Update on The Giveaway

  Okay, so I hoped the winners of the prizes recieved them in the mail!! Here's an update on where I think they stand:

Anora got her blog featured but was unable to give me her mailing address. :( I was glad that I could feature her blog though.

Nela received her prizes! She even sent me a picture! (It's a little blurry because of my email conversion, but isn't she cute?)

                                                                            

Bookblogger's copy of Appaloosy was sent out but I haven't heard from her yet. Did you get the book yet?

Scezzle -- I am sorry. I sent your book out a week ago but got it back because a new person at the post office didn't know how to do international media mail properly. So I sent it off again on Saturday. Sorry for the delay, and let me know when you get it!

And I drew another name for the Breyer Horse + a copy of Appaloosy (sorry I'm changing the prize a little because I'm out of Dusty's Trail) and so

Sierra from Mission Cool

gets them if she's able to give me her mailing address. Congratulations!!

♥Mattie

Trying out a new blog . . .

  Okay, so I'm designing a new blog called, "ask me anything" and it is just that--a website where you can have a complete stranger answer your most puzzling question on life. :) Check it out at http://askdanielleanything.blogspot.com/ and please--ask me a question! It's kind of an experiment but we'll see how it works. I only have one post for now, but I'll post more information (and questions with their answers) later.

♥♥♥ OUR AMAZING FEATURED BLOG ♥♥♥ (and how to make little hearts)

Hey Everybody--
   I think that you should check out my friend Anora's Awesome Blog called Live Laugh Love !!
 

  Anora's blog is one of my favorite kinds--it is very cute and simple. Just one girl's blog on living, laughing and loving. The background/design is adorable. Posts are interesting, though I'd like to see them more often. (hey--I guess I shouldn't talk:) She puts up a lot of pictures too and gathers reader interaction too. So, if you want to check out a new blog by a pretty cool girl, use the link above and why not give her a follow? ;)

And also (drumroll please) the SECRET to making cool little HEARTS on your computer:

 It's really easy, it's just finding out how to do it that's hard. I'm a little hesitant to show you myself. (ha ha) All you need to do is make sure num lock is on, then press alt and "3" at the same time, exactly the same time. ♥ There's other cool things you can do to, like ☻ ♦ ◘ ○ ♣ ☺ See if you can discover more!

Mattie

Sorry I haven't posted for so long . . .

It just seems like sometimes that nobody reads this stuff, though I know that isn't really true. I have been having kind of a busy time lately --- here's the rundown on what's been happening in my life:

1. I got in big trouble. That's as much as you need to know. My parents are forcing me to quit my job at the grocery store and they're going to try to keep me at home alot. *stupid laugh* We'll see how that works out.
2. I found a bass player and a drummer. Yes! You wouldn't know how hard that is to do in this small, boring little town. Now my problem is figuring out how to convince them that a girl guitarist can be just as good as a dude.
3. I finished the rough draft of Golden Sunrise. Emphesis on "rough", as it is very.
4. I got invited (sort of) to prom at our local high school.

  I am trying to figure out what to do with my grand prize. I think I am just going to draw another name. Anora, however will get her blog featured, which I will do in the next post. I guess I'll let you guys know who wins the two books and the breyer horse the next post, too.

Your boring friend,
   Mattie

I'm Still Waiting for my Knight in Shining Armor . . .

   Sorry, it's the day after Valentine's Day, but I wrote this little chunk in my Diary one day and thought you girls might like it if I shared it with you:

                                                      ♥ ♥ ♥

     I'm still waiting for my knight in shining armor.

     My Knight will be kind, honest, and brave. Most of all, he won't be selfish. He will consider my feelings and I will consider his. He will be my best friend in the whole world and we will never let each other down. He will always love to be with me and will never be embarassed by me. He'll love to talk to me but he'll listen when I talk.

     Sure, we'll fight sometimes. But we will always make up again. He'll be able to realize that I'm only human.  He won't criticize me and maybe he'll be so amazing that I won't be able to criticize him.  We'll do simple things like bake cookies together and have snowball fights, go horseback riding and play guitars.

     He won't come to save me from dragons or castles, or anything like that really.

He comes to save me from myself.

 I don't want to be in a fantasy, in a "teenage dream"; I want to be in real life. He'll call me away from my writing and I'll actually want to go. My head will be swarming with writing projects, characters, devices, but they'll actually leave when he talks to me. He will pull me out from the deepest, darkest corners of my soul and will hold me close. He'll bring me back to life again.

     I'm still waiting for my knight in shining armor. And I may be waiting forever.

Wednesday {sorta} Writing Tip

Writing is not even half of it.

The other half I really don't like. It's the half where I market, promote, sell, talk, ask, get disappointed, get happy, sell more books, drive, walk, freeze, drive, ask, sign, sign till my fingers are numb, answer questions, ask questions, design, pay, fill out forms, and talk some more.
      *Sigh*. The real life of an author.
    Yesterday I went to Thompson, North Dakota to talk to the Elementary school there. They made this nice sign for me that you can see. I had to be there at 8:30 and it was a two hour drive so I woke up at 5:30 to leave at six. My dad drove, so I got to sleep a little. :)
     I was really nervous but the more I talked I think the better I got. I only talked for like 10 minutes, then I answered questions. Some of the younger kid's questions were funny. I got one,
    "Do you have a car?"
   I laughed. "Why . . .yes. Yes, I do. Actually it's my dad's car but I drive it all the time so I call it my car." But they did have a lot of good questions, too. After everything was over, I'd say it was pretty good. It was the second school I've been to.

