Drum Roll Please...
We have a winner for our messy bookcase contest and it’s a doozy. First though, some runners-up.
First runner up:
This came close to being the winner. Storing shoes in the bottom shelf was a nice touch. This particular Biting Edge reader is a regular and I won't post her name to save her the embarrassment. Better luck next time, Vickie.
Second Runner-up:
The scattered pieces of paper looked a bit staged, but if one goes to that much trouble, one should get recognized. So here's to you, RT Thompson.
Now for the moment you've been waiting for. The winner is:
I understand this case belongs to a teenager which means it's supposed to be messy, but this goes above and beyond. I shudder to think what the rest of the room looks like. Congratulations! And condolences to your mom. Send Mario your address: author...at...marioacevedo...dot...com and we’ll get a prize package off to you. Give us a week or so since I'm traveling and Mario is...just Mario.
One further note-- some of you tried to slip neat bookcases past us-- like this one:
Now, come on, Lexie-- you saw Mario's bookcase. That's all I'm going to say...
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I have a lot of book news but first, maybe a little personal announcement. Here’s a first peek at the cover for Chosen. Release date is August 28. There’s a preorder link on Amazon if you are so inclined. The cover is still being tweaked, but basically, this is it.
Also, a few appearance updates. Here’s my Norwescon schedule for this weekend:
In addition on Monday, April 5, I’ll be signing with Mark Henry, Jaye Wells and Corey Doctorow at the University Book Store, 4326 University Way NE Seattle, WA 98105 206.634.3400. We’ll be there at 7 PM.
Back in Denver, I'll be part of Phi Sigma Sigma sorority's Barnes and Noble Book Fair to promote the importance of Life Long Learning. The fair is April 9th and runs from 9:00am til close at the 16th street mall location: 500 16th Street, Denver.
I’ll be there 5 – 6:30
One last event: April 11, Englewood Public Library’s Faces Behind the Books—a chance to meet fifty authors. Starts at 1 PM. The address is 1000 Englewood Parkway, Englewood.
Check the schedule page on my website for details and links for more info.
End of paid, political announcements.
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Every year the Denver Post runs a Peep diorama competition. The winner this year was Molly Cassell’s “Avatar” scene. Here’s a peek at more , and just in case you’re wondering also included are the following helpful hints: cats will steal a Peep to lick off the colored sugar, and if you leave Peeps out overnight, they won't melt under hot glue.
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Stephanie Meyer novella (not that I care but some of you might)
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers will release Stephenie Meyer's first new title in almost two years--both in hardcover and a free online edition. Entitled The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, the novella will sell for $13.99 with a 1.5 million copy first printing.
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Of more interest:
Stephen King throws a change-up. Just in time for Opening Day next week, indie publisher Cemetery Dance will release Blockade Billy, a new baseball-themed novella by the bestselling author, Entertainment Weekly reported.
"People have asked me for years when I was going to write a baseball story," King said. "Ask no more; this is it."
The book will be available "in a few weeks," according to EW, which wrote that the first copies will come with a baseball card featuring the protagonist. Cemetery Dance's website also cautions that the "novella is not scheduled to be reprinted in King's new collection due out this fall, and we're only printing a small number of first edition copies compared to what Stephen King's New York publishers print for a brand new book. We'll be filling direct orders first and then distributors, online stores, and the chains if there are copies left available after we've taken care of our regular customers."
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Ideas We Like:
Cool Idea of the Day: Books for Servicepeople
Dog-Eared Pages Used Books , Phoenix, Ariz., is aiming to send 100,000 books to members of the armed forces abroad.
"We ask our customers for names and addresses of any soldiers, airmen, or marines they know who are serving overseas and we send them a box of books to share with their fellow soldiers there," Melanie Tighe wrote. "It costs $13 to send 26 paperbacks to Iraq or Afghanistan, and it gives our troops something to do during their off duty hours."
Tighe noted that several returning soldiers have said "there is a shortage of reading material over there."
The store is promoting the effort online. "We have found the community to be very generous both in donating books and postage for this program," Tighe added. "Our local news station even came out and gave us some publicity for the program."
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Pullman Risks Christian Anger With Jesus Novel by Mike Collett-White
OXFORD, England (Reuters) - Bestselling British author Philip Pullman risks offending Christians with his latest book, a fictional account of the "good man Jesus" and the "scoundrel Christ…"
Hmmm.. go here for more. And right before Easter, too…
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The View from the Top: latest issue of Publishers Weekly has the annual list of the previous year's bestselling books.
