So, as some of you know, Sailor Boy is a big World Of Warcraft aficionado. In fact, I should call him Level 60 Boy (though now I think it’s like level 65, and Epic Mount Boy doesn’t quite hit the family friendly blog tone for which I strive). Anyway, now that the Burning Crusade expansion is out, I’ve been playing a little too, because, well, I lost a bet and it’s a long story, but it’s actually pretty fun and let’s move along before SB starts to gloat.

(Note: the following is going to be overexplaining a lot to people who understand WOW, so bear with me while the rest of us catch up.)

World of Warcraft is like the great-great-grandchild of D&D, so it’s all on this Tolkienesque fantasy kind of template. When you play WOW, you can play on one of two teams, which are in turn made up of a variety of different “races” (e.g., troll, elf, zombie, etc.) each with its own set of “racial abilities,” and each race can have a different “class” (like a caste or a profession — there are “hunters” and “priests” and “rogues” and etc.) with their own set of special skills and weaknesses. So when you create a character in the game, you have to decide right away what team, race, and class you want to be. (Not all races have all classes.)

SB usually plays on what’s called a “player vs. environment” server, which is basically what we think of when we think of video games: you control a character who plays against computer monsters. This is what you do when you play Super Mario Bros. or Pac Man or what have you. Now, WOW, being an online game, has millions of other players who all play online and coordinate with one another. There are other servers that are “player vs. player” servers, which are the same as the PVE servers, except that there, players can also attack other players — other characters with real people, not computer programs, behind them.

The game designers made up these really elaborate backstories for all the races to explain why they have the abilities they do and why they are allied with the people they are allied with and what their personalities are. But the castes and alliances of players on the opposing faction are not important during PVE play (i.e. “quests”). A zombie (”Forsaken”) who is on the “evil” “horde” side is going on quests and killing monsters and collecting gear and points and money in pretty much the same manner that a pretty elf (”Night Elf”) on the “good” “alliance” side is.

(Note: Sailor Boy is correcting me on some of this.)

But if you’re on a PVP server, that pesky opposing faction matters more, because at any given time you can kill or be killed by a player of the opposing faction (as opposed to PVE servers, where you have to specifically flag yourself PVP-killable). PVP on a PVE server is like a wrestling match — you’ve agreed to a fight with certain rules. PVP on a PVP server is often like going to 7-Eleven and being punched in the back of the head while you’re getting a slurpee.

PVP players are often role players assholes. which means that However, some are simply role players; they take the elaborate backstories the game has provided them and they go even more elaborate with them. Like maybe you’re a Night Elf Priest but you’ve decided that your personal moral code puts your class above your race so you will not, even if confronted by a Forsaken Priest, kill her, because Priests stick together. Or maybe you’ve decided in your head that YOUR character’s mother was turned into a zombie so you will kill other horde characters but not zombies, because hey, that’s your mom. Could be anything.

SB has a character on a role-playing PVP server, but he doesn’t play her very often, and the other day, I found out why. He was playing her and came across another player getting a slurpee who was one of the new expansion characters for the other team. He’d never fought one of these before. I urged him to fight her, and he did, and killed her and… that was it. It was remarkably unfun. I mean, astoundingly unfun. And we sat there, looking at the screen, feeling like assholes, and then SB said, “Now you know why I don’t play PVP. Because all I did here was slow this real person down for five minutes.” (”Dead “players go to a “graveyard” and then their “ghosts” have to run back to their bodies to be resurrected.)

And that’s when it hit me. This situation was all about the building blocks of story: Goal, Motivation, and Conflict. For those of you who have not encountered these terms before, it goes like this:

Goal: What the character wants.
Motivation: Why the character wants it.
Conflict: What is keeping the character from getting what she wants. (This can be further subdivided into external conflict — someone or something is keeping the character away from their goal — and internal conflict — the character has conflicting feelings about what achieving this goal will entail. For our purposes, we’re only going to talk about the latter.)

The situation, as it stood:

G: To kill a character we’ve never been up against before.
M: Because it would give us a new experience and skills and to please my blood-thirsty lady friend. (Diana interjects: That’s not enough motivation?)
C: There’s a real person behind that character, and it’s not as if we play PVP very much anyway, so is the experience really worth inconveniencing him/her?

