The King

I'm a big fan of Stephen King. I find that his work is so full of feeling that when I read certain novels or stories, I actually...well, FEEL something. It honestly had me spooked, and I shed a tear or two reading The Green Mile. As a writer and a fan of Stephen King, imagine my delight when I found out that he actually wrote a book on writing!
I read it for the first time a few years ago; it was interesting to hear his back story straight from him, and I have always loved that he is from, and lives, a few hours north of where I live. And when he gives his advice on the writing process -- whenever I read those parts, I automatically want to start writing my own fiction. I typically stick with writing the nonfiction of the college literature class essay, and I'm quite good at it if I may say so myself. But more and more I find myself wanting to sit down and write down some possible ideas for fiction. And I know reading On Writing is going to come in super handy.

Horror symposium news release

Samantha Allwood
Owner, Sam's Book Nook
Concord, NH
555-5555

HORROR SYMPOSIUM WITH THE MASTER HIMSELF, STEPHEN KING

Hello patrons,

I want to let you know about a VERY exciting event we have happening this Halloween.

October 31, 2011, we will host a Horror symposium at the Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord with the master of the genre himself, the one and only Stephen King.

There will be an hour of King telling his own story, and then an hour-long question and answer session. Questions may be dropped in the box on the counter of The Book Nook; as many as possible will be chosen and asked to Mr. King.

Tickets start at $25.00; see the Capitol Center's website, www.ccanh.com, for further information.

We hope to see you there!

You've got books.

Bookworm? Check. Nose always in a book? Check.

I have always absolutely adored reading; it's something I just genuinely enjoy. A book is something you can slip in your bag and bring with you anywhere, because you never know when you'll have a few minutes. I've pretty much known all my life that I would end up doing something that had to do with English, as reading and writing have always been my thing. I never pass up the opportunity to go into a bookstore - and I've been to quite a few good ones. A terrific little hole in the wall bookstore in Thomaston, Maine, the four story Borders in Boston (which my friends had to drag me out of, by the way), a fantastic combination used and new bookstore complete with deli/bakery in Rockland, Maine. This one has unfortunately gone out of business, which made me sadder than any reasonable person ought to be, but hey, I'm an uber-nerd, and books are my thing. I suppose you could even say they are a passion of mine.

Which is why I have always thought it would be nice to have my own bookstore. It would probably be a used bookstore, but if I wanted to I could expand into new books and magazines, as well. Why not? I like the idea of the used books, because there would be a good chance that there would be a lot of books that I have read before, and there's nothing I enjoy more than a good discussion about books. Plus, this would mean I'd be better able to serve my patrons. I picture a place where people can come and hang out and browse, a sort of chill pad with lots of comfy nooks and chairs. I would hook up my iPod and play some tunes. The vibe would be nice; Beatles and books, who can complain? I would honestly enjoy going to work every day. Whenever I see a movie where a character owns a cozy little bookstore, such as Meg Ryan in "You've Got Mail", I feel a little twinge of jealousy. Is that weird?

There are, of course, logistics I would have to think about. Location, for instance. I live in Dunbarton. There's a library. And not many people. Although I would charge probably at most $2 for a used book at my store, I feel like Dunbarton may not be the most beneficial location. Although, as I say this, I'm wondering, Why not? Why wouldn't people some to a place where books are 50 cents to $2? Word would spread to surrounding towns and business would boom. At least, this would be my hope. If not Dunbarton, then maybe Concord or Manchester. Or maybe even Maine, since I love it so much up there anyway. I would have nice looking ads in all of the local papers. I would be revered as a genius because there aren't many places around these parts like that, and isn't the bookstore owner just so charming and knowledgeable? It would be fantastic.

Jasper the Atmospheric Condition

Coyote. Dingo. Hound. Vermin. Hyena. Mutt. Pup. He'd heard it all. What he was, though, was a wolf. A full grown, five year old wolf. He craved nothing more than to be recognized as such. It would be an indication of respect, something he hadn't gotten ever since the nuclear reactor accident that had left every animal in the United States with the ability to possess rational thought and verbal skills. Animals saw it as the dawning of a new age for them, and expected to be integrated into the world of human society easily. Humans loved animals before they had the ability to hold intelligent conversation, so now they would cherish them even more. This held true for the majority of the population. There were, however, pockets of humans who saw the reactor accident as a horrifying event that produced nothing but freaks of nature. These people looked upon the animals with fright, ridicule, and even hatred.

This particular animal was, as I said, a wolf. He assumed the name Jasper once he understood the concept of monikers, and he was part of a militant faction of the oppressed race of animals. As with any abject and exploited group of a population, a portion of the animals decided that fighting back by whatever means necessary was their duty in order to show that it was simply fur, feathers, trunks, snouts, claws, large incisors, or any combination of these, that separated them from their human counterparts.

An association known as the Atmospheric Conditions, a rag tag group of radical animals fed up with the behavior of disdainful humans, came into being in New York City. Jasper started the group through grassroot efforts, for he felt such intense hatred for the oppressive humans that he needed an outlet for his rage.

Through months of perseverance, the group developed a poison that they planned to covertly slip into the drinks before the start of a meeting of the New York chapter of animal haters. The poison was slipped into the drinks being served that night, and that night became the legendary Slaughtering, as it has infamously been known ever since.

Jasper the wolf became legendary for actually slipping into the party against the protestations of his animal comrades. Being the militant leader he was, he simply wanted to see, firsthand, the efforts of the Atmospheric Conditions pay off. It is purported that, as he watched from the shadows while the humans who took a drink that night dropped silently to the ground, he crept out for a moment, a few seconds really, in order to implore a young man to “Drink, drink.” And then, quick as he came, he was off into the night.

Artwork used by permission of the artist, Lisa Rae Winant. "Drinkies", 12x16 oil on panel

Hooray for being studious!

Tore myself away from watching Flight of the Conchords to write something. Not that I have a game plan (I never do). I also just got off the phone with Luke; he's always fun. He's a hoot, my boy is. We were talking about going up to Maine in the spring, maybe for my birthday weekend, and how fun that would be. I really hope we end up going; I'm already excited and looking forward to it. I went this past summer with my cousin Nathan and his then-fiancee (now wife) Casey, it was a blast. There's a tiny little hole-in-the-wall bookstore called Lobster Lane that I've gone to every time I was up there since I was little. It's heaven for someone like me who loves to read copious amounts, and everything's 50 cents to $2, basically. Paradise.

I'm really just super excited for springtime in general; the shift in weather and temperature when it turns from winter to spring is phenomenal. I feel like it just enhances my mood so much, it's amazing. Something to look forward to. It will, of course, bring an end to college, which I'm both excited and nervous about. Oh well, the train's rolling on.

It's the start of the new semester (the last semester!) and I'm ready to jump back into the swing of things and read a ton of books with pen at the ready so I can annotate things and be on top of class discussions. It feels good to have something productive to do again. This feeling will probably last until the end of this week or so, but it's nice while it lasts. Before it turns back into "the daily grind."

New beginnings

Welcome to my Magical Mystery Tour of a life. I've had this blog since 2008, complete with five sporadic previous posts, but I just deleted them so that I can start anew. Stuff's changed in my life since the last time I posted, more than a year ago, so this new beginning seems fitting.

I didn't utilize this a lot because I like to pen and paper an actual journal, but it might be fun to get back into this, see what happens. I've never added pictures to posts before, so I just like to experiement. I feel like this is going to take up a lot of time. It all seems easy enough, I guess we'll see...

P.S. If you couldn't tell I rambled on just then so that the text could be all cool and wrapped around the picture :)