Countdown To The Dark Divine Contest: Help me title my new book!

(Note: If you came here looking for info about the street team, click here.)

Shout outs to some awesome friends:

1. Congratulations to bff Emily Wing Smith for winning The Utah Book award for her exceptional YA novel THE WAY HE LIVED. The awards ceremony was neat, and our adventures afterward were some of our wackiest--complete with blood, gore, cheesecake, and Brodi Ashton walking barefoot down 4th South and me screaming things like, "Don't smell that, you might get hepatitis!" I'm sure Brodi will blog about it in much funnier ways than me, so be sure to pop over there.

2. Congrats to James Dashner and his whirl-wind tour of the USA to promote his new book THE MAZE RUNNER. Plus, he was featured in two articles in PW Daily yesterday, and according to them, the book is doing A-Mazing.

3. And huge congrats to new friend Becca Fitzpatrick whose novel HUSH HUSH is debuting at #10 on the NYT bestseller list!!! YAY! She'll be signing at several Utah Costcos over the weekend, so if you are in the area, check out her schedule here.

Shout out for myself:

Did you guys see my beautiful ad in PW Daily? It's run three times over the last week. It's so beautiful. Click here to see it, then scroll down until you see it in its purple glory.

Okay, on with actual post:

HOLY CRAP, SO I JUST REALIZED THAT IT'S ONLY 2 MONTHS UNTIL THE RELEASE OF THE DARK DIVINE!!!! Excitement! Joy! Fear! Trepidation!

So, this next month is going to be a bit crazy. I am attempting to finish the first draft of the sequel to The Dark Divine in the next 32 days. As a result, my brain power failing....words not coming.... loosing ability to type...

Sooooo, yeah. The rest of this blog post will be short and too the point (I hope) and my posts will likely be a bit sparse between now and November 23rd. Never fear, though. The Street Team will still be announced a couple days after the deadline (which is the October 26th btw if you have not yet applied. And if you haven't applied, why not? And if you have no idea what I'm talking about, click here).

Ok, on to the point. Time to celebrate only 2 months left! This month the prizes are as follows:

Prize #1: signed copy of WAR DANCES by Sherman Alexie, and a signed copy of THE MAZE RUNNER by James Dashner
Prize #2: signed copy of ONCE WAS LOST by Sara Zarr
Prize #3: signed copy of HUSH HUSH by Becca Fitzpatrick

So here's what you gotta do for me if you want to be entered in the contest. As I mentioned, I am in the middle of writing the sequel to THE DARK DIVINE. I am loving spending more time with the characters from TDD and am very excited about where the story is going, but here's the deal, it doesn't have a title yet. Got any suggestions? (No titles with spoilers please!) (UPDATE: I'm thinking of things that either play of the words "dark" or "divine" or "desire" or "Grace" or "temptation" or some variation of similar words--yet not something that sounds like a steamy Harlequin romance novel.) Post a comment to be entered into the contest. Rules are below:

1.) Must be a follower of the blog and post a comment to qualify (UPDATE: You don't have to suggest a book title . . . you can always just say"hi")
2.) Answer question = 1pt
3.) Already a follow of blog = 2pt, Become a follower = 1pt
4.) Already a twitter follower = 2pt, Become a twitter follower = 1pt
5.) Tweet contest = 1pt.
6.) Post contest on your blog = 1pt

The contest ends at 11:59 pm on October 28th. Winners will be announced sometime within the next two days after that. . . I promise . . . assuming I'm still alive.

Okay, back to my writing cave. And don't forget to spread the word about the STREET TEAM!!! We need you!!

Contest Winner, and Author Events Galore!

