The 25 Book Giveaway is LIVE!

THIS GIVEAWAY HAS NOW ENDED!!!

Winners announced here. 

***************************

20 authors, 25 books. To learn more about the awesome authors who donated books to the giveaway, check out Bethany Crandell's #BadAssAuthors Series.

The giveaway deets and rafflecopter are below:

To see enlarged details, click here.

Please note, this giveaway is DOMESTIC only. The size of the prize packages makes them too expensive to ship foreign.

Other INTL giveaways are on the horizon here on my blog, so check back from time to time!

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Win an ARC of Slasher Girls & Monster Boys!

The Great SLASHER GIRLS & MONSTER BOYS ARC Giveaway

• Sponsored by publisher 
• US-Only (INTL readers, see the P.S. at the end of this post)
• Ends Monday, May 18
• Need to have a twitter account or Instagram to take part

HOW TO WIN:

We want to see you at your creatively slashiest. Show us your macabre side and post a pic of something scary to Instagram or Twitter, under hashtag #SLASHERGIRLSARC 

SCARY PIC SUGGESTIONS:

1. Hold a seance

2. Read a horror story in a cemetery

3. Recreate a horror scene from film/tv

4. Play light as a feather, stiff as a board

5. Say Bloody Mary 3 times in a mirror at midnight

6. Show us your Slasher boyfriend/girlfriend/platonic friend–Pinhead, Freddy, Xenomorph Queen…

7. Draw a chalk outline of a body on a sidewalk. Possibly yours.

SUPER SPECIAL ENTRY: Dig your own shallow grave. Anyone who goes to this much trouble will be placed in their own pool, i.e. your chances of winning are extremely good. 

Shallow grave guidelines: Be safe about digging. We’ll not be responsible for bodily injury due to spade mishaps, digging near power/gas lines, or digging on a too hot day, etc. Keep it safe, keep it shallow. On a beach, perhaps. Or in your garden.

Enter the giveaway as many times as you want (but dig your grave only once).

The Special Pool entries will be given priority.

And don’t let us hinder your slashy creativity. If you have other ideas, let’s see them! Tweet us your fave horror quotes! Show us your…scary dogs? 

Just keep it legal. And don’t forget to RT and use the hashtag #SLASHERGIRLSARC

P.S. Since this is sponsored by the anthology's publisher, it is US-Only.  However, I'll be getting a few ARCs and will have an INTL giveaway later for one, along with a chance to win a signed poster of the cover. So all my INTL readers, stay posted! :)

The Infinite Blog Tour

I'm so honored to be a part of The Infinite blog tour! If you want a shot at a swag pack and a chance to win a poster of this beautiful cover, be sure to check out the giveaway below!

Now, onto our post.

Ever since I read Gates of Thread and Stone, Lori M. Lee has become one of my fave new fantasy authors, and today, I get to feature an exclusive excerpt from the sequel I've been dying to read. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did! Although I must admit, it's only making it that much harder for me to wait...

(Beware, the last line is guaranteed to induce heart palpitations and puddles of drool for Avan and Kai fans)

Excerpt: 

 “Do you remember any of this?” I asked. As far as I knew, this was Avan’s first visit to the North District since Kalla had brought him back from death, and I could see his answer in the way he stared a little too long at his surroundings. 

His gaze followed a jagged pothole in the street to a web of cracks that fractured the sidewalk. The ruptured stones were left from Rebirth, when the frenzy of a magical and technological war had shaken the world, leveling mountains, scorching the oceans, and cracking open the earth. His brows pinched as he tilted his head back to study the lines of laundry strung above. His hesitant observations were strange to watch. He’d once known these crooked buildings and dark nooks as well as I did. Probably better. 

“No,” he said softly, but there was a note of uncertainty that lit the barest ember of hope in me.

 “What do you remember?” I’d been hesitant to ask this question, not wanting the specifics of how lonely he must feel. I didn’t need to imagine what it must be like, to know nothing of yourself other than what you could touch and see and feel in that exact moment. 

 He took his time replying. “I remember too much and too little. There are memories from the Conquest before me and the one before him—images of things I’ve had to look up in the history texts in order to understand, as well as moments with a strong emotional connection. It’s all jumbled,” he murmured, “like pieces from separate puzzles tossed together, and no way of ever forming a complete picture.” 

