The Renegades Release Party Invite

My latest novel, The Renegades, is coming to the major internet retailers on December 3rd. The paper copy will be available in early 2014, but you can win an advance copy at the release party. You can also win ebooks and swag, as well as paper copies of the first two books in The Superiors series.

I'm excited about this! Doing a bit of last-minute editing and then it's good to go.

Please stop by in a few weeks for the release day!

Read The Superiors free!

Hey all,

I got in on this late, but Smashwords is having their summer sale this month, so for the next week, The Superiors will be free on that site! If you have an ereader, you can download the book for free in any format. Check it out, and all the other great books you can get free this month.

Also, many more books are half off or more, including my second book, The Vigilantes.

Happy reading!

Lena

New Year, New Book!

Hey guys,
As a lot of you already know, I just released my second novel. YAY! The Vigilantes came out on Kindle, Nook, and at the Smashwords store last week. It should be out in paperback later this week. I'm so excited about it and happy to share my journey with all of you. To learn more about The Vigilantes look for it on amazon.com, smashwords.com, or barnesandnoble.com. Or find it on Goodreads. If you haven't read the first book in the series, The Superiors you can read find it on the righthand side of my blog and also find out all about it by clicking any of the links in my blog tour.

Cyber Monday!

Alright, well, while I'm at it, I figured I'd keep my book at .99 through the weekend and Cyber Monday. So if you want to find The Superiors for super cheap, go check it out! And look at all the other great deals while you're there, too. I'm pretty excited about the tote bag I found on amazon!

Black Friday Sale!

Hey guys!

My book, The Superiors, is on sale at Amazon for $0.99 right now. So...if you haven't read it and you want to...

Coffin Hop!

Hey guys! As some of you know, I've been invited to participate in the Halloween Coffin Hop for horror authors. If you'd like to check it out, you can win tons of free stuff, play games, find new authors, etc. Click on the coffin hop badge to the right to go to the Coffin Hop site.

Also, I am doing a giveaway as my part. I'm giving away an e-ARC of my upcoming book, The Vigilantes (sequel to The Superiors). If you want to win a copy, here's how.

Follow my blog (+1 entry)
Follow my Twitter @lenahillbrand (+1)
Like my FB page http://www.facebook.com/LenaHillbrand (+1)
Post on FB about this giveaway (+2)
Post a blog about this giveaway/the Coffin Hop (+2)

Just leave a comment here letting me know what you've done, with links to your FB or blog post.

Thanks and have fun coffin hopping!

Inspiration

Finding inspiration

One question that readers often ask authors is where they get their inspiration. I think it’s one of the hardest questions to answer, which is why everyone wants to know. The truth is, everyone finds inspiration in something different. Maybe the beauty of nature, or a book that particularly touched something inside and made an engineer want to pick up a pen (or log on to a laptop) and write. Or maybe it’s something completely banal, like a twirling strip of flypaper or the fly that got stuck to it and is still trying to buzz its way free.

I can’t shed any insight on the writing process of bestselling authors, or tell you what inspired Stephen King or Stephanie Meyer. If you want to know that, I’m sure both have written enough explanations that you can find it in a Google search. All I can tell you is what inspires one indie writer. I doubt that even those mega-gazillion-times-over bestselling authors can tell what inspires another writer.

I can’t even say for sure what inspired me. The first time I wrote a novel, I was motivated by the slowness of my son’s eating. I had to find something to do or go crazy with boredom for the three hour-long table sessions each day. But I’m not sure what inspired me. I started out with a life experience I had, changed it up a little, decided it would actually be the end of the novel, and went back to the beginning to map out how the characters ended up at the end. The next series I wrote was inspired by a discussion with my family. The next was inspired by a friend of mine who said, “What happened to the days when bad guys were bad?”

That’s what’s so great about finding inspiration. It’s everywhere, in everything. There are as many sources of inspiration as there are writers and books and stories combined. And still more waiting to be discovered and to inspire one more shoemaker/bus boy/car salesman to write a novel.

Not to sound too super-cheese, but there is no end to inspiration. It is all around us, and most of all, inside us. So next time something inspires you, sit down and write about it. A phrase, a sentence, a page. From James Patterson to the mailman, all writers start there, at the very beginning, with an inspiration.


(This post originally appeared as part of The Superiors Blog Tour on Benjamin Wallace's blog. To see more of his blog, click here.)

