Celebrate Friday with a Contest!

I'm holding a contest for one of my handcrafted, hand-embroidered coffee sleeves over at Pots 'n Pens today! It looks like this:

To enter, just go here.  

And by the way, there are only a couple of days left to win my last signed copy of Maggie Stiefvater's FOREVER.

Happy Friday!

Winner of the Geisha Bag

Thanks to Randomnumber.org the winner of the geisha bag was completely chosen at random. That winner is:

Kathryn Packer Roberts!

Check your email, girl, because you have a message from me.

If you didn't win, don't fret! I have many goodies of EPIC proportions in the works. In fact, I have a meeting with an embroiderer on Thursday to hash out some details. So exciting!

Now, for a completely random change of topic: Ryan Gossling is my new hero. Wow. Talk about not succumbing to the "Bystander Effect." Thank goodness he was on scene because the tittering girls taking the video are worthless.

PS: I will discuss the "Bystander Effect" in further detail on a different post. It is something I am very VERY passionate about.

Does anyone want my mistake? And a contest!

I'm so excited because I'm in the middle of devising some seriously cute, seriously EPIC swag to give away in the coming months leading up to my BOOK RELEASE.

I never get tired of seeing that in print. :)

Anyway, so there I was, sewing along on my merry way while watching True Blood. This is a terrible combination because I quickly became engrossed in the show and zoned out on the sewing. As a result, I jacked up one of the messenger bags I was making. Here's a pic:

(Note the awesome geisha fabric)

You probably can't tell at a glance what's wrong, so I'll tell you. instead of sewing the handles across, I sewed them parallel. The bag still looks like a bag, it still functions like a bag, it just doesn't lay flat when you're toting it. See below photos:

(Man I need to clean my mirrors.)

(It's kinda hard to tell from the picture, but this is a BIG bag.)

Now, I wouldn't feel comfortable giving away a wonky bag in one of my upcoming contests, so I'm just going to give it away for the heck of it (and because I love my followers.) If you want it, just let me know in the comments. If more than one person wants it, then I'll draw a random name on Tuesday and post the winner.

Oh, and if you missed out on my Maggie Stiefvater signed copy of FOREVER, I'm giving away one more over at Pots 'n Pens.

Happy Monday!

It's Friday - You NEED Sarcastic Signs

Seriously.

I just received copyedits for BREATHLESS and my editor is awesome. They're a tad overwhelming and I'm torn between curling up in fetal position or climbing a cliff and screaming into the abyss, "I FEEL SO ALIVE!"

One of her comments was something like, "How can a buoy take action? It is a stationary object." It's comments like these that make me wonder how I passed second grade. But again, my editor rocks.

Anyway, in celebration of my copyedits, and because it's FRIDAY, I vote we all celebrate with sarcastic signs.

Example:

To see the rest and have a really good laugh, go here.

You're welcome.

Happy Friday!

Opinions Please

Okay, I am just over six months away from my debut release of KATANA. Because of this, this blog is about to become a place of epic giveaways of EPIC proportions. Did I mention EPIC? So, if you're already a follower you're in good shape. You're that much closer to winning signed books, handmade KATANA swag, and signed autographed pictures of celebrities.

Which leads me to my question. In a couple of weeks I will be Atlanta bound for Dragoncon. There will be many celebrities there of which I will be obtaining autographs for myself and autographs to give away. With this in mind, which celebrity would you most like to have an autograph from? (Please list as many as you want.)

Here is a list to choose from:

Stan Lee :) :) :) :)

Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy)

William Shatner

Whil Wheaton

Christopher Lloyd

Carrie Fischer

Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca)

Adam Baldwin (Jane - Firefly)

From True Blood
Denis O'Hare (The King of Louisiana)
Joe Manganiello (Alcide)
Jim Parrack (Hoyt)
Kristin Bauer (Pam)

From The Vampire Diaries
David Anders (John Gilbert)
Michael Trevino (Tyler Lockwood)
Sara Canning (Aunt Jenna)

From Buffy the Vampire Slayer
James Marsters (Spike)
Julie Benz (Darla)
Clare Kramer (Glory)
Mercedes McNab (Harmony)
Nicholas Brendan (Xander)

From Supernatural
Jim Beaver (Bobby)
Misha Collins (Castiel)
Mark Sheppard (Crowley)
Samantha Ferris (Ellen)
Julie McNiven (Anna)
Christopher Heyerdahl (Alastair - also plays Marcus in The Twilight Series)

So there you have it. Please let me know which of these celebs are your favorite! Thanks for your help!!