 “What about your life before? Not as Conquest, but as . . . Avan?” 

 He took even longer to answer. “It’s hard to describe,” he said finally. “It’s like . . . looking at storm clouds and knowing what’s to come—the cold shock of the first few raindrops striking skin, the crack of thunder and the way it can shake the ground beneath your feet when it’s right on top of you—but not being able to recall where the knowledge comes from.” He glanced back at me. “Or how, even before Kalla introduced us, I could have described to you the exact color of your eyes.”

Want to know more? Here's all the deets:

  About the Book: The walls of Ninurta keep its citizens safe.

Kai always believed the only danger to the city came from within. Now, with a rebel force threatening the fragile government, the walls have become more of a prison than ever. To make matters worse, as Avan explores his new identity as an Infinite, Kai struggles to remind him what it means to be human. And she fears her brother, Reev, is involved with the rebels.

With the two people she cares about most on opposite sides of a brewing war, Kai will do whatever it takes to bring peace. But she’s lost her power to manipulate the threads of time, and she learns that a civil war might be the beginning of something far worse that will crumble not only Ninurta’s walls but also the entire city.

 In this thrilling sequel to Gates of Thread and Stone, Kai must decide how much of her humanity she’s willing to lose to protect the only family she’s ever known.

Add The Infinite on GoodReads

Gates of Thread and Stone Purchase Links: IndieBound | Amazon | Barnes & Noble The Book Depository | Brilliance Audio | iTunes 
  The Infinite Purchase Links: IndieBound | Amazon | Barnes & Noble The Book Depository | Brilliance Audio
Praise for Gates of Thread and Stone:

 “Lori M. Lee excels in building a world of intrigue, oppression, and magic amidst a Labyrinth setting as twisted and winding as the secrets hidden inside her characters’ hearts. Fans of strong heroines who don’t need a boy to hold their hands, action-packed fighting scenes, and whispers of steampunk and mythology, will find themselves wishing they, too, could manipulate the threads of time, if only to stay inside the story a little longer.” A.G. Howard, New York Times bestselling author of the SPLINTERED series

 “A fast-paced, heart-wrenching whirl of a story full of magic, immortals, and a romance that will leave readers gasping for more. I adored the tough, scrappy narrator and fell in love with the boy chasing after her heart. Lori M. Lee introduces us to a fantasy world unlike any other and gives us the first taste of an epic love story in the making. I can’t wait for more!” Mindee Arnett, THE NIGHTMARE AFFAIR series and AVALON series

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Winners Announced!

Thanks to everyone who helped get the word out about the wrong Ensnared cover!

Here are the three winners (one swag pack each):

1. Michelle Sedeno

2. Emily Ruth

3. Chara Sullivan

If you will email me at anita(at)aghoward(dot)com with your snail mail address, I'll get those sent your way. Be sure and let me know who's name to personalize the bookplates to!

Those of you who didn't win, there's a huge giveaway on the horizon for the OFFICIAL Ensnared cover, and it will be coming sometime later this month! So keep checking here!

BUT, before that, I'll be helping a friend, Eric Devine, reveal his new book cover next week (May 14th) and there will be tons of prizes. Among them, I'll be giving away an Unhinged 18x24" poster, along with some Splintered Series swag:

So check back here on May 14th for deets on Eric's new cover and his FAB giveaway!

Happy weekend, and see you soon!

Girls & Monsters don't always play nice...

Luckily, today they're being downright SWEET!

I'm honored to welcome the ever lovely, ever dark Anne Michaud to my blog! I met Anne via blogger and fell in love with her delectable, seductive, and morbid prose while reading the short stories and poems she would post on her blog. Now at last she has a book coming out and the whole world can savor her terrifyingly twisted tales! Her new YA horror novel is launching in just a few days, so she has stopped by to tell us a little about it.

Anne, you have the spotlight!

