When The Lights Go Out

I am nocturnal. Left to my own devices, I will sleep until noon and stay awake until 5am. My best writing is done under the cover of night, even if I have nothing to do during the day—hell, even if I’ve had thousands of things to do during the day and am exhausted come 4AM. But it’s just the way I’m wired.

And I know I’m not the only one. There are a handful of writers haunting Gchat and Twitter deep into the wee hours of the morning; some are West Coasters, some live in countries far, far away.  


But there are are others out there who just prefer the darkness.

When do you write? 

And the winner of CLOCKWORK ANGEL is...

Arena!

YAY! Shoot me an email at mdhodkin at gmail dot com and I will endeavor to get this baby in the mail to you ASAP! 

To everyone else who entered—THANK YOU for participating. And don’t despair, because I’m going to be giving away THE DUFF by Kody Keplinger, MATCHED by Ally Condie, BEAUTIFUL DARKNESS by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, GRACE by Elizabeth Scott, FIRELIGHT by Sophie Jordan, DELIRIUM by Lauren Oliver, and...

in the coming months. EEP! Stay tuned!

I know what you'll all be doing for the next few days...

But now that you've scored it, don't forget to enter to win CLOCKWORK ANGEL by Cassandra Clare here.  It will hopefully arrive in your mailbox JUST as you finish. 

Contest ends at 11:59 TONIGHT!

Good luck, and enjoy the bloodbath :D

Your Audience and The Old Spice Guy

EXT.  LIVING ROOM SOFA - NIGHT

MICHELLE: OMG you have to watch this this is the best thing I have ever seen.


(Michelle commences Old Spice video. Watches HELP DESK'S reaction eagerly.)


HELP DESK: It's funny.


MICHELLE: IT’S NOT JUST FUNNY! IT MAKES ME WANT TO BUY OLD SPICE! 


HELP DESK: (nonplussed) 


MICHELLE: I want you to bake me a gourmet cake in the dream kitchen you built with your own two hands. I want two tickets to that thing I love and now DIAMONDS. 


HELP DESK: (nonplussed)


MICHELLE: I want a horse. 

FIN.

We writers get lots of advice tossed our way. A lot of it depends on what we write…and on who we’re writing for. Because even if we are writing the books we want to read, even if we are writing the books only we can write, if we’re writing for publication, we’re writing for other people, too. Agents. Editors. Teenagers, if you’re writing YA. Toddlers, if you’re writing picture books or whatever the heck those toddlers are reading these days, IDK I have no idea. And mysteries, sci-fi, fantasy, and romance have their own particular demographics. I think it’s foolish to ignore that. 

And what that means is, we have to choose. Our books can’t be YA-literary-sci-fi-mystery-thriller-romance-chick-lit-comedies to please all audiences of the those genres. We have to know which genre is ours, who the intended audience is for our books, and know what they like so that when we write our stories that no one else can write, we make sure we aren’t writing them for the were-merman population. We have to make sure that an audience for our book actually exists.

Old Spice knew that women were bigger consumers of products than men. They wanted that market share and they crafted their campaign to get it.  And because they targeted their audience so well, and so directly, everyone else noticed, too. 

So who are you writing for?

This contest is going to be so fast blink and you'll

I can't believe how awesome you are, guys. I mean, I can, but it's hard, you know? Because your awesomeness blows me away. Which is why I'm giving away CLOCKWORK ANGEL by Cassandra Clare--it might be the ONLY thing that matches your levels of awesome. 

And this is probably your last chance to get your hands on it before the book comes out on August 31st.  Since the pub date is super soon, this contest is going to be SUPERFAST. 

Magic is dangerous—but love is more dangerous still. 

When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos. 

Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What's more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa's power for his own. 

Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by—and torn between—two best friends: Jem, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm's length...everyone, that is, but Tessa. 

As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world...and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.

I read it. And it was everything I love about the Shadowhunter world wrapped up with a black velvet bow and presented by a handsome fellow with blue eyes and raven black hair and a biting wit and...

