Aprilynne Pike's Blog, page 2

June 24, 2013

Win My LAST Earthbound ARC Plus Defy the Dark PLUS LAT!!

Okay, so I have one more lonely little ARC of Earthbound left I wasn't sure how best to use it when my AMAZING editor of the anthology DEFY THE DARK (Saundra Mitchell) asked if I wanted to host a giveaway.

Liiiight-bulb!!!! (I'm a big Dispicable Me fan, don't judge.;))

If you haven't seen our antho, Defy The Dark yet, I am SO excited about it!!! It has a ton of incredible stories from amazingly talented authors, and BONUS, we have our own website.:D (LOOKLOOK!) I am really proud of my story in this antho (Nature) because . . . well . . . I don't write short stories. They're hard!! If you think they're easier because they're short, you're wrong; they're actually harder because they're short! You have to get an entire plot-arc into less than 8,000 words. So yeah, I don't do short stories.

So why did I?

Because if Saundra calls up and asks me for anything other than my first-born child, I'm pretty much gonna say yes. (And even then, I would be willing to send her for a visit!:D) So when Saundra asked, I said yes. But I warned her: I could give her a short story, but I had no guarantees that it would be good. She took a chance on me. I spent months thinking about (being terrified of) this short story and one day I woke up with the barest hint of an idea. An idea about a girl who's enitre life-plan was derailed, because puberty gave her hips one inch too big.

Stay with me here.

Being a hippy woman myself (yaaaaayyyyy junk in the trunk!!!) this bizarre idea stayed with me and turned into a dystopian (which I swore I'd never write) short story. And the first line is:

"In the end, it's because of my hips."

Not only did it turn out okay, the editor at Harper met me at a party and specifically mentioned how much she liked my contribution. Cue melting into a puddle.

Because ya'all, this story scared me. I wanted to give my fab friend something good, but I honestly wasn't sure I could. But one way or another, I did! Now, I'm not out signing up for every antho I can get into now--truth is I'm still not convinced I didn't just have one flukey short story idea. But it was something I was afraid of, and I did it anyway, and people liked it! And have a great deal of pride about that.:D

So you can get your hands on the whole collection of incredible stories!!!! This is a week-long contest in which you can win the DEFY THE DARK prize package (pictured below!! Book bookmark, bracelets . . . But only one book. ;))

Plus my personal addition of an ARC of Earthbound and a hardcover of Life After Theft!!!

What do you have to do? Tell me something you're afraid of. Easy.

You can comment on Facebook or Blogger, reblog with a comment on Tumblr, or use @Aprilynnepike on Twitter. They are all legit forms of entry.:) I will pick a winner next Monday and you will get your stuffs as fast as I can get to the post office!!!

So, *pulls chair closer* What are YOU afraid of. Hmmmmm??

Ciao!

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Published on June 24, 2013 11:16

June 4, 2013

Earthbound Parties!!!!

I am so excited to announce a ton of things today!!!! First off, I have some pretty for you:

Isn't it pretty? Because I have so many fans who have been following me through the whole Wings series and Life After Theft and who are going to take the leap with me to Earthbound, Penguin and Razorbill want to give you a little thank you. In the form of the above poster, signed by myself!

So here's the deal, these are an *exclusive* giveaway for the first 500 people who pre-order EARTHBOUND (or have ALREADY pre-ordered it!!!) and then go fill out the handy-dandy form HERE!!! If you have already pre-ordered it, you are freaking awesome!!! Those who haven't can pre-order it ANYWHERE! Amazon, Barnes and Noble, your local Indie. EBook, print book, audio book, it doesn't matter. If you have pre-ordered Earthbound, get yourself a signed poster!!!

Now, the rules specify the continental United States, age 14+. That means if you are fabulously awesome and pre-ordered my book and you are twelve . . . just have a parent fill out the form for you.:D The poster will still get to your house!!!

Do bear in mind this is an EXCLUSIVE offer and will only accept 500 entries so please go pre-order your book and fill out the form!!! (HERE is the link again.;))

But that's only the first part of the awesome!!!