***

They hide under the bed, in the closet or in a dark corner of your mind; they want to scare, play with or eat you. Monsters are everywhere, feeding off your screams, waiting for the perfect moment to attack - and sometimes, only girls can kick their butts. A killer mermaid, suburbia, hallucinations, one huge spider and zombies all face their match in this dark horror collection of 5 novellas for young adult. Annoyed by weak and fragile protagonists waiting for boys to save the day? Here's GIRLS & MONSTERS! Death Song, an excerpt:

 

Something catches in the back of my throat. I hide my face in my hands to quiet the sobs. But then, something ain’t right. Air moves around me and I stop. I look between my fingers, but the blur of my tears thickens everything: the bathtub, the towels, and someone on the floor. A woman’s in here with me, door still closed and locked. An exhale, like after a deep swim, and a smell, like the swamp close to my empty home. A chill runs down my back, I wipe my eyes, rub and scratch them to see more clearly. And I do. Two gray hands scratch the floor tiles, nails green with algae, putrid flesh sagging on her legs, arms and torso, hair so long and wet and heavy, it drags her down. Diluted, impossible to focus on, like little waves rippling over her body from head to foot, seaweed in the water. Scales and fins, mermaidlike, little knives, those are. And they scrape the floor, like a fork on a plate. It’s her—Limnade. She opens her mouth of scissor-teeth and the rotten smell of fish wraps around my throat like two hands trying to choke me. "You can’t be…” I don’t finish my breathless thought and jump backward, knocking over the dish of decorative soaps. Blurry waves, vision impaired, out of focus, unreal. She crawls toward me, eyes unblinking, lethal, hands inches from me: my legs refuse to move, as my body feels like stone. Frozen, hypnotized, a statue. Then I hear something coming from within her…A melody, reminding me of something lost, tickles my ears. It drags on until the sweetness turns sickly, vibrating into a full-on super-scream, hyenalike, enough to pop my ears and make them bleed. Her large mouth deforms her face into one gap of black, the cry so high and strident, I scream from the pain. Limnade stares at me, everything but her fades away—Jo’s nice bathroom, Jo’s new life, Jo himself, none of it matters anymore. Her fingers brush my forehead, they’re cold and sticky like clams. And I let the darkness take me away.

 

***

 

 

To celebrate the release of Girls & Monsters on April 30th, the author has handcrafted Skellies, The Monster Collection, each representing a monster of the 5 stories. The giveaway also includes a softcover of the collection, autographed if requested. The grand prize winner will be announced during the book launch's LIVE CHAT with Anne Michaud on April 30th at 9PM (east)! Girls & Monsters will be available at Darkfuse and other retailers from that date on. ♥

 

***

Anne Michaud

 

She who likes dark things never grew up. She never stopped listening to gothic, industrial and alternative bands like when she was fifteen. She always loved to read horror and dystopia and fantasy, where doom and gloom drip from the pages. She, who was supposed to make films, decided to write short stories, novelettes and novels instead. She, who’s had her films listed on festival programs, has been printed in a dozen anthologies and magazines since. She who likes dark things prefers night to day, rain to sun, and reading to anything else.

She tweets
She blogs
She facebooks

And don't forget to add Girls & Monsters to your goodread list ♥

The Sixth Day of Splintered Blog Tour: Wonderland fashion

If you're here for the sixth stop of the Splintered blog tour, it is now posted at its original listing: ReadingTeen (apologies for the confusion!).  Hop over for a glimpse at Wonderland parties and fashion, and enter the raffle copter for a chance to win one of 12 Splintered hardbacks, courtesy of Abrams!

And so you won't feel like your trip here today was a waste of time, here are two FREE interactive Splintered activities for you, if you like that sort of thing:

• Check out the pinterest Splintered Book board to get ideas for your own Wonderland/Splintered themed party.

• Hop over to the Splintered casting poll to learn more about the characters and choose which actors are perfect for the roles.

Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy the tour!

The Summer I Became A Nerd **Cover Reveal**

One of my wonderful writer pals is unveiling her book cover of awesome today, and I get to help show it off! YAY!

 First, let's find out who the author is:

Born and raised in northern Louisiana, Leah Rae Miller still lives there on a windy hill with her husband and kids. She loves comic books, lava lamps, fuzzy socks, and Cherry Coke. She spends most of her days reading things she likes and writing things she hopes other people will like.

