Speaking Up About SPEAK

Reviewer X & Lenore from Presenting Lenore are doing a very cool feature this week, in honor of Laurie Halse Anderson's SPEAK and its 10th anniversary. They started yesterday with a great discussion between them about the book. Today, they have posted short essays from authors, and I am so thrilled I was asked to participate, because SPEAK is a really special book. Check out today's post HERE.

Wagging on Wednesday with Dorsey

Wagging on Wednesday is brought to us today by Liz Encarnacion and her dog, Dorsey. She writes: Dorsey Dog is part high-energy, mischievous, stubborn, scruffy dog, and part sweet, cuddly, eager-to-please lapdog. Though he looks like a Miniature Schnauzer, he is supposedly a Poodle & American Eskimo mix, aka an Eski-poo or Poo-kimo (the latter just sounds like a Pokeman character to me). He is two years old. Dorsey recently appeared on the Philly evening news in a segment about canine intelligence in which he was rated “pretty clever,” but not as smart as the golden retriever, who was apparently a genius. You can watch Dorsey in action, inviting the cameraman to play, investigating the testing materials, and tricking his owner into grinning manically while wearing a ski mask here: http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id=6500867 What are some of Dorsey's quirks? Dorsey is very energetic and playful, but is also a total snuggle puppy who loves to sit in people’s laps (luckily, he’s only 28 pounds). He’s a super social doggie who loves to play with other dogs and meet new people. In fact, the one time he accidentally escaped the house, he immediately ran down to the corner bar to hang outside with the people at the café tables (and I’m sure he was hoping to get some bacon from his friend, the bar’s cook). When Dorsey is misbehaving or we need to keep him calm in an exciting situation, we put a doggie backpack, bandana, or sweater on him. As soon as one of these items touches his body, he completely freezes and acts like he’s paralyzed. When I finally coax him to walk with accessories on, his back end goes faster than his front end so that he ends up curved like a crescent moon, walking kind of sideways and listing to the side. It’s truly bizarre, but it puts him on his best behavior. Any bold moments or super powers? Dorsey is pretty darn smart, but that makes him very mischievous. He has an uncontrollable desire to steal socks and shoes (among other things). In fact, he can steal a sock left unattended in a different room, out of sight, within about 3 seconds. That would totally be his super power. It’s like he has secret surveillance cameras that alert him to opportunities for satisfying his foot apparel fetish even when he’s not in the room. I think I even predicted he would do this when he used to nap with his head in my shoe as a puppy. And he always prances away with his treasure—I think this game is all about the chase. What inspired his name? That’s a funny story. We were told that Dorsey was a female puppy. A vet even certified him as such, in three separate places. I suspected she might be a he (though there was a LOT of hair down there so it was difficult to tell), but who am I to argue with a medical professional? So we named “her” Dora in part because my husband is slightly obsessed with the silly questions Dora the Explorer throws out to the audience. We thought it would be funny. Soon, my suspicions that she might be a he grew, and our real vet confirmed his true sexual identity. So we were on a hunt to find a new, masculine name. While my husband tried to convince me that “Billy Ray” was a good choice (in homage to Eddie Murphy’s character in the Philly-based “Trading Places”), I heard “Billy Ray Cyrus.” Veto! After researching baby name websites, we eventually came up with Dorsey, which had the same first syllable (Dorsey had already started responding to Dora after only a day or two). and had the added benefit of being the last name of D.B. Sweeney’s character from one of our favorite guilty pleasure movies, “The Cutting Edge.” There is one problem with Dorsey’s name, though. People usually think I’m lisping the name “Dorothy,” and we’re back to the gender issues. Look at Dorsey right now. What is he thinking? I’m in the middle of doing laundry, so he’s trying to figure out how many times he can steal dirty socks and underwear out of the laundry bag before I get smart and put it out of his reach. He’s also hoping I get distracted when the mail comes, so he can have some fun with it first. (Since we live in the city, the mail drops onto the floor through the mail slot, and it’s always a race for me to get to it before Dorsey “fetches” it and chews the edges.) And every time I get out of my office chair, he pops out of his doggie bed and wonders if I’m gonna take him out for a walk or get him a treat, or if it’s just another lame trip to get something I need for work. What books is Dorsey looking forward to in the coming months? Well, Dorsey took a nap on the manuscript for FASHIONISTA, the second in Micol Ostow’s Bradford Novels series, while I was attempting to edit it. Funny how difficult it is to edit when a doggie paperweight is covering up the words. But I’d say he’s definitely shown an affinity for that one. And I know this sounds like pandering to my host, but we’re both looking forward to reading The Dust of 100 Dogs, since he loves to meet as many dogs as possible and I’ve always had a strong interest in pirates that grew even stronger after I edited several books about the subject. (I once got all 10 questions right during a pirate-themed round of a pub quiz.) I will say that Dorsey’s probably not looking forward to the Hunger Games sequel as much as I am, since the first one kept me up all night reading and he would prefer I just go to bed and let him snuggle. Thanks for hosting us, Amy! Thanks so much for coming around with the awesome Dorsey, Liz! Eat lunch in Rittenhouse Square for me, will you? Ooo. I found this awesome review of D100D online today. Thought I'd share. And speaking of wagging, don't forget--today is Wednesday! Get over to Wolfy Chicks and make a comment to win a copy of The Dust of 100 Dogs.

A Word from the Cosmic Hamster

Thanks a million for playing! We loved every entry, and appreciate every minute you took to create them. In short, you all rock. Winner: Julie Weathers Winning entry: Janet was late. She was always late. She said people, especially men, appreciated you more if you made them savor the moment. I, on the other hand felt it was the height of rudeness. “I hate being late.” She twirled a dark curl so it looked as if it had escaped. There was always a certain breathless look to her, as if she had been dashing to arrive on time, slightly disheveled and precious. “Men love it.” Our dates waited at the bar. They looked relieved and anxious. “Men love it,” she whispered. Of course, she was right all along. This entry has a lot going for it--though this Janet would drive me up a wall. I hate being late. Kudos to Jenny, who came in a close second with her AC unit and sucky movie. Kudos to xollinzolox for the economy of words. I was so there. The usual blatant self-promotion to keep Carla smiling-- Check out this awesome interview with the we heart this peeps. Stef & Tyna totally rock. A wicked-good interview at Pop Syndicate today, too. Don't forget that you can win a copy of The Dust of 100 Dogs at the Wolfy Chicks blog this Wednesday!

Untitled Contest #254

All you have to do is follow 3 little rules, and you're in. Go crazy. CHALLENGE:

1. Your story MUST start with this sentence: Janet was late. **
2. Your story MUST end with this sentence: Of course, she was right all along.
3. Your story must be 100 words or under.

