I have notified the winners via email!

Dear everyone,

You are amazing. Reading through all the comments took me a while! I am so thankful for all you have done to spread the word about the WAKE trilogy. Thanks for playing and I wish everyone could have won. :(

Way to go. See you around -- and if you want to say hello, I'm pretty good at answering fans who write on my Facebook fan page wall.

Contest is now over.

Tomorrow I will pick winners randomly. Good luck to all! I'll email winners so that's the spot to watch.

Thanks to all for participating! Love you lots.

xox

FREAKING HUGE CONTEST-O-THANKS

Click here for details on how to enter. Or just scroll down two posts.

Kalamazoo-zoo!

We interrupt the FREAKING HUGE CONTEST OF THANKS (see below) to remind you that I will be in Kalamazoo, Michigan, this Thursday and Friday. Thursday night is a signing with James Owen (Here, There be Dragons) at the Kalamazoo Public Library at 6:30. Directions and stuff at the link!

Friday is an all day Youth Literature Festival.

Hope to see you there!

2nd Annual Freaking Huge Contest-O-Thanks!

Last year's contest was so fun, I decided to do another November contest to thank you all for spreading the WAKE/FADE/GONE love. CONTEST ENDS AT MIDNIGHT EST on NOVEMBER 26, 2009 (That's Thanksgiving Day, for the USians).

This time? I'm giving away THREE advance copies of GONE. And maybe a couple copies of WAKE and FADE. And a darling, adorable dream necklace that I bought from JB and Me in my old hometown of Holland, MI.




This contest is open to the entire universe, as long as you have a mailing address.

Here's how you enter:

Tell people about my books. You can...

-add the magic countdown widget to your blog (grab it from a few posts below)
-link to this contest and let your friends know about it
-post a blog review or a notice of the contest or my books to your followers
-tweet about it
-put it in your facebook/myspace status
-write a review on indiebound.org/amazon.com/bn.com/borders.com, etc
-write a review in your school newspaper or tell ten friends/acquaintances/enemies to read the WAKE trilogy
-whatever other creative way you can think of to get the word out (picket signs on street corners, sandwich boards, naming a street after me...you know. Fun stuff like that)


THEN:

Post a quick note summarizing what you did in the comments below and provide a link if applicable.
Also post your email address so I can contact you if you win.


Easy peasy. Done.


NOTES:


This is the only location on the internet where you can enter. Do not try to enter by tweeting at me or sending me email or facebook messages.

IF you do not want to win GONE (book 3) but would like WAKE (book 1) or FADE (book 2) instead, just mention that in your post. I recognize that some people entering will not have read the first book yet, so that might be more appealing to some. YES, I will still give away three copies of GONE no matter what.

PLEASE do not ask me a thousand different questions about what qualifies as spreading the word, or if you're doing it right. If you don't understand, don't enter. Or ask a friend. Just do something like I mentioned above and assume I won't disqualify you. If you feel good about it, so do I. I love you but I'm kinda busy right now so I'm not taking questions on the contest.

(GOSH, McMann. So cranky.)

Hey, why not find me on facebook / twitter / myspace while you're at it?

Lots of love to all of you, and again, THANK YOU for all you have done for me. I really appreciate the way you guys spread the word. You make me so happy and thankful.
xoxo

My Twitter Simon and Schuster Author Chat: 11/3 @ noon EST!

Follow me on Twitter (@lisa_mcmann) and join me for the first official Simon & Schuster author chat, taking place on Tuesday, November 3, at noon EST!

Follow Simon & Schuster too and if you want, send them your questions early so you can read the answers even if you aren't able to make it to the chat. I'll try to get to all of them! I'd really love it if you'd join us.

Also in November:

Kalamazoo Youth Literature Seminar in Michigan on Friday, Nov 13, with author James Owens! Just want to say hi and get your books signed? Come Thursday night, Nov 12.

Where you can find me this month

As always, I'm most active on Twitter and Facebook. There are links in the sidebar if you'd like to find me there.

Now for October. Officially and unofficially...here are some things on my calendar that you might be interested in.

*Wednesday, October 14, 8pm EST / 5pm Pacific
Chatting online with Mundie Moms!

Immediately after that at 7pm Pacific, I'm heading out to my local indie, Changing Hands, to listen to fellow S&S author Scott Westerfeld talk about his new awesome book, Leviathan.


*Saturday, October 17, 5pm Pacific, I'll be attending Robin Brande's launch party for her second book, FAT CAT, again at Changing Hands. You should totally come -- Robin is an awesome speaker and both of her books are terrific. Her fist is called Evolution, Me, and Other Freaks of Nature, and it recently was optioned for film.


