It was recently brought to my attention that there is an appalling lack of Richelle Mead merchandise out there, which is a shame since the season of love is upon us, and nothing says romance like novels filled with fist-fights, the ambiguity of heaven and hell, and tragic lovers that I insist on tormenting.

My pal Michelle Rowen tried to remedy this by taking a product that actually exists...



...and turning it into this:



Sigh. If only it did exist. Still, I think we can all agree that Michelle has mad writing AND Photoshop skillz.

Product placement may be a ways off, but Michelle's brilliance inspired a new contest: Make Valentines About My Books.

The sky's pretty much the limit. Your valentines and cards can relate to any of my series. They can be funny. They can be sweet and serious. You can use your own art/photos. You can use pictures from my book covers. You can make generic valentines like the ones you give out in elementary school, or you can make valentines that are specifically from one character to another character. You can make your cards in Photoshop. You can cut them out of construction paper and scan them in. Seriously. It's up to you. Just don't put any R-rated images on them, ok?

I've made a quick example to get us started, but by no means think you have to make yours like this:



Like I said: creativity is yours. Let it run wild! The biggest rule to follow is to NOT post your images here on my LJ, or they'll be deleted. Post them somewhere else, and then include the link in one of your comments to this post. You may enter as many times as you like. All countries welcome. Contest ends at 11:59pm, February 14 - U.S. Pacific Time.

What can you win? Books, of course. There'll be four winners. My adult readers can score a Succubus Shadows ARC, Mark Henry's Happy Hour of the Damned, and maybe something else from my canon. Since I have no new YA stuff to offer, teen winners get an awesome assortment of other YA books by authors like Lili Saintcrow, Heather Brewer, and Michelle Rowen.

Enter soon! Have fun!

Hey, guys. As you can no doubt tell, we had kind of blog dry spell. For some reason, I had some nasty insomnia these last few days that resisted my sleep prescription. Sleep deprivation tends to make me grumpy and unproductive. Fortunately, we're back on track today and back to work!

The news today is that I have another date to add to the itinerary for my upcoming visit to the UK. It isn't on my website yet, but here's the info:

Waterstone's Harrods
Belgravia/Knightsbridge, London
12 noon, Februay 19

BUT, make sure you read this. This is technically a stock signing, not a full-fledged event with a reading and all that good stuff. Stock signings are usually where I just swing by a bookstore and sign whatever they have on hand to put back on their shelves. It's usually a quick, private event. But, we're opening this up to the public, so you guys can come on over and meet me while I'm hanging out and signing. The downside is you don't get to listen to me read or do a big Q&A. The bright side is it's much more casual, and you can ask me questions one-on-one and have a bit more time to chat with me. As always, you can bring books you own for me to sign, but if there's something you need, please support the store and buy it when you're there!

If you're not up-to-date on the rest of my UK itinerary, it's here on my website. So, if you live near any of my stops, I hope you'll come visit! Yours is a big country, and it's impossible for me to go everywhere, but the publishers at Puffin have done a good job in getting me around in such a short visit.

In other travel news, I've heard the preliminary schedule for the Spirit Bound tour, and there are some cool stops there. I'll probably be able to do an official announcement in another month or so. This tour is done by Penguin US, so...it'll all be in the US. For Australians asking if I'll be back: I won't be for Spirit Bound. Hopping between the US and Australia isn't an easy task! Otherwise, you'd all be coming to my American signings. :) But don't worry - Penguin Australia is always doing cool things and may work to get me back there another time. For those always asking me about their cities, please go check out this post about how tours are made and my lack of control.

Finally, speaking of Penguin Australia, the Vampire Academy Quote Open has gone onto Round 3. I got some questions about if Round 3 closes in November. Nope. They're just using the European date system. So, 11/2/10 = February 11, 2010 for us savage Americans. And actually, with the time change, it'll close February 10 for us. So get your votes in for this new round!

Just a few quick things that are on my mind today. First, I didn't offer much commentary on the new Succubus Blues cover from yesterday. Mostly I just wanted to get it up quickly for you guys! But I really love it. Believe it or not, that's actually almost identical to how I picture Georgina in her "everyday" form. (Though this Georgina has a bit more of a dangerous look in her eyes than my usual image!). That isn't to say I don't love all the other covers too. Every company, domestic and international, has done great things with her, and the beauty of a succubus is that she can look like anything!

Also: I forgot to add that this whole trade and then mass release system is with Georgina's American publisher only. I forget sometimes to specify since the U.S. stuff is my default. :) So, this cover won't be showing up in the UK or anything - you guys were already released straight to mass, with no trade or other forms.

Another thing to mention: don't forget to go weigh in at Penguin Australia's Quote Open. It's good times, and you can pick your favorite Vampire Academy quotes to see if they go ALL THE WAY. After some time zone conversions, I realize that voting will close in the next 24 hours or so (I always forget the Aussie dates are one day ahead of the U.S.). So cast your votes! You too, other countries.