One of my favorite parts of any book release is the fact that I am lucky enough to go out and travel and meet readers!! Not only am I coming to a bunch of places, I am bringing a bunch of friends and we are holding a Girls' Night Out party for YOU!!! Yes, you, the awesome readers!!! Every stop will have cupcakes from a bakery of awesome (not homemade, and yes, you will thank me for that ;)) and will feature authors of other fun, girly books! (Guys, don't let that stop you, pink cupcakes still taste delicious!!!) So please come join me and my friends at the following locations!!!!

Tempe, AZ
Changing Hands Bookstore, July 29th, 7:00-9:00
Yes, you read that date right--if you come to THIS signing you will get Earthbound a DAY EARLY!!!!
Fab authors in attendance: Me, Suzanne Young, and Janette Rallison
Cupcakes from Sprinkles Bakery (because that info is IMPORTANT!!!:D)

Peoria, AZ
Bell Road Barnes and Noble, July 30th, 6:00-8:00 PM
Okay, ya'all, I've never done a signing here even though it's two miles from my house, and on top of that I am doing it SOLO , so spread the word and come and see me so I don't look like a dork in front of the staff of this new store.:D (New to me; the store's not new.;))
And, of course, MOAR cupcakes from Sprinkles!!!

Salt Lake City, Utah
Sugarhouse Barnes and Noble, July 31st, 7:00-9:00 PM
This is my only signing in Utah this entire year!!! I apologize for that . . . but please COME!!!!:D
Fab authors in attendance: Me, Jessica Day George, Natalie Whipple, and Brodi Ashton
Cupcakes from . . . somewhere awesome. I'll let you know.:D

Idaho Falls, Idaho
Grand Teton Barnes and Noble, 6:30-9:00 PM
Back to the amazing, awesome, incredible Idaho Falls!!!!
Fab authors in attendance: Me, Jessica Day George, Natalie Whipple, and Wendy Toliver
Cupcakes from The Cocoa Bean which is my FAVE cupcake bakery In. The. World!!!!

Charlotte, North Carolina
Well . . . technically Huntsville.;) Barnes and Noble, 7:00-9:00 PM
I've never been here before!!!! (Yes, North Carolina, I am flirting with you. Come hither. *wink*)
Fab authors in attendance: Me, Beth Revis, Carrie Ryan
Cupcakes from Polka Dot bakeshop because they look awesome!!!!

***Bonus!!!****

This is not part of the Girls' Night Out Tour, but I am participating in:

Cincinnati, Ohio
Joseph-Beth Booksellers, 1:00-3:00
The 3rd Annual BEACHY READS group event !!!!!!!
Authors in attendance have not yet been announced, but trust me, they are SUPER FAB!!!!
There will not be cupcakes. Actually, assuming there are some leftovers from Polka Dot, I might bring some to give away.;)

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!!! All of the stores I am attending have graciously allowed attendees to bring backlist (though if you have a ton you might need to wait till the end to get them all signed ;)) Please, please, please thank them by buying your copy of Earthbound from that store and maybe some from the other authors too!! *winkwink*

I recommend to anyone attending any tour event to pre-order your book (and then fill out the form HERE!!! *nudgenudge*) just to make absolutely sure you get your copy. (Honestly, it's a good idea for anyone's event.)

So if you live in Arizona, Utah, Idaho, North Carolina, or Ohio and you love books and cupcakes, please come see my friends and me!!!!!!!!!

Did you reach the end? Really? Then you are super cool!!!!! Do you like to read? Do you like free books? Then you are SUPER SMART!!! and I like to support super smart people.

Leave a comment-- (@ me on Twitter, reblog with a comment on Tumblr, comment on Facebook, or comment on Blogger) and tell me what YOUR favorite cupcake flavor is. (Yes, yes, i am researching what flavors I should get while on tour. Consider it a vote!) I will pick five random winners and send them a free copy of LIFE AFTER THEFT!!! (Which you should ALL read because it is my SUPER SPECIAL book baby!!!!!:D)

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ciao!!!!

