I can’t even tell you how fun this has been to present you with your choices for a DIE FOR ME novella and then watch you vote and comment!

Epic Reads has counted your votes. And there was a clear winner. Since it received a whopping 66% of votes, I will be writing DIE FOR HER!!!

DIE FOR HER will be available as an eBook in April 2013…just weeks before IF I SHOULD DIE is released in May.

A recap of that story:

1. “DIE FOR HER”
When Kate Mercier walks into the lives of Paris’s revenants, Vincent Delacroix isn’t the only one whose world turns upside down. Jules Marchenoir has spent the last century flirting his way through Paris, enjoying his life as an immortal bachelor. But when he meets Kate and realizes that he and his best friend are in love with the same girl, he is forced to choose between love and friendship.

But you know what? THE ART OF DYING came in second, with 10%.

2. “THE ART OF DYING”
Sixteen-year-old art prodigy Jules Marchenoir moves to Paris to join the biggest figures of the European art world in the wildest setting imaginable: turn-of-the-century Montmartre. But his career is cut short when he sacrifices his life to save fellow artist Fernand Leger in the first World War. After animating as a revenant he is forced to hide from the art world where his career was flourishing, avoid any love affair that threatens to expose him, and learn to fight murderous enemies out to destroy his kind.

I read all of your comments on the Epic Reads site, and one in particular caught my eye. Jessica Ann McQueen said that she would  like to see a mix of the two Jules stories.

Well…I think I can arrange that. 🙂 I have to think about it, but I’m sure I can find some way of bringing a little bit of Jules’s past into his present. Maybe a flashback or two 😉 Who knows?

I want to thank everyone who voted in the DIE FOR ME novella poll. Epic Reads has chosen a winner for the enchanted Lalique frog. See who won here!

And now…gotta get writing!

SO TELL ME…WHO IS YOUR JULES?

Who is your Jules? (Camille Lacourt)

Who is your Jules? (Gaspard Ulliel)

Who is your Jules?

The HarperTeen U.S. cover for IF I SHOULD DIE

And here it is in all of its copper and gold and sunrise colored magnificence. The last book in the series. I’m getting a little bit teary-eyed.

I can’t WAIT for you to read it. There are so many fun surprises in the book. So, once again, here is the flap copy—now updated so as not to give a Book 2 spoiler!!!

I will not lose another person I love. I will not let history repeat itself.

Vincent waited lifetimes to find me, but in an instant our future together was shattered. He was betrayed by someone we both called a friend, and I lost him. Now our enemy is determined to rule over France’s immortals, and is willing to wage a war to get what they want.

It shouldn’t be possible, none of it should be, but this is my reality. I know Vincent is somewhere out there, I know he’s not completely gone, and I will do anything to save him.After what we’ve already fought to achieve, a life without Vincent is unimaginable. He once swore to avoid dying—to go against his nature and forsake sacrificing himself for others—so that we could be together. How can I not risk everything to bring my love back to me?

And for those who like to compare, here are the two covers side-by-side. Both so beautiful. I think I’ll go bake some brownies for the Cover Fairy.

UK Cover

US cover

You’ve all been asking me for a summary of IF I SHOULD DIE, and although that isn’t ready yet, I can share with you the flap copy. (Which means the text that is printed on the book cover.)

Are you ready? From IF I SHOULD DIE, to be released May 2013…

I will not lose another person I love. I will not let history repeat itself.

Vincent waited lifetimes to find me, but in an instant our future together was shattered. He was betrayed by someone we both called a friend, and I lost him. Now our enemy is determined to rule over France’s immortals, and is willing to wage a war to get what they want.

It shouldn’t be possible, none of it should be, but this is my reality. I know Vincent is somewhere out there, I know he’s not completely gone, and I will do anything to save him.

After what we’ve already fought to achieve, a life without Vincent is unimaginable. He once swore to avoid dying—to go against his nature and forsake sacrificing himself for others—so that we could be together. How can I not risk everything to bring my love back to me?

So…does that answer some of your questions? 🙂

(p.s. You can already pre-order in the US through Barnes and Noble and in the UK from Amazon and Book Depository!!!)

This is going to be a quickie, with no comments allowed. Because I’m not asking for pity or support or any other input. But since my bio has changed drastically in the last year, I’m going to tell you the story succinctly, and then you’ll understand all of the Tweets, blogs, etc. where I am suddenly a single mom living in Paris instead of a married mom living in the French countryside.

Laurent and I split up early this year. We both have apartments in Paris now, care for our kids alternating weeks, and have kept the Loire Valley home (with my ancient office) to use for vacations. I won’t say anything else about that because he is a good man and an excellent dad and I couldn’t wish for a better father for my children.

Now I’m a single mom in Paris. Getting used to living alone, trying to do the best things for my children, and writing furiously to meet a couple of deadlines (the first book in my JUNEAU series and another mystery project that I will be able to announce very soon).

On the weeks I don’t have my kids I am becoming very familiar with frozen dinners, working round-the-clock, and beginning to tiptoe out into the Paris night life. (See fashion week party post.) I’m a part of two different book clubs, and am forcing myself out to art and literature happenings so that I can meet people and have friends in Paris other than my books’ main characters.

So here we are, nearing the end of 2012. I have a beautiful apartment in the center of Paris, gorgeous healthy children, the best job in the world, and wonderful friends supporting me from around the world. These are the things I am focusing on—moving forward, enjoying the beauty around me, and learning. Always learning. Because that’s what life’s about.