Jennifer A. Nielsen's Blog, page 27
June 5, 2016
Summer Giveaway 1
All right, for giveaway #1, here’s all you have to do: Finish this final sentence from THE SCOURGE! How would you end it?
In this scene, those with the Scourge are being forced to swim out to boats to take them to the quarantine island. Ani (the narrator) and her friend Weevil are disappointed to find the only remaining spaces are on a boat with Della, a girl they both strongly dislike.
Della stood as we swam closer. “Look how sick that woman is! She’ll make me worse!”
“The other boats are full,” Weevil said.
I gripped the side of the boat, but the woman we were helping was too weak to lift herself into it. Della made it even harder by shifting her weight to the opposite end of the boat, preventing us from tilting it down for the woman.
“I refuse to ride with grubs, or with people too sick to swim!”
I’d had enough. “Have it your way,” I said. Then I ______________.
Put your entry in the comments.
(Tip, if it’s not family friendly, it’s not getting approved and thus, won’t count as an entry!) I’ll announce this week’s winners on June 12th!
If you want to read the rules, look here!
THE SCOURGE will be released on August 30th. You can pre-order your copy now!
Massive (No, I’m not Kidding) Summer Giveaway!
Okay, I confess – I’m partially motivated by the desire to clean out my piles of books. But it’s also time to begin giving away ARCs of THE SCOURGE!
If you win, you will get to choose from any of these (while supplies last):
Signed Books
ARCs of THE SCOURGE (12 copies)
Paperback of MARK OF THE THIEF (12 copies)
Hardback of RISE OF THE WOLF (12 copies)
Gift box with an ARC from the Ascendance Trilogy (7 boxes)
Foreign editions of an Ascendance Trilogy book in the following languages (Catalan, Chinese, French, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Thai, and Turkish). Numbers available and the specific title varies with each language.
Audio Books
CD set for A NIGHT DIVIDED (8 copies)
CD set for RISE OF THE WOLF (8 copies)
CD set for THE SHADOW THRONE (4 copies)
CD set for THE RUNAWAY KING (1 copy)
Other Stuff
False Prince T-shirt (1 XL and 1 Medium)
Writing Journal with engraved pen (1)
Time to Read clock – perfect for a classroom or library (1)
So, you ask HOW CAN I WIN?
Each week will have a different challenge or theme. Some are simple and some are more involved, but I will choose four (or more) winners each week.
RULES
You can only enter once per week, but entries will accumulate. (So if you enter for the first three weeks, by week four, you will still have those three entries)
Once you win, your previous entries will be discarded and you are no longer eligible to enter.
If your name is drawn as a winner, I will post the winner names on the blog and email you for a mailing address. If you do not respond by the end of the contest, I will assume you are not going to respond.
International entries are okay.
NOW THAT YOU’RE HERE, CLICK TO THE NEXT POST TO MAKE YOUR FIRST ENTRY!
May 18, 2016
THE SCOURGE is coming!
Summer is almost here – are you all excited?
Watch this blog in June, where I will begin giving away ARCs of THE SCOURGE! In the meantime, this quote from the book…
April 5, 2016
TWO COOL MEMES
The first is for A NIGHT DIVIDED, created by the Whitney Academy of LDS Storymakers, who have nominated this for a possible award next month. They did an amazing job!
The second is for THE SCOURGE, which will be released on August 30th. It’s available for pre-order now or you can ask your library to get their copy ordered. I thought you all might enjoy this little tease!
March 14, 2016
THE SCOURGE Cover Reveal!!!
On August 30th, I will release THE SCOURGE – a book I am so excited to share with you! YA Books Central is hosting a giveaway of three galley copies right now, so go check them out! This is the earliest giveaway of this book and there won’t be another for a few months. Seriously, click their blog name right now!
Don’t let the title fool you – THE SCOURGE is a high energy adventure with a lot of humor and heart.
The story centers on Ani Mells, who lives in a land beset by a terrible disease called the Scourge. There is no known cure, and it’s believed to be contagious. So when she is diagnosed with it, she is immediately sent to a quarantine island to live out the rest of her life. Her best friend, Weevil (the best, best friend anyone could ever have), fakes his symptoms so that he can come along and make sure she is okay. They meet new friends, make new enemies, and uncover a secret on the island far more dangerous than the disease itself.
Ani is a courageous, outspoken girl who cannot stay out of trouble even if her life depends upon it. And this time, it does.
If you enjoyed Sage’s sarcasm, Nic’s loyalty, or Gerta’s bravery, then I know you will love Ani and Weevil as much as I do!
Remember, go see the full post at YA Books Central and enter their giveaway to get a copy of this book now!
But if you don’t win, then you can preorder the book by clicking on your favorite vendor below, or tell your local librarian all about it!
Also, get to know these two songs. During the writing of this book, these were on a near constant loop on my playlist. More explanations to come about these songs…
I’m Gonna Be by the Proclaimers
Breaking the Habit by Linkin Park
March 13, 2016
Cover Reveal Coming
Just a quick heads-up: On Monday, March 14 at 1 pm EST, the cover reveal of THE SCOURGE will go live at the YA Books Central blog. It will be accompanied by a giveaway of three galley copies!!! This is the earliest giveaway of this book and will probably be the only one for quite some time, so you’ll definitely want to check it out.
I am so excited about this book, and I hope you’ll like the cover as much as I do!
Because when I was writing it, my hubby said this about me…a lot!
February 22, 2016
News: The Good, the Bad, and the Neutral
Okay awesome readers – here are updates!