First Thing: The winner of the Denver goodies giveaway is: thetruebookaddict

(Email me at readbree at gmail dot com with your mailing address, and I'll send you your prizes)

Now on with the post:

I love autumn. September rainstorms. The smell of fallen leaves. Anticipating Halloween. Cool jacket weather air that gives me the perfect excuse to buy more jackets . . . And the beginning of a whole new season of book releases. And one of the highlights of this autumn has been getting to go to my local Indie bookstore, The King's English, for the launch parties and signings for a few of my favorite authors. In fact, I have been to TKE for an author event 4 times in the last 4 weeks. I'm sure the ladies of TKE would get totally sick of seeing my face--except that I spend a small fortune every time I walk through their doors. (After all, I MUST pick up autographed books for my blog readers, right? At least that's what I tell hubby . . .)

In September, I went to Shannon Hale's launch party for FOREST BORN with Brodi Ashton and Hubby. Shannon did a great presentation. She's one entertaining lady. And because she is such a rock star, we had to take a number in order to get our books signed. My number was so far down the list that hubby and I went out and ran errands, then went to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants (Mazza--yum!) and then went back to TKE and still had to wait 20 minutes in line before we got our books signed. Wow, now that means you've definitely made it as an author. Congrats, Shannon!

Also in September, I was invited to a signing for Debutante author Michelle Zink (PROPHECY OF THE SISTERS) by another Deb, Sydney Salter. Michelle did an amazing book talk and I wished I'd had a a notebook handy so I could have written down some pointers on how to be an engaging speaker. I absolutely loved how she handled to Q&A portion of her talk. For every question someone asked her, she then asked the audience a question (after answering the question addressed to her, of course). Apparently, she asked the same book-related questions to each of her audiences during her tour, and then compiled the answers on her blog here. I thought this was a great way to engage her readers, and I think she ended up with some interesting feedback.

After the signing, I got to go out to dessert with Michelle, Sydney, James Dashner, and SpeedReader (one of the cutest bloggers on the planet--from My Favorite Author), along with a few of Michelle's family members who live in Utah. (Did you know that Michelle is originally from Utah? Dude, Utah really does rock when it comes to the YA scene.) It was so fun to get to know Michelle, and she even gave me a few pointers about what to expect at my first bookseller dinner.

October started off in a great way with a launch party for Sara Zarr's ONCE WAS LOST on the very first day of the month. It was a great event. I absolutely love listening to Sara speak, and Emily Wing Smith made some awesome cookies in honor of Sara's book cover. (At least I can say that they looked awesome since I couldn't actually eat any of them.)

Sara told us about how her book was inspired by the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping, and by her own struggles with faith--which only made me want to read the book more.

After the event, we went over to The Dodo restaurant for dessert (again, I had a fruit plate). The group included Sara Zarr, her hubby, Matt Kirby, Emily Wing Smith, Dan Smith (Em's hubby), Sarah Dufford Williams, a very nice writer named Melinda (sorry can't remember her last name), Valynne Maetani Nagamatsu, Sara Bolton, Brodi Ashton, and James Dashner. Wow, that was a big group! I'd recount our wacky antics and conversations, but Brodi has (of course) already done a hilarious recap here--so you should go check that out.

Only five days later, I found myself back at TKE for the launch party for James Dashner's THE MAZE RUNNER. The evening started off a little harried when a semi rolled over on the the freeway, making Hubby and I almost a half hour late with all the traffic delays. Luckily, they started the event late so I didn't miss any of James's book talk. It was so fun to sit in the audience and listen to some of his die hard 13TH REALITY fans ask him questions. They are a dedicated group! One 10 year old boy almost acted as if James's decision to write THE MAZE RUNNER was an act of treason.

Aside from watching a dear friend finally launch his much anticipated book, the best part of the night was getting to see the bloggers from The Inking Cap who I'd met at the Writing for Charity event back August. I'd given them each a bottle of THE DARK DIVINE nail polish--which they were all wearing on their toes at James's party! They even took a picture of one of them attempting to kick James in the head with her painted toes--which I would show you now, but nobody has sent to me a copy of it yet. (Hint. HINT.)

