So I Missed the Maelstrom...

Charybdis was a good time. Really. Like going to amusement parks is a good time. Or nano-festing is a good time. Or herding unicorns is a good time. But, like amusement parks, nano-festing, and herding unicorns, it is best for some things to come to an end before you suffer boredom, confusion, or severe injuries.

I missed the Maelstrom immensely, the posting format, the user-friendly sidebar skillz, the blogger community. Medeia explains the more complex issues surrounding our switch (other than my few months of emo-wordpressage) on her own blog. Good thing she is immensely more eloquent than I or we would be stuck in quite the cyber-lurch.

So in the words of a wise man. "And we're good. And we're dancing. And we're back!"

Until soon,
Aella Siofra

Contest!

Maw Books Blog is having an amazing contest. You can win pretty much anything Twilight themed, plus pins, a shirt, and a copy of the Host. Does it get any more fawesome than that (oops. Just read a Westerfeld book)? Sadly, the contest ends on the 30th, so you'll have to hurry on over. Everyone check it out:

Here.

Best of luck to you all!

Cover News

I was so thrilled about these three covers that I couldn't wait to show them! Is anyone else extremely excited for these books (ridiculous question)?

Cover A:
August 2nd! Can you hear my fan-girlish screams?


Cover B:
According to Cassandra Clare's MySpace post, this might not be a final cover. But I like it nonetheless. I hope the final choice isn't much different!

Plus: Check out the first chapter of City of Glass here

Okay. Just a quick note on the Inkdeath cover before I lose my ability to type (due to my jumping up and down in the computer chair). I have lost yet another bet. I had a deal going with a good friend of mine that the third Inkworld book would be green themed. Unfortunately, I have lost. On the same exact color that lost me my Inheritance Trilogy bet. Purple for Inkdeath and Gold for Brisingr. Who woulda thunk it? All the same, I really love it and have started my countdown until OCTOBER 7th! And as the snaps of information fly around the internet, I'm dying to get my hands on it. 656 pages? 656 pages! That's 122 pages longer than the first book!

Oops. Sorry. I'll stop raving now. I hope you enjoyed the covers.

Scavenging for Inkdeath News,

A New Challenge...

Can you hear my defeated sigh? I try and try to stay away from signing up for more challenges, but I just...can't...help myself. And this new one looks really great. Check it out everyone. My progress will be up on the sidebar soon (aaaahh... the eternal sidebar...).

"It's the End of the World" Challenge

Object: Read at least three books about the end of the world
Where: Becky's Book Reviews
The Rules: Check 'em out here

BONUS! A very cool banner

Happy Challenging,

A New Contest!

The Fabulous Nicole B. of WORD for Teens is having a contest and giving away a signed copy of Keri Mikulski's book Screwball! The rules are below (copy and pasted directly from the blog linked above- so when it says "me" that's the contest hostess herself speaking):

Rules

• You must be a United States or Canadian citizen to enter.
• Post a comment on my blog to win with your name, your email address and what you would name a softball team if you had the chance. I'm currently going for the Wicked Witches, but that's just me. The most creative name will win.
  
• If you blog about the contest and tell me, you'll get an extra two entries!

Doesn't it sound fawesome? Haha. That's a great word. So GO! Enter the contest! And best of luck to all.

In Pursuit of Odyssey,

The Myspace

The Maelstrom is working on connecting with all you awesome readers. So we have started a myspace where you can friend (if you have an account this is), comment, and cyber dance with us! At this little hidey-hole of internet networking-dom you'll be able to check our release calendar (May is a busy month in the publishing world this year) and follow some Maelstrom events as they occur. Who knows? Contests and challenges may perhaps loom in the future. And go see others' profiles too. There are already some fantastic authors who have become even more awesome in our word-struck eyes by friending us (us? really? W00T!) So head over and tell us what you think! The "Charybdis Calling" awaits (if you know what that alludes to then comment in the C-Box)!

Always in Pursuit of Odyssey,

National Poetry Month

According to the giant banners going up around the library, April is national poetry month. I am intrigued by what this may mean for the book-blog-o-spere, for many bloggers seem to be quite the writing-types in their own respect. So I challenge you. Write a poem and post it on your blog. When you have, leave a comment or post something in the C-Box. That way people can link to your awesome and spread the word on their own blogs. This isn't a meme. Just a suggestion. I'd love to see what everyone does with it.

