Okay, after a lot of deliberation, I'm excited to announce the winners of the 'Lolcat My Books' wedding contest. This has to be one of the hardest decisions I've made--and is part of the reason contests are so stressful for me! It's so difficult choosing a winner, especially when there's so many good candidates. And really, all the entries were amazing. I can't thank you guys enough for working so hard on these. The winners were chosen for all sorts of criteria, including things like the images, how the scenes were translated to pics, how well "lolspeak" was used, and assorted creative things. Too many reasons to list, including which ones just made me laugh out loud.

Anyway, I decided to name THREE runners-up and then one overall winner. Here are the three runners-up, who can choose a book from my backlist. Click on the pictures if you want to see the winners' entire entries.


Runner-up: forevermore01's rendition of Thorn Queen, which inexplicably and wonderfully managed to convey astonishing amounts of lol plot exposition per panel.





Runner-up: danztheniteaway's version of Succubus Heat, which did a really fantastic job of seamlessly translating all the key points to lolspeak and images.





Runner-up: epicureanangel's Blood Promise. The last panel of this one (which I can't show here because of spoilers) sent me into hysterics while the husband and I were in Napa.






And lastly, the grand prize goes to x_thud_x's epic telling of Succubus Dreams. I think this picture probably could have won it alone.





Congratulations to the winners, and thank you again to all who entered! I seriously enjoyed them all and revisited many of them over and over. Winners can email me at richelle@richellemead.com to find out your prize choices. Runners-up get one book of choice, and the overall winner gets three + an augmented VA. Thanks again, everybody!

When you guys don't see me online for a while, it's usually because I'm swamped with some deadline, and this last week has been no exception. Added onto all of that is that I'm going to be getting married soon. Like, within the next few days. So, a lot of those last minute details have been keeping me busy and adding onto all the other stress this week! Craziness.

I fly out of town tomorrow to an undisclosed location for my wedding and will do my best to send Twitter and Facebook updates. While I'm out of town, I have come up with a very tough challenge for some of you to work on. It was inspired by this: the lolcats version of New Moon. If you're a fan of Twilight and lolcats (by which I mean the actual internet cats, not my fiance's user name), then you can appreciate the skill that went into that.

So here's what I want. I want someone to make a lolcats version of one of my books. If you're not familiar with lolcats culture, lingo, and all that, this may be something you want to avoid. But if you think you've got what it takes to hit the high points of one of my novels, then you can win some exciting prizes when I get back from my wedding adventures.

Here are the rules:
1. You may pick any of my books you like
2. Entry must contain no more than 25 pictures (but can certainly have less)
3. Obeying picture copyright laws is your responsibility
4. Post your entry on your own website or blog and then list the link here in my comments. DO NOT post your pictures here, or your entry will be deleted.
5. lolcats generally don't get into too much profanity, but if in doubt, mark your link with a NSFW when you post it here
6. Open to the U.S. and beyond

Again, check out the New Moon link above to get a feel for the style, and then get cracking with Adobe Photoshop or whatever your program of choice is. If you're a total lolcats newb, I recommend checking out this site for examples and lolcat lingo.

Contest ends 12/8/09 at 11:59pm Pacific time. The winner gets an "augmented reality" hardcover edition of VA, plus three other books of choice from my backlist (which now includes the Immortal anthology and an ARC of Succubus Shadows).

Runner-up can choose between a hardcover VA or a Succubus Shadows ARC.

Have at it, and have fun!

No coherent theme today, just a few updates. I realized that my Canadian adventure is coming up soon, so I thought I'd send out another reminder. I'm going to be a panelist at the Surrey International Writers Conference next weekend, and since I'll be in the Vancouver/Surrey, BC area, there are a couple of signings tacked on to the trip. Dates and times are here. If you're one of my neighbors to the north, I hope you'll come see me.

The other news is that I did indeed win through phase 2 of Bitten By Books' Favorite Paranormal Author contest. Thanks again for your support! BBB is doing a total of 4 (I think) rounds with different authors up for vote each time, and then the fifth round will take the winners of the previous rounds and put them up for an ultimate showdown. Two authors win each week. This week, a couple of friends of mine are up on the list: the awesome Michelle Rowen and Dakota Cassidy. Now, I don't like to tell people who to vote for, and if you've got a different favorite author up there this week, then I say: Hey! Vote for them. But, if you're undecided or don't know anyone, then I'll put in a plea here to go vote for Michelle and Dakota. You can vote for two authors at once, so that's pretty handy. And just to sweeten things up, I'll host a contest with hot prizes in honor of them if both Michelle and Dakota win through this round. Sure, that means we'd all be facing off in round 5, but that's a problem for later. So, regardless of your choice, get out there and vote!