DEADLINE: Sunday, February 22nd, 2009 at 11:59PM EST PRIZE: A fun package of VOGs (Very Odd Gifts) - probably pirate-themed. Adding this on Sunday - AND your choice of one book from my stack of new titles. Winners chosen by three anonymous judges, a hamster and a magic 8 ball. Good Luck! ** The author would like it known that by choosing the name Janet for the first sentence, she is not referring to any specific Janet she knows or any that you might know either. This can be any Janet. It was just the first name that came to me, and so, we're stuck with it. Your Janet can be a dolphin for all I care. The story can be in second person omniscient and be from the point of view of a microscopic skin cell that fell off Janet. Technically, Janet doesn't even have to appear again after that first sentence. I don't mind. Just tell me a story and follow the rules above, and we're good.

Something Funny Happened...

...on my way to blog today. I ran out of books. My signing last night not only sold out of store copies in under an hour, but we managed to sell every single first edition I own, too. Even the ones from my glove compartment. Now I ask you--how can I run a contest without any books? Will my peeps still play fun word games for the promise of some interesting pirate-themed gifts? Let me know in the comment trail, and if you are willing to play for a cool care package of very odd gifts, I will toss up a contest in the morning. (Ooo. I have a copy of Elizabeth Scott's LIVING DEAD GIRL here, too. Anyone want to play for that?) In the meantime, here are some wicked-cool links about D100D that went up in the last 48 hours for your reading enjoyment. An interview with insanely talented novelist Caroline Leavitt is here. Her questions were fabulous! And two reviews: One from Lauren's Crammed Bookshelf.

"If I were to quickly sum up this book in a couple of words they would be: wonderful, a page turner, spectacular, simply excellent and plenty more words that have the same kind of meanings. It was just an all around wow."

And a great print review from The Sentinel out of Cumberland County, PA

"Simply put, Emer is more interesting and a better role model for teens than [Twilight's] Bella or Edward. Granted, kids shouldn’t go around cutting out people’s eyeballs, but the strength behind Emer’s actions and personality is a desirable virtue. Her actions, put into context of the time and situation, are actually quite morally intact. Much can be said for her contempt of men who try to possess her or who are excessively overprotective and domineering, which is never OK."

I couldn't agree with that last part any more. Excessively possessive is never OK. :)

I'm Tricky Like That & Guys

GOOD NEWS! We just heard that D100D is going for a second printing already! THANK YOU!! Keep spreading the word and let's aim for a third. I've been getting great response to my admittance, last week, on Writer Unboxed, that The Dust of 100 Dogs was inspired and influenced by the music and lyrics of Bob Marley. And here, I will go one step further. Pretty much everything I do is inspired and influenced by Bob Marley. His message of peace, love and POSITIVITY is something that has served me well throughout my life. And so, for readers who read the first quote in the book--Live it up, live it up, live it up, live it up-- and wondered, "What on earth does that mean?" I am writing this blog post to tell you. It's a hint--very like a map to buried treasure. If you were to follow it and find the song it comes from, Bob Marley's "Crisis," you would find lyrics that echo the book, some of its deeper meanings and its characters. I'm tricky like that. Because I'm feeling sentimental (or maybe just mental) today, here are the full lyrics to the song and the best vid I could find on Youtube, which has a decent recording, but no video. Does anyone want to guess which lyrics might go with which characters? CRISIS They say the sun an-a shines for all, But, in some people world, it never shine at all. They say love is a stream that will find its course; I mean - some-a people think life is a dream So they making matters worse. But no matter what the crisis is; No matter what the crisis is: Doin' it, doin' it, doin' your thing! (Give Jah all the thanks and praises!) Givin' it, givin' it, givin' it, givin' it! (Give Jah all the thanks and praises!) So - so - so much have been said, so little been done They still killin' - killin' the people And they - and they havin' - havin'-a - havin'-a lots of fun - Killin' the people, havin' their fun! They just want to be the leader In the house of the risin' sun. But no matter what the crisis is; Oh, no, oh, no no - no what the crisis is: Do your - live it up, live it up, live it up, live it up! (Give Jah all the thanks and praises!) Live it up, live it up, live it up, live it up! (Give Jah all the thanks and praises!) They say the sun-un-un-un shines for all, But- in some people world, it never shine at all! They say love is a stream, That will find its course, and every river runs to sea; Some people still think life is a dream, So they - so they makin' - makin' it worse. No matter what the crisis is; No matter what the crisis is: Do it: live it up, live it up, live it up, live it up! (Give Jah all the thanks and praises!) Live it up, live it up, live it up, live it up! Now...about Guys. I got a really great letter yesterday from a fan who told me to somehow get the word out to young men that this book is for them, too. So let me say this here first. The Dust of 100 Dogs is a gender-equal book. I get as much fan mail from men as I do from women. In fact, this week, I've got more from men. A great male friend of mine said, when I asked him how to reach out to young men with this book, "Make it clear that the protagonist is equally ready to carve out a guy's eyeball as she is to explore a new sexual position. And that she finds herself consistently having to be more adult than her own parents are." And it's true. All of it. Also, there are humping dogs, torture, and sea battles. (There are no periods, sleepover parties or shoe shopping adventures.) So please - tell your brothers and boyfriends! The Dust of 100 Dogs is not just for women! It's for everyone! And here's an awesome blog about D100D by Greg Leitich Smith (a super-cool guy) to point them to, if they're doubtful.

Wagging on Wednesday with Riley

Wagging on Wednesday (can you believe it's Wednesday already?) is brought to you this week by Brooke from Brooke Reviews. She wrote: This is Riley. She's a 4 year old long-haired Chihuahua. She's really cute, but it's all a front! [I interrupt to say she is not just cute, Brooke. She is absolutely ridiculously adorable.] She's a little monster pooch! She loves to nap, run around the front yard, chase her son Elliott, and eat human food. She's definitely a daddy's girl, but she knows who feeds her, so she treats me with respect...sometimes. Where did Riley's name come from? We adopted Riley from a family who had too many dogs. They had named her "Black Rose" which was just awful lol. We went through many names before deciding on Riley. It's from the character Riley Finn on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. What are some of her quirks? After she goes potty, she wants her treat so BAD that she runs to the front door and scratches at it until I get there. She also hates to be woken up in the morning, she growls at you until her feet hit the grass. Any particular bold moments? One morning at 2am I took her out to potty. We're usually up late reading together. When I opened the front door she took off chasing an opossum down the street. I had to run after her until the opossum finally got away. What book/s is Riley most looking forward to in 2009? She's definitely looking forward to Bad to the Bone by Jeri Smith Ready! What do you think Riley could teach alien species if she were abducted by aliens? How to scavenge for food, she can find food ANYWHERE. Thanks a million for bringing Riley around to chat, Brooke! Anybody else looking forward to some good books? (I know I ask this every single week, but no one ever answers. I'll keep asking, too. I'm a reckless optimist, man.) I'm looking forward to finally picking up a copy of FADE this week, and can't wait to get back into researching the next book. Here are some cool links from the week for your procrastinating pleasure: A great interview at SORMAG reveals my mysterious pet fact. And I found this awesome, really in-depth and well thought-out review today by genrereviews at OCD, vampires, and rants, oh my!

