Friday, January 13, 2012

Catch Up: Bidness and Pop Culture

2011 was a great year for my career, but I think 2012 is going to be even better:

We've got the prequel to the Maze Runner series coming in August. (What? You didn't hear about THE KILL ORDER? Then CLICK HERE.)

We've got the debut of INFINITY RING from Scholastic coming in September. (What? You didn't hear about that? Then CLICK HERE.)

But that's not all. There's much more to come and to be announced. There'll be a new, and amazing, James Dashner website debuting in a couple of months. A place for all of us to gather. And maybe this is the year that the movie gets green lit for production. Who knows? And I might even have a new book written that you don't know about yet. Lots of fun things to come.

So what's been on my mind lately? I'll do fun things first, then more book-related stuff last. Let's see...

Fun things:

1. This is going to be a great year for movies and I can hardly stand the wait. Hunger Games, Dark Knight, Prometheus, The Hobbit, lots of other stuff. I have two things in my head constantly: the haunting chant from the Batman trailer and the cool song by the dwarves in the Hobbit trailer. Yowza, my level of dorkiness is truly disturbing.

2. By the way, weird thing about me: I don't usually watch trailers. I go to great lengths to avoid them because I HATE the spoilers. But I just couldn't resist with the two mentioned above.

3. What I'm reading: THE LITIGATORS by John Grisham. I know, completely random, but it'd been a long time since I'd read a Grisham book and I used to love them. It's pretty good so far.

4. Let's continue branding my dorkiness: I really, really liked the new Mission Impossible movie. I saw it twice. And I almost cried at the end of the second one solely for the reason that I thought, man, that was truly a masterpiece of tension and suspense. And plus I love Tom Cruise. He's so good at looking scared and anxious. It's good to have him back!!!

4.5. Not coincidentally, I'm imagining the main character in Grisham's book as Tom Cruise from The Firm. Boom.

5. I've also discovered the magic of some TV shows that I missed the first time around. Breaking Bad especially. Besides the holy and hallowed Lost, this is now my favorite show of all time. Excellent on every level. I seriously can't believe how good it is, and I'm so mad that I'm now caught up and have to actually wait for the fifth and final season.

6. Others I've discovered: The Wire, Dexter, and Boardwalk Empire. And, of course, sealing my dorkiness once and for all, I'm so happy to see the return of Downton Abbey. If you don't know what I'm talking about, please don't ask.

7. You may wonder, when does this lazy sack James Dashner actually write books? Well, I take a page from my idol, Stephen King (known to me as Uncle Stevie. And to millions of other people.) I need the creative stimulation of books, TV, and movies to keep my writing juices flowing. For example, an episode of a TV show is the perfect-sized break during the day, and gets my idea factory churning at full speed.

8. Yes, I realize I have the greatest job on Earth. And I NEVER take it for granted. I'm extremely thankful to my readers for allowing me to do the things I love for a living.

9. Let me know what kind of pop culture things you're enjoying in the comments!

Book-related stuff:

1. Finishing up the prequel. I'm very proud of it and I think you guys are really going to love it. It may not be about what you think or assume it will be about. Let's just say there's a whole cast of new characters. And we see first hand all the horrible things that happened to make the events of the trilogy necessary in the first place. How's that for a teaser?

2. Covers. We'll be revealing the covers for the two books mentioned at the top very soon. I've seen the initial one for THE KILL ORDER and I absolutely love it. The artist, Philip Straub, has done all four books, and he's just amazing. (I'm pretty sure THE DEATH CURE will be my favorite book cover of all time.)

3. For you educators out there, I wanted to let you know about a really cool study guide that Random House created for the entire Maze Runner series. It's great for students and discussion. You can view it online, CLICK HERE.

4. I was really honored to have Death Cure chosen as one of nine "Best Books of 2011" for teens by Barnes and Noble. Check it out: CLICK HERE.

5. I've started a new program with my local indie bookstore, The King's English, to sign and personalize books for people who order them through their website. It's a great way for you to have my signature in your book if you can't make it to my events. For more information, CLICK HERE.

6. Is it me, or do we have a lot of links in this posting? It's starting to get annoying, so here's the last one: If you've had an uncontrollable urge to see a corner of my office, today is your lucky day! Scholastic does a feature where they show bookshelves of various authors, and they recently had me on there. Check it out: CLICK HERE.

If you haven't already, be sure and follow me on Twitter and Facebook. Talk again soon...

Don't forget to tell us in the comments about your pop culture likes or dislikes lately! Focus on the likes, actually.

39 comments:

Stacey said...

Oh I love that you watch Downton Abby. ;)

I too am excited for movies coming out this year! About time, last year seemed very slow to me.

