Read Bree

Roundup of stuff you should know about

2012-02-15T14:10:00.004-07:00

Hey folks-

Just a quick note to tell you about a few things you should know about:

1. The winner of the $20 iTunes giftcard was Christine Chapman. (Egmont will contact you about claiming your prize.)

2. Yesterday, I sent out a bunch of special Dark Divine Valentine's Day Treats, but if you didn't get one, you can still go HERE to enjoy. Caution: Contains Much Hotness.

3. Loving all the entries for Dark Divine Fan Talentmania! The fan-fiction entries have been rolling in, but we still need some more Fan Art entries to round out the pack. If you love creating fan art, or know someone who does, throw your talent into the ring. Also, I've decided to extend the deadline for Fan Art entries until February 20th so you all can have more time to work on your projects. (Note: the extension is for FAN ART ONLY.) For details about the contest, go HERE.

Full Moon Extravaganza #5

2012-02-07T20:24:00.004-07:00

The full moon is bright in the sky once again, and Egmont USA is celebrating with a new extravaganza. This time you can win a $20 iTunes giftcard. Head over to their Facebook page in order to enter by clicking HERE.

And don't forget about the Dark Divine Fan Talentmania. Submissions are starting to come in and I am so excited! Be sure to check out the contest because there is something for everyone. Even if you don't want to submit fan art or fan fiction, you can still enter to win signed books, jewelry, and nail polish by helping to spread the word about Talentmania. For details, click HERE.

Oh, and look what arrived today: Hardcover copies of THE SAVAGE GRACE! I can't believe this little baby is finally a real book! Isn't she a beauty?

Also, a few events are coming up over the next couple months too. Check them out:

February 9th-11th - I'll be speaking and signing at the Life, The Universe, and Everything conference in Provo, UT. (Utah Valley University)

March 13th - THE SAVAGE GRACE will release in the US! The official launch party will be held that evening at The King's English in Salt Lake City, UT, so save the date.

March 17th - I'll be teaching at the Writing For Charity conference held at the Provo Library. This is a great event that gives all its proceeds to children's charities. Go HERE for more details.

April 11th-15th - I'll be attending the RT Book Lover's Convention in Chicago and participating in the YA Slumber Party, the Teen Day Party, as well as doing a signing in YA Alley. Be sure to stop by if you'll be there, too!

Dark Divine Fan Wrestlemania Talentmania

2012-02-03T15:00:00.001-07:00

CALLING ALL WRITERS AND ILLUSTRATORS . . .

In anticipation for the upcoming release of THE SAVAGE GRACE--the third and final installment in the Dark Divine trilogy--Bree Despain and Egmont USA are excited to introduce the first ever Dark Divine Fan Fiction and Fan Art Competition:

Dark Divine Fan ~~Wrestlemania~~ Talentmania!

Okay, here's the thing. There's nothing that warms my heart more than fan fiction and fan art. Like seriously, it makes me giddy. The only thing I love just as much, is giving stuff away. Which means I think it is time for an awesome contest!

But not just any contest. Think of it more as an epic showdown of the best Dark Divine fan art and fan fiction out there. With two categories and two opportunities to win awesome stuff--writers, artists, fans of the Dark Divine trilogy, show me what you've got!

All entries will be posted here on my blog to be voted on by blog readers at home, and the finalists will be judged by a panel of professional artists and nationally published authors. Winners will take home a fabulous prize pack.

[Not a writer or an artist? Don't worry, you can participate in the contest by voting for your favorite entries, and spreading the word about Dark Divine Fan Talentmania!--and Egmont USA is donating door prizes (see below) that will be given out to randomly selected voters!]

Here's how it works:

Contestants have 2 weeks to create an entry. They will then need to send a copy of their work to me at readbreecontests(at)gmail(dot)com by 11:59 P.M. MST on February 17th, 2012. Edit: the deadline for Fan Art entries has been extended to February 20th. I will then post all of the Fan Fiction entries here on my blog on February 20th. All Fan Art entries will be posted on February 21st. Blog readers will then have one week (respectively) to vote for their favorite entries.

For each category (Art and Fiction) 3 entries will be picked by popular vote to advance on the the finals. 2 additional entries will be selected (by me) as "wild card" entries to advance on to the final round as well.

These five finalists in each category will then be submitted to a panel of judges (consisting of professional artists and nationally published authors) who will determine the winners of first, second, and third place. (Prizes explained in a minute.) Winners will be announced on or before March 13th, 2012. (TSG release day!)

The first category is FAN FICTION. The rules:

1. Write and submit a short story that takes place in the Dark Divine world, meaning it must follow the rules established for the DD mythology, setting, characters, etc.

2. Your story must include at least one Dark Divine character. As in, someone featured in one of the stories by Bree Despain: THE DARK DIVINE, THE LOST SAINT, or THE LOST LETTERS OF BROTHER GABRIEL.

3. If you want to create your own vision for a scene from THE SAVAGE GRACE, that's fine. But to the few who have already read TSG, please NO TSG SPOILERS!

4. Your story must be NO LONGER than 750 words. 751 words disqualifies you.

5. Please send your story in the body of your email. No attachments please.

6. Please send entries to readbreecontests(at)gmail(dot)com with the subject line: FAN FICTION ENTRY.

7. Your entry MUST be received by 11:59 p.m. MST on February 17th, 2012 in order to be considered. (Yes, you can submit something you've written previously to today, just make sure it fits the criteria.)

8. This contest is open internationally, however, your entry must be written in English. (Or sadly, I won't be able to read it.)

9. I reserve the right not to post any entry I deem inappropriate for this forum. As in, keep it rated PG-13 or lower. (My mom reads this blog, ya know.)

The second category is FAN ART. The rules:

1. Create an illustration/depiction in any medium that has something to do with the Dark Divine world as established in THE DARK DIVINE, THE LOST SAINT, or THE LOST LETTERS OF BROTHER GABRIEL. As in: a scene from one of the books, a character illustration, a scene you would like to see happen, etc.

2. If you want to create your own vision for something that might happen in THE SAVAGE GRACE, that's fine. But to the few who have already read TSG, please NO TSG SPOILERS!

3. The artwork must be sent to me in a digital format (i.e. if you didn't create it on your computer, take a picture or scan it).

4. No files larger than 1MB.

5. Please include a description of your work for use during the judging process.

6. Send entries to readbreecontests(at)gmail(dot)com with the subject line: FAN ART ENTRY

7. Your entry MUST be received by 11:59 p.m. MST on February 17th, 2012. Edit: the deadline for Fan Art entries has been extended to February 20th. (Yes, you can submit something you've created previously to today, just make sure it fits the
criteria.)

8. This contest is open internationally, however, your entry must be submitted in English. (Or sadly, I won't be able to read it.)

9. I reserve the right not to post any entry I deem inappropriate for this forum. As in, keep it rated PG-13 or lower. (My mom reads this blog, ya know.)

PRIZES: Okay, on to the goods. As stated above, there will be two grand prize winners, two second place winners, and two third place winners (one for each category).

GRAND PRIZE PACKAGE:

1. A $100 gift-card to your choice of one of these retailers: Amazon, Indie Bound, Barnes & Noble, or Infinite Jewelry Company.

2. Signed hardback editions of THE DARK DIVINE, THE LOST SAINT, and THE SAVAGE GRACE.

3. Either a 45 minute Skype visit with Bree Despain to discuss writing, publishing, the Dark Divine trilogy, Daniel's hotness, chocolate, kittens . . . or whatever you want to talk about. This can be used for yourself, a friend, a book club, classroom, blog interview, etc.

OR . . .

Receive a 15 page manuscript critique from Bree Despain for a Young Adult or Middle Grade novel/story. (As in, Bree will read the first 15 pages of your manuscript and give you useful feedback.)

4. The complete Dark Divine nail polish set, including: THE DARK DIVINE violet, THE LOST SAINT blue, and THE SAVAGE GRACE coral pink. (Note: Nail polish cannot be shipped outside the US, so international winners will receive stickers and bookmarks instead.)

5. Winner's entry will be published on Bree Despain's official website for all to enjoy.

SECOND PLACE PRIZE PACKAGE:

1. A $30 gift-card to your choice of one of these retailers: Amazon, Indie Bound, Barnes & Noble, or Infinite Jewelry Company.

2. Signed paperback copies of THE DARK DIVINE and THE LOST SAINT (which includes THE LOST LETTERS OF BROTHER GABRIEL.)

3. A bottle of THS SAVAGE GRACE nail polish. (Note: Nail polish cannot be shipped outside the US, so international winners will receive stickers and bookmarks instead.)

4. Winner's entry will be published on Bree Despain's official website for all to enjoy.

THIRD PLACE PRIZE PACKAGE:

1. A $20 gift-card to your choice of one of these retailers: Amazon, Indie Bound, Barnes & Noble, or Infinite Jewelry Company.

2. A bottle of THS SAVAGE GRACE nail polish. (Note: Nail polish cannot be shipped outside the US, so international winners will receive stickers and bookmarks instead.)

3. Winner's entry will be published on Bree Despain's official website for all to enjoy.

DOOR PRIZES:

Don't forget, everyone can participate in the contest by voting and by spreading the word about Dark Divine Fan Talentmania--and you will be entered to win some fabulous door prizes by doing so, including:

Signed books:
HOURGLASS by Myra McEntire
TRIS & IZZIE by Mette Ivie Harrison
THE MEPHISTO COVENANT by Trinity Faegen
EVERY OTHER DAY by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
THE BUTTERFLY CLUES by Kate Ellison
THE SAVAGE GRACE by Bree Despain
EVERNEATH by Brodi Ashton
TIGER'S VOYAGE by Colleen Houck

Dark Divine Jewelry from Infinite Jewelry Company

TSG nail polish

{EDIT FOR CLARITY: if you submit fan art of fan fan fiction entry, you still enter to win door prizes by voting and spreading the word.}

Ready to start earning entries in the door prize contest right away? You can do so by spreading the word on twitter, Facebook, or your favorite social media site about the contest, directing people to this post. Then just leave a comment on this post telling me what you did (with linkage) to get your first entry!

Artist and Writers, get those entries ready and be sure to email them to readbreecontests(at)gmail(dot)com before 11:59 p.m. MST on February 17th, 2012!

Need to brush up on the Dark Divine novels before getting started? Click HERE.

Looking for a little inspiration to get your creative juices flowing? Check out this totally neat fan-made trailer for THE SAVAGE GRACE.

Disclaimer: (Legalese)Entering the above contest constitutes the entrant's agreement to the posting and publication of his or her work on any website owned or operated by Bree Despain. In accordance with copyright laws, any original content will be credited as appropriate. Entrant is also attesting that their entry is their own original work and not plagiarized. No purchase necessary to enter this contest. (Plain English)In other words, if you enter the contest, you are agreeing that I can post your work on my sites without further release from you, but I promise I'll give you credit. Also, you are promising me that you didn't steal your entry from someone else. Got it? Good.

Got further questions? Ask me in the comments, or send an email to the addy listed above.

A Fan-made "Unofficial" book trailer for THE SAVAGE GRACE

2012-02-03T13:37:00.003-07:00

Getting excited for THE SAVAGE GRACE? (I know I can't wait for it to finally be released on March 13th!!!) Need something awesome to tide you over for a little bit? Here's a fun fan-made book trailer that a TDD super-fan sent me last night. I love it so much, I thought I'd share.

The First Page of THE SAVAGE GRACE...as envisioned by Brodi Ashton

2012-02-01T15:38:00.005-07:00

Ever wonder what your favorite book would be like if a totally different author had written it?

I can tell you that sometimes authors daydream about letting someone else write their books. Sometimes we might even beg someone else to take a crack at a difficult scene . . . or you know, the entire novel. That's what we call the "bargaining stage" of Oh-Crap-I-Have-To-Write-A-Book-And-I-Think-I've-Completly-Fogotten-How-To-String-Words-Together-Coherently-itis.

Well, a little over a year ago, I was sitting in a bookstore cafe with my critique partner Brodi Ashton (author of the amazing novel EVERNEATH). We were both hopped up on caffeine and cookies, had had little to no sleep, and were supposed to be working furiously toward our deadlines. Instead, we were staring, bleary-eyed, at our respective blank computer screens, only mildly freaking out about being stuck. That is until we were struck by the most brilliant idea! Brodi handed her laptop to me, and I scooted mine across the table to her--and we set to work on each others' projects.

Within a matter of minutes, the words were flowing. I'd whipped out a full page for Brodi's EVERNEATH jacket copy, and Brodi had written her version of the first page of THE SAVAGE GRACE.

Sadly, Brodi's first page didn't make it into the final version of TSG (I have no idea why!) but with her permission, I am posting it here for your reading pleasure. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

The first page of THE SAVAGE GRACE . . . as envisioned by Brodi Ashton:
His wet nose nuzzled the insteps of my feet, making me shiver.

“Stop it, boy,” I said, giggling. I pulled the sheets tighter around me. “It’s cold.”

He looked at me with big, brown puppy eyes, and cocked his head to the side.

“I know, I know. You hate it when I call you ‘boy’.” I ran my hands through his white wolfy mane. “I meant, ‘Stop it, Daniel’.”

He snuggled closer, panting. His hot moist breath misted my face.

“Ewwww. Down boy.”

A sharp whine escaped him, and it turned into a playful growl. Uh oh. I’d called him ‘boy’ one too many times. His ears perked up, and he hunched over his front paws as if preparing for a spring attack.

I tried to fight a smile. “Daniel, don’t you dare-” I didn’t get any more words out. Daniel had pounced on top of me, and soon we were wrestling, his large capable paws getting tangled in the soft blanket covering my bed.

A knock at my bedroom door made us both freeze.

“Gracie? You okay?” My dad’s voice sounded worried.

Daniel began to growl, and I tried to cover his canine mouth with my hand.

“Shhh. Remember, you’re not allowed in here. Baby James is allergic,” I whispered. He lowered his head onto his front paws, as if promising to be good. I raised my voice. “I’m fine, Dad. Just a little restless.”

He didn’t answer right away, and I could see the shadow of his feet pause at the door.

“Okay, Gracie. Just remember what the bible says about beastiality.”
I rolled my eyes. That’s dad for you. Always overly concerned with my eternal salvation. What he didn’t realize that here, in my bed, with my wolfy man/dog, I was already in heaven.

“I know, Dad. I know.”

So . . . yeeeaaah. Brodi's first page may be quite different than the one that I ended up writing for TSG, but I do owe her many thanks because this little writing experiment was one of the things that helped me break out of my writer's block and get back to work on my own book.

Be sure to come back on Friday because I will be launching something HUGE here on the blog that you won't want to miss. (You may even get a chance to create your own little part of the Dark Divine world.)

Oh, and be sure to let Brodi know what you think of her version of TSG in the comments!

Happy EVERNEATH Day!

2012-01-24T09:34:00.007-07:00

Today's To-Do List:

1. Finish making "Dead Elvises" T-shirts for the EVERNEATH launch party at the King's English Bookshop tonight.

2. Paint fingernails bright red to match the gorgeous cover of EVERNEATH.

3. Apply matching ruby red lipstick.

4. Put a red streak in my hair.

5. String on a guitar pick necklace.

6. Wish everyone a Happy EVERNEATH Day . . .

So yeah . . .

Happy EVERNEATH Day, everyone!!!!!

Synopsis:
Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath, where immortals Feed on the emotions of despairing humans. Now she's returned- to her old life, her family, her friends- before being banished back to the underworld... this time forever.

She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can't find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.

Nikki longs to spend these months reconnecting with her boyfriend, Jack, the one person she loves more than anything. But there's a problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who first enticed her to the Everneath, has followed Nikki to the mortal world. And he'll do whatever it takes to bring her back- this time as his queen.

As Nikki's time grows short and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she's forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole's...

I can't tell you how excited I am for the launch of Brodi Ashton's debut novel, EVERNEATH. If you read this blog, or follow me on twitter, it's probably no secret that Brodi is one of my very best friends--Which might you lead you to believe that I'm totally biased when I tell you that EVERNEATH is one of the best books I've read in like years. But you'd be wrong. No bias here at all. Whether or not EVERNEATH had been written by one of my most favorite people, or by a complete and total stranger, it wouldn't change how much I love this book. Being BFFs with Brodi just makes it less weird when I show up to her signings dressed like I belong in her book and go all fan-girly over Jack and Cole. (Oh wait, does that actually make it more weird? Oh well. Still doing it.)

I loved EVERNEATH so much that when I finished reading it, I turned to Brodi (who just happened to be sitting in the seat next to me on an airplane heading to L.A.) I first had to wipe the tears from my eyes, and then I said to her, "I'm resign from writing so you can write all the books from now on. I hereby bequeath all of my words to you."

Of course, Brodi's first reaction was to tell me that I was being an idiot about quitting writing (I hadn't even finished TSG yet). And then of course she spent the rest of the flight hounding me with questions to make sure I didn't just like the book out of BFF love--to which I passed with flying colors. (See, no bias.)

Anyway, today is EVERNEATH's release day, which means everyone gets to read one of my favorite books now. And that is definitely worth celebrating!

If you're in Utah, you should come on out to the launch party at King's English Bookshop tonight at 7 p.m.! Brodi will be speaking and signing books, and the rest of us will be partying "Dead Elvises" style.

If you can't make it to the launch, then I highly suggest you visit a bookstore or library near you to pick up a copy of EVERNEATH. You won't regret it!

(Unless you have a problem with awesome, that is.)

Now I'm off to shellac my nails with some cherry red polish . . . .

Full Moon Extravaganza #4: Win your own TSG nail polish!

2012-01-08T18:20:00.008-07:00

The full moon is upon us once again . . . which means it's time for another full moon extravaganza giveaway! This week, Egmont USA is giving away 10 bottles of THE SAVAGE GRACE nail polish. (And you know you want some.) I don't have any official bottles on hand for a pic, so I painted my toenails with a sample of the color so you all can see it. My feet look so happy and spring-timey, it makes me want to take off for a beach in the Bahamas or something.

See! (You'll have to tilt your head sideways because I have no idea how to rotate a picture.)

(And you know you want my Hello Kitty jammies, too. But those I'm keeping.)