There, the conflict well overshadowed both goal and motivation. No wonder the victory seemed hollow! We didn’t actually want to do it. Not that badly.

Lesson learned: If the internal conflict keeping your character from accomplishing the goal is more reasonable than the goal, no one will cheer him on. Possibly not even himself.

Now, what to do if this were a story? The GMC needs to be balanced, which means that the goal and motivation have to be stronger than the conflict, but not too much stronger, otherwise it’s a no-brainer what the character should do.

This is why people on PVP servers are assholes or have to role play. Because then they can say:

G: To kill a character we’ve never been up against before.
M: Because it’s an evil blood elf, an abomination of our race, addicted to arcane magic, who will steal my soul-power if I’m not careful and who have aligned themselves and their not-inconsiderate abilities with the evil zombies responsible for torching my village and eating my family. The only good blood elf is a dead blood elf. (To the limited degree that I developed a backstory for my character, Diana seems to have guessed it pretty well here. Whose story-telling ability does this reflect upon?) (Diana would like to point out that she was going for the simple here.)
C: Well, it’s not exactly honorable of me to kill someone when they are just out hunting and not looking for a fight. Bu-ut… see above. (Oh, and there’s a real person behind that character, but they know they’re playing on the other team and that all that cannibalism and addiction stuff is true. Plus, they’d do it to me.)

See how much better that works when you pretend it’s all real, and give your character complex backstories that inform their opinions and give them reasons to do whatever it is they do?

One of my writing mentors, Julie Leto, is fond of telling me that I can have my characters do whatever I want them to, as long as I motivate them enough. When I work with my critique partners, we don’t say, “She can’t do that.” We say, “I don’t see why she is doing that. She needs a better reason.” This means: “She needs to beef up her goal and/or motivation.”

As for WOW, we went back to playing on the PVE servers, because given our goals, it’s better for us to play against computer programs designed to be killed by the players. No conflict there.

Dear Health,

I miss you. I’m not accustomed to your absence. Your replacement, Sickliness, is not my kind of character, if you know what I mean. Since your abrupt departure, he’s made himself the most inconvenient houseguest. The place is a mess, and I’m positive he’s responsible. Plus, he’s devoured all my healthy food, and my unhealthy food, and is always in the way when I want to go out to buy more. He’s distracting me from my work, and he’s even trying the patience of Sailor Boy. And, not to put too fine a point on it, but I didn’t expect my Kleenex and Tylenol budget to be quite so high this year.

I don’t think I appreciated you when you were around. What can I do to bring you back? I’ve made myself as attractive as possible: lots of sleep, loads of liquids, washing hands with plenty of hot water and antibacterial soap. I know you like ginger tea. I’m all stocked up. I even made homemade chicken noodle soup: your favorite. It’s almost gone now and you still aren’t back.

You should know me well enough by now to realize that I’m no good without you. You make the winter less dark and dreary, the cold weather less acute, and the night time more… restful.
Unlike my new companion, you never force me to put nasty chemicals like acetaminophen and ibuprofen into my bloodstream.

Come back to me, my darling. We’ll have so much fun together. I promise I’ll eat more veggies, and drink less caffeine. I’ll exercise. Whatever it takes. I need you.

Pathetically yours,
Diana’s Body

Last week was a bit of a wash as far as accomplishments go, since I spent a good percentage of it laid up and feeling crappy. So I really have to get my butt in gear this week. I’ve got a lot of goals to hit. I’ve been mostly “refilling the well” — reading, critiquing other people’s work, and etc. This week, it’s back to the grind. I’m in a bit of an “in between” stage at the moment. All my work has been turned in and I’m waiting for the next step. (Can you say ARCs?)

Sailor Boy and I went with some friends to see Scythian this weekend. They’re a Celtic folk-pop band, and they put on an amazing show. Ton of fun. Extremely high energy. Lots of dancing involved. My calves are still sore! I’m not a big concert goer, but it was interesting to watch a very talented local band. I got the same sort of feeling from them that I get when I read an up-and-coming author. I know our business models have no comparison, but I feel like in both cases, we’re entertainers looking for the magical nexus of talent, timing, and opportunity.

