2012 Reading List and year end review--of sorts: Are You Too Cool for School??

While 2012 was another year of little reading (disappointed sigh)--I plan to try to push myself to read 50 books for 2013--I have nothing but good things to say about all of my reading for 2012.  Looking back, it seems I have been a little heavy on the Dean Koontz in 2012, but there was a new Odd Thomas book as well as one that I read for a small reading group.  I usually try to be a little more diverse and spread my limited reading time across more genres.

Every year I put up some type of post about my reading for the year on "Writing is Tricky" as a means of reflection (and action for the next year) as well as hopefully to bring something useful to all of you.

So this year I decided to make my reading list a bit more interactive. Rather than summarize what I read or give details on what I was doing and where I was when I read each story, I thought I’d set up a little quiz about the books that I read to test your writing prowess (and coolness).

(Note: Designing this quiz was WAY more challenging than anticipated.  Do not expect an end of year quiz for 2013!)

Pre-quiz instructions PLUS a TOTALLY AWESOME 80s flashback!!

Picture Pages! Picture Pages! Time to get your Picture Pages.  Time to get your crayons and your pencils.  Picture Pages! Picture Pages! Open up your Picture Pages. Time to watch Bill Cosby do a Picture with you!

Matching will be the format that we use for the quiz, 30 questions, totaling a possible 300 cool points should you answer everything correctly.

 


You’re on the honor system (answers are below).

Note: This is an “open-internet” quiz--feel free to websearch, and no you don’t need Mortimer Ichabod Marker* to take this test

Matching Part I Match the book to the author

1. Hellbender                                    A. Matt & Natalie Duvall (editors)

2. The Blood Poetry                           B. Gary A Braunbeck

3. Days of Reckoning                          C. Troy Aaron Ratliff

4. Cloud Atlas                                    D. Gail Z. Martin

5. A Game of Thrones                         E. Stephen King

6. Odd Apocalypse                              F. Dean Koontz (Used 3 times)

7. The Last Werewolf                          G. Leland Pitts Gonzalez

8. 30 Days to Social Media Success        H. Jason Jack Miller

9. To Each Their Darkness                    I. Ansel Dibell

10. 77 Shadow Street                          J. David Mitchell

11. The Wind Through the Keyhole         K. George R. R. Martin

12. What the Night Knows                     L. Glen Duncan

13. Little Bernie’s Map                          M. Chris Stout

14. Hazard Yet Forward

15. Plot

Matching Part II Match the summary/description/theme/quote/observation/etc… on the left to the story/book to the right

1. First installment of A Song of Fire and Ice               A. Hellbender

2. Make social media marketing work for you              B. The Blood Poetry

3. Features a young fry cook who sees the dead          C. Days of Reckoning

4. Literary vampire novel yet without one poem           D. Cloud Atlas

5. Anthology, which my story “The Turnpike”             E. A Game of Thrones

6. Creepy old hotel, inhabited by “The One”               F. Odd Apocalypse

7. Roland Deschain & the Man in Black in DT4.5       G. The Last Werewolf

8. Femme fatale aid in crooked cop’s gory demise      H. 30 Days to Social Media  

                                                                                      Success

9. Family stalked by a poltergeist seeking revenge       I. To Each Their Darkness

10. Reviews essential story structure in all fiction        J. 77 Shadow Street

11. Harness your own horror when you write      K. The Wind Through the Keyhole

12. Struggling family’s drive becomes a nightmare    L. What the Night Knows

13. Appalachian gothic/literary novel set in WV         M. Little Bernie’s Map

14. Story structure resembling matryoshka dolls        N. Hazard Yet Forward

15. “Humboldt's Gift on the highbrow shelves,          O. Plot

      Shogun on the low"--best quote from this novel              

ANSWERS

Part I                     Part II

     1.     H                       1. E

     2.     G                       2. H

     3.     L                        3. F

     4.     J                        4. B

     5.     K                        5. N

     6.     F                        6. J

     7.     L                        7. K

     8.     D                       8. C

     9.     B                       9. L

     10. F                       10. O

     11. E                       11. I

     12. F                       12. M

     13. C                       13. A

     14. A                       14. D

     15. I                        15. G

 

Scoring (Each question is worth 10 cool points):

< 200 -- We probably have very different reading tastes and differing views of “cool”

210-250 -- I’d probably buy you a drink in a bar just so we can keep talking books

260-280 -- I like you.  Can I buy you a shot?

290 -- You’re one twisted SOB…I mean honestly...Can we be friends?

300 -- You must know me, ARE me, or are the principal reason I don’t publish my address

*If you are anything like me and devastated never to have had a Mortimer Ichabod Marker, then click here because Tricky found out how to get one of your very own.

Raw Dog Screaming Press: Dog Con 1 Review

This past weekend, I had the privilege of flying down to Baltimore to
attend Raw Dog Screaming Press’ (RDSP) first DogCon, an invite-only
convention to celebrate RDSP and to announce some of its plans for the upcoming year.

Michael A Arnzen's virtual book reading at DogCon

The dog-themed event included readings by Michael A Arnzen and D. Harlan Wilson, tarot readings, tattooing—yes tattooing—giveaways, and a DogCon chat session, a virtual dog pound if you will, that allowed the public to meet some of their
favorite Raw Dog authors, including Steven Archer, Dustin LaValley, John Lawson, Donna Lynch, Jason Jack Miller, Leland Pitts-Gonzalez, and Matthew Warner.

During the State of the Dog address, editor and co-founder Jennifer Barnes also announced Raw Dog will be expanding its claws and sinking its fangs into the realm of science fiction with the launch of its new imprint Dog Star Books.  Dog Star Books will bring readers' favorite sub-genres of Science Fiction Adventure under the imprint's unifying brand.

Leading this imprint will be Heidi Ruby Miller who is no stranger to the science fiction adventure genre.  A life-long fan of sci-fi, Heidi has written numerous stories and essays on science fiction.  During the State of the Dog, it was revealed that veteran authors such as Mike Resnick will be included in this launch as well as newcomers such as K. Ceres Wright, whose novel Cog will be published under the Dog Star name.


And so congratulations to RDSP in this upcoming year (and every year after).
This old dog keeps showing us it can learn new tricks.
Just remember not to pet its fur the wrong way.