Category: contests

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appearances contests

AFTERLIFE tour dates reminder, and Lucas doll winner!

We have our fourth and final winner of the EVERNIGHT doll — a miniature Lucas is now the property of Jensine S.! Congrats to Jensine, who had a very eloquent entry about why Lucas should be hers, though tons of you had great reasons. Some of those included:

1) He would be a source of inspiration to never give up.

2) He would be well taken care of, as indeed he sorely needs just after HOURGLASS.

3) He would serve as protector against any possible incursion by hostile vampires.

4) He’s hot.

5) He would fuel rich fantasy lives. (Is that the same as the above entry?)

6) He would make any room more splendid. (A Lucas goes with everything.)

What would he make of all this? I think it’s time for a Lucas interview!

From Destiny S.: “Lucas, if given the choice again, would you become a vampire by choice rather than lose Bianca to the wraiths?”
Lucas: “If that was the only way — yeah. But I think I’d make her swear to stake me before I woke up.”

From Ellen C.: “Lucas, exactly what went through your head the night you saw Bianca drinking Erich’s blood on the roof of Evernight?”
Lucas: “I nearly lost it. I mean, I was already so crazy about her — Bianca was the most amazing girl I’d ever known. Ever. And the thing was … I felt like I was living a normal life for the first time. Like I was getting to just be a guy and be with a girl and actually get to act on how I felt instead of being a fighter every second. So when I realized she didn’t have anything to do with “normal” — I don’t know. At first I felt really betrayed. But I also knew right away that she wasn’t just a monster. I knew some of what Black Cross had always told me was a lie, but I didn’t how much or what it meant. So I didn’t know where the hell my head was for a while. I got over the betrayal first; it’s not like I wasn’t keeping my own secret, you know? Beyond that, all I knew was that I had to get back to Bianca again.”

From Camille: “What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear Bianca’s name?”
Lucas: “Her smile.”

From Kirsten B.: “I would ask whether he truly thought that his situation living freely with Bianca in Hourglass would last, or if he had any idea of what was to come.”
Lucas: “We were making it up as we went along — I knew that from the get-go. But I truly thought I could take better care of her than that. It all just got so damned complicated so fast.”

From Anne H.: “What is so horrible about becoming a vampire?”
Lucas: “First off, you’re dead. Second, you want to drink blood. I’ve tried drinking blood. Remember? It’s disgusting. Third — and this is the main part — I’ve seen a lot of vampires who know how to handle what they are. I’ve learned that’s possible, now. But I’ve seen plenty of vampires who don’t. They become monsters like Charity. They take pleasure in being cruel. They kill. I’d rather be dead than turn into that.”

From Eniyah W.: “Lucas, at what exact moment did you finally decide that you were so deeply in love with Bianca?”
Lucas: “I don’t know if it comes down to ‘deciding,’ but I realized it on Christmas Day that year. Black Cross doesn’t exactly make a big deal out of the holidays. I was imagining how different things would be if I were with her, how it would finally feel like the kind of Christmas I’ve seen in movies, and I just didn’t give a damn whether she was a vampire or not. And I knew that could only be love.”

From Aurora M.: “Lucas, is it better to follow your heart or your head?”
Lucas: “Follow your heart, but use your head along the way.”

From Jackie M.: “After all the pain & suffering, has it been worth to be with Bianca?”
Lucas: “Absolutely. I’d do it all again. I’d just plan further ahead next time.”

**

I hope to get all the dolls in the mail to you guys tomorrow morning (I just got them from the designer last night), but it might be when I return — the tour is coming up fast, and there’s still much to do! AFTERLIFE is coming out Tuesday! Want to know if I’m coming to your area? Check out the dates below!

