New tour dates, plus AUTUMN GIVEAWAY EXTRAVAGANZA Contest #9 is now underway!

First, congrats to the winners of Contest #8 — Holly H., who will receive INVISIBLE THINGS, and Mason J., who will receive WICKED GIRLS! It’s heartening to see how many of you love historicals — that gives me hope you’ll have fun with FATEFUL (Werewolves on the Titanic, or as one of you wisely suggested on Twitter, Weretanic).

Now, onto Contest #9, the next-to-last in in the Extravaganza; this one is short, so you’ll want to act fast! Our prizes this week:

Do you love paranormal YA? I’m betting you do, seeing as how you’re here and all. Maybe you also like a little humor thrown in for good measure? This means you’ll love Cloaked by Alex Flinn. Johnny is a guy trying to deal with a curse and an evil witch; he’s also trying to deal with receiving a magical mission to the Everglades, a flock of swans and a talking fox named Joe. Fairy-tale magic turns into fairy-tale madness, but Johnny doesn’t care, as long as he can get the girl. This one doesn’t come out until February, so this ARC is way ahead of release!

Even if you love paranormal YA, you might sometimes prefer something a little more down to earth – but maybe even more unrealistic, in a glamorous way. That means you might like Wanted by Sara Shepard, the conclusion to the hit Pretty Little Liars series. Want to know what really happened the night Ali DiLaurentis went missing? The final secrets are about to spill out!

Here’s how to win:

1) Send me an email at evernightclaudia at gmail dot com, with the subject header “AUTUMN GIVEAWAY EXTRAVAGANZA #8” or some variant that lets me know what you’re talking about. (I’m not a stickler, but I’ve found entries by people after contests were over that I didn’t count because the subject lines were wrong – so be careful!)

2) In this email, tell me what your favorite Halloween candy is!

3) Speaking of treats, also tell me which of the books you’d like, or just say, “Surprise me.”

4) Include the name and address I should use for sending your prize if you win (and yes, I’ll ship anywhere. With all my contests, you can assume that I’ll ship prizes anywhere unless I specify otherwise.)

5) Do all this before Wednesday, October 27, when I’ll pick the two winners!

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Now, tour dates! These are just a couple of events not long before Thanksgiving, but they’re in two cities near and dear to me, so I hope I’ll get to see some of you there:

Thursday, November 18, New Orleans, LA: I’ll be back in my old stomping grounds, specifically starting at 5:30 pm at the Garden District Book Shop at 2727 Prytania. No idea what the event will be like, but as it’s likely to be smaller, I should be able to sign and chat as much as you’d like, if you’re able to come. Also no idea how long it will last, as a lot depends on turnout, but we’re planning on an hour and a half. Maybe call ahead to the bookstore and let them know you’re planning to come? (504) 895-2266

Monday, November 22, Jackson, MS: I’ll be at one of my very favorite bookstores, Lemuria at 202 Banner Hall, 4465 I-55 North. At this store, they do signings before readings/Q&A, so the signing begins at 5, the rest at 5:30. (But if you’re late, let’s face it, I’ll sign anyway.) Again, you might want to let the bookstore know: (601) 366-7619.

And for both of the above — and, for that matter, any event you attend at a bookstore — strongly consider buying a book or books while you’re there. You may already own HOURGLASS (I hope so!), but if you’re an avid reader, there will be more books there waiting for you to discover. It costs bookstores time and money to host events, and making sure they also sell books in the process is the best way to make sure there will be more readings and author events near you in the future.

A cracking big thunderstorm has begun here in Chicago — impressive lightning! — so I should end this before I get electrocuted. Get to entering #9, unless you too are in a lightning storm, in which case, shut off your computer and enter later, when the weather is fine.