"A wonderful tale of adventure on the high seas and teenage impatience; young love and loss and sheer determination."

Did you see the D100D Discussion Guide yet? 25 groovy questions to help your class, book group or friends talk about the book. Oooo! And hey ! There's a contest to win a copy of The Dust of 100 Dogs over at Wolfy Chicks, where I'll be interviewed next week.

You're Sweet - Winners & Links

As always, thanks so much for your entries! They ROCKED. And thanks to those of you who continue to come around to Dog Fact #9 and play games. I hate that there can only be one winner, and hope you'll come back next week and enter again! Judging this week was tough --we tossed our top four into a hat & picked.

sraasch - True love is going out for Cherry Garcia ice cream at 2AM. On a week night. In January. In Minnesota. Janet Reid - True love is making Ilsa get on the aeroplane. briaspage - Love thinks your beautiful when you've been sick for four days. Anonymous - Love is a leap of faith and a soft landing.

WINNER: Janet Reid WINNING ENTRY: True love is making Ilsa get on the aeroplane. I admit, this entry made me rather misty-eyed, thinking back to the years Mr. K & I lived apart, and all the airport scenes in between. *sniff* Damn you, Janet Reid. And SRaasch - an honorable mention for writing sentences that actually made me cold while reading them. And an additional honorable mention for Anonymous who mentioned parents who'd been married 35 years. I love that. My folks will hit 50 years next year and it's just such a buzz, isn't it? I'm pretty busy this week here at Camp King, so you'll see me again on Wednesday with another awesome pooch. Until then, here are some links to cool stuff to read & do: I've got groovy swag and other weird links on my media page now. GO HERE to find cool t-shirts, widgets and even postage stamps! I forgot to mention this review from EJ at Only on Sunday, an old friend and writing buddy. Read it here. In this piece, he brings up this YA question again. Is The Dust of 100 Dogs YA? I think it's a book for anyone, regardless of race, shoe size or gender, over the age of 14. Can we come up with a name for that please? All suggestions welcome. And a quick (late) shout out to The Compulsive Reader for making D100D a Book to Buy in February! Thanks! Have you read Lisa McMann's FADE yet? What are you waiting for? You need to read it. And hey - if I haven't said it lately - THANK YOU for all your support, kind words, fan letters, general love and friendliness and spreading the word about D100D. It means the world to me and really, one day I'm going to have to figure out how to repay you all. I think I should start by writing another kick-ass book. Sound good?

Gooey Weekend Writing Challenge

I believe in true love. Do you? CHALLENGE: In less than 20 words, tell me what true love is. PRIZE: A signed copy of The Dust of 100 Dogs. DEADLINE: Sunday, February 15th, 11:59pm EST Winner chosen by three snarky and over-caffeinated anonymous judges. Once you've entered, have a browse around this week's groovy D100D links: Part Two of the excellent Writer Unboxed interview, where I finally admit who really inspired D100D, is HERE. Hillary over at The Book Reader reviews The Dust of 100 Dogs HERE.

"Well, it definitely was as great as they said it was. I had high expectations for this book and it did not disappoint. I would clap, but she can't hear me."

I can hear you just fine, Hillary. Thanks! So pleased that you liked it! (See you in Lititz, maybe?) Did I ever link Story Siren's review? I think I missed it due to launch weekend. Check it out.

" I found myself thinking.... can it really be that good? Will I end up hating for the mere fact that everyone else loves it? But.. I read it and understood what all the fuss was really about. Because believe me when I say, it was really that good."

I was really hoping you'd like it, Kristi. Thrilled it didn't disappoint. And HEY! You still have two weeks to enter this INSANELY AWESOME contest over at Reviewer X's blog. If you already bought the book, you really need to check this out...who doesn't want to win $300 worth of books? Yeah - I said $300 worth of BOOKS!!! Now - back to love. What is it?

