Let the YASH begin!
Welcome to the YA Scavenger Hunt! This bi-annual event was first organized by author Colleen Houck as a way to give readers a chance to gain access to exclusive bonus material from their favorite authors...and a chance to win some awesome prizes! At this hunt, you not only get access to exclusive content from each author, you also get a clue for the hunt. Add up the clues, and you can enter for our prize--one lucky winner will receive one signed book from each author on the hunt in my team! But play fast: this contest (and all the exclusive bonus material) will only be online for 72 hours!
Go to the YA Scavenger Hunt page to find out all about the hunt. There are SIX contests going on simultaneously, and you can enter one or all! I am a part of the ORANGE TEAM--but there is also a red team, a gold team, an blue team, a red team, and an indie team for a chance to win a whole different set of signed books!
If you'd like to find out more about the hunt, see links to all the authors participating, and see the full list of prizes up for grabs, go to the YA Scavenger Hunt page.
BONUS! I'm also running an individual contest here -- see the end of this post for more details about how you can win a DISSONANCE prize package!
SCAVENGER HUNT PUZZLE
Directions: Below, you'll notice that I've listed my favorite number. Collect the favorite numbers of all the authors on the ORANGE 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 SUNDAY OCTOBER 5th at NOON Pacific Time. Entries sent without the correct number or without contact information will not be considered.
SCAVENGER HUNT POST
I'm SO thrilled to be hosting the lovely Lisa T. Bergren today! Lisa is the best-selling, award-winning author of over forty books. She lives in Colorado Springs, CO with her family and a little white Westie who makes her feel guilty when they don’t go out for a walk. But in her imagination, she’s forever somewhere else—often in another country and/or the distant past—or in her latest series, a dystopian future. You can find out more about her at LisaTBergren.com or follow her on Twitter (@LisaTBergren) or Facebook.com/LisaTawnBergren.
Find out more information by checking out Lisa's website or find more about her books here!
EXCLUSIVE CONTENT
Lisa’s Remnants Series is about seven teens called Remnants—and their awesome, kick-ass Knight-protectors—who were born to course-correct a world gone very wrong, and battle the dark forces who are attempting to take over what remains. It’s a fast-paced, genre-bending read, combining dystopian, fantasy, spiritual suspense, paranormal and romance. Book 1, Season of Wonder, is out now and available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or your local bookstore.
Ready? Here's your exclusive YASH bonus content: a sneak peek from REMNANTS: SEASON OF FIRE, Book 2 in the Trilogy (coming March 2015):
“Tell me what is untruthful. That you denied all you’d been taught by your trainer, imprisoned your twin and seized the Pacifican throne for yourself? Tell me how you could ignore the Call. How you could possibly turn away from it on that night of nights.”
His eyes shot to mine again and hardened. Then he lifted his chin, took a deep breath, and leaned forward. “I haven’t denied what I’d been taught. I simply disagreed with our parents. There has never, in the entire history of our world, been brother kings. It would never work. One always has to take the lead, or separate their realms. And I am the eldest…the first out of the womb. By rights, the throne is mine. By rights.”
I nodded slowly. I could see why he’d consider it that way. “But Keallach, we are not like any others that have come before us. We Ailith were born entirely for this purpose…to save the world. What if you got in the Maker’s way by turning from the path laid before you?”
Keallach tapped his fingertips together, still leaning forward. “I pray that I did not.” He bowed his head and scratched the back of his neck, then lifted his face. “You must believe me, Andriana. My intention is for good. For the good of all.”
I searched him, then. His words were true. Or at least he believed what he was saying… “But Keallach, you are…the Sheolites. Sethos…” I gestured to the guard at the door, feeling suddenly heavy, weary, utterly exhausted.
“Leave us,” Keallach said.
“My lord—”
“Stand outside if you must. But my friend shall speak more freely without you here. Leave us.”
“Yes, m’lord.”
I watched as the burly man disappeared into the night, closing the door with more grace and care than expected. Then I looked to Keallach. “Those men are lost. They are of the dark. And you are surrounded by them.”
“I am well aware of who and what they are,” he said evenly, quietly. “But I’m not certain you’ve judged them too harshly.”
I sputtered in surprise. “Too harshly? If you’d experienced what we’ve—”
“Perhaps there is a way that is between our two paths,” he said soothingly. “A place where the forked path unites again. But that would require both of us moving toward the other, right?”
I frowned, remembering what I’d felt on that battlefield. The depths of darkness, despair. Death itself, fighting to take me down, hold me down until I suffocated, choking on my own loss of hope. He wanted me to move toward that?
