Can you believe 2009 is almost over? I can't. But thanks to my fellow MG/YA authors at debut2009, it's been an exciting year with lots of new friends and good reading in it!

So here's our parting gift to you, dear readers:

Two fantastic book prize packages are being given away soon, and my book is in both of them!

First, my fellow fantasy authors over at enchantedinkpot are running the First Annual Inkies Giveaway Extravaganza, with prizes including three bundles of eight books each -- one focused on Fairy Tales and Folklore (that's mine!), one on Adventure and Witchcraft, and another on Ancient Curses, Modern Ghosts, and Post-Apocalyptic stories. These prize packages contain a couple of droolworthy ARCs and some bestselling titles, so head on over and check it out! Contest runs until December 9, 2009.

Second, the stupendous Debs Library contest is still running over at debut2009! If you're a library professional and would like to win 46 free books by the debut authors of 2009 for your school or public library, zip on over and enter while there's still time -- the draw will be held on January 1, 2010.

I am happy to announce that in just a couple of weeks (well, three to be exact), I will be flying down to the AASL Conference in Charlotte, NC to do a signing for many lovely school librarians, and while I am visiting I will also be doing this:

Meet the Debs! Where: Park Road Books, Charlotte, NC When: Friday November 6, 2009 at 5 p.m. Who: R.J. Anderson (Faery Rebels: Spell Hunter) Lauren Bjorkman (My Invented Life), Jennifer Jabaley (Lipstick Apology), Neesha Meminger (Shine, Coconut Moon), Shani Petroff (Bedeviled: Daddy's Little Angel), Cynthea Liu (Paris Pan Takes the Dare), and Erin Dionne (Models Don't Eat Chocolate Cookies).

We will be signing copies of our books and chatting to all comers -- if you're in the area, please drop by and say hello!

I am especially excited about this trip because not only do I get to meet a bunch of terrific fellow authors and hang out with my wonderful agent, I will be jaunting up to visit my dear friend cesario while I am there. Whee!

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Next, I am exceedingly excited because today -- yes! today! -- I am going to have tea and hang out with the lovely and hilarious Adrienne Kress, author of two of my favorite middle-grade books of the last few years -- Alex and the Ironic Gentleman and Timothy and the Dragon's Gate. More people need to read these books. Seriously. They are adventurous and fantastical and witty and insightful and just plain fun. And so is Adrienne. So this too is made of WIN.

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There may also be some very, very good news brewing on the writing front. I cannot say what about, exactly, not yet, as the details are yet to be confirmed. But I will tell you as soon as I can.

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And finally, something for you lot -- it's Debsness time again!

In other news: still working on Touching Indigo. 43K as of today!

First, the good stuff:



And now for a long-overdue heads-up on what I've been doing. Namely, working on my paranormal YA Touching Indigo every spare moment I get. I was delighted with my 12K progress for the first week -- especially since about a third of that was new material -- but this week it's slowed down considerably due to a houseful of bored kids and my participation in London Book Camp (that's London ONTARIO, FYI -- nobody has offered to fly me to the UK yet!). Still, I have hopes of catching up to my target of 20K by Monday.

To help me stay motivated without an Official Editorial Deadline, I've told myself that if I get the first draft of this book finished by the second week of October at the LATEST, I can buy myself a new laptop. Which, considering that my current laptop is an eleven-year-old refurbished Toshiba with zero Internet capability and a busted hinge, is a pretty good incentive. Now I just have to think of an extra treat I can give myself if I get it all done by the end of September...

In the meantime, I've been delighted to find three Faery Rebels: Spell Hunter reviews in the past month from major US publications. First Booklist came through with some very nice words in their July issue, and then just this past week I got the nod from School Library Journal and VOYA, both of which you can check out on the Barnes & Noble page for Spell Hunter if you're curious.

I'll be offline for the next week, doing family stuff and focusing on getting caught up with Touching Indigo, but I look forward to catching up with everyone when I get back!

Come escape with us - and win all seven of our books! A US prize pack that features all 7 with our US covers, or the UK prize pack that features all 7 of our books with our UK covers when available! Enter once, win twice because we’re giving away secret surprise prizes too! But enter by midnight EST tonight, because at 12:01, it will be all gone! Escape with the 7!

All content shamelessly poached from anywherebeyond, because I'm lazy like that this morning.

I just got my first pass pages for Rebel today from my UK publisher! It's so exciting to see my manuscript all typeset and laid out like a real book!

Now I just have to get my copyedits on the US edition (Wayfarer), so I can cross-reference the two and make sure that the text of both editions ends up being more or less the same...

