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Confessions of an Accidental Writer

Antony John's Blog

A haphazard blend of reading, writing, reviewing, and ranting, with frequent breaks for a cup of tea.

Check in for updates on all my projects, as well as anything else that has inexplicably grabbed my attention.

Triple book giveaway

December 17, 2010 – 12:40 am

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Free books? YES! Three books? YES! YES! YES!

Last night, I discovered that no fewer than three (yes, THREE) blogs are hosting DUMB giveaways at the moment. And since many readers have expressed an interest in obtaining a free copy of DUMB (no kidding!), I thought I’d pass along the links:

Mandy Hubbard (awesome author, hilarious blogger, and – oh yeah – a literary agent, too) says DUMB is one of her top 5 books EVER. Yikes!

Andrea Cremer (New York Times bestselling author of the breathtaking NIGHTSHADE) has posted an interview with me.

I Am a Reader Not a Writer blog has an interview, too, including a quotation from my worst review ever. It’s cringe-worthy, so you really ought to take a look, if only so you can laugh at me!

By Antony •• Posted in News •• Comments (2)

Piper loves reviewers

December 15, 2010 – 12:39 pm

imagesDUMB has had a slew of new reviews recently, including these three over the past 24 hours. Piper wants to share:

The Book Smugglers: “Five Flavors of Dumb is really, REALLY good, surprisingly so – even though I heard nothing but praise for the book, I still didn’t expect it to be this good.”

An Avid Reader’s Musings: “Five Flavors of Dumb is a great story.”

Fresh Fiction: “Piper … doesn’t triumph despite her disabilities. She triumph’s because she’s smart and creative. That makes this an important book for a YA reader seeking a starting place to understand deaf culture.

A big thanks to all reviewers for taking the time to read and post their thoughts. It’s much appreciated!

By Antony •• Posted in News •• Comments (0)

Adventures with a Random Number Generator

December 14, 2010 – 10:41 am

Well, I compiled a list of all the blog and facebook comments left over the past week, and used a Random Number Generator to unveil the winner and . . . um . . . the RNG picked a relative of mine. Now, no offense to my relatives, but if I figure that if they love me (which they do) they’ll cough up the cash and buy a copy of DUMB. So I told the RNG to think again, and it said . . .

#37 – aka Shannon. Congrats to Shannon, and a HUGE thanks to everyone for entering. Don’t despair, non-winners, there’ll be another giveaway later in the month, and believe me when I say the best prizes are yet to come!

jimi 004How cool is this photo? Thanks to Holly at the Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle for sending me this. And thanks to Jimi Hendrix for picking up a copy of DUMB. Impressive work for a dude who kicked the bucket 40 years ago!

While I’m in thanking mode, kudos to the students of Hancock Place High School who gave me such a warm reception on Friday, and had awesome questions. And thanks to all the folks who turned up to my signing at Barnes and Noble, especially the crazy folks from Northwest Valley – y’all rock.

Reviews have continued to roll in so fast that I haven’t been able to post them all here. Still, they’re all so wonderful, and so well written, and I’m super grateful to the bloggers and readers and reviewers who have taken the time to read DUMB and share their thoughts. Like this one from the blog Slightly Bookish.

By Antony •• Posted in News, Ramblings •• Comments (6)

Calling Fenton, MO!

December 9, 2010 – 2:07 pm

images-4Tomorrow evening (Friday December 10th) at 7PM, I’ll be signing books at the Barnes and Noble in Fenton, MO (721 Gravois Rd). Please come along if you live within 100 miles (or 200, if you’re super keen)!

A big thanks to the Northwest Vallyet 7th and 8th Grade Center in House Springs, MO, for being such awesome hosts this morning. It’s the first time I’ve spoken to a real CROWD (I think 1200 students counts as a crowd, don’t you?).

Next up: Hancock Place High School tomorrow morning. Ah, the fun never stops.

In keeping with the awful change in weather (hey, I don’t like winter; what can I say?) here’s a winter-themed interview with yours truly.

Don’t forget, every comment on my blog or Facebook page gets you an entry into the book giveaway contest.

Finally, check out Lauren Myracle’s very insightful post about the “friends” status of her Flower Power buds. Lauren doesn’t post very often, but when she does, it’s always worth reading (and thinking about!).

By Antony •• Posted in Events, News •• Comments (5)

Book Giveaway #2

December 6, 2010 – 12:20 am

imagesFirst off, congrats to Ashley – my random number generator declared her winner of the inaugural book giveaway contest. As you can see, even Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn are excited. Ashley will be receiving a signed copy of FIVE FLAVORS OF DUMB, and an ARC of WHERE SHE WENT by Gayle Forman. Thanks to everyone for entering.

