The contest is definitely a dazzler, but I like the viral blogging experiment even more. I don't think I've ever seen an author try this buy-one-blog-one-get-one-free approach, but it makes all kinds of sense. Everyone who buys the book wins (something you simply can't do with a contest.) This is because Alison doesn't just think outside the box, often she tears it down and rebuilds it from the ground up.
I think it's a smart investment. To rephrase a comment I made over at Vanessa's, the best representation of any writer's work is the work itself. People usually throw out postcards, bookmarks and widgets, but books command a little more respect. Most folks pass along, trade or donate books, which creates another opportunity to snag a new reader (which is exactly what the resale of used books does, but that's a debate for another post.) It is more expensive -- writers get only a limited number of author copies, and shipping anywhere these days ain't cheap -- but I believe your work and your future readership are worth it.
Another thing that helps is talent, and in that department Alison Kent is a powerhouse. Oh, yeah, she didn't get that Quills nomination just for her pretty cover art; the woman can write like Indian Jones handles a whip. And although I'm extremely hung up on the hero from The Bane Affair, I think Deep Breath is her best work to date.
You know what's going to be very interesting? Watching where Alison Kent goes from here.
I'm also going to back up my rec for Deep Breath with the real deal. In comments to this post, name someone or something that leaves you breathless by midnight EST on Thursday, April 13, 2006. I'll draw ten names at random from all those who participate and send the winners an unsigned copy of Deep Breath by Alison Kent. Names of the winners will be posted here on the weblog by noon EST on Friday, April 14, 2006. Giveaway open to everyone on the planet, even if you've won something here at PBW in the past.
What leaves me breathless? I'm figuring you mean in a good way...
ReplyDeleteWhere I work outside of writing. I come up a hill, around the corner and there, spread out before me is Jervis Bay. It's never the same. Ever. But it's a view that is always breathtaking.
A cold spring rain that catches me off guard without my umbrella. The chilly droplets penetrate my sweatshirt. I stop breathing so I can retain the remainder of my body heat. Ice water trickles behind my ears until eventually my bus arrives. As I board, I see the other cold and breathless souls that the bus has collected. All is quiet except for the roar of the bus’s heater.
ReplyDeleteWhen I write that perfect sentence or paragraph, the one that I know won't be changed through to the final draft. :)
ReplyDeletep.s. Don't enter me in the contest. I already have a copy of DB.
My husband leaves me breathless..what a magnificent and breathaking man...
ReplyDeleteMichele
Lumière, my cat. She's like a dream come true. I'm not the best pet-owner ever but she cheers me up anyway, coming silently to lie in the crook of my arm and nuzzle my chin with her cute little face when I don't expect it. Makes me feel so lucky :)
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking that only death could leave me "truly" breathless.
ReplyDeleteHowever, for a short spell, watching a great Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode while quaffing a pint of KilKenny draft and munching on extra butter microwave popcorn might do the trick . . .
I'm going to echo Michele -- my husband leaves me breathless. I'm thankful every day for him.
ReplyDeleteRunning up a steep hill leaves me breathless -- oh, you meant the other kind?
ReplyDeleteWell, then, the sweet smiles on my grandson's face when he shares the creation of his newest artistic triumph (he loves his box of crayons, he does!) or how he lights up when I walk into the room. It makes me glad to be alive and breathless that there is so much sweetness in one little body.
Deni Bonet, with her four piece band left me breathless after a kick-ass violin solo.
ReplyDeleteAni & Wayne. Not necessarily in that order.
ReplyDeleteI just finished Kresley Cole's A Hunger Like No Other and talk about breathless. It's everything a parnormal should be and no skimping on the romance. I wanted to start rereading it immediately!
ReplyDeleteAside from that, Jet Li leaves me breathless. That man has total command and perfect control. He shows the world why it's called martial ART.
name someone or something that leaves you breathless
ReplyDeletePolo colonge...takes me back 20 years to my first love...leaves me breathless every time...
Christyne
Having a romantic lunch with hubby on a mountain top, food served with plenty of cuddling and looking out at the view...leaves me breathless.