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Published on June 04, 2013 07:39

May 10, 2013

A Million Little Words

So the saying often goes around that it takes a million practice words to really become a good novelist. A couple weeks ago I realized I have more than hit that mark. So just so ya'all know, I'm a good novelists now.

No, I'm so kidding.:D

But it is an interesting thought. Now, I assume that those words are meant to include things like all of the poems and short stories that I wrote in college. But I don't have any stats for those and ultimately, I think you learn to write novels by writing novels. So I thought I would list my novels and word counts.

Note: I extensively re-wrote every novel here except for the Basque Romance. So I will list "Words" and "Applicable Words" since I think all those words I re-wrote still count.

The Chain and the Sword: Words= 150,000 Applicable Words= 300,000 (minimum! I edited this baby until the pages were filled with blood. Blood, people!! Also, I generally count this as two book because it was two 100,000 words books that I combined and cut the crap out of. Just FYI.;))

Basque Romance: Words= 100,000 Applicable Words= Still 100,000

Wings: Words= 69,000 Applicable Words= 138,000 (Again, minimum. Rewrote no less than half this book just in first round edits.)

Spells: Words= 85,000 Applicable Words= 170,000 (I rewrote this sucker almost from scratch BEFORE I turned it into my editor. *Whine* Sequels are haaaaaard!!!)

Illusions/Wild: Words=88,000 Applicable Words= 132,000 (I'm giving this one 1.5x instead of double because edits were easier on this one. I think . . .)

Destined: Words= 73,000 Applicable Words= 146,000 (DEF doubled the word count in edits for this book. DEF.)

Life After Theft: Words= 80,000 Applicable Words= 160,000 (Though having worked on it for over five years, I think I deserve TRIPLE!!:D)

Earthbound: Words= 86,000 Applicable Words= 172,000 (Again, at least!! This is also a pushing triple book.)

Don't Close Your Eyes: Words= 90,000 Applicable Words= 135,000 (I've done first round edits, so I am giving myself 1.5, but not a full double.)

Earthbound 2: Words= 75,000 Applicable Words= 75,000 (No edits, no increase. *wink*)

So those are my ten (and arguably eleven) books for a grand word total of Words= 896,000 and Applicable Words= 1,528,000.

That's a lot of words.

I'm not really making a statement of any kind with these stats. I just find them interesting. Am I a better writer after 1.5 million words? I hope so. Have I picked up any bad habits in those 1.5 million words? I'm afraid so. But I have put about 1.5 million words into my career in the last eight years. And I'm proud of that.

Ciao!

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Published on May 10, 2013 12:35

May 4, 2013

Anatomy of a Revision

So, aspiring authors often want to hear about revisions. Generally the question is, How brutal are they? So since I actually paid attention to some of my . . . stats, I guess . . . I thought I would talk about what happened during the revision of Don't Close Your Eyes, my upcoming YA Paranormal Thriller . . . Horror . . . something like that. (Okay, I haven't perfected my elevator pitch yet!:D)

When I turned in DCYE, it was 74,000 words. When I turned it in after edits it was 90,000 words. So, for starters, I added 16,000 words. However, I also changed about the same number of words. So I would say that a full 30,000 of the final 90,000 words were written or re-written. So yeah, I re-wrote about a third of the book in revisions this time. (I suspect that percentage was a full half for Wings, but about a third seems pretty normal for me.)

So what did I change? Here were the main things:

1.) I wrote this book fast so the details of my world were sketchy. Half of my revisions involved clarifying world/mythos/etc. it's also where about 10,000 of the extra words came from.:)

2.) Blended two characters into one. Which, oddly, required more words.:D

3.) Smoothed out my romance line and added several scenes to do this.

4.) Slowed my pacing down. And this was a shocker to me. I ended up rushing headlong into the plot so quickly I confused my editor. I added a prologue and a new first chapter at their request.

5.) Gave a personal story to every victim. (Did I mention the serial killer?) This was short. Probably 1,000 words total. But it made a huge difference.

So yeah, that was essentially my revision. You'll notice there was very, very little cutting. That is NOT always the case. In fact it's pretty unique to this book.:) I'm a little sad that it doesn't look like I'm going to have a deleted scene for this book.

