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Monday, September 21, 2015

Announcing my new YA novel!


I've been working on my next YA book -- very eerie and Gothic, sort of a spin-off like Splintered, but not Wonderland related -- and have been itching to tell everyone about it (waiting for the green light from my publisher).

Today they're letting me announce it!

Here's the official blurb from GoodReads (click here to add to your GR shelf):

Click image to enlarge

Yay! The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux is one of my favorite stories of all time. I'm close to the halfway mark in my spin-off, and am having more fun in this lush, dark world than should be legal. ;D

So that you can share in the fun with me, I wanted to show you a peek. Since I'm a very visual writer, I like to look at my characters as their stories unfold, so I pin images to inspire me.

Even animals, if they play big enough roles, get posted on the board. Although with the Splintered Series, I didn’t have that luxury, since the creatures were born solely of my imagination, and I'm no artist. ;)

With that said, check out my pinterest board for the cast of RoseBlood, complete with a scowling Cornish Rex cat and a red swan.


Soon, I'll do another post and share more insights into the premise and introduce you to some of the characters. So keep checking back!

Monday, August 10, 2015

Untamed Ink Color & Table of Contents Reveal + GIVEAWAY TIME


******THE GIVEAWAY IS NOW ENDED******

Here are the winners:


Audio set of Splintered, Unhinged, and Ensnared: 
Kris Dickinson


Author-Signed Untamed Galley Title Page:
Dyanna J. Craig


"Cheshire Clock"  8X10 print:
Lauren Michelle Romas


Alternative Alice in Wonderland 8x10 inch print:
Shelby Scott
  

Follow the white rabbit 5X7 inch print:
Melissa Marshall


Gothic Alice Digital Print Trading Card (2.5" x 3.5"):
Ina M. 


Set of three Vintage Alice in Wonderland gift tags:
Vivien (deadtossedwaves)

Signed Untamed swag pack:
Luis Gonzalez
Kristy Lorenz
Virginia Ann Spencer


All winners have been notified via email. Everyone else, thank you for playing along, and I'll have another giveaway soon, hopefully with an Untamed hardcover up for grabs!


                                               ******


Okay, so exciting news, I'm finally done with all of the Untamed edits, and even got to see the gorgeous PDF that will very shortly become a book. 

I've also been given permission to share a sneak peek at the color ink my publisher (Abrams / Amulet Books) is using this time, as well as a look at the table of contents so you can see the order in which the stories will be presented.


So without further adieu, here's a glimpse of the upcoming book:

Click on image for high res viewing

I can't tell you how excited I am! Blue is my favorite color. ;) Although there's no guarantee it will be this exact shade, since such things vary between jpgs and actual printed images/ text, we do know it's going to be a shade of blue (on the purplish side). 

For a more in-depth description of the short stories, go here.


Now, in celebration of finally being D-O-N-E, and as a tribute to the gorgeous artwork behind the Splintered Series (by artist Nathalia Suellen), I'm going to give away a full set of my books, and some fun Alice related art prints in all shapes and sizes. 

And yes, the giveaway is INTL! 

Here are the prizes:


Audio set of Splintered, Unhinged, and Ensnared 


Author-Signed Untamed Galley Title Page (8.5 X 11")


"Cheshire Clock"  8X10 print (signed on back by artist Jasmine Becket-Griffith) 


Alternative Alice in Wonderland 8x10 inch print

  
Follow the white rabbit 5X7 inch print
Frame not included

Gothic Alice Digital Print Trading Card (2.5" x 3.5")
Display easel not included


Set of three Vintage Alice in Wonderland gift tags

3 sets of signed Untamed swag packs



That's a total of ten winners. Check out the rafflecopter below for how to get entered! 

Oh, and if you'd like FIVE extra entries, you can get them simply by putting my Untamed countdown widget (located at the top of my sidebar) on your blog to help me get the word out. 