And since it's the first Tuesday of the month, a bunch of my pals have new releases today:
Accidentally Demonic by Dakota Cassidy
Unknown by Rachel Caine
A Girl's Guide to Guns and Monsters, featuring Anton Strout
And lastly, Mark Henry's Happy Hour of the Damned, re-released in convenient mass market paperback form! Now you too can enjoy zombie smut at low, low prices.

In closing, lolcatz saw an SUV parked over at the KGB house yesterday on his way to work. I made no such visual confirmation, but stay tuned.

Coming tomorrow: more cool news.

As I'd hoped, I've got the cover for the mass market edition of Succubus Blues. They've done a total redesign (which I think is awesome), and it'll be out in August 2010.





For those worried their succubus books won't match, let me explain how it works. The succubus series is currently out in trade paperback--which are large paperbacks. The rest of the books that aren't out yet (#5 and #6) will continue to be released in trade paperback and still have the original style of art.

What you're seeing above is the beginning of the mass market editions for this series. Mass market is that small-sized paperback that's most common. The entire Georgina series will eventually be released in that form as well, and the mm's will have this new style of art. So, eventually over the next two years, all the Georgina books will exist in these two formats--and you can collect whichever editions you like to complete your matched sets. :)

And VA fans -- nope, no info on when VA #6's cover will come. Like I said, I don't hold out on you. I'll show it when I've got it!

Not a huge amount to report today. I keep meaning to write a compelling blog post with some writing insights and behind-the-scenes life on tour. Tonight's not going to be that night because I'm pretty tired and not really focused. It's been a sluggish weekend, and if you follow me on Facebook, you've probably heard me whining about a sprain in my foot/ankle that I got at the gym (and which is NOT gout, contrary to rumors being spread by Mark Henry).

For those wondering what the latest work progress is, I'm in the middle of Vampire Academy #6's first draft. As always, when a first draft is started, it's usually at least nine months (ironic, eh?) before we see that book on the shelves, which is why I'm always working one ahead of you. I'm hoping to have a confirmed title for VA6 very soon, though it may be a little while before the cover's ready. Succubus Blues is coming out in mass market (aka "the small books") this year and will have a new cover design, which I think I'll have up here next week. Don't worry--I never hold out on you guys. The instant I have titles or covers and get the go-ahead to post them, I do!

Speaking of our favorite succubus, the countdown is on for #5, Succubus Shadows, which comes out at the end of March/early April. A few contest winners and friends have read it and given it good reviews, which is always a relief. lolcatz just finished it and has declared it has "a lot of feelings and emotions" and is good for people who like the series. He likes the series too, but I think he was hoping for more ninjas or something (but I gotta save something for #6, right?). He's about to start Spirit Bound now that it's gone to production, so I'm curious about his review of that. Some of my publishers are reading it too, but I'm not sure I trust their reviews because I don't think they'd admit it if they didn't like it!

For those looking for your VA fix, let me direct you to Penguin Australia's Quote Open, which reminds me a little of March Madness--or, well, any competition that involves brackets. Check it out to understand what it's all about and vote for your favorite quotes. I admit, it was like walking down Memory Lane! Sometimes it's weird to realize I actually wrote those.

It appears I've been remiss in posting new international covers, so we're going to do a mess o' them today. Before we do, I have some housekeeping stuff and favors to ask.

First up: Teenreads.com is currently letting you vote for their Children's Choice Book Awards 2010 nominees. They have a suggested list, and sadly, the book I'm eligible for (Blood Promise) isn't on it! So, if you want to help make me a nominee, you can still vote for BP by going to the bottom of the page and writing in Blood Promise. Here's the link to vote. Thanks so much!

Second: my website is misbehaving lately...but only for me. So, if any of the pictures on my blog here don't load for you, I'd love it if you left a comment and said what browser you're using. You can also check http://richellemead.com and http://www.richellemead.com. Sometimes one loads for me, sometimes only the other does. If you aren't having problems, no need to comment here.

Okay, covers! Here we go:

The UK version of Succubus Shadows, Georgina #5:




The Bulgarian version of Frostbite. This isn't the final title, for those who know Bulgarian. It literally says 'Frostbite' but the meaning isn't quite the same as in English. The final title will translate as 'Scorching Cold.' That might seem weird to English speakers, but not for Bulgarians (or Russians who also use that title).




Here's the Japanese cover of Vampire Academy. And no, it's not Manga. That's just the cover style they went with. The book is actually a Japanese text translation. No pics inside.




The Italian version of Frostbite. I'm guessing this title isn't a direct translation either.




