It’s funny, the things that people never really tell you about being an author, and the things you hear, but don’t really think about. Like how travel and deadlines and day to day stuff will take up all of your blogging time. You think “I’ll blog tomorrow!”, only tomorrow takes a month to come. And before you know it, your Minions are wondering if they should form a search party. But no worries, my Minions! Your Auntie Heather is alive and well. Alive and…well…
I’ve been busy! Not only did I turn in two books (the first draft of THE SLAYER CHRONICLES #2 (title to be announced later) & the second draft of BLOODBOUND), but I was also traveling. I went on an amazing Disney Cruise to the Bahamas with my family, I was in Omaha, Nebraska, spreading the word about why bullying sucks, and then I was at San Diego Comic Con, handing out advanced copies of FIRST KILL.
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A brief detour so I can SQUEE about SDCC. In short, I met tons of awesome Minions (which was the absolute best part of SDCC), spoke with Jhonen Vasquez (of JTHM fame) again, met Nick, Zak & Aaron of Ghost Adventures fame, and nearly ran into Gerard Way…AGAIN. Plus, I went to the Lucasfilms party and Stan Lee himself brushed right by me…and Christopher Moore stopped by to say hi to me at the Mysterious Galaxy booth! My geeky little heart was very pleased. I can’t wait to go back! Neither can Gargy. He dressed up like a Jedi the whole time….which made him very popular at the Lucasfilms party.
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So I’ve been busy. With books. With travel. With life. Oooooh, and I should know where I’ll be touring this fall very soon! Actually, I kinda already know. I just can’t tell you yet. The moment I can, I’ll post it on my Appearances page. And we can be busy together!
You know I’m never too busy to think about my Minions. And I have something FANGtastic for you all!
How would you like to be one of my Master Minions???
That’s right! So many of you have mentioned rank in the Minion Horde. Well, here’s your chance.
On August 2nd (running through August 9th), which is TODAY, I’m launching Heather Brewer’s Master Minion campaign!!!
As it says on VladTod.com –
Sign up to be one of Heather Brewer’s Master Minions!
Get exclusive access and early sneak peaks plus a Minion Kit to help you talk up
The Slayer Chronicles to your friends!
Visit VladTod.com for official rules and how to join.
Spread the word and sign up FAST, because this isn’t going to last and the free stuff you’ll get is AMAZING! I’m so geeked. What do you guys think??
Most authors have a special place that they go, Minions, when they are in writing mode, when they are driven to create. Many writers refer to this place as their “writer’s cave”. My special place, my office, my sanctuary, is affectionately referred to as my “writer’s lair”, thanks to the fangtastic Melissa DeLaCruz, of Blue Bloods fame. And today I’m going to give you a little glimpse of it, just so you’ll know the kinds of things that surround me as I pound out manuscripts or blog or tweet (oh man, do I tweet…). Please forgive the relatively crappy images, as I took them with my iPhone, and the iPhone hates pretty, clear pictures.
We will start with the door to my lair.
Not bad, eh? looks normal enough. Just double doors. Plain. Boring. So…normal, right? But when we open them…
PA-CHOW!!! The spookiness begins! This is the view from my open doors, followed by a closer view.
Yeah. I have some skeery stuff in my office. Creepy bodiless hands coming out of the wall, a human skull, a monkey like the one from Monkey Shines. It’s cozy, right? And if we begin to turn to the right, we see this:
That’s the corner of my coffin couch (which is glorious, and yes, made from an actual coffin). My husband often teases that he plans to bring along a mirror just to check on me during nap time. Turning again to the right (we’re spinning – are you dizzy??)…
…we see my favorite corner, where I’ve placed my asylum window, my baby doll (I cannot tell you her name – it may disturb some of you), and antique baby shoes. And right again to the door from the inside.
The dolls on the bottom right, I refer to as my “Creepy Children”, because when I open the office door, they stare at me through the glass with their haunting button eyes. *sigh* I love them so… If you keep turning right, you’ll see a second set of doors that lead to my dining room.
And right from there brings you back to my bookcase, which has a distinct lack of books. (The books are all in the reading room in the upstairs loft) But it does contain some of my most precious belongings. I’ll give you a top to bottom shelf by shelf view.
