Amy Plum's Blog, page 22

Winner of the IF I SHOULD DIE prize pack is…

Kaylee Varner!!!

We had 244 entries for a total of 824 points. That’s a heck of a lot of participation, friends! Thank you so much for participating in both the YA Scavenger Hunt AND my own special contest.

Those who follow me regularly know that I run a contest (almost) every Monday, so check my FB page on Mondays to see what I’m giving away that week.

Again – MERCI everyone, and have a very happy holiday season!

(And Kaylee – write me an email with your mailing address! Email is on my “contact” page!)

YA Scavenger Hunt: Winter 2012 edition (contests over!)

Welcome to the Winter 2012 YA Scavenger Hunt!
Nov 29 – Dec 2 (noon pacific time)

For you first timers, the YA Scavenger Hunt is an online blog hop created by the lovely and talented Colleen Houck. It’s a chance for you to see bonus material by your favorite YA authors as well as winning amazing prizes.

If you came here looking for my bonus material, a deleted scene from UNTIL I DIE, you’ll have to keep hunting!

At each stop on the hunt, you not only get to meet a YA author and read their bonus material, but you get a clue to enter for a grand prize–one lucky winner will receive at least one signed book from each author on my team! But play fast: this contest (and all the exclusive bonus material) will only be online for 72 hours—until noon PST on Sunday December 2nd!

You can start right here or you can also go to the YA Scavenger Hunt homepage to find out all about the hunt. There are TWO contests going on simultaneously! I am a part of the BLUE TEAM–but there is also a red team. You can enter both contests!

(If you get stuck as you are moving through the hunt, click through to this page.)

SCAVENGER HUNT PUZZLE



Directions: You’ll notice that I’ve hidden my favorite number in blue somewhere below. 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 December 2, at noon Pacific Time. Entries sent without the correct number or without contact information will not be considered.
ARE YOU READY??? Here we go…

BONJOUR!

I’m Amy Plum, and these are my two love slaves, Paul and Ian.

Support for my revenants from a couple of vampires

As my love slaves are so kindly demonstrating, I’m the author of the DIE FOR ME and UNTIL I DIE, the first two books of a paranormal romance trilogy set in Paris (which is where I live) featuring supernatural beings of my very own making called “revenants.”

Now that I’ve introduced myself, I’m excited to tell you about the author I’m hosting today:

For this year’s scavenger hunt, I have the honor of hosting the lovely Amalie Howard!

About Amalie:

AMALIE HOWARD grew up on a Caribbean island where she spent most of her childhood with her nose buried in a book or being a tomboy, shimmying up mango trees and dreaming of adventure. She received a bachelor’s degree from Colby College in Maine in International Studies and French, and a certificate in French Literature from the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris, France. Traveling the globe, she has worked as a research assistant, marketing representative, teen speaker and global sales executive. In between writing novels and indulging her love of reading great books, Amalie is also the books review editor for theLoopNY, a local NY periodical, and blogs at amaliehoward.com. BLOODSPELL, a Seventeen Magazine Summer Read, is her first novel.

To find out more about Amalie and her book, visit her website at www.bloodspellbook.com.

About BLOODSPELL:
The spell was simple …

Cruentus Protectum. Defend the Blood.

But what do you do if your blood is your enemy?

Victoria Warrick has always known she was different. An outcast at school, she is no stranger to adversity. But when she receives an old journal for her seventeenth birthday, nothing prepares her for the dark secrets it holds—much less one that reveals she’s a witch with unimaginable power.

What’s more, when she meets the dazzling but enigmatic Christian Devereux, she has no idea how much her life is about to change. Enemies will hunt her. Friends will turn on her. The terrible curse that makes her blood run black will stop at nothing to control her. And Christian has a sinister secret of his own…

Without knowing whom to trust, can Victoria survive her blood’s deadly desires? Or will she lose everything, including herself?

