1. I'm pretty sure this will apply to me someday.
2. Who wouldn't want to do this?
For now, I'm off to SCBWI LA! Anyone else going/want to meet up?
(Obviously, these images were found on PostSecret.com)
♥ me
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Can You Relate?
I'm an avid reader of PostSecret on Sundays. And I just had share two of the postcards that will make writers/readers laugh.
1. I'm pretty sure this will apply to me someday.
2. Who wouldn't want to do this?
For now, I'm off to SCBWI LA! Anyone else going/want to meet up?
(Obviously, these images were found on PostSecret.com)
♥ me
1. I'm pretty sure this will apply to me someday.
2. Who wouldn't want to do this?
For now, I'm off to SCBWI LA! Anyone else going/want to meet up?
(Obviously, these images were found on PostSecret.com)
♥ me
Monday, July 26, 2010
Sometimes You've Gotta Go a Little Wild
As writers, most of us do... In our imaginations anyway. And if you're anything like me, one of your favorite things to do is sit with your computer and let the words flow. In fact, I'd say that's what I do for the majority of my free time, and I love every second of it. (Even on the days when the words only seem to trickle!)
But I think it's just as important to get out in the REAL world and let loose! Interact with other people, challenge yourself, refresh your brain and, if you're lucky, find inspiration in unexpected places. OR forget about writing all together! (Okay, and if you know how to do that, let me know because I have yet to figure it out, ha.)
On Saturday, I went with a group of friends from work to Rock Creek Park, Maryland, and played at this place called Go Ape. It's a treetop adventure land and It. Was. Awesome.
See?
So Lucy and I started the day off excited and calm:
and ended up big lumps of sweaty disgustingness--seriously, you should have smelled us:
The best part was how intense the entire course was. It left no room for thoughts or worries or anything, just one foot, one hand in front of the other for two solid hours. (Except of course when I was thinking about how much my current MC would LOVE the place! There's pretty much a 100% chance this will end up in a book of mine some day.)
How were your weekends??
♥ me
But I think it's just as important to get out in the REAL world and let loose! Interact with other people, challenge yourself, refresh your brain and, if you're lucky, find inspiration in unexpected places. OR forget about writing all together! (Okay, and if you know how to do that, let me know because I have yet to figure it out, ha.)
On Saturday, I went with a group of friends from work to Rock Creek Park, Maryland, and played at this place called Go Ape. It's a treetop adventure land and It. Was. Awesome.
See?
So Lucy and I started the day off excited and calm:
The best part was how intense the entire course was. It left no room for thoughts or worries or anything, just one foot, one hand in front of the other for two solid hours. (Except of course when I was thinking about how much my current MC would LOVE the place! There's pretty much a 100% chance this will end up in a book of mine some day.)
How were your weekends??
♥ me
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Summer Saradise 7 ARC giveaway!!
So I kicked off the start of summer with my Very Vampire Contest, and now to celebrate the middle of a kick ass summer so far, I'm opening another contest!
And this one's all ARCs! Yeah, seven of them to be exact. And these books are freaking hot. I can personally vouch for how awesome they are*, so trust me--you want to enter!!
The books up for grabs:
Clockwork Angel, by Cassandra Clare
And this one's all ARCs! Yeah, seven of them to be exact. And these books are freaking hot. I can personally vouch for how awesome they are*, so trust me--you want to enter!!
The books up for grabs:
Clockwork Angel, by Cassandra Clare
Firelight, by Sophie Jordan
Halo, by Alexandra Adornetto
Paranormalcy, by Kiersten White
Personal Demons, by Lisa Desrochers
The Replacement, by Brenna Yovanoff
Torment, by Lauren Kate
The rules for entering are pretty simple...
All you have to do to enter is be a follower and fill out the entry form (link is below). OH, and make sure to rank your preferences for the packages!Also, US and Canada residents only. Sorry.
Want to increase your chances to win? Lots of ways to do that (though none are required to enter)...
+1 facebook friend me, baby!
+1 follow me on twitter
+1 tweet the contest (make sure to include @saramcclung at the end of the tweet, so I can track!)
+2 send me some new blog friends
+3 post a link to the contest in your sidebar
+5 write a post about the contestThe contest runs from July 20-August 6!
