Junior Library Guild

Look what I just got in the post.
Carrier of the Mark was chosen as a Junior Library Guild Selection book. Woo!  I got a pretty certificate and pin.

What a lovely thing to wake up to. The weekend is looking up, guys.  And BONUS, the weather is going to be gorgeous. Woo! So I just have to get my edits done so I can sit back, relax, and enjoy the moment.


I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

All the very best and talk soon.

Leigh

And one more thing...A COMP!

Yes! Since I'm out shopping I decided to have a Flashcomp so I could buy a beautiful gift and give it to one of my cyber friends.  I was running it on twitter but thought I'd open it up to people who aren't on Twitter too. I just bought this gift for you...yes YOU! It's a very beautiful Swarovski crystal keyring. It's uber pretty and swish.  So as I sit here eating my cheese panini and sipping on my mocha frappe, I decided to post pics so you can see the pretty.


All you have to do to win the beautiful decadent baby AND a signed copy of Carrier of the Mark, is to Tweet the link and include the hashtag #CarrieroftheMark.  If you're on Facebook, post this link on your page and leave a link to your page in the comments. And if you're not on either... just send me some sugar, and by sugar I mean love and good karma. Please, don't mail me REAL sugar. Oh and don't forget to leave your name in the comments.  Oh, and follow, follow, follow, follow, follow the yellow br... I mean follow me on twitter, FB, and the blog...you don't have to, but Dorothy would be super impressed if you did.

There, I think that is it.  This is open internationally and will close at 9pm EST tonight.

Good luck!

Leigh

The Carrier of the Mark Audio is OUT NOW!

Yes, yes, yes it is.

You can download it here!
Eeep!

So now's your chance to go HEAR Carrier of the Mark. It's all sorts of pretty.  Here's the audio cover.

Oh my gosh! Go listen, let me know what you think. *bites nails*

Talk to you tomorrow.

Leigh

Well hello, Poland.

Today is the release date of Carrier of the Mark in Poland!

Awesome!

In Poland, Carrier is called Córka żywiołu which roughly translates to The Element Daughter, which is kind of cool and very pretty.

My publisher in Poland, Galeria Książki are fantastic! They are the publishers of The Percy Jackson Series and I just love that they've kept the beautiful Carrier design. <3<3<3

I've got signed bookplates and bookmarks up for grabs for my Polish readers!! The first ten people to send me pictures of themselves with their copy of Córka żywiołu or of their copy in a Polish location, will win one of each. Just email me at leigh@leighfallon.com or post to The Carrier of the Mark Facebook page! There will be a bonus prize for the prettiest location so go mad and make it beautiful.

So enjoy, have fun reading, and please let me know how you get on.

All the best and talk soon.

Leigh

Dzisiaj jest data wydania Przewoźnika znaku w Polska!

Awesome!

W Polska, Carrier nazywa Córka żywiołu, który w wolnym tłumaczeniu z córką Element, który jest całkiem ciekawie i bardzo ładna.

Mój wydawca w Polska, Galeria Książki są fantastyczne! Są wydawcy serii Percy Jackson i uwielbiam, że już przechowywane pięknego projektu Przewoźnika. <3 <3 <3

Mam podpisany ekslibrisy i zakładki do zdobycia dla moich polskich czytelników! Pierwsze dziesięć osób, aby wysłać mi zdjęcia się z ich kopię Córka żywiołu lub ich kopii w polskiej lokalizacji, wygra jednej z nich. Po prostu napisz do mnie na leigh@leighfallon.com lub pocztą na Przewoźnik strony Facebook Mark! Będzie nagroda dla najpiękniejszych lokalizacji więc zwariować i uczynić go pięknym.

Więc cieszyć, bawić się czytania i proszę dać mi znać, jak Ci na.

Wszystkiego najlepszego i porozmawiać już wkrótce.

Leigh

The Event of the Year...sort of...not really.

11-18-11

11-18-11 is big news!! Yes it is, people, BIG news.

