Our days, our memories, are what we make of them. Seven years ago today, my dad died. I still read things or see things that I want to share with him, then remember that I can’t. He died before my first short story was published, so he never got to see my name in print. When I first told him as an adult that I was working on a novel — for NaNoWriMo — he was impressed because he said he didn’t have the patience to write something that long. (I don’t have patience either; I have perseverance.) I think he would be proud of what I’ve gotten done so far, and what I’m working on, all the books and stories I have yet to write and release into the wild.
I don’t remember if I was thinking of him two years ago when I launched this blog, but exactly two years to the day, I wrote my first post on this blog, on series characterization. One person commented on that post. I get a few more commenters now.
And to reward those of you who find my thoughts worth reading and commenting on, I’m having a giveaway. The rules are simple: comment on this post to enter. The order you comment in determines your entry number — 1, 2, 3, whatever. (I won’t count my responses, or multiple comments by the same person. One entry per person.) I’ll use random.org to choose a winner. Drawing will be held next Thursday, September 20, at noon Eastern Time.
The winner gets a $25 gift certificate for Amazon or Barnes & Noble, their choice. (Or, you know, Kobo, or whatever, as long as I can purchase it on-line.)
Origami plot bunnies!
Second-place winner gets a free copy of something I’ve written, their choice. (A coupon code for download at Smashwords in the winner’s preferred format will be provided.)
And third-place winner gets half a dozen colorful origami plot bunnies. Aren’t they adorable? They come in two different styles and a range of colors, and each one has a random plot element hidden inside.
Thank you all for visiting my blog, for making yourselves at home in my little corner of the Web. Good luck!
(By the way, this morning, I discovered that September 13 also marks the anniversary of John Scalzi’s blog, Whatever. Of course, he’s been doing this much longer and has a much, much larger audience. Maybe when I’ve been blogging for fourteen years, I’ll have half the audience he does now. One can hope!)
