• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Sarah Rees Brennan

New York Times Bestselling Author of the Demon's Lexicon Trilogy

  • Home
  • Biography
  • Blog
  • Books
    • The Winx Saga
      • Fate: The Winx Saga: The Fairies Path
    • C.S. Pacat’s Fence Series
      • Fence: Disarmed
      • Fence: Striking Distance
    • The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
      • Path of Night: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Novel 3
      • Daughter of Chaos: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Novel 2
      • Season of the Witch: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Novel 1
    • In Other Lands
    • Tell the Wind and Fire
    • Team Human
    • Lynburn Legacy Trilogy
      • Unmade
      • Untold
      • Unspoken
    • Demon’s Lexicon Trilogy
      • The Demon’s Surrender
      • The Demon’s Covenant
      • The Demon’s Lexicon
    • Collaborations & Anthologies
  • Extras
  • Appearances
  • Contact

The Promotion Notion: Winners & Awesomeness (i.e. everyone)

April 19, 2011 by Admin Leave a Comment

So the time has come to announce the winners and display the entries for the Promotion Notion.

sirael wrote and performed A Song For Nick. (‘I’ll be that flame for you, burn my life down to the ground.’ Isn’t her voice beautiful!)

altogetherisi gave two copies of Lexicon to a teacher and a teen, and promoted Surrender at bookshops.

hrh_taliesin made a gorgeous detailed talisman.

moraglee, in a supreme example of How My Fans Are Smarter And Awesomer than me, translated parts of Demon’s Lexicon into Brāhmī, Aramaic, and Runic (Seriously. Really. I can’t believe it either.)

Sabine drew a beauteous picture of Nick and Mae in a scene from Demon’s Covenant (I always like to see those two crazy kids) Those two crazy kids. Doing a… crazy thing.

serena_mcmurray wrote fifty notes about Demon’s Lexicon to tuck into books she loves and also made an awesome fanvid.

elvenjaneite made an illuminated and calligraphytastic manuscript

playwithfyr made three fantastic Demon’s Lexicon desktop backgrounds

jaded_grave threw a Demon’s Lexicon themed party which I badly want to go to. ‘I’m Nick Ryves. I have no feelings.’ ‘I’m Mae Crawford. I have feelings all over the place.’ ‘Don’t touch me… Let’s make out.’

imagined_away made sure I reached dizzy heights of fame I have never thought to aspire to, in that she made a tumblr

orexisbella made a flyer to go with Book Club discussion points I wrote

elwenstarmaid made the US Surrender cover her default icon and shared the banner.

Mrs Z reviewed Demon’s Lexicon here.

katelinnea made Demon’s Lexicon her book of the month, with many posts here.

The YA Bibilophile tweeted, did a giveaway, put the banner up on her blog and made an awesome book trailer.

Ruby of Ruby Reads elected Nick her number one book boyfriend.

cyanide_sparkle put up the banner on her livejournal.

Sandy created this fantastically funny vid of Demon’s Lexicon deleted scenes It is possible the Nick shower scenes are my favourite.

Julia created 8 CHARACTERS FROM THE DEMON’S LEXICON-VERSE, IN ALCOHOLIC FORM.

GERALD

1. Pour 1 oz Irish whiskey and 1/2 oz Sailor Jerry (ha, ha, bad pun semi-intentional) Spiced Rum into a highball glass or tumbler.
2. Add ice.
3. Top up with ginger beer.
4. Garnish with a slice of lime & serve.

For Gerald, I wanted something that was normally pretty innocuous and unremarkable, like a whiskey and ginger, that packed an unexpected punch. I think I succeeded–the spiciness of the rum blends pretty well with the ginger.

LIANNON

1. Fill half a chilled shot glass with ice cold vodka.
2. Fill the remainder with crème de menthe, but leave some room to…
3. Add a splash of absinthe.
4. Down in one.

I figured the demons had to be shooters, because shooters fuck you up, and so do demons! Anzu and Liannon are sort of fire and ice themed, with Liannon being ice. This one is actually surprisingly refreshing, which was unintentional, but it is strong, which was the point. This also is where I started using running themes with particular types of liquor; starting here, absinthe=demons. Also, all ingredients should be cold, but as I learned while making this, don’t try to put crème de menthe in the freezer as you would vodka–it will actually freeze.

ANZU

1. Fill half a shot glass with chili pepper vodka.
2. Fill the remainder with tequila, but leave some room to…
3. Add a splash of absinthe.
4. Down in one.

In case you’re wondering, I made the chili vodka by poking a bunch of holes two jalapeño peppers with a fork, then letting them sit in a pint of Smirnoff for two days. I think they have commercial varieties as well, but why bother? This is cheaper. But don’t forget to take the peppers out after two days, or I promise you the stuff will be undrinkable. And, as your burning throat will tell you, Anzu is fire.

