Carrier 2 Title And Winners Announced!

If you were following the YA Scavanger Hunt you've probably already heard the new title for Carrier 2, but incase you haven't, here it is.

Shadow of the Mark

Life for Megan Rosenberg just got a lot more complicated.

While she evoked the air element, and her feelings for Adam intensified, a web of lies, deceit, and betrayal was spun around her.  With the Order tightening its hold, and the reinstatement of the Mark Knights, Megan has more questions than answers as the Marked Ones grow in strength. 

New people arouse suspicion, the DeRises start behaving strangely, and Megan begins to unravel a destiny shrouded in mystery.  It’s a destiny the Order has struggled to hide, and a destiny someone from the past… far in the past, has already laid claim to.

Alliances will be made, and friends will be lost, as the Order’s dark secrets are revealed by the very thing they sought to destroy.

Shadow of the Mark will be released in early 2013. As soon as I have the release date I'll let you know, and of course there's the all important cover reveal. Woo! I can't wait.

And now I've to announce some winners.  

First off, we have the winner of the RED TEAM YA Scavenger Hunt, and that is...Tierra Gaillard! Congratulations, Tierra. Thirty signed books are winging their way to you. Yay!! 

And next we have the winner of the silver pendent with the four leaf clover.  And the winner is... A Fairytale Ending! Congratulations. A Fairytale Ending, As you didn't leave an email, I need you to email me your address to Leigh@Leighfallon.com.

Phew, that was so much fun. Thank you everyone for entering, the response was just huge. You are all brilliant.

All the best and talk soon.

Leigh

YA Scavenger Hunt

Welcome to YA Scavenger Hunt! This tri-annual event was first organized by author Colleen Houck as a way to give readers a chance to gain access to exclusive bonus material from their favorite authors...and a chance to win some awesome prizes! At this hunt, you not only get access to exclusive content from each author, you also get a clue for the hunt. Add up the clues, and you can enter for our prize--one lucky winner will receive TWENTY signed books, one book from each author on the hunt in my team! But play fast: this contest (and all the exclusive bonus material) will only be online for 72 hours!

Go to the YA Scavenger Hunt page to find out all about the hunt. There are THREE contests going on simultaneously, and you can enter all three! I am a part of the RED TEAM--but there is also a blue team and a yellow team. You can enter all three contests--which has a total prize bucket of SIXTY signed books!

If you'd like to find out more about the hunt, see links to all the authors participating, and see the full list of prizes up for grabs, go to the YA Scavenger Hunt homepage.

SCAVENGER HUNT PUZZLE

Directions: Hidden within the exclusive content is a single letter that is red Make a note of that letter! It's a part of a scrambled phrase. When you go to all the author sites of the red team, you'll have all the letters you need to enter the contest. 

Entry Form: Once you piece together all the clues to the hunt, make sure you fill out the form here to officially qualify for the grand prize. Only entries that have the completed phrase will qualify.

Rules: Open internationally, anyone below the age of 18 should have a parent or guardian's permission to enter. To be eligible for the grand prize, you must submit the completed entry form by 1st April. Entries sent without the correct puzzle code or without contact information will not be considered.

SCAVENGER HUNT POST

Today, I am hosting Ann Aguirre on my website for the YA Scavenger Hunt! 

In her life, Ann has been a clown, a clerk, a savior of stray kittens, and a voice actress, not necessarily in that order. She grew up in a yellow house across from a cornfield, but now she lives in a terracotta adobe house with her husband and children. In this guise, she writes SF, UF, and YA.

Find out more information by checking out the author website or find more about the author's book here! 