Oh, and one more quick thing about the Immortal anthology mentioned in the last post. Immortal was released over a year ago, with a different cover (a flower). It didn't have very much exposure, which is why it's now being released again with a hot new cover and being put in a lot more stores. So, if you bought the old one, know that the stories are identical with one exception: a story by the lovely Rachel Vincent has been added to the new addition. I hope this helps with some of the questions that have been coming up.

Okay, back to work for this girl.

Sorry for going off the grid this week. I've found I'm staying saner by keeping a low profile. Without me even realizing it, my stress meter dialed up into the red zone recently, and now I feel like I'm just barely staying afloat with all the tasks I have to do before Blood Promise's release and tour! It's all pretty exciting, but it's also funny because I know some of you are wishing the days would speed up. Me? I could use some extra time!

So, I have no coherent post today, just a miscellaneous string of updates. First up, after a few weeks off, I'm back on one of Bitten By Books' weekly polls. This time, it's for August's most anticipated book release, and Blood Promise is a nominee. It's got a handy lead so far (knock on wood), and if you want to lend further support, you can cast your vote here.

And now, news from around the world...

Americans: your tour dates are holding steady over here. Make sure you read the 'PLEASE READ' section there for info about pictures and how many books I'll sign. For those who've done mail pre-orders of Blood Promise from University Bookstore, thanks! I'm going in to sign and personalize them next week (over a hundred orders - guess what I'll be doing all day?), and then I believe they'll ship out on 8/24. Locals: I'll also have a proper public reading and signing at U Bookstore on 8/25, as well as another at the Redmond Borders. All dates are on the calendar page linked above.

Australians: your tour scheduled is finalized here as well. For you guys, note that bookings are highly recommended, as seats are quickly disappearing for these events. One event has already sold out, but everything else still has availability (updates are at the calendar link). Also, remember to enter the Dolly Roving Reporter Contest--especially if you don't live in the cities I'm visiting. I hear the entries they've received so far are pretty amazing, so make sure you submit your entry to come be my personal reporter!

Everyone else: I'm getting a lot of questions about when Blood Promise will show up in other countries. The short answer: I don't know. A key part of this is whether there's a book company in your country that's actually publishing the VA series there vs. if the series is coming in as an import. While a lot of countries have bought publishing rights to the series, the only ones actually releasing titles right now are: Australia, France, Germany, Sweden, Spain, Turkey, and Brazil. To my knowledge, the only one of those countries that's up to date with having all three books out and that will also have BP out with the Americans is Australia. That means everyone else is relying on American copies being imported via specialty stores or mail order--and again, that's just not something I know about. Sorry!

And that's about all I've got for you. I'll try to keep updates coming here when I get in some time, and if you follow me on Twitter and Facebook, I've done a reasonably good job at posting there recently. More news'll come as I get it, and thank to all of you who have been so wonderful at lending your support recently to me, Thorn Queen, and Blood Promise. You guys rock.

One question I sometimes get asked, along with favorites like "Are you going to make a movie?" and "Who's on the covers?" (please, please see my FAQ for those), is: "Are you ever going to write Vampire Academy from Dimitri's point of view?" The answer, I'm afraid, is a very solid no. A lot of people mention it because that was originally Stephenie Meyer's intent (to write from Edward's POV, that is, not Dimitri's!) until certain circumstances occurred. It was an idea she liked and one that worked really well for her style, but it's not so much something I'm into. Dimitri's POV would be interesting, but as a writer, I'm more excited about going forward with new stories instead of retelling the previous ones--even if it'd be a different spin.

That being said, perhaps this conversation that my boyfriend and I had while he was reading some of my writing last night will give hope to some of you:

Him: You kind of glossed over the fighting in this section.
Me: I know. But there are a lot of other fights in there. If I describe all of them in detail, it'd take up half the book.
Him: I kind of wanted to hear about it. It sounds interesting, and then suddenly, it's over.
Me: For every extra sentence I spend describing that fight, there are readers wondering why I haven't gotten to Dimitri yet. I can't do that to them.
Him: I think I'm going to write a guys' version of the Vampire Academy books.
Me: Like from a guy's point of view?
Him: No, written in a way that guys will like more. There'll be a whole bunch of fights and explosions. Maybe there'll be like one sentence where Rose and Dimitri kiss. Then it'll be more fights and vampires biting people. And another explosion.
Me: Not so much in the way of feelings and romance, huh?
Him: Not so much. I'll probably replace those parts with some blood splatter and bones snapping.
Me: Huh. There just might be a guy market for that.

