Joel A. Sutherland

Now I've gone and done it.

I've started a Twitter account. Something I didn't think I'd ever do.

Crazy thing is, I kinda like it. The brevity of characters allowed in each post suits my busy schedule, and keeps me from feeling guilty about not writing more.

So hey, if you've got an account too (as far as I know, I'm the last person of everyone I know to have signed up), check me out at http://twitter.com/joelasutherland

How did you celebrate New Years Eve? As I said before, Colleen and I went out to dinner and the movies with a couple of good friends. Sherlock Holmes was good if not great but quite a bit of senseless fun. After the movie we got our dogs together and rang in the new year with champagne and mocktails. Today I'm celebrating by sitting on the couch procrastinating, ignoring all the cleaning and schoolwork and general life stuff that has to be done. In other words, starting 2010 off on the right foot!

What a way to close out the year: I found out yesterday that my story, "Oh, the Ho Ho Horror", has been accepted into BLOOD LITE 2.

The first volume, edited by bestselling author Kevin J. Anderson, had some heavy hitters within its pages including Charlaine Harris, Kelley Armstrong, Jim Butcher and Sherrilyn Kenyon, so I'm pretty excited to see the final TOC for the second volume.

My story is, as you might have guessed, a festive tale, centred on a Scrooge/Grinch-like father who is confronted and taken prisoner (to be tortured and killed, natch) by the Big Guy in Red and his reindeer, Harvey. Oh, in case you didn't know, this is an anthology of humourous horror stories, so the fact that such an odd story was accepted isn't as strange as it might seem...

Since I haven't had much time to write and submit new fiction lately, this acceptance is particularly gratifying. I wrote the story specifically for this book on my breaks at work throughout November and squeaked it in right at the deadline. Huzzah!

We're going to celebrate by having a relaxing New Years Eve out, dinner and a movie (Sherlock Holmes), then back home in time for the countdown. However you're celebrating New Years, I hope 2010 is a stellar year for you and your family!

December 1st was my 29th birthday, and I decided to celebrate in style this year.

First, one of the best book blogs on the net today, The Book Smugglers, kicked off their new annual tradition, Smugglivus, with a guest post by yours truly on my birthday. You can check it out HERE, if you'd like. In the post, I talk a little bit about their blog, a little bit about why I've been so busy these past six months or so (which is also why I've also been so quiet on this here blog, my apologies), and I also announced a new contest, one much simpler than my last: post a comment to my guest blog over at The Book Smugglers, and you're automatically entered into a draw for a free e-book version of Frozen Blood, and I'll also add the three winners' names as characters (either villains or heroes) into my next published book. People seem to be really enjoying it so far, and that's a relief. It would have been mightily embarrassing if people didn't comment, or worse, if they commented but said something like, "Please don't enter me in the draw -- who does this Joel guy think he is, anyway?" So head on over and post a quick comment, why don'tcha?

Second, the 3rd annual Black Quill Award nominations were announced on my birthday, and much to my surprise, Frozen Blood was nominated for Best Small Press Chill. I'm listed with some extraordinary work and a couple of good friends (Michael Louis Calvillo and Kim Paffenroth), and that made the news even merrier! Two awards are given in each category, an editor's choice and a reader's choice, so if you liked Frozen Blood and wanted to vote for it, I won't stop you -- there's information at the bottom of the ballot on how to register and vote. You can check out the full ballot HERE. So head on over and vote, why don'tcha?

Third, I worked all day and then went to a course at night. So that wasn't really celebrating in style, but no matter. I received a whackload of Facebook and Myspace comments, emails and telephone calls, wishing me a happy birthday, and Colleen gave me some Grade-A presents, so it's all good.

Heck, it's all great.

Below are the winners of the Frozen Blood contest. It's interesting to note that the three people with the most amount of points each won a prize, as did a few people who ended in the middle of the pack, and even a person or two who were near the bottom. Regardless of who won what, I'd like to thank everyone who entered the contest for your support, and I hope you had fun with it. The prizes are packed, addressed, and will be in the mail tomorrow!