Except, as far as I know, my books have never hurt anyone’s calves.

I’ve been thinking a lot about structure recently, but I’m still in the dark room period with any new theories on it. I think it’s been a while since I’ve done a full on craft post on the blog. This is partly because I think I’ve talked about most of the stuff I’m really into and also, some people get the idea that when I say I do something, I’m saying that they hafta, too. Which is just silly. (Alternately, they can get so mixed up that they think that me suggesting to do something is actually some sort of secret plot to guarantee that no one else will ever get published, which is a conspiracy theory so imaginative and outlandish that even Amy would look upon it with awe. And she took that whole “giant lizards from outer space” thing in stride.)

Maybe I’ll steal a page from Justine’s blog and do requests. What do you want me to talk about? Leave suggestions in the comments section.

Also, though it appears from my “books read in 2007″ list on the sidebar that I’ve been a total slacker, I have in fact just been reading secret books, which is, of course, in keeping with all those other secret things going on right now. Bwahahahaha!

All right. Let’s give away some books. I’m not quite sure what the protocol will be when I don’t hear from last week’s winner. Perhaps they’ll have one week, so if they don’t contact me by this week’s drawing, their prize is forfeit?

Once again, this week, we have Surviving Demon Island, by Jaci Burton. Dear Reader, this book is an Angelina Jolie action thriller come to life. I read it two weeks ago and I can’t wait for the next installment. Don’t miss out!
Oops! Sorry guys. SDI is unavailable. But if you’re looking for a romance fix, we’ve got Delicious, a debut erotic romance by Jami Alden. I’m a total sucker (no pun intended) for chef stories. There’s something so perfect about the combination of food and love, don’t you think? This book is about a celebrity chef and her ultra-hot ex lover and bodyguard.

We’ve also got The Rest Falls Away, a debut paranormal by Colleen Gleason. This book has been winning fans wherever it pops up. It’s gritty, it’s angsty, it’s actiony, and there are reticules and balls. If you don’t believe me, check out the review at All About Romance, who says: “…this novel has enough dark, angsty touches to it that I was utterly wrung out by the end. It is also so good that I couldn’t wait to get online to see when the next in the series will come out (June 2007 for the curious).”

Book number three this week is one of my favorite new books: VALIANT by Holly Black. I have recommended this book to everyone I know in person, so I may as well start doing it on the blog. It’s incredibly dark, incredibly romantic, and incredibly well written, and anyone who starts whining about what they are and are not “allowed” to do in YA can just go read this and then we’ll talk. Anyone who says YAs are just for children can also read this before they think they’re making any kind of valid argument.

I know a lot of writers read this blog, and I think every writer should read, if not own, a copy of ON WRITING, by Stephen King. Part memoir, part writing class, part philosophy of craft, this book galvanized my own dedication to my chosen career like little else. (It also turned me from occasional reader of King to slavering fangirl, but that’s another story.) It’s funny, it’s shocking, and it’s true.

Yesterday: I made my chicken soup. It was stunning. I also had a very… interesting trip to the bookstore, but I’m not sure that’s a story for the internet. I really have had it up to here with book snobbery, though. Let’s just leave it at that. I did some title brainstorming, worked on my new “in my spare time” project, played with one of my birthday presents, critiqued some work for a writer friend, and spent quality time with Sailor Boy. All in all, a nice day. (Please, no more sickness. I have too much work I want to do.)

I have an busy weekend planned. I’m off to see this cool Irish folk-rock band called Scythian. And two RWA meetings, not to mention a possible book club get together, more critiquing and possibly, if I’m very lucky, more QT with SB.

What’s everyone else up to?

So earlier this week, when I was watching the comments pile up on the book giveaway post, I saw a certain comment pop up and thought to myself, “Wow, wouldn’t it be funny to write that screen name on the blog?”

Sure enough the winner this week is the commenter called LITTLE LAMB LOST. Email me with your address and choice of book to receive your prize.

