Quick update on STAIN

Just peeking my head out of the writer's cave to shout share that I'm only chapters away from finishing this book! Wow, it's been a doozy to write; I really challenged myself with Stain. 

Aside from the elaborate world-building, there are four distinctive POV characters I got to know along the way. I can't say that I've fallen in love with them all (there's one in particular who is VERY hard to love), but I understand each one's motivations, and am endlessly fascinated by their interactions throughout the story.

Okay, back to the business of writing. I hope everyone has a happy holiday season, and I'll see you in the new year!

Lubbock Book Festival on the horizon!

I’ll be attending the Lubbock Book Festival this coming Sat, October 28th, chatting about fantasy w/ the amazing Rachel Caine. There will be a signing immediately after! 

For more info go to Lubbockbookfestival.org

(click image to enlarge)

My visit to Prague and the Humbook Festival!

Sorry I’ve been so quiet! My generous Czech publisher, CooBoo, flew me into Prague for the fabulous #Humbook festival last week. Here are highlights, scrapbook style (click images to enlarge).

To see more pictures of the architecture, shops, and food I sampled, follow this link to my Prague pinterest board.

Now, I’m going dark a while longer. I've less than 2 months to finish Stain, my gothic Princess and the Pea fairytale retelling. Have an awesome Halloween, and I’ll see you when I come up for air!

Announcing winners of 2017 YASH fall giveaway!

The winner of the Red Team's gift pack (pictured below) is: 

Seraph Captrix

For my own personal giveaway, the winners are listed below.

Splintered box set, signed: 

Amy Bernal

Splintered character / quote cards, signed: 

Kailey Bradley

Splintered playing card set: 

Justine Schweitzer

Alice in Wonderland gift tags: 

Debi

Thanks to everyone who took part in the giveaway and helped me get the word out about The Splintered Series collector's box! 

The winners have been emailed, so check your inboxes if you find your name listed below. If you don't receive an email, please reach out to me via my contact info here. 

YA SCAVENGER HUNT! Fall 2017

 Welcome to the fall 2017 YA Scavenger Hunt! This bi-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 one signed 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! 

HELP: If you're confused at any time, you can always get back on track by going to the YA Scavenger Hunt how to hunt page to read the steps. Or, go to the STUCK page for a bird's eye view of all the author's links. 

There are seven hunts going on simultaneously with up to 140+ books up for grabs INTL, and you can enter one or all! I'm a part of the RED TEAM--

but there are also BLUE, ORANGE, GREEN, GOLD, PINK, & PURPLE teams, each with different sets of signed books in their prize packs!

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 prize page.

SCAVENGER HUNT PUZZLE

Directions: At the bottom of this post, you'll notice that I've listed my favorite number. Collect the favorite numbers of all the authors on the RED TEAM and then add them up (don't worry, you can use a calculator!) for a chance to win the prize pack of books pictured below: 

Entry Form: Once you've added up all the secret numbers of the RED TEAM, make sure to fill out the form here to officially qualify for the grand prize above. Only entries that have the correct answer will be put in the drawing.

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 October 8, at noon Pacific Time. Entries sent without the correct number or without contact information will not be considered.

SCAVENGER HUNT POST

For my post in the YA Scavenger Hunt, I'm honored to be hosting Hilary Thompson, author of the SoulShifter series:

Click image to enlarge

Hilary used to be such a practical girl. Then she let the stories out.

Now she creates worlds, people, and problems that are grounded in real life, if you accept that real life has magic around every turn.
She also teaches Writing and English, writes whenever and wherever she can, and reads as much as her eyes can handle. She plays superheroes and dress up games and reads books in bed with her children, and plays at homesteading and world traveling with her husband.


For the hunt, Hilary is giving away Book 1: Shift of Shadow and Soul 

There are three kinds of magic in the world, and Corentine has the wrong one. 

Long ago, the Restless King forced Corentine's people into hiding as he scoured their blood for the SoulShifter. When Corentine learns she possesses some of the forbidden Shifter magic, she must hide her power or risk the same death her twin suffered. 

Raised to trust no one, she rejects the General's son Sy, until she realizes his family secrets might be the key to unlocking hers. When his brother turns against them, they are forced to fight family to save what's left of their home, or accept banishment to find a new future.

If Coren and Sy can't convince their people to accept the light of Shifter magic, the growing Shadow will ruin everyone's chance of freedom.

