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 Today’s winner is LEAH! Leah has won a a shimmery, cooling Bath and Body Works Lip Gloss (with handy dandy makeup mirror), in the official Secret Society Girl flavor of 312 Pomegranate Martini.
Why Pomegranate martini? Well, you’ll just have to read the book to find out!
You guys are all SO sick of hearing me say that, aren’t you?
So, when I was but a wee girl, they used to hold these big spring raffles at my elementary school, and every day at lunch the nice raffle volunteer ladies would be there selling tickets. Some of the prizes were super nice, like tickets to sporting events or birthday parties on the local birthday-party-pirate-ship outfit (Yes, this is what you crave in Tampa, and it’s actually a great little party!). Some of the prizes were stuffed animals. One year, the prize was this gigantic stuffed dolphin. I took one look at that thing and fell in love. I wanted that dolphin. He wanted me, too. He sat there, looking at me with big black eyes. “Win me, Diana. Don’t let me go to anyone else.” I dreamed about that dolphin. And I set about winning him. I shudder to think how much of my piggy bank’s innards were sacrificed to that thing. I knw I drank from the water fountain rather than getting juice or lemonade for weeks in order to devote every spare penny to buying raffle tickets. It’s entirely possible that I was one of the only kids bidding on the dolphin. Of course, I won him. His raffle box was completely riddled with my name.
And this is why I believe that you enter as many times as you want to win. It’s the same theory I had on submitting manuscripts. Can’t win if you don’t play. Today, I’d like to reward those people who have played this game through its entirety, and as such, have shown phenomenal dedication, persistence, and loyalty, which are all traits much admired by any Secret Society:
Alyssa Goodnight, Annie from OC, Bonnie Ferguson, Heather Brewer, Heather Dawn Harper, Jaci Burton, Lis, larramie, and Milady Insanity are all thereby gifted with a Rose & Grave pin. (Yes, Alyssa, you can have a lip gloss instead). Several of these cats have already won something in the contest. Hard core. (See, they ascribe to my dolphin theory). But that aint all…
 They are also entered into the upcoming drawing for The Last of the Hoodies, and really the name says it all, doesn’t it? You guys want to hear the Saga of the Hoodie? It goes something like this:
In 2005, Diana orders hoodies. They arrive, and though are quite beautiful, are even smaller than the size chart for “fitted and runs small” would have led her to believe. They also were Not Cheap. However, they were a hit, and Diana spends a lot of time trying to find a less expensive way to produce them, because unlike the Cafe Press gear, these hoodies are not Print On Demand. But she can’t, and they are even more expensive now than they were in 2005. Diana keeps her fingers crossed for the day that Cafe Press expands its line of black products from mere t-shirts to hoodies. (But if 20 of you want to get together and order them, I’ll make it happen for you.)
I’d also like to add that this, the Last of the Hoodies, comes in one size only, and it happens to be a large, which, since they run hella small, is the size I wear (I’m usually a 6). The winner may choose an alternate prize from anything in the Eli University Cafe Press store. (This may happen if the winner is Heather B, or she may choose to make it a wardrobe staple.)
Angie, Carrie, Gina, Julie, Marley, Phyllis, Sara, Eileen, Kristen Painter, Lara, and Robin are now in a run-off contest for a gift basket of pomegranate martini beauty products (you think all I’ve got is the gloss?) No pictures available, but trust me, it’s nice.
Manic mom, Rhiannon, Pam, Jami, Estella, Jennifer Y, Minna, Leah, and Nancy are all in a run-off for a bunch of lollipop roses. Why roses? You know the drill…
All of these drawings are going to take place soon. Meanwhile, winners of all stripes, please send me your addresses over email (to be found in the profile block near my photo at the top of this page).
Okay, what else do we have in store for you all on release day? How about Secret Society Girl Sightings? Savvy reader Gina Johnson sent in this sighting late last night from a Tulsa-area B&N:
This is the first time I’ve seen the book on the shelves, even if it wasn’t with my own eyes. I was so excited! It might be my favorite SSG photo so far, though this may give it a run for its money:
 This photo is from another Gina (Gina Black), who apparently needs to battle her cat to get her hands on the book.