Grand Prize Winner - Bram Stoker Award signature sheet:

Michael Stone

Fried! Fast Food, Slow Deaths, signed by both co-editors:

Robert Harding

The Teddy Bears of Tomorrow, signed by yours truly:

Pete Allen

Alien DVD box set:

Rob Houglan

Interview With the Vampire DVD:

Bret Jordan

M:I-2 DVD:

Robert Essig

X-Files: Fight the Future DVD:

Matt Hults

Congrats to all the winners!

The third -- and final -- bonus mystery prize is another wonderful piece of original artwork from Fried! Fast Food, Slow Deaths, by none other than Bret Jordan. The illustration accompanied "Sugar Pie, Honey Pie", and a small portion even appeared on the front cover as an image on a newspaper blowing in the wind.

And the winner is Whitt Pond, who not only bought a copy of the book, but also wrote the first review to appear on Amazon.com.

Congrats, Whitt! And many thanks to Bret for supplying two pieces of original art for the contest!

Don't forget, this weekend is your last chance to post a short review online, to tag my book on Amazon, or to do any of the other acts to gain points before the big draw next week. You don't want to miss your chance to win one of the main prizes, including the signed Stoker sheet, do ya? Alrighty, then.

Wow, it's been a while since my last post, eh? It's been a busy time, that's for sure. Back in early July I began working at the library full time, whereas I was only working there part time previous to that. I've also been racing against some tight deadlines for school to complete enough credits to travel to Wales for my third and final study school in a couple of weeks. I've been chugging along nicely on the Scholastic book that's due in November, and have been doing a lot of work to spruce up the new pad, making it feel a little less cold and a little more like home.

But the biggest news of all is that I'm going to be a proud poppa next February! Colleen and I broke the news a couple of weeks ago and although it hasn't been taking up much of my free time yet (other than having to fetch the odd pickle or two), I'm sure life is going to be a tad crazier in 2010 than it was in 2009. I can't wait.

So amidst all the hustle and bustle, I forgot about my little Frozen Blood contest. I had said that there would be a few mystery prizes awarded along the way leading up to the deadline (which happens to be tomorrow!), but I've only given out one. I've got two more, one to give out now, and one yet to come. So here's what I'm thinking: the deadline of the contest should be pushed back, but only by a week and change. That way I can do a draw for the third mystery prize in the middle of the week, and then do the final draw for all the prizes on Tuesday, September 8th (I'll be attending a friend's wedding this long weekend, so that's out). Sound good?

Good.

So, enough blabbering from me. It's time to give something away!

What is it? With the winner's permission, I will give their name to one of the major characters in my next novel. The winner will get the choice of whether or not the character is good or evil. In fact, I plan on having the winner fill out a quick survey about what they want the character to be like, and what type of fate awaits the character at the end of the book. It could be a lot of fun, and I hope the person who has been drawn is game (I have a feeling she will be, but if not, I'll draw names until someone digs this prize).

And the winner is...Thea, from one of the grooviest book blogs on the internet, The Book Smugglers! I have to admit that this makes me pretty happy, since Thea not only read an early electronic copy of Frozen Blood and wrote a great review for her website, but also later drove to Dark Delicacies bookstore in L.A. to come meet me (dragging her incredibly understanding boyfriend along) and bought a copy while she was there. A class act, all the way.

Next draw coming soon!

As you may or may not recall, leading up to the August 31 deadline for my Frozen Blood Contest, there will be a handful of mystery bonus prizes randomly drawn for anyone who has a minimum of 5 points at the time of the draw.

Well, I've finally gotten around to drawing the first name for the first mystery prize. But! Before I announce the lucky winner, let me tell you what the prize is: some original interior artwork from Fried! Fast Food, Slow Deaths, illustrated by none other than my talented friend Bret Jordan! This hand-drawn illustration is 8 1/2" x 12", black and white, and accompanied the story "Red, Yellow and Green". It's one of my favourite illustrations from the book, and I'm more than a little jealous of the winner.

