Winter 2012 YA Scavenger Hunt & 1st ELEGY ARC Contest

Welcome to YA Scavenger Hunt! At this hunt, you not only get access to exclusive content from each participating author, but 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 blue team for a chance to win a whole different set of 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, December 2, at noon Pacific Time. Entries sent without the correct number or without contact information will not be considered.  If you have trouble or get stuck, be sure to go here for help.

SCAVENGER HUNT POST

Today, I'm hosting the amazing Kristi Cook, author of HAVEN, MIRAGE, and the upcoming ETERNAL!

As a child, Kristi Cook took her nose out of a book only long enough to take a ballet class (or five) each week.  Not much has changed since then, except she's added motherhood to the mix and enjoys penning her own novels as much as reading everybody else's.  A transplanted Southern girl, Kristi lives in New York City with her husband and two daughters.

MIRAGE, the sequel to HAVEN, is Kristi's most recently published novel.  Danger looms large in MIRAGE, which Booklist called "a blend of the Gemma Doyle trilogy, the Twilight saga, and Lois Duncan's thrillers.

Violet McKenna is back for her senior year at Winterhaven and thrilled to be back with Aidan after a long summer apart.  But while their love for each other is as strong as ever, their troubles are far from over.

News of a rogue vampire on a killing spree sets everyone on edge.  While Aidan is determined to stop the killer, Violet is chilled by a horrifying vision she simply must prevent...for if she can't, two people she loves will meet a violent end.

In the midst of Violet's fears, a mysterious newcomer enters her life - and he has some vital information, not just about her past but about her future as well.  Now everything Violet held as truth is upended, and she is left not knowing whom to trust, if she is in danger, and - worst of all - whether she and Aidan are really meant to be together.

Sounds awesome, right?  Well, even better I get to share some EXCLUSIVE CONTENT with you from Kristi's upcoming novel, ETERNAL.  This third and final book in the Winterhaven series will blow you away!  So, on to the excerpt!

ETERNAL by KRISTI COOK

Excerpt

Aidan

Paris, France

Flames licked at the restraints, crackling noisily as the smell of singed flesh filled the small space. My flesh. Burning, then healing—then burning again. At intervals, spikes pierced my sides, the jagged barbs tearing through skin and muscle, and then retracting until the wounds healed over.

The searing pain was endless, relentless. I had no idea how long I’d been there in the torch-lit chamber beneath the Tribunal’s headquarters. Hours? Days? Weeks?

I swallowed hard, my elongated canines scraping my lower lip, drawing blood. Blood. I needed to feed. Denied my elixir, the thirst was driving me mad. I could smell it, somewhere up above, pulsing through veins and warming the skin of the living. The metallic tang made my mouth water, made me tremble with need. I closed my eyes, fighting the bloodlust, denying it.

When I opened my eyes again, she was there, standing before me.

Violet.

The orange flames flickered across her face, throwing shadows across her cheekbones. Her mouth curved into a smile as she reached a hand out to me, beckoning me.

My heart thudded against my ribs as my hungry gaze swept over her, devouring her. I tried to call out her name, to beg her forgiveness.

I’m sorry, Vi. So very sorry.

She shook her head, her brows drawn over the emerald eyes that had haunted my days and nights in this miserable, agony-filled existence that was my life since I left her.

“Come back to me,” she begged, her voice a ragged whisper. “Please, Aidan. I need you.”

I tried to reach for her, raging against the restraints that dug into my wrists, manacling me. A sob tore from my parched throat as I struggled ineffectually, the metal bruising and biting my skin, breaking my bones.

And then she began to fade away, her form dissolving like wisps of smoke that looped and curled toward the ceiling before fading into nothingness.

Oh my - I seriously can't wait to read this entire book!  Be sure and check out Kristi's books here.  And don't forget to enter the contest for a chance to win a ton of signed books, including the FIRST EVER ARC OF ELEGY, by me, Tara Hudson!  To enter, you need to know that my favorite number is 13.  Add up all the favorite numbers of the authors on the red team and you'll have the secret code to enter for the grand prize!

And here's something even better: I'm running my own, separate contest!  The first person who comments correctly here on my blog with the birthday of my main character, Amelia Ashley, also wins a signed ARC of ELEGY (out with HarperTeen, June 4, 2013)!  Even if you don't win the grand prize, you can still find out what happens to Amelia and Joshua seven months before everyone else! :)

CONTINUE THE HUNT

To keep going on the hunt, you need to check out the website of the next author (who happens to be one of my very besties!), Josephine Angelini, at her website here.

Thanks for stopping by, and good luck with both the grand prize and the ELEGY ARC contest!

