Source: 9Gag.com

Everything really does circle back to Lord of the Rings & Star Wars...

Jack O’Connel is best known for his role as James Cook, on the UK television series “Skins.”

“Ethan” – Jack O’Connell

Note: The Artwork on the Pic Isn’t Mine, But Shows the Jack Love

New Zealand born actress Alice Englert is in the film “Singularity” later this year & “Bomb,” which releases in 2013.  She is the PERFECT Lena.  And for those of you that asked about her hair color, remember actors and actresses dye their hair all the time for roles, wear color contacts, etc.  There’s a cute pic of Alice with dark hair below.

“Lena” – Alice Englert

Read more on Film School Rejects (Note: There are 4 books in the series, not 5), Hypable & Next Movie.

I loved Lissa Price’s debut novel!  If you can’t read my blurb on the cover it says: “Fans of The Hunger Games will love it.”

STARTERS is not in stores until March 13th, but you can pre-order it online or at your favorite indie.  I am giving away an ARC, chapter sampler & bookmark to one lucky winner. Just leave a comment below. US & Canada only.

Description from Lissa’s Website:

In a world ravaged by war and genocide, becoming someone else is now possible. Sixteen-year-old Callie discovers the Body Bank where teens rent their bodies to seniors who want to be young again. When her neurochip malfunctions, she wakes up in the mansion of her rich renter and finds she is going out with a senator’s grandson. It’s a fairy-tale new life, until she discovers her renter’s deadly plan.

** If your comment does not appear right away, don’t worry. I moderate comments for spam, so I have to approve them before they show up.

GIVEAWAY ENDS 2/11!

These articles are too great not to share:

1) “Writing Advice From History’s Fastest, Most Prolific Authors,” including Stephen King & John Updike, from The Atlantic. Tweeted by @AdvicetoWriters

2) “The Great Semi-Colon Debate” on The Kill Zone, written by James Scott Bell, author of THE ART OF WAR FOR WRITERS (and many others).

Follow James @JamesScottBell on Twitter for lots of great advice.

3) “6 Apps That Block Online Distractions So You Can Get Work Done,” on Mashable Tech by Todd Wasserman, via Michael Hyatt @MichaelHyatt.  There are some hardcore apps here if you really want to meet your word count.

4) “A Rare Look at Samuel Beckett’s Doodle-Filled Notebooks,” on Brainpicker.org, by Maria Popava.  Follow her on Twitter @brainpicker

{Source: Brainpicker.org}

But here are some of my favorites:

1) Selling the first two books in my solo paranormal series THE LEGION to my editor Julie Scheina at Little, Brown.  The first book, UNBREAKABLE will release in fall 2013.

PW ANNOUNCEMENT HERE

2) Optioning the movie rights to UNBREAKABLE with Mark Morgan (Producer of THE TWILIGHT SAGA & PERCY JACKSON AND THE LIGHTNING THIEF) attached to produce.  Even better?  I’ll be an active producer on the film.

FULL ARTICLE HERE

3) Meeting my new agent, Jodi Reamer, for the first time at San Diego Comic-Con, where she said, “You’re so pink.”

With Author Tahereh Mafi (Jodi disappeared when the camera came out)

4) Watching my son graduate from Kindergarten in June and my daughter go off to her last year of preschool in September.

5) Meeting the entire Beautiful Creatures team, including our publisher Megan Tingley, at Little, Brown’s NY offices during the BEAUTIFUL CHAOS Tour.

With Dave Caplan (Our Cover Designer), Jessica Bromberg (Our Publicist), Margie & Julie Scheina (Our Editor)

6) Hanging out with tons of my favorite writers on the Smart Chicks Kick It Tour in Memphis, with Justine Magazine …

With Melissa Marr, Simone Elkeles, Kelley Armstrong, Jennifer Lynn Barnes & Rachel Caine

…and in my favorite city, Charleston, SC, for YALLFest – a YA book festival and the brain child of my favorite indie booksellers, Jonathan Sanchez, owner of Blue Bicycle Books.

With Director Brett Hudson

Jonathan Sanchez, Owner of Blue Bicycle Books

With Kimberly Derting, Caitlin Kittridge & Victoria Schwab

Andrea Cremer, Andria Amaral, Heather Brewer & Melissa de la Cruz

The Ladies in  Red: Saundra Mitchell & Sarah Rees Brennan

Producer Mark Morgan Signing a Twilight Movie Poster

7) Being on a Book to Film panel at YALLFest with my producing partner, Mark Morgan, my friend & literary powerhouse David Levithan & my friend, fellow author & YouTube personality, Kaleb Nation.

