The 12 Days of Christmas: Retro Christmas

By Merrie Destefano

CONTEST WINNER INFO:
Thank you all for sharing your Christmas memories. I really enjoyed reading them all!
I used Ranom.org to select a winner and she is: CrystalGB.
Congratulations, Crystal! I'll be contacting you by e-mail to get your mailing address.
I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas, Chanuka and New Year!!


I have to confess I love old things. It doesn’t matter whether they’re broken, battered or bruised, whether they’re from the 40s, 50s or 60s. Old is good. A piece of tattered lace, a vintage lamp, a sepia-toned photo—almost anything old-fashioned can capture my heart. Especially at Christmas time.

To most people an old-fashioned Christmas means hot cocoa and sugar cookies, Bing Crosby carols and a crackling fire. Nearly everyone has a Christmas memory of opening presents beneath a 7-foot evergreen tree that smells like heaven, while the landscape outside disappears beneath a blanket of fresh snow.

Not me.

The funny thing is I didn’t realize how different my Christmas memories were until I ran into them, head on. I was in a contemporary urban store—one of those trendy California shops that caters to a young, hip crowd—hunting for just the right gift for my twenty-something son, when I saw “it.”

Christmas personified: a spiky silver tree, as fake as they come, with maybe 12 branches total, all made of glittering tinsel. On the floor spun the magic color wheel, a spotlight that shined on the little tree, changing it from yellow to red to blue. And in between the primary colors flickered a million prismatic shades, melting into one another, tumbling over each other, each eager for a split-second moment to transform the world. Saffron changed to scarlet, vermilion to indigo, lavender to tangerine.

Like a deer in headlights, I froze. Lump in my throat. My eyes misting. Suddenly I was ten years old again, sitting on the floor of the apartment I shared with my mom and my sister, staring at our Christmas tree, mesmerized. Watching as the tree changed from emerald to aquamarine while all the other lights were turned down to a mere whisper. Outside an Illinois winter wind howled and icicles dripped from the eaves. Glassy stairways were treacherous and snow flurries spiraled through busy streets—an ever-changing paisley pattern of white on white.


But inside my living room was a drowsy, comforting heat, while in one corner stood all of the magic of Christmas: a tree that was never the same color longer than a heartbeat, surrounded by glittering packages filled with untold promise. Anything could be inside those boxes. A doll, a book, a sweater. A record, a hat, a necklace. The tree was a portal to another world, a land where colors danced and chased one another, where all the hopes and dreams of a year could be answered in an evening. In a moment.

In a fraction of a second, somewhere between amber and honey.

I was startled back to reality when I saw two teenagers staring at my tree, oohing and aaahing and giggling because it was so different. It was retro-chic. I think they liked it because it represented everything that Christmas wasn’t—this tree didn’t have prickly needles or sticky sap, it didn’t embody the fragrance of an evergreen forest at dusk.

What they didn’t realize—what very few people could realize—was what this “Charlie Brown” silver tinsel tree really did represent.

All the hopes and dreams of a ten-year-old girl’s Christmas.

Mine.

—————————————————


Do you have any Christmas memories that you’d like to share? Comment on mine, or share one of yours, and be entered to win signed copies of both AFTERLIFE and FEAST. Be sure to include your e-mail address in your comment. Giveaway ends midnight Dec. 22.

My Top Ten Christmas Movies

CONTEST WINNER:
CONTEST IS CLOSED!

I ran all of the comments through Random.org to decide the winner. However, the world must have accidentally tilted sideways at the same moment because my first winner (Danielle Gorman) actually won two online contests, with the same prize, at the same time. So much for all this randomness! Apparently, the universe is fixed. Danielle graciously consented to let me choose another person for this contest. So now, with much fanfare, the true and final winner is:

Catrina Bradley. CONGRATULATIONS! Yay to all winners, near and far!

ORIGINAL POST:
By Merrie Destefano
I go on a mad mission during this time of year. I feel I must watch each and every one of my favorite holiday movies or I won’t be able to get in the spirit. So, since we're in the midst of the December, I thought I would share a list of my favorites:


1. It’s a Wonderful Life
I first saw this in a film class in college. First, we all heard the story behind the movie—how Jimmy Stewart wanted to quit acting, but the director convinced him to star in one more movie—then we saw the film. We all sat, crowded into it an auditorium, and I couldn’t help but think that this was how movie-goers saw this for the film for the first time. I fell in love with the movie and have loved it ever since.