Want to increase your chances to win? Lots of ways to do that (though none are required to enter)...
+1 facebook friend me, baby!
+1 follow me on twitter
+1 tweet the contest (make sure to include @saramcclung at the end of the tweet, so I can track!)
+2 send me some new blog friends
+3 post a link to the contest in your sidebar
+5 write a post about the contestThe contest runs from July 20-August 6!
Good luck!
*A couple of these are preread... But don't worry, I don't dog-ear pages or anything!
PS If you want to double or even triple your chances for some of these books, check out Carol's contest AND Alexandra's contest!
♥ me
Thursday, July 15, 2010
When Life Gives You Traffic? Jam Out to Old School Hip-Hop!
This post has absolutely nothing to do with writing. But I have found a cure all for grumpy car trips!
See, in the outer banks (OBX) Husband and I had a wedding to go to. On a Saturday. And it was pouring outside. Traffic was so bad, the GPS kept giving us news like this:
Yeah. 4.7 miles in 32 minutes. And that minute estimation? It grew. When we had 4.3 miles left to go, we were looking at freaking 45 minutes.
Needless to say, Husband and I became exceedingly cranky as the minutes clocked by. Okay, truth be told? Husband stayed quiet and I became exceedingly cranky, but whatevs.
THEN I had this brilliant idea: I decided we should rock out to some old school hip-hop and found the perfect station. For the rest of those32 45 65 minutes, we were dancing around to songs like:
Which lead to:
See that? Smiles despite the rain and centimeter by centimeter crawling!
Yep, so my new theory is that old school hip-hop can cure everything.
Plus, then we got to the wedding right as the sun came out and got to take pictures like this:
and like this:
♥ me
See, in the outer banks (OBX) Husband and I had a wedding to go to. On a Saturday. And it was pouring outside. Traffic was so bad, the GPS kept giving us news like this:
Needless to say, Husband and I became exceedingly cranky as the minutes clocked by. Okay, truth be told? Husband stayed quiet and I became exceedingly cranky, but whatevs.
THEN I had this brilliant idea: I decided we should rock out to some old school hip-hop and found the perfect station. For the rest of those
and
Yep, so my new theory is that old school hip-hop can cure everything.
Plus, then we got to the wedding right as the sun came out and got to take pictures like this:
♥ me
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Winner Winner Chicken Dinner =)
Okay, so it's not often that I pat myself on the back, but... um...
Why am I patting myself on the back? Well, you see, it's because I SAVED the day for the winners of the Barry Lyga contest!!
Here's how it all went down:
First, Alexandra decides that she doesn't WANT to announce the winners. Why? Um, because she wanted to keep all the goods for herself.
THEN, Carol jumps on that bandwagon and says we should announce FAKE winners, like names of people who didn't even enter/don't even exist. Why? Same reason. I mean, you've all seen how hard it is for her to giveaway books: Le Example
I mean, okay. I have to admit: I was kinda tempted. I mean, Barry's books are SO freaking good. But, no. I thought of all you entrants and how we'd given our word about giving away the awesome books we had to give. And yeah, it's gonna be hard to part with them, but still. We need to do it.
So I convinced A & C that it was time to say goodbye. I explained that while I understood their reluctance, it was the Right Thing To Do.
Carol offered me one of her kidneys*.
Alexandra threatened to give me noogies**.
But I held strong and, in the end, they conceded. PHEW!
So, my dear winners: you're welcome =)
And without further ado...
The winners of the SIGNED Hero-Types are: Jenny Martin and Niki!
The winner of the ARC of Goth Girl Rising is: Karen Amanda Hooper!
The winner of the SIGNED Archvillain ARC is: Julie Musil!
The winner of Boy Toy is: Taffy Lovell!
Congratulations guys!! Make sure to send Alexandra, Carol, or me an email with your mailing address and we'll get your prizes right out to you!!
Thanks so much to everyone who participated in Barry Lyga Rocks!! Day! I know he appreciated it, he even left a facebook status up about it =)
*okay, so it was a kidney bean...
