Hair Dye & Samurai

Friday Funnies

2011-10-14T09:22:00.000-05:00

This is the funniest thing I've seen in awhile.

Happy Friday!

Blog Chain: Crit Partners--Your Best Ammunition or Your Worst Nightmare

2011-10-13T09:47:00.001-05:00

This round of the blog chain is brought to you by Sarah who asks:

Do you work with critique partners? How did you find your crit pals, and what influence have they had on your work?

I absolutely work with crit partners and firmly believe that a good crit partner is worth their weight in gold. Not only can they point out the weak spots in your manuscript (because, believe me, they're there) but they can guide you in ways of fixing your weak points and help you become a stronger writer, overall.

But this also works in the reverse, I'm afraid. I've also worked with some atrocious crit partners--people who got involved with crit groups just for the social aspects, people who cut you off mid-sentence to argue over every point you tried to make while critting them, people who lost their temper, and people who enjoyed cutting other people down because it was apparently an ego boost for them. Yeesh.

Because of this, I've composed a list of what to look for and what to avoid.

Look for people who write in the same genre. A horror author may not be the best sounding board for someone writing a historical romance. Look for crit partners who write and read the genre that you do.

DON'T

Get involved with people who "write for fun." There's nothing wrong with that. But if you're serious about getting published, then you're going to need crit partners who are serious about getting published. I've worked with several "writing for fun" crit partners in my early days and they either join crit groups for the social aspects or lose interest and quit after a couple of sessions.

Realize that not all personality types are compatible. I used to be in a crit group with a highly defensive author who would lash out at all offered suggestions. The entire group spent half the meeting arguing instead of critting. Understand that, if something is not benefitting you, or if it's just not working out, it's okay to quit. Crit partners can be like spouses and it may take you awhile to find "the perfect match."

DON'T

Take a crit personally. The point of a critique is to point out your weaknesses so that you may grow from them and becom a better writer. But in the same turn, if a critique partner is being critical without offering ways for you to improve/grow, if there crit consists mostly of "I didn't like this," then it's time to look for a new partner.

Look for crit partners in places like online writing websites, writing groups such as the SCBWI and RWA, and online meet-up sites. Remember, it's okay to try out a few crit partners or several! Personally, I have approximately ten people that I exchange work with on a regular basis. And each of them is unique and valuable in the advice that they offer me.

So how about you? Do you work with crit partners? Why or why not. Please check out Sandra's answer from yesterday, and Katrina who will answer tomorrow.

Have a great Thursday.

Cole's Christmas Wish List Item #1

2011-10-06T21:13:00.000-05:00

With Christmas only a couple of months away (insane, right?!?) it's time to start compiling the Christmas list to Santa.

So obviously this is at the top of my list.

Don't tell me you're surprised. ;)

When Does Self Promotion Become Spam?

2011-09-20T10:46:00.003-05:00

The truth is, I don't know the answer to this question. But it's one that's been on my mind a lot lately.

As an author with two books about to be released next year, I think the line between self promotion and spam is getting fuzzier and fuzzier. In fact, I can't seem to go onto Facebook, Goodreads, Twitter, or even check my own email without getting bombarded by it. And, what I don't think some authors realize is that, when they bombard me with spam, not only does it annoy me greatly, but it makes me not want to buy their book purely out of spite.

Here's a list of my top offenders:

1. Automatically adding me to your Facebook Group. No. Just no. You can mention your group on your Twitter feed or your Facebook update but DON'T automatically add me to it. Because if you do, and you live within a hundred mile radius to me, I will spoon your yard.

2. Sending me multiple "Like my page!" emails. Grrr. Again, you can mention your author/book page on your blog/feed and give a link. But please don't repeatedly spam me or yard spoonage will occur.

3. Your tweets, status updates, and blog are nothing but a never ending commercial for your book. There is a reason why there is no channel on television dedicated to nothing but commercials. It's because people HATE commercials. In all forms! SPOOOOOOOOOON TIME!

Here are some trickier offenders:

1. Inviting people to events through Goodreads and Facebook. While I hate these, I understand why authors feel the need to do it. If you're hosting an event, such as a book launch, you're going to want as many people to know about it as possible. But maybe a direct email to people in your area would be a better, more personable option. Chances are, if your launch is in Houston and I'm in St. Louis, I'm not going to show. In fact, if I see an email with "Event Invitation", honestly, I don't even read them--automatic delete.