Panel with David Levithan, Producer Mark Morgan & Kaleb Nation

8) Speaking at the SIBA (the Southern Independent Booksellers Association) conference in September.  As a writer with Southern roots, this was a huge honor.

9) Turning in our last book in the Beautiful Creatures series (in stores fall 2012) & seeing the AMAZING cover designed by Dave Caplan at Little, Brown.

10) Finding out that Alcon Entertainment has started casting the BEAUTIFUL CREATURES movie, with Erwin Stoff (THE BLIND SIDE) producing & Richard LaGravenese (WATER FOR ELEPHANTS & P.S. I LOVE YOU) adapting & directing.

11) All the letters, e-mails, and tweets from fans, bloggers, librarians & teachers from 40 countries sharing their thoughts, excitement, art, music & videos inspired by the series.  You have made the last three years so special & I can’t wait to chat and meet even more of you in 2012!

And an 11.1 bonuses?

* Attending the TWILIGHT: BREAKING DAWN PART I premiere with Mark, his wife Jana & their friends.  Sitting right in front of Kate Beckinsale was very cool (but not great for the ego).

With Jana Morgan at the Breaking Dawn After Party

Kaleb Nation Interviewing Stephenie Meyer on the Red Carpet

** Meeting Richard Kadrey (SANDMAN SLIM) My Literary Idol

* I have tried to stick to the sub-genre of science-fiction we call “dystopian.”  There are lots of novels & GNs that cross over between sci-fi/fantasy/post-apocalyptic/dystopian, so consider this a list that does not include tradition sci-fi or fantasy.

Dead-Tossed Waves (and the entire Forest of Hands & Teeth series) by Carrie Ryan

Matched by Ally Condie

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Legend by Marie Lu

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

The Marbury Lens by Andrew Smith

Uglies Series by Scott Westerfeld

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Eden by Keary Taylor

Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Hellboy by Mike Mignola & John Byrne

V for Vendetta by Alan Moore & David Lloyd

Starters by Lissa Price

Favorite Classics

The White Mountains (Tripods Series) by John Cristopher

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Fahrenheit 451 the Authorized Graphic Novel

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

The Giver by Lois Lowry

Running Out of Time by Margaret Peterson Haddix

These are a few of my favorites (and no I don’t have them all):

1) Arc Customizable Notebooks

I love my Moleskin notebooks, but I am OBSESSED with these.  Arc notebooks are completely customizable & refillable, so they’re a great value and you can set yours up exactly the way you like it – a leather or plastic cover, lined or blank paper, with pockets or without – the possibilities are endless.  I keep sticky flags, like the ones pictured above, in mine.  I also love them because the rings allow the notebook to lie flat like those Mead notebooks I used in high school.  The best part?  They’re cheap if you choose the plastic cover and still a deal if you prefer leather.  You can watch the video and buy them at Staples.

2) Scrivener

Scrivener is the ultimate writer’s tool, and it’s a bargain at $45.  Once you start using it, you’ll be hooked.

Description from the website:

“Scrivener puts everything you need for structuring, writing and editing long documents at your fingertips. On the left of the window, the ‘binder’ allows you to navigate between the different parts of your manuscript, your notes, and research materials, with ease. Break your text into pieces as small or large as you want – so you can forget wrestling with one long document. Restructuring your draft is as simple as drag and drop. Select a single document to edit a section of your manuscript in isolation, or use ‘Scrivenings’ mode to work on multiple sections as though they were one: Scrivener makes it easy to switch between focusing on the details and stepping back to get a wider view of your composition.”

But that’s not the best part.  Scrivener allows you to keep your research in one place – from image files to articles – you can organize them in folders or visually, and pull them up alongside your text.

Scrivener offers tons of free tutorials to help you get started.  And if I can learn to use it, anyone can.

3) Gourmet Coffee Maker

The initial investment ranges from $100-$200 for the machine, but you won’t believe how much you’ll save when you aren’t throwing down $4.00 a cup at your local coffee joint.  Tassimo & Keurig are my favorite models.  You pop in the cartridges, add some flavored syrup or sugar & you can have a cappuccino, latte, or expresso while you’re still in your pajamas.  You can buy the units everywhere now: department stores, Target, Bed, Bath & Beyond, or Amazon (if you really don’t want to get out of those pajamas).

4) Noise Canceling Headphones

Noise cancelling headphones aren’t cheap if you really want to drown out the sound of your neighbor’s annoying dog, the people chatting at the cafe where you love to write, or dare I say . . . your kids.  They also help some of us get in “the zone” – that elusive place in our heads where the words are hiding.

Bose are the gold standard, but the price tag is steep at $299.  I have a pair of Sony MDR-MC200Ds & I love them.  After using a pair of Bose for a year, I can honestly say there isn’t much difference.  And my Sony headphones were half the price.