Ahem. I seem to have gotten a bit carried away.  It's not my fault, really--that's just what these books do to me. And so, without further ado, here's what YOU must do to enter:

In the comments, you MUST state EITHER:

a) Why you love The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare, OR:

b) Why you are looking forward to Clockwork Angel 

That's it! That's all you have to do. But if you'd like some extra entries to boost your chance to win, you can earn them thusly:

+1 New followers of this here blog

+2 If you're already a follower of this here blog

+1 New followers on Twitter

+2 If you're already a follower on Twitter

+1 Linking to my contest on your blog, twitter, etc. Include links. (up to 5)

+3 For posting about my contest on your blog. (Must be an actual post)

+2 Add me to your blog roll

And please, for the sake of my delicate sanity, tally up your entries in your comments so I can add them easier. Me + math don't mix. Winners will be selected randomly, and have always been selected randomly, which is why it's kind of extraordinary that there has always been one international winner and one American winner for each of the contests. Since there is only ONE prize this time, I wonder what nation the winner will hail from! 

The contest will end THIS TUESDAY, August 24th at 11:59 pm Eastern time, otherwise known as MOCKINGJAY DAY, which means you might want to get your entries in today, or Monday, before you run off to your local independent store to buy the LAST and FINAL Hunger Games book. Winner will be announced August 25th. Good day, good luck, and even if you don't enter, thank you for reading.

WINNERS!

Yes, this is super late, and I'm sorry. BUT! The good news is that Random.org has tabulated and spoken AND the winners are:

Lena, who won MATCHED, I AM NUMBER FOUR, LOW RED MOON, and DUST

and Shy, who won FIRELIGHT!

SUPERCALAFRAGALISTICONGRATULATIONS GUYS! Please email me at mdhodkin at gmail dot com with your addresses so I can get your literary delights in the mail post haste :D

Also, a few other things:

1) How were there no votes for Edward? HOW?

2) I am so, so grateful that you all stop by to read my ramblings. And I really want to do something for you to show my appreciation. I am not sure what I could do, except give away CLOCKWORK ANGEL by Cassandra Clare, in a super speedy contest to ensure that the winner gets the book before the on-sale date of August 31. What say you?

Love you all. May you dream of chocolate and unicorns.

*WITHDRAWS BACK INTO DEADLINE CLOSET*

Because you are so SPECTACULAR...

I've added a fifth ARC to the "Who's Your Match?" contest!

It was deliciously steamy, friends. Deliciously.

Now, what does this mean?

It means that ONE lucky person is going to win MATCHED, I AM NUMBER FOUR, DUST, and LOW RED MOON.

And ONE lucky person is going to win FIRELIGHT.

There are less than 6 hours to win, and there are forty four entries as of this posting. The odds are lookin' prettttty awesome, for you guys!

*GIANT HUGS*

Can't wait to announce the winners tomorrow! I'll be linking to the blog post on Twitter :D

Mini-break

I'm under a deadline, friends. 

And despite what you may think, it is wonderful, as the genius Veronica noted in one of her many genius posts. 

But it does mean that MARA #1 needs my attention. Most of it, in fact. Also, it means that I'm going a little crazy, yes, more than usual, and I have to run with it. And while I LOVE blogging, and trying to write posts for you guys that are funny, helpful, not stupid, or stupid on purpose, it's hard, yo. So I'm going to be scaling back a bit--i.e. not posting five days a week, for the next few weeks. And for a little while, my posts here will probably consist of either:

a) links

b) videos

c) contests

d) pictures

e) ________

and I'll probably say something on Twitter, first. But I'll be scaling back from Twitter a bit, too. And I just wanted to warn you. So you don't, you know, throw yourselves off cliffs in my mini-absences. Because I considered that possibility and determined it was HIGHLY LIKELY. /sarcasm

But srsly. I love you, and I'll miss you. And I'll definitely be announcing contest winners on Thursday, and since I reached 800+ followers on Twitter (HOLY *&^%), there will be A SECOND WINNER OF AN AS-YET-UNNAMED ARC! I am super excited about the contest, guys. If you haven't entered yet, you should. The amazingness of the books this Fall...I can't even tell you.