Stalk the author online:

Goodreads

Twitter

Website/blog

Next, let's find out what the book's about:

On the outside, seventeen-year-old Madelyne Summers looks like your typical blond cheerleader—perky, popular, and dating the star quarterback. But inside, Maddie spends more time agonizing over what will happen in the next issue of her favorite comic book than planning pep rallies with her squad. That she’s a nerd hiding in a popular girl's body isn’t just unknown, it's anti-known. And she needs to keep it that way.

 

Summer is the only time Maddie lets her real self out to play, but when she slips up and the adorkable guy behind the local comic shop’s counter uncovers her secret, she’s busted. Before she can shake a pom-pom, Maddie’s whisked into Logan’s world of comic conventions, live-action role-playing, and first-person-shooter video games. And she loves it. But the more she denies who she really is, the deeper her lies become…and the more she risks losing Logan forever.


Personally, I can't WAIT to meet adorkable Logan!


And TA-DAH! Here's the AMAZING cover from the artistic wizards at Entangled Teen:

 

 

 

 

Congrats Leah! Can't wait to read this!

Want to put it on your GoodReads' shelf? Go here.

But, if you're like me and can't wait to pre-order the book, go here:

 

 

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

 

In the weeks leading up to THE SUMMER I BECAME A NERD's release on May 7, 2013, there will be a Marked-to-Read contest on Goodreads. Watch Leah’s site for details on how to submit/enter to win.

Thanks for stopping by!

 

 

Varik & Marisa Duke it Out in the Streamerazzi Interview

Today, I'm honored to be hosting the fabulous Catherine Stine and her YA futuristic thriller, Fireseed One, on their virtual tour around the web. In the link list at the bottom of this interview, there's a URL that will take you to a complete schedule of stops.

Here's a quick summary of the book:

What if only your very worst enemy could help you save the world?

 Fireseed One, a YA thriller, is set on a near-future earth with soaring heat, toxic waters, tricked-out amphibious vehicles, ice-themed dance clubs and fish that grow up on vines. Varik Teitur inherits a vast sea farm after the mysterious drowning of his marine biologist father. When Marisa Baron, a beautiful and shrewd terrorist, who knows way too much about Varik's father's work, tries to steal seed disks from the world's food bank, Varik is forced to put his dreams of becoming a doctor on hold and venture with her, into a hot zone teeming with treacherous nomads and a Fireseed cult who worships his dead father, in order to search for Fireseed, a seemingly magical hybrid plant that may not even exist. Illustrated by the author. Fans of Divergent and Feed will likely enjoy this novel, as well as those who like a dash of romance with their page-turners.

One of the things that caught my attention in the synopsis is the hot and cold aspect of the setting. Catherine actually weaves the same aspects into her characterization, bringing to life a "fire and ice romance."

To give us a little teaser, Catherine brought along her two main characters, Marisa and Varik, who, in spite of falling for each other, don't exactly see eye to eye on much else (lucky for us, because that makes it so very fun ... heh).

So, without further adieu, I give you seventeen-year-old Marisa and eighteen-year-old Varick, duking it out.  

Okay guys. Let's make this a clean fight. No biting, head-butting, or hitting below the belt. That means you, Marisa. ;)

Nationality? Birthplace?

Varik: I live in Ocean Dominion, which used to be called the Arctic Circle, but is now a series of floating islands and farms. Our sea farm is Teitur Farm.

Marisa: I grew up in Land Dominion, which used to be Canada and Greenland way back in the dark ages. Now, Land Dominion and Ocean Dominion are rivals. (Sends Varik a wicked grin).

Fave food?

Varik: Flyfish with sautéed sea apples. My friend, Audun cooks this. He’s a gourmet cook.

Marisa: Restavik boar with Landlock peas. All products of Land Dominion!

What are your occupations?

Marisa I was a member of the ZWC, an activist group, helping out the climate refugees in the Hotzone… or (looks over at Varik) a terrorist organization. Depends who you ask.

Varik: I was hoping to go to college to be a doctor. I wanted to specialize in making prosthetic limbs like the flippers I made for my dolphin after his got eaten by toxic waters. But now that my father (swallows hard) drowned, I manage our sea farm.

