Harry Potter Theme Park Now Open!

It’s been eight years in the making but the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (at Universal Orlando) is now officially open! This twenty-acre expansion to the Universal Theme park has been a tightly guarded secret for much time now with it’s NBC co-owner dolling out snippets of park details on exclusive segments of the Today Show and The Apprentice. Two weeks ago they devoted thirty minutes of their primetime lineup to a behind-the-scenes exclusive and managed to reveal little more than what you could see in a sixty second commercial spot.  Still fans rallied to get a first glimpse at all the park had to offer and despite the minor chaos, first reviews report that it was worth the wait.

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The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner

To be honest, the first question I asked myself when I learned that Stephanie Meyer would be releasing a new novella in the twlight universe called The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner the first question to pop into my head was, “Who the hell is Bree Tanner?” Aparently I’m not alone.

Check out this newly released featurette from Summit Entertainment, which introduces Bree Tanner to the world. (Note: Bree Tanner will make her movie debut in the Eclipse film, to be released on June 30th 2010.) Read more

Day 7: The Twilight Crack

Continuing a super duper month of giveaways here’s your next chance to win some cool Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy goodies. Remember rules of the game change daily, so be sure to check back often to see how to enter and whether or not you won!

Day 7 Rules: The Crack that is “Twilight”

I haven’t given much attention to YA this week, and I truly do love YA, so well kick off our little journeydom into teenage angst with an internet scavenger hunt Twilight style.

THE RULES

1. Scour the internet (bookmarks, google, blogroll, etc.) for your favorite Twilight goodies. These can be pictures, videos, fan made trailers, parodies, etc. To get you started I posted one of my favorites above. A comic about the experience of reading the Twilight Saga. Click on the picture to view the whole comic on the original site.

2. Post the link to your Twilight Bounty in the comments section below along with a brief description of what the Twilight goodie is and why you like it.

3. You can post as many links as you want (though each link should be in a separate post with its own description). I encourage you to get creative. Tap into your circle of twi-hards to locate the best gems.

4. Whoever posts the item that makes me laugh, cry, or pass out from sheer Twilight bliss (the most) wins.

5. The contest is open from now and will close at 12PM Eastern on Wednesday May 19!

The PRIZE:

Each daily winner will have the option of choosing an autographed copy of the following books:

• C.T. Adams & Cathy Clamp–Touch of Darkness
• L.A. Banks –The Forbidden (Selected by previous winner)
• Mary Janice Davidson–Undead and Unwed (Selected by previous winner)
• Mary Janice Davidson–Undead and Uneasy
• S.J Day–Eve of Darkness
• Devon Monk–Magic to the Bone (Selected by previous winner)
• Devon Monk–Magic in the Blood
• Kat Richardson–Greywalker

or an un-autorgraphed copy of one of the following books:

• Rachel Caine–Kiss of Death
• Jocelynn Drake–Nightwalker
• Angie Fox–The Dangerous Book of Demon Slayers
• Richelle Mead–Succubus Blues
• Linda Wisdom–Hex in High Heels

Each book is also paired up with a swag bag, which contains buttons, postcards, bookmarks, and posters (some signed, some not).  Each bag varies and winners will not have the option of pre-selecting the swag-bags.

Winners of the daily contest will automatically be entered into the grand prize drawings (winners to be announced May 31st).  This includes the RT 2010 Tote Bag, Strange Brew Anthology (signed by Jim Butcher), signed posters, books, swag and your choice of a $25 gift e-gift cart to borders.com, bn.com or amazon.com. (Second place winner will receive similar package with signed poster, tote bag, and $10 gift card).

Wicked Jungle Goes to RT

If you don’t know what RT is or why we are so excited over here at Wicked Jungle, RT is short for the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention and this is our first year, well my first year, attending. We can’t wait to spend five whole days mingling with authors, chatting with fellow fans, and generally just geeking out about books.

For those of you attending be sure to look for us. We have some spots in Promotional Row, with a giveaway sign up and free chocolate (first come first serve). I will be attending some of the parties and socials, including the RWA FFP chapter cocktail on Tuesday evening.

For those of you not attending, please don’t fret. We will be blogging live from the conference. We will be tweeting live from the conference. We will be interviewing and attending signings, and basically getting tons of information, all of which we hope to post on the site for our readers.