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And speaking of the UK and the US, I am delighted to announce that the Seven, a group of talented debut authors of which I am honored to be a part, is offering SEVEN FREE BOOKS to two lucky winners!



You could win a copy of Faery Rebels: Spell Hunter OR a copy of the UK edition Knife, along with six other hot YA titles -- Saundra Mitchell's atmosphere-drenched paranormal mystery Shadowed Summer, Sarah MacLean's sparkling Regency romance The Season, Carrie Ryan's haunting literary zombie novel The Forest of Hands and Teeth, Aprilynne Pike's fresh and unexpected fairy story Wings, Sarah Cross's dynamic teen superhero novel Dull Boy, and Sarah Rees Brennan's witty, breathtaking and heart-stealing adventure The Demon's Lexicon.

All you have to do is pop by the contest site starting tomorrow, July 1, and give us your name, your e-mail, and whether you'd prefer to win the US or the UK editions of the books. Yes, it really is that easy! So visit the Summer of Seven site today!

You can also follow the Seven on Twitter at @summerofseven.

This week I'm featured in the Author Spotlight on AuthorsNow!, and I'm giving away a signed hardcover copy of Faery Rebels: Spell Hunter as part of the deal. If you want to throw your name in the hat, check out the interview here and leave a comment!

I'll also be doing another giveaway here on the LJ some time next week, so if you don't win over there, you can always stay tuned for that one.

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On a related note, recently I've been hearing from folks who've tried to find my book in their local Big Bookstore and were surprised/disappointed not to see it there. There's a simple explanation for that: for their own mysterious reasons, the two major US chains have opted out of carrying Faery Rebels: Spell Hunter in their stores. That doesn't make it impossible to find, but it does make it a bit harder, as it's only being physically stocked by independent booksellers.*

Still, if you're not in the habit of visiting your local indie, why not give them a try? I used to think I could get a better deal by shopping elsewhere, so it's only in the last year or so that I started visiting my local indies on a regular basis. But now I've come to see what a great bunch of people independent booksellers can be, and how well they know and love the books they sell. So if you're thinking of picking up a copy of Faery Rebels: Spell Hunter, please consider looking it up on IndieBound first. You can even order the book online through the IndieBound site if you prefer.

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And speaking of book-buying, I should also mention that sarahcross's fabulous, funny, action-packed, utterly charming teen superhero novel Dull Boy just released today. Don't be misled by the title, because it's definitely tongue-in-cheek: Avery Pirzwick's story is anything but dull. You can visit Sarah's website to learn more about her and the book. Or you could just go ahead and buy it!

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* Canadians don't have the same problem, though -- Chapters/Indigo/Coles are giving the book some great support up here, bless 'em.

I have good news! My local indie bookseller has informed me that they got two extra ARCs of my book that I could have if I wanted, so I am now going to give away three ARCs of Faery Rebels: Spell Hunter!

*drumroll*

Using my Aforementioned Mysterious Criteria I narrowed down the list of candidates to eight, and assigned them all numbers. Then I used the Virtual Hat of Randomness to pick three of those numbers, and voila!

The winners are:

1. YAtheneum
2. Becky's Book Reviews
3. Angieville

Please e-mail me at rjawriter at gmail dot com with your mailing addresses and I will send those ARCs out to you early next week.

Thanks so much to all of you who entered! You all have great blogs that I enjoyed visiting and reading very much, and I really appreciate your interest in my book. I'm sorry I didn't have enough ARCs to give you all one!

And I would invite anyone interested in reading some great reviews to check out all the blogs that entered the contest -- the winners are linked above, and you can also drop by the following sites:

Beyond Books
Frenetic Reader
Kidliterate
Kiss My Book
Naptime Writer
Reverie Book Reviews
Ticket to Anywhere

I love book bloggers. I read many of your blogs on a daily basis, and enjoy learning from you about new books that I would not otherwise have known existed. I also take great pleasure from watching you squee about books I already know and love, or thoughtfully dissect books that I personally found problematic as well. In short, you are great!

I also know that some of you would really like to read and review Faery Rebels: Spell Hunter... and that only three weeks remain until the book's officially available in stores. So, I am offering my last available ARC of Spell Hunter to a book blogger who meets the following criteria:

a) You have an active book review blog.
b) You are located in the United States or Canada.
c) You do not already have a copy of Faery Rebels: Spell Hunter.
d) You plan to post a review* of the ARC on your blog.

