An Eric Stevens giveaway!

Since last week's giveaway was such a smash success -- or anyway a fizzling step forward, a little? -- Eric Stevens has decided he'd like to host a contest of his own. So, without further ado, here is Eric Stevens*:

This was going to be a Jake Maddox giveaway. I was going to ask for a favorite school or club sports memory, and I'm sure I would have gotten some great answers. But some other samples have arrived, so now the contest will be for this smashing list of titles:

FIVE Jake Maddox titles, including Field Hockey Firsts, Stock Car Sabotage, Record Run, Half-Pipe Prize, and Disc Golf Drive;

HOPE!: A Story of Change in Obama's America;

and Bandslam: Will's Guide to Music.

Since two titles have been added to the giveaway that are strictly NOT sports related, I've changed the entry question a bit. So here it is:

In the comments below (if you're reading this on Steve's Facebook page, please click over to the original post to submit a comment), briefly recount a favorite or least favorite memory from a school or club sports team, band, or government body/council. Hopefully that will give everyone something they can reflect upon.

I'll announce a winner, selected at random from the comments, around this time next week. Be sure to check back!

The Jake Maddox titles are RL 2.0-3.0, Guided Reading Level M. HOPE! is RL 3.4, Guided Reading Level N.

*Sketch of Eric Stevens by Sean Tiffany, the official and awesome artist for a shocking number of Jake Maddox titles!

Sun goes down, it's Tuesday evening. . . .

How many times would I have to get a small shock from the static electricity of the just-finished dryer before worrying about permanent damage?

I think I am making a greater effort on my latest SAB/Eric Stevens assignment, perhaps because its focus is the recent inauguration, and I am considering posterity.

I hear it will reach 40 degrees this Friday. That should be nice.

And speaking of nice, the in-laws will be here tomorrow, noonish, and I will finally be able to get downtown for lunch and try My Burger. I'll let you know how it is.

Also, heard from Aforementioned Editor, and we will meet next Thursday to further discuss YA MS the First. I will say nothing more about it until after that meeting. Between now and then, if you hear about writing, it will be completely SAB or YA MS the Second. Unless I foolishly start a new project. But I won't.

I'm off to Northrend for a little while. Wish me luck.

Updates

Well, I skipped the weekend, which means I'll have to pick it up to maintain 5/week in here. Shouldn't be a problem.

Anyway, an update on YA MS the first. Last night I slammed down about 3000 words for Lily (mostly a party scene; I think the drunkenness comes across). With any luck she'll be finished up on Wednesday, when the in-laws will be here to babysit at noon, and I'll be in downtown Minneapolis for about five hours with nothing but writing time on my hands before my first class of the semester. (Have I mentioned my slowly ongoing teacher's license in this blog yet? I'm not sure. Anyway, it'll be a few years, at this rate, which is fine. If I have my license done by the time Sam can hit kindergarten, I'll be happy.) So, that five-hour block will probably cinch up Lily, and then I can reapproach Noah, who I think just needs a few tweaks.

Simon, too, is waiting for tweaks, but that will be essentially a couple of hours and a strong cup of coffee. I'm starting to feel more confident about getting this done before the trip to NYC. (Especially with ongoing help from the in-laws.)

This morning, I was hoping to get some work done. Sam, however, had other plans. To think I once I had a knack for getting Sam down for naps. Lately, whatever skill I had seems to be gone completely. Today, when he showed tired signs just before 11, all hell broke loose somehow. It took an hour of shrieking and screaming before he fell asleep, and here, ten minutes later, he's already waking up again. I think maybe he'll go into the swing now.

This is the winter of MY discontent

Now it's really winter in Saint Paul, and it's just how I remember it: terrifying.

Not like "Oh it's so cold I might die." Not at all. That comes in February, when Harry's paws nearly freeze to the sidewalk on his nighttime walk, and I have to carry him home lest he suffer permanent foot damage. This is the terrifying one might feel before walking into a conference room for a production meeting, let's say; or maybe right before a Kevin Costner movie starts.

Today, the earth is a grayish white: the combined colors of the muddy grass and light dusting of snow. The sky, too, is grayish white, nearly the exact same tone. These are the days I dread most. Complete and total sensory flatness. Flatitude. It makes my eyes go numb. (See above, Kevin Costner movie reference.)

Meanwhile, I can't get any work done. I'm not blaming Sam at all this time, either. This is strictly the numb-eyes thing. Everything has a sheen over it, and not in a pleasant way. More like a window covered in Vaseline.

The good news is PE Obama has set some very nice (albeit not strict enough) rules against lobbyist involvement in the transition.