So how can you get your very own bottle of fabulous THE SAVAGE GRACE nail polish? Well, I'm glad you asked. All you have to do is visit THE DARK DIVINE Facebook page and click the "Like" button on the contest post. You can get there by clicking HERE.

You can get a second entry in the contest if you also change your profile pic (for this week) to one of the book covers in the Dark Divine trilogy. (THE DARK DIVINE, THE LOST SAINT, or THE SAVAGE GRACE.)

The contest will run from today until next Sunday. Winners will be announced on the TDD Facebook page.

(Sorry, due to international shipping restrictions, this contest is only open to U.S. residents.)

Now go forth and enter!

P.S. Did you guys know that the North American release date for THE SAVAGE GRACE (March 13th, 2012) is only 65 days away? Eep!!!!!!!

P.P.S My very awesome BFF, Michelle, just entered the world of book blogging. I thought I'd give her a shout out and tell you all to visit her neat new blog, dedicated to celebrating favorite reads: I Loved This Book.

Two books you should run out and buy TODAY!

2012-01-03T11:32:00.009-07:00

Happy New Year, Everyone!

I hope you had a fantastic holiday break. I know I did--hubs had a whole week off! But I have to say that it is nice to have the kids back in school. Well, except KidA only lasted a whole hour and a half before he told his teacher that he had a tummy ache and the school sent him home. (Grrrrr.) Actually, I'm pretty sure he really does have a tummy ache. The poor kid always has a tummy ache--he's just cleverly figured out that the school's policy is that if he says he has a tummy ache they'll send him home for fear of the stomach flu. So even though he doesn't have the stomach flu, he's been working the system . . .

(Side note: KidA was just diagnosed as being allergic to dairy, gluten, and soy. We are working on eliminating all of these things from his diet, and hopefully the tummy aches will soon be a thing of the past.)

Anyway, I'm daydreaming about having a little bit of reading time to myself in the next month, which got me thinking about a couple of books I'm dying to pick up from the book store (and would be doing right now if I didn't feel bad about dragging my boy with a tummy ache out of the house).

So therefore, dear readers, I think you guys should go out and pick a couple of books for yourselves, and think about me while you do . . .

There are many awesome new books that have come out this week and the last, but the two I would most definitely pick up for myself are:

1. EVERY OTHER DAY by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Every other day, Kali D'Angelo is a normal sixteen-year-old girl. She goes to public high school. She attends pep rallies. She's human.

And then every day in between...She's something else entirely.

Though she still looks like herself, every twenty-four hours predatory instincts take over and Kali becomes a feared demon-hunter with the undeniable urge to hunt, trap, and kill zombies, hellhounds, and other supernatural creatures. Kali has no idea why she is the way she is, but she gives in to instinct anyway. Even though the government considers it environmental terrorism.

When Kali notices a mark on the lower back of a popular girl at school, she knows instantly that the girl is marked for death by one of these creatures. Kali has twenty-four hours to save her and, unfortunately, she'll have to do it as a human. With the help of a few new friends, Kali takes a risk that her human body might not survive...and learns the secrets of her mysterious condition in the process.

I first heard about EVERY OTHER DAY when I met Jenn a couple of summers ago. Not only did I discover that Jenn one of the cutest, nicest, and smartest authors I've ever met, I also got the scoop on this killer new book almost a year and a half before it came out--which needless to say, means I have been DYING to read this book for that long. I am so excited that it is finally available. (You think since we share the same publisher that someone would have hooked me up with an advance copy, but no, I've had to wait in agony for this one. And will apparently have to wait a little longer until KidA's tummy ache subsides. Darn you, food allergies!)

And the second book I'd run out to go buy this very minute is I could . . .

2. UNDER THE NEVER SKY by Veronica Rossi

Since she’d been on the outside, she’d survived an Aether storm, she’d had a knife held to her throat, and she’d seen men murdered. This was worse.

Exiled from her home, the enclosed city of Reverie, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland—known as The Death Shop—are slim. If the cannibals don’t get her, the violent, electrified energy storms will. She’s been taught that the very air she breathes can kill her. Then Aria meets an Outsider named Perry. He’s wild—a savage—and her only hope of staying alive.

A hunter for his tribe in a merciless landscape, Perry views Aria as sheltered and fragile—everything he would expect from a Dweller. But he needs Aria’s help too; she alone holds the key to his redemption. Opposites in nearly every way, Aria and Perry must accept each other to survive. Their unlikely alliance forges a bond that will determine the fate of all who live under the never sky.

I've actually already read UNDER THE NEVER SKY--as an advanced reader copy version I snagged from Brodi Ashton--but it's so good I want to read the hardcover addition now, and then place it lovingly on a shelf in my library. I first heard about UNDER THE NEVER SKY when I met Veronica at SCBWI L.A. last summer. Let me tell you, Veronica is drop dead gorgeous and equally as nice--and when I got my hands on her book a few weeks later, I found out that she's also incredibly talented. Within a matter of pages, Perry had stolen my fiction-loving heart. Honestly, this is one of the best books I've read in the last year.

KidA is fast asleep now, so it looks like the bookstore is going to have to wait even longer for me. *Sad Face* But what about you? What 2012 books have you been dying for?

Merry December 18th!!!

2011-12-18T19:21:00.004-07:00

Merry December 18th, my friends! Today is the day I always take a few minutes to reflect on how lucky I am to have a great husband, awesome kids, a the job I've always wanted--and to just plain be alive. Today marks the 9 year anniversary of the day I lived, and the 3 year anniversary of the day I received the offer from my publisher to buy THE DARK DIVINE. I still have to pinch myself sometimes to make sure I'm not just comatose in a hospital bed somewhere having a really good dream.

And did you know it's now less than 3 months until THE SAVAGE GRACE comes out on March 13th? Seriously, I can't wait.

Anyway, our winner of the $15 Amazon gift-card is:

Lindsey Bousfield

Lindsey, email me at readbree (at) gmail (dot) com and I'll email you your gift-card.

Enjoy what's left on December 18th, and every other day you can.

Full Moon Extravaganza #3!!! (belated)

2011-12-13T10:56:00.005-07:00

Of note:

This Saturday, December 17th, I'll be joining some awesome authors such as Ally Condie, Jessica Day George, Brandon Mull, Robison Wells, Dan Wells, Kristen Chandler, and more for the Orem Public Library's Holiday Author Extravaganza! The event will be from 12:00-2:00 p.m. at the Orem Library, and features 20% off your purchases so you can get plenty of signed books for your holiday gifts. (Or just for yourself--cuz that's what I'd do. Heh. Heh.)

Hey all-

Don't know if you noticed, but December's full moon was on Saturday. I know we're a few days late, but we're still celebrating the Full Moon Extravaganza! (I'm ankle deep in KidA's puke right now--thank you, mysterious stomach bug--so please forgive the lateness.)

This time around, the folks at Egmont USA are hosting their own giveaway to celebrate the full moon--and the upcoming release of THE SAVAGE GRACE. You can go visit their Facebook page in order to win one of ten signed covers of THE SAVAGE GRACE by clicking HERE. (You may have to scroll down a bit.)

But be sure to come back here after you enter Egmont's contest, and then tell me you did so in the comments of this post, because I'm giving away a $15 Amazon gift-card to one lucky entrant!

That's right, all you have to do to enter to win the $15 gift-card is enter Egmont's Facebook giveaway, and then come back here and tell me you did so in the comments of this post. My personal giveaway is open until 11:59 pm on Saturday, December 17th. I'll announce winners the following day. Also, my contest is open internationally.

(Hint: $15 is plenty of $$ to pre-order TSG on Amazon, or pick up the new paperback of TLS--or for a limited time only, you can snag the TLS eBook for only $5.49. But ya know, you can use the gift-card for whatever.)

Okay. Have fun entering the contests. I will think of it all fondly as I'm scrubbing some more puke out of the carpet. And then hopefully I'll get to take a nap. KidA managed to throw up on 25 minute intervals all night long last night. I think I might be a little bit delirious. Hey, wait, is that David Tennant in his TARDIS, beckoning me to take a ride with him to the Land of Nod?

I want to go to there . . . zzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Winter YA Scavenger Hunt Winners!

2011-12-05T21:51:00.003-07:00

Hey all-

The YA Scavenger Hunt was a rollicking success! I hope you all had a fun time, and got a chance to read the exclusive sneak peek of THE SAVAGE GRACE.

Just a couple of notes before we get on to winners-

If you would like to buy signed copies of any of my books for the holidays (or for any other reason) there are 3 ways you can do this:

1. Attending the Holiday Party hosted by The King's English Bookshop this Thursday (December 8th) between 5:30-7:00 p.m. to mingle with (and buy signed books) with tons of fabulous authors. For more info, click HERE.

2. If you can't attend the party, you can still order books from the King's English by December 8th, and I will sign and personalize them for you--and the bookstore will then ship them to you! Give them a call at 801-484-9100 to place an order for signed books.

3. I'll be signing at a Holiday book festival hosted at the Orem Library on December 17th from 12-2 p.m. Again, there will be lots of awesome authors in attendance, so you won't want to miss it.

Now on to winners . . .

The winner of the YA SCAVENGER HUNT grand prize is: Sandra Lin of Australia!

The winner of my giveaway (for all three books in the Dark Divine trilogy + Grace's bracelet) is:
Devinne Perry!

Devinne, please email me at readbree@gmail.com in order to claim your prize. If I don't hear from you in 30 days, I'll assume you don't want it, and give it to someone else.

Thanks everyone! The YA Scavenger Hunt will be back in April for more fun, prizes, and bonus material.

The YA Scanevger Hunt Returns!!!

2011-12-01T12:53:00.005-07:00

***Note: If you just came here directly from Alexandra Monir's blog, you're in the wrong spot. Please go HERE instead to proceed with the YA Scavenger Hunt. If you didn't come from Alexandra's then go ahead and read this post.***

Welcome to the Winter YA Scavenger Hunt!

The Hunt is a huge, multi-author project with contests, awesome prizes, and exclusive bonus material galore!

The hunt begins on December 1st at Noon and ends on Sunday at Noon (Pacific time)--so don't delay joining in on the fun. This is truly a unique sneak peek into what’s coming up in YA literature!

Each author who is participating in the YA Scavenger Hunt will host one of the other participating authors, providing you with his or her bio, book(s), and special super exclusive bonus material.

But that's not all!

You can also enter to win the YA SCAVENGER HUNT GRAND PRIZE that includes a special gift from each of the 37 participating authors!! Rules and directions for how to enter will come later in this post, so keep on reading.
But wait, there's even more than that!

As you visit all the stops on the YA Scavenger Hunt, you will notice that many of the authors are hosting their own special giveaways in addition to the grand prize. Including me! (See the bottom of this post for how to enter to win me exclusive giveaway.) So, be sure to check out everyone’s page in the Hunt!

(While you're at it, keep an eye out for special keywords written in red. You will need them in order to enter to win the Grand Prize.)

Okay, now it is my pleasure to introduce you all to the author I am hosting for the YA Scavenger Hunt:

Inara Scott

Inara was born in the winter wonderland of Buffalo, NY. She promptly commenced complaining about being cold, and didn’t stop until she moved to Durham, NC, to attend college at Duke University. After graduating with a degree in History and Women’s Studies, Inara wandered around the country teaching outdoor education and writing bad poetry, and eventually found herself at law school in Portland, Oregon. Inara practiced law for ten years before screwing up the courage to quit her day job and devote herself to writing and teaching. Today, Inara writes anything and everything, including children’s books, young adult fiction, and adult romance. Her debut novel, DELCROIX ACADEMY: THE CANDIDATES, published in 2010 by Disney-Hyperion Books for Children, was a 2010 Oregon Spirit Book Award Honor Book.

Inara's new book is:

THE MARKED (Delcroix Academy 2)

All of her life, Dancia Lewis has wanted to use her powers for good. And now that she’s learned the truth about Delcroix Academy—and herself—she may just get the chance. But being part of Delcroix’s top secret Program isn’t anything like Dancia expected. She has to ask herself: what happens to the Talented kids who refuse to pledge their loyalty to the Program? And why did her friend Jack run away rather than join? Dancia’s boyfriend Cam insists they need the help of every Talented student to defend Delcroix from dangerous enemies outside their gates. But Dancia has to wonder: what if Delcroix’s most frightening enemies come from within?

Now for an exciting bit of bonus material along with a note from Inara:

When you write a book in first person, you get deeply embedded into a character's mind and perspective. This is really fun, especially when they're a tough, caring, and powerful girl like Dancia Lewis, the main character from my book The Candidates. But you miss getting that deep look into other characters' psyches. That's why I love writing scenes from other points of view. In this scene, which I wrote just for the fantabulous YA Scavenger Hunt, you'll go back to the beginning of The Candidates and hear from someone who, I think, may be misunderstood. (Or maybe not...I'M NOT TELLING.) Anyway, I hope you have fun hearing a little bit from Cam, the hottest boy at Delcroix Academy. If you haven't read the series, this will be a bit of a spoiler, so be careful! And enjoy...

I’d been watching her for weeks – months, really, if you count all the time I spent watching her talent marks, without knowing exactly what I was seeing. At first, I saw little puffs of color, or strange worm-like shapes crawling through the sky. We’d drive around but it was hard to pin down the source. Talent marks usually stay with the person who makes them, or linger right where the talent has been exercised, but these were different. They hung over houses, a restaurant in downtown Danville, even the middle school. Mr. Judan had us all on guard, just in case it was someone dangerous.

Then one day I saw something explode across the sky, like the image of a firework appearing, and then slowly fading from view. I was at Delcroix, sitting on the lawn with Anna and Trevor. School was almost done for the year, and we were all starting to panic about exams. I’d been studying so much I thought maybe I’d finally started to hallucinate. But no, it wasn’t a hallucination: it was a mark. The biggest talent mark I’d ever seen.

The colors and shapes fit together so beautifully, I knew at once that it couldn’t be more than one person. And the strength of it? Well, that was the remarkable part. Level two talents rarely left behind a mark– when they used their talent they might have a temporary aura, a barely visible glow around their body. Level threes always left something behind, usually for thirty minutes or more. But I’d never seen anything like this. This mark had been broadcast across the sky, creating a swath of color a mile wide.

That night, they broke the story on the evening news: a local girl, defending her grandmother, had leaped at a man with a gun, preventing tragedy from striking at the Central Danville Hospital. We guessed the truth was something far different: the man had been pushed. And not by any physical force. By the girl’s mind.

By seven am the next day we were Watching her. No one, not even Mr. Judan, could believe what we’d found. A level three talent? Untrained? Right under our noses in Danville?

We needed to bring her to Delcroix. For everyone’s protection.

We paid our recruiting visit a few weeks later. The girl’s name was Dancia Lewis. She lived with her grandmother in a tiny brown house on a street cluttered with broken-down cars and weedy lawns. Dancia’s grandmother met us at the door. She was a tiny thing with white hair and thick makeup on her cheeks and eyes. Dancia had light blonde hair that fell in tight ringlets around her shoulders. I’d seen her before, with the other Watchers, but hadn’t seen her up close. When she finally looked me in the face, I froze. She was beautiful, powerful, and terrified all at once.

All I could think was, how could they have missed it?

How could they look at her and not know what she was capable of?

In a dim corner of my brain I heard Mr. Judan say, “This is Cameron Sanders. He’ll be a junior at Delcroix this fall, and he’s one of our Student Recruiters. He works with me over the summer to identify potential new freshman and tell them about the school.”

Mr. Judan’s deep voice snapped me out of my reverie. “Call me Cam,” I said, pasting on a smile. I held out my hand, waiting for her to shake it.

She looked nervous, and it took a second for her to reach out.

“Glad to finally meet you, Dancia,” I said. Our hands made contact for the first time, and the shock took my breath away.

Normally, the first time I touch someone with the potential to become a level three talent, I get a little tingle. It feels more like an emotional connection, as crazy as that sounds, than any real physical connection. But not with Dancia. When our hands met I felt an actual current rush between us, like she was calling out my energy and I was doing the same to hers, and the result was a channel of power and heat.

She dropped my hand and winced, obviously feeling the same thing as me. I let some of my persuasion flow, though I didn’t have anywhere near the power that Mr. Judan did. I wanted to let her know it was all right. I tried to tell her with my eyes that she was going to be fine. Somewhere in that current between us I felt her loneliness, and it ripped at my heart.

But really, what could I say? It wasn’t like we were going to be honest with her. It wasn’t like she could trust us.

The lies were just beginning. I only hoped she wouldn’t hate me too much, when she found out the truth.

To learn more about Inara and her books, you can visit her website at: http://www.inarascott.com
You can purchase her books by clicking HERE or HERE.

And now it's time for giveaways!!

YA Scavenger Hunt Grand Prize Contest

As an extra bonus we’ve put together a puzzle with one keyword found on each website. Complete it and you will be eligible for a fantastic GRAND PRIZE which will include signed editions of books, signed bookmarks, jewelry, and many more exclusive gifts with at least one gift from ALL 37 PARTICIPATING AUTHORS!

Directions: Search for the 37 keywords—one on each Scavenger Hunt website—that are highlighted in RED. When you are finished, go here to the puzzle form, where you will find a list of scrambled keywords. List your keywords in the same order as the scrambled ones—from #1 - #37—and paste that list into the entry form.

Rules: To be eligible for the grand prize, you must submit the completed puzzle form before noon on Dec 4th Pacific Time. All the keywords must be included and you must include your full name and address. Entries sent in without name and address will not be considered! The contest is international.

Exclusive Dark Divine Trilogy Giveaway

To celebrate the YA Scavenger Hunt, I am hosting my own giveaway of the entire Dark Divine Trilogy. You can enter to win signed paperbacks of THE DARK DIVINE, THE LOST SAINT, and an advanced reader copy of THE SAVAGE GRACE + an official Dark Divine "Off the Cuff" bracelet from Infinite Jewelry Company. (The bracelet is a replica of the one worn by Grace in the THE LOST SAINT.)

+

To enter-

You must do all of the following:

1. "Like" the Dark Divine facebook page by clicking HERE. (If you've done that already in the past, then you're good to go on this step.)

