Paperback, Facebook, Articles

Well hi there everybody! I hope your week is turning out just swell.

Just a few cool things:

1. The paperback of THE MAZE RUNNER is officially in stores! I'd love to hear from anyone who has picked it up, discovered it for the first time, what you think of the bonus material, etc. Speak!

2. Random House has put up an official Facebook page for the MAZE RUNNER trilogy, and I need all my Duders to show your presence! Check it out: CLICK HERE.

3. I owe a TON to the HUNGER GAMES trilogy. Though my series was sold to Random House well before the first book even came out, I was in the right place at the right time because the dystopian/post apocalyptic tale has really surged because of Suzanne Collins' books. Thank you Ms. Collins!!!! How has it helped me, you ask? Here are two examples:

4. I was mentioned in this USA TODAY article about the release of MOCKINGJAY: CLICK HERE.

5. As if that wasn't cool enough, a few days later, I was mentioned in this NEW YORK TIMES article: CLICK HERE.

6. Both of those were very surreal to me. I know I'm still acting like a giddy rookie, but I am and I can't help it!

7. Random thought of the day: I love my new iPad more than my children, but I would never tell them. Doh!

First Draft Done, Scorch Preview

I would just like to publicly announce (calmly and collectively) that I'm officially done with the first draft of THE DEATH CURE, the third and final book of THE MAZE RUNNER trilogy. I'm happy about this, but I'm choosing to act like I've been there before and not make a fool of myself. There'll be no giddy rants or silly phrases about dancing or jumping or kissing complete strangers, and certainly nothing about knocking over old ladies in the park, my old standard.

And now I have an incredibly busy two weeks of revising and editing before I send it off to my editor.

To celebrate, I thought I'd reveal the little summary thingamajig that will be on the inside cover flap of THE SCORCH TRIALS, because I've noticed it's not available anywhere on the Internet yet. Honestly, I don't know why. But since it'll be on the book, I'm assuming it's okay to share with you guys.

It's always impossible to make these things perfect. As I read the paragraphs, some things in it are KINDA true, but when you read the book you'll see it from a different perspective. But it definitely gives you the flavor of what the book is about. And it contains a lot of spoilers.

Personally, I don't think you should read it. I never do. I like to go into a book knowing absolutely nothing, which is the same reason I refuse to watch movie previews. But then again, most people think I'm weird about this, so whatever. If you want to read it, read it. If you don't, STOP NOW!

!SPOILER ALERT!

The Maze was only the beginning...

Solving the Maze was supposed to be the end. No more puzzles. No more Variables. And no more running. Thomas was sure that escape meant he and the Gladers would get their lives back. But no one really knew what sort of life they were going back to.

In the Maze, life was easy. They had food, and shelter, and safety... until Teresa triggered the end. In the world outside the Maze, however, the end was triggered long ago.

Burned by sun flares and baked by a new, brutal climate, much of the earth is a wasteland. Government has disintegrated--and with it, order--and now Cranks, people covered in festering wounds and driven to murderous insanity by the infectious disease known as the Flare, roam the crumbling cities hunting for their next victim... and meal.

The Gladers are far from done running. Instead of freedom, they find themselves faced with another trial. They must cross the Scorch, the most burned-out section of the world, and arrive at a safe haven in two weeks. And WICKED has made sure to adjust the variables and stack the odds against them.

Thomas can only wonder--does he hold the secret of freedom somewhere in his mind? Or will he forever be at the mercy of WICKED?

!END OF SPOILER ALERT!

I really think you guys will like it. It's very different from Book One, and you really start finding out what's going on behind the scenes, the bigger picture of WHY they're being put through these trials. Not everything, but a lot is answered. Of course, new questions arise...

Less than two months away!!! And remember, the paperback comes out in one week!

Quick Updates

Just wanted to drop in and give a few tidbits of information:

1. I'm participating with a BUNCH of authors in a "Writing for Charity" event on Saturday, August 21st at the Waterford School in Sandy, UT. All proceeds go to buying books for under privileged children (and that's a good thing in case you're wondering). Some of the authors include Shannon Hale, Brandon Mull, Bree Despain, Brandon Sanderson, Jessica Day George, Dan Wells, Wendy Toliver, Sara Zarr, Anne Bowen, Emily Wing Smith... okay, you get the point.

If you have any interest in writing, or just like to meet authors, check it out. The evening event will be a lot of fun, and, ahem, yours truly will be serving as the MC, so you never know what might happen. For all the details, CLICK HERE.