WELCOME TO THE APOCALYPSE

In Deuce’s world, people earn the right to a name only if they survive their first fifteen years. By that point, each unnamed ‘brat’ has trained into one of three groups–Breeders, Builders, or Hunters, identifiable by the number of scars they bear on their arms. Deuce has wanted to be a Huntress for as long as she can remember.As a Huntress, her purpose is clear—to brave the dangerous tunnels outside the enclave and bring back meat to feed the group while evading ferocious monsters known as Freaks. She’s worked toward this goal her whole life, and nothing’s going to stop her, not even a beautiful, brooding Hunter named Fade. When the mysterious boy becomes her partner, Deuce’s troubles are just beginning.Down below, deviation from the rules is punished swiftly and harshly, and Fade doesn’t like following orders. At first she thinks he’s crazy, but as death stalks their sanctuary, and it becomes clear the elders don’t always know best, Deuce wonders if Fade might be telling the truth. Her partner confuses her; she’s never known a boy like him before, as prone to touching her gently as using his knives with feral grace.As Deuce’s perception shifts, so does the balance in the constant battle for survival. The mindless Freaks, once considered a threat only due to their sheer numbers, show signs of cunning and strategy… but the elders refuse to heed any warnings. Despite imminent disaster, the enclave puts their faith in strictures and sacrifice instead. No matter how she tries, Deuce cannot stem the dark tide that carries her far from the only world she’s ever known.

AND... to celebrate the title reveal of The Carrier Series - book two, and because I love you all, I've got a beautiful silver pendant that contains a real four leaf clover all the way from Ireland to give to one lucky winner.

 

There are 4 entries up for grabs:

1. Follow my blog (click button in sidebar).

2. Follow me on Twitter.

3. Like the Carrier of the Mark Facebook page.

4. Leave a comment below letting me know what you think of the title of Carrier 2! 

If you're not on twitter or Facebook, don't worry, just leave a comment below and you're in. Giveaway is international and winner will be announced the end of the scavenger hunt. Good luck! 

Oh and don't forget to be on the look out for the title reveal for Carrier 2, it's in RED TEAM hunt somewhere. Enjoy!!

And now it's time to move onto your next stop, and it's a doozy.

I give you Tera Lynn Childs

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I've made a video to humiliate myself once again. Ahhhh well.  I'm also going to do a giveaway in honor of  Paddy's day.  I have this super pretty necklace that a lot of you have expressed interest in winning. For those of you who've not seen it before, it's a sliver necklace that contains a real four leaf clover!! Yes, all that good luck around your neck.

The one at the top

Now, to enter, all you have to do is tell me what bit of luck you'd like this year. Leave it in the comments, or tweet it with the #Iwanna4leafclover hash tag and you're in.
And... you can gain extra points.

Follow the blog = 1
Follow me on twitter = 1
Like the Carrier of the Mark FB page = 1
Tweet the link to the giveaway = 1
Post the link to the giveaway on your FB page = 1

So, including your blog comment, that's a total of 6 chances up for grabs. Do what ever you fancy and let me know what you do.

The winner will be announced on Monday at 9pm EST. The giveaway, as always, is open internationally.

All the very best and talk soon, guys. Oh...and good luck!

Leigh

A few bits and bobs

There's a few cool Halloween type things going on today that you should check out. 

Firstly we have the YA Spooktacular. Pop over and check out creepy stories told in relay!! Yes check out this list of authors!! How much awesome can you fit in one blog post?

Story 1: (done)

Beth Revis, Lia Habel, Kate Kaynack, Shannon Delaney, Ty Drago, Jen Nadol, Courtney Allison Moulton, Kim Welchons, Christina Ferko, Zoriada Cordova

Story 2: (current)

Tessa Gratton, Gretchen McNeil, Ariane Mandell, Leigh Fallon, Leanna Renee Hieber, Heidi Kling, Amy Garvey, Cindy Thomas, Isla Black, Jennifer Armentrout, Isla Black, Lani Woodland

Story 3: (coming soon)

Nick James, Jessica Spotswood, Scott Tracey, Patricia Osei, Jenn Rush, Elizabeth Miles, Kimberly Derting, Kristi Cook, Victoria Schwab, Danielle Bunner, Adele Griffin

And we have Haunted Halloween going on. There are creepy stories, haunting tales, funny memories, and chilling happenings all being revealed by some of your favorite authors.  Today, I'm revealing what spooky stuff I used get up to on Halloween.  There's also a chance to win some swag, so check it out. And while you're there, go back over some of the other awesome content!

