Kick Ass Women Take Over!

I'm loving all the excitement for The Hunger Games movie, not only because the books are fabulous, but also because they feature Katniss - a young woman who is courageous, independent, and not afraid to fight for her family (not to mention her life!)

I love reading about heroines who kick ass without apology, so I'm seriously thrilled about Heather Brewer's new series: The Legacy of Tril. The first book, SOULBOUND, which I was lucky enough to read, will be in stores July 5. Girl + katana + fabulous world building = amazing book!

You are lucky because I'm hosting a contest to win an advanced copy of SOULBOUND. Just leave a comment here (be sure to include your email address so I can contact the winner) to enter!

UPDATE: The winner is Kristen
theshybookworm(at)yahoo(dot)com! Congrats and thank you to everyone who entered!

Abundance

Happy Autumnal Equinox (Mabon) - night will soon outpace daylight, but I love this crisp, thrilling time of year where the air is alive and summer's carefree frolicking gives way to the steady rhythms of harvest.

Today I passed 5,000 followers on Twitter. That's still rather mind-bending to me and I'm so excited that so many friends here and on Twitter have joined me on this writing journey. To celebrate I'm holding a 5K follower contest and giving away 5 prize packs! 5 is a special number to me at this moment - not only do I have 5,000 Twitter followers but tomorrow I celebrate 5 years of marriage to my wonderful husband! So much to be thankful for!

In addition to a signed paperback of Nightshade, the prize packs include items that inspired Nightshade: Watership Down by Richard Adams (Calla's favorite book), Sandman by Neil Gaiman (Shay's favorite graphic novel), Zum Bar Sandalwood Citrus soap (From the first time I smelled this soap I instantly knew it was reminiscent of Ren's scent), and a blank notebook so you can begin, or continue, your own writing journey.

To enter: Tell me in the comments (or in a tweet) something that inspires you, if you're leaving your entry in the blog comments be sure to include an email where I can contact you. Winners will be randomly selected on Monday, September 26 so you have through the weekend to enter.

Thank you so much for being a part of my writing life - it means so much to have you here!

Winners! News!

Thanks to everyone who sent pictures of Nightshade in paperback! Getting your comments, tweets, and Facebook posts made me so happy!

Here are the two randomly selected winners:

Amy

Dani_Nguyen

Email your address to andreacremerwrites@gmail.com to claim your prize :)

And because I just received a fabulous box of FINISHED Wolfsbane, instead of a pre-order you'll get a shiny, signed hardcover in the mail! Woo hoo!

In fifteen days Wolfsbane hits stores. I can't wait!! I am dying for you to know what's happening to Calla and her pack. I'm also really excited for you to meet a new cast of characters who play pivotal roles in the series.

Leading up to Wolfsbane's release and continuing through its first week in stores I'm thrilled to announce that Mundie Moms is hosting the official Wolfsbane blog tour. From July 19 to August 9 you can find interviews with me and with characters from the book. At each stop you can enter for a chance to win Nightshade and Wolfsbane!

One more quick squee-filled announcement - the official 2011 San Diego Comic Con schedule has been released! I'm on two panels - one on Magic and Monsters at 3 - 4 p.m. on Thursday and the second is What's Hot in YA from 10 - 11 a.m. on Sunday. If you'll be at Comic Con I hope I'll see you at one or both panels.

A Hunt!

The paperback of NIGHTSHADE hits stores today! I'm so excited!!


And excitement merits a contest and it has two prizes: the first - a pre-order of WOLFSBANE, which is now only a little over a month away (hooray!) and the second - a prize for everyone: a deleted scene from NIGHTSHADE.

How do you win?

For a chance to win a pre-order of WOLFSBANE tweet, email, or post in the comments a link to a picture of you with the NIGHTSHADE paperback in the wild. If at least 50 people hunt down the NIGHTSHADE paperback then I will post a deleted scene from NIGHTSHADE on the blog. And everybody wins!

To keep things clear: I'll choose one random winner from the blog comments and one from Twitter. If you post a picture in both places you'll have two chances to win :)

The contest runs from the paperback release date - June 14 until June 26 (the one month to WOLFSBANE mark!)