2. Send me an email at readbree@gmail.com with the subject line "Winter YA Scavenger Hunt." Tell me that you've "liked" the facebook page, and then tell me the answer to the following questions:

A. From Inara's exerpt above, what color of hair does Danica's grandmother have?

B. [As you go through the YA Scavenger Hunt, keep a look out for my special bonus material. (An exclusive excerpt from THE SAVAGE GRACE.) Find the answer to this question by reading the excerpt.] When Grace's father forbids her from returning to the warehouse, where does Grace announce she's going to go to instead?

Rules: 1 entry per person, contest ends at Noon (pacific time) on December 4th, 2011. The winner will be announced the next day. Winner must claim their prize within 30 days. Contest is open internationally. Be sure to email your entry to readbree@gmail.com and NOT give your answers in the comments of this post.

Ready to move on to the next stop in the YA Scavenger Hunt??

Click HERE!

Winner of the Full Moon Extravaganza #2

2011-12-01T12:43:00.004-07:00

As it is now December 1st, I need to announce the winner from our Full Moon Extravaganza #2. Using a super complicated selection process involving, charts, graphs, number assignments, and a random selector, I can now say . . .

Congratulations to Paige!

Paige won a bunch of cool books by helping to spread the word for the Kids Need to Read fundraiser... which incidentally is still going on. See the side bar for how you can participate.

What specifically did she win? Well . . . 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

The winner needs to email me at readbree(at)gmail(dot)com with your mailing address within 30 days to claim your prize. Otherwise another lucky winner will be chosen. Thanks everyone who bought a copy of THE LOST LETTERS OF BROTHER GABRIEL and helped spread the word about Kids Need to Read.

TLS Paperbacks and Jewelry Winners!

2011-11-22T19:59:00.013-07:00

Guess what guys? Today is THE LOST SAINT's paperback birthday! You can get them here, or here, or here, or anywhere else books are sold. BUT, if you would like a signed copy you can place an order with The King's English and I will happily run on over there to sign it before they ship it to you. Just let them know you would like a signed copy and they'll give me a buzz. And that goes for any of my books.

Speaking of The King's English, I'm going to be there on December 8th for their holiday party. Stop by if you can. Should be lots of fun to be had and lots of authors to meet and mingle with and get your books signed. (I think the party goes from 5:30 to 7pm . . . but don't quote me on that.)

Okay, on to some business.

It's time to announce the winners of the Infinite Jewelry give-away (thank you all who entered and especially to those who helped spread the word). So, between the blog and facebook, there were just over 81 individuals who entered the contest and well over 100 entries. So, so close to 90. But since it's TLS's birthday, I figure I may as well give away three pieces right?

From that list of entries I put together a nice little spread sheet and fed it to Random.org. And by me, I mean my husband did. As a result, here are the winners and their prize:

Entry #49: D.
D won a cuff.

Entry #107: Maidenveil
Maidenveil won a moonstone pendent.
Entry #84: MaCayla C.
MaCayla aslo won a pendent.And since I don't want to ring to feel left out, here's a picture of that too :D.
Winners be sure to email me at readbree(at)gmail(dot)com with your mailing address to claim your prize. If I do not hear from you in 30 days, I will assume you do not want your gift and I will find someone else who does.

If you didn't win, don't worry, you can still get 10% off your purchase if you decide to snap up some of this beautiful jewelry for yourself or a friend. (Makes a great holiday gift!) Just enter coupon code 031312 at checkout when you visit Infinite Jewelry Co's website HERE. (Offer is good until December 15, 2011.)

Oh! Also, please don't forget that the fundraiser for Kids Need To Read is still going on until June but the contest ends on Nov. 30th. Don't know what I'm talking about? Read more here.

That's it for now. So, what are your plans for Thanksgiving? I'll be stuffing myself with turkey, trying my best to avoid gluten, dairy, egg landmines. It'll be an adventure. Then I get to have family over on Saturday... which means much cleaning must be done. I'm thinking I'm going to make hubby do it, since it's his family and all. Is that justified or deviously ~~mean~~ awesome? I can't decide.

Moonstones and Bracelets and Rings, Oh My! Introducing: The Official Dark Divine Jewelry Line

2011-11-15T11:00:00.001-07:00

I've got something fantastic for you all today . . . but first a little bit of business before I get to the shiny, fun part.

Business:

1. Please don't forget about the fundraiser I am hosting for the wonderful folks at Kids Need To Read. You can purchase the eBook version of THE LOST LETTERS OF BROTHER GABRIEL (A Dark Divine Original Story) for only $1.99, and all of my proceeds will go to #KNTR--helping to provide books to underprivileged libraries and schools. For more details, and how you can win fabulous signed books by spreading the word, click HERE.

2. THE LOST SAINT paperback comes out on November 22nd, 2011!!!! We are getting so close! The paperback includes some fun extras and has a new cover (different than the hardcover) so you won't want to miss it. In anticipation of the release, Amazon is currently offering THE DARK DIVINE eBook for only $3.99! That way you can brush up on the first book before the sequel come out in paperback.

3. I've been told that Egmont USA is running a month of contests and giveaways in order to get ready for the paperback of TLS. Click HERE to find out more.

NOW ON TO THE FUN STUFF...

I've been working closely with the amazing ladies at Infinite Jewelry Co (the official jewelers of TWILIGHT) to design and create jewelry pieces that look just like the rings, bracelets, and necklaces depicted in the DARK DIVINE trilogy. And now, after over a year of planning and designing, Infinite Jewelry Co is pleased to present the official DARK DIVINE jewelry line!

Here's what Infinite Jewelry has to say about it all:

INTRODUCING…The Dark Divine series of amazing, trend-setting jewelry! We are happy to present the new line of jewelry based on the incredible books, The Dark Divine trilogy, by Bree Despain! We have worked closely with Bree to bring to life the jewelry she envisioned as she wrote. We hope that you will love wearing your very own tangible connection to The Dark Divine trilogy!

To celebrate the launch of the Dark Divine jewelry line, from now until December 15, 2011, Infinite Jewelry Co is offering a 10% discount to all of my wonderful readers. Enter coupon code 031312 at checkout in order to receive your discount.*

BUT OF COURSE THERE'S MORE . . .

I am so excited about this jewelry, that I've decided that I need to throw a contest in order to celebrate! Which means I am going to be giving away a few pieces of jewelry to some lucky winners!

HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO DO IN ORDER TO ENTER TO WIN:

1. Right now, there are three different jewelry pieces available in the Dark Divine line (with more to come after the publication of THE SAVAGE GRACE). Each piece is available in both "classic" and "signature" additions. Today, I am only going to show you my favorite piece, and then make you go find the other two pieces so you can decide which one is your favorite.

So what's my my favorite TDD jewelry piece? I LOVE them all, but the Black Moonstone Necklace is especially awesome and unique. It's just like how I imagined Daniel's moonstone necklace--It even has a crescent moon carved in the middle! It comes on either a cord (like Daniel would wear) or on a delicate chain (like how Grace wore it).

2. Now it's your turn to check out all the Dark Divine jewelry and decide which one is your favorite. Click HERE to be taken to Infinite Jewelry's website so see all the awesome for yourself.

3. To earn your first entry in the contest, be sure to come back here and tell me in the comments of this post which piece is YOUR favorite.

4. You can earn additional entries by blogging our tweeting/facebooking about the contest and sharing the coupon code. Be sure to share coupon code 031312 with your followers so they can also receive a 10% discount (between Nov. 15 & Dec 15, 2011). You can earn +2 entries for a blog post, and +1 entry for either a Facebook post or a tweet. Only 4 entries per individual are allowed.

5. Contest is open internationally. It closes at midnight on November 21, 2011. Winners will be selected through Random.org. If you win, I will send you the piece that you selected as your favorite!!!** Winners will be announced on November 22nd--so be sure to check back in here to see if you won! (Winners will have 30 days to claim their prize or else I will asume they don't want it and I'll give it away to someone else.)

6. And the best part is: I will be giving away 1 piece of "classic edition" jewelry for every 30 INDIVIDUAL PEOPLE who enter the contest. That means the more people you get to enter, the more pieces I will give away!!

So go now and check out the jewelry and start entering to win! I hope you love it all as much as I do!! If you decide to purchase a piece while you're there, be sure to use your coupon code for a 10% discount. (Hint: This jewelry makes a great holiday gift*--especially if you have a TDD fan in your life.)

* (If you want a piece for a holiday gift, act quickly, as the jewelry is available on a pre-order basis. Your order will be delivered 3-5 weeks after you purchase it.)

** For the purposes of this contest, I am giving away the "classic edition" pieces only.

Full Moon Extravaganza #2: Kids Need To Read

2011-11-10T09:00:00.002-07:00

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!!

THE SAVAGE GRACE Cover reveal winners! (And the cover for you to share)

2011-10-14T13:05:00.005-06:00

Woohoo! Out of the HUNDREDS of entries, we used Random.org to choose our three winners who will receive an ARC of THE SAVAGE GRACE.

Those winners are:

Tamara Basic

Grace Clyde
Noelle Smith

Winners, I will contact you via the email address you provided to get your shipping info. Your ARC will be sent to you as soon as they are available (probably some time in early November.)

In case you didn't get to see the cover (or want to see it again) I've posted it here. Please feel free to copy and paste the cover and share it on your blog/facebook/twitter etc. The more people who see it the better!

Just as an FYI, the cover looks redder online than it really is. It's actually a gorgeous coral pink color. And it's going to have a beautiful nail polish to match! (Coming soon.)

Full Moon Extravaganza #1: Cover reveal for THE SAVAGE GRACE!!!!

2011-10-12T09:00:00.002-06:00

If you didn't know already, tonight is a full moon. It also marks almost exactly 5 months until the release of THE SAVAGE GRACE. So to celebrate, and in honor of a few of my favorite werewolves, my publisher and I have decided to release something super cool and extra special on the day of the full moon each month, all the way up until the release date in March. Starting today!

And I'm really excited about today's special treat. I've been waiting to show it to you all for a LONG time.

Yes, it is finally time to reveal the cover to the final installation of Dark Divine trilogy, THE SAVAGE GRACE!

But, I'm not going to just throw the cover up on my blog. No. That would be too simple. Instead, I've decided to make a game of it. So, do you want to play?

Oh, good. But before we get started, I've got even more awesome news. I will be giving away an ARC of THE SAVAGE GRACE to three random people who participate in the game!*

Ok, so here's how you play: I have created a puzzle of THE SAVAGE GRACE's cover on my website. But I've spread the pieces across the interwebs, so before you can get to the puzzle and put it all together, you need to go find the pieces and unscramble a password. Don't worry. You won't need to copy and paste the puzzle piece images or do anything too technical.

Here's how you do it-

1.) Each group of puzzle pieces has been assigned key letters. You gather these groups of pieces by collecting these letters from the following blogs:

PageTurners
Mundie Moms
Waste Paper Prose

2.) Once you have all the letters, unscramble them to find the password. (Keep the theme to the Dark Divine trilogy in mind.)

3.) Now that you have all the pieces and have figured out the password, you can follow this link to gain access to the full puzzle (that can be pieced together to reveal the cover image): http://www.breedespain.com/puzzle.php

4.) Enter the password when prompted. It has to be entered in all lower-case letters.

5.) After you finish the puzzle, click "view image" to see the cover completed.

6.) Now make sure you fill out the form on the left hand side of the puzzle page. This is how you enter the drawing for one of three ARCs of THE SAVAGE GRACE, so don't forget that part.

7.) The contest is open until 11:59 p.m. MST on Thursday, October 13th. Winners will be announced here on my blog on Friday, October 14th. Contest is open internationally!

Get it? Got it? Good.

Here's a little sneak peek of the cover puzzle:

THE SAVAGE GRACE synopsis:

A troubled soul. An impossible choice. A final battle.

Wrestling with the werewolf curse pulsing deep inside of her, Grace Divine was finally able to find her brother, but it nearly cost her everything.

With her boyfriend, Daniel, stuck in wolf form and Sirhan's death approaching, time is running out for Grace to stop Caleb Kalbi and his gang of demons. If she fails, her family and hometown will perish. Everything rests on Grace's shoulders.

The final installment in The Dark Divine trilogy brings Daniel and Grace's love story to a breathtaking conclusion.

The code letters you need from this blog are: oi

Now head on out to the other blogs
(PageTurners
Mundie Moms
Waste Paper Prose ) and collect the rest of the letters. If you already have all the letters, unscramble them to find the password, and click HERE to access the puzzle.

I really hope you love the cover as much as I do! Be sure to tell me what you think.

Does anyone have any special plans for the full moon tonight?

* Please note: ARCs of THE SAVAGE GRACE aren't available quite yet. Winners will receive the first three ARCs I get. (Probably some time in early November.)

P.S. When the winners are announced, I'll put up a larger version of TSG's cover that you are welcome to post all over the internet as much as you please. But for now, the cover is locked down and can't be copied.

P.P. S. A couple of upcoming events you should know about:

1. October 19--I'll be speaking on a panel will Sara Zarr and Emily Wing Smith at the West Valley City Library, in celebration of Teen Read Week.
7 p.m. 2880 West 3650 South

2. November 5th--I'll be speaking on a panel at the Vegas Valley Book Festival with Becca Fitzpatrick, Rachel Hawkins, and many more awesome authors. Later that evening, we'll be in attendance at the Paranormal Ball. (Fancy dresses, tons of authors & book lovers--who could ask for anything more fabulous?)

Winner of ASHES...and exciting stuff coming!

2011-10-11T16:50:00.002-06:00

Just a quick post to let you know that the winner of ASHES is: Jenni Elyse

Jenni, email me at readbree (at) gmail (dot) com to claim your prize!

Also, tomorrow is the full moon, which means something exciting is coming along with it for Dark Divine fans. Be here at 11:00 a.m. EST Wednesday morning to find out what it is. (Hint: I think you'll love it!)

XOXO,

Bree

Read the first chapter of THE SAVAGE GRACE (Plus a contest)

2011-10-05T12:28:00.008-06:00

Eep! Eep! Eep!

Fantastic news, my friends. In order to say thank you for all the awesome feedback on the paperback cover of THE LOST SAINT, my publisher (Egmont USA) has decided to let everyone (as opposed to only the first 200 voters) read the prologue and first chapter of THE SAVAGE GRACE. But only for a limited time.

48 hours to be exact.

Between 3 p.m. EST on October 5th (as in right now) and 3 p.m. EST on October 7th you can read the prologue and first chapter of THE SAVAGE GRACE by clicking HERE. [UPDATE: Sorry, the 48 hrs are up and the link has been removed.]

Contest time:

So go on ahead and read the excerpt, and then please share a link to this blog post with anyone who you think would enjoy reading the first chapter (via Twitter, Facebook, blogging, vlogging, newsletter, etc). Then come back here and tell me what you did in the comments of this post (and provide linkage) and I'll enter you to win an autographed copy of ASHES by Ilsa Bick.

Contest ends at 2:30 p.m. EST on October 7th. The winner will be chosen through Random.org and announced on or before Tuesday, October 11th. Contest is open internationally.

Thanks so much for voting for TLS's paperback cover. In case you didn't get to see the final cover design, I'm posting it again here:

(Isn't she a beauty?)

Now, please go read and share the first chapter of THE SAVAGE GRACE while I nervously chew my fingernails and hope you like it . . .

[UPDATE: Sorry, the 48 hrs are up and the link has been removed.]

THE LOST SAINT Paperback Cover Reveal and more

2011-10-03T13:57:00.000-06:00

The options were strong.

The voting was intense.

The time has come.

So, without further ado, I present to you the cover that will be on the paperback edition of THE LOST SAINT:

Ta Da!

I love that Egmont considered everyone's feedback and decided to take the best of both cover options and created a whole new gorgeous finished product. Many thanks to all who participated in the Facebook vote. This cover is for you!

Oh, and speaking of the voting, one of the things promised was access to the first chapter of THE SAVAGE GRACE for the first 200 voters, right? Well, since the response to the voting was so great, Egmont decided rather than limit access to the first 200 voters, they would like to let EVERYONE read the first chapter. Woohoo!

But only for a limited time . . .

Starting Wednesday, chapter 1 of THE SAVAGE GRACE will be available on Scribd.com. The chapter will only be posted for 48 hours, so don't miss out. Be sure to come back here to get a direct link to the first chapter, and to see some of my favorite foreign market covers for THE DARK DIVINE and THE LOST SAINT. There are also some exciting things in the works that I'm hoping I'll be able to tell you about then.

P.S. A couple of upcoming events you should know about:

1. October 19--I'll be speaking on a panel will Sara Zarr and Emily Wing Smith at the West Valley City Library, in celebration of Teen Reads Week.
7 p.m. 2880 West 3650 South

2. November 5th--I'll be speaking on a panel at the Vegas Valley Book Festival with Becca Fitzpatrick, Rachel Hawkins, and many more awesome authors. Later that evening, we'll be in attendance at the Paranormal Ball. (Fancy dresses, tons of authors & book lovers--who could ask for anything more fabulous?)

That's all for now. See ya Wednesday!

THE LOST SAINT Paperback Cover

2011-09-02T12:41:00.008-06:00

Hello Readers,

I need your help. The US paperback edition of THE LOST SAINT comes out on November 22nd and we are asking YOU to help us choose the cover. Over on the Facebook fan pages for THE DARK DIVINE and THE LOST SAINT we have posted the original cover that appeared on the hardcover edition, and the shiny new cover concept below.

(You can get a larger view of the covers by clicking on the pics posted on Facebook.)

Head on over to Facebook by clicking HERE or HERE and pick your favorite cover by liking the corresponding post.

As an added (and super special) bonus, the first 100 (and possibly more) people to cast their votes will be granted access to an exclusive read of THE SAVAGE GRACE's first chapter!*
Update: Now the first 200 voters will be granted access to the exclusive sneak peek.*

Voting ends September 9th.

Ready….
Set…

GO!

*Voters will be granted access to TSG's first chapter via Netgalley before the end of September 2011. (That's almost 2 months earlier than anyone else will get to see it!)

May the best cover win.

Something wicked this way comes...

2011-09-02T11:31:00.002-06:00

Something so totally awesome is on its way later today. Something I'm going to need your help with. Watch the blog and facebook fan pages for updates. Stay tuned...

Muhahahahaa!

-Bree

The Silver Lining . . .

