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

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.

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

***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.

Tomorrow, Tomorrow, I'll love ya tomorrow. It's only a day away!

So I seriously can't believe that THE DARK DIVINE comes out tomorrow. For the last year since I sold TDD (not to mention the last decade since I started writing) it felt like this day would never actually come. But now I can see it just over the horizon. It's tomorrow!

And some good things are going on that I want to share with you all:

1.Tonight Mundie Moms is hosting a Pre-launch chat party for TDD at 7pm MST/9pm EST. I'll be chatting with readers and answering your questions. So be sure to come on over and join the fun. To find out more info on how to join the chat CLICK HERE.

2. TDD got a smashing 5 star review from The Story Siren. Here's my favorite line: "Three words: I. Loved. It." To read the rest of the review, CLICK HERE.

3. Booklist gave TDD a great review, too. Can't link to this one, but here's my favorite part: "Despain raises complex issues of responsibility and forgiveness and offers no easy answers. Atmospheric and compelling, Despain’s first novel will be popular, and a sequel eagerly anticipated." Squee!

4. Rumor has it that B&N will be featuring TDD on their "Dark Romance" table, so be sure to look for it there. *Crossing my fingers this actually happens.*

5. Mundie Moms has started a forum for all things TDD. This is a great place to discuss the book, characters, your undying devotion for Daniel . . . You will have to register with MM to be able to participate, but don't let that scare you away. The registration is just to keep spammers off the site. They won't demand your first born kid or anything. Be sure to check it out HERE.

6. Today is the last day to enter the Book Triplets Scavenger Hunt. Win 3 signed books from 3 debut authors. Go HERE for more information.

7. Romantic Times just posted the 6th chapter of TDD on their blog. Be sure to look for it HERE. Remember, if you read the chapter and post a comment on the RT blog, and then come back here and tell me about it, I'll enter you in a drawing to win a prize from my random prize grab-bag. The winner from last week is: Brodie
(Email me at readbree(at)gmail(dot)com and I will send you a list of prizes to choose from.)

8. Tomorrow is a TDD Day! Come back here for a new post tomorrow--and a new contest to kick of my book's birthday.

Top 7 Things I Learned At This Weekend's Writing Retreat

So Business first:

1. Don't forget about the The Romantic Times preview of THE DARK DIVINE. Chapter 4 just went up on their blog. If you go over there and read the chapter, leave a comment on the RT blog, and then come back here and tell me about it, I'll enter you in the weekly random grab-bag prize giveaway. Our random winner from last week is: YA Vampire Books
Email me at readbree(at)gmail(dot)com and I'll send you the list of your prizes to choose from.

2. Don't forget about the BIG FRAKKING GIVEAWAY. All you have to do to enter is comment on that post. But creativity in spreading the word about TDD will get you bonus entries. Also, don't forget that the deadline has changed to December 14th.

3. My first two book signings have been scheduled:

The official launch party for TDD will be on January 2nd at 3pm at The King's English in SLC, Utah. I'll be doing a book talk, reading, and signing. I imagine there will also be refreshments and prizes :)

I will also be doing a reading and signing at the West Jordan Barnes & Noble on January 16th at 2pm.

If you'd like me to do a signing in your hometown, then ask your local bookstore to have me come out for an event, or start pestering my publisher @egmontgal on twitter to send me your way. Hey, it's worth a shot right?


Okay, on to the fun stuff:

Top 7 Things I Learned At This Weekend's Writing Retreat

1. If you don't want to be murdered in your bed, fill your house with a bunch of crazy people. And it snows A LOT in Payson, Utah.

Writing buddy Kimberly Webb Reid had her house in Payson to her lonesome this weekend while her hubby went to Vegas with his brother. And since the sleepy little town of Payson, Utah experienced it's first ever murder a couple of weeks ago (I may or may not be making up that statistic) she wasn't too keen on spending the weekend alone. Figuring no one would want to invade a house filled with crazy people, so she invited our critique group out for a weekend of writing at her place--needless to say, we were ready and willing to come protect her. And since it apparently it snows a lot in Payson, we were pretty much stranded there all weekend. (We were able to make one quick trip Walmart for supplies in Valynne's SUV, but after sliding on the roads we dared not make another trip out.)

2. Brodi Ashton is still #1 Crazy.

Awhile ago, our friend James Dashner asked us who was the craziest person in our critique group. Brodi was named #1. (I'm number #3, btw.) Brodi insisted that the vote was unfair since she wasn't present, and has been campaigning for a re-vote ever since. We debated much, and Brodi tried to explain why we were all crazier than she, but ultimately the matter was tabled, so therefore Brodi remains at #1 crazy.