“Don’t you see, Andriana?” he asked, rising and pacing across the short room, one hand on his head, one gesturing to me. “All people respond to power. Even the Sheolite. It is what drives them. And what am I on the cusp of? Ultimate power. Within months, the entire Trading Union will bow to me as emperor. We will claim the rebels and outliers in time. Together, we shall rebuild this country, and begin to claim others. Together, we will establish unification of the entire world. Peace. This is the moment to seize it. Upon its rebirth. I wager you know enough of humanity’s history to know that once each power is developed, they will resist bowing to another. But right now…” His eyes danced with possibility. “It’s like the opportunity to train up a child rather than try and remake a man. I really think it could work.”
I stared at him. So his quest for ultimate power was true. But the way he put it, the goal was not for glory and riches, but rather for something we all might cheer for—peace. My mind whirled, grasping for truth, trying to make sense of what I’d learned. “But what of Pacifica? What of your methods of stealing children in Georgii Post? Wrenching them away from their parents and spiriting them off to be adopted in your own land or put to work in the factories and mines?”
He stilled and stared at me, mouth agape. “What? What are you talking about?”
“The children. The reaping. I saw it for myself. Armed guards, stealing away children to be adopted by the childless across the Wall.”
He shook his head, and I felt the confusion in him. “We adopt children who have no hope, no future. But the children are brought to us, given to our soldiers. It is sad, the conditions that leave them in such a desperate place—”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “That’s not how it happens there. We saw children ripped from an orphanage ourselves.”
“There are no sanctioned orphanages in Georgii Post. Perhaps a few goodhearted people showing kindnesses, but I assure you, we take far better care of them in Pacifica. Half are put into our very own homes; half are given a place to eat, sleep, work.”
I shook my head again. “Why is that? Why not sanction an orphanage? And I saw soldiers rip a child from his parents’ arms!”
Keallach frowned. “If that is true, I will ferret out the truth. It’s not how I want it,” he said, slicing his hand in the air, a red blush arriving at his jawline. “But it is exactly those conditions that I seek to remedy, in the coming years. Don’t you see,” he asked, stepping closer to me. “You’ve glimpsed enough of Pacifica’s prosperity. I will gladly show you more of our success here, myself. Eventually, places like Georgii Post will be more like Pacifica. The entire Trading Union will institute laws and have governance that will bring about needed change. Castle Vega. Even Zanzibar, in time.”
I stared at him. He honestly believed it. He thought he was on a righteous, true path. I reached for my goblet and took a swallow. “What of your brother? Why did he not agree with this plan?”
“I have not spoken to my brother in many seasons,” he said. His eyes were on the dark porthole covered in glass as if he could peer through the night.
“Why?”
He shook his head and sat down again heavily.
“But you happened to choose this night, this ship, to go to him?” I pressed.
“I’d heard…There are some that say…” His eyes moved back to the porthole again, and he took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Word reached me that Kapriel was unwell. Frail. He’s refused food for some time.” He looked at me, miserable. “Andriana, I wanted Kapriel out of my way. Far out of my way. But I never wanted to see him die.”
I was lost in a tornado of thought. Could it be? Had the elders misunderstood about Keallach? Might I be able to broker peace? Bring Keallach into the Ailith fold, when he was considered lost to us?
*****
Sounds awesome, right? Don't forget to enter the contest for a chance to win a ton of signed books by me, Lisa, and more! To enter, you need to know that my favorite number is FIVE. Add up all the favorite numbers of the authors on the ORANGE team and you'll have all the secret code to enter for the grand prize!
BONUS CONTEST:
Want to be entered in to win a DISSONANCE swag pack? I'm giving away a signed copy of DISSONANCE, plus stickers, bookmarks, origami and more!
You have several ways to enter, via this handy Rafflecopter:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
A few things to note:
During previous hunts, I've requested you leave a comment on the blog. But I'm going to be switching over to Tumblr full-time soon, so I'd recommend following me there instead. My Tumblr Ask box is also a good place to go if you have questions. (You can still comment, of course! I love comments! It just doesn't count as a contest entry.)
Obviously, if you have questions about the contest or the hunt, the comment section is an ideal place to ask. (Though Tumblr would work too. Or twitter. Or email. ASK, is what I'm saying, and I'll do my best to answer.)
Several of the entry options require you to give your username for verification. If I can't verify you, it doesn't count, so check for typos!
As always, my giveaways are international.
This giveaway runs for the duration of the scavenger hunt, but the winner will be notified separately.
READY TO CONTINUE THE HUNT?
To keep going on your quest for the hunt, you need to check out the next author, JESSICA SPOTSWOOD!