August Summer Blog Hop

Over 50 GIVEAWAYS+ 7 AWESOME Author's+ Challenging CONTESTS+ The Title of BEST BOOK at STAKE= THE BEST SUMMER EVER!

Hey guys! I will be participating in this awesome event over on SeeitORreadit. I hope you will join me for lots of free & fun stuff! Here's the schedule, as posted on Jaskirat's blog!

There has been a lot of BUZZ around SeeitORreadit about:

August's Blowout Summer Blog Hop



But what is that? And why is it such a big deal?


The August Blow out Summer Blog Hop is when we are going to be voting for the BEST BOOK. Our nominees are:












Now here is how the event works. These books will be competing against each other. The book that wins the most rounds wins the title of BEST BOOK! So you guys need to vote for your book so it wins.


Along the way there will be lot's of contests, guest posts, and giveaways! So stay tuned all month long.


Here is the schedule for the whole month.Check back here for weekly and daily updates because SeeitORreadit is where the voting is taking place!




Week 1: (Aug 1st-7th)
Mon-Thurs

-we will keep it REALLY easy because it's the very first week of the event and we'll still be gathering voters so we will give the reps time to gather voters.


FROM MONDAY- THURSDAY ENTER OUR FIRST GIVEAWAY!
- Create a review for one of the nominated books and post it on as many sites as you can (goodreads, B&N,etc) and enter to win (come back to SeeitORreadit on Monday to learn how to submit your review):
- One of 2 copies of Shadow Cat
- Moonspell
-one of 2 copies of Blood Will Tell


Fri
-TEASER GIVEAWAY!
-post teaser in the comments of ANY book to get a chance to win (come back to SeeitORreadit on Monday and Friday to learn more):
- one of 3 copies of Slumber
- one of 4 copies of Drip Drop


Sat
DROP BY TO SEE IF YOU WON ANY GIVEAWAYS!



VOTING DAY(7th);

ROUND 1:
THE ANGEL'S ARE HERE vs CROSSROAD


ROUND 2:
DOORWAY OF THE TRIQUETRA vs MOONSPELL


ROUND 3:
THE SUPERIORS vs IMMORTAL EMBRACE

-all day
-unlimited votes
- VOTING TAKES PLACE ONLY ON SEEITORREADIT


- IF YOU VOTE YOU ARE ENTERED TO WIN:
- one of 2 copies of Slumber
-To Tame a Wild Hawk

WEEK 2 (aug 8th- 14th)
Mon
Author's talk about release dates (to learn more drop by at SeeitORreadit on Monday)

-Giveaway WHICH BOOK CAN YOU NOT WAIT TO READ?
(to enter readers include title of bk, reason why (about a sentence or two), name, and email in comments to be entered in draw to win)
-Drip Drop
- one of 3 copies of Paradox's The Angel's are Here
To Tame a Wild Hawk-
-(to learn more drop by at SeeitORreadit on Monday)

Tues
- guest post
- post comment on vote entered to win
- one of 3 copies of Blood Will Tell
- (to learn more drop by at SeeitORreadit on Tuesday)

weds-fri
-trivia about competing books
- if get at least 3 questions right entered in draw to win
- Crossroads
-one of 2 copies of Paradox's The Angel's are Here
- one of 2 copies of the Superiors
-one of 2 copies of River Cast


Sat
DROP BY TO SEE IF YOU WON ANY GIVEAWAYS!


VOTING DAY:(14th)


ROUND 4:
CROSSROADS vs MOONSPELL


ROUND 5:
DOORWAY OF THE TRIQUETRA vs IMMORTAL EMBRACE


ROUND 6:
THE SUPERIORS vs MOONSPELL


ROUND 7:
IMMORTAL EMBRACE vs THE ANGEL'S ARE HERE


-all day
-unlimited votes
- VOTING TAKES PLACE ONLY ON SEEITORREADIT


- IF YOU VOTE YOU ARE ENTERED TO WIN:
-Moonspell
-one of 2 copies of River Cast


Week 3 aug 15-21
mon
-massive giveaway
- fill out form to win
-one of 3 copies of Blood Solstice
- Crossroads
-Paradox's The Angel's are Here
Dark Warrior-
- River Cast
- one of 3 copies of the Superiors
- GET POINTS FOR FOLLOWING AUTHOR'S AND BLOGGERS (tune in to SeeitORreadit on Monday to learn more)

tues-thurs
- CONTEST: readers send us 2-3 pgraphs of a story you are writing (choose their fav scene to enter)(tune in to SeeitORreadit on Monday and Tuesday to learn more)
- winner wins:
- Blood Solstice
- Immortal Embrace
- one of 2 copies of I loved you First
-Dark Warrior

sat
DROP BY TO SEE IF YOU WON ANY GIVEAWAYS!


