Thursday, March 24, 2011

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Arcane Vault have presented a lot of new merchandise lately, and I don't think we've posted about any of it, so it's high time, wouldn't you say?

A few weeks ago, they had a particulary exciting (and unusual) sneak peek, when they shouwed us the new key chains they would be offering.

These are the different color choices that are available:



And here are all the different designs that are available (they are quite a few):




If you're curious about how choosing between all the million possibilities is going to work, here is what Arcane Vault had to say:
How cool would it be to have a purple fire user key chain? How about a green Molinja mark or red Alchemist logo key chain? And would it be even cooler if you could then personalize that key chain with your name or favorite Vampire Academy Quote?

Well, soon you will be able to. Coming (very)soon we will be introducing customizable Vampire Academy Key Chains featuring all 11 current Vampire Academy marks and Logos. These personalized key chains will be available in 8 colors (black, blue, green, red, pink, purple, silver and gold) and will have space on the back for up to 3 lines of fully customizable text.
The key chains are now in stock.

Previously we have seen the Team Belikov and Team Ivashkov Athletic Department tees.
Arcane Vault have now also presented the Team Hathaway shirt!



The Team Hathaway shirt is now also available to purchase.

And it doesn't end there! Another, very exciting, new item in the Arcane Vault Vampire Academy shop, is a St Vladimir's water bottle:


To order any of the things I've mentioned in the post, or any of the other wonderful items in Arcane Vault's shop, visit their website.

With the cover contest that Arcane Vault had running the last few weeks, they announced they'd gained quite a few new followers, which is wonderful. :-) Their merchandise is awesome, and it is great if fans are aware that they exist.
Because of that, they did a new roll call, to get a little info about who we are. You can add your own name to that here, if you want to. And if you don't already follow them on Facebook, you definitely should. They are your fastest way to find out what's new on the merchandise front. :-)

Thursday, March 17, 2011

| 3 Molnija Marks
Wow, a lot of great news about Richelle Mead and the Vampire Academy universe in the last few days and weeks. I worked all last week, so I almost couldn't keep up! Where to start?

Since it's on most of our minds at the moment, I think Japan is the best place to start. Noone can have missed the horrible events that have taken place in the last few days. First, one of the worst earthquakes in recorded history happened outside of the Japanese coast. Then followed a terrifying tsunami, levelling everything in its path with a devestating force.

The Japanese people are still trying to grasp the consequences of these events, and they need help desperately with such things as clean water, infrastructure, and finding missing people.

The writing community are such awesome people, that many of them immediately began thinking about how they could help with raising money. One of these charity events going on right now, was started by Richelle Mead.

An eBay account has been created where Richelle Mead has listed a whole bunch of her books, signed of course. It's not just Vampire Academy, but her Georgina and Eugenie series as well. And, to make it exclusive, Richelle has listed copies of her German and French copies, for example. I would so love to be able to bid on these! Unfortunately, shipping is just for the US.

You can see all the books listed right now on the booksthatgive's eBay site. Richelle has said that she will list things a little at a time to see what the interest is like. You can read what Richlle had to say about Japan, and setting up the auctions, here.

Books have now been added from authors like Melissa Marr, Carrie Ryan, Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl.

There are other charity events going on right now as well. One of them was apparently inspired by an idea from Richelle, and it consists of a couple of different auctions where, if you're an aspiring writer, you can bid on a critique by several of the League of Reluctant Adults authors, a group that Richelle's a member of. You can read more about the auctions on Stacia Kane's blog. Or, if you want to go directly to the auctions, you can click here.

To learn more about the League of Reluctant Adults, visit their blog.

Monday, March 7, 2011

| 78 Molnija Marks
Today is a special day in the Vampire Academy Universe. It's the birthday of our very own Psynde (real name, Synde) of Cemetery Cat Jewelry, who was the first one to create official Vampire Academy jewelry. Her jewelry is very special, very much like art, and very her.

From VampireAcademy.org we want to wish a:

Happy Birthday Synde!

And what better way to celebrate her birthday, than by showing you her latest Bloodlines creation! This is called Sydney's Necklace:

You can find Sydney's Necklace in Psynde's Etsy shop, here, along with lots of other beautiful pieces of jewelry.

I just love all of Psynde's jewelry, and in this blog post I wrote last year, you can see my pieces. Check our archives for more posts about Cemetery Cat Designs, but I especially recommend the first post I wrote about Psynde's jewelry, and the interview Wicked Little Pixie did with her (also linked in that post).

Make sure you wish Psynde a Happy Birthday! :D (Maybe this is a good day to buy that piece of jewelry you've been eyeing forever? ;-)

You can catch Psynde here:

Twitter: @Psynde
Etsy: Cemetery Cat Jewelry http://www.etsy.com/shop/psynde
Blog: Tombstone Tails http://psynde.blogspot.com/

Sunday, March 6, 2011

| 0 Molnija Marks
Don't forget to keep voting for the Vampire Academy series for the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards. Richelle Mead tweeted about it a few weeks ago, but I think the voting only started this month.



Edward who?!
This series of bloodthirsty novels by Richelle Mead is the coolest collection of vampire tales to ever chill our bones. The series takes place at St. Vladimir's Academy boarding school; a hidden place where vampires are educated in the magic of the undead. It's a tale that any reader will enjoy for (eternal) life! Fun Fact: Richelle Mead started her career as a schoolteacher but quit to write full time.



Casey McIntyre, Richelle Mead's (former? current?) publicist wrote this to Richelle on Twitter:
you have to fill out the ENTIRE ballot for Kid's Choice! I never thought my job would require me to choose my favorite Jonas. 4 Mar
LOL! So, there you go. Make sure you fill the entire thing out. :-) You can find the Vampire Academy page here, and the voting page is here.

