Mid-week Catch Up

Happy hump day! Maybe it's the holiday, followed by the inauguration festivities, but it doesn't feel like a Wednesday to me!

This will be a mini-blog because I am smack in the middle of the deadline decent into hell for the next couple of weeks. I just needed to catch up on a few things since the Germany trip last week.

First of all, I apologize for Aphra's tweets disappearing after just a couple of weeks. Seems she was flagged or something and the twitter account wasn't active. It's all ironed out now and the story will move along. You should be able to see updates in the sidebar right here on the blog if you don't have a twitter account. I may also consider a different venue in case we run into any further problems with twitter.

Also, Diana Dang from Stop, Drop and Read awarded me the Butterfly Award this past weekend, which rules are as follows:
1. Put the logo on your blog.
2. Add a link to the person who awarded you.
3. Award up to ten other blogs.
4. Add links to those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message for your awardees on their blogs.

In the interest of time, I'm going to limit my nominations to two... both brand new blogs that I already enjoy.

The first is a book review blog by author Kate Coombs. I've known Kate for a long time and not only do I love her books, but I admire the depth of her knowledge about children's and YA literature. Her reviews are intelligent and insightful and sometimes funny and I'm very excited that she's entered the realm of book blogging.

The second is a character blog. Darby Christopher, the lead character in Canadian Author KC Dyer's upcoming book, A WALK THROUGH A WINDOW has just begun to post about life in smallsville Charlottetown on Prince Edward Island, but knowing her, this will be a fun blog to watch.

Oh! And I just saw that Holly from Holly's Book Notes is running a contest to give away DEATH BY BIKINI and DEATH BY LATTE. Head on over to her blog for your chance to win.

And now back to work for me! Have a great one!

Winner and Interview with Author Eileen Cook

Lots of fun things to tell you about today.

For one, Seth Mulo has been chosen as best male character on Bookworm Reader's blog. Take a peek at the other awards she gave DEATH BY BIKINI and DEATH BY LATTE. Thanks, Claire!

Also, the first reviews for DEATH BY DENIM are up! You can check them out at Flamingnet (where they have given DBD the Top Choice Award!) and at the Maelstrom blog.

Also, we have a winner from our Carrie Jones Freebie Friday:
Little Willow
Please send me an email at gerb at lindagerber dot com and I'll e-send your gift certificate to you! Everyone else, don't forget to stop by on Friday, when Sarah Zarr will join us and give away a signed copy of SWEETHEARTS!

AND NOW, a special Tuesday Treat for you - we have another GCC interview with the fabulous Eileen Cook, Author of WHAT WOULD EMMA DO?

Here's the blurb on the book:

Thou shalt not kiss thy best friend’s boyfriend…again….
There is no greater sin than kissing you best friend’s boyfriend. So when Emma breaks that golden rule, she knows she’s messed up big-time. Especially since she lives in the smallest town ever, where everyone knows everything about everyone else….and especially because she maybe kinda wants to do it again. Now her best friend isn’t speaking to her, her best guy friend is making things totally weird, and Emma is running full speed toward certain social disaster. This is so not the way senior year was supposed to go.
Time to pray for a minor miracle. Or maybe, just maybe, it’s time for Emma to stop trying to please everyone around her, and figure out what she wants for herself.

Meg Cabot says that WWED? is “Sassy and sly and sweet all at the same time, this book made me laugh out loud.” And Jaqueline Mitchard says Eileen is the next best thing to Judy Blume. Not bad, huh?

Eileen's insight probably comes from the time she spent as a counselor at Michigan State University. "But real people have real problems," she says. She returned to writing because she "liked having the ability to control the ending. Which is much harder with humans."

The interview:

What inspired you to write WHAT WOULD EMMA DO?
I had recently re-read the Crucible. In the play a group of people begin blaming others of being witches and the situation burns out of control. It got me thinking about what would be the worst thing you could accuse someone of today and how easy it is for the mob mentality to take over. Those thoughts were the beginning of the story that would grow into What Would Emma Do.

