mary_j_59

While browsing another thread, I came across this entry, and wondered how on earth I'd failed to cross-post it here. What do you think? Should I enter the contest?

Frieda, the scrawny, downtrodden serving wench, wiped her nose with the back of her hand and gaped at the vision of beauty that had stopped in the doorway: a knight, his eyes flashing like coals, his hair the gold of new-drawn ale, and his armor shining like the sun upon rising.

mary

Hi, everyone! Cynthia Leitich Smith has a great interview up on her blog. Here's the link:

http://cynthialeitichsmith.blogspot.com/2011/05/interview-publisher-elizabeth-law.html

I'm always happy to read interviews with authors who write books for teenage boys - it's great to get a heads-up on books that appeal to that audience! In addition, I loved the glimpse of the dynamic between an author and his editor. Finally, if you go look, you get to enter for a prize - a reading and evaluation of the first 30 pages of your WIP! So go look.

My entry to try to win a copy of "mockingjay"! The contest is here:
http://yabookscentral.blogspot.com/2010/08/win-copy-of-mockingjay.html?showComment=1282599675488#comment-c6791419862352206409

The wirewolf. In the 21st century, distressed by humankind's enduring hatred and fear of wolves, the brilliant geneticist Victoria Frankenstein collaborated with the biologist Nate Kipling to fit a small pack of Alaskan wolves with voiceboxes that would translate their howls to human speech. The pack survived, in spite of this interference, because non-engineered wolves were clearly impressed with the beauty of the wirewolves' howls. Gradually, the subspecies mingled with unaltered wolves and spread eastward. Today, the beautiful nightly howls, in full operatic voice and four- part harmony, can be heard as far east as Michigan, with rumors of wild wirewolves in New York and New England. It should be noted, though, that, even though they may howl in human words, these are still wild animals and should not be treated as pets. If you are fortunate enough to come across a wirewolf, give it space and observe it quietly.

This last point leads to what the wirewolf may symbolize. How one sees this beautiful animal depends on what one brings to the encounter. Some people see the wirewolf as an unfortunate reminder of humankind's desire to control nature and tame the untameable. Others see the beast as a pointer to the difference between artistic expression and rationality, while still others point it out as a clear example of altruism and the hope for true inter-species communication.