Which reminds me, let me point you to some blogs that are doing their part to Get The Secret Out: Manic Mommy, Angie (Nice Mommy Evil Editor), the aforementioned Gina Black, Julie Leto’s Marisela Blog, Kelly Parra’s Words of a Writer, and I know I’m forgetting someone so just shout it out, and I’ll put your blog up on the list as well.
UPDATED: Jennifer Echols (whose own fab debut is coming out any minute), Maureen McGowan (everyone go and give prayers to her brother’s sick puppy) and Marley-care-of-The Knight Agency (who already have plenty of SSG stuff) have all posted about my release, and, in the biggest surprise of the day, Paperback Writer is doing a giveaway of the book on her blog! Go there and win a free copy! Also, Allison Winn Scotch, Robin Brande, Susan Adrian, Fiona’s Farrago (with pictures she took on pain of camera confiscation!), Bonnie Ferguson, and Alyssa Goodnight!
People who send me their SSG blog links AND/OR photos of SSG sightings today will be entered in yet another contest… because really, I kind of enjoy playing Santa Claus.
Or, as it were, Uncle Tony.*
*Read the book to find out.
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And, for those of you in the greater Washington D.C. area, please join me to celebrate the launch of my debut novel.
Reading, Discussion & Signing
When: Tuesday, July 18th
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Where: Borders Books & Music
White Flint Mall
11301 Rockville Pike
Kensington, MD 20895
I’ve been practicing reading aloud, and there will be cake. What more reason do you need?
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Finally, read the fabu review the book got at Teens Read Too. Quotes of note:
SECRET SOCIETY GIRL is a blast! Fun and witty, with an engaging theme, heartfelt situations, intriguing dialogue, and a cast of characters that you’ll be cheering for, it’s a story you won’t want to put down. You won’t go wrong picking up a copy of this clever, imaginative story.
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And, now, the tease: The Beer Story Which I Cannot Yet Name involves Dos Equis.
Okay, that is all! Go forth, discover SSG in the wild! Have a good week. I’ll probably be very quiet for a bit, as I’ll be busy trying to keep my cool…
UPDATE:
More pictures, sent by eagle eyed readers. I love my street team!
 Here my book is at Indigo in Toronto. Picture sent in by the marvelous Maureen McGowan…
Maureen sent this to me on my phone this afternoon. I didn’t even know my phone could receive pictures. It’s now my new phone wallpaper. Ah, what a world we live in, where even our phones get wallpaper!
Thanks, Maureen!
 And here’s my book sharing shelving space with the delectable Johnny Depp. (Now, though I describe the character George in my book looking a lot like Orlando Bloom, it occurs to me that in character, Orlando Bloom’s Will Turner is a lot more like Brandon… But that’s neither here nor there.)
This picture was taken by the lovely and very enthusiastic Julie Leto, who knows that nothing sells books like proximity to the Depp!
Thanks, Julie!
Okay, really off now, to have lunch and see this book for myself!
It’s BOOK LAUNCH DAY!
Sorry. Just had to get that out. As you were.
 Today’s winner is:
HEATHER DAWN HARPER!
Congratulations! Enjoy your prize, an official Rose & Grave pin.
What is the meaning of the pin? Well, you’ll just have to read the book to find out!
(Please email me with your address to receive your prize. And, PS, Heather, you don’t want to know how long it took my late night brain to realize that “Heather Harper” on my email was “Heather Dawn Harper” on my blog. I was like, do I know this chick? The name sounds familiar. Maybe she’s one of Marley friends? Heard of “pregnancy brain?” I think I have “book release brain.”)
Things I must do today:
1) Laundry and dry cleaning.
2) Speak with publicist about remote booksigning.
3) Speak with editor about editorial stuff.
4) Write my daily pages on SSG2.
5) Status check on bookmarks and labels.
6) Pick section of book to read for reading tomorrow. Practice reading.
7) Clean apartment.
And of course, the big question on everyone’s minds is: is this the end of the giveaway? Or is Diana about to change the rules on us? Stay tuned to tomorrow’s post to find out!
 …a bouquet of tasty lollipop roses!!!
Today’s Winner is:
JULIE LETO
Apparently, I live to destroy her pre-conference diet. First Pom Fraps and now this.
Why roses? Y’all know the drill: read the book and find out.
Oh wow, oh wow, oh wow… two days! T.W.O. D.A.Y.S!
