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

The (can’t stop) Hunger Games

Apologies for the lack of blogging over the past couple of weeks, but as most of you know, I’ve been neck deep in revisions on my second book in the Carrier series.  They are all done and back with my editor now, so it’s time for me to sit back and take stock.  And let me tell you, the stock isn’t looking so hot.

There are many things that writers are afflicted with, writers block, writers apathy, writers remorse, and there’s one more I can add to the list – writers butt.  After several weeks of sitting unmoving in a chair while simultaneously eating whatever was close to hand (normally marshmallows, (aptly named Jellybelly) jellybeans, and Poptarts), the auld derriere and other protrusions (some being new) are not at their most pert.  After several days of the sobbing/self-hatred/comfort eating cycle, I came to the conclusion that drastic measures were called for, and it all started when I picked up my unread copy of The Hunger Games.

Yes, I know I’m probably like the last person in the whole universe who hasn’t read The Hunger Games yet, but contrary to public belief, I’m of a delicate disposition, and upsetting books have a habit of pulling out my entrails and devouring them raw.  But I spotted in this scenario, the perfect pairing of a fine book that I’ve been desperately wanting to read, and the reduction of my BMI, which co-incidentally brings me to another book that I read recently – The Dukan Diet.

The lovely sauve, Dr. Dukan, has promised me, that by starving myself of all carbs for 5 days, that not only will I lose 7lbs, but I’ll also lose my appetite, and my constant desire to eat giant chunks of freshly baked bread. Which brings me nicely back to The Hunger Games – my companion read, which is so far, all about a starving heroine and her family, a bread baker's son named Peeta (peeta/pita – the carb reference does not go unnoticed), and a city of disgusting overindulgence that makes you feel guilty to be part of a well fed society. Like I said, the perfect companion read.

So, while I’m following Dr. Dukan, Katniss, Peeta, and a whole host of characters I’ve yet to fall in love with, I’ll be dropping the pounds (hopefully), and maybe even creating the most effective reader/writers diet to have ever have graced the blogosphere, or maybe not, but either way, it will be a fun project.  I’ll let you know how I get on.

All the best and talk soon.

Leigh

The Wednesday Whinge… I mean, The Wednesday Woohoo!

You’ve probably noticed that by blogging schedule has been all over the place these past few weeks, and for that I apologize.  However, I was up to some good stuff.  In July I announced that I’d signed a contract for the second book in the Carrier Series.  Well guess what?  I’ve just finished it. AGHH!  It took a lot of hard work, which isn’t easy with four kids pulling me in different directions while they suffered from chronic cases of summer holiday boredom.  But I managed to pull through with (most) of my hair intact.

Now, I’ve got a week or so of some super intense editing ahead of me and some head to heads with my fabulous critique partners, Wendy Higgins (Sweet Evil), Jennifer L Armerntrout (Half-Blood), Morgan Shamy (goddess and future star),  and my sister Jennifer Conroy (super-duper photographer).

But here’s the good bit!!  September is going to be an epic month for this blog.  I’m going to be doing fantastic giveaways EVERY week from September 1^st to the launch of Carrier of the Mark on the 4^th of Oct.  I’m also going to announcing my big Pre-order or Buy Carrier comp.  The prize is awesome and way bigger than my normal offerings. Eeeek!  I’ll be dishing the dirt on all the amazing things that I’ll be doing with HarperTeen and inkpop over the next few weeks.  There will be so much, it deserves its own blog post, but I’m just giving you heads up to brace yourself for a fun filled exciting couple of weeks where I will be emptying my choc-a-block swag drawers of all the fabulous goodies I’ve been hoarding.

So stay posted guys. This will be epic. Oh and you can get a running head start to win big if you pre-order Carrier NOW.  Check out the sidebar=> for loads of options

Name that book!

Hello everyone *smiles cheesy grin and waves… a lot*

For those of you who follow me on twitter and Facebook you’ll know that at the moment I’m writing the sequel to Carrier of the Mark.  I did have a work in progress name, but it won’t be the official title of Carrier 2. 

Carrier 2 has a nasty kind of courier dispatch / nasty rash ring to it, so I’m ever so eager to give it a title that rolls of the tongue and conjures images of gorgeous guys, mysterious girls, magic, Ireland, fun, danger, and frolics (I had to chuck the frolics in there… it’s one of my favorite words, along with obnoxious, but that’s for another blog post).

So, what I would like you lovely people to do is come up with some name suggestions for Carrier 2.  You never know, one of you guys might even come up with the final title! That would be so cool and would have to be rewarded in some MAJOR way.  So what do you think guys, any ideas?

Leigh