Winners and TSG Launch Party Recap

First item of business: The winner of my Dark Divine prize pack in the YA Scavenger Hunt give-away is: Crystal A.!

Email me at readbreecontests(at)gmail(dot)com to claim your prize. You have 30 days to claim your prize or it becomes forfeit and I give it to somebody else.

Right, so now on to THE SAVAGE GRACE launch party recap. I've been meaning to do a post about the launch party for almost two weeks now, but that's just how crazy it has been lately. I was nervous going in because I honestly just didn't know if anyone was going to show up.

Why, you ask? Well let me tell you.

1.) By a rather unfortunate turn of events, TSG's launch was scheduled for the same night as another local author's launch party. But not just any other local author. Brandon Mull was launching his second book in the BEYONDERS series. And if you've ever been to, or heard about one of his launch parties, you know they are nothing short of epic.

2.) This was book 3. My boys are perfect barometers of the attitude I feared. At my first launch party they were climbing all over me because they were so excited and happy for me. Now when I tell them I have another book signing I get "Do we HAVE to go?" Of course, my neuroses was convincing me that everyone else in Salt Lake was feeling the same way.

3.) Did I mention that Brandon Mull was launching his book the same night, just 20 minutes away?

So, yeah. I was a little nervous the party was going to consist of me giving a presentation to just my hubby and my slightly put out kids. However, luckily and gratefully, people actually came and fun was had by all! (at least I hope it was fun... I had fun... you guys had fun, right?) So, you wanna see some pictures?

(Look! People actually showed up! Family, Friends, and Fans. The three best F words.)

(All the lovely people who waited in line)

(Of all the times to be allergic to gluten :( Raspberry Chocolate TSG Cake! Huge thanks to The King's English for providing the treats.)

(The Six showing their love and support in coral pink.)

(Signing books for some new blogger friends at TKE. Have I mentioned how cool of a book store The King's English is?)

(Hubby, Kid Z and Kid A)

(My best friend, and the talented photographer for the event, Michelle. Love you babe, and thank you for all the wonderful photos. I wish I could have shared them all. You guys should check out her work here: MichelleSallayPhotography.com)

Oh, and I almost forgot. We had a special celebrity guest appearance that evening by the one and only Brent Sallay - the inspiration for Brent the Werewolf.

(Brent showing his sarcastic scary powers)

Huge thanks you's go out to everyone who came, The Kings English (obviously), Michelle for the pictures, Brick for procuring a slide projector and screen at the last minute for me as well as being my roadie, and of course to all my family and friends.

Now that the fun has been had, it's time to get back to business. I've got a manuscript due soon and I gotta get my butt in gear. If only I could remember how to write a book...

THE SAVAGE GRACE Release Day plus Talentmania and Door Prize Winners Announced

AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's here! It's here! The release day for THE SAVAGE GRACE is finally here!!!!!

I can not tell you how sad, scary, happy, awesome it is to give "the end" to readers. I want to cry and happy dance all at the same time. Heh. I just tried combining "cry" and "happy dance" in my head and came up with "crappy dance." That's pretty much how I dance all the time.

It looks something like this:



Anywho . . . I'm celebrating release day by getting ready for the big TSG Launch Party at the King's English Bookshop. It's tonight at 7.p.m. and I would love to see you if you're in the area.

The other way I'm celebrating is by announcing the winners of Dark Divine Fan Talentmania!! And also the winners of the door prizes!

The judges have turned in their votes. The numbers have been compiled. So here we go!

Drum roll please . . .

In the category of FAN ART, the winners are:

1st Place: Katie Dahlberg

2nd Place: Diana Gudayol

3rd Place: Amber Knighton AND Rudi May Hart

In the category of FAN FICTION, the winners are:

1st Place: LC Piper

2nd Place: Entity Carter

3rd Place: Whitney Gibbons AND Annie Boytim

Door Prize Winners are as follows:

Bwyatt wins: CINDER by Marrissa Meyer
Lexiegirl1222 wins: TIGER'S VOYAGE by Colleen Houck
Julianna Helms wins: EVERNEATH by Brodi Ashton
Sacredm00n wins: HOURGLASS by Myra McEntire
Julie Belnap wins: TRIS & IZZIE by Mette Ivie Harrison
Vivien wins: THE MEPHISTO COVENANT by Trinity Faegen
Enna Isilee wins: EVERY OTHER DAY by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Julie Eves wins: THE BUTTERFLY CLUES by Kate Ellison
Chapter Chicks wins: THE SAVAGE GRACE by Bree Despain

Lucid Memory wins: Dark Divine Moonstone Necklace from Infinite Jewelry Company

Purplg8r wins: TSG nail polish*
dani_nguyen wins: TSG nail polish*
lollybees3 wins: TSG nail polish*
featherlyhearts wins: TSG nail polish*

Congratulations to all the Talentmania and door prize winners! Please email me at readbreecontests[at]gmail[dot]com to claim your prize. You have 30 days to do so, or I will assume you don't want it and the prize will be given to someone else.

*Since nail polish can not be shipped internationally, if you are outside the USA stickers and bookmarks will be sent instead of nail polish.

I hope you all have a wonderful TSG Launch Day! And I really hope you enjoy the book!

And I hope to see at least a few of you at the launch party tonight!

XOXO,

Bree

Merry December 18th!!!

Merry December 18th, my friends! Today is the day I always take a few minutes to reflect on how lucky I am to have a great husband, awesome kids, a the job I've always wanted--and to just plain be alive. Today marks the 9 year anniversary of the day I lived, and the 3 year anniversary of the day I received the offer from my publisher to buy THE DARK DIVINE. I still have to pinch myself sometimes to make sure I'm not just comatose in a hospital bed somewhere having a really good dream.

And did you know it's now less than 3 months until THE SAVAGE GRACE comes out on March 13th? Seriously, I can't wait.

Anyway, our winner of the $15 Amazon gift-card is:

• Lindsey Bousfield

Lindsey, email me at readbree (at) gmail (dot) com and I'll email you your gift-card.

Enjoy what's left on December 18th, and every other day you can.

Winter YA Scavenger Hunt Winners!

Hey all-

The YA Scavenger Hunt was a rollicking success! I hope you all had a fun time, and got a chance to read the exclusive sneak peek of THE SAVAGE GRACE.

Just a couple of notes before we get on to winners-

If you would like to buy signed copies of any of my books for the holidays (or for any other reason) there are 3 ways you can do this:

1. Attending the Holiday Party hosted by The King's English Bookshop this Thursday (December 8th) between 5:30-7:00 p.m. to mingle with (and buy signed books) with tons of fabulous authors. For more info, click HERE.

2. If you can't attend the party, you can still order books from the King's English by December 8th, and I will sign and personalize them for you--and the bookstore will then ship them to you! Give them a call at 801-484-9100 to place an order for signed books.

3. I'll be signing at a Holiday book festival hosted at the Orem Library on December 17th from 12-2 p.m. Again, there will be lots of awesome authors in attendance, so you won't want to miss it.

Now on to winners . . .

The winner of the YA SCAVENGER HUNT grand prize is: Sandra Lin of Australia!

The winner of my giveaway (for all three books in the Dark Divine trilogy + Grace's bracelet) is:
Devinne Perry!

Devinne, please email me at readbree@gmail.com in order to claim your prize. If I don't hear from you in 30 days, I'll assume you don't want it, and give it to someone else.

Thanks everyone! The YA Scavenger Hunt will be back in April for more fun, prizes, and bonus material.

Winner of the Full Moon Extravaganza #2

As it is now December 1st, I need to announce the winner from our Full Moon Extravaganza #2. Using a super complicated selection process involving, charts, graphs, number assignments, and a random selector, I can now say . . .

Congratulations to Paige!

Paige won a bunch of cool books by helping to spread the word for the Kids Need to Read fundraiser... which incidentally is still going on. See the side bar for how you can participate.

What specifically did she win? Well . . . signed copies of:

1.) SILENCE by Becca Fitzpatrick
2.) DEMON GLASS by Rachel Hawkins
3.) THE DEATH CURE by James Dashner
4.) CROSSED by Ally Condie
5.) THE SAVAGE GRACE (ARC) by Bree Despain


The winner needs to email me at readbree(at)gmail(dot)com with your mailing address within 30 days to claim your prize. Otherwise another lucky winner will be chosen. Thanks everyone who bought a copy of THE LOST LETTERS OF BROTHER GABRIEL and helped spread the word about Kids Need to Read.