2011-08-25T08:06:00.001-06:00

So, I have some news that some of you might not like very much . . . but don't worry, it has a big, shiny, silver lining.

I think I'll tell you the kinda bad news before the good stuff. Bad news should always come first. It's like eating your veggies before you get a brownie, right? I mean, nobody wants to eat broccoli after eating a brownie. Crap, now I really want brownies . . .

The Bad News:
The release date of THE SAVAGE GRACE has been rescheduled from December 27th, 2011 to March 13th, 2012.

Unfortunately, this means I have to wait an additional 2.5 months before I can tell you all what happens to Grace, Daniel, Talbot, and Jude. (And I may possibly die from the anticipation.)

The Silver Lining (a.k.a. The Brownies):

1. One of the reasons Egmont decided to push the release date is because they want to send me on tour (which has previously been hard to do during the Holiday season). Hopefully, this means I'll be visiting a town near you soon!

2. We are planning an exciting "Full Moon Campaign" starting this October. During the full moon of each month leading up to the release of TSG, exclusive Dark Divine related content or special offers will be released to readers (which will hopefully help tide us all over until TSG's release in March).

3. With the release of THE LOST SAINT in paperback this November 22nd, the book will include the prologue and first chapter of THE SAVAGE GRACE to also help ease the wait.

4. The extended lead time means that there will now be ARCs (advanced reader copies) of THE SAVAGE GRACE! If you are a book blogger or reviewer and would like to request an ARC, please send your info to readbree (at) gmail (dot) com and I will forward it along to my publicist.

[Please note: All requests will be forwarded to my publicist even if you don't receive a reply from me. I still have to actually finish edits of TSG and I sadly can't respond to all email. Also, my publicist has the final say on who will receive a review copy. Sending a request will not guarantee that you'll get one--but I really hope you do!]

That's all for now. If you know anyone , or have blog readers, who would appreciate knowing that THE SAVAGE GRACE will now be releasing on March 13th, 2012 please share this info with them.

Now off to go find some brownies with silver linings . . . .

Strangely enough, this is what I found when I googled images of "brownies with silver liner":

(David Tennant: Just as yummy as a brownie with a silver lining!)

I'll take it!

The blog post I almost didn't publish . . .

2011-08-19T08:36:00.001-06:00

So normally I like this blog to be a place of positive thought and energy. There's just so much negativity out there that I strive to mostly talk about the good things in life, or at least about overcoming the bad, rather than wallowing in it or getting in a mud fight. But lately, there have been some things that have me feeling, well, GRRRRRRR!!! And I need to get a few things off my chest so I can move on and get back to working on my writing. I've debated publishing this post, but ultimately decided it needed to be said.

Every Wednesday, one of my fave radio programs creates a list of "things that must go" in order to vent about stuff they are currently finding irksome. Occasionally, they include "things that must go" contributed by their listeners.

I know it's Friday and not Wednesday, nor am I on the radio, but I decided to compile my own such list here.

(Side note: You may find this list more entertaining if you imagine it being explained in the voice of Jeffery Donovan - a.k.a. Michael Weston from BURN NOTICE. For an example of this, click here.)

MY LIST OF THINGS THAT MUST GO:

1. Authors who insist on mocking or belittling pretty much every book or genre that is not their own. We get it; you think you're the most awesome author on the face of the planet. NOW GET OVER YOURSELF.

2. Authors who find it necessary to belittle every other book in their own genre (similar to above, but still different enough to warrant its own number). We get it; your book is different and therefore better than every other book in your genre--making you the most awesome author on the planet. Again--GET OVER YOURSELF.

3. Authors who say definitively that if a story has X,Y, or Z in it, then that book is weak, or an example of bad writing.

Just because you might not care for dystopian or paranormal books (or whatever genre) does not mean that authors who like to write in these genres are weak writers, doing a disservice to YA fiction, nor does it make them bad people in general.

Just because you might not be a fan of love triangles, does not mean that a story with a love triangle in it is a sign of weak plotting or bad writing. Many readers and authors happen to have an affinity for love triangles. I, personally, happen to be a sucker for unrequited love--therefore often making me a sucker for a well-done love triangle (which sometimes actually looks more like a love "V"--but I digress). You guys know how much I love THE VAMPIRE DIARIES (TV show) and there is no way on earth you're going to convince me that show is an example of bad writing because it has a love triangle.

Just because something doesn't float your boat, doesn't mean it's weak writing, poor plotting, or bad. It's just not what you personally like. There are a few plot elements and writing styles out there that I am not a fan of-- but I'm not going to call every author who uses those things a bad writer. Everyone is welcome to their own opinion--and to each his/her own.

4. Authors (or people in general) who use cuteness and/or humor as a way to thinly veil rudeness when mocking or belittling everyone around them.

Just because you put a ;) [winky-smile] after saying something rude, does not make the rude comment okay or funny or oh-so-cute.

5. The idea that all stay-at-home-moms-turned-authors started writing because they were BORED. I started writing over 12 years ago--long before getting married and having children--and worked deliberately toward the goal of becoming a published author. Admittedly, one of the things that factored into my decision to try to become an author was because it was a career that would allow me to stay home with my future children, but I write because I love it. Boredom has never been a factor. And honestly, I don't remember the last time my brain wasn't whirring with ideas enough for me to be bored.

6. Authors with one book (or maybe even two or three) published who act like they are the authority on everything. I love when aspiring authors and other writers ask me for advice, because I feel like I've learned on a lot on my journey to being published. I love to help where I can. Dispensing advice is rewarding, and often helpful--but I realize that in the grand scheme of things, I'm no Judy Blume or Meg Cabot yet, and I'm relatively new to the game. Acting like the authority on all things writerly (or otherwise) just kind of makes you seem full of yourself--not really the best way to win friends and influence your peers.

7. Authors who write blog posts that are supposed to be "honest" or "heart felt" but are really just whine sessions geared toward manipulation and aggrandizing themselves. Or when their "honesty" is just another attempt to mock or belittle every book/genre that is not their own. (Yeah, the mocking thing has been bugging me a lot lately if you can't tell.)

Meanness, whining, and snobbery should not be confused with being "honest" and "heart felt."

Oh, wait a sec . . . I'm writing an "honest" post in which I'm whining about things that must go. I hope that doesn't fall into this category. Does it? Oh crap . . .

And that leads to my last thing that must go:

8. Hypocrites. ;) ;) -- (double winky-face. BAHM!)

And there you have it. My list of things that must go.

Please forgive my need to vent. I promise a return to positivity very soon. In the meantime, what's on your list of things that must go? Have you been watching BURN NOTICE? (Hubby and I just started season 3.) So . . . do you think you could win in a bar fight?

Doing the Jammie Shuffle in LA

2011-08-10T20:35:00.011-06:00

Hi guys,

I have to say, it has been once crazy summer. Unfortunately I don't mean I got to spend it with the always lovely 80's John Cusack and Demi Moore in beautiful Nantucket.

What I mean is that it has been one BUSY summer. The release date for THE SAVAGE GRACE is getting closer and I've been buried in writing and revisions. I apologize for not being as active on the blog as of late. But don't worry, there are lots of fun and exciting things to come. Speaking of which, the book cover for THE SAVAGE GRACE is really close to being released and I can't tell you how excited I am to share it. Patience. (That was as much for me as anyone else).

So I've just returned from the fabulous SCBWI LA conference with my lovely critique partners and best friends Brodi Ashton (EVERNEATH, Harper Collins Spring 2012) and Emily Wing Smith (BACK WHEN YOU WERE EASIER TO LOVE, Dutton - Available Now). It was an awesome trip full of fun, laughs, and surprises.

TOP TEN THINGS I learned from SCBWI LA:

1.) Lindsey Leavitt is a riot. Many of you may already know who Lindsey Leavitt is (author of THE PRINCESS FOR HIRE series and her latest book SEAN GRISWALD'S HEAD), but you may not know that she is exactly the kind of person you want to hang out with at a conference like this. She almost literally bounces of the walls with energy, and pushes you to make sure you are actually having a blast. Of course that also means when it is 3 am and your about to pass out from exhaustion and she's trying to order a pizza and chocolate cake from room service, it can be difficult to turn her off. GO TO BED LINDSEY!

2.) Guilt Tweeting works. Emily wasn't going to go with us this year for various reasons, but as soon as Brodi and I arrived at the airport without her, we both immediately missed her presence. In an effort to express our sadness at her not being there, both Brodi and I tweeted about how forlorn and despondent we were that she would not be attending with us. Next thing we know, we get a text from Emily, saying she'd booked a flight and was going to meet us in LA the next day. Woohoo!

3.) Gary Paulsen is crazy. . . but in an extremely entertaining way. Between his stories of being in a Mexican prison, dog sledding, and his *honest* opinions about publishing, this became very very clear.

4.) I GOT TO STAND THREE FEET AWAY FROM JUDY BLUME! Ok, I didn't actually learn anything from that, it was just really cool.

5.) If you put a whole bunch of writers in their pajamas, they turn it into a party! At first I was a little bummed that this year's ball was going to be a PJ party. Basically, that's what I wear to work nearly every day, and the ball at SCBWI is one of the few occasions that gives me an excuse to get a bit dressy. In the end, however, I think the pajamas made everyone a bit more relaxed and there was actually more people dancing. Lindsey can certainly bust a move in those PJs. The party went something like this...

6.) Brodi believes I must eat beef constantly, and insists this should be announced at regular intervals to everybody within a thirty foot radius.

7.) Apparently the only things I managed to take pictures of were Judy Blume and a book made out of chocolate. Obviously you can see where my priorities lie.

8.) I reaffirmed that I love Richard Peck. Seriously. What an awesome, sweet, and commanding speaker/writer/person.

9.) Gluten, dairy, egg free breakfast is nearly impossible to find in LA when you are in a hurry. I don't get it. I thought LA was all about catering to insane diet restrictions?

10.) On a related note, trail mix and water purchased from a hotel convenience store is as expensive as funding the next shuttle mission to Mars. But when you're allergic to everything else in the building and about to have a hypoglycemic attack… it'll do.

That's all for now. As I said, I've got a lot to share in the coming weeks and months as we get closer to THE LOST SAINT being released in paperback (this November) and THE SAVAGE GRACE in December.

Winners of the YA Scavenger Hunt Prizes

2011-08-02T20:46:00.002-06:00

Wow! Such a fantastic response to the YA Scavenger Hunt. I hope you all had a great time and maybe found a few more books to add to your TBR pile! We're planning another Hunt for December, so stay tuned.

On to the important stuff--winners!

The winner of my own personal prize pack is: Jenny Herd

Jenny, please email me at readbree [at] gmail [dot] com with your shipping address so I can send you your prizes.

The winner of the Grand Prize is posted on Colleen Houck's blog HERE. Be sure to head over there to see if you won. And while you're there, be sure to give props to Colleen for being the Scavenger Hunt mastermind.

Thanks again for playing!!

Get Ready For The YA Scavenger Hunt

2011-07-28T13:16:00.007-06:00

Sorry for the blog silence, but I've been super busy finishing up THE SAVAGE GRACE. But don't worry, I've got something awesome and exciting to make up for all the quiet...

Announcing: THE YA SCAVENGER HUNT!!!

Mark your calendars for August 1st because you're not going to want to miss this. There will be bonus material from some of your favorite YA authors, and prizes galore! The Scavenger Hunt is a one day only event, so don't hesitate to join the fun.

Participants include: YA authors Josephine Angelini, Tera Lynn Childs, Angela Corbett, Kady Cross, Heather Davis, DJ Desmyter, Bree Despain, Leigh Fallon, Marley Gibson, Abbi Glines, Colleen Houck, Tara Hudson, Elana Johnson, Sophie Jordan, Myra McEntire, Alexandra Monir, Lisa Nowak, Amy Plum, Beth Revis, Lisa and Laura Roecker, Inara Scott, Jeri Smith-Ready, Lani Woodland.

Go HERE to find out more info from the Hunt's organizer, Colleen Houck.

And be sure to come back here on August 1st to find out how you can get your hands on exclusive bonus material from THE LOST SAINT, my own personal prize pack, and so much more!

Spread the love: Myra McEntire and HOURGLASS

2011-06-14T09:03:00.010-06:00

Hey friends,

So it's that time again when I get to spread the love (i.e. rant and rave) about something that I think is truly awesome. And I've been saving this post for something (and someone) that has brought pure giddiness and joy into my crazy and hectic life over the last few weeks:

HOURGLASS by Myra McEntire

Synopsis:

One hour to rewrite the past . . .

For seventeen-year-old Emerson Cole, life is about seeing what isn't there: swooning Southern Belles; soldiers long forgotten; a haunting jazz trio that vanishes in an instant. Plagued by phantoms since her parents' death, she just wants the apparitions to stop so she can be normal. She's tried everything, but the visions keep coming back.So when her well-meaning brother brings in a consultant from a secretive organization called the Hourglass, Emerson's willing to try one last cure. But meeting Michael Weaver may not only change her future, it may change her past.

Who is this dark, mysterious, sympathetic guy, barely older than Emerson herself, who seems to believe every crazy word she says? Why does an electric charge seem to run through the room whenever he's around? And why is he so insistent that he needs her help to prevent a death that never should have happened?

Full of atmosphere, mystery, and romance, Hourglass merges the very best of the paranormal and science-fiction genres in a seductive, remarkable young adult debut.

I'd been wanting to get my hands on Myra's book ever since I first read about the premise several months ago. Then I got to know the hilarious Myra McEntire over twitter and email, and I wanted her book even more. And then when Myra showed me the cover, I was like: MUST. HAVE. NOW.

Luckily, Myra and I share the same publisher, so I concocted a wild scheme to infiltrate their offices in order to kidnap Elizabeth Law's life-size Edward Cullen cutout to hold for ransom in exchange for an advanced readers copy of HOURGLASS. However, someone else beat me to the kidnapping. And as it turns out, all I had to do was ask nicely (a.k.a. leave huge hints that I was dying to read it/would kill someone in order to get a copy) and my super editor sent me the book.

Let me tell you: BIG mistake on his part. Because all writing on THE SAVAGE GRACE ceased the moment I started reading HOURGLASS. (Don't worry, I'm back to writing again.)

HOURGLASS fully lived up to my high expectations. I am totally jealous of Myra's killer descriptive prowess. I just love the way she can describe a character/action/setting with just a few, choice, evocative details that make me want to swoon with writer envy.

The other thing swoon-worthy about this book are the guys. All I can say about Micheal and Kaleb without going on for another hour is: YOWZA! The passion and yearning electrifies the pages of this book. (Yet it's still pretty darn clean for readers who are sensitive to those sorts of things.)

And by far the best thing about HOURGLASS is the main character, Emerson. As many of you know, I am the mother of all boys--whom I love with all my heart and wouldn't trade for anything. But sometimes, my heart also aches for the daughter I don't have, and the name I've had picked out for a little girl ever since I was in college just happens to be Emerson. And if I had a daughter, I'd want her to be a lot like the main character of this book (minus the stint in the mental institution): sassy, witty, intelligent, able to beat up boys, but still looks adorable in an awesome dress.

*Side note: If I had 2 daughters, I would have named the second one Ava, which happens to be the name of another character in this book--but I wouldn't want my daughter to be like her. (You'll see why.)

Okay, so have a I ranted and raved enough? What more do I need to say to convince you to GO. READ. THIS. BOOK??

Oh, one last thing. Reading this book will make you feel smart. Because not only is it sexy, it's also full of science (but not in a "Yikes, this makes my brain hurt!" sort of way).

And one last, last thing--HOURGLASS hit stores today, so now you can read it too!

For all this goodness, I hereby declare today:

Spread The Love for Myra McEntire and HOURGLASS Day! I highly suggest you celebrate by picking up a copy of the book and cancelling all other plans until you're done reading.

**Disclaimer: I have NOT been asked to endorse this book by Myra, my publisher, or anyone else. I simply wish to spread the love for books that I truly enjoy.

p.s. What do you think of the new blog format? I think it's easier to read. Hope you like it.

Winner of the "share the title" giveaway

2011-05-25T14:56:00.003-06:00

Hey all, I'm in the thick of working on THE SAVAGE GRACE right now (this scene involves a shirtless, a gun with silver bullets, and . . . a shirtless guy) so I'm just popping in for a bit to announce our winner of ENTWINED by Heather Dixon:

JESSY (please email me at readbree AT gmail DOT com with your mailing address to claim your prize.)

Sorry for the short post. I promise to write about much more interesting things once this draft is turned in! (I've got a few ideas brewing already.)

Oh yes, and I am so glad you all love the title for THE SAVAGE GRACE as much as I do! And thank you for spreading the word. Y'all seriously rock!

TDD3 has a title--and I can share it now!

2011-05-18T18:46:00.008-06:00

5/18/2011

So, I guess the cat is essentially out of the bag now. Some of you may have already seen this on Amazon (they apparently beat me to the punch) but I am now finally allowed to share with you all the title for the third and final Dark Divine installment.

Are you ready for this?

Book 3 is titled:

The Savage Grace (to be released December 27th, 2011)

The book cover has also been completed, and it is, of course, gorgeous. However, I am not at liberty to share that yet. I will do so as soon as I get the green light and a final image from my publisher (and hopefully I won't get upstaged by Amazon again... heheh).

I am very excited about this title, and as with THE DARK DIVINE and THE LOST SAINT, the title references more than one thing in the story.

To share my excitement over the title, and to get you all a little pumped up for the cover reveal, I've decided to hold another giveaway. There are still a lot of people out there who still don't know that there's a third book planned in the DARK DIVINE trilogy, and I need your help getting it out there so everyone will know. So if you go forth and share the title and release date (December 27th, 2011) of THE SAVAGE GRACE (and the fact that it is the third book in the trilogy) I'll enter you to win a rare signed copy of ENTWINED by Heather Dixon.
(Heather doesn't do signings--so I was extremely lucky to get a copy signed to give away. And believe me, you want it!)

Feel free to share the title and release date however you feel will get the word out, and then tell me about what you did in the comments of this post. Only one entry per contestant, but multiple mediums of dissemination is always appreciated. :)

Giveaway ends at midnight MST on May 24th. Winners will be picked and announced here on the blog the following day.

