The Ravens Crossing Turns One!

Over the next two weeks, The Ravens Crossing is celebrating turning one with a giveaway to thank all of our fantastic readers. You are the best. Head on over to www.theravenscrossing.org to enter and thanks for reading and for helping us spread the word about TRC! 

This past year has been a wild ride. When I look back, I'm shocked to see how much can be accomplished when friends come together to create something they truly believe in.  Exactly one year ago, TRC was born a small idea that grew into an amazing adventure. There are not enough words to thank my fellow writers and college alums Andi Lea, and West Thornhill, for making me a part of this project. We have managed to create a whole science fiction/fantasy world, present it in an innovative format, and provide affordable reading about diverse characters to young adults and people of all ages. All of the volunteers on this project have spent untold hours planning and writing our adventures and helping build and run a website to publish our serialized stores six days a week. The project is now in it's third season, and there are plenty more adventure planned. The future looks bright. For those who have just found us, you can purchase the previous seasons from the website in ebook format on Amazon and Smashwords.

Mind Your Manners. A Raven Remembers.

The Youngster, by Amanda Corlies Sandos

According to a study published in Current Biology a week ago, Ravens have long memories and they are not afraid to show it. According to Markus Boekle and Thomas Bugnyar from the department of Cognitive Biology at the University of Vienna, ravens remember former group members for extended periods of time. They also remember former affiliations with members outside their group, not to mention other species, and they will respond accordingly.

Actually, it was proven some time ago in another study that corvids, the family of which ravens are  proud members, never forget a face. Now, we know they will also remember any interactions they might have had with you. This recent study shows that based on these memories of previous interactions, ravens will either greet you nicely if you are considered a friend, or cuss you out in raven speak the minute they see you coming if they perceive you as a foe. And you might have seen ravens and crows chasing off predators more than twice their size. They can be downright nasty and seriously determined if they want to get rid of you. So, my advice is to mind your manners around the corvids of the world. They are many, they have long memories, and they are apparently keeping tabs. I'd hate for any of you to make it onto their foe list. For more on this story, head on over to Jennifer Vegas blog on Discovery News.

And if you are a fan of the raven, you will find one making another appearance today over at The Ravens Crossing, where my Morgan & Holly story was published by Thursday & Co. Join the adventure and find out what the raven has to say. This week, TRC is participating in the Showers of Books Giveaway Hop. All you have to do is make the jump and comment on any of the stories this week to be entered in our giveaway. The prize is a $15 Amazon Gift Certificate. Our raven will count you as a friend, I guarantee it.

Kung Fu Pandas. For Real.

When the going gets tough, the tough watch panda videos. Not that things are particularly tough. Just hectic. If there were three of me to go around, it would be fantastic. In the meantime, thanks to The Mary Sue for always keeping me entertained while I catch up on the latest news. Here's a little panda video of twins practicing their aquatic kung fu that Susana Polo posted there yesterday. While you enjoy, I have to get back to work on my deadline for The Ravens Crossing (TRC). And, when you're done watching, don't miss the chance to win a $20 Amazon gift certificate by heading over to TRC and helping us pick a prom theme for Wildwood High's 2012 Prom.

Ravens Are the Coolest!

So what is the difference between a raven and a crow? Since there are so many similarities, people often confuse these two amazing birds. Both are members of the Corvid family. Both are extremely intelligent, large, black birds. Both have a long and varied history among humans, making frequent appearances in myths and legends, and as totems and mascots. Over at The Ravens Crossing, Team TRC chose The Raven as our mascot. Make the jump to find out why. Personally, I was excited that we chose ravens over crows.

I think ravens are one of the coolest birds. They differ from crows in a number of ways. There are three easy ways to spot the difference. First, they are at least twice the size of the common crow. Second, their calls are distinctly different from a crow's. They make a variety of cool sounds where the crows commonly just make a more obnoxious and repetitive "caw" call. Third, ravens are also usually seen singly or in pairs, where crows can often be found hanging with a group, which incidentally is called a murder. Maybe this is thanks to all that obnoxious calling they do?

Anyway, both birds are personable and curious, often interacting with humans. In fact, Ravens are notorious for it. Check out this video of some young men learning to speak raven. It cracks me up!

Head on over to TRC to learn all kinds of cool facts about ravens! Find out how to enter for the chance to win a free Kindle.