TLS Paperbacks and Jewelry Winners!

Guess what guys? Today is THE LOST SAINT's paperback birthday! You can get them here, or here, or here, or anywhere else books are sold. BUT, if you would like a signed copy you can place an order with The King's English and I will happily run on over there to sign it before they ship it to you. Just let them know you would like a signed copy and they'll give me a buzz. And that goes for any of my books.

Speaking of The King's English, I'm going to be there on December 8th for their holiday party. Stop by if you can. Should be lots of fun to be had and lots of authors to meet and mingle with and get your books signed. (I think the party goes from 5:30 to 7pm . . . but don't quote me on that.)

Okay, on to some business.

It's time to announce the winners of the Infinite Jewelry give-away (thank you all who entered and especially to those who helped spread the word). So, between the blog and facebook, there were just over 81 individuals who entered the contest and well over 100 entries. So, so close to 90. But since it's TLS's birthday, I figure I may as well give away three pieces right?

From that list of entries I put together a nice little spread sheet and fed it to Random.org. And by me, I mean my husband did. As a result, here are the winners and their prize:

Entry #49: D.
D won a cuff.

Entry #107: Maidenveil
Maidenveil won a moonstone pendent.
Entry #84: MaCayla C.
MaCayla aslo won a pendent.And since I don't want to ring to feel left out, here's a picture of that too :D.
Winners be sure to email me at readbree(at)gmail(dot)com with your mailing address to claim your prize. If I do not hear from you in 30 days, I will assume you do not want your gift and I will find someone else who does.

If you didn't win, don't worry, you can still get 10% off your purchase if you decide to snap up some of this beautiful jewelry for yourself or a friend. (Makes a great holiday gift!) Just enter coupon code 031312 at checkout when you visit Infinite Jewelry Co's website HERE. (Offer is good until December 15, 2011.)

Oh! Also, please don't forget that the fundraiser for Kids Need To Read is still going on until June but the contest ends on Nov. 30th. Don't know what I'm talking about? Read more here.

That's it for now. So, what are your plans for Thanksgiving? I'll be stuffing myself with turkey, trying my best to avoid gluten, dairy, egg landmines. It'll be an adventure. Then I get to have family over on Saturday... which means much cleaning must be done. I'm thinking I'm going to make hubby do it, since it's his family and all. Is that justified or deviously mean awesome? I can't decide.

THE SAVAGE GRACE Cover reveal winners! (And the cover for you to share)

Woohoo! Out of the HUNDREDS of entries, we used Random.org to choose our three winners who will receive an ARC of THE SAVAGE GRACE.

Those winners are:

Tamara Basic

Grace Clyde
Noelle Smith

Winners, I will contact you via the email address you provided to get your shipping info. Your ARC will be sent to you as soon as they are available (probably some time in early November.)

In case you didn't get to see the cover (or want to see it again) I've posted it here. Please feel free to copy and paste the cover and share it on your blog/facebook/twitter etc. The more people who see it the better!


Just as an FYI, the cover looks redder online than it really is. It's actually a gorgeous coral pink color. And it's going to have a beautiful nail polish to match! (Coming soon.)

Winner of ASHES...and exciting stuff coming!

Just a quick post to let you know that the winner of ASHES is: Jenni Elyse

Jenni, email me at readbree (at) gmail (dot) com to claim your prize!

Also, tomorrow is the full moon, which means something exciting is coming along with it for Dark Divine fans. Be here at 11:00 a.m. EST Wednesday morning to find out what it is. (Hint: I think you'll love it!)

XOXO,

Bree

Winners of the YA Scavenger Hunt Prizes

Wow! Such a fantastic response to the YA Scavenger Hunt. I hope you all had a great time and maybe found a few more books to add to your TBR pile! We're planning another Hunt for December, so stay tuned.

On to the important stuff--winners!