2. I'm working hard on the third and final book of the MAZE trilogy, THE DEATH CURE. I'm writing the climax right now, which is very bittersweet because it means I'm almost done with this story. Boohoo.

3. The paperback for THE MAZE RUNNER comes out in two weeks!!! (Tues, August 24.) That's the same day as MOCKINGJAY, so at least I know a lot of people will be in the stores. The first two chapters of THE SCORCH TRIALS are in the paperback of MAZE, and there's also another little surprise that I'm not allowed to share yet...

4. Speaking of SCORCH, it comes out in two months! (Tues, Oct. 12.) I'll be going all over the country that month, so hopefully I'll get to see/meet a lot of you. Looking forward to it.

5. If you live in the United Kingdom (that's not Disneyland, for my less educated readers), MAZE is now available there. I'd love to hear from some of our UK Duders if you've seen it, read it, whatever. I know you're out there!

6. My wife has officially agreed that I can get a brand new iPad as a reward for something that, ahem, I'm not allowed to tell you about yet. (I do love throwing that around. I really do.) I would just like the world to know that I'm very excited about this.

7. I swear I had more to talk about, but I should cut it short anyway. Lots of writing to do!

8. Have a wonderful day.

9. Oh, this just in: a soon-to-be giveaway of the SCORCH ARC from our very own faithful Duder, Dave: CLICK HERE.

And the ARC goes to...

Alas, our fun and exciting contest has come to an end. (Don't you hate when people use the word alas?) I'm kinda sad because I really enjoyed reading about all the good deeds you guys have been doing out there. I know they were things you would've done anyway, and it makes me proud of my Duders. You're all good people.

This wasn't easy. We had over 350 entries! Through a joint collaboration of my family's efforts, and combining randomness and goodness, the winners of an ARC for THE SCORCH TRIALS are as follows:

Shallee

Scott Pollack

Jenny Granola

Eric

Leesie

Congratulations!!!! Please let me know your email address, and we'll contact you to get your mailing address. And be sure and let us know what you think! (especially, ahem, if you, ahem, like it.)

Note: For those of you who know me personally and entered, we purposefully didn't pick you. Sorry about that. I figured you can come over and borrow it. Haha.

More ARCs!

Wow, over 250 comments for our giveaway contest!

My publicist has graciously allowed me to give away FIVE ARCs instead of just one! That's five times the number that I thought originally. (Because at first I was only going to give away one. And five times one is five.)

Because of this switcheroo, I'm extending the contest by 24 hours. Not just to give more people a chance, but because I need to put some thought into the winners. It was going to be random, but now I think I'll do a mix of random and judging your deeds for some that stand out. Maybe I'll let my kids decide one...

For those of you who haven't entered yet, feel free to leave the comment on this post. Both will count.

I have to tell you guys. Wow. I've read each and every entry, and I'm really blown away. There's been a lot of good done in the world for this, and I say thank you!

The Scorch Trials ARC Contest

As promised, today begins the official contest to win an advanced copy of the sequel to THE MAZE RUNNER. It's very simple:

I want some good to come out of this, so here's how you enter. Leave a comment telling us about a good deed you plan to do/have done this week. It doesn't have to be big or elaborate. Just something simple. Make another person's day. Make a donation. Save the world. Convince the NFL to move to 18 games. Whatever.

The contest will be open until Thursday (Aug 5) at noon (MST), at which time I'll announce the winner. Good luck!!!

ARCs!!!

Look at this beautiful chunk of paper I got in the mail:

I love it! I can't wait for the hardback now. Just over two months to publication. I'll run a contest to win an ARC beginning Monday, since a lot more people seem to check in on that day. Be sure to come back and enter.

In the meanwhile, it's been a long time since I've mentioned the incredible book trailer that was created for MAZE. Has everyone seen it? Check it out:

Inception by Christopher Nolan

I'd like to share a quote from the acknowledgements of my second 13th Reality book, which was written way before I'd ever heard of a movie called INCEPTION and before THE DARK KNIGHT came out.

"Thanks to the mother of Christopher Nolan for going through the pain of birthing him."

I'm so glad I wrote that. I knew I loved the genius of this man just after three movies: MEMENTO, THE PRESTIGE, and BATMAN BEGINS. (And a lot of credit goes to his brother as well, Jonathon, who has co-written some of the scripts.)

And then came INCEPTION.

I love movies. If anything, I love movies even more than I love books (which is pure blasphemy so pretend you didn't hear me just say that). I see any movie that has even the slightest, remotest chance of being good, including the many great indies. Most of my best writing sessions happen right after I've gone to the theater and been inspired by a brilliant movie. Or sometimes even a dumb one.