2. The Bishop’s Wife
Who wouldn’t enjoy watching Cary Grant bumble around as a dangerously handsome angel, falling in love with a woman he’s supposed to be helping. Loretta Young glistens as the object of his affection, albeit always faithful to her husband, the bishop.

3. While You Were Sleeping
Sandra Bullock rescues the man she thinks she loves, although he falls immediately into a coma. In the process, she finds herself enchanted with his family—and his brother, played by Bill Pullman—and for the first time in years, she doesn’t feel lonely on Christmas. This one melts my heart every single time I watch it.

4. Christmas in Connecticut
Did I love this movie because the main character was a writer? In retrospect, it’s hard to say, but over the years this story of a columnist, Barbara Stanwyck, who must pretend she is a great cook and homemaker (I can relate to that dilemma) has become one of my favorites.

5. Home Alone
He’s a brat and he needs a spanking and, yet, you find yourself rooting for Macaulay Culkin before his family even lands in Paris. Completely alone, unless you count that dastardly tarantula (shivers), Culkin sets a trap for holiday thieves that makes me laugh until my sides hurt. Every. Single. Time. I. Watch.

6. Meet Me in St. Louis
Judy Garland at her most charming. She sings, she dances, she falls in love—literally. Her director in this film was her future husband, Vincente Minelli, and this was the first time the two of them met. This tale of a family who lives in turn-of-the-century St. Louis captures al the romance of the era.

7. Scrooged
For some reason, this is my favorite version of A Christmas Carol. Starring Bill Murray and Karen Allen (remember her from Raider’s of the Lost Ark?) star as lovers who went their separate ways years ago. Murray went on to become a lonely, wealthy TV executive, while Allen became a tender-hearted social worker who runs the local homeless shelter. Murray is given a second chance when their paths cross again.


8. Little Women
My favorite version of this movie stars Claire Danes, Winona Ryder, Christian Bale and Kirsten Dunst. Set during the Civil War, this tale of a young woman who wants to be a writer is heart-warming, to say the least. Of course, I never could figure out why Jo (Ryder) didn’t fall in love with Laurie (Bale), but then I can’t figure out why Bella doesn’t love Jacob either.

9. Elf
Adorable. Simply adorable. Will Ferrell and Zooey Deschanel (one of my favorite actresses) are just so cute in this film about a real, live elf who leaves the North Pole to find his true father. By the end of the movie you just want to give Ferrell a big hug.

10. The Family Man
A little bit like A Christmas Carol, this film stars Nicholas Cage as a rich man who gets a chance to see what his life might have been like, if he had made different choices along the way. Also starring Tea Leoni, one reason I love this show is the fact that it adds that element of an alternate universe—and I do love alternate universes.

So, I encourage you to share your favorite holiday movie with us in the comment section below. I will give away a signed copy of AFTERLIFE: THE RESURRECTION CHRONICLES to one commenter, chosen at random.

Game Rules:
To enter to win, please post a comment below and include your e-mail address. Entries without e-mail addresses won’t be included in the giveaway. You can earn points by:

+1 Posting in the comments section
+3 Linking to this post on Twitter
+3 Linking to this post on Facebook
+1 Linking to the Supernatural Underground blog on your own blog/website
+5 Following me on Twitter
+5 Following me on Facebook
10 Following my blog

Just post the total number of points that you’ve earned in your comment. Contest ends Thursday, December 30, at midnight. Winners to be announced in this post Friday, December 31.

NaNoWriMo Madness

by Merrie Destefano

CONTEST WINNER:
CONTEST IS CLOSED!

The WINNERS are Sullivan McPig—who will receive a signed copy of AFTERLIFE, and Kimberly B—who will get to choose a book of her choice, as long as it was written by a Supernatural Underground author. CONGRATULATIONS!

I have your e-mail addresses, so I will be contacting the winners shortly.

Meanwhile, thanks to ALL of you who commented. And a BIG CONGRATULATIONS to everyone who has been participating in NaNoWriMo. You still have time to get in some words today!

