There’s a Parade.com sweepstakes starting today in which entrants can win a trip to Asheville and a meeting with author Sara Gruen, who penned the New York Times best-selling novel Water for Elephants.
The winner will stay at the Biltmore Inn, dine with Gruen and receive a signed copy of her book. The visit will happen in May.
Wikipedia notes that after the phenomenal success of Water for Elephants, Gruen signed a mega-deal that set her up for life:
Gruen sold her fourth novel, Ape House, on the basis of a 12-page summary to Spiegel & Grau, who paid $5 million for Ape House and another as-yet-unnamed book. Ape House is slated to be released in June, 2009. The New York Times has reported on how the megadeal has changed Gruen’s life:
“Ms. Gruen, a mother of three, said that as a result of the earnings from “Water for Elephants” and the new advance, she and her husband were buying a home where they can house two horses, along with a menagerie of four cats, two dogs and three goats.”
It’s my understanding that the new home is around Asheville.