State of the ARC

This week has been amazing. Thank you so much to all the amazing people who've come to my signings and to those of you who I haven't been able to see in person but having been flooding my inbox, Facebook, and twitter with wonderful messages. Your support of Nightshade means more to me than I could ever express!

Now that Wolfsbane is out I'm already getting questions about Bloodrose.

If you've finished Wolfsbane you can read Chapter 1 of Bloodrose here. (Spoilers! Don't read it before Wolfsbane)

Bloodrose is the final book of the trilogy and will be published in February 21, 2012.

In the life of a book, it's common for publishers to release Advanced Review Copies (ARCs) or galleys prior to the book's publication in order to give reviewers a sense of what's coming. In the case of Bloodrose we seriously considered not creating ARCs because the final book of the Nightshade series is so loaded with spoilers we wanted to be sure none of them were leaked before February 21.

After much thought it was decided that a limited number of ARCs would be created because booksellers need to know what's in the book before they order it and hand sell it to their customers.

What this all boils down to is that there will be some ARCs out in the world, but not many. We've asked anyone who receives an advanced copy to keep its contents secret. It's so important that the story isn't spoiled. So if you see a tweet or a review (that won't actually give you much information about the book) it's because we've asked everyone to keep this story quiet. It also means that I don't have ARCs to distribute and I won't be giving any away in the lead up to Bloodrose's publication date. I hope when you read Bloodrose in February you'll think it was worth the wait :)

Winners: Editorial Edition!

Thank you so much for your wonderful entries and favorite lines from Nightshade!

Here are the lucky winners of a Wolfsbane ARC (Advanced Reading Copy)

Jacque

reneelynn09

Mariya

Blue_girl

Stacie @ Whimsical Ficery

Email your mailing info to andreacremerwrites (at) gmail (dot) com and the fabulous Editor Jill will ship your ARC to you! Thank you so much to Jill for giving away advanced copies of Wolfsbane and thanks to all of you for entering!!

I'll post any cover news/updates here as they're available.

WOLFSBANE

Nightshade has barely been on the shelves but folks are already clamoring for book 2, Wolfsbane (hurrah!)

I'm thrilled that today is a big day for Wolfsbane: cover reveal day!!!
I can't begin to describe how much I am in love with this cover. Green is my favorite color. I love the way that Calla is in the wild, yet still caged by the vines. AND it is a perfect rendering of one of my favorite scenes in the book!!

And soon, very soon, there will be ARCs. And as soon as there are ARCs there will be contests. I'm thinking that the first Wolfsbane giveaway will reprise my favorite contest, so get your haiku skills sharpened up.

Happy Friday!

Contests Galore!

August has gotten off to a great start! We're three months out from NIGHTSHADE's release and a new month means a new ARC giveaway!

First - I want to draw your attention to two ongoing contests.

1) You still have a chance to enter Em's Reading Room contest to design a NIGHTSHADE t-shirt. The winner will receive their t-shirt, a NIGHTSHADE ARC, & an ARC of MATCHED by Ally Condie (I've read it, it's phenomenal!) Stop by Em's blog to enter :)

2) I just passed 1,000 followers on Twitter and am hosting a giveaway there through noon tomorrow (Friday). To enter just post a tweet that includes #nightshade I'll draw a random winner from all the entries. The name drawn wins an iPod shuffle pre-loaded with the playlists of the NIGHTSHADE trilogy.

And here's the August contest for the blog:

As I mentioned last week, the cover shoot for WOLFSBANE just took place. I cannot wait until I can share the cover, which won't be for a while. There's a lot of work that occurs from the shoot to the final cover image.Here are a few images to give you a hint of what's to come:


Thanks so much to Suza Scalora who creates such amazing images.

Linda from Penguin will bring together the final design - she is so talented. And great at picking leaves!
Also make-up artist Elsa who transformed the lovely Amber (Amber Gregory is represented by Ford Models) into Calla!


And huge thanks to Editor Jill for snapping all these photos so we could have a glimpse of the cover in process :)

Since we have to wait a while for the official WOLFSBANE cover I thought I'd ask you to lend your creative talents to help us pass the time.

This month's NIGHTSHADE giveaway of 2 signed ARCs will be a cover design contest!

What would your design for WOLFSBANE's cover be?

