BRIGHT BURNS THE NIGHT pre-order giveaway!

Can you believe there's only 2 months left until BRIGHT BURNS THE NIGHT comes out??? I know I can't!

So it's that time again!

For all of you WONDERFUL readers who pre-order books (something that really helps authors), I am doing another giveaway!

ALL pre-orders will receive signed bookmarks of both DARK BREAKS THE DAWN and BRIGHT BURNS THE NIGHT! **If you order a hardcover, you will also receive a signed bookplate to put in your copy of any of my books!** (Ebook orders will not receive the bookplate as there will be no book to put it in!) 

And you'll be entered into the drawing to be one of 6 GRAND PRIZE winners who will get one of the following BRIGHT BURNS THE NIGHT inspired items!!

1 - Hawk necklace with a red gemstone (hmmmm...wonder who that represents! ;-) )
2 - Hawk keychain
3- Swan necklace with a purple gemstone
4 - Swan earrings (not the best picture, but I've shown them on my IG stories - they are gorgeous, delicate earrings, with Swarovski Crystals!)
5 - A swan necklace with meaning card
6 - A large gold swan necklace with multiple gemstones

All you have to do is email me a copy or picture of your receipt to DarkBreaksTheDawn (at) gmail (dot) com and put "BRIGHT BURNS THE NIGHT pre-order giveaway" in the subject. Include your mailing address in the email, and BOOM! You're done!

If you would like a personalized/signed copy (and support a truly remarkable indie bookstore in the process, please call The King's English at 801-484-9100 to pre-order your copy and I will sign it the night it releases at my launch!

*Rules:
*EVERY purchase is an entry, so if you buy more than one copy, you will receive more than one entry - but you MUST email the receipts separately. All formats count, but only hardcover orders will receive the bookplate.
*Open international
*Giveaway is open until Monday May 28th at 11:59 pm
*Grand Prize winners will be announced and notified within a week of giveaway end date, but please allow for time to prepare and ship items as it tends to be quite busy right after a book release.

School Visits + Do you Skype?

**I am scheduling school visits for Fall 2014 right now!**


And I have to admit, I really love doing school visits! I love that interaction with the librarians, students, and teachers.

So if you're interested in having me come, let me know! (or email Antonio at Scholastic--info below.) For the first 10 schools who schedule an in-person visit for the end of this year or next fall, I am offering a special rate. Email for details!

But I know that sometimes it's easier (or more affordable) for a school to do a "virtual" school visit through Skype, rather than an in-person visit.

So, right now I'm offering a special--if you book a Skype visit anytime for the rest of this year, or for Fall 2014, I'm willing to do it for free! Let me know or email Antonio (at Scholastic) to get the details and help set it up: AuthorVisit@scholastic.com

If you're interested in this opportunity (it won't last too long!) or in scheduling an in person visit, let me know!

Relic + The Healing Spell + giveaway!

Lookie lookie -- I'm blogging AGAIN! That's three weeks in a row. Can you even believe it? I'm totally on a streak. One might even call it a winning streak. Okay, not really, BUT it could be--for you!

Why?

Because I'm doing a giveaway to celebrate the return to blogging and school and a schedule (and trying not to be sad that summer is over).

First of all, my incredibly talented friend Renee Collin's debut RELIC came out TODAY!! You guys, this book. THIS BOOK. It is SO good. When I first read it, before it went out on submisison, I knew it would sell. It was just that amazing. Unique, awesome, romantic and just made-of-awesome. So to celebrate, I'm giving away a signed copy of RELIC!!!! (Which I will be procuring for myself in 2 weeks at Renee's signing here in SLC!) Can't wait! Congratulations Renee, I'm so over the moon excited for you!!!

From goodreads:

After a raging fire consumes her town and kills her parents, Maggie Davis is on her own to protect her younger sister and survive best she can in the Colorado town of Burning Mesa. In Maggie’s world, the bones of long-extinct magical creatures such as dragons and sirens are mined and traded for their residual magical elements, and harnessing these relics’ powers allows the user to wield fire, turn invisible, or heal even the worst of injuries.

Working in a local saloon, Maggie befriends the spirited showgirl Adelaide and falls for the roguish cowboy Landon. But when she proves to have a particular skill at harnessing the relics’ powers, Maggie is whisked away to the glamorous hacienda of Álvar Castilla, the wealthy young relic baron who runs Burning Mesa. Though his intentions aren’t always clear, Álvar trains Maggie in the world of relic magic. But when the mysterious fires reappear in their neighboring towns, Maggie must discover who is channeling relic magic for evil before it’s too late.

