Haunted Halloween Trail

Welcome to the first stop of The Looking Glass!

This is the first ever Halloween Book Trail, featuring your favorite YA & MG authors! This trail is based on the YAmazing Race with MGnificent Prizes presented by the Apocalypsies. In THIS trail, you’ll find all kinds of posts, and discover new authors and their work.

How do you play? Every post contains information that will lead to killer prizes! Books, swag, skype sessions, locks of hair (jk jk)! At the end of each blog you’ll find a link that will take you to the next stop in the trail. By the end, you’ll find a quiz. Now you’ll be happy you read all the posts! Submit your entry to the quiz for a chance to win a grand prize! Accuracy matters here, so take your time, or go back and refresh your memory! One quiz entry per trail.

About me:

For those of you unfamiliar, my name is Mari Mancusi and I'm the author of the SCORCHED series, which I compare to TERMINATOR WITH DRAGONS. I've also written a bunch of other books for teens, tweens, and adults including The Blood Coven Vampires series and Gamer Girl. For a full list of my book you can go to my website.

Now for a little Q & A

1. If your MC went trick or treating, what would he dress up as and why?

My heroine, Trinity, is basically a mother of dragons so I'm guessing she'd go as Daenerys from Game of Thrones! 

2. What scares the pants off of you?

The idea that George RR Martin might die before he finishes writing A Song of Ice and Fire. 

3. What is your favorite Halloween candy? 

Reeses Peanut Butter Cups. Especially the ones in the shape of pumpkins! Mmm. 

Thank you for participating!

For the next stop on the trail, visit Anne Greenwood Brown's lovely blog!

DragonCon wrap-up

Hey all,

It's hard to believe one week ago I was in the middle of DragonCon, one of the largest sci-fi/fantasy cons in the world. With more than 60,000 people converging on downtown Atlanta for a long weekend of programming, costumes, celebrity guests, vendors, games, etc. etc. DragonCon is INSANE and yet insanely awesome and it's definitely my favorite publicity event I do every year. If I wasn't an author I would totally just go there for fun.

This year I was celebrating the release of Shattered and it went amazingly well. I met so many amazing readers - many who had picked up Scorched last year at DragonCon and were excited to return and get a copy of the sequel. I sold out of the copies that I brought with me and sold tons of copies of Scorched as well. Next year I'll have the third book of the series, Smoked, which will have just been released. It's kind of awesome how the releases of this series tie in so perfectly, time-wise, with DragonCon.

Scorched and Shattered and The Camelot Code on sale at our booth!

I also spoke on eight different panels - on all sorts of topics - including vampires, urban fantasy, anti-heroines in YA fiction, the Twin Peaks TV show (25 years later!), and other writing related topics. I think the Twin Peaks panel was my favorite because I could be a fan-girl instead of just an author. People actually dressed up as Twin Peaks characters in the audience which was awesome, too. I also loved the panel I did with Sherrilyn Kenyon. That woman could read the phone book and be fascinating. :) I adore her.

Twin Peaks panel was packed and such great cosplay!

Another favorite was Princess Alethea's Traveling Sideshow. We were officially part of the YA Track this year and I think we made the most of it! Diana and I wrote and performed a skit called THAWED: A YA Literature Retrospective, as told by the characters of Disney's Frozen. Yeah!

We even dressed up for this one - doing Elsa and Anna "bring back summer!"

Which brings me to the best part -- COSTUMES!

Here's the rundown of mine:

ELSA from Frozen in Beach Wear.

Queen Regent Cersei from Game of Thrones

Jacob was a dashing Jamie Lannister - check out the gold hand!

With Diana Peterfreund aka Zarina the Pirate Fairy. (Which is an awesome cosplay!)

And Babydoll from the film Sucker Punch!

I am ALWAYS going to do costumes with swords from now on!!

Anyway, I could go on and on and may add to this later but my daughter is waking up so I have to go! In all, it was an AMAZING time and I am already planning for next year!!

MARI

Happy Book Birthday to me!

Hey all,

Today's the day! The long-awaited release of SHATTERED, book 2 in the Scorched series! I am SO EXCITED to introduce readers to the new adventures of Trinity, Emmy, Connor and Caleb. (And some new characters, too!)

The book is available in hardcover, ebook and audiobook formats. I hope you will check it out!! :) You can find out all you need to know - and get the links to purchase here.

Thank you for all your support!!
xo
MARI

Getting Shattered!

First copy of SHATTERED - hot off the presses! So what's under the dust jacket this time? I decided to find out for myself!! Take a look! :)



Publish Post

Scorched now available in PAPERBACK and AUDIOBOOK

Hey guys,

Great news! For those of you who haven't gotten your copy yet - Scorched is now available in a paperback version and an audiobook!

This is the first time I've ever had an audiobook so that's super exciting as you can imagine. There's just something so surreal about listening to your own words read by another person!

The paperback also features a sample chapter from the upcoming SHATTERED which will be released in less than a month. Whoo hoo! And it sports some brand new back cover copy.

