Win the OTHERKIN Trilogy in my Facebook-Only Giveaway!

To reward the folks who've so kindly liked my Facebook page this year, I'm giving away THREE (yep, 3) full sets of the OTHERKIN trilogy, signed and personalized for each winner. This is an international giveaway, opent to all.

Three folks will get a signed hard copy of OTHERKIN:

OTHERMOON:

And the Advance Reader Copy (ARC) of OTHERSPHERE. All the ARCs of OTHERSPHERE are mysteriously missing the last five words of the story. Crazy, right? So I promise to hand-write those last five magic words into the last page of your OTHERSPHERE ARC myself, making it just that much more personal.

Unless you don't want me to and want to be left hanging because you're funny that way. Up to you!

Just go here to my Facebook page and comment on the post announcing the giveaway (you might have to "like" the page first), telling me your favorite animal character in literature. (By which I mean any animal, magical, talking, or not! And not shifters like my characters.)

Animals in books are part of what drew me to reading in the first place, whether it was Aslan in the Chronicles of Narnia or Charlotte, Wilbur, and good old Templeton the rat (see any resemblance to my character November?) in CHARLOTTE'S WEB. But as my all-time favorite I have to pick Iorek Byrnison from THE GOLDEN COMPASS/HIS DARK MATERIALS trilogy by Philip Pullman, probably because this amazing armored polar bear is as flawed and three-dimensional as any human character in books.

  

This is a still from the movie, but don't see the movie. (It's not that great.) Read the books! They're amazing.

And thanks to everyone on my Facebook page this year. I really am thankful for you all!

Why Being a Writer is Insane, Reason #253

..because my fourth book, THE NOTORIOUS PAGAN JONES is already up on Goodreads (with an abbreviated title - but still!)

All this even as:

1. I'm still writing THE NOTORIOUS PAGAN JONES. In fact, it's due in two weeks!

2. My third book OTHERSPHERE (third in the OTHERKIN series) isn't out until December 31, this year and;

3. I'm still promoting my second book, OTHERMOON, which came out last January.

4. I'm super busy also working in TV.

5. The dust bunnies are piling up around my couch.

6. All the new fall TV shows are filling up my dvr.

7. My friends wonder whether I'm on the lam with my new outlaw boyfriend (sssh!)

or am pinned under some fallen furniture, unable to reach the phone.

8. The Story of Film: An Odyssey is on Turner Classic Movies along with the best movies ever made. (I'm a film school grad and an avid movie fan.) So much fabulousness to watch.

It's making me want to do nothing but watch great films. You all should watch it! Here's a clip from "Twentieth Century," an insanely fast screwball comedy starring great stage actor John Barrymore and the fastest thinking/talking actress ever to grace the screen, Carole Lombard. The director, Howard Hawks, said Lombard was so fast that she'd shoot her lines out and stun both him and Barrymore with her speed and timing, i.e., she rocks.

 

Another Giveaway - Books + Galley Pages!

Happy September one and all!

I've been super busy writing the first book in my new PAGAN JONES series for Harlequin Teen (my deadline is LOOMING), so I apologize for the lack of blog posts. I've also been proofing the galleys of OTHERSPHERE! Voila:

It's really a book! The fabulous feeling when you see your name printed under a book title never gets old.

So once I'm done proofreading the galleys, I thought I'd send off a few tantalizing pages to two lucky winners of my next giveaway. So two winners will get 5 annotated pages from the OTHERSPHERE galleys. I'll try not to send you anything too spoilery, but you'll be getting a glimpse at what's to come!

Oh, and you'll get books too - 2 people will also get a signed copy of OTHERKIN & OTHERMOON. I've weighted the contest so that you get more points if you post on my blog, and fewer points if you tweet, but the more you do either one of those, the better your chance at winning.

Starts at midnight tonight! Ends midnight, September 24! Enter using the Rafflecopter thingy below. I'll email the winners after they are randomly selected and mail out signed books and galley pages


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sorry, but this contest has to be US/Canada only. The prices to mail anything other than a letter internationally are killer. Once they make an OTHERKIN or PAGAN JONES movie (cough cough) I'll merrily mail things out anywhere in the world. Or have one of my four assistants (heavy duty cough) handle it.

