Awesome book cover Friday: Die Anderen – or, The Sea People

Die Anderen, which translates from German to The Sea People, was written by Adam Lukens and published in 1959. My research dug up some interesting trivia about Lukens. According to the Feminist SFF & Utopia website, Adam was a she—Diane Detzer, to be exact, who was born on May 13, 1930, and used the pseudonyms “Adam Lukens” and “Jorge De Reyna.”

She was difficult to trace, but I did manage to find a short list of her works. Whether this is a complete bibliography is uncertain:

* Alien World [Avalon, 1963] as Lukens
* Conquest of Life [Avalon, 1960] as Lukens
* Eevalu [Avalon, 1963] as Lukens
* The Glass Cage [Avalon, 1962] as Lukens
* The Planet of Fear [Avalon, 1968]
* The Return of the Starships [Avalon, 1968] as de Reyna
* The Sea People [Avalon, 1959] as Lukens
* Sons of the Wolf [Avalon, 1961] as Lukens
* The World Within [Avalon, 1962] as Lukens

Not a big surprise to me, since women often resorted to male pseudonyms in order to get published, and women especially weren’t supposed to write sci-fi.

Thanks to Cassie for linking to a whole host of awesome German vintage science fiction covers.

Literary Giveaway Blog Hop: enter to win a free book! (UPDATED)

This contest is my way of saying thanks for visiting the blog. Regardless of how many times you’ve stopped by before, I hope you’ll decide to make a habit of it.

The lucky winner will receive a copy of the new commemorative edition of A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle. The classic science fiction children’s book turned fifty this month.

Rules:

1. Anyone can enter.
2. All you need is a post office–recognized address anywhere in the world, where you can receive packages.
3. You do not have to be a follower or become a follower, although if you like my blog I hope you will! You can also follow by email or RSS (see sidebar) and like me on Facebook for more of my writing here and all over the web.
4. To win, comment and include your email address and (this next part is optional) tell me what your favorite book is and why.
5. You can enter the giveaway until Wednesday, February 22. I will close the giveaway at midnight EST, early Thursday morning. The winner will be announced in an update of this post.
6. Note that double or invalid entries will be removed.
7. I will notify the winner by email. The winner needs to answer my email within three days, or I’ll pick a new winner.

Check out these other great blogs for more giveaways:

Leeswammes Curiosity Killed The Bookworm Lit Endeavors (US) The Book Whisperer Rikki’s Teleidoscope 2606 Books and Counting The Parrish Lantern Sam Still Reading Bookworm with a view Breieninpeking (Dutch readers) Seaside Book Nook Elle Lit (US) Nishita’s Rants and Raves Tell Me A Story Living, Learning, and Loving Life (US) Book’d Out Uniflame Creates Withdrawn An Armchair by the Sea (UK) bibliosue Lena Sledge’s Blog (US) Roof Beam Reader Misprinted Pages Mevrouw Kinderboek (Dutch readers) Under My Apple Tree (US) Indie Reader Houston Book Clutter I Am A Reader, Not A Writer (US) Lizzy’s Literary Life Sweeping Me

Caribousmom (US) Minding Spot (US) Curled Up With a Good Book and a Cup of Tea The Book Diva’s Reads The Blue Bookcase Thinking About Loud! write meg! (US) Devouring Texts Thirty Creative Studio (US) The Book Stop Dolce Bellezza (US) Simple Clockwork Chocolate and Croissants The Scarlet Letter (US) Reflections from the Hinterland (N. America) De Boekblogger (Europe, Dutch readers) Readerbuzz (US) Must Read Faster (N. America) Burgandy Ice @ Colorimetry carolinareti Withdrawn Ephemeral Digest Scattered Figments (UK) Bibliophile By the Sea The Blog of Litwits (US) Kate Austin Alice Anderson (US) Always Cooking up Something

UPDATE: Thanks to all who entered! The giveaway was a success, and I was pleased to see so many new people on the blog. I hope you all decide to stick around.

Now for the winner! The lucky lady whose name was picked from a hat is Stephanie Ward, who left this comment:

“My favorite children’s book is A Wrinkle in Time!! I about freaked when I saw your giveaway! It had a huge impact on me – it’s the book that made me into such a bibliophile!! I don’t have a copy and winning the anniversary edition would be so wonderful! Thanks for the giveaway!”

Glad to give a fellow book lover a little joy. Stephanie, you’ll receive an email from me shortly. Please respond before Sunday! Thanks!

Everyone else, please let me know if you’d like to see more giveaways here in the future by leaving a comment on my Facebook page.

Playing with dirt—a great recipe for kids and adults who are kids at heart

A couple Sundays ago was my best friend’s birthday, and to surprise her, my boyfriend and I brought her favorite wine and made a gooey dessert: dirt. I remember first eating this deceptively named sweet in elementary school, so it was fun to try it again. I nabbed the most minimal recipe I could find off RecipeTips.com and made a few amendments of my own.