Vampire Academy in Portuguese (by the publisher in Portugal, not Brazil):




Following right on the tails of VA in Greek, we have the Greek edition of Frostbite:




And, Frostbite must be making the rounds in the world because here it is in Turkish:




Whew! That's a lot. I've got a few others that I can't remember if I've posted or not, so I'll do a little digging and find out. Many thanks to my international publishers for their hard work! Thanks also to Dan, Jenny, Eli, and the tons of others I'm probably forgetting (sorry!) who've passed these along.

Okay, after teasing UK fans a month or so ago, I'm very pleased to announce the dates and locations of my visit to your fair country in February. This tour is being sponsored by Puffin Books (aka Penguin UK), and I'm really grateful for their kindness in bringing me over. Penguin UK is Vampire Academy's publisher, but Georgina and Eugenie fans are welcome (and encouraged!) to come see me too.

I'm even going to use that crazy date format for you guys:

18th Feb: SOUTHAMPTON PUBLIC VAMPIRE PARTY AND SIGNING- 6pm
Waterstone’s Southampton Above Bar
This is open to the public. Tickets are free but spaces are limited. Anyone who wants to attend just needs to let a bookseller know by popping in or calling on 02380633130.

19th Feb: CHESHIRE VAMPIRE PARTY AND SIGNING - 6pm
Simpy Books, 228 Moss Lane, Bramhall, Cheshire SK7 1BD (Near Manchester)
6pm event. Tickets are £7 (this includes a book). Call 0161 439 1436 to book a ticket, places are limited.

20th Feb: Signing at ECLIPSE, the Twilight Convention, Birmingham
Signing at the VA stand from 11:30am – 12:30pm
The convention is ticketed, and I'm told tickets are selling out pretty quickly. You can buy them here

The con will also have all the usual fun stuff cons have: vampire panels, costumes, etc. The link above (or doing a web search) should provide more details about it all.

For the vampire parties, there is so much stuff going on, I don't even know where to start. They'll have my normal reading/Q&A/book signing format, but there'll also be other activities. You can have your face painted and use an awesome vampire name generator to get your vampire name. I'm also told there will be 'vampire entertainment,' so good times should ensue.

And that's the UK scoop. Whenever I post tour dates, a lot of people want to know why I can't visit them too. So, I figured I'd address a few things. When I visit places, it isn't because I just decided to buy a bunch of plane tickets and head on over! Man, that would be awesome, but I couldn't afford that. So, when I visit a place, it's arranged and paid for by the publisher who sells my books in that country.

I have a different publisher in every country. So, Penguin U.S. only sends me on tour in U.S. cities because that's where they sell my books. Penguin Australia brought me to Australia last year, just as Puffin is bringing me to the UK in February. So, it's completely up to a publisher to send me on tour. I'm sure they'd all love to, but it's not always possible! And some countries don't have publishers working with my books at all yet.

I hope that makes sense. I really do wish I had the opportunity to come meet all of my fans. You guys are great. I never know where a tour might take me next, but I’ll keep you all updated any time there are new developments. All my international publishers do amazing promotion for my books, whether it's touring or not. I'm really, really fortunate. If you've got access to a book published in your own country, then there's a book company there that's done a lot of work to make it happen!

And of course, my native publisher Penguin U.S. is amazing too. The U.S. is a big place, so to my American readers: hang in there. There are A LOT of cities to get to! :)

Speaking of books...it's time to work. Looking forward to seeing you UK readers in February!

You guys, I really need a hobby because I cannot believe I'm STILL writing about my neighbors. But here we go.

Tonight, while coming back from the gym, I drove past the KGB house and saw that the lights were on and the blinds were open. Now, the lights came on this weekend when the realtor lock appeared, but it wasn't until it was all dark out tonight that I realized you could see right into the house. I nearly drove off the road.

Parking in my own driveway, I was left with a dilemma. I really wanted to walk past the house and see what their living room looked like. But I'm not going to lie: the fact that I blog about my neighbors is creepy enough. Walking up, staring, and turning around takes it to a whole other level of stalker crazydom. Nonetheless, it was dark out and no one was around, so I decided to stroll past. Inside, I could see neutral furniture, and that was about it. To my disappointment, there was no Soviet flag on the wall. There's wasn't even a ushanka on the mantel.

At this point, I realized I couldn't bring myself to stop and turn back around. So, I kept walking down the sidewalk toward the mailboxes, figuring getting the mail would make it seem like I had a purpose for being out there. As I was walking back, the HOA president who lives near me arrived home. I like to think of him as Bob, though that's not his name. Bob apparently doesn't share my qualms about staring at someone's house because as soon as he parked his car, he got right out and headed over to examine the KGB place. After a few of moments of standing there, he turned back toward his own place. We passed on the street, and this conversation occurred.

Bob: Looks like you're getting new neighbors.
Me: I think it's being rented. The lights went on this weekend, and there's a real estate lock on the door.

(I decide Bob probably isn't interested in hearing about the deer statue's movement).