Are any of your characters based on real people that you know?
I tend to steal traits and quirks from different people and then mix them up to create someone new. What I find interesting is when someone who knows me reads a book and thinks they identify someone else and it wasn’t even someone I had in mind at the time.

What excites you?
Ideas and stories. I love to read and I gather odd bits of news like black slacks attract cat hair. I listen in on conversations when I’m out in public. All these ideas and scraps of ideas get squirreled away somewhere in both my office and my brain. Like a compost pile sometimes it stinks, but sometimes something really interesting comes out of it.

What turns you off?
I hate when people are narrow minded. I don’t mind disagreeing with someone, but it frustrates me when someone refuses to even listen to another point of view.

In DEATH BY LATTE, my character Aphra starts her adventure with a lie. What's the biggest lie you ever told, and what happened as a result of the telling?
I am a terrible liar. Terrible. I will never be able to have a life of crime or live as a secret double agent spy. For this reason I tend not to lie very often. When I was in high school I wanted to go out to a nightclub where my crush was playing in a band. My parents wouldn’t let me go. I said I was going to my room, but in reality I climbed out my bedroom window. What I didn’t know is about 15 minutes after I left my mom had convinced my dad to let me go. When she got to my room to tell me I was already gone.
Much later that night I carefully slid open the bedroom window and started to climb in. My mom was sitting there in the dark and while one half of me was outside, and the other hanging in, she said: “welcome home.” I knew I was in BIG trouble.

All stories are built on suspense. What's the most suspenseful thing that's happened to you in real life?
There have been a few decisions I made in my life that were a leap of faith. I wasn’t sure how things would turn out, but it felt like the right thing. One example would be getting married. My now husband and I had dated for several years, but broke up while I was still in college. We were broken up a little over a year when he flew into town and told me he missed me and wanted to get married. We went from not dating to married in less than four months. I’m pretty sure there were a lot of people who thought we were insane, but so far it’s been great.

If you could invite anyone you wanted - living or dead - to hang out with you at a weekend retreat, who would you invite and why?
I would love to have the ultimate writer’s retreat with my current writing buddies, but we would also invite Meg Cabot, Jane Austen, Stephen King, Jodi Picoult, Sarah Dessen, Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde and Dorothy Parker. I could go on and on. I think we’re going to need a large conference center for all these people.

What's one thing most people don't know about you?
I can’t do a cart-wheel. I start off good, but for some reason my legs sort of fall over during the “wheel” part of the move. This was a source of great humiliation growing up. Please do not offer to teach me how- many have tried, many have failed. I have accepted that a gold medal in gymnastics is not in my future.

What's your favorite quote?
Oooh I love quotes. I’m one of those people who always has quotes pinned up all around my office. One of my favorites (it is hard to pick just one) is a poem by Shel Silverstein

Listen to the MUSTN’TS, child
Listen to the DON’TS
Listen to the SHOULDN’TS
The IMPOSSIBLES, the WON’TS
Listen to the NEVER HAVES
Then listen close to me -
Anything can happen, child
Anything can be

Milk Chocolate or Dark?
No debate on this issue at all- dark chocolate hands down.

You can read more about Eileen, her books, and the things that strike her as funny at www.eileencook.com.

Merry Winner!

No matter how you celebrate, have the happiest holiday ever! I'm going to be taking tomorrow off to spend Christmas with my family, but before I go... here's our Freebie Friday winner:

Lauren from Shooting Stars Magazine

Congratulations, Lauren! Please shoot me an email at ger at lindagerber dot com with your mailing information and I'll get the books sent off to you. Everyone else, thanks for your creative entries! It's been... entertaining reading them this week! Be sure to check back Friday for another freebie and an interview with Laurie Stolarz, author of DEADLY LITTLE SECRET.

See you then!

Winner!