*Wednesday, Oct 21, 6pm Pacific / 9pm EST, I'll be chatting online with Readergirlz for Teen Read Week. Everyone is invited! Please stop in!
And immediately after that, I'll be driving back to Changing Hands for the bazillionth time this month to see author James Dashner talk about his new book, The Mazerunner! (7pm)


*Thursday, Oct 22, 7pm Pacific, I'll be attending The Secret Garden, a musical by Actor's Youth Theatre at the Mesa Arts Center. My kid is in it! And it's going to be awesome. If you live in the valley, please come and support this excellent organization -- shows run Tuesday thru Friday that week. And hey, if you've got money burning a hole in your pocket but you aren't near enough to attend a show, consider dropping them a small donation -- tax deductible (they are a 501C3). Times are tough all over, especially for self-funded arts programs like these that add so much to the community and the lives of our creative teens.

(I am also getting my hair done that day by the amazing Lori, hairdresser to the stars. More red stripes please!)


*Saturday, October 24, all day -- I'll be in Austin, TX at the Teen Book Festival! Just to clarify, this is not just for teens -- all lovers of teen books are invited! This is my first author visit to Texas and I've been dying to get down there, so I'm very excited. If you live anywhere near Austin (or even if you don't), come on out for an awesome day filled with authors and panels and book buying and signings and I'm sure tons of laughs. With that many teen authors in one place, it could get a little dangerous.


*Coming up in November -- Kalamazoo Youth Lit Seminar!

So I'm working on a new book...

GONE comes out Feb 9, and my part of that (writing it) is done. So yay! Only four months to go. If you haven't stolen my GONE countdown widget yet, you can grab it below.

Meanwhile, I have work to do!

I am under contract for another book with Simon Pulse, and I'm writing it now. It's called Cryer's Cross and it's a creepy paranormal stand-alone novel about a high school senior girl named Kendall who lives in a small town in Montana, where nothing creepy ever happens...until now.

Is there any sort of love story? Why yes, yes there is.

Cryer's Cross is scheduled to come out in spring 2011.


STEAL THIS WIDGET. It's magic. It updates automatically whenever there's news about the WAKE books or about future stuff.

Blogfest 2009 is now LIVE! (and Facebook Fan Page)

Go check it out: Blogfest!
I'm having fun procrastinating by reading all of these interesting answers. My first answer goes up Tuesday the 22nd, I think.

Also, I just started the official Lisa McMann fan page over on Facebook -- the link is at the top right corner of my blog (where I am sporting my new red stripey hair, even though it's hard to see it in that photo).

Why make a fan page for myself? It feels weird and vain and I put it off for a long time. But then I discovered that eventually Facebook cuts you off from having new friends when you reach a certain level. As I near 3000 friends on Facebook with usually about 10-12 new requests each day, I got to worrying. Then I heard that a fan page is the way to go.

So I started this fan page and I want it to be very interactive. I'll post info there. And for as long as I can handle the workload, I hope to respond to all comments over there as well. I'd love it if you'd join me and maybe spread the word about the fan page for me if you are so inclined.

Thank you so much for being great. 'Cuz you are.

Simon and Schuster Blogfest coming soon -- get your countdown widget!

Find out more about Blogfest

HEY! Win a free signed copy of WAKE or FADE

Over at Free Book Friday! This week only!

Also, teens (12-18) please vote for your favorite books before Sept 18! WAKE is a contender along with tons of other cool books. If you are not between the ages of 12 and 18, please find someone who is and pass it on.

Thanks!

P.S. Did you have a good summer?

Coming soon -- Blogfest 2.0!

If you were around for last year's blogfest, you know how cool it was to hear from dozens of your favorite authors on various subjects.

Well, it's coming up again soon! No link yet, but I'll keep you posted.

Teens' Top Ten -- voting is now open (ages 12-18)!

Hey teens, you can now vote for your three favorite teen books from YALSA's Teens' Top Ten list. And guess what? WAKE is on that list (along with other awesome books)!

Voting is now thru Sept 18. Go WAKE!!

Warm greetings to international readers

It is good to have you around!
Some form of the WAKE trilogy already exists, or will soon appear, in the following languages:

Circulo de Lectores / Spanish Book Club
Atlin Kitaplar / Turkish
Patakis / Greek
PT Gramedia / Indonesian
Amarin / Thai
Boje Verlag / German
WYDAWNICTWO Amber / Polish

I wish I could speak all your languages! Hope you enjoy the books.


Also, don't forget to download Cabel's Story for free! Click on the link on my home page: http://lisamcmann.com

The Magic McWidget!

Grab the McWidget and put it on your website, blog, or social networking site! It's magic -- it'll stay updated with news of the WAKE trilogy, my future books and contests, and other important news. (psst...if you put the widget on your site, you just might be eligible for a McWidget Contest in a couple weeks...for an arc of GONE. More news on that mid-August!)

And go read the free Cabel story I wrote for you! Just click, register, and download it!

Michigan, here I come!

