Susanne Winnacker's Blog, page 5

Impostor blurbs!

I've been sitting on this for weeks, but today I can finally reveal the wonderful blurbs Impostor got!
Are you excited? I AM.
It's such a daunting experience to send your book to writers you admire and I'm truly stoked by what they had to say about my book!

"IMPOSTOR is one of those books that manages to walk the tricky line between fun and suspenseful. I was quickly lured into the covert world of Variants and the hunt for a brutal serial killer, but it was Tessa herself who ultimately won my heart. No matter what face she's wearing, Tessa is an endearing hero whose yearning for love and acceptance is one we can all relate to."
- Marissa Meyer, New York Times bestselling author of Cinder

"With its compelling mystery and intriguing characters, Susanne Winnacker's IMPOSTOR kept me reading late into the night. I really enjoyed it!"
- Jodi Meadows, author of Incarnate

"A thrilling whodunnit that kept me guessing until the very last pages."
- Amy Plum, International bestselling author of the Die for Me trilogy

I can't tell you how excited I am about this. 
There's still more news I want to share with you, but that has to wait. But soon! Don't forget Impostor's pub date is May 23, 2013 now! You can add it to your goodreads shelf or even pre-order it (see sidebar)! ;)
And there are exciting giveaways coming up in the future. Big giveaways, so stay tuned!

Winner!

It's time to announce the winner of the Impostor ARC!

It is:

Alexandra (SleepsonTables)

Please send me an email with your address to books@susannewinnacker.com

Countdown ARC giveaway!

Today marks the 4-month countdown to the publication of IMPOSTOR!
I can't believe we have less than half a year left!

To celebrate this special day, I'm giving away a signed ARC of IMPOSTOR!


CAN TESSA POSE AS MADISON . . . AND STOP A KILLER BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE? Tessa is a Variant, able to absorb the DNA of anyone she touches and mimic their appearance. Shunned by her family, she’s spent the last two years training with the Forces with Extraordinary Abilities, a secret branch of the FBI. When a serial killer rocks a small town in Oregon, Tessa is given a mission: she must impersonate Madison, a local teen, to find the killer before he strikes again. Tessa hates everything about being an impostor—the stress, the danger, the deceit—but loves playing the role of a normal girl. As Madison, she finds friends, romance, and the kind of loving family she’d do anything to keep. Amid action, suspense, and a ticking clock, this super-human comes to a very human conclusion: even a girl who can look like anyone struggles the most with being herself.
There are several pieces of good news I'm sitting on right now (blurb-y things among them), but hopefully I'll be allowed to share them soon!
This giveaway is international and open until January 31st! I'll announce the winner February 1st.
All you have to do to enter is leave a comment for this post.
But like usual you can gain extra entries:
Tweet about the giveaway + 2 entries
Blog or Facebook about the giveaway + 3 entries
Good luck!

The Weepers in Germany!

Today The Other Life hits shelves in Germany!
It's called The Weepers - Und sie werden dich finden and the publisher is Heyne/Random House!


I'm so excited to see it in stores around here!

Resolutions!

Happy new year!

Last January I wrote down a few resolutions for 2012. Here they are:


-         write two booksI wrote only 1 book this year, but I edited two other books, so that counts for something, right? 

-         read a minimum of 80 booksI read 82 books!
-         eat less meat (only once a week)This was a HUGE success. I haven't eaten meat since June. My husband and I are now even following a vegan diet at home! And I've never felt better. I've lost 33 lbs since June and the husband even 38 lbs! There are two amazing blogs that helped me tremendously: Healthy Happy Life and Oh She Glows If you're interested in eating less meat, or just eating more healthy meals, you should check them out!
-         work out on my elliptical every day. Well, I have been working out about two times a week. But I'm planning to work out more often in the future.
-         Have more patience FAIL. I'm just not the patient kind.
Now comes the fun part, my resolutions for 2013:
- read a minimum of 85 books- write two books (I think this year I'll actually manage to do it!) - start a writing diary where I write down my daily word count to keep track of my progress-  lose another 20 lbs
What are your resolutions for 2013?