And with that, I'm outie 5000.

For now ;) 

PS: Who can guess where the Wordle comes from? 

Baby Naming - A conversation with T.H. Mafi

lovingly created by Em

me: i'm going to name my kid

  

draco malfoy

thmafi: NICE

  

maybe i'll name mine stephenie meyer

me: thats a pretty name.

  

if i have a girl

  

she'll be

  

Millicent Bagnold

  

Millicent Bagnold Hodkin

thmafi: my kid is gonna be named Dumbledore

me: cries tears of joy

Dumbledore Mafi.

  

ITS SO BEAUTIFUL

  

SO INTENSE

  

SO VIVID

thmafi: TRIPLE RAINBOW

me: i think millicent is a great name though

  

i'm going for it

millicent bagnold.

  

i'm going to get pregnant RIGHT NOW

  

or rescue another pet.

  

either way.

thmafi: PREGNANT

  

OMG GET PREGNANT

  

i heard

it's like

  

squishy

  

when ur making the kid

  

it's supposed to be fun

me: DEAD

  

me: Marvolo Gaunt 

thmafi: screw that

  

im naming my kid

  

The Rejectionist

me: that would actually

  

be

  

KICKASS

thmafi: YUP

me: omg.

Mafalda Hopkirk Hodkin

thmafi: HAHAHA

me: Helga Hufflepuff Hodkin

thmafi: that's hott

me: I can't

  

I can't even

  

I'm going to pee

thmafi: PEE

  

that happens

when you're pregnant

  

you mustve skipped a step

me: omg what would I do

  

without you

thmafi: LOLOL i dont know

  

how we managed to survive without the ping

  

i think

  

we are going through

  

WAIT

  

HOLD ON

this is like us: http://mingle2.com/dating/phases [http://mingle2.com/dating/phases]

me: are you trying to tell me you pooped in the chair?

thmafi: OMG I DIDNT

  

it's just chocolate

  

it melted in my pocket

me: lick it then.

  

prove it.

thmafi: lololol

me: ps I think these are really pretty

  

http://www.thebookseller.com/news/125322-all-white-for-twilight.html

  

they remind me

of red velvet cupcakes

thmafi: i want to EAT THEM

  

omg yes

  

exactly

  

but they wont be available in the US

me: oh

thmafi: probly cuz

  

the US folk

  

will cut off their limbs

  

and sell them on the black market

  

for a copy

  

and then they'll make

SO MUCH MOAR MONIES

me: i'd buy it

thmafi: my arm?

me: yes

  

so pretty

  

pets

thmafi: thanks

  

ive been moisturizing in preparation for this moment

thmafi: you can use this for your blog post

me: done.

Before Stephenie Meyer & J.K. Rowling, there was R.L. Stine.

His books, which he is still writing, have sold more than 300 million copies and are published in over 32 languages. 

And last night, he talked to me. 

This all went down because I decided to re-read THE FIRST HORROR to participate in Veronica’s kidlit link chain. R.L. Stine was hands down the most important author of my childhood; I stayed up way past my bedtime, with a flashlight under the blanket, devouring dozens of his books, and there is no question that his work has profoundly influenced mine. So last night, I read one of the FEAR STREET novels and tweeted about it. And, well, there you have it.  

But about the book. 

Fearing the tales surrounding Fear Street, twins Cally and Kody Frasier reluctantly move into the house their family has just bought, unaware that a evil secret haunts their new residence and threatens to claim them before it is discovered.

When I realized last night that I was 12 when I read it, I was surprised, because I was also reading adult authors like Michael Crichton, Dean Koontz, Stephen King and Robin Cook at that age. But after I re-read the book, it made more sense: R.L. Stine’s novels are unoutgrowable.