On a completely different note, have you seen the recap Heidi R. Kling and I did of the season 2 finale of THE VAMPIRE DIARIES? If not, go check it out on Smart Pop Books' Blog and be sure not to miss the puppet show at the bottom of the post ;-). I'm really quite proud of it.

Spread the Love: Be a character in TDD3 & help tornado victims in Alabama

2011-05-11T09:36:00.000-06:00

5/11/2011

Hey friends-

GOOD NEWS:

The 3rd book in the Dark Divine trilogy finally has a title and a cover--I'm just not allowed to share them with you yet. But I will as soon as I get the go ahead from my publisher. Seriously, I HATE keeping secrets!

IN THE MEANTIME:

I'm devoting this week's "Spread the Love" post to showing a little love for the people of Alabama. As many of you know, several cities in Alabama were practically wiped off the map by tornadoes. I have many family and friends out there who have seen their communities devastated not only by the storm, but also by a loss of hope. Blogger Courtney Barr (a.k.a. The Southern Princess) asked me if I'd be willing to donate to the ALL 4 ALABAMA Tornado Relief Auction to help raise money for these communities--and I jumped at the chance to help.

In addition to donating signed copies of THE DARK DIVINE and THE LOST SAINT to be auctioned off, I decided to throw in something extra special...

Have you ever wanted to see your name in a book? Ever imagined yourself interacting with some the characters in the novel your reading? Ever wanted to BE one of the characters? Here's your chance:

I'm auctioning off the opportunity to BE a character in the third Dark Divine novel!

Details--what the winner of the auction can expect:

1. Your character will be named after you (or a name of your choosing--as long as it's not too ridiculous).

2. Your character will have multiple lines of dialogue (not just an "extra" in the background).

3. Your character will fit your physical description (eye color, hair color, gender, & ethnicity).

4. Your character will have supernatural abilities (and get to kick some butt!)

5. The 3rd book in the Dark Divine trilogy will be published in December of 2011--so you don't have to wait forever to see yourself in a book!

6. Signed copies of THE DARK DIVINE and THE LOST SAINT so you can brush up on the previous books before meeting your character.

So whether you're a fan of TDD, or just want to be a character in a published novel, click HERE to go bid in the ALL 4 ALABAMA Auction.

(There are MANY other items also up for bid, so check those out while you're there.)

NOTE: Do not place bids for the auction here on my blog, you must go HERE in order to bid.

Winners of BACK WHEN YOU WERE EASIER TO LOVE

2011-04-28T11:15:00.003-06:00

4/28/2011

Here are the winners of signed copies of BACK WHEN YOU WERE EASIER TO LOVE by Emily Wing Smith (as chosen by Random.org):

Culinary Contessa
noliea

Winners, email me at readbree(at)gmail(dot)com with your shipping address. If you can get it to me before 7pm MST tonight I can get your copy signed specifically to whomever you want.

Everyone else, I hope you'll go out and buy a copy of this fabulous book! And thank you for sharing your "loved" books with the rest of us.

Spreading the Love: Emily Wing Smith and BACK WHEN YOU WERE EASIER TO LOVE (Giveaway)

2011-04-25T20:28:00.008-06:00

4/25/2011

Sorry for the blog silence (I know, I know, I've said that a lot lately) but I'm hard at work on book 3 of the Dark Divine trilogy. (Yes, there is a book 3! It comes out December 27th--hence why I'm working on it so furiously.)

Anyway, I'm taking a little break from writing about Grace and Daniel in order to start a new feature on my blog called "Spreading the Love."

Even though I've been holed up in my writing cave for the last several weeks, I've still been in tune with the YA world enough to notice that there's been a lot of bashing and anger and hating going on around the interwebs lately (over a myriad of topics from all different view points). In my opinion, hate is a nasty, contagious, disease that I would prefer to stay as far away from as possible so I don't get infected with it. (I'm neurotic enough, I don't need anything else to obsess over.) I just don't have time for hate in my life. I'd much rather spend my time talking about the things I love--and why I love them.

Which is why I want to spend a little time each week "Spreading the Love." So for the next little while, expect a series of posts from me about the things I love.

To kick off "Spreading the Love," I'd like to tell you about one of the people I love the most in the world: Emily Wing Smith.

Emily is one of my critique partners, a dear friend, and one of the reasons I am a published author today. Seriously, I don't know if THE DARK DIVINE would even exist if it weren't for the amazing Emily Wing Smith.

Here's why: Emily and I met several years ago (about 11, I think) when we were both taking a YA fiction writing class in college. I loved Emily's writing and was in awe of her talent. We got to know each other a little bit during that class, but after it was over, I didn't see her again for many years. About 7 years ago (I think) I went to a writing conference called Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers. It was during a time in my life that although I was very determined to become an author--I felt very daunted by the task of trying to do it all by myself. I went to that conference looking for a little inspiration, and what I found was Emily.

Em and I ended up in an advanced writing class together and by the end of the week we'd re-sparked our old friendship. It felt so awesome to have a writer-friend again. Em and I started talking about putting together a critique group with another writer-friend from our old college class. Soon a fourth person was added to our little group that met once a month to share our writing, critique each others' work, and just plain lend our support.

It wasn't long after our little group started meeting that I decided to challenge myself with a new writing project: a story about a girl named Grace and a boy named Daniel. My group encouraged and helped me through so many drafts of THE DARK DIVINE over several years. Our group has grown over time (there's six of us now--which is why we call ourselves The SIX) and we are more than a critique group. I'd say that we are best friends who also happen to critique.

Emily was the first in our group to get a book published. A beautiful collection of stories called THE WAY HE LIVED. Seeing Emily succeed prompted me to take a chance and start submitting my stories around, and a little while later, I sold the Dark Divine trilogy.

Emily and I (along with Brodi Ashton and any other member of The SIX who is available) meet almost every Thursday to write, talk through plot points, and mostly just enjoy spending time with other people who "get" what were going through as writers. It's pretty much what keeps me sane.

This Thursday, April 28th, Emily's second book, BACK WHEN YOU WERE EASIER TO LOVE, is going to be released!!!

This was actually the book Emily was working on all those years ago when we met at that conference. I've had the privilege of reading and critiquing several parts of this book--and I can't tell you how excited I am for this book to finally make it out into the world. It's beautiful, romantic, thought-provoking, and also a lot of fun. Who could want more than two hot guys, a road trip, an unplanned Vegas detour involving Barry Manilow, and lots of Sprite?

To celebrate the book release, I'll be joining The SIX in our one and only performance as our Barry Manilow cover band "The Barely Manilows" at Em's launch party at The King's English Bookshop this Thursday (7:00 pm). As the most non-musical, non-coordinated person in the world, it means a whole darn lot that I'm willing to make a fool of myself for Emily and her book. (And you certainly don't want to miss it!)

GIVEAWAY TIME:

For those of you who can't make the party, don't worry, as part of my "Spread the Love" series, I'm going to give away 2 signed copies of BACK WHEN YOU WERE EASIER TO LOVE here on the blog...so you can love it just as much as I do.

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment about a book you love--or a book you're looking forward to. That way you can "spread the love" for that book to the rest of us.

Contest ends Wednesday night (April 27th) at 11:59 p.m. I'll announce winners Thursday morning.

Now go spread your love in the comments...

THE GIRL WHO WAS ON FIRE Winners posted (early)

2011-04-07T16:33:00.004-06:00

4/7/2011

Whoops! Apparently I got my dates mixed up and I was supposed to post my winners for this contest on the 7th instead of the 11th...yeah, me and numbers just don't mix. So yes, I am closing this contest a few days earlier than I said I would.

Anyway, our 2 lucky winners who will be receiving a copy of THE GIRL WHO WAS ON FIRE are:

Jessica Secret
&
Karencita Roth

Winners, please email me at readbree@gmail.com with you mailing address. I will then forward those on to SmartPop Books who will send you your copies.

So what do you all think of Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth being cast as Peeta and Gale? Are you ecstatic, outraged, indifferent?

BIG BIG BIG News!!!!

2011-04-01T10:36:00.004-06:00

April 1, 2011

In case you missed it yesterday, the post about the press release in Variety magazine and Jim Henson Studios that was here earlier was most definitely an April Fools joke :D... Beaker just couldn't possibly do Daniel justice.

p.s. For some real Dark Divine movie news, this is still the latest I have to share.

The Reaping: District 3 (Win a copy of THE GIRL WHO WAS ON FIRE)

2011-03-22T08:29:00.007-06:00

3/22/2011
In honor of the April 5th release of The Girl Who Was on Fire, Smart Pop Books is celebrating by holding their own version of the Hunger Games’ reaping—"one with much less threat of death and way less perilous prizes."

For the 13 days (excluding weekends) leading up to the release, they've arranged to give away 2 copies of The Girl Who Was on Fire at 13 different “districts” around the web.

Welcome to District 3!

Starting today, I've been authorized to give away 2 copies The Girl Who Was on Fire. It's a collection of essays from "your favorite authors on Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games."

As a contributor to this book, and as a huge fan on HG, I just have to tell you how excited I am for The Girl Who Was on Fire. It's a fun read while still being intellectual--and if you're like me, reading it will make you see the HG books from so many new and different perspectives. It really is the perfect book for any HG fan!

All you have to do to enter is answer this question in the comments of this post:

Now that Jennifer Lawrence has been officially cast as Katniss Everdeen for the HG movie, what actor would you like to see in the role of Peeta? (Or Gale if you prefer to daydream about him instead.)

The giveaway for this district will be open until 10:00 pm MST on {EDIT: April 6th}. TWO winners will be selected by Random.org and posted here on {EDIT: April 7th}. Contest is open internationally.

Now go forth and comment...

And may the odds be ever in your favor!

{NOTE: THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED}

St. George event CANCELLED

2011-03-17T12:09:00.002-06:00

Hey friends,

Just a quick note to let you know that I WILL NOT be signing at the Costco in St. George this Saturday. I just couldn't make it work and finish TDD3 by my deadline (extension). Very sorry if you were planning on attending. Also, sincere apologies to everyone who put their time into trying to make the event happen in the first place. Hopefully, I can reschedule an event down that way some time soon.

Back to the writing grindstone!

Bree

Horrible Flake? Me? aka Answers to your frequently asked questions

2011-03-07T13:05:00.005-07:00

March, 7 2011

Sorry it has been a couple weeks since my last post. The move, TDD3, Costco signings, etc. Sometimes I'm not sure how I survive-- I'm so behind! But I'm making some awesome headway with the third book and getting very excited about the story, cover concepts, and titles. Of course, I will be sharing as soon as I can. But for now, waiting is the game.

Speaking of waiting, I must put out a blanket apology for any winners of contests that have not yet received their prizes. If you are still waiting on something from me, would you be willing to do me the favor of emailing my admin at admin(at)breedespain(dot)com with the deets? Please put "Contest Winner" in the subject line to help us sort through the other emails that go to that account. I've got record of what has been sent out, but I'm a little lost on what has not yet been sent, and I've finally got my stack of book prizes box unpacked ready to be... well packed again. Then shipped. :D

Are you sensing a theme to this post? As the title indicates, I've come to the conclusion that I have become a horrible flake to my readers. I have emails dating back to early October I had every intention of responding to, and yet... So here we are. In hopes of answering many of the emails at once, I ask you all to forgive me for the generic blanket answers to the frequently asked questions I have received over the last few months. And here we go:

1.) Is there going to be a third book in The Dark Divine series? I'm hoping if you are reading this blog you are already aware of this. If not - YES :D. I am working on it now.

2.) When does the third book come out? It is scheduled to release in the US in Dec. 2011 (probably around the 27th-ish, but that's not official, just my current guess). I don't know the release date of any other market, but imagine it will be about a year following whenever The Lost Saint was released there.

3.) Will you be writing another series/book after The Dark Divine series? That's the plan. I have several stories floating around in my head and I'll write until they tell me I can't anymore. And then I'll figure out a way to defy them anyway.

4.) What's happening with the movie deal for The Dark Divine/Will they be making your books into a movie? Fingers crossed. The option rights were purchased last year by a production company in LA (same producers that did the X-Men movies), but where it goes from there is completely unknown and out of my hands. All we can do is hope the planets and stars align. Believe me. Nobody wants this more than I do.

5.) Can I get a copy of your book(s) to do a review on my blog? Sorry, but I don't have many copies of my own books to go around. In fact, all that I have has already been spoken for and any additional copies that I give out are purchased by me. However, you are welcome to contact my publisher (Egmont, USA) directly to try your luck. But I can't guarantee they are giving any more ARCs out (since, you know... you can go out and buy the books or get them from the library now.)

6.) Will you read my manuscript/do my homework for me? Honestly guys, I am often putting in 16 hour days writing and researching for my writing. And when I'm not being Writer-Bree, I've still got to be Momma-Bree. As much as I would love to help (and I really really mean that) I just don't have the time to give. As for questions with regards to homework, most of the answers you are looking for can be found on my website with a little effort... or you know, by actually reading the books. Sorry if that came out a little snarky. I just want to make sure you get the most out of your education :D.

7.) Can I interview you on my blog? Normally I would say "Yes! I'd love to do that." Unfortunately I am uber swamped right now. But that doesn't mean I can't/won't in the future. If you've already asked me, I'll try to get back to you as soon as possible, but please forgive me for taking FOR-EV-ER to respond. In the meantime, the best thing to do is contact my publicist, Virginia, directly as she may be putting together a blog tour. Contact her assistant, Brooke, at Goodman Media: Bbotsford@goodmanmedia.com.

8.) Can I tell you how awesome you are? *blushes* Sure. *bats eyelashes* But I can't guarantee I'll always believe you. By the way, you're pretty awesome too. In fact, you readers are the most awesomest people ever. I just hope we can always be friends.

9.) Can I send you chocolates? Always :P. My PO box is listed on the website.

Okay, that last one doesn't actually get asked very often, but I think it's a travesty that it doesn't. So I decided to include it anyway.

Thank you everyone for all the awesome notes and comments I get. You guys really do rock and I'm so freaking grateful to have so many supportive friends and readers. Please know that I do in fact read every email that comes in, but in the words of the late great Sammy Davis Jr., "somthin's gotta give" and I can't respond to them all. Having said that, I am a very active tweeter (twitter-er?) and you may find I respond much faster if you contact me that way. If you have any more questions that I haven't answered above, leave them in the comments and I'll either reply or save them up for another FAQ blog post or a post of it's own.

Oh, and while I've got your attention, I'll be speaking at the Whitmore Library (Cottonwood Heights, UT) on March 12th at 1:30 pm, where I'll be giving my advice for aspiring writers. I'd love to see you there if you can make it.

Ok, apology session over. Gotta get back to the grind. *crawls back into writing hole*

Wanna grab some samples at COSTCO with me?...And winner of the LOST LETTERS contest

2011-02-11T20:19:00.003-07:00

2/11/2011

Hey friends-

Good news! THE DARK DIVINE and THE LOST SAINT are now available in Utah/Idaho/Arizona Costcos. Which means I'll be doing signings at Costcos all over Utah in the next few weeks. Here's the schedule--I'd love to meet you if you're in the area:

2/12/2011 Sandy, UT 1:00 PM

2/26/2011 Orem, UT 1:00 PM

3/5/2011 South Ogden, UT 1:00 PM

3/19/2011 St. George, UT 1:00 PM

I'll also be speaking on several panels at the LTUE conference hosted by BYU next weekend (Feb 17-19th) and speaking at the Whitmore Library on March 12th. So when will I have time to finish writing TDD3?--Ahhhh! I don't know. Anyone want to stop time for me for a few weeks? Pretty please????

Anyway, on to the part you've all been waiting for. Thank you everyone for reading and enjoying THE LOST LETTERS. I'm glad they've been so well received and I'm hoping to "discover" more of them in the future because Gabriel's story is so darn interesting to explore. I hope you'll want to read more. Thank you to everyone who entered the contest. The winner (chosen by Random.org) is: Pamk

Pamk, please email my admin at readbree(at)gmail(dot)com with your address, and be sure to specify whether you'd like the English audio-book of THE LOST SAINT or the Spanish print edition of THE DARK DIVINE.

That's all for me this week. Hope to see some of you soon at Costco (we'll have to grab some yummy samples together!)

THE LOST SAINT launch party recap...and Top Secret Project revealed!

2011-01-05T14:30:00.009-07:00

1/5/2011

UPDATE: Lost Letters Schedule can be found here

Hey all,

I FINALLY have permission to share the details about my Top Secret TLS-related project...but first I wanted to share a few thoughts and pictures from my TLS launch party.

I seriously can't believe THE LOST SAINT has been out on bookshelves for more than a week. That's just plain crazy. The launch party was loads of fun and the turn-out was awesome. Not gonna lie, I felt like was going to puke when I walked into the 15th Street Gallery and I saw all those people waiting to listen to me speak. But I managed to hold it together.

After I did a little book-talk and read a selection from TLS, we headed over to The King's English Bookshop for blue-frosted cookies and I signed books until my special blue pen ran out of ink--which luckily didn't happen until after the last person made it through the line.

One of my BFFs, Michelle Sallay (of Michelle Sallay Photography) brought her trusty camera along and snapped a bunch of awesome pictures. They were all so great that it was hard I couldn't choose just a few, so I wanted to make a slideshow of all of them--but apparently that is far too great a task for someone as technically deficient as I am. Since hubs isn't around to help, I'll have to be content with posting a few of my favorite pics to help you get a feel for the event .

Many thanks to Michelle for the awesome pictures, and many thanks to everyone who came out for the event. If you weren't able to attend and you're in Utah, you can still catch me at the West Jordan B&N (in Jordan Landing) at 2pm on January 8th. For details on other events and happenings, check out THIS post.

Okay, now on to the TOP SECRET project...

If you've been following the blog for the last couple of months, you've probably (or hopefully) have been wondering about this secret writing project that I've been hinting about for like ever (or at least that;s how it felt to me). I finally have the go-ahead to share.

Introducing:

As many of you know by now, Gabriel (Daniel's mentor and an ancient Urbat) plays a rather important role in THE LOST SAINT. We were first introduced to Gabriel in THE DARK DIVINE when Grace is given a book full of old letters that Gabriel (a young monk a 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.