I can’t believe it’s January 25th already. How time flies when you are too sick for two days to do anything but clutch your midsection and moan. I swear, today I am motivating myself enough to make some chicken soup.

I did watch Veronica Mars. Oh, Logan, Logan, Logan, what am I going to do with you? Will you never learn?

I want to say this: I find America Ferrera one of the most charismatic people on film today. I swear, I feel better just watching her. Doesn’t matter what her role is. She’s captivating. I can’t look at anyone else on the screen. (I think part of the reason I find Vanessa Williams to be the other most compelling character on the show is because she shares so little screen time with Ferrera.) Likeability, folks.

Colleen tagged me with a “Women’s Fiction” Meme, though I’m not sure what some of it has to do with Women’s Fiction, and why they don’t just say “Romance.” Here goes anyway:

Contemporary, Historical, or Paranormal?
I assume this refers to my favorite type of romance (and of course, does not account for historical vs. contemporary paranormals…). And I really don’t think I could pick one. Most of the contemporaries I read (outside of the “mainstream with romantic elements”) are category romance novels. I read paranormal or not paranormal with no prejudice between the two.

Funny story: I once heard a reaction to SSG where the reader was all: good story, but needed more vampires. How great is that? I’d like to take this opportunity to announce that there are, indeed, more vampires in Under the Rose than there were in SSG. The wait is over. Maybe I should give a prize to the first reader who spots the vamp.

Hardback or Trade Paperback or Mass Market Paperback?
Whatever the book I want to read is available in. I couldn’t care less. Now, I have seen books that were available in multiple formats, and then, it also depends. If it’s a “keeper” then hardcover, if I’m traveling, then MM. If there’s a 3 for 2 sale, then trade. But I don’t have a favorite format.

Heyer or Austen?
I’ve never read Heyer (though I hear she’s great) so I guess I’ll say Austen. I’m a big fan of Austen, especially P&P and Persuasion.

Amazon or Brick and Mortar?
Whatever works. I guess I do a little of both, and have no preference. You can’t get me into a bookstore without doing damage to my bank account. I exercise a little more restraint at Amazon, but I am “there” more often, so it probably evens out. Like Colleen, I tend to “order” at Amazon, and pick up stuff on shelf at bookstores. Like now, I have a book that I ordered holding for me at a bookstore for days and I haven’t gone over to pick it up.

Barnes & Noble or Borders?
Once again, no preference. The bookstore closest to my house is a Borders, so I am probably there most often, but I used to haunt the Books-a-Million near my old office until all the booksellers there knew my name (BAM’s not even on this list!) The Borders in Rockville has been an amazing ally in my book release. I love them! In Florida, my local Barnes & Noble in Clearwater was fabulous, and there are a bunch of B&N booksellers in Va that I bonded with last year at BEA. And finally, we have the indies. Politics and Prose is a gorgeous store in my town.

Um, I just love bookstores. I want to live in one.

Woodiwiss or Lindsay?
I’ve read a Woodiwiss novella. But I used to glom Lindsay something fierce in high school. Once a Princess. Ahhhhh…

First romance novel you ever remember reading?
Hearts Aflame by Johanna Lindsay. (See above.)

Alphabetize by author Alphabetize by title or random?
What? My books are lucky if they get decent shelf space. I crowd ‘em all in, several layers deep.

Keep, Throw Away or Sell?
Keep. (See above.)

Read with dustjacket or remove it?
I used to think that dustjackets were like those tags on pillows. Now I keep them on because if I didn’t, I’d lose them. But when are we going to invent another method, huh? Dust jackets are so unwieldy. I’m still waiting for the Back to the Future II moment of, “back when books had dustjackets…” I love that line!

Sookie Stackhouse or Anita Blake?
You’ve lost me. Sorry. I mean, I know who these people are, but I haven’t read any of the books they belong to. Can we change the question to something more me? Like:

Bridget Jones or Becky Bloomwood?
There, that’s so much more me. You know, I really, really, really loved Bridget in the first book. But then she got way TSTL (that book is soooo not to Persuasion as the first is to P&P). Whereas Becky was always TSTL, and you loved (or at least loved to hate) her for it anyway. I hated Becky at first, but she grew on me. So, which way is better? Hmmmmmm… Probably have to go with Bridget, because I’m a traditionalist, and she was the original.

