CATCH SCARLETT FEVER!

When I wrote about the LONDON GATHERING yesterday, I said that my next blog would be an advice blog. But I didn’t know that when I woke up this morning, the advance uncorrected proofs of Scarlett Fever would be READY TO GO. It was a huge shock.

I have them here.

Scarlett Fever, as you may or may not know, is the sequel to Suite Scarlett. These Scarlett Fevers could not be ANY HOTTER OFF THE PRESSES. No one has these. Reviewers don’t have them. MY AGENT doesn’t even have hers yet. And I just finished going over the corrections and page proofs YESTERDAY.

I am offering COPY #1. A hot ticket indeed!

And what do you have to do to SCORE THIS AMAZING PRIZE?

Well, I am going to have a little contest. I need you to make some GUESSES about what happens in this book and e-mail them to me.

“What do you mean?” you may be asking, because you are always asking clever questions.

I mean, take what you know about Suite Scarlett, and TAKE A FEW STABS AT WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN NEXT. I will choose the MOST AWESOME GUESS.



Unlikely things may happen.

“Wait,” you are probably saying, because you are also very good at choosing moment when I should pause and clarify. “Define awesome. Do you mean crazy? Do you mean accurate? EXPLAIN YOURSELF.”

I mean awesome. Awesome may mean that you guess correctly. Awesome may also mean that you’ve just cooked up the most insane thing I’ve ever heard. Awesome may mean that you’ve written a scene you think should be in the book, and that scene turns out to be awesome. Or maybe, you will DRAW what happens. Or make a video. I do not know what YOU will do because YOU are full of wonders. All I can say is, you must make some kind of guess, and do it in whatever format you want, and make sure I get it by THURSDAY (the 11th) at 8PM, NYC time.

That's:

1AM in the UK
5PM in California and PARTS WEST
6PM in Denver, where my agent is
7PM in MIDDLE US
8PM in New York City, where I AM

I will then REVIEW the submissions and give the book to one of you.



How will I choose?

Copies of the book are currently rare, but I will give away some more as the summer goes on. But only one copy can be copy #1. Just imagine that. The very first one.



People will covet what you have.

“One more question,” you say, because you are nothing if not thorough. “Do I have to have read Suite Scarlett to enter?”

Well, technically no. But the book will mean more if you have, because it’s a sequel. And your guesses will probably make more sense, because you’ll know who the characters are. If you haven’t read it, you can do so NOW.



Why not read the book now?

The next blog, I promise, will be AN ADVICE BLOG. Now, GET TO IT!

SUITE SCARLETT DAY

This is it! Today, Suite Scarlett is 100%, officially out there! Which means I can finally tell you about the AMAZING CONTEST! I have been hinting about this contest for ages, so I am very, very happy to pull back the curtain and reveal it at last!

As you may or may not know, Suite Scarlett is about life in a small New York City hotel, owned and operated by the (somewhat destitute) Martin family. (It’s also about theater companies, unicycles, plush towels, black dresses, yachts, and curly hair—but those things are less relevant to the prize. At least, for the moment.)

Let’s get right to it.

PRIZE PART ONE

YOU and SOMEONE ELSE each get a round-trip airline ticket to NEW YORK CITY!



First, the plane will come for you.

But we would not just drop you off and leave you with nowhere to go and nothing to do. That would be sad.



This will not be your fate.

PRIZE PART TWO

From there, you and The Person You Brought With You will be taken to a FANCY NEW YORK HOTEL! To stay the night, I mean! Not just to stare at it longingly from the sidewalk!



Glamour will be yours!

From there, Manhattan is YOURS (and the OTHER PERSON’S)! But someone else will be there!

PRIZE PART THREE

There’s a third part that I am having a harder time bragging about. Because the third part of the prize is me. You cannot KEEP me, but you get me for one afternoon brunch, during which we will LAUGH IT UP and perhaps even re-enact some of our favorite scenes from Shakespeare.



Us. (No champagne, though.) (And don't even try singing that line from The Sound of Music about wanting to stay and taste some. I am immune to The Sound of Music.) (The musical, I mean.)

To enter the contest (and read all of the legal details), go to the official Scholastic Point website. (If you don’t see the entry form there now, it will be there within the day.) A few things to know:

1. You do not have to buy a copy of Suite Scarlett to enter! But why not get one and read it anyway, so that we will have lots of things to talk about, and you can help me write the next book! (Which may be done by then—so maybe you will get spoilers, or you will help me write the third book!)

2. You have to be between the ages of 13-18 to enter.

3. If you are a minor, the "other person" has to be a parent or guardian. So this is a good way for people over the age of 18 to get around this problem. I'm not saying you should force your child to enter, but maybe you could influence him/her with sweets or jewels or books or something.

4. The contest will run from May 1st, 2008 until August 1st, 2008.

5. I am not running this contest, so I can't change any of the rules.

6. I think when we have lunch, I will have some ICE CREAM.

7. Void where prohibited. Though, I have no idea where this would be prohibited. Unhappyland? Miserytown? Sadville? Anyway, if you live in one of these places that prohibits things, this is prohibited. Also, move.

Want to see a video I just made that explains a lot of that, and also tells you more about New York City? Okay!



Here in mj land, all of May is Suite Scarlett month! So let’s get it started RIGHT by giving away 25 SPECIAL EDITION SUITE SCARLETT EXTREMELY COLLECTIBLE SLEEP MASKS. Let’s do it NOW.

Simply leave a comment asking a question about Suite Scarlett or what YOU want to know about New York City . . . and you will have entered. 25 commenters will win!

And let’s give away today’s book.

AMUSING BUT TRUE . . . . when I put the comments through my fancy, patented “random winner system” . . . . Scott Westerfeld won the copy. But I happen to know Scott already has a copy, so the winner of SCOTT WESTERFELD’S COPY OF SUITE SCARLETT IS . . . cortney t. Cortney, send me your name and address so that YOU can check into the Hopewell Hotel.

All right! Let's see some comments!