Good luck with the hunt - can't wait to see your pictures!!!

Listen Up: Winners!

Thanks for sharing the audiobook love!

The winners are:

Safari Poet

and

K.V. Briar

Congrats! Send your mailing info to andreacremerwrites (at) gmail (dot) com and I'll get your Nightshade audiobook out to you.

Thanks to everyone who entered and check back tomorrow as I'm starting up another contest :)

Beltane and Buffy

April 30 is my favorite of the eight sabbats. Beltane/May Eve is a harbinger of summer honored with fabulous festivals replete with fires and dancing. The world of Nightshade is steeped in the tradition and history of witchcraft and Wolfsbane draws readers deeper into that world. To celebrate this holiday I'm holding a contest and the winner will receive a Wolfsbane ARC!

Since my last blog post touted the greatness of Buffy I want to have a Beltane Buffy quiz. May is the fifth month of the year, so here are five of my favorite quotes from Buffy. Correctly identify the Buffy character delivered each of the five quotes and you'll be in the running to win the ARC.
1) "What's the matter Watcher? Life flash before your eyes? Cup o' tea, cup o' tea, almost got shagged, cup o' tea?"

2) "Forgiveness makes us human, blah, blah, blah."

3) "Rain of toads. One minute its 'oh no, pop quiz' and now it's rain of toads."

4) "That's beautiful...or taken literally incredibly gross."

5) "Bored now."

Good luck! Entries taken until 12 a.m. May 1.

Please leave your answers in the comments section. This contest is open to international entries!

3000!

Celebration time! I just hit 3000 followers on Twitter - amazing. I have promised a contest and need more than 140 characters to announce it, so the details will appear here.

This IS a Twitter contest so if you want to enter you'll need to Tweet me. To enter Tweet @andreacremer with the hashtag #wolfsbanepreorder

I'll take entries until Friday, April 8.

The winner will receive this MAJOR AWARD:

Just kidding. Here's the actual prize(s):

A pre-order of WOLFSBANE
A pre-order of NIGHTSHADE paperback (featuring new cover)
A pre-order of Lisa Desrochers' ORIGINAL SIN
A pre-order of Tara Hudson's HEREAFTER
A pre-order of Carrie Harris BAD TASTE IN BOYS
A pre-order of Kiersten White's SUPERNATURALLY
Gayle Foreman's WHERE SHE WENT
Cassandre Clare's CITY OF FALLEN ANGELS
Holly Black's RED GLOVE
Lisa Desrochers' PERSONAL DEMONS
Rachel Hawkin's DEMONGLASS
Kiersten White's PARANORMALCY

Thanks to all my followers! Let's celebrate with music:

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.

SPECIAL: Covers

Friends, countrymen, lend me your ears! You spoke. Penguin is listening. My wonderful editor, Jill Santopolo, has been kind enough to stop by and share a few words:

Hey, everyone. Editor Jill here. Andrea was nice enough to let me jump onto her blog to thank you all for your enthusiasm and feedback on the Wolfsbane jacket design. You’ve given us a lot to think about, and we’ll be having many Wolfsbane--related meetings here at Penguin headquarters in the coming weeks. Oh! And I have three Wolfsbane ARCs to give away today. Anyone who comments on this post with their favorite line from Nightshade will be entered to win. (Andrea assures me that she has a magical number generator that picks the winners fairly and squarely.)

More info to come! And yay Jill!! ARCs!! Leave a comment to be entered :) And please choose a favorite line that's SPOILER FREE.

Since this contest is tied into discussions about the new US cover designs it isn't open internationally (there will be future international giveaways).

All new cover info and updates will be posted here and on Twitter (@andreacremer)

Thanks you guys for your passion and commitment to the Nightshade series. Calla and the whole pack thank you.

UPDATE: Thank you for all the wonderful comments!! I'll take entries through Thursday and announce the winners Friday morning.

Another update: Due to the amazing response, Editor Jill is now giving away FIVE Wolfsbane ARCs! Huzzah!