Relic is a thrilling adventure set in a wholly unique world, and a spell-binding story of love, trust, and the power of good.


BU THAT'S NOT ALL!!

Recently, another one of my friends, my agency sister AND editor sister Kimberley Griffiths Little came to my neck of the woods to do a signing, and I happened to nab an extra book to give to one of you (and got it signed, too)! It's the paperback with a shiny new cover. Feast your eyes on this:

Beautiful and haunting, right?

From Goodreads:

Critically acclaimed author Kimberley Griffiths Little brings to life a sweeping and heartfelt story set against the lush backdrop of the bayou.

Twelve-year-old Livie is living with a secret and it's crushing her. She knows she is responsible for her mother's coma, but she can't tell anyone. It's up to her to find a way to wake her momma up.

Stuck in the middle of three sisters, hiding a forbidden pet alligator, and afraid to disappoint her daddy, whom she loves more than anyone else, Livie struggles to find her place within her own family as she learns about the powers of faith and redemption. Livie's powerful, emotional, and sometimes humorous story will stay with readers long after the last line is read.

Doesn't it sound SO SO good? Well, trust me, it is. I am just surrounded by insanely talented people. It's kind of intimidating!

So... Want a chance to win? Then enter below and may the Rafflecopter odds be ever in your favor!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway >

THE post!

I've been staring at this blank screen for ... well, a while now. There are so many things I could say today--things I want to say. But I honestly don't know how to put into words what I'm feeling right now. Ironic, considering that words are what I use for a living.

I've already said much of what has lead me to this point before in THIS post, or THIS one, or even THIS SERIES of posts, way back in the distant past detailing my path to getting my first agent. (That link is the first post, I think I did it in 5 parts or something crazy like that. Also, I probably sound incredibly naive in those posts, so don't judge too harshly!)


It's been a long, long road.



BUT.


SOMETHING BIG HAPPENED.

Since I'm struggling to figure out what to write, instead of words, I'll use images. Today, this post is about something that makes me feel like this:




 And this:




And now, finally, I get to share this from Publisher's Weekly:

Lisa Sandell at Scholastic Press has bought Sara B. Larson's Defy, a debut YA adventure romance pitched as in the vein of Kristin Cashore and Leigh Bardugo. In the novel, the fiercest member of a prince's elite guard is actually a girl disguised as a boy, who gets embroiled in a deadly game of thrones while keeping her secret, and realizes she has far deeper feelings for the prince than she thought. The book will pub in spring 2014; Josh Adams at Adams Literary brokered the deal for North American rights.

I've been dying to share this news for a while and now I finally get to! AAAGGGHH!!!! ALL THE HAPPINESS!!!

When I got the call from Josh, he asked me how I was doing and then said, "Well, you're going to be published!"

I thought I'd do this:



And this:



Which I totally did... eventually. But when he said that to me, before I even knew who or what, I think I said, "I am?" and then did this:



And then when I found out who and what I did this:


(Except, they were ECSTATIC tears... But the ice cream is really appropriate because my hubby brought home ice cream to celebrate!)

Tears of joy, tears of relief... I'm sure Josh thought I was crazy.


But after my tears dried, there definitely was a lot of this:




Wow, that's a whole lot of emotion, right??

Guys, I am so so thrilled to be working with Lisa and to have my book published by Scholastic! It's an absolute dream come true!! And I can't wait to share DEFY with you! (This is the book I wrote last August, that used to be called Daughter of War--I'm pretty sure I talked about it in one of those posts I linked above.) I still can't quite believe it's going to be a real book, on a shelf, in my hands--possibly in your hands--in about a year! SQUEEE!!!! *happy dance* *all the tears of joy in the world*

 See? Here's me and my ice cream (after the happy tears had dried up), after I got my offer, with a nice little placement of a decoration beside me. In case you can't read it, it says "BELIEVE."

And here I am just last week, signing my contract!

I will do a post soon about all of the celebrations that have taken place over the last couple of months, including the amazing gift my sweet hubby gave me (other than ice cream). And I'll probably talk a lot about not giving up, and and inspirational shtuff like that. Because, let's face it, this is me we're talking about.

But for now, all I have to say is:



WOOOHOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!