Bob: You know the story behind the house, right?
Me: What is it?

(I actually know most of it but figure it can't hurt to hear more. I have a blog to write, after all).

Bob: The guy who owns it used to live there but then had to move for work. He's still kept it, though.
Me: Ah.
Bob: His wife's a Russian beauty queen. She used to wash her car out there in a thong. All the guys in the neighborhood would find reasons to come out and work on their yards when that happened.

(This is not part of the story I know, and flashbacks of 1980s beer commercials start playing in my head).

Me: Huh.
Bob: Then they moved. House has been empty ever since.
Me: Well, except for last summer, of course.
Bob: Right. Those were his friends, I think. But I wrote a letter to the owner and got rid of them. Let's hope somebody nice moves in now.
Me: Let's hope.

As you can see, my role in this conversation wasn't all that big, but it didn't need to be. So, I guess all we do now is wait and see. Considering I live in the heart of Microsoft suburbia, I'm really not expecting much more drama. Maybe we could get some Navy SEALs, but don't get your hopes up. Probably in the end, this will all turn out to be a good thing because let's face it, guys: if I'm doing this at 33, God only knows what I'll be doing when I'm twice this age. I think it's best to get out now.

Well, I apologize for leaving you hanging about what happened to me after New York. I did indeed make it home to Seattle--my flight even got in an hour early! Now, for my first post since getting home, I was going to write a very poignant examination of life on tour and what goes into it. But then, something of great urgency came up:

My neighbors.

Yes, that's right. Just before leaving New York, I got a text from my husband saying: "There's activity at the KGB house." I would have alerted you guys immediately, but I had to gather intel. Here's the scoop. First up, the garage lights are on at the house...and there's a realtor lock on the door. Since there's no 'For Sale' sign, however, the lock most likely means the house is up for rent.

If you recall the story, the house is owned (and never lived in) by a wealthy Russian who let his friends--aka the KGB--hang out there. After the HOA kicked them out, it seems the owner is now seeking better-behaved tenants. Naturally, you can understand our interest in this. I mean, who can take the place of the KGB? I've been watching the house each time I'm out, but so far, we've seen no sign of the realtor or people viewing the house. I'm really curious to see who ends up with this hot tub party palace.

Fun fact: the KGB house has always had this very docile deer statue in the yard. No joke. When the lights and lock went on the house, the deer was moved to a more prominent position...but one that's really close to our yard. So, I'm trying to figure out if the realtor thought putting the deer more in the open would increase the house's appeal -or- if he or she is trying to make it look like we're the ones who think fake deer are cool.

One thing we're kind of bummed about is that we had to miss our annual HOA meeting recently. This is the first one since all the hot tub/BBQ insanity went down this summer, and I'm certain the KGB would have been a conversation topic. We maybe could have gotten some info only the president was privy to. Instead, we had a pretty fun dinner with friends (yeah Benihana, I'm looking at your) and missed out on the gossip and home-baked cookies that this kindly older woman always brings to the meetings. Fortunately(?), our unseasonably warm weather means I've had to start tending the garden already, and I often run into the HOA chief when I do. So maybe I can get some dirt from him. And of course, being outdoors means more chances to keep an eye on the house next door...

Reports to come.

Tonight wrapped up my mini fan tour, and wow, what a high note it was. I ventured outside of New York City and into the depths of Long Island, to a Borders in Westbury. I can't even begin to say what a wonderful event it was. The crowd was great, and the store's staff did an amazing job running everything. Thank you, one and all.

I'm pretty tired, so my commentary will be brief on these pics. Heather Osborn (from the Forks adventure) came along and live-Tweeted the event, so if you're on Twitter, you can scroll back through her feed to see her captions and cell phone pics of moment-by-moment action. She also transcribed (in as much as you can in 140 characters) my Q&A.

Anyway, like I said: we had a fantastic crowd.





Once I goaded people, there were tons of great questions, and it was one of those nights I wish we could have just kept chatting and chatting.





Just like at the other signings, we raffled off some VA shirts, and here are the lucky winners:





The shirts look good on too!





And in one of my more surprising gifts, I got some sweet Navy stuff from a reader named Laura, who just happens to be a Navy recruiter. Don't worry--she wasn't trying to recruit me! She said I could keep writing. Thanks for the goods, Laura--and the hard work you do.





And that was Long Island! This post might be brief, but like I said, this was really amazing. People often thank me for coming on tour, but it's the people at Penguin Books who do the hard work of organizing all of this and paying for it. I have the easy part--just show up! So, I want to offer many thanks to them and especially to my publicist, Casey McIntyre who shouldered so much of the work that went into this. She handles all the little things and is the person I call at 6:45am when my car to the airport doesn't show up. Thanks also to the Penguin media/film team (Lauren, Lisa, and Courtney) who stopped by yesterday to get some great footage for an upcoming video. It'll be great when it's finished.