Mid

It's the middle of the month, the mid-break of the Breathless Tour, and mid-winter all of which adds up to a general mood of blahs...

Winter up North gets a bit rough this time of year. February is a wicked little month that teases you with its title of shortest month of the year yet somehow seeming the longest of all. In Minnesota the amnesia-inducing glory of spring, summer, and fall lulls one away from the rough patch that is every February. Then this point in the year rolls around and I remember that yes, indeed, winter gets too long, too cold, and too dark.

Can I get a remedy??

Mine is POSTERS! I have 10 signed posters from the Breathless Reads tour. Today I'll announce five winners from the contest.

The FIRST FIVE WINNERS ARE:

Bookgeek

Flip_Flop_Caitlin

Aljoncelis

Mallary

Awesomesauce Book Club

Winners: Send your address to me at andreacremerwrites (at) gmail (dot) com and your posted will be mailed to you!!

I'll announce the second set of five winners after next week's tour stop in Raleigh, NC.

You can still enter the contest, so just leave a comment below and I'll include your info in the next drawing.

These winter blues will be beaten yet!

Vacation Location

Good guesses all around and quite a few correct guesses!

Here I am:
In Key West!

I was actually staying on a tiny island just off of Key West called Sunset Key and it was heavenly. I think I got enough sunshine and vitamin D to get me through the rest of the winter - let's hope so.

Now for the winners - yes I said winners, courtesy of Atom Books I just received some finished UK editions of Nightshade that I'll throw into the mix!

Regan Coomer
WulfLuva
Tabby Lewis

Send your address to andreacremerwrites (at) gmail (dot) com and I'll send your prize!

Thanks for all the entries!

WITW: Day 2

Today I went parasailing! It was one of the coolest, and surprisingly, most tranquil activities I've ever taken part in. Absolutely loved it. Pictures will come in the next week :)

And here are today's clues. Post your guess as to where I am and all correct answers will be put into a drawing to win a signed, finished copy of Nightshade:


Clue #1


Clue #2 (note: I'm not on a cruise, but cruise ships dock here)


Clue #3

Signing and Some Winners!

It's the post-Christmas lull. The space of days between Christmas and New Year's always strikes me as a bit odd. It's a time of winding down and reflecting on the year - but also of anticipation, looking toward what's to come in 2011.

If you're looking for something to do and happen to be in Northern Wisconsin, you can stop by Stage North in Washburn (on beautiful Lake Superior) for my reading and signing tonight at 7.

I also have some winners to announce from last week's contests. Thanks so much to everyone who stopped by!

The winners of Catherine Fisher's giveaway are:

Lexie

and

Ammy

The winners of Lisa Desrochers' giveaway of a signed copy of Personal Demons is:

Libby

Congrats to the winners! You'll be getting an email from me in the next few days asking for your mailing deets.

Naughty and Nice: A Contest

In case you didn't already know it, I have a fabulous critique partner, Lisa Desrochers. Lisa and I met at the San Francisco Writers' Conference in February 2009, decided to start swapping our drafts and within the year we both had book deals!! I'm still reeling at our good fortune and am always grateful that I have such a wonderful writer and friend in Lisa.

Lisa's debut, Personal Demons, is smokin. Check out her blog and leave a comment below for a chance to win a SIGNED copy of her book!! (Thank you, Lisa!!!!)

I'm thrilled to have two of the book's stars - Luc (a demon) and Gabe (an angel) - stopping by for an interview today.

Me (looks at Luc and Gabe, fans self): Ummmm, is it getting hot in here?

Gabe (jerks thumb at Luc): You’ll have to take that up with him.

Me (coughs, hurrying to change the subject): So, guys, the holidays are coming up – what’s on your wish list this year?

Luc (smirks): Frannie, over easy.

Gabe (rolls eyes): There’s the Christmas spirit. (smiles at Andrea) It’d be horribly cliché to say peace on Earth and goodwill toward man, wouldn’t it? So, I’ll just settle for Frannie’s soul.