Tuesday, March 8
Phoenix, AZ
7:00 PM
Reading/Q&A/Signing
Changing Hands
6428 S McClintock Drive
Tempe, AZ 85283

Wednesday, March 9
San Diego, CA
7:00 PM
Reading/Q&A/Signing
Mysterious Galaxy
7051 Clairemont Mesa Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92111-1040

Thursday, March 10
Dallas, TX
6:00 PM
Reading/Q&A/Signing
Barnes & Noble
Stonebriar Center Mall
Frisco, TX 75034

Friday, March 11
Charlotte, NC
4:30 PM
Reading/Q&A/Signing
Park Road Books
4139 Park Road
Charlotte, NC

Thursday, March 17
Minneapolis, MN
7:00 PM
Reading/Q&A/Signing
Dark Days of Winter event w/ Kimberly Derting and Courtney Allison Moulton
2100 North Snelling Avenue
Roseville, MN

Friday, March 18
Chicago, IL
7:00 PM
Reading/Q&A/Signing
Dark Days of Winter event w/ Ellen Schreiber, Kimberly Derting and Courtney Allison Moulton
123 West Jefferson Ave
Naperville, IL

Saturday March 19
Miami, FL
7:00 PM
Reading/Q&A/Signing
Dark Days of Winter event w/ Kimberly Derting and Courtney Allison Moulton
265 Aragon Ave
Coral Gables, FL

I can’t wait to meet you guys there and to hear what you think of AFTERLIFE!

It’s a Sunday, and you may have noticed — I’ve not posted about The Artist’s Way. Though I continue leading the group, I wasn’t getting much FB from you guys. Is this of interest to any of you? Even a couple of yeses will get me posting again; just let me know.

Now, in a great hurry, I shall pack.

Categories
contests interviews

EVERNIGHT doll contest #4, plus Bianca interview

First of all, congrats to our next winner — Sarah C., who will be taking home the Bianca doll! She has three nifty outfits: Evernight Academy uniform, formal dress and wraithly jammies (complete with coral bracelet, which is pretty important.) (The doll has these, I mean; I cannot speak to the number of outfits Sarah C. has, nor whether her jammies are of a wraithly nature or not.)

This means we have a few interview Qs for Bianca:

From Rachelle: “Does being in that same outfit (the pjs) make you crazy? Personally if it was me I’d be extremely upset that everyone would see me in my embarassing pjs every time they look at me.”
Bianca: “Well, it gets kind of old. When I turn myself corporeal, I can put on other clothes, but they just fall to the ground when I disappear, and then, boom, pajamas again. It could be worse. At least the pajamas are comfortable. What if I had to wear a strapless bra for eternity? That would suck.”

From Wendy: “Bianca, when you first came to Evernight, did you ever picture yourself where you are now? Why or why not?”
Bianca: “Never ever ever ever ever. That’s true in some bad ways — I never imagined I could be a wraith, or have Black Cross after me, and I definitely never thought I’d be separated from my parents … well, ever, but especially not as unhappily as this. It’s true in some good ones, too, though. I know I’m stronger and tougher than I used to be; I stand up for myself more, and for the people I love. And I never imagined having anyone like Lucas in my life.”

From Rebecca: “In the end would you still have risked everything to be with Lucas, even though you betrayed your parents?”
Bianca: “That’s not an easy question to answer. Well, I mean, it is — yes, I would — but I would have tried harder to get other answers first, and to try to get both Lucas and my parents to understand each other. I don’t know if I would’ve made any headway; possibly the only person in the world more stubborn than my parents is Lucas Ross. But I would feel better knowing I had really tried, and I would feel more like maybe they understood. That’s the worst part about being away from my parents like this — feeling like they’ll never understand me or accept the decisions I made.”

From Cristal: “Well, hello, Bianca, how are you doing today?.. Thank you so much for doing this Interview. I wanted to ask you, if you had a time machine, would you go back in time to change anything that has happened to you from EVERNIGHT to HOURGLASS, and if yes, what would that be?”
Bianca: “How polite you are! I’m doing very well today; once you’re a wraith, you’re pretty much okay on the average day. If I had a time machine, what would I change? I think I’d go back to the beginning, tell Lucas that I knew about him being Black Cross and start trying to find a way to meld our worlds together before Mom, Dad and Mrs. Bethany turned him into public enemy number one. I’d warn Courtney about Charity, too; I mean, I didn’t like Courtney much, but nobody deserved that. And I’d definitely figure out a better way for us to escape from Black Cross. Everything got so out of control afterwards!”