What you’ll need:

• 1 package Oreo cookies, crushed
• 1 cup cold milk (or however much the pudding mix calls for)
• 1 package chocolate instant pudding mix
• 8 ounces Cool Whip topping, thawed
• 1 package gummy worms (or bears or whatever else you want)

We started by putting the cookies into resealable plastic bags. If you can, divy up the cookies into two halves—so that 50% of the package is in each bag. Close tightly and use a rolling pin to crush until crumbly, not fine. Set those aside.

Make the chocolate instant pudding mix in a large bowl. Use a spoon to mix for however long the box says (about 2-3 minutes on average), then let sit for 5 minutes. I find that using a wooden spoon is a lot easier than a standard whisk, since the pudding sticks to the whisk more easily and is harder to scrape off. Now add all the Cool Whip on top of the pudding, sprinkling on top of that 1/2 of the crushed cookies (this is why having two bags with equal amounts comes in handy). Now stir it all together carefully until everything is well blended—the white Cool Whip should turn light brown from the Oreos, like mud!

Now here’s where I diverted from the recipe. Instead of using plastic cups to make individual servings, I transferred the ingredients into a bigger bowl by following these steps: Once you finish mixing the pudding-Cool Whip-Oreo fusion, sprinkle 1/3 of the remaining crushed cookies into the bottom of a separate, empty bowl. Now move the entire pudding mixture into that bowl, on top of the layer of Oreos. For the best presentation, go slowly and try to cover the entire area without getting any pudding on the sides.

Now add you gummy worms or bears—go ahead, drop them all in. I tried to get the most even distribution of colored bears (FYI, we used bears because my friend hates worms!). So carefully place those on top of everything in the bowl. Now sprinkle in the rest of the Oreos, so you evenly cover—or “bury,” if you will—the gummy worms/bears.

(As a note, Haribo gummy bears are my favorite, but they were too chewy for this dessert. Use regular gummy bears instead, if you’d rather have those than worms.)

I didn’t top with any Cool Whip, although the recipe says you can. Now cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap and put in the fridge. Serve chilled. Be warned, it’s very filling!

And there you go!

“Ribbons of Red” – the Building Descriptions Writing Contest

Many of you are writers as well as readers, but good writers know the two go hand-in-hand. Usually I’m very private with my creative writing until I’m absolutely satisfied with it, but I wanted to follow the example some of you have already set and share my writing with the world.

WEbook is currently hosting a competition that offers practice in writing description. The challenge? “Describe a building in 300 words or less.” The deadline is 10 PM EST on February 29.

Here’s what I like about the contest: 300 words are more than reasonable. Without counting revising time (which can vary, but for that few words isn’t too taxing), achieving the word count shouldn’t take long. Writing in short bursts is a great way to hone your skills—and receiving feedback is even better.

That’s why I’ve entered the Building Descriptions Writing Contest. I encourage everyone to enter and/or leave a comment on my WEbook page with thoughts on my 300-word entry, titled “Ribbons of Red.” You do have to sign up on the website to comment, but don’t let this stop you—it only takes a minute to plug in a little information, like an email address and username. I received my first response within minutes of submitting. I only ask that you are honest in your critique. You won’t hurt my feelings if you don’t like it, as long as you suggest ways that I can make it better.

If you decide to enter the contest, please link me to your own entry. I’d love to read it and offer some of my own advice. (Note: You have to click “Post for Feedback” for a chance at winning, anyhow.)

Upon closing the contest, WEbook will choose six winners and award them free entry to PageToFame, their exclusive writing contest. The #1 winner will receive an autographed copy of Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley.

My first blog award!

Thank you so much to Amy Marie, who runs a wonderful and very helpful writing blog called The Literary Mom, for giving me the Liebster Blog Award! As someone who greatly enjoys writing and building relationships with readers and fellow bloggers, this is an honor, and one that I deeply value. So thank you again, Amy!

The Liebster Award (as stated on Amy’s page):

The guidelines for the Liebster Blog Award are:

• Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them.
• Reveal your top 5 picks for the award and let them know by leaving them a comment on their blog.
• Post the award on your blog.
• Bask in the love from the most supportive people on the blogsphere – other bloggers.
• Most of all – have fun and spread the karma.

I’m extremely excited about the chance to point out some of my favorite blogs! If Amy hadn’t just received the award, I would definitely nominate her. (PS: She’s also critiquing the first twenty or so pages of my novel, so she’s twice as awesome.) Anyway, be sure to follow her and these other amazing bloggers:

1. Sarah’s Place: Embracing life in the northern lattitudes – No other blogger has welcomed me to the WordPress.com blogosphere quite like Sarah, and for that I owe her a great deal of thanks and appreciation. Not only that, but her blog is fantastic! She has (in my humble opinion) one of the best cooking sites on the net. I’m pretty picky about recipes—they can’t involve an excess of rare, needless ingredients or be too difficult to make—but Sarah consistently provides ones (complete with personality and great step-by-step pictures) that are easy to understand and make and look absolutely delicious. Keep up the great work, Sarah. No pressure or anything. Just keep being you!

2. Yo Mama: ‘Cause there ain’t no yo daddy jokes - My favorite women’s advocate and gender blogger who—brownie points for her—also has me listed on her blogroll (she’s also listed in mine, see the sidebar). She’s one of the smartest and most talented bloggers around.