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks?
Uh, stop reading when I have to? If I’m tired, I try to press through to a chapter break. If I’m in the middle of a scene, it’s because I was interrupted (or because I don’t like what I’m reading).

“It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once upon a time”?
Either one. I’m a sucker for a fairy tale, but as long as the writing gets fresher than those openings, I’ll roll with either.

Crusie or SEP?
I’ve heard them both speak. I’ve read one Crusie. I don’t feel qualified to make a decision. But if we’re going with who I read when I want a laugh in “women’s fiction” then the answer is Cara Lockwood. Chick cracks me up.

Buy or Borrow?
Buy. I really do need to get a library card, though. After a weird political reshuffling, my neighborhood growing up didn’t have a local library to call our own, so I never got into the habit.

Buying choice: Book Reviews, Recommendation or Browse?
Book reviews will turn me on to a book. They never turn me off. Recommendations are probably the first reason I buy a book, though, and I’ve had some really good luck with browsing (Scott Westerfeld).

Tidy ending or Cliffhanger?
Neither. I hate cliffhangers, but if the ending is too tidy, it feels unrealistic to me. I like the idea that the characters’ struggle is over, that the “story question” has been answered, but there are still prices to pay and places to go from there. They aren’t dead. I like to think that they just keep growing and getting better after the book is over.

Morning reading, Afternoon reading or Nighttime reading?
I used to read on the Metro. I also used to read in bed. Now I read pretty much whenever.

Series or standalone?
Series. Nothing against a good standalone, but those aren’t long term relationships.

Favorite book of which nobody else has heard?
I tend to feel as if anything that would be my favorite is loudly touted from this blog as such, and so you guys have heard of it. And then other things that I think are my own private and special possessions are actually huge classics. So I dunno. I loved The Thief of Always by Clive Barker when I was a kid and I don’t hear people talking about that too much (I think Gaiman fans would really love it). But it’s not as if Clive Barker is some unknown midlister, you know? I also really, really loved Hit Reply, by Rocki St. Claire, but I’ve raved about that here before, and I bet a lot of the readers here have at least heard of it, if not read it (and why not?) This year, I loved The Book of True Desires, by Betina Krahn, which is totally a “buried treasure” kind of book. I don’t know why this book isn’t getting more recognition. Gorgeous historical adventure romance. Like an old matinee movie. But again, all RWA readers on this blog have read her article about writing it.

Ooh! Ooh! I know. An Ordinary Princess, by M.M. Kaye. (Hmmm, guess that’s like the Clive Barker thing: “Yes, she wrote children’s books, too.”) So I have no idea if any of these are a decent answer.

I tag… Jill Monroe, Alison Kent, and Heather Harper.

Dear Logan Echolls,

It’s only been six weeks since our parting, my darling, since last I saw you whaling on that innocent police cruiser, and yet, it seems as if that short– hiatus– was enough to make me forget entirely about out standing Tuesday night at nine date. The one at our favorite hang out, the WB. I stood you up. I’m sorry.

Were it not for the quick thinking of Sailor Mom, I would not even be able to have that video message you left for me. I cannot wait to get it tonight, and see your face again, hear your voice, watch you be the psychotic jackass I know and love. Is it too much to hope that you might cry again?

All my love, my sweet sicko,

Diana

PS: If Veronica still has bangs, I’m not sure I want to see.

Feeling better this morning. And starving. I vote Sailor Boy takes me out to breakfast. Who’s with me?

Okay, my brain is working again. I picked a fourth book in the giveaway (see below). It’s a doozy.