The Kids Choice will air on April 2, at 8/7c.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

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I happened upon the most amazing Vampire Academy news today! Michelle Rowen tweeted about a secret project of hers, that seemed to be no longer secret, since it was now listed on Amazon.com. I think you're going to freak out as much as I did (at least ;-), when you hear what it's about.

On November 15, a book will be released called:

Vampire Academy: The Ultimate Guide

How cool is that!! :D

I can't wait until we hear more of what it's about! You can find the book listed on Amazon. However, there is not much info on it yet. I asked Michelle Rowen about it and she didn't have much to say about it yet, just that she'll be blogging about it eventually. A lot of us already knew that Michelle, as well as being a friend of Richelle's, is also a fan of Vampire Academy, which she confirmed. She says she's lucky to be part of the project. :-)

Isn't this just the most awesome news? :D

You can find out more about Michelle Rowen on her Twitter and website.
| 0 Molnija Marks
It's been a few weeks since Richelle revealed her amazing news. You caught it, right? :D
Excited to announce my husband & I are having a baby in August-the same week Bloodlines, Succubus Revealed, & the VA graphic novel come out!
11 Feb

This is such wonderful news, and we're extending our warmest congratulations to Richelle and her husband!

Of course, this unfortunately means readers are going to see less of her for a while. Richelle writes about that in her subsequent blog post. For example there won't be any signing tours for Succubus Revealed or Bloodlines, seeing as the baby is expected around the same time as the books are released. :-)

The celebratory tweets that followed, from Richelle's author friends, were so funny that I couldn't resist compiling them in this blog post. There are quite a few of them, but I hope you'll enjoy them all:
: @ Oh wow, congrats Richelle!!! I loved that movie -- 3 Books and a Baby! :) Hooray!!
11 Feb

: @ OMG yay yay yay! Congratulations!
11 Feb

: @ Cons = SOBER
11 Feb

: @ I'll just have to pick up the slack for you.
11 Feb

: @ I just teared up over that. Not sure if it was your kindness or hormones.
11 Feb

: @RichelleMead That is going to be one beautiful baby. Congrats to you. And don't worry, @jayewells and I are happy to drink for you at cons. :)
11 Feb

: @ Wow, that's really going to complicate the tour schedule.... ;) (Congrats to you and Jay--you'll be great parents!)
11 Feb

: @ SQUEE!! Go you!! Congrats!
11 Feb

:@ CONGRATULATIONS! Our gift to you, a Bloodlines Baby Bjorn, is on it's way! ;)
11 Feb

: @ That's a good idea. The baby needs to start advertising as soon as it's out of the womb. College isn't cheap.
11 Feb

: @ Think of the possibilities! Bloodlines Bottles, Bloodlines Baby Shampoo, Pacifiers with little fangs on them!
11 Feb

11 Feb
The pacifier that Richelle tweeted reminded me of a great photo I'd seen of Charlie Bewley with a baby from a Twilight convention:

I guess you can question the parents, but I love it!! :D
: @ i think the baby shower should be at chapel..is that wrong? Im really really happy for you guys...;)
11 Feb

: @ Happy hour martinis are never wrong, though there is something a bit morbid about the mortuary setting...
11 Feb

: @ lol..maybe a pastel themed bar????
11 Feb
(For those wondering about Chapel: I did a little research (and asked @psynde about it), and it's a bar in Seattle where at least parts of Team Seattle meet up sometimes. You can find it here.)

: @ Sooo many congrats!!! I guess it would be unfair to toast you, though. ;)
11 Feb

: @ No, it's okay. I expect my friends to drink for two now.
11 Feb

: @ @ - WE WILL HELP. That is just the kind of slack we are very keen to pick up!
11 Feb

: @ @ With Team Seattle, I feel like "baby shower" = "bar meet-up with Richelle as designated driver."
11 Feb

: @ OMG!! CONGRATS to you and the hubby!!! thats so exciting!!! i'll have to send you a vampire themed baby gift ;)
11 Feb

: @ Ha, thank you, but no vampire themed stuff needed. I'm going to be happy to make do with pastels. :)
11 Feb

: @ are you with child. lady?
11 Feb

: @ Indeed I am. The announcement's gotten buried a bit. Thank goodness makeup always fits.
11 Feb

And later, Richelle gave us this little tidbit:
My husband's announcement about the baby included, "She assures me I'm the father." Such love in my household. :)
11 Feb

: @ such a caring soul he is...
11 Feb

: @ Indeed. :)
11 Feb

: @ That's why you married him.
11 Feb

The following day, Richelle tweeted:
Thank you to everyone for all of the well wishes and congratulations! I'm overwhelmed by all the support out there.
12 Feb

Also touched by all the authors pals who've come forward & offered to "drink for me" now that I can't. Such self-sacrificing friends I have.
12 Feb

: @ I thought expecting mothers were supposed to "drink for two?" Or is that wrong?
12 Feb

: @ You can't drink before noon if you're pregnant. It's scientifically proven to be harmful.
12 Feb

: @ @ but you can smoke anytime, right?
12 Feb

: @ Yeah, that's probably fine. :) @
12 Feb
LOL!


Finally, I had to add a quote from Richelle's blog post announcing the pregnancy. So awesome!
Yes, that's right. Finally, all the parenting skills I learned from watching Mad Men and Toddlers and Tiaras are going to pay off.
Again, huge congrats to Richelle and Jay. We wish you all the best!