TDD Day: It's finally here!!

So business first:

1. Thanks to everyone who played the Book Triplets Scavenger Hunt! The winner is: Katie Bulter. Email me your shipping address at readbree(at)gmail(dot)com and I'll get your prize off in the mail.

2. Lots of new reviews for TDD were posted yesterday. Tons of 5-star ones, too! To see all the reviews of TDD, go HERE.

3. Many thanks to Mundie Moms for hosting an awesome Pre-launch Chat Party for TDD last night. We had a huge turnout, and it was so fun to answer questions. MMs also has a TDD forum where you can discuss all things TDD. I am a member of the forum and will be stopping by whenever I can. Be sure to check it out HERE.

Okay, on to the post . . .

So I really can't believe it! TDD Day has finally arrived. I woke up at 5:45 this morning and wanted to rouse my boys and have an impromptu dance party in the family room. But I figured I should probably let them sleep since we have a big day ahead of us. Little KidA is probably going to get dragged all over town in search of copies of THE DARK DIVINE on the shelves of our local bookstores. I hope he's ready to do a lot of picture posing.

Lately, a lot of people have been asking me what they can do to help with TDD. Honestly, the best thing anyone can do is to actually buy the book. My publisher has been really generous with giving out ARCs of my book. Which is great for generating buzz and getting reviews, but I am hoping that people who read the ARCs and loved TDD will still go out and buy the final version of the book. I am hoping you guys will spread the word about TDD to people you think will love it too.

(Side Note: Did you know that there are a few differences between the ARC and the final version of THE DARK DIVINE? And btw, the cover of TDD has more to do with the final version of TDD than the ARC. If you want to know how, you'll have to check out the final copy. *Mawahahaha* The purple and the nail polish totally make sense . . .)

A lot of bookstores are having to be tight with their budgets right now, so they may only have a handful of copies of the book to start out with. So if you go to a bookstore and they're sold out of TDD (as some of the Utah stores already are!) be sure to order the book while you're in the store. If they get people asking for the book, they will be sure to restock it on their shelves--and hopefully with even more copies this time.

I know not everyone can afford to buy books right now, but that's okay. Another great way to help out is to request TDD at your local library. If they don't have it yet, they'll probably order one in for you. Library sales count for a lot in this industry!

And of course, we can't have TDD day without a contest!! A few people have sent me pictures of TDD "in the wild." (i.e. pics of the book on the shelves of their local bookstores.)

Like this one from my agent in NYC:

So I am thinking that we should have an "In the Wild" contest. Go out and find a copy of TDD in your local bookstores or library and send me a picture. I'll be featuring some of the pics on my blog (Hint: Pictures with people in them are more fun! Maybe get a friend to snap a pic of you with the book.) and one lucky photographer will win a fabulous TDD Birthday Present!

What is in this fabulous birthday present you ask?

1. A TDD t-shirt of your choice
2. bottle of TDD nail polish
3. The TDD soundtrack
4. And a signed copy of BEAUTIFUL CREATURES

Here's how to enter:

1. Send me a pic of TDD "in the wild" and receive 5pts
2. Earn additional 1 point for each: tweet, blog, facebook post about the contest.
3. Winners will announced on December 30th, so that gives you a week to get a pic of TDD

And now, a special birthday treat:



This is a fan-made trailer by The Book Jackal. She read on my blog that I love Taylor Kitsch so she made a TDD trailer with the actors from FNL playing the parts of Grace, Daniel & Jude. Taylor Kitsch as Daniel!! *Swoon* Thank you so much, Book Jackal!

Have a Happy TDD Day, and a Merry Christmas,too! I know I will!!!

P.S. TDD would make a wonderful last-minute Christmas gift! (Ok, I'll be quiet now.)

Writing ain't always easy

People often ask me why I write, and the answer is simple: I love it! Making up stories and sharing them with people is one of my favorite things to do. Writing is fun!!

Being "in the groove" as a writer is one of the most awesome feelings in the world, and if given the choice on one of those groove days, I'd choose getting a chance to write for a few more hours over just about any activity. I mean, even if Taylor Kitsch showed up on my doorstep with a box of chocolates and a motorcycle, I'd totally choose . . . well, to go for a ride with Taylor--but I'd probably talk his ear off about my book the entire time.

But then there are those days, weeks, months, sometimes years, when writing is just plain work. Hard, brain-frying, work that takes over your life. Right now, it's taking over my family room and edging into the dining area.


Yep, that's my plot for the sequel to TDD. It's literally all over the place!

