Mindee Arnett's Blog, page 10

Giveaway: Renegade ARC + Nightmare Affair Swag

Okay, as promised, I'm giving away my ARC of Renegade by J.A. Souders plus some swag packages for The Nightmare Affair. There will be three winners. The first will win the ARC plus a bookmark and an Arkwell Academy Student Guide (inside picture here). The two runners up will receive the bookmark and Guide as well. The contest is open internationally.To enter, just comment on this blog. You can earn an extra entry for mentioning the contest on twitter and facebook (1 entry each, so 2 possible). If you mention on twitter, be sure to include my handle (@mindeearnett) so I can track it. And if you mention on facebook, provide the link in your comment. Here's a short link for the contest: http://wp.me/p29HNn-60. The contest will be open until midnight Thursday, eastern standard time.Good luck!So here's the cover and description of Renegade from Goodreads. This book was unlike any I've read. It was dark and twisted, ultra-fast paced and completely thrilling. I enjoyed it immensely, and I'm sure you will, too. Since the age of three, sixteen-year-old Evelyn Winters has been trained to be Daughter of the People in the underwater utopia known as Elysium. Selected from hundreds of children for her ideal genes all her life she’s thought that everything was perfect; her world. Her people. The Law.

But when Gavin Hunter, a Surface Dweller, accidentally stumbles into their secluded little world, she’s forced to come to a startling realization: everything she knows is a lie. Her memories have been altered. Her mind and body aren’t under her own control. And the person she knows as Mother is a monster.

Together with Gavin she plans her escape, only to learn that her own mind is a ticking time bomb... and Mother has one last secret that will destroy them all. ***Originally posted at www.mindeearnett.com. You can comment here or there***

Cover Interview and Upcoming ARC and Swag Giveaway

Hi all!Today I'm over at the awesome Gypsy Book Reviews discussing my cover for The Nightmare Affair. It's got some sneak peeks into the book along with some other fun stuff. Plus, Ashelynn is super nice and smart and you should follow her blog anyways because it rocks. Go check it out here. Also, be sure to show up next week as I'm going to be holding a giveaway for Renegade by J.A. Souders. This book is amazing. I tore through it, completely engaged by the creepy, intense, and weirdly beautiful story. The ARC winner will also receive a swag package for The Nightmare Affair - a bookmark and one of the extra-awesome Arkwell Academy Student Guides. I've got photographs off the guide over on my Facebook author page. It includes custom artwork based on the book and an in depth look at the world it takes place in. There will also be two runners up who will receive the swag package as well. Entering will be easy and painless, I promise.See you then!***Originally posted at www.mindeearnett.com. You can comment here or there***

Book Rec: The Sinister Sweetness of Splendid Academy by Nikki Loftin

I had the good luck to read this fantastic book last November. I tore through it and loved every second. It's deliciously gruesome and wonderful, a modern Hansel and Gretel. It also has one of my all-time favorite supporting characters, the delightful Andrew. Oh, and the cover rocks, too. The book comes out today. Go get it! See the description from Goodreads below: When Lorelei's old school mysteriously burns down, a new one appears practically overnight: Splendid Academy. Rock-climbing walls on the playground and golden bowls of candy on every desk? Gourmet meals in the cafeteria, served by waiters? Optional homework and two recess periods a day? It's every kids's dream.
But Lorelei and her new friend Andrew are pretty sure it's too good to be true. Together they uncover a sinister mystery, one with their teacher, the beautiful Ms. Morrigan, at the very center.Then Andrew disappears. Lorelei has to save him, even if that means facing a past she'd like to forget – and taking on a teacher who's a real witch.What Lorelei and Andrew discover chills their bones – and might even pick them clean!***Originally published at www.mindeearnett.com. You can comment here or there*** 

Linky Links

Just a quick note to let you know some places you can find me on the internet. I did a W.O.W - Writer Odyssey Wednesday interview over at Chasing the Crazies. You can read it here. Also, the link to my WriteOnCon post is here. You can comment to win a Query + 1st Chapter critique from me as well a swag package for The Nightmare Affair (a bookmark and one of the super-awesome-you-want-this Arkwell Academy Student Guide).***Originally posted on www.mindeearnett.com. You can comment here or there***

WriteOnCon Reminder!

Just a quick reminder about WriteOnCon. It's happening right now! What are you waiting for?http://writeoncon.com ***originally published at www.mindeearnett.com. You can comment here or there***

Blurb for The Nightmare Affair

I've got the most awesome news to share! I've received an absolutely fantastic blurb for The Nightmare Affair by none other than Kendare Blake! That's right, the ultra-talented author of Anna Dressed in Blood, Girl of Nightmares, and the forthcoming Anti-Goddesses series, has this to say about my book:"Mindee Arnett has a knack for magic. The world of Nightmares, Sirens, Wizards and Demons at Arkwell Academy is wondrous and strange, yet so human and well-drawn that you get the feeling you might stumble into it by accident if you go out wandering too late. THE NIGHTMARE AFFAIR is whimsical and wild. I read it too fast. What's next, Arnett?"—Kendare Blake, author of Anna Dressed in BloodYes, I could faint from joy or cry or maybe just jump up and down a lot. How about all three? Kendare is such a fine writer. I adore her work, and to have her enjoy mine in return is about as good as it gets. Her latest book.  Girl of Nightmares  is out in stores right now. Go get it. You won't be disappointed.Oh, almost forgot to mention. I've seen the cover art for the ARCs, and this blurb appears on it! And speaking of ARCs, I've added this page to my website where you can formally request one. And last but not least, don't forget WriteOnCon is happening next week. My blog post on world building is going up Tuesday at 5:00, but there are dozens of live events you can participate in. Be sure to register soon. Happy writing!***Originally posted at www.mindeearnett.com. You can comment here or there***