Thanks for sharing your worst movie nominations, everyone. At least I know now what to avoid!

By random drawing, the winner of this week's Amazon gift card is:

Hope.

Please send me an email with WINNER in the subject line to gerb at lindagerber dot com and send me your snail mail address so I can get it sent off to you.

Meanwhile, for any of you who are interested, I'm talking writing thankfulness over at Author 2 Author today, and they are giving away a copy of DEATH BY BIKINI and DEATH BY LATTE!

Monday's Penguin Post

Death by FAQ

No, that’s not the title of my next book. For the first time online, here are some of the questions I am most frequently asked about Death by Bikini and Death by Latte when I visit schools.

How do you come up with your ideas?
I have an overactive imagination. Plus I read and travel a lot.

Did you make your own covers?
No. Authors don’t usually design their own covers, but if I did, I’d want them to look just like the ones I have! My cover designer is the fabulous and talented Theresa Evangelista. You can read about the process of her cover designs for this series here on Melissa Walker's Blog.

Where is Death by Bikini set?
wasThe setting for Death by Bikini was inspired by a visit to Maui several years ago. There’s a beautiful road to a small town called Hana on the east side of the island that winds through some of the most beautiful tropical rainforest you’d ever want to see - pristine and primitive. In fact, Puohokamoa Valley featured in the opening sequence of Jurassic Park. I couldn’t imagine a more perfect setting for a private, secluded island resort.

Why don’t you ever say in the book where it is?
Did I mention the resort is private and secluded? Aphra was not at liberty to reveal its location.
Is it a coincidence that you named Natalie’s partner Joe in Death by Latte?
No coincidence. Joe is old slang for coffee, which plays a significant role in the book.

I already miss Seth. Where can I meet him?
Read Death by Denim in May!

Do you have questions about the series? Now’s your chance to ask!

DEATH BY LATTE DAY 5

OK, that was weird. I posted everything before I took off to take my daughter to the doctor, but when I came home, two of the posts were gone! Sorry about that! Let the launch party commence!!!

This is it - the final day of the launch party. Thanks for dropping in and celebrating with us!

First, before I forget -
Yesterday's DEATH BY LATTE prize package goes to:

Lucille

And the iTunes gift card winners in honor of Heather's birthday are:

Krysten Hylian Vampire Devyn

Please shoot me your mailing address at gerb at lindagerber dot com and your prize is on its way!

Meanwhile, today will be a little different than originally planned. One of our illustrious authors may be a little late joining us, so we only have three author posts to start off the day. I don't want to limit your chances to win, though, so here's what we'll do. I just did the GCC tour, visiting different blogs and talking about the book. Below are the blog links. For every blog that you visit and leave a comment, you will earn one entry for today's DEATH BY LATTE prize package as well as the grand prize to be drawn tomorrow. The more entries, the greater your chances of winning. (Just let me know where you commented...)

And, as a reminder, if you haven't done so already, you may still comment on any of the posts during this party and receive an entry for the prize drawings. The winners will be announced tomorrow on the blog.

GCC tour links:

alyson noel
megan kelley hall
stacy dekeyser
carrie jones
teri brown
shanna swendson
megan crane
karin gillespie
stephanie kuehnert
amanda ashby
wendy toliver
april henry
eileen cook
jennifer echols
laurie stolarz

Party on!

Note - because of the late posting time today, the contests will remain open until Wednesday evening instead of morning as I had originally planned...

DEATH BY LATTE - DAY 4

Welcome back to the party. Today is a bonus day!

It's Heather Brewer's birthday today. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HEATHER!!! I should tell you - when I was planning this party, I contacted Heather to see if she'd like to participate and she wrote back, "I'd love to, but..." Then she went on to tell me how busy this month is for her and also that her birthday was during the launch week. All I saw in her e-mail was "I'd love to" and "birthday." Selective reading much? So I jumped back in and gushed about how we could have fun with the birthday thing and I was so glad to have her and...