...along with a few more mysterious criteria known only to me and which you, the book blogger, cannot influence or change by means of bribery, flattery, or protestations of your own awesome deservingness (though you may well indeed be awesome and deserving!).

So here's what you have to do to enter:

- Leave a comment on this entry with the URL of your book review blog;

OR

- Send a DM or Reply to me on Twitter (@rj_anderson) with the URL of your blog.

And that is all! Really.

Also, included with the ARC will be a shiny Auralia's Colors/Cyndere's Midnight bookmark signed by author Jeffrey Overstreet, because I've reviewed both those books here on my own blog, and, well, just because.

This contest CLOSES at midnight EST on Wednesday, April 8, 2009. (Yes, I know I said Friday on Twitter. I changed my mind. I'm bad like that. Sorry.) I will review all entries and announce the winner on Friday, April 10, 2009.

Let the commenting and Twittering begin!

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Now if you are a US/Canadian reader and you are feeling sad and left-out, do not fear! Stay tuned until early May, because at that time I will be giving away a signed hardcover edition of Faery Rebels: Spell Hunter in a separate contest for readers only. I may even give away another first-edition paperback copy of Knife at the same time!

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* Contents of the review are at the reviewer's discretion, and winning the ARC in this contest is in no way meant to prejudice the reviewer.

So you know that lisamantchev has written this utterly delightful, fresh, hilarious, adventurous, unputdownable YA fantasy called Eyes Like Stars, don't you?

Well, if you don't, here's a description:

Welcome to the Théâtre Illuminata, where the characters of every play ever written can be found behind the curtain. They were born to play their parts, and are bound to the Théâtre by The Book--an ancient and magical tome of scripts. Bertie is not one of them, but they are her family--and she is about to lose them all and the only home she has ever known.

Sounds kind of fabulous, doesn't it? Trust me, it totally is. This is the perfect book for theatre lovers, fairy lovers, lovers of Shakespeare, and/or people who just love a rollicking good read.

And now you have a chance to win a copy!

The Théâtre Illuminata proudly presents THE COMPLEAT WORKS OF LOLSHAKESPEARE contest.

Did I mention that I really loved this book? And that it is worth trying to win one of the six advance copies that lisamantchev is offering to give out to the people who design the most hilarious, clever, or otherwise delightful LOLShakespeare images? And that yours truly is one of the six judges who will select the lucky winners?

Yeah. That. So go now and check it out!

The Feast of Awesome is at it again, giving away GLORIOUS SWAG! But the opportunity will be over at midnight EST, so hurry:


Go on, you know you want to. infiniteviking won last time, so clearly my f-list is charmed. (Though I myself never win anything; it is an incontrovertible fact of my existence.)

Lots of fun goodies here -- but get your entry in fast, because the contest closes tonight at midnight EST! Only 11 hours to go -- and if you miss this chance you'll have to wait a whole month to try again!



Just click on the picture to check out this fabulous giveaway, open to ALL visitors regardless of location! You don't have to be an LJ member or even a blogger to enter, as long as you're willing to supply a name and an e-mail where you can be contacted if you win.

My thanks to all who entered -- I so enjoyed reading all your answers to the questions I posed. This has been great fun and I hope that when the North American release rolls around in April we can do it again!

So I tallied up all your responses and ran the Random Number Generator, and this is what it said.

First, the runners-up, who will each receive an official shiny Knife bookmark:



And finally, the grand prize winner of a signed UK edition of Knife:



Congratulations! Please e-mail me within the next three days at rjawriter at gmail dot com or message me through LiveJournal with your address so I can send these prizes out to you as soon as possible.

The lovely and talented sarahtales (otherwise known as Sarah Rees Brennan, author of the forthcoming YA urban fantasy opus The Demon's Lexicon) has just sent me into fits of hilarity with her Totally Accurate And Not At All Made Up commentary on Knife, so I will make incoherent flailing gestures in that direction so you can enjoy it for yourself. No significant spoilers, so don't worry.

Oh, and her brother just became the poker champion of Ireland. I am not even kidding.

Anyway, Sarah is giving away another copy of the UK edition of Knife to a random commenter, too, so if you're worried about possibly not winning the one I'm offering here, you may want to check her post out as well!

As many of you know by now, I'm a proud member of debut2009, a community of first-time MG and YA authors we like to call the Feast of Awesome. We've put together a fantastic set of prize packages for the 12 months of 2009, and we'll be sharing the details with our loyal watchers soon!



We'll also be generating a lot of other great content as our members' books come out. Join here to become a watcher of our community -- you won't regret it!