**had she threatened a swirly, I probably would have caved.
♥ me
*pats self on back*
Why am I patting myself on the back? Well, you see, it's because I SAVED the day for the winners of the Barry Lyga contest!!
Here's how it all went down:
First, Alexandra decides that she doesn't WANT to announce the winners. Why? Um, because she wanted to keep all the goods for herself.
THEN, Carol jumps on that bandwagon and says we should announce FAKE winners, like names of people who didn't even enter/don't even exist. Why? Same reason. I mean, you've all seen how hard it is for her to giveaway books: Le Example
I mean, okay. I have to admit: I was kinda tempted. I mean, Barry's books are SO freaking good. But, no. I thought of all you entrants and how we'd given our word about giving away the awesome books we had to give. And yeah, it's gonna be hard to part with them, but still. We need to do it.
So I convinced A & C that it was time to say goodbye. I explained that while I understood their reluctance, it was the Right Thing To Do.
Carol offered me one of her kidneys*.
Alexandra threatened to give me noogies**.
But I held strong and, in the end, they conceded. PHEW!
So, my dear winners: you're welcome =)
And without further ado...
The winner of the ARC of Goth Girl Rising is: Karen Amanda Hooper!
The winner of the SIGNED Archvillain ARC is: Julie Musil!
The winner of Boy Toy is: Taffy Lovell!
Congratulations guys!! Make sure to send Alexandra, Carol, or me an email with your mailing address and we'll get your prizes right out to you!!
Thanks so much to everyone who participated in Barry Lyga Rocks!! Day! I know he appreciated it, he even left a facebook status up about it =)
*okay, so it was a kidney bean...
**had she threatened a swirly, I probably would have caved.
♥ me
Thursday, July 8, 2010
ALA: Some Pics!
So, all I really have to say about ALA, was that it rocked. A lot. Seriously, that's my recap... There are no better words to describe it.
We met fabulous people and authors, got some goodies to giveaway to you guys who couldn't make it. (I got lucky because ALA was in DC, so of course I had to grab some super fabulous books for you guys who are farther away!)
Also, two of my CPs, Alexandra and Carol, are pretty much awesome. We had so much fun!
And here's a sampling of the proof:
We were told to act like monkeys. Apparently Carol can't follow directions.
Like I said: this year was lucky for me, since ALA was in DC. But next year? ALA's in New Orleans... So the big question is: who's coming with me???
Oh, and Carol? Just for you? Hottie McBartender =)
♥ me
We met fabulous people and authors, got some goodies to giveaway to you guys who couldn't make it. (I got lucky because ALA was in DC, so of course I had to grab some super fabulous books for you guys who are farther away!)
Also, two of my CPs, Alexandra and Carol, are pretty much awesome. We had so much fun!
And here's a sampling of the proof:
We were told to act like monkeys. Apparently Carol can't follow directions.
"Act Like CPs"
heart
double heart
two of my faves
PJ Hoover!
ALA Expo Floor
John Green!
The Cat in the Hat!
Libba Bray!
A Hungry Caterpillar!
David Levithan!
. 
One last shot before C has to leave...
Oh, and Carol? Just for you? Hottie McBartender =)
♥ me
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Barry Lyga Rocks!! Day
Hey Barry!
So, before I met you, back when I was just a fan of your books and the fact that you sent some signed copies to me, Carol and Alexandra, we had this fun idea to have a Barry Lyga Rocks!! Day. And now that day has arrived! It’s cool because now I know first hand how much you rock =)
And while I’m sure there are hundreds of them, I thought I’d make a list of the top 5 reasons I think you rock. (Yep, I’m a list girl… It’s how I roll.)
1.Obviously, the best place to start is with your books. They’re amazing. I mean, let’s take Goth Girl Rising for example. You fill a room with 100 people and I’m telling ya, there’s not ONE person who could stop reading it after just the first page. It’s that good, straight from the start.
2. And then there’s you as a person. I’ve met some authors whose eyes have kind of glazed over when they learn I’m not yet published. But yours? Nope. You partied with us, went to dinner, hung with us during the convention… You didn’t push advice on us, but offered it when asked for. All around that makes you a pretty cool guy in my book.