2. Reposting tweets from a reviewer about how much they enjoyed your book. I can see why people do this. They're excited about the good review and they want to thank the reviewer publicly. But I'll be honest, I have NEVER clicked on one of these review links and read the review. Have you?

Again, this post is purely my opinion. What do you think about these self-promotion techniques? Do you think I'm being too harsh, or do they annoy you, too? Maybe you don't care? Is there something I've forgotten to add to the list? Or is there something an author's done to promote themselves that you thought really worked--such as a contest or anything else? Please let me know because I'm very curious as to what everyone thinks about this.

Converting a Man's XL T-Shirt into a Sexy Dolman

2011-09-01T08:00:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow I leave for Dragoncon!!! SQUEE! And, while I didn't have time to make my Jem costume this year (boo), I did want to dress appropriately. This means sporting my favorite comic book characters on my shirts. However, this leads to a slight problem. When it comes to comic book character shirts, there are only two kinds: A) Big baggy shirts designed for men and B) Skinny tight-fitting shirts designed for, well, girls who can wear skinny tight fitting shirts. I am not one of those girls. I have had a child, my friends. 'Nuff said.

But, just because the girls sag and the waist is padded, this doesn't mean I don't like feeling sexy. Enter the dolman shirt, God's gift to child-bearing woman. Seriously, I want to kiss whoever designed this thing. Here's my favorite one:

See what I mean? It's pretty hard to go wrong with this shirt. It hides the things that need to be hidden all the while maintaining a sexy feminine look. I wanted to see if I could do the same thing with a T-shirt. Here's what I did:

I took a men's XL T-shirt, turned it inside out, and laid it flat on my cutting table.

Next, I laid my favorite dolman shirt on top of it, pinned the two shirts together, and used a water soluable fabric pen to trace the outline of my dolman on top of the tee.

When I was finished with my outline, I unpinned the shirts and cut both the front and the back of the neck out of the tee by using the lines I traced from the neck of my dolman.

(Back neckline cut)

(Front neckline cut)

Next, I sewed along the lines I'd traced onto the tee.

When I was finished sewing, I cut away the excess fabric.

Then I cut a couple inches off of the bottom of the shirt.

And sewed a hem.

Talk about easy! A half hour later, I had my end result.

(BEFORE/AFTER)

Now I'm ready for Dragoncon!!!

Have a great Labor Day Weekend!

Celebrate Friday with a Contest!

2011-08-26T11:07:00.000-05:00

I'm holding a contest for one of my handcrafted, hand-embroidered coffee sleeves over at Pots 'n Pens today! It looks like this:

To enter, just go here.

And by the way, there are only a couple of days left to win my last signed copy of Maggie Stiefvater's FOREVER.

Happy Friday!

Winner of the Geisha Bag

2011-08-23T08:56:00.001-05:00

Thanks to Randomnumber.org the winner of the geisha bag was completely chosen at random. That winner is:

Kathryn Packer Roberts!

Check your email, girl, because you have a message from me.

If you didn't win, don't fret! I have many goodies of EPIC proportions in the works. In fact, I have a meeting with an embroiderer on Thursday to hash out some details. So exciting!

Now, for a completely random change of topic: Ryan Gossling is my new hero. Wow. Talk about not succumbing to the "Bystander Effect." Thank goodness he was on scene because the tittering girls taking the video are worthless.

PS: I will discuss the "Bystander Effect" in further detail on a different post. It is something I am very VERY passionate about.

Does anyone want my mistake? And a contest!

2011-08-22T08:18:00.000-05:00

I'm so excited because I'm in the middle of devising some seriously cute, seriously EPIC swag to give away in the coming months leading up to my BOOK RELEASE.

I never get tired of seeing that in print. :)

Anyway, so there I was, sewing along on my merry way while watching True Blood. This is a terrible combination because I quickly became engrossed in the show and zoned out on the sewing. As a result, I jacked up one of the messenger bags I was making. Here's a pic:

(Note the awesome geisha fabric)

You probably can't tell at a glance what's wrong, so I'll tell you. instead of sewing the handles across, I sewed them parallel. The bag still looks like a bag, it still functions like a bag, it just doesn't lay flat when you're toting it. See below photos:

(Man I need to clean my mirrors.)