From Alejandra: “Until now we’ve seen how your unconditional love for Lucas has overcome every possible (and impossible) obstacle, but do you think it will also overcome the problems that are about to come after HOURGLASS, and will you do all it takes to save him?”
Bianca: “I don’t know how we get through this — I honestly don’t. It’s like all our worst nightmares have come true at once. But I am not giving up. Lucas is my only constant in a world that seems like it’s gone crazy. I will never give up on him, and I know he won’t let me go either. We’re finding our way through some dark times, but we’re doing it together.”

From Eibhlin: “If Lucas didn’t exist, would you have received Balthazar’s affections for you?”
Bianca: “… wow, I’m not sure. Probably yes. Would we really last, though? I don’t know. It might just have been incredibly hot for a little while… there are worse things. But, happily for me, Lucas does exist.”

From Andrea: “Do you believe in love at first sight like when you saw lucas after he tried to “save” you in EVERNIGHT?”
Bianca: “Since meeting Lucas, I think I have to believe it! But it takes so much more than that first sight to hold on to that love, and to find out who it is you really care about. I think only time can tell whether love at first sight is true. I think ours is.”

**

Only one more doll remains — and that’s Lucas! He and his crossbow long for a new home. And we have only a week and a half until AFTERLIFE comes out in the US! So surreal. Let’s find this Black Cross hunter a home, shall we?

Lucas Doll Contest

1) Send me an email with the header “Lucas Doll Contest” or something similar, at evernightclaudia at gmail dot com.
2) In this email, tell me why Lucas belongs in your home and no one else’s!
3) Also tell me a name and address I can use to send Lucas to you if you win. (And yes, I’ll ship anywhere.)
4) Do all of this before Sunday, March 6, when I will pick the winner!

I realize I owe you guys an Artist’s Way post from last week; the conference I was attending didn’t leave much free time for getting the information online. I’ll try to make up for it tomorrow.

AFTERLIFE — it’s almost here!

Categories
contests

EVERNIGHT doll contest #3!

Sorry this is coming out so late, guys, but as you may know, I’m on the road this week … on a (personal only) trip to Southern California. If you are in SoCal, you know that I somehow managed to arrive here in time for cold winds, torrential rains and flash flood warnings. Do I have great timing or what? (What I do NOT have is an umbrella. I do sometimes take packing light to an unfortunate extreme.)

The conference I’m attending here has been tremendously fun but also tremendously busy, which is how I come to be posting this contest at midnight on Saturday. But! You still get a week to enter, and both Bianca and Lucas still wait to to find homes. So how do you enter?

1) Send me an email at evernightclaudia at gmail dot com, with the subject line “Doll Contest #3” or similar.
2) In this email, tell me what you’d do at the beach when it’s raining!
3) Also tell me whether you’d like the Bianca doll or the Lucas doll, and give me a name and address to use so I can mail your doll to you if you win.
4) Do all this before Saturday, Feb. 26, when I’ll pick the next winner!

We’re SO CLOSE to AFTERLIFE I can almost taste it! Did you see the tour dates on my website (www.claudiagray.com)? If not, check them out, US guys — I can’t wait to meet you!

(And I’ll have a couple new international trips to announce very soon …)

Categories
contests interviews

DOLL Contest #2 winner announced, plus an interview with Patrice!

I’m sincerely sorry to be a day late with this, guys, but I was prepping for a trip to California yesterday and, in all the hubbub, forgot to pick the winner of Doll Contest #2. But now that I’m outside San Diego, kicking back and relaxing, I have time to announce that congratulations go to Juiliana R.! She chose the oh-so-glamorous Patrice doll, which will be headed to her soon, complete with both Evernight Academy uniform and gorgeous evening gown.

In celebration of this win, and of Patrice’s return to the story in AFTERLIFE, we have a few interview questions for her:

From Camille: “Will you ever come back? I kinda miss your character!”
Patrice: “I’m back, darling. Read AFTERLIFE and you’ll find me again. But I haven’t been wasting time; there are stories about me in two anthologies that tell you all sorts of things about my past, both when I was alive and a certain romantic misadventure of mine during World War II.”