BLOODSPELL can be bought here:

IndieBound
Barnes & Noble
Amazon

For her scavenger hunt BONUS MATERIAL, Amalie has given us an extract from BLOODCRAFT, the sequel to BLOODSPELL.

EXCERPT FROM BLOODCRAFT (BLOODSPELL 2)

“Kiss me then, already,” Victoria said, her voice hoarse. Christian obliged, bending his head and brushing his warm lips across hers, but she pulled away until only their fingertips were touching.

“Not that way, the other way,” she said breathless. This way.

Her mental voice was a coaxing caress. Christian’s eyes burned silver as she slipped past the doors of his mind, her essence twirling around his consciousness, so seductive, it overtook him in seconds. She was like liquid fire, touching everywhere inside of him all at once, until he broke away with a gasp.

What’s wrong? Victoria said gently.

Christian stared at her flushed cheeks, his free hand cradling her jaw. All he wanted to do was to pull her into his arms and kiss her for real, kiss her until neither of them could speak. But it was far too dangerous. The reality was neither of them could be trusted when things got heated—her treacherous blood couldn’t be trusted—so they’d had to settle for something more controlled, less risky. But as intense as the mental thing was, nothing could surpass the feel of physical contact, the feel of her skin against his, her breath mingling with his … her taste …

I want … Christian stared into her luminous green eyes, his natural vampire magnetism compelling despite himself. His gaze dropped to her lips recklessly. More.

Victoria blinked, responsive, and for an instant Christian thought he saw a shimmer of black flash greedily in her eyes, but when she looked up, only their green warmth enveloped him.

Yes, they said.

Desire and hunger spun into the perfect storm as Victoria slid her fingers against his nape and held his head captive to hers, Christian’s lips and mouth recreating every scorching step of their earlier mental exchange. He kissed her cheek, her jaw, her ear, inhaling her scent and descending lower, pressing into the taut column of her neck as she arched toward him lost in sensation.

Her throat, so beautiful, so close …

Her blood was singing, the dusky flush spiraling under her skin, the warm earthy smell of her intoxicating. Christian leaned in, his teeth grazing the translucent rose-tinted skin. His jaw tightened. He could feel her pulse humming beneath his lips, louder and louder, inviting him in.

All his desires coalesced into a single, insistent command.

Take it.

Holy crap! *Amy fans self* *goes to turn down radiators*  Thank you for that unseasonably hot scene, Amalie.

So that is our exclusive content from the fabulous Amalie Howard. BUT THAT’S NOT ALL I’VE GOT FOR YOU! There are 2 contests you can enter.

YA SCAVENGER HUNT CONTEST

To enter the contest for a chance to win a ton of signed books by me, Amalie Howard, 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!

My very own DIE FOR ME Contest

You have several chances to win a fabulous prize pack including an original Dark Days bookmark (with the Kate-in-the-Boat cover), a signed UNTIL I DIE bookmark, a signed copy of DIE FOR ME, a signed copy of UNTIL I DIE and…drumroll please…a signed ARC of IF I SHOULD DIE! (I know…huge prize pack!!!) (International.)

How to get your points:

follow me on Twitter at @AmyPlumOhLaLa (1 point)
get friends to follow me on Twitter (1 point per friend)
like me on Facebook (1 point)
get friends to follow me on Facebook (1 point per friend)
subscribe to me on YouTube (1 point)
get a friend to subscribe to me on YouTube (1 point per friend)
Leave me a comment here under this blog post telling me how many points to give you. Just leaving a comment counts 1 point. (And if you have done 1-6, give me your user names and your friends’ user names so I can credit your points.) Please leave all of the information inside one comment, instead of a comment per person. The drawing will be random, but the number of points you get determines how many times your name will be put into the hat.

Note: to be eligible to win you also need to submit a valid entry for the YA Scavenger Hunt grand prize.

Ready to go to the next website on the Scavenger Hunt?

Click HERE!