Books Read in 2012

This year I challenged myself to read 80 books and I won! In the end I managed to read 82 books; that's 10 books more than last year!
And here are my 2012 books:

The Elements of Style - William Strunk (non-fic)
Whispers of the Dead - Simon Beckett ( Adult Thriller)
Jacob - Simon Beckett (Adult Thriller)
Cinder - Marissa Meyer (YA sci-fi)
Written in Bone - Simon Beckett (Adult Thriller)
The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown ( Adult Thriller)
Truth - Julia Karr (YA dystopian)
Krabat - Ottfried Preußler ( MG)
Born Wicked - Jessica Spotswood ( YA historical fantasy)
Rodrick Rules - Jeff Kinney ( MG)
After the Snow - S.D. Crockett ( YA dystopian)
I'd tell you I love you, but then I'd have to kill you - Ally Carter (YA mystery)
The Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett (Adult Historical)
The Scorpio Races - Maggie Stiefvater (YA fantasy)
Insurgent - Veronica Roth (YA dystopian)
Catching Jordan - Miranda Kenneally (YA contemporary)
Chopsticks - Jessica Anthony ( YA contemporary/Graphic novel)
Garou - Leonie Swann (Adult mystery)
Masque of the Red Death - Bethany Griffin (YA dystopian)
The Space Between - Brenna Yovanoff (YA fantasy)
Crossed - Ally Condie (YA dystopian)
Leaving Paradise - Simone Elkeles (YA contemporary)
Return to Paradise - Simone Elkeles (YA contemporary)
Skellig - David Almond ( MG)
Plain Kate - Erin Bow (MG)
Nightshade - Andrea Cremer (YA paranormal)
Wolfsbane - Andrea Cremer (YA paranormal)
The Last Straw - Jeff Kinney (MG)
Spells - Aprilynne Pike (YA paranormal)
Dog Days - Jeff Kinney (MG)
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian - Sherman Alexie (YA contemporary)
I Am Number Four - Pittacus Lore (YA sci-fi)
Surrender - Elana Johnson ( YA dystopian)
Glitch - Heather Anastasiu (YA dystopian)
The Future of Us - Jay Asher ( YA contemporary)
The Girl of Fire and Thorns - Rae Carson ( YA fantasy)
Fateful - Claudia Gray ( YA historical)
The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern (Adult Fantasy)
Prophecy of the Sisters - Michelle Zink (YA fantasy)
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer - Michelle Hodkin (YA mystery)
The Body at the Tower - Y.S. Lee  (YA historical mystery)
Fracture - Megan Miranda (YA Thriller)
Ghostgirl - Tonya Hurley (YA paranormal)
Ashes - Ilsa J. Bick (YA dystopian)
Dead Time - Anne Cassidy (YA mystery)
Slated - Teri Terry (YA dystopian)
The Fury - Alexander Gordon Smith (YA post-apoc)
Paper Valentine - Brenna Yovanoff (YA mystery)
The Innocents - Lili Peloquin (YA contemporary)
Origin - Jessica Khoury ( YA sci-fi)
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner - Stephenie Meyer (YA paranormal)
Saubande - Arne Blum (Adult mystery)
Beat the Reaper - Josh Bazell (Adult mystery)
Wild Thing - Josh Bazell ( Adult mystery)
The Ruining - Anna Collomore ( YA mystery)
Crewel - Genn Albin (YA dystopian)
Rampensau - Arne Blum (Adult mystery)
Shadow and Bone - Leigh Bardugo (YA fantasy)
Blood Red Road - Moira Young (YA post-apoc)
The Calling of the Grave - Simon Beckett ( Adult Thriller)
15 Days without a Head - Dave Cousins (YA contemporary)
Schändung - Jussi Adler Olsen ( Adult Thriller)
Starters - Lissa Price (YA sci-fi)
Under the Never Sky - Veronica Rossi (YA dystopian)
A Million Suns - Beth Revis ( YA sci-fi)
Whispering to Witches - Anna Dale ( MG)
Until I Die - Amy Plum (YA paranormal)
Mortlock - Jon Mayhew (MG)
The Red Pyramid - Rick Riordan (MG)
A Certain Slant of Light - Laura Whitcomb (Adult fantasy)
Wildwood - Colin Meloy (MG)
Zoe Letting Go - Nora Price (YA contemporary)
Pink - Lili Wilkinson ( YA contemporary)
Feed - Mira Grant (Adult post-apoc)
Everneath - Brodi Ashton (YA paranormal)
Glow - Amy Kathleen Ryan (YA sci-fi)
Nevermore - Kelly Creagh (Ya gothic)
Lucid - Adrienne Stoltz (YA)
The Scorch Trials - James Dashner (YA dystopian)
Room - Emma Donoghue (Adult contemporary)
Tiger's Curse - Colleen Houck (YA paranormal)
The Tension of Opposite - Kristina McBride (YA contemporary)
(my favorites are in bold)