Sulit Witch
Weshen Shifter
Umbren Shadow

When dark meets light, will all become Shadow?

Add book to GoodReads

BUY BOOK HERE

Find out more information on Lori and her books by following her online venues:

Website 

Twitter: @HilaryLThompson

FaceBook 

GoodReads author page 

And check out the cover reveal for book 3, seen for the first time here! Scroll down . . .

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Wow. Beautiful colors and artwork. It's simply magical! 

In fact, I think I'm going to look at it 7 more times, since 7 is a magical number.  Be sure to let Hilary know what you think of the cover in the comments below!

CONTINUE THE HUNT

To continue your hunt for another number clue to help you win the RED TEAM prize pack, you'll need to visit the next author here! But before you go . . .

CHECK OUT MY PERSONAL GIVEAWAY!

Although the official #YASH giveaways only last for 72 hours, my personal one is going on for a week. So you have through October 10th to build up those entries. What is this mysterious giveaway, you ask?

To celebrate the upcoming release of my gorgeous Splintered Series Collector's box set (hitting shelves October 10, 2017), I'm giving away the following international prizes:

1 - Signed Splintered Collector's Box Set

1 - Set Splintered Playing Cards

1 - 6 piece Set Splintered Character / Quote Cards

3 - Alice in Wonderland gift tags (designs may vary from picture)

That means four different INTL winners! See the rafflecopter below for entry options. Good luck to everyone, and happy hunting!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway Winners Announced!

Thanks to everyone who took part in the giveaway and helped me get the word out about The Hummingbird Heart's book birthday! 

The winners have been emailed, so check your inboxes if you find your name listed below. If you don't receive an email, please reach out to me via my contact info here. 

Things will be kind of quiet here for the next few months while I wrap up writing Stain. The deadline is looming... 

I hope everyone has a great fall (or whatever season it might be where you live)!

Happy Book Birthday to The Hummingbird Heart!

Today, Book 2 of the Haunted Hearts Legacy is officially available in both paperback and e-versions! If you like ghost stories, historical romance, sea-faring adventure, mysteries, and circus themes, this is the book for you! 

You can find ordering & more book info on this page of my website. 

And, as you probably know by now, one of the nicest things about book birthdays is that YOU get the gifts. :)

One gift I'd like to share is the book's official ♪♫  playlist ♪♫. You can listen to it here on spotify, or go to this page of my website for links to the songs on youtube.

As a second gift, I'm having an INTL giveaway consisting of the following prizes: 

1 - Signed PB set of The Architect of Song
& The Hummingbird Heart

1 - Signed PB of The Hummingbird Heart

1 - Signed The Hummingbird Heart poster

3 - Signed The Architect of Song
& The Hummingbird Heart swag packs

To enter for your chance to win, help me get the word out about The Hummingbird Heart by following the instructions on the rafflecopter below. 

Good luck to everyone, and thanks for sharing in the festivities as I bring another one of my heart's stories into the world!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Announcing The Hummingbird Heart Giveaway winners!

Thanks to everyone who took part in the giveaway. We had winners from the US, Argentina, Germany, France, the UK, Mexico,  and South Africa! The winners have been emailed, so check your inboxes if you find your name listed below.

Grand Prize (3- e-ARCs of The Hummingbird Heart):

Amanda Tedford

Agus Z

Julia Treter Kajevski

Medusa Masquerade Mask:

Jordan Finch

8x11 - "Not all those who wander are lost" Nautical Print:

H. Sandrine

8x11 - Circus Nightmare Print:

Suzanne Cattanes

Hummingbird/Ladybug Jeweled Bookmark:

Michaela McClelland

Faux Antique Watch Pin:

Gaby Navarro

Set of 3: Hummingbird Magnets:

Alice (Arctic Books)

Set of 5 - Nautical Magnets:

Tom Lancaster

Hummingbird Temporary Tattoo:

Amy (A Magical World of Books)

Special bonus prize (2- The Architect of Song paperbacks, signed and personalized):

Kelsey Hunter

Katherine Kalasic

Thanks again, and be sure to watch for The Hummingbird Heart when it launches on August 15, 2017!

The Hummingbird Heart Six-Weeks-Away Giveaway!

August 15th is right around the corner, which means we're close to six weeks away from the release of book two in my Haunted Hearts Legacy series! 

To celebrate, I'm having an international giveaway with lots of prizes, including a chance for a few readers to read The Hummingbird Heart early.