There’s tension on every page. Breakneck pacing. End-of-chapter hooks that grab you by the hair and drag you into the next chapter. Deliciously terrifying horror tropes. An authentic teen voice. A kiss! And references to the Gap and Super Nintendo for the win. 

And you know what else? It's kidlit, yes, but R.L. Stine didn’t feel the need to end things happily, to tie everything up with a neat little bow. In fact, I’d say that THE FIRST HORROR was seriously disturbing and exceptionally creepy, and remained so to the very last page. 

Loved it. SO much. 

What are some of your R.L. Stine favorites? 

PS: Today is Friday the 13th. Pretty perfect, no?

I'm Not Gonna Write You A Love Song

Do you write in silence? Or do you need a constant stream of background noise to get the words out? Does it depend on whether you’re drafting, or revising, or tweaking, or freaking? Do you listen to the same songs over and over and over again or do you burn through playlists, come what may? And do you have different playlists for different moods? Different scenes? Different phases? 

What do you listen to, and when? Recommend your favorite songs to write or revise by. And GO. 

Baby Did A Bad, Bad Thing

"There is no such thing as a moral or immoral book. Books are either well written or badly written. That is all."

~ Oscar Wilde, Preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray

An INFORMAL POLL, friends: do you agree with Mr. Wilde? What say you? 

Your answers will generate a future blog post, so SPEAK UP LOUDLY PLEASE!

"There is no such thing as a moral or immoral book. Books are either well written or badly written. That is all."
	Preach ON, Mr. Wilde. Books are either well written or badly written; that's it, and that's all
	Wrong. Books can be moral or immoral, fo shizzle
pollcode.com free polls

Who's YOUR Match?

With your help, friends, there are now THREE HUNDRED OF YOU in the little friend box and SEVEN HUNDRED AND FIFTY FOUR of you chit chatting me on Twitter. Holy hell you are amazing. 


I would give you all 300 ARCs to commemorate this momentous occasion, but I don't have that many. So instead, I am going to give away FOUR ARCs. Because I AM NUMBER FOUR is one of them, even though it’s already out. I’m sorry, I just couldn’t get it together to give it away before now. Oh well. 

BUT. The other books are NOT out yet. And all four are extremely shiny and fabulous. 

First, MATCHED:

You know this one. It lives up to the hype.

Second is I AM NUMBER FOUR by James Frey Pittacus Lore:

Nine of us came here. We look like you. We talk like you. We live among you. But we are not you. We can do things you dream of doing. We have powers you dream of having. We are stronger and faster than anything you have ever seen. We are the superheroes you worship in movies and comic books—but we are real. 

Our plan was to grow, and train, and become strong, and become one, and fight them. But they found us and started hunting us first. Now all of us are running. Spending our lives in shadows, in places where no one would look, blending in. we have lived among you without you knowing. 

But they know. 

They caught Number One in Malaysia. 

Number Two in England. 

And Number Three in Kenya. 

They killed them all. 

I am Number Four. 

I am next.

Also majorly hyped. It could be the Next Big Thing. Even Lainey stayed up all night reading it. 

Third is LOW RED MOON by Ivy Devlin

Avery Hood is reeling from the loss of her parents--and the fact that she can't remember what happened to them even though she was there. 

She's struggling to adjust to life without them, and to living with her grandmother, when she meets Ben, who isn't like any guy she's ever met before. 

It turns out there's a reason why, and Ben's secret may hold the key to Avery finding out what happened to her parents... 

But what if that secret changes everything she knows about--and feels for--Ben?

This book is spectacular. Even Kirkus thinks so. And they are PICKY. 

Fourth is DUST by Joan Francis Turner.

Nine years ago, Jessie had a family. Now, she has a gang. 

Nine years ago, Jessie was a vegetarian. Now, she eats very fresh meat. 