So, it looks like lolcatz now has a side project to start working on. :) And Aussie readers, you've got a project. Dolly magazine and Penguin Australia have opened their Dolly Roving Reporter contest where you and a friend can be flown to Sydney to interview me and go to the After Party. Get your cameras out and film an audition for YouTube! Contest details are here.

First up, let's address a serious question that I was asked recently. With the time change, I'm afraid Australians will not be reading the first chapter of Blood Promise until July 26. There's nothing to be done for it. I live in the U.S.; so does my website. Of course, let's look at this logically. As I write this, it's July 20 in the U.S. Five days until the chapter. In Australia, it's July 21. Five days. It all works out the same! It goes up midnight Pacific time, so you guys will have to calculate the time change because that's too much math for me.

If you're still sad about that, this should cheer my down under friends up. Penguin Australia, who brings you Vampire Academy, has some pretty amazing things going on for you guys. While the exact itinerary of my September tour is still being planned, here's one thing I can announce. On September 18, 6-9pm, there will be a "Vampire Academy Tour After Party." It'll be at St. Andrew's in Sydney and feature everything you expect from a party, like a DJ and food. Guests will also get bags of books and other goodies and have the chance for photos, signings, etc. Oh, and I'll read a (small) excerpt of Spirit Bound, in all its rough draft glory. This is a ticketed event ($20 AUS) and tickets go on sale July 24 (your time) at this website, which also gives more details about the event.

Next up is a contest, which is good news for those who don't live in the cities I'm visiting. Penguin Aus is having a contest with Dolly magazine (which I hear is pretty awesome down there), in which you, a friend, and your parent/guardian (if you're under 18) will be flown to Sydney to interview me and attend the After Party. What do you have to do for this? You have to film an audition video for YouTube that shows why you should be my reporter for the day. Entries will be accepted starting August 1, so get filming! The official rules and how to submit the video are here.

Pretty sweet? If my American readers now feel neglected, remember that Penguin US (the publisher who brings you Vampire Academy in the states) is offering you a contest here for money and signed books. Thank my publishers, everyone. For they are good to you. And to me.

I'm not going to put much of a blog entry here, seeing as I'm a guest blogger over at Bitten By Books today. I've answered over 100 questions so far on, well...everything. So check it out if you want a whole lot o' Richelle and ask your own questions! Cast your vote for Georgina in the best heroine poll on the side while you're at it (she's in second so far), though there are other good ones to choose from too. Plus, BBB visitors today can win a full set of Georgina books. Yay!

Man, back to the blog...

Good news. The ten winners for the Q&A contest were randomly selected yesterday, so I'll notify them soon and get to work on answering those questions! In the meantime, I have some exciting news about a couple of contests that are open to Australian residents only. These contests are being sponsored by my awesome publishers down under, Penguin Australia, so for the rest of you not at the bottom of the southern hemisphere: don't come after me for not being part of it! :)

Here's the scoop, Australian readers. Contest #1: Be the first person in Australia to win an early copy of Blood Promise! To enter, you need to email vampireacademy@au.penguingroup.com and tell them in 25 words or less (pretty short - so be concise!) why you think you should be the winner. This contest runs through June 29 at 4pm (your time).

The second contest is to win a copy of a different VA book. Penguin Australia wants to re-read one of the others in the series as a group and have a discussion a la book club style. The book that'll be re-read will be chosen by votes. So again, cast your vote to vampireacademy@au.penguingroup.com. The book that gets the most votes will be the winner. As a special bonus, the first 50 people to vote will win a copy of that book. This contest runs through June 20.

So, Australian friends, get in on these contests! You should also check out the official rules on Penguin Australia's website to make sure I have them right. And again, for those who missed the announcement, the Australian release is August 26. With the time change, that's August 25--the same day as the United States. For other parts of the world, I don't know your release. Sorry! I only know what international publishers communicate to me.

So good luck! And to my Q&A winners, I'll be in touch soon.

ADDED CONTEST NOTE: For real, read the directions. Subject line. Gmail. :)

Housekeeping. Xbox users and trivia buffs: don't forget that the debut of 1 vs 100 is tonight! And on a random note--there seem to be vicious rumors that the Australian release of Blood Promise is a month later than the US one. Nope. They're the same.