I know what you’re all thinking. Breaking Dawn part I!!! *sigh* But that’s not this big news.

I’m doing a signing on that date. Yes, I’m sharing that date with the cast of The Twilight Saga.  So if the thoughts of watching Team Edward and Team Jacob slug it out forces you into a twihaustion induced coma, or, if you are a Twihard who didn’t manage to get tickets for the opening night, I’ve got an alternative for you.  Well, if you live in MA that is. For everyone else, grab your pitch forks ladies, the ultimate battle is about to begin, just remember to bring some boiled water and a few towels, I hear Bella is going to pop a live one.

So yeah…where was I? Yes! If you are lucky enough to live in the bi-polar weather afflicted state of MA, you can come and hear me read from Carrier of the Mark and get a copy signed.  Or you can just come and laugh at me while I stumble through my first public reading ever.  Either way, it’s going to be fun/embarrassing.

So here are the details.

18^th November 2011 – Barnes & Noble, Bellingham, MA, at 7pm (please come, PLEASE. You can even wear red contacts and stuff…then afterwards we’ll sneak across the road to the Bellingham Cineplex and storm the cinema)

And I’ve another date for you!!!

16^th November 2011 – Cambridge Public Library is having a Teen Author Event and I’m one of the authors. Yay! The fun and frolics will run from 5 – 6pm.  So if you are one of the lucky ones who has tickets to the opening night of Breaking Dawn *is jealous* you can come along on the 16^th!! Win win!

For my UK & Ireland friends, I’ve lined up some signing dates over your direction for December. Yay!  Once I’ve got confirmation of times, I’ll post them here.

Okay that’s everything for now.  So please spread the word, I’d love to see some friendly faces in the crowd.

All the very best and talk soon.

Leigh

Release day in Ireland, UK, Australia and New Zealand

If there was ever a reason to be pining for home, well this is it.  Carrier of the Mark is hitting the shelves all over the UK and Ireland, and I wish I was there to see it.  I've dreamed of seeing my book on the shelves in Easons or Waterstones, or one of the cute little indie stores that are dotted around the smaller towns, but I'm bogged down in work and chained to my desk at the moment, so alas, I must watch from a distance.

Since I can't hide in dark corners of Irish bookstores to watch people buy my book, my sister has been out there bringing a little bit of the Irish bookstore to me, so at least I can pretend to be a little bit closer to home.  So Ladies and Gentlemen, let me introduce you to the proprietor's of the two cutest indie bookshops in the gorgeous town of Kinsale!

This is the lovely owner and manager of the Kinsale Bookshop, Matthew Geddin! He's pictured outside his pretty little shop in the village with his very own copy of Carrier of the Mark! *waves at Matt* Hi Matt! See you in December. If you're ever in Kinsale, be sure to pop in and say hi, and stock up on your favorite Irish authors while you're there.

This is Bookstor, another cute indie store that has a lovely light contemporary vibe. They have a wonderful vintage book section which is always worth a mooch through.  And standing outside, with her copy of Carrier of the Mark, is owner and Manager, Ceri Chaney. *Waves at Ceri* I'll be seeing you in December too, Ceri.

And of course, while I'm reaching for the sick bag to deal with all my home sickness, we can't forget Australia and New Zealand! I've got friends and family in both countries, and they'll be flying the Carrier flag for me for the release date down under. Woohoo!

As with all my other releases, the first ten people from each country to send me a photo of themselves with their copy of Carrier of the Mark, or of Carrier in your country, will win signed bookplates, bookmarks, and other fun stuff. Just tweet to @leighfallon or Facebook Thecarrierofthemark the picture and message me, or if you can just email it to me at leigh@leighfallon.com and I'll do the necessary.  Don't forget to email me your address for me to send you your signed swag.

So yay!! Go buy your copy of Carrier. Make me the happiest bunny alive.
Leigh

Foreign Covers and release dates No. 1 Italy! - Copre stranieri e date di uscita n ° 1 in Italia!

