A Day with Shay

The best things in life are often unexpected. 2010 will go down as my favorite Halloween weekend on record because I was surrounded by family and friends at the Nightshade release party. I'll do full-party blogging soon (I'm waiting on all the pictures to come in), but I wanted to do a Halloween post about joyful surprises.

I was shocked by the number of people who drove long distances to come to party. Dear, dear friends came to surprise me including my high school English teacher, Mrs. Heisler, who always encouraged my writing dreams.

One of the best surprises of this entire experience, however, have been the new and wonderful friendships I've made through Nightshade. My awesome teams at InkWell and Penguin - the amazing YA authors I've met at conferences. And then there's Shay.
Actually he's Will Browning - the actor who brought Shay to life in the Shadow Days webisodes. Getting to know Will has been awesome because not only is he incredibly talented, he's also one of the loveliest people I've ever met.

I was honored that he came all the way from Florida to attend the Nightshade party. And (bonus!) he spent the weekend hanging out with my family and friends.

We took a tour of Minneapolis and St. Paul highlights and he took lots of pictures.

We carved pumpkins
and named them Bateman and Sebastian.
And he stayed up until 3 a.m. with me watching Labyrinth.
As an author, I thought there could be nothing better than having a talented actor portray one of my characters. I was wrong. What's even better is meeting a kindred spirit and making a friend for life.

Thanks for everything, Will!

Wishing all of you a Happy Halloween full of more treats than tricks!

And a huge thanks to DJ for sending me a picture of his pumpkin! Yay!!!

Riddle Me This

There's a very attractive young man living alone in a creepy mansion in Vail, Colorado. Loud, inexplicable crashes keep waking him up at 5 a.m.

Who's he gonna call? (Hint: The Ghostbusters are unavailable)

You!
You might have noticed around the interwebz that in the six weeks leading up to NIGHTSHADE's release Shay has joined us in the world. He's just moved to his uncle's mansion, Rowan Estate, and things are getting a little strange there.

You can check out his blog posts and talk with him on Facebook. You can also watch his web series on You Tube.
Yesterday, with the help of online friends, Shay solved a puzzle that was keeping him out of the locked library. He hasn't yet gone in - his uncle told him to stay out of that room - but he's thinking about it.

As Shay learns more about Rowan Estate and its history, there will be many more puzzles for him to solve. And you can help him do that.

If you're interested in being part of the story (and yes, that means the official prequel!) send an email to nightshade@campfirenyc.com and you might receive a very special present in the mail. Please note: the mailings are limited in number, so sending an email does not guarantee you'll receive the present, but it gets you in the running.

Even if you don't receive one of the limited edition mailings you can still be part of the mystery by helping Shay out online.

The secrets of Shay Doran's Shadow Days are becoming more and more sinister. Can you help him solve the puzzles before it's too late?

Secrets Revealed!

Last week on Facebook and Twitter I mentioned my travels for a secret mission. Today I'm thrilled to be able to share my exciting news with you!

In the lead up to Nightshade's release Penguin has something AMAZING in store for you:

You know that steamy love triangle the reviews have mentioned? Here's your chance to check out one-third of it! (Sorry Team Ren, Guardians don't do social networking ;) )

One of Nightshade's main characters, Shay Doran, has stepped out of the book's pages and into the world.

http://www.shaydoran.com/

Yes - you heard that right - Shay just moved to Vail, Colorado and he's looking for some new friends!

For the next six weeks you can spend time with him as he settles into Vail and tries to figure out what's what in his new home, Rowan Estate. Not only will you be able to read Shay's blog and Facebook updates, but he's also creating a web series so you can explore the mansion with him. As you might suspect, things aren't always what they seem at Rowan Estate and he's going to need your help. Don't let him get lonely in that enormous, empty house!

More details to come, but for now: CONTEST!

Spread the word about Shay's Facebook page and his blog - tell me where you've linked, tweeted, or posted about it in the comments below - and you'll be entered to win a signed Nightshade ARC!

http://www.facebook.com/shadowshay

I'm taking entries until Tuesday, September 7!

September is here, bringing Shay into our world...it's just the beginning.