(Cross posted from Blogger. Go there to enter!)

It's almost heeeeerrrreeee!! (Can you tell I'm excited? Cuz I'm not. I mean, why would I be freaking out that Team Canterwood gets INITIATION tomorrow?! :D)

Some of you have already found it in stores (thank you, booksellers!) and a lot of you haven't yet. Whether you've grabbed your copy or not, I think it's time to party with prizes! How else are we supposed to welcome Lauren to Canterwood?

In honor of book number lucky 13, I've got some fab stuff (my faves!) up for grabs. Check it:




That's right! We've got AMAZING Hair Tinsel and Gelly Roll pens. (Thank you to everyone at Hair Flairs and Sakura of America for offering up these fantastic prizes.






(Here's a pic of me from last January wearing dark purple tinsel. I was signing a book for our very own Jill (<3!)--the model for Sasha.) :)

The prizes up for grabs:

4 winners will receive:

2 packets of different color Hair Tinsel and either pink or purple Gelly Roll pens (all Tinsel and pen colors chosen by me at random)


1 GRAND prize winner will receive:

Your choice of a 20 minute phone call or 20 minute Skype session with me!  We'll both work out a date and time via e-mail. :)

You must be a US resident to enter. Sorry, international readers!! Winners will be drawn at random and notified via e-mail. So be sure to leave yours!

You have TWO WEEKS starting tomorrow to do one of the following (some options will be worth extra entries!):

* Post a comment here about what you liked about Initiation after reading it

* (Worth 3 EXTRA entries) Send me a photo of you and your copy (it can be a paperback or Nook, Kindle, etc., of Initiation. I will NOT post the photo on my blog unless I have parental permission.


* (Worth 2 EXTRA entries) Post about INITIATION on your blog, Twitter, Facebook, etc. and leave the link in the comments, Tweet it to me, or tag me on Facebook. 


* Post a comment here about how long it took you to finish Initiation

* (Worth 2 EXTRA entries) link to this blog post via your Twitter, Facebook, blog, etc!

* (Worth 4 EXTRA entries) Create something at Polyvore for your fave CC character! 


* (Worth 5 EXTRA entries) Make a YouTube (or other video hosting site) video about Initiation. You can review it, talk about what you liked/didn't like, send a shout out to other members of Team Canterwood--whatever you like! Get creative! :) *Please DO NOT email me the video because the file size will fill my inbox and then I won't be able to receive your messages* Put the link to your video in the comments section of this post. 


* And . . . 6 EXTRA entries go to the person (judged not by me, but by an impartial Internet friend) who gets the most creative about celebrating Initiation's release day. 


The contest closes on Monday, January 16, at 11:59pm EST. I will e-mail the winners on January 17, so be sure to check your email! 


Good luck to all!

Now, other stuff:


Among other places, you can find copies of INITIATION at awesome places such as:

Barnes & Noble

Amazon

Indie Bound

Powells

Books a Million

I've been thinking a lot today about all of Team Canterwood and how lucky I am to have such a wonderful, amazing, intelligent group of readers. It makes me teary when I think back to the first e-mail I ever received about someone liking TAKE THE REINS. I can't believe the very first book will be out for three years later this month.

Wow.

I would not be able to live my dream as a writer without EACH and EVERY one of you. Your messages keep me inspired, even on the darkest, tough days. I wish I could hug you all and be able to come up with better words than "thank you" for everything you've given me and the Canterwood Crest series. It would not continue without you.

I wish you all a very happy New Year! I've got copyedits to finish on POPULAR and then I'm starting to write COMEBACK. :)

Much love and cheers to 2012!

xoxo

I promised you all an update and Team Canterwood (and our friends, especially Alex, Lauren, Becca, Katherine, Bri, and Andi) have been so supportive with e-mails, Facebook messages, etc.

I don't want to put too much of Kate's personal medical history online, but this last visit at Mayo was good and bad. Good because we have a surgery scheduled. Bad because doctors still don't know how to stop/help her with the screaming pain she's in every day.

