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!