16 Adult Books
1 Non-fic
10 Middle Grade
55 YA (11 contemporary)

Happy New Year!

Giveaway winner!

I hope you had wonderful holidays! I can't believe 2012 is almost over, but I'm very excited about 2013!
But that's not the reason for this post! You want to know who won the very first IMPOSTOR ARC that I'm giving away, right?
And the lucky winner is:
Bailey (IB Book Blogging)!
Could you please email me (books@susannewinnacker.com)?

To all those who didn't win: don't worry, you'll get another chance in the new year!

IMPOSTOR ARC giveaway + news!

Impostor has a new - an earlier pub date! Razorbill will publish it on May 23, 2013! Less than 6 months to go!
This is wonderful and exciting and terrifying news! (and there's more news I can't talk about yet!)

To celebrate my new pub date, I'm having a Christmas giveaway and you can win a signed ARC of IMPOSTOR (and some swag like stickers and postcards!)!
CAN TESSA POSE AS MADISON . . . AND STOP A KILLER BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE?

Tessa is a Variant, able to absorb the DNA of anyone she touches and mimic their appearance. Shunned by her family, she’s spent the last two years training with the Forces with Extraordinary Abilities, a secret branch of the FBI.

When a serial killer rocks a small town in Oregon, Tessa is given a mission: she must impersonate Madison, a local teen, to find the killer before he strikes again.

Tessa hates everything about being an impostor—the stress, the danger, the deceit—but loves playing the role of a normal girl. As Madison, she finds friends, romance, and the kind of loving family she’d do anything to keep.

Amid action, suspense, and a ticking clock, this super-human comes to a very human conclusion: even a girl who can look like anyone struggles the most with being herself.

(X-men meets The Silence of the Lambs)
- May 23, 2013 from Razorbill/Penguin!

This is the very first ARC I'm giving away on my blog! 
The giveaway is international and ends on December 27th. I'll announce the winner on the 28th. All you have to do to win is post a comment! 
But you can earn extra entries:
Spread the word about the contest (Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, Blog) + 2 entries (each - so if you post about the contest everywhere, you'll get 10 extra entries)
Add Impostor on goodreads + 1 entry
Follow me on twitter + 1 entry

The Next Big Thing

Fellow Apocalypsie Hilary Weisman Graham, author of REUNITED, tagged me to be part of The Next Big Thing bloghop! Here's her post about her current WIP!And now I'll be talking about my own work-in-progress!
What is your working title of your book?My current WIP is the sequel to my YA thriller Impostor. Sadly I don't have a title yet. If the book proves as stubborn as Impostor, it'll probably take forever to find a great title. Right now, I just call it Impostor 2...Creative, I know. ;)
Where did the idea come from for the book?Well, the idea for this book came to me after I was done with Impostor. I had other plans for its sequel but then I had new inspiration and decided to take Impostor 2 in a slightly different direction.
What genre does your book fall under?It's a thriller with supernatural elements. 
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?It'll be represented by my agent Jill Grinberg!
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?It took me about 8 weeks to write the first draft. A bit longer than it took me to write Impostor (6 weeks). I'm a fast drafter!
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?That's tough. Maybe Mind Games from Kiersten White or Starters from Lissa Price? 
Now it's my turn to tag other writers. Here they are:Shari ArnoldKathy Bradey

