Bree Despain

Young Adult Author. Loves shoes. Addicted to chocolate. Will write for cinnamon bears.

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#dayinthelifeofadeadliningauthor post nine: It's not my birthday but I still get a present! Hubs and I have this deal where whenever I write 7000 words, I get a prize that he picked out and wrapped. They're just little things but it brings some fun to the process. I'm keeping the prize pile in my office so I can look up at them and feel motivated when the writing gets tough. Today, I unwrapped a few dark chocolate salted caramels. Not the healthiest prize but I figure if I ration them through the next 7000 words, I'll be just fine. 😁 #writehealthy #writehappy

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#dayinthelifeofadeadliningauthor post eight: Made my 2K words challenge goal--and managed to kill a whole bunch of people in the process. (Buwahaha.) I got to revel in my evil author ways while hubs battled the pickup lines at the kids' schools. Hoping to get an even 3000 words before dinner, but now that the boys are home it is time for supervising homework and chores. *Takes off author hat & exchanges it for mom hat.*

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#dayinthelifeofadeadliningauthor post seven: Lunch break time! I've written 1,079 words so far today. This I get to do means a load of laundry and eat a quick Parmesan crusted omelet with pico and thick cut uncured bacon. (I told you I'm grateful for bacon!) Rounding it out with some sliced cucumbers. I love having presliced veggies around. They're easy to grab instead of my kids' snacks. I'm playing on social media while I eat, and hubs watches an episode of Young Justice in the background. Hubs says if I can get to 2K words by 2:45pm, he'll drag his cold-addled self out of bed and do carpool pickup for me. This would be awesome since picking up the kids from two different schools takes a whole hour out the day. I love that hubs is always issuing me little challenges like this or buying me small prizes for hitting word count goals. I'm making this a quick break so I can make that 2K challenge. #writehealthy #writehappy

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#dayinthelifeofadeadliningauthor post six: Then I mess around on Instagram because authors are nothing if not procrastinators. But alas, I actually have to write that chapter now. I've put my butt in my chair and I've opened the document--which is often the hardest part of my day. See you during my lunch break! #writehealthy #writehappy

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#dayinthelifeofadeadliningauthor post five: Next is the most important part of the day--assembling writing snacks! Today I'm having strawberries, Chocolove extreme dark chocolate, and roasted cashews. (The book is what I'll get to reward myself with reading at the end of the day.) #writehealthy #writehappy

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#dayinthelifeofadeadliningauthor post four: Next I eat a simple breakfast of Applegate chicken and sage sausage and some baby carrots. I'm not a big breakfast eater but my doctor gets mad at me if a skip meals. While I eat, I read through what I wrote yesterday and make minor tweaks.

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#dayinthelifeofadeadliningauthor post three: After my gratitude journal, I know I need to center my mind and stop telling myself that I can't write this chapter so do a 10 minute meditation session with my favorite app: Simply Being. Afterwards, I listen to the calming meditation music and do some affirmations--telling myself that "I am strong, confident, and powerful. I *can* write the chapter I need to write today." (And now try not to feel super silly sharing with my readers that I do daily affirmations like Stuart Smiley.) After this 15 minutes, I'm feeling much better a about what I need to accomplish. #writehealthy #writehappy

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#dayinthelifeofadeadliningauthor post two: I know I need an attitude change so I pull out my gratitude journal. I write down three things I'm grateful for (one of them may or may not have been bacon) and then write about a positive experience I've had in the last 24 hours. I'm already starting to feel a bit better and I'm being nicer to my sweet sickie hubby.

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Mostly to amuse myself but also because I get a lot of questions about my routine (and also what I eat) I thought it might be fun to do a Day in the Life of a Deadlining Author--in all its no makeup, pajama-clad, manic-my-book-is-due-in-one-week glory. Consider this post one: My day started at 7am when I got up to get the boys off to school in two different directions. While making lunches and encouraging kids to actually brush their teeth, I check my email to make sure there's nothing urgent in my inbox. I get back to the house at 8:25am and commence having a freak out because I need to write the hardest part of the book today--and I just don't wanna do it! Hubby, who is home sick, tries to give me a pep talk but I'm kinda a turd because all his nice words don't change the fact that I'm the only one who can write this %#$@ chapter. Then I convince myself that the only way I'm going to get through today is to stick to my routine. (And apparently document it for you all.) #dayinthelifeofadeadliningauthor #writehealthy #writehappy

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Had the privilege of speaking at a local youth correctional facility yesterday evening. I taught a writing class on cultivating ideas and drawing on your own life experiences to enhance your stories and characters. I was a bit nervous going into it, but I was so impressed with how attentive and respectful the boys were. Many of them were big readers and most of them loved writing--from rap to poetry to working on their own novels. After my workshop, I got to go back to their ward and listen to some of them read me their poems and beginnings of books. It was interesting getting a glimpse inside their minds and hearts. I am reminded of this painting of the Prodigal Son--one of the stories The Dark Divine was inspired by. A couple of observations: 1. A lot of the boys LOVE paranormal romance novels. Stories about werewolves and fallen angels were their favorites. 2. Of the boys who were allowed to watch TV, they were really excited when I brought up the show EMPIRE as an example of great storytelling.

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Contest: Be a character in Into The Dark Book 3!!!

