What's up today

Hey all-

We had an awesome response to the TDD fantasy movie casting contest. I've selected a random winner, but I'm not done compiling pictures of the all the actors so I can pick my favorite suggestions for you all to vote on yet. Looking at all those pictures is a fun task--but a very time consuming one! Honestly, I must have been insane to think I could do it all in a couple of afternoons. *Hangs head in shame.*

So here's the deal, I'll announce the random winner today, and then post pictures of my favorite suggestions for you all to vote on later in the week (or possibly at the beginning of next week). Then you guys can vote for your favorites and we'll determine the ultimate TDD fantasy cast! And I'll give out bottles of TLS nail-polish to random voters!!

Anyway, the random winner chosen through random.org is: Jena
{Please email me at readbree(at)gmail(dot)com with your mailing address in order to claim your prize.}


Here's what else is going on in Readbree Land:

1. My agent just sent me the cover to the Taiwanese version of THE DARK DIVINE. Isn't it gorgeous?2. Did you hear that Gossip Guru Perez Hilton has been talking about THE DARK DIVINE? Be sure to go check out what he has to say, and then tell his readers what YOU think about TDD. (Pretty please?) I, for one, think that the cover of TDD looks totally awesome posted on his blog. And the post has done great things for TDD's Amazon ranking. (Thanks, Perez!)

(Photo courtesy of the slap-happy folks at Egmont USA. I think that may be Editor Greg's arm.)

3. TDD, called URBAT: THE DARK TALENT in Germany, has a great new website made by my German publisher. They even made a great German trailer. Check it out HERE.

4. There's a website called Storycasting.com that also does fantasy casting for novels. You guys should check it out and suggest all your great casting ideas over there, too. I probably should have used them to host this contest--would have been far less work for me! You can fan-cast TDD on their site HERE.

5. I've got tons of appearances coming up soon. Click HERE to see where I'll be in the next month.

Okay, now be sure to check back soon for our fantasy-cast voting (i.e. smackdown). Can't wait to see who comes out on top!

Exciting Things Happening. . .

So it's been busy, busy, busy around here lately. But some very exciting things have been happening (both book and non-book related) and I thought I'd share:

1. THE DARK DIVINE is taking on the world! I'm pleased to announce that we've sold the foreign rights to THE DAR DIVINE for the following territories:

Germany, France, Spain, Hungary, Indonesia, Poland, Thailand, Estonia, the UK, and Australia/New Zealand.

The best part is that Egmont UK bought the rights to TDD for the UK And Australia/New Zealand, so they'll have the same cover as the US edition. Also, the UK edition is scheduled to be in stores in July!

2. I won my first award!! The folks over at the Smoochie Awards selected Daniel and Grace to win an award for one of the Best "Otherworldly" YA Kisses of 2009! (For their kiss under the walnut tree.) You can watch the amusing virtual awards ceremony here.

3. THE REALLY BIG NON-BOOK RELATED NEWS:

I've been teasing peeps on twitter for the last couple of days about our BIG NEWS. And no, I am still NOT having a baby. But our news does have something to do with babies . . .

Okay, but I think I need to give you some back-story before the announcement.

Regular readers of blog will know how incredibly awesome and supportive Hubby has been with all of my book related craziness. He is my faithful reader, beta-editor, motivator, sounding board, web designer, marketing guru, street team manager, biggest fan, and he even pinch-hits for me in the kitchen when I'm on deadline. Many of my friends have said that Hubby should win some sort of award for being the most supportive spouse on the planet--and I whole-heartedly agree.

But if you think that Hubby's whole world revolves around me and my book, you'd be wrong. He's actually been working very hard on his own exciting project that is finally launching TODAY!

And what is this exciting project you ask?

Well, it all started a little over a year ago while I was sitting on the couch, working on edits for TDD, and KidA came toddling into the room with a rank diaper. Usually, every diaper change in our house was a negotiation that went something like this:

Hubby: I changed the last poopy diaper, so it's your turn.

Me: Yeah, well I changed 2 poopies while you were at work, so it's still your turn.

Hubby: But I got up with him in the middle of the night, so it's your turn.

Me: But I was pregnant with the kid for nine months and had to have major surgery in order to bring him into this world--so therefore it is ALWAYS your turn.

Hubby: *silence* *goes to get wet-wipes*

Me: (In my head) Muwahahahahaha

Anyway, since I was hard at work on TDD, Hubby very kindly skipped the negotiation part and started changing KidA's diaper without any prompting from me. But he was half-way through when he suddenly said, "Yeesh! There has to be something you can do about the smell. I mean, even after I change the kid, he still smells poopy. And it's not like we can bathe him every single time he poops."

And then I could practically see the light bulb go on just above his head.