Just an FYI, I ran everything through a randomizer program to find the winner.

ORIGINAL POST:
I had my first exposure with NaNoWriMo [the National Novel Writing Month] a few years ago, when one of my dear friends decided to participate. We were also members of the same writing group, so I heard about her preparation and progress on a regular basis. I thought she was nuts. Write a novel in one month? 50,000 words?


Since then, I’ve heard more about NaNo and I guess I got used to the craziness. Lots of times as writers we do things that border on insane. Rewrite manuscripts. Kill off characters. Change an entire book from third person to first. Forget to pay the electricity bill because we’re so immersed in our story, which just so happens to need that pesky thing called electricity to write. I hate it when that happens.

And so, I had been toying with the idea of joining NaNo this year when fellow Supernatural Underground alumni, Tera Lynn Childs, tossed down the gauntlet. I mean, she very sweetly and politely invited me to join. So I did.

Gulp.

Now, mind you, I still need to pay the bills and do copyedits on my second novel and edit a freelance book. My dogs need to be walked, my house needs to be cleaned, and my husband would like it if at least once a day I came out of my office and talked to him.

And I am bending the traditional NaNo rules a bit. I decided to use this 30-day period to resurrect a book project I started over the summer. Back in June I was waiting for the editorial letter for my second novel, so I had a little bit of free time. In 24 days I got 100 pages written. So, I’m working on that project, with the hopes that I will get another 100 pages finished by the end of November and then finish the novel by the end of December.

Right now, I’m at 38,000 words and 158 pages. This NaNo thing seems to be working for me. Although I must confess that I need special tools to help me from time to time. Flying monkeys always seem to work best.


I decided to share a couple of things that I’ve used during NaNo. Mainly these help me write quickly and more efficiently when I’m short on time, like I have been this month. Here they are:

1. SCENE SHORTCUTS:
This technique was adapted from chapter four of the book, Novel Shortcuts by Laura Whitcomb. In my version, I create a separate Word document and quickly—the key is in doing this quickly—write down everything that I want to take place in my next scene. I include dialogue, emotions, setting, anything I can think of. Then when I finish, I use this as rough material to create my scene. The weird thing is, many times this fast, quick overview of what is supposed to happen ends up being dead on, almost perfect. This also really helps to break through writer’s block, something I have suffered with more often than I’d like to confess.

2. WRITE OR DIE:
I just discovered this program about a week or so ago and it’s killer. I love it! You can use the free version of Write or Die online or you purchase the program (that’s what I did) for $10 and download it onto your computer. You write inside this program, instead of Word or Scrivener. You get to set the parameters, which I really like. So you decide how many words you need to write and set the timer. Then you write. If you stop for too long, your screen will darken from white to red, and then a dialogue box pops up and reminds you to start writing. Meanwhile, as all this is going on, you can see a red bar on the top. It grows longer as you run out of time. I hate that red bar! But it gets my adrenaline flowing. The first day I got Write or Die, I tested it. Here are my results: I wrote 8 pages in 62 minutes. For me, that’s just unbelievable.

So, for those of you who knee-deep in NaNo, don’t give up! Keep going. I heard that the novel, Water For Elephants was a NaNo book.

Here’s my question for the day:
Who’s doing NaNo and what are you writing?
If you’re not doing NaNo, have you ever heard of it before? And if so, do you think all of us NaNoites are nuts? (We kinda are, but we seem to be enjoying ourselves.)


Tell me about your NaNo adventures in the comment section below and I will give away two prizes to two different people this month. One will get a signed copy of AFTERLIFE: THE RESURRECTION CHRONICLES and one will get a copy of A BOOK OF THEIR CHOICE WRITTEN BY A SUPERNATURAL UNDERGROUND AUTHOR.

Game Rules:
To enter to win, please post a comment below and include your e-mail address. Entries without e-mail addresses won’t be included in the giveaway. You can earn points by:

+1 Posting in the comments section
+1 Linking to this post on Twitter
+1 Linking to this post on Facebook
+1 Linking to the Supernatural Underground blog on your own blog/website
+3 Following me on Twitter
+3 Following me on Facebook

Just post the total number of points that you’ve earned in your comment. Contest ends Tuesday, November 30, at midnight. Winners to be announced in this post Wednesday, December 1.

