A Merry Life and a Short One -- A Contest

December is here and I promised a contest. I've been hunkered down for a while, writing and revising a new novel, and haven't had much time to think about the promotional things I should be doing for the release of The Dust of 100 Dogs. It's only TWO MONTHS away! To start, let me remind you, during these tough economic holiday times, that: A. Books are still relatively cheap. B. Shopping at your local independent bookstore is a pro-community act. Also, it is very unlikely you will get trampled or shot there. Or eaten by a shark, or attacked by flesh-eating robots. (If you don't have an independent bookstore nearby, many of them will take phone orders and ship. Some even have online buying options.) C. Books make a great gifts. D. Magazines and literary magazines are great gift ideas for the short fiction and poetry lovers in your life! If you buy some books as holiday gifts, go to this awesome blog and let them know. We're trying to buy 1,000,000 books! Add yours to the tally! (Pre-orders of D100D count!) NOW ON TO THE CONTEST... The Dust of 100 Dogs is about a bunch of stuff. But, I figure it's safe to say two of the main subjects are pirates and dogs. One thing pirates and dogs have in common is that their lives are generally merry and short, like the title of this post suggests. And so, after a considerable amount of obsessing, and taking into account that I *love* writing challenges, I have come up with a simple and fun set of contest rules. What do I win? An ARC (advance review copy) of The Dust of 100 Dogs and a bonus VOHG.** How do I enter? You have to write me ten words. No more, no less.

*Either a slice of pirate life in 10 words (Example: Cut off a man's ear and fed it to him.) *OR a slice of a dog life in 10 words. (Example: Chased cats, ate, pooped, fell asleep in a sun ray.) (Do feel free to deviate from these examples. Go nuts.)

Post your TEN WORD entry in the comment section along with a valid email address, and any bonus entry links (see next section). If you feel uncomfortable posting your email address, send it to my email address asking(at)as-king(dot)com and make sure you tell me which entry is yours! Only one ten word entry per person, I'm afraid...though if you have two and just can't decide, I say post them both! (But I'll only count one.) Can I get extra entries? Totally! Link this contest to your blog, send a bulletin or blog about it in Myspace, or write a note in Facebook, or any other thing you can think of to get the word out. (For Facebook & MySpace options you have to friend me first!) Post the links in your entry comment. You get one extra entry for each of them. PLEASE try to keep your entry contained in one comment, though I do understand if you have to add an additional comment if you blog/mention/link throughout the contest period. When does it end? The contest ends December 18th, 2008 at midnight (Eastern Time). ***Deadline Extended due to Girl Week*** Now ends December 19th at midnight EST. How many winners will there be? Just one. I've only got one ARC. But two honorable mentions - for the best two ten word entries - will get one of two extra D100D-related VOHGs.** Good luck, everyone! ** VOHG = Very Odd Holiday Gift

Winter Blog Blast Interview

I am so happy to be part of the Winter Blog Blast Tour! Leila Roy at Bookshelves of Doom has an awesome interview posted. Go see why this picture is so wrong. Also, yesterday, I blogged at Red Room about being an Evil Groundhog. Click here: And I just have to add this because I saw it today at Interactive Reader and have to share.

Look Familiar?

Hey wow! I just discovered (Like - a MONTH late) a cover look-alike blog about the cover of The Dust of 100 Dogs. Rather than post the image here and spoil the surprise, I'm sending you over to the original blog at Pop Culture Junkie. Groovy, eh? And stay tuned for another link this week. On Friday I will be over at Bookshelves of Doom as part of the Winter Blog Blast Tour. Full Schedule available at Chasing Ray.

Woo Hoo - Book Divas Review!

"In all honesty, The Dust of 100 Dogs can be summed up on one word: spectacular. I am not kidding when I say this novel blew my mind." To read the entire review, go HERE. (You can also find it HERE, at The Book Muncher Blog.) Yay! (And Thanks, Rachael! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!) Adding - check out this AWESOME poster by Shepard Fairey! (Thanks to Caroline Leavitt over at CarolineLeavittville for this!)

