Monday, April 23, 2007

3-2-1 Contest!: And the Winner is...


Congratulations, Natalie! Your celebrity children's book title just won you a bunch of stuff! You’ll be receiving a book, a painting, a drawing, a candy bar, a button, and probably some bubble wrap, too.

Natalie is the blogger behind Italian Moments: A blog in which an American expatriate rants and raves about life in Italy. And since she lives on an entirely different continent, the U.S. postal service would like to extend its congratulations, as well.

Either it's a coincidence or a sign of things to come for Jay's novel that this very week, the Bologna Children’s Book Fair is taking place not too far from our winner’s home. If Natalie attends, we hope she gets offered an Advance Reading Copy of Thirteen Reasons Why. “No thanks,” she could say. “I already own the very first signed copy.”

That’s right…the very first!

Thank you to everyone who submitted a celebrity book title. You had us rolling on the floor and reaching for our inhalers too many times to count. In our minds, you're all celebrities (though you obviously need no help coming up with titles)!

And please...stick around. This won't be the last Disco Mermaid contest. In fact, we’ll be announcing a new contest in the near future with an even bigger prize!

25 comments:

Natalie said...

YAHOO!!! I can't believe I won! Thank you Disco Mermaids, Erin Murphy, Laura Rennert, and Jay's editor!

It's noon here in Italy which means it's...really early in the morning California time. I clicked over to see if the results were up yet (thinking the Disco Mermaids were sleeping, so I'd probably have to wait another few hours for the big post) and there it was! My first ARC! ;-)

My kids will love Robin's son's drawing and will no doubt want to hang it in their room (especially when they find out he's the son of a mermaid).

My husband is an art teacher, and would love to show Eve's painting to his students (and it's a vineyard, no less...Italy--wine, wine--Italy...couldn't be more perfect)!

And Jay's ARC...wow! I know I'm the envy of the YA reading public. I promise to wear my new Disco Mermaids button while reading THIRTEEN REASONS WHY (and even when I'm not reading it).

Thanks again to all of you...it must have been a tough decision with all the hilarious titles! Thanks for such a fun contest.

:-) Natalie

Disco Mermaids said...

Yahoo, Natalie! You are the most gracious, classiest winner ever! I will be happy to fork over thousands of dollars for postage!

No really, it is kinda weird that your husband teaches art, you write children's books, AND you have kids who don't mind if you put up stranger's children's artwork in their room. How cool!

You're the best--big hugs and Italian kisses! (are they different there?)

-Robin

Anonymous said...

Congrats, Natalie!! :-D

heidi said...

Congrats Natalie in Italy (lucky you!) HOP ON POP was one of my faves. Mermaids: will you please list the ones that made it into the top 10? top 5? Pretty please?

CJ Omololu said...

Yay Natalie! Totally deserving.

Anonymous said...

OMG, that's hysterical, Natalie!

Good choice for a winner.

Though it took me a while not to feel vomitous.

Anonymous said...

Congrats, Natalie! Blogger thingy is not wanting to let me leave a message, so forgive me if this pops up twice (or more?).

Even though the contest is over, I have a title for Alec Baldwin. I bet you can guess!

Yep.

The Three Thoughtless, Rude Little Pigs!

Chris Eldin said...

Congratulations! That was a great entry!

Cheers,

I second the request to see the top 5 or 10!

Anonymous said...

Yay, you've got a winner. Congrats, Natalie! Yours was pretty freakin' funny (if not true--yikes!)
Hope to see the runner-ups. It was a fun contest, Jay. Thanks for putting it on!

Lisa Yee said...

Oh, hoorah . . . Natalie won!!!

Too funny--congrats!!!

Greg Pincus said...

I am so happy for Natalie that I'd like to invite my whole family to stay with her for a week or two to celebrate her good fortune!

Great contest, y'all....

LindaBudz said...

Well deserved! Congrats, Natalie!

Saipan Writer said...

Hop on Pop! EEww!

Warped minds in this world! Congrats Natalie for making us all laugh.

Sarah Stevenson said...

Congrats to the very deserving winner!! That one made me laugh and go eww at the same time.

Natalie said...