3. Snuggies aren't all they're cracked up to be.

On our supply run to Walmart, Valynne decided to buy a leopard print snuggie. However, the darn thing just kept sliding off everyone's shoulders. Which kind of defeats the entire purpose of the Snuggie in the first place. I think it should be redesigned with a back like a giant fleece poncho. We could call it a "ponchie" or a "ponchet."

4. Writers Love Titles

And not just titles for their books. Valynne Maetani decided that our writing group should finally have an official name, and Emily Wing Smith decided that we should each have an official figurehead title within the group. We debated much and we went through several names such as: The Clique (too cliquish), The Craft (too witchy), Scribble Sisters (not too fond of the S.S. acronym), and BAM (an acronym invented by Brodi Ashton's son that doesn't actually stand for anything.)

We finally settled on "The SIX." We also assigned each person an official figurehead position. Here they are in order of craziest person:

#1 Brodi Ashton: Crap, um, I can't remember her position. Maybe she's just Official #1 Crazy?
#2 Emily Wing Smith: Official Group Scribe
#3 Bree Despain: Official Hair Consultant and Nutritionist (b/c I insist everyone eat a bit of protein at each meal)
#4 Valynne Maetani: Official Bouncer (seriously, don't mess with V)
#5 Kimberly Webb Reid: Official Ledger Keeper (Not sure how this is different from Official Scribe)
#6 Sarah Bolton: Official Sartorial Advice Giver (Because she supplies our group with fashionable yet affordable shoes. Like the yellow ones I'm wearing in this pic. You should check out her online shoe biz here)

5. A Grouper is NOT an Amphibian

Actually, I already knew this. But get a group of slap-happy, sleep deprived, sugar O.D.ed, snuggie wearing writers into a game of Scattagories and anything can happen--like Brodi adamantly trying to convince us all that fish and amphibians are the same thing. And don't you dare try to get a made-up word past Emily. That girl is a walking dictionary and she will tackle you while wearing a leapard print snuggie and wrestle you over a correct definition. I'm not normally a game player, but I have to admit that this was one entertaining board game experience.

6. Being the group's Official Hair Consultant actually has official responsibilities (who knew?)

Earlier this week, Brodi Ashton asked me if I thought she could pull off being a brunette. I said, "Um, No" because she has really light eyebrows. Well, Brodi, being #1 crazy and all, decided that I was saying that being a brunette required special skillz that she does not possess and took this as a challenge to prove me wrong.

So first she went to a professional hair dresser and had her hair dyed. Then she tweeted me this picture and claimed that she was now a brunette:



But then I saw Brodi the very next day at the BEAUTIFUL CREATURES launch party and she looked like this:

(Sara Zarr, Valynne, Emily, Brodi, Me, James Dashner, Kika, Kika's Friend)

Anyone else notice the discrepancies in these two pics? Yeah, I thought so.

I declared that Brodi was indeed NOT A BRUNETTE, so during the retreat she decided to dye her hair AGAIN. This time with a $7 bottle of dye from Target. (Emily and Valynne decided to get in on the action and also wanted to dye their hair.) And since I had just been voted "hair consultant," I was forced to do the actual dying for all three of them (as opposed to just laughing at their antics like I'd originally planned). Em's hair turned out fantastic. Valynne's you really couldn't tell the differnence. And, well, Brodi's . . . still didn't turn out brunette. It was more like dirty, dirty, dirty dishwater blond (Brodi's own words, not mine).

Devastated, Brodi drove in a snow storm to Walmart to buy and box of blond highlights to try to restore her original hair color, but then we somehow decided to use Emily's left-over bottle of dark brown die on her instead. Which means that:

6. Brodi Ashton still can't pull of being a brunette

Yep. Apparently Brodi's hair is resistant to the color brown. After THREE dye jobs, she is now officially a red head. Em's dye had a touch of red in it, and that's all Brodi's hair seemed to care about. (I'd show you a picture but by the time we'd done four dye jobs in Kim's guest bathroom, we were all looking a little worse for wear and nobody would pose for a pic.)

7. I can actually get some work done in a house full of crazy people

Shocking, huh? Despite all the craziness, I actually got a good 23 pages out of the experience. That's a big deal for me. And they're actually 23 pages that I really, really love. I can't wait for the next retreat!