Of course, there is one more round of edits. . . .

Ciao!

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Published on May 04, 2013 07:18

April 11, 2013

YASH Winner

This has already been announced on the YASH main page, but the winner of an ARC of both Life After Theft and Earthbound is Justine Winans!!!!!

Justine, I think I found you on Twitter, but if not, please email me at Aprilynne Pike at Gee Mail dot com with your name, address, and how/if you would like your books personalized!!

Thank you everyone for participating!!!!

Ciao!

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Published on April 11, 2013 10:51

April 4, 2013

Young Adult Scavenger Hunt with CHLOE JACOBS!!!

Welcome to the Young Adult Scavenger Hunt! I am so pleased to be hosting the lovely CHLOE JACOBS who is the author of  <span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">THE MYLENA CHRONICLES, beginning with GRETA AND THE GOBLIN KING which came out in December of 2012. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WtoibdaYNrg..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WtoibdaYNrg..." /></a></div>A bit about the story: <style> <div class="MsoNormal">While trying to save her brother four years ago, Greta was thrown into the witch’s fire herself, falling through a portal to a dangerous world where humans are the enemy, and every ogre, goblin, and ghoul has a dark side that comes out with the full moon. To survive, seventeen-year-old Greta has hidden her humanity and taken the job of bounty hunter—and she’s good at what she does. So good, she’s caught the attention of Mylena’s young Goblin King, the darkly enticing Isaac, who invades her dreams and undermines her determination to escape. But Greta’s not the only one looking to get out of Mylena. The full moon is mere days away, and an ancient evil knows she’s the key to opening the portal. If Greta fails, she and the lost boys of Mylena will die. If she succeeds, no world will be safe from what follows her back…</div> And, of course, the author, Miss Chloe Jacobs herself! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YHY61U_dLbQ..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YHY61U_dLbQ..." width="240" /></a></div><style> <div class="MsoNormal">Chloe Jacobs is a native of nowhere and everywhere, having jumped around to practically every Province of Canada before finally settling in Ontario where she has now been living for a respectable number of years. Her husband and son are the two best people in the entire world, but they also make her wish she'd at least gotten a female cat. No such luck. And although the day job keeps her busy, she carves out as much time as possible to write. Bringing new characters to life and finding out what makes them tick and how badly she can make them suffer is one of her greatest pleasures, almost better than chocolate and fuzzy pink bunny slippers.</div> You can find out more about both Chloe and her books at her website, <a href="http://www.chloejacobs.com/">... /> And if you're interested in buying her book, you can find it <a href="http://www.chloejacobs.com/p/books.ht.... And for Chloe's YASH exclusive bonus content, we have an excerpt from GRETA AND THE GOBLIN KING! <style> <span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">A noise. Distinctive from the natural groaning of tree limbs weighed down by snow. A crunch behind her as someone took a step closer. Damn. She’d miscalculated, assuming no one would have followed her while she was following the ghoul. She spun as a familiar "ash of amethyst rushed her in the not quite dark. Before she could duck and roll, a thick, muscled arm slammed across her chest and shoved her against the cave wall so hard the back of her head scraped rock. With a speed and strength that had been drilled into her daily for four years, Greta brought her knee up. Her attacker evaded but wasn’t quick enough to avoid her headbutt to his lying face. “Danem Greta, stop.” Isaac grunted and frowned down at her. She sneered at his use of the conventional form of Mylean address. Not that she wasn’t used to it, but coming from Mylena’s shiny new goblin king—who was only a little older than her seventeen years—it felt like a veiled insult instead of an expression of respect. With a hard swallow, she took in his appearance. His fur-lined cloak gaped open at the throat, and black hair streaked with deep purple curled at his neck. He had a square face and sharp features, although his cheeks were pale and smooth in the dark of the forest. Like most goblins, he was tall and wide, built like someone had simply chipped away at a hunk of granite. It wasn’t hard to imagine him in a fight to the death for the goblin throne, no matter how young he was. He rubbed his abdomen with a pinched expression. “What did you do that for?” Because I knew it was you? “Oddly enough, I don’t enjoy being attacked from