NICK

1. Combine 1 oz gin, 1/2 oz absinthe, 1/2 oz lime juice, and 1/2 oz sugar syrup in a a mixing glass.
2. Shake ingredients thoroughly with ice in a cocktail shaker.
3. Strain, pour into a chilled cocktail glass, and serve.

Nick was hard–he is perhaps one of the few I’m not happy with, and were it not a little before noon here I’d probably try and fix it again. At any rate, he was based on the idea that he should have two strong, conflicting flavors that don’t necessarily sit well together. I meant that to be the absinthe and gin, but the gin actually blends really well into the absinthe. However, the lime stands out, almost to the point of being too sharp, so I think I succeeded after all–everyone knows there’s something off about Nick, and there’s definitely something off about this drink.

JAMIE

1. Pour 1 oz gin, 1/2 oz peach schnapps, 1/2 oz sugar syrup, 1/2 oz lemon juice, and a dash of bitters into a tumbler or highball glass.
2. Add ice and top up with soda water.
3. Garnish with a twist of orange rind (squeeze it so it releases the oils into the drink) and serve.

Jamie was the first to take a lot of mistakes to get right, but I’m really happy with the result. Fruity, bubbly, light, but complex. And definitely delicious.

ALAN

1. Pour 1 oz bourbon, 3/4 oz Frangelico, 1/4 oz ginger syrup and a dash of bitters into a tumbler or rocks glass.
2. Add ice and a splash of soda water.
3. Garnish with a twist of orange rind and serve.

Oh, Alan. You turned out far differently from what I expected. The original idea was to make something comforting, but extremely and unexpectedly potent (because Alan is very soothing but a lying liar); I was thinking something like a hot toddy. But I was working on Jamie, had come to the conclusion that he needed soda water, which I didn’t have, and I was frustrated and needed some whiskey. So Alan kind of turned into my tribute to the Old Fashioned, which is one of my favorite drinks. At first there was way too much bourbon, which I realized would be comforting to no one except me. So I changed the proportions a bit and added the soda the next night, and it turned out well, I think. Oh, and ginger syrup… um, boil some peeled ginger with sugar water, basically. I can find you a recipe if you want, I have a bunch of it as a by-product of making candied ginger.

MAE

1. Combine 1 1/2 oz white rum, 1/4 oz white crème de menthe, 1/4 oz peach schnapps, 3/4 oz grenadine, and 1/4 oz lime juice in a mixing glass.
2. Shake ingredients thoroughly with ice in a cocktail shaker.
3. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass, garnish with a twist of lemon rind, and serve.

Mae’s essential ingredient was grenadine, in order to obtain something like pink–so make sure all other ingredients are clear and especially don’t use green crème de menthe. Aside from that, it’s a strong drink that bears some kinship to Jamie’s in that they both require peach schnapps.

SIN

1. Combine 1 1/2 oz spiced rum, 1/2 oz lemon juice, 1/2 oz grenadine, and three whole cloves in a mixing glass.
2. Shake ingredients thoroughly with ice in a cocktail shaker.
3. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass, garnish with another clove and a twist of orange rind, and serve.

You have my partner to thank for this one. I had appointed him taster in chief for the evening, despite the fact that it was midnight and he was falling asleep and needed to be awake at 6 am, and he said “I think Fever Fruit should be Sailor Jerry, grenadine, and cloves.” And I said “That sounds like Sin, not Fever Fruit,” and so it was, with the addition of lemon juice. Bold and spicy. Grenadine was supposed to be the exclusive property of Mae, but it worked in this case. Again, not what I expected with Sin–I was planning on using Kahlua–but it definitely works.

In terms of promotion, I employed at least five people as tasters, and got at least one of them to put you next on her list of books to read. Also I probably mentioned the contest to anyone who asked me what I was doing lately, and recommended you to my aunt, whose 12 and 13-going-on-14 year old daughters are meant to be reading a certain number of books per month. And I want to have a party where I serve ALL OF THESE. But, best of all, I have provided you with new and fabulous ways to get drunk. I suppose this is not an efficient way to promote your books to teenagers–but then, maybe it is. Not that, as a bartender, I endorse underage drinking in any way, shape, or form. Um. No. Not at all.

Lea and Alev intrepidly promised their English teacher a date with me (I’d object, but I constantly try to get my brother to promote my books via a kissing booth in the bookshops) in order to get to do a presentation on the Demon’s Lexicon.

They also braved many dangers to put up a Demon’s Lexicon poster in their school.


ariss13 wrote a blog post entitled Alan Ryves, World Peace Ambassador

scrtkpr had Demon’s Lexicon as her book for her book club.

