For this first contest, just leave a comment on this post and tell me what the hardest thing you've ever done is. The winner will be chosen by random next Monday, September 12th.
What category that falls into is your call. The hardest thing in writing, editing, life, school, love, whatever works for you! Actually, it doesn't even have to be real. Make something up if you want.
Here's a peek at the cover copy (WARNING: spoilers if you haven't read Blue Fire. Don't click "read more" unless you really want to know) Although there will be a post on Friday about the nature of spoilers and if knowing details ahead of time actually matter:
War has come.
Nya’s the one who brought it. And the people love her for it.
With Baseer in shambles and Geveg now an impenetrable military stronghold, Nya and the Underground have fled to a safer location—without Tali. Nya is guilt-ridden over leaving her sister behind and vows to find her, but with the rebellion in full swing and refugees flooding the Three Territories, she fears she never will.
The Duke, desperate to reclaim the throne as his own, has rallied his powerful army. And they are on the move, destroying anyone who gets in the way.
To save her sister, her family, and her people, Nya needs to stay ahead of the Duke’s army and find a way to build one of her own. Past hurts must be healed, past wrongs must be righted, and Nya must decide: Is she merely a pawn in the rebellion, a symbol of hope—or is she ready to be a hero?
Even though I need to read the second book, I'll enter anyways:
ReplyDeleteIn PE class, holding plank position for five whole minutes in a contest. I think my arms ached for at least a day after that.
hmm...the hardest thing I've done so far was moving to Germany and starting all over (job, friends, etc) in a foreign language.
ReplyDeleteThe hardest thing I've had to do was shut down my business. It was my passion but there wasn't a way it could make money (right now). Everything worked out though. I started a new business which has been a roaring success :)
ReplyDeleteTook a break from the internet for 2 months? Actually, that was refreshing, although stopping was hard.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, the hardest thing I've done involved standing up and talking to a certain bunch of people. I always have stage fright, but that particular time was the worst. My hand shook while holding my notes.
Oh man, I would LOVE to win this ARC (hey random organizer~did I mention that September 12th is my birthday???)!
ReplyDeleteI think the hardest thing I ever did was give birth to quadruplets on that cold day in February, high up on the mountaintop with only a very tiny piece of pynvium to push my pain into.
Okay, that might have been made up. The hardest thing I had to do was break up with someone I loved in my younger years, because I knew he wasn't the right person for me.
Yowch. Ask a hard question, why don't you. I'd say the hardest thing I ever did was to marry a man in the Navy, knowing he'd take me far away from my family and my hometown. It's been well worth it, even with the tears, deployments, and lonely pregnancy and child-rearing. I'm very glad my husband is a civilian now, though.
ReplyDeleteThe hardest (& stupidest) thing I've ever done? Climbing Half Dome when I had Mono.
ReplyDeleteSo happy for you that book three is finally coming out! WOOT! :)
ReplyDeleteHardest thing I've ever done? Tell the truth, knowing it will hurt another. The truth can cause pain, but sometimes it needs to be told.
Angela @ The Bookshelf Muse
The hardest thing for me was when I moved from Germany to Sweden, didn't know the language well and was afraid of my first day at school. Actually no, that wasn't the hardest thing - it was when all my classmates except one bullied me. My only friend was bullied by the same people.
ReplyDeleteI think there might be a few things in my life that vie for this title, but here's one:
ReplyDeleteReturning to university at age 27 to do a BA in a foreign country. OK, so it was England and I already knew the language, but being surrounded by 19-year olds when you're still just learning the lingo and differences of the country and culture, and didn't come from the same educational background (which makes itself apparent in tiny seminars) was intimidating. Especially thinking, "I'm nearly a decade older than these kids. I should feel confident!" The hardest bit was not feeling old and washed up.
But by the end of it, it was all worth it :)
Hardest thing:
ReplyDeleteSaying no to a free book.