Welcome to the 4th YA Scavenger Hunt!!

Welcome to YA Scavenger Hunt! At this hunt, you not only get access to exclusive content from each participating author, but 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 BLUE 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 blue 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 August 5, 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 the super-gorgeous, super-talented Leigh Fallon, author of The Carrier Series, which includes CARRIER OF THE MARK and the upcoming SHADOW OF THE MARK, on my blog for the YA Scavenger Hunt!
Harrassed mom by day and tormented writer by night, Leigh is a walking Irish cliche, trying (rather unsuccessfully, she thinks) to to blend into U.S. society.
Find out more information about Leigh Fallon, check out her website or find more about the author's books here!  And now for the best part of the hunt...  

EXCLUSIVE CONTENT FROM LEIGH FALLON!

 

 

In SHADOW OF THE MARK, the upcoming sequel to Leigh's hit novel CARRIER of the Mark, life for Megan Rosenberg just got a lot more complicated.

 

While she evoked the air element, and her feelings for Adam instensified, a web of lies, deceit, and betrayal has been spun around her.  With the Order tightening its hold, and the reinstatement of the Mark Knights, Megan has more questions than answers as the Marked Ones grow in strength.

 

New people arouse suspicion, the DeRises start behaving strangely, and Megan begins to unravel a destiny shrouded in mystery.  It's a destiny the Order has struggled to hide, and a destiny someone in the past - far in the past - has already laid claim to.

 

Alliances will be made and friends will be lost as the Order's dark secrets will be revealed by the very thing they sought to destroy.

 

Doesn't that sound FANTASTIC?  I know I can't wait for SHADOW OF THE MARK to be released!   

And don't forget to enter the contest for a chance to win a ton of signed books by me, Tara Hudson, and more! To enter, you need to know that my favorite number is 2.  Add up all the favorite numbers of the authors on the blue team and you'll have all the secret code to enter for the grand prize!

CONTINUE THE HUNT

To keep going on the hunt, you need to check out the next author (who I absolutely adore) Tera Lynn Childs, at her website here!

Four VERY Good Things - Biggest Giveaway EVER

This has been a week of good things, and we all need to celebrate!  The best way to do that is to hold a giveaway, right? :)  I have my last two ARCs of ARISE, as well as some other awesome goodies to give away to three winners!! 

So what is so exciting, that we need to jump with joy and throw prizes everywhere?  How about a list? :)

4. My good buddy Amy Plum's book, UNTIL I DIE, was released in the U.S. this Tuesday, May 8th!  UNTIL I DIE is the sequel to her sensational debut, DIE FOR ME, and let me tell you: it's even better than the first book!

3. The paperback of HEREAFTER was also released on Tuesday, May 8th.  It's so exciting to see these copies sitting on bookstore shelves, especially since each contains an excerpt of ARISE!

2. Speaking of ARISE, the official playlist for the book is now up on my website - including the song that all of you voted for, "No Light, No Light" by Florence + the Machine!  I'm kind of deeply in love with this playlist and soon, HarperTeen is going to release my playlist notes (giving sneak-peeks of ARISE) on http://www.epicreads.com/ and Amazon.com.  Be looking for them!

1.  YA'LL.  This is the biggest news!  ARISE releases in the U.S. in less than thirty days!  EEP, SO EXCITED!!  June 5th couldn't get here soon enough.


Good news, or what?  Definitely deserving of a final ARC-and-more giveaway!  So here's what's at stake:

Grand Prize: A signed ARC of ARISE, a signed paperback of HEREAFTER, and a order of UNITL I DIE by Amy Plum

Second Prize: A signed ARC of ARISE and a signed paperback of HEREAFTER

Third Prize: A preorder of ARISE in Hardcover

How do you get all this good stuff?  That part is easy.  You get a point for doing each of the following, and the person with the most points gets the grand prize, and so on. 
Follow me on Twitter (@thudsonwrites) +1
Like the Tara Hudson Author page on Facebook +1
Like the Hereafter Fan page on Facebook +1
Follow this blog +1
Add HEREAFTER to your shelf on Goodreads +1
Add ARISE to your shelf on Goodreads +1
Add ELEGY to your shelf on Goodreads +1
Like the ARISE book trailer on YouTube +1
Tweet about this contest on Twitter +1 for each tweet
Tweet a link to any of the above on Twitter +1 for each tweet

It's like Girl Scout badges, except for free books!  The contest is U.S. only (sorry, international folks - I promise that the next contest will go everywhere), and it ends at 10 pm CST, Monday May 14th.  (Winners announced Tuesday)

Can't wait to celebrate with you!