My own poetry (hahaha... if you can call it that) can be found on my Deviant-art. There are some short stories too, but I'll try to post a poem a week in honor of this month.

If you'd like to see how your state is doing in the way of rhyme and reason (bad pun intended), you can check it out on this spiffy map over at Poets.org.

Cheerz!

Another One?

Another meme? I am feeling quite the celebrity and I certainly hope that I haven't bored you all with my responses. So here's one more. Just one. For today. Observe the rigorous rules below.

1. Copy and paste the questions, then fill in your answers. Post this on your blog, livejournal, etc. There’s a catch, though. You have to change/add a question from the meme you were tagged with.
2. Post the rules.
3. Link to the person who tagged you.
4. Tag 3 people, by commenting on their blog.
5. Link back to the original (http://www.maelstrommedeia.blogspot.com) to see how much it has mutated.

1.) If you could change your name, what would you change it to?

Artemis... something. Artemis Something (working last name)

2.) What insane thing have you done to procrastinate (anything)?

RP-ed. When I had no idea what I was doing. Apparently, when RP-ing, you do not interrupt people who are sharing an intense cyber moment with exclamations of "Aella enters the clearing, carrying a pina colada and a violin, which seemingly plays on its own as it dangles from her hand." I was putting off science work and the things I had completed so far were drastically tainting my discernment.

3.) Are there any songs that get stuck in your head really easily? How do you get them out?

White Houses by Vanessa Carlton. My only escape is very loud ska or very loud Irish punk. Without them I am lost in a cacophony of "'Cuz when she dances, she goes and goes."

4.) If you could be (or are) a mythical creature, what would it be (or what are you)?

A Werewolf. But then again. I'm not so sure those can be considered mythical.

5.) What do colors taste like?

Granola

6.) Name three (or more if you like) fawesome words.

Frore, Magnificent, Indubitably, Terrorize

So concludes this odyssey into the inner workings of Aella Siofra. But if you want to see some serious follow up, I now tag: Nicole B. of WORD For Teens, Reeve Xanda of Ink Waz Silver, and the Story Siren. Good luck to you all.

In Pursuit of Odyssey,

A Meme for Me

Apparently I was memed and I didn't even know until today. My invitation into this was from that most excellent of bloggers Nicole b. of WORD for Teens. So. Here are the rules of my meme-age (shamelessly borrowed from WORD's rule list):

1. you link back to the person who tagged you. (Done.)
   
2. post these rules on your blog. (Check.)
   
3. share six unimportant things about yourself.
4. tag six random people at the end of your entry.
5. let the tagged people know by leaving a comment on their blogs.

Next step. Six unimportant things.

1. I am slightly obsessed with abandoned places. Houses, amusement parks (if you follow the link-scroll down a bit), cities, anything. Its an odd thing to be interested in, because when I was little I used to have a recurring dream of being trapped in a theme park at night and there was no one around at all... except of course for the giant rats.
2. One of my favorite past-times is laughing at books for parents on their children (ex: What Your Teen is Really Thinking). I simply find them very humorous at times.
3. I have broken all of my toes. All 10 of them. And in various different ways (none on purpose).
4. I despise the noise that vacuums make. I'm not necessarily afraid of it. I simply can't listen to it. Usually I'll go for a walk or hide in my MP3 player until its over.
5. I am a connoisseur de Alice. Alice in Wonderland that is, as well as Through The Looking Glass. I have all sorts of books on Lewis Carroll, I've seen the play, and the fan-fics and Aella-born spoofs abound.
   
6. Lastly, I can Muppet Treasure Island all the way from the beginning without missing a line. So there.

Now that I have revealed my inner-most soul, I shall list the victims of my meme tagging. I tag Aislinn Ai Nyx of the cousins, Heather and Caroline of Plenty of Paper, Bee of booknerd, The Book Whisperer, and, of course, Medeia Senka of our very own Maelstrom *wild cheers from a far off crowd*. This is all very exciting. I will be on the lookout to see if the Tagged will respond.

Running from Vacuum Noises,