(It's kinda hard to tell from the picture, but this is a BIG bag.)

Now, I wouldn't feel comfortable giving away a wonky bag in one of my upcoming contests, so I'm just going to give it away for the heck of it (and because I love my followers.) If you want it, just let me know in the comments. If more than one person wants it, then I'll draw a random name on Tuesday and post the winner.

Oh, and if you missed out on my Maggie Stiefvater signed copy of FOREVER, I'm giving away one more over at Pots 'n Pens.

Happy Monday!

It's Friday - You NEED Sarcastic Signs

2011-08-19T10:13:00.000-05:00

Seriously.

I just received copyedits for BREATHLESS and my editor is awesome. They're a tad overwhelming and I'm torn between curling up in fetal position or climbing a cliff and screaming into the abyss, "I FEEL SO ALIVE!"

One of her comments was something like, "How can a buoy take action? It is a stationary object." It's comments like these that make me wonder how I passed second grade. But again, my editor rocks.

Anyway, in celebration of my copyedits, and because it's FRIDAY, I vote we all celebrate with sarcastic signs.

Example:

To see the rest and have a really good laugh, go here.

You're welcome.

Happy Friday!

Opinions Please

2011-08-16T13:38:00.000-05:00

Okay, I am just over six months away from my debut release of KATANA. Because of this, this blog is about to become a place of epic giveaways of EPIC proportions. Did I mention EPIC? So, if you're already a follower you're in good shape. You're that much closer to winning signed books, handmade KATANA swag, and signed autographed pictures of celebrities.

Which leads me to my question. In a couple of weeks I will be Atlanta bound for Dragoncon. There will be many celebrities there of which I will be obtaining autographs for myself and autographs to give away. With this in mind, which celebrity would you most like to have an autograph from? (Please list as many as you want.)

Here is a list to choose from:

Stan Lee :) :) :) :)

Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy)

William Shatner

Whil Wheaton

Christopher Lloyd

Carrie Fischer

Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca)

Adam Baldwin (Jane - Firefly)

From True Blood
Denis O'Hare (The King of Louisiana)
Joe Manganiello (Alcide)
Jim Parrack (Hoyt)
Kristin Bauer (Pam)

From The Vampire Diaries
David Anders (John Gilbert)
Michael Trevino (Tyler Lockwood)
Sara Canning (Aunt Jenna)

From Buffy the Vampire Slayer
James Marsters (Spike)
Julie Benz (Darla)
Clare Kramer (Glory)
Mercedes McNab (Harmony)
Nicholas Brendan (Xander)

From Supernatural
Jim Beaver (Bobby)
Misha Collins (Castiel)
Mark Sheppard (Crowley)
Samantha Ferris (Ellen)
Julie McNiven (Anna)
Christopher Heyerdahl (Alastair - also plays Marcus in The Twilight Series)

So there you have it. Please let me know which of these celebs are your favorite! Thanks for your help!!

Get POSSESSed

2011-08-15T08:00:00.001-05:00

POSSESS

Gretchen McNeil

Vade Retro Satana

Bridget Liu

What do all of these things along with my incredibly emo picture (see below) have in common?

They are all part of a scavenger contest of epic proportions! For more information check out Gretchen McNeil's blog.

Good luck and happy hunting!

Signed FOREVER Contest Winner

2011-08-09T09:11:00.000-05:00

So today I put all the entries in a hat, shook well, and my husband picked an entry. The winner of the signed copy of FOREVER is:

WINDY!!

Windy, please email me at cole@colegibsen.com with your address so I can get your book off to you ASAP.

Thank you everyone for playing. And, if you didn't win, don't despair! I'll be giving away a second signed copy of FOREVER over at my other blog POTS AND PENS. I'll have the contest posted over there on Thursday. You can check it out by going here.

Thanks again for playing and I hope you'll stick around because, with my own book launching in a mere six months, I will be having a ton of giveaways coming soon!!!

Dr. Frankendress: Polyester is suprisingly thinning!

