Tuesday, November 30, 2010

From The Department Of The Friggin' Cool

We interrupt this blog for a Very Important Announcement: NASA, launcher of freaky-cool space probes, gatherer of rocks, thinker-upper of massively amazing ideas like submarine space probes (with detachable  drills to break through the icy surface of Europa into its watery sub-surface) has made an announcement.

Or rather, they've made an announcement for an announcement.

According to this, NASA will be making an announcement regarding a recent finding in the field of Astrobiology. So, first of all: ASTROBIOLOGY! Holy crap!

Now, here's a thing I did not know: NASA has an entire section dedicated to the study of Astrobiology, and the link to their site can be found here. And Astrobiology does not necessarily mean the exclusive search for E.T. and light-saber-weilding Jedis (though, certainly the search for non-Earth-based life forms is certainly part of their research). But mostly, what they're looking for is some sort of insight as to how life happened on our planet. And the fact that there are scientists who are looking beyond Earth to understand about Earth, is pretty dang cool if you ask me.

The thing that has the internets all a-flutter right now is the fact that NASA is instituting an information black-out in the run-up to the announcement on Thursday. So we don't know exactly what  was found or what was learned. We just know that they learned something, and to find out what that something is, we are all gonna have to cool our heels and wait.

In the meantime, I don't know about you people, but I am going to be dreaming. And thinking. And imagining. And probably writing. If life was truly discovered somewhere beyond Earth, what does it do to our understanding of Earth? What does it do for our understanding of us? If we are not alone in the universe, does that change how we see our relationship to our own planet, or our relationship to one another? I wrote a story recently called "The Taxidermist's Other Wife" that will appear in the December issue of Clarkesworld Magazine. The story is essentially a meditation on loss and loneliness - and on the lengths that some people will go to to preserve the memory of what they once had, but there is a moment in the story when the narrators are bending their backs to the howl of the wind, feeling the aching emptiness of the land around and the sky above like a weight. (You are alone, the stars seem to tell them. You are still alone.)


But what if we're not? Do I need to re-write the story? If the universe is populated, how does that alter how we see the stars?

I've been working on a YA sci-fi novel lately set on an energy transfer station on the moon. I'm already bracing myself for how this information is gonna change my own story. And the question is this: how will it impact other stories currently being written now? How will it impact the stories we will write next month? Next year?

On Thursday, I will be simultaneously glued to my laptop and radio. Where will you be?

(And secretly, I am really, really, really, really hoping they're gonna announce they found this guy:)

20. E.T.

Monday, November 29, 2010

New Year, New Projects, Epic Awesome

As we get closer to the holidays (and further from the pie-pocalypse that was Thanksgiving), things may appear to be slowing down in the blogosphere. But that's not entirely true. Even if I miss a Monday every now and then (hey, I was in a wedding last week!) know that I am busy behind the scenes working with fellow 5-er Miranda on a sekrit project.

Okay, it's not so sekrit. It's called Dear Teen Me and, holy crap, it's going to be awesome.

Dear Teen Me launches Dec. 1st with some of your favorite authors participating. Head on over to the site for more details, but for now, I'll tell you this: it's an entire blog dedicated to authors writing letters to their teen selves. Could it possibly get more awesome?

I'm not sure. I mean, every time I get an email from an author saying "hey can I write a letter for Dear Teen Me, too?" it definitely gets more awesome. And all of the YA-5 bloggers are on board, so, you know, you can count on some hilarity.

I hope you'll go check out our website. There's not a ton there now, but there will be very, very soon. I promise, this is going to be epic!

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Winner of the HUNTRESS ARC!

An impartial third party (my husband :-D ) put all the names in a hat and drew out Maggie Desmond-O'Brien! Congrats on winning the HUNTRESS arc - we hope you enjoy it. Email mirandakenneally (at) gmail.com with your address, and we'll send it to you.

And thanks again to agent Sara Megibow for sharing her thoughts on YA with us!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Giving Thanks

This week is Thanksgiving here in the states, so I thought I would do the obligatory Thanksgiving post.  I'm a bit of complainer, and spend a fair amount of time yammering on about the stupid stuff that happens in life.  So I figured I should balance it out with a list of 365 things I'm thankful for.  I'll be blogging about at least one of these things a day starting January 1st at my blog (you know, because I rarely write anymore), so stop by if you're interested.