ReplyDeleteLittle Lamb lost
a great vampire story leaves me breathless. When an author has the perfect blend of supernatural and realism come the end of the novel i am breathless and left wanting more.
ReplyDeleteThe sight of a new born baby leaves me breathless especially if it is my own grandchild!
ReplyDeleteMy little Mikey, of course. He's going to be six this year. Man, they grow up fast.
ReplyDeleteThinking about the first time I saw my daughter after years of filling out paperwork times five always leaves me breathless.
ReplyDeleteTwo things that make me breathless:
ReplyDeleteMy wonderful husband
and
Viewing the beautiful mountains where I live. What a majestic scene.
Every time I read Guy Gavriel Kay's The Summer Tree. I have to remind myself to breathe again.
ReplyDeleteBecause language and poetry and myth. On crack.
Old love leaves me breathless. I see it a lot where I work. Love that has lasted through decades. People that have made the right choices in a husband or wife and have made it through the hard times. Weathered love. Magical.
ReplyDeleteGetting flowers makes me breathless. It can be anything from roses from my husband to bouquets of dandelions that my children brought me some years ago.
ReplyDeleteAny great book, song, or movie that touches me deeply.
ReplyDeleteRoller coasters, great books, and anything that surprises me.
ReplyDeleteChristian Bale in Batman Begins
ReplyDeleteWhen my doctor told me I had cancer. I don't think there was any air left in the room to breathe.
ReplyDeleteBreathless?
ReplyDeleteThat would have to be crushed in the middle of a 1000+ crowd listening to my favorite band play my favorite song live, and knowing that there are others around me who feel the same way I do about it.
Poetry set to music is heaven :)
the gorgeous arch of sakura blossoms over the river under Kintaikyo in Okayama
ReplyDeleteMy son, who started donating blood at 16, when I had to stop.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter when she brings me wildflowers.
Patrick, the love of my life.
Spring break..That first dive into the Gulf of Mexico after a long cold winter takes my breath away every time!
ReplyDeleteThe first time in a movie, when you see the moment it clicks for each main character that they can't live without the other...for better, or worse...
ReplyDeleteStanding naked, face and arms upraised, beneath a small, cold, tumbling mountain waterfall.
ReplyDeleteA beautiful sunset on water so still it's perfectly reflected...ah, double the pleasure. That's what takes my breath away(hence the avatar *g*).
ReplyDeleteWhen my kids have me all frustrated and I'm ready to scream. Then they do something totally unexpected and sweet.
ReplyDeleteMy son, watching him smile or laugh when he does something funny, he has such a look of incredible joy.
ReplyDeleteAnd walking down the street on a sunny day and looking up and seeing a great view of the castle having a normal shopping street juxtaposed with an ancient castle takes my breath away every time.
The smile of a guy I work with. Been here almost 6 years and each time he smiles it takes my breath away, leaves me giddy and goofy, and I always get a huge, loopy grin on my face. How long can crushes last?! Sheesh!
ReplyDeleteI would have to say it was when I was 16 and was the passenger in a car accident that left me paralyzed from the neck down. The driver was my boyfriend, who was knocked unconscious. When he woke he asked me immediately if I was okay and tenderly kissed me, I in turn lied and told him I was fine. Just thinking of that gentle and tender kiss still makes me breathless.
ReplyDeleteThe Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah (and I'm not religious). Back in college, when I played in the chamber orchestra, we performed this with the college choir at a Christmas concert. Being right in the middle of all that beautiful sound was even better than just listening to it.
ReplyDeleteMy husband and my baby boy both make me breathless in their own ways. Thay are so precious and I am so blessed to have them in my life.
ReplyDeleteWatching my kids sleep. I've been home from work with the middle monster two days now. A little frazzled (she's not well enough to go to daycare, but not deathly ill either, which means lots of messes!). She just spilled chocolate milk all over everywhere. A few quiet moments went by and I went to check on her. She fell asleep on the couch watching Dora the Explorer. And I just looked at her, her little chest rising and falling, her face angelic and sweet in sleep, and... Breathless.
ReplyDeleteJust got back from Anchorage, and what left me breathless was the incredible views flying over mountains, glaciers and inlets on a little four-seater plane. Wow!
ReplyDelete