It's been two weeks since Carrier was released in the US and Canada.  And now it's time to unleash the blue dress wearing, red haired vixen on Europe!!

First up, ITALY. The release date is Tuesday 25th October. Eeeek! I can't wait for this release date.  Firstly, I love Italy. I've been there loads of times. I even got engaged there, so it has a special place in my heart. Carrier of the Mark is also coming out in Hardback in Italy, which is super nice. I can't wait to get my hands on a copy. And, my Italian publisher, Sperling, has done a beautiful version of the original cover. Get a load of this baby!!

For anyone in Italy buying Carrier of the Mark, I'll be having a special release day promotion. I'll be giving away signed bookplates and bookmarks to the first twenty people who send, tweet, or FB me a picture of themselves with their copy. I'll post details on Monday! Eeeep! Can't wait.

E 'stato due settimane dal Carrier è stato rilasciato negli Stati Uniti e Canada. E ora è il momento di scatenare il vestito blu che indossa, volpe dai capelli rossi in Europa!

Il primo, ITALIA. La data di uscita è Martedì 25 ottobre. Eeeek! Non vedo l'ora per questa data di uscita. In primo luogo, io amo l'Italia. Ci sono stato un sacco di volte. Mi hanno addirittura impegnato lì, quindi ha un posto speciale nel mio cuore. Vettore del Marchio è anche venuta in Paperback in Italia, che è super bello. Non vedo l'ora di mettere le mani su una copia. E, il mio editore italiano, Sperling, ha fatto una bella versione della copertina originale. Ottenere un carico di questo bambino!

Per tutti coloro che in Italia l'acquisto Carrier del Marchio, sarò avere una speciale promozione giorno della release. Sarò regalando ex libris firmato e segnalibri per le prime venti persone che inviano, tweet, o FB me una foto di se stessi con la loro copia. Io dopo dettagli su Lunedi! Eeeep! Non vedo l'ora.

ps. this is probably a horrible Italian translation, so please...forgive me.

*hugs*

Leigh

The one where I flail...a lot!

Hi guys!

It's been a weird week.  I've been sort of going cold turkey in the post book release vacuum.  Post release is a funny place to be.  Unless you're like a publishing superstar who is whisked off for a whirlwind 10 city signing tour and have publicists working their magic behind the scenes setting you up with interviews, TV appearances, and conference panels, you're sort of left to your own devices.  You feel like you should be doing something, going places, screaming from the roof tops 'Go buy my book', but you can't do that. It really annoys people. You can only send your little offering out into the big bad world and hope that people will like it enough to buy it, and then go tell other people to buy it. Then maybe talk about it, write blogs, and if they're really feeling enthusiastic, they can go to the roof tops and scream like lunatics to buy it, that's perfectly okay with me, in fact, I'd love you for it.

And, my dear friends, it appears that you have been doing just that! 

Over the weekend, Carrier of the Mark sold out in many Canadian book stores, and it shot up the rankings on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. It's been at the No. 3 spot in The most wished for YA love and romance listings.  It's been to No. 2 on the YA love and romance bestseller list!! Carrier has made the top 100 teen books in Barnes and Noble! And yesterday, Carrier made it to no. 8 on the top 10 top books at HarperTeen.  It's up there with I Am Number Four, The Power of Six, The Vampire Diaries, and Pretty Little Liars.  You might be noticing a trend.  Yes, they are all major TV shows and movies.

So how on earth did my little book get in there with all the big boys?  Well that would be you guys.  All you gorgeous people who went out and bought Carrier, and then sang its praises, you made this happen, and I love you all so much for helping Carrier get to where it is today. I <3 you all...lots.

*Smooches*

Leigh

And the winner of the Kindle is...

Natalie Cleary from Ireland!!

Congratulations Natalie!! Thank you so much for pre-ordering Carrier of the Mark.  I'll be emailing you right away. You are the first Irish person to win one of my giveaways!  You must tweet a thank you to Twitter and all the fab people over there that helped pick you!

