Cara Lockwood's Blog, page 3

Happy Hunger Games Week!

If you hear that high-pitched squealing sound, it's my inner 13-year-old girl going bonkers over the soon-to-be released Hunger Games movie. I, like millions of you, am a huge Hunger Game triology fan. I love Twilight, too, but come on, let's be real here. We all know in a showdown, that Bella wouldn't last five minutes against Katniss. For Katniss, it's not about pining over boys, it's about kicking butt. As the mother of two girls, I really do have to admire that.

Besides, have you SEEN the Hunger Games trailer? Says it all.

For those of you who don't know, I wrote an essay on the Hunger Games for Smart Pop's book The Girl Who Was On Fire (Most Awesome Assignment Ever). If you head over today, you'll find my essay up for 24 hours and can read it free! But if you haven't read the rest of the book, you should buy it. It's a must-read for every Hunger Games fan.

Pop Smart will also be releasing special movie-related essays. I'll be writing about science and the special effects of the movie. That means when I'm waiting in line to get into the movie theater Friday night, I'm actually "working." Did I mention I have the best job on earth? You know, not to rub it in or anything.

So, in summary, Happy Hunger Games Week!

And I haven't forgotten you Bard fans. I still have a few bookmarks to give away, so anyone who's interested, just email me your A Tale of Two Proms receipt and I will send you a signed bookmark!

Want a Signed Bookmark? Get one!

Hi all my lovely Bard fans,

I have just received a stack of limited-edition Bard Academy bookmarks and I will be signing about a 100 of them. If you'd like one (and, I get it, ironic to have one even though A TALE OF TWO PROMS is an eBook), but hey, it's signed by yours truly, so it's something that will look awesome hanging up in your room. Plus, you could put it into the pages of Wuthering High or The Scarlet Letterman.

All you have to do to get one is to buy A TALE OF TWO PROMS, available from all major retailers:

Amazon (shout out to the Kindle!): http://amzn.to/tdDEdB

Apple: http://bit.ly/uMkpKD

Barnes and Noble (Nook fans!): http://bit.ly/uNd6nG

Once you've downloaded it and gotten an e-receipt, email it to me, along with your snail-mail address and I'll send you a signed bookmark (Hello - collector's item!).

Don't wait!
Buy now!
:)

Want a Signed Bookmark? Get one!

Hi all my lovely Bard fans,

I have just received a stack of limited-edition Bard Academy bookmarks and I will be signing about a 100 of them. If you'd like one (and, I get it, ironic to have one even though A TALE OF TWO PROMS is an eBook), but hey, it's signed by yours truly, so it's something that will look awesome hanging up in your room. Plus, you could put it into the pages of Wuthering High or The Scarlet Letterman.

All you have to do to get one is to buy A TALE OF TWO PROMS, available from all major retailers:

Amazon (shout out to the Kindle!): http://amzn.to/tdDEdB

Apple: http://bit.ly/uMkpKD

Barnes and Noble (Nook fans!): http://bit.ly/uNd6nG

Once you've downloaded it and gotten an e-receipt, email it to me, along with your snail-mail address and I'll send you a signed bookmark (Hello - collector's item!).

Don't wait!
Buy now!
:)

Buy a Tale of Two Proms Now!

Hello all my very patient Bard fans,

Good news! A Tale of Two Proms is now available for purchase - just in time for Christmas! (The perfect holiday gift? Well, I'm not one to brag.... Well, okay, I am. It IS the perfect holiday gift - for yourself and every single person you know).

This is a digital-only book, but you can get it at every major digital seller:

Amazon (shout out to the Kindle!): http://amzn.to/tdDEdB

Apple: http://bit.ly/uMkpKD

Barnes and Noble (Nook fans!): http://bit.ly/uNd6nG

And the BEST part? It's just $4.99. Skip one Gingerbread Latte and you've saved up enough dough to purchase. This isn't going to break your holiday budget and it will be the best $4.99 you've ever spent! (Did I mention I'm prone to wild fits of exaggerated self-promotion? But you guys knew that about me already).