Also, I was very intrigued by this blog post from Teresa Nielsen Hayden at Making Light, about an anonymous “editor” blogger who has taken to spamming the folks on Absolute Write with the usual “publishing is a secret cabal that hates you” type stuff. Now, I have nothing against the idea of anonymous bloggers. I regularly enjoy Miss Snark. I also think Miss Snark tends to give good advice (she is, occasionally, way off the mark). But situations like those TNH highlights do make a good case against the idea of trusting the advice of anonymous industry folks. You don’t know from what authority they are speaking. When the Nielsen Haydens or Kristin Nelson or Jessica Faust or Isabel Swift speak on their blogs, they have the identity and the experience to back them up. They can point to books they’ve sold or published or promoted or what have you to show why what they say works. So people who are looking for industry advice and see two anonymous bloggers, one of whom says, “good writing trumps all” and one of whom says, “actually, the publishing cabal requires a secret handshake” — it’s understandable that without any outside verification, the newbie writer could get seriously confuzzled. “Wait a second, why should I believe Miss Snark over this Bitch person? They’re both funny and anonymous.”

Hmmm, good point. I’m trying to think of a good answer that isn’t some variation of, “Because that old ’secret publishing cabal handshake’ schtick sounds so bitter and amateurish.” Though it does. (Are you listening, anonymous commenters on PubRants?) I sometimes think I need some sort of protective eyewear when I read these comments, for fear my eyeballs will go rolling right out of my head. And again, we get back to the anonymous factor. The people saying these things are nearly always anonymous. One person made the laughable statement, on Kristin Nelson’s blog, that agents like to discourage new writers. Um, yeah, like Kristin Nelson has been discouraging the heck out of Jennifer O’Connell, Ally Carter, Jana DeLeon, Cheryl Sawyer, and Kelly Parra (all authors who debuted as Nelson clients)? I can’t imagine these anonymi are typing with straight faces.

Okay, rant hat off. Let’s talk about fun stuff:

How about we all go bug Justine, who has been silly enough to take topic requests on her blog? Whoever gets her to talk about the weirdest thing wins.

And, speaking of the inimitable Jana DeLeon, let’s go congratulate her for being nominated for an RT Award for her debut, Rumble on the Bayou (a great book, I’ll have to pimp it sometime soon.) We shall, however, not thank her for the digs on my hometown of Tampa in the following post.

Or, here’s a fun contest. Win a necklace to match the Nymph King’s. Ooh, pretty (and I’m not just saying that because I made them!)

I’m off to convince SB to buy me pancakes. Later!

Spent most of yesterday in a haze of something-bad-with-my-stomach. I drank water and cranberry juice mixed together, nibbled on crackers, and begged Sailor Boy to perform a mercy killing, but he demurred. The jerk.

I’m REALLY bad at being sick. I resent it so much.

So, as a result, I have nothing of interest to say at the moment. Until the plague hit, my writing was going well, and I hope it will return to that state once I’m well enough to string sentences together.

A very funny article on a most unusual home birth. I’m not usually big on the baby magazines, and those who know me know my feelings about home deliveries, but this one made me laugh. Besides, The Terminator is one of my favorite films.

I’m sure I read some cool blog posts to link to lately, but for the life of me, I can’t remember.
Sorry guys. I’ll check back when I’m upright again.

Before the blog begins, I want to thank all of you for wishing me a happy birthday last week. I can’t tell you how much I appreciated all of the well-wishes, especially from the lurkers in the group! You guys are so sweet, and you reminded me why blogging can be good.

I may have mentioned this before, but since my birthday is so close to the Western calendar’s New Year, I have developed a habit of treating it like my official “New Year” and the three weeks leading up to it as my practice run. Now is the time that I must really buckle down and work at the things I hope to accomplish during this particular trip around the sun.

First, and probably most noticeable to you, dear reader: new blog design. Pretty, huh? And strangely reminiscent of something…. Hmmm… could it be “Blue Girl in Cape” (a.k.a. Under the Rose)? I am aware it still needs some tweaking. Most noticeably, I’m not happy with how my name looks. I was trying to make it look like the font on the cover of Under the Rose, but that may be beyond my skillset. (Anyone who can help, I’m all ears!) Updated to add: Miri helped me out with the colors and the font of my name. Nice, huh? Also, I am planning on indexing certain posts (yes, Carrie, the four-act structure one) and I still need to add a blogroll for friends who aren’t writers, because– and I know this sounds shocking– but I actually have a couple friends who are, like, butchers and bakers, and candlestick makers. But I was impatient and totally tired of the old look, so whee! Blue! Pretty!