Before we get to the deets, here's a quick intro to my new adult series for anyone who hasn't started it yet. 

The Haunted Hearts Legacy is a set of sensual, gothic historical romances with paranormal elements. Being a generational / familial series, each story is tied to the main characters from book one. You get glimpses of the original couple throughout the series, and find out how they're faring over time, all while being taken on new ghostly journeys by their grown children.

So, if you haven't read book one, it's a bit spoilery to jump into the second, but each story can still stand alone. If I did my job right, reading book two will make you curious enough to go back and read how everything played out in the first one. ;)

Here's a peek at the first book in the series, The Architect of Song: 

Click to enlarge and read description

To read a sample, follow this link. Also, check out the visual and musical inspirations for the book on my pinterest board:

Click to visit pinterest board

The Architect of Song is available for purchase now. Follow this link for ordering options. Also, the kindle version is available for a limited time at the discounted price of $2.99 to help ring in book two's imminent arrival. Follow this link for deets. 

Here's a look at book two, The Hummingbird Heart:

Click to enlarge and read description

If you'd like to read a sample, follow this link. And, you can check out my visual inspirations and a few samples from my playlist on the pinterest board:

Click to visit board

The Hummingbird Heart is now available for kindle preorder at a discounted price of $5.95 (regular kindle price post-launch will be $7.95). Follow this link for deets. 

Nook, book depository, iBook, and print versions will be available on the official launch date, August 15, 2017. 

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Now, lets get down to business. Here are the prizes up for grabs (each one has significance to the story line):

3 - Grand Prize winners will receive an e-ARC for early reading!

Medusa Masquerade Mask

8x11 - "Not all those who wander are lost" Nautical Print

8x11 - Circus Nightmare Print

Hummingbird/Ladybug Jeweled Bookmark

Faux Antique Watch Pin

Set of 3: Hummingbird Magnets

Set of 5 - Nautical Magnets

Hummingbird Temporary Tattoo

 And two special bonus grand prizes:

2 - The Architect of Song paperbacks, signed and personalized

That's thirteen winners! The giveaway ends in two weeks. To enter, follow the rafflecopter instructions below, and good luck to everyone!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Author appearance / Book event!

For anyone planning to attend the Greater Rochester Teen Book Fest next weekend, I have three sessions w/ the fabulous Danielle Paige! We'll be chatting about our publishing journeys and dark fairytale retellings. Check out the schedule here.

Dipping my toes into Instagram...

I made the leap to Instagram, after telling myself I already had too many social venues. ;) But knowing that I could plug three of them in to post simultaneously with IG sealed the deal for me! 

If you'd like to find me there, I'm @aghoward_writes. And if you have any useful tips, I'd love to hear them!

I'll be at Yellow City Comic Con this weekend, April 29th, alongside these awesome authors! Our panel is from 4:30-5:30, and we'll be signing books directly after. Hope to see some of you there!

YA Scavenger Hunt Spring 2017 Winners!

The YA Scavenger Hunt Spring 2017 has ended! Winners have been posted on the official website, so follow this link to see who won the TEAM prize packs.

As for my personal giveaway, the rafflecopter's first chosen winner never got back to me in the 72 hour window, so I drew an alternate winner, and it's Kassie Petersen. Congrats!

Thanks to all who took part! If you didn't win this time, take heart. There will be more giveaways in the future. ;)

Welcome to YA Scavenger Hunt, Spring 2017!

Welcome to the fall YA Scavenger Hunt! This bi-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 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 a few days! 



First, let's go over introductions and the hunt rules. 

I'm A.G. Howard, author of the Splintered Series, an Alice in Wonderland retelling, and RoseBlood, a modern-day Phantom of the Opera spinoff.

In a moment, I'll introduce you to Claire Lazebnik, the YA author I'm hosting today, and tell you all about her new contemporary novel!

Claire and I are a part of the PINK TEAM--but there are also RED, BLUE, GOLD, & PURPLE teams - each with 20 authors, for a chance to win a whole different set of books! If you get off track, you can visit the Unstuck page where a list of all the authors are linked up by team for your convenience. Go to the YA Scavenger Hunt page to find out all about the hunt. There are five contests going on simultaneously (plus some fabulous personal giveaways), and you can enter one or all!

SCAVENGER HUNT PUZZLE

Directions: Below, you'll notice that I've hidden my favorite number. Collect the favorite numbers of all the authors on the pink team, and then add them up (don't worry, you can use a calculator!).