Here is a listing of all the authors we will be hunting down, staking out, and basically drooling over:

1.     LA Banks	16. Mark Henry	31. Jeri Smith-Ready
2.     Michele Bardsley	17. Leanna Renee Hieber	32. Jeanne C. Stein
3.     Jennifer Lynn Barnes	18. Jackie Kessler	33. Rachel Vincent
4.     Anya Bast	19. Caitlin Kittredge	34. J.R. Ward
5.     Laura Bickle	20. Melissa Marr	35. Jaye Wells
6.     Holly Black	21. Liz Maverick	36. Rebecca York
7.     Jenna Black	22. Richelle Mead
8.     Jim Butcher	23. Patrice Michelle
9.      Cat Adams	24. Devon Monk
10. Carolyn Crane	25. Nicole Peeler
11. Alyssa Day	26. Kat Richardson
12. S.J. Day	27. Linda Robertson
13. Jennifer Estep	28. Michelle Rowen
14. Jeaniene Frost	29. Carrie Ryan
15. Charlaine Harris	30. Jessa Slade

So yeah, it will be a very busy week! Out of this list, who is your absolute, top favorite, must snag an interview with author? Tell me in the comments and I’ll see what I can do! Add your question, and if I get them to answer it, you may win a special prize!!

Behind-the-Scenes with Megan Crewe

This week’s guest blogger is Megan Crewe, author of YA novel, Give Up the Ghost. Megan lives in Toronto, Canada, with her husband and two cats. Her short stories have appeared in anthologies and magazines such as Brutarian Quarterly and On Spec.  GIVE UP THE GHOST is her first novel.  You can learn more about Megan by visiting her website at www.megancrewe.com.

Guest Blogger: Megan Crewe

As an author, I think the question I get asked most is “Where did you get the idea for your book?” This is often difficult to answer, and not just because inspiration can be mysterious.  The truth is that one book idea comes not from one specific place, but from many different sources, all blended together into something new and exciting.

To give you an example, here are some of the pieces that came together to form what is now my first novel, GIVE UP THE GHOST:

Life

When I was in high school, I overheard some younger girls talking about how they were avoiding another girl they used to be friends with, whom they’d now decided was too weird.  They made fun of her and laughed about how no one wanted to hang out with her any more.  That stuck with me, and made me wonder what it’s like being on the receiving end of that sort of “friendship.”  And eventually it produced Cass, GHOST’s main character, who had her own friends turn on her in junior high.

Fiction

Because I write YA, I’m always reading YA fiction.  One thing I’ve noticed over the years is that most real-world protagonists who are saddled with a supernatural ability (like talking to ghosts) resist their talent and wish they were normal.  I started thinking it’d be interesting to write about a character who embraced her ability, and incorporated it into her everyday life.  In GHOST, I explored what might happen if someone relied too much on her supernatural talent, at the expense of the good parts of “normal” life.

Mythology

While writing GHOST, naturally I drew on my knowledge of standard ghost lore.  I played around with the idea that ghosts may be waiting for some sort of trigger to move on, and that they might be stuck in the time period when they died.  The existing mythology gave me something to build on, and also inspired some of the plot’s twists and turns.

Research

After I determined that my main character had been bullied and ostracized, I wanted to make sure I portrayed what had happened to her authentically.  The book that helped me the most was ODD GIRL OUT by Rachel Simmons.  It allowed me to create a believable backstory for Cass and to understand how her experiences would have shaped who she was.

Good Old Random Inspiration

Before the research and the writing, the book first came into being one night when I was drifting off to sleep.  The image of a teenage girl talking to her dead sister like it was an everyday thing popped into my head–out of nowhere, or some unknowable part of my unconscious.  That’s where the mystery of creativity comes in.  I may be able to see where the pieces of the idea came from, but there is a spark I can’t control, that made it all more than just the sum of those parts.

Contest: Win a signed copy of Give Up the Ghost!

Once again, a big thanks to Megan for joining us today on Wicked Jungle. We want to keep the conversation going so this contest is going to be all about comments! Given the gossip girl nature of the book, we want to know what your experience was (or is) like in high school. Did you loose a childhood friend as you entered teenage life? Did you ever participate in gossip? What was the craziest gossip rumor to hit your high school?

Each person who posts a comment (in response to the above questions) will get one entry in the contest.

You can get an additional entries by doing the following (note these are in addition to posting a comment. You must comment first to be qualified).

Option A: Tweet about the contest on Twitter (you must include @wickedjungle for your tweet to qualify each tweet will get you an additional entry).

Option B: Become a follower of our blog (only new followers joining between the time of the contest will be counted).

Contest Ends Saturday at 12PM Eastern!!!

New Moon DVD Release Contest!!!

We are celebrating the release of the New Moon DVD by giving away a copy of the DVD, Soundtrack, and Illustrated Movie Guide. Want to know how to enter? It’s simple really. Just post a link to the contest on your website or blog and leave a comment with the blog link so that we can verify your entry.  Want a second entry in the drawing? Add WickedJungle.com to your blogroll. Want a third entry? Sign up as a fan on the WickedJungle Facebook Fan Page!

That’s it. Game on. The contest closes at Monday at 12AM Eastern. Good Luck.

PS–the contest is open to U.S. residents only. We will not ship internationally. But hang tight, we have more contests lined up in the next two weeks that will be perfect for international fans!

Supernatural Summer