From Joelene: “How will you feel about your friend Bianca now that you know she’s a ghost? Will you stand by her and try to help her figure things out?”
Patrice:</b> “Wraiths don’t bother me nearly as much as they do some vampires. The reasons for that … well, they’re complicated. But I don’t go running away in terror the first time I see a little frost on the windows.”

From Rachelle: “What do you have against humans? Is it just because they’re not like you or is there more to the story?”
Patrice: “It’s not that I hate humans. I’d even say I have a bit of a weakness for human men — but I’m getting off the subject. Let’s just say that I try not to fool myself that humans and vampires can have much to do with each other anymore. I’ve made that mistake before; I’d prefer not to do it again.”

From Alejandra: “Why whenever nobody was around were you all nice to Bianca, but whenever somebody came around you hated her….and also why did you have a change of heart on how you felt about Bianca at the end of Evernight?”
Patrice: “I never hated Bianca; I just wanted her to get with the program, you know? She acted like everybody at school was out to get her, all the time, which was crap. Then she expected me to feel all sorry for her. Um, sorry, I believe you make your own fate in this world. Plus, she was not the world’s best roommate. Do you ever in these books read about her cleaning up our room? Yeah, that would be because I had to do it myself, because somebody‘s too busy being in eternal love to get her towels up off the floor. But I didn’t hate it. When she was chilling out about stuff, I really kind of liked her. And I felt bad when Lucas turned out to be Black Cross – I mean, ouch.”

From Sarah: “Because you have been a vampire for a long time, did you know that if you were born a vampire, you would turn into a wraith just like Bianca?”
Patrice: “I can’t give away too much about AFTERLIFE, I’m told, so let’s just say that I know a lot more about wraiths than most vampires do. That’s largely due to this wonderful woman I met soon after I died in New Orleans; Marie Leveau knew all kinds of interesting things …”

**

The interview’s got to be cut a bit short — if I’m going to get to my dinner party on time, it would probably be nice to be, like, dressed and have my hair dried. It’s classier, you know? So I’ll go over some of your votes for your favorite scene – and open up the next doll contest (Bianca and Lucas still remain!) — later on tonight or first thing tomorrow. Keep watching this space!

Categories
contests

The Artist’s Way, Week Two

This week, in The Artist’s Way:

Recovering a Sense of Identity

This week’s exercises are really all about looking at our priorities — when we say, “I don’t have time to X, Y or Z,” often what we really mean is, “I don’t value X, Y or Z”, or, even more tellingly, “I won’t let myself admit that I value X, Y and Z.”

Basically, we’re asked to make lists of things we like to do and ask ourselves how long it’s been since we did them; then we’re asked to make lists of the activities that take up most of our time. Yes, things we must do usually hit the list of “activities” that take up most of our time: school/work, duties at home, family responsibilities, etc. But when I made this list, I was struck that a couple of the things I spent the most time doing weren’t in that category OR on the lists of things I like to do. They were just time-sucks — ways I let my energy get siphoned off into stuff I don’t care about. And I’m guessing I’m not the only one.

Some of the things I like to do are a little more difficult to incorporate into my daily life; for instance, I used to take pottery classes and really enjoyed them. I’d love to do that again sometime, but the cost, time and materials are a major investment. But so many things were so simple! Why hadn’t I gotten my butt down to my crochet circle in six weeks? Why am I not listening to the classical-music radio station sometimes instead of leaving the TV on to blast some meaningless, useless noise? How did I let myself fall out of practice with yoga?

So last Thursday, I went back to crochet circle (and am now making myself a lovely peacock blue computer sleeve — or at least am trying). I hope to return to yoga this week. The classical music is playing right now.

How do these play into a sense of identity, you might ask? Well, I think it’s important to know what inspires and recharges us, and to invest some of our time and energy into those experiences and activities. That’s how you feed your creative side — and it’s how you reaffirm to yourself that your creativity is an important part of your life. If you want to be a writer, you need to identify as a creative person and invest the time to express yourself.