Okay, as promised: a contest! And an easy one. Here's the deal. Some of you may have noticed that I'm not always, um, quick on answers to questions I get here, on Facebook, in my email, etc. It's a time thing, and I do apologize. But this contest is a chance to finally get me to answer your questions and let you win fabulous prizes at the same time.

To enter, you'll send me an email with a question about whatever--the books, writing, etc. When the contest closes, I'll use a random number generator to pick 10 winners. I'll post the answers to your questions here on LJ and also send you some goodies. An FYI about the questions. I'm not going to answer things that give away huge spoilers, so don't use up your question on things like, "Is there a happy ending?" Also, despite my pleading, people often ask things posted on my FAQ. So, please check that out! Don't waste your question with one that's already out there! Ask something good. :)

And here's the important part. Pay attention or risk disqualification! Email your entry to my gmail address: irishdream@gmail.com. In the subject line, put these words EXACTLY:

June Question Contest

Put nothing more and nothing less. Those words ensure you go straight to my contest folder, so that my inbox and LJ don't get flooded. Emails w/o that subject line will go elsewhere and not be counted. Questions posted in LJ will not be counted. Sorry to sound so fierce! My inbox is already pretty crazy.

Make sense? So, send email with your questions. One email per person only. You can ask multiple questions in your email, but I'll only answer one if you win - so again, choose wisely! This contest will run through this Friday (June 5) until 11:59pm Pacific time. Winners will be announced next week. Good luck!

Thank you very much to everyone who voted in the "Where are you?" survey from a couple days ago. Some of you probably noticed that I turned off comments part-way through. Sorry about this! They were muddling the results a little bit because people would vote in the poll and then put in good sales pitches down in the comments. :) Made it hard to do a tally. For those without LJ accounts, I apologize, and anonymous comments won't officially be counted in the results. I will scan them, though, and remember this isn't a contest. The city with the most votes isn't going to be a guaranteed tour stop or anything. It's mostly a data-collecting exercise to give us future ideas, and again, thanks so much for weighing in! Thanks also to those who voted in the Bitten By Books series poll. I tried hard not to advertise that one after winning the last two...but well, you guys came through again and crowned Georgina winner. Thanks so much!

lolcatz claims he's going to make sense of the 374 poll entries I got. Yikes! And speaking of my long-suffering boyfriend, I now have to put in a plug for him. Some of you know he works for Xbox, and on Monday night, the project he's been working on is finally being released. It's essentially an Xbox game show that actually runs live. It's 1 vs 100, based on the trivia TV show of the same name (though I never saw it when it was on). I won't go into the rules of the game, but when you log on, there are 101 contestant slots that you might be sorted into. There's a live host (really - I've been to the studio and seen him do his thing!) who does commentary along the way, and you can actually win prizes. Even if you aren't in the 101, you'll still be sorted into a group that answers questions along the way and can influence the contestants.

Anyway, that's the layman's version. If you want to see the rules and the trailer, go here. It starts at 7:30pm Pacific time aka 10:30pm Eastern time--the woes of a live show being run by people on the west coast. You have to have an Xbox Gold account to play, which will make sense to those who have them. You can join in to get a spot around 7:25. "Primetime" will be one of the options in your menu. Go there, and you'll find the game. It'll be good fun, and I'll be playing along (but I'm keeping my user name secret). They expect thousands and thousands of people, and technically Monday is a Beta testing (so no prizes until the 'real' game is running - also means it's only open to the U.S. and Canada). Beta status also means it might implode. I don't think it will. And if you practice up in the Beta, you'll be ready for when the prize episodes start in the future. So go, go and check it out, Xbox gamers! Maybe you'll do better on metric system questions than I did.

And that concludes my Xbox pitch--something I never, ever thought a non-video gamer like me would be doing! But hey, it's how lolcatz gets his paycheck, and how else is he going to buy me fabulous presents? Tomorrow also kicks off my new contest around here, so it's going to be an action-packed Monday.

Hey, guys! In what has to be a new record for me, I've picked a winner for the pen contest. Let me say first of all that there were tons of great entries, and I really want to thank everyone who racked their brains for ideas. Since there can be only one (for this contest, at least), I'm happy to announce it's colleenstl with: Pocket stake, for emergency use only. Congrats! The fun thing with this one is that I'm actually eyeing a set of silver pens that would be perfect "stakes." I'll also probably order a different type of pen too with some all-purpose Richelle Mead message on it. Contact me, lucky winner, and we'll discuss prize options.