We're going back to Mayo for the third time the second week of October. Kate is going to have surgery where doctors will try to find a cause for her pain. It's extremely exciting to have this chance, but also absolutely terrifying because of the fear that they won't find anything.

So, we are both very nervous and anxious right now. Going back to the hospital is not fun. I don't know how Kate has done it so many times. She still edits Canterwood while living every day for the past year and a half with a pain that medication won't cover. Pain that makes her scream. It's heartbreaking to witness and there's a helpless feeling.

We thank you all for being there to back us--your support has brought happy tears to Kate's eyes more times than you know.

I ask you all to send good wishes into the universe for Kate on October 11th--the date of her surgery. I'll create a Facebook page as soon as I have time.

Thank you, guys. We love you all!

xoxo

This past Sunday, September 18th, I had the pleasure of signing books and doing a surprise reading of an
excerpt from INITIATION! :) The members of Team Canterwood who came were
AMAZING. One reader got a bright blue feather in her hair because I had
them! And Olivia brought me a lip gloss! So. Sweet.

The Rochester crowd was filled with TC people from all over--some even
driving two+ hours to get to B&N. I can't thank you all enough for
coming. I had so much fun. :)

Enjoy these pics and the video will be up soon!

Thanks to Kate for playing photographer. Thank you, also, to Brianna for helping with the event and Ross for filming.

xoxo

So many people are participating--I LOVE it! I think I'll open this spot for new comments if you want to check in, give a progress report, discuss your project, ask each other questions or for advice, etc.

I'm definitely going to host another write-a-thon event in the future. Next time, I'll give advanced notice and we can all hang out and write together virtually. :) I'm having so much fun.

My progress:

I rewrote chapter 1 of POPULAR (CC #14.) It was waaay too passive. Beginnings always take me the longest and it took about six hours to get the opening right. I edited and wrote more of chapter 2. Got stuck on chapter 3 and skipped ahead to a horse scene. My faves. :) Lauren's about to start a lesson with Mr. Conner. Horse scenes flow fast for me.

So, if you like, check in here or on the first 3daywat post.

If anyone has writing questions before our AWESOME Three Day Write-a-Thon begins tomorrow, read this link. I answered tons of questions from young writers seeking advice.

If you want to join, sign up on yesterday's post! We're hashtagging it as #3daywat on Twitter. :)

See you bright and early tomorrow!

I'm soo excited that it's a three day weekend after tomorrow! Well,
weekends or weekdays really don't make much different to me as a writer,
but it does mean no business related e-mails, stopping for publicity,
etc., so I'll be kicking off a Three Day Write-a-Thon on Saturday morning!

Want to join me?

If you do, cool! Leave a comment here that you're going to be
writing/editing/outlining, etc., and what you're working on if you like.
Throughout the weekend and Monday, check in here to cheer each other on
and report your progress. I'll be doing word count updates via Twitter.
:) I love writing with other people. It, um, keeps me from getting
distracted. Plus, it's embarrassing if I report back with a sad word
count.

So, join me via Twitter, Facebook, my blog and let's WRITE!

I'm going to be outlining POPULAR and writing it, too. That's my project. I want to get as far as possible into it.

I heart these so hard core! Thank you, Hannah F for sending these! The lip-gloss one, especially, made me grin. :)

Many hearts!

This is your shot to ask questions about getting published. Whatever you're dreaming about--a book deal, writing for your school newspaper, publishing in magazines--leave a comment and ask your question.

I'm not answering questions about HOW to write, but rather how to get published. I won't be answering the questions in the comments section, however, they'll be answered in a different (soon to be revealed!) way. :)

You've got until I close the comments (probably two weeks) to leave yours. You can ask more than one, so go for it! Feel free, if you like, to leave your first name and age. I'm interested to know how old you are in consideration with your question.

I'm excited to read your questions! :)