Wagging on Wednesday

Wagging on Wednesday is brought to you today by Stephanie Feldstein, who wrote: Here’s my little pack (from left to right in the picture): Turtle, Juno, Sierra, and Moby. Juno is the leader of the pack. She was once a scrappy outdoor dog rescued from the ghetto, but now her addiction to couches and buffets has made her grow soft. She rules with an iron paw, often utilizing the strategy that she can get the other dogs to do what she wants by barking in their ears until deafness distracts them from their unruliness. (Oddly enough, it seems to work). Turtle manipulates with the power of cuteness. Think you’re working on the computer? See how long that lasts when she sits up on her hind legs waving her paws and grunting at you. She’s been known to convince petsitters to handfeed her and trainers to give her treats for nothing. She worships Juno, but will steal a toy from anyone as soon as they stop looking. Sierra lives to be close to me. If she could actually wrap herself in Velcro and get me to wear felt pants so she could stay connected to my leg, she would. But she’s more than just my shadow (or tripping block) – she gets along with everyone. She’s mediated scuffles between other dogs and lets my cat sleep on top of her. Moby is the puppy and the newest addition. He has no sense of his size, no sense of what should and should not be ingested, and no sense of when it’s time to come in when it’s below freezing outside. Not much sense at all, but he’s ridiculously cute and unfailingly sweet. I am the two-legged member of the house, clearly outnumbered (there are three cats here, too). When I’m not volunteering for the humane society, helping people with their pet problems, rescuing animals, or advocating for pit bulls, I write. I started as a poet, but now I write novels about the ways pets change our lives. My first manuscript, which I am hoping to find an agent for soon, is about a woman who learns to stand up for herself by standing up for her dog. In my day job, I raise money to save the world. (Check out Stephanie's blog, here.) *Love* these introductions and the sound of your novel. Now for the questions.... What are some of your dogs' quirks? This could be a long list, but I’ll limit it to one each. Juno acts like she’s afraid of small puppies, even though she’s the alpha with adult dogs and loves to nurture foster kittens. Turtle likes to sleep under the covers, with her head under there, too, every single night, no matter what the weather is like. Sierra loves to lick faces, but knows she’s not allowed to jump up on people, so she’ll do “drive by kissings” where she leaps up and turns her body so that the only thing that hits you is her tongue. Moby gets bursts of puppy craziness, but since he’s too big to run around inside the house and the girls don’t want to play with him when he’s spastic, he’ll race outside to the tree in the middle of yard, jump up as high as he can, grab a piece of bark, then run around the yard and repeat until he’s burnt off the excess energy. Any bold moments or super powers? She wouldn’t want you to know it, but Turtle is the most powerful one of them all. She has a way of making people think that they’re the only one who truly understands her, which makes them want to do all sorts of things for her. Countless people have stopped whatever they were doing to get up and go across the room to rub her belly. She’s made pet sitters hand feed her. She’s made professional dog trainers excuse her from every single exercise in class even though she was perfectly capable of performing every trick. It’s a good thing Turtle doesn’t have aspirations to take over the world…at least that I know of. Juno is the most powerful food beggar I’ve ever met. People who swore they never feed dogs have ending up cooking for her. Once, at an outdoor festival, she caused a woman to take food out of her friend’s hands and feed it to her. I’m not sure the friend had finished by the time her meal was in Juno’s paws. Sierra can read my mind. She mostly uses this power to put herself directly wherever I’m about to go. Moby is the newest addition and still a puppy…like the baby in The Incredibles, we’re sure he has a super power, too, we just haven’t figured out what it is yet. What inspired their names? Juno is named after the Roman goddess. She was the first dog in the house, so little did I know that when I got her a pack of her own, she would take on the role of the ruler who seems to equally enjoy protecting and punishing. Turtle is only indirectly named after the animal. She was found as a stray on a farm and was the most terrified six-month-old puppy I’d ever seen, so her name was really inspired by the scared little Cherokee girl in Barbara Kingsolver’s The Bean Trees. [Amy rudely interrupts. I love that book!] After a lot of work over the years, she doesn’t retreat into her shell very often – only when things are very unfamiliar to her – and she finds her way out a lot faster now. Sierra looks mostly German Shepherd, but we were told at the shelter that she was mixed with Bernese Mountain Dog, so her name is a nod to her latent heritage. Moby is the Great White Pit Bull named, of course, after the Great White Whale (though some people argue that his smooth head resembles the musician). Look at each dog right now. What is he/she thinking? Juno is thinking that I should take her to the park all by herself every day, like we did yesterday. Sierra is thinking that I’m too far away when I sit at the computer (even though she’s lying less than a foot away). Turtle thinks that it doesn’t look like I’m going to work today, so I really should join her on the couch for a nap (she may be right!). Moby is thinking, as he had been all night, that perhaps ingesting part of a towel wasn’t such a great idea after all. What books are you all looking forward to in the coming months? I’m at the bookstore at least once a week, so there’s a long list in the back of my mind that I’m keeping an eye out for this year. We’re all very excited that The Dust of 100 Dogs is finally out - what could be better than dogs and pirates? We’ve been looking forward the Sara Gruen’s new novel, Ape House, due out over the summer. Water for Elephants was such an amazing book. I’m also a fan of Christopher Moore, so I’ll definitely pick up a copy of his new book, Fool. Thanks so much for letting me interview you and the whole crew for Wagging on Wednesday! And thank you for the work you do for animals. That means a lot to us here at the WOW desk. YOU ROCK!! Thanks for the interview, Amy! I’m glad that D100D is getting such a great reception now that it’s out. It’s moved its way to the top of my to-read pile and I can’t wait to get into it. What about you guys? Any books you or your pets are looking forward to? And here's the deal - I need more Wagging on Wednesday stories! Send them to the Wagging on Wednesday mailbox at WOW (AT) thedustof100dogs.com

Link Indie, please.

I know this awesome bookseller who recently wrote a great blog about how we, as authors, bloggers and reviewers can help support booksellers more fairly and I love this idea so much, I want to share it with you. Most of us have heard about the Amazon associates program, where we can produce links and earn a few pennies if our click is the click that sells a book, right? Well, here's the deal. INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORES HAVE THIS FEATURE TOO. It's called the IndieBound.org Affiliate Program. Read the very simple instructions on how to join in this letter. You can also read this cool article about how this movement is taking shape. I like Amazon as much as the next guy, and I have nothing against chain stores like B&N or Borders. All booksellers are made of awesome, but I drive up to an hour and a half to get to my some of my local independent booksellers. I do that because unlike most chain stores, independents feature books even if the publisher isn’t paying them to. A lot of readers don’t know that space on end-shelves and tables in chain stores is bought space, and so your most convenient selection is usually dictated by how much money the publisher puts behind a book. That, in itself, is not an awful thing, but because many of the books I love are not from huge publishers with huge budgets (including my own D100D) I like to know someone is looking after them – and that’s our independent bookstores. And I am now asking you to help me help them. What I’m basically asking for is that, when you and your fellow bloggers talk about or review a book, you include a link to IndieBound, not just to an online or chain bookstore. I'm not asking you to stop linking to anyone. I'm just asking for a little inclusion for the stores that have bent over backward for so many of the authors you love. What do you say? I'm joining right after I post this blog. Will you join too? CLICK HERE.

Two BIG Things!

First - today is launch day for Lisa McMann's FADE - the sequel to WAKE, which is an awesome book. You need to check these books out if you haven't already. I will be getting my copy of FADE from a local indie in a week or so. My [signed] copy of WAKE is locked in the Stella-vault with all my jewels and gold and other assorted booty. Second - I just found out that The Dust of 100 Dogs made the Spring Children's Indie Next List and I am SO STOKED. I LOVE my independent bookstores because they are such champions for authors. Being on the Next List is a massive honor for me and I may just get sappy and shed a salty tear. Or pass around the rum and yell, "Clear the decks for pleasant action!" I have more to say about how you can best support your independent bookstores later, but right now, I have to call my mom and tell her the good news. My mom loves good news.

The Judges Agreed

This was hard. With entries like: pepsivanilla's "I saw crazy artists attacking innumerable thunderstruck paleontologists" or Keith's "Oh, crap - Stella restarts challenges, accelerating mirthfulnesses programmatically, transformationally deinstitutionalizing counterrevolutionaries' overintellectualizations" or jocelyn's "I eat awful magenta fruitcake" (I love the simple ones.) or epic rat's "Try green bananas," whispered Monkey-Bones, "mind-blowingly bittersweetness." (This was my favorite, but that ly kept throwing me into adverb overdrive land.) or Memory's "I can paint elegant, exquisite, Francophone delicatessens" how were we ever going to pick a winner? But we did, because after consulting with three blind judges, this entry won, hands down. WINNER: Joanne Levy WINNING ENTRY: A big blimp floated aimlessly, eradicating gravitational claustrophobias. Congratulations, Joanne! You've entered so many of these contests and I want to thank you and the others who've been entering so often. Your support is awesome and I really appreciate it. You ROCK. If you didn't win this time, don't be sad! Come back next weekend and play again! I promise I'll cook up something new and interesting up for you by then. AND DON'T FORGET - The Flux Page over on Facebook is throwing a contest to win the book, too! Fun stuff! Click here to check it out. Wagging on Wednesday should be loads of fun this week. See you then & thanks again for playing.

Look at This Cover!