Naseoul put up a banner, wrote a poem AND made a vid on the history of demons in Demon’s Lexicon

Miss Regina Star wrote http://www.fanfiction.net/u/2437639/Miss_Regina_Star and wrote
Take You Down- By Miss Regina Star (Alias)

There’s been a lot of confusion, honey,

‘Bout what you’re doin’ here, doll,

There’s been a little misconception, sweetie,

Because baby you’re going to fall~

Let’s you down, to my level,

Let’s take you down, on my turf,

Let’s take you down, for good time’s sake,

Let’s take you down, for what it’s worth.

LET’S.

TAKE.

YOU.

DOWN.

You’re in with all the good guys,

I see that’s the way it is,

Epitome of a leader, Please?

You’re just doing this for kicks!

I see you walkin’ down my pathway, honey,

With that demon by your side, doll,

Your hair’s formin’ a pink halo, sweetie,

But that won’t save you from the fall~

Let’s you down, to my level,

Let’s take you down, on my turf,

Let’s take you down, for good time’s sake,

Let’s take you down, for what it’s worth.

LET’S.

TAKE.

YOU.

DOWN.

You’re cute and you’re feisty,

But that is really all you are,

You make a pretty good comet,

But remember, I’m the STAR!

You like the glimmering lights, honey,

The beautiful wonders amidst, doll,

You don’t wanna be part of the background, sweetie,

But the higher you climb, the farther you fall.

Let’s you down, to my level,

Let’s take you down, on my turf,

Let’s take you down, for good time’s sake,

Let’s take you down, for what it’s worth.

LET’S.

TAKE.

YOU.

DOWN.

Let’s you down, for good time’s sake,

Let’s take you down, for what it’s worth,

Let’s take you down, to my level,

Let’s take you down,

On my,

Own,

Turf.

Priya made a


Anne wrote and sung a song called The Market. (lamps like stars entangled in the trees/Fruit laid in gleaming rings on silver grass/While muffled drumming calls me to the dance)

So AS YOU CAN SEE, there were countless amazing and wonderful entries. I was at my absolute wits’ end. ‘It’s a promotional contest,’ people said to me wisely. ‘So choose based on promotionalness… AND awesomeness.’

They also said, ‘Your fans are so awesome. I wouldn’t like to make that decision.’ I laughed a hollow laugh!

So, the winner of The Demon’s Surrender for promotion, awesomeness and showing others a good time… jaded_grave and the Demon’s Lexicon themed party!

Other Prizes as detailed here

A special prize for moraglee‘s amazing translation of parts of Demon’s Lexicon into Brāhmī, Aramaic, and Runic – an advance copy of an anthology called Enthralled, of which more before it releases in September, but it has a new story about a possibly-familiar vampire boyband from me, and stories by many authors from the Smart Chicks tour.

For serena_mcmurray who made a vid and wrote FIFTY notes, a special prize of the Truth & Dare anthology, just out, about which I will make a post tomorrow!

The Visitor’s Guide to Mystic Falls to imagined_away for her amazing tumblr

For elvenjaneite‘s illuminated and calligraphytastic manuscript, The Year’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy

For Julia and her Demon’s Lexicon cocktails, The Girl Who Played With Fire

For Sandy and the Demon’s Lexicon deleted scenes, The Year’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy

Naseoul’s banner, poem AND awesome vid gets The Girl Who Played With Fire

Lea and Alev, for their intrepid presentation on the Demon’s Lexicon. and school poster, are awarded The Year’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy

Winners, please contact me at sarahreesbrennan@gmail.com, and please feel free to say ‘But I have read that story/haven’t read Suzanne Collins/seen the Vampire Diaries/really want this other thing.’

And wow, I wish I had prizes for you all, because you deserve them. I hope you guys had half as much fun with this as I did!

Filed Under: General Blog Tagged With: contest, promotion notion, year of surrender

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

sarahreesbrennan

674

The rarely seen baths and puffy coats picture! ...

Open
The rarely seen baths and puffy coats picture! Gellért thermal baths and its Art Nouveau decor, only one of the aquatic delights offered by Budapest. We also saw the Parlament from a trip down the Danube river. My brother & sister put up with me mentioning Jonathan and Mina Harker of #Dracula got married in Budapest, and my insisting on eating chicken paprika like Jonathan. That and soup in a bread bowl comforted me when I was made to walk 300 steps at the Basilika and even more around Buda Castle while protesting I am a potato who sits on the sofa and writes the novels. Budapest was beautiful and so was seeing it with my sibs: I will remember this trip a long time. #draculadaily #budacastle #gellertbaths #danuberiver #ststephensbasilica #hungary🇭🇺

Writing to you live from Budapest! My gorgeous ...