And if you want to be thankful for an ARC of Huntress by Malinda Lo, go here.

1. Indoor plumbing
2. Books
3. My agent
4. My family (I should mention here that these are in no particular order)
5. My job (although not always)
6. Central air
7. Toes
8. Fingers
9. Noise cancelling headphones
10. Cupcakes
11. Waffles
12. Pillows
13. Comforters
14. My husband
15. Decoder rings
16. Pop Tarts
17. Rubik’s Cubes
18. El Rodeo (Mexican food)
19. Heath bars
20. Twizzlers
21. Easter candy
22. Snow days
23. Vacation days
24. Snowflakes
25. Sunrises I can sleep through
26. Clean Water
27. Highways
28. Yo Gabba Gabba
29. Shampoo
30. Deoderant
31. Chocolate
32. Judd Apatow movies
33. Beds
34. Digitally signed emails that prevent me from sending without verification
35. Beer
36. Art
37. Digital cameras
38. Cell phones
39. Dilbert
40. Beautifully sparse writing
41. Credit cards
42. Lotion
43. Noise cancelling headphones
44. Rise Against
45. Pandora
46. Crit partners
47. The YA-5ers
48. Internet
49. Netflix Watch it Now
50. Cars
51. Coffee
52. Cake
53. Trees
54. Twitter
55. iTunes
56. Kindle
57. HDTV
58. The Pittsburgh Steelers
59. Chocolate
60. Tea
61. Email
62. Charity
63. Friends
64. Shelter
65. Kleenex
66. Warm sweaters
67. The ocean
68. Grocery stores
69. Calculators
70. Breathtaking architecture
71. Rivers
72. Amusement parks
73. My daughter’s laughter
74. Falcons
75. Long drives
76. Hawaii Five-0
77. Pecan Pie
78. Conditioner
79. Tampons
80. Inside jokes
81. #wordtribbles
82. Surprises (good and bad)
83. Mistakes
84. @ replies
85. Writing
86. Nail polish
87. Butterflies
88. Jon Lovitz as Satan
89. Bicycles
90. Lighthouses
91. Porch swings
92. The annoying people who write checks at stores and give you something to laugh about
93. ATMs
94. Acceptance
95. Computers
96. Cake
97. Tea parties
98. Stuffed animals
99. Roller coasters
100. Lemonade on a hot day
101. Hot cocoa on a cold day
102. Roses
103. Birds that sing at the crack of dawn
104. Playgrounds
105. Libraries
106. Food courts
107. Discounts at stores
108. iPods
109. AFI
110. Winter
111. Farmers
112. Windows
113. My Chemical Romance
114. Bad Religion
115. Dropkick Murphys
116. Spellcheck
117. Showers
118. Long baths
119. Taking Back Sunday
120. Northstar
121. Bread
122. Chik-fil-A
123. Sweet Tea
124. Money
125. Milkshakes
126. French fries
127. Health Insurance
128. Car Insurance
129. My mother
130. Satellites
131. Best Buy
132. Thumb drives
133. Metal water bottles
134. Balloons
135. Music
136. Johnny Depp
137. Tim Burton movies
138. Chocolate
139. Spring
140. Hot air balloons
141. Zoos
142. Fish
143. Duct tape
144. Sparkly things
145. Fire
146. Stoves
147. Macaroni and cheese
148. Cheese
149. Solitaire
150. Tim Burton movies
151. Bruce Willis
152. Math
153. Numbers
154. Gravity
155. Schrödinger’s cat
156. Big Bang Theory
157. The Mentalist
158. Judge Judy
159. Ice cream
160. The People’s Court
161. Laws
162. Gum
163. Shoes
164. Socks
165. Razors
166. Treadmills (okay, not really)
167. Parades
168. Halloween
169. Candy
170. Pearl Jam
171. Perfect timing
172. Romance
173. Jewelry
174. Scottie dogs
175. Good dreams
176. Text messaging
177. Other people driving
178. Lunch dates
179. Deer
180. Streams
181. Forest
182. Wildflowers
183. Mud
184. Ergonomic chairs
