Safe and Sound

Hi! I know I haven't posted anything in a while, but I was waiting for something exciting to happen. Well, it did! A couple of days ago, Taylor released a song for the soundtrack of the 2012 film The Hunger Games. It is called "Safe and Sound," and it is truly beautiful! I thought it was very in touch with the tone of the book, and it did great justice to Taylor's lovely voice. Check out the song and lyrics in the video below! :D

Remembrance by Michelle Madow

Hello Swifties! I am glad to announce that today I have a very special post to share with you. I recently became aware of an amazing Taylor-Swift-inspired book that came to life thanks to the "Love Story" music video. The book is called Remembrance, by Michelle Madow. Besides an exclusive look into the formation of the book coming straight from the author, The Swift Follower readers have the opportunity to win a giveaway of the book! Keep reading to find out how.

Let's see what Michelle Madow has to say about Remembrance:

How the “Love Story” music video inspired Michelle Madow’s first novel, Remembrance

Thank you for having me on The Swift Follower to talk about my debut novel, Remembrance, which was inspired by the “Love Story” music video. I’m honored to be able to share this story, and my book, with others who love Taylor Swift as much as I do!

The “Love Story” music video premiered in the fall of 2009. The first time I watched it, I was entranced. Taylor sees a guy while walking through campus, and the moment their eyes connect, the scene flashes to the two of them dancing at a beautiful ball dressed in clothes that appear to be from around the year 1815. It’s magical to watch, and the video is so amazing that it gave me chills. I watched it over and over again, and a story started to piece together in my mind. A story about a girl reincarnated from Regency Era, England, who doesn’t realize it until her soulmate transfers into her school and triggers her memories to gradually return to her.

In that semester at school, I was taking a class called Intro to Creative Writing. One of our first big assignments in class was to write anything we wanted and bring it in to share with everyone. Since the characters and scenes that came to me while watching “Love Story” refused to leave my mind, I decided that for the project, I would write the first chapter of what I then called “The Story Inspired by ‘Love Story.’”

After completing the chapter, I stared at it for about an hour, worrying about what my classmates would think after reading it. I assumed everyone else would write about “normal” things—not reincarnation and seeing your soulmate from the past for the first time! What if they thought what I wrote was weird? I nearly erased it in favor of turning something else in, but then I remembered something Taylor had said:

"If you’re lucky enough to be different from everyone else, don't change."

I listened to her advice. Yes, what I wrote was going to be way different from what everyone else in class wrote, but I was okay with that. And after I read the chapter aloud to the class, I was amazed to find out that everyone in my class, including my teacher, loved it. Actually, they more than loved it—they wanted to read more!

But I had never written a novel before, and the idea of making the plunge and going for it intimidated me. What if I failed and couldn’t finish it? That worried me, but again, I remembered something Taylor had said:

"To me, fearless isn't not having fears; it's not that you're not afraid of anything. I think that being fearless is having a lot of fears, but you jump anyway."

So I jumped.

And now, two years after I saw the “Love Story” music video for the first time, my debut novel Remembrance is finally available for everyone to read. I’m so happy to be able to share it with you. I can only hope that if you choose to read it, you end up enjoying it as much as I loved writing it!

Thank you for taking the time to read my story about how “Love Story” and Taylor Swift helped me get to where I am today!

Remembrance is available for purchase in e-book format on the Amazon Kindle, the Barnes & Noble Nook, and Smashwords. Paperback versions are also available via Amazon. I love meeting new friends, so please visit my website, www.michellemadow.com, to find links to everywhere you can find me on the web!

You guys should really check out the book! As Swift fans, it is very easy for us to figure out the connection between the video and the book, and it becomes extremely enjoyable! So don't forget to check it out, and enter for a chance to win! Entries to the giveaway have been extended until September 8, 2011.

For a detailed summary of the book, click here.
To enter the givaway, answer the survey here.

Sparks Fly Video Out Now!

Self explanatory.... And awesome!! Enjoy :)

Taylor Swift is coming to LA, and you have a chance to see her live!

Hello again my fellow bloggers!!
I have amazing news........
There is a new contest now online to win a trip to LA and tickets to see Taylor in her tour!
Here are the details:

Verizon Insider is presenting a chance to win a flyaway to see Taylor Swift live in concert!


One lucky fan will win a trip for four to see TWO of Taylor Swift’s concerts at Staples Center in Los Angeles on August 27 & 28 - and you or one of your readers could be our winner!