Tristi Pinkston said...

Awesome updates.

I got hooked on Prime Suspect, and then it got cancelled. Dang.

Anonymous said...

very lucky to you James, I can´t wait to read the prequel THE KILL ORDER, and if you are looking for a new good show, I suggest to you Game of Thrones

Jaime Morrow said...

Looks like my level of dorkiness is pretty much exactly on par with yours. Everything you listed is at the top of my list too :) Dorks rule the world.

Ashley said...

I LOVE Lost. I was absolutely obsessed for a little bit. Are you going to release another 13th Reality book? I've been struggling through that cliffhanger for forever!!! I love your books and can't wait for the next one (no matter what series)!

Jewel's Gems said...

James, I'm so excited and happy for you! You are now my inspiration and I aspire to be you and my whole world revolves around you and you're amazing and I get teary because I know you, I mean we've been best friends since kindergarten, right, and we are sister and brother from different mothers and I know if I but touch your pen or the keys of your computer, everything in my life will come up roses and . . .
Whoops, forgot my meds today. Sorry:-)

Matt Hayes said...

I'm definitely excited for Dark Knight Rises and the Hobbit. The Hunger Games looks OK, but I'll have to see if my friend likes it (the movie comes out on his birthday) before I see it.

Excited for THE KILL ORDER and INFINITY RING. And REALITY 4.

-Matt

Suey said...

Doctor Who is a recent (the past couple of months) pop culture discovery for me. It's amazingly geeky and wonderful.

I loved seeing the corner of your office. Very cozy.

Can't wait for all the new books!

You do know who is singing that song in The Hobbit, right? The very wonderful and beautiful Richard Armitage! (Well, it least it appears he's singing it... anyway I hope it's him singing it!)

Jessica L. Celaya said...

Wow I am excited for the prequel to come out!
And I'm requesting off work now so I don't miss the Hunger Games movie.
Not really any other pop culture excitement in my life--except my roommate is introducing me to star trek. I feel like I missed out on a whole era of nerdiness.

Erin G. said...

You blogged! Yay! :)

I really love Korean pop culture. Does that count? ;) Lately I've especially liked the shows Running Man and City Hunter (which is available on netflix w/ English subtitles!). So, yeah. :)

P.S. You're awesome!

Bethany said...

I am really looking forward the prequel to the Maze Runner! :D Lot's of exciting stuff coming up for you this year - very cool.

BooksforYAs said...

Like Suey said, Dr. Who is a true indication of dorkiness. It's probably the longest-lived TV series ever (it's on BBC and has been around off and on for decades). Trying to watch all of it (not just the more recent new stuff) opens a huge can of worms. Just a warning.

Great news about the stuff to look forward to this year! The Kill Order sounds more and more intriguing the more I hear about it (So, any news on ARCs?).

Aydel said...

Do you ever watch Glee? I want to know what you think about that show :)
I cant wait for THE KILL ORDER!
A new characters? Great...
Thanks you for write The Maze Runner, my favorites books of all time :D
James Rules!

Anonymous said...

I love the show Stargate Atlantis, it is so wonderful! And yes, I am so excited for The Hunger Games movie. I can't wait for all your books coming out this year. :)

Alice said...

I just saw MIssion Impossible last night and loved it, and I'm excited about all those new movies coming out that you mentioned too, especially Hunger Games and the Hobbit. Right now I'm listening to The Scorch Trials on audio book while I clean and exercise. Needless to say my house is cleaner and I'm getting fitter than I've been in a long time cuz I don't want to stop listening. I find myself laughing out loud a lot, which is surprising when such horrible things keep happening.

Toniko said...

My favorite cover out of your trilogy is Maze Runner. I hope you get a good company to make the movies for your books!

Rachael Cherish said...

Dear James Dashner. My name is Rachael Stewart and I am easily, hands down Maze Runner's number one fan. Do you think you might have time to come to a book club meeting at my high school? I live in American Fork, Utah. I know you play basketball with my uncle boyd, so I was hoping you might live somewhere close. If you are able to my email is rachaelstewart2828@yahoo.com. Thanks!!

Dave said...

Hey old pal! Glad to see you are pounding out grand slams! Always had faith. Keep it up! Looking very forward to your new stuff!

Dave
TLGBRS

Bret Walker said...

I was just wondering when and where you do readings or signing in Utah? I live in the Ogden area, and would love to get my books signed. I'd also be ok mailing them to you.

Lexy said...

If I haven't read the Maze Runner series yet(it's on my list, I swear!)should I read the prequel first???

pen master said...

Oh James Dashner you never cease to amaze. I am a somewhat hardcore Dowton Abbey lover and I LOVE that you watch it. Only two episodes out and soooo much to take in. You must see the Hobbit trailer I'm sorry but it is just too exciting, oh and the Hunger Games as well. Thanks for blogging again!

