Soman Chainani's Blog, page 18
March 27, 2020
March 25, 2020
JUN’S BLOG: The Lockdown Diaries – Volume I
Greetings Evs & Nevs, from your resident moderator!
I am writing this to you on Day 4 of a full lockdown at my apartment in Brooklyn. Everyone in New York City is being ordered to stay in doors to minimize the spread of coronavirus, so that is what we are all doing right now.
All this time indoors, however, means more time to read, so I’ve been trying to finally finish this book that’s been weighing heavy on my mind (and my back, because I always carry it around in my bag. Seriously this book is like a hundred pounds):
The title of the book is “The Idiot” and whenever I stare at it, I feel like the book is taunting me and calling ME an “idiot.”
But I vow to not lose this fight, and will continue reading. Let us know in the comments what books you are reading during lockdown, and if you’ve ever had books you really liked, but were hard to finish!
So one of the last times I did go outside was to Soman’s apartment to film EverNever TV, for a special Hygiene Tips episode, which will be coming this week. We’ve run out of masks here in New York City, so in order to get to Soman’s house safely, I wrapped my face in a scarf. I think I look like a ninja, what do you think?
Soman himself is in Florida now, working from his island home. We talk daily on the phone about Book 6, which is DONE, and the INCREDIBLE trailer that is coming in April, which we’re sure will stir some pretty crazy theories…..
In other news, we announced the Barnes & Noble Exclusive Editions a few weeks ago, which features a deluxe poster and the Ultimate SGE Graduation Exam. I personally designed the test to be as rigorous as possible, so I’m looking forward to you all rising to the challenge and proving yourselves worthy of being the graduating class of SGE!
Remember you can pre-order the Barnes & Noble Exclusive Edition right now, at this link:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/one-true-king-soman-chainani/1136245108?ean=9780063026629
We have also entered Week 3 of our Binge-Reading Campaign!
You can still sign up for at this link, for your chance to win a signed copy of Book 6:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/8R7DZQL
And speaking of Book 3, has everybody seen the latest EverNever TV, where Soman drops some bombshell secrets about the making of Book 3?
If you watched to the end, you’ll see we’ve announced a new Contest, our Book 3 Character Age Flip Contest! We are still accepting submissions with about a week left, so make sure you get in your Age-Flipped drawings before midnight of March 31st for a chance to win a signed copy of Book 3!!!
WHEW. That was a lot wasn’t it? There’s a lot going on, but such are these crazy times.
For now, groceries are still being delivered. The shower water is still hot. And hope still lives in the heart of this humble moderator, that we will emerge from this calamity stronger than ever before.
We know you must be getting antsy at home. BUT reinforcements are coming…. of a certain Book 6 nature…
That’s all for now. Let us know YOUR lockdown stories in the comments below! Hang in there everybody!
March 18, 2020
March 17, 2020
CONTEST: Character Age Flips
Greetings Evs & Nevs!
In our grand countdown to the June 2nd release of ONE TRUE KING, we are spotlighting one book from the series each month. For March, we are spotlighting the third book in the series, “THE LAST EVER AFTER,” and hosting a Contest themed around Book 3.
A big theme of Book 3 is the clash between Old and New, characters who are very old vs. characters who are very young. We have Rafal, who is hundreds of years old battling against our heroes Agatha and Tedros, young kids still in their teens. We have the tension between the old heroes of League of Thirteen and the new generation of School for Good & Evil heroes.
So our Contest this month is for you to pick a character in Book 3 and flip their age — that means if they’re an old character, re-imagine them as a young bright eyed kid, and if they’re a young character, picture their future selves as old men and women.
Draw your age-flipped character and submit your picture to the Reader’s Gallery as a JPEG or PNG, under 2 MB.
The Grand Winner will receive a signed copy of Book 3, “The Last Ever After,” as well as a signed copy of Book 6, One True King when it drops!
The deadline to enter this contest is March 31st, the end of the month. Winners will be announced on EverNever TV.
Good luck!
-Jun
March 13, 2020
SOMAN’S BLOG: Corona Panic… but SGE’s Still Open — More News than Ever!!!
Hey Evs and Nevs,
Welcome to the dawn of a new age. The world is in full Corona Virus panic, as it should be, because this truly is an existential threat — not necessarily because of the deadliness of the disease, but simply how widespread it’ll be and how it’ll overwhelm our health systems, particularly in the US, where we’ve been very, *very* late to catch it and act. Luckily, I had a few scientist friends tip me off about the threat and I was preparing fairly early to escape the second NYC looked dicey… and I did. I’m bunkered down on an island off Miami, sealed off in a condo complex, where I just rotate between writing chair, the pool, the tennis court and the beach. I will be safe and so will my family, so if you are in a threatened area, PLEASE convince your family to stay home and isolate as much as you can until this is all over. For those of you not in a threatened area, enjoy your freedom and remember how precious life is!