5) iPhone Speaker Dock

If the thought of noise cancelling headphones makes you crazy, and you need Ozzy or Adelle blasting through the speakers to work, this is the ticket.  The iHome dock is a charger and speaker in one, and there are tons of models to choose from.  I like this one from Target.

6) LiveScribe Pen

I’m hoping to get one of these under my tree because the LiveScribe pen sounds amazing!

From Squidoo.com:

“The LiveScribe pen was originally designed to help students take better notes.  In addition to being able to digitally record what you write, it also records your voice or the voice of a lecturer or speaker. This means you can write longhand and upload the audio and the actual content onto your computer. It’s great for blogging, planning, and a number of other tasks.

However, for writers the real benefit comes from the MyScribe software that users can download.  The MyScribe software translates your handwriting into text.  This gadget then offers writers the ability to write from anywhere without having to haul their computer with them.  You no longer have to spend hours typing your work longhand either.  It’s a fantastic gadget for writers.”

7) Write or Die

My friend and fellow author, Rachel Caine, told me about this one.   If there’s a procrastinator on your list, this is the gift.

From the Manufacturer:

“Write or Die is a web application that encourages writing by punishing the tendency to avoid writing. Start typing in the box. As long as you keep typing, you’re fine, but once you stop typing, you have a grace period of a certain number of seconds and then there are consequences.”

Write or Die literally starts deleting text if you stop writing for too long.  How’s that for motivation?

8) IdeaPaint

Love white boards and the idea of writing your ideas nice and big, where you can see them?  What about on  your walls?  That’s exactly what you can do with IdeaPaint, which is basically a dry erase paint that works like chalkboard paint.  Cover a wall in the stuff and you can draw, write, and erase until your heart’s content.  It comes in eight colors & you can read more about it on Founders’ Blog.

9) Literary Inspired Pro Keds

A new way to wear the words and images from your favorite classic novel.  Zazzle will have seven different versions coming soon.

The Catcher in the Rye

Animal Farm

Romeo & Juliet

Did I miss your favorite writer’s must-have? Leave a comment & let me know!

“ There’s a big crazy auction going on to benefit Terri Windling. She’s the creator of groundbreaking fantasy and mythic art and literature over the past several decades, ranging from the influential urban fantasy series Bordertown to the online Journal of Mythic Arts. With co-editor Ellen Datlow, she changed the face of contemporary short fiction with The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror and other award-winning anthologies. (And that’s a painting of her with her dog Tilly, above, done by one of her friends, David Wyatt.) Right now, she could use a little help. Here’s a FAQ page with more about Terri and details about the auction itself, which is running until December 15th.”

I am offering a personal critique. You can BID HERE.

I will personally read and critique a one-page treatment (summary) of your novel or short story & up to the first 15 double-spaced pages of that novel or story. I will return your treatment and pages with comments within 8 weeks. Date of submission must be mutually agreed upon and be submitted to me between December 15, 2011 & December 15, 2012.

There are tons of amazing items up for auction like:

Want a character named after you in Holly Black’s new novel?

Want to name a character in a Cory Doctorow novel?

Want to have dinner with Tamora Pierce?

Want Charles deLint to write you a haiku and put it in a locket?

Want Cassandra Clare to write you a story?

There are the usual suspects:

 
• - Feeling different and crazy and lost in high school.
• - The worlds I wished I could live in & the things I wished I could do in them.
• - People I’ve loved & people I’ve hated (hint: they usually get killed in my books & stories).
• - My personal demons (you know, those voices in our heads we can never quite escape).
• - Music I’m listening to; lately, it’s lots of Soundgarden, Bruno Mars, Velvet Revolver, The Smiths, The Killers, The White Stripes, old U2, Adele & Kings of Leon.

Inspiration comes from a million different places, but when I started UNBREAKABLE & the short stories I wrote for two upcoming anthologies, I noticed that my writing inspiration was coming from another place.

Images.  Pictures I couldn’t get out of my head & I pieced together to create places, characters & narratives that seemed to come out of nowhere.  I’m not sure why it surprised me.  I used to be a mixed media artist & my paintings incorporated found images that never quite fit together until you created the story of the painting in your mind.  I never titled the paintings for exactly that reason.  I didn’t want to influence the viewer’s story.

This one is hanging in the hallway in my house…

So I started collecting images,  Pinterest account, a great way to save images by project or category.  I tend to update it all the time if you want to see what’s going on in my head (or find a great pie recipe).

Here are some of the images that inspired UNBREAKABLE, my solo novel that releases in fall 2013 & short stories that will be published in two upcoming anthologies (Melissa Marr’s SHARDS & ASHES and one that is unannounced).