PS... You keep talking about all these new books and series you are writing but what about The 13th Reality!! Us fans have not forgotten about it!!!!

The chic who is editing her post...the one up there above this said...

Oh yeah and an addition to my comment...DOCTOR WHO!!! My latest craze.

ChapterHouse-Reads said...

cool! cant wait for the infinity ring! to come out! it would be interesting to see the 39 clues and infinity ring battle it out!

Christy said...

Loved Mission Impossible!
Haven't watched Breaking Bad-I'll have to check it out.

Rue said...

I preordered my copy of The Kill Order on Amazon yesterday. Looking forward to reading it and seeing how the whole mess got started.

Pop culture stuff
I've been catching up on Eureka and Burn Notice, two series that I hadn't watched as they came out. Kinda fun to get to watch them all at once. And especially nice not to have to wait out the season ending cliff hangers.
I'm also glad that Fringe is finally back. Woo-hoo! for multi-dimensional wars with shape shifters and changing timelines and somehow having it all actually make sense.

For movies, I'm mostly trying to catch up on stuff I missed in theaters (which seems to be most movies). I'm trying to watch all of the recent Marvel super hero movies in order to get ready for The Avengers next summer (I admit, I'm a Joss Whedon fangirl). I also want to see Cowboys & Aliens and X-Men: First Class. I really enjoyed Super 8. Great movie about a group of kids dealing with something big. In the same vein as Stand By Me and Goonies. Good stuff.

Anonymous said...

i can't wait for hunger games!!1 i rly rly hope it's atleast half as good as the book was. can't wait for the prequel of maze runer, either!

however... i can't wait for the next 13th reality book!!! i thought you said the next one is comming out this year, yet i havn't heard anything about it!!! i'm going to burst out crying if you don't atleast give us a somewhat date soon!!

*fights the tears* i can't hold them back much longer!!

anyways, have a happy year, and pls give us lots of books! or at least teasers, lol.

Robert MacGillivray said...

Haha, I like that you just got into Breaking Bad, as I have done the exact same thing recently - alas, I do not own all four seasons and so am not caught up yet

Anonymous said...

The last 13th Reality book said 2011!!! When's it coming out?!?!

Anonymous said...

I heard that there will be a Maze Runner movie. Is there really going to be one?! Because if there is, that would be an awsome movie!!! And if there is not going to be one, then you should really consider turning The Maze Runner into a movie as well as The Scorch Trials, and The Death Cure. They would be THE BEST movies ever made!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

I just love The Maze Runner!! I read it at school for a reading assignment and now getting ready to start on The Scorch Trials. I'm sooo excited!!! I'm definitly going to have to read THE KILL ORDER when it comes out!!

JULIA SHERMAN said...

HI JAMES! I am so excited to read The Kill Order!!!! I think you are an amazing writer! I am even doing a report on you for school! I would love to get in touch and ask a few questions!!! :)

Anonymous said...

This is all very, very, very lovely. I'm psyched about The Kill Order from you. I'm not so sure about The Hunger Games movie--so much of the book is about being inside her head that I think it won't transfer well to screen.

I must mention, though, like so many others before me: whatever happened to 13th Reality. It was supposed to be released in 2011, wasn't it? Er...its 2012. At least give us /something/ about it! Pretty, pretty please!

i'm erin. said...

James, you are awesome and even more awesomer that you watch Downton Abby. We've met a bajillion times, but I'm usually the dork in the back.

Cecilia E. said...

Holy cow, I am so excited for The Kill Order. After me and my friend met you at The King's English last year for the release of The Death Cure, we raced to see who could finish it first and now we are both beyond excited for this new book!
But hey, we loved 13th Reality first! When do we get another book? I know a lot of people who are very anxiously awaiting news about #4! Please please give us updates!

Anonymous said...

I can't wait for the Hunger Games movie.

Kim said...

I finished The Death Cure in 2 days. (only cause work got in the way of finishing it sooner) I can't wait to read The Kill Order. I've been curious to know how it all started. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

PLEASE READ
hey dashner please please write the 13th reality book 4 the void of mist and thunder.
You've left quite a cliff hanger and I can't wait. I know your caught up in the maze runner series but please at least announce you're going to write it.
I need you to write it.
this idea, this book is great. thankyou for making the best series ever. I just cannot live without this book. I've looked on the web and nothing's there, please give me hope with such a great series. you're the best author no other author can be compared.
I'm twelve and I know you're amazing

Anonymous said...

oh and I like your post...

Anonymous said...

What are some common ideas in your works? I am doing a book report on you.