VOTING DAY:(21st)
THE ANGEL'S ARE HERE vs MOONSPELL
THE ANGEL'S ARE HERE vs THE SUPERIORS
DOORWAY OF THE TRIQUETRA vs THE SUPERIORS
CROSSROADS vs DOORWAY OF THE TRIQUETRA

-all day
-unlimited votes
- VOTING TAKES PLACE ONLY ON SEEITORREADIT


- IF YOU VOTE YOU ARE ENTERED TO WIN:
Moonspell
Doorway of the Triquetra

Week 4 AUG 22-28

mon
-blogger spotlight
- provide advice for new YA bloggers (tune in to SeeitORreadit on Monday to learn more)
- entered to win


tues-thurs
- trivia about authors themselves if get at least 3 questions right entered in draw (tune in to SeeitORreadit on Monday to learn more) to win
-Immortal Embrace
-one of 3 copies of Shadow Cat
-Moonspell
Doorway of the Triquetra


weds
- GUEST POST (tune in to SeeitORreadit on weds to learn more)

sat
DROP BY TO SEE IF YOU WON ANY GIVEAWAYS!

VOTING DAY (last before finals): (28th)

THE ANGEL'S ARE HERE vs DOORWAY OF THE TRIQUETRA
CROSSROADS vs IMMORTAL EMBRACE
CROSSROADS vs THE SUPERIORS
MOONSPELL vs IMMORTAL EMBRACE


-all day
-unlimited votes
- VOTING TAKES PLACE ONLY ON SEEITORREADIT


- IF YOU VOTE YOU ARE ENTERED TO WIN:
-Crossroads
-one of 3 copies of I loved you First
-Moonspell

FINAL VOTE (30TH);
-all day
-unlimited votes
- VOTING TAKES PLACE ONLY ON SEEITORREADIT


- IF YOU VOTE YOU ARE ENTERED TO WIN:
- Paradox's The Angel's are Here

- Blood Solstice
Doorway of the Triquetra

Guest Author: Interview with Ronnie Massey

1. Tell us about your current work.

Crimson Dawn is an urban fantasy with a paranormal romance twist. It revolves around a 98 year old Pureblood vampire named Valeria Trumaine and her struggles to catch her psychotic ex-fiance after he goes rouge. Her best friend, a 300 year old Tuatha De Danann princess, named Irulan aides her on the hunt for Tristan.

2. How did you come up with the idea to write this book?

I am a huge fan of Kim Harrison and her Rachel Morgan series. For those that have not read any of the books in the series, Rachel is a witch who’s roommates with a living vampire named Ivy. To make a long story short Ivy is bisexual and in love with Rachel. Rachel takes Ivy on this emotional roller-coaster ride with her inability to commit to her but she wont let her go. I love the novels and eagerly wait for each new one, but that aspect of their relationship buggs me to no end. I wanted a story in which the bi or lesbian character ended up getting their girl. I began searching for such a novel but most of what I found was hard core erotica and lacked real story lines. So I decided to write my own. So in a sense, Kim Harrison inspired me to write Crimson Dawn.

3. How long have you been writing? I have been writing short stories since I was in high-school which was (gasp) over 15 years ago. I actually started writing erotic short stories because I was picked on a lot and to keep people from picking on me, I wrote the stories and passed them around. Soon I went from the girl to make fun of to the girl to get smut from. I am so lucky a teacher never got their hands on one of those stories.

4. Is this the first book you ever wrote, or do you have more (published or unpublished) that you wrote before? Before Crimson Dawn I made one attempt at writing a full length novel. The title of it is Ecomancers. It's full of vampires and werewolves but also telepaths and people with super-hero type powers. I got maybe fifteen chapters into it before I threw in the towel and decided that it was too hard for me to write a full length piece. It's actually a pretty good concept that I might go back and revamp and finish one day.