So what did you do over the weekend?

Street team updates, pictures to share, and more.

So first of all, the winner for last week's Romantic Times random grab bag prize drawing is:

Kiirsi!

Email me at readbree(at)gmail(dot)com and I'll send you the list of random prizes to choose from.

Next item of business: Chapter 3 is up on Romantic Times! If you haven't already--head on over there, comment, then come back here and let me know you did, so you can be entered in a drawing for a prize out of my random grab bag.

Also, don't forget about the Huge Frakkin' Giveaway. Contest ends Dec. 14th and all you have to do is comment to be entered. Extra entries are available for those who do something fun and creative to help promote TDD.

On that note-- I wanted to share with everyone how awesomely cool my street team is. Seriously, they completely and totally rock and I can't thank them enough for all their efforts to spread the word about The Dark Divine so far.

Several of the street team members took advantage of the gatherings centered around the release of New Moon to show some Team Daniel support with their TDD shirts and by passing out bookmarks and stickers at the theaters--so I thought I'd share a few of the pictures they sent me.


Alexus showing off her mad SWAG distribution skills.


Debbie at one of the New Moon Party events she helped organize.


Sarah handing out bookmarks in line (even though she didn't get to see the movie that night, she still stuck around to hand out SWAG. How cool is that?!)


Katie in TX and Kelly in NY were able to put book marks in hundreds of SWAG bags for the attendees of the premier parties they were hosting.


Amber handing out bookmarks and talking up TDD before the movie starts.


And the Literati group went all out filling a whole row with TDD shirts after spending the preshow time handing out SWAG.


Hubby even got into it and was able to get some co-workers to wear the TDD shirt at work and pass out even more SWAG at the movie release that evening.


Like I said: Awesomely cool, right?

The Final Countdown to THE DARK DIVINE (a.k.a. A huge frakking giveaway)

So business first:

1. Don't forget about The Romantic Times' serialization of THE DARK DIVINE. They are posting a new chapter a week of TDD up until the debut on December 22nd. (That's SIX chapters total!!) Plus they are giving away signed hard-copies of the book + TDD nail polish. They will be posting chapter 2 sometime on Monday the Nov 23rd. Go here to check it out.

2. I'm giving away random prizes from my random prize grab-bag for people who read the chapters and then leave a comment on the RT blog. Be sure to come back here and let me know that you commented so you can be entered in the weekly drawing. And you get extra points for tweeting or blogging about it. The random prize grab-bag includes autographed books, TDD Nail Polish, gift cards, and more!)

3. This week's random winner is: Bunny B
Email me at readbree(at)gmail(dot)com and I will send you a list of prizes to choose from.

Okay, on with the actual post:

So this is it! There is officially only one month left until the debut of THE DARK DIVINE!!! Holy crap, can you believe it? I know, I know...I can't either. No matter how many times I pinch myself, I still can't believe this isn't all some crazy tripped out dream and I'm going to wake up and realize that I've been lying in a hospital bed for the last seven years since that terrible car accident.

But just in case this isn't a wacky comma induced fantasy, we need some big time Countdown to THE DARK DIVINE Contest craziness going on. I'm thinking it should be our biggest giveaway yet!

Sound like a good plan?

Yeah, I thought you'd agree.

Okay then, let's get down to business.

Grand Prize:


An autographed hardcover copy of THE DARK DIVINE (The final cover is so fantastically beautiful in person I about died when I held the proof in my hands. Even better than the ARC.)


A bottle of TDD nail polish

A TDD custom T-shirt (Designs soon to be unveiled on the blog. I'm very excited!)


And A purple 8GB iPod Nano engraved with a personal message + the TDD soundtrack

(Apparently, the Beautiful Creatures ladies are giving away a similar package, but this is something I've been planning for a while, so it's honestly just a coincidence. You should go enter their contest, too.)


Prize #2
Egmont Prize-pack including:

Hardcover copy of CALLIE'S RULES by Naomi Zucker

Hardcover copy of VIOLET WINGS by Victoria Hanley

Hardcover copy of LITTLE BLACK LIES by Tish Cohen

And an ARC of BRIGHTLY WOVEN by Alexandra Bracken


Prize #3

Utah Author Prize-pack including:

Signed copy of THE RING by Bobbie Pyron

Signed Copy of THE HOURGLASS DOOR Lisa Mangum

Signed Copy of THE WAY HE LIVED by Emily Wing Smith

Here's how to enter:

(Update: these are the clarified rules and are different from what was originally posted. Please read them over again. You will find that entering is much easier now.)