Language of Flowers ARC entry by Clarisse Helou

I loved this recreation of Violette’s “language of flowers” book that she gave Kate. So creative and beautifully done on old looking paper!

French Men

This is totally cracking me up. I was doing research on dangerous currents in the Seine, and found this in a BBC article about the Seine’s river police:

The Brigade Fluviale know the Seine better than anybody else, particularly its dangerous currents which can suddenly pin a diver to the bottom or sweep them far downstream.

Pascal Jacquin Police diver

For Mr Jacquin, his morning swim is a way of understanding the river and renewing his relationship with it.

“[It's] like communion with the river, she lets me be with her,” he says.

“You have to keep up with the river because it’s what we work with and we need to know what she feels today.

“She’s like a woman, you have to care about her, you have to feed her, you have to touch her – we need to know her mood today.”

That might just be the best thing I’ve read so far this year. And mainly because it reminds me of about 10 French guys off the top of my head. (Including Pepé Le Pew.)

CHEESE-TASTIC!!!

Testimonial by Chloe Harcourt (for ARC contest)

The story is addictive, you feel the need to read more. Even after you finish the book your left thinking what’s going to happen now? It’s your own way to get out of reality, even for just a moment. It’s like heart is hanging by a thread. When your in the process of reading the story you just want to scream. You have mixed emotions you want your life to be just like Kate’s but then you don’t, and you wonder if the amount of love in this book really exists. People say no but then you finally realize the love you feel for the characters, for the story line, for the whole book. Is that kind, it is as strong, it’s addictive.

Fan-fiction: ARC contest entry by Stephanie Ehmann

I love this entry by Stephanie Ehmann from Canada!

I followed him for what felt like forever, every turn, and every circle. You would have thought being a Revenant he would be more careful about being followed. He kept stopping at this one Cafe and staring. About the third time we passed the Cafe he turned and spotted me. Our eyes met, then he turned and just went back to walking. So I went on to following him again. We continued down the block until he turned down an ally way. It was then I knew he was on to me. The urge kicked in after that. Oh why did it have to kick in now? I looked around, no sight of him. The urge was getting stronger.

Next thing I knew, I was on the floor moaning. He had hit me on the head, hard.

“Who are you, and why are you following me?” he asked. Before I could answer he picked me up of the floor and threw me to the wall. I prepared for impact, but landed on my feet instead.

“A Numa, here to kill me then Mon Cherie?” Hate filled his eyes.

“My name is Arianna. Yes I am Numa. But I’m not here to kill you, I’m here to ask for help,” she answered.

“Numa asking for help? Unlikely.” He once again reached for my caller to throw me again. But this time I beat him to it and ducked, pulling out my mothers’ old knife. I pleaded once again.

“Please! Kill me if you want, I just can’t stand it anymore!” She cried.

“That’s what you wanted, to be killed?” He seemed kinda concerned.

“So very much. The urge is too much for me, I don’t want to kill innocent people my whole life!” Tears ran down her cheeks. After a few seconds she threw her knife to the ground.

He considered this for a little while, thinking about the situation.

“How long have you lived, since you first died?” he stood up straight.

“One year and I know what you’re going to ask next. I’ve killed 6 people.” Arianna looked to the floor, ashamed for the damage she’d done.

“Why did you have to come to a Revenant then if your wish is to die?” he asked.

“None of the others would help me, they said the killing would grow on me.” She replied.

He threw his head back and laughed, then he was quiet. What were his thoughts she wondered. Would he decide to kill me?

“I should just leave you to live a miserable life.”

“Would you be so cruel to leave me this way? Do you want me to kill more people?” she replied back.

He just stood there quiet, once again saying nothing. So she continued.

“What if I tell you where they are hiding that special Revenant?”

That sparked his interest. His head went up almost instantly. Then he went to grab her and push her against the wall again.

“You’re going to tell me anyway!” he almost screamed it at her. Well she could do some screaming of her own.