Nine years ago, Jessie was in a car crash and died. Nine years ago, Jessie was human. 

Now, she’s not. 

After she was buried, Jessie awoke and tore through the earth to arise, reborn, as a zombie. Jessie’s gang is the Fly-by-Nights. She loves the ancient, skeletal Florian and his memories of time gone by. She’s in love with Joe, a maggot-infested corpse. They fight, hunt, dance together as one—something humans can never understand. There are dark places humans have learned to avoid, lest they run into the zombie gangs. 

But now, Jessie and the Fly-by-Nights have seen new creatures in the woods—things not human and not zombie. A strange new illness has flamed up out of nowhere, causing the undeads to become more alive and the living to exist on the brink of death. As bits and pieces of the truth fall around Jessie, like the flesh off her bones, she’ll have to choose between looking away or staring down the madness—and hanging onto everything she has come to know as life…

I suggest reading it pre or post-MATCHED. You know, to mix it up. 

And now, THE RULES:

To enter this contest, match yourself up with your favorite literary hottie (c whut I did thar?) Remember to leave your name and your email address so I know how to find you. 

And for extra entries: 

+1 New followers of this here blog

+2 If you're already a follower of this here blog

+1 New followers on Twitter

+2 If you're already a follower on Twitter

+1 Linking to my contest on your blog, twitter, etc. Include links. (up to 5)

+3 For posting about my contest on your blog. (Must be an actual post)

+2 Adding me to your blog roll

Me and math get along like flesh eating bacteria and…flesh. Which is to say not at all. So please add up your entries in your comments. And for clarity’s sake, your initial comment stating your desired literary match is one entry. Everything else is gravy. Winners will be selected randomly, so even if you match yourself up with Humbert Humbert, you can still win. And I won't judge you. Ok I’m lying, I totally will. 

And because I have so many friends from so many countries (Olá! Guten Tag! Bonjour! Konnichiwa! Kumustá! γειά σας! Pryvet! Shalom!) and I want everyone to be in on the fun, this contest will be international. Coincidentally, there have been TWO international winners for both of my two previous contests. The randomizer LOVES you international friends, obviously! 

The contest will end August 18th at 11:59 pm Eastern time. Winner will be announced August 19th. Good day, good luck, and stay tuned, because this month is going to be CHOCK FULL of giveaways. Blame (or thank) my revisions :) 

*BEAR HUGS* 

The Best Website in the History of Websites

I had a blog post for today. But I'm not posting it.

Because this is better than anything I could ever write, ever. In the history of the world.

Have a fabulous weekend :)

Fear and Writing in my Pajamas*

My awesome and genius author friends Veronica Roth and Myra McEntire blogged about fear yesterday. About writing when you have a book deal over your head—about how it may not feel like a security blanket, but like a planet sitting on your shoulders. There’s a lot of pressure. 

And because they did such an amazing job, I’m not going to write about the same thing. Instead, I’m going to propose a solution for myself, and for any other writers struggling with the same feelings.

DARE. TO. SUCK. 

As you can see, this is actually Maureen Johnson’s solution. And it’s a brilliant one, I think. 

Though her advice is primarily to writers just starting out, she does mention (at 2:30) the incredible suckitude of her first drafts. And she says that’s okay. And if it's okay for MJ, it's okay for me, too.

Maybe you don’t want to dare to suck. Maybe every word you write down in your first draft is a beautiful and unique snowflake, even if it is the wrong beautiful and unique snowflake. And that’s okay also. Because YOU are a beautiful and unique snowflake and everybody is different. 

But for me? I need to tell myself "Every word I write is going to be utter poo!" because when it is, I will feel GOOD! I will look at my word vomit and say "HA HA! I did EXACTLY what I set out to do! I sucked! GO ME!" I need to give myself permission to to be perfectly awful. I need to do it when I am writing a first draft, and I need to do it when I am writing new scenes into a much-revised draft. Because if something I write sucks, I can go back and fix it later. And fix it again. Until it's perfect.

