Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Welcome to the Spring 2016 YA Scavenger Hunt!



Welcome to the YA Scavenger Hunt! This bi-annual event was first organized by author Colleen Houck http://colleenhouck.com/ 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 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 eight contests going on simultaneously, and you can enter one or all! I am a part of the GREEN TEAM--but there is also a red team, an orange team, a gold team, a teal team, a blue team, a purple team, and a pink team for a chance to win a whole different set of 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: http://www.yash.rocks/p/prizes.html .

SCAVENGER HUNT PUZZLE

Directions: Below, you'll notice that I've hidden my favorite number. Collect the favorite numbers of all the authors on the green 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: http://www.yash.rocks/p/enter-here.html . 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 APRIL 3, at noon Pacific Time. Entries sent without the correct number or without contact information will not be considered.

Extra Raffle for 10 Kindle Copies of my YA Paranormal Mystery Novel, Shade

I'm delighted to be one of the authors participating in the Spring 2016 YA Scavenger Hunt! My YA Paranormal Mystery novel, Shade, and first reveal information about the upcoming second book in the series, Shade and the Skinwalkers, can be found over on Author Cheyanne Young's blog: http://www.cheyanneyoung.com/. While you're there, check out her books - they look great! Because I'm enjoying the YA Scavenger Hunt so much, I've decided to raffle off 10 Kindle copies of Shade on my website: http://www.marilynpeake.com/giveaways.html.


SCAVENGER HUNT POST

And now without further ado, I'd like to introduce Katie Hayoz, the author I'm hosting on my blog for the YA Scavenger Hunt. 



Katie's the author of a number of wonderful YA books, including Untethered, an Indie B.R.A.G. award winner and a finalist in the Mslexia YA novel competition.



EXCLUSIVE CONTENT

Untethered by Katie Hayoz

Sixteen-year-old Sylvie isn’t comfortable in her own skin.  In fact, there are times she can’t even manage to stay inside it.  But if there is one thing she’s sure of, it’s her love for Kevin Phillips. She’s willing to stake everything on it –her family, her friends, and possibly her soul.

Sylvie has been best friends with Cassie forever.  But everything is turned around when the boy Sylvie’s loved since fifth grade falls for Cassie. Devastated, Sylvie intends to get Kevin by any means possible, even if it involves treachery, deceit, and the dark side of astral projection. She is positive her plans will give her what she wants, but she doesn’t count on it all spiraling out of control.

Finalist in the Mslexia novel competition, Untethered by Katie Hayoz explores the intoxicating and dangerous world of jealousy and obsession when coupled with paranormal ability. It is a touching, sometimes funny, sometimes heart-breaking novel that speaks to the self-doubt lurking in us all. 

About the author:

Katie Hayoz was born in Racine, WI, the youngest of six kids. Originally, she wanted to become pope (for the awesome hat and fancy robes), but quickly realized reading was her true religion. Writing was always a hobby and she only decided to try her hand at it seriously when she ended up in Geneva, Switzerland. Now she's constantly at her laptop in the small apartment she shares with her husband, two daughters, and a very fuzzy cat. She devours novels like she does popcorn and black licorice: quickly and in large quantities.

Connect with Katie on her website: www.katiehayoz.com




Buy Untethered on Amazon: myBook.to/untetheredkhayoz

And now, just for fun, a Paranormal Pop Quiz from Katie:

Paranormal Pop Quiz: Katie Hayoz, author of Untethered

I devour paranormal novels.  Ghosts, vampires, werewolves, angels, witches, astral projection.  The whole bit.  But while I can list out plotlines from various paranormal novels, I realized I don’t really know all that much about these paranormal phenomena.  So I scoured the internet and waded through Wikepedia and local library sites to learn a bit.  What about you?  What do you know about the paranormal?  Take the pop quiz and see if your answers line up.

1.    Persecution and trials of these supposed beings started in Switzerland in the early 15th century before spreading to most of Europe:

a.      Werewolves
b.      Vampires
c.      Sorcerers

2.      If you want to cast a love spell or create a love potion, what would you use?

a.      Eye of newt
b.      Basil
c.      Onion

33.      Elizabeth Bathory, a Hungarian noble from the 1500’s is known as “The Blood Countess” because:

a.      She led a bloody war against a neighboring country.
b.      She had a penchant for raw meat.
c.      She killed young girls and bathed in their blood to look young.

4.      Who is considered the Angel of Death?

a.      Rapheal
b.      Samael
c.      Gabriel

5.      What could you use to rid a home of a pesky ghost?
a.      Sage
b.      Sand
c.      Sugar

6.      What is astral projection?
a.      The study of stars and their influence on the future.
b.      The separation of one’s consciousness or spirit from one’s physical body.
c.      The plan to move civilization to other planets.

Ready to find out how you did?


 Answers:
1.      A- Werewolves.  It wasn’t only witches.  Suspected werewolves went on trial as well.  Geesh, guess that might be why waxing came about…

2.      B- Basil  Yep.  There’s a reason Italians are supposed to be good lovers.


3.      C- She bathed in their blood.  This woman was sick and twisted.  She apparently had at least 650 victims.

4.      B- Samael.  This is also the name of a Swiss heavy metal band.  Who knew?


5.      A- Sage.  Burn sage or sprinkle salt to try to cleanse your house of unwelcome spirits. Or get a medium there who can send them off to the Light.

6.      B- The separation of spirit from body.  Astral projection is a voluntary out-of-body experience.  It is what Sylvie, the main character in Untethered, thinks will change her life.

Important Information About the YA Scavenger Hunt Contest

And don't forget to enter the contest for a chance to win a ton of books by me, Katie Hayoz, and more! To enter, you need to know that my favorite number is 9454. Add up all the favorite numbers of the authors on the green team and you'll have all the secret code to enter for the grand prize!

CONTINUE THE HUNT

To keep going on your quest for the hunt, you need to check out the next author, Stacy Claflin: http://stacyclaflin.com/blog/ . Have fun!

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Welcome to My Blog



Greetings!

This is my first blog post. Since this is the week of St. Patrick's Day, I posted a couple of photographs that I took of Kells Priory during my travels in Ireland a few years ago. I have many blog posts and some blog hops with prizes planned for the future. In the meantime, please visit me on any of my sites:

My Website

My Facebook Author Page

My Twitter Feed

My Amazon Author Page

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