Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

It’s here, it’s here – The Great YA Bake Sale of 2010!

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Get your napkins and cups of coffee and glasses of milk ready, because the sweetest contest of the year has begun! The whole thing started when I realized that YA authors seem to have one big thing in common – an obsession with sweets and baking.

That gave me an idea. I started calling (well – okay, emailing) around and ended up with more than a dozen kind, sugar-loving authors on board to bring you one amazing contest.

Here’s the deal:

To enter, simply leave a thoughtful comment on an author’s Bake Sale blog post, or tweet about the contest with the hashtag #YABakeSale10. Voila! You’re entered.

When you enter, you become eligible to win any one of the Personal Prize Packs (i.e. a comment on Saundra Mitchell’s blog may net you the Cyn Balog prize pack. You’re entering the whole contest, not just that particular author’s part of it.) You also become eligible to win the humongonormous Grand Prize Basket.

What’s in the Grand Prize Basket?

Each author has hand-written two copies of a favorite sweet-treat recipe. One copy has gone into a beautiful recipe book that is part of the Grand Prize Basket. In addition to the (hand-written! Did I mention that?) recipe collection, the Grand Prize winner will receive:

A signed copy of Cyn Balog’s SLEEPLESS

Bookmarks for KAT, INCORRIGIBLE by Stephanie Burgis

A glass Cinderella slipper and THE CINDERELLA SOCIETY bookmark from Kay Cassidy

A signed copy of GIVE UP THE GHOST by Megan Crewe

Signed bookmarks for THE CRESCENT and HALF MOON, pencils, and a crescent moon and crystal-studded star necklace from Jordan Deen

A signed copy of 13 TO LIFE, a chap book of the prologue and first chapter of SECRETS AND SHADOWS from Shannon Delaney

A copy of THE BODY FINDER, a THE BODY FINDER tote bag, sticker and bookmarks from Kimberley Derting

An EVERLASTING-themed notebook, bookmark and pin from Angela Frazier

A signed copy of CLAIRE DE LUNE, signed stickers and a silver, moon-themed bookmark from Christine Johnson

A signed copy of SHADOWED SUMMER, matching chocolate candies, Twilight-themed heart candies, bookmarks and THE VESPERTINE dance card from Saundra Mitchell

A signed copy of THE PACE, by Shelena Shorts, along with bookmarks and THE PACE pencils

A signed hard-cover of SHADE and a Keeley Brothers pin from Jeri-Smith Ready

A signed copy of PERSONAL DEMONS, a PERSONAL DEMONS tank top, temporary tattoos, and bookmarks from Lisa Desrochers

. . . AND MORE!!! All for ONE LUCKY WINNER!

But that’s not all!

Each author has one other handwritten recipe that will be part of each author’s own Personal Prize Pack.

The prize packs include:

Cyn Balog – Signed copy of SLEEPLESS and a handwritten recipe for Coconut Bread.

Stephanie Burgis – UK paperback copy of A MOST IMPROPER MAGICK and a hand written recipe for Apple Muffins

Kay Cassidy – Hand-written recipe, Cinderella glass slipper and a THE CINDERELLA SOCIETY bookmark

Megan Crewe – Hand-written recipe and signed copy of GIVE UP THE GHOST

Shannon Delaney – Hand-written recipe and signed copy of 13 TO LIFE

Jordan Deen – Basket with Pampered Chef baking gear, copy of the cookbook WHAT’S UP, CUPCAKE? and a recipe for Orange Pineapple Cake

Kimberley Derting – Signed copy of The Body Finder, stickers, a totebag, bookmarks and a recipe for Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

Lisa Desrochers – A copy of PERSONAL DEMONS, a PERSONAL DEMONS tank top, temporary tattoos, bookmarks and a recipe for Sunday Coffee Cupcakes

Angie Frazier – A signed hard-cover copy of EVERLASTING, bookmark, and a recipe for Butter Rum Cupcakes with Coconut Buttercream Frosting

Judith Graves – Copy of UNDER MY SKIN, a character card, and a recipe for Dead Lady Fingers

Christine Johnson – A signed hard-cover copy of CLAIRE DE LUNE, stickers, a silver moon-themed bookmark and a recipe for Chocolate-Chip Butterscotch Blondies

Saundra Mitchell – Recipe and giveaways

Jennifer Murgia – ANGEL STAR swag, Octogram earrings, and a hand-written recipe

Shelena Shorts – Signed copy of THE BROKEN LAKE and bookmarks and a hand-written recipe

Jeri Smith-Ready – SHADE UK paperback edition and a recipe for Scottish Oat Scones

Get ready, get set . . . . enter away! Good luck, everyone.

Fine print: The contest entries must be posted by midnight eastern time on September 20th. This contest is open to the U.S., U.K. and Canada. Questions? Leave them in the comments or email me – christine(at)christinejohnsonbooks.com

COMING SOON:

It just may be the most fun contest that’s been run this year. More than a dozen of your favorite YA authors, an obsession with sweets, and a stunning array of prizes.

