Minions, by now most of you must realize that among the Minion Horde is an amazing new author by the name of Lisa McMann. Lisa is a good friend and the author of WAKE, a book that I am seriously drooling to get my little claws on. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to go out and show Janie (the main character in WAKE) some love.

What’s the book about?

For seventeen-year-old Janie, getting sucked into other people’s dreams is getting old. Especially the falling dreams, the naked-but-nobody-notices dreams, and the sex-crazed dreams. Janie’s seen enough fantasy booty to last her a lifetime. She can’t tell anybody about what she does; they’d never believe her or, worse, they’d think she’s a freak. So Janie lives on the fringe, cursed with an ability she doesn’t want and can’t control. Then she falls into a gruesome nightmare, one that chills her to the bone. Because for the first time, Janie is more than a witness to someone else’s twisted psyche. She is a participant….

Lisa has some amazingly cool free downloadables, and is going on a book tour! So go out to see her (dates/places below), wear your Minion Bling, and spread the love, Minions!

WAKE book tour dates:

Wednesday, March 5, 6:00PM
Borders
1361 S Alma School Road
Mesa, AZ 85210

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Thursday, March 6, 6:00PM
Borders
4555 East Cactus Rd
Phoenix, AZ 85032

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Monday, March 10, Time TBA
Treehouse Books
37 East Eighth Street
Holland, MI 49423

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Tuesday, March 11, 7:00PM
Borders
43075 Crescent Blvd
Novi, MI 48375

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Wednesday, March 12, Time TBA
Andersons Bookshop
123 West Jefferson
Naperville, IL 60540

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Thursday March 13, 7:00PM
Borders
1 N. La Grange Road
LaGrange, IL 60525

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Tuesday, March 18, 7:00PM
Borders
1149 S. Main St.
Walnut Creek, CA 94596

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Tuesday and Wednesday, April 8-9, appearance with NYT bestselling author Cassandra Clare around the Phoenix/Tempe area.

Yep. Bored. That’s me.

After struggling with the stress and panic of completing, then polishing the manuscript of TENTH GRADE BLEEDS…after complaining, whining, and waiting to have a break, just one lousy break…here I am, thinking “now what?” Oh the irony! And the funny thing is that I do this every time I finish with a project. You’d think I’d get used to it.

Now, what I could do, my Minions, is dedicate this time to being highly productive: return emails (which I’m desperately behind on), return messages, help a few friends with writing-related stuff, maybe vaccuum. But no. Not me.

I’m moping, and letting my mind wander, because what I really want to do is write, but can’t because I need to clear out the mental cobwebs for a while. Pout pout. Mope mope. Poor widdow me. *stab*

But I comfort myself with the knowledge that I’m going to see MCR (My Chemical Romance) on May 3rd, and that the paperback of EIGHTH GRADE BITES is out in two weeks (March 13th).

Huh….it just occurred to me how ME ME ME my blog has been lately. What do you guys wanna talk about? I’m game.

Let’s not all go rushing in there at once. Single file, please. No shoving! =

You may have noticed, my Minions, that I’ve been slow to comment and to return emails/messages lately. Well, there’s a reason for it, of course. Auntie Heather has to turn in TENTH GRADE BLEEDS this Friday and, to be honest, it’s not quite finished. Oh, it will be, of that I have no doubts. But for now, I’m working very hard to make it perfect, and that’s taking up a lot of my time. So, forgive me, Minions, but Auntie Heather is knee-deep in bloody pages right now. Things will return to normal (whatever that is) around here soon. Promise.

And lots of good things are heading your way soon! The website is getting a major update, a trailer for NINTH GRADE SLAYS is in the works, and the long-awaited store is on the verge of opening. (You’ll know when that happens, as a link will be added to the site) Plus, some additional author appearances are currently being arranged, so hang in there! I really hope to meet as many of you as I possibly can.

But for now…it’s back to work for Auntie Heather. Be well, my Minions!

It’s good news/bad news time, Minions! Okay, the good news: I FINALLY have more Minion Bling! So all of you who have been waiting sooooooo patiently are about to get some, along with a lil extra something as an apology for taking so long/token of Auntie Heather’s affection for you. The bad news: I won’t be shipping for about two weeks, so that I have enough time to package it all, label it all, lug it all over to the post office. AND…I think I have to order more buttons already. This time, I’m thinking of going with blue, to celebrate NINTH GRADE SLAYS. Any thoughts on this? Should I stick with red? Do both? Have a different color for each book? It could be like a Vlad rainbow. =

It’s been a while (if I’m honest with myself, it’s been a LONG while) since Auntie Heather passed on any writing tips to you guys, so I was thinking I might tell you about The Big Thing. See, every author has a Big Thing that they focus on when they’re writing. For some, it’s plot, for others it’s structure, for me…it’s character. My stories don’t come from an idea I have for an event that takes place or a particular way I want a story to come together. My stories come from my characters. Without Vlad, there would be no story for me to write.

Am I making sense?

Probably not. My point is, that you have to find whatever it is that makes you foam at the mouth to write…and then follow it. Do you find the thought of a particular situation intriguing? Or are you more intrigued by how a story fits together, how words flow? Or is it the people that get you? All of these things are important. But most writers are very passionate about one of them, and the rest follows. Find your Big Thing…and go with it.

By the way, Minions, tomorrow’s the last day you can win an ARC!

“What’s a snopire?” Well, it’s what happens when you give my husband and daughter snow, accessories, and a free day. My son says we all have frostbite now. I’m just jazzed that our front yard is home to a vampire made of snow. Do you think he looks a little like Otis?


But that’s not all that’s been going on here. I contacted the winners of my latest big contest yesterday!!! Still waiting to hear back from three of them (marked with asterisks below–so if you see your name, drop me a line!). And the grand prize winner (also known as She Who Gets A Character Named After Her In TENTH GRADE BLEEDS) is KYLIE MCAULIFFE!!! Big congrats, Kylie!!

And big congrats to the winners of the advanced copies of NINTH GRADE SLAYS: Frenchcatt, jedi_clark, eriksangel*, coley_me*, and rapidash728*!!!

This contest was really successful–thank you all for participating. And keep an eye out for a new one soon! (And if you still really, really want an ARC…see my last blog post)