Freaky Friday by Lisa

I’ve had this thought the past couple of days to sack the first novel that I wrote, bury all the paper copies I have somewhere in the woods and let animals devour them when they’re too starving or lazy to hunt.

I don’t think wild animals suffer from laziness.

That’s a domestic thing.

Over the weekend I listened to Neil Gaiman’s commencement speech at the University of the Arts in 2012. He talked about making good art, “Husband runs off with a politician–make good art. IRS on your tail–make good art. Cat exploded–make good art.”

We are artists and it’s easy to get lost in what’s not happening or the insane things that are happening that can tear us apart piece by piece.

And so my invitation for you today.

Stop.

Take minutes, take hours.

Make good art.

And the art you’ve already made, leave it on the shelf.

Animals don’t eat paper.

Or ink.

MANIC PIXEL DREAM REVEAL WINNERS (AND ACTUAL COVER REVEAL)!

Welcome back from the Manic Pixel Scav . . . ug, I’m tired of typing all that.

You searched long and wide and far through that crazy pixelated city. Let’s see what you found . . .

1. Spaceships!
2. Talking chairs!
3. A drug deal!
4. A nipple!

And, of course, they can all by seen now, by you, in full, on the cover of CURE FOR THE COMMON UNIVERSE:

Add on Goodreads!

Preorder on Amazon.

But that’s not why you’re here.

You’re here to see if you won one of our five elite prizes, which, to remind you, look like this:

Ooh, look! The cover isn’t blacked out anymore!

Our five Manic Pixel Dream Reveal winners are . . .

 

The Cotton Floozy will get stitching and Simon & Schuster will get printing and we’ll have your stuff out to you by December.

Thanks so much for hunting. Hope you enjoy the inside of the book as much as I enjoy the outside.

See you in June,

Christian McKay Heidicker

 

P.S. I would be remiss if I didn’t give one more shout out to eboy and Greg Stadnyk. Incredible work.

Also, thanks to Brooke Lark, for designing these incredible prize packages. I don’t know what I did to deserve you as a friend.

And finally, thanks to Christian Trimmer, my editor, and John Cusick, my agent. None of this would be possible without you, fellas.

CURE FOR THE COMMON UNIVERSE COVER REVEAL AND SCAVENGER HUNT ii

WELCOME TO THE MANIC PIXEL SCAVENGER HUNT!

LET’S GET SCAVENGING!

This is it, folks. This is your chance to easily win the CURE prize package:

An ARC of Cure for the Common Universe and an embroidery of ‘Nobody Puts Princess in a Castle’ from The Cotton Floozy [LINK: http://www.cottonfloozy.com/%5D!

Oo. Aah.

All you have to do is participate in the Manic Pixel Scavenger Hunt for a chance to win.

Oh, look, here’s a pixel now!

What do you see?

Write down your findings from this and the other pixels at any or all of the other blogs (listed below) and email them to me at cmheidicker@gmail.com or message them to C.M. Heidicker on Facebook.

For every three things you send, I’ll put your name in the hat (or my jeans pocket) again and again and again, and then I’ll draw five names out of the hat (pocket) and send prize packages to those people.

Go! Get started! Win it! Win it all!

Valynne Maetani [LINK: https://www.tumblr.com/search/valynne%20maetani]

Carol Lynch Williams [LINK: https://throwingupwords.wordpress.com/]

Elana Johnson [LINK: http://elanajohnson.blogspot.com/]

Christian Trimmer [LINK: http://www.christiantrimmer.com/blog/]

John Cusick [LINK: https://johnmcusick.wordpress.com/]

Brooke Lark [LINK: http://www.cheekykitchen.com/]

Brooke Kelly [LINK: http://theperksofbeingaunicorn.blogspot.com/]

The Cotton Floosy [LINK: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheCottonFloozy?ref=unav_listing-r&from_reg=2&joined=custom-order&box=1]

#cureforthecommonuniverse #manicpixel

(I hope you’ll take some time to explore the amazing blogs.)

(I also hope this means that more than just my mom will participate.)

Tune in tomorrow to find out if you’ve won!

Happy Scavenging!

Go check out the book on Goodreads!

Prepare to be cured June 2016.

CURE FOR THE COMMON UNIVERSE COVER REVEAL AND SCAVENGER HUNT

Hello, everyone. My name is Christian McKay Heidicker.

WELCOME TO THE CURE FOR THE COMMON UNIVERSE COVER REVEAL AND SCAVENGER HUNT!

Whew. That’s a mouthful. Let’s try . . .

MANIC PIXEL SCAVENGER HUNT!

There. Better.

You may be asking yourself, where’s the cover? I came here to see a cover.

Okay, first, have I told you how nice your hair is looking today?

And second, the cover isn’t here.

CURE’s cover art is a little intense to take in all at once, so for everyone’s safety, I’ve divided it into nine pieces (er, pixels) and spread them across the internet.

WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO US?

To make a scavenger hunt, of course. What’s the use of a book about a kid going to video game rehab if there isn’t some gaming first?!

Also, this will be your chance to take in all of the juicy (potentially scandalous) details of the cover before it’s fully revealed.

The art is reminiscent of books like I Spy or Where’s Waldo, so this scavenger hunt will work just like that . . . except instead of finding a cats eye marble or some seemingly friendless chump in a red and white striped sweater, you’ll receive ACTUAL PRIZES.

ACTUAL PRIZES!

Five lucky winners will receive a signed ARC (advanced reading copy) of CURE FOR THE COMMON UNIVERSE (cover obscured for obvious reasons) AND an embroidery of one of the phrases from the book, hand stitched by the extremely talented Cotton Floozy.

GAH! I WANT THAT. HOW DO I WIN?

For every three things you discover hidden in the nine pixels and email to cmheidicker@gmail.com or message to C.M. Heidicker on Facebook, I’ll enter your name again . . . and again . . . and again. (There’s a lotta stuff on that cover.)

 

EXAMPLE:

Subject: Manic Pixel Scavenger Hunt

Dearest Christian,

I found:

1. A puppy made of garlic cloves
2. A bottomless bowl of undercooked breadsticks
3. A Christmas tree wearing lipstick
4. Amelia Earheart’s monocle
5. A bottomless bowl of overcooked breadsticks
6. A Who*

*(Objects not actually on cover, but no less interesting than what’s really on there.)

 

THAT’S IT!

So, no, the cover is not here. But fear not! Tomorrow, I’ll be posting their whereabouts on this blog and at www.cmheidicker.com. (You can also follow them with #cureforthecommonuniverse and #manicpixel.)

Tomorrow, the Manic Pixel Scavenger Hunt begins!

In the meantime, go check out the book on Goodreads !

Again, the cover is exquisitely complex, and in my personal opinion, AMAZING. It was designed by Greg Stadnyk with art by eboy (that of Miley Cyrus fame).

 

Prepare to be cured, June 2016.