On Saturday, September 4th, details will be announced here.

Until then, here’s a hint:

So, I was taking a moment to think about all the wonderful stuff in my life, and one of the first things I came up with was the amazing people out there who like Claire de Lune! So, in honor of all of you, I’m declaring this Reader Appreciation Week.

If you’ve said something nice about Claire de Lune on the Internet (a review on Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, a blog, etc.,) post a link to your kind words in the comments. The first 35 commenters will get signed stickers/bookplates, and everyone who comments (even after number 35) will be eligible for a signed copy of Claire de Lune that I’ll give away at the end of the week!

Comments must be posted by 9 p.m. Eastern on Friday, the 3rd of September – and while I love and appreciate my international fans, this particular contest will be open to the U.S. and Canada only. I’ll be doing an international giveaway soon, so take heart if you live outside the U.S. – your turn is coming.

Yay for awesome readers!

People! SEPTEMBER IS NEXT WEEK! Do you know what that means? It means autumn is right. around. the corner. I am very excited about this. I am veryveryvery excited about this. Not only is it my most favorite season, it’s the time of year when I do my absolute best writing, and when it’s the easiest for me to write.

I love summer, don’t get me wrong. I actually don’t tolerate the cold very well (and yes, I realize that makes it ironic that autumn, when it finally cools off, is my favored time of year.) I love the heat and light and green lush humidity of an Indiana summer. But it’s also a thick, lazy sort of time. I have trouble focusing on getting the words onto the page. It’s like my story’s on its own personal beach vacation, too busy grilling burgers and splashing in the surf to get written.

I think that’s actually a good thing – I think that’s when the ideas and stories get fat. My imagination gets all sorts of food from summertime. I just can’t *access* it. It’s like watching the apples grow – you can see them there, on the tree, but trying to eat them before they’re ready’s just going to give you a stomach ache.

But then fall arrives. And the leaves change and the air gets that really clear, light-filled quality that comes with the sudden absence of humidity. There’s a sense of drawing in, of settling down. School starts. Night comes sooner. And all at once, the stories and ideas and words that were hidden behind the piles of too-abundant tomatoes and the nappish torpor of July afternoons? They’re READY. They start falling like those apples I mentioned before. As fast as I can write, they’re just *there*.

It’s happened enough times over enough years that now, come the start of September, my mouth is absolutely watering for those few easy months before winter sets in. And it’s ALMOST HERE. My sweaters and the fireplace and my writing fingers are at the ready.

I can see the stories packing up their coolers and shaking the sand out of their beach towels from here, and I can hardly wait.

The UK Claire de Lune contest has ended, and Dina has won – congrats!

Thanks to everyone who entered and voted. I really appreciate it.

Stay tuned . . . the next contest I announce is by FAR the biggest and best I’ve ever organized. You’ll want in on that one.

Trust me.

How have I not celebrated the release of Claire de Lune in the UK??? *slaps own wrist* It’s out out OUT as part of the fabulous launch of Simon Pulse on the other side of the pond.

Here’s the preeeeeetty cover:

Oh, you WANT one? Okay. I’ll give one away. Here’s how you can enter: go vote for me on the 2010 Debut Author List on Goodreads, come back, and let me know that you voted. Voila! You’re entered.

Unfortunately, I’ll only be shipping to the US or UK for this contest, but if you’re international, you’re welcome to enter as long as you have a shipping address in one of those two spots.

You’ll have until Wednesday, the 18th, to enter!

Have fun!

I am not much of a procrastinator. I don’t like the feeling of things hanging over me – I start scuttling, head ducked, shoulders up around my ears like some sort of subterranean crab. It’s uh-gly. On those rare occasions when I don’t have my nose to the proverbial grindstone, there are a few places on the Internet that I know I can always go for a (relatively) quick shot of should-be-working fun.

1) Catalog living – So. Sarcastically. Fantabulous. I can’t even look at the Pottery Barn catalogs that clog up my mailbox anymore – all I hear are Gary and Elaine.

http://catalogliving.net/

2) Slushpile Hell – Another tumblr site, and another oh-so-amusing read. I can’t believe people actually query this stuff. Poor agents. Poor editors. Lucky me, ’cause it’s REALLY funny from this end!

http://slushpilehell.tumblr.com/

3) Cakewrecks – Again, funny, right? If you haven’t noticed, I find funny things much more distracting than, say, The New York Times. Which is also good, don’t get me wrong, but guilty pleasure? Nah.

www.cakewrecks.com

Okay, there are more, but I’m done procrastinating for now. If you see me on Twitter, please slap me. I’m supposed to be writing.

The sequel contest is OVER and the winners have been NOTIFIED.

Didn’t win? Stay tuned. More fun contests are in the works. Thanks to everyone who entered – it was really fun!