Have you guys seen Lauren Baratz-Logsted's cover for Crazy Beautiful yet? It's completely drool-worthy. If you want, you can stick this cool countdown timer on your blog/MySpace/etc. Just click on the Share button. Some more D100D Launch Week links: I totally out myself about my bad habits at Book Chic's Blog. I admit, I haven't really worked on a few of these... A brilliant review of The Dust of 100 Dogs from Valentina's Room! How wonderful that she lives just down the road from where I started writing novels in Dublin 16 years ago! I love stuff like that. Here's a blurb: "If you like strong women characters, pirates and great storytelling, you have to read this book. For all the others, read it anyway. I think this is going to be the must-read book of the year." A shout out for the awesome D100D cover art! Maximum respect to cover designer Gavin Duffy. Another wicked-great review from Melissa from Poised at the Edge. A blurb: "A.S. King’s stunning debut is part history lesson, part dog training manual, part modern coming of age story. It dazzles with its risky originality and its shameless girl-power. Emer/Saffron is powerful, intelligent, willful protagonist that the sisterhood just has to love!" And a guest essay about my first and worst jobs, "How All Those Stupid Jobs Helped Me Make a Writing Career" at The Debutante Ball got an interesting discussion going about completely unrelated things. But the REAL news today is: WE HAVE UNDER TEN CONTESTANTS FOR THE ONGOING CONTEST!! This could mean a few things. 1. People are hibernating. 2. People are sick of being made to work their brains for free stuff. (Too bad.) 3. Everyone is either at Comic Con or Love is Murder. 4. Counting by twos is boring - we want more Mad Libs. 5. Who cares what it means? More for us! (And a faster result, too.) There are 8 hours left to enter. Tell your friends! Oo! And here's another picture. (Is Borders stocking this in fantasy or is that just a coincidence?) Thanks to Book Chic for this one! xo

Totally Random 2+2=4 Contest Redux

It's not that I'm recycling ideas, it's that so many people enjoyed this one, so I'm doing it again. But this time, we have all weekend to play. And this time, I'm going to play, too. Of course I can't win. Here's the challenge: Write a sentence made of words that increase by two letters. (Each word has to be two letters longer than the word before it.) Example: We have twelve exercise assistants. Word length: 2, 4 ,6, 8, 10 Example: I had seven pickles yesterday. Word length: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 How long can you make yours...and still make sense? (Coherent sentences only, please. Excellent sentences encouraged.) Please leave your sentence in the comment area - don't forget to leave your email address! DEADLINE: Sunday February 8th 2009, 11PM EST PRIZE: A signed copy of The Dust of 100 Dogs the minute I get it and a VOG** Good Luck and Thanks For Playing! (**VOG = very odd gift)

Some Cool Links from Launch Week

Here we are on the cusp of another weekend. This week was probably one of the coolest and craziest weeks I've ever had and I need to thank you all for your support and kind words. THANK YOU! To celebrate, I'm going to throw a really cool weekend contest later tonight. But before that, I wanted to hook you up with some cool links from launch week because a lot of people took the time to post reviews and interviews. (If I somehow missed you, let me know! I've been on cloud 9 a lot of this week, so I'm sure I haven't seen everything yet.) There's a really great interview over at Writer Unboxed today. Part Two will come next week. I linked Book Chic's review too early on Wednesday, but here's the real link to that now. I will add a link later today tomorrow for a guest blog I did for BC, too. A review on Carrie's YA Bookshelf! Believe The Hype!! Another review on E.M. Reads. Check it out! Wednesday's Omnivoracious linked to The Book Muncher's interview with me and Emer, and I have to say it's one of my favorites, so if you haven't checked it out yet, here's the link. And come around tomorrow to The Debutante Ball to read about my first and worst jobs! That's the round up for today. I'll be back once the kiddies are in bed with a contest that will keep you busy over the weekend. Oooo! And look what someone just sent me! (Thank you Jen, for snapping this shot!)

Win a copy of The Dust of 100 Dogs!

Check out this cool contest on Facebook's Flux Books page! Just leave a comment on the Book Giveaway discussion board answering this question:

"If you had to spend 100 years as any person/place or thing, what would it be and why? You can be brief or lengthy - it doesn't matter. We'll narrow the field by picking out a bunch of posts that stand out as funny, insightful, ridiculous or cute and then pick one lucky fan out a hat. And BAM! - free book! Just like that. Only one entry per person, por favor."

Go for it! I'll toss in a signed bookplate for whoever wins to make it a signed copy!

Wagging on Wednesday

Wagging on Wednesday is brought to us today by the awesome Linda Gerber, author of Death by Bikini, Death by Latte, Death by Denim, Now and Zen and The Finnish Line among others. I was very lucky to meet Linda at a conference last summer and she's as kind and generous in person as she is here in cyberspace, where I asked her a few questions about Kali, her rescued Jack Russell terrier. How did Kali come home? Kali is a rescue dog. When she was just six weeks old, we took her from a home that was filthy and infested with fleas. She was very sick and so took turns being with her round the clock until she got better. As a result, she has become very attached to us and will follow us anywhere we'll let her go. Now she's fully well and very energetic and delights in chewing up everything in sight. What are some of her quirks? Like Joanne Levy's Kia, Kali loves snow and will pounce and play and roll in it all day if we would let her. But she doesn't like wet grass or frost and will avoid both at all costs. She can tear apart a pillow like a demon one moment and the next she's all and dainty the next doesn't want to get her paws dirty. Sometimes, like now, she thinks she's a lap dog and will drape herself over anyone unsavvy enough to sit down for more than a minute. What inspired Kali's name? Kali is the Hindu goddess of destruction. She's a Jack Russell. Need I say more? Look at Kali right now. What is she thinking? She is sleeping on my lap and softly woofing in her sleep. Probably dreaming about chasing the squirrels who chatter at her in the backyard. What books is Kali looking forward to in the coming months? D100D, without question. [Thanks Kali!] Also Lisa McMann's FADE, Wendy Toliver's MISS MATCH, Justina Chen Headley's NORTH OF BEAUTIFUL, Alyson Noel's EVERMORE and so many more. Thanks, Linda for sharing Kali with us today! Anyone else out there looking forward to upcoming books? Tell us! I'm most looking forward to Lisa McMann's FADE at the moment, myself! I will be back on the weekend for a random D100D contest to give away another copy of the book. Until then, if you want to read something groovy - swagger on over to Book Chic's MySpace blog later today and read a review of The Dust of 100 Dogs, which is now available at fine bookstores near you. Like this one, Aaron's Books, in Lititz, PA, run by the awesome Sam & Todd Dickinson, where I'll be signing on the 28th of February from 2-4pm. Another reason to shop at your local independent bookstore (as if there weren't enough reasons already!) -- Independents support local authors! Or - view the trailer!