Tomorrow I get to talk to my peeps at Kensington Books, who publish Georgina and Eugenie, so that'll be a lot of fun. After that, I'm off to the airport and back home to Seattle--something I'm REALLY looking forward to. I love my readers, but I love my home and husband too, and it's going to be nice to be back in a familiar setting and routine.

Thanks again, everyone! See you in Seattle!

After a brief moment of warmth in Miami, I flew up to the chilly (yet sunny) land of New York today. It was a rough morning. I'd gotten very little sleep and then had a slight delay in getting to the airport, so I was kind of run ragged by the time I boarded the plane. I was able to make up sleep on the flight and had nearly improved my mood until I had to wait an hour for my luggage at LaGuardia. That was not cool. Of course, in a world where we should look for silver linings, I should be glad that my luggage arrived at all. We (by which I mean me and the other remaining 50 people from my flight who still hadn't received luggage after 45 minutes) were originally told that there were no more bags from our plane. Then, just as we were about to storm the airline office, we heard there was "another cart" coming, and lo my suitcase finally showed up.

It was a good thing too because look what I had to dress up for: my signing at the Barnes and Noble (Tribeca) in Manhattan!





As I've mentioned, this was my first solo event in New York, which was cool because my publishing posse finally got to see what it is I do when I'm out on the road. Speaking of publishing, bonus points to anyone who can find my agent Jim McCarthy in this shot.





As always, there was lots of good stuff going on. I got asked some of the more philosophical questions I've ever been asked at a signing. I also got a surprise visit from Dan Ruffino who works for the Penguin Australia publishing team, so Australia--looks like you guys represented! Is this a challenge to Brazil from last night? Thanks also for those with notes and cards and to Jancsi for the gift. Additionally, I need to shout out to the parents who drove/navigated their teens tonight--you guys are the unsung heroes of my signings. Really, everyone who showed up was awesome.





And of course, what signing would be complete without some VA fashion?





I tell you, if not for these t-shirt quotes you guys bring in, I'd forget half the things I'd written. I totally forgot about the "You see something you like?" one. I'm pretty sure I didn't invent "Christian Mode," however. Though now I kind of wish I had.





Speaking of our pal Christian Ozera, here's some important news: I was alerted by some of my readers that this is Ivashkov Week. Next week is apparently Ozera Week. So, mark your calendars and take appropriate action. We apparently already missed Dimka Week. Someone had better come out with a VA calendar so I can keep track of this stuff.

Anyway, good times all and all! Thanks so much to those of you who trekked out to see me and to the fab staff at the store for making this such an awesome and well-run event. And like I said earlier in the post, this signing had a lot of my publishing team in attendance--the unseen people who help work on my books and who make sure they get off my computer and into stores. So, thank you to you guys too.

Tomorrow wraps up the fan tour with a stop in Long Island before I head back to Seattle, my husband, and my cats:

Tuesday, January 19 - 7pm - Long Island, NY
Borders Westbury
1260 Old Country Road
Westbury, NY 11590
(516) 683-8700

Hope to see you guys there! The rest of you I'll catch on the next tour.

I do, however, know that Miami is a heck of a lot warmer than New Orleans or my hometown of Seattle (and New York, where I'll be tomorrow). Miami is also chock-full of the humidity I grew up with in Michigan summers, which is eerily comforting. And weird, since it's January.

Tonight found me at one my most remarkable signing locations ever. A church.





If that's not enough proof, check out the congregation here.





I'm honored and grateful that Coral Gables Congregational Church allowed my signing to be held in their absolutely gorgeous building tonight. The event was run by Books and Books, but due to space limitations, we had everyone come here. It also helped that the pastor's daughter is a huge vampire fan. So thanks, Siana. I owe you one.

Being in a church is a lot of pressure. I've been doing a reading from Spirit Bound on this tour, which I always censor on the spot for spoilers and small children. Tonight, I just couldn't bring myself to say 'bitch' in the reading, so I substituted 'wench' and explained my reasoning to the audience. I also added that it was for the good of our souls, and really, it was at the moment I really should have shut up and kept reading.





Anyway. Last August in Detroit, I had some people with temporary molnija tattoos show up. This time, I had someone with a permanent one. It looks fantastic, and I hope she still thinks it's a good idea ten years from now.





I've got to say, for a crowd of this size (we counted over 200) everyone was really amazing and patient. I gave my dictator-esque camera instructions at the beginning, and everyone was so good about it! I almost felt bad. I was also gifted with some very cool things, which you guys really don't have to do, but which I'm grateful for.





Among those things...well, check it out:





This is Nathalia, visiting from Brazil. Here are some fun stats about my books: my biggest market outside the U.S. is Australia. Consequently, after Americans, Australians tend to be the most vocal on my social networking sites. But you know what? Brazilian fans are nipping at the Australian heels as far as internet presence goes. This is kind of crazy, considering the difference in sales numbers and the fact that only one VA book is out in Brazil. But you Brazilians...you guys are super enthusiastic, and I love you for it. (I love all my readers). So, I'm very happy that someone was able to represent for Brazil at one of my signings. Thanks so much!

