Holy Crap. Shakespeare Makes Sense.

Hello all,

I finished reading Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (and the other stories in the collection) and have decided that, were Robert Louis Stevenson still alive, I would want to have his babies. He is so brilliant. Now I'm reading Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie, which I was inspired to pick up because a friend of mine (David Andino) showed me these videos (of songs from the musical Darling, which is a completely new take on the Peter Pan story):

Never

Lost Boy

So the other day I was wandering through Target and I spied by chance a DVD version of Hamlet starring Patrick Stewart and David Tennant. My older sister and I are HUGE David Tennant fans, stemming from his performance as Dr. Who, and when we found out he was going to be Hamlet in London we actually tried to figure out how to get over there to see it (having no money turned out to be an obstacle). Anyway, we were depressed because we thought we'd never be able to see his take on the character, or Patrick Stewart's on Claudius. But, miraculously, there this DVD was before me, a specially staged edition that seemed to say, "Dear Cayla and Cara: Thinking of you. Love, The Royal Shakespeare Company."

I bought it. We watched it.

Now here's the truth of the matter: I've always known that William Shakespeare wrote some of the most beautiful material ever put to paper, but prior to this Hamlet, every Shakespeare show I'd seen had me bouncing my foot and itching to get out of my seat because I just couldn't make myself enjoy it, and I thought I had to be dumb and uncultured because of it. (I'm still sure I'm dumb, but that's for unrelated reasons.)

But aha! I have been shown: the difference between amateur Shakespeare and professional Shakespeare is the difference between a preschool pageant and a rock concert. It just has to be done right. Patrick Stewart and David Tennant understand the material so completely in this production that the lines they deliver don't seem like high language, or language that's fallen out of use. There's no pretension, it's just like this beautiful melding of brilliant minds and more talent than the planet ought to be able to hold, to form something so utterly REAL that you can't help but be devastated by the progressiveness, uniqueness, awesomeness, and GENIUS that William Shakespeare possessed.

If he were still alive, I would have his babies as well.

Seriously, if you love Shakespeare, buy this Hamlet. If you've never gotten Shakespeare before (like me), buy this Hamlet. Here:

Awesome Amazing Spectacular Hamlet

This blog post in sum: read Robert Louis Stevenson, and watch Hamlet. (Also watch Dr. Who. Because who doesn't love Dr. Who??)

Hearts and loves,

Cayla

I'm From Wisconsin

Well. I was watching an episode of Law and Order, and the detectives were searching this person's apartment. One of them picked up a piece of paper and commented that the person had to be a tourist because they kept a subway map.

I thought they meant a map of the locations of all the Subway restaurants in New York City.

...

I am so from Wisconsin.

German Cover + Italian Alera

Hi all,

Well, I realized when my browser no longer remembered the web address for my blog that it was probably time for an update.

First off, I got a peek at the cover for the German edition of Legacy, being published by Piper Fantasy this fall (I think... I should double check the date!!). Check it out below -- I LOVE it. I'll also be doing a podcast interview with them shortly. I'll let you know when and where to listen!




So yeah. Totally in love with that cover. "Legacy" translated to German apparently sounds terrible (hehe) so the new name is "Alera: Beloved Enemy." Anyway, next up, I just found out that my Italian publisher, Sperling, will be creating a Facebook page for Alera, and they sent me what will be her profile picture (I'll also post a link to her page as soon as I've got it).



Cool, huh? I'm super excited.

I'm working with my editor at HQTeen, Natashya, on Legacy now, and I love her to bitty bits (which is what I always say about my cat and I just realized how creepy it sounds). I also bought a hydrangea, which I have dubbed "Heidi the Hydrangea", for my completely redecorated office. (It's very zen now.)

...And that is my life. In a nutshell. So! I will be back with more updates shortly. I'll also think up a new poll question and some other cool stuff to share on here. Oh, and up top I've decided to let y'all know what I'm currently reading, so you should let me know what you're reading in the comments, or if you've read the same books!

TTFN,
Cayla

Despite a Terrible Week...

I'm back! And I actually have good news (despite said terrible week that has kept me from my blogosphere and Facebook page duties).

First, the winners of the laptop raffle have been notified -- congratulations to Victoria and her laptop Charles; Sarah and triSarahtops; and Jenna and Ronaldo! :) Thank you SO much to everyone who entered, and I promise there will be other contests coming up with more fun stuff to win.

Second, HERE'S THE BIG NEWS. Though being with AmazonEncore has been a great experience, and their team is made up of many wonderful, talented people, recently it became clear that it would be in the best interest of the Legacy Series to go in another direction. Thus, I am honored to now have joined forces with Harlequin Teen, who will rerelease Legacy in 2011, and the remaining books in the trilogy at intervals thereafter. For those of you who have been waiting so patiently for Allegiance since the Encore release of Legacy (some of you have even been waiting since the self-published release of Legacy), this may seem disappointing, but I promise this is absolutely the best place for me and the books to be. Shout out to Natashya Wilson and everyone else at HQ Teen for giving me this opportunity! Also thanks so much to my agent, Kevan Lyon, for once again reaching above and beyond expectations.

Moving on, I've got some awesome fan art to share, courtesy of Marissa over at the Facebook fan page. Check out her entire portfolio here: Rissi-Chan's Gallery.

That's about all I think... thanks so much for dropping in! I really feel like I'm forgetting to put something in this post... ah well, just means I'll be back soon. ;)

Loves!
Cayla

Allegiance Prologue + Contest!!

Well, ladies and gents, you far surpassed the goal of 137 votes on this month's Offkey Poll -- there are still a few hours remaining to cast your opinion, but as of right now, the number's 186. Thanks so much to everyone for voting!!! For this month's prize -- the Allegiance Prologue -- click the link below:

Allegiance Prologue

Hope you enjoy! :)

I'm sorry to once again disappoint -- I still don't have a release date for Allegiance. I know some of you are probably starting to doubt that it's coming out at all, but I assure you that it IS going to hit shelves. You will have it in your hands before too long, but until then, hopefully the prologue will give you something to concentrate on.

A little while ago, the lovely Joanna over at the Facebook Fan Page started a discussion about laptops. Please stop by and let us all know what the name of your laptop, desktop computer, or notebook is! (We're all a bit quirky!) I've started a raffle as well -- send an email with the name and brand/color/anything you want to include about your computer or writing device to:

publicity@caylakluver.com

If your name is randomly picked, you'll receive a return email asking for your mailing address, which will remain confidential. You'll be sent a signed copy of the original, self-published version of Legacy. There will be three winners so send your email today! (The receipt period ends March 21st at midnight.) Please let me know either here or on the fan page if there are any questions.

I think that's about it for now, except for poll results: What is London's relationship to the High Priestess?

29% They were/are in love
4% They're siblings -- London is actually the Overlord
7% London is her son
58% Something completely differend because Cayla wouldn't post a spoiler

...Or would I? :P

Haha, thanks so much for stopping by, and please join the raffle -- it's all for fun!

Cayla