When you create your image, email the file to me at andreacremerwrites (at) gmail (dot) com

I'll post the entries and will select two winners who will receive a signed NIGHTSHADE ARC. Please be respectful of copyright as you create your images. I can't wait to see what you come up with!

The contest will be open for two weeks, closing at midnight on Thursday, August 19.

Winners! Answers!

Thank you so much for the fabulous questions!!! The five questions answered below are the randomly selected winners of a signed Nightshade ARC. I will, however, try to answer all the questions asked in future blog posts.

Here they are:

AmandaJ asks

Who is cuter, Fizzgig from The Dark Crystal, or Gizmo from Gremlins? :) Because I have a soft spot for both of them and could probably never choose between them.

Fizzgig! Because Gizmo never does this:

The Itzel Library asks

Which character was the most difficult to write?

Funnily enough it's Calla. You'd think I'd be smart enough not to choose the most difficult character as the narrator of my series. Calla is tough to pin down because she tries hard to bury her feelings, worrying that they might keep her from being the alpha she should be. She's more concerned about being a good leader and a strong warrior than dealing with her fears and secret desires. Sometimes getting a read on her emotions was like pulling teeth, but I knew from the very beginning that it was her story so I didn't have much choice.

LynseyNewton asks My question is - what book do you WISH you had written? It can be any book out there in existence.

Wow - that's hard. I wish I had written Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Firebrand, which is one of my all-time favorite books. It's a brilliant retelling of the Fall of Troy from the perspective of the princess and priestess Kassandra.

@thekams asks

You're chosen to pick two books to send on the next Voyager space craft. In the hope that aliens will find it and the items - what two books would you pick and why?

Yikes! So much responsibility. Also - I wonder if the aliens are benevolent or hostile because if it's the latter I feel like I should send them scary books that make humans seem evil and best avoided like an Edgar Allan Poe or Shirley Jackson anthology so they'll stay away.

But assuming they're nice, happy aliens I'd like to send the Harry Potter series (yes, I'm cheating and calling the series one book) and Michel Rolph Trouillot's Silencing the Past, which is one of my favorite books about confronting history.

Tez Miller asks

If you're Professor Chaos, then who is your General Disarray? ;-)

Definitely my husband. While I'm an out-of-control idealist he's very sensible. So when I, like Professor Chaos, come up with vast plans for world domination my husband very pragmatically helps me sort out what's viable, what's silly, and what the Simpsons have already done.

Congrats to the winners!!! Send your mailing address to: andreacremerwrites (at) gmail (dot) com and I'll send your ARC.

Thanks to everyone who offered a question - I'll continue to post answers in the coming weeks. Also - keep an eye out for more giveaways this summer.

Questionable Contest

It's July!
Nightshade is on the shelves in 3, yes 3, months!!!

To celebrate the new month and the holiday weekend I'm combining two features: Monthly Q&A and a contest.

Here's how it will work: To enter all you have to do is ask a question in the comments below. I will pick 5 random questions and answer them in next Tuesday's blog - July 5.

And the writers of those 5 selected questions will each receive a signed Nightshade ARC.

Yes! You heard that right. I'm giving away 5 ARCs this month. (Thank you, Penguin!!)
Looking forward to your questions :)

Fear Stomp Winner

Thanks so much to everyone for sharing their fears - may they all be conquered!

The winner, drawn using the lovely Randomizer, is YzhaBella (aka Kate). Congrats, Kate :) Send an email to andreacremerwrites (at) gmail (d0t) com and I'll send your signed Nightshade ARC!

Happy weekend everyone!

BEA: Day 3

Day 3 was really full and will take up a few posts.

But let's start with the morning. I snapped a few pictures of my favorite BEA objects

the Penguin mini

the giant Abrams typewriter

and the Vlad Tod steps!

Then it was on to the signing. Thanks to Editor Jill and Publicist Sarah for shuttling me around and getting everything set

Thanks to Agent Richard for cheering me on and letting me get him to pose with giant Nightshade. I am officially obsessed with giant Nightshade.
And a HUGE thanks to all the lovely BEA goers who came to say hello!

Signing was fun

I signed 150 books in 50 minutes - there was a line! Amazing!

But my hand didn't cramp up
And it was pretty much a hoot and a half :) Thanks, Jill Bailey, for the fabulous purple Sharpie - the perfect Nightshade signing implement!

I'll be posting more about BEA after I've had a chance to catch my breath. Also coming soon: I visit an aircraft carrier (yes for real) and do trapeze without dying (also for real).