In fact, we had a pretty international representation, with readers from Haiti and Venezuela too. And lest my own countrymen be forgotten, we had people who drove hours from different parts of the southeast U.S. to get here too. So thanks to everyone who made the trip and again to my hosts at Books and Books and CGC Church. This was an awesome night.

Tomorrow morning I fly off to New York City, which I daresay will be a bit colder. Still, I'm looking forward to seeing my publishing posse and having my first solo events in the Big Apple. Here's the schedule:

Monday, January 18 - 7pm - New York, NY
Barnes and Noble Tribeca
97 Warren St.
New York, NY 10007
(212) 587-5389

Tuesday, January 19 - 7pm - Long Island, NY
Borders Westbury
1260 Old Country Road
Westbury, NY 11590
(516) 683-8700

See you up north!

I realize that's not the most original blog title, but it was either that or an obscure quote from Suddenly Last Summer by Tennessee Williams. So. Yeah.

Day 2 in New Orleans found me spending the afternoon in my hotel room, reading proofs of Spirit Bound and resisting the urge to steal the adorable baby-sized maple syrup bottles off the table at breakfast. (I resisted, though. You just don't do that. Not in public). Meanwhile, the entire city was bracing itself for the big Saints game, so much so that when I did venture outside hours later to go buy Tylenol, I was the only person on the street not wearing black and gold. This, of course, identified me as an outsider, though I was ready with a quick response should anyone challenge me with "Who dat?" No one did.

Evening came, people went to the game, and I went to Octavia Books for what turned out to be a fantastic signing. Many thanks to Tom, Judith, and the rest of the bookstore gang, as well as those who didn't watch the game (and who possibly made their parents miss the game) to come see me.





This was my first signing since September, and at the end of the night, my voice was feeling it. This means Miami will get me hoarse tomorrow, but I'll have toughened up by the time I get to New York.





There were tons of great people at the event. Some drove in from places as far as Kansas City and Houston! oflindentrees and friends--who drove to my Houston signing from New Orleans last year--got to enjoy a much shorter drive this time. I got to talk to aspiring writers, like Tori and Regina (whose books you'll see in stores some day). Some folks, like Nancy here, came in stylish clothing.





Nancy was accompanied by Linda who, in addition to having VA wear, made me a bookmark that's so technologically advanced that I can't even describe it. It unfolds into reams of her favorite VA quotes and is pretty awesome.





Speaking of fashion, touring in the winter has made me add an addition to my wardrobe: tights. The rest of this trip will see me in plain black tights, but I could hardly wear those with a solid black dress. So, I got these lace ones for tonight, which you can just barely see here. My husband wasn't a fan, but I want it noted here (for him) that two of my readers came and complimented me on them.





And wouldn't you know it, just as the signing was wrapping up, the news came in that the Saints had won and totally dominated. This made everyone left in the store pretty happy, and I heard some new chant that was a variation on "who dat" that I couldn't quite follow. Congrats, New Orleans.

Afterwards, I went with the store staff and my media escort Ted to a place called Dick and Jenny's for dinner. They don't take reservations, but Judith says when she called and dropped my name, they said they'd give us a table. I don't know about this. I've only been recognized one other time, and that was at the licensing department. Since Tom and Judith were pretty well-known and loved at the restaurant (as well they should be), I think their name went farther than mine! Regardless, I'm grateful to T&J and the restaurant for such an awesome meal. I branched out after last night's timidity and ordered pecan-crusted drum fish, with southern greens on the side. I've never had drum fish, and we never did entirely find out what made my greens so delicious except that it was "possibly an animal product." I was told by others at the table that that's normal in New Orleans: you don't always know what you're eating, but it's usually good. And it was. That restaurant was fantastic.

Tomorrow I fly out to Miami, and I expect it to look exactly like the set of Burn Notice. Floridian readers can find me here:

Sunday, January 17 - 7pm - Miami, FL
Coral Gables Congregational Church
3010 De Soto Blvd.
Miami, FL
*Event is being run by Books and Books but is being held at the church because of space. The store will be there selling books, and questions should be directed to them: (305) 442-4408


Remember, there was a time change for this. It's 7pm, not 5pm. See you guys there, and thanks again, New Orleans!

Tonight I'm writing to you from beautiful New Orleans, aka The Big Easy. Today's one of those days where you can't figure out where the time went. My total air travel wasn't *that* long, but when you add in time changes, layovers, luggage retrieval, and getting to/from airports...well, there you are. One minute you're dragging yourself out of bed at 7am in Seattle...the next thing you know, it's midnight in a seedy New Orleans hotel room. Okay--that last part's not true because Penguin totally puts me up in nice hotels. But you get the idea.