Again, this doesn't start until midnight tonight, Pacific time. I'll tweet and facebook tomorrow to remind you too.

Good luck and happy reading!

Big Book and Slushie Maker Giveaway!

It's still summer, so let's celebrate by reading books and drinking icey cold drinks!

In that spirit, I'm holding a giveaway starting at midnight tonight where two (2) lucky winners will each get:

A signed copy of OTHERKIN and OTHERMOON...

And a fabulous brand new Zoku Slush and Shake Maker!

Both of the Slush Maker's I'm giving away are purple, which is the one second from the left. Pretty!

I'll also throw in a couple of OTHERSPHERE bookmarks to hold your place when reading and to whet your appetite for the third book in the series, which will be out this December.

See the Rafflecopter widget below for how to enter. There are two ways - leave a comment on this blog (just say hi, or whatever you like, as long it isn't mean or yucky, please) or tweet about the giveaway. You can do each of those once per day to earn another entry in the contest and increase your chances.

This starts at midnight TONIGHT (so midnight on August 14) and ends a week later, midnight on August 21

Good luck and happy mid-summer to you all!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Paranormal Character Battle 2013!

The fabulous website Paranormal Cravings is having a character battle all July long.
If you love paranormal novels, hie thee to their site! (Clickenzee on the banner below to get there too!)

Did I nominate my own character? You mean my character who can shift into an enormous tiger with unearthly strength, speed, and senses?

My character who can destroy technology with a thought? What do you think?

There are some kick-ass characters nominated - archangels and demons, vampires and even other shifters. Will Dez win the ultimate battle? Well, she's still young, so I'm not holding my breath. She hasn't stepped into the arena yet. We'll see what happens when she does... I'll try to let you know when she shows up!

Author Fair - then Vacation!

I had a great time at the El Segundo Author Fair this Sunday. Here I am at my table right after setting up.

I sold and signed a few books, got to chat with kids and adults, gave away temporary tiger tattoos, and found time to get to know a few more fellow authors.

At the table in front of me was fellow YA author Sherri L. Smith, who was not only smart and super nice, but was featuring two of her five books - FLYGIRL and ORLEANS both of which looked MOST intriguing! FLYGIRL really tweaked my interest - it's about an African American girl with skin light enough to pass for white who joins the Women's Air Force Service Pilots during World War II because she loves to fly. (African American's were not allowed to serve with whites at the time - all the armed forces were segregated, sadly.) I've heard about these amazing women, who took over all the domestic flying for the Air Force while the men were off flying fighter planes. (Women weren't allowed to be fighter pilots back then.) I love a good story about women doing what others thing they can't do, about pushing the boundaries of people's expectations. So I'm going to have to pick up FLYGIRL for sure.

I also saw and chatted with my Apocalypsie buddies Jennifer Bosworth and Gretchen McNeil, who were on a panel with Sherri and the lovely Carrie Arcos and Jessica Brody, talking YA.

After seeing how the other authors had cool easel holders and placards about their books, I realize I need to step up my game and invest in some of that stuff.  But the librarians and council members of the El Segundo Library were unfailingly welcoming and helpful. If you're in the area, definitely check out the library there.

That was my last blast of author work before heading off to vacation. Well, I'll be writing the whole time, and THAT's author work, of course. Off to my homeland of Hawaii to see my dad and hang out with a bunch of my high school buddies, who will be in town. FUN! And yes, I'll bodysurf at Bellows because that's still my favorite thing to do in the whole wide worlds.

In fact, the cab is picking me up in about three hours and I'm still not completely packed! So I'm off to grab a snack and get ready. I probably won't be able to blog from there, but I'll be posting occasionally on my Facebook page and throwing out the occasional tweet.

Happy early June to one and all!

Author Fair and Book Signing This Sunday!

I'll be at the fabulous El Segundo Author Fair this Sunday, June 2, signing books and giving away bookmarks and temporary tiger tattoos from 1:30 - 2:30.

Barnes and Noble will have books on hand for people to buy if they wish, but I'm happy to sign books already purchased - or anything else you like. I'm easy like that.

Here's the flyer (front and back) telling you about all the fabulous authors and panels and such. I haven't been before, but apparently they get a lot of people.

