Monday, June 30, 2014

Book Birthday

     The day has come! I have published my first book! Happy book birthday to me!
     I feel really awesome! I mean, I published a book. I knew this day would come, but I was never really for sure about it. I mean, me, publish a book.
      So, it is out there. My book is called Still Life Moving. Right now you can get it as an ebook on Smashwords. Hopefully soon it will be on Barnes and Noble and then Amazon. Also it will eventually be available for Soni and Kobo books and a few others. So check it out. My name is Laci Maskell if any of you wanted or needed to know.
     In celebration of publishing my first book, I would like to talk about emotions we get from various mediums like books, music, movies, and so on.
     I have been told I am an emotional person. And I will admit, that yes, I am decently emotional. I used to be worse, mind you. I love to cry while watching a movie or reading a book. My siblings find it strange, wondering why I would want to watch sad movies when there is already so much sadness in the world. Here is my explanation, I love to get so attached to characters that I feel the need to cry for them.
     Here is a run down of my emotions from books, music, movies, and so on.
     When I was 11 years old, my dad and sister took me to The Lord of the Rings against my will. I did not want to see this movie. I didn't think it was my thing. Then I went. I sat in the theater enthralled by the story and the characters. I didn't move or practically breathe for 3 hours. Then the movie was over and I was devastated. I held my composure until we got out into our vehicle. I sat in the truck, silent, trying not to cry. My dad and sister asked how I liked the movie. That is when I cried. They were shocked and asked what was wrong. I merely said, "It ended." I was so in love with these characters and this story that I was crushed that it was over. Trying to help me through my emotional state, they told me that there would be two more movies in the series. It was like the best news I could have ever gotten. So my sister and dad taking me to The Fellowship of the Rings was what started the whole Laci being a person. Or Laci being the person she is today. So really I need to thank my dad and my sister.
     I cry watching many movies. PS I Love You. OMG When she says "I loved him and he died. What was the point?" I lose it every time. I mean, you get so attached to this character throughout the movie who has lost her husband and you feel for her. At least I did. I cried so hard. I cried at the end, well several times, while watching The Time Traveler's Wife. After he dies and then comes back years later and his wife does that little hiccup laugh cry thing because she is so happy to see him, I mean how could you not cry watching that. I cried when Cedric Diggory died. I cried watching King Arthur when Lancelot dies. OMG with the crying. I mean, I do laugh and smile a lot, but crying may be the harsher emotion. 
     I love music almost more than I love anything. I seriously love music. When Katy Perry's Teenage Dream came out I would smile huge ever time I would hear it. I love that song. I love Ed Sheeran songs. I See Fire by Ed Sheeran for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, OMG I love that song! I could listen to that song over and over again. And I do. I am listening to it as I write this post. Also his song for The Fault in our Stars, All of the Stars, I cannot get enough of that song. I love it so much. Wherever You Will Go by the Calling is probably by far my favorite song ever! I love it so much. Also, Carry On My Wayward Son by Kansas! OMG I love that song. Not to mention that it is the song they play on every season finale of Supernatural which is one of my favorite shows ever. UGH! I love music so much. Music makes me feel so many things. So, I do like country music so don't get me wrong, but I love rock music way more than country music. And I will tell you why. I challenge anyone who wants to argue with me, to find a country song that has more emotion in it than in any rock song. Rock music so much emotion and energy and passion in it. It fills you with so much you never feel like you are without. I have cried listening to music before. You better believe it.
     Now, books. What can I say about books? I love books so much. Mostly I read YA books. But I do love other books. If I didn't love books, I don't think I would have read 91 of them last year. I love books so hard core. I cry a lot when I read books. I laugh a lot when I read books. I cried when I read the last Harry Potter book and he goes out to the forest to face Voldemort and he knows he is going to die. UGH! So sad. I cry a lot when reading books. There are too many to list at the moment, so I will tell you about the one book that kills me every time. And subsequently the movie. The Fault In Our Stars. I know a lot of people love this book and the movie and they feel like it is their own. But really this book is mine! Just Kidding. But man. The Fault in our Stars has got to be my favorite book ever! Lately John Green, or people who write about John Green, have gotten a lot of flack for calling him the teen whisperer. Now, I have mixed emotions about this. I understand where other authors are coming from here. Some of their books are just as good and just as popular as The Fault in our Stars, so they have every right to be mad. However, they cannot deny, I will fight them if they do, that TFIOS is seriously and amazing book. I cry every time I read this book. I have read it 6 times and I openly weep every time I read it. So TFIOS is 313 pages. The first time I read it, I cried from page 203 to the very end. And I read this thing in one sitting. I love this book SO MUCH!!! I can't even really tell you why I love it so much. But I do. When I watched the movie I cried hard core! Hard Core! I recommend this book to everyone I know. It truly is such a great book.
     Now, my book. I used beta readers before I published my book to find out if it was any good. I gave it to my best friend. When she was finished reading the book she texted me and was mad. She said she cried, and I told her how happy that made me. Like I said, I think it is very important for the reader, listener, watcher, to get so attached to the characters that their experience with the material elicits some form of emotion from them.
     So there you have it folks. I am a big baby who will pretty much cry at anything.
     Don't forget, I have published my first book. It is called Still Life Moving by Laci Maskell. It is now available at Smashwords.com and will be available at Barnes and Noble and Amazon soon. If you choose to purchase it I will be greatly appreciative. Also, I will be making it available in paperback soon, so if you do not have an ereader, do not fret, you will be able to get a paper back in the near future. Happy book birthday to me!