185. Patience
186. My butt
187. Spanx (see above)
188. Jokes
189. Batman
190. Cliffhangers
191. Beethoven
192. History
193. The perfect turn of phrase
194. Making friends laugh until they pee
195. YouTube
196. Cookies and cream anything
197. Vaccinations
198. Wikipedia
199. A fertile imagination
200. Leaving work early
201. The Constitution
202. Three Branches of Government
203. The Bill of Rights
204. The Federal Reserve
205. Low interest rates
206. Mouthwash
207. Fresh laundry
208. Sesame Street
209. Phineas and Ferb
210. Post it Notes
211. Love letters
212. 80s Tv Theme songs
213. VH1
214. Palm trees
215. Maple syrup
216. Snow
217. Chocolate
218. Books
219. Honesty
220. Travel
221. Chili’s
222. The Army
223. Joint Chiefs of Staff
224. Montgomery G.I. Bill
225. Bubble baths
226. Comic books
227. Hellblazer
228. Ed Brubaker
229. Books
230. Kanye West
231. Crazy people
232. Kittens
233. Puppies
234. Alligators
235. Armadillos
236. Capybaras
237. Unconditional Love
238. String Theory
239. The Universe
240. Combustion
241. Detectives that are Loose Cannons
242. Steampunk
243. Zombies (at least fictional ones)
244. 70s funk music
245. School
246. Literacy
247. Lessons learned
248. Ice
249. Mint
250. Kettle korn
251. Cartoons
252. Peace and quiet
253. Target
254. Red Cross
255. Football
256. Basketball
257. Hockey
258. Boots
259. Old-fashioned letters
260. Strangers
261. Kohls
262. Makeup
263. Toothbrushes
264. Pipe cleaners
265. Construction paper
266. Crayons
267. Watercolors
268. Bean bags
269. Sewing machines
270. First person present
271. Glue guns
272. Apples
273. Bananas
274. Fresh baked bread
275. Frou-frou coffee drinks
276. Sandwiches (not open faced)
277. Reruns
278. Pennsylvania
279. Kermit the frog (and Muppets in general)
280. Cheese steaks
281. Dear Teen Me
282. Promises kept
283. Blood
284. Lungs
285. Brain
286. White Collar
287. How I Met Your Mother
288. Big Bang Theory
289. Cherries
290. Fried chicken
291. Saturdays
292. Me
293. Relaxers
294. Labrador Retrievers
295. Walking
296. Bookstores
297. Indie films
298. Jake Gyllenhaal
299. Kevin Smith movies
300. John Cusack
301. Sixteen Candles
302. Febreze
303. Laundry soap
304. Modern medicine
305. Cop dramas
306. Jeans
307. The railroad
308. Long haul truckers
309. Cheetos
310. Tahitian treat
311. Fresh cut grass
312. Lawn gnomes
313. Chocolate cake
314. Cheesecake
315. Sushi
316. Memorial Day
317. The Easter Bunny
318. Bunnies
319. Chipmunks
320. Corn
321. The Alamo
322. Ripley’s Believe it or Not Museum
323. Styx
324. Journey
325. Earth Wind and Fire
326. Happy Accidents
327. Hibachi
328. Summer
329. Holidays
330. The Smurfs
331. Neil Patrick Harris
332. Cable
333. Blogs
334. Games
335. Cellular divison
336. Photosynthesis
337. Organ donors
338. Hair salons
339. Flat irons
340. Books
341. Praise
342. Scooby-Doo
343. Karaoke
344. Soup
345. Rain
346. Fall
347. Ducks
348. High school memories
349. A job well done
350. Flattery
351. Coupons
352. Anime
353. Action Movies
354. Die Hard
355. Celebrity Jeopardy
356. My birthday
357. Junk food
358. Tchotchkes
359. Stream of consciousness
360. Cookies
361. Watching a movie in the theatre
362. Throwbacks
363. Unicorns
364. Trains
365. Self-Reflection
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!!!