Yesterday, Marley asked me if I was going to be able to sleep the day before my book came out. Now, I’m not usually the kind of person who is unable to sleep. In fact, I’m the kind of person unable to, well, not sleep. I’m allergic to all-nighters. It’s another thing that I have in common with my heroine. I used to be able to pull it off if absolutely necessary, but I did it so often during one month towards the end of college while preparing my two theses (yes, I wrote two, since I was a double major: one was about post-colonialism and the development of the Western theory of Shangri-La vis-a-vis James Hilton’s Lost Horizon, and the other was about water pollution and reclamation efforts of a particular anthracite mine whose washout fed into the Susquehanna, and if you think there was any overlap in these two projects, you would be sorely mistaken) that I have been incapable of pulling one ever since.
And what does this mean today, dear readers? 1) that I will fully be able to sleep on Monday night and 2) that I definitely have to push forward on this deadline so I’m not forced to try (and fail) to pull any at the end of August.
So I got this email the other day from an unnamed entity who felt the need to tell me that she thinks the new direction my blog has taken is, in her words, annoying. Breathless excitement about my book release and daily giveaways are not, apparently, to be borne. (I suspect she may just be bitter about not winning any lip gloss.) So I just want to remind you that this is and always was intended to be a special pre-release season here on Diana’s Diversions, and eventually, the flow of lip gloss will slow to a trickle and we’ll get back to ranting about sucky industry scammers and extolling the virtue of the synopsis and talking about whether or not there should be a law about the cut of Sailor Boy’s jeans. (Sailor Boy’s mom, if you’re reading this, I totally did not just say that.)
Now, those of you who ARE here for the lip gloss and lollipops, sorry to disappoint. I think it’s entirely likely that you will find my droning on about query letters and voice to be annoying, and that thong will start looking pretty damn good.
So, let’s make these last drawings really count! Enter in the comments section for tomorrow’s SUPER-fabulous giveaway.
And, if any of you are still reading rather than just being all, “Ho, hum, press comment, leave something mindless and hope she picks my number tomorrow” I’d like to announce that I have, at long long last, winnowed down the enormous number of choices in digital cameras and will be picking my new one up today. Therefore rejoice, because pretty soon, there will be pictures a-go-go on this blog once more.
Oh, and stay tuned for the news about the beer, which I’m just bursting with (news, not beer).
 No, Joshilyn Jackson is not the Bad Blogger. In fact her blog, Faster than Kudzu, is an incredibly entertaining read. I am the Bad Blogger, because in all of the hullabaloo of New York Observer and radio interviews and daily giveaways and romance diva-ing and secret celebrity/beer news — not to mention that little deadline coming up next month — I completely forgot to tell you all about her latest book, Between, Georgia.
And let me tell you — I am DYING to read this book. I have heard nothing but completely rave (occasionally even raving, slavering, positively lunatic fangirl) reviews of this book. It’s got a starred review from Booklist, a starred review from Kirkus, and is a #1 Booksense Pick. People are LOVING it all over the place. I had a friend call me up the other day and berate me for not having read it yet. And this friend is pretty much the opposite of Southern, so if you think this book is only for folks south of the Mason-Dixon, think again.
This is what it’s about:
There’s always been bad blood between the Fretts and the Crabtrees. After all, the Fretts practically own the tiny town of Between, Georgia, while the Crabtrees only rent space in its jail cells.
Stacia Frett is a deaf artist with a genetic condition that is causing her to slowly go blind. She’s lost the love of her life, and when her vision goes, she’ll lose her career as well. She’s asking God why He keeps her breathing in and out, until the night fifteen year old Hazel Crabtree shows up on her doorstep brandishing a stomach swollen with a pregnancy she’d hidden for nine months. Stacia thinks Hazel’s unwanted baby might be God’s answer, and so the Fretts decide to steal it…
Thirty years later, Nonny Frett is a successful interpreter living in Athens, Georgia. She understands the meanings of “rock” and “hard place” better than any woman ever born. She’s got two mothers, “one deaf-blind and the other four baby steps from flat crazy.” She’s got two men; Her husband is easing out the back door and her best friend is laying siege to her heart in her front yard. She has a job that holds her in the city, and she’s addicted to a little girl who’s stuck deep in the country. And she has two families; The Fretts, who stole her and raised her right, and the Crabtrees, who lost her and can’t forget that they’ve been done wrong.