What makes life worthwhile?

Varik: Living on the ocean, sailing my old Sea Tern, playing ball with my dolphin, Juko; going to nightclubs on SnowAngel with my friend Audun, meeting girls (laughs when Marisa elbows him).

Marisa: Exposing hypocrisy, helping the refugees—

Varik interrupts: Though she goes about it in the worst way!

What are you each most fixated on?

Marisa: Feeding the Refs. Finding Fireseed.

Varik: Finding out if Fireseed exists, if what Marisa told me has any basis in fact.

Do you have a temper? How does it manifest?

(Both explode into uproarious laughter)

Marisa: Temper, me? Nooo! But Varik… he put a fish tracker in my neck for starters!

Varik: Um, because you broke into my father’s underwater vault, because you shot me with a stun gun. Because… (Exasperated sigh). Me? I’m pretty even-keeled.

Can you keep a secret?

Varik: (Reddening, dead silence. Thinking of all the secrets he’s kept from Marisa).

Marisa: (brushes her long, red hair back defiantly) Sometimes.

May we ask you each to describe how the other shows affection?

Varik: By breaking into my father’s secret underwater vault!

Marisa: By locking me up in his father’s airless meditation room.

Varik: It has one small porthole.

Marisa: Not even big enough for a water rat to squeeze through.

Varik: That was the point!

Who are your love interests?

Marisa: (Snorts) I have a fatal attraction to tall, blond guys, who own farms and have a horrid sense of politics!

Varik: I confess: I’ve developed a taste for stubborn, impulsive redheads, who join crazed cults simply to rebel against their megalomaniacal dads.

*ding-ding-ding*

 Round's over. The opponents are being escorted out of the ring so they can kiss and makeup. If you want a peek at that ... well, you'll have to buy the book.

Here's what other authors are saying about Fireseed One:

“Fireseed One is so full of startling ideas that I couldn't stop reading! Recommended for fans of science fiction, thrillers, or for anyone looking for a story full of big surprises.” -- Amy Kathleen Ryan, author of Glow, the first novel in The Sky Chasers series

“Action, adventure, love, and loss, plus superb world building all adds up to an incredibly imaginative story – one that should not be missed.”  --Carolyn MacCullough, author of Once a Witch and Always a Witch

Want to know more about Catherine and where to buy her book? Here's a treasure trove of linkage:

Fireseed One on Amazon

B&N Nook

Fireseed One's Facebook page
Goodreads author page

Catherine's Idea City blog

Website

Also, be sure to visit the other tour stops for some fun interviews, contests, and swag:

Complete Tour Schedule

Thank you Catherine, for letting me be a part of this. I loved meeting your wonderful characters! And thanks everyone else for stopping by. Have a fantastic weekend!

 

A Peek at my Editing Timeline, and a Mega Giveaway of EPIC Proportions!!!

Sorry I've been MIA in the blogasphere and twitter for awhile.

Here's why:

Ever since my publisher bumped up my launch from Spring 2013 to Fall 2012, it’s been pretty much non-stop editing with only 2 - 4 weeks between stints. Want a peek at my schedule over the past few months?

11/1/2011 - Received Content Edit letter w/ six week deadline
12/12/2011 - Turned in content edits
12/23/2011 - Received Line Edits w/ two week deadline
1/5/2012 - Turned in line edits
2/8/2012 - Received Copyedits w/ two week deadline
2/21/2012 - Turned in copyedits

For the record, during those in between stints, I was either holidaying w/friends and family, doing the mommy/wife gig, or writing out three book proposals for my editor to choose from for book 2 of my contract .

FYI, once I finally get done w/all the edits and hit the printing presses, I plan to have a post about the evolution of a MS, from the publisher's offer being accepted to the making of a real book, complete with my own personal timeline and a more in-depth description of the editing phases (I might even include visual aids...hee). So be watching for it!

Now, onto the contest part of today's post: There's an amazing giveaway including signed ARCs, books, and tons of swag up for grabs, taking place over at YA Books Central!

Our own authors over at ADR3NALIN3 donated this EPIC prize package to the giveaway...

The ADR3 pack includes:

 - Jordan Dane: ON A DARK WING autographed paperback and a snack pack inspired by her main character.

