YA Scavenger Hunt

Welcome to the Spring 2014 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 more 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 find the full list of amazing 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.

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 6th at noon Pacific Time. Entries sent without the correct number or contact information will not be considered.

Sound Good? All right, let’s get ready to rumble!

Scavenger Hunt Post

Today I’m hosting the fabulous Jessica Brody. Jessica  is the author of 52 Reasons to Hate My Father, My Life Undecided, The Karma Club, and the first two books in a new sci-fi/suspense/romance trilogy: Unremembered and Unforgotten. Her books have been translated and published in over 20 countries and several have been optioned for film and TV. Sometimes she wishes her memories could be erased so she could reread all her favorite books for the first time. She splits her time between California and Colorado. Find out more about Jessica and her books by visiting her website or Amazon.

 

 

 Exclusive Content

 About UNFORGOTTEN:

Some memories are better left forgotten…

After a daring escape from the scientists at Diotech who created her, Seraphina believes she is finally safe from the horrors of her past. But new threats await Sera and her boyfriend, Zen, at every turn as Zen falls prey to a mysterious illness and Sera’s extraordinary abilities make it more and more difficult to stay hidden.

Meanwhile, Diotech has developed a dangerous new weapon designed to apprehend her. A weapon that even Sera will be powerless to stop. Her only hope of saving Zen’s life and defeating the company that made her is a secret buried deep within her mind. A secret that Diotech will kill to protect. And it won’t stay forgotten for long.

Purchase UNFORGOTTEN here.

Purchase UNREMEMBERED here.

Today Jessica has graciously offered to share with us an extra special deleted scene. Let’s hear about it in Jessica’s own words:

When writing the first draft of UNFORGOTTEN, book 2 in the UNREMEMBERED trilogy, I toyed with the idea of writing it in dual perspective: from Sera’s POV and Kaelen’s POV (a character you first meet in Unforgotten). I later decided to keep the book single perspective, from Sera’s POV, but I still had some fun scenes that I’d already written from Kaelen’s POV that are just sitting in a folder on my computer. This is one of them. Behold the first chapter written from Kaelen’s perspective! I hope you enjoy it!

Deleted Scene from Unforgotten

I awake to water. Desperately clawing my way to the surface, I break through a thin layer of viscous film. The light is blinding. I squint against it.

Gradually my eyes adjust and I see the room. White. Sterile. Square. Machines. Beeping.

A nearby monitor displays bursts of orange colors in a rhythm that mimics the pounding in my chest.

Heart.

The word pops into my mind instantly and somehow I know it’s the right one. My heart is the thing that’s thumping in my chest.

My heart is what keeps my alive.

That is it’s only function.

I glance down and press my palm flat against my smooth, bare chest, feeling the boom boom boom underneath my skin. Then I reach out and curiously to touch the screen. It sizzles faintly under my fingertip and I withdraw quickly causing the water to splash.

Water.

No. This time it’s not the right word. This liquid is too thick. Too sticky. Too green.

I drag my hand up through it, watching the way it drips heavily from my fingertips. Making muted plunk sounds as it splashes down in large, oblong drops.

“Kaelen,” comes a deep voice that echoes off all four walls, making it sound like four people are speaking in identical tones.

I jump, causing the gelatinous liquid to ripple and slosh around me.

Kaelen.

This must be my name although I know I haven’t heard it before.

“Yes?” I call back uncertainly. I’m not sure who I’m responding to since there is no one else in the room.

“How do you feel?”

How do I feel?

The question strikes me as odd. I feel fine. Better than fine. I feel great. Strong. Healthy. New.

Perfect.

“Good,” I say back, glancing around for any sign of where the voice may be coming from.

“Good,” it replies, either to confirm my answer or to comment on it. I’m not sure. But it suddenly occurs to me that it doesn’t matter. Then after a pause, the voice says, “Close your eyes.”

I obey.

“Tell me the first thing that you see.”

At first there is nothing but white. Then slowly something swims into focus. Oscillating like an underwater dream.  A face. A girl’s face.

A beautiful face.

She smiles. Her eyes flash with vibrant color that illuminates every darkness. Fills every void. Rights every wrong.

“Purple eyes,” I say, noticing the way the words curl my lips up.

“And how does that make you feel?”

There is no need to think, the response is automatic. “Happy.”

“Good,” the voice praises again.

Carefully, I push myself up and step out of the large metal container that holds me and the liquid. I almost slip on the cold, white floor but catch myself. It is at this moment I notice that I am naked.

I look up at the light. “Excuse me?” I say hesitantly, still unsure who I am addressing. “Where am I?”

There is no response.

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

Don’t forget to enter the contest to win a ton of signed books by me, Jessica, and many more! To enter, you need to know that my favorite number is 8! 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! But before you go…

Extra Giveaway!

I’ll be giving away a signed copy of my novel, THE PRINCESS IN THE OPAL MASK, in the Scavenger Hunt Prize Pack, but I’m also giving away a copy here on my blog.

Orphaned as a child in the crumbling village of Tulan, Elara is determined to learn her true identity, even if it means wielding a dagger. Most of all, she’s learned to shut her ears and her heart to the abuse her adopted family hurls at her. Meanwhile, in Galandria’s royal capital, Princess Wilha has just been betrothed to the son of her father’s greatest enemy. Worshipped by some yet reviled by others, Wilha is a famous icon, but a lonely princess, and wonders why her father forces her to wear a jeweled mask over her face.

When an assassination attempt threatens the peace of neighboring kingdoms, Elara and Wilha are brought face to face . . . with a chance at claiming new identities. However, with dark revelations now surfacing, both girls will need to decide if brighter futures are worth the binding risks.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

To keep going on your quest, you need to check out the next author, Colleen Houck!