It’s super easy to enter the sweepstakes - either download the Verizon Insider App from the Android Marketplace to your Verizon smartphone or visit www.verizoninsider.com/taylor. Once registered for the sweepstakes, earn up to 10 badges to increase your chances of winning. If you love Taylor, badges are totally easy and fun to earn and can be acquired by unlocking video messages from Taylor Swift, sharing the content with your Facebook and Twitter friends, creating your own greenscreen video with Taylor, and more! All the details can be found in the App or online at www.verizoninsider.com/taylor so be sure to check it out.

There you go! So what are you waiting for? Enter the sweepstakes now!

Taylor Swift Colombia!

Hey guys!
I doubt you knew this, but I am actually from Colombia! And since I have been proclamed the leader of Taylor's fanclub in my hometown, I want you to check out the facebook page of my country's fanclub! That would mean a lot to me! Love you!
Thanks!!
Andrea

PLEASE HELP!!

Hi people!! can anyone who sees this before the 18th of may help me?? its so easy.. u just have to like http://www.facebook.com/telmexcolombia?sk=wall and then like http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=225851350761796&set=pu.172927972720801&type=1&theater
Please!! its my dream to see miley and this would help me soo much!! thanks!!!!!

Win Tickets to a Concert in Toronto!

Hey guys!
I have good news.. there is a new contest that can take you to see Taylor in Toronto, with everything paid!!

This is what it said:

So here is the deal: The tickets will be for the concert on July 15th 2011 at the Air Canada center in Toronto. You will be staying at a hotel to be announced (there are so many good ones, we haven't chosen yet) and we will be providing the flights, tickets, hotel and transport to and from the venue. Basically you are going to have a VIP experience you will never forget!

We know you like the specifics so here they are:

• 1st place will receive two return tickets, two premium tickets to the concert and hotel accomodation for 2, transfer from the airport to the hotel and transport to and from the venue.
• 2nd place will receive two return tickets, two standard tickets to the concert and hotel accomodation for 2, transfer from the airport to the hotel and transport to and from the venue.
• 3rd place will receive two return tickets, two standard tickets to the concert and hotel accomodation for 2, transfer from the airport to the hotel and transport to and from the venue

So join the competition by clicking on this link!
http://www.koiniclub.com/ref/C-15-80154171

Good Luck!!!!!!! :D

Taylor Swift: Every Day is a Fairytale

As I promised, I read the book Taylor Swift every day is a fairytale, by Liv Spencer. It is by far the most complete book about Taylor I have read in my life, and believe me, that is a lot to say. If you are a fan, have been beside her forever, or just want to know who she is, I completely recommend this book.

You always get information in pieces; one quote in one magazine, a line in a TV show, a small announcement in the news. But with Every day is a fairytale all those lose strings will tie together, to help understand how Taylor got where she is now. Everything you need to know about my favorite young star is there, organized in chronological order for everyone to keep up.

Not only is there information about Taylor herself, but the book presents background info about things that made Taylor reach her goals, like the story of country music in Nashville and things about her high school.

It's organized in 13 chapters (yay!), and the ones I like the most are 2 called "Swift Notes." Everything there is to know about each song in Taylor Swift and Fearless is there, like the real message, the person who they are about, and a decoder of the secret messages in the songs. I really enjoyed reading about the songs I have heard for so long, and even for a big fan like me, there were lots of surprises!

I would never had known so many things about the songs, videos, statistics and moments that made Taylor be who she is, and well, a very useful tool were all the pictures, many I had NEVER seen before. Not only the pictures helped, but also the great amount of quotes from Taylor herself and from magazines, her family, and friends. Every day is a fairytale didn't cut back in something else; comedy. Jokes here and there made it all the more interesting than it already is to learn all this stuff about Swifty. Every time there was something I had no idea about, I took notes in mi iPod and later looked at the videos, listened to the songs again, or searching for pictures, each time discovering new things!

At the end, to summarize and organize just so many things Taylor has gone through, from her development deal with recording company RCA in early 2004, all the way up to her achievements in 2010, is a timeline, month by month year by year laying out all the information. It was a great ending, and something I will surely use as an "encyclopedia" to find out anything I need to know!

Between all the great Taylor quotes was one that really caught my attention; something I had never heard her say but I think appropriately describes the success in Taylor's life:
"...Thank you for convincing me that fairytale endings... Well, they happen sometimes."

I just wanted all of you to know how much I enjoyed reading this book, because I hope many, many people have the same experience I did, especially those millions of fans that I know are out there dying to find out more. Well, I got the answer. Taylor Swift: Every Day is a Fairytale.