Giveaway results!

Well, you're all winners in my book! So many lovely participants -- you're all very charming and your book/tv/film recs were WONDERFUL. In fact, I hope to devote an entire blog entry to the recommendations you made. Thank you all so much for participating and making this incredibly fun for me. I look forward to getting to know you better through Twitter, Facebook and Blogger! Hope you stick around. (& not just because there will be more giveaways in the future!)

So, without further ado, our Grand Prize winner is . . .

Adriana!

She will receive the ARC of THE REVENANT, hardcover copies of THE VESPERTINE and CLARITY, plus a boatload of swag.

Our two runners up are . . .

Dana Wright and Jessica Ring!

They each receive a pre-order of THE REVENANT, plus swag-o-rama.

**Winners were chosen randomly by the random.org sequence generator!**

I have emailed the winners. If for some reason I don't hear from them within a week, I will do another drawing.

Thanks again to everyone for participating. I seriously wish I could give each of you a ginormous hug. Looking forward to seeing you around!

♥♥♥

Four frivolous questions - Kim Harrington's CLARITY

Today I'm asking Kim Harrington a few questions about her debut novel CLARITY -- which was a blast to read, I must say! I'm already looking forward to the sequel, entitled PERCEPTION. (And I happen to know that Kim has written about 100* more novels since she sold CLARITY, so there's plenty more coming down the pipeline.)

*slight exaggeration

So without further ado . . .

1. VERONICA MARS (which you mention in your acknowledgments) offered us teen noir crime detection with a femaleprotagonist, but CLARITY ups the ante with paranormal teen noir crime detection (along with an equally spunky heroine). What inspired you to go this direction? Why psychics?

To be honest, when I was a little girl I wanted so badly to be psychic. I read all these books about ESP and tried to read my friends’ minds and all that. So maybe creating main characters with paranormal gifts is a bit of wish fulfillment. Plus, it’s so fun to write!

2. I read in a great interview at Novel Novice that, as part of your research, you actually went to psychics for readings. Did they say anything that gave you a chill – any evidence of a legit paranormal ability? Or was it mostly just an entertaining show? (Or not-so-entertaining?).

None of the ones I visited were chill-inducing. They mostly made general statements that almost anyone my age could fit into their life somehow. But it was definitely entertaining and fun! I should totally drag you to one when we’re in Salem together in April. We can blog it! Agree now! Publicly! :)

I AGREE. Can't wait! (Hey, if we're going to be ghost-busting in our haunted hotel rooms, might as well get a psychic reading, too. May prove helpful.)

*Ahem* Back to questions . . .

3. Also, during your research did you find any other “family acts” of psychics? I loved this bit, especially the backstory – the ways of the Berkshire Hills spiritualist community that spawned the Ferns could be a novel of its own. Are there actual communities like this?

I did visit one family of psychics who worked out of the first floor of their home. They didn’t do tandem readings. You just got sent into a room with whoever had an opening. I’d already written CLARITY at this point and was working on the sequel. So I was excited to visit a family of psychics, but unfortunately this one ended up being the least entertaining of all of them. Ah well!

Regarding the “spiritualist community” the Fern family originates from, I did base it off two areas. One was a community in Western Massachusetts that I found on the Internet. The other is the more well-known community of Lily Dale, NY.

4. I know from your blog and Twitter that music is an important part of your creative process. What songs kept you inspired while writing CLARITY?

I'm definitely inspired by music when drafting a novel. For CLARITY's darker scenes, songs like Placebo’s Running Up That Hill, Echo & The Bunnymen’s The Killing Moon, and Closer by Kings of Leon got me into the right mood. For Clare's general kick-assery, I listened to Army of Me by Bjork and Daughters of the Kaos by Luscious Jackson.

Wow, it's a little weird to hear that Placebo cover of "Running Up That Hill" because, being old, I am much more familiar with the Kate Bush version (which is not nearly as creepy and therefore less suited to your needs). Thanks so much for answering my questions, Kim!

Readers, if you'd like your own copy of CLARITY, plus more books and SWAG, please check out my giveaway.

Or find CLARITY at all the usual places: Indiebound ❘ Amazon ❘ Barnes & Noble ❘ Borders.

GIVEAWAY!

GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED TO NEW ENTRIES. STAY TUNED FOR ANNOUNCEMENT OF WINNERS.

Hey guys! THE REVENANT will debut in just over three months. Can you believe it?

I'm having a giveaway to celebrate. There will be THREE winners!

GRAND PRIZE
The first name drawn will receive an advance reader's copy of THE REVENANT, plus swag:


Swag includes a signed bookmark, a super-cool Ouija Board keychain (with planchette inside), a not-so-cool REVENANT keychain (use it for a spare key), some REVENANT stickynotes, and whatever else I can rustle up.

PLUS . . . a copy of THE VESPERTINE and CLARITY, both chock full of mystery and paranormal deliciousness, along with swag:


Saundra Mitchell graciously included a bookmark and gorgeous dance card (see my interview with Saundra here), while Kim Harrington (interview forthcoming) kindly offered up a bookmark and signed bookplate!

PLUS . . . a cool journal from teNeues:


I bought one of these journals in Paris and FILLED IT UP. (See, here's a photo of me using mine.) I'm that "writer" who always gives up on a journal before it's 1/4 full, but this one was so nice because it was compact and yet also opened flat and was easy to write in. (I love that the pages are lined on one side only.) I ordered a bunch more when I got home!

AND FINALLY . . . an assortment of fabulous Elevensies swag:


You will never lack for bookmarks again!

RUNNERS UP
The second and third names drawn will each receive a pre-order of THE REVENANT, delivered to your door somewhere around June 14, without you having to lift a finger! And though you'll have to wait for this hardcover copy, it will be prettier and clean of typos (hopefully). These winners also will each receive REVENANT and Elevensies swag, plus a lovely teNeues journal -- so you will get something now AND something later!

All you have to do to enter is COMMENT BELOW. Easy, right?

You are not required to do so, but if you'd like additional entries thrown into the pot, you might:
1. Include in your comment a recommendation for a favorite ghostly or paranormal book/film/tv show. I love getting recs! + 1 entry
2. Tweet about the contest. Please use @soniagensler so I can see it. + 1 entry
(Here's a sample tweet: Win an ARC of @soniagensler's THE REVENANT, plus THE VESPERTINE, CLARITY and swag galore! Pls RT. http://tinyurl.com/4vnfz8h)
3. "Like" my brand new author page on Facebook and tag me in an update about the giveaway. + 1 entry
(The above tweet would work pretty well on Facebook, too!)
4. Follow this blog, if you like -- it gets lonely sometimes. + 1 entry

To make matters as simple as possible, I am temporarily allowing anonymous comments. Just make sure you give me a name (it's funny how many times people have entered my giveaways without providing a name) and, if you announce this contest elsewhere, identify your twitter/facebook handle so I know you when I see you!

You have until 11:59 p.m. (or thereabouts) on Sunday, March 13, to enter. Winners will be announced on Monday, March 14. ETA#1: You can leave an email addy now, or just check back on Monday and email me directly if you're one of the winners!

ETA#2: What the heck, in for a penny, in for a pound. Let's open this to international entries!

Good luck and thanks for entering!