Anyway, most of my travel was a happy Xanax haze. I flew from Seattle to Dallas next to a businessman pounding Bloody Mary's and then from Dallas to New Orleans next to a college guy who warned me that coming to town during the Saints' playoff game was a crazy idea. The best part of the night came when I checked into my hotel and found author Diana Rowland waiting for me in the lobby.

Diana picked out a pretty sweet dinner spot for us, and we discussed life, love, writing, and dieting while consuming martinis and bread pudding. My bluff as a cosmopolitan West Coaster was called when I turned down the house specialties of mussels and lobster ravioli in favor of chicken and tomato pasta, probably the most Midwestern thing on the menu. (Also a very delicious one). I did, however, try a mussel...after first cutting it into tiny, rice-sized pieces. It's really hard to do, so I should get some culinary points for that.

Diana also took me through the renowned Bourbon Street area, which was a bit more than I was prepared for. It was jam-packed with clubs, party-goers, beads, neon, and Bon Jovi music. It reminded me a lot of Las Vegas at its late-night, drunken peak, except you kind of feel like your odds of getting mugged here are about 75% higher. Fortunately, Diana taught me a few safety tips to survive in the Big Easy:

1. Don't walk down dark streets, and certainly don't stop on them to look for something in your purse unless you have a kickass friend to be your lookout.
2. Don't take your eyes off your purse ever, even in a nice restaurant.
3. If someone on the street shouts "Who dat?", then you should shout back: "Who dat!"

I don't quite follow that last one, but it saved us from a knife fight/dance-off in the French Quarter, so I'm not asking any questions. I'm also told that if someone says: "I bet I can tell you where you got your shoes!", you can respond with: "You got 'dem on your feet!" and either become leader of the pack or get a discount at Jimmy Choo.

For those in New Orleans not going to the Saints' game, you can find me here on Saturday:

5pm - January 16
Octavia Books
513 Octavia St.
New Orleans, LA 70115
(504) 899-7323

I'll read a Spirit Bound exceprt, do Q&A, sign books, and all that other stuff. Those of you going to the Saints' game, be sure and read Mark of the Demon by Diana Rowland while waiting in traffic (unless you're the driver).

See you guys tomorrow night!

Well, after falling behind in work this sick week, I'm up and at 'em. My symptoms stopped after a few days, and I felt great yesterday...for a little while. Then, I got a whole new set of stomach pains. I have since learned from my doctor that the nausea and headaches were some variant of stomach flu (and that maybe I was already sick going into Avatar). I got sick again yesterday because I felt so good that I just started eating like crazy--and not eating smart things. She said a lot of people do that because they don't eat much while they're sick, so they're starving when they feel better (which I was). But, apparently, the stomach is still sensitive and doesn't react well to being fed whole-grain Pop-Tarts and coffee. So, I've been eating bland foods since then, and the results have been amazing. That being said, I'm really tired of grits and crackers and could seriously tear into a cheeseburger right now. And I don't even eat red meat.

Honestly, I'm just grateful to have recovered before my trip. I fly out bright and early tomorrow morning to beautiful New Orleans and will get to spend the evening with fab author Diana Rowland. Then the gamble will be on to see if I think my stomach's recovered enough to try authentic N.O. food. I'm about 50/50 right now. The rest of you Louisiana folk can see me Saturday night at Octavia Books at 5pm. The details for that (and my Miami and New York signings the next few days) are right here.

As I head off to finish packing, I give you this: the Greek cover of Vampire Academy:





The pic was taken on a shelf, where the book was propped at an angle, so you're seeing other books on the sides (not some crazy border). Pretty cool. Thanks very much to Christina A who snapped this while on vacation.

Talk to you guys tomorrow from New Orleans! As always, Twitter and Facebook will have updates.

I saw Avatar on Sunday, and many people have heard me talking about how its crazy jungle-swinging, dragon-flying 3D IMAX action gave me motion sickness in the theatre. Well, after enduring the same type of nausea and headache for the last two days, I'm thinking that Avatar might not be to blame. It seems I may have actually caught a flu or stomach bug of sorts and simply went into the movie already sick. As someone who rarely catches anything (read previous arrogant posts about my refusal to get flu shots), this is quite a surprise for me.

It's also a damned inconvenience because when I'm run down like this, my work doesn't get done. And sadly, my job doesn't have sick days built into it when it comes to deadlines. I'm also hoping I'll be feeling better when I head off on the tour this week because airplanes + sick are not a good mix. Speaking of work and deadlines and all that, I wanted to take a minute and explain a bit of what I'm working on right now.