So many great authors attending!

(Just click on an image to make it bigger if you wish.)

In Which School Library Journal Reviews Othermoon

...and likes it! It's delicious; it's refreshing; it's thirst quenching!

                                (Photo by Syahrul Ramadan)

Oh wait, that's what this tiger is thinking.

Here's some of what the School Library Journal actually thought:

“Fans of the first book will be clamoring for this title and will be eager to get their paws on the final book in the trilogy. Plus, tiger fans will enjoy going ‘beyond the story’ at the end of the novel and learning some facts and proverbs about the great cat.”

There's no link online to it, since it's published in their magazine, but you get the idea.

I'm especially glad that they're pointing out the tiger facts/quotes/info I included at the end, because I'm pretty zealous about preserving the tigers and other big cats in the wild. Any and all education that gets out about that makes me very happy.

Speaking of which, if you sign up at TigerTime here, you'll get info on how you can help save tigers, without weird spam emails or any of that nonsense.

I'm Giving Away Three Copies of Othermoon!

Here's your chance to win one of three copies of Othernoon! I'm running a contest on Goodreads (click on the widget below to enter) open to all in the US and Canada.

You have till May 21 at midnight to enter! I'll sign the book over to the winners and include some bookmarks because you guys are awesome.

Hmm. Link below seems to be broken. GO HERE to enter.

 
 

    Goodreads Book Giveaway
 

   

       
   

   

     

          Othermoon
     

     

          by Nina Berry
     

     

         
            Giveaway ends May 21, 2013.
         

         
            See the giveaway details
            at Goodreads.
         

     

   

   

      Enter to win

(Sorry, international folks, but funds are low, so I can't swing the huge mailing costs for an international contest right now. But when things change a bit, that too will change!)

In Which Othermoon is Trending

Spotted in the Trending section of the Nook main page...

HUZZAH!

So proud...

...to be a part of the diverse world of KTeen.

What Makes a Writer Smile

Photos like these!  Check it out, friends in DC took this one at their local Barnes & Noble:

How happy did that make me?

Then a friend in the Bay area sent THIS is, from her local B&N:

Which made me say:

Then today, friends in the UK sent me this shot, showing what they've been up to lately:

 

I grinned so wide and hard that the rest of me disappeared.

 

That's how you make a writer smile.

A Very Private OTHERKIN Love Letter

I don't normally share love letters. They're the most personal thing there is. But...

Over at Vampire Book Club, for their Character Love Letters event this February (hello, Valentines' Day!) you can read a very private email Caleb sent to Dez between the events of OTHERKIN and OTHERMOON.

The books are from Dez's point of view, so here's a rare chance to get a glimpse inside Caleb's (rather racy and intimate!) thoughts.

Aren't boys fun?

They also have a giveaway, so if you didn't win OTHERMOON in my giveaway, here's another chance!

Congratulations to the Giveaway Winners!

And thanks to all of you for entering my launch giveaway. Wish I could send books to all of you!

(Wish my handwriting was actually this legible! :)

OTHERMOON Launch Giveaway!

It's OTHERMOON's Birthday!

Welcome to the world, little book!

To celebrate, I'm giving away three personally signed copies. This is an international giveaway, so if you live somewhere in the world that I can reach you via mail, you may enter!

Check out the nifty Rafflecopter widget below for the two ways you can enter - either by commenting on this post on my blog, and/or by tweeting.

You've got a week - from January 29 to February 5, to enter. Winners will be selected randomly, and all that kind of jazz.

Let the fanfare be played!



And let the giveaway begin...

a Rafflecopter giveaway

OTHERMOON is Out Tomorrow!

Warning:

Because my second book, OTHERMOON will be out tomorrow.  I think my head's going to explode - and emit a shower of champagne. Or gumballs. Or, ya know, brains and blood. Depending.

To celebrate, tomorrow I will be posting a giveaway of the book. Multiple copies will be launched into the readersphere to beguile or bewilder you.

Meanwhile, here's a very nice review of the first book, OTHERKIN, from City of Books. Huzzah!

