The End

This may be the only time you'll hear me admit this: I liked the movie(s) better than the book.

Shocking, I know. This never happens. But honestly, THE DEATHLY HALLOWS was a slog for me. If I wasn't reading it out loud to my son, I doubt I would have finished reading it at all. Did we really need to document every, single, painful moment spent in the flipping tent?

But HP7P2 made clear for me things that were not so clear (and way too long) in the book (i.e. Dumbledore in King's Cross Station). The showdowns between Minerva and Snape (the entire audience cheered) and Molly and Bellatrix (of course we cheered again!) were AWESOME. I think my favorite scenes were the ones with Neville. He literally stole the show when he was on screen. And excuse me, but when did he get so good looking? How does that sneak up on someone when we've watched him grow up on screen?

I took my son to the midnight opening because come on, IT'S THE LAST ONE. And what a blast to be caught up in the whole experience: being up late with a bunch of dressed up crazies to be part of this shared cultural phenomenon. My son was shocked that I didn't cry, even at the death scene of my favorite character. Maybe since I knew it was coming. Maybe it happened too fast. Maybe I just have no tears at 2 in the morning.

But I am sad that this is truly the end.

Thank you, J.K. Rowling, for an amazing series of books, movies and memories.

Why Ninja Zombies Rule

I've been following Carrie Harris for a long time, from back in the days when Twilight parodies and Slayer (of Bees) stories debuted, people at the gym freaked us all out and Richard Simmons made regular appearances on her not quite so fancy blog. I still have emails from when she got her book deal and the fabulous prizes she sent after I zombified her two years ago.


But nothing could have prepared me for the awesomeness that is The Night of the Giving Dead. Not only is this woman funny, she's generous too.

To celebrate the release of her debut YA novel, Bad Taste in Boys, Carrie is hosting an auction to benefit the Giving Library at the University of Michigan Mott Children’s Hospital, a hospital that serves about 70,000 kids. Yeah, totally worthy recipient, right?

Here are just a few of the items you can bid on:

• Signed copies of great books like Clarity by Kim Harrington and Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson.
•  Audio cds of books like Torment by Lauren Kate
• Query and manuscript critiques from agents like Tina Wexler, Alyssa Eisner Henkin and Kate Schafer Testerman or authors like Beth Revis, Caroline Star Rose or Cynthea Liu.  
• Weronika Janczuk is even offering a full manuscript critique and Michelle Wolfson has a 30 minute phone call up for grabs.

(Just, y' know, don't outbid me on the items I've bid on...pretty please! ;P)

But check out the grand prize drawings:

1. A Kindle preloaded with Bad Taste in Boys  OR
2. A 6-month mentorship with Carrie herself

Even if you've already been to The Night of the Giving Dead, check it out again. New items are added as they come in so the lists keep growing.

Help sick kids, get cool stuff -- it's a win-win for sure. The auction only runs through July 25 so make sure you make your bids before time runs out.

And just so you know, tomorrow night while Carrie vicariously attends the midnight showing of Harry Potter with me, I'll be catching my zzzz's through her. We're part of the Order of the Blog Ninjas. We can do things like that :D

Magic or a Sword?

Which is more important when fighting monsters? Magic or a sword?

Not the sort of thing you typically have to worry about on a Saturday morning. But, you know, if you're a writer, the question might come up. Especially if you inhabit the Woerld created by Teresa Frohock in Miserere: An Autumn Tale.  Here's her answer:

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Thank you so much for having me here, Sherrie!

I can’t speak for any novel but my own, but in Woerld, experience is your most valuable weapon, because it is through experience that you know whether to use sword or magic.

When I originally envisioned Woerld’s bastions, they were more like universities, military academies where the Katharoi learned the art of warfare, but also more about their enemy, the Fallen. The more I delve into Woerld and the cultures of the bastions, the more I realize that they place a great deal of emphasis on learning and on older Katharoi guiding the younger members.

They are fighting an enemy that is ancient and devious. The Fallen have eternity and they know it, so they think nothing of devising plans that can span generations. They also know that a successful coup does not have to entail bloodshed.

Faced with an enemy like this, the Katharoi’s only hope is to educate themselves about their enemy as thoroughly as possible. That way, when they have to face off on the battlefield, the Katharoi don’t waste time or energy trying to discern the best approach. The question as to whether to use magic or sword will be instinctive because of their experience.

So what do you think? Which is more important when fighting monsters? 

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I'm going with magic!
Teresa's debut novel, Miserere: An Autumn Tale, was released on July 1 from Nightshade Books.
Read the first four chapters of Miserere FREE here. You can learn more about Teresa and her novel by visiting her website, Teresafrohock.com.

The Fear Factor

I’ve been having a lot of email conversations with writer friends. Some are published, some have yet to finish writing a novel. Several, like me, have an agent and are on submission. One thing we have in common, regardless of where we are on our journey as authors: we all have major fears.

Published author is worried that her new novel won’t sell, that her recent release won’t sell through, that she’s spending too much time or not enough time on marketing, that her revisions won’t meet the editor’s expectations, that she might never be published again...

Agented author is scared that her book will never get picked up by a publishing house, her agent will drop her as a result, and nothing she writes will ever be as good as the novel she got signed for, and that wasn’t even good enough to get published…

Unagented author is depressed because she has put in years working on something that may never see life beyond her laptop, that her writing will never measure up, and no matter how hard she works, she may never be lucky enough to even snag an agent...

Any of those sound familiar?

It used to surprise me to hear agented authors say they were scared. As an unagented writer looking up to them, I thought they had it made. They had someone who believed in them enough to sign them on and sub their book. What did they have to worry about?

And then I got an agent. And I realized that wonderful as it is to have someone on your side, it doesn’t quiet that snarky little voice that keeps trying to remind me that I’m not good enough, that one day soon I’ll be found out, that I may as well give up now.

We writers tend to be a bit on the neurotic side to begin with. (Yes, I’m talking to you. And you.) But we can’t let those fears get the better of us. Every step of the way there’ll be things that scare us, things that threaten to overwhelm us. We’re bigger than that. And the friendships we’ve forged through this amazing blogging community will see us through no matter where this writing journey takes us.

What’s your biggest fear?

Stare it down. TAKE it down.

You can do it. You’ve got a journey to make.