Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Happy Birthday Wolfsbane CONTEST!

I'm in the middle of an insane day, but I wanted to stop by and tell you all to go wish my fab critique partner, Andrea Cremer, a HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY! It's been over a year since I read Wolfsbane, and I'm still thinking about it! You NEED this book!

So, to help you out, I'm giving a copy away here on the blog! (You know I'd do anything for you guys, right? :p) Enter below by this Friday, July 29th (noon PST) to win a copy of Wolfsbane and a signed Original Sin! You know you want it! ;p

















To enter, leave a comment below before noon Friday (PST). You must be at least 13 to enter. Open internationally. Also, don't forget to leave a way to find you in case you WIN!! One extra entry for Tweeting or Facebooking this contest. =)

Monday, July 25, 2011

Personal Demons Book Three Title Reveal!

Sorry! I've been away. I was working in San Diego week before last, where my computer didn't get along with the internet server at the hotel I was at, and then I was at my cabin, WAYYYY  up in the mountains, out of cell or internet range. Vacation was great, but I missed you all! But, I'm back! And I have a VERY special surprise for you.

Lots of you have been asking about a title for The Novel Formerly Known as Hellbent! Yes we have one. And...my fabulous critique partner, Andrea Cremer, gets the credit for coming up with it.

Do you want to know what it is???

Do you????

Well, even more fun. My Art guy, Seth, over at Tor Teen has sent along title art. It's not the cover, but it's what the title will look like on the cover.

Wanna see it???

Do you????

Okay...so...

Here it is...














I love it. Hellbent really fit this novel, but so does Last Rite. So...what do you think?

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Brazilian Cover confusion. Here's the deal...

After posting the Brazilian cover of Original Sin last week, I got several comments on Twitter etc. regarding the title. Here are the two covers side by side:
 

















Apparently, the way it works is that this is the Personal Demons trilogy, so that gets top billing. The title of the U.S. Personal Demons was actually Amor Infernal (Infernal Love) and the title of the second is Pecado Original (Original Sin). What that all means is that the actual title of the book is in smaller print under the series name.

Got it?

So there you have it! I actually think it's kind of fun =) What do you think?

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Original Sin EPIC Giveaway Winner!!!

First...if you're in the San Diego area, I'll totally love you forever if you come out to Mysterious Galaxy to see me on Friday at 7pm. Yes, I know it's Harry Potter night, and honestly, I'd be at Harry Potter if I wasn't signing. But I am, and I already have my book, so I'd really love to sign some to other people too. So, here's the deal, you should go to the midnight show on Thurs night/Fri morning so you'll be free to come to Mysterious Galaxy at 7! Best of both worlds! ;p

Next...I have some AMAZING Personal Demons Book 3 (The Novel Formerly Known as Hellbent) news! We HAVE A TITLE!!!! But I'm not telling yet... You know me. I have to tease. It's in my blood. What I can tell you is that my stupendous critique partner, Andrea Cremer (Nightshade) gets the credit for coming up with it :p

And, I'm having a massive guilt attack. I've neglected my blog for a week--something I haven't done since its creation back in summer of 2009. But, I've had good reason. First, I'm wrapping up revisions on The Novel Formerly Known as Hellbent, and also, I was super busy meeting so many of you out on the road! Thanks to everyone who came out for the After Dark Tour! Leah, Courtney and I really appreciate it! Here's us at the Original Sin launch event at Books of Wonder in NYC!

FinePrint/Nancy Coffee Lit came out in force and so did Tor Teen! I couldn't have a better group of people in my corner!

On Wednesday we wrapped up the tour at the Barnes & Noble in Burlington, MA. I was totally impressed with the group that turned out at both events!

And...I sent out a challenge. I asked you for pictures of Original Sin in the wild, and you responded! Here are just a few:

Courtesy of @StormyWolf147                                                  Courtesy of Jillian

(And can I just mention that I LOVE that my humble little book is shelved next to my fabulous critique partner's Nightshade :p)

Everyone who Tweeted or Facebooked their picture was entered in my EPIC giveaway for all this:

That's signed copies of both books, an iPod with the playlist for the entire trilogy, and swag!