“Or else what?! You going to kill me?!” she shrieked.

She had him now. He let her go then, and he collapsed to the floor in what Arianna thought was shame. She left him just lay there for a moment. Then she walked to his side and crouched down to his level.

“I make you a deal. I’ll tell you everything I know, if when I’m done you’ll put me to rest. That sound alright to you?” she said.

She knew he would take the deal. The others told her they had no leads, to him this was a deal of a lifetime. He nodded then and stood up.

“Seems fair.” He said. Then they started toward Jean-Bapitistes’ house, or so he called it, when a thought occurred to her.

“I never did catch your name.”

He smiled. “The name’s Jules.”

2 more entries for the ARC contest!

Love this artwork by Chyna Ngie

EIffel Tower of books by Katja Giehl of Germany

Assemblage by Geraldine Frost for ARC contest

The Die for Me trilogy represents a lot of things for me.

It reminds me of my family, those I have lost and those I still have close; friendship; acceptance; love; strength; cafes and hot chocolate; art and history; simple pleasures and for making me fall in love with Paris all over again.

The first two books of the trilogy – for renewing my love of reading.

The Eiffel Tower – for reminding me how truly beautiful Paris is.

The Louvre – for its history and art

The Metro – even the train stations are works of art

The picture of my mum – the importance of family

The scooter – a fun way to get around Paris (like Kate and Vincent!)

Photomontage and testimonial by Olivia Z

Isn’t this inspiring???

I was never really a fan of French culture, language or food, and I never had the desire to visit the City of Lights – Paris. But everything actually changed when I started reading Die For Me in the summer of 2011 and instantly fell in love with the story, the characters and especially with Paris.

The way the characters and the city are connected to each other just fascinated me. So immediately after finishing the book I went online and looked up all the places Vincent and Kate visited. I imagined their romantic dinner at Les Deux Magots and their stroll along the Seine. It was clear to me that I had to go and see these places for myself. Fortunately one of my best friends was going to Paris for six months to study there. So I saved up some money asked one of my friends along and went to Paris in February 2012.

The first night there already felt magical and I immediately understood why you chose Paris as a setting for this story. When you’re in Paris and visit Notre Dame or the Sacre Coeur you get the feeling that it might be possible that ‘supernatural’ creatures lurk around the corner. I of course nagged my friends to visit all the ‘important’ places from Die For Me, like the Cafe Les Deux Magots, which is a beautiful Café and indeed the perfect place for a romantic dinner, however, the waiters weren’t really friendly to us since we were only travelers on a budget but it didn’t matter because I imagined Kate and Vincent sitting there sharing laughs and enjoying themselves so all was well for me.

The main point of my Revenant Tour was ‘Pont des Arts’ which instantly became my favorite place in the world. It is the most romantic place/bridge you can imagine. So this whole experience of looking at Kate and Vincents Paris was so wonderful to me that I had to go back again, which I did in July 2012.

So on my second trip to Paris I visited the Pont des Arts as often as I could, checked out the Rue de Bac area and strolled around Village St. Paul and tried to imagine how Jule’s art studio might look by peeking in the windows. All in all I can only give a big thank you to you, Amy. You’ve opened up a world and a city to me I never thought I would love that much and for that I am really grateful to you. The photo collage is just an excerpt of some of the pictures I took on my trips to the City of Lights. And I’m already planning my return.

Comedic poem by Olivia Johnston (for ARC contest)

I was in a book shop

And I thought this book looked good

I finished the whole thing in a day

And then felt that I should

Tell every person that I knew

How fabulous it is

Because honestly, I mean it

Die for Me is the biz-

Ness, because there’s cafés,

Museums and some art,

Love, a swirly cover

And some sword fights that I ‘heart’

There’s Jules, who’s cool

And Kate, who’s great,

But this last line will be messed up

Because I can’t think of anything that rhymes with Vincent.

by Olivia Johnston