Read it on your Nook, Kindle, iPhone, iPad, or plain old PC. Remember, this is most likely the final book in the Bard series. I've promised to answer all your pressing questions (Will Healthcliff and Miranda end up together? Or split apart forever?) You've got to download it to find out. You won't be disappointed.

Spread the word among your family and friends. I'll be holding a contest for those of you who get your friends to download and buy A Tale of Two Proms as well. Stay tuned for more details!

Bard 4 is coming soon!

Hi to all my (very) patient Bard fans:

Fear not. Bard 4 - A Tale of Two Proms - will be out before Christmas! Here's a sneak peek of the new (and decidedly bad-a cover). As you can see, in the last installment (most likely) of the Bard series, some serious stuff is going to go down.

As the title suggests, there's not one, but TWO proms, and there's no end to the romantic drama. Will Miranda end up with her fictional love Healthcliff? Or will Heathcliff be drawn back to Catherine, the love fated for him Wuthering Heights? Oh, yes, I'm bringing Catherine back for the finale. You knew I would, didn't you?

I promise I'll answer all your big questions:

Are the faculty freed? (Answer: You'll have to read to the end to find out)
Can Heathcliff leave Shipwreck Island? (What do YOU think?)
Does Parker finally get what's coming to her (YES, in a big way)
Is Miranda's little sister Lindsay still annoying? (Probably)
Does Miranda's Dad finally get a clue? (You betcha)
How many one-liners does Blade throw out during fight scenes? (A lot)

Oh, yes, I promise I will deliver a delicious, good-old-fashioned, creepy Bard funfest. Tell your friends! I'll have a link to purchase shortly - I promise. In the meantime, if you're not already on my mailing list for news about Bard, join now!

Are YOU the next ME?

Do you have what it takes to be a bestselling author?
Cara Lockwood is now taking your submissions

Hi, friends! A new site called Edit-My-Novel.com launched this week. For those of you who may be budding novelists, I'm branching out and offering some freelance editing for you would-be fiction writers out there. It's time to dust off those half-written manuscripts that have been growing cobwebs on your hard drive. Maybe all they need is a sharp editing eye by yours truly.

The great thing about Edit-My-Novel is that there are several editing packages. One for nearly every budget. It's also a great excuse to get to talk to me, so check it out:


Edit-My-Novel.com.


Okay, so for those of you in the strictly-reader camp, I do have Bard news. As you know, I am hard at work on the final installment of the Bard Academy series.

As I write this, I'm putting the final edits on A Tale of Two Proms, so it's very close to being done,

In A Tale of Two Proms, I answer your most pressing questions (Will the ghost faculty escape? Will Heathcliff be banished to Wuthering Heights? Will Hana ever get a boyfriend? And, perhaps, most importantly, will tattoo-obsessed Blade actually wear a dress to prom?) Stay tuned for the answers you've been waiting for. A release date is coming very soon.

And a special thanks goes out to everyone who submitted ideas for the last book. I will be including a shout out to you in the acknowledgments of A Tale of Two Proms. That's just one of about a dozen reasons to buy it! Stay tuned. More info to come!

I AM the Head Gamemaster!

I realize that this isn't Panem (at least not yet), but if you're in Iowa City this weekend, there WILL be Hunger Games. And I'll be hosting/trying to get out of the way of any tributes swinging inflatable boxing gloves.

It's one of three appearances I'll be making at the Iowa City Book Festival this weekend hosted by the University of Iowa (Go Hawkeyes!).

I am Head Gamemaster, which means that I control everything, or at least judge who gets to win some cool prizes.

How, are you asking, did an author like me who is five foot one manage to land such a sweet (and potentially violent) gig? Well, as it turns out, I am a heck of a lot more available than Suzanne Collins. But to be fair, she's got that huge Hunger Games movie in production at the moment. She can't drop everything to referee Hunger Games fanatics who want to try out some Tracker Jacker sticker tag. I, on the other hand, have no major Hollywood productions in the works (unless you count my Netflix queue). So, count me in!

Plus, let's be frank. It's not every day you're asked to be a Head Gamemaster. I'm already heady with power. I'll be there gladly bossing people around in true, cruel, manipulative Head Gamemaster fashion. You will fear me, until you realize that I a) have no real power and b) don't actually own a hovercraft.