5. Describe your writing process. When an idea pops into my head it usually starts one of two ways; with a character or an entire scenario. With characters it usually about what's going on with that person. I get a feel for their personality and the challenges they might face. If the character sticks with me then I sit down and jot down a quick life history and a story usually springs from that. In the other case, sometimes I wonder if for instance, 'what if a werewolf had to go through this?' Once I get that question in my head I come up with a main character and start outlining. I am a stickler for background info. Before I write anything I have to have character bio's and species descriptions. I have full family tree's for some characters and a chart that details the blood kin of all of my Extra's races.

6. Who are some of your literary influences? Kim Harrison, Laurell k. Hamilton, Patricia Briggs, Alex Haley, Nikki Giovanni, and Maya Angelou.

7. What kind of books do you read, and is it different from what you write? Whether it's adult or YA, I am addicted to paranormal romances and urban fantasies. But I also love afro-centric historical works such as Roots and Queen. And I love poetry. With the exception of the shorts that will be in my poetry collection, and the poems themselves, most of my work is paranormal or fantasy related.

8. Where do you come up with your characters? Do you base them on people you've seen or met? I'm not totally sure where all of them came from. Val in a lot of ways is the inner Ronnie. She's smart mouthed, uber confident in what she's capable of and leaps before looking instead of over analyzing situations; all qualities that I wished I possessed at one time or another. She also has issues that influence her actions and make her strive to be a better person. I think a lot of us face similar situations at some point in our lives. As for basing them on people I've met or seen, well the visuals I get in my head when I write certainly influence the description of them. I'm a big movie fan and a lot of the times I see certain actors as the characters and I give my characters those physical traits. Val is Jurnee Smollett in my head and Irulan is Gemma Arterton (circa. Clash of The Titans).

9. Do the names of your characters reflect anything or mean anything in particular? Is there a reason behind the names you choose? I chose Val because it was close to my first name which is Veronica. I chose Irulan's name because I am a big fan of The Real World and had kind of a mini-tv crush on Irulan from the Las Vegas season. I named Irulan's mother FreDonia after my grandmother. There are also characters in other works that are named after family members. In my werewolf novel, Ascension: Wolves of Goose Creek, the main character Still, has two younger twin sisters. I named them Maya and Malia after my daughters.

10. Is this part of a series, and if so, when will the next book be available? Yes Crimson Dawn is the first book in the Darklife Saga. I have outlined 5 books in the series so far. The second book is titled Black Moon Rising and I am twenty chapters into it. It picks up four months after the events in Crimson Dawn. I have a YA title that revolves around the character David that is introduced in Crimson Dawn, titled Freak Among Freaks. The events in F.A.F's run parallel with the events in B.M.R. so I am treading carefully to make sure I don't run into any continuity issues. But I am hoping to be done with the first draft by the middle of next month and revisions by the start of September. After that I'm not sure when it will be available but I am thinking the start of 2012. I have another novel coming out this year so I am almost certain B.M.R. will have a 2012 release date.

check out Ronnie's awesome site below:

http://ronniemassey.com Crimson Dawn on Goodreads.

Blog Tour

Hey guys! I've put together a sort of blog tour for The Superiors, so feel free to follow all the goings on. There will be giveaways, reviews, spotlights, interviews, and posts. If you've missed some, make sure to check out the links. I will be adding more dates, so check back!

ALSO! I am including my book in the Smashwords Summer Sale! What does that mean? That means you can get my ebook in ANY format (Kindle, Nook, Sony, iPad, etc) AT HALF OFF! Just follow this link and enter the code SSW50 at checkout (the code is listed on the link, too).

Plus, I will be giving away ebooks on a few of the dates scheduled below! The schedule:

5/24 Interview with Haresh Daswani on Goodreads

5/27 Read The Superiors chapter 1 on Patti Robert's blog

6/02 Interview with James Oh

6/03 Spotlight with Ronnie Massey

6/03 Interview with Ronnie Massey

6/23 The Superiors Book Review by Jenn

6/27 The Superiors Book Review by Dale Ibitz

6/28 Interview with Ken Badertscher

7/1 Interview with Meghan Ciana Doidge

7/5 Giveaway and Interview with Dale Ibitz

7/8 Interview with A.F. Stewart

7/12 Spotlight with Lenore Wolfe

7/15 Guest Post on Ken Lindsey's blog

7/19 Interview with Traci Hilton

7/22 Guest post on Ben Wallace's blog

7/26 Interview with John Vander

7/29 The Superiors Book Review by Cassie

Marketing blahs

Well. It seems like forever since I've posted just a regular old post from me, about this journey I've undertaken to publish my own novel. It's hard work. Harder than I thought possible. I spend hours online, until my eyes are dry and my contacts blurring. Doing what?