For the rest of you, fear not: the "easy" contest I promised will kick off next week. I was going to do it this week, but I've got another poll tomorrow that I think some of you will really be excited about. As for this last poll, I've been infinitely entertained by the results. Someone was worried that the results were skewed toward Vampire Academy, but don't worry: I'm well aware of the sales numbers and know that each series has different-sized groups of followers--and the numbers here are pretty proportional to what I expected per series. As I look at the results, I'm mostly comparing it in three sets (Georgina, Rose, and Eugenie) and seeing where people's opinions lie with each heroine. The sad thing is that since each couple has its own group of fans...well, you know, someone's going to be disappointed, one way or another. The girls can't end up with all the guys!

Today I was summoned to University Bookstore again to sign more orders. I'm amazed at how many of you are taking us up on that! I'm also recognizing names from around here and Facebook as I personalize them, which is cool. So, if you're having trouble finding Succubus Heat locally (and no, I don't get why some chains all have different release dates that contradict their websites - it's crazy), remember that you can order any of my books from U Bookstore, and I'll sign them for you. Oh, and to address a recurring question lately: I have no say or knowledge of Kindle, ebook, or audio editions of my books. They just kind of happen. Sorry I can't help you out!

Finally, good news for some of you. Amazon is now listing the fifth Vampire Academy book for pre-order. And like last time, it's up there before it has a title. Also like last time, it lists a page count for something that isn't even written yet! But if you're a pre-orderer, there it is. It lists a couple dates (depending on how you view it), but here's what I've been told: April 20, 2010. Mark your calendars.

Finally--for real--let me ask something I asked before. Are people still using pencils? If so, are they the old-fashioned kind that need to be sharpened or just the mechanical kind? Or both? And another weird question for my teen readers: how many of you have sets of keys? I'm debating someone about whether teens only start carrying sets of keys when they can drive or if younger teens still have house keys.

Happy Memorial Day to my American readers! Happy Monday to the rest of you, and Tuesday for folks down under. Today's been a pretty leisurely day for me. lolcatz has had a 3-day weekend because of the holiday, so it's always tons of fun to see how we get along when we're around the house for this long.

As many of you know, tomorrow is Succubus Heat's official release day. Emphasis on the official part. A lot of you have been getting it early and have been asking me about how that works. I've explained it before, but here's a recap one more time. Books have "soft" or "hard" release dates. Soft dates mean a bookstore can sell the books as soon as they get the copies in. Hard releases can't be sold a minute before release day--and bookstores get in big trouble if they do. The succubus books have soft releases, which is why they've been out early.

That being said, I hope all you Georgina fans will catch up on her latest adventures and let me know what you think!

In other news, I had to redraw for the Dimitri Ring that I signed people up for while I was touring the West Coast. The last winner, sadly, had an unreadable email address. So, a new winner has been drawn. It's Arianna from Arizona, who has already gotten in touch with me and will be getting her ring this week. Congratulations!

Speaking of contests, remember that the pen contest is still going on through this Wednesday, so be sure to get in on that. And also speaking of contests, Bitten By Books is having yet another contest. Man, I still haven't recovered from the paranormal couple one! This time, it's for Best Paranormal series, and my Georgina Kincaid series is up to bat. My poor nerves. The poll runs through Friday and has the same deal as before: people who vote can win prizes. Definitely visit the link because there are a lot of . As for me, I'm too exhausted to do hard lobbying today...but ask me in a few days because it's just not as fun if it's not last-minute. :)

I tell you, these blog posts seem to be all about contests lately! One of these days I'll go back to philosophizing about love, life, and wit and some assorted wacky mishaps I've run into. Until then, have a great day.

Er, well, that's what I was going to call my post yesterday after the results of the paranormal couple contest. But since I didn't get to it, it's now two mornings after. And yeah...it's not even morning.

Anyway, I can't really express how moved and overwhelmed I am by the response that contest got. I was quite delighted when Rose and Dimitri had the lead early in the week, and then when Edward and Bella shot to the top, I knew there had probably been some lobbying on a Twilight message board somewhere and that it was All Over for me. I didn't expect to catch up on 300 votes in 24 hour--but I still put in a whole lot of desperate pleas on every social networking site I could...and it worked!

I won't lie. I really got into this. It's a gut reaction I have to contests and competitions, one that involves deeply instilled childhood values more suited to analysis in therapy than this blog. It doesn't even always matter what the contest is. I'll have to tell you about winning Cirque du Soleil tickets in Vegas sometime--and there was some truly shameless behavior there. But this was a good contest, with outstanding competitors, and I do so love my Rose and Dimitri.

