Vegas, Baby!

Guess where I'll be this weekend???

Las Vegas!!!!!

The Vegas Valley Book Festival to be exact. I'm SO excited to hang out with tons of amazing authors, meet people, and sign books! 

Speaking of signing books, I'll be at the huge author signing from 3:00-5:00 pm on Saturday, November 3rd. If you're in Vegas, stop and see me! I'll have bookmarks and tattoos, and maybe some leftover Halloween candy if it survives the road trip. :)

The festival address is:

Historic Fifth Street School
401 S. Fourth Street 

I hope to see you there!!!

Halloween Scene!

 

Want to know what Evie, Alex and Emil are doing for Halloween???

Check out my scene hosted by The Book Reaper on the Halloween Character Booktacular!

The scene happens after Eternal Starling ends, but before book 2 begins. 

You can also win an Eternal Starling swag pack, so go enter!

Happy haunting!!!

Signing and Sand Dunes!

Whew! I'm finally catching up from being out of town. Idaho Falls was so much fun! 

My signing at the Grand Teton Mall Barnes and Noble was fantastic! I met so many awesome people! (Hi Michelle! *waves* I got your email and will email you soon!). And the store staff was amazing! Huge thanks to Kaaren, Bobbie, Jessica, Rachel, Melissa, Eraleigh, and Chet! (I hope I spelled your names right!) I can't wait to come back and sign there again!

I had TO. DIE. FOR. cupcakes and coffee here. They're opening a store near my house in Utah. It could be trouble. Lots of trouble.

Our hotel was 3 blocks from the falls! Every night was like going to sleep with a sleep machine on the waterfall setting. We ate dinner across the street from the falls at a yummy Mexican restuarant, walked along the water, and Pippin had a grand time investigating all the new smells and meeting other dogs.

Idaho Falls is only about 40 minutes from the St. Anthony sand dunes! One of my, (and Evie's) favorite places in the world! This photo is like Where's Waldo, only it's Where's my Husband. Can you find him? He was waiting for the rest of the people in our entourage to get to him.

And speaking of our entourage...here they are:

My grandpa, husband, and sister in my grandpa and grandma's dune buggy.

My husband (on the yellow Suzuki), and my Dad (on the silver Raptor).

My brother and sister. With their vision problems, the wide open sand is one of the only places they can drive their ATV.

 

And me! I haven't been to St. Anthony for so long! It was SO good to get back on a four-wheeler again!

And last but not least, this is one of my favorite spots at St. Anthony! In Eternal Starling, Evie and Alex have a pretty important chat at the sand dunes. This is the exact spot I was thinking of when I wrote that scene.

So, that was my trip in a nutshell! I've had some requests to do an Eternal Starling get-together at the sand dunes sometime. Maybe when the last book in the trilogy is released? It sounds like fun to me! What do you all think? 

Are you in Idaho???

If you live near Idaho Falls, I'm signing books at the Grand Teton Mall Barnes and Noble this Saturday, August 18th!

Here's the address:
2300 East 17th Street Suite #1101
Idaho Falls, ID 83404

I'll be there from 1:00-4:00.

If you want more info, here's the event link!

Summer YA Scavenger Hunt!!!

Welcome to YA Scavenger Hunt! This tri-annual event was first organized by author Colleen Houck as a way to give readers a chance to gain access to exclusive bonus material from their favorite authors...and a chance to win some awesome prizes! At this hunt, you not only get access to exclusive content from each author, you also get a clue for the hunt. Add up the clues, and you can enter for our prize--one lucky winner will receive TWENTY-SEVEN signed books, one book from each author on the hunt in my team! But play fast: this contest (and all the exclusive bonus material) will only be online for 72 hours!

Go to the YA Scavenger Hunt page to find out all about the hunt. There are TWO contests going on simultaneously, and you can enter one or all! I am a part of the BLUE TEAM--but there is also a red team for a chance to win a whole different set of twenty-five signed books!

If you'd like to find out more about the hunt, see links to all the authors participating, and see the full list of prizes up for grabs, go to the YA Scavenger Hunt homepage.

SCAVENGER HUNT PUZZLE

Directions: Below, you'll notice that I've listed my favorite number. Collect the favorite numbers of all the authors on the blue team, and then add them up (don't worry, you can use a calculator!). 

Entry Form: Once you've added up all the numbers, make sure you fill out the form here to officially qualify for the grand prize. Only entries that have the correct number will qualify.

Rules: Open internationally, anyone below the age of 18 should have a parent or guardian's permission to enter. To be eligible for the grand prize, you must submit the completed entry form by August 5, at noon Pacific Time. Entries sent without the correct number or without contact information will not be considered.