For me, because writing is now my job (YAY), I definitely do make the time to write — both the books I write for publication and pleasure writing I do on the side, because I know how important it is that I never lose the sense that writing is fun. But I was surprised how slack I’d become in keeping up the many other activities that keep me cheerful, creative and inspired. I’m grateful for the reminder and reenergized for the future.

The only thing that might keep me from yoga this week is that I may have a wee bit of a stomach virus coming on. At any rate, the nausea has now been around for about six hours, which is somewhat ominous. Here’s hoping a good night’s sleep knocks that out!

But even if I am laid up in bed for a while, I can still crochet …

And don’t forget: You have until Wednesday, Feb. 16 to enter the second EVERNIGHT doll contest! For details, check out the previous entry on the blog!

Categories
contests

Doll Contest News, plus interview Qs and the Artist’s Way!

First of all, the first doll claimed was Raquel, and her bad-ass vampire hunting self is going to the lucky Averi A.! Congrats, Averi! Raquel will be making her way to you soon, assuming the postal service doesn’t try to confiscate her weapons.

If you didn’t win this time, don’t despair: Three more dolls need homes! And we’ll get that contest started soon — but first, there are some interview questions that need answering. You guys asked SO many terrific questions that I want to get to plenty of them, so I’m just going to “interview” each character as his or her doll is given away. Which makes today “Raquel Day.”

(Note: Spoilers for EVERNIGHT, STARGAZER and HOURGLASS below!)

From Averi: “Do you think that you will be the next Buffy the Vampire Slayer; is that your MO?”
Raquel: “Buffy was banging vampires all the time. I’ll pass, thanks.”

From Precious: “What is it like being a member of the Black Cross?”
Raquel: “Well, at first it was kind of awesome. I was so sick and tired of being scared all the time, you know? Black Cross finally gave me a way to fight back. Plus, I got to be with Dana, which was and is definitely awesome. But lately — since all that stuff with Bianca and Lucas — I don’t know. I guess I’m wondering how much we’re supposed to give up. Maybe it’s too much.”

From Paz: “Now that you know that Bianca is a vampire/wraith. Will you try to look past that and still be her friend?”
Raquel: “Seeing as how I kind of totally turned her in and nearly got her and Lucas killed, I figure there’s no chance she’ll ever forgive me. So that kind of kills the friendship, huh? But I’d do it a lot differently if I had it to do over. Of course, I don’t.”

From Aranxta: “Raquel, how do you manage to always stay so strong and brave??”
Raquel: “Me? Brave? I feel like I’m scared to death half the time. But you just have to be strong enough to keep going anyway; if not, whatever it is that’s trying to keep you down — it wins.”

From Melanie: “If someone wrote a biography about you, what do you think the title should be?”
Raquel: “BAD MAMA JAMA. Okay, that’s silly. But I’d take it. Given how I’m feeling about Black Cross lately — maybe DOUBLE-CROSSED.”

From Harman: “Raquel, you sort of found your soulmate at/in blackcross, what do you think of her?”
Raquel: “Dana’s the best person I’ve ever known. She’s totally courageous — you should ask her about staying strong and brave sometime. She knows how to fight every evil supernatural thing out there, because she’s grown up in Black Cross — but she doesn’t let Black Cross think for her. Plus, she’s hilarious. And gorgeous. I still can’t believe I’m lucky enough to have her in my life.”

From Eniyah: “Raquel, deep down do you really, really love being apart of an exhilarating group such as Black Cross?”
Raquel: “Exhilarating? Try eating oatmeal for 30 days straight and see how exhilarating you think it is then. I admit, though – they really have taught me how to fight, and I’m grateful for that.”

From Jennifer: “It seems like you’re pretty psyched and gun ho about being a slayer but what do you not like about it?”
Raquel: “The early mornings. Oatmeal. Not knowing who to believe or trust. What they did to Bianca and Lucas. Also, oatmeal. Feeling like Dana and I never get any time to ourselves. The kind of cult-like mentality of the whole thing. And did I mention the endless, endless oatmeal?”

From Monique: “In the first books you were so scared to do anything; you didn’t talk to many people. What made you overcome your fears and join the Black Cross team?”
Raquel: “Well, I don’t know if I ever would have had the guts to leave Evernight Academy if it hadn’t been on fire at the time. That kind of simplified things. Once I learned there was actually a group of people out there dedicated to fighting the supernatural stuff that used to scare the hell out of me, though, I was in. … Maybe I should have asked a few more questions first.”

