28 February 2011
Posted in Blog - 2011

The winners of the Black Rose Contest have been chosen and informed of their prizes.  Sandra C. of Gilbert, AZ (yes, Gilbert as in Elena Gilbert!) won the Grand Prize and says:THANK YOU SO MUCH!  I'M SO EXCITED, I CAN'T STAND IT! I KEPT MY FINGERS CROSSED! IT WORKED!

 However, to my great surprise, there are about four black rose winners who have not yet responded.  If they still have not responded by this coming Monday, new winners will be chosen and informed.  I've already tweeted for everyone who entered the contest to check their email to no avail.  From the thousands of entries to this contest I suspect that there was some douible entering by using various email addresses.  There also seem to be some entries from people who don't live in the USA (I'm reading through the many entries, slowly but surely--remember, I don't touch them until the winners are randomly drawn) so it's possible that some of these no-shows may actually not live in the USA, which prevents them from sending an address.  In any case, I think a week's wait is fair enough, and should these winners answer their emails in the future, I have enough black roses to accommodate them.

Once again I would like to thank readers for their continued support and kindness re the future Vampire Diaries books.  I am more grateful than I can easily express.  And I'd once again like to remind everyone that Midnight comes out in the USA on March 15 . . . and that I wrote every word of it.  I will never forget any of you who have helped me with emotional support at this time.  I can't thank everyone individually, so if you don't receive an answer please understand that it's because I'm overwhelmed with emails and that I am also trying to write Strange Fate (a job that has, unsurprisingly, been made more difficult by my own self-doubts and troubled mind.)  I'm praying very hard that I won't be thrown into writer's block again. Each of your kind emails are like stars in a dark sky, showing me my path and reminding me that I have the most loyal and eloquent readers in the world.