Posts Tagged ‘chuck sambuchino’
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My 2nd Blogoversary Gift Card Giveaway!
Wednesday, December 28th, 2011
Officially, I have written eloquently TYPED LOUDLY from this little blogosphere space for exactly two years. I love it more today than when I first started. I love the books more. I love writing more (which is hard to imagine). And much of this is due to you, my Preciouses. Your comments, insight, and opinions have encouraged me to grow as a book reader, writer, and all-around weirder-than-your-grandmother’s-toupee-wearing-cat-type-person.
Basically, what I’m saying is that if I’d never started this blog, and you’d never visited this blog and encouraged me to keep frolicking around on it, I never would’ve made such lovely new friends, nor talked about books so frequently with old ones.
I also never would have:
Helped save billions (rough estimate) of marriages by posting a Rabid Fan Girl Status test and providing a list of Twilight Support Groups. That’s not to mention all the lonely guys I coached on how to get girls with my Twilight Dating Savvy advice.
Nor would I have been allowed to talk about how sexy a seventy-eight-year-old man (Lord Peter Wimsey) is without coming across as totally creepy. Okay, maybe it was creepy, but that doesn’t diminish the impressiveness of having managed to wheedle the indomitable Lord Peter Wimsey into a blog post and three separate interviews. Yeah. That’s right. *discreet fist pump*
I also never would have:
Recovered the suppressed, childhood memory of consistently being elected for the part of Han Solo’s wookie, Chewbacca, (rather than Princess Leia) by my “childhood friends” (ahem, MMA fighter Tim Kennedy) during our Star Wars games. Although, on a side note, I’d like to think Tim may never have stumbled upon his true calling of Cooking with Tim had we not bullied prompted him into it on this blog, right Preciouses?
I also never would’ve discovered that Joanna Volpe and I share a mutual affection for all things Steampunk, which, consequently, led to my pursuing—and her giving—a helpful piece of writing feedback. Thanks to her for that.
And, of course, I never would’ve met Jay Asher (along with the wonderful JM and Isaiah) and discovered what an incredible writer he is, and even more so, what a sincerely kind friend. Thank you, Jay.
Nor would I have met Jonathan Maberry (Wolverine, zombies, and King of Plagues), or connected with Mary Pearson (The Adoration of Jenna Fox), Catherine Ryan Hyde (need we say more?), and Laurie McLean (agent savant), or become blog friends with Anne R. Allen (her books just released!), or had the pleasure of interviewing super-silly authors such as Chuck Sambuchino (who can best me at pop culture references on any given Twitter day), Carolyn Mackler (who can best Jay Asher at spork fencing), and Lauren DeStefano (who makes me wish I possessed half of her wit as well as her preying mantis, Sarsaparilla).
Oh, and…
Last but not least, I never would’ve had the opportunity to dote on you with this:
a $25 Amazon gift card
Which I will send to one of you in celebration of your wonderfulness.
So this is how the gift card giveaway is going to work, okay, Preciouses?
(1) You must be a follower of this blog either through email or RSS (the cute icons at the top of the page—one orange, the other a white envelope), or Google Friend Connect or Facebook (those two icons on the right of this post that show all the pictures of happy faces and people’s cats). So if you’re not a follower yet, it’s about dang time you became one.
(2) Link to THIS PAGE one time via Twitter OR Facebook OR Google+ OR from your own blog, and then come back and leave a comment (on this page) saying which one you did. (For your convenience, you can use the stylish icons below or–if the FB one is being finicky–go ahead and copy this page’s URL and paste it to FB manually.) Your link and comment must be posted by 11:59 pm (PST) on Monday, January 2, 2012.
(3) I will take all the names from the comments (no matter how many times you comment or link, you only get counted once) and place them in a hat; then I’ll use my magical six-year-old child to randomly pull one as the winner.
(4) The winner will be announced next Wednesday, January 4th, 2012. After which, I’ll contact that individual and mail them their gift card.
(5) There you have it. Thank you for following me and my blog, and for loving books as much as I do, Preciouses. ;0) May the odds be ever in your favor.