The paperback copies should be available starting today at your local bookstore or, of course, you can always find them online. The audio version can be either bought on CD or downloaded on Audible.com. You can also pre-order the Shattered audiobook now.

Thanks all!
MARI

New book trailer for Shattered!

Hey all, 

We're only a little more than a month away from the release of SHATTERED, the second book in the Scorched series. So exciting! And to hold you over, Sourcebooks, the publisher, has created a special little book trailer to pump you up for the new series! 

Check it out!

For all the gamers out there!

I'm participating in a cool collection of gamer-themed ebooks with my book Alternity. Check out the Game Masters Bundle of eight gamer-themed books available for a very low price! Check it out. (BTW I've read the Feyland one and it's awesome. And the rest look great, too!)

Here's the info:

Curated by Anthea Sharp

Sometimes gaming is the best escape. Until virtual reality gets a little too real...

Welcome to the Game Masters Bundle–eight stories of gamer-themed fiction that explore the intersection of pixels and reality. Each of these tales takes a gamer-centric look at the world, tackling big issues with plenty of fun and geeky goodness along the way.

I scoured the web to find the best indie authors of gamer-set books, and am thrilled to present this StoryBundle selection. Whether you're in the mood for a modern-day coming of age tale packed with humor, or a gritty speculative dystopian future, these bestselling and award-winning authors deliver, with stories that explore the boundaries of immersive gaming.

Join the hackers and heroes adventuring between these pages, but beware! Losing the game has dire consequences – not only for the players, but the entire world. – Anthea Sharp

The initial titles in the bundle (minimum $3 to purchase) are:

• Spark: Feyguard Book 1 by Anthea Sharp
• Massively Multiplayer by P. Aaron Potter
• Pwned by Shannen Crane Camp
• Dead Man's Resolution, a short story by Thomas K. Carpenter
• Gamers by Thomas K. Carpenter

If you pay more than the bonus price of just $10, you'll get another three books:

• Feyland: The First Adventure, a novella by by Anthea Sharp
• Alternity by Mari Mancusi
• Level Zero by Jaron Lee Knuth

The bundle is available for a very limited time only, via http://www.storybundle.com. It allows easy reading on computers, smartphones, and tablets as well as Kindle and other ereaders via file transfer, email, and other methods. You get multiple DRM-free formats (.epub, and .mobi) for all books, but after the three weeks are over, the bundle is gone forever!

It's also super easy to give the gift of reading with StoryBundle, thanks to our gift cards – which allow you to send someone a code that they can redeem for any future StoryBundle bundle – and timed delivery, which allows you to control exactly when your recipient will get the gift of StoryBundle.

Why StoryBundle? Here are just a few benefits StoryBundle provides.

• Get quality reads: We've chosen works from excellent authors to bundle together in one convenient package.
• Pay what you want (minimum $3): You decide how much five fantastic books are worth to you. If you can only spare a little, that's fine! You'll still get access to five thrilling titles.
• Support authors who support DRM-free books: StoryBundle is a platform for authors to get exposure for their works, both for the titles featured in the bundle and for the rest of their catalog. Supporting authors who let you read their books on any device you want—restriction free—will show everyone there's nothing wrong with ditching DRM.
• Give to worthy causes: Bundle buyers have a chance to donate a portion of their proceeds to charity. We're currently featuring Mighty Writers and Girls Write Now.
• Receive extra books: If you beat our bonus price, you're not just getting five books, you're getting eight!

Ready to get your game on? You can do so here. 

How I Write What I Write

Thank you Annie Oldham for tagging me on this blog hop! Check out her website and see her answers to these questions as well! And check out her books! She writes awesome dystopian/post-apoc YA too! :) And she even has a dragon book! 

What am I working on?

I just published my YA time-travel Arthurian fantasy THE CAMELOT CODE. So I’ve been trying to do some publicity/attention for that title. It’s a younger YA, perfect for readers 10 and up. Or just those who love Arthurian legend and would like to see it turned on its heels. In The Camelot Code King Arthur time travels to the 21^st century, Googles himself and learns his destiny—then decides he’d rather play on the football team instead. It’s one of my favorite books I’ve ever written so I’m excited to share it with readers at last.

Available as an e-book or paperback

Also I’m hard at work on the third book in the SCORCHED series, called SMOKED. It’s kind of weird to be writing the third book when the second hasn’t been released yet. Like, I feel like I can’t talk about it too much, cause, spoilers. But I’m very excited at how it’s turning out so far!!

And Shattered (Book 2) comes out in September! 

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I often add a little (or a lot) of humor to my books. In a day when so much YA is dark and serious, I want to write stories that have not only action/adventure/romance – but also some fun.

Why do I write what I do?

I write what I love to read. I have a passion for dragons and fantasy and love time travel “what-ifs”. I also like fish out of water stories. Putting people into time periods or situations unfamiliar and letting them claw their way out! (Authors are evil like that!)

How does your writing process work?

I write best in the early mornings, sadly, which means a lot of coffee. When I’m polishing my first draft, I read everything out loud, to hear how it sounds, as well as what it looks like on the page. 