I've tried outlining, I've tried snowflakes methods, I've tried free-writing, but the plot has been eluding me. So that's when I turned to writing on the walls like a crazy person in an asylum. Luckily, hubby found those HUGE post-it notes at Office Max in order to save the paint job on the walls. We spent most of Labor Day weekend and almost all of this last week writing out character sketches and scrawling down every possible plot idea that popped into our heads. It may look like a insane process, but hey, it's working. It's easier to see how the plot pieces fit together when you can see them all at the same time . . . and I'm starting to feel that wonderful elating sensation when I know a really good groove is coming on. My mind keeps flitting to my story at every quiet moment, I can hear the characters talking in my sleep, and my fingers are itching to get to the actual writing part. Come on, groove! It's time to start working.

You hear that, Taylor Kitsch? If the keyboard is a tappin', then don't come a knockin'! Okay, so YOU can come a knockin' but the chocolate had better be dark, and the motorcycle had better be something reminiscent of REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE. (And yes, I know tappin' and knockin' don't rhyme. :-D)

Distractions and Discoveries

So for the last week, I've been patiently (ha ha) waiting for word from my editor as to whether I need to do more revisions or if we're ready for copy-editing. And in an effort to keep myself from checking my email every 13.5 seconds, I've taken to perusing the internet and favorite place to waist away time (woo hoo Target). Yes, I could be spending my time working on an outline for The Dark Divine sequel, catching up on laundry, emptying my sink of dirty dishes, or editing the content for my forthcoming website . . .but then I wouldn't have made the following fun discoveries:

1. I'm on Amazon! Between sessions of clicking the refresh button in my gmail account, I got the whimsical idea of heading over to Amazon to see what happens when I enter in my name in the search field. I really didn't expect anything to happen other than getting a list of books about French cheeses--but to utter delight, I actually found my book listed there!! There isn't a picture or a synopsis yet, but it is definitely a listing for MY book.

According to Amazon, the book will be released on December 22, 2009--but it also says that my book is for kids ages 9-12 (which it isn't--try GRADES 9-12) so I'm not trusting Amazon's info at the moment. But still, The Dark Divine is on Amazon!! And it even has a pre-order button. How neat is that? Check it out by clicking here.

2. A Daniel Kalbi action figure, for me?! Well almost. Many of you are already aware of my teensy-tiny obsession with Taylor Kitsch and my desire to freeze him in time until somebody decides to make my book into a movie. (If you have no idea what I'm talking about click here.) Many of you may also be aware of the fact that Taylor is playing Gambit (my favorite mutant) in the upcoming X-MEN ORIGINS movie.



Swoon

Well on Monday, I went to the wonderful Land O' Target in search of b-day gifts for KidA (my baby just turned 3!) and saw a toy display for X-MEN ORIGINS. My curiosity got the better of me and I had to go over to see if they had a Gambit action figure. Because seeing (okay owning) a Taylor Kitsch action figure would be the same as a Daniel Kalbi action figure, right? And who wouldn't want an action figure of one of their main characters? That's totally normal and in no way creepy, right? RIGHT??

Well, anyway, I was holding my breath in anticipation of seeing my favorite character from my book immortalized in plastic . . .but alas, THIS:


this just doesn't do justice to THIS:



I left the toy on the shelf and went and bought a Dinobot for my son instead. Oh well, it was nice distraction for a few minutes anyway.

3. The Diamonds has hit the shelves! At Target, no less!! On another trip to Target this week (yes, I went to Target more than once this week, and I'll probably go at least once or twice more by the end of Saturday) I was perusing the YA book collection and was pleasantly surprised to find The Diamonds by Ted Micheal on the shelf. First of all, because the book isn't supposed to be released until April 14th, and secondly because getting your book into a retailer like Target is BIG TIME, baby. Hurray for Ted! I snapped the book up and can't wait to read it. I'm even sending a copy to one of the lucky winners of last week's contest. And if you're wondering who this Ted Micheal person is, and why I'd be so stoked about his book--well then, just think about who the other Ted is in my life. I heart Ted. Congrats!

4. Twilight the Musical! Yes, it is true, in my many hours of internet surfing this week, I stumbled across this little gem on Youtube. Hilarious. You must watch. Let the video load for a bit first before you start watching it. And while you're waiting, go check out my Amazon listing. Hee hee :)



(Side note: If you're wondering, I haven't been wasting all of my time this week. I have worked on *some* of the productive things on my list from above. Be sure to watch for my website. It's coming soon!)