Well, Heather's a sport. It wasn't until about a week later that I read her email more carefully and I was mortified... which I suppose is appropriate, considering the subject of Heather's books...

ANYWAY, in celebration of Heather's birthday, I have an extra three $15 iTunes cards to give away today. Leave a message on Heather's post wishing her happy birthday and you will be entered to win one of those cards as well as the regular prize.

Meanwhile, we have three other great authors to celebrate with us today; Marlene Perez, Laurie Stolarz and Alyson Noel.

Party on!!!

Edited to add: I can't believe I forgot to announce yesterday's winner! The DEATH BY LATTE prize package goes to:

Diane Dang

Please send your mailing address to gerb at lindagerber dot com and I'll get it sent out to you!

DEATH BY LATTE - DAY 3

Yay! We have full power and Internet at the house today! Now if I only had an extra ten hours to get everything done, it would be perfect. I'm going to leave you in the capable hands of my guest partiers for a little bit - I have to run over to the high school and serve in the concession stand for the JV game. My turn and all.

MEANWHILE, we have some amazing guests today - Steph Kuehnert, Kate Coombs, Claire Mysko and Sara Hantz. Enjoy!

Yesterday's DEATH BY LATTE prize package winner is:

Mitzy!

Please email me at gerb at lindagerber dot com and I'll send it off to you. Also, if you don't have a Panera in your area, let me know and I can substitute something else.

Party on!

LATTE PARTY DAY 2

Happy Friday! Sorry we're little late getting the party on. Just when we think it's safe, the power goes out again! I'm sitting at Panera and I really wish I had my camera with me... This place looks like an office. Laptops at every table. A lotta people in my same situation, it looks like. We love Panera and their free wireless! Thank you, Panera! In fact, for today's winner, I'm going to add a Panera card to the gift package to show my appreciation.

Meanwhile, let's get back to celebrating the launch of DEATH BY LATTE! Today's guests are Micol Ostow, Marley Gibson, Stephanie Hale and Wendy Toliver. Be sure to scroll down to catch their posts and your chances to win! You can also leave comments on yesterday's posts until Monday, September 22 to be entered for those prizes.

The WINNER of yesterday's DEATH BY LATTE gift package drawing is:

/Sara

Please send me your mailing address and I'll get it sent off to you! gerb at lindagerber.com


As a reminder of your chances to win...

1. Four different authors will visit each day. Reply to their posts for a chance to win the prize they are offering. Winners of the author giveaways will be announced on Tuesday, September 23.

2. I will draw one name from all the posts of the day for a chance to win a DEATH BY LATTE prize package, including a signed copy of DEATH BY LATTE, a gift card to Starbucks, a custom-made book thong and other cool stuff. Winners of the prize packages will be announced daily.

3. You can reply at either lindagerber.blogspot.com or at my myspace blog. Or both!

4. Invite a friend and earn a bonus entry for the daily giveaway and the grand prize.

5. Random giveaways and opportunities for bonus entries will pop up throughout the party.

6. At the end of the party, I will draw one name from all the entries received throughout the party for the grand prize gift package, which includes a signed copy of DEATH BY LATTE, a custom-made latte mug, assorted gift cards and Seattle swag.

Bring the party!!!

IT'S LATTE DAY!!!!!

It's here - Party Time! Woot! Woot! Thanks for dropping in to help me celebrate the release of my new book, DEATH BY LATTE. I'm glad to have you here. We have lots of great authors, books, prizes and surprises in store for you!

Check out these chances to win...

1. Four different authors will visit each day. Reply to their posts for a chance to win the prize they are offering. Winners of the author giveaways will be announced on Tuesday, September 23.

2. I will draw one name from all the posts of the day for a chance to win a DEATH BY LATTE prize package, including a signed copy of DEATH BY LATTE, a gift card to Starbucks, a custom-made book thong and other cool stuff. Winners of the prize packages will be announced daily.