1. Be a follower of the blog. (So if you're not a follower, start following :D)

2. To get 1 entry in the contest, all you have to do is leave a comment here saying that you'd like to entered. Easy peasy, right?

For bonus entries you can do the following:

1. Get 2 extra entries for Tweeting/Facebooking/blogging about the Countdown contest

2. Get 2 extra entries for Tweeting/Facebooking/blogging about the Romantic Times preview (Plus you will get entered into the weekly random prize giveaway if you tweet about the preview, and leave a comment on the RT blog)

3. Get at least 5-10 BONUS entries (as determined by me or hubby based on what you do) for doing something to show your excitement for THE DARK DIVINE. I'm assuming since you are reading this blog and entering this contest, you are at least somewhat excited about TDD. So all I'm asking you to do is to share that excitement with the people around you. (Creativity will get you closer to the 10 entries)

You can vlog, make a music video, make a youtube commercial for the book, get all your friends to wear all purple and black to school one day, start a campaign to get TDD to be a trending topic on twitter, wear a Team Daniel t-shirt to New Moon, go door to door at your dorm and tell people how excited you are about the book release, call your local bookstores and ask them to carry the book or have me come do a signing, 0r get your entire English class to read the first six chapters of TDD on the RT blog . . .

Okay, you get the point, right? Do something creative to show your excitement for TDD and then come back here and tell me about it. Physical evidence is also requested (not required) such as posting a picture or video on your blog/myspace/facebook/twitter/youtube. Or you can email it to me at readbree(at)gmail(dot)com. (Please nothing obscene or illegal!!)

Remember, this is just for BONUS POINTS, don't let the creativity thing scare you off from entering the contest in the first place.

UPDATE, originally I was going to to end the contest and announce the winners on December 22nd, but I have decided to end the contest on December 14th and announce winners December 15th instead. That way if you want to give away any of the books you win as Christmas presents, you will get them in time for the holiday. 1. This contest is only open to followers of the blog. So if you're not a follower . . . well . . . hint, hint.

*Sorry, for legal/customs reasons, this contest is only open to U.S. residents.

And don't forget to pop over to the Romantic Times blog to see if the next chapter of TDD is up. UPDATE: Chapter 2 can be found by clicking HERE.

SQUEEE!!!! The Romantic Times preview of THE DARK DIVINE is up + giveaways!!

Oh my goodness, oh my goodness, oh my goodness!!! It's up! It's up! The Romantic Times preview of THE DARK DIVINE is finally up!!

Okay, I have been talking about this for weeks now, but in case you missed it: The Romantic Times is offering an exclusive sneak peak of the first SIX CHAPTERS of THE DARK DIVINE!!! They will be posting a link to a chapter a week every Monday up until the debut of TDD on December 22nd. Even if you've read the ARC of THE DARK DIVINE, you should still check it out because. . . 1. The final manuscript of TDD has slight differences from the ARC text. 2. Each week they will be posting a message from me with insider tidbits about the writing of, or the inspiration for, each chapter. 3. Best of all, they are running a contest where you have SIX CHANCES TO WIN A SIGNED COPY OF THE DARK DIVINE & TDD NAIL POLISH!!!

But wait, that's not all! To further incentive you to read and share the preview, I'm having my own contest here in conjunction with it all.

Here's the deal:

For the next six weeks, I'll be giving away random prizes from my Random Prize Grab-Bag (including signed books, TDD nail polish, gift cards, etc.)

Get 2 entries for leaving a comment on The Romantic Times blog posts about TDD.
Get 1 additional entry for tweeting about the previews with a link to the RT blog posts
Get 2 additional entries for blogging about previews with a link here, and a link to the RT blog

Be sure to leave a comment here, reporting your activities so I can give you your proper amount of entries in the contest.

Each week for the next 6 weeks, I'll pick a random winner of a random prize. (They may be random, but they're still GOOD!) Be sure to check back here to see if you've won. And I'll be sure to post a link each Monday to the new chapters for you to read. CLICK HERE to see this week's chapter offering.

Oh, and in case you missed all the flurry on twitter, I am so excited to announce that TDD is a Teen Reads pick on the American Booksellers Association's IndieNext List for Winter. Check it out here (scroll down to Teen Reads). And huge congrats to my author buddies James Dashner (#1 on the overall IndieNext list!!!) and Becca Fitzpatrick (who made #6).