Aimee Agresti's Blog, page 7

ILLUMINATE Book Birthday Fun!

Every day should be a book birthday! March 6 was fabulous, thanks to all of you guys! I spent the day getting showered with so many wonderful pics of the book in its natural habitat on store shelves all over: NYC, LA, Rockville, Rochester, San Diego, Chicago, Baltimore, Erie, ANCHORAGE and on and on! Thanks to all for sending those shots!

 

I popped over to the Barnes and Noble on 12th Street in DC to sign their copies of the book, and it was kind of amazing to see them slap those snazzy "Autographed Copy" stickers on them. I couldn't resist snapping a pic! Somehow I failed to get a pic of myself in the adorable "ILLUMINATE" tee my sister had made up for me (complete with angel wings on the back), which I was wearing at the time. It's pretty awesome–thanks, Karen!

 

I capped it all off with a lovely girls'-night-out dinner with my sis and some pals at one of my fave DC spots, Coco Sala. We used bookmarks as placecards, of course! Thanks, ladies!

 

An amazing day, to be sure, but this is just the beginning of the fun events. Stay tuned for the scoop on some upcoming book signings!! In the meantime, thank you to all of you for giving me reason to celebrate! I hope you're entering the Ultimate ILLUMINATE Swag Bag Giveaway to join in the fun from afar!

Happy ILLUMINATE Day!!

YAY!!!! ILLUMINATE is out today!!!!

Woo hoo!!

The Ultimate ILLUMINATE Swag Bag Giveaway!

ILLUMINATE officially releases tomorrow! Woo hoo! And what better way to celebrate my book birthday than with a fabulous INTERNATIONAL giveaway?! I've assembled the Ultimate ILLUMINATE Swag Bag, everything you need to enhance your ILLUMINATE-reading experience!

One lucky winner will get all of this: a signed finished copy of ILLUMINATE, an ILLUMINATE bookmark, an ILLUMINATE mock hotel key card, an angel wing necklace just like the one Haven wears in the book, a copy of the soundtrack I made for the book, AND, best of all, an adorable ILLUMINATE tote bag to carry it all!

How do you enter? Like this:

You get 5 points if you happen to already have a finished print/e-copy of the book! Because I know a bunch of you do, and that's pretty awesome, thank you! By the way, I love the pics you've been Tweeting of your ILLUMINATE books, keep 'em coming, they make my day! In fact, OK, you've convinced me, how about an extra 5 points if you Tweet or Facebook a pic of your copy of the book?!

You get 2 points for each new person you get to follow me on Twitter.

You get 2 points for each new person you get to like my Facebook page.

You get 1 point if you follow me on Twitter and 1 point if you like my Facebook page.

You get 1 point every time you Tweet or post on Facebook about the giveaway.

Just add up your points (as you know, I'm lousy at math!) and email your total to me at aimee@aimeeagresti.com

Of course, the more points you have, the more entries you get and the better your chances of winning! You have until midnight on March 16 to enter. The winner will be chosen with the help of random.org and announced March 19. Good luck and thanks so much for playing!

ILLUMINATE on the Shelves!!

So…I was roaming around town today, a full three days before ILLUMINATE's release date, and ducked into Kramer Books (one of my fave bookshops here in DC), and found ILLUMINATE on the shelves!! WOW!!! It was kind of insane to actually see it there. And, get this: it was NEXT TO Little Women, which I love, love, love! (I know it's alphabetical, but still, exciting!) My sis, Karen, was with me and she snapped this pic! (PS: I signed Kramer's copies and stuck bookmarks in them!)

Speaking of fun pics: thank you to all of you guys who've been Tweeting and emailing me pics of your copies of the book and the book on store shelves–you are totally making my day, you have no idea! Keep it up! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Don't forget: big giveaway announcement Monday!!

ILLUMINATE and SPELLCASTER Contest: We Have a Winner!

You guys are amazing! Thank you so much to all who entered the ILLUMINATE/SPELLCASTER joint giveaway. As you know, Cara Lynn Shultz and I asked you to send in questions for our protagonists, Haven and Emma, and we got so many fantastic ones. We can't thank you enough for all the thought you put in to your entries. It wasn't easy, but we've each chosen one question for our characters to answer and each lucky winner will receive a signed copy of both ILLUMINATE and SPELLCASTER. Now, I'm pleased to announce my winner is….

ISHITA!!!!!

