Hi all,

I’ve got good news and bad news.  The bad news is that the Blue Bloods: Revelations sneak-peeks haven’t arrived in your In-Box. I’m sorry!!!! It turns out I spoke too soon—I found out there are some clearances my publisher still needs to secure before I can send. Hopefully we will be able to send soon, I’ll keep you posted!

But the GOOD news is that I have about THIRTY-FIVE of the printed four-chapter samplers that we gave away yesterday at BEA – it was soooo awesome to meet all the girls from the Blue Bloods message boards: Team Fabulous: Amanda, Rhiannon, Alyssa and Kady, and I also loved meeting Brittany, Alyssa, Patricia, and all the girls who got their families to fly or drive them all the way to see me!! It was so so SO much fun to meet all of you.

So I have all these copies of Revelations: The First Four Chapters to give out. How can you get your hot little hands on them? By entering the BLUE BLOODS POETRY CONTEST!

Here are the rules:

1. You can enter as many poems as possible, but can only win ONCE.

2. Poems can be in any form: free verse, haiku, villanelle, epic, Dr. Seuss-style, whathaveyou.

3. Poems should be spell-checked. If your words are spelled correctly that gives you huge ups. I don’t mind misuse of capitalization so much—e.e. cummings never capitalized and did niFTy things like THis. But I do have to say, it is easier to read correctly capitalized verse. So, up to you.

4. Poems should be about the Blue Bloods universe. Or in the voice of a Blue Bloods character. Up to you. You could pen a poem about Jack’s hotness, Mimi’s bitchiness, a ballad to Schuyler and Oliver, or about Michael and Gabrielle, anything you can come up with. Or you could write a poem in the voice of a character. (Just make a note of who is supposed to be speaking.)

5. I’m looking for creativity and polish, but also humor and originality. I was a huge poetry-entrant when I was in high school (and won a bunch), so I think this is a fun experiment.

6. We’ll post the best poems on the site of course. We will have a grand prize, a first runner-up and a third-runner up, who will receive goodie-bags from my vast goodie-bag closet as well as the chapter samplers.

7. Poems are due by June 20th.

8. Poems should be e-mailed to: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) with the subject header: POETRY CONTEST.

Good luck! I can’t wait to read what you come up with!

And just to answer future questions: YES, I WILL send the sneak-peeks before the book comes out, I just don’t know WHEN yet. I’m really sorry about getting everyone’s hopes up. But I do hope to fix this situation SOON.

xoxo
Mel