2011-08-02T08:48:00.001-05:00

I think, for a lot of creative people, we have to have more than one creative outlet. So, when I'm not writing, I can be found in front of my sewing machine either quilting or piecing together outfits. There's something about the hum of a sewing machine that can quiet my mind after a difficult writing session. And, while writing can take months or even years of work before you have a final product, sewing is instant. And, there's something nice about the instant reward of time spent working.

I think that's why my favorite part of writing is the revision process. The hard work is already done and now all I have to do is smooth away the rough edges and make it shine. That's also why I like going to resale shops and browsing the racks. In front of me are a thousand possibilities to transform something truly hideous into a one-of-a-kind creation that reflects exactly who I am.

Here's my latest purchase that I'm so excited about:

I'm guessing it's a 1970's prom dress. But I'm not sure. It's hideous. And polyester. And hideous.

But there's also something about it, something that called me back to it even after I walked away. A nagging in the back of my mind that there was more to this dress than meets the eye. That it wasn't finished. That it was waiting for me to come along and transform it into exactly what it was meant to be. And so I bought it for a whole two dollars. I took it home, and tried it on - it was a perfect fit! (And surprisingly thinning considering it's polyester! Who knew!)

And so, just like I would with a finished rough draft, I've let it sit in my closet for the last couple of weeks, untouched, as I deliberated the best way to transform it. Because, once I cut into it, there's no turning back. And now, after looking at hundreds of pictures on the Internet, I think I have a pretty good idea what I'm going to do with this dress.

Stay tuned to watch the transformation.

What about you? What are your other creative outlets?

Signed FOREVER Giveaway!

2011-08-01T11:46:00.000-05:00

So, last Thursday I was fortunate enough to meet the incredible Maggie Stiefvater at the St. Louis County Library and grab a copy of her latest book, FOREVER. In fact, I snagged an extra copy of FOREVER (which Maggie signed) to give away right here on my blog.

(I have no idea what I'm doing with my arm.)

Here are the deets:

The winner of the signed book will be chosen by a random drawing (I'll scribble your entries on pieces of paper, throw the entries in a hat, and have my lovely assistant - aka The Hubs - pick an entry at random.)

You have the opportunity to earn two entries. For the first entry, you must be a follower of Hair Dye & Samurai and leave a comment on THIS post. It could be something as simple as "Yo!" I don't care, it's up to you. But remember, compliments and flattery may not help you win, but they will definitely endear you to my heart. Second, you can earn another entry by retweeting this blog post. Just let me know that you did in the comments of THIS post.

DISCLAIMER: There is one stipulation. The contest ends NEXT Monday and the winner will be chosen and announced in a blog post on Tuesday, August 9th. If you are the winner, contact me through the email I'll provide on the winning post with your name and address so I can send you the book. I'm only doing this because last time I held a contest it took me FOREVER (Ha! Pun intended!) to track down the winner's contact info.

Also, you don't have to be a US resident to play. :) I will ship this book worldwide. Cuz I love my followers. :)

Oh, and if you don't win this copy, stay tuned to my other blog - Pots n' Pens - where I'll be giving away another signed copy of FOREVER in the coming weeks!

Becoming Bellatrix (THE FINALE)

2011-07-18T08:00:00.004-05:00

So the premier was Friday and I had all of my stuff gathered.

As I waited for my friends to arrive, I decided to get started on the small stuff like the tattoo and fixing the wig.

I wanted to add more pictures that showed all of the steps I took on becoming Bellatrix that final night but, unfortunately, I ran out of time. I'll skip to the final result.

In the end, I was really happy with how everything turned out. The corset gapped a little and I would have preferred for the silver swirlys to be embroidered instead of painted. Heck, in a perfect world I would have used a more expensive fabric that would have moved better but for the price I think it was a win.

Here's the rest of the crew (because it only makes sense for Bellatrix and Lucius to hang with Harry and Hermione.)

Here's a better picture of Lucius (who happens to be my brother.)

And me at the theatre.

Here's another one of all of us in the theatre.

I think my favorite part was, after the movie, we decided to get something to eat. In the restaurant the waiter came up to the table and asked, "So guys, how was the movie?" And without rehearsing both my brother and I said, "What movie?"

