Monday Dynamos: My first giveaway contest!

Ever since I started writing my book, Remembrandt, I have been obsessed with anagrams (several of which you will find in the book).  Now for those of you not familiar with what an anagram is, let me explain. An anagram is a word or phrase that can be rearranged to create a new word or phrase.  For example:

Astronomer = Moon starer

Agree = Eager

Float = Aloft

Where you put a space or how the words are separated do not matter.  For my own personal rules, it's only a real anagram if it makes sense or is clever in some way.  Like my name, Robin King, could be rearranged to be "brink go in".  Even though all those words are real words,  it doesn't really make sense and has nothing to do with me.  On the other hand, you could rearrange my name to say "boring kin'.  Now I can surely see a few of my family members huffing up in anger right now, but we are a boring lot!

So for my Monday Dynamos, your challenge is three fold.

1.) In honor of someone quoted in my book, find the anagrammed name in this phrase (don't forget that is doesn't matter where the spaces are - you just have to use all the letters):

Hear me as I will speak = ?

2.) Find an anagram for your name (you could use your middle or last name too, or just your first name).  See if you can find something clever that works for your name!  Just post your answers in the comments section.

3.) Follow me on this blog!

***PRIZE*** 

The first person to come up with the correct answer for #1 and the cleverest (is that a word?) anagram of their own name:  You will receive a hardback copy of Cinder by Marissa Meyer, one of my new favorite books.

I'm excited to see what you all come up with.  

Ahhhh (sigh of relief) . . .

It's official!  I have completed the first draft of my book!  I feel like I deserve putting up my feet and lounging outside my imaginary beach house, eating a thick strawberry cheesecake shake (oooooo, or maybe Oreo??), and watching the waves as they crash to the shore. Ahh.....

But alas, no, this soon-to-be author, will immediately be getting to work brushing up this novel to get it ready for publishing.  This book has been in my mind for over five years, but I didn't start the writing process until about nine months ago.  That's funny.  I just realized it took me just as long to write this book as it takes to wait for a baby to come.  Well, I guess this book is my "baby" right now.

I know all you curious ones out there are wondering what I've written, so I've come up with what I'd call a book jacket for this Young Adult novel.  I still have some kinks to work out, but this is what I have so far:

Remembrandt

some things are better left forgotten

Forgetting the past is hard to do when you have an eidetic memory, but Alexandra Stewart decides to make her first year at Brown University one worth remembering. After she runs into William on campus, she begins to feel like she can have a normal life and ignore the flashbacks that haunt her at night. Solving puzzles becomes more than just a compelling game, when her Russian professor gives her a puzzle that seems impossible to complete, catapulting her into a world of secret codes and intrigue. As she tries to find a balance between the two different worlds vying for her attention, she wonders if she can have relationships with the ones she cares about while hiding a clandestine life, uncovering the truths of an underground enemy. Will this new found life help her forget her past or is it all somehow connected?

Leave a comment and tell me what you think! Also, follow my blog so that you can hear more about the story and be the first to know where my book is at in the publishing process.  I'm excited to take this journey with my friends and family!

It's About Time . . .

I'm just going to come out and say it:

I AM A WRITER.

I can see my high school AP Honors English teacher picking her jaw up off the floor (I had to beg for an A in that class). Yes, ladies and gentleman, I have been a "closet writer" since I was about ten. I am now "out"ing myself.

So you are probably asking yourselves, "Why now? And what does it matter anyway? What's so special about Robin that makes her think that she can actually write?"

I'd love to answer those questions, but, honestly, I don't know all the answers myself. The only thing I know for certain is that I actually love it! There is something fulfilling about getting your thoughts out on paper, twisting ideas and rearranging words so that they fully reflect what you think and feel.

The seed started with poetry (someday I'll reveal these), grew with volumes and volumes of journal entries (not sure if anyone should read these until I'm long gone), and now it is blossoming with this blog and . . . drum roll please . . . A BOOK. Yep, I'm writing a book. Is it any good? If you ask my mom or husband, they like it so far (they could be biased). If you ask my writing critique group, they'd probably tell you not to hold your breath. If you ask me, it's going to be amazing someday.

What's this blog going to entail? I plan on blogging about:

1. The writing experiences I have, the good and the bad
2. Books I've read & authors I've met that inspire me
3. Life experiences that shape my writing
4. Puzzles, conundrums, and codes to solve (motivated by my latest WIP)

My inspiration for writing this next week comes from The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (probably the best book I have read in the last few years - I may blog about later):

"It is important," the man in the grey suit interrupts. "someone needs to tell those tales. When the battles are fought and won and lost, when the pirates find the treasures and the dragons eat their foes for breakfast with a nice up of Lapsang souchong, someone needs to tell their bits of overlapping narrative. There's magic in that. It's in the listener, and for each and every ear it will be different, and it will affect them in ways they can never predict. From the mundane to the profound. You may tell a tale that takes up residence in someone's soul, becomes their blood and self and purpose. That tale will move them and drive them and who knows what they might do because of it..."