Just copy and paste the following into an HTML widget on your blog: <style> #cntdwn{background:url(http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k579/aghoward6970/Untamed%20final%20cover2%20countdown_zpsa9dg9owg.jpg) no-repeat 0 0; color:#000000 !important; display:block;
 font-family: Palatino Linotype, Book Antiqua, Palatino, serif !important; font-weight:bold; height:140px; padding:0px 20px 200px;width:177px; text-align:center;  } </style><script language="JavaScript">TargetDate = "12/15/2015 12:01 AM"; BackColor = "transparent"; ForeColor = "#000000 !important"; CountActive = true; CountStepper = -1; LeadingZero = true; DisplayFormat = "%%D%% Days, %%H%% Hours, %%M%% Minutes, %%S%% Seconds.";
FinishMessage = "Available Now"; </script> <script language="JavaScript" src="http://scripts.hashemian.com/js/countdown.js"></script>


Then leave me your blog's link in the window provided on the rafflecopter to prove you've done it, and you'll get those entries. 

Good luck everyone! Can't wait to share more Untamed excerpts / giveaways / and surprises over the next few months as we get ever closer to the December 2015 launch!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Saturday, August 8, 2015

Slasher Girls & Monster Boys Blog Tour




Follow the tour:

Stefan Bachmann - 8/10 – Winterhaven Books 
Leigh Bardugo - 8/11 – The Hiding Spot 
Kendare Blake - 8/12 – Reading Teen 
A. G. Howard - 8/13 – Page Turners Blog 
Marie Lu - 8/14 – Gone With the Words 


Jonathan Maberry - 8/17 – Bookish Antics 
April Genevieve Tucholke - 8/18 – The Midnight Garden 
Danielle Paige - 8/19 – The Irish Banana 
Carrie Ryan - 8/20 – Katie’s Book Blog 
Megan Shepherd - 8/21 – Jessabella Reads 


Nova Ren Suma - 8/24 - Bookiemoji 
McCormick Templeman - 8/25 – The Eater of Books! 
Cat Winters - 8/26 – Seeing Double in Neverland 
Jay Kristoff – 8/27 - Fangirlish

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Ama-Con Signing

For anyone who's going to Ama-Con in Amarillo this weekend, I'll be hanging out at the Barnes & Noble booth from 1-4pm on Saturday to sign autographs, chat books, and drool over all the fabulous cosplays!

Hope to see some of you there!


Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Slasher Girls & Monster Boys Survival Tips

Four tips for surviving the 14 terrifying tales you'll find between the pages of Slasher Girls & Monster Boys:

1. Always read in bed while burrowed under your covers. If you can't see IT, it can't see you. Your safety is all that matters, even if the covers hinder your ability to breathe.

2. Don't make a noise. Every whimper leads it closer to your hiding place.

3. Lie as flat as you can and don't move. Any lump in the covers attracts its attention. 

4. If you've been discovered, only light can make it go away. Bright light and nothing else. A flashlight will reflect off its eyes and make it angry.


gif by Kevin Weir of fluxmachine

Think you're brave enough to read our stories?

You can win a copy here.

(Rules for survival inspired by A Child's Eyes)


Thursday, July 9, 2015

Untamed sneak peek!

I've been promising another sneak peek of Untamed for a while, so here it is! 

This excerpt is taken from Alison and Thomas's story, and is in her POV. In this scene, she's thirteen years old and just about to meet Morpheus, who will change her life forever.


Click picture to enlarge

And here's the first teaser I posted a few weeks ago from the headlining story Six Impossible Things, for anyone who missed it:




Also, I just got a look at Untamed's formatted pages, and the color of the text is beautiful! I'll have a reveal for that in a few weeks, along with a giveaway to celebrate that the edits are all behind me and a real book is just around the corner!

Sunday, June 28, 2015

Signing in Kansas City

I'll be signing the Splintered Series next week in Kansas City. And I'll be giving away some fabulous Untamed swag + sneak peeks into the upcoming book!

Here are the deets:

July 2, 2015
7pm: B&N Event 
Store 2184, Zona Rosa
8625 NW Prairie View Rd, Kansas City, MO 64153
(816) 505-3355

More info can be found on the B&N website.

Hope to see some of you there!