Tags: Amazon giftcard giveaway, Anne R. Allen, blogoversary, Carolyn Mackler, chuck sambuchino, Jay Asher, Joanna Volpe, Jonathan Maberry, lauren destefano, Lord Peter Wimsey, Mary Pearson, MMA fighter Tim Kennedy, rabid fan girls, steampunk, Twilight support groups
Posted in Games | 31 Comments »
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A Recipe for Summer Potato Salad
Monday, May 30th, 2011
Okay, so remember my recent interview with Chuck Sambuchino—the “How to Survive a Garden Gnome Attack” guy? And then, shortly after, I posted a review of Lauren DeStefano’s dystopian novel “Wither”? Well, the week following, I came across this little piece of awesomeness on Chuck’s blog—in which DeStefano does a reverse interview with her agent, Barbara Poelle.
Yeah…it’s hilarious.
And since you’re already snickering at that, you can go ahead and snicker your way on through the rest of this post, seeing as it’s about the very exuberant business of food. I’ve got my favorite-ever summer potato salad recipe for you today. Of course, as always, before you read it, you have to leave a comment telling us something. And today’s somethings are:
*ahem*
a) What is the number one absolute grossest thing you’ve ever eaten?
OR
b) What is the worst hairstyle you’ve ever had (come on, we’ve all had one…or five)?
A Recipe for Summer Potato Salad
All right, don’t hate me, but you know how I always give you recipes with actual, oh, I don’t know…MEASUREMENTS and such? Well, this isn’t that kind of recipe. This is more of an “add-a-little-extra-until-it-tastes-right” type of dish passed around the family from my grandmother. If you feel like extra pickles—add ‘em. Want more olives? Add ‘em. More creamy? Pass the mayo. I make it slightly different each time, and yet it always tastes the same (meaning—AMAZING). It’s impossible to mess up.
- Potatoes (about 6 cooked and cubed, but not peeled… lazy cooking tip: I don’t usually boil my potatoes, I cook them in the microwave)
- Red onion (chopped small)
- Bacon (6-8 slices crisped and crumbled into dime-sized pieces)
- Dill pickle (1 large OR 2 small)
- Sliced olives (about 1/3 cup)
- Mustard (about ½ Tab)
- Mayo (start with ½ cup)
- Salt & Pepper
Mix all together, tasting repeatedly for best results and blissful cooking enjoyment. My favorite way to eat this is still warm, but cold is pretty awesome as well. Enjoy!
What’s the mood noise of the moment? Some local boys: Still Time
:0)
Tags: barbara poelle, books and interviews, chuck sambuchino, lauren destefano, potato salad, Reading Recipes, wither
Posted in Author Tidbits, Reading Recipes | 12 Comments »
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How to Survive a Garden Gnome Attack (a book review)
Sunday, April 17th, 2011
Gnomes. You knew they were heinous, right? Cute little savage statues adorning the gardens of hair-netted ladies across the globe, looking all innocent while secretly plotting the demise of humans and small rodents alike. Despicable. So, you’ll understand why I bought this book:
“How to Survive a Garden Gnome Attack” by Chuck Sambuchino
Not that I wear a hairnet or anything (and if I did I wouldn’t admit to it), but with spring and gardens and lawn ornaments abounding around my neighborhood, I thought I’d better be safe than, well, you know…dead. And this book has it all: (1) How to assess my risk level. (2) How to determine if infestation has occurred. (3) Preparatory defense recommendations (such as installing a moat or pit of quicksand around the house). (4) A wide array of weapons that are recommended (hockey stick and a pitchfork, anyone?) and some that are NOT recommended (flamethrowers, landmines, etc). The book’s even got some real life survivor stories and some fantastic/creepy photographs of gnomes on the move.
So, if you’re looking for a light and easy how-to manual (and it literally is a how-to manual) for surviving attacks from those murderous garden gnomes, or maybe just a fun coffee table read for your hairnet-wearing mother who spends way too much time sipping mint juleps out in the yard, you might wanna check into this book.
Also, just a random fact for you: According to Urban Dictionary, gnomes also run our electricity. Apparently, when a light switch is turned on, “it triggers a chain reaction between gnomes. One high-fives the other and a domino affect begins, carrying exponentially increasing gnome high-five magic along a chain of microscopic gnomes, eventually leading to the bulb which is set to continuously run by a gnome performing interpretive dance inside the filament.”
Uhhh…gnomes doing interpretive dances?
See, I told you they were dangerous.
Oh, and stay-tuned for a silly interview I did with Chuck Sambuchino. I think you’ll giggle.
Tags: Book Reviews, chuck sambuchino, how to survive a garden gnome attack, lawn warriors, silly books
Posted in Book Reviews | 12 Comments » -
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