behind by strangers.” His startling violet eyes locked on her. Lying eyes. Manipulative eyes. Eyes she’d been seeing in her sleep for too many nights. He chuckled low under his breath. “Ah, but I’m not a stranger to you, am I?” She fought against the deep cadence of his accented voice and the mischievous grin that curled his lips, reminding herself it was all an act. Their entire relationship was based on tricks and lies, and Greta wasn’t going to fall for them again. “But since you mention it,” he continued, “which one of us is out lurking in the Goblin Forest in the middle of the worst storm all year?” She rolled her eyes. Sure, if he wanted to press the issue, this was technically the Goblin Forest and he was technically the goblin king. She was trespassing. Technically. Not that she cared about such minor things as legal boundaries. Not when it came to doing her job. Especially in a territory run by an arrogant goblin whose biggest claim to fame was that he happened to be the youngest monarch Mylena had ever seen. “This can’t be the worst storm all year,” she said. “I’m sure the one that slammed us a fortnight ago was just as bad. Are there ever any conditions in Mylena other than crappy?” He grinned and his face was transformed. Suddenly, he was the boy she’d met that evening at Maidra’s who smiled at her and made her feel accepted for the first time since…well, since she found herself trapped here. As the only human in a world where her kind was reviled and any suggestion of their presence created a furious outcry for blood, acceptance and the possibility of friendship were things she’d never expected to experience. But she didn’t want him to be that boy again. He should go back to being the goblin king. At least then she knew where she stood—as far away as possible. “I wasn’t aware you felt so strongly about the weather, Danem,” he teased. “Perhaps it irks you because it is one thing that remains irritatingly beyond your influence.” If the weather really were the only thing out of her control, she wouldn’t have much to worry about. But after being torn from her family and everything she knew at the age of thirteen, thrust into a hostile environment where food and warmth were luxuries someone like her could not afford, and forced to hide her true identity, Greta had ended up with a whole host of issues. If she ever made it back home, some lucky shrink was going to have a field day trying to figure her out. “I have legitimate cause to be here. I’m on a job. Why don’t you let me do it?” With a shove, she tried to get around him but he pushed her back against the rock. Not hard enough to hurt, but enough to make a point. “Unless you want to alert the ghoul in there to our presence, quit fighting me so we can handle the situation together.” “Aren’t you too important to be talking to me? Go home. You have a responsibility to stay safe and provide for your people now.” His teeth ground together. “Why don’t you let me worry about my people and what they need.” Her shallow breaths exhaled in a fine puff of vapor that twirled around his, becoming one before dissipating into the frigid air. Greta finally nodded and his grip on her arms relaxed. She twisted and knocked her elbow up into his abdomen. A petty move, sure, but she wasn’t above immature displays of annoyance when the situation called for it—or maybe even when it didn’t. He grunted as she darted around him and clasped his wrist in a quick twist behind his back. She used the momentum to push him face-first into the rock. In the shadows, his oversized incisors peeked from the corners of his mouth. He twisted his head to the side to look at her. Her knife was at his throat before he could blink, going a little way towards salvaging the pride that had been damaged when he managed to sneak up on her. “Maybe you’ve forgotten, but I don’t play nicely with others.” His arm tensed under her grip, and his gaze flickered to her mouth almost hesitantly. “On the contrary, I think the two of us would play very well together.” <span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">****** <span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Thank you for joining me on this stop on the hunt!!! <span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Did you make it to the end? Did you know there might be something special down here? Well there is!! In addition to the prize packages for the Scavenger Hunt, I am giving away an ARC of both LIFE AFTER THEFT and EARTHBOUND right here!!! So before you move along to the next stop, take a second to leave me a comment and tell me your very favorite song to enter. I'll pick winners early next week! <span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Next on your merry way is Marley Gibson!!! You can find her site <a href="http://marleygibson.com/2013/04/02/it... /> <span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Ciao!