Afterlife and the Newbie Author

CONTEST IS CLOSED!

Hi, everyone! I decided to choose two winners for this post, so here are the winners: The WINNER of a signed copy of AFTERLIFE and a small jar of Liquid Light is Nymfaux. The WINNER of a signed copy of AFTERLIFE IS Melissa, who posted on October 15, 2010 2:41 PM. CONGRATULATIONS! There are two ways you can get me your contact info. One: You can DM me your e-mail and mailing address on Twitter. Or you can send me your e-mail and mailing address here: merrie [dot] destefano [at] yahoo [dot] com. Thanks to everyone who commented! You all rock!

I’ve had a lot fun in the past several weeks, ever since my debut novel, Afterlife: The Resurrection Chronicles, released on September 28. I got to write a number of guest posts and did several online interviews. If you haven’t seen any of them, here are some links: Dark Fairie Tales, Romance University, Night Owl Paranormal, Bitten by Books, Nocturne Romance Reads, Sci Fi Guy, and Bookgasm. Along the way, I had some great chats with readers about the differences between One-Timers and Nine-Timers [if you had the opportunity to resurrect, rather than die, would you?], and the sous-terrain société [would you stay in contact with your current family members or build a new family in your new life?].


There have been a number of great reviews by folks like SFRevu, Rex Robot Reviews, and Night Owl Reviews.

I really want to thank each and every blogger who invited me to participate. You bloggers rock!

On top of that, getting to chat with readers of Afterlife has been fantastic. I’ve gotten to know of many of them through my Facebook page and on Twitter. Another thing that's really exciting is the fact that I’ll get to meet some potential readers face-to-face in the next couple weeks. [SQUEEE!] I have two events coming up that I’m totally jazzed about.

First, I have a book-signing at Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore in San Diego on Sunday, Oct. 17, from 2-3 p.m. Joining me and signing his own new release, Kill The Dead, is Richard Kadrey. If you haven’t checked out his Sandman Slim, the first in this series, then you should. Soon. You don’t want to left behind. His stories are awesome! So I hope you get a chance to stop by and say hi this Sunday.

Second, I’ll be doing a Meet The Author tea at Paris in a Cup on Oct. 30. Located in Orange, California, this charming tea salon/boutique with a Parisian theme will be decked out for Mardi Gras and all attendees are invited to come in costume. In between listening to jazz and dining on scrumptious food, I’ll do a reading from Afterlife and then do a Q & A session. I hope some of you will be able to attend. I’d love to meet you!

Also, I’ve been working a reader’s guide and hope to have that finished soon. It will be available as a free download on my website and blog once it’s done. So those of who might want to choose Afterlife for your book club, please stop by my site in about a week for a free reader’s guide.

And, believe it or not, I've already finished my second novel, titled, Feast: Harvest of Dreams. It’s scheduled to release on June 28, 2011 and it’s already available for preorder on Amazon here. I wish I could show you the cover—it’s beyond awesome. I can’t tell you too much about this book yet, but here’s a very brief summary: For the past 100 years, a small mountain village in Southern California has been struggling under a mysterious curse. And every year, on Halloween, strange and dangerous creatures come to feed on the humans.

So, today, I’m combining two things as one giveaway. Besides a signed copy of Afterlife: The Resurrection Chronicles, I’m also giving away a small jar of Liquid Light. Of course, this Liquid Light isn’t explosive or dangerous like it is in the book, but you can still roll it between your fingers and throw it across the room. In other words, you can pretend you’re a Babysitter.



CONTEST RULES:

So here’s my question for you: What's the best book you've read recently? I finally have a little bit of free time and I can't wait to read some new books! So tell me what you've read that you loved and maybe why you liked it.

And I’ll be giving away a small of Liquid Light and a signed copy of Afterlife to one of the people who make a comment. To enter to win, please post a comment below. You can earn points by:

+1 Posting in the comments section
+1 Linking to this post on Twitter
+1 Linking to this post on Facebook
+1 Linking to the Supernatural Underground blog on your own blog/website
+3 Following me on Twitter
+3 Following me on Facebook

Just post the total number of points that you’ve earned in your comment. Winner to be announced in this post Monday, October 18. Contest ends Sunday, October 17, at midnight!

