Thursday, July 30, 2009

Winner of the ARC Giveaway . . .And the Reason I Should Have Listened to Frau Pond in High School

So first things first, the winner of the Countdown To The Dark Divine ARC Giveaway is: Sab H.
Update: Forgot to post the winner of THE ACTOR AND THE HOUSEWIFE. Sorry! The winner is NICOLE--my very first follower ever!

(Email me at readbree(at)gmail(dot)com with your mailing address and I'll sent the ARC your way.)

Thanks everyone for participating! I just got word from my publisher that they might me send me a few more ARCs, so hopefully we can do this again soon.

Secondly, after looking over the votes, It looks like Nathan and Talbot were neck and neck. I love how opinionated you guys are about your names! I'm leaning toward naming the character Nathan Talbot, but calling him Talbot--and possibly Tal for short. What do you guys think? (Okay, hopefully nobody hates me! I promise to save Ramses for something in the future.)

So what does Frau Pond, my slightly crazy (okay uber-crazy) German teacher from high school have to do with this blog post?

Well, you know how language teachers insist on talking to you only in the language you are supposed to be learning? And you know how there's always that one kid in your class that always looks completely lost, and the teacher tries to ask her questions in German/French/Spanish/Whatever and she just stares blankly back at the teacher, so then the teacher just keeps asking the question louder and louder, and the student turns all red and still has no idea what the teacher is saying, so then they teacher starts making gestures with her arms that vaguely look like she's milking a 30 foot cow, and then suddenly everyone is laughing, and the teacher starts shrieking (finally in English), "I asked you about the water buffaloes?! Why do you not understand about the 'water buffaloes'?!" and the student still has NO IDEA what the heck she's talking about . . .??

Yeah, so that student was totally me. Poor Frau Pond tried her hardest, but no matter how loud she shrieked at me about those darn water buffaloes (do they even have water buffalo in Germany?!), I still couldn't figure out a word she was saying. . .

Which I now totally regret because when my book comes out German, I will have no idea what Grace says to Daniel after the first time they kiss . . .

But anyway, we sold German rights!!! Squuueeee!!! Which means my book will be coming out in Germany some time in 2010. Hopefully, this will be the first of many forgein rights deals (*crossing fingers, knocking on wood*--which kind of hurts, btw).

And maybe, just maybe, I'll wrap up a copy of the German version of THE DARK DIVINE and send it to Frau Pond with an apology note about the water buffaloes. . . .

19 comments:

Korianne said...

You totally need to send one to Frau Pond. I think she would get a kick out of it! Congrats Bree!

Sarah said...

Congratulations on selling the German rights! I bet that is super exciting for you. :)

Nathan Talbot sounds cool. And Tal is a great nickname for him.

Send your teacher a copy of the book. I would love to hear about her reaction.

Have a graet day!
Sarah

Cam Ballou said...

LOVE Nathan Talbot! No wonder you sold German rights...your brilliant :)

Congrats!

A Passion For Books said...

I think Nathan Talbot would be perfect. Those were both the names I picked, but I just love them stuck together. Good thinking!

Sending a German copy to your teacher is a sweet idea. In High School, I took Spanish – well tried to anyways. I never could get the hang of it so I quit after 3 years of it. Seems like foreign languages are easier for some to pick up on than others.

Casey

Sab H. said...

Congrats!! And thanks for the contest!!!

Michelle said...

I didn't know that your book would come out in any other language until your book was released and they saw how well it sold here. It is a good thing I am not your agent since everything I learned from the publishing industry is from watching Sex and the City season 5.

Anyway, that seems like a huge deal to me...German...wow!

I think you should also send a copy to Leslie Giles and sign it: "one of the gong girls, thanks for believing in me!" Huh...12 years and I am still pissed about that one.

Natascha De Marco said...

Congrats! I think you should try to make ur book come out in Spanish. My Godmother, for example, reads, but only in spanish, so it makes it kind of difficult for her to find a good book.

Steph Su said...

Nathan Talbot is IT. I love it. It's so very... British-y. :)

And German rights! *squeeee* Wonder what they're going to do for the cover...?

Cami said...

Bree goes global!
So cool!
So very very happy for you!

Bree Biesinger Despain said...

Michelle-- Your Sex in the City knowledge is mostly right. That's often the way it works. So selling one of my foreign rights before the book is published is extra cool!

James Dashner said...

Thanks for permanently putting the image of Frau Pond milking a gigantic cow into my mind. That'll be so sweet when I close my eyes tonight.

Congrats! I think Grace will be even hotter in German.

Sarah Blake Johnson said...

Very cool. Congrats! I am living in Frankfurt now--I will try to snap some photos of your (German) book in a bookstore when it is released here and send them to you. Of course--I just moved here, and still haven't found the best bookstores--but I will find them pretty soon.

Be sure to let me know of the release month--so I know to go and look.

D said...

Sweet! I will have to buy a copy in Spanish and English (because of course Spanish rights will be next). :) Yay!

I like Talbot much better as a last name(even as a last name used as a first name). Nathan Talbot sounds great!

Valynne said...

I guess it's a good thing I speak German.

Elena Jarvis Jube said...

That's so exciting, Bree! I want copies of both English and German versions. Congratulations!

Nicole said...

Yeah! Congrats on the German rights! and I agree with Michelle... Her comment made laugh...alot, but really Michelle (trying hard to keep a straight face) you guys made great gong girls.

And thanks for the contest announcement, I think this is my first ever blog contest win. Yeah!

Lindsay Eland said...

So, so exciting Bree! Congrats a thousand times over!!

Bree Biesinger Despain said...

Thanks for the love on the German deal, guys!

And Oh Michelle, the gong girls!! That brings back so many memories. We were the best damn gong girls anyone has ever seen. . . Oh wait, heard. Grrr, Giles.

sarathered said...

Hurray for Germany, and water buffalos. And anyone who gets to have a "Frau" as part of their name!

I always think of really thick, frumpy Fraus. With glasses and wild hair. Totally unfair to all the Fraus out there. I mean, Frau Pond could be a totally hot, right? But then she'd be a Fraulein. In my head anyway.