Thanks for the hugs and Italian kisses, Robin! And yes, Italian kisses are a bit different--they do the double-cheek kiss where they basically touch cheeks while making the smooching sound. :-)

Thanks to everyone for the good wishes, and sorry about the "ew" factor...I actually debated about whether or not I should post it, but then after reading some of the other entries I thought: Nah...I'm good. ;-)

And Gregory K.--mia casa è tua casa, as long as I don't have to do your laundry ;-) (see my blog post here for an explanation: http://italianmoments.blogspot.com/2007/02/rest-of-view.html )

Ciao for now,
Natalie

P.S. I can't believe I forgot to say thank you for the Butterfinger bar! I've never seen them here in Italy, so I haven't decided if I'm going to share it yet...that probably depends on whether or not I'm alone when I tear open the package...hmmm.)

Disco Mermaids said...

Tell ya what, you tell me how many Butterfingers you'll need in order to get a whole one for yourself, and I'll send 'em.

Nothin' like spreading some good ol' American culture to the Italians.

- Jay

heidi said...

jay, robin and sweet eve (who likes my book),
will you guys PLEASE post the top 10?? please, please, please with butterfingers on top...

Anonymous said...

Yes, thanks for a HILARIOUS contest!!!! Congrats, Natalie!!!!

Leslie Muir

Natalie said...

Aw, shucks, Jay...could the Disco Mermaids be any nicer?? I feel guilty asking for more Butterfingers since you're already forking over a gazillion dollars in shipping. I'll tell ya what...how 'bout you make it a King Size Butterfinger bar, and I'll split it with whoever's home when the package arrives?

Italians aren't big on peanut butter (including my Italian husband), which works in my favor--he doesn't even know what a Butterfinger is, the poor guy, so he won't know what he'll be missing. If he's tempted to try it, my plan is to wow him with Eve's painting while I reduce the Butterfinger to mere crumbs. I'll try the same thing with Robin's son's drawing to distract my daughters, since they don't know what a Butterfinger is, either. If my subterfuge doesn't work, I figure the King-Size is big enough to share. If I am successful in distracting them all, however, I'm certainly capable of downing that puppy all on my own. :-)

In exchange for the Butterfinger upgrade, I'll send you guys pictures of your prizes livin' la bella vita here in Italia...a photo essay of sorts. How does that sound?

:-) Natalie

Disco Mermaids said...

When judging, because there were so many hilarious entries, we first collected the jokes that all three of us found exceptional. From there, we rated the jokes, analyzed the jokes, and arm wrestled.

So if your joke doesn't appear on this list, it might simply mean that 1 of the 3 Mermaids doesn't share your finely tuned sense of humor, or the advocate of your joke needs to work on his arms.

I mean, his or her arms.

And now...The Top Ten (in no particular order, other than the winner being at the top!).

Hop on Pop
by Woody Allen & Soon-Yi Previn

Because of Winn-Dixie, Cheez-Whiz & Box Wine
by Britney Spears

Eragonce
by Donald Trump

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pantyless
by Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, & Paris Hilton

One Kid, Two Kid, Red Kid, Blue Kid
by Angelina Jolie

Al Capone Does My Skirts
by Martha Stewart

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, there's no such thing as BLUE, you've been OPPRESSED by the PSYCHIATRIC ESTABLISHMENT
by Tom Cruise

Horton Hears a Ho
by Don Imus

The Lyin', The Witch, and the War
by Hillary Clinton

A Wrinkle in Primetime
by Barbara Walters

heidi said...

I'm simply destroyed by the fact that none of mine were in the top 10...then again, a potentially habitable planet has been found and I've got first dibbs on land. Can't wait for more contests! Thanks a bundle!

Liz Jones said...

Hooray, Natalie!!
Once I read your Hop on Pop, I knew the contest was over (but entered a few anyway, just because, well... you can't probably have too much of this stuff!:D )
Congrats!

Natalie said...

Thanks Heidi and Liz!

:-) Natalie

Anonymous said...

Estamos de vacaciones en Cabo Mexico.
Ustedes, agentes y editor decicion fueron uno de nuestros favoritos.
Felicidades tambien parati en Italia, Natalie!!!

Natalie said...

Carissimi Jeff e Sue,

Grazie per i vostri auguri! Spero che avete passato una bellissima vacanza in Messico, e ben tornati a casa! :-)