(FYI, I’m totally open to blogroll exchanges, if anyone’s ever interested. Just send an email to wita [dot] blog [at] gmail [dot] com.)

3. The Librarian Who Doesn’t Say “Shhh” – Oh my goodness, I could say oodles about how wonderful Miss Anderson is. She has one of the most fun book blogs out there, and she adds layers (I’m talking Shrek layers, like an onion, only more awesome) of personality and charm to everything she writes. Plus, she doles out letter grades to the books she reads. Nice!

4. Sometimes Bailey: A non-fiction writer’s blog about making a literary life while balancing work and family – I haven’t pinned down Veronica yet—her blog entries are always refreshingly varied in my feed. Her posts about literature, life, and writing are always a pleasure to read.

5. Kristen Lamb’s Blog – Kristen is an author and a social media and publishing whiz, and her posts constantly brim with wise and insightful advice. Check it out!

The Darkening Dream and other books I’ve added recently

These are the books that have made it onto my wishlist recently—and the bloggers/websites that recommended them.

What I’ve added:

The Darkening Dream by Andy Gavin [via Novel Publicity]

This is a big deal. I’m talking the kind of magical book that turns a bad day (computer problems, ugh) into a fabulous one. Why is it so incredible? Because it was written by one of my favorite video game professionals, Andy Gavin. If you don’t know, I’m a huge video game fan (I even write about them occasionally). Andy founded Naughty Dog (my all-time favorite developer) and created the Crash Bandicoot and Jak & Daxter series under that company—and yes, they’re two of my all-time most beloved games. So yeah, Gavin writing a book is an unmissable event for me.

I actually bought this right away, so expect a review in the near future.

Just an FYI, the Kindle edition is $3 right now. Although the hardcover is gorgeous, as you can see.

on Amazon

The Man in the Empty Boat by Mark Salzman [via eBookNewser]

Memoirs are definitely a genre I want to read more of, and I love anything psychological—probably because the mind is crazy fascinating.

on Amazon and Barnes & Noble

Self-Help by Lorrie Moore [via Books and Bowel Movements]

I want to read this one because of Cassie’s glowing review: “I don’t even know really how to describe Lorrie Moore’s writing because it’s just fascinating to look at.  She uses metaphors like everything can be related to everything. ” Plus, exposure to a new author never hurts.

on Amazon and Barnes & Noble

Manuscript Makeover: Revision Techniques No Fiction Writer can Afford to Ignore by Elizabeth Lyon [via The Literary Mom]

It comes highly recommended by Amy Marie, who offers great writing tips over at her blog, so I’m on board.

on Amazon and Barnes & Noble

Unwind by Neal Schusterman [via The Librarian Who Doesn't Say "Shhh"]

If a librarian gives it an A, you know it’s good. I’m interested in expanding my YA horizons. Love the genre.

on Amazon and Barnes & Noble

What I’m reading now:

Just finished reviewing a book for Kirkus Indie (sorry, can’t disclose any info per my agreement), and now I’m getting ready to start a review copy sent over from Titan Books and also The Night Circus, which I picked up from the library last Thursday. So look out for a review of both of those latter two.

Goodreads member? Friend me!

What books are on your radar?

Awesome book cover Friday: My Education

This one speaks for itself. My Education: A Book of Dreams by William S. Burroughs was published in 1995, two years before the author’s passing.

Description of the book as listed on Amazon (from Library Journal):

Similar in format to Jack Kerouac’s Book of Dreams (1961), Burroughs’s latest offering is a simple dream diary, interspersed with brief interpretive comments and presented in clear, accessible prose. Most of the dreams involve visits to the Land of the Dead, where nearly all of Burroughs’s friends and enemies have long since vanished. Kerouac, Brion Gysin, Jean Genet, and hostile critic Anatole Broyard make frequent appearances, along with the author’s parents; his wife, Joan; and his son, Billy. Burroughs himself has mellowed considerably. He avoids sex, deplores thievery, rails against gun fanatics, and shares his home with several pampered cats. Because the author’s best work incorporates nightmares and hallucinations, his dream record is of genuine literary interest. However, readers unschooled in Beat lore will struggle with cryptic allusions to obscure people and events. This important work for fans will likely win few new converts. Recommended for larger fiction collections.

Announcement: participating in the Literary Giveaway Blog Hop

By now you’ve probably noticed that pinkish-purplish button in my sidebar. I wanted to thank the readers of my blog by participating in the fourth Literary Giveaway Blog Hop, hosted by blogger Leeswammes.

The Literary Giveaway Blog Hop is an event taking place from Saturday, February 18 until (and including) Wednesday, February 22. Please stop by and enter my official contest between those dates! I’ll be announcing the giveaway book then. Good luck!

Here’s a clue: This author of this book struggled for two years to secure a publisher, and upon landing a deal, the book was not expected to sell. The author blames the trouble on the gender of the protagonist, which was contrary to what was expected of the genre at the time.

Fun trivia: The character Sawyer from the television show Lost read this book while stranded on the island.