The winner of my own personal prize pack is: Jenny Herd

Jenny, please email me at readbree [at] gmail [dot] com with your shipping address so I can send you your prizes.

The winner of the Grand Prize is posted on Colleen Houck's blog HERE. Be sure to head over there to see if you won. And while you're there, be sure to give props to Colleen for being the Scavenger Hunt mastermind.

Thanks again for playing!!

Winner of the "share the title" giveaway

Hey all, I'm in the thick of working on THE SAVAGE GRACE right now (this scene involves a shirtless, a gun with silver bullets, and . . . a shirtless guy) so I'm just popping in for a bit to announce our winner of ENTWINED by Heather Dixon:

JESSY (please email me at readbree AT gmail DOT com with your mailing address to claim your prize.)

Sorry for the short post. I promise to write about much more interesting things once this draft is turned in! (I've got a few ideas brewing already.)

Oh yes, and I am so glad you all love the title for THE SAVAGE GRACE as much as I do! And thank you for spreading the word. Y'all seriously rock!

Winners of BACK WHEN YOU WERE EASIER TO LOVE

4/28/2011

Here are the winners of signed copies of BACK WHEN YOU WERE EASIER TO LOVE by Emily Wing Smith (as chosen by Random.org):

Culinary Contessa
noliea

Winners, email me at readbree(at)gmail(dot)com with your shipping address. If you can get it to me before 7pm MST tonight I can get your copy signed specifically to whomever you want.

Everyone else, I hope you'll go out and buy a copy of this fabulous book! And thank you for sharing your "loved" books with the rest of us.

THE GIRL WHO WAS ON FIRE Winners posted (early)

4/7/2011

Whoops! Apparently I got my dates mixed up and I was supposed to post my winners for this contest on the 7th instead of the 11th...yeah, me and numbers just don't mix. So yes, I am closing this contest a few days earlier than I said I would.

Anyway, our 2 lucky winners who will be receiving a copy of THE GIRL WHO WAS ON FIRE are:

Jessica Secret
&
Karencita Roth

Winners, please email me at readbree@gmail.com with you mailing address. I will then forward those on to SmartPop Books who will send you your copies.

So what do you all think of Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth being cast as Peeta and Gale? Are you ecstatic, outraged, indifferent?

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*

Wanna grab some samples at COSTCO with me?...And winner of the LOST LETTERS contest

2/11/2011

Hey friends-

Good news! THE DARK DIVINE and THE LOST SAINT are now available in Utah/Idaho/Arizona Costcos. Which means I'll be doing signings at Costcos all over Utah in the next few weeks. Here's the schedule--I'd love to meet you if you're in the area:

2/12/2011 Sandy, UT 1:00 PM

2/26/2011 Orem, UT 1:00 PM

3/5/2011 South Ogden, UT 1:00 PM

3/19/2011 St. George, UT 1:00 PM

I'll also be speaking on several panels at the LTUE conference hosted by BYU next weekend (Feb 17-19th) and speaking at the Whitmore Library on March 12th. So when will I have time to finish writing TDD3?--Ahhhh! I don't know. Anyone want to stop time for me for a few weeks? Pretty please????

Anyway, on to the part you've all been waiting for. Thank you everyone for reading and enjoying THE LOST LETTERS. I'm glad they've been so well received and I'm hoping to "discover" more of them in the future because Gabriel's story is so darn interesting to explore. I hope you'll want to read more. Thank you to everyone who entered the contest. The winner (chosen by Random.org) is: Pamk

Pamk, please email my admin at readbree(at)gmail(dot)com with your address, and be sure to specify whether you'd like the English audio-book of THE LOST SAINT or the Spanish print edition of THE DARK DIVINE.

That's all for me this week. Hope to see some of you soon at Costco (we'll have to grab some yummy samples together!)

THE LOST SAINT release day...and winners of the Countdown Contest

12/28/2010

It's here! It's here! THE LOST SAINT is finally here!!! TLS Day has finally arrived. Exactly this time last year I was coming down from the euphoria of the release of TDD and working feverishly on the first draft of TLS, and now I can't believe it's all packaged up in a fabulously-gorgeous-real-life-hold-in-your-hands-book.

