ADDED: Please, guys. No spoilers. Lots of people haven't finished the book. Send your opinion to me or discuss on my Yahoo mailing list (see the contact section of richellemead.com)

Well, kind of. It's not technically 8/25 where I live, and in places where it is 8/25 in the US, you can't really go out and buy BP. But you know what I mean. And hey, in what, 9 more hours? You should be able to go get it at your local bookstore (or Target or Walmart). Or maybe it'll show up in the mail. Or maybe the copy you, ahem, got two weeks ago and have already read will just be prominently displayed on your shelf.

Regardless, thanks very much to everyone for their support! I hope you like Blood Promise, and as I work through Spirit Bound's first draft, I'm already excited for that. For now, though, I've got a lot of packing and planning to do to get ready for the quickly approaching tour on Wednesday. It's amazing what you need for 3.5 weeks, and things are getting pretty hectic around here.

Things are still pretty fun, though. I have two Seattle area signings to kick off release day, so if you're in the area, swing on by to say hi, get books signed, and get Richelle Mead pens and/or pencils:

8/25, 4pm--University Bookstore (UW Branch)
4326 University Way NE, Seattle, WA
Reading and signing (with Lili Saintcrow)

8/25, 7pm--Borders (Redmond Town Center)
6549 N.E. 74th Street, Redmond, WA 98052
Reading and signing

I've also got to add that some other author pals share my release day, but I don't have the full list handy. I'll let you know tomorrow. For now, it's off to bed for me to get ready for a big day.

Well, it looks like lolcatz's post went over pretty well! In fact, I secretly think some of you like him better than me. But I'm cool with that because I've pretty negligent with this blog lately--so much so, in fact, that I'm passing my duties yet again.

If you're on Twitter, fellow paranormal author and pal Michelle Rowen will be live-blogging over there as she reads Blood Promise today. She promises no spoilers, so it may be a lot of "OMG! I can't believe Rose just did that in Chapter 3!" But, if you're still waiting patiently for Tuesday, go follow @michellerowen on Twitter for what I'm sure will be an amusing preview. If you don't want to know anything whatsoever, stay away on Twitter. :)

Me? I'm off to University Bookstore to sign all the BP mail orders that are going out next week. Expect pictures.

So, things are getting a little crazy around here as the official release date for Blood Promise looms closer. After much moping, I now have Australian copies and one US copy of the book in my hands. lolcatz and I frequently have a saying when we're outside and notice my garden: "That's a good looking flower bed." (And it is the most awesome one in the neighborhood, if I do say so myself). That expression has now been transferred inside whenever we see Blood Promise lying around: "That's a good looking book." And it is. Aside from being my first hardcover, it's also just...massive. I look at it, and it seems like it must be a book that someone else wrote, not me.

My life right now seems to be divided up between working on Spirit Bound, doing promo for Blood Promise, and getting ready for the tour. In that order. The building stress and craziness is affecting SB's progress, but it's plugging along, one chapter at a time, and I'm now in the last portion. That always goes (relatively) fast. Promo is all set in the swag department, and I've also been doing a lot of phone and email interviews, which is pretty cool. I've had some "big" publications interview me, as well as my good ol' hometown newspaper, the Kalamazoo Gazette. And as for the tour? Well, that's the part I'm lacking in. I've done no assessment on what I'm wearing or how to pack for 25 days. So far, the only thing I know for sure is that I'm doing laundry at Stacia Kane's house when I'm in Atlanta.

And like all authors with impending releases, I'm watching Amazon and Barnes & Noble sales ranks obsessively.

In closing, I have one of my shoddily made polls for people who live in Seattle (or the Northwest since I know some of you Portland folks are driving up). My pals at University Bookstore are trying to figure out how many people are coming to my release day signing on August 25. It's at 4pm, which is always a mysterious time.

So, here's a little poll to see if people are going to that one or the one in Redmond, which is that same day at 7pm. I did consider having a poll option for people who aren't going to anything, just so you could feel involved and get to click a button. I decided not to because the results would just look sad and askew since the majority of you don't actually live in Seattle.