Not writing. Not editing. But that evil monster, Marketing. Yes, sometimes it seems it has taken over my life, and all my time for writing. It's shameless, and somewhat embarrassing, to have to plug my book. Tell people I don't even know that they should read it. Even giving it away for review is somewhat akin to begging ('please give me a good review!') I pray as I hit 'send' on my years of hard work, sweat, and laboring over word choices, sentence structure, dialogue order...all for free, in the hands of a reader who might hate it and give a 1-star review.

(Thank God I haven't gotten one of those yet).

So, is all that marketing work paying off? Are my hours of discussing Twilight translating into sales? Hard to say. It's a slow process. I can only hope it will one day lead somewhere. For now, I'm setting up a blog tour. More hours of work. I will post the dates when I have it all figured out.

I got a great review on Amazon!!!

I've been meaning to post this for a while, but I've been super busy. Anyway, I got my first customer review on Amazon, and I couldn't be happier. So this is me, smiling :D

5.0 out of 5 stars A smashing debut, May 23, 2011

By Mr. Aman S. Anand - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Superiors (Kindle Edition)

The Superiors is an enthralling novel that sets out an alternate future where vampires have taken over the world and humans are now their minions. The author's considerable talents shine through as she conjures a dazzling new world with a fascinating protagonist, Draven Castle, at its centre.

The book's greatest strength is the quality of the author's writing. For example, the narrator makes astute observations such as, `he sensed her shift from blind panic to simple fear'. It is a pleasure to read a new author who has such a gift with language; it bodes well for the next instalments of what promises to be a gripping series.

At the heart of The Superiors lies the developing relationship between the Third Order vampire Draven and the teenage girl Cali. They share a peculiar chemistry that is subtle, which makes it all the more powerful. And it is through their blossoming rapport the reader hopes that humans and vampires may be able to reconcile in future books in this series.

The author ensures that she reveals enough of this world's back-story to leave the reader desperate to read the next instalment of the series while ensuring that she unveils enough of this vampire-controlled world to ensure that the Superiors is an excellent read in of itself.

Undoubtedly the book will be compared to other vampire fiction, but I would argue that it has more in common with the best film noir - both in terms of atmosphere and the intricate plotting. Without giving away too much, the ending is spectacular and sets up a thrilling second instalment.

The book market has recently been over-saturated with vampire novels, but this work comes up with a fresh and well-written approach that should compel any fan of the genre to give it a read.

Interview with a Vampire Author

Ha, yeah, I know, that title is super cheese! But anyway, I have exciting news! A wonderful man and blogger, James Oh, has featured me in an interview on his blog! I'm very excited to have my first posted interview up. Click here to check it out! And follow his amazing blog while you're over there. Thank you so much James! I'm honored to be your author interview.

Answering your questions (Promo Friday!)

Hey loyal followers and fellow readers!

Today is my day to promote myself (yay!) Yes, it makes me sound like a hooker, I know.

Anyway, this is short and sweet. There are 3 discussions of my book on Amazon right now, PLEASE participate if you have a second. You do NOT have to have read the book to participate. You might find something interesting, or it might answer a question you already have.

If you'd like to ask the author anything (that's me), I have a thread where I answer questions, just click HERE. You can ask anything.

Here's a thread started by someone who read the book, so it contains spoilers, but if you've read or are reading the book you can answer his questions or make comments or ask questions.

And here's just someone who I think liked the idea.

All you ever-inquisitive minds, check out one of the threads and just say hi or ask a question. I'd really appreciate it!

Okay, no more promoting myself! Thanks to anyone who comments or questions! You guys rock.

Lena

When I give a five-star rating.

Since I've been doing book reviews on here, and will continue to do so occasionally, I thought I'd shed some light on my process. Although it might seem I give extremely high ratings, I don't. However, I only post book reviews for books I love and would recommend. My other, not-so-good book reviews, stay on Goodreads. If you really want to read them, you can. But I'd rather only share and encourage the reading of great books, not talk about the ones I hated.

I hardly ever give 5-star ratings. Maybe my top 10 books of all time, and that's about it. To me, five stars means the book is perfect and I can't think of one thing wrong with it. And that's a hard thing to find!

My criteria (I think): 1. It definitely has to stay with me for a long time, not just what happened but the feeling I got when I read it has to come back, even years later.