And, as an added bonus, fellow Supernatural Underground author, Juliana Stone, is giving away a signed copy of Afterlife: The Resurrection Chronicles over on her blog today too!

Countdown to Launch

By Merrie Destefano

CONTEST WINNERS:

CONTEST IS CLOSED!

First, thank you to everyone who participated! I really enjoyed reading all of your comments and getting to know each of you. I hope you stop back! Now, for the winners:

Supernatural Underground:
Daniell: Winner of a signed copy of AFTERLIFE
Natasha17: Winner of a signed copy of AFTERLIFE
BaileytheBookWorm: Winner of a signed copy of HOW TO DRAW ZOMBIES
Donnas15: Winner of a signed copy of HOW TO DRAW VAMPIRES

Winners: Please note that you have 3 days to contact me or the prizes/books will be awarded to another commenter. Just an FYI, I ran everything through a randomizer program to find the winner. You can either leave me your e-mail address in the comments of this blog post or you can drop me an e-mail at: merrie [dot] destefano [at] yahoo [dot] com.

ORIGINAL POST:
Time is no longer my friend. She constantly betrays me with little things like crow’s feet and widening hips and lowered energy. She teases me with memories of loved ones who live far away, and she laughs when minutes drag into hours as I wait for a special event.


Right now she’s laughing, all right. Sounds like the cackle of a wizened madwoman. This time she’s thrilled because I’ve suddenly realized that there aren’t enough hours in the day.

The launch for my first novel—Afterlife: The Resurrection Chronicles—swiftly approaches on Sept. 28, followed immediately by the deadline for my second novel rewrites. After that, my month-of-promotional-events begins, some of which are online, some are in person, and some are probably just in my mind.

The mind of a writer can be a terrible thing.


I’ve been forgetting things like what day it is and writer’s group meetings. I almost forgot my husband’s birthday and I’m pretty sure I could forget how to get home from the mall, unless you lured me there with a pint of taro frozen yogurt. In a frantic attempt to keep up with deadlines, I’ve cancelled vet appointments, dentist appointments, and lunches with dear friends. Right now I just remembered that I haven’t gotten back to a friend who wants to interview me for her radio program.

And yet, in the midst of the madness, I’m excited beyond belief.

My first book is coming out in a couple of weeks. And that’s a dream I’ve had for more than 20 years. I stopped a few times along the way, but then got really serious about my publishing dream about 10 years ago. Since then I became the publisher of a national multi-media broadcasting and publishing company, and the editor of a national magazine.

All this without finishing my college degree. [Shhhh. Don’t tell anyone!]

I guess my motto is, don’t give up on your dreams. Ever. Don’t let anyone tell you, “You can’t do it.” Don’t let anyone stand in your way. Work hard, work when you’re exhausted, work when your friends are going to parties (ouch, that one really hurts!), work until you can tell that your dream is just a little bit closer. And then work some more.

I want to thank everyone who helped me achieve my dream, from my agent, Kimberley Cameron, to my editor, Diana Gill, to my husband, Tom. And a big cyber hug to all those awesome book bloggers who have reviewed Afterlife—you guys rock! [You can read snippets of their reviews here.]

My question for you, dear blog readers, is this: Is there a dream you almost gave up on? If so, please share what it was in the comment section. Also, if there was someone who encouraged you along the way, please share their name as well.

To get this party started, and to help celebrate my upcoming book launch, I have a few prizes.

1. I’ll be giving away 2 signed copies of Afterlife.


2. I’ll also give away 1 signed copy of How to Draw Vampires.


3. And I’ll give away 1 signed copy of How to Draw Zombies.


To enter to win, please post a comment below. You can earn points by:

+1 Posting in the comments section
+1 Linking to this post on Twitter
+1 Linking to this post on Facebook
+1 Linking to the Supernatural Underground blog on your own blog/website
+ 3 Posting a comment on my other blog here.
+5 Linking to my website here.
+ 10 Following my other blog here.

Just post the total number of points that you’ve earned in your comment. Winners to be announced in this post Thursday, Sept. 28. Contest ends Wednesday, Sept. 27, at midnight! Please note that if I don’t hear from the winners within 3 days after the contest closes, I will select another winner.