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Published on April 04, 2013 12:00

March 4, 2013

About Rejection

I don't blog very much these days. Why? Because I have four young children, one who jumped into terrible twos with both feet three months ago, a husband in grad school, three children in both school and piano (and I am a Piano Nazi), and my in-laws with two teens still at home living with me. (That makes ten in our house.:D)

Oh, and because I'm writing two books a year.

Well, that's not exactly accurate. I am having two books published a year. But I'll let you in on a secret. I'm writing more than that. Or, at the very least, I'm writing pieces of more books than that.

Why would I bother writing bits and pieces of more books than I'm having published? Because I just love the ideas and am itching to write them? As much as I wish the answer to that question was yes, I seriously just do not have the time for that these days. Maybe when my husband graduates. (Two months! Two months!)

So why am I writing these extra bits of books?

Because I write them, I turn them in, and they get rejected.

Yes, that's exactly what I said.

As a starry-eyed, not-yet-published writer, I thought that if I could just get an agent I would say goodbye to rejection forever!!

Two books and 15 rejections later I sold Wings.

Wings went on to be a #1 NYT Bestseller. One of the few debut novels ever to do that. Well, NOW I would truly say goodbye to rejection forever!

Not. So. Fast.

I want all of you aspiring authors who are drowning (and yes, some days it truly does feel like drowning) in rejections to know that published authors, bestselling authors, mega-ultra bestselling authors know how you feel. No, really. I had a full novel rejected after three bestselling novels and a partial rejected after four. It's easy to think that once you've made it, you've made it forever. But it's not true.

So what do I do? The same thing you do. I pick myself up off the ground, I wipe away my tears, I eat way too much chocolate, and then I try to write something better. Sound familiar?

So I guess this is a really long way to say that the book that seriously poured out of me over Winter Break has been accepted for publication. And when the news came in, yes, I was excited and happy and all those things. But above all, I was so incredibly relieved, because it was my third attempt to fulfill this contract.

It doesn't end, guys. And I don't mean that in a demotivating way. You have to always be reaching, always learning, always pushing yourself to be a better writer. So when your next rejection comes, as it inevitably will, remember that we're all doing this together and that your next story will be better if you want it badly enough.

Ciao!

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Published on March 04, 2013 20:13

February 15, 2013

Twice The Winners!!!

Um, okay, guys, the box I put the bags and bags and bags of V-day candy in to mix it up is seriously EPIC!!! (The word my husband used was "Obscene." But it takes a lot of chocolate to make thrity gift bags!!) Seriously guys, check it out (and this is one of those big, Costco sized boxes!!):

I had trouble lifting the box, guys. This is how much I love you!!!! (I got MANY weird looks at the store.)

Okay, winners!!!

***Quick note: Please, please, PLEASE read the specific directions if you are one of the winners. I will try to make it as clear as humanly possible. All you have to do is read.:D***

First Place, getting a signed set of all three ARCs . . . and candy, of course.;)

Amber Lynae

and

Em Ruth

You two, please email me at Aprilynne Pike at Gee Mail dot Com with the following information:

Full Name
Address
Who (if anyone) you would like the books personalized to.

Second Place, getting one of the ARCs and any one of the Wings books. Plus candy.

Danielle Willis

Sky of @Skylyte

and

Emily of @appleblueberry3

You three please email me at Aprilynne Pike at Gee Mail dot Com with the following information:

Full Name
Address
Who (if anyone) you would like your books personalized to.

The titles of the three ARCs (Earthbound, Life After Theft, and Defy The Dark) in order of preference. (It will be first email in my inbox gets first pick, etc.)

Which of the four Wings books you would like. (Wings, Spells, Illusions, Destined.)

Second placers, you have the most instructions to follow--don't fail me!!!:D

Third Place, getting their choice of any Wings book and candy to read it with.

Lena from @LenaMarstellar

Sara from The Page Sage

Stacy O'neale

Erica Marshall from @omgihavewings

and

Ashley G. from Wholly Books

You five, please email me at Aprilynne Pike at Gee Mail dot Com with the following information:

Full Name
Address
Who (if anyone) you would like your book personalized to.
Which book in the Wings series (Wings, Spells, Illusions, Destined) you would like.

