Current release: STOLEN FURY
Web site: www.elisabethnaughton.com
Blog: www.elisabethnaughton.blogspot.com
What's on your wish list for Christmas: For my book to do really well. Other than that, just for my hubby's back to continue to improve after surgery. (I'm easy to please.)
Fascinating facts about the number eleven:
Well, according to the famous Christmas poem, the eleventh day of Christmas saw eleven pipers piping. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a piper, and I’m not entirely sure I know what one looks like ‘piping’, but I can say I’m fascinated with the number eleven. It’s rumored to bring both good luck and bad. So I did a little research on this elusive number, and here’s what I found (you may be surprised...I sure was):•Eleven is the smallest positive integer requiring three syllables in the English language.
•In astrology and basic numerology, the number eleven possesses the qualities of intuition, patience, honesty, sensitivity, and spirituality, and is often considered idealistic. Others tend to turn to people who are ‘Elevens’ for teaching and inspiration, and are usually uplifted by the experience.
•In a 12 Step Program, step eleven is a step of meditation and courage.
•A rocket must travel at over 11km per second to escape the Earth’s gravity.
•The deepest point of the ocean floor is 11km at the bottom of the Mariana Trench.
•The average adult male heart weighs 11 ounces.
•11% of Japan is devoted to rice farming - enough to fulfill its own needs.
•A rugby ball is 11 inches long.
•World War I ended on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.
•The television show Cheers ran for 11 seasons with 11 main characters.
•The television show MASH ran for 11 seasons with 11 main characters.
•The space shuttle went up on its 11th mission, weighing 11 tons and fixed an errant satellite on the 11th day of the 11th month.
•The first lunar landing was made by Apollo 11.
•The record number of Oscar awards for any one movie is 11 - achieved by both “Titanic” and “Ben-Hur”.
•A major eclipse was observed throughout Europe on August 11, 1999 at 11:11 a.m.
•The winter solstice of the last day of the Mayan calendar is at 11:11 am on 21 December 2012. 21December 2012 = 21/12/2012 = 2+1+1+2+2+0+1+2 = 11
•Aquarius is the eleventh sun sign of the zodiac system.
•The sunspot cycle or the solar cycle lasts for 11 years. The next solar cycle starts in 2012.
•September 11 is the 254 day of a year: 2+5+4 = 11
•There are 111 days from September 11 to December 31.
•The World Trade Center mirrored the number eleven: 11.
•The plane that hit the World Trade Center first was “Flight 11”
•The total number of crew on “Flight 11” was eleven.
•New York is the eleventh state of the US Constitution.
•It took eleven years to build the World Trade Center (1966 – 1977).
•In England, the decoration of the Easter cakes sometimes has eleven flowers or almond paste to represent the eleven good apostles of Jesus Christ. The treacherous Judas is excluded.
•The largest cat in the world is the Siberian tiger, measuring 11 feet long.
And…
•In astrology, the eleventh house is the segment that rules one’s friendship, hopes, social relations and desires.
Intriguing, isn’t it?
Of course, I still don’t have a clue what eleven pipers piping looks like (any suggestions???), but I now know a bunch of fun facts about the number eleven. And personally, I tend to find the time 11:11 to be very lucky. (But then, I’m one of those ‘the glass is half full’ kind of girls.)
So what does this tell you about me? Not much except for the fact I LOVE to do research (I can waste hours on research), and scientific facts – explained or not – fascinate me. You’ll find several in my upcoming debut – STOLEN FURY - (along with a good dose of spine-tingling adventure and lots of steamy romance), which releases December 30. And the coolest fact about my release?
The word December has 8 letters. If we use 8 to represent the word December, then add it to the numbers in 30, we get:
8 + 3 + 0 = 11
Weird, huh?
24 comments:
Welcome, Elisabeth! I'm so pleased to have you as my guest author today on the eleventh day of my contest blog.
I loved all your research on the number eleven. However, the one I most want to hear about is the last fact you mentioned, which is about your debut novel, STOLEN FURY, scheduled for release on December 30.
You've already received rave reviews on this novel and your publisher has been wonderfully supportive. You've also worked very hard on promotion. Please tell us a bit about this novel and what promotion you have planned.
Hello Elisabeth, and nice to meet you here!
Hi, Nickie! So good to have you drop by!
I wonder if Santa mixed up your request for snow, because we're supposed to have snow here in western Oregon this weekend!
Sooo glad my son is making progress on house projects and the gaping holes in my walls are at least filled with insulation and covered with plywood now. Just waiting for the window to arrive so the siding can go on. And if push comes to shove, we can burn the scraps of wood left over from all the building projects.
There must be a fascinating "eleven" fact somewhere in our remodeling, but I'm not sure what it is. Perhaps if we laid all the scrap wood end to end in two rows it would make a giant eleven that reached eleven miles?? OK, maybe it just seems like that much! LOL!
I now know more about eleven than I do about a lot of things!
11 pipers piping. What does it look like? Take 11 slender guys, put them in tights and harlequin tunics, pop a jaunty cap atop their pageboy style haircuts, give them flutes and say, "On the count of three, start blowing!" (I also believe it includes frolicking and the kicking of heels.) Much music will ensue.
I can't wait to read your book!!!!!
Hey Genene,
Thanks so much for having me today! I hate to admit it, but I'm a research guru. 99% of the cool facts I find never make it into a book. There's a cave diving scene in STOLEN FURY, and I could tell you oodles and oodles about cave diving - procedures and safety rules, etc - and I have a file full of really cool cave diving pics, but unfortunately only a smidgen of that research made it into the book (hopefully enough to give the reader the sense they're in the cave with the main characters, which, ultimately, was the goal).