Entry Form: Once you've added up all the numbers, make sure you fill out the form here to officially qualify for the grand prize. Only entries that have the correct number 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 April 9th at noon Pacific time. Entries sent without the correct number or without contact information will not be considered.

MEET MY GUEST AUTHOR

Today, I'm hosting Claire Lazebnik for the YA Scavenger Hunt! 

Claire is the author of five novels for adults and five YA novels, including Epic Fail and Things I Should Have Known. With Lynn Kern Koegel, PhD, she co-wrote the non-fiction books Overcoming Autism and Growing Up on the Spectrum. She has written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Self Magazine, among many other publications, and contributed a monologue to the anthology play Motherhood Out Loud. 

Find out more information about Claire by checking out her website , or go here for book ordering info. 

ABOUT CLAIRE'S BOOK

Things I Should Have Known is a story about sisterhood, autism, and first love. Chloe Mitchell is on a quest to find love for her autistic sister, Ivy. Ethan seems like the perfect match, so it's unfortunate that his older brother, David, is one of Chloe’s least favorite people.


Chloe, Ivy, David, and Ethan are soon spending lots of time together and Chloe is hopeful her plan will work, until she realizes just how much she doesn't know, both about Ivy and about herself.

And now for Claire's exclusive bonus material for Things I Should Have Known:

Ivy, Chloe, David and Ethan Write Haikus

Claire LaZebnik:

If you’ve read Things I Should Have Known, you know that the two sets of siblings spend a lot of time together. Even though this scene never took place in the book, it certainly could have.

Maybe it’s Chloe’s idea to write haikus on a lazy rainy afternoon when they’ve all already watched a movie and no one wants to leave the house. She would hope that the strict line and syllable structure would appeal to Ivy and Ethan, who both have autism and like things to be clear and literal.

So maybe they’re all sitting around with pads of paper and pencils and Chloe says, “You have five minutes to write a haiku. They’re usually about nature, but they don’t have to be. Three lines, the first with five syllables, the second with seven syllables, and the third with five syllables. Okay? We’ll write and then we’ll read them out loud.”

Ethan would probably complain that it’s a stupid idea, and David would probably tell him he’s being rude to Chloe, and then agree that it’s stupid, and Ivy would worry that hers wouldn’t be any good. But eventually they’d settle down and write their haikus, and then they’d read them  out loud.

And I think they’d end up something like this:

  

Chloe’s Haiku:

The house closes in

Just as I’m planning to leave.

Embrace or prison?

David’s Haiku:

You’re supposed to use

Five/seven/five syllables?

Screw that.

Ethan’s Haiku:

I think that Marvel

Makes a lot of good movies.

Logan was the best.

Ivy’s Haiku:

It’s raining out now.

I hear the water fall down.

But it’s dry in here.

Chloe’s Second Haiku (directed at David):

Just try to write one

Without breaking all the rules.

It wouldn’t kill you.

David’s Second Haiku (directed at Chloe):

Conform? No, thank you.

Only sheep count syllables.

I’m my own person.

And then Ethan would probably say, “This is boring,” and Ivy would say, “Let’s watch TV,” and that would be the end of haiku writing.

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Haha. Thanks Claire! These characters have amazing chemistry. :) 

Remember, you can buy Things I Should Have Known here, and if you'd like to follow the author online, she's on twitter.

GIVEAWAY DEETS

GIVEAWAY #1 (INTL):  Enter the official hunt contest for a chance to win books by myself, Claire Lazebnik, and a ton of other authors on the pink team, pictured below:

To enter the above giveaway, you need to know that my favorite number is 7. Add up all the favorite numbers of the authors on the pink team and you'll have the secret code to enter for the grand prize! Remember to fill out the form here. Only entries that have the correct number will qualify.


GIVEAWAY #2 (INTL): My own bonus giveaway pack contains these RoseBlood / Phantom-themed prizes:

Click image to enlarge

To enter my bonus giveaway, follow the instructions on the rafflecopter below. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

CONTINUE THE HUNT

To keep going on your quest for the hunt, you need to check out the next author on the pink team, Kathryn Holmes!

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Also, thanks to Colleen Houck for hosting me today. Be sure to check out my post on her blog for a first-time online peek at Christine Daaé's secret journal entries from the B&N exclusive edition of RoseBlood!