I have something fangtastic for you!!! My amazing Australian publisher (Penguin AUS) has created THE COOLEST tv trailer for CoVT!!! Check it out HERE (because I am incapable of imbedding vids – yep, that and fluffy bunnies are my kryptonite). Comment and pass it on to all of your Minion and soon-to-be-Minion friends! EIGHTH GRADE BITES is headed down under very soon, so please, please, please, raid your local book store, Aussie Minions!

Also, for those of you who will be at San Diego Comic Con – keep a very close eye on my Appearance page, as I’ll be updating with exact details of where I’ll be and when. (P.S. my son Jacob will be with me!)

Many of you have been asking for a while now, “Aaaauntiiiiie, when can we have a booooox seeettt??” (and yes, most of you have whined a lil when you said it – but it’s cool, cuz I was whining about it too…and way more than any of you)

I’m happy to say that that day has come at long last! This November, my fangtastic publisher is releasing a box set of the first four Vlad books!! GAZE UPON ITS SPLENDOR!

I know. It’s so SHINY and AWESOME, I can hardly contain my JOY. And dude, they chopped the price, so you can get all four books in this FANGtastic set for only $29.99. How ROCK does that???

So…I’m thinking this is the PERFECT way to spread the Vlad love this Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Solstice/Holiday season. And together, we’ll take over the world!!!

The 12th word – the

The 12th sentence – D’Ablo began his thought, but then closed his mouth again, fearing the repercussions his words might bring, and forgetting in fear what he had been meaning to say.

The 12th paragraph – Joss stumbled, collapsing on the ground. Vlad flicked his eyes between Joss and his father, but remained motionless, in complete, captured awe of the man before him.

The 12th sentence on the 12th page – But Joss did attack, and if it weren’t for Dorian stepping in the way, Joss would have killed him.

The 12th chapter is called – Unexpected Words

Excited??? I am! Make sure you pre-order your copy soon. September 21st loometh!

By the way, FINALLY saw the trailer for Deathly Hallows. Freaked out. So excited I can’t even breathe.

No worries if you enter as a group. Auntie will manage to spoil you all.

EDITED TO ADD: It does NOT have to be a live video. PowerPoint or a form of animation is totally acceptable!

Then something happened that I didn’t expect. Auntie Heather got more popular, and my inbox started filling up faster than I could manage. The emails now come in faster than I can respond, so now – horribly guilty as it makes me feel – I’m unable to respond to most of them. It’s become a choice between “respond to emails” or “write the book”, so naturally, if I want to continue my career as an author, I’ve had to choose the latter. But I read each and every one, and I wanted to respond to you all here, where I’m hoping you’ll see.

I’m often amazed by the emails I receive. Yes, I love the ones that tell me you love my books or you like my hair or that you can’t wait to find out hat happens next and please, please, please, Auntie Heather, DO NOT stop writing books EVER! But the ones that really stick with me are the more personal emails – the ones from parents, thanking me for giving them a connection to their child through my books; the ones from Minions who say that their school life is utter hell, but they feel like they can get through it after reading my books; the ones from Minions going through a tough time (a move, surgery, an illness), but take comfort in escaping with Vlad. I’ve cried many times while reading these emails, for different reasons. Mostly because I wish I could do something to make everything okay for you all.

Then I realized that I’m doing what I can, and what that is is listening. I’m listening to you, Minions. I hear you. And I understand.

Life absolutely sucks sometimes (especially as a tween and teen), but it sometimes helps just to know that someone can relate, that someone hears you and understands what you’re going through. Believe me, my own life hasn’t been so rosey. I was terribly unpopular from Kindergarten through my senior year, had five housefires growing up, was married too young (and divorced shortly after), and went through a zillion other awful things that I can’t even really talk about. I wish I had had someone’s ear, had known that someone was rooting for me. But no one was here for me, and I can’t go back in time. All I can do is move forward and do what I can to right that wrong through you.

So if you’re ever feeling so down that you feel like your heart is just full of black ink, if you’re ever feeing so alone that it feels like the world is turning in on itself, know that I’m here for you, and that I love you all very much.

I’m listening. I promise.

So. What has Auntie been up to lately, aside from catching up on sleep? Well, writing, for one. I’m currently writing a short story for a YA vampire anthology (which is kinda turning out like the vampire equivalent of SAW), and working on the first book of THE SLAYER JOURNALS (which desperately needs a title – I decided that SO MUCH AT STAKE just doesn’t fit the feel of the book; that title suggests funny and these books are fairly dark…). The publishing schedule for TSJ and for BLOODBOUND are being wiggled around a bit, so it’s looking maybe like you guys will see TSJ every fall starting in 2011 and BLOODBOUND every spring, starting in 2012. But no promises. Things are always changing in publishing, Regardless, you’ll soon have Auntie Heather storytime yumminess twice a year!