Blogtour, Bookmarks, and Other News

I can't believe this is already happening, but I've got my first blogtour planned. The lovely Shane Morgan over at Itching for Books will be hosting it. The sign up should go up sometime next week.My first order of bookmarks arrived last Friday, and while they are still quite lovely, the text came out a little blurry. I've gone ahead and ordered a new batch that should be much clearer. In case you were wondering, they look like this: I'm also excited to reveal another swag item I'm working on: The Arkwell Academy Student Guide. The guide is going to give you a firsthand sneak peek into the world of The Nightmare Affair, including custom artwork by the ultra-talented Cat York. Here's a look at the front cover: And last but not least, a reminder that WriteOnCon is coming up in less than two weeks. This is a free online conference and an extremely valuable resource for any up and coming writer. I'm a faculty member this year, and my blog post should be up on Tuesday around 5:00. It's on world-building, and wow, was it tough to write. I hope people find it useful.Happy writing!***originally posted at www.mindeearnett.com. You can comment here or there***

Today I'm blogging over at The Lucky 13s about my queryin...

Today I'm blogging over at The Lucky 13s about my querying journey, a process I liken to the Choose Your Own Adventure books from the 80s and 90s (and if you're too young to remember theses, I recommend trying to locate one just for the experience). You can find the post here.

I will also be blogging as part of this year's WriteOnCon. I'll be discussing the frightening and highly importantopic of world-building. More to come. Book wise, this is a big week. I'll be turning in copy edits on The Nightmare Affair today or tomorrow as well as completing the first draft of book 2. There will be much celebrating at my home when this happens. Woohoo!

Also, I received cover proofs yesterday which enabled me to pretend that Nightmare is a real book:  

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***Originally posted at www.mindeearnett.com. You can comment here or there.***

Big News, More Books!

Okay, so late last night (although still technically July 3rd), this post appeared in Publisher's Marketplace:



In case that's too hard to read, here's the text:

Mindee Arnett's FINDING EDEN, a spaced-based thriller about Jeth, a teen mercenary who leads a talented crew of thieves, and who finds his life on the line when he takes on a high risk job in order buy freedom for him and his sister, pitched as Firefly meets White Cat, to Jordan Brown at Balzer + Bray, in a two book deal, in a good deal, by Suzie Townsend at New Leaf Literary & Media (NA). Translation: kortiz@newleafliterary.com, Film: pouya@newleafliterary.com

So that's my big news. Two more books. And yeah, I'm freakin' unbelievably excited about it. The best part of the process this time was hearing my editor talk about how he first read the book using the read-aloud function on his Kindle--have you heard it? It's awful--but he still liked the book anyway. Yah!

Also, it's worth saying now that the title will definitely be changing, for lots of reason not worth discussing here. I will also most likely publish this under a pen name. Right now I'm leaning toward M.M. Gaver, my maiden name. What do you think? Like?

Big, big, huge thanks to my rockstar agent and all the beautiful people at New Leaf Literary. Suzie is the best! Also, thanks so much to my wonderful, awesome kickass critique partner, Lori M. Lee, as well as my sister and brother-in-law, my lovely agent sib, Kathy Bradey, and the best-reader ever, Sarah Goldberg. Couldn't have done this without you guys.

And finally, thank you so much to everyone who participated in my cover reveal giveaway for The Nightmare Affair. I think I might plan another giveaway soon to celebrate Finding Eden. Maybe a query & chapter critique? Stay tuned...

***originally published at www.mindeearnett.com. You can comment here or there***

THE NIGHTMARE AFFAIR Cover Reveal Giveaway!

So yesterday tor.com revealed the cover for The Nightmare Affair. Just in case you missed it, here it is again:


Like it? Yeah, so do I. Well, more like love it. It's absolutely perfect for the book. It captures the whimsical, magical, spooky feel of it. Plus, it's beautiful. Now for the jacket cover with the basic
design:

And here it is with all text. Do you see how it looks like a REAL book? Also, the spine is a tree! I'm not sure it can get much cooler than that:
Here's the jacket cover flap:
16-year-old Dusty Everhart breaks into houses late at night, but not because she’s a criminal. No, she’s a Nightmare.

Literally.

Being the only Nightmare at Arkwell Academy, a boarding school for magickind, and living in the shadow of her mother’s infamy is hard enough, but when Dusty sneaks into Eli Booker’s house, things get a whole lot more complicated. He’s hot, which means sitting on his chest and invading his dreams couldn’t get much more embarrassing.

But it does.

Eli is dreaming of a murder. The setting is Arkwell.

And then his dream comes true. Now Dusty has to follow the clues—both within Eli’s dreams and out of them—to stop the killer before more people turn up dead. And before the killer learns what she’s up to and marks her as the next target…

Now for the giveaway. As promised there will be two winners for the following prizes:
1st Winner: An ARC of Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake + an ARC of The Nightmare Affair (available in Oct)
2nd Winner: An ARC of Renegade by J.A. Souders + an ARC of The Nightmare Affair (available in Oct).
Entering is easy, just fill out the form below. And you can enter from the any of the participating blogs. You can see a list of them here. The contest is open for a week. Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

***Originally published at www.mindeearnett.com. You can comment here or there.***