I made it easy for you this time. Just click the button below to get started. Anyone in any country is eligible. Signups start now and end June 20th, 2011. GoodReads selects the winners, and I will sign the winner's copies. Keep in mind that these are paperback ARCs only - they're pretty close to the finished hardcover product but not quite. Either way, it's a chance to read it (and review it, of course) before almost everyone. You'll even see some artwork in there that's a little different from the final version! Ready? Get thee to GoodReads!

1st place
Katie

Katie also submitted this one, which we loved:

Katie says: My parents were horrified to discover their mutilated doll's house, but having reassured them the red scrawlings were paint and rouge, rather than some poor beast's blood, they allowed me to carry on. I must thank my brother for his brilliant help, and my dog, Riff Raff, for remaining patient while I tested camera shots on him. No dolls were harmed during the making of it.

2nd Place
Rachel

The poet ghost!

This one made us laugh:

3rd Place
Stephanie

Stephanie also sent us this cute one:

Stay off the lawn!

Congratulations, Katie, Rachel, and Stephanie! I'll be in contact with each of you about your prizes soon.

Remember last year's 31 Days of Halloween? Of course you do! Unless you don't. But that's another matter entirely. You see, you - yes, you! - could win one of those 31 letters for yourself. Not just one of you, but three of you. First things first, though. Here are the three letters up for the winning:

One of you will win your choice of any of those three. Another of you will win your choice of the two still on the table after the first pick. And the third place winner will win the remaining note. Now, here's what you have to do. It won't be too painful. This time.

1. Write your own ghost letter. It can be from a known spirit in the house or from a new one you've imagined, but it must be related to the story of last year's 31 Days of Halloween.
2. But you're not just writing it. You're creating it. Use whatever materials you have available to make your letter stand out, whether that's crayon, Photoshop or some kind of strange voodoo. Presentation is important.
3. Finish it by 12:01 AM Pacific, March 7th, 2011. No exceptions. Not even if you beg.
4. Send it through the form below. Do NOT send Facebook links. Feel free to post your work anywhere you like, of course, but you must use the form below to enter the contest! Note: the form below is for uploading image files. If you have a video, please upload it somewhere public. Then attach a screen cap via the form below and include a link to your video in the message body.

You may send as many letters as you like, but only one from three different people will be chosen. This is about quality, not quantity. You may get help from friends and family, but only one letter will be sent to you should you be a winner.

Be creative and have fun! Winners will be announced here, on Facebook, and on Twitter by March 11th, 2011.

[CONTEST CLOSED. Results posted soon!]

Skary tees are now available in the store! Mister Creazil and the Plague Kid are waiting to be worn by you, but they're currently in limited supply. Get yours while you can! All orders will be fulfilled by the good people of PrintMojo.

In more news, do you know about Auxiliary Magazine? Rena Finkel recently interviewed me for Auxiliary, and that issue is now available for free online and in print in just a few days. There's lots of other good stuff in there too. Check it out!

Also, the Show Your Allegiance Contest was a spectacular show of talent! The judges and I loved all twenty-two of your entries, and we were sad that we had to pick just one. And that winner was Katrina Pomerance with her handmade doll! Katrina has won a Mister Creazil tee for her adorable creation. Congratulations, Katrina!

Katrina's doll

Cynthia Cheng's delightful comic about the process of making her submission was the first runner-up, and we couldn't just let her slip by without notice. She'll be receiving a little something in the mail as well. Yay, Cynthia!

Cynthia's comic

The other entries will be posted to the Skary.net fan art gallery soon. Again, thank you to all of you who entered!

There are fewer than three days left to show your allegiance and win your choice of the new Skary tees. Are you ready? I'll tell you now that you may have to step up your game. The entries we've gotten so far are top-notch. Picking a winner will not be easy! See what you're up against? (And these are only a few of them!)

Katrina's doll

Candace's Music Video:

Anna's Flapbook

And this one from Liz and her sister made me laugh:

There are plenty more where those came from, but yours can only be one of them if you submit it by 11:59 pm Pacific, July 29th! Details here if you need a refresher.

Rory recites "Agony"

Cynthia gives us a making-of comic for her illustration:

Asa's niece is unequivocally Skary:

What you're winning:

your choice of one Plague Kid tee OR Mister Creazil tee in your specified size.

What you're going to do:

Show us how much you love Childrin R Skary in whatever way your creative brain can invent. Make a video, write a story, paint a picture, compose a song, organize a parade (that one might be a bit over the top)... anything you want! Just so long as no one gets hurt, it's legal, and you can submit some version of it online. Keep in mind that your submissions may be posted to Skary.net, so don't do anything that's going to haunt you when you become a senator in a few decades.

Who will win?

That's to be decided by a panel of judges who will base their decision on your creativity, uniqueness, effort, and overall Skariness. So, don't worry if you don't have any fancy camera equipment, you're not a master ar-teest, or English isn't your first language. If we can tell you really love Skary and worked hard to show it, that's all that counts. But only one person will win! You can get help from family and friends, but you must be the primary participant, and you alone will receive the prize should you win (but do name your helpers if you have any. They at least deserve credit).

Send your entry by July 29th via the form below!

More Rules (we always gotta have 'em):

1. Your entry must be submitted online with the form below. Not in person or by snail mail; sorry. You may post it anywhere you want, so long as there is a version that my judges and I can view, and you have sent me the link or file. The exception to this is Facebook. DO NOT SEND LINKS TO FACEBOOK. I always get submissions from people's Facebook pages, and 99% of the time, I don't have access to them. So, let's just throw that one right out. No Facebook.
2. You may only submit one entry. But if you make a mistake or do a better version, you may resubmit. Only your final effort will be considered, however. This is to make sure you're putting your best effort into it. This is about quality, not quantity. This also means you can't just resubmit fan art or previous contest entries you've sent me before.
3. All participants are welcome, regardless of country. However, my judges and I primarily speak English. So, if your entry depends upon the spoken or written word, we ask that you provide an English translation to accompany it. You may get help with translations.
4. While you may get some help if you absolutely have to, the idea and as much of the execution as possible must be yours. You may parody something else for your entry, but you cannot copy or steal. If it's discovered that you've stolen someone else's work, OH MAN, you will be in so much trouble. Like, banned for life from ever entering anything of mine ever again. Probably a pox on your house, too.
5. Your entries are due no later than 11:59 PM Pacific, July 29th, 2010. No exceptions, even if your entry is really superduperawesome. Winners will be announced August 1st, and shirts go on sale for everyone else August 2nd. That gives you two weeks! Snap to it!

Lastly, please remember that you are wonderful, and so is your entry even if you don't win. There are always a lot of entries, and they can't all win! I sometimes get very sad messages from people who feel like they have failed because they weren't picked. Don't do that. It's just a t-shirt. A really lovely one, if I may say so myself, but not worth sacrificing your well-deserved pride over.

Update 7/30/10: Contest is over! The winner will be announced this Sunday.