And honestly, no matter what you think about them being the best couple or not, I think I'm more struck by having the best readers. I'm still just stunned by how many people advertised for this. I was also delighted by all the people constantly refreshing as much as I was in the final hours and commenting on LJ about it, minute by minute. You guys were awesome, and I was following your comments the whole time. As a writer, I'm compensated for my work in a lot of ways--paying the bills being the most obvious one. But my checks come in erratically, with months sometimes occurring between them. I also just love telling these characters' stories, thought that can take a long time too. My readers' responses are what I get paid in every day, and I can't really express enough how amazing it is to get your support in LJ, Facebook, email, etc.--and I'm not just talking about when contests occur. It's all the time, and it's something I never expected to experience in my life.

Anyway, before I get all sappy (and I'm one of those jaded people who often believe excessive shows of gratitude are faked--so I don't want to seem that way to you!), I wanted to throw out a few things that I've decided to do in celebration. After the pen contest wraps up, I'm going to do something a little different. I'm going to have another contest, one that will have ten winners. And it won't involve any difficult brain busters. In fact, in addition to you getting prizes, I'll be the one doing the work--answering your questions. Most of you probably know that while I read all messages I get here and other places, I'm very, very bad at responding. So, your chance is coming to corner me. :)

In closing, thanks again. Everyone rising to the challenge is probably the biggest thing I could win out of this--though I understand Bitten By Books is sending me a pretty sweet coffee cup. And I drink a lot of coffee, so many thanks to the BBB gang. I probably shouldn't mention this, seeing as this last contest pushed me to the limits of sanity/nerves, but...here it is. BBB is going to be having another contest, and they're taking suggestions RIGHT NOW on what it should be (best sidekick, best bad guys, etc.) and then letting you make suggestions on nominations. Carter--Georgina's hard-drinking, chain-smoking angel friend--actually has a few nods. But you should totally check it out if you've got categories or suggestions from your favorite books to throw out--and I don't just mean from mine. There's a mess o' good urban fantasy/paranormal romance stuff out there, and you should definitely give your favorites a shout-out! Here's the link.

And in a last bit of surprising news, the Dimitri ring winner has not come forward, so there's going to be a re-draw tonight. People who attended my west coast tour: brace yourselves. And pray that your email address is legible.

Richelle is not having a great day. You know it's serious because I'm referring to myself in the third person.

That being said, my day got infinitely better when I got home and noticed all sorts of interesting things going on in Internetland. First up, my inbox is flooded with entries for the pen contest! Thanks so much, guys. It's a lot to go through, but it's fun, and there are tons of good ideas. I'm actually thinking of expanding beyond pens! If you missed the contest info, it's in the post before this one.

And speaking of contests...holy crap, you guys! Things are getting crazy over at the Bitten By Books Best Paranormal Couple Contest. Yesterday, Rose and Dimitri were in second place, trailing by 300 votes. Today that gap closed to 100 votes, which has stunned me. Voting ends tonight, so I don't know how things will pan out, but it's going to be exciting. I'm a dork...but I just love contests. And the photo finish part? That just makes it more exciting. Even if Rose and Dimitri finish in second, they'll lose to a pretty good couple! People always think I hate Twilight, which is so not true. It's a great book, with great characters. Very honorable competition!

But...like I said, I love contests, and of course, Rose and Dimitri are my darlings. :) So, head on over if you haven't voted, but please...don't worry about trying any crazy casting-ten-votes thing. Do your one vote, and we'll see what the universe decides. Thanks for letting me shamelessly nag you about this. I feel kind of dirty about it...but kind of not.

I don't have much else to add except kind of a "coming attractions" blurb. Succubus Heat and Thorn Queen are my summer releases, so we'll be hearing a lot about them in the near future--plus ARC giveaways. VA fans, your book's the farthest out, but there's some good stuff for you too. You're finally going to get to see molnija marks (seriously), and there's also some VA-approved nazar jewelry in the works.

P.S. -- For those asking, international fans can indeed enter the contests. :)

[PEN CONTEST IS CLOSED - COMMENTS HAVE BEEN LOCKED!]

Well, first off, let me thank everyone who recently ordered signed books from University Bookstore! I went in today and was astonished to find over 30 books waiting for me. Thanks, guys! It was as good as having a "real" signing for Succubus Heat's release. I signed all the books there, and so they should ship out as soon as the folks at the bookstore get them packaged up and whatnot. Here's the link if anyone else wants to order SH or other signed books. Many thanks to the U Bookstore gang for organizing this system.