But if one giveaway is good, two must be better, right? So this week, I’m offering a signed copy of DUMB and a copy of MATCHED by Ally Condie. In case you haven’t noticed, MATCHED is generating uber-buzz (with multiple starred reviews), and it’s 100 percent justified. This book will have you hooked within three (yes, THREE!) pages, and never let you go. Ally Condie has an expertly crafted world she wants to share with you, and a gift for writing beautiful prose that always feels spot on. I completely [heart] this book!

41tyNN8Z8eL._SL500_AA300_The competition starts NOW and the winner will be randomly selected on Sunday, December 12th (which is, coincidentally, my birthday). As before, you get one entry for every comment left on my blog or on my Facebook page, so you might be able to get in a few entries before the week is out. New additions to my Facebook page will get a bonus entry. And once again, as an added bonus, the winner can select who s/he would like the books mailed to. So if you decide to keep MATCHED, but want the signed copy of DUMB mailed to a friend as a surprise, then I can do that for you. It’s all about sharing during the holiday season, see?

By Antony •• Posted in News •• Comments (16)

An event . . . and some answers!

December 1, 2010 – 9:30 pm

DownloadedFile-1Tomorrow (Thursday, December 2nd) I have an event at the Central West End Left Bank Books in St. Louis. It starts at 6PM, but please come along any time between then and 7:30PM. The really cool thing about this signing? I’m giving all the royalties from books sold to a local fund. Oh, and President Obama’s favorite pizza will be available, FREE. And the store is donating 10 percent of ALL books sold to the same local fund. For all the full (crazy) details, just follow the link at the top.

DownloadedFileHere’s a gratuitous photo of Pi pizza, because if DUMB doesn’t lure you along, this surely must!

Kudos to the readers who’ve taken the bold step of getting an RSS feed to my blog. To those of you who only ever get third (or lower) billing on the comments page, don’t feel bad. I’ve been trying to be the first commenter on Auntie Heather Brewer’s blog for over a year, and so far have only managed #4. Anyway, rest assured I love you all equally.

Finally, some comments have included fantastic, hard-hitting questions, so I thought I’d answer them here . . .

Nancy McClelland wrote: Where is the best place to buy DUMB? I have to presume that authors don’t earn the same royalty for each book sold … so is it better for you (or at least, more likely to get counted as “X many books sold” somewhere) if we buy it here versus there?

Me: I’m no expert here, but I think that as long as my publisher doesn’t sell a million copies to Walmart at a profit margin of 0.001 percent, I should receive the same royalties wherever you buy it. That being said, I’d appeal to EVERYONE to support your local Indie bookstore if possible. If it weren’t for Indies, books like mine (i.e. NOT “event” books with a massive marketing push) would disappear without trace.

Chelsea: What anime are those characters from?

Me: Yikes – I have no idea. I just yanked them from the web. Cool though, right?

crowther: I really really like you, and your wife and your children are splendid.

Me: That’s lovely, Greg. But you can still only win the book. My wife and children stay with me.

A final note to Savannah and Laura: If it comes down to it, a thumb-wrestling tiebreaker is fine by me.

By Antony •• Posted in Events, Ramblings •• Comments (8)

A Little Local Love

November 29, 2010 – 10:26 pm

My local newspaper, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, ran a column on DUMB (or me; or me and DUMB; it’s sort of hard to tell) yesterday. It’s the first time I’ve appeared in print media since I was eight and spoke passionately (and ungrammatically) on why my elementary school playground needed saving. Ah, happy memories!

saki-pinkyIn other wonderful news, your comments have been coming thick and fast. Which is a conundrum for me, because just last week I told some high school students that I personally reply to EVERY SINGLE COMMENT left on my blog or Facebook page. I may even have pinky-sworn it (like those cute little anime characters on the left). But that was before Book Giveaway Week, and the ensuing deluge of comments. So, please, keep them coming, but don’t hate me if my replies are kind of, well . . . tardy.

By Antony •• Posted in News •• Comments (9)

Book Giveaway Time!

November 26, 2010 – 11:54 pm

It’s Thanksgiving – a time for giving . . . well, thanks. (That’s correct, isn’t it? I’m British, so I’m a little unclear on the specifics. And as a neutral observer, I’d have to say it seems to have more to do with eating enormous quantities of food and watching 18 straight hours of football. But I digress.) Talking of giving thanks, FIVE FLAVORS OF DUMB has now been out for two weeks, which seems almost too awesome to believe. In other words . . . it’s time to spread a little love in the form of FREE BOOKS!!!! “Which books?” you ask. Well . . .

