Title: Got Issues?
Description: In this crazy world, young people have to grow up faster than ever. Let’s discuss some issues like anorexia, cutting, depression, and so on.
Time: Fri 01:00 pm Location: A707 – Marriott (Length: 1 Hour)

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Title: Surprise! You’re Dead
Description: Death, ghosts, and the afterlife in fantasy fiction.
Time: Fri 08:30 pm Location: Cairo – Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)

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Title: Growing Up Scared
Description: Young adults in dark fantasy literature.
Time: Sat 02:30 pm Location: Montreal / Vancouver – Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)

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Title: Dancing On The Head Of A Pin
Description: The role of angels and divine messengers in modern fantasy and horror.
Time: Sun 11:30 am Location: Montreal / Vancouver – Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)

Hope to see you there!

1. Arrival. This year, I’m staying at the Omni Hotel with the lovely and talented Diana Rowland. I’m thrilled to report that A) the room is nice, with two double-sized beds — as opposed to one king-sized bed and B) neither The Creepy Doll nor her sister The Creepy Baby will be making an appearance. I think airport security had the Dolls removed and turned into glue.

2. Food. Given that the last thing I’d eaten was a tuna sandwich at 6:30 am and now it was approximately 4 pm Eastern, I was hooongry. So Diana and I meandered and found a great Thai place that would have done well in an earthquake, given the extremely shaky table. Diana, clever thinker that she is, jammed one of her bookmarks at the bottom of the table and wedged it straight. If it were up to me, I just would have drank more and assumed I was the one tilting.

3. Registration. If you’ve never been to Comic Con International, the registration line can be…well, impressive is certainly the right word. “Massive” doesn’t even come close. “Ginormous” is more on the mark. Tons of people, seriously. On the way, we bumped into Dr. Who writer Paul Cornell and his wife. Diana had an awesome fangirl moment. (That “OH MY GOD, IT’S PAUL CORNELL!!!” squeal you heard yesterday? That was Diana.) We also saw Pat Rothfuss, also doing the Waiting On Line thing. Soon, my Icarus Project co-author Caitlin Kittredge joined us, and we got all official and badged and bagged. (The freebie bags? Huuuuuuuuuge. You could fit a family of four inside, easily. In New York City, you’d get about $3,000 a month to rent one out as an apartment.)

4. The Big Wait. What, you think we could just walk in and see things? Ha, I say. And hah, again! No entry until 6 pm, so we had some time to kill. The three of us went out for food and drinks (Caitlin ate; Diana and I drank), headed back to the Omni to hang for a bit, and then sat people-watching on the Convention Center steps. Waaaaaaaaaay off to the side of the steps, actually, because we got yelled at by CCI security for sitting on the steps. Apparently, the fire marshal would have bitten off our heads and slurped on the jettisoning blood from the stumps of our necks if we would have continued sitting, so we moved off to the side. We saw the amazing Jeanne Stein and her husband Phil, one unfortunate woman in a short flouncy skirt who should really have kept that skirt wrapped around her legs as she walked up the steps, and not one single Deadpool or Princess Leia Slave Girl costume. Saddened, we waited for the doors to open.

5. Exhibitors Hall. Yay, 6 pm! In we went…and then I immediately broke away from Diana and Caitlin to start on my Get Stuff For The Tax Deductions quest. Purchases so far: limited-edition Star Wars Clone Wars cube buddies, and both regular- and limited-edition Domo figure thingies. Also scored two Pokemon cards. Will have to get MOAR THINGS today. As for me, I met the amazing Mark Waid and Peter Krausse, the writer and artist of Boom! Studios’ fantabulous IRREDEEMABLE series (and also Mark’s INCORRUPTABLE series), bought a special edition IRREDEEMABLE #15/INCORRUPTABLE #8 with companion covers — which MARK SIGNED — and also an awesome MARK WAID IS EVIL t-shirt. Sadly, my ability to speak coherently went the way of the dinosaur, and I gushed to Mark and Peter how I loved IRREDEEMABLE and…well, I’m afraid it was verbal spewing. But Mark and Peter were exceedingly gracious about it. I gave them a copy of BLACK AND WHITE and SHADES OF GRAY, because hey, superhero power. And then I floated away.