Get POSSESSed

POSSESS

Gretchen McNeil

Vade Retro Satana

Bridget Liu

What do all of these things along with my incredibly emo picture (see below) have in common?

They are all part of a scavenger contest of epic proportions! For more information check out Gretchen McNeil's blog.

Good luck and happy hunting!

Signed FOREVER Contest Winner

So today I put all the entries in a hat, shook well, and my husband picked an entry. The winner of the signed copy of FOREVER is:

WINDY!!

Windy, please email me at cole@colegibsen.com with your address so I can get your book off to you ASAP.

Thank you everyone for playing. And, if you didn't win, don't despair! I'll be giving away a second signed copy of FOREVER over at my other blog POTS AND PENS. I'll have the contest posted over there on Thursday. You can check it out by going here.

Thanks again for playing and I hope you'll stick around because, with my own book launching in a mere six months, I will be having a ton of giveaways coming soon!!!

Dr. Frankendress: Polyester is suprisingly thinning!

I think, for a lot of creative people, we have to have more than one creative outlet. So, when I'm not writing, I can be found in front of my sewing machine either quilting or piecing together outfits. There's something about the hum of a sewing machine that can quiet my mind after a difficult writing session. And, while writing can take months or even years of work before you have a final product, sewing is instant. And, there's something nice about the instant reward of time spent working.

I think that's why my favorite part of writing is the revision process. The hard work is already done and now all I have to do is smooth away the rough edges and make it shine. That's also why I like going to resale shops and browsing the racks. In front of me are a thousand possibilities to transform something truly hideous into a one-of-a-kind creation that reflects exactly who I am.

Here's my latest purchase that I'm so excited about:

I'm guessing it's a 1970's prom dress. But I'm not sure. It's hideous. And polyester. And hideous.

But there's also something about it, something that called me back to it even after I walked away. A nagging in the back of my mind that there was more to this dress than meets the eye. That it wasn't finished. That it was waiting for me to come along and transform it into exactly what it was meant to be. And so I bought it for a whole two dollars. I took it home, and tried it on - it was a perfect fit! (And surprisingly thinning considering it's polyester! Who knew!)

And so, just like I would with a finished rough draft, I've let it sit in my closet for the last couple of weeks, untouched, as I deliberated the best way to transform it. Because, once I cut into it, there's no turning back. And now, after looking at hundreds of pictures on the Internet, I think I have a pretty good idea what I'm going to do with this dress.

Stay tuned to watch the transformation.

What about you? What are your other creative outlets?

Signed FOREVER Giveaway!

So, last Thursday I was fortunate enough to meet the incredible Maggie Stiefvater at the St. Louis County Library and grab a copy of her latest book, FOREVER. In fact, I snagged an extra copy of FOREVER (which Maggie signed) to give away right here on my blog.

 (I have no idea what I'm doing with my arm.)

Here are the deets:

The winner of the signed book will be chosen by a random drawing (I'll scribble your entries on pieces of paper, throw the entries in a hat, and have my lovely assistant - aka The Hubs - pick an entry at random.)

You have the opportunity to earn two entries. For the first entry, you must be a follower of Hair Dye & Samurai and leave a comment on THIS post. It could be something as simple as "Yo!" I don't care, it's up to you. But remember, compliments and flattery may not help you win, but they will definitely endear you to my heart. Second, you can earn another entry by retweeting this blog post. Just let me know that you did in the comments of THIS post.

DISCLAIMER: There is one stipulation. The contest ends NEXT Monday and the winner will be chosen and announced in a blog post on Tuesday, August 9th. If you are the winner, contact me through the email I'll provide on the winning post with your name and address so I can send you the book. I'm only doing this because last time I held a contest it took me FOREVER (Ha! Pun intended!) to track down the winner's contact info.

Also, you don't have to be a US resident to play. :) I will ship this book worldwide. Cuz I love my followers. :)

Oh, and if you don't win this copy, stay tuned to my other blog - Pots n' Pens - where I'll be giving away another signed copy of FOREVER in the coming weeks!