have a tattoo of Glenda the Good Witch on my... just kidding! That's a joke.) 

Me: Sensing another Hacky Sack video in your future!

Me: Okay, you knew I had to ask this one . . . if your Main Characters had personalized plates, what would they be? What would yours be?

Oh, wow. Jason would totally have personalized plates because he's a car geek. It would be something classic like muscle cars are great or something--except it would be cool b/c he's much cooler than me. Maybe it would be something with Harley's name, because he loves to tease her about it. As for me... Uhh... Writrgrl? Is that dumb? Or 1 Moore? (That IS dumb! How many letters are in a personalized plate again?)

Haahahah! . . . *cough, cough* . . . I mean, not dumb at all! Really. I think I've even seen WRTRGRL before. :) (Oh, and 7 to 8 letters depending on what state you're in. I think I even saw 9 once. #I'malicenseplategeek)

THANKS so much for having me, Janet! I really hope everyone gets a kick out of my book. My characters are funnier than me. [And she put a cute little heart here that my blog is rejecting. That doesn't say anything about me, does it? ;)]
---Leigh, thanks so much for answering my crazy questions and for just being you. In congratulations, I will be giving two lucky commenters a copy of her book (format of their choice). Hurray! *throws confetti in air* Giveaway closes at midnight EDT on Saturday, September 15 and I'll announce the winners next Monday. No requirement to tweet/sidebar/blog about this, but we would love it if you did!

The Truth about Faking: 

Jason just wants a date with Harley.
Harley just wants a date with Trent.
Trent's still getting over Stephanie.

When Harley and Jason decide to fake date, they uncover a school of deceptions. Trent's got a secret, but so does Jason. And the more time Harley spends secretly kissing her fake boyfriend, the further she gets from her dreams with Trent.

Worst of all, Harley's mom is getting cozy with her hot massage therapy student, and even Harley's Reverend Dad can't fake not being bothered by it. But when the masks finally come off, can everyone handle the real truth?

You can visit Leigh on her blog, That's Write, or purchase her book at any of the following links:

Monday, September 3, 2012

Your Fortune is Changing

Since it's Labor Day here in the USA, I'll be brief.

We had Chinese take-out on Saturday and my fortune was so good I wanted to share it with you all:


So what book do you go to for rest and escape?