Slice of Cherry will release one week from Tuesday so to celebrate I’m having a giveaway on my book’s Facebook page. Up for grabs are a signed copy of Slice of Cherry (hardback) and Bleeding Violet (paperback), as well as bookmarks and your very own silver key (if you read the books, you’ll understand why silver keys are important. ^_^). Also, I’ve decided to have seven winners, not just one like I usually have. I’ll announce the seven winners throughout the day on January 4th.

It’s international and the only thing you have to do to enter is leave a comment  here. And only leave ONE comment please; leaving multiple comments won’t increase your chances of winning, you sly dogs. Anyway, I wish you all luck and I hope you’re just as excited about my release day as I am.

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Lindsay R., that’s who! The random thingy chooser found her to be the most random of all my entrants. I will send you an email, Lindsay, so please respond by midnight tonight–Central time–or I will send the prize to the next most random person.

Thanks, everyone, for playing. But don’t despair–I’ll have another giveaway in time for Slice of Cherry’s book birthday, which is January 4th. So stayed tuned.

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Because I’m giving it away! And because I’m awesome, I will also throw in a copy of Bleeding Violet as well as some signed bookmarks.

I’m going on vacation at the end of the week so I want to do this quickly. Like this week. Also, I just hate drawing things out–I’m an instant gratification kinda gal. So if you wanna win the books and the bookmarks, leave a comment, and yes it’s open to everyone everywhere. I’ll announce a winner this Friday using the random name thingy. And that’s that. Good luck!

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So I went through all the entries and the most interesting comment was the last one, Anne’s bizarre fantasy recipes. I especially liked it because Cindy Pon’s first book, Silver Phoenix lovingly describes the different meals the characters eat on their way to the Palace of Fragrant Dreams, and Anne’s comment definitely captured that vibe.

All Anne has to do now is email her address to diathewriter at yahoo and I will mail her the ARC and the Slice of Cherry bookmarks.

And Ashley I decided your comment was runner-up-worthy, so if you send your address to the same email, I will mail you some bookmarks too. Who knew there were serial killer coloring books?

Anyway, if you didn’t win, don’t fret. Cindy’s contest for a Fury ARC and other goodies is still going on. Just click here to enter, and thanks everyone for playing!

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I have an ARC (advanced reader copy) of Fury of the Phoenix, the sequel to Cindy Pon’s most excellent debut Silver Phoenix. The picture on the left is the cover, but the painting Cindy had commissioned is on the right and is more accurate–and prettier. The only things missing are the demons. If you’re curious about Silver Phoenix, I talk about how much I love it in this post. Here’s the summary from the back of Fury:

Ai Ling has been marked by the Immortals, and her power is extraordinary–and as yet untamed. When Chen Yong, the young warrior she met on the road to the Emperor’s city, decides to journey overseas to search for his birth father, Ai Ling–following her heart–daringly joins him in his quest. Fluid exhilarating writing, a strong female lead, and a starcrossed romance make this a deeply satisfying conclusion to Silver Phoenix, the book Meg Cabot called “an addictive gem.”

Groovy, right? The book doesn’t come out until March so I’m super stoked to get an early read, and after I finish reading it, I’m going to give it away on my birthday, which is November 27. Since I also just got my Slice of Cherry bookmarks, I’ll include a few of those as well, signed of course.

The giveaway starts today and all you have to do to be eligible to win is leave an interesting comment below. What constitutes an interesting comment you ask? It has to be the opposite of lame. So as long as your comment doesn’t bore me, consider yourself in the running. The person who leaves the coolest, most interesting comment will win the Fury ARC. As I said, I’ll announce the winner on my birthday. 

(Here’s a tip: To increase your chances of winning a copy of Fury, go here to enter Cindy’s contest. There’s a bunch of cool stuff you could win in addition to the ARC.)

This is only for the US as I am broke, but my giveaway next month for signed copies of both Slice of Cherry and Bleeding Violet will be open internationally, so stay tuned for that one.

Good luck, y’all.

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Still haven’t got a cover yet and I’m still working on correcting some of the goofs–hoping to get everything ironed out for the final copy. However, if you want a sneak peak at a big, juicy slice o’weirdness, leave a comment. But you know the rules–it has to be interesting/entertaining or I will throw you under the bus. And don’t think I won’t–I’m magic. I’ll pick a winner at random a week from today. Oh, and since I missed Music Monday, there’s a tune down below. Three words: Disturbing. As. Crap. Enjoy!

Tags: giveaway, Music, Slice of Cherry
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Jeremy West!

According to the random chooser thingy, you are the randomest thingy of all. I will mention you in my acknowledgments, and if you email your address to diathewriter at yahoo, I’ll mail you your keychain. Yay!!!

So, I’ve gone through the posts and my favorite one is Kay’s–hands down. Unfortunately Kay’s post is double-disqualified because it came too late (contest ended yesterday, kid) and because I had already decided to put her in the ackowledgments, cuz she is just cool like that.