Here we go:

Poll #1444469 Blood Promise Release Day Signings!
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: None, participants: 23

If you're attending a Seattle area signing on 8/25, which one are you going to?

And oh, hey! Speaking of polls: many thanks to all of you who voted for Blood Promise at Bitten By Books. It won handily, and I really appreciate your support.

Oh, I thought of something else. You may notice comments are turned off here. It's a long story, but they'll be off for a few more days and then you guys can weigh in again. There's always Facebook and Twitter if you've got something to share! :)

**NOTE: Website is back up, so I deleted the people who'd posted the text in the comments. Thanks! Hopefully the site is stable now after that initial rush! Sorry to all of you who got errors when it crashed. All links are working now.**

So, Vampire Academy sold publishing rights in Serbia, the Netherlands, and Japan this week. With over a dozen other countries on its resume, I realize there's a global following...but I don't think the seriousness of it ever really sunk in until the Time Zone Frenzy struck on Facebook today! I knew Australians would have a 7/25 vs. 7/26 issue for the Blood Promise excerpt, but man, I didn't expect the anxiety that me posting in Pacific Time would cause for readers in other countries--and even in my own! But, I live in Pacific Time, so that's the time we have to go by.

And that time is now.

I give you: Chapter 1 of Blood Promise! It goes without saying, there are spoilers.

Remember: signed copies of Blood Promise can be ordered from University Bookstore. I believe they'll ship out on August 24.

Finally, feel free to let me know in the comments what you think of the chapter! Again, it'll be spoilertastic, so don't read them if you aren't up to date on the series.

Hope you guys like the excerpt!

Okay, it's time to ensure that the #1 question I get in email returns to: "Who's on the covers?" So, here it is: the description for Blood Promise. Before I post this, I cannot emphasize enough how much of a spoiler this is. No joke, you guys. This gives away the ending to Shadow Kiss. If you don't want to to know the ending to that book, DO NOT read the description below. There have been a lot of traumatized people who found out the SK ending accidentally. You probably shouldn't read the comments to this post either.

Okay, warnings aside, click the link below to read about BP. (Or, if you're getting this via RSS, it's probably right there in front of you:

( Spoiler-tastic description of Blood Promise... )

It's funny because I don't actually write these descriptions, so it's interesting to see the book through other people's eyes. It lets me step back a little and think, "Huh...this actually sounds kind of good." I hope it sounds good to you guys too.

I get a lot of questions every day about assorted issues with Blood Promise. I sound like a broken record, but I really can't emphasize enough how much I recommend my FAQ page. Answers really will be faster over there, and it has some of my post popular questions: Is there going to be a movie? When will the first chapter be up? Can you help with my school project? Etc.

The other day, though, I got a question I haven't addressed much, so I thought I'd bring it up today. When a new book listing goes up, Amazon lists how many pages it has. I often get people who are sad to see a low number for the VA books. Well, the truth is, Amazon doesn't usually know the number. How can they when I'm actually still working on the book? Remember, with deadlines for three series, I'm usually working on these right up until the last minute. I won't know how many pages are in it until it's totally finished and formatted--which is usually a few months before release. Amazon puts entries up long before that. So how do they come up with a number? They often make a guess based on previous books. The first book was a little under 300 pages, so when Frostbite and Shadow Kiss went up, Amazon initially just listed the same number as VA had. Clearly, both books eventually clocked in with much higher numbers.

Likewise, Amazon has had an inaccurate number for Blood Promise. As I've said, it's still being polished and has to go through its processing. Recently, Amazon's page count changed, and it's currently showing 480 pages, which is much closer to what the actual number is. I don't think it'll break 500, but it's definitely going to be in the high 400s. So, I thought that'd make some of you happy. :)

Okay, you guys. I can't leave the country this weekend without giving you something.

After so much patience and anticipation, I present the Blood Promise cover, as well as the redesign for the rest of the series.