Update: Hinting worked! Here's the pic of Debbie from The Inking Cap kicking James with her Dark Divine toes. Though for some reason the polish shows up pink in photos rather than purple. Oh, and I guess she's kicking him in the shoulder and not the head, but still, it's pretty cool.

After this event, we went to The Dodo again, but this time we got dinner. The group was me, Hubby, Sara Bolton, Valynne, Brodi, Emily Wing Smith, and another friend of mine named Emily Allen (who was an old college friend of James's, and she informed us that back in the day, James used to go by the name Jamie. So be sure to call him that the next time you see him. He'll just LOVE it.) James (ehem, Jamie) even graced us with his presence for a few minutes before he left to go pack for his whirl-wind national book tour. See you in a month, James!

Me, looking slightly demented, and kind of gargantuan compared to James (center--duh, I guess) and Brodi.

Emily Wing Smith, Valynne Maetani Nagamatsu, and Sara Bolton

Valynne, Emily, Brodi, and Me (looking almost as demented, but less gargantuan)

Besides the semi truck rollover, the $25 parking ticket I got at TKE, the driving debacle that got us home at 10:15 pm despite the fact that we left the restaurant at 8:30 pm (don't ask), it was a great night. And once again, for a much funnier take on the evening, visit Brodi's recap of the night here. (Thanks for always posting the funny stuff before I get to it, Bro. You are a better blogger than I.)

So that's my month of author events so far. Did I mention I'm going to The King's English again this Wednesday to hear Sherman Alexie speak about his new book WAR DANCES? Now if only I were cool enough to get him to go share a fruit plate with me at The Dodo afterward. Hmmm, perhaps that should be my new mission in life. Operation: Get Sherman To Have Dessert With Me. I'll report next week on how it goes.

Contest winners, and a word about banned books

So here are the winners for the The Countdown to THE DARK DIVINE Contest:

Grand Prize winner of 3 Egmont books of your choice: Sara (from The Hiding Spot)

Check out the list of books here , then email me with your choices. Please note that a few of the books on the list have not been released yet and would need to be a pre-order.

2nd place winner of autographed copies of Shannon Hale's FOREST BORN and BOOK OF A THOUSAND DAYS: Mhm, yup (Kristen)

3rd place winner of an autographed copy of Michelle Zink's PROPHECY OF THE SISTERS: RK Charron

Winners, email me at readbree(at)gmail(dot)com with your mailing address and I'll send you your prizes.

A word on banned books:

I'd like to say something eloquent here about free speech and how censorship is wrong and how if a bunch of "concerned citizens" got their way in the world I would have never read some of my favorite books that have truly impacted my life for the better. . .but basically all I can muster up to say at the moment is: BANNING BOOKS SUCKS!

Okay, so that was 3 words about banning books, not "a word," but you get the gist, right?

I'd go on and on for a bit, but some of my friends have already written much more eloquently on the subject, so I'll send you guys to them:

Emily Wing Smith (author friend extraordinaire) just found out that her brilliant book THE WAY HE LIVED is being challenged by a school in Florida and may soon be added to the banned books list. She blogged about her feelings on the subject here.

Author friend James Dashner also blogged about it here, and links to the Random House First Amendment Committee. But what's most of interest there is the discussion/brawl that's broken out in the comments section on James's blog between people with opposing views on censorship . . . and semantics. (P.S. James's THE MAZE RUNNER debuts 1 week from today!)

And writer friend Nikki Mantyla wrote a very nice post about discussing censorship issues with her writing students, and the ridiculousness of some of the books that are on the banned books list. Check it out here.

Considering some of the books that have been banned or challenged in this country (Hello, LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE?!) I have no doubt that THE DARK DIVINE will be challenged and/or banned someday. But hopefully that won't stop other teens who would love and appreciate the book (and maybe even need the book) from being able to read it. Support free speech! Go read a banned book this week. I think I will dust off my well-worn copy of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, or perhaps OF MICE AND MEN, or maybe HARRY POTTER, or SPEAK, or BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA, or, or . . . you get my point, right?