The Good:
Thanks to you, RISE OF THE WOLF hit #6 on the New York Times Bestselling List for the week of February 14th. YOU all did this, so thank you!
The Bad:
It’s still six months until the release of my next book, THE SCOURGE. Many of you know that when it comes to book stuff, I have almost no patience, so you must know that this wait is killing me! Honestly, I’m so excited to see what you all think of this one. However, I should have some fun stuff to talk about soon with this one. Until then…we wait.
The Neutral:
So…that FALSE PRINCE movie. You know, the one where the option contract keeps getting extended for another six months. Well, they’re extending it another six months. That’s the bad news, but at least Paramount continues to move forward, so this is officially – neutral! There is one exciting change on its progress, but I can’t talk about it yet. Just know that I will tell you when I can and that it’s something you’ll all like.
January 26, 2016
RISE OF THE WOLF is released!
RISE OF THE WOLF has been released! I love this book, and I’m so excited for you all to read it!
Here’s the Goodreads summary: Nic may have escaped enslavement in the mines outside of Rome, but his troubles are far from over. The Praetor War–the battle to destroy Rome from within–is in full force, and Nic is caught in the crossfire. The secretive Praetors are determined to unlock a powerful amulet–one sure to bring the empire to its knees. Worse, the Praetors believe Nic holds the key to finding this amulet, and they will stop at nothing to steal it, even if that means harming the people Nic holds most dear.
When the Praetors capture Nic’s mother, Nic knows he must do anything to save her. He challenges the Praetors to a chariot race. If he wins, they will release his mother. But if he loses, he must hand over a magic that will certainly destroy Rome and end his own life. Can Nic once again harness his magic and gather the strength to defeat his enemies? Or will he lose his mother and bear witness to Rome’s destruction?
I really think you’re going to love this one – it’s dangerous and funny, has some great chariot racing scenes, and a few surprises I don’t think you’ll expect!
You need to have read Book 1, MARK OF THE THIEF, before starting into this one. But if you’re ready for this book, you can ask your local librarian to get a copy or pick up your own copy in most places where you buy books (if they don’t have it – ask them to order it for you!). If you want to find it online, here are some places you can try:
Also, from last week’s final ARC giveaway, the winner today is:
Aaron Cleaveley
That’s all the giveaways for now, but watch later this summer for ARC giveaways of my fall book, THE SCOURGE.
January 19, 2016
RISE OF THE WOLF – Quote 5
If you’re an educator and haven’t read the comments from last week’s post, do it now here. Yes, the small things you do definitely matter!
Congrats! The winner from last week’s contest is:
Kaiya
This is the final week I’ll put up a quote because RISE OF THE WOLF is released in exactly one week! I hope you’ll all check it out. But hint, you must have read MARK OF THE THIEF first.
To win, this week’s contest, I’m asking again that you share on your favorite social media any news of this book’s release. If you’re on Twitter, here’s an easy tweet:
RISE OF THE WOLF, sequel to MARK OF THE THIEF by @nielsenwriter, releases on Jan 26! Learn more about it here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25582867-rise-of-the-wolf
And now, for this week’s quote. It happens while Nic is involved in a
chariot race against some competitors who are determined that he never walk away from the track again…
“The instant I committed myself to this route, the extra charioteer to my left tossed one end of his whip to the man on the right, who caught it and then together they pulled it tight.
There was no time to react. At the speed I was going, I would run directly into the whip. If I ducked too low to avoid it, then I’d pull on the reins tied at my waist and lose control of my horses. And if I didn’t duck low enough, the whip would catch me across my neck. It’d create an entirely new definition of the phrase ‘sore throat.'”
Remember again to read MARK OF THE THIEF if you haven’t yet, and that it’s only one more week until release! Links are provided below if you want to pre-order RISE OF THE WOLF!
January 12, 2016
RISE OF THE WOLF – Quote 4!
Last week’s giveaway was for teachers or other educators only. Several of you shared your ideas for encouraging students to read, and I enjoyed them so much! What I wouldn’t have given as a student to have any of you at the head of my classroom! This series of books is dedicated to three of the finest teachers I ever had. You do make a difference. The winner of an ARC of RISE OF THE WOLF or paperback of MARK OF THE THIEF is:
Rebecca W.
The giveaway this week is again for everyone. To try to win, tell me about one of your favorite teachers! I’ll announce the giveaway next Tuesday.
This week’s quote takes us into one of my favorite parts of RISE OF THE WOLF. To save someone important to him, Nic has committed to a very dangerous chariot race, on terms that have infuriated Radulf.
Radulf’s argument shifted. “And you are risking all of that on a chariot race? You’ve only done practices, which are nothing to the real thing, and certainly nothing compared to the Ludi Romani. The Praetors will choose the finest racer in the empire, one who has probably sent a thousand other charioteers to their deaths in the circus.”
“I’m a good driver!” I countered.
“The circus spits out good drivers with every bend of the track! You could not have offered him a worse deal.”
“Train me,” I said. “We have four days. So train me to race.”
“It won’t be nearly enough time.”
“But it’s all I have.” I was reduced to begging now, which I hated, but I’d be even more pathetic if I denied that I needed his help. “Radulf, I understand better than anyone what happens if I lose. So help me now.”
RISE OF THE WOLF will be released on January 26th – coming soon! If you haven’t read book 1, MARK OF THE THIEF, yet – it’s now available in paperback. Ask for it at your favorite bookstore!