BEA: Day 2

Wow! BEA is a whirlwind. I was so busy I haven't taken all the pictures I want, but promise more tomorrow. For now I'm happy to report that the Paranormal Panel was awesome. I met a bunch of book bloggers - yay!!! - thanks so much for coming to the panel guys :) I'm waiting for group photos to be emailed to me and then I'll post them.

Update - hooray: Agent Charlie posted a pic on his web site!

I think I even managed some coherent thoughts beyond "OMG I can't believe I'm on stage with Richelle Mead and Holly Black!"

And the Penguin Booth has a giant Nightshade!!! So of course I had to get pics of that.This is me and Don Weisberg - who I love - he's the President of Penguin Young Readers.

And here's Team Nightshade (or at least three key pack members) Editor Jill, me, and Agent Charlie. Agent Richard came to the panel too (thanks Richard!!!) but he'd ducked out before pics. Sneaky.

More to come - and remember, if you're around BEA on Thursday I'm signing ARCs in the Penguin Booth from 10 - 11 a.m.

Not About Lost

The blog/tweetosphere is run amok with reactions to the Lost series finale.
Me? Ummmm....I stopped watching Lost after the second season.
Gasp!

It's not that I didn't enjoy it, but I just didn't quite fall in love the way I need to if I'm going to remain loyal to a show.
For example, if you want to hear my theory about what happened at the season finale of Supernatural I'd be happy to share :)

Now that TV business is taken care of, this post has a two-fold purpose.

One to share a GIGANTIC thank you to my wonderful hosts and dinner companions of last week. I had a wonderful time and though it hardly seemed possible am even more excited about October now than I was before.

My last stop was Chicago - one of my favorite cities.
I love the river
and the architecture.
I even had the joy of being caught out in a thunderstorm. That's not sarcasm - I love being caught out in the rain; it imparts a pure ecstasy of life in the moment ;)

I'd like to thank in particular my teen blogger/readers who came to dinner. My soul sistah Zoe!I know - we really could be sisters?! Right? :)

Hallie - who told me she hid Nightshade under her pillow so she could sneak reads when she was supposed to be doing her homework! And Kristen whose blog I'm so excited to read :) Thanks so much for your enthusiasm and kind words about the series!!

The second purpose of this post is to ask a favor. I'm heading to New York tomorrow for BEA. It's my first book convention and I'm sure there will be tons to report, but I'd like to know what you would like to hear about? What BEA buzz should my blog posts send back yonder?

One last item of note: The Frenetic Reader is giving away an ARC of Nightshade! Hurry over for your chance to win :)

Name the Band Winner!

Guilt forced me to clue Nev in to this contest, so I confessed and decided he should be the one to pick a winner. Here's the transcript of how that went.


Nev sits across from me, slouched in his chair. He looks slightly puzzled, a little curious, but mostly wary. Wary Guardians are not great company. I try to focus on not dropping my coffee cup as I explain the contest.

Me: *clears throat* So...uh..will you do it?

Nev: Let me get this straight. You want the band to have a name?

Me: No, no, no. I just thought it would be fun to have a contest to think up names.

Nev: *eyes run over the list I've given him* This isn't a trick? When I pick one you aren't going to make me keep it?

Me: No.

Nev: 'Cause I don't do band names.

Me: I know.

Nev: And the other guys would be pissed if they thought I'd signed on for some name without asking them.

Me: I know none of you guys are "name" people, but it's just for fun.

Nev: *watches me for a minute*

Me: *beginning to sweat* I promise.

Nev: *leans back in chair, flips guitar pick along the backs of his fingers* Okay, then.

Me: *tries to keep relieved breath quiet* *watches as Nev reads, tries to gauge some reaction* *curses self for writing a character so good at cloaking his emotions*

Nev: *smiles...maybe?* I like this one. Fighting Nuns.

Me: I thought you might.

Nev: It's a good image. I'm sure nuns have a lot of pent up rage. In a fight, my money would be on the nun.

Me: *nods*

Nev: Feral Daze is good too. Like if Hendrix had a wolf band.

Me: *laughs*

Nev: *gives me a stony gaze*

Me: *swallows all future laughs*

Nev: I could also go for Echo in the Blood. *hands list back to me*

Me: So those are your picks? Fighting Nuns, Feral Daze, and Echo in the Blood?