In Between, Georgia, population 90, the feud that began before Nonny was born is escalating, and a random act of violence will set the torch to a thirty-year old stash of highly flammable secrets. This might be just what the town needs, if only Nonny wasn’t sitting in the middle of it…
Sadly, this is another book I’m not allowed to read until I finish SSG2. A little more than a month, now! So go ahead and read it first. Make me jealous. Grrrrrrr…
(PS: No contest in this comment section. Move along.)
 The one you’ve been waiting for: Enjoy your prize, a copy of Secret Society Girl!!!
Today’s winner is:
SARA HANTZ!
Congratulations!
Read, enjoy, and tell all your friends! (Especially, you know, the North American ones.)
(Please email me with your address to receive your prize.)
For everyone else, leave your comment here to enter into tomorrow’s fabulous giveaway!
Sorry about being late y’all. Yes, I way overslept. No, there was no beer and celebrities… soon, though.
In the meantime, check out Gina Black’s fabulous review of Secret Society Girl! Thank you, Gina!
 Today’s winner is:
ikkinala!
Congratulations! Enjoy your prize, a shimmery, cooling Bath and Body Works Lip Gloss (with handy dandy makeup mirror), in the official Secret Society Girl flavor of 312 Pomegranate Martini.
Why Pomegranate martini? Well, you’ll just have to read the book to find out!
(Please email me with your address to receive your prize.)
As for the rest of you: leave your comment here to enter into tomorrow’s giveaway! We’re getting down to the very important numbers now (see above) … there’s no telling what Diana may give away next!
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In other news I had a superlative writing experience yesterday. And no, I’m not talking about my fun radio interview with Bill Thompson, who is such a cool cat, and told me all kinds of facts you wish you never knew about dollar bills. No, this was another something that happened to me while I was writing, one of those things that convinces me I’m on the right track with a scene. For me, writing is often like hiking a blazed trail, not always sure I know where I’m going, occasionally in the dark and gloomy woods, and my only clue are these infrequent flashes of the emerald city beyond. A tiny peek, a little glimpse.
Yesterday’s emerald went thusly: As I wrote a scene, I had the distinct impression I was missing something. I kept going back and reading the scene. Had I failed to include one of the logical follow throughs of the dialogue’s argument? Had I full engaged the senses? Had I missed an opportunity to make a joke or to tug at the heartstrings? Had I, perchance, contradicted myself with something I wrote earlier? The feeling gnawed at me until at last I decided to skim the earlier chapters, and as soon as I did, I discovered that not only was my current scene in shape, but it also contained a bit of character subtext I didn’t even realize was in there. It threw the scene into sudden crystallization and made it so much more perfect. What I had previously thought was a throwaway line took on shades of meaning and a dark joke.
I loved it! And I didn’t even know it was there. Man, I adore those emeralds. Live for them.
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PS: Check out this new blog I discovered: http://allisonwinnscotch.blogspot.com. She’s a debut novelist and writes for magazines like IN STYLE WEDDINGS, REDBOOK, and GLAMOUR. If I ever get around to updating my blogroll, etc., I shall add it. 
PPS: Last day of pitch practice over at the Romance Divas forum. Take advantage of me (::eyebrow wiggle::) while you still can!
 Today’s winner is:
ALYSSA GOODNIGHT!
Congratulations! Enjoy your prize, an official Rose & Grave pin.
Ooh, aah… be careful where you wear it though. You never know who you might piss off. What is the meaning of the pin? Well, you’ll just have to read the book to find out!
(Please email me with your address to receive your prize.)
For everyone else, leave your comment here to enter into tomorrow’s fabulous giveaway!
(Note to readers: I’m out of touch today as I’m taping an interview for a syndicated radio show. I know, the glamor, the glamor. I’ll make thong jokes as a shout out to all of you!)
(Note: Comments in this post will not be counted towards contest entries. However, they shall be cherished.)
Today’s New York Observer features an article about Secret Society Girl. The article is written by a senior at Harvard. (We shan’t hold that against him.) Those Harvard boys. Love ‘em to bits and pieces.
Some relevant passages:
Secret Society Girl succeeds all the same. Ms. Peterfreund’s descriptions of the ambitious Amy Haskel’s collegial life are both vivid and amusing, and although the second half of the book focuses too much on her secret society’s rather dull battle for women’s rights, Amy herself is charming enough to be forgiven. Her ceremonial initiation into Rose & Grave—modeled after Yale’s famous Skull and Bones—runs a little long, but Amy handles it with dignity and spunk, even as the boys in the club pretend to drown her inside a coffin and threaten to make her a sex slave in their castle.
