Full Moon Extravaganza #2: Kids Need To Read

Once again the full moon is upon us. Which means, once again it is time to celebrate my favorite werewolves and the fact that it is only 4 months until the release of THE SAVAGE GRACE.

I am especially excited because today's extravaganza is not only something super cool for fans of the DARK DIVINE series, but also will go to support a cause I am passionate about. So what is it you ask?

EGMONT USA has released an eBook version of THE LOST LETTERS OF BROTHER GABRIEL (A Dark Divine Original Story) for only $1.99!

Story Description:

Brother Gabriel, Daniel’s mentor and an ancient Urbat, plays an important role in The Lost Saint as well as the upcoming conclusion to the Dark Divine trilogy, The Savage Grace. We were first introduced to Gabriel in The Dark Divine when Grace recieves a book of ancient letters that Gabriel (a young monk at the time) wrote to his sister during the Crusades, detailing his search to know more about the Urbat. The book of letters ends just before Gabriel falls to the Urbat curse, leaving us to wonder what happened to him in the following years to turn him into the man he is today.

Most of Gabriel’s letters were written during the thirteenth century, and later translated and compiled by an Orthodox priest in the eighteenth century. For whatever reason, some of Gabriel’s letters were lost after translation and did not make it into that original book. But good news! A few of these “lost letters,” detailing Gabriel’s fall to the Urbat curse and his quest to seek revenge on the man responsible for his demise, have recently been “discovered” by the indomitable crew at Egmont USA, and are compiled here for your reading pleasure.

I hope you enjoy The Lost Letters of Brother Gabriel. I think they give a lot more depth to Brother Gabriel’s character and the mythology of the Dark Divine trilogy.

But that's not all. Today's extravaganza gets so, so much better...

As many of you know, I spent a summer in college writing and directing plays for underprivileged kids from New York City and Philadelphia. It was one of my most cherished life experiences. One I can look back on and pinpoint as literally life-changing. I had grown up in a fairly safe and average middle-class neighborhood all my life, and to be a part of helping kids who had to struggle so much just to have a portion of the quality of life I had enjoyed as a kid, was not only an eye opening experience, but it was humbling as well.

One of the things that I learned the most from this experience was how important reading and stories are for helping kids, teens, adults . . . everyone find a place in this world and encourage them to help others do the same. This is what made me re-commit to my dream of being an author.

But today, I get to do a little more. Because today, I get to tell you that from now until June 2012 all of my proceeds from the sale of THE LOST LETTERS OF BROTHER GABRIEL will be donated to the charitable organization Kids Need To Read (KNTR). Their mission is to to create a culture of reading for children by providing inspiring books to underfunded schools, libraries, and literacy programs across the United States, especially those serving disadvantaged children. For more info you can go to their website (www.kidsneedtoread.org) or watch this video from one of my most favorite Hollywood crushes and co-founder of the organization, Nathan Fillion:



Ah, Nathan Fillion. I love that guy. Remember when we fan-casted him to play Pastor Divine in a TDD movie? That'd be beyond cool. Ok, enough daydreaming because . . .

THERE'S MORE!!!

I want as many people as possible to know about this fantastic organization and their mission, so I am offering a signed book prize pack to anyone who helps spread the word about THE LOST LETTERS and how the proceeds will be donated to KNTR.

What you get:
Signed copies of
1.) SILENCE by Becca Fitzpatrick
2.) DEMON GLASS by Rachel Hawkins
3.) THE DEATH CURE by James Dashner
4.) CROSSED by Ally Condie
5.) THE SAVAGE GRACE (ARC) by Bree Despain... or, you know... me.

How you get it:
Blog, tweet, facebook, yell down the street, call your mom. Ok, the last two are great, but won't work for the contest. Just tell people about THE LOST LETTERS eBook and KNTR fundraiser. Then come back here and show me what you did (with links). One entry per person, but the more you do, the more money you help raise for KNTR. But as an extra added bonus, I've decided to give an extra entry to the first 10 entrants.

When you get it:
Give-away ends November 30th. I will then pick the winner via Random.org and announce it on or before Dec. 2nd here on the blog. If it's you, then you will have 30 days to claim the prize by emailing me your shipping address. If it is not claimed by then, I will assume the you do not want the prize and will pick another winner.

Seriously, I'm really excited about this. Please help me make it awesome and help put some great books in the hands of some great kids.

Oh, and don't forget to buy THE LOST LETTERS either here, or here, or you can get it in the iBooks store from your iPhone/iPad/Mac, or anywhere else eBooks are sold. Go forth and share the joy of reading!

P.S. FYI, in preparation for upcoming release of the paperback edition of THE LOST SAINT on November 22nd, the eBook version of THE DARK DIVINE is now available on Amazon for only $3.99!!