There's nothing more I can really say. The awesomeness speaks for itself. :)

It's Tuesday, which is often new release day for authors. Today is no exception, and actually two of my friends have new books out on the shelves--both of whom are rare men in the world of urban fantasy:




If you've read books by Mark Henry or Mario Acevedo before, then you know what you're in for. Both Mark and Mario are the kind of guys who aren't afraid to "go there." Mark's new release, Road Trip of the Living Dead continues the twisted adventures of zombie debutante (or rather, deadutante) Amanda Feral in my own Seattle. Jailbait Zombie tells of more sleuthing by dry-humored vampire detective Felix Gomez--who, ironically, deals with the living dead this time. Mark and Mario are pals of mine, so if you're looking for something fun, check them out.

Over in my neck of the woods, I'm doing double-duty between Blood Promise and Thorn Queen. BP is with my editor right now for revisions, which means I get some alone time with Eugenie. I'm getting a surge of questions about BP, which is a long ways from being officially done--which is why it's simply impossible for it to come out any sooner. We've got at least another month or so before the manuscript is perfect, and then it takes time for it to actually get put on paper and into book form. Then, it actually has to be distributed out to stores so that you can get it. And no, no new updates on the cover. Publishing's a team effort, and everyone has a role to play. Covers aren't mine, so we'll have to be patient while the art department makes it awesome. I saw a preliminary, and it's going to be great when the final one comes out. The book's back cover description can't go up until the book is finalized--just in case something changes! For the same reason, the first chapter won't go up until a month before release.

So, I hope that answers some of the questions I've been getting here and on Facebook. It's disappointing news for some of you, I know, but like I said, publishing is a complex process! I'll deliver the news as it comes in.

Also for those who have asked: the boyfriend's passport showed up. :)

Hey, guys! Man, I have got to start picking up the pace with this blog and get back to my daily posting. But before I get to today's ramblings, I have to clarify a couple of things from the last post. Sad to say: there were no secret messages of any kind in it. It really was just a commentary on movies and not any reflection on my own life. (Work-life balance is hanging in there...knock on wood). And most disappointingly: there were no Blood Promise clues in there either. Sorry for the confusion! My bold font was just because I consider the hero's beloved being used against him as one of the most common superhero plots...so, I don't know. I felt it had to be bolded. Sorry again!

Meanwhile...wow! A new year. 2008 was a red-letter year for me. There were lots of life-changing events, and all in all, it was a great year. I feel incredibly lucky for all the amazing things that have happened and for having the kind of support I do from so many awesome people. 2009 has a lot of great plans in store, so here's hoping it's just as good--if not better. I hope you guys have awesome years in store too. Got any exciting plans?

For now, my first part of 2009 is going to be a little hectic. Counting today, I have exactly 11 days to finish the first draft of Blood Promise. That's 35k words, which writers--whose lives revolve around word count--will recognize as a bit steep. I think I've got to slam through it and average 6k words a day--which is also steep, particularly since my hand injuries are acting up. And remember: this is just the first draft. BP is a long way from being 'finished.' It's got a few more drafts to go.

I hate for my blog to continually be about Blood Promise updates, but since I keep getting asked a few questions over and over, I figured I'd answer them here for you:

1. Alas, I'm afraid there's no way in this universe that BP can come out any sooner. Sorry! It's physically impossible for me, and the book company needs a set amount of time to edit the manuscript, do the cover, print, and do a few other tasks. So, release time is still in July (date unknown), no matter what other sources are saying.

2. The excerpt will go up one month before release day, just like before. And nope--no exceptions to this either. :)

3. I'll post the description for it on my website in another month or so. The manuscripts in the VA series undergo radical changes--you would never recognize the first draft of Frostbite. So, I can't put up the description of BP until I feel confident the book will stay that way.

4. I think the cover will be ready sometime this month, but I can't say for sure. It's out of my control.

5. While details in the middle change, the endings of each book (and the series) were planned out the first day I sat down and wrote Vampire Academy. So, I don't know whether you'll love or hate the ending...but it's set in stone.

6. Someday I'll draw and post the molnija marks. Someday.

I hope these are helpful (and not too depressing) for those who have been wondering. For movie, cover, and other questions, my FAQ will address those. For now, I'm off to work. Enjoy the first day of your new year!