3. You can reply at either lindagerber.blogspot.com or at my myspace blog. Or both!

4. Invite a friend and earn a bonus entry for the daily giveaway and the grand prize.

5. Random giveaways and opportunities for bonus entries will pop up throughout the party.

6. At the end of the party, I will draw one name from all the entries received throughout the party for the grand prize gift package, which includes a signed copy of DEATH BY LATTE, a custom-made latte mug, assorted gift cards and Seattle swag.

Be sure to scroll down to hang with today's partiers, Melissa Walker, Teri Brown, Kelly Parra and Amanda Ashby!

Party on!

WINNER!!!

Hi, everyone! Thanks for your patience... I know the contest was supposed to run through yesterday, but here are some of the reasons why I'm late posting the winners:












This, if you can believe it, is the remnants of Hurricane Ike - all the way in Ohio. Everything's fine, very few injuries, but the clean up will take a while and a good portion of the state is still without power.

It's amazing how much we depend on electricity. And Internet! I'm so grateful to have both back on in my house! Especially since the time has come to announce the winner of this weeks DEATH BY LATTE drawing and because the CYBER PARTY STARTS TOMORROW!!! Yeah!

So, without further ado, the winner of this week's quiz game drawing is:
Laura Koenig

Please send your mailing address to gerb at lindagerber dot com and I'll get it sent off to you!

Thanks, everyone, for playing. We had another record response this week. I hope to see you all starting tomorrow for the launch party! You rock!!!

Ciao!

WINNERS!!!!!

OK, let me just start out by saying you guys are the best! Thanks for helping me get the word out about DEATH BY LATTE. Next week's party is going to be a just for you! We've added two more authors to the lineup, even! Lots of books and prizes to be given away. I'm psyched!

Meanwhile, it was hard knowing who was even in the top 3 since I really can't verify things like private tweets and emails, so what I did was enter everyone who posted more than three places (or sent to more than 50 people) and drew names for the top spots, and then drew from those for the gift certificate. And the winners are...

Katie - ARC and gift certificate
Grace L - ARC
Kristy - ARC

You know the drill - please email me at gerb at lindagerber dot com and I'll send these off to you!

Everyone else, THANK YOU for posting all over. I'm adding an extra entry each for you next week for the launch party prize package drawing for your show of support.

Please come back Friday for our last DEATH BY LATTE ARC freebie. We'll be doing something a little different this week... it should be fun. : ) AND I'll be giving the lowdown on all the great authors and prizes coming up next week for the cyber launch. You might even get a chance for more bonus entries... Don't miss it!

FREEBIE FRIDAY and You're Invited

Happy Friday! How's everyone doing today? I'm pretty psyched - less than two weeks until DEATH BY LATTE hits the shelves! Check out cyberparty preview (and make sure you have your sound on...)

It's going to be a lot of fun! I hope you can all come. And bring your friends along.

Today's Freebie Friday is simple, 'cause I'm in a party mood. Share the above video. You can also link to it through youtube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyPLaBfQceE
Just let me know when, where and how you shared it. (Can be email, but be honest. There's no real way I can verify that.)

The top 3 sharers will all win an advanced readers copy of DEATH BY LATTE and I'll stick their names in a drawing to win a $15 itunes card. The contest will remain open until Wednesday the 10th.

Have a great weekend... and let the games begin!

P.S. The song on the video is "Something Else" by Supermassive Star. I went to a couple of their concerts in Japan (though they are from New Zealand) and they were kind enough let me use their song. Isn't that cool? (Thanks, Cameron!!!)

P.P.S. Sarah Dessen just announced that she has a new book coming up Summer '09! YAY!

FREEBIE FRIDAY - Counting Down. For Real!

Happy Friday, everyone! I'm sorry I'm getting a late start... it's almost five here! My apologies... Lots going on today.