- Ilsa J. Bick: DROWNING INSTINCT and ASHES autographed hardbacks

- Wendy Corsi Staub: LILY DALE: AWAKENING autographed hardback

- Jennifer Archer: THROUGH HER EYES authographed hardback

- Chris Grabenstein: CURIOSITY CAT autographed paperback and assorted bookmarks

- Dan Haring: OLDSOUL autographed ARC

- Carol M. Tanzman: DANCERGIRL autographed paperback

- Brett Battles: HERE COMES MR. TROUBLE autographed paperback

- A.G. Howard: A creepy Alice in Wonderland themed journal, ribbon bookmark, and a signed bookplate, in homage to SPLINTERED, her upcoming YA Alice in Wonderland spinoff


For a shot at winning this pack -- OR t-shirts, lanyards, temporary tattoos, SIGNED books, SIGNED bookmarks and bookplates, magnets, felt coffee sleeves, shuriken hair clips, a USB flash drive, bracelets, pens, notepads, keychains, and more -- hop over to YA Books Central and get the deets!

Good luck! Thanks for stopping by, and see you next week. :)

The YAmazing Race is officially over!

Thanks everyone who played!! Random.org and I will do our drawing tonight and announce the winners of the gift tags/bookmarks and the ten signed book plates tomorrow. Have a fabulous Monday!

Free arcs, gift certificates, and swag ... Oh, MY!

THE RACE IS OFFICIALLY OVER!!

THANK YOU FOR PLAYING!

Yay! I'm so glad you're here on the Splintered stop of the YAmazing Race with MGnificent prizes -- a crazy whirlwind blog hop featuring over 50 debut authors and prize packs featuring ARCs, gift certificates, swag, and more!

Want a sneak peek into the prize vault? Here's what I tossed (or gently dropped, rather) into the gift pile:

Lady’s bronze vintage locket/pocket watch inspired by the White Rabbit's watch

If you haven’t yet been to the Apocalypsies website, please click here to start from the beginning and read the complete rules. There are links there to take you to each leg of the race, so you'll find your way back to me all in good time.

Those of you who already followed the yellow brick road of blogs, onward with the race!

Since my book cover is still in the design phases, below is the synopsis which offers the answer to one of the questions you'll be asked in the quiz at the end of this leg of the race. Remember, you must complete ALL FIVE quizzes (one at the end of each leg) to be eligible for a prize pack:

Splintered by A.G. Howard:

For sixteen years, Alyssa Gardner has lived with the stigma of being descended from Alice Liddell -- the real life inspiration for Lewis Carroll's famed novel, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. But cruel jokes about dormice and tea parties can’t compare to the fact that Alyssa hears the whispers of bugs and flowers ... the same quirk which sent her mother to a mental institution years before.

When her mother takes a turn for the worse and the whispers grow too strong for Alyssa to bear, she seeks the origins of their family curse. A set of family heirlooms and a moth tied to an eerie website lead Alyssa and her gorgeous best friend / secret crush, Jeb, down the rabbit hole into the real Wonderland, a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on.

There, creepy and violent counterparts of the original fairytale crew reveal the purpose for Alyssa’s journey, and unless she fixes the things her great-great-great grandmother Alice put wrong, Wonderland will have her head.


WAIT! Before you go – there's a **bonus contest** for my readers to win this:

Set of  6 Alice in Wonderland gift tags/bookmarks from MissBohemia.com

If you'll simply be a follower of my blog and leave a comment below letting me know, your name goes into a drawing. To have your name entered a second time, tweet up this post on twitter (be sure to use my handle @aghowardwrites in the tweet so I'll catch it in my mentions feed) OR share it on FB (include the link in the comments below so I can go check it out). I will close comments at 12pm easter on Monday the 23rd and the winner will be announced here on Tuesday the 24th.

UPDATE: The response has been so good to my contest that I'm going to do an extra drawing to give away 10 personalized and signed bookplates that you can place on your own copy of Splintered one day:

Just an example ... I promise to use your name. Oh, and my signature isn't nearly that neat. ;)

This means I’ll be pulling 10 more names from Random.org so you all have ten more chances to win. My way of thanking you for your interest in the book!