And the winner, as chosen by the randomizer, with this picture:


is....



Brea!!!

Congrats! You'll be hearing from me very soon! =)

Thanks so much to everyone who's been here over the last few months! I love hearing from all of you. Please continue to send pictures of OS and PD in the wild if you see them! (Cuz it makes me all tingly inside to see them! :p)

Love you guys!

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Brazilian Original Sin cover!

Thanks so much to everyone who Tweeted and stopped by here to wish Original Sin a happy birthday yesterday! I'm traveling between NYC and Boston today for the last stop on the After Dark tour with Leah Clifford and Courtney Allison Moulton. If you're in the Boston area, come see us at the Barnes & Noble in Burlington, MA (near the mall) at 7pm tonight!

There will be a release day rundown later this week, but it the mean time, here's something to look at: the Brazilian Original Sin cover.


Hope you all have a great Wednesday, and I hope to have some fun pictures up from release day and the After Dark tour soon!

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Original Sin Birthday Bash and EPIC giveaway!

It's here! Original Sin release day!!! Yay! Thanks to everyone who has been along for the ride with me. Y'all rock! Cupcakes all around!! =)





So, to celebrate, I'm doing a mega Original Sin giveaway! You can win a signed copy of this:

And all this!

Yep, that's an iPod Shuffle with the entire PD, OS and bk 3 playlists pre-loaded, a signed copy of Personal Demons, a PD tank top, PD & OS bookmarks, and Team Luc & Team Gabe temporary tattoos.

I'll give you all the deets on how to enter in a minute. But first, I want to thank a few people who deserve at least as much credit (if not way more) for getting Original Sin into the world as I do. Many of them are in my acknowledgements, and others, I've already thanked publicly here on the blog, but I feel the need to do it again, because I am SO grateful for all the support and encouragement I've gotten from this fabulous group of people.

First, always, is my family. Now that they know I'm writing, they've been incredibly supportive, helping to spread the word in all kinds of creative ways. My husband has been truly amazing. I work my day job, then come home and am on the computer all night. He's picked up the slack (shopping, cooking, cleaning, kids) without ever once commenting about it. Even though he doesn't "get" the whole YA teenage girl thing, he's read my work and been a source of encouragement and support. Without him, there's no way any of this would be possible. My girls are my greatest source of inspiration, and it was my oldest daughter's love of reading that inspired me to write in the first place. I have no doubt that the Personal Demons series would not exist if it weren't for her.

My truly fabulous agent, Suzie Townsend, is a rockstar. There's no way I can ever thank her enough for all her tireless work on my behalf and for believing in me. I'm sending this to her so she can send it back to me when I'm driving her crazy =)

I've already mentioned how nervous (read: terrified) I am about this book. My seriously cool editor, Melissa Frain, never flinched. She's always been right on my page creatively and I appreciate all her patience and guidance.

I've been blessed with an amazing critique partner. Andrea Cremer (Nightshade), who is an incredibly talented writer and just an overall great person, has helped me more than she'll ever know. She helped me shape this book into what it is.

In addition, I've made some amazing writer friends along the way. Kody Keplinger (The DUFF) is always a willing sounding board and I truly appreciate all her help and support. And my wild tour partners, Leah Clifford (A Touch Mortal) and Courtney Allison Moulton (Angelfire) make me remember why we're all doing this when things in my life are CRAZY!

I get that this isn't like the academy awards or anything. It's just a book. But it's my book and, before I get the hook, I want to send my heartfelt thanks to every one of you who has supported me on this blog and followed me on Twitter and Facebook. I really love chatting with all of you. I'm looking forward to meeting some of you out on the road. You guys totally rock! I've got the bestest followers evah! :p

If you're around, come see me at Books of Wonder in NYC at 18 West 18th Street tonight at 6pm with Courtney and Leah! Wednesday (tomorrow) we'll be at the Barnes and Noble in Burlington, MA at 7pm. Check the appearances tab above for other stops =)

Thankyouthankyouthankyou!!