Well the exciting news is that a few letters not originally included in that ancient book have been "discovered"-- five of them in fact. These letters detail Gabriel's fall to the curse and then his quest to seek revenge on the man he feels is responsible for his demise.

I am really excited about these "lost letters" because they give a lot of depth to Gabriel's character, and also the mythology of the Dark Divine trilogy. The letters are the perfect lead in before reading THE LOST SAINT (i.e. no TLS spoilers and will hopefully get you excited to start TLS) and are also still a good read for those of you who have already read TLS.

The lost letters of Brother Gabriel will be released one at a time over the next 5 weeks, starting TOMORROW (1/6/2011) on different blogs across the blogosphere.

Which means you need to come back here tomorrow for a detailed schedule and links to where to find the letters. And as a bonus, each blog hosting a letter will be giving away a signed first edition of THE LOST SAINT and a bottle of TLS nail polish. You'll get a entry for each letter you read and comment on.

THE LOST SAINT release day...and winners of the Countdown Contest

2010-12-28T09:00:00.003-07:00

12/28/2010

It's here! It's here! THE LOST SAINT is finally here!!! TLS Day has finally arrived. Exactly this time last year I was coming down from the euphoria of the release of TDD and working feverishly on the first draft of TLS, and now I can't believe it's all packaged up in a fabulously-gorgeous-real-life-hold-in-your-hands-book.

I plan on spending the day dragging KidA and KidZ around to every local bookstore so I can snap pictures of them with copies of TLS in the wild (I am sure they will be so enthused) and getting ready for the official TLS launch party at The King's English tonight (What to wear? What to say? Hope I don't forget anyone's name!)

In the meantime, I wanted to take a minute to acknowledge and thank everyone who has been involved in THE LOST SAINT. This has been an amazing yet harrowing year, and I wouldn't be sane if it weren't for the many, many supportive people in my life.

I was going to write an open thank you letter for this blog post, but I realized I already did that when I wrote the acknowledgments for THE LOST SAINT and I'm not sure what I would have said differently...So I hope you don't mind if I repost those acknowledgments here (cuz I'm gonna do it anyway :D):

So many people deserve my immense gratitude for helping make this book a reality—and for keeping me from losing it during the process:

You, my awesome readers, because without your enthusiasm this book wouldn’t have had a chance to exist. Thank you for all the love.

The agents at Upstart Crow Literary, namely Ted Malawer and Michael Stearns. Thank you for believing in me and helping to share my books with the world.

The amazing folks at Egmont USA. I am often surprised by how many people think I’m responsible for everything that goes into creating my books, from the cover design, the editing, and even all the way down to the choice of the typeface. This couldn’t be further from the truth. I write the stories, but an entire team helps turn those stories into books: Doug Pocock, Elizabeth Law, Mary Albi, Regina Griffin, Nico Medina, Robert Guzman, Alison Weiss, Katie Halata. And especially my intrepid editor Greg Ferguson, who not only puts up with, but embraces, my crazy antics and the “Jimmy Olsen” nickname I’ve inflicted upon him. And who also isn’t afraid to push me until things are as great as they can be—or to whip out his super-editor cape and come to the rescue of a hopelessly stranded author on the streets of NYC. This one’s for you, Greg: Spunkgate! (Yep, I just worked that reference into a book.)

Joel Tippie at JDrift Designs. I didn’t know it was possible to create a cover even more beautiful than the one for THE DARK DIVINE. Wow, just, wow.

My enthusiastic publicist, Virginia Anagnos.

Noreen Gibbons for never failing to offer help—even when it’s completely inconvenient to her.

Whitney, for being an eager mother’s helper.

My mom, Nancy Biesinger, for bringing over bags of groceries on the deadline days, and for helping out in hundreds of other ways.

Sara Zarr, who gave me just the right advice at just the moment I needed to hear it.

Mathew J. Kirby, for his ongoing friendship and support—and free psychological guidance, of course.

The SIX—the best critique group and posse of friends an author could have: Brodi Ashton, Emily Wing Smith, Valynne Maetani Nagamatsu, Kimberly Webb Reid, and Sara Bolton. If it weren’t for the suggestion of adding a “bedazzled stake” to this book by Brodi Ashton at a hilarious lunch on an otherwise no good, very bad day—THE LOST SAINT may have never come together the way it did. And if it weren’t for the daily input and understanding of The SIX, I may have succumbed to the writer crazies a long time ago. (Or more so than I already have!)

The rest of my friends, siblings, nieces, nephews, in-laws, and dad, who help out in so many ways, from entertaining my boys, to just being a listening ear, or a shoulder to lean on. I feel way too lucky to have so many wonderful people in my life.

My boys, who I couldn’t love more—even when they’re jumping on top of me and pretending to fire-bend lightning bolts at my laptop while I’m working. Nothing makes me prouder than when they ask if they can tell me a story. (Just you wait, publishing world, these boys have got it going on!)

And most especially Brick, who held on tight during the insane roller coaster that was this last year. Thank you for never letting go. You are my inspiration, my love, my saint. I know you’re not perfect, but you’re the perfect man for me. I.L.Y.R.U.T.T.M.A.B.A.

Thank you so much to everyone who shared this process with me. I hope you will all celebrate with me today (and pick up a copy of TLS if you can--heheh). I hope to see many of you at upcoming events.

And don't worry, I didn't forget about posting winners for the Countdown to TLS Contest. We had over 1200 entries into the contest, and compiling the entries was quite the task (for hubby). Winners were selected through Random.org and are as follows:

Grand Prize Winner: Vivien

2nd place winner: Danielle Nguyen

3rd place winner: Riv Re

Winners, please email me to claim your prizes at readbree(at)gmail(dot)com.

Okay, I'm off to make my bookstore rounds. Have a very happy TLS Day!

Lots of stuff happening & how you can read chapter two of THE LOST SAINT

2010-12-21T12:24:00.005-07:00

One week from TLS launch day and there's a ton of stuff happening in the next few weeks, so I thought I'd give you a quick rundown. Hopefully, you'll be able to participate in some of the fun.

1. THE LOST SAINT may come out in a week from today, but a preview of the prologue, chapter one, and now chapter two are up on RT Book Reviews' blog. If you comment on the RT post about chapter two, and then come tell me about it here on my blog, you'll get an extra entry in the countdown contest. Go HERE to read chapter two and find links to the other chapters.

2. The Countdown to THE LOST SAINT Contest continues until midnight on December 26th. For rules and details, see THIS post. Winners will be announced in the morning on December 28th.

3. Mundie Moms will be hosting a pre-launch chat party on December 27th at 9pm EST. Everyone is invited to join us to chat about TDD and TLS. For details, click HERE.

4. THE LOST SAINT hits shelves on December 28th. Join us that night at 7pm at King's English Bookshop for a launch party. I'll be speaking, reading, and signing books. (Note: The book talk will be held in the 15th Street Gallery next-door to the bookstore, so there will be plenty of room for everyone.) Click HERE for more details on the event. Would love to see you there!

5. On January 8th at 2pm I'll be speaking and signing at the Jordan Landing Barnes & Noble in West Jordan. If you can't make it to the launch party, then this is another great opportunity to get a signed copy of TLS.

6. On January 13th (my birthday!) I'll be speaking and signing at Kepler's Books in Menlo Park, CA. Come party with me on my b-day, and get signed copies of TDD and TLS while you're at it. For info on this event, click HERE.

7. On January 20th at 9pm EST Page Turner's Blog will be hosting a TLS spoiler chat. That gives everyone 3 weeks to read TLS and then join us to ask me all your spoiler-filled questions. I'll post more details about how you can join the chat as we get closer to the event.

8. On January 29th I'll be participating in an Authorpalooza at Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, Arizona. There will be games and lots of authors signing books.

9. Remember that secret project I've been hinting about for the last few weeks?--Well, the date that I get to reveal it has been bumped a bit...but it is still coming soon. I think fans of TDD and TLS will enjoy it.

10. A lot more events and such are in works. I promise to keep you posted as I get more information. In the meantime, be sure to come back on the 28th to help celebrate the release of TLS.

Watch THE LOST SAINT Trailer AND Read The First Chapter of TLS

2010-12-13T20:21:00.010-07:00

12/14/2010

***In case you've been wondering (because people have apparently been wondering) THE LOST SAINT releases on December 28th. The official launch party will be at The Kings English Bookshop on the 28th at 7pm. For a list of other upcoming events, please see THIS post or click News in the navigation above.***

Seriously, waiting for TLS to hit the shelves at this point is absolutely excruciating. But at least I (finally) get to share a couple of really fun things with you while I wait. Today is a great day here in ReadBree Land--I get to share THE LOST SAINT book trailer!!!

So without any further ado, I present THE LOST SAINT book trailer:

I don't know about you, but the first time (okay, more like the first TEN times) I watched the trailer I literally squeed with joy.

Huge kudos go to the crew at Kineto Pictures for the creating this fabulous trailer, along with Nathan Day (Daniel), Katya Feinstien (Grace), and AJ Walker (Jude) from Urban Talent for their enthusiastic work in the freezing cold. Despite the low temperatures, we had an absolute blast filming.

But that's not all! Now that you've watched the trailer (admit it, more than once, right? :D) you should head over to RT Book Reviews' blog and read the first chapter of TLS. That's right. The first chapter of THE LOST SAINT is up on RT Book Reviews! And in case you missed it, you can read the prologue first here.

Oh, but before you go:

Don't forget that the Countdown to THE LOST SAINT Contest is still ongoing, and you can get additional entries by sharing the trailer and first chapter. 5 entries if you post the trailer on your blog/facebook page, and 2 entries for telling people about this contest. And you can get 1 entry for telling people about the first chapter preview on the RT blog, and an additional 1 entry for commenting on the RT blog post.

That's a total of 9 possible more entries in the contest. Just be sure to tell me what you did in the comments of this post (with proper linkage) in order to qualify for your entries. (Adding up your entries for me is always helpful, too.)

I've also decided to sweeten the deal by adding two signed first editions of MATCHED by Ally Condie.

So contest prizes are now as follows:

1st Place:
6" Kindle with WiFi.
$10 Amazon gift card (so you can buy an eBook version of THE LOST SAINT)
$20 gift card to iTunes (so you can buy the songs on THE LOST SAINT playlist :D).
Signed first edition of MATCHED by Ally Condie

2nd place:
Signed first editions of: MATCHED by Ally Condie, THE SCORCH TRIALS by James Dashner, and BEAUTIFUL DARKNESS by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl.

3rd Place:
Signed first editions of: THE SCORCH TRIALS by James Dashner, and BEAUTIFUL DARKNESS by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl.

Remember, contest ends at midnight MST on Dec. 26th and contest winners will be announced the morning of Dec. 28th (TLS release day!)

For full contest rules and information, read THIS POST.

Okay, now go read the first chapter . . .

TLS Soundtrack: Song #19 and Upcoming Events

2010-12-12T19:18:00.002-07:00

12/12/2010

***Upcoming Events:

1. A couple of good things will be hitting the blog this week, so be sure to check back often so you won't miss them.

2. I will be a guest on David Farland's Authors' Advisory Conference Call along with the rest of my critique group this Thursday, December 16th at 9pm EST. We'll be discussing critique groups and breaking into publishing. You can listen in on the conference call (and even ask questions). Go HERE for details on how to participate. Look for instructions in the right-hand sidebar.

3. TLS Day is almost upon us! Come join the fun at The King's English Bookshop on December 28th at 7:00 pm. I'll do a book talk at the 15th Street Gallery (right next-door to the bookshop--so there will be plenty of room for everyone) read a bit from TLS, answer questions, and then sign books back over in the bookstore. And I am sure that there will be plenty of yummy refreshments, too. Click HERE for more details on the event. Would love to see you there!

4. On January 8th, I will be speaking and signing at the Jordan Landing Barnes & Noble in West Jordan at 2 pm. Sure to be lots of fun.

5. On January 13th (my birthday!) I'll be speaking and signing at Kepler's Books in Menlo Park, CA. Come party with me on my b-day, and get signed copies of TDD and TLS while you're at it. For info on this event, click HERE.

6. More events are coming. I'll post info here on the blog and on my website when I have it. Hopefully, I'll be coming to your neck of the woods soon. ***

Okay, now that we have business out of the way, we can get to what we've all be waiting for: The last song in the TLS Soundtrack. Tonight's song is "Orange Sky" by Alexi Murdoch. It is only fitting that the last song on the TLS soundtrack is by Alexi, since the last song on the TDD soundtrack was also one of his.

"Orange Sky" is a beautiful song, and to me, it kind of encapsulates the entire story/theme of THE LOST SAINT. Actually, it kind of encapsulates the entire DARK DIVINE trilogy. Basically, I think Alexi Murdoch has been channeling me in his spare time--or the other way around.

These are my favorite lyrics in the song:

When I am alone
When I've thrown off the weight of this crazy stone
When I've lost all care for the things I own
That's when I miss you, that's when I miss you, that's when I miss you
You who are my home
You who are my home
And here is what I know now
Here is what I know now
Goes like this
In your love, my salvation lies

But really, every line in the song is wonderful, so go ahead and listen:

This is the last TLS Soundtrack post, but remember that the Countdown to THE LOST SAINT Contest is ongoing until December 26th. Come back to the blog often until then for more chances to enter to win. Plus, I may be adding some more more goodies to the prizes soon.

TLS Soundtrack: Song 18

2010-12-11T18:51:00.004-07:00

Oh man, there's only two songs left in the playlist--and for some reason that makes me a little sad. But never fear, there are a couple of awesome TLS related treats happening in the coming week that will be even more fun for me to share than the playlist.

Tonight's song is another one by The Fleet Foxes: "Your Protector." Sometimes, its feels like certain musicians have looked right inside my head at what I'm writing and then put it to music...and then I listen to that music and put it in writing. *Heh*

The lyrics of this song are just so darn perfect that I figured I put them up here for you all:

She left a week to roam
Your protector's coming home
Keep your secrets with you
Safe from the outside

You walk along the stream
Your head caught in a waking dream
Your protector's coming home (coming home)

As you lay to die beside me, baby
On the morning that you came,
Would you wait for me,
the other one,
would you wait for me?

You run with the devil
You run with the devil

Ooh ooh ooh...

Tell your brother to be good
Tell your sister not to go
Tell your mother not to wait
Tell your father I was good

As you lay to die beside me, baby
I'm the one in the shootin' game
Would you wait for me,
the other one,
would you wait for me?

Ooh ooh ooh

I find that the Ooh ooh oohs are especially poignant, don't you? ;)

Okay now go ahead and have listen to this beautiful song. And don't forget to comment in order to get an additional entry in the Countdown to THE LOST SAINT contest.

TLS Soundtrack: Song 17

2010-12-10T20:40:00.006-07:00

Ok, so I lied about there being two songs a night until the end. There are only three songs left and so we will finish up on Sunday with one song a day. Math never really was a strong point for me... as many of you already know. But don't worry. More Awesomeness is to follow next week.

This next song is very plot oriented. In fact, it is almost a soliloquy for one of the characters when things seem a bit dire. It is also a return to why I love The Notwist. Seriously. Those guys would be awesome on Twitter. They seem to be able to say so much with so few words (and an awesome groove).

Song 17: "This Room" by The Notwist.

Don't forget that the contest for the Kindle and a signed copy of THE SCORCH TRIALS by James Dashner and a signed copy of BEAUTIFUL DARKNESS by Kami Garcia and Margaret Sthol is still going on. Don't forget to comment for another entry, or click here if you want more details on the contest.

TLS Soundtrack: Son 15 & 16

2010-12-09T20:37:00.003-07:00

12/9/2010

We are getting close to the end of the soundtrack, as well as the end of the story time-line.

Tonight's songs start with song 15: Fleet Foxes' "Tiger Mountain Peasant Song." The regret in this song, and the pain of the singer, are really what I wanted to get at. The line "I don't know what I have done...I'm turning myself into a Demon" is of particular importance as well. (But I won't tell you why...Muwahaha.)

The next song is "Skinny Love" by Bon Iver. It ranks in my top 3 favorite songs on the playlist, and I listened to it a lot while writing TLS. It is such a beautiful song because it's so full of raw emotions. I think this song represents a lot of things that happen in the book--and it could be from several characters' points of view.

Take a listen. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. (BTW - the first song is only about 3 1/2 minutes long. Not sure why there is a two minute silence on this YouTube clip after the song...)

Don't forget to comment for to get another entry in the Countdown to THE LOST SAINT Contest.

TLS Soundtrack: Song 13 & 14

2010-12-08T21:49:00.003-07:00

12/8/2010

In anticipation of something very awesome happening on December 14th, I've decided that I need to wrap up the playlist posts before then...which means I'm going to be sharing 2 songs a night from here on out. (Yay, for twice the music goodness!)

The first song (song 13) is "The String" by The Notwist. I'll be honest, I'm a huge fan of this band, but this song is not one of my favorites of theirs. However, the lyrics and harder, agressive feel of the song are just right for this point in the story.

Song 14 is "Dressed in Dresden" by The Hundred in the Hands. This song is different from most of my collection--but I totally love it. Basically (without spoiling anything) this song is perfect for this spot in the soundtrack because it's both aggressive and sexy.

TLS Soundtrack: Song #12 (And a chance to read the prologue to TLS)

2010-12-07T20:08:00.004-07:00

***Attention: I added this tidbit to yesterday's post, but thought I'd reiterate it here in case anyone missed it...

Want to read the prologue to THE LOST SAINT? It just went live on The Romantic Times' blog. Check it out by clicking HERE. If you read the prologue and leave a comment on the RT blog, and then come back here and tell me that you did, I'll give you 5 BONUS ENTRIES in the Countdown to THE LOST SAINT Contest. If you share the news about the prologue on the RT blog, I'll give you 2 BONUS ENTRIES. Just leave me a link to where you shared in the comments. That's up to 7 BONUS ENTRIES! And I may be adding some more goodies to the prizes soon.***

Glad you guys loved the VW song from yesterday since it is one of my absolute favorites...and the last one on soundtrack, I swear. Today I'm sharing a song that is relatively new to my music collection, but has quickly become one of my absolute favorites on the playlist (and in general).