Not too shabby, right? It’s nice here. I like it. Whenever I enter my lair, I feel at home. To some, it’s creepy. To me, it’s beautiful. And you should be your own kind of beautiful, Minions, no matter what people say.
So…the only thing I haven’t done is hang up curtains. Mostly because I’m torn between curtains and black wooden blinds. Once I make up my mind, my lair will be complete. Yay lair!
As far as “what’s new in the world of Auntie Heather”, I’m currently wrapping up writing the second book in The Slayer Chronicles. I know the title, but you don’t. (neener neener neener) No worries! I’ll tell you soon…ish. Also, I’m finishing up the last few edits for Bloodbound, which is so good it makes my brain all explodey. I can’t really describe it…mostly because I have no idea how. Seriously! The description on my website doesn’t even do it justice. I just want to live in that world forever. And I hope you’ll join me for at least a few hours. I promise it’ll be worth the ride. (Or it won’t, and you’ll hate me forever…but I’m betting on that first one)
On Monday, I head out on a Disney cruise (woooooo, Mickey!!!), so I’ll be offline from July 4th til the 11th, but I’m thinking that I should arrange an Ask Auntie Heather chat on the forum soon. What do you guys think? I can set aside an hour or two and we can just talk…y’know? It sounds like fun to me, and I think it’ll breathe new life into the forum. If you don’t hang out on the forum, please do! It’s a fangtastic Minion hangout and I want you guys to treat it as your own.
One last thing before I go. How many of you have or have access to an iPod, iPod Touch, or iPad? Go grab it. Right now. It’s okay…I can wait.
*hold music plays while you grab your technology*
Got it? Sweet. I’ve got the fire extinguisher ready, because I know how you Minions burst into flames when you get excited. Ready?
Go download this right now, because Minions – WE HAVE AN APP!!!
It’s only 99 cents, and it’s a FANGtastic game that’s kinda like PacMan, but with Fang! You can eat bloodbags for invincibility and killing slayers gifts you with their tiny lil screams. (Mwahahahahaha!!!) It’s sooooo much fun. I am seriously, totally addicted. So go. Now. Grab that app and tell the rest of the Horde (and non-Minions! Or should I say “soon-to-be-Minions”?). Because this thing is too fun!
Can you tell I like it?
Okay, so in my brief absence, I’m leaving you all in charge. I DO NOT want to come back to the world in ruins and zombies on the rampage AGAIN, Minions! *gives you all the Mom look* So behave. Be nice. And SOMEBODY feed the thing under my bed.
#YAsaves lives – it saved mine, after all
June 8th, 2011Books save lives, Minions. In particular, YA books save lives. When I was growing up, hated by virtually everyone, and so terribly bullied, my escape, my refuge, my island in the storm was the library. I escaped the painful world that was my own and delved into other worlds–worlds that entertained me, worlds that gave me hope. Without those books, I might never have known that some people had it worse than I did in school (CARRIE by Stephen King) or that I wasn’t alone in my body changes (ARE YOU THERE GOD? IT’S ME, MARGARET by Judy Blume). Books helped me get through being a tween and teen–they helped me to stay alive, when I had thoughts of suicide. Books saved me.
So I’m completely confused at why the Wall Street Journal would post an article saying the opposite (click that link, go read that, and then come back here), that books about darker issues are inappropriate in any way for today’s teen. One of the books mentioned, RAGE by Jackie Morse Kessler, blew me away. In fact, I loved it so much that I blurbed it. And when I said, “RAGE is raw and real, a truly dark, honest look at self-harm and the teenage psyche. Kessler left me breathless.” I meant it. Jackie’s book is truly fantastic, and gives us a great avenue to discuss the issue of self-harm. The fact that Megan Cox Gurdon (the author of the WSJ article) actually insinuates that RAGE would make anyone want to self-harm disgusts me. It also tells me two things: 1. Ms Gurdon needs to read Jackie’s book again and again until she fully understands it, and 2. Ms. Gurdon clearly does not understand how a teenage brain works, and grossly underestimates your intelligence, Minions. Not only are you smart enough to know that a book like RAGE is showing you what NOT to do and why, you can figure it all out without someone crying out for censorship, thankyouverymuch. People like this make me crazy. We NEED books. Particularly dark issue books. So that we know that we’re not alone. So that we know we’re not a freak. So that we can find a shred of solace during some pretty scary times.