The ARISE Book Trailer is HERE!!!

So different, so cool, and so dark...just like ARISE!  Let me know what you think!

Win, Win, Win

Without further ado, the song with the most votes was:

"No Light, No Light" by Florence + the Machine!!!

So thanks to you guys, this song will be the bonus on my website as well as EpicReads.com and Amazon.  Even better, the lists on EpicReads and Amazon will have my song notes, and this one will be all about you guys, the best readers ever!

Even betterer (totally a word, guys), we have two ARC winners, chosen by Randomizer.  The lovely Lisseth and The Momma/Nanny win signed ARCs of ARISE!  I'll email you guys, so that you can email me your mailing addresses.  And in a surprise move, I'm giving an honorable mention to Devan @ Bookstrings for her two incredible write-ins: she gets an ARC of DREAMLESS by my good buddy Josephine Angelini (out May 29th)!

Congrats to the winners, and congrats to my even more awesome playlist which will be fully revealed in May. :)

Shiny New Website = ARISE Playlist Contest

I've had such a crazy couple weeks, bouncing around between book conventions.  And at the end of this week, I promise a long update on the Romantic Times Convention and Teen Book Con.  (I mean, you all want to know about the ridiculously cool YA authors, booksellers, librarians, and readers I met, right?) 

But I have other news I need to celebrate!  The day I got back from my world travels (okay, I just went to Chicago and Houston, but whatever), I saw my gorgeous, newly designed website: http://www.tarahudson.com/.  Isn't it fantastic?  It has all the creepy beauty of my original design, but now it's much more interactive with my Twitter feed, the latest blog posts, pictures and playlists for my books, etc.

It is missing one thing, however: a playlist for ARISE!  I've already picked out the first fifteen songs, which will be featured (with story notes!) on http://www.epicreads.com/ and Amazon to get you ready for ARISE's release date of June 5th.  But I still need your help before the entire playlist is revealed.

I've listed four candidates for ARISE's "Bonus" song, i.e. the song that captures the overall feel of the HEREAFTER series.  The song with the most votes wins, and everyone who votes (via blog comments, Facebook comments, and Twitter @ mentions) is entered for a chance to win one of two signed ARCs of ARISE!!!  (Contest open internationally, and it ends Friday at 10 pm CST.)

So, here we go.  I love all three of these equally, but YOU get to decide which one wins!

1. Open Your Arms - The Editors
2. No Light, No Light - Florence + the Machine
3. C'est la Mort - The Civil Wars
4. The Write-in Option!  Suggest a different song and if I just can't help but love it, it wins!

I can't wait to read your thoughts on the new website, listen to your fantastic song choices, and give away some more ARCs of ARISE!!!

April Fool's YA SCAVENGER HUNT!!!

It's time for the APRIL FOOL'S YA SCAVENGER HUNT!

Follow from blog to blog, picking up clues, and win a grand prize of ALL the current books for the YA Authors participating in the Hunt...how awesome is that?  Plus, I'm giving away an extra ARC of ARISE for those of you who find my bonus content and comment on this blog about it!!  (Rules below on what you'll need to include in the comment.)

So, on to the Big Party:

I'm Tara Hudson, for those of you who don't already know me, and I'm your hostess at this stop.

YOU ARE CURRENTLY BLOG HOPPING ON TEAM YELLOW!

For you first timers, the YA Scavenger Hunt is an online blog hop sponsored by authors who write books for both Young Adults and the Young at Heart. Each of us hosts a different fabulous author on the tour. If you came here looking for my bonus material - the second chapter of my upcoming novel, ARISE - you'll have to keep going. It's a reward for your scavenging work. :)


Have you already been here? Are you stuck? Confused? Lost? All will be well. You can click HERE to go to the YA Scavenger Hunt homepage to figure out which authors you missed.

Today, I'm hosting the fabulous Gina Damico, whose dark (and hilarious!) YA debut, CROAK, is out now!

Isn't she kind of a hottie?  :) 
 
Gina grew up under four feet of snow in Syracuse, New York. She received a degree in theater and sociology from Boston College, where she was active with the Committee for Creative Enactments, a murder mystery improv comedy troupe, which may or may not have sparked an interest in wildly improbable bloodshed. She has since worked as a tour guide, transcriptionist, theater house manager, scenic artist, movie extra, office troll, retail monkey, yarn hawker and breadmonger. CROAK is her first novel. She lives in Boston with her husband, two cats, and a closet full of black hoodies.
 

