Sunday, June 13, 2010

Rocking Clues

Okay, first? You rock. YOU RAWK. I was fairly scared to post the series last week--it was a bit of a departure from the normal highjinks around here, and all of your many comments really made me happy to post the series.  I will be responding to you all, slowly but surely.


Second? You should go to the League on Monday. We're starting an awesome Scavenger Hunt--read the clues to figure out the title of a book, and you win the ENTIRE SERIES of books as a prize! And for my faithful blog readers, I'm giving you an EXTRA clue here: much like my book reviews, you're going to have to HUNT for HIDDEN spoilers...
Did you figure it out? Here's your clue, but be warned: one word in the clue is more important than others! LOOK AMONG THE CLUES FOR THE HIDDEN TITLE.
Third? Have a video! One of the ways I used to perk myself up was to buy a beta fish. Traditionally, I've named my fishes after Greek gods (I name other pets after book characters, and I name my cars after constellations and other astronomical stuff). So, of course, given the recent book deal and all, I had to name this guy Astraeus. Also, the teachers I work with are AMAZING and they got me Flip video camera as a going away present, so I used it to show you a little bit of what Astraeus looks like. I've got his bowl right next to my computer--you can actually see the bottom corner of my white Mac behind his bowl in the vid--and as I type, he swims around. Well, OK, I think he's actually plotting on how to kill me--he IS a beta, after all, renowned for their fighting--but he's awfully pretty in his death threats, no?



(If you crank the volume up, you can hear the song I was listening to when I shot the video; it looks a little like Astraeus is dancing to it. And if you don't want to sit there for two minutes and watch the whole thing--trust me, it's mesmerizing--skip to the last 15 seconds or so--Astraeus sort of hangs in just the right spot in the light to be really breathtakingly beautiful.)

15 comments:

Melissa said...

Cute fish, your right at the end he's just lit up and it's gorgeous. He looks like he's on fire (that wins bonus points with me!). My mom has a beta fish at work and she loves it. She brings it home when she takes vacations and I love feeding it. And putting a mirror in front of its face because then they puff up because they think another male is trying to get up in their territory.

I loved your series this past week. It was truly inspiring and just plain awesome.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Oh, that video is lovely to watch--such a beautiful fish.
I was awed by your posts this week--in fact, when Angela at The Bookshelf Muse asked for blogs we must read, I put yours.

Corinne said...

I didn't comment because, um, I fail, but your posts this week were lovely and amazing and only bearable because I knew they had a happy ending ;) I'm really glad how everything has turned out for you, and I hope you enjoy your new life to the fullest.

Also: that's a gorgeous fish! The swooshy fins are amazing.

I really like the song that was playing - it's on the soundtrack for a YA I started last November but never finished. (I'm probably overhauling the plot and giving it another shot this year. Listening to the song made me all inspired again *g*)

Tyhitia Green said...

Awesome fish. I want one! :-D

Your posts made me think about my own writing and how it must have felt for you to leave something that you loved for something else that you loved. Great stuff, Beth. ;-)

Christina Farley said...

I love fish! We just gave our tank to our friends yesterday so it was sad to see them go. They are so relaxing aren't they?

Alix said...

Great fish and great week of posts. Enjoy being just a writer :)

lotusgirl said...

Beautiful beta. I adored last week's posts. I've always liked you, but I like you even better after reading all that.

Jemi Fraser said...

My daughter just bought herself a beta fish last week. They really are gorgeous... even if they are planning how to eat us. They suggested a mirror once a day to give him some exercise - he gets kinda cranky with the fishie in the mirror :)

Kelly Polark said...

I love how you name your pets after book characters!
Fish are relaxing. We have a saltwater tank and I could just watch the fish for hours (if I had time!).

Missed Periods said...

Ooooh- I like it when he stares right at the camera.

Theresa Milstein said...

You made me miss our betas. My kids named them. My son named one after his preschool teacher and my daughter named hers after Ariel from The Little Mermaid (such a girl thing to do, especially to a boy fish).

I have to catch up on your last posts. Subbing has been incessant!

The contest sounds fun.

Melissa said...

Hey Beth, I just wanted to let you know that there's an award for you on my blog.

Laura Pauling said...

I just reread through your series from last week. Loved it.

Shelli (srjohannes) said...

i love beta fish. I have ne too but my daughter hijaked it. :)

prashant said...

that's a gorgeous fish! The swooshy fins are amazing.
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