WATCH THE VAMPIRE DIARIES WITH V-D.NET & PHILO THIS THURSDAY, DEC. 9TH AT 8PM ET/PT

Yes, we know – a hiatus is coming after By the Light of the Moon, next week’s episode of The Vampire Diaries. But instead of getting sad, get glad about chatting with your fellow fans and winning some sweet prizes! Vampire-Diaries.net has teamed up with PHILO for a Vampire Diaries Viewing Party on December 9th!

Here’s how you can participate: Sign up for a PHILO account(you can use your Twitter, your Facebook, or register an on-site account, and download an app for your phone!). The party starts on Thursday, December 9th at 8pm EST and again at 8pm PT. Once you’re there, “check in” to The Vampire Diaries and comment and you’ll be entered to win Vampire Diaries prizes (The Vampire Diaries: The Complete First Season andThe Vampire Diaries: Original Television Soundtrack), not to mention you can live-chat with other viewers as the TVD craziness goes down on your TV. (Red and Vee will be there, and Crissy Calhoun will be in the house for the West coast airing.)

Also, PHILO will be designing a special TVD award for when you check in to the event.

More details to come! But we hope to see you there. Invite your friends, invite your mom and dad. It’s going to be EPIC.

STEPHEN AMELL JOINS THE CAST OF THE VAMPIRE DIARIES

Mason Lockwood may be gone, but he seems to have plenty of friends concerned for his well-being and willing to come looking for him. According to E! Online, Stephen Amell (Heartland, CSI: Miama, NCIS: Los Angeles) is joining the cast for a couple of episodes as Mason’s friend Brady, who comes to Mystic Falls for reasons connected to his missing pal. What connection he has to Mason’s other friend, Jules, and whether he’s a werewolf or not remains to be seen.

‘TIS THE SEASON! BY THE LIGHT OF THE MOON (EP211) EXTENDED PROMO

Category: TV Series

Oh, boy. The CW has posted the extended promo for By the Light of the Moon (EP211). Savor it, Vampire Diaries fans, because after this, no new episodes until 2011. In the meantime – can you help us get out of this dress?

RATINGS AND EPISODE DOWNLOADS FOR THE SACRIFICE, UK SOUNDTRACK WINNERS, AND VOTE VAMPIRE DIARIES IN THE PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARDS

Category: TV Series

Preliminary ratings for The Sacrifice suggest the episode brought in 3.7 million viewers last night, though those figures are expected to be adjusted down once the ratings for the NFL Network’s Eagles/Texans game are factored in. Who needs sport when you have this show to get your adrenaline pumping, right?

Download links for Amazon and iTunes UK aren’t available yet, but we’ll update when they are.

Episode Downloads:

Canadian fans: watch the episode the CTV website or MuchMusic.

Congratulations to the winners of our UK Vampire Diaries soundtrack winners,Tiffany Bickmore, Michelle Kingdom and Karen Sanderson! Crazy UK weather permitting, the prizes should be sent out on Monday.

Finally, there are only a few days left to vote for the Vampire Diaries in thePeople’s Choice Awards, so get those mouse fingers clicking!

Direct links to categories:
VOTE FOR VAMPIRE DIARIES AS FAVORITE TV DRAMA
VOTE FOR VAMPIRE DIARIES AS FAVORITE SCI-FI/FANTASY SHOW
VOTE FOR IAN SOMERHALDER AS FAVORITE TV DRAMA ACTOR

 
You can also vote on Twitter by tweeting the following:

I just voted for Vampire Diaries #scififantasyshow #PeoplesChoice. Retweet to vote! http://t.co/QvM3hAj via @peopleschoice

I just voted for The Vampire Diaries #tvdrama #PeoplesChoice. Retweet to vote! http://t.co/xGkIS5L via @peopleschoice

I just voted for Ian Somerhalder #tvdramaactor #PeoplesChoice. Retweet to vote! http://t.co/59vCrWU via @peopleschoice

V-D.NET/SMART POP BOOKS: A VISITOR’S GUIDE TO MYSTIC FALLS TWITTER GIVEAWAY!