I plan on spending the day dragging KidA and KidZ around to every local bookstore so I can snap pictures of them with copies of TLS in the wild (I am sure they will be so enthused) and getting ready for the official TLS launch party at The King's English tonight (What to wear? What to say? Hope I don't forget anyone's name!)

In the meantime, I wanted to take a minute to acknowledge and thank everyone who has been involved in THE LOST SAINT. This has been an amazing yet harrowing year, and I wouldn't be sane if it weren't for the many, many supportive people in my life.

I was going to write an open thank you letter for this blog post, but I realized I already did that when I wrote the acknowledgments for THE LOST SAINT and I'm not sure what I would have said differently...So I hope you don't mind if I repost those acknowledgments here (cuz I'm gonna do it anyway :D):

So many people deserve my immense gratitude for helping make this book a reality—and for keeping me from losing it during the process:

You, my awesome readers, because without your enthusiasm this book wouldn’t have had a chance to exist. Thank you for all the love.

The agents at Upstart Crow Literary, namely Ted Malawer and Michael Stearns. Thank you for believing in me and helping to share my books with the world.

The amazing folks at Egmont USA. I am often surprised by how many people think I’m responsible for everything that goes into creating my books, from the cover design, the editing, and even all the way down to the choice of the typeface. This couldn’t be further from the truth. I write the stories, but an entire team helps turn those stories into books: Doug Pocock, Elizabeth Law, Mary Albi, Regina Griffin, Nico Medina, Robert Guzman, Alison Weiss, Katie Halata. And especially my intrepid editor Greg Ferguson, who not only puts up with, but embraces, my crazy antics and the “Jimmy Olsen” nickname I’ve inflicted upon him. And who also isn’t afraid to push me until things are as great as they can be—or to whip out his super-editor cape and come to the rescue of a hopelessly stranded author on the streets of NYC. This one’s for you, Greg: Spunkgate! (Yep, I just worked that reference into a book.)

Joel Tippie at JDrift Designs. I didn’t know it was possible to create a cover even more beautiful than the one for THE DARK DIVINE. Wow, just, wow.

My enthusiastic publicist, Virginia Anagnos.

Noreen Gibbons for never failing to offer help—even when it’s completely inconvenient to her.

Whitney, for being an eager mother’s helper.

My mom, Nancy Biesinger, for bringing over bags of groceries on the deadline days, and for helping out in hundreds of other ways.

Sara Zarr, who gave me just the right advice at just the moment I needed to hear it.

Mathew J. Kirby, for his ongoing friendship and support—and free psychological guidance, of course.

The SIX—the best critique group and posse of friends an author could have: Brodi Ashton, Emily Wing Smith, Valynne Maetani Nagamatsu, Kimberly Webb Reid, and Sara Bolton. If it weren’t for the suggestion of adding a “bedazzled stake” to this book by Brodi Ashton at a hilarious lunch on an otherwise no good, very bad day—THE LOST SAINT may have never come together the way it did. And if it weren’t for the daily input and understanding of The SIX, I may have succumbed to the writer crazies a long time ago. (Or more so than I already have!)

The rest of my friends, siblings, nieces, nephews, in-laws, and dad, who help out in so many ways, from entertaining my boys, to just being a listening ear, or a shoulder to lean on. I feel way too lucky to have so many wonderful people in my life.

My boys, who I couldn’t love more—even when they’re jumping on top of me and pretending to fire-bend lightning bolts at my laptop while I’m working. Nothing makes me prouder than when they ask if they can tell me a story. (Just you wait, publishing world, these boys have got it going on!)

And most especially Brick, who held on tight during the insane roller coaster that was this last year. Thank you for never letting go. You are my inspiration, my love, my saint. I know you’re not perfect, but you’re the perfect man for me. I.L.Y.R.U.T.T.M.A.B.A.

Thank you so much to everyone who shared this process with me. I hope you will all celebrate with me today (and pick up a copy of TLS if you can--heheh). I hope to see many of you at upcoming events.