Open
Writing to you live from Budapest! My gorgeous little sister surprised me with the amazing birthday present of a city break - and our baby bro came too. This is us at Szimpla Kert, the original of Budapest’s ruin bars: repurposed dilapidated buildings, filling old places with plants and art and music. More from Budapest soon… #szimplakert #budapest #ruinbar #bettyandbiddy

With changes over on twitter, I see many people ...

Open
With changes over on twitter, I see many people stressing over where and how they can talk up their writing and art. It reminded me of the difficulty I’ve had talking about a project dear to me. I’d see other writers talking about their word count or their plans, and be lime green jelly that I couldn’t, because it was so dear that talking about it felt weighted, because I didn’t have any confidence after being sick, because hope and fear pin down the tongue and keys. There are always challenges when talking about art, whether they come from within or without. But I do believe one of the hardest and most necessary things is to make art with faith it will speak to people when the time comes. So I wanted to put this up here as a way to say: be hopeful, fearful and courageous with your voice. When you can. The time will come. #authorsofinstagram #writing #sarahreesbrennan #srbrennan

Well beloved fairy folk and fans, I know you got ...

Open
Well beloved fairy folk and fans, I know you got sad news last week and I am so sorry! I also know @straffiiginio and Rainbow do have glorious plans for much in the Winx franchise. For now, I offer signed books as a little comfort! @Soraseilyn, @dutchwinxer and @blindchannxl on Insta, and ladygeeke & subtle-skipping on tumblr, please email me sarahreesbrennan at gmail to collect your winnings. My other cat (about whom more soon!) has been guarding them for you. For myself, I feel lucky to have been part of the journey to Alfea, to write fun books with great characters and to get to know you all: you’ve been so welcoming and kind to me. Thank you and I hope we stay friends. Who knows what is to come? 💕🧚#winxclubforever #fatethewinxsaga #abigailcowen #bloompeters #winxstella

For the end of spooky season! Cancer is about ...

Open
For the end of spooky season! Cancer is about loss: of hair, teeth, friends… and words. For a couple years before I was diagnosed with late stage lymphoma, I watched my writing go off a cliff in terms of quality and speed - sentences turned to nonsense, and I couldn’t finish anything. It was terrifying. So was trying to come back to writing and publishing after having a traumatic time with chemo. ‘Where was she last year?’ ‘Who’s that again?’ ‘Oh, I thought you were…’ My confidence was shattered, and being approached for Sabrina was a life raft to cling to: being remembered, having fun with writing again, falling for a wild strange fantasy world. It opened the door to other worlds I was honored to be invited into, their lovely fandoms, and to courage that I could perhaps write my own books again. Here’s #chillingadventuresofsabrina and #fatethewinxsaga in Feltrinelli in Rome, and me, because fantasy opens all the escape doors. Happy All Hallows’ Day, and hope you had a great #Hallowinx and you find the doors you’re hoping for 👻🖤. #feltrinelli #romeitaly #cancersurvivor #writersofinstagram #writing #fencecomic

I see many photos where the ‘after’ shows ...

Open
I see many photos where the ‘after’ shows someone thinner than the ‘before.’ Here’s a different version. When I’m feeling vulnerable, I cover it with jokes. ‘Hey, at least I was skinny!’ ‘Dr: Any unexplained weight loss? Me: I wish!’ It’s safer than saying: When people were telling me I looked great, I felt lousy, scared, and sad they thought I looked better when I felt worse. Once I was in recovery people kept telling me how bad I’d looked. That doesn’t help either. We all have uncomfortable relationships with our bodies, because of society, ideas about what health is, and the fact our outside self is all most people can perceive of us! I was diagnosed late: I kept being told it was bronchitis, pneumonia, a kiwi allergy (that one was weird…), I’d be fine, I was clearly healthy. I often think about what my life, relationships and health would be like if I was diagnosed earlier, if people hadn’t assumed I was lying and secretly dieting or exercising a lot. But I get why they did: I get why I didn’t want it to be a warning sign. Weight is a weighted topic. I wish it wasn’t, for all of us. I love and find beautiful (not that my opinion matters) people of a hundred shapes and sizes, but we always have the most tangled relationship to our own bodies. The body is a vessel that carries us through our lives. If we’re happy with however that vessel looks, I think that’s awesome—but sometimes positivity is difficult. Here are 2 full-length pictures of me, during chemo and a couple years after. Honestly, I’m not happy with how I look in either. But in one, I’m trapped at home with medicines around me. In the other, I’m outside with my sister, on her wedding day. In the end, it’s about where the vessel takes you. #twweightloss #cancersurvivor #wedding #twweighttalk #milestonecountdown

On Tumblr

  • Untitled January 31, 2023
  • Untitled January 31, 2023
  • Untitled January 31, 2023
  • biography
  • blog
  • contact
  • home
  • appearances
  • © Copyright 2007-2023 Sarah Rees Brennan. All Rights Reserved.
  • Site by Moxie Design Studios