Recently I found out I won a contest put on by one of my favorite new books! Eeeeeee!!!!!
The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz.

I remember entering the contest -- writing a paragraph on why I'd want to win, but I'm pretty sure it was a random drawing. The prize is a trip to San Francisco to meet the author and her former boss...no, really, it is totally awesome to meet someone's former boss, see below:

I never reviewed it here because technically, it ain't for kids. But I did talk about it at my writing/illustrating critique group because the book, a cozy mystery, is freaking hilarious and I highly recommended it to everybody. I'm getting ready to re-read the book to back the following claim up, but am currently convinced that: this is absolutely the sort of book I would have read as a teenager. I'd nominate it for an Alex Award if I thought fun books ever won.

The Spellmans, a San Francisco based family of private investigators, are the heroes of the book. The main character, Izzy, is only 28 and a big part of the book revolves around her teenage sister, Rae. The Spellmans remind me very much of Helen Cresswell's Bagthorpes, my favorite series* as a teen. The dialogue is cereal-milk-out-your-nose funny. Lutz's background is screen plays. The scenes between Izzy and her parents, which I could visualize perfectly, had me cringing and laughing at the same time. No wonder Spellmans is already bought for a future movie.

The mystery elements had me guessing until the very end. I hadn't read reviews so I had no idea how far the crimes would go -- whether things might turn grim and bloody. Just a few days ago while reading Will Write For Food I found the definition of a "cozy." I guess I like "cozy mysteries" and the Spellman Files fit that definition in that there's not a lot of blood shed, except maybe while a character is shaving (so far, the next two books might be gore-fests, who am I to know!) There's also probably less sex and swearing than in most edgy YA which makes me think the Spellmans are a great choice for a winter vacation book for teens. Perfect for snuggly blankets and cocoa, and, really, for anyone in need of a good laugh.

So the CONTEST I WON!

I DO judge books by their cover and loved The Spellman Files on first glance. Thank heavens I enjoyed the innards, too, and took a gander at whether the author was touring or if there was a website for the book. I missed Lisa when she stopped in Seattle, but I found the book and found the contest and enjoyed the limited run of her blog.

The contest grand prize, which I'll be enjoying in February (when the paperback comes out, the sequel comes out in March) is a trip for two to San Francisco to meet Lisa and her former boss, a private investigator. We get to be schooled in the art of private investigating for a day -- watch out Seattle! Because I'll be watching you.