Luc (glares at Gabe): Shouldn’t you be impaled on the top of someone’s Christmas tree?

Me (beaming at Gabe, too nervous to sneak a glance at Luc): Time to be nice - Luc, I know you’re going to hate this – what’s one trait you admire in each other?

Luc (raises eyebrow at Andrea): Seriously?

Gabe: You’re complaining?

Luc: I am.

Gabe: I’ll start. Luc is…creative.

Luc (barks out a laugh): That’s the best you could do?

Gabe: It’s better than “seriously?”

Luc (looks back at Andrea): See what I have to put up with? Okay. Give me a second… Gabe is…bright.

Gabe (throws up hands): You admire my brightness?

Luc (shoots a glare at Gabe): What do you want from me?

Gabe: I guess a reasonable answer is too much to hope for?

Luc (slumps in chair): Fine. He’s loyal, I suppose.

Gabe (nods): And Luc is courageous…when he wants to be.

Me: Okay...I guess we’ll give naughty a spin too. What have you done lately that might make Santa skip your house?

Gabe: Can I plead the fifth?

Luc (smiles at Andrea): I’ll give you his list. He’s been up to all kinds of very questionable angelic conquests, such as trying to get into Frannie’s—

Gabe (holds up hand): Whoa, there, brimstone-breath. I have done absolutely nothing outside my scope as a Dominion.

Luc: Except kissing Frannie.

Gabe: How do you know about that?

Luc: She told me.

Gabe (shifts in seat) (looks at Andrea): He, on the other hand, would have a much easier time answering the question: Have you done anything in all your pathetic existence to redeem your sorry demonic butt?

Luc (crosses arms): I have.

Gabe: Such as?

Luc: I can’t see how that’s any of your business, and this isn’t your interview. (Turns to Andrea) Santa has plenty of reasons to skip my house and I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Me (tries not to blush while Luc keeps looking my way): Uh...moving along...since I love philosophy, let’s wax thoughtful for a moment. We’ll be seeing you again soon in a book titled, Original Sin. What’s your take on that concept?

Luc: Depending on which belief system you buy into, original sin can be interpreted in any number of different ways, all of which work for me. Whether you look at it as the specific sin of Adam and Eve that lead to the fall of man, or the more Catholic doctrine that it’s the general state of sin that all men are born into, it means that man will always sin and I will always benefit.

Gabe: No. It means that sometimes man sins—

Luc (smirking): And so do angels.

Gabe (shaking head): The concept of original sin is founded in Christian doctrine. In reality, it’s not nearly as cut and dry as organized religion would like to make it seem. Man has free will. What that means is they are free to make their own choices. There are temptations—

Luc (grinning): Tell me about it…

Gabe (glaring at Luc): and sometimes man falls prey to them. In the end, a man’s conscience is going to dictate how he deals with those temptations, but I don’t buy that man, in his true essence, is born to sin.

Luc (leans forward and smiles wickedly): How about you, Andrea? Up for a little original sin?

Me (holds Luc's gaze for a moment, stands up, bolts because I'd prefer to hang on to my soul) (calls over shoulder): Thanks for stopping by you guys! Merry Christmas!!! Say hi to Lisa for me!

Wow - that was...intense...ummm.....remind me to bring a chaperone next time. And don't you guys forget to leave a comment below for a chance to win a signed copy of Personal Demons. I'll take entries through December 25 - whether you've been naughty or nice!

Winner!

Happy Friday, everyone!

The randomly selected winner of Five Flavors of Dumb is:

Christina Ferko!

Congrats :) Keep watching the blog for more giveaways leading up to Christmas. I'm going to celebrate the weekend with one of my favorite Christmas songs:

Book Alert & Contest

I have a special guest on the blog today: Antony John is the author of FIVE FLAVORS OF DUMB, a fabulous book that recently hit bookstores. I had the pleasure of meeting Antony earlier this fall and he is such a cool, fun person that I want you to know who he is and how awesome his book is. Antony was gracious enough to stop by for an interview - and if you leave a comment below you'll be entered to win FIVE FLAVORS OF DUMB!!

