A Quick Update!

Yay! I've been given more ARCs, which means I have more to give away. Enough for the fun to continue each week until The Darkness Dwellers comes out in January!

P.S.: Hey EQ! Send a note to kikistrike@gmail.com so I can send you a copy of the book!

This Week's Winner Is . . .

My old buddy, EQ! Nice to see you back!

This was a really tough one, guys. Your ideas were all amazing. Moscow, Cairo, Portland . . . I'd love to set a book in any of these places!

But I'm afraid EQ had me at the word "kraken." And I have yet to weave my fascination with cryptids into a book. (Though I did just publish an essay arguing for the existence of Bigfoot.) Plus, nothing is cooler than a kelp forest. The Irregulars have already spent a lot of time underground. Perhaps their next adventure should be underwater.

Congrats, EQ. And to the rest of you . . . don't give up! This has been so great that I'm going to demand (OK, beg) that my publisher send me more books to give away!

This Week's ARC Giveaway!

Yeah, I know. It's last week's giveaway, too. What can I say? I'm running out of books!

A Darkness Dwellers ARC goes to the first person to correctly answer the following question . . .

If I write Kiki Strike #4, where should it be set? And which of the Irregulars should be the heroine?

Please leave your answer in the comments section of the blog. (In this case, a correct answer is one that amuses me.) Good luck!

The Irregular Guide to New York City: Magical Libraries

It's time to open another chapter of The Irregular Guide to New York. This one is titled Spellbound . . .

There’s nothing I love more than libraries and bookstores. Without them, I probably would have landed in jail a long time ago. (When I get bored, I start causing trouble. Just ask my mom.) These days, every time I step into a library or bookstore, my brain begins to tingle. I can’t help but imagine that there’s some strange, magical book tucked away on the shelves, just waiting for me to discover it.

I couldn’t even begin to list all of the great libraries and bookstores in New York. Many (like Books of Wonder at 18 W. 18th Street) are known to book lovers all over the world. So I’m going to introduce you to a few special spots you might not have heard of. In fact, a couple are so secret that only the most persistent explorers will even be able to find them.

The Impalements: My Favorite Brooklyn Traditon

I stumbled across the "Impalements" for the first time in 2010. I had no idea why anyone would impale dozens of jack o' lanterns on the spikes of an old iron fence. But it was absolutely marvelous to behold. So creepy. So bizarre. And the display just gets even better as soon as the pumpkins begin to rot.

If you're ever in town around Halloween you must check them out! More pics--and the full story--here.

What Do You Think of the New Kiki Strike Covers?

By the way, The Darkness Dwellers just got an amazing review from Kirkus!

We Have Two Winners Again This Week

I gotta stop naming multiple winners. I'm running out of books! But this was the best contest so far. I really enjoyed reading all of your posts.

The first ARC goes to Isabella, who wrote . . .

They would find this bakery, whose name I'm not going to say because I don't want everyone to know where I live. :-)

Anyway, on the outside, there's this rickety porch, rocking chairs and all. It's hard to explain, but just by looking at it, you get this generally creepy feeling. Like you should stay away. This sounds weird, but it looks like a witch's hovel. And it's a bakery . And they don't even make any good desserts, which leads me to believe that something sinister is going on in there. (Plus, it's right next to the local orthodontist. Who puts a sweet shop next to an orthodontist's office?) What ever they're covering up in there, I might never know. I don't have the guts to figure it out, but I know the Irregulars wouldn't be able to resist.

You have excellent instincts, Isabella. A run-down bakery that sells icky desserts--right next to a dentist's office? I think the Irregulars would have that place staked out 24/7!

The second ARC goes to Kristen, who wrote . . .

What might be most interesting to the Irregulars is the site of the mansion where Jack Parsons -- famed occultist, one-time friend of L. Ron Hubbard, and founder of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory -- lived and carried out unusual experiments (and, well, some not so middle-grade appropriate rituals). Jack, born "Marvel," led a "lodge" of Aleistair Crowley's magical order, the Ordo Templi Orientis. Although he was a well-known, successful scientist, he was obsessed with the spiritual, as well. Before rocket launches at JPL, Jack/Marvel would invoke the Greek god Pan and allegedly he spent considerable time trying to conjure elemental beings...however, he's most famous for inventing rocket fuel.

He died by blowing himself up to smithereens in his workshop while experimenting with mercury...

Something tells me there would be plenty for the Irregulars to dig up by visiting the site of his former home...

That post was a million different kinds of awesome.

Isabella and Kristen, send a note to kikistrike@gmail.com

PS: Hayden, if you send some pictures of that neighborhood to the same address, I'll see if I can get my hands on a few extra ARCs!

This Week's ARC Giveaway!

A Darkness Dwellers ARC goes to the first person to correctly answer the following question . . .

If the Irregulars were to visit your hometown, what's the most interesting thing they'd find there?

Please leave your answer in the comments section of the blog. (In this case, a correct answer is one that amuses me.) Good luck!

"Princess" Is Not a Career

And the Winner Is . . .

Conuly! Because, as someone from Staten Island, you could probably use a little good news right now. (Though I doubt a book is the kind of good news you need most.) All the best to you, your friends and family.

Send me a note at kikistrike@gmail.com to collect your prize. I just hope the PO can get it there.

This Week's ARC Giveaway!

A Darkness Dwellers ARC goes to the first person to correctly answer the following question . . .

If you could pay a visit to ONE underground attraction, which would it be? (You can choose any subterranean site in the world--except the Shadow City.)

Please leave your answer in the comments section of the blog. (In this case, a correct answer is one that amuses me.) Good luck!