Ready to move on? Awesome! Click here to go to the next stop on the race, and good luck!

***

Want to know more about Splintered?.

Click here for a sneak peak at Splintered's sexy antagonist and the skateboarding / gothic fashionista heroine.

Still want to see more?.

To check Splintered out on GoodReads,

Click Here...

Thanks for stopping in, and have a great week!

Tune in for YAmazing fun and MGnificent prizes!

If you take part in the upcoming Apocalypsies blog race, you'll get to meet some fabulous 2012 debut young adult and middle grade authors and hear about their upcoming books along the way...

The YAmazing Race with MGnificent Prizes begins tomorrow (January 16) at noon-ish eastern, so get your game face on to win some awesome SWAG.

See you then!!!

***

P.S. HUGE props to Gina Damico for organizing this race, and her husband who put together the fun quizzes that will win you lucky guys and gals those prizes. Gina is super generous w/her time. Don't know how she does it, considering her own book CROAK will be coming out in March (SO VERY CLOSE!) so I know she's crazy busy. Be sure to put that book on your to-read list because it looks FAB, FUNNY, and wickedly creepy to boot.

Step Into My Nightmare ... and win a prize.

If you'd like to know what the first half of the title is all about, you'll have to visit my new young adult and middle grade group blog, ADR3NALIN3: Books that are worth losing sleep over. I spilled my guts out over there today, almost literally, sharing some of my weirdest fears and how I developed them. As to the prize part, we'll get to that in just a second...

I've made some changes on my sidebar to reflect efforts at building an online presence for my upcoming book, Splintered, and ADR3NALIN3 is one of those changes. That doesn't mean I won't still be posting here. I'll continue my Monday poetry spots here, keep posting any news I might have, and also have my QueryTracker series every first Friday.

But two Wednesdays a month I'll be posting at the new blog. I'll keep you apprised of where I'll be by the calendar on the sidebar.

Speaking of the calendar, as you can see, I'm taking part in a HUGE blog race next week with 58 other Apocalypsies -- fellow 2012 debut authors of YA and MG books -- and there will be prizes galore to be had! More deets are to come on Monday, but for now, here's a sneak peek at two of the prizes I'm putting up for grabs:

Alice in Wonderland gift tags/bookmarks from MissBohemia.com

Lady’s bronze vintage locket/pocket watch

So if you're interested in free goodies, stay tuned.

Be sure to visit and promote the ADR3NALIN3 blog. There are some great YA and MG authors over there, several already published and with a large fan base, so I'm hoping for good things all around.

Thanks for stopping by! Hope to see you next week for the YAmazing Race and MGnificent Prizes! Until then, have a fabulous and safe weekend.

Putting on my cowgirl boots and stepping out...

I'm guessing some of you popped over here in hopes to see me riding a mechanical bull. Sorry! Not today, although I might be willing to try that closer to my book's release date as a promotional event.

Hmm. On second thought, I'd like to keep my spine intact. ;)

I don't normally post on Fridays, except for Query Tracker Fridays, but I have a few exciting announcements to share before my weekend haitus.

First, I've been invited to take part in a joint blog where Texas YA paranormal authors hang out, write posts, and cross promote. The blog is called TeenShiver, and "will feature & nurture Texas YA books that make you shiver." (Thanks to Jordan Dane--one of our featured authors--for that excellent catch phrase!).  I'll be posting over there about twice a month, and during those weeks, it will be quiet here in the land of madness and whimsy. I'll give you a heads up when my posting days will be as soon as I know myself.

If you'd like to meet the TeenShiver authors, hop over to this link and say "howdy!" And anytime you're curious what's new over there, you can just click on the TeenShiver button on my sidebar (color coordinated to fit my blog's motif), and much like Aladdin, you'll be magically transported by magic carpet. Okay, you'll be transported via routers, servers, cell phone towers, satellites, etc... but it's the next best thing! And you don't have to worry about frayed edges. :)

My second announcement: I now have an official GoodReads author page. And Splintered even has a page of it's own where people can mark it as to read right now! And then wait patiently for ... oh, a year and a half-ish. :)

Click Me

This was so fun to set up, because it made me feel ... authorly. I know, it's not a real adjective, but what say we make it one for today? If any of you are on GoodReads, please friend me and I'll friend back! I'd love to see what you're reading.