But you know what I can't fix? A blank page. 

*Cuz that’s how shiz gets DONE. 

Also, in housekeeping news, I am only NINE followers from 300--which means I only need to make NINE more friends before I can give away MATCHED and a SURPRISE ARC! And guys, I have a TON of highly buzzworthy ARCs I must give away. It is going to become a veritable ARC free for all up in here VERY soon. So spread the news!

Are you likeable enough?

"Aren’t the greatest characters of all time deeply flawed, morally compromised, tragically poised, and often irredeemable? And why the hell do characters have to change? Isn’t it enough to know them better or watch them sink like Herzog, Hamlet, and Humbolt? Sympathetic characters who learn their lessons need not apply…Unsympathetic, undeserving, unapologetic, unrootable. These are my people."
~Betsy Lerner

They're mine, too. The naughty. The misfits. The smokers, the swearers, the snarky. The ones who not only have bad things happen to them but are the ones to DO the bad things. The ones who ARE the bad things. They have stories I love to read. They have stories I would love to write. 


And it seems I am not alone. 


Who are your people? 

The Copy Corner: GONE by Michael Grant

What it says:

In the blink of an eye. Everyone disappears. GONE.

Except for the young. Teens. Middle schoolers. Toddlers. But not one single adult. No teachers, no cops, no doctors, no parents. Just as suddenly, there are no phones, no internet, no television. No way to get help. And no way to figure out what's happened.

Hunger threatens. Bullies rule. A sinister creature lurks. Animals are mutating. And the teens themselves are changing, developing new talents—unimaginable, dangerous, deadly powers—that grow stronger by the day.

It's a terrifying new world. Sides are being chosen, a fight is shaping up. Townies against rich kids. Bullies against the weak. Powerful against powerless. And time is running out: On your birthday, you disappear just like everyone else...

Why it works:

The short, clipped sentences. The parallelisms, OH the parallelisms. And those stakes, they get worse and worse and WORSE! And let me tell you, the books are the same way. Just when you think things can’t get more effed up, along comes HUNGER (#2). And then along comes LIES (#3). And there are 3 books left in the series. No one can accuse Michael Grant of loving his characters too much to utterly f*ck with their lives. And while he toys with their emotions, you will be glued to the pages, all 500+ of them, unable to get off the couch even to pee.

Michael Grant, you’re a genius. And whoever wrote the jacket copy, you’re a genius, too.

What say you?

I HAVE RETURNED!

HELLO FRIENDS! I have returned from the mountain and am back at home snuggling with dogs and cats. Speaking of home and dogs, great news: MAGGIE is healthy! The mass was benign. Three cheers for The Fighting Potato! May she have many years of slothing ahead of her.

And speaking of the mountain, it was spectacular even though I almost fell off a few times and a giant spider tried to eat me in Mirkwood. BUT I SURVIVED. And I shall have pictures of my mountainous adventures hopefully this week, and many other blogging delights, including a NEW CONTEST! I am mailing out THE REPLACEMENT and THE DUFF and a SURPRISE ARC for the sparkly contest winners, and if I reach 300 blog followers and 700 twitter followers, I'm going to be giving away more ARCs. Haven't decided the prizes yet, but some options are:

I AM NUMBER FOUR (Pittacus Lore), FIRELIGHT (Sophie Jordan), MATCHED (Ally Condie), LOW RED MOON (Ivy Devlin), THE CALL (Michael Grant), DUST (Joan Francis Turner), or RECKLESS (Cornelia Funke).

And I'll be giving away more than one! YAY!

In other news, I am hard at work on my revisions and I will TRY not to slack on my blogging duties too much. Also, over 150 of you have added MARA #1 to your to-read shelf. And it's not out for, like, over a year. *boggles* You deserve a treat just for that. And so I bring you:



Did you all have a lovely and/or spectacular weekend, friends? I hope so, because I <3 you all tremendously.