As I promised, this week's FREEBIE FRIDAY comes with a surprise and a twist. First, for the surprise... Now that we have finished the edits and the next installment in the DEATH BY series is on its way, I am happy to unveil the cover art for next spring's DEATH BY DENIM! The pockets with the skulls are the cutouts. Too cute, right?! Did I tell you how much I love the designers? They are the best!

Now for twist number one... with less than three weeks to go until the release of DEATH BY LATTE, I'm gearing up for another super cyber release party, with tons of author visits and book giveaways and other fun swag. The party for DEATH BY BIKINI was fabulous... and this time around, we want to share the love! The party will begin on Thursday, September 18 and run through the weekend. So, for your chance to win an advanced copy of DEATH BY LATTE and a Starbucks gift card, help me get the word out! If you have a blog, facebook and/or myspace, post an announcement. Send me the link to your post to be entered.

Twist number two... there will be five winners drawn this week.

Twist number three... you get a bonus entry if any of your friends show up in the comments and tell me you sent them. PLUS they can be entered, too.

Because of the long weekend and because I was so late posting today, this Freebie will remain open until Thursday, September 4th.

Have a fabulous weekend!!!

FREEBIE FRIDAY - Slumber Parties

Happy Friday everyone. How's this week going? Sounds like a lot of you are back to school or just about back to school. I hope you got all your summer reading done!

Did you get a chance to check out Stephanie Kreuhnert's interview (below)? She's amazing. And you might be interested to know that she has started a new thing on her blog - every Wednesday she'll bring you Women who Rock. Check it out!

Also, a bonus freebie for all you TWILIGHT fans: teenlibris is giving away copies of A NEW DAWN along with THE BELLA CULLEN PROJECT CD over on their site. The contest remains open the rest of this month.

Meanwhile, who's up for another DEATH BY LATTE giveaway?

This week's freebie is kind of off-the-cuff. I'm sitting up, waiting for my daughter and her friends to fall asleep so I can hit the pillow. (Sleepover party. They all brought jeans and decorated them with glitter paint and bedazzler jewels and watched Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. And talked, and giggled and shrieked and ran around. A lot.) This is to say, I am a bit brain dead at the moment (2:40 a.m. and counting...)

So here's the deal. For your chance to win an advance reader's copy of DEATH BY LATTE, leave a post telling me about your favorite slumber party experience. As always, if you don't have one, make one up! The drawing will be open until Tuesday morning.

Have a great weekend!

And the Winner Is...

Happy Tuesday, ya'll! Thanks for sharing what's new with you. Lots going on!

On my end, we finally saw Dark Knight last night (shivers). So. Good.

Meanwhile, I'm drawing the name early this morning and will be offline most of the day because my revisions are due TOMORROW. Wish me luck!

Now, without further ado, the winner of this week's ARC of DEATH BY LATTE and the totally cute book thong is:

Rachel D

Please send me your mailing address at gerb at lindagerber dot com and I'll drop it in the mail for you.

Everyone else, drop on by Thursday for an interview with the fabulous Stephanie Kuehnert who will talk about her new book, I WANNA BE YOUR JOEY RAMONE.

And, of course, I'll see you again on Friday for another FREEBIE!

Have a great week, everyone!

FREEBIE FRIDAY - The Countdown Continues

Happy Friday, everyone!!! Welcome to this week's DEATH BY LATTE GIVEAWAY!

Wow... Lots of stuff happening this week.

I hope that you get a chance to peek below this post at the interview with Megan Kelly Hall, author of SISTERS OF MISERY. Megan's is the first of several author interviews I'll be bringing you in the coming months.

School is about to start!!! Has school begun where you are? Some of the kids in our area go back Monday, my kids are back in school the 25th. I am counting down the days...

The OLYMPICS! Yah! Have you been watching? How about that Michael Phelps?!? Phenomenal!