Running away from bad guys

By Merrie Destefano

CONTEST IS CLOSED!

The WINNER is Zita, who posted at 8:20 a.m. on August 27. CONGRATULATIONS! Zita, there are two ways you can get me your contact info. One: Friend me on Twitter, I'll friend you back, then you can DM me your address and e-mail. Or you could post your e-mail address in the comments section like this: name [at] address. Let me know if you want me to delete that comment after I get your info. Please note that you need to contact me before midnight on Thursday, or the book will be awarded to another contestant.

Thanks so much to everyone who read this post and commented. I loved reading all of your answers! I wish I could have given an ARC to all of you. Just an FYI, I ran everything through a randomizer program to find the winner.

Plus, just for fun, I added something extra for you to check out below: the book trailer for Afterlife. Enjoy!


ORIGINAL POST:
Fiction is full of bad guys. They’re creepy, they steal your seat on the bus, they follow you down dark alleys, they lurk outside your window at night. In real life, people aren’t pure good or pure evil. Sometimes even a good guy can drive you nuts. Like that nightly mock battle over the TV remote with your spouse. Or that sister/brother/cousin who makes all your family reunions a nightmare because they can’t forget that one incident you truly regret.



We all have regrets, right?

What if—and here comes that infamous writer’s premise—what if you could chose your family members and, at the same time, eliminate a few? If you were making out the list, and checking it twice, would you erase a few names, then pencil in a few others instead?

That “what if” is one of the premises in my novel, Afterlife: The Resurrection Chronicles. Each person gets the option to resurrect in a custom-designed clone when they die. They get a brand new start, compliments of the resurrection monopoly, Fresh Start. As long as you haven’t committed a capital crime, you get the opportunity to start all over. You can keep the memories you want, erase the ones you don’t.

So here’s my question for you: Are there any people in your life that you would like taken off your list? You don’t have to say who they are, you only have to say yes or no. You can keep all the gory details tucked neatly away. Unless you’d like to share.


And I’ll be giving away an advance reader’s copy to one of the people who make a comment. To enter to win, please post a comment below. You can earn points by:

+1 Posting in the comments section
+1 Linking to this post on Twitter
+1 Linking to this post on Facebook
+1 Linking to the Supernatural Underground blog on your own blog/website
+ 3 Posting a comment on my other blog here.

Just post the total number of points that you’ve earned in your comment. Winner to be announced in this post Monday, August 30. Contest ends Sunday, August 29, at midnight! Please note that if I don’t hear from the winner within 3 days after the contest closes, I will select another winner.

Blame it on the Wizard

By Merrie Destefano

CONTEST IS CLOSED!

The WINNER is "C", who posted at 8:22 a.m. CONGRATULATIONS! C, there are two ways you can get me your contact info. One: Friend me on Twitter, I'll friend you back, then you can DM me your address and e-mail. Or you could post your e-mail address in the comments section like this: name [at] address. Let me know if you want me to delete that comment after I get your info.

Thanks so much to everyone who read this post and commented. I loved reading all of your answers! I wish I could have given an ARC to all of you. Just an FYI, I ran everything through a randomizer program to find the winner.

ORIGINAL POST:
I’ve loved imaginary people for a very long time. Ever since I was a little girl. The youngest in a family of eight, I grew up with brothers and sisters who towered over me like giants. So when it came time to play, I invented my own best friend. Okay, he was a bubble, but he was way cool. Before long, I had all the other neighborhood kids wanting a bubble for a best friend too. I also went through a long period of time when I wouldn’t answer to any other name but Glinda.



I’m blaming it all on the Wizard of Oz.

The bottom line is, books and movies really do affect our lives. That movie got me walking down the path toward the Emerald City, and honestly I’ve never looked back. I’m a sci-fi and fantasy girl, always will be. Granted, I’ve taken a few turns along the way, indulging myself occasionally in tales of horror or mystery. Still nothing satisfies me like a good speculative fiction story.

Today, I still love imaginary people. I spend a good part of my day torturing—I mean, hanging out with—the characters in my books. Imaginary people, yes, but to me they’re as real as my next door neighbors. I cry when one of my characters dies, I feel stressed when they’re in trouble, I worry about them when I’m trying to fall asleep at night.