Jackie’s response is here – you should go read that. Then you should go read RAGE, if you’re interested in darker YA themes. And never let the censors win. This is your life, Minions. Live it.
P.S. Auntie loves you. 
A Month Since I Blogged – or – I am SO Sorry, Minions!
May 31st, 2011Seriously? *raises eyebrow at self* THIS is what you call staying in touch with your Minions? You haven’t blogged in a friggin’ MONTH??? That’s crazy talk! Unforgivable! You’ll be lucky if the Minions haven’t crawled away into tiny dark holes to ignore you forever. Not that you haven’t been busy, but still. A month. Psshaw, Auntie Heather! Psshaw!
Minions, I know I’ve said it before, but your dear Auntie is absolutely sorry for the looooooooooooong silence on her blog. Time sometimes gets away with me – especially when I live half of my life inside my head, and inside other worlds. Worlds full of vampires and blood and monsters and teeth. Worlds with katanas and darkness and the hope that our hero will somehow survive the impossible. It’s distracting – very distracting – from the real world, but I’ve been there plenty too. And so I’ve been pretty distracted from blogging lately, but never (never ever ever, my Minions) am I distracted from you. You are always in my thoughts, always at the center of my shriveled up, black little heart, and I love you all more than I can say. So, with that, I give you…the past month of my life.
After accepting the Truman Readers Award, I had a few adventures with some of my favorite authors. First off, in early April, I attended (for the third year in a row – wooooooo, threepeat!) Book Battle at Pattonville Heights Middle School in Maryland Heights, MO. As always, it was EPIC! I got to hang with Minions, and even got to meet and hang out with the great and powerful James Dashner – author of THE MAZE RUNNER series and five-star general of the Dashner Army. After Book Battle we had a nice lunch, wherein James and I contemplated our eventual world domination. (It’s what writers do – we also forget to take pics of us together…as in this case.) And so a good day was had by all!
These Minions designed their team t-shirts with me in mind (no, really)!
Shortly after Book Battle, I took a little trip to a place called Rochester, NY, where I took part in something so incredible that words cannot possibly convey how cool it was (is!). I took part in TBF (otherwise known as Rochester Teen Book Festival). First off, let me say that the good folks at TBF know how to spoil authors rotten. Dinner, presents, accolades, and great company, followed by getting driven to the event in classic cars, partaking in a parade, walking up the red carpet to screaming fans, and that’s all just before the festival! Seriously, Rochester – how am I supposed to enjoy other festivals now?? It was amazing. And even more amazing was the fabulous Punching Bag panel I was on with A.S. King and Jackie Morse Kessler. We discussed bullying in every form – external/physical bullying, self-bullying (emotional), relationship bullying (by friends and boy/girlfriends).
Yep. That's us!
We had three panels and I’m not sure we got through any of them without at least one person tearing up. But it felt so good to share our experiences, and it was so amazing to connect with so many of you on that level. I positively adore A.S. and Jackie, and love their books, so you should totally give their stuff a try – if you like books that make you feel like someone understands how you feel, theirs totally do. AND! I have pics!
Our Fabulous Ride to the Festivities
The Fabulous Eric Luper Takes the Passenger Seat
A.S. King, Yours Truly, and Jackie Morse Kessler Riding in Style
The floor was lined with gold stars with our names on them!
Our Keepers: without them, A.S., Jackie, and I would have likely wandered off into parts unknown! (which is something else that authors often do...)
Since TBF, I’ve been dealing with some weird jaw issues. Apparently, I clench my jaw when I sleep, due to stress. So I kinda injured a joint and muscle in my jaw, and had to get on all this weird medication just to fix it. It’s almost all better now, but it was incredibly difficult to sleep there for a while. And that really messed with my ability to write, so I’m a bit behind on BLOODBOUND (which my incredibly patient editor has been amazing about). But I’m working hard on it now, so the second draft of that book should be done very soon (WOOT!).