Not so phenomenal: the disgraceful switcheroo at the opening ceremonies. Yang Peiyi's voice was heard singing 'Ode to the Motherland,' but China's Olympic organizers didn't think she was perfect enough to be seen on stage, so another little girl got to stand in the spotlight, lip synching to Yang Peiyi's voice, taking the accolades and the bows. I hope they will allow Yang Peiyi to sing at the closing ceremonies. As herself. You can sign a petition on her behalf here.

Reactions to Stephenie Meyer's BREAKING DAWN are all over the charts. Looks like readers either accept out of loyalty, love, or really hate this last installment to the TWILIGHT series. Anyone here read it yet? What did you think?

Oh, and Aphra has begun to twitter... And watch for Kelly Parra's upcoming SECRET FATES Extravaganza wherein Aphra will be revealing secrets, leading up to...

The release of DEATH BY LATTE - just over a month away!!!

Which brings us to this week's FREEBIE FRIDAY GIVEAWAY. To be entered to win an advanced copy of DEATH BY LATTE and a really cool book thong, leave me a reply telling me what's new with your week.

Entries open until TUESDAY. Have a great weekend!

Game on!

And the Winner Is...

This week's winner of the DEATH BY LATTE ARC is...

M&A

I couldn't resist the McHottie-Hot-Hot reference for Seth. : )

Everyone else, be sure to check in tomorrow for an exclusive with Megan Kelly Hall, author of SISTERS OF MISERY!

And I'll see you back here on Friday for another chance to win DEATH BY LATTE.

FREEBIE FRIDAY - The Countdown Begins

Happy Friday, everyone!

I'm still in New York City, about to begin the last day of the Backspace Conference. Heard fellow Backspacers Lisa McMann and Heather Brewer, among others, speak yesterday. Met AS King, whose upcoming book, DUST OF 100 DOGS is one to watch for. My head is already filled up to here | with stuff and there's more to go.

AND, we now have less than a month until the release of DEATH BY LATTE! In anticipation, I'll be giving away ARCs and various swag this month, culminating in another online launch party in September that you won't want to miss.

In DEATH BY LATTE, Aphra travels to Seattle to track down her mom. She visits one of my favorite Seattle locations, Pike Place Market. To be entered for your chance to win the ARC, leave me a reply telling me what your favorite Seattle landmark is, and why. If you have never been to Seattle and/or don't have a favorite place in mind, make something up. Extra points for descriptions!

Game on!

Freebie Friday, a little early

I know, I know. It's Wednesday. But the next couple of weeks are going to be a little crazy so the freebies might bounce around a little bit. This morning (as soon as I get done posting this, as a matter of fact,) I head up to girls' camp until Saturday. No Internet access. (Gaaaaaah!)

(Want a little insider information? I was actually up at the camp Monday but had to come home yesterday so I could send in my edits on DEATH BY DENIM. I am excited about this episode of Aphra and Seth's adventure! Oh, and the kissing. I like the kissing...)

ANYWAY, next week will be relatively normal, except for the anticipation of waiting for the next TWILIGHT installment, BREAKING DAWN ! How many of you are going to a bookstore event to pick up the book at midnight?

And exactly two weeks from today, I'll be in New York City, reading and signing with Melissa Walker (VIOLET IN PRIVATE) and Lisa McMann (WAKE)!!! We'll be at Books of Wonder August 6th from 7 p.m. Any of you in the New York area, come visit!!! If you tell me you read about it on the blog, I'll have something special for you...

Following the signing, I'll be at the Backspace Writers' Conference, where I will be moderating an agents panel.

And then... well, it just gets crazier from there with back to school and the upcoming promotion for the next DEATH BY book, DEATH BY LATTE... but this is enough for one blog post!

So... to get to the point... for this week's FREEBIE FRIDAY, I offer to you a choice. I have three Sarah Dessen books up for grabs, THIS LULLABY, KEEPING THE MOON or DREAMLAND. To win one of these books, leave me a post telling me how the second half of your summer is shaping up and why I should choose you as this week's winner. Hint: sucking up is fun.

The contest will remain open until Monday, July 28.

Have a great week, everyone!!!