Category: Books, TV Series

Smart Pop Books and Vampire-Diaries.net are teaming up for a cool, one of a kind giveaway! You may remember some trivia tidbits we dropped way back in April about putting together the cover for A Visitor’s Guide to Mystic Falls: Your Favorite Authors on The Vampire Diaries. Well, the items you’re seeing in the cover? We’re giving them away! More specifically, V-D.net is giving away the journal and the necklace you see there – yep, the very same ones used during the cover photo shoot. Cool, right? (And it gets cooler – stay tuned to the Smart Pop blog and @smartpopbooksfor more details on the second contest.) And, just to sweeten the pot, we’ll throw in a copy of A Visitor’s Guide to Mystic Falls, too, which features YA authors like Claudia Gray, Sarah Rees Brennan, Jennifer Lynn Barnes, and lots more, discussing a range of topics about The Vampire Diaries TV series.

UPDATE: Smart Pop has posted the other contest! They’re giving away the Civil War-era stationery (from Monahan Papers) from the book cover. Two contests, two winners, enter both! (Also, check it out – our introduction for the book is this week’s free essay on Smart Pop!)

So if you’d like a little piece of fandom history (we’re jealous!), plus a great read, enter our contest!

Here’s what to do:

• Contest is open to EVERYONE. (Yes, that means you too, international fans!)
• Follow @tvdnews and @smartpopbooks on Twitter. (You have to be followingboth to win!)
• Copy, paste & tweet the following (everything in bold!): I want to win A Visitor’s Guide to Mystic Falls goodies from @tvdnews & @smartpopbooks! http://bit.ly/hYtnSt #VampireDiaries #TVD
• You can enter as many times as you’d like.
• Contest ends Thursday, Dec. 9th at midnight EST.

 
GOOD LUCK! And thanks so much for all of the support.

IAN SOMERHALDER ON THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO (VIDEO)

In case you missed Ian Somerhalder’s appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno last night, feast thine eyes on some YouTube goodness. Ian chats about Louisiana, the start of his career (there’s a peek at a modeling shot from a Kids ‘R’ Us ad, courtesy of Ian’s mom), Lousiana vs. New York girls, being in People’s Sexiest Man Alive issue, and Lost. Oh, and check out the backstage shot Jay Leno tweeted.

REACTION POST & POLL: VAMPIRE DIARIES – THE SACRIFICE (EP210)

This post is a sticky. Keep scrolling for more news and articles.

SHORT PROMO AND WEBCLIP FOR BY THE LIGHT OF THE MOON (EP211)

We’ve got the Salvatores making dubious-sounding plans to save Elena, the Gilberts each putting their own harebrained strategies into action, and Caroline and Tyler are off exploring sinister dungeons in the woods …what could possibly go wrong?

BY THE LIGHT OF THE MOON (EP211) SHORT PROMO & WEBCLIP

Presenting the (very spoilery!) short promo for next week’s episode of theVampire Diaries, By the Light of the Moon, along with a webclip that was featured on the Bloodlines Revealed game. Enjoy!

Short promo:

Tyler & Caroline Bloodlines Revealed webclip:

Thanks to MiI2aCIe for the videos!

PAUL WESLEY’S INTERVIEW ON THE RACHAEL RAY SHOW (VIDEO)

We’ve been waiting all day for Paul Wesley’s interview on The Rachael Ray Show to turn up online, and at last it has! With thanks to I Heart Vampire Diaries for the heads up and Erin for the video.

It’s not the best quality video, and we’ll be keeping an eye out for a better version.

E!’S WATCH WITH KRISTIN VIDEO INTERVIEW WITH MICHAEL TREVINO & E!’S WATCH WITH KRISTIN VIDEO INTERVIEW WITH CANDICE ACCOLA

E!’s Watch with Kristin chats with Michael Trevino about auditioning for Tyler, knowing the character’s background before going in, and he previews what lies in store for Tyler during tonight’s (and next week’s!) episode of The Vampire Diaries – THE transformation.

Following up the Michael interview we just posted, E!‘s Kristin Dos Santos talks with Candice Accola about Caroline’s change from insecure teenage queen to ass-kicking vampire, whether Candice is a Damon or Stefan girl, the Caroline and Tyler bond, the ever-growing friendship with Stefan, working opposite Nina as Elena and Katherine, and the uncertainty of any character’s longevity on The Vampire Diaries.