It is December and I am Grateful (yes with a capital G!)

1. I'm grateful I remembered my blog password. I meant to keep my "News" updated on a monthly basis, but somehow the fall got a away from me. 


2. I'm grateful Surrender is releasing December 6th! This is the final Haunting Emma book. I think part of why it's taken me so long to post is that I didn't know what to say about Surrender. The final book in a series is definitely bittersweet. I'm thrilled to have completed Emma Vaile's journey, but sad to say goodbye to her and Bennett, their friends, and the ghosts--I've loved every one of these characters and it's hard to let go. On the other hand readers are letting me know they love Emma's final tale and nothing makes me happier.


3. I'm grateful that Emma's journey may not be completely over. Nothing is finalized yet, but I think it's okay for me to say Deception is being optioned for television. Who do you think should play her and Bennett?


4. I'm grateful that Hand-Me-Down, my adult novel about a woman who falls in love with a man who's dated her older sisters has also been optioned for television. Again, contracts not signed, but it's happening!


5. Mostly, I'm grateful for people: Agents, editors, readers, book bloggers, and online writing friends. Writing a book would be very lonely without them. And I'm grateful I actually have a real life with other wonderful friends and family, both new and old.


I'm sure there are many things I'm forgetting to be thankful for, but this is a pretty nice start. Tell me, who or what are you grateful for this year?


P.S. To pass on some Emma love, I'm giving away 5 signed copies of Surrender on Goodreads and posting other giveaways on the Haunting Emma page on Facebook. Happy Chanukah and Merry Christmas and Happy whatever else you may celebrate (and you know I'll never get it together to post for New Year's, so Happy New Year too!)

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Surrender

by Lee Nichols

Giveaway ends December 31, 2011.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

SURRENDER

I can't thank the amazing book blogging community enough! Seven of them got together to reveal the cover of Surrender piece by piece. In other words you should be reading:
 

Good Choice Reading  

Mundie Moms 

Read My Mind 

Dark Readers  

An Avid Readers Musings 

Skyla11377   

Once Upon A Twilight

Special thanks to the wonderful Damaris at Good Choice Reading, whose idea it was to slowly reveal the cover and who organized everything! 


And here it is, Surrender! Comes out December 2011!

I love Summer!

What's happening? The UK versions of Deception and Betrayal will be out in September which makes me very excited. 

Surrender, the final Haunting Emma book, comes out in the U.S. in December and as soon as I have a final cover, I'll be unveiling it over at Good Choice Reading.


In the meantime, I'm writing and enjoying the warm weather. Please keep in touch with me via Facebook, The Haunting Emma page, or on Twitter!


Have a great July!


XO Lee

We Heart Indies Day! *Contest*

Yes, it's possible this is a made up day, created by Lisa & Laura Roecker, but since I love independent booksellers and Lisa & Laura I'm playing along. To celebrate, I'm giving away books. Contest rules at the end. But first, why I love independent booksellers.


Sadly, my favorite independent bookstore, Books Etc. in Falmouth, Maine has now closed. What made Books Etc. so special is its booksellers. They were incredibly knowledgeable and well-read without being snobby. They'd recommend a deep literary novel, along with a current favorite romance or mystery. One Saturday, when I'd mentioned I was writing a YA novel, they handed me ARC of The Hunger Games and told me how much they'd all loved it. Yes, Borders and Barnes & Noble can stack piles of books to mark what they think will be a bestseller, but in my experience, it's the independent sellers that hand-sell smaller books until they hit the bestseller list. I really miss Books Etc. and it's incredible staff, who I could say to, "I need something good to read. What've you got?" and they'd hand me something unexpectedly great. 


Now, I'm looking forward to moving back to Santa Barbara, where, sadly, Borders and Barnes & Noble have both recently closed. But there is a thriving independent, Chaucer's Bookstore, with books literally stacked to the ceiling, and I can't wait to get to know its booksellers.


And now for the contest:


I'm giving away two books--there will be two winners, and each winner gets to pick the book they'd like to receive. Check my website for all the choices (adult and YA). http://www.leenicholsbooks.com/


One book will be given away today. All you have to do is @LeeXNichols on Twitter about your favorite independent bookstore and a random winner will be chosen. Contest ends at midnight, May 31st.


The second book will go to the person who leaves the best I <3 Indies comment on this blog. Tell me what you love about your favorite independent bookstore. You've got one week to leave a comment. Contest closes midnight June 7th.


Good luck and thanks for playing!

iClue Winners are announced!

It was so fun to be a part of this contest and we had an amazing turnout. Thank you to everyone who hosted our mini-mysteries and played the game!


The winner of the 6 autographed books is....

Melissa Wheelock!

Congratulations Melissa! You'll be getting an email shortly and each author will send you an autographed copy of their book. Thanks for your help spreading the word.



And the winner of the iPod Touch donated by The Reading Room, loaded with six AMAZING mysteries is...

Jasmine Miller!


Yay! Jasmine, you'll also be contacted by email for your info. Have to admit I envy you this awesome prize.


Thanks again for everyone who was involved. We couldn't have done it without you!




Next up: Lisa & Laura Roecker have declared May 31st We <3 Indies day. We'll be blogging about our love for Indies and giving away books. I'll be giving away two copies of my books—and you get to choose which ones. If you win you can even wait for Surrender to come out. So check back Tuesday for more fun!