Yes, an idea was born. Hubby took that idea and his business savvy to his two good friends, one who just happens to be a scientist who works in the cosmetics industry, the other who is an experienced marketer. They banded together as a team, and after a year of formulating, testing, trialing, designing labels and packaging, and many other tasks I won't delve into. . . that awesome idea became a whole new company dedicated to solving the problems faced by new parents.

That company is called LITTLE STINKER. And today is it's launch day!

LITTLE STINKER is a new skincare line for babies and mommies, dedicated to making all-natural, safe, effective, and innovative products that solve the problems created by the "little stinkers" in our lives.

The company plans on launching several new products in the near future, but today they are kicking off the launch with their flagship product:

LITTLE STINKER Baby Butt Spray!!

Okay, so I'm a little biased, but seriously, I think this stuff is awesome. No more lingering poop smell in the air, or on your kid's bum, after a diaper change! It's even great for potty-training kids who need to wear a pull-up to bed. It can be spritzed on diaper pails, smelly toilets, stinky feet, or even your husband. Heck, I often use the stuff as body splash for myself because it smells so darn good. Plus, it's dermatologist and pediatrician tested to be good for your baby/toddler's delicate skin. And it makes the perfect baby shower gift!

We swear by this stuff at our house, and the friends we've given samples to come back begging for more!

If you're a mom or dad, or know someone who is, be sure to check out the LITTLE STINKER website and blog.

Okay, okay. Don't worry, this is just a temporary change in programming on the ReadBree blog. I won't be turning it into a giant infomercial for LITTLE STINKER. But I just HAD to tell you all how thrilled I am for Hubby on this special day. And I am even more excited that it's my turn to be supportive of him as he embarks on his own exciting adventure.

Congratulations, Hubby! I Love You Right Up To The Moon And Back Again.

And if you want to help spread the word about LITTLE STINKER, please Tweet/Facebook/or Blog the following link: http://www.littlestinkerusa.com/

And if you come back and tell me about your word-of-mouth efforts (with linkage), I'll enter you in a drawing for a chance to win your choice of one of the following prizes:

1. A first chapter (up to 15 pages) critique of your YA novel by me (to be done AFTER my March 15th deadline)

2. A signed copy of THE DARK DIVINE

3. A YA novel of your choice

(Giveaway ends at noon on Sunday, February 28th. Winner will be announced later that day. . .or the next.)

Winner of the ARC Giveaway . . .And the Reason I Should Have Listened to Frau Pond in High School

So first things first, the winner of the Countdown To The Dark Divine ARC Giveaway is: Sab H.
Update: Forgot to post the winner of THE ACTOR AND THE HOUSEWIFE. Sorry! The winner is NICOLE--my very first follower ever!

(Email me at readbree(at)gmail(dot)com with your mailing address and I'll sent the ARC your way.)

Thanks everyone for participating! I just got word from my publisher that they might me send me a few more ARCs, so hopefully we can do this again soon.

Secondly, after looking over the votes, It looks like Nathan and Talbot were neck and neck. I love how opinionated you guys are about your names! I'm leaning toward naming the character Nathan Talbot, but calling him Talbot--and possibly Tal for short. What do you guys think? (Okay, hopefully nobody hates me! I promise to save Ramses for something in the future.)

So what does Frau Pond, my slightly crazy (okay uber-crazy) German teacher from high school have to do with this blog post?

Well, you know how language teachers insist on talking to you only in the language you are supposed to be learning? And you know how there's always that one kid in your class that always looks completely lost, and the teacher tries to ask her questions in German/French/Spanish/Whatever and she just stares blankly back at the teacher, so then the teacher just keeps asking the question louder and louder, and the student turns all red and still has no idea what the teacher is saying, so then they teacher starts making gestures with her arms that vaguely look like she's milking a 30 foot cow, and then suddenly everyone is laughing, and the teacher starts shrieking (finally in English), "I asked you about the water buffaloes?! Why do you not understand about the 'water buffaloes'?!" and the student still has NO IDEA what the heck she's talking about . . .??

Yeah, so that student was totally me. Poor Frau Pond tried her hardest, but no matter how loud she shrieked at me about those darn water buffaloes (do they even have water buffalo in Germany?!), I still couldn't figure out a word she was saying. . .

Which I now totally regret because when my book comes out German, I will have no idea what Grace says to Daniel after the first time they kiss . . .

But anyway, we sold German rights!!! Squuueeee!!! Which means my book will be coming out in Germany some time in 2010. Hopefully, this will be the first of many forgein rights deals (*crossing fingers, knocking on wood*--which kind of hurts, btw).

And maybe, just maybe, I'll wrap up a copy of the German version of THE DARK DIVINE and send it to Frau Pond with an apology note about the water buffaloes. . . .