We first met at Anderson's YA conference in Naperville, IL in September - meeting awesome authors, like yourself, is one of my favorite 'perks' of being a writer. What have been some of your favorite things about being an author?

* Oh boy, I could write a dissertation on this one!

First off, you’re spot on when you say that the biggest perk is meeting other authors (and also editors and agents). People who dedicate their lives to an aspect of children’s literature are invariably doing it because they’re passionate about it, and it’s so energizing to be around them. Meeting you in Naperville was a case in point. I could’ve just sat and listened to you talk about Nightshade all day, although that might have defeated the purpose of our panel, right?

Second, I love the rush of writing: those times when you get in a zone and the words just pour out like you’re in your own personal IMAX movie. It’s thrilling, and exhilarating, and I’m in the incredibly luxurious position of knowing that those words will most likely make it into print one day. I get the feeling both of us know how lucky we are to be able to say that.

As a random third, I have to admit that being a YA author definitely wins me the Coolest Job prize at social gatherings. Every time I attend a party I’m reminded that (a) people find authors fascinating, and (b) a lot of adults are reading YA these days (and they’re very opinionated)!

Tell us about Five Flavors of Dumb:

* Five Flavors of Dumb is the story of Piper Vaughan, a deaf high school senior. When her parents raid her college fund to pay for her baby sister’s cochlear implant, Piper resorts to managing her school rock band as a way of making some money. It’s crazy, funny, heartfelt, and uplifting—at least, that’s what the reviews are saying.

Since this book is, in part, about a band - did you listen to music while you were writing it? If so, can you tell us a song from the playlist as an example?

* Oh yeah, I listened to LOADS of music. In fact, I have a playlist of over a hundred songs that I listened to over and over while I was writing. (I’ve played most of these songs at least 20 times according to iTunes, which tells you how long it takes to write a book.)

But as the example, I’m going to name a couple songs that actually appear in the book. (I’m not going to say HOW they appear, though, because that would spoil the surprise.):

Nirvana – Seasons in the Sun

Jimi Hendrix – Star-Spangled Banner (live at Woodstock, 1969)

What surprised you the most about writing Five Flavors of Dumb?

* Ooh, good question. I think I’d have to say the most surprising thing was how fully I got inside the head of my main character, Piper. I spent several months researching deafness before I wrote a word, by which time I had a truly deep understanding of who Piper was, and what made her tick. She’s smart, sardonic, determined, and someone I would have loved to know when I was a teen. Writing from her perspective felt effortless, and I think that’s a good sign!

What are you working on next?

* My next YA will be coming out around spring 2012 from Dial. It’s called The Hallelujah Book Tour, and is the story of a boy who writes a spiritual self-help book that becomes a bestseller. He’s sent on a promotional tour along Route 66, but things don’t exactly go as planned, particularly when a former crush hitches a ride.

After that, around fall 2012, the first book in my Elemental trilogy will be released (also with Dial; can you tell I like my editor!). It’s set in a dystopian colony of the United States where everyone is born with powers of the elements—earth, water, wind, and fire—except for one boy who is powerless . . . or is he? I’m so psyched about it I can barely see straight.

Please visit me at www.antonyjohn.net (and friend me on the Facebook link)!

Thanks for having me along today, Andrea. And Happy Holidays to all your readers!

Thanks so much for being here, Antony & readers be sure to leave a comment below so you're entered in the contest!

Winners

Thanks to everyone who stopped by to welcome Matched into the world! I'm pleased to announced that the two winners are:

Sylvia sylvia_uy4(at)yahoo(Dot)com

and

Amanda amandatheaker(at)gmail(dot)com

Congrats!!

Q&A with Ally Condie

I love it when author friends stop by and indulge the weirdness of my brain! Here's my Q&A with Ally Condie, author of Matched.

The opening scene of your book describes the matching event, and Cassia has chosen a green dress to wear (which is also on the cover). Green is my favorite color and I love that dress – the story intimates that her choice of color says something about her, but what made you decide her dress should be green?