From Camille: “What would you do if the time comes that you have to kill Bianca?”
Raquel: “Oh, my God. I could never do that. Not ever. I mean, it freaks me out that she’s a vampire — I know they’re evil — but I just couldn’t. Don’t make me even think about it.”

**

Bianca, Patrice and Lucas will answer the great questions you guys sent for them in weeks to come. Beginning, shall we say, next Wednesday, February 16, when I’ll give another doll away! What are the rules for entering this time?

THE RULES:

1) Send an email to evernightclaudia at gmail dot com, with the subject header EVERNIGHT doll contest #2 or similar.
2) In this email, tell me your single favorite scene from the EVERNIGHT saga so far.
3) Also give me a name and address I can use to mail your doll if you win (and yes, I’ll ship anywhere in the world) — and tell me which of the remaining three dolls (Patrice, Lucas or Bianca) you’d most like!
4) Do all this before next Wednesday, when I’ll pick the winner at random, and answer some more interview questions.

Good luck, everyone!

(By the way, if you need to remind yourself of how awesome these dolls are, check out the original post. And for those of you who have asked: Balthazar will wait for his own doll when he gets his own book … in other words, only one short year from now. So keep watching this space!)

Now, because I somehow forgot to post this on the weekend:

The Artist’s Way, Week One: Recovering a Sense of Safety

Not every week speaks to everyone in the same way, when it comes to this book. Some weeks, the program is really dealing with an issue that strikes home; other weeks, it’s not anything you particularly need to hear.

That’s what this week was to me. It’s mostly about identifying the people who have discouraged you from being creative, but I have to say … almost nobody has ever done that. I’ve had the odd flame for some fanfiction I wrote, or a bad review or two on Amazon, but those are just nicks and scratches. This chapter is mostly about administering to the wounded, to people who have really been told that they have no creativity or that it’s a waste of time for them to express it. I know there are a lot of people for whom that’s true, and I’m glad they have the tools in this chapter to help them get past that.

But I wouldn’t say this was a waste of time for me. The chapter doesn’t ask us to only look for the people who discouraged you; it also asks who encouraged you. And I’ve been so lucky and fortunate to have people who believed in me all along the way. I really believe a sense of gratitude is one of the key ingredients of happiness, so reconnecting with that in a big way was amazing.

Onto next week, and “A Sense of Identity” —

Categories
contests

The AFTERLIFE countdown begins! (new contest!)

Can you believe the release of AFTERLIFE is only six weeks away? Me either! But it’s past time we got some contests started. I have a few slightly different prizes this time, and I’m curious to see if they’re prizes you’ll enjoy. What are they?

Well, thanks to my web designer — and custom doll enthusiast — Tara, they are Evernight Academy dolls.

Check it out:

Bianca:

Bianca

Lucas:

Lucas

Raquel:

Raquel

Patrice:

Patrice

How fabulous are they, right? And each of them comes with multiple outfits, so you can have Black Cross Lucas:

Lucas

Or Autumn Ball Patrice:

Patrice

Or even wraithly Bianca:

Bianca

But they ALL have Evernight Academy uniforms (even with the little crest! Isn’t that awesome?), so that’s guaranteed. They could wear regular Barbie-and-Ken clothes, should you wish to costume them to your heart’s content at home.

I hope you guys think these are as great as I do. I’m going to give all four dolls away — one doll a week — via contests. Each week, you’ll be asked to choose which of the dolls you’d like to win; I’ll pick a winner at random, so there’s no telling which dolls will go first and last.

CONTEST RULES:

1) Send an email to evernightclaudia at gmail dot com, with the subject header “EVERNIGHT Doll Contest #1 or similar.”

2) In this email, give me the name and address I should use to tell me where to send your prize if you win (and yes, I’ll ship anywhere).