Got to see Anton Strout, who was earning a buck at the Penguin booth, Anne Sowards and Jessica Wade (you authorly types know who they are), received a drive-by hug from MaryElizabeth Hart of Mysterious Galaxy and a wave from her son Max, and finally found Rachel Caine and her husband Cat Conrad. Along the way, we also saw Publishers’ Weekly’s wonderful Barbara Vey (and hey, if you’re at Comic Con and you’re famous, please note that Barbara is looking for you) and Dianna Love, one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet (who, apparently, got arm-twisted into going to Comic Con — no worries, Dianna, I bet you’ll love it!).

6. Dinner. Outside, we bumped into Kat Richardson, and there was a fun moment of Kat meeting Cat. (Come on, allow an author some naming fun!) Then Rachel, Cat, Kat, Anton, Diana and I went out for dinner. Please note: If you’re going to eat at The Old Spaghetti Factory, you may want to ask for the check first, then place your order, because MAN, the service was slow. Granted, about a bajillion people had descended onto San Diego, but still. (Ooh, speaking of a bajillion people, The Old Spice Man is rumored to be at SDCC. Will have to keep my eyes open for a bare-chested handsome man seated backward on a white horse.) Great conversation, decent food, and good people. Excellent way to spend an evening.

Then it was back to the Omni, where Diana and I crashed early. (Hey, YOU be up at 4 am Eastern and stay up until 1 am Eastern, see how tired YOU are.)

On today’s agenda: I want to go to the Boom! Studios Irredeemable/Incorruptible panel at 11 am (guess I’ll be wearing my MARK WAID IS EVIL t-shirt) and hopefully get a chance to not be all AHHHHHHHHHHILOVEYOURWORK in front of Mark and Peter. Then at 3 is the “Kiss Them Or Kill Them? Conflict Management for the Creatures Among Us” panel, with Leaguers J.F. Lewis, Kat Richardson, Diana Rowland and Anton Strout, as well as the fabulous Maria Lima, Adrian Phoenix, Samantha Sommersby and Rob Thurman — and Linda Thomas-Sundstrom, who I’m sure is also fabulous but I’ve never met her — and moderated by MaryElizabeth Hart. Rah!

After Diana’s panel and subsequent signing, we’ll head back to the hotel, get prettified, then go to a dinner party followed by the Random House party, and then…well, I guess we’ll have to see what happens next.

More tomorrow! And hopefully, with pictures — today, my mission is to buy a new digital camera, damn it!!!

Light from DEATH NOTE…

…is really Justin Bieber.

There is a ton of promo going on right now…and that means contests!!! In no particular order…

I have a guest post at The Book Smugglers, about how Neil Gaiman changed my life. Contest to win a signed copy of SHADES OF GRAY. (Ana also reviews SHADES OF GRAY here — and gives it an honorable mention as one of the best books of 2010 to date here.)

I was interviewed at Literary Escapism about all of my books — there’s a lot of emphasis on the Hell series and the upcoming Riders’ Quartet/Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Contest to win a signed copy of BLACK AND WHITE.

I was interviewed at Amberkatze’s Book Blog about SHADES OF GRAY. Contest to win a signed copy of BLACK AND WHITE.

I blogged today at the Deadline Dames about how everything I need to know about writing a fight scene I’ve learned from tae kwon do. Contest to win a signed copy of BLACK AND WHITE.

And in case you missed it, here are the three winners of the ginormous Preorder SHADES OF GRAY Contest:

Bad Guys Prize Pack Winner:
Jessica Kuchinski, who said: I pre-ordered at B&N! All in for Iridium!

Good Guys Prize Pack Winner:
Elaine R, who said: I pre-ordered from Amazon, and I’m rooting for Jet. Since I’ve never read the series, I also ordered the first book. Amazon says it comes out on June 22, but I’m hoping they ship before then.

Superhero Prize Pack Winner:
Codi, who said: Preordered from Amazon, I’ll be between work and home too much to stop at a bookstore I’m rooting for both of them! I love the characters, and I absolutely love their interactions together. I can’t wait to read Shades of Gray!

Winners, you must contact me with your postal addresses via the contact form on my website. (Otherwise, how are we supposed to send you the prizes?)

And it’s Tuesday, so that means there’s a new chapter of HELL TO PAY up and running.