And don't worry, I didn't forget about posting winners for the Countdown to TLS Contest. We had over 1200 entries into the contest, and compiling the entries was quite the task (for hubby). Winners were selected through Random.org and are as follows:

Grand Prize Winner: Vivien

2nd place winner: Danielle Nguyen

3rd place winner: Riv Re

Winners, please email me to claim your prizes at readbree(at)gmail(dot)com.

Okay, I'm off to make my bookstore rounds. Have a very happy TLS Day!

Fantasy Casting Wrap-up and Winners

Sorry for the blog silence over the last couple of weeks. It has been a whirlwind of tasks and events, and I've obviously fallen behind in my regularly scheduled duties. I don't think I've replied to an email in almost a month. For shame.

But on the bright side, it's been a fun whirlwind. I got to go to the filming of the TLS book-trailer, spoke at a library, then at a Jr. High school, and am currently working on a TOP SECRET TLS related project that is so much fun, I can't wait to share it with you--oh and worked on TDD3 a bit, too.

Okay, enough excuses. On to some fun stuff. Like, for example, winners!

First, the landslide favorite for the fantasy casting of Daniel was Mitch Hewer.


Mitch captured 83 votes, giving him 55% of all votes. Alex Pettyfer and Thomas Felton nearly tied for 2nd place with 23 and 22 votes respectively.

That concludes our fantasy casting fun and contest. As an added treat, hubby quickly put together a video for you to summarize the choices you all made for each character. I've pasted it below for your viewing pleasure (winners to the contests are posted below as well).



I have randomly drawn 10 winners to receive a bottle of TLS nail polish for participating. I wish I had enough for everyone, especially as many of you participated through the whole thing. Oh, I have also chosen winners for the extra contest of helping to promote the eBook sale that was taking place this last month (only a day left to get a TDD ebook for only $2.99--the special price ends Nov. 22nd). Winners are as follows:

Fantasy Casting Winners
Jenni Elyse
Vivien
Aleksandra
Becky
Krissi Dallas
Jena
Tori [Book Faery]
Amanda Chenevert
Aubrey
Misha Fitt

eBook Promo Winners
Emily a.k.a WilowRaven
Meg
Melanie
BrittLit
Mundie Moms
Chloe

Winners, please email me at admin@breedespain.com with a mailing address and I'll do my best to get your nail polish out as soon as possible.

One last thing. It is almost November 23rd and that means the TDD paperback will be available this week! My publisher sent me an awesome e-card to announce the occasion and asked me to share with you all... so here you go.


Have any friends who still haven't read the book? You are more than welcome to do a click/save-as and share the e-card with whomever you like. Please feel free to post the card on your blog or facebook page, send a couple emails to those still not on the bandwagon, whatever. Oh, and did I mention that the TDD paperback also includes the first chapter of THE LOST SAINT?

That's all for now. Happy Thanksgiving and stay tuned for November's countdown to TLS contest that will be posted on Nov. 28th (fingers crossed of course).

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!

Winner of the Skip A Starbucks + Countdown to THE LOST SAINT giveaway!

8/29/10

Oi. Sorry to be a day late on this but I got coerced into spending yesterday at Cub Scout camp. Yep. You heard that right. Me + hundreds of hyper little boys + open flame + a dude on stilts. It went just about how you think it might go . . .

Just kidding, no dude on stilts or screaming boys ended up in the fire! But I was surely tempted. . . Um, never mind. *Jedi hand wave* You did not just hear me say that.

On the plus side, I got to pretend to be Katniss Everdeen while at the knot tying station. If only Finnick or Peeta had been around to make it more interesting. *Sigh*

Anyway, the winner of this month's Count Down to THE LOST SAINT giveaway (held early in honor of the Skip A Starbucks Day Fundraiser) is: Julia Girvin

Julia, email me with your mailing address and I will send you your Egmont Paranormal Prize Pack.

Everyone else, be sure to check back here on the 28th of next month for the next Countdown to THE LOST SAINT giveaway. The prize will be worth it. I promise.

Winner of TLS, and Writing For Charity

8/18/2010

Hey all-

So glad you enjoyed the short story. I've never been much of a short story writer (you know, because of my brevity issues) but I may have to write more just for the fun of it in the future. I just posted the story here on my own blog, so if you haven't seen it yet, you can check it out by CLICKING HERE.