Thank you to everyone else for entering, pre-ordering, and tweeting/FB'ing.  You are all fabulous.  Also, sorry for the delay in selecting the winner. I had to extend the competition for a few people who were experiencing delays in getting confirmation. I really appreciate your patience.

I'm so sorry you couldn't all win.  However... if any of you guys who entered want signed bookplates and bookmarks and haven't already won or received them, just let me know and I'll post them out to you.  If you haven't already sent me on your postal addresses do it now to the same address COTMkindlecomp@hotmail.com.

This was such fun, and there was such a huge response, we must definitely do this again sometime.  But in the meantime, I've got to get myself one of those Kindles. I'm kind of liking the look of that new Kindle Fire, what do you think? They look fairly fancy.

Talk soon.

Leigh

Thank you for your awesomeness.

Firstly!! AGHH! Thank you so much for buying Carrier of the Mark.  It's whizzing off the shelves and has sold out in lots of stores. You guys are AWESOME.

All you guys who took part in the Carrier of the Mark Book Shop Hop will be getting your signed bookplates and bookmarks this week. Yay! You've all been such fun, and I've got photos from all over the US, Europe, and even the Philippines. We've had Carrier pictured in cars, bars, stores, and strollers. It's even been snuggled up in bed with some of you. LOL! I cherish each and every photo I get, so keep them coming. 

All you amazing people who sent me emails telling how much you loved Carrier... you guys are fantasic. Everytime I open one of those emails I just melt inside.  It's you and your kind words that make all the stress, panicking, and sleepless nights worth while.  Honestly I can't thank you enough.  Your words of encouragement and your demands for Carrier 2 are the voices in my head driving me forward. I <3 you.

If you loved Carrier, I'd just adore if you could post your fabulous reviews to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Book Depository.  I'm really trying to get the word out, and you guys and your awesome reviews will really help me do that.

My book tour is still forging ahead.  Over on Well Read Wife we are going for a wander through Dublin City today. Go check it out.  And there will be another two stops for you to check out and browse the photos of the places that inspired Carrier, including Trinity and the Crypt!

Tomorrow night at 9pm EST I'm doing a live chat with the rather fabulous Mundie Moms.  We'll be talking Carrier, writing, snogging, craic, and whatever else takes your fancy, so pop in and say hi. You know how much I love to wave. *waves*

And for all you guys wondering when I'm going on tour, I'm so sorry, I have no plans just yet, but I will be doing a signing in Cambridge in November.  I'll post details closer to the time.  Oh and just wondering... if I was to do a few signings, where do you think I should hit up? Let say I had to pick 5 locations in the US, which cities would you suggest?

I'll be back in a day or two with all the details for the release dates etc for UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, and Poland, all of which are fast approaching. Squeeee.

Thanks guys, talk soon

Leigh

The Carrier of the Mark Book Shop Hop Video!!

Fun and frolics Team Irish style. Apologies in advance. LOL.

The Carrier of the Mark Book Shop Hop!

This is it guys.  We are on the final countdown to the release of Carrier of the Mark in the US and Canada.  I'm a super excited bag of nerves at the moment.  People keep asking me what am I going to be doing for the launch. Do I have a party organized, or a signing?  The answer is nope.

You see, Carrier of the Mark started out online and thought it only fitting to have my release party on line...well sort of.  You see, all my awesome followers, you guys, are all over the world.  You've all been so amazing and super supportive, I wanted to be able to share this day with you, so I've come up with the Carrier of the Mark Book Shop Hop.

Here's what we're doing. Team Irish (my family, all over from Ireland) and me are going to visit as many book shops in MA as we can on Tuesday.  Yes! We are donning our Carrier of the Mark Book Shop Hop tee-shirts and are going on tour.  Our lightning tour will work it's way around Boston city and suburbs over a six hour period.  I'll be signing stock in each store, and we'll be taking photos of Carrier and Team Irish outside each shop. And this is where you can join in the fun.