Allison is also disqualified (of course you’re going in the acks, silly girl).

Blythe and Denise are ALSO disqualified (you guys are writers–you’re already immortal, ya goofs; oh, and great blog post, Blythe).

So based on the remaining comments, the runner-up and winner of a memento mori keychain is…Shanise J! I like how she’s willing to admit to trying to communicate with the dead–you know me and my love of crazy. Plus, I dig her use of the word “bragadocious”. Nice. So Shanise, email me your address (diathewriter at yahoo) and I’ll send you your keychain!

I found it interesting that most people wrote about death instead of life. I’m wondering if that’s because I attract dark-minded people (like me), or if most people naturally  think more about dying than living. It would make sense to wonder more about the unknown than the known, right? It would make sense, but I don’t know. I think most people are like Ari and don’t want to think about death. Makes it kinda hard for people like Lucile, but there it is. It’s how the human race survives–we do whatever it takes to avoid death even to the point of not talking or thinking about it.

Btw, Lillie, your post reminded me of that Dorothy Parker poem:

Razors pain you;
Rivers are damp;
Acids stain you;
And drugs cause cramp.
Guns aren't lawful;
Nooses give;
Gas smells awful;
You might as well live.

And that’s another reason the human race survives–our ability to think up reasons to put things off until waaaay later. :p Anyway, thanks for playing, y’all!

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My books take place in Portero, TX, and in Portero, everyone carries these silver keys. Well I bought some silver keys to give away to readers, but they’re sitting here collecting dust. Mostly because I hadn’t found the right sort of creepy keychain for them. Until now.

I found some memento mori keychains that have a little vial inside that you’re supposed to fill with the ashes of the departed, and I thought, how morbidly perfect is this! It’s just the sort of thing Porterenes would carry because they often lose the people they love.

It’s such an old-fashioned thing to do, carrying the physical remains of a loved one on your person. People used to do that during the Victorian era–make a dead person’s hair into a ring and wear it or arrange dead people on couches and then photograph them. Strange little keepsakes. But you know me, I don’t judge.

I will, however, have a contest. Since I have to turn in my dedication and acknowledgments pages for Slice of Cherry pretty soon–like real soon–I figure I’ll give one of you lucky so and so’s the chance to not only win one of these memento mori keychains, but also the chance to see your name in print–at least on the acknowledgments page.

I kind of like putting these elements together. Slice of Cherry is about life and death, memento mori means “remember that you will die”, but getting your name in print is like becoming immortal. As long as the book exists, so do you. Your name, anyway. See, it all makes a weird kinda sense. ;p

So if you want a keychain and your name in my book, and all the glory and fame that comes with it ha ha, just leave a comment about life or death–any comment you want, as long as it isn’t lame. All lame comments will be disqualified. The winner will be chosen at random, but I will pick a personal favorite who will also get a keychain. Clear enough, right? This contest only lasts until a week from today so tempus fugit, children.

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According to the random thingy chooser, the winner is:

KELLY!

Congratulations; you have successfully cheered up my book. Email me your address, as you have 24 hours to claim your prize or it will go to a different book cheerer-upper.

For my personal favorite, I choose:

Aik!

It was pretty close between Aik and Jessica who introduced me to that fabulous weirdo anthem “All My Heroes Are Weirdos”, but I had to go with Aik. Based on her comment, she sounds like a really cool, confident, super-nerd. Love that! Super-nerdiness must be encouraged.

Honorable mentions:
Steve and Lacey for great quotes, although Ninefly’s was the best: “Creativity is a mental disorder“. Soooo getting that on a tee shirt someday.

sbklinda and Thuy for knowing how to twist logic until it screams, “Uncle!”

Yan for having the most educational comment.

Emilee and Kay whose posts always make me feel normal.

Statements I must comment on:
Mike Jung – name one thing badminton players ever did to contribute to society. Exactly.

Ari - I don’t think it would be boring if people walked around naked. It would be the opposite of boring.

And Susan, what can I say? I like the irony :p

Thanks for playing, y’all!

Tags: Bleeding Violet, giveaway
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It’s official, folks. Bleeding Violet is finally out and about in the world–the REAL world, not just the world in my head. Talk about surreal.

Anyway, I thought I’d do something nice for my book today, you know, show her how very loved she is. (People keep saying she’s weird and dark and creepy, and I think it’s starting to give her a complex, poor thing.) So I’m going to do a Release Day Giveaway that’s open to everyone from everywhere. Yes, even Philadelphia (joke between me and my football archnemesis Josh Berk).

If you want to enter, all you have to do is leave one comment for my book explaining why being a weirdo isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I’ll pick a winner at random, using the random chooser thingy, but I’ll also pick a personal favorite. The winner gets a signed copy of Bleeding Violet and the personal favorite gets a BV bookmark and a Porterene key (you have to read the book if you don’t know what that is). This giveaway will end next Monday, and on the following Tuesday, I’ll announce the winners. 

So that’s it, and I really hope you guys can make my poor little book feel good about herself. Good luck!

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