*I wanted Cassia’s dress to be green for a couple of reasons. One of the reasons is very superficial—I wanted it to match her eyes! More importantly, I also liked the symbolism of the color green and its traditional connections with growth, spring, etc. And finally, I liked that it had a connection with the green tablet, which is important to the story.

It’s fascinating that culture has been limited to the 100 lists – did you actually create a list of each 100 books, songs, etc. If so, what was that like?

*I didn’t create the lists in their entirety. I do know a few items on each list. The list the Society created would be very different from my own personal list, so it would be a little daunting to create theirs. They wouldn’t include anything subversive, they would limit the diversity of the list, etc.

In the Society, it’s dangerous to be exceptional. Do you think our world ever tries to limit originality?

*Yes, I do. I think we have a lot of cultural ideas about what beauty and success should look like and we like people to fit those molds. However, we do also live in this time of unparalleled freedom of expression, so that is pretty amazing.

This is totally random, but does the Society allow people to have pets?

*No, they don’t! And you’re the first person to notice that! I thought it was this sort of creepy thing that there are no animals on the streets or in the yards, etc. It’s just another way the Society exercises control. The people in the Farmlands have farm animals, but there are no actual pets.

If Cassia were to step into our world for a day, what do you think she would be the most surprised by?

*I think she would be most surprised by the way we can listen to and write and read whatever we want, and she would also be surprised by how much we take that for granted.

I’m dying for more of the story – what are you working on now and what can I bribe you with to get it early (chocolate?)?

*I’m working on the sequel right now. I’ve been working on the sequel for a year! I wish I could write more quickly. But I’m like you in that the story can take over my mind (when I’m not with the kids). I was leaving to go write earlier today and I backed into my husband’s car with my car. He was thrilled. I really need to finish this book. ;)

But you could possibly bribe me with a copy of Wolfsbane. ;)

Ha! Thanks, Ally :)

Thanks for letting me stop by, Andrea! And huge congrats on the success of Nightshade!

Thanks to Ally for being here and thanks also to Penguin, which is giving away two copies of Matched to blog readers. Just leave a comment below and you will be entered in the giveaway!!!

Who Wins Mister Wolf?

Heidi Zweifel! (@hmz1505) Thanks for giving Mister Wolf a new home :)

Thank you so much for all the fantastic pictures of Nightshade in the wild and for going out to hunt for your copy of the book. I will never be able to express how much it means to be that you guys are reading about Calla and her pack!

Some more awesome news: I have an essay appearing in the Wall Street Journal's Speakeasy blog about sex, censorship and young adult literature.

And tomorrow is the big day - the official Nightshade release party. Halloween is my favorite holiday so I'm thrilled we're celebrating Nightshade on the weekend of Samhain and having a costume contest.

I'd love to see you at the Red Balloon tomorrow at 7 p.m.

Tomorrow morning I'm picking up "Shay" from the airport. How cool is that?

Thank you again for making Nightshade a success!!!

In the News

So Nightshade has been in stores for about a week and for five days of that week I was at home with the flu. I'm finally making my way back into the world and getting to see and hear fun book buzz.

I had my first television appearance on KARE 11's Showcase Minnesota. And the St. Paul Pioneer Press featured Nightshade in their Sunday Life section.

I've been getting wonderful emails from readers - thank you so much for sending them. And I just learned that a Nightshade fan site is being created!!!

Check it out: http://nightshadenexus.com/

I've also had the chance to do some stock signings so if you're around Minneapolis you can find signed copies of Nightshade at Bookcase of Wayzata, the Borders at Rosedale, and Barnes and Noble at the Mall of America. I'll be signing stock at Borders Woodbury tomorrow.

Remember you have two days left to send me photos of Nightshade in the wild to be entered in the Mister Wolf prize pack contest.

And this Friday is the big day - Nightshade's official launch party at the Red Balloon Bookshop in St. Paul at 7:00 p.m. featuring a costume contest with special guest Shay Doran! I got my costume today and I am super excited about it - I think it may be one of my best ever!!! (Won't reveal what it is 'til after I have pics from the party.)