Talk to you tomorrow guys, for the official release of Carrier in the UK, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia. Woohoo!

Leigh

AND THE WINNER IS...

Mikila Marshall aka @rockangel101 Congratulations Mikila!!

I'll be in touch to get your address.  Enjoy your signed copy of CARRIER OF THE MARK and your gorgeous Celtic necklace and bookmark.

In other news... The winner of my predict my cover changes giveaway was Deena Shoemaker! Congrats Deena! I'll be in touch with you for your address too.  You copy of THE PREDICTEDS will be winging it's way to you shortly.

Woo!

Now, for all of you who didn't win... boo, but fret not.  I have another arc and a drawer choc-a-bloc of goodies that I'm going to give away, so stay posted for the next giveaway.

Thanks guys!

Leigh

Changes! Predict and WIN The Predicteds!

Yes, you read right.  There are changes afoot.  The Carrier of the Mark is having a little pre-publication face-lift.  Don't panic, it's nothing too major, but it's significant enough to warrant a good old fashioned giveaway.

So here's the deal.  You guess what you think the change / changes are going to be in the comments.  Those of you who get it right will have their names popped into a hat and drawn to win an ARC of THE PREDICTEDS by Christine Seifert (do you like what I'm doing there with the title? *titter*).  Oh and I'll chuck in a few bits of random swag from my swag drawer.

And one more thing.  Those of you who've been lucky enough to get an ARC of THE CARRIER OF THE MARK, hold onto it! If I somehow manage to become successful and uber famous (fingers and toes crossed) they could actually be worth something someday, remember there's only so many out there, and the changes mean, that's it, they're a limited addition. LOL.

As always this is international. Comp ends when HarperTeen upload the new cover art on Amazon! Remember to leave your email in the comments so I can contact you if you win.

Good luck, and I'm looking forward to reading your predictions!!

Oh and one more thing, if you're putting in a few guesses put them in in separate comments to make it easier for me to sift through the correct answers.  I might miss your correct prediction if it's in among an load of wrong guesses.

Leigh

ARC Giveaway, oh and prizes more prizes!

I was supposed to post a giveaway here yesterday, but then I got the awesome news that Portuguese rights of THE CARRIER OF THE MARK had been sold to Brazil, and I went and lost the plot, having a little impromptu party, and partaking in all things Brazilian.  Now I’ve calmed down and my gluteus maximus are recovering from all the excessive wiggling, I can get right on that giveaway.

Oh, and we have a something else to celebrate… How are you enjoying my brand spanking new and sparkly website? You haven’t seen it yet?! Well check it out here, it’s kinda pretty and I’m super-duper happy with it. Did you notice Randel (the crow) winking at you?  Look closely, top right hand corner.  The significance of this will be lost on you until you’ve read THE CARRIER OF THE MARK.  But until then, you can enjoy his spooky wink and wonder 'what on earth is he winking about?'. Oh and FYI he doesn’t wink at you on the blog, only on my website, and only to VERY special people, so if he doesn’t wink at you, you’re not worthy.

Not exact necklace, but similar

Now onto the giveaway.  What do I have on offer?  Well, how about a signed ARC of THE CARRIER OF THE MARK? You likey?  On top of that I’ll give you one of my uber coveted silver Celtic metal bookmarks (super pretty and all the way from Kinsale, Ireland), AND I think I’ll even chuck in one of my gorgeous bronze Celtic necklaces, just because I love you guys, and I’m feeling over-the-top generous today.

And what do you have to do?  The usual.