That's why we're related. :)

So, what did you do for the premier? Are you having mad Potter withdrawals? I know I am.

Becoming Bellatrix (Stage 5)

2011-07-13T10:53:00.001-05:00

Okay, with the premier only a couple of days away, I had to put the finishing touches on my costume and that meant finishing the corset. Let me tell you, I thought the arm gauntlets were a pain in the butt. I had no idea.

The trouble with a corset is that the final piece must be precise when it comes to fitting. And, as a self-taught seamstress, precision is not one of my strong suits. In the end, I'm happy with how the corset turned out, I just didn't expect what I thought would be a "night" project to bleed into a "couple of days" project.

Anyway, here's what I did:

First, using my handy-dandy 50% off coupon, I purchased some awesome looking black "pleather" at JoAnn's fabrics.

Then, I laid the fabric on the floor and cut random pieces out of it.

Next, I sewed the pieces back together. I know this seems strange, but if you look at the original picture of Bellatrix, you can see that her corset looks like it was pieces together by chunks of leather. This was how I went about getting the same look.

When I had my scrappy piece of fabric, I used a corset pattern I had lying around from an old witch costume and used it as my pattern to cut from.

After I had my shapes cut out, I used a zigzag stitch over the piecing seams to give it that extra rough look. (Sorry for the picture blurriness.)

Next, I sewed the pieces together and added the leftover grommet stripping and silk thread from my arm gauntlets.

Before Grommet Stripping

After Grommet Stripping

Now it was time to piece together the back lining and sew it to the front.

Leaving a small hole, I flipped the corset inside out and stitched around it, sewing the hole shut.

And finally, I hand sewed three hook and eyes to the back.

Viola!

So tell me, now that we're down to the final days, are you doing anything special for the premier of the final Harry Potter?

Stay tuned for my post on putting the entire costume together!

Pots & Pens

2011-07-05T14:29:00.000-05:00

Hi guys! Today I'm sharing one of my favorite summertime recipes over at Pots and Pens. I'll give you a teaser: it involves cheese. Lots of cheese. Yum.

Backstage at the Chicago/Doobie Brothers Concert

2011-06-29T08:00:00.010-05:00

Ten years ago, my friend Suzanne and I were handed backstage passes at a Chicago/Doobie Brothers concert. It was purely coincidental that the guy had found us to give us the tickets. We had just moved from our spot on the lawn to the back of the amphitheater because people on blankets around us were complaining that we were blocking their view with our dancing. (Granted, it was a Doobie Brothers/Chicago concert. It wasn't like I expected a mosh pit. But, c'mon!)

The guy that gave them to us told us that he worked for the band and that it was his job to make sure that a certain amount of girls were backstage when the bands were done performing.

That should have been our first clue.

But we were young, barely twenty-one, and the thought of going backstage was an opportunity too irresistible to resist.

So after Chicago walked off stage and Suzanne and fought against the leaving crowds, we presented our passes to the security guards who let us through to a secret world of rock stars and magic.

Uh...right. Did I mention I was only twenty-one at the time and maybe a tad bit naive?

I'm not really sure what I expected. Maybe, I fantasized, that the bands would perform an acoustic set behind the scenes. Or maybe they would discuss music and their song writing processes.

What actually happened was, both bands (The Doobie Brothers and Chicago) sat around a table with each other, drinking beer, and ignoring everyone around them, even the girls that were falling over themselves (and out of their clothing) to get their attention.

Oh, and did I mention the grimy stage hands that cornered us like a pack of hungry lines? A paunchy man with a Scottish accent made no secret in bragging to Suzanne and I that he was also Brittany Spear's sound guy and he could get us her autograph. Another guy, a skinny weasel looking fellow, offered me a tour of Chicago's tour bus.

It was at that moment that I had my first telepathic experience. Suzanne looked into my eyes and I could hear the thought she projected my way. You know he just wants to give you a tour of his pants, right?

Ew.

Disappointed that our star encounter had been less than perfect, Suzanne and I left. I remember feeling deflated as we walked out to the car. Getting to meet a band backstage should have been a dream come true, but the reality had been the farthest thing from it.

