Jack O'Lanterns of AWESOME

I had a whole other post done up...but then I saw this:

And what with Halloween being yesterday, I figured I couldn't possibly miss up an opportunity to share the  nerdiest coolest pumpkins I could find!

For those of you not in the know, the pumpkin above is a Dalek from the awesomest BBC show ever, Doctor Who.

There are quite a few nerdy pumpkins out there. The majority seem to be from Star Wars:

From this site, which has tons more awesome Star Wars themed pumpkins.

Apparently, this is the result of an awesome family pumpkin carving night.

Despite the fact that Star Wars has such a hold on the nerdy pumpkin market, there are others:

From Preditor. Also, this guy makes AMAZING carvings.

From my husband's favorite game: Space Invaders.

Cylon, anyone?

How about some classic book nerd love?

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy! This site, by the way, did a Literary Pumpkin Showdown.

And I'm going to save the best for last...zero points to you if you can't figure out what classic movie it's from...

Source here.

The Future Shouldn't Have...

Okay, so we've spent some time discussing what we'd like to have in the future. Cool tech gadgets, amazing replicators, new ways of travel, etc.

But what could we get rid of in the future?

For me, I think there should be some way to get rid of mud. I know it sounds lame, but I really don't like mud. The smell, the squelching, the disgustingness of it. There ought to be some kind of absorption pellet or something we can sprinkle on the ground so that mud is not made.

In a more serious realm, I think it would be awesome to have a future without illnesses. Think of all the things that wouldn't be needed if people didn't get sick. Entire professions would be eliminated: doctors, pharmaceutical reps, nurses, hospital administrators, pharmacists, etc. With no sickness, there'd be no doctor's offices, no hospitals, no nursing or medical schools. Just eliminating one thing can really impact the future society.

Just think what we wouldn't need if we didn't have cars, if we could teleport instead of drive. It boggles the mind (or maybe just mine). But I find it fascinating to think about what we'd like to get rid of and how that would impact our lives.

What do you think? If you could, what would you like to eradicate? How would that change our society?

The Kick-butt Women (and Men) of the Otherworld

Since it’s nearly Halloween, let’s talk paranormal fiction.  I am a fan, but a picky one. I like strong female characters.  Not simpering victims or mooning lovers.  So, I was thrilled to discover Kelley Armstrong’s  books a few summers ago.

The Women of the Otherworld series and her YA series—The Darkest Powers—share the same universe. All the supernatural races—werewolves, vampires, witches, shamans, necromancers, etc.—exist secretly alongside our world.  The sorcerers have even organized themselves into family-run Cabals, something akin to a corporate mafia.

In the Otherworld series, each novel is told from the point of view of a strong female supernatural (No vampires, though.) as she kicks butt and/or sleuths her way through some mystery or intrigue.   Elena, the werewolf, is by far my favorite narrator. The others are no slouches, though. Paige, the witch. Jamie, the necromancer. Hope, the half-demon. The latest books of the Otherworld series are from Savannah, a witch, who has grown to young womanhood since the third book.  The 12th Otherworld novel comes out next year.

The first three books of Armstrong’s YA series are told from 15- year-old Chloe’s perspective. Because of their budding powers, she and several other teen supers find themselves in a half-way house for kids with psychiatric problems. I won’t spoil the plot if you haven’t read any of the books. The fourth—the Gathering—comes out next Spring.

What I love about Armstrong is that she doesn’t sacrifice strong men for the sake of strong female characters.  Although there may be a few chauvinistic holdouts, her male and female supers are on equal footing.  Armstrong has written several short stories about the Otherworld men, which were anthologized in Men of Otherworld. 

Any Armstrong fans out there? Who are some of your favorite paranormal authors or series?

Writing Wisdom of the Ages

Some of you may have caught my reference to this on Twitter this weekend, but I'm so excited about the whole thing I wanted to mention it again. 

I was happy to learn that just recently The Paris Review opened up their legendary series of author interviews online for free. It's a huge list stretching back to the 50's and the reviews themselves are absolutely exhaustive. I can't seem to stop reading them.

The archive is here.  I've posted a few of my favorite quotes just to give you all a little taste of what's waiting. I'd love to hear some of your favorite writing quotes in the comments!

Jonathan Lethem

"You’re not fighting the other writers—that Mailer boxing stuff seems silly to me. It’s more like golf. You’re not playing against the other people on the course. You’re playing against yourself. The question is, What’s in you that you can free up? How to say everything you know? Then there’s nothing to envy. The reason Tiger Woods has that eerie calm, the reason he drives everyone insane, is his implacable sense that his game has nothing to do with the others on the course. The others all talk about what Tiger is up to. Tiger only says, I had a pretty good day, I did what I wanted to do. Or, I could have a better day tomorrow. He never misunderstands. The game is against yourself. That same thousand-yard Tiger Woods stare is what makes someone like Murakami or Roth or DeLillo or Thomas Berger so eerie and inspiring. They’ve grasped that there’s nothing to one side of you. Just you and the course."