And last but not least, the twenty fourth place winners!!! (Who all get candy!)

Jessy

Claudia Rodriguez

Charyse

Chani

Tiffany

@rainirodfans01

m0mof2

Shantilly

Hannah Royals

YABibliophile

Annie the Bibliobabe

Jess of @celeste_pewter

April Lynn Carr

Meghan S

Amanda Bagley (HI!!!!!!)

Chrys of Oh, Chrys

Sarah J. Cliff

Sara Holmen

Chloe of @chloewis95

and

Renae McKenzie

Is that 20? 1,2,3,4 . . . yeah, I've counted it three times.:D

Okay, so you twenty lovely people, please email me at Aprilynne Pike at Gee Mail dot Com with the following information:

Full Name
Address

Please email me withing the next ten days or my children will HAPPILY claim your prize.:D

Thank you EVERYONE for entering and for spreading the word about the bazillion books I have coming out this year!!!!! My hubby may call the scads of chocolate obscene, but I call it well worth it!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!!!!!!!

Ciao!

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Published on February 15, 2013 18:37

February 2, 2013

Twice The Love! (And Then Some!)

So, apologies for the long time without blogging, but man, have I been busy! (I know, everyone says that and . . . well, everyone's telling the truth.:D)

But enough of my puny apologies. It's time for my annual Valentine's Day ARC Contest!!! But this year is a little different. And monumental in my not-so-humble-opinion.;) I have TWO books coming out this year. Not only two books, but I also have my very first short story coming out!!! This means than I have not one ARC, not two, but THREE ARCs to give away!!! Ep. Ic.

So in order, here are the books I have coming out this year:

April 30, LIFE AFTER THEFT, which is already getting excellent reviews from the pros (Kirkus, Booklist) as well as bloggers (Melania and Midnight Book Girl)

*Warning: Reviews are, by nature, always a little spoilery and MBG in particular did a very smart but in-depth review, so if you want to avoid spoilers here are my favorite, totes non-spoilery, lines from each review:

Melania: It's edgy, witty, fresh, entertaining, and very appropriate to the characters. No wonder this is the book that got her on the publishing agent's radar.

MBG: I was not expecting this book to be this good, but I really, really liked it. It was unexpected, and even more unexpected, it's a standalone! God bless you, Ms. Pike! See, authors, it's totally possible to write a YA Paranormal that doesn't get stretched out over at least 3 books!

And, of course, my PRETTEH COVER!!!

So this one is April 30. Did I mention April 30? Yeah, cuz it'll be out in April. Just sayin'.;)

Next up in the anthology, DEFY THE DARK which comes out June 18th!

So, I have a confession; despite the fact that most authors seem to love writing short stories, do it for a break from novels, and actually consider it fun, there's a reason this is my debut published short story. I'm not very good at them. I think they're HARDER than long stories. So when my lovely fabulous friend Saundra Mitchell, who is editing the antho, called me up and invited me to be in it, I told her that I would, but that I couldn't promise my story would be any good. She took a chance on me.

And I came up with an awesome idea in the wee hours of the morning that I *barely* remembered when I woke up all the way.

I think it turned out pretty good. I'm seriously proud of this story and as soon as the ARC came I read it again and STILL liked it!! Whoo-hoo!

It's called NATURE and, oddly, it's a dystopia. I didn't think I would write a dystopia anything--because I am too big of a "The Giver" snob. But I did! And so even though you are only getting 40 pages from me, I am giving away the whole ARC so it will have almost four HUNDRED more pages of awesomeness!!! (Thus the And Then Some in the title of this post.;))

Here is DEFY THE DARK's awesome cover!!!

And last but not least, my new SERIES!!!!! It's a full six months away, July 30 (Just a few days after my birthday, Happy Birthday to ME!!!) but EARTHBOUND is on its way as well!!!

It's too far out for EARTHBOUND to be getting reviews yet, but watch for them! They've just started sending the ARCs out!! What I can tell you is that Earthbound is about Tavia, the sole survivor of a plane wreck, who can break the laws of physics, and may have literally doomed all of humankind by falling for the wrong guy. I am so stoked about this book! I am working with a different editor on EARTHBOUND than the WINGS series, and she has stretched me in all kinds of different ways and I can't wait to share the results with you!!!