We drove home in silence. After a few miles I flipped on the radio and the Doobie Brother's Black Water happened to be playing. Suzanne and I looked at each other, our surprise turned to grins and our grins turned to singing and laughing. It was then I realized that it didn't matter that the band didn't live up to my expectations because it wasn't the men themselves that made me happy - it was the music.

Recently, I've come to the same realization with writing.

When it comes to the business of publishing, I received a backstage pass - I got a book contract. But, little did I know, that when I passed into the VIP section, things wouldn't go like I'd planned. Just like meeting Chicago and the Doobie Brothers, I had lots of preconceived notions on exactly how things would work out. I'd thought that once I signed on the dotted line, things would get easier, I'd have it made in the shade.

And all that hard work and waiting that I did to get my publishing deal? Yeah, that was just the tip of the iceberg.

I'll admit, having the reality of the situation crush my expectations had been a bit of a blow. I had that same deflated feeling, that crushing disappointment that I'd experienced leaving the concert. I had a hard time sitting down to get started on writing now that my blinders had been removed. A lot of pressure, pressure that hadn't been there before my book sale, settled on my shoulders. What if readers hate my book? What if they hate the sequel? What if I never write anything good ever again?

But then I got a story idea and I sat down in front of the computer and got to meet my new characters. I found myself falling inside of my mind, losing track of time, and having fun with words again - just like I had with KATANA. And that was when I realized something.

It doesn't matter what happens backstage. It doesn't matter if it meets or falls short of your expectations. Writing is what made me happy. And writing is still what makes me happy. Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful for my backstage pass and I've appreciated every minute and every lesson this experience has taught me. But I'm going to enjoy every minute of this show, even if it means having to move to the back so I can dance to the music.

Calling all Lovers of Writing, Food, and Writing about Food

2011-06-16T10:46:00.000-05:00

NEW BLOG LOOKING FOR CONTRIBUTORS

If you love blogging about writing, food, and writing about food, Pots & Pens is looking for you!

This is a start-up blog by writers who will be blogging about writing, their favorite recipes, and interviewing other authors/agents/editors to determine what roll food has on their writing/careers.

My goal is to have enough participants that each contributor would be expected to post no more than 1-2 times a month.

If this is something that interests you or you have questions, please email me at cole@colegibsen.com

Guest post with Matt Myklusch and THE ACCIDENTAL HERO giveaway!

2011-06-15T08:00:00.001-05:00

Today is such an exciting day for me because today I am trading blogs with another fellow author, comic lover, and Upstart Crower, Matt Myklusch! And because Matt is made of awesome, he has generously offered to give away a signed copy of his book THE ACCIDENTAL HERO. For details on how to enter, see the end of this post.
And now, without further ado, I'll leave you with Matt. If you want to catch my post on sexism and the evolving female superhero, I'll be over at Matt's blog.

People always ask me where I get my ideas from. The answer is simple really:

Everywhere.

Ideas come from the news, songs, historical events, movies, books, and just plain out of the blue. Life is an inspiration, and I’m easily inspired. I’ve been like this ever since I was a kid. Growing up, I would read comic books and watch movies and TV shows like G.I. Joe or the Transformers and immediately want to create my own characters and stories. I would see something I like and say, “I want to do my own version of that.” I wanted to make my own Indiana Jones. My own Star Wars. My own X-Men.

That was a big one. The X-Men.

When I was nine, I read my first X-Men comic book. It was Uncanny X-Men # 211. I remember the exact issue because it was the start of what is now a famous storyline called “The Mutant Massacre.” There was a badass team of villains called The Marauders that got introduced in that issue. They all had awesome powers and code names.

The X-Men team at point in time was one of their better lineups as well (they have good years and bad years… kind of like SNL casts). Wolverine was even still wearing his far superior brown and orange costume back then.

Bottom line, these guys had the edge on The Marauders, but just barely. It made for some great action, and those first few books I read locked me in as a comic fan for life. This is about the time that I started creating my own superhero universe. Some of my early superhero creations include characters like CRUSHER:

I don’t remember much about this guy, but I expect he was supposed to be super strong. The next few characters have more obvious powers. Meet POWER SAW:

I’m not sure how this character would have ever picked his nose or gone to the bathroom... I guess I wasn’t thinking that far ahead. Then, there was FIRESTARTER, who had the worst mask in the history of comics:

It’s funny looking back on these guys now, but when I was a kid, I thought I’d caught lightning in a bottle with these characters. I thought you could get a job selling superhero ideas to Marvel and DC Comics, and planned on making a long career out of doing just that. By the time I got to High School I found out there was no such job, and set my sights on being a comic book penciler instead.