2. Also, it has to be well-written. I admit, I'm a book snob. I can hardly read books that aren't well written, even if everyone loves them. Bad writing is a deal breaker, no matter if the writer is #1 Best Seller for ten years in a row. I majored in English and read tons of books on writing, so I can smell bad writing from a mile away. Also, beautiful writing that takes my breath away, gives me goosebumps, makes me shiver, whatever, has to be done in a subtle way, not in-your-face gross-out or steamy love scenes (those are for fun, not 5-stars.)

3. The last thing is, everything has to be vivid. I dont have to love the characters, but I have to believe them and feel I know them. I have to see the setting, the world, the people without being bogged down by flowery paragraph-long description. I have to feel the emotion, smell the smells, hear what they hear, ache when they ache.

It's a tough bill, but I'm a tough reader.

Contest Results!

Hi all!

My contest for an advanced hardcopy of The Superiors is closing. LittlePinkStars won by a landslide! Please email or message me with your address and I will send you the ARC. I just got them in yesterday.

I've gained many new followers this week, and I've tried to follow everyone back. If I didnt follow you, please comment on this post and I'll follow your blog if you have one. I hope you enjoy my blog and check back now and then. Thanks for following me and I hope you enjoy my blogs!

Lena

E-books outsell "Real" books on Amazon

I heard this morning that for the first time, e-books have outsold paper copies on Amazon. They now sell 105 ebooks per 100 traditional books. Some of these e-books are self-published indies like me, but most are still traditionally published books available through the regular channels and wide distribution.

However, I think all this will be changing. You can get the Kindle App FREE everywhere--smart phones, laptops, e-readers. It's so easy you can get it and buy a book and read it w/o ever leaving your comfy chair. And that's something all Americans love! I, the lover of turning pages and holding and even smelling real books, downloaded the free Kindle app last night to help in promoting my book. The time is near, my dears. I will never give up my hardbacks, but I have succumbed to Kindle fever (which has now surpassed scarlet fever and Beiber Fever as the most recent ailment sweeping the nation).

What this all means is still to be seen. Will traditional ebooks get cheaper to compete with all us shamefully low-priced self-published books? Maybe. Will tons of self-published, poorly written, unedited books get put out in ebook form? Undoubtedly. Will it be harder for readers to find good stuff amidst the slush? For sure. But at least everyone has a shot now, and that's a little more fair than it's been in the past.

My Week in Books

Currently Reading: Walking the Rez Road

So, my ebook has been on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords for a week. Although for 2 days it was under construction. I've sold six books, which is pretty cool, although comparatively, it's pretty horrible. But I wasn't expecting big things, so I'm happy with it. I'm never gonna be one of those people who is great at self promotion, although I'd like to sell enough to pay for all the money I spent getting it out there. I guess it's like a business investment.

It's been a while...

Wow. I've been taking a writing break, so I guess I took a break from writing my blog, too! Honestly, I've been so busy with editing my forthcoming novel that I haven't had time for much else (besides my day job, cleaning up my flooded house, throwing a bridal shower for my sister, and having a family, eating, sleeping, etc).
Many writers suggest reading a book aloud to find mistakes. Well, I find mistakes any way I read, but wow. This is the most time consuming edit I've ever done! I hadn't realized how long it took to read a book aloud. Much, much longer than just reading it to myself. I also made my voice scratchy from reading aloud so much. Ha. Well, it will all be worth it when those nickels and dimes start rolling in. ha.ha.ha...

Weekly blehhh...

Sometimes you just have one of those days/weeks/months/years. Everything goes to bleh and you just want to drum your head against the blehing wall.* But if you don't, or even if you do, you might get something else done, too. You might knock out your blehs, or some brain cells at least. You might shake loose an idea. Or you might just get a headache, if you didn't already have one.
You might learn a valuable lesson while you try to knock out your blehs. You might learn that it takes 26 good knocks before you get a headache, or only 6. You might learn that this is time well spent, or not. You might learn that you now can't remember why you started banging your head to begin with, and you'd rather go back and force yourself to do something more productive. Or you might just stand there thumping your head against the wall until the neighbors come over to complain. But that could be a learning experience in itself.

*I in no way condone banging one's head against the wall, nor do I claim responsibility for either positive or negative effects resulting from this activity if at any time you decide to do this because of or not because of reading this or any other blog entries I have posted previously or may post in the future.