As for the number eleven...another "woo woo" for me and the number. My editor sent me the first copy of STOLEN FURY and I received it in the mail on Monday. The date? 12/8. 1+2+8=11.
Weird, huh?
Okay, contests...I have a BIG one in the works. Since my book is being compared to Indiana Jones and Romancing the Stone, I'm calling it the FORTUNE & GLORY CONTEST. It officially opens Monday, December 15 and runs through mid-January. Details will be posted on my website (www.elisabethnaughton.com) and my blog (www.elisabethnaughton.blogspot.com) on Monday. YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS THIS. I'm not kidding when I say FORTUNE. (hint hint...) Plus, it's an interactive, really fun contest.
Hey, Nickie! Thanks for stopping by!
ROFL, Alice. Page boys, tights and "blowing". It's too early in the morning for this!!!!
Thanks for the smile. I can't wait for you to read the book too. Though if you hate it? Seriously, I don't want to know.
Geez, Eli! Where did I miss that you got the first copy of STOLEN FURY? And connected to yet another "eleven". That must be a very lucky number for you indeed!
Oh, if you don't like Alice's version of pipers--which is probably the accurate one--envision bagpipers instead. Hunky Scottish guys in kilts...frolicking and kicking up of heels is optional!
Your Fortune & Glory contest sounds like great fun! Especially the fortune part and just before Christmas!
So glad you're here today!
Tee hee...okay, hunky Scottish guys in kilts is sooooooooooo much better!!!!
Okay, Genene's image may be more historically correct but you have to admit mine has a certain Je ne sais quoi quality to it! Or maybe it's more Christmas TV special....hm....
Interesting facts about the number 11. There are bday cards for kids regarding certain numbers. When my son was 11, I had given him one and tried to give him one most every year that I could find one. I too love the research. Probably too much.
At least, Elisabeth, you could possibly write another novel involving different parts of the research you've done on cave diving. I checked out the blurb and Stolen Fury looks like a great read. I love archeology. Romancing the Stone and any I.J. movie are some of my favorites.
Julie
Too funny, Alice! Your image reminded me of Robin Hood and Men in Tights and the silliness of Monte Python. Julie
That's a lot of facts about 11! :-)
As for the pipers, I had a children's literature book when I was small that had a reproduction of an old color print illustrating the 12 Days of Christmas. Alice's description of the pipers fits that illustration to a "T".
And I'm with Alice -- I can't wait to read your book, too!!
Genene,
I just purchased an autographed copy of Feathers on the Floor. As a family with 2 dogs and 3 cats, we love animals. So I wanted to make sure I got it while part of the money was being contributed to the animal clinic.
Thanks for doing that.
Julie
Hi, Debbie! Yeah, I figured Alice's description was more historically accurate, but when you write fiction, you can spin the "facts" to fit your story. LOL!
Hi, Julie! So glad you stopped by!
I've also found birthday cards with the year a person was born--but that was years ago.
And thank you so much for buying a copy of FEATHERS ON THE FLOOR and helping shelter animals! I have a number of shelter alumni at my house, so supporting those fur babies is very near to my heart. When my first book was published, I made the decision to donate part of my profits to animal welfare. The spay/neuter clinic at Willamette Humane is the recipient of part of December's sales. :)
Yes, Alice, yours did have that Je ne sais quoi element...even if it did make me think of Will Ferrell in "Elf".
Wow, Elizabeth, I am impressed at the amount of research that you gave us on the number 11. I love research too. I use hardly any of it but I love it. I think research benefits the story, the language and action take on a realism that might not be there otherwise. I am going to get your book, I love this sort of story.
I hope your husband continues to improve from his back surgery and that Christmas is wonderful.
Merry Christmas
wanda
Hey Julie, thanks for stopping by! And thanks for the nice words on STOLEN FURY. Everyone who's read it says if you like Romancing the Stone and Indiana, you'll like STOLEN FURY. (At least I hope so!!)
And fun about the card for your son. The heroine in the book I'm working on now is an archaeometrist. She's obsessed with facts and numbers and all that stuff I love to research. ;)
Thanks, Wanda. I hope you enjoy STOLEN FURY. It was a lot of fun to write.
Thanks for the well-wishes on my hubby. He had back surgery in mid-November and he's slowly getting back to normal. It's a long recovery process, but it's kind of nice to have him home over the holidays now, not scrambling with work issues (like I am with this book release! LOL)
Thanks, Debi. ;) I can't wait to see the contest up and running!!!
So wait...Alice the all-knowing knows about pipers piping, too? Sheesh...is there anything she doesn't know???
Before I post the winner of today's prize drawing, I want to say a big thank you to Elisabeth for being my guest blogger today!
Starting Monday, we can play Eli's contest and look forward to getting copies of her book. Check out her Web site at **www.elisabethnaughton.com** or her blog at **www.elisabethnaughton.blogspot.com** for more info.
Please feel free to continue to chat! Even though we've reached the cut-off for today's contest, tomorrow there will be three prize drawings:
1) At 1:00 p.m. PST: The bonus "match the author and fact" contest (details on my Web site at **www.genenevalleau.com/contests4.html**)!
2) At 6:00 p.m. PST: The daily Twelve Days of Christmas drawing!!
3) At 8:00 p.m. PST: The Grand Prize drawing for a fully decorated Christmas tree!!!
Friday will also be open promotion day for authors, so please stop by, post your promo, and check out all the wonderful books, contests, and other events offered by authors!
These "11" facts are really fun. Thanks for sharing.
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