That didn’t happen.

There was actually a stretch in High School where I stopped reading comics and stopped drawing altogether. It lasted at least a year. The reason was because I was “growing up.” I was the only one of my friends who was still into comic books and I figured it was time for me to put childish things aside. Luckily, Jim Lee convinced me otherwise.

Not personally. He did it through his artwork. One day I saw the following X-Men comic book on a shelf in a WaldenBooks (for those of you who remember WaldenBooks):

I was blown away. The detail, action, and pure awesomeness of this image woke me up and got me inspired all over again. It got me reading comics again. It got me drawing again.

It’s a good thing too, because a lot of the characters I created after that found their way into the pages of my book, THE ACCIDENTAL HERO. There are far too many heroes and villains living in the Imagine Nation to list here, but I’ll show you a few of my favorites.

PRIME:

CHI:

REVILE:

Today, I make my living as a writer, but I still think of myself as an artist first. For me, every story starts out with a pencil and a sketch pad. I draw the characters, locations, and anything else that comes to mind. Somewhere along the line, I figured out that artwork was the first step in my creative process. It’s hard to believe I almost shut that process down before it ever really got going.

Matt Myklusch is the author of the JACK BLANK ADVENTURES, a middle grade fantasy series from Simon & Schuster. Book One, THE ACCIDENTAL HERO, is in stores now. Find out more at JackBlank.com

And now for the chocolate on the sundae! Matt is giving away a signed copy of the first book in his JACK BLANK SERIES; THE ACCIDENTAL HERO. Seriously, revel in the cover. Isn't it awesome!

Here's how to enter:

We're not going to make you follow, tweet, or blog about the giveaway (but we sure would appreciate it if you did!) All you have to do is leave a comment below this post with the name of a character from THE ACCIDENTAL HERO along with your email address so we can contact you if you win. And because Matt is so awesome, he's agreed to make this an open book test. If you're looking for the answers, a great place would be to start at www.JACKBLANK.com. A random winner will be drawn from a list of participants who left correct responses.

Trust me guys, if you're a fan of comics, you won't want to miss out on this book.

Becoming Bellatrix (Stage 4)

2011-06-13T11:26:00.001-05:00

So look what I got in the mail today, much sooner than expected! A shiny package all the way from China. I wonder what it could be???

Okay, this was unexpected. When I opened the package up, inside I found the cutest shopping bag that I've ever laid eyes on:

And inside of that was the Bellatrix wig!!!

Before: Mild-mannered author.

After: Psychotic wizard killer. EPIC.

I am such a nerd. :D

Anyway, Alison warned me about the dangers of using spray paint on a wig. So while I considered an alternative solution, Laci gave me a wonderful idea for adding white hair to the wig.

Check out my latest eBay purchase:

Clip in hair! Now, they claim that you can curl this hair (it's synthetic) with no problems. We shall see...

Next up - the corset!

Becoming Bellatrix (Stage 3)

2011-06-08T09:50:00.001-05:00

Stage 3 is my favorite stage because it is the SHOPPING stage!!! Yay!

So look what I just bought on eBay:

Now tell me that's not the perfect Bellatrix wig. I'm a little undecided on how to make the white patch. Right now I'm considering actual spray pain. (Don't worry, I'll snip a piece of hair and try it out before I paint the actual wig.) If that doesn't work maybe I'll try that flaky white temporary spray that they sell around Halloween. I'm not sure how well it will work considering the wig is synthetic. We'll see...

Another must have that I found on the internet is this:

Seriously, how cool is that? A temporary Deatheater tattoo. You can buy a pack of six for around five bucks. Not too shabby.

And since I was goofing off anyway, look what I found for my super secret Dragoncon project:

Okay, obviously after seeing this pic, super secret project isn't so secret anymore. :) Let's just hope I can pull it off!

