Fun Facts Friday—9/24/10

by Brittany Geragotelis

Here's what's going on right now in the writing world. The good, the bad and the ugly. You choose which is which!

*Gwen Cooper, author of Homer's Odyssey: A Fearless Feline Tale, donated $10,000 to the Blind Cat Rescue and Sanctuary. The author has a soft spot in her heart for the "special needs" kitties—her own cat is eyeless, but managed to scare off an intruder in Cooper's home once. If you'd like to follow in Cooper's footsteps, you can donate your own amount to the cause here. (Warning—once you click on this link and see these kitties, it may be hard NOT to want to help!)

photo credit: Back Bay Books

*Danielle Steel claims she doesn't write romance novels. "They're not really about romance," says Steel. "It's an element in life. But I think of romance novels as more of a category, and I write about the situations we all deal with. Loss and war and illness and jobs and careers, and good things, bad things, crimes, whatever. And I really write more about the human condition."
*Shania Twain is putting down the mic and picking up a pen. The country crooner is writing a memoir that will come out next spring and word has it, it's full of lots of dirty details...including the ending of her marriage in 2008 when her husband left her for her BFF, pushing Shania straight into the arms of the "other woman's" ex-husband. Sounds like this book will be in the "scandal" section of B&N.

*Author of The Accidental Billionaires doesn't get why Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg doesn't want to see the movie The Social Network. Check out this interview with the drama writer here.
*David Sedaris' latest book, Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary, is being described as "bedtime stories for children who drink." So that's what was in their sippy cups!

5x5, B.

Answers to life's riddles

by Brittany Geragotelis

Here are the answers to the riddles from Thursday's Post. Congrats go to our winners: Jenni, Rusty and Diane! E-mail me your addresses (thebookslayer@gmail.com) and I'll send out your prizes!

1. How could the 22nd and 24th U.S. Presidents have the same parents, but weren't brothers? They were the same person (second term anyone?).

2. How can you use the letters in NEW DOOR to make one word? One Word

3. There was an airplane crash, every single person died, but two people survived. How is this possible? They were a couple.

4. How could all of your cousins have an aunt who is not your aunt? If it was your mom.

5. How far can you walk into the woods? Halfway. Any more than that and you're walking out of the woods.

6. Johnny's mother had four children. The first was April, the second was May and the third was June. What was the name of her fourth child? Johnny

7. Railroad crossing. Look out for cars. Can you spell that without any R's? That

8. What came first, the chicken or the egg? The dinosaur laid eggs.

9. Imagine you are in a sinking rowboat surrounded by sharks. How would you survive? Stop imagining!

10. "That attorney is my brother," testified the accountant. But the attorney testified that he didn't have a brother. Who's lying? Neither. The accountant is the attorney's sister.

11. A father and a son are in a car accident. The father dies instantly. The boy, in critical condition, is rushed to the nearest hospital for emergency surgery. The surgeon looks at the child aghast and says, "I can't operate on him—he's my son!" How could this be? The surgeon is the boy's mother.

The Riddler

by Brittany Geragotelis

Do you think like a third grader? No, I'm not talking in the, "I know you are, but what am I?" or "Boys have cooties!" kind of way (but since I brought it up, I'm awesome and boys totally have cooties!). I'm talking about a child's ability to think simply without "intelligence" and "logic" getting in the way. In other words, adults can be too smart for their own good sometimes.



Here are 11 simple riddles with simple answers. Now, think like a third grader and take a wild guess. The person with the most correct answers will win an awesome prize pack. Just e-mail your answers to thebookslayer@gmail.com by the end of the day on Friday, Sept 17th, and I will post the correct answers in Saturday's post.

Good luck!

1. How could the 22nd and 24th U.S. Presidents have the same parents, but weren't brothers?
2. How can you use the letters in NEW DOOR to make one word?
3. There was an airplane crash, every single person died, but two people survived. How is this possible?
4. How could all of your cousins have an aunt who is not your aunt?
5. How far can you walk into the woods?
6. Johnny's mother had four children. The first was April, the second was May and the third was June. What was the name of her fourth child?
7. Railroad crossing. Look out for cars. Can you spell that without any R's?
8. What came first, the chicken or the egg?
9. Imagine you are in a sinking rowboat surrounded by sharks. How would you survive?
10. "That attorney is my brother," testified the accountant. But the attorney testified that he didn't have a brother. Who's lying?


And the real doozie:

A father and a son are in a car accident. The father dies instantly. The boy, in critical condition, is rushed to the nearest hospital for emergency surgery. The surgeon looks at the child aghast and says, "I can't operate on him—he's my son!" How could this be?

5x5,
B.

Fun Facts Friday & a Giveaway!

by Brittany Geragotelis


There's a whole lot of fun facts out there this week and since it's Friday, I thought I'd share a few of them with you:

1. Apparently Pope Benedict XVI has written a children's book called, "The Friends of Jesus." Wonder what that book blurb's going to be like.

2. Well-known and successful book agent Andrew Wylie really pissed off publishers (one in particular--rhymes with Shmandom Shmouse) recently by forming his own e-publishing company for his clients and partnering up with Amazon to do it. I can't decide if he was being really ballsy or just being a dick.

3. It could take you a long time to be published--like nearly a century. At least that was Elizabeth Trahan's experience as she was finally published in Country Magazine at the age of 92.

4. Speaking of age and circumstance, this 87 year old retired man received a laptop and decided to write a novel at the age of 80. Seven years later, he has a popular series including five books (and another on the way) and his novels have been optioned for a TV series. Maybe some things do get better with age!

5. Multi-million dollar book deals do still exist. No, really. They do!

photo credit: Speak

Now, let's see how much trivia you really know. Answer the questions below and you could win an arc of the new book, Matched, which is already gaining a lot of buzz in the publishing world (and received a pretty hefty advance). Leave your name and answers in the comments section above. Each correct answer will receive 1 point. Extra points for the following:
If you're a new follower=+1
If you're already a follower=+2
For referring someone to the giveaway=+3
For being the person referred=+2
Add me to your blog roll=+2
Tweeting this giveaway=+1
For posting about this giveaway on your blog=+3
For posting about this giveaway on your Facebook page=+3


1. When naming Edward in Twilight, Stephenie Meyer wanted a name that was both traditional and romantic. Which two literary romantic heroes did Stephanie most likely use as inspiration for the old-school vamp?

2. How did Stephenie come up with the name Bella?

3. How did the Volturi get their name?

5x5,
B.