3. Speaking of partying—it brings me to my third reason: you’re fun to party with! We totally closed down the kidlit happy hour and that we were all still standing by the end was pretty impressive.
4. You keep great secrets! I’m impressed—you’re working on a super ridiculously awesome graphic novel and refuse to spill anything pertinent to it, even the title! Oh, and you’re working with Colleen Doran, who’s amazing and sweet and holy cow a brilliant artist! This gives you bonus cool points in my opinion!
5. Plus, you also have a really good memory. When you personalized my Archvillain, you remembered my name didn’t have an h*. Heck, one time my MOM even wrote my name with an h! (Yep, in the scrapbook she made us for my wedding—trust me, she’ll never live it down.)
I could go on and on, but I’m keeping it trim today—so you have time to check out all the other letters—the blogs are linked at the bottom of this post!
Sincerely,
Sara
PS. If you're reading these letters, and it appears nobody's commenting, they ARE! Blogger's comment system is having a major fail today, sigh.
*Okay, so you could have read it on my name tag, but still I'm pretty sure you didn't.
Today's Participants:
Alexandra Shostak
Carol Valdez Miller
Jenny Martin
Jonathon Arntson
Julie Musil
Karen Amanda Hooper
Kristen Yard
Niki
Shannon O'Donnell
Shannon Whitney Messenger
Simon Larter
Sydnee Thompson
Tiffany Neal
Tina Lynn Sandoval
If I missed you, or you want to sign up last minute (don't forget, it gives you FIFTEEN extra entries in the contest giveaway for his awesome signed books and ARCs) leave a comment on my post and I'll add ya to the list!
♥ me
So, before I met you, back when I was just a fan of your books and the fact that you sent some signed copies to me, Carol and Alexandra, we had this fun idea to have a Barry Lyga Rocks!! Day. And now that day has arrived! It’s cool because now I know first hand how much you rock =)
And while I’m sure there are hundreds of them, I thought I’d make a list of the top 5 reasons I think you rock. (Yep, I’m a list girl… It’s how I roll.)
1.Obviously, the best place to start is with your books. They’re amazing. I mean, let’s take Goth Girl Rising for example. You fill a room with 100 people and I’m telling ya, there’s not ONE person who could stop reading it after just the first page. It’s that good, straight from the start.
2. And then there’s you as a person. I’ve met some authors whose eyes have kind of glazed over when they learn I’m not yet published. But yours? Nope. You partied with us, went to dinner, hung with us during the convention… You didn’t push advice on us, but offered it when asked for. All around that makes you a pretty cool guy in my book.
3. Speaking of partying—it brings me to my third reason: you’re fun to party with! We totally closed down the kidlit happy hour and that we were all still standing by the end was pretty impressive.
4. You keep great secrets! I’m impressed—you’re working on a super ridiculously awesome graphic novel and refuse to spill anything pertinent to it, even the title! Oh, and you’re working with Colleen Doran, who’s amazing and sweet and holy cow a brilliant artist! This gives you bonus cool points in my opinion!
5. Plus, you also have a really good memory. When you personalized my Archvillain, you remembered my name didn’t have an h*. Heck, one time my MOM even wrote my name with an h! (Yep, in the scrapbook she made us for my wedding—trust me, she’ll never live it down.)
I could go on and on, but I’m keeping it trim today—so you have time to check out all the other letters—the blogs are linked at the bottom of this post!
Sincerely,
Sara
PS. If you're reading these letters, and it appears nobody's commenting, they ARE! Blogger's comment system is having a major fail today, sigh.
*Okay, so you could have read it on my name tag, but still I'm pretty sure you didn't.
Today's Participants:
Alexandra Shostak
Carol Valdez Miller
Jenny Martin
Jonathon Arntson
Julie Musil
Karen Amanda Hooper
Kristen Yard
Niki
Shannon O'Donnell
Shannon Whitney Messenger
Simon Larter
Sydnee Thompson
Tiffany Neal
Tina Lynn Sandoval
If I missed you, or you want to sign up last minute (don't forget, it gives you FIFTEEN extra entries in the contest giveaway for his awesome signed books and ARCs) leave a comment on my post and I'll add ya to the list!
Happy Barry Lyga Rocks!! Day
♥ me
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