(I know. I totally don’t sound twenty-eight.)Apparently, I am to stop talking about this.

Also, I’ve been working on my calendar for the year, and it looks very, very busy. I’m speaking in February, have a conference in March (the NEC Conference with agent Deidre Knight and critique partner Marley Gibson on NETWORKING), a writing retreat in April (if I get in), a book release in May, two more in June, and two weddings a month apart in June and July.

And this is without taking into account the, er, wedding planning, publicity for those books, travel on account of Sailor Boy, and, of course, the biggie, writing more books.

But for now, it’s just (and always) writing, critiquing a draft for a friend, and then contest judging (I’m judging two right now) and pimping people’s books. So, let’s get to it. I know the giveaway is why you’re really here.

Once again, this week, we have Surviving Demon Island, by Jaci Burton. Dear Reader, this book is an Angelina Jolie action thriller come to life. I read it two weeks ago and I can’t wait for the next installment. Don’t miss out.

We’ve also got The Rest Falls Away, a debut paranormal by Colleen Gleason. This book has been winning fans wherever it pops up. It’s gritty, it’s angsty, it’s actiony, and there are reticules and balls. If you don’t believe me, check out the review at All About Romance, who says: “…this novel has enough dark, angsty touches to it that I was utterly wrung out by the end. It is also so good that I couldn’t wait to get online to see when the next in the series will come out (June 2007 for the curious).”

The YA of the week is Simone Elkeles’s debut, How to Ruin a Summer Vacation, one of the launch books of the Flux line. Pithy title and humorous tone aside, this story is an edgy and complex examination of family, home, identity, and culture shock when Chicago spoiled brat Amy Nelson spends the summer on her Israeli father’s farm. And the hero is sooooooo swoonworthy. Makes ya wish you too were 18 again.

Hmmmm, and you know what, guys? I’m drawing a blank on this week’s wildcard. Not from lack of entries. From too MANY. I can’t seem to decide which book to choose. So I’m leaving it open for now. But there is a fourth book. And it will be awesome. (And, um, if you have any suggestions, leave them in the comments.)
Okay, I’ve decided. I know a lot of writers read this blog, and I think every writer should read, if not own, a copy of ON WRITING, by Stephen King. Part memoir, part writing class, part philosophy of craft, this book galvanized my own dedication to my chosen career like little else. (It also turned me from occasional reader of King to slavering fangirl, but that’s another story.) It’s funny, it’s shocking, and it’s true.

Usual rules apply: leave a comment in this post to enter. You may comment from now until Friday. On Friday, I shall pick a winner and then he or she will choose which book of the four they want.

Happy New Year!

Recently, I re-watched You’ve Got Mail. I don’t think I’ve seen this movie in seven or eight years, since before I knew anything about the book industry, before I lived in New York City, before I’d heard of Books of Wonder, before B&Ns and Borders were as ubiquitous as they are today, and finally, before most people had moved away from AOL dial-up.

It’s interesting to see how fast this movie has aged. I feel like I’m watching a period piece. What also interests me is all the little publishing inside jokes that I never before would have noticed. When Greg Kinnear’s NYO columnist character attacks Tom Hanks’s bookstore chain owner, he call him an “enemy of the mid-list writer.” Parker Posey’s “Patricia Eden of Eden Books” is a harsh, gossipy, whatever-it-takes publisher that it now, to me, eerily reminiscent of a certain publisher who recently lost her job over a murderous memoir. I’m probably the last person to notice any of this, but hey, this flick came out while I was in high school.

Oh, and Dave Chapelle plays Tom Hanks’s friend. So weird.

Okay, let’s give a book away.

This week’s winner of the Book Pimp Giveaway is… PATRICK. Patrick, please email me with your choice of book.

Have a great weekend everyone! It’s my birthday (this weekend), so I shall be celebrating. Of course, last year was a “cubed” birthday. This year is what…? 7×4 is the best I can come up with. Not quite as cool. Also, I think it’s official that I’m in my late 20s. I can no longer claim “mid.”