Tweet this giveaway, get people to follow me, shower me with love via Twitter, Facebook.  Follow me, Like me, whisper sweet nothings across the gentle wind in my general direction, and last but not least, sign up for my mailing list here. Oh and remember to leave a comment with your contact details.  Do as little or as much as you like, just remember, Randel will be watching and reporting back to me and your actions will be weighted... I jest not... okay so I'm kidding.

As always, this is open internationally.  The winner will be picked via my tried and trusted Twitter method, and announced on Friday 10th June.

NOTE: THE MAILING LIST IS NOT MY AUTHOR TRACKER, THIS IS MY PERSONAL MAILING LIST. MAKE SURE YOU CLICK HERE AND SIGN UP TO ENTER!!

Fool For Books Giveaway Hop

I'm a first timer at this blog hop stuff, so here it goes.


This competition is running for two days.  There are a list of participants below.  Once you've entered my giveaway, you can move onto the next (if you want to) and so on. If you enter all of them, you're in with a shot of winning over 200 prizes.



My entry rules? Fairly simple. 

Sign up for info on my Author Tracker Form on the right.
Leave email address in comments so you can be notified if you win.

Oh and not mandatory, but I'd love you to follow my blog - Click follow button (scroll down on right).


What do you win?

This very beautiful Celtic design silver metal bookmark, and signed Half-Blood swag! (by the very talented Jennifer L. Armentrout)  Nice!

                                                 Good luck!

Fact Meets Fiction Friday – ARC comp and other fun stuff!

This week I commissioned a new website for myself.  Woo! I so deserved a little treat like that.  It’s being designed by Xuni.  They have been designing and managing author websites with skill and panache for a good while know, and you can see some of their fabulous work at Maggie Stiefvater, The Shiver Series , Kimberly Derting, and Carrie Ryan.  I can’t wait to see what they come up with for me, but I know one thing for sure, based on the, The Carrier of the Mark holding page they’ve designed for me, it’s going to be GORGEOUS!!

In other news, The Carrier of the Mark is on 615 shelves on Goodreads and has 656 likes on its Facebook page.  Woohoo! I’m so on a mission to get both of these to 1000, I won’t rest until I’ve reached the golden 1K.

How am I going to achieve 1K?  Hell I don’t know, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to let the illusive 1K beat me! 

And even more other news, I’m off to Ireland next week.  In honor of my return home to Ireland, I’m going to run the first ever, The Carrier of the Mark ARC giveaway! This is such a momentous occasion and it deserves something a little bit special.  So, we are going transatlantic in our mission to mark this moment. (Mark... get it? *titter*)

Over on the Facebook page, we’ve been mulling over ideas, and we have hit the jackpot.

Without further ado, I introduce to you;

The Carrier of the Mark, first ever, transatlantic photo competition for a 'so elusive there are none in existence yet' ARC! (Yeah, I could do with shorting the title… leave it with me).

To enter, all you need do is pick a location in Kinsale for me to visit while I’m there.  I will go to this location and get a photo of that exact spot. 

On my return to the US I will post all the photos on the blog and voting for the best photograph will commence.  Now, here’s the science bit, so pay attention.

There will be bonus votes for picking a location that is featured in The Carrier of the Mark, being a follower of my blog or a 'liker' of Carriers Facebook page, and for tweeting this comp.

What do you think? Fun?

Well I think so, though getting to all the locations with be tricky, especially as I’m only in Ireland for five days, but I’m willing to accept this challenge.

What do you win?

1. You will win one of the first ever ARC’s of The Carrier of the Mark.  They won’t be available until Mid-March or so, and the winner will have one winging it’s way to them before even the book bloggers get their paws on them!

2. You will also win your winning photograph of me at your selected location, and I’ll deface both photo and ARC for you if you so wish.

3.I'm also going to include a beautiful Irish necklace, that will be bought in a Kinsale Silversmiths, and will involve you guys in the picking of the design while I'm there!!

Admit it... you sooooo want to win don't you?

The good news is the competition starts NOW!