The hardest thing I've ever done is having to put one of the Healing Wars books down!
ReplyDeleteI would love to win…
ReplyDeleteThe hardest thing I have ever done?
Watch my grandmother die of cancer, it was a slow and horrible death. However I die, I hope it isn’t that way.
Ooh! Pick me!
ReplyDeleteHardest thing: 48 hours of back labor!
Hardest thing.
ReplyDeleteRebuilding myself after a betrayal by a man I trusted. Doesn't sound hard, does it? But it's ruins your self-esteem. Makes you believe you are ugly and unloveable and unworthy.
I am so over that. *two snaps*
The hardest thing I have done was living long distant with my husband for a year and a half. I can't imagine what Military families have to go through. My thoughts and love are with you all.
ReplyDeleteI think going ahead to publish and promote my first book is the hardest thing I've done.
ReplyDeleteThis past year has been the hardest year ever. My husband was un/under-employed for nine months. I was the cheerful, hopeful one for that very long time. I remember counting cups of rice and how many days until some promised help would come. I remember the small miracles of someone dropping by with the leftover hamburgers and hotdogs after the church party, asking if we could use them. I remember working four 12hour shifts a week for the last three months until he got a job out of state and we had to pull up our roots and move halfway across the country. Through it all, my prayers, my boys and my writing kept me sane.
ReplyDeleteAnd my incredible husband. (It was hard knowing how smart and talented he was and having NO callbacks, NO interviews, NO interest.)
And smiling everyday.
It was hard. Things are (gratefully) better now. I think this will be a more gradual climb back to security than I had hoped. But, I thank the Lord for each day we are together, warm, safe and fed.
That's a tough one. And a personal one. So I'll go for nearly-hardest, which was deciding to give up negativity and fear of failure. Well, it seemed hard, anyway. But in the end it's just a decision!
ReplyDeleteThe hardest thing I’ve done as a writer, I think, was to stop keeping it to myself and start talking about my work with other people.
ReplyDeleteThe hardest thing I've ever done to date... starting a completely new rewrite of my manuscript after I already sent a query out for it.
ReplyDeleteIt's true. It was hard and I didn't want to. But it paid off! See, the publisher I queried had asked for a full, and told me that (just in case) it might not hurt for me to go through the manuscript one more time as I was waiting and edit/revise/rewrite. I didn't know how I was going to do that AND I didn't really want to do that. Then a friend helped me brainstorm and I started rewriting, and what do you know? the publisher contacts me with a revision request. :D
And when I show him what I have of the rewrite?
He loves it and tells me to send it back to him when I'm finished. ^_^
But definitely starting that rewrite was probably the hardest thing I've ever done to this point in time. *nods*
Oh, this is a hard one. Writing-wise, it was probably deciding to put my first novel 'in the drawer' when revising just wasn't working and I knew it would never be suitable for publication. But I don't regret it!
ReplyDeleteHardest thing I've ever done was sacraficing myself to my work in athletics and selflessly putting all I have into perfecting my skill and improving, even though at the time I didn't know if it would work out. I'd say its called love.
ReplyDeleteThe hardest thing has been abstaining from dancing while my back heals. I don't feel like myself when I don't dance.
ReplyDeleteThe hardest thing I ever did was interview a woman whose husband had been killed a few hours before so that I could write an obituary. (She already knew what happened and wanted to talk with me, but that didn't make it much easier.)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the giveaway, Janice!
ReplyDeleteThe hardest thing I've ever done is doing 300 push-ups consecutively. :) I'm not a very athletic person, so....
Watching my grandmother go in and out of the hospital with cancer for over 5 years is by far the hardest thing I have ever done. Words cannot describe what it is like to see her in such a sick and helpless state. She never gave up and is still fighting, but it is so hard to see her healthy and happy one day and in a hospital bed unable to speak the next. Nobody should have to go through so much pain.
ReplyDelete