SCAVENGER HUNT POST

Today, I'm hosting Victoria Strauss on my website for the YA Scavenger Hunt!

Victoria Strauss is the author of eight novels for adults and young adults, including the Stone fantasy duology (The Arm of the Stone and The Garden of the Stone) and Passion Blue, a YA historical. She's also co-founder, with Ann Crispin, of Writer Beware, a publishing industry watchdog group that provides information and warnings about the many scams and schemes that threaten writers. She lives in Amherst, Massachusetts, where she writes, gardens, and spends way too much time online.

Find out more information by checking out Victoria's website or find more about the Victoria's book here!

EXCLUSIVE CONTENT

When seventeen-year-old Giulia, the orphaned, illegitimate daughter of a Milanese nobleman, learns she’s to be packed off to a life behind convent walls, she begs an astrologer-sorcerer for a talisman that will secure what she’s certain is her heart’s desire: true love and a place where she belongs. But does she really know the compass of her heart? The convent of Santa Marta is full of surprises, including a workshop of nuns who are creating paintings of astonishing beauty using a luminous blue mixed from a secret formula: Passion Blue. As Giulia’s own artistic self is awakened she’s torn: should she follow the young man who promises to help her escape? Or stay and satisfy her growing desire to paint? This richly imagined novel of a girl’s daring journey towards self-discovery transports readers into the fascinating world of Renaissance Italy, where love and faith and art inspire passion – of many different hues.

I'm swooning over the gorgeous cover!!!

The Scavenger Hunt is over, so Victoria's deleted scene is no longer available, but make sure to put Passion Blue on your to-buy list, and watch for it to come out in November!

CONTINUE THE HUNT

To keep going on your quest for the hunt, you need to check out the next author! Click here!

Tweet #YASH

Don't forget that the Eternal Starling eBook is on sale for the Hunt! You can also enter to win an Eternal Starling swag pack including a signed bookmark, signed bookplate, tattoo, and a bookmark and pin with original artwork of Alex Night by talented artist, James Vallesteros! Enter the giveaway below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Upcoming Event!

If you're in the Salt Lake City area next Friday, July 20th, don't forget to stop by the West Jordan Barnes and Noble between 7:00-9:00! I'll be there signing books with my friends, Lani Woodland (author of Intrinsical and Indelible) and Amber Argyle (author of Witch Song).

Here's the event info from the Barnes and Noble website.

I'll be giving out bookmarks, tattoos, and signing books!

Come see us!

New York, New York!

I already did my BEA in Pics post, but I had so many pictures from New York that I decided to do another one with some of the touristy things my mom and I did. Read about our adventures below!

This was the first time my mom had ever been to a big city, and she was convinced we were going to get arrested/mugged/murdered every day. The first time my mom believed we were going to be arrested was when we got caught in a sea of Obama protesters. Unbeknownst to us, the President was having a fundraiser at the Amsterdam theater, next to Madame Tussaud's where we were picking up tour tickets. The streets were filled with protesters, most of whom were wearing black or white. My mom plowed through them in her bright pink shirt as fast as she could, worried the police, who were trying to coordinate the protest, would mistake her for a protester too. You can probably see her on the CNN coverage. It will be like playing Where's Waldo, only you'll have to find the woman in pink.

Times Square! My mom was a bit overwhelmed by all the people. She lives in Wyoming. There are only 400,000 people in her whole state. She was certain there were at least that many people just in Times Square.

 The Naked Cowboy was outside our hotel. I was very excited to introduce my mom to him. She tried to run away. She thought she'd get arrested for looking at him.

The Doughnut Plant has the best doughnuts in New York, so we had to try them! I had the chocolate blackout, my mom had pistachio glaze, and we shared the tres leches.

Frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity 3! 

We stopped by the Museum of Modern Art to see Starry Night by Van Gogh. Luckily, Alex let the museum borrow it again after his date with Evie in Eternal Starling. :)

The Dakota building where John Lennon lived, and was later murdered.

The view of Central Park from the top of Rockefeller Center.

The New York skyline at night.

Wicked! This was the second time I've seen it. The first time was when it opened in London in 2006 with the original Broadway cast. Idina Menzel will always be Elphaba to me. We also saw the Lion King, and Phantom of the Opera. I loved them all, but the costumes and puppetry in the Lion King were amazing. I've never seen anything like it.

Inside the Empire State building, waiting to go up the elevators.

Me at the Empire State building. It was about 60 degrees, but the view was still incredible!