"Red, Yellow and Green" by Bret Jordan

And the winner is ... (drum roll) ... Launfal! This good sir not only purchased a copy of Frozen Blood, but wrote a glowing Amazon review and added a few tags for good measure. Congratulations, Launfal. And a big thank you to Bret for supplying the artwork for this contest!

I've got more mystery prizes on the way and there's still plenty of time to enter the contest. I've heard from a few people telling me they've had fun completing the various acts, and since I devised this as a way to thank anyone who has helped me spread the word about my first novel, that makes me a happy dude.

Looking for the Contest Guidelines? Click here!

To celebrate the Bram Stoker Award nomination for FROZEN BLOOD, I've decided to run a contest to say thank you to everyone who has helped to spread the word about my first novel.

QUICK OVERVIEW:

Buy FROZEN BLOOD, write a review and/or do any number of other small "acts", and win cool, rare and valuable stuff!

PRIZES:

-Grand Prize: A one-of-a-kind signature sheet (with the cover images of every nominated work) I had made for this year's Stoker Weekend, signed in silver marker by all of the attending nominees (Gary Braunbeck, Nate Kenyon, Gregory Lamberson (twice), Lisa Mannetti, Michael McCarty (twice), David Oppegaard, Joel A. Sutherland, John R. Little, Weston Ochse, Gene O'Neill, Scott Edelman, Bill Breedlove, R. J. Cavender, Vince A. Liaguno, Chad Helder, Jeff Strand, Lisa Morton, Del Howison and Corrine De Winter). Here's a low-res scanned image of the sig sheet so you can see what it looks like:

It's sure to become a valuable collector's item -- plus, it's really damn cool!

-A copy of FRIED! FAST FOOD, SLOW DEATHS, signed by the co-editor, Colleen Morris, and myself.

-A rare signed copy of my illustrated storybook, THE TEDDY BEARS OF TOMORROW.

-ALIEN LEGACY DVD box set (the first four films) - brand new

-INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE DVD - brand new

-M:I-2 DVD - brand new

-X-FILES: FIGHT THE FUTURE DVD (the good one) - brand new

-Bonus: Every so often throughout July and August, a mystery prize will be randomly drawn for anyone who has a minimum of 5 POINTS at that time. This will not affect the final draw - you can still win one of the main prizes if you win one or more of the bonus prizes.

HOW IT WORKS:

It's quite simple, but if anything is unclear, don't hesitate to ask for clarification.

Points will be awarded for various acts, such as purchasing a copy of the book and writing an Amazon review. Once the contest has closed, points will be tallied and tickets awarded accordingly. If twenty people enter the contest, the person with the most amount of points will be awarded twenty tickets, the person with the second most will be awarded nineteen, etc. Tickets will then be randomly drawn to determine the winners. Everyone has a chance of winning a prize, but the more tickets you receive, the better your odds.

Although some acts will be verifiable (reviews), others will be on the honour system (purchases). However, if in doubt, I may ask for some sort of proof before awarding the points.

Please email me with a list of all the acts you have completed. You may email me multiple times (don't wait until you have a final tally at the end of the contest, or you will miss out on the chance to win the bonus prizes). Send all emails to sutherlandjoel [at] yahoo [dot] ca, with "FROZEN BLOOD CONTEST" in the Subject line.

