Thursday, April 4, 2013

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 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!



Go to the YA Scavenger Hunt page to find out all about the hunt. There are TWO contests going on simultaneously, and you can enter one or all! I am a part of the RED TEAM--but there is also a red team for a chance to win a whole different set of twenty-five 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: Below, 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!).


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 SUNDAY, APRIL 7th, at noon Pacific Time. Entries sent without the correct number or without contact information will not be considered.


SCAVENGER HUNT POST




Today, I am hosting Jessica Shirvington on my website for the YA Scavenger Hunt!

Embrace was Jessica's first novel. She has since followed with Entice, Emblaze, and ENDLESS, and the final book in the series is due for release in 2014.
The books have now sold into eight international markets and the CW Network, along with Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment and CBS Studios are currently developing Violet's story as a potential television drama.
Born and raised in Sydney, Australia, Jessica and her ex-olympian husband of 12 years share two gorgeous daughters. When asked why she chooses to write YA, she says the answer is simple. She never considered writing anything else."


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

http://www.jessicashirvington.com/


EXCLUSIVE CONTENT

When you are hanging off the edge of a volcano, how do you make the most important decision of your life? For Violet Eden the decisions between right and wrong are getting harder and harder. Because apparently being a half-angel Grigori doesn't always make you right.
Where is the good in having to choose between the life of her best friend and saving humanity? How does she balance a soul-crushing need for her Grigori partner, Lincoln, and the desire to keep him safe at all costs? And what if the darkest exile angel of all, Phoenix, isn't as bad as she thought?
Violet has one chance to make the right choice...
Here's the awesome exclusive content for EMBLAZE!
Deleted scene from Chapter Two.(The opening scene in Chapter One of EMBLAZE later replaced this.)

Steph did a good job of hiding it, but I noticed her stiffen as we neared the door – and for good reason. I already knew what was out there.

‘Better you than me I guess,’ she said, eyeing off the barely-bad weather, pulling out her Burberry umbrella. ‘How many do you think there’ll be today?’ she asked, like it was now an ordinary question.

‘Of us or them?’

She considered. ‘Both.’

I focused on my senses, a little of my amethyst mist rising from me and then floating lightly to the ground where it then disappeared. Steph didn’t see. Humans couldn’t see a lot of things. I’d explained it to her before, but it was one of those see-it-to-believe-it things.

I bit down on my lip and concentrated on my feet not picking up pace. ‘Griffin said to expect two Grigori.’ But there was three I realised unhappily. I knew full well who that third Grigori was. ‘As for them...’ I grabbed a hold of the door and swung it open. ‘Only one today.’

Spence walked out, unperturbed and I looked over my shoulder to Steph who had paused at the door. ‘I’ll let you know when the coast is clear.’

Steph nodded. This would only take a minute.

I was so sick of being cockroach bait.

I don’t know why Phoenix kept sending exiles to fight me. The schedule had become repetitive and almost easy to stay on top of. School – sometimes before, sometimes after – and outside my home at night.

Other than consuming people’s time and annoying me – it achieved nothing. Only sending one or two at a time, usually newly exiled and not much of a challenge – the worst that had happened on our side was a few broken bones. Hardly worth his loss in numbers and, tactically, none of us could work it out.

I took in the after school scene. A few stragglers were hopping into cars, or walking down the sidewalk towards the bus stop. I spotted our friendlies, Beth and Archer, strategically positioned across the road.

I couldn’t see the third Grigori but I could sense him further afield. I was fairly certain Griffin hadn’t felt he was needed. But like most days, Lincoln tended to think otherwise.

‘Damn well lurking,’ I mumbled under my breath.

Spence took position at the top of the steps as I sprung lightly down the stairs and dumped my bag. It only took about thirty seconds for the exile to emerge. Right on cue and eyes only for me.

He was young. I was willing to bet he hadn’t been here for more than a year or two. Millennia of existence as an angel really didn’t prepare them for human forms. He looked awkward in his body, like it was almost the wrong fit. No surprises it was male. From their point of view male forms were the superior, females the lesser race with the added disadvantage of monthly bloodletting.

Idiots.

He didn’t look more than me and his bright red hair looked suspiciously like a failed attempt at a mohawk.

He clearly expected me to be scared of him, and well, I was. But I guess I’d be a lot more scared of him if he was intelligent enough to know that already, behind him, two more kickass Grigori had moved in. This was four against one. Five if I counted Lincoln.

The exile started to stalk me. He was about to make his move. Archer moved in, too, but I wasn’t interested in being saved by anyone. I leapt into the fight zone and got the formalities out of the way.

‘Humanity or judgement?’

He struck me across the face.

Not exactly an answer, but good enough.

I responded using the same form of communication.

The exile was surprisingly resilient. He took the hit, which came at him with deadly force and barely stumbled. Instead, he ducked and grabbed me at the waist, twisting my body as he did and slamming me back first, onto the concrete ground. My head hit hard. Damn.

I got up in time but Archer was already there. Uninterested in my desire to hold my own and only concerned with getting the job done, he put a foot into the exiles thigh from a side angle, taking him by surprise and breaking his leg. Before the exile fell to the ground, Archer’s dagger had finished the job.

Shit. He’d been an amateur but still, he’d bettered me.

I put my hands on my hips and refused to feel the back of my head for blood. I knew it was there without seeing it but it wasn’t bad. ‘I had him.’

Beth joined Archer’s side.

Partners.

A thought that only hurt as I looked beyond them to where Lincoln hovered in the shadows.
Archer sheathed his dagger as Beth looked around making sure we hadn’t had an audience.

‘Griffin said you have a training session to get to,’ Archer said, a small smile in his voice. He was old hat. Archer’s training days were long since done.

I picked up my bag and gave Steph a half-assed coast-is-clear wave. She’d already moved closer to where Spence was still hanging out anyway. ‘Whatever. I still had him.’

‘Course you did kid, just thought you’d want to get on with your day,’ Archer said with a cheeky wink.


Pretty fantastic, right? And don't forget to enter the contest for a chance to win a ton of signed books by me and more! To enter, you need to know that my favorite number is 123! Add up all the favorite numbers of the authors on the Red Team and you'll have all the secret code to enter for the grand prize!


CONTINUE THE HUNT!


To keep going on your quest for the hunt, you need to check out the next author! The amazing LISSA PRICE!