Want to know more? Here's the description of CROAK:
 
Fed up with her wild behavior, sixteen-year-old Lex’s parents ship her off to upstate New York to live with her Uncle Mort for the summer, hoping that a few months of dirty farm work will whip her back into shape. But Uncle Mort’s true occupation is much dirtier than shoveling manure. He’s a Grim Reaper. And he’s going to teach Lex the family business. She quickly assimilates into the peculiar world of Croak, a town populated by reapers who deliver souls from this life to the next. But Lex can’t stop her desire for justice—or is it vengeance?—whenever she encounters a murder victim, craving to stop the attackers before they can strike again. Will she ditch Croak and go rogue with her reaper skills?

Sounds awesome, right?  Well lucky for you, Gina's treating us to a deleted scene from Chapter 3 of CROAK, right now!  In this scene, Lex has just gotten off a Greyhound bus somewhere in the Adirondacks.

She sighed and looked at Her watch. Uncle Mort was supposed to have picked her up five minutes ago. Restless, she began walking down the muddy road, not even sure if she was going in the right direction. A bear would arrive to eat her soon, no doubt. She certainly hoped Mr. Truitt would be happy upon learning that her bloodied corpse had been found in a muck-filled ditch.

It was then that she noticed a small kiosk across the street, primarily because it was yelling at her.


"HEY! C'MERE!"


Lex warily approached the window to find a corpulent, angry-looking woman simmering in a thick cloud of cigarette smoke and wearing, in an ironic twist, a shirt commemorating last summer's Lung Cancer Fun Run.


"Yes?" Lex said.


"Where you headed?" the woman barked, hacking up a wet cough.


"Uh, I'm not sure." Lex vaguely gestured at the road. "I'm waiting for my uncle to pick me up."


"Eh?" The woman leaned closer to the screen.


"My uncle," Lex said, pronouncing each syllable.


The woman snorted. "Who's your uncle?"


Lex rolled her eyes, because even though she was only sixteen, she had already grown quite impatient with the world. "Mort. Why, you know him?"


The woman, who had hitherto been ignoring Lex's little performance, froze. Her nose hair rustled. The cigarette fell out of her mouth but caught at the last second, so that it dangled from the very tip of her lip. "Mort, you say?" she whispered, the cigarette dancing as she spoke.


"That is what I said."


The woman looked around, as if there could possibly be anyone in earshot to hear her, then shrunk away from the window. "Get outta here."


"What?"


"Get out!" She picked up a phone and frantically pounded at the keypad. "Out, now!"


Lex looked at the trees surrounding her, then back at the woman inside the box. "I am out."


"Get out or – hello, police?"


"There is nowhere to go, lady."


"Out!"


And with a final crude gesture, the woman yanked down the blinds and continued yelling into the phone.


For more information on Gina and her books, check out her website HERE.  Interested in buying the book now? Click on the link HERE. 

For another behind-the-scenes look at CROAK (and the secret letter for the hunt), go to www.ginadami.co/hunt and type in the password: jellyfish

Now for the prize portion. As you are hopping from blog to blog there will be a giant sized letter highlighted in YELLOW. After you have collected all 20 yellow letters, one from each blog, unscramble them to form a phrase. Enter the phrase at this LINK,  making sure you put the YELLOW phrase in the YELLOW entry form. When you have finished with the yellow team you may want to consider moving onto the BLUE and RED author teams so you can enter to win even more prizes. How you get there is by clicking HERE and then selecting an author on either the red or the blue team. Collecting your red or yellow clues along the way and enter the secret phrase in the form. Don't forget that most of the authors are doing their own giveaways as well so there are many chances to win something special.

As I mentioned above, while you're here visiting with me you can also enter to win a personal contest I'm hosting!!  I'm giving away one extra ARC of ARISE to the first person who reads the excerpt of Chapter Two (available on the TEAM YELLOW hunt) and correctly identifies where the scene takes place, in the comments section of this blog.

 

Thank you so much for visiting the HEREAFTER Saga Blog!

If you're ready to move on to the next author's blog,

click HERE to head over to Marley Gibson's blog.

Happy birthday to me, Happy ARC day to you!!

Today is my birthday, and I kind of feel like celebrating with gifts.  Plus, SE FOSSE PER SEMPRE (the Italian version of HEREAFTER) just spent its second week on the bestseller list.  So...yeah...celebration is totally in order.

But since I've received a LOT of gifts this last year (um, a debut novel and a baby, anyone?), I think I'll GIVE gifts to celebrate.  That means two ARCs of ARISE, the sequel to the Internationally Bestselling HEREAFTER, are yours for the taking! 