Ray Bradbury

"I often use the metaphor of Perseus and the head of Medusa when I speak of science fiction. Instead of looking into the face of truth, you look over your shoulder into the bronze surface of a reflecting shield. Then you reach back with your sword and cut off the head of Medusa. Science fiction pretends to look into the future but it’s really looking at a reflection of what is already in front of us. So you have a ricochet vision, a ricochet that enables you to have fun with it, instead of being self-conscious and superintellectual. "

Gabriel Garcia Marquez

"Ultimately, literature is nothing but carpentry....Both are very hard work. Writing something is almost as hard as making a table. With both you are working with reality, a material just as hard as wood. Both are full of tricks and techniques. Basically very little magic and a lot of hard work are involved. And as Proust, I think, said, it takes ten percent inspiration and ninety percent perspiration. I never have done any carpentry but it’s the job I admire most, especially because you can never find anyone to do it for you."

Joyce Carol Oates

"One must be pitiless about this matter of “mood.” In a sense, the writing will create the mood. If art is, as I believe it to be, a genuinely transcendental function—a means by which we rise out of limited, parochial states of mind—then it should not matter very much what states of mind or emotion we are in. Generally I've found this to be true: I have forced myself to begin writing when I've been utterly exhausted, when I've felt my soul as thin as a playing card, when nothing has seemed worth enduring for another five minutes . . . and somehow the activity of writing changes everything. Or appears to do so. "


Michel Houellebecq

"There is a need for intensity. From time to time, you have to forsake harmony. You even have to forsake truth. You have to, when you need to, energetically embrace excessive things. Now I sound like Saint Paul...'Now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.' For me the sentence would be 'Now abideth beauty, truth, and intensity; but the greatest of these is intensity.' " 

David Mamet

"The main question in drama, the way I was taught, is always what does the protagonist want. That’s what drama is. It comes down to that. It’s not about theme, it’s not about ideas, it’s not about setting, but what the protagonist wants. What gives rise to the drama, what is the precipitating event, and how, at the end of the play, do we see that event culminated? Do we see the protagonist’s wishes fulfilled or absolutely frustrated? That’s the structure of drama. You break it down into three acts.  

People only speak to get something...That’s the only reason anyone ever opens their mouth, onstage or offstage. They may use a language that seems revealing, but if so, it’s just coincidence, because what they’re trying to do is accomplish an objective. "

 

Jeff Hirsch

The Long Walk Home

Coming from Scholastic, Fall 2011

Find me at jeff-hirsch.com and @jeff_hirsch

A little link for your dystopian pleasure.

Dear Readers (see me going from future to past! O.o)

I am deep in the writing cave, but am emerging long enough to point you to a great article entitled, 10 Dystopian Predictions That Actually Came True.

Enjoy!

Maze Runner Winners!

Ack! I'm late in posting!! Here, let me make it up to you by giving you prizes! Seems like the lucky letter to have this time around was "M"...


Winner of the hardcover copy of THE MAZE RUNNER:

MINAS!

Winner of the paperback copy of THE MAZE RUNNER:

MELODY!

The Maze Runner Review and Giveaway!

Wow, this week has been fabulous, with discussions on language, tribal communities, the use of gender, and the outstanding pacing of THE MAZE RUNNER by James Dashner. I hope you've enjoyed the discussion as much as I have.

In celebration of this title, we're giving away two copies! A hardcover and a paperback! All you have to do is comment on this post by Sunday, and Beth will announce the winners on Monday morning!

Since the others have done such a great job of bringing up the talkable aspects of the book, I'm just going to give you one of my twitter reviews.

THE MAZE RUNNER in 140 characters or less: Running through a maze, trying to find a way out. Can Thomas find the exit b4 becoming Griever food? And time is running out for everyone... (So I abbreviated before. Sue me. It fits in exactly 140 chars!)

Characters: All boy society--at least until "the last one" comes. Thomas: fearful yet courageous; loyal. I really liked him, and was rooting for him. (3 characters left over. Whew.)

Plot: Find a way out, stat. Worldbuilding was done well; Dashner gave me what I needed right when I needed it. Consequences: high. Ending: wow. (Again, 3 characters left. Do I detect a pattern?)

My favorite part: When Thomas goes to the cemetery. I don't know why, but I really found that part touching. I connected to him in that moment; I cared. (6 characters. Dangitall. There goes my patterning.)

What do you think? Have you read this book? In 140 characters or less, tell me what you thought!

I bought THE SCORCH TRIALS the day it came out. I haven't read it yet, but it's at the top of my TBR pile. I can't wait to see what James Dashner has in store for Thomas!