The Fallen Chapter Sampler is for you! And…it’s FREE! Here’s the story:

The Lauren Kate Fallen Series Ebook Sampler is the ultimate FREE introduction to the #1 New York Times bestselling series Fallen, the worldwide phenomenon. Featuring excerpts from all five of Lauren Kate’s bestsellers, Fallen, Torment, Passion, Rapture, and Fallen in Love, this free ebook preview is the perfect way to introduce the atmospheric and compelling Fallen world of supernatural romance and fallen angels to readers.

You can download it from:

Apple

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Random House

Enjoy–and get ready for the finale next month.

For the past three months I have been training for a half-marathon with a group called Team in Training. Team in Training is a philanthropic organization that raises funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Leukemia causes more deaths than any other cancer among children and young adults under the age of 20 and is the number 1 cancer in senior citizens.

I was personally touched by the disease last year, when my grandfather lost his battle with leukemia. So now, along with my Team in Training running group, I am racing to raise money to help battle blood cancers.

By September 5th, the day of the half marathon (in Disneyland!), my goal is to raise over $2000 to go toward finding new treatments and eventually a cure for this devastating disease.

So what does this have to do with you, you ask? I have forty copies of my books (including some various fun editions, like a lush mass market paperback of Fallen from the UK, the audio book, a couple Spanish and Italian versions, and even a few advance copies of Torment!) that I will be auctioning off to the first forty people who make a donation (of $10 or more) through my Team in Training website. I will sign, personalize, and send a special thank you note with the book to anyone who helps me support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

You can visit my fundraising website here and make a secure online donation on the right hand side of the page. I’ll get an email notification when you do, and as long as you include your email and mailing address when you fill out the donation, I’ll have all the information I need to send you your personalized book. I will email you before I send your book to check whether you have special dedication wishes, or if you can read, say, Chinese and want that edition! I have no idea how many of you will be interested in this, but if we exceed the forty books I’m starting with, I’ll update my blog and maybe increase the quantity. (That would be incredible!)

These can be yours!

I know that many of you and the people you love have also been touched by some form of cancer, and it feels wonderful to know there are great organizations out there like Team in Training and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society that allow all of us to get involved–even in a small way–to save lives.

Do I look like a girl who is about to run 13.1 miles?

I had a really nice signing after the panel:

I saw some amazing costumes, including a few that I was too stunned by to even photograph. One was made of only a strap of red patent leather fabric about an inch thick.

And after the con, we had a great time in San Diego. We stayed near Ocean Beach and walked all around the neighborhood, eating many fish tacos and watching Milo take his first brave dip in the ocean.

Great weekend! Now it’s back to writing PASSION….

First off, I’m excited to report that I’ve been nominated for an Indigo Teen Reads award in the Best New Writer category. This is the inaugural year for the contest, run by the great Canadian bookstore, and the best part is: readers get to choose the winners! Please visit the site, fill out the very quick registration form, and vote for Fallen (and me) in the Best New Writer category.

This is what you’ll see after you vote. If you’re hard core, you can come back and vote every day!

Next up, I’m about to head out on a blog tour in the UK for a little armchair (or desk chair) travel. Tomorrow (June 30th), you can find me at Book Chick City, and I’ll be making about ten more stops after that. More details, dates, and links to come.

My Brit blog tour coincides with the perfect-beach-read mass market paperback release of Fallen in the UK, and I also have this wonderful new trailer to share. Some of you Brits might be seeing it during the theater previews for Eclipse this week!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

On Friday, right before Valentines Day, “Daniel” hit Times Square to promote Fallen. People often ask me my favorite part of writing teen novels.  I’m not embarrassed at all to say that promo events like this are dangerously close to the top of the list? Look at this! It’s fantastic!

While Daniel was busy wooing the ladies of New York, I ventured back up to northern California for my first ever TV appearance. I used to watch Good Day Sacramento when I lived in Winters while I was in grad school, so it was a lot of fun (and very nervewracking) to be asked on as a guest. Here’s a shot of me prepping in the Green Room and a link to the clip on Good Day’s website. (It will load, eventually, on the right side of the page.)

I’ve been friends with my oldest, closest friend Megan since we were three. We met in pre-school, spent every waking second we were allowed to together as kids, tormented her little brother together, were tormented by my older brother together, and ran up enormous phone bills when we moved away from each other to go to college. We have the kind of friendship where I’m not really sure something big has happened to me until I’m able to pick up the phone and tell Megan.

I had to borrow all this snow gear. I was not prepared!

These days, we live across the country from each other, but this weekend, I had the best time going to visit her and her family in Virginia. It snowed a foot (which was a foot less than was predicted) and we pretty much hunkered down at her house outside of Charlottesville for the entire weekend. Bread was baked. Homemade applesauce simmered on the stove. Games of Bananagram were played. Long, snowy walks in the woods were taken. Her brother worked next door slaughtering a pig and making it into scrapple. Do not ask what scrapple is. You do not want to know. Basically: it was some good old country fun for this citified girl.

But the best part of the weekend were the long, rambling conversations that always make me feel like when I’m with Megan, I am home.

I know that I write love stories. I know that’s sort of “the point.” But: It’s so good to be reminded of how essential good friends are. In life, in stories, in everything we do. Because what good is being in love if you can’t gush about it to your best friend?

Megan was my original inspiration for Luce’s character (more in appearance than personality), but she’s a big inspiration for the relationships Luce has with her friends in Fallen (and later in Torment). We don’t get to see each other half as often as we’d like anymore, but she’s a huge part of who I am, and it was beautiful to see her life with her new family, her warm and giving husband, John, and the world’s smiliest baby, Oliver.

The Fallen display at the ALA Midwinter conference in Boston. Sounds like it was a great weekend!

From my reading last night at the Borders in Mission Viejo. Thanks to Carlos and Rose at the store and to the great group who braved the apocalyptic storm to come out!

January 11^th Beatrice

January 12^th Through a Glass Darkly

January 13^th A Patchwork of Books

January 14^th The Reading Zone

January 15^th The Children’s Book Review

January 20^th TeenReads.com

January 21^st The Book Butterfly

January 26^th CynthiaLeitichSmith.com

I also have a few upcoming events in Southern California, so those of you who live nearby, please come out!

On Saturday, January 16th, I’ll be signing books at Chevaliers in Los Angeles from 1-3pm.

On Tuesday, January 19th, I’ll be reading from Fallen and signing books at the Borders in Mission Viejo at 7pm.

On Saturday, January 30th, I’ll be reading from Fallen and signing books at the Borders in Long Beach at 2pm.

When I was in Arkansas recently for the holidays, my publisher sent 300 copies of Fallen to my mother in law’s house for me to sign for the ALA mid-winter conference. It was a tough job, but at least I had a helper:

I wish my nephew David Franklin could come to all of my signings with me, but I understand he’s got other things on his plate.

That’s all for now. If you’re local, I hope you can make it to one of these upcoming bookstore events! If you’re reading this from afar, I hope you’ll join me on my blog tour.

Have a great weekend, everyone. Tonight I’m going to see a double feature of Crazy Heart (an overdue birthday present to Jason) and Youth in Revolt (because Michael Cera is the bomb). Living on the edge here!

I’m a sucker for a good window display. When I lived in New York, I walked past all the big department stores on my way to work and always loved when the holidays rolled around so I could see what Saks, Bendels, and Bergdorf had concocted. Though not quite as elaborate as a Saks display, this one made my week. I’ve been hearing about this poster but haven’t had a chance to see it myself (one of the pitfalls of living across the country). Thanks to my friend Cristin for sending this along!