sarah · dessen

1. Hey, you! Want a chance to win this?

That's right. In honor of Lock and Key coming out on April 22nd, I'm doing my first ever giveway. First prize is a lock and key necklace, made personally for me by my good friend Travis at William Travis Jewelry, as well as a signed copy of Lock and Key. I'm also giving away two second prizes of a signed book and a Sarah Dessen magnetic poetry set. To enter, send an email to yrmarketing@us.penguingroup.com and you will automatically be entered to win! Make sure the subject line of your email reads: Lock and Key.

From all eligible entries received, three (3) winners will be chosen in a random drawing held on or about April 21st, 2008 by the author (that's me) whose decisions concerning all matters related to this Sweepstakes are final and binding. Winners will be notified by email on or about April 22nd. (That's what we call the legalese, in case you were wondering.) Good luck!

2. Whew. That last one was so exciting I think I may have to take a little breath here to recover. Okay. Better now.

3. Speaking of exciting, what about this news from NBC? Not only is Friday Night Lights returning (yay!) but there's going to be a spinoff of The Office, premiering after the Superbowl. I have to admit, I'm both nervous and intrigued about this last one. I mean, I love, love, love The Office. But spinoffs sometimes don't work. In fact, a LOT of times they don't. If anyone can buck the trend, though, I know it's the writers behind Michael Scott. Fingers crossed!

4. This is a BIG weekend for basketball, with my Tarheels playing Kansas on Saturday night for a chance at the national title. The first game, between UCLA and Memphis, is at 6:07. Ours is at 8:47. To which I say....ARRRGUGH. I could barely keep my eyes open for the last one, even when it got close, and you KNOW I have to stay up for this one as well, even if it does go way later than my bedtime (which, I admit, it mighty early, then again so is my wakeup time these days). Still, you must make sacrifices for the things you love, so I will have some extra caffeine and do some jumping jacks and hopefully make it to the final buzzer.

5. Finally, something that's a little bit awkward but I have to say it anyway. I've been getting a lot of comments suddenly this week from people who have been assigned my book to read and can get extra credit if I comment back. Regular readers of this blog know that I don't usually respond to comments---although I do read them, every single one---because it would be really time consuming and I'd rather put that time towards, you know, writing more books. So please don't get mad or hostile with me, or call me names. It's not personal, it's just my policy. And I thank you very much for reading my books. Maybe if you show your teacher this entry he/she will find another way for you to get the extra credit?

Have a great day, everyone!