And now for the EPIC giveaway!!! I didn't forget! Here's the deal. To enter, all you need to do is take a picture of Original Sin in the wild. If you see it in your local bookstore, snap a shot and post a link on Twitter with the #OriginalSin hashtag, post it on your Facebook page and tag Personal Demons Books, or post it on your blog and comment below with the link so I find you! Yay!! Your picture will earn you five entries. You can earn an additional entry by posting a link to this contest on Twitter, Facebook or your blog!

To get us started, here's the first sighting of Original Sin in the wild. It's courtesy of Courtney Allison Moulton and is at the Barnes & Noble in Westlake, Ohio.


Am I the only one who finds this exciting? Probably, but enter anyway! =) The contest is open until noon PST on Monday, July 11th! Good luck!!!

And, in case you missed it, the Original Sin Trailer:

Monday, July 4, 2011

Original Sin Playlist!

You guys want to know what inspired Original Sin? As with Personal Demons, it was music! I’m often asked if I have playlists for my books, and the truth is, my playlists turn into books. I start with the music. My playlist for each book is usually a couple of dozen songs, which I pare down to the 12-15 that were most instrumental and post them for all of you to enjoy. You can see the entire playlist for Personal Demons here. :p

If there’s a song that brings strong emotion to the surface for me, I often see it play out in the lives of my characters. In the Personal Demons series, you can see the evolution of the characters by the song that embodies them in each of the books.

For example, Frannie. In Original Sin, she’s coming to grips with her new powers, but she can’t protect everyone she loves, and someone will pay the ultimate price. Her song from Original Sin is How to Save a Life by the Fray.

Next we have my most conflicted character: Gabe. In Personal Demons, Gabe finds himself in a position he’s never been in before: questioning his purpose. But, with Frannie, the lines between duty and desire blur, and he struggles with basic questions of love and loyalty. Things for Gabe step up a notch in Original Sin. There’s a sub-current of desperation in everything he does. He vows to always be there for Frannie, no matter what, but what if keeping that promise means risking everything? His song from this book is Breaking Benjamin’s Anthem of the Angels.


And, then there’s Luc. He is the most “changed” character in Personal Demons. Things don’t go smoothly for Luc in Original Sin. That’s all I’m gonna say about that. Unfortunately for Luc, his experience in OS is perfectly summarized in the music and lyrics to World So Cold by Three Days Grace. 


And, the official Original Sin Playlist...



As usual, if you love any of these songs, please visit your chosen mode of music purchase and buy them =)

Friday, July 1, 2011

Today on Original Sin Character Week, the new kids: Matt and Lili

PD spoiler alert!! If you haven’t read Personal Demons, and you don’t want to spoil, skip this post and check in Monday for the full Original Sin playlist! :p

If you've followed the Original Sin Teasers for the last few months, you've met both Matt and Lili.

Matt is Frannie’s guardian angel. He’s also her dead twin brother. When Gabe assigns him as Frannie’s guardian, he can’t believe his luck. He isn’t proud of how he treated her in life, and being seven was no excuse. How many people get the opportunity to make amends with their twin from the other side? He takes his job very seriously. He knows what’s at stake and who’s after Frannie. He won’t let anything happen to her.

But, he finds things aren’t as simple as he might have hoped. When he sees what he’s missing—a pat on the back from Grandpa, a best friend to give him a hard time, his first kiss from his first girlfriend—he finds he hasn’t left human emotion behind.

And, there are temptations on Earth…


Lili is the new girl in Luc's apartment building. She’s painfully shy—a wounded soul—and Frannie takes her under her wing. She introduces her to Taylor and Riley hoping she’ll make friends and come out of her shell.

And does she ever…