Amy’s story is both witty and endearing, peppered as it is with rhetorical questions and moments when she emphatically addresses the reader as “dude.” As she discusses her dorm-room drama, her study sessions at the library, and the awkward interactions she shares at the lit-mag office with her “friend with bennies,” Amy proves herself a rather appealing girl. She constantly makes lists to better sort through her thoughts (“WAYS TO KNOW WITHOUT ROLLING OVER TO LOOK AT HIM,” from the chapter “Morning After”; “THINGS I DISCOVERED THAT CALMED ME DOWN,” from “Barbarians”), and she’s as forward about her desires and goals as she is about her disappointments. She’s tough, too: “Show me a pining man and I’ll show you a pussy,” she says in reference to a boy who’s just told her that he loves her. To top it off, Amy knows about Said and Lévi-Strauss, and although she spends most of Secret Society Girl finding her place in Rose & Grave, we learn that during her sophomore year, she tried to read Borges in Spanish.
Later, he even calls her RADIANT.
Yep, that’s my girl. She totally puts the rad in radiant.
Now, go comment on that other post (the one with the thong) to be entered in the contest.
RADIANT RADIANT RADIANT RADIANT RADIANT RADIANT RADIANT RADIANT
… the author goes mad.
It’s to be expected, I suppose. All the pressure building up to the big day. Another book to write. All kinds of promotional details to be taken care of. Is it any wonder that in between planning the various booksignings and parties, juggling real life visits, trips, parties and RSVPs (not only is my brother getting married, but Sailor Boy’s cousin thinks now is good timing as well — actually, it’s marriage fever around here. I’m gonna be at more weddings this year!), approving ads, forgetting to order bookmarks and then trying to get rush delivery so they’ll be ready before Atlanta (too late for signing), being updated what seems like every hour with other promotional details to stress out over (“We hear you’ve got another review coming from Such and Such News.” “Oh dear.”), guest blogging and author of the monthing and workshop giving, and the requisite oohing and aahhing over my author copies… well, something had to give.
I mean, does this look like a sane person to you?
 I thought not.
But, who am I kidding? You’re not here to listen to me kvetch about debut author stress. There’s lipgloss to be won! You could care less about my news of swanky launch parties and radio spots, and the subsequent trepidation. There are rumors of a hoodie! Bring on the prizes, crazy author lady, and damn the torpedoes!
Persephone* save us all.
A-ha, but you see, I’m far, far too clever for all of you. You thought you had me pegged. “Oh, it’s all lip gloss and lollipops over on Diana’s Diversions. We know what kind of prizes you have in mind.”
Barbarians!* You only think you know. But I confess*, I have a sick mind, and I’m so not afraid of turning it towards merchandising opportunities.
Which brings me to today’s winner:
LARRAMIE!
Congratulations! Enjoy your prize, a sleek, sexy pair of official Secret Society Girl thong panties. (Back not pictured.) And, what does it say on the front?
Who you callin’ NEOPHYTE?
Why does it say this? Well, at this point, are you still unsure of the answer?*
(Please email me with your address and, um, preferred size, to receive your prize.)
In the meantime, leave your comments here to enter into tomorrow’s fabulous giveaway! Who knows what crazy item I’ll find for you all next! Anything can happen here at the SSG countdown giveaway!
*READ THE BOOK AND FIND OUT!
PS: I’m guestblogging at PLOTMONKEYS today. All hail Julie, Leslie, Carly and Janelle! Come check it out.
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They are also entered into the upcoming drawing for The Last of the Hoodies, and really the name says it all, doesn’t it? You guys want to hear the Saga of the Hoodie? It goes something like this:
This photo is from another Gina (Gina Black), who apparently needs to battle her cat to get her hands on the book.
Here my book is at Indigo in Toronto. Picture sent in by the marvelous Maureen McGowan…
And here’s my book sharing shelving space with the delectable Johnny Depp. (Now, though I describe the character George in my book looking a lot like Orlando Bloom, it occurs to me that in character, Orlando Bloom’s Will Turner is a lot more like Brandon… But that’s neither here nor there.)