Also, there a freaking lot of kissing. Just, yanno, in case you're interested.;)

And here is EARTHBOUND's cover of awesome!!!!!

So, contest time. Well, let's talk prizes first. Guys, this is the biggest giveaway I have EVER done!!! I am so stoked about this year I just can't help it!!!!

Okay, there will be two First Prize Winners who will get a set of all three books (signed, of course!) Plus the tradition bag of Valentine's Day candy!

Three Second Prize Winners will get their choice of any of the three ARCs (it will be first come, first served for choices ;)) plus a WINGS book of their choice. Plus the V-day Chocolate.

Five Third Prize Winners who get their choice of any of the WINGS books and chocolate to keep them company while they read. ;)

And then, instead of the ten Fourth Prize Winners, there will be TWENTY. (Yes, I am crazy excited!!!) who will get the Valentine's day candy bags.

So that is 17 books and 30 bags of candy up for grabs.

What do you have to do? Well, the best way is to pre-order my prequel to LIFE AFTER THEFT, called ONE DAY MORE.

Oh wait, did I mention that I'm a big fat liar and I have yet another story coming out??? Ooops. *wink* I don't know just what to call it--I guess it's a short story, but I just think of it as a prequel. ONE DAY MORE is about 10K words or 30 pages long (I always like readers to know what they are getting into with an E-Story) and is a glimpse into my ghost character, Kimberlee's, life before she was a ghost. It was incredibly fun to write because, even though Kimberlee is an incredibly dynamic character, LIFE AFTER THEFT is not from her point of view. ONE DAY MORE is.

ONE DAY MORE is up for pre-order at both Amazon and Barnes and Noble and comes out April 2, which gives you time to read it and start massively salivating for LIFE AFTER THEFT four weeks later!!! (Yes, I'm so mean . . . If it helps, I TOTALLY feel bad about that. *shifty eyes*)

So now we have points:

5 Points for pre-ordering ONE DAY MORE (Honor system here people, a prize is not worth the STAIN ON YOUR SOUL for lying!!! Uh, yeah, whatever, I trust ya'all.:D)

2 Points for following me on Twitter, (@AprilynnePike) because I am jonesing to hit 10,000 followers by the time LIFE AFTER THEFT comes out!! If you are already following me on Twitter, you get two points too. Because I'm nice like that.:D

1 Point for mentioning my books on Twitter (put @AprilynnePike and I'll see you)

1 Point for mentioning me on FaceBook. (I totally won't see you there, but I still trust you.:D)

1 point for mentioning my books on your blog, Tumblr, whatever, you get the point. Social media equals a point.:D

So comment below (or of you're reading this on FaceBook PLEASE go to my blog to comment) and tell me what you did and how many points you get, and you get an entry for every point you scored. Super easy! (And if you need to add on just comment again and add points.:))

Entries need to be posted by MIDNIGHT on Valentine's Day, MY time. (MST at the moment.) Contest void where prohibited or otherwise altered by legal restrictions!

This contest is open internationally, however, I don't know how accessible the pre-order to ONE DAY MORE is outside of the US, so international readers may just not be able to get those points. I sowwy!!!

I will announce winners on February 15th and then we will do all the wrangling on getting addresses, book choices, etc.

I SO appreciate all of you guys who help me spread the love every year, and especially those who spread the love all year long!!! This is how I say THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!

Ciao!

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Published on February 02, 2013 16:42

December 12, 2012

In Which I FREAK OUT!!!!

So . . . yeah, this is totally nothing but a self-serving post.:D In case you don't follow me on Twitter or Facebook, MTV.com is hosting an exclusive cover reveal for EARTHBOUND and there's a possibility I am just tickled out of my gourd!!!!!!!

Here's the link:

Yay!!!!!!!!!

*ahem* Yeah, that's all.:)

Ciao!

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Published on December 12, 2012 07:52

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