Among these countless movies, I have those that I call "Event" movies. These are the ones that go to the top of my list as soon as I hear about them. I'd say there are only four or five of these a year. When I first heard about INCEPTION, I was hit by an instant trifecta of information: Christopher Nolan, Leonardo DiCaprio, and the words, "Your mind is the scene of the crime." I knew I had an "Event" movie, and started counting down the days.

I saw it the day it came out. And then again the next day. Cuz I'm like that.

And I wasn't in the least bit disappointed, even after all that build up. I absolutely loved every single minute of it, both times. It's firmly entrenched in the James Dashner's Top Five Movies of All Time list. (I actually couldn't name you those top five movies, I just every once in a blue moon give a movie that designation. It just might be more than five by now. Yes, it makes sense. Go with it.)

INCEPTION is utterly brilliant. I feel like I can't do it justice. If you haven't seen it, do so immediately. And then do it again because it's even better the second time around. Every single aspect of this movie is brilliant. And I can't go on because I don't want to spoil it and I don't want to use the word "brilliant" too many times. You don't need to know anything else: just go see it. The less you know, the better the experience you'll have.

Why can't more people make movies like this? Trippy, visually stunning, creative, mind-bending, well cast, well acted, well written, heart-wrenching, the MUSIC (yay Hans Zimmer!), brilliant brilliant brilliant. Oops, sorry. I won't use that word again, I promise. A day hasn't gone by since last weekend where I haven't thought about it. Now that's an Event movie.

I only want to comment on three more things about it.

1. I had a major epiphany about the creation process in this movie. (This isn't really a spoiler, so don't worry.) Leo and Ellen Page have a conversation about how the mind works during the process of creating a dream. Leo draws two curved arrows that point at each other, forming a circle. He says the mind simultaneously CREATES and PERCEIVES, and the two become indistinguishable from each other.

Never in my life have I been able to describe how I write books until that moment. It became even more clear when Ellen responds by saying that when she designs architecture, she feels as if she's DISCOVERING it, not necessarily creating it.

This is how it is for me. I can sit for hours and hours, trying to come up with good ideas, but they usually doesn't flow until I sit at the computer and start typing. Then I feel like it becomes just as Leo described it. I can't tell the difference between my mind creating ideas and perceiving them. I honestly can't. They happen simultaneously, feeding off each other to form the story. It really is like discovery more than creation.

I don't know if that seems as cool and mind-blowing to anyone else, but to me it was a real life changing realization. Food for thought.

2. I won't spoil anything, but I loved the way the movie literally ends, right before the credits. If you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about. It couldn't have ended any other way, and I love the many layers of small questions it brings up. For me, that was the final stamp on how perfect a movie it was. Just how old were his kids, what were they wearing.......

3. I've heard several people rip on the trailer for this movie. Say huh? That, I just don't get. Now, you all know I try to avoid trailers because they spoil movies, but I've watched this one several times since going. I think it's one of the greatest trailers ever. That loud, tonal, booming sound. That's my new favorite sound.

Anyway, there you have it. INCEPTION is a movie that I will own, that I will watch many times. I plan to see it in the theater again. I really, really loved it, and I hope everyone will go see it.

Because it's brilliant. Doh!

The Dude is Back

This is a teaser blog post. I'm officially announcing that I'm going to be back and at it beginning next week here on the Dashner Dude. I'm looking forward to hanging out with you guys more often as we get ready for the release of THE SCORCH TRIALS.

On Monday I'm going to discuss INCEPTION, one of the greatest movie going experiences (twice) I've had in a long time. And it also gave me an epiphany on the creation process, which will be fun to talk about.

See you soon.......

Covers: Spanish and Portuguese Maze Runner

Hi everybody! We're coming up on some exciting things in the world of The Dashner Dude as we inch closer to the paperback release of THE MAZE RUNNER (Aug 24) and the hardback release of THE SCORCH TRIALS (Oct 12). Soon we'll have an advance copy giveaway, as well as a lot more information about the sequel. (By the way, it IS a direct sequel, beginning four hours after Book 1 ends.)

But today I want to show off the INCREDIBLE covers from V&R publishing in Brazil. These books are going to be released this fall and available anywhere in Latin and South America. I absolutely love the artwork and the design. Thanks to Maria Nazareth from V&R for sending these to me. I can't wait to get copies!

Here they are. The artist's name is Marcelo Orsi Blanco (check out his website: CLICK HERE), and he's awesome. What do you guys think?