Also, I’m thinking of changing my bangs to blue. What do you think, Minions? You’re opinion means a lot to me…

Ohhhhhhh, and there’s been DRAMA! See Penguin was kind enough to ship me 300 Vlad tote bags to give away to you Minions. Nice, huh? They ROCK! But…someone stole the boxes off my porch. Yeah. Auntie was not happy about that. On a good note, the Camaro wasn’t taken…

There’s also some big super sekrit stuff going on that I can’t really talk about yet. One is a personal thing, but hugely life-changing. The other is TOTALLY Minion-related and you SO WISH YOU KNEW. But…my lips are sealed. For now.

Also, I’m having an epic contest on the Win Stuff/Win Things/WinWinWin page (I can never remember what it’s called). You should totally enter. Just sayin’.

1. TWELFTH GRADE KILLS will be roughly the same length as ELEVENTH GRADE BURNS.
2. There are 45 chapters.
3. It will begin with something that will make you gasp.
4. It will end with something else that will make you gasp.
5. People will die – lots of people; some of them major characters.
6. If I’ve done my job right, you’ll shed at least a few tears while reading this book.
7. Vlad will choose, once and for all, between Meredith and Snow.
8. A dark, horrible secret will be revealed – one that will send you back to reread the series all over again.
9. The last word of the last chapter is “bring”.
10. This book will answer questions…and maybe make you ask just one more.

So…who’s excited???

TWELFTH GRADE KILLS comes out on my birthday, September 21, 2010. And yes, there will be a tour…(no idea where I’m visiting just yet)

You can pre-order it HERE, HERE, and HERE – or visit your local indie bookseller and ask them to pre-order it for you.

Now…I think I was kinda wrong. Or at least a lil confused about what it really would mean.

So if you’re considering becoming an author, there are a few things that no one will tell you. That is, except for your Auntie Heather.

1. You will have a zillion deadlines, and they will all come at the SAME TIME.
Seriously. I have two books due on August 1st, and while I trust my publisher completely, the little voice in my head is questioning their sanity. “TWO BOOKS?! BOTH due the SAME DAY?!”, the little voice cries. I generally ignore it, or squash it with a tack hammer. It happens. Terrible, tight, grueling deadlines happen – and you have every right to complain! But not too much. After all, tight deadlines mean you have books contracted, which is a good thing if you want to continue publishing.

2. You will have no friends. At least, not any who you can see/talk to/spend time with. Unless you’re attending the same conventions.
Okay, that might be a bit dramatic, but I honestly cannot figure out how other authors are managing to spend time hanging out and shopping with friends in person, when I can barely find time to return emails to my friends that live in the magic box on my desk (ie, my computer). I’m both jealous and simply amazed.

3. When you go on tour, you’ll travel to incredible cities THAT YOU WILL NOT SEE.
Unless you peer out the window of your escort’s car, you won’t even get a glimpse of some pretty amazing cities, because touring, while awesome, is about reaching fans (in my case, Minions!) and selling books.

4. You will never feel like you know anything about the business….until you do.
And odds are, when you finally realize there’s an aspect of publishing you feel pretty smart about, someone else will feel smarter about it and you’ll feel dumb again. Don’t try to understand publishing…just love it.

5. In the end, the book is all that matters. But you won’t have time to write it.
My schedule is gruelling – on the Appearance page, you guys only see stuff you could attend. I don’t list things like school visits and business or personal travel that doesn’t involve appearances. Heck, in May/June 2010 alone, I’m gone on 4 trips, all within a three week period. The travel is exhausting, but the deadlines loom. And everything must wait for The Book. Family, friends, colleagues, showering – The Book comes first.

6. It’s worth it.
Every moment of stress, every trek through the busy airport, every Skype with family from across the country. It’s all worth it. And like anything else that’s worth it, it’s not easy.

My life isn’t glamorous. But it’s mine. And I wouldn’t trade with anybody else. I guess all I really would like to make it complete would be time….and world domination, of course.

Also, you may have noticed that I updated my Appearances page (more updates coming soon!), and one of the updates is an upcoming online chat with Auntie Heather!!! Bookmark THIS PAGE and you can even sign up for a reminder about my chat. You can ask me ANYTHING! What’s my favorite color? What am I reading right now? What’s my plan for the coming zombie apocalypse? ANYTHING!!!

I spent yesterday writing, approving forum accounts, filling Minion Bling orders, and eating Hershey’s Kisses. As you can probably tell, my stress level is waaaaaaay down. What about you, Minions? It’s nearing the end of the school year, which means finals are quickly approaching. But so is summer break! How are you all? Stressed? Happy? In need of an Auntie hug? Is anyone thinking of entering the new contest on my Win Things page?