In how-FANGtastic-is-this? news: My Italian publisher, Nord, just created this trailer for CoVT! Check it out: http://youtu.be/skZTlzRyamM (Sorry – tried to embed it, but the video refused to bend to my omnipotent will…er sumfin’.)
And DUDE. When’s the last time you stopped by www.VladTod.com or www.highschoolbites.com?? We now have Minion Horde membership cards, and a couple new Fang lines of awesomeness (including the adorable Fangette). It’s crazy how big you’ve grown, Minion Horde. You do your Auntie Heather very, very proud.
And…she promises not to leave you all alone for another month.
Hey…who painted all the coffins purple??? And what happened to our spiderweb curtains??
The Harrowing and Fantastical Adventures of the one they refer to as Auntie Heather
April 28th, 2011Greetings, Minions! Before I get into my recent adventures, I wanted to put a few concerns and questions of my well-being to rest. You may have heard that, recently, tornadoes have ravaged our country (my thoughts are with everyone in the country who’s dealing with the aftermath at present). Last week, a few of these nasty lil things tore through Saint Louis. An E3 ripped off the roof of our airport and an E4 chewed through a town called Bridgeton. I live in Bridgeton. In fact, about a block from my house, the devastation begins. I’m counting my blessings that my family and home and kittehs are okay, but, as you can imagine, it’s been a real blow to the community. BUT I AM OKAY. Thank you so much for the messages, but your Auntie Heather is just fine. In fact, I wasn’t even here when it happened. I was supposed to fly back from New York the day after the tornado hit, but ended up heading to Chicago instead. So thank you, Minions, for all of your concern. It touches me deeply that you worry about your Auntie, but I’m right as rain. But please, send your thoughts, hope, crossed fingers, assistance, and funds to those who are truly in need at this time. Many have died due to these storms, and it’s not yet May (which is typically tornado month).
Now that that’s out of the way, it’s ADVENTURE TIME!!! So before the tornado craziness, I took a drive out to Osage Beach, Missouri, to the MASL Spring Conference. It was amazing! (Jay Asher does a great job describing it here) I was there, of course, to accept the Truman Readers Award! I met some amazing people (even a Minion that crashed the event) and, of course, got to hang out with the Truman Committee.
I have no idea why most of us look like zombies. No, seriously. O_O
The student who introduced me was a Minion! She was so awesome. Her name is Shea Dalton, and she’s an eighth-grader. Way braver than me to get up in front of a crowd of 1000 librarians at that age.
Shea is in the 8th grade. And taller than me.
I loved, loved accepting my award, but loved the inscription so much more. It reads, at one point, “chosen by the children of Missouri”. Thank you, Minions. This one’s (as they all are) for you.
The day after I was presented with the TRA, I hurried home, and the following day, hopped on a plane to New York, where I had meetings with my Penguins and agent, and hung out with friends. All of that was fabulous, but it still all pales in comparison to seeing the next to last show of American Idiot on Broadway, featuring Billie Joe Armstrong as St. Jimmy. Billie Joe and I go way back (all the way back to Dookie), and so of course, when he saw me, he immediately was drawn to my undeniable charm and charisma. And we totally made out.
Okay…so not really. But here’s how the conversation went in my head:
BJA: Oh…my…Vlad! It’s Auntie Heather! My kids love your books!
AH: …….Wanna make out?
BJA: …….Totally.
It was EPIC! And now, I’m hard at work on BLOODBOUND, and the second SLAYER CHRONICLES book (that title is super secret), until I head out to Jefferson City, Missouri in a few weeks for Capital Kids Read! Woooo!!! Life is teh awesome, Minions. Life is teh awesome.
How’s my Horde?
Minions, there is one thing that most authors have in short order, and that is time. There’s also another thing we have in abundance, and that is the ability to get distracted by shiny objects. So while I meant to blog about this some time ago, I was horribly distracted by sparkly fluffy bunny-riding rainbow unicorns of DOOM, and didn’t get to it as soon as I would have preferred. So now, with apologies for the delay, I’d like to introduce you to a friend of mine. His name is Ty Drago. And he’s written a pretty awesome zombie book called THE UNDERTAKERS: RISE OF THE CORPSES.