My full iClue Contest

My iClue week is coming to an end. Here are both my full mysteries with three clues each. At the end is the link to the iClue site to enter your answers. Thanks for playing! And thanks again to Paperback Dolls, Good Choice Reading and The Reading Room for hosting me this week.

A little about my mysteries:

I love pop culture and love to include pop culture references in my books. But ... sometimes it can date a book or possibly end up tragically. For example, if today I wrote something specifically about Charlie Sheen, in two years it could read funny or not so funny, or just plain odd. So instead I'd mention an actor who got fired from a popular sitcom because he had some issues with drugs and prostitutes. That's vague enough that in two years it could be relevant to a completely different scandalous actor.

I also love music, but to me musical taste is so personal. I might love the song Raise Your Glass by Pink, but you might hate it and by extension think my character is lame for liking it. Still, music is such a huge part of teen lives that I can't leave it out. And that's what these mysteries are about. 

Mystery #1

This is an excerpt from BETRAYAL, the second Haunting Emma book. She’s heading to the Knell for the first time with Bennett. Along the way she sees the ghost of a dead celebrity. Your job is to figure out what celebrity she sees.

From BETRAYAL:

Bennett led me down the cobble-stoned street, past narrow brownstones with ornate wrought-iron fences and ancient trees growing between the sidewalks. 

“So, is this whole block ghostkeepers?” I said.

“Yeah, mostly people involved with the Knell.”

As dusk crept over the rooftops, I watched a boy who looked like Nicholas climb a streetlamp, light a long match, and fiddle with the glass. The lamp lit instantly—but from electricity, not his flame. 

“I don't get it,” I said. “They’re not like the ghosts in Echo Point.” Or even the ones I remembered from my childhood, before my parents had my ability suppressed. “It's like they don't know they're dead.”

“Maybe it’s the street,” he said. “Or the Knell, or how many ghostkeepers live here. No one's really sure why, but they almost forget they're ghosts.”

We passed a small private park where a few old guys played chess at tables under the street lamps. A younger ghost moved a rook, eccentrically dressed and familiar.

I stopped and stared. “Is that...?”

“The actor?” A movie star who’d recently died of an overdose. “Yeah.”

“Have you asked if it was suicide or an accident?”

He looked at me. “No.”

“Oh, right.” He couldn't communicate with them and I felt like a jerk for bringing it up.

So do you know the answer? Who is the actor? If you do, go here and enter to win the iPod Touch. If you need a little help, here are three clues to help you figure it out.

1.     Australia

2.     The Taming of the Shrew

3.     Chocolate toffee candy bar

Mystery #2

This is a first-time-ever-seen excerpt from SURRENDER the third and final Haunting Emma book that will be published in December. In it Emma is listening to a song Bennett has downloaded to her iPhone. Read the passage and see if you can figure out who the artist is and what song she's singing.

From SURRENDER:

I didn’t go to school the next day. Simon never would’ve let me get away with that, but the Sterns either didn’t care or were stuck in the mire of their own depression. How would I know? I never even left my room.

Natalie and Lukas both knocked. I’d learned my lesson, though, and shoved my chair under the handle, so Natalie couldn’t barge in. I heard her trying to talk Lukas into smashing in, but he refused. Either he didn’t want to get in trouble with the Sterns, or he understood I just wanted to be alone. It was more of a guy reaction to a problem. I’d noticed girls often liked to cry and relive every moment of distress with a friend. I wasn’t that kind of girl.

Instead I listened to Bennett’s songs over and over. I kept my laptop in bed in with me, so I could look up the lyrics online and memorize them. One of the songs was about how life had no music ‘before you.’ That’s how I felt, like all the music and color had gone out of the world. Sometimes a song could really hit you, even if it was from an artist who usually sang about her lady parts.

So do you know the answer? Who is the artist and what is the song? If you do, go here and enter to win the iPod Touch. Here are three clues if you’re having trouble.

1.     Milkshake

2.     Solo or group singing without instrumental sound

3.     Flesh Tone

iClue site. 

Good luck and thanks for playing! 

XOLee

iClue!

I’m excited to say it’s my turn for iClue! I’ve got two mysteries going, both involve excerpts from Haunting Emma novels. Good Choice Reading is hosting mystery number 1 and Paperback Dolls is hosting mystery number 2. You are allowed to answer twice, once for each mystery. That gives you two more chances to win the iPod Touch.


Go here for mystery 1.
Go here for mystery 2.


In case you have no idea what iClue is or how any of this works:

Six young adult authors got together and decided to have an epic contest in which we’d give away tons of books and ultimately an iPod Touch.


If you want to win the iPod, you need to solve the mysteries that each author is presenting and enter your answers here.


Beth Revis, New York Times bestselling author of the amazing Across the Universe gave us the first mystery. Go read it and enter to win the iTouch here.


Then the fantastic Kimberly Derting, author of the fabulous Body Finder series gave us her mystery. Go read it and enter to win the iTouch here.


Now it’s my turn, then there will be three more mysteries and three more chances to win the iTouch from Adele Griffin, Lisa & Laura Roecker, and Mandy Hubbard.


So, that’s it. Super-cool mini-mysteries from some of your favorite YA authors and a chance to win an iTouch.


But wait … that’s not all. You can also win six books, one from each author by helping us spread the word about iClue. To do that go here.


Many of the spectacular, wonderfully supportive book bloggers who are hosting our mysteries are giving away books as well. And we are sponsored by the wonderful new book site The Reading Room, who will have the 3rd clue for both my mysteries.


I hope you enjoy my mini-mysteries and get to win something!


XO Lee