I can't visit all your bookstores, but I can sign your copy of Carrier of the Mark (sort of). I'm asking you to join in on the Carrier of the Mark Book Shop Hop! All you have to do is take a photo of yourself with your copy of Carrier, in or outside your local bookstore. Post your picture to Twitter (use #CarrieroftheMark hashtag) or Facebook, or email it to me at leigh@leighfallon.com and email me your postal address, and I'll send you a signed bookplate for your copy of Carrier, and I'll send you one of my gorgeous bookmarks too...because you're worth it! *flicks hair*

So come join Team Irish on Tuesday the 4th of October for a fun day. Everyone who sends a picture gets a bookplate. Everyone's a winner. Woohoo! Keep an eye on twitter too, there will be photo updates, most of them embarrasing, all of them fun.

Please tweet this link, reblog, or post to facebook, I need to get the word out. Thanks a million!!
*Smooches*
Leigh

Carrier of the Mark Blog Tour No. 2

Yes! It's blog tour no. 2 time.

This blog tour is going to take you on a journey behind the scenes of Carrier of the Mark, right to the heart of the locations that feature in the book. You'll get a little taste of what they're like, where the inspiration came from, and some odd and creepy fun facts too.  Make sure you join us for every stop and discover the world behind the world of Carrier of the Mark!

Stop 1 The Marina 26th September  www.bookscompleteme.com  

Stop 2 Equestrian Ctr 28th September http://starryskybooks.blogspot.com
Stop 3 The School 30th September http://loveyalit.com
Stop 4 Adam's house 3rd October www.alisoncanread.com
Stop 5 James Fort 5th October www.abookwormshaven.com 

Stop 6 Cork City 7th October www.readingwithtequila.com 

Stop 7 Dublin City 10th October www.wellreadwife.com 

Stop 8 Trinity College 12th October www.theresabook.com 

Stop 9 The Crypt 14th October www.parajunkee.com 

I'd love if you guys could spread the word of the blog tour.  I'm putting 20 signed BOOKMARKS and BOOKPLATES up for grabs! To enter all you have to do is TWEET or FB this link and leave a comment for me including your email address or Twitter/Facebook name, so I can contact you.

Thanks a million, guys, and talk soon. Leigh

Carrier of the Mark Book Trailer!!

The Carrier of the Mark book trailer has just been released.  Want to have a looksie?



Oh my gosh!! What do you think?

Eeek! I'm so excited for the 4th of October when you can all get your hands on a copy.  In the meantime.  Don't forget you can pre-order it and enter my Kindle comp HERE!

Carrier of the Mark Blog Tour - No. 1

Yes! It's blog tour time.  You may have noticed from the title that it's Blog Tour No. 1, and that's because, being the lucky sod that I am, I'm getting two blog tours. Woohoo!

The first blog tour is underway. It kicked off last week over on Mundie Mom's where you were introduced to Aine in a character chat, and there was a bit of fun with Irish slang words and pronunciation.  You can check out that stop HERE! And get the first clue of the scavenger hunt.

Now the blog tour continues.  Here is the line up.

Tuesday 9/13: My Friend Amy 

(Scavenger Hunt Clue #2, Character Interview Adam, Guest Post: Photo Journal)

Tuesday 9/20: Reading Angel 

(Scavenger Hunt Clue #3, Character Interview Rian, Guest Post: Outline of the passage of the Mark)

Tuesday 9/27: Books with Bite (Scavenger Hunt Clue #4, Character Interview Megan, Guest Post: Original Drawings)

In the mix, there is a scavenger hunt going on, and you have a chance to win an copy of Carrier of the Mark, along with some swag.  So get entering.

Oh and a reminder... My win a kindle comp is up and running.  Click Here or the box over in the right to enter.  All you have to do is pre-order your copy of Carrier of the Mark and email me to win.