And lastly, this Sunday (September 18th) I'll be hanging out at my good friend Mindy's blog: Writer Writer Pants on Fire, sharing my submission experience. So please drop in if you'd like to read a few behind the scenes details about my journey to finally snagging that elusive publisher.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you all have a wonderful, restful, and safe weekend! And I'll see you again next week. :)

We interrupt this Friday haitus...

Quick shout out to any faery loving folks. I've been invited by my dear friend Katey to write up a movie review for one of my all time fave movies: Labyrinth. It's scheduled to be posted on the Fae Awareness Month blog this Sunday, June 12th.

Despite how dated the trailer looks and sounds, after watching the movie again through the eyes of an adult and a YA author, I've found some amazing similarities to today's YA fantasies.

In fact, I'm convinced the Net Generation's teens would find something to enjoy in Labyrinth if they'd give it a chance. Want to know why? Hop over to my guest post to see how this 80's storyline is like a YA novel.

Until then, I'm crawling back into my haitus shell. Have a fantastic weekend! Hope to see you next week -- Monday for some poetry, and then Wednesday for my regularly scheduled blogging day.

Contest shout-outs...

Thanks to everyone who visited my "Whose Line Is It?" post last week where I offered a chance to win my critique partner's hauntingly lovely YA debut from HarperTeen (click cover for excerpt):

As promised, I drew a winner from the six readers who answered correctly. But before I announce who won, I want to first give out the answers and personally acknowledge each of those readers for taking the time to play, because I didn't make it easy. They really had to work for a ballot in the drawing!

The challenge was to find three classic sentences hidden within a nonsense paragraph I'd written, and match the sentences to their famous original titles. Here's the paragraph again:


Morning light coaxes me awake. I crawl out of bed and stretch, arms spreading to the ceiling. My legs and ankles pop and snap. Now I'm opening out like the largest telescope that ever was! My pet lizard watches from his terrarium, unimpressed. If only I could've been his maker. Even better, if I'd made the world. A new species would bless me as its creator and source: many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me. I shudder, remembering the dream I had last night. I was transported in thought to the scenes of childhood: I dreamt I lay in the red-room ... the night was dark, and my mind impressed with strange fears. Fears of waking to a world where my existence was of little consequence. The same world wherein I now stand.

Here are the classic quotes and the titles they belong to:

Now I'm opening out like the largest telescope that ever was! - Alice in Wonderland 

A new species would bless me as its creator and source: many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me. - Frankenstein

I was transported in thought to the scenes of childhood: I dreamt I lay in the red-room ... the night was dark, and my mind impressed with strange fears. - Jane Eyre

And a shout-out to our savvy detectives, in no particular order:

Angela

mary_j_59

Cherie

Cathy

Marybk

Carly

Great job to all of these ladies! Make sure you click on their names to visit their blogs which are every bit as brilliant and industrious as their sleuthing abilities.

Now for the winner: Cathy, aka, The Total Book Nerd!

Looks like your years of being a book nerd have paid off, my well read friend! ;) Email me at anita at aghoward dot com with "blog contest" in the sub line. Include your mailing address along with who you would like the autograph to be made out to. I'll get the book sent your way asap.

Thanks again everyone who popped in and commented. Those of you who didn't win, please do order a copy of THROUGH HER EYES by Jennifer Archer. It's a must read for anyone who loves an eerie ghost story with a romantic twist. Also, drop by Jennifer's blog for a glimpse at her personal writer's journey along with some great writing tips.

Hope you all have a wonderful and productive Monday!

Playing with Window's Movie Maker...

I'm loving this tool. Here's my first ever book trailer. Squee!

And kudos to Kevin Macleod for providing FREE royalty-free song clips for any artist at his website: http://www.incompetech.com/. All he asks is that you reference him or his website in the credits.

What a super nice guy! 

Also, photobucket has TONS of royalty-free pics so the only thing I spent today was time. And when you're having fun, you know how that flies! 

Go on and give it a try yourself, it's easier than it looks!