This is the time of the year when my husband, children and I make our annual pilgrimage to Michigan to visit family. The weather appears to be really lovely (upper 70s to low 80s, which is a dream compared to the 110-115 we are having here in Arizona). We have family in the Detroit area and also in the Grand Rapids/Holland area, and we'll be spending a few days with each. Plus my niece is getting married. Congrats to Alyssa and Jake! Two very cool people.

Visiting family makes it convenient for me to do a few book signings while I'm there as well. This year I'm making three stops, and I'll be reading an excerpt from GONE. :) Please come if you are nearby:

*Saturday, August 1, 2:00 PM
Borders - Novi
43075 Crescent Blvd.
Novi, MI, 48375
(248) 347-0780


*Monday, August 3rd, 6:00 PM
Pooh’s Corner Breton Village
Reading, Signing/Reception
1886 1/2 Breton Rd. S.E.
Grand Rapids, MI 49506


*Tuesday, August 4, 7:00 PM
Schuler Books and Music, Inc
2660 28th Street SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49512
Phone: 800 331 1727 (MI only)
616 942 2561
Fax: 616 942 9238
email: info@schulerbooks.com

Also, watch for me in the Grand Rapids Press this week as well as on WZZM TV 13's Take Five (on Tuesday morning, Aug 4, between 9 and 10 am).

Hope your summer is going great! Keep an eye on my website in August for a special free short story download -- it's a Cabel story companion to the WAKE trilogy.

GONE description

I got the GONE cover in the mail today. It says:



OPEN YOUR EYES.

Janie thought she knew what her future held. And she thought she'd made her peace with it. But she can't handle dragging Cabel down with her.

She knows he will stay with her, despite what she sees in his dreams. He's amazing. And she's a train wreck. Janie sees only one way to give him the life he deserves--she has to disappear. And it's going to kill them both.

Then a stranger enters her life--and everything unravels. The future Janie once faced now has an ominous twist, and her choices are more dire than she'd ever thought possible. She alone must decide between the lesser of two evils. And time is running out...



And the back flap is a quote from the book:

He reaches toward her, his fingers black and bloody, his eyes deranged, unblinking. Janie is paralyzed. his cold hands reach around her neck, squeezing tight, tighter, until Janie has no breath left. She's unable to move, unable to think. As his grasp tightens further around Janie's neck, his face turns sickly alabaster. He strains harder and begins to shake.

Janie is dying.
She has no fight left in her.
It's over.

GONE cover

GONE will be out February 9. Here's the cover:



Fun story -- When I was on tour for FADE, I was in talks with my editor Jen Klonsky and the artist who did my first two covers, Sammy Yuen (who rocks, right?) about what sort of cover we were going to do for GONE. Anyway, Sammy had an idea to use an empty chair for the cover, which works SO GREAT with the story (you'll find out why when you read). They asked me to send pictures of chairs I liked so that we could get style ideas. So when I was at the Clift Hotel in San Francisco I saw this cool, simple chair in a spotlight in the lobby. I loved it, so I took a photo of the chair on my cell phone. Sammy created the cover based on that chair.

The other cool thing is that the Clift Hotel was the same hotel whose manager let me keep Miss Spoobin. Aren't they a great group?

Signing Saturday!

Saturday, June 20, from 6-8pm at B&N Chandler Mall in Chandler, Arizona. Don't miss other great authors there throughout the day, including the fabulous Janette Rallison at 3pm.

If you're local, I hope you come out to see me! I will have WAKE dog tags for those who purchase the books -- pretty freaking cool. Maybe I'll even bring Miss Spoobin.

GONE will be out February 9, 2010!

Random things to talk about today:

1. Yes, GONE (the last book in the trilogy) is scheduled for February 9, 2010. Yay! Hope to show you a cover sometime soon, too. I'm especially proud of the GONE cover, but I'm not going to tell you why until you see it.

2. Hello Poland! I hope you are enjoying WAKE (or DREAM, I think you're calling it)! I heard that it's out in Poland now -- I've even gotten some fan mail from there already. Welcome to my website and blog!

3. Bloggers! Hi! I just want to say a special thanks to all the awesome book bloggers who are patient and good and know how to wait for a reply to an interview request. Almost all of you are awesome like that, yay! You don't bombard me with requests when you haven't heard from me immediately, and you don't make up fake "blog supporters" to beseech me on your behalf, and you don't harrass Other Important People In My Life in order to get me to respond to you -- wow, MOST of you are really freaking terrific and amazingly non-stalkerish, and for that, I am SO GRATEFUL! Thank you!!

4. The WAKE trilogy as audiobooks: Sometime in January, WAKE and FADE will be available as audiobooks! And the GONE audiobook will come out in sync with the GONE hardcover, Feb 9 or thereabouts.

5. I cannot wait for the Harry Potter movie. Can you?