Seriously, how kick-butt is that cover? Doesn’t it make you…I dunno…wanna kick a zombie in the head?! And there’s more! Ty had a pretty amazing book trailer made to further entice readers, and I absolutely love it.
There’s also an amazing interview with Ty over at Absolute Forest of Words. Hungry for more? You can find UNDERTAKERS at your local Indie bookstore, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and Borders online.
And if you love it, spread the word…and don’t get distracted by sparkly fluffy bunny-riding rainbow unicorns of DOOM.
There is a voice inside my head–one that I haven’t heard speak up in a very long time. It’s a voice that comes from The Dark Place inside of me. When i first heard it, I was very young–maybe six or seven years old. It chimed in after a boy on the playground had told me that I was ugly. The voice cooed, “He’s right, you know. You ARE ugly. Everybody sees how ugly you are, and this boy was the only one brave enough to say it out loud.”
Over the years, that voice has spoken to me many times. It is the voice of self-doubt, the voice of low self esteem. It’s often tricked me into believing that its voice was the voice of reality. For years after that boy on the playground told me I was ugly, i believed him. How many years? Oh, about twenty.
that’s a long time to believe a lie told to you by a voice in your head.
But I’m not alone. I know that other people hear that nasty little whisper of a voice too–the one that says that no one wants to be your friend, that calls you a freak, that says that maybe life’s not worth living anymore. It comforts me to know that I’m not alone, but the other day, I heard the voice again, after a very long silence.
Only this time, it wasn’t talking to me.
This time, I heard the voice speaking to a Minion. I heard the voice telling the Minion that cutting will help them relieve their pain, and that suicide is a viable option to solve all of their problems. In short, I heard the voice lie.
The voice had lied to me many times in the past, and I had believed every single word that it had uttered. I believed I was ugly, stupid, a total loser, friendless, undeserving of love, and yes, undeserving of life. It put me in The Dark Place, pulled me down deep into it, so that I couldn’t hear any voice of reason, no matter how loudly they shouted. I could only hear that voice.
It was awful to feel that way, like no one would ever love me and why should they? It was awful to feel so very alone, and so lost. I felt like no one could help me, and there was no way out. And eventually, I didn’t want anyone to help me. I just wanted the pain to stop.
I can’t tell you about the moment that I realized that I wanted to go on living, Minions. Mostly because there wasn’t a single moment. There were many. And for a long time, it was a struggle between being in The Dark Place and glimpsing the sun. I do know that a big part of leaving my depression and low self esteem behind was embracing my quirkiness, and realizing that the way that I am doesn’t make me unlovable–it just makes me who I am. And I’m extremely proud of the person I’ve become. If I had listened to that voice, I wouldn’t have written CoVT, wouldn’t have all of my Minions, wouldn’t have an amazing family, and really cool friends. And now whenever that voice starts whispering in my ear, I poke it solidly in the eye until it shuts its stupid lil trap, because nobody tells me how to feel or what to think but ME. No stupid lil controlling voice has any say over how I run my life, or what I feel. Only me. Because it’s MY life.
And the same goes for you, Minions.
If you ever hear that voice, I want you to say (out loud, or in your mind, if you’d like), “LALALALALA, I can’t hear you! Auntie Heather says I’m awesome!”
And if you ever feel yourself slipping down into The Dark Place, I want you to reach out. To me, to a friend, to a teacher, to your parents, to a suicide prevention hot line like 1-800-SUICIDE, and tell someone what you’re feeling. There’s no shame in it. I’d bet that the vast majority of us have been there, have felt so alone. But you’re not alone anymore. Now you’re part of the Minion Horde.
And you’ll never be alone again.
TWELFTH GRADE KILLS: the book trailer!!!
March 10th, 2011Some time ago, my Minions, your Auntie Heather hosted an incredibly successful contest in which Minions created their vision of their favorite scene from The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod (or some such thing – since that time, Auntie’s brain has melted into a pile of goo, so she may not be recalling all of the details exactly. mmmmm…brain goo…). You may recall that the winner of that contest was a fabulous Minion by the name of Shawn Duddridge. Check out his entry.