Woo hoo! Congratulations, Ishita!! I'll pop your signed book in the mail! And now I'll let Haven take over to answer your fabulous question:

What was life like before you met Lucian? Was it easier?

Hi there. Wow. I really like this question because, well, to be honest: yes. Yes, my life was much easier, no doubt in my mind. I went to school. I went to work. I came home. I studied. I hung out with my best friend, Dante. That was pretty much it. Every day. My life was simpler before Lucian. But was it better? No. No way. I feel like my life has been forever divided into pre- and post-Lucian eras now and it began changing the day I met him. And I'm not just talking about the sparks either. Meeting him coincided with my life becoming kind of dangerous and with me becoming kind of…powerful. Everything is more complicated and more uncertain but I wouldn't change a thing.  

There you have it! Be sure to check Cara's blog to see who she chose as her winner! If you didn't win this time, never fear, another ILLUMINATE contest is coming very soon (can't believe it's out March 6!) and Cara's got more giveaways on tap too. PS: Be sure to mark your calendars for SPELLCASTER March 27, it's a page-turner you MUST read!

One Week Till ILLUMINATE's Release!!

It's kind of crazy to think that next week at this time I'll be shamelessly roaming my local bookstore, camera in hand, to snap pics of ILLUMINATE on the shelves! To celebrate, I'll be announcing the winner of the ILLUMINATE/SPELLCASTER joint contest on March 1 and then I'll promptly be launching ANOTHER giveaway (which will be INTERNATIONAL!)

In the meantime, if you're in the market for an angel wing necklace just like Haven's or some signed ILLUMINATE bookmarks, there's still time to enter this fabulous giveaway at The Passionate Bookworm. (Thank you, Michelle, for the lovely review!)

And, if you'd like to win an ARC of the book and a signed bookmark, make your way over to Justin's Book Blog! (Thanks for the wonderful review, Justin!!)

In other ILLUMINATE news, check out this fun interview I did over at Beneath the Cover! (Thanks so much, Melissa!)

Stay tuned for more swag!

Happy Valentine's Day! Celebrate With Haven's First Interview!

Happy Valentine's Day! While I'm spending the day feasting on chocolate, ILLUMINATE's Haven has been busy doing her very first interview! Check out my first character interview here at the blog Read Me, Bookmark Me, Love Me. There's an ILLUMINATE teaser there too AND A CHANCE TO WIN signed bookmarks and AN ANGEL WING NECKLACE here.

Oh, yes, back by popular demand, it's the angel wing necklace giveaway. (And stay tuned, I've provided a few other bloggers with necklaces for giveaways!) A huge thank you to Lisa at Read Me, Bookmark Me, Love Me, who also gave the book this amazing review!! Thanks so much, Lisa!!

New Blogger Interview!

The lovely Usagi at Birth of a New Witch, who recently gave ILLUMINATE such a great review, was kind enough to interview me about the book! She asked some fabulous questions too, check it out here! Thanks, Usagi!!

Enter the ILLUMINATE and SPELLCASTER Joint Contest!

It's giveaway time–hurrah!–and Cara Lynn Shultz, author of the amazing SPELLBOUND and fantastic upcoming sequel SPELLCASTER, has been kind enough to team up with me for a joint contest! SPELLCASTER hits shelves March 27 and I got a sneak peek and LOVED it. It's a must-read and one  to own!

So…interested in winning signed copies of both SPELLCASTER and ILLUMINATE? Simply fill out this lovely form and come up with a question to ask ILLUMINATE's protagonist Haven and SPELLCASTER's Emma. Cara and I will each choose one question for our characters to answer and if we select your question, you win both books! Yes, indeed: since we're each choosing a question, there will be two winners and each winner scores two signed books! You have until February 25 to enter and we'll announce the winner March 1. Get those burning questions ready! Good luck and thanks for playing!

My ILLUMINATE Copies Have Arrived!

I came home from a Starbucks run today to find this waiting on my doorstep….

My copies have arrived!! And I gotta say, it kind of made my head explode to see this thing in the flesh. The first thought I had was: "Wow, that cover is iridescent and so shiny!" My second thought was: "Ack! I'd better get cracking on polishing up Book Two! Why do I work so slowly?! Step it up, Aimee!" And the third was: "Hey, let's give away a couple of these bad boys!"

So, get ready! Tomorrow I announce my first ILLUMIpalooza giveaway and it's a good one: I'm teaming up with one of my favorite writers and doubling up the prizes! Only the best for you guys!