My big news: Yes, there will be a third book in the Into The Dark series! Carolrhoda Lab, an imprint of Lerner Books, will be publishing Book 3 (most likely in Fall 2016). That means Haden and Daphne will get the ending to their story that I always envisioned! I cannot tell you how excited I am!!! So to show you, I am celebrating with a contest . . . One lucky winner will receive the Grand Prize: Have a character named after you in Into The Dark Book 3. A Cupid's Arrow Ring. And because Daphne and Haden love music so much: a $25 iTunes giftcard. Three runners up will win: A Cupid's Arrow Ring and an Into The Dark swag pack. All you have to do to enter is solve the following anagram and then use the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post.

A SHARE UNTOLD

Hints: 3 words Reading THE ETERNITY KEY will help you solve the puzzle. Daphne's gifts.  Rules: U.S. Residents only. The contest is open for two weeks (so if you need a little help solving the puzzle, you have enough time to read THE ETERNITY KEY). The winners names will be posted here on the blog on May 28th. Winners will have 30 days to claim their prize or else their prize will be forfeit. a Rafflecopter giveaway

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The Eternity Key book trailer, launch party, ebook snafu, and more!

Hey all! It's been one week since the release of THE ETERNITY KEY in the US. I can barely believe it. My book and I celebrated it's launch by visiting the Eiffel Tower after participating in the Teen Author Smash at the American Library of Paris. We hung out, took pics, and toasted each other with bottled water in plastic champagne glasses. It was great fun!

Eiffel tower fun! Also pictured, author J.R. Johansson

But the celebration isn't over--in fact the real party is coming up this Saturday! Official THE ETERNITY KEY launch party deets: Saturday, May 9th, 2 p.m. at The King's English Bookshop. I'll be doing a short booktalk, reading, Q&A, and signing. If you can make it for the whole thing, or even just stop by (I imagine I'll be there until about 3:30p.m. or 4p.m.) I would love to see you! As an added bonus, everyone* who gets a book signed at the launch party will get one of these awesome Cupid's Arrow rings. Each color has a different meaning--and if you've already read Eternity Key, you know how important Cupid's arrows are to the story. If you can't make it to the launch party, you can pre-order a signed copy of the book from King's English, and I'll include a ring for them to send to you in your shipment. Be sure to tell them you want a signed copy!) Other items of business: Ebook snafu: If you were one of the kind souls who pre-ordered the ebook version of THE ETERNITY KEY, you may have received an email from Amazon or B&N saying that the book has been canceled. THIS IS NOT TRUE. There was a snafu in the transition between publishers (from Egmont to Lerner Books) and all of my ebooks were temporarily removed all major retailers. The bad news is that everyone who pre-ordered the book had their pre-order canceled. (Boo!) The good news is that everything has been ironed out, and all of my ebooks are back up for sale. So if you had your order canceled or weren't able to find the ebook last week, you can order it now without any problem. The Eternity Key book trailer: While I was away in France, my number one fan made me a book trailer for THE ETERNITY KEY. I think it's pretty cool! Check it out:

RT Convention and Dallas book signing! The celebration continues for one more week as I head off to the RT Booklovers Convention in Dallas, Texas from May 12th-17th. I'll be speaking on a panel about author cross promotion and reading some really embarrassing stuff I wrote as a teenager during RT Teen Day. You'll also be able to find me at the YA Spooky Slumber Party and the You're Never Too Old Party.  I will also be signing at the Giant (and I mean GIANT) Book Fair on Saturday, May 16th, from 11am to 2pm. The book fair is open to the public but does require the purchase of a ticket. Details HERE.  That's all for now. I hope to see some of you soon!   

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Launch party! Join me on Sat, May 9th at 2pm at @kingsenglishbookshop for a reading and signing of THE ETERNITY KEY. Books, friends, fun swag, and giveaways!

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Extremely honored to announce that THE SHADOW PRINCE is a nominee for YALSA's Teen's Top Ten. Flattered to even be on the same list as the fellow nominees. http://bit.ly/1DnwGGY

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A third teaser to celebrate today's paperback release of THE SHADOW PRINCE. #theshadowprince #intothedark #breedespain

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THE SHADOW PRINCE releases in paperback today! Here's a second teaser for your reading pleasure. #theshadowprince #intothedark #breedespain

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Into the Dark Character Profile: Tobin Oshiro-Winters

Releasing in paperback 4/14/15

Name: Tobin Oshiro-Winters (a.k.a. Toby--but only his mother calls him that, and he hates it). Hair color: Black Eyes: Brown Height: 5'6" Build: Slim but toned and muscular from years of dance training. Favorite food: The Oshiro family's infamous spider roll . . . or Swedish Fish. Favorite drink: Mountain Dew Code Red Special Skills: Singing, dance, sailing, amateur conspiracy theorist, occasional hacker and code breaker.

Releasing in hardcover 4/28/15

Weaknesses: Under the thumb of a controlling mother, overly obsessed with exposing conspiracies surrounding strange disappearances of teenaged girls from his town,  jumps to quick conclusions. Life goal:  Become the next Bruno Mars--and find his missing sister, Abbie. Character inspirations: Xander Harris from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Christian Reed from Dance Academy, and Sammy Lieberman from Dance Academy.