Okay, after three days of baking, assembling, and decorating, Gingerbread House 2009 is finally done!

Here is the dough, rolled out and ready to be cut. It's homemade, of course. Which reminds me--next year I need a bigger mixer. I don't think my current one can take another year of hardy gingerbread dough. ;-)

Here are some of the pieces in the oven. The window cutouts are filled with crushed cherry Lifesavers. I usually use Jolly Ranchers, and I'll be going back to those next year, because the Lifesavers turned out to be opaque. ;-(

Here the house is, assembled but undecorated. Since we don't actually eat it, I use a simple, very thick frosting made from powdered sugar and milk.

And here is the final product. Candy used: mini-candy canes, cherry Andes mints, wingergreen Lifesavers, Twizzlers pull-n-peel, Holiday M&Ms, little round red and green peppermint hard candies, and yogurt-covered pretzels.

Here's the side view.

And the other side.

What do you think? What are your holiday traditions?

Tags: life, must see, pictures

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I am thrilled to report that I turned in the revisions for MY SOUL TO KEEP on Friday morning, and I am now on vacation for two weeks. Sort of. Mostly.

I won't be writing any fiction until after the new year (I have two short stories due in short order), but I will be doing guest blogs and interviews in preparation for the release of My Soul to Save on Dec. 29. And giving away a bunch of stuff.

Starting now.

But first, late next week I'll be posting the brand new, shiny trailer for My Soul to Save. But you can see it on Monday night, if you subscribe to my newsletter. Don't subscribe yet? Click here to remedy that:

 

Now for the giveaway! I'm trying a new form for my giveaway this time, hoping it'll be easier to count the entries and draw the winner, because counting through a couple hundred entries by hand isn't much fun. So please bear with me while we try this out.

Up for grabs: one signed copy each of My Soul to Take and My Soul to Save, the first two novels in the Soul Screamers series.

This entry is open to international shipping. Entries must be received by 11:59 pm (Central) on December 23rd, 2009. To enter, all you have to do is fill out the form with your name and email address. It's really that simple, no work required. However, you'll get an additional entry if you do any or all of the following:

• Subscribe to my newsletter (or already subscribe)
• Post about this giveaway in an acceptable online forum (NOT another author's discussion group or blog)
• Post the MSTSave countdown widget on your blog or an acceptable online haunt. (Not another author's discussion group or blog)

Click here for the entry form on my blogger blog.

Tags: contest, must see, young adult

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Okay, the YA giveaway closed last night, and we got waaaaay more entries than I expected, considering that it was open only to young adults and only to US and Canadian residents. I expected about 20. I got 125. So thanks so much to everyone who spread the word!

The winners (chosen by random number generator) are: Colleen, who whose comment began... "I loved My Soul to Take, and I read about this giveaway on The Story Siren. "

And...

Jenn (Books At Midnight) whose comment began... "Jenn, 15 I also heard about this from the Story Siren's YA connection."

Wow. Looks like a bunch of you read the Story Siren! Colleen and Jenn, please email me (RachelATrachelvincentDOTcom) with your full name and shipping address. And Jenn, since you're under 18, make sure to get a parent's permission before giving me your address.

Thanks so much to everyone who entered!

My Soul to Save is now only 12 days from its official release, which means you'll probably find it on most shelves next week. (Bookstores typically put them out as soon as possible, to keep from cluttering up their storage.) Which means I'll be commencing full-scale panic just as soon as I turn in revisions for My Soul to Keep.

One last thing before I take Kaci and Nyx to the vet for their shots... The trailer for My Soul to Save is finished, and I think it looks pretty good! I'll be including it with my newsletter on Monday, before I post it online, so if you want an early peek, click here to sign up for the newsletter.

And check back in tomorrow for another giveaway!

Tags: promo, young adult

[Note: Today's the last day to enter the YA only contest, if you're between the ages of 13 and 20. Click here for details.]

Okay, I'm officially behind on everything. No really. Everything. I owe my revisions to my editor, I owe books to winners and reviewers, I owe interview answers to interviewers, I owe Christmas cards to friends, I owe my mother a phone call...

It just never ends. And I've evidently dropped off the face of the Internet in the last week, unless you're on Twitter. And there couldn't be a worse time for it, considering that My Soul to Save comes out in two weeks.

So, I promise to try to be a better blogger. Even before the new year.

But for the moment, here's what's going on:

• Elie has an interview with me and an Immortal giveaway here.
• I'm participating in Harlequin's Open House Host Party all day today in the Mira/Luna/HQN forum, found here. Drop in if you want to chat! (Note: You must register to participate)
• I'm also participating in the Kimani Tru/Harlequin Teen live chat tonight at 6pm (Central). Click here at that time to chat.

Other than that, I have soooo much work to do. But if I owe you something, I swear it's coming very shortly... ;-)

Tags: must see