And here's a poster for the Authors After Dark YA Day, which I'll be attending in Savannah, Georgia in August. Should be a blast!  Fellow author and my critique partner Elisa Nader (her book will be out this summer and you must read it!) had kindly volunteered to be my date at this event.  More huzzahs!

Okay, back to work. Currently researching tabloids for super secret project and found this juicy front page - most apropos. And I don't mean the fascinating sounding article about Howard Stern's face appearing with Satan in volcano smoke...

One Day Till Othermoon is released!

My shameless countdown to the launch of OTHERMOON continues! As I type this, the counter says one day, eight hours and *mumblety mumblety* minutes till it's out! That's midnight Pacific time, of course.

On the day the book comes out, I will post about a fabulous giveaway! So stay tuned. 

Meanwhile, I'm thinking about the number one. Roar it out loud - ONE!

Is it indeed the loneliest number?



As Three Dog Night says, two can also be pretty damned lonely, depending on how the two of you are getting along at the moment.

(Also - how awesome is Three Dog Night? My favorite song when I was a kid was their "Joy to the World," which continues to be amazing:



I thought of it as the bullfrog song, naturally.)

One is the last whole number before you get to zero, after all. It's sort of standing out there by itself, a bullwark against nothingness.

But in a countdown, it can be a pretty aweseome number, because next comes the thing you're anticipating. Here's Apollo 11's countdown and take off, which lead to men landing on the moon, which is about as cool a thing as has ever happened EVER:



The rocket itself is like a big number one. Or a finger pointing at the sky, as if to say "That's where I'm headed, guys. Stand back!"

It's also a very simple number, mathmatically, which makes me happy as a non-mathy sort of person. Anything you multiply it by stays the same, and it's super easy to add and subtract, thank you very much. It's evolution as a numeral isn't particularly complex:

For fans of a certain boy band, one is something they think of as primarily part of that band's name.

(For those of you over the age of 17 or without kids, that's One Direction.)

One indicates a certain wholeness, a lack of division, a unity.  Are we one?

On a good day, I think we are.

Two Days Till Othermoon!

As I write, it's two days, eleven hours and *mumble mumble* minutes and seconds till OTHERMOON's launch date!

Winston Churchill knows what I'm talking about.

Oh yes, I'm shameless, using historical figures to countdown the days till my book is out. Check it out.

Okay, so that's a peace sign. And Churchill is flashing the V for Victory sign. But you need two fingers to make those signs, right?

On a serious note - I love and admire John Lennon. (Churchill's cool and all, but does not inspire the same feeling of lurve, luff, love. you get the idea.)

Because all you need is love.



But I digress.  Here's how the number 2 came to look the way it does:

It's an important number for many reasons - not just because it's two days till OTHERMOON. Sometimes it's really better to have two of something.

When you find just one of these, it's really annoying.

You need two people to make more people. Heck, you need two of any kind of mammal to make more. Without two you don't get the concept of dualism (good vs. evil), or the Hegelian dialectic (you can't have any kind of dialogue at all without at least two!) It's the atomic number of helium, the first even number, and DNA is made from a double helix.

In China, they say "good things come in twos." Plus, there's this:

So happy Two Days Before Othermoon Day! Think I can get it made into an official holiday?

Oh wait, it's Saturday.

Nevermind.

Three Days Till Othermoon!

That's right! My second book will be out Tuesday, January 29, and I'm counting down the days, pointlessly but in a fun way, here.

And yes, three is a magic number:



Another way it's magic? If you type a "greater than" sign - < -  then the digit 3, it means love because it makes a sideways heart.

THREE, baby! It rules!

According to Wikipedia, this is how 3 evolved to look how it does today:

Just a few examples of how three shows up in  major religions:

• the Christian Holy Trinity
• the Hindu Trimurti
• the Hindu Tridevi
• the Three Jewels of Buddhism
• the Three Pure Ones of Taoism
• the Triple Goddess of Wicca 

Three fates rule our lives, there are three witches in Macbeth, Three Musketeers, Three Blind Mice, and Dante's Divine Comedy is in three parts of 33 cantos each.

And although "the third time's the charm," the "third man" to do something bad, is the one who'll get caught.

And, of course, bad luck comes in threes.

Maybe I'm glad tomorrow we'll be down to two days?