Anyway, I then had some wacky mishaps at the dermatologist, but I'll save that for another day's post. Because I promised you guys a contest! And here it is. After the West Coast tour, my supplies of Richelle Mead pens and pencils got wiped out. So, it's time to order some more, and despite how cool the color-changing pencils are, I think I'm sticking with pens only this time.

So, here's where you guys come in. What to put on the pens? My pencils have the titles of the Vampire Academy books on them, plus my website. My current pens say:


Richelle Mead
Vampire and succubi novels powered by coffee and red hair.
www.richellemead.com


I'd like something new for this set of pens, soo...here's the contest. My pens will have my name and website on them again, but I need a new line to put in the middle. So, your job is to come up with something! It shouldn't be too much longer than that second line (for space reasons). Think up something clever, that sort of expresses what I write. The winner will get the book of their choice from what's available in my collection right now. I'll run this through, oh, next Wednesday at 11:59pm Pacific Time. Like other contests, though, if no one comes up with a caption that works, there may be no winner. So make sure you think of something good! Put suggestions in the comments to this post--and make sure you can be contacted.

And speaking of contests...man, the tables have turned over at the Bitten By Books Best Paranormal Couple Contest. Dimitri and Rose were dominating yesterday, and then at one point last night...well, things have changed. So, if you haven't voted yet (and actually think D&R are the best), then click the above link and head on over.

Good luck!

I'm still basking in the sweetness and semi-solitude of being home and locked away in my office. Succubus Shadows is still a joy to write and making good progress. Speaking of succubi, I also wanted to remind you guys that you can order Succubus Heat from University Bookstore here in Seattle and that I'll autograph it for you. I have it confirmed now that they have copies and are shipping them. In fact, I'm being called in tomorrow to sign a whole stack of them, so thanks to those who placed their orders! Here are the instructions.

In other news, I've once again been nominated for a contest over at Bitten By Books. This time, it's 'Best Paranormal Couple'...and you guessed it: Rose and Dimitri are up for an award! Like before, BBB is also offering a chance at prizes for those who vote and comment, so check out the link over here if you want to help Rose, Dimitri, and me out (and win some prizes yourself!). Voting runs through Friday night.

Otherwise, nothing to report, but there is going to be a contest later this week for a copy of Succubus Heat and then one for a Thorn Queen ARC. You'll probably have to work for them, so start sharpening your mental wit!

And, hey...you know what? I've just been inspired for another contest. If Rose and Dimitri win over at BBB, I'll have an easy drawing-type blog contest here to win a book of your choice of mine (if it's already out). Does that work?

Hey there, guys! At long last, I can announce the winner of the Dimitri ring contest.

Remember this?





Those who were at the signings know that along with signing up for the ring drawing, you could also sign up for my mailing list. Let me tell you, entering 200 email address into my Google Group was pretty crazy. Between some of the handwriting and my own human error, I'm curious to see how many get bounced back to me.

Anyway, the winner of the Dimitri ring is...Teresa Munoz! I just sent you email, Teresa, so hopefully that email address was correct. If you haven't heard from me, then contact me asap to claim your prize. We need to make contact this week, or someone else gets drawn. Congratulations!

For the rest of you, I've got some copies of Succubus Heat and Thorn Queen that are burning holes in my pocket, so I'll be doing some contests here soon. And since I haven't made plugs for my mailing lists in a while, I might as well do that now. I have two of them. One is a Yahoo! Group, and it's the chatty one. There are lots of discussions about the books, and it can generate a lot of email. It can be fun, but just be aware of the volume. My other mailing list is a Google one. It's much quieter and is for announcements only (like new releases, tour dates, contests, etc.). I'm the only one who can respond to it, actually, and that's the one people at signings were signed up for. (If you signed up for it and didn't get a welcome message this weekend, your email likely bounced back because I couldn't read it).

Anyway, if you want to talk books or just want updates from me, pick the list that works for you. Or just keep reading here. :)

Oh my gosh. Judging this contest was like being a teacher again! There was so much to read, and I'm so out of the current actor scene that I had to look up everyone. And if I didn't know them, I had to go on looks alone with no clue about acting. And, of course, I was very interested in what people had to say for reasoning. Perhaps the hardest part of all was that some entries would have one or two who were PERFECT, but then the the other(s) not so much. Or maybe all three were kind of close...ugh. It was really hard, and in the end, I was torn between a few entries.