3) Also in this email, tell me which of the four dolls you’d like, and include an interview question for that character. For instance, if you love the look of vampire hunter Raquel, you could ask, “Raquel, do you feel bad about what you did to Bianca in HOURGLASS, or do you stand by your decision?” Except not that one b/c I just gave it to you. (Also, feel free to enter once for each doll you’d like, up to four times, once for each doll; repeat entries beyond that are uncool.)

4) Do all this before Thursday, Feb. 10, when I’ll pick the first winner.

Bonus: I’ll answer several of the questions you send in for each of the characters during the subsequent week!

Good luck to everyone!

Categories
contests

ONCE IN A FULL MOON winner, and “The Rite”

Sorry this is going up so late, guys; I finally started to feel better today (thanks in part to all your awesome cold remedies — seriously, I appreciate each and every one of them.) However, as I’m sure you know, after you’ve been in the house sick for a few days, the first thing you want to do when you feel better is get out of the dang house. So I took myself off to see “The Rite,” because nothing says “I’m on the road to recovery” like a good old-fashioned exorcism.

Due to my questionable taste in filmgoing, I am very late announcing that the winner of Ellen Schreiber’s ONCE IN A FULL MOON is none other than Angela F.! So congrats, Angela! I’m sure you’re going to enjoy it.

If you didn’t win, don’t despair: More contests are coming starting Tuesday. We’re leading into AFTERLIFE now, so the good loot is about to start coming.

In the meantime, in case you were wondering, “So, how is ‘The Rite’?” — Probably better than you’d think! It’s not brilliant, and really, after “The Exorcist,” has any film come up with something genuinely new on this topic? But thanks to some hard work by Sir Anthony Hopkins, I found the film’s fundamental question interesting (can you believe in the devil without believing in God?) and some of the sequences genuinely scary and unsettling. And the photography of Rome made me deeply nostalgic for the place. You could do worse with your moviegoing dollar. You could also do better, this time of year (“127 Hours,” “The King’s Speech,” “Black Swan,” “True Grit”), but sometimes, you just need a horror movie, you know?

Categories
contests

ONCE IN A FULL MOON Contest!

I had more ambitious plans for today’s post, but the head cold I’ve had since Saturday has equally ambitious plans to take over my body and leave me incapable of doing anything but drinking hot tea. So, today I’m just announcing another contest … though for an awesome prize. Do you want a hardcover copy of ONCE IN A FULL MOON by the awesome Ellen Schreiber? You know you do. The heroine, Celeste, already has a perfect boyfriend in Nash … but mystical visions are drawing her to the woods, to legends of werewolves and to the very mysterious, very hot Brandon. This is a juicy read by one of my favorite people, so you should snap this up. How do you win?

The Rules:

1) Send an email to evernightclaudia at gmail dot com with the header “ONCE IN A FULL MOON Contest” or something similar.

2) In this email, include a name and address I can use to ship your prize if you win. (And yes, I’ll ship anywhere.)

3) Also in this email, tell me your best remedy for a head cold. I need to know!

4) Do all this before Friday, Jan. 28, when I’ll pick the winner.

This is a quick one, guys, so act now!

Categories
contests

VACATIONS FROM HELL contest winners!

And who are the many, many lucky winners of autographed copies of VACATIONS FROM HELL? First, the Aussies! Congrats to Kamsajini T., Ashling H., Stacey B., Terril-Lee F., and Millie T.! But there’s lots more of you, too: Way to go, Amy C., Gina L., Lea K., Elizabeth K., Jamie T., Nicole B., Laurel F., Ala T., Angela L., and Dawn D.! Hope all of you enjoy your copies and all the paranormal stories within.

I just returned from New York City, where I met with my publishers to talk about all the good stuff coming up, mostly about FATEFUL in the fall (when werewolves meet the Titanic, the fun never ends), a little about BALTHAZAR (who wants to guess what color his cover is going to be?) but also about the release of AFTERLIFE … which is only six weeks from today. Actually, I’m getting this posted after midnight, aren’t I? So five weeks and six days from today. Leading up to AFTERLIFE’s release, I’m going to be having tons more contests, interviews and fun stuff, so stay tuned.

But we’re going to start tomorrow, because it’s after midnight, and I’m just so grateful not to be on a plane. 😀