So here's how it will work: one ARC will be given away to someone who just comments, as chosen by Randomizer.org; one ARC will be given to the person with the most "points."  You can get a point each by commenting here, following this blog, liking "Tara Hudson" on Facebook, liking "Hereafter" on Facebook, commenting on Facebook, following me on Twitter, and Tweeting about the contest.  One "point" for each thing you do - including if you already follow those things!

The contest will last until 8 pm, EST, February 3rd.  I'll announce winners the morning of February 4th.  Open internationally.

Just to give you a taste of what awaits the two winners, here's the first chapter from ARISE, below!

CHAPTER ONE

The entire world had gone dark, and I had no idea why.



No matter how widely I opened my eyes, no matter how many times I craned my neck or spun around in search of even one speck of light, I found none. There was nothing but thick, impenetrable darkness.


Before I’d opened my eyes to all this pitch-black, I had the vague impression that I’d just been someplace warm, familiar. Someplace safe.


But wherever I was now, I didn’t feel safe at all. I felt sightless and trapped. Like I was on the verge of being consumed by the darkness . . . like it was trying to eat me whole.


Although I couldn’t see, I could still hear things: the swish of my long dress as I whirled in useless, searching circles; the hiss of my increasingly panicked breath.


I heard something else, too—some sound I couldn’t quite identify. Not at first.


It started softly, almost muffled. A strange noise echoing out from beneath layers and layers of cotton. But as the sound grew in volume, it also deepened. Slowly, it transformed into something stronger. Something that more closely resembled a continuous thudding.


When the thudding gained a certain steadiness—a rhythm—I sucked in one sharp breath.


I recognized the sound now, and it made me want to scream.


If I were anyone else—anything else—I probably wouldn’t have reacted that way. After all, the rhythmic thudding of a heartbeat usually meant something positive. It meant life.


But for me, an audible heartbeat meant only one thing: someone nearby was dying.


It wouldn’t be me, of course. I hadn’t felt a genuine heartbeat in my chest since the day I drowned, on the night of my eighteenth birthday more than ten years ago.


The sound I heard now was definitely made by a living heart. And I couldn’t fight the horrible suspicion that it belonged to someone I loved.


Joshua Mayhew, for instance. Or even his little sister, Jillian. Both very much alive, and both of whose heartbeats I monitored carefully after I’d worked so hard to protect them.


Hearing that terrible thudding now, I forced myself to calm down and focus more intently on the darkness. I strained and squinted, peering into the dark until, blessedly, weak light began to shimmer along the edges of my vision. I watched each new sliver closely, silently praying that it would reveal the owner of that heart. Selfishly praying that it wouldn’t be Joshua. As I waited impatiently, another realization struck me: I could rely on senses other than sight and hearing. This was strange, considering the fact that ghosts can’t smell, taste, or feel anything outside themselves. At least not very often.


Yet I could smell a sweet, musty decay all around me. It overlay the scent of damp air; and, combined, the scents had an almost disorienting effect. The smells, the heartbeat, the shifting darkness—all of it made me dizzy and uncomfortable.


Thankfully, the light grew brighter, and I could finally see that I stood in a dim room. Across from me, heavily slatted shutters ran from a wood-planked floor up to a beamed ceiling. The shutters blocked most of the light from what could only be the sun, shining outside a wall of windows.


Furniture filled the room: randomly placed chairs and end tables, as well as a low coffee table that flanked a couch. Flung across the couch, in some sort of makeshift slipcover, was a white bedsheet. And flung across the sheet was a person.


At first I thought she might be a child. On closer inspection, I realized the tiny figure was actually closer to my own age. She had curled into a protective ball on the couch, spine pressed to the back cushions and sharp hip bone jutting up in the air. Her head lolled sideways onto one of the couch’s arms, and her dark brown hair cascaded in a tangle to the floor.


Even in the darkness of the room I could see the unhealthy sheen of her skin. Sweat glistened upon her sunken cheeks, and her eyes fluttered behind their closed lids.


Something about the girl’s face gave me an actual chill. Something about her features . . .


I leaned closer for a better look,. and, at that moment, the girl opened her eyes to stare blankly into the room. Her eyes were red rimmed and unfocused, addled by either sleep or some kind of chemical. Probably the latter, judging by the overturned prescription bottle that had spilled a rainbow of pills across the table in front of her.


Under normal circumstances—if anything about this scene could be classified as normal—I would have been worried about this girl. However ineffectively, I would have tried to find someone to help her. I would have grasped at her with my dead, incapable hands.


But these were not normal circumstances.


Because just one sight of the girl’s eyes rooted me to the floor. Those eyes, though bloodshot and bleary, were still a luminous green, shining out from a face I knew very well.


My own.