But enough of my whining. The winner is: xmeggy_16, who provided a VA cast of Jessica Szohr as Rose, Brittany Robertson as Lissa, and Taylor Kitsch as Dimitri. I confess, after seeing Jessica in Gossip Girl, I wasn't quite sold on her as Rose, but that picture helped seal the deal. And holy crap. I'd never heard of Taylor Kitsch before, but wow. Yeah.

So, congratulations xmeggy_16! Email me with which signed book of mine you'd like. You can choose any of the first three succubus books, any of the first two Vampire Academy books, Storm Born, or the Eternal Lover anthology. Include your address when you email me with which one you want!

And thanks to everyone else who entered for all your hard work. Seriously, this was a tough thing to judge, and some of you had some choices that were so spot on...well, it was amazing. But those are secret.

Well, I was going to blog about my return to the Puyallup Fair this weekend, but the pictures are trapped on my laptop--which has decided it's not going to boot up anytime soon. Why oh why did I choose this time to clean off my camera? Usually, it has a copy of everything I've taken for the last decade. But nope. I copied the fair pics to the laptop, then cleaned the card. Sigh. No mutton bustin' today, guys.

So, hey. Let's do a contest, shall we?

I'm going to go out of order and do the movie casting one first. I think a lot of people are excited about this one, so it should be good times. I've thought a lot about how to structure it, and here's what I've come up with.

1. Pick one of my series: Succubus Blues, Vampire Academy, or Storm Born. Just one. Then, pretend there's going to be a movie, and you get to cast it! List three characters and name who you would have place each role. Two of the characters can be anyone you want to pick. The third has to be the series' main character (i.e., if you cast for the succubus series, you have to cast Georgina; Rose for VA; Eugenie for Storm Born). So, if you casting for Storm Born, you could do Eugenie, Tim, and Dorian or Eugenie, Kiyo, and Dorian or another combo, so long as Eugenie's in there.

2. With each character choice, give one or two sentences as to why you think that actor/actress is perfect for the role! This is the part that's going to sell your entry, so make it clever and creative. I'm not going to limit the number of words, but seriously, pay attention to the "one or two sentences" part.

3. Don't post any pictures, though feel free to link.

4. You can cast characters from different parts of the series. So, if you choose Vampire Academy for your entry, you can use Rose, Adrian, and Victor for your entry, even though they aren't all in the same book.

5. If you want to cast for each series, you can. Just make three entries. No more than that, please.

Post your entry in the comments field of this post. I'll take entries through this Saturday, September 20 at 11:59pm Pacific Time. Winner gets their choice of any of my currently published books, except for Immortal. Succubus Dreams is an option.

Good luck, and have fun!

At long last, I think I have my winners. Or rather, three winners! I know, I know. But I was torn. And even then, there were still others that were really awesome too. Why are you guys so good? There were also duplicates, in which case I opted for the first person who posted the idea or who had a unique variation on it. Anyway, the winning ideas ended up coincidentally being brain side specific, so here are the winners from left to right:

So...the first winner is: Lilly K! Lilly was the first one to have the idea for a contest involving quotes, which I decided would be a good choice for my left-brain readers who are pained whenever I post something like a haiku contest. So, people who say they've read a book ten times...this'll be the chance to prove it.

The second winner--and seriously, I wish I'd remembered you lived in Japan when I decided this--is jerseydevs2000, who had the idea to come up with cast lists and explanations for the cast choices. This is good for the people who use a little of each side of the brain since it'll require some creativity.

And, you guessed it, the last contest idea is a total right-brainer, so creative types: you're on notice! A lot of people suggested artistic and creative ways (drawing, photos, etc.) to create scenes from the books. Blake was the first one with the idea and the only one to suggest dolls (omg!) as a method. That isn't to say dolls will be required when I run the contest, but I appreciate the ingenuity. :)

So: Lilly, Blake, and jerseydevs2000, send me some email with your address and which book you'd like. Since there are three equal winners, I'm pulling my lone copy of Immortal as a choice and will use that as a prize at a later date. You can still choose from any of my other books that are in print right now, as well as Succubus Dreams. Note: Shadow Kiss is NOT in print. I have all the non-VA books available in ARC form too if you're into that.

Thanks again to everyone who entered! If I'm ever strapped for contests in the future, I'll come back to this post and give credit if I use another idea. For now, these three contests will be run one by one over the next month or so (stretched out over time to keep it fun!). I'll list the exact requirements when the contests are actually running.