Someone was surprised to hear that I was working on VA6 since Spirit Bound isn't out yet. Yup. In publishing, authors are always working waaaaay ahead in a series. In very basic terms, it takes me about 3 months to write a first draft, 3-4 more months to work with my editors to fix and revise it to a final draft, and then another 3 months for my publisher to actually print the book, communicate with bookstores, and get it shipped to them so you can read it. And that's a fast schedule! It sometimes takes longer, if one of those stages gets held up. So, for SB to have its May release, we need to be proofing the final version right about...now. Which we are. Once that's done, it'll be shipped off to production, and then I move on to writing something else: in this case, VA6. It seems weird since 5 isn't out, but really, this is pretty normal for authors. This is also why there's so much time between book releases.

I noticed other people asking about why we're not hearing much about Eugenie's series. I've talked a lot about Georgina and VA lately because they have new releases this spring. Since Eugenie's next installment doesn't come out until early 2011, I'm not yet in that writing cycle. She's next on the schedule when I finish VA6, so you'll be hearing me talk more about Iron Crowned in a few more months. I mentioned this earlier, but she got pushed off to ease the stress in my schedule. I feel sad about that for those who are excited to read her next installment, but let's be realistic: me overworking and having a nervous breakdown would definitely slow down the schedule. But, the good news is that the Eugenie book after IC is going to come out fairly quickly, so hopefully that'll help soften the wait.

Okay, my mind is getting tired, so it's back to the couch for me to eagerly wait for American Idol. Oh, Paula. I'll miss you.

Before you get excited, let me state right out that the two subjects in the title of this are unrelated. My KGB neighbors are not coming to my Miami signing this Sunday.

However, the Miami signing this Sunday is at 7pm, NOT 5pm. There was an error in the schedule, and I apologize profusely for any inconvience this causes. If you live in Miami and were planning on going, pass the news onto your friends! The full (and corrected) schedule with times and places is up on my calendar page.

Meanwhile, for fans of my neighbors, we have an interesting development. As reported last time, the KGB house has remained empty since the false alarm a month ago. But, last night, while coming home, lolcatz and I noticed something odd. Parked in front of the neighbors on *the other side of our house* was this black Lincoln Town Car. It was parked in the wrong direction for that side of the street, but doing so allowed it to face toward our house and the KGB house. And you know what? There was a guy in the car, just sitting there. What was he doing? Surveillance? We heard that this house is being rented out. Is it possible we have the KGB on one side and the CIA monitoring them on the other? Stay tuned.

Hey, guys! I hope you've been having a great weekend. Mine's been work and play, which is always nice. I received Succubus Shadows ARCs in the mail and discovered I'm 20,000 words into VA #6 (which is currently untitled). Not bad.

I also wanted to note that I shut comments off of the last few posts because people were getting a little snippy at each other, and I hate to see discord around here! We're all pals, right? Also: the long posts analyzing the books were really great and interesting, but this probably isn't the place for it, even with spoilers marked. Over on my Facebook fan page, we've got a bunch of discussions going on in the forum area that are pretty long and in-depth. If you don't have a Facebook account yet...well, come on! Everybody's doing it. :) My Yahoo list usually has some good discussions going on too.

Alright, I'm off to join the world and go see Avatar in 3-D.

I think I'm exhausted from writing last night's chat, so this'll be a short post. Again--thanks so much to those who stopped by! I hope Penguin will let me do it again. We got our stats this morning, and they're pretty awesome. Over 800 people showed up for it and submitted 6300 comments and questions. Crazy, huh? And how many questions/comments got through to me in an hour? 250. Guess we've got 24 more hours of chat to go!

Anyway, here's your gift today: the Russian cover of Shadow Kiss. I'm not sure if that's what it's called in Russian, but it's still pretty cute. Nice looking Dimitri, too!





I probably could have saved people a lot of trouble if I'd made the molnija marks look like a bat! I'm told that for the Russian edition of Blood Promise, the publisher's having a contest, and the winner will be on the cover. Pretty cool! Thanks for passing on the news, Eleonora.

Just wanted to take a minute and thank everyone for coming by to chat tonight.

A lot of people were upset to not see their questions, but here's the deal. The chat room was FLOODED with questions, and I don't see them when they get submitted. All comments and questions go to a very hard-working moderator (imagine your monitor being filled with hundreds and hundreds of questions and greetings) who looks through them and then has a very short time to pick ones for me to answer. That's when I get to see them. It keeps everyone's screen from being spammed with things like "lol" or "OMG."

As for why some questions were chosen over others, well...like I said, I heard there were tons of people who showed up. (We'll have numbers tomorrow). So, there were too many questions to answer, simply because of time and things moving so fast. Another reason is that questions with spoilers weren't posted, per my request. So, if you wanted to know why someone died or something like that, the moderator wouldn't select the question.

So, again, thank you so much for coming by. For those of you who didn't get your questions answered, I'm sorry it didn't work out. I'm sure they were good ones! Hopefully we'll do another chat sometime.