   I've sent out the prizes now to the people to have given me their shipping info. Look for the package with the Appaloosa mailing labels. You should expect them within 3-8 days depending on where you live.

ANORA and SCEZZLE: I haven't gotten your information yet. Please let me know by the end of this week if you are able to participate. If not, please let me know so that I can release the reserve names that I drew. Thanks.

♥Mattie

Funny Cat Pictures----

 . . . I Love them!

I have decided, however, that I don't realy like giveaways too much. Too stressful! I hope none of you are mad you didn't win. I did try to give away a lot of prizes, more than $50 worth, acutally. So let's lighten up with some funny pictures of stupid cats.

Ha ha! Although I wish whomever made these would spend some time getting the words spelled right > > > > > Thes ones sem to be ok tho. :D

♥Mattie

And the winners are . . . .

  So, Finally! I've got the winners for the Appaloosy Giveaway! I tried to make it as fair as possible and made all the papers with names basically the same size, and I wanted to put them in a cowboy hat, basically for the novelty of the thing, but I couldn't find one and ended up using a mixing bowl. :) So, the first name I drew was: (not surprisingly)

Congratulations! I'm glad you got it, because if anyone deserved it, you certainly did!
Second place goes to:

Pleasant surprise! Congrats, Nela.

Third place:

B.B. Short for bookblogger! (hey my hand got kind of tired after writing all those names)
And because I made you all wait for another day, i decided to add another honorary prize. (The winner can pick either Appaloosy or Dusty's Trail for me to send to you)
And the name I drew was . . .



 So make sure to give me your shipping details, I will send them out on Monday. You can either comment and I won't publish it or you can email me. The one thing I ask of the winners is that after they recieve the package they are to send me a picture of themselves with their prizes. (If your photo on the internet is a problem, let me know, but I would really like the winners to do this!)

 Thanks again to everyone who entered the giveaway, I can't wait for my next one . . . =D

♥Mattie

Sorry!

Sorry girls I'll have to wait until tommorrow to tell you who wins. :( I am selling books at the capitol in Bismarck today and I'll be gone all day.
Tommorrow, I promise.
♥Mattie

A Conversation with Cheyenne

  MJR: Hi there Cheyenne. So, you are the new character in my book. How's that going for you?

Cheyenne: I don't really have any choice in the matter, do I?
 
MJR: Well, of course you don't. I am the author, so I get to decide what happens to you. But you should be happy. If it weren't for me, you'd just be another boring, non-talking horse. So, let's get to know a little more about you. What is the main event in this book, Golden Sunrise?

Cheyenne: Well, it's mostly about myself and my rider Jared going to defend the Alamo in 1836.

MJR: Why did Jared decide to call you Cheyenne? I mean, that's kind of a weird name.

Cheyenne: Well, I was born in a place the Cheyenne valley so that's what my first master called me. Even though the name stuck, Jared still has a secret name for me: Aurelia.

MJR: (Scribbling in a notebook) Hmmm. That's a great element of the story. Well, I'll have to remember that. Why would he call you Aurelia then?

Cheyenne: Aurelia is Spanish for golden. He calls me that because of my beautiful Palomino coat. He also believes that if you have a secret name for a horse, the horse will be closer to you. I think so too.

MJR: ARRGH! I feel so stupid. I'm seventeen years old and I still talk to horses. And imaginary ones at that.

Cheyenne: If you don't do it, who will?

MJR: I guess that's true. I have to keep on with my series, anyway, even if I am older now. Gotta keep those avid readers busy! More than 350 copies of Appaloosy sold, all those people are waiting for more. And I guess it is good to keep older reader's imaginations working, too.
To change the subject: What is different about you and my other two horses, Storm and Dusty?

Cheyenne: I don't know. I'd say I'm a lot braver than Dusty, and maybe just a little more loyal than Storm. And, I am a mare. That's different.

MJR: Don't get too full of yourself!

Cheyenne: Hey, you're the one who created me.

MJR: Oh yeah. Can you give me any more ideas for this story?

Cheyenne: I thought that was the point of this conversation. You're the one who is supposed to come up with ideas.

MJR: Well, what can you tell me is special about this story? What makes it stand out from my others?
Cheyenne: (Grinning as much as a horse can) Well, you'll have to read it and find out.

The Alamo as it looks today.

The flag of the republic of Texas

Cheyenne is a Palomino horse!!

                                                                             

Giveaway Closed

 So I can't wait to see who wins!! I'll announce the winners on Thursday. Some people have let me know that they aren't allowed to be in the contest, that's fine, I'm thankful that you follow and read this blog anyway!
We also have someone else who is entered in the givaway now, Katie. Looks like another writer! :)
  Also, please answer the poll underneath the followers gadget letting me your approx. age. I am curious, but if I know too it will help me determine what to post. I've been thinking about more book excerpts, how about you?
   I am almost finished with Golden Sunrise, I am at about 18,000 words and my horse stories usually run between 20 and 30 so we'll see. I'm not really a word counter, anyway. It's just when the story's done, it's done. I still need to have my mom read it and then my editor, and then you never know with the publishing house, it could take 1-2 months just getting it published. So it's safe to say I still won't have it for at least another 3-6 months. But that doesn't mean I can't let you take a look!
♥Mattie