AND... My 'Win a signed ARC and a whole load swag and awesome loot comp' is still going strong, and getting hundreds of entries every week.  If you're not in you can't win. All you have to do is follow me and tweet some carrier love with the hashtag #carrierofthemark or #cotmkindlecomp and you are in. Enter as many times as you like, and as always, it's open internationally. Winner will be drawn on every Friday for four weeks.

Stay posted for the announcement of the Carrier of the Mark Blog Tour No. 2. 

Talk soon.

Leigh

Carrier of the Mark - The finished Cover!

Pre-Order Carrier Comp! Win a Kindle!

Well good golly gosh, here we are on the 6^th of September and exactly four weeks to the release of CARRIER OF THE MARK. Repeat after me…

AGHHHHHHHHHHH!

I am freaking out right now.  There is so much going to be happening this month. There will be blog tours, character chats, photos, photos, and more photos, announcements, giveaways, and lots and lots of prizes.  Yay!

My first announcement is… It’s epic comp! Win a Kindle. Yes. I’m giving one away and loads other seriously cool stuff.  Check it out.

To win the Kindle:

1. Pre-order / buy Carrier of the Mark anywhere. (There's a list below to help you).

2. Send your proof of purchase, a copy/photo of your receipt or confirmation email, to COTMKindlecomp@hotmail.com

Winner will be picked at random and notified on the 7th of October via email.  All books and E-Books eligible.  Open to US & CA Only. (Don't worry Europe, I'll have one for you guys too and Internationally if you guys scream loud enough)

DUE TO INCESSANT SCREAMING THIS COMP IS NOW OPEN INTERNATIONALLY!

BONUS!!
If you tweet this comp link and include the hashtag #COTMKindlecomp, I'll enter you in to win a Carrier of the Mark Swag Bag full of awesome loot. There will be one winner every Friday for 4 weeks!. The more you tweet, the more you enter. Woot!

Oh and I'll accept Facebook links too for Swagbag entries, just be sure message the CarrieroftheMark FB page so I can enter you.  Good luck!

You can have access to the comp details at any time by clicking the comp button over in the side bar on the right.

Go, have fun, and most of all...Good luck!

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Book Depository

Indie Bound

Books-A-Million

Well hello, Turkey

If you follow me on Twitter, you've probably heard the news... Foreign rights to Carrier of the Mark have been sold to Turkey!  Woot! To celebrate, I've been getting groovy with the Turkish Eurovision bad boys. 


You've got to hand it to the Turkish, they sure know how to belt out a power ballad.

Oh and in case you're wondering, that is me bent up like a pretzel in the cage, don't judge me, it's just something I like to do. 

Thank you, Turkey, for your exquisite reading tastes, delicious kebabs *drools*, dangerous raki, and last but of course not least, your Turkish Delight.

Get ready to relive the 80's people.



Ummmm.

Fancy listening to the BEA buzz? Oh and **spoiler alert**

Yes! The Book Expo America YA Buzz. The picture is a bit dodgy but the audio is good. Be warned this contains LOADS of spoilers. So if you want to be surprised by what you find in Carrier of the Mark, probably best not to watch. LOL! Thanks, oh fabulous editor, Erica Sussman. And if you do fancy watching, Erica starts talking at around 10 mins on the counter.

AND THE WINNER IS...

Mikila Marshall aka @rockangel101 Congratulations Mikila!!

I'll be in touch to get your address.  Enjoy your signed copy of CARRIER OF THE MARK and your gorgeous Celtic necklace and bookmark.

In other news... The winner of my predict my cover changes giveaway was Deena Shoemaker! Congrats Deena! I'll be in touch with you for your address too.  You copy of THE PREDICTEDS will be winging it's way to you shortly.

Woo!

Now, for all of you who didn't win... boo, but fret not.  I have another arc and a drawer choc-a-bloc of goodies that I'm going to give away, so stay posted for the next giveaway.

Thanks guys!

Leigh