That said… SGE is still open for business and busier than ever. Take a look at everything going on —
Book 6 is DONE! Holy cow. 7 years, 6 books, almost 3500 pages, almost a million words… and I’m finished with ONE TRUE KING. It’s a huge epic of a book, 600+ pages, with more action and craziness and heartbreak and madness and insanity than you can possibly imagine, and I don’t even know how to sum up the book of experience of writing it. So instead of trying, I just took a picture instead. A picture that reflects the battle between Lion and Snake inside me that it took to write this book and the fact that it took literally two of me to get it done… namely, the managerial self and the creative self…
If you want more pics from the Lion and the Snake shoot, check out the latest EVER NEVER TV, which tracks the Behind the Scenes fun of doing the photo shoot and celebrating the end of Book 6. It’s up now in the SCHOOL NEWS section as well as Youtube.com/EverNeverTV.
2. Now that Book 6 is officially done, all the ramping up to the release date of June 2nd around the world will begin… It starts with the official BINGE READING CAMPAIGN that is happening now, sponsored by Harper Collins —
To sign up and join the challenge, just go to: http://www.surveymonkey.com/r/8R7DZQL
3. The insane trailer for ONE TRUE KING will debut in mid April on Ever Never TV, so make sure to subscribe to Youtube.com/EverNeverTV if you want alerts on when it will drop… Michael Blank has outdone himself once again with truly the most epic, beautiful trailer yet for the series.
4. Announcing the SIGNED, special Barnes & Noble edition of ONE TRUE KING, featuring an exclusive full-color poster on the front and an exclusive Graduation Exam on the back, testing just how good your knowledge of the SGE universe is! Here’s a peek at the front of the poster…
Supplies are limited. The SIGNED editions will SELL OUT. I guarantee you. So if you want to order one, preorder it ASAP at: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/one-true-king-soman-chainani/1136245108?ean=9780063025684
Here’s what the cover looks like btw, to make sure you’re getting the right one —
Once again, here’s the link to order before they sell out… https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/one-true-king-soman-chainani/1136245108?ean=9780063025684
5. Meanwhile, on my Instagram — @somanc — I’ve been teasing secrets behind the making of THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL, revealing secrets for one book every month. January was Book 1 month, February was Book 2, and now we’re into Book 3 in March! All my little secrets as to where I came up with character names, how I came up with plot threads, etc. are all part of my little revealed secrets… To see them, just check my Instagram and I have a new secret every week. If you’re not allowed to use Instagram, don’t fret; your parent or teacher might be able to check theirs for you and show the secrets to you! We’ll be posting them here in the weeks to come as well.
6. We’ve done a Book 1 contest (fun new classes), a Book 2 contest (gender swap)… and a Book 3 contest is coming soon! Stay tuned to the website and Ever Never TV for more to come…
7. Good lord that was a lot. Book 6 done… trailer announcement… Binge Reading Campaign… BTS Secrets from every book… B&N signed preorder edition… what else? THE MOVIE. Lots of news coming. Just hang tight. Things are moving and moving fast.
A lot of you want to know what’s next for me… First a long vacation, because I really am wiped out from finishing THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL series. It was a big, big effort to write the six books in a row, plus the Handbook, and I need time to recharge and be human again. Strange that it’s coinciding with the world quarantine, as if somehow the timing worked to let me rest in peace while the whole world slows down a bit…
But there’s new projects slated for late 2020, 2021, and 2022 already… so stay tuned. Things are coming :0
Also, has anyone seen CHEER on Netflix? I’m so obsessed. Should I write a Cheer-themed book? I’m half-kidding… but I feel like I’d write a *really* good one.
Are you excited for ONE TRUE KING? What in the above list are you most excited about? I’m bored and on quarantine, so tell me your thoughts about Book 6 and SGE and coronavirus life in your part of the world in the comments below!!!
xoxo
Soman
March 10, 2020
February 14, 2020
CONTEST: Character Gender Swap
Greetings Evs & Nevs!
In our grand countdown to the June 2nd release of ONE TRUE KING, we are spotlighting one book from the series each month. For February, we are spotlighting the second book in the series, “A WORLD WITHOUT PRINCES,” and hosting a Contest themed around Book 2.
So as Soman’s talked about in our Book 2 Secrets video, gender-swapping plays a big role in “A World Without Princes.” Sophie transforms into the male Filip in order to infiltrate the School for Boys, and a certain male character transforms into a female to hide in the School for Girls.
Our Contest this month is for you to pick a character in Book 2 and swap their gender. Draw this character, give them a new name, and submit your picture to the Reader’s Gallery as a JPEG or PNG, under 2 MB.
The Grand Winner will receive a signed copy of a special pre-order edition of Book 6, One True King, with a soon-to-be-announced add-on item.
The deadline to enter this contest is February 29th, the end of the month. Winners will be announced on EverNever TV.
Good luck!
-Jun
February 12, 2020
Comic Con 2020
San Diego Convention Center,
111 W. Harbor Dr.,
San Diego, CA 92101