But enough about me! I'm going to tag DIANA PETERFREUND for the next stop on this tour. Diana writes amazing classic-story retellings set in dystopian futuristic worlds. She also writes about killer unicorns, which, you know, is obviously awesome. 

 

About Diana:

Diana Peterfreund has published nine novels for adults and teens, including the four-book Secret Society Girl series (Bantam Dell), the “killer unicorn novels” Rampantand Ascendant (Harper Teen), and For Darkness Shows the Stars, a post-apocalyptic retelling of Jane Austen’sPersuasion. Her newest book, Across a Star-Swept Sea, is a companion novel inspired by the classic series The Scarlet Pimpernel. In addition, she’s written several critically acclaimed short stories and a variety of non-fiction essays about  popular children’s literature.  Diana lives in Washington D.C., with her family.

Shattered Pre-Order

Hey all,

Good news! Shattered is now available to pre-order in both hardcover and e-book formats! To make it easy for you, I've put all the links below. :)

BTW in case you were wondering, pre-order is not "pay now, read later." Amazon, etc. will not charge you until the book has shipped. So there's really no downside to pre-ordering!

Why do authors want readers to pre-order? It shows the retailers and the publisher that there is a demand for this title. That readers are excited about its release. A good pre-order can mean a larger print run (more copies!), better distribution to more bookstores, and a bigger marketing budget for the author - maybe even a tour to a city where there's been high pre-orders.

So yeah! All good things! And for readers you often get a better price than if you wait until the book is released. Amazon, for example, offers a pre-order guarantee. If the book gets cheaper after you pre-order it, they'll refund your money. I've gotten great discounts on books this way.

Have I convinced you to take that pre-order step? :) They way I look at it, if you're going to get the book when it comes out anyway, why not?

Here are all the deets on where to pre-order! More to be added when they come up!

Amazon (hardcover)

Amazon (kindle)

Barnes and Noble (hardcover)

Barnes and Noble (Nook)

Book Depository (Free worldwide shipping!)

Walmart (hardcover)

Shattered Cover Reveal!!

Drumroll please...

At long last, here is the gorgeous cover for SHATTERED, book two in the Scorched series! Isn't it gorgeous? The cover artist, Tony Sahara, really outdid himself this time. Emmy looks amazing!! I can't wait for the book to come out in September so I can see it in real life. 

In the meantime, check out the blurb below and then go ahead and enter to win a beautiful dragon pendant in honor of this new book! 

TRINITY

In only a few short months, her world has changed forever. She’s on the run with Emmy, the last living dragon, and their bond is tested at every turn as their enemies grow ever closer…

CONNOR

He’s betrayed his mission to destroy the dragon, and now he must protect Trinity and Emmy with everything he has. But he isn’t sure he’s strong enough to save them both…

CALEB

He knows each time he visits the Nether he’s one step closer to losing himself completely. But the pull of this fantasy world is becoming harder to resist each day. 

SCARLET

By a twist of fate, this girl from the wrong side of the tracks has a chance to save the world—or at least the world’s last dragon. And she’s willing to risk everything to do so…

When a cell phone video of Emmy goes viral and the government starts closing in, Team Dragon is running out of places to hide.

To celebrate the awesome cover, I'm running a contest over several blogs to giveaway this beautiful dragon egg pendant. Enter below! International is OK


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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 BLUE TEAM–but there is also a red 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 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 DATE, at noon Pacific Time. Entries sent without the correct number or without contact information will not be considered.

SCAVENGER HUNT POST

This year I am hosting the lovely Kay Honeyman, fellow Texan and author of the Fire Horse Girl. And she created a really cool infographic for the book for her special content! Check it out below. 

Kay Honeyman grew up in Fort Worth, Texas and attended Baylor University, graduating with a Bachelors and Masters in English Language and Literature. Her first novel, The Fire Horse Girl, comes out in January 2013. It is being published by Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic. She currently teaches middle school and lives in Dallas, Texas.


Jade Moon is a Fire Horse -- the worst sign in the Chinese zodiac for girls, said to make them stubborn, willful, and far too imaginative. But while her family despairs of marrying her off, she has a passionate heart and powerful dreams, and wants only to find a way to make them come true.


Then a young man named Sterling Promise comes to their village to offer Jade Moon and her father a chance to go to America. While Sterling Promise's smooth manners couldn't be more different from her own impulsive nature, Jade Moon falls in love with him on the long voyage. But America in 1923 doesn't want to admit many Chinese, and when they are detained at Angel Island, the "Ellis Island of the West," she discovers a betrayal that destroys all her dreams. To get into America, much less survive there, Jade Moon will have to use all her stubbornness and will to break a new path . . . one as brave and dangerous as only a Fire Horse girl can imagine.

Pretty cool, huh? Now I want my own. 

And don’t forget to enter the contest for a chance to win a ton of signed books by me, Kay Honeyman, and more! To enter, you need to know that my favorite number is 7. 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 your quest for the hunt, you need to check out the next author: Lynne Matson! 

And hey, while you’re here, how about you enter to win a POP figurine of everyone’s favorite MOTHER OF DRAGONS!  (US only for this one, sorry!)

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