LTUE, German Cover, The King's Speech

Three really cool things today:

1. Any aspiring writer or fan of fantasy and science fiction in the Rocky Mountain area is very aware of the annual conference held at BYU called LTUE (Life, the Universe, and Everything). Each year it seems to get bigger, and I've been attending since my very first book came out from a small publisher back in 2003. (Lo, those many years ago.)

Imagine the blow-me-away honor I felt when they invited me to be their Guest of Honor this year! I almost thought they were kidding. I'm extremely excited about it, and it means I'll be on lots of panels and will be giving the main keynote address (on Friday, I think).

It's a very surreal thing since this conference has been such a part of my writing career, both before and after any kind of success. Feel free to refer to me as GOH Dashner if you'd like. Just don't shorten it to GOHD because that sounds like who they worship in the south. (Hey, I'm from Georgia, I can say that.)

Anyway, if you live anywhere in the area, I hope you can make it. The conference goes for three days (Feb 17-19) and I'll be there the whole time. You can find out all you need to know at their website: CLICK HERE.

2. My book is coming out in Germany (April) from Chicken House (same publisher as UK), and I'm amazed at all the things they're doing to promote it. They are selling one of those metal-ball-in-a-wooden-labyrinth games and this is the coolest: an online game where the book itself is a joystick (using a webcam). It's really awesome.

You can check out the website, but you can't play the game unless you get the book: CLICK HERE. Of course, I don't read German, so I'm not sure. But I played the game and so far I suck at it. Yeah!

Anyway, here is the cover, which is so different from any of the other foreign versions. I absolutely love it:

3. I saw an amazing film last week, and I can't shut up about it (ask my mom and my wife). The King's Speech. One of the best ever in terms of writing, acting, emotional pull, etc. The Dashner Dude may have gotten a little choked up, especially when I came home and listened to the real speech on YouTube. Long live King George VI!!! And Colin Firth. And Geoffrey Rush. And everyone else involved in that film.

Please go see it. Even mature kids (there's only a really short burst of swearing that his speech therapist makes him do) if your parents approve.

4. Bonus item: I bought 57 books that are 80-100 years old for 57 dollars. Luckiest find of my life. They look so good on my bookshelves!

Have a great day!

Well Hi There...

Where in the world has all the time gone since I last posted? I blame the holidays! One of our faithful Duders, Jackson, pointed out on Twitter that it's almost been a month, so we better get back on track.

Welcome to all of our new readers here at the Dude!!! A lot of people must've gotten my books for Christmas because the stats here on the blog have gone up quite a bit. Glad to have you. Please leave a comment and say hello!

So. What to talk about? Hmmmm. Better keep it random.

1. I almost soiled my armor with excitement when I saw that it's finally official: Ian McKellan is reprising his role as Gandalf (and Andy Serkis as Gollum) in The Hobbit movies. Never that it was much in doubt, but you never know. Christmas 2012 can't come soon enough.

2. Speaking of Christmas 2012, it's now more important than ever for the Mayans to be wrong about the world ending that month. I can't miss that second Hobbit movie the next year.

3. Speaking of movies, I'm getting asked by many people about the Maze Runner movie, and I don't feel good about simply ignoring all of you. But my official position still has to be "no comment" because nothing is, well, official. However, anyone with a finger (at least one), a keyboard, and Google can find plenty about it that's a matter of public record. Happy searching...

4. And, just for the record, if such a movie were to be made, I'd be so happy I'd probably soil my armor again. (Is anyone getting the reference to Monty Python and the Holy Grail here? Please say yes.)

5. I want to thank you all again for making this trilogy such a huge success so far (several months now on the NYT Bestseller list). I'm ecstatic beyond words (no, I'm done with the soiled armor bit), and I'm so thankful to all of you. Thank you.

6. I LOVE the comments/tweets you guys leave about how excited you are for the third and final book (The Death Cure). Especially the ones where you threaten bodily harm to me or yourself (or to cats) because you can't wait. Well, I'm just about done with the first round of revisions, which is always the hardest part for me. The book is well on schedule to come out this fall. Hopefully we'll reveal the cover soon, because it's AWESOME.

7. I'm also getting asked a lot about the fourth book in The 13th Reality series. I promise there'll be an announcement on that coming soon, but you may have to wait a bit longer than you expected. I'll explain why, so don't worry. It's coming...

8. The NFL needs to be spanked. I'm thrilled to see my Falcons in the playoffs, counting down the minutes to Saturday night. But they had the best record in the NFC. Their reward? They have to play the extremely hot Packers while the SECOND seed, the Bears, get to play the weaklings otherwise known as the Seattle Seahawks. All because they won their division (with a losing record!!!). Which is even worse than it sounds, because they had a losing record in a division which is obviously very weak.

I'm fine with rewarding them with a trip to the playoffs. But that should be good enough! Don't give them an undeserved higher seed as well. Thanks for listening.

9. Some great news: The Maze Runner was chosen for the Best Fiction for Young Adults list for 2010 by the American Library Association, as well as the Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers list. We are very honored!!! Thank you, ALA!

10. I can't remember the last time I watched a scripted television show. Seriously. It's been months, except for maybe one or two Modern Family episodes. Lost, you've left a void in me that will never be filled. Unless....

11. I'm really hoping that HBO's production of A Game of Thrones, the dark and delicious fantasy series by George R. R. Martin, is good. It can't possibly be LOTR good, but maybe kinda sorta maybe? I hope so.

12. It's cold.

13. Have I mentioned how much I love movies? I need to start reviewing them more on this blog. The last one I saw was How Do You Know with Reese Witherspoon. (hey, my wife chose, so back off!) It was actually unique and entertaining. (I'm not a harsh movie critic. I can enjoy almost any movie on some level. It's a talent I have.)

14. Before that was True Grit, which was amazing and one of my favorites of the year. Coen brothers, I love you.

15. That's all for now. More soon. I hope everyone is having a fabulous week, filled with good food and good books.