The bad news is some of the locations have already been snagged (see comments below for Kinsale locations already taken!).

Need ideas?  Well google Kinsale! There are castles, churches, quirky shops, art galleries, schools, beaches, caves, and so much more!

Get googling and submit your photo request in the comments. Closing date for entries is Friday 4th March.

Don’t you just love an ARC giveaway where the Author has to do all the work? Hey… who came up with this niffty idea anyway?

The Wednesday Whinge & Giveaway Winner

I started doing my Wednesday whinge and realized I had little to whinge about.  Okay, so my twin boys have bad croup, my husband was in ER with one of them until 10.30 last night, and they’re both off school today, so I’m getting no work done, but at least they're healthy…ish.  And I guess Valentine’s Day totally sucked.  I rather stupidly had booked myself and my husband in for a dentists visit, forgetting completely that it was Valentine’s Day.  Okay, so I’m not a big fan of that silly day anyway, but still, miniature efforts should be made.  But it turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as my husband was so busy that it was the only time of the day we got to spend together, and we did manage to share a tuna sub in the car after the dental hygienist assaulted our mouths (the only action I got that day!) *giggle*

Not mine... but you get the idea.

Humm, I guess I have a few things to whinge about now I come to think about it.  The most prominent being my tech fail on the video you’re about to watch.  I decided at the last minute to try and entertain you for a few minutes, you know the usual me making a fun of myself and making lots of silly faces, but my mic on the camera was not playing ball today, I think it might have been a bit intimidated by my singing voice (scary).  But anyway, in fine Leigh fashion, I ploughed ahead, so if it hurts your ears, or if you are of a delicate constitution, best to turn down your volume before pressing play.  I want no complaints… you have been warned.

Oh and I did contemplate not bothering to post this video, but during the time I was trying to shoot it, my 3 year old twins had emptied the entire contents of a large jar of peanut butter all over the kitchen counter and mashed it into the hardwood floor.  It took me FOREVER to clean it up and now the poor  cat is frantically working her way along the ridge between the boards  licking what she can out and it’s driving her nuts.  So due to the pain and torment this video caused to both me and the cat, I posted it, despite its horridious sound.

And thanks a million for all your fantastic comments and ‘likes’ you guys rock my world.  I’d love to have stuff to give to you all, but there can only be one winner and that is… watch the video!!

Fact Meets Fiction Friday - No Fiction, All Fact!

As of yesterday The Carrier of the Mark is available to pre-order on Amazon!  This is such a big deal for me.  Indeed, it’s a major deal for any writer to see their work for sale for the first time.  I have been buzzing since I saw my name go up on Amazon, and that buzz isn’t fading yet. Woo!

In honor of this amazing time for me I’m doing a giveaway! Now I’d love to offer you guys ARC’s, but I don’t have any yet, you’ll have to stay posted for those babies.  So in the meantime I’m going to put up for grabs my coveted inkpop bag! This bag is a little bit of my history.  HarperCollins gave me this bag the day I went to New York to meet my publishing team.  It was filled with goodies when I left their offices and stepped out onto the sidewalk and into my new career.

Need reminding of what this bag looks like?  Well watch the video.

Right, now you’ve seen it, you’d like to own that little important piece of my life, right?  Okay, all I ask of you is to pop onto Amazon and have a look at my book.  While you’re there, feel free to pre-order it, but you don’t have to.  Just like it, tweet it, or add it to your wish list, or request the kindle version, or tag it, or do any of the ‘its’ that tickle your fancy.  Oh, and while you’re at it. Pop over to Facebook and ‘like’ The Carrier of the Marks Facebook page.

You don’t have to do any of the above, but I would love you too.  Now, next step leave me a comment telling me what you did and you are entered! For every ‘thing’ you do you get an extra entry!

This giveaway is open to everyone where ever you live... no restrictions.  I’ll announce the winner of the coveted inkpop bag on Wednesday.  Right… ready, steady, go!