ALAN's Picks

By complete fluke, I discovered last night that The Dust of 100 Dogs was reviewed for ALAN’s Picks: November 2008, at ALAN Online. I love ALAN, and think it's a great organization, and enjoy reading the printed review, as well as their interviews. Here's how they describe ALAN's Picks: “ALAN’s Picks” is a recurring post on ALAN Online featuring book reviews of the newest titles in Young Adult Literature. Reviews are compiled and posted monthly. Be sure to visit ALAN Online often to read more about the newest titles from the best authors in the business. And here's an outtake from the review by Ann A. Wolf: Ms. King has the reader hooked from the beginning and continues to pull one in as each chapter reveals more information about Emer’s life before and after she became a pirate. Parts are gory but pirate stories often contain violence and gore. So glad to know folks understand that real pirates were gory people in these days of pretty Disney pirates. It's one of the reasons I love to write about history. So often it's dressed up and served in history books without the reality check, and yet the reality check is the best part. (I'm reading CHAINS right now - talk about a reality check!) And a heartfelt thank you for those of you who were kind enough to say sweet things about my senior picture. I know for next time never to dare Lisa McMann.

Multiple Choice

A) It's been 21 years and I still can't come to terms with this picture. Who is that person? And what the hell is with the blouse? B) This is a picture of me during the most important summer of my life. C) This isn't really me. I chose a random picture from a yearbook I found in the library. D) All of the above. E) All of the above except C...and I guess D, now, too.

Help! I've been forced to use Shuffle!

I was tagged by Lenore of Presenting Lenore for this fun, nonsensical meme: 1. Put Your iTunes, Windows Media Player, Winamp, etc on shuffle. 2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer. 3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS. 4. Put the artist after a dash following the song name. 5. Put any comments in brackets. 6. Tag some lucky people to spread the disease. I'd like to admit here that I have never, ever, since the invention of digital audio of any kind, used the shuffle button. I am a woman of order, Lenore! But for you, I will break my own rules and play. How would you describe yourself? Planet Caravan -- Black Sabbath (accurate! uncanny!) How do you feel today? Kids -- Jamiroquai (Again, accurate - okay - that's creepy.) What is your life’s purpose? Aftermath -- Tricky What is your motto? Numb -- Portishead What do you think about very often? Blue 7 -- Sonny Rollins What is your life story? Driving Wheel -- Al Green What do you want to be when you grow up? Wow -- Kate Bush What will you dance to at your wedding? Oh Lately it's so Quiet -- OK Go (I mean this in the nicest way - but I've been married nearly 17 years an isn't this funny??!!) (In reality, our wedding song was "Adore" by Prince - which might be significant to those who read the dedication in The Dust of 100 Dogs.) What will they play at your funeral? On a Plain -- Nirvana (Seriously. I didn't even know I have Nevermind on this machine!) What is your hobby/interest? Go on Now -- James Brown If you could do anything right now, what would it be? The Ocean -- Led Zeppelin (Again - this is getting weird.) What do you want most of all? Black Coffee in Bed -- Squeeze What is your greatest fear? They Won't Go When I Go -- Stevie Wonder (This is really weird, how these are fitting. Also, this is one of the greatest songs ever written.) What is your darkest secret? War Pigs -- Black Sabbath What is your favorite thing in the world? Karma Coma -- Massive Attack If you could have one wish, what would you wish for? Wandering Star -- Portishead What is your theme song? Crepsucle with Nellie -- Thelonious Monk The next time you hear this song (aside from now, that is), you must dance. Louder than a Bomb -- Public Enemy I tag: Lisa McMann -- because I just challenged her to show me her high school picture, and this acts as something that might make the original challenge look like lint. and Joanne Levy -- because I'm curious about what she's got in her iPod. Thanks for that, Lenore! It turns out playing really loud music down here in my underground hideaway really helps block out the 14-month-old screaming her head off upstairs!