Come to Gibson Square at the University of Iowa between 1 and 4 p.m. and be a tribute for the afternoon. You get to "train" by learning how to camouflage cookies better than Peeta (already my favorite event), practice your aim with a deadly bean-bag toss, and learn how to call a Mocking Jay with some local experts on bird calls. During the actual games, you can expect extreme water balloon fights, giant plastic boxing gloves and lots of serious fun. I'll also be giving away five free signed copies of The Girl Who Was On Fire, too, so don't miss out - you might just be winner of the Qwell!

And if you haven't read the Hunger Games, I am sure you have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about. That's okay. If you're near Iowa City, come by to see me on Saturday afternoon. I'll be reading from my not-yet-published, brand-spanking-new Bard Academy Book A Tale of Two Proms, which will be out in late 2011. That will be at the University of Iowa Library at 1:30 p.m. At three, I'll be on a writer's panel with Joe Haldeman (The Forever War), who is a giant in the world of science fiction.

We'll be discussing science in literature, a topic that I am entirely unqualified to discuss, so you should come to laugh and stay to ask questions.

Calling all Bard fans.... get ready for Book four!

Hi all,

I'm happy to report that I am hard at work on the fourth (and likely final!) installment of the Bard Academy series. It's Miranda's senior year and she's about to graduate. But leaving Bard means leaving Heathcliff, possibly forever. Will Miranda find a way to keep Heathcliff in this world? Or will the sudden appearance of his old flame, Catherine, change everything?

I'm calling it "A Tale of Two Proms" and I will be resolving some tricky questions (Do Miranda and Heathcliff finally get together? Does Heathcliff get transported back to Wuthering Heights? Does he love Miranda... or Catherine? Oh, yes. I'm going there!)

I'm hoping to have the book done this year, and out before the end of the year, but we'll see how that all goes. Right now, I need your help. If you'd like to see (and read) A Tale of Two Proms, follow me on Twitter (www.twitter.com/caralockwood or here at this blog) to get the latest news on just when (and how!) you can get your hands on a copy.

Also, I'm doing something a little different with Bard 4 - I'm taking input from the fans! What is it that you're dying to see happen in (the most likely last) Bard Academy book? Want to see Heathcliff and Miranda together? Or Ryan and Miranda? Want to see Parker get what's coming to her? Or should Lindsay be class president? Tell me now. Some of your ideas might just end up in the book.

Post comments here, on Twitter or email directly at cara@caralockwood.com. Can't wait to hear your ideas!

Stay tuned for more...

En Fuego winners!

Hi all,

Thanks for all the great posts about the Hunger Games! And congrats to contest winners Carol from Pennsylvania and Kelly from Missouri. Keep checking back here or follow me on Twitter for more contests. I may run another Girl On Fire contest soon!

And remember, for those of you who didn't win, the good news is that the book is now available to buy. I really do love this essay book. For more info on how you can get your copy, check out Smart Pop books at http://www.smartpopbooks.com/book/the-girl-who-was-on-fire.

And if you're really hoping to win a book, I'm still giving away signed copies of Dixieland Sushi for anyone who helps out the earthquake survivors of Japan with a donation to the Red Cross (no amount is too small). I'm giving away 20 signed copies, so odds are good for winning! Just email me your receipt at cara@caralockwood.com and you're entered to win.

I am a serious Hunger Games addict. Can't wait for the movie. Did you hear the news that Katniss, Gale and Peeta have already been cast? Check it out:


http://www.bigshinyrobot.com/reviews/archives/25019

Tell me what you think. On looks alone, I might have to change my Team Peeta to Team Gale! (Not really, of course). I seriously can't wait for this movie. What do you guys think?

I'm en fuego - and you can be, too! Win the new book.

Are you a Hunger Games addict like I am? Then you must check out the new essay book by Smart Pop books called "The Girl Who Was On Fire." It's unauthorized, so that just means it's totally awesome.

And today is your lucky day because we're giving away free copies. Just leave me a comment here about just why you love the Hunger Games and I'll enter you to win.

Read an excerpt from the book (and my essay) at http://www.smartpopbooks.com/3371.