Likewise, they torment me—having long conversations in my head when I don’t have a pen, refusing to respond when I’m trying to get them to reveal their secrets, taking a right turn at Albuquerque when we all know they’re supposed to turn left.



Imaginary people can be just as troublesome as the flesh-and-blood variety.

So, my question today is this: Did you have an imaginary friend when you were little? If so, who or what was it? And if not, who would you pick today?

To get our conversation rolling, I’m giving away a signed, advance reader copy of my debut novel, Afterlife: The Resurrection Chronicles. [Due out on Sept. 28, by the way.]



To enter to win, please make a comment about your imaginary friend—even if you have to make him up! You can earn points by:

+1 Posting in the comments section
+1 Linking to this post on Twitter
+1 Linking to this post on Facebook
+1 Linking to the Supernatural Underground blog on your own blog/website

Just post the total number of points that you’ve earned in your comment. Winner to be announced in this post tomorrow. Contest ends tonight at midnight!

Also, if any of you are going to Comic Con in San Diego, I hope you’ll stop by the author panel where I’ll be speaking and say hi! I’d love to meet you!

Bad Boys Versus Bad Guys

By Merrie Destefano

CONTEST IS CLOSED!

The WINNER is Crystal, who posted at 3:00 p.m. (just in case there were more than one). CONGRATULATIONS! Crystal, there are two ways you can get me your contact info. One: Friend me on Twitter, I'll friend you back, then you can DM me your address and e-mail. Or you could post your e-mail address in the comments section like this: name [at] address. I'll delete that comment after I get your info.

Thanks so much to everyone who read this post and commented. I loved reading all of your answers! I wish I could have given an ARC to all of you. Just an FYI, I ran everything through a randomizer program to find the winner.

ORIGINAL POST:
Like most writers/artists, I had an extremely active imagination when I was growing up. Still do. I don’t see monsters behind every rock—I see monsters behind every monster. And of course, they’re all after me. When I’m writing, this works in my favor. In real life, not so much. For instance, the other kids always laughed when they watched Bugs Bunny. I mean, Bugs is the ultimate bad boy, a rebel bunny at heart, always looking for ways to bend or break the rules so he comes out on top. He’s great. Love that rabbit. But the Tasmanian Devil? Oh, baby, that guy gave me the creeps and kept me awake at night.

Why?

Because I thought he was real. I was convinced that he would come tearing through my backyard at any minute and demolish my house. And I wasn’t sure, but I thought that maybe, just maybe, he might be able to destroy people too. So, in my mind, all he had to do was make one hungry dash across my horizon and everything and everyone I loved would be gone.

Now that’s what I call a well-drawn character.

That’s also what makes great fiction—bad boys and bad guys that walk, talk, and act like they’re real. Surprisingly, when a bad boy breaks the rules, you want to cheer or give him a hug. But when a bad guy breaks the rules, you want to kick him in the groin, then push him off a cliff.

Bad boys buck against the system and show exactly why the system needs to change. Somewhere, early in the story, they either charm us or make us cry.

Bad guys buck against the system and suddenly we’re darned glad that the system exists; we’re hoping and praying that pretty soon that monster is either behind bars or sizzling on somebody’s backyard barbecue. Early in the story, the bad guy either makes us angry or makes our skin crawl, and we’re suddenly like the villagers in Frankenstein—carrying pitchforks and torches and looking for retribution.

Here are some of my favorite examples from movies:

Bad Boy: Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark

Bad Guy: Hannibal Lector in Silence of the Lambs

Bad Boy: Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind

Bad Guy: Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) in No Country For Old Men

Bad Boy: Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) in Blade Runner

Bad Guy: Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) in Die Hard

I’d love to hear who your favorite fictional bad boy or bad guy is and why! To get this bad boy party started, I’m giving away a signed, advance reader copy—hot off the press—of my debut novel, Afterlife: The Resurrection Chronicles.

To enter to win, please make a comment about your favorite bad boy or bad guy character. You can earn points by:

+1 Posting in the comments section
+1 Linking to this post on Twitter
+1 Linking to this post on Facebook
+1 Linking to the Supernatural Underground blog on your own blog/website

Just post the total number of points that you’ve earned in your comment. Winner to be announced in this post tomorrow. Contest ends tonight at midnight!