Nev: Yep. Can I go now? I'm late.

Me: *raises brow* Late for what?

Nev: *half smile, sits silently*

Me: *realizes after 30 seconds that I will never win a staring contest with Nev* Okay then, thanks for stopping by.

Nev: *already out of his chair* See ya, writer lady.

Me: *cannot decide if it's good or not that Nev has nicknamed me 'writer lady.'

Now for the drawing:

The three contenders are:

Jami - Fighting Nuns
Lindsay - Echo in the Blood
Jemmafey - Feral Daze

And the Randomizer picks:

Jemmafey!!

Congrats, Jemma :) Send your mailing address to andreacremerwrites@gmail.com and I'll mail you The REPLACEMENT!!

Thanks so much for all the great entries!!!

May Contest: Name the Band

I've posted a lot about how important music is to me. It's always fun to find other writerly types for whom music figures centrally in their lives and books.

I recently had the joy of reading Brenna Yovanoff's THE REPLACEMENT, an amazing book that will be on shelves September 21. One of my favorite parts of this book was the way Brenna described music. She makes it jump off the page and into your bloodstream.

Music plays a part in NIGHTSHADE's story too. One of the young wolves, Nevillle (Nev) - a member of the Bane pack - is a poet and musician who plays occasional gigs at a local dive bar, Burnout. Nev plays guitar and sings, an elder Bane wolf, Caleb, plays bass and the owner of the bar, Tom, plays drums. Another young Bane, Sabine, sometimes joins Nev on vocals.

The band doesn't have a name. Nev would never want to name it, he's not a naming his band kind of guy. In fact, I'm going to have to be sure he doesn't find out about this contest because he would be mortified by it.

Keeping that in mind, I thought it would be fun put a spin on this month's contest. Given the following teaser from NIGHTSHADE and what you've already surmised about the book itself, what would you name Nev's band:

"Evening." Nev's voice drew our attention. "I'm Nev. Caleb's on bass, you all know Tom, and the lovely Sabine is gracing us with her presence tonight."
The only applause came from our tables. Apparently the other bar patrons weren't here for the music.
Neville nodded at Tom. The bar owner and Caleb exchanged a quick glance and in the next moment bass and drums had set off at a slow, grinding rhythm. A smile ghosted across Neville's lips; his fingers moved over the guitar strings, and he began to sing.
Sabine took up the harmony. Her voice was sweet and dark like the first shadows of twilight. The music poured into my veins, a mixture of grit and silk. Subtle and intoxicating.
The Banes leaned forward in unison, drawn into the pulse of Neville's song. My own limbs felt like they were humming with the bass line.

I purposefully didn't give the song lyrics - and it's not a cover, Nev rarely plays covers; he writes his own music.

I wanted to allow for readers to create the sound of Nev's band for themselves.

And now you can suggest names for the band! (Sorry, Nev.)

I'm on the road for much of this week, so contest entries will be taken until Sunday, May 16. Only one entry per person.

The winner will receive an ARC of Brenna Yovanoff's THE REPLACEMENT.



Looking forward to your entries!!

Penguin Five

Something very, very, very good delivered today was delivered to my door today.
It was dark, mysterious. Opening the package was so much fun.
Inside was an uppity group destined to make waves this fall. No it's not the Rat Pack, or the Brat Pack - but it is a new pack well worth keeping your eye on.

The Penguin Five.To quote the letter included with the slipcase this box contains "a collection of engrossing and unique YA fiction on Penguin's Fall list - a group of books we're calling the Penguin Five."

And Nightshade is one of the pack.
Pardon me while I faint.

...

...

...

Okay, back now - though still floating on cloud nine.

I didn't know the Penguin Five was in the works. It was a complete surprise (what a surprise!!!) - but I've had the pleasure of meeting the incredible marketing team at Penguin and they never fail to blow me away with their talent and hard work. Thanks Team Penguin! *kisses* *confetti*

Now good news for readers - besides the awesomeness that Penguin bringing to the world with these books - I'd already begged my way to ARCs of The Replacement and Matched (I read them as soon as I got them; they are both amazing.)

That means I have an extra copy of each...TO GIVE AWAY IN CONTESTS!!! Details to be announced later this month!

For those of you longing for The Eternal Ones and Sapphique (sequel to Incarceron!!) - sorry, I'm selfish enough to want to keep my beautiful slipcase intact. *petstheprecious*