My niece Jordan

then drove up to Arkansas to see this little cookie monster:

My nephew David Franklin

before we head to New Orleans for New Years Eve and then jet back home to L.A. Altogether, a pretty perfect holiday break! It’s been so cool to see copies of Fallen and The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove under some nearby Christmas trees. I hope everyone is enjoying the break, relaxing with family, and having some holiday cheer.

Now it’s time for me to give a shout-out to the three winners of my Natalie Hargrove giveaway contest!

*drumroll pls*

Congratulations to Avonlea, Elie, and Kristen!

Thanks everyone for entering and for sharing all of your brilliant suggestions for dog names. The jury is still out, but now we’re armed with lots of good ideas. Will keep you posted when we pick our pooch next month.

I also wanted to share this short video interview that I filmed while on tour in Savannah. Thanks to Random House for putting this together!

Click here to view the embedded video.