Today's song is "Fires" by Band of Skulls. Again, this song has the perfect lyrics for TLS, and it has the perfect sound for this point in the book. Basically, for the purpose of the TLS soundtrack, just imagine two people slow dancing to this song. Better yet, find someone to slow dance to this song with you. Then listen to it again, and at least one more time. The more you listen to it, the more you will wonder where this song has been all your life.

Again, commenting on the song will earn you an additional entry in the Countdown to THE LOST SAINT Contest.

TLS Soundtrack: Song 11

2010-12-06T21:27:00.004-07:00

***EDIT: Want to read the prologue to THE LOST SAINT? It just went live on The Romantic Times' blog. Check it out by clicking HERE. If you read the prologue and leave a comment on the RT blog, and then come back here and tell me that you did, I'll give you 5 BONUS ENTRIES in the Countdown to THE LOST SAINT Contest. If you share the news about the prologue on the RT blog, I'll give you 2 BONUS ENTRIES. Just leave me a link to where you shared in the comments. That's up to 7 BONUS ENTRIES! And I may be adding some more goodies to the prizes soon.***

So if I had to pick my top 3 songs out of the 19 songs on the soundtrack (yes, there are 19 songs) the next 2 songs would be amongst those 3. I am therefore going to revert back to my one-song-a-day modus operandi, so as to allow you to fully appreciate the next two songs of their own accord.

Ok, remember how I said there was a third Vampire Weekend song coming soon? Well, I meant really soon. As in, tonight. Don't worry. It's the last VW song on the playlist. But this song has special meaning. It is the song I probably listened too the MOST as I was writing THE LOST SAINT. As in, on repeat, over and over again. And when this song is on, I can't help but dancing to it. So imagine me dancing and writing at the same time. Hard to do, but it's my special talent. Also, this song is kind of a character anthem for a new TLS principal character.

The song is "Giving Up The Gun" by Vampire Weekend. I recommend turning up your volume all the way--and I dare you not to start dancing. Go ahead, try it. Be sure to comment for your contest entry, and come back tomorrow for song 12 which also ranks among my top 3 faves on the list.

TLS Soundtrack: Song 9 & 10

2010-12-05T20:04:00.006-07:00

12/5/2010

I hope I didn't scare too many off with the Menomena song. That particular song is perfect for what I needed in the soundtrack, but is definitely not my favorite of theirs. Before you give up on them, perhaps look up "The Late Great Libido" or "Twenty Cell Revolt" or another one of their songs from the Fun Blame album... but I digress.

I was pleased to hear from your comments that you all appreciated the inclusion of Vampire Weekend on the playlist. Mostly because, as I said last night, they are among one of my most favorite bands, but also because we get another Vampire Weekend song tonight, and there is a third on the soundtrack (coming soon) that was a huge influence on TLS.

Song 9 is "Run" by...you guessed it...Vampire Weekend. This song is a bit more literal than some of the others. In that it is about characters running. Sorry, not a lot of depth in my choice here. But it's also a great song, so enjoy.

Song 10 is "Tremendous Dynamite" by Eels. This song is kind quirky and different from my usual fare, but it was so spot on it sounds like it was practically written about Grace in TLS. Plus, you can't deny the words "I am el hombre lobo" aren't just perfect for the book, considering...you know. I also see the song as a replacement song for "Eye of The Tiger" in the following deleted rough draft of chapter 15 of TLS (which is actually chapter 17 in the real book now). And yes, sometimes my rough drafts include stick figure drawings when I'm in a pinch.

Song 9:

Song 10:

P.S. I know I keep saying this at the end of all these posts, but just in case you don't know what this is for because you are just getting here after a ReadBree hiatus or you are a new-comer, this is all part of our last Countdown to THE LOST SAINT contest as explained here.

TLS Soundtrack: Song 7 and 8

2010-12-04T20:23:00.003-07:00

12/4/2010

As an announcement, for those of you who live in the Greater Salt Lake area (or round-abouts), I will be having my book launch party for THE LOST SAINT on Dec. 28th at 7pm at The King's English Bookshop. I'd love to see you all there!

So for at least the next couple of nights, I've decided to share 2 songs. Maybe we'll make it a weekend thing. We'll see. Also, I was hoping to share the TLS trailer with you all either tonight or tomorrow night, but unfortunately I've been asked to wait by the powers-that-be. I'm dying to post it! I'll keep you updated as I know more about when it will actually go live.

On with the music--

Song 7 is "Trigga Hiccup" by Menomena. This song represents Grace's desire/struggle to gain control of her new wolfy powers. I imagine her running to this song, trying to break through the barrier that's holding her back from embracing all the power coursing inside of her. To me this song just sounds like frustration.

Song 8 is "I think Ur a Contra" by Vampire Weekend (one of my most favorite bands). This song is so darn beautiful, and a little bit heartbreaking. I listened to this song A LOT while writing and revising TLS, and to me it encompasses one of the main emotions of the book--what it feels like when the trust in a relationship is being tested.

Take a listen to them, and let me know what you think for additional entries in the contest... or just because you love them as much as I do :D.

Thanks for stopping by. Come back tomorrow for song 9 and 10.

TLS Soundtrack: Song 6

2010-12-03T20:42:00.003-07:00

Tonight, we have a slight departure from the emotional journey that previous songs represented. This song is more of a character anthem. It's also pretty good background music for a particular location that Grace finds herself in at this point in the story. I'm not going to give much more away than that. The song is "C'mere" by Interpol.

I'll be honest. I'm having a really hard time waiting a whole day between songs. There are still a lot to go and I'm really anxious to share them all with you. But at the same time, I want to make sure each song gets its just due. I'll just have to keep myself occupied by listening to the whole soundtrack over and over again in the meantime.

P.S. Don't forget about the contest. That Kindle is starting to look pretty sweet :D.

THE LOST SAINT Soundtrack: Song 5

2010-12-02T19:36:00.005-07:00

12/2/2010

So before I share song 5, I have a picture to share with you. THEY CAME!!! THEY CAME!!! My author copies of THE LOST SAINT arrived today!

Unfortunately this picture totally doesn't do the book justice. Seriously. They are so beautiful and I am beside myself to see the finished product in my hands. *pets the copy in my hands gently.*

Ok, now that I'm done squealing for the evening, it's time to share the 5th addition to the TLS soundtrack. As mentioned last night, song 4 represents a specific event in the book. This next song is for the events immediately following that song. It is from one of my favorite bands (who occupy the first 2 slots on the TDD soundtrack as well) and an extremely beautiful song. The words, the emotion, the tone... you'll see what I mean once you listen to it. I think it really captures the idea of feeling paralyzed or helpless when faced with daunting circumstances. (Something everyone can relate to at some point in their lives... for example, right now, as I look over at the sink full of dishes, I'm feeling a bit paralyzed by the thought of having to do them. Of course, Grace's circumstances are little more dire than an overflowing sink.)

So, with that, I give you song 5: "Consequence" by The Notwist.

P.S. In case haven't been to the blog in a few days, this is all part of the Countdown to THE LOST SAINT Contest, as explained here.

Countdown Continues with TLS Soundtrack: Song 4

2010-12-01T19:32:00.006-07:00

12/1/2010

Holy crap, it's December!!!! The Countdown Timer says it's only 26 days 3 1/2 hours left until it is officially December 28th here in Utah. And to top it off, I've just watched a preview of the new THE LOST SAINT book trailer that I will hopefully get to debut this weekend, and I literally squealed with excitement!! (Sorry. Too many exclamation marks. I'll tone it down.)

*Takes a few deep breaths--attempts to regain composure* Lets talk more about music, shall we?

Song 4 on THE LOST SAINT soundtrack is "AFK" by Pinback. As I've said before, these songs are more than just a playlist to go along with the book. Not only are a lot of them personal favorites, and songs that helped inspire me, they are also arranged in an order that helps reflect the growing mood and emotion of the story as it progresses. In that way, they almost become the score for the book... the soundtrack (which is why I call it that).

I wanted to explain that again because this next song is all about mood. After the event that song 3 represents, tension and action begin to build in the story. The things that are happening leave the characters with a growing sense of anxiety, fear, regret and even a little bit of anger. One of the things I like about this song is it's about something bigger than yourself moving forward and not being able to stop it. This song also represents a specific event that takes place. Unfortunately, I can't tell you much about that event because I don't want to get all spoilery.

Ok, so now that I've done all the explaining, take a listen and let me know what you think for your next entry in the countdown contest.

TLS Soundtrack: Song 3 + Countdown Contest Entry

2010-11-30T20:07:00.005-07:00

11/30/2010

Ready for the next installment on THE LOST SAINT soundtrack? (I'm kind of hoping the answer is yes, because I'm going to post it anyway.)

Song 3 is "Cold Water" by The Reindeer Section. This was a tough choice. There is so much about the song that is right, but it still feels like it's not exactly right, you know?. In the end, the pros outweighed the cons. The mood of the song is a little sadder than what I was looking for, but the title is perfect, as are most of the words.

We just came from a perfect moment between two people deeply in love with track 2, and what happens next is like someone stopped and threw a bucket of cold water all over them, interrupting that moment. It changes everything. There is a line at the end of each verse that perfectly captures Grace's feelings when this happens: "I am not ready." Grace struggles with this feeling a lot in the book-- a feeling of not being ready for the challenges and dangers she will face.

So without further ado, I give you "Cold Water."

I have to say, this has been a fun project. I love these songs and I love sharing them with you. Hopefully they are getting you excited for THE LOST SAINT, because it is definitely getting me excited. I can't wait to share the rest of the songs. There are so many on the soundtrack that are favorites and absolutely beautiful songs. Don't forget to comment to get another entry in the countdown contest. Thanks for reading/listening and I'll see you guys back here tomorrow for song 4.

TLS Soundtrack: Song 2 & Countdown Contest Entry Opportunity

2010-11-29T19:23:00.008-07:00

11/29/2010

I hope you enjoyed the first song in the TLS soundtrack. And from many of the comments, its seems as though you did. The Postal Service has long been a favorite band of mine and an inspiration for a lot of my writing. Ben Gibbard is an extremely talented poet and musician (Death Cab also rates among my favorites). Zooey Deschanel is definitely one lucky woman.

Tonight I'm sharing a relatively new favorite, which also happens to be track 2 on the soundtrack: The Temper Trap's "Sweet Disposition." To me this song really encapsulates that perfect moment that happens between two people in love, which is where the first chapter begins. The semi-eerie feel also helps allude to what is about to happen that changes everything.

Don't forget this is also part of the final Countdown to THE LOST SAINT Contest. Comment and let me know what you think of the song to get another entry in the Kindle give-away. Tomorrow, I'll post track 3 for your listening pleasure.

Laptop Memorial and Countdown to The Lost Saint - Final Contest!

2010-11-28T21:31:00.012-07:00

11/28/2010

So this last week has been a bit harrowing and a little sad, but in the end it turned happy. Poor, poor Laptoppy has finally passed on. She gave a hard fought battle to the Virus O' Doom that was contracted sometime before Halloween. Laptoppy was a good laptop. A friend even. She gave me a good solid 4 years of shared memories and immeasurable service. It was with her that I spent so many months revising THE DARK DIVINE. It was with her that I first "penned" THE LOST SAINT. And it was with her that I drafted the outline to TDD3. She will live on in my heart forever. Rest in peace, dear Laptoppy. Rest in peace.

In Loving Memory...
But the good news that made it a happy week? Well, hubby had known for awhile that Laptoppy was fighting a losing battle, and in his infinite goodness and wisdom, was planning on purchasing me a new MacBook Pro for Christmas to replace Laptoppy due to her inevitable demise. Of course, she died a few weeks early, so unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your perspective), I had to have Christmas a little early this year. But I'll get over it, and Macky is already making a great impression. So, without further ado, let me introduce you to my new best friend.

Macky, say hello to your awesome readers.

Hi!
Seriously. I love him. I didn't know if anyone could fill the void that Laptoppy left, but he's just so pretty (oh, and functional) it's hard not to love him right away.

Anyway, on to why you are likely really here. The COUNTDOWN CONTEST! Yes. It is that time of the month again. The 28th. Of November in point of fact. Which means... wait for it.... THE LOST SAINT COMES OUT IN 1 FREAKING MONTH!!!!! AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Sorry. I'm a little excited. And anxious. And panic stricken.

But don't worry fair readers. It may still be a whole month before THE LOST SAINT is released, but my publisher and I have plenty of fun stuff planned over the next month to keep you ~~teased~~ distracted. And that's where the contest comes in. Participation in each of this month's activities is an entry in the contest.

So lets go through the details shall we?

What's happening and what to do:
First, I will be posting my THE LOST SAINT soundtrack here on the blog-- one song a day for the next couple of weeks. The soundtrack consists of songs that helped inspire TLS, and help to convey the emotion of the story as it progresses. (Those that have been long time followers of the blog may remember I posted the soundtrack to THE DARK DIVINE as well, here.) Comment on each TLS song post and you'll get an entry per post.

Second, Starting December 7th, The Romantic Times will be doing a preview of the prologue, first chapter, and second chapter of THE LOST SAINT on their blog. Comment on the posts here to let me know you checked them out and you get an entry.

Third, THE LOST SAINT trailer is nearly complete. I hope to debut to you all right here on the blog next week. Comment on the post and... I think you're getting the idea.

Fourth, Remember how I've been teasing about a super Top Secret TLS project? Well, it's still Top Secret, but it's coming this month. Ditto on the getting an entry.

And as always- comment in the posts with links to your tweets, facebook posts, and blog posts spreading the word for each item and you'll get an additional entry (only one per medium).

If this is confusing, don't worry. I'll be posting a lot this month with everything and will give further details and instructions on how to get your entries as we go along. Basically, its a month long contest with tons of opportunities to enter.

What is it all for (i.e. what can you win):
Boo-ya! I will pick one random, lucky winner who will receive one of these bad boys-
Yes. That is a 6" Kindle with WiFi.

The first place winner will also get a $10 Amazon gift card (so you can buy an eBook version of THE LOST SAINT) and a $20 gift card to iTunes (so you can buy the songs on THE LOST SAINT playlist :D).

Second and third place winners will also be chosen, and each will get signed copies of both THE SCORCH TRIALS by James Dashner and BEAUTIFUL DARKNESS by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl.

Contest Rules:
Only 1 comment per post counts as an entry.
Only 1 tweet, facebook post, etc. counts as an entry per activity.
Only US residents can win 1st place, but 2nd & 3rd place prizes are open internationally (Sorry, customs, you know?)
Contest ends at midnight MST on Dec. 26th
Contest winners will be announced the morning of Dec. 28th (TLS release day!).

Awesome, huh? So let's begin:

I give you the first song of the TLS soundtrack. This is one of my favorite Postal Service songs and was a big inspiration for the prologue of TLS (which you'll get to read on December 7th on the RT blog).

Don't forget to comment to get your first entry in the contest. Tomorrow I'll post song #2.

The Dark Divine paperback is out today!!!! . . . And the recipe for Grace Divine's Caramel Apple Pie

2010-11-23T09:53:00.004-07:00

I can't believe that THE DARK DIVINE paperback is finally here! It is sitting out there on bookstore shelves everywhere with it's shiny black and purple cover, just waiting for someone to pick it up and give it a happy new home.

You know what would make a great, inexpensive, Christmas present? THE DARK DIVINE paperback! *hint, hint* (Okay, sorry, but a girl is allowed to be slightly obnoxious on her book's b-day, right?)

The craziest thing is that the fact that the TDD paperback has arrived, means that TDD itself has been out in the world for a whole 11 months . . . and what a whirlwind those 11 months have been! Or maybe a roller-coaster would be a better metaphor. Or perhaps one of those spinny thingies they strap wanna-be astronauts into to test how well their bodies can hold up to G-forces. (They're called G-forces, right? Or does that just have something to do with Guinea Pigs?)

Anyway, to celebrate TDD's paperback birthday, I decided to share a little treat with you by re-posting the much requested and much coveted recipe for Grace Divine's Infamous Caramel Apple Pie just in time for Thanksgiving.

Seriously, you will thank me later after you taste this award winning (I'm not kidding, it really has won awards) dessert.

Grace Divine's Caramel Apple Pie:

1 jar of Mrs. Richardson’s Butterscotch Caramel (You can find this in the aisle with the Hersey’s Syrup)

Pie:

Your favorite pie crust (Grace would make pie crust from scratch, but I use Pilsbury pre-made crust that you roll out into the dish. It saves a lot of time and tastes just as good as homemade, in my opinion.)

¼ cup sugar

3 Tbsp flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp salt

5 ½ cups peeled apple, thinly sliced (I use Rome apples)

Mix apples with sugar, flour, and spices and fill pie crust

Topping:

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup flour

½ cup oats

½ cup butter

Mix topping ingredients. You can spoon out the topping onto the top of pie and smooth it out, or roll it out like a giant cookie onto wax paper and then transfer to the top of the pie.

Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes, and then put foil around the crust edges and bake for another 20 minutes or until the top is crunchy and firm. (Grace would like me to remind you not to leave the pie in the oven while you run to the store to get last minute Thanksgiving supplies. Seriously, it's not a good idea.)

You can serve the pie hot or cold. Just before serving, warm a jar of Mrs. Richardson’s Butterscotch Caramel (with lid off) for 30-60 seconds in microwave and then pour desired amount (as in, A LOT) over the top crust of the pie.

Have a happy TDD paperback b-day, and happy Turkey Day, too!

Be sure to come back here on November 28th for a big Countdown to THE LOST SAINT giveaway.

Fantasy Casting Wrap-up and Winners

2010-11-21T21:42:00.009-07:00

Sorry for the blog silence over the last couple of weeks. It has been a whirlwind of tasks and events, and I've obviously fallen behind in my regularly scheduled duties. I don't think I've replied to an email in almost a month. For shame.

But on the bright side, it's been a fun whirlwind. I got to go to the filming of the TLS book-trailer, spoke at a library, then at a Jr. High school, and am currently working on a TOP SECRET TLS related project that is so much fun, I can't wait to share it with you--oh and worked on TDD3 a bit, too.

Okay, enough excuses. On to some fun stuff. Like, for example, winners!

First, the landslide favorite for the fantasy casting of Daniel was Mitch Hewer.

Mitch captured 83 votes, giving him 55% of all votes. Alex Pettyfer and Thomas Felton nearly tied for 2nd place with 23 and 22 votes respectively.