I Would Give You a Dozen Goats (& a Winner)

I have the coolest friends and supporters in the universe. Some of these people I've never met in person - but they are positive and I am positive and together we do uber-positive things - and so, good things happen. This weekend, Steph/Reviewer X revealed a contest that is insanely great and was possible only because of a group of generous people got together to do it. Awesome. The fact that it was celebrate my book? Humbling indeed. Go here to check it out. A few of these awesome supportive peeps have posted interviews or reviews of The Dust of 100 Dogs this week, and I want to point you to them. The Rocking Melissa Walker talks about The Dust of 100 Dogs cover - and My Favorite Boots HERE! Book Chic has an interview with me today and will have a few items on the blog all week long! Thank you Book Chic! READ IT HERE. The Book Muncher interviewed Me and Emer and you just HAVE to read it. FIND IT HERE. I totally got a spot at MacLeanSpace. Stoked. MEET A.S. King. And I really need to thank my good friends who have held my hand through this awesome ride so far - you are *stars* - and the regulars who continue to come around to this blog and play games and leave comments and be just all sorts of cool. I wish I could give each of you a dozen goats or two yachts or something. Now, it's WINNER TIME for the 10 word contest from the weekend of mayhem launch party.

• Keith really cracked us up with his Grapes of Wrath entry. Gloom, depression, hopelessness and death. And then things go downhill.

• Liviania totally killed me with her Watership Down entry. Bunnies escape death. Find home. Steal females from psycho bunny.

The judges agree it was a tie - and I'll have you know I've had to fire the lot of them because we fought for about 4 hours over the finalists in this top five list too. Terri Joanne Levy Sharonannee (LOVE Day of the Triffids!) Thao Lalaland Keith & Liviania, could you email me with your mailing info? Thanks to EVERYONE who played! Don't be too blue if you didn't win. I'll be back next weekend (with new judges who agree faster) to toss out another challenge and give away another signed copy. In the meantime, spread the word about The Dust of 100 Dogs and I'll see you on Wednesday when we'll meet Linda Gerber's awesome doggie, Kali.

Random Vegetable Contest #43 Winner & Thank You!!

Well, we put the kids to bed and popped the bubbly. Then, we read the entries for the Random Vegetable Contest #43 and we totally wussed out. We could narrow it to a top ten, but just couldn't come to an agreement on a winner. Things got a little testy in the judge box, lemme tell ya. So rather than stress out over it, we tossed these top ten finalists into the pirate hat and picked a winner.

Adele LisaMay Lalaland Joanne Levy Paradox AmandaKMorgan Brooke Reviews Keith Cronin Liv Ariel

Now - A toast to the winner of the Random Vegetable Contest #43! WINNER: AmandaKMorgan My favorite part of this one was: They are also like the secret agent of vegetables because they're tricky--they can either be super good for you or poisonous. Congratulations Amanda & thank you ALL for playing! I have to thank you all again for coming to my weekend of mayhem party here at Dog Fact #9. It was really cool of you to come. I'll be back tomorrow night with the winner of today's contest. Have you signed the guest book? ----------------------------------------------> And don't forget the AWESOME CONTEST over at Reviewer X!

D100D Mad Libs Winner!

I want to thank everyone for participating in the D100D Mad Libs Contest! That was A LOT of fun! No doubt I'm going to do it again soon. If you haven't taken a minute to read through them, there are some really funny entries. And since this wasn't really a challenge, I had my trusty first mate pick from a hat, and he picked the number 17. Which means: WINNER: Kitten with a Whiplash I was pretty happy about this because your clandestine glandular Civil Libertarian filled with deflated kangaroos made me laugh quite a bit. I also have to say I'm mighty fond of Paradox's obese satanic paperclips. I loved a lot of these - and so this will certainly not be the last time we will be playing. :) Again - thanks so much for coming around and playing with us! This has been so much fun! I'll be back again at 9pm to announce the winner of the Random Vegetable Contest, all going well...I haven't even had a minute to look through them! I bet they're awesome. There's still one ongoing contest if you want to win a SIGNED COPY of The Dust of 100 Dogs! 10 Words Contest - Deadline Sunday February 1st 9PM EST. Have you signed the Guest Book? ------------------------------------------------------------->

We Have a Haiku Winner!

My esteemed judges have picked the one haiku that caught their fancy. WINNER: Jackie WINNING ENTRY: This is a bad time for me to admit the truth: I'm a cat person. Jackie - I'm emailing you now for your mailing address! It was so hard to pick a winner! (Paradox - you were a VERY close second.) Stay Tuned! More winners to come! There's still one ongoing contest if you want to win a SIGNED COPY of The Dust of 100 Dogs! 10 Words Contest - Deadline Sunday February 1st 9PM EST. Have you signed the Guest Book? ------------------------------------------------------------->

The Last D100D Mad Libs

This is our last batch of D100D Mad Libs! Thanks so much for playing. Winner will be announced in the next hour.

1. Imagine my surprise when, after a fortnight of defenestrating with pizzas over a spare caustic rhinoceros and plagiarizing my referee from a bench, I was given a prolifigate, energetic rocket ship, all to myself, filled with an opportunistic veterinarian. I say it was prolifigate because Sadie Adams, my mother, has purple classmates, something I never inherited. Thanks Jenifer! I have been known to crave the odd caustic rhinoceros too. They’re so peppy.
2. Imagine my surprise when, after 5 hours, 3 minutes and 12 seconds of investigating with reindeer over a spare suspicious personalized license plate and attacking my spork from a knife, I was given a hilarious, ridiculous handkerchief, all to myself, filled with unwilling elephant. I say it was hilarious because Sadie Adams, my mother, has glamorous librarians, something I never inherited. Thanks LisaMay! Glamorous librarians ROCK! You can keep your hanky full of unwilling elephant, though.
3. Imagine my surprise when, after once upon a time of swallowing with jumps over a spare disgusting toilet and digging my underwear from a teeth, I was given a gross delicious vampire all to myself, filled with crunchy cats. I say it was gross because Sadie Adams, my mother, has amazing, something I never inherited. Thanks Linda. Fill anything with crunchy cats and I am so there.
4. Imagine my surprise when, after the Victorian age of feathering with bustles over a spare ticklish toe and waddling my Jeremy Piven from a mouse, I was given a furry small seamless shirt, all to myself, filled with sticky dreadlock. I say it was furry because Sadie Adams, my mother, has cheesy teeth, something I never inherited. Thanks KB. Kudos for not inheriting the cheesy teeth. That would have been a total bummer.
5. Imagine my surprise when, after the blink of an eye of pirouetting with zombies over a spare charming pirate and tiptoeing my munchkin from a glass slipper, I was given a squeamish crunchy ninja, all to myself, filled with plucky mountain goat. I say it was squeamish because Sadie Adams, my mother, has ticklish llamas, something I never inherited. Thanks Cecilia! I never knew the was a zombie ballet.
6. Imagine my surprise when, after 200 years of sword fighting with pirates over a spare bloody Marie and killing my Tom Cruise from a Madonna, I was given a disastrous, disgusting Tallulah, all to myself, filled with crazy Kate. I say it was disastrous because Sadie Adams, my mother, has slutty soldiers, something I never inherited. Thank you Carol(ina)! A Tallulah filled with crazy Kate? That’s mental.
7. Imagine my surprise when, after forever of sparkling with vampires over a spare bitten Yan and dying my bed from a casket, I was given a fluffy, silky smooth graveyard, all to myself, filled with gloomy umbrellas. I say it was fluffy because Sadie Adams, my mother, has anguished UFOs, something I never inherited. Thanks Yan! I was going to congratulate you on your fluffy graveyard, but then saw it was filled with gloomy umbrellas. Sorry to hear that.
8. Imagine my surprise when, after 9,999,999 eons and an epoch or two of eloping with tarantulas over a spare lustful fishcake and decomposing my octopus from a tornado, I was given a obese satanic paperclip all to myself, filled with bloody Uranus I say it was obese because Sadie Adams, my mother, has utopian zombies, something I never inherited. Thanks Paradox! This one cracked me up! Obese satanic paperclips! Utopian zombies!