Becoming Bellatrix (Stage 2)

2011-06-06T08:15:00.001-05:00

Okay, the movie premier is getting closer so it's time to really buckle down and finish this dress. Today I worked on the arm gauntlets.

So this was tricky. I'm not the greatest at sewing things without a pattern. America's next top designer I am not. So I had to do a lot of guessing. A LOT. Some things worked and some things didn't. But that's how you learn.

For starters, from what I can tell from the picture, Bellatrix's arm gauntlets have individual grommets. Now the tool that you need to do that cost more than I wanted to spend so I bought grommet stripping instead which - as I found out - is a pain in the ASS to work with. Live and learn.

When it came to cutting out the actual gauntlet, I totally guessed. And, in hindsight, I wish I would have made them a little longer and a little wider. If I was taking this costume to Dragoncon or someplace where there would be a lot of professional costume designers and cosplay peeps, I would have scrapped them, but for a movie premier I figured they'd work.

After cutting out one gauntlet, I used the first as a pattern to cut out three more.

Because I don't have a serger, I didn't want to risk major fraying, so I thought it would be best to sew two gauntlets together and flip inside out rather than fold the hem over.

Now I flipped them inside out.

And it was time to sew the seam closed.

Next, it was time to pin the grommet strip to the gauntlets and sew that on. MAJOR PAIN sewing around those little metal grommets even with a zipper foot.

Then I had to do the same thing to the arm holes on the dress. Also a MAJOR pain.

Next came the fun part: FABRIC PAINT PEN!!!

Now it was time to poke holes through the grommets and thread them.

As I was trying the gauntlets on as I thread them, I realized I'd forgotten to remove one of my pins. Ouchy.

After making sure I had given myself enough thread to keep circulation in my arms, I finished threading the gauntlets and tied knots in the end. That's one of the fun things about this dress. If you look at the original image, everything is very raw. The dress is torn, frayed, grommets were skipped in the threading and the actual thread hangs off the dress by a couple of inches. This is all great stuff because it means you can mess up and it looks like you meant to. Which, *cough cough* of course I meant to.

And, lastly, I had to thread the grommets on the top of the gauntlets to the dress and try the whole thing on to make sure it fit.

Like I said, I wish I would have made them a little longer and a little wider. But, overall, I'm happy with the way they turned out.

Stay tuned for my next Becoming Bellatrix post where I'll be making the corset.

Oh, and I bought some sparkly pink fabric today. I can't wait to tell you what I'm going to do with it. Here's a hint: It will be truly outrageous.

Literary Manicure

2011-06-03T08:00:00.003-05:00

Since it's Friday and it's been such an exciting week, I thought I'd post something fun today.

Without further ado, I bring you the LITERARY MANICURE:

A must have for any writer, don't you think?

I'll show you how to do it. First, gather your supplies.

You'll need:

A newspaper
Scissors
Rubbing Alcohol
A small bowl
Light-colored nail polish
Clear overcoat

To start, paint at least two coats of the light-colored nail polish onto your nails and let it dry completely.

Next, cut the newspaper into quarter-sized squares. When you're finished, pour the rubbing alcohol into a small bowl and soak only one finger in the alcohol for about five seconds.

When you remove your nail from the alcohol, immediately press the square of newspaper onto the entire surface of the nail and hold for about ten seconds.

Make sure not to move the paper or the ink will smear. Wait about ten seconds before removing the paper.

If you didn't have the paper moist enough, some of it may stick to your nails. Once you peel back the paper you'll also notice that the print is reversed. But that's okay - it still looks cool.

After you've finished imprinting all of your nails go ahead and top the ink off with a clear coat to seal it in.

Your finished nails should look something like this:

Cool, right?

Happy Friday!!!

KATANA Cover Reveal!!!

2011-06-01T09:00:00.001-05:00

At long last I'm thrilled to be able to share with you the cover for KATANA. I don't think there's anything quite so surreal as seeing the cover for your book the first time. People, I am in love. It's everything I hoped it would be; bad ass girl with swords, cherry blossom, and kanji symbol. Not to mention that this particular kanji symbol is the kanji symbol for katana. How cool is that? *happy tears*

I just don't have the words for all of the emotions running through me. I can only humbly say "Thank you" to everyone who has helped get to where I am today.