UNBELIEVABLY COOL, RIGHT?!?! In fact, I was so impressed by Shawn’s work that I decided to ask him if he’d be interested in some work for hire. So…I hired Shawn to create a book trailer for TWELFTH GRADE KILLS. And he did. And it’s amazing. And I LOVE it. And I’m going to debut it now.
BUT FIRST. (Man, don’t you hate it when I do that???) Shawn sent me a few fun facts about the trailer, and I just loved them, so I wanted to share these too.
- The trailer is approximately 2 minutes, and 23 seconds long.
- It has a cast of 13 people, and a crew of 2.
- It has approximately 10 visual effect shots (including eye replacements, sky replacements, glowing stuff, titles, etc.) out of a total of just over 50 shots.
- Many of the events taking place on December 31st in the book were actually filmed on December 31st.
- Vlad can be seen wearing Fang in one shot (though only the top of its head is visible)
- They spent about an hour preparing a shot that lasts about 1 second… and most of what we prepared isn’t even visible!
So now…without further ado…the official book trailer for The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod: TWELFTH GRADE KILLS!
AHHHHHHHH!!!! So amazing! What do you think, Minions???
The Slayer Chronicles Cover and Title Reveal!
March 7th, 2011You’ve waited for it. I’ve teased you mercilessly. You’ve pleaded, begged me, “Pleeeeeeeeeeeeease, Auntie Heather! Pleeeeeeease show us the cover of the first Slayer book! Pleeeease tell us the title!” And I have been a cruel, merciless overlord, and have not shared these things with you.
Until now.
Minions. Today I am going to tell you the title of the first book of The Slayer Chronicles, and reveal to you its cover. Both of these things have been a long time coming.
But before I do so, I’m afraid I have to tease you just a little bit more, with some fangtastic fun facts about the book (which will debt September 20, 2011):
- There are 30 chapters in this book.
- It is the darkest book (so far) that I have ever written.
- You will meet Cecile.
- You will see two characters from CoVT besides Joss & his parents.
- The book mostly takes place in the Catskills in New York.
- The book opens with a not-to-be-missed prologue.
- The first chapter is titled THE NEXT GREAT ADVENTURE.
- The last chapter is titled A SLAYER’S GIFT.
- The first sentence of the thirteenth chapter is: Setting explosives the day before had been immeasurably entertaining–and terrifying–but when Joss woke to a note from Uncle Abraham that said to meet him in the clearing, he was certain that this day was going to be drastically different than yesterday in tone.
- The last word in the book is soon.
Welcome, my Minion Horde, to the world of Joss McMillan, to his series – The Slayer Chronicles, and to the first book of five. The title is FIRST KILL. And this is its cover.
Seek it out, Minions, and pre-order as soon as you can, because this is one journey you won’t want to miss!
A brief update on our World Domination goals
February 22nd, 2011Greetings, Minion Horde! Now, as you all know (or should know), Auntie Heather is plotting to take over the world (with the assistance of my Minions, of course). And I’m pleased to say that we are making some amazing progress so far.
To date, here are the countries that we have taken over with our powers of awesomeness:
United States
United Kingdom
Australia
Germany
France
Italy
Not too shabby, Minions! If you’re from any of the listed countries, please watch the shelves for Vlad, and feel free to bug booksellers and librarians about when the books will be headed your way.
And now you crazy Minions have ID cards!!! Go check ‘em out. Print them, laminate them, bring them to events so I can sign them. They are yours, Minions – so show the world you’re a Minion!
More reasons to celebrate: the first book of The Slayer Chronicles is going to copy edits! For all intensive purposes, this means that the book is finished, apart from a few minor tweaks. The other day I saw the cover and it is GORGEOUS. It’s kick-butt enough for you guys, and swoon-worthy enough for your girls (or vice-versa: Auntie doesn’t judge). A cover reveal and a title reveal will be coming soon!
Also, a word on the plush Auntie Heather winner. I’m not telling them that they won. I’m merely whisking her off in her tiny coffin to surprise the winner. Today. But I was very impressed by all of your entries.
And…I’m kinda in the mood for a……
SPONTANEOUS MINI-CONTEST!!!
Comment to enter (doesn’t matter how much you comment – you’re only entered once). Winner gets something awesome. Suggestions?
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