Hardcover Fiction Sales, 2009 1. The Lost Symbol: A Novel. Dan Brown. Doubleday (5,543,643). 2. *The Associate: A Novel. John Grisham. Doubleday. 3. The Help. Kathryn Stockett. Putnam/Amy Einhorn (1,104,617). 4. I, Alex Cross. James Patterson. Little, Brown (1,040,976). 5. The Last Song. Nicholas Sparks. Grand Central. (1,032,829). 6 *Ford County. John Grisham. Doubleday. 7. Finger Lickin' Fifteen. Janet Evanovich. St. Martin's (977,178). 8. The Host: A Novel. Stephenie Meyer. Little, Brown (912,165). 9. *Under the Dome. Stephen King. Scribner 10. Pirate Latitudes. Michael Crichton. Harper (855,638).
That Janet Evanovich beat Stephanie Meyer really surprised me
Female 'vampire' unearthed in Venice; archaeologists uncover woman buried with brick between jaws
ROME - An archaeological dig near Venice has unearthed the 16th-century remains of a woman with a brick stuck between her jaws - evidence, experts say, that she was believed to be a vampire.The unusual burial is thought to be the result of an ancient vampire-slaying ritual. It suggests the legend of the mythical bloodsucking creatures was tied to medieval ignorance of how diseases spread and what happens to bodies after death, experts said
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Remember when I mentioned this a month or so back? Well, the results are in:
Crocheting Adventures with Hyperbolic Planes by Dr Daina Taimina (A K Peters) has won the 2009 Diagram Prize, having received the majority of the public vote for the oddest titled book of the year at thebookseller.com.Taking 42% of the votes cast, it beat off competition from What Kind of Bean is this Chihuahua? By Tara Jansen-Meyer (Mirror), which took 30% and Collectible Spoons of the Third Reich by James A Yannes (Trafford), with 11%.
I still liked Afterthoughts of a Worm Hunter better myself.
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Author Michael Connelly claims Paramount inflated movie development costs by Matthew Belloni
EXCLUSIVE: Best-selling author Michael Connelly has sued Paramount Pictures, alleging the studio sat on film rights to two novels for 15 years then improperly inflated costs when Connelly tried to buy the rights back.The complaint, filed today (March 22) in Los Angeles Superior Court, says a 1992 option deal gave Paramount 15 years from the date of exercising its option to begin shooting film versions of Connelly's Harry Bosch crime novels "Black Ice" and "The Black Echo." If the studio failed to get the films off the ground, Connelly would get a one-year window to re-purchase rights subject to paying the studio's development costs plus interest.
Love the cover! I realize that Anna can't see herself in the mirror so I could understand if her self image changed over time. But the cover designers can actually see what she looked like on other covers--what's their excuse?
Love the cover of the latest Anna Strong novel. Very nice! I'm looking forward to reading Chosen.
LOL! On picking my son's book cases. Those book cases of been a sore point with me for awhile. The rest of his room is as cluttered as any teenagers but it is clean at least. He collects everything and doesn't like to throw away anything. ::heavy sigh:: He got a kick out of being picked. Thanks!
This are six kinds of chaos over here. We're leaving for AZ tomorrow to visit my dad, now that he's out of the hospital.
I also have Steampunkapalooza going on at the steampunk group blog I do. An entire month of special guests, prizes, and mayhem -- and I'm in charge. How exactly did that happen, lol? But I guess that's what happens when an event planner is out of work, right? But I'm pretty proud of it, we have some very amazing guests and prizes (we have a contest launching sunday I think mario should enter. It involves designing steampunk clothing ensembles....)
Ok, the tot is calling....so much to do, so little time...
lol that is messy for me though. I mean, possibly the messiest I've ever had it (barring when I move). I'm rather OCD about arranging my books, about organization and such, but I've been so tired lately I've just kind of tossed things on my shelf to remember where I put them.
hm pictures aren't showing up for me so I can see the really messy ones!
but ah see I didn't classify Mario's as messy, I classified his as deadly because if any of my shelves looked like that for even half a day it means I'm six feet under...
Hi all- quick note to let you know I'm not ignoring you. I'm up in Seattle at Norwescon. Got to bed at 1 am last night and am up at five. I'll be doing it all over again today. On Sunday-- crash and catch up!~!!