Austin author looks ahead to book signing, European tour

If you got your dream job or won the lottery, what would be one ridiculous item that you "just had to buy"?

For me, it would be the auto-lace-up Nike shoes from "Back to the Future II."

For author Amanda Hocking, of Austin, it was a life-size replica of Han Solo, from Star Wars.

"It's not the real deal, but the replica is pretty awesome," she says.

Hocking, 27, has sold more than 1 million copies of her self-published e-books. Now she's hitting another milestone in her career: her first print book and a $2 million book deal.

Following a book signing of the first book in her Trylle Trilogy at Barnes & Noble, 15 First St. S.W., Rochester, at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Hocking will head off on an international tour to England, Italy, Spain and Ireland.

"The only 'book signing' I've had so far was sitting outside my mom's garage sale selling books and signing them, trying to raise money for a new pool in Adams," Hocking says. "My very first official book signing was this week in New Jersey, but I'm even more excited for the book signing in Rochester."

The Trylle Trilogy is coming out in print this year, and has also been optioned for film by Media Capital Rights with Academy Award Nominee Terri Tatchell adapting the screenplay.

To learn more about Hocking and her other upcoming books, go to www.worldofamandahocking.com.

It's official!

Alexander Skudlarek, 17, first broke a world record in October after playing "Dance Dance Revolution” for more than 16 hours. Now it’s official!

The Century High School junior recently received the official letter and certificate from the Guinness Book of World Records.

How much dance-danc-ing does it take to break a world record?

Skudlarek danced for 16 hours, 18 minutes and 9 seconds (with a 10-minute break every hour). The previous record was 15 hours, 17 minutes and 44 seconds set by Carrie Swidecki of West Virginia.

Skudlarek says he hasn’t played the game since he broke the record; he just wanted to beat a world record for video games and figured this was one he could beat.

Silly Santas

Rochester resident Ryan Mihalak and his 5-year-old German Shepherd, Jade (a rescue dog he adopted in 2007), recently appeared on a website for a national magazine, The Week, for a slideshow of silly Santas.

Only seven pictures nationwide made it into the slideshow! Mihalak said the shot took about 15 tries, and even then, Santa still looks a little scared of Jade.