Join me at Sandra’s blog Japan Reviewer for a look at some of the things I would want to do on a vacation to Norway. I could always use more ideas so be sure to comment and add to the list!
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Character Casting the Fierce Family
I bet you’re a lot like me when you read a book or book series. You develop a mental picture of the character and sometimes cast famous people to play the role of your favorite characters. It’s fun to do and it’s fun to compare notes… especially against the author of the book or if the book is ever picked up to be produced as a motion picture. I’m sharing my vision of the Fierce family with Zaria, Merry, and Colonel. Let me know what you think!
Zendaya as Zaria Fierce:
She’s the perfect blend of cute and sassy.
Rani Mukherjee as Meredith “Merry” Fierce:
She’s warm, friendly, and happy.
Tyson Beckford as Colonel Fierce:
He’s handsome, strong, and wonderful.
How do you visualize the characters? Who would you cast for the role of Zaria, Merry, and Colonel Fierce?
Blog Tour Stop: Formatting for the Print Book!
Join me at I Heart Reading to discover and learn 10 print book formatting tips that will save your bacon! Being a technical publications librarian has its uses! 
The Hardest Part about Writing a Book
In a word? Starting.
Starting is the absolute hardest part about writing a book. Everything after that is easy, even if parts can be frustrating or annoying.
So how do you start a book?
Give yourself permission. You don’t need permission from anyone else. Just yourself. When you’ve done that, sit down and write… and write… and write. Even if you trash it later and start over, you have to write. Without the words there is no story to share.
For me, I wanted to write Zaria’s story for a while. I knew Zaria Fierce as a character, but I didn’t know her story. I did a lot of world building for a school of misfit fairy tale children and archived it all, including the prologue and first chapter. Then I wrote her in a Beauty and Beast fairy tale setting where her kingdom was under attack. Hm… not that plot either. So I put those chapters aside.
What I did next was write about Zaria. I wrote her description, her character, and her background. She became a younger character at age 12 instead of age 16. It was amazing how quick it poured out of me. But I hesitated to keep going… I had two previous false starts. All I had now was Zaria. Who was the villain? What was the plot?
I set the story aside for a few months and returned to it when I found the villain. I ruminated about him for a long time. What was his name? What was his goal? Would he have powers and what would they be? When the villain came to me, he arrived fully form as a particularly nasty river-troll with an agenda. When I had Olaf the world built itself, but I would never have found the villain without having Zaria fleshed out.
It doesn’t matter where you start or how you arrive at your story. What matters is that you tell it.
12 Ways to Gear-up for a Catching Fire (Hunger Games) Party!
Who is excited for the release of Catching Fire this November? I know I am and I’ve been thinking about some party ideas for the big night. What’s so great about Hunger Games is, that like Harry Potter, there is a lot of inspiration to pull from the books. Here’s what I’ve come up with for a fabulous night you won’t soon forget:
- 12 Trials Obstacle Course – Catching Fire features an arena with rotating trials that appear hourly, around the clock. I propose for the big event that you gear-up and prepare a timed race with 12 trials. The person with the best time could win a prize (popcorn at the movies?). I have eight ready for you based on the book (these are not in the order of the appearance on the clock dial):
- Blood Rain (CF, pg. 332) – Dodge a hail storm of red water balloons. They could be filled with colored water.
- Mutated Monkeys (CF, pg. 332) – Climb something… a tree?
- Acid Fog (CF, pg. 332) – Cover your eyes with something then attempt to run through a blanket maze.
- Jabber Jays (CF, pg. 348) – Mimic someone convincingly. Just don’t be mean! I would try imitating the characters first.
- Big Wave (CF, pg. 325) – Jump in the pool and make the biggest splash! All pool safety rules apply.
- Beast (CF, pg. 348) – Face down a vicious beast (somebody’s pet dog) and make it play dead.
- Pincher Insects (CF, pg. 364) – Crab walk around an obstacle.
- Lighting/Electricity Surge (CF, pg. 332) – Race from Point A to Point B as fast as you can. Timed, of course.
- Lawn Sports – Any good Hunger Games or Catching Fire party should host lawn sports. Include archery
, corn hole
, lasso golf
, and egg tosses (or water balloon tosses). The more adventurous could include… skeet shooting.
- Party on the Water – The arena for Catching Fire begins on the water, so why not start your partying there too? Rent a boat and cruise for a bit before locating a great area to anchor. Bring swim suits and fishing gear. You can even practice your archery with bowfishing
!
- Rock Climbing Gym – Host your Catching Fire party at a rock climbing
gym. Challenge each other to do more and more difficult routes, timed climbs, and then chomp down on pizza when you get ravenous.
- Go Capitol – Plan a Capitol-size makeover party. Buy the fun spray-on hair color
(that washes out) and get white face paint
or white powder foundation
and see who can look the most Capitol. (Super cool parents might allow you to buy the permanent version of the hair colors, but get permission first!) Host a runway show and model your Capitol look. Take lots of photos! A prize could go to the best costume.
- Capitol Feast – Make your Catching Fire Capitol party a potluck, and encourage your friends to bring their most scrumptious dishes (just don’t go to the vomitorium to make room for it all, okay, that’s not cool.)
- Camp Out – Plan your Hunger Games party in the woods. Camp out in style or rough it. I think Peeta (and Katniss) would appreciate the s’mores don’t you? Make your camping
- Play Survivor Games – You can go wrong with classics like Manhunt, flashlight/freeze tag, Nerf war
- Paintball Party – Plan a paintball
party with your friends, either on teams or every-man for himself. Who’s got the best aim? Go to the movies in your war paint – it’s an almost Capitol look, don’t you think? See number five more ideas to complete the ensemble.
- Scavenger Hunt – Whether you have to hunt and scavenge for your campsite (see idea 7) or simply find Hunger Games and Catching Fire related clues on your way to the movies, this would be a great idea for a large party. You can break up into teams and have a blast running around! Who knows the most about the book series?
- Laser Tag – Go to a local thrill park and play a round of laser tag
(perfect for that high-tech fancy look the movies go for with the tributes’ outfits). It’s way less messy (and painful) then paintball. But just as fun!
- Fencing/Mock-fighting – Duel it out, mano-a-mano. Get 24
tributes, I mean friends, together and plan a fencingchampionship. See just who will rise to the top and be the Champion! En Garde!
Most of all, just have fun getting ready for the next Hunger Games movie! See you at the movies!
Get your Catching Fire gear here!
Don’t leave without checking out: 76 Books to Read if You Love the Hunger Games
Blog Tour Stop: Interview with Eoghan Kerrigan (Illustrator) Part 1
Eoghan and I are over at Sanovia’s blog Creatyve Books. This is part one of three. Join us to learn how Eoghan got into illustration and graphic design, designs characters, a typical day illustrating, and more.
