Here's a sneak peek at what's to come in Maggie Bean in Love!
Arnie got out of the car and came around to her side. She thanked his driver for the ride, and took Arnie’s hand when he opened the door.
If things felt different before, now they felt like part of someone else’s life. As they walked up the winding stone path to the restaurant’s entrance, she took it all in—the sprawling green lawn, beds of colorful flowers, birds chirping overhead, and large, sparkling lake, visible through The Lodge’s many windows—and wondered how she, boring old Maggie Bean, had gotten there.
And you still have three days to enter to win a signed copy of The Melting of Maggie Bean or Maggie Bean Stays Afloat! Thanks so much to all who have entered so far—I've loved reading your responses and will announce the winner later this week!
9/28/09
9/23/09
Football Convert?
So, I've never understood the whole football thing. I enjoy watching most sports, especially live, but football? Not so much. Anytime I tried watching a game, I was pretty much immediately bored. It took the players forever to move a foot down the field, the game stopped every few seconds, and the players often got extremely angry for no apparent reason. Five minutes in (which is, like, a half an hour in real time), I'd be reading or surfing the web, and looking up only when the real fan on the couch next to me started yelling or cheering.
But then something changed: I watched "Friday Night Lights." The TV show, not the movie (though I hear that's good, too).
The show takes place in a small Texas town where EVERYTHING revolves around the Dillon Panthers, the high school football team. The players are community gods, and in the eyes of town residents, can do no wrong. (Unless they lose—then all sorts of heck breaks loose.) And they aren't just ball-throwing neanderthals...they're smart. Dedicated. Passionate. They occasionally take advantage of the perks of their positions, but mostly just work really hard under an extraordinary amount of pressure to win games and make fans happy. And as I watched the show and came to know the main players—Jason Street, the star quarterback who's paralyzed during a game in the first episode, Matt Saracen, the shy QB2 who takes care of his grandma with no help from his absentee parents, Tim Riggins, the cute brooder who lives with his older brother—I came to care about how they did on the field. Because I knew how much it mattered to them not just in that moment, in that game, but in their lives.
Suddenly, football was fascinating.
So last weekend, the Giants played the Cowboys. I still had a book and my laptop nearby while the game was on, but found myself paying more attention than usual. I even asked questions about rules and various plays, which I never cared about before. But I cared then because I understood a little more how much the players cared. And because the players weren't just angry men in tight pants, but grown-up versions of Jason Street, Matt Saracen, and Tim Riggins. I wondered what their stories were, what they went through in order to get to where they were. A TV show has to be really, REALLY good to sway how you feel about something in real life, so if you're on the fence about football and haven't seen "Friday Night Lights," definitely check it out. The season's barely begun, after all!
In other news, there are seven days left in the Maggie Bean contest! Enter to win at triciarayburn@gmail.com!
But then something changed: I watched "Friday Night Lights." The TV show, not the movie (though I hear that's good, too).
The show takes place in a small Texas town where EVERYTHING revolves around the Dillon Panthers, the high school football team. The players are community gods, and in the eyes of town residents, can do no wrong. (Unless they lose—then all sorts of heck breaks loose.) And they aren't just ball-throwing neanderthals...they're smart. Dedicated. Passionate. They occasionally take advantage of the perks of their positions, but mostly just work really hard under an extraordinary amount of pressure to win games and make fans happy. And as I watched the show and came to know the main players—Jason Street, the star quarterback who's paralyzed during a game in the first episode, Matt Saracen, the shy QB2 who takes care of his grandma with no help from his absentee parents, Tim Riggins, the cute brooder who lives with his older brother—I came to care about how they did on the field. Because I knew how much it mattered to them not just in that moment, in that game, but in their lives.
Suddenly, football was fascinating.
So last weekend, the Giants played the Cowboys. I still had a book and my laptop nearby while the game was on, but found myself paying more attention than usual. I even asked questions about rules and various plays, which I never cared about before. But I cared then because I understood a little more how much the players cared. And because the players weren't just angry men in tight pants, but grown-up versions of Jason Street, Matt Saracen, and Tim Riggins. I wondered what their stories were, what they went through in order to get to where they were. A TV show has to be really, REALLY good to sway how you feel about something in real life, so if you're on the fence about football and haven't seen "Friday Night Lights," definitely check it out. The season's barely begun, after all!
In other news, there are seven days left in the Maggie Bean contest! Enter to win at triciarayburn@gmail.com!
9/8/09
Win Signed Copies of Maggie!
There's only one thing Maggie Bean loves more than chocolate, and that's the start of a new school year. Everything about it makes her happy: new classes, new pencils, new books. To celebrate the start of this school year and the upcoming release of Maggie Bean in Love, I'll be giving away signed copies of The Melting of Maggie Bean and Maggie Bean Stays Afloat each month between now and December!
To enter to win, all you have to do is email me at triciarayburn@gmail.com with an answer to one of the following:
1. What do you like most about school?
2. What's your favorite subject and why?
3. In The Melting of Maggie Bean, Maggie dreads the annual mile run in gym class. Do you love or loathe gym? Why?
4. As we know, Maggie tends to munch when she's stressed. When homework and tests start piling up, do you have any tricks or routines that help you stay focused? If so, what are they?
5. As we also know, fruit and vegetables are better for us than M&M's and Reese's Pieces...but sometimes only candy will do. What's your favorite kind?
Please feel free to write as little or much as you'd like! I'll choose the first winner on September 30.
I can't wait to read your answers, and hope your school year's off to a great start!
To enter to win, all you have to do is email me at triciarayburn@gmail.com with an answer to one of the following:
1. What do you like most about school?
2. What's your favorite subject and why?
3. In The Melting of Maggie Bean, Maggie dreads the annual mile run in gym class. Do you love or loathe gym? Why?
4. As we know, Maggie tends to munch when she's stressed. When homework and tests start piling up, do you have any tricks or routines that help you stay focused? If so, what are they?
5. As we also know, fruit and vegetables are better for us than M&M's and Reese's Pieces...but sometimes only candy will do. What's your favorite kind?
Please feel free to write as little or much as you'd like! I'll choose the first winner on September 30.
I can't wait to read your answers, and hope your school year's off to a great start!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
.JPG)