Finally, I’ll be reading/signing SHADES OF GRAY at Flights of Fantasy tonight in Colonie, NY. Hope to see you there!

Codi, who said: Preordered from Amazon, I’ll be between work and home too much to stop at a bookstore I’m rooting for both of them! I love the characters, and I absolutely love their interactions together. I can’t wait to read Shades of Gray!

Congratulations, Codi! Please email me with your postal address via the contact form on my website, and let me know whether Matt should personalize your copy of Invincible Iron Man.

Thank you to everyone who entered! And extra thanks to everyone who preordered SHADES OF GRAY. Caitlin and I hope you enjoy the book!

The wonderful Amber has interviewed me over at her blog. Here is the link. This interview focuses on the Icarus Project, both on BLACK AND WHITE and the upcoming SHADES OF GRAY, and so prepare yourself for the wonders of superheroes! And at the end is another chance to win a copy of BLACK AND WHITE.

This is going to be a heavy promo week for SHADES OF GRAY, which hits the shelves on Tuesday, June 22, 2010, in the US and Canada! Rah, superheroes! (Okay, and supervillains!) If you’re a comic book fan, or you saw THE DARK KNIGHT 25,000 times in the theater, or you were all about the WATCHMEN before there was a movie, I think you’ll enjoy the book.

Because secretly, we all either want to be superheroes…or beat the snot out of them.

Elaine R, who said: I pre-ordered from Amazon, and I’m rooting for Jet. Since I’ve never read the series, I also ordered the first book. Amazon says it comes out on June 22, but I’m hoping they ship before then.

Congratulations, Elaine R! Please email me your postal address via the contact form on my website with the subject GOOD GUYS PRIZE PACK WINNER, and I will send you my prizes.

Tomorrow, I’ll announce the winner of the Superhero Prize Pack! Stay tuned.

Jessica Kuchinski, who said: I pre-ordered at B&N! All in for Iridium!

Congratulations, Jessica! Please email me your postal address via the contact form on my website with the subject BAD GUYS PRIZE PACK WINNER, and Caitlin will send you her prizes.

Tomorrow, I’ll announce the winner of the Good Guys Prize Pack! Stay tuned.

You know how frustrating it is to go into your local bookstore and not see the book you desperately want to read RIGHT NOW? Yeah, we do too. That’s why Caitlin and Jackie are encouraging readers to preorder SHADES OF GRAY. The book hits the shelves in the US and Canada on Tuesday, June 22. We have no idea whether your local chain or indie will have it in stock when you want to buy it — so we’re encouraging readers to preorder SHADES OF GRAY from their favorite bookstore.

If you preorder SHADES OF GRAY, you’re eligible to enter the ginomous Preorder SHADES OF GRAY Contest! What are we giving away? Glad you asked…

Caitlin Kittredge, who writes in the POV of supervillain Iridium, is giving away her entire Nocturne City series. All five books, signed by Caitlin. Plus a signed copy of BLACK AND WHITE. This is the Bad Guys Prize Pack.

Jackie Kessler, who writes in the POV of superhero Jet, is giving away her entire Hell on Earth series. All three novels and two anthologies, signed by Jackie. Plus a signed copy of BLACK AND WHITE. This is the Good Guys Prize Pack.

And the grand prize winner will receive, along with a signed copy of BLACK AND WHITE and one book from Caitlin’s and Jackie’s backlist, a copy of THE INVINCIBLE IRON MAN OMNIBUS, written by Matt Fraction. This is the Superhero Prize Pack.

The Bad Guys Prize Pack winner will be picked at random on Saturday, June 19, 2010.

The Good Guys Prize Pack winner will be picked at random on Sunday, June 20, 2010.

The Superhero Prize Pack winner will be picked at random on Monday, June 21, 2010.

To enter, all you have to do is comment below and tell us where you preordered your copy of SHADES OF GRAY, and whether you’re rooting for Iridium, Jet, or both of the characters. The contest is open to residents of the United States and Canada.

EDITED TO ADD: We’ve opened the contest up to everyone. No preordering required. But we would really, REALLY appreciate it if you preordered.

EDITED TO ADD SOMETHING NEW: The amazing Matt Fraction will custom sign The Invincible Iron Man for the winner of the Superhero Prize Pack!

Have at it!