That concludes our fantasy casting fun and contest. As an added treat, hubby quickly put together a video for you to summarize the choices you all made for each character. I've pasted it below for your viewing pleasure (winners to the contests are posted below as well).

I have randomly drawn 10 winners to receive a bottle of TLS nail polish for participating. I wish I had enough for everyone, especially as many of you participated through the whole thing. Oh, I have also chosen winners for the extra contest of helping to promote the eBook sale that was taking place this last month (only a day left to get a TDD ebook for only $2.99--the special price ends Nov. 22nd). Winners are as follows:

Fantasy Casting Winners
Jenni Elyse
Vivien
Aleksandra
Becky
Krissi Dallas
Jena
Tori [Book Faery]
Amanda Chenevert
Aubrey
Misha Fitt

eBook Promo Winners
Emily a.k.a WilowRaven
Meg
Melanie
BrittLit
Mundie Moms
Chloe

Winners, please email me at admin@breedespain.com with a mailing address and I'll do my best to get your nail polish out as soon as possible.

One last thing. It is almost November 23rd and that means the TDD paperback will be available this week! My publisher sent me an awesome e-card to announce the occasion and asked me to share with you all... so here you go.

Have any friends who still haven't read the book? You are more than welcome to do a click/save-as and share the e-card with whomever you like. Please feel free to post the card on your blog or facebook page, send a couple emails to those still not on the bandwagon, whatever. Oh, and did I mention that the TDD paperback also includes the first chapter of THE LOST SAINT?

That's all for now. Happy Thanksgiving and stay tuned for November's countdown to TLS contest that will be posted on Nov. 28th (fingers crossed of course).

Fantasy Casting THE DARK DIVINE movie: Daniel Kalbi

2010-11-07T17:28:00.009-07:00

*** Business First:

1. I'll be speaking and signing at the Bingham Creek Library in West Jordan at 7 pm on the 15th of November. Attendees may get a chance to get their hands on THE DARK DIVINE paperback (with a TLS preview) before anyone else.

2. Speaking of the TDD paperback, it comes out November 23rd (just in time for Christmas gift shopping)!!! The pb includes a the prologue & first chapter of TLS.

3. Mark your calendars: THE LOST SAINT hits bookshelves on December 28th! We'll be celebrating the launch at The King's English Bookshop at 7 pm on December 28th. You are all invited, of course. ***

Yowza, Bridget Moynahan smashed the competition to play Meredith Divine with 61 votes out of 108 (56%). Kelly Preston came in second with 18 votes (16%). Talk about a landslide!

Now on to the event we've all been waiting for. . . casting:

DANIEL KALBI!!!!

Physical description: Age 18. Naturally very blond but sometimes dyes his hair black. Deep, dark brown eyes. Lean build, but tall and well-muscled. Devious smile. Sometimes described as being "wicked hot" but also sometimes he looks like an angel. (A hot angel, of course.)

This one was super hard to narrow down the votes for. Seriously, I'm very protective of my Daniel, plus there were so many hot guys nominated to choose from. This is a very important decision, so I couldn't just show one picture of each actor. And since Daniel needs to have a nice upper-body, it only made since to include a shirtless photo of each nominee for proper inspection.

Thomas Felton (Who knew Draco Malfoy could be so attractive in real life?)

Alex Pettyfer (So, so, so, so hot!)

Chace Crawford (Very cute, but I think he may be too old.)

Mitch Hewer (Can you say "hot angel"? There's a part in TLS where Daniel looks just like the photo of Mitch with his eyes closed.)

William Moseley (was actually nominated for Jude, but I thought he might be better for Daniel. Perhaps a little too fresh-faced?)

Now I give you all the arduous task of picking one of these beautiful boys to play the part of Daniel in our fantasy casting of a TDD movie.

Be sure to vote for your favorite choice up over in the SIDEBAR and LEAVE A COMMENT to get another entry to win 1 of 10 bottles of TLS nail-polish. The poll will be open until 11:59 pm MST on Tuesday, November 9th.

And be sure to keep spreading the word about the $2.99 special on the TDD ebook that runs until November 22nd. Let me know in the comments what you've done to spread the word and I'll enter you to win 1 of an additional 5 bottles of TLS nail-polish. I'll announce those winners when I announce the fantasy casting winners.

Fantasy Casting THE DARK DIVINE: Mrs. Divine

2010-11-02T15:08:00.010-06:00

11/3/2010

It was close and hard fought race but super hotty Jensen Ackles came out on top in the last few hours to play Talbot in our fantasy cast with 32 votes out of 88 (36%). Matt Lanter came in second with 24 votes (27%).

We only have 2 characters left to fantasy cast, and since I'm really mean I'm keeping Daniel under wraps until the very end. That means our next character to cast is:

MRS. DIVINE

Physical description: Dark brown hair like Grace's. She's half Italian/half Jewish. In her early forties.

Bridget Moynahan (Looks a lot like the Meredith Divine in my head)

Idina Menzel (Wonder if we could write in a scene where Mrs. Divine breaks into song?--j/k)

Julia Roberts (Would be great to see Julia Roberts playing the mother of Emma Roberts as Grace)

Kelly Preston (Has a nice motherly look to her)

Lauren Graham (Would be fun watching her go all neurotic)

Be sure to vote up over in the SIDEBAR poll and LEAVE A COMMENT to receive an entry to win 1 of 10 bottles of TLS nail polish. (You know you want it!) This poll will be open until 3:00 pm MST on Friday 11/5/2010.

Halloween pics, Fantasy Casting THE DARK DIVINE movie: Talbot, plus an exclusive exerpt from TLS

2010-10-31T18:27:00.011-06:00

10/31/2010

***Upcoming Event: I'll be speaking and signing at the Bingham Creek Library in West Jordan at 7 pm on November 15th. If you come, you may get a chance to get your hands on a paperback copy of TDD that includes the 1st chapter of TLS.***

Happy Halloween, friends! I hope you've had a great weekend. In honor of TLS, I donned a Little Red Riding Hood costume and went out on the town with my very own wolfman/woodsman and a couple of tiny Clone Troopers.

(Is hubs the woodsman who killed the wolf, or the wolf who killed the woodsman?--You decide.)

(Little Red, post kicking some wolf butt)

(KidA felt very empowered by that Clone Trooper gun. He blasted anything remotely scary away with it--including every sweet grandma who opened the door while we were trick or treating--in the pouring rain.)

I have to apologize for all silence and slowness on the blog lately. I got hit with an unexpected deadline this past week that totally took over my life. And I'm so ashamed that I missed October's Countdown to THE LOST SAINT contest. Since we haven't finished our Fantasy Casting fun, I've decided to wait until we're done with that before starting a new giveaway. (But I promise it'll be worth the wait!)

So Nathan Fillion won our poll for playing Pastor Divine with 46 votes (40%) and Tim Daly came in second with 36 votes (31%).

Our next contestant for our fantasy casting is a new one for most of you:

NATHAN TALBOT

Talbot is a new character in THE LOST SAINT and plenty tasty--and instead of just giving you a physical description, I thought I'd give you an exclusive excerpt from TLS (Eep!--at least that's how I feel about sharing it.)

So are you ready to meet Talbot?

I turned to dash from the scene, but I’d taken only a few
stumbling steps in my stupid heels when I ran straight into
what seemed to be a flannel-covered brick wall.

“Whoa, there. You okay?”

The brick wall speaks?

I took a slight step back and looked up to see that I’d
smacked right into the chest of a guy wearing a flannel
shirt. He looked down at me with wide green eyes.

“I’m sorry,” I said, and took another step back. “I
didn’t see you there.”

But really, I didn’t know how I hadn’t noticed this guy
before. I mean, if I thought I stood out here, how had I
not noticed someone like him in a place like this? While
the current fashion statement in the club involved ink
and an abundance of black, this guy wore a green flannel
shirt, light blue jeans, and a large bronze antiquey-looking
belt buckle that resembled a Texas marshal’s
star. He had wavy hair the color of milk chocolate that
stuck out from under the edges of his blue baseball cap,
and his tan face was completely free of weird markings
or bad facial hair, unlike most of the guys here. I looked
down, expecting him to be wearing cowboy boots, but
instead he had on a pair of gray Nike running shoes—
otherwise, he would have looked like he’d sauntered
right in here off a ranch or farm or something.

He gave me a friendly smile—making his tanned,
chiseled cheeks dimple—and he wrapped his warm fingers
around my elbow. “A pretty girl like you should be
more careful in a place like this,” he said, and pulled
me farther away from the fight that brewed behind me.

“Yeah. Um. I know. Sorry.”

His large, callused hand was still on my elbow. His
words—pretty girl like you—finally sank into my brain.
I bit my lip as heat rushed into my cheeks. I wanted to
excuse myself and run off to hide in the bathroom or
something.

The guy’s smile widened, and it struck me that there
was something about him—perhaps the shape of his
mouth, or the tone of his voice—that seemed inexplicably,
yet comfortingly, familiar. Like the first wafting
scent of warm caramel-apple pie on Thanksgiving Day
after a full year of not having tasted it. . .

(Oh, and also of note, Talbot is in his early 20s.)

Now are you ready to pick an actor to play our "tasty new treat" (as April calls him) in a TLS movie?

Kellan Lutz (Cute, and got the most nominations [8] but is he too Twilight famous?)

Matt Lanter (Yes, I know, Matt was the winner for Pete Bradshaw, but this pic of him looks so much like the Talbot in my head that I couldn't not include him.)

Channing Tatum (Nice jawline--may be a bit too old, though.)

Jared Padalecki (Looks hott! in plaid flannel)

Jensen Ackles (also hott!)

Now be sure to vote in the poll up over in the sidebar and leave comment on this post for another entry to win 1 of 10 bottles of TLS nail polish. The poll will be open until Tuesday (11/2/2010) at 6:30 pm.

Also, keep spreading the word about the $2.99 ebook promotion of THE DARK DIVINE and leave a comment telling me what you did in order to win 1 of 5 additional bottles of nail polish. (I'll announce winners for this sometime next week.)

Now go vote!

P.S. What did you dress up as for Halloween?

MY HALLOWEEN TREAT FOR YOU ALL + Fantasy Casting THE DARK DIVINE movie: Pator Divine

2010-10-25T15:09:00.017-06:00

10/25/2010

****IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT:

You guys know how much I love Halloween, right? Like love, love, love, love it. And not because I'm into creepy things (really, I'm not--says the paranormal fiction author). I love Halloween because it's an entire day (more like week at our house) devoted to playing dress-ups and eating chocolate. What could be awesomer than that?

Oh wait, I know something that would make it even sweeter!

Here's my Halloween treat for you all: Starting today until November 22nd, the e-book version of THE DARK DIVINE will be available for only $2.99 from most major e-book retailers (Barnes & Noble, Borders, Books-a-million, Amazon etc.) and many indie bookstores.

UPDATE: B&N and Amazon are both now offering the e-book for only $2.39!!

Please share this promotion with your friends and followers. Tweet about it, blog about it, facefook it. The more people we can get to read TDD, the better things will be for THE LOST SAINT out of the gate. And who can deny such a fabulous price? I'm going to buy an e-book copy of TDD for the kindle app on my phone just to have a portable version of it with me at all times--and at $2.99, why the heck not?!

But wait, it gets even better. If you help spread the word about this special promotional TDD e-book price--I'll enter you to win 1 of 5 bottles of TLS nailpolish. (That's 5 bottles in addition to the 10 I'm giving away in the fantasy casting contest.) Just be sure to share link to where you announced the promotion in the comments of this blog post.

Also, to kick off the TDD ebook promotion, the ROMANTIC TIMES posted an essay I wrote about "The story behind the story of THE DARK DIVINE." So if you want to know the real life inspiration for the book. Be sure to check out the essay HERE.****

Okay, on to the fantasy casting for THE DARK DIVINE movie!

So Adam Gregory slammed the competition to play Jude in our fantasy cast of THE DARK DIVINE. He pulled in 54 votes out of 109 (that's a whopping 49%)! But seriously, with those eyes, who could compete? Nolan Gerard Funk came in 2nd with 24 votes (22%) but Logan Lerman was nipping at his heels with 22 votes (20%).

Now on to our next character:

PASTOR DIVINE

Physical description: Half Scandinavian, half Russian-ish ancestry. Fair. Wears glasses. In his early forties.

Colin Firth (Is it okay to have a crush on the actor playing Grace's dad?)

Nathan Fillion (Ditto on the crush thing. I LOVE Nathan Fillion!)

Tim Daly (Has a good fatherly look)

Mathew Settle (Possibly a little too rock & roll to play a pastor?)

Now be sure to vote for your fave choice up over in the SIDEBAR and LEAVE A COMMENT to get another entry to possibly win 1 of 10 bottles of TLS nail-polish. The poll will be open until 2:30 pm (MST) on 11/27/10.

And be sure to spread the word about the ebook promo price--and tell me what you did in the comments to be entered into a seperate drawing for 1 of 5 additional bottles of TLS nail-polish.

Fantasy casting THE DARK DIVINE movie: Jude Divine

2010-10-22T13:21:00.009-06:00

***I'm participate in a the YA Spooktacular. It's a ghost story told in a round by a bunch of YA authors and writers. I wrote part 2 of the story called A SOUL LAID BARE that was posted today. You can read my part of the story HERE and find the links to the other parts of the stories.

Also, I'm speaking and signing at the St. George Book Festival on Saturday, October 23st at 1:00 pm. If you're in the area, come check out the event.***

Emily Osment won with 31 votes out of 87 (35 %) to play April Thomas. Sasha Pieterse came in second with 20 votes (22%).

Now on to the next character candidate:

JUDE DIVINE

Physical description: Almost 18. Short, dark brown, hair. Violet eyes. Square jaw. Also has a "roman nose." Jude and Grace look very much like brother and sister.

So Chase Crawford and Pen Bagdley got the most nominations for Jude, but even thought I love both of them, I decided both are a little too old for playing high school students now. (Note: If you haven't noticed, I decided to narrow down to the nominations to only actors/actresses the right age to play the characters now. There were so many great nominations, I had to do something to help narrow it down.)

Logan Lerman (What a cutie!)

Adam Gregory (Those eyes!!)

Zac Efron (Used to be anit-Zac, but I loved him in 17 AGAIN. Totally a Zac-convert now.)

Nolan Gerard Funk (Kinda pale, but he looks a lot like the Jude in my head.)

Gregg Sulkin (Maybe a little goofy looking, but he has cute potential.)

Okay, remember to vote up over in the SIDEBAR and LEAVE A COMMENT to be entered to win 1 of 10 bottle os TLS nail-polish. This poll will be open until 3:30pm on Sunday, October 24th.

Fantasy Casting THE DARK DIVINE movie: April Thomas

2010-10-20T20:18:00.006-06:00

10/20/2010

***I'm speaking at the St George Book Festival this Saturday at 1:00. If you're in the area, come on over to the festival and visit me.***

Wow, Matt Lanter won by a landslide to play Pete Bradshaw with 45 votes out of 106 (that's 42%). Except I kinda liked the idea of Matt playing Talbot . . . but the people have definitely spoken! Robbie Amell came in second with 32 votes (30%)

Next up in our fantasy casting is April Thomas, best friend of Grace Divine. Surprisingly, she was one of the hardest characters to narrow down the nominations for--there were so many great suggestions!

Remember to vote in the poll over on the SIDEBAR and LEAVE A COMMENT if you want to be entered to win 1 of 10 bottles of TDD nail polish. Each character you vote for (and comment on) will get you an entry into the giveaway. . . so that's 8 possible entries total.

So here we go. . .

APRIL THOMAS

Physical description: Age 16. Blond, curly hair that resembles Cocker Spaniel ears. Blue eyes. Has that Minnesota "Scandinavian" look.

Taylor Swift (I'm an indie music kind of girl, but I have a lot of respect for Taylor. Plus, I thought she was really cute in Valentine's Day--where she played the BFF of Emma Roberts, our winner for Grace Divine.)

Sasha Pieterse (her hair of reminds me of cocker spaniel ears like April's)

Katija Pevec (love her smile--it feels like April's to me)

Anna-Sophia Robb (I absolutely love her! And I think KidZ has had a crush on her ever since he watched Bridge to Terrabithia)

Emily Osment (Totally rockin' the cocker spaniel ears look, don't you think?)

Ok, be sure to vote AND comment! The poll will be open until Friday at 2:30pm (MST).

Fantasy Casting THE DARK DIVINE movie: Pete Bradshaw

2010-10-17T13:22:00.006-06:00

10/17/2010

***Business First: I'll be speaking at the Saint George Book Festival this Saturday at 1:00 pm, and I will be a featured author at the Provo Teen Book Festival on October 30th (along with Scott Westerfeld!! and others) from Noon until 4:00 pm. Oh, and be sure to check out this article in the Deseret News to hear more about how the TDD movie deal came about.***

Sorry for the delay on this post--My computer and Blogger are having a little spat. Not sure who's at fault, though.

We had a great voting turnout for casting Grace Divine. 177 votes in all!

Emma Roberts ended up winning the race with 60 votes (33%) but Allison Miller came in at a close second with 54 votes (30%).

(Winner: Emma Roberts!)

Remember to come back and vote (AND leave a comment on the post) for each character because I'll be selecting 10 random voters to win a bottle of the TLS nail-polish--and each character you vote for equals and entry into the giveaway.

Our next contestant on Fantasy Cast THE DARK DIVINE movie is:

PETE BRADSHAW

Physical description: Age 18. Big and athletic. Captain of the school's hockey team. Rusty colored hair. April describes him as having a "triple threat" smile.

It was really, really hard, but I managed to narrow it down to my top four choices (including the actor most nominated).

And the nominees are:

Cris Olivero (Really like his look, but according to Google Images, he doesn't smile very often).

Kellan Lutz (Got the most nominations [8] and has a great smile--but looking he's kinda too old to play 18 years old.)

Matt Lanter (Great look)

Robbie Amell ( Great smile)

Now consider your choices carefully, vote for your favorite in the poll up over there in the SIDEBAR, and then be sure to LEAVE A COMMENT on this post if you want to be entered to win the nail polish.

The Pete Poll will be open until 2:30 pm (MST) on Tuesday, October 19th.