Blogging, contests, and the start of signing season!

[Richelle Mead]

What's new...

It's that time of the year again--warm weather, sunshine, and a new book around the corner! We're less than two months away from the release of The Emerald Sea, the last book in the Glittering Court trilogy. In this book, we learn about Tamsin's journey as she too tries to improve her fortunes in the land of Adoria. But unlike her two friends in the previous books, Tamsin's course goes seriously awry--literally, in the form of a shipwreck that sends her a long, long way from ballrooms and champagne. The Emerald Sea comes out June 26, and I'll soon be announcing U.S. tour dates for it. I don't know what my publisher has in mind yet, but cross your fingers that I'll be visiting your city!

Where I'll be...

In the meantime, I will be in southern California this weekend, May 4-5, attending the annual Yallwest Book Festival. If you aren't familiar with Yallwest in Santa Monica, then learn about it quickly! Over a hundred young adult and middle grade authors gather to meet fans, sign books, and teach panels. The best part? Nearly all of it is FREE. A couple keynote speeches require tickets, but pretty much everything else is ready and open for you to enjoy. So get some friends, and head on over this weekend if you can. Information about the festival is at their official website: yallwest.com. Their site also includes a master schedule of all the events, and you can find out where I'll be Friday and Saturday. Come visit me at a panel, when I'm signing, or even when I'm just wandering around looking for coffee.

What's cool...

And as a special treat for Yallwest attendees, I'm running a contest that was just announced via my newly launched blog. If you're attending Yallwest, channel your inner poet and compose a poem or two about anything related to any of my books. Give it to me in person at the festival this weekend, and you could win the chance to be written into a scene with Adrian from the Vampire Academy and Bloodlines series. Details are over here at my blog. And if you aren't attending, don't worry. This is the first of many contests to come, and there'll be worldwide opportunities.

That's the update for now! Stay tuned for more news about The Emerald Sea, my upcoming tour, and--perhaps most importantly of all--what will I be writing next??

Happy reading,

Richelle