Here are the other ongoing contests if you want to win a SIGNED COPY of The Dust of 100 Dogs! Random Vegetable Contest #43 - Deadline Sunday, February 1st 5PM EST. 10 Words Contest - Deadline Sunday February 1st 9PM EST. Have you signed the Guest Book? ------------------------------------------------------------->

Next Ten D100D Mad Libs

Okay WOAH. Stop here. You have to see this. A bunch of generous and wonderful reviewers, authors and bloggers got together for Reviewer X and made an AMAZING contest to help me celebrate the release of The Dust of 100 Dogs. YOU NEED TO CHECK IT OUT BECAUSE YOU COULD WIN $300 WORTH OF STUFF. Yeah. I said $300 worth of FREE STUFF. How grateful am I to be surrounded by such supportive people? Pretty flipping grateful. Now - on with the fun. 10 more Mad Libs. There are some real beauties in here. Thanks so much for playing!

1. Imagine my surprise when, after four heartbeats of detoxifying with eggplants over a spare dry spank and laughing my magic eight ball from a milquetoast, I was given a fragrant, audacious ramora, all to myself, filled with undulant trattoria. I say it was fragrant because Sadie Adams, my mother, has dulcet livers, something I never inherited. Thanks Joanne! I have also detoxified with eggplant over a dry spank. Nothing like it - Amiright?
2. Imagine my surprise when, after four minutes of licking with toes over a spare gigantic taco and beating my tree from a squirrel, I was given a clumsy wooden water, all to myself, filled with drowsy fur I say it was clumsy because Sadie Adams, my mother, has graceful teeth, something I never inherited. Oh Hilary! I am so loving your spare gigantic taco! Thanks!
3. Imagine my surprise when, after a Christmas of alleviating with horcruxes over a spare ghastly Obama and liquidating my oatmeal from an ear, I was given a disturbed motionless cemetery, all to myself, filled with adorable cheese. I say it was disturbed because Sadie Adams, my mother, has hissing zephyrs, something I never inherited. Thanks Genevieve! Sorry to hear about having to liquidate the oatmeal from an ear. Ew. But I’m all for adorable cheese.
4. Imagine my surprise when, after 3 milliseconds of quacking with mermaids over a spare sexy shoe and tickling my train from a movie, I was given a silly awesome rabbit, all to myself, filled with orange bagels.. I say it was silly because Sadie Adams, my mother, has fat bubbles, something I never inherited. Thanks Lex! I would *kill* for a silly awesome rabbit filled with orange bagels right now. Seriously.
5. Imagine my surprise when, after 857 minutes of cackling with toasters over a spare zesty bassoon and frolicking my tombstone from a bus, I was given a striped harmonious caravel, all to myself, filled with a lumpy tower. I say it was striped because Sadie Adams, my mother, has breathless frogs, something I never inherited. Thanks Jocelyn! Sorry to hear about the frogs. :(
6. Imagine my surprise when, after 17 minutes of pretending with purple people eaters over a spare spicy yeti and smashing my caterpillar from a toast, I was given a psychedelic rotten crossbow, all to myself, filled with violent trombones. I say I say it was psychedelic because Sadie Adams, my mother, has stealthy cupcakes, something I never inherited. LOL. Thanks pepsivanilla! I’m afraid I did inherit the stealthy cupcakes in my family. But it helps me wield the psychedelic rotten crossbow, so I can’t complain.
7. Imagine my surprise when, after 666 coffee breaks of seducing with electricians over a spare statuesque autopsy and blathering my windshield from a zither, I was given a clandestine glandular Civil Libertarian all to myself, filled with deflated kangaroos I say it was clandestine because Sadie Adams, my mother, has prehistoric refrigerators, something I never inherited. Thanks Kitten! How come I never get a clandestine glandular Civil Libertarian filled with deflated kangaroos? Seriously? Am I doing something wrong?
8. Imagine my surprise when, after three centuries of lactating with rhesus monkeys over a spare flagrant toilet brush and undulating my perforation from a dynasty, I was given a pusillanimous, glistening hedgehog all to myself, filled with polymorphously perverse nipple. I say it was pusillanimous because Sadie Adams, my mother, has hectoring sea hags, something I never inherited. Thanks Stephanie! I had no idea it was okay to admit that I’d lactated with rhesus monkeys. Now, I feel like I can say anything.
9. Imagine my surprise when, after .0057 nanoseconds of killing with hookers over a spare sharp Burger King and sexing up my Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and wizardry from Edward Cullen, I was given a dumbass sparkly Pennsylvania, all to myself, filled with shiny brothel. I say it was dumbass because Sadie Adams, my mother, has enormous knickers, something I never inherited. Thanks anonymous! I hope you didn’t feel like you had to stay anonymous because of the enormous knickers. Really. You are not alone.
10. Imagine my surprise when, after 100 eons of pirating with dogs over a spare bogus ipod and running my book from a sweatshirt, I was given a smelly attractive case, all to myself, filled with filthy television. I say it was smelly because Sadie Adams, my mother, has new bottles, something I never inherited. Thanks xollinzolox! I totally agree about television. Totally.