CRUSHED by Dawn Rae Miller - Cover Reveal

Today I'm one of the blogs hosting the cover reveal of CRUSHED by my friend Dawn Rae Miller. It's upper YA and here is the pretty:


For seventeen-year-old serial womanizer Fletch Colson, life is a game and if he plays by the rules, he’ll win it all: his dream college, his parents’ money, and a hot (if a little vapid) girl on his arm. Really, it couldn’t be easier. All he has to do is get good grades, live a privileged boarding school life, and try not to mess up too much.

However, when he accepts the seemingly impossible bet to change his ways and be “just friends” with smart, beautiful, tempting Ellie Jacobs – a girl who seems hell bent on confusing him - Fletch’s whole world is turned upside down.

Suddenly, what seemed simple and clear, no longer feels right and Fletch must decide if winning it all is worth losing a piece of himself.
Pub date: December 11th, 2012! Only two weeks to go! 
And I'm having an exclusive sneak peek from CRUSHED for you. The scene is called "The Key Chain" and here it is:
The nurse, satisfied with my progress, releases me the next morning, but only after I swear to drink plenty of fluids and continue to rest. But rest isn’t an option. I have finals. I have to study, especially after missing most of last week.  In the pile of books Calista brought over earlier, I found review guides from each of my teachers. Since Harker has a reading week before finals, I have no classes. Just endless hours to sleep, eat, and make sure I know my classes inside and out. In the middle of reviewing the Calc guide, someone knocks softly on my door – like they’re worried I might be asleep.
            “Come in,” I yell hoarsely. Ellie peaks around the corner. “Hey, how are you feeling?”My stomach flutters as she takes up residence on my desk chair. For once, I’m the one on the bed. “Better.”She tilts her head, like she doesn’t believe me. “You look pale.”I close my eyes and re-open them lazily, positive this makes me look sicker. “I’m fine. Just a little weak. Food services is delivering my meals for the next two days, so I don’t have to exert myself.”She laughs. “Well, aren’t you spoiled?”This isn’t how I wanted to see Ellie. Not curled up on my bed looking like an invalid. And if my memory’s right, Sarah told me she’d heard about Lilah. Which means Ellie knows too. An uncomfortable lump forms in my throat.I swallow hard. “Guess so.” I push myself upright, an effort that leaves me gasping. “Are you okay?”I wave her off and gasp for breath. “I’m fine. What are you up to?”“Study break.” She swings side-to-side in the chair. “Brady told me you were back. I thought I’d come by.” She sticks her hand in her pocket and pulls out a tiny wrapped package. “Your Christmas present.”She walks toward the bed. “It’s nothing fancy, but I thought you’d like it.”Panic nibbles at me. Am I supposed to give her a present? I never buy gifts for my friends. I hold out my hand and she places it down softly without touching me. “I didn’t get you anything.”She shrugs. “I didn’t expect you to.” Ellie curls and uncurls her fingers. “C’mon. Open it.”I tear at the red wrapping paper. It’s a plain white box about two-inches long. I have no idea what it is.“Fletch, the present is in the box, you know.”“Right.” I tug off the top.Inside, a giant red ‘s’ – Stanford’s logo – rests on a tuff of cotton. I hold the keychain in my hand, the weight suddenly more than I can bear and my shoulders sag. Even though I’ve never told her, she knows it’s my dream school. “Do you like it?”More than you know. “It’s perfect.”

Want to keep reading? You can read four more scenes on the following blogs:
Getting Dirty at the Pool - http://hayleyvornholt.com
The Bet - http://rachaelallenwrites.blogspot.com
Who Am I?  http://kathybradey.blogspot.com/
The Music Room http://waltzwithwords.blogspot.com/