Upcoming Events, Promotions, and Happenings for March and April 2012

Hey all, just wanted to give you a quick list of places I'll be, and things I'll be doing for the next couple of months. I hope you'll be able to join me for some of them!

March 3rd - March 16th:
Special Price Promotion!









For 2 weeks only, the e-book versions of THE DARK DIVINE and THE LOST SAINT will both be marked all the way down to only $1.99 each! That way you can brush up (or catch up) on the storyline before THE SAVAGE GRACE releases on March 13th. (Or perhaps gift the e-books to someone who might enjoy the Dark Divine series.) But don't delay, the $1.99 price is only good from March 3rd to March 16th. I know Amazon and Barnes & Noble will be selling the books at the special discounted price, but you can also check other e-book retailers. {Edit: As of the morning of March 3rd, the price promotion hasn't started yet. I don't know why. I was told it would. I will try to get to the bottom of it, but in the meantime, check back with retailers on Sunday or Monday and hopefully it will have started by then.}

March 6th:
Finalists for the Dark Divine Fan Talentmania will be announced.

March 8th:
To celebrate the last full moon before the launch of THE SAVAGE GRACE, I will post my writing playlist for the book. Come find out what songs inspired TSG!

March 13th:
THE SAVAGE GRACE release day with fun stuff going on!
Winners of both the art and fiction portions of Dark Divine Fan Talentmania will be announced.
Winners of the door prizes for Talentmania will also be announced.

And later that evening . . .
Official THE SAVAGE GRACE Launch Party!!!
Where: The King's English Bookshop
When: 7pm on March 13th
What: I will be there to do a book talk, reading, games + prizes, and a book signing

March 17th:









Writing For Charity Conference at the Provo Library
Come celebrate Saint Patty's Day by learning about writing from a plethora of YA, Middle Grade, and Picture Book Authors--and help kids in need while your at it. This fantastic event that raises money for children's charities is going to be bigger and better than ever before. I'll be co-teaching a class with Brodi Ashton and Emily Wing Smith. Even if you've been to WFC before, you will want to check out their website to see just how much more awesome the conference is going to be this year. Click HERE for more details.


March 20th:
Book Signing at the West Jordan Barnes & Noble (in Jordan Landing)
Time: 7-9 p.m.
What: I will do a book talk and read from THE SAVAGE GRACE starting at 7 p.m. Then I will be on hand in the store until 9 p.m. to sign books.

March 27th:
Author Q&A at the Saratoga Springs Library
Join me and Brodi Ashton for a Q&A session at the library. Learn how we got published, and ask us whatever you want to know about writing, our books, or publishing. (More details to come.)

March 13th - Mid-April
Blog Tour
I'll be vising a number of blogs, answering interview questions and doing guests post. (More details to come.)

April 11th-15th
RT Booklovers Convention!
I'll be in Chicago for this fun-filled, book-loving event. I will be one of the participating authors in the YA Slumber Party and the Teen Day Party, plus I'll be signing books in YA Alley.


That's all the events I have scheduled for now, but I hope to be adding more for April and May. If you can't make it to one of my events, but would still love a signed book, you can order one from The King's English and I will sign it for you the night of my launch party. For info about ordering signed books, click HERE.

Full Moon Extravaganza #5

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!

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

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*

The Denver Post (A.K.A. I got a lot of really cool stuff that I'm giving away)

Update: This contest is now closed.

So here's what I have to say about my trip to Denver for the Mountain & Plains Independent Booksellers Association Expo: FREAKING AWESOME!

Seriously, it was one of those once in a lifetime moments that I'll remember forever. I was so so nervous, but it was still really really cool. I got into Denver around 11:30 am and then met my marketing director, Mary, for lunch, along with 2 other Egmont authors: Lindsay Eland from the 10ers, author of SCONES AND SENSIBILITY, and Victoria Hanley, author of VIOLET WINGS, for lunch.

Then Lindsay and I met Becca Fitzpatrick at the trade show and walked around to check out all the publisher's booths. Not only was my book prominently displayed at the Egmont booth, but it was also displayed at the Random House booth with a big poster with the cover and my author photo on it that said, "Author signing tonight." That was really surreal to see and I couldn't resist taking a picture of it.

(Also couldn't help snapping a pic of THE DARK DIVINE displayed with friend James Dashner's THE MAZE RUNNER--which launches tomorrow, October 6th, btw!)

After the book fair, we went to a signing reception/charity event. Each of us authors sat at a table and signed books for 2 HOURS!! Mary kept bringing me water while I was signing, and about a 1 1/2 into it, I really had to pee! It is really hard to smile and nod and and talk to booksellers when you are afraid that you are about to wet your pants.

After the signing, we drove out to The Brown Palace (a Victorian hotel built by The Unsinkable Molly Brown in the 1890s) in downtown Denver for the most amazing dinner. It was me, Lindsay, Victoria, Mary, and 9 key booksellers from Texas, Arizona, and Colorado. They did a cocktail hour before hand, and then we ate a 5 course meal in a private dining room. The food was absolutely amazing and I loved how everything was served, and how cool the room was. There were these fabric murals on the wall from the 1890s (the only one's like them left in the USA are in the White House) and the table and chairs were very Victorian meets Art Deco, but the food was all very progressive and delicious. They even had a separate Bree-friendly menu just for me.

The booksellers were all really cool, and they kept raving about how this was one of the best/most memorable publisher dinners they'd ever been to. The event went from 7:00 until 11:30 pm, and nobody wanted to leave when it was time to go. It was so awesome to get to talk with all of those booksellers, and I even had quite a lengthy discussion with a bookseller from Changing Hands about how I someday want to write a book about the Armenian genocide. It was just one of those nights that you want to last twice as long. I remember sighing after it was all over and thinking how awesome it was have that experience . . . and then sighing again because I realized that many authors might not ever have an experience like that. I'm feeling very blessed at the moment.

(Lindsay Eland, Becca Fitzpatrick, and me--all holding our books)

And not only was I blessed by a great dinner, but I was also blessed with a bunch of cool swag and goodies that I'm going to pass on to one of you.

The package includes:

A signed hardcopy of HUSH HUSH by Becca Fitzpatrick
A beautiful HUSH HUSH locker poster
An ARC of SCONES AND SENSIBILITY by Lindsay Eland (I already have one of my very own, so I'm giving this one away)
SCONES AND SENSIBILITY scone mix! (Wish I could eat these! I bet they're tasty.)
A hardcover copy of VIOLET WINGS by Victoria Hanley
And a poster for SENSE AND SENSIBILITY AND SEA MONSTERS
All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post. If you need a suggestion of what to say . . . um . . . how about you tell us about the book you're reading right now.

I'm reading THE CLOCKWORK THREE by fellow Tenner Matt Kirby. It doesn't come out until Fall 2010 from Scholastic, but Matt gave me a sneak peak at the manuscript . . . and it's really good! It's a story about 3 teens in an alternate Victorian Boston/NYC, searching for a treasure--complete with a steam-punk talking head and a green violin.