ARCs of THE LOST SAINT finally arrived--and they're beautiful!! Freaking gorgeous is pretty much the only way I can properly describe them. I'll show you pictures in a minute and tell you which one of my lucky readers has won one . . . But first, while I have everyone's attention . . .

I wanted to tell you about an exiting a worthwhile event called WRITING FOR CHARITY. We at A Book For Every Child are on a mission to put a book in the hands of every needy child out there, but we need your help! And you get something out of it in return.

If you're in Utah, come join us this Saturday and the Writing for Charity Daytime Writing Workshop. 25+ nationally published authors are donating their time to run a fun writing workshop. Come meet the authors, ask any writing/publishing related questions you might have, get some of your own writing critiqued by a pro, and attend a multi-author book signing.

Where: The Waterford School in Sandy, Utah
When: Saturday, August 21st at 10:00 am
Cost: $70

But what if I'm not a writer, you ask? Well if you're a book lover, comedy lover, or music lover--or just looking for something fun to do on a Saturday night. Then come join us for the Writing for Charity Evening Extravaganza. This part of the event is open to everyone (including families and children) and will feature a "celebrity author panel," comedy troupe, live music, and a silent auction. Come meet Shannon Hale, Brandon Mull, Brandon Sanderson, James Dashner, Sara Zarr, Jessica Day George, Ally Condie, (and me) and get books signed and ask them any burning questions you might have.

Where: The Waterford School in Sandy
When: Saturday, August 21st at 6:30 pm
Cost: $15 for an individual, or $25 for a family

And if you're not in Utah, you can still help the charity event by bidding on items in the silent auction, or making a direct donating.

For more information about registering or donating, visit: www.writingforcharity.com

Okay, okay, on with the beauty that is the ARC of THE LOST SAINT.




















What did I tell you?--They're gorgeous!



















And look: Sisters!




















Don't they look so great next to each other?

And the lucky reader who wins their very own signed copy of TLS is:

Meaghan at A Bookworm's Haven

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

Thanks everyone for entering the contest!

Countdown to TLS Contest winners

Hey all-

I'm packing and trying to get ready for my trip to L.A. for the SCBWI Summer Conference this weekend, but today is the 28th so that means I need to post the winners for the Countdown to THE LOST SAINT Contest:

1st place (winner of 3 books)- WulfLuva

2nd place (winner of 2 books)- Erika from Moonlight Book Reviews

3rd place (winner of 1 book)- Haunted Wonderland

Winners, please check out this list of books and email me at readbree(at)gmail(dot)com and tell me your top 3 book choices. 1st place winner gets 1st preference, then 2nd, then 3rd, if there's an overlap in your book selections.

Everyone else, be sure to come back here on the 28th of each month for a new contest leading up to the release of THE LOST SAINT on December 28th, 2010.

Announcements:

1. I will be attending the SCBWI Summer Conference this weekend. If you're going to be there, be sure to say hello if you see me.

2. I will be participating in the 3rd annual Writing for Charity event in Sandy, Utah on August 21st. (Last year it was held in Ogden.) This is a great opportunity to meet many authors and get your 1st page critiqued by a published author. There will even be an evening event with food and entertainment and a smaller panel of authors including me, James Dashner, Brandon Mull, Jessica Day George, and Ally Condie. For more info, CLICK HERE.

3. On August 10th, 11th, and 13th, I will be participating in a series of online chats hosted by the ladies at Eve's Fan Garden called A Midsummer's Night Chat. Several authors will be participating, and everyone is welcome to come chat and ask questions. For more info about the event and the discussion topics, CLICK HERE.

4. On October 9th, I will be speaking a panel at the Utah chapter of RWA's Heart of the West Conference. This looks like a conference that is a rollicking good time. For more info, see HERE.

5. On October 15th, I will be speaking at the Salt Lake City public library. More info coming soon.

6. On October 23rd, I will be speaking at the Saint George Book Festival. More info coming soon.

7. On October 30th, I will be a featured author at the Provo Teen Book Festival along with SCOTT WESTERFELD!!! More info coming soon.

Wow, October is looking busy . . . but also like a lot of fun!