Where She WentFive Flavors of DumbBetween now and Friday December 3rd, you can enter to win both a signed copy of FIVE FLAVORS OF DUMB and (AND!!!) an ARC of WHERE SHE WENT by Gayle Forman (the sequel to the NY TImes-bestselling IF I STAY, which was easily one of the best books of 2009 IMHO). And as an added bonus, the winner can select who s/he would like the books mailed to. So if you decide to keep the ARC, but want the signed copy of DUMB mailed to a friend as a surprise, then I can do that for you. Yup, you can spread the love too, see?

(By the way, for those of you hoping to win a copy of DUMB through another website’s giveaway contest, fear not – this NEW contest is not replacing that, but in addition to it. So, why not enter this one as well, and double your chances?)

How do you enter this giveaway? There are a couple ways, actually:

1. Everyone who is listed on my Facebook author page as “liking” me (which, confusingly enough, has nothing to do with actually liking me) is automatically entered. If you don’t yet “like” me, go to www.antonyjohn.net and click on the Facebook link in the top right corner.

2. Everyone who leaves a comment on my blog (via either the blog itself or the Facebook page) gets another entry. You get one entry for each blog post you comment on, so if I’m super-organized (highly unlikely) and write three blog posts between now and next Sunday, you could get three extra entries. Whoa, right?

Remember, even if you don’t win, don’t dismay – with the holiday season just around the corner, I’ll be reprising the giveaway again (with different book prizes) just as soon as this one is over!

Thanks. And good luck!

By Antony •• Posted in News, Ramblings •• Comments (51)

Chicago, here I come!

November 18, 2010 – 11:33 am

This evening, I’ll be heading to Chicago. Late. If traffic is light I should be there by midnight. If not, I might just drive straight to the high schools tomorrow and give my presentations unshaven and smelling slightly. It wouldn’t be the first time.

The schools, by the way, are Plainfield South High School and Plainfield East High School. I’m reliably informed that the students at both are very smart and ask excellent questions. Perhaps it might be better if I got a couple hours’ sleep after all.

But that’s not all! I’ll be doing a couple events as well, and I’d LOVE to see folks at them, soooo . . . if you’re in the vicinity of Chicago this weekend, pleased drop by one of these delightful locales:

Friday, November 19, 5PM – Buzz Cafe, 905 South Lombard Ave, Oak Park IL 60304

Saturday, November 20, 1PM – Anderson’s Bookshop, 123 W. Jefferson, Naperville, IL 60540

And finally, here’s a picture of Ferris – just cause he’s the first thing I thought of when I found out I’d be heading to Chicago.

Bueller . . . Bueller . . .

FerrisBueller

By Antony •• Posted in Events, News •• Comments (14)

News! News!

November 17, 2010 – 3:04 pm

I must be one of the first authors in history who didn’t get around to announcing a book launch on MY OWN BLOG. How lame is that?

But enough of that, there’s much to report:

1. Although I didn’t mention the launch, it seems that everyone else did. And the reviews have been pouring in, too. Check them out here (you’ll have to scroll down).

74581_10150296611945230_424120675229_15776207_5640143_n2. The launch event at Pudd’nHead Books was awesome. It was standing-room only, and local band The Slots played a fantastic set that included “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” Oh, and there was cake, as you can see! A big shout to Melissa and Nikki for making it all possible . . . and for allowing everyone to stick around until 10PM chatting.

3. Thanks to the wonderful students at the Bush School, Seattle, who invited me to be the guest author at their book fair. I had a great time answering their (frighteningly insightful) questions, and signing books.

4. I also got to meet the children’s book buyers for the three major Indie bookstores in Seattle: the University Bookstore, Elliott Bay Book Company, and Third Place Books. Wonderful people, all of them . . . and boy, do they know their books! Thanks to Penguin rep, Colleen Conway, for being such a fine chauffeur, lovely company, and for keeping me heavily caffeinated (in true Seattle spirit).

5. I have upcoming events in Chicago: Friday: Magic Tree Bookstore; Saturday: Anderson’s Books. I’ll provide full details tomorrow.

And finally . . .

6. Tomorrow I’ll announce details of my Crazy Book Giveaway Month: win signed copies of FIVE FLAVORS OF DUMB and WILL GRAYSON, WILL GRAYSON, and ARCs of great books like MATCHED and WHERE SHE WENT (the much anticipated sequel to IF I STAY). You know you want them!

By Antony •• Posted in Events, News •• Comments (27)