Here are the other ongoing contests if you feel like winning a SIGNED COPY of The Dust of 100 Dogs! Random Vegetable Contest #43 - Deadline Sunday, February 1st 5PM EST. 10 Words Contest - Deadline Sunday February 1st 9PM EST. Back in another hour with the last of these! And a winner! Have you signed the Guest Book? ------------------------------------------------------------->

The First Ten D100D Mad Libs

I was going to narrow these down to save space, but I can't. There are some real beauties here that I just have to share. So, this afternoon, ten by ten, I will post most of the Mad Lib answers. This is what parties are for, right? The passage I used was the first paragraph of Chapter One from The Dust of 100 Dogs, and goes like this: Imagine my surprise when, after three centuries of fighting with siblings over a spare furry teat and licking my water from a bowl, I was given a huge human nipple, all to myself, filled with warm mother’s milk. I say it was huge because Sadie Adams, my mother, has enormous breasts, something I never inherited. Here are the first ten entries:

1. Imagine my surprise when, after four score and seven years of defenestrating with waffles over a spare fabbity fab bowling pin and burning my peanut butter from a Thestral, I was given a sympathetic, demanding elf, all to myself, filled with greasy Pegasus. I say it was sympathetic because Sadie Adams, my mother, has awesome nerdfighters, something I never inherited. Thanks Khy! I think I might know your sympathetic demanding elf. Is his name Jim?
2. Imagine my surprise when, after three seconds of skating with muskrats over a spare squalid inquisition and subverting my inquest from a superintendent, I was given a exotic catchy visor, all to myself, filled with nautical automation. I say it was exotic because Sadie Adams, my mother, has celibate petrologists, something I never inherited. Thanks Maureen! That exotic catchy visor looks awesome on you.
3. Imagine my surprise when, after 33 years of frolicking with banshees over a spare delightful Obama, and stumbling my phoenix from a garage, I was given a kindly aquatic lollipop, all to myself, filled with precious monument. I say it was kindly because Sadie Adams, my mother, has cracked moose, something I never inherited. Thanks Liv! A kindly aquatic lollipop? You have all the luck.
4. Imagine my surprise when, after 7 score of skipping with monkeys over a spare elfin pirate and bubbling my dinosaur from a lamp, I was given a humdrum prickly cabbage, all to myself, filled with woozy cactus. I say it was humdrum because Sadie Adams, my mother, has jittery grapes, something I never inherited. Thanks Erika Lynn! I had no idea other people skipped with monkeys. And I love the jittery grapes.
5. Imagine my surprise when, after two shakes of a dog’s tail of dipping with sea anemones over a spare crunchy dollhouse and rocking my lip gloss from a cinnamon candle, I was given a mousy fabulous hair extension all to myself, filled with sticky aluminum. I say it was mousy because Sadie Adams, my mother, has odorous candy canes, something I never inherited. Thanks raasch! YES for the mousy hair extension! Love that!
6. Imagine my surprise when, after 2 and a half seconds of diving with blobs named Bob over a spare greenish-brown sea-dancing penguin and twirling my fingers from a panda, I was given a thorny, mahogany Saudi Arabia, all to myself, filled with a tubby flag. I say it was thorny because Sadie Adams, my mother, has mushy cockroaches, something I never inherited. Thanks Diana! Ew. Mushy cockroaches.
7. Imagine my surprise when, after 48 hours of regurgitating with helium balloons over a spare complicated gingerbread cookie and shrinking my shark’s tooth from a feather boa, I was given a sarcastic full-grown manatee, all to myself, filled with over-exposed moustache. I say it was sarcastic because Sadie Adams, my mother, has foreign pajamas, something I never inherited. Thanks Scotti! Who doesn’t love a sarcastic full-grown manatee?
8. Imagine my surprise when, after 13.5 nanoseconds of defenestrating with incubi over a spare fortuitous boll weevil and masticating my naked mole rat from a papaya, I was given a ninja toxic gingivitis, all to myself, filled with scrumptious silly putty. I say it was ninja because Sadie Adams, my mother, has puffy frozen peas, something I never inherited. Thanks Tony! Love the scrumptious silly putty!
9. Imagine my surprise when, after a bat of an eye of hurtling with bollocks over a spare lush cranium and elongating my nymph from an actor, I was given a stupendous crystalline adder, all to myself, filled with putrid pygmy. I say it was stupendous because Sadie Adams, my mother, has luminescent infants, something I never inherited. Thanks Sharen! Be careful hurtling with bollocks. That can get iffy.
10. Imagine my surprise when, after the time it takes to walk from the bus stop to the grocery store of rolling with syringes over a spare robust pole and buying my feather boa from a Dr. Seuss hat, I was given a putrid alabaster stairwell, all to myself, filled with frantic globes. I say it was putrid because Sadie Adams, my mother, has vacuous guitars, something I never inherited. Thanks Liviania! Yeow – rolling with syringes. No wonder your alabaster stairwell is putrid.

Here are the other ongoing contests if you feel like winning a SIGNED COPY of The Dust of 100 Dogs! Random Vegetable Contest #43 - Deadline Sunday, February 1st 5PM EST. 10 Words Contest - Deadline Sunday February 1st 9PM EST. I'll be back throughout the afternoon to share some more of these D100D Mad Libs with you! Priceless stuff. And thank you again for coming around, playing games, and signing my guest book. It means so much to me that I can share a long awaited day with supportive wonderful people like you! Have you signed the Guest Book? ------------------------------------------------------------->

A Toast & A 10 Words Contest

I sang Happy Birthday to my book this morning. It was corny, but it was pretty cool, too. It helped that a 6-year-old was doing it with me. Had I been alone, it probably would have just been corny. Then, I checked my email and found a really awesome print review in the Fredericksburg Free Lance Star newspaper! CHECK IT OUT! After this contest, today's going to be about toasting LAUNCH DAY for The Dust of 100 Dogs and having a generally groovy time -- announcing winners and checking out some of these D100D Mad Libs. I can't thank you all enough for coming around to Dog Fact #9 and helping me celebrate! I'm having a smashing time and these party games are fun! THE CONTEST: I was digging through some old stuff the other day and saw an interview Q&A that grabbed my attention and made me think of a writing challenge.

• If you had ten words to describe The Dust of 100 Dogs, what would they be?

• Girl breaks free. Scary but worth it. And true love.

Challenge: If you had ten words to describe your favorite book or movie, what would they be? Post your answer (Book/Movie title & 10 words) in the comments area with your email address! Deadline: Sunday, Feb 1st, 9PM EST (TONIGHT!) Prize: A signed copy of The Dust of 100 Dogs and a VOG. Here are the other ongoing contests if you feel like winning a SIGNED COPY of The Dust of 100 Dogs! Haiku Contest - Deadline Sunday Feb 1st NOON EST. Random Vegetable Contest #43 - Deadline Sunday, February 1st 5PM EST. I'll be back throughout the morning/early afternoon to share some of these D100D Mad Libs with you! Priceless stuff. And thank you again for coming around, playing games, and signing my guest book. It means so much to me that I can share a long awaited day with supportive wonderful people like you! Have you signed the Guest Book? ------------------------------------------------------------->