Okay, so I've said quite a few words already. Be sure to come back later this week so I can tell you all about my trip to Denver for my very first tour stop at the Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association expo. I picked up some cool goodies there (including a signed final copy of HUSH HUSH, plus a HUSH HUSH locker poster . . . and more) that I will be giving away to a lucky blog reader. So stay tuned!!

Countdown To The Dark Divine Contest: Help me name a new character and you might win an ARC edition.

First item of business: The 2nd winner of the Random Things Giveaway is californiameaghan!

Email me at readbree(at)gmail(dot)com and I'll send you list of your choices from the Random Prize Grab-Bag.

Last week's Random Things winner, Taschima Cullen, chose a signed copy of WINGS by Aprilynne Pike.

(The Random Things Contest is now closed.)


Okay, on with the post:

So does anyone know how it got to be the 22nd again already? Seriously, the time is ticking away until the release of THE DARK DIVINE. We're down to 5 months already!!! The weirdest part about getting closer to the release date (December 22nd, btw) is knowing that advanced copies of my book are being sent out to reviewers, and people--real people, not just my writer friends--are possibly reading my book right at this very moment.

Exciting!!

Thrilling!!

Horrifying!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, primal scream moment over. *Shaking it off*

Back to the post . . .What was I saying? Oh yeah. Reviewers and other such super awesome people are reading my book. In fact, I recently got my first written review on GoodReads. In honor of it being the first, I thought I would share it with you all.

This was written by Sarah Steele, one of the fabulous winners from last month's Countdown To The Dark Divine Contest ARC Giveaway:

"Okay I was SUPER excited to read this book and when I won and ARC from the author's blog, I absolutely was not disappointed!!!! (Apologies to the author for comparing her great novel to "Twilight." I don't mean it as an insult.) Basically if you loved "Twilight," you'll also love this book. And if you despised "Twilight," you'll probably also love this book and after reading it you'll think, "Wow, Stephenie Meyer could stand to learn a few things from Bree Despain." Seriously. Read this book."


How sweet is that?! Thanks, Sarah!


Sarah's review put me in such a good mood, I've decided to give away another one of my ARCs as part of this month's Countdown To The Dark Divine Contest.

(Note to new readers: The CTTDDC is a special contest I run on the 22nd of each month leading up to the release of my book on 12/22/09. So be sure to come back each 22nd for you chance to win a neat prize.)

However, there's no such thing as a free lunch. You've got to do a little work for me in order to get an entry in the contest.

So here's the deal. I'm working on the sequel for TDD, and I've dreamed up a new character. He's hot, cocky, has paranormal superpowers (sorry, can't tell you what kind), and is possibly going to be British. He's the kind of guy you LOVE to hate, and hate yourself for loving. But, sadly, he still doesn't have a name. This where I need a little help from my friends. Which of the following names do you think is best for the hot paranormal jerk:

A. Nathan
B. Talbot
C. Ramses

Cast your vote in the comments, and I'll enter you in the contest to win a signed ARC of THE DARK DIVINE. Our second place winner will get a signed copy of Shannon Hale's THE ACTOR AND THE HOUSEWIFE. Contest ends at 11:59 pm on July 29th.

Disclaimer: I'm leaning toward one of the names already, so I may or may not go with the outcome of this contest . . .but my decision will probably be swayed if enough of you agree on a different choice.

(Note: This contest is only open to blog followers, so if you're not a follower . . .um, start following ;) )

Oh, and one more thing. YA author James Dashner gave me a shout-out on his blog, so I'm returning the favor. He's giving away an ARC of his awesome upcoming YA novel, THE MAZE RUNNER, on his blog, so you should pop over there and check it out. (After you leave a comment here, of course.)