ACTS/POINTS:

-Purchase a copy of FROZEN BLOOD. If you purchased a copy before the contest, don't worry, it still counts (but email me just to make sure I count it). 50 POINTS

-Post a review of the novel on any Amazon site (.com, .ca, .co.uk, etc.), or on any other applicable website (the options are endless -- if in doubt, ask me!). 25 POINTS PER REVIEW (feel free to post the same review on multiple sites for extra points)

-Add a tag on any Amazon site. 1 POINT PER TAG (no limit)

-Add it to a Listmania! list on Amazon.com. 10 POINTS PER LIST (click on this link for more information)

-Write an Amapedia entry on Amazon.com. 15 POINTS (click on this link for more information)

-Write a post about this contest and link to it on your blog (Myspace, LiveJournal, personal website, etc.), or on your Facebook page. 5 POINTS PER POST (but only one post per blog/site)

-Go to a public library and suggest that they purchase a copy of FROZEN BLOOD (give them a printout from the book's Amazon.com page with the ISBN). It doesn't matter whether or not the library decides to purchase it. Feel free to make the same suggestion at different libraries. 25 POINTS PER SUGGESTION

CONTEST OPENING DATE:

Immediately

CONTEST CLOSING DATE:

August 31, 2009

Thanks so much for participating in this contest, but most of all, thanks so much for reading FROZEN BLOOD!

Well, Colleen and I have arrived home from our west coast trip after having an amazing time. Alas, I did not need to make room in my luggage for a haunted house trophy, but I didn't let that get me down one bit. I mean, at the banquet I was seated right behind Richard Matheson -- how could I be upset?

There were so many highlights that I'm having a hard time processing them all, but the best part of the convention was meeting many friends, both old and new. I was also pretty happy to learn that Nate Kenyon isn't a serial killer, since we split a room one night and I hadn't met him in person before. Big relief.

After the convention we took a driving/walking tour, seeing all the major L.A. sights, and went to Warner Bros. Studios, where we got to sit on the Central Perk couch from Friends and walk around the Gilmore Girls town. I'd like to pretend that it was only Colleen that was excited about that, but that would be an unfair representation. We also drove past Merlotte's Bar from True Blood, saw a bunch of Harry Potter props, and walked along Manhattan streets (in Burbank!). I was the only person on the tour who had heard of (and seen) Monster Squad. Make of that what you will.

Vegas was a weird, weird place. I'm happy to have seen it, but have little desire to go back. I have to admit that walking around the casinos, hotels and shopping areas was really cool, and Paris was our favourite. I'm just not a gambler (I fed $2 into a slot machine, which lasted for about five minutes). One night we walked into a casino that had an open mic session for Rock Band, so I quickly signed up only to choke while playing Blue Oyster Cult's Don't Fear the Reaper. I blame the desert heat.

It was a great trip, and the contest I'm about to announce is an ideal way to conclude it. I hope some of you enter -- the grand prize in particular is pretty sweet!

STOKER WEEKEND

It's hard to believe, but I'm flying out of Toronto bright and early tomorrow morning to head to L.A. for the Stoker weekend. It came up really fast! But I'm all set: bags are packed, tickets and passport is ready, and I've got a briefcase filled with books -- hopefully it will be considerably lighter when I return.

No need to wish me luck -- it's going to be an amazing time, and as cheesy as it sounds, I couldn't care less right now whether I win or lose on Saturday night. Making it this far has been reward enough.

The awards ceremony will be broadcast live on the Stokers website beginning around 8 p.m. (PST) on June 13. If you're free and interested in watching it, go to www.stokers2009.com and click on LIVE VIDEO.

CONTEST

As a way of thanking all of the people who have taken the time to read FROZEN BLOOD, I've decided to hold a contest. I'll post the complete guidelines later this month after I've returned from the West Coast, but for now I wanted to give you all a heads-up. There will be a bunch of simple acts one can complete, with a different amount of points awarded to each act. The more points you accrue, the more tickets you get in the draw. Buying the book will award the most points (even if you bought it before the contest officially begins) and writing an Amazon review (or writing a review elsewhere) awards the second most. I know I'm biased, but I think the prizes are pretty sweet, too (more info on those to come). If anyone is interested in entering the contest, it would be cool to see a few reviews posted by the time I get back!

Leaving, on a jet plane...